MARCH
- The province eased COVID-19 restrictions again, as Alberta entered Step Two of its previously announced phasing-out process. As of March 1, the mandatory mask mandate was removed, but masks were still being required in high-risk settings like public transit, Alberta Health Services-operated facilities and continuing care settings.
- About 200 people gathered in Cochrane’s Riverfront Park in the early evening of Feb. 26 to embark on the Coldest Night of the Year Walk – a national event raising money for local charities to support and raise awareness of the plight of the hungry, hurt, and homeless. In their second year hosting the event locally, Helping Hands Society of Cochrane and Area raised $42,050 thanks to community donations.
- Cochranites expressed frustration at a jump in gas prices of more than 10 cents in a week, as prices for regular-grade gasoline rose to 167.9 cents per litre. Prices would soon rise even more, reaching record highs of more than $2 per litre in Alberta.
- An investigation by Cochrane Fire Services pinpointed the top northwest corner of the Ramada hotel as the starting point of the Feb. 6 fire that had destroyed the building. The area housed the electrical room.
- The RCMP announced a new mental health crisis response team for Cochrane and area. The Regional Police and Crisis Team, a partnership between Alberta Health Services and the RCMP, consists of a police officer and a mental health clinician, based out of Cochrane but also covering a geographical area stretching from Drumheller to Banff.
- The victim in a deadly rockfall near Golden, B.C. was identified as 38-year-old Cochrane woman Laura Tennant. Tennant was driving with her family through the Kicking Horse Canyon along the Trans Canada highway March 5, when their Jeep was hit by a falling boulder just before 4 p.m.
- A labour shortage in the construction industry and rising costs of materials were cited as reasons why Town council approved an additional $1.1 million in funding for the Centre Avenue/Highway 1A improvement project, bringing the new total cost to $11.4 million.
- The 33rd annual Cochrane Rotary Youth Festival went off without a hitch March 5 and 6. Youth ages four to 18 had the opportunity to display their talents under the spotlight at the grand finale at RockPointe Church March 11. Judges chose seven recipients to split the $10,000 Illa Rumpel scholarship.
- A new bus connecting Morley to Cochrane took its first ride March 24. The low-floor 26-seat Swift Mini Thni Transit bus makes stops at four places in a loop between Morley, Chininki Gas Bar, Stoney Nakota Resort and Casino, and Cochrane.
- Cochranite Miles Morrison won $119,000 on a Lotto 649 ticket he bought at the Fireside Shell gas station. Morrison, who has been playing the same numbers for years, said he was going to go out and buy some custom-made irons for golfing – something he never would have otherwise done.
- The Maliya Wellness Centre was opened in town by founder Lori Bean, offering practitioners in massage therapy, acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, yoga, psychiatry and more. Bean said she knew she had to make a change after years of chronic pain resulting from a car accident, and dissatisfaction in her career and other aspects of her life.
- A five-year-old Cochrane boy decided to take matters in his own hands and broke open his cash box to purchase a button machine to help raise awareness for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. Liam Jackson said ”Russia is trying to take something that doesn’t belong to them. It makes me feel sad and worried.”
- Half Hitch Brewing Company joined in a worldwide effort to raise money for war-torn Ukraine by taking on a recipe from a Ukraine-based beer company. All proceeds of the beer, called Putin Huylo, will go to the Canadian Red Cross to support relief efforts in Ukraine.
