Bridge City News

The Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village was established in Pincher Creek, Alberta around 1970. The village boasts over 50,000 artifacts in 31 buildings showcasing the pioneer spirit of the town. In Part One of this story, BCN’s Micah Quinn chatted with staff from the pioneer village about its rich history and explained exactly who Kootenai Brown was.

Chances are you may have seen some special dog guides helping out their owners in Lethbridge. An event is coming up on May 27th called the Pet Valu Walk for Dog Guides at the Gunnery Point Picnic Shelter in Henderson Lake. Video Journalist Micah Quinn chatted with organizers of the Lethbridge walk about how much they are hoping to raise for the event and how vital these dogs are for those who are navigating the world with a disability.

NDP Lethbridge-West candidate Shannon Phillips outlined her party’s goals for attracting and retaining family doctors on Thursday morning. It’s estimated that around 40,000 residents in our region are without a family physician. UCP Lethbridge-West candidate Cheryl Seaborn, who is also a registered nurse, recently highlighted her party’s plan to address the shortage of family physicians. The UCP announced that 17 new doctors were hired as of last year to help take on the large number of patients in Lethbridge. The provincial election will take place on May 29th.

Lethbridge Hurricanes General Manager Peter Anholt discussed the second round of the WHL Prospects Draft on Thursday. The team selected 12 players including six forwards, five defencemen and one goaltender. Anholt highlighted who the Canes have chosen so far and what he is looking forward to with the new players who have been drafted. The Canes had a disappointing end to their season as they suffered a quick exit to the Moose Jaw Warriors during the first round of the WHL playoffs.

The town of Taber in SW Alberta is lending a helping hand to those impacted by wildfires in Drayton Valley. Taber Fire Chief Steve Munshaw says they sent crew and equipment up north to help protect Albertans from the devastating blazes. Earlier this week the City of Lethbridge deployed four firefighters to help assist on the Buck Creek Fire in Brazeau County near Drayton Valley. Staff from the city told us the firefighters will be on a three day deployment at which time the ongoing situation will be reassessed.

VisitLethbridge.com announced four major tourism and community initiatives for this year to promote Lethbridge and Southern Alberta. They include Canada's first tourism-driven interactive Web Based XR Experience. That includes a 3D Map with virtual reality tours. There will also be a chuckwagon sponsorship at the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby, and a new event - the VisitLethbridge.com Ice Age Classic hockey tournament to be held over the Labour Day long weekend. Another event to watch out for this year is the VisitLethbridge.com Invitational Christmas Classic youth hockey tournament taking place December 28 to 31.

This week marks Emergency Preparedness Week, which serves as an opportunity to remind Canadians to get prepared for future emergency situations and to make preparedness part of a regular routine. City of Lethbridge Emergency Planning & Risk Manager, Luke Palmer says preparedness comes in three easy steps. Palmer also provided an update on how the City is providing aid to those affected by the wildfires in central and northern Alberta, and how they can provide support to the emergency operations centres. He says close to 50 evacuees have been safely relocated to Lethbridge.

Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley was in Lethbridge with an announcement for more funding for improved hockey rinks and improved infrastructure, if her party is elected. Notley says the Hometown Alberta program will create 1,500 jobs over three years to build, repair, renovate or upgrade local community facilities. The initiative would replace the current Community Facility Enhancement Program by increasing grant funding by 50 percent to $75 million annually.

With the curbside organics program underway, you may be wondering what happens after the contents of your green bin are picked up in Lethbridge. BCN's Naveen Day took a tour of a new facility that went online on Wednesday.

Local Special Olympics athletes are set for some financial assistance for the upcoming World Summer Games in Berlin, Germany. A new fundraiser is hoping to generate funds to help with the costs of going to the games for the athletes, which run June 14th through the 17th. The games will help promote inclusion and raise awareness for Special Olympics athletes. BCN’s Micah Quinn chatted with a member of the Lethbridge Police Service who is putting on the fundraiser with a little help from some four-legged friends.

It’s a Winter Wonderland at the Nord-Bridge Seniors Centre and holiday cheer was on full display. Over 40 trees were decked out in full Christmas decorations for the 3rd annual event at the organization. As BCN’s Micah Quinn explains, officials from Nord-Bridge asked for donations of non-perishable food items to be distributed to the Interfaith Food Bank and all of the trees will also be given out to those in need.

Sometimes getting a clean slate is all someone needs to be able to beat drugs or alcohol. The Fresh Start Recovery Centre has helped people overcome their addictions for 30 years now. In Lethbridge they have 73 beds available to help out those seeking support. The group held an open house on Friday to welcome members of the community to hear more about who they are. The operations manager of the organization, Tony Kokol, is a recovered addict himself and relayed his testimonial of overcoming addiction by coming to the Recovery Centre 15 years ago. Officials from the Recovery Centre say they incorporate a 14-16 week recovery program that includes counseling, group facilitated treatment, fitness and balancing nutritious meals.

The spirit of Christmas was alive and well in Taber on Thursday morning. Musicians and kids sang and played along to familiar Christmas tunes. The Memory Café is meant to illicit happy feelings and help people who are battling dementia to jog their memories of old songs. Video Journalist Micah Quinn was in Taber and chatted with a mother who brought her daughter who has Alzheimer’s and Down Syndrome to the special event.

As the mercury continues to drop it is feeling more and more like Old Man Winter has a grip on our city. In response, Lethbridge City Council approved funding of $325,670 to be allocated to Streets Alive Mission for an Overnight Comfort Centre. It will allow our city’s most vulnerable to come in from the cold 24 hours a day. The centre will not operate as a sleeping shelter. The vote at City Council to move forward with the funding was close, however, at 5-3. As BCN’s Micah Quinn explains, this has created quite a stir here in our city.

Officials from the Angel Tree campaign in Lethbridge are making one last big push for toy donations. Sparkling gifts are still needed to bring Christmas cheer to kids and families in need. Michelle Gallucci, the director of Angel Tree says this is a vital time as we draw closer to Christmas. A few of the main toys that still in high demand include: dolls, science kits, art supplies and sports related items such as soccer and basketballs.

The potential of a new ward system for city elections was debated rigorously by Lethbridge City Council on Tuesday. Council voted 7-2 to rescind the process of a ward system and directed city staff to rescind the Ward Commission Bylaw. Jenn Schmidt-Rempel was one of the councillors who voted against the motion. She says she was not happy with the outcome but says she will move forward with the will of council. The previous process approved in June would have cost close to $300,000 to look at recommendations of implementing a ward system by the 2025 election in Lethbridge. Over 55 per cent of Lethbridge residents voted in favour of implementing a ward system to elect councillors in our city during the 2021 municipal election. Council voted 7-2 to instead look into a process next year of dividing our city into four quadrants. Councillor John Middleton-Hope voted in favour and was asked if he would like to see other cities implement a similar idea. Middleton-Hope say this Made in Lethbridge model will identify areas of the city with specific needs that need to be addressed. He says this new model will also allow for more citizen engagement with city councillors.

Christmas cards are being dropped off to those in need to ensure there will be smiles on faces this holiday season. Organizers of The Holiday Card Drive say they have handed out over 6,000 cards this year, smashing their goal of 5,000. The cards are distributed out to seniors, veterans and community members who are in need of a pick-me-up. Daicya Munton, the founder of the card drive, says this initiative is essential in helping out seniors in our community who are facing isolation and loneliness. Last year, there were over 3300 cards delivered to members of the community. If you would like to participate you can drop off a card until December 16.

Christmas is fast approaching and usually it’s a time to sit down, enjoy a meal and spread some holiday cheer with our loved ones. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for many families in Lethbridge. Food banks across Canada have experienced over 1.5 million visits in March of 2022 alone. As BCN’s Micah Quinn explains, an initiative by the Real Canadian Superstore in Lethbridge, called the Holiday Food Drive, is looking to support our local food banks in a big way.

*VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED* Bridge City News spoke with an independent journalist in Ukraine to hear what they are seeing and experiencing. BCN’s Jeanette Rocher chatted with Christelle Neant, a French National who’s been living in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine covering the civil conflict in the area for the last six years, including this more recent conflict. She says westerners are not getting the whole story from national and international news outlets. In fact, she says some of the atrocities are being carried out by Ukrainians on other Ukrainians. NOTE: We will air the entire interview with Christelle Neant on our April 6 evening newscast.

U.S. citizens gathered over the weekend in Sweetgrass, Montana, many of which drove five or six hours from different parts of the state, to show their support for the Freedom Convoy taking place in Ottawa, and to rally around Canadian protesters in Alberta. Standing on the opposite side of a plastic fence, which acts as the international boundary between Montana and Alberta, one woman who served in the U.S. military for four years says, "I know what it's like to fight for your freedom, and I believe everybody deserves freedom." BCN Jeannette Rocher reports Feb 12/22

The Better Business Bureau of southern Alberta is warning about finding love in all the wrong places this Valentine’s Day. Romance fraud increases on days like today. A lot of these fraudsters start with fake profiles on dating sites. Photos are usually stolen from real accounts. The scammer will build a relationship with the victim and then begin to ask for money. Wes Lafortune, from the BBB, says there are tips you can use to protect yourself if you think you are being taken advantage of. Lafortune says you can use a google reverse-image search to check if photos match up with what the person is using.

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