1-877-465-8279 6305 - 44 Avenue, Ponoka WE SERVICE ALL MAKES & MODELS Schedule an appointment today for S S S Sc ch h h h h h h h h he e e e e ed d du ul le e e e a a a a an n n n a a a a ap p p p o oi in nt tm me en n nt t t t t to o od da ay y f f o or r r r • OIL CHANGES • TIRE ROTATIONS • BRAKES REPAIRS • HOSE/LINE REPLACEMENTS • MULTI-POINT INSPECTIONS We’ll get you back on the road right away! Vol. 68, No. 2 | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016 | 403-783-3311 | WWW.PONOKANEWS.COM CONNECTING THE COMMUNITY Girl Broncs place third in annual tournament Story on page 17 CPR dam is Ponoka’s oldest historical site Story on page 5 Seeking weekly garbage pickups: Ponoka resident Edwin Geuder dropped off his garbage bags at Town Hall Monday, Jan. 11 in protest of the new garbage collection program. Please see our story on page 14. Photo by Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye
CPR dam is Ponoka’soldest historical siteStory on page 5
Seeking weekly garbage pickups:
Ponoka resident Edwin Geuder dropped off his garbage bags at Town Hall Monday, Jan. 11 in protest of the new garbage collection program. Please see our story on page 14.
Photo by Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye
2 PONOKA NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016
Ponoka Bottle DepotReceive your deposit back on your beverage containers!
Items accepted are: Pop cans, pop bottles Beer cans, beer bottles Water bottles Milk products (plastic and cardboard) Liquor containers (glass and plastic) Juice containers (cardboard, plastic and glass) Wine containers (glass and cardboard).
(We no longer accept used oil and oil products)
We can help you with fundraisers or charities with bottle drives!
The Town of Ponoka has rolled out the blue bag program this year but no refund on bottles will be provided. If you are not interested in receiving a refund, remember there are many groups in town that will gladly accept your empties to raise funds for their causes.
You can also drop off bottles at the Bottle Depot and let us know you want them donated to the Cans for Kids charities. For more info on this please visit http://www.albertacansforkids.org/
OPEN Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm | Closed on Sundays and holidays
403 783 6875 | 5520 HWY 2A PONOKA, AB
Corenne Schable of Calgary was the lucky winner Dec. 31 of the John Deere gator or $10,000 raffl ed off by the Calnash Ag Events Centre. Terry Jones (left) president of Ponoka Ag Event Centre Society and Linc Drynan (right) president of the Ponoka Agriculture Society present Corenne with a cheque. The raffl e was a fundraiser to support the operations and programs of the Calnash Ag Events Centre.
Congratulations Corenne!
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Former CAO suing townfor $695,000
Former CAO Rachel Kunz is suing the Town of Ponoka for $695,000 ac-
BY JEFFREY HEYDEN-KAYEPONOKA NEWS
cording to a statement of claim document acquired by Ponoka News through a Court of Queen’s Bench search.
The document shows the two parties do not see eye to eye regarding Kunz’s employment as the town manager.
The breakdown of Kunz’s $695,000 claim shows $25,000 for disabil-ity benefi ts, $270,000 in lieu of payment of rea-sonable notice, $50,000 for employment benefi ts, $250,000 for aggravated and/or punitive damages and another $100,000 for mental distress.
The claim also seeks interest on the amount plus solicitor/client costs.
One issue between the two parties appears to be the terms of agreement of the former CAO’s job. Kunz, who moved from Saskatchewan to Alberta, was hired Sept. 22, 2014
and her claim states the town was to evaluate her performance beginning on July 31 2015 with as-sessment to be fi nalized prior to Sept. 23. If no new employment agreement was made by then, the existing contract would remain in force until new terms could be fi nalized.
Kunz’s claim states after the July evaluation she had no indication there were any issues with her work. “There was no in-dication whatsoever in the evaluation that the town had any issues or concerns with her per-formance,” the document stated.
“She was then advised that she would become a permanent full-time CAO,” the claim contin-ues.
The town contradicts that statement, alleging a number of issues with Kunz’s July evaluation and states two forms of written evaluation were provided to her. Council
met with the CAO and detailed several issues with her performance, as brought up in the defence statement as follows:• Improper communi-
cations with individ-ual councillors rather than as a whole;
• Poor or limited report-ing to council;
• Limited involvement in community events;
• Withholding informa-tion from council;
• Failure to evaluate and restructure staff as discussed at hiring;
• Unwillingness to ac-cept council’s direc-tion;
• Unwillingness to as-sist council in under-standing procedures and processes required by the Municipal Government Act (MGA);
• Providing confl icting information to differ-ent councillors.
On the matter of im-proper communications, Kunz’s claim states this
hampered her ability to work effectively and it further states council participated in day-to-day activities and opera-tions of the town. “Town council also became fo-cused on operations and abandoned their gover-nance role…”
Events leading up to Kunz being fi red are in-cluded in her claim start-ing with the matter of the borrowing bylaw for the North Bridge project. The claim states Kunz was unable to attend council’s Oct. 13 meeting and she asked Betty Quinlan, the former director of protec-tive services to go in her stead.
Questions regarding the bylaw were directed to Quinlan, which the claim alleges she was “abused and humiliated by the conduct of council to the point where she tendered her resignation.”
continued on page 8
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016 PONOKA NEWS 3
For more information | www.rdc.ab.ca | 403.342.3233
New Board Members AppointedRed Deer College Board of Governors is pleased
to introduce its newest Board members.
Robin Chiles is a second year student at Red Deer College in the Open Studies program, and a member of the President’s and Dean’s Honour Rolls. Her goal is to gain acceptance into the Bachelor of Science, Nursing program at RDC. After being personally touched by cancer, she wants one day to have a career as a nurse in the Cancer Clinic at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.
Robin was born and raised in Red Deer and is proud to call this city her home. She is a passionate student who enjoys learning new things and serving her community through valuable work on committees and volunteering for a non-profit organization.
Robin is married to her high school sweetheart, Greg, and is proud of her two children, Jacob and Brooklyn.
Shawn Deveau works in RDC’s Information Technology Services department. He has been a Technical Support Analyst in the department since 2009, working hard to support students, instructors and staff every day. Shawn also served the College’s support staff as Chair of the local AUPE Chapter for a number of years. Shawn has effectively built relationships at RDC, recognizing that open and respectful discussion among a wide range of people with different perspectives leads to the best decisions for learners and everyone who works at RDC.
Shawn is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Sociology. For leisure, Shawn enjoys honing his craft of singing and song writing.
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Paige Brose, Admin. Asst. with BB/BS presents Don Bergsma with a cheque for $1452.50. Don was the lucky winner of the Ponoka Gold Rush Monthly Lottery for the month of December. You to could be a lucky winner! January draw will be Friday, Jan. 29. Contact Big Brothers Big Sisters for more information.
PONOKA GOLD RUSH DECEMBER WINNERPONOKA GOLD RUSH DECEMBER WINNER
Police remind rural residents to know their address
In the event of an emergency knowing your home address may make all the difference in get-ting personnel to your home in a timely manner.
To raise the awareness for knowing a home address, Ponoka RCMP are working with rural residents on a campaign called “Know Your Address.” As Ponoka County changed its ad-dressing system a few years ago, emergency personnel use the blue sign addresses to fi nd a home, explained Const. Kevin Saville.
He has distributed business cards with a space for homeowners to write down their blue sign address and store in their wallet. For Saville the
importance of knowing the address, rather than the old co-ordinates system cannot be under-stated. “Especially if the crime is in progress. It comes down to seconds,” he said.
Many of the law enforcement personnel are not from Ponoka and when they receive the correct address they will input the information into a GPS system, Saville says. The old system is not supported by GPS. When people call 911 a dispatcher takes the call and will provide the same information to police, EMS or fi re fi ghters. Dispatchers do not have access to a co-ordinates system either, said Saville.
The benefi ts of the card also help homeowners if they have an alarm system that is connected to their smart phone. Saville said a person can call police and use the card for reference of
Knife wielding man faces multiple chargesPonoka RCMP responded
to a complaint of an assault with a weapon at an undis-closed business on Jan. 4 after a 30-year-old male from Sylvan Lake pulled a knife on a co-worker and attempted to stab him and threatened two co-workers with killing them.
The altercation stemmed from the damage resulting on the truck of the Sylvan Lake male after it was used by co-workers. The man was charged with possession of a weapon for dangerous purposes, assault with a weapon, three counts of uttering threats, careless driving and failing to report an accident.
Thefts from vehiclesPolice responded on Jan. 5
to a complaint of thefts from motor vehicles on 42 Street. The vehicles were broken into and damage was done to the ignition. On Jan. 9 another com-plaint of theft from a vehicle was received, this time from a county resident. The vehicle locked and parked outside the
garage was broken into and a wallet was taken. Both fi les are under investigation.
Probation violation leads to arrest
A Ponoka man was arrested on Jan. 8 after being found in violation of his probation con-ditions upon a curfew check conducted by the RCMP. He was charged with breach of
probation and obstruction of justice and released on $200 cash bail.
Warning on fraudulent phone calls
Harassing telephone calls by individuals claiming to repre-sent Canada Revenue Agency are currently being investigated by RCMP Ponoka. The call-ers demand Social Insurance
Number and other information from individuals they reach through those phone calls. RCMP advise the public not to give any personal information out over the phone. Receivers of such calls should contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or report the fraud to the local RCMP Detachment.
PONOKA NEWS STAFF
BY JEFFREY HEYDEN-KAYEPONOKA NEWS
their address when relating information about an alarm. He has received calls where the map co-ordinates were used and an offi cer had to visually check the county map to determine the home location.
Another potential use for the card is for parents to provide one to their children. If they get lost they can have that for emergency personnel who have found the child.
Saville said he had received some calls where the post offi ce box was used, another reason to learn the blue sign address as the rural postal ad-
dress does not help determine the home address.The cards can be found at the town and
county offi ces, post offi ces in town and at the detachment.
Adding to the Know Your Address campaign is a “Lock It or Lose It” reminder on the cards. “A simple deterrent is locking your doors,” says Saville.
That action may help stop what Saville calls “opportunity theft.” Individuals may just check front doors and car doors to see if they’re locked and if so, people tend to move on.
4 PONOKA NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016
Your Guide To Local Houses
of Worship
CHURCH DIRECTORY
PONOKA WORD OF LIFE CHURCHPastor Rob McArthur 403-783-5659
9 miles east on Hwy 53 403-782-9877Jr. Church during service for children
Sunday Service 10:30 am
Week of PrayerWeek of PrayerHeld at Held at
St. Mary’s Anglican ChurchSt. Mary’s Anglican Church51 20-49 Ave Ponoka, Alberta51 20-49 Ave Ponoka, Alberta
January 18 - 22, 2016 at 11:45amJanuary 18 - 22, 2016 at 11:45am
Please join us as we gather, to fellowship Please join us as we gather, to fellowship over a light lunch, and pray for the needs over a light lunch, and pray for the needs
of our community.of our community.
Sponsored by the Ponoka Ministerial Sponsored by the Ponoka Ministerial and the Churches of Ponokaand the Churches of Ponoka
Ponoka Animal Services(Old MacDonald Kennels)
Check our website www.oldmacdonaldkennels.ca
PET OF THE WEEKPET OF THE WEEK
To adopt call To adopt call 403-783-7447403-783-7447
403-748-2628A division of Little Jons Portable Toilet Services
AbbyAbbyis a playful one is a playful one year old who year old who
loves kids!loves kids!
PONOKA RISINGSUN CLUBHOUSE
Community BlueBox Program
For $12.00 per month
We will pick up your paper, clean tins, glass, No. 1-5 plastic and cardboard.
We also pick up cardboard from local businesses.
For more information on these programs please call
403-783-5810 Weekdays
Week of prayer for unity and community
Next week, eight of our local churches are spon-soring the annual “Week of Prayer for the Community.”
From Monday to Friday, you are invited to meet at St. Mary’s Anglican Church (11:45 a.m.) for a buffet of the best soups in town
PASTOR TIM GRAFF
Trinity EvangelicalLutheran Church
Religion
followed by a brief time of prayer for different parts of our community.
In praying for our com-munity, we recognize that God does not stand some-where on planet von Zeipel with disinterest in what is happening on planet Earth. In fact, God established such things as government (Romans 13:1) and preserves and sustains everything that contributes to good order and the well-being of His creation.
Can you imagine our com-munity without emergency services, schools, town and county workers managing the infrastructure, medical services and all those vol-unteer organizations fi lling in the gaps? I certainly can’t. It is why we join in prayer to thank God for these ser-vants of good order and to ask God’s blessing on their work as they contribute to the well-being of our larger community.
Being a community is
diffi cult at the best of times. In being a community, we rarely agree on everything or even anything, but as a community we learn to compromise on the less important things and work together on the more im-portant matters. Prayer is a great expression of what is vital: to commune with one another and with the Triune God, to whom we direct our prayers and give our thanks.
In many parts of our world, this week is also a time when some of the churches meet together to pray for Christian unity. Christian unity can even be more elusive than being a community.
There are 12 churches listed in our local paper, each with beliefs, practices and personality that keep us from gathering under one roof at the same time. And yet we hold many common beliefs and values (not always understood the same) such as the Triune God, our human condition, Jesus Christ, salvation, the Bible, worship, love of God and love of neighbour.
In the pursuit of Christian unity and fellowship, some would have us lower our
denominational fl ags and dumb down to the low-est common denominator. However, this kind of unity is like hiring a contractor with the lowest bid to build a recreational facility. The end result will be anything but satisfactory.
True unity, however, is tough slugging because our unity does not come from us, but from the God who revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ; who lived the life we couldn’t live; who suffered and died for our sins and then over-came death through His resurrection.
True unity is what Christ has given us in Himself and even though we gather under smaller and larger roofs, Christ is King of kings, Lord of lords and the One we will all bow down before in the end (Philippians 2:9-11).
Until that day I celebrate the times we can pray with others for our community and those times when we as churches in our community can come together to love our neighbour.
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. – 1 Peter 3:8
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016 PONOKA NEWS 5
Refl ections of Ponoka
Early 1900s photo of the historical CPR dam on the Battle River in Ponoka.Photo courtesy of Peel Library
CPR dam is Ponoka’s oldest historical site
Our Ponoka and vibrant surrounding districts have been blessed with a very long and colorful history, much of which has thankfully been preserved at our Fort Ostell Museum, in magnifi cent his-tory books and in many buildings and sights around our bustling community. The energetic Main Street Project was ap-proved and promoted by the Ponoka Town Council and local citizens from 1997 to 2000 and would identify over 50 of our earliest historical treasures and artifacts.
This exciting program provided some funding to encourage owners of long-standing local businesses and buildings to upgrade and revitalize their premises and store fronts to feature some of the original architectural designs, facades and signage from the early beginnings of our great town. The promotion, which brought back the fi rst Chipman Avenue and honoured the Provincial Mental
Hospital, also provided permanent infor-mation plaques, as well as acknowledging our early pioneer families, and proudly presenting our long and colorful history for all to see.
The CPR damThe fi rst Canadian Pacifi c Railway train
crept into an undeveloped village site in June 1891 and stopped to unload their crews, tools, track and ties at what they had simply named ‘Siding 14’, locat-ed near the halfway point of their new Edmonton to Calgary line. The solitary red wooden railway depot with the long loading platform would be fi rst inhabited by the section crew and caretaker, but over the next very hectic few years would welcome a station agent and a local dray service that would greet and serve up to three noisy passenger and freight trains each day to the bustling new Town of Ponoka.
Among the fi rst meagre structures built at the sight was a squat octagonal
The grand celebration of Christmas has come and gone and as we head into another year we can fond-ly share the memories of good times together with family and friends. What
Kind hearts always prevail in the toughest times
MIKE RAINONEHAMMERTIME
has never ceased to amaze me so much over the years is that even through the toughest of times, so many individuals, organizations and businesses have pas-sionately come forth in so many wonderful ways to support special communi-ty causes and assist those who are in need.
As the holiday season ap-proached this time around, many of the vital commu-nity support promotions such as the Salvation Army, Santa’s Anonymous, the Christmas Bureau, the food banks and others found themselves short of their goals, likely due to the state of the econo-my. After reaching out to the public, the wonder-ful generosity and care of
the public came forth in all its glory, and most of the required fund-raising numbers were achieved. During that very special Christmas week, hundreds of food hampers and gifts were delivered, food banks were replenished, com-munity festive dinners were fi lled to capacity, and hopefully Christmas was a just a little more joyful for those who needed a friendly helping hand, and would like to thank you… from the bottom of their hearts..
They deserve bouquets instead of bashes
*That police offi cer that you called a jerk for writ-ing you a ticket just spent 3 hours at the scene of a wreck where a drunk driv-
er killed a family of four.*Those fi refi ghters that
you were pissed off at for shutting down the high-way just pulled a grand-father out of a burning house.
*Those paramedics and EMTs that you think are driving too fast are doing CPR on a 2-year-old who didn’t make it.
All these fi ne and ded-icated men and women work 24-7, often hurt, sick, and tired, and they are continuously asked to do more with less and they do it with a smile on their faces. Why you ask??….Because they love what they do, but more importantly because they care! We all really need to think about it before
we bash our public safe-ty members, because they will always be there for all of us, and we should thank them for their services at every opportunity.
We just didn’t grow up…..we were raised
Along the way through our youthful years, we were hopefully blessed with two loving, caring, and strict when neces-sary parents who patiently taught us to…speak when we entered a room, to say such things as please and thank you/yes sir and no sir/and sorry and excuse me when it was needed; to respect our elders; to get off our lazy butts and let an elder in the room have a chair; to share and lend a helping hand to those
in need; to hold the door for the person behind us; and to love and like people for who they are, and not for what we can get from them. Once we have mas-tered these ways of life and survived growing up, which wasn’t so bad, we will hopefully have the op-portunity of passing these gifts on to our own chil-dren.
Senior bumper stickers: ‘Fishmore and Dolittle-
Retirement Consultants’;‘Young at heart….slight-
ly older in other places’;‘Goodbye tension-Hello
pension!’;‘Be nice to your kids…
they will choose your nursing home!’
Have a great week, all of you!!
BY MIKE RAINONE FOR THE NEWS
wooden tower and tall wooden windmill, which pumped water from the deep res-ervoir created by a huge dam that had been constructed of logs across the Battle River. This vital supply point at Ponoka for the fast growing 24-hour schedule of massive steam locomotives along the Edmonton/Calgary line also brought a steady supply of freight, mail, and pas-sengers into an exciting new rhythm of growth and activity for our vibrant new family friendly community.
The classic windmill and water tower at end of Chipman Avenue also supplied the water to a nearby hydrant used by the local volunteer fi re brigade to douse the many fi res that popped up often in the new wooden buildings. Along with the dam, the tower and the windmill became a community landmark until the 1950s when the CPR converted to diesel and they became obsolete.
In the earliest years, the sturdy CPR dam on the Battle River became a focal point of constant daily activity in the growing new Town of Ponoka. The struc-ture supported a broad spillway and two piers were built with booms in between, while the thousands of logs from Pigeon Lake were fl oated through Pigeon Creek and into the Battle River. When they reached the dam, the booms were opened
and the logs went down the chutes to the Rowley’s, Cook’s, and Zulky’s Mills down-stream, with others held for the Loewan Mill, which was located on the east side of the east bank of the reservoir. These huge mills employed up to 20 men and for many years turned out the millions of square feet of lumber that was re-quired to fi ll the sudden ‘building boom’ in the rapidly developing Ponoka Town and County districts.
The grand old dam was always teem-ing with jackfi sh and suckers trapped in the reservoir, which made for great fi shing and were often hauled away by the wagon loads to be used as livestock feed. I so fondly remember as a youngster spending hours fi shing with buddies at the Ponoka dam, then stuffi ng them into a plastic bag and dashing up to try sell them at the local restaurants to the high-est bidder. The picturesque area was al-ways great for a refreshing summer swim (often skinny dipping), for a picnic, or just a great place to hang out and watch the trains go by. Unfortunately today only a few old timbers are the only reminder of this great 115-year-old dam, but the countless favourite memories and it’s vital importance to the early growth and successes of the Ponoka area will always remain.
Remember When...
Photo from Century LandmarksHere is one of the earliest photos taken of the Village of Ponoka in the early 1900s and is looking east down the Battle River, from which the water was pumped up by the windmill and into the tower (shown in the centre) to feed the many steam trains coming into Siding 14. Also shown from the left are the F.E. Algar Building, Leland Hotel, Royal Hotel, R.L. Allan Hardware, and the fi rst giant wooden elevator.
6 PONOKA NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016
MUSTAFA ERIC
Editor
Economy is the worry of the day, and at every pos-sible level, from provincial to global scale.
That the international markets started the year with the worst tailspin in recent memory has al-ready unleashed a feed-ing frenzy that has got lots of investors, business executives and fi nancial
Should Legislature discuss economy?
5019A Chipman Ave., Box 4217, Ponoka, AB. T4J 1R6Phone: 403.783.3311 Fax: 403.783.6300 Email: [email protected] every Wednesday by PNG Prairie Newspaper Group in community with: Regional Publisher, Michele Rosenthal
All editorial content, advertising content and concepts are protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is forbidden.
planners thinking on how to get through the gloomy season with the least pos-sible losses. Even the most optimist of observers are now admitting the pos-sibility of $20 per barrel oil price before they can even start to think of $50 again. Recession in the US is now reemerging as a se-rious possibility with neg-ative interest rates loom-ing in the horizon, just as Bank of Canada chief Stephen Poloz started to speak about the same, in what might be a possible attempt to warm the pub-lic to the until recently unthinkable idea.
Nationally, our new fi -nance minister, Bill Morneau, has started touring the country to hear voices before he takes on the unenviable task of putting together a budget that should in-spire at least some hope of growth under the dire
circumstances.In the province, the
local branch of Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) rang the alarm bells and appealed to the Notley government to hold an “emergency de-bate” at the Legislature on what it called “Alberta’s economic crisis”, a pro-posal jumped at by the Wildrose as one would predict. CFIB based its ap-peal on Statistics Canada data which showed signif-icant declines in perma-nent employment num-bers in the province and on its business confi dence survey showing the bar had hit a record low in Alberta.
The feeling of panic is spreading and there clear-ly are a lot of opportuni-ties to make political cap-ital out of the economic doomsday scenarios.
Going back to 19th cen-tury, we fi nd that what
we today call “economy” had a different name, it was called “political econ-omy”, because those who laid down the theories of how it functioned, from Adam Smith to David Ricardo to John Stuart Mill to Karl Marx, all knew that whatever economic deci-sions were made, they all had political implications as a result of their im-pact on the society. It was more in the second half of the 20th century that economy was distilled into an independent area of expertise although its connection to the domain of politics remained as strong and vital as ever.
And in the course of the developments in late 20th century, the focus of the economy also changed, with the political links still intact but its social aspect sliding down rap-idly in importance.
In the post World War
II environment, the econ-omy was focused on de-velopment, a concept that embraced growth alongside an equitable distribution of the fruits of that growth. Beginning with 80s, however, the focus shifted signifi cant-ly: With the neo-liberal policies and regulations launched during the Reagan-Thatcher era, and enhanced by later gov-ernments and adminis-trations, including that of Bill Clinton’s, the social, and consequently the po-litical, aspect of the econ-omy started to be increas-ingly ignored with a lot of negative consequences.
It was none other than a prestigious Princeton University publication in the US that declared last year that the country was no longer a democracy, but an oligarchy, governed by elites. Thankfully, we are at a much better po-
sition in Canada in terms of our democratic cre-dentials, but the impact and the infl uence of our southern neighbour not only on us, but through-out the globe is a ringing reality.
Presumably, the current economic diffi culties her-alding a much bigger cri-sis in the making will just create more economic hardships for those with meager means as com-pared to well to do indi-viduals and families.
While free market lovers may not like the idea, it is at such times that govern-ments have to intervene in the economy to ensure that the population is cov-ered by a social safety net and in that context Mrs. Notley will be well ad-vised to heed the call for a debate on the econo-my, regardless of any con-cerns that she may lose some political clout.
Opinion
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016 PONOKA NEWS 7
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Pat BoardmanGeneral
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Robin PatrickSales
Consultant
Trevor FeragenSales
Consultant
Eric DortmanSales
Consultant
Kelly PerrasFinance
Manager
NEW YEAR PRE-OWNED CLEAROUT - HUGE MARKDOWNSWE WILL PAY OFF YOUR CREDIT CARD - ALL CREDIT APPS ACCEPTED - NO PAYMENTS ‘TIL SPRING
8 PONOKA NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016
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Vehicle(s) may be shown with optional equipment. Dealer may sell or lease for less. Limited time offers. Offers only valid at participating dealers. Retail offers may be cancelled or changed at any time without notice. See your Ford Dealer for complete details or call the Ford Customer Relationship Centre at 1-800-565-3673. For factory orders, a customer may eithertake advantage of eligible raincheckable Ford retail customer promotional incentives/offers available at the time of vehicle factory order or time of vehicle delivery, but not both or combinations thereof. Retail offers not combinable with any CPA/GPC or Daily Rental incentives, the Commercial Upfi t Program or the Commercial Fleet Incentive Program (CFIP).¥ Offer valid between January 5, 2016 and February 1, 2016 (the “Offer Period”) to Canadian residents. Receive $500 towards the purchase or lease of a new 2015 or 2016 Ford Fusion, or $750 towards the purchase or lease of a new 2015 or 2016 Ford Mustang (excluding 50th Anniversary Edition and Shelby), Taurus, Edge, Flex, Explorer, Escape, Expedition, Transit Connect, E-SeriesCutaway, Transit, F-150, F-250 to F-550 (all F-150 Raptor models excluded) (each an “Eligible Vehicle”). Only one (1) bonus offer may be applied towards the purchase or lease of one (1) Eligible Vehicle. Taxes payable before offer amount is deducted. Offer is not raincheckable. *Until February 1, 2016, receive 0% annual percentage rate (APR) purchase fi nancing on new
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Suing town
Further on issues with operations, the Kunz’s statement alleges coun-cil’s unsupportive ac-tions and that constant interference caused Kunz “anxiety and physical distress.”
Six days later Kunz spoke with her physician and provided a medical letter to council stating she would be taking med-ical leave until Jan. 19, 2016. Council fi red Kunz the next day for justifi -able cause.
It is believed Quinlan tendered her immediate resignation the same day Kunz was released of her duties.
In response, the town alleges that Kunz knew a borrowing bylaw was needed in May when the operations manager — the claim doesn’t state who — mentioned the need. “This misconduct committed by Kunz was intentional, inexcusable, and unacceptable by any standard,” explains the statement of defence.
The claim also states that Kunz missed several meetings related to her job performance; once in September and the meet-ings in October, and that was one of the require-ments of the job.
“Since Kunz has per-sisted in her refusal to communicate with the town, the town states that the employment re-lationship between the parties has been irrepara-bly damaged,” continued the town’s defence.
Kunz submitted her statement of claim Nov. 20 through MacPherson Leslie and Tyerman law fi rm in Edmonton while the town submitted its statement of defense Dec. 21 using the ser-vices of Sirrs law fi rm in Ponoka.
None of the allegations of either party has been proven in court.
continued from page 2
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016 PONOKA NEWS 9
HOMETOWN NEWS
HOMETOWN EVENTS
FEATURE NEWSNEW WASTE & RECYCLING SCHEDULE
Pick-up of GREY waste carts in Zone 2 on Monday (between River and Highway
2A); Zone 1 on Thursday (east of Battle River) and Zone 3 on Friday (west of
Highway 2A). Recycling pick-up will occur the week of January 11 for each of
the above zones.
COUNCIL UPDATES
Next meeting of Council: Tuesday, January 26, 2016. Please note this
meeting will be at 6 pm at the Ponoka County Boardroom. Agenda
packages are posted on the website under ‘Town Hall’ in advance of every
Council meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend.
TOWN NOTICESMonthly Tax Installments – Please note that if you are already signed up, payments will come out as usual. Payments are withdrawn on the fi rst business day of each month.
Christmas Tree Pick Up starts on January 11 – Please place trees in the back alley of your home or out front if you do not have back alley access.
Dog Licences are on sale until January 31, 2015 for $25 each. After this date they will be $40.
Are you a Town resident interested in Land Use Planning? The Town’s Subdivision and Development Appeal Board has one upcoming vacancy for a member at large. Training is provided by Municipal Affairs. The purpose of the Board is to hear and decide upon appeals against decisions of the Subdivision Approving Authority or Development Authority. Application forms are available at Town Hall or on the website.
Ponoka Fire Department Weekly ReportPONOKA FIRE WEEKLY REPORT: JAN. 6 – 12
Volunteer Opportunities - Volunteers are needed for two Special Event Planning Committees (Canada Day & Ponoka Day in the Park). Interested community members can contact Wes Amendt at 403-783-0118 or [email protected]
Recreation Facility Pre-Design Report Open House - Monday, February 1 6:30-8:30 pm at the Hudson’s Green Nature & Activity Centre
Playground Development Committees are needed for Westview Park and Co-op Park playgrounds. Interested community members please contact Wes Amendt at 403-783-0118 or [email protected]
Watch for the Winter edition of the Town’s Community Program Guide in January!
Register for Swim Lessons now! Call 403-783-0131 for more information
PUT OUT YOUR RECYCLING THIS WEEK
The Ponoka Fire Department welcomes our 2016 Candidates. We interviewed and hired 6 Members who started January 4th, and will begin their formal
1001 level 1&2 training.
2 Offi cers of the Ponoka Fire Department have been successful with certifi cation for Fire Service Instructor Level 1. These members add to the list of
Instructors that will allow for multiple instructional sessions to go at the same time.
Fire Inspections are ongoing throughout the community.
If your business requires an inspection please call the Fire Department and book an Inspection time.
Town of PonokaC, 4900 - 54 Street, Ponoka, AB T4J 1N8Town phone: 403-783-4431Town email: [email protected]
Week one of the new Waste and Recycling program is now completed. Last week residential solid waste was picked up, and this week your recycling will be removed.
For recycling, clear/blue bags are needed – simply put your recyclable directly in the bags unsorted and set them out on your pick up day. The contractor will sort and stream these materials at their plant in Edmonton.
This is also a great time to sign up for the Ponoka Rising Sun Clubhouse Blue Box Program. This curbside service creates employment opportunities for members of our community. To sign up for the Ponoka Rising Sun Clubhouse Blue Box program, please call 403-783-5810.
For more detailed information visit the Town website, Facebook or Twitter. You are also invited to drop by the New Town Hall on 54 Street for printed material.
Drop-ins welcome at all events.Regular jam sessions every Saturday at 1pm
Jan. 17 - 7pm Gospel concert with “The New Song Band”
Jan. 29 - Potluck & General Meeting 5:30 pm. Bring a dish to share, table service & enjoy good company.
Billiards - Weekdays 1:00pm. Mon through Sat – 50 cents per game. Honour system
Monday Bridge 1:00pm
Monday Whist - 1:30pm
Monday Yoga - 6:30pm
Tuesday Canasta - 1:00pm
Tuesday & Thursday Exercise class 9:30am
Tuesday Pickleball 6:30pm Centennial Centre - contact Janice Mackie 403-396-3160
Tuesday Shuffl eboard - 7pm
Wednesday morning - PIANO LESSONS FOR SENIORS (Sara Driedger 403-790-1980)
Wednesday Sewing Guild 9:30am to 4pm
Wednesday Cribbage 1:00pm
Wednesday Yoga - 6:30pm
Wednesday Duplicate Bridge 7:00pm
Thursday Floor Curling - 1:00pm
Thursday Weaving 1:00pm Welcome to drop-in to see how it’s done
Thursday Bridge 1:00pm
Thursday Art Club Drop In Noon to 4pm
Friday “500” 1:00pm
Saturday Yoga 9:30am
Memberships available for 2016 - $10.00 per person. To rent our facility contact Dorothy @ 403-783-3027
or George @ 403-783- 3514 or leave a message @ 403-783-5012. Rentals are increasing and we would like
to invite our town administration, business groups, and general public (Wedding, funeral, and Birthday
groups), to inquire about rentals services and prices early in their planning. We may fi t your bill!
Ponoka CapitolTheatre
4904 - 50th St.Ph. 403-783-3639
PLAYING January 15 - 21 January 15 - 21
AGES 12-64 $9.00
AGES 2-11& SENIORS
$7.00TUESDAYS
& MATINEES $6.00
3D$3 EXTRA
SCREEN #2
The GoodDinosaur
96 min2:00 PM Sat & Sun
7:00 PM DailyRated G
SCREEN #1
Sisters118 min
2:00 PM WeekendsDaily Shows
8:00 PM Rated 14A
Ponoka OutreachSchool
Getting to Know the Outreach
Thursday, January 14Social 30 Diploma Exam Part A
Friday, January 15In lieu — no school
Tuesday, January 19English 30 Diploma Exam Part B
Wednesday, January 20Social Diploma Exam Part BNight school — All staff here
All diploma exams start at 9:00 am.Please be at the school by 8:45 am.
Alcohol-fueled charges continue to disturb judge
Calling it disturbing and troubling, an Alberta judge expressed concern for the future of several individuals as he continues to witness what alcohol can do in what seems to be a rise in charges stemming from its abuse.
During the sitting on Friday, Jan. 8, at Ponoka Provincial Court, it was Judge D.J. Plosz that presided over four sepa-rate cases where alcohol was likely a major contributor to the actions of the accused, causing the judge a sense of exasperation that grew throughout the session.
It would eventually cul-minate - in a comment following his fi nal case of the day - that it all seems to be fruitless to talk about doing something about peo-ple’s drinking if they are not going to even try to make any changes.
A case in point was a man who pleaded guilty to one count of driving with a blood alcohol level over 0.08 along with a count of failing to appear in court.
Alexander Burgess, 20, and originally from B.C., has been living in Ponoka with a relative, was sentenced to a one-year driving ban and fi ned nearly $2,200 on charges that stemmed from him being stopped on Sept. 26 shortly after 2 a.m. in a downtown Ponoka parking lot. He had been in a vehicle, attempting to back up in order to get out of the park-ing lot after coming out of a nearby bar when an RCMP cruiser pulled behind him to conduct a traffi c stop.
A number of people shout-ing at him to stop averted Burgess from hitting the cruiser with his vehicle. Offi cers then noted Burgess stumbled severely when he exited the vehicle in addition to not being able to focus on them, had bloodshot eyes and was also verbally abusive when talking to them. Tests showed his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.
In handing down the sen-tence, Judge Plosz spoke about how he has to speak to people on the facts about what can happen when someone drives when they are impaired.
“Countless times I have to go over the facts about drink-ing and driving and what can occur,” he explained.
“Alcohol is a drug that al-ters your mind and at twice the legal limit, everyone knows that you can kill peo-ple if you drive drunk. It was fortunate that you didn’t get out of that parking lot. You had best remember this for the rest of your life because the next time you might just kill someone.”
BY JORDIE DWYERPONOKA NEWS
In another case which was alleged to have in-volved being impaired, but ultimately wasn’t argued, a 32-year-old man from Lacombe ended up plead-ing guilty to one count of refusing to provide a breath sample.
Wade Oldford was fi ned $2,600 and handed a one-year ban on driving as a result and also wound up with a bit of a lecture from Judge Plosz, despite having charges of impaired driving and dan-gerous driving dropped by the crown.
Oldford, 32, was stopped on Highway 2 southbound north of Ponoka around 4:45 p.m. on Sept. 5 after two separate complaints were called in by members of the public as well as his erratic weaving driving pattern having been observed by two police offi cers. Once an offi cer approached, he did notice a strong odour of alco-hol along with an unopened beer can in the console next to the driver’s seat.
He was asked numerous times to provide a sample, both at the roadside and at the detachment, refusing to do so each time while also getting verbally argumen-tative.
In his defence, Oldford’s lawyer attempted to explain his behaviour and driving by telling the court Oldford had been at the airport and was experiencing vehicle problems and that he knows now that he should have complied.
Judge Plosz didn’t think the explanation was plausible or even believable stating before sentencing that Highway 2 is busy normally and the fact it was late afternoon on Sunday of a long weekend with likely even more people on the road makes the situation even scarier.
“That sense is heightened
when citizens are calling to report the actions of a driv-er,” Judge Plosz said, noting that despite this case not concluding conclusively that alcohol was involved, one of the major causes of colli-sions, injuries and deaths on highways is due to drinking and driving.
More alcohol troubleA woman who pleaded
guilty to a charge of failing to comply with release con-ditions was fi ned $260 along with being told she needs to seriously look at getting her act together.
Brenda Cattleman, 44, now of Edmonton, was spotted by an RCMP offi cer stum-bling while walking in the street downtown in the early morning hours of Jan. 4. The offi cer spoke with her, found out she was trying to reach a friend’s house and offered to give her a ride as she was severely intoxicated.
However, when the offi cer ran a check, it came back showing there were several warrants out for Cattleman as she was on release after being charged last year with impaired driving which in-cluded a condition she ab-stain from alcohol.
Her lawyer explained to the court Cattleman continues to struggle with alcohol and is still waiting to deal with the impaired and other charges, which is why she appeared via closed circuit television from the Red Deer Remand Centre and that she remains in custody.
However, Judge Plosz demonstrated his displeasure with the situation stating, “I know alcohol addiction is an issue sometimes, but when people don’t comply with the conditions on the documents, then it really just becomes a useless piece of paper. You need to know that should you get out, you will
remain subject to the condi-tions of that previous release and if you don’t comply, it’s very likely you will wind up back in custody.”
And alcohol was behind the jail term a Maskwacis man was handed after he entered guilty pleas to committing an indecent act in public as well as failing to appear in court.
Blair Boysis, 36, was given a 25-day jail sentence - which amounted to time served after being provided 1.5 times credit for the 17 days he had already spent in custody following his arrest. He was also fi ned $200.
Back on Dec. 23, Boysis was picked up by police after a report of someone intoxicat-ed was sleeping in the area where people can access the bank machine at Servus Credit Union in Ponoka. Upon arriving, offi cers found Boysis had also attempted to start a fi re using paper. A few days later, video was provided to the RCMP of that night which showed Boysis and an un-identifi ed woman engaging in sex inside the public area.
His lawyer admitted Boysis was extremely intoxicated, stating he doesn’t recall very much from that night and falls into the classic situa-tion of many First Nations individuals that are addicted to alcohol as Boysis grew up in a family where excessive drinking was the norm and he started drinking at 13.
In handing down the sen-tence, Judge Plosz acknowl-edged the situation for what it is, but added, “It’s unfortu-nate that alcohol has caused so many problems for you, but you really should talk to someone out there so you can get some help otherwise situations like this are just going to keep happening.”
Bad dream or trip A 40-year-old Ponoka man
was sentenced to 45 days
behind bars - equal to time served when credited for the 37 days spent in custody - after he pleaded guilty to failing to comply with release conditions and breach of probation.
Bret Shimwell was arrest-ed on Dec. 14 after RCMP responded to call from his mother about him acting irrationally and believing he was tripping out on drugs and swinging an ornamental sword. Police arrived to fi nd him sitting in a vehicle, took him into custody and upon searching the vehicle found some drug paraphernalia.
While he admitted to hav-ing the items in his posses-sion, Shimwell explained he was not high, but was instead experiencing a “very vivid bad dream” that his doctor stated may occur as part of the withdrawal process. His lawyer also explained to the court Shimwell has been unemployed for nearly nine months and has just secured a job offer, which will keep him occupied and away from any potential problems if the judge would consider time served for these offenses.
While Judge Plosz stated he was rather skeptical that Shimwell’s actions that night were not caused by drugs and a break from reality, he accepted the idea that his time in jail had served its purpose.
“It clearly sounds like you have a good job to go to, but how long that lasts is up to you. You have been here several times before and you may not get out if something else puts you here in the future,” he said.
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016 PONOKA NEWS 11
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General Motors of Canada will pay two bi-weekly lease payments as defi ned on the lease agreement (inclusive of taxes and any applicable pro-rata amount normally due at lease delivery as defi ned on the lease agreement). After the fi rst two bi-weekly payments, lessee will be required to make all remaining scheduled payments over the remaining term of the lease agreement. PPSA/RDPRM is not due. Consumer may be required to pay dealer fees. Insurance, license and applicable taxes not included. Additional conditions and limitations apply. GM reserves the right to modify or terminate this offer at any time without prior notice. 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Other lease options are available. Dealers are free to set individual prices. Limited-time offer, which may not be combined with other offers. See your dealer for conditions and details. General Motors of Canada Company reserves the right to amend or terminate this offer, in whole or in part, at any time without prior notice. **Lease based on a purchase price of $40,253, including $713 Loyalty Cash (tax exclusive) and $1,000 Lease Cash (tax inclusive) for a new eligible 2016 Acadia SLE-1 AWD (3SA/K05). Bi-weekly payment is $207 for 48 months at 0.49% APR, on approved credit to qualifi ed retail customers by GM Financial. Annual kilometer limit of 20,000 km, $0.16 per excess kilometer. $0 down payment is required. Payment may vary depending on down payment or trade. Total obligation is $21,504, plus applicable taxes. Option to purchase at lease end is $19,341. Price and total obligation exclude license, insurance, registration, taxes and optional equipment. Other lease options are available. Dealers are free to set individual prices. Limited-time offer, which may not be combined with other offers. See your dealer for conditions and details. General Motors of Canada Company reserves the right to amend or terminate this offer, in whole or in part, at any time without prior notice. † $12,000 is a combined total credit consisting of $1,000 Loyalty Cash (tax inclusive) and a $11,000 manufacturer to dealer cash credit (tax exclusive) for a 2015 Sierra HD gas models (excluding 1SA 4x2), which is available for cash purchases only and cannot be combined with special lease and fi nance rates. By selecting lease or fi nance offers, consumers are foregoing this $11,000 credit which will result in higher effective interest rates. 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IN TOTAL VALUE ON OTHER MODELS‡ (INCLUDES $1,000 LOYALTY CASH¥)
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12 PONOKA NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016
TO VIEW A COMPLETE LIST OF OUR PROPERTIES AND VIRTUAL TOURS PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT www.remax-ponoka.com
real estate central alberta
6000 - 48 Ave.(Beside The Old Iron Horse
Restaurant)
403-783-5007 TODD REEDAssoc. Broker
DEB STEVENSAssoc. Broker
LISA SMITHAssociate
JANE WIERZBAAssociate
BOB TILTGENAssociate
Proud sponsors ofRDC Arts Programs
IMMACULATE LUCAS HEIGHTS BUNGALOW - Built in 2007, 1275 sq. ft.on main
- 3 bedrooms, 2 baths- New carpets and all fresh paint- Fully fenced yard on quiet street- Move in ready!
$349,900 ~ Call Lisa
IMMACULATE HOME IN LUCAS HEIGHTS- Fantastic Location backing onto
nature reserve- High quality finishing throughout- 5 bedrooms, 3 baths- Fully developed with over 2700 sq. ft.- Landscaped, fully finished yard with
extra parking and finished shed$449,900 ~ Call Lisa
TOTALLY RENOVATED - Complete renovation- 3 beds & 2 baths- Includes oversized lot- Immediate possession available
$159,500 - Call Jane
LIKE NEW, AFFORDABLE HOME! - 1018 sq ft with 4 beds & 2 baths
- Spacious layout, fully finished basement
- Awesome location!
$279,900 - Call Jane
- Walkout bungalow with 4 beds & 2 baths- Open concept & energy efficient- Shows immaculate
$309,900 Call Jane
LAKEFRONT
- Open concefficient- Shows immSOLDSOLD
- 2840 sq ft with 5 beds and 5 baths- Totally renovated kitchen- 2 large master bedrooms on main floor- Custom built family room- Exercise room/spa with fitness pool
$619,900 Call Jane
RANCH-STYLE BUNGALOW
NEW PRICE
- 1420 sq ft bungalow- 5 bdrm, 3 bath- Fenced, landscaped, shed- Includes appliances$319,000 ~ Call Todd
- 1299 sq. ft., 3 bdrms & 2 baths- Beautiful ½ acre lot!- Large Sunroom w/ Great views!- Detached double garage- Quiet area, close to Golf Course$299,000 ~ Call Bob
GREAT PROPERTY GREAT OPPORTUNITY- Piece of history, downtown
Ponoka- Beautiful brick building on
26x50 lot- Includes ALL equipment- Great Commercial Opportunity
to have everything in one place!$179,000 ~ Call Bob
AFFORDABLE PRIVATE ACREAGE- Beautiful 4 acre parcel w a view- 1422 sq ft Modular; 5 bdrms &
1.5 baths- Addition w Basement- 32 x 36 Quonset- Immediate Possession$325,000 ~ Call Bob
1.5 baths- Addition w Bas- 32 x 36 Quons- Immediate Po
SOLDSOLD- Great family home!- 1768 sq ft, 4 bdrms, 4 baths- Basement w Kitchen/ Dining, Bdrm & Bath
- NEW Shingles; Heated Garage- Large, fenced Corner Lot$295,000 ~ Call Bob
FAMILY HOME - Two 1 bedroom suites & One 2 bedroom suite
- Fully rented - Extensive upgrades$295,000 Call Deb
GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY
NEW PRICE
NEW PRICE
- 1393 sq. t. bungalow - 9.51 acres
- 6 bedrooms, 3 baths- 26x32 garage, 40x60 quonset & much more
$529,000 Call Deb
PERFECT FAMILY ACREAGE - 924 sq ft Mobile on its Own Lot
- 2 B/R, 1 Bath- Covered Front Deck- Single Garage$115,000 Call Deb
FIRST TIME BUYER OR REVENUE
- 33.17 acres with unlimited potential
- Unspoiled piece of paradise!
$1,900,000 – Call Lisa
PRIME PARCEL ON LACOMBE LAKE
- 1244 sq ft with 5 beds & 3 baths- Open floor plan, fireplace and main floor laundry
$344,900 Call Lisa
PERFECT FAMILY HOME
NEW PRICENEW LISTING
403-783-8881 #3, 5012-48 Ave in the Wedin’s Prof. Bldg.
Brand new show home with upgraded contemporary fi nish. 2 bed, 2 full baths, living & den on main fl oor with deck. Triple att’d garage, cul de sac. 1364 Sq. Ft. MLS CA0064935. VIEW TODAY!
Call Rizwan 403-783-0898
RIVERSIDE (PANORAMA RIDGE)
$384,900
Newly dev’d fully serviced subdivision. Outstanding views of Battle River valley & town. Walk out basement possible. Corner lot, cul de sac, ready for immediate possession. MLS CA0064899.
Call Rizwan 403-783-0898$105,900
RIVERSIDE (PANORAMA RIDGE)
End unit town house backing onto the park. 2 bed with 2 ensuite baths & a half bath, walk in closet. Less than 5 min. walk away from grocery & gas. Near Centennial Center & golf course. MLS CA0058501
Call Rizwan 403-783-0898
RIVERSIDE
$227,000TO VIEW ALL LISTINGS VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW.FIRSTCHOICEPONOKA.COM
REDUCED
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Beautifully fi n’d 2 bdrm townhouse, single att’d garage, appliances included. Located in Lucas Heights. Reasonable condo fees. Ready to move into. $230,000 + GST Call Sandra Lyon or Chanelle Lyon for more information
$230,000 + GST
LUCAS HEIGHTS
SANDRA LYONBroker/Owner
RIZWAN SYEDAssociate
CHANELLE LYONAssociate
LISA BONEAssociate
TYLER FESSLERAssociate
Prime location lots available to build your new home! Architecturally controlled to protect your investment! Plenty of lot sizes and locations to choose from!
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Homeowners prepare for Timber
Kings Ponoka episode
Many Ponoka residents eagerly await HGTV’s Timber Kings third season epi-sode that will feature Brad and Amanda Kelly’s log home recently built east of town.
Pioneer Log Homes was tasked with building Kellys’ dream home and they brought with them the popular HGTV show Timber Kings to showcase the ex-citing event. Construction framework was completed in September with camera crews and construction crews on site.
For Mr. Kelly, building the home and having the television crew on site brought so many lasting memories that it is tough to round up one specifi c event that stands apart from the others.
After some contemplation, there was one thing that stood out: the craftsman-ship of the home. He and Mrs. Kelly were able to pick out some of their own logs at Williams Lake, B.C. and see an idea of how the building would look. It wasn’t until the project elements were assem-bled in Ponoka that it really took shape.
“Those pictures never did do it justice and then all of a sudden you’ve got these huge 30 foot logs,” said Mr. Kelly.
Being part of the television show took some getting used to. Mr. Kelly had to wear a mic when on site and camera crews were always ready to capture fun
comments or actions on the Kelly’s part. “Everybody had a great time … we had a mechanical bull on the last night.”
Support has been encouraging and Mr. Kelly said residents have been keeping up with the project to see when it is com-plete. He is most excited about being able to complete the building of this dream home.
His hope is to have the fi nishing work done by June.
For Pioneer Homes and Timber Kings, the project was a joy as are all the log homes they construct, says master crafts-man André Chevigny. He said one of the biggest challenges was bringing the piec-es to Ponoka on time for the build. Once there though, the company was able to do what it does best: build log homes.
Chevigny said the crew at Pioneer Log Homes take great pride in their work and no matter the kind of building, the same effort is put in when creating them. Kellys’ home is no different. Chevigny said thousands of man hours and more than 1,000 pieces went into the 8,000 square-foot building.
While Timber Kings has given them more attention, Pioneer Log Homes has always been in the limelight for its “beau-tiful, radical, epic homes,” says Chevigny.
Season three started Jan. 10 with the Kelly’s home expected to be aired towards the end of February although dates could change.
Brad and Amanda Kelly are in the fi nishing stages of the construction of their log home, built by Pioneer Log Homes as part of HGTV’s Timber Kings series. A possible broadcast date is set for February for season three. This photo taken last week shows the building going through fi nishing touches. Photo by Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye
BY JEFFREY HEYDEN-KAYEPONOKA NEWS
14 PONOKA NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016
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Ponoka resident displeased with bi-weekly garbage collection
Edwin Geuder is not happy about the new garbage collection program and he wants Town Hall to know.
To show his resolve, Geuder sent a fax to the town Monday, Jan. 11 stating that if his grey garbage can was not empty by 5 p.m. he would take the bags to Town Hall. And he did just that. Geuder dropped off two bags with notes he sent stating his concerns attached to them.
He spoke with the oper-ations manager and was told that the program could not be changed as it is a contract deal.
Geuder has two concerns with regard to the bi-weekly pickups: the smell of gar-bage in the summer and who is responsible if the garbage gets out of hand and overfl ows into the streets.
“Now it’s on the street, I don’t know who cleans it up there,” stated Geuder in an interview.
He moved to Ponoka from Sylvan Lake November 2014 and said that his previous town has a similar garbage and recycle program but that garbage gets collected once a week. His concern is that in the summer the smell of garbage will be-come too much and he feels there are sanitary consider-ations as well.
To clarify, Geuder said he thinks the garbage cans work well, but does not feel pickups every two weeks is ideal.
Other neighbours appear
BY JEFFREY HEYDEN-KAYEPONOKA NEWS
to have assumed garbage would be picked up again on the 11th as Geuder said he noticed many on the street. “It will be a wake up call for them.”
What Geuder would like to see is an immediate revision. “I want the town
to rethink their contract as soon as they can,” he said.
He is resolute in his goal to see the contract changed and plans on dropping off the garbage every other week if it isn’t collected. Geuder gives the town six months.
For more information and to consign please callWes Skeels 403-843-2439 or 403-373-3081Craig Jacklin 403-783-5561 or 403-783-1453Nansen Vold 403-783-5561 or 403-783-0349
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Linc Drynan, new president of the Ponoka Agricultural Society.
2015 was a busy yearfor the ag society
A look at 2015 showed the Ponoka Agricultural Society (PAS) had a busy year after taking over op-erations of the Calnash Ag Event Centre.
Linc Drynan, interim president, speaking to at-tendees during their annu-al general meeting (AGM) Monday, Jan. 4 said, being the vice-president, he had taken up the position fol-lowing Lauraine Weir’s res-ignation a few weeks be-fore the meeting. Drynan was confi rmed in his new position as president in a meeting of the board of directors immediately after the AGM.
Ag society directors took stock of the situation while also voting in new directors for 2016. There were six vacancies and eight appli-cants for director positions, which called for votes from members at the AGM.
Among the candidates were incumbents Sherry Gummow, Joyce Winter and Ken Pohl and new candidates Trevor Hook, Doug Hosler, Nathan Stone, Marty McKinney and Joanne Volk. After a brief voting process, the results showed Hosler, Winter, Hook, Stone, McKinney and Pohl were elected in.
This completed the list of 12 directors with Dan Dixon, now vice president; Trish Friis as secretary,Win-ter as treasurer, Verna and Ken Pohl and Dennis Ecklund, Cec Dykstra.
This changeover also cre-ated the need to elect a member to join the Ponoka Ag Events Centre Society (PAECS) as Gummow was on PAECS for over two terms. Drynan said Dixon replaced Gummow in that position and he and Dykstra would continue to be members.
Other directors had de-cided not to let their names stand and PAS adminis-trative assistant Donna Davies had also resigned. Drynan had nothing but positive comments for all past members. “We’ve lost an awful lot of experience and expertise and enthu-siasm,” he said in an in-terview.
He added that with Gummow gone, other members would have to share in the work she did for the society. Despite the
BY JEFFREY HEYDEN-KAYEPONOKA NEWS
change, he added that the new directors will all be
able to bring something to the table.
“I’m looking forward to 2016 because I think we’re going to have a re-ally strong board,” offered Drynan.
During the organizational meeting after the AGM, the directors were introduced to the society’s newly ad-opted business plan, which provides for each director to take over a specifi c event for their portfolio. Drynan said it would help share the load and each director could take on an area that they’re interested in.
A major mandate of PAS is to educate on farm safe-ty and Drynan wants to see the group expand on those goals. He referred to the last two years that the society hosted an ATV safety course. With recent changes in Bill 6, Drynan wants PAS to be a liaison for farmers and the gov-ernment. He also hopes to develop safety templates specifi c to individual agri-culture industries although
it is too early to tell what that would look like.
As for 2015, the society had a strong period after having one full year of op-erations of the Calnash Ag Event Centre under its belt. From $50,000 a year operation to $1.2 million with the ag centre, mem-bers have been busy, said Drynan.
Numbers for 2015 show PAS had revenues of $1.9
million with expenses at $1.77 million giving an overall $131,000 excess of revenue over expenses.
Drynan has another goal for 2016: to streamline the sponsorship process. With the economic downturn in the economy, he said PAS wants to make it easy for groups and businesses to sponsor an event.
16 PONOKA NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016
16012UC0
Bringing Home, School and Parish together in Catholic education
The education and up-bringing of children is a
challenging and complicated responsibility. It is a most important task and when those involved in a child’s life try to do their part in
isolation of one another, it makes things increasingly diffi cult.
In STAR Catholic Schools, we are proud to have a rela-
tionship in place that brings aspects of family, education and faith together to form what is called the home, school and parish triad. This
relationship is driven by the belief that through our par-ents and families, teachers and staff and through our priests and parishes we
DAN SVITICHSTAR CATHOLIC SCHOOL DIVISION TRUSTEE
can work together for the successful holistic formation of our children. It’s a support system that works cohe-sively for the betterment of students.
Educating children is a shared responsibility. It doesn’t take place in the classroom alone. Open com-munication and dialogue be-tween families and schools is key and through communi-cation and trust we can build the best environment to nur-ture success. The Catholic Church and Catholic schools assert that the primary educator of children are parents and guardians. They are educators in their words and in their daily example. STAR Catholic Schools aim to provide welcoming envi-ronments to their families and continue to reach out to our parents as we ask for engagement, feedback and involvement.
Catholic schools are trust-ed to provide a high quality education that is rooted in the Gospels and in the words and actions of Jesus Christ. In Catholic schools, faith is a critical aspect of a child’s education. We are blessed in STAR Catholic to have a wonderful relationship with our parishes across the division. We have priests in our six communities that are involved in our schools, are known in the classroom and are welcomed by the staff and students. Through involvement such as school Masses, where the student body and its family com-munity can come together in celebration of the Holy Eucharist, to the Sacramental Education Initiative, which creates greater opportunities for families, school staff and parish personnel to come together to help students better understand and re-ceive excellent sacramental preparation, this triad rela-tionship is strengthened.
The Catholic school, as the formal educational vessel in this relationship has its vital role to play. Teachers are cru-cial in imparting knowledge and skills to students, while through the support of the parish and home teachers help guide students in the discovery of truth and the living of Christian values.
We are proud that the Home, School, Parish rela-tionship continues to grow within the schools of STAR Catholic and one we pray can continue to thrive for the betterment and development of our children. It is when all three unite in this rela-tionship and form this triad that Catholic school students are best served and have the proper tools and support to succeed academically and grow as responsible, faith-fi lled individuals.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016 PONOKA NEWS 17
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Sports
Stampeders Mik Doell and Nate Higgins watch the puck hit the back of the net with about seven minutes left in the second period giving the home town squad a 6-2 advantage, then hanging on to win 6-4 over Three Hills on Saturday, Jan. 9.
Photo by Jordie Dwyer
Stampeders win and lose over the weekend
Ponoka Stampeders, with one win and one loss in back-to-back home games over the weekend, are left with nine games to go in the regular season with still a chance at making it to playoffs.
At the end of last weekend, the Stampeders had four more points over Stettler Lightning, the only other team they are in competition with for the last playoff spot, with nine wins compared to seven and a potential chance, the fi rst in quite a few years. Currently the Stampeders sit sixth out of seven and if they keep that position, they will make it to playoffs.
Ponoka’s fi rst game was against the Three Hills Thrashers Saturday, Jan. 9 at home showing their desire to win by taking the lead 3-0 by the end of the fi rst period. Austin Ancion, Mik Doell and Nate Higgins claimed the goals in that fi rst period.
Ancion’s goal was during a power play. Both teams managed to keep the penalty minutes down in the
fi rst with six in total for the Thrashers and four for the Stampeders.
The second period proved just as strong with another three goals for Ponoka with and Higgins and Doell scor-ing their second goals, Higgins’ being on power play and Jaizen Threefi ngers completing the tally. However, the Thrashers put on the pressure and netted two of their own to bring the score 6-2 at the end of the second.
Teams were disciplined in the second with a total of 6 penalty minutes, two for Ponoka and four to Three Hills.
In the third period, the Thrashers were able to hold Ponoka from scoring while managing two for them-selves but it was not enough and Ponoka won 6-4. The Stampeders managed to keep their penalty minutes to six while the Thrashers had 16, 10 of which were due to a game misconduct.
The Stampeders’ second game against the Coaldale Copperheads the next day proved less fruitful with a 6-1 loss. Kwyn Hiebert scored Ponoka’s only goal. This game proved a challenge for both teams for penalties with a total of 159 minutes between the two teams.
Senior girl Broncs placed third in the annual Swoosh tournament they hosted over the weekend, win-ning two of their games but losing one to Lacombe Rams, the tournament champions.
Throughout the tour-nament, Broncs’ coach Cameron Horan used one effective tactic when his team came under pres-sure: full court man-to-man defense. While it worked in some instances, it failed in others, particu-larly against the Rams.
In the opening game which suffered from a severe scoring drought, Ponoka girls used their dominance in defensive rebounds and their strong defence skills to win over Pigeon Lake with a score of 33-21. In the third quarter of this game, Broncs de-fence worked so well that the opponents could not score a single point,
The second game was a
different story. The Rams, clearly a more practised team, had superior ball handling and ball move-ment skills. Despite that, the Broncs opened a sev-en-point lead in the fi rst quarter, which came down to three by the end of the fi rst half. The Rams fi rst took the lead in fourth minute of the third quar-ter and kept widening it through the fourth quar-ter. Broncs made a desper-ate comeback effort in the last three minutes of the game with the help of two back-to-back three point-ers, but it was too little, too late, and the Rams won the game 31-26.
In their third and last game of the weekend, se-nior girl Broncs took on Camrose Trojans and won comfortably 52-37. By their third game, Ponoka girls’ execution of plays and their ball movement had clearly improved, as con-fi rmed by the scoreboard.
Broncs’ most effi cient players through the tour-
BY JEFFREY HEYDEN-KAYEPONOKA NEWS
BY PONOKA NEWS STAFF
Girl Broncs place third in annual
tournamentnament were point guard Allie Wynychuk and centre Lindsey Gartner.
“Our team success was mostly predicated on our team defence this week-end,” said Horan after the tournament. “Moving for-ward, we hope to keep this good play going into the second half of the season.”
Regular season actionThe senior boys had
a tough go against the Ecole Secondaire Lindsay Thurber Raiders Tuesday, Jan. 5 losing 72-34.
The girls also had one of their toughest games of the season losing 59-18. The Raiders’ full court press proved too strong for the Broncs who struggled to make it through the paint for a scoring oppor-tunity.
They also attempted to make passing opportuni-ties but the Raiders were ready for most of their moves and dominated the game.
continued on page 23
Broncs’ most prolific scorer during the annual Swoosh tournament Lindsey Gartner rises for a layup against Pigeon Lake high school defense in the opening game of the tournament on Friday, Jan.8 at the Ponoka Secondary Campus gym.
Photo by Mustafa Eric
18 PONOKA NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016
Peewee Lacoka girls win in style over Stettler
Peewee Lacoka girls have their sights set on league championship and with Saturday’s impressive 6-1 win over one of their main rivals Stettler has helped them boost confi dence and solidify their position in the standings.
The game at the Ponoka Culture and Recreation Centre on Jan. 9 was dom-inated by Lacoka girls who made it hard for their vis-itors to control and move the puck throughout 60 minutes of play. Lacombe-Ponoka joint team got on the board early in the fi rst period with a short-range shot by Hailey Huchkowski
and they never looked back. Cassandra Kilnger scored twice and Cassandra Grabo, Karlee Feragen and Tori Christiansen added one each to the tally.
With the majority of their players coming from Ponoka, Peewee Lacoka girls currently sit at the third place in the league standings but only due
Hailey Huchkowski scores Lacoka girls’ fi rst goal against Stettler on Saturday, Jan. 9 at the Ponoka Culture and Recreation Centre. Photo by Mustafa Eric
Tons of family fun planned for
hockey fundraiser
Families can expect a fun night of hockey Thursday, Jan. 21 for the CFCW Charity Hockey game intended to raise money for the Ponoka Elementary School (PES) playground.
Organizers Jen Bartley and Layna Palecheck provided an update to the fundraiser, which will bring fun games over the course of the evening. “During the fi rst inter-mission anyone who purchases a special $5 airplane paper will have the chance to launch their creation to-wards centre ice,” they explained in an email.
The person closest to centre ice will win $200. Also every ticket holder will be entered into a draw for a chance to participate in the Shoppers Drug Mart $500 Shoot To Win. One lucky winner will get the chance to shoot from centre ice for the $500 cash prize.
“Proceeds from this event will support the PES Playground Project, which is raising funds to build the fi rst fully accessible playground in the community,” adds the email.
Taking on the CFCW Critters’ team is a group of dedi-cated Ponoka folks:
Trevor Feragen, Bruce Harbin, Dave Parker, Jason Sale, Brett Cissell, Nathan McEntee, Shaun Lawrence, Hugh Green, Chris Palechek, Mike Heidt, Mark Prefontaine, Rick Wilkins, Mike Dillen, Terry Owen and Justin Ronnie.
Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at Shoppers Drug Mart or ATB Financial or from Bartley at 403-704-0914 and Palechek at 403-785-7776.
BY MUSTAFA ERICPONOKA NEWS
BY JEFFREY HEYDEN-KAYEPONOKA NEWS
to goal difference as they have 16 points just like the second place Stettler team.
Coach Ron Kilnger said the girls were doing pret-ty good so far. “They are keeping up well with the basics,” he said.
Practicing twice a week, taking turns between Ponoka and Lacombe, Peewee Lacoka girls now look to catching up with Warburg girls who stand at the top with 18 points.
Klinger, who is in his sec-ond year of coaching the peewee girls, says his team should continue to work hard. “If we keep working hard, there is no reason why we shouldn’t win (the championship)”.
But he added “Having fun is the big thing, they should also have fun.”
In other minor hockey news Midget Lackoka girls won over Camrose 2-0 in an away game on Saturday, Jan. 9 with goals scored by Danika Polson and Paige Polson.
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016 PONOKA NEWS 23
Books to watch for in 2016
With less than a week left before the fi rst stone hits the house, there is still some work to be done on Ponoka’s largest curling event.
Bruce Clarke, president of the Ponoka Curling Club, explained plans are well un-derway for the Phase 3 Electric Town and Country Bonspiel slated to run Jan. 19 to 23 at the Ponoka Culture
and Recreation Complex.
“We hope to get 25 men’s teams and as this is the fi rst year we have included a ladies’ division, we are hoping to attract eight ladies rinks,” stated Clarke.
All of the week-day draws will run at 6 and 8:30 p.m. with the finals slated for Saturday.
As it is the club’s biggest event of the season, Clarke added they still have space for a few more busi-
nesses to add their names to the list of sponsors.
“We’re still look-ing for more, but so far the businesses in town have been very supportive of the event,” he said.
In addition to the exciting curl-ing action set for the week, curlers - along with the spectators for a small cost - can come and enjoy some great food as they watch the rocks and rolls on the sheets.
Wednesday, Jan.
20 will see chili on a bun served cour-tesy of sponsors Bob Hepp Catering and the Ponoka Legion, followed on Thursday, Jan. 21 with a full course dinner through the Ponoka Curling Club’s cor-porate sponsors Ponoka Co-Op Oils, McKelvie Feedlot, Quality Paint & Collision, Almita Piling, Sommer Home Hardware, United Cycle Edmonton, Classic Granite Works, Don Pederson
Construction and Ponoka Chrysler Jeep Dodge.
On Friday night, Jan.22, the feature is beef on a bun courtesy Ponoka Fertilizer, while Saturday’s (Jan.23) wind-up banquet is sponsored by the Ponoka Curling Club.
Clarke also stat-ed that any teams still interested in participating in the Town and Country Bonspiel can call him at 403-963-5442 to register.
Ever miss out on a new book by one of your favourite authors and wish you had known about it before it was so popular it was never on the library shelf? Well, here’s a rundown of some of the books coming out in 2016 by bestselling authors:
Jeffrey Archer– Cometh the Hour
David Baldacci– The Last Mile
Linwood Barclay– Far From True
Catherine Coulter– Insidious
Clive Cussler– The Emperor’s Revenge
& The GangsterJeffrey Deaver
– Steel KissStephanie Evanovich
– The Total Package& The Pursuit
Heather Gudenkauf– Missing Pieces
Ian Hamilton– The Princeling of Nanjing
Tami Hoag– Bitter SeasonStephen King– End of Watch
Debbie Macomber– Girl’s Guide to
Moving OnYann Martel
– High Mountains of PortugalFern Michaels– No Safe Secret
James Patterson– 15th Affair, NYPD Red 4,
Private Paris &Private RioJD Robb
– Brotherhood in DeathNora Roberts
– Bay of Sighs & ObsessionJohn Sandford– Extreme PreyDanielle Steel
– Blue, Precious Gifts, Property of a Noble Woman & Magic
All of these books are available through Ponoka Jubilee Library. We would suggest that you request these titles for yourself, because there is going to be a long list of people looking for them. The good thing is that our Ponoka patrons get fi rst dibs on our items. So, say
you request ‘The Last Mile’ by David Baldacci, and are number 27 in the queue, it’ll seem like you are never going to get your copy to read. But you might actually be the fi rst Ponoka patron on the list, which means that when our copy of the book arrives, it goes to you before it goes to the 26 people ahead of you. But it also means that you are on the waiting list for all of the other copies that are in Parkland Regional Library system, most likely one per library, which is about 50 copies. Essentially what it means is that requesting popular titles like the ones listed above for yourself, is the best way to get that book as soon as possible. And it’s all free with your library membership, which is also free in 2016. So come on down to the library to get your free card, and then visit our catalogue at search.prl.ab.ca/apo to make requests.
And keep in mind that these are only a few of the titles that we have on order. To see full lists of all the items we have coming to the library soon, visit our website at Ponokalibrary.prl.ab.ca/services/book-lists or come into the library to see the printed lists that are kept by the new releases. Any questions, let us know, we’re happy to help.
BY JACLYN BERRY
Ponoka bracing for majorcurling party
Girl Broncs place third
BY JORDIE DWYERPONOKA NEWS
The boys, facing similar challenges, were down 17-7 at the end of the fi rst quarter. The Broncs’ only saving grace was their zone defense against the Raiders, which slowed them up a bit in the paint.
Playing against a 4A team was tough for the 3A Broncs, not only because of the level of the oppo-nent, but also for missing two starters.
Coach Tylor Johnson said his biggest goal was to see players in the game 100 per cent. “Effort is something we can always control, no matter the cir-cumstances. I really think this game will give us the jolt of confi dence we needed going into the stretch run of the season.”
While the Broncs weren’t able to make any major headway through that points gap, the players did
make several adjustments throughout the game against the onslaught. Corey Fillinger played much of the game knowing there was no one to replace him. When he took a break, it showed in the team’s performance.
“He just goes out there and takes control of the game,” said Johnson.
“You could see the shift of play turn heavily in Thurber’s favour when he came off,” he added.
Despite those challenges, Johnson said every play-er did their best. Another tactic during the game was to use Evert Fillinger’s powerful long range shots.
“Evert is a pure shooter,” said Johnson.“Big story for us in this game was just not making
many shots that we probably should have made had we had a little more luck,” he added.
continued from page 17
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