Looking back at another year of growth, progress and achievement in Elk Point
VICKI BROOKER Review Staff
Elk Point moved into 2014 after a landmark year of construction, challenges and change, with new housing and industrial buildings going up, downtown businesses being upgraded and enlarged, staff shortages at the health care centre, a new town council with new ideas, and the search on for a new, full-time FCSS director.
Now it’s a year later, and while industrial construction has slowed, new residences are still becoming part of the skyline and the lengthy modernization and enlargement of the Elk Point branch of St. Paul and District Co-op is almost complete. The health centre has adequate staffing, town council has dealt with long-standing issues of paving streets in the original industrial park and increasing the capacity of the town’s utilities... and yes, Mayor Parrish Tung’s goal of a 24/7 water supply has been achieved. The new FCSS director is settled in, and Pengrowth Energy has achieved first steam on their Lindbergh project.
Let’s have a look, month by month, at the year just past.
January
MP Brian Storseth confirmed his intention to run in the new Lakeland Riding in 2015...
Alberta Health Services stepped up their fight against influenza, adding more clinics to their schedule to provide vaccine to Albertans over six months of age...
F. G. Miller High School announced plans to “Slam the door on bullying” by turning Elk Point pink on Anti Bullying Day, Feb. 28...
Replacing power-hungry light bulbs with more energy-efficient alternatives at the EcoCentre and researching the possibility of changing the staging area floodlights with LED equivalents were suggested as the chamber of commerce got back to work for a new year...
Tradition and time travel combined for a very entertaining performance by Elk Point Ukrainian Dance Club at their Malanka celebration...
Cenovus rinkmates Jeff Latos, Shane Freeson, Trent Cherry and Trevor Gilby were declared champions at the 31st Annual Elk Point Oilmen’s Bonspiel.., The late Pete Stafford, himself a former Oilmen’s Bonspiel winner, was named the Oilman of the Year...
Deanna Easthope officially retired after 27 years with FCSS in Red Deer, St. Paul and Elk Point, with her long service honoured at a very authentic English-style tea party.
February
Elk Point 4-H Beef Club competed in communications at their annual speak-off, with senior member Roy Tymko, intermediate Nicole Bristow and junior Macey Ann Marcoux named the winners...
Road closed
Vicki Brooker photo
A late February water main break caused major traffic disruptions on 52 Ave. as well as leaving a number of homes without water for more than 48 hours during one of the coldest weeks of 2014.
Elk Point and district opened their hearts to Kaitlyn Hunter, the teenage victim of a vehicle crash, tying heart-shaped messages of encouragement to a tree of good wishes at a benefit dance arranged by volunteers who had received help from the community in the past and wanted to pay it forward, which they did two weeks later to the tune of $21,233.94 ...
The 4-H Multi Club public speaking came down to a speak-off between Dana Gibson and Parker Allen for the intermediate win, with Gibson joining her sister, senior speaker Leanna, and Wolke Cueva in the winners’ circle...
Town council explored new and timesaving options for reading water meters
St. Paul's Silhouette Dancers headlined the entertainment at Elk Point Allied Arts’ fundraising pyrohy supper...
Extreme cold hampered work on a broken water main, shut down school buses and sidelined other weekend plans but a large contingent of pink shirted students and staff was still at F. G. Miller High to “Slam the door on bullying,” an effort reinforced by businesses whose staff also dressed in pink on an extremely frosty Friday.
March
Mayor Tung introduced a new idea to town council, suggesting the province’s new collaboration grant could be used to build a new, larger library to serve the community and surrounding areas...
Young scientists from Grades 3 to 6 at Elk Point Elementary School packed two classrooms with experiments ranging from marshmallow guns to erupting volcanoes for the annual Science Fair...
“You Can’t Take it With You” hit the Arts and Leisure Centre stage as Elk Point Community Choir and Friends presented their 2014 dinner theatre to six appreciative audiences...
Skaters large and small showed off their latest moves as the cast of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” as they wrapped up their season with the Ice Carnival...
Confident 10-year-old Emma Ellerton came to town council well equipped with handmade brochures and display to present a convincing argument for the establishment of a dog park in Elk Point...
The pink shirts came out of the closet again in March for the postponed F. G. Miller flash mob that added another slam on bullying, with musical support from the staff band, “Rock Bottom” and new student band, “April’s Fools”...
Elk Point's two Novice Avalanche teams battled for the Highway 28 League championship, with James Capjack’s Novice Two gang claiming the victory...
F. G. Miller hosted St. Paul Education Regional Division No. 1’s Math Olympics, with students from across the division competing in a variety of events and the host team winning the gold...
The Elk Point Review celebrated 30 years of publication...
The fourth annual Jim Vinge Memorial Hockey Tournament was as much a homecoming as a hockey tournament, with good times adding up to donations for the Alberta Heart and Stroke Foundation, the arena’s Horizon Room, the Kaitlyn Hunter Recovery Fund and the Faceoff for Alzheimer’s Hockey Tournament.
April
New FCSS Director Alania Sanregret took over the department, bringing a wealth of knowledge about the agencies that fall under the scope of human services...
Elk Point Minor Hockey celebrated a successful year, with Peewee Avalanche coach David Nazarchuk presenting the Alex Kurash Memorial trophy to Corbin Ockerman in reeognition of his improved skills, promotion of the sport and coachability...
Good budgeting resulted in a surplus of just over $312,000 for the County of St. Paul...
Metelytsia Ukrainian Dance Club’s spring concert turned a grey afternoon into a kaleidoscope of tradition, music and dance...
A near-capacity crowd was ‘Abracadazzled’ by a magic show sponsored by the Town of Elk Point, with free admission for all...
Town council took a major step to solve a longstanding problem and approved a $819,000 bid to pave four roads in the industrial park and install overlays on Railway Ave. and 54 Street.
May
The third annual 2nd Chance Trail Ride was a big success, with numerous first-time participants joining the ride to Heinsburg along the Iron Horse Trail and enjoying the dinner, auction and dance that followed...
With the EcoCentre’s turbine “dead in the wind,” the chamber of commerce discussed the possibility of finding it a new location further away from residences but still close enough to collect data for Lakeland College...
An extremely realistic ‘fatal’ crash was no accident, as Elk Point RCMP, firefighters and Victim Services staged the reenactment for participants in the P.A.R-T.Y. Program for Grade 10 and 11 students from Elk Point and Myrmam...
Town council held the line on mill rates for another year...
Roy Tymko showed the grand champion 4-H steer, his sister Heidi the supreme champion female and reserve champion steer and Kailey Wirsta the reserve champion female at Elk Point Beef Club's achievement day...
Health Care Centre staffing concerns were addressed when the Physician and Staffing Recruitment and Retention Committee met with Alberta Health vice president of Rural North East Operations Wendy Harrison...
Pengrowth Energy Corporation outlined the scope of their thermal heavy oil projects at am open house in Elk Point...
Elk Point Auto Club. enjoyed beautiful weather and a big crowd for their annual Show and Shine.
June
Elk Point 4-H Beef Club proudly led the STARS steer into the sale ring at the St. Paul District Show and Sale, raising a record amount of just over $18,000 to support the air ambulance service. Elk Point 4-H Multi Club members celebrated their achievements, with Lyon Cueva showing the grand champion sheep and Kaiden Allen the reserve champion...
Town council agreed that their commercial and industrial tax incentives would end on Dec. 31, 2014, leaving residential incentives in place for the time being...
Grade 12 students Jarred Loughran, Russel Ference and Dayle Oster were F. G. Miller High’s top Academic Honours students at Awards Day...
Chief Napewaew Comprehensive School valedictorian Kyesha Stanley told 15 fellow grads that, “We are the leaders of tomorrow”...
Katelyn Boratynec was presented with the St. Paul Education Regional Division Grade 6 Academic Medal at Elk Point Elementary’s awards day...
Retiring teacher Debbie Poulin, emcee at F. G. Miller’s graduation, said when she first met many of the students in Grade 7, she knew the group was both special and the last class she would see graduate prior to her retirement. (To be continued in next week's issue
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Elk Point danced to celebrate culture, pranced to prevent bullying, collected eggs at Easter, rode the trail to give others a second chance and spoke of a bright future during the first half of 2014 in Elk Point.
A look back at the busy summer of 2014
This week we continue our review of 2014 headlines with a look back at the noteworthy events of the summer.
July
Canada Day 2014 will be remembered for an afternoon that started off with the colorful pageantry of a grand entry and traditional dances by award winning powwow dancers from Frog Lake First Nations, and the 20-minute downpour moments later that sent everyone scrambling for shelter. Holly Warkentin was named the 2015 Canada Day Idol, Jorja Theriault the junior winner and overall, first runner-up. Despite the downpour, one enthusiast told a Canada Day committee member the celebration was “the best I’ve ever been to.”
Elk Point Chamber of Commerce spent the final meeting before the summer break discussing ways to shrink the debt owed on the Eco Centre, voting to pay down the total by $10,000 and explore other options in September.
There were bears... well, at least one bear, berries and fun at the Bears and Berries Festival at Fort George and Buckingham House, although that day, too, started off with morning showers.
The town’s treated water storage was going to tenders, whether or not the project would get underway before the new Building Canada Fund became available.
Elk Point Peewee Sox snagged silver at Provincials, with that tournament plagued by rain delays.
The Berg family celebrated 100 years since Hjalmar and Karin Berg came to Angle Lake from Sweden.
August
Complaints brought to town council regarding the state of Markstad Park got almost instant action, with town crews pruning overgrown trees, emptying overflowing garbage and making repair to battered playground equipment.
Elk Point 4-H Beef Club members competed at provincial level, Heidi Tymko winning a $1,000 scholarship and Kailey Wirsta winning the Junior Photography award.
Lillian Balazs won her fifth Elk Point Horticulture and Craft Show grand aggregate and “The Violet” award presented in memory of longtime fair supporter Violet McFadyen.
Summer Reading Program participants studied environmental issues at Elk Point Municipal Library.
The Wild Pink Yonder trail riders were warmly welcomed in both Heinsburg and Elk Point, with the small but determined Elk Point committee presenting a donation of more than $1,550 from their fundraising efforts.
Jarret Quinney won the championship flight at the 31st annual Elk Point Oilmen’s Golf Tournament.
Memories of the Bicentennial of Fort George and Buckingham House were savored at Rendezvous 222, which featured the Voyageur Song and readers’ theatre performed by Elk Point Community Choir members, displays of Bicentennial memorabilia and activities with a fur trade theme.
Westlock-St. Paul MLA Brian Storseth announced that he would not seek re-election in 2015.
September
The Elk Point and Area Early Childhood Coalition announced plans for a new, relocatable mural that would capture the multicultural and multigenerational aspects of the community.
Sharla Eliuk won the coveted diamond drilibit necklace when 59 women from the oil industry took part in the Diamond Drillbit golf tournament.
Grandparents’ Day top fundraiser Peggy Maas and several generations of her family led the way in the annual walk.
“Around 20 people” were interested in starting a new Citizens On Patrol Society in Elk Point, Mayor Parrish Tung told council.
A trail ride from Heinsburg to Middle Creek and back raised funds for Haying in the ‘30s. Frontier feminist Diana Davidson and cowboy cartoonist Ben Crane were among the presenters at the 22nd annual Northern Lights Library Conference.
The new area of Stoney Lake Campground got a forested facelift with the addition of 240 new trees.
Click here to see all the Elk Point Reviews from 2014
