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Vol. 21, No. 24, Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Peter Tarnawsky out as Lamont County CAO BY JOHN MATHER Peter Tarnawsky is out as Chief Administrative Officer at Lamont County. In a memo sent to Lamont County staff from the CAO, Tarnawsky said he was visited by the Reeve and Deputy Reeve Monday morning (March 16), who informed him his contract had been terminated and his appointment revoked. He said he had enjoyed working with the County staff and felt they did very good work. He also wished them all luck moving forward. He added current Legislative Services Officer Christiane Benoit was named the acting CAO. Tarnawsky was hired as County CAO in February 2022 after serving as
appointment the interim and two CAO since Sept opposed his 2021 when forhiring. mer Stephen Ta r n a w s k y Hill was had come to released. the County “We have an with an extenexcellent sive backadministrator ground in who is ready to municipal take on this administration, challenge and including prefocus on servvious roles as ing the County, of while bringing Former Lamont County CAO Peter Tarnawsky CAO Sturgeon, further structure to the role,” said former Reeve Kneehill, and Cypress Counties. He was the recipient of the R.W. Hay David Diduck at the time of the hire. However, his hiring was achieved Award for Rural Administrative with a recorded vote which showed of Excellence in 2017. “I am glad to have the continued the five councillors, three favoured his
opportunity to serve as County CAO,” said Tarnawsky at the time of his permanent appointment. “I look forward to working with and on behalf of Council to build on the County’s strategic plan and strengthening administration based on Council’s direction. I am excited with the progress we have made in the past six months across the organization.” A County councillor did contact the Leader from the Rural Municipalities Association meeting and said council had decided they wanted to move in a new direction following the fall election. “With what we heard during our town hall meeting last week,” he added. “That reinforced our decision to move on to seek a new CAO to help us in this new direction.”
Cat shooting results in over $14,000 restitution BY MELISSA MACINTOSH-YOUNG A court decision has been handed down in a disturbing case that shocked the small community of Bruderheim after a family pet was shot and required extensive surgery last fall. According to court records, Christopher Ackert was sentenced on March 12, 2026, in connection with an incident that occurred on November 1, 2025. The case involved the shooting of a family’s cat, an act that led to criminal charges under the Criminal Code of
Canada. The accused was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and using an imitation firearm while committing an offence. For those offences, the court imposed a 16-month conditional sentence, meaning the offender will serve the sentence in the community under strict conditions rather than in jail. The court also ordered 18 months of probation following the conditional sentence, along with a firearms prohibition preventing the offender from possessing firearms or certain
weapons. In addition, the court ordered the offender to pay $14,250.52 in restitution to compensate for damages stemming from the incident. Two additional charges originally laid in the case were withdrawn by prosecutors at sentencing. Those charges included possession of a weapon dangerous to the public and mischief causing damage over $5,000. While the offender will not serve time behind bars immediately, a conditional sentence comes with strict requirements. Violating any of the conditions could result in the offender
being sent to jail to serve the remainder of the 16-month sentence. The case drew attention locally because of the nature of the incident involving the deliberate injury of a family pet — an event that upset many residents in the close-knit community of Bruderheim. The court’s ruling brings the criminal case to a close, though the offender must now comply with the conditions of the sentence, probation order, and restitution payment.