Heritage documents sent to the provincial museum

By Sharon McLeay Times Contributor

Wheatland County is handing off historical documents to the Provincial Archives of Alberta.
“The Provincial Archives of Alberta has staff trained in historical and archival records, as well as having the proper facilities and environment to ensure the records are protected and made available to all persons researching the history of Alberta,” said Brian Henderson, Wheatland County’s interim chief administrative officer. “Secondly, transferring the archival records reduces the footprint of physical records held in the vault room in Wheatland County.”
Records to be sent include meeting minutes and bylaws from 1900-1980 for Gleichen, Cluny and other small communities; Wheatland County general ledgers from 1920-1970; Wheatland school board and Serviceberry MD financial records; and school district minutes.
The action is approved by the Alberta government’s records management guidelines.

Draft emergency management plan
The Alberta Government is asking all municipalities to develop emergency management advisory committee agencies to deal with emergencies; and if called on, to help in other areas when asked.
An example is the Calgary 2013 flooding that affected Calgary homeowners and businesses, and other areas around Calgary. Services cooperated with each other and the Alberta Emergency Management Agency to make sure everyone was evacuated, critical infrastructure was managed, emergency centres for evacuees were set up, as well as dealing with the hazards the flooding caused.
In February 2019, Wheatland County retained a consulting firm to develop a plan for the county that outlines the work needed to implement a plan. The draft document was given to council on July 2, and it can be viewed under the July 2 agenda on the website, starting on page 106. The document assessed potential risks, identified who would be affected by the risks, established clear avenues of authority and communication during a disaster, identified resources and the deployment of resources. It also outlined how to reach out to residents, businesses and commercial and industrial companies about how a disaster might affect them. Training and defining roles and duties would be given so that all stakeholders would be prepared during an emergency situation.

County approved Handi-bus donation
Wheatland County council gave both Strathmore Handi-bus Association and Valley Bus Society money to support their services for another year.
Strathmore Handi-bus received $35,000.
Councillor Jason Wilson outlined the client usage for council. Last year they had 602 clients use the system. They had 1,046 trips last year. There were 45 clients from the county areas. Several councillors noted some county landowners may live in Strathmore, so there may be more county people getting help but are calculated under the Strathmore statistics.
Wilson outlined the yearly budget and indicated there wasn’t much left this year after expenses were deducted. Wages for staff went up and that raised expenses.
“It was a tough year this year, so we increased fees across the board to try to make up for the higher expenses,” said Wilson.
The Valley Bus runs out of Drumheller and serves residents in the eastern half of Wheatland County as well.
“They represent about 400 ratepayers. We have made contributions in the past with the purchase of their vehicles. We don’t have a number here, but I think last year we contributed $2,000 if I remember right,” said Councillor Ben Armstrong.
Council approved a donation of $2,000 for their service. The amount works out to about $5 per person.
The Valley Bus Society treasurer stated in a letter to council that most of their clients are on a fixed income and cannot afford to pay the full rate, so donations like the one from Wheatland County helps them to utilize the service.
The Valley Bus Society is also feeling the pinch from cancelled government funding; it gets the majority of its funding from the Drumheller area, and through donations and fundraisers.
“To give some certainty for the future, we should be talking about what we are going to fund and not to fund,” said Councillor Glenn Koester.
He suggested they review community funding at the committee of the whole meeting and it was approved by council.

New rate for reapplied dust control
Wheatland County council agreed to drop rates on reapplied dust control on surfaces that have been disturbed by county work. The previous rate was $5 per foot and they dropped it to $3 per foot. This was only available to ratepayers for roadways that were disturbed by county equipment in the last year. They changed that to disturbances in the last 10 years.
County staff said there are about 16 kilometres of dust-controlled surfaces that have been disturbed in the past five years and applications for reapplication of oil are 15 per cent.
“Oil dust control is a significant investment for ratepayers. With this reduced reapplication rate there will be less resistance by ratepayers to having their dust controls reworked by crews once they have exceeded their lifespan,” said Mike Ziehr, general manager of transportation and agriculture with Wheatland County.

Car heaven
The Hamlet of Gleichen will be holding a car show on July 27. The hosts are the Gleichen and District Community Association.
Parts of New Railway Avenue and New Railway Street will be blocked off for the show.
Cars can set up shop starting at 9 a.m. Call Mike at 403-400-4050 for car entry. Entry fee is $10.
A hamlet-wide garage sale is set for the same day. Local merchants can set up market tables to sell their crafts or products. Table price is $10.
The day will conclude with a barbecue and dance for $10; for more information call Maggie Bastarache at 403-462-6026.