| Administration Office: 827-3362
| Public Works: 827-3610
| Recreation Centre: 827-2446
| FCSS:
827-2296
| Tourism Centre: 827-3300
| Receptionist & Utilities Clerk, Judith Coughlin ext. 21 EDI T I O N 2 | Accounts Receivable & Tax Clerk, Louise McMann ext. 23 VOLUM E 1 | Accounts Payable & Payroll Clerk, Diane Fournier ext. 24 | Chief Administrative Officer, Darren Ottaway ext. 31 SPR IN G 20 08 | Executive Secretary, Lisa Brown ext. 31 | Chief Financial Officer, Carolyn Ferraby ext. 25 | Development Officer, Debbie McCann ext. 30 | Manager of Economic Development & Tourism, Tara Wignes ext. 27 | Marketing Officer, Sean Kinney ext. 28 | Mayor, Louise Krewusik ext. 33
Community Focus is a quarterly publication created by the Town of Grande Cache and distributed to the residents of our community.
Community www.grandecache.ca
focus
greetings from your Mayor As we move forward into the New Year the future is looking bright for the Town of Grande Cache. Local industry is experiencing success and plans for growth and expansion in several sectors are taking shape. Council is strongly committed to working with and supporting our community partners in their efforts to expand & to recruit new employers, recognizing the value of diversity and population growth. We have established priority areas for the 3 year Council term and look forward to developing specific action plans to address areas of need. The challenging issue of housing is on top of the list and we will strive to promote the availability of housing options in the community. Improvements to infrastructure including planning a new Multiplex facility, land acquisition and construction of a major sewer trunk line are of high importance in the very short term. We commit to open and on-going communication with residents as we proceed with these activities and encourage your involvement in opportunities to provide input. Your opinions and ideas are valued.
The New Grande Cache!
As a part of the Town’s ongoing beautification and revitalization efforts, new highway entry feature signs were added this winter! Darren Ottaway snapped this great shot shortly after the signs were put into place. Visitors and residents will surely appreciate the beautiful welcome into our community! More details of future beautification efforts can be found on our new website.
please consider the environment, recycle this publication 3
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Deathfest 2008 - Big plans in-store!
The Deathfest planning committee has been very busy working and planning this year’s event. We have confirmed our musical acts and residents and guest will be entertained by The Road Hammers, Doc Walker, and Canadian legend David Wilcox. The festival will also feature Canadian comedian Howie Miller and various other acts including a hypnotist on Saturday. Keeping with the family theme of the event, Franklin The Turtle will be on hand to entertain all the kids at this years Deathfest. We also have numerous street performers, roving characters, and other entertainers attending who will bring added life to the festival! Keep watching our website for updates about this years festival and for many great promotions we will be running for the event. We are currently looking for groups or individuals to do security for the Saturday & Sunday Killer Concerts. As shown on local posters, contact Len McLeod for more information. We hope to see you all again this year and be sure to bring all your family and friends this August long weekend!
Photo Contest - 2008 Get you photos in for a chance to win a great Grand(e) prize package worth roughly $1000.00! A new initiative for 2008, The Town of Grande Cache wants to see the best photos of our area. The Grand Prize winner will receive approximately $1000.00 in prizes including: a family pack of 4 tickets to the 2008 Deathfest Killer Concerts featuring The Road Hammers, Doc Walker, and Canadian Legend David Wilcox, a one year family pass to the Akasaka Recreation Centre, and a variety of new Grande Cache clothing from Roots Canada! In addition to the great Grand Prize package, the first runner up will receive a clothing package from Roots Canada and the second runner-up will receive a two pack of tickets to the Sunday night Deathfest Killer Concert! Winning photos will be featured in the 2008 Grande Cache Guide, various promotional pieces and on our newly launched website. All photographs submitted, whether winners or not, will be considered for inclusion in the many new marketing publications produced by the Town of Grande Cache with credit being given to the photographer. The Town of Grande Cache will notify contest winners in July 2008 and make a public announcement in the Summer Edition of Community Focus and July Editions of Community Focus Weekly. To enter, print an entry form to be submitted with each image. Photos may be in print form or on CD (with accompanying print). Only one image per submission, please. However, multiple submissions are welcomed and encouraged as long as all necessary releases are included with each submission. All entries must be postmarked by May 15th, 2008. Contest rules, entry forms and photo release forms are available for download on our new website @ www.grandecache.ca For more information please contact Sean Kinney, Marketing Officer @ 780.827.3362 ext. 28 or email sean.kinney@grandecache.ca with “GC Photo Contest” as the subject.
Andy Klimach - 2007
Phase one of the Labyrinth is complete! The Grande Cache Labyrinth Committee would like to thank the Town for its support of the Labyrinth project. The donation of the land and Public Works’ efforts to grade and prepare the site are greatly appreciated. The donation and placement of landscaping rocks by the Town are a great start to Phase 2 of the Labyrinth construction. The Labyrinth Committee plans to further landscape the area. Watch for the addition of a gazebo and interpretive signage soon! We welcome you to come walk the Labyrinth. The 1km path in and out gives you a great Opportunity to get active and enjoy the 360° view!
www.grandecache.ca …moving forward We have been working extremely hard to get to this point! Our new website launched on February 12th @ 12:00pm and we are extremely happy with the result! We know you will agree that this site is a huge improvement over our old site and will be key in marketing the Town in the coming years! Features include interactive lot maps and “Choose your own adventure” activity guides! Photos collected from our 2008 Photo Contest will be used to compliment our new online media gallery and for future Grande Cache publications! Thank you again for all the support during the launch of our new website especially your patience as we work very hard to fix any glitches in the site. The website will be heavily updated over the next couple months as new media and content are added along with updated community and business directories. Your feedback is appreciated during user-testing especially if you are experiencing problems with the site. We hope to have the site optimized a running at 110% over the next month. For more information or to report issues with the site contact: Sean Kinney, Marketing Officer at 780.827.3362 ext. 28 or by email @ sean.kinney@grandecache.ca
Tourism and Interpretive Centre … working, changing, improving Like most birds, time has the tendency to fly! Yes, the Tourism Centre has indeed been busy over the winter with many activities, visitors and pondering aspirations for the future. We have had our share of conference and theatre room rentals and featured individuals such as award winning Métis author David Bouchard. Around 50 guests attended Mr. Bouchard’s lively presentation in January. Similarly, the Grande Cache Historical Society held a book signing event along with a potluck dinner back in November and February. In February we featured an art show by Robert Guest and we have other art shows in the works for future dates. It seems the Tourism Centre is becoming very well known throughout the province, attracting potential shows and exhibits from a variety of organizations. Also, for those of you who like to view living works of art, the area around the Tourism Centre is excellent place for bird watching this spring. While our impressive building has repeatedly been referred to as the ‘best tourism centre ever’ we are currently looking at renewing and updating many of our displays to continually draw in both residents and outside visitors. Despite having a slight decrease in visitation for 2007 from 2006 (total visitors for 2007 were 18 074 compared to 18 649 for 2006), we are confident that visitors will continue to stream in with exciting developments such as the Dinosaur Tracks, Death Race/fest and Bird’s Eye View Park. Stay tuned to our new website and Community Focus Weekly for information regarding these and other new exciting developments. Please be advised that the Grande Cache Tourism & Interpretive Centre will be closed for renovations from Monday April 28th reopening May 5th, 2008 .
Show Your Roots! As you read earlier we are giving away our new Grande Cache Roots clothing as prizes in our 2008 photo contest. However, if you are not handy with a camera you can still come down to the Tourism & Interpretive Centre and pick up these great new items. The Centre has new exciting products arriving daily such as our new custom mints! These vintage inspired mints will sure to be a hit for gifts and people looking for a Grande Cache souvenir. This summer also watch for our new line of custom GC T-shirts that will feature fun local inspired designs and prints. Call the Tourism Centre @ 827.3300 for more information.
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2008 Beautification & Revitalization Plans … 2007 was a big year, 2008 will be even bigger! On January 10, 2008, the Community Beautification Taskforce reconvened to review last year’s accomplishments and to take a look at our efforts planned for 2008. One of the big projects that will be initiated this year will be the development of a downtown square. With this in mind, we invited all downtown businesses as well opened the meeting up to any community members at large that were interested in learning more. Over 40 people were in attendance as we discussed options and generated ideas and concepts for the downtown. The Town would like to thank all who participated in this meeting. Our designers, EDS Group, have now gone back to the drawing board to come up with designs to accommodate all ideas generated at the meeting. These designs were presented to the Beautification Taskforce for review on March 6. A community open house will follow shortly to get the public’s support. Also planned for 2008 is Phase Two of Central Park, which will include the development of the EnCana Water Park, completion of the amphitheatre, turf restoration, planting of shrubs, and utility servicing. Trees and shrubs will be planted along the Highway 40 corridor, as well as the development of new benches and signage. The Town of Grande Cache would like to encourage local businesses to participate in this Beautification process by revitalizing their storefronts. By working with natural materials (as encouraged in the plan’s Theme & Identity), local businesses can upgrade their facades to complement our overall beautification goals. EDS Group, the firm the Town has been working with to develop beautification plans, has offered to assist local businesses with design ideas for their property if required. Their contact information can be obtained from the Manager of Economic Development & Tourism at the Town Office. Community Futures West Yellowhead has worked with the Town of Grande Cache to develop an interest free Community Beautification Loan for local businesses. This loan can be accessed in order to help with beautifying their store frontage to complement the Town’s Beautification plans. This may include repairs, painting, or entire new facades.
For more information on the town’s Beautification & Revitalization Plan, visit our web site, or contact:
Tara Wignes Manager of Economic Development & Tourism tara.wignes@grandecache.ca or 827-3362 ext. 27
Grande Cache Downtown Square
The Downtown square project will remain a key focus for the Town as it is something that has the potential to be a great showpiece for our community.
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Strategic Planning & Development
‌ attract investors and developers into the community. In November, a number of local businesses were visited by Stantec, who conducted a survey as part of a Business Retention & Expansion Strategy for the Town. This project is part of an overall strategic planning and development project the town has hired Stantec to complete. While they were in Grande Cache, they also facilitated a Strategic Planning Workshop with a number of key stakeholders from the community. The result of this work has led to the completion of an economic development strategy to help proceed with community development initiatives. This includes a comprehensive community profile to aid in attracting investors and new business, the final business retention and expansion strategy, as well as an initial feasibility study/business case to proceed with our tourism investment opportunities. For more information on this project, contact: Tara Wignes, Manager of Economic Development & Tourism at tara.wignes@grandecache.ca or 827-3362 ext. 27.
Have an Extra Room or Two? ... billets needed for Deathfest & the Deathrace How About Billeting?
It will give you a chance to meet some interesting new people and make some extra CA$H! Sound like something you would be interested in? What accommodations (listed blow) would you be able to provide for the racer(s)? 1. 2. 3. 4.
Hostel - spare room with one or more beds. Trailer Parking - flat driveway or yard to park a fifth wheel, camper, motor home etc... Mini indoor campground - rooms or basements with no beds, room for a tent to be set up if needed. Mini outdoor campground - flat backyard available for a tent to be set up if needed.
Note: Racers may also need access to your kitchen and bathroom facilities If this is something that interests you come on in to the Tourism & Interpretive Centre, fill out a short and easy application form, help out our town, and help make this years death race weekend a success!
Lordy Lordy Look Who’s 40! ‌ planning for a big 40th anniversary celebration!
Grande Cache 40th Anniversary Expression of Interest: The Town of Grande Cache will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary in 2009. If you are interested in in participating in the planning committee, please contact the Town Office with your name and contact information.
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Family and Community Support Services … people helping people. Who we are: F.C.S.S. provides community based programs and services with the focus being on prevention, early intervention and social initiatives that enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and the community. Examples of F.C.S.S Programs and/or supported initiatives in Grande Cache include: • Community Coordinator *provides information on community programs and services • Grief & Loss Support • Voices Through Circles Anti-Bullying Program Kelly Smith, Director • Family Relief Respite Program 827-2296 e-mail kelly.smith@grandecache.ca
Funding Support: * Please note, F.C.S.S. does not provide direct financial assistance to sustain an individual or family (i.e. provision of food, clothing, financial aid or shelter) These are ineligible for FCSS funding. Funding for the following programs has been provided by: • Child and Family Services Authority Region 8, Family Relief program • Office for the prevention of Family Violence and Bullying, Voices Through Circles Anti-Bullying program • AADAC *youth directory will be available in November 2007
Services provided by Grande Cache F.C.S.S. • • • •
• • • • •
Information and Referral Community Assets Registry *Overview of Human Services in Grande Cache and Federal and Provincial Government Contact Numbers Community Organizations Resource Directory Community Resource Library *Materials on subjects such as abuse issues, families, parenting, self-development, grief, health, marriage & relationships, etc… can be signed out free of charge) Newcomers Information Packages Meals on Wheels Referral Taxi Ticket Disbursement (Oct-Apr) *For seniors (60+) and community members with a physical or mental disability. Form Assistance *i.e..for clients who are unable to fill out Federal/Provincial Government forms A Community Liaison to facilitate the process of identifying community needs and issues. The liaison works in conjunction with service providers and the community to determine strategies to fill the identified gap areas.
F.C.S.S. News & Updates Community Coordinator – Joan Evans The Community Directory outlining community groups and services is available at the F.C.S.S. office. If you are a newcomer to Grande Cache, be sure to drop by the F.C.S.S. office to receive your Welcome to Grande Cache Newcomer Package. Phone books are included. Joan issued 134 Newcomer Packages in 2007.
Family Relief Program – Donna Kennedy The Family Relief Program provides up to 6 hours per week of respite services for parents/guardians of children ages 0 to 17 years. Please contact Donna at 827-2828 for more information.
Diana Blaszczyk - Voices Through Circles Formerly the Positive Relationships program, Voices Through Circles assists children and youth who are victims of bullying, as well as working with those who bully. If you have any concerns or questions regarding bullying issues, please contact Diana Blaszczyk at the F.C.S.S. office at 827-2828
FCSS Support Group A Support Group has been formed by FCSS & AADAC for people who are affected by loved ones misuse of drugs and alcohol. The group offers a chance to share and learn about addiction. It began March 12th and will be held every Wednesday from 6:30 to 7:30pm at the Grande Cache FCSS Office. For info contact Joan @ 827-2296
Grief & Loss Program The Grief & Loss program provides support for those who are experiencing a loss of a loved one, relationship, life style, etc. Please contact Kelly Smith, F.C.S.S. Director if you would like a referral to this free program.
Community Resource Library The Community Resource Library located at the F.C.S.S. office provides information on parenting, healthy relationships, grief & loss, etc. Materials can be signed out free of charge.
F.C.S.S. is currently working on the implementation of a Family Support Worker and hopes to have this position available to the community by 2008. If you have any program ideas for F.C.S.S., please drop by the office located in the provincial building or give us a call at 827-2296
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From the Development Officer *Actual highway billboard.
‌ we are growing!
Residential Land For Sale: The Town of Grande Cache has numerous fully serviced mountain view lots available for sale. A few more lots were sold over the Winter and 2 homes are now built with 3 homes currently under construction. To encourage outside investment, our mountain property was the focus of our new billboard outside of Edson for the 2007/08 winter ski season. It will stay up for a little while longer as we are currently developing a new design for the summer season. Be sure to visit our new interactive lot map @ www.grandecache.ca for detailed info packages for each lot for sale.
Commercial/Industrial Land: The Town of Grande Cache has recently sold two large parcels of commercial/industrial land to two separate Developers. The parcel north of Town was sold to Grande Mountain Basin Development Corp. For more information on land sales in this development contact their office at 827-5652. The Tower Industrial Park, which encompasses land east of the current commercial/industrial area, was sold to 11341103 Alberta Ltd. For information on land sales in this development contact Farnell Properties and Development Ltd. at 827-5400.
Development Permits: Development permits are required from the Town of Grande Cache for any new development; i.e. garage, accessory building, new home, decks, fences, as well as development to existing structures such as renovations and additions. A development permit is required prior to the commencement of the development. This is to ensure that the proposed development is compliant with the Town of Grande Cache Land Use By-Law.
Public Works Department
… an integral role
The Public Works team is responsible for maintaining Grande Cache’s roads, Water & sewer lines, snow removal, sanding, garbage collection and the animal pound. With the weather starting to warm up and the snow starting to melt the town is starting to look a little grey. Public works is trying there best to keep up with the garbage starting to show up as the snow melts. The next couple of months we will be out sweeping our boulevards and streets. As you notice we started putting up decorative flags around town with more to be put up soon. A reminder to all residents to clear ally ways One of the tasks that have kept Public Works busy over Winter months has been snow and ice removal. We would like to thank the Citizens of Grande Cache keep for not pushing snow from driveways onto the roads and boulevards. This was requested so that less debris that was pushed up on the boulevards that would need to be removed this Spring. The safety of our employees and Citizens is of the outmost importance to the Public Works department, so again we thank you for your cooperation over the winter months, As some of you may have noticed, the Christmas decorations Grande Cachites have seen for years were not up this year as they are considered old and unsafe. Temporary measures were taken to add some lights to the downtown area over the Holiday Season and elves will be working diligently over the course of 2008 to have new permanent decorations ready for the next year! The Town's beautification projects are on schedule. Gracom was in town late this winter working on new planters in the mall area, which were constructed with decorative stone. Similar directional sign planter boxes were also completed along with brand new entry feature signs! Recycling is the way of the future! Town Council has identified recycling as one of it's major projects over the next few months. This will be a gradual process, starting with cardboard. We would like to extend our thanks to Michel's Super A for coming on board by purchasing a cardboard bailer. We will be exploring ways to get other businesses involved. Recycling will add years to the life of our landfill and will be better for Grande Cache for years to come! REDUCE, REUSE, RECOVER, RECYCLE Did You Know?? 1. Cardboard boxes can contain up to 100% recycled fibers. 2. On average, the recycled content of a cardboard box is about 59%. 3. The cardboard box is one of the most widely recycled items, the national recovery rate is about 80%. There has been recent changes at the landfill and public works is hoping that the public responds positively to the changes that were made. In response to the new “tipping fees” some people are dumping their garbage outside the fence & up in the upper pad at the landfill. Please be aware that there are fines for this behavior. For detailed information on Garbage Collection, Landfill Information, Recycling, The Grande Cache Airport, and the Animal Pound visit www.grandecache.ca Public Works Office Phone: 827-3610 e-mail: publicworks@grandecache.ca
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Recreation Culture & Heritage Drop On In! •
The Akasaka Child Care Centre has a free drop-in babysitting service for parents involved in Recreation, Culture and Heritage activities located at the Akasaka Recreation Centre. We provide a safe and caring environment for your children while you have some leisure time to participate in a healthy lifestyle activity. Drop-in spots are available for Water Running, Noon Spin Class, Aquafit, Circuit Training and Cardio Kickboxing. Add some variety to your workout schedule and keep watching here for more drop-in opportunities! Childcare Service is free and runs from 5pm-9pm Monday to Friday. If you would like more information on the program, contact: Sheri Budd, Programming & Events Supervisor 827-2446 e-mail sheri.budd@grandecache.ca
Girls in Motion: Physical Activity For girls aged 10-14… •
Come out and try some new activities and have fun in the process. Activities available include Yoga, Intro to Strength Training, Cardio Kickboxing, Wall Climbing, Deep Water Aquafit, Ballroom Dance and more! Program runs from April 14-June 20, 2008 on Wednesday and Friday from 3:30 to 5:00pm. Space is limited to 15 participants so register early! Registration cost is $10/participant for 10 sessions. Payment must accompany registration. No phone registrations will be accepted. For more information or to register, contact: Natasha Brown, 827-2446 e-mail natasha.brown@grandecache.ca
Farmers Market: •
The Town of Grande Cache is starting an Alberta Approved Farmer’s Market for the 2008 season. There are a limited number of spaces for home based business products such as Partylite. The tentative May Farmer’s Market will be held in the curling rink and tables, chairs and power will be available. Application forms will be available by mid April and vendors must submit a list of products to be sold. We reserve the right to refuse vendors that may overlap in products. If you make, bake or grow a unique product, please contact: Sheri Budd, Programming & Events Supervisor 827-2446 e-mail sheri.budd@grandecache.ca
Arts & Culture Committee: •
The Grande Cache Arts & Culture Committee would like to start a newsletter encompassing any cultural or artistic events that are happening in our community. Please send your information to us and let us help you spread the word. For more information or to send information contact Sheri Budd below or fax: 780-827-3850 Sheri Budd, Programming & Events Supervisor 827-2446 e-mail sheri.budd@grandecache.ca
Is now open for business! Check out our website for more information or stop on by the Recreation Centre to learn about this incredible addition to our community.
Call Travis @ 827-2446 to learn more! Drop In Sports & Activities: •
We are trying to book more time with the school to continue volleyball and basketball from April 14 – May 12. We will be adding drop-in floor hockey on Tuesday afternoon/evening starting April 22. We will have different time slots for different age groups. Watch Community Focus Weekly for updates!
Ballroom Dance Workshop •
Presented by 2 Left Feet Dance on Saturday May 31st from 10am-4pm with a cost of $65 per couple (includes lunch). Payment must accompany registration. Please call Natasha Brown @ 827-2446 for more information.
Babysitter’s Course: •
April 26 & 27 @ 1-5pm at the Rec. Centre. $30 per participant due with registration. *Call Natasha @ 827-2446
Upcoming movie titles and dates: • • • •
April 25 April 26 May 23 June 13
Fred Claus & The Bucket List Steep Spiderwick Chronicles & Jumper Horton Hears a Who & 10,000 BC
*6:30pm showing and 9:00pm showing on Friday nights.
For all of the great programs and events available in Grande Cache please read Community Focus Weekly. The Recreation Department keeps this complimentary publication full of the latest goings on at the Recreation Centre and is your source for current programming information. Community Focus Weekly is published every week in the Grande Cache Mountaineer and online @ www.grandecache.ca
For information and inquiries please contact Â
Town of Grande Cache A Natural High! P.O. Box 300 | Grande Cache, Alberta, Canada | T0E 0Y0 P: 780.827.3362 | F: 780.827.2406 | admin@grandecache.ca *available online at www.grandecache.ca