Tag: Featured

‘One hundred per cent capacity’ at Tolko OSB mill

Joe McWilliams Lakeside Leader You might have heard that home renovation activity has surged in response to COVID-induced lockdowns. Nobody predicted that, but it was certainly the case in the spring and summer and well reported on. Well, guess what?…
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The Page

You’ll notice a slightly new design on the top of the front page of The Leader this week. The logo is bigger and the two ‘events’ boxes are gone. Why? Blame it on COVID! No events, so it was just…
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‘Social enterprise’ in Slave Lake leaves its mark

Pearl Lorentzen Lakeside Leader A public company which started as a ‘social enterprise’ in Slave Lake in 1969 has closed. However, many of the buildings it built are still being used in Slave Lake. In early November 2020, SpruceLand Properties…
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Ski and snowshoes hot items at the Boreal Centre

Joe McWilliams Lakeside Leader It’s not open to the public, but the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation (BCBC) staff is still scheming up ways to serve the public. Just before the Jan. 9 weekend they announced free cross-country ski and…
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COVID Weekly: Big Lakes – 100+ new cases in seven days

Pearl LorentzenLakeside Leader From Jan. 8 to 14, Big Lakes County had 101 new COVID-19 cases. The M.D. of Lesser Slave River, including Slave Lake, had equal recoveries and new cases. More people recovered than got the virus in the…
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Regional fire service sets a new record in 2020

Joe McWilliams Lakeside Leader Records are made to be broken, but one the Lesser Slave Lake Regional Fire Service would probably not want to break in 2021 is the number of calls for service it responded to in 2020. That…
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Room for growth in micro-greens, says business owner

Joe McWilliams Lakeside Leader One of Slave Lake’s newer and more unusual business ventures is Flip Side’s micro-greens venture. Devon Phelps started growing greens in his basement in downtown Slave Lake in March or April of 2020. From germination to…
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Lots of social distancing opportunities in ice fishing

Joe McWilliams Lakeside Leader Sure enough, ice fishing shacks started showing up on Lesser Slave Lake not long after Christmas. This is about what was predicted early in December, when there was still open water visible in spots. By the…
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Year in Review 2020: Jul. – Sept.

July By the beginning of July, COVID-19 had been in Alberta for four and a half months. On July 3, there were 38 active cases in seven regions. At the time, the closest cases were in Big Lakes County. Graduations…
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Year in Review 2020: Oct. – Dec.

October A group out of Athabasca and Slave Lake circulated a petition to save three provincial recreation areas within the M.D. of Lesser Slave River – Chain Lakes, Lawrence Lake, and Fawcett Lake. One of the court report headlines was…
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A record year for the Christmas Bird Count

Submitted The 26th Annual Slave Lake Christmas Bird Count looked a little different with the COVID-19 restrictions. Although indoor and outdoor social gatherings were not allowed this year, it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of local birders for this popular event…
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