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Springbrook and Area News
 
Mar. 10, 2010
Unique Short Flight Golf Course to Open in Springbrook
'The Bunker', a new short flight golf course on a 10-acre parcel at the entrance to Springbrook is set to open to the public in early June. Woosh Recreation has had special golf balls manufactured that are close to half the weight of regular golf balls and travel about one third the distance. They also don't hurt as much if a person is hit by one. It takes about an hour to play one game of 9 holes and green fees will be about $15-$40 per game. The facility got its name from being on the same site as the military 'bunker' once stood. An open house was held in Springbrook yesterday and further open houses are planned for Red Deer, Innisfail and Sylvan Lake.

Mar. 5, 2010
Penhold Multiplex Set for July Opening

The new $20 million 100,000 sq. ft. Penhold Regional Multiplex recreational and cultural centre is having its official opening July 9 and 10. However the first phase, the ice arena, 4,000 sq. ft. fitness centre, an upper level running track and bistro/cafe is expected to be finished by the end of March. The second phase includes a 6,000 sq. ft. regional library, meeting rooms, offices and a dance studio and is expected to be finished by mid May. The third phase, the gymnasium, is expected to be done by the end of June.

Mar. 3, 2010
Mayor Kinsella Retiring
After 21 years on Red Deer County council, the last three as mayor and previously reeve, Earl Kinsella, 73, is not seeking re-election. He decided to announce his intention early so that anyone seeking his job could prepare early. The municipal election runs October 18.

Feb.26, 2010
Street Signs Change, New Entrance Sign Coming
Red Deer County has already changed the street signs in Springbrook using an aircraft theme and a new entrance sign is on the way. The tender for constructing the sign has been advertised and the county plans to send out a survey to get some feedback on community identity for the sign.
Rec Centre For Sale, Store and Restaurant Close
When Trinidad Drilling purchased the former recreation centre as an oilpatch training facility a few years ago, the economy was booming and there was high demand for preparing potential workers for employment in the industry. When the economy slowed down, Trinidad Training and Fitness faced a double whammy. Not only was there no demand to train workers, discretionary income reduced dramatically so fewer people in the community were taking advantage of the recreation and fitness opportunity. As a result, the company has put the facility up for sale.
Meanwhile, the pub and restaurant closed recently, as did the convenience store until further notice. The only part of the facility still functioning is the community centre occupying the former theatre.
 
Feb. 19, 2010
Airport Reports Increase in Passenger Traffic
The Red Deer Regional Airport reports that 170 passengers flew out of the airport in January  compared to only 90 a year earlier, a number that is closer to pre-recession levels. The reduced number of passengers in 2009 were barely sufficient to qualify the airport for future funding of capital projects. This year, the airport is applying for $6 million for capital improvements including runway paving, lighting upgrades and an addition to the maintenance building. In 2009, $750,000 in funding was provided for a new plow truck, sweeper and snow blower which have all been received.
 
Feb. 18, 2010
Central Alberta Historical Society Learns About Historic and Future Trails
Paul Pettypiece of Springbrook made a presentation to the Central Alberta Historical Society yesterday on the history and future of trails in Central Alberta. From ancient north-south corridors, he showed how the fur trade influenced east-west transportation and the development of early communities. He continued with how the arrival of the railway in Calgary created special significance for the historic Calgary-Edmonton Trail just west of Springbrook. He also talked about the progress of the Trans Canada Trail between Ponoka and Penhold and introduced the Forth Junction Project concept, a proposed major two-venue tourism and community attractor that will celebrate trail, train and transit transportation systems from ancient times into the future.

Feb. 9, 2010
Air Spray Seeing More and Larger Forest Fires
Officials at Air Spray Aviation Services, an air tanker forest fire suppression company based at the Red Deer Regional Airport, are reporting that there has been a slow average growth of about 10% in both the number of fires and the size of fires, especially in British Columbia, that they believe is due to climate change. On average about 2 million hectares of forest go up in flames in Canada each year, almost double the amount in the 1980s. The fire fighting season has also grown dramatically at around 150 days from 120 days a few years ago as a result of the weather getting warmer in the spring, staying warmer later in the year and less precipitation.

Feb. 4, 2010
Major Attraction Proposed for Red Deer County
The Forth Junction Heritage Society is proposing a railway station heritage and family nature park connected to a future trail system south or west of the city. The railway station park would consist of replicated railway stations that were once the centres of several Central Alberta communities and would be rented out as accommodation or other uses. Some could be bed and breakfasts. In addition the railway theme would continue with miniature train rides for kids, restored railway equipment, some kind of lookout tower and a replication of a railway garden park.
Connections would be made with the future river park system, the city trail system and an interpretation centre celebrating the history of the Mintlaw trestle and the Alberta Central Railway. The park would be one of four unique features of a larger project that would include a retail-entertainment-heritage centre in downtown Red Deer, a replication of a famous steam locomotive that once served the Calgary-Edmonton corridor and Canada's largest historical model railway museum.

Feb. 3, 2010
Summer Lawn Watering Restricted
Red Deer County council has approved a water conservation policy that includes restricting summer lawn watering in hamlets including Springbrook to before noon and after 7 pm only. In addition, only odd-numbered houses will be permitted to water on odd-numbered days and vice versa. Although the county is taking an educational approach to conserving water as a limited resource, the policy does allow for fines ranging from $50 for first offence to $200 for third and subsequent offences.
Red Deer County Heritage Plan Approved
Red Deer County is being credited with being the first rural municipality in Alberta to approve a detailed heritage management plan designed to identify, preserve and protect historical buildings and sites throughout the county. During the process, 88 potential historic sites were surveyed and 27 have been included in an initial inventory. Recently the county agreed to purchase the Mintlaw railway trestle as a future historic resource. The province has already designated a number of sites as historic, including Markerville Creamery, the Stephansson House and the Dickson Store. The report recommends that a heritage advisory board and heritage officer be created. It also suggests that historical zones could be developed.

Jan. 20, 2010
ACE Workshop Focuses on Community Building
Over 50 people from several Central Alberta communities participated in an ACE (Active, Creative, Engaged) Communities Workshop in Springbrook today hosted by the Red Deer County Community Services Department. The purpose of the all-day event was to create and develop community leaders who can facilitate positive change in their communities. Three of the participants were from Springbrook. The program was initiated by Alberta Recreation and Parks who recognize that active, engaged and creative communities are more involved in decision-making and volunteering.
Plasco Energy Claims It's Still on Track
Plasco Energy Group officials met with Red Deer County council yesterday to make assurances that $95 million in financing from the federal government is close to being secured. Construction on the $100-million, 200-tonne-a-day garbage-to-energy gasification plant to be built next to the Horn Hill Transfer Site east of Penhold could still get underway in the spring and be completed 18 months later. Central Waste Management Commission, consisting of 9 municipalities, has agreed to extend its agreement with Plasco until the end of March. Export Development Canada is expected to provide a secured loan of $60 million and the Green Infrastructure Fund is expected to provide a grant of $25-$35 million.

Dec. 23, 2009
Transit Service Exceeds Expectations
Red Deer County is expressing its satisfaction with the new transit service in Springbrook and Gasoline Alley. The regular transit bus has about 150 customers per day Monday through Friday and about 50 daily customers on the weekend. The handibus is picking up about 5 customers per day and is making about 150 trips per month. The county purchased the two buses and constructed 22 bus stop pads for the service that began at the end of August. Red Deer Transit operates the service and integrates it with the city system. The county has budgeted $600,000 per year to cover the cost of operations but the better-than-expected ridership may reduce the annual cost.
Regional Airport Qualifies for More Improvements
With a week to go, the scheduled passenger count at the Red Deer Regional Airport has exceeded 1,000 for the year, making the facility eligible for the federal Airports Capital Assistance Program in 2010. The airport and Swanberg Air partnered to offer a seat sale earlier in the month to assure that the required number of scheduled passengers would be met to qualify for the funding. The airport authority is seeking about $4 million for asphalt overlay on runways, taxiways and the main apron as well as a further $1.5 million for improvements to lighting and expansion of the maintenance shop.


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Trinidad Training & Fitness Centre
 
Springbrook
 
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a celebration of the Red Deer region as a major distribution and transit centre in the economic development of Central Alberta

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Just a short 4 min. drive to Red Deer, this community shows great promise of continual residential, commercial, industrial and institutional expansion over the next several years.

Springbrook is a fully integrated community with a vibrant mix of single and multifamily homes, parks, paths and green spaces. It is a place that encourages interaction with the community, its residents and the surrounding natural environment.


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