Independent the
Stettler SERVING THE
Heart
June 24, 2015 STETTLER, ALBERTA
VOLUME ONE-HUNDRED NINE NUMBER TWENTY-FIVE PM40011853 R08546
$
1.09 Plus GST
OF CENTRAL ALBERTA FOR 108 YEARS
Sports
Stettler minor soccer goes provincial Story on P22
Community
Fundraiser for Kira brings community together Story on P2 YOUR LOCAL SPOT FOR
Entertainment in the Park Wednesday June 24 at 7:00 p.m. West Stettler Park
The Jazz Guys Up next week: Loose Change
Stacey Lavallie/Independent staff
County of Stettler councillor Greggory Jackson, foreground, signs the old county vault, which has been preserved from the original county building. Behind him, councillor Dave Grover signs, while councillor Joe Gendre waits his turn.
County celebrates its history at 60th anniversary party Stacey Lavallie INDEPENDENT REPORTER The rusty old steel box, the vault at the original County of Stettler building, isn’t an exciting sight until one takes a moment to look at the inside door. The vault was removed when the old office was torn down, with the reeve and council of the day taking a moment to leave inspiring messages written on the inside of the door. On Thursday, June 18, as hundreds gathered at the county property on the edge of town to celebrate the six-decade milestone, today’s council added their comments in indelible marker to add to those of their predecessors’. Former reeves and council-
ONLY 6 VEHICLES LEFT!!
lors filled the chair as current Reeve Wayne Nixon spoke about the county and how it has grown since its inception in 1955. Very few of the county’s original employees and council remain alive today, but one of them, 92-year-old William Bauer, made sure to be at the party. “I started with the Municipal District (MD) 54 (Erskine) in 1952, part-time for a few years,” Bauer recalled. “Pest control, first rats, then cougars, to start.” When the County of Stettler formed in 1955, it brought the MD 54 into its folds and Bauer went with it, working as the agricultural fieldman. The county’s first office was located north of where Don’s
Service is now located, Bauer recalled. “It was a long narrow building,” he remembered. “The front was the office, the middle the meeting room – with the only bathroom – and the agricultural fieldman and assessor were at the back.” Council meetings could make things awkward for the staff at the back, Bauer noted. “When council meetings were on, we had to crawl out the window and run to the garage next door to use the bathroom,” he said with a laugh. While the front office had to use the same bathroom, they at least had a door. Over the six decades since Bauer first worked for the coun-
LESS THAN A WEEK TO GO
ty, there’s been plenty of changes – equipment and employees being the biggest, he said. “I worked a lot of years alone,” he said. “Then I finally got an assistant. Then extra duties were added, but no extra staff.” Bauer went on to become county fire chief -- “I had a lot of jobs,” he said. Fire fighting back then meant filling the weed-spraying truck with water, but through “a few battles” with council, the county got its first fire truck. “The equipment they have now,” Bauer said, shaking his head in awe. “We were lucky to have a tree planter and a few small roadside sprayers.” continued on page 16
HURRY IN TODAY! SALES ENDS JUNE 28TH
stk # 15199
CHEV CRUZE 1 LT
TURBO stk # 15149
CHEV SILVERADO LTZ 1500 4WD CREW CAB
stk # 115157
stk # 15101
CHEV EQUINOX 2LT AWD
www.stettlergm.com
stk # 15152
GMC SIERRA SLE 1500
CHEV SILVERADO LTZ 1500 4WD
4WD CREW CAB
CHEVROLET BUICK GMC & Detailing Service
www.Stettlergm.com
stk # 15146
CHEV TRAX 1LT AWD
403-742-3407