Appointment of New CAO for Clearwater County

Clearwater County Council with newly appointed CAO Rick Emmons, front, between Councillors Thesesa Laing and Michelle Swanson. Back: Councillors Jim Duncan, Cammie Laird, Daryl Lougheed, Reeve John Vandermeer and Councillor Tim Hoven

News release by Clearwater County

(Rocky Mountain House, AB) – Following a three-month competitive recruitment campaign, Council is pleased to announce that Rick Emmons has been formally appointed to the position of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the County, as of May 1, 2018.

 Council appointed Mr. Emmons as Interim CAO back in November, to allow time for a thorough recruitment process to unfold, in an effort to identify the best candidate for the important administrative role of CAO. “Clearwater County has been fortunate to have Rick’s leadership and guidance over the last five months, and he has been instrumental in providing for business continuity, administrative stability and maintaining the County’s progressive momentum,” said Clearwater County’s Reeve John Vandermeer.
“After our third-party candidate search concluded and Council’s thorough review of applicants, Rick certainly was the most qualified for the job due to his breadth of experience and passion for public service.”

With 33 years’ experience in municipal government, Mr. Emmons was most recently the County’s Director of Planning and Development, previous to that Assistant Director of Public Works.
Mr. Emmons has also worked in many other capacities over his long tenure with Clearwater County. He holds a designation as Certified Local Government Manager (CLGM), he completed a National Advanced Certificate in Local Authority Administration (NACLAA) from the University of Alberta and he has numerous other educational credentials specific to municipal administration.

 Reeve Vandermeer continued by saying, “Rick fosters an open and transparent administration and supports Council’s governance role. We thank him for stepping up to the plate and look forward to working with him for years to come.”

It's not that simple, Ms. Notley

By Helge Nome

The Alberta Government's proposes legislation to limit the export of petroleum resources from Alberta.

Information regarding this bill can be obtained here: https://www.alberta.ca/assets/documents/Bill-12-fact-sheet.pdf, where it states that:

"If passed, Bill 12 would require specified individuals and corporations—at the discretion of the minister of energy—to obtain a licence prior to exporting any quantity of natural gas, crude oil or refined fuels from Alberta."

Section 92A.2 of Canada's Constitution Act states the following: 

"Export from provinces of resources. 

In each province, the legislature may make laws in relation to the export from the province to another part of Canada of the primary production from non-renewable natural resources and forestry resources in the province and the production from facilities in the province for the generation of electrical energy, but such laws may not authorize or provide for discrimination in prices or in supplies exported to another part of Canada."

Read the last part of the last sentence: "but such laws may not authorize or provide for discrimination in prices or in supplies exported to another part of Canada."

That means that any limitations placed on exports to BC also apply to all other parts of Canada.

Take some time to consider the implications for Alberta and Albertans.

Caroline Community Celebrates Its Volunteers

Outstanding Youth Volunteer: Lillith Nuzum

 Volunteer of the Year: Amanda Archibald

Volunteer Lifetime Achiever: Helen Willigar

By Helge Nome

The Caroline Community celebrated the work of its volunteers at the Caroline Legion on Monday, April 16. Of the 280 people nominated by their peers as volunteers for the community about 100 attended the event and received due recognition for their work. MC for the event, which is now in its 14th year, was Sharleen Thornberry who introduced speakers and handed out well deserved door prices donated by local businesses, organizations  and individuals.

Special recognition was give to Lillith Nuzum as the Outstanding Youth Volunteer, Amanda Archibald as the Volunteer of the Year and Helen Willigar as the Lifetime Achievement Volunteer with some 50 years of service to the Caroline Legion.

The event was sponsored by the Clearwater Regional Family and Community Support Services Board and carried out by volunteers from the Caroline Neighbourhood Place Society.

 MC Sharleen Thornberry

 Clearwater Regional Family and Community Support Services Manager Andrea Vassallo

About 100 nominated volunteers attended the volunteer appreciation event