Morinville heads to polls

Morinville residents will make their mark on history this week as they vote for their newest town councillor.

Morinville is holding a by-election this Thursday. Six people – Sheldon Fingler, Jackie Luker, Bonnie Moerike, James O’Brien, Joseph Trapani and Kevin Wedick – are in the race to claim the seat vacated by Ben Van De Walle, who stepped down earlier this year for health reasons.

Residents can cast their ballots at the Community Cultural Centre between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. this Sept. 20, said returning officer Jennifer Maskoske, or at the Aspen House and Heritage Place Lodge seniors’ homes if they happen to live in those centres. An advance poll was held Tuesday at the town office.

Voters will not need to bring ID, Maskoske says, but will have to sign a registration form saying that they are eligible to vote. To vote in this election, you must be at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen, an Alberta resident since at least March 20, 2012, and a Morinville resident on the day of the election.

The centre’s doors will close at 8 p.m., at which time anyone left in the building will be allowed to finish voting. Once they’re done, election officials will crack open the ballot boxes and get counting. The results will be posted on the town’s website soon afterward.

Questions on the election should go to Maskoske at 780-939-4361.

Peace officers get ranked

There’s a new sergeant in town, and he’s not with the RCMP.

Town council passed its new peace officer bylaw last week. The law, which updates the town’s current bylaw, allows the town to give its peace officers ranks – specifically, that of sergeant.

The old law was pretty outdated, says Debbie Oyarzun, the town’s chief administrative officer, as it used old terms like “special constable” and required all peace officers to report to her.

The new law creates a rank system so that officers and can report to a single senior officer – a sergeant. This rank doesn’t come with a higher wage or a special badge or hat, Oyarzun says, but does give the recipient the responsibility of managing the town’s officers and working with the RCMP.

Morinville has two full-time and one seasonal peace officer on staff. Newly promoted community peace officer Sgt. James Alaeddine was unavailable for an interview.

Logo finalists declared

Morinville Community Library patrons have narrowed a field of 11 logo entries down to a selection of five finalists, all of whom will play a role in the library’s final logo design expected to be unveiled soon.

The logo contest was held over the summer to find a new image to represent the facility and the fact the Morinville Community Library is more than just books these days.

Patron-selected finalists were Alexix Ebert, Thomas Nordin, Jodi Pennock and Colette Bachand. Bachand had two of her entries selected in the final choices.

“The five who were chosen by the public will be taken to a graphic artist to come up with a combination of the ideas,” said library manager Isabelle Cramp. “The board liked a lot of the ideas that were represented in those five top ones, so the board thought combining all the ideas into one logo would be the best portrayal of what the library represents today.”

Cramp said the finalist design that received the most votes was a tree concept by Jodi Pennock. She will receive the $100 Visa gift card prize offered in the contest.

All five finalists’ logos will be used on a series of bookmarks to be used by the library.

“The top five will be made into bookmarks so we can let everyone know that we really liked those five top ones,” Cramp said. “By using them as book marks we will be able to recognize the talent of those participants.”

Cramp anticipates the finished logo to be completed from the five concepts within a month.

Library rates change

Sturgeon County residents will now pay the same rate as Morinville residents for their community library cards after the library’s board voted in favour of user fee parity. The change in rates took effect Sept. 17. Sturgeon County residents now pay $10 for an adult, $6 for children and seniors, and $20 for a family.

Library manager Isabelle Cramp said card fees will increase a small amount in 2013, but all patrons have an opportunity to avoid those increases for a couple more years.

“Anyone who wants to do their library card for three years can do that and it will lock them in for three years,” she said.

For more information on services and fees, contact the Morinville Public Library at 780-939-3292.

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