The big Beach Fest event is happening this coming weekend; the last we heard the organizers badly need volunteers to put in a bit of time helping to run events, or what have you. Email conkorz@hotmail.com, if you can help.
One of the fellows working on the tennis court refurbishment in Slave Lake for Tomko Sports Systems last week was a Ukrainian named Oleksandr. From what we were told (not by him; he’s only been here four months and his English isn’t very good yet), he was living very close to where the first Russian bomb landed in the war that started last winter. As soon as it happened, he packed some things and got the heck out of there. He went to the U.K. as a war refugee and then to Canada, and landed a job with the Calgary company.
We reached Craig Pearson in Lloydminster to let him know about a Good Neighbour nomination and got quite a bit more than we bargained for. He was on his way to Brandon, Manitoba, to watch his son Drayder in the Canadian High School Finals Rodeo competition. Drayder was competing in steer wrestling. Also in steer wrestling at the Brandon event were the Williams boys from Kinuso, Kayden and Hudson. Good luck to all three!
Last week’s announcement about high levels of fecal matter in Lesser Slave Lake spell trouble for the upcoming Beach Fest. Can an algae bloom be far behind? Low water, plus warm weather often results in bad conditions in the month of August. We’re thinking for that reason it might be a good idea to hold such events in mid-July in years to come. Something to think about.
Slave Lake’s Rotary Club is doing a couple of fundraisers over the next few months. One is the standard Grey Cup pool. Each $2 ticket represents one possible score for the big game on Nov. 19. Some lucky son of a gun will have the ticket with the correct score and win 500 bucks. Other prizes are for having the correct score after the first quarter, half time, third quarter and the reverse final score. Tickets are already on sale, we’re told, at The Business Factory, The Brick and Eiserman Meats, as well as from Rotarian Harry Bartlett and whoever else mans the ticket tables when they are set up at Sobey’s or Canadian Tire.
The other fundraiser is a cash raffle with a $10,000 top prize. Tickets will be $10 apiece for that one, and the draw will take place just before Christmas.
The Government of Alberta and three community partners have started the Alberta Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons. A very noble goal.
The news release says that from 2011 to 2021, over 3,500 incidents of human trafficking were reported in Canada and many instances go unreported. This includes sex, labour, and organ trafficking.
The other three partners are: #NotInMyCity, Native Counselling Services of Alberta (NCSA) and REACH Edmonton Council for Safer Communities.
On a slightly related note, RCMP and legal documents often include the word ‘persons,’ which looks like a typo, as most gradeschoolers can tell you the plural of person is people. However, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary says that “modern style guides tend to prefer people where earlier guides preferred persons, especially for countable groups.” Also, “Persons tends to still be found in some formalized settings, such as legal writing, or when a writer wishes to appear extra fancy.”
Turns out this is more complicated than the plural of moose being moose, deer being deer, and sheep being sheep.
Parents of kids with disabilities can now apply for support online, says a Government of Alberta news release. The application is at alberta.ca/fscd-how-to-apply.aspx FSCD stands for Family Support for Children with Disabilities.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL) donated $3,000 to the Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council (LSLIRC)’s Golf Tournament. There was a mix up with the cheque presentation photos, so here’s the information without one. The tournament is open to anyone who wants to sign up a team. It is August 11 at Gilwood golf course, north of Slave Lake.
