News

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business released its first annual Alberta Municipal Spending Watch. The CFIB found that growth in municipal operating spending is out of control and that population and inflation increased only 34 per cent between 2000 and 2006 while operational spending increased 56 per cent.

Kids love to have fun and they like to do that by getting involved in rodeo starting at a young age. For some children picking up a rope or riding maybe more of a challenge than other kids but there is a solution. At the ninth annual Ponoka Stampede Rodeo Challenge 29 kids who had a physical or emotional problem took centre stage for their own rodeo.

One driver was killed and another person was seriously injured in a two-vehicle collision on Hwy 2 south of Ponoka near Wolf Creek Golf Course. The collision occurred on June 29 at 12:10 p.m. with Ponoka RCMP, Ponoka Fire Department and Lacombe Ambulance responding to the scene.

The rodeo excitement is over for June 28 and the chuckwagons are just about to hit the track. T

The first day of World Professional Chuckwagon races saw a new Ponoka Stampede track record being set by Doug Irvine.

The 72nd annual Ponoka Stampede has day two in the books. It was a full slate of events on the afternoon of June 26 with the crowd of 6,870, getting a little wet but some of the best times of the rodeo so far were recorded.

Between June 15 and 22, Ponoka RCMP members tried to catch up on their paperwork before the Stampede arrives and it becomes impossible to do anything but attend to call after call. One of the things that made it a little easier to do this was the types of calls that came in this week which didn’t require much in the way of investigation. For instance, one “regular contributor to this blotter” called 911 to complain that he had given someone $40

Now is the time to start reprogramming phones and other telecommunications equipment as the 10 digit dialing system is now underway.

The Lion’s Centennial Park was alive with music, dancing and vibrant colours on June 20. Many people gathered at the park for National Aboriginal Day to celebrate the rich and valuable culture of Aboriginal people.

The 72nd annual Ponoka Stampede kicked off on June 25 with 3,753 people watching the professional rodeo action. It was a beautiful evening with only a few showers for the first night of the largest professional rodeo in Canada.