Voters head to advance polls for the 2013 municipal election in this file photo. The City of Medicine Hat has contracted a chief electoral officer to handle the October 2025 local election.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
@MedicineHatNews
The City of Medicine Hat has hired a chief electoral officer on contract to oversee the 2025 municipal election.
Cardona Arias, formerly of the City of Calgary’s clerk’s office, will begin work in September and prepare for the next municipal election, which takes place Oct. 20, 2025.
The contract position will conclude at the end of 2025 as the “campaign period” in Alberta local elections regulations – relating to fundraising, registration of campaigns and disclosure – is defined as the calendar year.
“(Arias) brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge to the role and will be instrumental in ensuring our next election is facilitated effectively and fairly,” said city manager Ann Mitchell in a statement.
Previously the duties were most recently performed in 2021 by the city clerk as the chief electoral officer.
Track removal
Access on and off Dunmore Road from the South Flats will be closed this weekend as crews remove the spur rail line that crosses the road between the Shannon Bridge and Kingsway Avenue. Motorists will be detoured via College Avenue but may also travel north-south via Scholten Hill and Carry Drive.
The road should reopen by 6 a.m. Monday, a city release states.
Crews plan to resurface the bridge over the Seven Persons Creek on Sept. 7 and 8.
Left to the bees
A portion of Riverside Veterans Memorial Park is cordoned off to the public after a huge bee colony was discovered by tree-trimming crews on Friday.
A notice from the city parks department states a local beekeeper is collecting the insects and preparing to relocate them, but the process could continue until Tuesday, Aug. 27.
The public is asked to avoid the area until then.
County road opens
Cypress County is giving the green light for drivers to take advantage of the extension of Third Avenue E. in the Hamlet of Dunmore. It connects the service road parallel to the Trans-Canada Highway in the centre of Dunmore to Township Road 120 on the east side.
County officials announced that after construction this spring and summer the paved road is open.
