Shockwaves has been sent through the community with the sudden death of long-time community and dog advocate Jim Uffelmann.

Jim passed on Sept. 29 after suffering a fatal accident while volunteering to fall trees for a public trail in the Bragg Creek area. His loss has left many saddened and speechless and his family has asked for privacy in this time of mourning.

A Light Up the Dog Park for Jim and Lulu has been organized by Cochrane Citizens and Dog Park Users, of which he was a principal member. It’s being held on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. in the River Ave. off-leash dog park. Bring your dogs.

“Jim always stands up for our rights as Cochranites - let's stand up for him and show him our support,” states the Facebook event posting.

An avid outdoorsman, dog owner and cyclist, Jim moved to Cochrane from Banff in 2005 and has been pro-active in the community for many causes, particularly advocating the need for more and better dog parks and off-leash parks.

He unsuccessfully ran for town council in 2013 and his platform centred upon the off-leash dog park, the Open Spaces Master Plan and transit. He was also pushing for the town to make a stronger commitment to public openness and changing it gears from being agenda-driven to engagement driven.

He contemplated running in this election but dismissed the idea. However, he was active in bringing issues to the public.

For the 2013 election he established the Facebook page “Cochrane Elections” and in this current election was also active on social media.

A little over a week ago, he sat down with CochraneNow to discuss the need for more off-leash parks and his concern with the new bridge alignment and its impact upon the nearby public pathway.

There is advocacy to rename the riverfront off-leash dog park in his memory.