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Sponged!
Melissa Church, Jamie Percival and Victoria
Desjardins get an opportunity of a lifetime -- to be allowed to play in the mud. The
parks department of the town requested that the Summer in the Sun members help to
fling mud around Kinsmen Park. This special mud is a combination of compost, wild
flowers seeds and a magic powder. The members then hurled the mud through the air
in hopes that by next spring they would turn into beautiful flowers. The mud balling
activity was planned by John Nibourg of the parks department and Debbie Treadgold.
photo by John Barlow
Priddis and Millarville Fair to celebrate 92 years
of carnival fun
By Gillian Beckett
Staff Reporter
Everyone loves a good old-fashioned country fair.
The sights of children playing their favorite penny-carnival games, the sounds of
guitar-strumming music floating in the air and, of course, who could resist the tempting
smells of some all-time favorite fair foods like cotton-candy or homemade apple pies
like mom used to make?
Although these elements were once common among country fairs back at the turn-of-the-century,
it is rare to find one these days at the turn-of-the-millennium.
However, one local fair has continued to preserve the good-time atmosphere of a country
fair from days past for almost a century.
The annual Priddis and Millarville Fair will be celebrating its 92nd year on Aug.
21 from 8:30 am to 4 pm at the Millarville Race Track.
'This is one of the few old-fashioned fairs left around,' said fair organizer Paul
Rishaug. 'Things haven't changed that much from the days when it started.'
The fair's atmosphere is guaranteed to hold true to this year's theme, 'Salute to
the Old West' as a wide range of exhibits and activities for both young and old will
reflect just that.
As a testament to the Old West, a parade will be held at noon featuring numerous
attractions for people to see.
According to Rishaug, some of the shows scheduled for this year's fair could rival
that of a zoo as numerous farmyard animals will be on display, such as llamas, rabbits
and miniature donkeys, to name a few.
'We're also going to have a light and heavy horse show,' said Rishaug. 'This year,
we're also going to have our first working stock dog demonstration featuring handlers
from several locations (across Alberta).'
However, the fair will not be a show only for animal lovers, as various crafts and
handiwork will also be displayed.
'We have various classes such as flower-arranging and photography that will be in
competition,' said Rishaug. 'Judges from all over Alberta will be there to award
prizes (in each class).'
While parents seeking ideas to create their own perfect craft are wandering around
the display booths, children seeking some fun can visit Kids World on the fairground.
'Kids World is going to be a lot of fun,' said Rishaug. 'There will be puppet shows
and other kinds of kidstuff to do.'
In addition, there will be some bigger toys to check out as car enthusiasts will
be treated to an antique car and tractor exhibition.
This ever-popular fair attracts a lot of people from all over, said Rishaug.
One reason why it continues to be popular after all these years is the volunteers,
he added.
'This is a very large event which relies mainly on help from volunteers,' said Rishaug.
'It couldn't be done without their support and the support of the Millarville Racing
and Agricultural Society.'
Although registration is full for people to enter their crafts for the class competitions,
Rishaug said more volunteers are always needed for the fair.
To volunteer, or for more information, call Paul Rishaug at 931-3547 or the Millarville
Racing and Agricultural Society at 931-3411.
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All DARE stakeholders financially committed
By Gillian Beckett
Staff Reporter
Despite recent concerns that some stakeholders in the DARE program would withdraw
their funding for the drug awareness program, all stakeholders have re-affirmed their
financial commitment to the program.
At an emergency meeting held on Aug. 10 at the Okotoks RCMP detachment, all 10 stakeholders
met with DARE Works! Society president Jackie Chalmers to discuss their financial
obligations to the DARE program.
It was recently announced that one of the potential stakeholders did not commit funding
to the program. There was fear that because Christ the Redeemer Catholic school division
was not going to commit that others would withdraw their funding.
During the meeting, it was determined that the drug awareness program, which is offered
to Grade 6 students, will be available to all students within the MD of Foothills,
with the exception of CRSD students, by Oct. 1.
Currently, CRSD does not have the $10,000 share to commit to the DARE program, however,
CRSD assistant superintendent Hans Woehleke assured the other stakeholders that the
school division is actively seeking funds from other sources.
'We certainly support the DARE program. The pilot (program) at Good Shepherd School
provided positive feedback from students and parents,' said Woehleke. 'It's unfortunate
that (CRSD) has been tainted as the bad guy. . . we didn't create a financial crisis,
we just don't have the money in our pockets to commit.'
Woehleke explained that CRSD has already been in contact with Windsong Child and
Family Services to seek the needed funds. If the funds are obtained, Windsong may
become the 11th partner and all other stakeholder shares will be reduced.
However, Chalmers said that allocating funds or grants from sources such as Windsong
is not a reliable way to ensure consistent funding for the program and should be
left at a community level.
'We have not negated alternate sources of funding from private, corporate or government
foundations,' said Chalmers, 'but we can't rely on that exclusively for funding.
. . we want to ensure sustainability when we launch DARE.'
Chalmers added that the DARE program is unique in that the Foothills region would
be the first community in Canada to employ a full-time DARE officer.
'We need to do this at a grass-roots level,' said Chalmers. 'Lets all have a vested
interest in raising our children.'
However, if CRSD was unable to obtain funds from Windsong or another alternate source,
Chalmers explained that the DARE program could remain, however, the DARE Works! Society
would have to fund-raise to make up for the shortfall.
Reeve Wayne Berglund said that the MD of Foothills has already donated $2,500 extra
in funds to make up for a possible shortfall.
'I think what DARE is asking for is a guarantee that we're there to help with funds
and to be a backstop for initial commitments,' said Berglund. 'I believe we're still
a handshake society out here -- I hope that doesn't change.'
With the program set to be in place by October, Chalmers explained that the next
step is to gain approval from the Solicitor General for a full-time DARE officer
position with a salary of $61,000 per year. Currently there are seven trained DARE
instructors which include four Turner Valley RCMP officers, two Okotoks RCMP officers
and one High River RCMP officer.
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