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Vol. 12, No. 16, Tuesday, February 14, 2017 www.LamontLeader.com
Province responds to Elk Island Youth Ranch incident Michelle Pinon Editor While the ministry of children’s services and labour continue to investigate a physical attack to a staff worker at the Elk Island Youth Ranch, the facility continues to operate on a conditional status. Bill Skinner, Mayor of the Town of Lamont, says everyone is shocked by the extreme violence that was used in the attack. “We’ve never seen anything on this level.” Skinner who knows the staff worker said a lot of people are expressing their sympathy, including Maurice Lafontaine
who has gone one step further and started a GOFUNDME page on Facebook to help offset medical expenses involved with the employee’s recovery. Skinner said the worker will have to have reconstructive surgery, and faces a long road ahead in terms of healing physically, emotionally and mentally from the attack. “They will likely be in hospital for a couple of months.” He believes the two youth accused of several counts, including attempted murder, are “certainly an exception” to the norm, and that there have not been any
incidents of this kind or magnitude at the ranch before. Skinner said there are a broad range of children who end up in facilities like the Elk Island Youth Ranch for a lot of different reasons, and perhaps in this rare instance the two accused youth needed a different level of care. He said the facility is self contained, and youth attend school on site. “I am happy to see interim funding for night-time staff,” added Skinner. He said the facility will be under much closer scrutiny as a result. The Children’s Service Mininstry placed
a conditional status on the licence of the facility earlier in the week. According to a department spokesman said it will have an expanded role in staff ratios, and the facility would not be taking additional placements right now. As well, the department said it would be involved in much closer consultation with the facility and some of the day to day decisions. On Feb. 8 the youth appeared in Provincial Court in Fort Saskatchewan.“This investigation is now before the courts and no further updates will be provided by the RCMP.”
PHOTO BY BOB BRUCHAL
While there have been no reports or sighting of combines in the fields in Lamont County, there was some activity in the Thorhild area on Friday, February 10. As far as discussion, Lamont County council has not declared an agricultural disaster, and is hoping to provide producers with up to date assistance related information with a town hall meeting in the near future.
National Census Official Count 2011
2016
PERCENT%
ANDREW 379 BRUDERHEIM 1,155 LAMONT 1,753 LAMONT COUNTY 3,872 MUNDARE 855 CHIPMAN 284
ANDREW 425 BRUDHERHEIM 1,308 LAMONT 1,774 LAMONT COUNTY 3,899 MUNDARE 852 CHIPMAN 274
ANDREW 12.1% BRUDERHEIM 13.2% LAMONT 1.2% LAMONT COUNTY 0.7% MUNDARE -0.4% CHIPMAN -3.5%