By Shawn Logan
The Eagle
Rocky View School Division trustees narrowly passed the 2005/2006 operating budget June 23 as the erosion of school-based decision-making and fewer bus routes for rural students raised concerns.
The proposed $108 million budget passed 4-3, however trustees heard that because the board has yet to receive maintenance funding from the province, the budget may have to be re-opened.
Secretary-Treasurer Darrell Couture said the division has had to estimate that portion (just over $9 million) until Alberta Infrastructure disburses its grant funding.
“We would be re-budgeting when we know the grant information,” Couture said, adding the grant levels likely won’t match soaring materials costs. “It’s probably not going to be sufficient.”
Couture outlined a number of issues that will be faced by the division because of the budget.
As a result of the province’s goal to reduce class sizes through Kindergarten to Grade 9, there will be a loss of school-based decision-making as the board will make staffing decisions instead of school principals.
Transportation grants rose by only three per cent, but Couture said a five per cent increase would have been needed to meet the increased price of diesel fuel. To cover the cost, the division has cut 12 of its 243 routes, which will result in longer ride times.
A number of service areas also had to be cut to balance the budget including school budgets, resource programs and technology acquisitions. Staffing cuts had to be made in human resources and the planning department, while the early literacy co-ordinator position was eliminated.
Couture added the province should be implementing utility agreements with school divisions instead of the current practice of boards drafting individual supply contracts.
The concessions made to balance the budget didn’t sit well with some trustees.
Cochrane-area trustee John Murray said reducing bus services for rural students was unfair in a budget that did little for rural families.
“I still don’t like cutting bus routes and adding to the ride times for students. It’s just not acceptable to save some money,” Murray said. “There’s nothing in this budget for rural parents and it will somehow affect all of them.”
Proposed cuts to special needs funding raised concerns for Cochrane trustee Trudy Hauser, as did the way maintenance funds had been allocated to schools.
Meanwhile, Crossfield trustee Don Thomas was unhappy with the erosion of school-based decision-making.
“I have a large number of reservations about this budget. The loss of (local) control has dire consequences,” Thomas said. “I believe we should look at this budget and pass it with the proviso that we would like to amend it and resurrect school-based decision-making.”
Thomas also raised concerns about the “last minute” nature of the budget, which didn’t allow for adjustments by trustees.
Springbank trustee and board Vice-Chair Maureen Munro said the delay from the province in disbursing grant funding was to blame for the rush to put together the budget.
“Our budget process was lagging a bit this year because we did not have grant information from the province in a timely manner,” Munro said. “This isn’t our typical budget.”
School board budgets must be forwarded to the province by June 30 and must not have a deficit or surplus. The budget passed despite opposition from Thomas, Murray and Hauser.

• Filed under Archives | Comments Comments Off

By Shawn Logan
The Eagle
Residents from Cochrane’s east end, which was hit by a mud slide during the June 18 rainstorm, appeared before council June 27 to dispute the findings of a town engineering report and ask for measures to prevent a similar event in the future.
Steve Grossick, president of the Cochrane Settlement Community Association, told council that a town-commissioned engineering report distributed to residents last week doesn’t align with the events witnessed by residents who were forced to deal with the situation.
Tons of mud rushed down a hill behind Benchlands Place just after noon on June 18, leaving a massive clean-up effort and damage to some homes.
But residents’ accounts were at odds with findings in the engineer’s report.
According to McIntosh Lalani Engineering Ltd., the build-up of water crested a berm, leading to the mud slide as it came down the hill.
“The water appears to have crested over (a) low point in the berm and flowed, in a channelized fashion, downslope,” the report said. “The slide appears to be primarily caused by surficial erosion as a result of the overland water flow.”
The report concludes a storm water drainage system failed, causing water to build up in a baseball field before it breached the berm, causing the slide.
However, Grossick told council residents believe a different set of events caused the mud slide.
“We still have some concerns about the wording of the geotechnical report,” Grossick said, adding, “99.9 per cent of the water that came down in our community did not come over the berm. It came through the sub-strata.”
Grossick said one resident saw “white water gushing from the hillside about five to 20 feet below the crest,” suggesting the majority of the water gushed through the hill and not, as stated in the town’s engineering report, over the berm.
He said photos of the event support the residents’ account more than the town’s. The engineer surveyed the area on June 20.
“We think approximately 200-plus tons (of mud) came out en masse,” Grossick said, noting that interpretation is consistent with the debris left behind.
In a letter to area residents that accompanied the engineering report, the town said it will repair the damage to the hillside and revegetate the area to prevent further erosion.
A new discharge structure was also recommended to “prevent similar occurrences in the future.”
Coun. Andy Marshall, who lives on nearby Carolina Drive, said more work needs to be done to determine what happened and find a solution that will reassure residents.
“This is a potentially dangerous situation,” Marshall said. “They want some assurances and I’m not sure the interim report does the job to completely reassure the residents.”
He noted there seems to be a clash between “the expert view and what may be called community wisdom.”
In addition to accepting the residents’ presentation, Marshall suggested town administration continue to work with residents to find common ground on the issue.
Following the meeting, Grossick said residents remain concerned that the town’s engineering report is out of sync with what witnesses saw.
“What we are saying is they’re mistaken in their assumptions on the volume of water they believe came over the berm,” Grossick said. “We would like further investigation of that particular site.”
With more rain on June 27 and 28, Grossick admitted residents would be keeping a close eye on the hill.

• Filed under Archives | Comments Comments Off

By Sarah Junkin
The Eagle
While one Water Valley-area resident is pondering imminent financial ruin and the demise of a historic landmark, his friends and neighbours are working hard to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Duane Needham, along with his brother Tim, co-owners of the 104-year-old Bottrel Store located approximately 25 km northwest of Cochrane. His home is nearby and on June 18, after days of heavy rain, the wall on one side of the house caved in.
Discouraging as that was, Needham was relieved the store itself had suffered very little water damage with only a small amount leaking into the basement.
Several days later a very different story emerged.
“It looks like we might be losing the store,” said Needham, explaining the foundation began to buckle as a direct result of the heavy rainfall.
“We’ve braced it up temporarily and I think it’s fixable, but it’s dollars and cents, that’s the problem. Looks like we could go broke.”
Needham added he’s applied for provincial flood relief and is waiting to see if it’ll be enough to help save the store.
“It’s hurry up and wait,” he said.
Needham said though the flood may have devastated his livelihood, he’s more concerned about the impact of the store not being there for the community.
“People have gone broke before, but it’s losing the store for the community that’s the worst thing,” he said. “Not that I’m looking forward to going broke either.”
But if Needham’s neighbours have anything to do with it, he’s not going broke.
Cathy Fenton lives about a 1-1/2 miles from Needham and she’s adamant the community isn’t going to lose the store. She was helping Needham on June 18 when the wall of his house caved in.
“I seen it and it was a shock,” she said. “We spent the entire day going back and forth from our basement and helping Duane, and all day there were tons of people stopping by. It’s really shown me what this community is like.”
Almost immediately she was asked, she said, to organize a benefit to help Needham.
“I was asked because I’m always the one to get things done,” she said.
Along with representatives from the Dartique Community Association, Fenton wasted no time in organizing a fundraising dinner and live auction to take place July 16. She said offers of help are already pouring in.
Fenton is also looking to “invite every politician we know. I’m trying to get (Premier Ralph) Klein but I haven’t had any replies yet.”
Fenton has also procured some valuable auction items including a flying lesson.
“One lady cancelled her vacation and gave us half the money,” she said. “I’m at awe with this community.”
Fenton said her goal of raising the $500,000 she reckons will be needed to repair the store is not impossible judging by the enthusiasm of volunteers.
“It’s where we have our coffee,” she said of the venerable store. “It’s where we meet our neighbours. It’s the centre of it all.”
Call 932-5109 to help or for more information.

• Filed under Archives | Comments Comments Off

By Jack Tennant
If we really wanted to offer a community service we’d have instructions on ark building.
But speaking of community service, such events are a natural in this community.
First comes the troubles then comes the community rallying to make things better.
The Bates Bar J Ranch outside Water Valley has been holding children’s camps with horses for 44 years and it was hard hit.
It sits near the Little Red Deer River which normally is about 30 feet wide at the ranch site, but the June 18 flood saw it grow to more than 1,000 feet.
A number of horses died, two bridges were lost, many roads were washed out and the flood cancelled summer for 420 kids and 50 staff.
So neighbors have rallied and will hold a benefit dance and silent auction at 1 p.m., July 2, at the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
It will end when the fun runs out.
There’ll be everything from face painting to campfire songs to beef on a bun and a dance with Russ McIvor providing the music. It’ll be great family fun.
Then we have the Bottrel General Store clinging to life.
Part of the store’s foundation is very insecure from flood damage and its future is questionable, to say the least.
So there’s a fundraiser July 16 at Dartigue Hall with a silent auction to raise funds to make the basement wall sturdy enough to last until government flood relief is available for a permanent solution.
Still with helping flood victims, Canadian Tire and Mark’s Work Wearhouse have combined to raise funds for flood victims. You can make a donation at either store and the companies will very generously match it up to $50,000 for the province. Which means $100,000 in cash to flood victims.
ß ß ß
With all due respect to Duane Steele and Jake Mathews, why wouldn’t organizers use local talent for the Canada Day concert at Mitford Park?
There’s plenty of talent available and we might even have been graced with town Coun. Larry Wackershauser singing “Ode to Bylaw Bob”, an original song with music and words by councillor Larry and sung by him.
I realize some local talent will be presented, but why not all?
We have amazing talent in this wee village by the Bow so let’s use it.
Between here and Morley we have some of the best guitar pickers, fiddlers and musicians around and what better venue than Canada Day in Cochrane to showcase them?

• Filed under Archives | Comments Comments Off

By Shawn Logan
The Eagle
Cochrane officials are keeping a close eye on local waterways and potential problem areas as more rain fell on June 27 and 28.
Torrential rains hit Cochrane hard June 17 and 18, leading to flooding as the Jumping Pound Creek breached its banks and water pooled in saturated areas.
Town spokesperson Dot Gillis said officials are keeping a wary eye but it appears there is much less to worry about than the flooding that hit the area more than a week ago.
“It’s mostly ground saturation they’re monitoring. That seems to be the issue on their minds,” Gillis said June 28. “(Crews have) been going down to the rivers and monitoring different points.”
She said Jumping Pound Creek has only risen slightly despite the rain and a cordon of sandbags along its banks appear to be sufficient.
With the latest bout of bad weather expected to give way to warm, sunny conditions, Gillis doubts there will be any major issues.
“We’re pretty confident we can get through this if the weather goes as predicted,” Gillis said, noting officials are staying regularly updated with Environment Canada weather reports.
Meanwhile, only a few dozen residents appear to be making disaster claims following the June 18 floods.
Andrew Sears, who is administering claims for the town, said Rocky View residents were the majority of the nearly 110 people who filled out disaster aid forms at the Cochrane RancheHouse June 23.
Sears said 35 town residents made claims while another 15 took applications home.
“It was a total cross-section of the town,” Sears said, noting no one area appeared to be affected worse than others.
He said the majority of local claims appear to be basement flooding, with damages to flooring, carpets and drywall. The provincial program is designed to help those who suffered damages that aren’t covered by insurance.
Sears noted applications are still available at the town office.

• Filed under Archives | Comments Comments Off

By Sarah Junkin
The Eagle
A rural family has been unable to return home after severe flooding washed away a bridge that was the only access to their property.
Randy Bates is the owner of Bates Bar J Ranch, which is located 34 km from Cochrane, southwest of Water Valley on the Little Red Deer River. He lives there with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, and daughter.
On June 18 floods washed away the bridge across the river that was the only way onto his ranch.
“It was a pretty heavy duty structure,” he said of the bridge. “But the water just came up and up and caught the bridge and swung it around. So we haven’t been able to go home since.”
In an interesting twist of fate, Bates’ pregnant daughter-in-law Olivia had gone into the early stages of labour shortly before the bridge was lost. Although the birth was not imminent, Bates said had they not left the ranch to get her to the hospital she would have had to be airlifted out.
“It was good timing on her part,” he said, now the proud grandfather of a healthy baby girl. “The baby knew it was time to get out.”
Bates’ family runs kids’ summer camps on his ranch and he has had to cancel the first two.
“We’re hoping to salvage the last four weeks, but it all depends on Mother Nature,” he said. “Right now we’re looking for another bridge.”
Bates said his family has been staying with relatives and he’s been amazed by the kindness of both friends and strangers.
“We had a lot of horses in different pens, and people came and helped us rescue them,” he said. “We’d have had some serious losses if they hadn’t come. The offers of help have been amazing.”
A benefit dance and silent auction for the Bates will be held at 1 p.m., July 2, at the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.

• Filed under Archives | Comments Comments Off

By Shawn Logan
The Eagle
After hearing from a pair of local parents that Cochrane suffers from a shortage of day homes for young children June 27, town council agreed to have a committee review the situation and prepare a report.
Jerilyn Daniels and Nadine Maillot told council that the town lacks a formal day home registry as well as no daycare, presenting problems for parents.
“More and more day homes are going underground and there’s no quality control,” Daniels said. “There’s no day care other than at the (Spray Lake Sawmills) recreation centre and that’s for a short time.”
Maillot said with more growth on the horizon for Cochrane, council should explore options to provide better child care in the community.
She recommended that council form a task force to look into the issue and come up with solutions.
Coun. Truper McBride said the issue was difficult because it doesn’t fall under the town’s purview.
“It’s not a local government responsibility but we realize there is a role we can play,” McBride said, adding the town’s economic development plan has taken some steps to look into the issue.
Council directed the Cochrane Family and Community Support Services Advisory Board to study the issue and prepare a report outlining options for child care.

• Filed under Archives | Comments Comments Off

By Warren Harbeck
It was mid afternoon last Saturday. Our one son and daughter-in-law were visiting from Toronto, and we were expecting our other son and his family from Calgary momentarily. The doorbell rang, but instead of the Calgary gang, it was a messenger with the following note:
“Warren and Mary Anna, you are our dear and wonderful friends. Do not worry that your son has not arrived.” We’d be catching up with them later, it said; meanwhile we were to enjoy the fun-filled afternoon planned for us.
Then followed this instruction: “Go where there is coffee and tea as well as friends to see. . . Up in the loft, beneath a seat, look real hard for your next treat.”
Where else could that be but Coffee Traders? After turning over a few chairs amidst bemused patrons, we found a second envelope, this time hinting at a popular gift shop.
Clearly, we were being sent on some mysterious scavenger hunt, made all the more mysterious by the presence of photographer John Daly at every turn — and, as it turned out later, by an inconspicuous Father Fred Monk and his camera (go to www.coffeewithwarren.com after July 4).
Clue by clue, interspersed with romantic verse, we hurried over to Old & Crafty, then to MacKay’s ice cream shop, and on to Just for You Flowers, where we received a beautiful bouquet and our sixth clue: “Lady Luck . . . is with a cluck. It’s not polite to look under a skirt, but just this once we won’t tell her husband Bert.”
Across the street stood the bronze Legacy Statue of a pioneer woman feeding hens. And sure enough, under her skirt we found our seventh clue.
To Home Hardware and on to Michelle’s Boutique, where we were given a bejeweled tea light, and lines by Louis Untermeyer: “Only of thee and me the night wind sings. . . .”
More romantic verse from Ellen next door, and then to “Superman’s change room” — the phone booth outside the old library.
We sensed the hunt was nearing its end when at Bentleys Books came this clue: “You must be getting hungry and your feet a little sore. Down the sidewalk you must go in order to have a cup of Jo.”
As we stepped up to the counter at Java Jamboree, dancing-eyed baristas handed us some brew and, pointing to a pair of full-bearded ranch hands in western hats, work clothes and dark glasses sitting at a table, said, “This is on them!”
We’d seen the two scruffy strangers around town earlier that afternoon, but hadn’t paid much attention. Now, figuring they too must be part of this intriguing quest, we pulled up chairs, thanked them, and tried to make small talk. But to no avail — they stayed mum.
Mum, that is, until the taller of the two read to us — not in a husky male voice, but in a surprisingly recognizable female voice — “the world is full of beauty when the heart is full of love.”
Then Kate Millar, a no-nonsense woman revered across Canada for bringing hope to many, removed her hat, let down her hair, and hugged us. Her partner-in-crime, Debbie Vandelaar, the motion-picture makeup artist about whom I wrote in March, did the same.
We’d been totally had by two of our dearest friends! They’d been conspiring for months to pull this off.
But the game wasn’t over. A final clue directed us to an intimate dinner that evening with family and a few friends — “just to show you how much we all truly care.”
There, following speeches by our sons, up-and-coming Cochrane vocalist Lisa Van Oyen concluded the day with her moving rendition of a song by Dan Fogelberg: “Longer than there’ve been fishes in the ocean . . . I’ve been in love with you.”
The number 42, according to Douglas Adams’ popular trilogy, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, is the less than satisfying answer to “the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything.”
In Mary Anna’s and my case, that number is the far more satisfying answer to another question: “How long have you guys been married as of June 29?”
Happy 42nd anniversary, Mary Anna. And thank you, Debbie, Kate and the rest of you, for all your love in helping us celebrate this special occasion.
(c) 2005 Warren Harbeck
warren@harbeck.ca.

• Filed under Archives | Comments Comments Off

By Sarah Junkin
I’ve been afraid of clowns for as long as I can remember, so this is usually a bad time of year for me. What with parades, street parties and so on, they’re all over the place.
Until quite recently I believed that of all the terrible things we subject our children to, making them hang out with clowns is surely the worst.
Bad enough that we make them eat broccoli, tell them to keep their rooms clean and enforce early bed times. But thrusting very young children into the company of clowns seemed downright cruel.
I used to think there couldn’t be much more terrifying for a kid than the ghastly crimson elongated smile of a clown, especially when it’s pasted onto a grotesquely coloured face.
Middle-aged people who disguise themselves with gobs of makeup, don shoes twice the size of their feet, and wear brightly coloured wigs to hang out with young children seemed to me sinister at best, and at worst they should be subjected to round-the-clock surveillance.
McDonald’s officials, I thought, showed dubious judgment when they introduced an eerily grinning Ronald as their official representative.
I used to wonder why we invited clowns to entertain innocent children at birthday parties and parades, or why we let them come within a mile of community events.
But my husband pointed out that perhaps my fear of clowns wasn’t reasonable.
He suggested maybe it was time to shake off what he called “some ridiculous childhood phobia” and make an effort to see the good in clowns.
In my defense I was quick to point out that I’m not alone in my “ridiculous phobia.”
Coulrophobia is a well-documented medical condition and it’s defined as an “abnormal fear of clowns.” Apparently, 10 to 20 per cent of the population suffers from it, a number that’s increased steadily since the 1990s.
But lately I’ve had the distinct feeling my husband’s begun to regard me as bordering on insane, so I decided to learn more about clowns and confront my fear.
Cochrane’s very own clown is Betsy Blue, also known as Tracy Nault, the town’s director of recreation, culture and the arts.
She used to be Trixie but changed to Betsy so she wouldn’t get confused with Calgary’s Trixie the Elf.
Nault’s foray into clowning happened by accident when she was cajoled into joining a clowning class.
“They needed six people to run the program and I was the sixth,” she said, adding she already had some important clowning skills such as balloon animal design and face painting.
Over the years Nault has attended numerous clown seminars and classes, and gradually put together the Betsy Blue character (blue hair, red nose, huge feet).
She explained she’s an Auguste clown, which means that as opposed to a hobo, tramp or mime clown, she’s more of a happy, slapstick sort.
In fact, Nault’s become so good at clowning she’s been approached by Just Kidding, a Calgary clown company that wants to train her to represent it at special events.
The point is, Nault is extremely careful not to frighten young children (and grown-ups presumably).
“I play shy if they seem shy, and I tell parents not to force it if their children aren’t comfortable,” she said. “I never, ever approach the child first. I wait for them to come to me.”
Nault helped me realize how much there is to the profession.
“I’ve taken hospital clowning classes where you learn about hygiene and so on,” she said. “Even with face painting there’s a lot more to it than paint and glitter. Each paint brush must be cleaned before it goes on another face.”
Nault recently went to Mexico where she took some balloons with her.
“I made animals for the kids on the beach and they loved it,” she said. “It makes me happy when I put a smile on someone’s face.”
There’s not one scary thing about Betsy Blue, and while I have no idea where exactly my fear of clowns came from, it’s clearly time to let it go.
Betsy Blue’s for hire for events for kids under the age of eight by calling 932-5909.
sarah@cochraneeagle.com.

• Filed under Archives | Comments Comments Off