Okotoks

A few local hockey players are looking to earn a spot on the Team Alberta U16 roster this fall.  

The Alberta Cup Hockey Tournament was held in Red Deer on April 24.  

Team Alberta Red took gold with local players Hudson Pineda on defence, and Nolan Ilsley and Max Mullen as forwards.   

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has held Edmonton-Strathcona for the New Democrats in one of three provincial byelections.

Unofficial results from Elections Alberta put him well ahead of the nearest competitor, United Conservative Party candidate Darby Crouch.

The NDP was also leading in Edmonton-Ellerslie where the party's candidate, Gurtej Singh Brar was ahead of United Conservative Party candidate Naresh Bhardwaj by over 500 votes with 46 of 55 polls reporting.

The Town of Okotoks has lifted its high streamflow advisory following the weekend storm.

Its Emergency Management team was monitoring the river conditions throughout the weekend, which brought around 100mm of rain to areas of Foothills County.

While the river conditions haven't returned to normal just yet, the threat of further heavy rainfall has subsided, so the advisory as lifted.

The Town is still advising locals to steer clear of the river for the time being.

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi is looking to finally win a seat in the legislature after a year of sitting on the sidelines.

He's running in one of three provincial byelections today as a candidate in Edmonton-Strathcona, where his predecessor, former premier Rachel Notley, last won 80 per cent of the vote.

Also vying for the Edmonton-Strathcona seat is United Conservative Party candidate Darby Crouch.

Much of southern Alberta was under a rainfall warning for most of the weekend, due to the amount of rain coming down.

According to Crawford Luke, who is a Meteorologist with Environment Canada, some areas saw over 100 mm of rainfall this weekend.

"It seems like it depended a bit on where you were, but just looking at some of the rainfall numbers we have from the area, probably anywhere in the range of basically 70 to 115 millimeters of rainfall over this weekend for this area," Luke explains.

Canada's supply managed sector is breathing a sigh of relief with the passage of Bill C-202 which protects it from any further concessions in future trade talks.

An identical bill died on the order paper in the last session but this time moved quickly through Parliament and the Senate, before receiving Royal Assent last week.

The Dairy Farmers of Canada, Chicken Farmers of Canada, Egg Farmers of Canada, Turkey Farmers of Canada, and the Canadian Hatching Egg Producers issued a joint statement supporting the legislation. 

Rain over the weekend has allowed people to enjoy fires in several counties in Southern Alberta.

The M.D. of Willow Creek had initially moved to a Fire Restriction on May 28, causing all existing Fire Permits to be cancelled, with no new ones being issued.

Due to the precipitation the area got, Willow Creek had downgraded the Fire Restriction to an Advisory on June 20.

As a result of that downgrade, burn permits are being issued once again.

Despite the rain this weekend, the Okotoks Dawgs were still able to get in a game.

Their game against the Brooks Bombers on Friday, June 20, and their games against the Lethbridge Bulls on Saturday, June 21 were affected by the weather, but they were still able to take on the Bulls on Sunday.

Not only were the Bulls able to get four runs in the sixth inning, but they were able to keep the Dawgs scoreless through the first six innings, before the Dawgs were able to get a pair of runs.

The Wainwright Stampede had chuckwagons for the first time since 1983 this weekend, but the competition was cut short due to the weather.

On Saturday night, it was windy and cool with sloppy racetrack conditions, but that didn't hinder the chuckwagon fans in Wainwright.

Kurt Bensmiller won the Alberta AG Centre Fast Time of the Night with a run of 1:06.35, which was only a fraction of a second faster than second place Chance Flad, who finished with a time of 1:06.83.

A canine blood drive is returning to Diamond Valley, giving local pet owners a chance for their dogs to help save the lives of other pets.   

Eastern Slopes Veterinary Services in Diamond Valley is hosting its second canine blood drive on June 28.