Members of the Wheatland Regional Emergency Management Partnership (WREMP), is planning to hold a regional live exercise on Thursday, September 28 to help members be prepared for an actual emergency.
The regional partnership is made up of Wheatland County, the villages of Rockyford, Standard, and Hussar, the Town of Strathmore, and the City of Chestermere, which joined the partnership earlier this year.
“We will have two incidents, one in Chestermere which will be a natural disaster, and one in Strathmore which will be a hazardous materials incident,” WREMP Emergency Management coordinator Sara Coutts tells the Mail.
She notes the specifics of each of the planned scenarios are confidential and was unable to comment further. What she was able to share is that the scenarios will have multiple participants from Chestermere, Strathmore, and Wheatland County, as well as the village partners; Wheatland County will have firefighters from its multiple county-operated fire departments participating, and Wheatland County is also providing use of its Emergency Communications Centre (ECC) for the scenario.
There will also be an estimated 34 external agencies involved, and Ms. Coutts explains the scenarios will help everyone involved to grow their capacity in an emergency situation, and help them to work better together.
High school drama students from Chestermere and Strathmore high schools will also participate as patients for each of the respective scenarios. Ms. Coutts says the students are very excited to be part of the exercise.
“We’ve seen growth in natural disasters, and disasters in general. We want plans in place and want to be ready,” she says.
She acknowledges the practice from the live exercise will be helpful in “bridging the gap” so first responders and other emergency personnel are better prepared in the event of a real disaster, whether it is natural or otherwise.
Strathmore and Wheatland County will be utilizing the Voyant Alert app, which is only available to those who sign up, to share real-time updates and notifications while Chestermere will be sharing its updates via social media.
This will help to expand the audience and help residents be involved and informed about the scenario as it unfolds. Any properties within the scenario area which may be used as part of the exercise will have door knockers attend the properties with information and how their properties were used, which

The Dragons have selected its leadership team for the upcoming season.
The Dragons have named Vann Yuhas this season’s captain, along with assistant captains Adam Raesler, Cyle Clayton, and Connor Poffenroth.
Vann Yuhas is entering his third season with the Dragons and is coming off an outstanding 2022-2023 campaign where he finished second in team scoring. In 118 career AJHL games played, the Medicine Hat native has recorded 33 goals and 107 points. Yuhas is currently committed to play Division One hockey at Merrimack College. The Dragons forward is primed to be one of the top forwards in the AJHL this season.
“It is definitely an exciting time and I couldn’t do it without my teammates and the past Dragons teaching me the way when I got here. Taking steps day-by-day since I got here, learning from the coaches and players,” said Yuhas. “Growing up I have always tried to be a leader so just sticking to what I know and being the best version of myself is key.”
The Dragons made the announcement via press release. Adam Raesler is entering his fourth season with the Dragons and his second season as an assistant captain. He led the AJHL in penalty minutes last season while also being one of the Dragons’ most productive offensive forwards. He scored 17 goals and had 45 points in 57 games in the 2022-2023 campaign.
Dragons defenceman, Cyle Clayton has also been named an Assistant Captain and looks to be a leader both on and off the ice this upcoming season. The fourth year Dragon had an outstanding exhibition season and looks to continue that play into the regular season. Clayton is a valuable two-way player on the Dragons back-end that will be leaned on in all situations.
Connor Poffenroth rounds out the Dragons leadership group for this upcoming season. The 20-year-old forward was named the Dragons recipient for the AJHL Greatest Teammate Award for last season and is an important veteran presence in the Dragons dressing room.