Latest news with #Taber
CTV News
5 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Museum and aqua centre in Taber close early after discovery of grenade
The Taber Aquafun Centre and Taber Museum closed early Thursday when an intact grenade was discovered. Taber Museum and Aquafun Centre closed early Thursday after the discovery of an intact grenade. Thursday morning, Taber police received a call from the Taber Interpretive Centre Museum where staff had discovered an old, intact grenade. Few details are available where and how the grenade was discovered. Out of an abundance of caution, the museum and aqua centre were closed. Bomb disposal experts were on scene shortly before four to remove the explosive. The aqua centre has since reopened.
CTV News
31-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Bow Island ER closed over weekend due to lack of clinical coverage
The Bow Island ER is temporarily closed over the weekend due to a lack of clinical coverage. The Bow Island Health Centre emergency department is temporarily closed over the weekend due to a lack of clinical coverage. The ER will resume normal hours on Monday morning. For the time being, nursing staff will remain on site to provide care for remaining patients and long-term care residents. Alberta Health Services said that anyone needing emergency care should call 911 or go to Taber or Medicine Hat For non-urgent health questions call 811.
CBC
28-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Poll finds Albertans' attachment to Canada has grown as support for separatism has hardened
Like many Albertans, Michelle Schamehorn was disappointed by the Liberal victory in last month's federal election. But she's not on board with the escalating rhetoric surrounding Alberta separation. "For me, no. I don't want to separate," said the resident of Taber, Alta., who works at a local truck dealership and feels most Canadian when she's snowshoeing in the mountains. "I'm proud to be Canadian. Very, very proud to be Canadian." She remains squarely in the majority in this province, according to new polling commissioned by CBC News, which asked a random sample of 1,200 people across Alberta their views on a variety of topics. When it came to the question of whether Alberta would be better off if it separated from Canada, 67 per cent disagreed while 30 per cent agreed. The result was almost identical to a similar poll that asked the same question five years earlier. One thing that has changed, however, is the strength of support among the Alberta separatists. In May 2020, only 12 per cent "strongly" agreed. By May 2025, that had grown to 17 per cent. The poll also found a shift in public opinion at the other end of the spectrum. Asked whether they feel more attachment to Alberta or to Canada, 34 per cent now picked their country over their province. That's up from just 20 per cent five years ago. There was little change in those who feel more attachment to Alberta over that same time, while the proportion of those who said "both equally" shrunk substantially. "So, I think we're seeing polarization on both ends," said pollster Janet Brown, who conducted the public-opinion research for CBC News. "When it comes to separation, we're seeing that the number of people who strongly agree with separation is increasing," Brown said. "On the other side, we see the people who are attached to Canada, we see that group growing. The more we talk about separation, the more people are saying that they feel attached to Canada." On a straight ballot question, meanwhile, 28 per cent of Albertans said in the latest polling that they'd vote to separate if a referendum were held today, compared to 67 per cent who would vote against separation. Five per cent said they weren't sure. Trump effect CBC News visited Taber recently to ask people in Alberta's Conservative heartland about what Canada means to them after the rhetoric around separation kicked up. Several residents said they weren't ready to give up on Canada yet, despite their disappointment at seeing the Liberals win a fourth consecutive election. Daybreak Alberta 10:00 We head to Taber to talk about separatist sentiment in Alberta Elise Stolte wanted to hear what Taber residents, a real conservative stronghold, think about the suggestion that the province should separate from the rest of Canada. Schamehorn said she's not a very political person, but the combination of the election defeat, talk of independence and the U.S. tariffs shocked her. It's made her pay more attention, she said, and she doesn't believe Alberta should pick up and walk away in frustration. "We're Canada. We're Alberta. And we need to figure this out," she said. "We have countries that are trying to destroy us right now. And we can't let that happen. We have to figure out how to be strong, together." Taber resident Michelle Schamehorn describes herself as 'very, very proud' to be Canadian. (Elise Stolte/CBC) Brown, the pollster, says the recent tariffs and annexation threats from U.S. President Donald Trump have had a distinct effect on how Albertans view their province and their country. "When you look deeper at the data, there definitely is a connection there," she said. "One of the questions we asked was how stressed out people were about U.S.-Canada trade relations. And it seems like society here in Alberta is breaking into two groups: those people who are very preoccupied with tariffs and those people who aren't that preoccupied with tariffs. In fact, they are more preoccupied with Ottawa than they are with Washington." Albertans who feel stressed by the trade war expressed significantly higher attachment to Canada in the recent polling. Those who said they weren't stressed by it, in contrast, expressed significantly higher attachment to Alberta. 'I guess I'm more Canadian' Rick Tams works with Schamehorn at a truck dealership in Taber. He puts himself in the Canadian-first camp, but with a pretty big asterisk attached. "We are a member of a country first and I live in the province of Alberta, so I guess I'm more Canadian," he said. "But that being said, there's a gap within our own country. It's flawed." Rick Tams in Taber, Alta., describes himself as more Canadian than Albertan but says he's been frustrated by the past 10 years of Liberal government in Ottawa. In his circles, he believes a separation referendum would have a chance. (Elise Stolte/CBC) Tams says he's been frustrated by the past 10 years of Liberal government in Ottawa, in particular when it comes to deficit spending, oil-and-gas regulations and the lack of follow-through on once-promised electoral reform. He says he's seen, first hand, how that's hardened some Albertans' attitudes toward separation. "In the circles I travel in, I think a referendum would have a chance," he said. "That doesn't mean we have to leave. But it does mean people have got to start paying attention." As for himself? "I would like to see just a whole lot more information before there was a vote," Tams said. Political implications Brown says the polling results show a "yes" vote in a hypothetical referendum on separation would almost certainly fail, but at the same time reveal a "sizeable minority of people who are serious about this idea." "You just can't call this a fringe idea anymore," she said. "It's a strong sentiment in the population." The political implications are far-reaching, she added, especially for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Brown noted the poll results show Alberta NDP supporters are almost universally opposed to separation, while 54 per cent of UCP supporters said they would vote in favour of it, if a referendum were held today. "Danielle Smith is dealing with a voter base that's split on the issue of separatism, while [NDP Leader] Naheed Nenshi is looking at a voter base who is single-minded on this issue," Brown said. "So that makes it much more challenging for Danielle Smith to manage her way through this." At the same time, Brown said further data from the latest poll suggests Smith is "doing a better job speaking to the middle group — the group who's both attached to Canada and attached to Alberta." "That group maybe wants a new deal from Ottawa but doesn't want to separate," Brown said. "And she is speaking to that group, and I don't think the NDP is yet speaking to that group." The details of that aspect of the poll results — which party is leading in popular support, and why — will be the topic of the next story in this series, which will be published later Wednesday. EDITOR'S NOTE: CBC News commissioned this public opinion research to be conducted immediately following the federal election and leading into the second anniversary of the United Conservative Party's provincial election win in May 2023. As with all polls, this one provides a snapshot in time. This analysis is one in a series of articles from this research. More stories will follow. Methodology: The CBC News random survey of 1,200 Albertans was conducted using a hybrid method from May 7 to 21, 2025, by Edmonton-based Trend Research under the direction of Janet Brown Opinion Research. The sample is representative of regional, age and gender factors. The margin of error is +/- 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. For subsets, the margin of error is larger. The survey used a hybrid methodology that involved contacting survey respondents by telephone and giving them the option of completing the survey at that time, at another more convenient time, or receiving an email link and completing the survey online. Trend Research contacted people using a random list of numbers, consisting of 40 per cent landlines and 60 per cent cellphone numbers. Telephone numbers were dialled up to five times at five different times of day before another telephone number was added to the sample. The response rate among valid numbers (i.e., residential and personal) was 12.8 per cent.
Indianapolis Star
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
She has no palm, just 2 fingers on right hand. 'She can do literally anything.' Like hitting over .400
CLAYTON — Brett Taber lights up when asked about Grace Parks. The third-year Cascade softball coach explains how the sophomore played sparingly for the Class 2A state champions last spring as he watches her grab her glove from the dugout and join her teammates along the third-base line in left field. Parks can't stand not playing and she's worked her way into the lineup, Taber continues, proudly pointing to her recent performance vs. Franklin Central (3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs). She hit her first career home run a few days later, highlighting a two-hit, three-RBI effort vs. Indian Creek, and entered the penultimate week of the regular season batting .421 with 24 hits (six doubles), 15 RBIs and nine runs scored. "Her swing, it just mesmerizes me," Taber says, estimating she has one of the fastest swings on the team. The way Taber analyzes Parks' game is how the outfielder/pitcher wants to be recognized. Grace Parks is a multi-sport athlete (volleyball and softball), who happens to have a limb difference. "I like how nobody treats me differently because of it. I'm like a normal player who can do everything that everyone else can do," said Parks, who was born without a palm and with only two fingers — a thumb and pinkie — on her right hand. "My high school teammates and coaches don't exclude me from things. If it's something complicated, like a timed transition drill or relays, I find a way to work around it or they'll work with me," she continued. "It's never: 'Oh we don't think you can do this.' It is: 'No, we believe in you.' … 'You can play, so we're going to play you.'" Sports are like the "great equalizer," her parents observed, an opportunity to stand on level footing with everyone else. "That's what's driven her." Most probably wouldn't expect softball to be Grace's sport of choice. Even her parents, Carly and Bryan Parks, discouraged the athletic youngster from it initially. It's such a hands-oriented sport, Bryan said. "I wasn't sure it would be good for her." 'This is crazy.' Hendricks County softball sisters go head-to-head on the diamond But their daughter had been inspired by her older sister, Sidney Parks (now a senior pitcher at Plainfield) and was determined to follow in her footsteps. We'll see how it goes, her parents told her. Then during one of Sidney's Little League games, a 4-year-old Grace ran down a foul ball behind the backstop — and made the right-handed throw to her parents. "I think she can do it," Carly told her husband. "Grace can literally do anything." Grace was nothing if not eager and determined when she first started, willing to give anything a try as she and Bryan experimented with various approaches to hitting and fielding. The swing Taber raves about? That was step one in determining if Grace could play softball, Bryan said. They went through various bats, grips and swings as they tried to determine what worked with Grace's "tiny, tiny hand," she said, recalling the countless practice sessions at Swinford Park in Plainfield. She wasn't strong enough to support the bat with only her left hand yet, so Bryan had her rest it in the slot between her thumb and pinkie, and raise her right elbow to create a platform for it to rest on. The bat slid down from her shoulder, which kept it level as it came off her elbow, then she would essentially punch the bat with her right hand and whip it through the zone with her left. It was both brilliant and effective, inspired in part by Katelyn Pavey, a softball player in Lanesville who was born with half a left arm with two digits below the elbow. But as she got older, Grace wanted to look like everyone else, to have a normal swing. It was a point of contention initially, Bryan said, but she's now strong enough to support the bat with her left hand and has a more traditional stance. A "mesmerizing" swing, as Taber described it. "It's been a fun, creative challenge to try to help her succeed and she's always been very agreeable to doing what it takes to make it work," Bryan said. "She's a competitor." Hitting came relatively easy for Grace, as did throwing — at least through the first few years of her career when she was able to use her dominant hand. When she decided she not only wanted to continue playing beyond 8U (bigger softballs beginning at 10U), but also wanted to be a pitcher like Sidney, Grace had to learn to throw left-handed. So they continually practiced throwing lefty until she got it down. The biggest challenge was the glove exchange, which involved countless hours studying film and talking with Pavey, who met with the Parks after a game and showed them how she did it. But Pavey, not unlike everyone else they found online — including former Major League Baseball player Jim Abbott, who's written to Grace in the past — had either half an arm or no arm entirely. And in those scenarios, Bryan said, it's actually easier to make the transition than with only one hand. The solution? When Grace is pitching, she uses an 8U starter glove on her right hand that she's able to open and close with two fingers. In the outfield, she catches with her left hand, transitions the glove over and throws the ball with her left hand. Asked if there were sources of inspiration beyond her older sister, Grace recalled attending a camp with Pavey for athletes with limb difference. "It was really cool to see how everyone adjusted and made their own ways," she said. There was a baseball player with no arms, who held his glove in his mouth when he caught the ball, then flipped it up to himself. Another athlete, a woman with no arms, taught her how to do a back handspring. "Some were like me, some were missing a lot more, and they were doing sports just like normal," Grace smiled. "It was like, if they can do that, then I can, too." "She was so young when we started this (and) it's a good thing we tackled it then, because things got very difficult mentally for her in middle school. It gets hard because kids get mean. … Things got a little bumpy." Grace could sense it as she moved into the on-deck circle for her first at-bat a few weeks ago: A couple of fans were staring and pointing at her hand. Grace's physical therapist called her a superhero the first time they met, echoing a sentiment Carly and Bryan have tried impressing upon her over the years. They think she's an amazing inspiration, a superhero, Carly said. "But Grace has never asked for anyone to be inspired by her. She just wants to be thought of as an athlete first." Over the past two years, Carly continued, their daughter has begun embracing it and is learning to talk about her disability in a positive light rather than trying to hide it as she did through middle school. Bryan watched from across the way as his daughter simply stared back at the two fans marveling at her right hand, offering a polite "hey" before taking another practice swing. "I tell myself they think it's cool and that's why they're staring," Grace says, a sly smile forming across her face. "I've been more out with it," Grace continued. "I always thought, oh my gosh, people are gonna treat me differently. They're not gonna like it. … But now I'm just like, it's not really my problem." Following the brief exchange, Grace stepped to the plate and laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt in her first at-bat, the prelude to a 2-for-2 performance that included an RBI and two runs scored — and initiated her current six-game hit streak. "Grace is an inspiration to me, how she does all that she does," Sidney said. "I'm so inspired by her. … (And) I'm excited to see her inspire so many young girls, the older she gets."
CBC
09-05-2025
- General
- CBC
'I'm the only one left': 103-year-old veteran among those at Taber's VE-Day ceremony
He's the only one left, but a southern Alberta community came together to show him love and respect. Burns Wood, a veteran of the Second World War, was born more than a century ago in Taber, Alta., about 200 kilometres southeast of Calgary. The community honoured Wood and others at a ceremony for the 80th anniversary of VE-Day (Victory in Europe) on Thursday in the town of about 9,000 residents. "When I turned 21, you had to report to the army, if you weren't already in the service," Wood told CBC News. "A group of us just out of high school, six or seven of us, all went to Calgary and joined the air force. When I graduated from Fort Macleod (pilot training), I was transferred to the RAF (Royal Air Force) transport command. It was our job to take planes from the factories to anywhere in the world they were needed." 10,000 planes delivered He said his command delivered around 10,000 planes around the world, an accomplishment for a group of young men. "Twenty-five years before, [Charles] Lindbergh flew the Atlantic, and here we, 21-year-old kids, were flying the Atlantic with just a radio beam to fly on," he explained. "We actually lost one out of seven of our command, not from enemy action, but from new planes and the weather, especially weather in the North Atlantic winter. We weren't allowed to fly over 10,000 feet because we didn't have any oxygen, and all the weather is below 10,000 feet. So we lost a lot of planes. Each plane had three or four men on them." Close to 500 veterans from the area A Taber Police Service member said the community goes out of its way to pay respect. "We have close to 500 veterans that served in World War II in Taber and the surrounding community," Regimental Sgt.-Maj. Christopher Nguyen said. "They served and gave their lives for our freedom. We pride ourselves in being a strong community, with our values and beliefs and strong sense of family and friendship." Nguyen said the ceremony is similar to a Remembrance Day event. "We take it very seriously. It's another milestone we really wanted to make sure we acknowledged. We are really grateful for the freedoms we have, and it's something we make sure to support and celebrate." 'Only one left' For veteran Wood, there were some unintended benefits that came from his service. "In our group, we had fellows from Jamaica, Australia, New Zealand — all the Commonwealth countries. It was a wonderful group. For a young man, it was wonderful to see the world and to see other people outside my little town in Taber," he said. "I'm the only one left."
