CARSTAIRS - Although he has only been on the job for a couple of months, Dave Ness is enjoying his new position as the director of protective services for Carstairs.
In the position he oversees local bylaw enforcement.
With 28 years service with the RCMP, Ness has a great deal of experience enforcing the law.
"My job, at present, I manage the community peace officers (CPO)," said Ness. "We look at the bylaws for different things like parking or weeds or unsightly premise; the bylaws within the Town of Carstairs. Some of our CPOs are Level 2, some are Level 1. Level 1s can do some traffic enforcement as well; some speeding."
Ness said that CPOs can also enforce the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act, traffic safety and dangerous dogs (bylaws).
"There are different designations," he said. "At present we have three peace officers including myself and we're hiring another."
Ness has been in Carstairs for just under two months and said he's still learning about the area and what the biggest challenges are.
"I was with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for almost 28 years so I'm just getting used to a bit of a change," he said. "What I've found so far is that there are some seasonal issues. In the summer we might have some weeds and unsightly premise issues more than the winter.
"In the winter, of course, snow removal is something we have to look at. We have to make sure sidewalks and such are taken care of by property owners."
Ness said that trailers should not be parked where they are not supposed to be at the end of camping season.
"We have to address some of that," he said.
Ness said that the officers will have to enforce the new cannabis bylaws regarding consumption. Bylaw 1066 states that, "A person must not smoke, vape or consume cannabis in any public place."
"We haven't had to do anything with the (cannabis) bylaws yet," he said.
Ness is originally from Drayton Valley. From there, he went to Quebec for language training and then went on to the RCMP depot in Regina.
"From there I transferred to Castlegar, B.C. and then went to Grimshaw, Alberta," he said. "From there I went to Wetaskiwin where I was promoted to corporal as a shift supervisor. Then to Milk River as the detachment supervisor. Then I was promoted to sergeant, then went to Taber. I was then staff sergeant in Redcliffe by Medicine Hat."
Ness ended up in Airdrie as a district advisor NCO for Southern Alberta.
"I retired from the RCMP and was fortunate enough to be chosen to be the director of protective services for Carstairs," he said.
Ness, who lives in Olds with his wife, was familiar with Carstairs and was happy to take the position.
"Carstairs is a great community," he said. "Very progressive. Good people. The town, as anyone who lives here and some visitors can attest to, it's very friendly. It's got everything you could want.
"Even working within the town itself, it's great working with the people. Everyone helps each other out. It's a nice place. Even when I used to visit here with my other job, I could sense it then."
Ness said he's still learning about the job but he's enjoying the experience.
"It's great," he said. "But I'm not going to sugar-coat it, I do have some learning to do because it's different from what I was doing before. It takes a little while to get used to the differences.
"We're enforcing the bylaws and some of the other provincial statutes but we don't do the Criminal Code things I was used to doing."
Ness said the job is different from being with the police but there are also many similarities.
As for when he isn't on the job, Ness enjoys golfing when he can and travelling.
"We enjoy travelling," he said. "I enjoy planning trips. Anyone that knows me knows we're partial to Disney parks. We like Disneyland, Disney World. In the last several years we've gone on cruises and enjoy seeing different places on the ship."
