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Community safety work making progress

Jun 29, 2017 | 12:00 PM

City of North Battleford council received an update on a number of local community safety efforts at its meeting Monday.

North Battleford Community Safety Coordinator Herb Sutton, also project manager for the group SAGE (Safety, Acceptance, Guidance, Empowerment), gave a presentation on the ongoing initiatives, as part of the Building a Safer Community Plan.

Sutton also recently received the Premier’s Award for Excellence in Public Service for his work helping at La Loche Community School following the school shootings in 2016.

“That was a surprise to me; I wasn’t even aware I had been nominated for an award,” Sutton, who is also a retired director of education, said. He helped develop a return to school plan for students and teachers following the tragedy.

N.B. city manager Jim Puffalt congratulated Sutton on receiving the honour for his service.  

SAGE Phase Two

Sutton’s current work in the local area involves advancing the SAGE initiative, to help make the community safer and reduce crime.

As part of the Phase Two program for SAGE, Sutton is working on acquiring new funding to develop a regional steering committee through a partnership with four levels of governments – federal, provincial, municipal and First Nations.

“The SAGE group is all about creating a safer community,” Sutton said. “We really believe in order to do that we need to bring those four levels of government together.

“Each level is working within our community safety, but we really need them to come together, and start working collaboratively. I think that needs to start with leadership.”

Funding is available through INAC (Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada), under the Urban Pogramming for Indigenous People program and SAGE is applying for a $250,000 grant.

The group needs a coordinator for the committee, and expects to hire someone for the salary position. The funding will also help to access training, and to increase cultural awareness, as part of the plan. 

“It’s basically a full-time position to pull this all together,” Sutton said. “I’m not aware of anything like this in this particular area.

“We’re pretty excited about the possibilities,” he added. “I think North Battleford has done a lot of good things in the last few years and is starting to develop a good reputation for working on community safety. This is just another way of bringing that agenda forward.”

Graduation 

Sutton also spoke to council about the success of the Emergency Services Responders Training offered to local high school students through North Battleford Fire Department. A total of 23 students graduated from the program on Monday afternoon.

The program will be held again for the next school year, however there may only be funding available to hold one course – either for a new group of students or for the 23 students moving into the advanced program. Sutton said he hopes more funding will be available to provide courses for both groups of students.

CPTED update

Sutton also gave an update on the CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) work.

Organizers held three barbecues with the aim to bring community members together and promote the city’s free summer playground programs.

For other initiatives, Sutton said there are plans for more murals downtown as part of the city’s Art Alley project.  

“We’re really pleased about that,” he said, adding studies show these types of art projects help to deter crime in the city, and create a safer environment. 

For another project – the Peace Park (on 112 Street) improvements – Sutton said lighting is needed. He thanked council for including funding for this project in this year’s budget, with work expected to be competed this fall.

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

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