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GRANDE CACHE — After being hit by one economic punch after another and watching hundreds of residents leave for good, the town of Grande Cache might suffer another indignity — being downgraded to a hamlet as part of the Municipal District of Greenview.

The provincial government has yet to make a decision on the future of the community (pop: 4,000) that has been walloped by its dependence on a trifecta of troubled economic industries — oil, forestry and coal.

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Residents such as the town’s deputy mayor, Mary Nelson, are afraid more bad news is on the way.

“I feel like we’re maybe at a fork,” said Nelson. “I see it either as Grande Cache being able to grow and prosper and build to become its own entity and be a viable town to live in, or I see Grande Cache diminishing and becoming a hamlet with minimal services and amenities.”

Nelson says the economically-troubled town has been reaching out to the provincial government for help — but has been largely ignored. The last cabinet minister to visit was Economic Development Minister Deron Bilous in 2015.

“I don’t feel they’ve been supportive during low-commodity times to ensure that our population is able to work,” she says.

What’s particularly irritating for the town council is that after making numerous requests to have government ministers visit their town, they have to instead drive 4-1/2 hours to Edmonton to speak with ministers.