Lacombe

The Province is investing $3.2 million in the development of the Western Crop Innovations (WCI).

WCI will carry on the work of the Field Crop Development Centre at Lacombe starting April 1st.

Current programming is under review and where necessary will be transitioned ... FCDC which has been around since 1973  is known for its barley breeding program.

Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson says it's an exciting time for crop research in Alberta.

The Lacombe AA Generals braved icy roads Wednesday night to hit the ice in Devon against the Barons.

With the best-of-seven finals tied at one game apiece, Lacombe stormed out in front with four unanswered goals in the first period. Scoring for the Generals were Jamie Johnson, Taylor Mulder, Luke Coleman, and Thomas Beretta.

Devon came out of the locker room in the second with something to prove as they scored three goals in-a-row to finish the middle frame with Lacombe still in the lead 5-3.  Cam Maclise would get a late period goal for the Generals.

Once again with snow falling in Central Alberta, road conditions are starting to become worse as snow and ice are building on area highways and municipal intersections.

For those travelling north of Lacombe, Alberta RCMP Traffic Leduc are currently responding to several motor vehicle collisions on the QE II Highway in Leduc and surrounding area due to low visibility, blowing snow and icy roads.

RCMP are asking, if you do not have to travel, please stay home.

 Alberta RCMP were kept busy yesterday responding to collisions across the province.

Police report that on the QE II between Edmonton and Calgary, RCMP responded to 52 collisions 3 resulting in injuries.

Additional serious collisions have been reported throughout the province. With the snow continuing to fall, RCMP expect poor driving conditions to continue. RCMP wish to reiterate.

If you do not have to travel, please stay home.

On March 9, High Level RCMP members were conducting proactive patrols in order to locate a suspect who had multiple outstanding warrants. Upon attending a residence known to police, a suspect, who out on conditions not to enter the residence, was seen within. A few minutes later, a 911 call was received about a possible shooting in High Level, Alta. This call was later determined to be fraudulent and originated from the residence. Members entered the residence, conducted arrests and obtained a search warrant.

As a result of the search warrant, the following items were seized:

The Chinook’s Edge School division has seen a significant increase in student participation in online dual credit courses this year.  

Course registration increased from 163 students last year, to 270 students this school year.   

CN Rail has seen solid grain movement over the last couple of weeks. 

CN's Assistant Vice-President of Grain David Przednowek says they've moved over 525 thousand tonnes of grain per week.

"We expect that demand is going to remain quite steady here into early April, then we'll see what the market brings us. What the impact of starting to shift gears and think about spring seeding will do as well as the impact of road bands."

Weed management throughout the growing season is a key concern for farmers.

Bayer Canada held a weed management webinar this week.

Kate Hadley, a Market Development Agronomist with Bayer says weed resistance is growing across the prairies with 60 per cent of herbicide-resistant wild oats now showing resistance to Group 1 herbicides.

The Alberta government announced on the ReLM website this past Saturday that the 2024-25 Sportfishing guide would be delayed.

The reason they give is that it "requires careful consideration, feedback and understanding".

They also advise to just use the 2023-24 guide for now until the new one is printed.

And if you need last years, they still have it available as a digital download.

The Lacombe and District Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) spring Fill a Fridge program is now open for applications, for residents seeking a little help with their grocery bills.  

Fill a Fridge began as a program the FCSS offered during the holidays, but during the pandemic, they felt there was a need to offer the program twice a year.