FortSask

An educational drone camp for Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) students took place at Bev Facey Community High.

On Apr. 30 and May 1, EIPS teamed up with Volatus Aerospace to teach 20 Grade 9-12 students five modules of drone technology.  

The modules included safety, piloting skills, a racing experience, photography/videography and coding.

“It was an eye-opening experience to see all the real-world applications drones have," said Chloe Wagner, a Grade 10 student at Bev Facey Community High.

The City of Fort Saskatchewan is looking to inject funds into local non-profits.  

Applications for 2023 grants to local non-profits opened at the beginning of May. Any local non-profit that supports the community broadly can apply for the grant program.  

“The City of Fort Saskatchewan recognizes the important contributions our local non-profit organizations make to our community,” stated the city.  

Mojow Autonomous Solutions will benefit from a $419 thousand dollar investment for digitization in farming under the Canadian Agricultural Partnerships AgriScience program. 

Co-founder and President Owen Kinch says they focus on digital technology for agriculture and the money will help in their development of an autonomous navigation controller to be used in agriculture.

Firefighters struggled with a Sherwood Park house fire over the weekend.

Around 2:56 p.m. on Sunday (May 8), Strathcona County Emergency Services got a 911 call for a garden shed fire near Harmony Place and Highland Way. It was very windy outside which was causing the fire to spread to the house.

Once crews arrived, they found the blaze had made its way into the attic with the flames being accelerated by the wind. Firefighters learned everyone had gotten out safely and then made their way inside.

Charges have been laid in a 2021 homicide investigation.

On Sept. 15, Strathcona County RCMP and fire services were called to a vehicle fire near Township Road 530 and Range Road 221. Human remains were found inside.

An autopsy revealed that the victim was 29-year-old Vanessa Silva from Edmonton. Her death was ruled a homicide.

Following an extensive investigation, on Friday (May 6), officers arrested 25-year-old Cordell Kennedy from Edmonton. He has been charged with first-degree murder. 

Due to overwhelming enthusiasm from fans, Garth Brooks will be staying in Edmonton a little longer.

Tickets for the country music artist's tour stop in Edmonton went on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday (May 6) and within 45 minutes, the 61,000-seat show at Commonwealth Stadium was sold out.

“Talked to Ticketmaster and they said a lot of you never got in to even look for tickets… and tens of thousands of you were still in the waiting room when it sold out,” Brooks said on Twitter.

Stocks of wheat, canola, barley, dry peas, oats and lentils were all down on March 31, 2022 compared with the same day a year earlier, a result largely attributable to lower opening supply. Conversely, stocks of corn for grain and soybeans rose.

Lower total supplies for most crops were the result of lower production in 2021. This contributed to a decrease in exports for most crops, despite strong global demand. Both domestic and international grain markets continue to face uncertainty because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and international tensions.

A leading energy price expert says gas prices could go up another five cents across Canada if Russia decides to intensify its assault on Ukraine or declare all-out war come Monday.

Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, says May 9 marks Victory Day in Russia and could prove pivotal when it comes to the trajectory of the war in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an unannounced visit Sunday to Ukraine, where he reopened the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv and expressed unwavering support for the embattled country.

Trudeau met Volodymyr Zelenskyy in person for the first time since Russia began its invasion in late February, appearing with the Ukrainian president at a news conference.

He announced $50 million in fresh Canadian military support for Ukraine, including drone cameras, satellite imagery, small arms and ammunition, as well as funding for demining operations.

Statistics Canada's latest release of federal census data from 2021 gives an insight into the age of Fort Saskatchewan's residents.

Fort Saskatchewan's working-age demographic (15-64) makes up 66.2 per cent of the population, while children 0-14 years old represent 20.8 per cent of the population.  

Those over 65 make up 13.1 per cent, up from 11.1 per cent reported in the 2016 census.

Over 85’s make up 1.5 per cent, while centenarians are the smallest demographic, making up only five people per the 2021 census.