The Bassano Station Gong Show!

photo courtesy of the Rocky View Weekly

I've just finished reading the article in last week's Rocky View Weekly about the Beiseker railway museum. 

First, I will compliment former Village councillor Fred Walters who seems to be holding this project together single handedly, through all the troubles it has faced.  Thank you Fred, your effort and dedication are appreciated!

It looks to me that the well-intentioned railway museum was the victim of con-artists, and fraud!   By my math, the museum group is out around $155,000 or more because some folks took their money under false pretences!  They'd be in a worse situation if Mammoet Canada hadn't helped them out.  Everyone involved should thank Mammoet from the bottom of their hearts!

And what's this about the walls of the new foundation falling in?  What kind of a builder doesn't do soil testing to make sure he's working on firm ground?  This project appears to be lurching for one catastrophe to the next.  Village council has attempted to contact the full executive of the museum to no avail.  Village council needs to talk to them, very soon!

In my opinion the project has progressed too far to stop now, but how do we progress?   Railway museums are a great tourist attraction, but how do we get this project from where it is to a functioning museum?   I do not want this building (the world's largest pigeon roost) to sit up on those beams through another year! 

The rest of the railway museum folks need to step up and help Fred through this mess, and soon!

Honoring Fred Walters

Last Monday night, I had the distinct pleasure of honouring a former village councillor and very active village volunteer. 

Fred Walters was a huge part of the goings-on here in Beiseker for the past twenty years.  Fred volunteered at Beiseker Recycling, and built it up to one of the biggest and most successful recycling projects in the province for a community of our size!  He was an active member of the Beiseker Lions' Club, and held a senior divisional post in that organization for a time. 

Fred and his wife Marion were very much a part of the Acme Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, and for years they both made sure our Remembrance Day Ceremonies in Acme ran smoothly and with much dignity.  He also served twelve years on Village Council, handling many different portfolios.

I always got a chuckle over Fred's participation in the Awards Ceremonies at Beiseker Community School.  He would have to change jackets to present different awards from the various organizations he was representing.  At some ceremonies, Fred would have to make as amny as three "wardrobe changes" during the evening!

Fred did not run for re-election last October.  He and Marion recently sold their home in Beiseker and moved into smaller accomodations in Calgary.  This past Monday, we honored Fred's contibutions to village government in a short ceremony at the beginning of our council meeting.

One small thing Beiseker Village Council initiated a few years ago was to present each councillor with a personalized copy of a famous photo, the original of which hangs in Council Chambers.  The photo was taken more than 60 years ago of the Beiseker CPR Station when it was still in operation.  That building is now houses the Beiseker Village Offices and the Beiseker Station Museum.  The photo was presented to Fred with an inscription honoring his service.

Recycling Works in Beiseker!

Former village councilor Fred Walters attended our last council meeting to give a report on the workings of Beiseker Recycling.  Fred has always been a huge supporter of  recycling here in the village, and volunteers countless hours to that program!  He was able to report that the recycling programs here are meeting their goals, and are pretty much breaking even as far as cost is concerned.

Village home owners pay a small bi-monthly fee to have weekly curbside pick-up of most common recyclables - paper, plastic, metal cans, glass, and cardboard.  Residents can also recycle used oil, old batteries, old electronics, paint and paint cans free of charge, at the recycling depot behind the Public Works Shop.

I believe we have one of the most comprehensive recycling programs for a municipality our size anywhere in Alberta!  We should be proud of that.

Most of the materials we recycle get turned into new products which helps reduce Beiseker's overall carbon footprint.  It costs less in energy to recycle a material into a new product, than it does to use raw materials.  For example, producing paper products is cheaper when using recycled paper than producing paper from wood pulp in a paper mill.  Overall, it requires less energy and therefore produces less environmental pollutants, mainly carbon dioxide.

I am concerned that the supporters of creating energy by burning what is now recycled, have not done the math.  Incineration might actually raise the amount of pollutants (CO₂) and therefore enlarge our carbon footprint!

Beiseker's Election!

It's not official yet, but it looks like Beiseker will be having a municipal election this fall!

Today was Nomination Day and by my count more than five candidates submitted their nomination papers.  The list will not be official for twenty four hours.  During that time any candidate may remove his or her nomination.  I submitted my papers, which means I am one of the candidates for this election!

Sadly missing from the roster is Fred Walters, who decided some time ago not to seek re-election.  Fred's work on village council, especially in regards to recycling, the railway museum, and solid waste management was greatly appreciated.  Fred's boots will be hard to fill when the new council has its reorganizational meeting, at the end of October!

The election issues have yet to be disclosed by all the candidates, but mine are quite straight forward;

1. Keeping Beiseker's industries and businesses vibrant and growing.
2. The water problems;  getting storm water out of town and clean drinking water into town, both as economically and efficiently as possible.
3. Keeping Beiseker's health, education, safety and social services attractive, effective -- and growing.
4. Street and sidewalk upgrading: need I say more?
5. Encouraging Beiseker's population to continue a slow but steady and well managed growth.

There are my FIVE.  I'll address each one on my blog in days to come.  I'm sure that some of my fellow candidates will have others, and I eagerly await their presentations.

Quiet Halloween

We had one of the quietest Halloweens ever here on my street.  Less than 50 kids came to our door last night.  It may have been the weather and the fact that it was a school night which kept the little ghosts and zombies away.

It was also quiet in the village as far as vandalism is concerned.  I have yet to hear of any severe acts of vandalism around Beiseker.

Updates;

• Work on the Bassano Station appears to have ground to a halt again.  I'm not sure what's happening there.  Stay tuned.
• Garbage woes have pretty much dissappeared.  I forgot to mention last week that hazardous waste is still not to go in those green garbage bags heading for Drumheller, but you knew that already. 
• Remembrance Day is coming November 11.  If you attending the ceremonies in Acme, get there early.  Seating is always at a premium.
• I've heard that Beiseker Councillor Fred Walters will be presented with the Queen Elizabeth 60th Anniversary medal for his work in our community.  More on this later.
• Christmas is coming and Beiseker's Food Bank will be needing supplies.

Trash Talk

I've heard from a few of you wanting more information on Beiseker's garbage, composting, and recycling program, so here's the scoop.

Garbage:  All of our garbage is is placed in a large container called a Transtor, then trucked to Drumheller by the Drumheller and District Solid Waste Management Association.  We are a member of that association.  Once it reaches the Drumheller site, it is buried in a highly regulated and fully monitored landfill site.

Each residence is allowed three green garbage bags full of garbage per week,  These are picked up each Friday morning and dumped into the two Transtors at our waste management site behind the Public Works building.  A large specially built semi shows up after Garbage Day and hauls it all to Drumheller.

What people throw out in those three green garbage bags is their own business.  As long as it weighs less than 50 pounds (23 Kg.), it's good to go.

We do encourage composting and recycling, but we cannot force folks to do that.

By the way, if you want a fourth or fifth green garbage bag picked up, you must buy a garbage tag for each of them at the Village Office.

Recycling:  Many years ago, I created Beiseker Recycling.  We collected just cardboard, newspaper, and metal.

Since that time, Councillor Fred Walters has advanced our recycling program to include many other products.  Most of these are trucked into Calgary and sold to recyclers.

Beiseker has a very successful blue box program.  Blue boxes full of recyclables are picked up every Friday morning from every residence in the village. We recycle:

• Cardboard
• Newspapers
• bond paper
• metal food cans (washed)
• plastic
• Plastic grocery bags
• glass (washed)
• tires*
• car batteries*
• electronics*
• used oil*
• mattresses and sofas**
• appliances**

The fine print:
* You will have to arrange to have it hauled down there.
** You will have to arrange to have it hauled down there and there may be a fee to dispose of it.

Composting:  This is all those grass clippings, leaves, garden trash, and kitchen scraps (not meat). You have four choices here:

1. You can compost in your yard using one of a number of different methods.  Most have no odor and produces great fertilizer for your gardens.
2. You can haul your composting material down to the community composting pile at our waste management site.  You simply throw onto the top of the pile.  If you need composted material, go aroud to the bottom of the pile and collect yourself some next spring.
3. You could create a garden waste pile at the back of your yard.  Public Works will pick it up twice a year.
4. You could throw it into one of those three green garbage bags and have it sent to Drumheller.  Definitely the least favourable choice and one we discourage. 

So, there it is; the scoop on our waste management.

If you have further questions about Beiseker's waste management programs, the folks at the Village Office can probably answer them.  Give them a call (403) 947-3774