Bashaw RCMP reports to County council

By Murray Green

Bashaw RCMP Corporal Grant Glasier discussed rural crime with Camrose County council.

Cpl. Glasier reviewed third quarter numbers and shared that crimes are up about 43 per cent from the same period last year.

“That is driven mostly by theft of motor vehicles. Persons crimes were up 36 per cent. I believe that because of COVID-19, when everyone was at home, the numbers went down and now they are going back up,” said Glasier.

“In 2020, it was a downturn on all crimes, and then in 2021, we saw crime return to a normal fiveyear average. We are still in a downward trend over five years, with a 17 per cent decrease,” he added.

“In assaults, we went from two in 2020 to 12 in 2021, so it shows a huge 500 percentage increase. I don’t think that is anything to be alarmed about. With property crime, it went from 44 to 92, a 109 per cent increase. But if we look at the five-year average, we are still trending down,” said Glasier.

“Some of the stolen vehicles numbers are skewed by one case out of Alix, which was a transient out of Red Deer. He stole nine vehicles one night and drove each one a block until he found the nicest one and we recovered that one later in Red Deer. He is in jail, so hopefully our stolen vehicles will trend down again,” shared Glasier.

“We had a major theft on an abandoned farmyard, where a $260,000 John Deere tractor was stolen and a 1983 grain truck. They are currently outstanding and everyone is blaming the convoy. We are told to look in Coutts and Ottawa. We do have some evidence, so we are looking into that.”

Bashaw RCMP implemented a crime reduction strategy to focus on certain areas. “We will have overtime shifts to have more presence in the communities.”

Two Bashaw RCMP Constables helped save a life before Christmas.

“I would like to take this opportunity to recognize two of the Constables in the Bashaw detachment for their efforts on December 22, 2021. While responding to a motor vehicle collision at the intersection of Highway 53 and 56, Const. Scott and Const. Peters performed CPR on a male after the collision. The constables loaded the male into the box of the police truck, continued CPR. When it was learned that EMS was responding from Stettler, the members decided to drive the police truck with one member in the box of the truck continuing to perform CPR until they met the EMS. The two members have been nominated for the St. John Life Saving Award and a District Officers Certificate of Appreciation for their efforts,” informed Glasier.

Five agronomy priorities for canola this year

By Clint Jurke

The Canola Council of Canada’s five agronomy priorities, when implemented fully in every field, will improve canola yield and profitability and will help to ensure success with the crop.

All farms will benefit from applying the right fertilizer products at the right rate, right time and right place to improve yield, reduce nutrient losses and increase profits. These are the 4Rs of nutrient management.

One-pass seeding into standing stubble, a fairly common practice, is an excellent foundation for 4R. Canola Council of Canada (CCC) agronomy specialists also encourage farmers to use soil tests and set fertilizer rates based on soil-test recommendations. Canada’s canola industry has a goal to see 4R practices utilized on 90 per cent of canola acres by 2025. Go to canola council.org/4R for more details on the goal and on 4R practices.

Try new cultivars all the time. Yield lost to incorrect cultivar choice may be a greater risk than yield gained by choosing the highest yielding cultivar. The best seed traits can include disease resistance specific to risks for each field, maturity to match crop establishment and harvest timing goals, and pod-shatter resistance to harvest more of the crop. Use the tool at canola performancetrials.ca to compare cultivars.

Hybrid canola studies in Western Canada show that a stand with five to eight plants per square foot is best to maintain the yield potential of canola. Uniformity is also key. To simplify pest management and harvest timing, try to achieve the target population across the field and have all plants at the same growth stage. To set seeding rates that will achieve the target stand, use the calculators at canolacalcu lator.ca. For more agronomy tips, read the Plant Establishment chapter at canolaencyclopedia.ca.

Canola growers can find all kinds of pests and problems in their fields. The key is to focus time and inputs on the most important yield loss factors. Scout regularly to see what pests, environmental factors or mechanical issues (seed placement, sprayer settings, etc.) cause the greatest loss for each field. Find scouting and management tips for flea beetles, sclerotinia stem rot and all other major pests in the Diseases, Weeds and Insects chapters.

Canola growers want to deliver every seed at No. 1 grade, and leave none behind. To do this, growers must accomplish three steps: One, give all seeds time to mature. Two, harvest with minimal losses. And three, store canola without spoilage. Grower survey results suggest that canola growers, in general, may achieve yield improvement through later swathing. The survey also showed that straight combining is associated with higher yields in the southwest Prairies.

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The 4R nutrient management, with principles based on the right fertilizer products applied at the right rate, right time and right place, can improve yield, reduce nutrient losses and increase profits.

Railway shares holiday spirit

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In November, the Battle River Railway passenger car was pulled out of storage, dusted off and decorated in lights and festive decor for guests to once again have an opportunity to climb aboard.

Throughout the holiday season, Battle River Railway and Friends of Battle River Railway volunteers partnered to offer short train rides in each town, with cost of admission by donation and BRR pledging to match all donations for the Flagstaff Food Bank and the Rosalind Ag Society Self Help Shelf.

The first train run was held on November 26 in conjunction with Forestburg’s Light Up the Night event. The second was on December 11 for Santa Daze in Alliance. On December 22, the train headed west with stops in Heisler and Rosalind to bring festivities to two more communities on the rail line.

Over 300 visitors joined staff on the train throughout these four events. Their generous donations and the donations of BRR staff giving their time for these runs, matched dollar for dollar by BRR, resulted in a total of $6,334 for the Flagstaff Food Bank and $1,020 for the Rosalind Ag Society Self Help Shelf.

Friends of Battle River Railway volunteers hosted guests on the train, spreading Christmas cheer, giving them a taste of what they’d experience on a Battle River Train Excursion.

Santa was on the train too, along with his elves. These community train runs would not have been possible without the collaboration between Battle River Railway board and their staff, Friends of the Battle River Railway volunteers and the communities along the railway that allowed them to bring the train to their events.

By bringing people together, creating memories and a magical night for our train travelers, the community runs helped to fill the shelves for these essential organizations in our communities and we are grateful to those who came along for the ride.

Gymnasts sparkle in first major competition

By Murray Green

Precision and Academy of Gymnastics gymnasts performed well in their opening competition of the season.

A total of 36 gymnasts welcomed Ponoka Gymnastics to participate in the first meet of the season, Winter Wonderland Warm Up, held at Precision Gymnastics at the Wetaskiwin Multiplex. About 28 girls on the team are from Camrose and surrounding area.

Members competed in the compulsory Level 1 and 2 divisions as well as XCeL, the new-to-Alberta competitive program, in bronze, silver and gold.

Highlights for the local girls included: in the Bronze Level (age eight and older), Taos Seutter (Camrose County) had a hat trick of bronze medals, and Kierra McCormack (Bittern Lake) was second on floor, and third on vault. Also competing in this category were Sophie Sonnenberg (Camrose), Charli Dietrich (New Norway) and Lucy Shostak (edberg).

In the Bronze Level (age seven and under), Haidee Gunderson (Camrose) was first all-around. The second all-around was Mindy Hawkins (Camrose). Adelyn Sereda took second place on floor. Also competing in this division was Paetyn Niehaus (Camrose).

In the Silver Level: Raina Johnston was first all-around, Avery Walker second all-around and Neve Stamp third allaround. Madison Niehaus was second on vault, Quinn Urkow was second on bars, Mckenna Adloff was third on bars. Also competing in this division were Adelyn Walker, Danika Hillyer and Palmer Heck. All the silver team members are from Camrose.

In the Gold Level: Brooklyn McNabb of Forestburg was first allaround. Lacey Adloff of Camrose was second allaround.

Girls from Academy of Gymnastics in the Dreams Program participated in the compulsory divisions for their first-time competition experience.

“The Camrose and area girls are looking forward to the opening of their own competitive gymnastics facility here in Camrose later this spring,” said Nancy Littrell, of the local club.

You could win a photograph of your farm!

If this is your farm,

The farm appearing in this photograph is located in the Camrose trading area. If you recognize it as yours, come to the Camrose Booster, 4925-48 Street, Camrose. You will be presented with a free 8” x 10” colour enlargement of the photo.

• The Mystery Farm winners for January 18 are Stan and Sharleen Chevraux of Killam. • This week’s prize must be claimed by March 1, 2022.

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The Rotary Club of Camrose Daybreak chose the Flagstaff Food Bank as their Charity of Choice, topping the donation up to $1,000. The total funds for the progressive jackpot will be donated to the Hospice Society of Camrose and District. Rotary Club of Camrose Daybreak member Cliff Drever, left, presents the funds to Flagstaff Family and Community Services executive director Lynne Jenkinson.

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