By Wes Gilbertson
The Eagle
Though the province’s contract with the RCMP does not expire until 2012, the town isn’t wasting any time exploring long-term policing options.
With that in mind, Mayor Ken Bech and Ian Smith, the town’s director of community and protective services, traveled to Edmonton on April 24 for lunch with Alberta Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko.
On the plate? An inquiry about the province’s future policing plans, and discussion about the different options for the town when the current agreement runs out.
“Really, we’re just being proactive,” explained Bech. “We’re just reviewing one of the vital services that the town provides.
“We wanted to see if there are different policing models that should be investigated.”
“It’s not that we are dissatisfied with the RCMP or the service they provide,” added Smith. “We want to be in the best position possible to address our police service once that contract expires.”
Whether the province extends its contract with the RCMP or not, the town could go in a number of directions, including the creation of a local police service, or joining a regional police force such as the Calgary Police Service, Smith said.
“The solicitor general gave us a few ideas and a few options to check out,” he said. “All the doors are open at this point in time.”
Both Smith and Bech, who scheduled their meeting with Cenaiko at the behest of the town’s protective services committee, stressed they are happy with the town’s relationship with the RCMP and the service that institution provides.
But “council and administration would not be doing their job if we did not look at all of the options,” Bech said.
“We are satisfied with the RCMP, but there is an opportunity here,” Smith added.
That opportunity is for the town to ensure it’s getting the most possible bang for its buck.
Currently, the town pays 70 per cent of the costs of having an RCMP force — approximately $100,000 per officer, Smith said.
But when Cochrane’s population surpasses 15,000, the town will be on the hook for 90 per cent of those costs, at least under the terms of the current contract between the province and the RCMP.
According to Smith, Cenaiko hinted the province plans to expand the role of bylaw officers in each community.
“That’s kind of the direction I think the province seems to be going,” he said.
Bech and Smith will take the information from their meeting with Cenaiko to the protective services committee. That group hopes to make a report to council by the end of the year.

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By Wes Gilbertson
The Eagle
Cochrane RCMP are investigating a bizarre crime at the Stoney First Nation after nine cows were found dead in an open field near the Goodstoney Rodeo Centre on April 23.
The animals — seven adult cows and two calves — were shot, although no body parts were missing, as is usually the case with incidences of poaching.
“They were just shot and left there,” said Cochrane RCMP Cpl. Mel Calahasen on April 24.
“What is mystifying about it is why would they kill nine and just leave them there?”
Three other cows also sustained bullet wounds, and Calahasen said one may have to be put down as a result of its injuries.
The cattle belonged to the Wesley Band. The dead animals were reported by the Peacekeeper Security force.
Although the animals were found on April 23, police are still unsure of exactly when they were killed. Nobody phoned RCMP to report gunshots in the remote area, which is just south of Highway 1A.
“We’re not sure when this occurred, however we do have some leads that we are following up on,” Calahasen said. “We’re just trying to find out what happened.”
Some bullet casings found at the scene are being analyzed, which should give investigators more insight into what type of firearm was used.
“In the meantime, we hope people will come forward with some information,” Calahasen said.
Anybody with information about the crime is asked to contact Cochrane RCMP at 932-2213.

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By Sarah Junkin
The Eagle
Two tireless Cochrane volunteers have been awarded with one of Canada’s top honours for their dedication to the community.
Betty Goodsell and Duncan Strachan are among 80 Canadians to be honoured with a Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award.
The award was created in 1996 to honour Canadians for unpaid activities that support humanitarian or community causes.
Goodsell was recognized for her work with the Activettes, a group she helped found in Cochrane more than 25 years ago. She has also worked for Meals on Wheels, and The Clothesline, a second-hand clothing store whose proceeds go to help the food bank.
Goodsell also established the Family and Community Support Services.
But despite her hard work, and the fact former Cochrane mayor Judy Stewart had hinted that she was going to nominate her, Goodsell said she was astonished to receive a letter in the mail telling her she’d be receiving the award.
“I was more than surprised, I was overwhelmed,” she said. “I am definitely receiving a wonderful award.”
Goodsell added no date has been set for the awards ceremony, which is dependent on Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean’s schedule.
Strachan, is to be recognized for his 34-year dedication to the scouting movement, most notably, his founding of the 21st Young Offenders Scout Troop. The model has become a template for other institutions designing groups for incarcerated youth.
He is also a project leader and co-ordinator for numerous Kiwanis projects.

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By Sarah Junkin
The Eagle
Arguably Cochrane’s longest-running club, the Cochrane Art Club is hosting its 47th show and sale May 6 and 7.
For the second year, the event will take place at the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre alongside the Chamber of Commerce Trade Show. The venue was moved from the Cochrane RancheHouse last year in order to give the 40 artists more space to show their work. Each artist has the option of submitting up to six pieces.
A silent auction and preview will begin at 10 a.m. May 6 followed by the regular sale at noon as well as the following day. The club also plans to host students’ and seniors’ tours on May 5.
According to member Shirley Edge, the group is already gearing up for its 50th anniversary which she said promises to be “something very special.”
Admission to the show is free and includes entry into a free draw for an original painting by Judy Newman.
“It’s a nice little painting,” said Edge. “Though it’s not really very little. It’s tall and vertical which is nice because not everyone has a big open wall.”

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By Wes Gilbertson
The Eagle
What a difference a year can make.
Only 12 months after the Cochrane and District Chamber of Commerce pulled the plug on its involvement in the Labour Day parade, leaving the future of the long-time event in question, the volunteer group that took over the organization of the annual spectacle is promising to try to make it better than ever.
Ivan Davies said the Cochrane Special Events Society’s mindset is that “now that everything is not last-minute, we feel we can put together as good a parade or better.”
According to Davies, the society, which took on organizing the parade last May, is committed to keeping things as simple as they were when the route consisted mostly of gravel roads — just a fun day for Cochrane families to enjoy.
“It’s just putting on a darn good event for a darn good reason,” he said.
According to statistics presented to council at its April 24 meeting, the 2005 parade featured about 150 entries and more than 850 participants.
It also drew in excess of 5,000 spectators, not just from Cochrane but from other communities as well, Davies said.
“For a town this size and this small, that’s a fabulous thing to be presented and to be proud of,” he commented.
“If we can get 5,000 or 6,000 people involved watching the parade and another 1,000 people in the parade and another 150 volunteers, that’s great, great community involvement.
“It isn’t just about the old-timers with the horses,” he added. “It’s about the town of Cochrane as a community, I can’t stress that enough.”
The Calgary Stampede parade, an event with which Davies was involved in for about 15 years, caps entries at 150, and the Cochrane parade committee may have to do the same this year, council heard.
“We anticipate that we’re actually going to be turning down entries this year,” Davies said. “We have to focus on the quality, not the quantity.”
In 2005, for the first time in more than 20 years, the parade did not go through downtown after Canadian Pacific Railways (CPR) said it would no longer halt trains to accommodate the event.
The town is still working with the CPR to resolve that issue and open the door for the procession to cross the railway tracks and move down First Street West and into the downtown core again this year.
“We feel it is imperative to get it there, if we can,” Davies said.
This year’s parade will begin at the Burnco site in southeast Cochrane.

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By Wes Gilbertson
The Eagle
Everybody stands to benefit from the launch of a mentorship program that would pair Cochrane-area high school students with local construction workers and tradespeople for a six-week summer apprenticeship, according to project organizers.
“I just see wins all the way around,” said Tim McLeod, the project’s volunteer co-ordinator. “What we’re finding so far is that no one is saying. ‘Hey, this is a bad idea.’”
McLeod has been working with Calgary’s Center for Excellence in Home Building and Land Development to launch the summer mentorship program, which officially kicks off with a breakfast meeting next week at the Cochrane RancheHouse.
More than 100 people have been invited to attend the May 2 breakfast, including representatives from all three local high schools, plus developers, builders, tradespeople and Cochrane Mayor Ken Bech.
Bech, who made his career in the construction industry, said the project gives students an opportunity to find out first-hand if they’re suited for a career in a skilled trade.
“What we’re trying to do here,” he explained, “is just ramp it up, to really herald the fact that these jobs are available and that young people have this opportunity.”
It is no secret that Alberta builders are in dire need of skilled workers. In fact, the Center for Excellence in Home Building and Land Development was established in part to address the issue.
Since then, summer mentorship programs have been launched in Calgary and Airdrie, where they have been quite successful.
“We need to get young people interested and aware that there are great opportunities,” said Ben Kawaguchi, president of the Centre for Excellence.
“What the construction industry now needs is brilliant people that can come in with skills and develop their skills into business,” added McLeod, a consultant with construction experience.
In the program, students will be paired with workers in the skilled trade of their choice. They are paid for their work and also receive high school credits.
Cochrane High principal Chris Lees is excited about the program, which he believes will open doors for students in a field he admits is sometimes overlooked.
“I know there is a great demand for people in the trades and we have a group of kids we probably haven’t given the same opportunities to,” Lees said, adding it is a huge boon to have construction industry experts involved with the delivery of the program.
“With their help and their initiative, I think we are going to hit a group of kids that will be very interested in these careers.”
It’s too early to tell how many students will take advantage of the program, but all parties are confident the interest is there.
Whether an apprenticeship student eventually decides to pursue a career in the field or not does not dictate the success of the program, Kawaguchi said.
“The idea is really to help kids make informed decisions about their careers before they leave high school,” he said.

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By Sarah Junkin
The Eagle
More than 60 people made their way through seven courses at a “Spring Fling” dinner hosted by the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area on April 22.
The dinner is an annual fundraiser to help with the club’s operating costs that grants don’t cover. The total amount raised was not available at press time.
“I’m sure it was several thousand,” said Boys’ and Girls’ Club executive director Shelly Hill.
Local chef Jan Donovan-Downs created an elaborate menu that included seared prawn mint lime fruit salsa in endive boats, salmon quenelle in lobster consommé, lamb poached in beurre fondue with white vegetable pureé and seared ginger spring greens, and chilled lemon poached asparagus, to name just a few dishes.
“She did an absolutely wonderful job,” said Hill. “We’re so happy about it. I’m sure it’s going to become a big event now people know what a success it was.”
Guest speakers at the event were Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards, who won a bronze medal in skeleton at the Torino Winter Olympics, and Murray Cluff, a private coach for Jennifer Heil, who won a gold in moguls.
In 1995, the Cochrane Youth Centre became affiliated with the provincial and national Boys and Girl Clubs. The local club, for youths between the ages of 10 and 16, is situated at 111 Fifth Ave., W., in Cochrane.

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By Warren Harbeck
No sooner had my last column come out than Cochrane life coach Cathy Yost phoned. “You’ve really touched on a subject that many of us are afraid to explore,” she said. “10:30 at Coffee Traders?”
I had written about poverty of spirit and the importance of dreams, subjects raised by Kate Millar, Glen Eyford and Jerre Paquette at a recent Cochrane Ideas Society gathering.
Over a hot cup of dark roast, Cathy got right to the point. “We all have dreams, desires, passions,” she said. “However, when we don’t nurture our dreams, and time passes, they begin to fade, as we busy ourselves in day-to-day life.”
To dull our growing discomfort, she said, we substitute things for dreams. “We have dreams that are never fulfilled because we’re so busy getting and doing.” It’s only when we are clear in our own identity — our authentic self revealed in our deepest longings and dreams — that we give up the struggle for “stuff” we never really needed in the first place.
Cathy worked behind the counter at Traders some years ago, and it was there that she gained a new vision for life. “The work was secondary,” she said. “It was really about connecting with people. Connection is about feeding the soul. Connection is how we keep our dreams alive. We’re all looking for connection.”
What Cathy was getting at, I think, is that mutual affirmation is critically important for keeping dreams alive, and that failure to keep dreams alive goes hand-in-hand with the poverty of spirit that disconnects us from our authentic self.
The more I listened to her concerns, the more she reminded me of another of our Cochrane coffee companions, David Irvine, author and keynote speaker on authenticity and simplicity in life.
Speaking of David, I just happened to hear from him, as well, on last week’s topic.
“This is one of my dreams,” he wrote: “to support and foster authentic leadership in the world. It somehow keeps my spirit nourished.”
He is intrigued by the notion of poverty of spirit, he said. “I certainly see my share of this kind of poverty in my work these days, and how visioning is an antidote.”
As an aid in measuring the richness of our spirit and the vitality of our dreams, he reflected on four criteria put forward by cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien: inspiration, challenge, surprise and love. David wrote:
Inspiration
“You are still alive if you can be inspired and uplifted. The beautiful movie Finding Neverland illustrates how inspiration can emerge from children. Who and what are your sources of inspiration?
Challenge
“You are still alive if you can be challenged and tested. Being open to challenge is an invitation to grow, to move beyond the knowable, to stretch ourselves. Who or what is stretching, challenging you?
Surprise
“You are still alive if you can be delighted by surprises and the unexpected. You see this characteristic in children. They are open to awe and curiosity as a part of life. As adults, we may think it is funny for one minute or two, and then we ‘get on to more important things.’ Cynicism dries up our river of surprise. Stay alive to connection with wonder and awe and curiosity. Everyday is filled with surprise in between our agendas and our plans. Be open for it.
Love
“Whenever we work with a group of people — especially high-powered influential people — the question always remains: You may be powerful, but are you loved? Love is about being deeply touched and deeply moved by life. Is your heart open?”
David’s latest book, The Authentic Leader: It’s about Presence, not Position (co-authored with Jim Reger), should be in bookstores the third week of May, he says. It’s safe to assume he will argue that leaders’ spirits crumble when supportive connections are broken and dreams die.
Speaking of books, Fred Monk, pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Cochrane, drew my attention to the delightful small book, My Dream: Listen to the Children, by John Bougen and James Irving. The authors travelled to 191 countries in 167 days, photographing children and asking them a simple question:
“If one of your dreams could come true, which one would it be?”
One 12-year-old Indonesian boy said he dreamed of using his money from begging to become a shoeshine boy at the airport. A four-year-old South African girl dreamed of becoming a nurse because she wanted people to feel better.
And then there’s this dream of a beaming six-year-old Icelandic girl: “For everybody to be as happy as me.”
No poverty of spirit there!
(c) 2006 Warren Harbeck
warren@harbeck.ca.

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By Sarah Junkin
Spring’s in the air and you may already be tidying up your garden, washing off your patio furniture, and rescuing the solitary flip flop that somehow got tangled up in the debris of winter.
No doubt you’re also cleaning up your garden gnomes in preparation for another season of standing around among the begonias, so I thought it’d be timely to share with you some hot-off-the-press garden gnome news.
Earlier this month, gnome historians discovered important evidence that’s shaken up the traditional long-accepted theory of gnome evolution.
Until now, everyone believed they originated in 1893 in Thuringia, Germany, but it’s now thought the rosy cheeked little fellows may actually hail from Poland. A recently discovered advertisement in an 1866 edition of the Deutsche Illustrirte Zeitung depicts an ad with some colourful gnomes for sale in Neuwedell, Poland.
As you can imagine, the discovery has gnome experts all over the world buzzing with excitement, but the reason the story caught my eye is because my husband is fascinated by gnomes.
Really.
I, of course, won’t let him keep any in our yard (like clowns and the Easter bunny, they give me the creeps, and I don’t need some strange guy in a pointy hat looking up my skirt when I’m planting petunias). So instead, he admires them wistfully over other people’s fences whenever he gets the chance.
I’ve tried to get my poor husband interested in other, less sinister garden paraphernalia like pink flamingos, or birdbaths. I’ve even pointed out how interesting Venus de Milo replicas are, but to no avail. He’s fascinated by garden gnomes, and can’t even hear the word “gnome” without smiling fondly like an indulgent gnome parent.
He even wrote a story about a family of gnomes that was runner-up in a short story contest.
But lately he’s taken his gnome adulation to extreme lengths. We’re planning a trip to England this summer, and despite the numerous attractions that country has to offer, my husband is mostly excited about finding out how best to get from London to Devon so we can visit the world-renowned Gnome Reserve and Wild Flower Garden.
There you can peruse 250 different species of herbs, flowers and grasses, but more importantly, from my husband’s point of view, the place boasts 1,000 different gnomes, some of them reportedly quite valuable and important gnome antiques.
I can’t wait.
They didn’t get the answer I was hoping for, but at least Mitford Middle school took some moral initiative when its council polled families about whether they wanted to continue to use the proceeds of legalized gambling to supplement their school budget.
Ballots were sent out to 405 families, and 170 were returned. Of those, 119 families indicated they were in favour of using proceeds from gambling to purchase school supplies, and 51 said they weren’t.
The school has accepted the results of the poll, and is gearing up for its next casino in September.
I applaud Mitford for taking this initiative, though it’s disheartening to learn that easy cash, even when it comes from a source that preys on low-income Canadian families, is acceptable to so many, especially in a community that already has so much.
According to Statistics Canada, 1.2 million Canadian adults are experiencing problems with gambling.
The Canada Safety Council claims 200 problem gamblers commit suicide every year, and for every one of those, five more wind up in hospital with self-inflicted wounds.
Problem gambling is also linked to an increase in family break ups, bankruptcy, theft, fraud, and homelessness, all of which are apparently acceptable in the Olympic community.
Last February, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games announced a new partnership with the unveiling of SportsFunder, a set of lottery games that will produce an estimated $20 million for amateur sport in British Columbia.
“We’re giving lottery players an exciting new choice of play . . . while directly supporting the dreams of amateur athletes across the province,” said Vic Poleschuk, president of the B.C. Lottery Corporation (BCLC).
And with a stunning disregard for families decimated by chronic gambling, Sandra Stevenson, president Sport B.C., also applauded the move.
“This initiative represents a great step forward for amateur sport,” she said. “Congratulations to BCLC, the government of British Columbia and Vancouver 2010.”
sarah@cochraneeagle.com.

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