Okotoks

A former Whitecourt Wolverine is making a name for himself in his first year in the BCHL.

Beaverlodge Alberta is home to Okotoks Oilers forward Spencer Rheaume and just over 2,000 residents. The small town near Grand Prairie introduced a giant beaver statue in 2004, a year before Rheaume's birth. The statue can be seen from Highway 43. 

Just over a week after a fifth person was charged in the death of Tara Miller, Alberta RCMP have now charged a sixth person.

Ahmed Chehade, a 32-year-old from Calgary was charged with manslaughter and was taken into custody without incident on Thursday (Nov. 21). 

After a Judicial Interim Release Hearing, Chehade was remanded to appear in the Alberta Court of Justice in Calgary on Monday.

Miller's remains were found near Highway 522 and 128 Street near Okotoks and her death was deemed to be a homicide on March 30, 2023. 

Pat King, one of the most prominent figures of the 2022 "Freedom Convoy" in Ottawa, has been found guilty on five counts including mischief and disobeying a court order.

A jury deliberated for about an hour Friday before convicting two men on human smuggling charges in a case where a family from India froze to death in Manitoba while trying to walk across the Canada-U.S. border.

Steve Shand of Florida and Harshkumar Patel, an Indian national arrested in Chicago, were each found guilty on all four counts they faced related to bringing unauthorized people into the U.S., transporting them and profiting from it.

Okotoks' own and Detroit Red Wings prospect Gage Alexander has been called up to play in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins after starting the season with the ECHL Toledo Walleye.

Alexander hasn't suited up for a game yet during the 2024-2025 season but played 19 games in the ECHL last season with the Tulsa Oilers.

Alexander posted a 5-8-1 record while having a 3.76 goals against average and a .887 save percentage. So far in his career, he has played 16 games in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls, and 25 games in the ECHL with the Oilers.

The Okotoks Dawgs have been busy building their roster for the 2025 WCBL season as they aim to make it four championships in a row.

Already Connor Crowson, Ricky Sanchez, Ashton Luera, Logan Grant, Jake Wrubleski, and Ryan McFarland have all been named as returning players.

On Wednesday (Nov. 21), another trio was announced making their way back to Seaman Stadium in Nash "Bash" Crowell, Trent Warstler, and Easton Corey.

Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning this morning as we're expecting a big dump of the white stuff this weekend.

You can expect 2-4 cm today, 5-10 cm tonight and another 10-15 cm tomorrow with the snow expected to taper off Sunday.

Temperatures are expected to be somewhat mild with highs of -11 today and Saturday but you might want to plug in your vehicle as overnight lows are expected to hit -19.

Stay up to date by visiting our 7-day weather forecast page complete with radar weather.

The Town of Okotoks' 2025 budget will include an increase in property taxes, as well as a decrease in utility rates.

Town Council approved the amendments to next year's budget, which includes an Operating Budget of $80.386 million, at their November 19 meeting.

The average Okotoks homeowner (with an assessed home value of $663,000) will see an increase of $1.99 a month, which is an additional $23.88 a year.

While inflationary costs did lead to a tax hike, the 4.8 per cent increase is lower than anticipated.

The price of a detached home in the Foothills is way up compared to last October.

Sales numbers for detached homes in October were released by the Calgary Real Estate Board.

It's been said it takes a village to raise a child, well, it took the entire town of Diamond Valley to Raise the Roof at the Griffiths Community Centre.

The popular centre has been a hub for community activities for decades right along Government Road in the heart of Black Diamond. With the amalgamation of the two towns of Black Diamond and Turner Valley, the centre now serves both.