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Last updateWed, 24 Apr 2024 4pm

Kneehill County award gravel crushing tender

Copy of Copy of Copy of kneehill county new admin building

Kneehill County council members awarded the tender to crush gravel from the new Torrington gravel pit to Lone Pine Crushing Ltd during the Tuesday, April 26 regular council meeting.
During budget deliberations in February 2021, council approved $700,000 towards gravel crushing at the new site and estimated approximately 150,000 tonnes of gravel; however, the winning tender bid came nearly $2 per tonne less than the average bid, meaning the county will be able to crush approximately 230,000 tonnes of gravel without increasing the budget.
“We’d like to stick with the budget of $700,000 each year as prices fluctuate,” stated Director of Transportation Brad Buchert during the meeting.
The tender opened on Tuesday, March 30 and the county received a total of 11 bids, with an average bid of $4.11 per tonne; Buchert noted, even at the average bid amount, the county would have been able to stockpile approximately 20,000 tonnes more than originally estimated under the budgeted $700,000.
A video was also presented to council, providing an aerial view of the ongoing excavation work at the Torrington gravel pit. According to Mr. Buchert, approximately 20,000 tonnes of gravel has already been crushed.
Buchert estimates “about 13 years of road crush” gravel will be excavated based on the county’s current usage. He added the county will also be able to eliminate the expense of purchasing sand for road use, and can also use sand from the pit to maintain dirt trails and “get extra life” from these.


Celebrating moms with drive-by parade

MothersDayParade

The Town of Drumheller and local emergency responders are hoping to make Mother’s Day special for seniors in the community on Mother’s Day.
Due to COVID-19, last year they organized a Mother’s Day Drive-by Parade. This year they are planning to do it again, and residents are invited to participate.
The parade begins at 1:30 p.m., on May 9. Those wishing to participate can form up prior to the parade, at 11th Street East and Riverside Drive. The parade route will drive by both Sunshine and Hillview Lodge, the Manors, and then to the Drumheller Health Centre.
Participants are encouraged to decorate their cars, make some noise and bring their smiles and join the town and first responders in the parade.
Participants are also reminded to adhere to COVID-19 protocols. This means only one family per vehicle.

Local area schools consider piloting draft K-6 curriculum

school bus stopsign

The new, draft Alberta K-6 curriculum, which was unveiled by Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange in March 2021 has been met with criticism from the Alberta Teachers Association, school districts, and parents.
Local school divisions are currently considering whether to pilot the curriculum, in whole or in part, as feedback from Albertans continues to come in via the online survey.
“At this time, Prairie Land will critically and systemically investigate this document in its entirety. We want to make sure that as a school division Prairie Land collectively finds our spot at the ministry table in an effort to provide intentional, accurate, and meaningful feedback,” said Prairie Land School Division Superintendent Cam McKeage.
He noted the school division has a “working group of 17 K-6 teachers” who will investigate and review the draft curriculum. Feedback will be presented to Alberta Education following this review to guide PLSD’s “actions and position” regarding piloting the curriculum.
“As a public jurisdiction, we do have concern with this document and by intentionally exposing this draft document, we are exercising our due diligence and opportunity to voice our concern to Alberta Education before we consider our next steps with the piloting phase,” McKeage says.
Locally, Christ the Redeemer Catholic School Division will also be reviewing the curriculum before making any decisions regarding piloting.
Christ the Redeemer Superintendent Scott Morrison told the Mail, “Christ the Redeemer is considering piloting the math curriculum.”
Morrison noted changes to the elementary curriculum have been in discussions at the provincial level for some time, but a complete overhaul will be a “huge undertaking.”
Should Christ the Redeemer proceed with the pilot, Morrison says teachers will be given the opportunity to participate and given two weeks of professional development during the summer to help them prepare for the new material. The decision to participate in the pilot will be driven by a focus on students and the benefits or disadvantages to their learning imposed by the draft curriculum.
Feedback on the curriculum will also be forwarded to Alberta Education.


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