City of Camrose

By Lori Larsen

Planning ahead can save you some cash with the City of Camrose’s property taxes early payment incentive.

According to the City of Camrose website (Your Government/taxes/how to pay my taxes/early payment incentive) the incentive allowance is applicable to all monies received up to and including January 31st of the current year as a prepayment of future taxes for the current year.

The amount of money received as prepayment shall be limited to an amount equal to the previous year’s current taxes, other than local improvement taxes. (The property owner can only prepay an amount equal to or less than the amount of their prior year’s property taxes and have the incentive apply.)

The incentive allowance is then calculated and credited to the respective tax account at a rate of 1.5 per cent on the prepayment amount.

An example provided on the City of Camrose website clarifies. If your property taxes for the previous year were $3,200, that is the amount you could prepay prior to January 31 (of the current year) to which the 1.5 per cent incentive will apply.

However, if your property taxes were $3,200 last year and $3,000 of that amount was for property taxes and $200 was a payment toward local improvements, only $3,000 of a prepayment towards your property taxes would qualify for the incentive.

For a local improvement such as new paving or concrete done along property frontage, the homeowner can choose to pay their portion of that cost off annually with their property taxes. (This amount, when included with a ratepayers annual property taxes, is called a local improvement tax.)

This early payment tax incentive is not available to Tax Installment Payment Program participants.

Further details are available in the Property Tax Penalty and Incentive Bylaw 3114-20 or by contacting the City of Camrose Financial Services department at 780-672-4426.

RECYCLE YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE

Drop off your real tree (without decorations or any plastic) at the northeast corner of the Recreation Centre parking lot until January 27, 2023 for free! Your Christmas tree will be chipped and available in the spring for use by residents. For more information, contact City of Camrose at 780672-4428.

Drive sober.

alcohol or marijuana – it impairs your judgement.

Braim Brothers

Plumbing & Heating Ltd.

780.672.3540

braimbros@gmail.com

Jordan

Journeyman Plumber/ Gasfitter See us for

Furnace Repair, Sales, Service

Adam

Journeyman Sheet Metal/Heating/ Air Conditioning

New Year…New Look?

If a bathroom, utility room or kitchen is planned for this spring, or this year, come see us for countless ideas! Homeowners and trades always welcome!

Free Browsing! Free Advice! Great Pricing!

Todd Luey

Unit 1, 3705-47 Avenue, Camrose | 780-672-5575

Chartered Professional Accountants Directory

3831B-44 Avenue, Camrose, AB T4V 3T1 Phone 780-679-2515, Fax 780-679-2507 Toll Free 1-877-679-2515

Chartered Professional Accountants #201, 4870-51 Street Camrose, AB T4V 1S1 Tel. 780-672-9217 Fax 780-672-9216 www.grantthornton.ca

Beth P. Kushnerick CPA, CA Michael Wetsch CPA, CA Annette McTavish ACIA Scot Lorenson CPA, CA

WOOD GARNETT RADCHENKO

4602-49 Avenue Camrose, Alberta T4V 0M6 780- 672-2600

Fax: 780-672-0057 Toll Free: 1-866-772-2600 Website: www.hwgr.ca

Christmas

The Best of Camrose 2022

Watch for Stamp Around 2023, immediately following Remembrance Day!

Peggy Weller of Camrose

is this year’s Grand Prize Winner!

Peggy, who admittedly really enjoys shopping in Camrose, deposited completed entries this year at Duff Layton’s Men’s Wear, Bra Necessities and Fringe Benefits. Her completed entry form was pulled randomly from amongst thousands of combined entries from sixty-five participating businesses. This earns her $1,500 to spend at her choice of shops and stores registered for this timeless and highly popular Camrose Loyalty Program.

Peggy split her $1,500 win with purchases at: Duff Layton’s Men’s Wear Fringe Benefits Bra Necessities Sole City Shoes Congratulations to our weekly winners, as well: Week #1: Jo-anne Yuzik, Killam ($100 gift card from Crystal Glass);

Week #2: Michael McTavish, Rosalind ($100 gift card from Hauser Home Hardware Building Centre); Week #3: Hazel Foyd, Camrose ($100 gift card from Save-On-Foods) Week #4: Lori Farley, Rosalind ($100 gift card from Save-On-Foods)

The automotive section of

Gerlitz enjoys bicycle history, racing

By Murray Green

Wayne Gerlitz of Camrose owns a mountain of bicycles.

“I collect a lot of racing and touring bikes as well as the paraphernalia that goes with it. I even have a couple of three-wheel recumbent bikes. The reason for that is my daughter has a problem with her left arm and leg because of a stroke. She is now doing okay, but can’t use her left arm anymore. I built a bike to make it easier for her to get around. And then I found another one for me to go riding with her,” shared Wayne.

“I put a motor on it, which was hard to do. This makes it easier, not only for people with limb problems, but people who want to be comfortable riding. As we age, we have a comfort factor in being able to take our bikes out. You ride recumbent bikes in snow, sleet or rain, it doesn’t matter. I made these two years ago,” added Wayne.

“This noteworthy bike was made by two brothers in Toronto and is called a time trial bike. The reason that it is so interesting is that it is actually illegal. This bike should have this opening (open where the spikes are) so it doesn’t act like a plane wing. That is the advantage

MODIFIED TRIKE

Murray Green, Camrose Booster

Wayne Gerlitz modified two recumbent bikes by adding motors to assist his daughter in riding around the city. He enjoys riding racing bikes and electric bicycles.

of this bike too. You get a side push and from behind and is like a wing. You could literally take off from the road,”

FUN FACTS

A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons: the rider’s weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by back and buttocks.

Guiseppe Marinoni is an Italian frame builder who learned his craft from Mario Rossin. Marinoni came to Canada in 1965 with the Italian team to ride in the Tour du Saint-Laurent, he never returned home to Italy and the rest, as they say, is history. The year that Marinoni built this frame is the same year that he built Jocelyn Lovell’s bike for the UCI World Championship. One of Canada’s most celebrated cyclists, Lovell won a silver at the ’78 Worlds. Bianchi (1897) is the world’s oldest bicycle manufacturing company in existence. explained Wayne.

“It is built for speed, but is illegal to ride in sanctioned races. That may be changing, so it might be able to be in some races. I’m the only one who has one of these. The rest were garbaged I guess. It is valuable in a sense that similar track bikes are in the $50,000 range because they are custom made. This is a very light bike, but very sturdy. It’s a bike you don’t see very often,” said Wayne.

“Then bikes went towards the Tour de France style of racing bikes built for speed. The one I have needs a little weld. You can fix anything with today’s technology,” said Wayne.

“This is a 1978 Marinoni Special bike. Marinoni was very well known throughout the world and was so good at building racing bikes. This model has the Canadian maple leaf on it, built in Canada,” he explained.

“I have the modern version of this bike. It is made of carbon fibre, very light, about 16 pounds in total, which is unheard of in a bicycle. It features a light weight racing tube that is actually a pentagon, which gives more strength to the frame. It is the most expensive bike I have and it rides like an expensive bike. You can feel the difference. Every pothole you hit, the suspension soaks it up well,” shared Wayne.

“The other Tour de France type of bike that I have is a light speed titanium that is really expensive. It doesn’t break if you get into a crash. You can pound it back without it losing any strength. Now almost all of the new bikes are either carbon fibre or titanium,” said Wayne.

“Bianchi is one of the oldest bicycle makers in the world. They are famous for their race bikes and the various colours. They used a different type of steel. It’s a boron steel and some chemicals to give it more flexibility. It is well known for climbing.”

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Diesel engine Oil and Filter Change SPECIAL

up to 12 litres synthetic oil $129