Flagstaff County advises residents that postal-related County services, including the sending and receiving of any mail correspondence (including bills, payments or notices), may be impacted by the Canada Post strike.
The County is taking all practical steps to minimize disruptions and provide alternative methods of correspondence; however, residents may expect some delays until the strike is resolved and normal postal service is resumed.
Residents and companies who typically mail in payments for items such as taxes, utilities or permits can drop off payments in-person Monday to Friday at the Flagstaff County Office from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. or leave payment in our secure drop box located near the entrance.
To stay up to date with important County news and updates, all residents are encouraged to regularly visit the County website and follow Flagstaff County’s social media channels.
For more information about the Canada Post strike, please visit the Canada Post website.
2 Michelin Air 31×13-12 tire on 6-bolt implement rim, 1 new and 1 used.
1 Used Carlisle All trial 25×10.5-12 ATV Tire.
WT11 – 1989 Case IH 9170 4WD Tractor – Ser.#: JCB0004456. Hours: 12,661. Kms: 2,715.
This equipment can be viewed at the County Shop in Sedgewick and will be sold on an “as is basis”. Kilometres and hours may vary slightly depending on time of sale.
Download a tender form HERE or contact our Administration Office at 780-384-4123 to receive a tender form.
Please send bids in a sealed envelope marked “USED MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT TENDER” to Flagstaff County Administration Office, Box 358, 12435 Twp Rd 442, Sedgewick, AB.
Closing date for bidding on items is Friday, October 11th, 2024 at 11:00:00 a.m. MST. The highest or any tender not necessarily accepted.
For further information, please contact: Kevin Kinzer at 780-390-0312 or Trevor Levitt at 780-390-0340.
No matter your fitness level, you can join the Flagstaff Fitness Challenge by downloading the Strava app onto your smartphone and searching “Flagstaff Fitness Challenge“.
Here, participants can share their activities, cheer on others and compete on the weekly leaderboards.
All participants who log at least one workout in a week will have their name entered in a draw for that week’s weekly prize package (the challenge runs for six weeks). Please note that participants are only eligible for one weekly prize pack.
If you log at least one activity in all six weeks, your name will be entered into the grand prize draw! It’s that easy!
The six-week Flagstaff Fitness Challenge started July 1, 2024. We urge you to rise to the challenge!
General Guidelines
Participants do not have to live in Flagstaff County to take part in the Flagstaff Fitness Challenge.
Winners are responsible for prize pickup at the Flagstaff County Administration Building.
A photograph of each winner will be taken when picking up a prize.
All participants are encouraged to cheer on your fellow fitness enthusiasts through Strava, while also sharing photos and feedback from your workouts.
And most importantly, all participants are encouraged to have fun!
2024 Weekly Prizes
Each week, any participant who has logged at least one activity in our group on Strava will be entered into our weekly draw! The weekly prize package includes:
💪 Free bicycle tune-up from Grizzly Country Bike Shop 💪 Flagstaff County hoodie 💪 Flagstaff County water bottle 💪 Flagstaff County toiletry bag 💪 Flagstaff Region adult colouring book and crayons 💪 Flagstaff Region journal (featuring Kristen Kueber artwork on the cover) 💪 Flagstaff Region candle (from Creations by Kim) 💪 Flagstaff Region lip balm 💪 Gritin resistance bands or Jessica Janzen’s Bring the Joy book
Note: Participants are only eligible for one weekly prize pack. Flagstaff County Communications Coordinator Cary Castagna will reach out via email (ccastagna@flagstaff.ab.ca) to each week’s winner to confirm pickup details.
Lois Odegard
Dayna Leganchuk
Brenda Maylor
Brandon Whidden
Julie Pasztor
Roxy Korth
2024 Bonus Prizes
The bonus prize sponsor of this year’s six-week Flagstaff Fitness Challenge is Daryl Parr of Forestburg-based Flex Fitness!
We are going to be drawing five names for a one-month membership to the fitness centre in Forestburg (courtesy of Daryl). All you have to do is follow Daryl Parr on Facebook and DM us through our Facebook page “FITFLAGSTAFF” for your chance to win!
If you log at least one activity in all six weeks, your name will be entered into the grand prize draw
2024 Grand Prize
Shirley Damberger of HOM of Well Being is donating a massage along with a gift basket that includes things to help take care of the body and muscles such as Cryoderm (a topical pain relief product), muscle and joint bath bombs, a cork roller, and a routine natural deodorant sample.
Flagstaff County will also be giving out Flagstaff Bucks as part of the grand prize!
Grand Prize Winner
The winner of our grand prize draw in 2024 is Becky Erickson!
Sponsors
The following local businesses are generously sponsoring prizes:
The Flagstaff Bike Challenge was established in the summer of 2020 as a way to encourage the region’s residents to get outside, get active and feel connected to the area in a safe manner during the pandemic. It was designed for participants of ALL ages and abilities. The Flagstaff Bike Challenge continued in 2021 with a few minor tweaks.
In 2022, the challenge was expanded to include a variety of activities, including walking, running, hiking, swimming, weight training, yoga and much more! It was rebranded the Flagstaff Fitness Challenge. The aim of the Flagstaff Fitness Challenge is to encourage residents to move more, resulting in a healthier region!
Our governing bodies wanted to help producers to become more sustainable, so they launched a partnership in 2023. This partnership, a joint federal, provincial, and territorial effort, represents a new chapter in Canada’s commitment to sustainable agriculture. The vision behind Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP) has been built and enhanced from the previous framework Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP). SCAP has a purpose to create an agricultural system that is not only economically viable but also environmentally responsible and socially inclusive. This vision aligns with Canada’s broader commitments to combat climate change, protect natural resources, and support rural communities. Sustainability is the ability to maintain or support a process continually over time. Sustainability can lead to conservation which will support our producers with their efforts to feed the world. From an agronomy background, soil conservation is key. Our relationship with our soils is still relatively early, and we have had many changes with new technologies and inputs over the past 100 years. Being aware of our soil health is essential for long-term food security; our soil is our foundation, and our foundation is life itself.
In April 2023, Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP) was launched with $500 million in new funds, representing a 25% increase in the cost-shared portion. This five‐year (2023-2028), $3.5 billion investment includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and $2.5 billion in cost-shared programs and activities by federal-provincial-territorial governments. The SCAP framework represents a cost-shared federal-provincial investment of $508 million over five years towards strategic programs and services for the agriculture and agri-food industry in Alberta.
These SCAP grant programs are accessible to Albertan farmers, ranchers and processors and include the following streams: Emerging Opportunities, On-Farm Efficiency, On-Farm Value-Added, Resiliency and Public Trust, Resilient Agricultural Landscape, Value added, Water, Accelerating Agricultural Innovations and Business Risk Management Programs such as Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC). It’s safe to say there are many opportunities under SCAP for producers to address challenges, seize new opportunities and open new markets (diversification), and strengthen their resilience. Take advantage of them; it is competitive for the limited funding.
One striking new program is the On-Farm Efficiency Program that opened for applications on August 14, 2024. The program has funding streams that include energy efficiency, farm security, efficient grain handling and smart farm technology, all of which seems fitting and current for eligible Flagstaff farmers, ranchers, and processors. The overall program funding maximum per applicant is $150,000 which also presents ample opportunities for increasing efficiencies within agribusinesses. For program eligibility, more information, and how to apply, visit their website at: www.alberta.ca/sustainable-cap. Environmental Farm Plans do act as a pre-requisite for SCAP funding, and we can support you by developing those plans which have also moved to the online format. There are two upcoming virtual workshops for EFP on September 18 and 26, 2024. To register, you can email info@albertaefp.com or call 587-200-2552. Under SCAP, there are sources to help with risk management and financials that AFSC can provide. This can include crop and livestock insurance, income stabilization and lending. It’s important to stay updated with current programming as it can change year to year depending on the needs of Albertan producers.
Nick Dunn is Flagstaff County’s Agricultural Fieldman. He can be reached via email at: ndunn@flagstaff.ab.ca or by phone at: 780-384-4138.
This year’s spring started with drought being the top of conversations as we were all concerned about the current moisture levels and their potential impact on the upcoming crop season. This year’s winter again, lacked a snowpack and led to minimal run-off. The Battle River was running well below normal flow rate as it peaked in May at 7.5 cubic metres/second, when normal flow for May is around 15 cubic metres/second. The Battle River starts in Battle Lake and flows east throughout the plains of Alberta and into North Battleford, Saskatchewan, where it connects with the North Saskatchewan River. Water within the Battle River is fed from run-off, which makes this river unique and a tell-tale for run-off conditions. This year’s spring sub-surface soil moisture was rated moderately low to near normal. Meteorologists also forecasted El Nino to affect Canadian prairies throughout our most precipitated month of June. El Nino is a weather pattern that we typically see every 2-7 years and can last 9-12 months. It is naturally caused by oceans being warmer than normal by more than half a degree and lasting for several months. This delivers warmer temperatures and drought to Canada and northern states, as we were experiencing. Our sponge (soil) was empty, and we needed moisture to seed into.
Just as anxiety reached its all-time high, we welcomed the early precipitation and to date we have received between 6-9 inches of rain within our borders. Crops are doing better than forecasted with many producers in the area applying fungicides to help suppress disease pressure from the warm moist conditions. Some pastures have rebounded from last year’s drought conditions with many producers completing their first cut of hay. We have also seen a slight increase in roadside haying due to the vigor within our roadsides. There are still variations within Flagstaff and across the province in terms of crop maturity and quality.
Producers know that nothing is guaranteed until it’s in the bin, or pile. We need continued precipitation throughout the rest of this year to help combat the heat and allow our crops to continue to mature. Some of the southern areas of our county are losing moisture rapidly with the heat and winds. Pictured in the map you will see that the Southwest corner of Flagstaff is experiencing extremely low precipitation accumulation once in 25 to 50 years.
We are also in need of future years of good snow pack and run-off, as the last 3 years have seen very little.
Drought management needs to be implemented on all levels so we can be better prepared to face it in the future. Flagstaff County started a draft drought management plan when municipalities were warned this winter from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas that they need to have a plan and review active water licenses and diversions. We are currently at Stage 4 out of 5 on the Alberta Water Shortage Management Plan, with Stage 5 being severe drought. For the first time since the drought of 2001, major water license holders were asked to reduce their consumption to ensure all users get water. Most large water license holders are from the south and are related to the irrigation districts throughout the province.
So, what can producers do? Producers need a plan specific to their operation that addresses soil and water conservation. Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation has created a template for Albertan producers to utilize and create their own Drought Management Plan that can be accessed through their website. Drought mitigation can be challenging and on a larger scale for land without irrigation, it can lead to adopting new soil management practices such as no-till, minimum till, variable rate applications, and crop rotation adjustments. Soil testing and improving soil organic matter will also help with retaining soil moisture.
For surface water, adding infrastructure like dugouts (1 per quarter), dams, pumps, wetlands, drainage systems, pipelines, tanks, water hauling equipment, and even shelterbelts are just some to list. Additional water wells to help feed infrastructure or fill reserves will also help to provide water when we need it most. For livestock producers, not only do you need to have water reserves but also feed reserves to get through dry spells.
Flagstaff County has 7 water loading stations, 5 of them open year-round that could be part of producers’ Drought Management Plan as a water source. These stations accept coins with $1 delivering approximately 150 gallons. The water is for agricultural purposes only.
Aside from infrastructure and equipment, producers also need to know their rights and the Water Act that falls under Alberta Environment and Protected Areas. Water is technically owned by the Crown, when it is frozen for winter, it is Crown land. Every human has the right to water, as human and livestock consumption is the priority. Producers can access 275,000 gallons of water per year without a license and can pull this from a creek or slough if the land around it is grazed. Water licenses and diversions can be permitted.
Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation also has a Water Pumping Program that includes satellite pumps throughout the province that can be rented to producers to help fill rural water reserves. More information on the Water Pumping Program can be found on their website.
Nick Dunn is Flagstaff County’s Agricultural Fieldman. He can be reached via email at: ndunn@flagstaff.ab.ca or by phone at: 780-384-4138.
Congratulations to the Flagstaff County Economic Development Team, winners of a 2023 Minister’s Award for Municipal and Public Library Excellence.
The EcDev Team earned the award for their Flagstaff Crafted program in the Building Economic Strength Category.
The award recognizes their initiative to enhance the exposure of local makers, artisans, and retailers of local products within the Flagstaff Region.
Flagstaff County Reeve Don Kroetch presented the award last week to the EcDev Team (from left): Charlene Sutter, Kerri Lefsrud and Jenalee Waring. Not pictured: Shaina Dunn.
Congratulations to Flagstaff County CAO Shelly Armstrong, recipient of a long service pin from the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA).
“It is our privilege to acknowledge the commitment of your Chief Administrative Officer, Shelly Armstrong, for her remarkable thirty years of service in municipal government management roles,” CAMA President Tony Kulbisky wrote in a letter addressed to Flagstaff County Reeve Don Kroetch.
“Shelly’s dedication to her role has undoubtedly contributed to the advancement of your municipality, and we are pleased to recognize her achievements.”
Don presented Shelly with her recognition pin at Wednesday’s Council meeting.
