The Community
Press Your LOCAL Paper!
Volume 113, Issue 2
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
$1 Including GST
LESLIE CHOLOWSKY PHOTO
Camrose MLA Jackie Lovely waves to the crowd during Sedgewick’s Canada Day parade on Wednesday, July 1, with Flagstaff County Councillor Jeff Eckstrand behind the wheel of a beautiful classic car owned by David Muirhead. The parade was well enjoyed by the crowd lining the route, and featured a lot of entries from the region. See more parade photos on Page 2.
Killam RCMP catch thieves in the act Seniors can expect On June 30 at 4 a.m. Killam RCMP responded to a break and enter in progress at an oilfield site in Flagstaff County. Three males were arrested at the main entrance to the oil field site. The three individuals have been charged with breaking and entering with intent to commit theft therein, mischief: destruction of property, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, possession of break-in instruments, and possession of schedule I controlled substance. One of the males was also charged with breach of his
peace bond recognizance. Several tools including wrenches, bolt cutters, hammer, electrical reciprocating saw, hatchet, and drills were seized. Two grass trimmers, four tool boxes, and 13 batteries were also seized. The U-haul was rented on June 29 in Edmonton, Alberta. Killam RCMP would like to thanks to the public for continuing to report suspicious activity and break-ins to businesses. The arrest would not have been possible without the assistance of an employee on site.
a little extra cash this week
Leslie Cholowsky Editor
Federal Minister of Seniors, Deb Schulte, made an announcement Monday, July 6, that seniors eligible for Old Age Security (OAS), the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), or Allowances will receive a one-time, tax-free payment this week, without needing to apply. Seniors who live in Canada can expect to receive $300 to $500 by cheque or direct deposit this week. The Government says, “Many seniors are facing higher costs for food and services due to physical distancing restrictions, while others are paying more in dispensing fees to get the same medication or paying a premium for deliveries.” Schulte says, “It is important that we help seniors in Canada through this difficult time. With this one-time tax-free payment, we are continuing to support seniors to ensure they are able to get the essentials they need... and ensure they know that we are with them and they are not left behind.”
The Community Press, Wednesday, July 8, 2020 - Page 23
Killam Home Hardware Building Centre 5029 - 57 St., Killam 780-385-2364 Darek Graff fondly remembers his first job. It was at the Home Hardware store his parents owned and operated on Killam’s main street. “I was 13 years old,” he recalls with a smile, “so stocking shelves, moving, cleaning, all that type of stuff that you get a 13-year-old kid to run around and do.” Darek moved away from home after high school, playing university and junior football, and earning his ticket in carpentry. Circa 2015, the Red Seal carpenter returned to his hometown with wife Stacy, his fiancée at the time. In 2017, two decades after his parents, Gordon and Lynette Graff, opened the hardware shop, Darek and Stacy bought into the family business at its present location on the west side of Killam. “Of the two of us, Darek has been the primary person working in the store, and I joined in September,” Stacy explains. “In the last three years, he’s done a lot in trying to adapt our store to meet the needs of the customer.” That includes expanding product lines – adding large appliances such as fridges and stoves, for instance. They’ve also introduced some locally made goods to help support other local businesses in the region. “Flagstaff Crafted (a program and platform run by Flagstaff County that enhances the exposure of makers, artisans and retailers of local products) gave us a really good avenue to reach all these people with, and we thought this would be awesome just to be able to put them on our shelves,” Stacy says. “So, we’ve really tried to respond to community needs.” As part of their local push, Killam Home Hardware offers an ongoing ‘Locally Made, Locally Loved’ promotion and accepts applications at any time. “We will feature that business or crafter or maker for six weeks on an end bunk – that’s a shelf that faces the aisle. So those ones get the most attention from customers,” Stacy
says. “As soon as you walk in, it’s one of the first things you see. Then we promote it through social media and ask that they promote us back by re-posting or sending out their own post about them being in our store.” The recent additions have only served to enhance an already diverse offering of products – from housewares and plumbing, to tools and lumber, and much more. “We try to carry a little bit of everything and a lot of the things that we know people are going to need large amounts of so that people are making one less trip to the city,” Stacy adds. Of course, there’s only so much square-footage to go around. Where they really strive to set themselves apart from the bigger stores in the city is through first-rate customer service. “Customer service is what makes us unique,” Darek explains. “If we try and take a big-box store approach, we simply don’t have the land space or the inventory space to try and carry everything that we possibly could. So where we try and make up for that is expertise and service. “A customer comes in with a general idea or a problem or something of that nature in the home-building world, I feel very confident that myself and every one of our staff are able to address those issues and give
a knowledgeable answer to each one of their questions.” Darek calls it playing to their strengths. “Being a part of this community and living and working here, it gives us a chance to build a relationship and rapport with as many people that come in the door as possible,” he says. “We honestly do care about the people that come in and choose to spend their dollars here. They have the choice to drive 45 minutes or to order online or to do many other things, but they choose to physically come here and support us and we don’t want that to go unnoticed.” Stacy agrees, noting that they’re extremely grateful for their loyal customer base. “We have great customers in Flagstaff,” she says. “They come once, twice, three times a week. We have people who come in to see what's new this week or just to have a chat over the lumber desk. There’s a lot of people that like to do that or just come in and ask Darek a question about ‘how would I do this’ or ‘I bought this and now I’m at this point and I don’t know what to do now.’” Customers also have the option of ordering products online. Orders are shipped to the store and can be picked up on Fridays. It’s one of the many perks of being part of a franchise, says Darek. “Home Hardware isn’t owned by
one big corporate entity,” he notes. “It’s a group of small owner-operators coming together to collectively pool their resources to try and get the best pricing and provide the best service possible. “So what it does is it enables a business of our size to have online tech support, to have tons and tons of training that’s available to us, as well to have people that you can call if you have a problem and find out immediately an answer.” Darek and Stacy are also extremely grateful for their personable and knowledgeable staff, which they know is absolutely essential to providing great customer service. “We are extremely, extremely blessed to have the staff that we do,” he says “It gives me the assurance to be able to step back and let this place run on its own and that’s a luxury that a lot of small businesses don’t always have.” Over the past three years, Darek and Stacy have given the store a strong local presence digitally – arguably made most memorable around Christmastime every year when Darek dons his elf-on-theshelf costume and the hilarity ensues. Stacy handles most of the social media, posting about the latest promotions, as well as various upcoming workshops, including crafting evenings (in partnership with Willow Hill Designs) and paint nights, where customers can learn best practices for using their paints. The husband-and-wife team continues to look for ways to improve the store and introduce new services for their valued customers. “It’s one of the steps that we’re taking to try and make sure that we stay relevant with our customer base and with the industry moving forward,” Darek says. “If you’re standing still, you’re getting left behind. So we always make a point to try and reinvest capital into this business to make sure it’s as up to date and current as possible.” For more information, visit www.killamhomehardware.com, find Killam Home Hardware Building Centre on Facebook, and view the video on The Community Press website and Facebook. Watch for their regular flyer inserted into the local paper in the Killam market.
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