Annual Empress Community Garage Sale

The Village annual garage sale goes this Saturday May 6th starting at 9 a.m. Always lots of treasures uncovered. Watch for balloons.

Phone Scam

Sylvia dropped by my office today to play me a message she received this morning on her home phone. The man said he was an RCMP Officer and he was calling about Revenue Canada and demanded she call 844-613-1342. This is a scam. Please do not fret if you have received a similar call, and please do not let anyone bully you into paying any money. Notify the RCMP in Oyen about your call. (403) 664-3505.

Dutch Elm Disease

The Village has been busy trimming Elm trees this winter and we are required to ensure all elm tree trimming is complete by March 31, and that all trimmed and removed elm wood is disposed of by immediate burning, burying or chipping. The Village will be burning the wood pile at the waste transfer station on April 18th, 2017. We encourage you to have your wood at this pile to be included in the burn.

Under the Alberta Agricultural Pests Act (APA) “Pest and Nuisance Control Regulation (PNCR)” the Dutch elm disease (DED) pathogens, smaller European elm bark beetle (SEEBB), and the native elm bark beetle (NEBB) are named declared pests. All municipalities, counties and MD’s in the province of Alberta have the responsibility and authority to prevent and control DED under the APA.

Fines may be issued for non compliance of this Act, therefore, we are encouraging all those who have stacked elm wood for use in firepits or fireplaces to have this wood removed to the wood pile at the waste transfer station before April 18th to be included in the burn.

We want to ensure that we are protecting our many beautiful elm trees in the community and thank you for your cooperation.

Empress ATB Agency

Empress ATB Agency is moving into the 21st Century going live on our new computer system March 14, 2017, We are so excited and want to invite everyone in to help us celebrate with coffee and cookies 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Skating Rink Open

The skating rink is ready. Thank you Mike! Holiday Hours will be 12 noon till 8:00 p.m. Please use the east door entrance.

Christmas Light Up Campaign

Council set December 1st for the annual Christmas light up campaign once again this year. They are encouraging residents to consider having their Christmas lights and decorations ready for this day as well. We will be having hot dogs, hot chocolate, marshmallows, hay rides and caroling. Everyone is invited to participate.

New Photo Contest

Last years winning photo.

***PHOTO CONTEST*** Win a free Samsung tablet or $250.00 cash! They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the Village of Empress is looking for pictures that illustrate our beautiful region. Our fall contest was a great success and we are now looking to expand our library to include local events, places, gardens, yards, landscapes, skyscapes and flora and fauna.

We are looking for photos that depict what Empress and area means to you. Take us to your happy place, show us why you love where you live.

Photos must be in .jpeg or .tif format and preferably sized between 5 and 10MB – if you have a great picture that is smaller than 5mb please enter it.

To enter you must like our page and then enter your picture by sending your photos to cao@villageofempress.com

Files must be accompanied with the photographers name and contact info and any interesting details about the photo.

All submissions must be in by midnight July 4^th. Photos will be placed on facebook in the album called 2016 spring/summer photo contest.

Voting will open July 5^th and run for 2 weeks.

The photo with the most likes by noon July 19^th will be declared the winner.

By sharing your picture, you agree to allow the Village of Empress and its affiliate organizations – PEP, Canadian Badlands, Return to Rural, Special Areas and Travel Special Areas the right to use them in our promotional materials, websites and facebook pages with you receiving photo credit.

Public Works II Position

The Village of Empress is recruiting for a part time permanent Public Works Level II Position.

An ideal candidate would possess strong skills in the following areas:

• Communication
• Multi Tasking
• Mechanical & Technical
• Public Service
• Recording and logging of data and maintenance plans

Preferences will be given to candidates that hold certificates in:

• Small System Water Treatment, Distribution and Wastewater Treatment and Collection (or willing to acquire)
• Class 3 Driver’s License with Air Brake’s “Q” endorsement or Class 1
• Grade 12 Diploma or equivalent
• Equipment operating and maintenance (mowers/tractors/backhoe/3 ton/grader/bobcat)
• Safety Training Certificates (First Aid, WHIMIS, Fall Protection, Confined Space, H2S)

This job entails working in environmental weather conditions, physical activity and problem solving. Maintenance and operations of water treatment plant, distribution system and wastewater facility are only part of your daily activities, additional activities in the common services area include grounds maintenance and beautification, street repairs and equipment maintenance. Please submit your resume with references to the undersigned

Interested persons are encouraged to forward a resume, including salary expectations and references to:

Debbie Ross, CAO
Village of Empress
Box 159
Empress, Ab.
T0J 1E0
email: cao@villageofempress.com
fax: (403) 565-2010

Summer Employment

The Village has an opening for 2 summer  positions.

The first is for a summer fun coordinator. The person shall be in charge of developing and delivering our summer fun program to children age 4 to 14. The program shall be split into 2 age groups, with the younger group program in the morning and the older children group in the afternoon. This is a 35 hour per week position that will start June 27th and run till August 26th.

The second is for a public works summer student. This position will work under the public works department doing such things as mowing, painting, weeding, watering etc. This position must be filled by a student who is registered to go back to school in the fall. This is a 35 hour per week position starting May 2nd and running till August 26th.

Send resumes:

by mail:  6- 3rd Avenue West Empress, Ab. T0J 1E0

by email: cao@villageofempress.com

by fax: (403) 565-2010

For further information contact Debbie at (403) 565-3938

Summer School Fundraiser

Don’t forget to come out and support the fundraiser this Saturday February 27, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. We have an awesome supper, loads of silent auction items and local talents that have been practicing up for weeks. Sure to be a great time. The proceeds will go to help offset some of the costs associated with getting our school up and running this summer. A great project for the community and a great fit with our Empress has Artisans theme. You can get your tickets at That’s Empressive, the Village Office, or from one of our Councillors.

Hope to see everyone out for it.