On August 7, a windy day at Seba Beach, two junior lifeguards had to put their skills to use.
Benjamin and Amelia Gerber were out on the lake with their mother, Lora Gerber, and some other family on a pontoon. The activity is a fun pass-time for the Gerber family, and it’s something they do every summer.
Lora said it was getting windy, and the family had decided they would turn back in for the day. However, before they could get far, they were flagged down by a man on a Sea-Doo who had spotted an overturned sailboat in the lake.
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There were two men in the water. One was an older gentleman and his adult son. Both had a lifejacket on, but they weren’t great quality, and the father was struggling with his while trying to stay afloat.
Lora recognized they were in danger and sent her kids into action.
Benjamin, 12, and Amelia, 10, had been in the Junior Lifeguard Club for five years and had undergone extensive training to handle a crisis. Lora said they remained calm the entire time, focussing on what needed to be done.
Benjamin, being the oldest of the two, went right to the father, performing an assist, with Amelia there in case he needed help. Benjamin says he maneuvered around the man, grabbing him in the lower neck area and pulling him back to the boat. He says this is the technique to use, so the victim doesn’t pull you down or interfere with swimming.
Once Benjamin reached the boat with the father, Lora’s dad and her brother-in-law worked to get him into the pontoon. It turned out to be a bit of a struggle.
What do I like? Thanks for asking. I like loads of things.
I like beer. I like wine, especially if there’s some fresh bread and a nice piece of cheese to go with it. I like playing golf. I like holidays somewhere sunny.
One feature those things have in common is that they cost a bit. So one of the things I like the most is money, because it makes all the other stuff possible.
And this ought to be a good time for folks like me, because as of now (yes, right now) the provincial government is giving a $100 energy rebate to each and every Albertan who meets some fairly loose criteria. I tick all the boxes. You probably do too.
Over 18 (check)
Alberta resident (check)
Filed taxes in 2025 (check)
Annual income less than $225,000 (you’re kidding, right?)
So far so good. But that’s the easy part. You have to have one of those MyAlberta online accounts to apply. I do have an account, but I have no idea whatsoever what the password might be. And as for my user name? Well, if I could remember stuff like that I’d probably be working in a circus somewhere as Mysterio the Memory-Man. On top of that, so far there have been reports of a number of hiccups in the application process, so that things are neither tickety nor boo. I mean, I can probably figure something out, but it starts to feel like quite a lot of work for not much reward.
Now I don’t want to complain about free money. Because free money is the best kind of money there is. Back when I was a lad you could feed a family of eleven on steak and lobster every day for a week on a hundred bucks and still have enough left to buy a small airline.
But those days are gone. It feels like $100 doesn’t go that far these days, because it doesn’t. Just yesterday I filled up with gas (we have a fairly small car) and then bought a couple of bottles of wine and bam! Just like that, 200 bucks gone. So that was the rebate for my wife and I taken care of before it even hit our bank account.
Don’t get me wrong. Getting an extra hundred bucks is a lot better than not getting an extra hundred bucks. And it’s orders of magnitude better than, for example, losing a hundred bucks. Still, as cash bonanzas go, this one feels like a bit of an anticlimax. You cannot make $100 into a huge pile and roll around in it naked. And if you try you’ll probably look pretty stupid.
This is all a bit of a downer, but hope springs eternal. And happily there are things that I like that don’t cost money. Things like sitting on the deck in the sunshine or going for a walk, both of which I have already done today.
Perhaps I should focus on things like that for the next little while. At least until I can remember that damn password.
Change is on the way to Drayton Valley’s arena.
The facility, which was rebranded as the Team Auctions Centre last year, will see upgrades valued at $1 million thanks to a contribution from an anonymous donor.
In recognition of the funding, the Total Works Gym will be renamed as the Thunder High Performance Centre.
Changes within the building will see the installation of new safety glass around the main ice surface and the addition of a four-panel digital video board. Additional upgrades will include drillable net pegs to improve safety and Alberta Junior Hockey League standards compliance, removal of side netting to enhance sight lines and improve the fan experience, an upgraded camera system to support game presentation and broadcasting and replacement dasher boards, coordinated alongside planned board repairs.
The upgrades were announced last week in a joint statement from the Drayton Valley Thunder, the Town of Drayton Valley and the Drayton Valley Community Foundation.
“The Team Auction Centre is where our community comes together,” said Kevin Young, President of the Thunder. “This project reflects what we can accomplish through partnership. These upgrades will create better opportunities for our athletes and fans and a stronger experience for everyone who walks through these doors.”
Mayor Nancy Dodds said that the $1 million contribution, along with the renaming of the gym, would leave a lasting legacy in the community.
“The much-needed upgrades to the facility will not only enhance opportunities for residents and visitors, but also strengthen a space that brings our community together. We are incredibly proud to stand alongside the Drayton Valley Thunder and the Drayton Community Foundation in recognizing this transformative moment.”
Nothing in the last 50 years has quite matched the feeling I got waking up one July morning in 1976 and realizing I wouldn’t have to so much as think about simultaneous equations for the next six weeks.
Life’s had its ups and downs since then, but I’ve never quite recaptured that burst of excitement you get when school’s out for summer and, with the entire holidays ahead of you, it feels as if it might as well be out forever.
All this week I’ve been watching kids walk down our street making their way between the twin attractions of the skatepark and 7/Eleven. Some are tall, some are short. Some are in groups, others in pairs or alone. The main thing they have in common is that they all seem pretty happy.
And they should be. But I wonder if they realize this is as good as it gets. They’re young, they’re healthy, it’s the first week of summer vacation. It’s all downhill from here.
What with bullying, the pressure to conform and the potential horrors of social media, it would be foolish to assume that teens don’t have problems of their own, because some of them quite obviously do. But for the happy majority it’s a question of perspective. It’s not that your teenage years are completely carefree. I know this because I am a former teenager. When I was that age my main concerns were wondering if I’d have enough money to buy the new ABBA album when it came out, trying to catalog my stamp collection and wishing I could figure out how to talk to girls without sounding like an absolute numpty. I’m still working on that last one as it happens. Meanwhile my brother, who’s a couple of years older than I am, spent most of the mid-1970s in front of the mirror trying to make sure his hair was perfect and becoming increasingly furious when it failed to remain exactly in place. It’s all fallen out now, so the joke’s on him.
So anyway, I want to wish all the kids who are off school a long and happy summer. I hope they have the chance to make memories that will last a lifetime. It’s a horrible cliche to say that your school days are the happiest days of your life. And like most cliches, it’s not always accurate. But as Ferris Bueller once said, life moves pretty fast. So it’s important to make the most of things right now, before they are gone forever.
I never did get that ABBA album. My stamp collection is still stuffed haphazardly into a couple of fading envelopes. My school days are the best part of half a century behind me. If I was to tell one of those kids who walk past our house how quickly the time has gone they’d think I was delusional, or bonkers, or both. But it’s no exaggeration to say that sometimes 1976 seems like yesterday. And yet here we are. Half a century later and I’m still not entirely sure what you’re supposed to do with simultaneous equations.
Have a great summer kids, and take time to enjoy the ride.
Off-highway vehicles are not allowed on public municipal property in Drayton Valley, whether they are electric or not.
Cody Rossing, the senior manager of community safety for the Town, says that there have been some complaints about e-dirt bikes being used in town and he wants to educate the public about the legislation surrounding electric micro-mobility devices.
“At the end of the day, these e-dirt bikes are considered by the Province of Alberta to be an off-highway vehicle,” says Rossing.
Like other OHVs, owners have to follow the regulations around ownership and use of the vehicle, and the rules don’t change if the vehicle happens to be electric.
“There is a minimum age of 14 to operate any off-highway vehicles. You need registration and you need insurance if you are operating on roadways,” says Rossing. “You do need a helmet if you are on the roadways as well.”
Along with provincial legislation, residents are required to follow the Town’s bylaws. Like many municipalities, OHVs are not permitted to be used within Drayton Valley’s public areas. This includes roads, sidewalks, walking trails, green spaces, and any other publicly accessible areas. The only exception is if it is being used on private property, such as an acreage within town limits.
Rossing says that while many people are only learning about e-dirt bikes now, the Province has had legislation in place for more than 15 years.
“It’s not something that all of a sudden the provincial government or the municipal government has come up with in the last couple of months. It has been very well established several years ago,” he says.
One issue that has come up when these micro vehicles are used in town is the lack of noise. E-dirt bikes and other micro vehicles don’t make a lot of noise, so residents don’t hear them coming. While this might happen with regular bicycles or scooters if someone isn’t paying attention, the real danger lies in how fast the vehicles can go.
Most e-dirt bikes have a top speed that ranges from 50 kph to 130 kph. It’s dangerous enough to have an accident with an e-bicycle, which can get up to speeds between 32 kph and 45 kph, but an accident with an e-dirt bike could be deadly.
“There are huge safety issues that come with that,” says Rossing. “It’s one of those things where we want adults and we want kids to have fun, but it’s got to be done safely.”
He says that enforcement services have been responding to complaints and have spoken to a few individuals about the rules, and they will continue to do so.
Rossing says those who are not happy with the legislation surrounding OHVs can either write to the Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, the Honourable Steve MacKinnon, or their local MLA.
How do you spend a two week holiday when the weather is crappy? With visitors from Scotland in tow, my wife and I set out to find the answer to that question earlier this month.
After being rained out of Drayton Valley we headed west in search of a break in the clouds. A friend had told me about the Beaver Boardwalk in Hinton. We decided to give it a go and it was actually really good. Basically it’s a long bridge sort of thing that winds its way through an area of wetland. Not only is there lots of wildlife, there’s something weirdly enjoyable about walking on a pathway of wooden planks. It felt a bit like being on one of those old sailing ships, but without the scurvy or the looming threat of a keel hauling.
And the wildlife did come through for us. Hinton provided muskrats along with the aforementioned beaver. When we headed into the national park we had a very good bear sighting (it was good for us, I’m not sure how the bear felt about it) along with elk, a coyote, rabbits and bighorn sheep. And there were lots of deer, although curiously, here at home the little herd of whitetails who are fond of eating my wife’s flowers and defecating on my front lawn were nowhere to be seen.
And talking of wildlife, we were chased away from a rest stop near Obed by a rampaging horde of caterpillars.
One of the good things about the Miette Hotsprings is that it’s really quite pleasant even if it’s raining. The other positive thing about the weather in Jasper was that the waterfalls were in full swing and as spectacular as you could reasonably hope for, even if you did get wet feet trying to get a closer look.
But you can only spend so long trying to see a mountain through a rain spotted windshield. Back in Drayton we found ourselves eating out a lot. I’ve always been a fan of the number and variety of restaurants we have in this community and they did not let us down. However, it will be some time before I can look at a french fry with anything close to enthusiasm again.
During one late lunch we watched Canada play Bosnia Herzegovina at the World Cup. And we splashed out of a TV subscription so we could see Scotland juuussst manage to beat Haiti after 90 minutes of largely ineffectual huffing and puffing.
With sports in mind, our other trip out of town involved a visit to the rodeo in Rocky Mountain House. They have a really nice set up and for once the weather was not completely horrible, so that was a definite bonus.
But the bulk of our time was spent right here at home, and you know what, it was just fine. We shared a few laughs, did a lot of catching up and spent time visiting with my wife’s extremely large family. (When I say “extremely large” I mean there’s a lot of them, not that they’re particularly big as individuals. Most of them aren’t much over five feet.)
So all in all we had a very nice time and I’m looking forward to doing it all again sometime in the not too distant future.
Hopefully when the weather is better.
With Phase II of the development of the Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre underway, the board’s fundraising committee is seeking permission from the Town and County to have a sponsor for the naming rights of the building.
Last week, both the Town and Brazeau County heard a request from the EPAC board to allow Tom and Sheila McGee to start approaching companies about naming rights for the facility. The name of the theatre wouldn’t replace Eleanor Pickup’s name, but would be something like Naming Sponsor Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre.
By giving out the naming rights, the board believes it would be able to raise a significant portion of the costs of the expansion.
The expansion is expected to cost around $4 million. The goal is to cover most of the costs through grants and fundraising, but the McGees think people should focus less on the dollar signs and more on the benefits a larger facility can provide.
The fundraising committee co-chairs are expected to kick off the fundraising at about the same time as the July 17 Charity Golf Tournament sponsored by the Town and County.
They say they have taken on the project because they feel that it’s important that there be opportunities available for people, especially children, who lean more toward the arts than sports.
“I think it’s a big part of our community that we don’t know,” says Tom McGee.
He says there are many talented people in our community who haven’t been able to show off their skills. While the children who play sports have their place, McGee says he believes it’s just as important to invest in a space for other interests.
For him, watching the kids get ready for a performance and then nail their lines on stage is awesome.
“When you see those kids on stage, remembering their lines and doing their work, you just think, ‘Oh my goodness. How brilliant is that?’” says McGee.
Right now, it’s difficult to hold full productions at the EPAC due to a lack of space. There is no green room, which means that cast members don’t have a lot of room to change their costumes or do their makeup. In some cases, trailers have been parked behind the theatre to provide space for the cast to wait until they’re needed on stage.
There are also no washrooms for the cast to use or any space for set storage during a production.
McGee says that when he was on town council in the past, there was some reluctance to close off the walking space between Main Street and the parking lot behind the EPAC. However, his thought on the matter is that it’s not a long walk to go around the buildings rather than through that space.
He also says the expansion would allow for additional revenue, which could help offset some of the costs of the building. Currently, there is a suite above the theatre that gets rented out. With the proposed expansion, there would be room for an additional two suites.
“The argument could be made that it’s sustainable,” says McGee. “It sort of pays for itself.”
He says they will also be approaching the Minister of Tourism and Sport, MLA Andrew Bointchenko, about any possible tourism grants that might be available for the project.
“He could not help whatsoever. He was disoriented; he didn’t even know where his cabin was,” says Lora.
In the end, Benjamin had to push him up out of the water while the others hauled him into the pontoon. Lora says they assessed the man, looking for injuries. “He was just in shock. We don’t know how long they were in the water for,” she says.
Benjamin says while he was working, he focused on his training. “[I had to] remember my training and stay as calm as I could be. That way I’m not drowning him, rather than trying to save him.”
While they were doing this, Amelia swam out to pick up any loose items in the lake, such as a hat or lifejackets. “My sister is the clean-up-crew,” says Benjamin.
Lora says once they had the father safe, they kept their eye on the son, who they could see was getting tired. His life jacket also wasn’t ideal and he’d been keeping his dad safe in the water for an unknown amount of time.
Eventually, the son and the man on the Sea-Doo managed to flip the boat back up. The son climbed onto the Sea-Doo and then got into the boat.
Lora says they went in the general direction the father had given them. Eventually, they came across a dock where a woman was waving frantically to get their attention.
What do I like? Thanks for asking. I like loads of things.
I like beer. I like wine, especially if there’s some fresh bread and a nice piece of cheese to go with it. I like playing golf. I like holidays somewhere sunny.
One feature those things have in common is that they cost a bit. So one of the things I like the most is money, because it makes all the other stuff possible.
And this ought to be a good time for folks like me, because as of now (yes, right now) the provincial government is giving a $100 energy rebate to each and every Albertan who meets some fairly loose criteria. I tick all the boxes. You probably do too.
Over 18 (check)
Alberta resident (check)
Filed taxes in 2025 (check)
Annual income less than $225,000 (you’re kidding, right?)
So far so good. But that’s the easy part. You have to have one of those MyAlberta online accounts to apply. I do have an account, but I have no idea whatsoever what the password might be. And as for my user name? Well, if I could remember stuff like that I’d probably be working in a circus somewhere as Mysterio the Memory-Man. On top of that, so far there have been reports of a number of hiccups in the application process, so that things are neither tickety nor boo. I mean, I can probably figure something out, but it starts to feel like quite a lot of work for not much reward.
Now I don’t want to complain about free money. Because free money is the best kind of money there is. Back when I was a lad you could feed a family of eleven on steak and lobster every day for a week on a hundred bucks and still have enough left to buy a small airline.
But those days are gone. It feels like $100 doesn’t go that far these days, because it doesn’t. Just yesterday I filled up with gas (we have a fairly small car) and then bought a couple of bottles of wine and bam! Just like that, 200 bucks gone. So that was the rebate for my wife and I taken care of before it even hit our bank account.
Don’t get me wrong. Getting an extra hundred bucks is a lot better than not getting an extra hundred bucks. And it’s orders of magnitude better than, for example, losing a hundred bucks. Still, as cash bonanzas go, this one feels like a bit of an anticlimax. You cannot make $100 into a huge pile and roll around in it naked. And if you try you’ll probably look pretty stupid.
This is all a bit of a downer, but hope springs eternal. And happily there are things that I like that don’t cost money. Things like sitting on the deck in the sunshine or going for a walk, both of which I have already done today.
Perhaps I should focus on things like that for the next little while. At least until I can remember that damn password.
Change is on the way to Drayton Valley’s arena.
The facility, which was rebranded as the Team Auctions Centre last year, will see upgrades valued at $1 million thanks to a contribution from an anonymous donor.
In recognition of the funding, the Total Works Gym will be renamed as the Thunder High Performance Centre.
Changes within the building will see the installation of new safety glass around the main ice surface and the addition of a four-panel digital video board. Additional upgrades will include drillable net pegs to improve safety and Alberta Junior Hockey League standards compliance, removal of side netting to enhance sight lines and improve the fan experience, an upgraded camera system to support game presentation and broadcasting and replacement dasher boards, coordinated alongside planned board repairs.
The upgrades were announced last week in a joint statement from the Drayton Valley Thunder, the Town of Drayton Valley and the Drayton Valley Community Foundation.
“The Team Auction Centre is where our community comes together,” said Kevin Young, President of the Thunder. “This project reflects what we can accomplish through partnership. These upgrades will create better opportunities for our athletes and fans and a stronger experience for everyone who walks through these doors.”
Mayor Nancy Dodds said that the $1 million contribution, along with the renaming of the gym, would leave a lasting legacy in the community.
“The much-needed upgrades to the facility will not only enhance opportunities for residents and visitors, but also strengthen a space that brings our community together. We are incredibly proud to stand alongside the Drayton Valley Thunder and the Drayton Community Foundation in recognizing this transformative moment.”
Nothing in the last 50 years has quite matched the feeling I got waking up one July morning in 1976 and realizing I wouldn’t have to so much as think about simultaneous equations for the next six weeks.
Life’s had its ups and downs since then, but I’ve never quite recaptured that burst of excitement you get when school’s out for summer and, with the entire holidays ahead of you, it feels as if it might as well be out forever.
All this week I’ve been watching kids walk down our street making their way between the twin attractions of the skatepark and 7/Eleven. Some are tall, some are short. Some are in groups, others in pairs or alone. The main thing they have in common is that they all seem pretty happy.
And they should be. But I wonder if they realize this is as good as it gets. They’re young, they’re healthy, it’s the first week of summer vacation. It’s all downhill from here.
What with bullying, the pressure to conform and the potential horrors of social media, it would be foolish to assume that teens don’t have problems of their own, because some of them quite obviously do. But for the happy majority it’s a question of perspective. It’s not that your teenage years are completely carefree. I know this because I am a former teenager. When I was that age my main concerns were wondering if I’d have enough money to buy the new ABBA album when it came out, trying to catalog my stamp collection and wishing I could figure out how to talk to girls without sounding like an absolute numpty. I’m still working on that last one as it happens. Meanwhile my brother, who’s a couple of years older than I am, spent most of the mid-1970s in front of the mirror trying to make sure his hair was perfect and becoming increasingly furious when it failed to remain exactly in place. It’s all fallen out now, so the joke’s on him.
So anyway, I want to wish all the kids who are off school a long and happy summer. I hope they have the chance to make memories that will last a lifetime. It’s a horrible cliche to say that your school days are the happiest days of your life. And like most cliches, it’s not always accurate. But as Ferris Bueller once said, life moves pretty fast. So it’s important to make the most of things right now, before they are gone forever.
I never did get that ABBA album. My stamp collection is still stuffed haphazardly into a couple of fading envelopes. My school days are the best part of half a century behind me. If I was to tell one of those kids who walk past our house how quickly the time has gone they’d think I was delusional, or bonkers, or both. But it’s no exaggeration to say that sometimes 1976 seems like yesterday. And yet here we are. Half a century later and I’m still not entirely sure what you’re supposed to do with simultaneous equations.
Have a great summer kids, and take time to enjoy the ride.
Off-highway vehicles are not allowed on public municipal property in Drayton Valley, whether they are electric or not.
Cody Rossing, the senior manager of community safety for the Town, says that there have been some complaints about e-dirt bikes being used in town and he wants to educate the public about the legislation surrounding electric micro-mobility devices.
“At the end of the day, these e-dirt bikes are considered by the Province of Alberta to be an off-highway vehicle,” says Rossing.
Like other OHVs, owners have to follow the regulations around ownership and use of the vehicle, and the rules don’t change if the vehicle happens to be electric.
“There is a minimum age of 14 to operate any off-highway vehicles. You need registration and you need insurance if you are operating on roadways,” says Rossing. “You do need a helmet if you are on the roadways as well.”
Along with provincial legislation, residents are required to follow the Town’s bylaws. Like many municipalities, OHVs are not permitted to be used within Drayton Valley’s public areas. This includes roads, sidewalks, walking trails, green spaces, and any other publicly accessible areas. The only exception is if it is being used on private property, such as an acreage within town limits.
Rossing says that while many people are only learning about e-dirt bikes now, the Province has had legislation in place for more than 15 years.
“It’s not something that all of a sudden the provincial government or the municipal government has come up with in the last couple of months. It has been very well established several years ago,” he says.
One issue that has come up when these micro vehicles are used in town is the lack of noise. E-dirt bikes and other micro vehicles don’t make a lot of noise, so residents don’t hear them coming. While this might happen with regular bicycles or scooters if someone isn’t paying attention, the real danger lies in how fast the vehicles can go.
Most e-dirt bikes have a top speed that ranges from 50 kph to 130 kph. It’s dangerous enough to have an accident with an e-bicycle, which can get up to speeds between 32 kph and 45 kph, but an accident with an e-dirt bike could be deadly.
“There are huge safety issues that come with that,” says Rossing. “It’s one of those things where we want adults and we want kids to have fun, but it’s got to be done safely.”
He says that enforcement services have been responding to complaints and have spoken to a few individuals about the rules, and they will continue to do so.
Rossing says those who are not happy with the legislation surrounding OHVs can either write to the Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, the Honourable Steve MacKinnon, or their local MLA.
How do you spend a two week holiday when the weather is crappy? With visitors from Scotland in tow, my wife and I set out to find the answer to that question earlier this month.
After being rained out of Drayton Valley we headed west in search of a break in the clouds. A friend had told me about the Beaver Boardwalk in Hinton. We decided to give it a go and it was actually really good. Basically it’s a long bridge sort of thing that winds its way through an area of wetland. Not only is there lots of wildlife, there’s something weirdly enjoyable about walking on a pathway of wooden planks. It felt a bit like being on one of those old sailing ships, but without the scurvy or the looming threat of a keel hauling.
And the wildlife did come through for us. Hinton provided muskrats along with the aforementioned beaver. When we headed into the national park we had a very good bear sighting (it was good for us, I’m not sure how the bear felt about it) along with elk, a coyote, rabbits and bighorn sheep. And there were lots of deer, although curiously, here at home the little herd of whitetails who are fond of eating my wife’s flowers and defecating on my front lawn were nowhere to be seen.
And talking of wildlife, we were chased away from a rest stop near Obed by a rampaging horde of caterpillars.
One of the good things about the Miette Hotsprings is that it’s really quite pleasant even if it’s raining. The other positive thing about the weather in Jasper was that the waterfalls were in full swing and as spectacular as you could reasonably hope for, even if you did get wet feet trying to get a closer look.
But you can only spend so long trying to see a mountain through a rain spotted windshield. Back in Drayton we found ourselves eating out a lot. I’ve always been a fan of the number and variety of restaurants we have in this community and they did not let us down. However, it will be some time before I can look at a french fry with anything close to enthusiasm again.
During one late lunch we watched Canada play Bosnia Herzegovina at the World Cup. And we splashed out of a TV subscription so we could see Scotland juuussst manage to beat Haiti after 90 minutes of largely ineffectual huffing and puffing.
With sports in mind, our other trip out of town involved a visit to the rodeo in Rocky Mountain House. They have a really nice set up and for once the weather was not completely horrible, so that was a definite bonus.
But the bulk of our time was spent right here at home, and you know what, it was just fine. We shared a few laughs, did a lot of catching up and spent time visiting with my wife’s extremely large family. (When I say “extremely large” I mean there’s a lot of them, not that they’re particularly big as individuals. Most of them aren’t much over five feet.)
So all in all we had a very nice time and I’m looking forward to doing it all again sometime in the not too distant future.
Hopefully when the weather is better.
With Phase II of the development of the Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre underway, the board’s fundraising committee is seeking permission from the Town and County to have a sponsor for the naming rights of the building.
Last week, both the Town and Brazeau County heard a request from the EPAC board to allow Tom and Sheila McGee to start approaching companies about naming rights for the facility. The name of the theatre wouldn’t replace Eleanor Pickup’s name, but would be something like Naming Sponsor Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre.
By giving out the naming rights, the board believes it would be able to raise a significant portion of the costs of the expansion.
The expansion is expected to cost around $4 million. The goal is to cover most of the costs through grants and fundraising, but the McGees think people should focus less on the dollar signs and more on the benefits a larger facility can provide.
The fundraising committee co-chairs are expected to kick off the fundraising at about the same time as the July 17 Charity Golf Tournament sponsored by the Town and County.
They say they have taken on the project because they feel that it’s important that there be opportunities available for people, especially children, who lean more toward the arts than sports.
“I think it’s a big part of our community that we don’t know,” says Tom McGee.
He says there are many talented people in our community who haven’t been able to show off their skills. While the children who play sports have their place, McGee says he believes it’s just as important to invest in a space for other interests.
For him, watching the kids get ready for a performance and then nail their lines on stage is awesome.
“When you see those kids on stage, remembering their lines and doing their work, you just think, ‘Oh my goodness. How brilliant is that?’” says McGee.
Right now, it’s difficult to hold full productions at the EPAC due to a lack of space. There is no green room, which means that cast members don’t have a lot of room to change their costumes or do their makeup. In some cases, trailers have been parked behind the theatre to provide space for the cast to wait until they’re needed on stage.
There are also no washrooms for the cast to use or any space for set storage during a production.
McGee says that when he was on town council in the past, there was some reluctance to close off the walking space between Main Street and the parking lot behind the EPAC. However, his thought on the matter is that it’s not a long walk to go around the buildings rather than through that space.
He also says the expansion would allow for additional revenue, which could help offset some of the costs of the building. Currently, there is a suite above the theatre that gets rented out. With the proposed expansion, there would be room for an additional two suites.
“The argument could be made that it’s sustainable,” says McGee. “It sort of pays for itself.”
He says they will also be approaching the Minister of Tourism and Sport, MLA Andrew Bointchenko, about any possible tourism grants that might be available for the project.
“I was so proud of them,” says Lora. “They never even hesitated.”
“They reacted, stayed calm, and did what they were trained to do,” says Lora.
Benjamin says he would recommend Junior Lifeguards for everyone, even if it’s only for a year or two. “People need to learn how to swim, and if there is somebody drowning, you know how to keep them afloat,” he says.
Desiree Janzen, the coach of the Junior Lifeguard Club at Park Valley Pool, says the program teaches kids life-saving skills in and around water. She says there are competitions, but she says the program is not just about competition.
“A lot of the stuff we do in the events, you can take that and [apply it] if you see somebody in distress in the water,” she says.
Janzen says the life jackets the father and son were using were the type that inflates when it comes into contact with water. “They’re not the best life jackets in the world, but they are better than nothing,” says Janzen.
Janzen says it was amazing they were able to help the man out without putting themselves in harm’s way. “They deserve to be recognized,” she says. “I’m very proud of them.”
She says she is contacting the Life Saving Society to share Benjamin and Amelia’s accomplishments. The society does award medals and Janzen hopes the kids’ actions will qualify for one. “I’m hoping that they will get recognized through the Life Saving Society as well,” says Janzen.
These are a few of my favourite things
What do I like? Thanks for asking. I like loads of things.
I like beer. I like wine, especially if there’s some fresh bread and a nice piece of cheese to go with it. I like playing golf. I like holidays somewhere sunny.
Donation leads to arena upgrades
Change is on the way to Drayton Valley’s arena.
The facility, which was rebranded as the Team Auctions Centre last year, will see upgrades valued at $1 million thanks to a contribution from an anonymous donor.
In the high and far-off times
Nothing in the last 50 years has quite matched the feeling I got waking up one July morning in 1976 and realizing I wouldn’t have to so much as think about simultaneous equations for the next six weeks.
E-dirtbikes raise safety concerns
Off-highway vehicles are not allowed on public municipal property in Drayton Valley, whether they are electric or not.
