TASK FORCE COMING TO TOWN

The premier's task force will be coming to Drayton Valley to talk
about the drug problem. Or, more accurately, to talk about the town's
success in combating the drug problem.

Mayor Diana McQueen, co-chair of the task force's community
consultation cluster, will be heading up the four community meetings
as the only elected municipal official on the task force. There will
be Dr. Robert Westbury, chair of the Alberta Centre for Child, Family
and Community Research and Colleen Klein as well as MLAs.

"Back in November of 2004 when I first became mayor I attended a
Western Canadian educational conference about methamphetamine in
Vancouver. We were shown a powerpoint presentation of where meth had
started, where the drug problems started along Highway 16 in that
Alberta corridor. Drayton Valley was the only community along that
corridor to see a reduction in drugs." The study was done by Health
Canada, and McQueen says, "It corresponded to similar data we had but
to see it confirmed was a really positive thing."

McQueen says that there are four communities in the community cluster
of consultation; Red Deer, Camrose and Grande Prairie are the other
three. The three remaining consultation clusters are youth,
aboriginal, and industry and other towns will be meeting to discuss
the issues of the cluster groups.

Local groups in each community will be invited to attend and give
their input, but it will also be open to the public. The two-year
project, says McQueen, will end around October of this year and will
result in a best practices document being presented to the premier.

"We will be asking what are some of the successes, what are some of
the issues that communities have had in regards to the meth issue.
Other things may come up as well but that will be our main focus for
the communities (consultation sessions)," says McQueen. The task
force consultation day for Drayton Valley is set to be held April 10,
with times and locations to be announced shortly.