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Miss Minter, played by Sandy Marsh, reacts to the notion that she has been accused of being a drinker during the Dewdney Players' production of They Don't Grow on Trees which is playing at The Station.
- photo by John Barlow
Envelopes found, contain powdery substance
By Lynn SketchleyStaff Reporter
Suspicious envelopes containing a white powder that were found in a parking lot in Okotoks are being examined by a laboratory for identification.
Staff Sergeant Glen Haner of the Okotoks RCMP detachment, said at approximately noon last Thursday, employees called RCMP to the Bullpen Pub on Riverside Drive.
'There was a discovery of suspicious envelopes and two employees have been exposed to a white powder,' said Haner.
The unidentified employees allegedly opened the envelopes which were found to contain a powdery substance and they complained of minor skin irritations, said Okotoks RCMP detachment Cst. Don Gray in a later interview.
The envelopes and contents have been sent away for analysis and results are not expected for at least a week.
'(The envelopes and contents) were delivered to a provincial lab at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary,' said Gray.
Bullpen Pub owner, Don Buehler, said if the Oct. 31 incident was meant to be a joke, it was ill favored.
'It has the potential of being a Halloween prank and if that's what it was, (the prank) was in very bad taste,' said Buehler.
There have been no complaints of illness in regards to the incident, added Gray. RCMP are continuing their investigation.
[webmaster note: things are out of control, people... relax!]
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Opinion  Author speaks to OJHS students See News |
 Christmas season means craft fairs See this week's printed edition  Knights run over Hanna to win title See Sports |
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Resident threatens MD with legal action
By John BarlowStaff Reporter and Sports Editor
A DeWinton resident is threatening legal action if the MD of Foothills does not remove barricades at the railway crossing of 242nd Ave. West.
Cecil Webb has hired a lawyer to assist in his quest to reopen the municipal road.
In a letter from Paul Kazakoff of Butler Kazakoff and Associates, submitted to the Foothills MD Council last Thursday, the lawyer stated that if the barricades are not removed by Nov. 30 action would be taken against the MD.
'My instructions are clear and firm,' said Kazakoff. 'If the barricades are not removed on or before Nov. 30. . . Mr. Cecil and a number of other interested residents shall commence a representative action against the MD to compel them to take appropriate action.'
Webb argued that the road had been used for over 30 years by local residents without any significant problems.
Despite the threat of legal action, council said it would not remove the barricades.
'This is not the first time we have been threatened,' said Councillor Flores Groeneveld.
The issue of the barricades has been a continuous issue in the DeWinton area since the barricades were erected.
Several years ago the railway crossing was deemed unsafe for several reasons including the severity of the hill on the approach to the railway crossing.
Council met with residents in the area and, according to council, more than half of those who attended the meeting supported the existing solution of placing concrete barricades on 242nd Avenue and 16th Street West.
Since that first decision was made, on three occasions residents asked council to reconsider the solution.
As a result, council hired an engineering firm to look at the intersection and make recommendations to council regarding possible solutions.
Council did not want to re-open the crossing until the results of the engineering study are completed.
Last week the engineers contracted by the MD to review the crossing submitted their findings to council.
Councillor Ron Chase, who would like to see the barricades removed, asked engineer Sean Bartnik if he believed the intersection was more dangerous than others in the MD.
Bartnik answered, 'Yes, because of the uncontrolled railway crossing and the completely blind curve.'
'There have been a few near misses and you are really limited to what you can do (to improve the crossing) because of the extreme grade at the tracks,' Bartnik added.
Although Bartnik's advice was to keep the crossing closed, he said he would revisit the issue if council deemed necessary.
However, council did not want to spend additional money on an issue that has been reviewed several times already.
'I don't think we need to spend anymore money on this issue,' said Councillor Michele Veldhoen. 'We have been over this repeatedly and the crossing needs to stay closed. I don't want to spend another penny on it.'
Chase, the lone voice on council in support of removing the barricades, said he respects council's decision, but he is disappointed.
'That road was used by many people for many years without incident,' he said. 'For them to lose that road, especially those in the agriculture industry, is disappointing.'
As for the threat of legal action, municipal manager Harry Riva Cambrin said council should not be overly concerned.
'Council is the road authority and is not subject to this type of legal action,' he assured the councillors.
