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GRANDE PRAIRIE
ALBERTA, CANADA
GRANDE PRAIRIE NEWS - 2010 ARCHIVED
New Years Eve - Grande Prairie
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Many people braved the minus 30 degree temperature to watch the Fireworks to bring in the new year. You can view a 10 minute edited Video of the
New Years Eve FIREWORKS,.
Jan 2010- The average home price in Grande Prairie is $269,000. The Real Estate market is improving as reported by Jamie Menzies, President of the GP and Area Association of Realtors, and Broker/Owner of Royal LePage, the Realty Group. 41% increase on unit sales and 11% increase of prices from a year ago. See the complete interview in the latest Play Video. (2:10 min) - A recent survey done by the City of Edmonton, states that Grande Prairie has the highest taxes/utility bills in Alberta making it one of the most expensive in Canada. (Grande Prairie average home tax $1993/average utilities $2,232) -Education Minister Dave Hancock and Infrastructure Minister Ray Danyluk visited the Peace Country for the grand opening of the Hythe Regional School. They also took part in the official opening of Mother Teresa Catholic School in Grande Prairie and the Alexander Forbes School renovation.
DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com talks with Duane Stevenson about what is happening now and in the future at the Ski Hill. PLAY VIDEO (4min 20 sec)
- Find out more about the NPHL - Athletics vs Hythe (1:30 min) PLAY VIDEO -Also a special page featuring the community of Grouard has been added to this website.
Jan 2010- - City Furniture will be moving its store to the old Midwest Furniture location on the Highway ByPass April 1st. (only a few doors down) This will make room for Ashley Furniture HomeStore who will be coming to Grande Prairie late spring/early summer and to be located in the current City Furniture location. (Ashley Furniture will be operated by City Furniture) -The Grande Prairie Inn will be closing and turning into a Seniors Retirement Complex as of June 1, 2010. It will be called "The Grand." -Dunvegan Gardens Teahouse, south of Grande Prairie, has closed its doors.
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Jan 2010 -The City of Grande Prairie has purchased the York Hotel located downtown for $1.1 million. The hotel will be demolished.
-Stojan's Power Sports (Sexsmith) is constructing a new building east along Highway 43 (east of 4 mile corner) They plan on moving in May of this year.
Feb 2010- North Peace Hockey League (NPHL) President Jack McAvoy announces the winners of the League Awards plus unveils the All-Star Teams line-up for both the East and West Division.(awards/line-up/play-off schedule) -Liquidation World in Grande Prairie will be closing its doors this spring. -Grande Prairie Chamber of Commerce hands out their awards. Business Citizen of the year was Stewart Wilson of GPR Industries, the Clem C. Collins Award went to Vince Vavrek of Fletcher Mudryk and Chartered Accountants, The Dan H. Minching Award went to Prairie Coast Equipment (Peace Farm Power), and Victoria's Attic received the Above and Beyond Award. - Donations can be made locally for rebuilding a school and orphanage in Haiti. Childrens clothes, tools etc can be dropped off at Barton's Big Country Outdoors, Grande Prairie. (more information)
Feb 2010- The Grande Prairie 2010 Arctic Winter Games take place March 6-13, 2010. Includes competition in Hockey, Alpine Skating, Arctic Sports, Snowboarding, Speed Skating, Figure Skating, Gymnastics, Curling, Volleyball, Wrestling, Badminton, Basketball, Soccer and a lot more. -After 35 years in radio, Gord Sharp has retired. Curtis Galbraith will take over his duties as news director at Big Country XX 93.1 FM in Grande Prairie. - Felix Seller, Grande Prairie's Community Services Director is returning to the hospitality business and becoming the Manager For PACRIM Hospitality services. (PACRIM Hotels in Grande Prairie include the Holiday Inn, Super 8, Pomeroy Inn, Best Western.)
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March 2010 - Tickets for the QEll Foundation Dream Home Lottery are now on sale. The 2010 Grande Prairie Dream Home is still under construction located near the entrance of Taylor Estates (southeast of Grande Prairie east on 68 Avenue, not far from last years Dream Home). The Grande Prairie Dream Home is expected to be open for viewing in April 30, 2010.
Mar 2010- A new restaurant will be opening soon in Grande Prairie. Renovations are taking place at the old East Side Mario's location (next to the Holiday Inn) in preparations for Ric's Grill Steak Seafood & Chop House. This franchise has 7 locations in Alberta and another 9 locations in BC. -Another long term radio news announcer leaves the Grande Prairie air-waves. Daryl Major has decided to leave Rock 97.7 FM to go Nanaimo BC radio station. He had been on Rock 97.7 for 7 years.
| *CAREERS *AUTOS FOR SALE *FLYERS *RENOVATIONS *BUSINESS DIRECTORY *LOCAL VIDEOS *HOME | |||
GRANDE PRAIRIE NEWS 2010 ARCHIVED
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2010 ARCTIC WINTER GAMES March 7, 2010 - As part of the Celebrations of the 2010 Arctic Winter Games, the lighting of the cauldron took place right after the Opening Ceremonies down at Muskoseepi Park. Hundreds of people watched as Grande Prairie athlete Shelby Gitzel, was lifted up to light the flame. |
March 2010- -County councillor and museum society chair Jack O'Toole, announced the location for the River of Death Discovery Dinosaur Museum. It will be built east of the Wembley entrance along Highway 43 at a cost of over 26 million dollars. - San Francisco (retail store) has moved from the Prairie Mall to a location along 100 Street, (11032-100 Street. previous location of Horangi Taekwondo)
-The Grande Prairie Athletics are the winners of the 2009-2010 North Peace Hockey League Championships (NPHL) as they defeated the Lakeland Eagles from McLennan in the bet-of-five 3 games to 2. -Jane Cada-Sharp, who has been with the City for 19 years and also in broadcasting, will be changing jobs taking on the position of Community Services Director. She will be replacing Felix Seiler. -CBC Television show Dragons' Den production team will be coming to Grande Prairie on Saturday March 20. Open auditions will take place from noon-7pm at the Grande Prairie Regional College, room L106. (Pitch your business in under five minutes. You may be invited to face the Dragons in the upcoming season) Apply on-line www.cbc.ca/dragonsden.com
April 2010- DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com has now added FORUMS to all the AB and BC Parks and Lakes pages featured. You can read about or post your camping/ fishing experiences on any Parks you visit. -The Downtown Association of Grande Prairie awards were presented and Rob McConkey of Milano for Men won the Art Ouellette Award while Grant Menzies (Menzies Printers) and Jamie Menzies (Royal LePage) were winners of the Downtowner of the Year Award. -The County of Grande Prairie is planning on spending $22 million this year on various construction projects. Roads, water and sewer, landfill, and the Rural Address Sign Project are are some of the major projects. - The Cash & Camping Lottery is underway with $479,000 worth of Cash and Prizes to be given away. (RV's, ATVs, Truck, Trip Packages) The display is set up on the west side of Grande Prairie near Staples. Draw date is July 1, 2010.
April 2010- DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com has posted a flashback video of the 1990 O'Brien Park Flood. This video was salvaged from VHS tape and converted into a digital flash format. PLAY VIDEO 1:30 min. -InterSport will be opening a new store in Grande Prairie on the west side next to Best Buy. They already have 6 locations in Alberta as well as more in other parts of Canada. Their stores have sports equipment, apparel, footwear etc. - Paris Jewellers is now open in the Prairie Mall, and Mac's opened a new location at 6801 Pinnacle Street.
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April 2010 - No Frills Grocery Store is now open along Highway 40, 10718-83 Avenue in Grande Prairie. (Does not accept credit cards.) The store is a franchise of Loblaw Companies Limited (part of Superstore) which operates stores in Canada and the United States. Also a Real Canadian Liquorstore opened next to No Frills Grocery Store and also a new Gas Bar has also been built. |
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Fire Breaks Out in the County of Grande Prairie
A large fire to the west of Grande Prairie broke out on Thursday afternoon, April 22, 2010. A number of homes had to be evacuated in the county near Range Road 65 and Township Road 710. Ken Connors of DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com was one of the first at the scene to call 911. Play VIDEO. -1:10 min |
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| FIRE-1 click to enlarge picture | FIRE-2 click to enlarge picture | FIRE-3 click to enlarge picture |
April 2010- The Swan Festival is a sure sign of spring, as many gather at Saskatoon Island Provincial Park to see and learn more about the Trumpeter Swan. Play VIDEO --1:30 min
May 2010: The Grande Prairie Real Estate Market is much stronger in 2010 than 2009. You can view an interview with Jamie Menzies, President of the Grande Prairie and Area Association of Realtors. Play VIDEO> 1:10min. -Clairmont will be getting a Sportsplex with completion expected in 2010. It will have 2 ice rinks and an indoor soccer pitch. - After 35 years, Davco Solutions in the County Industrial Park has closed. It has put 24 employees out of work. Taco Time has moved into the Little Caesars location along the Highway Bypass, 11801- 100 Street.
Spotlight on Grande Prairie Radio Stations:
DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com does a special spotlight on all five Grande Prairie Radio Stations. The information shows which station has the most news, the most music, most advertising etc. Also listen to audio clips. Grande Prairie Radio Stations.
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| STOMPEDE PARADE May 25, 2010- The Grande Prairie Stompede Parade took place in Downtown Grande Prairie to help kick of the 33rd Stompede. The Stompede takes place each year at Evergreen Park, south of Grande Prairie. One of the highlights of the parade was the Cattle Drive. You can watch the entire parade in a 4:20min VIDEO, a presentation of DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com. PLAY VIDEO > |
FISHING IN THE PEACE COUNTRY Ken Connors of DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com takes you on a fishing trip to Snipe Lake, Alberta. (northeast of Valleyview). This video gives you some close ups of the Northern Pike that inhabit this lake. With the dry summer, the water levels of many of the lakes are quite a bit lower than usual making launching a boat a bit tricky. PLAY VIDEO> (4:15min) |
PREMIER VISITS THE PEACE COUNTRY Premier of Alberta, Ed Stelmach brings good news. A new Grande Prairie Hospital will be built starting in 2011 and to be completed by 2014. Not so good news for the Wembley River of Death and Discovery Dinosaur Museum. No announcement of funding for that project as of yet. View a short VIDEO of Ed Stelmach speaking to s small crowd in Wembley on July 20, 2010. PLAY VIDEO> (3:40min) |
Unusual local VIDEOS: Check out the "Creature So BIg" (Jaws) Video PLAY VIDEO> 1:40min
May 2010- GRANDE PRAIRIE DREAM HOME. You can now take a sneak peak at the inside of the 2010 Grande Prairie Dream Home.VIEW PHOTOS> The Dream Home is located near the entrance of Taylor Estates (southeast of Grande Prairie east on 68 Avenue, not far from last years Dream Home). Final Draw is June 29, 2010. - The 84th Avenue Co-op Gas Bar at Patterson Village Shopping Centre closed after 25 years. The building was demonolished.
June 2010- Grant and Shari Inman of Hythe are the winners of the 2010 Grande Prairie Dream Home. The draw was made June 29th. (last year the couple won the grand prize in the Cars for Christmas Lottery) -The old Wapiti Dorm has been demolished. It was built in 1950 and has now been replaced with the new Rotary House, located south of City Hall. -The Bear Creek pool will close for good after this summer ends. The pool was built in the 1960's and will be replaced with a water and spray park. - Ric's Grill Steak Seafood & Chop House is now open in the old East Side Marios location on west side of Grande Prairie. -Gladys Blackmore, City of Grande Prairie Alderman, has announced that she intends to run for Mayor in the next election. -Twinning of Highway 43 from Edmonton to Grande Prairie is complete except for 36.5 km through the Sturgeon Lake First Nation Reserve, west of Valleyview. Work will begin on this last part later this summer. -The Farmer's Market has made a major change to its look, located downtown Grande Prairie. It has been transformed into a large barn. -Alderman Bill Given announced he will be run for Mayor in the October election. Given, a three-term Alderman is the first to officially declare his intentions.
| 2010 Canada Day Parade - Downtown Grande Prairie | ||||||
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| July 2010- Close to a hundred entries took part in this years Canada Day Parade. Thousands of people of all ages filled the streets to watch the parade. | ||||||
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| View pictures of the entire parade. (Total of 190 pictures) VIEW PHOTOS | ||||||
July 2010- Long time resident Brian Nash has passed away at the age of 62. He was co-owner of Q-99 Radio in Grande Prairie, as well the owner of Marlin Travel and Nash Tours.
July 2010 - Information released by the Grande Prairie and Area Association of Realtors indicate that home sales declined in June as compared to last year by 33%. There were 12% more listings on the market in June and even with the more supply of homes, the over-all price was up by 4% over June of 2009. The average price of a home in Grande Prairie is now $270,000.- Highway 43X is now open. The new Highway ByPass runs from the 4 Mile corner (north of Grande Prairie) then west to 116 Street to the Costco Corner at Highway 43. The next phase will have 43X come out west of the airport.
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Grande Prairie Street Performers (enlarge picture) July 2010- The three day Grande Prairie Street Performers Festival drew one of its biggest crowds to date. This years Festival was its 10th annual. You can view a 3:00min Video of the some of the performances from the final day of the event. PLAY VIDEO> (3:30min) |
August 2010- July 2010- Goodwill Industries store (in the Towne Centre Mall) will be moving to the Gateway Power Centre. They will take up the old Visions Electronics location along 100 Avenue. -The Grand Retirement Complex won't be going ahead as scheduled as there wasn't enough interest to make the project viable. The Grande Prairie Inn had plans on converting to a retirement home but will now remain as a hotel. -Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp released information indicating Single-Family construction starts in Grande Prairie and area are a bit higher than compared to last year. So far this year as of July, there were a total of 303 single-family home starts compared to 207 from January-July last year. There were also more Single-Detached home starts in July this year compared to last year.
| 2010 Chamber of Commerce Election Forum - Grande Prairie About 200 people filled the Douglas J. Cardinal Performing Arts Centre (GPRC) on October 2, 2010 to hear the platforms of the Mayoral and Aldermanic Candidates. You can view those VIDEOS below. |
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Dale Robertson, Mayoral Candidate did not attend the Election Forum on October 2, 2010.
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| Gladys Blackmore Mayoral Candidate view VIDEO> (3min) |
Bill Given Mayoral Candidate view VIDEO> (3min) |
Nasim Khan Mayoral Candidate view VIDEO> (3min) |
Dwight Logan Mayoral Candidate view VIDEO> (3min) |
Dale Robertson Mayoral Candidate No Video Available |
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| 2010 Santa Parade - Downtown Grande Prairie | ||||||
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| Nov 2010- Thousands of people lined the streets of Grande Prairie on Sunday November 28, 2010 for the annual Santa Claus Parade. | ||||||
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| 2010 Santa Parade: VIEW PICTURES (Total 98 pictures) | ||||||
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 (enlarge picture) August 2010- Many people gathered Saturday (August 28, 2010) at Dunvegan for the 50th Anniversary of the Bridge Opening. It was a fun filled day which included many speeches from dignitaries and guests including Cannon RSH Greene who also spoke at the bridge opening in 1960. History of the Bridge. Play VIDEO> 18:30min.  Sept 2010 -The County of Grande Prairie has given the Grande Prairie Regional College a grant ($899,000) towards developing palonological programming. The area is known for its discovery of Dinosaur Bones. Dr. Philip Currie of the Royal Tyrrell Museum was in the Peace Country this summer and explained the discovery of the bones at Pipestone Creek. Play VIDEO> 3:50min. Sept 2010 - The 2011 Events of the Peace Country are now being added to DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com. 2011-Events. Feature pages on George Lake (near Hines Creek) and Many Islands Park (near Worsley) have been added to this website. -Ashley Furniture store is now open in the old City Furniture location along the old By-Pass. -Midwest on Main, located downtown Grande Prairie, is undergoing a major facelift. The look of the store hasn't changed much since it was a McCleods store in the 1970's.
Oct 2010: Bill Given has become the new Mayor of Grande Prairie narrowly defeating current Mayor Dwight Logan, and former Alderman Gladys Blackmore. Given: 3451 votes, Logan: 3294 and Blackmore: 2092. Elected Alderman: Lorne Radbourne, Dan Wong, Helen Rice, Alex Gustafson, Justin Munroe, John Croken, Kevin McLean, Kevin O'toole. There was a 22% voter turnout. The Mayor and Aldermen will be sworn in during the last week of October. |
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Oct 2010: The Swan City Rotary Club's Cars for Christmas Mega Lottery is on again. Only 35,000 tickets were printed with the draw date of December 30th, 2010. Cars for Christmas website. -The Grande Prairie Chamber of Commerce business awards were handed out with VO2 Max receiving the Best New Business Award. Young Entrepreneur of the Year award went to Vince and Dan Goff of Bowling Stones. Employer of Choice was Menzies Graphics Group, Employee of the Year went to Scott Carroll of Vintage Wines and Spirits. Business of the Year (under 10 employees) was G&L Heating and Cooling. Business of the Year (over 10 employees) was Stratus Pipelines. -The Westpointe convenient store and gas station is now open (west end of city) along 84 Avenue which was recently made into a 4-lane road. Also opened at the location is a new liquor store.
 YORK HOTEL DEMOLITION |
Nov 1, 2010 - Kane Grey is one of the first to participate in knocking down the York Hotel in Grande Prairie, with a sledge hammer. Here he starts breaking the windows as the crowd cheers on. Also Mayor Bill Given was present to talk about what happens next. Play VIDEO-1> 3:40min. |
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| Residents talk about some of the memories of the York Hotel, as they watch large equipment tear away at the York Hotel. Play VIDEO-2> 6:40min. |
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Nov 2010: The Grande Prairie and Area Association of Realtors have released information that indicate home sales in Grande Prairie have declined by about 6% in October compared to October of last year. Even though the number of listings increased by 10%, the average price dropped by 2%. -Meagan Houle was the winner in the 2010 Peace Country Idol. She also received the People's Choice Award. -13 km of the divided Highway 43 is now complete between Beaverlodge and Wembley, Alberta. The Beaverlodge Bypass which has been approved still has to be done. -Papa Murphy's is a new Pizza shop that opened at 108th and 84th Avenue (next to Original Joes). They make pizzas that you cook at home. -The Multiplex is now 70% complete. Located next to the Coca Cola Centre, (south Grande Prairie) it is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011.
Dec 2010- New count of number of photos on DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com. Now over 3,400 photos/images are displayed on this website. -HMV Canada has been advertising for a Store Manager for a new store in Grande Prairie that is to open in March 2011. CD Plus located in the Prairie Mall, will be closing December 31, 2010. They are not renewing their lease and asked if they will be moving to a new location, was told they will not. -Sean Sargent Toyota has purchased the property west of them (currently McGoverns RV). Later this spring the Toyota dealership will move its used department to occupy the building and lot. -Roy Bickell has been named Volunteer of the Year by the Grande Prairie Volunteer Services Bureau for his many contributions to the River of Death and Discovery Dinosaur Museum. -Dave Cook, General Manager of Ainsworth, has been selected as Chariman of the Grande Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce. - Many businesses are moving to the 4 mile corner, north of Grande Prairie, and Northern Metalic is now in a new building in Clairmont, 8502-99 Street. - The long time business Tackle Shack has closed its doors (11109-100 Street) while Primetime Hunting and Fishing opened its doors at 11440-97 Avenue (south of the Quality Hotel).
BIG WINNERS ANNOUNCED - CARS FOR CHRISTMAS LOTTERY.
Dec 2010- The Cars for Christmas Mega Lottery was drawn and Dwayne Noskey of Grande Prairie won the top prize that included the 2011 Porche Boxter and Lincoln MKT. Other big winners from Grande Prairie were Joe Schulze, Darlene Lockrem, Glen Wabasca, Debbie Golden, Nick Glover. See List Click Here.
2011 EVENTS OF THE PEACE COUNTRY
NOW POSTED 2012 Events of the Peace Country
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