The family of a missing Breton man who disappeared seven years ago are still hoping for help from the public.
Andrew George Nicoll was last heard from on April 21, 2014. His daughter, Bronwyn Taylor, had just been to visit him for Easter the day before.
Taylor says she and her father were very close and had been texting throughout the day. The last text she received from him was at 3:15 p.m. At that time Nicoll was outside working on his deck. At 4 p.m. Taylor sent him another text, but this one was never read.
When the text message went unanswered, Taylor wasn’t initially concerned. Her father lived on a large piece of land near Breton. The area was isolated and the cell service wasn’t always great, so she assumed it just hadn’t gone through.
It was when she received the call that he hadn’t shown up for work the next morning that she knew something was wrong.
As a former member of the Royal Navy, police officer and volunteer firefighter, Taylor knew that her father would not be irresponsible about his work shift. His employer, who also recognized that this was abnormal behaviour, had gone out to his home to check on him, but he wasn’t there.
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Taylor called the RCMP immediately and travelled out to his house. She says she can remember some people suggesting he just took off or perhaps killed himself – his wife had died of cancer two years prior – but what Taylor saw told her this wasn’t the case.
Taylor had just been to visit him the day before he disappeared. “He was in really good spirits. No indication of [him] being suicidal. He was not, whatsoever,” she said.
Nicoll had been working on his deck, getting his place ready to be sold. All of his tools were left out and he’d been in the middle of adding oil to his chainsaw.
He’d also put both dogs inside the house, something he only did when there were visitors coming up the driveway. Inside they could see that he’d gone grocery shopping that day, there was chicken thawing for supper in the microwave, and the dog dishes were filled with food and sitting on the countertop.
“The only reason the dogs would ever be locked inside the house would be if someone was coming down the driveway or he was using his chainsaw,” she said.
After a quick search, they also found his keys, wallet and jacket. His vehicle was still in the driveway.
There was no indication that Nicoll had plans to go anywhere at that time. “We were texting for most of the day,” said Taylor.
Seven years later, Taylor says she’s still hoping for answers. “To this date, we still have no idea what happened to my dad,” she said.
Taylor said her first thought when she arrived was that there had been a medical situation. She said there were several areas on his property that he liked to visit and they immediately checked all of those areas.
RCMP searched the property for more than a day. When they didn’t find him, Taylor used her connections as a volunteer firefighter and a peace officer for nine years, to ask for volunteers to complete a detailed search of the property.
“We did an extensive five-month search,” she said.
Unfortunately, nothing was found.
At one point they brought dogs out to the property, and the dogs indicated that there was something at one point in a creek that runs through his property. Because of the level of silt in that area, rescue workers were unable to use ground-penetrating radar technology to check for anything under the creek bed. And despite numerous efforts, they were never able to find what it was the dogs had located.
One local youth has seen his hard work with 4-H pay off after being selected as one of 12 youth to show their steers at the 2025 Calgary Stampede Junior Steer Classic.
Hunter Harris is a third generation 4-H member and has been part of the organization since he was 12 years old. Not only does he show cattle for 4-H, he’s also been entering open shows for the past two years. He says showing cattle is just a natural extension of his life as the son and grandson of farmers.
“I think it’s really important to know where your food comes from and I really enjoy showing,” says Harris. He says he also feels like he’s staying true to his heritage working in agriculture, which he is something he is proud of and wants to continue doing.
As an ambassador, Harris got his choice of steer from the OH Ranch this month. At the next Calgary Stampede, he will bring that steer back to show in the Calgary Stampede Junior Steer Classic under a special category for OH Beef.
He says being chosen as an ambassador is an honour and he’s excited to use the opportunity to help educate people about the importance of the industry.
“I think it means putting myself out there and trying to put out a positive image for both the Calgary Stampede and the beef industry as a whole,” says Harris. “As an ambassador, I feel I have the responsibility to try and promote the show world, the beef industry, and this way of life as much as I can.”
Beef showing a competitive sport
He says there is a lot of work that goes into showing and that he considers it a competitive sport, no different than horse showing or dog showing. Each year, Harris works with the steer or heifer he’s chosen. He’s responsible for feeding it, grooming it, and training it, which means spending time with it nearly every day for more than half a year.
“You’ve got to put in a ton of time. You have to be able to halter break it and get it tame,” says Harris. “There’s a process of training it to stand a certain way, how to respond to certain cues when you’re pulling on their halter, and how they should lead and behave in the show ring.”
It’s also important to put time into research about the proper feed for the steer. Harris says the type of food they are fed will greatly impact the standing in competition as well as the sale of the steer for butcher. He says there is a certain balance between fat and muscle that needs to be kept to make good meat.
At the show, all of the cattle get a fitting from the competitors to make sure they look their best when in the ring.
“It’s kind of like hairstyling, but for cows, in a sense,” he says.
Fitting involves cleaning the cow, blow drying them, clipping them, brushing tufts and styling them in certain ways to make the cow look its best in the show.
“It kind of brings out the best traits in them so they look like a better market animal,” he says.
Harris says he plans to attend more open shows this year and hopefully have the opportunity to help educate people about the industry. In the past, he’s spoken with young spectators at events who come up to see his cow and shared a little bit about the importance of the event.
“I just wanted to make sure they were enjoying themselves and that they learned something,” says Harris. “The ladies that were showing [the children] around were learning stuff, too. I think it’s really important to try and connect with everyone on all levels and tell them what an amazing sport it is and how important it is.”
He says that sometimes it can be sad to see the cow go after working with it for so long. But Harris says it’s important for him to remember why he is doing it in the first place, and that families will be fed well because of his efforts.
While Harris is still contemplating what the future could hold for himself in terms of a career, he’s pretty certain that he will likely end up working with cattle and in the agriculture industry. He’s already been working on building up his own herd with his time and money, and a little bit of help from his family. He feels that this will give him a headstart in life and also makes a good choice as an ambassador.
“My parents have been extremely supportive of it, and they’ve helped me out a ton,” he says.
Harris believes his experience in working with his herd makes him more knowledgeable about the industry. He’s been learning about the traditions and the work that goes into maintaining a herd, including breeding, feeding, and the general well-being of the animals.
“I think that makes me a better showman and in a better position to be an ambassador,” he says.
Those who wish to know how Harris’ steer holds up to the other 11 ambassadors will have to wait until the July 2025 Calgary Stampede or hope to catch him at one of the several shows he plans to attend.
Volleyball comes home to Tomahawk
Tomahawk to receive a $1 million dollar upgrade
For the first time ever, the Tomahawk School volleyball team was able to host a home game thanks to their new gym.
Tracey Gilmour, the new principal for the school, says the new gym was a $1 million project. It was started last May and was finally finished on October 16, hours before their opening game.
“They were bringing the scissor lift out as we brought in the net,” says Gilmour.
The Timberwolves went on to win their first home game against the Muir Lake Mustangs.
“They were a little bit worried that actually performing at home would put some pressure on them,” says Gilmour. “But they did great.”
“I was very nervous and excited at the same time,” says Layla Chausse, one of the Timberwolves.
Team practice was a challenge in the past
While the school has always had team sports, Gilmour says it’s been a challenge for the teams to practice, and they’ve never been able to host a game before. The size of the gym wasn’t necessarily the problem. The issue was a large stage that took up about a third of the space in the room.
Gilmour says the stage made it difficult for the students to play any type of sports in the gym. She says small games could work, but a full sized game wasn’t possible.
The previous principal, Fran Bell, really advocated for the students saying they should have equal opportunities to access sports and extracurriculars.
“Parkland School Division stepped up and made that investment in our school,” says Gilmour.
After years of playing away games, the team was happy to finally get to play on their home turf.
“It was really nice to play in the gym for the first time,” says Josie Woodruff, one of the players. “We’re especially grateful to be able to play a home game.” She says their team has never had the opportunity to play in a new gym before.
The fact that they were the very first people to use the gym was something the team enjoyed, as well.
Strocher says winning is just icing on the cake
“We were really excited to have our first home game and be the first ones to play in that gym,” says Isabelle Strocher. She says winning that first game was just icing on the cake.
Up until the home opener, the girls had been practicing outside on a paved area near the school. Gilmour says it hasn’t been easy for the team, but they persevered, and had won every single game going into the home opener.
“Honestly, I think what got them through was their amazing team spirit,” says Gilmour. “I’ve never seen anything like it. They’re so supportive of each other.”
That team spirit has helped the Timberwolves make it into the playoffs this year.
“We’ve finished our placement games,” says Judith Munch. “Now we just have playoffs, and we’re hoping to host one, too.”
Meeting calls for change in town
Members of business community voice concerns over local issues
Some local businesses gathered last week to voice concerns, propose possible solutions, and brainstorm a presentation to put before town council.
Erik Bergen, one of the owners of the Drayton Valley Bakery, held a meeting on October 9 and invited all businesses in the community to come out. Bergen wanted to hear their thoughts on three specific topics: homelessness, essential service administration and the Town’s free enterprise policy.
Bergen says the idea about having a presentation has been on his mind for several months. He says he’s spoken to many business owners who feel frustrated with the Town and the direction council is taking. However, he says he felt that if everybody only talked about it and no one went to the town, nothing would get accomplished.
Along with business owners, the organizers of Warming Hearts and members of the public attended the event.
Homelessness and franchises stir debate
Bergen prepared a presentation for the event, and reviewed it several times as people came and went as they were able. He also had a petition available for attendees to sign.
As he went over his presentation, Bergen says it was difficult to focus on the problems and solutions rather than opinions.
“It did derail a little bit, just because of the opposite points of view, especially regarding the homeless,” he says.
There were some attendees who viewed the homeless issue from a more humanitarian point of view and others that felt a heavier hand was needed. But Bergen says it’s important to
remember that not all homeless people are causing the issue. There are some individuals who are making it difficult for everyone.
“I don’t want to group all people into one basket,” says Bergen. “There are people who are homeless because their house burned down or were dealt a bad hand.”
Another topic that brought up differing opinions was new franchises coming into the community. In his presentation, Bergen argued that by simply leaving the door open for any new businesses in the community, council was putting a strain on businesses that were already established.
According to Bergen, there is about one restaurant (or registered kitchen) for every 95 people in the community. There are more than eight liquor stores and six cannabis stores, 12 pizza places and more than one of some franchises.
He believes that a lack of direction from council in this matter is making it difficult for businesses to do well. Bergen says his concern is protecting the current businesses that the town already has in place and allow them to flourish.
“A lot of these restaurant owners say that they’re one franchise away from closing their doors,” says Bergen.
Town services and the need for improvement
Bergen says that many people have also noticed a disparity in the services the Town offers the community. For example, there are a number of different “nice” things the Town has spent money on like the pumptrack, disc golf, the pool etc. However, there are some struggles with providing basic services such as regular road maintenance, weed control and pest management.
“Maybe they are doing the best they can do, or maybe they got pushed to the back burner,” says Bergen.
He says that he got a lot of feedback from those who attended the meeting. As it was his first time attempting anything like this, there was a learning curve and Bergen says he’s looking forward to making improvements at another meeting that will be held at the beginning of November.
Bergen’s plan is to present a list of complaints with possible solutions to council in November.
Town changing Facility Code of Conduct
The Town is making some changes to its Facility Code of Conduct in an effort to ensure its facilities aren’t being misused.
Cody Rossing, the manager of enforcement and emergency management, presented council with a proposed amendment to the Code of Conduct. Rossing says the Code of Conduct was put in place in August 2016. Since council expressed concern surrounding enforcement of removing homeless individuals from the Civic Centre vestibule, administration reviewed the code and came up with some suggestions.
Rossing says there are several different prohibitions that were not included in the original Code of Conduct. Most of the changes were stronger wording surrounding loitering and failing to comply with signage. While the original code prohibited smoking, it did not mention vaping, so Rossing says they have changed that.
The wording surrounding service animals was also changed to match provincial law.
The proposed changes also give more power to facility managers when it comes to banning individuals from Town facilities. They will be able to ban individuals for up to seven days. General managers and peace officers will also be able to suspend someone for up to six months. CAOs will be able to ban someone for more than six months if necessary.
“It’s putting in those different layers so the CAO isn’t involved in everything,” says Rossing.
He says there are also changes to wording surrounding the appeals process of someone who has been banned for more than 24 hours.
“And it clarifies that if someone is contravening their suspension or expulsion, then they are considered trespassing and law enforcement will be made aware for further actions,” says Rossing.
Councillor Colin Clarke raised concerns about the bans, asking if a ban from Town facilities meant all Town-owned buildings, even if there were tennants operating out of some of them. He says he worried that banning someone from the Omniplex might affect their ability to go to the Food Bank or other necessary services.
Hans van Klaveren, the acting CAO, says that typically the operator is setting those guidelines or rules for their building.
Councillor Tom McGee also spoke about the Warming Hearts Centre as the Town helps to fund the rent for the facility through grants.
In the end, it was decided that if a tenant wanted to have someone trespassed, they would contact Rossing and it would be treated like other businesses in the community. Their bans will only apply to Town owned and operated facilities.
“I’m glad to see we’re addressing this and putting the structure in place to give you the tools to do something about it,” says Councillor Rick Evans.
“I think that, in the end, our residents are going to appreciate our efforts to make the use of our facilities more enjoyable and safe, ultimately.”
A weekend cycling secondary highways
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Spending a weekend cycling the secondary highway in and around Brazeau County is one of the great outdoor activities that this region has to offer. Minutes outside of Drayton Valley you will find yourself on kilometers of highway that seem to continue to stretch West. Many of these highways go near small hamlets and communities in the area, they go into and come out of river valleys and on a clear day offer a beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains.
One such circuit is the DV100 century loop. This 100km route takes you west past farmlands and through lush boreal forests, and through the small communities and hamlets that mark the birth of Alberta’s oil and gas industry. It is a loop that can be done with speed or taken at a leisurely pace, offering snack and eatery stops along the way.
Day 1: Arrival, dinner
Arrive at hotel: When you stay at a Drayton Valley Hospitality and Tourism hotel or campground you support local tourism initiatives in Drayton Valley and Brazeau County.
Evening ride: Stretch your legs and do the 19 km ring road multipurpose trails to Rocky Rapids. Park your vehicle at the “Welcome to Drayton Valley” derricks at the south end of town and right across the street you will be on the trails. The route will take you straight out to the hamlet of Rocky Rapids where you can stop off at the Rocky Rapids store for a snack. The original building is located at the Drayton Valley museum.
Dinner: Did you know we have over 40 different restaurants in Drayton Valley? Look at our restaurant listing in this guide.
Ricochet Aquatic Centre: Take in the steamroom and the hot tub at the local swimming pool. The pool is open until 8:00 pm most nights and will get you ready for your big century ride tomorrow.
Day 2: The DIY DV100
Breakfast: Take in some breakfast at your hotel or head out to one of our great breakfast venues.
DIY DV100: The DV100 is a 100 kilometre route that travels secondary highways in Brazeau County. Along the route there are several spots you can stop to regroup, take in a photo and enjoy some food. Just out of town is the Poplar Ridge Store, this is your last stop to get any supplies until you reach the community of Lodgepole about about kilometre 40.
Arrive Lodgepole: this is a small hamlet that has a general store in the heart of town. Here you can grab a drink, and convenience store fare. There is also the hotel restaurant that is open 11-12:30 and 3-8 most days, there is also the Aud Spot for breakfast and lunch as a cash only option.
Heading out of Lodgepole towards Cynthia there are a few great photo opportunities as you crest a hill coming up from the Pembina River Valley. This is a slog of a climb but once you crest it is smooth sailing to Cynthia.
Near the Hamlet of Cynthia there is the ever popular Cyn City Saloon where you can get a beverage and a burger. Heading back towards Drayton Valley and Hwy 621 your next stop is 39 km away in the community of Rocky Rapids where you can stop at the store for some snacks and then back into town.
(In the Evening)
Hotel: regroup at your hotel and get ready for the evening.
Dinner: Drayton Valley has more than 40 different restaurants. Have a look at our listings page to decide where you want to eat.
Drinks: Head to a patio and enjoy the sunset with an ice cold brew. Lounge patios can be found at; Khal’s Steakhouse, Boston Pizza, Mitch’s Restaurant, Oil Country Tap House, Bourbon House and Mr. Mikes.
Day 3 Check out, walk and head home
Breakfast: Breakfast at your hotel or check out and head to a local restaurant for brunch.
Disc golf or a walk: If you want to stretch your time here in Drayton Valley, head over to Ivan To Park for a walk around the pond or a round of disc golf. The park has an 18-hole disc golf course that is open at no charge. If you’re pushed for time there’s an easy cut off to limit your round to 9 holes.
Head home. We hope you’ve enjoyed your time in our community. Come back soon!
Enforcement options limited
Staff Sergeant Ryan Hoetmer says dealing with the effects of the homeless population in the community is not simple.
Hoetmer says that the most common complaint regarding homeless individuals is about them sleeping or spending time in business entrances. That was one of the main issues raised by town council in a discussion on September 18.
Hoetmer says RCMP involvement in removing the individual and charging them with trespassing is a bit tricky, especially in regards to private businesses.
“The police themselves do not make a determination of whether that homeless individual can be there or not,” says Hoetmer. “That has to be the business that decides that.”
This means that someone from the business has to contact the RCMP to let them know there is an unwanted individual in the vestibule. At that point, police can attend and get the individual moving along.
However, unless the business has served trespass notices on the person causing the issue, the RCMP cannot issue fines for trespassing.
That is also not as simple as it seems. Hoetmer says that does give the trespass notice has to be willing to pursue the entire process into court as well.
“They’ve got to show up at trial if this individual fights it,” he says.
Hoetmer says banks, for example, are not typically interested in pursuing this as they all have nationally run security headquarters, so there’s not a lot of interest in them following those steps.
Both the Town and RCMP have met with bank managers and are encouraging them to lock their doors at night to prevent the homeless from using the vestibule as a warming space.
Due to the lifestyle that comes with homelessness, which often includes mental health issues and addictions, the RCMP do interact with the homeless on a regular basis.
“We get to know these individuals, but unless they are commiting crime we don’t have a lot of power,” he says.
He says the Town has asked them to have more enforcement on homeless individuals who have been banned or issued trespassing notices.
“Our job is community safety so if that’s what the community wants to keep the community safe, we’ve agreed to do that,” says Hoetmer.
However, that means businesses need to start following through with the process on their end.
In regards to the Civic Centre vestibule, Hoetmer says the Town would need to start looking at trespassing individuals in order for the RCMP to begin issuing tickets.
“That is up to the Town whether they want to trespass these individuals from all Town property,” says Hoetmer.
But even with all of the businesses doing their part and the RCMP able to keep up with the enforcement, there is still more to consider.
“Enforcement has failed these individuals for years. Nobody usually becomes unsheltered without probably having had enforcement intervention for a number of years already, and it hasn’t changed anything.”
Hoetmer says there have been no complaints of physical harm caused to residents by any homeless individuals. “They can be aggressive and make people feel uncomfortable, but we have had no assaults. No reports of any sort of physical violence to anybody.”
In regards to break and enters, Hoetmer says some of the smaller property crimes are being committed by homeless individuals, but they aren’t the only ones.
“There’s other individuals in town that are not homeless that are committing those offences,” says Hoetmer. “The bigger break and enters are being committed by prolific property crime offenders.”
In regards to issuing fines for trespassing, Hoetmer says that also isn’t as simple as many believe. Those who have fines may not be able to pay them. At some point, they can be arrested, but there is no guaranteed timeline for how long the individual will stay behind bars, as they will be released first if room is needed for people convicted of more serious crimes.
In the end, the fines do not get paid.
Hoetmer says he doesn’t want the Town to “hang their hat on enforcement,” because while it can play a role in deterring homeless individuals from becoming a nuisance, it’s not the entire solution.
“We’re going to have a role,” says Hoetmer. “Our job is keeping the community safe. So, if part of that is needing to enforce, then we will do that.”
“I strongly believe that if it had been a suicide or a medical event, we would have found the body on that very first day,” said Taylor.
Since there were no leads, the case eventually went cold. But Taylor never gave up hope. Every year she would post information to social media in the hopes of jogging someone’s memory.
This year she received a call from the Alberta RCMP Missing Persons Unit. They indicated that they were taking a look at the file and hoping to find something that might have been missed. However, since that time the home and land have been purchased by different owners and the situation might be more complicated.
“He was just such an amazing dad,” said Taylor. She says Nicoll originally met her mother in Prince Rupert, B.C. when she was a nurse. The two ended up getting married and living in England for the first eight years of Taylor’s life.
“They were soulmates,” says Taylor.
During that time her father was a police officer.
When they relocated to this country, Taylor says her dad was very proud to call Canada his home. Taylor was an only child, and because there was no family nearby, the three of them were very close.
“He was really just proud to be in Canada. He was so excited to be in Canada and have the opportunity here,” she said.
The family resided in the Edmonton area and Nicoll went into security, originally starting at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. It was there that he made many friends that would soon become his extended family.
“I’m still in contact with all of his friends that he made throughout his career. They’ve become like family to me,” said Taylor. “He just made an impact on everyone he met.”
Marvin Chick was one of the close friends that Nicoll made while working at the Royal Alex. He said he also worked with Nicoll when he started working with Transit, where Nicoll was a peace officer.
Drayton Valley high school students had the chance to listen to a first hand account of an indigenous woman whose life was drastically altered by the Sixties Scoop.
Michaela Lewis is now a student at SAIT, but her road there was long and arduous. She told the students that she is enrolled in the Film and Video Production program, which she plans to use to create a documentary about her life.
“It wasn’t just my family that I lost,” said Lewis. “It was my culture, my traditions, my language, my identity.”
Lewis’ mother, Bernice, gave birth to her in the spring of 1979 in the Edmonton General Hospital, and at the time was on her own. Bernice was married to a non-indigenous man, which meant that she and her children had lost their treaty rights. At the time of Lewis’ birth, the husband was in prison. Lewis was not his biological child.
Hospital staff told Bernice that she couldn’t raise a child on her own.
“The nurses and the hospital staff forced my mother into signing me away,” said Lewis.
She said her mother just went along with everything they told her to do because she felt like she had no other option. After she left the hospital, she went and got her other daughter before returning to the hospital to get Lewis.
When Bernice returned the next day, the staff told her that Lewis had been given to social services and that she had to deal with them. Lewis’ mother was given the run around by social services for several weeks before finally hearing that Lewis had died.
Instead, Lewis had been adopted out to a non-indigenous family. Social services also took her older sister from her mother.
“My older sister was lost to the system by the age of five,” says Lewis.
As a result of losing both of her children, Lewis’ mother turned to substances to cope and became an addict. For quite some time, her mother was homeless because there was no support system for her.
At 18 years-old, Lewis was able to unseal her adoption records and began to search for her family. Eventually, Lewis was reunited with her mother, stepfather, three sisters, brother, and a large extended family.
Lewis’ adopted mother had told her that “those native mothers, they left their unwanted babies in garbage cans and they were all alcoholics and addicts.” Lewis was even told she likely had fetal alcohol syndrome. It wasn’t until later that she found out that was not true. Bernice told Lewis that she hadn’t told anyone about Lewis because she thought that a nurse had ended Lewis’ life at the hospital after she had left her there.
Lewis was shocked as nurses were respected health care providers. She had been raised to believe there was a system in place that prevented such things. She began looking into the history and learned about the residential school system and all of the children who had been taken from their families.
Bernice told Lewis not to bother with trying to get justice because she would get nowhere. Her mother had been in the Bow Valley Residential School, and after learning of its history, Lewis understood why her mother had believed a nurse had killed Lewis.
Then, history repeated itself.
“My oldest son was taken from me when he was four-years-old,” said Lewis. “In that horrific moment, I completely understood why my mother lived the life that she did.”
At the time, Lewis was a single mother attending college to get her high school diploma. She had aspirations of becoming an interior designer.
When her son was five months old, his father left Lewis and later began stalking her. He threatened to take her son. Her adopted mother told her that if Lewis gave custody of her son to her adoptive mother, his father couldn’t take him and Lewis could still have the boy live with her.
“Desperate to keep my child, I agreed to it.”
Lewis was stressed out with everything going on, so her stepfather suggested she come back to live with them and finish her schooling with the support of her family. Lewis agreed and notified her adoptive mother of her move.
That was when her adoptive parents came and took her son.
“I didn’t even have a chance to have a say in court.”
Lewis became suicidal. She was unable to go back to school or get her job back and she spiraled, eventually becoming an addict.
“I’ve never in my life felt so broken, defeated, and alone,” she said.
It was her stepfather who helped her to heal and become sober. She says he was supportive and told her that she didn’t have to let the same thing happen to her that happened to her mother. After the conversation with her stepfather, Lewis began working to placate her adoptive parents so she could see her son.
Ten years after her son was taken, Lewis stood up to fight for her oldest son. When her second son was born in 2014, she told her adoptive parents that they wouldn’t keep her children apart. She regained custody of her son, and has been raising her youngest son since his birth.
Lewis said she is the first mother in several generations in her family, to have the opportunity to raise a child from birth.
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Before there were clubs, and ultra lounges there was the rural bar. The rural bar was a place people would go to have a drink, eat some food, get a bit of news and maybe even get a haircut. The rural bar was usually built alongside or attached to the lone hotel in the community. These were the first restaurants and live music venues and a place where the community could gather.
For our rural watering hole tour we dug up six watering holes in the Brazeau and Beyond region that hold historical significance for the communities they operate in.
Our tour begins at the Drayton Valley Hotel. The Drayton Valley Hotel was built in 1954. It was the anchor for what would become downtown Drayton Valley. Before the Derrick Lounge became a centerpiece of the Drayton Valley Hotel, there were many different shops that occupied the bottom floor of the building including Rexall Drugs, a menswear store, the Royal Bank of Canada and a cafe. The cafe was located on the storefront with the lounge located off the street in the back.
“I remember in 1999 you had to walk through the cafe to get to the lounge and it was draft for $1,” recalls resident Graham Long.
The Derrick Lounge, named in honour of the industry that gave rise to the development of Drayton Valley. This is a watering hole best known for its Friday night karaoke.
Iron Wheel Inn and Tavern, Entwistle
42 KM, 25 Minutes
Just 25 minutes drive, 42 kilometers north of Drayton Valley is the Iron Wheel Inn and Tavern. The Iron Wheel is located in the heart of Entwistle. The Iron Wheel dates back to 1910 when the building was originally the Immigration Hall built near the Grand Trunk Railroad Station. Parts of the Grand Trunk bridge footings can still be seen at the Pembina River Provincial Park. When the “Moose” Munroe’s hotel was destroyed in a fire in 1919, his eye turned to the immigration hall which was no longer in use. Through a series of exchanges Munroe acquired the hall and began operating it as a hotel. In 1922 the hall was moved, in two parts, to the current location of the Iron Wheel Inn and Tavern where it remains to this day.
Gainford Hotel, Iron Lady Saloon, Gainford
15 KM, 9 minutes
Gainford is a tiny hamlet of 118 people in Parkland County. It is 86 km west of Edmonton on Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) and 18 km from Entwistle. The Gainford Hotel first opened its doors to welcome guests in 1958. In those days hotel guests were seismic and construction crews working in the area. As things changed the hotel became a stomping ground for university students heading out to Seba Beach for a hot summer weekend. The hotel closed in 2013 only to be revived a decade later. In 2023 the Iron Lady Saloon and Java and Gem Get Stuffed Restaurant opened their doors. The inside has a distinct western feel. There’s a traditional dark wood bar and billiards. Stuffed coyotes, lynx, rabbits, owls, and hawks still decorate the tavern walls from days gone by.
The Iron Lady Saloon is known for various Saturday night live music events.
Doggone Saloon, Tomahawk
25 KM, 17 minutes
Just a 17 minute drive from Gainford is the hamlet of Tomahawk. If you are looking for a rural watering hole experience this is as rural as it comes. The history of Tomahawk dates back to 1902. With the first mention of a hotel and cafe dating back 1909. The “Last Chance Cafe” was owned by John Kelly; it was described as a “shack right in the road,” by Mrs. Kelly in Tomahawk Trails. The cafe became known as the Last Chance Hotel. “Meals at all hours, people stayed there when they could stay at no place else. The door was open day or night whether he [Kelly] was home or not and people stayed as long as they wanted to,” Mrs. Kelly wrote. The hospitality in the area now belongs to the Doggone Saloon, in the middle of Tomahawk. The saloon is still a favorite stop for travelers passing by. Throughout the summer months motorcyclists riding Alberta’s scenic rural roads will stop off at the saloon for the patio and a refreshment.
The Village Golf Course, Lindale
21km 15 min
Honorable Mention: The lounge at the Village Golf Course is another stop you can add to your rural bar tour. The lounge is connected to the hotel and club house for the Village Golf Course. The lounge offers beverages and a food full menu.
The Breton Hotel and Bar, Breton
32 KM, 22 minutes
The Breton Hotel and Bar was built five years after the Lacome and Northwestern Railway came to the community. The hotel was built by William Spindler in 1931. In those days, like many other rural hotels and bars the Breton Hotel and Bar also had a barber shop. The decades that followed the 1930s, the bar had two entrances: one each for men and women. Over the years the hotel and bar was bought and sold many times with each new owner adding to or changing the design of the building. Joe and Katie Eluik purchased the hotel in 1964, at this time draft beer sold for 10 cents a glass, bottled beer was 30 cents and a case of beer could be bought for $2.50. The prices are not the only changes that happened, the separate entrances are no longer used, and the peaked roof in the original design has been redesigned as a flat top.
The Breton Hotel and Bar is still a fixture in downtown Breton.
Drayton’s Restaurant and Sports Lounge, Drayton Valley
48 KM, 34 minutes
Honorable Mention: As you meander back to Drayton Valley the Sports Lounge, attached to Drayton’s Restaurant is a worthy stop of this rural watering hole tour. The sports lounge has a distinct small town feel with billiards, friendly staff and a diverse menu. This is a place where you can unwind in the heart of Drayton Valley.
From the Sports Lounge you are just a block away from where you started at the Drayton Valley Hotel.
The old hotels, and bars that pepper our rural communities are linked to how the communities developed, and socialized in the down time between farming seasons, or at the end of a hard work day. They have a unique history that has evolved with the community and share in the community’s past and future.
Drayton Valley’s River Valley Players provided two well produced showcases for our local talent last weekend. Drayton Valley Has Talent 2024 junior and adult showcases were held the afternoon and evening of September 21 on the Pembina Stage of Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre in downtown Drayton Valley. The performances all benefited from full light and sound and the volunteer stage hands’ efficient handling of set changes.
Master of Ceremonies Leah Sanderson kept the evening on track and filled the space between acts with pleasant patter and some observational humour. Several rounds of “Happy Birthday to You” honoured those celebrating their special day.
With the last performer off stage, judge’s score sheets tabulated and result envelopes in the MC’s hand, audience drumrolls raised tension in the theatre as the winners were announced. The Junior results put Ella Rae’s performance of the Haley Joelle song, “Memory Lane” in third, Dandaline and Delilah Dusterhoft’s dance to “Daylight” in second, and the ventriloquism of Taylor Holman and her humourous puppets Rose, Grandma, a dog and a wise cracking, bacon loving goose first place. An audience favourite, Ms Holman’s performance sparkled with wit and laughs as her polished style and technique belied her years.
The adult category results placed Elvis performer Dustin Giesbrecht’s tribute to “Burning Love”, in third, and a performance of Keith Urban’s “Till Summer Comes Around” by Levi Eshleman in second. First place was awarded to an accomplished performance of the Liz Callaway song “Once Upon a December” from the Disney movie Anastasia. Claire Williams sung it with a sureness, intonation and presence that earned her the top spot.
Ayla Gartner, Ricky Bazar, John Dempster, and Melissa Wolf judged the performances. They were supportive and encouraging of the performers’ efforts and offered positive comments and suggested areas for growth.
Ashley Luckwell of RVP was grateful to the many local sponsors that made Drayton Valley Has Talent 2024 possible. “Being able to have two shows and have close to a full house in each meant we didn’t have to turn anyone away, audience or performers. It was wonderful!”
She was pleased with the generous spirit of the two audiences the showcase attracted and the great support they too gave to the junior and adult performers. “The audience’s support for the performers was amazing, very moving”, Luckwell commented. The audience came to the aid in a few performer’s faltering moments with cheers, applause and encouraging words.
Students may have a different learning experience this year after the Alberta Education Minister, Demetrios Nicolaides, made the call to ban cell phones in schools.
Brad Volkman, the superintendent of the Wild Rose School Division, says schools have until 2025 to create a policy regarding cell phone use, but they have to start implementing the ban in September.
Volkman says that for many schools, a ban on cell phones is business as usual.
“Quite frankly, many of our schools have already been doing that for years,” says Volkman.
However, cell phone policies have been left to individual schools to plan and implement. Now, the division itself needs to have something in place.
Volkman says division staff met with school staff to review the policy before the school year. He says the major points were that cell phones could not be used during learning time with the exception of those who have learning or medical needs that require the phones.
Right now, WRSD is using the time given to create their policy to test out different ways of implementing it and enforcing the rules. Each school is putting their own policies in place for the first month. After getting feedback from school staff, parents, and students, the division will be able to put together something that is effective and practical.
He says each school has a different approach to dealing with the phones. One approach requires students to leave their phones at the front of the classroom during instruction time. In some schools, students are required to leave their phones in their backpacks, or in others, teachers will confiscate phones if they catch their students using them.
“What we realized, and there is some research on this, is that we’ve got students that are probably addicted to their phone,” says Volkman. “The minute [the phones] buzz they have to look.”
Another important part of the ban on cell phones is also a ban on social media in the schools. The Minister’s directive doesn’t establish whether all social media needs to be blocked, or if it only applies to certain sites.
“Believe it or not, it’s up to the school division to decide which sites need to be blocked. They didn’t give us a list,” says Volkman.
Another area of the Minister’s order that isn’t very clear has to do with blocking the social media school-wide. The division is able to block the sites through their wifi, but they can’t block the sites for students who have data plans on their phones.
“The Minister’s Order doesn’t address that,” says Volkman. “The Minister’s Order says they can’t use their mobile devices during instructional time and it says that the networks that they connect to must block social media. But it doesn’t address anything around kids using their own data plans during breaks to access social media.”
Volkman says the division has been doing its best to implement the order while figuring out how to handle the effects that some of those implementations have had.
Right now, students are blocked from accessing social media via the school’s network. However, the staff are also blocked. This means that staff cannot use social media to update parents or advertise for upcoming events. As it stands, the division is unable to specify who may have access to social media and which social media needs to be blocked.
He says the division is working to find a way that will allow staff to communicate with parents and students while adhering to the Minister’s ban.
Volkman says the division’s policy will outline a progressive disciplinary plan for any infractions with cell phone use. He says it’s the same way they ask all of their schools to deal with transgressions.
“This will be no different than any other school policy or school rule,” he says. “You start easy, with understanding, grace, and education… but you do have to have a progressive style approach.”
Volkman says the goal is to have a draft put together by mid-October for stakeholders to review in November. In December, they will be putting the final touches on the policy so it is ready to be rolled out in the new year.
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A Court of King’s Bench Justice has outlined her reasons for convicting a woman of manslaughter in an incident that happened in the Breton area.
Bronwyn Hannah Jane Luckham was convicted in April of this year on charges relating to the death of Jonathan James Paul in 2021. Last week Justice Tamara Friesen released written reasons for her decision, which she said might be useful to the Crown and defence when preparing arguments prior to sentencing.
Shortly after 8 p.m. Monday August 30 2021 a man was dropped off at the Drayton Valley hospital suffering from serious injuries, from which he later died. The victim was able to provide some information prior to his death, saying that he had been hit by a vehicle. He was identified as Jonathan James Paul, 40, of Calgary.
At trial Friesen heard evidence that Paul had been in a relationship with Luckham. The pair were both working at a rural acreage near Breton. The Crown alleged that Luckham was angry with Paul for a variety of reasons, both business and personal. The prosecution argued that Luckham deliberately struck Paul with a Dodge Durango intending to kill him, “or in the alternative, intending to cause him bodily harm that she knew was so serious and dangerous he would likely die of his injuries, thus committing either murder or manslaughter.”
Meanwhile Luckham said that she was under duress at the time and had been trying to escape from Paul who had subjected her to an escalating cycle of abuse.
After hearing the evidence, Friesen found Luckham not guilty of second degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter. Under Canadian law manslaughter occurs where a person causes the death of another human being “by means of an unlawful act” or “by criminal negligence.”
At trial the court heard from several witnesses, including Luckham, who testified on her own behalf. There was also video evidence from motion activated cameras at the scene. Part of that video, as described by Justice Friesen, showed Paul rolling on the ground as the Durango drove over him.
Luckham and Paul had been involved in an altercation and the hood of the Durango was up at the time.
Defence counsel argued that it was necessary for Luckham to step on the accelerator and drive the way she did because she was trying to escape from Paul and thought her life was in danger.
Friesen noted that “a reasonable driver in the same circumstances as Luckham would not have started the SUV and then pressed down on the accelerator while the hood was up, visibility was poor, and they knew, at a minimum, that another person was in front of, or close to, the path of the SUV.”
“When she struck Paul, Luckham’s manner of driving was therefore a marked departure from the standard of care a reasonable driver would have observed in the same or similar circumstances,” wrote Friesen.
“I find Luckham’s behaviour in failing to provide adequate support and assistance to Paul while he lay in the grass screaming in agony to be morally reprehensible. The surveillance videos are extremely disturbing. However … I accept that neither Luckham nor Paul thought Paul was going to die from his injuries.”
Friesen also noted that Luckham had ultimately assisted Paul in getting into a vehicle, had driven him to the Drayton Valley Hospital and followed up with the hospital to ensure they knew he was there and would assist him.
“The facts established that Luckham’s dangerous driving …, combined with the objective foreseeability that the risk of bodily harm to Paul was neither trivial nor transitory, resulted in his death,” she concluded. “The Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that … Luckham committed the offence of unlawful act of manslaughter.”
Though he’s new to the official title, the new Staff Sergeant for the Drayton Valley detachment is a familiar face.
Ryan Hoetmer was first stationed in Drayton Valley in 2017 as a corporal overseeing the three man general investigation section (GIS) for the detachment. Prior to his transfer to Drayton Valley, Hoetmer was working in Grande Prairie as part of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) task force, dealing with organized crime and drug trafficking.
In February of 2022, Hoetmer was promoted to Sergeant. When Staff Sergeant Erin Matthews retired, Hoetmer stepped up to be the acting Staff Sergeant. Then, when Staff Sergeant Troy Raddatz retired, Hoetmer once again filled the role.
He was officially given the title on a permanent basis at the beginning of August.
“I’ve been active in this role since April,” he says. “I’ve sat in this seat a fair amount since I became Sergeant.”
Hoetmer says he and his family like Drayton Valley, and the initial draw was that he grew up in the area.
“I grew up just outside of Rocky Mountain House,” he says.
Both his parents and his wife’s parents are still close by, and they wanted to be closer to them.
Hoetmer has five kids, and throughout the seven years they’ve been in the community, the whole family has made connections and friendships that are important to them. Their youngest child, who is seven-years-old, was born shortly before they moved to Drayton and his oldest recently graduated.
“This really has become home for them,” he says. “And it’s become home for [me and my wife], too.”
He says he and his wife are happy with the community and feel it’s a great place to raise their family. The natural landscape of the area makes it easy for them to pursue some of their favourite pastimes like fishing, hunting, camping, and other outdoor activities.
Hoetmer says another important aspect of Drayton Valley is that it’s not a violent community. He says he’s lived in other places where that was not the case and he appreciates that about the area.
Hoetmer says he has some goals that he would like to achieve in his new position. He says community engagement is a big priority for him and he wants to continue in the direction that the detachment has been for the past few years with that.
“I’m connected to the community through several facets with my kids,” says Hoetmer. “You know, hockey, school sports, dance, music, and I think that’s really important to connect to the community.”
He says he’s been encouraging the members at the detachment to go out and form those connections as well. The detachment has some soccer and basketball coaches and he wants to continue to push that mentality.
“Not just in organized events, but I want our membership to get out and get involved in the community in other ways as well,” he says.
Hoetmer says being out in the community works in two ways. Not only do residents become familiar with the officers, but it also allows them to see a side of the community that they don’t normally work with.
“Often, when you’re policing, you deal with the dark side of the community,” he says. “If you don’t connect with the community on a different level you get a very jaded look at it.”
Another priority will be to focus on prolific offenders. Hoetmer says his background with GIS and dealing with prolific offenders and drug trafficking will help in that area.
“We’re going to continue to drive that,” he says. “…We don’t really have violent crime, but we do have a property crime issue. It’s gotten a lot better since I first came here in 2017.”
He says the ultimate goal for property crime is zero incidents. While he knows they’re unlikely to hit that target, they are always aiming for it.
“The goal would be that you could get out anywhere and leave your vehicle running and it doesn’t go missing,” he says. “We’re not there and we shouldn’t be doing that, but that is the ultimate goal.”
Hoetmer says he also wants to prioritize taking care of the membership. He says with his position, he’s not out in the field, so he wants to provide them as much support as he can.
“I have to provide the support that the guys and the gals on the floor need to do their job,” he says.
With that in mind, he’s going to continue to push for a new building as Raddatz was.
“My father-in-law worked out of this building from 1989 to 1996,” he says.
Along with his goals with the detachment, Hoetmer says the RCMP will also be working more closely with the Community Peace Officers in Drayton Valley and in Brazeau County.
“He loved his family and he loved Canada,” he said. Chick said that when the couple moved to the acreage, Nicoll took on his wife’s love of animals and they had quite the menagerie. He said any animal that needed a home found one with the Nicolls.
“He was a friendly guy. He would do anything for anybody,” said Chick. He said that if Nicoll came across someone who was down and out, which he did often in his job, he would go out of his way to buy them lunch or help them out when he could.
Chick said when he first learned that Nicoll was missing he was confused and worried. “He wasn’t a person who would harm himself on purpose,” said Chick. He said that Nicoll loved his daughter too much.
Chick said he helped out with the search. And now he’s just left with questions. He says he has suspicions about what happened, but he doesn’t have any confirmation. “It is a big mystery for me,” he said.
He said that Nicoll had a big heart. He remembers one afternoon when they were going for a walk on Nicoll’s property they came across a porcupine that was drowning in the creek. Nicoll waded out there and rescued the animal, laying it out in the sun so it could warm up. “He went back and checked and it had recovered and gone on its way,” he said.
Tana Vea was another of Nicoll’s close friends, having met him at the Royal Alex. Vea had moved to Edmonton from Hawaii, and since there was little family in the area, they became each other’s family.
Vea said that Nicoll was a stickler for grammar on all of their reports. He said he would bring out his red pen and mark everything up. Vea says there is a man who now works for the Edmonton Police Service who credits Nicoll for his skill in filling out reports. “He said Andy’s teachings with report writing helped him to get the position he has today.”
Vea said he also worked with Nicoll at Transit, where he was Peace Officer. He said Nicoll had eventually gotten promoted through the ranks until he became an investigator, mostly working on internal complaints.
Vea says one thing that makes him sad is that Taylor’s daughter is the same age as his grandson, and he knows that Nicoll and his wife would have loved being grandparents. He said he thinks it’s also hard on Taylor to not have her parents around now that she has children. “[Nicoll and his wife] loved their kid. She was their dream and they treated her as the princess in the house,” he said.
Drayton Valley high school students had the chance to listen to a first hand account of an indigenous woman whose life was drastically altered by the Sixties Scoop.
Michaela Lewis is now a student at SAIT, but her road there was long and arduous. She told the students that she is enrolled in the Film and Video Production program, which she plans to use to create a documentary about her life.
“It wasn’t just my family that I lost,” said Lewis. “It was my culture, my traditions, my language, my identity.”
Lewis’ mother, Bernice, gave birth to her in the spring of 1979 in the Edmonton General Hospital, and at the time was on her own. Bernice was married to a non-indigenous man, which meant that she and her children had lost their treaty rights. At the time of Lewis’ birth, the husband was in prison. Lewis was not his biological child.
Hospital staff told Bernice that she couldn’t raise a child on her own.
“The nurses and the hospital staff forced my mother into signing me away,” said Lewis.
She said her mother just went along with everything they told her to do because she felt like she had no other option. After she left the hospital, she went and got her other daughter before returning to the hospital to get Lewis.
When Bernice returned the next day, the staff told her that Lewis had been given to social services and that she had to deal with them. Lewis’ mother was given the run around by social services for several weeks before finally hearing that Lewis had died.
Instead, Lewis had been adopted out to a non-indigenous family. Social services also took her older sister from her mother.
“My older sister was lost to the system by the age of five,” says Lewis.
As a result of losing both of her children, Lewis’ mother turned to substances to cope and became an addict. For quite some time, her mother was homeless because there was no support system for her.
At 18 years-old, Lewis was able to unseal her adoption records and began to search for her family. Eventually, Lewis was reunited with her mother, stepfather, three sisters, brother, and a large extended family.
Lewis’ adopted mother had told her that “those native mothers, they left their unwanted babies in garbage cans and they were all alcoholics and addicts.” Lewis was even told she likely had fetal alcohol syndrome. It wasn’t until later that she found out that was not true. Bernice told Lewis that she hadn’t told anyone about Lewis because she thought that a nurse had ended Lewis’ life at the hospital after she had left her there.
Lewis was shocked as nurses were respected health care providers. She had been raised to believe there was a system in place that prevented such things. She began looking into the history and learned about the residential school system and all of the children who had been taken from their families.
Bernice told Lewis not to bother with trying to get justice because she would get nowhere. Her mother had been in the Bow Valley Residential School, and after learning of its history, Lewis understood why her mother had believed a nurse had killed Lewis.
Then, history repeated itself.
“My oldest son was taken from me when he was four-years-old,” said Lewis. “In that horrific moment, I completely understood why my mother lived the life that she did.”
At the time, Lewis was a single mother attending college to get her high school diploma. She had aspirations of becoming an interior designer.
When her son was five months old, his father left Lewis and later began stalking her. He threatened to take her son. Her adopted mother told her that if Lewis gave custody of her son to her adoptive mother, his father couldn’t take him and Lewis could still have the boy live with her.
“Desperate to keep my child, I agreed to it.”
Lewis was stressed out with everything going on, so her stepfather suggested she come back to live with them and finish her schooling with the support of her family. Lewis agreed and notified her adoptive mother of her move.
That was when her adoptive parents came and took her son.
“I didn’t even have a chance to have a say in court.”
Lewis became suicidal. She was unable to go back to school or get her job back and she spiraled, eventually becoming an addict.
“I’ve never in my life felt so broken, defeated, and alone,” she said.
It was her stepfather who helped her to heal and become sober. She says he was supportive and told her that she didn’t have to let the same thing happen to her that happened to her mother. After the conversation with her stepfather, Lewis began working to placate her adoptive parents so she could see her son.
Ten years after her son was taken, Lewis stood up to fight for her oldest son. When her second son was born in 2014, she told her adoptive parents that they wouldn’t keep her children apart. She regained custody of her son, and has been raising her youngest son since his birth.
Lewis said she is the first mother in several generations in her family, to have the opportunity to raise a child from birth.
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Before there were clubs, and ultra lounges there was the rural bar. The rural bar was a place people would go to have a drink, eat some food, get a bit of news and maybe even get a haircut. The rural bar was usually built alongside or attached to the lone hotel in the community. These were the first restaurants and live music venues and a place where the community could gather.
For our rural watering hole tour we dug up six watering holes in the Brazeau and Beyond region that hold historical significance for the communities they operate in.
Our tour begins at the Drayton Valley Hotel. The Drayton Valley Hotel was built in 1954. It was the anchor for what would become downtown Drayton Valley. Before the Derrick Lounge became a centerpiece of the Drayton Valley Hotel, there were many different shops that occupied the bottom floor of the building including Rexall Drugs, a menswear store, the Royal Bank of Canada and a cafe. The cafe was located on the storefront with the lounge located off the street in the back.
“I remember in 1999 you had to walk through the cafe to get to the lounge and it was draft for $1,” recalls resident Graham Long.
The Derrick Lounge, named in honour of the industry that gave rise to the development of Drayton Valley. This is a watering hole best known for its Friday night karaoke.
Iron Wheel Inn and Tavern, Entwistle
42 KM, 25 Minutes
Just 25 minutes drive, 42 kilometers north of Drayton Valley is the Iron Wheel Inn and Tavern. The Iron Wheel is located in the heart of Entwistle. The Iron Wheel dates back to 1910 when the building was originally the Immigration Hall built near the Grand Trunk Railroad Station. Parts of the Grand Trunk bridge footings can still be seen at the Pembina River Provincial Park. When the “Moose” Munroe’s hotel was destroyed in a fire in 1919, his eye turned to the immigration hall which was no longer in use. Through a series of exchanges Munroe acquired the hall and began operating it as a hotel. In 1922 the hall was moved, in two parts, to the current location of the Iron Wheel Inn and Tavern where it remains to this day.
Gainford Hotel, Iron Lady Saloon, Gainford
15 KM, 9 minutes
Gainford is a tiny hamlet of 118 people in Parkland County. It is 86 km west of Edmonton on Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) and 18 km from Entwistle. The Gainford Hotel first opened its doors to welcome guests in 1958. In those days hotel guests were seismic and construction crews working in the area. As things changed the hotel became a stomping ground for university students heading out to Seba Beach for a hot summer weekend. The hotel closed in 2013 only to be revived a decade later. In 2023 the Iron Lady Saloon and Java and Gem Get Stuffed Restaurant opened their doors. The inside has a distinct western feel. There’s a traditional dark wood bar and billiards. Stuffed coyotes, lynx, rabbits, owls, and hawks still decorate the tavern walls from days gone by.
The Iron Lady Saloon is known for various Saturday night live music events.
Doggone Saloon, Tomahawk
25 KM, 17 minutes
Just a 17 minute drive from Gainford is the hamlet of Tomahawk. If you are looking for a rural watering hole experience this is as rural as it comes. The history of Tomahawk dates back to 1902. With the first mention of a hotel and cafe dating back 1909. The “Last Chance Cafe” was owned by John Kelly; it was described as a “shack right in the road,” by Mrs. Kelly in Tomahawk Trails. The cafe became known as the Last Chance Hotel. “Meals at all hours, people stayed there when they could stay at no place else. The door was open day or night whether he [Kelly] was home or not and people stayed as long as they wanted to,” Mrs. Kelly wrote. The hospitality in the area now belongs to the Doggone Saloon, in the middle of Tomahawk. The saloon is still a favorite stop for travelers passing by. Throughout the summer months motorcyclists riding Alberta’s scenic rural roads will stop off at the saloon for the patio and a refreshment.
The Village Golf Course, Lindale
21km 15 min
Honorable Mention: The lounge at the Village Golf Course is another stop you can add to your rural bar tour. The lounge is connected to the hotel and club house for the Village Golf Course. The lounge offers beverages and a food full menu.
The Breton Hotel and Bar, Breton
32 KM, 22 minutes
The Breton Hotel and Bar was built five years after the Lacome and Northwestern Railway came to the community. The hotel was built by William Spindler in 1931. In those days, like many other rural hotels and bars the Breton Hotel and Bar also had a barber shop. The decades that followed the 1930s, the bar had two entrances: one each for men and women. Over the years the hotel and bar was bought and sold many times with each new owner adding to or changing the design of the building. Joe and Katie Eluik purchased the hotel in 1964, at this time draft beer sold for 10 cents a glass, bottled beer was 30 cents and a case of beer could be bought for $2.50. The prices are not the only changes that happened, the separate entrances are no longer used, and the peaked roof in the original design has been redesigned as a flat top.
The Breton Hotel and Bar is still a fixture in downtown Breton.
Drayton’s Restaurant and Sports Lounge, Drayton Valley
48 KM, 34 minutes
Honorable Mention: As you meander back to Drayton Valley the Sports Lounge, attached to Drayton’s Restaurant is a worthy stop of this rural watering hole tour. The sports lounge has a distinct small town feel with billiards, friendly staff and a diverse menu. This is a place where you can unwind in the heart of Drayton Valley.
From the Sports Lounge you are just a block away from where you started at the Drayton Valley Hotel.
The old hotels, and bars that pepper our rural communities are linked to how the communities developed, and socialized in the down time between farming seasons, or at the end of a hard work day. They have a unique history that has evolved with the community and share in the community’s past and future.
Drayton Valley’s River Valley Players provided two well produced showcases for our local talent last weekend. Drayton Valley Has Talent 2024 junior and adult showcases were held the afternoon and evening of September 21 on the Pembina Stage of Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre in downtown Drayton Valley. The performances all benefited from full light and sound and the volunteer stage hands’ efficient handling of set changes.
Master of Ceremonies Leah Sanderson kept the evening on track and filled the space between acts with pleasant patter and some observational humour. Several rounds of “Happy Birthday to You” honoured those celebrating their special day.
With the last performer off stage, judge’s score sheets tabulated and result envelopes in the MC’s hand, audience drumrolls raised tension in the theatre as the winners were announced. The Junior results put Ella Rae’s performance of the Haley Joelle song, “Memory Lane” in third, Dandaline and Delilah Dusterhoft’s dance to “Daylight” in second, and the ventriloquism of Taylor Holman and her humourous puppets Rose, Grandma, a dog and a wise cracking, bacon loving goose first place. An audience favourite, Ms Holman’s performance sparkled with wit and laughs as her polished style and technique belied her years.
The adult category results placed Elvis performer Dustin Giesbrecht’s tribute to “Burning Love”, in third, and a performance of Keith Urban’s “Till Summer Comes Around” by Levi Eshleman in second. First place was awarded to an accomplished performance of the Liz Callaway song “Once Upon a December” from the Disney movie Anastasia. Claire Williams sung it with a sureness, intonation and presence that earned her the top spot.
Ayla Gartner, Ricky Bazar, John Dempster, and Melissa Wolf judged the performances. They were supportive and encouraging of the performers’ efforts and offered positive comments and suggested areas for growth.
Ashley Luckwell of RVP was grateful to the many local sponsors that made Drayton Valley Has Talent 2024 possible. “Being able to have two shows and have close to a full house in each meant we didn’t have to turn anyone away, audience or performers. It was wonderful!”
She was pleased with the generous spirit of the two audiences the showcase attracted and the great support they too gave to the junior and adult performers. “The audience’s support for the performers was amazing, very moving”, Luckwell commented. The audience came to the aid in a few performer’s faltering moments with cheers, applause and encouraging words.
Students may have a different learning experience this year after the Alberta Education Minister, Demetrios Nicolaides, made the call to ban cell phones in schools.
Brad Volkman, the superintendent of the Wild Rose School Division, says schools have until 2025 to create a policy regarding cell phone use, but they have to start implementing the ban in September.
Volkman says that for many schools, a ban on cell phones is business as usual.
“Quite frankly, many of our schools have already been doing that for years,” says Volkman.
However, cell phone policies have been left to individual schools to plan and implement. Now, the division itself needs to have something in place.
Volkman says division staff met with school staff to review the policy before the school year. He says the major points were that cell phones could not be used during learning time with the exception of those who have learning or medical needs that require the phones.
Right now, WRSD is using the time given to create their policy to test out different ways of implementing it and enforcing the rules. Each school is putting their own policies in place for the first month. After getting feedback from school staff, parents, and students, the division will be able to put together something that is effective and practical.
He says each school has a different approach to dealing with the phones. One approach requires students to leave their phones at the front of the classroom during instruction time. In some schools, students are required to leave their phones in their backpacks, or in others, teachers will confiscate phones if they catch their students using them.
“What we realized, and there is some research on this, is that we’ve got students that are probably addicted to their phone,” says Volkman. “The minute [the phones] buzz they have to look.”
Another important part of the ban on cell phones is also a ban on social media in the schools. The Minister’s directive doesn’t establish whether all social media needs to be blocked, or if it only applies to certain sites.
“Believe it or not, it’s up to the school division to decide which sites need to be blocked. They didn’t give us a list,” says Volkman.
Another area of the Minister’s order that isn’t very clear has to do with blocking the social media school-wide. The division is able to block the sites through their wifi, but they can’t block the sites for students who have data plans on their phones.
“The Minister’s Order doesn’t address that,” says Volkman. “The Minister’s Order says they can’t use their mobile devices during instructional time and it says that the networks that they connect to must block social media. But it doesn’t address anything around kids using their own data plans during breaks to access social media.”
Volkman says the division has been doing its best to implement the order while figuring out how to handle the effects that some of those implementations have had.
Right now, students are blocked from accessing social media via the school’s network. However, the staff are also blocked. This means that staff cannot use social media to update parents or advertise for upcoming events. As it stands, the division is unable to specify who may have access to social media and which social media needs to be blocked.
He says the division is working to find a way that will allow staff to communicate with parents and students while adhering to the Minister’s ban.
Volkman says the division’s policy will outline a progressive disciplinary plan for any infractions with cell phone use. He says it’s the same way they ask all of their schools to deal with transgressions.
“This will be no different than any other school policy or school rule,” he says. “You start easy, with understanding, grace, and education… but you do have to have a progressive style approach.”
Volkman says the goal is to have a draft put together by mid-October for stakeholders to review in November. In December, they will be putting the final touches on the policy so it is ready to be rolled out in the new year.
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A Court of King’s Bench Justice has outlined her reasons for convicting a woman of manslaughter in an incident that happened in the Breton area.
Bronwyn Hannah Jane Luckham was convicted in April of this year on charges relating to the death of Jonathan James Paul in 2021. Last week Justice Tamara Friesen released written reasons for her decision, which she said might be useful to the Crown and defence when preparing arguments prior to sentencing.
Shortly after 8 p.m. Monday August 30 2021 a man was dropped off at the Drayton Valley hospital suffering from serious injuries, from which he later died. The victim was able to provide some information prior to his death, saying that he had been hit by a vehicle. He was identified as Jonathan James Paul, 40, of Calgary.
At trial Friesen heard evidence that Paul had been in a relationship with Luckham. The pair were both working at a rural acreage near Breton. The Crown alleged that Luckham was angry with Paul for a variety of reasons, both business and personal. The prosecution argued that Luckham deliberately struck Paul with a Dodge Durango intending to kill him, “or in the alternative, intending to cause him bodily harm that she knew was so serious and dangerous he would likely die of his injuries, thus committing either murder or manslaughter.”
Meanwhile Luckham said that she was under duress at the time and had been trying to escape from Paul who had subjected her to an escalating cycle of abuse.
After hearing the evidence, Friesen found Luckham not guilty of second degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter. Under Canadian law manslaughter occurs where a person causes the death of another human being “by means of an unlawful act” or “by criminal negligence.”
At trial the court heard from several witnesses, including Luckham, who testified on her own behalf. There was also video evidence from motion activated cameras at the scene. Part of that video, as described by Justice Friesen, showed Paul rolling on the ground as the Durango drove over him.
Luckham and Paul had been involved in an altercation and the hood of the Durango was up at the time.
Defence counsel argued that it was necessary for Luckham to step on the accelerator and drive the way she did because she was trying to escape from Paul and thought her life was in danger.
Friesen noted that “a reasonable driver in the same circumstances as Luckham would not have started the SUV and then pressed down on the accelerator while the hood was up, visibility was poor, and they knew, at a minimum, that another person was in front of, or close to, the path of the SUV.”
“When she struck Paul, Luckham’s manner of driving was therefore a marked departure from the standard of care a reasonable driver would have observed in the same or similar circumstances,” wrote Friesen.
“I find Luckham’s behaviour in failing to provide adequate support and assistance to Paul while he lay in the grass screaming in agony to be morally reprehensible. The surveillance videos are extremely disturbing. However … I accept that neither Luckham nor Paul thought Paul was going to die from his injuries.”
Friesen also noted that Luckham had ultimately assisted Paul in getting into a vehicle, had driven him to the Drayton Valley Hospital and followed up with the hospital to ensure they knew he was there and would assist him.
“The facts established that Luckham’s dangerous driving …, combined with the objective foreseeability that the risk of bodily harm to Paul was neither trivial nor transitory, resulted in his death,” she concluded. “The Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that … Luckham committed the offence of unlawful act of manslaughter.”
Though he’s new to the official title, the new Staff Sergeant for the Drayton Valley detachment is a familiar face.
Ryan Hoetmer was first stationed in Drayton Valley in 2017 as a corporal overseeing the three man general investigation section (GIS) for the detachment. Prior to his transfer to Drayton Valley, Hoetmer was working in Grande Prairie as part of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) task force, dealing with organized crime and drug trafficking.
In February of 2022, Hoetmer was promoted to Sergeant. When Staff Sergeant Erin Matthews retired, Hoetmer stepped up to be the acting Staff Sergeant. Then, when Staff Sergeant Troy Raddatz retired, Hoetmer once again filled the role.
He was officially given the title on a permanent basis at the beginning of August.
“I’ve been active in this role since April,” he says. “I’ve sat in this seat a fair amount since I became Sergeant.”
Hoetmer says he and his family like Drayton Valley, and the initial draw was that he grew up in the area.
“I grew up just outside of Rocky Mountain House,” he says.
Both his parents and his wife’s parents are still close by, and they wanted to be closer to them.
Hoetmer has five kids, and throughout the seven years they’ve been in the community, the whole family has made connections and friendships that are important to them. Their youngest child, who is seven-years-old, was born shortly before they moved to Drayton and his oldest recently graduated.
“This really has become home for them,” he says. “And it’s become home for [me and my wife], too.”
He says he and his wife are happy with the community and feel it’s a great place to raise their family. The natural landscape of the area makes it easy for them to pursue some of their favourite pastimes like fishing, hunting, camping, and other outdoor activities.
Hoetmer says another important aspect of Drayton Valley is that it’s not a violent community. He says he’s lived in other places where that was not the case and he appreciates that about the area.
Hoetmer says he has some goals that he would like to achieve in his new position. He says community engagement is a big priority for him and he wants to continue in the direction that the detachment has been for the past few years with that.
“I’m connected to the community through several facets with my kids,” says Hoetmer. “You know, hockey, school sports, dance, music, and I think that’s really important to connect to the community.”
He says he’s been encouraging the members at the detachment to go out and form those connections as well. The detachment has some soccer and basketball coaches and he wants to continue to push that mentality.
“Not just in organized events, but I want our membership to get out and get involved in the community in other ways as well,” he says.
Hoetmer says being out in the community works in two ways. Not only do residents become familiar with the officers, but it also allows them to see a side of the community that they don’t normally work with.
“Often, when you’re policing, you deal with the dark side of the community,” he says. “If you don’t connect with the community on a different level you get a very jaded look at it.”
Another priority will be to focus on prolific offenders. Hoetmer says his background with GIS and dealing with prolific offenders and drug trafficking will help in that area.
“We’re going to continue to drive that,” he says. “…We don’t really have violent crime, but we do have a property crime issue. It’s gotten a lot better since I first came here in 2017.”
He says the ultimate goal for property crime is zero incidents. While he knows they’re unlikely to hit that target, they are always aiming for it.
“The goal would be that you could get out anywhere and leave your vehicle running and it doesn’t go missing,” he says. “We’re not there and we shouldn’t be doing that, but that is the ultimate goal.”
Hoetmer says he also wants to prioritize taking care of the membership. He says with his position, he’s not out in the field, so he wants to provide them as much support as he can.
“I have to provide the support that the guys and the gals on the floor need to do their job,” he says.
With that in mind, he’s going to continue to push for a new building as Raddatz was.
“My father-in-law worked out of this building from 1989 to 1996,” he says.
Along with his goals with the detachment, Hoetmer says the RCMP will also be working more closely with the Community Peace Officers in Drayton Valley and in Brazeau County.
Vea said when he heard about Nicoll’s disappearance, he was shocked. “I was just dumbfounded how that could happen.” He said that the disappearance was not in character with Nicoll at all. Especially with the way he left his house.
He also doesn’t believe that Nicoll would have had issues with anyone from his position as a peace officer. “Andy was never one who dealt with the frontline stuff. He was mostly behind the scene as a supervisor.”
Taylor says her dad was an intelligent, kind-hearted man who knew how to stand up for himself. Many times he would work with people that he knew were down on their luck and needed a bit of a hand to get started with life again. “He just treated them all with so much respect, and he ended up really being quite a lot of support for them,” she said.
Eventually, they moved out to an acreage near Breton. That was when Taylor’s mom was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer, and she only lived for another six months. She passed away on his birthday, two years prior to his disappearance.
Taylor said it was a devastating time for her father. “He was a little bit lost for some time there, but he was my best friend.”
With still no word on his whereabouts, this year Taylor is working to have Nicoll declared as deceased. She said with his career in the Navy, as a police officer and a firefighter, he deserves to have the full honours given to him, rather than just be a missing person. “No one has been able to pay any respects,” she said.
“My gut is telling me that somebody approached him on the property and something transpired,” she said. “I don’t know who or why.”
Nicoll didn’t like guns, and she believes that he would have gone along with whatever the situation was until he could get to a safe location.
Chick agrees with Taylor’s thoughts. “I think he was offering someone some help and there was some foul play.”
Vea wonders if maybe there was a hunting accident, and perhaps someone tried to cover it up.
“He didn’t have any enemies that anyone knows of, but being in law enforcement for that many years, it’s hard to know,” said Taylor.
Corporal Deanna Fontaine, a media liaison for the Alberta RCMP Missing Persons Unit, said “It can be confirmed that since the initial media release, Andrew George Nicoll, has been entered into the National Missing Persons Database and DNA has been obtained and is on file.”
Fontaine said RCMP are hoping that after this amount of time that someone will provide some answers. Fontaine says that if someone was scared to say something at the time, she hopes they will feel safe in coming forward now.
“If I knew for sure he was out there, I would tell him to come home and see his daughter and what a beautiful young lady she has become. She’s followed in his footsteps in a lot of ways. I wish he could see the eyes of his grandkids, too,” said Vea.
Anyone with information regarding Nicoll’s disappearance is urged to contact the Breton RCMP at 780-696-3520 or your local police. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.
Enforcement options limited
Staff Sergeant Ryan Hoetmer says dealing with the effects of the homeless population in the community is not simple.
Legacy of sixties scoop lives on
Drayton Valley high school students had the chance to listen to a first hand account of an indigenous woman whose life was drastically altered by the Sixties Scoop.
Drayton really does have talent
Drayton Valley’s River Valley Players provided two well produced showcases for our local talent last weekend. Drayton Valley Has Talent 2024 junior and adult showcases were held the afternoon and evening of September 21 on the Pembina Stage of Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre in downtown Drayton Valley.
Wildrose Schools starts cell phone ban this September
Students may have a different learning experience this year after the Alberta Education Minister, Demetrios Nicolaides, made the call to ban cell phones in schools.
