The extent of damage from a fire at the Museum of the Highwood in High River is still being determined as staff and volunteers sift through the building to determine what was lost.
The fire was first reported at 4 a.m. on July 28 and took firefighters several hours to extinguish.
The museum’s collection, which includes artifacts and photographs of foothills’ ranching heritage, is being moved into trailers until it can be moved back into the museum.
“We’re getting a conservator to come in and help us figure out what to do about …

For two years the Town of Okotoks has been out shopping for water licences.
It has been a difficult and frustrating search for town officials who approached as many as 2,000 water licence holders in search of more water for Okotoks.
Okotoks municipal manager Richard Quail said many people were not interested in even talking about their water licences.
“There is a complete lack of understanding and awareness around this,” said Quail. “People are calling to talk to us to understand.”
The Town’s problems escalated when the water crunch put a temporary halt on …

The Province slammed the door shut on water licenses in the South Saskatchewan River Basin several years ago, but what most do not realize is those who hold those licenses now have a valuable commodity.
When the moratorium on water licenses was put in place on the South Saskatchewan in 2006 major rivers like the Bow and Oldman, it also meant no new water licences would be approved on smaller tributaries like the Highwood and Sheep River.
At that time a mechanism introduced in Alberta’s Water Act in 1999 kicked in, which …

A man described as the “neighbour from hell” by some will challenge a community standards bylaw introduced last spring by the MD of Foothills.
A dispute between a small group of neighbours in the tiny hamlet of Naphtha, south of Black Diamond, has turned into a court battle that includes the municipal district. An argument over parking and what some deem a messy yard in the one-street hamlet has divided neighbours, some of who contacted the MD about the problem.
As a result of the complaints, Naphtha resident Frank Krieter was ordered …

An Okotoks masseuse charged with sexually assaulting one of his clients will be back in court in a months time.
Okotoks RCMP charged Robert Leonard Scott, who worked out of Okotoks Chiropractic and Massage, with sexual assault in response to a complaint from one of his clients.
Police said they had received several complaints over the course of a few months and are continuing to investigate.
Const. Grant Kneller of the Okotoks RCMP said not much has changed, but said he is continuing to look into the case.
Scott worked at the Okotoks business …

Okotoks’ fire chief is warning people to not be too generous if they receive a phone call from someone looking for donations aimed at fire prevention.
Chief Ken Thevenot said a resident contacted him asking about a phone call they received soliciting a $180 donation the caller said would be used for fire prevention and education on the behalf of the Association of Canadian Fire Chiefs.
The Okotoks resident did not pledge any money, even when the called requested donations of $60 and $30. Later that week the resident received a flyer …

Following a half-day preliminary hearing impaired driving charges were dropped against a woman who killed the passenger in her vehicle in a head-on collision in March 2009.
Police were alerted to a Pontiac Grand Am driving the wrong way down Highway 2 near the Okotoks overpass and before an officer arrived a second call came in saying the vehicle had collided with an SUV.
A passenger in the Grand Am, 43-year-old David Tarr of Calgary, was killed in the crash. A couple from Granum driving in the SUV were seriously injured and …

Raping his wife in a car in front of their child on a remote rural roadway between Okotoks and High River has landed a Calgary man a three-year jail sentence.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his wife and their child, pleaded guilty to sexual assault in Calgary court on July 16. Charges of assaulting causing bodily harm, uttering threats and kidnapping were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea, which came unexpectedly on a day when the trial was supposed to be set.
The man admitted …

A judge appealed to feuding families on the Eden Valley Reserve to end their dispute and then sentenced a man to 80 days in jail for an alleged retaliatory beating.
Robert Lefthand admitted to breaking into the home of Darryl Dixon and beating him severely. Lefthand, his brother Greig and his cousin Conrad used clubs and a metal rod to assault Dixon. The Lefthands claim they had come to Dixon’s home in retaliation for a beating he laid on two of them a day earlier.
Greig Lefthand was sentenced in May to …

A team of Eden Valley residents has stepped up and has begun training to man the reserve’s new volunteer fire department.
The reserve acquired a fire truck approximately two months ago and training began last week for the new recruits.
“We had a call for volunteer firefighters and approximately 25 people showed up,” said RCMP Cst. Donald Vanderrick, who is stationed at the reserve. “And three of them are women.
“When I was there this morning and sat in on the class everybody was upbeat and they were learning knots. Next week they’ll …