A Big Valley man, who has helped shape the direction of the community was recognized nationally, with the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award.
    Allan Johnston was amongfive other Albertans to receive the award last week. Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Donald Ethel, presented the awards during a ceremony in Government House.
    “Each of these outstanding Albertans has offered a lifetime of dedicated service,” said Ethel. “They have quietly and compassionately gone about the work of building better communities for us all. On behalf of His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, I’m pleased to be able to offer sincere thanks for their great work.”

Allan Johnston, left, of Big Valley was awarded the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award. The Honourable Donald Ethel presented the awards during a ceremony in Government House on Tuesday, August 28.

    Johnston was honoured to receive the award.
    “I certainly enjoyed getting the award,” said Johnston, adding the Lieutenant Governor was very pleasant. “He is a very easy going fellow, so there was nothing pretentious about it at all.”
    Johnston was born in Big Valley in 1928. Shortly after graduating, he went on to become a teacher in the Big Valley, Stettler area. Community minded from day one, he was a member of the Big Valley Masonic Lodge; he was an avid HAM radio operator and a lifetime member of the Stettler Flying Club. He was a big part of all nine Big Valley Home Coming Celebrations. He was also involved in the Big Valley United Church, Stettler Pastoral Charge and the Big Valley / Erskine Joint Charge.
    This recognition however, centers on his service to the Big Valley Historical Society. In 1970 he was a member of the organizing group and became the President, a position he has held since.
    The Historical Society has played a role in the preservation, restoration and display of thousands of artifacts that tell the story of the community. It also has worked hard to preserve and protect many historic structures in Big Valley including the Famous Blue Church (St. Edmund’s Anglican Church), the CNR railway station, McAlister Motors and the Alberta Wheat Pool Elevator.
    These efforts have become very important to the community’s local tourism industry and have preserved the Village’s historic legacy.
    The Caring Canadian Award was created in 1995 to recognize those who have made a “significant, sustained, unpaid contribution to the community, in Canada or abroad." In its history, more than 1,300 Canadians have received the award, 103 from Alberta. Johnston is proud of the fact he was the only Alberta recipient this year from a small community.
    Additional details about the award, including information on how to submit a nomination, are at www.gg.ca/caring.

    New fire halls have been springing up all over Wheatland County this summer, with another on its way.
    Standard is joining fellow communities such as Rockyford and Rosebud, which opened new halls this summer, in building a brand new fire hall. As of this week, construction on the new hall has begun.
    A new fire hall has been in the works for a few years now, but everything came together a mere month ago.
    “The firefighters have been fundraising for years,” said Standard Mayor Alan Larsen. “In a partnership with the Village of Standard, Rural Firefighters Association, the County of Wheatland, and getting grant money it all came to a head about a month ago.”
    In that month the project went from being uncertain to ground being broken and construction begun. Fortunately, the many years of planning had resulted in a design being settled upon for awhile, all that remained was finding a contractor.
    “We went from not knowing anything to getting a general contractor and building already,” said Larsen. “A lot of the leg work had been done beforehand. For example, they already had the design they wanted. It was just a matter of putting it out for tender for a month.”
    For awhile now, the Standard Fire Department has outgrown its current hall and the location is problematic for the department. The current building is three bays, not enough for all the department's  units. The hall sits in the middle of a playground zone, which can slow things down in a situation that can teeter between life and death.
    The new hall is six bays, room for five units and a wash bay. The new hall is also being built in the Standard industrial area, closer to Highway 840, an ideal location should an emergency arise.
    “Right now we’re parking one of the units at the County shop, because there isn’t enough room for it at the current hall. It was also in a playground zone,” said Larsen. “The old fire hall had its time."

The Standard Fire Department has grown a little too big for its current building. Funding for the new hall was finally approved a month ago, after years of planning and fundraising by Standard firefighters. The new hall will boast six bays  and is located in the industrial sector of the village, rather than the playground zone the current hall is in.