Whitecourt
5004 52 Avenue T7S 1N6 Whitecourt, AB, Canada

The Policies and Priorities Committee will meet at 4pm on Monday, January 18. To register to view the meeting click the link below. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/regist/3103562197260159244

As announced by YourAlberta (Government of Alberta) on January 14, 2021, changes to public health restrictions will come into effect next week for personal services, and capacity limits on outdoor social gatherings and funerals. For details please refer to the attached press release. As we head into the weekend, residents are reminded that changes to outdoor gatherings do not come into effect until Monday, January 18. If you are utilizing outdoor facilities, proper distancing must be maintained between people of different households. Signs have been posted at popular outdoor locations, including Rotary Park, neighbourhood rinks and Toboggan Hill, to remind people of these guidelines.

Residential recycling pick up across Whitecourt has been rescheduled to Saturday, January 2. Please have your bags curbside by 7:00am for collection.

ATTENTION EAST VALLEY RESIDENTS: Crews will begin collecting waste in your area slightly earlier than normal on Christmas Eve. Please have your rolling waste cart placed at the curb by 6am for collection.

The Whitecourt Food Bank is so grateful to everyone who dropped off food, cheques and gift cards to ensure we are able to meet the food security needs of our community. Special thanks to: Telus, ETS Whitecourt, Whitecourt Baptist Church, and Ecole St. Mary School.

The attached recaps decisions made at last night's Regular Meeting of Council.

Check out the job opportunity available now with the Town of Whitecourt.

The attached press release details a recent investigation undertaken regarding a complaint received under Code of Conduct Bylaw 1540.

Christmas Tree Pickup starts January 14, 2021. Crews will be picking up trees from across the community on a weekly basis as time permits. There will be no set schedule, and pick up may be delayed due to snow or other higher priority tasks. Please place your tree where you would normally place your garbage. For those residents in cul-de-sacs who place their garbage further out into the street, please don’t place your tree where it will obstruct traffic. Trees must be free of all decorations and tinsel. Please do not place the tree in garbage or tree bags. The Whitecourt Regional Landfill also has a drop-off area for you to dispose of your tree.

The 2021 Interim Budget has been approved. For details please refer to the attached press release and visit our website for a copy of the complete 2021 Interim Budget Report. https://www.whitecourt.ca/Government

Don't forget to get out to the Forest Interpretive Centre for Santa's Winter Walk. Print off the checklist or pick yours up at the path entrance. Santa's friends will be hiding until January 11.

Attached is a press release with information on how you can help to control the spread of COVID-19. It also includes tips on how you can safely celebrate Halloween and a link to resources provided by the Province of Alberta.

Attached is a summary of decisions made at the October 26 Regular Meeting of Council. November has been officially recognized as Family Violence Prevention Month, and there are a number of events and initiatives planned throughout the month to raise awareness of local and provincial supports. For more information visit www.whitecourtfvi.ca or follow the Whitecourt Family Violence Initiative on Facebook.

November is Family Violence Prevention Month (FVPM). To mark the start of FVPM, on Monday, November 2 beginning at 6:00pm, the Family Violence Stakeholder’s group encourages the community to take part in their Shine a Light Event. Residents are asked to turn on an outdoor front light, hang a glow stick in a window, or plug in holiday lights for the duration of the night to shed light on the issue of family violence in our community.

YourAlberta (Government of Alberta) has provided Albertans with helpful posters to let trick-or-treaters know if residents are participating in Halloween activities this year. Print these pages off and post them in highly visible areas where trick-or-treaters will see them! For more tips visit https://www.alberta.ca/halloween-during-covid19.aspx

The Honourable Prasad Panda, Minister of Infrastructure, and Mr. Martin Long, MLA for West Yellowhead, officially announced a grant allocation of $15.6 million to Whitecourt for the Arts & Culture Centre/Library project at last night’s Council Meeting. Whitecourt originally applied for the funding in February 2018 and, now that the grant has been confirmed, Whitecourt can move to the next stage of planning which involves confirming municipal partnerships and re-engaging the community on the project. For further details, please refer to the attached press release. Specifics on the project are also available in the Municipal Centre Concept Plan which is linked below. https://issuu.com/whitec//muni_centre_full_report_nov_2017

We are now accepting applications for the 2021 FCSS Grant Program. Visit our website to download the application form, and mark your calendar for the information session on November 4. https://www.whitecourt.ca/Gov/Municipal-Grant-Opportunities

Follow these tips for a safe Halloween!

Volunteers donate their time and skills to make our community a better place, often without recognition or praise. Throughout the coming weeks, Whitecourt will be continuing National Volunteer Week celebrations by focusing on the volunteers that give selflessly in our community. This week we are featuring Nadene with the 4-W-4-H Club. Nadene has been involved with 4-H since both her daughters joined back in 2010 (which was with Whitecourt multi 4-H in the goat project). Nadene has been goat leader for more than 5 years. She has offered up office space (Arc Supply Inc) for all members to have their project and general meetings, as well as hosted multiple Christmas parties and wiener roasts at the farmhouse. Nadene has been very generous with donations throughout the years and always has the members best interests in mind.

The Whitecourt Chamber Of Commerce is hosting the Trunk or Treat event in downtown Whitecourt on Saturday, October 31 from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. For details, check out the event page linked below. Whitecourt has approved the closure of 50 Street from 50 Avenue to 52 Avenue from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to allow for set up of the event. Motorists are advised to use alternate routes in the downtown area.

Remembrance Week 2020 November 11 will look considerably different this year. There will be no public ceremony at Central School or any public events at the Le...gion. A small ceremony involving Veterans and Legion members will be streamed live on our Facebook page. We are asking the public to honour our Veterans from home this year. We encourage everyone to stand on your doorstep at 11 am to observe 2 minutes silence. We also suggest decorating your windows with poppies to show your respect. Our Branch 44 members will distribute poppy boxes in the community beginning this week. We will also have members at Walmart and Canadian Tire in person during that week to collect donations and distribute poppies. If you wish to support our poppy fund feel free to mail it to PO Box 874, T7S1N8 or pop into the Branch Friday or Saturday after 2:30 pm. If you have any questions please call president Brian Scott at 780-779-6616. We would appreciate any shares to get the message out in the community. See more

Council's annual Organizational Meeting will be held at 7pm before its next regular meeting on October 26. Attached are agendas for both meetings. Enjoy your weekend Whitecourt!

Spruce View Lodge is hosting a Community Family Halloween decorating event on October 24 from 12-3pm. The Lodge is asking families to come with their own Halloween decorations and spruce up the outside of Spruce View Lodge just in time for Halloween. The residents will be able to watch from the dining room and outside patio. Please remember that we are practicing safe social distancing while having fun decorating outside. If you have any questions please contact Spruce View Lodge Activity Coordinator at 780-778-5540 ext. 4