Fatal collision on Highway 2

RCMP Alberta - At approximately 9:40 am July 14, Claresholm RCMP and Fort Macleod RCMP responded to a single vehicle collision on Highway 2 near Township Road 120. A white courier van travelling northbound on Highway 2 entered the centre median and rolled several times.

The passenger of the van, a 25-year-old man from Calgary was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene as a result of his injuries. The driver, a 21-year-old female from Calgary was also ejected from the vehicle and was taken by ambulance to area hospital with serious but not life threatening injuries.

Claresholm RCMP, with the assistance of an RCMP collision analyst are continuing to investigate to determine the cause and any factors in the collision.

Threats to “Shoot a Public Place” in Calgary or Cochrane

RCMP Alberta - Currently the Cochrane RCMP and the Calgary Police Service are investigating a report of threats via Facebook, where someone wants to “shoot a public place.” At this time there is no direct threat to any one location in Cochrane. This investigation is rapidly unfolding and the RCMP are requesting patience while they conduct their investigation.

Lethbridge and Edmonton approved to offer supervised drug consumption services

Associate Health Minister Brandy Payne speaks about the first five Alberta locations which will offer supervised consumption services to people in Edmonton and Lethbridge. (supplied photo)

According to a Government of Alberta press release issued today, Edmonton and Lethbridge are the first cities in Alberta approved to offer supervised consumption services to people at risk of overdosing. So far this year, 315 Albertans have died of apparent fentanyl-related overdoses. The Edmonton community-based sites approved for supervised consumption services are expected to open in late 2017 or early 2018, with ARCHES’ Lethbridge location expected to open in early 2018. The anticipated opening date for supervised consumption services at the Royal Alexandra Hospital is spring 2018.

“This is an incredibly important announcement for Lethbridge that is going to save lives. I want to thank Health Canada and the province of Alberta for recognizing the urgency of the crisis here in Lethbridge and providing a swift approval of the application to establish supervised consumption services in our city. The vetting process for the application is rigorous, and so I also want to commend Stacey Bourque and the staff at ARCHES for working so hard to prepare an exceptionally thorough application.” - Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman

Highway 1 closure east of Calgary

Update 7:00 pm Oct. 2: Highway 1 has now been reopened between Calgary and Strathmore. However, Highway 1 remains closed between Strathmore and Bassano.
Southern Alberta RCMP - Alberta Transportation has issued a road closure notice for Highway 1 from Calgary to the town of Bassano due to extreme winter road conditions. RCMP officers and maintenance crews will be maintaining road blocks along Highway 1 in the closure area to allow maintenance crews to clear the road. Motorists are asked to obey traffic control signs and drive with extreme caution for the safety of all workers in the affected area.

Efforts continue to work on clearing the highway. It is anticipated that within the next hour, maintenance crews will move a snow plow on Highway 1 between Calgary and Strathmore in an effort to clear the roads.

The road from Strathmore to Bassano remains closed and it is not anticipated to be opened before early morning. Motorists who are out in this area are asked to shelter-in-place and RCMP are working to assist stranded motorists.

Travel is not recommended in southern Alberta.

Poor winter driving conditions have been caused numerous collisions throughout southern and central Alberta today. For up to date road reports, visit www.511.alberta.ca. before travelling.

Police seeking assistance to locate at-risk missing youth

Missing teen Brooklyn Whitemanleft

Lethbridge Police Service - Police are urgently seeking the public’s assistance to locate an at-risk missing youth. Brooklyn Whitemanleft, 17, was last seen in Calgary on September 4. She is currently believed to be in the Calgary or Lethbridge area.  Brooklyn also goes by Brooklyn Heavy Shields, Brooklyn Blackplume and Brooklyn Devine. She was last seen wearing a grey zip up hoodie, grey Fox Tee Shirt, blue sweat pants, and black high top puma runners.  Attempts to locate her have been unsuccessful and police are concerned for her well-being.

Brooklyn is described as an Aboriginal female, about 170 cm tall, 50 kg with a short brown hair.

Anyone who may have seen Brooklyn or has information on her whereabouts is asked to call police at 403-328-4444.

Shannon Birkmann walks across Alberta to help find a cure for MS

Shannon Birkmann taking a long walk

Toni Lucas - Shannon Birkmann of Calgary is on day seven of her "On Foot Across Alberta, A Journey to find a Cure" walk.  The walk in is support of a friend who is afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). "Last year, one of my friends contacted me looking for motivation. They have MS, and I really didn't know what to do, because I can't cure it. But I wanted to help them, and I wanted to make a positive impact, and I definitely wanted to motivate them. This is what I came up with, I would walk across Alberta."

CPS officer-involved shooting determined to be lawful and justified

ASIRT - On Jan. 24, 2016, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed by the Director of Law Enforcement to investigate the circumstances surrounding an officer-involved shooting resulting in the death of a 53-year-old man.

On that date, at approximately 4:35 p.m., as a Calgary Transit bus driver proceeded into the lane of travel westbound on 78 Avenue NW, having picked up a passenger, the driver’s side window of the bus shattered and the driver was hit in the face with flying glass. The driver pulled the bus quickly over to the curb and observed a bullet hole in the window and a bullet lying on the floor by his feet. He contacted his dispatcher and at 4:37 p.m., and the Calgary Police Service (CPS) received the complaint of a gunshot hitting the bus.

Multi-jurisdiction pursuit ends with arrest near Vulcan

RCMP Alberta - An early morning incident with a stolen vehicle has resulted in three arrests and a small grass fire south of Calgary.

At 2:30 am on August 11, Calgary Police notified Okotoks RCMP that a stolen Ford F-350 was seen heading south towards Okotoks. Officers from the Okotoks and High River detachments located the vehicle, which was being monitored by the HAWCS helicopter, on Hwy 2. A spike belt was deployed which deflated two of the vehicle tires just north of High River.

The vehicle then turned off of Hwy 2 towards the town of High River where two passengers in the vehicle exited and attempted to hide from police. With assistance from HAWCS helicopter, RCMP officers were able to locate and arrest the man and woman without incident.

The stolen truck continued into the town of High River then headed East on Hwy 23 towards Vulcan RCMP area. A second spike belt was deployed south of Vulcan resulting in the other two tires being deflated. The driver of the truck still continued southbound and sparks from the ignited a fire in the ditch along Hwy 23 near the village of Champion. Champion volunteer fire department were contacted and attended to extinguish the fire.

The stolen truck eventually stopped after it caught fire and was unable to continue on the rims. The driver, a 35-year-old male from Calgary was arrested without further incident. The driver was found to be on statutory release and has been returned to the custody of Correctional Services Canada. Charges of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property and flight from police are pending.

The two passengers who jumped from the vehicle near High River, a 26-year-old female and 25-year-old male, both from Calgary, face a charge of possession of stolen property over $5000. They have been released from custody and are scheduled to appear in Okotoks Provincial Court on September 8, 2017.

The names of those arrested cannot be released as charges have yet to be sworn.

Cultural exchange between Piikani and Calgary students

Students from Napi's Playground Elementary School in Brocket perform traditional dances at Sunnyside School's day-long cultural exchange program. Students learned about First Nations culture and also about the impact of residential schools on that culture.

Dawn Sugimoto - Mark Anderson read aloud a story of a young First Nations student who learned to count to 30 by the number of times her teacher brought the strap down on her outstretched palms. Her sister learned to count to 50.  “Did anyone here learn to count that way?” he asked students from host Sunnyside School (Calgary), and their guests from his own Napi’s Playground Elementary School on the Piikani Nation.

Eddie The Eagle revisits Calgary

Pincher Creek's Kullen Molaro and Britain's Eddie the Eagle

Kim Jorgenson - I got to meet and see Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards at the 1988 Olympics and he has always had a special place in my heart. He is one of the nicest, most grateful, genuine people on the planet. When the movie came out about him I couldn’t wait to enjoy it with my son Kullen. Then to find out that he was coming to Calgary again, it was just an opportunity for us to share that I couldn’t pass up.

Kullen Molaro / Kim Jorgenson video/photos

2017 Hawks Classic basketball tournament

Boys Gold: St. Michael's Dragons

Girls Gold: Kainai Lady Warriors

The 2017 Hawks Classic annual basketball tournament was hosted by Pincher Creek's Matthew Halton High School. A total of 16 Boys and Girls SV teams played a total 24 games at the Matthew Halton and St. Michael's gymnasiums over the course of two days, February 24 and 25.  The final games were barnburners.  Pincher Creek's Dragons Boys upset the Livingstone  Sabres 52-47 to earn Gold.  Silver for the Sabres.  Kainai's Lady Warriors defeated Hanna's Hawks 53-45 to earn Gold.  Silver for Hanna.  Halton's Hawks Girls defeated St. Michael's Dragons 62-59 for Girls Bronze.  Nanton's J.T. Foster Knights defeated the Halton Hawks 89-69 for Boys Bronze.

Calgary man arrested for luring Utah girl

ALERT - A 22-year-old man from Calgary is charged with luring a Utah girl. ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation unit partnered with Layton City Police in Utah on the investigation.

Cochrane RCMP issue warning about road conditions west of Calgary

RCMP  Alberta - A multi-vehicle collision on Highway 1A has prompted Cochrane RCMP to issue a winter driving conditions warning.

"Motorists should avoid any non-essential travel on Highway 1 until conditions improve."

Today at 11:40 am a multi vehicle collision occurred on the eastbound lanes of Highway 1A at Bearspaw Road. Eastbound traffic was reduced to one lane as crews worked to clear the scene. Both lanes were opened as of 12:30 pm, however, road conditions remain poor.

Peewee Chinooks host tournament

2016/17 Peewee Chinooks

Chris Davis - Pincher Creek's Peewee Chinooks hosted a tournament last weekend at the MCC Arena.  After three days of hard-played games Rimbey's Renegades earned first place, the Chinooks earned second place, and Strathmore's Storm earned third place.  Also participating were Calgary's Blackfoot and Medicine Hat's Oilers.

Simons Valley Storm earns gold at Atom Chinooks tournament

First place: Simons Valley Storm

Second place: Calgary Southwest Cougars

Third place: Elk Valley Wild

Chris Davis - Pincher Creek's Atom Chinooks hosted a six-team tournament last weekend at the MCC Arena.  After three days of non-stop action, the Simons Valley Storm (Calgary) emerged as the tournament champions after a dramatic final game on Sunday against the Calgary Southwest Cougars that had to be decided with a shootout.  Elk Valley Wild placed third after defeating the Chinooks in the bronze game.

State memorial for Jim Prentice to be held Oct. 28

Government of Alberta - A state memorial will be held in Calgary on Oct. 28 to honour former Alberta Premier Jim Prentice on Friday, October 28, 11:00 am at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, 1415 14 Avenue NW, Calgary.  The memorial service will be open to the public.

Taber RCMP investigate fatal motor vehicle collision

RCMP Alberta - Taber RCMP and emergency services responded to a motor vehicle collision on Highway 36 south of Highway 875 by Vauxhall on Saturday, September 17, 2016 at approximately 10:30 am.  Preliminary investigation indicated a truck was driving northbound on Highway 36 when it crossed over into the southbound lane and collided with a semi-truck. At the time of the collision, the 61-year-old driver of the truck from Calgary sustained serious life threatening injuries. He was taken to hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased.