Lacombe

It’s Emergency Preparedness Week (May 4 to 10) and the Town of Ponoka is reminding citizens to download the town app (if you haven’t already done so) because it will help you stay informed in the event of a large-scale local emergency.

Residents should watch their mailboxes this week for a brochure that shows you how to ‘Download the App’ to get real-time alerts about:

• Large-scale local emergencies

• Utility service disruptions

• Other important town news.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump met Tuesday in Washington for their first face-to-face discussion of U.S.-Canada relations and Trump's ongoing trade war.

Here are some highlights from the meeting, which Carney described as both "wide-ranging" and "constructive."

Carney says Canadians will 'never' put a price tag on sovereignty

After months of listening to Trump talk about annexing Canada, Carney told the president in the Oval Office that Canada will "never" be for sale.

Dry conditions across the region have pushed Red Deer’s fire danger rating to very high, according to Alberta Climate Information Services. Red Deer Emergency Services is urging residents to exercise extra caution.

With wind, warm temperatures, and no precipitation in the forecast for next week, dry conditions are expected to worsen. As a result, The City of Red Deer will not be issuing burn permits.

Residents are asked to do their part to reduce the risk of fire:

Municipal property assessments and tax notices were recently mailed out to Lacombe County ratepayers.

Residents can expect to receive their 2025 tax notices in the coming weeks. If you have not received your notice by June 1, 2025, please contact Lacombe County's Assessment Department at 403-782-6601.

Abbey Norek of Gerald is this year's Agriculture Student Scholarship grand-prize $6,000 winner.

Norek's winning video highlighted an urban-rural disconnect when it comes to agriculture. 

She proposed education and advocacy as key solutions to this issue. 

In her video presentation, she talked about her experience building a school garden using recycled materials, leading outreach programs on her family farm, and lobbying for agriculture electives in her school division.  

Southern Alberta farmer has long-standing issues with supply-management system for smaller egg producers like himself.

A southern Alberta egg producer who had been jailed for missing a court date for violating the provincial laws governing egg production has passed a premises inspection by Egg Farmers of Alberta.

Henk Van Essen said an inspector only spent a few minutes inside his operation before coming back out and telling him he was in full compliance.

“They were so sure they were going to find thousands of chickens in this barn,” Van Essen said.

Seeding is kicking off across the province. And whether you're already putting in fertilizer, or still fine-tuning your plan, it’s important to make informed decisions when it comes to your inputs for the season ahead.

New products are everywhere on the market and choosing the right ones can determine profitability and long-term success for your farm. I’m going to talk about one group of products that gets a lot of attention -- micronutrient fertilizers.

Nearly 100 Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) members, who are workers at Extendicare Michener Hill in Red Deer, held a rally along with some of the residents, to demand the reversal of staffing cuts initiated by their employer a few weeks ago. 

According to AUPE Vice President Darren Graham, one care worker can be responsible for 36 residents in the evenings. This is especially challenging since many are in dementia care or have high needs. 

Alberta RCMP are providing an update to the officer involved shooting in Maskwacis on April 24. 

The Maskwacis Fire Department was successful in containing the fire and preventing any spread beyond the immediate area.

Once the fire was extinguished, RCMP, ASIRT, and Fire Investigators conducted an extensive search of the burned residence and have concluded that no persons were located inside.

On May 3, at 6:54 p.m. an off-duty Community Peace Officer observed a youth robbing another youth with a knife.

Police attended and quickly located the youth who attempted to run on foot.

The youth was successfully chased down and arrested.

A knife was located in their backpack.

The 13-year-old youth who cannot be named has been charged with:

• Robbery
• Possession of a Weapon for a dangerous purpose.

The were no injuries reported during this incident.