St. Albert news

• Fire crews battling massive wildfire in Westlock County, families on alert for evacuation

  13-05-2018 23:47 via edmontonjournal.com
  A large unit of fire crews is battling a massive fire in Westlock County that broke out just after 3 p.m. Saturday.
  Two helicopters and four provincial air tankers and five provincial wildland firefighters were called in to assist crews from Westlock, Thorhild and Sturgeon Counties to fight the blaze just east of the hamlet of Vimy, Westlock County Chief Administrative Officer Leo Ludwig said.
  The fire isn’t fully contained, Ludwig said, but crews are hoping to expand the fireguard.
  A few
  
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• Police charge Edmonton woman with theft from local businesses, believe there may be more victims

  13-05-2018 23:07 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton police have charged a 49-year-old woman with theft and fraud from local organizations and believe she may have defrauded other local businesses.
  Police released Jodi Zemrau’s photo in a Friday news release to encourage additional victims to come forward. Police said Zemrau may have also operated under the alias Kristina Milke. 
  In March, officers responded to a report of an assault involving employees at a business in the area of 172 Street and 99 Avenue. While investigating
  
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• Flare-ups likely to worsen in fire near Bruderheim as temperatures spike

  13-05-2018 21:06 via edmontonjournal.com
  Fire crews remain on scene fighting large wildfires near the town of Bruderheim that sparked Saturday afternoon.
  Cool overnight temperatures helped to slow the fire’s forward progress, the Bruderheim Fire Department said in a Facebook post Sunday morning. No homes have been lost and the fire is currently contained to the fire lines the crews set on Saturday, the post said.
  But, with another hot and windy day expected, the fire department said they are expecting flare-ups will spark in many
  
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• Forest fires contained near High Level, state of local emergency lifted

  13-05-2018 19:49 via edmontonjournal.com
  A series of forest fires in Mackenzie County Saturday have been contained overnight and the state of local emergency was cancelled Sunday morning.
  There are no immediate threats to structures and both Highway 58 and Highway 35 have reopened, county officials said in a public notice Sunday morning. Motorists are advised to watch for crews working in the area.
  Forest fires on either side of Highway 35 led RCMP to close the area about 30 km north of the town of High Level, RCMP officials said in a
  
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• Forest fires contained near High Level, evacuation order lifted

  13-05-2018 18:13 via edmontonjournal.com
  A series of forest fires in Mackenzie County Saturday were “reasonably contained” overnight and the evacuation of the area has been lifted.
  There are no immediate threats to structures and both Highway 58 and Highway 35 have reopened, but may close again at a moments notice, county officials said in a public notice just after midnight Sunday.
  Forest fires on either side of Highway 35 led RCMP to close the area about 30 km north of the town of High Level, RCMP officials said in a news
  
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• Youths alert firefighters to blaze in west Edmonton home 

  13-05-2018 06:46 via edmontonjournal.com
  Ten-year-old Jonathan Wesselink and his friend Rieley McGauley, 12, were playing basketball when they noticed smoke coming out of their neighbours’ house. 
  They weren’t sure what to make of it at first and thought the senior citizen who lived in the home might be cooking. 
  Then, the smoke went from a trickle to a pour. 
  “There was just a little bit of smoke and then a second later it was everywhere,” Wesselink said. 
  They rushed to their parents, who c
  
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• Photo Gallery: 36th Annual Ben Calf Robe Traditional Pow Wow

  13-05-2018 06:27 via edmontonjournal.com
  Dancers take part in the 36th Annual Ben Calf Robe Traditional Pow Wow at the Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre, in Edmonton Saturday May 12, 2018. Photo by David Bloom
  Dancers take part in the 36th Annual Ben Calf Robe Traditional Pow Wow at the Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre, in Edmonton Saturday May 12, 2018.
  A young dancer takes part in the 36th Annual Ben Calf Robe Traditional Pow Wow at the Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre, in Edmonton Saturday May 12, 2018.
  Dancer
  
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• Matt Embry's documentary Living Proof big winner at AMPIAs

  13-05-2018 06:05 via edmontonjournal.com
  Thousand Yard Stare, a Second World War drama by Edmonton filmmaker Aaron Kurmey, won for best dramatic feature or made-for-TV movie at the Alberta Film and Television Awards on Saturday night. Kurmey, Ryan Hatt, Adam Munro and Kevin Johnson also won the award for best screenwriter of a drama over 30 minutes for the film.Other Edmonton winners included The National Film Board’s Skin for Skin, which won in the best director for a drama under 30 minutes for Kevin D.A. Kurytnik and Carol
  
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• Remote-controlled bear attack simulator teaches participants outdoor defence

  13-05-2018 04:59 via edmontonjournal.com
  Step 1 – Brace.
  Step 2 – Put one foot slightly forward, your dominant hand on the trigger to spray. Put your less dominant hand on the bottom of the bottle, so it’s a two-handed grip.
  Step 3 – Lean forward.
  Step 4 – Spray slightly lower than the target so it creates a cloud that the bear is running into.
  Ideally, the spraying should be short, two-second bursts.
  It’s easier in theory, said Kevin Wilson, president and director of media relations of Wild Encounte
  
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• Review: ESO targets younger generation with genuinely modern works truly of our times

  13-05-2018 04:34 via edmontonjournal.com
  The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s series of late night Friday concerts came to a season close on Friday night (May 11) at the Winspear, and if there was ever any indication that we are in a new era — or should I say, a new generation? — at the ESO, this was it.
  Apart from the Bach that opened the concert — and that had been arranged by the ESO’s chief conductor, Alexander Prior, to recast it firmly into the 21st century — all the works were by composers under
  
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• Residents evacuated as grass fires rage near Bruderheim

  13-05-2018 04:26 via edmontonjournal.com
  Rural residents near the town of Bruderheim have been evacuated from their homes as crews work to contain a number of large grass fires. 
  People living near Range Road 204 between Township Roads 562 and 564 were told to leave just after 2:45 p.m. Saturday as a number of fire departments from areas north of Edmonton responded to the fires, RCMP said in a news release. 
  There was no immediate word on how many people were evacuated. 
  Fire crews from Bruderheim, Lamont County, Chipman
  
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• Forest fire closes section of Highway 35 north of High Level, prompts precautionary evacuation of campsites

  13-05-2018 04:22 via edmontonjournal.com
  A forest fire that roared to life north of High Level Saturday prompted localized evacuations and a temporary highway closure. 
  Forest fires on either side of Highway 35 led RCMP to close the highway about 30 km north of High Level, RCMP officials said in a news release.
  Mackenzie County had ordered the evacuation of a campground and around a dozen cabins on Hutch Lake as a precaution. A reception centre had been set up for evacuated people in Zama City.
  At around 8:20 p.m. Saturday, R
  
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• Cottage owners attend Wabamun Lake restoration workshop

  13-05-2018 02:53 via edmontonjournal.com
  On the night of Jan. 1, 2018, the temperature rapidly rose from about -28 C to above freezing the following day. The result of that rapid freeze-thaw proved especially destructive along the Wabamun Lake shoreline.
  Wabamun Watershed Management Council’s (WWMC) spokesman Don Meredith explained that when ice is frozen to the lake’s shore, the force of the expansion usually causes the ice in the middle of the lake to rupture, buckle and form pressure ridges. But if the conditions are rig
  
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• Africa Centre board, members spar after 'no confidence' vote over transparency, handling of sexual harassment complaint

  13-05-2018 02:20 via edmontonjournal.com
  Tensions are bubbling over at Edmonton’s Africa Centre after a group of members voted to ask the board to resign over what it calls transparency issues — in particular the board’s handling of sexual harassment allegations against its former executive director. 
  A resolution voted on by a group of the organization’s members May 5 called on the board to resign citing accountability concerns and the board’s handling of the firing of Tesfaye Ayalew, the former
  
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• Man in 'serious' condition after motorcycle crash on Yellowhead Trail

  13-05-2018 02:07 via edmontonjournal.com
  Police are investigating a serious collision involving a motorcycle on Yellowhead Trail.
  A black motorcycle could be seen on its side in the eastbound lanes of Yellowhead Trail, which was completely blocked off Saturday afternoon. Police officers were redirecting traffic onto 184 Street around 4 p.m. Saturday.
  Ambulance crews were tending to a man, who they loaded onto an ambulance. An Alberta Health Services spokeswoman said the man was transported to hospital in serious condition. 
  The&nb
  
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• Edmonton cosplayers win Masters of Cosplay competition in Calgary

  13-05-2018 01:25 via edmontonjournal.com
  Two Edmonton cosplayers will be donning their award-winning costumes to represent Edmonton and Western North America at Fan Expo Canada at the end of August.
  Daina Friend and Lane Monteith, an Edmonton couple who met through their mutual interest in the hobby, won Best in Show in the Masters of Cosplay competition at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo in April.
  Taking top spot out of 15 teams in the highest division, the duo qualified for a spot in the finals hosted in Toronto.
  “It&r
  
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• Fire destroys Edson automotive facility, RCMP and fire crews on scene

  13-05-2018 01:07 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edson RCMP and the Edson Fire Department are currently on the scene of a structural fire that destroyed an automotive facility Saturday afternoon.
  RCMP were dispatched around 1:15 p.m., a news release said, to reports of an explosion. It is believed the fire started as a result of a fuel eruption during repairs on a piece of equipment. 
  There are no reported injuries as a result of the fire, RCMP said.
  First heard an explosion then a fire erupted at a local tire shop in Edson, AB. #cyet #fi
  
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• Canadians' unhealthy eating is costing $13.8 billion annually

  13-05-2018 00:44 via edmontonjournal.com
  Canadians seem unwilling to follow food guidelines for the sake of their health, but a new study from the University of Alberta may convince them to do it for the sake of their wallets.
  An annual price tag of $13.8 billion in direct and indirect health-care costs is what Jessica Lieffers, postdoctoral fellow, estimates Canadians have created out of their eating habits.
  Direct costs include visiting the doctor or hospital and medication, while indirect ones are measured in lost productivity from
  
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• Community to repaint Thorsby Fas Gas where man died trying to stop fuel thief

  13-05-2018 00:35 via edmontonjournal.com
  The cinderblock walls of the Fas Gas station in Thorsby have never matched the aging green and white pumps out front.
  Most of the building is painted orange. The eaves and the tops of the foundation are dark blue.
  They’re the same colours the little shop was when Ki Yun Jo bought it around 10 years ago. Joe, as he was known in the community, was a recent immigrant from South Korea in the market for a small business to support his family. He worked every day except Christmas at the shop, ke
  
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• Explosion and fire destroys Edson tire shop

  13-05-2018 00:23 via edmontonjournal.com
  An explosion and fire destroyed a local tire shop in Edson around 1 p.m. Saturday.
  First heard an explosion then a fire erupted at a local tire shop in Edson, AB. #cyet #fire #explosion #edson #alberta pic.twitter.com/4AbLhBytI8
  — Eric Chan (@ec90) May 12, 2018Large flames and thick, dark smoke were seen coming from the shop and the blaze was quickly responded to by crews and is under control. 
  Part of Highway 16 westbound was re-routed as a result of the fire. Eric Chan, a witness wh
  
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• Single motorcycle involved in serious collision on Yellowhead Trail, east lanes near Anthony Henday closed

  13-05-2018 00:20 via edmontonjournal.com
  Police are investigating a serious collision involving a single motorcycle on Yellowhead Trail.
  A black motorcycle could be seen on its side on the eastbound side of Yellowhead Trail, which was completely blocked off. Police officers were redirecting traffic onto 184 Street around 4 p.m. Saturday.
  Ambulance crews were tending to a male, who they loaded onto an ambulance. EMS said there was no immediate word on his condition.
  The eastbound lanes of Yellowhead Trail at Anthony Henday Drive ar
  
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