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Rural municipalities have been lobbying the government for several years on the issue of unpaid oil and gas industry taxes. It’s been a real thorn in the side, and has hit some M.D.s and counties a lot harder than others.…
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Apparently things got a bit rowdy in a Greater Metro Hockey League playoff game in High Prairie a week or so ago. The Edson Eagles and High Prairie Redwings were involved in a best-of-seven final series. The March 10 game…
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It probably goes without saying that folks in the provincial government have priorities that don’t have much to do with small-town newspaper deadlines. But when you say something will be announced on a Thursday, and then wait around until the…
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The coffee shop was abuzz late last month with speculation about new signs on the highway that were hidden behind tarps. It could only mean one thing, the thinking went – an announcement on highway improvements that is being held…
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There’s been a flurry of news items on the Jeffrey Dupres case lately – all emanating from one source. It can give the impression that there’s been some breakthrough in the 40-year-old missing person case, but there hasn’t. All that’s…
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The Slave Lake library, courthouse, town office, Service Canada, the Slave Lake hospital, and most other government buildings are easily accessible on foot, which is good because not all Slave Lakers have ready access to a vehicle. This seems like…
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Political candidates like to talk about ‘unity’ and running a ‘positive’ campaign. But ones who really mean that are hard to find. When you start listening to what they have to say you realize pretty quickly their notions of unity…
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Is there any point in insisting on vaccine requirements for sporting events? The Arctic Winter Games were recently held – successfully and safely as far as we have heard – in Fort McMurray without that impediment. But we’re told the…
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You expect opposition politicians to come out against whatever the government does. The system just works that way. So the fact the Alberta NDP doesn’t like the Government of Alberta’s proposed plan to get orphan wells cleaned up isn’t saying…
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One of the UCP candidates for the Lesser Slave Lake nomination asked the other day what our sense was of who had the inside track in the race. Of course we had no idea. For starters, only UCP members get…
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Last week’s coverage (by us) of Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen’s visit to Slave Lake was a bit hasty – slapped together at the last minute and not given the kind of prominence it probably deserved. We combined it with…
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Alberta government ministers are getting out into communities lately. A cynic might say it’s merely an election ploy. Of course it is an election ploy, but that doesn’t mean some good won’t come out of it. For example. Devin Dreeshen,…
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A story surfaced recently about American fighter planes at the bottom of Lesser Slave Lake. Lyndsey Carmichael, the library archivist in Slave Lake, says she heard from a fellow who calls himself ‘Mr. Nose Art,’ because he’s an expert on…
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History repeats itself, as the saying goes. This is perhaps nowhere more true than in the sexual misbehaviour of men in positions of power. It is so common as to be unremarkable – even expected. But it’s still disappointing when…
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You probably read about the info session the M.D. of Lesser Slave River held on Jan. 12 on the Smith bridge situation. In the audience was a representative of Alberta Transportation. Pointing him out, one of the M.D. people at…
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Just before Christmas, Albertans were being advised to not use any more electricity than they needed to. This was during a cold snap that saw an all-time peak power demand on Dec. 19. The situation was dire enough for the…
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