Westlock News

Maureen Kubinec is Alberta’s new minister of culture, tourism and recreation. Kubinec, who was elected as MLA for Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock in the 2012 provincial election, was sworn in as Alberta Minister of Culture and Tourism Sept. 15.

Westlock County firefighters put in a full day’s work last Saturday battling a vehicle fire north of Tawatinaw. On Sept. 6, 13 members from the Westlock Rural and Pickardville fire departments responded to a call at 6:30 p.m.

Westlock’s hospital is getting a new helipad, and it will not cost the town a dime. Town councillors were presented with a report from Alberta Health Services about the new helipad at their Sept. 8 meeting.

There was a lot of pride on the line at this year’s annual Terry Fox run in Westlock, with at least two groups among the 40 participants taking part in challenges related to the event.

The first day of school for Grade 1 students is always exciting and made even more so when attending a brand new school, the Pembina North Community School in Dapp. Coming into the school Sept. 2 with smiles and waves are, L-R, Lewis Wolff, Paisley Budgen, Landon Brandl and Layla Forbes. See more on the grand opening of the Pembina North Community School on Page 1 of this week's print and e-editions of Town & Country.

The woman who stole close to $90,000 from the Westlock Sobeys has been sentenced to seven months in jail before she is deported to the Philippines. Christine Tan was sentenced on Sept.

Westlock County council has raised the possibility the new Tawatinaw Valley ski chalet might not be ready in time for this year’s ski season — and the old chalet may not be usable either. Coun. Jim Wiese raised the issue at a Sept.

Alberta has a new premier. On Sept. 6, Jim Prentice was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta to replace Alison Redford, who resigned the post in March. Dave Hancock filled the void on an interim basis until Saturday’s vote.

Westlock County's new CAO Peter Kelly may bring a wealth of municipal governance to the county, but that experience is tempered by some past financial scandals. Council passed a motion at a special meeting Sept.