Crossfield

With over three decades of experience in the fire service, Crossfield's new Fire Chief, Bill Messner, is no stranger to wearing the stripes on his shoulders. Messner who has been in his new role for three weeks previously served as Deputy Fire Chief in Crowsnest Pass. However, the 200-some-kilometre move North hasn't phased him in the least. 

A two-vehicle collision between a sedan and a truck created a vehicle fire that snarled traffic near Crossfield on the QEII headed Northbound on Thursday afternoon.

(Video provided by Mandi CM)

According to Mounties, a trailer that had been previously stolen from Crossfield in the early morning hours on Friday, April 21 has been located.

Police said that a Calgary resident spotted the trailer, which had been parked on the street in a residential neighbourhood in the city's Northeast.

"The only items missing from the trailer were some hand tools," Airdrie RCMP stated. 

Crossfield resident Terry Hehr decided to save up all his lottery tickets and check them all at once. So, when he went to check those months-old lottery tickets on February 20, he had no idea that it would change his life.

Hehr found out that the November 24 DAILY GRAND draw that he bought and added the EXTRA to his ticket at the local My Place Esso at 920 Railway Street in Crossfield, had netted him $250,000.

"I checked it on the Lotto Spot app,” he explained as he claimed his prize. “I had a big smile and then told my wife to check the ticket on her app.”

Playing hide-and-seek in her grandparents' house together. That is how Crossfield resident Charlotte Blackwell remembers her second cousin Brett Ryan. 

When one of Blackwell's cousins had phoned her mother yesterday to deliver the agonizing news that Edmonton police officer Const. Ryan had been killed in the line of duty on Thursday morning, disbelief reverberated through Blackwell. Then came the shock.

According to the town of Crossfield, a recycling fire that occurred last month on January 26, was likely started by contamination by an improperly disposed of cell phone battery.

The town said that it was alerted to the fire by its recycling contractors during a regular pick of a mixed recycling load.

"The driver had to dump the load on Range Road 12 as it started to burn. The Crossfield Fire Department worked to ensure the fire was contained and everyone was safe. There was no damage to the truck due to the fire."

On Saturday, January 28, Captain Joe Holstein of the Crossfield Fire Department will be receiving the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta) during a ceremony at Redwood Meadows hosted by the Alberta Fire Chiefs Association. Captain Holstein has been a firefighter in Crossfield for 39 years, making him one of the longest-serving members of the department.

Holstein joined the fire service in the early 1980s at the tender age of 15, and at one time during his tenure, he served as the department's Chief. 

A little over two weeks ago, on January 7, the Fire Chief of Crossfield, Ben Niven, celebrated 25 years of service as a firefighter. In a little over a week's time he will be retiring from his position as head of the fire department. His time as a firefighter in Crossfield is ending in many ways very similar to how it all began - with family.