February 8 Lamont Leader

Lamont Poker Star wins over $60,000

BY JANA SEMENIUK

This summer a Lamont resident got the opportunity of a lifetime, to put his poker skills to the test after winning his way into a million-dollar in-person poker tournament sponsored by PokerStars.

Glen Craigen, 44, was at work in July when he won the coveted spot, joining hundreds of others from around the world, by playing online poker.

He explained that his job as a steam roller operator comes with a lot of down time while waiting for the asphalt to cool, which gives him the opportunity to play online poker.

When he took first place in the huge on-line tournament, winning the PSPC (PokerStars Players Championship) tournament package worth $30 000, he said he couldn’t contain his excitement and exploded with joy.

“My foreman came running over because he thought there was something wrong with me!,” he said, laughing.

The package he won included the $25,000 entry into the PSPC tournament, airfare, and six nights’ accommodation in a five-star hotel in the Bahamas in addition to $1,900 expense money.

“It was unbelievable. I’ve only left Canada once in my life, so this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime amazing opportunity,” he said. Craigen added that 2022 was a tough year for him as a month before winning his pass, he lost his mother to cancer.

Meanwhile, Craigen arrived in the Bahamas on Jan. 29 with his sister, his

daughter and her boyfriend for support. He did well in the tournament, and quickly became a PokerStars camera crew favorite.

One member of the television crew, upon finishing an interview with Craigen, said ‘That’s my favorite one of them all.’ Other announcers, giving commentary during the games, enthusiastically rooted for Craigen by saying ‘time to release the Craigen!’.

He was finally defeated at the end of day three, placing 111th out of 1,014 players, winning $45,000 US, the equivalent of just over $60,000 CDN.

The PSPC first-place winner was Aliaksandr Shylko from Belarus, who took home just over $3 million. The secondplace winner, Max Menzel from Germany, took home $2.8 million after winning his way into the tournament just like Craigen had six months earlier.

Meanwhile, Craigen said he was ecstatic about his 111th place win and grateful for the support of his family, friends and complete strangers.

“What an amazing run,” he posted on his social media. “The support from back home as well as from people from all over the world that just happened to follow my story. Everyone's positive energy and attitude was such a help. I literally had people coming up to me nonstop with positive words and my social media was going off like it never has.

“I even had a stranger come up to me and ask if they could get a picture with me. I was shocked and honoured. I never thought people would ask me for a picture.”

Lamont resident Glen Craigen, 44, pumps a fist in the air after making it to one of the money spots on day three of the five-day PSPC poker tournament last week in the Bahamas. Craigen won his way into the PSPC by playing an online poker tournament this summer and finished in the 111th spot, out of 1,014, taking home just over $60,000. The first-place winner was awarded just over $3 million.

In-person tourney was chance of a lifetime

My foreman came running over because he thought there was something wrong with me!

Lamont County’s proposed Land Use Bylaw moving forward

BY JANA SEMENIUK

Lamont County held a hearing on Jan. 24 for public input into the proposed 2022 Land Use Bylaw and Municipal Development Plan.

Lamont County Communications Director Jay Zaal said the process to revise the 2007 land use bylaw began in 2018.

“This process has taken a number of years because of the pandemic,” said Zaal.

Sylvia Summers from Stantec Consulting opened the meeting by outlining the background on the proposed plans before discussing specifics. She said that two of the five hamlets in Lamont County have been identified as growth hamlets.

“St. Michael and Star have been identified as growth hamlets as there are opportunities for future development to tie into county water distribution lines. No expansion of the hamlets of Hilliard, Whitford and Wostok will be allowed beyond the existing hamlet boundaries, but redevelopment will be sup-

ported within those boundaries,” she said.

Written submissions were accepted by the towns of Lamont, Bruderheim and the County of Strathcona.

Lorraine Stewart, Development Officer for the Town of Lamont, asked for clarification on two future land use items, one that was both identified as Commercial/ Industrial in the Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP) while also being identified as Future Agricultural in the proposed MDP.

Another area was both identified as Future Agricultural in the IDP while also identified as Rural Agricultural Industrial in the proposed MDP.

Bruderheim Chief Administrative Officer Patty Podoborozny submitted a letter on behalf of the Town of Bruderheim expressing concern around discretionary uses, such as bulk agricultural chemical distribution and seed cleaning plants in the Heartland Industrial Agricultural District as possibly negatively

REMINDER

TAX INSTALLMENT PAYMENT PLAN

The deadline to sign up for the Tax Installment Payment Plan (TIPP) program is February 15, 2023. The application form can be found on the Town’s website, www.lamont.ca, or be picked up from the Town Office.

affecting the town of Bruderheim.

“The current Lamont County LUB restricts the establishment of rural industries from being located within 3.2 kilometers of an Urban center,” she said in the letter.

“The Town of Bruderheim wishes to request that similar restrictions apply to the discretionary uses noted.” The letter included a list of 30 discretionary uses.

County of Strathcona Planner Brooke Hoeven, indicated by letter they had no concerns with either the MDP or LUB, but provided comments on the document references which had some inconsistencies.

Meanwhile, County of Lamont Communications director Jay Zaal said land use bylaws are updated every five to ten years, adding the current proposed LUB does not have very many changes.

“The draft versions are not significantly different from the 2007 version, rather addressing and improving clarification on current trends and development,” he said by email.

“The current and draft versions were compiled by the consultant and

Lamont Farmers Market

Lamont County’s Planning and Development department; it is now up to Council to approve or make amendments as relevant, based on what Council heard.”

Zaal said the bylaw has passed the first reading at the Nov. 22 council meeting and will now proceed to second and third readings, where Council can discuss updates and the finalized amendments resulting from the public hearing.

Krill, Peter September 28, 1950 ~ January 31, 2023

If you are someone who makes it, bakes it, or grows it, this will interest you!

There will be an information meeting for all public/farmer market vendors and customers seeking interest in a regular market being held in the Town of Lamont. We would love to have your input so please attend this meeting on Monday February 13 at the Lamont Recreation Centre Meeting Room at 7 pm.

Pete fought cancer for three years and passed away peacefully at home with his family.

Pete was a loving Husband, Father,

Brother, Grandfather and Great Grandfather. Pete was born in Lamont where he resided until he got his first truck and started hauling for PeBen. He married Donna in 1985 and had two children, Michael and Brandie. Pete started his own farm in Star, Ab., in 1987 for 12 years where he wanted to raise his family while working part time with Lamont County. He moved to Lamont in 2000 to work full time and spent the next 20

years working with Lamont County doing road construction and snow removal. Pete retired in 2019 and in 2021 moved to Sherwood Park where he passed peacefully.

Pete was insistent on not having any services. We will be having a private spreading of his ashes in the spring at the farm. So please have coffee with a loved one or friend as that was always his favorite past time.

The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Bruderheim council sees sticker shock over reservoir costs

BY JOHN MATHER Bruderheim

Town Council suffered some sticker shock Feb. 1 when a detailed cost breakdown for the Water Reservoir Study came in.

Mike Dowhun of MPE Engineering gave the report to council.

The project, when it proceeds, would see several upgrades to the existing reservoir and expand it to bring it up to maintain adequate fire water supplies for an anticipated ten-year growth rate.

Dowhun said a previous study was done in 2018 and his summary would be an update on that intensive study.

He outlined the way the water supply system worked from getting water piped from the John S. Batuik Regional Water Commission to the reservoir and then on to distribution throughout the community.

He told council there were four requirements needed for the water storage and to meet fire codes.

Alberta Environment had standards that had to be met as did the Batuik Water System for storage capacities.

“Associated Engineering provided you with a master service plan in 2015 and we used it to determine further requirements and Strathcona County has

minimum design standards which Bruderheim has adapted,” said Dowhun via a zoom call.

He pointed out the town’s minimum requirements for fire storage capacity was currently 2,700 cubic metres and presently the town only had 2,500 cubic metres storage capacity so they were short and that needed to be addressed.

The proposed upgrades were to increased capacity storage and upgrade the pump station.

He added the diesel engine driving the fire pump was under sized and would have to be increased in size.

The recommendation was to expand the reservoir to 3,377 cubic metres storage capacity.

He suggested expanding the reservoir by 2,200 cubic metres to meet the town’s growth estimates for the next ten years.

Dowhun added the ten year design projection was a requirement of Alberta Environment.

The detailed cost estimate for all upgrades came in at $4.44 million.

“That’s a considerable increase since the first estimate came in, in 2018, which is unfortunate,” said Dowhun.

“But as we all know there are now supply chain issues which have driven up all kinds of

costs.”

He said design drawings were about 95 per complete and tendering documents were about 75 per cent complete.

He said the final steps were working with Town administration to find appropriate grants that could be used for the project or exploring other funding avenues.

He said he knew the Town could apply for the Alberta Municipal Wastewater Grant to pay for some of the project but wasn’t sure of the funding share but thought it was about 70 to 75 per cent.

Bruderheim would be required to fund the remaining balance.

When asked, Dowhun said the new addition to the reservoir would be directly north of the existing reservoir and connected by piping.

Public Works Director Dennis Tomuschat said baffles would be added in the existing reservoir to aid in controlling the flow volumes between the two reservoirs and help with post chlorination.

“It stabilizes the flow in the new reservoir and the existing reservoir,” he said.

Councillor Wayne Olechow asked, if Bruderheim was approved for the grant would the town then be responsible for the out-

Lamont County gives thumbs down to EV charging stations for staff

BY JANA SEMENIUK

Lamont County

Deputy Reeve Neil Woitas brought a concern to the Jan. 24 County Council meeting around supplying staff with charging options for electric vehicles.

Woitas said some organizations have been faced with the issue of staff members plugging in their EV’s at work, and wanted to deal with the issue for Lamont County staff pre-emptively.

“People are purchasing electric cars and then expecting their employer to supply them with free power,” he said. “My suggestion is we get something done here. We don't supply a tidy tank and a pump and then

fuel for every employee, so I don't think we should be supplying a power outlet and free power. In the near future, somebody will probably purchase an electric vehicle.”

Chief Administrative Officer Peter Tarnowsky suggested that one option could be to install a charging station that would charge the employee for the power.

“What’s that going to cost us?” asked Woitas.

“Are we going to install fuel pumps too?”

Reeve David Diduck echoed Woitas’ statements.

“I think we have to take a stand on this thing beforehand,” he said.

“Rather than somebody buy an electric vehicle

standing balance of nearly a million dollars and where would that money come from?

Chief Administrative Officer Patty Podoborozny said the Town could possibly use MSI funding depending on how that grant would look after it receives modifications in the next year or two.

Councillor Len Falardeau questioned the population figures, suggesting while he knew they were projected, in reality Bruderheim hadn’t increased its population in the past 10 years and he didn’t see any increase on the horizon for the next 10.

“Are you being real or just dreaming with those estimates?,” he asked. “Where do those numbers come from?”

Tomuschat said the need wasn’t looking so much at residential growth as they were at increasing fire water flows to meet the minimum standards set by the Canadian Fire Standards.

“We don’t meet that standard right now,” he stated.

Olechow wondered if the upgrades had to be done right away and Tomuschat said the Town was trying to follow the Strathcona County standards and the Canadian Fire Standards.

“We fall short on stor-

and expect part of their staff benefits to be free power.”

Councillor Daniel Warawa asked what would be done to accommodate County vehicles if the County were forced to purchase EV’s by 2030, and Tarnowsky suggested the issue could dealt with if it came up.

Meanwhile, Tarnowsky also suggested the issue of staff charging their vehicles at work could be covered with an employment policy.

Woitas made the motion to direct administration to limit county employees expecting electric vehicle charging through an employment policy which was unanimously carried.

age and we fall short on fire fighting water capacity,” he said.

Podoborozny added as industrial growth took place around, and within, the town they might be able to partner with them to help develop the water system so the industry would have a water supply to supplement any water supplies the industry might have.

Councillor George Campbell agreed stating there was a lot of talk of light industry coming into the area and they would require water.

Mayor Karl Hauch asked if any study had been done on the old reservoir so if they connected the addition to the reservoir would

there be any surprises.

Tomuschat said divers had inspected the existing reservoir a year ago and found no problems.

Olechow said if the funds were available and they could work with either Lamont County or local industry they shouldn’t try to find any ways to scale back on the project to save money. He felt it was a good thing for the town’s future growth.

Tomuschat told council it is now up to administration to work hard to obtain grants to fund the project.

Council accepted the study recommendations as information.

Happy Anniversary

Poll shows Canadians an unhappy lot

BY JOHN MATHER

The Prime Minister and other politicians in this country get swarmed and harassed by protestors.

Truckers mount a national protest and gather in Ottawa to protest vaccine mandates and pandemic restrictions.

Others blow up construction equipment at a pipeline site in BC, while yet others blockade rail lines, bringing the Canadian economy to almost a grinding halt.

No matter the political persuasion or affiliation of the protestors, one thing is certain

Canadians are upset!

And now a new poll shows just that very thing.

The Post Media Leger Poll showed a majority of Canucks say the country is broken.

In fact two-thirds of those asked (67 per cent) agreed everything feels broken with almost half strongly agreeing. Only 25 per cent of respondents disagreed and then only seven per cent disagreed strongly.

And it wasn’t just grumpy old men like me.

A higher percentage of women agreed Canada is broken than did men, and more in the youngest age brackets than among the oldest. And while the poll showed the feeling is higher in Western Canada than in the East, a solid majority of respondents in every measured region agreed that everything feels broken right now.

Respondents had concerns about rising costs, the state of health care, affordable housing, jobs and more, stated the survey.

The results surprised pollster Andrew Enns, an executive vice-president of market research at Leger.

“I didn’t think it would be that high. I thought maybe it was more a noisy minority as opposed to a prevailing majority opinion,” he said. “If you’re in government, regardless of what level – federal, provincial, or municipal – these are your customers, the general population. They all interact with you in some form or fashion, and these are their opinions. And they’re basically saying we don’t like how business is running right now.”

Now of course Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre jumped all over this and has been sounding the alarm since last fall.

CONTINUED

CONTINUED

“It feels like everything is broken in this country right now,” he said at that time.

But our Prime Minister took the opposite tack.

“Canada is not broken,” Justin Trudeau proclaimed. “When he (Poilievre) says Canada is broken, that's where we draw the line.

“This is Canada. And in Canada, better is always possible, but I

don’t accept Canadians and politicians that talk down our country.”

No it seems in recent months, in fact for the past few years, Trudeau has been the butt of many of these protests. His admirable defence has been to eloquently refer to those who oppose anything he says as “systematic racists” or a disgruntled minority.

But this poll shows that it is not just the keyboard warriors who like

to beak on social media behind the cloak of anonymity who are discontented.

Nope it seems like Canadians across the country of all ages and gender and all our leaders at all levels of government had better start paying a little more attention.

Waking the silent majority will be the same as poking a sleeping bear.

BY HAZEL ANAKA

You know that song lyric about “some days you’re the windshield; some days you’re the bug.” Several days this past week I was definitely the bug. It may not surprise you to know the problem was technology and the occasional kneecapping it does to most of us.

It started on Monday. I had trouble all day long getting connected and staying connected to WIFI. Not only is this extremely annoying, it’s not efficient when nearly every aspect of what I do in my new small business requires WIFI.

Uploading YouTube videos need it. Sending print orders to my wireless Epson Ecotank printer needs it. Using my scanner to digitize images that are over 100 years old requires it.

Equally annoying is the lack of access to the entertainment provided by Netflix and YouTube. A person doesn’t realize how often one of those services is the first choice for distraction or instruction.

Because of the way our house extension was constructed (lots of insulation, a metal roof, and metal siding) reliable cell phone service is only possible by using WIFI assisted by Telus. So, if you can’t work or play or make calls there’s not much left.

Tuesday, I called MCSNet, our WIFI provider. After studying the data and doing some

FROM WHERE I SIT: In Hindsight

remote troubleshooting the tech guy said that something had happened on December 22nd. For whatever reason, instead of us connecting to the south-facing radio on the Andrew tower, the system was trying to connect to the east-facing one. His attempts to force a change failed. He was going to consult his colleagues and speak to the equipment guys before calling me back. He seemed a bit complacent when he said that no repairs were scheduled and that if it wasn’t better by next week, to call back. I questioned whether the weeks of hoarfrost affected their equipment like it did to the power lines. Maybe. Equally troublesome was all that wind we’ve had.

On Thursday, I call back and this guy was able to establish that the signal coming to the house was just fine and that it was my laptop that was the culprit. Never good news.

Next, I call Apple Care. The guy (from Halifax) was very nice

but essentially most of his remedies were impossible to try…. without WIFI!! He booked me an appointment at the genius bar at the Apple Store for Friday afternoon. I should say I had all three guys I spoke to during the week laughing. I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with each guy. Eventually though, I had to say, I’m glad I made you laugh but make no mistake, I need action: make some calls, break some knees… life without WIFI isn’t worth living. (BTW I say that only partly facetiously). They laugh some more. I say, I’m not trying to breathe life into an antique computer. It shouldn’t need replacing. It was built in 2019.

At the genius bar, my laptop connects immediately to their store WIFI. Dontcha hate when that happens? It’s akin to the car refusing to make that strange noise in the presence of a mechanic. She did find some malware that she removed, did some other tests, answered all my ques-

tions, and sent me off believing all was right with the world. Except the damn thing didn’t connect when I got home. Friday night I call Apple Care and get a woman who told me to remove and then add the network back in to my settings. It worked. Until it didn’t.

By Saturday, Roy who really knows so very little about any of this, says, “do me a favour and bring your laptop to the kitchen” where the MCSNet cable enters the

house and the main router sits. It worked. And touch wood, has been working ever since.

I adjusted that router’s position slightly and moved the second booster in the hallway closer to my office studio. I’m back to uploading videos, printing, watching streaming services. The scan function in my printer has been ticking me off so I finally setup the Epson V39 that I bought brand new for a song through an online auction. Because this

baby is connected by a USB cable, it’s worked like a charm and is my new favourite toy. Sometimes, the best solution is the simplest one. If you’re nice to the people who are trying to help you, the experience will not diminish either of you. Technology exists to serve us and most of the time does just that. It doesn’t hurt to have some ‘unplugged’ hobbies. In hindsight, it’s a lot easier to realize all this when you’re stuff is back working, from where I sit.

C h u r c h

C a l e n d a r

LAMONT UNITED CHURCH 5306 - 51 Ave., Lamont, AB 780-895-2145

Rev. Deborah Brill

S UNDAY S ERVICES

11:15 AM

Everyone Welcome!

AA Meetings Thursdays at 8:00 pm

Bethany

Lutheran Church

20577 TWP 550 Fort. Sask. (7km East of Josephburg)

780-998-1874

Lamont Alliance Church

5007 44 st., Lamont

780-895-2879

Sunday Service 10 am

SUNDAYMORNINGS @ 10 AM

Pastor Darren Anderson

Check out: www.lamontalliance.com

ROMANCATHOLICCHURCH SERVICES

Our Lady of Good Counsel, Skaro 1st, 3rd, 5th Sundays @ 9:00 am

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Worship Service 9:30 am

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St. Michael the Archangel, St. Michael 2nd, and 4th Sundays @ 9:00 am

Administrative Office:

Our Lady of the Angels Parish 10004 ~ 101 St., Fort Sask. 780.998.3288

Coffee after Service Call780-895-2780

Email: olangels.ftsask@caedm.ca www.olafortsask.caedm.ca

Bruderheim

Community Church

4904 Queen Street 780-796-3775

Sunday Worship 10:30 am Free Personal Financial Course

17

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The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, February 8, 2023 - 5

Lamont County resident airs several concerns during public hearing

BY JANA SEMENIUK

Lamont County resident Peter Lysyk delivered a presentation outlining his concerns around the new proposed land use bylaw to the Lamont County Council during their public hearing on Jan. 24.

Among Lysyk’s concerns were the levels of noise from a neighbouring plant in addition to silica dust exposure.

“I agree we need a policy that you can’t make too much noise, but I would like to see all discretionary use have to comply with the same amount of decibels a home business has to,” he said.

“It should comply with the Alberta Energy Regulator directive to 40 DPA at night. Environment Canada designates it at 45 DPA at night. Right now, our neighbours run anywhere from 60-65 at night. It’s a huge differ-

ence.”

Lysyk’s next concern was around exposure to silica dust. He said the dust posed possible health concerns such as pulmonary fibrosis and silicosis. According to the CDC (centre for disease control) silicosis is a condition caused by breathing in dust from silica-containing materials which cause inflammation and scarring in the lung tissue.

“I have included (in the presentation showing) the accumulation of sand on our pasture and the sand on my garage roof in the spring of 2022, and that’s just what you can see. In the summer you can’t see it because it’s in the air and we have no idea how much we are breathing in,” he said. Lysyk added that he had the sand tested with results revealing it is silica. He included the

analytical report in his presentation.

“I would like to see this included with the protection from exposures and hazards,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lysyk added that he would also like to see a single detached home included with permitted uses under the Rural Agricultural Industrial District.

“I would like to see

under permitted uses include a single detached home in order to support the continued durability of the family farm,” he said. “Under permitted uses, right now, a family farm can be farming that land, but the farmer's son or daughter won't be allowed to put a residence there.”

Lysyk added that he would also like to see the hours of operation changed for all extrac-

Senior hockey team to square of against radio squad for charity

BY JOHN MATHER The Bruderheim

Comets, adult men’s hockey team will take on the CFCW Critters Feb. 23 to raise money for a handicapped accessible washroom at the Karol Maschmeyer Arena.

“We’ve tried to get the CFCW team to visit Bruderheim for some time,” said Mayor Karl Hauch. “Because they

provide a real entertaining fun game and help out with fundraisers.”

The goal of the evening is to raise $40,000 for the washroom. Entry to the game will cost $5.

The Comets are a Senior Men’s team that formed three years ago, added Hauch who is the third goalie on the team.

“We played in the Wainwright tournament

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and in Lloydminster and other teams have offered to send spare players to join our club because we have so much fun,” he said. “As a result the team has really improved.”

He said for the CFCW game, the local Maschmeyer family has a couple of the hockey family’s players to suit up for the Comets.

“Unfortunately, Emerance won't be able to join us due to other commitments.”

Emerance Maschmeyer helped the Canadian Women’s Olympic team win gold at the Olympics a year ago.

The charity game takes place at the Maschmeyer Arena in Bruderheim Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.

tion and reclamation activities in the County.

“The hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday and I think it should be changed to Monday to Friday,” he said, citing the absence of county officials on the weekends to report a violation to.

“We have industrial minerals right beside us and they tend to not follow regulation,” he said. “We have nobody to complain to.”

Lamont County Reeve David Diduck noted the detail in Lysyk’s presentation and assured him his concerns were heard.

“I know that this is a story you've heard before, over the last number of years, but (we’re) in the process of developing a new land use of Municipal Development Plans,” he said. “We'll look at some of the changes that you're recommending here.”

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Minister questioned on over $700,000 municipal policing costs

BY JANA SEMENIUK

During an online roundtable discussion Jan. 24 between members of the media and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis around rural crime, The Lamont Leader questioned the minister around the policing costs put upon small municipalities and what they are getting for their money.

In 2020, municipalities under 5,000 began paying a portion of front-line policing costs with the promise of additional RCMP officers and civilian support staff. The amount each municipality was charged, according to a letter from the Justice and Solicitor General, was the result of a calculation based on population, equalized assessment, crime severity, shadow population and detachment location.

Over the past three years, since 2020, the entire community in Lamont County, including Bruderheim, Mundare, Chipman, Lamont and Lamont County itself, have contributed $720,000 collectively in front-line policing costs, with the numbers slated to increase for 2023. The Village of Andrew’s policing cost numbers were not included as they were not available by press time.

The County of Lamont, and towns and villages within, are policed by the RCMP detachments located in Fort Saskatchewan, Vegreville and Two Hills. Vegreville was the only detachment listed to received one new RCMP member since the new funding model went into effect and the Two Hills detachment receiving one additional support staff.

The Lamont Leader asked Minister Ellis where all the front-line policing money was spent if it did not result in more RCMP members. “We provide money to the RCMP. It's not about money,” he said. “We have been providing money to the RCMP and increasing that funding for the last several years. The problem is that the RCMP just do not have enough human beings to

provide the contracted services and that is not exclusive to Alberta.”

A report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and released by the provincial government in 2021, revealed that the provincial government contributes about $500 million to the RCMP per year in a costsharing agreement where the federal government also contributes $170 million.

In a follow-up email with Dylan Topal, press secretary to Minister Ellis, he indicated that in 2020-21, the first year under the new funding model, the RCMP added 76 new officers and 56 civilian support positions to the province of Alberta while in 2021-22, 55 new RCMP officers and 42 additional civilian support positions were added. This year, he said the number of officers and civilian positions added to the

province will continue to grow, with an additional 40 officers and 52 civilian support positions. In terms of where in Alberta the new officers and support staff were deployed, he said he did not have the answer.

“The RCMP, like all police services in Alberta, makes operational decisions about matters like deployment independently from the government,” he said.

“The RCMP decides where to deploy officers based on its analysis of factors like calls for service, crime trends and local knowledge and intelligence.”

Media RCMP spokesperson Troy Savinkoff responded to our email requesting the information and said that the total number of new members did not necessarily mean that many new boots on the ground. He said some of the new members went

to criminal operations units, and not front line. Savinkoff said by email that 41 detachments in Alberta received new RCMP members and 47 received support staff since the new police funding model came into effect three years ago. The detachments which received the most new members were Grande Prairie, Southern Alberta GIS, Airdrie, Cochrane, and Central Alberta District GIS who received four each. Next in line was Blackfalds, Rocky Mountain House, Athabasca, and Elk Point who received three and Beaverlodge, Okotoks, Strathmore, Camrose/ Wetaskawin, and Strathcona all received two while the remaining detachments listed, which included Vegreville, received one. According to the RCMP website, there are 117 detachments operating in Alberta.

Help for those in the Andrew area struggling with technology

BY JANA SEMENIUK

Residents in and around Andrew now have the opportunity to get free hands-on help learning their way around their personal electronic devices including cell phones and computers through a free drop in program offered every Wed. morning at the Andrew Lions Den.

Eddie Shepel, owner/operator of Spectre Systems, is facilitating the group through FCSS (Family and Community Support Services) to assist anyone that needs a helping hand.

“An opportunity came up when I was speaking with Cheryl Best (from FCSS) and I’m getting into (teaching) more adult learning,” he said.

Andrew Village Councillor Evan Genung is a member of the CALC (Community Adult

Learning Council) board and has been a big supporter of the program.

Jay Zaal, Communications Director for Lamont County, said the program will help people who are feeling insecure about using their devices to navigate personal online banking and social media.

“It’s an opportunity to learn new skills and have questions answered to help understand new devices and technology.

“From the basic use of a device (turning on and setting up), to registering for email accounts and sending emails, and accessing and filling out online forms, as well as attaching and sending documents and photos, as well as completing online payments.”

The free drop-in program is every Wed. during the month of Feb. from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the Andrew Lions Den.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

AND CLAIMANTS

Justin Janke - (780) 515-0888

Norm Hill - (780) 903-6199

Terry Skiftun (780) 632-1774

Estate of:

HARVEY ALLEN TYE who died on October 25, 2022.

If you have a claim against this Estate, you must file your claim by March 8, 2023

With: MATTHEW E. KAUP OF: KAUP LAW OFFICE 200, 39 ST THOMAS STREET ST. ALBERT, ALBERTA T8N 6Z1 and provide details of your claim.

If you do not file by

Allen at (403) 783-0556 to discuss the best option for you to realize top dollars.

Historic Zhoda Community Centre receives matching grant for ceiling repairs

BY JANA SEMENIUK

Zhoda Community Centre President Bob Farris and Vice President Bernice Bilyk were thrilled last week to receive a matching grant check, presented by Fort Saskatchewan MLA Jackie ArmstrongHomeniuk, in the amount of $15,137 that will go towards ceiling renovations for the aging facility.

The grant was from the Community Facility Enhancement Program which provides financial assistance to acquire, build, purchase, repair, renovate, upgrade or expand public-use community facilities.

“We have to replace the ceiling,” said Bilyk.

“It's probably the original ceiling of the hall from 1926. You can see it has waves and, and some of the beams in the attic have kind of separated. So that all has to be done.”

Bilyk said the little community centre serves the areas of Andrew, Willingdon, Lamont and Vegreville.

“It’s a big area and a lot of people use it,” she said, admitting the hall is behind on other upgrades such as running water and a gas furnace.

“Bob (Farris) is our furnace man. He stokes up that furnace and heats up that hall. And with the cost of coal, it’s a big job,” she said.

Farris said it is the original burning furnace from 1926.

“It’s still working,” he said proudly. “It’s been modified, though, it’s got an electric fan now.”

Farris said they haven’t bought coal in a while, having stocked up right before the carbon tax went into effect.

“We bought as much as we could,” he said. “Three tons.”

Bilyk said that furnace and indoor water upgrades are not out of the question if they could take advantage of future grant opportunities.

“Maybe someday we'll get another grant and get natural gas in there and then get water, then we'll have a lot of weddings,

country style weddings,” she said. “But right now, with no water you're limited.”

The Zhoda Community Centre began as a school in 1926 before it was converted to a community hall.

According to a write-up by the board members,

the hall was active and thriving for many years but eventually fell into a state of disrepair.

In 2015 a new executive and board was established to rebuild the membership and revitalize the historic hall.

Today, the centre holds two major fundraisers

each year, The Christmas Turkey Bingo, and the Easter Ham Bingo held this year on Apr. 1. In addition, 50/50 tickets are being sold up to bingo day with the draw held during the bingo event.

Two trucks line up to haul the wreckage away following a tractor trailer collision on Highway 16 near the entrance to Ukrainian Village, Feb.4 Apparently a tractor trailer was parked on the shoulder of the eastbound lanes, when it was struck by another tractor trailer unit. Photos by Crystal Moren

Zhoda Community Centre Vice President Bernice Bilyk (L) Fort SaskatchewanVegreville MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk (C) and Zhoda Community Centre President Bob Farris (R) stand during a check presentation Feb. 2 of $15,137 from the matching Community Facility Enhancement Program Grant to the Community Centre for repairs to their ceiling. The Zhoda Community Centre is 97 years old. Photo: Jana Semeniuk

Bruderheim not sold on use of lobbyist in regional collaboration plans

BY JOHN MATHER Bruderheim Councillor

Len Falardeau voiced some opposition to the Northeast Mayors, Reeves, and Indigenous Leaders’ Caucus wanting to bill the town $800 to participate in the hiring of a lobbyist to represent the group, as they move forward in attempts to get the provincial government to put upgrades to

Highway 28 on the provincial budget radar.

Deputy Mayor Judy Schueler told council Feb. 1, at the caucus’s last meeting they worked at hammering out some policies but they weren’t complete yet.

“At the last meeting they formed a committee about how the organization would operate and this request is sort of pre-

empting that,” she admitted.

“The game plan of the membership is to do long term planning so we can work to making sure we have funding in advance,” she added.

Thee caucus is requesting some seed money from each of its member communities to get lobbying efforts on Highway 28 launched.

“This is Canada, not

America,” said Falardeau. “We don’t pay for lobbyists in Canada. I think we have enough political will and clout to get this done, without relying on lobbyists. I don’t support it one bit.”

Schueler said the idea of the lobbyist wasn’t necessarily to seek money on the group’s behalf but rather make sure everyone is saying

the same message.

“They will make sure we’re all on the same page when it comes to presenting our requests,” she said. “As elected officials we’ll be doing our own lobbying.”

“They are using the lobbyist more than I thought they would but the focus is getting us on the same ideas.”

She said while the initiative of the group was improvements to Highway 28, the same strategy would be used for any ongoing projects in the future.

Mayor Karl Hauch said he felt the Northeast Mayors, Reeves, and Indigenous Leaders’ Caucus was an important one moving forward, but felt holding off on moving right ahead with funding the request for $800 was prudent.

“I’d like to see policies put in place before we put any money down,” he added, noting he had seen the Town of Lamont had approved the $800 request already.

Councillor George Campbell asked if the caucus was a”strength in numbers” type of organization.

Schueler replied it was and there were several of this type of caucus

springing up over the province to use strength in numbers to  make their cases to the province.

She added in the Grand Prairie area, the group had been working together for a couple of years.

“It really does make the province more aware of issues and concerns in specific areas.”

She stated the caucus was a good idea.

“We really discuss everything and when I hear some of the problems in other areas regarding housing and healthcare, I think I’m glad I live here,” she said.

”It’s really an eyeopener to hear some of the issues in other communities in this region.”

Schueler stated she wanted to see a notice of motion go ahead so Bruderheim could see one project go forward.

Her motion read the Town supported the northeast caucus to the tune of .25 per capita for the Highway 28 project and it was supported by council but in a recorded vote three councillors opposed the motion while it was supported by four.

Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk presented two Lamont County residents with Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals on Jan. 23, Mae Adamyk and Bob Cote. Only

7,000 Albertans

received the medals through 2022 with the program ending on Feb. 5.

Recipients

were nominated

and

awarded for their significant contributions to the province.

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AUCTIONS

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Friends of the Viking Library Society Annual Meeting

Wednesday, February 15 at the Viking Chinese Restaurant at 12 noon

Everyone Welcome!

Viking United Church Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

February 21 from 5-7 p.m.

cost: $ Donation Ash Wednesday Service

February 22 at 7 p.m.

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Tues. Feb 14, 2023 1:00 pm3:30 pm. $5.00. Seniors Centre 5004 - 54 Ave. All Welcome!

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For sale by owner: 80 acres of farmland by St. Michael. ENW3355184. $300,000.00. Call Ron @ 780-887-8012. 06p

MEMORIAL

In Loving Memory of LOUIS SUTTER who passed away on February 10, 2005

The rolling stream of life rolls on, But still the vacant chair, Recalls you, the voice, the smile, Of the one who once sat there.

In Quietness, In Confidence, and In Our Faith, We Remember You, Louie, Dad, Grandpa, and Great-Grandpa ~The Family

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HELP WANTED

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APIARIES OF ALBERTA are looking for Five Apiary Technicians $17-$20/hr depending on experience for full time (40+hrs/wk) employment March thru October 2023. Must have a min of 3 years (seasons) working fulltime on Canadian style commercial apiary in the minimum capacity of Apiary Assistant. Also required, two positions for Apiary Worker (NOC8431) $15-$17/hr, experience required. Work includes assisting Apiary Technician with all duties in the bees and honey harvesting. Gerard 780-662-4449 RR4 Tofield, AB. gsieben@mcsnet.ca

Brian’s Greenhouse U-Pick Fruits and Berries Farm is looking to hire 2 people for seasonal for 2023. Must be able and capable working weekends and shift work, as well as be able to lift and have their own transportation or valid driver’s license. Will train at the site by March 15, work can start April 1. For more information, contact Brian at 780-6780053 for more information, appointments, and directions.

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Bruderheim Soccer Program gearing up for another season

BY JANA SEMENIUK

Bruderheim’s popular Minor Sports Soccer program is back. A general meeting was held on Jan. 27 where community members could hear about some preliminary changes and get a first hand glimpse of details for the coming season.

BMSA (Bruderheim

Minor Sports Association) President

Tara Wilson said changes were made to smoothly accommodate more kids into the soccer program this year. Last year online enrollments were shut down after a huge influx of 135 children were registered, quickly filling up all available space for the first time. Wilson said this year, they have made room for 150.

“We really do not want to turn anybody away. We'd like to keep registration open until the very last second. We want to be able to take all the children in the community that are able to play,” she said. “I'm hoping that we do about 150 this year.”

Wilson said BMSA needs more volunteers to be able to grow the soccer program in Bruderheim. She said a second competitive team is also in the works.

“Last year, we had one competitive team, (and) we're hoping to have at least have two this year. So we (want) to make the soccer program even bigger,” she said. “That being said, we are hoping to bring on more coaches and more volunteers, and more assistant coaches because as we know, local minor sports do not run without volunteers.”

Wilson said they are also hoping to grow the junior coaching program where older youth who have outgrown playing soccer can sign up to assist the coaches as junior coaches. She said the program had six junior coaches last year and was very successful.

“Somebody that does really want to help is the older youth in the community that maybe are past the age of participating in soccer as a player, but they're really looking to help out (and) they're looking for things for their resume,” Wilson said. “They really want to have that little bit of responsibility and build that confidence and, work with the younger kids. Anybody 16 or over is welcome to be joined up with a coach and be a junior coach and help run drills and things like

that. We started that last summer and it was very successful.”

Wilson said there is room for eight junior coaches this year.

Meanwhile, Wilson also alluded to another possible sport that BMSA may be offering for June and July this year.

“We are working on another program for June and July, so more to come on that once we

MINORHOCKEY

confirm things. But we are hoping to bring a different sort of lesson or sport to the Bruderheim community this summer,” she said. “There will be more on that in March.”

Soccer registrations open March 1 for children ages three to 14 and must be done online. The next BMSA meeting is Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. above the Karol Maschmeyer Arena in Bruderheim.

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).

Elk Island U11 Wild (47-2) travelled to Westlock and came away with a 63 win on Saturday. Wild were down 3-1 early in the third frame before firing in five goals in just over 15 minutes. Sawyer Hanson scored twice in a 3-point game. Other scorers were; Christian McLeod, Quinn Dickinson, Jonas Wytrykush, and Jace Zanatta. Mary Sobkow picked up an assist. Zachary Vandelannoite stopped 30 to pick up the win.

Elk Island U15 Wild (11-4-2) won two games over the weekend. On Friday at Lamont, EI beat New Sarepta 9-7. Wild got off to a 3-0 lead but NS fought back to tie the score before the end of the second period. Elk Island followed that up

with three more goals to make the score 6-3 but New Sarepta scored twice to get the game close. However, Wild scored three more goals unanswered into the third to secure the win.

Rowan Young and William Furey both had four point games (2g 2a).

Andrew Svitich also scored twice (2g 1a), with singles to; Cameron Olechow, Xavier Storr, and Kayden Winslow. Liam Ellis got the win in goal. On Saturday at Thorhild, Wild scored the game’s first six goals and skated to a 9-5 win.

Andrew Svitich (3g 1a) and Kayden Winslow both had hat tricks. William Furey scored twice and Nicklas Mehlenbacher added another (1g 2a). Matthew Iverson got three assists, while Reid Chudyk, Ashton Strickland and Xavier Storr collected assists. Liam Ellis made 53 saves for the victory.

Emerson Hauch got a goal and two assists in his Fort Sask. U16 AA Rangers 6-1 win over the Saints on Sunday.

Bruderheim Minor Sports is preparing early for the upcoming soccer season after holding a public meeting Jan. 27 and another scheduled for Feb. 24. Last year (players pictured) the program filled up quickly leading to a premature shutdown of enrollments.

Chamber gets Pathways Alliance update

BY JOHN MATHER

A small group attended the regular meeting of the Fort Saskatchewan and Lamont Chamber of Commerce Feb. 1 where

Shafak Sajid, Senior Advisor Indigenous and Community Relations provided an update on the Pathways Alliance.

The Pathways Alliance is a consortium of Canadian Natural, Cenovus, Conoco Phillips, Imperial, Meg Energy and Suncor to develop a net zero greenhouse gas emissions from their combined oilsands operations by 2050.

The project is working directly with the Federal and Provincial governments to achieve this goal.

The consortium currently produces about 95 per cent of oilsands production in Alberta.

“We wanted to take a

collaborative approach to achieve net zero by 2050,” she said. “And that is a very ambitious goal. It will allow us to help Canada meet its Paris Climate Agreement goals.”

She said there is no one pathway to net zero, but the Alliance is working on a three phase  program to reach the final goals.

Phase one is a carbon capture and storage program.

Phase two and three will use additional technologies beginning in 2030 to work to net zero by 2050.

The carbon capture and storage project is a carbon pipeline which will be built from Fort McMurray down to Cold Lake where it will be pumped into underground caverns.

“The idea is the pipeline will capture all

the carbon from the oil sands operations run by the Alliance along the way from Fort McMurray to Cold Lake which is the hub of the project,” she said. “We are lucky here in Alberta because the geological reservoir in Cold Lake is very conducive to storing carbon.”

She said by the time phase two was completed the Alliance would capture 40 megatonnes of carbon per year.

In an accompanying slide presentation, Sajid pointed out greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per barrel of oil have dropped 20 per cent between 2009 and 2018. The target is to reduce GHG by 40 to 45 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030 and then reach net zero by 2050.

She pointed out a price on carbon was $50 per tonne in 2022 but it rises

to $170 per tonne in 2030. Alberta, she added, has been a leader in carbon pricing being the first province to implement output based pricing in 2007.

She added the project will allow Alberta to export its carbon capture and storage technology to other countries in the world. The Alliance project, she added, is one of the biggest carbon capture projects in the world.

“Oil will continue to be part of the global energy mix going forward,” Sajid stated. “It might be reduced but it will still be a part of a mix and Canada should be one of the preferred suppliers of oil.”

She added through design and engineering processes the Alliance anticipated creating 25,000 to 30,000 jobs over the life of the project.

Photo; Jana Semeniuk

The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, February 8, 2023

FCSS and CALC Programs (Lamont County Community Services and Family Resource Network)

See all current monthly Community Services programs using the QR code below or visit: lamontcounty.ca/community-programming. (Current programs include: Snow Angels, Parents and Tots, Youth Group, Family Fun Night, Digital Skills Workshops, Let’s Get Cooking, Connecting Generations, Cooking With Your Littles, Income Tax Program, CALC kitchens/connections, and KFRN newsletter.) Posters are added to the website and Facebook once the events are finalized.

AgriStability for Poultry Farmers – Government of Alberta

The governments of Canada and Alberta have agreed to allow Alberta's poultry producers to participate in the 2022 AgriStability program year, through late participation. Any producers not currently signed up for AgriStability will have an opportunity to sign up immediately. More information: https://afsc.ca/news/agristability-options-for-poultry-farmers/ (deadline to enrol is February 28, 2023). Release: https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=864648B296432-E450-A777888FCB8D6CADE1C7&fbclid=IwAR1DY2p1C4CO8wkOK4yNnBJhpVYrtkuLoCB0ttZRjSq1Y_J-5C9BRrWFUmY

As reminder, Lamont County buildings are closed on Monday, February 20 for Family Day.

Next Agricultural Service Board (ASB) Meeting – (FEBRUARY 15 MEETING CANCELLED)

The next ASB meeting is on March 15, starting at 9:00 a.m. The public is welcome to attend at the Lamont County Administration Building or virtually through Microsoft Teams (link): lamontcounty.ca/departments/agricultural-services/agendas-minutes-asb.

Next Council Meeting

The next Regular Council Meeting is on Tuesday, February 14, starting at 9:00 a.m. The public is welcome to attend at the Lamont County Administration Building or virtually through Microsoft Teams (link): lamontcounty.ca/governance/agendas-minutes.

Please Note – inFocus is also available for viewing online at: www.lamontcounty.ca/communications (for those wanting to view the weekly submission as fullsized PDF and to access hyperlinks).