What with the environment suffering, the economy tanking and the war in Afghanistan escalating, I’ve been wondering: just what informs our leaders? On what do they base their decisions? What books do they read? What movies do they watch?
Who has read the book or watched the Academy Award-winning documentary If You Love This Planet? Dr. Helen Caldicott, an Australian physician and anti-nuclear activist, wrote the book. The movie was based on a lecture she gave on nuclear weapons to American university students in 1981. Both are apt to blast away …

A Blackie-area renewable energy company is helping take Western Canada’s alternative energy industry to new levels starting with a massive solar panel project in Medicine Hat.
Goose Creek Renewable Energy completed work on a 30-kilowatt solar array installed on a professional building in the southeast Alberta city last month. It is the largest freestanding, roof-mounted solar project west of Toronto.
It’s a big feat for company president Rick Dunsmore, who has led a number of projects in the foothills including the installation of solar panels and a wind turbine at Cayley School …

His friends thought he was going to be left in the dark — they couldn’t have been more wrong.
When Rick Dunsmore decided seven years ago to go “off-grid,” he wanted to prove it could be done without condemning his family to a life lived only by candlelight.
Dunsmore’s Blackie area home receives all of its electricity from wind turbines, solar panels and inverters that convert DC power to AC power. He has no need to be connected to the power lines that run past his home.
“A lot of people think we …

It may not be what was initially asked for, but Longview’s mayor can live with a set of short-term recommendations intended to improve safety along Highway 22 through the village.
“This is the first step in a long-range plan and we have to see what works and what doesn’t,” said Ivor McCorquindale.
Alberta Transportation presented the results of a study of possible upgrades to the highway to Longview residents last week. The draft report was compiled after a survey was completed in December 2008 in response to concerns expressed by Longview council …

Dear Editor,
Here is what appeared in the Western Wheel, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 1978.
“The future of Turner Valley depends to a great extent on its ability to attract light industrial development. Town council members recognize this fact and are actively pursuing it, says Town Councillor Bill Gordon. “We welcome any industry to the area, light or heavy. Our future stability and growth depend a great deal on it. Industry must come first,” he went on to say, “and residential development will automatically follow. We feel very optimistic about Turner Valley’s ability …

Is it megalomania or just a political stunt? Senegal’s President Abdoulaye Wade may not even know the answer himself, but his offer to let quake-stricken Haitians resettle in his West African country certainly qualifies as the most flamboyant response to the tragedy in Haiti.
“The repeated calamities that befall Haiti prompt me to propose a radical solution: to take measures to create, somewhere in Africa, the conditions for Haitians to return,” the 83-year-old Senegalese president said. “They did not choose to go to that island. It is our duty to recognize …

A CTV survey last week showed 58 per cent of respondents did not plan to donate to the Haitian relief effort.
Perhaps those who said they would not support fundraising efforts believed the disaster simply does not impact Canada and their charitable dollars would be better spent closer to home.
Although the earthquake was indeed thousands of miles away the aftershocks of the quake hit hard in the heart of Canada — especially Okotoks.
A catastrophic earthquake devastated the Caribbean island on Jan. 12 and according to the Haitian government more than 150,000 people …

Just when the scab was starting to heal it is ripped off my heart once again.
Since I was a kid I have been a fan of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Minnesota Vikings and no one could ever accuse me of being a bandwagon jumper. Why? Because I cheer for the two teams who always break a fan’s heart. The Riders waited 33 years between Grey Cup titles and the Vikings share the dubious distinction of being one of only two teams to be winless in four Super Bowl appearances.
As …

Check out this issue for our annual feature of last year’s babies in the area.
It’s always fun to look at the photos and see all their cute little faces. We definitely grow a lot of babies in this area as this is just a sampling of the year’s crop! Congratulations to all the families.
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I see the Okotoks Dawgs baseball team will be hosting its annual fundraising banquet this weekend on Saturday. Come see the MVP selections and hear some great speakers. Also a great meal and …

As her son’s biggest fan, Jennifer Sprague normally attends all of his meets but she wasn’t at this one.
While sitting at home she received a phone call from Matt Wheele, her son’s tumbling and trampoline coach. Wheele had Cristian in the car with him and he told Jennifer to meet them in urgent care in Calgary.
Cristian had sliced open his shin on the edge of a trampoline during one of his routines and required 17 stitches to close the wound, a potentially career threatening injury.
“A lot of coaches haven’t seen …