C'mon Lethbridge – Let's vote! - Lethbridge Journal

Page 6 - THE JOURNAL - WEEK OF JANUARY 20, 2011
Community
MARK CAMPBELL
Campbell’s Corner
One lottery I always try to support is the annual
STARS Lottery. The cause is great and
the prizes are outstanding. Last week was the
official launch at the Lethbridge Dream Home
at 618 Canyonview Landing built by Avonlea
Master Builders. The media and invited guests
were on hand and as usual when I walked
through the doors I instantly said, “I’ll take it.”
I love the fact that should you be fortunate to
win the house, you get everything: the furniture,
the electronics and all the little decorative
extras. Avonlea interior designer Jennifer Mc-
Carthy did her usual stand out job. I think if
I was to win, I would probably just move in
and leave the doors to my old house open with
a sign outside saying, “Take What You Need.”
It’s always good to get the perspective of why
the lottery is held from people whose lives were
saved because of STARS. Chris Slovak was in
a serious highway accident. Ingrid Todd had
a brain aneurism. Both would not have been
in attendance if it wasn’t for a short helicopter
ride they both took.
Avonlea Master Builders has been involved
in the STARS Lottery for 13 years and one of
the jobs Avonlea’s Steve Meszaros has is to
hand over the house keys to the winner each
year. Steve told me a pretty wild story about
last year’s winner Karen Rylance and her partner
Mark Bickford from Winfield, Alberta.
For seven or eight months before the draw,
wherever Mark would go he kept on seeing the
numbers 11:11 over and over. Just before the
draw, Mark was in Newfoundland at his grandfather’s
90th birthday. When he walked into
his bedroom the clock said 11:11. Soon after,
Karen called with the good news. When the
lucky couple showed up in Lethbridge for the
first time to look at their new home, there had
been a power outage in the city. They walked
into the kitchen and saw the clock on the stove.
You guessed it. It was flashing 11:11. And to
add just one more crazy coincidence to the tale
of ones, Steve pulled out his business card and
showed it to Mark. Avonlea’s address: 1111-
3rd Ave. S.
The STARS Lottery is already 50% sold
out. You can get your tickets at the house at
618 Canyonview Landing, call 1-888-880-0992
or order on line at www.starslottery.ca. Single
tickets are $25, a pack of 5 is $100 and you can
get 15 for $250.
As I was leaving the STARS home I was
in the garage overlooking the plethora of footwear.
(As in most show homes, they ask you to
take off your shoes before traipsing through.)
As an off-handed remark I joked to another guy
also searching for his shoes, “I wonder if I can
do an upgrade here?” I put on what I thought
were my shoes and as I started to walk away
I thought, “Hmm…did my feet shrink while I
was in there? This doesn’t feel right.” Upon
further review I realized I had put on the wrong
pair. In case you’re wondering I did go back to
the pile, found the proper pair and walked away
laughing pretty hard to myself. There was no
upgrade.
I mentioned in my last column about a CD
that long time local favorites Tom & Curt are
putting out. They just wanted to do what they
love to do-music- and give back to the community.
So Tom & Curt & Friends will be available
at all of their gigs with all proceeds going to the
Chinook Autism Society here in Lethbridge.
There is a great deal of research that shows
how music can be used as a form of therapy
for autistic children so it seemed like a great fit.
Hats off to Scott Groves who just donated
over $1200 to the Chinook Autism Society. He
had an amazing display of Christmas lights outside
his home in Coaldale during the holiday
season and kept a donation box outside. As he
put it, half went to the charity that is near and
dear to him (his son has Aspergers syndrome,
a form of autism) and the other half went to
his power bill.
Don’t forget to support the next Playgoers
production at the Yates. Rita Peterson is directing
the Oscar Wilde comedy, The Importance
of Being Earnest. It runs Feb. 2-5 at 8pm each
night. To the cast: fracture a tibia.
Aboriginal Voices
New Look for Piikani Nation
By Roy Pogorzelski
For The Journal
The year 2011 will see a new look at Chief
and Council for the Piikani nation. In early
January, the Piikani Nation held their elections
for Chief and Council. A spokesperson
from the band claimed that nearly 1000
members turned out to vote. The result
afforded Chief Gayle Strikes With A Gun
the honour of being the first female Chief
to represent the Piikani Nation and 1 of 4
female Chiefs throughout the Province.
Of the 12 councillors chosen, only 1 has
been re-elected, which portrays a great desire
for change and new direction. The 12
Councillors elected are: Doane Crowshoe
(re-elected), Wesley (Smoky) Provost, Williet
(Willard) Yellow Face, Angela Grier, Andrew
Provost Jr, Fabian North Piegan, Clayton
Small Legs, Kyle Grier, Rebecca Weasel
Traveller, Maurice Little Wolf, Elois Provost
and Casey Scott.
Gayle Strikes With A Gun utilized social
media via Facebook to assist in acquiring
votes and recognition of her platform. In
describing her experience and expertise;
Strikes With A Gun received a Bachelor
of Education from the University of Lethbridge
in 1988 and completed a Masters of
Education/Administration from the University
of British Columbia in 1996. Strikes
With A Gun has been a leader in education
for 25 years, as a Teacher, Vice-Principal, assistant/acting
Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent
of Education of 9 schools in
Beaufort Delta, NWT, and Director of Education
for the Piikani board of education.
She feels that community involvement
from all facets of Piikani society is of utmost
importance and her platform on Facebook
lists a 4 year Strategic Piikani Plan with
Chief Gayle Strikes With A Gun
community input to determine the needs of
the community and the direction the leadership
will take on community development.
New Chief Gayle also lists that it is important
to promote the language and culture
of the Piikani Nation, which assists in
building a stronger community. To promote
more accountability & transparency from
leadership to Piikani members; she is recommending
a leadership newsletter to provide
updates on the activities of Chief and
Council in the community.
Being an educator, Strikes With A Gun
believes in the development and use of
internet technology, which will assist in
strengthening the community and staying
connected to the world. The high unemployment
rates of Piikani members, lack of
appropriate housing, social issues and the
need for more youth involvement are priorities
for the newly elected Chief and Council.