Okotoks

This year's Avenue of Trees will be a little different than years prior.

The annual event from the Sheep River Health Trust (SRHT) sees local businesses and organizations designing and decorating trees to be auctioned off and donated to families in need.

In its 12th year, however, the format is being shaken up.

Executive Director of SRHT, Andrea Mitchell, says that rather than having everyone decorate around 20 trees within the span of a week, there'll be fewer trees and more of an emphasis on designs.

The High River Flyers were in a good mood this weekend after discovering that the Bob Snodgrass Recreational Complex (BSRC) ice will be ready for their home opener on November 1.

The mood continued to shine as they came away with a point against the Medicine Hat Cubs who were at the top of the Southern Division in the HJHL. The Flyers pushed their only game of the weekend to overtime and fell just short in a 6-5 hockey game.

Kaiden Fulton made the start in net for High River, stopping 34 shots in the contest.

A portion of Southern Alberta can expect upwards of 15 cm of snow today.

An area extending from west of Nanton down to the M.D. of Pincher Creek is under a snowfall warning.

The area includes Highway 22 west of Nanton, Bellevue, Lundbreck, Pincher Creek, parts of Highway 6 and Highway 3.

Between 10 and 15 cm of snowfall is expected, beginning this morning, but it will taper off throughout the evening.

The federal government is expected to boost the minimum hourly wage that must be paid to temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream as a way to encourage employers to hire more Canadian staff.

British Columbia's redrawn political landscape won't be settled for about a week, with manual recounts triggered in two key ridings after a nail-biting provincial election that has yet to produce a clear winner.

Elections BC said Sunday the recounts will take place from Oct. 26 to 28 in Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre, where NDP candidates lead B.C. Conservatives by fewer than 100 votes.

With winter quickly approaching, and for those who live in High River, it's time to find a new place to park the RV.

Seasonal parking restrictions for recreational vehicles (RVs) will be taking effect in High River at the end of the month.

As of October 30, the parking restrictions will be put in place, and High River residents will no longer be allowed to park their RVs on the frontage of their property.

High River's Land Use Bylaw describes a frontage as the space between a building's façade and the curb.

For 45 years, the Alberta government has recognized those who have made an outstanding impact.

This year's recipients of the Alberta Order of Excellence include Nancy Southern, who is the Chair and CEO of ATCO Ltd., as well as the Executive Vice President and Co-Chair of Tournaments for the world-renowned equestrian show jumping facilities in Foothills County, Spruce Meadows

The Town of Okotoks is getting a few more construction projects completed before winter.

Southbank Crescent Utility Work

Deep utility tie-in work is going to be happening in Southbank Crescent, beginning on Monday, October 21.

The work is being done on behalf of the lot developer and will cause the road to become fully closed.

Now that it's autumn, it's time to be prepared to drive in wintery conditions.

Shayne Casey, owner of the OK Tire in Okotoks, said it's generally a good idea to have winter tires on by Thanksgiving long weekend.

"The manufacturers base it off temperature. So, when the ambient temperature is below 12 degrees Celsius, any given time you can wake up to black ice. We can get rain that creates black ice or a little bit of snow that's going to cause slippery roads."

Alberta MP and Conservative Agriculture Critic John Barlow has been receiving a number of emails from Canadians who are concerned about Private Members' Bill C-293, which now sits before the Senate.

He says while the primary objective of the bill is pandemic prevention and preparedness, it contains content and language that will adversely affect Canadian farmers and ranchers.