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Enter your Sweetheart Inside!
Your LOCAL Media since 1918! Volume 106 Issue 23
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Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Crews work fast after snowfall
Rural elder abuse cases jump by 50% Kari Janzen Staff Reporter
Loretta Kroeker, of Tofield, has been the case manager for the Rural Elder Abuse Prevention Coalition (REAP) for seven years, and has a Bachelor of Social Work. The coalition was formed in January 2016 through a Coordinated Community Response Grant accessed through the government of Alberta, and all the Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) in the central zone are partners in the coalition. The central zone includes Lamont County, Two Hills County, Flagstaff County, Minburn County, and Beaver County. Statistics are sent to the provincial government twice per year to prove that the service is still needed. “The government is very interested in whether it's a necessary service and this has been the busiest year since I've started. The money comes from the government every September, the new grant, and from the first of September until now, I have had one new case every week. In 2023 I had 23 cases, which is about one every two weeks. Now so far in the first five months, I've had one every week. I hate to think what the last half of this year may look like,” Kroeker said. Kroeker does a lot of the prevention and awareness work by holding presentations, her most recent titled, Neighbours, Friends and Families, It’s Not Right. “I'm authorized this year to really highlight educa-
Town of Tofield public works staff were quickly clearing the streets after Sunday's snowfall on Monday, February 5, pictured here on main street. Kari Janzen photo. tion and awareness. It teaches the common person on the street what to do if they have a neighbour and they suspect they may be abused,” she said. The government of Alberta describes the definition of elder abuse as follows: “Elder abuse is any intentional or reckless act, or willful and negligent disregard occurring within a relationship of family, trust or dependency, directed at someone 65 years of age or older, that causes physical harm, emotional or psychological harm, involves the misappropriation or misuse of money or other personal possessions or personal or real property, subjects an individual to non-consensual sexual contact, activity or behaviour, or fails to provide the necessities of life.” Kroeker receives referrals that she then investigates, which can be risky. “Anytime anyone suspects some kind of elder
abuse, they can phone me. Then it's my job to get back to them and either talk to the person that's being abused or work through that concerned person. This could involve the RCMP if there are guns on the property, or a peace officer, if I don't feel safe to go into a home by myself. I access anywhere from victim services to RCMP, peace officers or sheriffs, and in all those counties, they are all very supportive,” said Kroeker. As for the investigation, Kroeker talks with everyone around the abused, to gather as much information as possible surrounding the situation. “I don't always talk to the person who's being abused, because they're afraid to talk to anyone, but I spend a lot of time with the person who has made the referral. I get all the facts and the statistics, and then I will either go do a home visit or phone the person Continued on Page 7
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Page 2 - The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024
New executive board for Golden Club Jana Semeniuk Staff Reporter
The executive board positions for the Tofield Golden Club were all acclaimed with new names on three of the four positions. Former president Doug Hiob did not come forward as a nominee, instead former Vice President Ralph Peterson was nominated and acclaimed. Additionally, former director Lynn Hrychuk was acclaimed as Vice President, member Sharon Grover was acclaimed as Secretary, and Jim Robichaud will be serving his second term as Treasurer. Directors for the Golden Club are Lorraine McNeely, Bea Robichaud, Roger Stutzman, Margaret Stutzman, Tom Keller, Francis Van Engelen, Kelly Christianson and Brian Kelfort. Additionally, the executive board will now serve a two-year term verses the previous one-year-term. Treasurer Jim Robichaud said the non-
profit senior’s club has come a long way since last year both in term so finances and membership growth. “A year ago today, 2022 financial statements were showing a loss of approximately $3,600. (This year, we are) showing a financial gain of $7,004.18,” he said, adding that the two-year pandemic hit the club hard. “We came off a very difficult time of COVID that really took its toll on The Club. At that time, our membership was very low. It was 18 members this time last year and now we are in excess of 100 and growing. I mean, who wouldn't want to be part of this for 10 bucks?” The Golden Club hosts activities, including cards, pool, soup and sandwich events, in addition to evening activities and bus tours for seniors age 50 and up. The Golden Club’s next monthly meeting will be held on Feb. 19 at 10:30 a.m. and the next semi-annual meeting is scheduled for June 20 at 11:30 a.m.
Food Bank and FCSS collecting old discarded cell phones Kari Janzen Staff Reporter
The Tofield, Ryley and Area (TRA) Food Bank and the Tofield/Beaver County West Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) have partnered together to begin a cell phone collection program, which will be donated to the Camrose Women’s Shelter. “I got the idea because my Red Hat group has been doing this for a long time. One of the first things that the abusers do is either take the phones away or cancel the phone contracts, so that the victims don't have access. What we do is supply phones that have been cleaned out, no SIM card, but they're able to charge them, and even if they don't have a plan, they can still call 911,” said TRA food bank Board Chair Dawn Arnold. Arnold says if the phone still charges and is functional, it can be donated to
the program. “As long as it can be charged and it works, there are no parameters. I've got an old flip phone that I'll be delivering next week and a couple of old cell phones that still work for 911. They are an emergency phone. If they want to start a quick contract, start their own plan, they're good for that, too. They are used as intermediate phones until the women can get their own,” she said. The program is set to run in perpetuity, so there will be no end date or donation cutoff. “There is no deadline for these. We just wish to be a collection point for these phones as they are so very necessary for many in the shelter. If you have the charging cable for your donated phone, that would be super too,” said a post on the TRA food bank social media page. Phones can be dropped off at the Food Bank or the Tofield FCSS office.
Tofield Golden Club Executive for 2024 standing next to their official drawings of the planned $1.5 million expansion to their current facility. (L to R) Lynn Hryhirchuk vice president, Jim Robichaud Treasurer, Ralph Pedersen president and Sharon Grover secretary. All executive members were acclaimed at their annual general meeting on LORRAINE MCNEELY PHOTO Jan. 25.
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you, Danke, धन्यवाद, go raibh maith agat, Grazie, Arigatō, Takk Skal d
u ha, Dziękuję, Tuhāḍā dhanavāda, mulţumesc
Merci, Xiéxié, 谢谢, tak skal du have, thank
The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024 - Page 3
, Tapadh leat, mahadsanid, gracias, tack, adank, ekosani, nitsiniiyi’taki.
To our amazingly generous community: The TRAFB Thanks you for your continuous donations. Your generosity means everything to us, and to the areas we serve. We know you have a lot of choices when it comes to donating and we are grateful that you chose to donate to our cause.
To our volunteers: We are grateful for your willingness and kindness to volunteer. You have helped make a difference in the lives of many. FINANCIAL SUPPORT - 2023
FOOD DONATIONS - 2023 202
3%
These are hard times for everyone, and we want you to know we are here for our community. Anyone in our community that find themselves in need of our services, is encouraged to call us and leave a message. One of our volunteers will get back to you within 1 or 2 days.
Individuals and Hampers
INFORMATION
Total: 37,385 lbs Churches
Provincial and Local Grants 27%
13%
Businesses 16% Individuals
35% Organizations 14%
Businesses and Organizations
49%
Individuals 43% Schools
1400
1998-2023
1200 1000 800 600 400
0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
200
Phone: 780-662-3511 Address: 5204 – 50 Street Website: Trafoodbank.ca You can find us on:
Total # people
# of hampers
Hours of operation: Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 am to 12 noon Sharing Food – Feeding Hope – Strengthening Community – with Dignity! Notice of the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) of the Tofield - Ryley & Area Food Bank Society Monday, March 11, 2024 at 7:00 pm At the Food Bank 5204 – 50 Street Tofield All are welcome!
Page 4 - The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Tofield council wants more regular meetings with RCMP John Mather Staff Reporter
Tofield council wants to meet quarterly with the local RCMP to hear what the crime stats are in the area and to make sure that both the RCMP policing priorities and the Town’s request for policing priorities are aligned. At their Jan. 22 regular council meeting, council expressed concern after receiving a letter from the Tofield RCMP Sergeant Paul Cameron where he said Beaver County had asked if a weekly crime
report could be shared with council as had happened in the past. As a result, Cameron wrote the detachment compiled a bi-weekly crime report that appeared in the Tofield Mercury and “going forward we’ll include your offices in that distribution…” He added it wouldn’t replace more formal police reports submitted to council nor replace direct advisement of major or urgent incidents that occur in the jurisdiction. Mayor Deb Dueck felt they should be able to
RCMP Report
January 18 – Tofield RCMP received a complaint that a white F150 was stolen. Caller advising keys were in vehicle and unlocked when it was stolen. Vehicle fled the area towards Sherwood Park. January 23 – Tofield RCMP received a complaint from a concerned citizen of suspicious activity in the Holden area. Tofield RCMP attended the area and located two stolen trailers which were
seized. The trailers were stolen out of Killam, AB and another jurisdiction. Investigation is on going. January 25 – Tofield RCMP received several complaints of gunshots heard. Tofield RCMP investigated and learned that a male was shooting his firearms off on his deck inside Tofield town limits. Tofield RCMP located an intoxicated male with several firearms. Brent SUCHY 38 years old was
meet with the RCMP when setting their annual priorities list. “They need to build a relationship here,” she said. Chief Administrative Officer Cindy Neufeld said staff didn’t see the RCMP with any presence in the office. “Well I would like to set up a meeting with them,” said Dueck. “To build up this ongoing relationship.” Councillor Brenda Chehade said they had used to meet with the RCMP where they would
see breakdowns of the quarterly crime statistics and discuss those with the RCMP to see what was trending in the community. ‘Plus it would give us the opportunity to talk to them about the areas of concern that we’re hearing about,” added Dueck. Councillor Norm Martineau said he would like to have an explanation from them of what’s on their crime charts. “We have residential crime and things like that so our priorities might be different from what other
arrested and charged with four counts of careless use of a firearm, mischief under $5,000 and resist/obstructing a peace officer. The matter is still under investigation. January 26 – Tofield RCMP received a complaint of a break in to a cabin in the Beaver County area. Caller reporting someone stole his chainsaw and other various items. Matter is still under investigation.
Tofield RCMP warn the public against leaving their vehicles running with the keys inside. Tofield RCMP ask that if you see any suspicious activity to please report it immediately by calling your local RCMP complaint line.
larger communities are experiencing,” he said. Deputy Mayor Harold Conquest said he realized the RCMP had three councils to deal with in their detachment area so maybe they meet as a joint group with the RCMP. But council felt the RCMP could come to council on a quarterly basis to provide crime stats and updates on
what was happening in Tofield. Council did admit they have an annual meeting with the RCMP, but they would like to get a quarterly meeting. Dueck made a motion, that was carried unanimously, that council write to Tofield RCMP seeking to have a quarterly meeting to go over crime stats.
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The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024 - Page 5
Grant funding announced for development of new or strengthening existing community justice programs Leslie Cholowsky Staff Reporter
Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery announced new funding for community justice programs last Tuesday, Jan. 30, and on Monday, Feb. 5 held a roundtable discussion with rural media to answer questions about the new funding. Amery said the program is open to funding many different ideas for community justice programs without limiting those to specific categories, because he says he wants to see what communities really need. “To give Albertans more options for resolving criminal, family, and civil justice matters outside the courtroom, Alberta’s government is investing $1.2 million in a new one-time grant to support innovative and community-based initiatives that provide alternatives to the formal court system.” Amery confirmed Monday that this includes funding community studies to see if there is a need and an appetite to forming this type of program within a community. That could be supporting community justice initiatives including needs assessments, training resources, technological support, and research efforts to increase accessibility to existing programs. “Community justice programs are a proven and innovative alternative to the formal court system. This grant will help community organizations explore and create innovative programming to provide even more options for Albertans accessing the justice system and help reduce pressure on the courts,” Amery says. Amery said Monday that he spent many years practising Family law before becoming Minister of Justice, and says there has been tremendous success in the province’s family justice strategy. “One of the biggest issues that I think all families face is that dealing with the court system; dealing with lawyers and judges, is actually intimidating and difficult to navigate for many people. “The idea behind this grant is to help empower some of the local organizations on the ground to help address these issues.” He says programs like these can sometimes resolve a number of issues before they land in court, which is one premise of the idea behind these community justice grants, alleviating pressures on Alberta’s criminal and family justices system. “But it is also intended to be an alternative for Albertans for addressing their concerns. “Justice is not a one-size-fits-all concept,” he adds. “The court system does not need to address every single issue; there are other ways that we can do this.” The fund is available to not-for-profit organizations, community groups, municipalities, and First Nations and Metis organizations. Amery says, “I would like to see a strong uptake on this program.” He thinks this program poses a unique opportunity for rural communities, where something as simple as transportation to and from a courtroom has been identified as an issue. Missed court dates due to lack of transportation puts added stress on policing, the court system, and individuals, he adds. He adds that his department is committed to expanding and strengthening the justice digital program. Eligible community-based organizations and interest groups can apply for a one-time grant between $5,000 to $25,000. Applications will be accepted until Feb. 29. Funds must be expended within one year. Amery also touched on some other ongoing or new initiatives from the Justice ministry, including one where regional crown prosecutors are being encouraged to reach out to municipal councils, discussing
court trends and what is actually happening in their region. He says the Justice Ministry is shifting from an internal department that advises other ministries to working in an “outreach style” of operations, acknowledging that, “There are many ways we can achieve a safe and prosperous society,” and promising “many, many good things coming.” Amery says he’s aware that a lot of rural communities are struggling with rural crime, noting the Province is providing all municipalities with grant funding to review policing in their communities, to better understand how to use existing police services as efficiently as possible, adding that includes the Province’s move towards shoring up RCMP detachments with support from sherriffs. Amery says he has requested and received approval for a “significant increase in our Alberta Prosecution pre-charge assessment office. “This is probably one of the most impactful things I’ll be able to do as Minister of Justice. This is going to be a relationship between our crown prosecution service and our local police detachments. “The purpose of this is to allow prosecutors the opportunity to review and work closely with police, at the pre-charge stage, to help review and assess which of those offences have a reasonable likelihood of conviction; which of those offences and disclosures are complete, which might need more shoring up, which may pose a charter challenge eventually. “The goal is to allow our prosecutors to weigh in at an early stages of a charge, to provide police the opportunity to gather more evidence, provide more evidence, and allow the pre-charge prosecutors to forward a very complete package to our assigned crown prosecutors.” He says in the pilot areas where this project is being implemented, they are seeing a significant drop in the actual charges being laid by police, which he says he thinks is important because “We have to respect that if there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction, we shouldn’t subject people to a long and arduous prosecution before a prosecutor picks up a file. It also ensures when a prosecutors do pick up a file, the process is more likely to succeed.” He says Alberta and his ministry are also, with other provinces, advocating for federal bail reforms that need to be addressed. “We need to be tougher on crime, we need bail reform.” Amery also said the Justice Ministry will challenge a recent court decision regarding scrap metal sales. “I want to create a very hostile environment for people committing these types of crimes. I want to make sure our crown prosecution is fully prosecuting in these areas.” He noted that a hardline approach is to be taken on repeat offenders and ongoing issues. “This is one of those things we have to take more seriously. Some of the reports I’ve received is that copper pipe may have been stolen and sold for a few
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Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery held a round table discussion with rural media Monday to talk about new grant funding for community justice programs and other issues. thousand dollars, but it impacted the organization or project by several million. “In the recent past a scrap metals legislation was introduced to make scrap metal dealers more accountable if they were purchasing these types of products from individuals, that they would have to take information down. That was challenged in court recently and unfortunately, that challenge was successful. “I have directed my department to appeal that decision, and we are going to go ahead with that appeal to challenge the outcome of that court case. “We can’t have scrap metal dealers purchasing scrap metal from individuals without accounting for where it came from.” He says the province is also looking at different ways to shore up and strengthen the scrap metal legislation. He said there is also some movement in introducing or strengthening civil forfeiture “where we suspect or the crown can demonstrate the existence of proceeds of crime, in that there will be further actions taken against those individuals to disincentivise accumulation of assets resulting from direct proceeds of crime.” He says his department is working in overdrive, with many more things to come in the months ahead. “When people are safe, we see prosperity.”
BUSY B IS READY TO GIVE BACK AGAIN! Busy B is looking to distribute excess funds to groups, organizations, and schools in the Tofield area. In order to apply, please fill out form (available at each Busy B store or by request at busybbargains@gmail.com) and return via email or dropoff to either store. Applications will be reviewed the last Tuesday of each month (except December) so please submit your application in ample time.
Page 6 - The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024
OPINION
Want to have your say? Write a Letter: news.tofield@gmail.com (all opinions must be signed to be published)
JOHN’S RANT Smith’s transgender policy not unreasonable Well, here I go off the deep end. I’m going to wade into the transgender controversy. I agree with Premier Danielle Smith’s reasoned approach to dealing with this. It is not as strict as several European countries such as Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the United Kingdom, yet is more stringent than other provinces in Canada. In short, it upholds parental rights. The proposed policies would include a prohibition on gender reassignment surgeries for minors 17-years-old and under. For minors 15years-old and under, she said puberty blockers and hormone therapies will be prohibited, except for those who have commenced them. For 16-and-17-yearold minors who wish to start hormone therapies, this will be permitted with parental permission and psychological approval and consent. The Alberta government is working to attract specialists in transgender healthcare to the province to assist those who wish to transition.
In the classrooms, Smith suggested that discussions about gender identity, sexual orientation and human sexuality will happen at the right time and with parental involvement. This will include a parental opt-in requirement if teachers want to discuss these subjects. Additionally, she acknowledged minors 15and-under will require parental consent before their names and pronouns are changed at schools. For 16-and-17year-old minors, parental consent will not be required, but parents will have to be notified. The Alberta government will launch a pilot project to offer counselling services to families with transgender children. In the rare circumstances they experience abusive environments, child protection laws will be enforced. She consulted with others including some individuals who have gone through gender altering surgery prior to making the decisions which everyone had been asking for. “Gender identity can be a very emotional issue, especially in the
context of children,” Smith stated. “As we move forward developing and implementing these policies into law, I hope we can depoliticize the issue as much as possible and focus on the well being of the children involved.” Of course politics couldn’t stay out of this. Rachel Notley quickly weighed in. Justin Trudeau weighed in. Political scientists, doctors, to the left and right, unions, teachers… just about any media pundit, including myself, weighed in all with opinions. Trudeau was horrified but even he couldn’t outdo his Edmonton MP Randy Boissonnault who claimed, “This is our NATO moment as an LGBTQ community. An attack on one of our communities is an attack on us all and I need allies and champions to stand up. We already have the Social Workers Association of Alberta, the Alberta Teachers Association, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association... they will start a court challenge.” I always thought NATO was mostly concerned with protection
of life and liberty in Europe as Russian bombs away at Ukraine and other countries struggle to keep warm without Russian natural gas. Yet, lo and behold, some transgender policy in small Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is Randy Boisson-nault’s NATO moment? I did check into NATO’s gender commitment and it appears to indicate that “gender equality must be considered as an integral part of NATO policies, programmes, and projects which are guided by effective mainstreaming practices. Examples include conducting gender analysis to ensure operations and missions take account of the different perspectives of women and men; considering how to design defence capabilities that work for all those who serve – women and men alike; and two others which specify women as the gender. Well Boissonnault’s credibility just dropped off the charts!. Really, how and why do people in Edmonton elect these bozos? So a fact or two. The transgender community in Canada, 15-
and-older, is about 60,000 and another 40,000 are non-binary. This is out of a total population of 38.3 million or 0.26 per cent! In Alberta, of those aged 15-and-older, 99.63 per cent are cisgender meaning they identify the same as their sex at birth. The remaining 7,305 are transgender Albertans with 3,420 transgender men and 3,880 transgender women as of April 27, 2022. Is Smith really doing anything more than providing protections for children and asking that parents be informed and exercise their responsibilities? After all, we have age limits on voting and there’s no major push to change those. Why?, because society has determined voters need to be at least 18 to make an informed decision. We have standards on the books that are available in our public libraries. The best sellers of the 1950s are now possibly banned because society objects to them. We have age limits on when you can purchase and use tobacco. You must be 18 and it took
time to get to these rules. Why? Because it was popular to smoke many years ago and it took legislation to determine 18 was the age where you could safely make the choice on your own whether to smoke or not. While Alberta has no such rules on vaping purchases and use, some provinces also regulate it to age at 18. Why?, because then society has deemed the user to be responsible! So why shouldn’t we regulate the age that a person can alter their gender. I concede, some youth may go through questioning changes regarding their sexuality as they mature through their youth and early teens, but are they informed enough and mature enough to make life altering changes regarding their sexual identity on their own? Since last Wednesday I’ve been asking people during my travels what they think of Smith’s policy. To date, while not all completely agree with her, I haven’t heard any vehemently disagreeing. JOHN MATHER
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The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024 - Page 7
LOOSE ENDS
Carol Livingstone Tofield Mercury Columnist
When we bought our new living room furniture our salesman said he’d ‘throw in’ a couple of pillows. Naturally I
Elder Abuse Continued from Front
who's being abused. It’s not really my job to confront the abuser, we leave that to the person who reported it, because that can lead to restraining orders. I help them know how to do those things, but I don't necessarily confront the abuser because that could be putting my own life at danger,” she said. Kroeker said there are some cases that are easily resolved, where a frustrated or worn-out caregiver may unintentionally be exhibiting some abusive behaviours. “Lots of caregivers can become frustrated and sometimes do abusive things not intentionally, but because they're wore out, and they lash out. That isn’t necessarily classified as abusive situations because it can usually be resolved because people don't mean to do that. Those cases are easy to resolve, as opposed to the consistent, financial abuse where someone says, ‘Give me your bank card and I'll pay your bills,’ and then pretty soon your bank account is empty. Probably 90 per cent of the abuse in our farming area now is financial, where adult children are thinking that
Cushions? Not
thought he meant cushions to accent the loveseat and sofa, and having seen a lot of those scattered about I asked if I could choose the colours. He said they’d be white and I’d have to cover them myself. Oh. OK. I’ve made several cushion covers so no problem. I spent some time before their arrival choosing fabrics but had to wait to see what size they were. Imagine my surprise when a pair of bed pillows was dumped on the
floor – so huge that, had they actually been ‘thrown in’ we’d have a crater in the carpet. Well, I supposed I could cover them and use them on the sofa but cushions would be more suitable. Disappointed, I set them aside until today when I learned that – surprise! – they are standard size, if you don’t count their girth, something Hubby struggled with when attempting to stuff them into cases. It brought back memories
of watching my mother punch down bread dough or a fat lady squeezing into a girdle. (Not anyone I know, of course; I burned all my girdles years ago.) One end is zippered and opened to Memory Foam Chips in escape mode bursting from their prison. We moved pretty fast for a couple of old people and re-zipped before we were smothered in the avalanche – won’t be going back in there! I checked the informa-
tion sheet that said ‘Forms an advanced support cushion around the natural alignment of your head, neck and shoulders’. What exactly is an ‘advanced support cushion?’ And what does ‘natural alignment of your head’ mean? With the exception of those with little pointy-heads (we all know one or two of those, right?), aren’t all heads round(ish)? I guess it could translate into ‘The human head is said to weigh ten pounds (as
much as a bowling ball) but if you have at any time been called a fathead you may sink deep enough to need a snorkel or some other breathing aid.’ We’re going to take the new pillows on a test run tonight. They may prove to be a big improvement on our current mashed potato brand – white and full of lumps. Then again we could end up in need of that snorkel. We won’t know until we wake up tomorrow – or not.
they deserve the money before the parents die. “The financial part is always a big one. It starts, a lot of the time, with something that most elders are not aware of. The power of attorney on your account, when you activate it, and the capacity assessment that doctors make, if your child goes in there and has given their story, they have made the elder look like they're incapacitated. The attitude can be, if I'm going to get all your land and your money when you die, why don't I just get it earlier? The sense of entitlement is running rampant in middle aged people,” said Kroeker. While cases have jumped and calls have increased, Kroeker says the number of undetected or unreported cases is likely quite high. “I'm sure that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Some don’t know who to tell about suspected abuse, or sometimes you need to get a lawyer and people may not have the money for that,” Kroeker said. As for some tips and things to watch out for, Kroeker shared some specific indicators that something could be amiss, especially a change in the level of social interaction, where it appears a senior has become quite secluded. “When an adult child moves back in, look to
see if the elder is withdrawn and doesn't come to social functions anymore. See if that person is not looking well dressed for the climate, or if they are not making eye contact, which they may do if they are getting physically abused. If they are not attending the potlucks, the pancake suppers, and are not visible in your community like they were before, check in. If I see somebody whose child has moved in with them, I think, oh, that's good, they're looking after them. I may not go over there as much, but my word to them is no, you go just as often, so that when they're willing to confront the issue, they know they can trust you,” Kroeker said. While many of Kroeker’s cases come from referrals made by friends and neighbours, her educational presentations can be a place where seniors realize they are being abused. “Usually, after I give a presentation is when they come forward because they are surprised to know that other people are in the same boat as them. I like to do the education and awareness part because that's where they will ask questions, and they feel safe. I tell them, don't be afraid to ask any kind of question, because you are certainly not in this alone and you're not the only per-
son this has ever happened to,” she said. Kroeker said some of the counties within REAP have received grant funding to begin home visitations with seniors, as abuse may go unreported because the
senior is experiencing social isolation. “Lots of times elders are abused because they let a friend or a person in because they're lonely. Isolation is a big drawback for seniors, and if they’ve got somebody
who's paying attention to them, by the time they realize it's not a nice attention, it's too late,” she said. Referrals can be made to Loretta Kroeker by calling your local FCSS office.
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A Free Weekly Publication Serving All of Beaver County November , 2024, 2023, 16, Issue 06 46 Wednesday, Wednesday February February 7, 16 2022Volume Volume17, 15 Issue 7
Claystone Waste named in Alberta Top 80 employers Kari Janzen Claystone Waste, the waste management and landfill corporation located outside Ryley, was recently named in the 19th edition Alberta’s Top Employers. In the magazine published by the Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal, Claystone was listed among the 80 employers recognized in this year’s edition. “We've been a top 75 previously recognized employer a number of times. We weren't successful on being among the top 75 employers last year. So we're very grateful that we were recognized and reappointed through now the top 80 employers in Alberta and that's due to our strong core unit and family group of everyone that makes up Claystone. We look after each other, safety is a paramount focus, and we help everybody to succeed both in their work lives and their personal lives,” said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Corey Popick. Listed among the reasons for Claystone Waste’s selection this year is their commitment towards paying for employee education, their health benefits plan, and their high number of sick days. Claystone offers paid education leave of up to 30 weeks and tuition subsidies for job-related courses with no set maximum per year. “Each full-time employee, on an annual basis, gets at least $847 that they can utilize for training. That money is not limited in scope; if they're looking for additional opportunities, funding is there. At all different levels of staff, from your professionals in your management and administrative individuals, to your mechanics and operators, everyone has direct, job-
specific training that they must undertake, in addition to your regular safety type training, but we also support non work-related training. If an employee, or employees, are interested in learning a topic, it could be anything at the universities, or at NAIT, or any sort of personal development program, small engine repairs; it doesn’t have to be job-specific training,” Popick said. As well, full-time Claystone employees’ health benefits plan includes a health spending account of up to $850 per year and a wellness spending account of up to $500 per year. “There is a regular benefit program that will include a baseline amount for items like a massage, but on top of that, they'll get $850 a year. If that amount is not used up, they can carry over their surplus for up to one year for their health care spending account. They can apply for almost anything health care related including chiropractors, massages, additional follow ups, mental health items, etcetera. It’s a supplemental top up to their benefit package. In addition to that, they get an annual $500 wellness account, which can be applied to gym memberships, buying a bicycle, hockey skates, anything for health and wellness activities outside of work,” said Popick. Claystone also has up to 18 sick days for fulltime employees. “It is high, but it's important to look after our staff. Fulltime employees earn 1.5 sick days per month, which rounds out to be 18 days per year. With sick time earned, plus short term and long term disability, we look after our individuals in the good times and the bad,” Popick said.
Popick officially became CEO of Claystone Waste on December 1, and started with the company in April of 2021 as the Chief Operating Officer. Claystone, established in 1992, currently employs 65 fulltime staff, with the longest serving employee having been with the company since 1997. “We are very proud of each individual that makes up the Claystone family,” Popick said.
Claystone Waste Communications Manager Anne Ruzicka (L) and HR Manager Jeanie DeGrande (R) attended the Alberta's Top 80 Employers 19th annual awards luncheon on Tuesday, Jan. 30 in Calgary to accept the Top Employer award on behalf of Claystone Waste.
Ryley FCSS to host grief counselling sessions starting mid-February Kari Janzen Ryley FCSS (Family and Community Support Services) held a grief counselling information session at the Village Office on Thursday evening, February 1. 80 Acres Counselling, Mediation, and Consulting will be starting a four-to-six-week grief support group on Wednesdays at the Village Office, starting February 21. Karlana Noel of 80 Acres Counselling and her practicum student, Tyra Shulko, will be leading the support group sessions. Shulko is completing her Masters in Counselling in Psychology at City University in Edmonton, and will graduate in April. Noel has a Master of Counselling in Psychology, she is a Counselling Therapist, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Psychology and being a qualified mediator. Noel says she began to
practice in this area because of the lack of services available. “I started rural counseling out here because there's a huge lack of services. We do general counselling, and I specialize in sexual survivors counselling. Tyra will specialize in somatic therapy once she's done, and animal therapy,” Noel said. When Shulko was asked if she will be providing therapy for the animals, she said she often gets that question. “Everybody always asks that, and no. Somatic therapy is working on being in the present and the mind-body connection. It’s like coming back into your body and using the animals for even the sensory experience of touch. Somatics is using our senses, touch, smell, sight, etc., to bring you into the moment. Often when we're stressed or working
through trauma, we maybe in our heads or dissociated, and it brings us back into the moment,” Shulko said. Noel said that using animal therapy for children and adults alike is a neat tool to help them talk about how they are feeling, in an indirect way. “For kids especially, they can communicate through the animal. They are better able to project what they're feeling, but it's described through the animal, which is amazing. They don't have to talk about their feelings; they could talk about how the animal might feel. Based on what they say, you can relate it back to them, and they can draw those natural connections to what they’re feeling,” said Noel. Noel said that in dealing with grief, somatic therapy and animal therapy can be helpful in Continued on BCC4
2 - Beaver County Chronicle, February 7, 2024
ƺƏɮƺȸ !ȒɖȇɎɵ ǣɀ ƬɖȸȸƺȇɎǼɵ ƏƬƬƺȵɎǣȇǕ ɀɖƫȅǣɀɀǣȒȇɀ ǔȒȸ Ɏǝƺ ǔȒǼǼȒɯǣȇǕي
«IªגٮגאאXzI « ٮȒƏƳ «ƺƬǼƏǣȅƺȸٖ³ȒǣǼ ³ɎƏƫǣǼǣɿƺȸ !ǼȒɀƺɀ Iƺƫ ٮ גאא ًאƺƏɮƺȸ !ȒɖȇɎɵ ǣɀ ǣȇɮǣɎǣȇǕ Ɏǝƺ ɀɖƫȅǣɀɀǣȒȇ Ȓǔ ȇȒȇٮƫǣȇƳǣȇǕ Ȓǔǔǔǔƺȸɀ ǔȒȸ Ɏǝƺ ȵȸȒɮǣɀǣȒȇ Ȓǔ Ə «ȒƏƳ «ƺƬǼƏǣȅƺȸٖ³ȒǣǼ ³ɎƏƫǣǼǣɿƺȸِ «IªדٮגאאXzI« ÁƏȇƳƺȅ RǣǕǝɯƏɵ ÁȸƏƬɎȒȸ !ǼȒɀƺɀ Iƺƫ ۬ גאא ًאx ¨ǼƺƏɀƺ ǔǣȇƳ ƬȒȅȵǼƺɎƺ ǣȇǔ ȇǔȒ ȒȸȅƏɎǣȒȇ ǔȒȸ ƏǼǼ ȸƺȷɖƺɀɎɀ Ȓȇ Ȓɖȸ ɯƺƫɀǣɎƺ ڽɖɀǣȇƺɀɀ « ڽƺȷɖƺɀɎɀ ǔǔȒ Ȓȸ ¨ȸȒȵȒɀƏǼɀ ۭ ªɖȒɎƺɀ
Ƴ ɎȸƏƳƺɀ ȵƺȸɀȒȇّ ¨Ǽɖȅƫƺȸً ƬƏȸȵƺȇɎƺȸً ƺȸ ǝƏɖǼƺȸً ɮƏƬ ɎȸɖƬǸ ȒȵƺȸƏɎȒȸً ƺɎƬِّ Xǔ ȇɎɵ ǣȇɮǣɎƺɀ ɵȒɖȸ ȒȸǕƏȇǣɿƏɎǣȒȇ ɎȒ ǴȒǣȇ ȒȇɎȸƏƬɎȒȸ nǣɀɎٍ çȒɖȸ ȒȸǕƏȇǣɿƏɎǣȒȇ ƬƏȇ ƏȵȵǼɵ ǔǔȒ Ȓȸ ȵȸƺٮƏȵȵȸȒɮƏǼ ƫɵ ƬȒȅȵǼƺɎǣȇǕ Ə ɀǣȅȵǼƺ ǔȒȸȅ ƏȇƳ ɀɖƫȅǣɎɎǣȇǕ ɎȒ ɖɀٍ IǣȇƳ Ɏǝƺ ǔȒȸȅ Ȓȇ Ȓɖȸ ɯƺƫɀǣɎƺ ɖȇƳƺȸ ɖɀǣȇƺɀɀ ڽ «ƺȷɖƺɀɎɀ ǔȒȸ ¨ȸȒȵȒɀƏǼɀ ۭ ªɖȒɎƺɀ ٢Ȓȸ ɀƬƏȇ Ɏǝƺ ª« ƬȒƳƺ ƏƫȒɮƺ٣
(X( ç È kz áٍ ÁȒǔǣƺǼƳٖ ƺƏɮƺȸ !ȒɖȇɎɵ áƺɀɎ I!³³ Ȓǔǔǔǔƺȸɀ Ə JƺȇƺȸƏǼ IƏȅǣǼɵ ¨ȸȒǕȸƏȅ ǔȒȸ ƬȒȅȅɖȇǣɎɵ ȅƺȅƫƺȸɀ ǼǣɮǣȇǕ ǣȇ ÁȒǔǣƺǼƳ ƏȇƳ ƺƏɮƺȸ !ȒɖȇɎɵ áƺɀɎ ٢ȸƏȇǕƺɀ אٮו٣ِ
ʿ˔ˡ˗˙˜˟˟ ʙ ˅ˬ˟˘ˬ ˇ˥˔ˡ˦˙˘˥ ˆ˧˔˧˜ˢˡʭ ʨʣʤʤʪ ˅˚˘ ˅˗ ʤʪʦ ʛʻˊˌ ʫʨʧʜ ʵˢ˫ ʦʥʥʟ ˅ˬ˟˘ˬʟ ʴʵ ˇʣʵ ʧʴʣ ˊ˘˘˞˗˔ˬ˦ ʬʭʣʣ˔ˠ ʠ ʧʭʦʣˣˠʮ ˆ˔˧˨˥˗˔ˬ˦ ʢ ˆˇʴˇˆ ʬʭʣʣ˔ˠ ʠ ʦʭʣʣˣˠʮ ʶ˟ˢ˦˘˗ ˆ˨ˡ˗˔ˬ˦ ˁ˂ˇʸʭ ˖˨˦˧ˢˠ˘˥˦ ˠ˨˦˧ ˔˥˥˜˩˘ ˔˧ ˟˘˔˦˧ ʤʨ ˠ˜ˡ˨˧˘˦ ˣ˥˜ˢ˥ ˧ˢ ˖˟ˢ˦˜ˡ˚ʮ ʴ˗ˠ˜ˡ˜˦˧˥˔˧˜ˢˡ ˕˨˜˟˗˜ˡ˚ ˀˢˡ ˧ˢ ʹ˥˜ ʫʭʣʣ˔ˠ Ϟʧʭʣʣˣˠʟ ʶ˟ˢ˦˘˗ ˙˥ˢˠ ʤʥʭʣʣ ʠ ʤʭʣ ʣʣˣˠ ˇˢ˟˟ ʹ˥˘˘ʭ ʤʡʫʨʨʡʥʥʤʡʥʣʦʫ ˃˛ʭ ʪʫʣʡʩʩʦʡʥʣʦʫ ʿ˜ˡ˗˕˥ˢˢ˞ ˇ˥˔ˡ˦˙˘˥ ˆ˧˔˧˜ˢˡʭ ʨʤʣʣʫ ˅˚˘ ˅˗ ʥʣʤ ˃˛ʭ ʪʫʣʡʩʩʥʡʥʪʣʧ ˇ˨˘˦ ʤʣʭʦʣ˔ˠ ʠ ʨʭʦʣˣˠʮ ˇ˛˨˥˦ ʤʤʭʦʣ˔ˠ ʠ ʩʭʦʣˣˠʮ ˆ˔˧ ʤʣʭʦʣ˔ˠ ʠ ʨʭʦʣˣˠ ˇˢ˙˜˘˟˗ ˇ˥˔ˡ˦˙˘˥ ˆ˧˔˧˜ˢˡ ˡʭ ʨʤʣʦʥ ˅˚˘ ˅˗ ʤʬʤ ˃˛ʭ ʪʫʣ ʣʡʩʩʥ ʥʡʥʪʦʤ ˊ˘˗ʟ ʹ˥˜ ʙ ˆ˔˧ ʤʣʭʦʣ˔ˠ ʠ ʨʭʦʣ ʣˣˠ ˠ ˉ˜˞˜ˡ˚ ˇ˥˔ˡ˦˙˘˥ ˆ˧˔˧˜ˢˡʭ ʤʥʨʣʦ ˇ˪ˣ ˅˗ ʧʫʣ ˃˛ʭ ʪʫʣʡʪʤʫʡʪʬʨʩ ˇ˨˘˦ ʤʣʭʦʣ˔ˠ ʠ ʨʭʦʣˣˠʮ ˆ˔˧ ʤʣʭʦʣ˔ˠ ʠ ʨʭʦʣ ʣˣˠ ʾ˜ˡ˦˘˟˟˔ ˇ˥˔ˡ˦˙˘˥ ˆ˧˔˧˜ˢˡʭ ʧʩʧʤʫ ˅˚˘ ˅˗ ʤʤʦ ˃˛ʭ ʪʫʣʡʥʥʩʡʩʫʣʥ ˊ˘˗ ʤʤʭʣʣ˔ˠ ʠ ʨʭʣʣˣˠʮ ʹ˥˜ ʤʤʭʣʣ˔ˠ ʠ ʨʭʣʣˣˠ
áƺ Ȓǔǔƺȸ ȵȸȒǔƺɀɀǣȒȇƏǼً ƬȒȇǔǣƳƺȇɎǣƏǼً ɀǝȒȸɎٮɎƺȸȅ ƬȒɖȇɀƺǼǼǣȇǕ ǔȒȸ ǣȇƳǣɮǣƳɖƏǼɀً ƬȒɖȵǼƺɀً ƏȇƳ ǔƏȅǣǼǣƺɀِ ɖȸ ƬȒɖȇɀƺǼǼȒȸ ɯȒȸǸɀ ɯǣɎǝ ɎǝȒɀƺ ɀƺƺǸǣȇǕ ƏɀɀǣɀɎƏȇƬƺ ɯǣɎǝ ȵƺȸɀȒȇƏǼ ƳƺɮƺǼȒȵȅƺȇɎً ƺȅȒɎǣȒȇƏǼ ƏȇƳ ȸƺǼƏɎǣȒȇɀǝǣȵ ȵȸȒƫǼƺȅɀ ǣȇƬǼɖƳǣȇǕ ȅƏȸǣɎƏǼ ǣɀɀɖƺɀً ǔƏȅǣǼɵ ƬȒȇǔǼǣƬɎً ƏǕǕȸƺɀɀǣȒȇً ƏȇǕƺȸً ǼȒɀɀً ɀɎȸƺɀɀً Ȓȸ ɎȸƏɖȅƏِ ɖȸ ƬȒ ȒɖȇɀƺǼǼǣȇǕ ɀƺɀɀǣȒȇɀ Əȸƺ ƳƺǼǣɮƺȸƺƳ ƫɵ !ǝƏȸǼǼƺȇƺ Xȸɮǣȇƺً ً xِ³!ً !!!ِ !ȒɖȇɀƺǼǼǣȇǕ ǔƺƺɀ Əȸƺ דבڟȵƺȸ ɀƺɀɀǣȒȇِ ɖɎ Ȓǔ ɀƺȸɮ ɮǣƬƺ ƏȸƺƏ ǔƺƺ ƺɀ ƏȵȵǼɵِ ¨ǼƺƏɀƺ ƬȒȇɎƏƬɎ Ɏǝƺ ÁȒǔǣƺǼƳٖ ƺƏɮƺ ƺȸ !ȒɖȇɎɵ áƺɀɎ I!³ ³³ ȒǔǔǣƬƺ ƏɎ והוٮאההٮזוɎȒ ƫȒȒǸ Əȇ ƏȵȵȒǣȇɎȅƺȇ ȇɎ Ȓȸ ǼƺƏȸȸȇ ȅȒ Ȓȸƺِ
T ŕHr¼r ¯©ŕ T rƼ xȒɮǣƺɀ ɎƺȅȵȒȸƏȸǣǼɵ ȅȒɮƺƳ ɎȒ RȒǼƳƺȇ RƏǼǼ ي חג חחגɮƺً RȒǼƳƺȇ ِ
³ƏɎɖȸƳƏɵً IƺƫȸɖƏȸɵ וɎǝي ¨ בx٥ Á Áƺ ƺƺȇƏǕƺ xɖɎƏȇɎ zǣȇ ȇǴǴƏ ÁɖȸɎǼƺɀ ¨ ډJ ײײȅ ¨ װx٥ xƺǕ٥ Á Áǝ ǝƺ Á ÁȸȸƺȇƬǝ ¨ ډJ ׯתתȅ
ƳȅǣɀɀǣȒȇɀي (ȒȇƏɎǣȒȇɀ ɎȒ ɎǝƺƏɎȸƺ ȸƺȵƏǣȸɀ ٮٮٮ
! ³R znç ٮٮٮ
XȇǔȒي ȵƏȸƏǕȒȇɎǝƺƏɎȸƺِƬƏ ٮٮٮ
zƺɴɎ xȒɮǣƺ ي IƺƫȸɖƏȸɵ ٢Á ٣
˃˟˘˔˦˘ ˡˢ˧˘ʭ ʴ˟˟ ˧˥˔ˡ˦˙˙˘ ˘˥ ˦˧˔˧˜ˢˡ˦ ˘˫˖˘ˣ˧ ˙˙ˢ ˢ˥ ˧˛˘ ˅ˬ˟˘ˬ ˇ˥˔ˡ˦˙˙˘ ˇ˥ ˘˥ ˆ˧˔˧˜ˢˡ ˔˥˘ ˖˟ˢ˦˘˗ ˢˡ ˆ˧˔˧˨˧ˢ˥ˬ ˛ˢ˟˜˗˔ˬ ˬ˦ ˦ʡ ƺ Ə ɮ ƺ ȸ ! Ȓ ɖ ȇ Ɏ ɵ ۴ ד ٮ א דɎ ǝ ³ Ɏ ȸ ƺ ƺ Ɏ ً Ȓ ɴ « ً ג ɵ Ǽ ƺ ɵ ً Á ג ۴ ב ו ב ٮ ב ה ה ٮ ז ו۴ ƫ ƺ Ə ɮ ƺ ȸ ِ Ə ƫ ِ Ƭ Ə
Beaver County Chronicle, February 7, 2024 - 3
(0à0n ¨x0zÁ ¨0«xXÁ³ Áǝƺ ǔȒǼǼȒɯǣȇǕ (ƺɮƺǼȒȵȅƺȇɎ ȵȵǼǣƬƏɎǣȒȇɀ ǝƏɮƺ ƫƺƺȇ ¨¨« à0( ٢ƺɴƬƺȵɎ ɯǝƺȸƺ ȒɎǝƺȸɯǣɀƺ ȇȒɎƺƳ٣ ƫɵ Ɏǝƺ (ƺɮƺǼȒȵȅƺȇɎ ɖɎǝȒȸǣɎɵ ɖȇƳƺȸ Ɏǝƺ ȵȸȒɮǣɀǣȒȇɀ Ȓǔ nƏȇƳ Èɀƺ ɵǼƏɯ zȒِ ًזٮזחɀɖƫǴ ƫǴƺƬɎ ɎȒ Ɏǝƺ ȸǣǕǝɎ Ȓǔ ƏȵȵƺƏǼ ɎȒ Ɏǝƺ ³ɖƫƳǣɮǣɀǣȒȇ ƏȇƳ (ƺɮƺǼȒȵȅƺȇɎ ȵȵƺƏǼ ȒƏȸƳٖnƏȇƳ ƏȇƳ ¨ȸȒȵƺȸɎɵ «ǣǕǝɎɀ ÁȸǣƫɖȇƏǼِ ¨¨0 n (0 (nXz0 ȵȵƺƏǼ ȒƳɵ ȵȵǼǣƬƏɎǣȒȇ zȒِ ȵȵǼǣƬƏȇɎ nƏȇƳȒɯȇƺȸ nȒƬƏɎǣȒȇ (ƺɮƺǼȒȵȅƺȇɎ
I0 «È «ç «ç גאא ًו n¨«Á ג(ٮגאٮאא x J 0ȇƺȸǕɵ nɎƳِ !« IƏȸȅɀ nɎ nɎƳِ ¨ǼƏȇ ٕזאחא אאǼȒƬǸ ٕnȒɎ בǼȒƬƏɎƺƳ ǣȇ z0ٮחٮדٮדٮá ג (ǣɀƬȸƺɎǣȒȇƏȸɵ ȸɵ Èɀƺ ٫ zƏɎɖȸƏǼ «ƺɀȒɖȸƬƺ 0ɴɎȸƏƬɎǣȒȇ Èɀƺɀ ƏȇƳ JƺȇƺȸƏǼ XȇƳɖɀɎȸǣƏǼ Èɀƺɀ ٫ Áɵ Áɵȵƺ XX ٫ IȒɖȸ ٢ג٣ zƏɎɖȸƏǼ JƏɀ JƺȇƺȸƏɎȒȸɀ ƬȒȅƫǣȇƺƳ ƬƏȵƏƬǣɎɵ Ȓǔ חחǸá ٢ɀƺƏ ƬƏȇɀ ٮ ƺƏƬǝ ƫƺǣȇǕ דِȅ ɴ גِאȅ٣ ƏȇƳ ȇƺ ٢٣ (ƏɎƏ ¨ȸȒƬƺɀɀǣȇǕ IƏƬǣǼǣɎɵ Ɏɵ ٢ɀƺƏ ƬƏȇ גِא ٮȅ ɴ גِאȅ٣ ٫ ƏƳƳƺƳ ɎȒ ƺɴǣɀɎǣȇǕ ɯƺǼǼɀǣɎƺ ɯǣɎǝ ɯƺǼǼ ƏȇƳ ƬȒȅȵȸƺɀɀȒȸ
¨¨0 n (0 (nXz0 ȵȵƺƏǼ ȒƳɵ ȵȵǼǣƬƏɎǣȒȇ zȒِ ȵȵǼǣƬƏȇɎ nƏȇƳȒɯȇƺȸ nȒƬƏɎǣȒȇ (ƺɮƺǼȒȵȅƺȇɎ
I0 «È «ç «ç גאא ًו ³( ד(ٮגאٮאא IǼɖƺȇɎ ³ȒǼƏȸ JȒȸƳȒȇ ǣɎǸƺȇ ƏȇƳ (ƏȸǼƺȇƺ ³ɮƺȇƳɀƺȇ ¨ǼƏȇ ٕזזחא אזוǼȒƬǸ ٕגnȒɎ אǼȒƬƏɎƺƳ ǣȇ z0ٮאٮדٮואٮá ג (ǣɀƬȸƺɎǣȒȇƏȸɵ ȸɵ Èɀƺ ٫ ³ȒǼƏȸ !ȒǼǼƺƬɎȒȸً «ȒȒǔ xȒɖȇɎ ٢ חאِהבבǔɎ ǔɎא ǣȇ ƏȸƺƏ ɎȒ ƫƺ ȅȒɖȇɎƺƳ Ȓȇ ƺɴǣɀɎǣȇǕ ǕƏȸƏǕƺ٣
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I0 «È «ç גאא ًג ³( ב(ٮגאٮאא ȸƺȇɎ ¨ǣƬƏȸƳ ٢ ȅȅȒȅƺȇɎȒ٣ RɖƫƺȸɎ ƏȇƳ hɖǼǣƺ Jǣƺɀƺ ¨ǼƏȇ ٕזד אדוǼȒƬǸ ٕ nȒɎ וǼȒƬƏɎƺƳ ǣȇ záٮאٮדٮאבٮá ג (ǣɀƬȸƺɎǣȒȇƏȸɵ ȸɵ Èɀƺ ٫ JƺȇƺȸƏǼ !ȒȅȅƺȸƬǣƏǼ Èɀƺ ٫ ټאɴ ټהב ȵȒǼƺ ɀǝƺƳ ɯǣɎǝǣȇ Ə באȅ ɴ אאȅ ȒɖɎƳȒȒȸ ǝƏȇƳǕɖȇٖȵǣɀɎȒǼ ɀǝȒȒɎǣȇǕ ȸƏȇǕƺ ɯǣɎǝ ȅ ǣȇ ǝƺǣǕǝɎ ƫƺȸȅ ƏȇƳ ȅǣȇǣȅɖȅ ټזǣȇ ǝƺǣǕǝɎ ȵƺȸǣȅƺɎƺȸ ǔƺȇƬƺ
¨¨0 n (0 (nXz0 ȵȵƺƏǼ ȒƳɵ ȵȵǼǣƬƏɎǣȒȇ zȒِ ȵȵǼǣƬƏȇɎ nƏȇƳȒɯȇƺȸ nȒƬƏɎǣȒȇ (ƺɮƺǼȒȵȅƺȇɎ
I0 «È «ç גאא ًג ³( ה(ٮגאٮאא ȸǣƏȇ RȸƏƫƺƬ RȸƏƫƺƬ IƏȸȅɀ nɎƳِ záٮדٮדٮזٮá ג (ǣɀƬȸƺɎǣȒȇƏȸɵ ȸɵ Èɀƺ ٫ ³ƺƬȒȇƳ Ȓȸ ƳƳǣɎǣȒȇƏǼ (ɯƺǼǼǣȇǕɀ ٢גחדًב ɀȷِǔɎ ǔɎِ ɎɯȒٮɀɎȒȸɵ ȸɵ ǝȒɖɀƺ ɯǣɎǝ ƏɎɎƏƬǝƺƳ ǕƏȸƏǕƺ٣
¨¨0 n (0 (nXz0 ȵȵƺƏǼ ȒƳɵ ȵȵǼǣƬƏɎǣȒȇ zȒِ ȵȵǼǣƬƏȇɎ nƏȇƳȒɯȇƺȸ nȒƬƏɎǣȒȇ (ƺɮƺǼȒȵȅƺȇɎ
I0 «È «ç גאא ًא n¨«Á ו(ٮגאٮאא nƏǝȸȅƏȇȇ !ȒȇɀɎȸɖƬɎǣȒȇ XȇƬِ hȒɀƺȵǝ nƏɿƏȸɖǸ z0ٮחٮאדٮגאٮá ג (ǣɀƬȸƺɎǣȒȇƏȸɵ ȸɵ Èɀƺ ٫ JƺȇƺȸƏǼ XȇƳɖɀɎȸǣƏǼ Èɀƺ ٫ Áɵ Áɵȵƺ XX ٮ ÁƺȅȵȒȸƏȸɵ ȸɵ ɀȵǝƏǼɎ ¨ǼƏȇɎ ƏȇƳ ³ɎȒƬǸȵǣǼƺ ³ǣɎƺ ٢חȅ ɴ ȅ ǣȇ ƏȸƺƏ٣ ɯǣɎǝ áȒȸǸ !ƏȅȵɀǣɎƺ ٢דȅ ɴ זȅ ǣȇ ƏȸƺƏ٣
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I0 «È «ç «ç גאא ًזא ³( ז(ٮגאٮאא xƏȸǸ ³ƺɮƬǣǸ xƏȸǸ ƏȇƳ xƏȸɵ ȸɵ ³ƺɮƬǣǸ z0ٮגٮהגٮאאٮá ג ¨ƺȸȅǣɎɎƺƳ Èɀƺ ٮɖǣǼƳǣȇǕɀ ƏȇƳ Èɀƺɀ ƬƬƺɀɀȒȸɵ ȸɵ ɎȒ ¨ƺȸȅǣɎɎƺƳ Èɀƺɀ ٢ȸƺǼȒƬƏɎǣȒȇ Ȓǔ ƺɴǣɀɎǣȇǕ ټאאæ ټהƳƺɎƏƬǝƺƳ ǕƏȸƏǕƺ٣ ٮƏȇƳ ( ٮǣɀƬȸƺɎǣȒȇƏȸɵ ȸɵ Èɀƺ ٮ³ƺƬȒȇƳ Ȓȸ ƳƳǣɎǣȒȇƏǼ (ɯƺǼǼǣȇǕɀ ٢ גגבًɀȷِǔɎ ǔɎِ ǝȒȅƺ ɯǣɎǝ גזɀȷِǔɎ ǔɎِ ƏɎɎƏƬǝƺƳ ǕƏȸƏǕƺ٣
ȇɵ ȵƺȸɀȒȇ ɯǣɀǝǣȇǕ ɎȒ ƏȵȵƺƏǼ Əȇ ƏȵȵǼǣƬƏɎǣȒȇ ȅƏɵ ƳȒ ɀȒ ƫɵ ɀƺȸɮǣȇǕ ɯȸǣɎɎƺȇ ȇȒɎǣƬƺ Ȓȇ Ɏǝƺ ȵȸƺɀƬȸǣƫƺƳ ǔȒȸȅ ٢ɀɎƏɎǣȇǕ ȸƺƏɀȒȇɀ ǔȒȸ Ɏǝƺ ƏȵȵƺƏǼ٣ ɎȒ Ɏǝƺ ȸƺǼƺɮƏȇɎ ƏȵȵƺƏǼ ƫȒƳɵِ IȒȸ ǣȇǔȒȸȅƏɎǣȒȇ Ȓȇ ǝȒɯ ɎȒ ƏȵȵƺƏǼ ƬƏȇ ƫƺ ǔȒɖȇƳ Ȓɖȸ Ȓɖȸ ɯƺƫɀǣɎƺ ɖȇƳƺȸ ³ƺȸɮǣƬƺɀ ¨ ڽǼƏȇȇǣȇǕ ۭ (ƺɮƺǼȒȵȅƺȇɎ ڽ ȵȵƺƏǼǣȇǕ ¨ǼƏȇȇǣȇǕ (ƺƬǣɀǣȒȇɀ IɖȸɎǝƺȸ ǣȇǔȒȸȅƏɎǣȒȇ ȸƺǕƏȸƳǣȇǕ Ɏǝƺ ƏƫȒɮƺ ƳƺƬǣɀǣȒȇɀ ȅƏɵ ƫƺ ȒƫɎƏǣȇƺƳ ǔȸȒȅ Ɏǝƺ !ȒɖȇɎɵ Ɏɵ ǔǔ ǔǔǣƬƺً «ɵǼƺɵً ǼƫƺȸɎƏِ
³ɎƏɵ ǣȇ Ɏǝƺ ǼȒȒȵٍ
Xx¨ «Á zÁ ( Á Á0³ IƺƫȸɖƏȸɵ וɎǝي בيחx يJȒɮƺȸȇƏȇƬƺ ƏȇƳ ¨ȸǣȒȸǣɎǣƺɀ !ȒȅȅǣɎɎƺƺ xƺƺɎǣȇǕ IƺƫȸɖƏȸɵ חɎǝي ǔǔǣƬƺ ƬǼȒɀƺƳ ǔȒȸ IƏȅǣǼɵ (Əɵ ǔǔ IƺƫȸɖƏȸɵ אɀɎي בيחx« يƺǕɖǼƏȸ !ȒɖȇƬǣǼ xƺƺɎǣȇǕ xƏȸƬǝ הɎǝي בيחx يJȒɮƺȸȇƏȇƬƺ ƏȇƳ ¨ȸǣȒȸǣɎǣƺɀ !ȒȅȅǣɎɎƺƺ xƺƺɎǣȇǕ xƏȸƬǝ ואɎǝي בيחx« يƺǕɖǼƏȸ !ȒɖȇƬǣǼ xƺƺɎǣȇǕ
áR Á³ R ¨¨0zXzJ Xz È« ! xxÈzXÁç ȒȒǸ !Ǽɖƫ ٮIƺƫȸɖƏȸɵ הɎǝ nȒƬƏɎǣȒȇ« يȒɀɀ !ȸƺƺǸ !ȒȅȅɖȇǣɎɵ RƏǼǼً « גבדǕƺ «Ƴ ח «ɖȸƏǼ ƫȒȒǸ ƬǼɖƫ ɎǝƏɎ ȅƺƺɎɀ Ɏǝƺ ǔǣȸɀɎ ÁɖƺɀƳƏɵ Ȓǔ ƺƏƬǝ ȅȒȇɎǝِ xƺƺɎǣȇǕɀ ȸɖȇ ǔȸȒȅ ¨וx ¨ז ٮxً ƏǼǼ ƏǕƺɀ ɯƺǼƬȒȅƺٍ (ƏȸɎɀ zǣǕǝɎ ٮáƺƳȇƺɀƳƏɵ ƺɮƺȇǣȇǕɀ ƏɎ Ɏǝƺ «ɵǼƺɵ nƺǕǣȒȇ ¨ בيוx¨ ي ٮx nƺǕǣȒȇ ȅƺȅƫƺȸɀǝǣȵ ȇȒɎ ȸƺȷɖǣȸƺƳً ƏȇƳ ƏǼǼ ɀǸǣǼǼɀ ǼƺɮƺǼɀ ɯƺǼƬȒȅƺٍ (ƏȸɎɀ ƏɮƏǣǼƏƫǼƺ ɎȒ ǼƺȇƳ ǣǔ ȇƺƺƳƺƳِ IȒȒƳ ǔȒȸ ÁǝȒɖǕǝɎ ٮJǣɮƺ Ə !Əȇ ÁȒƳƏɵ ٮIȒȒƳ (ȸǣɮƺ ÁȒǔǣƺǼƳ«ٮɵǼƺɵ IȒȒƳ ƏȇǸ ƳƺɀȵƺȸƏɎƺǼɵ ȇƺƺƳɀ ƬƏȇɀ Ȓǔ ǔȸɖǣɎِ !ƏǼǼ דבٮאההٮזוƏȇƳ ǼƺƏɮƺ Ə ȅƺɀɀƏǕƺ ǣǔ ɵȒɖ ɯǣɀǝ ɎȒ ƳȒȇƏɎƺ ٮƏ ɮȒǼɖȇɎƺƺȸ ɯǣǼǼ ȸƺɎɖȸȇ ɵȒɖȸ ƬƏǼǼِ !ƏȸƺǕǣɮƺȸɀ (ȸȒȵٮXȇ JȸȒɖȵ ٮIƺƫ ًוא ۭ א ًב ًהx ٮzȒȒȇِ àǣǸǣȇǕ ³ƺȇǣȒȸɀ !ƺȇɎȸƺِ xȒȸƺ ǣȇǔȒ يàǣǸǣȇǕٖ ƺƏɮƺȸ I!³³ גאגٮהבבٮזו ٮ xɖɀǣƬ hƏȅٖ ȵƺȇ xǣƬ ٮIƺƫ ¨ א ًזxِ RȒǼƳƺȇ !ȒȅȅɖȇǣɎɵ RƏǼǼِ xȒȸƺ ǣȇǔȒ يƫƺƏɮƺȸǝǣǼǼȵǼƏɵƺȸɀ۬וǕȅƏǣǼِƬȒȅ ÁȒǔǣƺǼƳ ٮÁǝɖȸɀƳƏɵɀً ¨ ח ٮ זx ƏɀƺȅƺȇɎ Ȓǔ ƏȸƳȒ nɖɎǝƺȸƏȇ !ǝɖȸƬǝً וד ובוגɮƺً ÁȒǔǣƺǼƳِ àǣǸǣȇǕ ٮáƺƳȇƺɀƳƏɵɀً ¨ בيוxً ñȒȒȅ ȒȵɎǣȒȇ ƏǼɀȒ ƏɮƏǣǼƏƫǼƺِ JȒǼƳƺȇ àƏǼǼƺɵ nɖɎǝƺȸƏȇ !ǝɖȸƬǝً הד ואבדɮƺً àǣǸǣȇǕِ ǝɎɎȵɀٖٖي ٖٖƏȸƺƏזוƏƏِȒȸǕٖȅƺƺɎǣȇǕɀٖ ٖٖבٮוג ³ɖƫȅǣɎ ɵȒɖȸ ƺɮƺȇɎٱ Ɏٱɀ ٱɀ٦ ɀ٦ ȅƺƺɎǣȇǕɀ ƏȇƳٱ ƳٱȒ ٱȒȸ ǕƏɎǝƺȸǣȇǕɀ ɎȒ Ȓɖȸ ƺɮƺȇɎɀ ƬƏǼƺȇƳƏȸ Ȓȇ Ɏǝƺ ɯƺƫɀǣɎƺ٨ hɖɀɎ ǝƺƏƳ ɎȒ Ɏǝƺ ɯƺƫɀǣɎƺ٦ ɀƬȸȒǼǼ ƳȒɯȇ ɎȒ Ɏǝƺ ƬƏǼƺȇƳƏȸ٦ ȸ٦ ƬǼǣƬǸ ɎȒ ɮǣƺɯ ƏǼǼ ƺɮƺȇɎɀ٦ ɀ٦ Ɏǝƺȇ ǝǣɎ Ɏǝƺ ³ɖƫȅǣɎ ǣɎ Əȇ ƺɮƺ ɮƺȇɎ ƫɖɎɎȒȇ٨
áƺټȸƺ ǼȒȒǸǣȇǕ ǔȒȸ ɀȒȅƺ ƳɵȇƏȅǣƬً ȅȒɎǣɮƏɎƺƳ ɎƺƏȅ ȅƺȅƫƺȸɀ ɎȒ ǴȒǣȇ Ȓɖȸ ɎƺƏȅٍ áǝƏɎټɀ ɵȒɖȸ ɀɖȵƺȸȵȒɯƺȸٍّ RɖȅƏȇ «ƺɀȒɖȸƬƺɀ ٮxƏȇƏǕƺȸ ³ƺƏɀȒȇƏǼ !ȸƺɯ xƺȅƫƺȸ ٮǕȸǣƬɖǼɎɖȸƏǼ ³ƺȸɮǣƬƺɀ IȒȸ ȅȒȸƺ ǣȇǔȒȸȅƏɎǣȒȇً ƏȇƳ ƳƺɎƏǣǼɀ Ȓȇ ǝȒɯ ɎȒ ƏȵȵǼɵً ɮǣɀǣɎ Ȓɖȸ ɯƺƫɀǣɎƺ ڽ JȒɮƺȸȇȅƺȇɎ ! ڽƏȸƺƺȸɀ
xƏǣǼǣȇǕ ǼǣɀɎ JƺɎ ȇƺɯɀً ȅƺƺɎǣȇǕ ǝǣǕǝǼǣǕǝɎɀً Ɏǝƺ ȸȒƏƳ ƬȒȇɀɎȸɖƬɎǣȒȇ ɀƬǝƺƳɖǼƺً Ɏǝƺ !ǝȸȒȇǣƬǼƺً ƏȇƳ ȅȒȸƺ ٮƳǣȸƺƬɎ ɎȒ ɵȒɖȸ ǣȇƫȒɴٍ
áƺƫɀǣɎƺ
³ȒƬǣƏǼ ȅƺƳǣƏ
XȇǔȒȸȅƏɎǣȒȇ Ȓȇ !ȒɖȇɎɵ ȵȸȒǕȸƏȅɀ ƏȇƳ ɀƺȸɮǣƬƺɀ ƬƏȇ ƫƺ ǔȒɖȇƳ Ȓȇ Ȓɖȸ ɯƺƫɀǣɎƺً ƏǼȒȇǕ ɯǣɎǝ Ɏǝƺ ǼƏɎƺɀɎ ȇƺɯɀِ
IǣȇƳ ɖɀ Ȓȇ IƏƬƺƫȒȒǸً æ ٢ÁɯǣɎɎƺȸ٣ً XȇɀɎƏǕȸƏȅً çȒɖÁɖƫƺً ƏȇƳ nǣȇǸƺƳXȇِ
ƺ Ə ɮ ƺ ȸ ! Ȓ ɖ ȇ Ɏ ɵ ۴ ד ٮ א דɎ ǝ ³ Ɏ ȸ ƺ ƺ Ɏ ً Ȓ ɴ « ً ג ɵ Ǽ ƺ ɵ ً Á ג ۴ ב ו ב ٮ ב ה ה ٮ ז ו۴ ƫ ƺ Ə ɮ ƺ ȸ ِ Ə ƫ ِ Ƭ Ə
4 - Beaver County Chronicle, February 7, 2024
Grief Counselling Continued from BCC1
encouraging getting out, and focusing on their own healing, instead of hiding away. “It’s a good distraction, and a good focus on getting out those coping skills, A lot of people with grief will become reclusive; they’ll avoid or isolate. Animal therapy can be an opportunity for them to get out and to really focus on their own healing without recognizing that is what’s happening,” she said. As for what the grief group will look like, Shulko explained that part of the process is understanding what grief is. “Grief is a natural, normal, healthy response to loss. A lot of people may not realize that, and might be feeling like they are the only ones going through what they are experiencing. Hearing the other experiences of people is huge, as well as knowing this is a safe environment to share. That’s why a group is so important, so that we can see that we're all grieving and it all looks different, even though it is similar. “It's an overwhelming emotion, and that’s why we need to find coping skills. And again, to have the support of a group,” said Shulko. Noel said throughout the sessions they will go over the stages of grief and the understanding that there may be a cycle of stages and not just experiencing any stage only once. “We will cover the stages of grief, and help individuals understand that you cycle through those stages at different points and different times.
There's no cut and dry path. We will go over how to recognize the symptoms to those stages, and how to cope healthily through those,” she said. Shulko said the end goals of the grief group is to help people bring meaning to their loss, to work through the coping skills, and to keep their loved one in the present in a positive way. “It is a very common myth to believe that if you ignore grief, it’ll go away. Being able to process is actually feeling the emotion and to bring meaning to that loss. It's not to make it go away or change it. It's always going to be there, but to bring some meaning to it. “We like to encourage people to have a creative thing they can do to represent the person that they've lost, to keep that person present with them in their lives. Compared to the despair or grief that they might be feeling, to turn that into a positive thing and a loving remembrance of that person,” said Shulko. Noel also said that once a sense of closure or relief is reached, there can be more to process through when an individual feels guilt for that feeling of relief. “A lot of people will go through the grieving process and then when they start to feel a sense of closure, or a sense of relief, they start to have guilt because they feel that relief. So, there is that to process through, too. Relief is normal. It's appropriate, and there's no timeline for when that happens,” she said. The counselling sessions will be held on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. at the Ryley Village Office. There is no cost and registrations are to be made through Ryley FCSS director Mickey Wilson.
Karlana Noel, left, of 80 Acres Counselling, Mediation, and Consulting, along with her practicum student Tyra Shulko, right, will be leading the group grief counselling sessions at the Ryley Village Office on Wednesdays, starting Feb. 21.
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The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024 - Page 9
Local fire department gearing up for charity hockey game against Critters Jana Semeniuk Staff Reporter
Members of the Tofield Fire Department are preparing to battle it out on the ice this Thurs. Feb. 8 against the CFCW Critters hockey team for charity. All proceeds will be in support of the Tofield Handivan Society which provides accessible transportation in the commu-
nity including a weekly shuttle service, shopping trips, and private rental by groups, organizations and individuals. Handivan Society president Jim Warren said he’s hoping the stands will be full to watch the entertaining game whose star player on the CFCW Critters team, is their mascot the ‘Critter’. He said the Handi Van Society pro-
vides a very necessary service to the community. “The Handi Van Society is like most community organizations always struggling financially to keep our head above water. Repair costs, insurance, required government inspections, fuel, the costs keep going up. For many of our seniors and people with mobility issues the Handi Van is their only
means of transportation to get to medical appointments, the drug store or the grocery store,” he said. “Having the CFCW Critters help us out with this fundraiser comes at the perfect time. The Critters provide wonderful family entertainment and a great reason for the community to come out and support a much-needed community service.”
In terms of the upcoming game, Town of Tofield Recreation/Facilities Coordinator Vanita Eglauer said the Tofield Fire Department team will include Fire Chief Kevin Moos, Assistant Chief Wayne Codd and Captain Andrew Schmidt in addition to retired fire fighters from Tofield, and Ryley Fire Fighter Bryce Pope. The Critters team is
comprised of CFCW staff, friends of the station and guest player, local Tofield Minor Hockey player Logan Kropp who plays U15 hockey. Attendees can expect to enjoy great food at the concession, door prizes in addition to a 50/50 draw. Donations to the Tofield Handi Van Society will also be accepted at the game. Doors open at 6 p.m.
StatsCan data shows wealth growing for rich, but most Canadians' savings shrinking Brett McKay Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The average Canadian household saw a slight increase in savings in 2023 compared to the previous year, but the majority of Canadians now have negative net savings. These two seemingly contradictory statements come from the latest Statistics Canada data on national income distribution, which details the growing wealth disparity in the country. While there was a modest increase in the overall net savings, if all Canadian households are taken together, this statistical bump is due to sizeable gains made by the country's wealthiest. The highest income 20 per cent of Canadian households saw a 4.6 per
cent increase in savings, thanks in part to gains of 5.7 per cent in wages and nearly 10 per cent in investment income. This richest fifth of households now account for more than two-thirds of net worth, the StatCan report says. And the income inequality between those at the top and the rest of
Canadians also continues to widen. The gap in the share of disposable income between the two highest income groups and the two lowest grew by 0.5 per cent from 2022, and now sits at 44.9 per cent. "While higher interest rates can lead to increased borrowing costs for households, they can
also lead to higher yields on saving and investment accounts," the report says. "The lowest income households are more likely to have a limited capacity to take advantage of these higher returns, as on average they have fewer resources available for saving and investment." For many people, the
Bardo Lutheran Church Salem Mennonite Church
Worship: Sundays at 10:30 AM 49232 Rge Rd 184 Tofield, AB
In Person – 10:00 AM Streaming – 10:00 AM Livestream available at: tofieldalliancechurch.com
We find joy and hope when we are joined to and rooted in Christ!
Pastor Mark Loewen 780-662-2365
Pr. Peter Beckman www.bardolutheranchurch.ca 780-662-2762 • 5907 - 49 Street 5609 48th St. - 780-662-3411
Sunday School for all ages at 9:45 am Sunday Worship 10:45 am
TOFIELD COMMUNITY CHURCH
St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Parish
4619 - 57 Ave
(780) 662-3 3166
Sunday Worship Service 10:30am www.tofieldchurch.com Lead Pastor:
Jon Stewart Children/Youth Pastor:
Nathan Nichols
cent, as of the third quarter of 2023. This debt ratio also increased by about six per cent for this demographic, compared to the year before.
LANGKAAS, Nina Ione (nee. Wideman)
Church Directory Pastor Calvin Andringa Sunday Worship Services:
debt-to-income ratio also continues to increase. For working-age households, those between the ages of 35 and 64, the debt-to-income ratio ranged from 164 per cent to 255 per
Tofield United Church 4832 - 53 Ave, Tofield
Sunday Worship Service @ 10 am in person or via zoom/phone
for more information call 780.662.3471 or email tofieldunited@gmail.com
Pastor: Fr. Jim Corrigan Sunday Mass @ 11 A.M. 5523 - 50 st. Tofield, Ab.
Coffee and snacks after Mass, everyone welcome! Contact Wendy @ 780-232-5300
Nina Ione Langkaas, (nee. Wideman) of Tofield, AB passed away on January 27, 2024 at the age of 91 years. She is survived by her children; Don (Shelley) of Calgary, Debra Chubaty of West Kelowna, Judy (Ed) Riley of Grande Prairie, Garry (LeeAnn) of Fort Saskatchewan; eight grandchildren, Scott, Craig, Richard (Sandra), Shelly (Kelvin), Curtis, Tammy, Danielle (Jared), Brandon (Kaitlyn); seven greatgrandchildren; brother, Glen (Betty) and sisters, Sylvia and Marilyn; sisters-in law, Verna and Pat; as well as numerous extended family and friends. She was predeceased by her husband, Frank Langkaas (2017), parents, Norman (1971) and Inet (2005), brothers, Norman (1996) and Ken (2014) and sisters, Rita (2019) and Betty (2023). The family wishes to thank Tofield Long Term Care for their dedication, support and assistance for the last 9 years. A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Tofield and Area Health Foundation in memory of Nina Langkaas. www.tofieldhealthfoundation.ca Weber Funeral Home 780-662-3959 www.weberfuneralhome.ca
Page 10 - The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Business & Professional Services Directory Affordable Weekly Advertising! Sizes range from $50-160 per month
Automotive
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• Farm • Residential • Commercial • 24 hour service Ritchie Agencies Insurance Ltd $YH _ 7RŴHOG
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For your vehicle parts needs FREE vehicle removal Cash paid for some Please call ahead for appointment confirmation Vehicle Removal: Weekdays AM Saturdays PM
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CELL: 780-385-4179 JOHN GOLISH
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PRINTER PAPER $8.95
The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024 - Page 11
REMEMBER WHEN Rocket Experts Students at Holden School have started their own Rocket Club, and who knows, maybe some day, one of them will take a trip to the stars. Dwayne Gara (left) is building a Javelin while Darrell Pyzik (right) is making a Vector V. This photo appeared in the Tofield Mercury on February 12, 1976.
Business & Professional Services Directory
adsmercury@gmail.com 780-662-4046
Affordable Weekly Advertising! Sizes range from $50-160 per month
Meat Packers
Roofing
Plumbing & Heating
John Daoust Shingle Co.
5020 - 50 Ave., Tofield, AB
Box 576, Tofield
HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Saturday 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
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John Daoust 780-662-4901 John Daoust 662-4901
SLAUGHTER DAY IS EVERY WEDNESDAY
Phone 780-662-4842 for Appt. Phone 662-4842 for Appt
Services
Fresh Meat & Sausage Counter
Painting ML P A I N T I N G & C O N T R A C T I N G TOFIELD & SURROUNDING AREA’ S PAINTER FOR 25 YEARS.
QUALITY CRAFTSMANSHIP, PROFESSIONAL SERVICE.
MARCEL: 780-975-7354 marcel@mlpain t. ca
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Real Estate Kevin Smook REALTOR ®
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Giving back to the community
Donations appreciated!
Please send to: Box 1155 Tofield, AB T0B 4J0
CALL THE TOFIELD MERCURY 780-662-4046 TO PLACE AN AD! We do printing, from business cards to programs to invoice books.
Stop in or call us today to place your order! Phone: 780-662-4046 Email: adsmercury@gmail.com
Page 12 - The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024
L
THE LAMONT
Affordable Advertising with
The
Classifieds
CLASSIFIED AD RATES
$14 minimum for first 25 words, 45¢ per word thereafter (G.S.T. not included) PICTURE BOLD $10 $5 Go into The Community Press for an extra $5 ALL CLASSIFIED ADS MUST BE PREPAID BEFORE INSERTION unless customer has an account in good standing. All advertising subject to the approval of the Publisher. WEEKLY REVIEW 780-336-3422 vikingreview@gmail.com
TOFIELD MERCURY 780-662-4046
LAMONT LEADER 780-895-2780 lmtleader@gmail.com
COMING EVENTS COMING EVENTS Caregiver’s Drop-In Group Viking Seniors Centre (5024 53 Ave Viking) Fall Dates: Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27 10 a.m. to Noon Free of Charge! •If you are, were, or will soon be a caregiver for a loved one, please join us for a morning of information, discussion, support, and activities •Care recipients welcome to attend with their caregiver •For more information, please contact VBFCSS at 780-3364024 Brought to you in partnership by Viking/Beaver FCSS, Government of Canada, and The Town of Viking tfnc
Lamont
CARD OF OF THANKS THANKS CARD
MEMORIAL MEMORIAL
SERVICES SERVICES
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper Viking United Church Tuesday, February 13 from 5-7 p.m. Cost - $ donation Everyone Welcome ________________________ Valentines Day Tea Wednesday, February 14 1 - 3:30 p.m. Tofield Golden Club, 5004 - 54 Ave $5 at the oor, Everyone is Welcome. TM6c ________________________ Shrove Tuesday, Join us for Pancake and Sausage Supper, February 13 5 pm - 7 pm. Tofield United Church Lower Hall, 4832-53 Ave, Tofield, AB. Come as you are, by donation cash or e-transfer. TM6c
I would like to thank my family and friends for all they did to make my 88th Birthday so special.
Jason Cecil Place 1968-1994
Painting
The Family of Sonja Skori would like to thank everyone for thinking of us during the time that led to her passing on January 13, 2024. Your expressions of support and condolences made through calls and texts, flowers, cards, visits, and food that was delivered both to us at the Hospital and to our Homes meant a great deal to us. We would also like to thank the Hospital Staff at Red Deer and Wainwright for the exceptional care that was provided for Mum. Everyone was so kind and supportive throughout her hospitalization. Thank you, too, to Creech's Funeral Home for the kindness, compassion, and professional service that was given while planning Mum's Celebration of her Life. Sincerely, Beret, Shawna, Darla, Krista, and their Families.
Caught You Looking! Advertise in the Classifieds today!
Quality Residential and Commercial Interior Painting Betty Tkaczyk 780-632-8749 ________________________ Carpet and Upholstery cleaning - residential and commercial. Truck mount unit, sewer backup, and flood cleaning. Auto and RV Cleaning. Call John and Sheri at Fancy Shine Auto and Carpet Care at 780-384-3087 ________________________ Roy's Handyman Services. Flooring, Trim work, basement finishing, decks, fences, kitchen cabinet installs and carpentry work. Call 780-2323097
Godbless, Claire. TM6p FOR RENT RENT FOR For Rent in Viking: Four bedroom home. $1100/month. Detached garage also available. Ph/Text: (403) 461-4350 ________________________ Townhouse for Rent in Viking 3 bedroom 1.5 bath. Call for more info 780-385-5287 ________________________ For Rent in Viking: 3 bedroom house; 2 bathrooms; washer/dryer. Available immediately. Call 403-4614350 FOR SALE SALE FOR Swath Grazing, Green Feed, Silage, Oats & Barley variety seed available. Call Bill at 780-764-3966 06/08p LIVESTOCK LIVESTOCK FOR SALE SALE FOR Registered Red & Black Angus bulls for sale. Call 780-986-9088
When someone you love becomes a memory, The memory becomes a treasure! Deeply Loved, Forever Missed, Magically Remembered Forever n Always Corry
MEMORIAL MEMORIAL
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In Loving Memory of LOUIS SUTTER who passed away on February 10, 2005
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The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024 - Page 13
25th Quint School basketball tournament held, Tofield boys win bronze Kari Janzen Staff Reporter
The 25th annual Quint School senior high basketball tournament was held last weekend, with games starting Thursday, Feb. 1 and ending on Saturday, Feb. 3. Altogether, 52 games were played during the tournament, at the five host schools: Tofield, Bawlf, Hay Lakes, New Norway, and Our Lady of Mount Pleasant (OLMP). “When it started, for the first seven or eight years it was just Ryley and Tofield. Once our girls team started getting really good, I expanded the tournament, and so we needed a third host, which was Hay Lakes. Then it was called the tri school tournament, but as it became more popular we went to a fourth host in Bawlf, and then it went to a fifth host in Our Lady of Mount Pleasant, which is why it's called the quint school. When the high school in Ryley was shut down, New Norway became the fifth host,” said long-time organizer of the tournament and Holden Rural Academy principal, Brent Anderson. There is a lot of intense scheduling in order to make the tournament run smoothly, and Anderson says it takes five or six hours once he starts mapping out the draw. “I start in December, begin paying attention to where teams are going to be ranked. But then we have to make some considerations if two teams, boys and girls, sometimes travel together. We don't manipulate much; we try to keep the integrity in the draw as the most paramount,” he said. This year there were 15 girls teams and 13 boys teams in the tournament, which is
a drop from last year with 20 girls and 16 boys teams. Overall, Anderson said the tournament went well, although the number of available referees is a challenge. “The tournament went well, but refereeing is now a major problem, as far as the number of referees. We actually had to change the rules from the tournament to go from 40-minute games to 36 minutes. There was a referee injury at New Norway, so two referees had to do every game on Saturday, which was eight straight games,” said Anderson. The winners of the tournament for the girls was Olds Koinonia Christian School, and the winner for the boys was OLMP. As for Holden Rural Academy, Anderson said it is the first year the school has had a sports team, and many of the players have not played competitively before. “They played hard and they're still learning, but it’s a first year of existence team and a lot of these players are in their first year of organized basketball. They're playing against teams that are more experienced and have played multiple seasons, so it’s going to be tough. We also don’t have any grade 12s on the team, so you’re automatically behind,” Anderson said. As for Tofield, the boys team won bronze. “The boys got third. They won their first game against Holden Rural Academy, in their second game they played Grand Trunk, the school in Evansburg, and beat them, which advanced them to the medal round. In the semi finals they lost to Hay Lakes, and that knocked them down to the bronze medal, where they beat Bawlf,” said Tofield School Phys Ed teacher, Marcel Flasha.
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Holden Rural Academy competed in the Quint School senior high basketball tournament last weekend, Feb. 1-3. Pictured here is HRA player Ethan Vanstone during the game on Saturday against the Alix Mustangs in New Norway.
The Tofield School senior high boys won bronze during the Quint School tournament over the weekend, Feb. 1-3. They won their first two games which brought them to the semi finals, where they lost to Hay Lakes. In the bronze round they beat Bawlf.
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Page 14 - The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Minor Hockey Report: Griffin Neufeld with a nine-goal game Kerry Anderson These are some of the results from Minor Hockey League games held recently. (Please note that scores and scoring is taken from the websites, and some game scores and scoring is dependent
on proper league entries). Tofield U11 Titans (182-0) beat the Elk Island Wild 9-6 on Sunday at Bruderheim. Kehgan McCabe scored five goals for Tofield. Other scorers were; Chase Ferron (2g 1a), Quinn MacNeil (1g), Jenna Lungal (1g 3a),
The Tofield Titans U7 team played hard this weekend, during the tournament at the Tofield Arena, Feb. 3-4. Pictured here are the Titans playing the first of their three games in the tournament, against the Strathcona U7 Major 4 Warriors.
Max Jeffrey (1a), and Dominic O’Brien (1a). Shane Kyle got the win in goal. Tofield Titans U11 5/6 (18-5-1) beat CR Knights 14-7 at Riviere Qui Barre Arena on Saturday. Tofield was led by Griffin Neufeld’s nine goal game. Other scorers were; Dawson Murphy (1g 4a), Asher Montgomery (3g), Easton Kallal (1g 1a), Ayden Komarnisky (2a), and Degan Samson (1a). Bentley Ruzycki got the win in goal. Tofield U13 Titans (1110-3) had a home and home series with Lloydminster over the weekend, losing 5-2 at home on Saturday and then securing a 5-5 tie on the road on Sunday. On Saturday, Titans scored the first and last goals of the game with Aiden Baraniuk and Tysen Boese scoring. Kooper Waldo picked up an assist. On the road on Sunday, Tofield fought back from a 4-0 deficit and got to 53 late when Levi Mont-
gomery scored with 1:32 remaining and then Aiden Baraniuk connected with 16 seconds remaining. Levi had a 4point game (2g 2a), Aiden Baraniuk (2g), Kooper Waldo (2a), Treyton Norrman (2a), and Cameron Ilsley (1g). Evan Ligard was in goal for the tie. Tofield U15 Titans (119-3) won two games over the weekend. On Saturday at home against Frog Lake, Titans won a 21-2 game. On the road on Sunday, Titans won a 3-1 game against Lloydminster. Gabriel Thorson had an 11-point game against Frog Lake (5g 6a), and both Avery Klassen and Gavin Lutz had 7-point games (4g 3a). Other scorers were; Colton Munson (1g 4a), Phenyx Ladwig (4g), Ben Fleming (2g), Steven Cardinal (2a), Logan Kropp (2a), Logan Suchy (1g), and Brandon Jardine (1a). David Cardinal got the win in goal. At Lloydminster, Logan Suchy got the winner in the second
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period. Other scorers were; Colton Munson and Logan Kropp. Assists went to; Gabriel Thorson, Phenyx Ladwig and Ben Fleming. David Cardinal got the win between the pipes. Tofield U18 Titans (153-1) split two games in Cold Lake on the weekend. On Saturday, Tofield won a 4-1 game with Scott Jardine scoring twice. Other scorers were; Brody Van Engelen (1g 1a), Nicholas Tooke (1g), Josh Swedberg (1a), and Christian Pruden (1a). Jacob Bigney got the win in goal making 26 saves. On Sunday, Tofield lost 51 with Owen Rennie scoring and Evan Suchy and
Brody Van Engelen assisting. Landon Van Engelen picked up an assist in his Red Lake Minors 2-1 loss to Sioux Lookout Bombers on Saturday in Superior International Junior Hockey League play. NAIT’s Ty Yoder got a goal in his team’s 6-4 win over Red Deer on Friday. Hudson Lungal got an assist on Sunday in his Sherwood Park AAA U15 Flyers 6-1 win over CAC of Edmonton. Tofield’s Cale Helfrich got an assist on Saturday in the Strathcona Warriors 4-3 win over Pro Hockey Life in U15 AA play.
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Hop on the train to enjoy Curtain Call Theatre’s Sunday Matinee of "The Play that Goes Wrong" in Forestburg by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields & Jonathan Sayer. Sunday March 17 @ 2pm. Play directed by Rob Nichols. Tickets $75 includes round trip train ride, bag lunch (on train) and matinee ticket with coffee/tea and one dessert (with option to purchase more). Train Schedule: Depart Kelsey at 12 noon. Arrive in Forestburg by 1:30 pm. Play starts at 2 pm Return (allow 2 hours for play etc.): Depart Forestburg 4:30 pm. Arrive Rosalind at 5:30 pm, Depart at 5:45 pm. Arrive back in Kelsey 6:15 pm
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The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024 - Page 15
Premier Smith’s new parental rights policy both applauded and criticized Jana Semeniuk Staff Reporter
A new Parental Rights Policy announced by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith brought out both support and criticism after she made the announcement by online video Jan. 31. Smith’s policy outlined a parent’s right to know if their child is transitioning their gender at school by stating that minors 15 years old and under will require parental notification and consent for a school to alter their name and pronouns, while children 16 and 17 who choose to do so won’t need consent but parent’s must be notified. In terms of gender affirming health care, Smith said hormone therapy and puberty blockers for children ages 15 and under won’t be permitted, as well as top and bottom gender reassignment surgery for children under the age of 17 also won’t be permitted. She said the gender affirming treatments can have irreversible affects that a
child would have to live with for the rest of their lives. “Making permanent and irreversible decisions regarding one’s biological sex while still a youth can severely limit that child’s choices in the future,” she said during her announcement. In addition, during a press conference Feb. 1, she said health implications for gender transition treatments include infertility, sexual dysfunction and a higher risk of osteoporosis. “When we start down this pathway, we want to make sure that kids know the consequences that it’s going to have on their life and that they’re mature enough to be able to make those decisions and live with the consequences,” she said. “They’re adult decisions so we want to make sure that (they) are made as adults.” Smith said she was moved by experiences of those who regretted their surgeries such as indigenous Albertan Lois Cardinal, who was denied a
request for MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) after regretting gender surgery that caused major complications. Additionally, Smith announced policy portions that will not permit biological males, who have transitioned to female, to compete in sports with women and girls as they have a ‘massive competitive advantage’. She said the government is working with sporting organizations to expand co-ed options for transgender individuals. Smith also focused on how to support transgender children by creating a pilot project that she said will provide appropriate counselling services to support parents and youth identifying as transgender. She also said that to support transgender adults, the province is working to attract one or more medical professionals who specialize in transgender surgery to ensure those individuals have access to an expert in Alberta. She said they currently have to go to Quebec.
An Angus Reid poll from this past Aug. showed 78 percent of Albertans supported the idea a parent must be informed if their child wants to identify differently, while 14 percent said parents should never be informed and the decision should be left up to the child. Despite these statistics, organizations, including the Alberta Teachers’ Association, have spoken up against the new policy. Alberta Teachers Association President Jason Schilling issued a statement on their website heavily criticizing the move as ‘impacting the safety of some of our most vulnerable students’. “We are concerned about the chilling effect placed on classrooms and schools, impacting our ability to provide safe, caring and inclusive spaces for all students,” he stated. “We are concerned about how students may feel forced to suppress their identities and to be afraid of reaching out to teachers as an
avenue for support.” Schilling was also critical of the ‘opt-in’ model for teaching sexual education and said in reports that replacing the current ‘opt-out’ model with this one would place an extra burden on teachers and schools. Battle River School Division communications officer Anna Radchenko said a statement in response to the new policies was not ready and she anticipated a media release sometime this month. Meanwhile, Alberta Parents’ Union Executive Director Jeff Park said he was pleased with the policy and parent members of his organization have been asking for the policy for the past two years. He said more organizations should take parent concerns seriously. “This policy reflects very closely the range of issues regarding gender identity education that we have been hearing from our members for the past two years,” he said. “The Alberta Teachers' Association and their al-
lies, especially those who claim to represent parents, should take parent concerns about gender identity education seriously. Those concerns were reaching a breaking point - to the utter disinterest of many so-called representatives of parents." While the policy was announced last week, Premier Smith said implementation is not expected to take place until the fall.
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U15 Titans make it to finals The U15 Tofield Titans made it to the gold medal game during the U15/U18 tournament held last weekend, Jan. 26-28, and received silver in a 6-2 loss. Pictured left: #6 Avery Klassen taking a shot on the net during their Saturday game against NE601.Pictured bottom left: #8 Logan Kropp during the game against NE601.
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Page 16 - The Tofield Mercury, Wednesday, February 7, 2024
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