Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern combination approved by US Surface Transportation Board

CALGARY and KANSAS CITY –

March 15, 2023 – Canadian Pacific (TSX: CP) (NYSE: CP) (“CP”) and Kansas City Southern (“KCS”) said today the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (“STB”) issued a decision approving the CP and KCS joint merger application, subject to certain conditions, thereby authorizing the two railways to combine to form Canadian Pacific Kansas City (“CPKC”), the first single-line railway connecting the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

The decision authorizes CP to exercise control of KCS as early as April 14, 2023, at or after which point CP and KCS would combine to create the new CPKC. CP is reviewing the full 212-page decision in detail and in the coming days will announce its plans with respect to the creation of CPKC.

CP President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel extended the company’s sincere gratitude to the STB board and staff for their hard work as part of the comprehensive review of the combination.

“This decision clearly recognizes the many benefits of this historic combination,” Creel said. “As the STB found, it will stimulate new competition, create jobs, lead to new investment in our rail net- work, and drive economic growth.

“These benefits are unparalleled for our employees, rail customers, communities and the North American economy at a time when the supply chains of these three great nations have never needed it more,” Creel added. “A combined CPKC will connect North America through a unique rail network able to enhance competition, provide improved reliable rail service, take trucks off public roads and improve rail safety by expanding CP’s industry-leading safety practices.”

“This important milestone is the catalyst for realizing the benefits of a North American railroad for all of our stakeholders,” said Patrick J. Ottensmeyer, KCS President and Chief Executive Officer. “The KCS Board of Directors and management team are very proud of the many contributions and achievements of the people who have made KCS what it is today and we are excited for the boundless possibilities as we move forward into the next chapter as CPKC.”

CPKC will bring a new standard of safety to the North American rail landscape. CP has been the safest railroad in North America for 17 straight years as measured by the Federal Railroad Administration train accident frequency ratio. In 2022, CP had an all-time best frequency of 0.93, a rate nearly half what the company produced a decade ago and 69 percent lower than the Class 1 average.

CP’s culture of safety, supported by its history of sustained investments in core infrastructure and technology, aligns with KCS’s likeminded culture, allowing the combined system to operate at the apex of rail safety. CPKC will implement the combination with safety at the forefront of everything it does.

Among the core conclusions reached by the STB regarding the public and pro-competitive benefits of the CP-KCS combination, including that the combination “should ultimately enhance safety and benefit the environment”:

“The Board expects that this new single-line service will foster the growth of rail traffic, shifting approximately 64,000 truckloads annually from North America’s roads to rail, and will support investment in infrastructure, service quality, and safety,” the board said in its decision, going on to say, ”Indeed, approval of this transaction may even enhance safety for the nation as a whole” and that “thus, any rail traffic diverted to CPKC from other railroads will likely mean traffic moving to a railroad with a better safety record.”

“The transaction is also expected to drive employment growth across the CPKC system, adding over 800 new union-represented operating positions in the United States,” the board continued. “Of additional importance, the merger will foster new National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) passenger rail opportunities, as Applicants have committed to support Amtrak’s existing plans for expanded service on the new railroad’s lines.”

“This transaction is “end-toend,” meaning that there are little to no track redundancies or overlapping routes. If consummated, it will reduce travel time for traffic moving over the single line service; it should result in increased incentives for investment; and it will eliminate the need for the two now-separate CP and KCS systems to interchange traffic moving from one system to the other. This will enhance efficiency, which in turn will enable the new CPKC system to better compete for traffic with the other larger Class I carriers,” the decision says.

The board concluded, “The Transaction will make possible improved single-line service for many shippers and will result in merger synergies that are likely to allow CPKC to be a vigorous competitor to other Class Is by providing improved service at lower cost.”

CP completed its US$31 billion acquisition of KCS on Dec. 14, 2021. Immediately upon the closing of that acquisition, shares of KCS were placed into a voting trust with Dave Starling, former KCS President and CEO, appointed as the trustee. Upon Mr. Starling’s death, Ronald L. Batory was appointed as successor trustee with the STB’s approval. The Voting Trust has ensured that KCS operates independently of CP during the regulatory review process, and until CP exercises control pursuant to the STB decision, CP and KCS will continue to operate independently.

Headquartered in Calgary, Alta., Canada, CPKC would be the first railway connecting North America. While remaining the smallest of six U.S. Class 1 railroads by revenue, the combined company will have a much larger and more competitive network, operating approximately 20,000 miles of rail, employing close to 20,000 people. Once combined, full integration of CP and KCS is expected to happen over the next three years, unlocking the benefits of the combination.

STOUT continued from page 1 12th grade sciences, including life science, earth science, chemistry, biology, anatomy and physiology. part because there are many levels of functioning and each child or adult with ASD is unique. Matthew is high functioning. You may have seen him mentioned a couple of times this year. He took home gold at the Special Olympics Arkansas Winter Games in Springdale on Feb. 10. He was a part of the Area 17 Special Olympics Team (Conway, Arkansas) for Unified Floorball. Floorball replaced floor hockey.

Matthew also competed for his second consecutive year in the Area 14 Special Olympics Basketball Skills Competition. This year the competition was held in Booneville on March 1, where Matthew displayed several skills. Once again, he took home the gold.

Mathew’s favorite basketball team is neither a college nor an NBA team. “Honestly… if I have a favorite basketball team, I’m going to say it’s going to be Acorn High School.”

He began playing a little with his father and his older brothers, Noah and Mason, 21, twins who played on the Acorn team.

Steven said, “The basketball skills last year was the first time that he was actually out on the court doing an organized basketball thing.”

When asked what his favorite thing is about playing in the tournament, it is not dribbling, shooting baskets or such things — Matthew likes socializing.

For instance, Acorn student Drew Mabry and his family were the subject of the Pulse Autism Awareness Month article in 2022. Matthew enjoys talking with Drew. He sees Drew around school. In the mornings he will sometimes give Drew a thumb’s up, a hug or a high-five. People with ASD are said to often care deeply but lack the ability to spontaneously interact. Matthew seemingly interacts very well, freely giving highfives and a thumbs up.

He also has Drew’s father Leo as his Special Education (SPED) teacher for math and English.

“I like [the subjects] very much, although they can be a little bit challenging. My favorite subject is science. My father used to actually be a science teacher.”

Matthew will be taking biology next year. His father was a public-school teacher for six years, teaching from seventh through

Unforeseen issues

Steven said, “I taught in north Arkansas and south Arkansas, then he came along and things changed. Before we were pregnant with him, I had gotten out of teaching and I had worked for DHS for a little while. He came along and we found out about his cleft palate, and the medical needs he was going to have. I was in between jobs. It was determined I would stay home and take care of him and Angela would return to work.”

According to the National Library of Medicine (NIH), the definite cause of cleft lip and palate remains largely unknown. The prevalence of cleft lip and palate is approximately 1.7 per 1,000 live births in Asia, which has the highest occurrence rate worldwide.

The CDC states about 1 in every 2,800 is born with a cleft lip without cleft palate and 1 in every 1,700 with cleft palate in the U.S.

The shrinerschildrens.org website, describes a cleft palate as occurring when the tissues that form the roof of the mouth don’t join together before birth. The opening can be repaired with reconstructive plastic surgery.

The effects of cleft palate run much deeper, causing functional changes in a child’s breathing, hearing, speaking and eating.

“We had a lot of medical trips,” Steven said. “He was fed through a tube implanted in his stomach for his first two years. He had a lot of surgeries. It just worked out I stayed home and took care of his medical needs and primary care.”

There were no signs of abnormality at the prenatal stage to prepare the Stouts. Angela said, “Everything seemed fine up until birth. It was when they were cleaning his mouth out, the swab came out through his nose. They said, ‘I think we have a problem.’ We sort of started our adventure at that point of finding things out. We had to go to Children’s Hospital multiple times.”

“They went through why he had the cleft palate,” Steven said. “They advised that one of the last things that develops in the mouth is the palate. He had the small lower jaw due to what they call the Pierre Robin sequence.”

According to John Hopkins Medicine, the rare congenital birth defect is characterized by an underdeveloped jaw, backward displacement of the tongue and upper airway obstruction. Cleft palate is commonly present.

“It may have caused his tongue to be in the way of the palate forming,” Steven said. “It usually leads to severe respiratory diseases.”

Although we hear of people saying they’re tongue-tied when they are too shy or embarrassed to speak, there is a real condition, “ankyloglossia,” that restricts the tongue’s range of motion, tethering the bottom of the tongue tip to the floor of the mouth.

Surprisingly enough, they were allowed to take Matthew home from the hospital, which was different than when Angela had the twins. Although she was considered full term with the twins, they were still preemie. Matthew was born three days prior to his due date, weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces.

“We had a couple of days we were home from the hospital,” she said. “We could tell. When they’re first born, it doesn’t take long if there’s an issue with the feeding and they start losing weight.”

At one point Matthew had gotten down to 3 pounds.

“It was pretty scary. We ended up having to contact Children’s and take him to the ER,” she said.

The Stouts were at Children’s for 15 days that first time, going through every type of feeder they offered. “They actually made a special feeder called a pigeon feeder where the top part of the nipple of the bottle acts as a palate. Unfortunately, that palate was the widest case they’d ever seen. He had neither soft nor hard palate and everything went straight up to his sinuses. That we tried the most out of all of them for a while and it just didn’t work. We tried finger feeders and that didn’t work. We had to learn to drop a nasogastric tube down his nose and into his stomach.

“When he was about three months old, he was starting to meet a few milestones and that big, long tube was a problem. We talked to the doctors and they made the decision to put the G-tube button into his stomach.”

See STOUT continued on page 15

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continued from page 1 al Use Permits for short-term vacation rental properties.

• 126 building permits were issued in 2022 for a total construction cost of $5,699,600.00; the number of permits is up from 52 in 2021. Other permits issued included:

• 94 plumbing

• 110 electrical

• 35 HVAC

• 96 street cuts

• 17 demolition

• Also, there were 8 sign/advertising permits; 11 tile/culvert permits; 35 city licenses and 23 citations (for property maintenance and cleanup) issued during the year.

Advertising and Promotion

In 2022, the Mena Advertising & Promotion Commission continued to budget 50% of their revenues for Tapley Park improvements and maintenance and 50% toward promotional events, festivals, advertising campaigns and brochures for the City of Mena.

A & P tax collections for 2022 fell slightly short of 2021. Overall restaurant and lodging tax collections were down 9.27%.

2022 A&P activities and accomplishments:

• The Commission added the paid position of Administrator, hiring Pasha Watson to perform accounting, communication, reporting, recordkeeping duties and receiving Tapley sports registrations and fees.

• Under a separate contract Pasha organized the 2022 Lum & Abner Festival with the theme of “music and arts” festival.

• With cooperation from Western Arkansas Planning and Development District the City received an Economic Development Administration grant for $275,000 to construct the Ward Lake Trail system.

• A Memorandum of Agreement was signed with the Arkansas Parks and Recreation Foundation, City of Mena and A&P Commission to provide trail design services for Ward Lake and coordinate trail compatibility with a larger Monument Trail being considered.

Tapley Park

In 2022, the Mena A & P Commission continued to support the development and maintenance of Tapley Park by dedicating 50% of their budget to the Park.

• Tapley Park serves the area youth with multiple playgrounds, baseball, softball, soccer leagues, and a new volleyball court.

• Tennis Courts were started in 2022 with an anticipated completion this year.

• We were able to extend one of the Baseball fields in 2022 and in 2023 we will be able to offer Baseball for kids over 12 and Adult Softball.

• In 2022, there were over 900 youths and adults that participated in sports activities at Tapley Park:

• Baseball 300

• Softball 200

• Soccer 300

• Adult Co-ed 100

• Tapley Park hosted 1 baseball Tournament and 1 Soccer Tournament in 2022.

• Tapley Park offered a CO-ED adult soccer league that ran through the summer into October.

• Drainage and parking improvements at Tapley Park were made with fill and gravel in public parking areas.

• Tapley Park is also host to the annual 4th of July fireworks display for the city.

You can always find all the events hosted at the Park at www.tapleysports.com This site gives the public the ability to register online for any league or tournament play held at Tapley Park and is home to all information regarding the Park and its events or visit us on our Facebook page Aubry D. Tapley Sports Complex.

Airport Status Report and Highlights for Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport for the year 2022

• The work covered by various grants for the “Taxiway B Project” have been completed. The 90/10 grant covering the work on Taxiway B north of Alpha has been closed and the State has reimbursed the Airport $250,000 towards the Airport 10% share of the cost of the work.

• Airport Rescue Program: In August 2021, the airport was awarded a $32,000 grant under the Airport Rescue Grant Program. These funds were received in 2022.

• Taxiway C Design: An application was submitted, and the grant was awarded, in the amount of $188,775, to cover the cost of designing the extension and renovation of Taxiway C. The plans will include relocating a portion of the taxiway and making the taxiway a full-length parallel taxiway.

• The new Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS) was installed in August and was commissioned by the FAA on August 25, 2022.

• The large ramp on the east side underwent renovation in the form of a crack seal treatment that was financed by a State Grant in the amount of $149,940 and $16,600 by the airport.

• A State grant was awarded in the amount of $168,000 to repair the leaking roofs on two of the City owned hangars.

• The airport has approximately 20 businesses that employ 200-250 local residents.

• Companies at the airport continue to service Army, Navy, and Air Force military contracts in addition to General Aviation aircraft.

• The airport is by-in-large self-supporting regarding day-to-day operating expenses. Moreover, a recent study commissioned by the Arkansas Division of Aeronautics, shows the airport has a first-round economic impact of almost $30 million to the local economy and a second-round impact of just over $18 million for a total statewide economic impact of almost $48 million.

Fire Department

A total of 159 incidents were logged by the Mena Fire Department in 2022 compared to 121 in 2021. They responded to 82 fire related calls; 35 rescue and first responder calls; 33 service calls; and 9 standby assistance calls at the airport.

• 20 Business inspections were completed in the year.

• 8 Fire safety programs were presented to the community.

• 8 Smoke alarms were installed.

• Certified pump testing and maintenance of the fire department fleet was conducted again in 2022.

• Outdated turnouts were replaced.

• Battery powered jaws of life equipment was purchased.

• A new brush truck was ordered. We expect delivery in late Spring.

• Fire prevention/educational materials were distributed to students in all elementary schools in Polk County through a partnership with the National Fire Safety Council and the financial support of local businesses and organizations.

Continued training is essential for the men and women of the Mena Fire Department. Training last year consist of:

• 1,081 hours of certified training from the Arkansas Fire Academy, the Arkansas Forestry Commission, and the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.

• 814 hours of in-house training was conducted that included safety, hose loads, hydrant connections, auto extrication, electric vehicle fires, communications, suppression and live fire training, just to name a few.

Parks Department

The City parks are great assets to the community. The pavilions at Janssen and McMillan Parks had numerous birthday parties, church events, family reunions, and weddings scheduled throughout the year. Besides the small events, the parks are home to the Lum n Abner Festival, which was a great success this year, and the Oklahoma Free Wheel no drop tour bike event with well over 100 tent campers in the park overnight. The annual Wheel a’Mena bike event and the Christmas lighting and fireworks display all had great turnouts as well.

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In 2022, the Christmas display had 16 new figurines added that the Parks Department employees designed and fabricated themselves and over 20 old figurines were restrung with new LED lights.

The old bathroom and storage building in Janssen Park was removed and 2 new Modular restroom facilities were installed with new electrical and water lines ran. A new unit was also installed at McMillan Park.

A new commercial zero turn mower was purchased for park upkeep. The Mena/Polk County Rotary Club made a gracious donation of a drinking fountain that was installed near the playground at Janssen Park.

The two wooden walking bridges at McMillan Park were removed and replaced with a singular metal bridge that will require less maintenance and is safer. Wheelchair access sidewalks were put in at the playgrounds in both Janssen and McMillan Parks.

Police Department

Officers of the Mena Police Department completed 2,934 incident reports, answered 3,842 calls for service, gave 2,271 written/verbal warnings, and made 1,250 arrests.

• The Mena PD purchased JPX Pepper Spray Guns, equipment necessary to carry said guns, and the training required for each officer for $4,510.28.

• The Mena PD requested and was awarded a grant from The Public Safety Equipment Grant Program in the amount of $9,148.73 for the additional JPX Pepper Spray Guns.

• The Mena PD has continued to correlate interagency cooperation with the 18th West Judicial District of the Drug Task Force.

• Dalton Myers and Allen Walker were promoted to Sergeants.

• The Mena PD moved into a new police station, more suited for everyday duties and job activity.

• The Department received two new units, both 2021 Dodge Chargers. Both were put into service and has had the desired effect of helping to slow traffic in problem areas.

• The Mena PD purchased a Magicard 600 ID Machine for $2,473.50 with funds received from a local grant.

• State award grant – each of Mena’s 13 officers received a one- time $5,000 stipend.

Animal Control

Summary of Mena Animal Control Department statistics for the year 2022:

• 160 lost animals were picked up in the City limits last year

• 3 wild animals picked up and released

• 41 City pet licenses issued

• 126 dogs & cats adopted out locally or transported to other adoption agencies

• 22 animals returned to their owners

Mena Regional Health System

2022 Accomplishments

Operational indicators

Total Inpatient Days – 5,964

Births – 203

Emergency Department Visits – 9,310

Total Clinic Visits – 40,102

Total Number of Employees (Full, Part and PRN) – 327

Salaries, Wages, & Benefits Paid$19,778,041

Net Revenue - $31,883,074

Growth and accomplishments

• Robert Rupp began as Chief Executive Officer in May.

• Mountain View Clinic became a part of MRHS in July, adding 2 Medical Doctors and 2 APRN’s to the staff.

• A successful Health Fair, post COVID, took place with 40 vendors and over 400 visitors in September.

• Mena Medical Associates welcomed Taylor Roberts, APRN to the team of providers in October

• Rehab had a re-opening celebration in October. Moving off the Med/ Surg floor and returning to their wing.

• John Parsons began as Chief Nursing officer in November.

• The Mena Regional Auxiliary is back to normal operations on our campus and with the gift shop open 5 days a week.

Streets and Infrastructure

Improvement projects completed by the Street Department during 2022 included:

• 335 loads of debris were picked up during the annual spring clean up

• 105 loads of debris were picked up during the annual fall clean up Concrete repair to resolve a drainage issue at 4th Street and Pine Avenue

• A new 2022 Dodge Ram truck was purchased for the department.

• Engineering for Streetscape on Mena Street progressed throughout the year. Expecting work to begin this summer.

Water and Sewer

The following improvements were accomplished by Mena Water Utilities during 2022:

• 68 water services replaced and 32 new water services installed

• 36 water main repairs and 3 fireplugs replaced

• 55 miscellaneous repairs

• Tested 95 RPZ valves

• 8 sewer services replaced and 13 new sewer services installed

• 4 sewer main repairs and 2 miscellaneous sewer repairs

• Replaced 90 ft of sewer mains

• Replaced leak listening equipment

• Engineering phase for the Irons Fork Water Plant construction project was completed.

• Water and Sewer Rate studies are both completed to comply with Act 605.

• Awarded $5,000,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the Irons Fork Construction.

• Awarded $5,000,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Construction.

• Began and have completed 25% inspections of water services for lead (to be 100% complete by October 2024)

• Began and approximately 20% complete with GIS mapping of the Water and Sewer mains and related infrastructure

Personal Remarks

In a year of so much uncertainty, it is amazing to see that revenues from City and County Sales taxes continue to increase over the year before. City sales tax was up 8.08% and the County sales tax was up 14.27% over 2021.

Grants awarded in 2022:

• State Fire Protection Services

• (Fire Truck Money) - $49,975.27

• Local grant of $2,473.50 to purchase a Magicard 600 ID Machine for the Police Department

• Public Safety Equipment Grant Program grant amount of $9,148.73 for additional JPX Pepper Spray Guns for the Police Department.

• FAA & State Aeronautics Grants for the Airport - $356,775.00

• ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) - $568,708.09

• Economic Development Administration grant for $275,000.00 to construct the Ward Lake Trail system.

• ARDOT (TAP Grant) -$296,000.00 for continuation of the Mena Streetscape project.

• Awarded $5,000,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the Irons Fork Water Treatment Plant Construction.

• Awarded $5,000,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Construction.

• ACEDP Grant of $190,416.00 to purchase 3 vehicles and a cooler for the Senior Center.

• Arkansas Outdoor Recreation Matching Grant of $250,000.00 to fund Splashpads.

• State awarded grant -- $65,000.00 – stipend for Police officers.

TOTAL - $12,063,496.59

Congratulations to everyone on the incredible accomplishments that Mena has achieved this past year! It’s amazing to see how you all; citizens, city leaders, city employees, volunteer boards, and commissions have come together to make our city the “best” place to live. Hard work and dedication have not gone unnoticed, and it’s clear that there are many forces at work to create a more diverse and prosperous economy. Thank you for your commitment to making Mena a great place to live, work, and play!