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Year in Review

Posted on January 16, 2025 by Vauxhall Advance

May

The provincial government is boosting funding for its irrigation rehabilitation program.

The province is providing in Budget 2024 $19 million for the program which is an increase of $5.5 million over last year.

“This is money well spent,” said Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson at an announcement in Vauxhall on Tuesday, “as expanding and modernizing irrigation infrastructure will ensure that Alberta’s irrigation districts can deliver water to producers efficiently and reliably while improving productivity and competitiveness in our agricultural industry.

An approved solar farm near Vauxhall has been put on pause by the developer as the province reviews power pricing and regulations.

The “Vauxhall Solar Farm” was approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission in late 2022, and would comprise six quarter-sections in two blocks about 5 kilometres northwest of the town in the MD of Taber.

Construction on the 60-megawatt capacity solar panel array was to be complete by March 2024, but the company now says the earliest construction could begin in March 2025.

An application now before the AUC states the earliest possible in-service date would be December next year, and an alternate completion date request is in June 2027.

The Enchant Community Library recently became the beneficiary of a $3,385 grant from the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta.

“We applied and were selected amongst a large group of organizations looking for help with various projects,” said Sharon Hagen, Manager of the Enchant Community Library. “The requests go before the decision-making board of the community foundation and are approved on their merit both financially, and most importantly what will the funds do for the community. Once approved, the money is presented to the organization in the full amount approved as your grant.”

The region of Taber is a jewel in southern Alberta and is most well known for being the Corn Capital of Canada. However, there is much more to the region than its famous corn, and this year everything that makes the Municipal District (M.D.) of Taber special will be celebrated this summer. Why? It’s the M.D. of Taber’s 70th anniversary!

June

In his May 2024 newsletter, Bow River MP Martin Shields echoed the language that got Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre kicked out of question period in late April, though Shields refrained from outright name-calling. 

Poilievre called Justin Trudeau a “wacko prime minister,” and after he was offered three opportunities by House Speaker Greg Fergus to withdraw his statement – and refusing to do so without substituting another adjective in its place – he was thrown out of the House for the remainder of the day’s proceedings.

Shields headlined his newsletter with bluster, saying, ‘Trudeau’s Wacko Drug Policies are Killing Canadians.’

While the Jets have been parked until fall, the Spurs are jingling and jangling for the new season. The Vauxhall Spurs have gotten off to a torrent start as they kicked off the 2024 Legion ‘A’ baseball schedule in early June.

First up was a doubleheader against the Medicine Hat Knights on the road on June 4. The Spurs saw great play on all sides of the ball as they took the first game 4-0. Game one saw offence come from a variety of Spurs. Langdyn Cummins hit leadoff and went 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base, Mark Vulcano had a triple while Hudson Ma, Landon Howg, Eric Reiling, and Roman Pavka each contributed with a hit. Aidan Maxwell was great on the mound as the pitcher collected the win with 6.1 innings with eight strikeouts. Landen Gustafson came in for the final two outs.

Cris Burns, Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Vauxhall, says that Vauxhall’s Canada Day celebrations will kick off with a pancake breakfast in the parking lot of the new Administration office (located at 127 4 St.) from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Burns says that the breakfast will be followed by the town’s Canada Day Parade at 11 a.m., with the float line-up scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the Community Center parking lot. 

Following the parade, Burns says, the Show and Shine will take place from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Show & Shine on 2 Avenue. 

The Demolition Derby will also take place North of the Community Center at 1 p.m. with the gates opening at 12:30 p.m, Burns says. There will also be a concession, beer gardens, and live music at the derby, Burns says.

July 

 An update from Mayor Kim Cawley shed some light on the steps the town office is taking to keep progress moving along in the right direction.

 During the third week of June, the Vauxhall council had a special meeting to review its strategic plan. Cawley said, “We have a new council member since the plan was written, and it’s definitely a priority to keep the plan at the forefront of our minds when it comes time for budget discussions, future planning, and our priorities as council – which ultimately stem from the feedback we received from the community during the strategic planning process.”

 This past May, Alberta Municipalities (ABMunis) denounced the provincial government’s Bill 20, a move that would see political parties integrated at the municipal level and local elections influenced by corporations and unions. However, the bill received Royal Assent on May 30, and will move ahead in an amended form.

On July 14, the Vauxhall and District Regional Water Services Commission staff received a report of water discolouration.

Arlos Crofts, Chief Administrative Officer for the M.D. of Taber, says that the Vauxhall and District Regional Water Services Commission operators, and staff from the Town of Vauxhall and the MD of Taber are involved in addressing the situation. 

August

By late July, farmers that were bracing for the worst in the spring were in a better place. The spring and early summer failed to live up to forecasters’ predictions of drought and it was a blessed failure indeed. The spring skies opened up and delivered rainfall where little was expected.

During a recent M.D. of Taber Council meeting, Council reviewed a letter that was sent to Reeve Miyanaga and the rest of Council from Gregory M. Baird, President of the Water Finance Research Foundation, that outlines an academic study from Utah State University had undertaken with respect to underground water infrastructure titled ‘Water Main Break Rates in the U.S.A. and Canada: A Comprehensive Study’ authored by Professor Steven L. Barfuss, P.E., Research Professor at USU in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and Associate Director at the Utah Water Research Laboratory.

The Town of Vauxhall has recently installed two benches in the little park beside the town’s pool.

Cris Burns, Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Vauxhall, says that the benches were purchased a few years ago by the ‘Friends of the Vauxhall Pool Society’ volunteer group that helped fundraise for the pool and continue to support the community.

The following are select briefs from the M.D. of Taber Council meeting that took place on August 13.

Announcements and Recognitions

Council sent their condolences and thoughts to Rocky View Council Reeve Crystal Kissel and the Rocky View County Council for the loss of their employee Colin Hough as well as the Fortis employee who were involved in the fatal shooting incident which occurred in Rocky View County on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. 

During the Town of Vauxhall Council meeting that took place on August 19, Peter Casurella,  Executive Director at SouthGrow Regional Initiative, gave a presentation to Council with the intention of showing Council that including and focusing on retention of businesses is just as important as attracting new businesses.

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