Lacombe

Update: Jan. 17 7:53 a.m.

The wind warning has now ended for central Alberta. A blowing snow advisory remains in effect for the southeast corner of the province.

Poor visibility in snow and blowing snow continues across southern Alberta, along with very strong winds.

Northwest winds gusting up to 90 km/h will combine with falling snow to give poor visibility.

Conditions will improve by mid-morning.

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says he’s ready to replace Justin Trudeau and lead the Liberal party into the next election.

He made the announcement at a community centre in Edmonton Thursday afternoon, ending nearly a decade of speculation about his political ambitions.

"I'm back home in Edmonton to declare my candidacy for leader of the Liberal party and prime minister of Canada," Carney said, flanked by supporters and Liberal members of Parliament endorsing his candidacy.

Motorists are being reminded to slow down and proceed carefully through intersections. 

Statistics show intersection-related collisions increase in the new year, largely due to winter driving and low light conditions. 

One in four collisions on Alberta roads occurs at an intersection, resulting in millions of dollars in damages each year in addition to many injuries and deaths.

Amendments to the Land Use Bylaw, and the St. Andrew’s United Church 100 Tree Planting Project were topics discussed during the Lacombe City Council regular meeting on Jan. 13.  

Here are the meeting highlights:  

Public hearings  

Bylaw 400.65 Site Specific Exception – 4810 & 4816 45th Street   

The Red Deer Rebels lost a hard-fought tilt against the Regina Pats 4-3 on Wednesday night.

The Pats opened the scoring with 2:50 left in the first period when forward Keets Fawcett beat Rebels netminder Chase Wutzke with a quick wrist shot.

The Rebels tied things up early in the second when defenceman Luke Vlooswyk hammered home a pass from Parker MacDougall going bar down past Pats goalie Ewan Huet for his second goal of the season.

A Wetaskiwin dealership is out thousands of dollars after a customer used a fraudulent bank draft to purchase two snowmobiles and a trailer.

RCMP say the business was approached by the buyer with what appeared to be a legitimate bank draft.  After the transaction was complete, the victim discovered that the bank draft was counterfeit.

This scam has raised concerns as to how realistic the bank draft appeared. 

The Bless the Broom Tree Online Auction held in December was another big success.

The auction, organized by local volunteer Sandra Mulder, raised close to $9,000 in support of the Broom Tree Foundation in Lacombe. The auction has been running for the past three years. The goal this year was to raise $6,000.

"Sandra Mulder has been one of our number one supporters," said Broom Tree founder and Executive Director Donna Abma.

CASA Mental Health is bringing school-based mental health services to more youth in the Central Alberta region.   

In February, CASA Classrooms will launch within West Central High School in Rocky Mountain House and the Daysland School.  

Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) is part of a 38 post-secondary institution network that received more than $24 million in Lab to Market funding from the Government of Canada.   

The College-University Lab to Market Network for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization will create opportunities to turn research into real-world solutions and businesses.   

The City of Red Deer is seeking applications for a new Downtown Governance Committee. 

This committee will be responsible for exploring options and proposing strategies to address the evolving needs of Red Deer’s Downtown.

The committee will play a role in shaping the future of the downtown that aims to ensure better coordination, adaptable leadership and sustainable funding models that address the needs of businesses, residents and the broader community.

The City is seeking: