While the Grinch didn’t get around to stealing Christmas last year, he did steal a wind generator from an amateur radio project. The Yellowhead Amateur Radio Association had its wind generator stolen during the Hinton Snowflake Parade in December.
The radio project had mounted the generator on a pickup truck for the Knights of Columbus’ float during the parade. That weekend, the generator was stolen from the vehicle.
After the parade, the generator was going to be used to power an internet system for the Mountain Cree Camp, more commonly known as the Smallboy Camp, near Rocky Mountain House.
The Camp was established in 1968 by Chief Robert Smallboy from the Ermineskin First Nation. Smallboy feared the Ermineskin were moving away from traditional values. Because of this, Smallboy stepped down as chief and left the reserve to pursue a more grounded way of life.
Smallboy was followed by more than 100 people that shared his beliefs, including Lazarus Roan.
“A lot of it had to do with sins: sex, drugs and rock and roll…Back in the day, that’s what they said. They initially wanted to get away from that kind of life,” Lazarus Roan told APTN News.
To the radio project’s president Ron Rosmer, it wasn’t just about providing internet to the Smallboy Camp. It was about improving the lives of the people there.
If this project were successful, Rosmer had planned to start a local business to supply these green-powered internet systems in and around Rocky Mountain House.
In addition to improving internet access, this would create jobs for residents, including those from the Smallboy Camp.
But Rosmer and his team haven’t given up yet. Rosmer has ordered a new wind generator and plans to get the project back on track.
“There’s real problems with their whole infrastructure down there…My thought would be to also get them set up with green energy. This is where we could be looking at a combination of solar and wind,” said Rosmer.
The radio project is also considering other forms of green energy, like fuel cells, but support for the project is lacking. For now, Rosmer plans to focus on solar and wind energy.
