Okotoks stunt man Tom Eirikson competes in a rodeo in the 1970s. Eirkison is co-organizing and performing in a show that uses old-style rodeo events to entertain the crowd Saturday at the Millaville Farmers' Market. The show is a fundraiser to help former hockey player Sheldon Kennedy support youth who are victims of sexual abuse.

Cowboy stuntman Tom Eirikson is bringing his wild west comedy show to Millarville to help raise money for women and their children who are victims of sexual abuse.

The show called, “Once Upon A Time In The Old West,” takes place during the Millarville Farmers’ Market on Saturday, and admission is by donation to support former hockey player Sheldon Kennedy’s mission to support youth who are victims of sexual abuse. Kennedy will direct any proceeds from the event to the Rowan House emergency shelter.

Kennedy may even join the 20-plus local barrel racers, bronc riders and steer wrestlers on the stage, which in this case, is a rodeo infield.

“I’ve been involved with rodeo all my life and the stunt business in the movies, so I thought we have all this talent in this area so let’s try putting a show together,” said Eirikson. “Not everyone wants to see straight rodeo. But we want to give people a taste of the western heritage through rodeo events and add comedy into it with live stunt acting.”

The show will feature approximately 30 animals and 22 performers, many who live in the foothills communities and are earning their way up the rodeo ranks or professional cowboys.

Rodeo clown Dennis Halstead, for example, who lives east of Okotoks, will be lending his talent to the show.

“He is very, very funny,” said Eirikson of the renowned rodeo entertainer.

Other seasoned rodeo performers include retired chuckwagon driver Doyle Mullaney, First Nation standup comedian/cowboy Randy Gaudry and Millarville cowboys Ben Lowry, a bull rider, and Ed O’Reilly, a saddle bronc rider.

The cowboys and cowgirls will weave a tale of life in the old west through a series of rowdy events including cow riding, wagon racing, steer wrestling and barrel racing.

“What we’re doing is we’re incorporating a live show that is going to be experimental, because it’s the first show that incorporates rodeo, comedy and stunts,” said Eirikson. “And in the process, it’s a fundraiser.”

The events will roll out like they did when rodeo was just getting popular. For example, there were no chutes for the cowboys to get settled on the back of a bronc. A cowboy would have the bronc “snubbed up” against his horse and the bronc rider would get onto the bronc from over the other cowboy’s horse.

That’s the way it’ll be done in the “Once Upon A Time In The Old West” show.

“There’s no judges, there’s no scores, there’s no right or wrong,” said Eirikson.

The events are purely for entertainment.

There will also be an old time gunfight, starring Eirikson’s 10-year-old son taking aim at his dad from the back of a “beefalo”.

“It’s a kind of a buffalo-beef animal,” said Eirikson. “It has a buffalo-looking head, but no hump, and longhorn type of horns. He’s a funny looking creature, but he’s very docile, so it works good.

“My son will shoot me off a horse, which I’m getting too old to do, but it’s always fun.”

The show “Once Upon A Time In The Old West” takes on Saturday, July 31 from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. during the Millarville Farmers’ Market at the Millarville Racetrack. The show is free and donations for the Rowan House Emergency Shelter will be accepted.

tneely@okotoks.greatwest.ca

Stoney Nakoda youth in Morley play the guitar with an instructor provided by The Children's Legacy Foundation Gift of Music Program, which is co-funded by Alberta Safe Communities.

The Legacy Children’s Foundation Gift of Music Program offered free music lessons to Stoney Nakoda youth on the Morley reserve last year and 80 per cent of the students involved remained committed to the program and finished the school year.

That 80 per cent success rate has proven to be the magic number across North America, where similar programs have been operating for approximately 20 years.

Darryl Wernham, CEO of The Legacy Children’s Foundation, said because of the success in Morley over the past year, the Province has awarded the foundation $150,000 to expand the music lessons to youth in Eden Valley and Big Horn as well as in Morley for another three years.

“Morley was the first test and it’s so successful we want to help their whole organization,” said Wernham.

Wernham said five youth in Eden Valley will be offered guitar lessons, which cost the foundation approximately $1,000 per year per student.

“We’ll supply the instruments and we have some finances to get them into a recording studio,” he said.

The foundation will consult with teachers at Chief Jacob Bearspaw Memorial School in Eden Valley to determine which five students are the best candidates for the program.

The deal is that as long as they attend their school classes and stay out of trouble, they will be given free guitar lessons and the chance to record in a studio. They will also have the opportunity to connect with people who earn their living making music.

“We try to introduce kids to professionals in the music industry, musicians in a studio, sound engineers,” said Wernham. “We want them to think, ‘Wow, this could be my life.’ We really want to get kids excited about it. We could find a budding Eric Clapton.”

The grant funding for the program, called the Gift of Music, comes from the Alberta Safe Communities initiative.

“What interests Safe Communities is that we looked at programs like this in San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles – those are all gang centrals,” said Wernham. “They have been super successful in two man things: kids stay in school and out of gangs. In Chicago, 46,000 kids have gone through the ‘Guitars not Guns’ program since 1989 and 90 per cent of the kids have finished high school and/or went on to post secondary.”

Finding a way for aboriginal youth to want to stay in school and out of trouble is a positive move in Alberta.

“Research shows that the school drop-out rate in Alberta for aboriginal kids is higher than the rest of the population,” said Wernham. “I’ve talked to people who are concerned about kids getting in trouble, kids getting into gangs and if we can stop that – well, it’s one kid at a time.”

In Eden Valley it’ll be five youth at a time.

To access the program funding the foundation is required to match the $150,000 grant, so fundraising is underway. Foundation members are reaching out to corporations and individuals in surrounding communities for donations.

They are accepting instruments, as well as cash donations.

“It’s awesome, I’m excited about this program because of the results,” said Wernham. “We’re seeing what we’re doing for kids.

“Kids who get involved with music, their grades improve, they score better on entrance exams for universities, they do better in math and literacy – it’s been researched for a long time and it’s really, really neat stuff. They also learn what it’s like to be in a team, because a band is a team. They learn about leadership and they learn about the skills you need to be successful in the workplace, like be focused and on time.”

tneely@okotoks.greatwest.ca

Travis Jimmyjohn, right, helps Ronine Ryder adjust her firefighter equipment during a training session on July 22. The Eden Valley residents are training to become volunteer firefighters at the reserve. Tamara Neely/OWW

The reserve acquired a fire truck approximately two months ago and training began last week for the new recruits.

“We had a call for volunteer firefighters and approximately 25 people showed up,” said RCMP Cst. Donald Vanderrick, who is stationed at the reserve. “And three of them are women.

“When I was there this morning and sat in on the class everybody was upbeat and they were learning knots. Next week they’ll be practicing firefighting.”

Unfortunately, only one of the volunteers has a valid drivers’ licence, however, that situation may change with the new drivers’ education program launched at the reserve.

Vanderrick explained that a Class 4 drivers’ licence is required to drive the newly acquired fire truck, a 2007 three-ton four-wheel-drive Ford pickup. Having the standard driver’s licence, a Class 5, puts the volunteer firefighter in a good position for upgrading to Class 4 with a written test and road test.

In the meantime, Vanderrick and Emergency Response coordinator Claude Lefthand can drive the fire truck.

The truck is much smaller than a standard fire engine but it is agile. It has been used for driving over rough terrain and putting out grass fires, Vanderrick said.

“It can go where regular, larger fire trucks can’t go,” said Vanderrick.

He estimated the volunteer fire department, which is headed by Lefthand, will be ready to respond to brush fires by September.

Lefthand said the goal is for the volunteers to be able to manage structural fires, but until the volunteers complete all the necessary training, they will call the Longview Fire Department to respond to structural fires, such as a house fire.

“The volunteer fire department will improve a lot in the community,” said Lefthand. “All these young people are here to learn on a volunteer basis and that tells me they’re willing to support their community for dangerous, emergency purposes.”

Arson has been a problem on the reserve for a number of years, with departments in Longview and Black Diamond responding to most of the emergencies.

In 2009 firefighters from the Longview district responded to 49 calls to Eden Valley and 43 more in the rest of their coverage area. Of the eight structural fires they put out, seven were in Eden Valley.

Ground cover fires did not present a major problem in Eden Valley. Firefighters only responded to one in Eden Valley last year.

However, the majority of the Longview firefighters’ visits to Eden Valley last year – approximately 35 – were medical assists prompted by a 911 call for an ambulance.

The Stoney band pays the Longview firefighters $250 per fire truck per hour plus $20 per firefighter per hour at respond to incidents on the reserve. In the case of a structural fire, four trucks and 15 firefighters could be dispatched.

“It has been costing us a lot of money in the past, when there is a house on fire,” said Lefthand. “And by the time the fire departments from Longview and Black Diamond arrive, it’s a half an hour at least. So this gives us the opportunity to work on grass fires right away, but for a house fire we can wet it down before it gets out of control.”

Graham Clark, the MD of Foothills fire chief, said the community of Eden Valley is making a positive step by trying to develop a volunteer fire department.

There are more logistics to figure out, however, such as how an emergency call can reach the Eden Valley fire response team.

“If someone calls 911, the 911 operator sends Longview out,” said Clark. “So there needs to be some investigation into how the Eden Valley unit gets deployed.”

The other issue that needs attention is fire prevention.

“According to what I’m getting back from the RCMP, a lot of the fires appear to be intentionally set,” said Clark. “It’s interesting. I’m happy they’re going to be able to come up with some solutions and prevention will probably be a better part and I certainly encourage some response capabilities out of the local area. They need to be part of the solution.”

tneely@okotoks.greatwest.ca

Denise Michaud and Steve Buoninsegni rehearse a scene from Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream. The play is part of the Olde Towne Arts Exchange festival taking place this weekend in Okotoks.

For many, the confusion sets in during high school studies of the 400-year-old plays and then clears when the chance comes to see actors devoted to the bard bring his ideas to life on stage.

This weekend the public will have an opportunity to see one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, come to life on stage at the Olde Towne Okotoks Plaza this weekend.

Three performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream take place as part of the theatre and music festival, called Olde Towne Okotoks Arts Exchange. The festival will also include performances by six musical acts and another romantic comedy told through the lyrics of pop songs.

The festival is a family event and the production of Shakespeare is intended to please all ages, from the toddlers to the adults.

“If you can entertain the younger crowd then the older crowd will be happy, because they won’t have to be running around trying to shut them up,” said experienced Shakespeare actor Stephen Buoninsegni.

The little ones will be enraptured by the fairy magic of the show, Buoninsegni said, as well as the music, dance and rambunctious physical movement of the play.

“We’re using very, very young actors as part of the fairy world so they’ll see their contemporaries on stage,” said Buoninsegni. “Shakespeare was a master at appealing to as large as possible of a cross-section of ages. And the character named Bottom gets turned into a donkey, an ‘ass’, and he’ll be hee-hawing, so that’ll get the kids going.”

While the children guffaw at the donkey’s antics, the adults will also be getting a kick out of Bottom being turned into an ass.

“Shakespeare was so great with word play, on top of everything he had to say about human beings,” he said.

Buoninsegni spent five years performing in the Shakespeare Company in Calgary and after five years and 400 years later, Buoninsegni continues to embrace Shakespeare’s brilliance. The word play and innuendo might get lost in English class, but it comes alive when actors who love the work bring it to a stage.

“Shakespeare touches on themes of love and relationships, about power and greed — he was a psychologist,” said Buoninsegni. “He really uncovered things about human nature.

“When you look at human beings and how they relate to one another you see the ridiculousness of what we put ourselves through, what we put each other through, in the name of love. He uses comedy as a vehicle to say something serious.”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream unravels the complications of two couples in love with the backdrop of an enchanted forest ruled by the king and queen of the fairies.

“It’s about love, really, and all the ups and downs of relationships between people – whether they’re in the fair world or the real world,” said Buoninsegni.

Twenty actors between the ages of three and 60 will work together this weekend to peel back the layers of human psychology through Shakespeare’s renowned play.

Being able to communicate the nuances of the human mind through Shakespeare’s 400-year-old English tongue demands the actors know exactly the message the playwright was trying to portray.

Buoninsegni said performing Shakespeare demands actors control their diction, the pace they move on the stage and deliver the lines. To accomplish that requires an understanding of the historical context as well as the plot of the play.

“Making it sound natural because you’re taking almost like a foreign language and making it sound like it’s natural speaking and I think that is a huge challenge for any actor,” said Buoninsegni. “You have to know a little about history, the customs, the world where the play takes place and with that comes a set of mannerisms and gestures, how the character moves, walks.”

Those are the signals lost to the high school student studying the text.

Event co-organizer Derek Losoncy said understanding what the actors are trying to say won’t be a chore as long as the actors have a solid grasp of what they are saying — which they do, he promised.

“If actors don’t know what they’re saying, then it’s impossible for the audience to know what they’re saying,” Losoncy said. “But it’s very simple to understand.

“Shakespeare doesn’t have subtext. If the actor says he’s angry, he’s angry.”

Shakespeare stands apart from contemporary theatre in that way, Losoncy said. Many plays written in the 20^th century require the actor to deliver a line knowing there is an emotional iceberg below the surface.

“With the majority of modern contemporary theatre the meaning is hidden in the subtext, but with Shakespeare it’s right there — this is how you feel and it’s said in the words,” said Losoncy. “So the audience can follow along quite easily.”

The plays were written for an era when they would be performed outside, with plenty of distractions going on at the same time so the meaning had to hit home, Losoncy said. That scenario also makes performing Shakespeare in downtown Okotoks a viable endeavour.

“At the same time there would have been a million things going on — beer gardens, brothels, gambling,” said Losoncy. “So when you do Shakespeare in its truest form, it’s very conducive to an outdoor stage.”

The performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a chance to bone up on a classic that has captured the attention theatre lovers for four centuries and provides a window into one’s psychological past, present and, possibly, future.

Losoncy encouraged families to pack up the children and a picnic lunch and hunker down for a weekend of affordable entertainment.

“It’s a pay-what-you-want event,” said Losoncy. “There will be a concession, too, but we want people to know this isn’t going to cost them a fortune.”

tneely@okotoks.greatwest.ca

Black Diamond resident Karen Kane's photo of a cougar was among a selection of her nature photos featured at the Calgary Stampede Western Photo Gallery.

The “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth” is also an opportunity for artists from across Canada and the United States to show and sell artworks with a western theme.

The 10-day event is an opportunity for local artists to display their work for thousands of Stampede visitors in the several galleries including the Western Showcase and by having their work accepted in the Western Art Auction.

The Western Showcase, located in the BMO Centre on the Stampede grounds, features artworks made with a range of different media. There are paintings, sculpture and photography as well as fibre arts such as quilts and needlepoint. There are even some unique manifestations of art, such as sculptures made with icing that convert a cake into an awe-inspiring objet d’art.

Among the artists participating in the showcase are several from the Foothills.

Black Diamond resident Karen Kane and Priddis resident Tracy Burton have photographs on display in the Western Photo Gallery, for example, and the Sheep Creek Weavers showcased their work on Sunday, July 18.

Two foothills artists had paintings accepted into the Western Art Auction this year.

Longview painter Gaile Gallup was included in the auction for the fourth year in a row and Laurie Sommerville, who paints and shows her work at the Yellow House Gallery in DeWinton, had a painting in the auction for the first time.

The 29^th annual auction, which took place on July 15, is a prestigious event for an artist. A jury selects artwork from several hundred submissions. This year 85 pieces were included in the auction.

For Sommerville, the auction gets her oil painting, called “Among Friends,” out of her small gallery into the public eye.

The painting shows a cowboy surrounded by horses and it was a scene Sommerville photographed on a visit to the late Doc Seaman’s OH Ranch several years ago.

“What I love is this guy is at home and he’s not alone,” said Sommerville. “It seems like a lonely life, but these guys are never alone. He’s among friends. These horses are his pals.

“And I love the colour in it and I love the harmony.”

Sommerville had a painting in the Creative Arts and Crafts competition at the Stampede four years ago, and then did a painting demonstration at the Artists Window the following year. This year she decided to apply to be in the auction and one of the biggest thrills about being accepted, Sommerville said, is showing her work alongside a painter she has admired for years.

“My favourite painter – and I have four of his paintings – is Allan Sapp and to see my name in the same category as his name, I just can’t believe it,” said Sommerville. “He’s from North Battleford (SK) and his paintings have so much heart.”

The second biggest thrill is having the opportunity to show her work to such a large audience.

“The Calgary Stampede is wonderful exposure for an artist,” said Sommerville. “So many people will see our work. As an artist, it’s a labour of love. You’re not going to get rich doing it. What I love is when people come and see it and so many people get to see your work at the Calgary Stampede.”

Sommerville’s painting ‘Among Friends’ sold for $2,400 at the auction. She will donate the sale, just like all her paintings sales, to the charity she founded which helps underprivileged teenagers get what they need to graduate from high school.

The Triangle Youth Foundation supports teens across Alberta with a variety of life challenges, including helping Stoney Nakoda teens in Eden Valley to stay in school.

“My whole dream is that they are able to use the funding that they are entitled to,” said Sommerville.

tneely@okotoks.greatwest.ca

John Ware, his wife Mildred and two of their children, circa 1896.

Priddis author James Davidge had tall boots to fill since John Ware is a beloved and well-documented hero of Alberta’s ranching history. Several authors have written historic accounts of his life, the Glenbow Museum has a collection of Ware’s possessions and documents and the Ware family home is a historical exhibit in the Dinosaur Provincial Park, southeast of Calgary.

On Saturday Davidge is celebrating the release of “The Duchess Ranch of Old John Ware” at the Glenbow Museum with a discussion and original music inspired by Ware’s life.

The book is a graphic novel featuring comic book-style illustrations by Bob Prodor.

Davidge researched John Ware’s old letters, deeds, other cowboys’ memoirs referencing John Ware, essays and photos in the Glenbow Museum and coupled those nuggets with historical accounts of Ware’s life such as Grant MacEwen’s book “John Ware’s Cow Country.”

As he pored over stories and photos Davidge developed a fondness for the legendary cowboy. It fuelled his work, but added pressure to do a good job.

“At times I would approach the archives and get knots in my stomach because I wanted to do right by him,” said Davidge.

Rather than a chronological list of events, “The Duchess Ranch of Old John Ware,” Davidge’s seventh book, gives an emotional dimension to Ware’s life. It combines documented moments in history with stories from people who knew John that have been passed down through generations.

It’s Davidge’s creative licence that ties the book together.

“When I think about truth, as a storyteller, it’s less about depicting reality and more about touching what is important to humanity,” said Davidge. “I’m creating a feeling and I hope that by speculating, I’m not doing a disservice to the truth, but that I’m connecting to it.”

Legends centre on Ware’s imposing physical size and strength, his trustworthy and hardworking character and his skill working with horses, Davidge said.

“Stories that follow him are about integrity, endurance and loyalty,” said Davidge. “A famous one was there was a big blizzard and everyone, all the cowboys, holed up in a cabin, but they weren’t sure what happened to their cattle and John Ware wasn’t with them, either. When the storm ended, they went out looking for their cattle and they found John Ware still with them, he had kept them together. And he even managed to kill a deer to feed everyone. He was proving himself to be dependable and trustworthy.”

Davidge had to trust the legends were based on fact as he built a book around them.

“You’re recounting someone’s anecdote, that someone shared with someone else 100 years ago,” said Davidge.

The pages of “The Duchess Ranch of Old John Ware” are full of interesting stories of Ware’s life, painting a picture of a likeable, admirable man and Davidge found himself questioning whether his picture of Ware was too rosy.

“My admiration grew and grew to the point that I was concerned that it was becoming a hero-worship tale,” said Davidge. “But at a certain point I surrendered to that and wanted it to be a celebration of a strong character. And I stopped worrying that I wasn’t speculating on the tarnished elements of his character.”

Telling John Ware stories through a graphic novel is a way for the history to be passed on to a new audience.

The idea came from Davidge’s friend Shawn Canning and evolved into a multi-media project with the book and instrumental country music written by Canning to accompany the stories.

James Davidge’s book launch takes place on Saturday, July 24 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Glenbow Museum’s Conoco Phillips Theatre. The free event features a discussion with Davidge and the illustrator of “The Duchess Ranch of Old John Ware,” Bob Prodor and a live music performance by Shawn Canning.

The book can be purchased at bookstores in Calgary and online book retailers for $10.95.

tneely@okotoks.greatwest.ca

Ottawa resident Derek Foster will be presenting two free seminars outlining his investment strategies on Monday and Tuesday at the Okotoks Public Library.

Derek Foster has since written four books about maximizing investment profits and minimizing money leaking away through fees and next week he will be in Okotoks on Monday and Tuesday offering two free seminars outlining his techniques.

Foster isn’t selling anything except his books, which have become national bestsellers, he said. He isn’t a stockbroker either, but he does have advice on what types of stocks to buy.

“Most people look at the stock market like a casino, where they want to buy a stock for $50 and sell for $100,” said Foster. “But what I do is buy stocks that pay dividends, which are cheques that are mailed to you every three months.”

However, beware of buying stocks in a company likely to struggle during the recession, he advised.

“I’ll look for a company that sells products that are recession-proof, for example, Colgate toothpaste,” said Foster. “Regardless of the economy everybody gets up in the morning and brushes their teeth. It’s a cheap product that everybody needs so it tends to be recession-proof.”

Foster is not trying to sell anyone on a specific product, rather it’s an example of the kind of investment he believes in and has made his money with.

“I’m not telling people to buy Colgate, but if you look at their annual report Colgate has paid uninterrupted dividends since the 1890s,” said Foster. “That means during World War I, World War II, the Cuban Missile Crisis, 9-11, whatever calamity you want to name, they have still been paying their dividends.”

Another way to use stocks that pay dividends is to channel the surplus back into buying more stocks rather than taking the cheque, Foster said.

That’s a way to get an investment started with a minimal amount of money down, an approach he has used for each of his five children.

“It’s like a snowball,” said Foster. “If you have a really long place to roll it, it gets bigger and bigger and you keep accumulating money. Eventually, my kids will be millionaires as long as they keep what I have set up in tact.”

At the free presentations on July 26 and 27 Foster will discuss types of stocks he recommends and ways to maximize an investment’s worth by minimizing financial fees.

“I’m going to explain to people how I stopped working,” said Foster.

His first two books are “Stop Working: Here’s How You Can” and “The Lazy Investor: Start with $50 and no Investment Knowledge”..

For more information about Foster’s techniques or to subscribe to his free investment advice newsletter, go to www.stopworking.ca

Derek Foster’s seminar on his approach to investing takes place on Monday, July 26 and Tuesday, July 27 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Okotoks Public Library, located at 7 Riverside Drive.

tneely@okotoks.greatwest.ca

Foothills landfill manager John Deagle collects beet tops from the garden at the facility, where the Compost Garden Party will take place on July 23. Allo are welcome to enjoy the free barbecue and live music and take home some compost. Tamara Neely/OWW

The Compost Council of Canada launched the idea and is hosting a Compost Garden Party at the Foothills Regional Landfill south of Okotoks on Friday.

Landfill site manage John Deagle said the parties have already taken place in Ontario and more are planned across the country. The Compost Garden Party at the dump south of Okotoks features live music by the Toronto band Jane’s Party, a free barbecue and up to 100 kg of compost will be given away.

And it won’t be a stinky party, Deagle promised.

“It’s never stinky up here,” said Deagle.

The compost facility at the Foothills landfill takes leaves and grass from area residents and composts it aerobically, so no stinky methane gas is created. That is the main reason why municipalities are encouraging composting. Leaves and grass and all organic materials will create methane gas as they decompose in the tightly sealed landfill beds, but when composted they decompose into a fertile and useful material.

“We support composting of any sort,” said Deagle. “It’s a good thing whether you do it in your backyard or bring your material here and we do it. Why throw out stuff when you can make something good out of it?”

Businesses looking for large quantities of compost can also buy some at the landfill, where it is always for sale. If the weather is nice the party will take place adjacent to the garden the landfill staff planted this spring.

If the weather is nice the party will take place adjacent to the garden that landfill staff planted this spring.

“We planted it before the first snow,” said Deagle. “Then we had the first snow and the second snow, but the potatoes are doing great.”

So are the beets, radishes, leaf lettuce and swiss chard, among other vegetables and flowers in the garden.

Deagle said they decided to build a garden to showcase how recycled materials at the landfill can be used in a garden. Tires, for example, and recycled wood, create raised garden beds. Wood chips from construction waste make up the walk areas around the garden and, of course, the garden features crops growing in the facility’s leaf-and-grass compost.

“Staff is really excited about it – it’s different,” said Deagle. “”And working at a landfill with recycling, that’s why some of them are here.”

In case of inclement weather, the party will be moved into the equipment tent, Deagle said, which can hold 200 people in addition to the band.

The goal of the Compost Garden Party is to celebrate the successes of the landfill and promote composting, so rain or shine the party will go on.

“We were the recipients of the Site of Excellence Award, which was for large centres,” said Deagle. “So we beat out Edmonton, Calgary, all the large centres.

“We were recognized for having exceptional organization of the electronics, paint and tire collection areas, as well as overall state of the facility.”

The party takes place July 23 at the Foothills Regional Waste Management Facility, located 8km south of Okotoks on dump road.

The party begins at 6 p.m. and the concert starts at 7 p.m.

For more information call 403-938-5224.

tneely@okotoks.greatwest.ca

Minister of Culture and Community Spirit Lindsay Blackett decided a Provincial grant for $500,000 will remain with the Diamond Valley Community Centre 78 Society, which was awarded the grant in May, 2009.

At that time the Centre 78 Society was planning on building a multi-use community centre, which included a library, in Turner Valley and the Town was supporting the project with land earmarked for the site.

When the $500,000 Major Community Facilities Program grant was awarded to the Centre 78 Society, Foothills-Rockyview MLA Ted Morton announced it was for the library portion of the community centre project.

Two months later the plan for the community centre derailed.

When the Town of Turner Valley was awarded a $2.9 million matching grant for a new library last summer, they announced they were legally obligated to take over the library portion of the community centre project.

The Town then decided to build a standalone library, but with architectural flexibility for building the rest of the multi-use centre adjacent to the library when the funds were secured.

The Town asked the Centre 78 Society to apply the $500,000 grant to the standalone library, but the Centre 78 maintained the grant was awarded to them for the multi-use facility.

Since the Major Community Facilities Program had been awarded to the society for a library in Turner Valley and the Town was now building a library in Turner Valley the Town asked Minister Blackett to apply the grant to the library project underway.

The Town has waited seven months for a response from Blackett.

“The Town of Turner Valley is pleased a decision was finally rendered as we have repeatedly requested clarification from the Government of Alberta regarding the intended use of the funds,” Coun. Barry Williamson said in a prepared statement. “Town council was under the impression the funds were earmarked for use in constructing the new Sheep River Inter-Municipal Library and would be made available to the project.

“This decision allows all parties involved to move forward with their respective projects.”

The Town must pay $983,000 to meet its portion of the federal-provincial-municipal matching grant to build the library and the $500,000 would have gotten them half way there.

Williamson said the Town had already considered financial options in case they could not access the grant money.

“Council will proceed with its plans to finance the project through a maximum debenture (loan) amount of $700,000, with the hope the Town of Black Diamond will contribute $250,000,” said Williamson.

Centre 78 Society co-chair Floyd Schatz said they have raised enough funds to match the $500,000 grant for the community centre, a stipulation of the Major Community Facilities Program and they are pleased the grant issue is settled.

“We’re pleased with the minister’s decision,” said Schatz. “The grant was applied for by the society and it was awarded to the society, so it should stay with the society and be applied to the multi-use community centre.

“That one aspect of the project is no longer a part of our concept is neither here nor there.”

tneely@okotoks.greatwest.ca