Innisfail News

Surgeries are expected to return to the Innisfail Health and Care Centre this July after the doors of the operating room closed six years ago.

An Innisfail oil services company owner has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison for killing four Filipino temporary foreign workers and seriously injuring another while driving drunk on the wrong side of the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (Q

At long last the new multi-million dollar public library will officially open its doors on Jan. 23.

Last Saturday night the Innisfail Eagles headed north up the highway to the small town of Bentley to face off against the always powerful Generals. This was the first game of the New Year for both teams.

Two accidents follow car fire on QEII. Two cars were seriously damaged and one woman was charged with careless driving following a string of accidents along QEII northbound Jan. 2.

After being pummelled by the recession in 2010, Innisfail's upbeat economic performance last year is pointing to renewed prosperity in 2012 and beyond. Last year the town saw a 15% increase in development permits from $10.3 million in 2010 to $15.

The Innisfail Lions Club agreed to donate $3,000 towards a guide dog training program that helps improve the lives of people with a variety of disabilities. The funding will be matched by an anonymous donor who has agreed to contribute up to $75,000.

Problems with spotty cellphone reception in Penhold should be resolved in 2012, after Telus announced last week its commitment to find a location to construct a tower in town this year.

The venerable Autumn Glen Lodge will get a massive makeover. In fact, the half-century-old facility for low-income seniors may even be demolished to make way for a new modern home for the town's seniors.

Innisfail has thrown its puck into the shinny ring to be known coast to coast as the most hockey connected community in Canada. But much more work needs to be done to ensure its entry makes it past a crucial Jan. 31 deadline.