AWNA members coping with the Southern Alberta flood

Members in southern Alberta continue to deal with the aftermath of the flooding that has left newspaper staff homeless, in some cases without vehicles, and in other instances without newspaper offices, requiring them to put the paper to bed remotely.

Ossie Sheddy, publisher of the Drumheller Mail, has made it through several flooding events in his community. He’s sure the last event in 2005 taught the emergency people a great deal, so this time the evacuation process, volunteer co-ordination, sandbag filling locations and berm building process went smoothly. The water level came to within two feet of the 2005 level and the Sheddies were out of their house for two days.
It was certainly a busy time and Ossie adds “our own reporters did a great job on website and social media updates”

Suzanne White, advertising rep for the Rocky Mountain Outlook, shared that while the newspaper office itself was not affected, four staff were evacuated from their homes. There was flooding, but luckily they do not appear to have lost any belongings.
Because the town was cut off so abruptly, bringing the paper in for distribution was difficult, but they managed, just a little late.
Suzanne says the staff worked so hard to keep the community informed, and she believes with their coverage from this past week they have put out one of their best papers yet (available online at rmoutlook.com)
“Everyone pulled together, worked long hours, with tremendous coverage and amazing photos. They did an amazing job.”

Shawn Cornell, publisher of the Bow Valley Crag and Canyon, checked in to say the community has certainly been more affected than the actual newspaper or the staff. None of the staff in the region lost homes or cars, or was displaced.
“They have however, had a chance to shine by being at the centre of emergency”, he said, “and as a result, they are really tired.”
The Crag and Canyon had the added hurdle of undertaking a merger of the Banff Crag and Canyon and the Canmore Leader (effective July 3) at the same time as covering this disaster.
“I’m always extremely proud of the work being done by our staff but their fantastic and tireless efforts since this all began has reminded me of just why I am so proud.” writes Shawn

It seems likely the hardest struck paper is the High River Times. Nancy Middleton, publisher of High River and other area titles, as well as current AWNA vice-president, reported The Times office was evacuated 30 minutes before the building was overcome with five feet of churning river running through and they haven’t been allowed back in the building, (as of Thursday, June 27). Having seen a photo, she could tell the water moved so quickly through the building, even heavy furniture was completely re-arranged. It is assumed the archives is lost.

“Thursday, June 20 is a day that we will never forget — a bit surreal, really. At times, we were truly scared. There were moments when the water was coming so fast we doubted we would get out. We witnessed families looking for loved ones with panic in their voices and tears in their eyes, we saw cars floating down streets, we watched people being rescued from raging waters. It was the kind of thing that you see in the movies or watch on the big screen, not a thing that actually happens to you.”

Five Times staff members have lost their homes, vehicles and more. They are all working from various satellite locations with online access to booking systems, emails and cellphones.

“My team is amazing!” Nancy said with praise. “They looked after each other, their community and sent the Friday edition to press the day of the flood. And, we haven’t missed an edition since.”

Proving that community newspaper folks are a stalwart bunch, not one of our member papers has missed an issue as a result of this unprecedented disaster. There have been production delays, as expected, but everyone has found a way to continue. We are very proud to be associated with such herculean efforts.

If you also have a status update to share as a result of this event, or want to send a message of support, please add your comment here in the blog, or on our Facebook Group page.