FortSask

Strathcona County RCMP arrested a man in late November for trying to break into the back of a jewelry store.

On Nov. 30 just before 3 a.m., police responded to an alarm going off at Kings Fine Jewellery in Sherwood Park.

Once police arrived, they noticed a man trying to pry open the back door of the store. When officers approached the man, he fled on foot.

The man was caught by police soon after and was arrested for breaking and entering. Although no items from the store were taken, there was extensive damage caused to the back door.

Canola producers, agronomists and industry representatives are gathering in Saskatoon for Canola Week meetings.

The event kicked off Tuesday with the President of the Canola Council of Canada talking about how important innovation has been for the industry and will continue to be going forward. 

Jim Everson told the crowd that after weathering a couple of tough years we're seeing many promising signs of growing demand.

He says we continue to see growing demand for canola oil and a growing awareness of canola meal advantages as an animal feed ingredient.

Emergency shelters in Alberta haven't been able to provide refuge to thousands of women who were fleeing domestic violence due to a lack of space, a report shows.

The data, which runs from April 1, 2021 to March 30, 2022, was compiled by the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters from more than 50 member shelters across the province.

It shows shelters received 65,390 calls for help, and about 25,530 of those callers requested admission. About 16 per cent of those calls led to a woman being admitted, says the report released Wednesday.

Farm Credit Canada's chief economist J.P. Gervais says with a good crop in 2022, receipts for 2023 are going to rebound and that should sustain the demand for equipment.

He notes there are caveats to this positive outlook, interest rates is one of them, the cost of farm inputs overall, and the weakening Canadian dollar. 

While the depreciating loonie makes new tractors and combines more expensive, it also has a positive effect on farm commodities destined for export.

A levy of local high school volleyball and football players have received all-star status. 

Last week, Metro Athletics released its annual list of all-stars that recognize the best of the best of the most recent season. 

Among the 12 athletes from the area named to the list was Bev Facey football player, Aaron Parker who just finished up his last season of high-school football. 

"I am honoured to be on that list," said Parker. "I feel like all the work I put into this season really showed in becoming an all-star." 

The Royal Canadian Mint is issuing a new black-ringed toonie to honour Queen Elizabeth II. 

The mint says the coin's black outer ring is intended to evoke a "mourning armband" to honour the queen, who died in September after 70 years on the throne.  

The mint says it will start to circulate nearly five million of the coins this month, and they will gradually appear as banks restock inventories. 

Aside from the black ring, the mint says the coin retains the same design elements of the standard toonie. 

Jenn Pfenning of New Hamburg, Ontario was elected during the group's National Convention.

Pfenning is the Director of Human Resources, Marketing and Operations at Pfenning's Organic Farm and has served on numerous agriculture food-related boards and is a past president of the Organic Council of Ontario.

She takes over the organization's top spot with the retirement of Katie Ward who served as president of the organization for the last four years.

Rounding out the NFU board table:

The Alberta government, the Municipal District of Acadia, the Special Areas Board and the Canada Infrastructure Bank are investing about $7 million to continue the planning of a large-scale irrigation project to be located in east-central Alberta.

Nate Horner, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation says historically, irrigation has been a game-changer when it comes to increasing sustainable primary crop production.

School buses from around the region are facing cancellations. 

Elk Island Catholic Schools (EICS) have announced that all buses in Strathcona County and Sherwood Park will not be running. Their Fort Saskatchewan and Vegreville buses are expected to remain in service. 

Elk Island Public School (EIPS) will have all of their buses running this afternoon, including all routes in Andrew, Mundare, and Vegreville. 

All Sturgeon Public School (SPS) buses are operational and will be running their expected routes as well. 

For two months, locals have been dealing with a shortage of children's pain and fever medication. That shortage may be over soon.

To ensure that kids' medicine is available, Alberta's government and Alberta Health Services (AHS) secured five million units of acetaminophen and ibuprofen for the province.

“Cold and flu season is always difficult on young children and their families and causes additional strain on our health system, especially at our children’s hospitals," said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.