ECA Review 2024-02-15

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2 February 15'24 HANNA/CORONATION/STETTLER, AB. ECA REVIEW VIEWPOINTS The opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of this newspaper. Reflections on a funeral for local news by Tim Shoults, publisher St. Albert Gazette We’re not talking about a hard paywall for our websites – news is still a public good and must remain so. But in addition to local advertising, we’re going to need a model that encourages reader support. Last week an article from the Canadian Press appeared on our website: ‘A front row to our funeral’ about the erosion of Canadian local news coverage in 2023. It hit pretty close to home: the story focused on the closure of Kamloops This Week (KTW), a paper that I spent five years at as its operations manager, that closed in October after 35 years of serving the community. I was heartbroken for my friends and colleagues who, despite their skill, talent, hard work and dedication, had their livelihoods suddenly disappear. I was also heartbroken for a community that has lost an important institution that provided not just much-needed information for citizens and accountability for our public officials, but exposure and support to hundreds of community organizations worth literally millions of dollars over the years. I also felt remembered pain – this wasn’t the first time I’d seen the death of a newspaper in Kamloops. I was at the helm of the venerable Kamloops Daily News, which closed after 80 years of service in January 2014 – just 10 years before. I’ve found myself wondering why we R R R R R Published by Coronation Review Limited Subscriptions: $52.50 in Canada; $98.70 in US; $183.75 Overseas. didn’t learn enough from that horrible lesson to avoid repeating it. Some of the issues go back decades. You could argue, for instance, that we should have charged for our content online from the first time we created websites nearly 30 years ago. Or that we should never have relied upon other companies like Facebook and Google to distribute our news online. But news has been freely available to the public since the days of the town crier – and accessible to mass audiences since “ Even those of you who pay for news through a subscription were never paying for the real costs of creating and delivering it – the rest has always been covered by advertising. PARLIAMENT dawn of radio more than 100 years ago. We conditioned you, the reader, to believe that news is something that someone else pays for long before any of us ever went online – and for decades, that worked, because we made our money from how we distributed the news, not by creating it. You paid for news with your attention, which we leased out to local and national advertisers. Even those of you who pay for news through a subscription were never paying for the real costs of creating and delivering it – the rest has always been covered by advertising. But the internet, and social media in particular, completely changed things. The cost of creating and distributing content dropped to zero and it became universally available and easy – and we jumped on that bandwagon with gusto. Then social media and search Respecting the rule of law by Damien C. Kurek, MP Battle River - Crowfoot The Federal Court ruled on Jan. 23, 2024 that Justin Trudeau broke the highest law in the land by invoking the Emergencies Act, finding PM Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Act directly violated Canadians’ most essential rights. But this was not surprising to Canadians. Since 2015, Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party have shown a flagrant disregard for the rule of law… something which is showcased in serial lawbreaking, their disdain for Kurek ethics, and scandal after scandal. For Canadians, this is yet another show that Justin Trudeau is not fit for the role he has. So, the conclusion of the Federal Court was expected by many. It was a clear violation of Canadians’ rights to freedom of thought, belief, opinion and 72 pt East Central Alberta EVIEW 60 pt 48 pt 36 pt Website ECAreview.com Office Hours Mon. - Fri. 9 am - 5 pm R 30 pt 4921 - Victoria Avenue Tel. (403) 578-4111 R 24 pt Mail: Box 70, Coronation, AB Canada, T0C 1C0 GUEST EDITORIAL expression. And on top of this, the Federal Court found that the use of the Act was not consistent with the law and said, “the reasons provided for the decision to declare a public order emergency do not satisfy the requirements of the Emergencies Act and that certain of the temporary measures adopted to deal with the protests infringed provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” But the problem is much deeper than one instance… it is a pattern which is leading to a loss of trust in our institutions and chaos on our streets. Instead of dealing with the true criminals and standing up for victims, Justin Trudeau has chosen an ideological approach which is soft on crime. Turn to Deserve, Pg 6 “ LETTERS POLICY • Letters to the Editor are welcomed • Must be signed and a phone number included so the writer’s identity can be verified. • ECA Review reserves the right to edit letters for legal considerations, taste and brevity. Letters and columns submitted are not necessarily the opinion of this newspaper. MEMBER OF: engines took all that content generated by the public, businesses and media outlets and became the most powerful marketing engine ever known, accessible to the smallest local business. Which means your local newspaper, radio station or website suddenly found itself competing with two of the world’s biggest companies for local advertising – Google and Facebook – at the same time as we became dependent on them for a large portion of its online audience. If I could jump in a time machine and stop us from ever putting news onto social media, I probably would. But that’s useless speculation. Rather, what can we do to ensure that local news survives now? The relationship between creating news and distributing it – the core of the advertising model – has changed fundamentally. It’s not gone, but in the long term, neither print nor digital advertising is going to be enough to fully support the real costs of reporting local news. Supports from government programs or from Google or Facebook will be helpful, but we can’t bank on them either as their priorities change. That means readers are going to Petition to recall Donalda mayor Dear Editor, Notice was given Feb. 6 2024 for a petition to recall Doug Booker as Mayor of Donalda. The residents have lost confidence in Mayor Booker due to mismanagement of money, bullying and not following bylaws. Since September 2023 Mayor Booker, Deputy Mayor Rick Nekdon and Coun. Derek Williams have removed ‘gallery time’ and at the Nov. 21 council meeting council introduced a policy not allowing anyone to voice their concerns or the RCMP will be called. Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. MAIL BAG JOYCE WEBSTER Publisher/Editor office@ECAreview.com YVONNE THULIEN Marketing/Digital 403-575-9474 digital@ECAreview.com need to be part of the equation for local news to survive – not just with your attention, but with your financial support. We’re not talking about a hard paywall for our websites – news is still a public good and must remain so. But in addition to local advertising, we’re going to need a model that encourages reader support so that those who believe in local news pay what they can so that those who can’t afford to pay can still receive it. That’s going to take some education. And it’s moments like newspaper closures, painful as they are, which we need to use to do that educating. We may be talking to you in the coming months about what that will look like and how you can help ensure strong local media in your community. We’re not good at asking for that help – but we’re going to have to get better at it. Because I don’t want to see another funeral for local news. Tim Shoults is publisher of the St. Albert Gazette and Town and Country Today and Vice President of Great West Media, which publishes community newspapers and websites covering more than 20 communities across Alberta. Mayor Booker has been asked three times to resign and he refuses. There was a building permit issued to a business in Calgary on property in Donalda that they didn’t own. There is no transparency between council and the community. The CAO has referred to the community as “uneducated” when it comes to the LUB. Council tried to push it through without answering any questions. Mayor Booker said, if you don’t like it then move. Heather Dahl Donalda, Alta. STU SALKELD LJI Reporter 403-741-2615 reporter@ECAreview.com JUDY WALGENBACH Marketing 403-740-2492 marketing@ECAreview.com LANE KOSTER Reporter 403-862-0777 lane.koster@gmail.com LISA MYERS-SORTLAND Graphic Artist R 18 pt
ECA REVIEW HANNA/CORONATION/STETTLER, AB February 15'24 3 STETTLER COUNCIL Council approves $5 million capital budget Stu Salkeld Local Journalism Initiative reporter ECA Review Stettler town council plans to do some serious work around the community after it approved a $5 million capital budget for 2024. The approval was made at the Feb. 6 regular meeting of council. Town Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Leann Graham presented councillors with the proposed 2024 capital budget, along with four consecutive capital budgets for years 2025 to 2028, a requirement of the Municipal Government Act (MGA). Graham noted the capital budget was developed by staff and councillors over several specialized sessions, with Mayor Sean Nolls adding the capital budget was discussed for many hours before appearing at the current meeting. A breakdown of department projects was provided at the beginning of the report, and one of those parts which affects the general public the most is transportation. Listed under transportation is $1,563,000 for work on Spruce Drive from Hwy. 56 to 61 Street. The project will include roadway reconstruction, water utility, sewer and stormwater infrastructure replacement. A $145,000 project was also described as parking lot renovation for the local health unit. Other projects include pathway work and the Okoppe Way walkway on Main Street. Listed under the water and sewer department is a $350,000 project to replace a water main on 47 Ave. from 46 to 48 Street. The budget summary delved into great detail about provincial and federal grants which will pay for these two expensive parts of the capital budget. “What this effectively accomplishes is that the town will utilize federal and provincial grants such as Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF) and Canada Community Building Fund funding for most large transportation and utility projects and use freed-up utility surpluses (available for capital through the interim budget) to fund projects and savings for non-utility purposes,” stated the budget summary. Under the fire department heading it was noted the regional fire manager’s truck will be replaced for $130,000 (split Fire chief SUV purchase approved Stu Salkeld Local Journalism Initiative reporter ECA Review The Town of Stettler council approved over $106,000 for a new fire chief’s sport utility vehicle. The decision was made at the Feb. 6 regular meeting of council. Councillors read a memo and also heard a presentation by Town of Stettler Fire Chief Mark Dennis. Readers should note that the Town and County of Stettler recently signed a new fire services agreement that noted each municipality will have its own fire chief and also created a new regional fire services manager position to coordinate between the two departments. In his presentation Dennis noted the 2024 capital budget already approved $106,000 for a Stettler fire chief SUV and had the results of a tender to present. “Replace existing fire chief vehicle (2013 Suburban) with a 2023, four wheel drive GMC Yukon XL,” stated the background section of Dennis’ Feb. 2 memo. “The capital budget limit for the squad vehicle less emergency warning equipment and rear slide out is 106,000 excluding tax, as approved under the Town of Stettler capital budget. “Town of Stettler fire chief requires a vehicle for fire department duties. This vehicle is equipped to provide emergency response command and control, perform fire investigations, fire inspections, daily administrative duties and respond to incidents 24/7. “The new unit will be equipped with emergency warning lights and siren. Rear slide out with passenger safety divider for storage of equipment.” Dennis noted in his presentation only two auto dealers, one in Edmonton and one in Calgary, responded to the public tender. “Administration submitted a request for tender on the Alberta Purchasing Connection and have between county and town) and $100,000 will be set aside for a 2001 fire engine replacement in two years; it was further stated under the department summary spreadsheet that fire station renovation drawings are budgeted at $15,000 and storage for the training facility is budgeted at $85,000. The town may be looking to replace some vital vehicles as the capital budget has set aside $300,000 for a tandem truck, $145,000 for a pair of three quarter ton pick-ups and $35,000 for a skid steer. The 2024 capital budget was unanimously approved by councillors. Housing assessment Development Officer Angela Stormoen presented councillors with an item that was included in the capital budget they just approved, a request for proposals for a housing assessment and strategy. “In 2019 the Town of Stettler partnered with the County of Stettler Housing Authority to fund a housing assessment which has been successful in creating opportunities for developers to fill the gap that the study provided,” stated the agenda memo. “As a result of the new developments received two bids,” stated Dennis. It was noted in his report the first offer came from Wolf Chevrolet GMC Buick Calgary and selling price without tax was $107,926, with delivery in seven to 10 days. The second offer came from Western GMC Buick in Edmonton with a selling price without tax of $105,500 and delivery of one to two days. The fire chief noted administration recommended accepting Western GMC Buick’s Edmonton’s offer. There was no discussion about the request and councillors unanimously approved it. Professional & Business Directory CAN'T SEE OUT? and the changes to the economy, the economic development committee proposed an update to the current housing assessment. “Furthermore, the committee requested a housing strategy be developed to help create and maintain an affordable, safe and suitable supply of housing.” Stormoen stated the town received four offers, including Urbanics Consultants ($49,955), Gordon & Associates ($49,525), Housing Strategies Inc. ($46,625) and BASSA Social Innovations ($42,500). She explained the town used an evaluation process which revealed BASSA met all the project requirements. She noted staff recommended awarding the housing assessment and study to BASSA for the listed amount. Coun. Gord Lawlor asked if the first study’s authors sent in an offer and Stormoen answered no. Mayor Nolls noted rental strategy will be key to this project as the Town of Settler hasn’t seen any new rental units since 2008. Councillors unanimously approved the staff recommendation. County of Paintearth No. 18 NOTICE OF DEVELOPMENT HEARING WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2024 COUNCIL CHAMBERS #1 Crowfoot Crossing Industrial Park County of Paintearth, AB The County has given 1st reading to a bylaw 719-24 to amend the Land Use Bylaw 698-21 for the purpose of rezoning the NW14- 37-13-W4 from Agricultural District to Recreational District. In accordance with the Municipal Government Act Section 606, the County shall cause to be held a PUBLIC HEARING at the noted time below: 11:00 AM LUB Amendment Bylaw #719-24 Rezoning of Lands The proposed bylaw and amendment are available for viewing on the County website at www.countypaintearth.ca or at the County Office, #1 Crowfoot Crossing Industrial Park at Hwy #12 and Twp Rd 374. Anyone who may be affected or claim to be affected by the above proposed plans or bylaws may make an oral or written presentation at the above noted hearing, or submit a written presentation to the County of Paintearth, Box 509, Castor, AB T0C 0X0 or by fax 403-882-3560 no later than 4:30 pm on Friday February 16, 2024. Todd Pawsey, Dated: February 1, 2024 Director of Community Services Optometrist Dentist CORONATION VISION CLINIC Dr. Ward ZoBell Tues & Thurs 10 - 4 403-578-3221 HANNA VISION CENTRE Eye Health, Glasses, Contacts Dr. Dennis A. Heimdahl Dr. Ward ZoBell Tues, Wed 9-4:30; Thurs, Fri 9-4 403-854-3003 R R 33 rd Annual BREEDER’S SECTIONS 72 pt East Central R Alberta 60 pt R 48 pt EVIEW R 36 pt Feb 22, Mar 21, Apr 11 R 30 pt Coronation • 403-578-4111 R 24 pt Stettler • 403-740-2492 Stettler Office: 587.627.1111 24 Hour Helpline: 1.844.343.1611 www.pregnancycare.ca Bill’s Waterwell Services Ltd. Well Drilling Pumps & Repairs 403-747-2120 drillerbill@xplornet.com Option #1 Replace the Foggy Unit Option #2 Replace the window Financing Available Anchor Glass 403-854-4414 • 1-800-463-3148 www.anchorglass.ab.ca tim@anchorglass.ab.ca Our families serving yours! Phone: 825-300-0049 Email: drballdental@gmail.com Location: 4913 50 St, Killam AB, T0B 2L0 Mail: Box 389, Killam AB, T0B 2L0 Dentist Dr.McIver In Coronation (Located in Coronation Mall) MONDAYS 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Call Anytime for Appointments 403-578-3811 R 18 pt
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