Wednesday, July 6, 2022 Vol. 45, No. 27
$1 includes GST
Your Local Paper
Fond farewell held for Pastor Sorenson
Third Viking councillor resigns, town no longer has functional council until election Patricia Harcourt Editor
Lois and Alvin Sorenson smile as they hold the retirement cake with Alvin’s image on it and a notation that says: “Blessings on Your Retirement - Shepherding Golden Valley for 20 Years.” See the story and more pictures on Pages 2 and 3.
A third councillor has resigned his elected position as a Viking town councillor. Gary Hafso confirmed he put in his resignation on Monday, June 27, but was reticent to give his reasons. “I thought it would be better to have a by-election so council can go on a better path,” he said, in a phone interview this Monday. Two other councillors - Jamie Buttner and Deb O’Toole-Balaban - resigned in April. Both explicitly cited reasons for their walking away. This was Hafso’s second term on council, one of only two incumbents, along with O’Toole Balaban. “It did take a long time,” he admitted, to make up his mind to leave. “I gave it a lot of thought.” Hafso was aware that his departure meant council could no longer function without a quorum to vote on motions. Mayor Laura Yakiwchuk and Councillor Cindy Lefsrud are the only two persons left. For that reason, no council meetings can be held for the time being, and no council representatives can sit on the boards or committees to which they were appointed. A by-election is scheduled for August 23, and Hafso said he assumes that his vacant seat will also be up for grabs along with the two others already earmarked. “It’s a blow to the town to lose another councillor,” said O’Toole Balaban. “I’m sure he has good reasons for what he has done because he’s an upstanding member of many groups and organizations in town.” She added, however, that on a “positive note, Municipal Affairs will have to come down and take over things for a while. We can’t run our town with no quorum and they have to come down to investigate,” she said, referring to Alberta Municipal Affairs. “We have asked for help for a long time for Municipal Affairs to step in,” she said. “Myself Continued on Page 3