The wildfire hazard in Grande Prairie has increased. With warmer weather melting the snow and strong winds forecast for the next couple of days, the risk has moved up to Moderate. Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Information Officer Kelly Burke for the Grande Prairie Wildfire Management Area says open grassy areas are the biggest risk, residents should be be cautious.

“If it’s really windy and you have a permit, you want to check your permit and make sure you’re burning within the conditions that are on it. If you find that you want to do some cleaning up around your home, it’s a good time of the year to do some fire smart work. Clean up that dead grass that’s around the trees and around your home.”

AESRD will also be doing hazard reduction burning around Nose Mountain Creek and Sturgeon Lake First Nation to remove build of of dry grass.

This week is rail safety week across the country, and CN Rail wants to remind Canadians about the dangers of trains. Ben Tessier is a CN Police Inspector. He says the company wants create a change in the public’s attitude towards rail safety in hopes of reducing the amount of accidents that happen every year.

“What we need to remember is that any incident to do with railway, whether it be a trespassing incident or a crossing accident, it is preventable, and our goal is to make sure we save as many lives as we can.

According to CN Rail 44 people were killed and 10 others seriously injured in trespassing incidents in 2013.

Local hockey players will be joining forces this weekend to help their friends in need. In teams of three, they’re signing up for the 3D Charity Hockey Tournament, which raises money for seriously ill children in our community. Lori Curtiss of ATB Financial Services, a major sponsor, explains that all of the funds directly help their families.

“It’s just unbelievable to see what these kids go through just to get to school every day. So if we can help them just a little bit by helping pay for a hotel room or even to give them an iPad to give them something to do when they’re sitting at the hospital for hours, it’s awesome.”

The tournament at the Coca Cola Centre runs May first through third. Students from the Grande Prairie Public, Grande Prairie Catholic and Peace Wapiti School Districts are taking part.

As of next fall the long standing tradition of early out Mondays for some Grande Prairie schools will become a thing of the past. The Grande Prairie Catholic School District is the latest board to make the switch from early out Mondays to half day Fridays. Superintendent Karl Germann says by getting the news out now, he hopes parents will have enough time to adjust to the changes, especially in terms of child care arrangements.

“We’re very much aware of that so we kind of limited the number of Friday’s that we have out although some of that is a need for professional development. We’re really exchanging some of the Fridays for some of the Mondays. Hopefully it’s not too complicated, but I’ve been in that place before as a parent and I feel for them.”

While GP Public and GP Catholic have decided to go ahead with the switch , Peace Wapiti Public School District Superintendent Sheldon Rowe says their board has no plans to do away with early out Monday’s in Peace Wapiti schools.

Around 150 high school students from across the Peace Region will take part in the 10th annual North West Regional Skills Canada competition. The event begins tomorrow night in Fairview with opening ceremonies, followed by the competition itself on Friday. Organizer Shirley Lyman says the goal of the event is to increase the awareness of trades and technology related careers.

“There is such a shortage in not only Alberta, but in Canada and the world, that these skills competitions are about increasing awareness, but it also portrays them as first-rate, viable career options.”

Auto service, carpentry, culinary arts, robotics, and welding are just a few of the 15 competition areas. Winners will advance to the provincial competition later this year.

Tidying up our city – especially its green spaces – is the focus of the annual City Scrub campaign. The program begins on Friday, with residents encouraged to pick up special orange garbage bags from one of several spots in the city, and then spend some time picking up garbage. Environmental Stewardship manager Michelle Gairdner says getting the garbage left over from the winter is just one of the goals of City Scrub.

“It is a lot of work, if we just count on our parks operations people to get all of that garbage picked up.  Especially this year with all of the snow which made it difficult to tidy things up with the snow being built up, and then with the freeze thaw cycles, everything was encased in ice.”

Gairdner says another goal of the program is to have residents become more aware of the environment, and that we are all responsible for maintaining tidy green spaces.

Local non profit groups got some solid advice about how to secure much needed donations during tougher economic times.  A special forum held late last week was moderated by Corus radio Edmonton News Director Bob Layton, and included representatives of several local non profit groups and businesses that regularly donate to those groups. Layton says those that are able to show how the donations they receive are being used, are often the ones that get yearly contributions from people.

“The public needs to know that the donation that they made last year has been worthwhile, and what has been accomplished.  You just can not come back a year later and ask for another donation.  You have to let them see what that donation accomplished.

Layton also suggested using all means possible to get the word out about your group, including traditional media, social media, and simply word of mouth.

City council’s strategic plan for the next four years in Grande Prairie has been vetted by administration. The plan includes four brand new focus areas to shape the direction council takes during their term. City Manager Greg Scerback says administration has also built a corporate leadership business plan based on those focus areas.

“We provide council’s strategic plan and the corporate leadership team’s plan to all our department managers and then they build their business plans for council’s budget in November. You’ll see a lot more stuff relating to council’s strategic plan in the fall, in November when council talks about budget.”

The 2015 to 2018 strategic plan is focus on things like strengthening the city’s core, optimizing existing services, exploring new directions, and capitalizing on growth. The document will go before council for final approval on Monday.

This Saturday the county is hosting their annual recycling roundup at the Bezanson Community Hall. It provides county resident a free of charge opportunity to get rid of some hard to recycle things like computer equipment, paint, and hazardous waste. County Environment Manager Steve Madden says its a great opportunity to do some spring cleaning.

“You know it’s just that day when you want to get outside, open up the garage and clear out the extra material that we often collect. This is a good time to do that, it’s a good time to get out and meet folks and get sheds and garages cleared out.”

The recycling round up is from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday. Madden says they will also be giving away prizes, and one lucky county resident will win a barbecue.