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 – June 26, 2024

Attend the church of your choice.

1:30 p.m. – Enjoy cribbage games at the HP Golden Age Centre, 4824-53 Ave.

2:30-3:30 p.m.  – Free Chess Club at HP Municipal Library for ages 11 years & under. Board provided.

Today’s Celebrity Birthdays – June 26, 2024

1819 – Abner Doubleday, Inventor of baseball

1824 – William Thomson, Physicist [Kelvin Scale]

1854 – Robert Borden, 8th PM of Canada

1866 – Josef Swickard, The Wizard of Oz actor

1878 – Ernest Torrence, Hunchback of Notre Dame actor

1892 – Pearl S. Buck, Good Earth author

1902 – Bill Lear, Lear Jet Corporation CEO

1904 – Peter Lorre, Casablanca actor

1922 – Frances Rafferty, US WWII pin-up girl

1940 – Billy Davis Jr., 5th Dimension singer

1942 – Orin C. Smith, Starbucks CEO

1951 – Rindy Ross, Quarterflash vocalist

1951 – Tony Currenti, AC/DC drummer

1953 – Robert Davi, License to Kill actor

1957 – Patty Smyth, Scandal vocalist

1959 – Mark McKinney, The Kids in the Hall actor

1961 – Greg LeMond, US pro road cyclist

1961 – Terri Nunn, Berlin singer

1964 – Zeng Jinlian, Tallest woman known [8’1”]

1969 – Colin Greenwood, Radiohead musician

1970 – Matt Letscher, The Mask of Zorro actor

1970 – Sean Hayes, Will & Grace actor

1974 – Derek Jeter, New York Yankee

1985 – Urgyen Trinley Dorje, Tibetan spiritual leader

This Day in Local History – June 26, 2024

June 26, 1913: Grouard is assured the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia railroad will pass through Grouard instead of 12 miles south due to avoid crossing both Smoky rivers.

June 26, 1913: A tin shop once owned by Welsh Brothers at Grouard is sold to Georges Signori.

June 26, 1915: The first game of the Grouard Baseball League season is played with the Married Men defeating the Single Men 6-5.

June 26, 1963: The High Prairie Laborteers sport a perfect 4-0-0 record in the Ladies’ Fastball League as play concludes for the week. The crosstown Thunderbirds are 2-1-0 while Enilda is winless in five games.

June 26, 1968: South Peace News reports land has been bought to build a new TD bank.

June 26, 1968: South Peace News reports the swimming pool fund has reached $2,795.

June 26, 1971: Joussard holds a farewell party for Lew Ramstead, who leaves for Rocky Mountain House. He was an avid promotor of hockey.

June 26, 1977: Peavine Rangers’ pitcher Don Cunningham tosses a no-hitter as the Rangers defeat the Faust Comets 11-0 in the final of the annual High Prairie Playboys Fastball Tournament.

June 26, 1982: Fourteen registered nursing assistants graduate from AVC-Grouard marking the first such ceremony in rural Alberta.

June 26, 1985: South Peace News reports the High Prairie Dolphins are preparing for the summer swim meet season under the direction of coach Cathy Hubar.

June 26, 1991: South Peace News reports AVC reaches a deal to rent the entire Moostoos Building upon its completion.

June 26, 1991: South Peace News reports Kinuso is the last community in Alberta to have phone party lines.

June 26, 1992: Quin Sekulich wins a silver medal in the triple jump at a track and field meet in Kelowna, B.C. He also places fourth in the long jump.

June 26, 1998: Peyre Chrysler celebrates the grand opening of their new showroom.

June 26, 2006: The E.W. Pratt High School grad class donates surplus money from their grad. The school receives $1,000 for new gym equipment and $500 for equipment for the Industrial Arts program; another $500 goes to the PARTY program.

June 26, 2006: Winifred Florence Haynes, who worked at her husband’s optometrist’s office in High Prairie, passes away at the age of 87 years.

June 26, 2007: The E.W. Pratt Grade 12 graduating class disperses its money left over from graduation. It donates $1,000 to the weight room at E.W. Pratt, $1,900 to the High Prairie and District Sports Complex Society and $500 to High Prairie Victim Services.

June 26-28, 2009: A three-day blitz at the North Country Fair results in numerous drug charges. In all, 15 people are arrested for various charges.

June 26, 2013: High Prairie town council recognizes the value of enhanced policing, but still does not commit any money after the M.D. of Big Lakes says they want help funding the program or it will end. Council takes a wait and see attitude by first wanting to know what other governments in the region are contributing.

June 26, 2013: High Prairie town council votes 3-3 to hire a third peace officer. A tie vote defeats the motion and puts the matter in limbo. However, without a clear majority administration decides to not proceed with the hire.

June 26, 2013: The M.D. of Big Lakes agrees to buy a $43,095 ultrasound machine for the High Prairie Hospital.

June 26-28, 2015: Over 2,000 attend the Driftpile Powwow. An astounding 383 dancers register for the powwow.

June 26, 2016: The High Prairie Bantam Outlaws football team’s application to join the Peace Country Bantam Football League is unanimously approved.

June 26, 2016: Anne Beamish passes away in Sherwood Park at the age of 86 years. She worked for over 30 years at the High Prairie Hospital.

June 26, 2017: High Prairie Cpl. Anita Doktor is charged with impaired driving. She pleads not guilty. Her trial is set for Feb. 21, 2018.

June 26, 2017: High Prairie resident Darlene Johnson collects $364.32 during a one-minute shopping spree at High Prairie Super A.

June 26-30, 2019: Peavine’s Lynn Smith wins the Canadian Lady 1 trapshooting title in St. Thomas, Ont.

June 26, 2019: Violet Komisar writes a letter to South Peace News expressing her disappointment with the vandalism at the Railway Mural Project.

June 26, 2019: South Peace News reports that claims from Big Lakes County councillors have risen 51 per cent in two years: to $421,025 in 2018 from $277,924 in 2016, despite tough economic times.

June 26, 2019: South Peace News reports in its Joussard School News report that Wapastinm Isadore-Bellerose scores 100 per cent in the Grade 6 Math Provincial Achievement Test.

June 26, 2019: Enilda and area residents convince Big Lakes County to keep the Enilda waste transfer station open without it being supervised.

This Day in World History – June 26, 2024

1284 – According to Lüneburg manuscript, piper leads 130 children away.

1498 – Toothbrush invented in China using boar bristles.

1797 – Charles Newbold patents the first cast-iron plow.

1843 – Hong Kong proclaimed a British Crown Colony.

1870 – First section of Atlantic City Boardwalk opens.

1894 – Karl Benz of Germany receives US patent for gasoline-driven auto.

1900 – Dr. Walter Reed begins research that beats Yellow Fever.

1911 – Nieuport sets an aircraft speed record of 133 k/hr.

1915 – Germany suppresses “Vorwarts” newspaper after it calls for peace.

1936 – First flight of FW61 helicopter.

1940 – End of USSR experimental calendar; Gregorian readopted 6/27.

1945 – United Nations Charter signed by 50 nations in San Francisco.

1946 – Fred Allen’s last radio show, his guest is Jack Benny.

1959 – Queen Elizabeth & President Eisenhower open St. Lawrence Seaway.

1960 – British Somaliland [now Somalia] gains independence from Britain.

1960 – Madagascar declares independence from France.

1963 – Dutch second Chamber condemns commercial TV.

1968 – Iwo Jima & Bonin Islands returned to Japan by US.

1974 – The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time [gum].

1975 – Indian PM Indira Gandhi declares a state of emergency.

1977 – Elvis Presley sings in Indianapolis, his last performance.

1978 – First dedicated oceanographic satellite, SEASAT 1, launched.

1979 – “Moonraker”, 11th James Bond film starring Roger Moore, premieres.

1989 – Canada updates coins with a new portrait of the Queen.

1990 – Eight US radio stations boycott kd lang, due to her anti-meat ad.

1994 – PLO leader Yasser Arafat returns to Gaza after 27 years.

1997 – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, published.

2014 – Luis Suárez expelled from 2014 FIFA World Cup for biting.

2014 – Canadian Andrew Wiggins selected No. 1 in NBA draft by Minnesota.

2015 – Connor McDavid selected No. 1 in NHL draft by Edmonton.

2016 – Panama Canal’s third set of locks opens for commercial traffic.

2018 – Quriyat, Oman, registers highest “low” temperature for a day: 42.5C.

2018 – India is named the most dangerous country to be a woman.

2018 – First high level talks between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 20 years.

Today’s Horoscopes – June 26, 2024

Aries [March 21 – April 20] – Your thinking is quite clear and you will find your emotions support your mental processes. Your psychic nature is also strong, so you should trust any hunch you have. The masculine and feminine sides of your being are working together harmoniously to balance out the degree of give versus take in your world. The key at the moment is to not take on as your own other people’s problems.

Taurus [April 21 – May 21] – You may need to keep your spaceship idle today and perform a safety check for your crew. Make sure everyone on board is informed of the destination. It could be you just picked them off the street without really telling them where they would end up. It is important you not drag people unwittingly into your world. If they voluntarily give the controls to you, however, that is a different story.

Gemini [May 22 – June 21] – Things may not be as obvious as they first seem today. Do not get started on a project until you understand the full scope of what you are getting into. Otherwise, you may find yourself caught in the middle of an emotional drama that leaves you little room for escape. Do not be surprised if your motivation suddenly dissipates and you are left with no incentive to get your work done.

Cancer [June 22 – July 22] – Do not try to force your ideas on anyone. It is important to maintain neutrality so you can act from a stable state of mind when someone brings you an issue that needs to be dealt with right away. The key is to act rather than react to a situation. If you know you are right about something, keep it to yourself. There is no need to rub it in anyone’s face and tell them they are wrong.

Leo [July 23 – Aug. 23] – Your intuitive nature is especially strong. You will not have to think about things because you will have the ability to just know the answers. If any penetrating detective work needs to be done, this would be an excellent time to do it. Your caring, sensitive nature will get you through any door you want to walk through today. Keep that smile on your face at all times.

Virgo [Aug. 24 – Sept. 22] – Any argument you start today is likely to erupt into a brutal emotional battle, so beware. Try not to tread on anyone else’s turf, because you will find he or she is likely to be possessive and rather belligerent about defending what is rightfully theirs. Avoid volcanic eruptions of energy. Do not pick fights where they are not needed. You can civilly resolve issues without doing harm to others.

Libra [Sept. 23 – Oct. 23] – You may find people are likely to challenge your mental process today. Do not be surprised if they seem to argue with your ideas left and right. Your heart may be especially tender, and any sort of belligerent dispute could affect you deeply. On the other hand, you can use your sensitivity to calm a situation that needs to be remedied.

Scorpio [Oct. 24 – Nov. 22] – The key for you today is to use your heart more than your head. Base your actions on your feelings and your inner knowing of the situation. Facts may deceive you. It could be you have come to rely so much on a linear, logical way of thinking that you can not see any other way. It is important you see the interconnectedness of many of the different areas in your life.

Sagittarius [Nov. 23 – Dec. 21] – Things should go especially well for you today, so do not worry about a thing. Life does not necessarily get easier as you get older. You just learn how to deal with things. You will find this to be true right now as your incredible sensitivity and wisdom are making it possible for you to attain a clearer perspective. You realize things are much better than you may have thought.

Capricorn [Dec. 22 – Jan. 20] – The more attention you try to get from other people today, the more people are going to ignore your fancy displays and grandiose ideas. Take a much more sensitive approach. You will be able to lead people better when you walk behind them. Earn the respect of others by understanding and relating to their emotions. Your heart is big and bold, and you have a great deal of love to give.

Aquarius [Jan. 21 – Feb. 18] – Take care of the people around you. Service to others is an important part of the day, as compassion and caring are at the forefront of your mind. Take this opportunity to become a reassuring caregiver for someone close who needs a nurturing shoulder. You will win a great number of loyal friends to your side as you share your passionate nature with others.

Pisces [Feb. 19 – March 20] – You may feel as if you are sinking into an emotional vortex. Be careful about assuming that things are yours when they are not really. It is important you not accuse someone of being a thief when you have no facts to back up this claim. Keeping things in balance may be difficult with the great amount of emotional sensitivity in the air at this time.