More This and That

The Fire Truck Saga;  I heard that the Village of Beiseker has sold our old-new fire truck that was languishing down at the Public Works Yard!  I didn't hear what they got for it but I hope it was around the $25 000.00 mark.  That was what I figure it was worth.

I was very pleased that the young fellow who lives down in the Okotoks area was cleared of all charges related to a shooting at his rural home.  The young man found some folks trespassing on his property and allegedly trying to steal some of his belongings!  A shot was fired and the trespassers left.  They have since been arrested and face numerous charges.  The property owner was also charged for discharging his gun and other things.  I understand all those charges have now been dropped.  The charges against the trespassers and possible thieves remain!

The above mentioned story reminds us that rural policing in Alberta has its challenges.  We've all heard stories of folks having to wait more than half an hour for the police to arrive at the scene of an incident.  There are solutions;

• Increase the number of personnel at every detachment in rural Alberta.   This would be expensive but well worth it! 
• Remove the RCMP from highway traffic duty.  This would free up officers to do other duties.  Re-create the Alberta Provincial Police to do highway traffic duties.
• Have the provincial government strongly support local crime watch groups.

I worry that the large patch of prairie grass which extends right through Beiseker may become a fire hazard as the grass dries out later this summer.  The land belongs to Alberta Trail Net.  It was lent to the railway museum which appears to have disappeared like a feather in the wind.  The Village can't afford to mow it down.  What's going to happen?

Little Bugs

Early summer is bug season in this part of the world.  The mosquitoes were ferocious earlier on and now those black & yellow wasps are back!  Here are some other little bugs that annoy me:

• It bugs me to have to bump over all those "speed bumps" in parking lots!  There are some lots in Airdrie which are particularly bad.  I have to almost stop the car then ease over these lumps!  It discourages me and other motorists from visiting those shops and eateries!  I guess they're discouraging vehicle traffic there.
• It bugs me to have folks step out into a crosswalk without even checking for traffic.  They're too busy talking or texting on their cellphones!
• It bugs me when dog owners do not pick up after their pets.  There are some pooches which regularly leave dog-logs on my front lawn for me to pick up!
• It bugs me when I see an individual operating what appears to be a commercial auto repair business on a lot zoned residential without so much as a local business license!  That is against village zoning bylaws yet the village is powerless to stop it!
• It bugs me when, while waiting for a passing train, I notice that every rail car that passes is covered in graffiti!
• It bugs when the price of gasoline jumps up by more than ten cents a liter just before a long weekend! 
• It bugs me when I see drivers taking unnecessary chances trying to pass someone moving farm machinery then flicking the bird to the tractor driver on the way past.  Especially in the spring and fall, farmers need to move equipment from one field to the next quickly.  Other drivers should show patience!  

So there are a few of my little bugs.  Do you have some?

The Ridiculous Pipe Dream

This whole debate about the twinning of the Kinder Morgan Pipeline from Alberta's oil sands to the west coast has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous!

There is overwhelming evidence to show that the project will have minimum impact on the environment of either province.  A pipeline is much, much safer that shipping the oil by rail!  In my opinion, the economic benefits to Canada will be widespread and significant in a positive way! 

Yet the protesters and the support groups demonstrate against each other.  Folks are blocking access to the pipeline building sites.  The squabble has become a farce on democracy.   I suspect that most protesters don't even understand what they are really protesting and why!

Yet the fight goes on!   I think now the fight is being waged, just because!  The reasons for the initial debate have been lost in the rhetoric over the past few months.  Let's just quit all this silliness and build the pipeline!  And maybe we should build a huge oil refinery in Fort Mac. as well! 

The Great Fire Truck Challenge

A few years ago, the good people of Beiseker donated to buy a newer fire engine.  The money was raised, and a truck was found in the States.  It was purchased and trucked to Beiseker. 

It was from the southern U.S., so there were a few things that needed to be changed so it could live in our not-so-tropical climate.  A block heater was installed, along with a cab heater and a heater to keep the water pump warm. A few other modifications were made.

A few short years later the pump needed to be rebuilt.  The truck was sent in to "experts" in Calgary to estimate how much it would cost to fix it.  Those experts said the truck was a complete disaster and it would cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair!

I disagree!

I think that much of the repairs could have been done locally and the cost of putting the truck back in service would be considerably less than the estimate given to us.  Instead, now that truck now languishes in the public works yard, out of service!

I believe that truck can still be repaired and sold to recoup some of the money this community worked so hard to gather!  It is NOT scrap!  It is a major capital expense for this village!  What is council going to do?

New Aero-Kard!

I am very excited to report that Aero-Kards has produced, printed and delivered its first new card in almost two years!

The new Aero-Kard belongs to air show performer Kevin Maher of British Columbia flying the Stearman Kaydet!  The new card will be included in Aero-Kard packs beginning in July, and will be available at air shows across Western Canada. Aero-Kards are back in production!

Posts, Pipelines, Apologies and Korea

I was pleased to see that the Village of Beiseker is in the process of replacing those posts along Second Avenue by the Post Office.  Council had them installed years ago, but they were honestly pretty ugly. 

They were placed there to discourage folks from driving up and parking on the curb, public reserve strip and sidewalk when picking up their mail.  That caused significant damage to the concrete work along there.  Since it happened mostly during the snowy winter months, I would imagine Council will replace them with something that could be removed during the summer months.

Nationally, after listening to the bickering back and forth between the premiers of Alberta and British Columbia over this pipeline, I was happy to hear that the Feds are going to buy the pipeline and push the project through!  The Federal Government has done this kind of thing before to save a project critical to the benefit of all Canadians.  The CPR is probably the best example.  I'm hoping that they can start building later this week and that the B.C. Premier will come to his senses.  Allowing the few members of the B.C. Green Party to dictate B.C. NDP policy is a bit like the tail wagging the dog!  Their energy should focus on the construction of the safest, most environmentally friendly pipeline in the world.  It can be done!

Our provincial and federal governments have also become "Professional Apologizers"!  They spend much of their time (and our tax dollars) apologizing for the screw-ups of previous governments.

• We apologized for detaining Japanese Canadians during World War II.
• We apologized for putting the Head Tax on Chinese immigrants over a hundred years ago.
• We apologized for the Residential School debacle inflicted on our Indigenous Canadians.
• We apologized for the brutal treatment of Ukrainian speaking students in schools across the province less than a hundred years ago.
• We apologized for the "scoop" of indigenous kids during the 1960s.
• And more!

It's important to recognize the fact that even when governments have the best of intensions, they can still screw things up big time!  We need to come to terms with these huge mistakes.  But we should be spending more time figuring out how to help the victims overcome their adversities created by these mistakes.  I think that throwing money at these old wounds isn't helping very much at all.

The federal Liberal Government has also decided to mess around with the Firearms legislation again thus alienating all legal and law abiding gun owners across this great country. Why didn't they consult with the myriad of firearms, shooting and hunting clubs before deciding the criteria for a "bad" gun?  Just because a gun is painted black and looks bad doesn't mean it is!

And finally:  All this bumbling around between the U.S. President Trump and the leader of North Korea reads like a playground spat.  I say quit the posturing and make this meeting happen!  This stupidity on the Korean peninsula can't go on forever!

The Flood of 2018!

It's been quite a week in Beiseker!  Village council declared a local state of emergency when flood waters started filling basements and crossing roads!  I was most impressed with Public Works this week.  That tiny force of less than a half dozen started battling flood waters last Sunday and they never let up until they won!  If you meet Public Works Foreman Dave, give him a hearty "well done!"  He and his crew deserve that!

I was also very impressed with the Emergency Management Team made up of many different agencies and departments who set up in Council Chambers on Tuesday and ran the whole operation under the leadership of Mike Richter!  Mike; you and your team were awesome!  Throughout the crisis our CAO and her staff, the mayor and councilors were very much in the loop helping out everywhere and maintaining a high profile!

We had our own crisis brewing at the Beiseker Airport!  Several hangars, and our meeting house were flooding and some aircraft were in danger!  The quick actions by volunteers who pumped water for countless hours saved the day!  At one point Rocky View County sent out a huge pump which moved a ton of water and gave us chance to get ahead of the situation!

Overall it was an incredible operation and one which saved our village!  Thank you all for your efforts.

Bad news:  Several homes ended up with flooded basements!  At one point overland floodwaters compromised our sanitary sewer and several basements were flooded with sewage!  All is well again now but these folks will need help to get their lives back to normal!  If you are one of those misfortunate residents please register with the village office as soon as you can!  If you know of someone who has been affected by the flooding please check with them to make sure they're ok and that they've registered.  Red Cross clean-up kits are available from the Beiseker Fire Department and the Village Office. 

Now is the time for us to help our neighbors!

Well done everyone!

p.s.  As you know, I'm retired from village council;  I stayed out of way, and watched.  I was curious to see how this council would react to this serious crisis.  They and our Village staff were incredible!  I was very proud of them all!