ECA Review 2020-05-21

4 M ay 21'20 HANNA/CORONATION/STETTLER, AB. ECA REVIEW
We salute
Police,
firefighters,
ambulance
personnel,
school staff
Peter Boys, Associate Advisor
peter@boysfinacial.com
Box 2089
www.boysfinancial.com
www.BoysFinancial.com
T: 403.742.6450 • 866.219.7366
C: 403.740.4835
Peter@BoysFinancial.com
Office: 403.742.6450 · 866.219.7366
Cell: 403.740.4835
My Thanks to Essential Workers Everywhere
• Purchase • Construction Mortgage
• Refinance • Equity Take-Out
403.742.3215 Sky Financial Corporation
5019 51 Ave, Stettler, AB T0C 2L2
An Independent Member of the Mortgage Centre Network
1-877-913-3373
Landmark Realty
Castor, AB
www.realtor.ca
SUTTON
LANDMARK REALTY
Located beside
Battle River Credit Union
Main Street, Castor
Heartland
GLASS
Gordon “HOSS” Nichols
403-882-HOSS (4677)
REALTOR
Peter Boys - Advisor
Basil Nichols
403-323-0365
MLS REALTOR
Basil Nichols
403-323-0365
REALTOR
View all our listings on our website
www.hoss.pcspro.com or www.realtor.ca
4910A - 51 Street
Commercial & Residential
4709 50 St. Stettler
403.742.2665
Stettler, AB T0C 2L0
Gordon “HOSS” Nichols
403-882-HOSS (4677)
Suite A, 4819 - 51 St.,
Stettler
403.742.3411
www.simoninlaw.com
REALTOR
Winning Smiles START HERE
Your Full-Service Family Dentistry Team
HALO Air Ambulance, a
southern Alberta based medical
service, is in dire straits
after the government has
made it abundantly clear
they wish not to invest much
needed funding for continual
operations.
HALO CEO Paul Carolan
estimates the fee-for-service
model currently used only
accounts for less than 10 per
cent of their annual budget,
leaving a large amount up to
‘the backs of everyday
Albertans’.
“I try to be very, very clear
about this. The most important
message we need to get
out is while COVID-19 might
be the catalyst for this, it is
not the cause. The cause is
the lack of the provincial government’s
willingness to
fund appropriately for essential
services in southern
Alberta,” said Carolan.
On Fri. May 8, 2020 HALO
contacted Premier Kenney’s
office to make it clear that
without an immediate
Government of Alberta
investment they would have
to fold the medevac program
and scale back operations to
a single-engine helicopter
effective June 1, 2020.
“The problem with that
model is that the most inexpensive
part of the program
is the flying,” said Carolan.
“So the government is getting
the benefit of having an
exclusive asset SUTTON
available
whenever they need it and
LANDMARK REALTY
only paying when they use it.
Located beside
Battle River Credit Union
Main Street, Castor
Basil Nichols
403-323-0365
REALTOR
View all our listings on our website
www.hoss.pcspro.com or www.realtor.ca
| Preventative Care & Cleanings | Digital X-Rays
| Fillings & Crowns | Gum Disease Treatment
| Child Friendly | Wheelchair Access Available
| Direct Bill to Insurance | Financing Offered
Mon- Fri 8 am - 4 pm
Dr. Viral Patel,
General Dentist
4906-51 Street Stettler, Ab
t:403 742 6741 • f:403-742-2391
e: stettlerfamilydental@gmail.com
w: drpatelfamilydental.com
Ambulance service in dire straits
An impromptu photo gallery on 6th Ave. S in Three Hills for 39 Three Hills School 2020 Grade 12
graduates. With the COVID-19 pandemic having shut all schools in the province, this curbside display,
taken May 17, may be the only public recognition students receive as they step from one career to the
next. ECA Review/ D. Nadeau
Accepting
New
Patients
Terri Huxley
ECA Review
Black bear spotted
near Spondin
Terri Huxley
ECA Review
At approximately 2 p.m.
on Tues. May 12, a black
bear was spotted on the bald
prairies in the Spondin,
Alta. area, northeast of
Hanna and southwest of
Coronation.
Don Quast, the man who
saw the bear, says neighbours
– especially ranchers
– should be on the lookout to
ensure their livestock’s
safety as well as their own.
The fully grown bear was
headed northeast, coming
for the southwest.
The most expensive part of
our program is the dedicated
availability of the service.”
HALO covers remote service
areas in the east central
region like Special Areas and
MD of Acadia including
Buffalo, Jenner, Oyen,
Acadia Valley, Empress, Big
Stone, Wardlow, Finnegan,
Iddesleigh, etc. as well as
Lethbridge, Brooks and
Medicine Hat.
Carolan noted that the
main reason they are needed,
especially for service deserts
such as the Special Areas is
that when speaking with fire
chiefs, their call can be a
mere 10 miles away but it
ends up being a 90 minute
drive by ground because of
the landscape like winding
rivers and deep coulees
Unfortunately, no picture
was able to be taken due to
its quick stride.
“He was moving along
pretty good,” said Quast.
“He would walk for a few
steps and then he’d go and
he was covering ground
pretty good.”
Frank and Sue Geduhn of
Hemaruka, Alta. spotted a
bear, likely the same one,
several days later.
He stated it looked to be a
two-year old adult male and
said generally at that age
males tend to branch out
and likely would not be
harmful livestock.
which can become a life or
death situation with that
time being lost.
“We’ve been to calls in the
Oyen, Jenner, Buffalo,
Special Areas. The difference
A coverage area map of both HALO Air Ambulance services and
STARS Air Ambulance.
ECA Review/Submitted
between us and a program
like STARS coming out of
Calgary is that being located
regionally means that we
maximize every ounce of fuel
we have because we are
always travelling in the
direction of the goal post
right so when we leave
Medicine Hat for Oyen we
can get to the Foothills
Hospital in Calgary on one
tank of fuel,” said the CEO.
“So we don’t have to wait
for a refuel, we don’t have to
wait for an unload or reload
of a patient. We don’t have to
deal with any of those delays
check us out online
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and quite frankly if you’re using a helicopter,
those minutes really matter.”
Since their inception in 2007, the
company has never had sustained
funding from the province other than
a restricted $1 million grant for the
purchase of their main twin-engine
helicopter, HALO 1.
Currently, there are ambulance services
as well as two helicopters at their
disposal but typically the HALO 1 is
used as it is stronger, larger and more
versatile in emergency situations.
Late last week, members of the
HALO Board of Directors held an
emergency meeting to discuss the
financial forecast of the program.
Following a record setting fund
development year in 2019, the arrival
of the pandemic earlier this year had
an immediate impact on their fundraising
program.
“Other air ambulance programs
have benefitted from years of
Government of Alberta support,
allowing them to build financial
reserves that can be drawn upon
during these extraordinary times.
HALO has no such reserves,” stated
Carolan.
The province has not addressed the
situation at this time.
We here at
Paintearth Lodge
would like to give a
Big Thank You
to Castor Farming, Suncrest
Colony and Laura Towers for
making cloth masks for our
residents and staff, we greatly
appreciate your thoughtfulness.
To our residents thank you
for your patience and
cooperation during this time.
Together we stand.
Angels Among Us
Thank you to our 911 Operator, our
Castor Fire Department, our Forestburg EMS, our
neighbours, and STARS.
An unfortunate accident Wednesday evening
led to a 911 call, quick, precise action, dispatch
of STARS Air Rescue, the Castor Fire and Rescue
team and Forestburg EMS. Professional training
and leadership placed four Emergency Service
Vehicles and over a dozen responders on scene
literally within minutes. STARS soon followed.
Since that night, our family has been
wrapped with care and concern, from offers
of food and child care and sincere wishes for a
speedy recovery, to a blanketing of prayer.
A sincere and heartfelt thank you to our
responders and neighbours. You are truly Angels
Among Us. Sarah is doing okay, and recovering
thanks to you, our Community.
Dwayne, Carmen, Joey & kids.
is an accredited K-12 Private Christian School located in Mirror, Alberta.
We Welcome Applications
For The 2019-2020 School Year
Kindergarten Through Grade 12.
Kindergarten students must be Five (5) years of age as of December 31, 2020.
Legal identification documentation (such as a birth certificate)
is required to accompany all new applications.
For questions or more information, please contact the school office
at 403-788-2444 or email info@livingtruthchristianschool.ca.
www.livingtruthchristianschool.ca