Last Saturday, a family and a community celebrated a miracle, and that miracle is named Charice.
    On January 7, Charice Marie Galleon was baptized and celebrated her first birthday. The celebration was even more special since on January 6, 2011, the youngest daughter of Gilbert and Heidi was born, only 24 weeks into Heidi’s pregnancy.
    Heidi was rushed to the hospital that morning at 11 a.m. experiencing premature labour. Dr. Khoza quickly realized the baby was in breach, but they were able to successfully deliver. Charice was considered a micro-preemie, weighing only 598 grams and measuring only 30 centimetres in length. Her lungs were underdeveloped, and she also had a  heart condition called patent ductus arteriosus, where the vascular connection between the aorta and the pulmonary artery fails to close.
 Within 45 minutes Charice was airborne and was flown to the Foothills Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) by STARS.
    This began a harrowing experience for the family, who had joy at the arrival of their baby, but fear of what could become.
    They spent more than four months in Calgary as Charice defied the odds in an incubator. Miraculously she did not need surgery, and medication resolved her heart condition. She received three blood transfusions due to anaemia, and fought off pneumonia a few times. There were concerns for her eyes, which is common in premature babies. 
    While the baby was growing, the family made the Ronald McDonald House in Calgary and the Ramada in Airdrie their home.
    By the end of March, Charice was moved from the Foothills NICU to the Rockyview Unit. By April 30 she was home in Drumheller, although the family continues to attend the Calgary Children’s Hospital and the Drumheller Health Centre to monitor her progress. At one year of age she is still on oxygen, but that will soon be a thing of the past.
    While the family went through this struggle Heidi said they learned the spirit of community. When Charice was born, Dr. Khoza, Dr. Chung, Dr. Maseka and Dr. Tlhape all played a role, as did nurses Celeste and Myrna. The family is also grateful for the medical support of STARS, the Foothills Hospital, the Rockyview Hospital and the Alberta Children’s Hospital. The Ronald McDonald House in Calgary also played a great role for the family.
    Gilbert works for Canalta in Drumheller, and Heidi said the Christianson family and the local office were supportive of their struggle in many ways. Heidi’s co-workers at DARTS also were supportive as were other agencies including Healthy Families, Big Country Outreach, FSCD and the Filipino community.
    While the family was with their child in Calgary a whole community in Drumheller rallied for them. Heidi said people at St. Anthony’s and The Church of the Nazarene and friends all over the world prayed for the young family.
    “Above all Almighty God who gave my daughter life, and used these people as His instrument to make all things possible in His name Jesus Christ,” said Heidi.

    The Property Rights Task Force created by Premier Allison Redford is coming to the Hanna Legion Hall on January 16 at 6:30 p.m. The Task Force wants to hear from property owners.
    “We’re travelling across the province. We’ve tried to divide it up to make sure we cover the entire province, especially areas we’ve heard issues before,” said Diana McQueen, the Minister of Environment and Water. “We’re looking forward to our time in Hanna.”
    The task force was created in November, 2011 and the purported goal is to ensure that the government better understands, respects, and acknowledges the rights of landowners. McQueen is chair of the task force and Evan Berger, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, is vice chair.
    “When Premier Redford ran for the leadership, one of the things she heard was in regards to property rights and issues  people had. She made a commitment that we would come back and we would have an opportunity to listen and hear from Albertans. It’s about honouring that commitment,” said McQueen.
    To keep her commitment, Premier Redford tasked MLA’s to go out into the province and listen intently to the concerns and issues Albertans have and bring those issues to the attention of the government.
    The Property Rights Task Force is an effort to understand the concerns landowners have about their rights, especially in the face of aggressive oil and natural gas procurement.
    “The meetings are open to all Albertans and it’s about issues or concerns they may have about property rights in general and solutions they can bring forward. Some of the themes we’ve heard are about consultation, compensation, and, depending on where you are, landowners are talking about things on their property more specifically, such as wells.”
    Other concerns are about current pieces of legislation such as the Land Assembly Act, Land Stewardship Act, and the Electric Statutes Amendment Act.
    Communities that have been visited so far include Grimshaw, Grande Prairie, St. Paul, Westlock, Olds, and Rocky Mountain House. After Hanna, there are three more stops in Brooks, Medicine Hat, and Lethbridge.
    “I think one of the great opportunities we have here is to listen to the ideas people have about consultation and how we do that and engage people. They’ve been great turnouts, we’re really happy with the number of people who have come out. They’ve  been great in sharing their views,” said McQueen. “We’re hearing really good feedback from people.”
    The meetings run a little differently than the average town hall style meeting. Attendees break into small groups to discuss issues and then later everyone comes together and each person is given a chance to be heard.
    “We’re doing a little bit of a different format so everyone has an opportunity to have their voices heard. We’ve had great feedback that everyone has been liking this process,” said McQueen.
    By the end of next week, the meetings will have concluded. Afterwards all of the thoughts, concerns, and ideas from the meetings, emails, mail, and telephone calls are collected. The data will then be put into a report due on January 31. McQueen could not speculate on the long term result of the findings.
    “We’ll bring together all the information, ideas, and concerns that people raised,” said McQueen. “I know our Premier will work with government to take action on that report.”
    Landowners are encouraged to attend the meeting on January 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the Hanna Legion Hall. If unable to attend, more information and instructions to submit feedback online or by mail can be found at alberta.ca/PropertyRights/index. Your input can also be given by phoning, toll free, 310-4455.
    McQueen wants as many Albertans to come forward as possible. “We are encouraging people to be open and come forward with their concerns.”