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Glenn Price resigns from Crossfield council, citing medical reasons

Crossfield's deputy mayor has resigned from Town council, citing personal health reasons.

Crossfield's deputy mayor has resigned from Town council, citing personal medical reasons.

According to a statement from the Town of Crossfield on March 8, Glenn Price's resignation was regretfully accepted by the remainder of council during a special meeting held the night before. His resignation was effective immediately.

"Council would like to thank Deputy Mayor Price for his service to the community," the release stated. "Crossfield has greatly benefited from his time on council."

Price was first elected to council during the October 2017 municipal elections. According to the Town's website, in addition to council, Price served on Crossfield's Annexation Ad-Hoc Committee, the Investment Committee and the Town's Inter-municipal Framework Committee with Rocky View County.

Price, who is known throughout Crossfield by his nickname of "Shorty," said he suffered a fall in January while working at his business – Shorty's Garage Automotive Body Shop. 

“I’ve had Rickets since I was a kid – it’s a type of bone disease – so I fell down in mid-January and for the last six weeks, my legs have been killing me," he said. “I have a piece of metal in one leg and…I have a couple of screws left in my leg. One side feels like an ice pick and the other is like a dull ache.”

Since his fall, Price said he has visited doctors and learned he faces a lengthy recovery period and may even have to get surgery. With that possibility on the horizon, he said he felt it would be in the best interests of both himself and Crossfield as a whole to step down from council for the remainder of the term. 

“Because of my bone disease, a surgery for me is not just a go-and-get-it-done type of thing,” he said. “I could be down for four to six weeks, or four to six months. I figured it would just be best for everybody if I started taking care of myself.”

In its press release, the Town stated a motion will be made at the council meeting on March 16 to add Price's vacancy to the municipality's by-election that is already slated to be held May 10. The by-election is to fill a vacancy left by Coun. Devon Helfrich, who passed away in January.

Crossfield's council has seen a turbulent last year in terms of its membership. In addition to Helfrich's passing and Price's resignation, two other members resigned from their positions in the spring of 2020 – Beth Gabriel and Liz Grace. They were replaced in a by-election last October by Couns. Justin Gustafson and Kim Harris.

In addition to his role as the Town's deputy mayor and the owner of Shorty's Garage Automotive Body Shop, Price is also the owner of the building that houses the Diner at Shorty's – a family restaurant along Railway Street in Crossfield's downtown.

After spending more than three years on council, Price said what he enjoyed most about the position was the opportunity to help people. 

“I love fixing stuff,” he said. “I love helping out. I know I helped a lot of people and I know I tried my hardest. I loved it when people would come to me and they had a problem, but they would have a solution. It was great because just talking to them and giving some pointers, it worked out for everybody.”

Price said he did not want to rule out running for council again in the next municipal election this October, but said it is unlikely. 

“I don’t want to speculate anything because if I say something, I kind of mean it,” he said. “I love Crossfield and I’ll volunteer for whatever, but running next year, until I get in better health, is probably out of the question.”

Information regarding Crossfield's upcoming by-election can be found on the Town’s website at crossfieldalberta.com

Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19

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