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Headwaters Projects halted due to severing of funds
By
Staff reporter
Headwaters Health Authority (HHA) is being forced to re-assess priorities for future projects this year.
Alberta Infrastructure has confirmed that the authority will receive funds for capital upgrading amounting to approximately half of what was originally expected. Therefore, Headwaters is going to have to put some of its projects on the backburner.
'We were hoping to get a lot more than what we did receive. Now we have to sit down and figure out what the most important items are,' said Fergie Johnston, executive leader for planning and support services with HHA.
Headwaters will receive total capital upgrading funding for the 2002/2003 year of $466,000 from Alberta Infrastructure and Alberta Health and Wellness.
Johnston said the amount given is a huge blow to the region as HHA budgeted for $1.7 million for the year.
'It's quite a drop. We will be putting the funds towards the highest priorities. We just haven't figured them out yet,' Johnston said.
However, he explained that the lack of funds will not affect any ongoing projects, for example, the expansion and renovation of the High River Hospital. The new Okotoks Health Centre is also not affected as the funding is already in place.
Projects that may be in jeopardy are having more long-term beds available and purchasing equipment such as MRI machines.
'We are concerned about the future projects, but hopefully we will be able to figure something else out,' said Dave Richardson, CEO of Headwaters.
For the past five years, Headwaters has received an average of $2.1 million annually for capital upgrading.
In a letter addressed to the Headwaters board, Alberta Infrastructure said the cut in funding is due to limited funds available for the province.
In fact, the total capital upgrading funding for the whole province is $13 million.
FREMS commission will attempt to reduce its debt in the new year
By
Editor
The Foothills Regional Emergency Medical Services Commission is attempting to find ways to reduce its debt load which has been inherent since the commission first began.
Executive director of the commission Darren Sandbeck said the commission has carried a debt load since it first began.
'The commission has been carrying a significant debt since it started in 1998 and the board is trying to determine how to deal with that,' he said.
The commission debt is a $200,000 line of credit which it has been operating from since its inception.
'FREMS from day one has not had a sufficient equity base. We can't keep operating this way,' said former commission chair Laurie Hodson to Okotoks council during its regular meeting held Nov. 11.
'The reality is (the commission) is a business that needs to be operating as a business.,' Hodson added.
Currently commission members are discussing with their respective councils certain options to eliminate the debt such as increasing the per capita contribution from each municipality by as much as three per cent.
However, Sandbeck said those numbers have not been confirmed nor approved by the commission.
Feedback from each municipality will be presented at the commission's next board meeting Nov. 27 where the budget is expected to be finalized.
Application for Longview oil drilling retracted
By
Staff reporter
Some landowners in the Longview area are pleasantly surprised after efforts to protect their land were rewarded.
Vermilion Resources Ltd., a Calgary-based oil and gas company, has withdrawn its application to drill for gas on a section of land south of Longview.
On Friday, Nov. 8, Mac Blades, rancher in the area and president of the Pekisko Land Owners Association, received a fax from his lawyer stating that Vermilion is withdrawing the application as a result of re-organization within the company.
'We are going through corporate changes, whereby we are transforming into a trust and small exploration company. Therefore, new exploration projects will be postponed,' said Heather Strang of Vermilion Resources Ltd.
If Vermilion transforms into a trust company, it will mean they will not explore on high-risk areas like the land near Longview, but only on the areas that already have ongoing projects.
Strang explained the Longview project, along with several other proposals to drill for oil, is in 'limbo,' and that there is a possibility the company may re-apply in the future to explore in the area.
Blades and the rest of the Pekisko Land Owners Association feel their efforts were definitely a factor in the decision to withdrawal the application.
'It was very surprising news, but good news. We like to think (the withdrawal) was because of our strong objection,' Blades said.
The Pekisko Land Owners Association was formed after learning the land is under review for oil exploration. Their goal is to preserve the land for future generations.
Many of the members are third and fourth generation owners and do not want to see the land their families grew up on destroyed.
The area of land Vermilion wanted to drill on is part of the Foothills Parkland Natural Region and runs south along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains from Longview 85 kilometres to the Oldman River.
The land includes the EP Ranch, bought by Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1919 and sold to the Cartwright family in 1962, and the D Ranch, once a hideout for the Sundance Kid and also owned by the Cartwrights.
The area is not only rare, but it is a source of pure water, it harbors and protects wildlife and its native grasses provide excellent carbon sinks. According to the association, all this would be ruined if the application was approved or had not been withdrawn.
The ranchers are happy for now, but they keep in mind the company may re-apply at any time.
Because Vermilion, or any other oil and gas company, can re-apply, the Pekisko Land Owners Association is thinking ahead and working fast.
'We are trying to get a moratorium on drilling in the area until we can find a way to replace native grasses,' Blades said.
Blades explained a moratorium would ensure the original resources will not be destroyed.
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