ECA Review 2022-08-04

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6 August 4'22 HANNA/CORONATION/STETTLER, AB. ECA REVIEW OPINION The opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of this newspaper. EDITORIAL No friend of women R R R R R Published by Coronation Review Limited Brenda Schimke ECA Review Danielle Smith, leadership candidate for the UCP party, seems to be parroting Jason Kenney’s leadership campaign strategy by focussing almost exclusively on the male-dominated, far-right, libertarian faction of the party. But will fiscal conservatives, socially-conscience conservatives, urban conservatives and women conservatives be there to support her when a general election rolls around? Smith shares Kenney’s disdain for public education. During her 770 CHQR radio show on Mar. 7, 2018, she said, “maybe every independent (private) school needs to be fully-funded and we need to phase out every government run public school.” Her lack of empathy for the homeless was on full display in October 2012, when Smith tweeted that properly cooked tainted meat ( with E.coli bacteria) could feed the homeless. She claims to be this great fiscal conservative warrior, yet she doesn’t understand that providing affordable housing for the homeless would save three levels of governments billions of dollars each year in health care, criminal justice, social services and emergency shelter costs. Her self-righteous attitude that personal health is a lifestyle choice lacks empathy and understanding. Obviously unaware that poor health outcomes are most often related to poverty, genetics and corporate greed that relentlessly push unhealthy junk food. So, it should not come as a surprise that out of the mouth of Smith came the hurtful comments that Stage 4 cancer victims were responsible for their own predicament. That they had complete control to stop cancer in its tracks if only they had taken better care of themselves. Like all populous leaders every time their truth is caught on tape and it is unpalatable to the general public—out comes the “I’ve been misunderstood” line and a culprit is served up to take the blame. Her most popular culprits are mainstream media and Justin Trudeau. Kenney’s favourites as well. Her conspiratorial comments on July 15 accused Alberta Health Subscriptions: $52.50 in Canada; $98.70 in US; $183.75 Overseas. “ Like all populous leaders every time their truth is caught on tape and it is unpalatable to the general public — out comes the “I’ve been misunderstood” line and a culprit is served up to take the blame. Services (AHS) of deliberately sabotaging the Kenney government during the pandemic by falsely claiming the system was near collapse to bully MLAs into accepting vaccine mandates and passports. In fact, without enhanced health restrictions, AHS was already preparing to ship patients out of province for care, as had conservative governments in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The promotion of such mis-truths is indeed a ‘red flag’ for any Albertan who still wants a functioning public health care system. Janet Brown, a respected Alberta pollster, found in an April 2021 poll that those who scored Kenney lowest were women (59 per cent); middle income earners who earn between $60,000 and $120,000 (59 per cent) and residents of Calgary and Edmonton (56 per cent). Brown’s poll showed an alarming loss with those groups that Rachel Notley had won to defeat the Jim Prentice/ Danielle Smith ticket in 2015. Danielle Smith’s campaign is particularly anti-woman. Undermining public health care, public education and seniors’ care, and attacking the new child care program affects women more than men. Women are the ones who pick up the pieces when the aforementioned systems are starved by government leaders who lack reason and empathy. It is also women who make up the majority of the work force in health care, education, senior’s care and childcare, and more often than not, these women are the primary breadwinners for their families. She may wear a ‘skirt’, but Danielle Smith is no friend of working women, single-parent women, women who care for aged parents, indigenous women, immigrant women or grandmothers raising grandchildren. Smith is parroting Jason Kenney’s successful leadership campaign— uncompromising, all-knowing and “it’s never my fault”—clearly forgetting how poorly that strategy served Kenney as premier. If polls are correct, UCP members seem ready for another go at this type of leadership. The true test will be next year’s general election and whether Albertans are ready for more of the same. - COPYRIGHT NOTICE - All printed material, written, display advertising and photographs are the sole property of The ECA Review. No reproduction of this material or layout including social media is permitted without written consent of the Publisher. Call us for more info. 72 pt East Central Alberta EVIEW 60 pt 48 pt 36 pt Website ECAreview.com Office Hours Mon. - Fri. 9 am - 5 pm R 30 pt 4921 - Victoria Avenue Tel. (403) 578-4111 R 24 pt Mail: Box 70, Coronation, AB Canada, T0C 1C0 “ LETTERS POLICY • Letters to the Editor are welcomed • Must be signed and a phone number included so the writer’s identity can be verified. • ECA Review reserves the right to edit letters for legal considerations, taste and brevity. Letters and columns submitted are not necessarily the opinion of this newspaper. MEMBER OF: Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. FROM THE BLEACHERS Money making noise in world of sports by Bruce Penton If you have a child and like money, groom him or her to be a sports star. Sports is where you’ll find the real loot. Money has become the talk of the sports world lately, and here are a couple of examples: — Juan Soto, a baseball player of considerable talent for the Washington Nationals, said thanks but no thanks to a contract offer of $440 million over 15 years. C’mon, he’s got a family to feed. Soto thinks that was an insulting offer, considering it averages out to less than $30 million per year and some of his fellow major leaguers, whose stats don’t measure up to Soto’s, are already making in excess of $30 million. Another mitigating factor? Soto is only 23 and two-plus years away from free-agent eligibility, so he has a couple of hundred games to put up even more impressive stats before some team (probably the Yankees or Dodgers) pushes his offer to a cool $500 million for …. oh, 12 seasons. — The Saudi Arabian money pit that has thrown a wrench into the world of professional golf is on the verge of winning the battle because players can’t say no to offers of life-changing riches. Could you turn down $90 million, as was reported to have been offered Cameron Smith, winner of the Open Championship at St. Andrew’s in Scotland? JOYCE WEBSTER Publisher/Editor publisher@ECAreview.com YVONNE THULIEN Marketing/Digital 403-575-9474 digital@ECAreview.com Is there a chance Phil Mickelson would have said thanks, but no thanks to $200 million showing up one day in his chequing account? If you were Richard Bland, Kevin Na, Pat Perez or Taylor Gooch, would guaranteed millions of dollars for fewer ‘working’ days be attractive enough to say ‘sayonara’ to the PGA Tour, as Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama is expected to do one of these days? The catch-phrase slogan about money being the root of all evil may have some legitimacy, but money can also be the root of a great deal of happiness. Just ask lottery winners, or Michael Jordan, whose net worth is $2.2 billion, or soccer star Lionel Messi, who pulled in $130 million last year, $75 million for playing soccer, and $55 million from off-field income. LeBron James made twice as much ($80 million) off the basketball court than he did on it ($40 million) while aging tennis star Roger Federer pulled in only $700,000 last year for his tennis accomplishments, but is keeping creditors at bay thanks to $90 million in offcourse income. And then there’s Tom Brady. He’s 44 years old, still playing quarterback in the toughest league in the world and making $84 million in on- and off-field income. And his net worth of $250 million ranks second in his family. His wife Gisele Bundchen, one of the world’s highest BRENDA SCHIMKE Editorial Writer JUDY WALGENBACH Marketing 403-740-2492 marketing@ECAreview.com STU SALKELD LJI Reporter 403-741-2615 reporter@ECAreview.com SHEREE BAILLIE Marketing 587-990-4818 contact@ECAreview.com paid supermodels, has a net worth of $400 million. It’s safe to say Tom and Gisele can afford extra butter on their popcorn when they take in a movie. SLAP Shots • RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com: “According to Orange News, a farmer who built his own submarine tested it by diving to the bottom of a nearby lake. He christened it the Cincinnati Red.” • Super 70s Sports, on Twitter, recalling a line from former Houston Oilers coach Bum Phillips, after Earl Campbell failed to complete a one-mile run in practice: “When it’s first and a mile, I won’t give it to him.””• Greg Cote of the Miami Herald: “Steph Curry will host The ESPYs . . . poor guy is finally getting some attention!” DANIEL GONZALEZ Reporter 403-700-9460 news1@ECAreview.com LISA MYERS-SORTLAND Graphic Artist R 18 pt
ECA REVIEW HANNA/CORONATION/STETTLER, AB August 4'22 7 HANNA COUNCIL Outrage over Senior Amenity Zone project Daniel Gonzalez ECA Review Outrage and frustration regarding the project costs for the Senior Amenity Zone project arose during the July 7 Hanna council information meeting. The $492,000 plan consists of a walking trail on Palliser Trail, sidewalk replacements and bump-outs on 5th Avenue and widening pathways in Hunter-king Hector Park. The $369,000 from Prairies Can and the Western Economic Development (WED) through the Canada Community Revitalization Fund would fund part of the project which requires Hanna to pay the rest. Although applications for tender started in June, the project failed to garner the interest of contractors. The project timeline and funding concerned Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Kim Neill since the funding deadline is March 31, 2023. Neill mentioned that for a contractor, design company 818 Studios Ltd. contacted four contractors who expressed interest in the project. One, in particular, sent a tender for $1.7 million. With the project being significantly over budget, CAO Neill contacted WED and Prairies Can to see if an extension is possible. Planning with 818 Studios to reduce the scope of work to meet the funding requirements was made on the condition that the contractor Urban Life Solutions agrees to the project. Administration and Urban Life Solutions will review the tender and focus on priority areas with revised quotes. Coun. Sandra Murphee questioned how 818 Studio Ltd. managed to have the pricing significantly off target. “If I did that as a business, I wouldn’t be in business,” says Murphee. “That’s crazy. So either 818 should give us a discount on what they gave us, or we wasted our time on things we can never afford because they told us it was affordable.” Coun. Murphee expressed frustration on the scaling back of the project and the impact it would have had on the community. “This was exciting. We were going to make the town look like we are investing in our young people,” says Murphee. CAO Neill responded that if certain parts of the project could be salvaged, with the town picking up some of the cost, the project could be worthwhile. Mayor Danny Povaschuk suggested an option to save the funds for the future rather than pursue this project. A discussion regarding the listed costs made council question the prices provided on the tender. Council will make the final decision on the amenity zone project at the regular council meeting in August. Victim Services Sgt. Robert Welsman of the Hanna RCMP detachment appeared before council to give an update regarding activity and statistics. Sgt. Welsman provided an update on the new victim services program by the RCMP, the Hanna Learning Centre and the office of the Justice Solicitor General. The new program will shift to a regional model that allows Alberta to take responsibility for victim services instead of having individual offices funded through grants. As preparation for the new model will take time, an interim solution will be in place for victim services. “As the arrangement’s set up, our detachment still has a responsibility to advise victims of crime of what their rights are,” says Sgt. Welsman. The RCMP looks forward to the victim services program as it will help assist victims through the court process. Coun. Sandra Beaudoin asked if provincial elections affect the program, but Sgt. Welsman couldn’t provide an answer. He hopes that bureaucracy will not interfere with the program. Coun. Angie Warwick outlined that politicians need to be accountable for their actions if it influences the outcome. Crime statistics Statistics for crime in Hanna and the surrounding area showed no drastic changes compared to the same quarter of previous years. According to Sgt. Welsman, property crime and copper wire theft are still common crimes, in addition to domestic violence. Education on fraud issues is also a priority for the RCMP as it is a commonly reported crime. Coun. Beaudoin brought concerns of a resident about suspected drug trafficking in the community. The resident is a single mother concerned about her children becoming clients for a possible dealer who cuts through their property. She also mentioned to Coun. Beaudoin that the mother of the suspected dealer provides sandwiches to children in the community to garner false trust. Coun. Beaudoin outlined that this is not the image Hanna should portray and asked Sgt. Welsman if there is any targeting for drug crimes in the town. Sgt. Welsman outlined that drugs are a prevalent problem in every community but guarantees that the RCMP is aware of individuals involved in the drug trade and will continue to investigate when possible. Coun. Murphee noted a leap in reports regarding mental health. Sgt. Welsman stated that the number stems from individuals with mental health concerns who make reports with the RCMP. “I will say that we do deal with mental health issues on a regular basis at the detachment,” says Sgt. Welsman. “I don’t think that’s different anywhere else, but we will certainly keep our eye out for an increase.” He outlines that the RCMP works hard to ensure to help those individuals connect with the proper medical professionals. Hanna Learning Centre Doray Veno, Executive Director of the Hanna Learning Centre (HLC), provided an activity update to council. The HLC, a registered non-profit serving the community since 1976, consists of four departments; Learning and Literacy, Career and Employment Services, Connecting Community and Business Services. A recent program called ‘come for lunch, stay for conversation’ was made to address food security concerns in Hanna. Every Wednesday, HLC provides pre-packaged meals in the lobby of the Provincial Building. Since last March, it has given 530 meals to the community. HLC freezes remaining meals for a grab-and-go program offered once every month to prevent food waste. On occasion, individuals receive meals outside of these days. Meals are made off-site by Karen Miller, a local caterer, where they are brought in and served. Every meal comes individually packaged and provides proper nutrition. Veno also mentioned an amalgamation of the HLC and Hanna Volunteer Association that started in 2021. A new organization will launch before the end of this year with new branding but will continue to offer the same services. Rather than operating two organizations, it will unify them both. A challenge that Veno and the HLC face is the uncertainty with the facility. Policy from Alberta Infrastructure will make users of their space pay full cost recovery. It will cost the HLC $60,000 per year. Before the policy change, HLC used the facility over the last 20 years at zero cost. Although grant funding for the upcoming year is secured, the HLC will look for a new facility to base its operations. Turn to Shacker, Pg 12 e Business Directory Bill’s Waterwell Services Ltd. Well Drilling Pumps & Repairs 403-747-2120 drillerbill@xplornet.com Big Country Construction & Building Supplies 2018 Ltd. • Custom New Homes • All Farm Buildings • Renovations • Windows and Doors • Overhead Doors & Service • Retail Sales Quality Customer Care 403-854-3585 UNLIMITED HIGH‐SPEED INTERNET Now Serving: Coronation, Veteran, Talbot, Brownfield, Alliance, Fleet, Castor, Halkirk, Botha, & Stettler areas. More to come! Plans starting at $50/mo. Packages from 7 to 50Mbps 403-578-4214 Toll Free 866.57.VITAL 53’ Ground Load Services Benson Van Hienen 403-741-5735 bvhtrucking@gmail.com Scott Lourance 403-916-4600 Cell 403-742-2551 Home 53’ Cattle Liner 53’ Ground Load Hay Trailer CAN'T SEE OUT? 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ECA Review 2022-08-04

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