Lacombe

After 45 days of evidence and legal arguments the criminal trial of "Freedom Convoy" organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber is finally at an end.

A verdict could be as much as six months away.

"I don’t know in this moment when I will be in a position to give my decision," Justice Heather Perkins-McVey said Friday.

She said "it's a little daunting," given the unusually great volume of evidence and legal questions associated with the case. 

Local and provincial dignitaries joined Iron Ridge Secondary Campus (IRSC) students and staff for the official grand opening on Sept. 12.  

The celebration included remarks from Tim De Ruyck Wolf Creek Public Schools (WCPS) Superintendent, Jamie Hoover Town of Blackfalds Mayor, and Devin Dreeshen Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, and MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake. 

Air Canada and business leaders are asking Ottawa to be ready to intervene in labour talks with its pilots as time is running out before a potential shutdown, but so far the government has said the two sides need to work things out. 

Airline spokesman Christophe Hennebelle said Thursday that Air Canada is committed to negotiations, but it faces wage demands from the Air Line Pilots Association that it can't meet. 

"The issue is that we are faced with unreasonable wage demands that ALPA refuses to moderate.”

If you see crime, report it.

That's the message from Ponoka RCMP, who say that in recent months police have observed several incidents that were being discussed on social media that were never reported to the local detachment.

This past weekend Red Deer was the site for The Royal Iron Strength Classic strongman competition. 

Over 200 people came out to watch 20 competitors fight for the title of the strongest man or woman in Central Alberta.

Nick Ris, along with his wife Christine, organized the event and talked about how much it's grown since the first event last year.

The City of Red Deer is looking for board members for the Central Alberta Regional Assessment Review Board (RARB). This board is responsible for issuing decisions on complaints related to property assessments across more than 30 central Alberta municipalities.

The board is an impartial, independent body comprised of citizen members from central Alberta communities that hear and issue decisions on formal complaints from property owners who disagree with the assessed values of their property within the partner municipalities.

Lacombe and area residents had a chance to sample all of the great organizations and events that are taking place in the community Wednesday night at the 44th annual Fall Active Living Fair.

The event attracted over 400 people to the Lacombe Memorial Centre. The fair, organized by the County of Lacombe Lifelong Learning Association (CLLLA), was a chance for residents to find out what’s happening in the community through the fall, connect with local groups and organizations, and register for programming.  

The Red Deer Food Bank recently took to social media to showcase a dire situation of nearly empty shelves.  

Since then, the food bank has received donations from Red Deer and area residents to help fill food hampers.  

The Blackfalds Bulldogs dropped their second straight pre-season game Wednesday night in Spruce Grove, falling 5-1 to the Saints.

The Saints opened the scoring 6:44 into the game and didn't let up, adding three more to take a 4-0 lead into the first intermission.

Blackfalds was able to get on the scoreboard in the second, with Lucas McDonald netting a power play marker at 2:52.

The Saints would add another in the third to seal the 5-1 victory.

Bulldogs goalie Sam Caulfield made 28 saves, while Mikkel Christensen saved 9 of 10.

Starting on Sunday, September 15, the main gate to the Red Deer Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) will be temporarily closed to the public for approximately four weeks as crews work to complete the berm project and install a new gate.

During the closure the WWTP entrance will be closed to the public and discharging to the Septic Receiving Station will not be permitted. 

Residents will have to arrange to use other facilities.