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Stettler girls win weekend tournament

See story p.13

Cantus Choir andJazz Guys perform to seasonal tunes

See story p.2

Children’s Christmasparty on Sunday

See column p.18

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Steve and Candace Maruk stand outside their home, which is decorated from rooftop to foundation in lights. The lights, which are also strung up to make little Christmas trees on the lawn and on the property’s trees, are timed to music, which can be heard in the vicinity of the home on 88.5 FM.

STACEY LAVALLIEINDEPENDENT REPORTER

It was while separated from his fam-ily, sitting in the sweltering heat of the Egyptian desert, that the idea came to Steve Maruk.

He was sating his longing for Christmas decorations and snow by watching Christmas videos on YouTube when he discovered houselights set to music. The rhythmic fl ashing and pulsing captivated the Stettler man, whose wife and son were back in the community while he worked for oil in the Middle East.

“I told myself I was going to do that when I got home,” Maruk said. “It was Christmas

away from my family, and there’d been several Christmases away from them.” The dream of returning home to spend Christmas with his family, and creating a majestic musical lightshow, kept him going through the rough times that were to come.

Maruk was working in Egypt during the “Arab Spring,” a revolution that saw the Egyptian government overthrown and the Muslim Brotherhood take power. It wasn’t long after that the military staged a coup, unseating the Brotherhood and imprison-ing its leader. All the while, the Muslim terrorist group, ISIL, was threatening the company Maruk worked for.

“It was an everyday thing,” he said. “You

paid attention to it, but didn’t let it get to you.”

Still, Maruk dreamed of Christmas with his family. Whether or not he’d be able to go home that year depended on the polit-ical situation, because unless it stabilized, it wouldn’t be safe for Maruk to be out and about.

After the death of a colleague, and given the continuing destabilization of the safe-ty situation in Egypt, Maruk fi nally made his way home to Canada, meeting his newborn son Nash and reuniting with his wife, Candace and son, Gage. And still, he dreamed of Christmas lights.

continued on page 4

Distant experiences inspire musical Christmas decoration at Stettler home

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MOUSH SARA JOHNINDEPENDENT REPORTER

The Cantus Choir and the Jazz Guys took to the stage at the Stettler Alliance Church on Sunday, Dec. 7 as they mesmerized the crowds

with a variety of music and musical styles.

Cantus Choir’s David Brunner opened the eve-ning with ‘O Aula Nobilis’, which translates to, ‘O noble hall and pride of the school,/ Off all the halls and most outstand-

ing,/ Adorned by the skills of many men,/ Echoing this day with the songs of young voices;/ We wish you well, we praise you;/ Prosper from generation to generation.

According to Gordon Moorlag, director of Cantus Choir, the song has a highly rhythmic, asymmetrical and angular character, with a bright, resonant and festive qual-ity and has been a chal-lenge for the choir and their accompanist, Betty Stokoe.

The Cantus Choir per-formed first and fol-lowed by a short break the Jazz Guys took to the stage with their popular numbers.

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Cantus Choir and Jazz Guys perform to seasonal tunes

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The Cantus Choir sang to a packed audience at the Stettler Alliance Church on Sunday, Dec. 7.

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Association of Communities Against Abuse (ACAA) turns 25

MOUSH SARA JOHNINDEPENDENT REPORTER

Community members turned up in big num-bers on Tuesday, Nov. 24 to show their sup-port for Association of Communities against Abuse (ACAA), as the or-ganization celebrated its 25th anniversary at its premises, adjacent to Christ King Catholic School.

“It is an amazing mile-stone for ACAA to be able to celebrate 25 years, fi -nally, although there have been many times over the years in the past when we have been unsure about funding, or our funds have been cut,” said Judi Beebe, executive director, ACAA. “We do many fundraising activities over the year and have many organiza-tions and individuals who donate to us as well, and this helps us keep going.”

It was an afternoon of speeches and gratitude as the small space at the ACAA offi ce fi lled up quickly.

Also present at the event was Crowfoot MP Kevin Sorenson, who, in his

speech, expressed grati-tude to ACAA and all its board members for con-tinually stepping up to help people in the com-munity.

Lance Penny, chairper-son, ACAA said, “Realizing that for a quarter of a century of supporting an organization that seeks to heal victims of sexual abuse helps me to see that with determination and time, positive changes in destructive attitudes and behaviour can happen and that feels so encouraging.”

Beebe expressed her gratitude to the board members and all the staff who have kept ACAA going.

“ACAA also has an amaz-ing group of board mem-bers, therapists and staff who have stayed with the program through thick and thin,” said Beebe. “We have a unique model that is rural based and client focused.”

Scotiabank hosts bake sale in support of ACAA

In an effort to fund-raise and support ACAA, Scotiabank hosted a bake sale on Friday, Nov. 27.

“We have had a bake sale

for the past six years, or-ganized by the staff at the branch,” said Kelsey Howe, Scotiabank staff and orga-nizer. “Our fi rst bake sale was to support one of my family members who was going through radical can-cer treatment at the Mayo Clinic, and since we have supported various local charities.”

The sale raised a total

of $1,050.00 with the bake items disappearing fast.

“We had an excellent turn out in terms of bak-ing and people coming out to buy the baked goods, and this was our best bake sale since the fi rst sale,” said Howe.

The baking items were provided by the Scotiabank staff, friends, family and board members of ACAA.

CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST MENNONITE

Sunday School – 10 a.m.Service – 10:45 a.m.

10 miles south on 56 and 2 miles eastMinister Keith Klassen - 403-742-4048

Minister Lorne Toews - 403-742-8824

EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH OF ERSKINE10:30 a.m. – Worship Service with

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Youth Pastor: Emmett Aronson

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STETTLER UNITED CHURCH4820 - 51 Street 403-742-3387

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Nursery care, children & youth programs. Everyone welcome!Minister Jan Richardson

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Police searching for thief behind ‘brazen’ break-inSTACEY LAVALLIEINDEPENDENT REPORTER

A residential break-in last Wednesday, Dec. 2 was called “brazen” by Stettler RCMP Cpl. Cameron Russell, as it happened during the evening rush hour around 6 p.m.

According to Russell, the home-owner stepped out of the home for a short time and returned to fi nd the front door pried open. Several items were stolen, including several thousand dollars worth of camera equipment, police said.

The suspect was caught on surveillance cameras, and is described as a slender white man with short hair, be-tween roughly 5-foot-7 and six-feet tall, though Russell said with nothing in the background to lend itself to comparison, the height is a rough estimate.

The home, located on the edge of Stettler, was broken into at a time when there was a lot of traffi c in the area, Russell said.Stolen plate leads to drug charges

A traffi c stop prompted by a stolen licence plate re-

sulted in drug charges against a 22-year-old Stettler man.

Bryce Moore was stopped by a Stettler RCMP member on Monday, Dec. 7 around 9:30 p.m. after the black 1999 Hyundai Tiburon’s plate fl agged as stolen.

Russell noted the vehicle itself was not stolen, but the plate was stolen mid-November and reported miss-ing by its owner.

During the precautionary search after arrest, Moore was allegedly found to be in possession of a “substan-tial” amount of marijuana and a small amount of crys-tal methamphetamine.

“The marijuana was packaged for sale,” Russell said, and charges of possession of a prohibited substance for the purpose of traffi cking was added to the charge of theft. Russell was remanded in custody until a bail hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 8, the results of which were not available by press time.Charity check stop brings in thousands

The Charity Check Stop this past weekend in front of Wal-Mart on Highway 12 brought in just shy of $5,200, money that will go to Heartland Victim Services,

Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) and the Stettler Hamper Society. The money is raised by RCMP, SADD, Victim Services and other emergency services during a several-hours-long block where traffi c is voluntarily diverted and money collected from kind individuals.

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“I’m lucky that she lets me do this,” Maruk said of his wife, Christine. “I couldn’t do this if she wasn’t on board.”

Maruk began scour-ing the Internet for information and ma-terials, and soon lights, cables, wires and other electronics began to fi ll up space in his home. The fi rst time the Maruks did the Christmas lights to music was last year, and it took a long time to get it set up.

“People would see me up there, go about their business and come back and still see me up there,” Maruk said. Hand-making all the wires he needed for the spectacle took a bruis-ing 11 hours. The end result, though, was worth it.

“We had a lot of traf-

fi c come by,” Maruk said of the show last Christmas. “People would park and watch. Then they’d come back with their friends.”

Having seen fi rst-hand the poverty in which some of the people he worked with, or had working for him, in Egypt lived, Maruk said he felt compelled to use his home’s sudden tour-ist-destination status to do good. So this year, the family decid-ed to try to help the community through collecting donations for the Stettler and District Food Bank.

“It took about 24 man-hours to set up,” Maruk said. “I added lights to the roof, and even if no one else would know they were crooked, I would. All those little clips take time to set up.”

On the fi rst night the lights and music

powered up this year, Maruk collected about 100 pounds of food and $75, which was given to the food bank. And while the family just intended it to be a one-night thing, they instead de-cided to leave out a box for foodbank do-nations, and has been regularly stopping in at the food bank to deliver the offerings coming in.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, Maruk said.

“One woman came by and started danc-ing,” he said. “When I went and talked to her, she said ‘This lights up my life.’”

And for Maruk, that was exactly the point.

You can catch the lights every night until 10 p.m. at Maruk’s home on 63 Street. When in the vicinity of the Maruk home, tune in to 88.5 FM to pick up the music.

continued fromfront page

Interim budget approved for coming yearActual budget and tax increases expected in May


Though it’ll be May before the Town of Stettler votes its fi nal budget into place, the interim operating budget has been structured around a two per cent increase for 2016.

Council unanimously approved the interim operating budget at its regular Tuesday, Dec. 1 meeting. The interim budget is required under the Municipal Governance Act (MGA) and must be in place before Jan. 1, 2016, so that the town can continue to pay its employees’ wages and service its debts, council heard.

With both an operating and capital expendi-tures budgets to create, it takes until around May before the process completes. The town must also wait to fi nd out from the government which grants it will receive before a fi nal tax rate can be set for the year.

In the past several years, council has instruct-ed staff to draft its interim budget around a three per cent increase. Last year’s actual budget came in at a 4.39 per cent increase once the pro-cess was complete.

This year, staff worked out a draft with a two per cent increase given the gravity of the economic situation, knowing a smaller tax bill would be appreciated by the town’s residents. At this juncture, though, it’s impossible to know what the fi nal tax rate will be, Steve Gerlitz, the town’s assistant CAO, said.

A few minor utility increases were approved

at the meeting as well as the interim budget. Water bills will see a one-cent increase on its water per cubic metre cost, going from $2.72 to $2.73. Wastewater rates will see an increase of 50 cents, going from $21 to $21.50. There will be no increase in cost on recycling pick-up, but garbage pick-up will increase from $21 to $22.50, an increase of $1.50 a month.

“Garbage is no longer cheap,” CAO Greg Switenky said. Costs from pick-up to inclu-sion in Stettler Waste Management Authority (SWMA).Bad-debt write-offs

With 2015 in its fi nal days, a list of “bad debts” were presented to council for approval for write-off. The debts, if written off, would go to a collec-tion agency to be collected. Any debt in excess of $300 requires council approval, and the sum of those debts came to $10,731.24, according to staff. An additional 14 accounts with debts under $300, totalling $1,706.22, were written off.

The vast amount of the bad debts come from utilities left unpaid, for a total of $9,395.80, it was revealed. One unpaid camping bill from the Lions Campground and one fi re call were also left unpaid to make up the remainder, it was heard. In the bad debts making up the less-than $300 category, the vast majority of the unpaid debts were again in utilities.

Though the numbers seem large, the bad debts actually only represent 0.31 per cent of the town’s revenues, which last year were roughly $3.5 million.

Distant experiences inspire…


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The Wildcat Theatre pro-duction of A Christmas Carol: High School had the crowd at times booing and hissing the modern-day version of Ebeneezer Scrooge, while at other times clutching ribcages to ease the pain of gut-bust-ing laughter.

With obvious dedication and hard work, Wildcat Theatre pulled off a pol-ished, professional produc-tion that gave no evidence of being a “high school” piece of work, even though everything from costume design to sound produc-tion, onstage acting to backstage technical sup-port, was all performed by students from William E. Hay Secondary Campus.

The play, a modern-day reworking of Charles Dickens’ well-known tale, “A Christmas Carol,” pits Meredith Priestly, a rich mean-girl left to her own devices by her jet-setting parents, against the kind-er, gentler students of her school. As leader of the cheerleading squad, and playing the lead role of Juliet in the production of Romeo and Juliet, Meredith Priestly uses the weight of her bank account and her unpleasant attitudes to push people around.

The character of Meredith Priestly, adeptly played by Hannah McKay, is easy to immediately dislike, just as her “best friend” Melissa Barclay, played by Avery Marko, is so easy to like as a kind and easy-going person, often the victim of Priestly’s beastly be-haviour.

That all changes when Mean-Girl Priestly is visit-

ed by a former Mean-Girl, now a ghost, who warns her that she’s got this one last chance to change her ways. And it goes as pre-dicted, with Priestly hav-ing visions of her past, her present, and her future over three visitations over three nights.

Visitations that are fraught with hilarity, but also touch on some of Priestly’s shortcomings, and what created them —

like the distance from her ever-absent parents. By the time the third visita-tion, this time by Death, is complete, the nasty, mean Meredith Priestly is redeemed, and becomes a kinder and more consid-erate individual towards not just her friends, but everyone, including her teachers.

Wildcat Theatre put on three showings of the play, all at the Stettler

Performing Arts Centre, be-tween Thursday, Dec.3 to Saturday, Dec. 5. The Dec. 4 performance was a dinner theatre evening, with at-tendees enjoying a catered dinner in the school’s cafe-teria prior to the play itself.

While none of the three shows were completely sold out, most of the seats were full and attendance was high, the performance bringing in more than just family and friends.

Wildcat Theatre performance top-notch


Mean-girl Meredith Priestly, played by Hannah McKay, can’t be bothered to learn her lines in Romeo and Juliet, though Romeo a.k.a. Marvin, played by Schubert Hernando, is eagerly into his role. Wildcat Theatre put on three performances of A Christmas Carol: High School, a modern re-imagining of the Charles Dickens classic.

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Clearview schools scheduled to get

faceliftsMOUSH SARA JOHNINDEPENDENT REPORTER

At the regular Clearview trustee board meeting held on Monday, Dec. 7, the board was presented with the annual report of the Infrastructure Maintenance Renewal (IMR), by Russell McKay, director, maintenance services.

It was highlighted that most schools would be re-quiring some kind of maintenance upgrades, foremost among them the Botha School.

During the months of October and November, Peter Neale, associate superintendent, Clearview Public Schools and Russell McKay met with school principals and conducted site visits to determine possible IMR projects.

The management also reviewed facility audits con-ducted by Alberta Infrastructure to determine needs.

But, with the Alberta government decreasing the IMR funding for the academic session 2015-16: funding de-creased by $479,024 to an expected in-year funding of $515,631, with carry forward balances from 2014-15 of $301,379, the total resources available is $817,010.

According to Peter Neale, associate superintendent, Clearview Public Schools, the gym at the Botha School would get new fl ooring because of safety concerns.

“The school gym was modernized a few years ago due to a fl ood and the current fl ooring which is a vinyl sheet is not ideal as a gym fl oor,” said Neale. “The new fl ooring will be a rubber surface that is highly durable and will have many of the same properties as hardwood with less maintenance, compared to hardwood fl ooring, which needs annual maintenance.”

Breaking down these fi gures for the Botha School was McKay, who estimated the following upgrades and fi nan-cial requirements.

Although gym fl oor, duct cleaning, line of site (camera and remote locking) for offi ce, LED upgrades for outside lighting, door locks for lockdown and eaves trough repair were priority, learning commons renovation, common area patching and repair and fl ag pole were second in priority, with storage container being third.

The cost of all the upgrades was estimated to be a lit-tle over $57,000, with the gym fl ooring taking the lion’s share of $18,000.

All projects that have been prioritized or marked as second priority are to be completed as soon as possible.

In general, resources available for 2015-16 are able to address all Priority 1 and Priority 2 level needs al-ready identifi ed across the board and all priorities total $1,026,177 with available resources of $817,010, after staffi ng cross-charges.

The largest Priority 3 project is the hallway at Stettler Elementary School at $48,000.

A roofing project is being reviewed for Erskine School, which is estimated at $175,000.

“IMR projects are facil-ity-related projects sup-ported directly by the Alberta government with a specifi c mandate to those dollars, i.e., dollars received must be spent on IMR projects,” said Neale. “A school division’s fi rst priority is to ensure that health, safety and essen-tial upgrading needs, in-cluding emergent projects, are met, so school divi-sions should set aside a contingency amount to address emergency proj-ects.”

At this time, senior ad-ministration is planning to proceed with Priority 1 and Priority 2 projects, to-talling $801,727.


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Irrigation policy seems baffl ing …but it’s government squandering at its best

No it’s not about Alberta irrigation poli-cy, that seems perfectly reasonable compared to the politically-charged and hidden agendas of irrigation policy in the USA. A recent visit to Phoenix Arizona found your columnist amazed at the sight of thousands of acres of cotton being grown in the desert. Those acres were irri-gated by water from the Colorado River hundreds of miles away. This would seem like a dubious ag-ricultural enterprise considering the capital investment and ongo-ing operational costs of maintaining such exten-sive water distribution in a very hot climate. Water evaporation alone would be the biggest disadvan-tage to efficient water movement. But then you can depend on govern-ment policy to overcome common sense particu-larly if it involves agri-culture in the USA. That sees the growing of gov-ernment-financed irriga-tion crops that both solve and create problems that never existed before. It’s also a sure-fire avenue to massive subsidization of agricultural production, something Americans tend to deny exists.

To be fair, irrigation has existed in the Phoenix

area for hundreds of years being first initiat-ed by indigenous peo-ples. Those early societ-ies built extensive water distributions systems that irrigated hundreds of acres. But it was small scale that utilized exist-ing rivers to grow mod-est crops of corn, squash and other subsistence crops. When white set-tlers came into the area in the 1880s, they began more extensive irriga-tion using dams, reser-voirs and most import-ant - drawing water from deep aquifers under-neath the desert. That all seemed to work with farmers growing crops that returned modest profits like citrus, veg-etables, potatoes and some livestock produc-tion. However, that was going to change with the building of the Hoover dam on the Colorado River. Because that river bordered Arizona, the state received a share of the reservoir water; the catch was that it was primarily to be used for agricultural crop produc-tion. That was a good intention, but existing farmers already were using water from other sources and saw no need for more water that was going to be very costly to deliver and buy. The

state of Arizona found itself in a predicament - they had access to a massive water source but few farmers want-ing use it. However, they had an ulterior motive to see that water moved across the desert -they wanted to use it for their expanding urban popula-tion growth - particularly in Phoenix which is now one of the largest cities in the USA.

However the US gov-ernment would not fi-nance the building of the 200 mile plus canal unless it was to be used for agricultural produc-tion. The solution was obvious, give existing ir-rigation farmers almost free water and then sub-sidize the growing of the thirstiest of all hot weather crops – cotton. Crafty Arizona govern-ment planners probably

figured that in the long term, irrigation farmers would eventually sell out to land developers and the irrigation water would become surplus and then made available for urban use.

In the meantime here is how it worked; a three billion dollar major water canal was built by the US government. Water from the canal is sold to irrigation farm-ers for a nominal fee. To use as much water as possible farmers were encouraged to grow cot-ton which is seven times thirstier than any other crop. To make sure farm-ers stick with growing cotton, the US govern-ment provides a floor price for any cotton that is grown through a for-givable loan scheme. It guarantees a profit to growers no matter what

the cotton market price does. That’s a deal farm-ers couldn’t refuse. That market subsidization approach is much de-spised by other cotton growing countries as it constantly depresses world cotton prices. Most cotton grown in the US is exported to offshore countries like China for processing. It boggles the mind. It should be noted that some other crops like potatoes and alfalfa are grown under irrigation but they are minor compared to cot-ton growing.

There is more, because they have so much ir-rigation water available, conservation is not en-couraged. That sees al-most all irrigation using the ancient flood plain method rather than low pressure crop level pivots than reduce water usage. Some subsurface flood irrigation is being devel-oped but it also seems wasteful compared to what is done with irriga-tion in Alberta.

One can only imagine the billions upon billions of taxpayer dollars that have and will be spent on irrigation in Arizona and elsewhere in the USA. It all shows that we in Canada are bit players when it comes to agricul-tural subsidization.

How will Notley sail the boat?MUSTAFA ERICINDEPENDENT EDITOR

It is wise to see and admit a mistake and try to correct it, but sometimes the mistakes infl ict much too damage that might prove impossible to undo.

Whether provincial govern-ment’s Bill 6, in its initial form, will turn out to be that kind of a mistake, only time will tell; but one thing is certain for anybody to bet their boots on: Wildrose and, if they can, Progressive Conservatives will try to milk this cow until the voting day in the next provincial election.

Rachel Notley’s NDP govern-ment has been apologetic ever since the uproar by the farm-ers and ranchers made the lead-ership of the governing party realize the impropriety of the unnecessarily hasty steps to leg-islate in a highly sensitive area of provincial politics.

Not only have both minis-ters, Minister of Jobs, Skills and

Training, the main architect of the botched legislative draft and Minister of Agriculture made statements expressing regret for having taken a wrong step, but Premier Notley herself appealed to all farmer communities in an open letter to be patient until the amendments could be intro-duced to Bill 6.

And the amendments, as an-nounced last Monday, seem to be far reaching enough to satisfy the main concerns of the farmer and rancher communities.

According to the statements by Lori Sigurdson, Minister of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour, and Oneil Carlier, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, the amendments will make sure that owners of farms and ranches and their family members, as long as they choose to do so, will be ex-empt from Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations and Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) coverage. Put simply, the requirements for regulatory cov-

erage under the new shape of Bill 6 will be only for those indi-viduals who work on the farm in return for a wage. Given this clar-ifi cation, neither 4-H activities will be curtailed, nor children or neighbours or friends helping with farm work will come under the protection of the worker-des-ignated regulations.

Given that Alberta is still the only province in the country without legislation protecting agricultural workers, the need for regulatory arrangements to protect the rights of employees working on farms is obvious.

And this is agreed by most of the stakeholders.

But Wildrose seems to be dis-satisfied with the changes. After the announcement of the amendments, Wildrose MLA for Rimbey–Rocky Mountain House–Sundre riding Jason Nixon said more consultation was needed before any legislation on the matter and he called on the gov-ernment to either kill Bill 6 or

send it to legislative committees for review.

It is quite apparent that oppo-sition parties will not stop at-tacking the government over Bill 6 until they have made enough political capital out of the fi rst major blunder of the NDP.

It will be interesting to see how Mrs. Notley and her government will weather this storm: Will they resort to reefi ng, lowering their sails to reduce the speed of their boat or will they use tacking or jibing maneuvers without cut-ting down on speed to swerve through the waves to leave the storm behind and reach quieter seas?

The difference between the two might be as big as jeopardizing the next provincial election even before completing one year in offi ce and laying the groundwork for a political force propelled to power by an urban thrust for a deeper understanding with a rural constituency it should not antagonize.

Ahead of the heard

WILL VERBOVEN


Spooky Christmas movies on Friday

at libraryCRYSTAL FRIARSSTETTLER PUBLIC LIBRARY

Christmas is only 15 days away and the calendar at the Stettler Public Library is packed with events for the whole family.

There are only two Wednesdays of Crafts ‘til Christmas left for the kids to make their gifts for teachers, parents, grand-parents and more. Join us on Wednesday, Dec. 9 and Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. for an after school hour of craft-ing fun.

Kids ages 0-5 should bring their big people to enjoy some Winter Magic on Friday, Dec. 11 at 10:30 a.m. for December’s Read & Rhyme special event. Join Kayla for some amaz-ing winter crafts and activ-ities for ages 0-5. It will be a great time for everyone.

Christmas can’t be all about peace and joy, so on Friday, Dec. 11 our Holiday Horror Double Bill (A Christmas Horror Story at 6 p.m. and Black Christmas at 8 p.m.) will thrill and frighten instead. Here is the lowdown on the two mov-ies: A Christmas Horror Story “It’s the season of joy, peace, and goodwill… unless you live in Bailey Downs. Last Christmas Eve, two teens came to a grisly end in a school basement. Now, one year later, a new set of horrors has come to town—a malevolent spirit, Krampus, the demonic an-ti-Santa Claus, and a horde of zombie elves make this a holiday no one will ever forget.” – Rotten Tomatoes; Black Christmas “A mur-derous fi end gives the res-idents of a sorority house a very scary Christmas by decking the halls with their blood and body parts in this early slasher fi lm.” – Rotten Tomatoes. Both movies are rated R. Come enjoy them with snacks.

On Saturday, Dec. 12 at 1 p.m., we are pleased to present Miss Rhonda’s Little Dancers. Join the littlest dancers from Danceology as they cele-brate the Christmas sea-son. And after the won-derful performance, stick around the same day from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. for Craftapalooza, our annual craft extravaganza for all

ages. Enjoy the afternoon making gifts and decora-tions for the holidays.

Thursday, Dec. 17 1 p.m. marks the last Tech Time for Seniors in 2015. Bring in your computer, tablet, phone, eReader, camera or other device and we’ll help you fi gure it out.

And last but not least for this week, the Stettler Public Library is pleased to present our second annual Holiday Movie Marathon on Saturday, Dec. 19 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Come see family favourites all day.

Popcorn will be served.Please take note of our

holiday hours. We will be closing at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve and we will reopen on Monday, Dec. 28 at 10 a.m. We’ll then be closing at 4 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and we’ll reopen in 2016 on Saturday. Jan. 2 for our regular hours.

Keep an eye out for ad-ditional activities on our website (spl.prl.ab.ca) and Facebook page. And if you have an activity you’d like to do/see at the library, feel free to approach us.

CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE

Please join me on Friday, December 11th for our

Annual Christmas Open House from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at my constituency office, 4945 – 50 St., Camrose

For further information: Phone: 780-608-4600

e-mail: [email protected]

Kevin Sorenson, M.P. Battle River - Crowfoot


Please join me on Friday, December 11th for our

Annual Christmas Open House from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at my constituency office, 4945 – 50 St., Camrose

For further information: Phone: 780-608-4600

e-mail: [email protected]

Kevin Sorenson, M.P. Battle River - Crowfoot

For further information:Phone: 780-608-4600

email: [email protected]

Kevin Sorenson, M.P.Battle River - Crowfoot


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Christmas fun all aroundKASHEEN CLOUSONDONALDA DIARY

The Donalda Kidz Klub will be held at the Sharon Lutheran Church Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 3:30 p.m. Everyone welcome.

The Donalda Library will be hosting a Gingerbread Village from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec 12; a fun afternoon for the kids.

Space is limited and those interested are asked to pre-register

by calling the Donalda Library at 403.882.2345 or to e-mail them at [email protected].

The Sharon Lutheran Church will be having Ben & Sandie Johnson and their three children performing on Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Donalda Hall.

Bring your whole fami-ly and a group of friends to enjoy this evening of songs and skits. There is no admission charge but a free will offering will

be taken. Coffee, juice and

Christmas baking will be served after the pro-gram.

Birthday wishes this week go out to Lexi Dietrich, Brayden Hofer, Samson Bailey, Bev Getzlaf, Jon Hilliestad, Lee Crumly, Tracey Klatt, Brett Shoettler, Lincon Bjorge, Ron Shoettler, Jaden Charles, Kade Strandquist, Mike Viske, and Frank West.

Happy birthday to all!


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In Him was life, and that life was the light of menA grandfather invited

his grandson to help him find a Christmas tree. He told the little boy that he could choose which tree they would bring home. They walked and walked stopping to examine many trees. However, none of them seemed to please the boy. Finally, with both the sun and the temperature drop-ping, the grandfather told his grandson, “We will have to take the next tree!” The bewil-dered boy asked, “Even if it doesn’t have any lights on it either?”

No wonder the little boy was confused. Christmas is full of lights of all kinds, everywhere. There are even competitions to determine who has put up the most spectacular display.

Some feel that most of the decorations at this time of the year detract from the true meaning of Christmas and I un-derstand that. However, I tend to enjoy the pro-fusion of ornamenta-tion, and especially the

lights. They remind me of Christ, because one might accurately say that the predictions, birth and life of Christ are liberally and literally, “decorated” with lights.

Isaiah prophesied that Jesus’ arrival would re-sult in people walking in darkness to see, “…a great light; and those liv-ing in the land of the shadow of death, a light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2).

Micah, a contempo-rary of Isaiah, predicting the coming Messiah, re-ferred to Him as, “…the Sun of righteousness…” (Micah 4:2).

There was light on the

hillside where the shep-herds kept watch over their sheep. “An angel appeared among them, and the landscape shone bright with the glory of the Lord” (Luke 2:9).

It was a light in the sky, provided by God, that the magi saw and followed. In Matthew 2:2 they said, “We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” Later, in verses 9 & 10 we read that this star “…stopped over the place where the child was. They were thrilled and excited to see the star.”

None of this should come as a surprise be-cause John, speaking of Jesus said, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness…” (John, 1:4, 5).

Jesus added later, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life ” (John, 8:12). He emphasized and built upon this later by saying, “I have come into the world as a light so that no one who believes in me should stay in dark-ness” (John 12:46).

So…when you plug in your Christmas lights this year, don’t forget the most important Light of all. “Jesus was the real light—the light that comes into the world and shines on all people” (John 1:9).

Faith & Reflection

ROSS HELGETON403-742-5020 • [email protected]

Donation to

Kidsport wishes to thank Kidsport wishes to thank Tremmel Construction Tremmel Construction

for their donation to for their donation to the program!the program!

Wayne Long accepts donation fromMike Tremmel of Tremmel Construction.


Family contributions to bake sale will be appreciatedSuch a warm December

is wreaking havoc for the ice at the skating rink, but be patient and you will be skating on it soon.

Coming up at the Erskine School Tuesday, Dec. 15 is the Junior High Drama Night; Christmas Concert at 7 p.m. on Thursday Dec.

17. Swimming Pool Party from 1 to 2 p.m. on Dec. 18 for grades ECS to 6, and on Dec. 21 Christmas break begins. School will be back in on Jan. 4.

The parent council is asking each family from ECS to Grade 6 to bring two articles of baking

(1 dozen each) for the Christmas Concert Bake Sale. All baking will be sold after the concert and all proceeds will go to the parent council, which, in turn, goes back to the stu-dents.

Phase 1 is completed for providing water to

the school and hopefully Phase 2 will begin shortly.

The Tailcreek Snowbirds has the Christmas Card up at the post offi ce, if you would like your name on it, donations can be made in the post offi ce.

The Erskine Recreation Board will hold its Christmas meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 15. Come on

out and fi nd out what is going on in your commu-nity as well as enjoy some goodies.

Dance Jams is this Sunday at the IOOF Hall from 1 to 4 p.m. Come on out and enjoy.

A donation to lunch would be appreciated.

PAT KELM403-742-0604

Erskine Enquirer

REBECCA RAHNWILDCATS’ CORNER

This week at William E.

Hay Stettler Secondary Campus the basketball season has offi cially start-ed. The senior girls’ team

won their fi rst game. The JV basketball teams have a home tournament this weekend. Play begins at 1:30 on Friday afternoon.

The Night of the Bands will be at 7 p.m. on Dec. 14 at the PAC. Come out and support your local bands. The wreaths came in for the students going to New Orleans. It was very successful and everyone came to pick them up.

The Christmas Carol

High School fi nished up this weekend on Dec. 5. Both spectators and cast had a wonderful time. The dinner theater was a blast and everyone stayed in character the whole time. The food was won-derful. We would like to send a huge “thank you” to Mr. Huo and all the students that stayed to make the food. Another big thank you goes to all those people who helped make the play successful.


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Donation to

Kidsport wishes to Kidsport wishes to thank thank Johnson-Connor Johnson-Connor Agencies (1987) Inc.Agencies (1987) Inc. for their donation to for their donation to

the program!the program!

Darrel Baltimore accepts donation from Lorri Nattestad of Johnson-Connor Agencies (1987) Inc.

Girls begin basketball season with a win

Contributed photo

Jordan Frederick, Rebecca Rahn and December Gagne at Mrs. Langford’s TA rum-mage sale/used book sale for the Christmas Hamper fundraiser.

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Wednesday, December 9, 2015 STETTLER INDEPENDENT 11 Sports

Bolts fi zzle in second away weekend


There was very little zap and a lot more fi zzle for the Stettler Lightning’s second weekend of away games, with the team coming home with a loss.

The team travelled to Cochrane to face the top team in the southern division of the Heritage Hockey League, and the 7-0 loss showed the disparity in skills between the two squads.

Despite playing clean and staying mostly out of the penalty box, the Lightning weren’t able to capitalize on several golden opportunities, and the few penalties the team did receive saw their defensive lines tired out try-ing to keep the Cochrane Generals from adding to their tally.

“They got off to a decent start,” Doug Smith, general manager of the team, said. “The wheels fell off the bus in the second, though.”

He said right now coaching is focused on helping the team recentre and get back to the basics.

“They got to a point where they were starting to get competitive, and they started to cut corners — not re-alizing the corners was what made them competitive,” Smith said. “We’ve got to learn to get past the hiccups.”

Stettler holds last place in the northern division, close-ly trailing Ponoka. The team has two more away games, one against league fi rst-place team Airdrie and another against Red Deer before they return to Stettler to play three games before Christmas.

Canadiens Alumni game draws fans from near and far


For any hockey-lov-ing Canadian of the ’70s, ’80s or early ’90s, Friday’s Montreal Canadiens Alumni game was an op-portunity to see their hockey legends in the fl esh, close and personal — though not as personal as that of the men and sole woman who skated against them.

The evening pitted the Canadiens against a team of Stettler All-Stars, play-ers who did admirably well against their more expe-rienced competitors de-spite losing 6-5, according to Hockey Hall of Famer Steve Schutt.

“The Stettler team start-ed out pretty good, and then I think they run out of gas and our superior conditioning took over,”

Schutt said after the game. During his time with the Canadiens, between 1972-1985, Schutt won fi ve Stanley Cups (1973, 1976-1979).

The Alumni play about 40 games throughout the season, though the ros-

ter changes. Some players play all, some play a few as they can get away from their other responsibilities.

“People always tease me,” Lise Collins, from Beaumont, said. “They ask me why I let my husband have two thirds of the

basement for his hockey shrine and it’s me.”

The fl oor looks like a skating rink and the wall is adorned with signed pic-tures, jerseys, and other Canadiens memorabil-ia. The VIP tickets were a surprise gift from her husband, who had also purchased tickets for the game the next day in Wetaskiwin.

The stands were full for the most part on both sides of the stands, with the far side being used as a beer garden. The 50/50 draw saw the lucky win-ner bring home $1,100 and business was brisk at the Canadiens table and the Penalty Box.

Money raised from the evening will go to the Stettler Minor Hockey League and the Kinettes, who together organized the evening.


The Montreal Canadiens goalie falls fl at on his back, blocking shots from the Stettler All-Stars several times with his body before regaining his position.

Stettler girls win weekend tournamentMOUSH SARA JOHNINDEPENDENT REPORTER

Stettler girls’ basketball team had a great start to the season when they won the tournament over the weekend, Dec. 4-5 in Olds, beating Sundre in their fi nal game.

The three teams they faced on their way to the title were Sylvan Lake, George McDougal and Sundre, winning by 40-50 points in each game.

“We had a lot of fun and bonded as the teams we faced were not much of a competition for us, they were all quite weak,” said coach Kim Poapst. “Our team has an edge with experience from last year with two senior players and ten returning JV play-ers.”

According to Poapst, all the girls on her team are “coachable, they run and have goals as indivduals”.

Poapst added, “Our bench is strong, but some of our weaknesses would be fast break against a harder team and defence not fouling.”

Poapst is hopeful that her team will score major successes this year.

“Some of our players played club basketball last

spring against some hard competition and this group of girls have been playing together for a few years, not to overlook the fact that they have continuity by having the same coach,” said Poapst. “All the players have very supportive fami-lies, are hard working and dedicated girls who want to improve.”

The stumbling block that Stettler faces is although they have 14 players, they have only one team but no senior team.

Poapst hopes to change that.

“Since there is no senior team, we would want to build a team for next year, so we can have two teams again,” said Poapst. “This year our girls are bigger, stronger, smarter, faster, better shooters and enter-taining to watch!”

Poapst hopes to capi-talize and build on these strengths.

“My aim is to improve each game offensively and defensively, to win the league championship and fi nd some exhibition games with some city JV teams to see how we com-pare,” added Poapst.

The girls play Lacombe in their next game in Stettler on Wednesday, Dec. 9.

Contributed photo

Champions: Girl Wildcats win the weekend tournament in Olds, beating Sundre in their fi nal game on Saturday, Dec. 5.


SALE DATESPhone (403) 742-2368Regular Sales ~ Tuesdays - 9 a.m.

website: www.stettlerauction.ab.ca

Box 1238, Stettler, AB

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Auctioneers: Allen McMillan Dick Creasey Greg JohnsonScott Douglas Terry Silbernagel

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Friday, December 11, 2015 -

Stock Cow & Bred Heifer Sale Advance listings:

– 75 Black cross Maine heifers, bred Black Angus, bred Black Angus (76 lb. birthweight - Bismark). Sycronized and bred A.I., June 21-29, calving April 1-10, 1100 - 1400 lb. heifers, Coroview Stock Farms, Coronation.

– 60 Red & tan heifers, bred Red or Black Angus, calving Feb. 15 on - Garth Redman.

– 50 - 2nd to 4th calf Red Angus cows (12 - Tan cross Red Angus) bred Red Angus - calving March 20 on full herd health, dispersal of young end of herd - Roger Thompson - Edberg.

– 30 Red & RBF Simmental cross heifers, bred Red Angus, March 15 calving, home raised - Clarence Schultz, Bashaw.

– 50 - Dispersal of 40 Top Black Angus cows and 12 Black Angus heifers, bred Black Angus, May 27 to July 19, full herd health, Larry Meyer, Big Valley.

– 10 Tan and Red heifers, bred Black Angus or Red Angus, exposed June 25 - Brad Brenchley.

– 30 Hereford heifers, bred Angus, April calving, home raised - Vallet Herefords, Bashaw.

– 25 Black Angus heifers, bred Black, March 1 calving, full health program - Weldon Siedler, Delia.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015 -

Regular Sale FEATURES PRECONDITIONED CALVES

Includes:

– 55 Black Angus calves - Jack Anderson, Erskine.


CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY Beef on a bun, snacks A good visit with neighbours & staff

Plan to enjoy the day at

Stettler Auction Mart

Friday, December 18, 2015 -

Stock Cow & Bred Heifer Sale


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Cougars’ awards night honours MOUSH SARA JOHNINDEPENDENT REPORTER

Stettler’s Bantam football team Cougars held their banquet and awards night on Thursday, Dec. 3 at the William E. Hay Stettler Secondary Campus to honour and recognize all the efforts that the players have put in this season.

Players whoe were awarded based on their personal performances on and off the fi eld were:

Top offensive player – Noah McKayTop defensive player – Steele

NicholsMost Dedicated – Myles Ecklund

Captain’s Award – Myles NiehausBest Lineman – Justin MatchettRookie of the year – Brett MercierTimex Award (Takes a lickin and

keeps on tickin) — Danny LesageMost Valuable Player – Carson Neitz“I was very satisfi ed with play and

performance of the team, they were a close knit group of boys on and off the fi eld which helped in the chem-istry of the team,” coach Mark Neitz said assessing the season.

“They didn’t quit like many teams I’ve seen and been associated with, when they were down in a game they kept scratching and clawing till the end.”

“It is great to bring the 2015 Cougars team together one last night to cele-brate the season with these wonder-ful young men,” said Neitz. “I have coached most of these players for four years now and great friendships have been made, so it is just nice to spend the evening laughing and jok-ing with them.”

Earlier in the week, the Cougars team went down to Rocky Mountain House to participate in the All-Star banquet on Tuesday, Dec. 1.

Three players were selected from the team to represent the league at the All-Star banquet – Carson Neitz, Steele Nichols, and Noah McKay.

Contributed photo

At the All-Star banquet in Rocky Mountain House, Cougars team celebrated with the other teams on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Desmond Ansorger (left) received the assistant coach award. Also present from left to right are Noah McKay, Steele Nichols, Carson Neitz, along with Stettler Cougars coach Mark Neitz.

Low registrations sink bonspiel for second timeSTACEY LAVALLIEINDEPENDENT REPORTER

For the second time this season, the Stettler

Curling Club has can-celled its opening bon-

spiel.Originally scheduled

for Nov. 13-15, low reg-istration prompted the club to reschedule the opening act for this past weekend, Dec. 4-6.

Unfortunately, low reg istrat ion struck again, Steve Gerlitz, one of the club’s board members, said.

“It’s a busy time of year,” he said, noting that he believed that was behind the low sign-ups — only two teams registered for the event, he revealed. H

However, he remains optimistic for the rest of the year.

“The next bonspiel is the Farmers and Farmerettes in January,” he said, adding that he hopes to see enough teams register for a great event.

As for the opening bonspiel, it’ll be one of the topics at this month’s board meeting, with the intent right now being to try and re-schedule it for a second and, hopefully success-ful, time.

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DOERKSEN Lorne Jacob Peter(Aug. 11, 1945 - Dec. 4, 2015)Mr. Lorne Doerksen of Ferintosh, formerly of Stettler, Alberta passed away on Friday December 4, 2015 at the age of 70 years.Lorne is survived by his loving wife Delphine, and three children; Charlotte Doerksen (Jason Le er) of Edmonton, Sarah Doerksen of Red Deer and Tristan Doerksen of Ferintosh, four grandchildren; Aiden, Emilie, Bryce and Josephine, also ve sisters; Josephine McKinnon of Dauphin, Manitoba, Loraine Funk of Tumbler Ridge British Columbia, Roselee (Gary) Keith of Calgary, Elizabeth Doerksen of Vancouver and Heather (Richard) Fehr of Dauphin, Manitoba.Lorne was predeceased by his son Gregory and parents Jacob and Maria.A public prayer service will be held on Wednesday December 9, 2015 at 7:00 pm from The Burgar Memorial Chapel (Camrose).A Funeral Service will be held at the Ferintosh Community Center at 1:00pm on Thursday December 10, 2015, with Rev. Alan Richards of ciating.Memorial contributions are gratefully accepted to the Little Beaver Hi-U Centre in Ferintosh or to the United Church Missions and Service Fund.To send condolences, please visit www.burgarfuneralhome.com.

BURGAR FUNERAL HOME CAMROSE & DAYSLAND (4817 51 Ave, Camrose, Alberta T4V 0V4) in care of

arrangements. 780-672-2121.“Dedicated service since 1906”

FOESIERPatrick Gerard JosephMr. Patrick G. Foesier of Stettler, passed away November 28, 2015. Patrick was born to Cornelius and Helene Foesier on March 17, 1949 at Drumheller, AB. Patrick is survived by: his Loving Wife, Trish; Sons, Shawn (Robyn) Foesier and Erin (Tonia) Foesier; Grandchildren, Logan, Faith, Able and Thomas; Brothers, Jacque Foesier, Gerald (Lorraine) Foesier and Bernard Foesier; and Sisters, Theresa Werner and Marie Turnbull. Predeceased by: His

Parents, Cornelius “Nels” and Helene Foesier; Brothers, Nels Foesier and Aloyisious Foesier. If desired, donations may be made to Stettler Health Services Foundation - Palliative Care, S.T.A.R.S. or to a charity of the donor’s choice. A Prayer Service was held at the Christ King Catholic Church, Stettler, with Reverend Father Don Ihekwoaba, Of ciating, Thursday, December 3, 2015. A Funeral Mass was held at the Sacred Heart Catholic Parish, Red Deer, with Reverend Father Les Drewicki, Celebrant, on Friday, December 4, 2015, followed by Interment at Lake View Cemetery, Stettler. Condolences may be sent or viewed at www.brennenfuneralhome.com.

Arrangements in care of BRENNEN FUNERAL HOME AND

CREMATION SERVICES - Stettler Box 193, Stettler, AB T0C 2L0. 403-742-3315.

GRAHAMRose (Irene) Graham was born on December 8, 1924 to Mary and Earnest Carter in a little sod house on the farm near Manyberries. The family moved a short time later to a farm near Hayter, Alberta where Irene shared her childhood with sisters Eva and Ruth and brothers Leo, Bill and Jim. Time was spent going to school and her favourite pastime riding horses. She met Bob Graham when she was 15 years old, he was working on a nearby farm and would come every Sunday afternoon to play ball with the Carter kids and other neighbours. In 1939 World War II began; Irene joined the Army on October 26, 1942. She and Bob corresponded through those years until the war was over and Bob came home. Both discharged from the Army and were married on November 26, 1945. On August 6, 1947 their daughter Linda was born. The next years were spent farming near Marsden. Then owning and running a café of which Irene was chief cook and bottle washer. The family later

moved to the Provost area, then to Killam and then to Edmonton. They moved a lot. During these years Irene did hairdressing and owned her own shop in Edmonton. In 1962, they moved to Stettler where Bob worked as a gas tter for Burro Gas and then Canadian Propane. Irene worked for the Stettler Hotel and then Blokes Bakery. During these years she enjoyed gardening and even took 1st prize for her yard. In 1974 Bob was transferred to Creston, BC to manage the Canadian Propane Branch there where Irene spent most of her time gardening. In October of 1976 she accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour of her life and was baptised. Bob and Irene were on the move again. When Bob retired they moved back to Alberta to be closer to family and settled in Strome, Alberta. She again enjoyed gardening, baking and especially going to garage sales. In September 2006, Irene and Bob moved to Willow Creek Lodge in Stettler. Bob passed away in January 2008 and Irene spent two more years there before moving to the farm near Stettler. She spent the next four years where she especially loved playing with her great great grandson Seth. In January of 2014 Irene moved to Points West Living. During the time she spent in the Stettler Hospital, prior to her passing, her second great great grandson James was born on November 12, 2015 across the hall from her. Irene went home to be with the Lord on November 29, 2015.Predeceased by her husband Bob, mother Mary and father Earnest Carter, sisters Eva (Walter) Schowalter, Ruth (Auburn/ Hanky), sister in law Rose Carter, brothers Jim Carter and Leo Carter. Irene is survived by her daughter Linda (Ken) Repchin; grandchildren Tammy (Matthew) Durant, Gordon Repchin and Kent Repchin; great grandchildren: Kristi, Mikayla, Wyatt, Jorden, Amber, Steven, Robert and Alex; two great great grandsons Seth and James; brother Bill Carter and sister in law Alice Carter; as well as other relatives and many dear friends.Funeral service was held in the Heartland Chapel of Stettler Funeral Home with Pastor Shawn Acheson, Word of Life Church, of ciating. Nathan Mullen presented his gift of music as well sang several selections. Great great grandson read “My First Christmas In Heaven” and nephew Tim Schowalter gave a loving tribute. Interment took place at Lake View Cemetery with Gordon Repchin, Kent Repchin, Tammy Durant, Kristi Repchin, Jordon Mayhew and Mike Lundle as Pallbearers and Honorary Pallbearers were Matthew Durant, Mikayla Repchin and all Irene’s family and friends. Family and friends joined together in the Heartland Chapel for a time of fellowship and a luncheon by the Fenn Ladies Club. Memorial donations may be sent to STARS, Alberta Diabetes or your own charity c/o Box 1780, Stettler, AB T0C 2L0.Condolences will be forwarded to the family at www.stettlerfuneralhome.com

Obituaries Obituaries

In MemoriamKLAUS

Sandi, Gordon, Monica & Lisa

If memories bring us closerWe are never far apart.Because you’re always

in our thoughts,And forever in our hearts.

Lovingly remembered byMom and Dad Berry,

Brenda & Murray,Lana, Nancy,

Grant & Darlene, Trevor and their families

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PALMERMr. John Leslie Palmer of Big Valley passed away on November 27, 2015 at the age of 68 years. John was born in Calgary, Alberta on September 11, 1947. He is survived by his long time partner Lynne, as well as son Doug and daughter Lorena (Surven), grandchildren: Daniel, Josh, Raymond and Addison; other relatives and friends. At John’s request no formal funeral will be held; if friends desire memorial donations may be made to the Big Valley Fire Department c/o Stettler Funeral Home, Box 1780, Stettler, AB, T0C 2L0. Sympathies may be forwarded to the family by signing the guestbook at www.stettlerfuneralhome.com

STETTLER FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORIUM

403-742-3422, entrusted with the care and arrangements.

announcements

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BRADY ARMSTRONG and

MARIE CHUTEare getting married!!!

We would like to invite you to celebrate our special day with us on

DECEMBER 19 at the Stettler Community Hall at 9 pm.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Arts & Crafts Shows ..................50Class Registrations....................51Coming Events ..........................52Lost ............................................54Found ........................................56Companions ..............................58Personals...................................60Bingos........................................64Fitness & Sports ........................66Happy Ads .................................70

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ComingEvents 52 Coming

Events 52

ComingEvents 52

SANTA CLAUS IS COMING

to the Red Willow HallSun., Dec 13, 1 - 3 pm!1 pm Horse & Sleigh

rides- weather permitting(Crafts as an alternate).

2 pm Santa arrivesEnjoy Hot Chocolate &Cookies. Kids receive aChristmas Treat Bag!

THE LLOYDMINSTER EXHIBITIONS Pride of the

Prairies Bull Show and Sale. March 6 - 7, 2016. Traditional halter and pen

format. Entry deadline: January 5, 2016. For more

information: www.lloy-dexh.com. 306-825-5571

or email Sam: [email protected].

ComingEvents 52

Lost 54$5000 REWARD

leading up to or for the nding of 14 missing

simmental cows and 13 calves. Cows have a brand of TLX on the left rib and also possibly a brand of

PG (‘G’ is backwards) on the left rib. Calves are probably unbranded. Went missing

in Alliance/Sedgewick area. Phone 780-386-3745

or 780-888-1258.

Personals 60REWARD - I am offering a very nice reward for any video recordings of an

assault that occurred in the early morning hours follow-

ing the Big Valley Rodeo Dance in Big Valley, AB on

May 10, 2015. You may remain anonymous. To

claim the reward contact [email protected].

Any help is very much appreciated.

Professionals 810

Employment#700 - #920

Caregivers/Aides................710Clerical ..............................720Computer Personnel ..........730Dental ................................740Estheticians........................750Hair Stylists ........................760 Janitorial ............................770Legal ..................................780Medical ..............................790Oilfield ................................800Professionals......................810Restaurant/Hotel ................820Sales & Distributors ..........830Teachers/Tutors..................840Trades ................................850Truckers/Drivers ................860Business Opportunities......870Miscellaneous ....................880Volunteers Wanted ............890Positions Wanted ..............895Employment Training ........900Career Planning ................920

Medical 790MEDICAL

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Employers have work-at-home positions available.

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Medical 790MEDICAL TRAINEES

needed now! Hospitals & doctor’s of ces need

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Restaurant/Hotel 820Cameron Bay Holdings Inc. o/a McDonalds’s in Ponoka and Red Deer (Gasoline Alley East and West) is now hiring full time and part time Food Service Supervisors. Wages are between $13.95 to $16.00 per hour,depending upon experi-ence and quali cations. Candidates must be able to work a variety of shifts and have 3 to 5 years pre-vious experience. Must be able to supervisor up to 20 crew. Part-time applica-tions will be accepted fromCanadians and PermanentResidents. Apply in person4419 Hwy 2A, Ponoka,37479 Hwy 2, Red Deer,and 37428 Hwy 2, Red Deer or email resume [email protected] or fax to403-783-4251.

Botha Community Centre

is hosting its

Regular and Annual General Meeting

on

December 10, 2015 6:30 p.m.

at theBotha Community HallCome out and help plan for 2016!

Sale on Now!!Toys, Antiques,

Novelties & Games

Find the perfect gift!

1000's of items tochoose from!

Call for Details John 403-742-2441

AAnnual CChristmas CCarol ffestival

Wednesday, December 16 at 7:00 p.m.

Stettler United Church

Enjoy singing, fellowship and lunch

Admission by Food Bank Donation

e

er

e!

40

10

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MennoniteYouth

ChristmasProgramMennonite

Church10 miles South of Stettler on Hwy 56

& 2 miles East

Sunday, Dec. 137:30 p.m.

Everyone welcome!

For more information Phone: 403-742-8868

or 403-740-3459

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITYCHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

The Village of Botha and the Village of Gadsby are seeking an energetic, motivated, positive individual for the position of Chief Administrative Offi cer (CAO) to serve both Municipalities under a Community Partnership Agreement.Reporting to the Mayors and Councils the CAO is responsible for directing all operations of both Villages.

For a complete job description please go to Botha’s web site:http://villageofbotha.com

Qualifi cations:The ideal candidate will have:• A minimum 3 years of experience in Municipal Management and a

certifi cate in Local Government or working towards certifi cation• Excellent organizational, time management and communication skills,

self-disciplined as well as a demonstrated team philosophy• Good interpersonal skills are required to deal with Council,

contractors, the community and other municipalities• Extensive fi nancial background, strong in budget preparation and

fi nancial reporting abilities• Profi cient in information technology in particular Windows and

Microsoft Offi ce and Quick Books• A solid understanding of infrastructure, planning and development

The Village of Botha invites interested applicants to submit their resumes and references along with expectation of compensation. The Village of Botha thanks everyone for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Applications welcome until closing date or upon selection of asuitable candidate.Closing date: December 30, 2015

Submit application to:Village of Botha or Village of GadsbyBox 160, Botha AB T0C 0N0 Box 80, Gadsby, AB T0C 1K0E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

The family of BOB DIPROSE

wishes to express sincere thanks and gratitudeto so many for their acts of kindness

during Bob’s nal illness and passing.A special thank you to Dr. Pieter Bouwer and the nursing staff of the Stettler Hospital for their excellent care of Bob.Thank you to everyone who visited, phoned, sent cards, food, owers and gifts, thoughts and prayers during this

dif cult time. We appreciate all those who took time from their busy schedules to attend the memorial funeral service for Bob. Also, thanks to all who made donations in Bob’s

memory to S.T.A.R.S and other charities. Your support made a sad time easier to bear. Thanks to the

ladies of the Botha UCW for serving the lovely lunch. Last, but not least, thank you to the staff of the

Stettler Funeral Home for their compassionate and professional services. It was truly second to none.

Words cannot express how much we appreciate theoutpouring of love and support that we have received from

family, friends and neighbours. Your kindness will never be forgotten.

Dorothy DiproseTerry and Diane Diprose

Don DiproseRosemary and Les Stulberg

And families

Card Of Thanks

THE STETTLER INDEPENDENT Classi eds

PLEASE READ YOUR ADAdvertisers should read their ad the FIRST DAY

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DEADLINE:. MONDAYS @ NOONClassi ed Hotline 1-877-223-3311

Card Of Thanks

The family of Doris Roberts would like to thank Stettler Home Care and Palliative

Care Team Kelly Kruger and Deb Gitzel and Helping Hands Janet Campbell. Special thanks to Doctor

Bailey and all those individuals who partook in

the care of our mother.

We would like to thank those who have traveled, sent owers, food, cards,

sympathy messages, emails, and gave us phone calls, prayers and hugs to me and my family in our

dif cult loss of a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother,

uncle, cousin & friend. We will treasure you always, Remain in our hearts forever,

God Bless you & keep you.Joanne Wiechnik & family

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Trades 850

FUTURE AG INC. owns and operates 4 branches throughout

Central Alberta selling and servicing CASE IH

Agriculture equipment.We are currently looking for

Agricultural Technicians and/ or

Heavy Duty Mechanics

with Ag experience for our Stettler location.

This is a fast-paced environment and ideal

candidate would be able to work with minimal

supervision, have the ability to take initiative and consistently demonstrate

exceptional customer service.FUTURE AG INC. “People

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career opportunity.To apply, forward your

resume to:Future Ag Inc.Attn: Markus

Box 1510Stettler, AB T0C 2L0Fax 403-742-5626

[email protected]

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Call Curt or Rob

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Buzz AndersenServing Stettler

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Drafting Service

GALEN WIEBERESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL

DRAFTING AND DESIGN

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Call Barry Harvey

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“If It’s Electrical We Do It”

All types of Electrical Installation &Maintenance

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Stettler FurnaceCleaning

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403-742-3418403-742-3418

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Call Ryan at

403-742-9823

LTD.C.R. GLASS“Your Service Specialists”

Randy Long• Residential• Commercial

• Automotive Needs

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• Locks repinned & installed• Windshields repaired

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Windows & Doors• All your glass & screen needs

Main St., Stettler Emergency403-742-2665 403-742-3628

Dr. E. LYNESChiropractor

4719 - 49 St.Stettler, AlbertaOne block East of Scotia Bank

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PERFORMANCEPERFORMANCEPhysiotherapy, Physiotherapy, Acupuncture Acupuncture & Massage& Massage

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DR. D.G. BECKLUNDChiropractor

-Gitzel Krejci Building4912 - 51 Street

Stettler, ABOpen Mon. - Sat.

Bus.: 403-742-2553Res.: 403-742-0370

Stettler Eye Care

Dr. R. TROY NELSONComprehensive eye

health and vision exams

Top quality frames,

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Treatment of eye

disease, injuries and

surgical co-management

Phone 403-742-2683New patients welcome

Barristers and Solicitors

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2401 Toronto Dominion Sq.Edmonton Centre

Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2Z1Telephone: 780-426-4660

Fax: 780-426-0982

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Brenda Anderson,

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LANDMAN REULE LAW OFFICE

4819 - 51 Street

Lori R. ReuleLL. B.

StettlerProfessionalBuilding

403-742-3411

Gary G. GrantLaw Office

4910 - 51 StreetStettler, AB T0C 2L0

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Accounting 1010

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SHARON FISCHERSTETTLER ELEMENTARY NEWS

It has been a very fun and exciting beginning to the month of December for the students at Stettler Elementary School. Our monthly assembly was held on Friday, Dec. 4, and on that day Principal Sharon Fischer and Vice-Principal Jeff Lee had to make good on their promises to the students.

The students were told that if they raised over $15 000 for the Terry Fox Foundation in September, the school administrators would sing to the whole school and would allow the students to duct tape them to the wall of the gymnasium. Both of these occurred on Friday, much to the delight of the student body. Also during that week, our students and music specialists were busy polishing up for the annual Christmas concerts.

On Tuesday, Dec. 8, we had our first set of concerts. Half of our grades 2, 3, and 4 students performed for fellow students, grandparents, parents, and commu-nity members in three different concerts held that day. There were performances held at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 7 p.m. Then on Wednesday, Dec. 9, our grades 5 and 6 music and musical theatre classes shared their talents with the public during the Christmas concerts that they worked hard to put together. Other concerts this week will be the concerts held on Thursday, Dec. 10, showcasing the talents of the remaining grades 2, 3, and 4 students.

Then next week, all of our remaining students will have an opportunity to share what they have been working so hard to prepare for this holiday season. Our grades 5 and 6 band students will be a part of the annual “Night of the Bands” on Monday, Dec. 14, and our kindergarten and Grade 1 students will share their Christmas spirit and joy with everyone who comes out to their concerts on Tuesday, Dec. 15 and Thursday, Dec. 17. That will end the concert season for 2015, but our students will have an additional day of school before we dismiss for the Christmas Break. The staff and students will walk to the Jewel Theatre on that last day of school to enjoy a movie, popcorn and water as part of the final school day celebration. We would like to thank Sonya and Byron Geddes, owners of the theatre, for generously sponsoring this event again this year. We truly appreciate your support.

After concerts, SES students to enjoy

movie before Christmas break

Contributed photo

Vice-principal Jeff Lee being duct-taped to school gym wall as promised in return for SES kids raising a lot of money during the Terry Fox run.

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Grain, FeedHay 2190HEATED CANOLA buying Green, Heated or Spring-thrashed Canola. Buying:

oats, barley, wheat & peas for feed. Buying damaged

or offgrade grain. “On Farm Pickup” Westcan

Feed & Grain, 1-877-250-5252.

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oats. Delivery available. No Sunday calls please. Phone 403-704-3509 or

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Suites 3060

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RoommatesWanted 3080ONE bedroom shared ac-commodations in Gadsby. Phone 403-740-3209

StorageSpace 3160

Pasture 3180PASTURE & HAY LAND. 400 - 8000 acres of year round water supply. Full

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Realtors & Services..........4010Houses for Sale................4020Houses Wanted................4030Condos/Townhouses ........4040Acreages ..........................4050Acreages Wanted ............4060Farms/Land ......................4070Farms/Land Wanted ........4080Manufactured/Mobile Homes ..................4090Income Property ..............4100Commercial Property ......4110Industrial Property ............4120Cottages/Resort Property ..4130Businesses for Sale..........4140Buildings for Sale ............4150Lots for Sale ....................4160Out of Town Property ......4170Investment Opportunities ..4180Mortgages Bought/Sold....4190

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DEVELOPMENT PERMIT NOTICENotice is hereby given that the following Development Permit Applications have been approved as permitted uses in accordance with the Town of Stettler Land Use By-law No 2060-15:

1. No: 2904-2015 Legal Description: Lot 1, Block 1, Plan 1759KS Municipal Address: 6102 - 50 Avenue Applicant: Hankook Esso Ltd. Proposed Development: Steel Frame Awning

Angela StormoenPlanning & Development Services

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

403-742-4271; 403-742-1887

AL-ANONBrenda 403-742-0990Betty 403-742-5673

ALZHEIMERS SOCIETY403-346-4636

Red Deerwww.alzheimer.ab.ca

BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT Pat Lattery

403-742-3759

BIG BROTHERS &BIG SISTERS ORGANIZATION

403-742-5437 during business hours

BRIGANTIA PLACE(formerly Camrose Women’s Shelter)

780-672-1035

CELIAC (Gluten Intolerance)Brenda 403-742-3067

COCAINE ANONYMOUSPager toll-free

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GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS403-742-4059

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403-742-6568

NARCOTICS ANONYMOUSHot Line 403-342-1444

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For more information phone403-742-6456

STETTLER FOOD BANKBetty Birch 403-742-0732

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RCMP offi ce403-742-3382

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PublicNotices 6010


Children’s Christmas party on Sunday

LINDA STILLINGERBIG VALLEY BULLETIN

Can you believe it, there are only three weeks until Christmas holidays.

The Big Valley junior highs have been mak-ing great progress on their annual Christmas Concert. Last week the grades 7/8/9’s auditioned for their character roles. The younger grades have been working hard, prac-ticing a lot, trying to get their songs perfect for the big night. For their school fundraising effort, the stu-dents will be having a bake sale and holding a “Santa’s Little Helper” auction. Junior high students will be auctioned off in pairs during the Christmas con-cert with the highest bid-ders getting a day’s worth of work. Big Valley School students and staff hope to see everyone there to pick up some goodies, maybe buy a pair of Santa’s Little

Helpers and, of course, to enjoy the great concert they have prepared for you. See you at the Jubilee Hall on Wednesday, Dec.16 at 7 p.m.

If you aren’t yet aware, the Historical Society has a Facebook page where they post pictures of their new building’s progress. A number of people have begun to follow the site, so if you do Facebook surf-ing, just search for the Big Valley Historical Society and check them out. Lately, they have been posting some older, historical pho-tos—like the Village Hall in 1970 and the jail when it fi rst arrived here. So far, comments have been quite favourable, so expect new postings regularly.

Fifteen players came out for crib at the Big Valley Inn on Sunday, Dec. 6. Lawrence Wilkie won fi rst place and had eight per-fect games. Mary Wilkie won second place, Lillian

Kirtley won third place and Caroline Pound won the booby. Mary Wilkie won the regular draw. Hope to see everyone out again next Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Big Valley Drop-in Centre will be holding their December commu-nity pancake supper next Monday, Dec. 14 beginning at 5:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome. The election of offi cers will be at the potluck and meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 12 noon. Seniors don’t for-get to try out Monday and Friday night cards at 7 p.m., Sunday afternoon crib at 1 p.m. or stop by for coffee every morning starting at 8 a.m.

If you haven’t done it yet, please register your chil-dren for Big Valley’s annual Children’s Christmas Party taking place this coming Sunday, Dec. 13. Call or text Brenda at 403-740-6552 or Catrina at 403-741-7320.

LES AND ROSEMARY STULBERGBYEMOOR/ENDIANG NEWS

The Christmas season is upon us, even though it may not look like it outside. Warm Chinook winds last week melted the little snow we had. It is looking like we are in for a brown Christmas perhaps.

A good crowd attended Santa Claus Day in Byemoor on Saturday. Many went home with baking, crafts, gift ideas or a Christmas tree.

Santa arrived from the North Pole around 2 p.m. and the youngsters got to get their photos taken with him as they described what they wanted for Christmas.

The 50/50 draw of $125 was won by Harvey Kassian of Stettler. He generous-ly donated it back to the Byemoor hall.

The door prize was won by Mia Gallagher, young daughter of Greg and Samantha Gallagher of Hanna.

Eight-year-old Rylee Jones sold her homemade bracelets at Santa Claus Day and donated all the proceeds ($183) to the Children’s Wish Foundation. You have a generous heart, Rylee.

On Sunday, members and guests of the Endmoor fl oor curling club gath-ered at the Endiang hall for their an-nual Christmas dinner. They enjoyed a delicious ham dinner catered by the Byemoor Hotel then fi nished the after-noon off with fl oor curling. Santa also made an appearance and rumour has it that it was a female version.

Remember Byemoor School Christmas Concert is on Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. with all welcome.

The Scapa community Christmas Concert will be held on Dec. 19 begin-ning with a potluck supper at 5:30 p.m. (meat will be supplied). Any additions to the program are most welcome. Contact Thelma Bossert for further information

at 403-854-2393.St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Christmas

service is on Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome to join in the candlelight ser-vice at this historic country church.

Crib night at the Endmoor Drop-in Centre last Tuesday evening saw Eleanor Schultz post the top score for the third consecutive time. Appears you are on a roll, Eleanor — perhaps you should consider a trip to Vegas. Deanna Johnson posted the second best score of the night. Next meet is on Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Get well wishes go out to Garnet McLearn recovering from triple-bypass heart surgery in the Foothills Hospital in Calgary and to Agnes Sorensen in the Stettler hospital. Your friends are think-ing of you both and wish you a speedy recovery.

Herb and Helen Gutsche moved into the Hanna Lodge last week where they would be happy to welcome visitors. We wish Herb and Helen all the best in their new home.

Doreen Nixon and Evelyn Walker ar-rived home last week from a month spent at Apache Junction, Arizona. They reported the weather a little cooler than normal.

Happy 50th birthday wishes go out to Rod Yates on Dec. 7 as he celebrates half a century. Enjoy being the big Five – O, Rod.

Those who watch the television pro-gram Heartland may be interested to know the wildlife offi cer who appeared on the Sunday night episode was played by Christopher Hunt. The Calgary actor is the son of the late David Hunt who was youngest member of the Hunt clan from Endiang.

Christmas trivia — The Poinsettia is na-tive to Mexico. The fi rst printed reference to a Christmas tree was in 1531 in Germany.

ROSE KOENRAADT AND DOROTHY ANDERSONHALKIRK HERALD

Mother Teresa students had the op-portunity to attend a performance of ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the PAC in Stettler on Friday. They thought the Wm. E Hay drama class did an amazing job and they loved it.

Elks’ annual breakfast with Santa was held last Sunday with around 100 peo-ple; attendance was down a little but those attending enjoyed the full break-fast.

The Elks Christmas party and com-munity appreciation supper was last Tuesday catered to by the staff from the Circle Square on Tuesday evening.

Bill 6 protest was held last Tuesday in Red Deer several from the area attended this packed meeting.

There are several youngsters from our community playing on the local hockey teams. Playing with Castor in Novice is Ella May Perry; in Atom are Brandyn Baird, Toryn Johnson, Ray Musgrove, Tayah Perry and Owen Schauer; in Peewee is Logan Perry; In Bantam are Brody Baird and Trey MacGillivray. Playing with the Stettler girls team is Devon Johnson. Many of the rest of the teams’ players have ties to Halkirk and the games are regularly attended by grandparents, aunts and uncles. We are very proud of all these young athletes.

Coming up: Dec. 10 and Dec 17 – Hall board Christmas bingos with Ham and Turkey ; Dec. 15 – Mother Teresa Christmas concert at the school at 7 p.m.; Dec. 15 – regular seniors’ meeting and potluck at 6 p.m.; Dec. 17 – last day of school until Jan. 4.

The Advent season begins at CKCSBY AUTUMN WYNESS AND HANNAH CANLAS, GRADE 7 STUDENTS

Christ-King Catholic School students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 had their last day of swimming on Thursday, Dec. 3. Everybody who had swimming les-sons enjoyed it and had fun. Results will be coming into the school this week.

Christ-King Catholic School celebrated week one of Advent on Monday, Nov. 30. As a school, we lit the fi rst purple can-dle. The Grade 6 class did a wonderful job leading the fi rst Advent celebration. We celebrate Advent to count down the four weeks until Christmas. There is a candle for each week. The fi rst candle is purple and it stands for hope. We can have hope because God always keeps his promises and is faithful. The second candle is the candle of peace. The rose coloured candle is the third candle, and it stands for joy. The last candle is pur-ple which represents love. At the centre of the four candles is a white candle

which is lit on Christmas Day, to cele-brate the birthday of Jesus. All of these candles are on a wreath. The wreath is a circle to show God’s love is eternal. The candles are usually lit on the Sunday, because it is the fi rst day of the week. However, since there is no school on Sunday, we have our celebrations on Mondays. Each week a new class leads the celebration.

Christ-King Catholic School is having their Advent concert on Dec. 16. The theme of the play this year is “An out-of-the box Christmas.” It is a musical which takes place at the fi nal dress rehearsal for a Christmas pageant. When the cos-tumes arrive, the actors pull them “out of the box” and see that they are all the wrong costumes. As they work together, the children come up with some unique, different costumes ideas that will tell the same Christmas story. It starts at 7 p.m. at the CKCS gym. Everyone is welcome to attend. Snacks and refresh-ments will be provided afterwards.

PAULETTE HEERGADSBY/WESTWOODS NEWS

Since the early 1980s, Gadsby has had Santa Claus Day, a tradition started by Bill and Phyllis Morlock.

When they no longer could do it, the Gadsby District Hobby Club took over and for 17 years they hosted Santa Day. It’s great to see the Gadsby Community Hall Board hosting their sec-ond annual Santa Day last Saturday at the hall. Lawrence Clarke fami-ly were seen with their team of horses and wagon (weather being fantastic), taking chil-dren for rides through

Gadsby.Percy and Paulette

Heer, Jack and Melanie Ross were among the 34 people gathered at the Stettler Community Hall Saturday night for the turkey supper host-ed by the Erskine E Free Church. A wonderful Christmas supper fol-lowed by a must see and hear Brian Doerksen concert of old and new Christmas songs.

Gloria and Stan Diegel helped grandson Elliot Skocdopole celebrate his 10th birthday on Saturday night with a family birthday supper. Joining them at Greg and Richelle’s were Tasha and Aaron and family, Arden

and Deanne and fami-ly, Ybiett and family and also grandparents Jim and Dixie Skocdopole. Happy birthday, Elliot!

Bill and Joyce Hansel have enjoyed a week of company with neice Donna and Markus com-ing Thursday, Marie Vance, then Dewey and Joanne Hoopfer on the weekend.

Vic and Barb Carey were thrilled to have grand-children Tori and Jonah Jarmin on the week-end. They baked cook-ies, helped put up the Christmas tree and deco-rate. Joining them for the day, Sunday,were brother Taylor and his wife Olha from Edmonton.

Santa Day rides made kids happy

Mother Teresa students liked Wm. E. Hay play

Two Christmas concerts next week


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stettler independent, december 09, 2015

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