A local hunter has been fined a total of $1,500 after pleading guilty in Alberta Court of Justice in Drumheller on Friday, August 25 to two Fish and Wildlife related charges stemming from a November 2021 incident.
John Wallace, who appeared in person, pled guilty to one count of hunting without a valid license, and one count of possession of illegal wildlife.
The court heard how Fish and Wildlife Officer Joa Markotic was informed of the incident from another Fish and Wildlife officer who was going through records in November 2022. It was discovered Mr. Wallace had reported shooting and killing an antlerless mule doe deer in the Drumheller area using a rifle in November 2021.
Officer Markotic attended Mr. Wallace’s residence and it was noted during this interaction Mr. Wallace had expressed remorse and was in full cooperation. It was noted there was no intention to break the law, and Mr. Wallace had a valid hunting license at the time of the incident; however, the license was only valid for the archery season, which had ended in October in the Drumheller region where the incident took place.
The Honourable Justice G.J. Gaschler accepted the plea and acknowledged the incident was accidental; he also acknowledged the Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations, which is published annually, is “a whole day’s work” and undergoes multiple amendments from each edition.
Mr. Wallace was fined $1,000 for the charge of hunting without a valid license, and $500 for possession of illegal wildlife; both charges are inclusive of any surcharges, and Mr. Wallace will not be subject to any hunting suspension or forfeiture.
Remaining charges were withdrawn.

The new Starland Seed Cleaning plant is in the process of being commissioned this fall, and it is expected to be online for this season’s crop.
After years of fundraising and construction, the new Starland Seed Cleaning Plant, situated on 10 acres about two miles northwest of Delia on Highway 851, is nearing completion. The project broke ground in March of 2022. It was built to replace the aging plant in Delia, and also accommodate a new expanded business model to serve more customers. They are looking at it as more of a grain processing facility and possibly picking up some contracts for intermodal hauling.
Chariman Al Hampton tells the Mail that August 28 was day one of commissioning. He said they have the first truckload of wheat brought into the plant and are going through their plant to make sure the equipment and processes are running smoothly.
“Once it is commissioned, the next step is to get the plant up and running, so hopefully we’ll be back in the grain business this month,’ said Hampton. “For sure, we’ll be going for this year’s crop. Hopefully we’ll be going by early to mid-September.”
He explains they go through the entire process during this phase, from dumping and then distributing into bins and going through each piece of equipment through screening and the processes. This has to be timed precisely.
“You have to do that with a variety of types of grain. Right at this point, we have wheat, but we’ll have to do the same thing with barley and then the same with peas,” he said. “Those will be the big three that we’ll be targeting… It’s kind of exciting times.”
“The project has potential from the farming community perspective, and it is a good addition to a primarily agricultural area, so I think it will have many benefits for people in the community,” said Hampton.