The Oilers tied their best-of-seven games series at 2-2 when they downed the Canmore Eagles 4-1 Thursday in Canmore.

“I thought we played with a little more consistency tonight than we have in the first few games of the series,” Oilers coach Garry VanHereweghe said.

The line of Nolan Huysmans, Ben Gamache and Chris Korpach led the Oilers.

“They don’t have a lot of size but they have a great work ethic,” VanHereweghe said. “They have a lot of energy and the feed off each other.”

The trio helped feed a somewhat lethargic Oilers’ powerplay. The line was on the ice for both of Okotoks’ two powerplay goals in the victory.

The Oilers opened the scoring with a powerplay goal by Matt Strong with assists from Korpach and Gamache approximately four minutes into the game.

Canmore tied the game 1-1 on a goal by Kory Roy in the second period.

The Oilers fired back with three consecutive goals as Korpach scored and Huysmans had a pair for the 4-1 victory.

Okotoks peppered Eagles’ goalie Sam Brittain with 46 shots in the game.

Oilers goalie Sean Cahill was up for practically anything the Eagles threw at him.

With Okotoks up 2-1 going into the third period, the Eagles rifled 16 shots at Cahill in the final 20 minutes. The Okotoks ‘tender turned them all aside to stave off any Canmore comeback attempt.

The series is starting to heat up as it returns to the Centennial Arena for Game 5 on Saturday.

There were more than 30 penalties called in Thursday’s tilt in Canmore.

The puck will be dropped at 7 p.m. for Game 5 in Okotoks. Game 6 is back in Canmore on Monday at 7 p.m.

Game 7, if needed, would be at St. Patrick’s Day battle on March 17 at the Centennial Arena at 7 p.m.

In other AJHL action on Thursday the Camrose Kodiaks took a 3-1 lead in their series with the Brooks Bandits when they downed the Bandits 2-1 in Brooks.

Foothills traded punches with the Chargers in the first half of Game 1 of the best-of-three 4A South Central final Wednesday in Airdrie but they could not hold on in the second half losing 75-52.

“We stayed with them for the first half we were down only 31-27 at halftime,” Falcons coach Amron Gwilliam said. “In the second half we made some mistakes and some turnovers and we ended up losing by 23.”

The Falcons’ top scorer was Cam Copland with 14 points while Lee Campbell finished with 10.

“We are definitely the underdog, but they aren’t unbeatable,” Gwilliam said. “For us to beat them we have to play our very best and we didn’t play our best basketball (on Wednesday).”

He added the Falcons will need more points from their two big men, Campbell and Branden Heslip.

Gwilliam said the Falcons need 20 to 25 points from the Falcons’ duo if they hope to dump the Chargers. In Wednesday’s loss, the pair chipped in 12 points.

The two teams meet again for Game 2 Friday at 7 p.m. at Foothills Composite High School in Okotoks.

Game 3, if necessary, is at Bert Church at 7 p.m. Saturday.

HTA Knights

There was no rising for the Holy Trinity Knights in their 3A South Central Zone boys basketball game against the Springbank Phoenix on Wednesday in Cochrane.

“We were leading in the third quarter and we were only down 60-55 after three,” Knights coach Sam Aiello said. “Then we just ran out of gas.”

They also lost their scoring touch. They scored just four points in the fourth quarter and lost 80-59.

The Knights play the George McDougall Mustangs from Airdrie tonight in Cochrane in the provincial qualifier.

The winner of the game will play at SAIT at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday and would still have a chance at provincials by going through the B side.

The loser would play for seventh and eighth-place in the zone Saturday morning at SAIT.

The Knights beat George Mac in their one previous meeting this year.

The Highwood Mustangs were beaten 72-64 by the Cochrane Cobras in their first game in the zone tourney on Wednesday.

Girls’ action

The Holy Trinity Knights proved they can play defence in their 62-40 loss to the Highwood Mustangs in a 3A South Central girls basketball game Wednesday in High River.

Unfortunately for the Knights, they shot the ball like it was one of those free cups of coffee being distributed by a fast foot chain — everywhere but in the basket.

The Knights shot approximately 20 per cent in their loss to Highwood.

The Knights play their second game in the provincial qualifier tonight at Holy Trinity Academy when they host the Cochrane Cobras.

The two teams have not met this season.

The Oilers tied their best-of-seven games series at 2-2 when they downed the Canmore Eagles 4-1 Thursday in Canmore.

“I thought we played with a little more consistency tonight than we have in the first few games of the series,” Oilers coach Garry VanHereweghe said.

The line of Nolan Huysmans, Ben Gamache and Chris Korpach led the Oilers.

“They don’t have a lot of size but they have a great work ethic,” VanHereweghe said. “They have a lot of energy and they feed off each other.”

The trio helped feed a somewhat lethargic Oilers’ powerplay. The line accounted for both of Okotoks’ powerplay goals in the victory.

The Oilers opened the scoring with a powerplay marker by Matt Strong with assists from Korpach and Gamache approximately four minutes into the game.

Canmore tied the game 1-1 on a goal by Kory Roy in the second period.

The Oilers fired back with three unanswered goals as Korpach scored and Huysmans added a pair for the 4-1 win.

Okotoks peppered Eagles’ goalie Sam Brittain with 46 shots in the game while at the other end of the ice Oilers goalie Sean Cahill was up for practically anything the Eagles threw at him.

With Okotoks up 2-1 going into the third period, the Eagles rifled 16 shots at Cahill in the final 20 minutes. The Okotoks tender turned them all aside to stave off any Canmore comeback attempt.

The series is starting to heat up as it returns to the Centennial Arena for Game 5 on Saturday.

There were more than 30 penalties called in Thursday’s tilt in Canmore.

The puck will be dropped at 7 p.m. for Game 5 in Okotoks. Game 6 is back in Canmore on Monday at 7 p.m.

Game 7, if needed, would be a St. Patrick’s Day battle on March 17 at the Centennial Arena at 7 p.m.

In other AJHL action on Thursday the Camrose Kodiaks took a 3-1 lead in their series with the Brooks Bandits when they downed the Bandits 2-1 in Brooks.

John Barlow, Editor

It took a tragedy, but a splintered family has found its way home.

Recently, my father-in-law was killed in a car accident south of High River and it was devastating  loss for the Ross clan.

Don Ross owned Ross’s Bakery in High River and he was well known for his Scottish treats and his decadent donuts. However, he was even more well known as the character with the crazy cowboy hats singing karoake at the Beef ‘n’ Brew or uncovering only treasures he could love at the Salvation Army.

Everyone in the High River area knew Don had vivacious love of life and was always willing to help out when and where he was needed.

However, during the last week we received dozens of calls and cards from his friends — many of whom we had never met before. Hearing the stories and reading those letters we all learned just how beloved Don was in the community. Unbeknownst to any of us, or most anyone else for that matter, Don was a guardian angel for those in need. It was not uncommon for Don to slip money, food or even air miles to those who had fallen on hard times. He never told anyone, he did not want any recognition. Don just wanted to make sure his friends — who truly came from all walks of life — were alright.

At the funeral on Friday people would just wander up to us and say thank-you. They would not tell us why exactly, but we knew. It was yet another soul who Don had touched in some way.

It was a difficult time for us all to lose such an integral part of the family, but it was also reassuring to hear the stories from people who Don had helped during his vibrant lifetime.

He was certainly a star who burned brightly in his community.

Although he is no longer with us in body, his star continues to shine and he has become a guiding light for his children.

Like most families, Don’s daughter and his two sons have led their own lives, but rarely did their paths intersect.

Now they are closer than anyone would have thought possible. He has pulled them together knowing, now more than ever, they need each other and losing him has strengthened the family’s bonds.

They did not do it alone. The support from the community has simply been overwhelming.

You do not always realize just how strong your support network is until times of tragedy. Over the past week we have learned our friends and family have provided us with a solid foundation.

Whether it was friends bringing over lasagnas or Sobeys dropping off boxes of food we were assured the community was there to embrace us in our heartbreak.

From my family to yours, thanks to all of you for making this most difficult time bareable. There is no simply no way to repay your love and support.

Don would have been proud of all of you as I am sure it was something he would have done as well.

May his star continue to shine down on us all.

Paul Rockley, Publisher

I’m not sure which event appeals to me more, but both are worthy of mention for next week.

We will start off with the return of Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, March 14 at 2 a.m. This is when we set our clocks ahead one hour and enjoy a little more daylight at the end of our work day. I love this day as it also proclaims that winter will be done soon and we can get ready for a beautiful spring season. On the weekend I went for a walk along the Sheep River and you could see the trees starting to show signs of budding coming soon.

The next event is St. Patrick’s Day on Wednesday, March 17. This is the day we all brag about our Irish heritage and stop for a cool one with some green food colouring in it. For some reason it just seems to taste better, but in reality if you were blind folded you would not be able to tell the difference. Beer is beer!

Have I ever told you the story that my last name used to be O’Rourke? It takes awhile so buy me a green beer and you will get the ugly truth about that dark secret……

• • • • •

The Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association along with Direct Energy wish to recognize our province’s remarkable volunteer spirit with our sixth annual Volunteer Citizen of the Year Award. Nominations close May 7. We wish to recognize individuals who work hard to make our communities great places to live. The award consists of a $1,000 cash prize to the winner and a $5,000 cash grant to the organization of their choice. Also the four semi-finalists will get $1,000 each donated to the organization of their choice. Of course special recognition goes to the winners as well. You may self-nominate or be nominated. For more details or to get the required nomination form please drop by our office or call and we will mail you the information.

Did you know that according to Volunteer Alberta, 52 per cent of Albertans volunteered last year with an average of 172 hours per person. Every community has them so let’s make sure some of the special ones get recognized.

Proposed changes to the provincial electoral boundaries will severe traditional ties within the foothills region and should be revisited.

A report released by the he Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission showed substantial changes to the Highwood and Foothills-Rocky View ridings. The latter of the two has only existed since 2004 and will be realigned and folded into a new riding, Carstairs-Rocky View.

There are some sound decisions in the new proposal including returning Turner Valley and Black Diamond to the Highwood riding — they were removed in 2004 and put in Foothills-Rocky View. Turner Valley and Black Diamond should be included with Okotoks as they are natural partners.

However, as the Province reattaches Highwood’s left arm, it removes the right.

The most glaring proposal among the boundary changes is removing High River from Highwood and sliding it into a new constituency called High River-Crowsnest Pass.

This makes no logical sense as High River, Okotoks, Black Diamond, Turner Valley and the MD of Foothills have developed strong ties over the years and the boundary adjustments will certainly complicate matters.

For example, these communities have been encouraged to work together on regional projects and partnerships such as a regional fieldhouse in Aldersyde.

Now, instead of dealing with one MLA the municipalities will have to try and secure funding through three: Highwood, High River-Crowsnest Pass and Little Bow as everything east of Highway 2A (including Aldersyde) has been removed from Highwood and put in Little Bow.

How will an MLA from Vulcan or Pincher Creek feel about helping build a fieldhouse north of High River?

The Province would certainly never put Black Diamond and Turner Valley in different ridings, but splitting Okotoks and High River is comparable. True, there is no love lost between the two communities especially on the sports field, but when it comes to politics the two communities have always been two peas in a pod — they should be kept in the same pod.

These five municipalities in the foothills have worked hard to develop strong relationships with one another believing, as the Province told them, there is strength in numbers. The business corridors will remain intact, but continuing to develop regional projects has just become significantly more complicated.

The small rural communities in the foothills area such as Blackie and Longview that have been dissected from Highwood will also feel the impact as they will be isolated rural outposts in vast ridings where they will have to fight to have their voices heard.

These boundary changes are based on population, but criteria such as history and regional partnerships should also be considered.

Dyer misleading readers about global warming

Dear Editor,

Reading Gwynne Dyer’s article in the Western Wheel has once again induced a state of disbelief that a freelance writer with his qualifications can get away with such shabby journalism.

Dyer’s use of half-truths and his misunderstanding of facts suggest that he is either the dumbest man on the planet or he thinks his readers are.

If you didn’t know any better, you would think that Phil Jones was guilty of commenting about trying to keep “flawed” research from being published in notable science journals. You might also think that only one email was involved so therefore, what’s the big deal? The fact of the matter is that there were hundreds of emails going back 10 years or so that involved dozens of people and many of whom colluded to falsify data to support a failed theory of man-made global warming.

A case in point is the once famous “hockey stick” graph showing a relatively flat global temperature pattern (itself flawed) over the past thousand years or so that shot up abruptly about 250 years ago, coincidental with the beginning on the industrial revolution. Thanks in large part by the scrutiny of several notable Canadian researchers, Ross McKitrick being one of them, the “hockey stick” graph is now broken above the blade and in the recycle bin. Not only was the computer model that drew the graph flawed but also the data that went into it was cherry picked and falsified.

Dyer suggests that “maybe” Jones was in the process of implementing a plan to keep flawed research from being published when in fact credible research related to global warming was continually being denied publication and had been the case for several years or more.

Moreover, the IPCC’s research unit refused to release their own scientific data and other pertinent information so other scientists worldwide could review the research. The researchers at East Anglia University went so far as to violate British freedom of information laws in their denial of access to the data and knew full well they were doing so, which is the main reasons for Mr. Jones’ dismissal from the IPCC research unit.

Dyer and his like are quick to label anyone that doesn’t agree with them as “deniers” and “skeptics”. If you are skeptical, you only have Gwynne Dyer to thank.

Robb Moss

Bragg Creek

Holmes needs to present clear plan of attack to locals

Gwynne Dyer, Contributor

There are some bombs going off, but apart from that the election in Iraq on March 7 is a model of its kind. There are more than 6,000 candidates for the 352 seats in parliament, and the country is flooded with foreign observers who will monitor the process. Unlike last time, no major group is boycotting the election and nobody knows who is going to win it.

Iraq has come a long way since the Sunni-Shia civil war of 2005-07, when 3,000 murdered people were being found in Baghdad each month. True, the most violent elements could just be waiting until all the Americans leave next year to start the fighting again, but it’s unlikely that they would let this election unfold smoothly if they had the power to disrupt it. And the more credible the election, the greater the legitimacy of the resulting government.

It could be literally a new government, in the sense that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would no longer be running it. Maliki’s personal popularity among more “nationalist” Shias (i.e. less sectarian ones) is undiminished, and his “State of Law” alliance leads in the opinion polls, with a predicted 30 percent of the seats in the new parliament. But 30 percent is not a majority.

To form a new government, Maliki’s party will need the support of either the secular nationalists of former prime minister Iyad Allawi’s Iraqi National Movement, now at 22 per cent in the polls, or of the conservative Shia religious party, the Iraqi National Alliance, which has 17 percent. They have both said that they will not accept Maliki as prime minister in any coalition government they join, and they may actually mean it.

Maliki would doubtlessly prefer to recreate the existing coalition with the Kurdish parties, but that arithmetic probably doesn’t work any more. Kurds are 20 per cent of Iraq’s population, and when they all voted for the two traditional Kurdish parties (which cooperated at the national level), they were the kingmakers of Iraqi politics. The recent rise of the reforming Goran (Change) party, however desirable in itself, destroys that Kurdish unity.

But how nice it is to make such boring, routine calculations about the outcome of an Iraqi election? It’s almost as if the place had become a normal country again, and a democratic one at that. Iraqis certainly deserve such a happy ending after all the horrors they have been through. Are they really going to get one?

Al-Qaeda, which gained a foothold among the Sunni Arab minority in Iraq after the American invasion in 2003, retains the ability to commit atrocities like the suicide bombings that killed 32 people in Baquba on Wednesday, but it is now only a marginal force among the Sunnis. The question is really whether the rest of the community has accepted its minority status and decided to make the best of it.

The alienation of the Sunnis is very great. They dominated Iraqi politics for centuries, and 10 years ago most did not even realize that the Shias outnumbered them three-to-one. The US invasion drove them from power, they bore the brunt of the fight against the US occupation, and then the al-Qaeda fanatics dragged them into a war against the Shias.

In the course of that war most mixed neighbourhoods in Baghdad were “cleansed” of their Sunni population, and the city is now overwhelmingly Shia. A very large proportion of the 2 million Iraqi refugees abroad and the 2 million internally displaced people are Sunnis. Even in this election, the Shia-dominated “de-Baathification” committee disqualified a number of prominent Sunni candidates from running.

Yet most Sunnis will be voting this time, rather than boycotting the election as they did in 2005. In retrospect, the Sunni community sees that as a grave error, as they had almost no influence on central government policy between then and now. They are now willing at least to try to live within the new reality of minority status in a country where religion plays a far larger role than previously.

The threat of an Arab-Kurdish civil war over the disputed city of Kirkuk is also in decline, despite the importance to the Kurds of its surrounding oilfields. The new Goran party takes a more conciliatory approach to the Arabic-speaking minority in that city, most of whom were settled there decades ago as part of Saddam Hussein’s Arabization program. It does not control the Kurdistan Regional Government, but it is certainly a moderating influence.

It’s a bit early to see Iraq as a kind of Middle Eastern Belgium, with as many bitter internal divisions as that deeply divided country, but also its enduring commitment to democracy. (One parallel, however, is a given: it will probably take as incredibly long to form a coalition government after this election as it does in Belgium.)

The wounds in Iraq are very fresh, and its democracy is still new and fragile. But after the decades of oppression, the hundreds of thousands killed since 2003, the millions more turned into refugees, and the steep fall in the status of women, it would be nice if Iraq had something positive to show for its long ordeal. We’ll know by 2020.

A group of almost 20 parents came to the division’s board meeting to deliver a presentation on the division’s Learner Profile, which would replace existing report cards at the elementary and junior high school levels. Most of the parents came from Red Deer Lake School, which had a number of meetings about the Learner Profile, both with the division and with parents. There were also concerned parents with children who attend Millarville School and Dr. Morris Gibson School in Okotoks.

Cindy Poole, head of Red Deer Lake School’s report card committee, told trustees and administrators parents want to see changes to the Learner Profile, which is being used at three pilot schools.

She told the board using words like achieving and extending tell parents little about their child’s abilities. The Learner Profile uses the words beginner, developer, achieving and extending to explain where students are in their learning.

Cindy Poole and Susan Haas with a group of parents who are concerned about the Foohthills School Division's proposed new report cards, called Learner Profiles. The parent group packed the division office last Wednesday to give their opinions on the profiles.

According to Poole, the descriptions are confusing and are too broad because when a student’s grade drops or rises within one of the categories, neither the student nor their parent knows. The parent group also said not providing junior high students with percentage grades will cause problems when they move into high school. They said each school should be allowed to make changes to report cards and called for a Learner Profile that included both percentage grades and descriptors.

This is not the first time the school division has heard the same message from parents. Similar issues were raised in meetings held at Red Deer Lake School in the fall.

Poole said following the presentation last week parents gave the trustees a letter asking them to provide a response to parents’ concerns. She said they also wanted all trustees to hear their concerns.

Doug Sopp has children in Kindergarten, Grades 6 and Grade 8 at Red Deer Lake School. He said the division has been dodging questions from parents.

“If there is a question they don’t want to answer, they don’t,” he said.

Sopp and his wife Joelle have been at several meetings regarding the Learner Profile and say their concerns have not been addressed.

Joelle said she likes how the report card gives a descriptor grade to every topic the student studies in each subject, but would still like to see an overall grade.

“Our daughter always had small jumps like from a 70 per cent to 72 per cent to being an honours student,” she said. “Without those small jumps she may have just thrown her hands up.”

An unofficial petition is also posted at the school just south of Calgary. Poole said they want to know how many parents want the issue looked at further.

Kim Saunders, whose children attend Dr. Morris Gibson School, said she will be present at the last of three information nights regarding the Learner Profile. Division officials will be at the school’s library on March 18 at 7 p.m. to discuss the new report card for parents in the Okotoks area. Meetings have already been held at Red Deer Lake School and Oilfields Junior/Senior High School in Black Diamond.

Saunders said she wasn’t concerned about the Learner Profile until she learned it would be used in junior high.

“My biggest concern is them going to high school never having grades,” she said.

Foothills School Division (FSD) assistant superintendent of learning Stacey Meyers said there will be answers to the concerns raised by the end of the month.

A committee of 18 teachers and some administrative staff has been working on the Learner Profiles for three years. They will review all of the feedback, including what parents have said at meetings and surveys from parents, students and staff from the three pilot schools.

Meyers said recommendations will be passed on to the board of trustees by the beginning of April. He said he expects the implementation timeline will be extended. Currently, the Learner Profiles are to be rolled out this fall.

“It’s pretty loud from our community that we are not there yet,” Meyers said.

Meyers said he has responded to every e-mail and phone call he has received, but said many of the issues cannot be resolved until the committee makes decisions about how to proceed.

He added a new online reporting system is now in place to augment the Learner Profile. The Students Achieve website allows parents and students to log on and see teacher’s comments and marks from assignments throughout the year. Meyers said the division will work on a system to standardize how often a teacher will update the Students Achieve website.

Survey results from parents and students at the three pilot schools show just under half of parents are accessing the site and only about a quarter of students. Students had a better understanding of the new descriptions than parents. Slightly more than half of the parents said they knew what beginning, developing, achieving and extending means. About three-quarters of the parent respondents said they didn’t understand the rationale behind the change to Learner Profiles.

Wendy Robinson, the former treasurer of the not-for-profit society, pleaded guilty last week to theft over $5,000.

According to Okotoks RCMP approximately $13,000 went missing from the club’s accounts over three years. Discrepancies were noticed in November 2008 and the police were called. An investigation revealed problems in the club’s bookkeeping.

Robinson was in charge of accepting payments and recording them.

In a press release Okotoks Figure Skating Club president Bernadine Kosiorek said the club has changed its practices to avoid a similar situation in the future.

“Through the support of our membership and many extra hours of work by our volunteers, the club has implemented numerous changes to maximize security,” Kosiorek said.

She said the club is “committed to ensuring financial stability and the smooth operation of our club.”

A pre-sentence report will be prepared before Robinson is sentenced on May 11 in Okotoks Provincial Court.