Kneehill County has had a busy 2019, and the work continues into the new year.
    The Mail caught up with Reeve of Kneehill County Jerry Wittstock to look at some of the accomplishments of the previous year and are looking toward the future. The economy is top of mind for the Reeve.
    “We are making progress. It is a little more difficult, we are dealing with the oil and gas industry and the non-payment of taxes there,” he said. “It makes it difficult to figure out what stage of the game we are at.”
    “We have 17 companies that are in arrears right now. We are down more than $6 million. Some have completely gone away and are bankrupt.”
    He adds the county is not in the position of being a secured creditor, so they are not able to collect.
    “We know how many people haven’t paid, and everybody thinks they don’t have to pay because there are no consequences. I don’t think the problem is going to get better unless something is done at the provincial level,” he said.
    Like many small municipalities, the county is also having to foot more for policing. He said that alone is more than $150,000.
    “These impact the county’s budget, but we are trying to be as prudent as we can with our finances and try to mitigate some of these impacts,” he said. ‘It makes it really tough on our urbans because right now they are looking for partnerships… you can’t share what you don’t have.”
    Despite this, the county had a good 2019 as it celebrated its 75th anniversary, and had a good showing of residents as well as government officials including the Minister of Municipal Affairs, and MLA Nathan Cooper come for the celebrations.
    Infrastructure wise, last year the County began rehabilitation work on the Churchill water line.
    “All the lines are in the ground and we are continuing to work on the reservoir that is going to be positioned there,” he said.  
    Like most other municipalities, they have been busy at work on the completion of its Intermunicipal Framework Agreements.
    “We are mandated by the province to complete these,” he said.
    Come the new year Wittstock said they will be concentrating on their 2,500 kilometres of roads and bridges in the county.
    “Our staff has been really good at coming up with innovative ways to keep the costs down,” he said.  “There are some bridge projects coming up and we are looking to develop additional gravel reserves.”

    Students from Wheatland Crossing School had the opportunity to learn curling from one of the greats.
    On Thursday, February  27, two-time Canadian Women’s Champion Heather Nedohin was at the Standard Curling rink for a special learn-to-curl clinic. Nedohin is a two-time bronze medalist in Women’s World Curling in 1998 and 2012. She also won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 1998 and 2012.
    “The biggest thing for us is to provide kids an opportunity to experience a fun curling experience where it is safe, and they realize they can do it,”  Nedohin told the Mail.  “As much as we make it look easy on TV, once they get out there and begin to realize they can actually slide and release, and learn this skill set, it is a fun, enjoyable experience.”
    In the morning they worked with the junior high students and in the afternoon, high school students took to the ice.
    Nedohin is currently not competitively curling, but she and her husband are coaching their 14-year-old daughter.
     “The sport of curling was very good to us in the competitive world as athletes, but we are just taking a step back, enjoying the moments with our kids as they grow,” she said. “The beauty of our game is you can play at any age.”
    She enjoys sharing the knowledge of her sport.
    “I really enjoy the opportunities to get out to rural communities where there are two, three, or four sheeter rinks. Grassroots development to me is exposing youth to what I call our national winter sport… with hockey. I would say curling is up there. To see them enjoy this environment on the ice, and then enjoy the camaraderie off the ice is really important. That is what our community needs to see,” she said.
    Rosebud Gas Co-op Ltd. and the Federation of Alberta Gas Co-ops Ltd. teamed up with Heather Nedohin for the day of curling. With an office in Rockyford, the Rosebud Gas Co-op is the amalgamation of the Rosebud, Dalum, and Wintering Hills Gas Co-ops. It has 1,150 members and customers.