The Flood of 2018!

It's been quite a week in Beiseker!  Village council declared a local state of emergency when flood waters started filling basements and crossing roads!  I was most impressed with Public Works this week.  That tiny force of less than a half dozen started battling flood waters last Sunday and they never let up until they won!  If you meet Public Works Foreman Dave, give him a hearty "well done!"  He and his crew deserve that!

I was also very impressed with the Emergency Management Team made up of many different agencies and departments who set up in Council Chambers on Tuesday and ran the whole operation under the leadership of Mike Richter!  Mike; you and your team were awesome!  Throughout the crisis our CAO and her staff, the mayor and councilors were very much in the loop helping out everywhere and maintaining a high profile!

We had our own crisis brewing at the Beiseker Airport!  Several hangars, and our meeting house were flooding and some aircraft were in danger!  The quick actions by volunteers who pumped water for countless hours saved the day!  At one point Rocky View County sent out a huge pump which moved a ton of water and gave us chance to get ahead of the situation!

Overall it was an incredible operation and one which saved our village!  Thank you all for your efforts.

Bad news:  Several homes ended up with flooded basements!  At one point overland floodwaters compromised our sanitary sewer and several basements were flooded with sewage!  All is well again now but these folks will need help to get their lives back to normal!  If you are one of those misfortunate residents please register with the village office as soon as you can!  If you know of someone who has been affected by the flooding please check with them to make sure they're ok and that they've registered.  Red Cross clean-up kits are available from the Beiseker Fire Department and the Village Office. 

Now is the time for us to help our neighbors!

Well done everyone!

p.s.  As you know, I'm retired from village council;  I stayed out of way, and watched.  I was curious to see how this council would react to this serious crisis.  They and our Village staff were incredible!  I was very proud of them all!

Pothole Victory and Stampede Breakfast!

On behalf of the Village of Beiseker, I declare at least a partial victory over our potholes!  A shout-out goes to Public Works foreman Dave and his crew for their work!

I know some of you will say, "what about that one in front of my place?"  Please report any wayward potholes to the village office (403 947 3774) so Public Works can check it out. 

I hope I'll see all of you at Beiseker's first annual Stampede Breakfast!  It goes this Thursday on Main Street between First and Second Avenues, in front of the Arcadia Cafe!  Pancakes will be served from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.  Come on down and meet your neighbors and members of our business community!

By-Election Day, Tomorrow!

Tomorrow (April 18) is By-Election Day in Beiseker!  This is a by-election which will elect a new councilor to fill a vacancy left by Dave McKenzie, when he resigned to become our new Public Works Foreman. 

I have listened to and read about each of the four candidates running for election.  I can tell you sincerely that, in my opinion, any one of the four would make an excellent councilor!  We are most fortunate to have four strong, civic minded folks willing to run for basically a volunteer position within our village.

Our next Council Meeting will be our Spring Town Hall Meeting held at the Community Centre.  There will be a bit of history in the making as our newly elected councilor will be sworn in at the beginning of that meeting!  I hope to see you all there.

The polling station  will be at the Village Office and it will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. tomorrow.  Let's have a big turnout to select our new councilor! 

Good News & Bad News

The good news is that we've hired a new Public Works Foreman for the village. 

The bad news is that we lost a valuable councilor on Village Council.

Councilor Dave McKenzie accepted the position of Public Works foreman - but unfortunately that meant he had to resign as councilor to prevent a conflict of interest.  The provincial Municipal Government Act is very clear on who can be a councilor and who can't.  Dave had been working for the village through a temporary contractual situation, but that ended as soon as we hired him as our new foreman. 

I'll miss Dave on Council.  His perceptions, thoughts and candor were appreciated  and will be greatly missed.  But we now have the opportunity to elect a new councilor in a byelection, coming in early April. 

Good luck Dave!

Great Clean-Up Day!

We had about two dozen people turn out for Beiseker's annual Clean-Up Day!  We did a clean-up all around town, but we concentrated on the public areas and parks. 

Please check in the lane way behind your house for anything that fell there with the snow this past winter. that we might have missed.   Don't forget the irregular garbage pick-up on May 19!

Councillor Dave McKenzie arranged to have a shredding truck from Iron Mountain here on Saturday, too.  Donations were made to the Library.  Thanks Dave! 

Here's a BPOTB (Beiseker Pat On The Back) and a thank-you to all of you who helped out and to Michelle Boyer for organizing the day.

A Tale of Two Trails

I am excited about the prospect of two trail systems being created in and around our village! 

The first trail system would follow a route around Beiseker itself, connecting many important parts of the village.  A meeting was held the other evening to discuss the re-organization of the committee to spearhead the project. 

Councillor Dave McKenzie is the Council Liaison for this committee, and I'm looking forward to his report regarding this project.  He'll be reporting during his councillor's report at our next meeting.  If you are interested in becoming a part of this pathways project, call and give your name to the Village Office (403-947-3774) and they'll make sure Dave gets it.

The other project is also pretty awesome!  It involves the creation of a pathway between Beiseker and Irricana along the old CPR right-of-way.  I attended a preliminary meeting the other day and I was most impressed with what I heard. 

This would be a pathway for non-motorized traffic.  There are many question which need to be answered, but we've made a start here, too.  Right now, I'm the Council Liaison on this proposal, so if you're interested in helping here, get me your name in the comments below, or through the Contact Form at right. 

And stay tuned on both of these exciting projects!

Thank You!

Thank you to all who voted for me in yesterday's municipal election.  Know that I will work hard over the next four years to make Beiseker that much better. 

Congratulations to all the candidates who allowed their names to stand for election across Alberta.  You all helped democracy win!

Beiseker's council will consist of four incumbants Warren Wise, Karen Ursu, Al Henuset, myself, and new council member Dave McKenzie.  I'm excited about working with all these folks over the next four years. 

This is Beiseker's time to shine! Stay tuned!