Life & Style

Like most proud husbands and fathers, Randy Webb loves sharing stories about his family. To his wife’s chagrin sometimes, Webb shares many of those stories with a public audience as part of his comedy routine.
“Most times she’ll sit in the back and shake her head, and there are times I’ve seen the look on her face like, ‘I can’t believe he’s telling that story,’ ” Webb chuckles.
The 42-year-old Lethbridge man admits he’s always been one for telling stories and adding embellishments. A fan of standup comedy, Webb was a regular at the now-closed Blarney Stone’s Yuk Yuk’s weekly comedy nights — as a patron, not a performer. That is, until a friend gave him an unforgettable birthday gift. Webb received five minutes of stage time, which he says went “really well.”
“Then I got five minutes here and five minutes there and then they asked me to host.”
That was six years ago and Webb continues to hone his craft. He works full-time with adults and children with disabilities but travels to Calgary at least six times a year to practise his own standup routines at amateur nights. He’s participated in several comic competitions, including Yuk Yuk’s Great Canadian Laugh Off in Edmonton where some of Canada’s funniest people compete for cash and a chance at comic stardom. Webb didn’t advance but he considers the competition a career highlight because the headliner later encouraged him to continue pursuing comedy because he enjoyed the act.
In Lethbridge, he continues to appear on stage as a host, introducing comics every month at Average Joe’s during the Yuk Yuk’s show. On Feb. 18, he’ll host Mike Dambra, better known as Pickle, and friends at the downtown watering hole. The show starts at 9 p.m. and tickets are $15.
Todd Lachairte, Think Tank Events promoter, says Webb was an easy choice for host because he’s local and “very funny.”
Hosting requires a measure of skill, says Webb. A good host keeps the show running smoothly and adapts his mini bits to the performers’ comedic styles.
“At least as a host, you don’t have to be funny,” he jokes.
Family obligations prevent him from pursuing comedy as a career. However, that may change once his daughters age 14 and 16 leave home, he says. Until then, he is content pursuing his “part-time hobby” while drawing inspiration from his life as a full-time husband and father.
“My bits deal with my wife, my kids, my family,” he says, adding being a father is one of the most frightening and rewarding experiences — second to performing on stage.
“I’ve had those few times where I’ve put my bit in and had crickets in the background but going up there and telling a story and people burst out laughing — it’s the best feeling in the world.”

A waterslide? Wave pool? Walking track?
    Ashley Matthews doesn’t know what components will make up the city’s proposed leisure centre near the new library and school complex at The Crossings but the recreation and culture manager can firmly pinpoint the purpose of the facility.
“We have a competitive facility in the city already and we don’t want to compete with that,” he said. “The goal is recreation and leisure. We can see this facility really becoming the hub of the community, a place that has programming but is also for drop-in and spontaneous play. That’s really the concept.”
The city is holding two public open houses as part of its leisure centre study aimed at determining if there is a future need in the community for such a facility and to examine what components could be included. The open houses are scheduled for Jan. 31 at Nicholas Sheran School gymnasium and on Feb. 1 at City Hall. Both sessions run 7-9 p.m. and will offer an opportunity for questions, a chance to meet those involved and view artwork of the different components of the potential leisure centre.
For those unable to attend the open houses, information will be shared on the city’s website, www.lethbridge.ca, shortly after the open houses take place, and feedback and questions can be directed to Matthews at 403-320-3991.
The public consultation comes about nine months after city officials decided to delay work on a pair of ice arenas that were to have opened by September 2013.
Group2 Architecture of Red Deer, along with local firm Ferrari Westwood Babits Architects, were selected in the fall to work on a study into the possibility of an expanded project. Group2 has been involved in many well-known leisure centres built throughout the province such as Collicutt Centre in Red Deer and the Meadows Community Recreation Centre in Edmonton, plus members of the team worked on the University of Lethbridge’s 1st Choice Savings Centre for Health and Wellness.
The concept design will be presented at another set of public meetings in April, he said.
“We’ll know then what will make up the facility itself, how the project will look in the big picture and the construction costs.”
While this is only a study, the work done now will help guide the process should the city move forward in the future to build such a complex. The final report from the study is expected to be presented to city council in May.
Matthews said he’s visited eight different recreation-lesiure centres in the province and was surprised by the amount of activity inside and range of ages using those facilities.
“It’s exciting. It could be a huge opportunity for the community. I can see this being of benefit to the community for a long period of time.”

An initiative is looking to increase employment opportunities for youth with disabilities.
   And on Jan. 10 at the Lethbridge Lodge, the WorkAble Project Labour Market Study will host a job fair and conference to discuss government and community support for businesses to hire youth with disabilities, employers in southern Alberta who are successful in hiring youth with disabilities as well as youths with disabilities looking for employment and the opportunity to learn new skills.
“We found in the city that there are some employers that have done a wonderful job of hiring people with disabilities,” said Fred Nowicki, one of four project co-ordinators that also includes Velda Sjovold and Kimberly Schermers as well as president Verna Masuda. “On the other side of the coin, we also discovered there are number of employers who maybe haven’t thought of it or are unsure of doing that because they don’t know all the processes. What we’re trying to do is connect the employers with service providers in the city, of which there are about six, who support people who are looking for employment and have various kinds of disabilities.”
At the same time, WorkAble — funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Youth Awareness — strives to dispel such myths that employees with disabilities have a higher absentee rate, are not reliable and always need somebody to help them.
“There are people in the city who are visually impaired or hearing impaired or may suffer from epilepsy or be dyslexic who are highly skilled and capable of holding down certain jobs given the opportunity. We’re trying to bring that front and centre,” said Nowicki. “We’re also talking to the service agencies and saying to them ‘When you go and try find employment for an individual, what are some of your challenges and things you have to overcome?’”
The job fair will consist of a panel of two employers who have hired people with disabilities over a long period of time, said Nowicki.
“We’re going to have two representatives from the service providers that promote youth with disabilities for employment. We’re also going to have two individuals who have disabilities speak about their employment and the importance of their employment to them in terms of their well-being and their self esteem. We want to bring an orientation to this.”
The ultimate goal, said Nowicki, is to give Lethbridge and southern Alberta the reputation of being a place that is accommodating to employing those with disabilities.
“I would like to brand Lethbridge and southern Alberta as community that is welcoming and a community that is inclusive and a city of preference,” he said. “If I was a young adult with a disability I would want to live in this area because I would know that this community would allow my child or young adult to join the mainstream of society and be accepted by their colleagues and peers.
“It can’t be six service agencies or 10 service agencies and the WorkAble to do this. It really has to be the community at large, employers and citizens thinking ‘We have to start thinking about addressing the needs of these individuals along with solving some of our labour shortages.’”
There are plenty of potential employees with disabilities that can thrive in the work place, said Nowicki.
“We know of a young lady that is highly skilled and could probably work in the front end of an office. She’s physically disabled and can’t move as fast. We know of a young man who is highly capable in the technology field and has all of the certifications and hasn’t got a job. We know of a young man who has experiences with schizophrenia who has an engineering and drafting background and is not able to find employment. And yet, these people are highly skilled, capable individuals. We just have to broaden the thinking process of our community at large.”
Nowicki stressed the WorkAble program is not being judgemental toward local employers.
“We just want people to think about this at a higher level,” he said. “It’s not just convincing the employer. The employer also has to have their employees on their side. It goes beyond just the employers, it has to go to the employees, too.”
The community support of the Jan. 10 conference has been strong.
“We have a couple radio stations giving us a good deal on the promotion. We’ve been invited to speak to three different Rotary clubs in town,” said Nowicki. “We have been told there are some families that have actually cancelled or delayed their holidays to attend our conference. We have to really encourage employers to say this is worthwhile to give up a day of their time to hear what’s going on and see if they can become one of the employers in the city that will support and add to what we’re doing.”
The conference runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. there will be a walk-around period where people can talk to the agencies and get an understanding of what kind of service they can provide and how they can seek financial support from government to hire people with disabilities,” said Nowicki.
The conference will also feature “What’s In It For You?” with guest speaker Jeff Coffman.
Those wanting to reserve seats before Jan. 4 can call 403)-381-6320 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The conference is free to attend, but there is a cost of $15 for those wanting the lunch.

Canned preserves line the pantry shelves. Freshly separated milk and cream chill in the refrigerator. Bread rises in a bowl in the kitchen. The scene paints a picture of life on the Alberta prairie, but up until 1970, it was just another day at Lethbridge Provincial “Gaol.”
At a recent Wednesdays at the Galt program, security intelligence officer Shane Hoiland shared some of the changes that have happened over the past 100 years at the gaol, as was the spelling at the time. It was home to its own cattle and garden operation, and between 1950 and 1960, an onion house and slaughter house were built. A cannery opened in 1953. These all helped make the gaol pratically self-sufficient, with the exception of items such as sugar and flour, which had to be purchased.
Inmate participation in the farm operation was mandatory.
“At the farm, people had to work,” Hoiland told the crowd gathered at the Galt Museum & Archives. Today, participating in physical labour, such as that done by the crew that goes out in the community to clean coulees and perform similar duties, is voluntary.
The farm was shut down in 1970 and replaced with rehabilitation programs that continue today at what is now called the Lethbridge Correctional Centre.
The gaol was the first provincial one built in Alberta and the first west of Manitoba. The original facility was built in 1910-11 for approximately $250,000 on a 240-acre parcel of land. The doors opened in July 1911. It was comprised of 110 cells and six dormitories with a capacity to hold 168 inmates. In 1925 a six-bed hospital ward was added.
Remnants of the original gaol are still on the grounds, Hoiland said. The gaol was replaced by the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, which opened on the same site in 1983 at a cost of $28 million.
One difference between the two facilities is the design of the jail cells.
“The modern ones are made of steel and bricks,” said Hoiland who’s worked at the corrections centre since 1996. “Jail bars like you see in the movies don’t offer enough barrier between people.”
The lack of solid walls makes it difficult to keep inmates from freely passing items between cells and having physical contact, which present a danger, especially if the inmates are rival gang members. That’s why it’s rare to find cells separated by bars in modern-day facilities that are designed with ”care, custody and control” in mind, he added. It’s also the reason why some facility-wide activities, such as the sports day traditionally held each Canada Day, had to be discontinued.
The former goal cells do have a famous connection though. The design of the Lethbridge gaol was like that of the main cell block of Alcatraz prison.
“They’re virtually similar,” Hoiland said. “Other than one is surrounded by very, very cold water.”
The correctional centre celebrated its anniversary with an open house and displays on Aug. 23.