An Okotoks resident has begun raising money for cancer research and she is dangling a carrot of a hand-painted portrait for anyone who donates $200 or more.
For the second year in a row Renee Carrier is trying to drum up enough money to participate in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer long-distance cycling fundraiser.
The entry fee is $2,500, but she managed to raise $3,500 last year. This year she is raising the bar to $4,000. However, raising money has been more difficult this year than last.
“I didn’t anticipate (the earthquakes …

Since moving to Turner Valley 20 years ago an 86-year-old resident of Turner Valley has been shoveling beyond her call of duty.
For more than 20 years Jean Feddersen has shown she has the gumption to shovel beyond the sidewalk in front of her own house to make sure a popular patch of sidewalk on Main Street is safe for everybody.
Feddersen’s efforts are motivated by a pride in her town, a love of the outdoors and a concern for everyone’s safety walking along sidewalks in the winter.
Her care for the town …

A couple who have been neck-deep among Olympic crowds at five sets of Games around the globe say the Vancouver Games tops them all for the most fun.
Millarville-area residents Margot McMaster and Doug Munro returned home on March 2 after spending three weeks in Vancouver documenting the 2010 Winter Olympics.
McMaster, a sound engineer, and Munro, a cinematographer, run a video production company called HDTV Productions Inc. This year marks the fifth Olympics they have been contracted to document.
The couple waded through crowds of spectators and staked ground among crowds of …

The Foothills Land Trust is continuing its drive to connect with MD of Foothills area landowners who want to preserve their land for perpetuity.
The Foothills Land Trust is holding an open house tonight (Wednesday, March 12) to field questions about what conservation easements are, what they mean financially for a landowner and the many options they hold for preserving the natural beauty of foothills landscapes.
All are invited to drop in to the open house, held at the Cross Conservation Area, between 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Directors of the Foothills …

The Highwood and Foothills-Rocky View ridings could be carved up in a proposed shuffle of Alberta’s election boundaries.
Local politicians are not pleased with the proposal which would have the Town of High River removed from the Highwood riding and included in a new riding, High River-Crowsnest Pass, that would stretch from High River’s north boundary to Waterton National Park.
Highwood MLA George Groeneveld said High River should remain in his riding.
“To me, it’s just ridiculous,” he said. “It just appears population is the only thing they looked at.”
The proposals are included …

By Rick Northrop
Staff reporter
Fire departments from three nearby municipalities responded to a house fire south of Okotoks on March 4, but it was too late to save the home.
The Asuchak family which includes Ben, his wife Wanda, and children Tanner, 13, Nicholas, 10 and Braeden, 8 have been left homeless as a result of the fire.
At approximately 5:45 p.m. the blaze, which gutted the inside of the home belonging to the Asuchaks, started in a mechanical room in the basement of the house. No injuries were reported as the home …

The Highwood and Foothills-Rocky View ridings could be carved up in a proposed shuffle of Alberta’s election boundaries.
Local municipal and provincial politicians want the Province to go back to the drawing board on the changes, which would see the Town of High River included in a new riding that would stretch from the town’s north boundary to Waterton National Park.
Highwood MLA George Groeneveld said High River should remain in his riding.
“To me, it’s just ridiculous,” he said. “It just appears population is the only thing they looked at.”
The proposals are …

Three years ago when a local woman mustered the nerve to sing a karaoke song at a bar, her legs shook with anxiety.

In the spotlight on Feb. 11, on the stage at Ducky’s Pub in Calgary, Kelsey Knibbs was again vibrating, but this time it was with adrenaline. Knibbs finished her song triumphant following two costume changes, knocking over equipment and losing her mic in the melee. Judges chose her as the best performer of the whole three-month Ducky’s Idol competition.
The experience was exhilarating, nerve-wracking and fun, Knibbs said. And …

Residents of Turner Valley and Black Diamond often approach Muhammad Zia-ul Haque, manager of the Sheep River Library, on the street asking if they can book the library’s meeting room.
Residents of the two towns have a sense of ownership when it comes to the library, said Zia-ul Haque.
“The difference is large town libraries, you don’t know many of your patrons so they have a different set of rules,” he said.
A questionnaire has been sent out asking how the Sheep River Library can help meet the needs and goals of various …

The Sheep River Health Trust announced a new chair of the board during a recent meeting.
Dr. Robert Haslem stepped down from his position as chair of the health trust and Frances Jackson-Dover, a longtime member of the board was elected to the position on Jan. 28.
In the coming years, Jackson-Dover expects economic restraints to pose a challenge to the board’s fundraising efforts.
Currently, the board is in the midst of improving infrastructure such as new bylaws.
“If there is a way to support the rural needs that often differ from the urban …