Bow Island Commentator

Author: 40 Mile Commentator

  • Building welcoming learning communities

    Being a newcomer to a community can be an overwhelming experience, but if there are language, cultural, or other challenges factored in, it can be more than a little stressing.

    Many rural southern Alberta municipalities are seeing changes to the demographics of their communities as more Mennonite people move to the area.

    For most people who are fluent in the English language, it is a simple task to call to get utilities and other services connected, enroll the children in school, and learn the laws and bylaws of the jurisdiction.

    Because many of the Mennonites moving to the area are fluent in Low German and have a limited understanding of the English language, it is up to the people in these communities to ensure there are resources available to the newcomers.

    Strides have been made already in ESL (English as a Second Language) courses, but until one is familiar with their new community, they may not know where to access this. Some Mennonite people who are fluent in both languages are already teaching some courses to those new to the area and most likely helping them in other ways as well as they settle in to their new surroundings.

    The rest of the community needs to follow suit and embrace the new people to town. Perhaps a new family has moved in next door. It takes just a smile to let them know they are welcome AND that you are friendly.

    The provincial government, along with agencies such as Community Adult Learning, Forty Mile Regional Family and Community Support Services, LEARN, and Community Learning Network are working with community members to ensure a warm welcome to our newcomers and to make the transition to living and working in southern Alberta a much more pleasurable experience.

    The strategy is a work in progress, but a huge step in the right direction in becoming the vibrant, welcoming, learning communities we all want our towns to be.

  • 2013 Boston Red Sox from worst to first; can 2014 Blue Jays make playoffs

    By Rob Ficiur

    The 2012 Boston Red Sox were last in the American League East, wining only 69 games. The 2013 Boston Red Sox won 97 regular season games and eventually the World Series. Can the Toronto Blue Jays win the World Series (or at least make the playoffs) in 2014?  Here are your definite (maybe) answers.

    1. Yes – In the three seasons from 2010-2012, the Boston Red Sox won 248 games while the Blue Jays won 239 games during those three years. The Red Sox had not been a dominant team prior to this year. The Jays are in the same winning range as the Red Sox were at the start of the season.

    2. Maybe – In 2013 the Boston Red Sox were third in team payroll at just over $169 million. The Blue Jays payroll was seventh overall at just over $129 million. What difference does $40 million make in baseball? It is the price of a couple of top notch free agents (who may or may not have good seasons after signing the big money contracts.) The final four teams in the baseball playoffs were Boston (3rd), Detroit Tigers (5th), Los Angeles Dodgers (2nd) and St. Louis Cardinals (11th).

    What happened to the other high spending teams? Three of the six teams who spent more this year than the Blue Jays missed the playoffs: New York Yankees payroll was top spending $110 million more than the Blue Jays. Likewise the Philadelphia Phillies (4th in payroll at $168 million) and San Francisco (sixth in payroll at $144 million) did not make the post season. The Blue Jays salary is in the range of teams that are making and winning in the playoffs (most of the time).

    3. What about injuries? In 2012 the Boston Red Sox were devastated by injuries. Teams do not like to use injuries as an excuse for losing. However, a year ago the Red Sox lost key players to long term injuries.  Starting pitcher John Lackey missed the entire season after surgery. Designated Hitter (and 2013 World Series MVP) David Ortiz missed half the season with an Achilles injury.

    Key injuries devastated the 2013 Toronto Blue Jays. All star short stop Jose Reyes missed the first two months. All star outfielder Jose Bautista missed the last month. If the 2014 Blue Jays avoid the injury bug, they have a core that has shown they can play baseball.

    4. Pitching – in the 2013 regular season the Red Sox did not have an elite starter. Their starters won the following number of games: Jon Lester (15), Clay Buchholz (12), Felix Doubront (11) and John Lackey (10).  These same four Boston pitchers in 2012 struggled with numbers similar to Blue Jays starters in 2013. In Boston a year ago these pitchers won the following number of games: Doubront (11), Buchholz (11), Lester (9) and the injured Lackey (0). These four pitchers inclusive won the 2013 World Series.

    The Blue Jays (on paper) could have a pitching staff equal to the Red Sox. In Toronto R.A. Dickey won 13 games, and Mark Buerle won 12. If the Blue Jays get ten wins from any of their 2013 injured pitchers, they would be or could be in a similar spot as the Red Sox a year later. Injured Jays pitchers include Brandon Morrow (10 game winner in 2012), Kyle Drabek (the prospect they traded for Roy Halladay) Dustin McGowan (won 12 games in 2007 before injuries sidelined him for a three years) and Brett Cecil (won 15 games in 2010; was an All Star reliever in 2013). Pitching is unpredictable – but when you get it you win.

    5. Get a new Manager – Red Sox players were quick to credit manager John Farrell with changing the direction of the team. Many Blue Jays fans have been hollering for management to fire current manager John Gibbons. Why can’t Toronto have someone like the Red Sox Manager John Farrell? Only problem with this manager revolt is that a year ago Blue Jays fans rejoiced when John Farrell moved on to Boston because we “knew” he was not the type of Manager who could win a World Series. Guess we were wrong there.

    Conclusion – Can the Blue Jays go from worst to first in 2014? Yes they can. Will they go from worst to first? This week 29 other Major League Baseball teams are trying to find their own way to duplicate the magic Boston created this year. If the Jays don’t do it in 2014 they could do it in 2015 or 2016 or 2017 ….

  • Never too late to perform a random act of kindness

    One random act of kindness can make the entire difference, brightening someone’s day through a bought coffee or an unexpected hug.

    With no real knowledge of where the term came from, people across the world have been practicing the tradition for years, and on Nov. 1 it hit the area, with the annual Random Act of Kindness Day.

    As many celebrated the day, from college kids who wrote their random acts on a white board located near the college Starbucks, to the Redcliff Museum, who offered coffee and cookies to all patrons, the day brought a warm and fuzzy feeling to all those who participated.

    Although designated to Nov. 1, with a World Kindness Day gracing the nation on Nov. 13, it has never been set in stone that only two days a year people have the option to do something nice.

    Schools teach kindness, trying to instill the action upon Kindergarteners, hoping they take the feel-good memories with them as they grow in life.

    With kindness such a rare oddity in modern day society, if children aren’t taught now where will the world end up?

    One or two days yearly are not enough for that random act, as any form of kindness brings a smile to most faces.

    Every day should feature an act of kindness. This being said, no one is asking you to buy Tim Horton’s for the person in the drive thru behind you each and every day, but this is only one form.

    Picking up litter, complimenting a hairstyle, giving a hug or a smile, these are all acts of kindness that can be administered with little effort.

    Even something so simple as asking a coworker how their day went can lift spirits.

    Random Act of Kindness Day was brought into existence to remind people that a simple act can make the biggest difference, but the truth is you don’t have to wait all year to act on that kindness.

    One website has dedicated itself to random acts of kindness, supplying educators with school-friendly ideas, as well as giving those the opportunity to look up ideas or supply their own to the site.

    With a database of 332 different kindness ideas, www.randomactsofkindness.org is just one stop on the road to a better tomorrow.

    Take a moment in your busy day, and remember that one act of kindness can mean more than you think.

    Donating used books to a library, or used clothes to a thrift shop, or even those bags of bottles to the monthly charity of choice, random acts of kindness are supplied around the region free of charge.

    If you missed your chance last Friday, just take the opportunity today. Donate a dollar, or a minute of your time, and perform a random act of kindness, and if one was performed to you, take a moment and pay it forward.

    You will be glad you did.