A group of Carbon residents is petitioning the Village to unseat its chief administrative officer.
In a four-page letter addressed to the Village of Carbon with the names Marie Kooiman and Allana Cuningham, it asks for the village to remove the CAO Vanessa Van der Meer.
The letter cites several reasons, including challenging the CAO’s salary is not in line when compared provincially. It also notes there are concerns with staffing.
Other concerns include Council going into in-camera too often, and members of the community feel targeted by bylaw infractions.
In a guide from Municipal Affairs, the Municipal Government Acts allows for residents to petition for a new bylaw, amend or repeal an existing bylaw, to hold a public meeting, or vote on an advertised bylaw or resolution. Electors can also petition for local improvements. To change a bylaw a petition has to have 10 per cent of the population. For local improvements, a petition needs two-thirds of the owners who would be liable to pay for the local improvement and represents half of the value of the assessments for the land.
When a petition is filed to the CAO of the municipality, they are responsible for determining the sufficiency of the petition and must make a declaration within 45 days as to whether the petition is sufficient.
The Minister of Municipal Affairs can be petitioned to form a municipality, to change the status of a municipality, to undertake a viability review, to appoint an auditor, or for an inspection into the affairs of a municipality. An inspection requires 20 per cent of the population.
The Carbon petition notes the Village has a population of 422. It noted 20 per cent of the population would be 85 voters. The instigators of the petition indicated they have already collected more signatures.

Admissions are once again paused at the Drumheller Health Centre on the acute, continuing, and long-term care wards due to ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks.
On Friday, January 7 the Mail reported outbreaks had been declared on the acute and continuing care facilities, and acute care admissions were temporarily paused-though this was lifted later the same day.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and as we have done at other sites experiencing an outbreak throughout the pandemic, Alberta Health Services (AHS) has temporarily paused new admissions to acute care, continuing care, and long-term care (LTC),” a spokesperson from AHS tells the Mail.
The spokesperson added resident transfers to other facilities have also been paused.
An outbreak on the acute care ward was previously declared on Sunday, January 2 and remains in effect. There have, so far, been a total of three positive COVID cases linked to this outbreak, and an additional 15 cases linked to an outbreak on the LTC ward, which was declared on January 5.
Most recently, an outbreak was declared on the supportive living unit on Saturday, January 22; at this time a total of 10 confirmed cases have been linked to this outbreak.
“As we monitor for any additional COVID cases impacting the facility, we have put a number of temporary measures in place, including regular testing of all staff and residents for asymptomatic cases, and are following enhanced safety and cleaning protocols across the site to help reduce the possibility of further spread,” the spokesperson says.
Inpatient surgical procedures have also been postponed over the course of the outbreaks, though day surgeries are continuing as scheduled, and is in line with outbreak protocols at other facilities.
The Drumheller Institution has also declared an outbreak with a total of 92 active cases among inmates as of Monday, January 31.
The Mail reached out to Correctional Services Canada for a response regarding the ongoing outbreak at the Drumheller Institution, however, a response has not been received at this time.
As of Monday, January 31 there are 95 active cases of COVID-19 reported in the Town of Drumheller; there has also been an additional three COVID-related deaths since January 19, with a total of nine deaths since the start of the pandemic.
In Kneehill County there are currently 85 active cases, 17 active cases in Starland County, and 82 active cases in Wheatland County.

Update: A spokesperson for Correctional Services Canada (CSC) provided an update on the outbreak at the Drumheller Institution after the deadline.

According to the spokesperson, "As of (Tuesday) February 1, there are 18 active inmate cases and 24 active staff cases. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 349 inmates at Drumheller Institution have tested positive for COVID."

Inmates and staff are offered COVID testing, and staff are required to provide a negative rapid test prior to entering the site. As the Drumheller Institution is a federal facility, employees are mandated to be fully vaccinated, and vaccinations and boosters have continued to be offered to the inmate population since January 2021.

"CSC has reviewed staff involvement in a gathering held in December 2021. It is important to note we spoke to staff following this event, and we stressed the importance of avoiding gatherings," the spokesperson said in regards to a private event which led to an outbreak amongst staff members in December.

The outbreak on the acute care ward at the Drumheller Health Centre was declared over as of Monday, January 31; however, the outbreaks on the long-term care and supportive living are still ongoing.