All Stories
Province to fund a homeless shelter in Slave Lake
‘Huge win for the town’ says Mayor Ward Joe McWilliams Lakeside Leader After years of lobbying the province for help with the homeless situation, the Town of Slave Lake last week received some welcome news. “Thanks to advocacy from MLA…
2023 wildfire updates
Sept. 21 – Danger very high, but no new wildfires Pearl LorentzenLakeside Leader September 16 to 18, the fire danger remained very high in the Slave Lake Forest Area, with a fire advisory in effect. On Sept. 19, the danger…
‘Unauthorized’ surgery leaves woman looking for answers
Joe McWilliams Lakeside Leader A former Slave Lake resident is looking for answers after what she says was an unauthorized and bungled surgery on her ear. The doctor, she says, accepted no responsibility, and in fact lied about it. As…
Town of Slave Lake Council notebook
Sept. 19, 2023 Joe McWilliams Lakeside Leader FCSS grants Council allocated $35,000 in the 2023 budget for community organizations for programs and such that qualify under the Family and Community Support Services mandate. The first round of grants happened back…
Future engineers
Have your say on the new K to 6 social studies curriculum until Oct. 16
Leader staff The social studies curriculum has been the most controversial of the proposed curriculum changes in Alberta. In March 2021, the government proposed changing all subjects at once. Local school divisions would not pilot the curriculum and many people…
Health and wellness: Create compassion for yourself (Part 3 of 3)
Candace Brown, registered psychologist Northern Alberta Psychological Services This is the final article of a three-part series on self-improvement for low self-worth. The topic for this article is creating compassion for yourself. Self-compassion is the foundation of self-acceptance. Just as…
Stay active and safe while heading back to school
Rebecca Johnson Alberta Health Services Many families across the province are sending their children off to school this month. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to talk with their kids and teens about active and safe ways to travel to school.…
Faith: Difficulty in understanding the Bible can be good
Damon Ramer Bethany Christian Fellowship in Smith Lately in my practice of reading Scripture I have been going through the prophets in the Old Testament. As a pastor, I am not sure if I am allowed to admit it, but…
Taber, you’ve been corned
Regional commentary by Jeff Burgar I just learned I have not paid near enough attention to a simple little bit of northern Alberta gardening knowledge. According to gardening experts around me, this is a biggie. Now, I have planted my…
Anybody interested in junior hockey?
Is anybody in Slave Lake still interested in junior hockey? Evidently not enough to make whatever effort it takes to revive the Jr. B program that once thrived in town. The more recent experiment, the ‘pay-to-play’ business model that brought…
Power bill mess
Some Albertans got a nasty shock recently when their August power bills arrived. What’s going on? What’s going on has little or nothing to do with actual electricity consumption. And it mainly affects power customers on the regulated rate option…
Decent year for campgrounds, in spite of fires and fish factors
Joe McWilliams Lakeside Leader In spite of fires, recurring smoke and strict fishing restrictions, 2023 was a decent season for campground operators around the area. At least that’s the impression we got from a phone survey of several of them…
No sign yet of promised Highway 88 construction
Pearl Lorentzen Lakeside Leader Before the May 2023 provincial election, the Government of Alberta put up signs announcing the paving of Hwy. 88. However, as of September 18, 2023, this did not appear to exist on any lists of paving…
Cultural days
Slave Lake’s new Pharmasave store hopes to open this week
Joe McWilliams Lakeside Leader If you glance through the doors of the new downtown Slave Lake Pharmasave store, you’ll see fully stocked shelves and get a general impression of a store that’s open. Except it isn’t. Or wasn’t, as of…
M.D. of Opportunity council notebook
Joe McWilliams Lakeside Leader Council’s Aug. 23 meeting took place at the complex boardroom in Calling Lake, with all 11 councillors present. Two items were added to the agenda for discussion – Hwy. 686 and a vending machine at the…