Proudly Serving Vermilion And Area Since 2004

On July 23, the Vermilion Lions Club were in the spirit of the Vermilion Fair parade and choose to enter with the Roaring 20’s theme as was planned for the 2020 fair. From left, Vermilion Lions member Pat Calyniuk and Marion Smyth. Photo Sue Chikie #VermilionParade #LionsClub

Due to COVID-19, the Vermilion Agricultural Society (VAS) had to cancel the 114th Annual Fair. On July 25, VAS put on fireworks for the town, firing them “extra high” so that Vermilion residents could view them from home. Photos Elaina John #Fireworks #VermilionAgSociety #VermilionAgriculturalSociety #COVID19 #114thAnnualFair #Fairseason

Ireland Farm renovation progress. Photo Elaina John Ireland Farm Equipment is renovating and expanding the business. Last year, the Town of Vermilion requested proposals to purchase the past Webb’s building on Railroad Avenue with the condition that the buildings must be renovated or replaced within 3 years. Ireland Farm Equipment jumped at this opportunity, as they needed the space and economically it made the most sense. They had been renting it from the town previous to the purchase, which occurred on January 1, 2020. “It was a viable option to make a proposal and to come to terms to purchase the property,” stated Ireland Farm owner Brent Baddock. The renovations will raise the roof o

Taynton Bay Distillery tasting. Photo Elaina John On July 24 and 25, Co-op Liquor Store held a liquor tasting. Taynton Bay Distillery and Lakeland Brewery were at the store from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday. Taynton Bay Distillery was pitched on Dragons Den 8 months ago, and obtained a deal with Arleen Dickinson on the show, offering unique tea-infused cocktails with all natural ingredients. Co-op Liqour Store also held tastings for Ribstone Brewery, Kolonist Winery, West of 5th Distillers, Fort Meridian Brewery, and Cold Lake Brewery at various different times on Friday and Saturday. #LiquorTasting #CoopLiquorStore

Rhonda Berg, truck draw winner. Photo submitted On July 22, the Lea Park truck draw was held. This year would have been the 66th Rodeo, but due to COVID-19, the rodeo was cancelled this year. Tickets for the draw were sold in a 50- mile radius, with proceeds of the truck draw going towards the upkeep of the facilities at Lea Park. “We feel gratified that the surrounding community supports us so well,” stated Rick Hozack, treasurer of the Marwayne Agricultural Society. The winner was Rhonda Berg of Marwayne, whose late husband Chuck was greatly involved in the Lea Park Rodeo for 27 years, which is coincidentally the number of years Lea Park has held the truck draw. The members of Lea Par

Western participants at the horse show. Photo Elaina John On July 26, the Light Horse Show committee hosted a schooling horse show at the Vermilion Agricultural Grounds. Schooling shows are strictly for participants to obtain feedback from a Clinician on how to improve their horsemanship skills and to gain experience in showing. “We decided we’d like to have something on the fair weekend,” explained Light Horse Committee member Irene Smith, after discussing the cancellation of the Vermilion Fair, “So we decided to put together a show.” As it was a schooling show, the Clinician gave participants advice instead of placings or ribbons. The show had both English and Western segments, with ju

Cruther’s Berry Farm is located west of Lakeland College. Photos Elaina John Cruthers Berry Farm is ready for an abundant season this year, and the strawberries are ready for picking! The Elliotts’ added the strawberry patches after buying the farm, there is a two-acre spot which totals to approximately 5000 individual strawberry plants. The strawberry variety is an Everbearing Seascape strawberry, which means the plant is particularly resilient and grows for longer than the average strawberry and can continue growth through frost. This year strawberries are available in the following form: u-pick for $20/basket or we-pick for $25/basket. Cruthers has three different varieties of Saskatoo

Reflections Funeral and Cremation Services Staff. Back row from left: Joe Bucharski, Colleen Berg, Gerald Martin, Alison Bete, and Rob Pulyk. Front row from left: Bill Poliakiwski, Michelle Feist, Bethany Jacula, Candice Anderson, Jim Storch, and John Lawrence. Missing from the photo is Sherry Martin. Photo Elaina John Reflections Funeral and Cremation Services will begin to offer funeral services on August 1, but due to renovations, will not be opening its doors until approximately September 1. Reflections owner, Candice Anderson, quickly found a passion in the funeral industry in 2010, when she was involved in the funeral planning of two of her friends, who passed away unexpectedly in sep

Songshan Flint with Flint Farms selling honey products. Photo Elaina John The Farmer’s Market reopened on July 14 with new management, new guidelines, and new hours. The Farmer’s Market was originally run by Evelyn Throndson and Betty Selte, however, the two decided to retire from the role of management, and may come back as vendors at a later time. Soon after the announcement that Throndson and Selte were stepping down, the Elks Lodge offered to take up the role of management, to which Throndson and Selte agreed. The Farmer’s Market is operating on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and now has hours on Thursday, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Social distancing measures are in effect, and each vendo

Dancer at the Dance Impressions Power Program. Photo Elaina John Dance Impressions by Ryan has been holding numerous programs through the summer at varying levels of intensity and for all age groups. Dance Impressions currently is running the Power Program for competitive dancers who would like to keep up with their skills and learn more throughout the summer. The Power Program occurs twice a week, and participators are sent home with challenges relating to cardio, core strength, technique, and more. The Power Program is for ages 12 and up. Dance Impressions also runs a non-dance day camp for kids, which include outdoor activities, crafts, games, and snacks. In June, Dance Impressions ran

As of July 20, we are witnessing a slow, steady increase of local cases. There is now one active case in the County of Vermilion River, three active cases in the Municipal District of Wainwright, one active case in the Municipal District of Bonnyville, four active cases in the County of Two Hills, two active cases in the County of Minburn, three active cases in Flagstaff County, eight active cases in Camrose, and four active cases in Viking. On July 16, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw reported 120 new COVID-19 cases in Alberta. Alberta sits at a total of 859 active cases, with the Central Zone sitting at a total of 92 active cases. #COVID19 #NewCases

From left: Keith Fransson (Urban Systems), Mayor Mary Arnold, Deputy Mayor Don Berquest, CAO James Warren, Ryan Verwey (Chandos project manager), and Matt Boucher (Chandos project superintendent). Photo Elaina John After four years of coordinating funding, permits, and contracts, Paradise Valley is finally able to begin construction on a new water treatment plant, and they celebrated with a sod turning on July 13. The village has been hoping for a new water system for approximately 15 years, as its current system had its most recent update in 1965. The $2.8 million project will connect to the Alberta Central East water system getting its supply from Lloydminster. Funding for the system is c

Wessels storefront. Photo Elaina John Wessels in Mannville just celebrated 52 years of business in June. Owners Horst and Martha Wessel also just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. Horst Wessel moved to Canada from Germany in 1952. In 1962, the Wessels bought a farm, and later, started the store in 1968. The store started out as a department store, and was originally located in what is now the Sunflower Chinese Restaurant. After 10 years of business, the Wessels were able to build the much larger store just down the street. With Horst at the age of 88 and Martha at 83, the two are looking to retire. The business is “viable and well-priced” according to Martha, who has done books fo

Vermilion Public Library. Photo Elaina John On July 7, the Vermilion Public Library opened its doors and began their reading program. The library was permitted to open on June 12, when Alberta’s Stage 2 of Relaunch began. However, the library wanted to ensure they were fully prepared and organized to follow social distancing measures and health safeguards recommended by the Albertan government. The library also started their reading program on the 7th, in which parents were able to pick up kits containing craft materials, bookmarks, pencils, colouring books and more for participants to work on throughout the week. As pictured, some of the crafts children are able to make from the kits incl

Sadie Granigan. Photo Submitted. On June 8, Vermilion Resident Sadie Granigan finally returned home after much difficulty crossing the U.S./Canada border. Granigan is a second year theatre student at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). Granigan speaks fondly of her school, and states that while a performance-based course can be intimidating, it was a productive and helpful learning environment. Granigan has had an interest in theatre ever since she had first heard of it. She has performed in many local shows including “You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown”, “Alice In Wonderland”, and “Willy Wonka”. She also has experience in dance and has performed in some local dance competitions

An individual in Lloydminster tested positive for COVID-19. Between June 27 and July 5, the individual had visited locations in the city including Wal-Mart, Superstore, the Goodknight Inn, and Superlodge Motel. It has been recommended by Public Health Officials that individuals who visited these locations between these dates should self-isolate for two weeks if they have experienced one or more COVID-19 symptoms. Individuals should also call Healthline 811 to arrange for testing. As a reminder, COVID-19 symptoms include fever, chills, cough, headaches, achiness, sore throat, runny nose, loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing. According to Alberta.ca, as of J

Recently, our community has undergone many discussions and debates regarding racism. Let’s add some politics into the mix, shall we? In all seriousness, I am not looking to cause more division, rather, I am attempting to study and consider the relationship between Canadian politicians and how they approach Indigenous rights and issues. Jason Kenny’s speechwriter Paul Bunner has come under fire as of late -as I’m sure you know-for racist, homophobic, and sexist comments he has made throughout his career in essays and articles. The most recent article I believe being published in 2013, in which Bunner called residential school history a “bogus genocide story”, and said the operations of the

Creech's Crematorium. Photo submitted Harry and Alva Creech moved to Vermilion in 1997. In 2001 they created Crossroads Funeral Chapel with local partners Morley Marshall and Henry Wasylik and later became sole owners of Crossroads Funeral Chapel in 2008. They built Vermilion’s only Crematorium service Creech’s Crematorium Ltd. at 3821 - 48 Ave in 2009 which services Vermilion and many surrounding areas. Harry and Alva Creech are excited to announce that they have purchased Lakeland Funeral Home from the Caring Group as of July 1, 2020, making it a locally owned funeral home for the first time in 26 years! Lakeland Funeral Home was established in 1989 by Trevor Clark and Roger Erickson. It

Don Henry, 2014. Photo Vermilion Voice After 38 years, community member Don Henry is retiring from his job at Lakeland College. Henry spent most of his time (36 years) at the college teaching heavy duty and automotive mechanics. “I will miss the students the most, along with my fellow instructors, I will miss the team work,” Henry states, “When you only have eight weeks to finish a programme there is a lot of pressure. It was fun.” He also spent two years in the College’s vehicle maintenance department. Henry has been heavily involved in the Cadet program in Vermilion, for almost 20 years. He also states that he has received much support from the college in relation to his involvement wi

The library re-opens on July 7th with modified hours and service levels until phase 3 is announced by the province. Regarding the opening date When the province announced that phase 2 was going to be occur earlier than expected we were not ready. Much like many other facilities in Alberta we were given a package on re-opening and conditions we need to meet in order to do so. The decision to not re-open until July was based upon a realistic assessment of how long it would take to complete a hazard assessment, convene with stakeholders, and make a variety of engineering, administrative and procedural changes to comply with provincial guidelines. New Protocol and Safeguards There are 9 speci