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Volume 113, Issue 4
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
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Two Flagstaff residents score Province announces big in Co-op’s Fuel Up To Win back-to-school plan concern expressed amongst teachers
Patricia Harcourt Staff Reporter
Students in Battle River School Division, as well as other schools in the province, are going back to the classroom this fall after ending their 20192020 school year doing virtual learning. The Alberta government announced on July 21 that students will return to the classroom across Alberta in September under Alberta Education’s Scenario 1 designation. This scenario is described as “nearnormal daily operations with health measures” in place. Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange explained the reason for the decision: “We are determined to do everything we can to safely return our students, teachers, and staff to school. I appreciate the input and support of school authorities across the province, as well as our education partners, in developing and refining our school re-entry
plan. “We are providing clear and detailed guidelines and a re-entry tool kit so everyone can do their part and prepare for a safe return to school.” This re-entry tool kit will be given to both parents and students to prepare them for the upcoming year. The kit includes videos for students explaining some of the health measures, a guide for parents, frequently asked questions, school posters, a self-screening questionnaire in multiple languages, and links to health guidelines. Public health measures to keep everyone safe in the schools will include frequent cleaning of surfaces, placing hand sanitizers at school entrances and classrooms, grouping students in cohorts, and planning the school day to allow for physical distancing. Physical distancing may mean staggering start times for classes, recesses, and lunches to keep gathering numbers down at one time. See SCHOOL RETURN P17
COVID cases on the rise Leslie Cholowsky Editor
Leslie Cholowsky Editor
Wild Rose Co-op Food Stores in Killam and Sedgewick had the pleasure of awarding two big prizes from the recent Fuel up to Win promotion held by Coop stores throughout western Canada. One of the early winners was Sara Langton, who collected her prize of Free Fuel for a Year, or $3,200 in Co-op Gift Cards at the Wild Rose Co-op Sedgewick Food Store, with Manager Nikki Heisler making the presentation. Langton was one of 10 lucky winners in the Collect to Win segment of the promotion. The latest winner was Gerald
Gruninger, who was one of three lucky winners of a Dream Vacation in the Collect to Win segment, winning Vision Travel gift cards totalling $5,000. Gruninger received his prize at the Wild Rose Co-op Killam Food Store from Manager Kris Hiebert during the grand re-opening held July 16. Another Flagstaff resident won a $50 Co-op gift card through this year’s promotion. The collect to win segment of the promotion required participants to collect specially marked Co-op locations throughout Western Canada. When all location stickers in each specific category were filled, participants won that prize.
Alberta has designated Stettler County and the County of Paintearth as ‘watch’ regions, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in these areas. As of Tuesday, July 21, Flagstaff County has four confirmed cases, three more than this time last week. The County of Camrose has held steady with three active cases in the county, with seven active cases in the City of Camrose, but the counties of Stettler and Paintearth have both seen increases bringing them to more than 10 cases, the criteria needed for the ‘watch’ designation. They are reporting 20 and 11 active cases respectively. The ‘watch’ designation does not carry any increased restrictions for areas. Beaver County has four active cases, up two from last week. The province recorded 141 new cases on July 20. Calgary remains the centre with the largest number of cases reported over the last week, with a total now of 589 active cases, nearly half of
the active cases reported in the entire province. Cases reported from July 14 to 20 show that Albertans aged 20 to 29 years represent the largest number of cases, both in that period and overall, with 30 to 39 year-olds next highest, and those 40 to 69 all around the same. Residents are encouraged to continue to follow good hygiene with frequent hand washing with soap and/or hand sanitizers, as well as following recommended social distancing guidelines, and to wear masks when indoors or when social distancing is impossible. Premier Jason Kenney said he will not mandate the use of masks, but recommends them to prevent lockdown conditions being reapplied. Albertans are mandated under a Public Health order to self isolate 14 days if they returned to or entered Alberta from outside Canada or are a close contact of someone with COVID-19; and for 10 days if they have any symptoms that are not related to a pre-existing illness or health condition: cough, fever, shortness of breath, runny nose, or sore throat.