I am sure many people in Medicine Hat have witnessed the large amount of Rabbit-with-moustache graffiti that has sprung up over the last half a year or so around town.

The graffiti can be seen in a number of places, including:

• Under the Trans Canada bridge on 13th Ave
• Mary Browns
• Stop sign by Superstore
• Building facades along Kingsway
• Concrete barriers and power boxes on Dunmore road (some have been removed)

My original suspicion was that the rabbit-with-moustache stencil was made by someone in the Visual Communications program at the Medicine Hat College. I was later told by a friend of Medicine Hat Media’s that there was also a spraypainting of the stencil in one of the bathrooms at the College, which justifies my suspicion.

Unfortunately I do not have an image of the rabbit-with-moustache because I do not have a camera, but if you see it, you will immediately recognize it. Somebody send in some pictures!

Downtown Growth, Development
Policy Direction Framework, Strategies Set

This week City Council unanimously adopted the Downtown Redevelopment Plan, a conceptual development framework for growth over the next 20-30 years. It will also serve as a foundation for the development of Phase Two which is the Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan that will provide detailed regulations and guidelines for development.

The Downtown Redevelopment Plan was identified as a Council priority and is the result of an extensive collaborative effort. In July 2008, Planning Services began the process by engaging city departments, City Centre Development Agency (CCDA) and other community stakeholders in an interactive and dynamic manner including preliminary information gathering/analysis, and a four day design Charrette that included a workshop and a public open house.

“This is a milestone for the city of Medicine Hat because the Downtown has never had a formal Plan to help direct its future development,” says Jeanie Gartly, Superintendent of Planning Services. “There appears to be broad support and anticipation for the implementation of the Plan while conserving the unique historical character of the Downtown.”

The Downtown Redevelopment Plan boundary is defined as the area from Maple Avenue SE to the east and Third Avenue SE to the west. The area is bound on the north by the South Saskatchewan River and Fifth Street SE to the south. THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »

After one year in which no community grants were dispersed, the Community Foundation of Medicine Hat and Southeastern Alberta today rewarded nine local charitable organizations with a total of $36,536 in funds.

Because of a harsh financial climate and decreased investment portfolio performance, the Community Foundation was unable to continue its normal grant cycles after the spring of 2008. With a slowly improving portfolio, however, the foundation was able to recommence its grant program again this September.

“It was very exciting to once again start the application process this fall,” said Community Foundation executive director Mike Christie. “Although we had been working as hard as ever in the office, we missed our twice-yearly community grants cycles. Giving out community grants is one of the best parts of our job, and the board and staff didn’t feel as fulfilled without it.”

Dozens of applications were received by the foundation in mid-September; a volunteer-based grants committee then met several times to decide which groups would receive the funds.

“It was hard this year in particular because we all knew what a tough time these charities are facing,” said Christie. “There were many worthwhile applications. Our volunteers worked diligently to find the right groups to award with funds, and we hope that Southeast Alberta will be an even better place with the funds going to these groups.” THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »

No Audience

Quick introduction… My name is Justin Quinton, I have lived in the Hat almost 6 years, originally from Newfoundland (although my accent has all but been repressed) and I have been digging through this city since day one to find a ‘scene’. Any scene. Music, art, theatre… even a pretentious artsy group that won’t give me the time of day. This has led me to discover two things; Yes there is enormous amounts of talent here! And no, not a lot of people care.

I know within this blog I’m probably speaking directly to the people that do care. And you probably already believe that media deserves more recognition in southern Alberta. What I came up with over a year ago is a concept for an arts magazine. I spent a weekend brainstorming and planning and left it at that. About a week ago while surfing I stumbled upon Medicine Hat Media and seen that it was reflecting a lot of the ideas that I wanted to do with the magazine. Instantly my spark renewed and I wanted to put forth a concept for a magazine I call “No Audience”. It’s about art, music, and life here in Southern Alberta and to bring forward the best works of our local artists in a professional glossy magazine.

I myself am a musician, photographer and ‘graphic design dabbler’ here in the city. I don’t claim to be the best nor do I do any of those things for profit (I have another job, 3 kids and a mortgage). What would be really cool is if the right people see this, want to work on it, want to contribute, take it to where it needs to go, and be a showcase for all too see our local talents… to create a scene!

Thanks for your time. This is the cover I designed to spark interest in the project. The model is a local girl named Robyn Homans and I did the photography.

If you have never checked out CHAT TV’s YouTube channel, you may want to now.

http://www.youtube.com/user/chattv63

They’ve just recently put up an Archive Playlist and are entertaining requests from people that want to see specific stories put up. Whether it was an old civic election, or the Tigers winning WHL championship, or one of the downtown fires.

Here’s one of the old stories that is on there now. I miss the Waterslides.

A bold title, but what other conclusions would someone jump to while reading a news article about a dozen businesses opposing the idea of a homeless shelter on South Railway Street?

Despite the shelter planning to operate between 8PM and 8AM, some parents are concerned for the safety of their children. What is a homeless person going to do? Kidnap your children and sell them back to you for a ham sandwich? If nothing else, these potentially dangerous people would be kept off the street, and away from children. If I was homeless, I would hope I was in a city that cared enough to put up a homeless shelter for the frigid winters. However, it seems most people are so blinded by the belief that homeless people are inherently evil that I would not invest much hope in a shelter.

It seems to me that the band NOFX has written a song about the shameful attitude of many Hatters toward homelessness:

THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »

The Community Foundation of Medicine Hat and Southeastern Alberta is proud to announce the first in a series of 2009-2010 Vital Activities, a spin-off of its Medicine Hat’s Vital Signs publication.

“Waste Not, Want Not: Recycling in Medicine Hat — the who, how, when and what’s next!” will take place on Thursday, November 19 from 12 – 1:30 PM in the Honor Currie Room in the Medicine Hat Public Library. Attendees are welcome to bring their own lunch.

Panel members include Ed Jollymore, manager of solid waste utilities for the City of Medicine Hat, Randy Bray, operations supervisor at REDI Enterprises, and Raeann Torrance, owner of local curbside recycling company Down To Earth Recycling.

“Our moderator will ask our panel members questions related to the present and future of recycling in Medicine Hat,” said Jennifer Thompson, community impact coordinator for the Community Foundation. “We hope to give the public a better idea of how we can improve recycling in our area and perhaps glean an idea of what local recycling might look like in the future.”

This “Vital Munch” will also include a new component: interactive questions from the online community. Using the library’s new wireless internet service, Thompson will be online to write live “tweets” from the event on the foundation’s Twitter account (@cfmh). Followers can be part of the discussion by responding to tweets or even tweeting their own questions to ask the panel. Questions can also be directed to jennifer@mhcf.ca. THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »

We all have an opinion on the Medicine Hat Police Service, but what happens to our opinion of the organization and its chief, Andy McGrogan, when they get called to deal with a potentially live artillery shell that happens to be in a school? No hype intended or required, they accomplished this all on their own:

The story starts out with James Chatfield, an electrician and a former British Army soldier, doing work in CAPE School. He stumbles upon an artillery shell in a storage room above the stage of the gymnasium that is rarely used. Though it is kind of random that it was there, anyone would understand that the principal, teacher, students and parents would definitely treat this as a threat; anyone but the Police, it appears.

The Principal immediately called the Medicine Hat Police, who responded that they were “too busy” to deal with it right away. The Canadian Forces Base in Suffield was then called, but the school was out of their jurisdiction, so the Police were called a second time. At length, an officer was sent to remove the shell in a fairly unprofessional manner. As the unofficial story goes, the officer knocked on the shell and apathetically tossed it into the back of his cruiser before taking off. Does Medicine Hat have a bomb squad? I cannot see the need for one, but having an experienced individual probably would not be such a bad thing.

Obviously the shell had been sitting there for over half a century and is probably a dud, but as the former soldier, James Chatfield says: “As soon as that outer shell starts to rust and corrode, these things can be dangerous,”

The Police Chief, Andy McGrogan, then followed up with:

“We wouldn’t have made it a priority call, because as I said, we get so many of them. We don’t get calls about them every day, but it’s not uncommon for us to get calls about shells, and in most cases, we find they’re basically duds or they’ve been expended,” McGrogan says.

“It was a shell from 1940 — it’s been there for decades. I’ve got to wonder what’s the rush sometimes.”

Pretty witty, but concerned parents and teachers do not like wit, and probably like Andy McGrogan and a seemingly unconcerned Police Service even less. What is more important than a possibly explosive artillery shell sitting in a school? I bet if the Police Chief’s children went to that school, they would have been there as soon as possible.

The official story can be found on The Medicine Hat News

It has been only a few years since the sentencing of J. Richardson and Jeremy Steinke (Steinke is currently in prison with possibility for parole in twenty-five years) for their participation in The Richardson Family Murders.  But sooner than expected, she is now eligible for supervised trips away from the psychiatric institute where she is serving part of her sentencing.

J. Richardson, as we know, was sentenced to the maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment for three counts of first-degree murder, which includes 4 years in a psychiatric institute and 4 and a half years of conditional supervision in the community. Overall, her sentence seems like a slap on the wrist for the devastating effect her crime caused.

I cannot imagine that the community will accept the idea of her return, because, as the story goes, she never showed any remorse for her actions. Even so, her crime cannot be easily forgotten by anyone who lived to see the aftermath. Only time will tell whether or not the world will be able to forgive and forget what this Runaway Devil did.

Click here for CBC’s official press release

THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever wanted to get involved in the community, tell a story, or advertise an event or a band? Well, we are always looking for more content to publish on Medicine Hat Media, and that includes anything you might have to offer!

If you are reading this, then you have probably read a few Medicine Hat Media articles and know what we are all about, but in taking a look behind the scenes, you can quickly come to realize that Medicine Hat Media is a fantastic resource for public awareness and promotion, and best of all, it is completely FREE.

Statistics:

• We are currently partnered with 21 other Medicine Hat-based websites, including the City of Medicine Hat website itself.
• We currently receive about 4000 unique viewers per month, which equates to about 6,000 page views per month.
• We have many regular contributors who have wrote 731 posts in total, which have received a total of 1,371 comments.
• Aside from Google and directly going to MedicineHatMedia.com, most of our users come from following us on Twitter, which automatically updates with every new post we do. Our twitter currently has 1,178 followers. Our Facebook group currently has 83 members.

From these 4 facts, it is evident that Medicine Hat Media is the mecca of Medicine Hat-based advertising.

What you can achieve:

By writing and advertising on Medicine Hat Media, you can can achieve a more public awareness – completely free of charge – for any events you may be hosting or advertising, including bands, trade shows, art shows, new restaurants, and the list goes on…

The events that are advertised do not necessarily have to be in Medicine Hat. If there is a big event going on anywhere in southeastern Alberta, we love to create awareness of it.

What we will do for you:

If you are interested in becoming a writer for Medicine Hat Media, all you need to do is email us at info@medicinehatmedia.com and let us know that you want to get involved. We will then set you up with an account, and if need be, assist you with logging into the website and navigating through the back end to post your stories. Normally, if you are tech-savvy enough, you can do this all by yourself with no need for our approval before registering and logging into the back-end, both of which can be done here. Alternatively, you may submit content using our online submission form.

If you plan to be a regular contributor, you can also submit a biography and/or photo for yourself and we will add it to the About page.

Things to note:

Medicine Hat Media tries to maintain a level of professionalism in its articles. This is achieved by writing our articles with completely original content and attempting to maintain proper spelling and grammar. If we receive an article that needs editing, we will generally clean it up before posting.

Conclusion:

Advertising can be expensive, but with an ever-growing number of readers, your articles are guaranteed to be read by members of the Medicine Hat community, and best of all, it is completely free!

Contact us at info@medicinehatmedia.com with any questions or concerns.