A 57 year old man is dead after his pickup collided with a semi on Highway 40 this morning.
The accident happened around 7:45 this morning at the intersection with Township Road 692.
Traffic and collision analysts are currently on the scene, and both north and southbound traffic on Highway 40 is being detoured around the scene.
A five-month long investigation by local RCMP has led to the arrest of eight people suspected of drug trafficking in Grande Prairie.
Inspector Dan Konowalchuk says they were seen dealing drugs in the city, and include both street level dealers and their suppliers.
“This group of individuals has actually shown a propensity towards violence to exert control over their activities – their illegal activities up around Grande Prairie – and they’ve actually proven themselves to be somewhat resilient in as much as they’ve been investigated previously, and we have been unable to completely deter their activities.”
Search warrants turned up prohibited weapons and $18,000 worth of cocaine.
The group are all from Halifax, and have ties to a criminal network in that city.
Six men aged 18 to 33 years old are facing numerous drugs and weapons charges, while two others have charges pending against them.
Highway 40 is currently closed south of Grande Prairie due to a serious accident involving multiple vehicles at township road 692.
A pickup truck and semi were in the collision at 7:45 a.m., but more semi trucks have since become involved.
Police are asking the public to avoid the area until it is cleared and deemed safe, with 5-1-1 Alberta warning of delays up to six hours.
At this time the cause of the accident is unknown.
As of this spring, Clairmont residents will be offered curbside recycling.
203 households responded to a recent survey of the hamlet.
Nearly 70% were in favour.
County Environment Manager Steve Madden says overall, only about 25% of those surveyed took the time to reply.
“We were hoping for a little higher response on it, but at the end of the day, there was a reasonable number that came back saying yes we want it, compared to the no, so council has seen that there is some value there and went with it.”
Meanwhile, council has decided to poll residents of Valhalla, La Glace, and Bezanson to find out if they would be interested in county operated curbside waste collection.
Graduating Storm defenceman Drew Nikirk will continue his hockey career at the post secondary level next season.
The Invermere, BC native will join MacEwen University in the fall.
Nikirk spent two seasons with the Storm, recording 2 goals and 14 assists in 91 career games.
Hockey fans in the Peace Region still have some action to look forward to this season.
The Provincial Junior B championships move into the County Sportsplex from April 3rd to 6th.
Tournament chairman Don Moon says the host JDA Kings provide a true ‘home team’ for local fans to cheer for.
“Just about everybody on the JDA Kings are from the Grande Prairie area, grew up and played minor hockey here, and that is what junior B hockey is about. Â It is about local kids playing in their local home towns.”
The NWJHL champion North Peace Navigators are also in the tournament, along with two teams each from the Heritage and Capital Junior Hockey Leagues, and champions from the Calgary and North East Junior B Leagues.
Plans continue to fall into place for the 67th annual Alberta Fire Chiefs Association conference, which is set for early June in Grande Prairie.
The city and county fire departments are co-hosting the event, which will include a series of speakers, instructor symposiums, and live fire training.
County fire chief Everett Cooke says they are expecting anywhere from 250 to 300 fire service personnel to take part in the six day event.
“One very fortunate opportunity is that by hosting it here locally, we can draw on North Eastern B-C. Â The County of Grande Prairie regional fire services does work very closely with Dawson Creek, and we do liaison with Charlie Lake, Pouce Coupee, and Fort St John too of course.”
The conference is traditionally hosted in either Red Deer or Edmonton, but was moved to our region for this year as part of Grande Prairie’s 100th anniversary celebrations.
Grande Prairie residents can expect to see tent caterpillars on aspen and poplar trees across the city this summer.
But pest management officials with the city say the numbers will not be as high as what other Peace region communities saw last year.
A late frost or a cool, wet spring could further reduce the tent caterpillar population this year.
Technicians say they have pulled egg bands from about 10 percent of residential poplars, and around 2 percent of aspens in the Bear Creek corridor.
They are encouraging residents to take a close look at their own trees, and remove any egg bands prior to leaf out.
The board of the Peace Library System approved a pair of changes that they say will improve the organization’s long-term financial sustainability.
Linda Duplessis is director of the Peace Library System.
“One option was to retain some funds that libraries might use to build their own collections, to build regional collections such as pay for E-books and electronic information databases and those kind of things.”
The other change would see municipalities increase their funding to PLS by 5.1 percent, starting in 2016.
Duplessis says that would work out to a 25 cent per capita increase.
Tickets are now on sale for the 34th Annual Art Gallery Auction.
The evening showcases work by mainly local artists, with proceeds from ticket sales going to support the gallery.
The event includes live and silent auctions, although Marketing Manager Melanie Jenner says the live event is where the fun really happens.
“I think that there does get to be some friendly competition, so it gets to be quite exciting, and it’s a wonderful evening where people get to have a night out and dress up and see some wonderful artwork, and see some friends, and meet some new people at the same time too.”
Tickets are $100 each, and are available through the gallery.
The auction is set for April 12th at 7 p.m.
The 29 year old male accused in a fatal crash last month makes his first court appearance today.
Nathaniel Plamondon was charged with impaired driving causing death after his truck collided with a vehicle on February 28th near Clairmont.
The female driver died on scene, and a male passenger was injured.
The victim’s name has not been released.
The Grande Prairie PeeWee C Knights are provincial champions.
They took gold over the weekend in Marwayne, beating Delburne 3-1 in the final.
Meanwhile, three other Grande Prairie teams reached semi-finals at their provincial tournaments.
The Peewee AA minor Knights fell 4-1 to Stony Plain in Springbank.
The Peewee A Knights fell 10-1 to Stettler in the semi-finals at their provincials in Red Deer.
And the female Peewee B Knights dropped a 3-1 decision to Airdrie in Bonnyville.
The Arctic Winter Games wrapped up over the weekend in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Alberta North, which included a large majority of athletes from the Peace region, finished third in the overall ulu count with 125, including 42 gold.
Alaska finished atop the medal standings with 190, including 67 gold.
The local athletes returned home Sunday morning with their new hardware in hand.
The Spirit River Rangers are the North Peace Hockey League Champions.
They beat the Falher Pirates 3-1 over the weekend to sweep their series.
This is the eighth championship title for the Rangers, who have appeared in 11 NPHL finals.
The process to get a new trial going for a Spirit River man accused of assaulting a police officer gets started again today.
In February, a mistrial was declared in the case of 62 year old Leonard Berry, who was arrested in August 2013 for aggravated assault after the officer was found strangled with his radio cord and left for dead in a ditch.
A female witness perjured herself, putting an end to the five day trial.
Berry will appear via CCTV this afternoon.
Peace-Wapiti students taking classes online can look forward to working with a new principal in September.
Superintendent Sheldon Rowe says Sexsmith Secondary Principal Jason Caufield will be taking over at Peace Academy of Virtual Education, or PAVE for short.
“Jason’s kind of the next step. He’s going to be looking after kids that are looking for alternative education experiences. Some of them will pick the online program, some will pick the alternative ed program, but the goal’s the same: high school completion.”
The online learning program is available to help students learn outside of a regular classroom setting.
Caufield’s role will be expanded from his predecessor’s, to include alternative education and support for career practitioners.
The school division is excited for him to make the switch, as he has experience in career counselling, and choosing alternative paths.
A warrant has been issued for a man wanted in connection to a break-in at a home in Fox Creek on December 23rd.
Police say a forensic investigation led to charges being laid against 35 year old Ryan Wesley Christie.
The charges include one count of break and enter, one count of mischief to property, and one count of breaching his undertaking.
If anyone has an information on Christie’s whereabouts they are asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
Dawson Creek RCMP are warning Peace Region residents to watch out for an email scam from an accountant out of Ontario.
Police were approached by person who said they had gotten a letter advising of a recently deceased family member who had left behind an unclaimed life insurance plan worth $4.8 million.
The person was told that by providing their full name, address, phone number, job, and email address to the accountant within 14 days, they could claim the money.
Mounties say it is never a good idea to send personal information to an unknown email address, it could lead to theft of banking and credit card information.
Avid skiiers and snowboarders have two more weekends left to hit the local slopes for the last time before the end of the season.
Nitehawk ski area will last be open on Sunday, March 30th.
Assistant General Manager Johnathan Clarkson says the snowfall earlier this week means the hill is ready for the last rush.
“We actually got 5 centimeters of snow out here at the hill the other day, more than what we got in town actually which was quite odd, but we’ve got some good fresh snow, some colder temperatures, and the grooming staff has been keeping up, making sure the runs are in great shape.”
Ski bunnies can also look forward to the annual mountain bike snowcross and slush cup to round out the season on the final weekend.
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Location
#105-11002 104 Avenue
Grande Prairie, AB
T8V 7W5
Phone numbers
Studio Phone: 780-357-1047
Newsroom Phone: 780-357-6397
