FortSask

Matt Berry was driving home after golfing Monday evening when cloudy skies quickly turned into a rare storm that dropped hail the size of softballs, caving in his windshield and leaving about 150 dents in his car.

"I was getting covered in shards of glass," the graphic designer said as he recalled the moment he pulled over on a country road to take cover while driving from Innisfail, Alta., to his home in Red Deer, Alta.

"The noise was quite loud," he said. "It was just crazy. Scary at times, but really it was just shock and awe more than anything."

From Friday morning (July 29) to Monday morning, Fort Saskatchewan RCMP issued multiple tickets for driving violations in the city.

Thirty-five vehicles were pulled over for speeding over the long weekend and issued either a written warning or a violation ticket. RCMP also issued either provincial sanctions or criminal charges on four impaired drivers. 

“It is concerning that speed and alcohol/drug related impairments are still such an issue on our roads,” added RCMP Constable Lauren Mowbray. 

Edmonton will welcome the Toronto Raptors.

The announcement this morning (Aug. 3) includes the Raptors playing a preseason game against the Utah Jazz at Rogers Place on Oct. 2. The game is part of the NBA Canada Series which is returning after a three-year break.

Tickets going on sale on Aug. 19 via Ticketmaster. 

The Raptors currently feature 2019 NBA champion Pascal Siakam and 2021-22 NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, in addition to Quebec-natives Chris Boucher and Khem Birch and Toronto’s Dalano Banton. 

Ottawa police arrested a driver after what they describe as an unauthorized vehicle drove into the front gates of Parliament Hill early this morning. 

Police say a vehicle rammed into the gates outside the legislature at about 3:30 a.m. and security infrastructure prevented it from entering the grounds.

An officer was nearby and took the driver into custody without further incident, the police statement says, and no criminal charges have yet been laid. 

August will be packed with sights to see in the sky.

Aug. 12 - Supermoon or August full moon

This will be a full moon that occurs when the moon is at the closest point in its orbit to the earth. 

“We don’t have that every month,” explained Frank Florian the senior manager of planetarium and space sciences at TELUS World of Science in Edmonton.

Aug. 13 - Perseids Meteor Shower 

Tears streamed down Kim Phuc Phan Thi's face as she stood at the entrance to a plane set to carry Ukrainian newcomers from Poland to Canada last month.

The aircraft was emblazoned with a famous black and white photo of Phan Thi as a nine-year-old child – an image that made her known as the "napalm girl" – showing her naked, screaming and fleeing an attack during the Vietnam War.

Fifty years after that photograph was taken, Phan Thi found herself drawn to helping Ukrainians escape the war in their country for the safe haven of Canada, just as she had done decades ago.

New statistics show that police-reported extortion cases in Canada rose by nearly 300 per cent in the last decade, as the crime swelled online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These concerning increases are being facilitated by social media platforms and other electronic services providers," said Lianna McDonald, the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, in a news release.  

"It should be a wake-up call."

The Redwater Transfer Station will reopen Wednesday (Aug. 3) after a fire forced a closure of the facility.

Last Monday, at around 10 p.m., a fire began in a tire stockpile section of the station known as the “tire bunker.”

“I think it was a resident driving by on the range road who reported it to 911,” explained Susan Berry, the Roseridge commission manager.

The transfer station closed immediately for site clean-up and an investigation of the cause. Currently, no cause has been determined.

A pair of drivers have a date in court after attempting to race down an area highway. 

On Sunday at around 12:30 a.m.(July 31), RCMP officers were conducting enforcement on Highway 21 near Township Road 542 when they noticed two cars that appeared to be street racing. 

"Two Hyundai automobiles appeared to be racing each other northbound on Highway 21 at high rates of speed," Fort Saskatchewan RCMP said. 

It takes more than a few dozen sheep to trim all of the grass on city properties.

The City of Fort Saskatchewan spends approximately $235,000 per year on lawn mowing. In 2021, the city spent $228,000 on grass maintenance.

The budget for mowing varies on how many times the machines are sent out and the projected weather conditions.

“This year, it is a little bit higher because of all of the moisture we’ve had. We have had a very successful growing year.”