FortSask

Be on the lookout for camo-clad people at Elk Island National Park (EINP) this weekend.

Soldiers from 20th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, will be in the national park on Saturday (Jun. 4) to show off skills soldiers use when deployed to the field on an exercise.

Members will set up a base camp at the Astotin Lake group campsite and will feature demonstrations including calling in artillery missions, sentry duties, camouflage and concealment and how to use a map and compass.

Police have released more specifics on a fatal collision in Sturgeon County. 

On Thursday (June 2) at around 11 a.m., police and emergency services were called to a collision involving a car and a jeep. Police say it happened at the Highway 44 and Highway 642 intersection.

"Investigation has revealed that the car crossed the center line colliding head-on with the Jeep," reported the RCMP in a release.

An 85-year-old woman driving the car has died. 

Female hockey players within the Sturgeon Hockey Club (SHC) will be trading in their Mustangs jerseys with the creation of an all-female hockey team.

The Sturgeon Fillies will play in the U15 division for the 2022-2023 season. This is the first all-girl hockey team in SHC’s history that will play in an all-girls division. 

Currently, the only options female players have in SHC are to play on co-ed teams or travel to neighbouring communities. 

Everett Silvertips defenceman and Fort Saskatchewan local Olen Zellweger won the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as the WHL Defenceman of the year.  

The 18-year-old, a prospect of the Anaheim Ducks, led all WHL defencemen with 78 points, setting a Silvertips single-season record. 

Zellweger was also named to the Team Canada squad selected to compete at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship. 

This summer will see Kevin Costner return to Alberta as marshal of this year's Stampede Parade.

Costner starred in the films Open Range and Let Him Go, which were both filmed in the province.

The latter saw him spend some time in High River for filming in 2019.

"I just gotta tell you how nice it felt to be selected at the parade marshal," said Costner in the announcement video. "You don't see those kinds of things coming. I'm not sure what the list looked like, I'm glad I was on it."

On Monday (May 30), the Redwater RCMP conducted a joint operation patrol and traffic stop.

RCMP from Redwater, peace officers from Sturgeon County and Thorhild County, and Alberta Sheriffs from Lac La Biche and Ardrossan teamed up for traffic safety along Highway 63 and Highway 28.

“With ever-increasing traffic volumes, Highways 63 and 28 have seen their fair share of serious and fatal collisions,” said Redwater RCMP detachment commander Sergeant Jeff Sehn.

Strathcona County has made a few adjustments to prioritize capital spending in 2022. 

Some projects will be moving ahead under a limited scope, while others will be waiting for municipal dollars after council met on May 17 to adjust its capital spending plan. 

The county approved a 2.18 per cent tax increase for 2022, which they say will allow them to maintain programs and service levels while tacking operational and inflationary pressures. 

A nearby community is on alert after sightings of wild boars were reported to town officials. 

On May 24, the Town of Lamont issued a notice alerting residents of the sighting. According to the town's chief administrative officer, Rick Bastow, the sightings have been inconclusive so far, but the town is taking them seriously.

Sherwood Park sisters Ayva and Halla Ahlefed could see some hope on the horizon with a trial drug. 

Ayva, 18, and Halla, 15, were both diagnosed with Labrune Syndrome in elementary school after having multiple seizures.

This extremely rare genetic disease causes progressive degeneration of the brain where a mix of cerebral white matter disease, intracranial calcification, and cysts invade the brain and cause loss of function. 

Swimmers in Sherwood Park will have to look for another water hole this summer. 

From Jun. 28 to Aug. 5, Emerald Hills Leisure Centre will close while crews work to install a new system to address leaks in the kid's pool. 

The leisure centre discovered leaks in the kid's pool area after it was re-filled following COVID-19 shutdowns. All pools in the centre will be inspected for possible future pool leaks/closures during the closure.