February 28, 2025 • 23 mins
What should you do when you see flashing lights on the side of the road? Why does pet registration matter? And what’s the most essential (and unexpected) part of Officer Hay’s uniform?
In this episode of Kneehill Scoop, we ride along with Kneehill County’s Peace Officers to talk about rural road patrols, tuning fork tests, pet registration, and why slowing down could save a life.
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All news & announcements are current as of February 28, 2025.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Christine (00:13):
Hello and welcome to the second episode of Kneehill
Scoop, Kneehill County'sofficial podcast.
My name is Christine, I am yourhost today and before we begin
I just I have a couple ofconfessions to make.
So I know that I promised youwe would be chatting with
finance during this podcast, butunfortunately I kind of
scheduled them where they are at.
(00:33):
.
.
w ell, I mean, when is financenever busy?
But at this point in timethey're just getting ready for
their annual audit, so this isnot an ideal time for them.
So that's my bad.
Instead, we have some veryspecial guests today, but I'll
kind of keep that a little bitof a surprise coming up later.
My second confession is, as Iwas preparing for today's
podcast, I was going through myemails and I realized I hadn't
(00:55):
received any frequently askedquestions from you, from the
public, and then it occurred tome that I failed to let anybody
know that this was an option.
So if you have any burningKneehill County questions, there
is a form on our website, it'sunder Council, which is the very
far left tab, head down to theKneehill Scoop podcast page and
there's a form there where youcould submit any Kneehill County
(01:17):
questions you might have.
For instance, when's the besttime to schedule finance for a
podcast, or you know how do Iregister to vote, like that kind
of stuff, and then we will getyou the answers from the experts
, of which I am not one, but wewill find you those answers and
please, if you do find out whenfinance is available, let me
know.
(01:37):
Anyway, 2025 is a municipalelection year.
If you want to vote in theelection, you must be on the
permanent elector's registry.
To register, or to check yourregistration status, you can
visit the VoterLink website, www.
voterlink.
ab.
ca.
Kneehill County receives ourlist of eligible voters from
(01:58):
this VoterLink site.
So if you could just pleasehead over there, confirm your
information, make sure it'scorrect and make sure that you
are ready to vote.
And the deadline forregistering through VoterLink is
September 15th 2025.
Now, this isn't like if youmiss the deadline, if you, if
(02:19):
you don't make it over toVoterLink in time, that doesn't
mean you can't vote.
You can register at your votingstation on Election Day, which
is October 20th 2025.
The only thing pre-registeringdoes is it makes the process
faster and it makes it you know,you're already pre-registered,
you're in, you're good to go,you're ready to vote.
So we really just encourage youto register prior to the
election.
So I hope you are all enjoyingthe warmer weather out there.
It is so nice to have a bit ofa reprieve from the blistering
(02:42):
cold of February, and you knowwhat this weather has me excited
for is camping, because campingseason is a coming, and you
know how I know that's true isour campground reservations are
open.
They opened on Tuesday of thisweek and so those are done
online through Let's Camp.
Again, if you visit our website, there's links to everything
you need there.
But we are taking bookings nowfor Keivers Lake, Swalwell Dam,
(03:05):
Bracconier Dam and theTorrington Campground.
Go online, go get your perfectspot, especially Keivers Lake.
I mean, all of our campsitesare really nice, but Keivers
Lake is just like a beautiful,peaceful, nice, relaxing place
to spend the weekend with yourfamily, get away from it all.
So make sure you go online andbook that before all the spots
are gone.
So, speaking of camping, haveyou ever been camping and you
(03:27):
wonder hey, is there a fire banon?
Are we allowed to have a fireright now?
I know that comes up a lotduring the summer, especially
when we've been having the drierweather?
Did you know that KneehillCounty has a notification system
called Notify Me, so you cansign up to be notified when the
fire ban status changes in theCounty?
So when it's put on, when it'staken off, if there's a
restriction in place, anythinglike that, you can sign up to
(03:49):
receive notifications throughemail or text and then you can
be in the know.
But that's not all you can benotified about.
We also have notifications fortransfer sites.
So if you're like my father andyou're planning your weekly
dump trip on a Saturday, you canget notified.
If, say hey, the rubble pit isfull because of a fire ban,
don't bring your rubble.
Or you know the snow is meltingand there's some wet conditions
(04:10):
at the Torrington Transfer Site, you can be notified of that.
Most importantly, we have NotifyMe for our water systems, so
that's for all of our watersystems in Kneehill County.
This actually came in handyjust yesterday.
Our utility crews wereinvestigating a low pressure
issue in the Grainger system.
So we were able to sendnotifications to the users on
the Grainger system, justletting them know.
(04:31):
You know there's low pressurein the area, but our utility
crews are out there.
They're investigating, they'regoing to get to the bottom of it
and you know, please be patient, but we're fixing it.
So this is a very easy way, verysimple, to sign up and it's
just another tool so you kind ofknow what's going on and then
we can alert you if there'sanything important that you need
to know.
So again, just head to ourwebsite.
It's on the homepage.
(04:51):
You can go to Notify Me.
The water notices are all atthe top of the page and if you
scroll down there you'll findthe fire bans.
There you'll find the transfersites.
There's actually all kinds ofthings that you can sign up for,
but those three are probablyour biggest.
So, speaking of fire bans, didyou know that Kneehill County
has 16 highway signs that allhave a fire ban sign on them?
(05:13):
Whenever a fire ban isimplemented, all these signs
have to be manually flipped.
So it's a bit of a team efforta lot of the times.
If our road guys are out andabout, they will kind of lend a
hand, but otherwise I am sittingwith two of the people that are
kind of responsible for that,our most excellent peace
officers we have Officer AmberHay and Officer Matt Curwin.
(05:34):
So thank you for joining metoday.
Officer Hay (05:36):
You're very welcome .
I waved when I went tointroduce myself.
So hello my name is Amber,because you can't see me.
Officer Curwin (05:46):
Thank you for having us in today.
Christine (05:47):
Thank you for coming.
So yesterday when I was drivinghome I happened to see a Peace
Officer pulled someone over onthe side of the road and
whenever I see that I kind ofpanic because I have no idea
what I'm supposed to do and Iknow like the rules have kind of
changed for that.
So what are people supposed todo when they see someone pulled
over on the side of the road?
Officer Hay (06:05):
So the legislated requirement is that if there is
a vehicle pulled over on theside of the road with flashing
lights, you are to slow down to60 kilometers an hour while you
are passing that vehicle.
Christine (06:18):
And so does it matter , like because they were heading
east into town and I was in thewest lane.
Does that change things?
Officer Hay (06:25):
As long as it's the two lane, where you have two
directions of traffic, then bothare 60.
It's only when it becomes likea double highway, like Highway 2
?
Yeah, like Highway 2.
If it's in the southbound lane,in the northbound lanes you
don't have to slow down.
Officer Curwin (06:42):
Yes, if you're in any way adjacent to the lane
that the traffic stops occurringin and you're going by it.
If you're next to it, you needto do 60.
Generally when vehicles arepulled over on the shoulder,
they're actually still partiallyon that right-hand lane.
So just a good rule of thumb isyou can never go wrong doing 60
.
It helps when you slow down,because you can really see who
(07:02):
it is that's being pulled over.
Officer Hay (07:11):
Absolutely, and we're all curious and if you're
going to be looking it, isbetter to be looking while going
slowly, so everyone is safe.
Christine (07:14):
That's what I figured .
So on that topic, can you tellme kind of what a typical day in
the life of a Kneehill Countypeace officer entails?
Officer Curwin (07:22):
Well, we come in in the morning and usually for
me I got to check voicemails andemails to make sure there's
nothing from the night beforethat got missed.
And then we have to pre-tripour vehicles and in the winter
warm them up because it's coldoutside, and test our radar
equipment and such.
And then usually we do our bestto get out about as early as
possible and do some patrolsaround the County.
And that can be a variety ofplaces.
(07:42):
It can be our highways, ourhamlets, our range roads.
Often it's good to get into theschool zones in the morning.
So we do focus on patrols.
Then also, throughout the day,we'll get, you know, requests
from the public that come in andwe try to respond to those as
quickly as possible or we'll bebooked into public events, those
sorts of things.
So the day usually flies bypretty quick between the
(08:03):
patrolling and the otheractivities and then end of the
day reports and off to home.
Do you have anything to add?
Officer Hay (08:10):
Oh man.
So my day starts with cominginto the office and getting
snacks so that I'm extra happy.
And then, yeah, you do yourpre-trip, you do your tuning,
fork tests, you get out on theroad, you do patrols.
Christine (08:22):
Sorry can I stop you one second?
What's a tuning fork test?
Officer Hay (08:25):
So the tuning fork test is how we actually test our
radars, which is the legislatedrequirement and what we have to
prove when we go to court thatwe have done in order for our
tickets to be able to stand.
Christine (08:38):
Okay, so the radar that like measures how fast
people are going.
Yeah, okay, cool Pleasecontinue.
Officer Hay (08:45):
And then, yeah, we get out and do patrols, and
during patrols we can dotargeted patrols where we've had
members of the public call inand request us to do specific
things, and if not, then we'rejust kind of out there just
looking for general safetythings.
So, like Matt said, peoplespeeding in school zones, people
speeding in general on theroads, people not following the
(09:07):
road rules, and just kind ofbeing out there and being
present, and then there's a tonof paperwork and then just other
not usual things.
I guess that we will do likethe community events or school
presentations.
Christine (09:26):
Yeah, so on that note , I think there's a lot of
confusion out there sometimesCommunity Peace Officers versus
RCMP.
So can you kind of go over alittle bit of your different
roles and how that kind of works?
Officer Hay (09:39):
So with your community peace officers.
Each municipality that hascommunity peace officers applies
to the Solicitor General ofAlberta to get specific
appointments that their peaceofficers can enforce, and those
appointments are generally actswithin Alberta, but they can
extend to some criminal codestuff like Section 494, which is
(10:01):
then like federal, section 494,which is then like federal, and
then we also do municipal bylawstuff, whereas RCMP have full
federal and the full criminalcode and then also the
provincial legislation and themunicipal legislation.
Officer Curwin (10:17):
I think the way I understand it easiest is if
it's something you have to call911 over, it's likely a police
matter.
Officer Hay (10:22):
Yeah.
Officer Curwin (10:23):
Just simply stated yeah, the main difference
is that the police are involvedin criminal code matters so
assault, drugs, more seriouscrimes, right Whereas we enforce
certain provincial statutes andthen the county's bylaws.
Christine (10:35):
So what would you say is the most frequent call that
you get as a peace officer?
Officer Curwin (10:39):
People are driving too fast on my road.
Christine (10:41):
Yeah.
Officer Curwin (10:41):
Probably eight out of 10.
Christine (10:42):
Like gravel roads, highways?
Oftentimes, when it's a certaintime of year and there's more
industrial traffic out and about, we'll get calls related to
that, whether there's rigtraffic or egg traffic or
whatnot just due to theincreased volume and people get
concerned about speeds.
And then the other big chunk isjust bylaw calls in general.
So the more prevalent ones areconcerned about animals or the
(11:05):
state of other people's propertyand what it looks like.
Officer Hay (11:07):
I was going to mention the animals because I
don't think lots of peopleunderstand how everything works
with animals.
We don't actually, as theKneehill Peace officers, deal
with the animals directly.
We actually contract.
So if there is an animal callwith, like, an animal being
loose, that animal needs to bein some sort of care and control
of the caller before you callus so that we can direct the
(11:30):
contract company to the properplace to pick up that animal.
Christine (11:34):
Gotcha.
And then, on that note, itdefinitely helps for residents
to get a pet license right, likeeven if you're living rurally
for hamlets.
I think you have to have one,don't you?
Yes?
Officer Curwin (11:44):
Yes, yeah, it's also free.
Most municipalities charge forit.
The reason we keep it free isit's actually a big benefit to
us to be able to reunite animalswith owners.
It makes it a much moreexpedient process rather than
posting it on social media orhoping we find the owner.
So, yeah, we definitely doencourage people to register
their pets as much as possible,and the county sees it as a
(12:05):
service.
Again, we're not charging.
That's just a nice way.
If your pet does get lost, itdoes make it easier for another
member of the public or for usto reunite your loved one with
you.
So please register your pet.
Christine (12:16):
You can kind of tell, especially this time of year
when you guys are out and aboutduring your rural patrols,
because I notice when you comeback to the parking lot just mud
all up the sides of your cars.
So as someone who lives rurally, it is very comforting to know
that Kneehill County peaceofficers are patrolling the
gravel roads.
Officer Hay (12:31):
Yeah, we definitely try, and so much of the county
is gravel that it is inevitable.
We are going to be seen on thegravel for sure, and especially
now that we have three peaceofficers who are fully appointed
and available, we have way morepresence than we have in the
last year and it reallyhopefully is being able to be
(12:52):
seen on the gravel and thepavement and just everywhere
within the county.
Christine (12:56):
Yeah, it's good to have that presence out there,
for sure.
So you guys also do like somecontract work for the villages
within Kneehill County, rightyeah?
Yeah, no, we do some contractwork for the villages and towns
when requested.
Our primary spot of focus andour employer is the county.
But we're always happy to helpour neighbours and kind of be
collaborative in that way.
But I want to let the publicknow, if you do live in one of
(13:17):
the towns or villages that weservice, if you do have a
complaint or concern, pleasecontact your village office
directly.
Then they forward it along tous.
As the contractor, as thecontract states, they have to be
the one to deploy us, and so itjust makes the process a lot
smoother, rather than us beingcontacted by the public first
and then we have to direct youback to the village or town
office, because that's kind ofhow it works, and then
(13:38):
inevitably they'll forward italong to us and we'll go from
there.
Officer Hay (13:42):
Yeah, if you live within one of the towns or
villages in the county and youdo have a matter you want to
contact the peace officers, foryou will contact your town or
village directly, who will thendirect that concern to the peace
officers instead of calling thepeace officers directly.
Christine (13:58):
So which villages is that?
Officer Curwin (14:00):
We do have guaranteed hours with Three
Hills, but with the othersTrochu, Linden, Carbon it's kind
of on an as-need basis, so it'skind of sporadic in here and
there.
A little busier in the springjust due to the snow melting.
Christine (14:17):
Kind of speaking of spring and the melt road ban
season is a coming.
Could you tell me a little bitabout road bans?
I know we put them on in March,but what that entails and what
people should kind of payattention to,
Officer Hay (14:28):
Yeah so road bans are put into place to protect
the infrastructure and toprotect the roads that the
county is paying for.
To maintain to our highstandards we have within the
county, we put road bans inplace during the spring thaw
just to protect the integrity ofthe roads with all of the heavy
hauls that can be happeningduring road ban season.
(14:50):
You may only drive commercialvehicles on a road ban road if
you are complying within theallotted requirements that are
posted on the road and if youare going to be going above that
, you need to contact the countyand get a permit that states
that you are allowed to notfollow the posted road ban.
Christine (15:10):
Right, because we have the exemption form and I
think that's on our website.
And when the road bans do comeout that again is in March you
will be able to find them on theroad ban page of the website
and in the Three Hills Capitalas well.
Officer Curwin (15:22):
As far as I understand, the exemptions are
largely in place because a lotof our agriculture producers,
their yards are located on abanned road and so that would
make it very difficult for themto get around and get out of
their yards.
So we you know, we do want toprotect the infrastructure road
building and that is veryexpensive, but understanding we
need to work with ouragriculture community in a
realistic way as well.
Christine (15:43):
Yes, I bet they appreciate that, and with spring
coming, this is always likekind of a hot topic.
We often will see a lot of farmequipment on our roads.
So what's some things thatresidents should keep in mind I
mean spring, fall you seetractors on the roads all the
time but especially seeding.
Officer Curwin (16:00):
My advice and I try to follow this myself when
I'm driving on the back roads inthe county, especially in the
spring is, as you approach likeeven the slightest bit of a hill
, stay to the right.
You don't want to be surprisedcoming over it and there's
something there.
And then I try to drive alittle slower as well.
I drop my speed by about 10kilometers an hour, just
anticipating the increase intraffic we're going to have out
there, and that helps as well,and just kind of trying to be
(16:22):
patient and understanding thatthis is that time of year.
This is very important for theproducers, that this all gets
done, and if we're, all you know, reasonable and safe, then
everyone goes home at the end ofthe day and that's what we're
all here for.
Officer Hay (16:34):
Yeah, that's a good thing, yeah, and most farm
equipment can't go any fasterthan 40 kilometers an hour.
So just try and keep that inmind when you're driving on the
roads, and if you see thattractor up ahead of you, it is
likely going very much slowerthan you are, and you are going
to reach it way faster than youexpect.
So start slowing down beforeyou think you have to, because
(16:55):
you're going to hit it quick.
Christine (16:58):
Yeah, good point and for, like, the farm equipment on
the roads, what's somethingthat they are required to have?
Officer Hay (17:03):
So any vehicle on a highway that is traveling under
40 kilometers an hour needs theorange triangle.
That says it's allowed to moveslowly and is warning all of the
people behind it and there'scertain limits, as well as to
like length restrictions, heightrestrictions, restrictions for
(17:24):
hauling bales and of course allof that legislation is
unfortunately always changing.
Luckily I have been working on ahandout to give to people that
will be available on the website, which is the farm exemption
cheat sheet, which gives whenyou're allowed to haul bales
(17:46):
without your proper loadsecurement, so without tie downs
.
Christine (17:49):
Oh, okay.
Officer Hay (17:50):
Okay, because there's just been so much that's
changed recently.
Another example is when you'rehauling hay now within 50
kilometers of your residence orwhere that hay was picked up,
you don't need to have it tieddown with tie straps with a
rated weight, but as long asthere is some kind of railing
and some kind of containmentsystem.
(18:12):
But it's a lower requirementthan it was in previous years
and, yeah, all of that will beon the website.
Officer Curwin (18:19):
Also, I would like to add that if anyone's
unsure of any of the regulationsat all and they have a very
specific situation, please giveus a call.
Even if we're not sure, we'lllook it up and happily call you
back.
We really do appreciate whenpeople call ahead of time.
You don't even need to giveyour name if you're concerned.
It's all good there.
It's just a lot nicer to kindof sometimes answer those
questions before rather than atthe side of the road, and to
(18:39):
clarify some of those matters.
So yeah, please, please call.
We're always happy to help.
Christine (18:43):
And that's just the office number right 403-443-5541
.
Officer Curwin (18:47):
Yeah, and that'll likely get put through
to a mailbox, but all the peaceofficers are attached to that
mailbox and we see it prettyquickly and we'll get back to
you as soon as we can.
Christine (18:56):
That's fantastic, because I know it's probably
very difficult to keep up witheverything always changing.
Officer Hay (19:00):
I think that's probably the biggest part of our
job when we're not on the roadsis just trying to keep up with
all of the different changinglegislation.
Christine (19:08):
Right, it's a full-time job on its own, it
really is.
So, yeah, look to the websiteand social media.
We'll probably post it on thereas well once that cheat sheet
is ready to go.
Officer Hay (19:18):
Yeah, I'm just clarifying a couple of things
with the wait permits, and onceI have that clarification from
road data, it will be out andavailable to everyone.
Christine (19:27):
Fantastic.
So is there anything else thatwe haven't kind of covered that
you guys want to make sure ourresidents know about?
Peace officers, safety ingeneral?
Officer Curwin (19:35):
I was just thinking.
The traffic safety calendar theprovince puts out every year is
changing, coming into Marchhere and it's seatbelt month, oh
.
So in particular we'll bewatching for that in and around,
and I do know that oftentimeson the back roads it's kind of
going short place to short place, but most accidents occur very
close to home.
So please, for the benefit ofyou know, you and your family,
(19:57):
buckle up.
It certainly makes a differenceas far as outcomes go.
Christine (20:01):
Yeah, definitely.
Officer Curwin (20:02):
Please keep that one in mind.
This month we certainly will be.
Christine (20:06):
Ooh is that a threat?
Officer Curwin (20:08):
No, it's something we're going to be,
kind of putting an emphasis onthis month and watching for.
Christine (20:13):
That's awesome, that's good to know.
So, as we, kind of like, arewrapping this up, can you share
with me maybe one of yourwildest stories, or you cannot?
Officer Hay (20:24):
I can share with you the coolest piece of
equipment that I have on my belt.
I think that'll be much moreinteresting, honestly.
Christine (20:32):
I would love to hear this what is it?
Officer Hay (20:33):
My candy pouch.
Christine (20:34):
You have a candy pouch.
Officer Hay (20:36):
I have a pouch specifically for candy that I
have on my belt that is fullystocked.
Most of the children know this,but now all the adults do too.
Christine (20:45):
What kind of candy is in there?
Officer Hay (20:47):
It's generally honestly like a Jolly Ranchers
or something that's like awrapped candy, because you never
really know what might happen.
I might be in the rain and Idon't want it to get soggy.
Well, yeah, but I may have asweet treat if you're craving
some sugar.
Christine (21:00):
It's part of your PPE .
Officer Hay (21:02):
Absolutely.
It's my community service.
Everyone gets to have a treat.
Christine (21:07):
That's fantastic, and on that note, can you tell me
then, what is the best part ofyour job?
What do you like the most aboutbeing a peace officer in
Kneehill County?
Officer Hay (21:16):
Oh man, for myself it's definitely the community
engagements like the communitynights and all of the school
programming.
We're trying to ramp that upand that is just so much fun.
Just watch all the little kidsjust get so excited and give you
all of their statements becausethey never ask questions.
It's supposed to be a questionand instead they're just telling
(21:38):
you a story and you must listenand it's just so amazing to
watch.
It's fun.
Christine (21:44):
Yeah, definitely.
Officer Curwin (21:46):
Favorite part for me probably just the great
satisfaction you get out ofbeing able to provide like a
good level of customer service.
And taking that time.
We're afforded that and thefact that council really backs
us with that, the ability to dothat and gives us the right
tools and the organizationalsupport to have that time out
there with the community and toagain just try to provide that
high level of service to theresidents of the county.
(22:08):
They certainly deserve it.
Christine (22:09):
And you guys do a great job, and I know that it's
always kind of been moreeducation focused, right Like we
just want to educate the publicon safety more than anything.
Officer Hay (22:18):
That's definitely part of the reason why I'm with
Kneeh ill is just that they areway more focused and they're
okay with me educating ratherthan just doing strict
enforcement, which is supergreat, and just I want to make
sure everyone feels supercomfortable.
If you guys ever have any kindof questions, please feel free
to call us.
We will answer.
We all of our peace officersmyself, Matt and our newest
(22:41):
officer, Ming we all just reallydo want to help everyone.
So if you have any kind ofcomment, question, concern,
please, please, please, give usa call and we will try and help
you out the best we can alwaysExcellent.
Christine (22:54):
Well, thank you so much for joining me today.
I think that's a pretty goodplace to wrap it up, and I want
to thank you all for listeningto the Kneehill Scoop.
Stay tuned for the next episode.
In Amber's own words, it'sgoing to be great.
We'll talk to you then.
Hello and welcome to the second episode of Kneehill
Scoop, Kneehill County'sofficial podcast.
My name is Christine, I am yourhost today and before we begin
I just I have a couple ofconfessions to make.
So I know that I promised youwe would be chatting with
finance during this podcast, butunfortunately I kind of
scheduled them where they are at.
(00:33):
.
.
w ell, I mean, when is financenever busy?
But at this point in timethey're just getting ready for
their annual audit, so this isnot an ideal time for them.
So that's my bad.
Instead, we have some veryspecial guests today, but I'll
kind of keep that a little bitof a surprise coming up later.
My second confession is, as Iwas preparing for today's
podcast, I was going through myemails and I realized I hadn't
(00:55):
received any frequently askedquestions from you, from the
public, and then it occurred tome that I failed to let anybody
know that this was an option.
So if you have any burningKneehill County questions, there
is a form on our website, it'sunder Council, which is the very
far left tab, head down to theKneehill Scoop podcast page and
there's a form there where youcould submit any Kneehill County
(01:17):
questions you might have.
For instance, when's the besttime to schedule finance for a
podcast, or you know how do Iregister to vote, like that kind
of stuff, and then we will getyou the answers from the experts
, of which I am not one, but wewill find you those answers and
please, if you do find out whenfinance is available, let me
know.
(01:37):
Anyway, 2025 is a municipalelection year.
If you want to vote in theelection, you must be on the
permanent elector's registry.
To register, or to check yourregistration status, you can
visit the VoterLink website, www.
voterlink.
ab.
ca.
Kneehill County receives ourlist of eligible voters from
(01:58):
this VoterLink site.
So if you could just pleasehead over there, confirm your
information, make sure it'scorrect and make sure that you
are ready to vote.
And the deadline forregistering through VoterLink is
September 15th 2025.
Now, this isn't like if youmiss the deadline, if you, if
(02:19):
you don't make it over toVoterLink in time, that doesn't
mean you can't vote.
You can register at your votingstation on Election Day, which
is October 20th 2025.
The only thing pre-registeringdoes is it makes the process
faster and it makes it you know,you're already pre-registered,
you're in, you're good to go,you're ready to vote.
So we really just encourage youto register prior to the
election.
So I hope you are all enjoyingthe warmer weather out there.
It is so nice to have a bit ofa reprieve from the blistering
(02:42):
cold of February, and you knowwhat this weather has me excited
for is camping, because campingseason is a coming, and you
know how I know that's true isour campground reservations are
open.
They opened on Tuesday of thisweek and so those are done
online through Let's Camp.
Again, if you visit our website, there's links to everything
you need there.
But we are taking bookings nowfor Keivers Lake, Swalwell Dam,
(03:05):
Bracconier Dam and theTorrington Campground.
Go online, go get your perfectspot, especially Keivers Lake.
I mean, all of our campsitesare really nice, but Keivers
Lake is just like a beautiful,peaceful, nice, relaxing place
to spend the weekend with yourfamily, get away from it all.
So make sure you go online andbook that before all the spots
are gone.
So, speaking of camping, haveyou ever been camping and you
(03:27):
wonder hey, is there a fire banon?
Are we allowed to have a fireright now?
I know that comes up a lotduring the summer, especially
when we've been having the drierweather?
Did you know that KneehillCounty has a notification system
called Notify Me, so you cansign up to be notified when the
fire ban status changes in theCounty?
So when it's put on, when it'staken off, if there's a
restriction in place, anythinglike that, you can sign up to
(03:49):
receive notifications throughemail or text and then you can
be in the know.
But that's not all you can benotified about.
We also have notifications fortransfer sites.
So if you're like my father andyou're planning your weekly
dump trip on a Saturday, you canget notified.
If, say hey, the rubble pit isfull because of a fire ban,
don't bring your rubble.
Or you know the snow is meltingand there's some wet conditions
(04:10):
at the Torrington Transfer Site, you can be notified of that.
Most importantly, we have NotifyMe for our water systems, so
that's for all of our watersystems in Kneehill County.
This actually came in handyjust yesterday.
Our utility crews wereinvestigating a low pressure
issue in the Grainger system.
So we were able to sendnotifications to the users on
the Grainger system, justletting them know.
(04:31):
You know there's low pressurein the area, but our utility
crews are out there.
They're investigating, they'regoing to get to the bottom of it
and you know, please be patient, but we're fixing it.
So this is a very easy way, verysimple, to sign up and it's
just another tool so you kind ofknow what's going on and then
we can alert you if there'sanything important that you need
to know.
So again, just head to ourwebsite.
It's on the homepage.
(04:51):
You can go to Notify Me.
The water notices are all atthe top of the page and if you
scroll down there you'll findthe fire bans.
There you'll find the transfersites.
There's actually all kinds ofthings that you can sign up for,
but those three are probablyour biggest.
So, speaking of fire bans, didyou know that Kneehill County
has 16 highway signs that allhave a fire ban sign on them?
(05:13):
Whenever a fire ban isimplemented, all these signs
have to be manually flipped.
So it's a bit of a team efforta lot of the times.
If our road guys are out andabout, they will kind of lend a
hand, but otherwise I am sittingwith two of the people that are
kind of responsible for that,our most excellent peace
officers we have Officer AmberHay and Officer Matt Curwin.
(05:34):
So thank you for joining metoday.
Officer Hay (05:36):
You're very welcome .
I waved when I went tointroduce myself.
So hello my name is Amber,because you can't see me.
Officer Curwin (05:46):
Thank you for having us in today.
Christine (05:47):
Thank you for coming.
So yesterday when I was drivinghome I happened to see a Peace
Officer pulled someone over onthe side of the road and
whenever I see that I kind ofpanic because I have no idea
what I'm supposed to do and Iknow like the rules have kind of
changed for that.
So what are people supposed todo when they see someone pulled
over on the side of the road?
Officer Hay (06:05):
So the legislated requirement is that if there is
a vehicle pulled over on theside of the road with flashing
lights, you are to slow down to60 kilometers an hour while you
are passing that vehicle.
Christine (06:18):
And so does it matter , like because they were heading
east into town and I was in thewest lane.
Does that change things?
Officer Hay (06:25):
As long as it's the two lane, where you have two
directions of traffic, then bothare 60.
It's only when it becomes likea double highway, like Highway 2
?
Yeah, like Highway 2.
If it's in the southbound lane,in the northbound lanes you
don't have to slow down.
Officer Curwin (06:42):
Yes, if you're in any way adjacent to the lane
that the traffic stops occurringin and you're going by it.
If you're next to it, you needto do 60.
Generally when vehicles arepulled over on the shoulder,
they're actually still partiallyon that right-hand lane.
So just a good rule of thumb isyou can never go wrong doing 60
.
It helps when you slow down,because you can really see who
(07:02):
it is that's being pulled over.
Officer Hay (07:11):
Absolutely, and we're all curious and if you're
going to be looking it, isbetter to be looking while going
slowly, so everyone is safe.
Christine (07:14):
That's what I figured .
So on that topic, can you tellme kind of what a typical day in
the life of a Kneehill Countypeace officer entails?
Officer Curwin (07:22):
Well, we come in in the morning and usually for
me I got to check voicemails andemails to make sure there's
nothing from the night beforethat got missed.
And then we have to pre-tripour vehicles and in the winter
warm them up because it's coldoutside, and test our radar
equipment and such.
And then usually we do our bestto get out about as early as
possible and do some patrolsaround the County.
And that can be a variety ofplaces.
(07:42):
It can be our highways, ourhamlets, our range roads.
Often it's good to get into theschool zones in the morning.
So we do focus on patrols.
Then also, throughout the day,we'll get, you know, requests
from the public that come in andwe try to respond to those as
quickly as possible or we'll bebooked into public events, those
sorts of things.
So the day usually flies bypretty quick between the
(08:03):
patrolling and the otheractivities and then end of the
day reports and off to home.
Do you have anything to add?
Officer Hay (08:10):
Oh man.
So my day starts with cominginto the office and getting
snacks so that I'm extra happy.
And then, yeah, you do yourpre-trip, you do your tuning,
fork tests, you get out on theroad, you do patrols.
Christine (08:22):
Sorry can I stop you one second?
What's a tuning fork test?
Officer Hay (08:25):
So the tuning fork test is how we actually test our
radars, which is the legislatedrequirement and what we have to
prove when we go to court thatwe have done in order for our
tickets to be able to stand.
Christine (08:38):
Okay, so the radar that like measures how fast
people are going.
Yeah, okay, cool Pleasecontinue.
Officer Hay (08:45):
And then, yeah, we get out and do patrols, and
during patrols we can dotargeted patrols where we've had
members of the public call inand request us to do specific
things, and if not, then we'rejust kind of out there just
looking for general safetythings.
So, like Matt said, peoplespeeding in school zones, people
speeding in general on theroads, people not following the
(09:07):
road rules, and just kind ofbeing out there and being
present, and then there's a tonof paperwork and then just other
not usual things.
I guess that we will do likethe community events or school
presentations.
Christine (09:26):
Yeah, so on that note , I think there's a lot of
confusion out there sometimesCommunity Peace Officers versus
RCMP.
So can you kind of go over alittle bit of your different
roles and how that kind of works?
Officer Hay (09:39):
So with your community peace officers.
Each municipality that hascommunity peace officers applies
to the Solicitor General ofAlberta to get specific
appointments that their peaceofficers can enforce, and those
appointments are generally actswithin Alberta, but they can
extend to some criminal codestuff like Section 494, which is
(10:01):
then like federal, section 494,which is then like federal, and
then we also do municipal bylawstuff, whereas RCMP have full
federal and the full criminalcode and then also the
provincial legislation and themunicipal legislation.
Officer Curwin (10:17):
I think the way I understand it easiest is if
it's something you have to call911 over, it's likely a police
matter.
Officer Hay (10:22):
Yeah.
Officer Curwin (10:23):
Just simply stated yeah, the main difference
is that the police are involvedin criminal code matters so
assault, drugs, more seriouscrimes, right Whereas we enforce
certain provincial statutes andthen the county's bylaws.
Christine (10:35):
So what would you say is the most frequent call that
you get as a peace officer?
Officer Curwin (10:39):
People are driving too fast on my road.
Christine (10:41):
Yeah.
Officer Curwin (10:41):
Probably eight out of 10.
Christine (10:42):
Like gravel roads, highways?
Oftentimes, when it's a certaintime of year and there's more
industrial traffic out and about, we'll get calls related to
that, whether there's rigtraffic or egg traffic or
whatnot just due to theincreased volume and people get
concerned about speeds.
And then the other big chunk isjust bylaw calls in general.
So the more prevalent ones areconcerned about animals or the
(11:05):
state of other people's propertyand what it looks like.
Officer Hay (11:07):
I was going to mention the animals because I
don't think lots of peopleunderstand how everything works
with animals.
We don't actually, as theKneehill Peace officers, deal
with the animals directly.
We actually contract.
So if there is an animal callwith, like, an animal being
loose, that animal needs to bein some sort of care and control
of the caller before you callus so that we can direct the
(11:30):
contract company to the properplace to pick up that animal.
Christine (11:34):
Gotcha.
And then, on that note, itdefinitely helps for residents
to get a pet license right, likeeven if you're living rurally
for hamlets.
I think you have to have one,don't you?
Yes?
Officer Curwin (11:44):
Yes, yeah, it's also free.
Most municipalities charge forit.
The reason we keep it free isit's actually a big benefit to
us to be able to reunite animalswith owners.
It makes it a much moreexpedient process rather than
posting it on social media orhoping we find the owner.
So, yeah, we definitely doencourage people to register
their pets as much as possible,and the county sees it as a
(12:05):
service.
Again, we're not charging.
That's just a nice way.
If your pet does get lost, itdoes make it easier for another
member of the public or for usto reunite your loved one with
you.
So please register your pet.
Christine (12:16):
You can kind of tell, especially this time of year
when you guys are out and aboutduring your rural patrols,
because I notice when you comeback to the parking lot just mud
all up the sides of your cars.
So as someone who lives rurally, it is very comforting to know
that Kneehill County peaceofficers are patrolling the
gravel roads.
Officer Hay (12:31):
Yeah, we definitely try, and so much of the county
is gravel that it is inevitable.
We are going to be seen on thegravel for sure, and especially
now that we have three peaceofficers who are fully appointed
and available, we have way morepresence than we have in the
last year and it reallyhopefully is being able to be
(12:52):
seen on the gravel and thepavement and just everywhere
within the county.
Christine (12:56):
Yeah, it's good to have that presence out there,
for sure.
So you guys also do like somecontract work for the villages
within Kneehill County, rightyeah?
Yeah, no, we do some contractwork for the villages and towns
when requested.
Our primary spot of focus andour employer is the county.
But we're always happy to helpour neighbours and kind of be
collaborative in that way.
But I want to let the publicknow, if you do live in one of
(13:17):
the towns or villages that weservice, if you do have a
complaint or concern, pleasecontact your village office
directly.
Then they forward it along tous.
As the contractor, as thecontract states, they have to be
the one to deploy us, and so itjust makes the process a lot
smoother, rather than us beingcontacted by the public first
and then we have to direct youback to the village or town
office, because that's kind ofhow it works, and then
(13:38):
inevitably they'll forward italong to us and we'll go from
there.
Officer Hay (13:42):
Yeah, if you live within one of the towns or
villages in the county and youdo have a matter you want to
contact the peace officers, foryou will contact your town or
village directly, who will thendirect that concern to the peace
officers instead of calling thepeace officers directly.
Christine (13:58):
So which villages is that?
Officer Curwin (14:00):
We do have guaranteed hours with Three
Hills, but with the othersTrochu, Linden, Carbon it's kind
of on an as-need basis, so it'skind of sporadic in here and
there.
A little busier in the springjust due to the snow melting.
Christine (14:17):
Kind of speaking of spring and the melt road ban
season is a coming.
Could you tell me a little bitabout road bans?
I know we put them on in March,but what that entails and what
people should kind of payattention to,
Officer Hay (14:28):
Yeah so road bans are put into place to protect
the infrastructure and toprotect the roads that the
county is paying for.
To maintain to our highstandards we have within the
county, we put road bans inplace during the spring thaw
just to protect the integrity ofthe roads with all of the heavy
hauls that can be happeningduring road ban season.
(14:50):
You may only drive commercialvehicles on a road ban road if
you are complying within theallotted requirements that are
posted on the road and if youare going to be going above that
, you need to contact the countyand get a permit that states
that you are allowed to notfollow the posted road ban.
Christine (15:10):
Right, because we have the exemption form and I
think that's on our website.
And when the road bans do comeout that again is in March you
will be able to find them on theroad ban page of the website
and in the Three Hills Capitalas well.
Officer Curwin (15:22):
As far as I understand, the exemptions are
largely in place because a lotof our agriculture producers,
their yards are located on abanned road and so that would
make it very difficult for themto get around and get out of
their yards.
So we you know, we do want toprotect the infrastructure road
building and that is veryexpensive, but understanding we
need to work with ouragriculture community in a
realistic way as well.
Christine (15:43):
Yes, I bet they appreciate that, and with spring
coming, this is always likekind of a hot topic.
We often will see a lot of farmequipment on our roads.
So what's some things thatresidents should keep in mind I
mean spring, fall you seetractors on the roads all the
time but especially seeding.
Officer Curwin (16:00):
My advice and I try to follow this myself when
I'm driving on the back roads inthe county, especially in the
spring is, as you approach likeeven the slightest bit of a hill
, stay to the right.
You don't want to be surprisedcoming over it and there's
something there.
And then I try to drive alittle slower as well.
I drop my speed by about 10kilometers an hour, just
anticipating the increase intraffic we're going to have out
there, and that helps as well,and just kind of trying to be
(16:22):
patient and understanding thatthis is that time of year.
This is very important for theproducers, that this all gets
done, and if we're, all you know, reasonable and safe, then
everyone goes home at the end ofthe day and that's what we're
all here for.
Officer Hay (16:34):
Yeah, that's a good thing, yeah, and most farm
equipment can't go any fasterthan 40 kilometers an hour.
So just try and keep that inmind when you're driving on the
roads, and if you see thattractor up ahead of you, it is
likely going very much slowerthan you are, and you are going
to reach it way faster than youexpect.
So start slowing down beforeyou think you have to, because
(16:55):
you're going to hit it quick.
Christine (16:58):
Yeah, good point and for, like, the farm equipment on
the roads, what's somethingthat they are required to have?
Officer Hay (17:03):
So any vehicle on a highway that is traveling under
40 kilometers an hour needs theorange triangle.
That says it's allowed to moveslowly and is warning all of the
people behind it and there'scertain limits, as well as to
like length restrictions, heightrestrictions, restrictions for
(17:24):
hauling bales and of course allof that legislation is
unfortunately always changing.
Luckily I have been working on ahandout to give to people that
will be available on the website, which is the farm exemption
cheat sheet, which gives whenyou're allowed to haul bales
(17:46):
without your proper loadsecurement, so without tie downs
.
Christine (17:49):
Oh, okay.
Officer Hay (17:50):
Okay, because there's just been so much that's
changed recently.
Another example is when you'rehauling hay now within 50
kilometers of your residence orwhere that hay was picked up,
you don't need to have it tieddown with tie straps with a
rated weight, but as long asthere is some kind of railing
and some kind of containmentsystem.
(18:12):
But it's a lower requirementthan it was in previous years
and, yeah, all of that will beon the website.
Officer Curwin (18:19):
Also, I would like to add that if anyone's
unsure of any of the regulationsat all and they have a very
specific situation, please giveus a call.
Even if we're not sure, we'lllook it up and happily call you
back.
We really do appreciate whenpeople call ahead of time.
You don't even need to giveyour name if you're concerned.
It's all good there.
It's just a lot nicer to kindof sometimes answer those
questions before rather than atthe side of the road, and to
(18:39):
clarify some of those matters.
So yeah, please, please call.
We're always happy to help.
Christine (18:43):
And that's just the office number right 403-443-5541
.
Officer Curwin (18:47):
Yeah, and that'll likely get put through
to a mailbox, but all the peaceofficers are attached to that
mailbox and we see it prettyquickly and we'll get back to
you as soon as we can.
Christine (18:56):
That's fantastic, because I know it's probably
very difficult to keep up witheverything always changing.
Officer Hay (19:00):
I think that's probably the biggest part of our
job when we're not on the roadsis just trying to keep up with
all of the different changinglegislation.
Christine (19:08):
Right, it's a full-time job on its own, it
really is.
So, yeah, look to the websiteand social media.
We'll probably post it on thereas well once that cheat sheet
is ready to go.
Officer Hay (19:18):
Yeah, I'm just clarifying a couple of things
with the wait permits, and onceI have that clarification from
road data, it will be out andavailable to everyone.
Christine (19:27):
Fantastic.
So is there anything else thatwe haven't kind of covered that
you guys want to make sure ourresidents know about?
Peace officers, safety ingeneral?
Officer Curwin (19:35):
I was just thinking.
The traffic safety calendar theprovince puts out every year is
changing, coming into Marchhere and it's seatbelt month, oh
.
So in particular we'll bewatching for that in and around,
and I do know that oftentimeson the back roads it's kind of
going short place to short place, but most accidents occur very
close to home.
So please, for the benefit ofyou know, you and your family,
(19:57):
buckle up.
It certainly makes a differenceas far as outcomes go.
Christine (20:01):
Yeah, definitely.
Officer Curwin (20:02):
Please keep that one in mind.
This month we certainly will be.
Christine (20:06):
Ooh is that a threat?
Officer Curwin (20:08):
No, it's something we're going to be,
kind of putting an emphasis onthis month and watching for.
Christine (20:13):
That's awesome, that's good to know.
So, as we, kind of like, arewrapping this up, can you share
with me maybe one of yourwildest stories, or you cannot?
Officer Hay (20:24):
I can share with you the coolest piece of
equipment that I have on my belt.
I think that'll be much moreinteresting, honestly.
Christine (20:32):
I would love to hear this what is it?
Officer Hay (20:33):
My candy pouch.
Christine (20:34):
You have a candy pouch.
Officer Hay (20:36):
I have a pouch specifically for candy that I
have on my belt that is fullystocked.
Most of the children know this,but now all the adults do too.
Christine (20:45):
What kind of candy is in there?
Officer Hay (20:47):
It's generally honestly like a Jolly Ranchers
or something that's like awrapped candy, because you never
really know what might happen.
I might be in the rain and Idon't want it to get soggy.
Well, yeah, but I may have asweet treat if you're craving
some sugar.
Christine (21:00):
It's part of your PPE .
Officer Hay (21:02):
Absolutely.
It's my community service.
Everyone gets to have a treat.
Christine (21:07):
That's fantastic, and on that note, can you tell me
then, what is the best part ofyour job?
What do you like the most aboutbeing a peace officer in
Kneehill County?
Officer Hay (21:16):
Oh man, for myself it's definitely the community
engagements like the communitynights and all of the school
programming.
We're trying to ramp that upand that is just so much fun.
Just watch all the little kidsjust get so excited and give you
all of their statements becausethey never ask questions.
It's supposed to be a questionand instead they're just telling
(21:38):
you a story and you must listenand it's just so amazing to
watch.
It's fun.
Christine (21:44):
Yeah, definitely.
Officer Curwin (21:46):
Favorite part for me probably just the great
satisfaction you get out ofbeing able to provide like a
good level of customer service.
And taking that time.
We're afforded that and thefact that council really backs
us with that, the ability to dothat and gives us the right
tools and the organizationalsupport to have that time out
there with the community and toagain just try to provide that
high level of service to theresidents of the county.
(22:08):
They certainly deserve it.
Christine (22:09):
And you guys do a great job, and I know that it's
always kind of been moreeducation focused, right Like we
just want to educate the publicon safety more than anything.
Officer Hay (22:18):
That's definitely part of the reason why I'm with
Kneeh ill is just that they areway more focused and they're
okay with me educating ratherthan just doing strict
enforcement, which is supergreat, and just I want to make
sure everyone feels supercomfortable.
If you guys ever have any kindof questions, please feel free
to call us.
We will answer.
We all of our peace officersmyself, Matt and our newest
(22:41):
officer, Ming we all just reallydo want to help everyone.
So if you have any kind ofcomment, question, concern,
please, please, please, give usa call and we will try and help
you out the best we can alwaysExcellent.
Christine (22:54):
Well, thank you so much for joining me today.
I think that's a pretty goodplace to wrap it up, and I want
to thank you all for listeningto the Kneehill Scoop.
Stay tuned for the next episode.
In Amber's own words, it'sgoing to be great.
We'll talk to you then.
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