Archived Springbrook and Area News
June 2010

June 30, 2010
Penholder Inn Fire Caused by Cigarette
The fire that engulfed the office and bar at the Penholder Inn in Penhold last Sunday and caused an estimated $375,000 in damage has been determined to have been caused by an improperly disposed of cigarette. The upstairs of the building and the adjoining liquor store only sustained smoke damage. No one was staying at the inn and no one was injured. Firefighters and equipment from both the town and Red Deer County fought the fire and were able to save the building. It is believed that the hotel was built in the 1930s.

June 19, 2010
Local Centre Trains Workers in Power Industry
The FortisAlberta Employee Development Centre, located in Red Deer County west of the city, trains electrical power industry workers both in the theory and practical skills of working with high-voltage power distribution infrastructure. The 40-acre site currently consists of 30,000 sq. ft. of building space, the only training substation in Canada and a field of power poles for practical training. A couple of enclosures are planned for this fall for field equipment so workers can train during inclement weather.

June 17, 2010
Plasco Garbage-to-Energy Plant Gets $10 Million Boost
The Climate Change and Emissions Management Corp. of Alberta has announced a $10 million grant to Plasco Energy Group for a $100 million waste-to-energy gasification plant proposed for Red Deer County at the Horn Hill Transfer Site, provided that the company commits the full funding to the project by September. Plasco is still waiting final approval of $24 million from the federal Green Infrastructure Fund and debt financing through the federal Export Development program to proceed with the 200-tonne-a-day facility. The company hopes to start construction this summer and have the plant built 18 months later. The plant would be fully operational 6 months after that. Garbage would be supplied by 9 municipalities including Red Deer County, the City of Red Deer, the towns of Innisfail, Sylvan Lake, Blackfalds and Penhold. The first-of-its-kind facility is expected to generate international attention once completed.

June 14, 2010
'The Bunker' Woosh Golf Course Now Open
The short-flight 'woosh' 9-hole golf course, named 'The Bunker at Springbrook', is now open at the northwest corner of Highway 2A and Airport Drive after a ribbon-cutting ceremony today that included Red Deer County mayor Earl Kinsella and Penhold mayor Julie King. A unique concept in Canada, 'woosh' balls are lighter than regular golf balls and travel only one-third the distance. The company promotes the course as a fun family activity that is great for novice as well as experienced golfers. Proceeds from the practice range will go to the Boys and Girls Club of Red Deer. The grand opening of the course is set for July 2.
City Transit Terminal Parkade Named After Sorensen
The city of Red Deer has named the new downtown parkade and transit terminal to open this summer 'Sorensen Station', after transportation pioneer Gordon Sorensen. Sorensen pioneered several inter-community bus lines in Central Alberta in the 1930s, 40s and 50s including 16 trips a day between Red Deer and the Penhold airbase during the Second World War. His lines and buses were ultimately sold and became Prairie Bus Lines, Red Deer Transit and a major part of Greyhound service in Central Alberta.
Enthusiasts to Preserve Transportation Heritage
A group of railway and transit enthusiasts are eager to preserve the history of ground transportation in the Red Deer area by means of two major community and tourist centres, one downtown and the other on the southern outskirts of the city in the Gasoline Alley area. The Forth Junction Heritage Society also wants to connect the various disconnected historic rail icons scattered about the area including the abandoned Alberta Central Railway Mintlaw steel railway trestle northwest of Springbrook and the ACR pier along Taylor Drive in Red Deer. In addition the society, presided by Paul Pettypiece of Springbrook, want to explore future transportation and create a replica of a historic passenger steam locomotive that once ran between Calgary and Edmonton -- the Chinook. The project could take up to 20 years but the group is hoping to have something on the ground in three to five years.

June 10, 2010
Highway Reopens After Train Derailment
Highway 2A between McKenzie Road and Lantern Street immediately south of the city has been reopened after being closed for two days as a result of a train derailment early Tuesday morning parallel to the highway. Five cars and a locomotive at the back of a south-bound Canadian Pacific Railway train left the tracks and did considerable damage to the track. Repairs and cleanup required the closure of the highway although there were no injuries related to the incident.

June 5, 2010
Four Winners at Annual Heritage Awards
Of the 10 nominees for the 9th annual Central Alberta Heritage Awards, four were chosen as this year's recipients Friday -- historian Michael Dawe's weekly articles in the Red Deer Express, the 1909 Dickson Store Museum, 1907 Gothic-style St. Luke's Anglican Church in Red Deer and the Riverside Meadows (North Red Deer) Story Stones project. Other nominees included the ACR Mintlaw steel railway trestle purchased by Red Deer County last year, City Hall Park, Innisfail Historical Village Role of the Railroad exhibit, the J.F. Gaetz residence in Red Deer, pro wrestling historian Vern May and artist David Plumtree for 12 historical watercolour houses on Red Deer's 56th Street.

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