Turnout at the advance polls in Slave Lake was brisk on the first day, we were told by somebody who should know. That was Friday, April 18, when around 600 people showed up to cast their ballots for either the Conservative, NDP, Liberal or Independent candidate for Peace River-Westlock. Saturday and Sunday were much quieter.
It all wraps up on April 28, after which we’ll find out who’ll be running the country for the next four years or so.
It sure was nice to see all the litter cleaned up along the fence line across from the post office in Slave Lake last week. It tends to accumulate there whenever strong west or northwest winds blow it in from wherever it is dumped in the first place. Of course there is lots more, all over the place. Slave Lake’s community clean-up week is May 5 – 9 – coming right up! Sign up at the Multi Rec Centre.
What about the renovations to the old Associated Medical Clinic on 3rd Ave. NE in Slave Lake? It’s owned by the Government of Alberta, we’re told. We’re also informed the work going on does not require a development permit from the town. Whatever business goes in there, though, will require a permit.
A fellow working with the crew replacing the windows told us he heard it’s some kind of health care service going in there, but we forgot the details. Meanwhile, we put a call in to somebody in the government, asking about it. He got back and said it’s not owned by the province. Okay, who does own it? The province did, says Lindsay Pratt of the housing authority. But they sold it to the physiotherapy guy.
People in Donnelly and area are getting pretty excited about a new plant that is going to process hemp. At least that’s the impression given by a front-page story in last week’s High Prairie South Peace News. The company is called Smoky Hemp Decortication Ltd. It is using some new, made-in-Quebec technology it says will make a cleaner and therefore more marketable product than what other help processing plants do. Apparently lots of things can be made out of hemp fibre, once it’s been properly decorticated.
Spring snow was happening in many parts of Alberta on the 21st of April, but we didn’t see any of it in Slave Lake, for some reason. Maybe we shouldn’t say that too loudly. Our turn might still be coming!. Apparently it did snow as nearby as the Mitsue Industrial Park. Well, we needed the moisture!
How did Flatbush get its name? Harry M. Sanders, in his book, The Story Behind Alberta Names, didn’t put much effort into finding the answer. The Flatbush entry simply says it is ‘descriptively named.’
Fair enough, but by whom, and when? Probably by the E.D. & B.C. Railway, which needed a name for the siding it put there, in 1913 or thereabouts. It is fairly flat, and there would have been a lot of bush, back then. There’s still quite a bit, but much of it has been cleared for farmland.
Monday, May 5 is Red Dress Day, in recognition of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. The Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre is holding an awareness walk. It starts at noon at the town office. The walk goes to the Friendship Centre. It will be followed by stew and bannock at the Friendship Centre. People are encouraged to wear red and if they have a missing or murdered Indigenous family member or friend, can bring a sign with information.
The certified results for the Otipemisiwak Métis Government Wabasca District by-election are out. They are the same as the preliminary results reported in the April 23 Lakeside Leader. Cindy Moore is the citizens’ representative and Diane Kim Peredry is the district captain.
The online version of the article has been updated.
