There sure are a lot of deer around. In Marten Beach they seem to prefer being in the hamlet than the alternatives, in spite of the presence of humans, vehicles and barking dogs. Could that be because they feel the threat of wolves is less when they are near people? Part of the reason could be that some people feed them. The authorities don’t recommend this, by the way.
Somebody was telling us the other day there’s a weekly shuttle bus starting in High Prairie and ending in Slave Lake, with stops in Joussard, Faust and Kinuso. It’s a service by Big Lakes County and pretty handy, from what we were told.
The shuttle will start in High Prairie in the morning and return there in the afternoon, every Thursday. According to details on biglakescounty.ca, the shuttle does a couple of other routes on other days of the week. Prices are posted there as well.
It looks as if it’s down to The Leader vs. the Town of Slave Lake’s communications department in the Rotary NHL Playoff Pool Media Challenge this year. Apparently the chance of winning a pizza from Alimo’s wasn’t enough to entice Eastlink or the radio station folks into parting with 10 bucks (three for 25!).
But good for Jason Swanson at the town for being game. He’s not going to be eating any free pizza come June, but that’s the way it goes.
Somebody might have jumped the gun on the Highway 88 paving thing. We have it from a pretty reliable source that nothing but patching is in the cards for 2023, with some money allocated for engineering as well. It could be that something coming out of the minister’s office was misinterpreted. As you were, and keep an eye out for the potholes….
No word yet on a volunteer supper and Citizen of the Year award put on by the Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre. This is usually during Volunteer Week in April.
However, the Town of Slave Lake Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) has tokens of appreciation for volunteers. Organizations have until April 3 to send their number of volunteers to FCSS@slavelake.ca or call Darcy Comeau at 780-849-8003. These will be ready to pick up April 17.
April 1 there’s a free public swim from 1:15 to 3 p.m. in the Northern Lights Aquatic Centre.
The Lesser Slave Lake Regional Arts Council has some events coming up. The Arts Council’s AGM is on April 3 starting at 7 p.m., for details see the ad on Page 7.
Also, April 22 starting at 7 p.m. the Arts Council has a wine and cheese paint night to raise money for Ukraine at The Fix. It costs $60. To register, text Julie at 780-805-1547 and etransfer (electronic transfer) funds to slregionalartscouncil@gmail.com.
Charlie Major is coming to Smith. The concert put on by SHARA is on April 22, starting at 7 p.m. in the Smith Community Complex. Tickets are $70, and are available at Mirror Landing Store (Smith), Sobeys, The Source (Slave Lake), and Stonefish Rentals, in Athabasca.
This just in from the Edmonton Boat & Sportsman Show, which happened March 16 – 19, courtesy of the High Prairie’s South Peace News:
‘Interesting, some big exhibitors that were mainstays of the show in years past, like The Fishin’ Hole, didn’t have booths. Lots of stores took their place and did a booming business, even with the high prices. Anybody need a Jeep getting a 700+ horsepower Hellcat motor? It was here.
‘The bad stuff, depending on your view, is that northwestern Alberta, as in ‘Come and Visit,’ didn’t make an appearance. There were lots of small booths promoting recreation and camping from across Saskatchewan, British Columbia and northeastern Alberta. Northern Alberta and the Peace River country, not at all.
‘If Whitecourt and Swan Hills, which were at the show last year, were there, we somehow missed them. But you can check online at southpeacenews.com for the northern Alberta folks who were there. Or at least, the ones we saw after making our rounds of the three halls at the Expo Centre.’
