Lacombe

Access to the Lacombe ambulance building will be affected this week as city crews begin sewer repairs at 5442 49 Avenue.

Construction is scheduled to begin tomorrow and continue through Saturday.

The east approach to the building will remain fully open for ambulance travel. The west approach will be partially blocked and closed for safety.

The City of Lacombe is thanking residents for their patience while the essential work is completed.

** With information from the City of Lacombe.

Red Deer RCMP are warning residents about a fraudulent text message claiming recipients have an unpaid radar ticket.

The message threatens licence suspension, demerit points, and even prosecution if payment is not made by a specific deadline. It includes a link to a fake website and references non-existent legislation.

It also uses language not found in legitimate enforcement communication, including the phrase: “please pay immediately before execution to avoid licence.”

Police are urging the public not to click the link or respond to the message.

The annual Big Brother Big Sisters Lacombe and District (BBBS) Kids N’ Kops camp wrapped up last week after four days of hands-on activities, mentorship, and fun for local youth.

Now celebrating its 15th year, the program is a joint initiative between BBBS, the Lacombe Police Service, the Blackfalds RCMP, and Blackfalds Municipal Enforcement.

The Lacombe Police Service is investigating a report of mischief after heavy construction equipment was damaged near the Gary Moe Auto Group Sportsplex.

On July 14, police received a report that multiple pieces of heavy machinery — including two excavators and a front-end loader — had sustained window damage while parked along 53 Street in a designated construction zone.

The equipment was last seen undamaged on July 12. The damage was discovered early in the morning of July 14.

Initial observations suggest the damage was caused by a small projectile.

The Ponoka off-leash dog park will be temporarily closed on Wednesday, July 16, for weed control.

The closure was originally scheduled for Monday but was postponed due to rainy weather.

The park is expected to reopen at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 17.

The small-dog area will remain open, as it is not affected by the weed control application.

The Town of Ponoka conducts regular, pet-safe weed control, carried out by a certified application specialist in accordance with Alberta’s Weed Control Act.

The Lacombe Police Service is investigating the theft of a black 2023 Dodge Ram 3500 Longhorn dually truck, Alberta license plate CMC 8124, reported stolen from a residence on Mackenzie Avenue in Lacombe.

The vehicle was last seen parked in the driveway on the evening of Thursday, July 10, and the owner discovered it missing the following morning.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lacombe Police Service at 403-782-3279 or their local police agency.

The 2025 Westerner Days Parade returns to downtown Red Deer tomorrow morning (July 16).

Floats, bands, dancers, and community groups will take over in as the annual Westerner Days Parade kicks off the festivities.

The parade begins at 9:30 a.m. and follows a circular route around the city core.

The annual pace of inflation accelerated to 1.9 per cent in June as consumers were paying more at car dealerships, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

The June price hike is up from 1.7 per cent in May and was largely in line with economists’ expectations.

StatCan said gasoline prices were nearly unchanged in June as higher crude oil prices and geopolitical conflicts ratcheted up pressure at the pumps. Motorists saw a steeper monthly decline in prices this time last year, which the agency said led to a rise in headline inflation.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to convene the Incident Response Group in Ottawa today to discuss the ongoing wildfire situation across the country.

Carney also convened the group of ministers and senior officials a little over a month ago in response to an earlier wave of wildfires, which peaked in May and June, then receded, and have now flared up again.

More than 6,000 people are currently out of their homes in Manitoba, and the communities of Lynn Lake and Snow Lake ordered residents to flee for the second time in just weeks.

As we enter the heart of July and the back half of the 2025 growing season, producers are looking to protect their crops to help ensure they don’t lose any yield come harvest time. That’s especially the case for canola, as plants start heading towards full bloom and will start forming pods and seeds.