The Community
Press
Another successful Women’s Conference
Page 5
115 Years of Telling YOUR Story
Volume 115 Issue 43
www.thecommunitypress.com
The writ has dropped Provincial Election coming up May 29 Leslie Cholowsky Editor
Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, Glen Resler, confirmed Monday, May 1, that Writs were issued to administer Alberta’s 31st Provincial General Election, which will be held on Monday, May 29. Resler says, “We are excited to welcome Albertans back to the polls this month,” said Resler. “Returning Officers have been appointed, and we are in the process of recruiting and training nearly 20,000 Election Officers to conduct voting in the 87 electoral divisions across the province.” Canadian citizens who reside in Alberta and are at least 18 years of age or older on Election Day are eligible to vote. Voters may choose to pre-register online at voterlink.ab.ca up until May 17, at any advance voting location in Alberta, or at their assigned voting place on Election Day. “Electors who are already registered to vote at their current address do not need to register again.” The Community Press will publish voting locations for Flagstaff County as soon as they are announced. Even when registered, voters will be required to prove their identity and current address at their assigned voting place, either by providing governmentissued photo ID and proof of address, having another registered elector with identification that resides in their voting area vouch for them, or having an authorized signatory complete an attestation form. Electors have 28 days to vote by special ballot, starting May 1. Candidate nominations are now open, they will end at 2 p.m. on May 11. Advance voting will begin Tuesday, May 23, ending Saturday, May 27.
Voting places on Election day will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Unofficial results will be available after voting closes on Election Day. Becoming an official candidate is a two-step process. The first step is to complete a registration process under the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act. Step two is a nomination. All candidates must be nominated for election by 25 electors in the electoral division; nomination papers must be submitted by 2 p.m. on Nomination Day. As of Monday, May 1, Elections Alberta reports that there are no candidates who have completed both steps. In the Camrose Constituency, two candidates have completed the registration process, being UCP Candidate and incumbent Jackie Lovely, and NDP Candidate Richard Bruneau, as at May 1. Additional candidates may be added as the nomination process is complete. The Battle River School Division is in the process of planning a series of candidate forums. In Flagstaff County, BRSD is partnering with the ATA and Flagstaff Rural Crime Watch to hold a forum on Tuesday, May 23 at Forestburg School. Other locations include Camrose, Bashaw, and Tofield. Lovely has indicated that she will only be participating in the May 10 forum in Camrose. She says, “The focus of my campaign is door knocking. I have found that the forums are very poorly attended and doorknocking in the evening will allow me to speak to approximately 100 people.” There are presently 12 registered political parties in Alberta. Only the UCP and NDP parties have announced a full slate of 87 candidates, with the Green Party at 31/87, and the Alberta Party at 11/87 according to daveberta.ca, a web-blog site maintained by Dave Cournoyer since 2005.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 s
Fire Restrictions in Flagstaff due to dry conditions Leslie Cholowsky Editor
Flagstaff Regional Emergency Services Society issued a Fire Restriction for Flagstaff County on Tuesday, May 2. “Fire hazard conditions are at a level where fire can start and grow quickly.” The restriction prohibits all open air burning and all major burn operations. That means all open air fire permits issued are now suspended, and that no new permits will be issued while the restriction is in effect. It also means that any previously permitted fires should be extinguished, and burned brush piles checked to ensure they have been completely extinguished. Lack of moisture this spring is causing extremely dry conditions to prevail in the province, including Flagstaff County. Grass and other fires have started in various areas of the province over the past week, keeping local officials scrambling to contain them. As of Monday, the province was dealing with 43 wildfires. Wildfire emergency alerts have been broadcast over social and other media on a regular basis since April 30. Alberta Wildfire reports two wildfires of note, near Entwistle and Evansburg on Tuesday, including an out-of-control fire of 2,386 hectares which has caused an evacuation order for affected residents.
Discover Aviation a record-breaking success for Iron Creek Flying Club
PHOTO COURTESY SUNGMO KANG
The Iron Creek Flying Club hosted 140 youth aged eight to 18 on Saturday, April 29, at their Discover Aviation event. See more Page 8.