Highlights of 2011

January: An armed robbery at Tofield IDA occurred when a man carrying a knife forced a pharmacist to hand over a supply of narcotics. The incident took place around 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 27 when a lone male entered the drugstore, went to the back of the pharmacy and demanded drugs from the pharmacist, said Sgt. Jim Warren.

An intense storm in the province on the weekend, including Beaver County, resulted in up to 25-35 centimetres of snow falling with high wind chill values. Road conditions deteriorated drastically during that time resulting in dangerous conditions and many accidents.

By Monday conditions had not improved that much and a majority of buses were not running in the Battle River School Division.

With the departure of CAO Sherry Garbe last month, Ryley Village Council is putting in place measures to ensure its continued administrative integrity by asking the county’s CAO to fill in for the time being.

“Mr. Bob Beck, CAO of Beaver County, has kindly agreed to fill in as interim CAO for the Village of Ryley on an emergency basis until we find a suitable candidate for this position,” said Ryley Mayor Jorge Mendoza.

February: Premier Ed Stelmach won’t be running in the next provincial election. The stunning announcement has already resulted in speculation about a leadership race to replace him. But since Stelmach also represents this area as MLA for the riding of Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville, this means a new Conservative candidate will have to be chosen to run in the next provincial election.

More see the Jan. 3/12 issue of the Tofield Mercury