HALKIRK HERALD -- A fast moving grass fire that started just west of the village burned dry prairie grass to the western edge of town and south to the highway on Saturday. Two older buildings were destroyed but the house was saved.
Seven trucks, three from Castor, one from the mine and three from Halkirk, plus many volunteer fire fighters fought to keep the fire from within the town limits. It was close enough to burn the grass off the dirt roof of the water storage facility.
We extend our appreciation to all the volunteers with these local fire departments, for without their expertise, the damage would have been much worse. We also remind drivers that the speed limit when passing emergency vehicles is 60 kph or less. A number of drivers did not slow down for our fire fighters. The county has a fire restriction ban and the village will be implementing as full fire ban as of Monday.
We extend our congratulations to Troy Slemp, who was chosen as a ATB Home Ice Hero, for his devotion as a volunteer hockey coach and mentor of youngsters from the Castor area. Troy and his wife Tanya were special guests at the Oilers/ Flames hockey game in Edmonton on Saturday evening.
Dump hours are now Wednesdays 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Thanks to the Elks; we once again have new phone sheets.
Congratulations to Deanne and Ian Land on the arrival their second daughter, Lexington Raine, who was born on March 26 in Stettler. She weighed 6 lbs. 4 oz. and will soon be a playmate for big sister Kenzington, who just celebrated her first birthday. This is the third granddaughter for Elliot and Sharon.
Art class by Pat Lang was last Wednesday with nine people. All enjoyed the lesson and an ice cream float.
Anne Neilson returned from a trip to British Columbia to visit with children Mike and Brenda.
Dennis and Doris Cordell returned home from a two week holiday along the BC coast . They visited Doris' aunt Lena Knight, cousin Bill, Trudeth and Jason near Chilliwack as well as Dennis' aunt and uncle, Susan and David Ainsworth in Vancouver. The blossoms are beautiful at this time of year. Rae-anne and Mark drove out to spend Easter in Chilliwack.
Stan and Dorothy Anderson visited with Stan and Mabel Wheller in Killiam on Sunday. From there, they all toured the huge oil tank farm located at Hardisty.
Greg and Laura Kent hosted Easter for the family. Greg was visiting with Mel and Dale last weekend and was able to help the town fighting the fire.