Greetings! Sharing my News Update…
Good News about the SW Calgary Ring Road: I hope you are enjoying this newly opened ring road section, as of October 2, 2021. I am truly grateful to be using this smooth, efficient highway and not incurring any more issues with driving the unofficial detour route or going through challenges elsewhere. Did you notice the speed limit of 100 km/hr? I wasn’t sure that I was reading that correctly. There’s still a short section of 90 km/hr, and a slow-down to 70 km/hr at the lights at the Red Deer Lake School, but truly an improvement to our main route into and out of our neighbouring city. I know many of us have spent much time in delays and confusion during construction. It seems miraculous that Bridge 17 now exits and affords us to go to SW Calgary. While we still have to pay close attention in case something should change and while this is still new to many drivers, I am enjoying the results of the hard work of all the people who worked on this for us. Thanks go to Alberta Transportation, all our neighbours and all the construction partners who navigated the project, amid the trials, and came up with the roads we see today. Enjoy and safe travels!
Ambulance Service Update: Incidents of lack of available ambulances in our rural service area has been a continuing problem. This is not new for the rural areas. We have been monitoring this and working to convey our concerns and offer solutions for years. What’s new is that we are seeing a mounting effort to deal with this province-wide, which is a good thing. Our Foothills Regional Emergency Services Commission recently held a meeting in September with the new Health Minister as our guest. We shared out concerns and willingness to collaborate on solutions that would lead to the best outcomes for the service levels for our citizens. We will be engaging in further discussions as the ministry allows. I hope to continue to work as a representative of Foothills County to this Commission (and as Chairperson), which includes 25 municipalities in Southern Alberta, to advocate for delivering effective 911 dispatch service and coordination of emergency response where every second matters. Along with our commission members and administration, I will keep vigilant on this service and work hard towards contributing to improvements.
Rural Crime: It is imperative that we partner on keeping up the united front against Rural Crime. I will contribute to this effort by working with council, protective services, local Rural Crime Watches and keeping tabs on our recently organized Foothills County Rural Policing Strategy, while also seeking the legal changes we need to end the revolving door of criminals through the justice system. To keep you informed, the County and our local High Country Rural Crime Watch Association (HCRCWA) are posting the writings of our Foothills County Police (RCMP), called: “Mountie Moments”. You can find these archived on the Foothills County website (look in the box entitled “RCMP” for the link): www.foothillscountyab.ca/rural-crime-watch.html. As a volunteer with HCRCWA since 2010 (currently president), I also share these messages through our HCRCWA Facebook and our volunteer fan-out team sends them out by email to the HCRCWA members. You can join the HCRCWA, free of charge. Sign up here: www.hcrcwa.ca/membership.html Report suspicious activity to Foothills County Policing (RCMP). 24/7 Non-emergency complaints: 403.933.4262; Emergency Complaints: 9-1-1
Spruce Budworm Infestation – Upcoming Meeting: We are planning an informational workshop via Zoom. The proposed date will be one evening during the week of Nov 29 – Dec 3, 2021. Details, including guest speakers, will be confirmed through publicity done via website, Facebook and email. Please check these sources or contact me.
Background: After hearing from concerned residents about a growing Spruce Budworm infestation, I attended the Bragg Creek meeting on July 6th and brought the discussion to Foothills County Council the following day. I asked for our Agricultural Services Department to assess, work with our Provincial experts and provide recommendations. Council agreed to that. Having looked into Btk, a specialized bacteria which was sprayed aerially to treat Redwood Meadows trees and is being considered by Bragg Creek residents. I know that there are other issues, costs and side-effects around using this bio agent pesticide. There is a certain timeframe during the budworm’s lifecycle when a treatment with Btk could be used. Other insecticides are also available. All intervention products have associated cautions. Foothills County is gathering information now, pooling resources with the Province and Rocky View County and will get back in touch with residents to share information. I have also taken some photos and asked residents to supply some of their photos – to bank some evidence from 2021.
For Other News & Updates: suzanneoel.com/
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Email: Suzanne.Oel@FoothillsCountyAB.ca
With Best Regards,
Suzanne Oel
Division 4
