Today in High Prairie! See what’s happening today in town, local birthdays, 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 – July 5, 2022

1 p.m. – Coffee Time at Kinuso Senior Centre.

7 p.m. – Whist card games at Big Meadow Hall north of Enilda.

7 p.m. – Trap Shooting at HP Gun Range. Equipment and instruction available.

Today’s Celebrity Birthdays – July 5, 2022

1675 – Mary Walcott, Salem witch trials accuser

1794 – Sylvester Graham, Developed Graham cracker

1853 – Cecil Rhodes, Rhodes Scholarship founder

1867 – A.E. Douglass, Inventor of tree ring dating

1879 – Dwight F. Davis, Founder of Davis Cup

1891 – John H. Northrop, Crystallized enzymes

1904 – Milburn Stone, Gunsmoke actor [Doc]

1923 – Arno Motulsky, Founder of medical genetics

1928 – Warren Oates, East of Eden actor

1929 – Katherine Helmond, Who’s the Boss actress [Mona]

1950 – Huey Lewis, US musician [The News]

1950 – Michael Monarch, Steppenwolf guitarist

1954 – Jimmy Crespo, Aerosmith guitarist

1958 – Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes cartoonist

1960 – Brad Loree, Halloween actor

1968 – John Ruskin, Canadian journalist

1968 – Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube

1976 – Bizarre, US rapper

1996 – Dolly the Sheep, First mammal to be cloned

This Day in Local History – July 5, 2022

July 5, 1913: J.E. Filteau buys E.J. Riopelle’s pool room in Grouard.

July 5, 1915: Grouard town council writes Alberta Premier Sifton asking that part of the government’s $2 million grant to build the railway from Heart River to Peace River Crossing be used to build the Grouard branch line since it was scrapped to build via the Smoky River. ED&BC Railroad is already in possession of $1 million of the grant.

July 5, 1967: High Prairie Councillor Ernie Fortier reports the town passes the $1 million value mark in paved streets, curbs and gutters.

July 5, 1967: Wagner Sawmills completes the installation of a sawdust burner at Enilda’s west end.

July 5, 1970: McLennan’s Rollande Gagne is crowned Winagami Lake Beach Queen at the 16th annual Beach Day.

July 5, 1970: Warren Stout is elected president of the Prairie Meadow Riding Club.

July 5, 1972: South Peace News reports the Joussard Chamber of Commerce requests increased police services from the Faust detachment because of high crime.

July 5, 1972: South Peace News reports on the addition to Ecole Joussard School.

July 5, 1973: The High Prairie Legion pledges $10,000 for a proposed new swimming pool.

July 5, 1977: Fire engulfs the Utility Equipment building in High Prairie causing mostly smoke and water damage.

July 5, 1981: The High Prairie midget baseball team loses to Fairview 8-7 and fails in its attempt to qualify for the Alberta Summer Games.

July 5, 1983: The Roxy Theatre closes forever with the movie Blue Thunder its last picture.

July 5, 1986: High Prairie Dolphin swimmers win 14 races in their first swim meet of the year held at Grande Prairie.

July 5, 1987: A 14-year-old High Prairie girl is charged with second-degree murder in Edmonton after shooting Larry Leirdahl, 39.

July 5, 1990: The High Prairie Playboys conclude play in the High Prairie and District Men’s Fastball League with a 10-0 record outscoring their opposition 81-9.

July 5-7, 1991: High Prairie hosts the 1991 Alberta Northwest Summer Games. High Prairie resident Byron Konelsky lights the torch to open the games.

July 5, 1992: The High Prairie peewee baseball team wins three straight games in Athabasca to qualify for provincials.

July 5, 2000: South Peace News reports the local food bank has to dispose of contaminated food shipped from one of the Canadian Food Bank Association’s warehouses.

July 5, 2006: The June 21 closure of the Jackpines to on-road and off-road vehicles draws the attention of Lesser Slave Lake MLA Pearl Calahasen, who promises the issue will be further examined. The M.D. of Big Lakes also jumps into the fray saying they want the area to stay open.

July 5, 2008: The High Prairie Dolphins record 42 personal best times at their annual swim meet.

July 5, 2008: The Grouard Peace River Trail Net Society celebrates its 10th anniversary with an open house and trail walk at Hilliard’s Bay Provincial Park.

July 5, 2011: The Government of Alberta announces that Graham Construction Ltd. will manage construction of the new High Prairie Hospital.

July 5, 2012: A memorial walk is held to honour an East Prairie teenager, Tonesha Walker-Desjarlais, 16, who was murdered in Edmonton during a random attack July 2. Hundreds of lime, green, red and yellow balloons are released. They were her favourite colours.

July 5, 2012: The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn Atleo, visits Sucker Creek. He tells those attending he is ready to fight for promises made to First Nations people across Canada.

July 5, 2012: Driftpile First Nation Chief Rose Laboucan says she wants to go London to meet the Queen Elizabeth regarding First Nations rights promised in Treaty 8.

July 5, 2014: The day begins with High Prairie RCMP looking for suspects in a random stabbing at Prairie River Manor.

July 5, 2016: A piece of High Prairie’s history comes tumbling down as Richards Lumber is demolished.

July 5, 2017: South Peace News reports that former High Prairie resident Clinton Lewis, now a doctor, is appointed a Clinical Fellow in Stem Cell Transplantation at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston for July 2017 to June 2018.

July 5, 2018: Big Lakes County issues a new release saying that pale yellow iris is confirmed found in the county.

July 5-6, 2019: Carol Basarab wins a gold medal at the Alberta 55 Plus Games in Medicine Hat. She wins using the Callaway Handicap System.

This Day in World History – July 5, 2022

1610 – John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 colonists for Newfoundland.

1687 – Isaac Newton’s great work PRINCIPIA published.

1791 – Jose Maria Narvaez discovers Point Grey [now Vancouver, BC].

1811 – Venezuelan Declaration of Independence occurs.

1841 – Thomas Cook opens first travel agency.

1865 – Great Britain creates world’s first speed limit law.

1891 – Hail kills 16 horses in Rapid City, SD.

1922 – First general election in Netherlands.

1937 – Spam, the luncheon meat, first introduced to market.

1942 – Ian Fleming graduates from a training school for spies in Canada.

1946 – Louis Reard’s bikini swimsuit design debuts at Paris fashion show.

1951 – Dr. William Shockley invents the junction transistor.

1954 – B-52A bomber makes its maiden flight.

1958 – First ascent of Gasherbrum I [11th highest peak on Earth].

1962 – Algeria gains independence after 132 years of French rule.

1968 – John Lennon sells his psychedelic painted Rolls-Royce.

1970 – Air Canada DC-8 crashes 7 miles from Toronto’s airport killing 109.

1975 – Cape Verde Islands independence after 500 years of Portuguese rule.

1981 – Rajan Mahadevan recites 31,811 digits of Pi from memory.

1983 – Woman gives birth to baby 84 days after brain death.

1989 – “Seinfield” screens its pilot episode starring Jerry Seinfeld.

1994 – Amazon.com founded in Bellevue, Washington by Jeff Bezos.

2003 – SARS is declared “contained” by the WHO.

2012 – The Shard, the tallest building in Europe, is opened in London.

2018 – Heat wave in southern Quebec, Canada, kills 33.

Today’s Horoscopes – July 5, 2022

Aries [March 21 – April 20] – Let yourself go into high creative mode and drift into a whole other world. Escape your present reality and explore your fantasies through any sort of artistic endeavour. Dream as big as your mind allows. There is no limit to the things that can manifest on a day like today. Push your limits and test your boundaries. You may be able to soar much higher than you think!

Taurus [April 21 – May 21] – You will find things are slipping nicely into place for you today. Your persuasive manner and gentle nudges are just enough to get people where you want them. Control is all yours if you want it. Remember you need to be willing to accept the blame for failure as well as praise for success. Any risks you take today, however, are likely to work out in your favour!

Gemini [May 22 – June 21] – When faced with 10 entrees on the menu, it might be hard for you to choose just one. Feel free to order two or more! Do not let indecisiveness slow you down. At the same time, do not view it as something negative. The key for today is to go with the flow. Expand your dreams as far and wide as you wish. Have fun as long as you are willing to take full responsibility for your actions!

Cancer [June 22 – July 22] – Your dreams will not come true unless you believe in and act on them! No one else is going to do it for you. Unless you have a fairy godmother, you need to take matters into your own hands. Realize, however, that you can get there in many different ways. The first step is to believe in yourself. Anything is possible. Today is a great day to let your imagination call the shots!

Leo [July 23 – Aug. 23] – If people hassle you or give you a hard time about your appearance today, pay them no mind! You have the right to live your life any way you want to. If that means you want to go around the house in a grubby T-shirt and tattered sweatpants that have not been washed in months, then so be it. Feel free to be whoever you want to be!

Virgo [Aug. 24 – Sept. 22] – Reach for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, Virgo. It’s closer than you think. Indeed, your dreams are completely within your reach, and there are huge forces at work helping you achieve your goals. You should find yourself in a favorable mood all day. People will be more sensitive than usual to your emotions. Let your fantasies lead the way!

Libra [Sept. 23 – Oct. 23] – Today is your day to dream and dream big, Libra. Think about what it is that you want most out of life. Aim your arrow to the stars and pull back your bow as far as possible. There’s no limit to how far you can go. Your only limitation is your imagination. Don’t worry if your plan doesn’t seem to make any rational sense. Worry more about what you want and less about how you’re going to get it!

Scorpio [Oct. 24 – Nov. 22] – Expand your mind to its furthest reaches today! There is an incredible opportunity opening up for you in which you can make great strides in a creative realm. Follow the music. Pick up an instrument, browse an online music store, or listen to your favourite playlist. Let the artist within have room to play. Shoot for a goal and do not stop until you reach it!

Sagittarius [Nov. 23 – Dec. 21] – Your mind may seem rather cloudy today, but do not let this hinder you. In fact, you will find you can use this feeling of fantasy to your advantage. Try to bring more magic into your life. You will discover the more you accept your bizarre feelings and ideas, the more things will fall into place. Do not think that everything in life has to be completely rational!

Capricorn [Dec. 22 – Jan. 20] – Today is an excellent day for you, one in which you will find a great deal of strength in your emotions. Trust your instincts are serving you well. You have nothing to lose by following your heart. This is an important time for you to rekindle the dreams you have let smolder. Bring more of your fantasy world into your everyday life!

Aquarius [Jan. 21 – Feb. 18] – Things might get a bit confusing for you today! Do not feel like you need to make sense of it all. In fact, this task may be impossible. Just be yourself. Let your creative nature shine through. Other people are quite malleable, and you should feel free to take the lead in just about any situation. Make sure, however, that you consider other people’s needs!

Pisces [Feb. 19 – March 20] – Mix your reality with a bit of fantasy today! Allow your feet to come off the ground for a little while. Give yourself a rest. Take some time to meditate and clear your mind of your daily worries. Calming, relaxing activities are the best way to spend the day. Spend time communicating with friends and feel free to go deep into conversations regarding outlandish subjects. Allow yourself to dream!