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THURSDAY, JAN. 31, 2013
MISSION ATHLETES RECEIVE MORE AWARDS Brent Hayden and Teresa Gabriele recognized
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Developer applies for quarry permit Sand and gravel mining pursued after subdivision plans for Steelhead rejected BY TIM FITZGERALD Mission Record
From a proposed 31-home subdivision to a gravel pit. That’s the new direction Dean Hodgson is taking with his 80-acre parcel of land on Thomas Avenue and Cardinal Street in Steelhead. Hodgson’s name is on the application put forward by H&H Contraction to the province’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas to convert the property into a sand and gravel pit. “Our subdivision was always plan A,” said Hodgson. “Gravel mining is one of our back up plans. Although at this time we have no firm plans to extract or transport gravel, we now need to seriously consider our other options.” Mayor Ted Adlem said he’s not surprised by the application because Hodgson had indicated that a gravel and sand pit was an option for the property. The mayor said the property is close to the Welch Avenue Quarry, which just received approval for a processing plant on site. Adlem said he suspects the ministry will give its blessing, and there’s little that can be done to stop it. “If he’s given the permit, he can dig,” said Adlem. “I don’t think it will matter what we at council or anyone else thinks.”
Children helping children Treasure Nakato of the Northern Uganda’s Watoto Children’s Choir takes centre stage with her fellow singers as they perform for the students at Edwin S. Richards school on Tuesday. The school’s Friends of Africa Club and PAC committee has sponsored the choir for the past seven years, helping the choir advocate for funding for the estimated 50 million orphaned children in Africa, as a result of HIV/AIDS, war, poverty and disease. TIM FITZGERALD PHOTO
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Adlem is on record for supporting gravel mines as a critical component of the economy. “Without gravel, you don’t have an economy. You can’t build roads and bridges without it,” he explained. As for the concerns of Steelhead citizens, Adlem said council listened to their “huge opposition” to the proposed property development and acted accordingly. Council turned down Hodgson’s Jan. 7 application to rezone the property to rural residential and subdivide the property to build 31 homes that would average 2.56 acres per property. Under the current rural zoning, any developed property must be four acres. At their recent proposal to council, Hodgson, along with consultant Ryan Anderson, said the housing development would pump more than $23 million into the local economy. That included $85,000 in local amenities, about $415,000 in development cost charges and $130,000 in park fees. They indicated $630,000 will go directly into the district’s coffers. With a mine on the property, the district would collect 50 cents per cubic metre of sand and gravel extracted from the site. Any money the See RESIDENTS Page 3
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