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Last updateThu, 10 Jul 2025 5pm

Critchley vies for Battle River-Crowfoot seat

Bonnie Headshot

While the ink is barely dry on Damien Kurek’s resignation, candidates are throwing their hats into the ring to be MP for Battle River-Crowfoot.
Last week, Kurek officially announced his resignation, making way for CPC leader Pierre Polievre to run for a seat in parliament.
Bonnie Critchley is also very interested in the seat. While the nomination period hasn’t opened, she has made her intentions well-known and is touring the riding.
“I have been working on this for just about a month,” she told the Mail as she stopped through Drumholler last Friday, June 20. “The instant that Mr. Kurek made his announcement he was stepping down, I looked at my husband and said, ‘That’s just not right. Why are we spending another $2 million to do this again?’ Everyone is tired of the rhetoric, tired of the anger, tired of the vitriol… they don’t want to do this again.”
The Beaver County resident is a fifth-generation service member who served for 22 years and was the second woman in a Combat Arms Unit.
She is running as an independent, “with a focus on climate responsibility, fair access to healthcare, affordable housing and inclusive progress for all Canadians.”
“I spent time in Afghanistan, and I saw how the Afghans were so excited to vote, how the women were so excited to vote, and the young people for the first time ever. So now I have a Canadian trying to remove these rights? He (Polievre) is just assuming we are going to vote him in?”
She adds that it is important to represent the constituency.
“The reason Mr. Polievre lost is not because of the redistribution of boundaries, it’s not because of the Longest Ballot Committee, it is because he igniored his constituency, lifelong Conservatives are messaging me and saying that ‘he didn’t show up, I had to vote for the other guy,’” she said.
She described herself as a non-partisan centrist.
“My platform is deliberately loose because my goal is to maintain a voice for the riding,” she said.
Part of that includes getting rid of some of the Trudeau-era firearms regulations.
“I have stood in my field with a horse foal out, watching the coyotes on the other side of the fence,” she said. “I totally understand why folks in Toronto and Montreal think these regulations are a good idea, because they do deal with gun violence, except the gun violence they're dealing with is already illegal firearms.”
She sees being an independent as an advantage.
"With the current minority government, he (Carney) is short three votes, which means he needs to deal with me, because I don't have to tow a party line, I can do what the constituency tells me to,” she said.


Rodeo rides back to valley

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Rodeo returned to the valley and, despite the weather, put on a show.
The Drumheller Lions Club were joined by the Morrin Lions Club to present Dino Days at the Drumheller Ag Society on June 20 and 21. Rugged Roughstock produced the show, and the fans came out.
“Drumheller is a rodeo town,” said Al Bouchard of Rugged Rodeo.
“I thought we lived in the middle of the desert, but apparently we don't,” he chuckles, referring to the rain. “It was a good rodeo.”
Rain managed to stay away for the bulk of the Friday night performance, and by Saturday, things were muddy, but not too muddy for cowboys. In fact, other rodeos cancelling, such as Bassano, might have helped out.
“We actually had a really good performance Saturday, we had quite a few pro guys show up, and it was a really good rodeo,” said Bouchard.
The weather did keep spectators away on Saturday, but there is no controlling the weather.
He said the animals reacted differently performing in the mud, as for the cowboys, he said it “separates the men from the boys.”
“The Lions Club did really well,” said Bouchard. “They are really good people.”
Brad Peake of the Ag Society said the event went well, and people are already looking forward to next year.
“It wouldn’t have happened without the Lions Club, they were absolutely amazing.”
He emphasized the event enjoyed great community and sponsorship support, creating strong partnerships.
“Only good things can come from this.”

Waldorf celebrated in the Beer Parlour Project

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Most small towns have one, a historic hotel, in various stages of repair, a small group of locals, most known by a nickname, and a brass bar with cold drinks.
With the development of our country, came hotels, and often the only place that could be licensed to sell a libation was the hotel’s beer parlour.
Chris Doering, his wife Connie Biggart, and Rob Pohl and his wife Margarit have been getting to know quite a few of them. They are working on the Beer Parlour Project. This celebrates old-school hotel watering holes. They are documenting the history of the space, coming and learning stories from the locals and capturing it with modern digital photography as well as shooting scenics with vintage black and white film cameras.
On Saturday, June 14, they made a stop at the Waldorf Hotel.
Doering and his wife are history buffs and have been doing writing and research for years. They teamed up with photographer Rob Pohl and worked on projects. Often as they were working, they would be in a small town, and stop by the local watering hole for a snack and cool one.
“We did this a couple of times and we started looking around at these old hotels and noticed there's a lot of history right where were sitting drinking a beer and eating a burger,” said Chris.
This sparked an idea, that has grown into their project.
“We started thinking this could be a project. We’ve done coal mines grain elevators, but this would be a really people-oriented project as compared to the other ones,” he explains.
They have targeted 100-120 old taverns and have already visited over 30. They started planning in 2019, and then COVID-19 hit. They rebooted in 2022 and have been going strong.
Along the way, they have been documenting their work through collecting stories and taking photographs. They are posted at www.Beerparlourproject.com. They hope to eventually exhibit the work and possibly publish a book on their work.
He explains when they reach out to some establishments, there is a little suspicion on the other end of the phone, but after they explain what they are doing most are quite open. They spend an afternoon or evening with the innkeepers and the patrons, tour the space, and talk to the locals.
“Initially there was a lot of resistance and pushback. After about four or five, they are calling us now,” said Chris.
He explains they often go into the establishment blind to its history or reputation. They instead start the story from the people.
“We go in and learn what we can. We talk to people and say ‘Give us a story.’ We can often read about when it was built, that’s great, but let’s find out about the guy who brought a horse in, or did something interesting here,” he said.
The locations range from charming to downright scary, but he says they have never had any trouble. They respectfully approach the patrons and get consent before filming.
“Everybody opens up and sometimes they are lined up to chat,” he said.
In other instances, why have visited places where the only person to talk to is the owner.
To add to the charm Rob creates images using some retro camera equipment on this day he was shooting with an Ebony brand large format view camera with bellows, taking pictures on 4X5-inch black and white film. While the camera is from the 1990s, the technology goes back more than a century. It has its drawbacks in low lighting but brings a more authentic feel to the work.
Rob processes the negatives and then prints the work, while Doering assembles the background history, and posts the completed project to beerparlourproject.com.
Right now it is a labour of love, and they are not making any money from the project. They are paid in a lazy afternoon, with cold beer, good company and great conversations.


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