St. Paul

Column: Moving lock, stock and barrel

– published in the St. Paul Journal on July 3, 2012

After over six months of rodeos, town and county meetings, a provincial election, high school sports games, cups of coffee from McDonalds and Tim Hortons, one week without said drink, and a baby of the month story, I have officially moved on.

The move is to another newspaper in a town located in the mountains. As exciting as it is to move to a different place and experience the freshness that comes with being in a new surrounding, thinking back on my experience here in St. Paul has reminded me that living and working here was something I needed to do.

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Bill C-38 important in moving forward, MP says

The federal government has passed its 425-page budget implementation bill, one that Westlock – St. Paul MP Brian Storseth says is an important piece of legislation for Canadians moving forward.

Now awaiting approval in the Senate, federal MPs voted 157-135 on June 18 to adopt the legislation, known as Bill C-38, at third reading. According to Storseth, the biggest changes implemented in the bill involve regulatory reform. Read the full story at the St. Paul Journal.

Elk Point man pleads guilty to manslaughter

A 21-year-old man from Elk Point plead guilty to manslaughter last week at Court of Queen’s Bench in St. Paul in connection with the death of a 76-year-old Bonnyville woman.

Judge P.B. Michalyshn from Edmonton sentenced Jesse Colton Leppanen to 10 years in jail, less time served, in the death of Mary Ella Jane Corbiere whose body was found on November 15, 2010 in Kehewin.

Crown Prosecutor Jeff Rudiak and defense lawyer Naeem Rauf agreed upon the sentence of 10 years for manslaughter before submitting it to the judge. Leppanen has already served 15 and a half months and was originally charged with second-degree murder. Read the full story at the St. Paul Journal.

Column: One week, no coffee

It wasn’t until the Friday afternoon did I really start to panic. The days prior had been relatively easy as I casually paraded around the office not under the influence of the remedy I’ve become so accustomed to since college. It almost seemed too easy and up until that moment, it felt like I could go without drinking coffee for a long time.

For someone who, on average, drinks between two and four cups of coffee a day (the most I’ve ever drank was six), perhaps my judgment was a little premature when it came to deadline day for stories and photos. Either way, I battled through and with the help of tea – lots of tea – I made it to my goal of not drinking coffee for a whole week. Read the full column at the St. Paul Journal.

Severance packages and tax-free salaries scrapped by Alberta government

Local MLA Shayne Saskiw says the steps made by the PC government in implementing 13 of the 15 recommendations laid out by retired Supreme Court Justice Jack Major are a step in the right direction, but insists the Wildrose party will fight “tooth and nail” to ensure the proposed defined pension plan for MLAs does not become legislation.

Last week, in conjunction with the first session of Alberta’s 28th legislature, house leader Dave Hancock announced Premier Alison Redford’s government approval of most of the recommendations laid down by Major in his written report on salaries paid to Alberta politicians. Redford had originally pledged to accept every one of Major’s recommendations around MLA pay. However, immediately following the 327-page report’s publication, the premier announced she would not accept the recommendation for an increase in her salary to $335,000 (a raise of $124,000).

 

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Keystone XL and Northern Gateway pipelines crucial for St. Paul, say local leaders


Whether they agree or disagree on the specifics, the proposed Northern Gateway and Keystone XL pipelines are important for St. Paul, according to local and provincial leaders.

The Keystone XL, an over 2,500 km pipeline running from the Athabasca oilsands to Texas, and Northern Gateway, a 1,177 km pipeline from Brudeheim, Alberta, to Kitimat, B.C., are two projects that have been at the forefront of the oilsands debate. Read the full story at The St. Paul Journal.