Cochrane

Rain wasn't about to dampen the community spirits at the Jail N Bail held Sept. 20 in support of Seniors for Kids.

A jail cell, created by students of Building Futures, was filled with some despicable desperados whose crime was being good citizens of Cochrane.

The bail money paid to set them free has raised thousands for a program that enables seniors to become mentors or "school grandparents" to young people.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says close to 45,000 Canadians are in Lebanon, months after warning there is no guarantee Ottawa can evacuate them if the situation deteriorates further.

She is also expressing concern that attacks like exploding pagers are only making the situation worse.

"My message to Canadians who even think of going to Lebanon is don't go, and I've been saying that for months," she told reporters Friday in Toronto.

Family members of patients allegedly brainwashed decades ago at a Montreal psychiatric hospital are afraid they're running out of time to get compensation because the federal government and the McGill University Health Centre have filed motions to dismiss their lawsuit.

Glenn Landry's mother, Catherine Elizabeth Harter, was among the hundreds of people to receive experimental treatments under the MK-ULTRA program, funded by the Canadian government and the CIA between the 1940s and 1960s at Montreal's Allan Memorial Institute, which was affiliated with McGill University.

In a haunting message from beyond the grave, Métis Elder Sonny James MacDonald recounted being incarcerated for more than two years at an Indian Hospital in Edmonton in the 1940s for tuberculosis treatment, suffering abuse and isolation as a child.

"After the surgery … they took it upon themselves … that they should take my pajama bottoms off to prevent me from walking around," MacDonald, a renowned carver who died in 2021, said in a video clip taken from a documentary released that same year. 

Farmers now have 63 per cent of the provincial crop in the bin, up from the five and ten-year averages of 43 and 38 per cent.

Harvest progress varies from 80 per cent complete in the South to 73 per cent in the Central Region, while the other areas are now 50 per cent complete.

A bunch of Cochrane kids will be on the field for the Stamps/Riders game tonight at McMahon Stadium.

The Cochrane Lions Atom minor football team participated in a ticket-selling challenge and won the opportunity to play a mini scrimmage on the field during halftime tonight.

After nearly 20,000 votes over the last 24 hours, Cochranites decided which neighbourhood will wear the crown and have the bragging rights as the best neighbourhood for the next year.

With 56 per cent of the votes, Sunset Ridge is the winner!

Heartland residents put up a fair fight though, bringing in over 8,000 of the votes. 

Votes came in from all over the world including the United States, Switzerland, Portugal and the Netherlands. 

Newly-name Cochrane Generals captain James Quaife says they're ready and hope to kick off the season with two wins this weekend but will take the season one game at a time.

The Gens have named their team leadership in advance of their season opener tonight in Airdrie against the Thunder.

"It's exciting," says Quaife. "Last year, I was an 'A' and I'm hoping to step up into the role of leading the group. There's a lot of new young guys, so I'm just hoping to give them guidance this year and hoping we'll make a bit better of a run this season."

Quebec Premier François Legault on Thursday urged the Bloc Québécois to help topple the federal Liberal government and trigger an election, saying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to disrespect the will of the province.

Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet responded moments later, rejecting that call and saying he serves Quebecers "according to my own judgment."

Additional modulars are coming to Cochrane to relieve overcrowding at two schools but won't be operational until the next school year.

Today, school board trustees assigned three modulars to Fireside School and two to the Cochrane Christian Academy. They are expected to be ready for use at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year.

On July 23, it was announced RVS would be receiving 12 new modular classrooms and funding to relocate 12 others from Indus and Langdon.