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Your Independent Local Newspaper Established in 1918 VOLUME 104: ISSUE 25
www.tofieldmerc.com
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY23, 2022
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Ryley by-election Feb. 28, new CAO appointed I would not have taken on the challenge if I did not see the elected council moving forward: Ryley CAO MOUSH JOHN Editor
The community of Ryley will be electing a new councillor on Feb. 28 when the by-election takes place. Since the last municipal election in fall, some residents have expressed their displeasure with council’s decision making, resulting in more than 100 ratepayers submitting a petition to Al-
berta Municipal Affairs for an investigation. The petition was addressed to the Minister of Alberta Municipal Affairs and requested an inspection or inquiry into the actions of council and in particular the mayor (Nikita Lee). The petition questions the behaviour of representatives of the jurisdiction prior to and during the municipal election in 2021 and during the initial term of of-
fice since being elected on Oct. 18, 2021. It goes on to question whether certain councillors acted in a way that may have brought “ill repute to the Village of Ryley.” As well, the petition charges that Council and Mayor did not treat the Returning Officer, Election Staff, or CAO in a fair and proper manner. This information was obtained directly form the petition filed.
In addition, the former Village of Ryley CAO was placed on paid leave by the new council, and an interim CAO was appointed, who quit along with staff who were hired at the time. With the impending by-election next week, new CAO Ron Cust says he is hopeful for positive change in the community. Cust said, “When I initially accepted the position as CAO, I saw that
Ryley was a vibrant and viable village that has some division among residents. But the biggest challenges in Ryley have become our biggest opportunities. “In general, the residents of Ryley are passionate about their community and willing to communicate to administration. The care and concern that residents have shown in Ryley over the day-to-
day operations has been immense, and as a result of residents being vocal and willing to communicate, administration has managed to gather a large amount of community feedback, which has resulted in understanding resident concerns very quickly and being able to address urgent issues.” According to Cust, Continued on Page 21
Tofield U18 head to playoffs MOUSH JOHN EDITOR
Tofield U18 put on a steallar performance at home ice on Friday, Feb. 18 to secure a berth in playoffs. Beating Battle River Knights, 7-1, the home team made it look easy as they opened the scoring and after the opponents had tied 1-1, they esnured their defense
was solid, as offense continued to excel. Head Coach Stan Yuha said that he is happy that the team is playing well, but there are still areas that need improvement and more focus. “We are working on a few things to improve such as power play, and conditioning,” Yuha noted. ”It’s normal at this stage for competition to get tougher when
you enter playoffs. Every team steps it up a notch and if you don’t bring your A-game every time, you can end up losing to a team you think you should have won against.” Continued on Page 21 Tofield’s Josh Swedburg in action against Battle River Knights on Friday. Tofield won 7-1, winning a place in playoffs. MOUSH JOHN PHOTO
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