Students at Wheatland Crossing School have been gearing up for an international experience, however, at the 11th hour, it had to be cancelled due to the ongoing concerns of COVID-19.
The school was planning a trip to Europe in April, however, they had to make the difficult decision to cancel because of ongoing health restriction concerns.
“We had to make the decision, there were 75 of us going, with parents, kids, chaperones, and teachers, it’s very sad,” said Pam Collett of Hussar, who was planning on going on the trip with her child.
A part of this contingent was a group of students from Hussar, who have been working on fundraising to make this trip a reality.
“Over the last three years, the group of kids that were going had the opportunity to form a group in town and do some fundraising, such as cleaning the hall and all kinds of things,” said Collett. “It helps us out to pay for the trip, but now we are not going.”
Some of the activities included working the turkey supper, cleaning after wedding dances, running the kitchen during Summer Days, and selling luminaries.
Collett said the students gain so much from the experience of international travel, and in many cases, they would have the opportunity, if not for these kinds of programs.
“They see so much and learn so much. I think it is a great experience, even for the adults,” she said
She explains they had a deadline to cancel to receive a refund on funds they put up for the trip and they were able to do that.
“With the trip class, we made all this money, so now everybody will get the money to go towards school or to go onto the next stage. Some of the kids are in Grade 12, so they don’t have the opportunity to go on a trip. If some can do the trip next year, the Grade 10 and 11s can do that.”
“This community has been really supportive, we are very lucky to live in this town.”
Despite not being able to go on the trip, the students taking the initiative was a positive experience and life lesson.
“It was a great experience, unfortunately, they are not going on the trip. I’m okay with that, with everything that is going on and people getting stuck wherever they are after testing positive, I would rather be at home and not worrying about it,” said Collett.

A group of Carbon residents is petitioning the Village to unseat its chief administrative officer.
In a four-page letter addressed to the Village of Carbon with the names Marie Kooiman and Allana Cuningham, it asks for the village to remove the CAO Vanessa Van der Meer.
The letter cites several reasons, including challenging the CAO’s salary is not in line when compared provincially. It also notes there are concerns with staffing.
Other concerns include Council going into in-camera too often, and members of the community feel targeted by bylaw infractions.
In a guide from Municipal Affairs, the Municipal Government Acts allows for residents to petition for a new bylaw, amend or repeal an existing bylaw, to hold a public meeting, or vote on an advertised bylaw or resolution. Electors can also petition for local improvements. To change a bylaw a petition has to have 10 per cent of the population. For local improvements, a petition needs two-thirds of the owners who would be liable to pay for the local improvement and represents half of the value of the assessments for the land.
When a petition is filed to the CAO of the municipality, they are responsible for determining the sufficiency of the petition and must make a declaration within 45 days as to whether the petition is sufficient.
The Minister of Municipal Affairs can be petitioned to form a municipality, to change the status of a municipality, to undertake a viability review, to appoint an auditor, or for an inspection into the affairs of a municipality. An inspection requires 20 per cent of the population.
The Carbon petition notes the Village has a population of 422. It noted 20 per cent of the population would be 85 voters. The instigators of the petition indicated they have already collected more signatures.