U of A's Innovative Approach to Getting Medical Students Into Rural Practice

Peace River is one of the sites mentioned in this article from the Edmonton Journal--"U of A initiative woos future doctors to choose rural practice." Our physicians participate in this program as well as the 9-month integrated clerkship program and are to be commended for this commitment. These programs are a great way to highlight what our community and the region has to offer as well as give the students a chance to see just how varied, interesting, and exciting rural practice can be. And if we're fortunate, some may even plan to come back to Peace River when they're finished their education. Kudos to the U of A and our local medical community.

Complete Streets Workshop in Peace River

The Town of Peace River is co-sponsoring a free workshop on December 4 (Thursday) with Transport Canada and the Sustainable Alberta Association. Rebecca O'Brien, the Sustainable Alberta Association Program Director is the presenter.

We'll look at ways to evaluate and improve our sustainable transportation environment (walking, cycling and transit) and the day will include a short "walk-about."

Anyone who is interested in health, environmental and planning issues is encouraged to attend.

I'm attending and hope to see a large number of other participants there. What I'm particularly interested in learning about is how we can adapt principles that have been developed for large urban centres to a small town with the kind of geographic challenges that Peace River walkers and cyclers encounter.

For more information or to register, go to the Town of Peace River website.

Virtual Conference: A Big Success

Do you ever get tired of travelling long distances to attend meetings or conferences or to see specialists or clients? I know I do!

On Halloween, over 200 people at more than 20 videoconferencing sites around Alberta attended an all-day conference without having to go far from home. Wow, we learned so much about the potential for broadband and videoconferencing in rural areas as well as about the continuing challenges.

The day was called Using Rural Connections to Support Alberta's Rural Development Strategy, hosted by Communities without Boundaries (CwoB), an organization dedicated to supporting and developing "local coalitions of community champions and technology providers to promote broadband usage."

Here in Peace River, we had 14 people gathered at the Community Futures Peace Country office, the largest gathering north of Edmonton, I'm proud to say.

The day was ably hosted by the Town of Three Hills Mayor Kevin Edwards, who has been a leader in the Virtual Learning & Business Centre (VLBC) CLICSite (Collaboration, Learning, Innovation Community) project. This is a great example of collaboration and broadband usage in a rural area.

We heard speakers on a wide variety of topics, and while I expected to be interested in the sessions on libraries, telehealth and education, I hadn't expected to be engaged in something like the presentation by Dr. Sandra Honour on the Alberta Livestock & Meat Strategy, but I was! (This link is to a video from FarmTV; Dr. Honour's PowerPoint presentation along with the others is available on the CwoB website. Podcasts will also be available in the coming weeks.)

The day was made up of short panel presentations hosted by knowledgeable people who outlined the opportunities and challenges or described their own use of broadband. One of the hosts was in Hawaii, which just served to further highlight the versatility of videoconferencing. We heard excellent presentations in the following five areas:

• Education (host: Cathy King)
• Health Care (host: Brenda Poole)
• Rural Economic Activity (host: Darcy Ferguson)
• Rural Quality of Life (Host: Jann Beeston)
• First mile/Last Mile (Host: Craig Montgomerie)

I suspect others felt as I did that we'd like to hear more from a number of these speakers at future sessions.

Have a look at the PowerPoint presentations and keep an eye out for the podcasts. Consider ways that broadband and greater use of videoconferencing could make a difference to your work, leisure, health, or quality of life and stay tuned for future learning opportunities through CwoB.

del.icio.us Tags: rural,quality of life,videoconferencing,Alberta

Join Me at Virtual Conference on October 31st

On October 31, Peace River's Community Futures office is one of 20 sites around the province that is hosting an innovative virtual conference entitled Using Rural Connections to Support Alberta’s Rural Development Strategy.

The event is being organized by Communities without Boundaries, an organization devoted to supporting and developing local coalitions of community champions and technology providers to promote broadband usage.

At each site, participants will gather to watch and listen to the conference speakers and also have an opportunity to connect with each other.

Speakers will explain how they are using broadband Internet and the Alberta SuperNet to tackle everyday issues in the areas of education, health, economic development and rural quality of life. The closing session will explore the challenges and opportunities of developing First/Last Mile Connectivity.

Register for the event at the link above. You need to first register for the site and then register for the event venue.

The day starts at 8:30 and finishes at 3:30, with lunch and refreshments provided (that's why you need to register).

Hope to see you there!

Peace Country Health Community Newsletters

Peace Country Health produces community newsletters for each of the communities or areas within the boundaries of the region. You can access the August issue for Peace River as well as past issues and newsletters from other communities at this link: PCH Community newsletters

Swearing in and first Council meeting

Monday was the first formal get-together for the new mayor and Council. At 5:00, we gathered in Council Chambers, before the public portion of the meeting, to get settled into the spot where we'll sit for the next three years and to learn how to use the computer at that station.

Once we were settled into our new spots, Mayor Callioux welcomed us with a few remarks. Then Kelly Bunn, CAO (Chief Administrative Officer), did a PowerPoint presentation on the realities of life as a councillor. This is a presentation he has done with each new Council since joining the Town of Peace River. The main points that I took away, which are consistent with what I have learned from board development workshops, were:

• the CAO is the only employee of Council. All Town staff report to and are directed by the CAO, therefore Council members may not direct staff but may make issues or concerns known to the CAO. This keeps the lines of responsibility and accountability clear and avoids the confusion that could arise if a staff member was receiving instructions or requests from a councillor and the CAO.
• Council sets the direction of the Town through policy that is articulated by resolutions/motions.
• We're not expected to agree all the time, but to come to decisions through respectful discussion and debate. An effective Council is more likely to result if we all listen well to the points of views of others as well as express our own.

We delayed the selection of the various committees and boards that we'll participate on until we've had more time to consider the options.

Berry Heinen was appointed Deputy Mayor for one year, with the full support of Council, based on his receiving the highest number of votes in the election. Next year Council will nominate and elect the Deputy Mayor.

At 6:00, which was the start of the public portion of the meeting, we were joined by the media and sworn in/affirmed by Judge Rick McIntosh, who also offered remarks on the responsibilities we have undertaken.

Mayor Callioux effectively guided the meeting and we worked our way through a fairly lengthy agenda. I was impressed with the level of discussion and thoughtful questions and comments. The CAO and experienced council members answered questions and provided background, which certainly helped me, as a newcomer, to feel comfortable.

Following the public portion of the meeting, we moved in camera for discussion about a personnel issue, and then back out in order to make a motion.

I'm grateful for the board experience I had before being elected to Town Council, which enabled me to feel less overwhelmed than I might otherwise have been, and I enjoyed this first meeting. We next meet on Monday, November 5, for a planning session (this is not open to the public), and the following week is our second Council meeting.