FortSask

Eight teams from Fort Saskatchewan played at the FC Memorial Cup, with five of them bringing home medals.

On the last weekend of January, the U11 (Davis) girls, U9 (Shand) boys, U15 (Hall) girls, U13 (Grosseth) boys, U11 (Shadn) boys, U9 (Hansen) boys, U13 (DeVolder) girls, and the U13 (Wescott) girls all played in the tournament. 

Fort Saskatchewan firefighters were up against a fire at a Southfort home over the weekend.

According to assistant fire chief Jay Parsons, the fire started at 45 Davis Street just after 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, and seemed to have originated in the house's garage.

"Crews responded very quickly to the scene," Parsons said. "It was 1:05 when crews arrived."

The house had no occupants, which led to the local fire department performing a quick suppression on the fire.

The Mindbender, the tallest indoor roller coaster on Earth, is closing down.

The area is already being redeveloped and the roller coaster is currently being removed.

The Mindbender was a part of Galaxyland since its grand opening back in 1985. The triple-loop rollercoaster was infamous for a fatal crash in June 1986 that killed three people.

After the crash, The Mindbender was reopened in early 1987 and continued to operate without incident until its closing in January.

The total cost of construction was around $6 million.

Fort Saskatchewan RCMP has charged a man with vehicle theft. 

Last Monday (Jan. 23), local RCMP received a disturbance complaint at a Lamont County residence. 

Upon arrival, police say that 30-year-old Mackenzie Thornton, a resident of Chipman, had fled the scene in a stolen vehicle. 

A coordinated response was used and RCMP eventually arrested Thornton and charged him with the following:

A Fort Saskatchewan boy will be wearing the 'C' for the Edmonton Oil Kings. 

The club announced last week that former Ranger Rhett Melnyk will become the 15th captain in franchise history. 

"I was at a loss for words," Melnyk described the moment he found out. "It's a huge honour to be named the captain of such a prestigious organization." 

The announcement was extra special for Melnyk, as it fulfilled a childhood dream. 

Senators return to session this week.

Senator Robert Black, Chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry says during the last session the committee held 29 meetings and heard from 115 witnesses on a variety of topics from legislation to special studies. 

The studies included looking at the impacts of the B.C. floods and work on a long-awaited new soil study.

He says the last soil study was done in 1984.

Strathcona County will soon be home to the country's largest renewable diesel plant. 

On Thursday (Jan. 26), Imperial Oil announced that it had greenlit the construction of a $720 million renewable diesel facility at their Strathcona refinery near Sherwood Park. 

The investment was made to support Canada's efforts to lower carbon emissions. 

A former Sherwood Park Crusader had a night to remember on Saturday (Jan. 28). 

Matt Berlin got the call from the Edmonton Oilers after Stuart Skinner, their starting goaltender, was a late scratch due to illness.

Due to the short notice, the Oilers could not call up one of their own prospects from Bakersfield, California. Instead, they looked to the University of Alberta, where Berlin currently played. 

There's been a brief update on the collision that occurred on 101 Street earlier this week.

According to RCMP on Wednesday (Jan. 25) afternoon, a Chrysler Sebring turning left onto 101 Street collided with a man on a mobility scooter who was in the crosswalk.

The man on the mobility scooter also had a dog with him.

Police say that the man was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The man's dog was also injured in the collision and received stitches. 

No charges were given to the driver of the Sebring.

A local photographer went viral on the Alberta Birds Facebook page. 

Rick Hughes, who lives in Sherwood Park, was out walking his dog through some nature trails near the Legends Golf Course a few weeks ago when he came across a legendary photo opportunity. 

"As I was walking along the trail, I saw one of the [bald] eagles sitting in the tree," said Hughes. "As I'm going down, I look down over the riverbank and there is a coyote sitting there."

"The coyote had a mallard [in its mouth]."