Q: Our daughter left her alcoholic husband three years ago. Our problem is her son. We think that he has more control over our daughter than a 12-year-old should have. When our daughter’s husband first left, her son was the little man about the house, comforting his distressed mother. Now he appears to be the […] Read more
Farm Living
Grandson taking on too much responsibility – Speaking of Life
Close call for century farm
ALLIANCE, Alta. – The Miller family earned its century farm designation last year, but it almost didn’t happen. The family’s future in farming looked grim when the head of the second generation died at age 49, leaving a widow and eight children. But mom and the kids stuck together and kept farming and now one […] Read more
How prosecutors decide whether to retry a case – The Law
Q: I read about a decision made by prosecutors not to proceed with a third trial against a person accused of sexual assault. In the first trial he was found not guilty but a new trial was ordered, and in that trial there was a hung jury. What does that mean, and why won’t a […] Read more
Mosquito info; reader’s pet story – TEAM Resources
Do your children need things to do over the summer holidays? Cooking and helping out in the kitchen might be activities they will enjoy. Jean Pare in her Company’s Coming Cookbook, Kids Do Snacks, has simple recipes for all of us to try, either for ourselves or with our children or grandchildren. The following are […] Read more
Crystal meth trouble goes rural
EDMONTON – The success of a drug prevention campaign launched in Alberta in 2002 has made rural areas a more likely location for crystal meth labs. RCMP staff-sgt. Ian Sanderson said police have not found a home-based lab in Alberta since February 2005 after several major busts in towns and cities. However, there are still […] Read more
Treatment for stroke – Health Clinic
Q: I was talking to a 63-year-old friend who had recently had a stroke. He has always had high blood pressure, but now he has a paralyzed right arm and a little drooping of the face on one side. He seems to walk OK. I asked him if he was given the clot-busting treatment in […] Read more
Rural, urban divide beginning to blur
EDMONTON – Determining whether a person is rural or urban requires only a simple test, a rural conference was told earlier this month. Just place a gopher on the road. The urban resident will hit the ditch to avoid running over it while the rural resident will take out the fenceline to chase down the […] Read more
Fuel cost a burning issue
EDMONTON – A rural expert says the burning world issue of the next 25 years won’t be water or immigration, which is what the United Nations is predicting. It will be energy. Mike Stolte, president of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation, told a workshop during the Rural Matters conference that rural communities have traditionally been […] Read more
Association outlines rural development needs
EDMONTON – When the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties held a birthday party to celebrate its centennial, 800 guests showed up. Association president Don Johnson said the Rural Matters conference his group held July 5-8 was designed to give rural regions a sense of hope and arm them with tools to succeed. “How […] Read more
Trainer ‘eats, drinks, breathes horses’
MILESTONE, Sask. – Dark skies threaten rain, the winds blow and a Corgi dog barks nearby but the horses barely notice. It’s just the kind of advertising that Lee and Tracy Pedersen want for the two dozen or so horses they keep on their southern Saskatchewan farm. The animals are bought, trained and eventually sold […] Read more
