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Stettler SERVING THE
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August 19, 2015 STETTLER, ALBERTA
VOLUME ONE-HUNDRED NINE NUMBER THIRTY-THREE PM40011853 R08546
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OF CENTRAL ALBERTA FOR 108 YEARS Moush Sara John/Independent reporter
Matthew Waldner from Paintearth County waits patiently while a customer selects vegetables as nine-yearold Gary Waldner looks on at the Stettler Farmer’s Market on Tuesday, Aug. 18, one of the last few to be held as the summer draws to an end.
Blair Smith averages 25.8 seconds to secure top spot at the Stettler Calf Roping Jackpot
Story on P15
District
County rejects call to declare ag disaster zone
Buffalo Lake residents steer BLIDP meeting off course Story on P2 YOUR LOCAL SPOT FOR
Entertainment in the Park Wednesday Aug. 19 at 7:00 p.m. West Stettler Park
Domino Domino Up next week: Blake Reid
Stacey Lavallie INDEPENDENT REPORTER A motion made by councillor Dave Grover to declare the County of Stettler an agricultural disaster zone was not supported by county staff at the Wednesday, Aug. 12 meeting. Grover explained that pockets of dry conditions throughout the county has already hit cropgrowers hard and now are putting the county’s ranchers in jeopardy. With no pasture to graze on and hay crops weak from the dry conditions across the province, ranchers are looking at either having to liquidate herds or move them to greener pastures. Meanwhile, hay and feed is being brought in for drought areas, and Grover told council it was important the county get on the disaster list so
the ranchers could take advantage of programs to access the feed and deferred taxation programs. Quinton Beaumont, director of agricultural services for the county, noted that while there are dry conditions in some areas of the county, the conditions are nowhere near as dry as they were in 2002 or 2009, the last times the county declared an agricultural disaster. Beaumont was also wary of declaring an agricultural disaster because several areas in the county aren’t suffering from drought conditions. Dry, certainly, but not so dry that it would be a disaster “I don’t want us to be seen as the boy who cried wolf,” Beaumont said. In an interview with the Inde-
pendent after the meeting, Beaumont explained that a lot of the programs available to ranchers in an agricultural disaster are available any time, through speaking with financial managers. For example, a taxation deferral program offered by the provincial and federal governments to agricultural disaster zones can be arranged outside of the zones through applications, he said. The deferral would allow ranchers to liquidate their herds without having to pay taxes until the next year. That would leave them enough capital to buy new cattle in the spring. At the meeting, council agreed with Beaumont, not wanting to declare disaster at the first sign of trouble. However, they did want to make the province aware of
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the difficulties parts of the county were experiencing, and so decided to write a letter indicating the trouble. That would have much of the same effect as declaring a disaster, Beaumont said later. With the province aware, it will send people to monitor the situation. Dog Bylaw update passes first reading The County of Stettler had asked staff to review its dog control bylaw earlier this year after a resident’s dog was killed by two pit bulls running loose. Though the owners of the pit bulls were fined by a judge, the owner of the killed dog, Wanda Watson, said she felt the county’s bylaws weren’t strong enough. continued on page 7
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