Looking back at the year’s top newsmakers
from Elk Point Review By Vicki Brooker Review Staff
As we enter a new year and a new decade, we look back at the news that made the front page headlines during the past 12 months, in a year that was marked by both progress and controversy.
January
An issue carried over from 2008 loomed large on our first front page of the year, and would be in in our pages many times during the months that followed. A 700-name petition, requesting the County of St. Paul establish a reevaluate the Reeve at large position, was deemed insufficient under the Municipal Government Act.
Building permits took a dramatic drop in 2008, according to town manager Myron Goyan, dropping from 30 permits, including those for 19 new homes, for construction valued at $7,247,000 in 2007 to 15 permits, including only three new homes, for a total value of $2.249,000.
Elk Point Metelytsia Ukrainian Dance Club paid a lively tribute to the Ukrainian pioneers who settled our area at their annual Malanka celebration, with a presentation depicting their arrival in Canada after a long sea voyage, their trip westward by train, the breaking of land and seeding their first crops, and the joyous celebration when those crops were successful.
Chamber of commerce members heaved a collective sigh of relief when profits from the 2007 Christmas Extravaganza were substantially higher than had been forecast.
February
Leonard Gadowski boosted his Oilmen’s Bonspiel record by another notch, winning five out of the past six championships as the last rocks were swept home at the 26th annual spiel, where lan Huffman was named the 2009 Oilman of the Year.
Alberta’s Iron Horse Trail is “knitting our entire region together,” Riverland Recreational Trail Society president Sheila Thompson told delegates from communities along all three branches of the trail who met to determine the next priorities and strategies for trail development.
Elk Point Elementary School students turned out in full force as students in many communities in Alberta took part in Winter Walk Day, an initiative of SHAPE (Safe Healthy Active People Everywhere), which promotes safe and active routes to school across the province.
Elk Point 4-H members took part in the first event to grace the stage of the new Elk Point Arts and Leisure Centre, as they hosted their annual public speaking competition in the new venue, with senior member Robyn Ockerman, intermediate Darren Tymofichuk, junior Nicole Tymofichuk and presenter Alexis Bristow taking home top honours.
March
A review of regulations regarding free-standing business signs was underway, with the aim of clarifying the existing bylaw, which town Coun. Dwayne Yaremkevich said “has a lot of contradictions in it.” (Continued on Page 6)
Elk Point Chamber of Commerce finally had a full roster of executive, for the first time in over a year, when Debra McQuinn agreed to take on the position of treasurer, to the relief of Lesia Porcina, who had filled that role on a temporary basis for the entire previous year, along with her position of vice-president.
The Town of Elk Point showcased upcoming projects, ranging from planned water line upgrades and extensions to the route of a possible 24.7 water supply line, at a joint open house and open council meeting at the Arts and Leisure Centre, with members of the Regional Allied Arts Society on hand to lead visitors on tours of the new facility,
Girls ruled at F. G. Miller High School junior high science fair, when nine teams of young ladies went home with all the hardware after judges toured close to 50 experiments, ranging from a lemon-powered light bulb to a scale model suspension bridge.
Elk Point volunteer firefighters proved bald was beautiful, when they went under the clippers to raise funds for four-year-old cancer victim Abby Rybchinsky, with some firefighters also taking part in an auction of slaves and donated items to help the family.
April
Town council debated priorities for the $4.4 to $4.7 million Municipal Sustainability Initiative funding they expected to receive, with water and infrastructure improvements at the top of their list.
A planning session in September 2008 allowed town council to give ratepayers a glimpse of the community five years into the future, as “a proud, vibrant and environmentally-friendly community enjoying the benefits of a diversified economy.”
“An unbelievable number of plans have gone out,” town manager Myron Goyan told council the night before tenders were to be opened for both the new fire hall and the EcoCentre,
Grade 10 students at F. G. Miller High School faced hard facts at the P.A.R.T.Y. (Prevention of Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth) Program at Elk Point Health Care Centre, aimed at preventing further tragic deaths of FGM students, and a legacy to the student union's representative on the Community Advisory Policing Committee, Katja Brand, who had urged that the program be carried out, only hours before she died in a vehicle crash.
Adinner, Brett Kissel concert, silent auction and live auction featuring Danny Hooper was declared a huge success by the chamber of commerce, who used the event as a fundraiser for the EcoCentre.
May
Elk Point Health Care Centre announced that they would be expanding their services, with Dr. Drew Ramful and Dr. Ayobami Oyebode jointly announcing the opening of a Well Women’s Clinic on a weekly basis.
Spring cleaning was underway across the area, with 4-H and church groups cleaning ditches along secondary highways, an ambitious group of volunteers cleaning up the downtown area and the Elks Lodge giving their Kehewin Lake campground a going-over.
Elk Point Community Choir took to the stage of their new home in the Arts and Leisure Centre for the first time as they presented their 19th annual Spring Concert of memorable melodies.
Elk Point Chamber of Commerce approved four tenders totaling $221,882.22 for construction of the Visitor Information EcoCentre, with the total cost of the project estimated by project manager Bernie Genereux to be around $346,000.
Sod was turned for both the EcoCentre and the new fire hall. Minister of Municipal Affairs Ray Danyluk joined Mayor Parrish Tung and chamber vice-president Lesia Porcina for the official start on the EcoCentre, and with Mayor Tung and County of St. Paul Reeve Robert Bouchard on the fire hall kick-off. The province, town and county cooperated to purchase a wheelchair accessible van for local residents.
Late Superintendent of Schools Doug Yeo was remembered with a moment of silence at the colourful St. Paul Education Regional Division’s 2009 powwow, held at Frog Lake Powwow Grounds.
June
Darren Tymofichuk showed the grand champion and Alanna Ockerman the reserve champion steer at Elk Point 4-H Multi Club achievement day, which also featured displays by horse, dog, small motors and craft project members.
Elk Point Oilmen’s Association celebrated their 25th anniversary with an afternoon of golf and an evening banquet, with a number of members from the early days coming back to Elk Point for the occasion.
Adventures and challenges faced participants in the second annual Riverland Adventure Challenge, which involved canoeing, a cross-country run and cycling.
Main Street was the gallery for Elk Point Auto Club’s Show and Shine, with no less than 45 vehicles on display.
Lynette Paul, Brandon Stanley and Raylynn Fisher made up Heinsburg’s Class of 2009, who celebrated their accomplishments with friends and family.
Elk Point celebrated a century of postal service, with numerous past employees joining the present staff for the occasion.
Elk Point Order of the Royal Purple made a reluctant decision to relinquish their charter after 48 years as a lodge, with 20 members gathering the next evening for one final dinner where they reminisced over the good times they had enjoyed together.
Every player was a winner at the Lakeland Rookie Baseball league windup, hosted by the Elk Point Rookie team.
F. G. Miller’s Class of 2009 said farewell to their high school years with gala ceremonies at the Arts and Leisure Centre, the first time a graduating class has held their ceremonies anywhere but at the school. Nicole Kalynchuk was the valedictorian, and was also the recipient of numerous awards recognizing her scholastic ability.
July
Canada Day in Elk Point was a big hit, beginning to end, with fun, food and entertainment for all, with the annual strength challenge, farm survival race and Canada Day Idol talent show adding a competitive edge to the lineup.
The sun that baked Canada Day spectators continued to shine for the Stoney Lake Stampede, where good crowds enjoyed the thrills and spills of the 47th annual event.
The CFB Cold Lake fighter jet that streaked above Main Street just prior to the July 1 parade was a huge hit with the Canada Day committee, when they gathered for one last time to critique the event.
The unveiling of a memorial to those who lived and died at the Fort George and Buckingham House fur trade posts was a special addition to 2009 Saskatoon Festival events, with a number of descendants of the fur traders on hand for the occasion.
One of the sports highlights of the year came in late July, when the Elk Point Sox baseball team won Tier I provincial gold in Rocky Mountain House with a 10-5 victory over Sherwood Park.
August
Town council met Elk Point RCMP’s new detachment commander, Sergeant Brad Lazicki, who was born and raised in the community and who served for 12 years with the RCMP in Vernon, Lumby, Chilliwack and Vancouver before returning to his home community.
A weekend of hard work saw a gigantic array of poles, plastic and pieces hard and small turned into a state-of-the-art playground at Elk Point Elementary School, thanks to the dedicated efforts of about 20 hardworking volunteers.
Delores Mohyluk won her second grand aggregate award in a row at Elk Point Agricultural Society’s Horticultural and Craft Show and Quilt Exhibition, with Millie Orr second and Misty Smereka winning both prizes in the quilt show.
Tyson Stafford won the 26th annual Oilmen’s Golf Tournament, edging out last year’s winner, Norm Quinney III.
Derwent area resident Don Gulayec lost a $2.8 million hog operation to a massive fire.
Heinsburg Community Club marked 50 years of incorporation, with four founding members, Alice Gregor, Iryne Buck, Colleen and Vernon “Babe” Sharkey, honoured at the gala event.
September
An excellent crowd enjoyed the music of close to 40 performers at the annual Forts des Prairies Jamboree at Fort George and Buckingham House Historic Site.
Elk Point cowboy Charlie Young was named the Lakeland Rodeo Association Cowboy of the Year during opening ceremonies for LRA Showdown 2009 finals.
Construction was underway at the Northern Lights Library System headquarters, with a four-bay garage taking the place of the former entry and an addition of a 2,500 square foot addition going up on the north side as part of a $2.3 million upgrade to the facility, but construction did not disrupt the 17th and largest-ever Northern Lights annual conference, Libraries: A Place to Grow.”
Eighty-six-year-old great-grandmother Peggy Maas raised an award-winning $1,540 for local and international charities with her participation in the National Grandparents Day walk.
A regional water distribution system with a pipeline connecting Elk Point to the St. Paul water treatment plant was seen as a benefit by both town and county residents who attended an open house to outline the findings of the St. Paul Regional Water Feasibility Study.
Signage regulations came under scrutiny by town council as they planned an overhaul of the existing bylaw.
Elementary School students kept Terry Fox’s dream alive with their annual run, led by cancer survivors Kaylee Poitras and Clarissa Gusnowski with Canadian flags.
October
Alyxandra Aarbo was named the best all around student at F.-G. Miller High School’s awards night.
Town council agreed to join the town and county of St. Paul in a regional water system.
Concems that a web camera capturing a bird's-eye view of Elk Point could raise privacy issues were taken to both chamber and town council meetings.
Debate continued on the use of sea can containers for storage structures, with two local residents and a Baptist Church representative expressing their views to council.
County residents voted “yes” to an elected reeye by a slim 69-yote margin, with 37 per cent of the 4,283 eligible ratepayers casting their votes.
November
Economic development coordinator Bob Bezpalko returned from the Alberta Visitor Information Providers’ and Tourism Industry of Alberta conferences filled with enthusiasm for the role of Elk Point's new visitor information centre in the community.
Immunization against the HIN1 virus was underway, with recipients divided into priority groups.
Grade 12 groups led a touching ceremony at F. G. Miller’s Remembrance Day observances.
The solar panels went up outside, but the inside finishing of the Eco Centre had to wait, due to the belated arrival of the elevator which would provide access to the upper and lower floors for those unable to use stairs.
Extravaganza put Elk Point in a festive mood and kicked off the holiday season.
