Committee  announces next fundraising event

The Badlands Community Facility Fundraising Committee has had a successful season hosting events including  the spaghetti dinner and beer gardens in support of the Badlands Dinosaur Half Marathon, the wildly successful Oktoberfest and on Saturday night the Diamond Dinner.   After all of the events they were able to donate $20,000 to the Badlands Community Facility. Members of the committee include (l-r) Kim Suntjens, Linda Lacher, Heather Colberg,  Hansine Kostelecky, Carolyn Huculak,  Koren McDougald, Sharel Shoff and Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk.

    The Badlands Community Facility Fundraising Committee wrapped up a successful autumn of exciting events on Saturday and is looking forward to  continuing its efforts to support the facility in the new year.
    On Saturday, November 16, the gowns were out as the committee revived the Diamond Dinner gala. The night featured great prizes, food and entertainment with Dueling Pianos on stage.
    This event, combined with the earlier Oktoberfest party, and the spaghetti dinner and beer gardens to support the Dinosaur Half Marathon, the committee made a $20,000 donation towards the Badlands Community Facility.
    The activity for the committee doesn’t stop there however, as they also announced their next endeavour.
    On February 5, Habs fans are in for a treat as hockey legend and  Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur will be leading the Montreal Canadiens Alumni team  against the Drumheller All –stars.
    The Habs are the most storied team in the NHL. It appears Lafleur will be coaching. While no roster has been confirmed, it could include literally dozens of legends including Guy Carbonneau, Stéphane Richer, Claude Lemieux or Denis Savard, to name a few of the possibilities.
    Ticket will be going on sale on December 1. There are also some VIP tickets available  which include a post game reception with the Montreal Canadiens at the Badlands Community Facility.
    The funds from the event will be going to the Badlands Community Facility.
    For more information, contact Alison Roppel at 403-856-8103 or Carolyn Huculak at 403-820-1827.

    The President of AltaGas Utilities says it is responsive to reports of faulty equipment and addresses customers’ issues when they are identified.  
    This came in light of an undated, unsigned letter circulating that alleged that AltaGas could be putting customers at risk.
    The Mail received the letter purported to be from an employee of AltaGas that says a certain model number of gas meters could put customers at risk.
    Greg Johnston, president of AltaGas Utilities says they have instigated a program to replace a number of gas meters that have had a very low instance of failure, and most often, the issue with the meter is that it stops reading.
    He explains between 2008 and 2010, the company purchased about 10,000 meters. In 2010, the company received correspondence from the manufacturer that some of the index units may have a flaw.
    “We received a letter from the manufacturer saying the experienced .058 per cent defects on odometer indexes,” said Johnston. “These indexes were on meters shipped across North America during that time period of 2008-2010. They said they were not able to predict which of these indexes would fail due to the very small number of defects.”
    He said this meant the defect would affect meter readings as the index might stop. 
    “We didn’t take on any wholesale replacement program because we didn’t think the meters were stopping and there was such a small percentage of failures, we responded to customers as they called,” said Johnston.
    From 2010 to 2012 the company responded to a few calls, most often when the index stopped, but in a very few cases, the gas was cut off. Two houses received some damage, according to Johnston.
    Johnston said when Measurement Canada approved a new replacement in 2012, AltaGas made an arrangement with the manufacturer to replace the indexes on these meters.
    “Crews have replaced all the faulty indexes but a few and the program is wrapping up at the end of next week,” said Johnston.
    He adds that the expense to change the indexes has been borne by the manufacturer and not passed on to the customer.
    Johnston also disputes a claim in the letter, which states the writer has remained anonymous, because the company has no whistleblower protection.
    “We have had whistleblower protection for over 15 years, it is an organization called Ethics Point.  New employees when they start here are made aware of Ethics Point and every current employee has gone through an awareness program,’ said Johnston.
    AltaGas employees with issues can contact Ethics Point through their office computer, or any other computer not linked to the company. They could also call a 1-800 phone number to make anonymous reports.
    “Ethics Point is a world wide leader in this and we stand behind their integrity and ability to take an anonymous complaint,” said Johnston.