Row on row
Students at C. Ian McLaren School in Black
Diamond read poetry about Remembrance Day during the school's Remembrance Day service
on Wednesday.
photo by John Barlow
Tip in double homicide turns out to be dead end
for RCMP
By Cindy Ballance
Editor
There were no more delays, no more extensions and no more appeals as the courts
foreclosed on the first mortgage on Valiant Country Place opening the door for Paradise
Ranch Resort to purchase the land along the Sheep River.
|
In this issue... Opinion Editorial Paul's Place News Sports Movies New!! Entertainment Classified Ads Real Estate  School performs a rock n' roll fantasy See Entertainment  Ken Berg wins Curling Classic See Sports |
News of the foreclosure was welcomed with sighs of relief by the majority of the 175 owners of RV lots in the Valiant RV Park, one component of the Valiant Country Place project.
Clair Belsher, who owns one of the lots, said the foreclosure means a new lease for the lot owners who were in danger of losing their investment.
'The RV lot owners are very pleased,' said Belsher, a resident of High River. 'This is good news.'
It is good news, because a new owner, Paradise Ranch Resort Ltd., has already stepped in and offered to purchase the Valiant Country Place lands from the mortgage holder Century Services.
Dennis Gibb, director of Paradise Ranch Resort, stated in an interview last week, that his company will complete the development on a smaller scale and honor the RV lot owners' investment.
Paradise Ranch's vision is to develop the land into an equestrian centre with a motel riding area, stables, country inn, mini-mall and the 300-lot RV park.
Valiant Country Place was to include a motel, mini-mall (which is partially constructed), water park, RV park, stables, and a 12,000 seat arena complete with luxury suites.
However, since the Valiant Country Place project was introduced in 1997, it has been dogged with financial difficulties.
The financial struggles of Bartel and his investors is symbolized by the iron skeleton which was to be the arena marking the foothills skyline.
Valiant Country Place has found itself amid more than $3 million in debt culminating in last week's foreclosure.
There was real concern among the RV lots owners their $2.5 million investment would be lost.
Although the RV lot owners purchased lots, they are actually long-term leases, as their purchase price did not include separate titles to their lots.
With Paradise Ranch announcing its intention to purchase the property it means the RV lot owners' investment is safe.
'Paradise has told us they would develop the park which is a major plus for us because we will not lose our investment because they have said they will honor our equity,' explained Belsher.
Currently, approximately 30 of the 300 lots are usable and the majority of amenities promised the Valiant RV Park owners have not been completed.
Water, sewage and landscaping are just a few of the essentials which have yet to be completed.
The RV lot owners and representatives from Paradise Ranch have set a meeting for Nov. 21 to discuss future plans for the development.
Correction
The front page article entitled 'Hydroponic operation uncovered
in Okotoks' in the Nov. 8 issue of the Western Wheel stated that the bungalow which
housed the hydroponic operation was number 28 Sunset Crescent, in fact the house
was number 26 Sunset Crescent.
We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused the owners of 28 Sunset Crescent.
Foothills School Division Teachers accept salary
settlement
By Gillian Beckett
Staff Reporter
Teachers will now see an increase of 3.6 per cent in their salaries after they
recently voted to accept a collective agreement with the Foothills School Division
(FSD).
The vote took place on Nov. 9 when the majority of teachers accepted the one-year
salary settlement.
'This means good news for the board and the teaching staff,' said FSD board secretary-treasurer
Murray Lloyd. 'This will set the salary rates for another year.'
According to FSD board vice-chairperson Jerry Muelaner, negotiations for the collective
agreement began this spring and took between six and 10 meetings to reach a settlement.
'(The salary raise) brings them close to the provincial average,' said Muelaner.
While the collective agreement addresses the issue of teachers' monetary needs, Muelaner
noted that other issues were discussed during negotiations, such as adjustments to
health benefits.
'We value our teachers,' he said. 'They do an excellent job in the (school) division.'
However, Muelaner added that the agreement has forced the FSD board to tighten its
purse-strings due to pressing financial restraints.
'It puts a strain on us to accommodate this (agreement),' said Muelaner. 'But this
was planned when we went into budget to address the 3.6 per cent (salary increase)
issue.'
The one-year collective agreement expires for teachers on Aug. 31, 2001.
The salary increase affects more than 400 teaching staff across the school division.
Plan for schools awaiting approval
By Gillian Beckett
Staff Reporter
Foothills staff and students will be entering a better world of education within
the next decade if the Foothills School Division's (FSD) 10-year capital plan receives
approval by Alberta Infrastructure.
On Nov. 8, the FSD board approved in principle its 10-year capital plan after a consolidation
study was conducted to determine current and future school facility needs.
The board explained that in order to garner capital approval by Alberta Infrastructure
the study would have to include the overall school buildings picture in the FSD and
examine factors such as attendance boundaries, demographic projections, etc.
Craig Webber, associate partner of Group 2 Architects, the Red Deer firm which conducted
the study with Russ Wiebe of Adminserv in High River, submitted a synopsis to the
FSD board outlining school facility needs in Okotoks, High River and the West End
region (Turner Valley, Black Diamond, Longview and Millarville).
'Most of the schools typically identified a need for ongoing maintenance and repairs
as well as computer lab (space) and technical resources,' said Webber.
A breakdown of the study's projections is as follows:
Okotoks
2001-2003 - modernize Red Deer Lake School with demolition of the 1955
wing, reconfigure to Grades K-8.
2002 - new school (Grades K-8) in Davisburg area.
2002-2003 - reconfigure Big Rock School, Dr. Morris Gibson School and Percy
Pegler Elementary School to Grades K-5; remove 1975 portables from Percy Pegler;
reconfigure Okotoks Junior High School to Grades 6-9, ultimately moving to a Grade
6-8 configuration.
2003-2004 - Foothills Composite High School moves to a Grades 9-12 configuration.
2003 - new Okotoks area school for Grades 9-12.
2005-2006 - new school in Okotoks (Westridge).
West End region
2001-2003 - modernize 1981 section of Oilfields High School, 100-student
capacity addition and removal of 1962 portables.
2002-2003 - demolish 1929 and 1943 sections of C. Ian McLaren School, provide
addition to the 1981 section; modernize Longview School.
2003-2004 - modernize Turner Valley School and Millarville Community School.
High River
2001-2002 - modernize 1970 section at Spitzee School; develop 200 capacity
classroom-space addition at Highwood High School.
2002-2003 - modernize Cayley School.
2003-2004 - modernize Blackie School.
Joe Clark School and Senator Riley School remain unchanged.
Although the proposed projections have yet to be finalized, the FSD board looked
favorably on the study and recommended that input be gathered from staff, parents
and the community.
Once input is gathered and finalizations are made, the study will be submitted to
Alberta Infrastructure for approval.
'We will make our final decisions based on the input (from the public),' said FSD
chairperson Carolyn Kaiser. 'Overall I am very pleased with the report.'
Information meetings in regards to the 10-year capital plan are scheduled for Nov.
22 in Okotoks, Nov. 23 in High River and Nov. 29 in Black Diamond.
Meeting venues and times have yet to be determined.
