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2018 Rumsey Ride tops $47K

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The annual Rumsey Ride For STARS has topped $47,000, raising its 29-year total to well over $800,000 for STARS Air Ambulance.
The ride has enjoyed three decades of success, and the sun shined (and the wind blew) again on this year as 152 riders took to the trails around the Bar TL Ranch on Sunday, August 12. Long time rider and volunteer Ernie Goddard praised the work of the volunteers.
“It takes people to do what we have done for 29 years,” said Goddard.
Truly riders of all ages took to the trails; the oldest being Marvin Donaghy at 89 years old. He was presented a special gift in memory of longtime organizer Jacqui Goddard. Also awarded was the youngest rider, 3-year old Easton Comte. He was also one of the top junior fundraisers.
While they are still working on the final total for the event, through pledges alone the riders raised $40,500. The top fundraiser was Lynn Tanner who raised $9,225. The top raising junior rider was Rylee Jones who brought in $3,154.


Also contributing to the total were the Poker run, Gooch’s Gang’s lunch, the Rumsey Firefighters Breakfast, the Country Cookers Dinner, and the silent auction.
The Rumsey Ride for STARS is one of the charity ’s longest running fundraising events, and it shows no sign of slowing down.


RCMP changes alarm policy to reduce false calls

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Alberta RCMP announced August 14 they have adopted a new policy of verifying alarms before responding, saying previous policy was draining resources.

Mounties in Alberta will no longer respond to alarms which are triggered only once, but will still respond to ATM, multi-zone intrusion, panic, duress, holdup, broken glass, domestic violence, and verified alarms (which includes any alarm at a school or financial institution during business hours).

A 2017 review found the RCMP received “just under 15,500 false alarm calls which equated to nearly 8,000 human resource hours that could have been dedicated to more urgent calls for service,” RCMP said.

“You can help us keep our 911 lines open and our officers free to respond to real emergencies,” says John Ferguson, Criminal Operations Officer for the RCMP’s CORE, “K” Division. “By cutting down on false alarms, we can ensure our officers are where they are needed most.”

The policy came into effect on July 13.

Surrounding counties amending bylaws ahead of cannabis legalization

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Starland, Kneehill and Wheatland Counties are all currently in the process of amending their land-use bylaws in anticipation of marijuana legalization in October.

The amendments follow nearly identical changes to the bylaws which the Town of Drumheller recently adopted, which are also used by communities throughout Alberta. They define and allow for land uses such as ‘cannabis retail store,’ ‘cannabis cafe,’ and ‘licensed producer’ in preparation for the end of the 95-year-old prohibition of marijuana in Canada.

Kneehill and Starland County will be hosting public hearings during council to gather public feedback on the changes. Kneehill County has an open house scheduled for August 7 from 3 to 6 pm at their administrative building, with a public hearing expected in September. The first reading of the bylaw amendment will be on August 21.

Starland County will host a public hearing at their council chamber at the temporary administrative offices in Morrin on Wednesday, August 22 at 2 p.m.

Wheatland County has not brought the proposed land use bylaw amendments to council yet but will be doing so in the near future.


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