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Do clowns perform balloon tricks in Dubai?
Sisters Hanna and Sofia Rutherford are entertained by this clown at the Southridge Village Mall pancake breakfast on July 14. The two sisters are visiting Okotoks from their home in Dubai along with baby sister Maria and parents Lorne and Katrina Rutherford.
- photo Gillian Beckett
RCMP looking for hit-and-run suspect
By Gillian BeckettStaff Reporter
Two visitors from Arizona arrived in Okotoks with a bang last Tuesday after falling victim to a hit-and-run.
Okotoks RCMP responded to the hit-and-run at approximately 5:15 pm on July 10 which occurred on North Railway Street in front of The Station Cultural Centre.
According to Cst. Doug Cooper, an east-bound vehicle, which was carrying the two tourists, was stopped while waiting to turn left when a second east-bound vehicle failed to stop, resulting in a collision.
Cooper explained that after the impact, the driver of the second vehicle backed up and sped away, continuing east-bound on North Railway Street.
'There was damage to the back bumper of the stopped vehicle,' explained Cooper. 'There was probably some damage to the front end of the suspect vehicle as well.'
No injuries were sustained in the collision.
Cooper noted that the suspect vehicle is an older, cream-colored Jeep pick-up which has ‘Jeep’ stenciled on it. The driver was a middle-aged white male with sandy-blond hair and was unshaven. Witnesses say a large black dog was seated next to the driver.
Anyone with information regarding the hit-and-run is asked to contact the Okotoks RCMP at 938-7046.
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Okotoks council to close Elizabeth Street for phase two of downtown construction
By Cindy BallanceEditor
Residents will have to bear with downtown road construction for the rest of the summer after council approved a road closure for the second phase of downtown construction.
Local downtown merchants overwhelmingly voiced their support to council for the second phase of downtown road construction to continue this year.
'Having spoken to many of the businesses in the downtown area there is a general consensus to get the work done,' said Nancy March, member of the Downtown Okotoks Business Association. (DOBA).
However, in order for construction crews to secure current unit pricing and to enable completion of the work before the end of the summer, it was suggested that Elizabeth Street from Elk Street to Centre Avenue be closed for the duration of construction.
The construction will include the reconstruction of underground services and the road as well as surface improvements and the installation of traffic lights at Centre Avenue and Elizabeth Street.
In order to obtain feedback from local businesses on whether they would be in favor of closing the road for construction, a series of information meetings were held on Monday.
Surveys were also sent to downtown businesses to obtain feedback.
'Over 90 per cent of those surveyed did indicate support to proceed this year,' said municipal engineer Marley Oness.
Although some downtown merchants have concerns with the road closure a majority supported the plan.
'We are in a slow time so the timing is perfect,' said Angie Matsumoto of HTS of the summer months.
The owner of Okotoks Pawn added, 'The sooner it is done the better because it is hurting everyone.'
Okotoks administration is currently seeking federal funding for the continuation of the project through an Infrastructure Canada program application. Although there has been no final confirmation of funding to date, Oness told council members that funding approval is imminent.
The town is also in negotiations with the contractor, Inland Construction, for the contract extension. However, there are a number of challenges to address in order to complete the project this year.
According Oness, the most significant challenge is the construction schedule.
He indicated that in order to avoid the risk of winter delays, it is important that the project be completed by Sept. 30.
'Inland has indicated that they can meet the schedule and budget if Elizabeth Street is closed between the east side of Elk Street and the west side of Centre Avenue during the time of construction. Both intersections will remain open,' stated Oness in a letter to local merchants.
The alternative to closing the road will be to delay the work until next spring. However, it was indicated that current market pricing may fluctuate by 10 to 20 per cent by the next construction period when the project would be re-tendered.
By closing the road it is expected that the construction window would be shortened significantly, by about three to four weeks, and disruptions to local business alleviated.
'We found there was a lot of inefficiencies with keeping traffic going through the downtown (in phase one),' said Oness.
Nancy March, business owner and member of the Downtown Okotoks Business Association, explained that due to the length of construction, closing the road would have been more effective.
'I would have preferred they close the whole street and got it done a lot quicker,' she said.
One of the most significant concerns for business owners, however, is access if the road is closed.
Oness explained that the town is currently preparing a plan which shows the accesses to businesses from lanes.
Additional accesses would also be created and negotiation is expected with delivery trucks to ensure there is little to no blockage in the lanes during construction.
It was also suggested by local businesses that council consider placing additional signage along the lanes and alleys which shows location of the business.
Oness also indicated that traffic control measures would also be used at Highway 2A and Riverside Gate to control traffic attempting to turn on Southridge/Northridge Drive during construction.
'During the normal construction hours it is safe to say we can get full-time flaggers out there,' he said.
It is expected that phase 1 of construction will be completed by the end of next week, with minor clean-up remaining. The second phase is then expected to proceed by the beginning of August.
