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A horse owned by a Beaverlodge couple has won one of the biggest races of its career. On Sunday, Singles Cruise won the James Smith Memorial Race at the Los Alamitos Race Course in California. This is her fourth stakes victory and seventh win in 13 career starts.

Singles Cruise is no stranger to the winners circle. She has won three out of four races in Grande Prairie at The Horses At Evergreen Park. She has also won five of seven races she competed in during her first year of racing and won the Canada Cup finale on October 21, 2018. The three-year-old filly was purchased by Barry and Janice Sather in 2017 at a sale in Oklahoma.

Singles Cruise will now head back to Evergreen Park to compete in the 2019 live pari-mutuel races at JDA Raceway. The racing season runs from July 6th to August 25th.

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The 2019 Canada Winter Games was a memorable experience for two local athletes. Brooklyn Tews of Beaverlodge brought home a gold in women's hockey and Michelle Grisales of Grande Prairie took home bronze in judo. This was Tews' first appearance at the games and says she still can't believe her team won.

"Personally, I was very nervous but as a team, throughout the tournament, we had ups and downs like in round-robin play but everyone in the room before the final game just had a feeling that something good was going to happen. It was almost disbelief I guess."

The 17-year-old defenceman has been playing hockey since the age of four and currently plays for the Edge School in Calgary. In the gold medal game on March 2nd, Team Alberta beat Team Quebec 2 to 1 to take the top spot.

When it comes to Michelle's win, she lost her first fight of the day on February 26th against an athlete from Quebec. After that, she had to win all of her other fights in order to get the bronze. That win for the 52-kilogram category came against an athlete from Manitoba. She says the win feels good after all the work she's put in to prepare.

"I'm feeling pretty happy about it. I've been working really hard these past few months for the Canada Games and to come back with bronze I'm pretty proud."

The 16-year-old trains with Hoku Sei Kan Judo Club in Grande Prairie under her coach and father Carlos Grisales. She is coming off of a successful 2018, where she placed first at the Canadian National Championships, Ontario Open, and Edmonton International Championships. Michelle will now be preparing for nationals in May.

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UPDATE: The facility was expected to reopen Tuesday.

A burst pipe has caused some headaches in Beaverlodge. The Towne Square facility which houses the town office, town hall and council chambers, pool, fitness centre and community centre has been closed until further notice due to a burst pipe in the building's basement.

Crews are working on fixing the problem. There is no timeline for when the building may reopen.

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A horse owned by a Beaverlodge couple is about to participate in the biggest race of its career. Singles Cruise owned by Janice and Barry Sather has qualified for the Winter Derby Final on Saturday. Looking ahead to this race, Janice says Singles Cruise could win if she's given the chance to run.

"I hope that they all run straight and clean and if she does get a chance to run and she breaks; ya were a contender. I don't think were in the top three but she could light the board for us."

The three year old filly was purchase by the Sathers in 2017 at a sale in Oklahoma. So far in her career, she has won three out of four races in Grande Prairie at The Horses At Evergreen Park. She has also won five of seven races she competed in during her first year of racing and won the Canada Cup finale on October 21, 2018.

In order to qualify for the Winter Derby she needed to win the challenge in Grande Prairie. That made her eligible to participate in challenge races throughout the United States where she was chosen as the one Canadian horse to run. Singles Cruise then won the Winter Derby Trials on January 19th in a photo finish also taking less than a second off the track record set in 2011. Janice says the hardest part about preparing for this upcoming race was making it to this point.

"The big thing is always getting into those races. I mean you can have lots of good, good, good horses and they don't qualify. It's just like the Olympics when you've won your trial and you go through. That's sort of the same way with quarter horse racing. Getting there is a large part of it and it's very difficult to do."

The Sathers and Singles Cruise will now head down to the Winter Derby Final at Los Alamitos in California on February 9th.

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Bus service to Wembley, Beaverlodge, and Hythe launches Monday. It's the second phase of the County Connector, linking rural communities to the City of Grande Prairie by public transit.

The County Connector is a two-year pilot project funded in part by the Government of Alberta. The province provided a grant of nearly $640,000 as well as another $277,000 in GreenTRIP funding to cover the cost of the first bus.

"Our government is excited to see the second phase of this important project launch, connecting even more communities in the Grande Prairie region to family and friends, jobs, shopping and medical appointments," says Minister of Transportation Brian Mason.

The second bus for phase two was bought by the County of Grande Prairie at a cost of $138,333 and the City is operating the service. It will run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but will only go as far as Hythe on Wednesdays. There are also Park & Ride locations at the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum and the Beaverlodge Town Office.

Like the first phase, which launched to Sexsmith and Clairmont in December 2018, the fare will cost $5 for a one-way trip. Children 11 years old and under ride for free.

https://www.facebook.com/cogp1/posts/2317209418291668?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCp1U76m7FuVG9XFGEcQSfkRgaL3WraV8OGFPzl7QSur21MKm5Nsh0JXo8Hg7rVJ9GKqdIBygz_jToQO8yimTTi4F0YfdC3GeeRHlq9hVdUOAuQWQ9_FE-BV06qsqihi2vQ0fDoqXp5aANULyhlbQQNkhwncp-xG-9VjyJbHbZ-xzupyjzJmvS9LJeYdviJAnaqc3pEX53_SGl8PlDGtRy_NIbOXw3kt3dNoW21i4WQdL1jbIrlgSm10iqR5xsdP2tEdrczmPqkCLotsu5s7mFcfKGbJ96t4Yu_wIzNPmKcJXfLlsJhwBJOicPqO8qO5o-tHas5o9b3yCJjp1YtyR4Xsg&__tn__=-R

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The former mayor of Beaverlodge has made her way back to the public sector. Leona Hanson has been hired as the new Chief Administrative Officer of the Village of Hythe.

Hanson served as Beaverlodge's mayor from 2007 to 2017 when she chose not to run for re-election. During that time she was able to operate her long-time consulting business, but says she won't be able to continue in her new position.

"I'm just looking at a change of career; the management skills side of it is transferable, which is great. I'm excited to be working with Greg Gayton, who's the CAO here right now, and working with him through the transition."

Gayton is retiring, but the two should have several months together before then. Hanson says she enjoyed her past in municipal government and is looking forward to working with the village council.

"I'm the resource to council and hearing from them what their vision is, what they'd like to see for the community and then my role is to help them to see that happen."

This isn't the former mayor's first time working in Hythe. She says she spent about five years managing a business development centre there years ago.

"So I'm familiar with the community and the communities are so interlinked as well so it was exciting from that perspective too."

Hanson's first day was Monday and there's no date set yet for Gayton to leave. She says he'll likely take the lead to start.

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Wembley, Beaverlodge and Hythe will be linked to Grande Prairie by bus starting in February. It's been confirmed that the second phase of the new County Connector will start service to the west on February 4th.

The first phase launched in early December, taking passengers between the city, Clairmont and Sexsmith. County Family and Community Support Services Director Kathleen Turner says they're already seeing the effects.

"We know from the launch of Phase One this service can tremendously improve quality of life for people in the area by providing a safe and affordable means of transportation to access a larger centre."

The rural transit service is a two-year pilot project funded in part by the Government of Alberta. The province provided a grant of nearly $640,000 as well as another $277,000 in GreenTRIP funding to cover the cost of the first bus.

The second bus needed for phase two will be bought by the County at a cost of $138,333. It will run Monday and Friday from Beaverlodge to Wembley to Grande Prairie and then back. On Wednesday, it will start in Hythe, stopping in Beaverlodge and Wembley and the City before returning. Park and ride locations may be included as well.

The City of Grande Prairie is operating both routes, which don't run on weekends or holidays. The cost for a one-way trip is $5 paid using coins or a reloadable smart card, while children 11 years and younger are free.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWP82OQpIDk

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UPDATE: The Beaverlodge Fire Department says their initial investigation determined the electrical smell was coming from within the HVAC system, but there was no danger. A technician has been called to fix the problem.

Classes at Beaverlodge Elementary School are back to normal after an evacuation Wednesday afternoon. Peace Wapiti Public School Division says an odour was detected in the building around 12:30 p.m. and all staff and students were moved to Beaverlodge Regional High School.

The fire department checked the building and declared it safe to return by 1:15 p.m. Everyone has since returned safely.

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A Beaverlodge hockey player will be representing Team Alberta at the 2019 Canada Games. Defenceman Brooklyn Tews was named to the under-18 women's hockey team on December 5th. She says she's excited about the opportunity.

"It's pretty exciting, I mean I'm one of the top 20 in Alberta so it boosts your confidence. It's also exciting being able to represent Alberta especially at the Canada Winter Games."

Brooklyn has been playing hockey since she was four and currently plays for the Edge School in Calgary. In 17 games this season, she has five assists. The blueliner also played in four games at the 2014 Alberta Winter Games. Brooklyn says her journey to this tournament started back in the spring.

"In May we had spring camp and it was just a weekend. Then the cuts were announced a week after and then that means you would move on to summer camp. Summer camp was two weeks... If you made it through that, you would go and play three games at the end of September. Then they said in two months we'll send out the roster."

She now plans to practice what she learn in those camps leading up to the event in the new year. The Canada Games will run from February 15 to March 3 in Red Deer. Women's hockey starts on February 24th and wraps up on March 2nd.

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There's a new way for people to get between Grande Prairie, Clairmont, and Sexsmith. The County Connector is now up and running as the first phase of a public transportation pilot project to link the three communities.

The bus has been rolling since December 5th, operated by the city. County of Grande Prairie Reeve Leanne Beaupre says the initial feedback to City Transit Manager Steve Harvard has been positive.

"He was saying he's already had a couple of suggestions, which is great; that's what we want to hear from the people that are riding our buses: see how it's working, what's not working for them, what we can change."

[caption id="attachment_48197" align="alignleft" width="300"] Minister of Transportation Brian Mason at the launch of the County Connector, Erica Fisher[/caption]

The two-year pilot was made possible by a nearly $640,000 provincial grant announced in June, as well as another $277,000 in GreenTRIP funding to cover the cost of the first bus. The second one will be bought by the County at a cost of $138,333.

Minister of Transportation Brian Mason was at the official launch of the service Monday morning. He says it's likely the bus could become a permanent fixture if well-used.

"We want to see how many people use it," he explains. "As far as our government is concerned, this so far looks like a real success. It's been well-received in places like Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Camrose, so I think... this would be something we'd continue to fund."

Once the second bus arrives, phase two will be launched. That will serve Beaverlodge, Wembley, and Hythe. Beaverlodge mayor Gary Rycroft stresses the importance of having a rural transit system, especially for disabled people and seniors.

"The pioneers of this country, a lot of people who've put a lot of time into serving our needs are now losing their ability to get around. This will give some of the dignity back to those people who have carried themselves with dignity their entire lives."

[caption id="attachment_48201" align="alignright" width="300"] Clairmont Community School students welcome Transportation Minister Brian Mason for the launch of the County Connector, Erica Fisher[/caption]

"Rural areas have less population and much longer distances," adds Mason, "so it's more challenging for them to provide transportation for people than in a city where you know you can take a bus and the bus will have 50 people on it or you can walk."

The County Connector has seats for 25 people and two spaces for wheelchair users. It runs Monday to Friday, with the first trip leaving Grande Prairie at 6:40 a.m. and the last ending at 7:25 p.m. The pilot project funding does not cover weekends or statutory holidays, but Beaupre says service could be tweaked in the future.

"We've set up an advisory committee so that we can basically take a look at some of the routes and make sure that they're satisfactory to what our needs and our users are."

The cost for a one-way trip is $5 paid using coins or a reloadable smart card, while children 11 years and younger are free. It's expected the second phase will get rolling in February 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=bWP82OQpIDk

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People whose property suffered damage in the Beaverlodge flooding last August can get some help from the province. The town's application for disaster relief funding has been approved.

More than 45 millimetres of rain fell over the town in just two hours on August 1, 2018. Local highways were flooded for a short time, and the town declared a local state of emergency.

Anyone whose home, business or property suffered damage or loss from the water could be eligible for funding to help cover what wasn't taken care of by insurance. Mayor Gary Rycroft initially estimated that somewhere around 100 home were affected in some way.

A case manager will be at the Town of Beaverlodge Municipal Office on December 11th and 12th to meet with property owners in person. Applications can also be submitted on the provincial government's website by February 19th.

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A new year will bring in new leadership for the Town of Beaverlodge. Karen Gariepy will fill its open Chief Administrative Officer position on January 2, 2019.

Gariepy has been the Crime Prevention Program Manager for the City of Grande Prairie for several years. However, she says her new job will be a homecoming for her as she lived in Beaverlodge from 1995 to 2004.

"This has always been one of my goals throughout my entire career; I've worked for municipal government for the past 30 years and Beaverlodge is also near and dear to my heart."

A move to the town isn't necessarily in Gariepy's immediate plans, but she maintains she'll consider one in the next couple of years. Taking over as CAO, she says she's going in with an open mind.

"I know that there will be some learning curves but I am prepared and I'm open to it; hopefully my connections throughout other communities in the province can help me out to move this community forward."

The CAO position has been open for the past six months. Town council documents show Bill McKennan's last council meeting was May 28th but a reason for his departure has not been given publicly.

McKennan was appointed interim CAO in July 2015, when former CAO Chris Parker resigned. He was officially given the job that November.

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Bees will continue to be studied in Beaverlodge for at least the next five years. Grande Prairie Regional College's National Bee Diagnostic Centre has received a $1.75 million funding renewal over the next five years to continue its work.

The funding came from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. Acting Manager Patricia Wolf Veiga says it will allow the centre to keep up with the changing times and growing demand.

"We've seen demand for our services grow each year since we opened our doors. The renewed support from NSERC means we will be able to build our capacity in step with the growing demand for our research and diagnostic services."

NBDC first opened its doors in 2013. Back in September, the facility was renovated to allow for more workstations and equipment.

The centre is the first lab in Canada to provide diagnostic services for honey bee pests, pathogens and parasites.

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A man from Horse Lake First Nation is wanted by RCMP on criminal charges stemming from seven separate investigations. 28-year-old Arlen Jake Camille Ferguson has been charged with break and enter, assault, mischief, possession of property obtained by crime, failing to attend court, and failing to comply with recognizance.

Both the Beaverlodge and Grande Prairie RCMP detachments are searching for the wanted man. He's described as Indigenous, 5'7" and 141 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on Ferguson's whereabouts is asked to contact Beaverlodge RCMP or Crime Stoppers. If seen, don't approach. Instead, call 9-1-1 immediately.

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Curators at the dinosaur museum have a lot of activities planned this weekend. On Saturday, the museum will be celebrating Al Lakusta Day. The day was created to honour the retired teacher who discovered the Pipestone Creek Bonebed in 1974.

Museum Board Chair Linda Side says that discovery helped lead to the creation of the museum.

"It's fitting that we honour Al Lakusta with a day dedicated to his discovery. We credit the development of the museum, in large part, to his passion for rock hounding and a life filled with curiosity. That curiosity will serve to benefit those that experience the museum and for that Al should be proud."

There will be a costume contest and $2 movies until 1 pm as well as trick-or-treat fossil tables spread out around the gallery. Admission to the museum will be free and the Dine-O-Saur Restaurant will also have a special menu that day.

The museum will also be offering free dino bus rides sponsored by Midpoint Mechanical LTD. People will be picked up and dropped off at Centre 2000 and the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie.

Pick-up times and locations are:
10:00 am – Centre 2000
10:13 am – Art Gallery
11:05 am – Centre 2000
11:18 am – Art Gallery
12:10 pm – Centre 2000
12:23 pm – Art Gallery

Drop-off times from the museum are:
2:00 pm
3:10 pm
4:30 pm *Last run*

The museum will be open from 10 am to 5 pm.

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It looks like the new rural transit program may not be rolling out this fall as planned. County Reeve Leanne Beaupre said previously that the first phase of service to Grande Prairie from Sexsmith and Clairmont would be up and running by this fall. That doesn't seem to be the case now.

Manager of Transit Services for the City Steve Harvard says they still need to get agreements signed and routes approved by each council before they can move forward with first part the project.

"The next key phase is getting all those agreements signed and then once that's done then we can look at setting an implementation date for both phases."

The goal of the two-year pilot project paid for by the Alberta government, is to link people in rural areas to places where they can receive services they may not have access to. The second phase of the project would see buses heading to Wembley, Beaverlodge and Hythe. Harvard says he is looking at having that phase in place by early 2019.

"We've already had initial discussions with each of the staff and administration for those communities... Within the next month or by the end of 2018 we're hoping to have gone to each of those councils and gotten their approval for the routing."

The county received funding for the project back in June of this year. When both routes do start up, buses will make eight return trips a day to Sexsmith and Clairmont and two return trips three days a week to phase two locations. They will take passengers to the Prairie Mall, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital and the Towne Centre Mall.

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Researchers in the area now have a new place to study bees. Construction has finished on GPRC's National Bee Diagnostic Centre laboratory in Beaverlodge.

The project expanded NBDC’s floor space from 265 to 865 square metres for additional workstations, diagnostic equipment, and office spaces. Acting Manager at NBDC Patricia Wolf Veiga says the expansion will allow the centre to conduct even more testing than before.

“The laboratory will not only give us more space; it will allow us to increase our capacity. With our previous equipment and lab set-up, we were able to conduct around 20,000 diagnostic tests per year. Our estimation is that the expansion will increase that number to around 60,000.”

The new building will house both NBDC and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Honey Bee Research Program. The expansion project was completed with the help of $6 million dollars in funding from the provincial and federal governments as well as from the College.

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UPDATE #6: The town says water had been turned back on as of 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

UPDATE #5: A third leak has been found by town officials Friday morning and water has been shut off to the affected area until further notice.

UPDATE #4: The second leak has been fixed and water restored to the area as of Wednesday afternoon.

UPDATE #3: Officials found another leak Wednesday and water will be shut off to residents in the affected area again until further notice.

UPDATE #2: The leak has now been fixed and water was restored.

UPDATE: Public Works is on the scene of the water main leak. The Town says residents should expect their water to be off for a while.

Water in the Town of Beaverlodge has been shut off from 11 Avenue north to the Highway after the city discovered a water main leak on Tuesday.

Water has been shut off in an effort to fix the leak. The Town has also shut down the truck fill station at the bulk water plant for 24 hours in an effort to conserve water.

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