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News of the Red Deer Region
snippets and
summaries of news from local resources including media, press releases
and personal knowledge
February 2010 Part 2
Feb. 26, 2010
Lacombe County Ready to Build
Trail to Blackfalds
Lacombe County is planning to build a trail this summer connecting the
new Blindman River pedestrian bridge, currently under construction near
the historic C & E Trail, with the town of Blackfalds. If all goes
according to plan the trail will be ready for pedestrians and bicycles
by July or August. North of the town, the 12-km stretch of trail between
Blackfalds and Lacombe is expected to be built within the next two to
five years. The two sections of rural trail will link with existing
trails within the towns and are part of a 71-km regional trail
connecting Ponoka in the north to Penhold in the south that is the
portion of the Trans Canada Trail through Central Alberta.
Feb. 24, 2010
Airpark Concept Proposed for Sundre
Airport
Mountain View County, in its proposed South McDougall Flats Area
Structure Plan, is suggesting that an airpark, where lot owners could
build both a home and a hangar for their plane, be developed adjacent to
the Sundre Airport. Although just a concept, the plan suggests that the
airpark be a gated condominium community. The county would determine the
location and size of lots if there is sufficient interest in the idea.
Meanwhile the airport has received a grant from the federal government
of $700,000 toward the paving of the runway.
Municipalities Purchase Rocky Medical
Clinic
Clearwater County and the town of Rocky Mountain House have jointly
purchased the Rocky Medical Clinic for $1.2 million as a means to
attract physicians to the area. The plan to purchase has already
attracted 5 new doctors to the town bringing the total to 12. It is
expected that the initiative will be cost-neutral from the lease
payments of the physicians. The clinic serves a large area of the west
country that attracts several thousand visitors on weekends.
Feb. 23, 2010
Rotary Donates to Ronald House and SPCA
The Red Deer Downtown Rotary Club has announced that it is donating
$50,000 toward the proposed Ronald McDonald House helping to bring their
fundraising total to $6.5 million of a goal of $8 million so that
construction of that facility can begin in March. The club also is
donating $20,000 towards the new SPCA facility expected to open in about
a month.
Feb. 20, 2010
Waskasoo Park Upgrades Continue
Over the next 10 years Red Deer plans to spend $9 million on the
continued upgrade of Waskasoo Park as a fulfillment of the 2005 Special
Gathering Places Study. Over the next two years the city's Recreation,
Parks and Culture department will concentrate on the $1.3 upgrade of
Heritage Ranch. Improvements will be made to roads, signs, the
children's playground, trails and the main building. The equestrian
facilities will remain. Upgrades have already been made at Three Mile
Bend and Bower Ponds.
Local Service Company Doubling in Size
McMullen's Refrigeration and Heating, a nearly 50-year-old local company
that provides heating, refrigeration, air conditioning and plumbing
services to commercial and residential customers, is relocating its
operation from the central part of the city to immediately south of its
boundary in the Clearview Industrial Park. The new building is 16,000
sq. ft., double its current size. The move is expected to occur in June.
Feb. 19, 2010
Native Complex to
Include Housing, Services
A new Red Deer Native Friendship Centre being proposed will include a
wellness centre and affordable housing suites. The province has verbally
approved the transfer to the city of four acres of land at the Michener
Services site in the northeast part of the city for the development.
Preliminary plans are to build a circular four-storey building with the
friendship and the wellness centre taking the bottom two floors and 16
affordable family suites on the upper two floors. The wellness centre
would focus on healing people spiritually, emotionally, physically and
mentally, the four aspects of the aboriginal medicine wheel. The
friendship centre has received a provincial grant of about $2.7 million
for the affordable housing portion of the $5-$8 million project.
Officials are indicating the need is increasing for a new facility as an
increasing number of aboriginal people move into the city. It is hoped
that the project can get under way in about a year.
Airport Reports Increase in Passenger Traffic
The
Red Deer Regional Airport reports that 170 passengers flew out of the
airport in January compared to only 90 a year earlier, a number
that is closer to pre-recession levels. The reduced number of passengers
in 2009 were barely sufficient to qualify the airport for future funding
of capital projects. This year, the airport is applying for $6 million
for capital improvements including runway paving, lighting upgrades and
an addition to the maintenance building. In 2009, $750,000 in funding
was provided for a new plow truck, sweeper and snow blower which have
all been received.
Local Manufacturer Expands Presence Six-Fold
A.R. Thomson, a manufacturer of gaskets and other fluid-sealing products
that serves the oil and gas, petrochemical, refining and pulp and paper
industries, is constructing
a new 63,000 sq. ft. building immediately south of the city in Clearview
Industrial Park to replace
its current 10,000 sq. ft. building on the west edge of the city. Work
is expected to be completed by early fall.
Feb. 18, 2010
County Reviews
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Red Deer County recently held a series of well-attended open houses to
get public feedback on an update of the county's Environmentally
Significant Areas Management Plan. The plan identifies areas having
important ecological value as well as providing benefits such as clean
water, healthy soils, fish and wildlife habitat or unique environmental
significance. The primary concern expressed was that the county needs to
take more time to make sure the plan accurately reflects the current
land conditions.
Feb. 16, 2010
Red Deer Museum Makeover Opens to Public
The Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery attracted 1,000 people to its grand
opening yesterday after a $2.8 million renovation that started in April.
The first phase of renovations of the 30-year-old facility started two
years ago with new washrooms. The new makeover creates a lot of open
space for rotating and visiting exhibits and includes a new office and
an upgrade to the fish pond. The museum still has a storage issue with
its 80,000 artifacts. The renovations were partly funded by a $1.4
million grant from Heritage Canada and $50,000 from Human Resources
Canada.
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