And dogs all over town can’t wait!
Word is construction on the 40-foot structure will begin this spring or summer.
Years ago, there was talk of building the world’s largest buffalo at Grouard until someone discovered it was already built at Jamestown, N.D. It is 26 feet tall, 46 feet long and weighs 60 short tons, according to Wikipedia.
But back to this dog thing. Perhaps Slave Lake should consider constructing the world’s largest dog beside the fire hydrant. Now that would be a tourist attraction!
A note to residents of the Bird Capital of Canada: do not forget to vote in the byelection March 28!
Yes, five people – count them, five! – are running for council. They are Tom Henihan, Marcel Limoges, Darlene Payou, Odessa Ptashyk, and Dwayne Stout. The seat became vacant after Luc Dubrule recently submitted his resignation due to personal reasons and work commitments.
It is McLennan’s fourth byelection since 2017 in addition to the 2021 municipal election.
To the west at Donnelly, byelection day was March 20. John Coy and Lindsay Lehman were seeking the seat left vacant when Gavin Scott resigned in September 2022.
Please see results next week.
Further west at Falher, the resignation of Councillor Patrick Simon prompted them to plan for a byelection. Nomination Day for the byelection ends April 3 at noon. Candidates are free to submit nominations at the town office at any time before.
A byelection occurs if more than one candidate steps forward. It will be held May 1.
Last week, The Page predicted a coronation for the High Prairie Red Wings in their West Division Greater Metro Hockey League final against Edson Eagles.
It was no surprise to The Page it was a four-game sweep with the Red Wings outscoring the Eagles 29-7. In the semifinal, the Red Wings crowned the Fox Creek Ice Kings 36-11. That is eight straight playoff wins and a 65-18 goals for and against margin.
Truth is, there is no competition in this league for the Red Wings and it’s been that way for over two years. It would be nice if the other teams would get serious and raise their bar to that of the Red Wings and make it interesting.
Perhaps owner Kevin Hopfner can share some of the secrets to this success in the interest of competitive balance.
We note the Falher Pirates have tied their NPHL final series with the Dawson Creek Canucks at two games each in a far more competitive series.
Not known to the public is The Page was told by a Pirates’ executive member they asked about playing in High Prairie instead of Peace River. They were offered the use of the Gordon Buchanan Recreation Centre instead of the Sports Palace. It’s like asking to someone run the Indianapolis 500 on a dirt track in the Back 40.
Nonetheless, the Pirates went to Peace River.
Oh, well! What is High Prairie’s loss in Peace River’s gain!
We stumbled across on obituary for Bernard LeBlanc last week. He passed away Aug. 29, 2022. He was born in 1939 making him 82 or 83.
In High Prairie, we knew him as Bernie. A school teacher at E.W. Pratt High School, owner of The Pizza Factory, and member of town council. He once called former premier Ralph Klein’s cuts “a bunch of crap.”
Bernie could always be found at Uncle Nicky’s shooting the breeze with Nick Shybunia. It was very entertaining to listen to them two go at it. Neither willing to give an inch! Great fun!
“Uncle Nicky” and Bernie have both left us. May they both rest in peace and be gentle with God’s ears as they debate the next issue in heaven.
The official cause of the fire in the flower box in front of the High Prairie Liquor Store March 11 was someone tossing a cigarette butt in the flower box.
Accidents will happen but everyone should know you can’t toss cigarette butts into any flammable materials. It is a recipe for disaster. May as well wax the steps of the senior citizens home and yell, Fire!”
There is talk of starting a Christian school in High Prairie.
An information night will be held at High Prairie Victory Life Church March 29 at 6:30 p.m.
A post on social media says there is space for 20 students up to Grade 9.
Don’t be late!
It makes The Page chuckle when a few weeks ago Big Lakes County councillors said the recent Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference was a “disaster.”
Councillors did not tell the taxpayers (you know, the ones who paid for that disaster) the details. Nice to them to spare telling us what a waste of money it was.
One certainly got the indication Big Lakes would never attend after giving it such a trashing.
But hold on! Now that a new conference is on the horizon, talk is they might go again. What a surprise! Another trip at the expense of the taxpayer
The only difference The Page can see is the latest “disaster” was in Regina. The next conference is in Toronto May 25-18.
Any coincidence? Toronto over Regina! Nah!