Okotoks

The provincial government has proposed two changes to the Meat Inspection Act to help stop the sale of uninspected meat.

The sale of uninspected meat is illegal in Alberta, because illegal slaughter and food safety non-compliance can pose a risk to the health of both human and animals.

Illegal slaughter can also cause harm to the entire livestock and meat processing industry in Alberta.

Because of that, the Alberta is wanting to pass the Meat Inspection Amendment Act.

A lagoon upgrade project in Diamond Valley has been extended, causing a part of a dog park to be closed.

A portion of the Westend Regional Sewage Services Commission's sewage lagoon project has been extended, causing the partial closure of the Black Diamond Off Leash Dog Park to be extended as well.

The area of construction that has been delayed is near the river, but the remaining area of work has not been affected by the delay.

Those who live in Vulcan County are only allowed certain fires for the next while.

Since Wednesday, Oct. 30, Vulcan County has been under a fire restriction.

The County had lifted their previous restriction on October 3, but due to the dry, windy, and warm weather the County has been experiencing, along with the forecasted weather it's been reinstated.

There is currently a very high risk of fire spreading due to windy conditions in any area with dead and dry grass, which exists throughout the County.

The High River Flyers are well into their 2024-2025 HJHL season with 10 games already played and will finally host their home opener tonight (Nov. 1).

The home opener was delayed due to the Bob Snodgrass Recreational Complex (BSRC) undergoing renovations to the rink. Upgraded boards and a smoother ice rink have now been added and the Flyers are ready to break it in.

Maureen Anderson lost both her sons to their overseas service in the Canadian Army, even if they died years later and a continent away from the hot dust and violence of the Afghanistan war.

Growing up, Ron Anderson was more serious, “a little fighter,” his mother recalls. His younger brother Ryan was quieter, softer. Both joined the military before they finished high school, already certain of what their career paths would be.

“My boys were very kind to me, and I miss them terribly,” Anderson said in an interview this week from her home in Oromocto, N.B. 

The Canadian Premier League (CPL) has released their list of finalists for the CPL Player's Player of the Year and three Cavalry FC players have made the list.

The Player's Player of the Year was introduced in 2022 while the Player of the Year award, which is a separate honour started in 2019.

Cavalry FC forwards Ali Musse and Tobias Warchewski (who scored the game-winning goal to advance to the Grand Final) as well as defender Daan Klomp were the names released as finalists.

Mounties have dismantled what they say is the largest, most sophisticated illicit drug "superlab" in Canada that had been acting as a "supermarket" for organized crime. 

Police say the lab mass produced and distributed the powerful opioid fentanyl and methamphetamine across Canada and internationally.

David Teboul, assistant commissioner with the RCMP's Pacific region, told a news conference Thursday that dismantling the lab “undoubtedly saved thousands of lives in Canada and abroad.” 

Blackleg is a disease in canola mainly caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans. It’s a serious disease that affect canola plants in the seedling stage by attaching to the stems and working up the stem as it grows, inhibiting the movement of water and nutrients within the plant. It can cause upwards of 50% yield reduction in severe cases. Blackleg was first spotted in western Canada in 1975 in north-east Saskatchewan. 

Residential school survivors are calling on Canada to criminalize residential school denialism, echoing one of the findings in a report about unmarked graves and burial sites associated with the institutions.

Doug George, a survivor of the Mohawk Institute, said Canadians need to acknowledge the schools' place in history and to ensure the children who died are not silenced.

An incident had caused a road closure west of Diamond Valley earlier today.

The Diamond Valley Fire Rescue took to Facebook a bit after 1 p.m. to let people know that an incident took place on Highway 546, west of Diamond Valley.

The road was closed while crews were onsite.

They had asked everyone to avoid the area for the time being and find alternative routes.

The Fire department has recently provided an update, and as of 2:05 p.m., the incident was cleared and the road reopened.