Remembrance Day

I hope all Beisekerites (or is it Beisekerians) are wearing poppies.  Remembrance Day is this coming Friday. The ceremonies for this area are organized by our Royal Canadian Legion, Acme Branch and are held in the Acme Hall.  Get there early for a good seat.  The culmination of the ceremony is, of course, the moment of silence held at 11:00 a.m.  This year it will be the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year of this new century.  I'm not sure, but I think the Legion is putting on a light lunch in the Acme Legion Hall after the ceremonies.  I think that Remembrance Day is more than remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice for country.  I think it's also a chance for all of us to thank those men and women; veterans who survived! It's important to remember them, too!

I have decided to attend the Remembrance Day Ceremonies at the Aero Space Museum of Calgary, weather permitting.  I am a Director of the museum and I would like to attend this, the first Remembrance Day Ceremony held at the museum in more than 10 years.  After the ceremony a few of us involved with the museum will open up some of the military warbirds in the museum's collection so visitors can get up close and personal with Canada's proud military aviation past.

It's not important where you go to remember our fallen soldiers, it is important that you remember.

We Have Concrete!

They poured the new sidewalks on Chinook Crescent on Thursday, November 3!!  And they look great!  Touch up work, driveways, and connects will be done next week.

I was very sad to learn that Brenda Hnybida has resigned from council.  I've always respected her insight and her points of view.  I wish her all the best and I hope to see her back in municipal politics one day in the future! 

Even I have trouble being in two places at the same time!  There will be the usual Remembrance Day Ceremonies held in the Acme Hall on November 11.  They usually start around 10:00 a.m.  I usually attend those ceremonies and sometimes I have been honoured to represent the Village and place a wreath there on our behalf.  This year I have been invited to the Remembrance Day Ceremonies at the Aero Space Museum of Calgary.  I am a Director at that museum and I am very pleased they have restored the ceremony this year after its absence for a number of years.  I haven't decided which ceremony I will attend yet.

We had the Stage East wrap-up meeting the other night.  We talked about how we might make the evening even better!  We didn't make quite as much money this year but we'll still be able to support a bunch of community organizations and projects next summer.   This year we helped the following groups or facilities:  The Beiseker Community Centre, The Beiseker Library, Beiseker Playschool, Beiseker Parks and Trails, The Beiseker Food Bank, The Beiseker Fire Department, and the B.U.M.S. New Years Eve Celebration.  And we decided to seriously consider doing it again next October!  Stay tuned!

More Chinook Crescent (and other things)

They're working like crazy on the sidewalk portion of Chinook Crescent.  They're hoping to pour concrete in the next couple of days!  Let's hope the weather co-operates!

Halloween was very quiet over here in Beacon Heights.  I hope you had a quiet one, too.  We didn't get as many Trick-or-Treaters this year.

It looks like the deficiencies on the Main Street project will have to wait for spring now.  There's only a couple of things left to do but the contractors don't get paid in full until everything is done!

As you've heard, we have a by-law enforcement officer now!  He'll be looking for obvious boo-boos around the village;  Things like unlicenced vehicles on public property, untidy properties, vehicles parked on public reserve land, speeders, unlicenced dogs and cats, and a host of others.  Let me know how you think it's working.

Chinook Crescent

We have curb along Chinook Crescent!  Looks good too!  This project is not going as fast as we at Council had figured!  I think because it's such a "small" project that we may get shunted down the priority list.  Council has asked the contractors to make sure the folks along there have a sidewalk to walk on this winter even if it means putting down a temporary asphalt one until spring.  We've had many good weather days lately but the street was deserted of any workers.  Let's hope they can get more of the project done before the snow flies!

Again, thank you to Bill and his Public Works team for working with the engineers and keeping Council informed on the project.  And a huge thank you to all those residents along Chinook Crescent who have had to live with this disruption on their street.

Stage East

Stage East had another successful run this weekend!  We went Friday and Saturday nights.  We all had fun doing the show again and I think the audience enjoyed it too!  Thank you to all the actors, stage hands, set builders, ticket sellers, the set up crew, the take down crew, costume makers, and everyone else who took part in Stage East 2011!  Well done everyone!

Around Town

The Main Street redevelopment program is nearing completion....finally!  It's been a long summer, especially for the Main Street merchants who have had to put up with the construction all summer.  There are a few things remaining to be done yet.  The safety railings, mostly along the north side, have to be installed.  That's the biggest thing, I think.  I see that they were working on that today. 

Looking at the street today, I recall what it looked like in the mid 1970s when I came on Beiseker Council for the first time.  We've come a long way!  I can honestly say I'm proud of the new look of our Main Street now!

This water is heating up to boiling!  The Kneehill Regional Water Services Commission (KRWSC) has a new name now!  It was made official just a couple of weeks ago. It is now the Aqua 7 Regional Water Services Commission (A7RWSC).

No matter what we call it, it's still in deep financial difficulty.  The commission has never been allowed to sell the water it originally had predicted for reasons mostly out of its control!  Additional provincial assistance which was verbally promised on many occassions was never forthcoming!  The commission is now mired down in debt and deficets.  The price of water to the participating municipalities is one of the highest in the province.  The people of Beiseker are paying dearly for water!

Our Mayor Rowe wants to turn off the A7RWSC valve and return to our well at the beginning of 2012.  That has major difficulties, too!

1. We would have to go through the process of having our well re-certified to be used by the municipality.  That could take months!  Our well water was never filtered because it never needed to be.  It was treated at the resevoir before it was sent out to residents.  That would have to be re-examined and tested to make sure that water was still clear coming out of the well.
2. We would have to do some winter excavation to physically separate the two water systems near our water storage resevoir.
3. I believe we would have to impose heavy water restrictions on Beiseker residents.  It would be cheap water but there would be less of it!
4. It would be soft water so our residents would have to uninstall or turn off their water softeners.
5. We would still have to pay our share of the debt for installing the regional system but we would no longer buy their water.  That would put a huge strain on the remaining communities on the system!  Some of those municipalities do not have the option of using well water again.  That extra strain may be enough to put the regional system into financial freefall!

I can understand Mayor Rowe's frustration with the problems,  We've all been talking to the provincial government about these issues and finincial difficulties for almost TEN years now and nothing has happened.  Other projects of this nature have received far greater funding that we did.   When Mayor Rowe makes his motion to shut off the A7RWSC taps, I really don't know how I will vote!  Do I vote to turn on the well (if it is feasible) to save the Village those huge water bills?  My first consideration must be to Beiseker ratepayers but would that really serve their best interests?  It's a tough one!

I cannot believe that a caring and effective provincial government would allow this situation to continue into the future.  But I've been saying that for years now, too.

 Let me know what you think.  And consider writing another letter to the provincial government, maybe to our new Premier Redford! 

BEISEKER HAS HIT THE WALL ON THIS WATER CRISIS!  SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE!

Street Cleaning Blues in Beacon Heights

There was some kind of breakdown in communication between the residents of Beacon Heights and the folks doing the street cleaning in the Village.  We were told in a handbill that our streets were to be cleaned on Monday and Tuesday, June 6 & 7.  We moved our vehicles off the street Monday morning to facilitate that process.  Unfortunately the street cleaners did our streets the day before, on Sunday, June 5 when all of our cars were on the street!  I saw the machine out there on Sunday but I figured he was just sweeping up the gravel in the center of the roadways and that he would return to do the curbs on Monday when the cars would be removed.  Now I'm told we'll have to wait to next spring to get our street cleaned properly.  I'm annoyed!  Are you?  If so, phone me (947 3759) or the Village Office (947 3774).  Maybe if enough of us complain we can get something done about it before next spring.