Joe McWilliams
Lakeside Leader

M.D. of Lesser Slave River council has endorsed the nomination of Sheila Willis of Smith for the 2018 Alberta Historical Resources Foundation’s Heritage Award. The motion was passed unanimously at the June 27 council meeting, after being proposed by councillor Becky Peiffer.

Willis is the developer of the History Check application for mobile telecommunication devices – a sort of travellers’ guide to historical (and other) points of interest in northern Alberta.

Canyon Creek assistance

In other news from the June 27 meeting, council approved a $1,000 M.D. contribution to help cover the cost of a community barbecue on Canada Day in Canyon Creek. This is something the M.D. has done in the past. Councillor Pearson urged the community association to apply earlier in subsequent years.

Getting along better

Reporting on the recent Inter-Municipal Committee (IMC) meeting between Town of Slave Lake and M.D. councils, reeve Kerik spoke about how well the two groups are getting along these days.

“There’s a spirit of cooperation,” he said. “It’s nice to see.”

This followed a period of rocky relations, which came to a head in the 2017 municipal election campaign, over two agreements that needed renewing. That accomplished, there’s peace in the valley now.

Not that there aren’t tough decisions to be made. The IMC discussed the regional economic development project, whose funding is set to run out. Kerik said the proposal is for the town and M.D. to each kick in $75,000 a year to keep it going.

Then there’s the Wildfire Legacy Corporation (responsible for the Legacy Centre). Its 10-year plan, Kerik said, envisions both the town and M.D. with a $250,000 deficit.

“Not a rosy picture there,” he said.