FortSask

With this week's extremely cold weather, requests for vehicle tows and boosts are through the roof. 

On Tuesday (Dec. 20) morning, the Alberta Motor Association (AMA) reported seven times the normal volume of service requests for tows and winches since the cold weather hit.

"The biggest things right now are holiday travel and cold weather," Brandon Klassen, supervisor of roadside assistance with AMA. "The cold always gives people issues when it comes to batteries."

The former director of agriculture and transportation services for Strathcona County has been arrested on fraud charges.

In June, the Strathcona County RCMP General Investigation Section received a fraud complaint that initiated an investigation. 

As a result of that investigation, 44-year-old David Churchill was arrested and charged with the following: 

Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) will be launching a mental health pilot project for students in the new year. 

The school division recently received $1.9 million from the province as a part of a mental health grant. 

Mental health has become a much bigger issue since the pandemic hit in 2020. 

A key highlight for the Agriculture sector in 2022 was the agreement around the new five year Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (S-CAP).

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau says she was pleased that she was able to reach an agreement with her Provincial and Territorial counterparts. 

A levy of school buses are not running this (Dec. 20) afternoon due to extremely cold temperatures. 

Every single route for Elk Island Public and Catholic Schools has been cancelled and will not be running. 

On the flip side, it does appear all the school buses for Sturgeon Public Schools are running on time. 

Check back here regularly for any changes. 

The government of Alberta has announced that they plan on suspending the provincial fuel tax. 

The suspension will come into effect on January 1 and will last for six months. 

Alberta's Minister of Finance, Travis Toews, issued a statement on the manner on Tuesday (Dec. 20) afternoon. 

"This means that Albertans will save 13 cents per litre on gasoline and diesel from January to June," said Toews. "These are meaningful savings that will have a real impact on Albertans’ finances."

Utility costs are rising in Morinville. 

After approving the town's 2023 operating budget at a council meeting on December 6, a layout of what residents can expect was brought into place. 

Travis Nosko, the manager of financial services with the town, explains that the town doesn't own any of the major infrastructures for water and wastewater.

RCMP have arrested a Fort Saskatchewan man for several gas station robberies in the city.

On Monday (Dec. 19), police responded to a report of a robbery at a convenience store in Fort Saskatchewan.

Officers sent out RCMP dogs who helped to locate and arrest 27-year-old Nigel Richey, a resident of Fort Saskatchewan.

After further investigation, police determined that Richey was also the culprit behind four previous robberies in Fort Saskatchewan on Sept. 12, Oct. 10, Oct. 11, and Nov. 17.

Richey has been charged with the following:

A Fort Saskatchewan resident is feeling the love. 

To say that Diane Stefanyk has had tough few years is an understatement. She lost one son back in 2017 and another earlier this year. 

"With my son passing, I moved to Fort Saskatchewan in April of 2017," said Stefanyk. "I stayed at that [Fort Saskatchewan] residence for a year."

Stefanyk stayed in that first place for about a year, and it was during her second move to another apartment in the city, that she learned of another development. 

A mass cancellation of school buses hit the region this morning (Dec. 20). 

All buses for Elk Island Public and Catholic schools have been cancelled due to extreme cold. 

The following bus routes for Sturgeon Public Schools will also not be running: