FortSask

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.

December 6 marks the day that 14 women lost their lives in a shooting at a Montréal school. 

The City of Fort Saskatchewan made a Facebook post stating that flags will be at half-mast today at all facilities to honour these victims.

"We put the flags at half-mast for the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women," said Tammy Boof, risk management officer with the city.

This day was established by Parliament in 1991, two years after the attack on École Polytechnique, an engineering school in Montréal.

The region has been hit with a few weeks of wildly unstable weather, so what's the deal? 

Late last week temperatures were in the -20 C range before warming all the way up to -2 C on the weekend, only to see harsh windchills return early this week which are expected to taper off by Wednesday (Dec. 7). 

Jesse Wagar with Environment Canada says this has to do with atmospheric winds. 

Workers at the Ardrossan Recreation Complex had a surprise visitor hit the ice a few weeks ago. 

As a staff member was doing ice maintenance, they heard a noise come from behind him. Curious, the staff member investigated and found that young deer had snuck through the Zamboni doors and onto the ice rink. 

The deer wasn't prepared for the slippery ice and did struggle a bit before eventually finding his footing and scampering back into the bush. 

Poverty Awareness Fort Saskatchewan (PAFS) is helping people in the community keep warm. 

Their 'Share the Warmth' fundraiser gathered clothing items, transit tickets, and gift cards throughout the entire month of November to help supply people in need. 

On Monday (Dec. 5) afternoon, volunteers came together to show off the support the community gave to them. In total, the fundraiser brought in the following: 

• 120 pairs of mitts/gloves

• 70 Scarves/neck warmers

• 254 Toques

• 163 pairs of socks

Phase two of the Fort Saskatchewan transfer station is now complete. 

This phase includes the eco station, which is now separate from the rest of the transfer station. 

"Users will visit this portion of the site to drop off items like electronics, recyclables, used oil, batteries, and tires," said Sadie Miller, the waste program supervisor for Fort Saskatchewan. "The eco-station services have always been a part of the transfer station but we have chosen to separate them out for a couple of reasons." 

(Updated at 7:45 a.m.)

An extreme cold warning in the region has affected bus routes in certain communities. 

Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) announced that the following bus routes serving Bon Accord, Vegreville, Mundare, and Andrew have been canceled. 

Canada's Outstanding Young Farmers handed out the 2022 W.R. Motherwell Award during the National Event last week in Saskatoon.

The award is presented annually to an individual or couple who has demonstrated excellence in leadership and dedication to both the OYF program and Canadian agriculture. 

This year's recipients of the  W.R. Motherwell Award are Karilynn & Ian Marshall of Bowden (Alberta).

The couple became involved in COYF when they were chosen as Alberta's 2004 OYF Honourees.
 
Here's the couple's bio from COYF