Two thousand and fifteen was once again a busy year for not only the community, but also for the staff of the Barrhead Leader.
Once again discussion about the proposed Barrhead aquatic centre dominated the headlines, however some other stories did manage to break through and capture the community’s imagination.
Here are some snippets of the stories the Barrhead Leader editorial staff picked to be some of the more prominent, interesting or just their favourites of the past year.
Dunstable school takes its first steps in creating an outdoor classroom. The goal of the school and the parent’s council is to create two outdoor learning areas. One with a permanent outdoor structure that would be used as a classroom. The other area would become the school’s garden and natural area. The plan is to plant fruit trees along with other foilage that would attract birds, insects and other wildlife the students could observe and study along with providing a much needed source of shade.
Late in 2014, two business owners talked to the Leader worried about rumours they had heard about the Town of Barrhead opening its own fitness centre in the Agrena. The rumours were put to rest when a private company, Synergy Health and Performance signed a lease agreement for the vacant space in the facility.
Who is Alberta’s most loving person? According to thousands of people on Facebook, it just might be Barrhead resident Robert Hynes.
Hynes is new to Barrhead, arriving in October (2014) after being transferred by the RCMP from St. Paul to become the area’s school resource officer.
Who the most loving person in Alberta is, a question Cory and Eva Borek from Stettler, Alta., decided to pose after the couple won a free trip to Hawaii from one of their local car dealerships, Aspen Ford on Dec. 22. Although Hynes didn’t win the contest he still got to go on a trip after the Borek’s received additional donations from other sponsors.
It was a special night for Michael Botros. On Tuesday, Jan. 27, in front of his family, friends and colleagues he was presented with the Alberta Emergency Services Medal. The medal, which also comes with a commemorative certificate, is awarded to emergency services personnel that have served 12 years with their particular service.
Barrhead RCMP arrested Curtis Powder, 31, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, after pursuing him for several weeks.
Powder was arrested and charged with two counts of assault, and was being pursued by police when the Barrhead detachment received an anonymous tip on the location of Powder.
Police attended the residence, and pursued Powder on foot after he fled from the home.
After searching the area, police discovered the suspect was in the neighbourhood adjacent to Barrhead Composite High School, and Barrhead Elementary.
Detachment Commander Sgt. Bob Dodds requested both schools go into lockdown, as a safety precaution.
Police surrounded the residence Powder was claimed to be in, and made an arrest after he attempted to flee.
At the time of the arrest, Powder held a lengthy criminal record.
For months Fort Assiniboine residents and Woodlands County council talked about the pros and cons of a proposed gravel pit by Lafarge Canada. The issue was first addressed in the Feb. 24 issue of the Barrhead Leader.
Residents in the Fort Assiniboine area will have a chance to voice their opinions about a proposed new gravel pit in the area.
On Tuesday, Feb. 17, at their regular meeting in Fort Assiniboine Woodlands County Council set a date for an open house and public hearing about a potential gravel pit.
In January, Woodlands County received an application from Lafarge Canada to develop a parcel of land west of Fort Assiniboine. In July, Woodlands County council approved the application.
It was a big sacrifice. Thirteen inches to be exact, but it was one five-year-old Kloey Kremp was happy to make.
On Tuesday, Feb. 24, Kloey visited The Cutting Edge in the Barrhead Mall, and with the support of her parents and grandparents got the first real haircut she ever had.
“I wanted to cut it and donate it to a little girl with cancer,” Kloey said.
Woodlands County still has some questions about the operating budget of Barrhead’s new aquatic centre.
Mayor Jim Rennie said that in previous discussions both the town and county of Barrhead have asked Woodlands County if they would be willing to sit on a tri-party aquatic centre planning committee. Woodlands has also been asked to contribute to the operating budget once the facility is open.
However, before Woodlands County could commit to being part of the project, they said they would first have to see copies of both the capital and operational budget.
A lot of people may consider Friday the 13th unlucky, but for people connected with the Neerlandia Co-op it is a day of celebration.
That is because on Friday, March 13, hundreds of people were on hand to see the doors of the new Neerlandia Co-op building open for the first time a mere 629 days after a devastating fire destroyed the Neerlandia Co-op Home and Farm Centre.
A long delay along with a downturn in the provincial economy is paying big dividends for the Town of Barrhead.
On Tuesday, March 10, during their regular meeting Barrhead council unanimously approved a tender for an infrastructure improvement project for the 51 Avenue area.
The project will see the town replace about four blocks of an aging water pipe located underneath the roadway between 50 Street and 54 Street.
In addition to replacing the waterline, the town will be replacing the storm sewer catch basins and two sewer line connectors at the same time.
Director of Finance, Kathy Vickery, estimates the town will save more than one million dollars by approving the project at this time, adding this is the second time the town has asked for tenders on the project.
Fernando Chavez and his family were welcomed with open arms, at least that is how the new resident of Canada portrayed it.
Working through the Temporary Foreign Worker program for the last seven years has all come down to one day, the day Chavez and his family were declared residents of Canada.
“Canada opened their arms and said, you guys are safe. That was a very, very emotional moment for us… Canada made us feel like home,” Chavez said.
The students of Muriel Lafitte’s Grade 5 and 6 French Immersion class at Barrhead Elementary School gave reading a shot, and won.
The students won tickets to an Oil Kings game after participating in Reading, Give it a Shot, a program ran by the Edmonton Oil Kings as a way to promote reading in youth.
“I tell them it’s important to read,” Lafitte said. “Going to the game proved to them I am not the only one saying that.”
Barrhead local, Elein De Herdt has made it to the big leagues, in baking that is.
While attending Northern Alberta Institute for Technology, De Herdt was spotted, and was recommended to be a part of the Canadian team participating in the Louis Lesaffre Cup in Argentina as part of the young hopefuls section.
The event took place from June 1 to 6.
The choice couldn’t be more clear for Glenn van Dijken and Brian Jean of the Wildrose Party. A vote for any other party than the Wildrose will mean more taxes.
On Monday, April 13, Wildrose Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock candidate Glenn van Dijken was joined by newly elected Wildrose leader Brian Jean in a combination campaign stop/fundraiser at the Neerlandia Christian Reformed Church Fellowship Hall.
The choice of who to choose as MLA for the Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock area may have been made a little bit easier or perhaps even more difficult after an informational forum and debate held at Barrhead Agrena’s Multipurpose Room on Monday, April 20.
Ray and Dianne Tessier can thank their lucky STARS after being declared one of the top ten winners of the 2015 STARS’s lottery.
The Barrhead County couple won a 2015 Mercedes C300 4Matic Sedan.
Dianne told the Leader they have been purchasing tickets for the STARS lottery for 22 years, and this year (2015) they purchased 18 tickets.
Dianne said they don’t only purchase the tickets to win.
“I believe in what they are doing,” she said about STARS, an air ambulance service used to transport patients to hospitals.
Winston Churchill once said “we make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”
On Wednesday, April 22, Barrhead recognized those who have been giving through the Volunteer Appreciation Evening.
Accepting the Rosemary Empey Award, also known as the Volunteer of the Year Award, was Shaun Stephani.
Stephani received the award for his outstanding work with youth and the community through programs such as FunHockey.
Marilyn Flock received the Long Standing Service Award, and the Barrhead Hospital Ladies Auxiliary received the Make a Difference Group Award.
On Sunday, April 5, Grade 11 Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) student, Kayl Kirchner, helped his team finish in fifth place in the First Robotics Canada (FRC) Western Canada Regional Championships in Calgary.
Despite the name, the event is an annual competition in which teams from all over Canada test their design, engineering and computer programming skills in a competition that pits robot against robot.
For Kirchner his journey to Calgary as part of the OPCOM (Open Community) 5064 team based out of Edmonton’s Progressive Academy began in Dunstable when he was in Grade 5 as part of the school’s robotics club.
Dr. Eva Olsson knows first hand about the power of hate. She also knows about how compassion, when acted upon, can combat the darkness of hate.
That is the message, Olsson, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, is bringing to audiences everywhere she goes during her latest western province tour, including stops in Barrhead on Monday, April 27 and April 29.
Woodlands County has decided to take their offer to contribute to the Barrhead Aquatic Centre off the table.
On Tuesday, May 5, during their regular Whitecourt meeting, Woodlands County council voted unanimously to rescind their funding offer for both the operating and capital budgets of Barrhead’s proposed new aquatic centre.
Wildrose Party’s Glenn van Dijken will represent the Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock riding after upsetting incumbent PC Maureen Kubinec.
After a night that saw the province painted orange, van Dijken is one of 20 Wildrose candidates heading to the legislature.
It is full steam ahead.
On Tuesday, May 12, at their regular meeting, Barrhead town council unanimously voted in favour of going ahead with the aquatic centre project.
That is despite the fact that on May 5 Woodlands County council decided to pull its support and funding for the estimated $13 million project after the three municipalities slated to be involved in the project (the town and county of Barrhead and Woodlands County) couldn’t come to an agreement over the operating costs of the facility.
Shawn Hennessey, 35, was granted full parole as of Wednesday, May 20.
The Barrhead local was happy to return home to his family and friends.
His father, Barry Hennessey, said they were excited to have him back.
“Everybody’s happy for him,” he said, adding Shawn has worked diligently to ensure he was granted parole.
“He has done everything possible that a human being could do to better himself and show that he belongs back home,” Barry said. “He succeeded.”
Thanks, but no thanks, we have everything under control.
That was the sentiment Barrhead town council had after a lengthy discussion on Tuesday, May 26, during their regular meeting.
In the letter dated May 22, and signed by Reeve Bill Lee, Barrhead County council asks town council to consider reducing the capital cost of the aquatic centre as well as to review the operating costs of the new facility.
Woodlands County Council wants to publicly clarify its position regarding the tentative agreement they made with both the town and county of Barrhead regarding the Barrhead aquatic centre.
On Thursday, June 4, Woodlands County issued a press release stating the figures published by various media outlets, including the Barrhead Leader, were inaccurate.
For a number of months the Town of Barrhead has publically stated during the town’s regular council meetings that Woodlands County Council offered $1.5 million towards the construction of the facility and another 10 per cent towards the operating budget once construction was complete.
A retired Barrhead resident is hoping town council will take a second look at the aquatic centre.
If they don’t, he has started a petition in an effort force the town to delay or even shelve the project altogether.
That is, Chuck Hambling said, if he can find others like himself who have concerns that the Town of Barrhead is biting off more than they and the residents can afford.
Usually when a student graduates from high school their connection with their teachers ends.
Unless you are two long time Barrhead residents, like Lea Joy and Bob Lee who were reunited after more than 50 years.
Now the waiting begins.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, June 24, Chuck Hambling and Manfred John officially handed in a petition asking Barrhead Town council to reconsider the current aquatic centre project.
Hambling started the petition drive on June 10 because he was concerned that the town and the residents couldn’t afford to take on a project the size and scope of what is currently proposed for the aquatic centre.
Construction of the new aquatic centre will be delayed. Depending on which Barrhead town councillor you talk to the delay could be as short as three months or a year to more than a year.
On Friday, June 26, during a special meeting, Barrhead town council unanimously voted to delay the passing of debenture bylaw which if passed, would have allowed the town to borrow $5 million its portion of the construction costs of a new pool facility.
It is time.
That is what Karen Fischer, Barrhead Composite High School’s assistant principal, told the Barrhead Leader about her decision to retire.
On June 30, the long time Barrhead teacher and administrator will officially be calling an end to a more than 20 year career as an educator in Barrhead.
