NEWS of the Red Deer Region - March 16-31, 2007

 
News of the Red Deer Region
snippets and summaries of news reports from local media (primarily Red Deer Advocate and Red Deer Express).
March 2007 Part 2

Mar. 31, 2007
Lacombe Canoeists Follow Thompson Route to Hudson Bay
A Lacombe couple has returned from a 3,000 km canoe trip taken by eighteen century explorer David Thompson between the mountains and Hudson Bay. The epic took 84 days for David and Naomi Delafield starting out near Jasper with six companions from other parts of the world and navigating the Athabasca, LaBiche, Beaver and Churchill Rivers.

Mar. 30, 2007
Red Deer Mayor Plans to Run Again
City Mayor Morris Flewwelling has announced his intention to run again for Red Deer's top elected position this fall. He wants to follow through with several major projects that were approved by council this year to be competed over the next few years, including a new roadway and bridge over the Red Deer River, the relocation of the civic yards, expansion of city hall, new police and fire facilities and renovation of recreational facilities.
Couple Climbs Mountain for Arthritis
Dana Hodgins, 27, a speech pathologist with the David Thompson Health Region, and Drew Towers, 29, an audiologist for Hearing Sense in Red Deer, joined 22 other Albertans in climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The expedition was a fundraiser for arthritis as part of Joints in Motion.
Tourism Red Deer Encouraged to Promote Central Location
Red Deer and Central Alberta's location half-way between Calgary and Edmonton, close to the Rocky Mountains and badlands, as well as regional attractions, was promoted as a major tourist feature at the annual meeting of Tourism Red Deer. MLA Mary Anne Jablonski presented the board with a cheque of $20,000 from the province. New president of the organization, Ron Lines of Red Deer College, explained that the grant will go to upgrades of the tourist centre, maps and signage. Mayor Morris Flewwelling suggested that the board embrace the region's role as middleman among many attractions in the province.
New Residential Subdivision Planned for Stettler
A Red Deer developer has purchased 80 acres of land in Stettler that will be named Meadowlands by the Park, a subdivision which will include single family, duplexes and apartments. A regional recreation centre, including ball diamonds and soccer fields, will anchor the subdivision. Construction should start later this summer.
New Director Heads Downtown Business Group
The Red Deer Downtown Business Association has a new executive director, Laura Turner, who had previously been executive director of Tourism Red Deer. She is replacing Melanie Rogers who is moving to Calgary. The downtown will be going through some major changes over the next few years as new office buildings are constructed, Alexander Way continues to develop and the Riverlands area is developed once the civic yards are relocated.

Mar. 29, 2007
Residential Developers Interested in Gasoline Alley
A Vancouver developer has indicated an interest in developing 90 acres of housing lots in Gasoline Alley West in an area that Red Deer County has named Liberty Crossing. The area will feature urban densities with stacked townhouse designs and modern duplexes. The company was waiting for the disputes between the city and the county to be settled to come forward with their plan. It's expected that the developer will apply for subdivision this summer. The county concept plan for Gasoline Alley includes a neon-lit highway commercial street called The Strip (Leva Avenue), a automobile themed street called The Cruise, a combination shops and housing street called High Street (Liberty Avenue), and an urban walkway called The Promenade. The plan recently won an honourable mention by the Canadian Institute of Planners.

Mar. 28, 2007
Biofuel Refinery Proposed for North of Innisfail
Red Deer County has given first reading to a bylaw to rezone 421 acres of agricultural land three kilometres north of Innisfail for a large $400 million ethanol and biodiesel refinery. The site is close to Highway 2A with easy access to Highway QE2 and is adjacent to the Canadian Pacific rail line. The complex would create about 100 jobs and produce 379 million litres of ethanol and an equal amount of biodiesel annually. The plant will also produce distillers grain and canola meal, carbon dioxide and glycerin. About 40 million bushels of wheat will be required to produce the ethanol and $300 million of canola for the biodiesel. If all approvals are obtained, construction could start as early as June and be ready in 2008. Public open houses will be held to inform area residents of Dominion Energy Services plans from April 17 to 19.
County Resolutions Support City Annexation
Red Deer County unanimously approved two resolutions yesterday, one supporting the city's bid to annex 1,300 acres of land west of Highway QE2 and south of Highway 11A for industrial use and the second, to approve the sale of 320 acres within the same area directly to the city to help kick start industrial development. The city hopes to have serviced industrial lots available next year. The support of the County makes the annexation proposal to the Municipal Government Board more likely to be approved in a relatively short time. The Board still plans to proceed with its hearing in May.

Mar. 27, 2007
McLevins Welding Celebrates 90 Years in Red Deer
In 1917, Hugh McLevin bought out Red Deer blacksmith George Harvey and started a blacksmith business that eventually evolved into a major welding business. Hugh had walked 140 km from west of Rocky Mountain House in 1910 to accept employment as a blacksmith. His son, George, boldly moved the business from downtown to the north hill in 1965. George's nephew Alan and his son Keegan, are currently celebrating the company's 90th anniversary and contemplating a move to Blackfalds. The welding business has expanded to include fabrication and metal shearing, forming and rolling.

Mar. 24, 2007
City and County Reach Landmark Agreement
After almost a year and a half of tension, disputes and frustration, Red Deer County and Red Deer City councils have developed an agreement that will set the stage for co-operative future development around the city. As a result of the agreement, the county will support the city's bid to annex several quarter sections of land for industrial development west of Highway QE2 and south of Highway 11A, the county will sell two of those quarter sections directly to the city, and the county will also support a further annexation of 35 quarter sections north and east of the city for residential and mixed development. In return, the city will immediately drop all disputes with the county over industrial development south of the city and will support the development of Gasoline Alley under the jurisdiction of the County including the development of a residential component that could support a population of 8,000 people, as well as limited office development. The agreement will form the foundation for a new Intermunicipal Development Plan between the two municipalities, long term growth of the city and co-operation between both planning departments for all fringe development. In addition, the municipalities will jointly create an attractive gateway to the greater Red Deer area on each approach to the city on Highway QE2.
Michener Pool to Stay Open for at Least Three Years
The city has reached a deal with the province to keep the Michener swimming pool open for three years with an option of a three year extension. The city will operate the pool owned by the province keeping the current schedule of activities. The facility was originally scheduled to close last September as no funding was available to operate it but the Persons with Developmental Disabilities Board agreed to continue operating the pool until a deal could be reached with the city with a deadline of March 31. Meanwhile, the G.H. Dawe pool will be closed this fall for major renovations.

Mar. 23, 2007
Joffre Petrochemical Plant May Expand
Nova Chemicals is preparing to expand their Joffre operations in order to process ethane from a proposed new extraction plant at Fort Saskatchewan that would produce 40,000 barrels of ethane per day. The ethane would be transported to Joffre by pipeline. The Nova Joffre plant currently consumes 175,000 to 180,000 barrels of ethane per day from various sources in the production of ethylene and polyethylene. The Fort Saskatchewan plant is expected to be completed by 2010. The multi-million dollar Joffre expansion would need to be ready to receive the new supply,

Mar. 22, 2007
Michener Hill Plan Includes Residential and Green Space
A 44-acre parcel of land north of Ross St., south of 55 St. and west of Michener Ave. in Red Deer will be developed by the David Thompson Health Region and private partner Extendicare into a residential area of about 650 people over 55.  The Michener Hill East Neighbourhood Area Structure Plan was presented to a public meeting explaining the wide range of housing types for seniors, including 220 continuing care beds, 60 assisted living units and at least 150 seniors condos and apartments. The existing treed area at the north end of the site will be maintained as environmental reserve. Construction could start later this year.
Rimbey Seeking Waste to Ethanol Plant
The town of Rimbey is seeking investors and support from the provincial and federal governments to built a $30 million ethanol plant that would use municipal waste and straw as feedstock. Aside from the 27 million litres of ethanol that the plant would produce, byproducts of the process would be electricity that could be sold to the provincial grid and heat that could be available to a secondary business such as a greenhouse. The small-scale plant could be the first built in Central Alberta.

Mar. 21, 2007
Lacombe Centre Fundraising Reaches Goal
The goal to raise $1.5 million locally has been officially reached toward the $7 million renovation and expansion of the Lacombe Community Centre and Library. The remainder of the funding came from provincial government grants and a $3 million loan. In addition to the library, the new centre will include several meeting rooms and an exhibition area. The centre is expected to be operational by late May or early June.

Mar. 20, 2007
New City Manager Starts Duties
Amazed by the amount of growth since he was last in Red Deer, new City Manager Craig Curtis began his new job at city hall Monday. Mr. Curtis was community services director when he left the city in 1995 to become city manager of Owen Sound, Ont. Prior to that, he was urban planning manager for the city. In that 12 year period, there has been considerable residential, commercial, industrial and recreational development.
Major Condo Project Approved for Downtown Red Deer
An eight-storey, 86-unit, $20 million condominium project for downtown Red Deer close to the newly renovated Recreation Centre has been approved by the city municipal planning commission. The complex will feature a spa and fitness room, theatre, post-modern architecture and energy-efficient measures. It is expected to be completed in 18 months.
Sky Wings Aviation Academy Celebrates 25 Years
Over 3,000 students have had flying instruction from one of Alberta's largest flight training schools located at the Red Deer Regional Airport, Sky Wings Aviation Academy, celebrating 25 years in the flight training business. The company also offers charter service, fuel sales, aircraft storage and maintenance and has the copyright to five air training manuals distributing more than 1,000 copies annually across Canada. Equipment includes a state-of-the-art flight simulator, a twin-engine Navajo 600 for charters and several trainer aircraft.

Mar. 19, 2007
Parents Propose Science School to Keep Pines Facility Open
The parents of students at Pines Community School, which is facing closure by the Red Deer Public School Division, are proposing that the facility could be turned into a science and technology school to boost enrolment so it can remain open. Such a school could not only attract students from other parts of the city but also from other communities in Central Alberta. Currently, the school is only at 48% capacity with 124 students, the lowest in the division.

Mar. 17, 2007
Balzac Project Not Dependent on New Water Allocation
The massive development at Balzac that includes a large horse racing facility, a mega mall and commercial/industrial complex will proceed whether or not the government awards the Municipal District of Rocky View a water license to pump more water from the Red Deer River. The M.D. is already allowed to take 2,250 cubic metres of water per day from the Red Deer River through Knee Hill Water Services, an amount that is sufficient for the three projects. However, they are asking for 5,000 cubic metres to be allocated from the river to accommodate expected growth along side the current development. If the application for the water licence is turned down, development will proceed, but at a slower pace. Several municipalities along the river are challenging the application. A decision is expected by the end of April.

Mar. 16, 2007
City Status Not Attractive to Qualifying Towns
Two regional towns are now eligible for city status now that they have reached a population of over 10,000. Both Lacombe (pop. 10,742) and Sylvan Lake (pop. 10,208) could become cities if they wanted to but don't feel ready for that step. Sylvan Lake council won't consider city status until they reach a population of 12,500 at which time it may be economically feasible. Lacombe would like to keep their town atmosphere and wants to wait for the province to upgrade the intersection of Highways 2A and 12 before considering city status.
City Taking Another Look at Molly Banister Drive Extension
With increasing east-west traffic in south Red Deer and 32 St. reaching close to capacity, the city is taking another look at the extension of Molly Banister Drive between Barrett Drive and 40 Ave joining up with 22 St. Previous attempts to create this new link across Piper Creek have met with considerable resistance. The city has abandoned the idea of widening 32 St. so the only other option is widening 19 St. (Delburne Road) further south to 6 lanes. A presentation to the public will seek feedback on April 4.

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