December 4 Leader

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Your news this week: Bruderheim Firefighters Ball - Pg. 3 Mundare Heroes in the Sky- Pg. 7 Lamont Light Up Festivities - Pg. 8,9

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Vol. 2, 8, Tuesday, No. 5 Tuesday, December 4, 2012 Vol. 7, No. November 8, 2011

MICHELLE PINON PHOTO Local MLA Jacquie Fenske passed out Christmas treats during the Mundare Christmas Extravaganza parade on main street Saturday evening. It was the grand finale of a fun filled day that featured pictures with Santa Claus, sleigh rides, craft market, firefighters fundraising barbecue. The annual event was very well attended, and folks enjoyed home baked treats, candies, Christmas oranges, perogies and sausage, and more Dec. 1st. The Christmas Extravaganza is hosted by the Town of Mundare, along with many volunteers from a variety of service groups and organizations.

Province commits $3 million to upgrade Range Road 202 in Lamont County Michelle Pinon Editor

While the province recently committed funds to upgrade Range Road 202, Lamont County will have to find a significant amount of money to make the project a reality. Councillor Dennis McCartney, who had requested a meeting with Alberta Transportation and Infrastructure recently, confirmed the provincial government will be committing $3 million towards the reconstruction of Range Road 202 north of

Canexus to Highway 45. The municipality has to come up with the remaining $5 million in order to move ahead with plans. Representatives met with officials during the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMD&C) convention in Edmonton. “We basically wanted them to clarify funding on 202.” McCartney describes it as a long and involved process. “We went through three different administrations and three different ministers, and the whole file

seemed to have went off track.” Things are back on track now, but there is still some questions in regards to the intersection of Highways 15 and 45. Although they received clarification on funding, the exact alignment has yet to be determined by engineers. “That is a bit of an issue, and they’re still working on the planning of that.” McCartney said the county does have $2 million in its road reserve fund; but would still have to find another $3 million in its pockets to go forward with the proj-

ect. The county is currently deliberating on its 2013 budget, and will be going over the figures during the next set of budget meetings on Dec. 4th and Dec. 18th. budget meetings. “We need to have an interim budget by Dec. 31st.” Financials are based on last year’s revenue. “We have no idea what the assessment is yet,” added McCartney. With time running out, council will have to make tough choices in the weeks ahead. Other transportation related issues that have

been discussed recently, have been Highways 15 and 45. In order to twin those highways, there would have to be at least 10,000 vehicles per day. A traffic count which was conducted in 2011 stated there were 5,400 vehicles per day on those highways. “We are a long ways away from the threshold. Likely, it’s not in the cards in the foreseeable future.” Concerns have also been passed along regarding secondary highways 831 and 834, which are heavy haul routes. With the increasing amount of heavy

wideloads travelling on those highways, McCartney expects they will be having “necessary discussions” in the future. McCartney stated that all municipalities in the province have infrastructure issues, whether they be roads or bridges, and are looking for financial assistance. But with a $3 million deficit, the Alberta government will have some hard decisions to make in the future. “I don’t know how it will work out, but we put in our requests and get in line.”


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