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Vol. 9, No. 29, Tuesday, May 13, 2014
MICHELLE PINON PHOTO
Local emergency service personnel were on hand to provide information and answer questions during a fire truck tailgate party before the start of the Life in the Heartland community engagement evening. The party was hosted by Northeast Region CAER. The organization’s executive director, Brenda Gheran (fourth from the left), had special emergency preparedness kits on display for participants.
Life in the Heartland - a sold out success! Michelle Pinon Editor
Even Lamont County Reeve Wayne Woldanski had a hard time trying to find a parking place near the Bruderheim Memorial Centre Wednesday evening as the Life in the Heartland community event was a sold out success. Woldanski joked with
Bruderheim Mayor that the town will have to develop more parking near the facility to accommodate such crowds as the one in attendance, (nearly 200 residents), during the May 7th information sharing session. He went on to introduce the board members of Life in the Heartland, and thank all of the pre-
Vanessa Goodman, chair of Life in the Heartland board, welcomes attendees while MC Jim Newman, looks over his notes.
senters as well as staff for helping organize the event. Bruderheim Mayor Karl Hauch also thanked Life in the Heartland for allowing them to host the event and for all the people who helped organize the information session. During the evening over 20 organizations and industrial companies had displays and representatives on hand to discuss their future plans and activities. “With continued industrial development in the region, it’s increasingly important that we make information easily accessible for the community,” explained Vanessa Goodman, chair of the Life in the Heartland. “Since the fall of 2011, we’ve hosted two community information evenings each year. Their growing popularity is a testament to the
value of these events for both the community and industry.” Doug Sullivan, executive director of the Lamont County Regional Economic Development Initiative (LCREDI), also attested to the value of Life in the Heartland community engagement meetings, and being available to offer firsthand information to attendees during the biannual event. The session kicked off with a three minute video presentation courtesy of Fort Air Partnership which has recently developed a new air monitoring network plan in the Heartland and surrounding areas. Rick Danilkewich, terminal manager at Canexus, gave a thorough overview of the company’s expansion plans; what has been
completed, and what is left to be done during the final phase that will be completed later this summer. Danilkewich stated that the number of employees has more than doubled over the past two years, and highlighted the economic impact the expansion project has had, funneling in $50 million into the local area. Also, tied in with grow and expansion on Canexus’ Bruderheim terminal site, is MEG Energy’s HI-Q Project. Community relations coordinator Trev Ruberry said shovels would be going into the ground this coming week, and reiterated the company’s commitment to hiring locally and investing into community based organizations and projects. Shell Canada is celebrating its 30th anniver-
sary of the Scotford Upgrader, and Michael Frigge talked about some of the upgrades that have and will be done on site with the Carbon Capture Storage Project and plant renovations in 2015/’16. He also let attendees know about Shell’s new Community Grant Program, and to apply for funding under that program. Pembina Pipeline spokesman Jason Fydrichuk gave an overview of the company’s $415 million project as well as its commitment to community investment, pointing out its recent investment to the Bruderheim Fire Department. That marked the conclusion of the presentations, and attendees were invited to go to the information booths if they had any follow up questions.