Christmas hampers are back

By Sharon McLeay Times Contributor

The Strathmore and Wheatland County Christmas Hamper Society is gearing up to collect food and toys for hampers.
“We live in a tremendous county. The support we receive from the town and county is overwhelming at times,” said Craig Stone, Strathmore and Wheatland County Christmas Hamper Society chairman. “Over the 35 years we have been doing this, there have been a lot of changes. The prominent one is the need for hampers.”
Stone said more hampers are needed each year. Wheatland County council was asked to contribute a $3,300 donation, which typically goes to supply turkeys for the hampers. Last year, 260 hampers were given out and the society expects an equal amount will be needed this year. The group is holding their Stuff a Bus campaign on Nov. 18 at Sobeys, Walmart, Co-op and No Frills stores to kick off the donation campaign.
Stone said handling the donations has posed a space challenge in the pavilion used for assembling the hampers. They handle over 33,000 items each year. Stone suggests that additional shelving would help with sorting and storage. Hamper distribution is scheduled for Dec. 20 to 21.
The society always needs volunteers, and those interested can contact Strathmore or Wheatland FCSS. Council approved the $3,000. Council members commented that the society is a good investment for a worthy cause.

Economic development
Expanding employment and business opportunities is a task Wheatland County Council gave to members of the Wheatland County Economic Development Board.
Marcy Field, a representative for the board, said part of that responsibility is to promote education opportunities for business people. On Nov. 7, she asked council for $10,000 to develop one of the board’s ideas. They want to bring in motivational speakers Colin Sprake, Roger Brooks and Doug Griffiths for a series of talks to the local business community. The series would be scheduled throughout 2018-2019.
To finance the events, the expected 100-150 attendance fees, of approximately $99 for the full package lineup, would pay for meals and facility rental. The committee is looking at Rosebud for the first speaking engagement on Feb. 27, 2018. The money requested from municipal councils, other partners and grants would pay the speaker costs.
“The granting of $10,000 would kick-start our series, allowing us to motivate and engage others in contributing as well,” said Field. “The joy of having partnerships and bringing people together is where you get multiple ideas.”
The previous council had approved the amount be included in the current budget. However, members of the new council were concerned that speaker fees were a little expensive. Council asked staff to bring back more information before they make budget decisions.
The group hopes financing will be in place by Jan. 2018.

Policy changes for Wheatland employee health and safety
Wheatland County Council approved a move to ban smoking in county buildings, the doorways of county buildings or in county-owned vehicles. For those who do smoke, they must move at least five metres from entrances and dispose of cigarette butts in approved containers.
The move was made to reduce dangers posed by exposure to second-hand smoke and will comply with provincial legislation. Penalties for staff violations are set out in Wheatland County’s code of conduct policies.
Council also approved an updated drug and alcohol policy, which includes pre-employment testing and random drug testing with cause on a regular basis. Current provincial legislation allows employers to conduct random drug tests if there seems to be reasonable cause for the testing. Currently employees must notify their supervisors of conditions that might affect their work. Use of prescription drugs is allowed, when it does not impair the ability to perform duties. “We have not had any incident in the last three years requiring a reasonable cause test, nor is there any record prior to 2015 of such an incident,” stated John MacArthur, Wheatland County’s human resources manager.
Staff indicated approval does require additional staff time and an approximate cost of $25,000.
The new recreational uses of marijuana guidelines is not expected to affect the workplace; however, discussion took place as to whether levels during recreational use would remain in the bloodstream and affect workplace testing and competency.
Council also reviewed the policy to streamline processes that deal with employee complaints. A clear chain of command was set out and policy for timelines to review the complaints.