FortSask

Our local MLA has been banned from entering Russia.

Earlier this month, Russia imposed sanctions on 333 Canadians, including public officials and prominent Olympians. These sanctions include a lifetime ban from entering the country.

Of those is Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk.

“As a proud Ukrainian and a vocal opponent to Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine, I have never been happier to be on a list," wrote Armstrong-Homeniuk in a release. 

The West River's Edge boat launch is open for the season.

Residents can now use the boat launch to safely deliver their boats to the North Saskatchewan River.

The City of Fort Saskatchewan asks boaters to take the necessary precautions, such as wearing a life jacket and packing a first aid kit.

The boat launch may close without notice due to changing river conditions or weather.

Elk Island Catholic School (EICS) buses are remembering Constable Harvinder Singh Dhami in their own unique way. 

After receiving the heartbreaking news of Dhami's death earlier this month, the school division decided that they wanted to do something to show solidarity with the RCMP. 

One of the ways they decided was to tie blue ribbons to 40 school buses. 

The Fort Saskatchewan RCMP is hoping for more information about an alleged fight that occurred at the Kin Family Spray Park.

According to a post on a private Facebook page, earlier this month two boys were allegedly attacked by a group of kids.

Apparently, one of the victims was left with a shattered face, and the other has a broken collarbone. 

The Fort Saskatchewan RCMP told FortSaskOnline that no reports were made. However, they are looking into the incident and are asking for more information. 

It's street-sweeping season once again. 

Strathcona County began their street sweeping on Monday (Apr. 17) in the neighbourhood of Aspen Trails.

Signs will be placed in the neighbourhoods before sweeping is scheduled to give residents notice to move their vehicles.

The sweepers will make several passes to clear the roadway, starting near the curb and working into the centre of the road, similar to a Zamboni.

It takes the sweepers around four to five weeks to clear arterial roads and residential roads in Sherwood Park and Ardrossan.

For the cattle sector the first quarter of 2023 has been fairly good.

Brenna Grant, the Executive Director of Canfax says fed cattle prices in Alberta reached new record highs in mid March and are continuing to see one of the strongest spring rallies in the last 15 years. 

"We are seeing leverage shift from the packer to the feedlot across North America and we see fed cattle supplies tightening up."

It was just a few weeks ago, that slaughter cows prices hit $132 per hundred weight, their highest since September 2015. 

The Fort Saskatchewan Sonic volleyball club had four teams competing at Alberta Volleyball provincials last weekend. 

It was quite a successful weekend, as two of the four teams came away with medals. 

The U15 boys, the only all-boy team within the club, had a fantastic result capturing the division three championship. Eli Vriend and Taylor Percy also got recognition as tournament all-stars. 

For the girls, the most successful team was the U15 blue girls' team as they came away with a silver medal in division five.

Last week in Manitoba feeder steer prices saw a $21 per cwt drop for the 900+ category for an average price of $216.33 per cwt. The biggest increase was $8.27 per cwt for the 501-600 pound steers for an average price of $327.32 per cwt. The biggest increase for feeder heifers was $8.63 per cwt for the 801-900 pound category for an average price of $234.38 per cwt. The biggest drop was for the 900+ category down $8.67 per cwt for an average price of $207.83 per cwt. Slaughter cow D1-D2 prices were up $3.37 per cwt for an average of $122.22.

An Ardrossan NHL player helped out his team when it counted on Monday (Apr. 17) night. 

Sam Steel, who hails from Ardrossan and played the majority of his minor hockey in Sherwood Park, netted a critical goal for the Minnesota Wild in Game One of their first-round series against the Dallas Stars. 

It was a beauty of a first, with Steel taking a pass in his own zone, breaking through two Dallas defenders and beating goaltender Jake Oettinger over the blocker to tie the game at 2-2. 

Fort Saskatchewan's Families First Society received a generous donation from a local resident.

The Raymond James Canada Foundation (RJCF) and Steve Switzer donated a total of $72,000 to help the society with their Healing Homes project.

Switzer has helped with Healing Homes before, he had even pitched the idea to Families First Society back in late 2021, with the help of his friend Mike Hankirk.

At first, the two had the idea of creating a women's shelter in Fort Saskatchewan, but Families First suggested they create second-stage housing instead.