Okotoks

On Friday morning (Oct. 18), Alberta's Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver announced new rules that will be put in place under the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act (Bill 20).

The bill, which was first unveiled in April, will make changes to the Local Authorities Election Act and the Municipal Government Act.

The undefeated streak for the HTA Knights came to an end last night after they suffered their first loss in the game against the 5A second-place team, the Raymond Comets.

The Comets took the meeting with a 47-25 score.

HTA came out strong to start the game after stopping the Comet's first drive and then adding a touchdown on the Knight's first drive of the game. Seth Poelzer, the reigning MVP at the Canada Cup, got HTA on the board first with a long run, beating the Raymond defenders and getting in alone for the touchdown.

Cyle Clayton is playing his first season with the Okotoks Oilers but he is no stranger to the team.

The Strathmore product spent parts of four seasons on the other side of the rink in the AJHL with the Drumheller Dragons and spent three seasons with the Okotoks Oilers U15 AAA, U16 AAA, and U18 AAA teams during his minor hockey career.

Clayton comes from a family of defenders.

The Bob Snodgrass Recreational Complex (BSRC) is right on time with the re-opening of the ice surface.

The rink is set to re-open this Sunday (Oct. 20).

It was determined that renovations were in order after some complications with the old cement ice slab.

Not only did they update the ice with a smoother, top-quality ice experience, but they also upgraded the boards around the ice surface.

The rink serves as home ice for the High River Flyers on top of accommodating many other hockey teams, figure skating, and public skating.

It looks like there are a number of things to do in Okotoks this weekend.

The weather for this weekend is looking nice, with highs in the low 20s forecast for Saturday and Sunday.

Here is how things are shaping up for activities in Okotoks this warm autumn weekend:

Friday, Oct 18

Construction for the Foothills Okotoks Regional Water Project is set to start with a Groundbreaking Ceremony on Monday (Oct. 21).

The ceremony is to celebrate the start of the significant regional initiative to help bring more water to the ever-growing populations of Okotoks and Foothills County.

Following its completion (estimated for 2026), raw water from the Bow River will be pumped into water treatment facilities in both Okotoks and Foothills County. The water will be pumped from the confluence of the Bow and Highwood rivers.

CPKC had another strong week of grain delivery during Week 10 of the 2024-25 crop year, moving nearly 623,500 tonnes of Canadian grain and grain products October 6th through 12th.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) has released its 2024 Holiday Train schedule, and it looks like there won't be any stops in Foothills County this year.

The Holiday Train has been an annual tradition since 1999, travelling across the U.S. and Canada each holiday season and stopping in hundreds of towns and cities for free live music and to collect donations for local food banks.

This year, it will make 167 stops across seven provinces and 13 states between Nov. 21 and Dec. 20.

Of those, 21 events are being held in Alberta.

First Nations chiefs have voted to reject a landmark $47.8-billion child welfare reform deal, reached in July with the Canadian government. 

At a special chiefs assembly in Calgary hosted by the Assembly of First Nations, 267 out of 414 chiefs voted against a resolution in support of the deal after a lengthy debate that at points was emotionally charged as they argued either for or against it.

The Foothills Writers Group is hosting a writing contest for Foothills County students.

This is their second annual writing contest, which began as a way for members of the Foothills Writers Group to help give back to the community.

"We thought that literacy and writing with children was so very, very important," explained the group's founder, Laurie Carmichael.

Last year, the contest was open to students from the public, Catholic, and Francophone schools in Okotoks, and 44 people participated.