What a Day at the 98th Country Fair!

Here's another shout out to the Beiseker Lions' Club for a hugely successful Beiseker Country Fair on Saturday!  What a great day!  I managed to get around to most events during the day but my recent medical issues prevented me from seeing everything that was going on.

We enjoyed a magnificent breakfast at the Hall, sponsored by LUFF Industries and Louis Dreyfus, then to the official opening and the grand parade. I was most impressed to see the Calgary Stampede Queen and Princesses in our parade again this year. 

After the parade, I was able to sneak over to Airdrie to watch my granddaughter's dance debut on stage!  She's four years old and her performance was impeccable!  Her grandmother and I thought she was the very best dancer there, although we may be somewhat biased!

Back in Beiseker, I judged Chris Heighton's Main Street Car Show looking for the "Mayor's Choice" award again this year.   Thanks Chris and all your helpers for another great show.  This year I found a beautiful 1940 Ford which took my eye.  Fantastic! 

I quickly visited some of the other venues and had to come home to rest, which meant I missed pie at the Seniors` Centre!  My loss!  I also missed the 4H show and sale!  I do enjoy watching those young people keeping family agriculture alive and well. 

After I  rested at home for a while, my daughter and son-in-law joined us for another fabulous beef-on-a-bun supper at the Hall. 

Overall, an incredible day in our village.  Our Lions` Club is quite small with just over twenty members and their ability to assemble all the activities of Country Fair and run them glitch-free is totally amazing.  It was not surprising to see the same few Lions` members working at event to event throughout the day. 

Rest up, gentlemen!  You have the 98th Beiseker Country Fair in the books as a huge success.  You should be proud!

Congratulations, the Salvation Army Band, and the 98th Country Fair!

Congrats:  Congratulations to 94 year old Doug Curtis, Chief Instructor Dave Clarke and Alberta Skydivers owner Ian Flanagan on making the front page of the June 9 edition of the Calgary Herald!  The 94 year old made his first skydive at the Beiseker Airport yesterday! It was so good to see a positive story written about our busy little airport!

NO; I do not think that the Salvation Army Band should have been zapped out of this year's Stampede Parade.  They've been in the parade for a hundred years.  What happened to tradition?  In an attempt to "raise the bar" and "freshen it up", I fear we will lose our sense of history, culture and tradition!

YES; Yes, I will proudly be a part of Beiseker's annual Country Fair this Saturday! It's shaping up to be a fantastic day! Here's a shout out to the Beiseker Lions' Club for spearheading this annual event once again!

Fabulous Weekend at the Beiseker Country Fair!

What an absolutely fabulous weekend in Beautiful Downtown Beiseker!  That has got to be one of the very best Beiseker Country Fair (formerly Sports Day) weekends I have attended in my forty-plus years living in this community!  What an amazing job done by a small army of volunteers!

One again the Beiseker Lions Club needs to step up and take a bow.  They are a relatively small club but they are able to accomplish giant things!  They had help from other clubs in the area, but the success of the Beiseker Country Fair 2015 is clearly theirs!  Lions, be proud!

Beiseker Car Show, photo via Facebook

The weather held off for the parade and car show along Main Street!  There was a mix-up in communication so the Mayor's car didn't arrive.  No worries, I had the pleasure of riding with Parade Marshalls Mary Litke and Norman Schmaltz.  Chris Heighton's Beiseker Car Show was awesome again this year with a huge turnout of cars and motorcycles from all over! 

Shelly Schneider and Harry Reding, co-chairpersons of the Beiseker School Centennial Reunion Committee with all of their volunteers, accomplished the impossible!  Beiseker's population more than doubled as hundreds of former Beiseker Community School students, parents, and staff flooded into town.  The huge tent set up in the Community Centre & Arena parking lot was a Godsend!  It became a focal point for the thousands of mini reunions which took place over the weekend. 

photo courtesy Elvis Chow, via Facebook

How many times did we hear:

• Oh my God, it is you! 
• I haven't seen you since we graduated!
• You didn't have grey hair last time I saw you.
• What ever happened to ..........?
• I've got to tell my (wife, mom, sister, brother, etc.) that I saw you!
• No, that wasn't me, that was my younger brother (or sister)!
• I was a real rotten kid school, wasn't I?
• Jeez, we were young back then!
• When did they change the school colors?
• You know, Mr. or Mrs. (fill in a teacher's name here) really hated me!

I know many of you were taking photos. I hope to see those shots come up on social media in the next few days.  Good memories of a great weekend.

After clean-up, all those hard working volunteers are going to collapse into a soft chair (if only for a few minutes) and be proud of the work they did to make this weekend such a memorable one!  Well done, all of you!  

I'll be mentioning more about the events and encounters of this past weekend in the coming days.  Stay tuned!

A Fantastic Country Fair!

The weather turned out perfect for Beiseker's 96th edition of its Lions Club Country Fair!  The fun started with a fantastic morning breakfast at the community centre and continued all day. 

I thought the parade was a little sparse of decorations but those who participated were definitely enthusiastic! 

I was disappointed that I didn't see Rocky View Fire Services in the parade, but our Beiseker Fire Department was joined by the folks of the Kneehill Fire Department from Acme, in their firetruck.  I met a few of them at breakfast and welcomed them to Beiseker.

The Color Me Beiseker Run was FANTASTIC, especially for the young people there.  Our MLA (and former Beiseker Mayor) the Honourable Bruce Rowe and his wife Carol actually ran in the colour run!  Everyone was having fun.  It was great to see.

I didn't see much of the 4H Show & Sale but I understand it was a huge success.  Some of the other scheduled events didn't have as large a turn-out as I expected, but those who were there had a great day!  Chris Heighton's tenth annual Show & Shine on Main Street was awesome!  I think the early morning clouds and rain kept some car guys at home with their mechanical babies, but they missed a wonderful day.

Overall I thought this year's Beiseker Lions Country Fair was one of the best ever!  Thank you to everyone who made that day possible. You rock!

(Here's a request from me;  If anyone got a photo of myself and my little dog Duggie in the parade, I'd love to put it here and on my facebook page.)

I'll See You at the Country Fair!

Mark down Saturday, June 14 down on your calendar!  That's the day Beiseker celebrates its 96th Country Fair!

The celebration is the centre piece of the very active Beiseker Lions Club.  This group continues to work so hard for the betterment of our community.  The fair gives them a chance to "let their hair down" and party!

Come early and have breakfast at the Beiseker Community Centre (7:00 am to 9:00 am.), then plan for a busy but fun day!  The parade starts down Main Street at 10:00 a.m.

There is going to be a HUGE show and shine on Main Street after the parade (weather permitting).  There will be ball games, face painting, a 4H show and sale, skydiving, a money pit, beer gardens, beef supper, pie & coffee at the Seniors' Centre, a tailgate sale, a colour run, a photo display, a cabaret, and a host of other things to see and do.

I'll see you there!

2013 Year in Review

This past year has been a good one overall for the Village of Beiseker.  We’ve had our share of problems - mostly with the weather - but we’ve managed to overcome those difficulties and move forward!   

Most fortunately, we did not experience the massive June flooding that inundated other towns and cities in southern Alberta.  Our flooding problems came after a few torrential downpours dosed the village in July.  It was quite alarming to see more than 6 inches of water on Main Street, in front of the medical center!

Our fire department came to the rescue, and did their best to encourage the water to leave town. Council is now actively looking for solutions to this flooding problem. 

The other major weather incident was the blizzard of December 2, 2013!  And again, during these adverse conditions our fire department and public works performed admirably to keep Beiseker moving and keep our residents safe.

But I think the good things that happened in the village far outweighed the difficulties we had! Here are some of the good things; 

• The creation of a Medical First Response Team: this group was formed to respond to medical emergencies within the village. They’ve already saved a number of lives! I think this is a great addition to our emergency services.
• The purchase of a Fire Truck:  I couldn’t have been more proud of our village when we put out a call for a fundraiser to buy a newer fire engine to replace our old one.  When the money from the sale of the old truck was put into the pot, we managed to raise more than half the cost of the new truck.  For a village of less than 900 people that was astounding! Well done Beiseker!
• Grasslands subdivision:  the stalled subdivision on the west side of town was restarted!  Events elsewhere in Alberta prevented builders from starting this year, but we are looking forward to seeing homes built there in 2014! One of our slogans is, “If you lived in Beiseker, your kids could walk to school!” 
• The Municipal Election: I thought the electors here in the village had a very good selection of candidates to vote for. The four incumbents were re-elected, and we welcomed Dave McKenzie onto Council. We said goodbye to Fred Walters who retired. We miss Fred on Council but we welcome a new viewpoint from Dave.  I was very proud and honored to be re-elected as mayor!
• The Bassano Station: Although Beiseker Village Council has nothing to do with this project, we were pleased to see it progress to a point where it’s almost ready to be slid onto its foundation. We look forward to its completion in 2014!
• The Beiseker Country Fair, organized by the Beiseker Lions Club was a huge success once again as was our first annual Santa Claus Parade held just a couple of weeks ago.  I hope both events continue to grow and prosper.
• A new commercial building on Main Street:  A new building opened up on Main Street just before Christmas, housing Beiseker Registries!  This new structure is a great addition to our business district!

Overall a very good year for Beiseker, and we’re looking forward to an even better 2014!  I’ll take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year and all the best in 2014.

The 2013 Beiseker Country Fair, Best Ever!

If you missed the 2013 Beiseker Country Fair yesterday, you can start kicking yourself right now. In my opinion, it was the best fair we've ever had!

The weather cooperated, and the organizers outdid themselves this year. I'm not a Lions Club member, but I think the Beiseker Lions Club is probably one of the smallest.  That doesn't stop them from putting together a fantastic Country Fair day! We started the day with a great pancake breakfast, enjoying it with about 585 of our closest friends.  

I thought the parade was a little shorter this year, but that certainly didn't curb the enthusiasm of those participating. Beiseker's new fire truck also made its first official appearance in the parade!

The kids dug out coins out of the Money Pit while the 4H Club showed off their calves.  After the show, I had the opportunity to try my hand at milking a cow!  I came in third in the field of four - and my friend Dave Fagan came in first!

This year I picked a pretty little 1966 Ford Mustang as the Mayor's Choice at the Main Street Show 'n Shine.  Chris Heighton of Heighton Restorations does an incredible job of  putting together the Main Street Show 'n Shine every year.  After the car show, it was over to the Golden Years Town and Country Club for coffee and pie.  I missed seeing the skydivers both in the parade and jumping into Beiseker, early in the afternoon .

Health concerns make it important that I eat on time.  A minor glitch in the hall kitchen meant that supper was a bit late, there, so I was unable to join everybody for a Beef on a Bun supper. 

Everybody went home tired, but happy, when the festivities finally ended early Sunday morning!

Wow! What a day!  Everyone who volunteered yesterday take a big bow!  You are awesome!

New Fire Truck!

Good news! It appears that our village is the proud owner of a newer fire truck!

After significant investigation and deliberation, the village has purchased a used fire truck from a brokerage firm in Texas. The vehicle checked out as mechanically safe and reliable.

We are having the truck delivered instead of driving it all the way back to Beiseker. We look forward to its arrival here.  I hope it arrives before our Country Fair Day on June 8th, so or volunteer fire department can drive it in our parade!

The village did take out a loan to buy the vehicle, but our fundraising program is going extremely well. We hope to be able to pay off most of that loan before the end of this year. Thank you to all who donated to this worthy cause. Your contribution has definitely made a difference!  This coming week, I am personally making a donation to the fire truck fund at Mountain View Credit Union. I invite all of you who have not yet made a donation to join me!

Together, we can make Beiseker even better!

Good Bye Gerry

Yesterday, Beiseker said good bye to one of its special people.  Gerry Wilkinson had passed away a few days before.

Gerry was our postmaster for many years, but he was much more than that to Beiseker!  Gerry (or Wilky as he was know to many) was a Community Catalyst!  He was the one who started this project or raised funds for that project here in Beiseker!

When Stage East came along in the early 1980s, Gerry was there.  He played three roles to perfection.  He mastered the role of the kooky judge in a skit called "The Trial Of Mrs.Westfall," and another role of a hillbilly pappy in one called "Passing Wind"!  But his most memorable role was that of one unborn twin conversing with its sibling about their pending birth.  The skit is called "Prenatal Twins,"  and it's a Gerry Wilkinson classic!  If you get a chance to watch it, don't miss the opportunity!

Gerry was a member of the Lions Club here in Beiseker and organised aspects of the Beiseker Country Fair for many, many years.  This past summer he and his wife Vera were chosen as Honorary Parade Marshals for this year's Country Fair Parade!  I think Gerry was very proud of that. 

It was good to see hundreds of Beiseker folks there to celebrate Gerry's life.  I hope Gerry's family was comforted to a small degree by seeing and hearing all those folks remember him for what he was; a true Beisekerite and a Community Catalyst!

Streets, Lagoons, the new Firehall, and Taxes!

We had an excellent council meeting last evening (Monday, June 11). 

First of all, I was able to give Public Works Foreman Bill Hnybida and his crew the praise they deserve for getting the Village all ship shape for last weekend's Country Fair.  I also thanked Gail Peckham for all of her hard work getting things organized here at the office Saturday morning.

We discussed your concerns with the street cleaning project.  Council and Bill agreed to investigate the situation and find solutions for next year's street cleaning project. 

We were also very concerned with the Chinook Crescent paving project, which seems to have stalled again. I have no idea why this project is taking so long.   We asked our own engineers to find out why these crew keep vanishing.  Maybe the paving crews are getting lost following their GPS to Beiseker!  We also asked our engineers to remind these wayward crews that the completion date is fast approaching!

Next came the sewage lagoon.  The lagoon needs upgrading to meet new environmental standards.  This will be started over the next while. 

The new firehall appears closer to reality now.  Critical decisions are to be made this week and the project is to proceed quickly after that.  We should have a new firehall within about two months after that.  Stay tuned on this one.

Last and certainly not least, we set  the tax rate for 2012.  As I mentioned before, our overall assessment dropped by more than $3 million, but the cost of running the village either remained the same or increased.  Our Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) worked over the budgets for every Village department and brought a proposed final 2012 budget to us last night, which we accepted. 

We then set our millrate with a 4.5% increase.  Add to that the 1% the School Boards want and the total increase will be 5.5%.  It is based on your assessment, so some of you will notice an increase while others who were assessed at a lower amount may notice a small decrease. 

Overall, I was very proud of our CAO and Village Council for keeping the village portion of the increase to less than 5%.  I hope you all will not notice any drastic changes in the delivery of services around the village over the next twelve months. 

Your tax notices will be coming out over the next few days.  Check them over and let me know if you have any concerns.

What a Great Day at the Beiseker Country Fair!

Despite the horrible weather forecasts, the turnout at Beiseker's 94th annual Country Fair was fantastic.  And those who ignored the forecasts, had a great day in the Village. 

It all started with a delicious breakfast attended by more than 450 hungry folks.  Breakfast was also attended by the Calgary Stampede Queen and Princesses - Candice Lee, Dani Gariepy, and Jessica Manning - along with this year's Calgary Stampede Indian Princess, Amelia Crowshoe.  From Crossfield's Pete Knight Days, the 2011 Queen and Princess - Emily Marston and Miranda Ross - were also there, accompanied by the three 2012 Queen and Princess contestants. 

During their introduction Dani Gariepy related how years ago she rode in her Grandpa's (Ed McNair's) gravel truck in the Beiseker Parade throwing candy to the kids!  Then Amelia Crowshoe performed a native Jingle Dance for us.  What an exciting way to start a super day.

Next was the parade.  It was great to see former mayor Bruce Rowe back in Beiseker. He rode in this year's parade for the first time as MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, while Frank Schwengler drove me around the parade route in a gorgeous convertible.  I threw candy, I waved and I had fun!

After the Beiseker Country Fair Parade it was over to the arena for the Beiseker 4H Show.  I watched the proud youngsters show their calves in the very nicely prepared arena, then off to the Community Links Building for some goodies. 

As the teams competed for bragging rites at the ball diamonds, we chowed down on some delicious pie at the Golden Years Club.

Next it was over to Main Street to become a part of the 8th Annual Beiseker Main Street Show & Shine.  Local businesses, led by Chris Heighton, put on a great car show.  More than 40 vehicles were on display there - the number of cars was down this year, probably because of that crappy weather forecast.  Chris handed out door prizes and  I got to pick the "Mayor's Choice"!

I carefully looked at all the entries shining there in the afternoon sun.  I decided to pick a car that I would have loved to drive up and down Eighth Avenue in Calgary back in the late 1960s. There were a few cars there which qualified, but I picked a pretty little blue Pontiac Firebird!  I've got to tell you it was the hardest job of the day picking just one of those gorgeous cars!

During the afternoon I dropped in on some of the other things happening around the Village; everything from ATV & motorhome displays to "bouncy houses" for kids!  We finished off the day with beef on a bun at the Community Centre.  We left as the DJ was warming up and the kids were jumping around on the dance floor.  We were tired and we called it a day at that point. 

What a fantastic day in the Village of Beiseker!

If you're Lions' Club Member or a spouse of a Lion, take a huge bow for a job well done!  I know the Lions' Club here in Beiseker isn't that big but you'd never know that around the Village during the Country Fair!  Those folks worked so hard and so long to make the day a success.  The people I saw in the  Hall doing the breakfast were there working at the supper!  Many of those same folks ran the parade and helped elsewhere during the day, too!  Those guys and their wives made the Energizer Bunny look like a laggard!  

Well done; all of you!  I'm already looking forward to the 95th version of the Beiseker Country Fair next year!

Street Cleaning

Thank you to all of you who moved your vehicles off the streets so that the street cleaner could get around yesterday. 

Some of you have voiced concerns about the street cleaning yesterday.  Please be sure to forward those concerns, including time of day and location, to the village office (403-947-3774) and I'll follow up on it. 

All in all I think the village looks much better, ready for our Country Fair this coming Saturday!

Beiseker Country Fair

Saturday, June 9, 2012; mark it on your Blackberry, iPad or whatever you use to keep track of your life!  That's when our 2012 edition of the Beiseker Country Fair will take off, rain or shine!  Come see the Parade in the morning (tell the kids not to forget a sack for the candy they catch) featuring the Calgary Stampede Queen and Princesses and the Calgary Stampede Indian Princess!  This is the Stampede's 100th anniversary so we're very fortunate to have their Royalty visit us!  And there's a local connection to the Stampede Royalty this year, too. 

There'll be floats, antique and classic cars, and horses in the big parade.  There's a big car show right on Main Street, a beer garden, a 4H show, plus many other things going on, including lots of activities for the kids!   And why not stop over for pie and coffee at the Seniors' Center across from the Arena!

A more complete schedule of events is available through the Country Fair Event listing on the Village of Beiseker's Facebook page.  You can RSVP there, too! 

It looks like it's going to be a great day.  I'm looking forward to seeing you there!

Beiseker Clean-up

Beiseker's annual clean-up had to be scrubbed because of weather.  Snow, rain, and probably many other meteorological events made our clean-up day a bit soggy, so it was cancelled!

So this weekend (May 19th & 20th) we're going to do it - to it!  We're doing it independently.  Please tidy up the public areas around your property at your own pace.  Place the trash collected in bags where Public Works can gather them on Tuesday, May 22.  They'll leave bags to replace the ones you used. 

Let's get Beiseker looking all spiffy for our annual Country Fair coming up in a few weeks!

Main Street

Phase One of our Main Street rehabilitation project has begun!  We began on the North side of the street and will have that side pretty well finished before we go onto the south side. If the rain ever lets up the project will go full out.  The barriers will be up for the Beiseker Country Fair but the Parade will go down Main Street as it always has.  We'll be asking those watching the Parade not to park their vehicles in that first block of Main Street.  Folks are most welcome to bring lawn chairs and blankets down and set up along that block to watch the parade.  If you really want to watch the parade from your car, you'll have to park further along the parade route.

And here's a big tip of the old hat to all those merchants along Main Street who have to put up with all this construction.  Thank you so much for your patience and know that we will still be visiting your place of business during the construction!