• energy evaluations for homeowners to assess the current energy efficiency of their home and to measure its efficiency after improvements are made;
• efficient home heating systems, hot water heating systems, clothes washers and insulation upgrades; and
• new homes achieving a high level of energy efficiency.

'The tremendous response to the energy efficiency rebate program in just under a year speaks to the commitment of Albertans to reduce their environmental footprints,' says Environment Minister Rob Renner. 'Consumers have the power to make a positive environmental impact through their day-to-day energy decisions. Clearly, the people of our province want to do their share.'

Delivering on commitments laid out in its 2008 Climate Change Strategy, the Government of Alberta invested $36 million over three years to help Albertans reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Many of the rebates are tied to the federal ecoENERGY Retrofit Program, enabling consumers to recoup costs from both programs. The program is administered by Climate Change Central, a non-profit organization empowering Albertans to take action on climate change.

Rebates are available on purchases retroactive to January 1, 2009. To apply for a rebate, visit http://www.climatechangecentral.com/ or phone 1-888-537-7202.

Alberta's Electoral Boundaries Commission has released its interim report recommending the areas, boundaries and names of 87 electoral divisions for Alberta, four more than at present.

The proposed changes greatly affect the existing boundaries for the Grande Prairie Wapiti and Grande Prairie Smoky constituencies.

From the Report:

Grande Prairie

The two existing electoral divisions are reconfigured into a new Grande Prairie division entirely
within the city (except north of 116 Avenue) and a new Beaverlodge-Valleyview electoral division including the northern area of the city and the remainder of the two existing divisions. The creation of a pure urban division was proposed by the City of Grande Prairie and mirrors the division alignments in St. Albert and Medicine Hat. The Commission looks forward to the comments of the people affected by this
interim proposal.

FUTURE TRENDS
If the population growth pattern of the past two decades continues in the future, by far the most
significant issue for future Electoral Boundaries Commissions will be the effect of the concentration
of population in the Calgary/Edmonton corridor and in the Grande Prairie and Wood Buffalo areas
on the distribution of electoral divisions in the rest of the province.

*** The commission is seeking public input on the interim report:

A second series of public hearings will be held, to be scheduled as required during the period April 12 to 30, 2010. To provide your feedback please contact:

Electoral Boundaries Commission
100, 11510 Kingsway Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada T5G 2Y5

Phone: 780.638.3132
Outside of the Edmonton calling area 310.0000.780.638.3132

Fax: 780.422.2900
Outside of the Edmonton calling area 310.0000.780.422-2900

E-mail:info@altaebc.ab.ca

The commission will receive comments on this report and will issue its final report in July.

To view the entire report and related maps, http://www.altaebc.ab.ca/Reports.html.

Local residents, dignitaries and county staff celebrated the opening of the County of Grande Prairie's new municipal services building Friday.

The building on Township Road 724, 1.6 kilometres west of Clairmont, has been home to the agriculture, enforcement, Family and Community Support Services, fire and parks and recreation services since September. Peace River MP Chris Warkentin, Grande Prairie-Smoky MLA Mel Knight, Grande Prairie-Wapiti MLA Wayne Drysdale and Grande Prairie Mayor Dwight Logan spoke before county council cut the ceremonial ribbon.

Logan presented Reeve Everett McDonald a photo of Sexsmith's elevator row and Lori Parker, for the Town of Wembley, presented potted flowers. McDonald said everything is working fine with the new building.

'I think the communication between all our departments is excellent now and will remain the same,' he said.

'Certainly, with the technology we have in both our buildings, a lot of our communications is done by email or through Blackberry so we're really excited about it. We think it's a wonderful opportunity.'

Manager of enforcement services Stuart Rempel said his department is pleased and proud to be in the new building.

'It means we've got more space for what we need to do. We have space to do it in,' he said. 'We're looking at expansion for the regional EOC (emergency operations centre) to come into this building and from an emergency services perspective, it's absolutely wonderful to have the room to put your equipment and gear.'

Agricultural fieldman Mary Lupwayi echoed a similar sentiment, saying it's good to be in the new building.

'I like that we have a lot of space compared to the other building we had. Council has really provided us enough space to be able to do our job effectively,' she said. 'It is more efficient because we are not working on top of each other. We actually have room and resources to be able to do our jobs.'

In 2007, the county building selection committee chose the location slightly more than one kilometre west of Clairmont as it provides crucial access to planned transportation routes and the Clairmont area. Bennett Architect Ltd. of Edmonton designed the 2,179-square-metre office building and the 376-square-metre agriculture building. Jen-Col Construction of Stony Plain, Alta., was brought on board to build the $12-million facility.

The county received about $4.5 million in provincial grants (Municipal Sustainability Initiative) and plans to apply future funding to cover the balance.

53 new child care spaces opened last Friday in the Town of Wembley in a new modular facility being provided under the Government of Alberta's Creating Child Care Choices Making Spaces Grant. The Northwest Alberta Child and Family Services Authority (CFSA), the Alliance of Child Care Professionals, the Town of Wembley and the Peace.

Wapiti School Division have partnered to bring local residents the Wembley Child Development Centre (CDC).

The Wembley CDC was provided with two modular units and $75,163 in additional funding under the Making Spaces Grant to build 53 quality child care spaces in Wembley. Carole Anne Patenaude, Chief Executive Officer for the Northwest Alberta CFSA sees this as a significant and very positive step for the community. 'It's exciting to see these child care spaces open up in this community,' says Patenaude, 'there was certainly a need expressed by many families and the CFSA is proud to have been a part of the tremendous community partnership that recognized the demand and moved quickly to make this a reality in Wembley.'

A formal grand opening of the Wembley CDC took place from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, 2009. The opening will allow attendees the opportunity to tour the facility and see how the centre is setup, while being able to look at the current daycare program. Members of the public are invited to attend the grand opening to view the official cheque presentation. Special guests participating in the presentation will include Mr. Wayne Drysdale, MLA Grande Prairie-Wapiti and Mr. Owen Smith, Mayor, Town of Wembley.

In November 2008, the Northwest Alberta CFSA announced that five new modulars would be added to the region in 2009 to increase the number of quality child care spaces in communities. Wembley (two), High Level (two) and Grimshaw were the three communities first selected to receive modulars. These communities were selected based on the reality that these communities had no facilities for child care available and needed units to address ongoing infrastructure barriers. Under the Making Spaces

Grant, the Peace Wapiti School Division received $200,000 for site preparation and installation and Alberta Children and Youth Services also covered the cost of the two modulars. In a partnership with the Peace Wapiti School Division, the two modulars are being placed at Wembley Elementary School.

Throughout 2009 and under a partnership with Peace Wapiti School Division, the Wembley CDC has been working to get these two modulars set-up. The construction was recently completed and the agency will open its doors next week. Day-care service, pre-school and out of school care programs are scheduled to start on Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. Pam Decker, FCSS Coordinator with the Town of Wembley says the centre addresses a gap the community was facing. 'Without the Northwest Alberta CFSA and other partners, building this daycare facility would not have been possible in the community,' says Decker, 'and our local young families will benefit from the centre for years to come.' As part of the Alberta government's Creating Child Care Choices Plan, $42 million was allocated to purchase modulars that would be placed in approved locations across the province over a three-year period. These modular units are able to house services that include daycare, family child care centres, preschools, out-of-school care centres, as well as supportive programs.