Commentator

14/08/2024

Prayers for the family.

We said goodbye for now to our amazing mother, wife, sister, grandmother, and friend on August 12, 2024, at the age of 74. ​ PATRICIA LEA HARKER DUDLEY was born on July 3, 1950, in Magrath,...

10/08/2024

Condolences to the family.

KEN MOSTOWY, of Magrath, beloved husband of Marion Mostowy, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, August 7, 2024 at the age of 83 years.

09/08/2024

Irrigation in Alberta

Irrigation was essential for Alberta's agricultural industry, especially in the semi-arid areas in the south and east. A lot of the engineering and construction work was done by newcomers from the Church of Latter-Day Saints.

1898 - construction on the first irrigation canal began, at Kimball, on the St. Mary River
1899 - canals reached Cardston, Stirling, Beazer and Magrath
1902 - Coaldale gets irrigation
1908 - canals reach their most northern point, Irricana
1909 - Bassano Dam is constructed, by the Bow River; this will irrigate lands from Kitsim to Hays
1912 - canals from McGregor Lake reached Milo, & Lomond, and Travers Dam is made on the Little Bow River
1914 - Brooks aqueduct is made (photo); Lake Newell is created; irrigation reached Tilley and Alderson
1919 - Vauxhall is made the headquarters for the irrigation district
1920 - irrigation from the Oldman River reached Taber and Grassy Lake
1923 - Picture Butte gets irrigated
1938 - Rolling Hills is made the headquarters for the eastern district
1953 - a dam is built on Rattlesnake Lake, north of Whitla

09/08/2024

Reservior levels sinking

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on August 8, 2024.

Water levels in southern Alberta reservoirs are dropping and there is not any substantial rainfall on the horizon.

The Oldman reservoir on Tuesday was at 76 per cent of capacity, down from the 85 to 94 per cent that is normal for this time of year.

The St. Mary Reservoir is also below normal, at 71 per cent of capacity compared to the normal level of 76 to 92 per cent.

The Waterton Reservoir, however, is within its normal range of 77 to 92 per cent, sitting at 84 per cent of capacity.

While a small amount of rain fell in the area on Tuesday night and a bit more was forecast for yesterday in coming days there is only a slight chance of precipitation hitting Lethbridge with the best bet for Sunday and Tuesday when there is a 40 per cent chance of less than one millimetre falling.

Further to the west, Pincher Creek and the Crowsnest Pass were getting rain on Wednesday. Cardston and Waterton were also expected to receive small amounts of precipitation on Wednesday.

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01/08/2024

⚠️ An area closure is effect for Linnet Lake Loop Trail and surrounding area due to multiple bears in the area. All traffic and travel is prohibited.

With berry season here and an abundance of berries in this area there has been a sharp increase in bear activity.

This closure is in place to give bears more space to feed without human disturbance, to prevent potential human/wildlife conflicts and reduce safety risks for people.

More info: https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/waterton/bulletins/66e86307-3ce7-4232-aa81-8cbeb995fd6c

01/08/2024

Great Kesler bull.

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31/07/2024

Congrats to these coed Magrath Slo-pitch champs. "Bat to the Bone"

31/07/2024

29/07/2024

Congrats guys!

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28/07/2024

Alberta and Canada to match Canadian Red Cross donations to support Alberta wildfire response

July 28, 2024 Media Release

Minister Sajjan and Minister Ellis announce donation-matching program to help those impacted by wildfires in Jasper and across the province of Alberta.

Today, the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, and the Honourable Mike Ellis, the Alberta Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, announced a donation-matching initiative with the Canadian Red Cross to support wildfire disaster relief and recovery efforts in the province, including in the historic town of Jasper which was severely impacted by wildfires in recent days.

Both the federal and provincial governments will match all donations to the Canadian Red Cross 2024 Alberta Wildfires Appeal, which means every $1 donated will become $3 to support the families and individuals most impacted by wildfires in Jasper and across the province. The donation matching will be for 30 days, retroactive to when it first opened on July 25, 2024.

Thousands of people were forced to evacuate the Town of Jasper last week, as the Jasper National Park experienced its worst wildfire in history. Thanks in part to the town preparations for the risk of wildfire, no one was hurt and part of the town was saved. On July 25, Minister Sajjan approved a Request for Federal Assistance from Alberta to provide firefighting resources, strategic airlift capacity, as well as Canadian Armed Forces’ resources and logistics support.

The Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta are committed to doing everything they can to support all those affected.

Canadians wishing to make a financial donation to help those impacted by wildfires in Alberta can do so online at www.redcross.ca or by calling 1-800-418-1111.

Learn about the Canadian Red Cross Society including who we are, where we work, what we do, volunteering and donating.

27/07/2024

Great parade today.

26/07/2024

Condolences to the family

ROBINSON, Gary ROBINSON Gary Wayne Robinson, aged 77 of Princeton, BC, passed away on June 1 after suffering a stroke.
Gary was born and raised in Magrath to Wayne and Jean Robinson. This is where he attended school and made lifelong friends. Gary enjoyed playing hockey and baseball. He found an early love of playing the drums for the band Flea and the Stompers.
After graduation he attended NAIT in Edmonton and went to work surveying for the Department of Public Works. He loved the outdoors and adventure and following his heart he moved north to Atlin, BC. Here Gary spent many happy years hunting, fishing, skidooing, and climbing mountains. One early morning he was boating on Tagish Lake when he saw a UFO rise out of the water.
Gary continued to work for the Government, surveying on road construction and working on the new highway from Carcross to Skagway, Alaska.
He helped form a new rock band called the Ozone Rangers, Gary played the drums and loved watching everyone dance. He loved to play jokes and make people laugh. He had many friends and was well loved by all.
Gary is survived by his longtime companion Carol-Ann and his siblings Robert, Donald, Clark, Linda, Bonnie and Dorothy. He is predeceased by his father Wayne, mother Jean, sister Renee Evelyn and brother Johnnie Bruce. Our hearts take comfort in the loving memories of Gary, his boundless sense of humor and his generosity.

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26/07/2024

https://news-ca.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/magrath-celebrates-125th-birthday-with-a-musical-theatre-production-of--lsquo-diggers-rsquo-?fbclid=IwY2xjawEQAoNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHaiGU4krXbBqlLdTRxlBRSoRc1MP6KXEYGQewjG0xDZPMWB9l-BA0mDj-Q_aem_kAjkx_hpXPLr-Ia3quqvxg

The year 2024 marks the 125th birthday of Magrath, a small town in southern Alberta settled by Latter-day Saint pioneers. Those pioneers helped dig the Galt Canal, Alberta’s first large-scale irrigation project.

26/07/2024

26/07/2024

Check out our Escape room and learn the secret of Magrath's future! Come or call during our open hours at 403-758-6498.

26/07/2024

Great attendance tonight at the Ag Complex tonight. Way to go Magrath Ag Society with the rodeo, chicken catch, mutton busting and pig chase. Good time for all. As we get results from the bronc riding we will pass it on. Well over 400 people there tonight for Magrath Days.

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24/07/2024

The Town of Magrath has issued the following fire advisory. Wind and other weather conditions can change quickly. It is important to consider the weather and forecast before lighting a campfire.

Campfires are permitted in designated fire pits.

Appropriate fire pits include metal fire rings, paving stone/brick rings, fireboxes, commercially available propane firepits, and outdoor wood/gas cooking stoves.

How to safely enjoy a campfire.
1. Select a suitable location at least 3.5m away from your residence and 1m away from all other combustible material, dry grass, and overhanging branches.
2. Keep campfires small.
3. Never leave your campfire unattended.
4. Have extinguishing water or equipment on hand.
5. Completely extinguish campfires with water. Soak it, stir it, and soak it again until it is cool to the touch before leaving it.

Burning yard or construction waste is not permitted within the Town of Magrath. These materials must be taken to the Magrath Transfer Station or Chief Mountain Landfill depending on the material being disposed of.

While we cannot avoid naturally occurring wildfires (ex: lightning strikes), we can avoid human-caused fires. Please do your part to keep our communities and first responders safe by not lighting unsafe campfires.

20/07/2024

Police warning public to be cautious sharing social media posts
Jul 19, 2024

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) is advising the public to be careful with what they post on social media.

LPS says they have seen an influx of hoax posts, primarily on Facebook, that involve missing children, wandering seniors, children found with no identification or injured pets.

The posts then get shared many times across the platform, and the original poster then changes the content to a phony prize give away, too-good-to-be-true rental opportunity or multi-level marketing scam.

Sergeant Kevin Talbot with the Economic Crimes Unit said, “Scammers prey on good intentions and the desire to help. It’s critical, with so much false information circulating online, that everyone exercises a little bit of due diligence and verifies the contents of a post before sharing it.”

Police are also frequently seeing phishing scams involving posts advertising free food. In these cases, the posts feature images of boxes full of meat, produce and other goods and ask people to join a private group to get the location of the event or register to receive food.

Upon clicking the link and joining the group, scammers have the opportunity to collect personal information.

LPS provided a list of tips to help avoid hoaxes:

Research before you share! Read the information carefully and look at the profile of the person who created the original post. Is the profile new, have they shared the same or similar posts in other groups or shared the same post but referenced other cities?

Bait and switch posts often originate in public groups (swap and buy, buy and sell, etc.), usually have their comments turned off, reference but do not provide any contact details to report information to the police or other officials.
Check for similar posts. Copy and paste the text from the post into Facebook’s search tool to see if other posts with the same text and same (or different) photos show up.

Take a close look at the photo. Often images used are not consistent with Lethbridge – e.g. there are palm trees, American flags and other indicators to suggest they aren’t really local.
Do a reverse image search to see if the pictures used in the post have also been used on other websites or platforms.

Do not click on any links, join unverified groups or provide personal information.

If you recognize a post is a scam report it to Facebook and/or the group page admins for removal.
Consider not sharing missing person, wandering senior, found child, etc. posts unless they come from an official source such as LPS, RCMP, etc.
Anyone who believes they have been scammed is asked to contact LPS.

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19/07/2024

Have you been inside the Museum Barn recently?

Not recently enough!

The Magrath Museum is excited to announce that, thanks to the hard work of Dr. Norton and his two daughters, Denise and Cathy, there is a new exhibit up in the barn. Come check it out and learn more about our town's agricultural history!

And thanks again to Dr. Norton and all others who helped make this new exhibit possible—we are truly grateful.

19/07/2024

Saddle Bronc turns into a gong show at Calgary Stampede

Just what exactly happened on Championship Sunday at the Calgary Stampede? Social media has been going wild and everyone has an opinion. Some have gone as far as to call out the Stampede. Let's look at what happened.

The twelve man round in the saddle bronc riding occured with the following results:

1. Zeke Thurston, 91 points on Calgary Stampede’s Erotic Tango;
2. Kade Bruno, 88;
3. Layton Green, 87;
4. Ben Andersen, 86.5;
5. (tie) Lefty Holman and Kolby Wanchuk, 86, $2,750 each;
7. Lucas Macza, 83.5, $2,000;
8. Riggin Smith, 83, $1,000;
9. Brody Wells, 81.5, $1,000;
10. Dawson Dahm, 80, $1,000;
11. Wyatt Casper, 75.5, $1,000;
12. Logan Hay, NS, $1,000.

That meant that Zeke Thurston, Kade Bruno, Layton Green and Ben Anderson would compete in the four man round for the large purse of $50,000 for first, $20,000 for second, $10,000 for third and $7,500 for fourth.

Kade Bruno rode Calgary Stampede's Tokyo Bubbles for 92 points as did Zeke Thurston on Calgary Stampede's Exotic Warrior. Therefore, a ride off was necessary to determine the ultimate champion.

Both of the cowboys drew from chips for their showdown horses. They would both nod their heads and complete qualified rides. Here is where the trouble begins.

Thurston was first out of the chute and the announcers went wild. The horse was absolutely rank. Head dropped, side to side, ducking, bucking hard.

The commentator said, "I don't think I've seen a horse buck that hard."

Thurston was a 90.5-point ride and would have to wait out Bruno's ride.

Bruno nodded his head and made a picture perfect ride. The horse bucked hard and Bruno did his job. In all honesty, Bruno rode better but Thurston's horse was much ranker. Now it was in the judges hands.

They called Bruno 92 points. He celebrated and then took off jogging across the arena to the stage. When he got nearly there, they decided they made a mistake and he was 90-points. Thus, Thurston was the champion.

Someone told Thurston and he started easing over to the other side of the arena. In true cowboy style, Bruno met his competition in the arena where they shook hands, hugged and congratulated each other. Now, Thurston was off to the stage.

Joined by his two kids, Thurston was awarded the bronze, given the check and interviewed.

This was the fourth time Thurston took the championship away from the Calgary Stampede. He was very grateful and humble in his interview. Everyone celebrated and the World Champion stepped off stage.

The steer wrestling ensued and everything was fine until...well, there was yet another change. They took the championship away from Thurston and decided that the original announcement was correct.

Now, here comes the opinions. It takes a lot to admit you made a mistake and fix it, but the other side of that fence is that while the production is moving right along, it only takes a minute to slow down and do the math.

What would have been worse? Making the crowd wait just a minute to make sure the announcement was correct or handing out a championship and then taking it away.

The whole thing was a mess. Once is understandable, twice not so much.

The people who literally suffered the most are the ones who should have been enjoying the moment. At the time, either would have been okay knowing who won as they both rode great and both horses were rank. Neither got to celebrate.

Thurston had to feel a little bad for Bruno when it was announced that there was a mistake. Not one single competitor would want to see that happen. Then he got to experience the joy and have his kids with him. Something they would remember. But now, that was taken away.

Bruno had to be thankful for the win but yet, feel terrible for his friend and competitor.

Then there are the families. Imagine the heartbreak followed by celebration only to have it taken away.

So, while we are all thankful that hopefully the "right" call was made, the celebration was ruined by a rush to judgment. Committees and production crews are so worried about the time it takes. Let's worry about the cowboys and doing right by them. They are your show, they pay to be there, they deserve it to be right the first time. They are the ones taking the risks.

Do right by them.

Congratulations to both Zeke and Kade. You are both incredible sportsmen for what you were put through. You both made incredible rides and put on an outstanding show.

Results:

Finals:
1. (tie) Kade Bruno, on Calgary Stampede’s Tokyo Bubbles and Zeke Thurston, on Calgary Stampede’s Exotic Warrior, 92 points;
3. Ben Anderson, 91, $10,000;
4. Layton Green, 87, $7,500.
Showdown:
1. Kade Bruno, 92 points on Northcott and Yule Rodeo’s Mary Lou, $50,000;
2. Zeke Thurston, 90.5, $20,000.

The horse Mary Lou was raised by former Magrath Minor Hockey player Tom Bingham, who raises rough stock in Saskatchewan. Congrats Tom and family.

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17/07/2024

Coming up this week! On THURSDAY, July 18, 2024, our local firemen are coming to the library! Come to the Magrath Public Library to hear the Firemen in our community about fire safety. Be prepared to get wet!

17/07/2024

Prayers for the Baril family.
I was lucky to work with her when I was on town council. One of the best humans I have ever met- Ron

http://www.legacyfuneralhome.ca/baril-susan.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1XBPPxeqZiD4i1x33-7whhP7uCjJeeiOju0G3qi8eBPSz6Ghaw2FwMkms_aem_rEOozjXDhdM4Wl7iIBi00w

Susan Laurel Allen Baril August 27, 1948 - July 14, 2024

16/07/2024

12/07/2024

Do you like Baseball?!? Do you like Golf?!? Maybe a combination of BOTH?!? We are having a Charity Tournament for Magrath Little League!!
Register Here: https://forms.gle/iQr2f4JQSdQLAjcR8

11/07/2024

Time for action

Time for the public to email their education minister. We just did. There is no way kindergarten students should be tested so young.

On the first Friday of summer break, the Alberta government quietly released changes that will dramatically increase provincial testing, starting in the upcoming school year. For the first time in Alberta, kindergarten students will also be subjected to standardized testing.

Next school year, all schools will be required to administer the following provincially mandated standardized assessments:

Kindergarten: Literacy and numeracy assessments (in January)
Grades 1 to 3: Literacy and numeracy assessments (in September, January and June)
Grades 4 and 5: New literacy and numeracy assessments (timing to be determined)
Grade 6: Current provincial achievement tests

ATA president Jason Schilling will be meeting with Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides in the near future to express the profession’s opposition to the new testing regime. Schilling is conducting media interviews to ensure that parents and the public are aware of the new testing program and teachers’ reaction to it.

Here are the talking points:

- When so many kids are falling through the cracks, we need to be giving them a safety net instead of measuring how fast they’re falling.
- Teachers don’t need a test to identify which students are struggling. Rather, they need smaller classes and more supports to get those kids additional help.
- The new testing regime means that the students who struggle the most could be subjected to as many as 32 standardized tests by the time they leave elementary school. (The previous number was 10.)
- Teachers could use the time and energy they will spend administering tests to actually help kids.
- While the government claims to have listened to experts, it’s clear that they did not hear what teachers had to say.
Politicians and bureaucrats who have little knowledge and experience of the realities of Alberta’s classrooms might think this is a great idea. Teachers, who will end up spending hours administering tests and preparing students for them, do not.
All this is being foisted on the same teachers who are still trying to implement new curricula across multiple grades and subject areas.
- The government should respect teachers’ professional judgment and allow teachers to determine which students could benefit from an assessment and when, rather then repeatedly testing every student.
- More fundamentally, the province needs to stop the distractions and deal with the real issue in public education—the gross lack of appropriate funding.

What can you do?

Contact the minister of education, the premier and your member of the legislative assembly (MLA) to register your opposition to the expansion of standardized testing and your desire to see better funding for education instead.

Use the points above to help develop your message.

Contact Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides at 780-427-5010 (dial 310-0000 first for toll free) or email [email protected].

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11/07/2024

On THURSDAY, July 18, 2024, our local firemen are going to come visit the library! Come to the Magrath Public Library to hear the Firemen in our community about fire safety. Be prepared to get wet!

11/07/2024

Condolences to the Sweetgrass family.