Amanda Jeffery, Free Press
Anyone who is 55 years or older will soon be able to access a vehicle to get them to all of their appointments in town, and to some appointments outside of the community.
Drake’s Handi-Bus Services is now being contracted by the Town of Drayton Valley to help those who are older than 55 and those with mobility issues (at any age). Annette Driessen, the General Manager of Community Services for the Town, says they put an RSP out into the community, checking to see if there was anyone who wanted to operate the service, and Drake’s was the one who won.
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Breton Dental Clinic
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Dr. Chris Birchall Dentistry
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“Providing accessible transportation in Drayton Valley has been a priority of Council and I am excited to see this important project come to fruition. Town Council remains committed to offering yearly grants to keep this service operating for the betterment of the community,” says Mayor Michael Doerkson in an email statement.
Amy Newberry, of Drake’s Handi-Bus Services, says the name has historical meaning for the community. “The Drakes were the people of our town that named Drayton Valley because of the Postal Code system, and they were also my great grandparents. It’s a form of leaving a legacy for me,” she said via email.
Rodeos have been a big part of the Brazeau and Beyond region since the Buck Lake Stampede first ran in 1929. The rural rodeo experience is not the circus you see in the larger locales. You’re closer to the action and it’s much more intimate. You also don’t have to worry about losing your kids, or waiting in long lineups to go to the bathroom. What you get when you go to a rural rodeo is a ride back in time to what rodeos were all about; a celebration of community and a way of life.
Rodeos in Brazeau and Beyond are organized by a small army of dedicated volunteers and participating community groups and they keep things fun, for everyone. With family friendly prices, parades, pancakes, dirt and dances. What more can you ask for this summer? Here are three events you need to put on your radar over the next few months.
Drayton Valley Pro Rodeo – April 29 – May 1, Drayton Valley Omniplex
The quality of rodeo comes down to two things: the skill of the rider and the quality of the animals. The Drayton Valley Pro Rodeo ranks high on both counts. With an $18,000 pot this event draws professional riders from across Canada and the United States.
This is one of the few indoor rodeos in the area so you don’t need to worry about planning your weekend around the weather. It includes three days of foot stompin’ rodeo action and a Saturday night dance. With no bad seat in the house, hot food and beer gardens, spending a weekend at the Drayton Valley Pro Rodeo should be close to the top of your early season bucket list.
Entwistle Rodeo July
Entwistle Rodeo is a small town event that packs a big punch. There are major events such as saddle bronc riding and ladies barrel racing; junior events like steer riding and a boatload of fun activities that anyone can take part in. This event is what small town charm is all about; local riders, family fun, and hot sun. If you are going to be in the area overnight, pack your bathing suit and floatie, because a lazy float on the Pembina River is very close by.
The Entwistle Rodeo Grounds are located just south of Highway 16 and west of Highway 22. Watch for signs during rodeo weekend.
Buck Lake Stampede July 8-10, Buck Lake, Alberta
If you want to add a little history to your experience, the Buck Lake Stampede is by far the longest standing rodeo in the region with 2022 marking its 91st year. When it first started the Buck Lake Stampede was an event that drew the larger community together with ball games and foot races and although the event is almost a century old, community is still at the heart of everything that’s good about the weekend. Throughout the three-day event not only do you get to experience a real authentic rural rodeo with chariots, chuck wagons, but there is also a parade, steak barbecue, a community dance and a pancake breakfast. The stampede is known as the “Biggest little rodeo in the West” and it certainly lives up to the name.
The Buck Lake stampede grounds sits in the heart of the hamlet of Buck Lake with covered stands, fans can still have some fun rain or shine. Parking is limited and the municipal campground across the road is small, so you may have to source out other options for accommodation if you plan for the whole weekend.
Whether you go to one or all of these events I can guarantee that even if you arrive as a stranger you will leave a friend.
West of the 5th Rodeo August 19 and 20, Buck Lake Stampede Grounds
If you like your rodeos straight up, then this is one event that will catch your eye. The West of the 5th Rodeo organizers are putting together an event that combines a professional level rodeo and a humanitarian fundraiser. Profits from this year’s event will go to “Alberta Stands with Ukraine Society” in effort to help with Canada’s efforts in Ukraine.
This year’s event is sanctioned by the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association and will bring in some experienced riders looking to qualify for the Canadian Finals Rodeo. The rodeo will include all the major events such as bull riding, saddle bronc, team roping and tie down roping. They are also welcoming up and coming novice riders to participate in the event. Make sure you put this one into your calendar.
Meanwhile in Wildwood
If you are a mad rodeo fan and you just can’t get enough of that dirt slingin’ fun then an additional rodeo that is just outside of the Brazeau and Beyond region is the Wildwood Bronc’ Bustin’ set to run in June. This is a specialty saddle bronc event that pairs champion cowboys versus champion horses.
Winter time at Buck Lake
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Try these DV100 training routes
Just beyond the western borders of Drayton Valley is a series of township roads and secondary highways that creates an amazing training ground for anyone looking to tackle the DV100, DV60 or the DV40, this September.
To market, to market: Shopping downtown Drayton Valley
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Tips for beginner mountain bikers
Rocks, berms, extreme pitches, however you slice it, mountain biking is not for the faint of heart. But with a little can-do attitude and grit it can become a fun pastime during any age or stage of life. This summer Rae and Bell decided that they wanted to try something new. Although they were no strangers to road cycling, the purchase of a e-mountain bike got them off the asphalt onto the trail.
Three trips for your winter wonder list
Snowshoeing is a fun way to get outside, stretch your legs and add a little interest to your snowy winter walks. With the Eagle Point Provincial Park and Provincial Recreation area right on our doorstep there are endless places to explore by snowshoe. But for those of you who are just getting started here are three of my favourite places to get you going.
The rugged and refined in Alder Flats
So I have been telling you to explore your backyard and check out places like Evansburg, Breton and Eagle Point Provincial Park. But what about Alder Flats? What the heck is there to do in Alder Flats? To answer this question I have visited Alder Flats five times since July to have a new experience, discover a new place and give you guys some actionable ideas.
Town and County look set for arbitration
Graham Long, Free Press
Drayton Valley and Brazeau County look to be moving toward arbitration to resolve outstanding issues between the two municipalities.
The Town and the County were engaged in a mediation process throughout March in an attempt to come to a mutually agreeable resolution which would lead to the creation of an Intermunicipal Development Plan and an Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework, both of which are required by the province.
A joint press release on the issue was sent out at 5:44 p.m. April 1. The timing of the release, at a point when both municipal offices had closed for the four-day Easter weekend, has often been used by government and other organizations as an attempt to bury what might be considered negative news. However, the wording of the press release is upbeat.
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“Brazeau County and the Town of Drayton Valley have agreed to move forward in a collaborative and productive manner that will best serve the greater community,” it reads. “The County and the Town have agreed it may be necessary to engage an arbitrator with respect to any questions outstanding between the municipalities.”
According to Alberta Municipal Affairs, a mediator “helps the parties communicate and negotiate more efficiently and … resolve their issue of come to a mutually agreeable solution.”
Arbitration, on the other hand, takes things considerably further and removes any need for agreement between the two municipalities.
Members of local indigenous groups are working toward opening a charter school with the goal of offering students an education that goes beyond academics.
Charlene Bearhead, a member of the board for the Roots of Resilience not-for-profit society, says the group is applying to the Minister of Education to be able to open a charter school in Drayton Valley, with a goal of opening in September.
The society is hosting an information night on February 13 from 5-7:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express.
Bearhead says her 40 years of working in education has made it clear that the system is failing children and staff as human beings.
“I’m always a big believer in doing the best you can to try to work with what exists already and do what you can to help guide that,” says Bearhead.
She worked within the system, and recently served as a school board trustee, but she says people weren’t ready to progress with changes she feels need to be made.
The goal of opening the charter school is to offer a learning experience that encompasses a child’s entire wellbeing, including mental and spiritual health, along with teaching Alberta’s curriculum. While the students will learn from methods that indigenous people have always used for passing on knowledge, Bearhead says the school isn’t just open to indigenous children. Any child in the area from Kindergarten to grade 12 will be welcome to attend.
One thing that Bearhead wants the public to be aware of regarding charter schools is that they are still public schools. Roots of Resilience will be funded in the same manner that Wild Rose School Division and the St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic School Division are.
“One lady said to me, ‘This sounds so amazing Charlene, but I really struggle with anything that takes away from public schools,’” says Bearhead. “I had to say to her ‘This is public education. This is public school.’”
She says there are only provisions for charter schools in Alberta. Charter schools receive the same funding for facilities, transportations, and other expenses, and the same requirements to follow the Alberta curriculum and the Education Act. Just like any other public school, parents do not have to pay extra to enrol their children in a charter school.
“But they are intended to be schools of choice,” says Bearhead. “They give parents and kids a choice in their education.”
However, charter schools are not without controversy. According to the website of Alberta Teachers’ Association, “there is only one pot of money for schools in Alberta. When money is diverted to private and charter schools, it leaves public schools in a funding shortfall.”
Bearhead says charter schools have to offer a unique approach to education that isn’t available in the geographic area. Bearhead says it’s important to the RoR society to define the holistic success for the school, which means the students will be doing better in body, mind, and soul, as well as academically.
She says that pushing people hard to do well academically while ignoring all other aspects of the student’s progress doesn’t work well. For Bearhead, it’s important for educators to meet the students where they’re at, value them as human beings, offer them a safe environment, and offer opportunities for the students to see themselves reflected in what is being taught.
Along with the regular curriculum, Bearhead says they plan to offer language programs for those who are interested in learning the language of their ancestors to help those students connect with their heritage.
Wendy Snow, the Interim District Captain in the Otipemisiwak Metis Government for District Eight and member of the RoR society, says she feels her own children would have benefitted from what the proposed school will be offering.
Snow says she has two children as well as a niece that she is the guardian of. With all three of them going to school in Drayton, she says they went to almost every school in the community.
“I found that it was very lacking as far as teaching to our culture,” says Snow.
She says every year she would fill out the demographic forms, indicating that her children were indigenous, knowing that the school division would get additional funding for those students.
“I found that all of the funding in the Wild Rose School Division went to Rocky Mountain House,” she says. “All the programming, all the culture stuff, everything went to Rocky Mountain House.”
Like Bearhead, Snow wanted to work with the system and try to help improve things. She ran twice for school board trustee, but did not get elected.
“I’ve always wanted to see more funding and programming and culture stuff in this area, just like there is in Rocky Mountain House,” says Snow.
Bearhead says the RoR school will resonate with indigenous children.
“An indigenous pedagogy, or approach to education, is about physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual [well-being]. Whatever that means to you. Everyone is indigenous to somewhere,” says Bearhead.
She says public charter schools are smaller and have unique approaches to education.
“They are actually intended to be models for how education could happen in any or all public schools,” she says.
Bearhead says when the students see themselves reflected in the content they’re learning, they have a better chance of relating to it and absorbing it.
By making the students the centre of the system, educators can focus on the whole child, not just the content they’re supposed to be learning. She says each student has different strengths, weaknesses, interests, and paths. In their school, they plan to help students excel at their strengths, offer support for their weaknesses, and encourage their interests and plans.
Another important part of education is offering the students a safe space.
“If kids are terrified, if kids are being bullied, if kids don’t feel safe, how can they focus on learning?” says Bearhead. “That’s just human instinct. That’s survival.”
She says if students are feeling ostracized, alienated, or left out, it’s more challenging for them to learn.
Roots of Resilience will also offer hands-on learning for students. This experiential learning will be land-based, which means there will be more of a balance between indoor and outdoor learning. She says there are many different areas of the curriculum that can be taught outdoors beyond science and physical education.
“For me, when you do something, rather than just read about it or hear about it, it becomes ingrained in you,” she says.
Snow says she wants to see children in the area have an opportunity to choose an education that best suits them.
“I think it just gives them a great basis for success later on in life,” says Snow.
Grade 4: Let's learn about the Newspaper
What is a newspaper?
A newspaper is a collection of stories, photos, advertisements, columns and letters that represent the collective news and mood of your community at a given point in time.
Types of Newspaper
National Newspapers: National Post, Globe and Mail
Provincial Newspapers: Edmonton Journals, Calgary Harold
Regional/Local Newspapers: That Us! Often locally owned, family started and some are 60-100 years old.
Other Regional:
Activity 1: Get to know the newspaper
Activity: Seek and Find
What you need: 1 piece of paper, 1 pencil, 1 Free Press Newspaper
- Get into teams of 4
- On a piece of paper write down numbers 1-5
- Find these 5 things in the paper
- Bring your answers up to me and shake the bottle when you’re done
- Fastest team gets a prize
And Go....
- What is the tagline under the “Free Press” masthead on pg. 1?
- Who wrote the letter about the ski hill?
- Who took the photo on pg. 11?
- Name one business in the business directory?
- Who is the editor of newspaper (name): _____________
Getting in front of eyeballs: How is the newspaper distributed?
Making sure the newspaper is seen is a big part of having a local newspaper. Distribution channels helps to make this happen. The Free Press has 3 distribution channels.
1. Email Subscriptions
2. Canada Post mail subscriptions
3. Free pickup in retail locations
Fact Checking and Credtiability
“Thou shalt not lie.” Why do you think it is important not to lie?
Creditability is the foundation of any newspaper. If your readers cannot trust what you are writing you won’t have an audience for long. This is why our editor spend much of his time fact checking, and rechecking facts in the stories we publish.
Activity 2: Examine a story
Read: “Councillor Responds to Allegations”
What are some facts in this story that needed to be checked?
Activity 3: Telephone fact checking
- Get into 2 long lines
- Teacher select 2 people to be “fact checkers”
- Beginning at the start whisper message into your neighbours ear, and continue down the line.
- Once the message gets to a fact checker, the fact checker will give a thumbs up to continue telephone if the message is correct or go back to the start of the line to restart the telephone if the message is incorrect.
Here are some sources we use to check facts:
Call people to confirm information
Voice record interviews
Use multiple sources
Discussion: What ways can you check the facts for school projects?
Jobs at a newspaper
Running a newspaper requires a team. Each person contributes to the success of the paper. Below are some jobs that people have to making a successful local newspaper.
Activity 4: Who does what?
In groups of 4 go to PAGE 1 and PAGE 9 of the newspaper and label who did what.
E = Editor
R = Reporter
GD = Graphic Designer
C = Columnist
S = Sales
Activity 5: Conducting an Interview Speed Style
Interviewing people is a major job of a newspaper reporter. To conduct a good interview you need these three elements:
1. Questions; open ended
2. Paper and pen, or recorder
3. Listening ears and eyes
Open Ended Questions
Open ended questions are questions that get people talking. The are not yes or no questions. They are “How,” “Who,” and “What” questions.
Example: How did you feel winning the basketball game? What inspired you to write that story?
Never go to a newspaper interview without a recording device; Paper, pen, voice recorder or texting device. Reporters often quote and paraphrase their subjects and accuracy is key.
Quote: “I love to teach,” Kormysh said.
Paraphrase: Kormysh said she loves teahing.
Recording Tool
Active listening
Active listening means you are listening with your ears (close your mouth), your eyes and your body language. The key to a good interview is to get the other person talking this means you have to stop talking.
Speed Interview Game
- Take out a piece of paper.
2. Write down 1 open ended question you can ask your classmates
3. Break out in to two lines
4. When I say go, line A is going to ask classmates your question and record the answer.
5. Line A takes A step to the Right, and Line B asks their classmates their question.
6. Record their answers.
7. Discussion: How was your experience? How accurate did you record?
Final Activity 6: Photo and Feedback
Take the handout and answer the following question.
A. What is one thing I learned about the newspaper?
B. Gather for a Group Photo
Police in Drayton Valley have seen an increase in the last year of arrests made under the Mental Health Act. Earlier this month Staff Sergeant Ryan Hoetmer told town council that calls of that type have seen a steady increase over the past several years, and they remain a big drain on resources for the Town.
Hoetmer explained that when the officers take somebody into custody under the act, they then take that person to the Centennial Centre for Mental Health in Ponoka. He says the drive itself eats up several hours of the officer’s time, but they also have to wait until staff at the centre take over.
He said the Centennial Centre has been working to make the intake process more efficient. In the past, officers have had to wait a couple of hours. Now, he says they make a call when they are on their way, and usually the intake is complete within half an hour.
When asked how long people are kept at the hospital, Hoetmer explained that they were normally kept for a week or two. At most, he believes they might be kept for a month.
Many of their calls under the Mental Health Act are from people the RCMP are already aware of, and Hoetmer says it can be a challenge keeping on top of those cases.
He says the RCMP bring the subject into the hospital. Once they are deemed healthy enough to depart, the person is often sent back to their community in a cab. After that, the individuals are in the same position they were in prior to the process beginning.
“I’m a big believer that there’s a bit of a gap there,” said Hoetmer. “When they are sent in a cab back to Drayton, they’re put back into the same position as before. There is no follow up program or some place for them to go in between.”
He said often RCMP watch the individuals as their mental health slowly declines until they have the grounds to apprehend them again.
Councillor Amila Gammana asked Hoetmer if he felt the reason people were being released on such a short timeline was due to a lack of resources. Hoetmer said he wasn’t sure what the reason for it was and that Alberta Health Services would better be able to answer that.
“I would hope it’s not a resourcing concern, that when the doctor is making their determination they are healthy enough to leave the facility,” he said. “But they have pressures, I’m sure, just like everybody else.”
Mayor Nancy Dodds asked Hoetmer if he’d seen an increase in resources since the new pillar ministries had been put into place, but Hoetmer says thus far they haven’t seen a change.
“We still have our one [Regional Police and Crisis Team] that operates out of Rocky, but as I’ve talked about before they are in our community maybe once a week,” said Hoetmer.
This means if there is an emergent issue that requires a response, the RPACT are not the ones who are responding to the call. It is instead left to the members of the Drayton Valley detachment.
“They do lots of follow up for us, but it’s our members that are doing the apprehensions and are going to the crisis when it’s happening,” said Hoetmer.
Moving to a new place can be stressful even if you are only moving one town over, but if you’re coming in from a different country, it can be overwhelming.
Verna Wicks, with Drayton Valley Community Learning (DVCL), is working together with other organizations in the community to build a Newcomers Support Team. The group is geared toward connecting people moving to the town or county with services they will need to get established.
What might feel like common sense to many people is not so easy for New Canadians. If they aren’t fluent in English or don’t know anyone in the area, setting up basics, like bank accounts and getting set up with Alberta Health Care could seem nearly impossible.
Wicks says interested parties decided to offer those supports early in 2024, but it wasn’t until DVCL received some grant funding last fall that they were able to hire someone for the group.
She says there are a number of groups who have been involved in setting up the team, including Family and Community Support Services, Alberta Health Services, the Multicultural Association, the library, the Town, the Chamber of Commerce, the Alberta Government, and many members of the public.
Similar to the Youth Hub, the support team is aiming to be a one stop connection point for newcomers. Wicks says the goal is to open a welcome centre that they can be directed to. At the centre, the newcomers will be connected with people and services in the community to help get them settled in.
Along with information and support, Wicks says they hope to also be able to give out a care package.
“We’re hoping that we’ll have some supplies for them if they need clothing or things for babies,” says Wicks.
The team would also like to host social events to help them meet new people. Last fall, they held their first welcoming event.
“That was open to newcomers and people from the community who wanted to welcome them,” she says.
Right now, the team is looking around the area to see which services are already being offered. Then, if they find any gaps, they can step up and provide something to meet those needs.
They are also putting together a document that can be given to immigrants in the community. She says it will contain a lot of basic information including contacts for different religious groups, and contacts for community and emergency services.
Wicks says there’s also a balance that the team needs to find. Right now there are many newcomers coming to the community. Some are refugees, some are looking for work, and others are coming through programs like the Rural Renewal Stream. However, the amount of newcomers may not always be so high.
She says there are also concerns about steady government funding. Recently, the federal government announced they would be cutting back on funding for support services for new immigrants. While the brunt of that will likely be felt in larger centres, Wicks says it’s making them cautious about asking for funds from any level of government.
The grant the team received in 2024 was renewed for 2025, but they won’t know for sure if it’s renewed for 2026 late 2025 or early 2026.
Anyone looking for more information about the team or the support they provide can reach out to Wicks at settlementservices@dvcommunitylearning.ca.
All good things must come to an end. The Drayton Valley Community Bus Association, which has been a fixture in the area since the 1970s, has ceased operations.
In an interview with the Free Press last week, Wendell Smith, the association’s treasurer, said a number of factors played a part in the decision to close effective December 21 last year. The majority of those factors revolved around increasing expenses and declining ridership.
“Diesel fuel is higher, insurance is higher. People don’t want to pay,” he said.
The bus association has played an important part in the growth of Drayton Valley. It was incorporated in May of 1973 by local business owners who were concerned about highway safety and who wanted to contribute something positive to the community.
“They bought a bus and founded the bus association and it’s been running ever since,” said Smith.
Over the last half century the bus association has covered hundreds of thousands of kilometres taking local residents to events across this part of Alberta and further afield. Many of those journeys were on school field trips or for minor hockey or other sports. Smith, who has been driving since 2001, said he’s happy to have played a part in the lives of so many local residents and is proud of the association’s record for getting people where they needed to be.
“We drove the Thunder for 25 years,” he said. “In all those years we were never late for an out of town game.”
Smith says at one point the association operated as many as “six or seven” buses. However, changing times have seen increasing numbers of potential riders using their own vehicles to attend out of town events. In recent years the number of buses operated by the association decreased to three; a 58 passenger coach, a 21 passenger mini bus and a 44 passenger school bus. Declining demand for busing means that those vehicles will now be put up for sale.
“The economy is hurting everybody,” he said. “If the economy isn’t booming people don’t have the money to hire a bus. I can’t blame any business for not using the service … The money’s just not there.”
After concerns raised at a pair of public meetings late last year, interim CAO for Drayton Valley, Pat Vincent, demonstrated the Town’s commitment to businesses and residents by presenting council with a detailed report that spoke to a range of issues at the last Governance and Priorities meeting.
Erik Bergen, a local business owner, came forward on November 20 with a presentation he had put together after having two open meetings with businesses in the community earlier in the fall. In his presentation, Bergen highlighted three main areas of concern: the homeless population, Town services and communications, and the free enterprise market in the community.
Bergen outlined several of those concerns as well as possible solutions for council to consider.
In the report Vincent brought forward, there were five separate responses from management involved in the areas that the businesses had issue with.
Enforcement services touched on several areas brought forth by Bergen. This included listing the various bylaws and acts that already addressed many of the areas of concern with the homeless population. The Community Standards Bylaw, the Municipal Government Act, and provincial trespassing legislation combined cover sleeping in public places, public disruption, loitering, public urination and defecation, unauthorized encampments, open fire, storage of personal items, and dumpster diving.
Cody Rossing, the manager of enforcement services and emergency management, also outlined areas that the Town could consider to help bolster the current laws surrounding those issues, such as amendments to the Outdoor Restrictions Burning bylaw and some possible amendments to the Community Standards Bylaw.
Rossing also explained that Drayton Valley could not create its own lower level court system to deal with petty crimes. However, he did say the community could petition for more court dates in Drayton Valley, which would allow more time for the courts to deal with all matters.
“Currently, with the scheduling at the Drayton Valley Court of Justice, trial dates are occurring on the same days for criminal code matters, provincial matters and municipal bylaw matters,” he says in his report. “This often results in lower-level offences either being withdrawn, or deals made to have the lower-level items removed so time can be focused on criminal code matters.”
As far as public safety in regards to needles, Rossing says they received only one call in 2023 from a business owner. In the past six months the Town’s Occupational Health and Safety Department only had four reports of Town staff locating needles.
Lola Strand, the manager of community services for the Town, spoke to the number of homeless individuals in the community and the efforts made to address the issue.
She mentioned the 2023 study done by the Rural Development Network, that found there were more than 8,300 individuals in rural Alberta dealing with some sort of housing issue. In Drayton, there were 28 people without homes, 25 people accessing emergency shelters such as the shelter pods or warming hearts, 83 people who were provisionally accommodated through things like couch surfing, and 140 individuals who were at risk of homelessness due to precarious housing.
Strand spoke to the strain enforcement services were dealing with in regard to responding to complaints of unsheltered people. She says the Town received a grant to hire a Community Outreach Worker who is communicating with at-risk individuals to help connect them to resources.
She also pointed out that along with the temporary emergency shelters the Town has put into place, there are also 26 affordable housing units in the community. Humans Helping Humans, the local organization that currently runs the shelter pods, has also built nine homes with grants, donations, and volunteers that have helped 19 families move into the regular housing market.
Strand also suggested the Town could work with the province to build halfway houses, or using grant money to purchase seacans, or trailers that can provide shelters in the encampment around the landfill that many of the homeless population are currently using.
Jenn Stone with intergovernmental relations and communication for the Town, outlined the different ways that the Town communicates with its residents.
The Town has a threefold approach to communication: traditional media, social media, and direct communication.
With advertisements and news stories, the Town works with the Drayton Valley Free Press and Big West Country 92.9. They also have pages on social media, the Town’s website, and YouTube. The electronic sign located at 50 Street and 50 Avenue is also used for communications. On top of those methods, the Town has held open houses, public hearings, direct mail, and door-to-door notices.
By using these different options, the Town is providing several different methods of communication for all age demographics.
Public works also responded to the grievances in the report, specifically in regard to the insect population, weed control, and snow removal.
When it comes to pesticides and herbicides, the individual applying the substances has to be certified and trained in the use of the chemicals. If at any point the Town doesn’t have many employees that meet those criteria, it can be difficult for them to keep up with the applications.
When it comes to insects, the Town only sprays for stinging insects in public spaces. They work to stay on top of the issues and will follow up to check on activity. They also use the public portal the Town provides through their website, to learn about any issues that residents have raised a concern with.
Spraying for weeds also has its challenges. There are limited time frames in which the application will be effective, such as when the weeds are actively growing. Then they also have to work around the weather, as it won’t be as effective if it’s raining. If those two requirements are met, the Town also has to consider any events going on and provide notices to nearby businesses and residents before they begin spraying.
For snow removal on sidewalks, the Town currently clears 53.4 km of asphalt trails and sidewalks in the community. Prior to 2022, the Town was clearing sidewalks in the downtown core, however, an amendment to the snow removal policy in November 2022 removed the downtown core from areas to be cleared.
Public works says if they were to be responsible for removing snow from all sidewalks in the community, they would have to double their staff and equipment to keep up with it. They say it is a common issue with many municipalities and one that is becoming more and more challenging.
The report also addressed the business owners’ concerns surrounding a free market in the community.
Peter Vana, the interim general manager for planning and growth development in the community, says there are legal limits to what the Town can do in regards to limiting businesses.
Vana says the Municipal Government Act grants municipalities the power to regulate businesses, but not prohibit businesses. Vana provided examples of land use regulations in several communities to show the different ways that the issue can be approached.
Along with that, Vana made some suggestions that might help to alleviate the issue, such as making restaurants a discretionary use in all districts, providing varying business license fees, partnering with local businesses to help give them better strategies to succeed.
However, Vana also pointed out some issues with picking a particular sector to regulate. He says were the Town to put in regulations on franchises in the food industry, it should be applied to all industries across the board, including oil and gas, as well as retail, as companies like Walmart or Canadian Tire could be seen as a threat to local businesses.
Vana also mentions that many franchises are owned by local residents, so they are in many ways, just like other local businesses.
Other problems with restricting franchises that Vana brought forward included that the public would like to have competition as it offers options and keeps prices lower. He also pointed out, using pizza restaurants as an example, that there are eight restaurants that mainly sell pizza, nine other restaurants that sell pizza as a sideline, and two other businesses that occasionally sell pizza as well.
Vana questions whether or not the Town would have to be completely aware of the different items each restaurant sells when deciding whether a business should be allowed or not.
Council accepted the report as information after asking several questions of the departments. Vincent says he made the businesses aware the report was being discussed at the meeting, but there were no representatives for council to ask questions of.
“Arbitration is a quasi-judicial process in which a third party renders a decision after hearing evidence from all involved. The decision is binding on all parties,” according to Municipal Affairs
Last month’s mediation sessions were held in private and the minutes are not publicly available. However, the County’s records show that its council held eight special meetings in March to receive mediation updates and to discuss progress.
In last week’s media release Reeve Bart Guyon said “County council looks forward to the next step in this process to arrive at a fair resolution in the interests of all residents. The progress we’ve made together so far is a positive sign for the future.”
Drayton Valley Mayor Michael Doerksen took a similarity positive viewpoint.
“The Town of Drayton Valley looks forward to a collaborative solution that will best serve our residents,” he said. “The interest of our community is top of mind, and making use of an arbitrator will ensure we are moving forward in the most constructive way possible.”
There is no indication which areas progress has been made in and which issues are still outstanding. One major point of contention between the County and the Town has been the funding of joint recreation facilities, the majority of which are operated by the Town but funded by both municipalities. The County recently moved to cut its share of funding by more than 50 percent.
Charter school proposal moving forward
Roots of Resilience aims to open a public charter school in Drayton Valley, Alberta, blending Indigenous knowledge with holistic education for all K-12 students.
Mental health calls drain resources
Drayton Valley RCMP see rising Mental Health Act arrests, straining resources. Mental health crisis intervention in Alberta needs improvement.
Support group for new Canadians
Verna Wicks, with Drayton Valley Community Learning (DVCL), is working together with other organizations in the community to build a Newcomers Support Team.
Bus association reaches end of the road
The Drayton Valley Community Bus Association, which has been a fixture in the area since the 1970s, has ceased operations.
The race is on to be Reeve of Brazeau County. This week local businessman Jason Kennedy announced he would be seeking the position at October’s municipal election.
Kennedy is a long time local resident whose family were among the first permanent settlers in the Drayton Valley region. He currently lives in the Whitby area.
Dr. Chris Birchall Dentistry
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Firearms repair and maintenance
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Emmaus Lutheran Church
“A community of faith passionately walking the road of life with the Lord Jesus” Phone:
B.D. Lock and Key Ltd.
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This is not Kennedy’s first foray into local politics. He ran for Reeve in a byelection several years ago, finishing second to incumbent Reeve Bart Guyon.
While he’s not currently an elected official, Kennedy says he does have a good knowledge of the workings of the County. He has sat on a number of County boards over the years and is currently the chair of the Municipal Planning Commission. He’s also attended a number of recent council meetings.
Members of local indigenous groups are working toward opening a charter school with the goal of offering students an education that goes beyond academics.
Charlene Bearhead, a member of the board for the Roots of Resilience not-for-profit society, says the group is applying to the Minister of Education to be able to open a charter school in Drayton Valley, with a goal of opening in September.
The society is hosting an information night on February 13 from 5-7:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express.
Bearhead says her 40 years of working in education has made it clear that the system is failing children and staff as human beings.
“I’m always a big believer in doing the best you can to try to work with what exists already and do what you can to help guide that,” says Bearhead.
She worked within the system, and recently served as a school board trustee, but she says people weren’t ready to progress with changes she feels need to be made.
The goal of opening the charter school is to offer a learning experience that encompasses a child’s entire wellbeing, including mental and spiritual health, along with teaching Alberta’s curriculum. While the students will learn from methods that indigenous people have always used for passing on knowledge, Bearhead says the school isn’t just open to indigenous children. Any child in the area from Kindergarten to grade 12 will be welcome to attend.
One thing that Bearhead wants the public to be aware of regarding charter schools is that they are still public schools. Roots of Resilience will be funded in the same manner that Wild Rose School Division and the St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic School Division are.
“One lady said to me, ‘This sounds so amazing Charlene, but I really struggle with anything that takes away from public schools,’” says Bearhead. “I had to say to her ‘This is public education. This is public school.’”
She says there are only provisions for charter schools in Alberta. Charter schools receive the same funding for facilities, transportations, and other expenses, and the same requirements to follow the Alberta curriculum and the Education Act. Just like any other public school, parents do not have to pay extra to enrol their children in a charter school.
“But they are intended to be schools of choice,” says Bearhead. “They give parents and kids a choice in their education.”
However, charter schools are not without controversy. According to the website of Alberta Teachers’ Association, “there is only one pot of money for schools in Alberta. When money is diverted to private and charter schools, it leaves public schools in a funding shortfall.”
Bearhead says charter schools have to offer a unique approach to education that isn’t available in the geographic area. Bearhead says it’s important to the RoR society to define the holistic success for the school, which means the students will be doing better in body, mind, and soul, as well as academically.
She says that pushing people hard to do well academically while ignoring all other aspects of the student’s progress doesn’t work well. For Bearhead, it’s important for educators to meet the students where they’re at, value them as human beings, offer them a safe environment, and offer opportunities for the students to see themselves reflected in what is being taught.
Along with the regular curriculum, Bearhead says they plan to offer language programs for those who are interested in learning the language of their ancestors to help those students connect with their heritage.
Wendy Snow, the Interim District Captain in the Otipemisiwak Metis Government for District Eight and member of the RoR society, says she feels her own children would have benefitted from what the proposed school will be offering.
Snow says she has two children as well as a niece that she is the guardian of. With all three of them going to school in Drayton, she says they went to almost every school in the community.
“I found that it was very lacking as far as teaching to our culture,” says Snow.
She says every year she would fill out the demographic forms, indicating that her children were indigenous, knowing that the school division would get additional funding for those students.
“I found that all of the funding in the Wild Rose School Division went to Rocky Mountain House,” she says. “All the programming, all the culture stuff, everything went to Rocky Mountain House.”
Like Bearhead, Snow wanted to work with the system and try to help improve things. She ran twice for school board trustee, but did not get elected.
“I’ve always wanted to see more funding and programming and culture stuff in this area, just like there is in Rocky Mountain House,” says Snow.
Bearhead says the RoR school will resonate with indigenous children.
“An indigenous pedagogy, or approach to education, is about physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual [well-being]. Whatever that means to you. Everyone is indigenous to somewhere,” says Bearhead.
She says public charter schools are smaller and have unique approaches to education.
“They are actually intended to be models for how education could happen in any or all public schools,” she says.
Bearhead says when the students see themselves reflected in the content they’re learning, they have a better chance of relating to it and absorbing it.
By making the students the centre of the system, educators can focus on the whole child, not just the content they’re supposed to be learning. She says each student has different strengths, weaknesses, interests, and paths. In their school, they plan to help students excel at their strengths, offer support for their weaknesses, and encourage their interests and plans.
Another important part of education is offering the students a safe space.
“If kids are terrified, if kids are being bullied, if kids don’t feel safe, how can they focus on learning?” says Bearhead. “That’s just human instinct. That’s survival.”
She says if students are feeling ostracized, alienated, or left out, it’s more challenging for them to learn.
Roots of Resilience will also offer hands-on learning for students. This experiential learning will be land-based, which means there will be more of a balance between indoor and outdoor learning. She says there are many different areas of the curriculum that can be taught outdoors beyond science and physical education.
“For me, when you do something, rather than just read about it or hear about it, it becomes ingrained in you,” she says.
Snow says she wants to see children in the area have an opportunity to choose an education that best suits them.
“I think it just gives them a great basis for success later on in life,” says Snow.
Grade 4: Let's learn about the Newspaper
What is a newspaper?
A newspaper is a collection of stories, photos, advertisements, columns and letters that represent the collective news and mood of your community at a given point in time.
Types of Newspaper
National Newspapers: National Post, Globe and Mail
Provincial Newspapers: Edmonton Journals, Calgary Harold
Regional/Local Newspapers: That Us! Often locally owned, family started and some are 60-100 years old.
Other Regional:
Activity 1: Get to know the newspaper
Activity: Seek and Find
What you need: 1 piece of paper, 1 pencil, 1 Free Press Newspaper
- Get into teams of 4
- On a piece of paper write down numbers 1-5
- Find these 5 things in the paper
- Bring your answers up to me and shake the bottle when you’re done
- Fastest team gets a prize
And Go....
- What is the tagline under the “Free Press” masthead on pg. 1?
- Who wrote the letter about the ski hill?
- Who took the photo on pg. 11?
- Name one business in the business directory?
- Who is the editor of newspaper (name): _____________
Getting in front of eyeballs: How is the newspaper distributed?
Making sure the newspaper is seen is a big part of having a local newspaper. Distribution channels helps to make this happen. The Free Press has 3 distribution channels.
1. Email Subscriptions
2. Canada Post mail subscriptions
3. Free pickup in retail locations
Fact Checking and Credtiability
“Thou shalt not lie.” Why do you think it is important not to lie?
Creditability is the foundation of any newspaper. If your readers cannot trust what you are writing you won’t have an audience for long. This is why our editor spend much of his time fact checking, and rechecking facts in the stories we publish.
Activity 2: Examine a story
Read: “Councillor Responds to Allegations”
What are some facts in this story that needed to be checked?
Activity 3: Telephone fact checking
- Get into 2 long lines
- Teacher select 2 people to be “fact checkers”
- Beginning at the start whisper message into your neighbours ear, and continue down the line.
- Once the message gets to a fact checker, the fact checker will give a thumbs up to continue telephone if the message is correct or go back to the start of the line to restart the telephone if the message is incorrect.
Here are some sources we use to check facts:
Call people to confirm information
Voice record interviews
Use multiple sources
Discussion: What ways can you check the facts for school projects?
Jobs at a newspaper
Running a newspaper requires a team. Each person contributes to the success of the paper. Below are some jobs that people have to making a successful local newspaper.
Activity 4: Who does what?
In groups of 4 go to PAGE 1 and PAGE 9 of the newspaper and label who did what.
E = Editor
R = Reporter
GD = Graphic Designer
C = Columnist
S = Sales
Activity 5: Conducting an Interview Speed Style
Interviewing people is a major job of a newspaper reporter. To conduct a good interview you need these three elements:
1. Questions; open ended
2. Paper and pen, or recorder
3. Listening ears and eyes
Open Ended Questions
Open ended questions are questions that get people talking. The are not yes or no questions. They are “How,” “Who,” and “What” questions.
Example: How did you feel winning the basketball game? What inspired you to write that story?
Never go to a newspaper interview without a recording device; Paper, pen, voice recorder or texting device. Reporters often quote and paraphrase their subjects and accuracy is key.
Quote: “I love to teach,” Kormysh said.
Paraphrase: Kormysh said she loves teahing.
Recording Tool
Active listening
Active listening means you are listening with your ears (close your mouth), your eyes and your body language. The key to a good interview is to get the other person talking this means you have to stop talking.
Speed Interview Game
- Take out a piece of paper.
2. Write down 1 open ended question you can ask your classmates
3. Break out in to two lines
4. When I say go, line A is going to ask classmates your question and record the answer.
5. Line A takes A step to the Right, and Line B asks their classmates their question.
6. Record their answers.
7. Discussion: How was your experience? How accurate did you record?
Final Activity 6: Photo and Feedback
Take the handout and answer the following question.
A. What is one thing I learned about the newspaper?
B. Gather for a Group Photo
Police in Drayton Valley have seen an increase in the last year of arrests made under the Mental Health Act. Earlier this month Staff Sergeant Ryan Hoetmer told town council that calls of that type have seen a steady increase over the past several years, and they remain a big drain on resources for the Town.
Hoetmer explained that when the officers take somebody into custody under the act, they then take that person to the Centennial Centre for Mental Health in Ponoka. He says the drive itself eats up several hours of the officer’s time, but they also have to wait until staff at the centre take over.
He said the Centennial Centre has been working to make the intake process more efficient. In the past, officers have had to wait a couple of hours. Now, he says they make a call when they are on their way, and usually the intake is complete within half an hour.
When asked how long people are kept at the hospital, Hoetmer explained that they were normally kept for a week or two. At most, he believes they might be kept for a month.
Many of their calls under the Mental Health Act are from people the RCMP are already aware of, and Hoetmer says it can be a challenge keeping on top of those cases.
He says the RCMP bring the subject into the hospital. Once they are deemed healthy enough to depart, the person is often sent back to their community in a cab. After that, the individuals are in the same position they were in prior to the process beginning.
“I’m a big believer that there’s a bit of a gap there,” said Hoetmer. “When they are sent in a cab back to Drayton, they’re put back into the same position as before. There is no follow up program or some place for them to go in between.”
He said often RCMP watch the individuals as their mental health slowly declines until they have the grounds to apprehend them again.
Councillor Amila Gammana asked Hoetmer if he felt the reason people were being released on such a short timeline was due to a lack of resources. Hoetmer said he wasn’t sure what the reason for it was and that Alberta Health Services would better be able to answer that.
“I would hope it’s not a resourcing concern, that when the doctor is making their determination they are healthy enough to leave the facility,” he said. “But they have pressures, I’m sure, just like everybody else.”
Mayor Nancy Dodds asked Hoetmer if he’d seen an increase in resources since the new pillar ministries had been put into place, but Hoetmer says thus far they haven’t seen a change.
“We still have our one [Regional Police and Crisis Team] that operates out of Rocky, but as I’ve talked about before they are in our community maybe once a week,” said Hoetmer.
This means if there is an emergent issue that requires a response, the RPACT are not the ones who are responding to the call. It is instead left to the members of the Drayton Valley detachment.
“They do lots of follow up for us, but it’s our members that are doing the apprehensions and are going to the crisis when it’s happening,” said Hoetmer.
Moving to a new place can be stressful even if you are only moving one town over, but if you’re coming in from a different country, it can be overwhelming.
Verna Wicks, with Drayton Valley Community Learning (DVCL), is working together with other organizations in the community to build a Newcomers Support Team. The group is geared toward connecting people moving to the town or county with services they will need to get established.
What might feel like common sense to many people is not so easy for New Canadians. If they aren’t fluent in English or don’t know anyone in the area, setting up basics, like bank accounts and getting set up with Alberta Health Care could seem nearly impossible.
Wicks says interested parties decided to offer those supports early in 2024, but it wasn’t until DVCL received some grant funding last fall that they were able to hire someone for the group.
She says there are a number of groups who have been involved in setting up the team, including Family and Community Support Services, Alberta Health Services, the Multicultural Association, the library, the Town, the Chamber of Commerce, the Alberta Government, and many members of the public.
Similar to the Youth Hub, the support team is aiming to be a one stop connection point for newcomers. Wicks says the goal is to open a welcome centre that they can be directed to. At the centre, the newcomers will be connected with people and services in the community to help get them settled in.
Along with information and support, Wicks says they hope to also be able to give out a care package.
“We’re hoping that we’ll have some supplies for them if they need clothing or things for babies,” says Wicks.
The team would also like to host social events to help them meet new people. Last fall, they held their first welcoming event.
“That was open to newcomers and people from the community who wanted to welcome them,” she says.
Right now, the team is looking around the area to see which services are already being offered. Then, if they find any gaps, they can step up and provide something to meet those needs.
They are also putting together a document that can be given to immigrants in the community. She says it will contain a lot of basic information including contacts for different religious groups, and contacts for community and emergency services.
Wicks says there’s also a balance that the team needs to find. Right now there are many newcomers coming to the community. Some are refugees, some are looking for work, and others are coming through programs like the Rural Renewal Stream. However, the amount of newcomers may not always be so high.
She says there are also concerns about steady government funding. Recently, the federal government announced they would be cutting back on funding for support services for new immigrants. While the brunt of that will likely be felt in larger centres, Wicks says it’s making them cautious about asking for funds from any level of government.
The grant the team received in 2024 was renewed for 2025, but they won’t know for sure if it’s renewed for 2026 late 2025 or early 2026.
Anyone looking for more information about the team or the support they provide can reach out to Wicks at settlementservices@dvcommunitylearning.ca.
All good things must come to an end. The Drayton Valley Community Bus Association, which has been a fixture in the area since the 1970s, has ceased operations.
In an interview with the Free Press last week, Wendell Smith, the association’s treasurer, said a number of factors played a part in the decision to close effective December 21 last year. The majority of those factors revolved around increasing expenses and declining ridership.
“Diesel fuel is higher, insurance is higher. People don’t want to pay,” he said.
The bus association has played an important part in the growth of Drayton Valley. It was incorporated in May of 1973 by local business owners who were concerned about highway safety and who wanted to contribute something positive to the community.
“They bought a bus and founded the bus association and it’s been running ever since,” said Smith.
Over the last half century the bus association has covered hundreds of thousands of kilometres taking local residents to events across this part of Alberta and further afield. Many of those journeys were on school field trips or for minor hockey or other sports. Smith, who has been driving since 2001, said he’s happy to have played a part in the lives of so many local residents and is proud of the association’s record for getting people where they needed to be.
“We drove the Thunder for 25 years,” he said. “In all those years we were never late for an out of town game.”
Smith says at one point the association operated as many as “six or seven” buses. However, changing times have seen increasing numbers of potential riders using their own vehicles to attend out of town events. In recent years the number of buses operated by the association decreased to three; a 58 passenger coach, a 21 passenger mini bus and a 44 passenger school bus. Declining demand for busing means that those vehicles will now be put up for sale.
“The economy is hurting everybody,” he said. “If the economy isn’t booming people don’t have the money to hire a bus. I can’t blame any business for not using the service … The money’s just not there.”
After concerns raised at a pair of public meetings late last year, interim CAO for Drayton Valley, Pat Vincent, demonstrated the Town’s commitment to businesses and residents by presenting council with a detailed report that spoke to a range of issues at the last Governance and Priorities meeting.
Erik Bergen, a local business owner, came forward on November 20 with a presentation he had put together after having two open meetings with businesses in the community earlier in the fall. In his presentation, Bergen highlighted three main areas of concern: the homeless population, Town services and communications, and the free enterprise market in the community.
Bergen outlined several of those concerns as well as possible solutions for council to consider.
In the report Vincent brought forward, there were five separate responses from management involved in the areas that the businesses had issue with.
Enforcement services touched on several areas brought forth by Bergen. This included listing the various bylaws and acts that already addressed many of the areas of concern with the homeless population. The Community Standards Bylaw, the Municipal Government Act, and provincial trespassing legislation combined cover sleeping in public places, public disruption, loitering, public urination and defecation, unauthorized encampments, open fire, storage of personal items, and dumpster diving.
Cody Rossing, the manager of enforcement services and emergency management, also outlined areas that the Town could consider to help bolster the current laws surrounding those issues, such as amendments to the Outdoor Restrictions Burning bylaw and some possible amendments to the Community Standards Bylaw.
Rossing also explained that Drayton Valley could not create its own lower level court system to deal with petty crimes. However, he did say the community could petition for more court dates in Drayton Valley, which would allow more time for the courts to deal with all matters.
“Currently, with the scheduling at the Drayton Valley Court of Justice, trial dates are occurring on the same days for criminal code matters, provincial matters and municipal bylaw matters,” he says in his report. “This often results in lower-level offences either being withdrawn, or deals made to have the lower-level items removed so time can be focused on criminal code matters.”
As far as public safety in regards to needles, Rossing says they received only one call in 2023 from a business owner. In the past six months the Town’s Occupational Health and Safety Department only had four reports of Town staff locating needles.
Lola Strand, the manager of community services for the Town, spoke to the number of homeless individuals in the community and the efforts made to address the issue.
She mentioned the 2023 study done by the Rural Development Network, that found there were more than 8,300 individuals in rural Alberta dealing with some sort of housing issue. In Drayton, there were 28 people without homes, 25 people accessing emergency shelters such as the shelter pods or warming hearts, 83 people who were provisionally accommodated through things like couch surfing, and 140 individuals who were at risk of homelessness due to precarious housing.
Strand spoke to the strain enforcement services were dealing with in regard to responding to complaints of unsheltered people. She says the Town received a grant to hire a Community Outreach Worker who is communicating with at-risk individuals to help connect them to resources.
She also pointed out that along with the temporary emergency shelters the Town has put into place, there are also 26 affordable housing units in the community. Humans Helping Humans, the local organization that currently runs the shelter pods, has also built nine homes with grants, donations, and volunteers that have helped 19 families move into the regular housing market.
Strand also suggested the Town could work with the province to build halfway houses, or using grant money to purchase seacans, or trailers that can provide shelters in the encampment around the landfill that many of the homeless population are currently using.
Jenn Stone with intergovernmental relations and communication for the Town, outlined the different ways that the Town communicates with its residents.
The Town has a threefold approach to communication: traditional media, social media, and direct communication.
With advertisements and news stories, the Town works with the Drayton Valley Free Press and Big West Country 92.9. They also have pages on social media, the Town’s website, and YouTube. The electronic sign located at 50 Street and 50 Avenue is also used for communications. On top of those methods, the Town has held open houses, public hearings, direct mail, and door-to-door notices.
By using these different options, the Town is providing several different methods of communication for all age demographics.
Public works also responded to the grievances in the report, specifically in regard to the insect population, weed control, and snow removal.
When it comes to pesticides and herbicides, the individual applying the substances has to be certified and trained in the use of the chemicals. If at any point the Town doesn’t have many employees that meet those criteria, it can be difficult for them to keep up with the applications.
When it comes to insects, the Town only sprays for stinging insects in public spaces. They work to stay on top of the issues and will follow up to check on activity. They also use the public portal the Town provides through their website, to learn about any issues that residents have raised a concern with.
Spraying for weeds also has its challenges. There are limited time frames in which the application will be effective, such as when the weeds are actively growing. Then they also have to work around the weather, as it won’t be as effective if it’s raining. If those two requirements are met, the Town also has to consider any events going on and provide notices to nearby businesses and residents before they begin spraying.
For snow removal on sidewalks, the Town currently clears 53.4 km of asphalt trails and sidewalks in the community. Prior to 2022, the Town was clearing sidewalks in the downtown core, however, an amendment to the snow removal policy in November 2022 removed the downtown core from areas to be cleared.
Public works says if they were to be responsible for removing snow from all sidewalks in the community, they would have to double their staff and equipment to keep up with it. They say it is a common issue with many municipalities and one that is becoming more and more challenging.
The report also addressed the business owners’ concerns surrounding a free market in the community.
Peter Vana, the interim general manager for planning and growth development in the community, says there are legal limits to what the Town can do in regards to limiting businesses.
Vana says the Municipal Government Act grants municipalities the power to regulate businesses, but not prohibit businesses. Vana provided examples of land use regulations in several communities to show the different ways that the issue can be approached.
Along with that, Vana made some suggestions that might help to alleviate the issue, such as making restaurants a discretionary use in all districts, providing varying business license fees, partnering with local businesses to help give them better strategies to succeed.
However, Vana also pointed out some issues with picking a particular sector to regulate. He says were the Town to put in regulations on franchises in the food industry, it should be applied to all industries across the board, including oil and gas, as well as retail, as companies like Walmart or Canadian Tire could be seen as a threat to local businesses.
Vana also mentions that many franchises are owned by local residents, so they are in many ways, just like other local businesses.
Other problems with restricting franchises that Vana brought forward included that the public would like to have competition as it offers options and keeps prices lower. He also pointed out, using pizza restaurants as an example, that there are eight restaurants that mainly sell pizza, nine other restaurants that sell pizza as a sideline, and two other businesses that occasionally sell pizza as well.
Vana questions whether or not the Town would have to be completely aware of the different items each restaurant sells when deciding whether a business should be allowed or not.
Council accepted the report as information after asking several questions of the departments. Vincent says he made the businesses aware the report was being discussed at the meeting, but there were no representatives for council to ask questions of.
“I think our county needs change, and I think I represent a good portion of electors,” he says.
“From my perspective the biggest challenge our county is facing is a rapid decline in funds.”
According to Kennedy that decline is due to two factors. The County has suffered from falling revenue, meanwhile spending has remained at an unsustainable level. The loss of revenue is due in part to changes brought in by the province in the way linear assessment is calculated for oil and gas facilities. Kennedy says that if spending continues at the current rate the County’s unrestricted reserves are heading for negative territory. It’s important that’s not allowed to happen.
“Obviously we’re spending too much,” he says. “When you’re at a negative it’s too late. We need to streamline our business so we can balance our budget.”
To get the balance right Kennedy says the County needs to work on both fiscal responsibility and fiscal accountability. That means controlling spending while ensuring that County residents are fully informed and consulted on the decisions that impact their lives. If he’s elected Kennedy says he’ll put more emphasis on communication and listening to the views of County residents.
“We have to start working for the people who elected us. That’s what it comes down to,” he says. “We need to be accountable to taxpayers for the money we’re spending and I think we need to engage them in that process.”
That accountability would extend to other issues. Kennedy says that rather than coming in with a preconceived notion it’s important for elected officials to engage with their residents to ensure their decisions truly reflect the views of the community as a whole.
“Before we make a decision we need to ask ‘is this what our residents want us to do?’” he says. “We need to be more accountable and we need more transparency. We need to know
what the pulse of our community is, and I think right now we’re missing that pulse. We need to be in touch with the people because that’s who we’re supposed to be working for.”
Kennedy is the second candidate to declare his intention to seek the County’s top job in October joining Donald Mosicki, who lives in the east end of the County. Current Reeve Bart Guyon has yet to make his intentions public.
Election day is October 18.
Charter school proposal moving forward
Roots of Resilience aims to open a public charter school in Drayton Valley, Alberta, blending Indigenous knowledge with holistic education for all K-12 students.
Mental health calls drain resources
Drayton Valley RCMP see rising Mental Health Act arrests, straining resources. Mental health crisis intervention in Alberta needs improvement.
Support group for new Canadians
Verna Wicks, with Drayton Valley Community Learning (DVCL), is working together with other organizations in the community to build a Newcomers Support Team.
Bus association reaches end of the road
The Drayton Valley Community Bus Association, which has been a fixture in the area since the 1970s, has ceased operations.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Remembrance Day poppy in Canada. In honour of the occasion there is a special pin, based on the original 1921 poppy, available from the Drayton Valley Legion for $10.
Drayton Valley Insurance
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Dr. Chris Birchall Dentistry
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B.D. Lock and Key Ltd.
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Life Church Drayton Valley
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Meanwhile the regular poppy campaign is set to get underway on Friday. The first of this year’s poppies were presented to Mayor Nancy Dodds and Reeve Bart Guyon on Wednesday morning. Legion president Bill Cavanagh says once the campaign is up and running there will be volunteers offering poppies to the public at various spots around town including grocery stores and other areas with high pedestrian traffic. New this year is the ability for people to donate to the poppy fund by scanning a QR code on the collection box with their phone.
“You don’t have to have any cash, you can just scan it and go,” says Cavanagh. “You can still give cash if you want though. That’s not an issue.”
Members of local indigenous groups are working toward opening a charter school with the goal of offering students an education that goes beyond academics.
Charlene Bearhead, a member of the board for the Roots of Resilience not-for-profit society, says the group is applying to the Minister of Education to be able to open a charter school in Drayton Valley, with a goal of opening in September.
The society is hosting an information night on February 13 from 5-7:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express.
Bearhead says her 40 years of working in education has made it clear that the system is failing children and staff as human beings.
“I’m always a big believer in doing the best you can to try to work with what exists already and do what you can to help guide that,” says Bearhead.
She worked within the system, and recently served as a school board trustee, but she says people weren’t ready to progress with changes she feels need to be made.
The goal of opening the charter school is to offer a learning experience that encompasses a child’s entire wellbeing, including mental and spiritual health, along with teaching Alberta’s curriculum. While the students will learn from methods that indigenous people have always used for passing on knowledge, Bearhead says the school isn’t just open to indigenous children. Any child in the area from Kindergarten to grade 12 will be welcome to attend.
One thing that Bearhead wants the public to be aware of regarding charter schools is that they are still public schools. Roots of Resilience will be funded in the same manner that Wild Rose School Division and the St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic School Division are.
“One lady said to me, ‘This sounds so amazing Charlene, but I really struggle with anything that takes away from public schools,’” says Bearhead. “I had to say to her ‘This is public education. This is public school.’”
She says there are only provisions for charter schools in Alberta. Charter schools receive the same funding for facilities, transportations, and other expenses, and the same requirements to follow the Alberta curriculum and the Education Act. Just like any other public school, parents do not have to pay extra to enrol their children in a charter school.
“But they are intended to be schools of choice,” says Bearhead. “They give parents and kids a choice in their education.”
However, charter schools are not without controversy. According to the website of Alberta Teachers’ Association, “there is only one pot of money for schools in Alberta. When money is diverted to private and charter schools, it leaves public schools in a funding shortfall.”
Bearhead says charter schools have to offer a unique approach to education that isn’t available in the geographic area. Bearhead says it’s important to the RoR society to define the holistic success for the school, which means the students will be doing better in body, mind, and soul, as well as academically.
She says that pushing people hard to do well academically while ignoring all other aspects of the student’s progress doesn’t work well. For Bearhead, it’s important for educators to meet the students where they’re at, value them as human beings, offer them a safe environment, and offer opportunities for the students to see themselves reflected in what is being taught.
Along with the regular curriculum, Bearhead says they plan to offer language programs for those who are interested in learning the language of their ancestors to help those students connect with their heritage.
Wendy Snow, the Interim District Captain in the Otipemisiwak Metis Government for District Eight and member of the RoR society, says she feels her own children would have benefitted from what the proposed school will be offering.
Snow says she has two children as well as a niece that she is the guardian of. With all three of them going to school in Drayton, she says they went to almost every school in the community.
“I found that it was very lacking as far as teaching to our culture,” says Snow.
She says every year she would fill out the demographic forms, indicating that her children were indigenous, knowing that the school division would get additional funding for those students.
“I found that all of the funding in the Wild Rose School Division went to Rocky Mountain House,” she says. “All the programming, all the culture stuff, everything went to Rocky Mountain House.”
Like Bearhead, Snow wanted to work with the system and try to help improve things. She ran twice for school board trustee, but did not get elected.
“I’ve always wanted to see more funding and programming and culture stuff in this area, just like there is in Rocky Mountain House,” says Snow.
Bearhead says the RoR school will resonate with indigenous children.
“An indigenous pedagogy, or approach to education, is about physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual [well-being]. Whatever that means to you. Everyone is indigenous to somewhere,” says Bearhead.
She says public charter schools are smaller and have unique approaches to education.
“They are actually intended to be models for how education could happen in any or all public schools,” she says.
Bearhead says when the students see themselves reflected in the content they’re learning, they have a better chance of relating to it and absorbing it.
By making the students the centre of the system, educators can focus on the whole child, not just the content they’re supposed to be learning. She says each student has different strengths, weaknesses, interests, and paths. In their school, they plan to help students excel at their strengths, offer support for their weaknesses, and encourage their interests and plans.
Another important part of education is offering the students a safe space.
“If kids are terrified, if kids are being bullied, if kids don’t feel safe, how can they focus on learning?” says Bearhead. “That’s just human instinct. That’s survival.”
She says if students are feeling ostracized, alienated, or left out, it’s more challenging for them to learn.
Roots of Resilience will also offer hands-on learning for students. This experiential learning will be land-based, which means there will be more of a balance between indoor and outdoor learning. She says there are many different areas of the curriculum that can be taught outdoors beyond science and physical education.
“For me, when you do something, rather than just read about it or hear about it, it becomes ingrained in you,” she says.
Snow says she wants to see children in the area have an opportunity to choose an education that best suits them.
“I think it just gives them a great basis for success later on in life,” says Snow.
Grade 4: Let's learn about the Newspaper
What is a newspaper?
A newspaper is a collection of stories, photos, advertisements, columns and letters that represent the collective news and mood of your community at a given point in time.
Types of Newspaper
National Newspapers: National Post, Globe and Mail
Provincial Newspapers: Edmonton Journals, Calgary Harold
Regional/Local Newspapers: That Us! Often locally owned, family started and some are 60-100 years old.
Other Regional:
Activity 1: Get to know the newspaper
Activity: Seek and Find
What you need: 1 piece of paper, 1 pencil, 1 Free Press Newspaper
- Get into teams of 4
- On a piece of paper write down numbers 1-5
- Find these 5 things in the paper
- Bring your answers up to me and shake the bottle when you’re done
- Fastest team gets a prize
And Go....
- What is the tagline under the “Free Press” masthead on pg. 1?
- Who wrote the letter about the ski hill?
- Who took the photo on pg. 11?
- Name one business in the business directory?
- Who is the editor of newspaper (name): _____________
Getting in front of eyeballs: How is the newspaper distributed?
Making sure the newspaper is seen is a big part of having a local newspaper. Distribution channels helps to make this happen. The Free Press has 3 distribution channels.
1. Email Subscriptions
2. Canada Post mail subscriptions
3. Free pickup in retail locations
Fact Checking and Credtiability
“Thou shalt not lie.” Why do you think it is important not to lie?
Creditability is the foundation of any newspaper. If your readers cannot trust what you are writing you won’t have an audience for long. This is why our editor spend much of his time fact checking, and rechecking facts in the stories we publish.
Activity 2: Examine a story
Read: “Councillor Responds to Allegations”
What are some facts in this story that needed to be checked?
Activity 3: Telephone fact checking
- Get into 2 long lines
- Teacher select 2 people to be “fact checkers”
- Beginning at the start whisper message into your neighbours ear, and continue down the line.
- Once the message gets to a fact checker, the fact checker will give a thumbs up to continue telephone if the message is correct or go back to the start of the line to restart the telephone if the message is incorrect.
Here are some sources we use to check facts:
Call people to confirm information
Voice record interviews
Use multiple sources
Discussion: What ways can you check the facts for school projects?
Jobs at a newspaper
Running a newspaper requires a team. Each person contributes to the success of the paper. Below are some jobs that people have to making a successful local newspaper.
Activity 4: Who does what?
In groups of 4 go to PAGE 1 and PAGE 9 of the newspaper and label who did what.
E = Editor
R = Reporter
GD = Graphic Designer
C = Columnist
S = Sales
Activity 5: Conducting an Interview Speed Style
Interviewing people is a major job of a newspaper reporter. To conduct a good interview you need these three elements:
1. Questions; open ended
2. Paper and pen, or recorder
3. Listening ears and eyes
Open Ended Questions
Open ended questions are questions that get people talking. The are not yes or no questions. They are “How,” “Who,” and “What” questions.
Example: How did you feel winning the basketball game? What inspired you to write that story?
Never go to a newspaper interview without a recording device; Paper, pen, voice recorder or texting device. Reporters often quote and paraphrase their subjects and accuracy is key.
Quote: “I love to teach,” Kormysh said.
Paraphrase: Kormysh said she loves teahing.
Recording Tool
Active listening
Active listening means you are listening with your ears (close your mouth), your eyes and your body language. The key to a good interview is to get the other person talking this means you have to stop talking.
Speed Interview Game
- Take out a piece of paper.
2. Write down 1 open ended question you can ask your classmates
3. Break out in to two lines
4. When I say go, line A is going to ask classmates your question and record the answer.
5. Line A takes A step to the Right, and Line B asks their classmates their question.
6. Record their answers.
7. Discussion: How was your experience? How accurate did you record?
Final Activity 6: Photo and Feedback
Take the handout and answer the following question.
A. What is one thing I learned about the newspaper?
B. Gather for a Group Photo
Police in Drayton Valley have seen an increase in the last year of arrests made under the Mental Health Act. Earlier this month Staff Sergeant Ryan Hoetmer told town council that calls of that type have seen a steady increase over the past several years, and they remain a big drain on resources for the Town.
Hoetmer explained that when the officers take somebody into custody under the act, they then take that person to the Centennial Centre for Mental Health in Ponoka. He says the drive itself eats up several hours of the officer’s time, but they also have to wait until staff at the centre take over.
He said the Centennial Centre has been working to make the intake process more efficient. In the past, officers have had to wait a couple of hours. Now, he says they make a call when they are on their way, and usually the intake is complete within half an hour.
When asked how long people are kept at the hospital, Hoetmer explained that they were normally kept for a week or two. At most, he believes they might be kept for a month.
Many of their calls under the Mental Health Act are from people the RCMP are already aware of, and Hoetmer says it can be a challenge keeping on top of those cases.
He says the RCMP bring the subject into the hospital. Once they are deemed healthy enough to depart, the person is often sent back to their community in a cab. After that, the individuals are in the same position they were in prior to the process beginning.
“I’m a big believer that there’s a bit of a gap there,” said Hoetmer. “When they are sent in a cab back to Drayton, they’re put back into the same position as before. There is no follow up program or some place for them to go in between.”
He said often RCMP watch the individuals as their mental health slowly declines until they have the grounds to apprehend them again.
Councillor Amila Gammana asked Hoetmer if he felt the reason people were being released on such a short timeline was due to a lack of resources. Hoetmer said he wasn’t sure what the reason for it was and that Alberta Health Services would better be able to answer that.
“I would hope it’s not a resourcing concern, that when the doctor is making their determination they are healthy enough to leave the facility,” he said. “But they have pressures, I’m sure, just like everybody else.”
Mayor Nancy Dodds asked Hoetmer if he’d seen an increase in resources since the new pillar ministries had been put into place, but Hoetmer says thus far they haven’t seen a change.
“We still have our one [Regional Police and Crisis Team] that operates out of Rocky, but as I’ve talked about before they are in our community maybe once a week,” said Hoetmer.
This means if there is an emergent issue that requires a response, the RPACT are not the ones who are responding to the call. It is instead left to the members of the Drayton Valley detachment.
“They do lots of follow up for us, but it’s our members that are doing the apprehensions and are going to the crisis when it’s happening,” said Hoetmer.
Moving to a new place can be stressful even if you are only moving one town over, but if you’re coming in from a different country, it can be overwhelming.
Verna Wicks, with Drayton Valley Community Learning (DVCL), is working together with other organizations in the community to build a Newcomers Support Team. The group is geared toward connecting people moving to the town or county with services they will need to get established.
What might feel like common sense to many people is not so easy for New Canadians. If they aren’t fluent in English or don’t know anyone in the area, setting up basics, like bank accounts and getting set up with Alberta Health Care could seem nearly impossible.
Wicks says interested parties decided to offer those supports early in 2024, but it wasn’t until DVCL received some grant funding last fall that they were able to hire someone for the group.
She says there are a number of groups who have been involved in setting up the team, including Family and Community Support Services, Alberta Health Services, the Multicultural Association, the library, the Town, the Chamber of Commerce, the Alberta Government, and many members of the public.
Similar to the Youth Hub, the support team is aiming to be a one stop connection point for newcomers. Wicks says the goal is to open a welcome centre that they can be directed to. At the centre, the newcomers will be connected with people and services in the community to help get them settled in.
Along with information and support, Wicks says they hope to also be able to give out a care package.
“We’re hoping that we’ll have some supplies for them if they need clothing or things for babies,” says Wicks.
The team would also like to host social events to help them meet new people. Last fall, they held their first welcoming event.
“That was open to newcomers and people from the community who wanted to welcome them,” she says.
Right now, the team is looking around the area to see which services are already being offered. Then, if they find any gaps, they can step up and provide something to meet those needs.
They are also putting together a document that can be given to immigrants in the community. She says it will contain a lot of basic information including contacts for different religious groups, and contacts for community and emergency services.
Wicks says there’s also a balance that the team needs to find. Right now there are many newcomers coming to the community. Some are refugees, some are looking for work, and others are coming through programs like the Rural Renewal Stream. However, the amount of newcomers may not always be so high.
She says there are also concerns about steady government funding. Recently, the federal government announced they would be cutting back on funding for support services for new immigrants. While the brunt of that will likely be felt in larger centres, Wicks says it’s making them cautious about asking for funds from any level of government.
The grant the team received in 2024 was renewed for 2025, but they won’t know for sure if it’s renewed for 2026 late 2025 or early 2026.
Anyone looking for more information about the team or the support they provide can reach out to Wicks at settlementservices@dvcommunitylearning.ca.
All good things must come to an end. The Drayton Valley Community Bus Association, which has been a fixture in the area since the 1970s, has ceased operations.
In an interview with the Free Press last week, Wendell Smith, the association’s treasurer, said a number of factors played a part in the decision to close effective December 21 last year. The majority of those factors revolved around increasing expenses and declining ridership.
“Diesel fuel is higher, insurance is higher. People don’t want to pay,” he said.
The bus association has played an important part in the growth of Drayton Valley. It was incorporated in May of 1973 by local business owners who were concerned about highway safety and who wanted to contribute something positive to the community.
“They bought a bus and founded the bus association and it’s been running ever since,” said Smith.
Over the last half century the bus association has covered hundreds of thousands of kilometres taking local residents to events across this part of Alberta and further afield. Many of those journeys were on school field trips or for minor hockey or other sports. Smith, who has been driving since 2001, said he’s happy to have played a part in the lives of so many local residents and is proud of the association’s record for getting people where they needed to be.
“We drove the Thunder for 25 years,” he said. “In all those years we were never late for an out of town game.”
Smith says at one point the association operated as many as “six or seven” buses. However, changing times have seen increasing numbers of potential riders using their own vehicles to attend out of town events. In recent years the number of buses operated by the association decreased to three; a 58 passenger coach, a 21 passenger mini bus and a 44 passenger school bus. Declining demand for busing means that those vehicles will now be put up for sale.
“The economy is hurting everybody,” he said. “If the economy isn’t booming people don’t have the money to hire a bus. I can’t blame any business for not using the service … The money’s just not there.”
After concerns raised at a pair of public meetings late last year, interim CAO for Drayton Valley, Pat Vincent, demonstrated the Town’s commitment to businesses and residents by presenting council with a detailed report that spoke to a range of issues at the last Governance and Priorities meeting.
Erik Bergen, a local business owner, came forward on November 20 with a presentation he had put together after having two open meetings with businesses in the community earlier in the fall. In his presentation, Bergen highlighted three main areas of concern: the homeless population, Town services and communications, and the free enterprise market in the community.
Bergen outlined several of those concerns as well as possible solutions for council to consider.
In the report Vincent brought forward, there were five separate responses from management involved in the areas that the businesses had issue with.
Enforcement services touched on several areas brought forth by Bergen. This included listing the various bylaws and acts that already addressed many of the areas of concern with the homeless population. The Community Standards Bylaw, the Municipal Government Act, and provincial trespassing legislation combined cover sleeping in public places, public disruption, loitering, public urination and defecation, unauthorized encampments, open fire, storage of personal items, and dumpster diving.
Cody Rossing, the manager of enforcement services and emergency management, also outlined areas that the Town could consider to help bolster the current laws surrounding those issues, such as amendments to the Outdoor Restrictions Burning bylaw and some possible amendments to the Community Standards Bylaw.
Rossing also explained that Drayton Valley could not create its own lower level court system to deal with petty crimes. However, he did say the community could petition for more court dates in Drayton Valley, which would allow more time for the courts to deal with all matters.
“Currently, with the scheduling at the Drayton Valley Court of Justice, trial dates are occurring on the same days for criminal code matters, provincial matters and municipal bylaw matters,” he says in his report. “This often results in lower-level offences either being withdrawn, or deals made to have the lower-level items removed so time can be focused on criminal code matters.”
As far as public safety in regards to needles, Rossing says they received only one call in 2023 from a business owner. In the past six months the Town’s Occupational Health and Safety Department only had four reports of Town staff locating needles.
Lola Strand, the manager of community services for the Town, spoke to the number of homeless individuals in the community and the efforts made to address the issue.
She mentioned the 2023 study done by the Rural Development Network, that found there were more than 8,300 individuals in rural Alberta dealing with some sort of housing issue. In Drayton, there were 28 people without homes, 25 people accessing emergency shelters such as the shelter pods or warming hearts, 83 people who were provisionally accommodated through things like couch surfing, and 140 individuals who were at risk of homelessness due to precarious housing.
Strand spoke to the strain enforcement services were dealing with in regard to responding to complaints of unsheltered people. She says the Town received a grant to hire a Community Outreach Worker who is communicating with at-risk individuals to help connect them to resources.
She also pointed out that along with the temporary emergency shelters the Town has put into place, there are also 26 affordable housing units in the community. Humans Helping Humans, the local organization that currently runs the shelter pods, has also built nine homes with grants, donations, and volunteers that have helped 19 families move into the regular housing market.
Strand also suggested the Town could work with the province to build halfway houses, or using grant money to purchase seacans, or trailers that can provide shelters in the encampment around the landfill that many of the homeless population are currently using.
Jenn Stone with intergovernmental relations and communication for the Town, outlined the different ways that the Town communicates with its residents.
The Town has a threefold approach to communication: traditional media, social media, and direct communication.
With advertisements and news stories, the Town works with the Drayton Valley Free Press and Big West Country 92.9. They also have pages on social media, the Town’s website, and YouTube. The electronic sign located at 50 Street and 50 Avenue is also used for communications. On top of those methods, the Town has held open houses, public hearings, direct mail, and door-to-door notices.
By using these different options, the Town is providing several different methods of communication for all age demographics.
Public works also responded to the grievances in the report, specifically in regard to the insect population, weed control, and snow removal.
When it comes to pesticides and herbicides, the individual applying the substances has to be certified and trained in the use of the chemicals. If at any point the Town doesn’t have many employees that meet those criteria, it can be difficult for them to keep up with the applications.
When it comes to insects, the Town only sprays for stinging insects in public spaces. They work to stay on top of the issues and will follow up to check on activity. They also use the public portal the Town provides through their website, to learn about any issues that residents have raised a concern with.
Spraying for weeds also has its challenges. There are limited time frames in which the application will be effective, such as when the weeds are actively growing. Then they also have to work around the weather, as it won’t be as effective if it’s raining. If those two requirements are met, the Town also has to consider any events going on and provide notices to nearby businesses and residents before they begin spraying.
For snow removal on sidewalks, the Town currently clears 53.4 km of asphalt trails and sidewalks in the community. Prior to 2022, the Town was clearing sidewalks in the downtown core, however, an amendment to the snow removal policy in November 2022 removed the downtown core from areas to be cleared.
Public works says if they were to be responsible for removing snow from all sidewalks in the community, they would have to double their staff and equipment to keep up with it. They say it is a common issue with many municipalities and one that is becoming more and more challenging.
The report also addressed the business owners’ concerns surrounding a free market in the community.
Peter Vana, the interim general manager for planning and growth development in the community, says there are legal limits to what the Town can do in regards to limiting businesses.
Vana says the Municipal Government Act grants municipalities the power to regulate businesses, but not prohibit businesses. Vana provided examples of land use regulations in several communities to show the different ways that the issue can be approached.
Along with that, Vana made some suggestions that might help to alleviate the issue, such as making restaurants a discretionary use in all districts, providing varying business license fees, partnering with local businesses to help give them better strategies to succeed.
However, Vana also pointed out some issues with picking a particular sector to regulate. He says were the Town to put in regulations on franchises in the food industry, it should be applied to all industries across the board, including oil and gas, as well as retail, as companies like Walmart or Canadian Tire could be seen as a threat to local businesses.
Vana also mentions that many franchises are owned by local residents, so they are in many ways, just like other local businesses.
Other problems with restricting franchises that Vana brought forward included that the public would like to have competition as it offers options and keeps prices lower. He also pointed out, using pizza restaurants as an example, that there are eight restaurants that mainly sell pizza, nine other restaurants that sell pizza as a sideline, and two other businesses that occasionally sell pizza as well.
Vana questions whether or not the Town would have to be completely aware of the different items each restaurant sells when deciding whether a business should be allowed or not.
Council accepted the report as information after asking several questions of the departments. Vincent says he made the businesses aware the report was being discussed at the meeting, but there were no representatives for council to ask questions of.
The local poppy campaign raises around $25,000 annually. That money is used to support area veterans in need of assistance and to help fund projects such as the CT scanner at the Drayton Valley hospital, which are of use to both veterans and the public at large.
Another new feature of this year’s campaign are lawn signs which are available through the Drayton Valley branch for $20. Cavanagh says they can either be taken home or placed in front of the cenotaph as a show of support and remembrance.
“It would be nice to cover that whole area,” he says.
There will be no indoor service on Remembrance Day this year but Cavanagh says the outdoor ceremony will proceed as usual on November 11, regardless of the weather. For those unable to attend in person the event will be streamed on Facebook as it was last year.
Also on Remembrance Day, the names of nine local veterans will be added to the Wall of Honour next to the cenotaph. Those are;
Private P. Jenkins
L. Cpl A. Armstrong
Lt. W G R Johanneson
L. Cpl R E Coutu
Steward J P Millar
Sgt. A W Lee
Private I Haight
Flt. Lt A Bouschard
Sig. D F Gerow
This is the first time is several years that new names have been added to the wall.
“We’ll continue to do it every Remembrance Day,” says Cavanagh.
Charter school proposal moving forward
Roots of Resilience aims to open a public charter school in Drayton Valley, Alberta, blending Indigenous knowledge with holistic education for all K-12 students.
Mental health calls drain resources
Drayton Valley RCMP see rising Mental Health Act arrests, straining resources. Mental health crisis intervention in Alberta needs improvement.
Support group for new Canadians
Verna Wicks, with Drayton Valley Community Learning (DVCL), is working together with other organizations in the community to build a Newcomers Support Team.
Bus association reaches end of the road
The Drayton Valley Community Bus Association, which has been a fixture in the area since the 1970s, has ceased operations.
The school year has not been smooth sailing for the custodial and administrative staff at Frank Maddock High School as there have been a number of incidents of vandalism.
Much of it appears to be linked to a social media challenge issued in September, called Devious Licks.
The challenge has been taken on by students across North America and has seen many arrests.
The vandalism has hit several schools in the Wild Rose School Division since the beginning of the year. “It was basic vandalism that was irritating, but it seemed manageable,” says WRSD Superintendent Brad Volkman.
St. Anthony Catholic Church
Welcome to St. Anthony’s Parish Drayton Valley . You are most welcome to join the
Dr. Chris Birchall Dentistry
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All Saints Anglican Church
We participate in the Anglican Liturgy, which comforts and sustains us. Many have said that
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He says the challenge encouraged students to share their participation on social media.
The vandalism in the other schools has died down, but FMHS is still dealing with the issue. However, Volkman says it’s taken a different turn. “It went into a strange direction of trying to be as gross as you can,” he says.
Volkman says vandalism isn’t as much of a concern anymore. Rather, there are students who are defecating and urinating in places other than toilets and urinals. Some of the bodily fluids are then smeared all over the walls in the bathroom.
“The majority of the students who want to safely use the washroom are starting to feel nervous. They don’t know what they’re going to be walking into,” he says.
The school still isn’t sure who is causing the problem. Volkman says the school has also seen an increase of kids in the halls when they shouldn’t be, whether they are skipping class or just wandering around when on their spares, which makes it difficult to determine who’s responsible.
In an effort to prevent this, they have introduced a hall pass. Students can use an electronic hall pass, where they quickly scan a QR code and fill out a form which will get emailed to them. If they are uncomfortable using the QR code, there are physical hall passes they can take with them.
“The majority of the students who want to safely use the washroom are starting to feel nervous. They don’t know what they’re going to be walking into,”
After principal Dr. Lara Jollymore announced the implementation of the new hall pass system the school and the division received backlash from students and parents.
The situation got so heated that someone started a petition on www.Change.org to have Jollymore fired. There were several hundred digital signatures on the petition, along with some comments that seemed to focus on Jollymore in a more personal manner.
Volkman says he’s been working closely with Jollymore in regards to the hall pass and increased supervision. He says he’s very supportive of her actions, as is the Parent Council.
“Instituting a hall pass is actually not new to schools in Alberta. There are many schools who are currently using them,” says Volkman.
Volkman says he believes that part of the issue was that they are using QR codes. He wants parents to understand that the school is not collecting any information on students. They are only having students partake in a digital hall pass.
“I think that some people think we’re tracking students to some degree, but that’s not the case. [The electronic pass] is the exact same as a paper hall pass, except it’s on the student’s phone,” he says.
He says all that the code does is record when the student leaves class and when they get back to class. “We’re trying to keep our bathrooms and hallways safe during a time when things seem to be a little bit off,” he says.
Members of local indigenous groups are working toward opening a charter school with the goal of offering students an education that goes beyond academics.
Charlene Bearhead, a member of the board for the Roots of Resilience not-for-profit society, says the group is applying to the Minister of Education to be able to open a charter school in Drayton Valley, with a goal of opening in September.
The society is hosting an information night on February 13 from 5-7:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express.
Bearhead says her 40 years of working in education has made it clear that the system is failing children and staff as human beings.
“I’m always a big believer in doing the best you can to try to work with what exists already and do what you can to help guide that,” says Bearhead.
She worked within the system, and recently served as a school board trustee, but she says people weren’t ready to progress with changes she feels need to be made.
The goal of opening the charter school is to offer a learning experience that encompasses a child’s entire wellbeing, including mental and spiritual health, along with teaching Alberta’s curriculum. While the students will learn from methods that indigenous people have always used for passing on knowledge, Bearhead says the school isn’t just open to indigenous children. Any child in the area from Kindergarten to grade 12 will be welcome to attend.
One thing that Bearhead wants the public to be aware of regarding charter schools is that they are still public schools. Roots of Resilience will be funded in the same manner that Wild Rose School Division and the St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic School Division are.
“One lady said to me, ‘This sounds so amazing Charlene, but I really struggle with anything that takes away from public schools,’” says Bearhead. “I had to say to her ‘This is public education. This is public school.’”
She says there are only provisions for charter schools in Alberta. Charter schools receive the same funding for facilities, transportations, and other expenses, and the same requirements to follow the Alberta curriculum and the Education Act. Just like any other public school, parents do not have to pay extra to enrol their children in a charter school.
“But they are intended to be schools of choice,” says Bearhead. “They give parents and kids a choice in their education.”
However, charter schools are not without controversy. According to the website of Alberta Teachers’ Association, “there is only one pot of money for schools in Alberta. When money is diverted to private and charter schools, it leaves public schools in a funding shortfall.”
Bearhead says charter schools have to offer a unique approach to education that isn’t available in the geographic area. Bearhead says it’s important to the RoR society to define the holistic success for the school, which means the students will be doing better in body, mind, and soul, as well as academically.
She says that pushing people hard to do well academically while ignoring all other aspects of the student’s progress doesn’t work well. For Bearhead, it’s important for educators to meet the students where they’re at, value them as human beings, offer them a safe environment, and offer opportunities for the students to see themselves reflected in what is being taught.
Along with the regular curriculum, Bearhead says they plan to offer language programs for those who are interested in learning the language of their ancestors to help those students connect with their heritage.
Wendy Snow, the Interim District Captain in the Otipemisiwak Metis Government for District Eight and member of the RoR society, says she feels her own children would have benefitted from what the proposed school will be offering.
Snow says she has two children as well as a niece that she is the guardian of. With all three of them going to school in Drayton, she says they went to almost every school in the community.
“I found that it was very lacking as far as teaching to our culture,” says Snow.
She says every year she would fill out the demographic forms, indicating that her children were indigenous, knowing that the school division would get additional funding for those students.
“I found that all of the funding in the Wild Rose School Division went to Rocky Mountain House,” she says. “All the programming, all the culture stuff, everything went to Rocky Mountain House.”
Like Bearhead, Snow wanted to work with the system and try to help improve things. She ran twice for school board trustee, but did not get elected.
“I’ve always wanted to see more funding and programming and culture stuff in this area, just like there is in Rocky Mountain House,” says Snow.
Bearhead says the RoR school will resonate with indigenous children.
“An indigenous pedagogy, or approach to education, is about physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual [well-being]. Whatever that means to you. Everyone is indigenous to somewhere,” says Bearhead.
She says public charter schools are smaller and have unique approaches to education.
“They are actually intended to be models for how education could happen in any or all public schools,” she says.
Bearhead says when the students see themselves reflected in the content they’re learning, they have a better chance of relating to it and absorbing it.
By making the students the centre of the system, educators can focus on the whole child, not just the content they’re supposed to be learning. She says each student has different strengths, weaknesses, interests, and paths. In their school, they plan to help students excel at their strengths, offer support for their weaknesses, and encourage their interests and plans.
Another important part of education is offering the students a safe space.
“If kids are terrified, if kids are being bullied, if kids don’t feel safe, how can they focus on learning?” says Bearhead. “That’s just human instinct. That’s survival.”
She says if students are feeling ostracized, alienated, or left out, it’s more challenging for them to learn.
Roots of Resilience will also offer hands-on learning for students. This experiential learning will be land-based, which means there will be more of a balance between indoor and outdoor learning. She says there are many different areas of the curriculum that can be taught outdoors beyond science and physical education.
“For me, when you do something, rather than just read about it or hear about it, it becomes ingrained in you,” she says.
Snow says she wants to see children in the area have an opportunity to choose an education that best suits them.
“I think it just gives them a great basis for success later on in life,” says Snow.
Grade 4: Let's learn about the Newspaper
What is a newspaper?
A newspaper is a collection of stories, photos, advertisements, columns and letters that represent the collective news and mood of your community at a given point in time.
Types of Newspaper
National Newspapers: National Post, Globe and Mail
Provincial Newspapers: Edmonton Journals, Calgary Harold
Regional/Local Newspapers: That Us! Often locally owned, family started and some are 60-100 years old.
Other Regional:
Activity 1: Get to know the newspaper
Activity: Seek and Find
What you need: 1 piece of paper, 1 pencil, 1 Free Press Newspaper
- Get into teams of 4
- On a piece of paper write down numbers 1-5
- Find these 5 things in the paper
- Bring your answers up to me and shake the bottle when you’re done
- Fastest team gets a prize
And Go....
- What is the tagline under the “Free Press” masthead on pg. 1?
- Who wrote the letter about the ski hill?
- Who took the photo on pg. 11?
- Name one business in the business directory?
- Who is the editor of newspaper (name): _____________
Getting in front of eyeballs: How is the newspaper distributed?
Making sure the newspaper is seen is a big part of having a local newspaper. Distribution channels helps to make this happen. The Free Press has 3 distribution channels.
1. Email Subscriptions
2. Canada Post mail subscriptions
3. Free pickup in retail locations
Fact Checking and Credtiability
“Thou shalt not lie.” Why do you think it is important not to lie?
Creditability is the foundation of any newspaper. If your readers cannot trust what you are writing you won’t have an audience for long. This is why our editor spend much of his time fact checking, and rechecking facts in the stories we publish.
Activity 2: Examine a story
Read: “Councillor Responds to Allegations”
What are some facts in this story that needed to be checked?
Activity 3: Telephone fact checking
- Get into 2 long lines
- Teacher select 2 people to be “fact checkers”
- Beginning at the start whisper message into your neighbours ear, and continue down the line.
- Once the message gets to a fact checker, the fact checker will give a thumbs up to continue telephone if the message is correct or go back to the start of the line to restart the telephone if the message is incorrect.
Here are some sources we use to check facts:
Call people to confirm information
Voice record interviews
Use multiple sources
Discussion: What ways can you check the facts for school projects?
Jobs at a newspaper
Running a newspaper requires a team. Each person contributes to the success of the paper. Below are some jobs that people have to making a successful local newspaper.
Activity 4: Who does what?
In groups of 4 go to PAGE 1 and PAGE 9 of the newspaper and label who did what.
E = Editor
R = Reporter
GD = Graphic Designer
C = Columnist
S = Sales
Activity 5: Conducting an Interview Speed Style
Interviewing people is a major job of a newspaper reporter. To conduct a good interview you need these three elements:
1. Questions; open ended
2. Paper and pen, or recorder
3. Listening ears and eyes
Open Ended Questions
Open ended questions are questions that get people talking. The are not yes or no questions. They are “How,” “Who,” and “What” questions.
Example: How did you feel winning the basketball game? What inspired you to write that story?
Never go to a newspaper interview without a recording device; Paper, pen, voice recorder or texting device. Reporters often quote and paraphrase their subjects and accuracy is key.
Quote: “I love to teach,” Kormysh said.
Paraphrase: Kormysh said she loves teahing.
Recording Tool
Active listening
Active listening means you are listening with your ears (close your mouth), your eyes and your body language. The key to a good interview is to get the other person talking this means you have to stop talking.
Speed Interview Game
- Take out a piece of paper.
2. Write down 1 open ended question you can ask your classmates
3. Break out in to two lines
4. When I say go, line A is going to ask classmates your question and record the answer.
5. Line A takes A step to the Right, and Line B asks their classmates their question.
6. Record their answers.
7. Discussion: How was your experience? How accurate did you record?
Final Activity 6: Photo and Feedback
Take the handout and answer the following question.
A. What is one thing I learned about the newspaper?
B. Gather for a Group Photo
Police in Drayton Valley have seen an increase in the last year of arrests made under the Mental Health Act. Earlier this month Staff Sergeant Ryan Hoetmer told town council that calls of that type have seen a steady increase over the past several years, and they remain a big drain on resources for the Town.
Hoetmer explained that when the officers take somebody into custody under the act, they then take that person to the Centennial Centre for Mental Health in Ponoka. He says the drive itself eats up several hours of the officer’s time, but they also have to wait until staff at the centre take over.
He said the Centennial Centre has been working to make the intake process more efficient. In the past, officers have had to wait a couple of hours. Now, he says they make a call when they are on their way, and usually the intake is complete within half an hour.
When asked how long people are kept at the hospital, Hoetmer explained that they were normally kept for a week or two. At most, he believes they might be kept for a month.
Many of their calls under the Mental Health Act are from people the RCMP are already aware of, and Hoetmer says it can be a challenge keeping on top of those cases.
He says the RCMP bring the subject into the hospital. Once they are deemed healthy enough to depart, the person is often sent back to their community in a cab. After that, the individuals are in the same position they were in prior to the process beginning.
“I’m a big believer that there’s a bit of a gap there,” said Hoetmer. “When they are sent in a cab back to Drayton, they’re put back into the same position as before. There is no follow up program or some place for them to go in between.”
He said often RCMP watch the individuals as their mental health slowly declines until they have the grounds to apprehend them again.
Councillor Amila Gammana asked Hoetmer if he felt the reason people were being released on such a short timeline was due to a lack of resources. Hoetmer said he wasn’t sure what the reason for it was and that Alberta Health Services would better be able to answer that.
“I would hope it’s not a resourcing concern, that when the doctor is making their determination they are healthy enough to leave the facility,” he said. “But they have pressures, I’m sure, just like everybody else.”
Mayor Nancy Dodds asked Hoetmer if he’d seen an increase in resources since the new pillar ministries had been put into place, but Hoetmer says thus far they haven’t seen a change.
“We still have our one [Regional Police and Crisis Team] that operates out of Rocky, but as I’ve talked about before they are in our community maybe once a week,” said Hoetmer.
This means if there is an emergent issue that requires a response, the RPACT are not the ones who are responding to the call. It is instead left to the members of the Drayton Valley detachment.
“They do lots of follow up for us, but it’s our members that are doing the apprehensions and are going to the crisis when it’s happening,” said Hoetmer.
Moving to a new place can be stressful even if you are only moving one town over, but if you’re coming in from a different country, it can be overwhelming.
Verna Wicks, with Drayton Valley Community Learning (DVCL), is working together with other organizations in the community to build a Newcomers Support Team. The group is geared toward connecting people moving to the town or county with services they will need to get established.
What might feel like common sense to many people is not so easy for New Canadians. If they aren’t fluent in English or don’t know anyone in the area, setting up basics, like bank accounts and getting set up with Alberta Health Care could seem nearly impossible.
Wicks says interested parties decided to offer those supports early in 2024, but it wasn’t until DVCL received some grant funding last fall that they were able to hire someone for the group.
She says there are a number of groups who have been involved in setting up the team, including Family and Community Support Services, Alberta Health Services, the Multicultural Association, the library, the Town, the Chamber of Commerce, the Alberta Government, and many members of the public.
Similar to the Youth Hub, the support team is aiming to be a one stop connection point for newcomers. Wicks says the goal is to open a welcome centre that they can be directed to. At the centre, the newcomers will be connected with people and services in the community to help get them settled in.
Along with information and support, Wicks says they hope to also be able to give out a care package.
“We’re hoping that we’ll have some supplies for them if they need clothing or things for babies,” says Wicks.
The team would also like to host social events to help them meet new people. Last fall, they held their first welcoming event.
“That was open to newcomers and people from the community who wanted to welcome them,” she says.
Right now, the team is looking around the area to see which services are already being offered. Then, if they find any gaps, they can step up and provide something to meet those needs.
They are also putting together a document that can be given to immigrants in the community. She says it will contain a lot of basic information including contacts for different religious groups, and contacts for community and emergency services.
Wicks says there’s also a balance that the team needs to find. Right now there are many newcomers coming to the community. Some are refugees, some are looking for work, and others are coming through programs like the Rural Renewal Stream. However, the amount of newcomers may not always be so high.
She says there are also concerns about steady government funding. Recently, the federal government announced they would be cutting back on funding for support services for new immigrants. While the brunt of that will likely be felt in larger centres, Wicks says it’s making them cautious about asking for funds from any level of government.
The grant the team received in 2024 was renewed for 2025, but they won’t know for sure if it’s renewed for 2026 late 2025 or early 2026.
Anyone looking for more information about the team or the support they provide can reach out to Wicks at settlementservices@dvcommunitylearning.ca.
All good things must come to an end. The Drayton Valley Community Bus Association, which has been a fixture in the area since the 1970s, has ceased operations.
In an interview with the Free Press last week, Wendell Smith, the association’s treasurer, said a number of factors played a part in the decision to close effective December 21 last year. The majority of those factors revolved around increasing expenses and declining ridership.
“Diesel fuel is higher, insurance is higher. People don’t want to pay,” he said.
The bus association has played an important part in the growth of Drayton Valley. It was incorporated in May of 1973 by local business owners who were concerned about highway safety and who wanted to contribute something positive to the community.
“They bought a bus and founded the bus association and it’s been running ever since,” said Smith.
Over the last half century the bus association has covered hundreds of thousands of kilometres taking local residents to events across this part of Alberta and further afield. Many of those journeys were on school field trips or for minor hockey or other sports. Smith, who has been driving since 2001, said he’s happy to have played a part in the lives of so many local residents and is proud of the association’s record for getting people where they needed to be.
“We drove the Thunder for 25 years,” he said. “In all those years we were never late for an out of town game.”
Smith says at one point the association operated as many as “six or seven” buses. However, changing times have seen increasing numbers of potential riders using their own vehicles to attend out of town events. In recent years the number of buses operated by the association decreased to three; a 58 passenger coach, a 21 passenger mini bus and a 44 passenger school bus. Declining demand for busing means that those vehicles will now be put up for sale.
“The economy is hurting everybody,” he said. “If the economy isn’t booming people don’t have the money to hire a bus. I can’t blame any business for not using the service … The money’s just not there.”
After concerns raised at a pair of public meetings late last year, interim CAO for Drayton Valley, Pat Vincent, demonstrated the Town’s commitment to businesses and residents by presenting council with a detailed report that spoke to a range of issues at the last Governance and Priorities meeting.
Erik Bergen, a local business owner, came forward on November 20 with a presentation he had put together after having two open meetings with businesses in the community earlier in the fall. In his presentation, Bergen highlighted three main areas of concern: the homeless population, Town services and communications, and the free enterprise market in the community.
Bergen outlined several of those concerns as well as possible solutions for council to consider.
In the report Vincent brought forward, there were five separate responses from management involved in the areas that the businesses had issue with.
Enforcement services touched on several areas brought forth by Bergen. This included listing the various bylaws and acts that already addressed many of the areas of concern with the homeless population. The Community Standards Bylaw, the Municipal Government Act, and provincial trespassing legislation combined cover sleeping in public places, public disruption, loitering, public urination and defecation, unauthorized encampments, open fire, storage of personal items, and dumpster diving.
Cody Rossing, the manager of enforcement services and emergency management, also outlined areas that the Town could consider to help bolster the current laws surrounding those issues, such as amendments to the Outdoor Restrictions Burning bylaw and some possible amendments to the Community Standards Bylaw.
Rossing also explained that Drayton Valley could not create its own lower level court system to deal with petty crimes. However, he did say the community could petition for more court dates in Drayton Valley, which would allow more time for the courts to deal with all matters.
“Currently, with the scheduling at the Drayton Valley Court of Justice, trial dates are occurring on the same days for criminal code matters, provincial matters and municipal bylaw matters,” he says in his report. “This often results in lower-level offences either being withdrawn, or deals made to have the lower-level items removed so time can be focused on criminal code matters.”
As far as public safety in regards to needles, Rossing says they received only one call in 2023 from a business owner. In the past six months the Town’s Occupational Health and Safety Department only had four reports of Town staff locating needles.
Lola Strand, the manager of community services for the Town, spoke to the number of homeless individuals in the community and the efforts made to address the issue.
She mentioned the 2023 study done by the Rural Development Network, that found there were more than 8,300 individuals in rural Alberta dealing with some sort of housing issue. In Drayton, there were 28 people without homes, 25 people accessing emergency shelters such as the shelter pods or warming hearts, 83 people who were provisionally accommodated through things like couch surfing, and 140 individuals who were at risk of homelessness due to precarious housing.
Strand spoke to the strain enforcement services were dealing with in regard to responding to complaints of unsheltered people. She says the Town received a grant to hire a Community Outreach Worker who is communicating with at-risk individuals to help connect them to resources.
She also pointed out that along with the temporary emergency shelters the Town has put into place, there are also 26 affordable housing units in the community. Humans Helping Humans, the local organization that currently runs the shelter pods, has also built nine homes with grants, donations, and volunteers that have helped 19 families move into the regular housing market.
Strand also suggested the Town could work with the province to build halfway houses, or using grant money to purchase seacans, or trailers that can provide shelters in the encampment around the landfill that many of the homeless population are currently using.
Jenn Stone with intergovernmental relations and communication for the Town, outlined the different ways that the Town communicates with its residents.
The Town has a threefold approach to communication: traditional media, social media, and direct communication.
With advertisements and news stories, the Town works with the Drayton Valley Free Press and Big West Country 92.9. They also have pages on social media, the Town’s website, and YouTube. The electronic sign located at 50 Street and 50 Avenue is also used for communications. On top of those methods, the Town has held open houses, public hearings, direct mail, and door-to-door notices.
By using these different options, the Town is providing several different methods of communication for all age demographics.
Public works also responded to the grievances in the report, specifically in regard to the insect population, weed control, and snow removal.
When it comes to pesticides and herbicides, the individual applying the substances has to be certified and trained in the use of the chemicals. If at any point the Town doesn’t have many employees that meet those criteria, it can be difficult for them to keep up with the applications.
When it comes to insects, the Town only sprays for stinging insects in public spaces. They work to stay on top of the issues and will follow up to check on activity. They also use the public portal the Town provides through their website, to learn about any issues that residents have raised a concern with.
Spraying for weeds also has its challenges. There are limited time frames in which the application will be effective, such as when the weeds are actively growing. Then they also have to work around the weather, as it won’t be as effective if it’s raining. If those two requirements are met, the Town also has to consider any events going on and provide notices to nearby businesses and residents before they begin spraying.
For snow removal on sidewalks, the Town currently clears 53.4 km of asphalt trails and sidewalks in the community. Prior to 2022, the Town was clearing sidewalks in the downtown core, however, an amendment to the snow removal policy in November 2022 removed the downtown core from areas to be cleared.
Public works says if they were to be responsible for removing snow from all sidewalks in the community, they would have to double their staff and equipment to keep up with it. They say it is a common issue with many municipalities and one that is becoming more and more challenging.
The report also addressed the business owners’ concerns surrounding a free market in the community.
Peter Vana, the interim general manager for planning and growth development in the community, says there are legal limits to what the Town can do in regards to limiting businesses.
Vana says the Municipal Government Act grants municipalities the power to regulate businesses, but not prohibit businesses. Vana provided examples of land use regulations in several communities to show the different ways that the issue can be approached.
Along with that, Vana made some suggestions that might help to alleviate the issue, such as making restaurants a discretionary use in all districts, providing varying business license fees, partnering with local businesses to help give them better strategies to succeed.
However, Vana also pointed out some issues with picking a particular sector to regulate. He says were the Town to put in regulations on franchises in the food industry, it should be applied to all industries across the board, including oil and gas, as well as retail, as companies like Walmart or Canadian Tire could be seen as a threat to local businesses.
Vana also mentions that many franchises are owned by local residents, so they are in many ways, just like other local businesses.
Other problems with restricting franchises that Vana brought forward included that the public would like to have competition as it offers options and keeps prices lower. He also pointed out, using pizza restaurants as an example, that there are eight restaurants that mainly sell pizza, nine other restaurants that sell pizza as a sideline, and two other businesses that occasionally sell pizza as well.
Vana questions whether or not the Town would have to be completely aware of the different items each restaurant sells when deciding whether a business should be allowed or not.
Council accepted the report as information after asking several questions of the departments. Vincent says he made the businesses aware the report was being discussed at the meeting, but there were no representatives for council to ask questions of.
At this point, the school is handling the situation on their own. They have had conversations with the RCMP, but the police are not involved in an investigation.
Volkman says they want to find the students who are causing this situation so the vandalism can stop, but also so the students can get the mental help they need.
He says it has been predicted that the stress of Covid would lead to mental illness problems for many people. In an effort to stay ahead of the situation, WRSD hired additional wellness workers to help, basically doubling the amount they normally have in place.
“We knew the number of issues around mental health and wellness were going to be quite a bit higher,” he says.
Along with the hall pass, there will be increased supervision in the school. He says it has been difficult to determine who the culprits are, and the hope is that taking these additional measures will help to reduce the problem or at least help them find the students who are responsible.
“Then we can at least get these wellness resources to these kids, because this is not normal behaviour,” says Volkman.
For those who have concerns regarding Jollymore’s decisions, Volkman says he encourages them to talk to the principal directly. He says that will solve the majority of the issues. Those that aren’t resolved can then be escalated to the division office.
Charter school proposal moving forward
Roots of Resilience aims to open a public charter school in Drayton Valley, Alberta, blending Indigenous knowledge with holistic education for all K-12 students.
Mental health calls drain resources
Drayton Valley RCMP see rising Mental Health Act arrests, straining resources. Mental health crisis intervention in Alberta needs improvement.
Support group for new Canadians
Verna Wicks, with Drayton Valley Community Learning (DVCL), is working together with other organizations in the community to build a Newcomers Support Team.
Bus association reaches end of the road
The Drayton Valley Community Bus Association, which has been a fixture in the area since the 1970s, has ceased operations.
If you grew up in Drayton Valley you probably have at least some memories of the Park Valley Pool. From in-school swim lessons to out of school swim teams the Park Valley pool has played a huge part in many Drayton Valley childhoods. With the new pool expected to open late next year, it’s a good time to look back at what the old one has given us.
When the Park Valley Pool had its grand opening in 1985 Lynette Nienaber was there to witness it all. Nienaber started as a lifeguard at the pool and nine years later was promoted to manager, a role in which she spent the next 25 years. She would rather not say she “worked” at the pool for 34 years but rather “served the community.”
“It was a healthy active lifestyle and it was the centre of the community. There were so many wonderful programs and the school swimming lessons. We taught children from Drayton Valley as far north as Wildwood and as far east as Wetaskiwin.” Nienaber says.
Nienaber began her time at the Park Valley Pool working the evening shift, she came from about 25 minutes away and that is where she got to befriend staff and really get to know Drayton Valley.
Dr. Chris Birchall Dentistry
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Valley Worship Assembly
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New pool could mean new events
“That was really the pulse of it, being on the deck. And that was my favorite teaching aquacise, synchro just having that community connection was so valuable,” she says.
The pool hosts up to 52 events per year. Some of Nienaber’s favourites were the water shows that the synchronized swimming club put on, the splash dances when the lights were turned down and the halloween events where the hot tub area was converted into a haunted house.
Nienaber is optimistic about the new pool’s opening and sees tons of potential for it that the Park Valley Pool may not have been able to achieve.
“With the eight lanes they could host provincial championships. So bigger swim competitions would be nice to see for that facility… The facility could bring a lot of tourism to the area and a lot of competitions to the area,” she says.
Neinaber adds that Drayton Valley’s paralympic swimmer Amber Thomas was never seen competing by the community as the Park Valley Pool did not have the proper size or viewing areas. Some athletes coming out of Drayton Valley even had to leave town for better facilities.
To Nienaber, serving the community through the pool was an honour. She is now grateful for the opportunity to see so many of the kids she taught become adults.
“I’m lucky because I was able to do what I was passionate about doing. I think it’s hard work too but it’s important to do something in life that you enjoy.”
Members of local indigenous groups are working toward opening a charter school with the goal of offering students an education that goes beyond academics.
Charlene Bearhead, a member of the board for the Roots of Resilience not-for-profit society, says the group is applying to the Minister of Education to be able to open a charter school in Drayton Valley, with a goal of opening in September.
The society is hosting an information night on February 13 from 5-7:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express.
Bearhead says her 40 years of working in education has made it clear that the system is failing children and staff as human beings.
“I’m always a big believer in doing the best you can to try to work with what exists already and do what you can to help guide that,” says Bearhead.
She worked within the system, and recently served as a school board trustee, but she says people weren’t ready to progress with changes she feels need to be made.
The goal of opening the charter school is to offer a learning experience that encompasses a child’s entire wellbeing, including mental and spiritual health, along with teaching Alberta’s curriculum. While the students will learn from methods that indigenous people have always used for passing on knowledge, Bearhead says the school isn’t just open to indigenous children. Any child in the area from Kindergarten to grade 12 will be welcome to attend.
One thing that Bearhead wants the public to be aware of regarding charter schools is that they are still public schools. Roots of Resilience will be funded in the same manner that Wild Rose School Division and the St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic School Division are.
“One lady said to me, ‘This sounds so amazing Charlene, but I really struggle with anything that takes away from public schools,’” says Bearhead. “I had to say to her ‘This is public education. This is public school.’”
She says there are only provisions for charter schools in Alberta. Charter schools receive the same funding for facilities, transportations, and other expenses, and the same requirements to follow the Alberta curriculum and the Education Act. Just like any other public school, parents do not have to pay extra to enrol their children in a charter school.
“But they are intended to be schools of choice,” says Bearhead. “They give parents and kids a choice in their education.”
However, charter schools are not without controversy. According to the website of Alberta Teachers’ Association, “there is only one pot of money for schools in Alberta. When money is diverted to private and charter schools, it leaves public schools in a funding shortfall.”
Bearhead says charter schools have to offer a unique approach to education that isn’t available in the geographic area. Bearhead says it’s important to the RoR society to define the holistic success for the school, which means the students will be doing better in body, mind, and soul, as well as academically.
She says that pushing people hard to do well academically while ignoring all other aspects of the student’s progress doesn’t work well. For Bearhead, it’s important for educators to meet the students where they’re at, value them as human beings, offer them a safe environment, and offer opportunities for the students to see themselves reflected in what is being taught.
Along with the regular curriculum, Bearhead says they plan to offer language programs for those who are interested in learning the language of their ancestors to help those students connect with their heritage.
Wendy Snow, the Interim District Captain in the Otipemisiwak Metis Government for District Eight and member of the RoR society, says she feels her own children would have benefitted from what the proposed school will be offering.
Snow says she has two children as well as a niece that she is the guardian of. With all three of them going to school in Drayton, she says they went to almost every school in the community.
“I found that it was very lacking as far as teaching to our culture,” says Snow.
She says every year she would fill out the demographic forms, indicating that her children were indigenous, knowing that the school division would get additional funding for those students.
“I found that all of the funding in the Wild Rose School Division went to Rocky Mountain House,” she says. “All the programming, all the culture stuff, everything went to Rocky Mountain House.”
Like Bearhead, Snow wanted to work with the system and try to help improve things. She ran twice for school board trustee, but did not get elected.
“I’ve always wanted to see more funding and programming and culture stuff in this area, just like there is in Rocky Mountain House,” says Snow.
Bearhead says the RoR school will resonate with indigenous children.
“An indigenous pedagogy, or approach to education, is about physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual [well-being]. Whatever that means to you. Everyone is indigenous to somewhere,” says Bearhead.
She says public charter schools are smaller and have unique approaches to education.
“They are actually intended to be models for how education could happen in any or all public schools,” she says.
Bearhead says when the students see themselves reflected in the content they’re learning, they have a better chance of relating to it and absorbing it.
By making the students the centre of the system, educators can focus on the whole child, not just the content they’re supposed to be learning. She says each student has different strengths, weaknesses, interests, and paths. In their school, they plan to help students excel at their strengths, offer support for their weaknesses, and encourage their interests and plans.
Another important part of education is offering the students a safe space.
“If kids are terrified, if kids are being bullied, if kids don’t feel safe, how can they focus on learning?” says Bearhead. “That’s just human instinct. That’s survival.”
She says if students are feeling ostracized, alienated, or left out, it’s more challenging for them to learn.
Roots of Resilience will also offer hands-on learning for students. This experiential learning will be land-based, which means there will be more of a balance between indoor and outdoor learning. She says there are many different areas of the curriculum that can be taught outdoors beyond science and physical education.
“For me, when you do something, rather than just read about it or hear about it, it becomes ingrained in you,” she says.
Snow says she wants to see children in the area have an opportunity to choose an education that best suits them.
“I think it just gives them a great basis for success later on in life,” says Snow.
Grade 4: Let's learn about the Newspaper
What is a newspaper?
A newspaper is a collection of stories, photos, advertisements, columns and letters that represent the collective news and mood of your community at a given point in time.
Types of Newspaper
National Newspapers: National Post, Globe and Mail
Provincial Newspapers: Edmonton Journals, Calgary Harold
Regional/Local Newspapers: That Us! Often locally owned, family started and some are 60-100 years old.
Other Regional:
Activity 1: Get to know the newspaper
Activity: Seek and Find
What you need: 1 piece of paper, 1 pencil, 1 Free Press Newspaper
- Get into teams of 4
- On a piece of paper write down numbers 1-5
- Find these 5 things in the paper
- Bring your answers up to me and shake the bottle when you’re done
- Fastest team gets a prize
And Go....
- What is the tagline under the “Free Press” masthead on pg. 1?
- Who wrote the letter about the ski hill?
- Who took the photo on pg. 11?
- Name one business in the business directory?
- Who is the editor of newspaper (name): _____________
Getting in front of eyeballs: How is the newspaper distributed?
Making sure the newspaper is seen is a big part of having a local newspaper. Distribution channels helps to make this happen. The Free Press has 3 distribution channels.
1. Email Subscriptions
2. Canada Post mail subscriptions
3. Free pickup in retail locations
Fact Checking and Credtiability
“Thou shalt not lie.” Why do you think it is important not to lie?
Creditability is the foundation of any newspaper. If your readers cannot trust what you are writing you won’t have an audience for long. This is why our editor spend much of his time fact checking, and rechecking facts in the stories we publish.
Activity 2: Examine a story
Read: “Councillor Responds to Allegations”
What are some facts in this story that needed to be checked?
Activity 3: Telephone fact checking
- Get into 2 long lines
- Teacher select 2 people to be “fact checkers”
- Beginning at the start whisper message into your neighbours ear, and continue down the line.
- Once the message gets to a fact checker, the fact checker will give a thumbs up to continue telephone if the message is correct or go back to the start of the line to restart the telephone if the message is incorrect.
Here are some sources we use to check facts:
Call people to confirm information
Voice record interviews
Use multiple sources
Discussion: What ways can you check the facts for school projects?
Jobs at a newspaper
Running a newspaper requires a team. Each person contributes to the success of the paper. Below are some jobs that people have to making a successful local newspaper.
Activity 4: Who does what?
In groups of 4 go to PAGE 1 and PAGE 9 of the newspaper and label who did what.
E = Editor
R = Reporter
GD = Graphic Designer
C = Columnist
S = Sales
Activity 5: Conducting an Interview Speed Style
Interviewing people is a major job of a newspaper reporter. To conduct a good interview you need these three elements:
1. Questions; open ended
2. Paper and pen, or recorder
3. Listening ears and eyes
Open Ended Questions
Open ended questions are questions that get people talking. The are not yes or no questions. They are “How,” “Who,” and “What” questions.
Example: How did you feel winning the basketball game? What inspired you to write that story?
Never go to a newspaper interview without a recording device; Paper, pen, voice recorder or texting device. Reporters often quote and paraphrase their subjects and accuracy is key.
Quote: “I love to teach,” Kormysh said.
Paraphrase: Kormysh said she loves teahing.
Recording Tool
Active listening
Active listening means you are listening with your ears (close your mouth), your eyes and your body language. The key to a good interview is to get the other person talking this means you have to stop talking.
Speed Interview Game
- Take out a piece of paper.
2. Write down 1 open ended question you can ask your classmates
3. Break out in to two lines
4. When I say go, line A is going to ask classmates your question and record the answer.
5. Line A takes A step to the Right, and Line B asks their classmates their question.
6. Record their answers.
7. Discussion: How was your experience? How accurate did you record?
Final Activity 6: Photo and Feedback
Take the handout and answer the following question.
A. What is one thing I learned about the newspaper?
B. Gather for a Group Photo
Police in Drayton Valley have seen an increase in the last year of arrests made under the Mental Health Act. Earlier this month Staff Sergeant Ryan Hoetmer told town council that calls of that type have seen a steady increase over the past several years, and they remain a big drain on resources for the Town.
Hoetmer explained that when the officers take somebody into custody under the act, they then take that person to the Centennial Centre for Mental Health in Ponoka. He says the drive itself eats up several hours of the officer’s time, but they also have to wait until staff at the centre take over.
He said the Centennial Centre has been working to make the intake process more efficient. In the past, officers have had to wait a couple of hours. Now, he says they make a call when they are on their way, and usually the intake is complete within half an hour.
When asked how long people are kept at the hospital, Hoetmer explained that they were normally kept for a week or two. At most, he believes they might be kept for a month.
Many of their calls under the Mental Health Act are from people the RCMP are already aware of, and Hoetmer says it can be a challenge keeping on top of those cases.
He says the RCMP bring the subject into the hospital. Once they are deemed healthy enough to depart, the person is often sent back to their community in a cab. After that, the individuals are in the same position they were in prior to the process beginning.
“I’m a big believer that there’s a bit of a gap there,” said Hoetmer. “When they are sent in a cab back to Drayton, they’re put back into the same position as before. There is no follow up program or some place for them to go in between.”
He said often RCMP watch the individuals as their mental health slowly declines until they have the grounds to apprehend them again.
Councillor Amila Gammana asked Hoetmer if he felt the reason people were being released on such a short timeline was due to a lack of resources. Hoetmer said he wasn’t sure what the reason for it was and that Alberta Health Services would better be able to answer that.
“I would hope it’s not a resourcing concern, that when the doctor is making their determination they are healthy enough to leave the facility,” he said. “But they have pressures, I’m sure, just like everybody else.”
Mayor Nancy Dodds asked Hoetmer if he’d seen an increase in resources since the new pillar ministries had been put into place, but Hoetmer says thus far they haven’t seen a change.
“We still have our one [Regional Police and Crisis Team] that operates out of Rocky, but as I’ve talked about before they are in our community maybe once a week,” said Hoetmer.
This means if there is an emergent issue that requires a response, the RPACT are not the ones who are responding to the call. It is instead left to the members of the Drayton Valley detachment.
“They do lots of follow up for us, but it’s our members that are doing the apprehensions and are going to the crisis when it’s happening,” said Hoetmer.
Moving to a new place can be stressful even if you are only moving one town over, but if you’re coming in from a different country, it can be overwhelming.
Verna Wicks, with Drayton Valley Community Learning (DVCL), is working together with other organizations in the community to build a Newcomers Support Team. The group is geared toward connecting people moving to the town or county with services they will need to get established.
What might feel like common sense to many people is not so easy for New Canadians. If they aren’t fluent in English or don’t know anyone in the area, setting up basics, like bank accounts and getting set up with Alberta Health Care could seem nearly impossible.
Wicks says interested parties decided to offer those supports early in 2024, but it wasn’t until DVCL received some grant funding last fall that they were able to hire someone for the group.
She says there are a number of groups who have been involved in setting up the team, including Family and Community Support Services, Alberta Health Services, the Multicultural Association, the library, the Town, the Chamber of Commerce, the Alberta Government, and many members of the public.
Similar to the Youth Hub, the support team is aiming to be a one stop connection point for newcomers. Wicks says the goal is to open a welcome centre that they can be directed to. At the centre, the newcomers will be connected with people and services in the community to help get them settled in.
Along with information and support, Wicks says they hope to also be able to give out a care package.
“We’re hoping that we’ll have some supplies for them if they need clothing or things for babies,” says Wicks.
The team would also like to host social events to help them meet new people. Last fall, they held their first welcoming event.
“That was open to newcomers and people from the community who wanted to welcome them,” she says.
Right now, the team is looking around the area to see which services are already being offered. Then, if they find any gaps, they can step up and provide something to meet those needs.
They are also putting together a document that can be given to immigrants in the community. She says it will contain a lot of basic information including contacts for different religious groups, and contacts for community and emergency services.
Wicks says there’s also a balance that the team needs to find. Right now there are many newcomers coming to the community. Some are refugees, some are looking for work, and others are coming through programs like the Rural Renewal Stream. However, the amount of newcomers may not always be so high.
She says there are also concerns about steady government funding. Recently, the federal government announced they would be cutting back on funding for support services for new immigrants. While the brunt of that will likely be felt in larger centres, Wicks says it’s making them cautious about asking for funds from any level of government.
The grant the team received in 2024 was renewed for 2025, but they won’t know for sure if it’s renewed for 2026 late 2025 or early 2026.
Anyone looking for more information about the team or the support they provide can reach out to Wicks at settlementservices@dvcommunitylearning.ca.
All good things must come to an end. The Drayton Valley Community Bus Association, which has been a fixture in the area since the 1970s, has ceased operations.
In an interview with the Free Press last week, Wendell Smith, the association’s treasurer, said a number of factors played a part in the decision to close effective December 21 last year. The majority of those factors revolved around increasing expenses and declining ridership.
“Diesel fuel is higher, insurance is higher. People don’t want to pay,” he said.
The bus association has played an important part in the growth of Drayton Valley. It was incorporated in May of 1973 by local business owners who were concerned about highway safety and who wanted to contribute something positive to the community.
“They bought a bus and founded the bus association and it’s been running ever since,” said Smith.
Over the last half century the bus association has covered hundreds of thousands of kilometres taking local residents to events across this part of Alberta and further afield. Many of those journeys were on school field trips or for minor hockey or other sports. Smith, who has been driving since 2001, said he’s happy to have played a part in the lives of so many local residents and is proud of the association’s record for getting people where they needed to be.
“We drove the Thunder for 25 years,” he said. “In all those years we were never late for an out of town game.”
Smith says at one point the association operated as many as “six or seven” buses. However, changing times have seen increasing numbers of potential riders using their own vehicles to attend out of town events. In recent years the number of buses operated by the association decreased to three; a 58 passenger coach, a 21 passenger mini bus and a 44 passenger school bus. Declining demand for busing means that those vehicles will now be put up for sale.
“The economy is hurting everybody,” he said. “If the economy isn’t booming people don’t have the money to hire a bus. I can’t blame any business for not using the service … The money’s just not there.”
After concerns raised at a pair of public meetings late last year, interim CAO for Drayton Valley, Pat Vincent, demonstrated the Town’s commitment to businesses and residents by presenting council with a detailed report that spoke to a range of issues at the last Governance and Priorities meeting.
Erik Bergen, a local business owner, came forward on November 20 with a presentation he had put together after having two open meetings with businesses in the community earlier in the fall. In his presentation, Bergen highlighted three main areas of concern: the homeless population, Town services and communications, and the free enterprise market in the community.
Bergen outlined several of those concerns as well as possible solutions for council to consider.
In the report Vincent brought forward, there were five separate responses from management involved in the areas that the businesses had issue with.
Enforcement services touched on several areas brought forth by Bergen. This included listing the various bylaws and acts that already addressed many of the areas of concern with the homeless population. The Community Standards Bylaw, the Municipal Government Act, and provincial trespassing legislation combined cover sleeping in public places, public disruption, loitering, public urination and defecation, unauthorized encampments, open fire, storage of personal items, and dumpster diving.
Cody Rossing, the manager of enforcement services and emergency management, also outlined areas that the Town could consider to help bolster the current laws surrounding those issues, such as amendments to the Outdoor Restrictions Burning bylaw and some possible amendments to the Community Standards Bylaw.
Rossing also explained that Drayton Valley could not create its own lower level court system to deal with petty crimes. However, he did say the community could petition for more court dates in Drayton Valley, which would allow more time for the courts to deal with all matters.
“Currently, with the scheduling at the Drayton Valley Court of Justice, trial dates are occurring on the same days for criminal code matters, provincial matters and municipal bylaw matters,” he says in his report. “This often results in lower-level offences either being withdrawn, or deals made to have the lower-level items removed so time can be focused on criminal code matters.”
As far as public safety in regards to needles, Rossing says they received only one call in 2023 from a business owner. In the past six months the Town’s Occupational Health and Safety Department only had four reports of Town staff locating needles.
Lola Strand, the manager of community services for the Town, spoke to the number of homeless individuals in the community and the efforts made to address the issue.
She mentioned the 2023 study done by the Rural Development Network, that found there were more than 8,300 individuals in rural Alberta dealing with some sort of housing issue. In Drayton, there were 28 people without homes, 25 people accessing emergency shelters such as the shelter pods or warming hearts, 83 people who were provisionally accommodated through things like couch surfing, and 140 individuals who were at risk of homelessness due to precarious housing.
Strand spoke to the strain enforcement services were dealing with in regard to responding to complaints of unsheltered people. She says the Town received a grant to hire a Community Outreach Worker who is communicating with at-risk individuals to help connect them to resources.
She also pointed out that along with the temporary emergency shelters the Town has put into place, there are also 26 affordable housing units in the community. Humans Helping Humans, the local organization that currently runs the shelter pods, has also built nine homes with grants, donations, and volunteers that have helped 19 families move into the regular housing market.
Strand also suggested the Town could work with the province to build halfway houses, or using grant money to purchase seacans, or trailers that can provide shelters in the encampment around the landfill that many of the homeless population are currently using.
Jenn Stone with intergovernmental relations and communication for the Town, outlined the different ways that the Town communicates with its residents.
The Town has a threefold approach to communication: traditional media, social media, and direct communication.
With advertisements and news stories, the Town works with the Drayton Valley Free Press and Big West Country 92.9. They also have pages on social media, the Town’s website, and YouTube. The electronic sign located at 50 Street and 50 Avenue is also used for communications. On top of those methods, the Town has held open houses, public hearings, direct mail, and door-to-door notices.
By using these different options, the Town is providing several different methods of communication for all age demographics.
Public works also responded to the grievances in the report, specifically in regard to the insect population, weed control, and snow removal.
When it comes to pesticides and herbicides, the individual applying the substances has to be certified and trained in the use of the chemicals. If at any point the Town doesn’t have many employees that meet those criteria, it can be difficult for them to keep up with the applications.
When it comes to insects, the Town only sprays for stinging insects in public spaces. They work to stay on top of the issues and will follow up to check on activity. They also use the public portal the Town provides through their website, to learn about any issues that residents have raised a concern with.
Spraying for weeds also has its challenges. There are limited time frames in which the application will be effective, such as when the weeds are actively growing. Then they also have to work around the weather, as it won’t be as effective if it’s raining. If those two requirements are met, the Town also has to consider any events going on and provide notices to nearby businesses and residents before they begin spraying.
For snow removal on sidewalks, the Town currently clears 53.4 km of asphalt trails and sidewalks in the community. Prior to 2022, the Town was clearing sidewalks in the downtown core, however, an amendment to the snow removal policy in November 2022 removed the downtown core from areas to be cleared.
Public works says if they were to be responsible for removing snow from all sidewalks in the community, they would have to double their staff and equipment to keep up with it. They say it is a common issue with many municipalities and one that is becoming more and more challenging.
The report also addressed the business owners’ concerns surrounding a free market in the community.
Peter Vana, the interim general manager for planning and growth development in the community, says there are legal limits to what the Town can do in regards to limiting businesses.
Vana says the Municipal Government Act grants municipalities the power to regulate businesses, but not prohibit businesses. Vana provided examples of land use regulations in several communities to show the different ways that the issue can be approached.
Along with that, Vana made some suggestions that might help to alleviate the issue, such as making restaurants a discretionary use in all districts, providing varying business license fees, partnering with local businesses to help give them better strategies to succeed.
However, Vana also pointed out some issues with picking a particular sector to regulate. He says were the Town to put in regulations on franchises in the food industry, it should be applied to all industries across the board, including oil and gas, as well as retail, as companies like Walmart or Canadian Tire could be seen as a threat to local businesses.
Vana also mentions that many franchises are owned by local residents, so they are in many ways, just like other local businesses.
Other problems with restricting franchises that Vana brought forward included that the public would like to have competition as it offers options and keeps prices lower. He also pointed out, using pizza restaurants as an example, that there are eight restaurants that mainly sell pizza, nine other restaurants that sell pizza as a sideline, and two other businesses that occasionally sell pizza as well.
Vana questions whether or not the Town would have to be completely aware of the different items each restaurant sells when deciding whether a business should be allowed or not.
Council accepted the report as information after asking several questions of the departments. Vincent says he made the businesses aware the report was being discussed at the meeting, but there were no representatives for council to ask questions of.
Junior Lifeguard Club a hit
Des Jansen has worked at the pool for 23 years and created the Junior Lifeguard Club.
“We needed something different here so I kind of looked around and I found Junior Lifeguard Club and thought ‘hey at the pool we could run this program’ and thought maybe we could get future lifeguards out of it and teach them some lifesaving skills.”
From there the club went into more of a competitive club and Jansen has even traveled to Australia and France to coach the program internationally.
Jansen couldn’t pick just one favourite event lifeguarding at the pool for 23 years saying “It’s all been good. I don’t think I would work here for 23 years if it wasn’t fun and changing constantly, ever changing everyday keeps me on my toes.”
Jansen has also coached swimming lessons and advanced training lessons for lifeguards. Jansen has enjoyed the experience of seeing kids she taught swimming all grown up.
“People who have been here before bring their children back and so I see the kids who I taught swimming lessons to and now they’re bringing their kids in it’s like oh my i’ve been here a while,” she says.
Jansen looks forward to seeing what the new pool will bring for the Junior Lifeguard Club. “We will be able to bring back our competitions here. We always run a competition as a club but we’ve had to run it out of the tri leisure centre so being able to run a swim meet in our hometown is going to be exciting.”
Amber Herle is a lifeguard at the Park Valley Pool and has been swimming there pretty much her whole life. The pool has provided Herle with tons of childhood memories and now a career. “[The pool] was really the main thing to do in Drayton Valley, after school I think we pretty much lived at the pool. It was a big hit growing up; every evening if you could you were at the pool so it definitely meant a lot,” she says
Herle was involved in the Neptunes Swim Club and Junior Lifeguard club and even had a brief stint in water polo. Herle has loved the opportunity to meet tons of new people through the pool and make a career out of it doing what she loves.
Teaching the community kids how to swim like lifeguards has been extremely rewarding, she says. “It makes me feel super accomplished when you can get a kid to blow bubbles that hates the water or make a kid jump in the deep end who is terrified to do that, so it makes you feel pretty good.”
Herle looks forward to what the new pool will be able to offer future generations of Drayton Valley swimmers. “I am excited for all the new opportunities the pool will be able to have and then hopefully have it be a new attraction so communities other than Drayton Valley will be able to come in and enjoy it rather than having to drive all the way to the city,” she says.
Paralympian reflects on her old training grounds
Paralympic swimmer Amber Thomas began swimming at the Park Valley Pool at the age of four. Thomas says her favourite memories were summer swim meets with Neptune Swim Club.
“The old pool was small and it was hot but it was so much fun being a part of the summer club and having all the other clubs packed into our little pool and being able to socialize with all the other kids and compete. Our pool was probably one of the smaller ones compared to all the other clubs but there was just something about being at home. We always used to empty the hot tub and we’d spend a couple days before the meet just emptying the hot tub and cleaning it out and that was our spot because we were the home team… I look back on all those weekends and they were some of my favourites.”
Thomas recalls always loving the weekend events the pool hosted, specifically recalling renting the pool for her tenth birthday right after losing her sight and “penny swim”. “The penny dive swim was always fun. We’d grab out little plastic baggies and dive in and collect as many pennies as we could.”
Being such a high calibre athlete Thomas did have to go out of town quite often to train. With the lane pool being connected to the kiddie pool the pool would get way too warm making Thomas’s heart rate at times way higher than what is healthy.
“Trying to train in a 30 degree pool I had my heart rate up over 240 and you’re not supposed to have your heart rate that high. Because it was so hot I’d be doing sets and I’d take my heart rate and I’d be like yep, 230,.” she says.
Despite its challenges the pool will always have a place in Thomas’s heart. “That pool was our home and I probably spent more time there as a kid than anywhere else and it definitely was just very home for me.”
For so many Drayton Valley youth, the Park Valley Pool has been a way to have fun, meet friends and get out of the house. There have been lifeguards and coaches at the pool that Drayton Valley youth will never forget and who have taught kids so much more than just how to kick with your legs straight and back float. From its big green slide, tarzan rope and beach mural, the pool will forever be in the memory of many. So as we prepare to say goodbye to a building that helped raise many, here’s to old memories and new opportunities in the next coming months.
Charter school proposal moving forward
Roots of Resilience aims to open a public charter school in Drayton Valley, Alberta, blending Indigenous knowledge with holistic education for all K-12 students.
Mental health calls drain resources
Drayton Valley RCMP see rising Mental Health Act arrests, straining resources. Mental health crisis intervention in Alberta needs improvement.
Support group for new Canadians
Verna Wicks, with Drayton Valley Community Learning (DVCL), is working together with other organizations in the community to build a Newcomers Support Team.
Bus association reaches end of the road
The Drayton Valley Community Bus Association, which has been a fixture in the area since the 1970s, has ceased operations.
She also feels strongly about the seniors in the community, who have contributed so much of their efforts to make Drayton Valley the town that it currently is.
“I felt that it was past due for our town to give back to our seniors and help them out as much as possible. Without them we wouldn’t have had a town to call home.”
Driessen says the project has taken a while to put together. “It’s been in the works for quite a few years and we have to thank [many] for their contributions. It’s been a community collaboration without a doubt.”
Newberry says she is also grateful for the generosity and hard work of community members, including one local hockey team, that were able to ensure the project was a success.
Driessen says this service isn’t just for medical appointments. She says in some cases that means getting groceries, going to the pharmacy, or sometimes, the polls for an election.
“We will be providing a special in town service every Wednesday, so that our seniors can go shopping and get their groceries or medications along with their senior discounts,” says Newberry.
There will be a fee for the service, says Driessen. The Town researched and found a reasonable cost comparison with cab services in the community. Driessen says it will be comparable to cab services. “It does, of course, give a bit of a break,” she says.
In the future, Driessen says they would like to see some public funding allotted to the service to help lower the cost for those who need it.
Newberry says that paying for the service is set up with a digital payment service, allowing family members to easily help out their loved ones.
“It will work on digital payment service program where a family member or the person (senior or disabled) can purchase a prepaid visa gift card. Every time a person needs a ride the card will be debited the amount of the ride. Until the card is used up. Then it’s a matter of reloading it with money at that time. Could be a great Christmas gift from family to a loved one,” she says.
Those who are interested in registering their family for the service can contact Drake’s Handi Bus at 780-542-8706.
