From fires to floods to the revival of the Tawatinaw Ski Hill, 2018 showed us the power of nature and the power of what a few dedicated individuals committed to a cause can do.
No. 1 - Tawatinaw lives!
A group of dedicated volunteers helped bring the Tawatinaw Valley Ski Hill from the brink after it was almost closed permanently.
Over the summer Westlock County put out a call for expressions of interest but did not draw any offers to purchase the hill. On July 31, the county announced plans to shutter the hill and the $1.5 million chalet .
Westlock residents had voted 1,028 to 866 in favour of selling the hill during a plebiscite held in conjunction with the 2017 Municipal Election.
However, upon announcements the hill would close, the hill’s main advocacy group, the Friends of Tawatinaw Valley put together a proposal to get the hill back on track. After council rejected the proposal, the friends held a public meeting at the chalet to brainstorm ideas on how to preserve the hill. Over 120 people piled into the building to voice their support for the hill.
Many of those same supporters piled into the county council chambers and out into the lobby Aug. 14 to rally council to change their decision. It worked, and councillors voted 5-2 to enter into a three-year agreement to allow the Friends to operate the hill.
So far, their work has paid off. On it’s opening day Dec. 15, the hill clocked 120 skiers and remained open throughout the Christmas holiday.
No. 2 - State of emergency
Westlock County was in a state of local emergency from April 23-30 after the spring melt soaked the municipality in deep water, washing out roads and bridges and creating a number of sinkholes.
At least 40 roads were closed throughout the week. County workers covered damaged roads with field stone until repairs could be made and the county issued a warning to residents ignoring closed road signs.
Some of the damage was permanent, including the Shoal Creek bridge on Range Road 21, which buckled and was closed indefinitely. The county is estimating it will cost at least $1.5 million to make the bridge usable again.
Westlock County applied for $2.5 million in Disaster Recovery Program funding but was denied the funding in October because the province concluded the disaster was not widespread enough to qualify for the extraordinary nature of the program, noting such events were “one-in-12 year events” as opposed to the “one-in-50 year event” that flooded the Town of Westlock in 2016.
No. 3 - Echo Lake fire
A major wildfire on the eastern edge of Westlock County kept firefighters busy for several weeks in May.
The Echo Lake fire started May 12. When it was discovered, a request for mutual aid went out to Thorhild County and Sturgeon County and a request for assistance was also made to Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resources who sent wildland firefighters and helicopters to help in the effort to extinguish the blaze.
They were on the scene until May 17 and county crews remained until May 27. The fire threatened seven residential properties, scorching 250 hectares when all was said and done.
An investigator has concluded the fire was caused by shooting on the Crown land in the area.
Since a culprit could not be identified, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has requested the county pay just over $87,000 in firefighting costs for the incident.
County council disagreed with that assessment and has requested a meeting with ministry staff.
“Our argument is there is a clause in the act that says that due to the fact we’ve raised this concern with officials on several occasions and no action was taken to curtail this activity, this activity had implicit approval, or implied approval from the province to take place on their property. That is the crux of our argument,” said CAO Leo Ludwig.
No. 4 - Tower comes down
The Eastglen Water Tower, a fixture of the Westlock skyline for nearly 50 years, came down piece by piece Dec. 12-14, as part of the final phases of the installation of a new underground water reservoir at the site.
The total $6.33 million water reservoir replacement project was tendered to Pomerleau Inc. for $4.41 million in February, with $3.14 million coming from the federal Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, $1.7 million from the town’s capital reserves and $284,600 from the Westlock Regional Water Services Commission.
Engineering services, materials testing and utility servicing and relocations made up the difference. The municipality will borrow the remaining $1.2 million.
The weather caused several minor delays along the way and the demolition of the tower was almost put off until 2019, but everything came together for the mid-December demolition.
Landscaping work and finishing touches on the project will get underway in spring 2019.
No. 5 - Waterline north approved
Phase 3 of the project to build a waterline north to Fawcett from Westlock went from “dead in the water” to tendered in the course of a year.
The project was awarded to TA Excavating out of Lethbridge in November for $7,362,000, significantly less than it went for in a previously rejected 2017 tender.
Late in 2017, the first vote of the Westlock Regional Water Services Commission (WRWSC) on the project split down municipal lines with county representatives Dennis Primeau and Jared Stitsen, along with Clyde’s Allan Van Eaton voting to go ahead with the project and town representatives Curtis Snell, David Truckey and commission chair Clem Fagnan against it.
Several subsequent commission votes to proceed with the project in 2018 were also split down municipal lines and the project was at a standstill for the last year. That is until the province stepped up this September and provided an additional $2.4 million to have the it completed.
The commission originally estimated the project would cost $7.1 million, based on 2012 figures, but after tendering the project out in 2017 that estimate increased by more than $2 million. The province’s Water for Life grant was expected to cover 90 per cent of the costs, but that was based on the 2012 numbers as well. The commission was put in a position where it would have had to borrow the remaining funds and increase its debt limit by an additional $500,000.
“It’s a good thing that we did hold out because not everybody was on side. It was a pretty rough year for making decisions and holding out and not everybody was happy about it, but in the end I think it was a good deal because it saved us $1.2 million,” said Fagnan.
No. 6 - Tragedy on the highway
The region grieved the sudden death of a 15-year-old girl after the school bus she was riding in was hit from behind by a gravel truck Mar. 7 on Opal Road, southwest of the Village of Thorhild.
Maisie Watkinson was pronounced dead on the scene and investigators could not say at the time what the cause of the accident may have been, but did say dense fog may have been a factor.
The remaining 13 students on the bus were assisted at the crash site, but did not require transportation to hospital and were taken to school following the incident. The drivers of both vehicles were not injured.
In July, Sukhdeep Deol, 40, was arrested and charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and criminal negligence causing death.
A nearly tragic accident of Highway 44, north of Westlock, involving a tractor, a semi-truck and a pick-up closed the highway for nearly two days.
First responders were alerted to the incident and rushed to the scene on Highway 44 near Township Road 614 at the Pibroch Hutterite Colony on Sept. 25 at about 8:30 p.m.
The initial RCMP investigation determined a farm tractor was crossing the highway from the east. A southbound semi tractor with double-tank trailers of liquefied petroleum gas was unable to avoid a collision with the tractor as it entered the highway.
Both the semi and farm tractor hit the west ditch, while a southbound pickup that was behind the semi struck the trailer that remained on the highway.
The driver of the pickup was taken to hospital in Westlock while the driver of the tractor was airlifted by STARS Air Ambulance to Edmonton — both had serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
The driver of the semi was not injured.
No. 7 - Nyal nearly disqualified
With the 2017 Municipal Election still fresh in everyone’s minds, the Village of Clyde almost had a major shakeup in its council make-up after Coun. Doug Nyal was nearly disqualified in February.
Councillors voted 3-2 to disqualify him from office through the Court of Queen’s Bench at their Feb. 12 meeting, noting he had missed the previous two meetings. Nyal, calling the move a “witch hunt,” said he missed one meeting by his own error, but the other was because of the sudden death of former Coun. Stu Lorencz — a close friend of his.
“I’ve invested 20 years of my life in this council. I’m not resigning,” said Nyal at the time.
However, at their March 12, meeting council was met with a packed chamber of Clyde residents demanding councillors find a way to work together.
Following an hour-long in-camera session, council voted 4-0 to rescind the motion disqualifying Nyal. Nyal excluded himself from the vote due to a pecuniary interest.
No. 8 - Library funding
A difference of opinion between the Town of Westlock and Westlock County regarding the funding agreement for the library bubbled to the surface in 2018.
After increasing the library’s rent more than $750 a month over the next five years, Westlock town council received a letter from county reeve Lou Hall requesting the town stop charging rent to the library altogether because it is a municipal service in a municipally-owned building.
A joint-use agreement from 2010 between the two municipalities states the town and the county will share the costs of the library.
“When we renegotiate the lease we need to reflect actual costs. We’re very careful not to suggest we’re looking for market-value lease rates. Market value would infer a profit and that’s not what we’re looking for, just simple cost recovery,” said mayor Ralph Leriger, adding the library is “not a municipal service as such” but instead its own separate entity, with its own employees.
By May, funding for the library was still not in place, which had library board chair Tanya Pollard concerned about keeping the doors open.
The town had come forward with its contribution for 2018, but the county took a stand against the rent increase, instead granting the board a percentage of the 2017 allotment, while it discussed the agreement and the rent increase with the town.
“We see it as a shared service and as a shared service that comes with the expectation that you share costs. It’s a 50/50 shared service. It’s as simple as that,” said Leriger.
Library funding was one of the topics at a June 19 joint council meeting between Westlock County council and Westlock town council. Shortly after, the issue was resolved.
“We have a standing agreement from 2010 and the county has no intention of not honouring that agreement,” said CAO Leo Ludwig, after the meeting, affirming the library would be getting the money it was expecting.
No. 9 - Westlock County celebrates 75
The Canadian Tractor Museum hosted Westlock County’s 75th anniversary party Aug. 25, with dignitaries from around the region coming to congratulate the county for its longevity and its success.
“Our goal by setting this day aside is to remember the past with fondness and I’m sure there’s many stories told by long-time residents around the kitchen table or over coffee at McDonald’s, A&W or Tim Horton’s about Westlock County’s history, the good times and the hard times. Because of strong and endearing community spirit we will be able to move forward and continue to make this county a thriving area for our residents for years to come,” said reeve Hall to the assembled crowd of over 200 ratepayers, residents and well-wishers.
Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken was in attendance along with neighbouring Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater MLA Colin Piquette, who each said a few words to the crowd.
van Dijken pointed out the county was born out of a spirit of cooperation, as five smaller municipal districts came together in 1943 to form the Municipal District of Westlock, which became Westlock County in 1998. While the county has, of course, evolved in 75 years, he recognized that one thing has remained consistent — the people.
Jerry Keane, the mayor of the Summer Village of Larkspur, shared a few words, as did Westlock town councillor David Truckey who spoke on behalf of the town. He also presented reeve Hall and the county with the gift of a large clock, with an inscription of kind words from the county’s closest friend.
After the dignitaries spoke, free hot dogs, hamburgers and salads were served and those in attendance had an opportunity to tour the tractor museum and socialize with their friends and neighbours.
No. 10 - Cannabis legalized
The Oct. 17 date of cannabis legalization in Canada came and went in Westlock with little fanfare as no stores were fully licensed in time to take advantage of the long lines seen in other towns and cities across the country.
On June 19, the Canadian Senate passed Bill C-45: The Cannabis Act by a 52-29 vote. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons the next day that all provincial and municipal frameworks will need to be in place by Oct. 17 as the bill received Royal Assent June 21.
Long-time Westlock businessman Joe Renaud was the first in town to apply for a license from Alberta Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis, but three other applications have since been received by AGLC and proposed locations have been undergoing renovations. Renaud’s Harvest Country Cannabis store is all but ready to open its doors, but was unable to complete its final inspection before an announcement from AGLC that further licenses would not be granted until a nationwide shortage of cannabis is resolved.
“We were one day from final inspection,” said Renaud.
There is no timeline as to when the moratorium will be lifted.
