Pedestrian Bridge Vandalism

As part of our drainage channel upgrades, we are rebuilding the three bridges connecting the East and West sides of Beiseker.  We are starting with the two at the north end of the drainage channel. 

With the high volume of water moving down that drainage channel, it became necessary to raise those pedestrian bridges and strengthen their foundation footings.   Preparations were started on Monday, with the installation of concrete footings for the two bridges.

Unfortunately, after the work was completed yesterday morning, some unidentified people damaged some of the footings before the concrete was completely cured.  They will have to be excavated out of there, and redone before work can continue!  This extra work will cause a delay in the construction of the bridges and take more funds from our already meagre project budget. 

Those responsible for the vandalism need to understand that their actions jeopardized the completion of the project this fall.   I would like to know who they are!

 If you know anything about the damage done to the pedestrian bridge footings behind the Dynagra complex, please phone the Village Office (403-947-3774), the Beiseker RCMP (403-947-3496), or the Calgary-area Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. 

Hong Kong's Fight for Democracy

I'm very worried for the young people carrying on peaceful demonstrations in the streets of Hong Kong over the last while.  I had the privilege of visiting Hong Kong many years ago.  It was a beautiful oriental city, with a dash of Britain everywhere.  I loved the city.

I always wondered what would happen when the city would be turned over to the Communist Chinese.  I understand this current round of problems started when the Beijing government told the folks in Hong Kong that were allowed to have elections, but Beijing would select the candidates!

That was totally unacceptable to the young people.  They wanted more democratic freedoms, not less!

In my opinion, the Beijing government has three choices;

• Move in and destroy the students' protests (and kill a large number of them).  Then set up "re-education camps" to show the survivors the errors of their ways. Remember Tienanmen Square.
• Move in and substantially limit the power of Hong Kong by destroying much of its infrastructure, then recreating the city in their own image.  Remember Saigon.
• Give Hong Kong what they want and set them on a path to becoming their own nation, like Singapore.

I'm hoping for some form of Choice Number 3.

There was talk of creating a lapel pin in the shape of an umbrella, the symbol of the fight for democracy in Hong Kong.  Where can I buy one?

2014 AUMA Convention News

Last week, members of Beiseker village council attended the annual convention of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association in Edmonton.  The convention venue alternates between Edmonton and Calgary, and this year was Edmonton's turn.

There's a trade show, workshops, meetings with the Ministries, and get-togethers throughout the three day convention. 

Beiseker's meetings with the ministries were all on Wednesday.  First, we met with Environment and Sustainable Resource Development to discuss our flooding issues.  Our biggest difficulty with flood water is dealing with the huge volume of water we receive into the village from Rocky View County!  We asked Alberta Environment to help us deal with this huge volume of water, simply because we can't afford to do it alone.  We will be developing a plan to help alleviate the problem, working with the province and the County.

Next we were off to see Municipal Affairs.  To our surprise, the newly appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs, Diana McQueen was there to greet us.  We once again talked about our flooding issues and asked for their help, too.  We also discussed the difficulty small municipalities have with the new policy of depreciating Tangible Capital Assets (TCAs).

About three years ago, the provincial government decided that all municipalities should record ALL their assets.  That included all village owned buildings, vehicles, property, fire hydrants, water pipes and sewer pipes!  Then we have to depreciate all those things and include that amount in our yearly financial statements!  When we have an expensive year like 2013 (huge snow removal bills, water main leaks, etc.), and we include the TCA depreciation, it shows us operating very close to the wire!  This policy is not fair to small municipalities.  I think we made that quite clear.

Our last visit was to Alberta Transportation to talk about slowing down the traffic on North Road (aka Highway 72).  Vehicles are still exceeding the 50 km/h and the 30 km/h speed limits, some by a considerable amount.  A number of strategies were discussed. Stay tuned.

Councillor Karen, Assistant CAO Gail, MLA Bruce Rowe and I at the AUMA convention reception,
at Edmonton City Hall!
Councillor Dave is behind the camera!
(photo via Facebook)

Overall, I believe that our attendance at the AUMA Convention was a great success.  In the months following we'll see if our suggestions and requests took root in the provincial  ministries.

Next year's AUMA Convention will happen in Calgary in the fall of 2015.

Silly, stupid or sly?

An acquaintance of mine needed two new tires for her little car.  It's a front wheel drive car and the front tires were badly worn.  The rear tires still had plenty of tread on them. 

She went to a large box store in Calgary to buy two tires.  She found two tires at a good price.  While purchasing them, she indicated that she wanted them to replace the two worn front tires on her car. 

She was told that was impossible - company policy.  The new tires would be put on the back and those two rear tires would be recycled! 

She explained to the young man that hers was a front wheel drive car and the new tires with better traction should go on the front. The rear tires were still good. The fellow insisted that these two new tires would be put on the rear - company policy.

She left the store without any new tires.  I suggested she go to a tire dealer or a small garage operation.  They could provide her with two tires and put them on any wheels she wanted.

Either the box store tire folks didn't understand the physics of tires and the difference between front and rear wheel drive, or they just wanted to sell her four tires instead of just two. 

I don't know.  It's a very strange story, but true!

Hooray for Scotland!

I was pleased to hear that the Scottish voters decided to stay within the United Kingdom.  The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has promised to give them some more control over their own affairs.

I understand that will have to go through their Parliament in London so may not be as easy as all that.  We'll have to wait and see.

The United Kingdom without Scotland would be like having a car with one wheel missing.  It would look OK from one side but would be difficult to do anything.  A few hundred years ago Scotland, England, and Wales quit fighting among themselves, joined together a became the most powerful nation in the world. 

They may have lost that status to nations like China, but I think they are much stronger and more successful together.

Beiseker Fire Department Gets a Boost!

photo via Rocky View Weekly

Friday morning, I got a call from Beiseker Fire Chief Bob Ursu.  He asked me if I had time to come over to the CHS DynAgra facility next to the Village Office to help receive a cheque on behalf of the Fire Department.

Imagine my surprise when I found out the cheque was for $25,000!  Each year, CHS Inc. - of which DynAgra is a part - provides funds to communities for worthy projects.  The Beiseker Fire Department applied for funds to continue their upgrading of equipment and vehicles.

CHS Canadian Region Director, Mark Biedenfeld, was part of the presentation of the cheque to Chief Bob and myself.  He was most pleased to be in Beiseker and to help our volunteer firefighters.  This donation will provide a tremendous boost for the Beiseker Fire Department and their efforts to upgrade their firefighting and rescue equipment along with their vehicles.

Thank you CHS, good on ya! 

Restarting the Bassano Station Project

I am pleased to report that work on the Bassano Station has resumed.  Work is now under way to prepare the foundation to accept the building.  Damage to the foundation caused by it sitting open for so long are being repaired.

The building should be able to be moved onto the foundation soon.  I'm not making any predictions or deadlines because too many have done so before only to have them pass by.  My prediction is to expect it when you see it moving over there!

Here's a huge "Beiseker Pat-On-The-Back" and a "Thank You" to all those who have helped us restart this project.