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Bright future for Delia

David Sisley 200x200

The Mail is continuing its series of updates and a glance to the coming year with area municipalities. Last week readers were brought up to date on Special Areas and Starland County. This week there are updates from the Village of Munson and the Village of Delia. Watch for more in the coming weeks.

It has been a busy year for the Village of Delia, and the community is well positioned for the future.

The Mail caught up with Mayor David Sisley to review the progress the village has made in 2018 and what it is looking forward to in the coming year. One project Mayor Sisley is very excited about is approval of a new Delia School and the unique community hub which they have partnered. The Delia School Enhancement Society has been busy raising funds for the project. They have surpassed the $1 million mark.

“The Village was the first to put up money and they donated $100,000,” said Sisley. “It is going to include the library and a field house the public can use. There are parts of the building that can be used all of the time.”

“The committee that looked into other schools that have been built recently found none of the schools had done this sort of thing.”

Groundbreaking on the new school is expected this coming spring.

The Village was busy in 2018 expanding the water storage unit that supplies the community. This necessary renovation is well underway and is expected to be completed this spring.

“If there was a major fire or some major catastrophe where we would need water, in just a few hours we would have no water,” Sisley explained.

He says the Council has also been busy putting together a strategic plan for the community with the help of a facilitator. This will be a document to guide the future development of the  Village.

“Hopefully it will help with tourism and more economic development, and bring more businesses to town,” said Sisley.

The village has a few projects coming including a sidewalk replacement program over the next two to three years.

The future looks bright for the community, especially with recent population growth.

“We have gone from 186 up to 216,” said Sisley. “It’s people wanting to get away from the big city more than anything and have more quality of life.”

He says in 2018 they have had 12 properties for sale and all but two have been sold. There are three new houses under construction. They have also sold three commercial lots.


Rumsey plans centennial celebration

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You only get one chance to celebrate your 100th anniversary, and the community of Rumsey is planning on doing it in style.

This summer, the community in Starland County is preparing to mark 100 years with a weekend of festivities starting on July 12.

“Rumsey had businesses in it as early as 1909,” explains Larry Anderson of the organizing committee. “The Railroad came in 1911. The reason we chose 1919, is that it is when Rumsey became a municipality. There were things happening around Rumsey as early as 1900. The Crooked Lake Cattle Company was established and were running cattle in a large area.”

While Rumsey is now a hamlet, the community spirit has remained.

Member of the committee Rob Richmond tells the Mail it will be a celebration to remember. The committee has been busy collecting names of residents and former residents and will be sending out invitations in the near future for the celebration this summer.

  He says Friday, July 12, will be a busy day to allow people to come and set up camp, and get registered.

On Saturday, July 13 the day starts out with a pancake breakfast served up by the Morrin Fire Department. After that, there will be the Rumsey Centennial Parade.

“The Rumsey tradition with all the parades over the years is we always circle the route twice,” said Richmond.

He is the Parade Marshal and is looking for local families, organizations and businesses that wish to participate in the parade.

The rest of the day is reserved for fun and visiting. There will be a bouncy castle and activities for youngsters. A fun activity will be human “Foosball”  for the adults. The community hall will be open with displays and photos recounting the history of Rumsey and presentations. There will be souvenirs for revellers.

They will be marking the occasion by installing two benches; one in the Rumsey cemetery and one in Rowley to honour the area pioneers.

Another initiative they are doing is reprinting the first Rumsey History Book. Throughout the years there have been three books, the most recent published in 2016. With the reprint, they will have all three volumes for sale at the celebration.

In the evening there will be dinner and a dance featuring Precious Cargo. Capping off the evening with a fireworks show.

Breakfast is served by the Rumsey Fire Department on Sunday morning, followed by a church service. They will close the weekend with some dedications and presentations.

Richmond says to watch the Rumsey Centennial 2019 Facebook page for more details as the event draws closer. For more information, contact Dariel McNaughton at 403-368-2120.

Public assists Hanna RCMP track theft suspects

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Hanna RCMP have arrested and charged three people and recovered two stolen vehicles after the suspects failed to stop for police in Brooks.
   On January 17, at approximately 1:25 a.m., Hanna RCMP was advised of a truck that refused to stop for Brooks RCMP members and was last seen coming into Hanna Detachment's area near Pollockville, 
     Hanna Detachment then began receiving complaints about the same vehicle attempting to steal fuel at rural locations. The last location was in the Scapa area where a second truck was stolen out of a garage.
Residents tracked the stolen vehicles to a rural location where one truck was attempting to pull the other out of the snow. Before police arrived, two shots were fired into the air by a resident in an attempt to stop an altercation with the suspects. No one was injured.
Police arrived on scene shortly after, at which time two males and one female were arrested. Both trucks were located at the scene. And several property items believed to be stolen were also recovered.
Jesse James Den Hollander (36) of Sherwood Park, Alta., Jimmy Delane Morsette (30) of Red Deer, Alta, and Angela Lewis (19) of Ponoka, Alta., has been charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000 (x2), theft under $5,000, break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence and theft under $5,000 (x2)
Both males were also charged with breaching court-imposed conditions (x2).
Morsette has been remanded into custody and will be appearing in Provincial Court in Hanna on Feb. 8, 2019.
Den Hollander has been remanded into custody and will be appearing in Provincial Court in Hanna on Apr. 23, 2019.
Lewis was released from custody on a promise to appear and is set to appear in Hanna Provincial Court on Feb. 27, 2019.
The RCMP would like to thank the residents as their assistance is what resulted in the arrests. The RCMP would also like to caution people to not approach or pursue persons suspected of criminal activity due to the potential danger.


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