FortSask

The Canadian government says it is business as usual with the U.K. despite the dramatic ousting of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson by his party.

Global Affairs Canada and the Department for International Trade signalled Thursday that the relationship with the U.K. will remain strong and that the toppling of Britain's prime minister will not affect Canada's negotiations on a crucial free-trade agreement.

Environment Canada says conditions are just right for the development of severe weather later today.

Thunderstorms with the potential to produce tennis-ball-sized hail and tornadoes are expected to develop in the foothills Thursday (Jul. 7) afternoon and move east, arriving in the Fort Saskatchewan area in the evening.

According to Danielle Desjardins, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, the storms could also come with heavy rain downpours of 50 millimetres or more and gusting winds.

Russell Clarke and Sheila Gray are $100,000 richer. 

Clarke was at the Safeway gas bar in Fort Saskatchewan in mid-June when he remembered to check a lottery ticket he purchased a couple of months ago.

Turns out, the ticket matched the last six digits of a previous Lotto Max winning draw.

“I honestly thought the scanner was broken; all I saw was zeroes but I didn’t realize,” he said while claiming his prize. “I checked a non-winning ticket just to confirm. Then the machine went off and froze up the terminal.”

Gibbons Pioneer Days will have lots of free activities in store for the whole family to enjoy.

On Friday and Saturday (Jul. 8 and 9), nearly 20 different events will be available to check out at the Gibbons Museum grounds.

"This is the first time we will be full steam ahead since 2019. We are super, super excited to get back out there and give the amazing community of Gibbons and surrounding area something to look forward to this weekend," said Eric Paterson, recreation and youth coordinator for the Town of Gibbons.

Albertans will soon see a bump in their bank account balance.

The first quarterly payment of the federal Climate Action Incentive will be disbursed on July 15. This month’s payment will be doubled-up to $269, and each quarterly amount after that will equal $134.75.

Payments were previously disbursed as an annual credit, but that has changed to quarterly installments, so Canadians will receive payments more frequently. 

There are 15 new campsites at the Turner Park Campground.

With 27 campsites before the expansion, the Fort Saskatchewan Lions Club found their area packed with campers. Having to turn down many people over the summer, the Lions decided to save up for a buildout. Now, there are 42 sites. 

"The best thing about it is that every dollar goes back to the community," said Lions' treasurer Don Westman. 

The expansion came from the profits of the campground itself, which added up to a total cost of $200,000.

BGC Fort Saskatchewan is looking to give meaningful employment experiences to youth this summer.

From Jul. 18 to Aug.18, BGC is looking to partner with local businesses interested in mentoring youth employees.

In lieu of provided a paycheque, students are required to receive an honorarium at the end of the program. 

Interested businesses will partner with youth aged 14-17, so they can learn about what the businesses do, gain real-life experience and create local connections. 

Gus Joyes from Lone Rider Longhorns at Athabasca was one of a number of Alberta producers that took part in the Canadian Texas Longhorn Association  Summer Pen Show in Saskatchewan.

The show held in Swift Current also attracted Alberta producers Gordon Musgrove of One Tree Ranch at Patricia and Darrel Doola of Elkwater, Alberta.

Alberta has a number of Texas Longhorn producers spread across the province.

Gus Joyes has about 10 longhorns on his ranch.

He says the cow that took the Grand Champion Female title is just an overall showy animal.

Predictions of a fall COVID-19 wave make another booster vaccine campaign likely but questions abound over how the virus will continue to evolve and what protections a new shot could offer.

Several vaccine manufacturers are racing to develop formulas that take into account the more infectious Omicron variant now driving cases, while policymakers are laying the groundwork for another large-scale vaccine blitz.

Police continue to investigate a Sturgeon County collision that hospitalized three people in mid-June.

At around 5:15 p.m. on Jun. 16, Morinville RCMP was called to a multi-vehicle collision on Highway 2 at the Cardiff turnoff just south of Morinville. Four vehicles were stopped at a set of lights when they are said to have been hit from behind by the southbound tow truck, which was carrying two additional vehicles.