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- photo by Cindy Ballance
Mother charged with child abandonment
By
Staff reporter
The mother who left her newborn in a grain sack under a tree on the Eden Valley Reserve has been charged with child abandonment and failing to provide the necessities of life.
The maximum sentence for the charges is two years in jail, however, a much weightier sentence may be handed down by the provincial Ministry of Child and Family Services.
Mark Kastner, a spokesman for the department, said if charges were laid against the mother it would be unlikely that she will ever regain custody of the child.
'Our decision will be based on an investigation,' Kastner said referring to the fact that the woman may not be given custody of the baby even if she was not charged. 'The fact is she did put her child at risk,' he continued.
The baby was found by his uncle, who thought he heard a wailing dog. The baby was found with its placenta and part of its umbilical cord still attached.
The child was thought to have been abandoned soon after it was born and left to face the elements for up to four hours.
Currently, the province has custody of the child under an emergency apprehension order and has placed the baby with a foster family in southern Alberta.
The woman's three other children are living with relatives and have therefore not been apprehended.
Kastner said if the mother ever decided to take over the care of her older children the ministry would get involved. 'If she came back and decided to take the kids we would have to evaluate the welfare of the other children,' Kastner explained.
The woman, who can not be identified to protect the identity of the child, will have her first court appearance in December in Okotoks Court. Provincial Court.
Crime Stoppers
By
Editor
Sometime between Aug. 22, 2002 and Oct. 21, 2002, unknown person(s) entered a unlocked shed in High River and stole the following:
-Roping saddle, 14.5' seat, dark brown with light seat. Stamped on the seat is 'Stampede Shop, Dawson Creek, B.C.' Silver horn cap and silver name plate with 'Cam Fleury' on the cantle.
-Leather headstall with handmade spade bit with silver on it marked 'K.W.'
-Handmade wool saddle pad.
-Black plastic truck tool box.
Crime Stoppers will pay up to $2,000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for this or any other crime. Crime Stoppers also pays cash rewards for information on any unsolved crimes. Phone Crime Stoppers now at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), #8477 on your Telus Mobility and Cantel networks or High River RCMP, 403-652-2356.
Remember, you will not have to reveal your identity.
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Wal-mart to open its doors next week
By
Editor
The residents of Okotoks and the rest of the Foothills area have been waiting with much anticipation for the grand opening of Okotoks' largest retail store and next week Wal-mart will open its doors.
The 110,000-square-foot facility will officially open on Nov. 14 starting with a grand opening ceremony at 7 am.
Store manager Shane Kemper said preparations for the grand opening are going well and he and the 300 staff are also anticipating opening the doors to the public.
'We are happy to be here in Okotoks and be a part of the community,' said Kemper, Monday. 'We look forward to serving the people of Okotoks and area and providing the best service for their dollar.'
To do so, the new Wal-mart facility has 100,000 square feet of retail space including a full service drive-thru McDonalds, a vision centre, TD bank, full grocery line excluding produce and meat, an electronics department, pharmacy, shoe department and an automotives department. And, Christmas stock already lines the shelves in anticipation of a busy holiday season.
Kemper said the store will provide the everyday same low prices to the people of Okotoks as other Wal-mart stores.
'We are sure the customers will be happy with what they have as far as what they can buy everyday locally,' he added.
The 300 staff on hand at Wal-mart are ready to serve the customers of the area, said Kemper and have been fully involved in building the store from the ground up as part of their training.
However, the employment of more than 300 employees is not the only benefit the new Wal-mart store will have for Okotoks.
Municipal manager Will Pearce said the benefits of the entire south area commercial development will be 10-fold for residents.
The Wal-mart and Canadian Tire stores are large scale anchor clients in the 30-acre commercial development which is designed to accommodate up to nine commercial developments or more than 250,000 square feet of commercial space.
Pearce explained that with a build-out of the commercial space it is expected there will be between $25 to $40 million worth of building located on that site.
Conservatively this would mean $200,000 in additional municipal tax revenue per year.
'The town needs to diversify its tax base to protect long-term affordability,' said Pearce and the south area commercial site will go a long way to achieve the town's goals.
Diversifying the tax base assists the town in providing adequate facilities such as parks, open spaces, recreational facilities and basic services such as fire and police.
Another benefit of the large-scale commercial development is the attraction of between 65,000 and 100,000 people to the town, said Pearce.
'(The anchor developments) will bring far more people intent on shopping than traditionally brought into the community,' said Pearce.
This will tend to draw more people into the community to utilize other services available throughout the town as well.
'Those specialty product stores will do well because they will be able to tap into the new market being opened up by the new store,' said Pearce.
However, since the idea of these larger scale developments was introduced in Okotoks, some local businesses have been apprehensive about the idea saying they would draw business away from the smaller stores.
But Pearce said hopefully the opposite will be true.
'I am hearing a lot of apprehension, but Wal-mart is 15 minutes away now which is drawing a lot of people and spin-offs out of this community,' he said.
'The intent is to make Okotoks the commercial/business hub of our region,' Pearce added.
Traffic has also been a concern for local residents fearing that the new developments would be a carbon copy of the traffic problems in Shawnessy.
But Pearce said the town and developer have worked extensively to upgrade the road with proper turning lanes and two fully signalized intersections. 'There will be a substantial increase in traffic volumes serving the commercial area, but the road has been rebuilt to handle the anticipated traffic volumes,' Pearce explained.
Council is concerned, however, about the long-term design of Southridge Drive (formerly Highway 2A) and Highway 7 with the increased traffic and continues to lobby for upgrades to that intersection.
Canadian Tire is anticipated to open its store by the end of March of 2003.
