One of the Wildrose Entertainments carnival workers is sitting in jail after a routine vehicle inspection turned up several outstanding warrants Monday afternoon.
On June 15, an officer with the local commercial vehicle inspections branch had the carnival truck pull over for a random inspection. When the officer ran the driver's licence, it came back with several outstanding warrants on the Canadian Police Information Centre's (CPIC) list.
These warrants included warrants on breach of probation, fail to appear, and theft.
The 35-year-old Edmonton man was arrested by RCMP when they were called by the commercial vehicle officer.
Impaired concerns lead to cocaine bust
The RCMP traffic unit, a branch of which operates out of Stettler, pulled over a driver in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 14, because he was driving with no lights on.
According to RCMP Const. Bill Lewadniuk, the officer noted the driver seemed to be under the influence of drugs and, performing a vehicle search, found a sizable quantity of cocaine.
The 33-year-old Red Deer man, who was known to police, was arrested and charged with trafficking.
Aggressive sales tactics end up on police radar
RCMP have been made aware of a series of salespeople who have been practicing aggressive door-to-door sales tactics in the Stettler area of late.
According to Lewadniuk, if a salesperson will not leave after being told to leave, residents should phone police.
"Don't feel pressured to buy (whatever is being sold)," Lewadniuk said. "You can ask for identification and registration papers."
The complaint came to police through the Town of Stettler, which had received complaints from concerned residents.
Be bear-aware
The County of Stettler has received several concerned inquiries about a black bear, possibly with a cub, which has been spotted by residents in parts of the county.
According to a statement from the county, Fish and Wildlife is aware of the presence of the bear and that the bear is unlikely to be a threat but is most likely just moving through.
"This is a gentle reminder to county residents that we always share our beautiful countryside with all types of wildlife, whether we see them or not, and we should be careful not to leave garbage in our yards that will encourage wildlife-human encounters," the statement from the county said.
Bears will return to places where they know they can find food and have a strong sense of smell, so sealing garbage in air-tight garbage cans and not putting garbage out until the day of collection can help reduce the unwanted attention of a bear.
Recent fires deliberately set: fire chief
Recent fires in the Stettler area have been deliberately set, though at this time, fire chief Mark Dennis said there is no reason to believe they are related.
Stettler Regional Fire and Rescue were called in May to the Stettler Motel to extinguish a fire that had been set in the stairs, containing the small fire before any major damage could occur.
Then, earlier in June, the Shoe Closet and Boutique suffered a devastating early morning fire that gutted the store just short of its anniversary sale.
According to Dennis, the fire was set outside the building in the back alley in some items stored there.
"It's not likely they expected the fire to move inside the store," he said, but noted that such a situation demonstrated exactly how variable and dangerous fires can be.
The fire department is asking anyone who may have any information or may have witnessed anything related to contact the RCMP at 403-742-3382 or anonymously phone Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.