Looking Back: It’s been quite a year: 2000 in review
from Elk Point Review by Vicki Brooker
It’s been a year of good and bad in Elk Point, with many high points offsetting lows which included the axing of the railroad and the abrupt end to use of the landfill. Let's take a look at the headlines from the past twelve months...
January
Daylan Hoffman was chosen from among 214 competitive skaters from across Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, to receive a merit award for the most deserving free skate performance...
Town Council was busy updating their traffic bylaw to provide new routes and new parking areas for big trucks...
Elk Point OORP, who also recognized five active members who have passed their 80th birthdays, was honored for the second highest per capita fundraising in Canada for the Elks and OORP Fund for Children...
Elk Point Ukrainian Dance Club held their annual Ukrainian Christmas supper and miniconcert...
The Chamber of Commerce explored fundraising ideas...
Elk Point Elks hockey club came from the Sask-Alta league cellar to win their first Provincial series...
News that the railroad subdivision serving Elk Point would cease operation November 1 was not a big surprise to anyone, and some saw it as an opportunity to extend the Iron Horse Trail.
February
Eugene Buck was named the first third-generation president for the Elk Point Chamber of Commerce. Buck's grandfather, Eugene McDonell, was the organization’s founding president, while his father, now Mayor Ed Buck, was president in the late 1980s...
The 17th Annual Oilmen’s Bonspiel came to an early and abrupt halt when the ice plant developed a freon leak, sending teams home early, the Reid’s Welding rink with the championship...
Restoration work got underway on Heinsburg’s historic water tower...
Elk Point residents Roy and Margaret Hyatt won over half a million dollars playing Lotto 6/49...
A Bonnyville youth was charged after a rash of break-and-enters in Elk Point...
An ambulance sponsored by the. Canadian Union of Public Employees stopped in Elk Point to rally local support hours before a controversial health care bill was scheduled to be tabled in the provincial legislature.
March
Michelle Leckie and John Sparks topped the Elk Point 4-H Multi Club Speak-Off...
Elk Point Figure Skating Club presented a very entertaining “Robin Hood On Ice...
Kitscoty Monarchs put the Elk Point Elks out to pasture...
Olympic medalist Fiona Smith of the Canadian National Women’s Hockey Team was a surprise visitor at the Midget Female Provincial Hockey tournament in Elk Point, where Edmonton Warriors took home the gold...
A community-driven health and wellness centre was opened at Frog Lake...
Ted Genereux was named the Elk Point Elks Player of the Year...
Spray paint vandals decorated Elk Point facilities with graffiti...
Twenty eight participants representing 17 businesses took part in the Chamber-sponsored Service Best seminar. Elk Point's new Post Office was officially opened, with employee Ed Bugera honored for 25 years with Canada Post.
April
Elk Point Storm won the B Side championship in their league...
Lord Stanely's Cup visited Fishing Lake, a very proud moment for the parents of NHL player Sheldon Souray, who is a great role model for youth in that community...
George Hahn was named Elk Point ‘s Coach” of the Year and Tyson Slywka won the Alex Kurash Memorial Trophy at the Minor Hockey windup banquet...
Ranger Oil sought approval for extended trucking hours and announced plans to drill 85 more wells in the Lindbergh oilfield this year...
F. G. Miller hosted the area's Junior High School Communication Showcase, while science and drama were in the spotlight at Elk Point Elementary...
Metelytsia Ukrainian Dancers, with members from tots to moms, wowed the crowd at their 21st Spring Concert.
May
“Almost like a family reunion” took place at Fort George and Buckingham House Interpretive Centre, as members of the Historical Society, Advisory Board and Bicentennial Committee were honored with the unveiling of a plaque at a tea at the Forts...
Lions fundraisers raised over $800 as they walked for sight...
Elk Point Chamber supported the Town's bid for a close-to-town transfer site for landfill materials...
Heinsburg School officially opened their handicapped-accessible playground...
Elk Point Town Council agreed (to continue. cooperating with the Elk Point Golf and Country Club...
Trans Canada Relay 2000 cavalcade took the Iron Horse Trail from Elk Point to Heinsburg, with Jerry Bidulock carrying the Riverland Trail Association’s canister of water on this lap of a trail they hope will become part of the Trans Canada _ network...
It was an emotional tenth anniversary for the Elk Point Community Choir as conductor Don Buryn announces he is taking a break...
Uprising descendants visited the site of 1885 Frog Lake...
Long weekend partiers kept the RCMP busy as campgrounds were trashed...
The bulls were the winners at the Bull Chutin’ Classic, defeating all the cowboys in the short go...
“Little Biker Preacher” Sam Donaldson was given a fond farewell as he entered retirement.
June
Matthew Robinson and Taralee Babenek showed Elk Point 4-H’s 2000 champions, while Peter Danyluk showed the Inter-Club grand champion steer at the district show in St. Paul...
Elk Point Auto Club’s show was the biggest and best ever, with nine decades represented...
The Review had a provincial Write On contest winner, Kristin Antonio winning the title for her Creative Classified...
Heinsburg’s two-member Class of 2000 received scroll-toting Millennium bears at their graduation...
Eight records fell at the Elementary track meet...
The Emergency Services golf tournament really took off, raising an estimated $12,000 for STARS Air Ambulance...
Town use of the landfill they shared with the County of St. Paul ended on June 21, with a _ temporary transfer site set up beside the sewer lift station and garbage hauled from there to St. Paul's landfill...
Mill rates were down marginally as the Town got ready to issue tax notices...
A black powder salute by the Edmonton House Brigade welcomed a small flotilla of canoes to Fort George and Buckingham House on Father's Day...
Lindbergh teamster Doug Irvine was runnher-up at Dewberty’s annual ~-chuckwagonrace meet...
History came alive at F. G. Miller High as a reasonable facsimile of Louis Riel visited on Native Awareness Day...
FGM retiree Ray Hellquist was honored by students and staff as he left the school after 37 years of service...
The Canada Day Gospel Concert got everyone in the mood for the July 1 celebrations...
FGM Crusaders’ Class of 2000 closed a chapter in their lives as they celebrated the end of their high school years in a turreted castle which once was their Zymnasium...
Elementary students in Heinsburg, Frog Lake and Elk Point received year-end awards.
July
Rain sent Elk Point's Canada Day crowd scurrying into the arena for the afternoon stage show, but the sun was shining again by the time very surprised volunteers Sid Holthe and _ Vicki Brooker were presented with Community Achievement awards by Mayor Ed Buck...
Ferguson Flats Coat mn i ty Association celebrated 50 years with five original members on hand for the homecoming...
A group of modern-day Métis voyageurs visited Fort George and Buckingham House and Heinsburg on their trek by canoe and wagon from Slave Lake to Batoche...
Rain returned to plague Sunday's performance of the Stoney Lake Stampede, but were reduced to showérs by the following weekend when it was Whitney Lake's turn...
Northern Lights Library System made the final decision to keep their headquarters in Elk Point...
Dewberry’s Buddy Bensmiller ran penalty free throughout the entire Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby, the only competitor to do so this year...
Elk Point Midget Girls shone bright in Didsbury, where they won silver in the ball provincials...
Elk Point's final grain elevator could be entering its final crop year, local farmers were told.
August
A fisherman was swept downstream when he lost his footing on a sandbar in the North Saskatchewan River near Lindbergh, and was rescued several miles downstream over twelve hours later...
Vandals hit a well site east of Elk Point, creating an oil spill...
An exceptional quilt show which featured over 50 hand crafted quilts, including some over a hundred years old, was the highlight of the Elk Point Fair, with Lois Yaremkevich winning the Grand Aggregate...
A wild wind felled a shelterbelt and killed sheep on a local farm...
The 13th Annual Oilmen's Golf Tournament was lucky for Blair Ask, who won $10,000 for a hole-inone, and for Robin Moroziuk, who won the tourney championship...
Town and oil industry leaders met with Minister of Infrastructure the Hon. Ed Stelmach to seek help for roads in the led: 118 tor ft al Subdivision...
E-Can Oilfield Services was sold to Mullen Transportation Inc. of Aldersyde, AB...
Rain forced the Forts des Prairies Jamboree into the Interpretive Centre, where a jam-packed house enjoyed the annual event...
Jamie Schnurer and Cherie McGowan shared High Point honors at the Charlene G. Baker Memorial Horse Show.
September
Twenty six members of F. G. Miller's Class of 2000 celebrated their accomplishments at a combined convocation and awards night, with Peter Danyluk receiving eight awards, including a $2500 UFA scholarship...
Awards for Grades 7 through 11 were presented later in the month, with Tanya Pankiw named Best All Around Student...
The circus came to town, with a big top but no big animals...
Citizens On Patrol was now underway, with logo contest winners receiving recognition...
Restoration was complete and marked by a festive afternoon at Heinsburg's water tower...
Close to 50 people learned new perspectives on the 1885 Northwest Rebellion tragedy at Frog Lake during an outing sponsored by Elk Point Historical Society...
The Chamber of Commerce urged oil companies to hire locally and buy locally...
A motorist died in an in-town single vehicle accident...
Anadarko Canada Corporation announced huge drilling and exploration programs for 2000-2001 at a well attended open house.
October
Twenty years of sports and organized recreation for seniors was celebrated when the Elk Point seniors hosted a dinner for the Alberta Senior Citizens Sports and Recreation Association, with a plaque of appreciation presented to Sid Holthe, a past president of ASCSRA...
Ray Danyluk announced plans to run for the provincial Progressive Conservative nomination...
Heinsburg School honored its top students at Awards Night...
Elk Point Chamber of Commerce showcased small business at a trade show and information fair...
With membership dwindling, the Elk Point Legion asked for new members to help them help veterans and the community...
Dewberry’s Buddy Bensmiller was named the World Professional Chuckwagon Association's Person of the Year...
Jim Hawkins of F. G. Miller was among high school principals to receive a Prestigious Outstanding Principals Award.
November
Two youngsters and their father from the Ferguson Flats area were burned in a farmyard explosion...
Memories of war touched every heart as Elk Point gathered at the cenotaph for Remembrance Day...
Illegal parking and school zone speeding were seen as community problems by the Community Policing Advisory Committee...
Daylan Hoffman won a provincial gold medal in Pre-Novice Ladies figure skating and was off to Skate Canada's Western Challenge...
Five horses were gunned down in a pasture on Moose Mountain, while a cow met a similar fate a few miles away...
Ray Danyluk won the provincial PC nomination.. F.G. Miller hosted a concert of community talent...
Overwhelming support was shown for Alliance candidate Leon Benoit in the federal election...
Elk Point seniors kicked off the festive season with feasting and song.. An American hunter was the victim of an accidental shooting.
December
Extravaganza kicked off the final month of the year, with horsedrawn hay rides, photos with Santa, a craft show and _ contests. contests, contests...
Another pipeline paralleling the current ThickSilver line was announced at an open house...
Heinsburg hosted the Elk Point Community Choir at their annual Christmas Supper, and dedicated their annual craft show to the late Bob Smith...
Elk Point Community Choir performed for their hometown audience, as did choirs from four Elk Point churches in the annual cantata...
Christmas pageants were enjoyed at local churches...
Anadime Processing and Disposal Inc. outlined plans for a produced sand depository in the Ferguson Flats area...
Great West Newspapers Ltd. took over operation of the Elk Point Review and St. Paul Journal...
Concerts and a Christmas brunch wound up 2000 for Elk Point and surrounding area's students as the festive season arrived and the year drew to a close.
