By Wes Gilbertson
The Eagle
Despite strong opposition from a handful of homeowners, council gave the town’s operations department the green light March 27 to go ahead with a controversial pathway relocation project along the banks of the Jumping Pound Creek in Bow Meadows.
The new pathway will replace a portion of the red-shale path that was washed out during the June floods.
The town’s proposal to rebuild the trail closer to the backyards of a number of houses on Bow Meadows Drive has drawn the ire of some residents, who fear having the pathway only metres from their property line will jeopardize the privacy they currently enjoy.
Council acknowledged their concerns, but eventually decided the relocation project was, as Coun. Ken Hynes suggested, the “best possible response to the situation.”
“This is a community resource, not one that is devoted to the residents of Bow Meadows,” Hynes said.
Also included was a plan to reinforce and protect the banks near the George Fox Trail bridge by installing more than 20 metres of rip-rap along the slope.
At a mid-February open house, a handful of Bow Meadows residents expressed concerns about the pathway relocation, which included privacy issues, the possibility the value of their homes would decrease, and the environmental impacts of building a path on the banks.
Brenda Stebeleski, whose Bow Meadows home backs onto the Jumping Pound but will not be affected by the path relocation, was at that meeting and said she worries the town is ignoring the residents’ concerns.
“We did not expect the town’s priorities to be on the path and not our properties,” she said, noting only about eight homes will be directly impacted.
“Nobody else seems to care but the eight residents and me, because I am concerned about the environment more than the path,” she added. “It is a small amount of people so their voices are not being heard.”
Jim Anderson, the town’s director of operational services, conceded that relocating the pathway did open the doors to the possibility of “some intrusion” on homeowners, but that is a reality on other portions of the community pathway system as well.
“We have many areas in Cochrane, particularly in West Terrace, in GlenEagles, where the pathway would be closer to the backyards of residents than the pathway we are proposing here,” he said.
The town had submitted a proposal to re-construct the path at its original location, but that option would have included rebuilding the bank, something the Department of Fisheries and Oceans advised would not be approved.
Another option was to remove that portion of pathway altogether, re-routing pedestrian traffic onto the sidewalks along Bow Meadows Drive.
But a number of councillors expressed concern that eliminating the pathway would just cause more problems.
“I am not sure that would achieve our goal of having people stay out of that area,” said Coun. Jeff Genung.
“I would rather see people using the path than trampling down the whole area,” agreed Coun. Truper McBride.
The total cost of the project will be approximately $136,500, a tab that will be covered under the provincial flood assistance program.
Town officials are hopeful work to install the protective rip-rap and relocate the path can be completed between April 16-30.

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By Wes Gilbertson
The Eagle
A pay hike and an emphasis on providing competitive wages highlight a three-year pact signed recently between the Town of Cochrane and its integrated fire/emergency services (EMS) workers union.
The deal, which is retroactive to the beginning of this year, was ratified at a March 13 council meeting and announced last week.
“I think we were basically after the same thing, which is a top-notch service,” said Jory Jenson, president of the local fire/EMS union.
“They want us to do good work and we want them to facilitate it.”
Town officials and union representatives began hammering out the details of the contract last month, meeting eight times before finally coming to an agreement.
Both sides reported the process was amicable, but are nonetheless pleased to have the negotiations behind them.
“We believe that we have been able to address the issues that the union had,” said EMS Chief Grant Brilz.
“We want to get back to delivering service to the community and ensuring that the people that do that are appropriately compensated and I think we have achieved that.”
The terms of the new contract include a 3.5 per cent wage increase for this year.
In 2007, the pact calls for a market value adjustment, aimed to calculate wages by comparing with pay scales in other communities that offer integrated fire and EMS service, such as Airdrie, Canmore, Leduc and Spruce Grove.
The agreement also includes a cost of living adjustment in 2008, the final year of the contract.
Brilz stressed the importance of offering competitive wages in order to “recruit and retain the high-quality people we need for our community.”
“You have to remain competitive or you are going to lose key personnel,” added Ian Smith, the town’s director of community and protective services.
“You spend a considerable amount of time and resources to train these people so you want to keep them.”
Fifteen union members voted on the pact, with only two opposed to the deal.
“I think there are a lot of people happy with it,” Jenson said. “It is nice to be able to negotiate terms of a mutually-agreeable contract and move on.”
Council voted unanimously to ratify the contract, the same night it also approved a deal to build a $6.16 million emergency services building on Griffin Road.

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By Wes Gilbertson
The Eagle
Despite media reports over the past two weeks that Calgary Transit might extend its service to outlying communities within the next five years, transit officials said those talks are “speculative” and “absolutely premature.”
Calgary Transit boss John Hubbell made headlines March 16 when he suggested to reporters that city buses could soon be highway-bound, adding routes to bedroom communities such as Cochrane, Airdrie and Okotoks.
But Hubbell was more guarded when reached March 20, insisting there is no timeline for dispatching Calgary buses west on Highway 1A.
“We do not have any plans or mandate right now to extend service to Cochrane,” he said. “But these things have a way of gaining momentum.”
Like Hubbell, Ron Collins, Calgary Transit’s communications co-ordinator, did not rule out the possibility of regional bus service, but said it’s not a top priority just yet.
“I’m not saying it is not in the cards
. . . it is just a little bit premature today,” he said.
“We are challenged with just moving Calgarians as it is,” Collins added, noting Calgary Transit has had major increases in ridership in recent years and often experiences capacity problems at peak hours.
“We have to address those issues before we even look at providing transit outside (Calgary).”
Collins acknowledged there has been some preliminary talk of taking a regional approach, but said the parties involved have yet to explore the “fiscal realities” of providing such a service.
According to Mayor Ken Bech, who sits on a transportation committee with the Calgary Regional Partnership, about half of Cochrane workers have jobs in the city.
For that reason, Bech said he has long supported the idea of linking to the city through a regional transit system.
“There are obviously huge benefits to towns like Cochrane, Airdrie and Okotoks because of our proximity to the city and the fact that such a large amount of our workforce is commuting to the city everyday,” Bech said.
“I’d yell it from the top of any mountain — I think it is a great idea.”
Southland Transportation currently runs three buses from Cochrane to Calgary each day. But all three coaches depart Cochrane before 7 a.m. and return later than 5 p.m., leaving most post-secondary students or shift workers looking for other alternatives.
Regardless, Southland general manager Tom Jezersek said there has not been enough interest shown to run a commuter on a different schedule.
“If we thought we could increase our ridership by changing our times, we would do that in a heartbeat,” he said.

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By Jack Tennant
You folks are amazing.
Last week we told you about Tara Beaver, a Morley teenager who’s raising money so she can play in the Aboriginal Hockey Championships in Kahnáwake, Que., April 30 to May 6.
Beaver’s not a band member so she doesn’t qualify for band funds so she’s doing it on her own.
Well, not really. She has friends in Cochrane she didn’t even know.
Since last week, folks have donated $1,000 to the cause, which means we’re about half way there.
Your kindness and compassion is reflected in one particular donation. Last Saturday morning, a chap showed up at the office and counted out a stack of $20 bills.
Twenty five of them.
Yep, $500 in cash and the neat thing is he didn’t want to be identified.
No publicity, just help the kid, he said, and he was out of here.
So keep those cards and letters coming folks. You can make a donation at the Cochrane Eagle to help send a kid to a national hockey championship.
More importantly, we’ll show a young lady this community cares.
ß ß ß
Speaking of caring, how about Lyle Oberg? The Tory MLA and former cabinet minister was turfed from caucus because he publicly questioned Premier Ralph’s decision that he would have to resign his cabinet post June 1 to seek the Tory leadership.
This is not a question of loyalty folks, but it’s very much a question of control.
The Ralph camp will be extremely busy the next few months shoring up support and there’ll be little if any tolerance for those that want the premier to make a quicker exit.
Ralph’s groupies will lose their place at the public trough so they’ll fight like bears to maintain their positions.
There is no way Ralph should stay on until October 2007. It’s a farewell tour longer than the Rolling Stones’.
And for the Tories to be upset with Oberg for suggesting he knows where political skeletons are buried is just gobbledegook.
Every political party has skeletons and every politician knows where at least a few are buried so his comment is not new.
By forcing Oberg out of cabinet, the Ralph machine has given him credibility.
The growing “Ralph should go” group has been given focus, and the action has done nothing but make Oberg a much more legitimate and visible candidiate.
Perhaps the whole affair is nothing but a political ploy that backfired. Maybe another leadership candidate close to the premier suffered the illusion that if Oberg were turfed from caucus it would render him neutered for the leadership race.
Stranger things have happened in this land of the noon-day sun.
ß ß ß
I saw on the Internet the other day President George Bush’s advisers told him of the threat of avian flu.
So he plans to bomb the Canary Islands.
Just kidding. I hope.
ß ß ß
The Cochrane Humane Society is planning to break gound in June and be in its new building in November.
The original fund-raising target was $1.7 million and we’re this close thanks to a great many people, but the problem is construction costs have increased dramatically.
Through a combination of a little more money and a reduction of some of the interior items, the facility will go ahead.
But we’re still raising money. There’ll be a door-to-door canvass, a gala night at Bragg Creek and, of course, the golf tournament Aug. 10.
I’ve been chairperson of the fundraising and never have I done so little and watched so much money being raised.
The experience was a little like surfing — I just stayed ahead of a wave of enthusiasm and hard work by so many dedicated volunteers.
The new facility can’t come soon enough.
You can be as positive as you can about the present facility, but the truth is it’s a dump.
The staff and volunteers do an amazing job under very challenging circumstances.
And last week the water heater exploded, soaking a couple of staff.
Rest assured there will be a new water heater in the new facility.

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By Sarah Junkin
The Eagle
Some young musicians will have the opportunity to showcase their abilities by warming up for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) April 4.
This will be the third year the CPO has performed in Cochrane as part of a community outreach program designed to expose rural communities to classical music.
For almost 90 minutes before the concert begins, local musicians will warm-up the audience in the foyer of the Alliance Church with performances that will include bagpipes, piano, strings, French horn, woodwind, and voices.
The warm-up show will start at 6 p.m.
Tickets will be available at the Cochrane Alliance Church after March 31. Adults are $15, and $10 for students and seniors.

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By Wes Gilbertson
The Eagle
Two words.
That’s all it took Cremona barrel racer Kelley Sheehan to sum up her goal for this weekend’s Canadian National College Rodeo Finals.
“Win it.”
The thing is, nobody who follows the intercollegiate rodeo circuit will be surprised if Sheehan does just that.
After all, the 21-year-old Mount Royal College student finished the season as the barrel racing points leader.
In 10 rodeos, she took top spot six times.
And she’s confident to boot.
“You have to be in this sport,” Sheehan said. “If you are not, you’re not going to win.”
Ironically, Sheehan’s reason for signing up for the college rodeo tour was not necessarily to chase the championship, but to get some experience aboard her horse Blackie before testing the pro circuit this summer.
The racer had no idea the pair would do so well so soon, she said.
Not wanting to mess with success, Sheehan’s game plan for the college finals, slated for March 30-April 1 in Edmonton, is to “just keep doing the things I’ve been doing.”
“I don’t really want to change anything,” she said. “I’m having a pretty good year.”
The college rodeo championships are open to cowboys and cowgirls from across the country, although the majority of the entrants are Alberta or Saskatchewan products.
Sheehan is familiar with most of her competitors and knows she’ll need to be at her best to take top prize.
“It is going to be pretty tough,” she said. “I have been the season leader all year, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna win this rodeo.”

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By Wes Gilbertson
The Eagle
Town council took a big step towards establishing a regional pathway through Cochrane Ranche on March 27, approving a trails master plan and giving direction to parks and facilities staff to move ahead with cost estimates and construction of the trail.
The trail will provide a link between the south parking lot, off Highway 1A, and the RancheHouse.
The town had considered paving the trail, but residents who responded to a survey at an open house frowned upon that idea.
Instead, the trail will likely be gravel.
“We are not looking to open up a sort of expressway through this park,” said Coun. Andy Marshall.

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By Wes Gilbertson
The Eagle
Cochrane town councillors are hopeful a new bylaw that mandates the installation of efficient toilets in all new homes and businesses will flush out the use of old toilets that use more water than deemed necessary.
With the unanimous backing of councillors, the town became one of only a handful of municipalities nationwide to outlaw the installation of outdated toilet models in new buildings.
In 1992, the town was praised for assuming a lead role by mandating the installation of low-flush toilets in new buildings. As bathroom technology evolves, so to must the policies that govern them, said Environmental Co-ordinator Lisa Fox.
“This would be the natural next step for our community,” she said.
Under the terms of the new water conservation bylaw, builders will be required to install only dual-flush toilets or waterless urinals (or those that use less than 3.8 litres per flush) in all new structures.
The document also mandates the installation of tap aerators with a maximum flow rate of 1.9 litres per minute in all bathroom faucets and shower heads.
The bylaw will be policed by safety codes officers who inspect new buildings before providing occupancy permits.
“It is the right thing to do,” said Coun. Ken Hynes, who suggested in June that administration explore the idea further. “It is time and we have to lead.”
“It sends a message and it is definitely setting Cochrane in the right direction,” added Coun. Truper McBride.
While all members of council agreed the purpose of the bylaw was admirable, there was some concern about whether industry could keep up with the demand for the new equipment.
“The concern is that we get ahead of ourselves and industry is not with us,” said Coun. Andy Marshall. “I get the impression that this is still an evolving technology.”
But Fox assured council that dual-flush toilets are readily available. Two Cochrane businesses, as well as a number of Calgary shops, have the product, she said.
The inclusion of tap aerators in the wording of the bylaw also sparked some concern.
Mayor Ken Bech said including those devices might create a “nightmare” for enforcement officials.
“I think we are setting ourselves up for failure with this,” Bech said.
After some debate, Bech’s motion to amend the bylaw to exclude tap aerators was defeated 4-2, with only himself and Coun. Jeff Genung in favour.
The bylaw will take effect on June 1.

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By Sarah Junkin
Sometimes when our government tells us to do something that is clearly idiotic, we behave like hapless sheep and blithely comply, no questions asked.
There’s one such custom we’re all going to take part in this weekend, not because we understand why, or because we think it’s necessarily a good idea, but because politicians have told us we have to.
As though we didn’t have enough activities to squeeze into each day, now we have to do with one hour less this weekend when daylight saving takes effect. (Not daylight savings, I hasten to add. The phrase is singular, though the inconveniences and potential disasters this inane custom causes every year are definitely plural.)
It’s a nutty concept.
Daylight saving time was first introduced by Benjamin Franklin in a 1784 essay called “An Economical Project”, and later advocated by London builder William Willett in 1907 in the pamphlet “Waste of Daylight.”
There is nothing that I can see to be gained by changing the clocks by one hour twice a year, but there’s quite a lot to lose.
In fact, the practice is deadly dangerous.
According to University of British Columbia sleep expert Stanley Coren, the number of serious car accidents and fatal industrial mishaps increases drastically on the Monday after that gloomy day in April when we’re forced to give up an hour of our precious sleep.
And it’s not only on that one day that we’re at risk.
In Britain, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) claims 450 deaths occur from April to October as a direct result of the time change. That’s because when it’s lighter in the evenings we tend to be out and about on the roads more.
During the three-year period from 1968-71, when daylight saving was briefly abolished in that country, ROSPA say figures suggest approximately 2,500 deaths and serious injuries were avoided because vulnerable road users are more at risk during dark evenings than in the mornings.
And I have found out that the old notion that somehow we have to change the clocks to help out the farmers is a myth.
Farmers have, at various times and in different countries around the world, lobbied fiercely against the whole concept. Dairy farmers in particular get annoyed when they can’t make their cows adjust their milking schedule. Those obstinate beasts insist on being milked every 12 hours with no regard for the altered timetable of politicians, or the local creameries who all of a sudden want their milk delivered one hour earlier.
Saskatchewan doesn’t even revert to daylight saving time at all, which suggests maybe it’s not the goal of most Canadian farmers to abruptly change time twice a year.
According to Michael Downing, who wrote Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time, large corporations are actually the driving force behind daylight saving time because they believe it encourages workers to go shopping on their way home from the office.
But of course they don’t come right out and say that exactly.
A Boston Chamber of Commerce pamphlet claimed they were doing it for the farmers because fruit and vegetables and other farm products are firmer and crisper when they’re picked with the dew still left on before the sun has dried it off. This of course, is hogwash, dew having no effect on firmness or crispness.
Around the world other countries are finding different reasons to drop the practice. Earlier this month Iran unceremoniously dumped daylight saving time — a system they have observed for the past 16 years — for religious reasons.
Government spokesperson Gholam Hossein Elham announced March 20 that the decision to eliminate it was reached because when the legal hour changes, many families have difficulty calculating the daily hour of prayer.
For me, there are two compelling arguments against daylight saving time.
Skin cancer experts estimate that over the 12 years our children attend school, changing to daylight saving time increases their exposure to the sun’s most dangerous rays by 30 per cent.
Those carefree days when we all loved the feel of those cancer-causing sunbeams beating down on us (remember when we smeared ourselves with Crisco to bring on that tan?) are long past, so a system that needlessly exposes our families to increased risk of disease is outdated and irresponsible.
But as parents of teenagers well know, there’s another frightening consequence of robbing us of an hour this weekend.
Obviously Ben Franklin wasn’t in charge of waking his kids up in time for school, because if he did he’d know that having to rouse a grumpy 15-year-old a whole hour earlier come Monday morning is not worth any amount of sunshine.
sarah@cochraneeagle.com.

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