Wednesday, July 22, 2020 Vol. 43, No. 30
– SINCE 1913! –
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Alberta announces back to school plan Teachers Association president expresses concern Patricia Harcourt Editor
Viking hopes trenching helps reduce flood issues Patricia Harcourt Editor
The Town of Viking is working to alleviate flooding issues on the town’s east side with trenching and lowering of a ditch at the golf course. CAO Don McLeod said there is a surface drainage issue on 45 Street that must be fixed. “The storm drain on the corner of 45 Street and 54 Avenue feeds into the water hazard on No. 9 and No. 1,” at the golf course, he said. “The problem is that the drainage ditch adjacent to fairway No. 1 is not deep or wide enough and is overgrown with bull rushes. “Also the culvert and small bridge in this drainage ditch is not large enough to handle the flow and needs to be replaced. This is preventing the water from flowing properly and consequently backing up into the intersection.
“The town had a surveyor come in to get the proper elevation for drainage,” he said. “A track hoe was brought in and cleaned out the area. We will work with the golf course on replacing the culvert and bridge with one crossing.” McLeod said the area has been excavated with a six foot trench put in by the track hoe. However, the surveying concludes there is a need for an at least 4:1 slope to be put back in place for proper drainage to occur. “This would require a great deal of earth work to achieve the suitable slope,” he said, and “would probably affect about a quarter of the No. 1 fairway, not to mention the side street. “The other alternate is to install a culvert,” he said, with these two options brought to council for discussion At the July 20 meeting, McLeod said the elevation had been too
high by two and a half feet. He noted that after the ditch was lowered six feet last week, rain from a summer storm on Sunday evening disappeared quickly instead of pooling on the streets. The town will “keep it as is for now,” he said, with the water now running, and adopt a wait and see attitude. It would be preferable to be able to put the dirt back in place rather than put in a 4:1 slope ditch similar to one adjacent to a highway. “If dug it would take an enormous amount of dirt,” he said, and one quarter of the No. 1 fairway would be lost. “My biggest concern at the time was getting the water away from the intersection,” he said, and away from a nearby transformer. But he pointed to the fact that 4,357 hectares of farmland drains through town. “So we’re working on (the problem), trying to get that stuff together and done.”
Students in Viking and Irma schools, as well as other schools in the province, are going back to the classroom this fall after ending their 2019-2020 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 “near-normal 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. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw may establish other health measures before classes resume. Hinshaw said there are reasons to send the students back to school. “There is no risk-free approach to COVID-19 but there are also risks to children’s overall health from See SCHOOL RETURN P7