Proudly Serving Vermilion And Area Since 2004

As of August 13, the Central Zone of Alberta is down to 81 active cases. The County of Vermilion River is up to five active cases, the MD of Wainwright is down to 44 active cases, Flagstaff County is down to three active cases, Viking has had a huge jump down from 64 active cases to two active cases. The County of St. Paul has one active case, as does Cold Lake. There are no active cases to report in the MD of Bonnyville or the MD of Provost. In total, Alberta has gone dow

As of August 6, the Central Zone of Alberta is down to 224 active cases. The County of Vermilion River is up to three active cases. The Municipal District of Wainwright has a concerning spike in cases, as from July 30 to August 6, active cases in the MD of Wainwright have gone from 11 to 45. The Municipal District of Provost has one active case, Viking is down to 64 active cases, and Flagstaff County is down to six. As of August 6, there are no active cases to report in the

Lakeland College Alumni Hall. Photo Elaina John Lakeland College is returning in the fall with a blended learning experience. Due to COVID-19, the college has revised occupancy loads and have various measures in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are met. Classrooms will have fewer students with desks and work areas spaced out according to the six-foot government recommendation, with plexiglass barriers directional guides in high traffic areas. As well, Lakeland Co

Firefighting program scheduling at Lakeland College has looked a little different this year. The basic firefighting program began in March, and two weeks into the program, COVID-19 changed everything. Swiftly, the college set up an online learning environment for fire school students, but the program was still eventually cancelled, as was the various other emergency services programs Lakeland College typically runs throughout the summer. With things in the province slowly r

COVID-19 cases in Central Alberta continue to climb. Central Alberta has identified 173 new cases from July 24-30, leaving the region at a total of 254 active cases. As of July 30, there are no longer any active cases in the County of Vermilion River, the Municipal District of Bonnyville, or the County of St. Paul. However, the Municipal District of Wainwright is now up to 11 active cases and sadly one death. Flagstaff County is up to seven active cases, there are seven act

Due to COVID-19, the Vermilion Agricultural Society (VAS) had to cancel the 114th Annual Fair. On July 25, VAS put on fireworks for the town, firing them “extra high” so that Vermilion residents could view them from home. Photos Elaina John #Fireworks #VermilionAgSociety #VermilionAgriculturalSociety #COVID19 #114thAnnualFair #Fairseason

Rhonda Berg, truck draw winner. Photo submitted On July 22, the Lea Park truck draw was held. This year would have been the 66th Rodeo, but due to COVID-19, the rodeo was cancelled this year. Tickets for the draw were sold in a 50- mile radius, with proceeds of the truck draw going towards the upkeep of the facilities at Lea Park. “We feel gratified that the surrounding community supports us so well,” stated Rick Hozack, treasurer of the Marwayne Agricultural Society. The

As of July 20, we are witnessing a slow, steady increase of local cases. There is now one active case in the County of Vermilion River, three active cases in the Municipal District of Wainwright, one active case in the Municipal District of Bonnyville, four active cases in the County of Two Hills, two active cases in the County of Minburn, three active cases in Flagstaff County, eight active cases in Camrose, and four active cases in Viking. On July 16, Chief Medical Office

Sadie Granigan. Photo Submitted. On June 8, Vermilion Resident Sadie Granigan finally returned home after much difficulty crossing the U.S./Canada border. Granigan is a second year theatre student at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). Granigan speaks fondly of her school, and states that while a performance-based course can be intimidating, it was a productive and helpful learning environment. Granigan has had an interest in theatre ever since she had first h

An individual in Lloydminster tested positive for COVID-19. Between June 27 and July 5, the individual had visited locations in the city including Wal-Mart, Superstore, the Goodknight Inn, and Superlodge Motel. It has been recommended by Public Health Officials that individuals who visited these locations between these dates should self-isolate for two weeks if they have experienced one or more COVID-19 symptoms. Individuals should also call Healthline 811 to arrange for tes

The library re-opens on July 7th with modified hours and service levels until phase 3 is announced by the province. Regarding the opening date When the province announced that phase 2 was going to be occur earlier than expected we were not ready. Much like many other facilities in Alberta we were given a package on re-opening and conditions we need to meet in order to do so. The decision to not re-open until July was based upon a realistic assessment of how long it would ta

On June 9, it was announced the Stage 2 of Alberta’s Relaunch plan would begin on June 12. Stage 2 of relaunch will allow many facilities to open, including gyms, libraries, casinos, campgrounds, theatres, pools, places of worship, and more, with social distancing measures still in effect. Stage 2 also permits the opening of K-12 schools for requested diplomas and summer school, with regular classes starting again in the fall. It is clarified that nightclubs, amusement park

Emergency Hospital during influenza epidemic, Camp Funston, Kansas in 1918. Photo Credit: National Museum of Health and Medicine Individuals worldwide are constantly being subjected to coverage of COVID-19 and what it means to economies, businesses, schools, and our own personal lives. As Alberta goes through phase one of reopening and plans a second and third phase of their relaunching strategy, what can we expect our future to look like? According to Alberta.ca, phase three

April 8, - Due to the on-going Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic, Council has recognized the potential severe hardship on many homeowners and businesses in our community, and as such at the April 07, 2020 council meeting passed the following motions to try to ease the burden. • That Council for the Town of Vermilion waive all penalties on late payment of utility accounts from April 01, 2020 to June 30, 2020. • That Council for the Town of Vermilion defer 50 per cent of the muni

On April 2, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, provided the following statements during her update on COVID-19 and the ongoing work to protect public health: “Today, I am reporting that we confirmed 96 new cases of COVID-19 in Alberta. This brings the total number of cases to 968. Of these, 174 people have now recovered. That is 32 more than yesterday. We suspect 108 of our total cases may be community transmission, an increase of 14 from yesterd

Joining people around the world, residents at The Maples Condos in Vermilion have been on their balconies at 7 p.m. daily since March 24, cheering on frontline workers for their efforts to combat COVID-19. Participant, Lil Wilson said, “The people here are so happy to show their appreciation and cheer on health care workers, paramedics, RCMP, and front line staff at grocery, pharmacy, and gas stations. They are working very hard and it is so important to keep our economy goi