county newsletter county newsletter
Transcription
county newsletter county newsletter
COUNTY NEWSLETTER December 2013 Bag 1300, Peace River, AB T8S 1Y9 Phone (780)624-0013 Fax (780)624-0023 Email [email protected] Inside this issue: You are Invited to a Christmas Open House Hosted by the Council & Staff on December 16, 2013 From 4-8PM Council Highlights 2-3 Council Donations 4 2013 ATB Financial Farm Family Awards 5 New Staff/Public Works 6 Utilities 7 NEW water Ltd./ Season Greeting 8 Protective Services 9-11 Community Services 12-20 In the Council Chamber The County Administration Building will be closed December 25, 26 & 27, January 1, and February 17 for Christmas and statutory holidays. Regular County Office Hours are 8:15am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday, except on Statutory Holidays. For after hours emergencies please call 1-866-926-9171 and the answering service will direct your calls to the appropriate departments. County Newsletter December 2013 COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS Front Row: Reeve Carolyn Kolebaba—Ward 1—Harmon Valley/Reno Deputy Reeve Marie Dyck—Ward 2—Nampa Rural District Back Row: Councillor Norm Duval—Ward 4—St. Isidore Councillor Dan Boisvert—Ward 3—Marie Reine Councillor Garrett Tomlinson—Ward 6—Cadotte Lake/Little Buffalo Councillor Doug Dallyn—Ward 5—Three Creeks 2014 Council Meeting Schedule—Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. 2 January 7 January 21 July 15 July 29 February 4 February 18 August 12 August 26 March 11 March 25 September 9 September 23 April 8 April 22 October 14 October 28 May 6 May 20 November 10 November 25 June 10 June 24 December 9 County Newsletter December 2013 COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS Council awarded the contract for the pumphouse upgrades in Marie Reine, and the pumphouse and treated water reservoir expansion in St. Isidore to AGS Mechanical in the amount of $1,870,000 Council sponsored the speaker for the Peace River & District Chamber of Commerce Small Business Week lunch on October 23, 2013 in the amount of $1,500 Northern Sunrise County Council, and the Town of Peace River Council donated a total of $100,000 to the Peace Regional Outreach Campus new daycare facility from the InterMunicipal Cooperation Initiative—Capital Cost Sharing Agreement Council donated $3,285.87 to the Peace Region Dance Society for supplies and studio repairs Council donated $1,000 to the Rotary House Fundraiser Council donated $1,000 to the Peace River Regional Women’s Shelter Council donated $48,000 to the Peace River Child Care Association to assist with the operational deficit for October & November at the Sugar Plum Daycare Council purchased advertising space in the Aboriginal Interagency Powwow Calendars for $600, as well as purchased 20 calendars in the amount of $400 Council contributed $121 to the Alberta Beef Producers for the Economic Impact of Wildlife to Livestock Producers Study Council donated $2,500 to the 2014 Growing the North Conference Council contributed $1 per capita to Lac-Megantic, Quebec towards the rebuilding of the community after the train wreck tragedy in the amount of $2,780 Council sponsored the 2014 Peace Oil Sands Conference in the amount of $2,500 Council sponsored the Northwest Corridor Development Corporation (NCDC) Northern Ports Symposium and AGM September 30-October 1, 2013 in Fort St. John BC in the amount of $2,500 3 County Newsletter December 2013 COUNCIL DONATIONS Council presents a $20,000 cheque to Bobbie Toker with the Nampa & District Agricultural Society for their community hall grant. Council presents a $500 cheque to John Kuran with the Peace River Stampeders Baseball Club for a donation. Council presents a $750 cheque to Wendy Goulet with the Mamowintowin Cultural Centre Board for National Aboriginal Day Council presents a $48,000 cheque to Kathy Therrien-Noullett, and Megan Curry with the Peace River Child Care Association to assist with the operational deficit for October & November at the Sugar Plum Daycare. Council presents a $3,285.87 cheque to Lindsay Swartz, Ursula McDougall, Chloe Swartz, and Farrah Villeneuve with the Peace Region Dance Society for supplies and studio repairs. 4 County Newsletter December 2013 2013 ATB FINANCIAL FARM FAMILY AWARDS The 45th Farm Family Awards were presented on November 6, 2013. The objective of the Farm Family Awards is to recognize outstanding farm families in an area north of Township 34. The Farm Family Awards honor those who best exemplify the value of the family farm to our rural communities and society by being leaders in the industry. Northern Sunrise County Council was pleased to nominate Gacek Family Farms for this prestigious recognition. Gacek Family Farms - Walter & Darlene Gacek Joe Gacek homesteaded in Three Creeks in 1929 where he and his wife, Doris, raised six children and farmed until he passed away in 1984. Joe’s oldest son, Walter, farmed with him, buying his first quarter in 1957. Walter and Darlene farmed nineteen quarters, growing mostly canola and wheat. They have two sons and one daughter. They ran a mixed farm until 2009 when they sold the cattle. Walter was in politics for eighteen years and served twenty-one years on the Agricultural Service Board. Bryan, Walter’s oldest son, bought the homestead in 1987 as his first quarter. He is married to Lucette and they have two boys, Brandon and Ryley, who all assist with the farming operation. Gacek Family: Left to Right: Brandon, Lucette, Bryan, Ryley, Darlene and Walter 5 Left to Right: Northlands CEO Richard Andersen, Agriculture Minister Verlyn Olson, Walter & Darlene Gacek, Greg Malyk from ATB Financial, and Peace River MLA Frank Oberle. County Newsletter December 2013 NEW STAFF/PUBLIC WORKS Bob Madore has joined the County as the Director of Finance. Bob has been in Yellowknife, NT for the past seven years where he held the position of Manager of Finance for the Municipal Corporation of the City of Yellowknife. He guided Yellowknife through the difficult financial transition to Tangible Capital Asset accounting and the City of Yellowknife received recognition for excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) under this guidance. Bob has been active as a delegate and speaker at GFOA events and represented the Northwest Territories as a board member for the Western Canada delegation. SNOW PLOWING OF PRIVATE DRIVEWAYS When you require snow plowing in your driveway, place a flag at the entrance and contact the County office before 9:00 a.m. at 780-624-0013, to be added to the list. Flags can be purchased at the Northern Sunrise County Administration Building located at the top of the East Hill, at the Junction of Highway 2 and Sunrise Road (formerly Highway 688). Flags are $30 each and will only be issued after a snow plowing agreement is completed. The driveway will be plowed for a maximum of 30 minutes per flag. Additional time will be charged at $60 per hour. Please Do Not push snow into road ways from your sidewalks & driveways. Remember that our Operators are working hard to keep the roads safe for you and your family Give yourself plenty of time to drive Leave plenty of road space Plows & Graders have blind spots Pass Plows & Graders with Caution Plows & Graders are wide and need space to operate Please stay back and stay visible 6 County Newsletter December 2013 UTILITIES Written by: Brent Schapansky, Utilities Coordinator The County Utilities department has been working on setting up two new non-potable water stations at Harmon Valley and Three Creeks to support agriculture operations. The equipment for Harmon Valley is ready for next spring. Three Creeks won’t be far behind. At St. Isidore, the existing non-potable water station will be relocated to inside the building and will likely be available year round as an alternate water source for fire fighting. A new high volume pump will make the system completely automatic alleviating the need of working the valves to clean the filter. The upgrade to the St. Isidore non-potable station is part of a larger upgrade taking place at the St. Isidore Reservoir. AGS Mechanical was successful in their bid for this job and construction started during the week of November 4. New distribution pumps, piping and controls will be installed and an additional underground storage cell for treated water will be constructed to increase capacity at the reservoir. This is a critical upgrade due to the reservoir now pumping water to the Village of Nampa and the surrounding area since Phase 2A of the regional water project was completed in March of 2012. Formerly, the reservoir supplied only the hamlet of St. Isidore and the water co-op customers in the Three Creeks, Wesley Creek and Kauffman Hill areas. It now pushes an additional 350 to 550 M 3 south to Nampa every day to supply the Village and Marie Reine and the rest of the water co-op customers. There will be intermittent shut downs of the St. Isidore water system but careful project management and timing will see these as short as possible. The Truck Fill station at St. Isidore will also be upgraded in order to handle tanker traffic. Expect temporary shut downs of this truck fill station during construction as well. The County will provide media releases to notify affected customers but please remember that your numeric Customer ID and PIN number will work at any drinking water truck fill in the County except for in Cadotte Lake. Marie Reine Water Reservoir will also see some upgrades as part of the AGS contract. We are aiming at minimal interruption to service while the piping and controls in the reservoir building are upgraded. This will bring the last of the water facilities in the County into the full remote monitoring and remote control of the regional SCADA network that centers at the regional water treatment plant. These water reservoir upgrades are scheduled for completion by June 2014. On the “other end” of things, the sewage lagoons in both hamlets and in the Village of Nampa, were desludged this fall by Aqua Clear Environmental from Whitecourt. Each wastewater treatment lagoon system has at least two cells. The primary cell is where the solids settle out and over the years, the solids build up and must be dealt with. Aqua Clear took care of this task by sampling and analyzing the sludge, making the required applications to Alberta Environment & Sustainable Resource Development, pumping the sludge into tankers, and land applying it. Each of the lagoons took two to three days to complete. Thank you to land owners who elected to have the sludge applied on their lands. Our wastewater treatment lagoons should now be good for another twenty years or so. A thanks to all residents for their continued support and to all local businesses and suppliers. Have a great Christmas and looking forward to a happy and prosperous 2014. 7 County Newsletter December 2013 NEW water LTD./SEASONS GREETING Written by: Brent Schapansky, Utilities Coordinator The regional water treatment plant has been recently upgraded. This was not originally expected until at least 2020. With the Shell, Carmon Creek expansion going ahead, and in preparation for serving their work camp drinking water needs, NEW water Ltd., with the assistance of Associated Engineering, DWG Process and Pall US/Pall Canada purchased twelve additional membrane filter modules and installed them in our two existing filtration skids. Each skid was built to accommodate twenty modules. The skids were originally equipped with only 14 modules each, which was sufficient for the needs of NEW water Ltd.’s in 2010. The peak production capacity was rated at 1500 M3/day. During the summer of 2012, we nearly hit that peak volume, so the Stage 1 upgrade was needed ahead of schedule. When Shell decided to proceed with Carmon Creek, they approached NEW water Ltd. with a request to supply up to 450 M 3 per day during construction. This is the equivalent of supporting the water needs of a small town so the decision was made to proceed with the purchase and installation of the modules required to bring both filter skids to full capacity. This was completed in late October increasing the plant’s capacity to 2200 to 2500 M 3/day. Once Shell has completed their four year construction schedule, they will only require drinking water for their regular operations staff. The remaining additional plant capacity will be there to meet the future needs and continued growth in the County, First Nations communities and the Village of Nampa. It should be noted that Shell is not taking water from the system for oil production or processing, but for drinking water needs only. Shell has been a part of our regional water project from early on, donating 22 kilometre of pipeline running from the Shell Insitu plant to Cadotte Lake. This former raw water supply line was relined and saved several million dollars in pipeline construction costs forming a vital link in the transmission of water from the water treatment plant to Cadotte Lake, Little Buffalo and Marten Lake. They also donated space in their Raw Water Intake Low Lift pumping station for our Raw Water Low Lift pumps, again, saving millions in project costs. Seasons Greetings From Northern Sunrise County 8 County Newsletter December 2013 PROTECTIVE SERVICES Written by: Fire Prevention Officer, Julien Bergeron The annual fire prevention week has come and gone for 2013. This year’s theme was “Get cookin’ with fire safety - prevent kitchen fires”. Each fire hall operated by Northern Sunrise County Protective Services held an open house. Volunteer firefighters demonstrated the importance of knowledge in fire safety around the house, particularly in the kitchen. In the Alberta Fire commissioner’s statistical report (2011-2012), cooking is listed as the top known cause of home fires. In 2012 alone, 370 out of 1900 house fires were caused by cooking. Fires caused by cooking were responsible for over $22 million in property loss province wide. Education on safe cooking practices and knowledge on how to extinguish fires in the kitchen could help reduce these statistics dramatically. It is vital that a competent individual be present at all times while cooking. Leaving the kitchen while food is frying, broiling, boiling, etc. is discouraged. 85% of fires in 2012 were initially detected by visual sighting/ personal recognition versus 5% where the initial detection was by smoke alarm systems. By being present during cooking operations, recognizing and mitigating a danger is done much quicker reducing the possibility of a major property loss or ultimately loss of life. In the event a fire does occur in the kitchen, it is important to know what to do. Use the correct fire extinguisher and/or the correct method of extinguishing the fire. Extinguishing a fire in the kitchen with water is generally discouraged due to the electrical components in use in a kitchen. Furthermore, using water to extinguish a grease/oil fire may actually aggravate the situation. Water is heavier than grease/oil, and it will sink to the bottom. Due to the high temperature, water will instantly evaporate pushing up and spreading the burning liquids in the surrounding area. In the event such a fire situation occurs and a fire extinguisher is not readily available, dampen a rag or cloth and use it to cover the burning liquid container. This will essentially starve the fire of oxygen and therefore extinguish the fire. Turn off the heating element or flame if this has not already been done. Leave the oil/grease to cool. Be sure to have working smoke alarms in the house. There should be one in each sleeping area, outside the vicinity of every sleeping area, on every floor, and in large gathering areas. Buildings without smoke alarms installed made up of 58% of structure fires in 2012. Out of the structure fires that did have smoke alarms installed within the structure, the smoke alarms were not activated 29% of the time. Reasons for failure of activation the smoke alarm(s) include but are not limited to unsuitable location, dead battery, no battery and power disconnected/disabled (wired smoke alarms). It is recommended that smoke alarms be tested monthly, cleaned bi-annually and that a new battery be installed annually. For more statistics, visit the Office of the Fire Commissioner’s website: www.ofc.alberta.ca For more information, contact the Northern Sunrise County Fire Prevention Officer at: (780)624-8323 or [email protected] 9 County Newsletter December 2013 PROTECTIVES SERVICES Meet Wayne “I first joined the Nampa Fire Department in the 1980’s. I originally joined the fire department because my uncle was the Fire Chief for the department at the time. I remained on for five years until I moved away for 14 years. I’ve since returned and once again find myself to be part of the Nampa Fire Department. Today, I work as a maintenance scheduler for the oil and gas industry but I still manage to find time to fulfill my fire department duties as Deputy Chief.” WE NEED YOU!!! If you would like to become a volunteer firefighter or have any questions, call David Leblanc, Director of Protective Services, or Julien Bergeron, Fire Prevention Officer at (780) 624-0013, or e-mail us at [email protected] [email protected] 10 County Newsletter December 2013 PROTECTIVE SERVICES FIRE PERMITS Fire Permits are required year round within the non-forest protection area of Northern Sunrise County. Why? When issued a fire permit, the permit holder can have peace of mind knowing that if the unfortunate circumstance of a loss of control was to occur, the permit holder will not be responsible for covering the cost for any fire department response needed so long as all conditions on the permit have been met. Fire permits are free of charge and mandatory for any open flame burning excluding fire pits and for cooking purposes. Use of burn barrels also require a permit. 11 County Newsletter December 2013 COMMUNITY SERVICES Daily Scheduled Programs Mondays: 4:00pm-5:00pm Ballet Dancing 5:00pm-8:00pm Ladies Artistic Night Tuesdays: 4:00pm-6:00pm Youth Activities Wednesdays: 4:00pm—5:00pm RCMP Youth Night 5:00pm-6:00pm Native Dancing with Dennis Whitford (ages 7 and up) Thursdays: 4:00pm—6:00pm Teen Building (Ages 12-15) 7:00pm—8:30pm Guitar Lessons Fridays: 11:00am-2:00pm Community Lunch Program. $5.oo per plate. Proceeds go towards program supplies for Mamowintowin UPCOMING PROGRAMS Parents & Tots Starting January 2014 Mamowintowin Classroom Look for posters! 12 County Newsletter December 2013 COMMUNITY SERVICES Christmas Craft Day December 23, 2013 1:00pm-4:00pm Cadotte Lake Community Christmas Party December 14, 2013 2:00pm-6:00pm Photos with Santa and community luncheon Christmas Movie Showing December 24, 2013 1:00pm-4:00pm New Years Dance Community Flea Markets December 31, 2013 December 7, 2013 12:00pm-4:00pm Times to Follow January 25, 2014 12:00pm-6:00pm February 22, 2014 12:00pm—6:00pm Valentines Sweetheart Dance Featuring live local entertainment by Calvin D. New Years’ Community Potluck February 15, 2014 January 25, 2014 Times to follow 5:00pm-8:00pm Men’s Night Every Friday Starting January 3, 2014 13 Community Bible Study Every Tuesday Starting January 7, 2014 County Newsletter December 2013 COMMUNITY SERVICES Seniors’ Coffee Morning Seniors’ Lunch Program A hot meal will be served at noon on Tuesdays at Le Café du Coin (Seniors’ Centre). Seniors also have the option to purchase meals to take home. Meals are prepared fresh in the kitchen. Special diets such as diabetic, low salt, and low fat are available. There will be a 15-20 minute exercise program at 11:30am followed by lunch. Every Tuesday of each month St. Isidore Cultural Centre 10:30am-12:00pm. Half hour exercise program for those interested. The meal consists of a hot entrée (meat, vegetables, potatoes or pasta), and dessert. Cost is $10 per meal or $5 for take out. Community Services Van For more info call Véronique at 780-624-8071. Peace River each Wednesday. St. Isidore/Three Creeks area Grande Prairie 2nd Friday of each month. Christmas Open House December 12, 2013 2:00pm-4:00pm SAVE THE DATE St. Isidore Carnaval Call 780-624-8071 to register February 15, 2014 Carnaval De tout le monde dehors St. Isidore Club du Bon Temps: Seniors’ Drop-In Center Open Wed & Sat 7:00 pm Velvet tip Toes Mobile Foot Care Services December 30, 2013 $50.00 per session To register or for more information call 780-617-0801 14 County Newsletter Blood Pressure Clinic 1st Tuesday of each month 6:00pm –7:00pm at Le Café du Coin December 2013 COMMUNITY SERVICES Seniors’ Programs Seniors’ Coffee Morning Christmas Open House 3rd Wednesday of the month Nampa Municipal Library 10:30am—12:00pm Sponsored by the Nampa Municipal Library. December 11, 2013 2:00pm-4:00pm Lights snacks and coffee/tea will be served. Seniors’ Bowling Outing Seniors’ Swim Day December 17, 2013 December 11, 2013 January 17, 2014 January 15, 2014 February 14, 2014 February 12, 2014 1:00pm-3:00pm 10:00am-11:00am $12.00 per senior (includes tea/coffee) $3.00 per person $5.00 for the Seniors Van $5.00 for the Seniors Van Call 780-322-3954 to register Call 780-322-3954 Senior Christmas Cookie Exchange Community Services Van December 16, 2013 Nampa/Reno/Harmon Valley/Marie Reine 11:00am—2:00 pm Trips to Peace River Every Thursday. Senior Drop in Centre Trips to Grande Prairie 1st Friday of Each Month Bring in your favorite batch of Christmas cookies and exchange with your neighbors. Call 780-322-3954 to register 15 For more information call 780-322-3954 County Newsletter December 2013 COMMUNITY SERVICES Youth Programs Parents & Tots Every Tuesday Christmas Potluck Nampa Library December 13, 2013 10:00am—11:30am 4:00pm—7:00pm Nampa Library Nampa FCSS Office Afterschool Club Call 322-3954 to register. Ages 5-12 School Days Only 3:30pm –5:30pm Nampa FCSS Back Room Information Sessions Home Alone Course Little Warriors December 6, 2013 Date to be Announced 4:30pm-7:30pm 6:00pm—9:00pm Nampa FCSS Office FCSS Office Please call 780-322-3954 to register. Mental Health First Aid January 18, 2014 & January 25, 2014 9am-3pm. Participants must attend both days to receive certificate. To register call 780-322-3954 16 To register call 780-322-3954 Babysitting Course December 7, 2013 10:00am-3:30pm Age: 12 yrs old To register please call 780-322-3954 County Newsletter December 2013 COMMUNITY SERVICES Family Programs February 17, 2014 At the Nampa Complex Hot Dogs, Bannock, Shinny Hockey, Sleigh Rides, & Family Activities! Community BINGOs Community Supper Card Days January 11, 2014 December 11, 2013 Every Tuesday February 8, 2014 February 11, 2014 12:30pm-4:00pm Starts at 2pm Dinner is served at 6:00pm $0.25 Bingo $12 Adults $6 12 and under 6 and under eat free 17 County Newsletter December 2013 COMMUNITY SERVICES Nampa Municipal Library Librarian: Cathy Rasmussen Hours of Operation: Monday: 7:00pm-9:00 pm Tuesday-Friday 10:00am-5:00pm Closed 12:00pm –1:00pm for lunch Internet access available Book Club Held the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Call Cathy for more info 780-322-3805 Become a BOARD Member of the Library. Our meetings are the 1st Monday of each month. Call Cathy at 780-322-3805 Nampa Gospel Fellowship Church Sunday School 9:45am ages 4 & up Worship Services 11:00am St. Charles Church Sunday Mass 9:00am Paroisse de Saint Isidore Sunday Mass 11:00am Cadotte Lake Church Services Sundays 2:00pm-6:00pm St. Isidore Cultural Center For Hall rentals call Lyne Bruneau at 780-624-4699. Renovations are currently underway. McKinney Hall Brandi Parker (President) at 780-624-5439. [email protected] Kristy Belzile (Bookings) 780-814-1042 [email protected] Peace River Ag Society & Hall Monday—Friday 9:00am—4:30pm Internet access & photocopies Librarian: Marie Lavoie [email protected] phone : 780-624-8182 fax: 780-624-8192 Visit our new webpage: www.bibliothequestisidore.ab.ca Teena Toker at 780-322-3770. Marie Reine Hall Genealogy January 8, 2014 7:00pm-8:00pm Call 322-3805 for more information Bibliothèque de St-Isidore Nampa & District Complex For Complex rentals call Janel Olir (Vice President & Horseshow Info) 780-618-0289 Mamowintowin Hall Eve Calliou 780-629-2476 [email protected] Meet every 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm Harmon Valley Ag Society & Hall Dorothy D’aoust (Bookings) 780-322-2343 Meet every 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm 18 County Newsletter December 2013 COMMUNITY SERVICES Nampa/Harmon Valley/Marie Reine FCSS Supervisor of Community Services Box 572, Nampa, AB T0H 2R0 Northern Sunrise County Administration Community Development Coordinator: Christina McNeil Building Monday-Friday 8:15am—4:30pm 135 Sunrise Rd. Peace River, AB T8S 1Y9 Phone: 780-322-3954 Amber Houle Fax: 780-322-3955 Phone: 780-625-3287 Email: [email protected] St. Isidore/Three Creeks FCSS Office 11-10 Bouchard St. (Seniors Complex) Community Development Coordinator: Véronique Lavoie Tuesday 9:00am – 4:30pm (FCSS Office) Wednesday 9:00am – 12:00pm (Cultural Center) Northern Sunrise County: Marie Dyck Village of Nampa: Perry Skrlik 1:00pm—4:00pm (FCSS Office) St. Isidore/Three Creek: Gwenda Fortin Phone: 780-624-8071 Fax: 780-624-0936 Reno/Harmon Valley: Ethyl Velie Email: [email protected] Marie Reine/Judah Vacant Cadotte Lake: Gaylene Whitehead Cadotte Lake/Little Buffalo FCSS Little Buffalo: Darlene Cardinal Mamowintowin Hall Nampa: Penny Butz Community Development Coordinator: Christine Letendre Monday—Friday 10:00 am—5:00 pm Phone: 780-629-2476 Fax: 780-629-2471 Email: [email protected] From the FCSS Staff and Board Page 19 19 County Newsletter December 2013 COMMUNITY SERVICES 20 County Newsletter December 2013