Education - Parents vow to fight for busing

By John Barlow
Editor

Parents are not going to lose their busing without a fight.
On June 7 the Foothills School Division axed the grandfather clause that provided busing to students being transported to schools outside their boundaries. The school division is not obligated to provide busing to families who chose to attend out-of-boundary schools and the board has debated eliminating the policy for several years. However, the decision by the board has led to a firestorm of opposition from parents throughout the division. More than 50 people attended an information meeting held at Dr. Morris Gibson School in Okotoks last Wednesday to oppose the decision and even more are expected to attend a rally on Thursday at Red Deer Lake School.
Jay Lyons, chair of the Red Deer Lake School council, said he agrees parents who choose out-of-boundary schools should pay something, but eliminating the option all together is not the answer.
"Why are they putting us through this when there are easy solutions?" questioned Lyons. "We are not looking for a conflict. We need to look at this as an opportunity to send the message we are open to consultation. As parents we are prepared to work with the board if they are willing to work with us."
As a result of the meeting last Wednesday the parents who attended the meeting requested the division hold an emergent public meeting before the end of June.
Lori Czerwinski, a former FSD trustee, attended the meeting on Wednesday and said the parents would like an opportunity to present alternatives to the board.
"The basic sentiment was that parents are not willing to accept your decision and therefore need to dialogue with decision-makers in order to reach a more amicable solution," said Czerwinski, whose children are bussed to Red Deer Lake School although they live within the boundaries for Millarville School.
However, the board has denied the request to hold a meeting instead standing firm on its decision to eliminate the bussing program for out-of-boundary students.
FSD secretary treasurer Drew Chipman said the division simply cannot afford to provide the service any longer.
Chipman said eliminating the routes will save the division more than $70,000.
It is estimated that out of the 4,000 students who are bussed 300 of them travel to schools out of their assigned boundary. The decision could have significant impact on some rural schools including Millarville which has more than 30 out of area students and Millarville which has more than 100.
Opponents of the division's decision argue that administration should be able to find $70,000 in its $56 million annual budget.
Chipman said it is not as simple as moving money around.
"There is no room to find the money elsewhere," responded Chipman. "With increased fuel costs and salaries the money isn't there. If we could come up with the money we would, but we can't take money out of the classrooms to pay for bussing."
As a result of the division's decision parents who want to keep their children in out-of-boundary schools must transport their children themselves or get them to a stop on the bus route.
Lyons disagreed with Chipman's assessment saying eliminating the routes will prove more costly to the division if students chose to attend Calgary schools instead of attending Foothills Composite High School for example. Also, he said the timing of the decision was 'abysmal' as many parents, due to the end of school frenzy, will not realize their routes have been eliminated until September.
Lyons, who sympathizes with the division's funding crunch, said he is hoping the division will revisit this issue as soon as possible.
"Why will they not come to the table?" he asked. "No one is saying they are not prepared to pay. There is an easy solution. If you attend a school of choice you pay something, the system pays something."
Parents have organized a public meeting at Red Deer Lake School at 7 p.m. to discuss alternate solutions, a possible appeal process to have the decision revisited and other parent concerns regarding the change in bussing policy.

For more information on the meeting contact Jay Lyons at 651-7701 or Lori Czerwinski at 931-0451.

Fatality - Wife questions safety protocols

Kevan Chandler was killed working in a silo at local feedlot

By Pamela Roth
Staff reporter

With each passing day since her husband was killed in an accident at
a feedlot west of High River, Lorna Chandler questions whether his death could have been prevented.
Kevan Chandler, 36, died in hospital on Father’s Day after he was buried in a silo by a massive pile of grain that he had been shoveling.
A co-worker managed to pull Kevan from the silo and administered CPR until EMS arrived at the scene, however, he died as a result of his injuries in hospital.
According to Lorna, Kevan advised her the only safety equipment at the feedlot was a harness, but without a rope and proper safety training, a simple harness didn’t do much good.
At times Kevan had voiced his concern to his wife about the lack of safety equipment, since his job required him to work more than 35 feet above the ground.
Near the end of May, Kevan accepted a supervisor position and was going to approach his employer about the safety issue.
Whether or not that request was ever made, Lorna isn’t sure, but had he been wearing the proper safety equipment, she believes she would still have her husband with her today.
“Seeing him up that high just gave me the willies,” said Lorna, 30. “They could have set up something inside those silos and gotten proper training. I have been thinking about that ever since it happened.”
On the day of the tragedy, Lorna and her two children, Jada, 4, and Josh, 8, were going to purchase a barbecue that Kevan had had his eye on as a Father’s Day gift.
Lorna had been home tidying up their Black Diamond home for the occasion when her next-door neighbour, who was also Kevan’s best friend, walked through the door and said her husband had been involved in an accident at work.
It was a day Lorna would rather forget than have to remember.
“I didn’t think it was anything serious at first,” she said. “It’s been rough. It has sunk in and it still hurts of course, but that’s not going to go away any time soon.”
In the days leading up to the funeral service held in Okotoks on Saturday, Lorna and her children have been trying to remember the good things Kevan had done throughout his life.
The pair met in Black Diamond in 1997 when Kevan was a cook at a local restaurant. Lorna told Kevan she liked his cooking, which soon sparked a romance that eventually led to a wedding on April 21, 2001 — Lorna’s birthday.
Lorna smiles fondly as she recalls the birth of their son Josh remembering how their newborn’s eyes would cross whenever Kevan would look closely look at him through his big, thick glasses.
Last week Josh told his mother he missed his father, to which she replied, “You cry all you want and don’t be afraid to talk to anyone about your dad.”
Lorna continued, “He was so nice to talk to. He really enjoyed helping other people out.”
Since the accident is currently being investigated by a third party, Tongue Creek Feeders declined to comment on the issue of safety equipment, but extended their deepest sympathy to the family.

Playing in the mud

Micheal Trautman from Lethbridge gets down and dirty during the steer wrestling event at the Guy Weadick Memorial Rodeo in High River on Friday evening. Conditions were much improved during the weekend much to the delight of the professional cowboys.photo by Rae Holtsbaum

Bragg Creek - Opposition to logging project growing

By Darlene Casten
Staff reporter

Opposition is mounting against clear-cut logging in Kananaskis Country, but the head of a Bragg Creek environmental group was disappointed at the turnout for a second protest meeting held in Calgary last week.
Ralph Cartar, president of the Bragg Creek Environmental Coalition (BCEC), said if people understood the issues there would have been twice as many people at a meeting held at Mount Royal College June 21.
“The attendance was a little on the weak side,” Cartar said following the two-hour information session.
“If Calgarians understood this issue this place would be overflowing.”
The Alberta Wilderness Association has also joined in the fight against the Kananaskis logging plan.
At a media conference last week members of the association backed up the concerns of the BCEC.
“There is already a lot of clear cutting on those watersheds to date,” said Vivian Pharis, a member of the AWA board.
“Clear cuts are detrimental to the watersheds and there weren’t many considerations for our watersheds (in the proposed plan) at all.”
Members of the BCEC and AWA oppose a harvesting plan from Spray Lakes Sawmills that would see just over 30 per cent of Kananaskis Country, mainly in the eastern portions of the area, clear-cut over 20 years.
Opponents of the proposal contend the logging will drive away tourists, causing local communities to suffer economically.
The organization is asking the province to declare the area a wild land park, a move that is being supported by the provincial Liberals and many others in the area.
Water quality is also a huge concern, according to the BCEC, who have said increased runoff will make water treatment more difficult and costly for towns accessing water from the Sheep, Elbow and Bow Rivers.
Calgary alderman Barry Erskine attended the meeting and told the audience the city is concerned about the proposal.
“We haven’t been granted intervener status and we feel we should have,” Erskine said.
The City of Calgary’s water department is in the midst of writing a letter of concern to the province regarding the possible effects to the Jumping Pound and Elbow watersheds.
Okotoks area resident Murray Fraser rushed to the meeting from his home west of Okotoks after reading about the proposed logging in the newspaper.
Fraser questions why local municipalities haven’t made similar moves as Calgary.
“I’m concerned about the water quality issues and the cost fallout in Turner Valley, Black Diamond, Okotoks and High River,” Fraser said. “It is common knowledge that clear cut logging increases silt and runoff and increases turbidity that deceases the quality of the water, which increases the cost of water treatment.”
Fraser was also critical of the province for not making the preservation of Kananaskis its top priority.
“I’m appalled by the lack of balance with provincial decision making to environmental matters like this,” Fraser said.
Town of Black Diamond administrative assistant Joanne Irwin said the issue has not been discussed at town meetings for over a year.
“A councillor could ask for it to be put on the agenda or a resident could write a letter requesting it to be on the agenda,” she said.
Foothills MD reeve Roy McLean said he trusts Spray Lakes to work responsibly, pointing to their 60 years of logging in southern Alberta.
In Okotoks municipal manager Rick Quail said it is not necessary for town council to deal with the issue.
“We are too far removed,” Quail said. “This is a Bragg Creek issue and it might be an issue for Turner Valley.”
Quail said the provincial government will be held accountable if water issues do arise.
“It is the business of the province to deal with water resource management,” he said.
Turner Valley town manager Stan Ogrodniczuk was not available for comment by press time.