Welcome

Welcome to the Municipal District of Acadia No. 34 The MD of Acadia welcomes your interest in our community, we hope that the information we have compiled is of benefit to you, whether you decide to make Acadia Valley your new residence or decide to locate a new business. We invite you to make use of all our recreation facilities, or put you feet up and enjoy the quietness of small town country living. You will find the people very friendly and helpful no matter what your needs. Acadia Valley is an ideal place to live whether you want to raise a family or enjoy a quiet retired life. The people are involved in the community through various groups and organizations which make it fun for all. People feel at home in Acadia Valley – knowing your neighbour has a lot to do with this. We are proud of our community and the people who live here. We welcome you and hope that you will enjoy your time in Acadia Valley.

Acadia Valley is home to one of the few remaining wooden elevators.  We encourage you to visit the Prairie Elevator Museum and Teahouse to experience our hospitality.  Open July and August, Contact (403) 972-2028.

Area Overview

The MD of Acadia No. 34 is located in Southeast Alberta.  The hamlet of Acadia Valley is located conveniently along Highway 41.  Located in the north east corner of the SAMDA (Special Areas and MD of Acadia No. 34) region, this area is largely agricultural and boasts a strong and growing petroleum industry and service sector. 

Market trends and opportunities in technology will allow many services and commerce to take place via the Alberta Supernet.  Rural lifestyle combined with the job of choice will be hard to resist.

As a community within the Canadian Badlands, we boast prospects for tourism entrepreneurs.  The Canadian Badlands is a destination choice of hundreds of thousands of tourists each year and is growing.  Prairie Elevator Tea House and Museum has provided a positive tourism focus for the community and is referenced frequently by travelers of the Canadian Badlands.

Key Advantages of living and doing business in our community:

    ·  Rural lifestyle

    ·  Access to growth sector opportunities: e-commerce, tourism

    ·  Location

    ·  Supportive municipal government

Climate

Sunshine coupled with warm dry summers means more time to spend outdoors and exploring our region. The low altitude of the Region produces a very warm climate, with particular areas of the Region often matching or surpassing the “hot spot “of Canada. The semi-arid countryside lends itself to ranching and wheat farming and is home to deer, antelope, Canada goose, the pear cactus, ball cactus, and its delicious cactus berries. Winters have become very mild over the last few years with average temperatures on the rise.

The MDs’ climate is considered semi arid, which means lots of sunshine. The average rainfall for the year is 21.2 mm while the average snowfall for the winter is 7.53 cm. The average temperature in July is 19.7 degrees Celsius while the average temperature in January is –12.3 degrees Celsius.   
                              

Community Services

MD of Acadia No. 34
Box 30
Acadia Valley, AB T0J 0A0
Phone (403) 972-3808
Fax (403) 972-3833
Email: admin@mdacadia.ab.ca 

Community Services offered by the MD of Acadia No. 34
Emergency Services and Fire Protection
Cemetery 
Parks and Recreation
Water and Sewer
Agricultural Services 
Road Construction and Maintenance
Community Clubs Support & Facilities
FCSS (joint program with Town of Oyen)
Community halls
Economic Development & Planning
                              

Community Lifestyle

Local community and recreation organizations reflect the interests and passion of our communities.  From theatre groups, Ag societies and historical societies to Chamber of Commerce, youth groups and service clubs, our communities deliver great events and services to our community.

Recreation Facilities A 2-sheet curling rink- artificial ice since 1960’s  A skating arena with natural ice  3 ball diamonds (1 fastball & 2 slow pitch)  Community Hall  Parks and playgrounds  RV campground with 15 amp power  Horseshoe pits  A senior citizens recreation center Other Municipal Facilities Gun Club Municipal Dam – stocked with trout Camping Religious Services: St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church Acadia Valley United Church

Special Annual Events/Attractions: 

Ladies Bonspiel – First week of February
ICE to DICE Mixed Bonspiel – First full week in March (Every team has a chance to win a trip for four to Vegas)
Minor ball season – Early May
Mothers Day tea and bake sale – Second weekend in May
Canada Day Sports Day – July 1st
Prairie Elevator Fowl Supper – Second Sunday of September
Annual Sausage Fry & Social Evening – Saturday before Thanksgiving
Warren Peers Parent Council Fowl Supper First Sunday of November
UCW tea and bake sale – Late November
New Years Gala – December 31st

Economic Base

 
The MD of Acadia is home to 545 people and is a dry land farming area with some 276,000 acres of arable agricultural land. 177,000 acres are under dry land cultivation and about 1200 acres are under irrigation. 93,000 acres are native grasslands and about 4800 acres are improved pasture/hay land.

Agriculture
Farms in the area are generally mixed, ranching and grain production. A large percentage of these farms have one operator and are considered a family farm. The average farm has approx 1500 acres and 75 head of cows. Grain production accounts for a large percentage of acreage usage

Energy Sector
Our communities are blessed with an abundance of lands and resources. The energy sector is very strong and provides employment and much economic spin off to our communities. We have a number of Energy Related Businesses, Services and Contractors.

Our hamlet is home to a number of large construction and reclamation companies.

Economic Facts

Major Businesses Products/Services
ATB Financial – Banking & Hail Insurance
AV Butcher Shop – Home made sausage & special meat cuts
AV Farm Supply – Automotive parts & repairs, service station, tow truck
Avon – Arla Fauth
The Store – General food store with Liquor sales
CJS Agro services – Ag-Chemicals & Amway products
Canada Post – Local postal service
Extreme Fuels – Bulk Coop Fuel and Oil Products
Flamman Rentals
Craig White Consulting – Reclamation Specialist
Diane’s Hair Salon –Cuts, styling & perms
I.W. Kuhn Construction- Heavy equipment & reclamation services. Cats, Track hoes,
Backhoes, Graders & Wheel loaders. Trucking (low-boys, end dumps & belly dumps). Also a full line of Reclamation Equipment
Larry Peers Trucking – Grain Trailers & end dumps
Lemare’s Seed Cleaning- Agricultural Seed Cleaning
MD of Acadia #34 – Recreation areas, ratepayer services, rental programs
Main Street Café – Fast foods & homemade pizza
Martin Grudecki Welding Shop – Welding shop; mobile welder & Bob Cat
Michelle’s Salon – Cuts, styling & perms
Mike Stolz Bob Cat Service
Peers Studio – Water color, art work & studio
Prairie Elevator Museum & Tea House – Crafts & specialty items
Rita Heeg’s Hair Salon – Cuts, styling & perms
Willard Schmidt Heavy Duty Truck Refurbishing & Sales
Shortgrass Developments Ltd. - TV satellite dishes & accessories
Simmons Livestock – Trucking (livestock trailers, end & belly dumps, flat beds)
Wheel loader & Cat Dozer
Troy Bruntjen Trucking – General trucking
VS Truck Works – Vehicle wrecking & used parts sales
Valley Relaxation Massage – Massage Therapy
Valley Water Hauling – Tankers, Semi & body jobs
Vortrax Construction – Trucking tankers, end & belly dumps, and flat bed.
Private Gravel pit, crushed gravel. Wheel loader
Willies Grain Hauling – Grain Hauling

Education

Prairie Rose School Division #8 encompasses a large geographical area (approximately 29,117 sq. kilometers) in southeastern Alberta. It borders Saskatchewan to the East and the United States to the South.  The Division serves a predominantly rural population of approximately 3275 students in grades Kindergarten through 12. A Board of eight trustees, the 20 public schools and 15 Hutterite Colony Schools boast an average student to teacher ratio of 14.72:1.

Students from the Acadia Valley area attend Warren Peers School ECS through nine.  Student’s grades 10-12 attend South Central High School in Oyen.

Warren Peers School Box 90 Acadia Valley, AB  T0J 0A0 403.972.3744 www.prrd.ab.ca

South Central High School 105-3rd Ave W Oyen AB T0J 2J0 403.664.3644 www.prrd.ab.ca

Emergency Services

All emergency services are accessed by calling 911.

Fire Protection
Acadia Valley is served by a 26 member volunteer fire department, which has one fire truck, 10000L water tanker, and one emergency response unit and hydrant system.

Police Services
A three-member R.C.M.P. detachment is located a short drive away in Oyen.
Oyen RCMP: 911

Health Care

For emergencies call 911. The Palliser Health Region is one of nine health regions in the province and serves the MD of Acadia. There is no health services offered in the Hamlet of Acadia Valley. Acute Care, Long-Term care, Ambulance, Hospital, Optometrist, Dentist, Physiotherapy and Mental Health are all based out of Oyen, a short drive from the Hamlet. Big Country Health Centre Box 150 312 - 3rd Street East Oyen AB  T0J 2J0 Phone:  (403) 664-4300 Fax:  (403) 664-4325 www.palliserhealth.ca

Community Health Services Box 296 312 - 3rd Street East Oyen AB T0J 2J0 Phone: (403) 664-3651 Fax: (403) 664-2934 www.palliserhealth.ca  A 33-unit senior's lodge with a staff of 17 is also located in Oyen. The lodge provides individual bedrooms with communal eating and living areas. There are also 8 self contained units.   Oyen Senior’s Lodge 310 – 2nd Street West Oyen AB  T0J 2J0 Phone:  (403) 664-3661 Fax:  (403) 664-2964

Key Contacts for Business Development

Municipal District of Acadia No. 34 PO Box 30 Acadia Valley, AB T0J 0A0 Phone (403) 972-3808 Fax (403) 972-3833 Email: admin@mdacadia.ab.ca Larry Heeg Reeve Email: reeve.heeg@mdacadia.ab.ca  Gary E. Peers Municipal Administrator Email: cao@mdacadia.ab.ca

Business Development   SAMDA Economic Partnership Box 752  Oyen AB  T0J 2J0 403.664.0101 christie.dick@gov.ab.ca www.samda.ca/ Community Futures Meridian Region Box 2167 Kindersley, SK  S0L 1S0 Toll Free: 1.888.9191.3800 Phone: (306) 463.1850 Fax: (306) 463.1855 http://www.meridiancfdc.ca/  Palliser Economic Partnership Room 109, Proviincial Building 346-3 St. SE Medicine Hat AB  T1A 0G7 Phone: (403) 529.3630 Fax: (403) 529.3140 http://www.palliseralberta.com/

Location

The MD of Acadia No. 34 is located in south-eastern Alberta along highway 41 on the north side of the Red Deer River and bordered on the east by the province of Saskatchewan.  Highway 41 is a main route between Medicine Hat and Cold Lake.  The MD is located within the Canadian Badlands and Alberta’s Special Area.

Post Secondary Education

The Big Country Community Adult Learning Council (BCALC) provides community Based Adult Learning. Located in Oyen, the BCALC provides learning opportunities for the entire region. Learning opportunities range from learning Tai Cooking to Oil/Gas Industry Requirement Training.

Big Country Community Adult Learning Association
Box 667
113 - 2 Avenue W
Oyen, AB T0J 2J0
Phone: (403) 664-2060
Fax: (403) 664-2905
Email: bccalc@telusplanet.net 
The Big Country Educational Consortium serves residents in southeast central Alberta.  Eight public post-secondary institutions are involved in the consortium to provide a wide variety of community-based educational programming.  Those institutions are:

Athabasca University Bow Valley College Medicine hat College Mount Royal College Olds College Red Deer College SAIT University of Calgary

BCEC 245-3 St. W Drumheller AB  T0J 0Y0 P. (403) 823.8300 F. (403) 823.7083 Email: info@bcec.ca

Taxation

	Residential/ Farmland	Non-Residential
2006
Municipal Tax Rate	8.291	8.291
Education- Alberta School Foundation Fund Tax Rate	4.752	4.778
Seniors Lodge Accommodation Tax Rate	.358	.358

Transportation

 
Highways 
The primary highway that runs through the area, north to south, is highway 41, (also known as the Buffalo Trail). Connecting highways are highway 41, highway 570 and highway 562.

Trucking Firms
Hi-way #9 Express
DHL
Canada Post

Air Strip
Located in neighboring towns of Oyen and Empress.

Utilities

Electrical Power ATCO Electric 113 - 1 Avenue Oyen, AB T0J 2J0 Phone: 1-800-668-5506 Natural Gas Dry County Gas CO-OP 205-2 Street West Oyen, Alberta Phone: (403) 664-3646 Telephone TELUS Ltd. Phone: 310-2255 Internet www.netago.ca

Water Supply
The MD of Acadia has five rural tank holding facilities supplied by wells. The hamlet has a 100,000-gallon reservoir and water treatment plant for the Hamlet of Acadia Valley, supplied from a high production well.

Waste Management
The Hamlet of Acadia sewage system is comprised of a gravity flow collection system with the outfall to a sewage lagoon.
A member of the Big Country Waste Management Commission 

Population

Total Population 1991-2001

Acadia No. 34, M.D. of Population by Age Group (2001)

Education Statistics

Acadia No. 34, M.D. of Highest Level of Schooling 2001

Labour Force

Acadia No. 34, M.D. of Labour Force By Industry - 2001

Dwellings