Longview Link by Michele Geistlinger

It has been a long two year process we have managed to wade through with our ACE journey. I think you may have all heard by now some details about the project our team decided to tackle. We have partnered with the Longview Recreation board, the Veterans Memorial / Serenity Garden Committee, the Longview Stampede Association and the Village of Longview who has approved our project and the ensuing changes to the park and skating rink. The rink had its new concrete pad laid September 21st and it looks amazing. Our project entails a huge build day on October 15th where we will need upwards of 200 volunteers including children of course. We will be installing a new, safe, modern playground, 13 pieces of fitness equipment around the perimeter of the park, new benches, picnic tables and litter receptacles and the first stage of the Veterans memorial over in front of the village office. Stage two will occur in the spring with the arrival of long desired skate park equipment for use in the rink area along with basketball hoops and tennis nets. Stage two of the Serenity garden will be completed over the summer with a final dedication ceremony occurring in September 2012 to which the Governor General has already been invited. Many of the residents had indicated after the Ignite Tour with Ian Hill that even if they did not want to attend the planning meetings that they would like to be involved with actual projects once they were ready to go. Well here is your chance folks. The equipment will arrive on Wednesday, October 12th and Tony Geistlinger will require a number of people to help on the Thursday, October 13 and Friday, October 14th to help unpack the equipment, install all the grid work for the equipment and set the foundations in place for build day. He will need a number of tool items like wheel barrows, drills, an arc welder etc. The more in kind items we can get donated to the effort the better. Build day is Saturday, October 15th and we will need many hands to complete this exciting endeavour! You can register online at our website www.longview.ltbk.ca or call Michele at 403-558-2158 and we will register for you. We really need to get a proper head count a couple of weeks out in order to confirm for lunches and the wrap up Bar-B-Q after the build. Yes, we will have this built and dedicated by about 3:30 that afternoon thanks to the prior work done on the Thursday and Friday. The days build will be streaming live on the Internet throughout the day and Lynda Winfield will be our capable Videographer along with Junior ARC reporters Felicia and Lillianna McIntosh. The part of the project directly relating to the playground, fitness equipment, skate park equipment and Centennial Park ancillary items like the benches, tables and litter barrels is being matched dollar for dollar by an award from Let Them Be Kids and the ARC team has been working hard over the summer and throughout September applying for grants, sponsorship and individual donations. It makes it much more desirable for donors when they realize that their donation will have double the impact due to the LTBK Award. I would like to clear up some rumours while I have your attention. The Village is not paying for this. Your taxes will not go up. It is not coming out of your taxes. This is all through goodness of some dedicated resident's hard work in securing funding on their own. As Mr. Ian Hill originally stated this is a grass roots movement from the bottom up. This is not about building a playground but rather to create an opportunity for all of us, (old residents, new residents, well off or just getting by, living in the old part of Longview, the ridge and the trailer court along with everyone in the surrounding area) to do something and accomplish something together. It is an opportunity to meet neighbours whom you have not met yet. An opportunity to bond with one another without having it be a tragedy or disaster that has brought us together. I have pounded the pavement looking for ways to make it happen and I truly hope this is it. I have great faith in all of you that we will get this task done!!
We are holding a fund raiser in conjunction with Alberta ART Days on Saturday, October 1st at the Longview Community Hall. Doors open at 6pm with dinner at 6:30. There will be a silent auction and some wonderful talented local entertainment. Tickets are $20 and there will be a cash bar. You may purchase your tickets at the village office or call me at 403-558-2158. All profits will go to the playground build!!! Please take a moment to fill in the registration form online and you will receive weekly if not almost daily updates on how things are proceeding up to build day. If you would like to make a donation please make it payable to the Longview A R C Society. We are called the ARC society merely because by forming a society it enabled us access to more grants that are not available to the Village or non registered groups to apply for. Our common name is still the Longview ACE Community team and we will always be an ACE Community although our 2 year training journey with them is officially over. We are now considered to be ACE alumni and will still be in contact with the coaches and Alberta Recreation and Parks Association as well as all of the other ACE communities across Alberta. Please sign up today and let's show our youth what we can do when we all work together for a common goal!!! Have a great day!