A multi-stakeholder committee comprised of residents, business owners, and other stakeholders living along the Red Deer River from the West Country to Gleniffer Lake has put out the call for more people to join its letter writing campaign.The Red Deer River Quality Control Committee was formed this summer to address the long-term flooding risks facing the communities along the length of the river.The committee is asking people to write letters in their own words expressing concerns about the flood dangers upstream of Sundre and asking the government to provide funds to conduct flood prevention construction, said committee chairman Myron Thompson, a former MP and current Sundre town councillor.Committee members and supporters will present the letters in person to Premier Alison Redford during an upcoming bus trip to Edmonton, he said, noting the letters can be dropped off at the Sundre Museum.More than 100 letters have been received to date and organizers hope to gather hundreds more before making the trip to Edmonton later this month.The committee is a citizens' initiative, not associated with the Town of Sundre, Mountain View County or other government initiative.The committee is currently made up of representatives from the Sundre and District Chamber of Commerce, Sundre, Mountain View, Clearwater and Red Deer County residents, and others.Following last week's Mountain View County council meeting, Division 6 councillor Paddy Munro, who is on the committee and has been spearheading efforts to get a berm built upstream of Sundre, said he is also encouraging residents to send letters to the committee.The committee took part in a public open house at the Sundre Legion on September 13.During that meeting, Thompson said the committee would be in support of having a berm constructed upstream of Sundre to help protect public and private property from flooding.The committee is also calling for the construction of a dam upstream of Sundre, he said.
