Community Update. to All Paul First Nation Members Who Are on the Band Membership List
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March 2010 Paul First Nation Edition One community/volunteer participation, references, and content of essay. Incomplete application packages are not considered. The program is open Community Update. to all Paul First Nation members who are on the band membership list. Please congratulate the following Contacts: recipients: Lorraine Adams, Lacey Local Issues: Bearhead, Justin Bull, Arlene Paul, Darrell Weichel, Sundance Common Theresa Paul, Alison Rain, Angel Services Manager Rain, Celeste Rain and David Rain. 1-780-731-6000 ext. 6283. (Not pictured: Celeste Rain, Lacey [email protected] Bearhead and Angel Rain) Corporate: For information on applying for next Jason Edworthy, Director, Aboriginal year’s program, please contact Anita Relations 1-403-267-2048 House, PFN Post Secondary and Janet TransAlta Scholarships for Paul House or Janet Janvier for details [email protected] Janvier, TransAlta’s aboriginal relations First Nation and an application form. The annual advisor. The selection committee Corporate: Ten students from Paul First Nation were deadline is September 15. Look considers the following criteria in Janet Janvier, Aboriginal Relations presented with scholarship cheques for us on Facebook by searching awarding scholarships: program Advisor 1-403-267-7630 in the amount of $3,000 by Anita “TransAlta Aboriginal Bursaries.” of studies, academic/career goals, [email protected] Transmission/Lands: tobacco. We wish to also acknowledge Jason Zimmerman, Manager of Lands, the outgoing leadership, under Chief Royalties, and Transmission Daniel Paul. We wish you all the 1-403-267-7244 best in your future endeavours. [email protected] Elders Christmas Gift Environment: “Elders are the “Keepers of Rod Kause, Director, EH&S Welcome! Knowledge” and it is their guidance 1-780-731-6000 ext. 5648 Welcome to our first community update newsletter for Paul First that Aboriginal people seek as they [email protected] Nation. The purpose of this newsletter is to commemorate the strive for balance in their relationships many activities and initiatives shared between Paul First Nation with the Creator, the natural world, other people and themselves” and TransAlta in 2010. We welcome you to review our activities from the past year, and to call us with any questions or comments. Through our conversations in the The importance of strong community, we have learned of the relationships importance of Elders, and how honouring At least three times a year, we meet Our Operations We are a power producer fueled by coal, with a reliable, cost-effective and and respecting them is a fundamental with the elected Chief and Council natural gas, hydro, wind, geothermal environmentally responsible source element of Paul First Nation culture. For and their selected support staff. In and biomass. In the Wabamun area of electricity. It will be Canada’s Hot Lunch Program at Paul School this reason, we have been providing an 2010, we met on June 14, August we have the following projects: most advanced coal-fired facility After about a year of planning, we are a wonderful job of providing healthy annual $2,000 amount to go toward 25, October 7 and November 26. pleased to share with the community that meals to the students. We would gifts for the Elders at Christmas. and is anticipated to go online in the These meetings serve as a forum The Sundance power plant, near the pilot Hot Lunch Program at Paul Band also like to acknowledge the work of first quarter of 2011. This project is a for Paul First Nation and TransAlta Wabamun, is the largest coal- School began in October 2010. TransAlta TransAlta employees Gary Woods and Employment and Contracting partnership between Capital Power representatives to bring up any fired electrical generating facility in has committed to funding the program Colleen Plooy who helped shape the opportunities (formerly EPCOR) and TransAlta. concerns and opportunities that are western Canada, with six generating at $4,000 a month until December 2011, program in its early development. We welcome the opportunity to mutually beneficial. We discuss units. It has a 2,126 MW capacity. TransAlta owns transmission lines at which time the program will be re- consider employment and contracting employment, contracting, community that cross Paul First Nation lands. In evaluated. We acknowledge the support Meeting the newly elected Chief opportunities for Paul First Nation and Council investment, scholarships, and other Keephills is also located in the exchange for the use of the lands, of the Paul Band Social Development members. If you are interested in ways we can improve our relationship. Wabamun area and has two units with On November 26, 2010, TransAlta we hire labourer and/or liaison program who also contributes funds employment, you can refer to www. If you have any issues, you can call us a 766 MW capacity. Additionally, welcomed the newly elected Chief and workers, pay tower payments and toward the program - special thank transalta.com/careers or forward directly or speak to a member of your the Keephills 3 project is a 450 MW Council. Jason Edworthy, director of property taxes to your Nation. you to Cindy Bearhead. Available to your resumes to Darrell Weichel for Chief and Council to bring your issues coal-fired generating plant, adjacent to aboriginal relations, presented Chief all students attending the school this consideration. Business profiles can be forward at one of our next meetings. the existing Keephills plant. Keephills To learn more about TransAlta, Casey Bird with a Pendleton blanket, program provides a complimentary submitted to Jason Edworthy, who can 3 is an important step in ensuring please visit www.transalta.com tobacco and sweet grass. Each council meal at lunch time. Thank you to our explain our procurement process to you. Alberta’s future power needs are met fantastic cook, Beatrice Rain, who does member was given sweet grass and Do you have a question or comment about a story in this newsletter? This newsletter is printed Please contact us at 1.877.5.GREEN.5 (1.877.547.3365) ext. 1 on recycled paper www.transalta.com March 2010 Paul First Nation Edition One Year in Review: 2010 We are proud to present over the following pages, a snapshot of the many activities and initiatives we shared in throughout 2010. In fact, so much happened that it won’t all fit in these pages! We encourage you to visit www.transalta.com/communities/ aboriginal where you will see several more stories that further demonstrate our shared commitment to the relationship between Paul First Nation and TransAlta. Olympic Torch Bearers in to participate and inspire others, and The spirit of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic celebrate their community’s participation Games touched members of the Paul in the event. This group was one of First Nation in January, when nine of its only two youth groups in Alberta that Misikitew Dragline expected operating life of 40 years. They consideration in the naming contest. were chosen to be a part of the relay. youth ran in the Olympic Torch Relay. On June 1, one of the largest draglines in walk by using two large ‘feet’ or pontoons The winning entry was Misikitew (mi- TransAlta proudly played a role in making On January 13, the team of runners got the world walked off the pad after three which move the dragline backwards a SIK-i-too) which is a Cree word meaning this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on a bus at 6 a.m. to travel to Vegreville, years of engineering and construction little over two metres with each step at “the big one” as chosen by Gabriel a reality by making a donation Alberta. From there, the group ran one work. The massive 28 storey, 16 a rate of about 183 metres per hour. Blais. The top three winning entries toward the group’s trip expenses. kilometre with the torch. Along the route million pound machine is designed to received gift certificates. To thank the Paul First Nation school students were they were joined by drummers, dancers, meet the needs of the Highvale mine. school for their participation, TransAlta asked to name the new and impressive family and friends who came out to cheer Draglines are the largest single-bucket donated $1500 for sports equipment machine. Jerome Campbell, dragline them on, recognize the efforts they put excavators built today. They are the and held a pizza and pool party at project manager, visited the school and primary excavating tool used in many the TransAlta Tri-Leisure Centre on presented information on draglines to surface mining operations. These highly June 15. The Misikitew name will be the students. They were then asked productive machines operate 24 hours painted on the dragline in Spring 2011. Ahai Mneh to provide Stoney and Cree names for During an historical artifacts study, on a day, seven days a week and have an a ridge near TransAlta’s Highvale Mine, an archaeological site identified as an Local staff member supports Paul Participation in Career Fairs ancient tool making site was found. The First Nation school On January 27 and again on August 11, ridge is believed to have been frequented TransAlta employee, Colleen Plooy, used TransAlta participated in two career fairs by First Nations from the end of the last her personal time to collect and refund in the community. We shared information ice age more than 10,000 years ago. bottles to donate to the Paul First Nation with band members about current job Early testing indicated this was a site school for the purchase of books for the postings, information on our scholarship of historical significance, rich in stone library. Colleen was also an instrumental and bursaries, and answered questions artifacts such as stone tools and tool part of the Hot Lunch program, and from community members about our making items and projectile heads.