by Kirk Stephens on March 8, 2012
One of Central Alberta’s largest employers, Nova Chemicals today announced that they plan to spend upward of $900 million to increase their Joffre chemical plant production by as much as 40%. This is welcome news for Red Deer and Central Alberta, as the construction of this facility will create as many as 500 construction jobs, while the plant expansion is being built, as well as an estimated 150-250 additional full-time skilled trade employees will be needed to operate the production facility, once construction is complete.
Construction is to begin in 2013 and will be completed and in operation by 2016.
This announcement from Nova is sure to put additional strain on employers in the oil & gas sector who are already facing a shortage of skilled trades people to fill vacancies in the oil patch. Red Deer continues to be a hotbed of economic activity and job creation, while much of the rest of the country is suffering from a decrease in employment opportunities due to the weakened global economy.
Red Deer could very well be set to take another population leap, as workers move to the area looking to take advantage of our many employment opportunities. This should be good for all of us who call Red Deer and Central Alberta home as the increase in population and incomes will be sure to have a positive impact on our local economy.
Let’s hope that our provincial politicians and city Councillors are ready to provide the funding necessary to keep up with the increase in demands that additional population will bring with it. We don’t want to find ourselves behind the eight ball in terms of infrastructure, schools, community centers, and hospitals.
Good on you, Nova Chemicals!
by Kirk Stephens on March 6, 2012
As a parent of a young child, I am somewhat disappointed in the lack of places that cater to children. Once, long ago, there was “Moonwalkers” which was a large indoor playground. Kids loved it for the maze of tubes, netting, ball pit, video games, and party rooms that were perfect for birthday parties. Unfortunately, there was a lack of adult supervision, the food was somewhat poor quality, and there was the general consensus among the parents that would gather that the equipment was dirty and in need of repair and cleaning. But, at least it was there, ready to be enjoyed by the kids who didn’t pay much notice to those kinds of details. If you were to ask my son, he wouldn’t be able to tell you what happened outside of the jungle-type apparatuses. As a kid, he loved it, as did all his friends.
So it was a bit of a shock to see it disappear when it did a few years ago. As a parent, I feel there is a void to be filled in this city. There absolutely needs to be more things to do and places to go with young children. Red Deer is a vibrant, thriving, wealthy metro area with many young families. At this point, one of the most popular places to go with kids is to the McDonald’s on the north end of Geatz Ave. There are always kids there climbing up and down the indoor jungle gym. I have no idea who the original owners of “Moonwalkers” was, nor do I have any idea why they pulled the plug on the business.
Conversations with other parents make me believe that there is a serious need for child friendly facilities, that would allow kids to just run, jump and play for hours. If you are wondering what type of small business to open in this city of ours, please consider one that is 100% oriented to kids. The people of Red Deer will love you for it! Run correctly, I cant imagine such a place being anything but a resounding success.
Discuss your ideas, opinions and suggestions below.
