Strathmore

Brooks RCMP is warning residents to drive safely following several vehicle collisions in the area.

According to a police news release, the crashes happened between Brooks and Bassano.

"Icy patches are leading to poor driving conditions and are causing multiple vehicles to drive off the road," wrote RCMP.

If any Strathmore drivers are planning to head that way police said they should avoid the area and check Alberta 511 for updated highway conditions.

511 also says as of this morning Highway 1 from Strathmore to Chestermere is dry.

A British Columbia community's "out-of-the-box" plan to ease its family doctor shortage by hiring physicians as city employees is sparking interest from across Canada, says Colwood Mayor Doug Kobayashi.

The mayor said the community has hired its first family doctor for a city-operated medical clinic, and the Victoria-area city is looking to hire seven more under the first-in-Canada pilot project.

The family doctors will be paid as community employees, receiving full medical benefits, vacation and a pension, he said.

An "overheated" immigration system that admitted record numbers of newcomers to the country has harmed Canada's decades-old consensus on the benefits of immigration, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said, as he reflected on the changes in his department in a year-end interview.

The system, he said, needed some discipline to get the country back on track.

Wheatland County approved the 2025 interim capital and operating budgets during a council meeting on Tuesday (Dec. 17).

Capital spends include:

Strathmore and the surrounding area have no shortage of talented athletes.

Here are the top five sports stories from 2024:

The Royal Canadian Legion in Strathmore is putting together a fundraiser to help disabled veteran Mike Fielding.

According to the Legion, Fielding had his car stolen earlier this month, and the vehicle was eventually found destroyed.

"The ignition column was punched out, the culprits damaged the front end of the vehicle, and with it being a lower-value car, they just wrote it off," said Kevin Armitage, sergeant at arms at the Legion. "Now poor Mike is without a car and the proper means to pay for one, so I'm trying to help him out and find him another second-hand car."

The Strathmore and Wheatland County Christmas Hamper Society had their annual distribution day on Friday (Dec. 20).

Volunteers were working hard at the Strathmore Ag Grounds preparing hundreds of gifts for local families in need.

"We did 288 hampers and 378 toy bags, which is an all-time record," said Marilyn Galvin, president of the society. "It's really exciting to know that we've helped so many people this year."

The Strathmore Run Club plans to spread some Christmas cheer in the community this weekend.

Members will dress up as Santa, and on Saturday (Dec. 21) they will meet at Kinsmen Park by the Strathmore Municipal Building at 9 a.m.

"We're going to run around Gray's Park and down Wheatland again," mentioned Diana Baird, president of the club.

Baird says the HoHoHoliday 5K event is partnering with Make a Wish Canada.

"There's proceeds from the sale of the Santa suits, and there's other options for donations," says Baird.

The Town of Strathmore is reminding residents to renew their pet licenses.

50 percent of licensed pets are more likely to be reunited with their owners than unlicensed pets mentioned the town.

Animals over the age of six months are required to have a pet license.

The annual fee for spayed and neutered dogs is $30, and for dogs that aren't, it is $55.

If your cat is spayed/neutered it will cost $20 for a license and for cats that aren't spayed or neutered that charge will be $30.

This weekend on the Canadian Country Showcase, we have a special holiday edition of the show! Courtney Fielder catches up with many of your favourite artists this holiday season to talk about all things Christmas, from their favourite holiday movies to how many trees they have in their homes—and so much more.

Tune in to the Canadian Country Showcase every Saturday at 12 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m., exclusively on the Golden West Country Network.