FortSask

After working at Spruce View Manor in Gibbons for 40 years, head housekeeper Gayle Allarie has announced her retirement.

Allarie started working at Spruce View Manor in 1983 at the age of 29. 

"I was in Manitoba. I moved to Edmonton in 1977. From there we decided to raise our family in Gibbons," Allarie said. "We moved out here in 1980."

A few years later, she started working at Spruce View Manor as a housekeeper. She said she never expected to stay there that long.

Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) students are building their problem-solving skills through the Minecraft Design Challenge.

This year's challenge is for students to "'Build a School'.

Between January and May, students from participating schools will design a prototype for a new school for up to 1,200 students in, the popular block-building game, Minecraft. 

The challenge was inspired by the construction of the new Sherwood Heights Junior High replacement.  Students must incorporate infrastructure standards and landscaping guidelines in their models.

Looking for a rural winter activity for the whole family? 

While Prairie Gardens might be best known for their work in the summer and fall, they are also very busy during the winter months. 

You might have seen them busy delivering baby lambs that can be seen in their petting farm over the last week, but that is just one of the many things that they are offering. 

"It's sure been a beautiful winter with all of the hoar frost and snow," said Tam Andersen with Prairie Gardens. "It's perfect for us to launch a new program called our Winter Farm Wonderland!"

The $200-million program is an initiative to help farmers tackle climate change.  

The objective of the Fund is to support farmers in adopting beneficial management practices that store carbon and reduce greenhouse gases.

The program specifically focuses in on nitrogen management, cover cropping and rotational grazing practices.

The second round of funding applications for the On-Farm Climate Action Fund open on February 13th.

The Town of Morinville has gotten rid of its surcharges on credit cards.

The change comes after the council completed their third reading of an amendment to their 2023 Fees and Charges Bylaw at their latest council meeting on last Tuesday (Jan. 10). 

Morinville residents didn't pay surcharges for very long, only just starting on Jan. 4 when the original version of the bylaw was adopted. Before that, there were no surcharges with the exception of taxes.

Genesis Fertilizers Limited Partnership has selected Saskatchewan as the site for its proposed $1.7 billion Urea Fertilizer Plant.

Barrie Mann, vice president of investor relations, says they are looking at building a state-of-the-art 700,000 metric tonne urea facility.

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau is in Germany taking part in the Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference.

The purpose of the trip is to advance international trade, engage and promote collaboration with global partners to support world food security.

Earlier this week, Bibeau met with her UK counterpart to discuss the Canada-UK trade relationship and talk about Canada's desire to be a trading partner of choice for the UK in agriculture.

Premier Danielle Smith has struck a committee to investigate how the Alberta government responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has appointed former Reform Party leader Preston Manning to chair it.

Smith said Thursday that Manning and the panel are to take feedback virtually from experts and the public, then issue a final report and recommendations by Nov. 15.

Manning is to pick the other panel members subject to approval by Smith.

The budget is $2 million, and Manning is to be paid $253,000.

It's well known that HBO's series The Last of Us was filmed in Alberta, but did you know a Fort Saskatchewan artist helped with the effects?

Travis Shewchuk with Ravenous EFX has been making professional props for TV shows and movies for years in the community. 

His work can be seen in shows such as Fargo, Stargate, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Disney's Togo. The latter two were also filmed in Alberta.

One of his recent projects was doing work for the first season of The Last of Us.

It's been a busy week for Prairie Gardens. 

Tam Andersen and the rest of the team have seen a whopping 18 baby lambs come into the world, and they aren't finished yet. 

"My little sheep flock has increased from six sheep to forty sheep now," laughed Andersen. "[On Wednesday] we had six baby lambs which is a record for us all in one day!" 

"There were several sets of twins and a couple of other sweet little ones." 

The flock has been keeping warm this winter in a 1918 hip-roof barn. A barn that is expected to get a bit more crowded over the coming weeks.