Okotoks

Summer is winding down and the leaves are turning that shade of yellow that signals the start of school.

Students who attend Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools will kick off their 2025-2026 school year on tomorrow (Aug. 28).

Meanwhile, those who attend a Foothills School Division school in Okotoks will return to school after Labour Day, on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

For those going to a Foothills School Division school (FSD), there is also a Student Transition Day on Friday, Aug. 29, which will support the social-emotional wellness of their learners.

The Friends of Foothills Schools Foundation (FFSF) new literacy initiative is underway.  

The Literacy Playground began this week and is designed to help students who are entering Grade 3 with their reading skills.  

Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, are in full bloom in Alberta lakes this summer.

According to Alberta Health Services, almost 40 water bodies have been affected so far.

Just last week, AHS warned of algae blooms in Eagle Lake, just south of Strathmore.

Signage is also posted warning of blue-green algae at Chain Lakes, south of Longview along Highway 22.

An officer-involved shooting that occurred in a southwest community of Calgary on Monday afternoon is under investigation.  

On Monday (Aug. 18), at approximately 12:55 p.m., the Calgary Police Service responded to a 911 hang-up call in the Yorkville community.   

The call was believed to be connected to a domestic incident involving a weapon inside a residence.  

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) is investigating a single-vehicle collision that left a driver with life-threatening injuries after he was ejected from his car over the weekend.

The crash happened around 1:25 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 17. A man in his 50s was driving a 2010 Cobra southbound on Deerfoot Trail when the vehicle drifted onto the right shoulder while approaching the Seton Boulevard S.E. overpass.

The Town of Okotoks launched their first ever Tourism Strategy this week.

According to the Town, this is a roadmap that honours the town's character, embraces a future full of possibilities, as well as preserving what makes the Town special while inviting other to witness the charm of the community.

Crews are out helping to reduce the risk of wildfires in Kananaskis and Bow Valley.

The Alberta government, Bow Valley communities, and their partners are working to reduce the wildfire risk by creating fireguards, reducing the amount of fuel for fires, and ongoing FireSmart work.

The next phase of the Bow Valley Community Fireguard Work began on Monday, Aug.18 at the Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park, which is a partnership between the Town of Canmore, Government of Alberta, Municipal District of Bighorn, and the Kananaskis Improvement District.

After a summer of rodeos, dinosaurs and door-knocking, Pierre Poilievre is now officially heading back to Ottawa as a Conservative member of Parliament for Alberta.

The Tory leader will represent the sprawling rural riding of Battle River—Crowfoot, in the province's eastern region, after winning a byelection on Monday. 

"Getting to know the people in this region has been the privilege of my life," Poilievre told a crowd at a victory party in Camrose, Alta., on Monday night. "In fact, I've had a hell of a lot of fun."

Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants have reached a tentative deal to end a strike that began on Saturday morning.

The airline said it will gradually begin operations Tuesday.

The two sides met through the night with a federal mediator before reaching a tentative agreement that will be brought to members of the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

"Your right to vote on your wages was preserved," the union said in a post on its website announcement the end of the strike.

Today, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced the initial list of regions that will qualify for the Livestock Tax Deferral in 2025.