Woman fined in rollover
A woman involved in a single-vehicle rollover in April pleaded guilty to driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit.
On Tuesday, Kathryn Mae Sarty, 47, was fined $1,400 in Red Deer provincial court and received a one-year driving suspension.
Crown prosecutor Charlotte Oxford told the court that on April 22 at about 7:53 p.m., a witness called Red Deer Rural RCMP after seeing a mini van driver speeding and driving erratically on the wrong side of the road on Hwy 12 towards Clive. The driver of the van narrowly missed hitting another vehicle.
A single-vehicle rollover involving the van was reported in the area.
Legal Aid Society of Alberta lawyer Murray Shack said Sarty was dealing the suicide of a close family friend at the time of the incident.
Judge Darrell Riemer told Sarty that she could have killed someone else or herself. Sarty was not injured.
“There is no refuge to be found in the consumption of alcohol,” Riemer said.
Sarty can apply for eligibility to use an ignition interlock device after three months.
The devices require the driver to blow into an instrument that measures alcohol and the vehicle will not start unless the driver’s blood alcohol concentration is below a set level.
One phone number covers all energy queries
If you’re in Alberta, there’s now only one number you need to remember for all your energy development concerns.
The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) and the government of Alberta have launched an enhanced, toll-free ERCB customer contact centre information line: 1-855-297-8311.
This telephone line will deal with all of Alberta’s oil and gas (non-emergency) related inquiries.
Staff at the call-centre are trained to assist callers on a variety of matters related to oil and gas development in Alberta.
The enhancements to the customer service line were made in collaboration with Alberta Environment, the Alberta Department of Energy, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Alberta Transportation and Service Alberta.
Customers will now be directed to technical experts at the appropriate agency.
This new line will not replace the ERCB 24-hour emergency lines. It is only staffed 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. , Monday to Friday.
The ERCB’s main telephone line (403-297-8311) and general email (inquiries@ercb.ca) remain fully functional.
The ERCB’s Customer Contact Centre answers close to 20,000 inquiries, each year.
Merits of books to be debated
The merits of five books vying for a $10,000 prize will be debated at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Red Deer Public Library.
The public is invited to hear readings from the five Alberta-published tomes competing for the Alberta Readers’ Choice Award, sponsored by the Edmonton Public Library.
Local residents can also hear the debate between “champions” of the various books — including CBC journalist Kirk Heuser, lawyer Ken Chapman, and composer and Juno nominee John Estacio — before voting for their favourite online at www.albertareaderschoice.ca by May 31.
The choices are: The Grizzly Manifesto by Jeff Gailus,; Too Bad: Sketches Toward a Self-Portrait by Robert Kroetsch; Cinco de Mayo: a novel by Michael J. Martineck; Bitter Medicine: A Graphic Memoir of Mental Illness by Clem and Olivier Martini; and Letters From the Lost — A Memoir of Discovery by Helen Waldstein Wilkes.
Wildrose Alliance opens nominations
Wildrose Alliance has officially opened nominations in four constituencies across Alberta, including Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre.
Interested individuals may request a nomination application on the party’s website at www.wildrosealliance.ca under the Party section.
The other constituencies now seeking nominations are Edmonton-Whitemud, Lethbridge-East and Banff-Cochrane.
The application deadline for these four constituencies will be 5 p.m. on June 10.
Wildrose Alliance also recently announced candidates in various ridings across the province, including Bruce Rowe in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills and Rod Fox in Lacombe-Ponoka.
The party plans on opening nominations in a handful of constituencies every month until the fall.
Community garage sale being held in Blackfalds
A community garage sale in Blackfalds has drawn 70 participating households.
The deal making begins on Saturday at 9 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m. at each location.
A brochure listing all of the garage sale locations is available at the town office, IDA, Blackfalds Library, Granny’s Loonie Bin and Servus Credit Union.
A Curbside Giveaway has been set for the following day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the same locations. Items marked free will be left on front lawns or driveways.
For more information go to www.blackfalds.com.
