Take a walk along 6400 Street and 35 Avenue and you’ll notice to the north of Bowness Seniors Club a field of velvet green grass. Here lies the Nor-West Lawnbowling Club. The club is one of the strongest clubs in Calgary with over 40 members from across the city. Lawnbowling is one of the oldest sports still actively played and provides the benefits of exercise and socialization. I am very pleased to announce that the Nor-West Lawnbowling Club was successful in receiving a Community Initiatives Program (CIP) grant in the amount of $3,750.00 to be used for operational expenses. I would like to give a big thank you to Lorna Mathison, Norma Slattery, Lani duToit, Irma Campbell, Adrian Wind, Morris Johanson, Lock Hornberger and Jack Lines for their efforts in putting forth the grant application. I am very proud to have this program located in the heart of my constituency. Please feel free to call (403) 286-4488 to get more information on this program.

As well, the Calgary Gymnastics Centre has received a CIP grant in the amount of $74,101.00. This grant will assist the Centre to replace old equipment with new up-to-date high performance equipment that will help our athletes remain competitive, both internationally and locally. New equipment will ensure that the centre continues to provide its members with the safest possible learning environment. Congratulations to Richard Papp and his staff for their efforts in preparing the application for funding.

River Valley School, a not-for-profit organization offering both Montessori and traditional education, is pleased to have been recognized as a recipient of the Community Facility Enhancement Program grant in the amount of $3,258.00. Their initiative to enhance the playground in the rear of the facility with the addition of picnic tables, benches, garbage cans and new lines on their tarmac games makes River Valley School playground a facility to be enjoyed by all residents in the Bowness area. Located along the beautiful Bow River, the playground is located in a fenced area that is both safe and serene making it an excellent place to pack a picnic on a sunny afternoon for the whole family! Congratulations Murray Douglas, Acting Principal for your efforts.

The Altius Nordic Ski Club received a CIP grant in the amount of $2,650.00. This money will be used to purchase equipment to improve the delivery of the training program to both Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined athletes. The club is comprised of athletes ranging from 7 to 24 years old which is open to the general public. The club is also home to provincial development and national Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined athletes. The majority of athletes are at the grassroots level and require transportation to local venues, while the older athletes compete on the international stage and require minimal local transportation. The monitors, DVD player, wall mounts and video recorders will be used by all age groups to replay video taken by coaches of each athlete as they jump. This playback capability is essential to allow athletes to see where they can improve their technique, discuss it with their coaches and measure their improvement. The force plates are a piece of equipment used by coaches to measure the “push” an athlete has on takeoff. A BIP test is a series of CD’s used by the coaches and athletes on an interactive basis to increase and measure aerobic endurance. This is particularly important for Nordic Combined athletes who not only ski jump in competition, but also compete in a cross country race. Gym equipment listed is essential as all athletes cross train to enhance not only their physical abilities, but also their aerobic capability. The Physiographe is particularly useful on an interactive basis because it demonstrates correct technique for programming some of the essential exercises used to improve performance and aerobic capacity. All the equipment listed will greatly aid our coaches in the delivery of the program and consequently benefit all our athletes enrolled in the program. Congratulations Barbara Elms and volunteers for your success in preparing this application for funding.

Our Lady of the Assumption School has recently received a CIP grant from the Alberta Government. I would like to thank, Crystal Bell, Kathy Dow, Diane Ewert, Diane Lutz, Catherine Dalton, and Kirk Villanueva, who were instrumental in procuring the grant and using it to enhance Our Lady of the Assumption School. Through this grant the school will be able to expand the use of technology in the school to allow students to take laptop computers home with them and use it to create skilled 21st century citizens. The grant will also allow the school to explore and implement a program to create a video link with students who because of medical conditions cannot attend school. The grant will also assist the school to meet the needs of its students and the community as a whole

The Crowchild Twin Arena Association, a cherished gem for the communities of Silver Springs, Varsity and Scenic Acres for more than 25 years, is getting a facelift. I have long been an advocate of this fun, safe, family-friendly facility, and have even been known to skate a few laps around the rink! As MLA for Calgary-Bow, I had the pleasure of personally delivering a grant cheque to Pat Laughton, the arena’s general manager, from the provincial Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP). The money will be used for new exterior (power and manual) doors, rubber flooring, fencing, arena dehumidification, exterior cladding (to cover deteriorating stucco) as well as a scissor lift. I want to congratulate Pat, along with John Helfrich and Barry Haskayne, for this year’s successful application to the grant program. Through this program, the arena received $125,000 in 2008. The CFEP is funded by the Alberta Lottery Fund, which is administered and managed by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission. The provincial government uses the program to provide community-use facilities with the money to build, renovate, repair or revitalize. This year’s CFEP grant marks the Crowchild Twin Arena Association’s tenth grant through the CFEP since 1998. I wish to commend Pat on his diligence in keeping a close eye on the financial management and maintenance of the arena and for the positive impact the Crowfoot Twin Arena Association has made on strengthening our communities in northwest Calgary.

I have long been an advocate of Wildwood School and would like to congratulate Wildwood School Learning Community in recognition of receiving a Community Initiatives Program grant from the Alberta Government in the amount of $75,000.00. This grant will assist with costs to enhance 21 Century Learning for the students, staff and parents. Wildwood School focus is about influencing the quality of learning and teaching to ensure that all students; are academically successful, develop into responsible citizens of the future, possess the character to do what is right, act morally with wisdom, and balance individual concerns with the rights and needs of others and to possess the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to achieve their personal highest potential. I have visited the school and am especially impressed the students strive for excellence in everything they do. To accomplish this, it is important for students to have access to the most current 21st Century learning resources. The generous gift of $75 000.00 has contributed to this by giving Wildwood School the opportunity to purchase 26 SmartBoards, one for each classroom and a set of PC Notebooks. This technology enhances learning in the classroom and gives staff different ways to deliver the curriculum and students opportunities to learn in different ways. These technologies have definitely changed the way students learn in the classroom. Congratulations Wildwood School!

In response to the global economic crisis and a slowdown in oil and gas drilling throughout the province, the Government of Alberta will provide companies drilling certain new wells after November 19, 2008 with a one-time option of selecting new transitional royalty rates. By helping ensure companies have access to the cash flow they need to invest in new projects, this five-year program is aimed at encouraging the development of new drilling projects and keeping thousands of Albertans at work. Industry will have the one-time option of selecting the transitional rates or New Royalty Framework rates when drilling a new natural gas or conventional oil well 1,000 to 3,500 metres in depth. All wells drilled between 2009 and 2013 that adopt the transitional rates will be required to shift to the New Royalty Framework on January 1, 2014. All current wells and all oil sands projects will move to the New Royalty Framework on January 1, 2009 as previously scheduled. Offering the transitional rates is estimated to result in a potential reduction of projected royalties of approximately $172 million in 2009, rising to $512 million in 2013, depending on the number of new wells paying transitional royalty rates, actual production rates and commodity prices.

I’m absolutely thrilled with the recent news that Canada's Sports Hall of Fame will relocate right here in our constituency. The museum will be located at Canada Olympic Park in a separate building in front of the new ice complex. It will honour and celebrate the achievements of athletes and proudly display their artifacts and trophies. Since 1955, the Hall has inducted 489 members from the ranks of amateur and professional athletes and sport builders representing 56 sports.

I am pleased to announce that recently Westgate Elementary School was the recipient of a Community Initiatives Grant (CIP) in the amount of $75,000.00. The funds will be used to equip teachers with a pennant microphone which sends an infrared signal to a receiver and then through speakers which amplify the sound. All audio (from DVD’s, computers, CD players) can be channeled through this system. In addition to reducing the “wear and tear” on the teacher’s voice, students are able to clearly hear instructions from any location in the room. Research has shown this to have a positive impact on both student learning (our language programs, particularly, French and Spanish, will definitely take advantage of this technology as accents and enunciation are key for accurate student learning), as well as student behavior. I would like to congratulate Mme. Guerthy Suggitt, Janet Peterson and David Dyck for compiling the grant application.

Alana DeLong was elected to her first elected as MLA Calgary Bow on March 12, 2001.

Alana was born in Nelson, British Columbia and obtained her Bachelor of Science (honors) in mathematics with a minor in theatre from the University of British Columbia. She then moved to Calgary, where she attended courses at the University of Calgary in the Masters of Computer Science program. Alana has more than twenty years of experience in information technology and has worked for many leading high-tech computer firms in Calgary. She was also the first computer mainframe salesman with Sperry Univac, and was the first female marketing manager with Canadian General Electric Information Services.

She has hosted a TV Ski Program, has been an actress with Theatre Calgary and a singer with the Calgary Opera Chorus. She enjoys the outdoors, and has hiked the province’s mountains and canoed most of the rivers in southern Alberta. Alana has called the community of Bowness home for twenty-nine years where she resides in a log home that she built for her family. Alana is married to Dennis Beck. Together they have two grown children, Samantha and James.

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As the MLA for Calgary Bow, I am always available to assist constituents. Should you have any questions or comments, I can be reached at:

Consituency Office (Calgary):   Edmonton: Toll-Free:

(403) 216-5400 (780) 415-9459 310-0000