LAC LA BICHE - The sound of bagpipes filled the morning air on Sept. 26 and carried across the Lac La Biche lakeshore as a small group of local officials honoured the memory of fallen police and peace officers.
The local memorial for Alberta Police and Peace Officer Memorial Day took place at McArthur Place with municipal peace officers and the current students in the Portage College Peace Officer Recruit class. As municipal staffer Molly Fyten played Amazing Grace on the bagpipes, the names of 102 peace officers and police members dating back to 1876 were read aloud. The list of Alberta's fallen officers include members of the Northwest Mounted Police, the RCMP, city police forces, Parks Canada, corrections, environmental protection, provincial police and municipal peace officers. Included in that list is Leo Johnston, an RCMP constable from Lac La Biche who was killed by a gunman on a farm in Mayerthorpe in March of 2005. The list of 102 also includes MD of Foothills community peace officer Rod Lazenby who was killed by a rural resident during a response to an animal disturbance complaint.
A provincial memorial event was held in Edmonton and a nation event honouring all of Canada's fallen police and peace officers was held in Ottawa on the same day.
Lac La Biche County's manager of Protective Services Chris Clark said because of the COVID-19 measures and the current state of health emergency, local members could not take part in the larger events.
"Due to COVID, local officers and our Peace Officer recruit class were unable to attend the Provincial service today, so we held our own," he said.
