Every year, the Bonnyville Nouvelle reflects on the top stories of the area.
Here is this year's list of news stories for the Cold Lake area.
1. Annexation takes affect
Meagan MacEachern
Bonnyville Nouvelle
The City of Cold Lake grew a little in the past year.
Following years of planning and discussion between the city and the MD of Bonnyville, 11 quarters of land finally exchanged hands in 2019 as part of the municipalities’ annexation agreement.
On Jan. 1, Cold Lake welcomed the “gifted” land.
“In essence, it’s to try and make the City of Cold Lake more viable into the future. Those quarters will give them the room to expand through either residential or commercial development,” explained Reeve Greg Sawchuk prior to the land exchange, adding the trade-off is the municipality’s way of “being neighbourly.”
“There’s no transfer of funds coming to the MD because of it. It really is more like a gift to the city,” he continued.
The process initiated in 2018 after Cold Lake requested the lands adjacent to Hwy. 28.
“We’ve been working on this for several years. It’s been a long journey,” Mayor Craig Copeland explained to the Nouvelle in December 2018.
The change of lands was not only to help the city grow, but also the clean up their boundaries.
Copeland said the quarter sections they were annexing “will make the shape of our municipality better.”
Prior to the annexation, Cold Lake had a more dumbbell shape. Now that the city has added those 11 quarters, it takes on a more rectangular boundary.
Copeland feels the negotiations between the City of Cold Lake and MD went on “for a few years longer than we wanted it to,” but that the change in council around the MD’s table during the 2018 municipal election helped move the process along.
During resident consultation, some taxpayers expressed unease over becoming Cold Lake residents.
“The biggest concern for lots was whether or not their taxes would change… In this case, they’re protected tax-wise,” Sawchuk detailed.
Copeland said the annexation provides “closure” to the municipality.
2. Moments in Spacetime filmed, premiers locally
Meagan MacEachern
Bonnyville Nouvelle
John Rhys-Davies and Patty Srisuwan play the lead roles in the locally written and filmed movie Moments in Spacetime.
The big screen came to Cold Lake during the shooting of locally written and filmed movie Moments in Spacetime.
In the spring, big names descended upon Cold Lake for the filming of Bonnyville’s Chris Cowden’s locally written and directed movie.
“This is a marvellous story, a marvellous script, it’s well written, and it’s rich and multi-layered. It’s a story that I haven’t seen told before,” expressed John Rhys-Davies, known for his roles in Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones.
The Hollywood actor played the role of the dementia-ridden grandfather, and told the Nouvelle in May he fell in love with the small community throughout his days filming in the Lakeland.
“Could it have anything to do with the fact that you’re warm, welcoming, friendly, outgoing, accommodating, generous of spirit and heart? That would have something to do with it, because it’s true.”
The film, which tells the story of Macie, an immigrant who was adopted at the age of 12 by a Canadian family, aired in Cold Lake for the first time in the fall.
Based off of the life of Patty Srisuwan, who portrays Macie in the film, the movie shares the story of a young immigrant growing up in Canada after being adopted by a family who shortly after has a biological child.
British actor Sam Gittins, who’s had roles in films such as Await Further Instruction and television series Call the Midwife, also welcomed the opportunity to play a role in the film he described as having “a very unique story... It’s very relatable and real.”
3. Col. David Moar takes command of 4 Wing
Meagan MacEachern
Bonnyville Nouvelle
Col. Dave Moar claimed his new position as wing commander of 4 Wing Cold Lake in 2019 after former commander Col. Paul Doyle bid farewell to the air force base he described as “the best posting of my career.”
On July 10, the base held a change of command ceremony where they welcomed their new wing commander, Moar, who had spent 15 years in the area.
“It’s impossible to reflect on how privileged I have been to work with this amazing team over the last three years, but I haven’t been alone on this journey,” Doyle said during his speech.
Doyle had served three years as wing commander before accepting a position in London as the Royal Canadian Air Force Air Advisor with the Canadian Defence Liaison staff, as well as the Canadian Defence Attaché to Iceland.
“I’m extremely fortunate to have been associated with this team throughout my career, and especially this last assignment. I’ve benefited from your energy and it’s been an honour for me to be here over the last three years,” Doyle expressed.
Moar shared the advice he received from the outgoing commander.
“He said, ‘There’s a lot of challenges here, but the nice thing about the fighter force is that even our problems are cool,’” detailed Moar. “You do have to remember that this is a very exiting and fast-paced job that we do. Sometimes it’s easy to get mired down in the details and the meetings, and you forget to get out and talk to people, you forget sometimes to enjoy what you’re doing, and remember that what you’re doing is operating a fleet of aircraft, providing support for the people who ensure those aircraft are ready to operate, and that it’s a fantastic and exciting operation.”
4. F-18s land in Cold Lake
Meagan MacEachern
Bonnyville Nouvelle
Two new jets were welcomed at 4 Wing Cold Lake in 2019. The Cold Lake air force base welcomed two F-18 aircraft in 2019.
These were the first of 18 to be transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) from the Royal Australian Air Force.
Air Commodore Michael Kitcher, Commander Air Combat Group of the Royal Australian Air Force, and Brig.-Gen. Todd Balfe, representing the Commander of the RCAF and Special Advisor Fighter Capability, marked the arrival of the jets at 4 Wing Cold Lake on Feb. 17.
The aircraft, which travelled to Cold Lake from Nellis, Nevada in the United States, underwent modifications to the paint scheme, ejection seats, cockpit configuration, landing gear, and software before being incorporated into the local RCAF fleet.
“This will ensure that the RCAF maintains the necessary quality of aircraft and help us transition into a future fighter fleet,” stated Balfe during the unveiling of the F-18s. “While we continue to work on our current fighter fleet, the RCAF remains focused on maintaining the right levels of skilled and experienced personnel to fly and maintain our aircraft.”
The remaining 16 planes are expected to be delivered over the next three years, with the final F-18s landing in 2021.
The aircraft will be employed at 4 Wing Cold Lake and 3 Wing Bagotville.
5. Water advisory bans swimming at Kinosoo
Meagan MacEachern
Bonnyville Nouvelle
A water advisory was in place at Kinosoo Beach for most of the summer in 2019, after Alberta Health Services (AHS) detected above average levels of fecal bacteria.
Signs warning swimmers of blue-green algae and fecal matter were posted at the beach in July, and remained in place over the warmer months, something the City of Cold Lake wasn’t a fan of.
During a meeting in August, Coun. Bob Buckle said, “To take the beach and have no swimming in it for as long as they’ve had it; it sounds like a sewage lagoon. It’s just gotten to a point where I don’t know if anyone actually puts any validity into AHS’ warnings now, because they’re crying would all of the time.”
Waterfowl were believed to be the culprits behind the high fecal bacteria detected in the water.
With this in mind, the city brainstormed various ways to drive the birds away from the shoreline.
In the end, the municipality turned to a sound-cannon method. The device was placed on the beach and would make a loud sound at various times, deterring the waterfowl from remaining on the beach for long periods of time.
During their meeting in the fall, CAO Kevin Nagoya noted waterfowl weren’t the only problem.
“That’s only part of the issue,” he said. “There’s human markers that were there as well.”
Nagoya explained how once AHS has a positive result for bacteria, “you’re automatically out” for 30 days.
The advisory was lifted Aug. 25.
