A Drumheller area man’s hope for others fighting the pain of arthritis prompted him to give an incredible gift to those suffering from the disease.
    Bent Peters was never known to have an outgoing personality, in fact, quiet may be the descriptor most used to characterize him. He passed away in April 2013, and has gifted a large part of his estate to the Arthritis Society. In the area of $850,000 has been gifted to the organization. While Cindy Stephen, communications manager for the Arthritis Society, Alberta North West Territories Division has never met Bent, she said stories of him have left an impression.
    “What came across to me is that he lived in hope,” said Stephen.
    His younger brother Fleming agrees with her assessment, and he has been working with lawyer John Sparling to settle Bent’s estate and make this gift a reality.
    Bent was born in 1930 and was the second of four children of Ferdinand Peters and Mary Krogh, both immigrants from Denmark who met and married in the Dalum area.
    Bent received his early schooling at the Nickel Spring School and studied for one year at Drumheller High School.
    He worked as a farm hand and a miner. He also drove truck for Dalum Corner Services for 14 years.
    Bent went on to trying his hand at farming and leased land in the Wintering Hill area. He worked the land for 17 years and retired in 1985.    
    At the age of  55, he had been suffering from the pain of arthritis for a number of years, and it was one of the deciding factors for him to stop farming.
    While he was heavily medicated to relieve some of the pain of his arthritis, he continued to find pleasure in his motorboat, fishing in Crawling Valley, and he enjoyed making toys out of steel. Fleming said his brother would weld scale models of farming equipment with the greatest of detail. Fleming said Dr. Crawford, a specialist in Calgary did a lot to help Bent cope with his arthritis.
    Bent moved to Drumheller in 1985 and then into continuing care at the Drumheller Health Centre in 2009.
    Bent never married or had children, and according to his brother, Fleming, kept to himself. Despite a solitary demeanor, this donation shows his altruism.
    “He had no kids, so he said, maybe it will do some good for someone else,” said Fleming. “It is for research, there is no cure, but maybe it can make it a little more comfortable for other people.”
     Shirley Philips, executive director for the Arthritis Society for Alberta and the Northwest Territories was struck by the generosity of Bent and is hopeful that this kind of gesture could send a message to others on the difference this type of donation can make.
    She explains it is fitting because Bent suffered for many years, that some of the funding would go to juvenile research. Much of this work is being done in Calgary and at Sick Kids in Toronto.
    The funds could also go to support programs such as Arthritis 101, a program for newly diagnosed patients.

    The Federal Budget came down last week and it recognizes the need of communities to be ready for floods.
    Last Tuesday, Finance Minster Jim Flaherty brought down the budget. M.P. for the Crowfoot riding Kevin Sorenson was appointed Minister of State for Finance last year and this was the first budget he participated in as a junior minister. He said the budget commits $200 million to communities to support flood mitigation and preparedness.
    “The Minister (of Public Safety Vic Toews) was there and was talking about disaster mitigation and how we cannot just wait for the flood happen and deal with the remains,, but how could we prevent it?” Sorenson told The Mail. “Some of the funds have been specifically focused on mitigation. It is going to initiate at $200 million. We are going to start doing a review of the disaster program … generally speaking, in the past that kind of funding has never been provided by a federal government, the province and municipalities do it, but we want to work with the municipalities and province.”
    The budget also indicated exploring the idea of flood insurance, something not offered in Canada.
    “That has to be done on a national scale. If we bring foreword some type of program, work with the public sector for example…but you would need a large scale buy in on something like that,” said Sorenson.
Sorenson said the focus of the budget has to do with employment.
    “We said we want to have a budget that wants to create jobs, build the economy and bring us to a balanced budget in 2015, and this budget does that,” said Sorenson.
    He adds that it also addresses some of the special circumstances in his riding about employment, where the level of unemployment continues to be much lower than the national average.
    “Something we have recognized, especially in Alberta is we need people in the trades. That is why we brought forward the Canada Apprenticeship Loan Program. This will allow young people to qualify for student loans. We have set aside up to $100 million across the country so apprentices can get an interest free student loan and will finish their apprenticship.”
    He said this will give people the chance to take time from their job to finish their apprenticeship in an affordable way, and in doing so increase their earning potential.
    Sorenson said the budget also provides 3,000 opportunities for graduating students to do an internship and get the experience they need in the work force.
    On Thursday following the initial budget speech, the Prime Minister of Canada announced more details to the New Building Canada program, saying it will “ensure small communities have stable, long term and unprecedented access to funding vital for infrastructure projects.”
    “Our government’s commitment to small communities has never been stronger. Under the New Building Canada Plan, we are providing predictable, stable support so that municipalities with fewer than 100,000 residents can build the projects that matter most to them,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
    Sorenson explains this investment was done in the hard times.
    “Our government has invested in infrastructure more than any other government, and we did that in the recession, and we did that because we knew that projects are going to help create jobs,” said Sorenson. “The program actually ends in March 2014, so we knew we had to keep this infrastructure program moving ahead and today our prime minister outlined some of the particulars of how the next phase of infrastructure will be laid out.”
    One more area that benefits rural communities Sorenson feels strongly about is an injection to expand rural high speed Internet.
    “We brought forward $305 million to help with rural broadband,” said Sorenson. “This is a huge one for rural Canada. I have small schools in my riding and they depend on the Internet for school programs.”