Lacombe

After 40 years of police service, Lacombe's Chief of Police Lorne Blumhagen has announced his retirement.

"Chief Blumhagen has been a dedicated leader for the Lacombe Police Service, making significant contributions to public safety and building community trust," the Lacombe Police Commission stated in a news release. "While we bid farewell to his exceptional leadership, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Jason Dobirstein as the new Chief of Police, effective June 1, 2025."

Freedom Convoy organizer Pat King was sentenced to three months of house arrest in an Ottawa court this morning.

The sentence includes 100 hours of community service at a food bank or men's shelter.

It comes on top of nine months he spent in custody both before and during his trial.

King was found guilty on five of nine charges in November, including mischief and disobeying a court order, for his role in the 2022 protest that took over downtown Ottawa for three weeks.

The Lacombe Athletic Park Association (L.A.P.A.) held its AGM last week at École Secondaire Lacombe Composite High School.

Chairperson Diane Hayduc says they had a fantastic year.

"We had a few more members join but we're always looking for more," she said.

Hayduc noted this past year they were able to raise about $35,000 from their three fundraising events, which included Superbowl and Grey Cup parties, in addition to the Memorial Run 4 Bill Nielsen.

An Alberta oil and gas company has been fined $15,000 for failing to report a potentially lethal amount of hydrogen sulphide, or sour gas, had been released into the atmosphere.

In its decision, the Alberta Energy Regulator says a tank at a Mcland Resources work site near the hamlet of Tees, northeast of Red Deer, ruptured in March of 2023.

The toxic gas was released for more than three hours at a potentially lethal concentration, but nobody was harmed, says the report.

The Innisfail RCMP are holding a Town Hall meeting tonight (Feb. 19) at 6:00 p.m., at the Innisfail Library.

Presentations include:

Three individuals have been arrested and charged in relation to a string of auto thefts that occurred earlier this month.

In February of 2025, Alberta RCMP and Calgary Police Service investigated a series of break-and-enters within the City of Calgary and 6 RCMP jurisdictions, where multiple offenders broke into dealerships and autobody shops stealing vehicle keys and vehicles. 

A total of 18 vehicles were stolen during the crime series and 15 have been recovered.

During the Feb. 13 regular meeting, Lacombe County Council discussed animals in residential districts, and the 2024 Municipal Development Plan and Land Use Bylaw review.  

Here are the meeting highlights:  

Planning services update  

Council received an update on the progress and activities of the Planning Services Department for the month of January 2025.  

The President's Cup-winning Lacombe Generals will open the second round of the North Central Senior AA Hockey League playoffs on the road, when they take on the fourth-place Stony Plain Eagles at the Glenn Hall Centennial Arena Saturday night (Feb. 22) starting at 7:45 p.m.

The Generals swept their opening round best-of-five series against Westlock to advance to the league semi-finals.

National Farmers Union (NFU) president Jenn Pfenning says Canadian farmers need greater support for domestic food production as uncertainty over tariffs continues to disrupt trade. 

"We in Canada have focused a lot of our efforts in agriculture around export markets. Successive governments have pushed Canadian farmers to scale up to meet export demand, largely outside our borders." 

That focus, she says, has increased reliance on imported food, leaving the country vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. 

The following school bus service has been cancelled for the Red Deer Catholic School Division. Rural school buses serving Olds, and Innisfail, are cancelled. However, schools remain open.

Due to the severe weather conditions, all school bus routes within Clearview Public Schools will be cancelled. Schools will be open and regular classes will proceed.