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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE  Happy New Year, Springbank! Hope you all are weathering the deep freeze, crazy winds and the Omicron storm well. The calendar says it is January, though it may feel like we are experiencing Groundhog Day a la Bill Murray’s movie where we can’t seem to move on. Well, we are Springbank Strong – let’s move on together! In efforts to move forward, the Springbank Community Association Board has been developing our strategic plan. When we finish the process, we will share our priorities. Unofficially, to capitalize on anticipated road changes, creating character along RR 33 between the United Church and SPFAS is a top priority. Also, we hope to finally get out of RVC purgatory and see some movement with a community centre and proper gymnasium. We will keep you posted. Springbank lost another dedicated community volunteer last month. Our sincere condolences are extended to family and friends of Bill Tajcner. Scroll to read more of Bill’s history of community service. Although Omicron has put a damper on many activities, scroll to see some fun events happening later in the month and Spring with the Curling Club and schools. Let’s make sure we are helping our youth deal with the disappointments that Covid keeps causing. We are so fortunate in Springbank with our connection to nature. Chaps and Chinooks looks at a bit of the history of some of our wildlife we see so regularly here. The newsletter is rounded out by RVC updates, Ring Road updates and another informative article from the Cochrane Foothills Protective Association. Take care, Springbank!
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 ROCKY VIEW COUNTY UPDATES |
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Springbank Area Structure Plans The Area Structure Plans, which were approved by RVC council last year, but rejected by the Calgary Region Metropolitan Board will go back for another iteration of work this year. Revised terms of reference - with additional engagement with the community and other stakeholders - were approved in December. Read the updated terms of reference. We have provided substantial feedback to RVC on the Area Structure Plan(s) and look forward to moving forward productively and collaboratively with the County on this important planning document. County Plan / Municipal Development Plan The revised County Plan/ Municipal Plan has been tabled. This document is the guiding document for the County that lays out the vision for planning and development across the County. Read the existing plan. Last year, the revised plan was rejected by Calgary Region Metropolitan Board. Given this rejection, Council decided to hold off on additional work on the Plan until a decision from the Municipal Affairs Minister, who has the authority to overrule CMRB, is provided. It was also decided that more work from Council is required on strategic direction for the County. Land Acquisition On December 14, Council approved an offer to purchase land in Springbank (looks to be adjacent to Park For All Seasons based on the land description). We expect this land to be used for future recreation & community needs. We do not have much information at this time, but will keep you posted! Old Banff Coach Road / Highway 1 Conceptual Scheme The proposed amendment to allow the commercial / residential development at the corner of Highway 1 & OBCR was rejected by the CMRB. Read the CMRB decisions. Rogers Cell Tower on RR32 & Springbank Road RVC has advised that the proposed Rogers cell tower will not proceed as Rogers did not appeal the Council decision within the appeal timeline. The discussion at Council was very confusing as the motion to reject the application failed but there was not a motion to approve the project. Thank you to everyone who completed the survey - we did share the results with Councillor Hanson and Mayor Kochan prior to the Council meeting. |
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Thanks so much to Kathleen Burk and RE/MAX for providing support to the production of our newsletter. With ActiveDemand and now Kathleen’s support, we are keeping costs to a minimum.
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Discovery Corner Preschool 
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Ecole Elbow Valley Elementary   Did you know that French Immersion has been alive and well at Elbow Valley Elementary for more than 20 years? Elbow Valley currently has 50 percent of the student population learning French.
The French Immersion program was established in Rocky View School division in 1985. Children who come to French Immersion often have no French language experience. Teachers immerse students in French using songs, games, stories, actions and pictures to help students build capacity in French. Students will learn only French from Kindergarten to Grade 2. In Grade 3, students will begin English Language Arts. By the time students reach the end of Grade 4 students are reading, writing, and speaking in both French and in English. By Grade 6, French Immersion students are reading, writing, and speaking in English at the same level as their English speaking peers. French Immersion is an incredible program geared towards families who do not speak French. In fact, knowledge of French is not required for children to be successful in French Immersion. French Immersion teachers support parents with a variety of resources for use at home. Specifically, teachers use QR codes to help with pronunciation, use Google Classroom to record books, sight words, French sounds, translations for parents, as well as many other resources to make learning French fun and accessible for all. Contact us if you are interested in learning more about French Immersion programs offered at Ecole Elbow Valley Elementary or the Canadian Parents for French - Alberta.
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Springbank High School  2021 is coming to a close, here’s a quick summary of December at the Springbank Community High School and some thoughts about January from the students. - Santa’s Winter Essentials: In December, SCHS students were asked to donate items to our “Santa’s Winter Essentials Drive” for the Drop-in Center. Students were to drop their donations in specific bags to vote for which teacher would have to dress up and Santa on the last day of school. Donations included socks, soap, shampoo, etc. In the end, our school filled 6 huge boxes with donations and Principal Lonsberry had to wear the Santa suit.
- Robotics Competition: In December, the SCHS Robotics team participated in their first competition. Unfortunately, the teams had to compete virtually but overall, they performed very well. The teams proudly placed 17th, 26th, and 28th in Alberta. The picture below is team 14021 - a grade 11 team’s robot ready for the competition.
- January: With Winter Break having been extended to January 10th and diplomas having been cancelled, plans for the new year are very grey. Overall, grade 12 students are feeling elated with the cancellation of diplomas but nervous for what post-secondary exams will look like with no experience of writing finals. Many students are wondering what the return to school will look like and how the end of the first semester is going to go. Although we do not know much about what is going to happen regarding the return to school in 2022, students are ready to see what the new year will bring.
by Jordan Inverarity, Springbank High School student
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 ROCKY VIEW SCHOOLS TRUSTEE UPDATE
JUDI HUNTER, WARD 5 |
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Happy New Year, May 2022 see the back of COVID Students are entering their second semester. High School Students will not be writing diploma exams. The Minister of Education has also indicated that there will be changes to the new curriculum resulting from feedback received by School Boards, parents, students, and teachers. Students Build Second Free Food Shed Students in the Cochrane Building Futures program are constructing of a second Free Food Shed for the community, in partnership with Helping Hands Society of Cochrane and Area, Kingsmith Builders, Big Hill Electric and Bow Valley Baptist Church. The newest shed is located at Bow Valley Baptist Church and is smaller and more efficient than the shed built last year. The new shed contains a fridge/freezer combo and extra pantry space to store food for community members in need. Students planned, designed, and built the entire shed and are currently working on insulation, shelving, doors, siding and electrical. Great job supporting your community! This is a fascinating report on the future of biodigital convergence and its implication for society: laws, health; education. Education Minister LaGrange stated in recognition of the unique pressures the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on students, teachers and families, we are making changes to curriculum implementation timelines. New curriculum in three subjects will be the focus of province wide implementation in September 2022: English Language Arts and Literature, Mathematics, and Physical Education and Wellness. December 7, I attended a zoom presentation offered by the Prairie Mountain Health Division on Anti-racism, Diversity and Inclusion. Each of the speakers below offered information on what their organization was doing to address the evening’s topic: - Marni Panas, Program Manager, Diversity and Inclusion - Alberta Health Services
- Katy Doucette and Inspector Avril Martin, Calgary Police Service - CPS' Anti-Racism Action Committees
- Jeanie Godfrey, Settlement Services Supervisor - Town of Banff
 The virtual discussion touched on:
- How public organizations are creating spaces that are emotionally and culturally safe.
- Why understanding gaps in cultural values is important knowledge.
- What can you do to support the conversation.
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The Springbank Curling Club continues to operate our regular curling leagues, and are pleased to announce a few more opportunities to get out and play! Saturday Fun League - Drop-in Curling Drop-in Curling is on again on January 22 and February 12 at the Springbank Curling Club. This an opportunity to try out the sport, play a regular game or try Mixed Pairs curling and you don’t have to be a member of the curling club to participate. Registration is from 6:30-6:55pm, and curling ice times will be 7-9 pm. Curling equipment - grippers, sliders and brooms are available for use, free of charge. Drop-in at $20/person (cash only)! Sign up to reserve your spot. Email us for more information. Winspiel  Registrations for the Springbank Mixed Winespiel is open, which runs on March 4-6. It is a fun bonspiel, open to all skill levels and all prizes are wine – there will be lots to give away! A banquet and breakfast will be included with your registration fees. This is a mixed bonspiel, and all teams must have two women and two men. If you have any questions or wish to submit a registration, email us at Springbank.Winespiel@gmail.com. Ready to Rock  Springbank Curling Club is excited to announce an opportunity for 9-15 year old prospective curlers to come out and try curling on January 29 from 1-3 pm with instructors Brittany Tran, Chelsea Carey, and Carolyn Darbyshire. They will follow this event with an 8-week Learn to Curl Program. Register here, or if you have any questions, please email Cori vanKeulen. Bill Tajcnar Sadly, to share the passing of Bill Tajcnar, who passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 12, 2021, at the age of 80 years. Bill was instrumental in constructing the curling facility, and served as President of the Curling Club for several years where he played a lead role in building up the Club to what it is today. He was an active participant on the ice up until last season and he will be fondly remembered by those who knew him. You can read more about Bill’s contributions to the community and the curling club, and his obituary. For further information about curling at Springbank, please visit their website or email.
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CHAPS and CHINOOKS MOMENT |
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Springbank Elk  The Springbank Elk (not to be confused with Edmonton’s football team) have been the subject of much interest with the site of SR 1 being their primary home, though they have been spotted in other parts of Springbank recently. Our Chaps and Chinooks is a short excerpt on a small portion of Springbank wildlife as written by Maureen Munro. Please note that at the time of writing in 1976, the use of the term Indian was accepted. Those persons here before the 1880’s saw the last of the buffalo roaming this range. All that remained of these great shaggy beasts, when the settlers arrived, were their wallows, trails and bones. Grassed over wallows (about 15 to 20 feet across and 2 feet deep) and trails near the old jump site (Jumping Pound) can still be identified by old time residents. Settlers found grass, not eaten off for several years, stirrup high in many places. When this was hayed and cattle and horses ate it down, the bones of thousands upon thousands of buffalo lay bleaching in the sun. These were picked up by the wagonload and sold for about $8 a ton for bonemeal and for use in the sugar refining process. After the great slaughter of the buffalo the Indians had to depend upon the mule deer, moose, elk and the occasional herd of antelope that appeared on the eastern fringes of the district. Elk must have been very plentiful here for in the late 1800’s Moose Hill was still covered with hundreds of pairs of shed elk horns. The Indians hunted mule deer and elk with dogs; singling out an individual and running it down. They also would completely surround a bluff of trees and work their way through it when hunting thus enabling them to get within close range of their quarry. The moose and elk were virtually eliminated by the 1880’s, and soon after, the deer too had become scarce. The Indians entered a dark period in their history as nearly all of their traditional sources of food were gone. The big game animal’s numbers gradually increased but it was still quite an event to see a mule deer here in the twenties. No moose or elk returned to the area until the late thirties. They came in from the Kananaskis and the parks. In the early 1950’s two truckloads of elk were brought into the Elbow forest reserve from Canmore and they gradually worked their way into the more westerly parts of the district. By 1956 there were many moose in the same regions until lungworm greatly reduced their numbers. Chaps and Chinooks, Vol I, p. 17-18
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 BRAGG CREEK CORNER |
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 CONNECTIONS WITH COCHRANE |
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 COCHRANE FOOTHILLS PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION (CFPA)
The Rural Crime Watch Association for the Cochrane and west Airdrie RCMP Detachment jurisdictions, including the Bragg Creek and Springbank areas of Rocky View County |
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There is an APP for that!!! With all of the Apps that are available in the “Stores” for shopping, getting event tickets, watching investments, games, and any other manner of things that we may want, were you aware there are some key Crime Prevention and Information Apps that are available? An App provides an easy way for everyone to report crimes, have information at your fingertips and keep up to date with news. We would like to highlight a few for you. Alberta Rural Crime Watch App  iOS and Android - is an App that contains phone numbers for all rural RCMP Detachments in Alberta and can call up the non-emergency reporting phone number can be dialled with a touch of a button. This APP also uses the location services, to determine where you are and brings up the nearest RCMP Detachment to your location. Crime now no boundaries and neither should your reporting of suspicious activity. Imagine, any rural RCMP Detachment on your speed dial!!!!
Also in this App is a link to the RCMP on-line reporting, Crime Prevention tips, Report – a Poacher on-line reporting link, and Resources for many Agency contacts such as Mental Health, Elder Abuse, Bullying, to name a few. There is also a link to a Crime Prevention Information blog. Search Alberta Rural Crime Watch in the App Store to download. Alberta RCMP App – the Alberta RCMP just released their App, this past week, to help keep Albertans informed on Crime Stats, the Crime Map, and RCMP News Bulletins. There is information on the location of Project Lock Up locations, Crime Stoppers along with a link to the on-line Crime Reporting as well.  This App is formatted for both iOS and Android. Search Alberta RCMP to download.
Both of these Apps apply to the Province of Alberta news and items, and are a wealth of information. To bring reporting a bit closer to home, the CFPA has the Reporter APP, which all Members can access and is a part of their Membership. CFPA developed this reporting platform to allow Members to report suspicious activity locally and keep other Members aware of activity and incidents, in your own “backyard." This is an information site only and is not tied into any RCMP reporting databases. If you post it on Reporter, then also phone the RCMP to notify of the activity.  Should you wish to have more on Crime Prevention information, or any of these apps, please feel free to visit the CFPA Website or email. We hope you will check out these tools and encourage you to use the on-line Crime Reporting or the Report a Poacher tool, should this be a better way for you to report suspicious activity.
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 Springbank Community Association Over 100 years serving the residents and businesses of Springbank Copyright © Springbank Community Association All rights reserved.
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