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Kneehill County send letter of concern about ambulance services

Kneehill County Council

Kneehill County will send a letter of concern to Alberta Minister of Health Jason Copping about the lengthy ambulance response times rural residents face, following a motion at the regular Tuesday, February 22 council meeting.
Central Zone EMS Operations Director Scott Holsworth and Alberta Health Services paramedic strategist John Hein provided council with a presentation with information about EMS services in the county, stakeholder concerns, and opportunities for improvement.
“Here in Kneehill County, here in Three Hills, we have one Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance 24/7, we have another ambulance 12 hours a day or what we would call a ‘peak ambulance,’ seven days a week, as well we have one ALS ambulance in Linden 24/7,” Mr. Holsworth explained during the meeting.
EMS responded to a total of 253 events-including 911 emergency calls, interfacility transfers, and non-emergency events-in the rural areas of Kneehill County in 2021.
While the Three Hills ambulances primarily responded to emergency and transport events in the Three Hills and Drumheller areas, the Linden ambulance attended a majority of emergency events in the Calgary area.
Increased pressure from metropolitan areas like Calgary and Edmonton under centralized dispatching has impacted rural service delivery.
Rural ambulances performing interfacility transfers to city centres are “being pulled into a vortex” and get dispatched to emergencies in the area, leaving their home communities without an ambulance.
Manager of Protective Services Deb Grosfield explained all Kneehill County fire departments are part of the Medical First Responder (MFR) program. They are trained and able to provide assistance in serious events, such as cardiac or respiratory arrest, though throughout COVID they have been requested by ambulatory teams to assist other, less severe events such as lift assists and to provide family support.
Ms. Grosfield noted the provincial government has been lobbied by villages and towns, and it was recommended Kneehill County send a letter of concern to Minister Copping to advocate for better ambulance services in the county’s rural areas.
Council unanimously passed the motion to write a letter of concern to Minister Copping.


Drumheller RCMP continue investigating ATM theft

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Drumheller RCMP are continuing to investigate the break and enter and theft of an ATM from Freson Bros.
In the early morning hours on February 15 at approximately 4:30 a.m., culprits smashed the entryway of the Drumheller grocery store and made off with a bank machine.
Drumheller RCMP received a call for a break-in alarm and discovered considerable damage to the main and interior building doors.
Staff Sergeant Ed Bourque says they have not identified any suspects and have released security camera captures in hope residents may be able to help identify the culprits.

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An early 2000 model burgundy Ford pick-up with an aftermarket front bumper appears to have been involved, and may still have visible damage.
He notes there has been a string of break-ins within the eastern area of Southern Alberta District, and police have seen a trend where 2000s F250-F350’s are stolen, and used in other offenses. Police are working with their district analysts to investigate.
“Mostly what we have seen with the theft of the vehicles, is the suspect will punch the door lock in, to gain access to the vehicle, then the suspect will punch the ignition to get the vehicle to start,” he explained. He recommends that owners take proactive measures to secure their vehicle, such as a steering local or security system.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Drumheller RCMP at 403-823-7590. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477(TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com, or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.

Chambers to compete in World Masters Nordic Skiing event

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A Drumheller area man is going up against the world this coming week as he competes in the Alberta World Cup Masters Cup Nordic skiing event.
Gary Chambers, who is an avid skier, saw the opportunity to sign up as the event is being held in the province.
“It is being hosted in Canmore. It is kind of an interesting event, it is not often held in North America, it is most often in Europe, with skiing not being a mainstream thing here,” Chambers explains.
The event was scheduled for last year but didn’t go ahead because of the pandemic. The event starts March 4, and it is a full week of skiing events for masters athletes. These are often former high-level competitors or professionals who have continued with the sport. Events start for competitors at the age of 30, all the way up to 80. There are about 600 competitors expected to compete.
Chambers is competing for Canada on a team out of Calgary called the Space Dogs Ski Club.
“I have been training all year for it, and this will kind of be the peak of it. The events I am doing are the 30 kilometre classical race, which is the traditional Nordic skiing with tracks, and the 30 kilometre skate, or free technique,” he said. “The following Friday, I’ll be racing in the free technique, which is a 45 kilometre event,” he said.
He is racing in the 45-49 age increment, and this is his first time racing in the Masters.
“It will be a new experience. Usually, you have a lot more logistics and travelling for doing an event like this, but considering it is being hosted in our backyard, I thought it was a great opportunity to see how I stack up with competitors from around the world,” he said.
Chambers has spent the last few years coaching a masters team out of Bragg Creek and also trains with a team. He is also a level four trainer.
“I spent a lot of time teaching courses for people who want to be instructors,” he explains. “That’s actually what I did before I got into real estate… and the last couple of years I just shifted to that side again, it’s fun,” he said.
To prepare, he has been busy training on a strict regimen working out six days a week, mostly on snow.
“The schedule is pretty steady. I’m doing about 150-180 kilometres a week of training,” he said.
“I feel pretty confident from a domestic standpoint, like where I would be comparing times with others. The real variable that is interesting to an event like this is you don’t know who is going to turn up and where. Every week at the Nordic Centre, you see ski team jackets from the States and through Europe, a lot of teams you don’t see before because it is an international event. You are getting competitors that could be ex-pros from Norway, for all you know. You could get anyone at the starting line.”


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