CHRISTMAS 2ND SECTION - INSIDE!
The Community
Press Santa Claus is coming to town
Volume 116 Issue 25
www.thecommunitypress.com
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 s
Sparkle in the Park lights up the holiday season
MURRAY CHOLOWSKY PHOTO
The Sedgewick Lake Park campground hosted Sparkle in the Park over two weekends, with participating businesses, groups, and individuals creating magical light displays. The price of admission was a donation to the Flagstaff Food Bank, netting 210 visiting cars over just the first weekend, along with 879.18 lbs of food items. See more Page 4.
Flagstaff County council votes to withdraw from Battle River Economic Opportunities Committee Leslie Cholowsky Editor
During a regular meeting of Flagstaff County Council last Wednesday, Dec. 13, Council voted to withdraw from the Battle River Economic Opportunities Committee (BREOC), citing that the cost of membership was not justified in relation to “perceived benefits.” Council made the action effective immediately, and also voted to decline $750,000 of PrairiesCan funding allocated to Flagstaff County at the Dec. 11 BREOC meeting, recommending that the funding be used towards developing industrial park infrastructure on Flagstaff County lands at NE 35-41-15-W4. This is the location of the Forestburg/Flagstaff County Industrial Area Structure Plan recently approved by both councils. Council reviewed and approved its 2024-2027 Business Plan and Budget, and 2024-2029 Capital Plan, after proposing an amendment decreasing Economic Development Contracted/ General Serv-
ices budget by $120,000 to reflect the County’s decision to withdraw from BREOC. Council approved a motion to submit an application to the Northern and Regional Economic Development (NRED) program for an extension of Flagstaff Regional Small Business Hub programming, to apply for a 50 per cent matching grant through NRED in the amount of $113,000, with the county’s portion coming through in-kind contributions and existing programming and operating reserves. The proposed expansion of programming for June 2024-2025 includes the Business Support Program, the Social Enterprise Support Program, the Entrepreneurial Support Program, and the Thought Exchange Program. Council also voted to move forward with a proposed project for phase two lead generation of its Foreign Direct Investment strategy, approving $25,000 in matching funds to the CanExport Community Investments program that provides financial support to communities
and non-profit organizations. The grant funding received is for $25,000. This funding is used to help attract, retain, and expand foreign direct investment activities. Council approved spending $10,000 of the approved Economic Development operating funding from the 2024 budget to submit an application to the Small Community Opportunity Program. Flagstaff County will work in collaboration with the Town of Daysland and private sector partners for enhancement and promotion of a Flagstaff Health and Wellness hub. The Small Community Opportunity program proposed funding application would be for $90,000. Flagstaff County Council responded to 2022 Municipal Indicator results calculated by the Province. Of 13 municipal indicators, Flagstaff County did not meet the threshold in two categories. These are Tax Collection Rate, and Investment in Infrastructure. Council approved a response to the indicator results, addressing the tax collec-
tion rate by noting that due to a lack of provincial action on collection of oil and gas taxes, collection rate of taxes is not within the county’s control. With regards to infrastructure investment, the county reviewed its Capital Spending Plan and determined that capital replacement, and additions over the next six years will exceed the average annual amortization rates of existing infrastructure by around $1.450 million based on a six-year average. A framework for an electoral boundary review was presented to and approved by Council, outlining the legislation, election history, current state of electoral boundaries, and the purpose, criteria, process, and timeline. Current electoral boundaries within the county were formed in 1967 and a review has never been done of these. The plan is to complete the review by the end of 2024. Proposed amendments, if any come out of the review, are to be implemented for the 2025 municipal election.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 | CHRISTMAS SECTION
Page 2 - Community Press Christmas Edition - Wednesday, December 20, 2023
from local kids! The following are letters sent to Santa Claus by local students. We typed up the copies and then passed them along to Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick himself. Each format is slightly different depending on the class. _________________ Dear Santa, I want Super Mario RPG, I don’t know what my little brother wants but my mom wants some flowers and all my dad’s trucks and cars are broke so he needs some new trucks. I live with my dad in Daysland. Santa, come down my chimney, I won’t leave you anything. Thank you for my Super Mario RPG. Love, Beau _________________
Dear Santa, My mom would really love like a sewing machine, my sister would want a closet filled with clothes so she can dress up her dolls, my dad says he wants parts to build a rocket ship, a real one. I want a toy Mighty Pupus and I would like my Paw Patrol to have a Mighty Pup Tower. How many elves do you have? I think you have 29, and that's a big number! And I hope you have a great day making all the presents. I’m gonna ask my mom to bake some cookies for you, she makes good gingerbread man cookies. I think you have some Spanish elves. I think you’ll have a wonderful night delivering presents, thanks Santa. Love, Johnathan _________________ Dear Santa, I want a remote control auger for a tractor and a
grain truck, not a real one, Santa. I want a tow truck just not for me. My dad wants parts because he don’t have the part for just one truck. Mom wants muffins and Tenley wants a fluffy stuffy. Grandma Lori likes cats and that’s it. Grandpa likes to work on train tracks, poppa likes to work on train tracks with Uncle Mickey. Aunty Kierstan wants a
new microwave. You will drip magic stuff in my fire and you will see where I live. Love, Rhett _________________ Dear Santa, My sister wants a cat but my dad actually doesn’t but my sister says she can take care of it in her room. My mom might not know the cat is in Ellie's room. My mom wants some
more picture frames, my dad wants lots of tools to build a car, its an orange car and it's a stretch in site car. What's your elves' names and how do you fly with your reindeer? I know you know where I live because you are watching us. Love, Maddox _________________ Dear Santa, Hanlen would like a toy tractor and Lawson
would like a lego set. I would like a toy phone with a toy purse and a toy lipstick. I will put my wallet in the purse. My mom would like a pink dress and my dad would like a new hammer so he can work in our shop with it. Thank you for a lot of toys. Love, Atley
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