Author: Shelly W

Categories
Ft Mac Health Politics

Some Wood Buffalo property Owners Will Receive Demolition Orders From Municipality

Some Wood Buffalo Property owners will receive demolition orders from the municipality in order to try and hasten the recovery process and make the entire community safe and secure once again. Property owners who had a home or other structure destroyed by the recent wildfire will be issued a demolition order if they have not already applied for a demolition permit. The municipality has given property owners until September 30, 2016 to clear their property of any debris, rubble, ash, and contaminated soil. Property owners have until October 31, 2016 to either remove or cover any foundation on the property. According to a press briefing by Chief Legislative Officer David LeFlar “Residents have been applying for demolition permits on their own, but it’s not exactly a rush of people coming in. So clearly for the good of the community we need to get this moving along.”

Regional Emergency Operation Centre chief of planning Erin O’Neill is advising Wood Buffalo property owners not to ignore a demolition order, saying “If anyone knows they won’t be able to meet the deadline we’re encouraging them to contact PULSE.” Any property owner who does not meet the deadlines set by the municipality could have the demolition taken care of by the municipality, with the cost added to the property tax rolls for the owner. LeFlar stated that the municipality does not want to do this, they would rather work with property owners to get the job done. According to Coun. Germaine “Emotionally when people see the ashes they think back to the actual event. So if we can get this symbolic cleanup of the ashes it helps us as people to move forward.”

Categories
Economic Ft Mac Health

$1 Million Donation Made to Wood Buffalo Food Bank, Local Families Benefit

A $1 million donation to the Wood Buffalo Food Bank will benefit local families and the community. The food bank recently saw a drastic increase in demand after the wildfire and evacuation, forcing them to deal with lines that snaked around the block and fears that food would run short. Originally the donation was provided to Alberta Food Banks, and the donation amount was $2.4 million. By the middle of June close to half of the donation grant was transferred to the Woof Buffalo Food Bank, and the money was very much needed. Arianna Johnson, WBFB executive director, explained that a majority of the money went towards extra staff and equipment needed to keep up with local demand. “We’ve never really needed a forklift but we’re currently unloading upwards of three semis a week. We bought a new forklift, we bought a couple pallet jacks, we bought things like milk crates and boxes and reusable grocery bags.”

Johnson expressed gratitude for the $1 million donation to the Wood Buffalo Food Bank, but described how the agency is still restricted in what can be provided. “Even with more money, we don’t have the capacity to do more than 150 hampers a day because we don’t have the space to be able to function. We had to put a cap on it so that we could do our daily order of perishables, because without a cap we really have no idea how much to order. We will be going back to that conversation with the Red Cross about long term needs, because we do know that five to ten years after a disaster, food banks are still impacted by that disaster.” Thanks to the donation the food bank has started offering more perishable items in their hampers.

Categories
Economic Ft Mac

Donation to Local Women’s Shelter Made by Royal LePage

A donation to a women’s shelter in the local area has been made by Royal LePage, and the donation was in the amount of $32,000. Unity House, Fort McMurray’s women and children’s shelter, can definitely use the donation to help out the women and children who arrive there. The shelter is operated by Waypoints, and the donation was given in order to make up for donations lost when the wildfire and evacuation meant the shelter missed two fund raising opportunities. The donation also means that Waypoints will be eligible to receive up to an additional $2 million in funding as well. Michele Taylor, executive director of Waypoints, received the cheque from local branch owner Marian Barry and Phil Soper, the Royal LePage president.

Taylor discussed how important the women’s shelter donation from Royal LePage was, and how much good the money will be able to do. “We were expecting a shortfall in our funding for this year. So this coming through for us is a huge relief. That $32,000 is actually worth about 10 times that amount to us. Donations are needed now more than ever. If we can provide healthy relationship support to Fort McMurray and Wood Buffalo region families, we may be able to head off those first incidences of domestic violence in families and that’s good for everyone.” Unity House usually receives approximately $30,000 from a May garage sale fundraiser and a June baseball tournament fundraiser, but both were missed this year due to the wildfire and evacuation.

Categories
Alberta Ft Mac Health

Pipeline Spill at Suncor Energy Has Crews Working on Cleanup

Suncor Energy has experienced another pipeline spill and crews are working to clean up the problem. According to reports the spill involves 20,000 litres of diluent at the oilsands facility for the company, situated to the north of Fort McMurray. Nicole Fisher, the spokesperson for Suncor, explained that at approximately 3 a.m. company safety staff “responded to a notification from our leak detection system. The leak detection system notified us right away and we were able to respond within minutes and the containment system worked as intended. We will continue to cooperate with the Alberta Energy Regulators and monitor the area where the incident occurred.” Fisher did not go into detail about the cause of the spill or the specific chemical which leaked out, but she did state that no further environmental risks are expected.

In recent years there have been a number of pipeline spills and problems, and the latest at Suncor Energy provides additional fodder for those who object to the energy giant on environmental grounds. In spite of safety precautions and numerous protocols in place to prevent any leaks there have been several incidents which have caused concern to the public. The involvement of the Alberta Energy Regulator does offer some assurances though because this ensures that proper clean up and monitoring will be mandatory. Further details about the spill may be revealed in coming days and weeks, but for right now few details have been released. The chemical which spilled may never be identified to the public but the energy agency should have access to this information in order to assess and monitor any environmental impact from the pipeline spill.

Categories
Alberta Economic Ft Mac

Wildfire Evacuation Organizations Will Benefit From Local Man’s Lottery Winnings

A local man will be donating at least part of his lottery winnings to some of the wildfire evacuation organizations which helped him and his family recently. Jason Wheeler and his family were forced to flee Fort McMurray along with everyone else when the wildfire hit, although he was luckier than most. On July 6, 2016 Jason won $1 million in the lottery with the Lotto 6-49 Extra draw. According to Wheeler the food banks, the Canadian Red Cross, and the SPCA helped him and his family out when they really needed it during the May fire evacuation, and now he wants to do something for them to repay all their help and show his thanks and gratitude. It is refreshing to hear about someone giving back to their community after they have been through so much.

Jason plans on making donations to each of these wildfire evacuation organizations out of his lottery winnings. This will pay it forward, because these organizations can then use the donations to help others who may desperately need it for one reason or another. All of his lottery winnings will not be given away though. Wheeler told reporters that his plans for the money also includes paying off all of his bills, helping his family out with their bills and need, and buying a golf cart that he can use at his campsite. After being evacuated and forced to leave the community Jason now has the opportunity to get back on his feet and make sure that his family does the same. There are a lot of other things that Wheeler could do with his lottery winnings so the fact that he plans to donate some of his money to charitable organizations in repayment is very admirable.

Categories
Alberta Ft Mac

Fort McMurray Drug Dealer Nabbed by Police Dog

A Fort McMurray drug dealer has been nabbed by a police dog, leaving him with charges pending and some dog bite wounds to nurse as well. 24 year old Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed is facing multiple charges after being chased, bitten, and arrested. According to police Ahmed ditched a bag of cocaine and ran from the officers who responded to a tip about drug dealing from an apartment building located at 9600 Manning Avenue. In the afternoon on July 18, 2016 police received a tip from a concerned citizen regarding drugs, and when officers arrived at the scene a RCMP Police Dog Services was already in the area and responded as well. According to police Ahmed allegedly threw a bag which contained around 20 grams of crack cocaine when he was fleeing from the officers.

RCMP spokesperson Cpl. George Cameron discussed the police dog capture of the alleged drug dealer in Fort McMurray, and said that Ahmed was aready on conditions at the time of his arrest. According to Cameron “When members approached the building there was an individual that started running and saw him throw something. He did his job. The dog caught up to him and unfortunately bit him on his leg. The individual is well known to us. We’ve had many dealings with him in the past.” After the police dog stopped the suspect and bit him Ahmed was taken to the hospital where he needed two stitches as a result of the bites he received.