By CHAT News Today

Year in Review – October 2017

Dec 26, 2017 | 4:00 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – October started out with a sudden snowfall in the city, continued with the civic election, and a grass fire in Hilda that still has effects two months later.

Here are just a few of the stories which attracted the attention of readers this month.

Oct. 2 – Snow hits city 

The city got its first taste of winter on Oct. 2, which shut down the Trans-Canada Highway near Redcliff briefly, closed schools and caused power outages.

Oct. 2- Hatters in Vegas during shooting 

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The shooting at the Route 90 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas is the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Three Medicine Hat residents were in the city at the time of the shooting. Two people were away from the site of the concert, while one woman and her husband recalled running for their lives when the shooting started. 

Oct. 5 – Energy East pipeline cancelled, Medicine Hat mayor responds

After the Energy East pipeline was cancelled, Mayor Ted Clugston  criticized then Montreal mayor Denis Coderre, calling him a moron.

Oct. 10 – Operation Suppression targets street level drug dealers.

20 people in Medicine Hat were charged with 49 drug and property crime offences following an investigation into alleged methamphetamine dealing.

Oct. 11 – City’s first homicide of 2017 

James Satre, 63, was found dead on October 11 at Mill Street and Smelter Avenue. Two days later, police confirmed the man’s death was a homicide. http://chatnewstoday.ca/article/530452/mill-street-death-deemed-homicide

Police announced two weeks later that the day before Satre’s death, they began an extortion investigation, which they believed to be linked to the murder.  Robert Hoefman, 57, was arrested on one count of extortion. 

Police have not yet determined if there is a link between the extortion and Satre’s death. The investigation is ongoing.

Oct. 16 – Ted Clugston re-elected 

Clugston was handily re-elected during the civic election, and several new councillors were also voted into four year terms. In Redcliff, long-time councillor Dwight Kilpatrick was voted mayor. 

Oct. 17 –Wind storm hits city 

Hurricane force winds in the region prompted multiple power outages due to downed power lines in the city.

Oct. 17- Hilda grass fire 

A grass fire begins burning near Hilda, and fueled by high winds, crosses into Saskatchewan. Multiple communities were forced to evacuate as a result of the fire. 

Oct. 18 – James Hargrave dies fighting grass fire 

Hargrave, a firefighter from Walsh who served with the Cypress County fire department, was killed when his truck was involved in a collision while fighting the Hilda grass fire.

His funeral brought firefighters from across the country to Medicine Hat to pay tribute. 

Oct. 21 – Former broadcaster arrested following bank robberies 

Steve Vogelsang, who was the former news director at CKY Winnipeg, was arrested after a pair of bank robberies in Medicine Hat in October. Following his arrest, Vogelsang was charged with several robberies in Saskatchewan. Vogelsang was granted release in December, and is expected to deal with the charges in Saskatchewan soon.