An interview with a local comic book artist about her first graphic novel
Devon Jopling – Making of Battle of Alberta
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Tag Archives: jeff medhurst
That’s Amore
While in Italy for a month studying journalism, I researched the origins of pizza.
Snowboarding – Yesterday and Today
A look at how snowboarding and it’s image has changed since it first started
New MD of Bonnyville building opens
Published Monday, August 26, 2013 in The Cold Lake Sun
After two years of construction, the MD of Bonnyville new offices officially opened the new offices on Monday August 19. While the council had moved into the building last spring, they hadn’t officially opened the new building until the ribbon cutting ceremony took place.
Now the entire staff can fit in the new building, which is four times the size of the original, and they have even more staff than before.
Ed Rondeau, the council’s reeve, says the new space will give them the chance to do more and will better equip them to deal with issues as they arise.
“The new space will give us a chance to do things like mapping with GPS, so we can better plan for development,” Rondeau said as an example of what the new building will be capable of compared to the old one.
Having the entire MD council in house in a big plus, said Rondeau, making communication among the staff easier. The building also was constructed to better accommodate the citizens of the MD, with a friendlier approach to welcoming them to the building.
“We placed the main greeting counter at the front as opposed to the old building,” Rondeau said. “So now when people walk in they can ask the questions they need to ask at the front.”
Author comes for book signing in Cold Lake
Published Tuesday, July 30, 2013 in The Cold Lake Sun
On Saturday August 3rd, new author Shelley Thody will be coming to Cold Lake to do a book signing on her first book, Melancholy Mania and Miracles: My Journey with Bipolar Disorder. She’ll be signing the book at Lots-A Books.
The book is an autobiographical account of Thody’s struggle with bipolar disorder, and since it’s publishing in November it has done very well in her hometown of Lac la Biche where she works as a schoolteacher during the year. However now during the summer months she’s working at promoting the book and getting it into as many hands as possible.
“My inspiration for writing the book, was that I’ve been through a lot, and I want to inspire others and remind them that there may be hope out there even if they’re going through a bad time like I was,” Thody explained.
The process of writing the book itself was a roller coaster ride for Thody, having been forced to relive all the experiences that have culminated into her life so far.
“It was difficult, it was healing, and it was scary,” Thody said. “I had to reiterate everything I’ve done in my life, the good and the bad choices. It was difficult to reiterate the tough times, but that in a way gave me a courage I didn’t have before.”
Before the book came out she told her coworkers at the school about the book, and many were surprised to hear she had bipolar disorder at all.
“But they were all very encouraging, it was pretty amazing,” Thody said.
Thody had success in Lac la Biche, with the book selling well all around town. She made a few appearances at book signings, and even went down to Calgary for a book signing at a Chapters bookstore. Lots-A Books offered the upcoming book signing, and Thody eagerly took it as it’s her summer mission to promote the book.
Even though it’s her goal for the summer to work at marketing the book, she has no plans at the moment to retire from teaching and work as a writer.
“I will be returning to teaching in the fall,” Thody said. “I have been approached to write another book, but at the moment my goal is to get this book into as many hands as possible.
“I believe there’s a stigma around talking about mental illness, and we have to be brave enough to talk about it to help the people who need it. So that’s what I’m hoping to push for with the book.”
Soccer camp scores
Published Tuesday, July 23, 2013 in The Cold Lake Sun
For the fourth year, Cold Lake Minor Soccer has once again hosted a summer camp for kids of all ages to get some practice with the fundamentals. The turnout for the camp was around 100 kids from all over the Lakeland area, and even one from Edmonton who vacations in Cold Lake for the summer.
The camp is run by Challenger Sports, a program that brings coaches from the U.K. to teach kids some new skills and some old ones in different ways.
“We have coaches from all over the place, a bunch are from Scotland and we got one guy from Wales, for example,” Steve Cupit, the technical director for Cold Lake Minor Soccer, said.
Although for many of the kids it may be skills they have learned before, Cupit says bringing in a fresh face to teach it always helps.
“Plus you put someone with a British accent in front of them and the kids tend to take them more seriously,” Cupit joked.
The camps were split up based on age group and skill level, ranging from full-day developmental camps to mini-soccer for kids ages four to six. The younger groups would focus on building individual skills like ball handling and control, while some of the older and more advanced groups would work on more team oriented skills. Every day the groups would focus on a certain skill to develop, such as heading the ball, which would culminate in a game at the end of the day.
One of the other things the camp was doing this year is called the African Cup of Nations, which assigns kids in the camp to different countries in Africa. It becomes those kids job to research their country and design a flag, because on the last day they hold a tournament with each team representing their country.
Lord Beaverbrook High School drama reaches out to the community
- Published on Friday, 18 November 2011 in The Calgary Journal
Students put on two plays aimed at families and children
At Lord Beaverbrook High School the drama teachers and a group of students are hard at work rehearsing for two upcoming plays set to go up in the first week of December.
The two plays, “How to Eat Like a Child,” a play about a group of kids teaching the audience how to act like children, and “A Promise is a Promise,” a play based off the children’s story by Robert Munsch and Michael Kusugak, are aiming to bring in a large draw for the community with a focus on families.
“It’s two shows designed for families and children,” said Owen Chan, the director of “A Promise is a Promise.”
This year Lord Beaverbrook High School’s fine arts department is working hard to try to get the community aware of its program.
We have a department goal, not just drama but all the performing arts, of bringing the community into Lord Beaverbrook more. So it’s more of a community school, and not just the place where ‘those teenagers’ go to school,” said Karen Towsley, ,the director of “How to Eat Like a Child.”
“There are amazing things going on this school, and you never hear about them.”
Community Awareness
Last year, after having built up their program, the fine arts department realized that they weren’t getting as much of a draw from the community as they wanted, or as they were used to when they were teenagers.
“When I went to school, the community was in the school. Everyone went to the football games, everyone went to the plays whether your kid was in the school or not,” said Towsley.
The challenge that the drama teachers have faced however, is how to get the word out there to the community. Aside from putting up posters and getting their students to take brochures door to door, the drama teachers haven’t been able to do much more to advertise their plays. It has been recommended to the teachers that they hold a fundraiser, but when they get home at 8:30 every night it’s hard to find the time.
“We do everything for the show, so to do marketing when it’s not our area of focus is quite difficult,” said Chan.
Working Hard to Impress
Despite this, the excitement for the upcoming shows hasn’t been quelled and the teachers and students remain positive and hopeful for a strong community turn out.
“I think that we do put out really good work and it’s something that I’m proud,” said Emma Patterson, a student in Grade 11 acting in “A Promise is a Promise,” a story about an old Inuit legend.
“People really enjoy our shows so I think that if we get more people in, more people will be more aware of our program and more people will enjoy theatre the way we do,” said Patterson.
Every day after school the students go back and work hard to make the plays the best they can, with the hope that their efforts will pay off with a big audience full of kids and families on opening night.
“I’m looking forward to 400 people, excited to see the work and very satisfied at the end,” said Towsley.
The plays go up Thursday Dec. 1, and go until Friday Dec. 9. Tickets cost $5 for anyone under the age of 12, and general admission tickets are $10 and can be bought in the office at Lord Beaverbrook during school hours, or at the door before the show. Both shows play on a single night, with a twenty minute intermission between them.
Jeff Medhurst 