Teacher layoffs for Fort schools

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 08:32:40 -0600

Teacher layoffs are expected at local schools as both public and Catholic systems cut budgets this summer.
The Elk Island Catholic School trustees approved a budget that will cut a total of 30 teachers from the 16 schools in the division. Three of those schools are in Fort Saskatchewan.
Elk Island Public School trustees also approved staff cuts in their budget last week. A total of 31.8 full-time equivalent teaching positions will be cut from the 44 schools in the system.
“Parents should be prepared to see potential changes in class size and configuration as our school administrators work within budget limitations,” warns public school board chair Lisa Brower.
All of this is caused by the failure of provincial government grants to keep up with previously negotiated teacher salary increases and other costs, according to school officials.
While the basic instruction grant has increased by 4.54 per cent — therefore matching the increase to teacher wages — other separate grants to schools have been cut or reduced, Brower says.
These include funding for long distance busing, English as a second language and stabilization funding.

New senior lodge not far away

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 08:31:49 -0600

A new seniors lodge will be a reality soon, says Fort Mayor Gale Katchur.
The need for senior housing has been researched and confirmed, and Fort City Council has endorsed the Fort Foundation study calling for a new lodge, Katchur says.
The Fort Foundation has also hired consultant Ken Fernly to develop architectural designs, land needs and prepare grant applications for the project, she adds.
The project is also getting strong support from the provincial government. The Assistant Deputy Minister of Seniors Affordable Housing, Mike Leathwood is participating with Fort Saskatchewan’s Replacement Lodge Committee. of Fort Saskatchewan.
Alberta government officials are also happy to see Fort Saskatchewan joining forces with Strathcona County to form a new sub region for affordable housing, including senior housing. Strathcona officials also agree that the sub region’s top housing priority is a new seniors lodge in Fort Saskatchewan.
Katchur supports putting the new lodge on the old hospital site, and wants to see Council move quickly on whatever choice the Replacement Lodge Committee makes.
Allocating land to the project is the next big step for Fort Saskatchewan, which will then leave everything ready for final provincial government funding, Katchur says.
“I am hopeful that this Council will be the Council that ensures our senior citizens housing needs are being met.”

Fox family finds downtown home

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 08:29:54 -0600

A Red Fox family is living in downtown Fort Saskatchewan.
Katherine Braid discovered the fox den Monday under her late husband Paul Braid’s art studio on 102 Street overlooking the river valley.
The den is just two blocks from City Hall.
Braid also heard their calls and saw a fox running across the old swimming pool park site just below her home.
The family was easy to spot in the park at dawn Tuesday, June 7, though they quickly scattered. The parents remained out of sight, but the pups cooperated, sticking their noses out of the bush near the den after a short wait.
Red Fox pups are born in May. The species is common to mixed woods and parkland in Alberta and distinguished from the rare Swift Fox by having a white tip on their tail rather than the black tip of the Swift Fox.
Check out our video clip of the fox pups.

Sales manager takes case to Fort

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 08:28:51 -0600

A Tofield resident pled guilty in Fort Saskatchewan Provincial Court this week to impaired driving near Ryley.
Raymond Eugene Lehman admitted to driving while impaired when police stopped him near Ryley Alberta, just east of Tofield, early on the morning of July 18, 2010.
Lehman had volunteered with the centennial celebrations at Ryley, staying behind to help clean up.
He was found to have 110 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.
The 42-year-old is a sales manager with Camrose Farm Equipment Ltd.
Lehman received a fine of $1,150 including the victim fine surcharge and is prohibited from driving for one year.
Another man found guilty of impaired driving received a larger fine Thursday because of a high blood alcohol reading.
Anthony Marshall, age 56, admitted to being impaired when stopped by RCMP near Gibbons on April 6, 2011.
The judge accepted the proposal by Marshall and the Crown prosecutor for a higher than usual fine of $1,725 on the grounds of a high blood alcohol reading. The actual reading was not revealed to the court.
Marshall has no previous record.

Chamber fails to present budget

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 08:27:46 -0600

New Chamber of Commerce president Tim Baker wants to add more business mixer events and other services to members.
Baker, who operates the local M&M Meats franchise, was elected unopposed at the Chamber annual general meeting Wednesday, June 1.
Baker joined the Chamber board in 2009 and has served as Treasurer and Vice President.
Three new board members were also acclaimed. They are Rob Buma of RSC Equipment Rentals, Colline Champigny of Hair Mantra and MaryAnn Kochan of the Fort Record.
The meeting also passed new bylaws giving sweeping new powers to the board. These include the power to eject any member from the organization. That power used to reside only with the general membership and required a majority vote of the entire membership.
This caused trouble for the board when it ejected its Treasurer one year ago.
The board is now also the sole authority for setting membership fees.
Although the new bylaw requires that a budget be approved by the membership at the annual general meeting, no budget was presented. Nor was there an annual financial statement.

Bruderheim ponders pipeline plan

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 08:27:03 -0600

A handful of people skipped the Stanley Cup playoff game Monday to find out how to get involved in the hearings into the Enbridge Gateway pipeline project.
Bruderheim Town Council must decide soon if it will take a stand, and how involved it wants to be, Mayor Karl Hauch said at the information session held in his town.
Those looking for intervenor status, which is the highest level of involvement, must apply to the Northern Gateway Project Joint Review Panel by July 14.
Those wishing make an oral presentation to the board must apply by Oct. 6, and letters must be submitted by March 13, 2012. The hearings take place starting in January.
The proposed Enbridge pipeline will ship raw bitmen from Alberta to Kitimat, B.C. for sale overseas.
The pipeline is to start at a transfer station next to the now defunct BA oilsands upgrader at Scotford, just east of Fort Saskatchewan. From there it heads north across the river, then west, passing just north of Gibbons.
For more information about the project and how to make submissions to the hearings, check out
www.gatewaypanel.review.gc.ca

First French Immersion reunion

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 08:26:24 -0600

A reunion of French Immersion staff and students from the former Park Elementary School is set for Sept. 3.
The old school, first built as a high school for Fort Saskatchewan in 1948, housed the first French Immersion program in town from 1980 to 1987.
The three-room school was serving elementary students only when the French Immersion program was added in 1980. It was less than ideal, according to former teacher Joanne Heckbert.
“Even though the building left a lot to be desired, (lessons could be heard in adjacent classrooms, the floor creaked so badly that you couldn’t hear below in the gym, pails caught the drips when it rained, and lessons paused when the train went by), these students and their parents were the nicest and keenest students/parents I ever taught in my 30 years of teaching.”
The school was torn down in 1987 to make way for a new Safeway building (now Giant Tiger), and the program moved to Rudolph Hennig School.
Most of the 250 former students have already been contacted, but 82 remain unaccounted for. If you are interested in the reunion, call Heckbert at 998-3897 or email her at heckbert@albertacom.com