Happy New Year, Diamond Valley! Winter reared its head before the official solstice, and we had some heavy duty snow towards the end of November which deposited over 50cm pretty much overnight. The next day wreaked havoc on the roads as the warm roads froze and then were covered by all that snow. I spun off the highway into the ditch in the same amount of time it would take to blink, and it’s sure a scary feeling. Steer into the skid they say but it’s hard to remember at the time. Thank goodness for 4 wheel drive!
Our local High Country SPCA certainly put things into high gear with their annual Christmas Market. They raised some good money this year with the hard work put into the Market and the generous support of their patrons. Every dollar counts so don’t forget our four legged friends when it comes to your donations, you can check them out on Facebook. Also, the Ben Steiger Memorial Scholarship Fund is another very worthy cause to donate to in the New Year. Ben would have turned 23 this past December, and his family and friends established the Scholarship to help other young people attain their goals. To donate, drop by the ATB Financial in Black Diamond or the Diamond Valley Vet, or call 403.933.4397.
Victoria’s Quilts Canada’s mission is to provide hand-made quilts to people with cancer. The organization started in Ottawa in 1999 and in Okotoks in 2003. They have groups under the Okotoks branch also working in Nanton, High River, and Calgary. The branch serves all of Southern Alberta. They welcome volunteers to come and help them with all sorts of tasks, not just sewing. For more information on Victoria’s Quilts, phone 403.652.1480 or email chairperson Jacquie at rhodes_jacquie@hotmail.com.
Sheep Creek Arts in Turner Valley invites you to their winter registration and membership renewal night on Wednesday, January 9 from 7-8:30pm. For painting, they offer classes in acrylic flowers, beginner landscapes and drawing, Paint Your Way by Vivien Wiebe, and Open Art Studio with David Kilter. For quilting, there is Learn to Quilt, hand quilting, collage quilting, and a summer quilt camp. They also hold classes in Toe-Up Magic sock knitting, mosaic tiles, and a needle felted landscape class. They all sound quite interesting, so come pick up a new hobby or refine an old one. More info at sheepcreekarts.ca or drop by the Arts Council at 133 Sunset Blvd.
Turner Valley offers Community Support Funding to local organizations, clubs, sports groups, and individuals involved in special projects, events, and initiatives which have a positive impact for the recipients, local residents, and the community as a whole. A maximum of $500 will be supplied per project, and there are some conditions. Registered charities may also consider Community Funding from Crescent Point. For more details, visit turnervalley.ca/community-support-fund/.
It’s Robbie Burns Day at the Turner Valley Legion on January 24th. Robbie Burns is recognised the world over for his poems, and Burns suppers are celebrated on this day with traditional dishes of haggis and whisky. One of Burns’ poems you may recognize is the one “Some hae meat and canna eat, and some wad eat that want it. But we hae meat, and we can eat, sae let the Lord be thankful”. So join in this Scottish tradition at the Legion. They will have a regular dinner to choose from and haggis on crackers, if you dare. Also did you know that serving and retired Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP members are eligible for a free one year membership to welcome them to the Legion. For more information, visit Legion.ca/welcome.
Also at the Legion coming up is Resolution Health Fair, a fun, free, family friendly event. Come learn about the healthy initiatives in our community, find the support you need to rock those New Years Resolutions, and learn how to find small changes that could make a big impact for your family in 2020. Draws, prizes, demos, discounts, and more! Free gift for the first 5 people through the door. The event runs on January 11 from 9:30-3:30. For more info, follow yourfitt4life on Facebook and Instagram.
With winter settling in, it’s definitely ice time, and there’s lots of that going on in our community! Oilfields Curling Club (OCC) invites you to join in one of their many leagues. OCC was established in 1959 under the name Turner Valley Oilfields Curling Association, and members curled out of a facility which later became the Bargain Barn. This building was located where the apartments across from the Rona in the Black Diamond now are. In 1996 the Club opened their new facility in the Oilfields Arena. This Arena is host to a Ladies Bonspiel the weekend of January 3-5. Also we have a team going to the Alberta Junior Championships in Lloydminster January 1-5, details curlingalberta.ca. For more info on OCC, email at occcurling@gmail.com or drop by and have a look. You don’t need any experience to enjoy this Canadian pastime.
Oilfields Arena is also home to Foothills Skating Club, which offers programs for ages 3 and up. For more info on this group, visit foothillsskatingclub.ca. We also have the High Country Minor Hockey Association which is home to the Rockies Hockey Team, check them out on the web as well. And Oilfields Sports Association was founded in 1979 by a group of volunteers who wanted to offer fun, affordable, recreation programs for kids aged 4-18 in our community. 40 years later OSA’s mission remains the same, and they offer Pond Hockey for kids aged 5-17 at different league levels. The kids in this league come from Bragg Creek, Cochrane, Millarville, Priddis, Canmore, and of course the Diamond Valley team. For more info, visit oilfieldssportsassociation.com.
The outdoor rink in Turner Valley often has rotating games of shinny, or is a good place to test out your blades for the first time. There’s something magical about skating under a blanket of stars, which is something locals have been doing at the rink for many, many years. I love the sound of skate blades scraping on the ice. The rink’s public skating times are Mon-Fri 3:30-7, and 11-2 and 5-7 on weekends. Hockey runs from 7-9pm Mon-Fri, and 2:30-4:30 and 7:30-9:30 on weekends. There is no supervision at this rink, and helmets are mandatory. Bring your shovel after a snowfall to clear the ice. The rink is free, but there are conditions, such as no pets, no carrying your infant while skating, no headphones, etc. For full details, visit turnervalley.ca.
Friends of the Bar U Historic Ranch Association will be hosting their annual Stockmen’s Dinner on January 25. This is a long-standing tradition to honour our ranching families and their history in the Foothills. This year they will be honouring the Bedingfeld, Garstin, and Broomfield families. The event will be held at the Highwood Memorial Centre in High River with cocktails at 5:30 followed by a prime rib dinner and a silent auction. For tickets and more details, check out Friends of the Bar U on Facebook, or you can buy tickets at Sandul’s in Black Diamond, High River CO-OP, or Nanton’s Classic Rodeo Boutique.
Foothills provides Immigrant Services to help you settle in. They operate under the umbrella of Calgary Catholic Immigration Society. This Society is a non-profit, non-denominational agency that is committed to making immigration a positive experience for refugees, immigrants, and the community. Some services offered are for settling your children into school, English language classes, community connections, and host volunteer programs. For more information, call the Okotoks Office at 403.938.4699 or visit ccisab.ca.
It is Kindergarten Registration Time if your child will be 5 years old before December 31, 2020. There is also a Junior Kindergarten Program for your youngster if they will be 4 years old before Dec. 31, 2020. Kindergarten is optional. Registration is on January 30 from 6:30-8:30 pm for and at the following schools: C. Ian McLaren, Turner Valley, Millarville, Longview, and Red Deer Lake. You will need to bring your child’s birth certificate or proof of citizenship, their immunization records, and proof of address. For more information, visit fsd38.ab.ca/kindergarten.
We hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year’s! For those of you who put up a real live Christmas tree, you can put it out by your bin and the towns will pick it up during the month of January. Make sure all tinsel and everything is off the tree. The towns will mulch the trees and use them on pathways and around trees. Thanks for all you do, Town Workers!
If you have any events happening in February that you would like to see in the High Country News, please email me at elaine.w@telus.net. The deadline for this issue is January 15.
Here’s to a great year!
Elaine Wansleeben
