Today in High Prairie! See what’s happening today in town, celebrity birthdays, local history, world history and your daily horoscope. Please send your birthdays and community events to southpeacenews@hotmail.com and/or spneditor@outlook.com.

What’s Happening Today – January 1, 2025

Happy New Year!

Today’s Celebrity Birthdays – January 1, 2025

1557 – István Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania

1735 – Paul Revere, American Patriot

1752 – Betsy Ross, Made First American flag

1876 – Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist

1895 – J. Edgar Hoover, First director FBI

1919 – Jerome Salinger, Catcher in the Rye Author

1919 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer

1928 – Ernest R. Tidyman, French Connection writer

1938 – Frank Langella, Dracula actor

1944 – Jimmy Hart, Wrestling manager

This Day in Local History – January 1, 2025

Jan. 1, 1913: The population of Grouard exceeds 1,000 by the end of the year from 450 at the start of the year. Village officials expect the population to reach 2,000 by the end of the current year.

Jan. 1, 1915: St. Bernard’s Mission at Grouard is the largest school in the Peace region.

Jan. 1, 1941: High Prairie RCMP move their office to a bungalow owned by Louise [George] Harding for $30 rent per month from its first site at C.V. Johnson’s.

Jan. 1, 1964: Dale Joslin and wife are the proud parents of High Prairie’s New Year’s Baby. Darren Stanley Joslin was born at Providence Hospital at 2:45 p.m. and weighed seven pounds and 2 1/2 ounces.

Jan. 1, 1967: South Peace News subscriptions are $3.50 per year and single issues 10 cents.

Jan. 1, 1969: High Prairie, Manning and Peace River are all tied atop the NPHL standings with 12 points entering the new year. Manning’s Rick Dundas leads in scoring with 20 points.

Jan. 1, 1969: Arthur and Margaret Lemay, of High Prairie, are the proud parents of High Prairie’s New Year’s baby, Ronda Lynn Louise Lemay, weighing seven pounds.

Jan. 1, 1969: The New Year brings -30 F temperatures to the South Peace region.

Jan. 1, 1971: Fred J. Dumont is appointed High Prairie School Division superintendent of schools.

Jan. 1, 1971: The Alberta government reports that liquor sales at High Prairie liquor stores in 1970 totaled $357,577. In the Peace, only Valleyview had more sales at $363,582.

Jan. 1, 1976: Bob and Mona Allan take over ownership of Utility Equipment.

Jan. 1, 1979: Ken White, of CKYL Radio in Peace River, and an avid supporter of the North Peace Hockey League, leaves for CFGP Radio in Grande Prairie.

Jan. 1, 1981: Canadian National Railways assumes complete ownership of Northern Alberta Railways, formerly the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railroad.

Jan. 1, 1989: Red Rooster food store changes its name to Red Basket.

Jan. 1, 1995: The I.D. of Big Lakes incorporates into the M.D. of Big Lakes.

Jan. 1, 1995: The High Prairie Roman Catholic Separate School District becomes Holy Family Catholic School Board.

Jan. 1, 1995: The Alberta government increases fines for driving with no motor vehicle insurance to $2,500 from $600.

Jan. 1, 1995: The Heart River Foundation takes over managing all social housing units in its boundaries.

Jan. 1, 1997: Bergel Maertens opens Sunset House Cottage. Tolko workers are the first guests, and find their home away from home.

Jan. 1, 1999: Three Drifttpile residents are charged with second-degree murder after Derek Arthur Okemaysin, 27, is found injured. He dies a short time later.

Jan. 1, 2000: High Prairie town council hikes utility bills $84 a year to offset operating losses.

Jan. 1, 2000: Clifford and Lorene Carifelle are the proud parents of the 2000 New Year’s Baby. Daniel Jacques Carifelle was born at 2:20 a.m. weighing eight pounds and six ounces.

Jan. 1, 2002: The year begins with High Prairie town councillors increasing their pay to $275 per month from $75. Council also increases sewer rates roughly 60 per cent.

Jan. 1, 2002: Sherrina Sawan, of Atikameg, delivers Slave Lake’s News Year’s Baby in an ambulance. Vivian Verna Sawan weighs in at eight pounds, six ounces.

Jan. 1, 2004: Isaiah Daniel Cardinal is High Prairie’s New Year’s Baby. He is born at 3:55 p.m. and is the son of Kevin Calliou and Raven Cardinal.

Jan. 1 2006: Craig Flaata, son of the murdered Brenda Moreside, says he hopes police learned a valuable lesson after ignoring his mother’s 911 call for help the night she was murdered Feb. 25, 2005.

Jan. 1, 2009: McLennan’s Jim Desrosiers and Heather Dixon celebrate the birth of their daughter, Giselle Eva Derosiers. She is the first baby born in the Peace Country in 2009 arriving at 12:55 a.m.

Jan. 1, 2010: Peavine mourns the death of Ralph Davis Cunningham, 75, a long-time member of the settlement.

Jan. 1, 2011: Rob Jandu and Sooky Singh take over as owners of the Raven Inn.

Jan. 1, 2011: Mona Anderson celebrates her 100th birthday at J.B. Wood Continuing Care, surrounded by her family.

Jan. 1, 2015: The day passes with no recognition or celebration planned from the M.D. of Big Lakes, who incorporated this date 20 years ago.

Jan. 1, 2017: The new carbon tax prompts a price increase of three per cent at Smitty’s Restaurant, owner Greg Raadstak says. Freson Bros. manager Matt Lovsin adds prices at his store are expected to rise.

Jan. 1, 2018: High Prairie RCMP Sgt. George Cameron reports a quiet Christmas. Just two reports of impaired driver occurred from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2.

Jan. 1, 2018: The Little Smoky Ski Hill opens for the season. Poor weather caused the late opening.

Jan. 1, 2018: Sirgey Szybunia passes away at the age of 89 years. He was a long-time farmer.

Jan. 1, 2018: Merilyn Merle Radcliffe passes away at the age of 72 years at the High Prairie Hospital after a seven-year battle with cancer.

This Day in World History – January 1, 2025

45 BC – The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time.

404 – Last gladiator competition in Rome.

630 – Prophet Muhammad sets out with his army towards Mecca.

1502 – Portuguese navigators discover Rio de Janeiro.

1600 – Scotland begins its numbered year on Jan. 1 instead of March 25.

1673 – Regular mail delivery begins between New York and Boston.

1772 – First traveler’s cheques go on sale in London.

1840 – First recorded bowling match in US.

1847 – Michigan is first state to abolish capital punishment.

1858 – Canada begins using decimal currency system.

1880 – Building of Panama Canal begins.

1901 – The Commonwealth of Australia is formed.

1902 – Nathan Stubblefield makes first public demonstration of radio.

1907 – US President Theodore Roosevelt shakes 8,513 hands in one day.

1908 – First time ball signifying new year dropped at Times Square.

1912 – Sun Yat-sen forms the Republic of China.

1916 – First blood transfusion using stored and cooled blood.

1922 – Vancouver, BC starts driving on the right side of road.

1923 – Union of Socialist Soviet Republics established.

1925 – Norway’s capital Christiania changes name to Oslo.

1934 – Alcatraz officially becomes a federal prison.

1946 – Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god.

1948 – First colour newsreel filmed [Pasadena, California].

1950 – Ho Chi Minh begins offensive against French troops in Indo China.

1954 – Rose & Cotton Bowl are first sport colourcasts.

1958 – European Common Market starts operation.

1960 – Johnny Cash plays first of many free concerts behind bars.

1976 – Liberty Bell moves to new home behind Independence Hall.

1976 – NBC replaces the peacock logo.

1977 – First woman formally ordained an Episcopal priest [Jacqueline Means].

1985 – US’s first mandatory seat belt law goes into effect in NY.

1985 – The Internet’s Domain Name System is created.

1985 – The first British mobile phone call is made.

1986 – Russian Federation becomes successor state to the Soviet Union.

1993 – Czechoslovakia separates into Czech Republic & Slovakia.

1994 – North American Free Trade Agreement goes into effect.

1995 – Last “Far Side” by cartoonist Gary Larson, started 1980.

1996 – After 27 years, Betty Rubble debuts as a Flintstone vitamin.

1998 – Mongolia switches from a 46-hour to 40-hour work week.

2016 – Dubai skyscraper “The Address” burns.

Today’s Horoscopes – January 1, 2025

Aries [March 21 – April 20] – Tension may be a bit high with everyone and everything you encounter today! There will be a strong need for stability and discipline, while others call for fun and frivolity! You may be caught in the middle! The worst thing is that no side, including yours, is going to want to compromise! Try not to take things too seriously!

Taurus [April 21 – May 21] – Remember you are here to have fun, and happiness is your true destiny! Keep this in mind today, as forces may tend to pull you away from the fun you have been having! There may be a rather sobering tone to the day that is stubbornly trying to rain on your parade! Recognize the need for structure and stability, but do not let it bring you down!

Gemini [May 22 – June 21] – You will recognize and appreciate the need for structure and stability on a day like today! This practical energy may work to take away some of the fun out of the equation! You may not realize it, but the fun in your life may be getting chipped away little by little! Hold tight to the things that give you passion and purpose in life! These are the keys to healthy living!

Cancer [June 22 – July 22] – Tension may build today if you are not careful about how you use your words! Remember that forces are trying to push you one way and pull you another! You may encourage a focus on the collective while others seem too worried about themselves! Yet another force is calling for outdated remedies and traditional structures that no longer suit your purposes! Blaze your own trail!

Leo [July 23 – Aug. 23] – Take a look at what is going on around you today and do some internal processing before you reach a conclusion regarding the best way to proceed! You may find a combination of powerful forces is trying to win you over to their camp! Do not pigeonhole yourself into one way of doing things! Keep in mind the best route is often a combination of several different paths!

Virgo [Aug. 24 – Sept. 22] – Watch out for a jolt in the action, as someone close to you puts on the brakes in a relationship! There could be conflicts based on a need for more structure and stability in the partnership! The imbalance between having fun and taking care of practical matters is currently working to slowly destroy the good thing you have going! Nip this problem in the bud!

Libra [Sept. 23 – Oct. 23] – Just when you thought you had everything planned and working smoothly, love comes in and clogs up the works! Suddenly your attention is diverted from work as the love of your life catches your eye! This could be a good or bad thing, depending on how you view it! Remember both aspects of your life are important! The key now is to find a healthy balance between the two!

Scorpio [Oct. 24 – Nov. 22] – Your heart is going pitter-pat and you are tempted to escape into a romantic fantasyland in which you play the starring role! The bad news is something may be trying to hold you back today! It could be your conscience is coming on the scene to remind you that work needs to be done before you can go off into your own little fairytale world!

Sagittarius [Nov. 23 – Dec. 21] – You may feel a bit of a strain today as you try to figure out the best way to get to where you need to be! The happy, jovial approach tells you to let loose, be courageous, and strike out with conviction toward the things that mean the most to you! A sense of duty and restriction may be holding you back! Take the best of both worlds and come up with a unique plan of attack!

Capricorn [Dec. 22 – Jan. 20] – Your romantic side is powerfully charged today! The more you tune in to this side of your nature, the happier you will be! The one thing to watch out for is keeping at least one foot on the ground at all times! Work from a stable platform of honesty and practicality! Without this foundation, you will be hard-pressed to establish any walls or windows!

Aquarius [Jan. 21 – Feb. 18] – Attend to your duties today! There is a pronounced sense of time and a feeling the days are slipping away! Make sure you fit love and romance into the equation somewhere! At first you may experience a bit of resistance in this department, but see that as an indication this is an area of your life you need to explore and ultimately feel more comfortable with!

Pisces [Feb. 19 – March 20] – Two different sides may tug on you today, and neither one may really make a strong case for pulling you one way or the other! Realize adjustments may have to be made for you to fit in with the scheme of things and fulfill your duties and responsibilities! A close loved one may distract you in subtle ways, so try not to get sidetracked if you can help it!