FortSask

Canadian tourists were trapped inside a Mexican hotel Thursday as buses that were supposed to take them to an airport and safely home burned outside. 

"It's just chaos," said Tina Dahl of Edmonton, whose six family members stranded in the popular tourist city of Mazatlan were supposed to fly out Thursday night.

The federal government advised Canadians in Mexico to limit their movements and shelter in place due to violence in the western part of the country. 

A pair of Fort Saskatchewan products struck gold at the 2023 World Junior Championship. 

Olen Zellweger and Colton Dach will both take home gold medals after Canada won 3-2 in overtime on Thursday (Jan. 5) night. 

This is Zellweger's third gold medal with Team Canada since 2021, which now includes two gold medals at the U20 World Junior Championships and one at the 2021 U18 World Junior Championship. 

He will finish his World Junior career as the second-highest-scoring Canadian defenceman ever with 18 points, including six points at this year's tournament. 

A 71-year-old man is facing charges for arson.

In mid-November, emergency services responded to a residential structure fire near Antler Lake. The fire was deemed suspicious, and an investigation was conducted.

Police say two days after the fire, 71-year-old Gordon Cottrell, a resident of Sherwood Park, was arrested. Cottrell was also the owner of the home that was burned down.

The Strathcona County RCMP did not provide any further reasoning for the arson charge, simply that no one was injured in the blaze.

Following a lengthy battle with Cancer, Sharron Roberts of Fort Saskatchewan passed away on December 27, 2022 at the age of 79 years. She will be sadly missed and remembered by her son,  Colin; brother, Darryl (Jeryl); sisters in law, Gail and Donna; and extended family and friends.

With the new walk-in clinic opened in Fort Saskatchewan, many are wondering what kind of services they provide.

After opening up in early December, the new clinic has been dedicated to helping Fort Saskatchewan residents and taking some of the load off from nearby hospitals.

Raj Bharadia, a pharmacist at the clinic, says that the scope of practice for pharmacists hasn't changed.

"We're doing the same thing that we've been doing for many years. What we've done with this walk-in clinic is created more space and a better environment to perform these services."

A few foggy days helped lay the perfect conditions for some beautiful frost around the city last week. 

Frost forms when water vapour comes into contact with a solid surface that is below the freezing point. Ice crystals will form and continue to grow on the surface as more and more vapour freezes.

It's known to be able to grow exceptionally well on tree branches due to the temperature on branches being able to maintain the cold temperature needed. 

Let's take a look at the beautiful photos that Fort Sask residents were able to take!

A local girls' soccer team took home hardware over the holidays. 

The U11 Fort Sask Arsenal competed in the Polar Cup in Edmonton from December 27 to 29. 

Their division consisted of three other teams from Beaumont. 

Arsenal opened up the tournament with a game against the Huskies that saw them down by a couple of goals. 

"We were struggling in the first half," said head coach Shayne Davis. "[The Huskies] pushed the play a bit and built up a two-goal lead." 

The start of the new year is an opportunity to set new goals.

For the agriculture ministers in the prairies, investment and expanding the agri-food industry are top priorities.

Manitoba's Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson says by 2025 they're hoping to have $1.5 billion of investments and 1550 jobs added to the province, and he feels their protein strategy will be a key contributor.

The New Year brings forth moments of epiphany and change, whether it's a personal project or a journey towards better health.

The Dow Centennial Center (DCC) in Fort Saskatchewan has seen an influx of memberships for the start of the New Year.

"The New Year brings on many new goals for folks, and that is no different this year," said Vikki Delorey with The City of Fort Saskatchewan. "We have seen lots of new faces so far this year."

However, many who start going to the gym as a New Year's resolution seem to fall off the routine as time goes on.

Fort Saskatchewan is working with the Canadian government to help save urban forests. 

On Wednesday (Jan. 4) the city announced that they are one of 54 partners from across the country to join the federal government's '2 Billion Trees Program'. 

As a result, Fort Saskatchewan received about $220,000 in funding for the program, while also kicking in $30,000 of its own money, making for a grand total of $250,000 to go toward the program. 

Jennelle Hart, the manager of parks services with the city, said this opportunity came up in early 2022.