Serving the Heart of Central Alberta for 106 years
VOLUME ONE-HUNDRED EIGHT
PM40011853 R08546
NUMBER TEN
STETTLER, ALBERTA
March 5, 2014
PRICE — $1.09 Plus GST
JOHN MacNEIL/Independent editor
IN THE BOOKS — The Stettler Lightning and Mountainview Colts shake hands after Stettler’s 6-4 series-clinching win Sunday at Stettler Recreation Centre. Page B1
Charges loom after hit-and-run crash STACEY LAVALLIE Independent reporter
Stettler RCMP say that only the alert reflexes of the driver of a minivan prevented injuries in a hitand-run collision Tuesday. A minivan driven by a 70-year-old man was struck by a pickup truck at the intersection of Highway 12 and 61 Street, police reported. The driver of the minivan avoided injury only because he “gunned it,” said Const. Glen Gabruch, quoting
the van driver. “He could see the other truck wasn’t stopping,” Gabruch said. The driver of the pickup truck, a 23-year-old man, fled the scene, but later reported the collision to the police. He faces charges of failure to remain at the scene of a crash, and failure to proceed safely after stopping. Rollover leads to charges Two Stettler residents face charges of break-and-enter and possession
of stolen property after a rollover accident left stolen goods scattered on the road. Three people suffered minor injuries in the Feb. 8 accident, RCMP reported. Gabruch responded to the the rollover call and, in the debris from the vehicle, found a fire extinguisher that he traced back to the community of Linda Hall. When the officer contacted management from the hall from which the extinguisher was taken, no one was aware that the building had been
broken into. A quick investigation revealed the extinguisher and “a long feathered pen” were the only items taken from the hall. A 19-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man, passengers in the vehicle, were questioned and charged, RCMP said. The break-andenter was believed to have occurred days before the accident. The 20-year-old driver of the vehicle was cleared of any involvement in the break-and-enter, police said. No charges were laid in relation to the rollover.
JOHN MacNEIL/Independent editor
SIGN OF THE TIMES — The accumulation of snow, water and ice has created roadblocks for motorists and pedestrians alike this winter in the Stettler region.
Another water-main break causes headaches in Stettler R OBIN TARNOWETZKI Independent reporter
Stettler has experienced two watermain snags in the past two weeks, and director of operations Melissa Robbins said such leaks aren’t uncommon in cold weather. Town crews worked Tuesday on the latest water main leak on 50 Avenue and 59 Street. “Stettler’s in pretty good shape in terms of water breaks that we have each year,” said Rob Stoutenberg, the town’s chief administrative officer. Robbins said the town experiences between 12 and 20 water-main leaks in an average year, a number that she
categorized as common. The leak that was being repaired on Tuesday is small, and the town doesn’t yet know what caused it, she said. Four homes in the area experienced an interruption to water during the repair. Stoutenberg said the town hasn’t been able to determine what caused the first water main break, which occurred near Christ-King Catholic School a week ago Tuesday. There are several reasons the water main could have broken, including hot soil rotting the pipes, or frost, he said. In all, eight homeowners reported damage from last week’s water-main break, and the town advised them
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to contact their insurer as soon as possible. Town crews have shut down the affected area, which didn’t interrupt service to neighbouring homes, Robbins said. She said there’s one fire hydrant near Christ-King school that won’t have water temporarily, but the town and the fire department don’t believe that’s a concern. Town crews plan to examine the water-main break further when the conditions are more favourable and it’s not as cold, which will likely be May, Robbins said. While repairing it last week, the crews had to work without gloves in order to get into tight places,
Stoutenberg said. “The cold was slowing them down. They certainly had to take some breaks to warm up.” He added that town crews did “a great job” responding in a timely manner and working through the cold. The town is looking into repairing the sanitary main on 55 Street, Robbins said. She said the town is in negotiations with the repair company to also dig up the water main, because the company would have a larger backhoe than the town. In that case, the water-main repairs would likely be done next month, Robbins said.
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