Town of Ponoka expresses heart-felt thanks to community for helping stranded travellers

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Town officials confirm those community partners included:

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• Ponoka County
• Emergency services – RCMP, Ponoka County Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services
• Ponoka Family and Community Support Services
• Ponoka Victim Services
• Calnash Ag Event Centre
• Centennial Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury, which provided a warm place to sleep for a hockey team that was among those stranded on the highway

  CRUSADERS STATEMENT

  This evening, the team bus was involved in a multi-vehicle accident while travelling to Blackfalds. All staff and players are safe and unharmed.

  Details: https://t.co/sFPfZNyTsY pic.twitter.com/JVLyeS7cxk

  — Sherwood Park Crusaders (@SPcrusaders) November 6, 2022

• Ponoka Mat Program, which provided mats and blankets for people to sleep on at the Ag Event Centre
• About 20 community volunteers who helped out that evening, along with various other residents and businesses that stopped by throughout the evening to offer their help
• The owner of the concession booth (Pony Express) at the Calnash Ag Event Centre who came in and served coffee and food to the stranded travellers
• Area tow truck drivers
• Wolf Creek School Division bus drivers

“Our community members have such huge hearts and I was honoured to work side-by-side with them this weekend, along with our Mayor and members of town council, to offer help to those who needed it,” said Lund.

“I can’t thank our residents, our businesses and our community partners enough for their immediate outpouring of generosity and kindness to the travellers who needed our assistance this weekend.”

Lund notes that providing an emergency response when there’s a situation that requires it is part of the Town’s responsibilities under its municipal Emergency Management Plan and the Ponoka Regional Emergency Plan.

Reception Centre Registered 77 People

Town officials confirm a total of 77 people registered at the reception centre on Saturday, with nine people spending the night, in addition to 25 hockey players and their coaches who stayed overnight at the Centennial Centre.

“The first responders who were on the scene on Highway 2 were outstanding,” said Lund.

She says that they made arrangements for the stranded travellers to be reunited with their vehicles, which included towing vehicles that were still drivable to their owners at the Calnash Ag Event Centre, or shuttling stranded travellers back to their vehicles on the highway once it was safe to do so.

A Heartwarming Weekend

“Our Mayor even drove one of the travellers to Wetaskiwin the next morning to be with their family,” said Lund. “It was a heartwarming weekend and I’m so proud of our whole community and its willingness to quickly step up and help out when there is a need.”