Okotoks

After resuming negotiations last week, CUPE Local 5040 and the Foothills School Division (FSD) have come to an agreement.

A tentative deal was reached on August 22, ratified by union members on August 27, and is to be ratified by the division's Board of Trustees on Wednesday, September 4.

The agreement came following four years of negotiation and not long before the contract's August 31 expiration.

The union branch, which represents education workers within FSD, has been calling for an increase in pay, improvements to training, and other supports for workers.

While farmers are out in the field harvesting this year's wheat crop, research scientists and breeders involved in the Canadian National Wheat Cluster are working on improving the crops' long-term sustainability in the cropping rotation.

Funding for the work being done by the Wheat Cluster comes through the Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC).

The CWRC is a collaboration of the three producer wheat commissions across Western Canada, the Alberta Wheat Commission, Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission and Manitoba Crop Alliance.

Alberta Agriculture's weekly crop report shows 20 per cent of the provincial crop has been harvested, with another nine per cent swathed. The winter wheat harvest is now 94 per cent complete, followed by the fall rye at 93 per cent, dry peas at 73 per cent, and lentils at 59 per cent across the province. 

Regionally, the South has seen the most progress with 38 per cent of crops combined, the Central Region is at 25 per cent,  the North West and North East  have less than 7 per cent finished, while the Peace Region is 11 per cent complete.

The Okotoks Dawgs Academy has announced that former pitcher for the WCBL Dawgs, Graham Brunner, will stay in Okotoks as he has been added to the academy's coaching staff.

Brunner has been a staple for the WCBL Dawgs squad since 2017 and played his final season with the team this past season. He was named a 2024 WCBL All-Star and started the game on the mound for the West Division. Brunner would start on the mound for WCBL finals in game three against the Moose Jaw Miller Express where teammate Connor Crowson hit a walk-off home run to complete the three-peat.

Kolten and Keegan Davis continued their annual tradition of supporting kids fighting cancer with the Great Cycle Challenge this month.

This is Kolten's fifth year riding for the cause and Keegan's third year with the Great Cycle Challenge. Kolten is seven years old with little brother Keegan at six years old.

Their mother Tasha explained how Kolten helped train Keegan to ride along with him.

The Labour Day long weekend is going to be warmer than usual for Foothills County.

According to Meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada Justin Shelley, Foothills County is in for a pleasant three-day stretch.

"We have an upper ridge that's going to bring in a relatively warm air mass and it's going to keep things, also, pretty dry for the most part," Shelley explains.

The temperatures are going to increase as the weekend progresses.

The 2024 Wild West WPCA World Chuckwagon Finals got started on Thursday night (Aug. 29) in Ponoka after a delay due to rain.

Jamie Laboucane posted the fastest time among the 36 drivers on night one, clocking in at 1:16.79.

Layne Flad came in at one one-hundredth of a second slower, with Rae Croteau Jr. landing in third place by an equal margin.

High River's Jason Glass ended with the fourth-fastest time and sits third in the playoff standings.

Several town facilities will be closed on Labour Day.

The Municipal Centre, Operations Centre, fire stations, RCMP/Municipal Enforcement, Okotoks Eco Centre, Okotoks Art Gallery, Okotoks Museum and Archives, Okotoks Public Library, and the Okotoks Family Resource Centre will be closed on holiday Monday.

Meanwhile, the Okotoks Rec Centre and Natural High Fitness Centre will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, September 2nd, and Centennial Arenas will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Okotoks Food Bank will also be closed for the holiday.

The railways have been working to ramp back up following last week's rail shutdown.

CN's Assistant Vice President of Grain, David Przednowek says the process takes some time noting the key to an efficient ramp up or recovery is a very measured and planned ramp down.

He says that involved implementing embargoes so that products (especially toxic, hazardous or dangerous goods) wouldn't be left in transport on the rail line.

Przednowek says it's important to review how everything played out to fully understand the process involved in gearing back up. 

Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew have been killed in a cycling collision according to the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.

According to reports, the collision happened around 8:30 p.m. EDT on Pennsville Auburn Road near Stumpy Lane in Oldmans Township, New Jersey.