WESTLOCK - In many ways, trying to sum up a year for an entire community in less than 5,000 words is a fool’s errand — I alone filed upwards of 500 stories and photos over the past 52 weeks for this publication.
While many say we’re the arbiters of the news and others in the post-pandemic world consider media the “enemy”, from someone who's been a community newspaper reporter for more than two decades, I’ve always felt that my job was to hold a mirror back on the community and provide “context” to its triumphs and tragedies.
To be plain, I don’t author transcripts, am uncomfortable writing in the first-person, and don’t decide which news is “good” or “bad.” But I’m also fully cognizant that I, and by extension the men and women I work with, have a duty and a responsibility to cover our communities as fairly and accurately as possible.
I’ll put it to you this way: If there are four serious car accidents in our area in a week, we report on them. If there’s none the week after, we don’t write a story stating that fact. Here’s another: If the sun comes up, that isn’t much of a story. Now if it doesn’t, I’d say that’s probably a Page 1 piece. Make sense?
While newspapers may indeed be a dying enterprise, I still hold some hope and believe that the success or demise of all “traditional” publications lies with you, the readers and advertisers. It’s a simple equation — if you buy subscriptions and ads, we’ll keep the lights on and continue writing the first draft of the community’s history.
Doom and gloom aside, here are my selections for the top stories within Westlock over the past 12 months.
Death of homeless man sparks action
The death of a 60-year-old homeless man mere days into 2022 not only shocked and saddened the community but sparked it to action.
On Jan. 8, 2022, Timothy Phillips, was found frozen to death near the Rotary Spirit Centre. Night-time temperatures in the weeks leading up to the tragedy had repeatedly been in the -40 C range, while his encampment (pictured above) in the open-air announcer’s booth that overlooked the racetrack and rodeo grounds contained only a crude bed, plus some thin blankets and sleeping bags, a tarp and small burn barrel.
While there was talk by individuals of creating a local homeless shelter, the one concrete action has been the formation of the Westlock Homelessness Coalition, a group of 14 that includes reps from Westlock Family and Community Support Services, Alberta Health Services, Westlock RCMP, Hope Resource Centre, Alberta Addiction and Mental Health, plus the three municipalities.
In addition, the Town of Westlock, Westlock County and Village of Clyde agreed in the fall to pony up $14,000 to hire an after-hours “emergency intervention services” contractor, the Hope Resource Centre, for the winter.
Town CAO Simone Wiley, who also sits on the homelessness coalition, said previously that without “a fulsome understanding (of homelessness in Westlock)” the $14K initiative should only be considered a “stop-gap” as they work with the Rural Development Network (RDN) to understand the community’s housing needs.
“It’s like a prairie grass fire”
While the RCMP are known for getting their man, that wasn't the case following a curious June 15, 2022, incident where reports of “a suspicious male dressed entirely in camo carrying a backpack” that may have contained a rifle caused widespread panic.
The day after all three Westlock schools hastily entered “hold and secure” protocols and a handful of downtown businesses, along with the hospital, temporarily locked their doors, Westlock RCMP were still looking for a camo-clad man seen the previous morning around 9:54 a.m. walking on 107th Street towards Highway 44 carrying a backpack that “appeared” to contain a firearm — in fact, the man was never found.
Following the incident, Westlock RCMP Staff Sgt. Al Baird said they exercised an “abundance of caution” in issuing the Westlock and Area Crime Coalition alert.
“When we get a report like that and we can’t find the person, we send out the alert in an abundance of caution so we can identify who it is. But if we thought there was any danger to the community right away, we would have posted it and laid out what we thought the danger was,” said Baird the morning after, adding this wasn’t a case of someone being misidentified, or a false report. “At no time did we ever say the person was a danger or a threat to the community. We wanted to find out what was going on and who he is. As it turns there was no other reported sightings at all after the original call came in. We’d still like to talk to the person and find out what was going on just to put closure to it.”
By 1:30 p.m., June 15, WAAC advised the situation had ended as the RCMP continued to investigate but “no other complaints or sightings have been received” while at 1:52 p.m., RCMP K Division issued a release detailing the timeline, noting “it remains unclear what, if any offences were committed, or if there was a risk to the community.”
While traditional media, including print, TV and radio, reported on the alert, local social media pages were wild with speculation and Baird lamented that people need to be “more diligent” before posting gossip or blatantly false information that could lead to panic. And while he appreciated that residents crave “every single detail” when there’s an ongoing incident and many are on edge following recent mass shootings in the U.S., he again pointed to the initial release that stated they were simply looking for the man.
“It’s like a prairie grass fire, it catches and just goes and gets a life of its own,” said Baird on the rampant speculation on social media the day of the incident.
Arrest made in 2020 murder
Almost two years to the day that 41-year-old Westlock resident Barry Wheadon was found dead in the lobby of a local apartment building, a 20-year-old man was arrested and charged with his murder.
Following a lengthy, 24-month investigation by the Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit, Eddy Michael Trindle, 20, was charged with second-degree murder June 7, 2022, and arrested while a serving inmate at the Edmonton Remand Centre. Since the arrest, Trindle has yet to enter a plea after more than a half-dozen court appearances and remains behind bars at the Peace River Correctional Centre with a two-day preliminary hearing slated for Feb. 23-24, 2023, in Westlock Provincial Court.
At 10:30 a.m. June 9, 2020, Westlock RCMP received a call that a body had been found in the front lobby of one of the Westlock Estates buildings at 10540-103rd Street. The RCMP Major Crimes Unit was called in to assist and interviewed area residents, while a canine team searched the neighbourhood.
An autopsy was conducted June 11, 2020, by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Edmonton and RCMP confirmed the death was a homicide.
Leaders lost
While every life matters and every person has a story, we will only touch a few of the notable Westlock-area residents who passed away last year.
The community was saddened May 3, 2022, to hear of the death of Dwight Brown (above right), the namesake of Brown’s Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, at the age of 65 after losing an all-too-short battle with cancer. He was survived by his wife, Terry, sons Regan (Carmel) and their son Axl and Matthew and his son Gage, their daughter Brittany (John Ketsa) and their infant son Barrett, as well his parents, siblings, and numerous nieces, relatives and friends.
Born Sept. 30, 1956, the eldest child of Doug and Vera Brown, Dwight spent his early years learning the value of hard work on his parent’s dairy farm south of Westlock. While Dwight will be best known for opening Brown’s Chrysler in September 1981 — a business he eventually sold in 2017 — he was also a dedicated “community champion” for Westlock and served on many organizations including the chamber of commerce and the Westlock Community Hall. A firebrand by nature with a smile that would light a room, Dwight was also a two-time president of the Westlock Rotary Club and maintained a 100 per cent attendance record with it, spanning well over 31 of his 32 years as a member.
Later in the year, Mark Tims, a well-respected member of the local law community for parts of the last five decades and the founding partner of the law firm ProperziTims Barristers and Solicitors, lost his “valiant battle with cancer” and passed away Oct. 6, 2022, at the age of 69.
He was survived by his wife, Phyllis Tims (née Froehlich), his life partner and soulmate for over 37 years of marriage and 46 years together, as well as his three younger brothers, Mike, David and Richard, three brothers-in-law, their spouses and partners, plus 18 nephews and nieces. He was predeceased by his parents, Harry and Marion, and his brother Grant.
Mike Tims, who’s 14 months younger than Mark, said they were always close growing up and remembered him as “a great older brother to all of us.” Mark’s obituary notes he always wanted to be a lawyer and loved the law for its “traditions, practices and impact” and earned three university degrees. After initially practicing as part of a firm that had offices in Edmonton, Whitecourt and Fox Creek, Mark had the opportunity to set up shop in Westlock and in 1984 founded Tims & Company, a decision he never regretted. In 2011, the firm changed its name to ProperziTims following the addition of lawyer Greg Properzi two years earlier.
“He and Phyllis, who taught schools there for decades, loved the community and the people. They were always happy in Westlock,” Mike added. “We’re all going to miss him so much.”
Multi-million dollar facilities
While ground broke on a pair of multi-million dollar facilities last summer, on Aug. 20, 2022, the ribbon was officially cut to open the new $7 million, 22,000-square-foot Westlock Powersports and Marine building (pictured above) on the west side of Highway 44 at 104th Street, the largest commercial development in town since 2019.
WPM dealer principal Dan Horinek was beaming during the grand opening, noting they now
boast more than 18,000-square feet of showcase space and said he and his father Ehreth have made a life-long commitment to Westlock and are extremely proud not only of the new facility but being able to be one of the community’s largest employers.
Later in the fall, the new $2 million Busby School gymnasium also opened, with an official ribbon cutting planned for 2023. Construction on the 485-square-metre facility, more than double the old space, began in the spring of 2022, with the concrete walls constructed in mid-March and 22 concrete panel roofs installed over several days in early April. The original 188-square-metre gym was built in 1986 as an addition to the school, which was built in 1947.
Meanwhile in August, ground officially broke on the Town of Westlock’s new, $4.4-million public works shop, a facility which should be open by 2023. First announced in December 2021 as part of the municipality’s 2022 capital budget, the new shop will be located north of the current facility which was built in 1975 and “has exceeded its usable life.”
Mayor Ralph Leriger said the new shop is long overdue as it has been previously pushed back during budget deliberations due to more pressing infrastructure concerns. Previously, CAO Simone Wiley had announced the main contractors for the job, MPE and Atkinson Construction, and said they were “very concerned” project costs could soar due to rising inflation, but they’ve been able to hold the line.
Meanwhile, work also started on the Westlock Seed Cleaning Co-op’s new, state-of the-art $12 million facility. To be located west of the existing 93rd Ave building, which was also built in 1975, it will take about two years to build, need one million pounds of steel and will double their cleaning capacity to 1,000 bushels per hour and increase storage to about 93,000 bushels.
Finally, stability at the county
The CAO carousel at Westlock County finally stopped in 2022 with the hiring of Tony Kulbisky (above), the eighth permanent CAO to head the municipality since the turn of the century.
The 57-year-old Kulbisky, whose six-year contract pays him $190,000 annually, counts decades of municipal government experience, plus 15 years as a CAO including the last 13 at the helm of the Town of Devon. He said he’s well aware of the turnover at the top of Westlock County but is looking forward to “a new challenge and a new chapter in my career” and his first day on the job was Aug. 2, 2022.
“I do know the history there and my goal is to change all of that and to provide some stability in the role (of CAO) for the community and for the organization and to provide good support to reeve and council. I know what I’m walking into, but I know there are some good staff that we can work with to do some good things for the county,” said Kulbisky May 26, the day after his hiring was officially announced.
“The key thing will be to have a strat (strategic) plan that can show results. I think that’s what the community at large is probably looking for — a report card on how well are we achieving the goals and objectives that have been laid out. It’s one thing to have a strat plan but you have to operationalize it and show results.”
In addition to at least eight interim CAOs like Rick McDonald and Pat Vincent, who filled the role last year from Feb. 10 to Aug. 3, plus assorted senior county admin, the seven permanent CAOs since the turn of the century are: Wyatt Glebe, Jim Squire, Edward LeBlanc, Peter Kelly, Duane Coleman, Leo Ludwig and Kay Spiess, who tendered her resignation March 7, 2022, after less than a year at the helm and went on to become CAO of Beaver County.
In a year-end interview, reeve Christine Wiese agreed that hiring Kulbisky has been “huge” as he’s “the foundation” and “provides the stability that the municipality needs going forward.”
Family seeks answers
Also in the fall, a grieving family came forward to set the record straight and get answers following a tragic, mid-August accident in Westlock that claimed the life of 65-year-old Morinville resident Greg Bucknell (pictured above).
Greg’s wife Karen Bucknell and his daughter Brittany Schaefer wanted to correct the public details surrounding Greg’s death, with Brittany saying point blank they feel they’ve been failed by the system as “there’s no justice for Greg and that’s the most disgusting part out of all of this.”
Westlock RCMP, as reported by Town and Country This Week at the end of August, said they were called to Champion Feeds Aug. 18 after a pickup truck backed over a pedestrian and killed him — no names were released by police. In fact, the accident happened at Trouw Nutrition (previously known as Champion Feeds), located at 9415 - 109th Street, and Greg was there as part of his job as a delivery driver and was not a pedestrian.
Brittany says they’ve been told an “80-year-old man was struggling to back up” his pickup truck in the warehouse so Greg went in behind and tried to help guide him and “was killed doing a good deed” while Karen asked why Greg, who wasn’t an employee of Trouw, was even allowed to “wander around the warehouse.” The women have been told the driver’s foot slipped and he wound up accelerating over a two-and-half-foot concrete barrier and “still went 15 feet back” before pinning Greg and killing him.
Trouw Nutrition North America, which did not release a statement after the fatality, would not confirm, or elaborate on the events of Aug. 18, citing an active Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) investigation although company marketing and communications manager Stefanie Gajdecki did say via an Oct. 27 e-mail that, “As a company and individually, we are grieving this accident's tragic loss of life.”
Jobs, Economy and Northern Development communications advisor Trent Bancarz did confirm in an Oct. 26 e-mail that OHS are investigating the “fatal incident that occurred at a feed mill in Westlock on Aug. 18” where a “worker died after being struck by a vehicle” but as “an active investigation, no further information will be provided.”
Westlock RCMP Staff Sgt. Al Baird stated Oct. 26 that their investigation is closed and the driver of a Chevrolet pickup, who they did not name, received a $162 ticket for backing when unsafe contrary to Section 32 of the Use of Highway and Rules of the Road Regulations — Gajdecki confirmed the driver of the pickup was not an employee of Trouw.
It's Brittany’s contention that “the investigation wasn’t done properly or appropriately” and they’ve been struggling to get details in the months following the tragedy.
“My family has no rights to sue, to ask questions … it’s actually disgusting how hush-hush and covering up they’re trying to be about this incident. Safety rules and protocols were severely broken which resulted in Greg’s life being lost. They’re just trying to cover it up and it’s business as usual,” said Brittany. “Yes, we are a grieving family, but it’s not right. We need to ensure that proper actions are taken not only against Trouw, but against the driver. There needs to be more accountability taken.”
Greg’s obituary recalls a man with an infectious laugh who lived his life to the fullest, would help anyone in any situation and “give the shirt off his back … if he was wearing one” and made friends with everyone he met. Both Brittany and Karen remember him as a selfless individual who appreciated life and his friends and especially loved his family.
“He was a wonderful man,” said Karen. “He was everybody’s favourite, everyone loved him.”
The return of events
While the COVID-19 pandemic did not entirely wipe out all community events, many were curtailed and others simply went on pause.
In 2022, Westlock’s signature events, like the ag fair, Christmas Light Up, Canada Day and the Blue Suede Music Festival (pictured above) all returned full force and brought thousands of spectators, while new events like the Concert in the Park, the Haunted House at the Rotary Spirit Centre and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event were well attended, with a Family Day Hayride now in the works for February 2023 and the inaugural Home Time Hockey Tournament hitting the ice the following month.
After two years on the sidelines, the 106th Westlock & District Agricultural Fair made its triumphant return and kicked off Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, with the parade and was followed by a bevy of events, ranging from a rodeo to chuckwagon and chariot races, then wrapped Sunday night with automotive carnage at the demo derby.
Ag society first vice-president Carl Larsen said it’s especially gratifying to see the fair return and gave kudos to the folks who stepped up earlier this year to fill much-needed director spots to ensure it would happen. The fair has always held a special place in the hearts of all Westlock-area residents and is the last, major event of the summer.
“We’re all pretty stoked that it’s happening again. We’ve had our noses down to the grindstone to make it a reality and another big success,” said Larsen.
Meanwhile, roughly 2,500 people attended the 14th-annual Blue Suede Music Festival Aug. 5-7, 2022, held for the first time at the Westlock and District Ag Society Grounds. It was the first time in two years the show, which features Elvis tribute artists from around the globe, has been able to be held in front of a large audience — during the pandemic, small events were held at the acreage of Eldon and Trudy Taphorn in Sturgeon County.
“I thought it was great. That venue is going to be perfect. There’s a lot of perks to being there. That building (the ag society barn) is a godsend,” said Trudy, the creator and producer of the show.
Of course the Town of Westlock events are only a part of the story, as communities within the county also hosted their signature summer and winter events. Grad ceremonies, neutered due to the pandemic, also fully returned, as did the fall suppers, bingos, meat draws at the Legion, the full reopenings of the museums and library, as well as all manner of sporting events. Remembrance Day in Westlock, held outdoors in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 gathering restrictions, returned to Memorial Hall Nov. 11 and saw upwards of 400 attend, while outdoor ceremonies continued in Clyde and Jarvie.
Tragedy on Father’s Day
An elderly woman whose improper left hand turn on Highway 44 led to the death of a 54-year-old female motorcyclist from Barrhead on Father’s Day 2022, was fined and banned from driving for three months.
Appearing in Westlock Provincial Court Nov. 8, 2022, via Webex from the office of her lawyer Richard Forbes, Elsie Nestorovich, 83, pleaded guilty to making an improper left turn as per Section 26 (1) of the Traffic Safety Act, Use of Highway and Rules of the Road Regulation, while a charge of careless driving under Section 115(2)(B) of the TSA was withdrawn.
Judge Joanne Heudes accepted the joint-sentence submission that saw Nestorovich pay a $2,000 fine, the maximum penalty for the offence, and surrender her driver’s licence for the next three months, also the maximum — Nestorovich was given until July 31, 2023, to pay the fine.
Judge Heudes offered her sympathies to the family and friends of the Barrhead woman, Sherry Henke, who was killed following the collision at the turn-off into the St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Cemetery.
“It’s a joint submission and it’s at the highest end and that’s the best that can be offered in these circumstances. I offer my sincere condolences to you as well, it’s a horrible position you find yourself in,” said Judge Heudes addressing one of Henke’s daughters who was in court.
Forbes said it was an incredibly tragic accident as his client had been going to the cemetery that day, Father’s Day, to lay flowers on the grave of her late husband. Since the crash, Forbes said Nestorovich has not driven and “has no desire to get behind the wheel again.”
“There is nothing else Mrs. Nestorovich can offer, except for her condolences to the family. And we thank them for participating in this resolution as painful as it has been,” said Forbes.
A previous RCMP release states that just after 2:25 p.m., June 19, a car heading south on Highway 44 that had turned left into the cemetery, collided with a motorcycle heading north.
Crown prosecutor Brett Grierson said eyewitness statements coupled with an RCMP collision reconstructionist investigation determined that Nestorovich had come to a stop in her car just before making the turn and then crossed the centreline and collided with Henke, who had been heading north on her motorcycle.
Two victim impact statements from Henke’s daughters were read into the record — the first by Natasha, while Grierson read in a statement from her older sister Sarah.
Natasha, 22, who took a minute at the podium to collect herself before a friend joined her at her side, said that June 19, 2022, “was the hardest day of my life.”
“I was without my father growing up so my mother was all I had. Speaking with everyone who had the privilege of knowing her, this woman was someone you only meet once in a lifetime,” she said, sobbing and choking back tears. “I thought that we had forever together but I’ve been robbed of that time. I’ve been putting myself on autopilot ever since just to get me through the days and it doesn’t feel like I’m living anymore. I’m just trying to survive.”
No paycheque for county councillor
Westlock County Div. 6 rep Stuart Fox-Robinson’s (above) refusal to accept his councillor paycheque since winning his seat on council in the October 2021 municipal election appears to be history in the making as reps for the province’s municipal lobbying organizations have no record of any politician refusing their pay, while one CAO with 40-plus years of experience says he can only recall “a few cases over the years” but never one first hand.
Fox-Robinson has been reticent about discussing his refusal to accept compensation for his council work although he did admit “it’s probably unusual” and said he’s been concerned about the possible fallout on his family and knows he’s walking a fine line with other councillors and even staff as it was never his intention to “offend anyone.”
Simply, Fox-Robinson said he and his wife both have decent jobs and his foray into politics was about “seeing changes made” and not collecting an extra cheque. Out of a budget of $53,092 for the Div. 6 seat in 2022, only $718 has been used up to Oct. 31, while $260,468 had been spent on all of council.
“I speak my mind and I speak from the heart, and I wanted to see change, other people wanted to see change and I was asked to run, so it’s as simple as that. I’m not trying to offend anyone, or other councillors and I don’t have a concern with what the others are being paid for their work,” he said Nov. 28. “Those who are really putting the effort in and want change are working very hard and putting in a lot of hours.”
Municipal Affairs press secretary Kayla Gamroth, noting the Municipal Government Act doesn’t force councillors to accept their pay, said the department doesn’t track that stat so couldn’t provide any figures, while officials for both the Rural Municipalities of Alberta and Alberta Municipalities didn’t know of any similar cases.
Meanwhile, former Westlock County CAO Edward LeBlanc, two-time interim CAO Pat Vincent, as well as current county CAO Tony Kulbisky, who have more than 80 years of combined municipal government experience, all said they’ve never come across a similar situation. Vincent, whose CAO career started in 1981 and includes a pair of interim CAO stints at Westlock County, said via e-mail “there have been a few cases over the years that I am aware of” but he had never witnessed it first hand until his recent six-month tenure here.
Tickets withdrawn against “freedom fighter”
Following 14 court appearances and five pre-trial conferences, the Crown withdrew 10 Public Health Act tickets against Westlock DJ and self-proclaimed “freedom fighter” Benita Pedersen who organized a series of anti-COVID-19 measures rallies across northern Alberta throughout the first half of 2021.
During a brief 30-second appearance via CCTV in Westlock Provincial Court June 22, 2022, specialized prosecutions prosecutor Craig Kallal told Judge Michèle Collinson he was withdrawing the 10 PHA 73(1) tickets for contravening an order of the Medical Officer of Health, specifically in relation to mass gatherings, and offered no further explanation — each carried a specified fine of $1,000, plus a 20 per cent victim-fine surcharge.
Outside the courthouse (pictured above) with a handful of supporters at her side, Pedersen said she had been “hopeful” for the result — she was last in Westlock court May 25 and also participated in a June 17 pre-trial conference with Kallal and Judge Charles Donald Gardner.
“These tickets that were unjustly issued to me are just a sample of the injustice going on in the world today,” said Pedersen, who represented herself on the matters. “Up until today I have endured. My hope is that my experience will become an inspiration to others … endurance paid off in this case. I had the strength to last long enough to resist giving in and it paid off in the end.”
Although her tickets were for organizing anti-COVID-19 measures rallies in Westlock Feb. 11 and Feb. 25, 2021, plus others in Athabasca, Barrhead, Bonnyville and Lac La Biche, Pedersen remained active throughout the pandemic hosting numerous “freedom rallies” and “church in the park” events and was also in Ottawa during the February 2021 “freedom convoy” protests.
Two fatal crashes in less than 30 days on Highway 44
Two fatal head-on crashes in less than a month on Highway 44 north to close 2022 punctuated a deadly year on area highways and roads.
Westlock-area woman Cory Lynn Sanchez was pronounced dead at the scene of a tragic, Christmas Eve, head-on crash (pictured above) between a passenger van and pickup truck two kilometres north of the Town of Westlock on Highway 44. In a Dec. 28 interview, Alberta RCMP Traffic – Westlock Unit Commander Sgt. Leigh Drinkwater said that at around 12:30 p.m., Dec. 24, they were called after a southbound Ford F-150 crossed the centre line and struck a northbound passenger van on Highway 44 near Township Road 602. The crash claimed the life of Sanchez and sent one adult and one child from the van, who are from the community of Standard situated 80 kilometres east of Calgary, to the University of Alberta Hospital via ground ambulance. The remaining occupants of the van were transported to the Westlock Healthcare Centre with non-life-threatening injuries.
Previously, on Nov. 26, an elderly woman from Chisholm died following a fiery, head-on crash around 5:30 p.m. on Highway 44 near Township Road 612, roughly 15 kilometres north of town near the Pibroch turnoff. In that accident, RCMP say a southbound Ford F-150 pickup truck appeared to have crossed the centre line and struck a northbound Chevrolet Malibu that caused the truck to burst into flames. A Nov. 28 RCMP press release stated that the driver of the Malibu, an 82-year-old woman from Chisholm, was declared dead at the scene, while the passenger in her car and the driver of the F-150 suffered minor injuries.
Drinkwater noted that investigations into both crashes remain ongoing.
Huge honour for former pharmacist
In the early 1990s Brian Corrigan (pictured above) was a young pharmacist working at MacKenzie IDA Pharmacy in downtown Westlock, with a vision to use pharmaceutical medicine to save lives around world one day.
Fast forward 32 years and the former Westlock resident is now the global head of clinical pharmacology and global product development for Pfizer in the United States.
His leadership in various roles and cutting-edge work over the years, which includes developing models to analyze clinical trials and identify correct doses, as well as supervising early-stage trials of compounds being developed for illnesses ranging from neuropathic pain and Alzheimer’s to COVID-19, has earned Corrigan recent accolades.
The University of Alberta recently presented Corrigan with the 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award in March 2022 — an award that recognizes the outstanding lifetime accomplishments of alumni who have earned national or international regard or have had significant, local impact as a result of their outstanding professional achievements and service to society.
While it’s been several years since Corrigan has lived here, he identifies as being an Albertan to this day and noted how “really special” it was to receive an award from his home province and the people he grew up with.
“I’m deeply honoured. It means a lot to me to be recognized by fellow Albertans,” said Corrigan.
Corrigan moved to Westlock from Rochester in 1974 with his family, and attended St. Mary School, starting in Grade 4, and graduated in 1982. He went on to study at the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, where he graduated with his Bachelor of Science (Pharm) degree in 1989 and later completed his PhD in pharmacokinetics in 1996.
Today, his mother and sister still reside in town, while Corrigan said he has many good memories of his days growing up in Westlock.
After completing his PhD in 1996 he moved to Mississauga, Ont. to work for a short time and then left to work for another company in the United States, before joining Pfizer in Michigan in 1999. He subsequently moved to the east coast with the company, where he has worked in Connecticut for more than 20 years.
Athletic successes
While there were many athletic success stories, two stand out — one a team award, the other an individual honour.
The Westlock U15 Falcons boys volleyball team became Division 2, Tier 2 national champions after beating Fog White in two sets, 25-21 and 25-12 and claimed the gold medal at the Volleyball Canada 2022 15U Nationals in Edmonton May 19-21.
“That’s something they’re never going to forget. It’s something you put on your wall and you’re proud of every single morning when you wake up,” said head coach Aaron Graf, who also heads the R.F. Staples School senior boys team.
The Falcons beat Fog Red in the semifinal to face Fog White in the gold medal game. Fog White had beat the Falcons twice in recent weeks, including in round robin play at the nationals.
Fifty-six teams from across Canada competed in four divisions in the Volleyball Canada 2022 15U Nationals event. The club’s roster included players from not only Westlock, but also Clyde, Dapp, Barrhead and Neerlandia.
Meanwhile, Ryan Rau, a former Red Lions player, manager and supporter for a quarter century, received the 2022 Ken Schultz Memorial Award (pictured above), an honour considered to be the “highest and most prestigious” in the North Central Alberta Baseball League.
Rau, 45, officially received the honour prior to the start of Game 2 of the NCABL Championship Series between the Red Lions and Parkland Twins played Aug. 27, 2022, at Keller Field in Westlock with league commissioner Paul Riopel noting award recipients are respectfully referred to as "Pillars of the NCABL.”
Rau, a Clyde native, first donned a Red Lions jersey back in 1996 at the tender age of 18 and was one of four rookies that year that included Curtis Smith, Mark Mirus and Paul DeChamplain. Following he spent two years playing junior ball in Barrhead, then returned and suited up exclusively for the Red Lions until 2011. That year, with another child on the way, he moved over to the Grey Lions, Westlock’s other senior baseball team for players ages 30 plus.
“It’s a really big honour to be even mentioned with some of the other names who have won the Schultz Memorial Award … they’re the who’s who of baseball around this area over the last half century. It’s cool to even be thought of with those men and an overwhelming honour to be picked,” said Rau moments after receiving the award. “It’s been a lot of fun. I’m at a diamond most days of the week from May through July and really, where else would a person rather be?”
Rau, who works as a pharmacist, thanked his wife and three kids for allowing him to share his love of the game with them. Friends and family, as well as current Red Lions and the opposing Twins and their fans, showered Rau with applause when he received the award.
The Ken Schultz Memorial Award has been awarded annually since 1993 and candidates must have contributed significantly to the game of baseball in a franchised area within the NCABL's geographic region over an extended period.
Riopel said Ken Schultz was a “devoted” umpire within the NCABL who succumbed to complications resulting from severe diabetes in his early thirties, “yet he persevered through much pain and health challenges to umpire and mentor younger umpires.”
Past winners from the Westlock area include Dean Fagnan, 2019, Cliff Cyre, 2010, Raymond Senkoe, 2008, Rick Provencal, 2006, Bryan Keith, 2005, John Golonowski, 1999, Dwaine Jolliffe, 1998, and Chuck Keller, 1996.
