Strathmore

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. 

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. 

Trick or treaters will be out in force on Thursday night for Halloween as they collect candy and a few frights.

Strathmore resident Destany Currie says the family will be out for some scares on All Hallows Eve.

"My mom does the first half. She takes them all and wears them out for me, and then I take them until they drop."

Currie mentioned the family goes to several communities to hang out with other kids and have fun.

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.

According to a new Alberta crop report, harvest is closing in on being 100 per cent finished.

The study says the only things left to harvest in the south zone, which includes Strathmore, are canola, flax, and sugar beets.

The sugar beet harvest is 90 per cent complete, and the five-year yield shows that major crop productions are 112.4 per cent of their five-year average around southern Alberta.

James Agnew with Mullen Farms in Rockyford says spots of rain during the summer were a nice support for his farm.

The Canadian Country Showcase, hosted by Courtney Fielder, airs every weekend on Saturdays at 12 PM and Sundays at 4 PM. Courtney engages in conversations with emerging country music artists and the established stars we’ve come to love, celebrating their milestones and new releases.

Two schools in Chestermere and Langdon will play host to Remembrance Day ceremonies on November 8.

According to a news release from Rocky View Schools, Chestermere High School and Sarah Thompson School in Langdon will each have formal ceremonies for students to pay tribute to veterans.

Related Stories:

• Special ceremony set to honour veterans near Chestermere

Shania Twain is coming to the Calgary Stampede next summer and we want you to go!

Who doesn't want to hear this legendary Canadian in person? Songs like That Don't Impress Me Much, I'm Gonna Getcha Good, and so many more!

Your chance to win tickets to the concert will be Friday (Nov.1) on the morning show at 7:45 a.m.

When you hear the song You're Still the One, be the first to call 403-902-1111 and win!

Tickets will also go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Congratulations to Monica Major and Carlie Laslo's Grade 4 class at George Freeman School on being the October Classroom of the Month!

The class of almost 50 kids got a pizza party from Boston Pizza!

With that pizza party, the class received treats from Strathmore Value Drug Mart and Wheatland County Counseling. 

A big thank you to Audra Reinhardt of CIR Realty for the support as well. 

If you want to be the next Classroom of the Month, click here to enter.