A snowfall warning has been issued for the County of Grande Prairie, the M.D. of Greenview, Yellowhead County, and Woodlands County.

According to Environment Canada, heavy snowfall around 10-15 cm is expected beginning on Tuesday morning before tapering off before Wednesday morning.

Environment Canada is warning that visibility may be suddenly reduced at times during snowfall and drivers should be prepared to adjust with changing road conditions accordingly.

Additionally, Public Safety Canada is encouraging everyone to make an emergency plan and keep an emergency kit with drinking water, food, medicine, first aid kit, and a flashlight in their cars.

ATCO has announced a three-year commitment to fund the County of Grande Prairie’s new Fire Cadet program.

According to the county, the program offers a unique opportunity for county high school students living in the towns of Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, and Wembley to develop life skills while gaining an understanding of firefighting as a career option.

Attendees will undergo classroom and hands-on sessions and students taking the one-semester program could be eligible for high school credits upon completion.

The county adds that the program will leave cadets with a strong understanding of firefighting techniques to pursue a career in firefighting; however, the county says the skills gained during the program are transferrable to other careers as well.

ATCO has been supporting Fire Cadet programs since 2002 when they first began funding the Calgary Fire Department’s version, and has expanded throughout the province over the past two decades. Amanda Mattern, Vice President of Operations at ATCO says the company has enjoyed a “rich history” of collaboration with Fire Rescue around the province.

“With a rich history of collaboration with Fire and Rescue services across Alberta, partnering with the County of Grande Prairie’s Fire Cadet Program is our way of investing in future generations.”

Program intake is currently underway for highschoolers aged 16-18 and classes are scheduled to begin at the end of January. Interested applicants can apply on the county’s website.

Grande Prairie’s Special Olympics curling team is joining Team Alberta at the upcoming 2024 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Calgary.

Athletes are set to compete in eight winter sports including alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, curling, floor hockey, speed skating, snowshoeing, and five-pin bowling.

Head Coach of Grande Prairie’s Team Alberta curling team Mark Heartt says there has been a noticeable difference among his athletes after being named to the Alberta training squad.

“They are so committed to Team Alberta and the training plan we developed back in May at our first training camp,” he says. ” Being a part of the team has been an amazing experience for our athletes and coaches.”

Additionally, the trip marks the first at the national level for some athletes and is the second time for several others with their same teammates. According to Team Alberta, the games represent the chance for their athletes to go to the “next level” with Special Olympics and qualify for World Games.

“My favourite memory is winning the gold medal at the 2023 Provincial Games,” Team Alberta curler Steven Biendarra says. “My dream is to make it to Nationals and Worlds.”

The Special Olympics Canada Winter Games are scheduled from February 27th to March 2nd, when over 100 Team Alberta athletes, staff, and coaches will join hundreds of others from across the country to fight for gold.

The Dawson Creek RCMP are requesting help from the public in locating 24-year-old Cole Robert Hosack who has been missing since December 31st.

On Monday, January 1st, 2024, Dawson Creek RCMP received a report of a missing person. Friends of Hosack say he was last seen around 11:00 p.m. on New Years Eve, leaving the Lonestar Nightlife on Alaska Avenue.

Police say Hosack is not from Dawson Creek and was scheduled to leave for Edmonton on January 5th for new employment.

Hosack is described as a 24-25-year-old 5’11” man, weighing around 200 lbs with “very noticeable” tattoos on his face and neck.

Hosack’s mother organized a search party; however, the search was cancelled due to risks associated with cold weather.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Hosack is asked to contact the Dawson Creek RCMP at (250)-784-3700.

Last year Grande Prairie Technical Search and Rescue saw an uptick in the number of volunteer hours and incidents they responded too.

According to the Grande Prairie based organization in the 2023 calendar year, the 52 Technical Search and Rescue members put in 8,225, up from the 6,440 hours recorded in 2022. Those hours included the 49 incidents members attended 273 total activities including training; while the organization recorded 31 incidents in 2022.

According to the Grande Prairie Technical Search and Rescue volunteers “time, commitment, and unwavering dedication through responding to calls, training exercises and various events” made a significant impact on the community.

The organization is also holding their annual recruiting drive until January, 31st. Those interested in volunteering to be part of the Operational Teams can find more information on the Grande Prairie Technical Search and Rescue website.

Christmas time is over but Grande Prairie Safe Communities has shared some home-alone safety tips for kids and parents to ensure a secure stay for children left home alone.

Cindy Blinston, Executive Director for GP Safe Communities says the first step to take is ensuring your home and child are adequately prepared. She says simple steps like making a contact list and making a phone available for emergencies are key elements to ensure your child’s safety.

“Make sure you have your contact list clearly set out and on display for the kids to use if they need to call for help, knowing who’s close by they can go to for help if they need to leave the house for any reason,” she says. “We’re having a lot of parents rely on wifi and messenger and things like that and it’s not quite enough if you’re looking to start staying home alone.”

Additionally, Blinston says children under the age of 12 should not be left in charge of younger siblings, as home-alone is about “self-care and self-reliance” for your child.

Blinston says talking to your kids about home-alone safety is important even if they are not left alone for very long, or if a parent is still in the house as independence can be beneficial should a situation arise.

“Some kids are spending a little bit of time after school, [but] it can be as simple as if one parent is at work and one parent is mowing the lawn, we need to build up those skills.”

GP Safe Communities is holding a series of safety courses for parents and kids throughout 2024 and interested individuals can sign up on their website.

UPDATE: Physician coverage has been found for the Fairview Health Complex Emergency Department Friday night. According to Alberta Health Services, the physician will be on site as of 7 p.m. Friday, January 5th, ending the emergency department’s temporary disruption sooner than scheduled. On Wednesday, January 3rd the provincial health authority announced the department would be temporarily closed until the morning of Saturday, January 6th.

The Fairview Health Complex Emergency Department will not have a physician on-site 48 hours in the first starting Thursday morning.

According to Alberta Health Services, the disruption will start at 7 a.m. on Thursday, January 4th and is scheduled to end at 7 a.m. Saturday, January 6th.

However, the provincial health authority will cancel the disruption if sufficient coverage is found.

Nursing staff will remain on-site to provide triage and assessments. EMS calls will be rerouted to surrounding facilities, including the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital.

On December 29th, AHS had advised the community that the Fairview ED would see a 24 hour service disruption twice in the first week of 2024. The first scheduled disruption was from 7 a.m. Tuesday, January 2nd to 7 a.m. Wednesday, January 3rd, with the second scheduled for Thursday, January 4th to Friday, January 5th.

An unplanned power outage in the Peace Country is affecting services across the region near Bezanson and Valleyview.

The outage has led to numerous radio stations, including 2Day FM, to be off air during this time.

ATCO is currently working to resolve the issue and 2Day FM is still available to stream on mygrandeprairienow.com.

UPDATE: Physician coverage has been found for the Fairview Health Complex Emergency Department Monday night. According to Alberta Health Services, the physician will be on site as of 7 p.m. Monday, January 8th, ending the emergency department’s temporary disruption sooner than scheduled. On Friday, January 5th the provincial health authority announced the department would be temporarily closed for 24 hours starting at 7 a.m. Monday.

The Fairview Health Complex Emergency Department will not have a physician on-site 24 hours starting Monday morning.

According to Alberta Health Services, the disruption will start at 7 a.m. on Monday, January 8th and is scheduled to end at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, January 9th.

However, the provincial health authority will cancel the disruption if sufficient coverage is found.

Nursing staff will remain on-site to provide triage and assessments. EMS calls will be rerouted to surrounding facilities, including the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital.

This is the third temporary disruption the emergency department has seen since the start of 2024, after a 24-hour disruption from January 2nd to 3rd and a 48-hour disruption from January 4th to 6th.

The Grande Prairie Library has name a familiar face the the new Library Director. As of January 1st, Hailey McCullough, who for the past six years was head of Adult Services, took over the role.

According to McCullough, she is looking forward to continuing to serve the Grande Prairie community in her new role.

“Grande Prairie is such an active and community-orientated city, and I look forward to continuing to help shape library services to meet the needs of residents as Library Director,” she says.

In a statement, City of Grande Prairie Library Board Chair Deb Normington says she and the rest of the board are looking forward to working with McCullough as she moves into her new role.

McCullough is taking over the role from Deb Cryderman, who left the library to take on a role in southern Alberta at the end of August.

As the Alberta Winter Games get closer and closer, the Grande Prairie Regional Association of Volunteer Organizations has announced they are still looking for volunteers to support the event.

The games are a multi-day event scheduled to begin on February 16th and more than 2,000 athletes and coaches will be calling Grande Prairie home during the spectacle.

Lisa Kerkhof, Games Manager for the AWG says around 1500 volunteers will be needed to properly serve the event, and around 600 were committed as of mid-December. She adds that the opportunity to volunteer for the event is important for residents as it presents connections for community members.

“From a volunteering perspective, [it’s] really coming together to make something of this magnitude happen in the community.”

The event is the first major sporting event Grande Prairie has hosted in nearly six years, and city officials say they are anticipating the games to be a significant economic driver for the city.

Interested individuals are encouraged to volunteer on the AWG’s website, or participate in the city’s upcoming free skate at Design Works Centre.

Charges have been laid following the police-involved shooting that occurred in North West Grande Prairie on December 20th.

On December 20th, the Grande Prairie RCMP responded to a domestic dispute after reports of a 42-year-old man holding a woman in her residence at gunpoint which led to a hold and secure around the community.

After extracting the female victim, the man fired on law enforcement. Police proceeded to exchange fire with the suspect resulting in the man being shot.

The RCMP has not released the names of anyone involved due to the nature of the incident; however, a list of 16 charges laid against the man has been released.

The suspect has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, kidnapping, reckless use of a firearm, pointing a firearm, assault with a weapon, two counts of uttering threats, possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose, careless use of a firearm, mischief over $5,000, and possession of stolen goods under $5,000, including a shotgun.

Investigators say the man has been deemed medically sound, appeared before a justice of the peace, and was taken into custody. His next appearance is scheduled at the Alberta Court of Justice in Grande Prairie on January 11th.

A New Year traffic stop has led to the arrest the seizure of numerous firearms and the arrest of two people including a teenager.

On January 2nd, members of the Grande Prairie RCMP were conducting a patrol in Morgan Meadows when police said they observed a vehicle driving at high speed. Police proceeded to pull the vehicle over and found the driver and passenger allegedly in possession of a loaded 9mm handgun, pepper spray, and bear spray.

As a result, police executed a search warrant for the passenger’s residence in Grande Prairie which led to the seizure of 12 firearms, three BB guns, Ammunition, and bear and pepper spray.

A 15-year-old was charged with six offences- allegedly carrying a concealed weapon, numerous weapons possession charges, and restricted firearms offences. A 22-year-old Grande Prairie is also charged with five weapons-related charges.

Both accused were brought before a justice of the peace and were subsequently released on conditions. The youth is scheduled to appear at the Alberta Court of Justice in Grande Prairie on January 8th, and Lake is scheduled to appear at the same court on January 24th.

City of Grande Prairie Enforcement Services and Mobile Outreach programming have officially transitioned under the Grande Prairie Police Service as of January 1st.

According to the city, bringing enforcement and outreach services under the GPPS is just one of a multi-step process in the transition to a municipal police service, and GPPS Chief Dwayne Lakusta says the change provides the opportunity for the GPPS to provide public safety to better serve the community.

Lakusta adds that the change marks the beginning of a “non-traditional” policing model, through developments in partnerships with community leaders on the front lines of Grande Prairie’s unhoused community.

“What we’re going to be doing is striking a balance between intervention and enforcement,” he says. “We’re going to be able to provide diversionary tactics to those that are suffering from mental health and addictions, providing them with a clean path forward.”

Chief Lakusta says implementing the change is beneficial for not just the community, but the GPPS as well, as the outreach program allows officers to be more readily available for more “serious” matters in the community.

“Having the outreach program, having enforcement services to deal with much of this stuff will free up our police officers as we move forward so they can deal with more of the serious matters where we might need that higher level of enforcement and investigative acumen.”

The city says current Enforcement Services and Mobile Outreach employees will continue to operate as normal in their respective positions; however, changes to deployment “are expected” to build a more responsive service with a significant presence in the city.

The City of Grande Prairie and KMSC Law have announced they are holding two free public skates at Design Works Centre in January and March.

On January 28th and March 3rd from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. residents are encouraged to lace up for a free afternoon of skating to celebrate the Alberta Winter Games coming to the city in February.

Design Works Centre is set to serve as one of the main venues for the games and Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton says the free skate in January is meant to encourage community involvement in the AWG.

“As we gear up for the 2024 Alberta Winter Games, these skates not only showcase our vibrant city but also serve as a rallying call for community involvement,” she says.

The city says the January skate will serve as a networking opportunity for interested individuals to find volunteer opportunities ahead of the games and AWG staff will be in attendance to inform skaters about volunteering options.

According to the city, the second skate will serve as an opportunity to say thank you to the community and volunteers.

Both skates include free skate and helmet rentals while supplies last and skating times are available on a “first-come, first-served” basis.

Two new award categories are up for grabs in the upcoming Grande Prairie Regional Sport Connection’s Northwest Alberta Sport Excellence Awards.

The Outstanding Junior Official Award is meant to recognize young officials who worked to develop and grow their respective sports in the community, and the ASE recognizes athletes, teams, or coaches who showcased “outstanding” performances during the 2023 year.

To be eligible for the ASE, athletes, coaches, and teams are required to meet the criteria for the Athlete/Coach/Team of the Year award category, alongside active participation in eligible competitions.

Karna Germsheid, Executive Director of Grande Prairie Regional Sport Connection says recognition in the ASE is not guaranteed, which “emphasizes” the difficulty of the achievement.

Nominations for both awards are open and the Grande Prairie Regional Sport Connection is encouraging community members to participate in recognizing outstanding individuals whose contributions have affected sports in Northwest Alberta.

The County of Grande Prairie says they are prioritizing wildfire prevention in the new year after “unseasonably warm” temperatures and dry conditions continue throughout the region.

According to the county, the threat of wildfire has become an “even greater threat” than ever before in western Canada, and plans to mitigate any further risk will be in place ahead of the warm season.

Firebreaks and guards have been established around the county in Dunes West, and in the Southeast. Additionally, the county’s wildfire mitigation strategy established in 2015 has resulted in vegetation management projects taking place in three “priority” areas in the Dunes and Aspen Ridge areas, Southeast of Bear Creek, and Highway 40 West.

Additionally, county council directed administration to apply for a $50,000 Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta grant for FireSmart planning to update the mitigation strategy and continue vegetation management work.

Residents are also being encouraged to sign up for a free FireSmart assessment to help reduce wildfire risk on private property after a reported 176 resident-caused wildfires in 2023.

The Cool Aid Society has informed families their Hillside location will be closed middle of January.

On Wednesday, January 3rd the local non-profit announced the closure of the location that is operating out of the “Red Barn.” The announcement from the organization reads ” We regrettably are writing this message to announce our permanent closure of this facility.” Families who use the afterschool program that runs out of the northside facility will be able to continue to access the service until Friday, January 19th.

“We know that having a northern location is required for the community and are working diligently to be able to offer this in the future,” the statement reads. “At this time, we want to offer the best opportunity for our programming and requirements and can do this at the Southside facility.”

According to the Cool Aid Society, they understand some families will face challenges due to this announcement and they will do their “best to assist in mitigating these with families.”

The 2024 Banff Mountain Film Festival is coming to Grande Prairie from January 12th to 14th. This is the second year in a row the event is returning to the Douglas J Cardinal Performing Arts Centre at Northwestern Polytechnic during its traditional time, following two years of rescheduling.

Over the three days, six or seven of the 37 films picked from the big festival will be shown ranging anywhere from a couple of minutes to a 45-minute feature film; with a different lineup for each screening. Along with the traditional 7 p.m. screenings on Friday, January 12th and Saturday, January 13th, this year there is also a 2 p.m. matinee showing on Sunday, January 14th.

The annual event is a major fundraiser for year-round operations and programs the Wapiti Nordic Ski Club offers. Tickets range in price from $28 to $74.50 for all three shows. More information can be found on the Wapiti Nordic Ski Club website.