The Village of Empress

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 Hours

The Office will be closed over Christmas December 23 and reopen December 28th. Council and staff wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Open House

Council has set December 8th as the date for the Community open house to be held in the Community Hall starting at 6:30. This is open to Empress and area residents. We will review the past year, and more importantly get your input on planning for the future. We encourage everyone to come out and have your say.

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.

Mona Howe selected one of the 2016 Cattlemen’s Young Leaders

Empress Splash park

We are happy to announce our splash park is now open. Our first weekend was a huge success and by all reports the kids had lots of fun. We encourage you to bring your kids in and check it out. Come for the day or come for the weekend and stay in one of our RV parks. Rates have been lowered to $22.00 per day for fully serviced lots with water sewer and power, and the Splash park is FREE.

Summer 2016 Photo Contest Extended.

Please note that we have extended the deadline for entries to the photo contest till July 20th in the hopes we can include some photos from the events happening in town over the next week. Remember we are looking for pictures of yards, scenery, landscapes and riverscapes, events – (example: canada day celebrations, sports days, brandings, camping trips),  wildlife, people and places. Pretty much anything that shows off your pride in our community/region. The rules can be found on the previous post. Eligible entries are for Empress and area – Special Areas 2 & 3 and RM’s of Cheterfield and Deerforks.

Cemetery Spring Cleanup

The Village will be doing a cemetery cleanup on June 20th starting at 9:00 a.m. Your help would be greatly appreciated. The general public and family members are encouraged to come out and participate by cleaning up around your loved ones sites. Please bring weed eaters, lawn mowers, water and sunscreen.