Lacombe

In December, the Alberta Government announced that it would be hosting public engagement sessions as it works to refocus the province’s health care system.  

Those 40 in-person engagement sessions have now been given locations and dates.  

In the central Alberta area, we will see four engagement sessions in Red Deer, Wetaskiwin, Rocky Mountain House, and Stettler.  

Millions of uninsured Canadians will be left out of the new federal dental program because their family income is too high, says a report released Wednesday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Enrolment began last month for a new federal benefits program, which was developed as a condition of a political pact between the Liberal government and the NDP.

It will see the federal government offer dental benefits to uninsured families with a household income under $90,000 per year, starting with seniors, children under the age of 18 and people with disabilities.

Each year the panel of judges at Ag Days' Innovation Showcase scrutinize, dissect, interview the creators and weigh the benefits of each entry; how does this innovation benefit the Ag industry as a whole?

This year the new online peer-to-peer help-mate website Combinesettings.com placed first in this week's Ag Technology category.

Father-son team, Pat and Trevor Scherman, brought two generations of experience and ingenuity together first with their SCHERGAIN drop pan, affixed behind a combine to measure the amount of loss during harvest.  

Wolf Creek Public Schools (WCPS) has announced the appointment of Kayley Bowie to the position of Assistant Principal of Iron Ridge Secondary Campus (IRSC).

Bowie has been teaching at Eckville Jr. Sr. High School since 2019 and prior to that had teaching experiences in the United Kingdom and at Crestomere School. She is a master teacher who holds high expectations for students while supporting and celebrating their diversities. Bowie has also completed the Aspiring Leaders program.

The Echo Food Rescue had a record-breaking year in 2023, rescuing 115,000 lbs of food. 

Food rescue manager Christina Sturgeon says the jump from 115,000 lbs of food compared to the 60,000 lbs of food in 2022 is a result of raising awareness in the community for the service.  

Innisfail RCMP, in collaboration with the Town of Innisfail, will be holding a Town Hall meeting on Jan. 22, 2024, at 6:30 p.m., at the Innisfail Legion.

There will be presentations from:

A new carbon study shows Western Canadian farmers are producing some of the world's most sustainable crops.

Steve Webb, the CEO of the Global Institute for Food Security says the study looked at the production of five crops canola, non-durum wheat, durum,  field peas, and lentils, and compared that with data collected from  Australia, France, Germany, Italy, and the U.S.

Early Tuesday (Jan. 16) morning the Bentley District Fire Department responded to a fire at the Monkey Top Saloon.  

Lacombe County, City of Lacombe, Blackfalds and Eckville Fire Departments also responded, helping the local crew contain the fire. 

Bentley’s chief administrative officer Marc Fortais says the fire is under control and has been isolated to the Monkey Top and liquor store building. 

A man from Rocky Mountain House was charged in relation to a grandparent scam that occurred in the Okotoks area. 

On Jan. 11, 2024, Okotoks RCMP responded to a fraud complaint.  An elderly couple, who were both 88 years old, reported they believed someone was trying to defraud them of several thousand dollars.  The couple had been contacted online by someone posing as a police officer saying a family member required bail money which would be picked up at the couple’s residence. 

On Dec. 8, 2023, the Red Deer RCMP Crime Reduction Team (CRT) located a vehicle which had been stolen on Nov. 16. It was discovered that the licence plate on this vehicle had been stolen from a different vehicle in Red Deer on Nov. 18. 

Police conducted surveillance on the SUV and observed it attend a gas station. Members were not able to safely apprehend the driver, but were able to use the security video from the gas station to identify the driver as Nicholas Wales, a 26 year-old resident of Red Deer.