Lacombe

Lacombe police officers will be approaching unattended and idling vehicles in an effort to combat potential auto thefts. 

Until Jan. 12, officers will be participating in Operation Cold Start, an initiative to prevent crimes of opportunity, coinciding with the times when vehicles are most susceptible to theft as they are left idling. 

NASA says it will be delaying the Artemis II moon mission that includes Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, initially scheduled for November of this year.

The U.S. space agency provided an update today on the timeline for the upcoming mission around the moon and said it will be pushed back to September 2025 due to a number of technical issues and to allow more preparation time.

On March 3, 2023, Red Deer RCMP responded to a break-and-enter in the city of Red Deer. Officers located a suspect and in the process of the arrest, officers were assaulted and sprayed with bear spray. While lawfully placing the suspect under arrest, an altercation occurred which resulted in injuries to the suspect. The suspect was taken to the detachment and examined by EMS.

As a result of a statutory investigation, on Dec. 1, 2023, Constable Steven Cerant was charged with assault and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 9, 2024, at the Alberta Court of Justice in Red Deer.

The Spruce View & District Lions Club has selected Carly Hansen as Spruce View Citizen of the Year for 2024. The award has been given annually since about 1980 to one individual who gives selflessly to the community.

Budget 2024

• Administration officially handed over the proposed amended 2024 operating and capital budgets to City Council during a regular Council meeting.
• City Council will debate the budget January 23 until 26.
• More information is available at www.redder.ca/budget.
• A more detailed news release is posted to www.redder.ca/news.

Consideration of Notice of Motion re: Urban Encampment Responses

Tuesday should see a return to cold and snowy conditions according to our Environment Canada forecast.

So far we've grown accustomed to mild and dry weather this Winter. But that will change starting today.

Environment Canada is calling for local snowfall amounts between 5-10 cms, and the temperature falling to minus 16 Tuesday afternoon. Wind chill will also be a factor at min 15 in the morning and minus 23 in the afternoon.

If you are driving, watch for blowing snow as it will be windy at times Tuesday.

On Sunday night (January 7th, 2024) at approximately 6:52 p.m., Maskwacis RCMP responded to a report of a hit and run involving a pedestrian. This occurred north of the intersection of Powerline Road and Highway 611 west.

Upon arrival, a 24-year-old female was located deceased.

RCMP are seeking public assistance in identifying the person(s) involved in this incident. Please contact the Maskwacis RCMP at 780-585-3767 or your local police if you have any information about this incident.

Grain movement is expected to pick up over the next few weeks following the slow-down during the holiday season and the closure of the Port of Thunder Bay.

David Przednowek the assistant vice president of grain for CN Rail says throughout December they've seen a continued pattern of underutilization of grain supply chain capacity:

City of Red Deer administration presented council with the proposed amended 2024 operating and capital budget, during the Monday (Jan. 8) meeting. 

Council originally approved this year's budget as part of the 2023/2024 budget in November 2022. However, administration took a second look, as the city faces challenges including inflation, decreased revenue, and less funds from other levels of government. 

It's going to be a busy and important week for The Red Deer Rebels. In a month that will see the team play eight out of their 11 games at home, this is an important time for the team to make up some ground in the WHL Eastern Conference standings. 

Red Deer is currently sitting in 5th place just one point behind The Swift Current Broncos and three points behind Moose Jaw. The Rebels have two games in hand on both of these teams, so a couple wins could see them jump up the leader board.