Your County
in Touch
Issue No. 51, September 24, 2015
County’s CARE event brings community closer together
Waste Reduction Week 2015
Waste Reduction Week is a national
program that takes place from
October 19 to 25.
The County will be hosting our biannual Household Hazardous Waste
Round-Up and Community Shred-It
on Saturday, October 24 from 10 a.m.
until 2 p.m. in the parking lot adjacent
to McArthur Place.
What is household hazardous
waste? Household products that are
flammable, corrosive, reactive or toxic.
Bring your aerosol cans, nail polish
bottles, household cleaners, solvents,
paint and batteries—items that will
harm the environment if disposed of
improperly.
Shred-It, a secure document
destruction company, will also be on
hand to securely shred and recycle
paper documents from your home
and office.
The annual Community Awareness Registration Evening (CARE) event brought community
and recreation organizations together to promote their programs and find new recruits and
volunteers. Here County staff members Christine Martin and Laura Lilly greet attendees.
Councillors preparing capital project wish lists for 2016
Lac La Biche County Council and County
Administration are already hard at work
preparing for the 2016 budget process.
Council and Administration are hoping
to have the budget complete this year by
the end of December, 2015.
Towards this end, Councillors are
preparing their “capital project wish lists”
for Administration. These projects will be
considered by Council for inclusion in the
2016 budget.
Once these proposed projects are
received by Administration, County staff
will work to prepare cost analyses and
estimates for all the potential projects.
This way, Council will have all the
information required to debate the merits
of the suggested projects, and, ultimately,
to decide on the capital projects that will
be completed in 2016.
In addition, there are projects that are
already on the radar for 2016 budget
deliberations—items that were discussed
during the 2015 budget process. Some of
these include:
• paving 91 Avenue from the Bold Center to Highway 881
• paving the boat launch and parking area in Holowachuk Estates
• Phase One base work to Old Trail
in preparation for paving.
• an estimated $1 million reconstruction of the bridge in Christy Creek
• the continued development of the walking trail system in the hamlets of Lac La Biche and Plamondon.
All projects will be deliberated by Council
at 2016 budget meetings this fall.
www.laclabichecounty.com
Did you know? The County
rents agricultural equipment
It’s harvest time, please exercise caution around farm vehicles
Once again, it’s harvest time
for the County’s hard-working
producers.
Please exercise caution when you
encounter farm vehicles out on
our local highways and byways.
Farm vehicles have a legal right
to share our roadways and travel
much more slowly than
normal traffic.
When passing machinery on the
road, make sure the farm vehicle
is not turning left by looking for
turning lights or hand signals.
Make sure there is enough room
for you to safely pass.
The County has a fleet of equipment
for rent for your farm or acreage, things
you may not be able to find it at a
commercial outlet.
Items like air seeders, post pounders,
squeeze chutes, corral panels and more
are available for rent for a daily fee or
deposit. The County also offers grain
moisture testing, free of charge. Visit
laclabichecounty.com for rental rates.
For more information on our agricultural
programs, call the County’s Agriculture
Services department at 780-623-6366.
County launches campaign encouraging use of reusable bags
Tire recycling at landfills and
transfer stations
Every landfill and transfer site in the
County accepts used tires for recycling.
Our tire recycling centres are part of
Alberta’s Recycling Program, which
takes used tires and turns them into
new products. Did you know? One of
the newest innovations is re-engineered
shredded tires as road aggregate.
Roughly 88 million car tires have been
recycled since the program began
in 1992.
Agricultural product recycling
Many agricultural items can also be
recycled at the County’s landfills and
transfer sites.
Please bring the following in for
recycling:
• Empty pesticide and herbicide
containers
• Silage and bailer wrap and twine
• Seed, fertilizer and grain bags
• Tractor and truck tires
• Filters and belts
Environmental Services staff attend the annual CARE event at the Bold Center this month to give out
free collapsible bags as well as info about the damage plastic bags are doing to our environment.
Canadians use upwards of 10 billion
plastic bags every year. These singleuse bags are the most littered object
in the world, after cigarette butts, and
are clogging our rivers and lining our
streets. Reducing the amount of plastic
entering our waste stream is as easy as
remembering your reusable bags when
you go shopping.
And remembering to bring them is a
lifestyle change, no different than making
healthier choices with your diet or fitness.
Here are some tips to help you remember:
• Put reusable bags in your car, purse or coat pocket.
• Commit to unpacking your groceries and putting your bags immediately back in your car, purse or pocket.
• Start your shopping list every time with “bags”. That should help you remember to bring them along.
Your County in Touch • Issue No. 51, September 24, 2015
County holding photo contest for the 2016 County calendar
Calling all photographers: Lac La Biche
County is gearing up to design the annual
Green Initiatives Calendar for 2016.
Last year, we held a photo contest, and for
the first time, the calendar was filled with
beautiful photos of the County taken by
talented local photographers. And we’d
like to do it again.
Got a beautiful photo of a sunset over Lac
La Biche Lake? A breathtaking landscape
of Plamondon in the winter? A photo of
autumn colours in Rich Lake? Or a candid
pic of local wildlife? Send it in!
2015 FCSS grants still available
If we use your photo, you’ll be eligible for Family and Community Support Services
a promotional prize and have the pleasure (FCSS) offers a variety of grants to local
of seeing your work in print.
organizations in the County. FCSS grants
are specifically designed to support
Email your photos to
preventative social programs, and are
julie.macisaac@laclabichecounty.com by
available to any local organization with
October 31, 2015.
this type of mandate in Lac La Biche
Please note: Only high-quality, highCounty.
resolution, well-lit photos are eligible—
Preventative social programs increase
cell phone photos cannot be used. We
the well-being of individuals, families,
also want photos of all seasons and
corners of the County, so don’t hesitate and the wider community. They
increase the resilience of people
to send your best from fall, winter,
through programming or educational
spring and summer.
opportunities that allow residents to be
engaged in the community
County launches new website to connect with residents
If your organization provides a service
or program with a preventative goal,
you might be eligible for an FCSS grant.
These grants are 80% funded by the
Government of Alberta, and there is
still funding available in Lac La Biche
County’s FCSS budget. FCSS grants come
in two forms: a major grant for more than
$2,500, or a special grant for less
than $2,500.
Lac La Biche County has launched a
redesigned website. The new website
has been completely revamped with
residents’ needs in mind, making
information clearer and easily accessible.
topics like running for office, applying
for County jobs, and getting building
permits. This section will be updated
whenever the County introduces new
programs or services.
The site includes new sections for County
services like waste management and
streets, and sections like ‘learn about us’
and ‘how do I...’ have been added to give
visitors quick access to information.
You can find the website at the same URL:
laclabichecounty.com.
Residents may find the ‘how do I...’ section
an especially helpful resource. ‘How do I...’
answers frequently asked questions about
Because the website is new, some bugs
and errors may still be present. If you
notice anything that needs correction,
please email communications@
laclabichecounty.com.
We hope you’ll find the new site helpful.
You can find both fillable forms on
laclabichecounty.com under the
‘our services’ tab. Click on ‘FCSS and
Community Development’, then scroll
down to the ‘Grants’ section.
To find out more about your
organization’s eligibility for FCSS grants,
or for help with the forms, contact either
Aimee Gauthier, FCSS Coordinator at
780-623-6819, or Anita Polturak, Manager
of FCSS & Community Development, at
780-623-7979.
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Your County in Touch • Issue No. 51, September 24, 2015
Your County in Touch is produced by
Lac La Biche County and available to
every resident.
An electronic version of this
newsletter is available. All you
need to do is call 780-623-1747
or provide your e-mail address to
intouch@laclabichecounty.com.
Use the same contact information
for any address changes, additional
copies or to unsubscribe.
Dates to Remember
October 1, 2015
Winter landfill hours start. See
laclabichecounty.com for more
details.
October 4 to 10, 2015
Fire Prevention Week. Remember
to check your smoke alarms.
October 24, 2015
Pool undergoes significant maintenance, re-opening on September 28
Portage Pool recently closed for annual
maintenance, but staff are gearing up to reopen the facility on Monday, September 28.
Portage Pool underwent significant
upgrading this year. Maintenance staff
installed 9 new toilets, 55 new floor drains,
and new flooring. Flooring was an especially
key project. Workers did two weeks of sloping
and grading work to allow water to flow
properly to drains. Afterwards, 38 gallons of
primer was applied, followed by 200 gallons of TuffCoat rubberized flooring paint.
That rubberized paint gives pool flooring its vibrant ‘waterpark blue’ colouring
(pictured above). The new floors should stop water from accumulating and enhance
safety for users.
Meanwhile, Portage Pool staff drained over
574,000 litres of water (which took two
days), then power washed and scrubbed the
pool basins (pictured right). The rest of the
facility was also thoroughly cleaned.
Portage Pool staff are very excited to reopen. For more information about pool fees
and swim schedules, visit boldcenter.ca/
portage-pool or call 780-623-6777.
Household Hazardous Waste
Round-Up and Community
Shred-It. See page 1 for more
information.
October 19 to 25, 2015
Waste Reduction Week. See page 1
for more information.
Lac La Biche County
Box 1679
Lac La Biche, AB T0A 2C0
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