ads@weeklyreview.ca
YOUR LOCAL PAPER!
Wednesday, August 21, 2019 Vol. 42, No. 34
$1 includes GST
Local MLA Jackie Lovely hears about local issues from Viking Council Patricia Harcourt Editor
Camrose MLA Jackie Lovely visited Viking Council Aug. 19 to officially introduce herself and learn about local issues from the councillors' perspectives. Lovely began by saying that municipal grant funding would be provided municipalities in advance of the fall budget as announced by Minister of Municipal Affairs Kaycee Madu. Lovely stated she wishes to get to know the community and invited herself to local events "because of the great food here." Lovely attended the parade and other celebrations mid-June with Viking in the Streets and the Cloverlodge Stampede. "I want to make sure that we get attention out here," she said. Councillor Dana Ewashko told her about the need for the paving of the rest of S.H. 870, which right now heads south from Highway 16 as a paved road but then becomes a grid. "Having a paved road that lands in the gravel is stupid," he told her. "We have a good hospital in town and that attracts people from all over to work here." Ewashko expressed hope the paving of that part of the 870 was on the "to do" list at last, but Lovely did say there is competition with "a lot bridges in the province needing work," too. The inevitable train issues were also brought up as this issue, although important locally, would be a new one for the new MLA. Councillor Debbie O'Toole-Balaban expressed her concern seeing a woman taking the wrong turn and going the wrong way into town. If an accident had occurred, she said, there are too many long trains going through that impede emergency vehicles from getting to and from the hospital. "Oil by rail is a terrible solution," agreed Lovely, which create "trains that are miles and miles long." Mayor Jason Ritchie agreed, noting that there are many times these long trains back up traffic. "It's an accident waiting to happen when turning left," he said, off Highway 14 onto Highway 36 north. Ewashko, who spearheaded the committee to end the train whistles within town boundaries, said CN Rail is "unfair" for trying to make communities want-
Camrose MLA Jackie Lovely poses with Viking Council following a visit Aug. 19. In the back row, from left: Mayor Jason Ritchie, and councillors Laurel Weisgerber, Dana Ewashko, Judy Acres, and Clint Nearing. In the front row, from left: MLA Lovely, and councillors Debbie O'Toole-Balaban, and Gary Hafso. Lovely said she will return after December 2019 once her government has passed all of Premier Jason Kenney's pieces PATRICIA HARCOURT PHOTO of legislation, expected to be almost 30 in number. ing to end whistles pay for safety assessments CN wants done as part of the process. "Viking is the first town in Alberta to get the train horns stopped," he said, without paying for an assessment. "Your success is the topic of discussion with all the communities around here," Lovely told Ewashko. Ewashko said he has almost completed working with the Village of Ryley regarding horn cessation, and the Village of Holden has stated council there plans to hire him for the same purpose. Ewashko expressed his feelings about CN Rail, stating that he used to time stationery trains from his office on Viking's main street that sat for up to 35 minutes on the tracks nearby. "They are not allowed to be stationery for more than five minutes," he said. "CN does not operate by the rules‌The more people I can get on my side, the better." CAO Don McLeod told Lovely about a GST audit done on Peace River where that municipality was told to pay the province $603,000 for their intermunicipal cost sharing agreements. The auditor had determined that these agreements were subject to the Federal Goods and Services Tax, or GST. "It's extremely concerning," said McLeod. "Yes, we get that our GST comes back." But "it makes no sense at all," he said, having one auditor make this determination. The RMA, AUMA, and municipalities need to communicate their dissatisfaction with this and "the unfairness of it." Ewashko also brought up concerns about
Secondary 619. "Why should a small town be saddled with the cost of paving that mile of 619," running through Viking. He explained that the water and sewer lines under the highway street had to be replaced. The work was halted when hydrocarbon seepage was detected at the west end of the street abutting Highway 36. Soil had to be dug out and replaced before work to continue at a cost of $750,000. Ewashko questioned Lovely as to why a city like Calgary is able to receive $4 million to clean up a contaminated site but a small town like Viking must pay for the cleanup on its own. He also said the re-paving of the 619 was not adequate that fall so it had to be redone the following year. Speaking of that situation, he said: "All this money (was) tied up because we (couldn't) get the money back until everything (was) perfect," he said. "We couldn't even meet payroll." With that tight financial situation now behind them, Ewashko still had questions as to why the financial burden rested with Viking in the first place. "That's Alberta government (responsibility), that's not ours," he said. Councillor Laurel Weisgerber's concerns centred around adequate funding for schools in small rural communities. "We're just not getting the funding to these rural communities," she said. "It's hard to get young families to stay. "It's terrifying," she added, worried about what kind of education students will get in smaller rural See LOVELY P2