All Stories
UCP welcomes Rehn back into fold
Chris Clegg For the Lakeside Leader Banished Lesser Slave Lake MLA Pat Rehn is back in as a serving MLA for the United Conservative Party government. UCP caucus chair Nathan Neudorf made the announcement July 14. The UCP says since…
Man and his quad found; boater still missing
Leader staff July 12, 2021 – The body of a 51-year-old man from Slave Lake reported missing on the afternoon of July 11 has been found, says Slave Lake RCMP Staff Sgt. Don Racette. He and his quad were both…
Notorious SL drug house shut down
Joe McWilliamsLakeside Leader A Slave Lake house with a bad reputation got shut down by Alberta Sheriffs last week. Located on 3rd St. SW, the rented property was known for drug use and trafficking – it had also been the…
Native plants: Fireweed
Pearl LorentzenLakeside Leader Chamerion angustifolium, fireweed, grows in all parts of Canada, says the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Native Plant Encyclopedia. “Fireweed became Yukon’s floral emblem in 1957 and was previously classified at epilobium angustifolium. This hardy plant can grow to…
Bird report: Birds beat the heat by panting called ‘gular fluttering’
Sachi SchottFor the Lakeside Leader With the recent heat warnings that have been in effect across Canada, birds and humans alike have been seeking ways to keep cool during this hot summer! When it comes to beating heat, the birds…
M.D. of Lesser Slave River
Leader staff According to M.D. councillor Sandra Melzer, dealing with fusarium in the M.D. of LSR is now entirely up to the producer. That’s the result of the province backing away from any action on the disease. In any case,…
County prefers education on weeds
Richard FroeseFor the Lakeside Leader Big Lakes County is taking steps to root out invasive species of plants. To that end, council amended its invasive species bylaw, at its June 23 meeting. Along those same lines, council adopted new policies…
Wildfires increase in number, but firefighters keeping up
Pearl LorentzenLakeside Leader As was to be expected with a string of heat waves, the number of wildfires in the Slave Lake Forest Area increased. Thankfully, most of these were small. After a week of having a half dozen or…
Tolko co-op student wins Green Dream internship
Leader staff Ian Henry Penninga, at Tolko, is one of 15 winners of this year’s Green Dream Internship program, says a Forest Product Association of Canada (FPAC) news release. FPAC launched Green Dream in 2013. Winners receive a scholarship and…
Government eases COVID restrictions in continuing care
Two-step approach Pearl LorentzenLakeside Leader Slave Lake has three senior’s facilities which will be impacted by the provincial government easing COVID-19 restrictions. These are Points West Living, Vanderwell Heritage Place (aka. the lodge), and long-term care in the Slave Lake…
Order of the Bighorn returns, Slave Laker won in 1987
Leader staff In 1987, Reinhold Eben-Ebenau ‘Northshore Eben’ won the Order of the Bighorn. Also, the Athabasca Fish and Game Association won it in 1983. In 2021, the provincial government reintroduced the Order of the Bighorn to celebrate Environment and…
Early Pembina fish kills
Leader staff ‘Heat dome prompts early Alberta fish kill’ is a CBC News video from the first week of July. Fish kill is the death of fish from heat stress and low oxygen, says Michael Sullivan, Fisheries biologist, Alberta Environment…
Blue-Green algae in Cross Lake in southern part of M.D.
Pearl LorentzenLakeside Leader One lake in the M.D. of Lesser Slave River has blue-green algae blooms. This is Steele (Cross) Lake east of Flatbush.The warning says that areas of the lake without visible algae blooms can still be used. As…
Parents and teacher councils recruiting
Leader staff The provincial government is looking for 80 Albertans to be on either the Parent Advisory Council or Teacher Advisory Council, says a July 9 government of Alberta news release. The application is open until August 31. The councils…
Through the years: French Foreign Legion, Red Earth highway, etc.
Snippets from July 7 Leaders 1993 Plans were underway to start a Koinonia Christian School in Slave Lake. In the southwest, an old machine shop was going to be converted to classrooms for 20 to 30 students. It was to…
History file: How a young German homesteader stuck it out on the north shore
Joe McWilliamsLakeside Leader Reinhold Eben-Ebenau had no particular plans to put down roots on the shores of Lesser Slave Lake. The young German immigrant from East Prussia arrived in town in June of 1930. He was a year into the…
U11 and Smith
Leader staff In other baseball news, Slave Lake Heat U11 won 25 to 12 in Athabasca, Thursday, July 8. The U11 has a provincial tournament on August long weekend – July 31 to August 2. Softball started in Smith on…
Book in the park
Heat win two baseball games; lose one in Bonnyville
Leader staff The U13 Slave Lake Heat played three baseball teams in Bonnyville the weekend of July 17 and 18. The Heat won the first game 19 to 8 against the Bonnyville Braves. “Evander Pawliw pitched five strong innings for…