FortSask

Fifty-two Albertans drowned in 2017. Since the pandemic began, this number has nearly tripled.

The City of Fort Saskatchewan has partnered up with the Lifesaving Society, an organization aiming to inform people about safe water practices. Their Lifejacket Loaner Stations provide free-of-cost lifejackets for rent at swimming pools all across the country, with 42 locations available across Alberta and the Northwest Territories alone.

Harbour Pool is the latest addition to their Lifejacket Loaner Stations, with a station being in front of the pool from May 24 until Sept. 5.

A 23-year-old woman has been arrested after two men arrived at the Strathcona County Hospital with stab wounds.

The men claimed they were assaulted in a vehicle while driving down Highway 21 in Sherwood Park. Both men suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. They have since been released from the hospital.

The Strathcona County RCMP arrested Denise Deschamps of Wetaskiwin. She has been charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, and two counts of disobeying a court order.

Sherwood Park resident Ken Lesniak has won the Community Service Award for this year's Strathcona County Awards of Excellence.

Lesniak has lived in Sherwood Park for 46 years and is now retired but has a lengthy list of accomplishments he continues to add to. 

“I am very humbled to be receiving [the award]. There are a lot of people in Strathcona County and in the communities that do lots of community service. I am honoured to get it so, I have mixed feelings over it in that regard,” said Lesniak.

Some of his work includes:

RCMP are warning the public about what is being called the “Head Office Bitcoin scam.”

Over the last several months, scammers have been targeting businesses across Alberta in a sophisticated scam to receive Bitcoin currency, defrauding employees and businesses.  

Kseniia Zinenko stepped outside of the Winnipeg airport Monday evening after a nine-hour flight from Poland to Manitoba's capital city.

The 30-year-old is one of more than 300 Ukrainian nationals who were on a federally chartered flight to bring people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Canada. 

"Very tired," Zinenko replied when asked how she was feeling after arriving in Winnipeg. "But the Canadian people (are) very good to meet us."

Police believe impairment may have been a factor in a crash that left a woman dead. 

Around 6 p.m. Monday (May 23), Morinville RCMP and Military Police responded to a collision involving a motorcycle and SUV at the Highway 28 and Sturgeon Road intersection. 

According to reports, the SUV was travelling northbound when it made a U-turn, colliding head-on with the motorcycle.  

Police believe a driver involved in a head-on collision may have been impaired.

On Monday (May 23) at around 6 p.m., the Morinville RCMP along with military police and other emergency services, responded to a two vehicle collision on Highway 28 at the Sturgeon Road intersection. 

An initial report to the RCMP was that an SUV travelling northbound made a u-turn and collided head-on with a motorcycle.

A 62-year-old woman on the motorcycle died in hospital from her injuries. 

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The Kin Family Spray Park is scheduled to open after the May long weekend, weather permitting.

City officials will turn on the water when temperatures stay around 20 C or higher. 

When it is operational, the spray equipment will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For those who have yet to visit this fun attraction, the spray park features animal-themed spray equipment surrounded by 20 acres of green space. 

A Fort Saskatchewan High School basketball player has just signed with The King's University.

Grade 12 student Connor Percy will be attending the school this fall for the Interdisciplinary Science program, in addition to showcasing his skills on the court.

"I have been playing basketball since I was in Grade 6. It is just one of those sports that I have been able to play for so long, and I didn't have to have a lot [of resources] to play it. It's been one of those things that has been very important to me," said Percy.