Westlock News

Thanksgiving Monday gave Albertans a stunning light display. Here the Northern Lights illuminate the sky above Westlock at around 9 p.m. The lights were so vibrant because the sun had recently unleashed a spray of charged particles that interacted with the Earth's magnetic field to produce the dancing green and pink lights.

Five-year-old Carter Rennie gives his rapt attention to getting around the next pylon during the Oct. 6 I Love Hockey event at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre. Rennie was one of 20-plus kids on the ice trying out the sport.

The 23-month-long fraud investigation into an unnamed Pembina Hills school division employee has concluded with Crown prosecutors recommending charges.

The Westlock Legion hall will have to be shut down for several months after the lounge on the lower floor flooded. Legion president Chuck Naylor said the lounge was flooded on Sept. 24 as a result of the town’s roadwork on 106 Street.

The Westlock-area fire service has suffered a big loss with the sudden death of one of the department chiefs. Colin Calkins, 45, had been with the Pickardville Fire Department for 20 years before he died suddenly Sept. 27 while on vacation.

When his position with Alberta Health Services was eliminated, the former CEO of Aspen Regional Health took home $738,000 in severance pay, sparking a wave of criticism from opposition parties and groups such as Friends of Medicare.

Westlock residents will soon be paying more on their power and gas bills after town council approved an increase to the franchise fee it charges Fortis Alberta and Altagas.

One man has been sent to hospital following a gravel truck rollover on Highway 18 east of Clyde last Thursday. At around 3:45 p.m. on Sept. 27, an eastbound gravel truck with pup trailer went off Highway 18 just east of Range Road 244.

The trial process for a former Westlock man accused of murdering his wife will continue this week in a Salmon Arm, B.C., courtroom. Peter Beckett, 54, had a pre-trial conference scheduled for Sept.

The Westlock Rotary Dinner Theatre is approaching a remarkable fundraising goal, in no small part due to the efforts of two individuals.