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Trees Removed by Volunteers |
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Monday, 23 August 2010 15:29 |
Castor resident Marrian Bertin was a delegate at the Town of Castor regular Council meeting of August 9. She brought concerns and disappointments to Council, in regard to several trees that has been cut off with the aid of volunteers involved in the town cleanup happened prior to the Castor Centennial weekend. She presented two options to Council, repayment of the trees or erecting a fence, as the trees had been planted to assist in keeping the snow off her driveway during the winter.
Castor Council asked Town Foreman, Stan Boettcher to view the property and report back to Council next meeting with recommendations. Minimum Tax Rate
Castor Council has not heard the last of their decision to adopt a $450 minimum tax rate to the property owners in Castor.
Barry Weseen presented his concerns regarding the increase on property tax for his small parcels of land that make up one larger lot, but are not under the same land description. As a result, the cost of his property taxes increased by over $5000 this year alone. To make matters worse, Weseen land assessment and tax bills went to the wrong address, not permitting the the allotted time period to appeal the assessment. astor Council has advised Weseen to appeal his assessments anyway and give the appeals board an opportunity to hear the case and make a decision on it.
Waterworks Inspection
Alberta Environment has completed a Waterworks Inspection on the Castor water system and has prepared a report for Council. There are four recommendations within the report. First, Alberta Environment is asking that an annual calibration of monitoring equipment be performed for 2010, along with the regular implementation (weekly or monthly) of an accuracy testing program for chlorine meters using gel standards and then document the results. Second, bacteriological sampling must be performed on the water main four times per month rather than the present two to three times per month. Third, confirmation of lead analysis conducted in February 2010 are to be reviewed and confirmed. Fourth, Alberta Environment is requesting that the Town of Castor establish Standard Operating Procedures for their water system. A letter will be prepared notifying Alberta Environment that Castor Council has received the information and will include a plan and time frame for the work to be completed.
Emergency System
Alberta Emergency Management Agency is changing the Alberta Emergency Alert System from a telephone based system to a internet computer based system. In order for the Town of Castor to be updated, the Council must appoint people who will be able to access the training and be responsible for the initiation of the Emergency Alert System. Castor Council has passed a motion to nominate CA Sandi Jackson, Patrick Kelly, and past CA Michael Yakielashek to take the required training and be responsible for the new system. |
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Thousands Attend Castor Centennial |
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Monday, 09 August 2010 04:14 |
 The Town of Castor’s 100th Year Homecoming Celebration July 30 - August 1 was a great success, according to organizers, with more than 2300 registered in attendance, not including hundreds of people that were not registered, who came to enjoy the entertainment. The Castor Centennial Homecoming Committee 2010 asked former students from the Castor and Theresetta Schools and the surrounding 40 schools, family, friends and neighbours from the past 100 years to “Come Celebrate With Us.” Registrants were from Australia, Newfoundland, Ontario, Washington, Vancouver Island, Salt Spring Island as well as, all across Alberta and the rest of Canada. What a great weekend with the weather cooperating and everything planned going off like clockwork. The weekend started with a Meet and Greet, Friday evening, in the arena with a full house. Saturday morning began with the Castor Elks sponsoring a breakfast for 1500 people. Everyone had a chance to meet friends and tour many places in Castor. The Farmer’s Market seemed to be the place to meet.  More than 3000 people lined the parade route (main street, hospital street, the lodge street, creamery road, around to the arena, and back to main street) on Saturday afternoon for the Homecoming Parade which hosted 116 entries of floats, antique cars, tractors including a horse drawn school bus and a horse drawn hearse. Dr. Russell Schnell (recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, who grew up and graduated from Gus Wetter School in 1963) and Paddy the Beaver, were The Parade Marshalls. The parade was led by a wagon train, reflecting on our settlers coming to Town 100 years ago. Following the parade, afternoon entertainment was provided on Main Street with the Desperate Housewives, singing a few Oldies; Angelina Weber played the violin, accompanied by her mother Veronica Weber on piano; Gary Geisbrecht played the fiddle and Dick Slemp played Ragtime piano. During the afternoon, the Kids Karnival kept the young people busy and entertained. The Castor Pharmacy Museum, Heritage Hospital, Antique Car Show, and the Castor Museum were overly busy. The official ‘Welcome and Opening’ took place at 4:15 p.m. Saturday afternoon, with messages from the Town of Castor Mayor, Garry DeVloo, the County of Paintearth Reeve, George Glazier and Sister Denyse of Ottawa, representing the Daughters of Wisdom, the Catholic Sisters who first started Our Lady of the Rosary Hospital. Mayor DeVloo presented Dr. Russell Schnell with a picture of Castor Creek (taken by Shelly Pals) to recognize Dr. Schnell for his Nobel Peace Prize and his many accomplishments over the past few years from his friends in Castor. Dr. Schnell then thanked the Town of Castor, sharing his experience growing up in the Town of Castor and presented the Town with $250,000 for a scholarship fund, to promote local students who are interested in becoming doctors and then interested in returning to work in Castor. The Saturday evening dinner, served by Ann Michielsen and friends, was prepared for 1800 people and included the Centennial Cake, a quilt cake made with 72 cakes provided and decorated by local families and businesses. A dance followed with music by Dick Slemp and Triple Nickel for the older generation in the Community Hall, and a second dance with music by Terry Howe and Quality Sound in the Castor Arena for the younger generation.  The fireworks, sponsored by the County of Paintearth, were viewed from the old railroad bed finishing the evening in style. Sunday morning brunch for 1500, sponsored by the New Hall Building Committee, was a place to start saying good-bye to family and friends, especially those who had come from so far. At 1 p.m. an Inter-denominational Worship Service was held on Main Street with a great message, wonderful singing and violin music. The weekend was a great success! The hard work of the Centennial Committee and the many volunteers paid off, as the Town of Castor was absolutely beautiful. This weekend was the last hurrah for former Town of Castor CAO Michael Yakielashek (before his retirement) and his committee of firemen were more than occupied moving tables and chairs, as well as keeping everything organized and cleaned up. Sandi Jackson, in her new role as Town Administrator also put in many hours of hard work. The weekend was also a great success, due to the dedication and the many hours of work put in by members of the Homecoming Committee and other volunteers. |
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Castor Hospital Helipad to be replaced |
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Friday, 16 July 2010 19:40 |
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Our Lady of the Rosary Hospital in Castor has been informed that the Castor Helipad will be torn out and replaced by Alberta Health Services. The decision is based on the inspection completed by Transport Canada in 2009 that determined the pad was ‘out’ by approximately two inches resulting in the original decision to close it. “Remediation of the Castor helipad will start in July 2010,” said Kerry Bales, Vice President Community and Rural Health Central Zone. “This work will take up to five months to complete. In order to accommodate this work, the helipad will be closed during this time.” “Air ambulance transport services will continue to be available while remediation work is underway through the use of the municipal [Castor] airport, with ground ambulance support. The scope of the work being done at the site is to repair the asphalt on the landing pad. The asphalt must first be dug up to determine what is causing damage to the asphalt. Once the source of the problem is identified and corrected, new asphalt will be laid.” “It’s business as usual,” said Marilyn Weber, Director of Castor Our Lady of the Rosary Hospital. “People should not be concerned. The helicopters will land successfully at the local airport. It’s about four minutes of transportation time by ground ambulance from the hospital to the airport.” Total cost of the project is estimated to be approximately $70,000. The helipad was officially closed midnight July 1. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please call Marilyn Weber at the hospital 403-882-3434. |
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