ATHABASCA — It’s never a matter of if there will be enough going on to fill the Athabasca Advocate section, it’s a matter of whether there will be enough of us and enough hours in the day to tell you about everything.
To pick out the "Top 10” stories of any given year would be a fool’s errand, as all the stories we collect throughout the year mean different things to different people. This last year was an important one in the Athabasca area though and throughout the greater region. It laid the groundwork for the year that will be.
You’ll notice common themes that come up year over year, no matter the specific details — leadership; growth; education; war; peace; justice, or lack thereof; surviving.
So, as we take a brief look at some of the stories we shared with our readers in Athabasca, Boyle and beyond in 2022, think about your own important stories, make a list, tell us about them, or just reflect on how that experience is going to shape you and your neighbours in the years to come.
Below are just a few tales that came across the radar last year, in no particular order. Make sure to check out the second half of our stories of significance collection in the Jan. 10 edition.
AU saga
Depending on who you ask, the years-long struggle to keep one of the Athabasca region’s main economic drivers based in the region is at its end.
On Nov. 30, Athabasca University’s board of governors approved a new investment management agreement with Alberta Advanced Education, that will see AU increase local staffing by 25 to 277, and 44 per cent of the nine-person executive must be based out of Athabasca by 2025.
“Government sets the goals and targets for institutions. If it's overreach for me to set targets related to employment levels, then we've done the exact same exercise with every other post-secondary institution in Alberta,” said Advanced Education minister Nicolaides in a Dec. 1 interview. “We've established targets for every other university and college regarding domestic enrolment levels, the number of students that are in work-integrated learning opportunities, things of that nature, and not one individual from any of those other 25 publicly funded post-secondary institutions has said or accused the government of any overreach.”
The new IMA also puts a stop to the near virtual model AU has been working toward for the last five years, with the premise that if students can learn remotely, staff can work remotely.
“One of the things that was included in the IMA was for the university to cease implementation of the near-virtual strategy,” he said. “So, with this new direction, I anticipate that the university will need to rethink its space utilization and I'm happy to talk more with president Scott and the university about what's needed and how we can work together.”
In a Dec. 1 media release from AU, Scott reported the new agreement had been reached, but ceasing the university’s near-virtual agenda did not come across.
“I am pleased to share with you that the AU Board of Governors has endorsed an investment management agreement with the provincial government that removes the threat of forced relocation of AU team members, creates financial stability, and gives us the ability to continue to work near-virtually, which will help AU compete for talent,” stated the release.
A very public airing of grievances against the university has been taking place since 2020 with the formation of the Keep Athabasca in Athabasca University advocacy group, and behind the scenes for far longer than that, as staffing levels plummeted in the community over the last several years as the near-virtual strategy was put into place.
The Town of Athabasca and Athabasca County were joined by the Village of Boyle later in the year in approving funds to hire a lobbyist, with many private citizens also contributing to the cause, out of concern for the future sustainability of the region.
Premier Jason Kenney even visited Athabasca, along with Nicolaides, in the spring to announce legislation would be amended to include a directive that ensures permanent representation from the community on the AU Board of Governors. The board of governors was also directed to work toward expanding AU’s footprint in Athabasca and Northern Alberta in general by “consolidating executive and senior administration offices in Athabasca at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Big stage, bright lights
Even if it wasn’t the 25th consecutive year, it was still the 25th festival produced by the Magnificent River Rats Festival Society (MRRFS) July 1 and 2 and the first two-day event since 2020 where there was no festival and a single day in 2021.
The group also updated the logo and worked on branding by expanding their advertising which drew people from as far away as southern British Columbia to attend.
They also brought back perennial favourite, Danny Hooper to MC and perform at the event. Hooper was the very first performer at the inaugural event held in the former riverfront campground where the skate park now stands.
Over the two days, around 2,000 people attended despite the rain on the first day, Even internationally recognized Canadian band Finger Eleven, who performed July 1, said the stage with the backdrop of the river is the “perfect festival setting.”
Justice for Nature
Over three years since local woman Nature Duperron went missing and was found murdered in a remote area near Hinton, her family has some closure and, hopefully, justice.
There is still a sentencing to get through but the four people accused of murdering Nature Duperron in April 2019 are all guilty – two pleaded guilty, while two others who faced trial instead were found guilty of kidnapping and murder.
On Sept. 12 in Court of King's Bench in Edmonton, Justice John Little accepted a plea agreement with defendants Grayson Eashappie and Kala Bajusz that saw each plead guilty to second degree murder, reduced from first degree murder, and the charges of kidnapping and theft were withdrawn.
Then, on Oct. 21 in his judgment in Edmonton’s Court of King’s Bench Justice Robert Graesser delivered his decision in a 70-page document on the fates of Buddy Underwood and Tyra Muskego who completed a two-week trial.
Underwood was found guilty of robbery, forcible confinement, and second-degree murder, while Muskego was found guilty of robbery, forcible confinement, and manslaughter. All four sentences will be given early 2023.
Rochester School revival
The numbers are up overall, even if not where they need to be for the Little School that Could, Rochester.
A well-attended town hall held at the school March 22 helped convince trustees to unanimously vote to give the school one more year and reviewing enrolment then.
“Of course, we would want the school to be up, but they did a lot of work. They did what we tasked them with so, you can't take that away from them,” Aspen View Public School board of trustee's chair Candy Nikipelo said in an Oct. 21 interview. "Obviously, we felt that was positive enough just to toe the line and we'll revisit it next year; just kind of go year by year and just see where we're at.”
The school attracted more students than predicted but still has small numbers across three consecutive grades, but the school staff and community at large aren’t giving up as they continue to promote the area to attract more families and students.
War in Ukraine
Slava Ukraini! Glory to Ukraine!
That is the mantra for Ukrainians both in Ukraine and around the world after being displaced by the invasion of Russia Feb. 24 and when the war started locals banded together donating quilts both to be sent overseas and for people coming to Canada fleeing the war.
Local groups Quilting for Humanity and the Atmore Quilting Club, along with a few quilts donated from Airdrie, gathered 130 quilts, and donated them to the Ed Stelmach Community Foundation.
Stelmach and his wife, Marie, arrived in person to collect the quilts May 2 and returned to Grassland May 28 to attend a fundraiser supper organized by Jennie Heatherington with the help of the Atmore, Grassland, and Prosvita communities and raised thousands for the foundation.
“People came from different parts of the community; very generous and just the volunteer effort was outstanding,” Stelmach said in an interview following the supper. “It speaks a lot for Albertans and their will, their generosity to help those in need and they're all aware that this isn't going to come to an end over the next few days, it's going to be years, and that we're in it for the long haul.”
Bilsky Contracting donated $6,000 in dry goods to the Stelmach Foundation in memory of their father Dan who emigrated to Canada when he was nine months old.
They followed that with the donation of a 2007 Case 650K LGP Crawler dozer auctioned off by Ritchie Brothers who waived their fee to raise $81,000.
“I was just delighted to see such generosity from a local company, from a family obviously with Ukrainian heritage, to put up that big of a piece of equipment,” former MLA Thomas Lukaszuk said in a May 6 interview.
Lukaszuk, who is Polish by birth, has been working with Stelmach to get relief supplies into Ukraine across the Poland-Ukraine border.
Donations can be sent directly to the Ed Stelmach Community Foundation, Box 70, Vegreville, AB, T9C 1R1.
Multiplex plans appeal
Like many businesses, the Athabasca Regional Multiplex Society (ARMS) accessed the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic based on the best information at the time.
Now, two years later, the federal government wanted the money back.
In a June 29 press release from ARMS chair and Town of Athabasca Coun. Dave Pacholok said a letter from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) dated June 8 declared the Multiplex did not meet the requirements and must pay back $523,965.82.
“In CRA’s view, we are an entity operated and controlled jointly by the Town of Athabasca and Athabasca County; therefore, not eligible for CEWS,” he said.
The deadline to pay it back was July 8, and the Town of Athabasca council held an emergency meeting June 29 to make the motion to pay back its half – $261,982.91. Athabasca County added it to their June 30 agenda as an emergency item to do the same.
“The Athabasca Regional Multiplex management applied for CEWS in 2020, as we met the general eligibility criteria,” Pacholok said. “Criteria 1 was to have an active CRA payroll account. Criteria 2 was to be a type of employer from the list, which we are, a non-profit organization. As well, the employer needed to see a drop in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The accounting firm had advised management to proceed with the funding application, and Pacholok hopes ARMS can convince the government to let them keep the money which had to be paid back before filing the appeal.
A decision from the CRA is pending.
