HELLO DIAMOND VALLEY
Happy New Year Diamond Valley! It’s a brand -new year, and here’s wishing you all peace and happiness for the coming 365 days. It’s been an ongoing battle with the pandemic and rising prices for food and gas. Strive on dear warriors, this too shall pass as my dear Mom likes to say!
Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? A New Year’s resolution is a tradition in which a person resolves to continue good practices, change an undesired trait or behaviour, accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise improve their life at the start of a new year. The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January was named. In the medieval era, knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry. Many churches offer the Covenant Renewal Service on both New Year’s Eve and on the morning of New Year’s Day.
A 2007 study by Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol showed that 88% of those who set New Year’s resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52% of the study’s participants were confident of success at the beginning. How can we keep our resolutions? One way is to make our goals realistic. For example, a resolution to lose weight would be better formed into smaller and measurable goals, such as lose a pound a week, rather than just lose weight. A habit takes 21 days to form, so if we can just stick at our goal for that amount of time, it should be a lot easier to continue our new habit. It’s also a good idea to keep track of your progress, and try to do this at the same time every day. Best of luck to you all!
This season offers a plethora of wintry sports to help you keep those resolutions. Oilfields Arena is home to Foothills Skating Club, High Country Minor Hockey Association, and the Oilfields Curling Club. The Scott Seaman Outdoor Rink has free family and public skates every Saturday from 1:45-2:45 and 5:45-6:45, and the Oilfields Arena offers a free skate, thanks to Pharmasave, on Sundays at 3:00. The free skates are stick and puck free, and helmets are mandatory at any time on the ice. Family shinnies run Monday-Friday from 10-11, Sundays from 3:00-4:00, and after school for the kids from 3:15-5:00. Find out more at the Arena’s website. Turner Valley has an outdoor rink with public skating and hockey as well, for schedules, please check the Town’s website.
Other outdoor winter activities include cross country skiing. I remember this sport as a youngster and there was something very peaceful about skiing across pristine snow and all you can hear is the wind and the quiet. Very different from our fast -paced lives in town with traffic and concrete. Sandy McNabb offers tons of trails, anywhere from 0.4 km to 5.3km in length. And check out the Sheep River Ramblers, which is run through the Library, as they find success in group hiking and snowshoeing. Want to stay closer to home? Become a Snow Angel and keep a neighbour’s walk free of snow and ice. If you don’t know anyone who might need a hand, the Town has a list of people who need help shoveling their walks.
Volunteering is another good way of starting off the New Year with a positive attitude. Some suggestions for volunteering in our community are for our Town Boards and Committees such as Economic Development, Emergency Management, Family and Community Social Services, Parks and Recreation, Sustainable Advisory Committee, and Crescent Point Community Fund. Other volunteer opportunities include Oilfields Hospital and the Rising Sun Long Term Care, Sheep River Library, High Country SPCA, Pound Rescue, or Heaven Can Wait Animal Rescue. It’s extremely heartwarming to volunteer, so take a moment to think what makes you happy, what you enjoy doing, and explore those volunteer options, as every little bit helps in a big way.
Black Diamond’s Light-Up was a huge success! It was nice to see so many people with their children and dogs out and about enjoying all the businesses who made quite an effort to keep residents entertained, with sales, specials, food and drink, and Christmas spirit. Black Diamond is working on an ARP, or Area Development Plan for the downtown and highway corridors. You can have your say at their free community workshop on January 26 from 6:30-8:00 at the Town Office. Check the Town’s website for full details.
Turner Valley’s Legion would like to say a huge thank you to Antoine Beauchamp and Kristin Ranger, owners of Holistic Roofing. They came to the rescue when one of our wicked wind storms at the beginning of December blew off shingles from the roof. The company fixed the damage and did not charge the Legion for their work. Way to go as the Legion works tirelessly to provide support for Veterans and the community and the help was greatly appreciated. Make sure you drop by the Legion, they offer Thursday wing nights, meat draws, pool and darts, and is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy great food, service, and company. You don’t have to be a member to come on in, but please consider becoming one, and they always appreciate volunteers as well.
Recycle your Christmas tree the month of January, just put it out by your bin and the Towns will pick them up and mulch them for use around trees and parks in our community.
The Sheep Creek Arts Council is pleased to announce we have a number of classes starting in January. They include painting , mosaics, felting, sewing and drawing. The web site sheepcreekarts.ca describes all the classes and enables you to register on site. Please note you must be vaccinated to attend classes in person, but some classes are available by Zoom. Our clubs – quilting, camera and painting – are also operating in person (in limited numbers) as long as you are vaccinated. Subsidies are available for low income people/families. The Sheep Creek Arts Council is located at 133 Sunset Blvd in Turner Valley.
If you have any events or news for the month of February, please drop me a line at elaine.w@telus.net. The deadline for this issue is January 15.
Have a great January everyone and best of luck with those resolutions!
Elaine Wansleeben
