Article content

Happy Friday, Fort McMurray!

Article content

• Take the Pledge: Want a chance to win a helicopter ride AND reduce wildfire risk? Pledge to reduce wildfires in the Fort McMurray Forest Area by Aug. 16 and you’ll be entered to win a helicopter tour of the region! Take the pledge today online.
• Pastew Place Annual Community BBQ: The Fort McMurray-based detoxification centre is hosting a free BBQ for the family. A 50/50 draw is also being hosted. Aug. 17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 505 Sakitawa Trail. Information.
• 10th annual Ride for Dad: Celebrate a decade of raising funds and awareness for prostate cancer. All riders are challenged to raise at least $200 in pledges. Organizers hope to make this year their biggest event yet. Enter for a chance to win a 2024 BWM R 18 Octane. Aug. 17 at Brewskis in Gregoire. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., stands up at 10 a.m. Information.
• Keyano Junior Huskies Volleyball Camp: Gain the competitive edge before fall high school tryouts with week-long instruction from Keyano Huskies Volleyball Coaches and student athletes. Athletes from out of town and surrounding areas are welcome. August 19-22 at Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre. Information on registration.
• Oilers Foundation Community Event: The Edmonton Oilers Foundation is hosting a free community event at MacDonald Island where they will announce their continued local support with their Every Kid Deserves a Shot program. A photo and autograph opportunity with Louie DeBrusk, Gene Principe and James Hamblin will be featured along community booths from local hockey and sport groups. Aug. 21 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at MacDonald Island Park. Information.
• Wood Buffalo Mural Fest: New murals will go up across Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo throughout August and into the fall. The event also hosts community gatherings.A free family-friendly public art exhibition will be hosted at Kiyam Community Park on Aug. 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Schedule of events and murals.
• Empty Bowls and Blueberry Festival: The annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for the Wood Buffalo Food Bank returns with the Blueberry Festival, which was held for decades every Labour Day weekend until 2008. August 30-September 2 at Snye Point Park. Information.
• Fort McMurray Fringe Festival: Local theatre company Theatre, Just Because is launching the first Fort McMurray Fringe Festival at Heritage Village on Aug. 31. Information.
• The Irish Descendants: The four-piece Newfoundland musical act returns to Keyano Theatre. Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets.
• Theatre Club: Local theatre company Swamp Rat Experience is hosting a 12-week learning and creative performance program for youth ages 7-11. Students learn performing and disciplines such as acting, singing, improv and theatre etiquette. Classes, rehearsals and performances at Composite High School’s King Street Theatre. Registration is open.
• Staged reading of “A Work in Progress”: Local theatre artist Brodie Dransutavicius invites you on a harrowing and comedic journey about the process of writing a new play. A Work in Progress is a one-man show (…or is it?) about the ups and downs of creating art–the writer’s block, trusting the process, the exhilaration of finding the words that capture what you’re trying to say and the despair when you don’t. Sept. 7 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at King Street Theatre. Free tickets.
• Play in a Day: For Alberta Culture Days 2024, get a group together and write, direct and act in a play created in 24 hours. Participants are given a theme, prop, and costume piece to be included. They will have access to rehearsal space at King Street Theatre, where they give a free performance for judges. Theme reveal at 7 p.m. on Sept. 13, performances the next day at 6 p.m. Information and free tickets.
• Kenny vs. Spenny Live: In a rare instance of Fort McMurray importing a crude product, the infamous “best friends” who became famous for torturing each other bring their 20th anniversary tour to Fort McMurray. Oct. 19 at Quality Hotel Ballroom from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets.
• Wood Buffalo Regional Library hosts all-ages weekly events.
• MacDonald Island Park updates its website with upcoming events and programs.
• Wood Buffalo Volunteers has volunteer opportunities for different causes and non-profits across Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo.
• Obituaries: Obituaries, memorial notices and sympathy announcements can be uploaded and read online.

Article content

Get the news and events of Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo in your inbox every Friday morning by signing up for our newsletter.

Jane Stroud, RMWB councillor and advocate for rural communities, passes away at 76

Councillor Jane Stroud–who represented the hamlets of Anzac, Conklin, Gregoire Lake Estates and Janiver as a municipal councillor–has died. Her death was confirmed Monday morning by Mayor Sandy Bowman. She was one month shy of her 77th birthday.

Stroud represented the southern hamlets of Ward 4 continuously since 2010. When she was elected, Stroud focused on getting council to support basic services, or lobbying those who could provide them. She argued the rural areas outside Fort McMurray weren’t getting the attention or funding they deserved from the municipality or other levels of government.

Article content

Bowman said the projects Stroud championed for the rural hamlets were too many to list. The major ones included running water and sewage services; better roads; improved internet access; upgrades to Highway 881; tackling a housing crisis in Conklin and Janvier; and getting more police officers, health care and addictions workers, teachers and job opportunities into the rural areas.

News of her death caused a flood of tributes and memorials from residents, community groups, First Nation and Metis leaders, and current and former politicians. People in her ward thanked her for her volunteer work and advocacy for everything from recreation centres and water and sewage services to streetlights and a new fire hall.

Article content

“She understood the needs of our communities, and always worked to ensure we were not left behind,” said Valerie Quintal, president of Conklin Metis Local 193.

Education in Fort McMurray census area reports losses, unemployment up

About 900 jobs in educational services were lost in July in the census region covering Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo, according to Statistics Canada data released Friday. Most other job sectors in the region saw only slight gains as unemployment jumped in July.

Despite the month-over-month losses, education gained 800 new jobs between July 2023 and 2024. Catholic and public school leaders in Fort McMurray say schools are crowded and understaffed, despite growth in enrolment.

Retail reported slight relief in July. For 10 months prior, retail’s numbers had continuously plunged across the region. July’s numbers showed retail’s freefall ended with only 100 new jobs added. June’s retail data was the worst month for retail since January 2023.

Article content

Retail lost 4,100 workers between September and June, and lost 2,900 workers between July 2023 and 2024. Construction saw the most local growth between July 2023 and 2024 with 2,300 new workers, although lost 200 workers from June.

July unemployment for the Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake census region was 6.1 per cent, up from 5.5 per cent in June. Employment dropped to 69.5 per cent from June’s 69.7 per cent.

Employment in July 2023 was 69.6 per cent and unemployment was 5.2 per cent. Unemployment in the last 12 months peaked in August 2023 at six per cent.

Fort McMurray helicopter pilot reflects on tech advances in fighting wildfires

The first wildfire Paul Spring fought as a helicopter pilot was in 1980. The flames straddled the border of what is now the RMWB and Saskatchewan, and had burned down an observation tower.

Article content

Fighting the wildfire at the time was difficult for pilots. The helicopters were “old and antiquated,” models from the 1960s and 1970s, said Spring. The buckets for dumping water were already obsolete and are no longer used by anyone these days. Space was cramped and sometimes he could only fit two other firefighters.

The technology used has come a long way since and this summer was another leap technologically for Spring. His Fort McMurray-based helicopter company, Phoenix Heli-Flight, has been flying later because his fleet is one of the few in Alberta with night vision capabilities.

This is the first year Alberta Wildfire has had access to helicopters equipped with night vision. The cameras can’t see through smoke, but they’ve allowed pilots to continue bucketing and reconnaissance operations well after sunset. His company also has drones that can survey wildfire perimeters.

Article content

“Watching the equipment progress over the years has been a lot of fun. Even GPS has changed everything in so many industries,” said Spring in an interview.

“Before we had a map and actually hand drew the perimeter of the wildfire based on creeks and hills and types of trees you were seeing.”

The technology has made Spring’s job easier, but many of the roles involved in supporting ground crews remains unchanged. This year has been particularly busy for him. In one day, Spring and a ground crew he was transporting responded to 14 wildfires in the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region.

“Helicopters don’t put out fires, ground crews put out fires. We stop them from growing,” he said.

“The tech world is evolving a bit to give us more tools to work with, but you still need boots on the ground. You still need that person holding the chainsaw and running the pump to put the fire out.”

Article content

Fort McMurray youth mental health facility expected to open in 2027

A facility for children and teenagers facing complex mental health issues will open in Fort McMurray by fall 2027. The proponents of the building, CASA Mental Health, says the site will address critical shortages in mental health care in the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region.

The Fort McMurray centre is the first of its kind that CASA is opening. Bonnie Blakley, CEO of CASA Mental Health, says opening a Fort McMurray location will free space at their Sherwood Park location. Wait lists can last a year to 18 months.

The facility will be called CASA House, and offer day and residential programs. The day program offers youth therapy during the day and patients return home at night. The residential program is an overnight service for more intensive care.

Article content

The 40,000 square-foot, 20-bed building will offer long-term treatments, and includes an active role for families in the healing and therapy processes.

“If you have multiple medications and you’re doing different kinds of therapy, you need more of an integrated support. You can go to a hospital but the hospital isn’t really set up for that,” said Blakley.

“The problem we have is we haven’t really had this missing middle filled.”

CASA is also expanding its presence in Fort McMurray once the school year starts. Fort McMurray’s first CASA Mental Health Classroom is opening at St. Gabriel’s School this fall. The program supports students between Grades 4 and 12 with complex mental health challenges.

Police make Wednesday morning arrests in drug investigation

Article content

An ongoing drug trafficking investigation saw police officers and tactical teams carry out three search warrants throughout Fort McMurray on Aug. 14.

Mike Tucker, a spokesperson for the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT), confirmed “a number of suspects were identified and detained” on Wednesday, but charges had yet to be laid.

Videos and images shared with Fort McMurray Today showed an armoured vehicle and tactical officers outside a condominium in Eagle Ridge. At least two people were shown to be arrested.

Tucker also confirmed “a variety of drugs were seized,” but police were still processing items taken by police. More details about items seized and charges laid will be released in upcoming days, said Tucker.

Article content

Police charge liquor store staff with robberies:

Police say five Fort McMurray residents charged with robbing two Ace Liquor stores in Fort McMurray were, at the time, current or former employees of the stores.

Three people have been arrested and warrants have been issued for the arrest of two more people. One of the employees had already been arrested and charged with dozens of instances of fraud allegedly committed at his second job.

At least five robberies were reported between May 4 and June 1 at the Ace Liquor stores on Signal Road and Real Martin Drive. Police say the suspects stole cash from registers and safes, as well as liquor bottles. The loss is valued at more than $15,000.

During a May 23 robbery at the Real Martin Drive location, an employee was tied to a chair. No one was injured physically during any of the robberies. The Real Martin Drive location closed after a driver crashed into the store on July 14.

Article content

Police have charged Jonathan Mercredi, 39; Jasmeet Singh, 21; and extortion. Guraman Singh, 19.

They have been released from police custody. Mercredi is scheduled to appear in the Alberta Court of Justice on Feb. 26, both Singhs are expected to make an appearance on Aug. 28.

Police are looking for Daksh Jain, 22, and Harshdeep Singh, 21. Jain is also accused of accessing the personal information of multiple people while working at the Mobile Shop at the downtown Superstore.

The information was used to open new, fraudulent accounts for mobile devices. He allegedly than kept the devices. Police say the reported loss was more than $60,000. Jain was charged and released from custody. He is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 28.

Article content

• Jasper’s Legion has identified Morgan Kitchen, 24, of Calgary as the firefighter killed fighting wildfires in Jasper. Kitchen is being remembered as an athlete, musician, singer, comedian, actor, a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces and British Royal Marines, and someone “wired to be a first responder.” Kitchen died after he sustained a serious injury from a falling tree.
• As Jasper residents start returning home today, some are unsure of what to expect and officials say providing temporary housing will be a top priority. The province is working with the municipality of Jasper and Parks Canada to provide a regional accommodation plan so displaced residents can be housed as close to the town as possible.
• Elections Alberta reprimanded the Alberta Ministry of Health for its conduct during the 2022 Brooks-Medicine Hat byelection won by Premier Danielle Smith. Why? Well, neither department is talking. The letter itself was withheld following a freedom of information request from Postmedia. Days before the byelection, the NDP called for the ethics commissioner to investigate after Smith attended the grand opening of a health, wellness and athletics expansion of Medicine Hat College.
• The NDP are also in trouble with Elections Alberta after an investigation found election finance rules were broken during this year’s leadership campaign. The UCP alleged the NDP’s membership forms illegally equated party membership fees with contributions. They also claimed part of the NDP constitution states any donation over $10 is a membership renewal, and that this broke election rules. Election commissioner Paula Hale ruled the NDP broke rules about membership fees.
• The Calgary Humane Society is alerting the public about a severe animal-abuse case that could pose a risk to humans. The incident involves kittens and it’s pretty awful, so click on this article at your own risk. The organization fears the perpetrators could move on towards harming people.
• Read up on the politics and culture of Alberta  with Postmedia’s subscriber-exclusive newsletter, What’s up with Alberta? Curated by the National Post’s Tyler Dawson every Tuesday and Thursday.

Article content