Community

On July 3 to 5 the 3V Almond Performance Horses just east of Ponoka hosted the Alberta Cutting Horse Association Show for the first time in their new arena. The show was also sanctioned by the National Cutting Horse Association and Canadian Cutting Horse Association which made it possible for the professionals, non-pro and amateur cutters from all over Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan to compete.

Anna Forseth, left, Esther Forseth and Lisa Forseth headed out to 7-Eleven for their free Slurpees. 7-Eleven handed out 1,000 free Slurpees in celebration of their 81st birthday on July 11.

A tragic rollover killed a 22 year old Lacombe-area man on June 29. The man was driving his Chevy pickup west on Highway 53, 8 kms from Ponoka at about 4 a.m. when the truck lost control and went into the north ditch. The driver lost control where the road curves and descends to cross the Battle River.

The Baptist Church originated in England many centuries ago, and then quickly spread the good word to thousands of Christian families throughout the world. For Ponoka, the humble beginnings of the local Baptist congregation actually began with a quiet meeting in the original village log school on August 18, 1901, which was led by the Reverend F. W. Paterson.

The Ponoka RCMP were kept busy on July 4 when they responded to two separate complaints resulting in stolen vehicles and licence plates. Police received the first complaint at around 4 p.m. the driver was speeding through traffic and weaving in and out of lanes on the QEII. The licence plate check revealed that the vehicle was reported stolen in February in Edmonton.

A tentative agreement was made between the bargaining committees for the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) and HBA Services on a four year contract for more than 13,000 auxiliary nursing care employees on June 27.

Two very important and special presentations were made during the 72nd annual Ponoka Stampede. Wayne Vold received the Bill Kehler award, which is given each year by the Ponoka Stampede Association in honour of rodeo announcer Bill Kehler who announced in Ponoka for over 25 years. It is given to a cowboy, cowgirl or chuckwagon person who best demonstrates these qualities: leadership, guidance, sportsmanship, promotion and most importance dedication to the sport of rodeo or chuckwagon racing.

Fans of Dr. Seuss have likely heard of “Horton Hears a Who.” In the spring of 2008 a fantastic adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic children’s book was made into a movie. The premise of the movie revolves around character and integrity, especially as Horton an imaginative elephant hears a cry for help from a speck of dust floating through the air.

Emily Lank of Ponoka admires some of Bernie Brown’s pencil artwork during the Art Show and Sale on July 1 at the Ponoka Curling Club.

On the first of July, Canada Day, there was a Canada Day quiz in the Edmonton Journal. One question was: how much of Canada is taken up by cropland, including pastures and orchards ? The answer was 6.6 per cent of Canada’s land is used for agricultural purposes, in contrast -just one per cent is ranked as ‘built up” (presumably towns, cities, etc.). Now, as a farmer’s daughter, this delighted me.