FortSask

The Fort Saskatchewan Furniture Bank has been up to a lot these last two years.

The Furniture Bank started in 2016 when Kathy Stevenson began running the service out of her house. She would collect used furniture and provide it for those in need. Over the last six years, the organization has grown to a group of volunteers and a location behind Canuck Plumbing on 103 Street.

Board director Barb Larson became friends with Stevenson before joining the organization. Her love for helping the community, especially the disadvantaged, drew her to volunteer.

The Babas & Borshch Ukrainian Festival is returning for 2022, and this year promises to be extra special. 

The annual event, which began in 2013, will take place Aug. 27-28 in Lamont. this year will also mark the 130th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration and settlement in Canada.  

Forward hog contract prices have been stable as of late.

Tyler Fulton is director of risk management with Hams Marketing Services.

"We've seen a fair amount of volatility day to day, but they haven't been trending one direction or the other," he said. "Whatever they seem to lose one day, they'll regain the next day and it's coming not just from a volatile pork complex but also the Canadian dollar is highly volatile as well and that has a direct influence on what forward prices are."

On a mission to help Ukrainian refugees overseas, a Fort Saskatchewan woman brought a little bit of home with her.

Leslie Dunn is volunteering with GlobalMedic, a Canadian charity that provides emergency humanitarian aid and disaster relief worldwide. Currently, she is on a deployment in Moldova, distributing food parcels to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the country. In the three weeks that she has been there, Dunn estimates to have distributed just under 80,000 pounds of food alone. 

Introducing young hockey players to bodychecking at an early age doesn't protect them from injury as they move into older, harder-hitting leagues, new research has concluded.

In fact, the opposite may be true, said Paul Eliason of the University of Calgary, lead author of a new paper in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

"More bodychecking experience is not protective against injury and concussions," he said. "The rates of injury and concussion were actually substantially higher among those who had more bodychecking experience."

Parks Canada is asking motorists to slow down and watch for wildlife after three grizzly bears were struck and killed in Jasper and Yoho national parks earlier this month.

The agency said two bears — a female and a male — died on the Trans-Canada Highway through Yoho National Park in British Columbia on June 7 and June 11.

The federal government is banning companies from importing or making plastic bags and takeout containers by the end of this year, from selling them by the end of next year and from exporting them by the end of 2025.

The move will also affect most single-use plastic straws, as well as all stir sticks, and cutlery. Six-pack rings used to hold cans and bottles together will get slightly more time before the ban affects them, with June 2023 targeted for stopping production and import, and June 2024 to ban their sale.

Royal Catering may have bid its final farewell, but its people remain an integral part of the community.

The company's owner, Carol Slukynski, is behind several different initiatives to support Ukrainian refugees arriving in Fort Saskatchewan and surrounding areas. 

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), which represents about 750 CN Rail employees, says signal and communication workers have walked off the job across the country.

Workers were legally on strike as of 11 a.m. local time on Saturday.

The IBEW gave a 72-hour strike notice Wednesday morning.

A spokesman for CN Rail says the company has implemented an "operational contingency plan," noting that operations are continuing "safely and at normal levels."

Exhibitors for Canada's Farm Show in Regina are busy putting the finishing touches on their displays, making sure all the equipment is washed, shined and ready to go for opening day tomorrow. 

Show hours are 9 am to 5 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, and 9 am to 4 pm on Thursday. 

"The biggest stage for the best in Ag" is the theme for Canada's Farm Show as it encourages farmers to get out of the dirt and come to town to see the latest in dryland farm equipment and technology.