Regional News-Optimist April 18, 2024

By Miguel Fenrich

Despite Northwest Saskatchewan’s status among locals as a land of plenty — oil, wheat, livestock, fish, deer, berries — a place where lakes and cabins are only a short drive away, if you travel back in time to the late 1870s, after a particularly difficult winter, many of the Indigenous population were close to starvation.

After settlers arrived and the buffalo population had collapsed, Indian Agent James Stewart from Edmonton, (as noted in James Daschuk’s book, Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Indigenous Life) said that it seemed everything had deserted the country.

“…I have never seen anything like it since my long residence in this country. It was not only the want of buffalo, but everything else seems to have deserted the country,” he said in a report to the Canadian Government 144 years ago.

The Saskatchewan Telegraph — the first settler newspaper in Battleford and the North West Territories at the time — painted a scene of deplorable conditions, one step removed from starvation, without

rations, reaching a crisis point. Some had been left to eat only animal food. A distraught father, “skin and bones,” left for the plains after being unable to savehis starving children.

“’We heard their necks snap,’” Maria Campbell

He was reported to have succumbed to hunger himself.

“That in the event hereafter of the Indians comprised within this treaty being overtaken by any pestilence, or by a general famine, the Queen … will grant to the Indians assistance … sufficient to relieve the Indians from the calamity that shall have befallen them,” reads an excerpt from Treaty Six, promising relief in times of famine.

Fight against famine: The fall of a nation

Then, former Prime Minister John A. MacDonald stood in the House of Commons to say, Indigenous people should be kept as close as possible to starvation to ensure they continue to work.

“It is true that Indians

so long as they are fed will not work. I have reason to believe that the [Indian] agents as a whole … are doing all they can, by refusing food until the Indians are on the verge of starvation to reduce the expense,” he said in the House of Commons in May of 1880.

Five years later, after Indigenous groups had fought back against the practices of the Canadian Government, the local Indigenous population was gathered on the grounds of Fort Battleford to see what happens when resistance fails.

Just after 8 a.m. on Nov. 27, 1885, in the desolate North Saskatchewan plains near the Town of Battleford, eight Indigenous men stood with black hoods over their faces, nooses tight around their necks, and were killed in Canada’s largest and final mass execution.

According to a 1972 edition of The Saskatchewan Indian and the stone grave marker on the bank of the North Saskatchewan River, their names were Kah–Paypamahchukways, Pah PahMe-Kee-Sick, Manchoose, Kit-Ahwah-Ke-Ni, Nahpase, A-Pis-Chas-Koos, Itka and Waywahnitch.

“’We heard their necks snap,’” Maria Campbell told an audience almost holding their breaths at the Saskatoon Public Library on a bitterly cold January evening as the city slipped

into the early stages of slumber. She told the story of Mary PeeMee — the daughterin-law of Big Bear — originally transcribed and published by Campbell in the 1970s, as frost clung to the windows outside.

“‘It was so quiet, even the wind was still.’”

Campbell originally told PeeMee’s stories in an issue of Maclean’s from the 1970s, stories that almost weep, palpable with grief, stuck between the periods and semicolons on the page.

Continued on Page 2

“They were forced to watch the hangings so they would learn to be good Indians. ‘How could we forget?’ she said, speaking into silence so-thick, hurried breathing was audible in a room where extra guests gathered, standing, along the back wall.

The mass grave of eight Indigenous men killed in 1885 sits in silence on the sandy banks of the North Saskatchewan River | Photo by Miguel Fenrich

Behind the Headlines

Continued from Front

In 2024, in Battleford, the men’s bodies lie in their unmarked graves while the North West Mounted Police graveyard stands prominently with waving flags and white gates on the hillside above.

But in Saskatoon, the Indigenous author, playwright and elder was resolute, her words lit alive at the podium. She told us that PeeMee though she was only eight years old when Wandering Spirit and the Indigenous warriors were hung in Battleford, standing in silence with the rest of the Indigenous children and adults brought from the local reserves to see the hangings.

She described the sexual abuse at Frog Lake, women and girls sold for rations. Michelle Good, in her visit to North Battleford in 2023, described people boiling and drinking tree bark to avoid starvation on the plains.

“’Those men [at Frog Lake] wouldn’t give ra-

tions to the starving people unless they serviced them first. And they had a place in the storeroom for that.

“... what we need is truth,”

Ray Fox, former city councillor, News-Optimist, March 21

“’Often, they even demanded that the little girls be given to them, and they would play with them sexually in exchange for food.’” Campbell notes that this didn’t happen to PeeMee because she was ugly.

“Many little girls were taught how to make themselves ugly,’” she added. It is horrors like this that have left a lasting impact on Indigenous people today in the Battlefords and area. This is evidenced by the hangings at Fort Battleford cropping up in contemporary Indigenous

AA Meetings

Sunday - 11:00 am - Big Book Meeting - BIMFC - 961103rd St.

Sunday - 11:00 am - Morning Breakfast meeting - Action Now - 15th Ave & 101st. St.

Sunday - 7:00 pm - Zoom Meeting - Meeting ID 640 084 8923. No Password. Call 306-441-2776 for help with logging on.

Monday - 8:00 pm - Zion Lutheran Church - 15th Ave and 108th St. - use north door

Tuesday - 12:00 noon - St. George’s Anglican ChurchSouth across the street from Battleford Furniture - 2nd Ave and 24th St. Battleford

Wednesday - 7:00 pm - Southtown Group - Lions Clubhouse - 162 - 22nd St. Battleford.

Thursday - 8:00 pm - Third Avenue United Church - 102nd St and 13th Ave - use East door and ring buzzer - Best to call Carol B. 306-481-5263 if meeting is on.

art — ranging from one of Louise Bernice Half-Sky Dancer’s grief-stricken poems read last year at the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild 2023 Conference, or in Meryl McMaster’s portrait, I listened and the World Became Silent — and the legacy of trauma that Indigenous people say still linger.

Hallowed legacy of Canada’s Residential School System

When Sweetgrass Woman — or using her colonial name, Isabelle Weenie — arrived at the St. Anthony’s Residential School near Onion Lake, Sask., she became known as number 46.

“When I went to residential school, we were not known by our names. We were all given numbers,” Weenie said, speaking at a public anti-racism community forum at the North Battleford Public Library on March 11, 2024.

For some reason, Weenie said, when Whelan Bonaise, a program coordinator for Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC) asked her to share her experiences at the event held jointly between BATC, the library, and the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan, she agreed.

“On the drive here I asked the creator, or God … ‘help me so that I can make the people that are interested in our stories understand the history of Indian Residential Schools, what I went through,’” she said.

“I am a survivor. I was

a victim. And I’m working on my healing journey. Just like a lot of other victims, survivors,” she said, noting that somehow, she still has her language despite being whipped in school if they used it.

Her parents never told the 68-year-old woman from Sweetgrass First Nation why they sent her to the school roughly 50 kilometres north of Lloydminster straddling the Saskatchewan and Alberta border. After fire destroyed the previous one in the 1920s, St. Anthony’s operated until 1974, and was a place where she spent seven years of her life and there subjected to near-constant verbal abuse.

Weenie gestured with her hands standing at the podium to show us how large the strap was that she was beaten with. She described the verbal abuse; how they used a certain string of words so often the children thought they must be good, kind words.

Weenie says the staff, in reality, were always saying, “Come here, savage.”

“I even hated God. I thought, ‘how could he do something like that to us,’” Isabelle Weenie,. “For myself, I resented what happened to me. I thought my parents didn’t love me,” she said, adding that she felt a sense of abandonment.

“What if you experienced that? Your children and grandchildren forced from your home? And you had no sense of power to say ‘no, I don’t want them to go. Don’t take them from

me,’” she said.

When Weenie finally asked her mother 30 years later why she was sent, her mother said it was that or jail. They were forced to

“I even hated God. I thought, ‘how could he do something like that to us,’”

Isabelle Weenie.

let her go. If they didn’t, Weenie says, they would have taken her away and she’d have never seen her parents again.

“I even hated God. I thought, ‘how could he do something like that to us.’”

She described the experience as if she was a zombie, only learning to say, ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ constantly terrified to get strapped or taken into a room with the priests or the brothers. Weenie said she used to have a reoccurring dream, running down a long hallway trying to escape the priests that chased her.

“It’s not something that we talk about. I’m able to talk about it because I’ve started my journey.

“It was difficult. And we had no power to say ‘No, don’t do that.’ Nobody was there to protect us. So, it continued,” she said, adding that today what people see in the Battlefords is because a lot of people don’t know how to deal with all this abuse and trauma.

The road to healing; overcoming grief

“It took me 20 years to

finally see and understand what happened to me. I always thought it was my fault. I deserved it. It took me a while to see that it wasn’t my fault,” she said, noting that it was her culture that saved her from becoming a statistic.

“I prayed so hard to him [the creator], I told him, ‘Help me, I want to be good, I want to feel good. I want my mama to say I love you,’” she said, as she fought a battle with alcoholism stemming from that trauma.

“We don’t know how it feels. To hear somebody saying, ‘You’re a good girl, you work hard. Never.”

Weenie’s husband passed away recently, and his final words to her were not to give up on life and not to give up on the youth or the parents in her community. Now Weenie works for her people. Recently, she said she worked for youth, taught them how to play sports, and even learned how to drive a bus which she did for three years. If she gets her way, next she’d like to drive a semi truck.

Weenie says that now she tries to spread some joy in her everyday life. Even if it’s non-verbal, she suggests everyone smile at someone they see in town. If you work with First Nations children smile at them, hug them, if they’re uncomfortable with that shake their hand.

“Because that is more meaningful. It brings peace to our hearts.

Continued on Page 3

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The Battleford Industrial School, destroyed by a blaze in 2003, pictured here in 1883. | Donald Cadzow

The North West Mounted Police graveyard on the hill overlooking the North Saskatchewan River.

‘Fighting for the future’ again?

Continued from Page 2

“Racism [comes] from these schools. And that’s the biggest problem in society. That there isn’t enough people like you and me, to help these people that can start their healing journeys.

“You may drive downtown, and you see them because nobody’s there for them … I don’t know what the answer is, but everybody being here is the start.

The long path forward: healing trauma

Eleanore Sunchild, a well-known Indigenous lawyer from Thunderchild First Nation who still calls the Battlefords home, agrees. She says that hundreds of years of Indigenous trauma have successfully brought the population to their knees in what she calls “genocide.”

“For Indigenous people, I think reconciliation is healing. It’s dealing with all the trauma that we’ve been subjected to as Indigenous people from residential schools, to foster care, to day schools,” she said in an interview with the News-Optimist.

“There’s a lot of trauma in every Indigenous community, but you see it in North Battleford, because of the demographic and all of the reserves around North Battleford,” Sunchild added.

But while Indigenous people focus on healing, Sunchild says it’s up to settlers to acknowledge the colonial-based trauma that has been imposed on Indigenous people, and com-

mit, if nothing else, to being compassionate.

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, you know, Indians are just like that. They’re just drunks, they just have a propensity to commit crime, like, why don’t they get a job,’” Sunchild said.

“But if people knew

“…[this area] really is the hotbed of racism in Canada, in so many different ways.” anti-racism facilitator, Becky Sasakamoose, News-Optimist, March 14

about the true history and understood that there has been a cycle of colonization … it’s ongoing, and it has never stopped … nonnative people [have] to understand that this is ongoing. And then to be part of the solution.”

Sunchild — who owns Sunchild Law on Poundmaker land south of the Battlefords and who dealt with thousands of Residential School and Day School claims — says that the schools were full of physical and sexual violence and some of them didn’t close until the 90s.

“So, you’re talking about generations of people who’ve been traumatized by Indian Residential

Schools, by Indian Day Schools. And it just continues … people have just started talking about these issues.

The intensely intergenerational power of trauma on reserve Indigenous people need safe places to heal, Sunchild says. Safe places to tell their stories, to cry if that’s what’s needed to overcome that level of trauma that has been passed down intergenerationally, without the fear of people finding out in their small communities.

“And non-Indigenous people need to support that. So how do they support that? Well, it’s just like helping lobby to get those trauma counselling centres that we need. It’s understanding that we are seriously in a state of emergency from all of this trauma, it’s leading to crime. It’s leading to … addictions [to] these new drugs. And these new drugs are scary.

“I truly believe that the high number of people who die within indigenous communities is directly correlated to trauma, said Sunchild.

“There has to be support, there has to be healing, lots and lots of healing, and lots and lots of compassion. And just being a human, you know? Just recognizing that Indigenous people are good people. We’re beautiful people, we’ve been traumatized. And that’s where you see the behaviour.

“We’re really beautiful people, and so kind and so loving. And I think that

non-Indigenous people can learn a lot about us, if they look through the narratives and the racism and the discrimination that they’ve been taught about indigenous people.”

The trauma is still readily apparent in Indigenous communities she noted, describing the work needed on reserves.

Christine Wahobin, the hereditary chief of Lean Man First Nation — who’s fight for recognition chronicled in a September 2019 edition of the News-Optimist still continues — said in an early January interview that something needs to be done on the reserve to address the violence that is happening there.

“You should go look at the reserve today … it’s not as it should be,” she said, despite a recent $141 million land settlement, Mosquito Grizzly Bears’ Head Lean Man First Nation had not been addressing her concerns.

“People don’t sleep, drugs are there, there are shootings now,” she said.

“And it’s not a good thing … all the time they just keep pushing money, money all the time.”

The resolution, she said is leadership on the reserve willing to stop the flow of drugs and violence present today.

“I’ve got a 26-year-old daughter … I questioned her, ‘what are you on, what are you using,’ and she says, ‘crack cocaine,’” Wahobin said, noting that her daughter was pregnant at the time.

“I just went right to the boys, the boys that are selling. There are two places I know of right now. That’s where I went.

“‘Don’t do that,’ I said. ‘Why do you want to do that to our people?’”

The News-Optimist’s requests for comment to chiefs at Mosquito Grizzly Bears’ Head Lean Man, Poundmaker, Red Pheasant, Sweetgrass, Moosomin, Saulteaux and Stoney Knoll First Nations near the Battleford were either declined or ignored. Solution for bringing an end to trauma in and around the Battlefords

Moving forward while trying to heal, Sunchild says, includes supporting healing initiatives on re-

serve, lobbying the government for meaningful supports, getting services on reserve like drinking water and their own police forces, or even just being more compassionate to the trauma present. Another key, she notes, is education

“Everybody’s trying to reconcile, but nobody’s dealing with the truth,” former Battleford mayor, Chris Odishaw, NewsOptimist March 21

about the real history of the area to combat racism.

“But there’s a lot of racism in North Battleford and Battleford. Like, it’s, it’s like living in the 1800s,” she said, noting that she’d had to leave North Battleford following the Gerald Stanley acquittal and the attack on an Indigenous man in North Battleford in 2022.

“I didn’t feel safe there anymore as an Indigenous person. And I didn’t feel that my children were safe.”

Even then, Sunchild says she doesn’t think there’s a solution where everyone’s going to come together and it’ll be a ‘happy, fairy world.’

“No, there has to be hard discussions about racism, discrimination. People have to look at what

happened to Colton Boushie and have those conversations in our community because that cannot happen again.”

The key, she feels, overall, is education.

“You have to educate the next generation … frankly, some of the older generation knows they’re never going to change and you’re wasting your breath. But if you plant a seed in any young person’s mind, and show them another way of thinking, then that’s going to change the world.”

While Sunchild says she thinks change might be idealistic at this point. Either way it will take the community coming together and living in peace and friendship, sharing the land, sharing the resources like the treaties had wanted.

How long will it take?

“I don’t know. It depends on the level of healing and education that people undertake, but it’s going to take a while,” says Sunchild.

Indigenous justice lacking

Jump back to 1973 in North Battleford. While the incoming mayor of North Battleford spoke of infrastructure projects set to cost the city millions, an article from the same year informed readers that North Battleford had found itself with international coverage —of the good kind —and was being noticed as the centre of Saskatchewan’s tourism.

That year residents were writing letters to the editor applauding the beauty of the downtown’s Christmas decorations, articles were Continued on Page 4

Eleanore Sunchild, a renowned Indigenous lawyer from Thunderchild First Nation. | Photo Submitted.

Is North Battleford as dangerous as people say? The iconic city water tower on a warm summer day in 2023. | Photos by Miguel Fenrich

Letter Less drama, more understanding

Dear Editor

It must be 20 years since the following happened in a certain city when I was looking for a certain establishment. I spotted it, but it was on the right of me and I was hemmed in by traffic. I thought I’d have to make a left turn and then go back.

Oops! How come I didn’t see the “one-way” sign? I was going north on a southbound street. A man on the sidewalk casually called out “one-way street” and I called back, “I know that, now.”

More recently, due to a “traffic incident,” I found myself going the wrong way on a one-way street. All I could think was that there was one chance in a million I’d be seen by someone who knew me.

There was no space in the (correctly) oncoming traffic. I was about to make a break for it when suddenly a large woman was banging on my window.

“I can drive it out for you.”

“Good god,” I burst out, “you couldn’t even drive this truck.” I should have added, “And you lost me a chance to drive out.”

I thought she’d gone. Then came what I wanted: a red light three blocks ahead.

I put on the left signal and was about to make my exit when, suddenly, there she was in front of me, galloping along, beckoning me with her left arm and with her right arm pointing into what was an obvious opening.

Oh, yippee, all we needed was a kilted piper, a troop of Boy Scouts, a Salvation Army band and a few flags.

May saints preserve us from people who try to vindicate their existence at the expense of others. They are not Samaritans; I had not been beaten and cobbled.

Usually, I wash my own vehicles, but it’s a good idea to get an undercarriage wash once in a while. Last fall, I drove into a car wash. The apparatus made one swipe, returned to home base and then just hung there. I hurried around to the office. The woman clerk followed me back

Behind the Headlines

Continued from Page 3 penned mentioning a record-breaking turnout at the annual fair, and concerns over a lack of candidates running for council or vying to change things on council painted a picture of North Battleford before its current battle against crime and the stigma that followed.

So, what happened?

but couldn’t stay so she sent a male worker. By then, I was back in the truck. I turned on the ignition key so I could wash the soapy window. Nothing. The motor was silent.

The worker asked politely if he could try to start the thing. I laughed and said I doubted it but, since he was so polite, he could try. He wasn’t successful. He went for the boss. I said maybe I’d have to phone CAA.

In the old days I’d have put it into neutral and several strong men would have pushed it out.

I tried, of course, to get it going, many times, but I said I’d try it one more time.

The engine roared into life. The boss said I would have to back out 10 feet.

sues.

“Shall I back it out for you?”

I said I used to haul horses and cattle and I thought I could still manage to back up 10 feet even though I no longer hauled livestock.

When I finally left the car wash, I came across a minor head-on collision. No one was injured. The drivers were young men. By rights, they should have been grey-haired seniors, women.

The day will come when I can’t drive. Meanwhile, we all can be absentmindedly doing something, well, absentminded.

Christine Pike Waseca

Then-reporter Linda Lewis wrote on July 11, 1980, that Brian Beresh, a director for the Legal Aid Clinic in North Battleford, anticipated expansion of the clinic, but not due to a rising crime rate. Going on to strike an expansive legal career across Canada, he maintains that crime in North Battleford cannot be understood solely by statistics.

When speaking with the News-Optimist, Beresh noted that before he left the Battlefords 43 years ago, a lot of the cases the clinic dealt with were property is-

By the 1980s, cracks were showing in North Battleford. In the 1985 election, where a record-breaking 42 candidates were vying for 21 seats, there was mention of needing to revitalize the downtown. A federal report published in the 1980s in the News-Optimist described a death and unemployment rate several times higher than the national average for Indigenous people.

In a 2023 phone interview, he expanded on that, noting that property crimes

“Have we had historical issues that have caused us more angst? [Colten] Boushie or different situations? Absolutely … even go back in history? You know when there were the hangings in Battleford,” Chamber of Commerce COO, Linda Machniak, NewsOptimist, April 4.

directly correlate with some residents being stuck in different socioeconomic classes.

“We also track it back to an enhanced number of

Indigenous citizens being charged, which leads back to a strong argument about the effect of racism within policing, and the criminal justice system, which is clearly reflected by the increased number of First Nations people in our prisons,” he told the News-Optimist.

“There was very little discussion of that issue outside of members of the legal profession, [43 years ago] who were involved with the criminal justice system. It was, my recollection, that there was a lot of denial,” he said adding that “... North Battleford lived in this sort of paradoxical universe where it relied heavily for commerce on the reserves around North Battleford, but wanted to be seen as being harsh on crime.”

When asked about whether he felt it was best practice to focus on the positive while trying to solve the systemic problems evidenced, he said “Absolutely not.”

What improves society, is being able to deal with

problems, not gloss over them or hide them, Beresh said.

“And North Battleford, in my view, has a lot of very positive elements. But it also has a dark history. And we can trace it back to the hanging of the … men on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River.”

Over 30 years later, Maclean’s Magazine published their now infamous 2017 article titled, Canada’s most dangerous city, North Battleford, is fighting for its future, preceded by the CBC, then followed by the National Post, CTV and other national media.

Together, they began suggesting that North Battleford was not a safe place to live. Is that true?

Continued on Page 5

The Calculations

By R.H. Wood North Battleford

Containmentally there has been nothing for me, an octogenarian, in the pre-budget announcements which I have manfully tried to follow. I assume the nasties will appear in small print and will be only whispered on Tuesday afternoon the 16th. April. The timing of these will come after the submission deadline for this article, which I suspect was politically deliberate and assuredly wise. The general feeling is that the relatively young who were duped in the 2015 election now realize their voting

WoodPile

error.

The problem is that if subsistence is a hardship and you don’t have savings, how does one take

advantage of the plethora of housing programs announced daily? Here is a calculation which the “disnumeric” (his word) Mr. T. must have had done for him – 1 times 60 times 24 times 365 times 7 is 3,679,200. This means that if a dwelling is completed every minute of every day for 7 years as a result of the new programs, this number of dwellings will be available in 7 years. i.e. close to the government’s own projection. It also means that one man working this hard for seven years will build this number of houses which of course is impossible because he will only work 8 hours a day and will need holidays and prostration recovery time.

This means that building 3.5 million homes will require some 4 times this number of workers or 14 million. But wait, if 10 or so workers are required to complete every dwelling plus infrastructure it means 2.5 times 14 million or 35 million workers will be required i.e. close to the size of the Canadian population. By the time the whole program is completed all the new homes will be filled with immigrants and their families, none of whom will wish repatriation because of the guaranteed jobs the government has created since 2015 when Mr. T. was voted in and since the housing crisis began in earnest.

Here are two more

calculations. In September 2023, Mr. T., his son Xaviar and some 51 others attended the ASEAN summit and the G20 travelling to Delhi via Jakarta and Singapore in a problematic Canadian Air Force CC 150 Polaris. The total cost of the trip was over $2 million. Fuel and ground fees amounted to $645,000. The RCMP cost was $427,000, and lodgings cost $422,000.

A fair estimate is that 60 or so persons including the crew each consumed 10 inflight meals at a cost of $190,000. This works out at about $300 for each meal - no further comment. On this trip

Mr. T. buttonholed Mr. Modi, the Indian Prime Minister accusing the In-

dian government of being involved in an assassination in Canada. This was a miscalculation resulting in reprisals.

‘Let’s be honest we have a crime issue in the Battlefords,’ Town of Battleford mayor, Ames Leslie, News-Optimist, March 14

Continued from Page 4

Is Canada’s ‘most dangerous city,’ fighting for its future, again?

When you enter North Battleford — perched along Highway 16, roughly four hours from Saskatchewan’s capital city of Regina — in the early hours of the morning on any Saturday during the summer months, the streets are quiet.

It’s a far cry from the stigma that haunts the Battlefords: of gang shootouts and homicides, excessive thefts, and random attacks that groups like the City of North Battleford and Chamber of Commerce, say are nearly mythological.

In March 2023, the mayor of Saskatchewan’s seventh largest city stood at a podium in the basement of a local hotel. Among the topics of reconciliation, advanced education, and his council’s support for local businesses, the ever-present topic of crime and public safety reared its head at the annual State of the City Address.

Mayor David Gillan told attendees at the hourlong event that several initiatives — including the creation of the RCMP’s Gang Task Force and Crime Reduction Team, supporting the Citizens on

Patrol Program, and working with the Town of Battleford and local Indigenous governments — are aiming to curb crime and reduce the CSI (Crime Severity Index) collected by Statistics Canada.

“It [the CSI] is the dark cloud that hangs over the Battlefords,”

Mayor David Gillan, NewsOptimist, March 14

“This has been a priority for previous councils, and it continues to be a priority, of course, for this council, as we look at ways to reduce our ranking on this list ... you will actually see that our violent CSI index numbers are dropping,” Gillan says, noting that people living in the province’s largest RCMP detachment area could expect to start leaving nearconstant discussions about crime in the past.

But that wasn’t completely the case.

By the end of July, only four months later, the City of North Battleford released a statement in anticipation of the 2022

CSI statistics being uploaded to the Government of Canada’s website. Despite the mayor’s previous comments and a decrease in CSI statistics, the city wasn’t as concerned with the statistics as it had been in March.

“With enforcement levels and resources at an all-time high in North Battleford, a rising CSI is to be expected. This means that the city’s RCMP detachment is doing its job.”

City administration noted that several systemic issues are the true root of crime in the Battlefords and area, but they also criticized North Battleford’s reputation as being Saskatchewan’s, and by extension, Canada’s, “Crimetown” was a shortsighted and inaccurate representation of the bigger picture issues faced by the community.

Recent initiatives to deter crime include a controversial bylaw that restricts the use of alleys between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., their new protective services cost recovery bylaw to allows the city to charge property owners for recurring calls to a property, and a recent Community Safety and Wellbeing plan set to bolster more support for housing, youth supports, transportation, and recon-

My last “calculation” relates to the recent Iranian attack on Israel. Apparently 300 slow, perhaps close to expiry date, drones and missiles were shot down by Israeli, British, French, American and Jordanian war planes and Israeli ground defences. From a map you can see that the missiles overflew Iraq and Jordan which must have greatly inflamed tensions in that sensitive arena. The speculative and hopeful “calculation” is that if Iran does this only once we won’t have all that much to worry about. ciliation.

Now, in 2024, though the city and the RCMP say they don’t question the validity of the weighted Crime Severity Index published every year by Statistics Canada — used by some in the media to rank those highest and lowest on the list — there is a growing push across Western Canadian municipalities to push back on some concerns.

Continued on Page 6

The welcome to North Battleford sign with the Canadian and all 13 provincial and territorial flags flown behind it. | Photo by Miguel Fenrich

Behind the Headlines: Chasing Public Safety

Continued from Page 5

But some in the community feel that North Battleford isn’t addressing the issues head on, and that the CSI is going up, because the issues facing North Battleford have not gone away.

Chris Odishaw noted in a March 21 edition of the News-Optimist that issues like high taxation — which the city has recently pushed back on, in their State of the City address — a lack of housing, jobs, and crime play a large role in what’s wrong with the community.

But as the RCMP Inspector Jesse Gilbert told the News-Optimist on

Centre (BRT6HC), firmly entrenched in downtown North Battleford, sees her and the organization offering services to people in what she calls ‘a community rooted in colonialism and racism.’

“We work in colonial racist systems ... when you have addictions, then you have people who get desperate and get involved in crime. So, everyone is really quick to blame addictions, but addiction is just another symptom like crime is ... it’s not going to be fixed overnight,” she said, describing poverty, difficulty accessing resources and a legacy of trauma leading to addictions.

issues that plague the Battlefords, it’s truly reconciliation and fighting to solve

“Our community in general needs to do some reconciliation,” Director for BRT6HC, Jose Pruden

the deep-seated racism in North Battleford that will eventually end crime.

they can stay alive. It probably is dangerous for them. But I think for most of us, we’re not in danger.

“Our community in general needs to do some reconciliation ... reconciliation is a word that’s used a lot, and I think it’s more than just showing up at the museum and learning about the culture. It’s about really learning from people’s stories.”

“With a lot of these problems, we’re not going to be able to police our way out of it,” RCMP Inspector Jesse Gilbert, NewsOptimist, March 28.

March 23, if systemic issues aren’t resolved, nothing will get better. Pulling at the root of issues in the Battlefords Jose Pruden’s mother,

recently retired, has started volunteering at the soup kitchen in North Battleford. During the process, Pruden said that her mother had the chance to meet with a population she’s unfamiliar with and learn about people and their stories, it has helped her understand what might be another way to solve crime in North Battleford beyond enforcement.

Pruden admits freely that there is good in North Battleford, but she worries if there isn’t a united push to first solve systemic issues, the symptom — crime — risks not changing at all. Her job at Battle River Treaty 6 Health

Due to the nature of their organization, they spend a lot of time working on harm reduction in the form of needle exchange and giving out naloxone (medicine to reverse opioid overdose) to users. Coupled with other programs between the province’s Health Authority and other organizations in the community, she says work is being done to provide support to those struggling with addictions.

“We don’t want people to suffer,” she said.

But does it go far enough? Pruden says beyond getting more funding from the provincial government to address these

“I don’t doubt, for many people in this community, it probably is dangerous. And I don’t mean to the everyday person, I mean people who are on the streets or people who are involved in gang life because that’s the only way

At the time of requesting an interview, Patty Whitecalf, BRT6HC’s executive director, was concerned that their organization was asked to comment due to its status as an Indigenous organization. Whitecalf added that she was worried the NewsOptimist might be pursuing a narrative that painted Indigenous people in a notso-pleasant light.

Continued on Page 7

The North Saskatchewan River Valley in the flush of summer. North Battleford’s water tower stands as a sentinel in the distance. | Photos by Miguel Fenrich

Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre’s sign and logo on the side of their building in downtown North Battleford.

Behind the Headlines

Continued from Page 6

When asked to discuss the concern in more detail, Pruden said that the fear stems from community members not understanding what drives crime, addiction, and mental health in the community.

“You hear in this community that poverty drives crime, and a lot of Indigenous people are poor, so they must be driving crime ... we’re really dealing with the mental health and addictions pieces of it,” Pruden said.

Reconciliation key to saving the Battlefords?

Every year, at the end of September, the Battlefords turn orange as the community comes together to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In 2022, on a dewy morning as the sun rose, locally elected officials, the RCMP, members of

the media, elders, Indigenous leaders, and the public, gathered in a teepee to share in a pipe ceremony and oral storytelling.

Later in the day, there were flag raisings at both town and city hall and

of the RCMP’s more significant struggles.

“That’s our responsibility to look after each other ... we have to take those steps and not blame the system and not blame each other,” Tribal Chief with Battlefords Tribal Chiefs, Wayne Semaganis, NewsOptimist March 14

speeches from dignitaries about the importance of coming together and moving forward. Pancake breakfasts, powwows and walks took place. The RCMP told the News-Optimist that rebuilding relationships with Indigenous people is one

“There are definitely systemic and intergenerational issues that are coming to the forefront,” RCMP Inspector Jesse Gilbert said, noting that whether it’s addiction to drugs or alcohol or even a mental health issue, a lot of that can be traced back to trauma, or even intergenerational trauma.

“And a lot of the communities I’ve worked with, small Indigenous communities where … we

know there’s an issue, but there is nobody, there is no funding, there is no mental health worker, there’s no addictions worker.”

The real resolution, in his perspective, is to treat these multi-faceted issues that face the Battlefords and outlying community’s not individually, but as a region. To bring everyone together, whether it’s First Nations, settlers, local municipalities, or higher levels of government and other agencies.

It will take coming together to solve the issues facing the Battlefords.

“So, one of the things we tried to do more [was] we tried to have more in-

volvement from the First Nations leadership and setting priorities. We tried to have our members attend more events, Indigenous recruiting has been a big push,” he said, adding that it’s across the division not just in North Battleford.

But even then, he noted the RCMP may not be the best at it.

“You can’t take something that’s happened over a hundred years and caused that much trauma, and then just all of a sudden deal with it,” he said, speaking to reconciliation within the RCMP.

“And we’re probably not great at it. I don’t think

anybody’s got a handle on it, otherwise it would be fixed.”

But the end of the day every September 30, an orange teepee glows orange on King Hill — or the new teepee monument the city hopes will be built on there to permanently overlook the community — and promises a better tomorrow. As the community fights to end racism, resolve Indigenous trauma, rekindle a connection between Indigenous and settler cultures, and learn to have compassion for each other, that promise of a better tomorrow might be the best we can hope for.

Gavin Baptise raises the Star Children flag at city hall on Sept. 30, 2022.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation draws to a close two years ago in North Battleford, as a tipi is erected on King Hill. The tipi will turn orange until midnight.

Provincial Budget | 2024-2025

Art Notes

Investing in Community Safety

The 2024-25 budget provides $23.1 million for 160 municipal police positions, including 17 Combined Traffic Services positions. Community safety remains a priority for our government; that’s why this budget includes $641.1 million for the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety. Together they will work to maintain and promote public safety in Saskatchewan communities.

Celebrating spring in Saskatchewan

By Lorraine Voegeli Battlefords

It is spring again. The Earth is like a child that knows poems by heart. So long winter, spring is here! The first day of spring is called Spring Equinox which means the length of the day and night are nearly the same. The day is celebrated around the world with many interesting activities such as festivals, parades, religious practices, street art and art shows, etc.

We all look forward to busy birds,

rain showers, spring flowers, new leaves, dreams of gardening, pleasant walks to name a few interests. Artists are inspired by these and often express emotion, energy, renewal, rebirth, fertility, beauty, love and other timeless topics to capture the essence of the season. Why not celebrate spring by attending the Art Symphony art show and sale at the Comfort Inn on April 19, 20 and 21? You’ll find some of our members are really inspired to use their creativity to pay tribute to the magic of this time of year.

Festival Fanfare

Vocal classes begin Monday, April 22

By Kelly Waters Battlefords Kiwanis Music Festival

The annual Battlefords Kiwanis Music Festival is underway with band and strings classes April 15 to 19. Vocal classes begin Monday morning April 22 at 9 a.m. in Logie Hall at the Third Avenue United Church running through the afternoon of Wednesday, April 24.

Opening the vocal session is Anwyn Mannix in a solo spoken prose class for 17 years and under performing an excerpt from L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. The morning will continue with various age groups performing spoken prose, poetry, scene excerpts and sacred readings. Adding further variety to this opening morning session are two K - Grade 6 school choirs from Battleford Central School and St. Marys School. Afternoon vocal classes move over to the sanctuary of the church at 1 p.m. with singing classes including Canadian

TheatreFest

repertoire and sacred repertoire classes.

Monday evening vocal classes, also in the sanctuary beginning at 7 p.m., include recital classes and a Classical or Baroque class. Concluding the evening is a special concert group class for 17 years and under with Declan Wall performing three selections.

If you enjoy folk songs or ballads, those classes begin mid-morning in the sanctuary on Tuesday, April 23.

Musical theatre classes are presented Tuesday evening April 23 starting at 7 p.m. in Logie Hall and Wednesday after starting at 1 p.m. Piano classes begin the evening of Wednesday, April 24 in Logie Hall and run to the afternoon of Saturday, April 27.

Full programs for the festival may be purchased at Sobeys or the door of the festival venues.

The Battlefords Area District Music Festival acknowledges the local Kiwanis Club. The club has a long history of supporting the festival. There is a

greeting from the club in the festival program stating they are “pleased to provide funding to assist the organizing committee and its many volunteers to make this event the success that it is. This is a great opportunity to showcase the talent of our youth and to create good memories for them. Enjoy the Battlefords Kiwanis Music Festival for 2024, The Kiwanis Club of the Battlefords is proud to be the major sponsor for this annual music festival. We would like to wish all participants success at the festival and in the future.”

The gala awards are at the Dekker Centre Tuesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. Performances are highlights from the festival chosen by the adjudicators. Awards and scholarships will be presented at the gala award concert. Tickets are $10 for seniors and $15 for adults and children under 18 years of age free. Donors, sponsors, performers and volunteers are also free. Tickets may be purchased through the Dekker Centre or at the door that night.

Workshops round out the week

Staff

TheatreFest 2004, being hosted in the Battlefords April 21 to 27, features four afternoon workshops beginning Tuesday, April 23.

All workshops begin at 1 p.m. at the Dekker Centre Tuesday, Mindful Directing with Laura Negraeff leads participants in exploring ways to help performers create strong characters that will connect with the audience, choos-

ing scripts that resonate and respecting the needs of actors and audiences.

Speech and song are the focus of Wednesday’s workshop with Joseph McClellan. Participants can expect to begin by expanding their breath and warming up their bodies and vocal chords through physical and vocal exercises. The afternoon session then will explore vocal and performance techniques.

Tyler W. Toppings leads a session Thursday titled

“Play and Stagecraft.” Toppings will bring clown and classic theatre training to offer new ways of working together as actors, directors and theatre-makers. A Laban movement workshop wraps up the week Saturday. Led by Ian Harmon, the workshop will teach simple body actions that describe human movement. Harmon will take participants through the Laban chart, and help with applying this process to their work.

Take a peek at what some art club members are doing to welcome spring. | Photos submitted.

How to choose the right mechanic

If your car needs a tune-up, it can be difficult to find a mechanic you trust.

Whether you turn to a dealership, private mechanic or franchised repair shop, you should inquire about the following:

• Warranty options

• Available automotive equipment

• Hours of operation

• Services offered

• Hourly rates

• Environmental practices

• Employee training and qualifications

Additionally, it’s a good idea to read customer reviews to see if there are any complaints about the shop.

Whether you speak directly with the mechanic or a member of the front desk staff, make sure they take the time to clearly explain what’s going on with your vehicle. It’s a good sign if they can tell you which repairs must be done immediately and which ones can wait. If the person you speak with can’t be bothered to explain everything to you in detail, you may want to try another shop.

Even if you trust your mechanic, you may be better off hiring a specialist to repair your windshield, muffler, transmission or air conditioning.

IS YOUR VEHICLE STILL UNDER WARRANTY?

Even if your car is still under warranty, you can go to any mechanic for basic maintenance tasks like oil changes. Just make sure you follow the standards outlined in your owner’s manual. However, keep in mind that only dealerships can honour warranties. They’re also the most knowledgeable about mechanical issues and recalls that could affect the make and model of your specific vehicle.

After a long, cold winter, you should inspect your vehicle and make sure it’s in good condition. Here are seven things to check.

1. TIRES

Before installing your summer tires, assess the tread depth. If it’s less than 4.8 millimetres, invest in a new set. Once your summer tires are installed, inflate them according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Additionally, inspect your winter tires before storing them. If the wear is uneven, visit a mechanic for an alignment check.

2. FLUIDS

Depending on when your car was last serviced and 7

3. FILTERS

4. AIR CONDITIONING

6. BODYWORK After thoroughly washing your vehicle, check for rust. If you notice any corrosion, repair it immediately.

7. CABIN AND TRUNK

Clean the interior of your car, and make sure to organize your emergency kit, put away seasonal items and replace anything that’s outdated in your first aid kit.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to schedule a full inspection with your mechanic to ensure your car didn’t suffer any damage over the winter.

6. WHAT’S THE RECOMMENDED MINIMUM TIRE TREAD DEPTH?

A. 2.4 mm

B. 1.6 mm

C. 4.8 mm

7. IN WHICH PROVINCES ARE WINTER TIRES MANDATORY?

A. Ontario and Manitoba

B. Quebec and Ontario

TURELY?

A. Inadequate tire pressure

B. Poor alignment

C. Faulty suspension

D. All of the above

How to clean and organize your car’s trunk and cabin

When spring arrives, it’s time to put away your winter car accessories, air out your car cabin and thoroughly clean the interior of your vehicle. It’s also the perfect time to consider storage solutions. Here are a few tips.

CLEAN

After vacuuming the seats and floor mats, remove calcium rings from the carpets and dust the dashboard and plastic mouldings. If you have leather seats, now is the time to oil them to keep them looking new.

Moreover, you should freshen up and remove unpleasant odours from your floor mats using a steamer. If you want sparkling clean windows, wipe the inside in one direction and the outside in the other to ensure you didn’t miss any spots.

ORGANIZE

If you want to keep the in-

side of your vehicle tidy on your next family road trip, fit the seats with practical organizers to store reusable shopping bags, books, tissues, water bottles and more. You can also purchase trunk and sun visor organizers as well as a host of other useful accessories including folding and hanging bins. In addition, you may want to invest in a few clip-on cup holders to help prevent empty bottles, cans and cups from rolling around on the floor.

To find the perfect cleaning products and storage accessories for your car, visit your local stores.

DAVIDSON: BornBettyMildredto DavidandAmyJaegerin1931-a siblingforbrotherRobert.Shespent hergrowingupyearsinNorth Battleford,makingneighbourhood friendsandattendingschool.Itwas herethatshemettheloveofherlife, Robert(Bob)Davidson.Aftertheir marriage,theymovedtoSaskatoon, whereallfouroftheirchildrenwere born.Bettywasaconsummate homemaker-sheexcelledincooking, cleaning,sewing,yardworkand trainingherkidsfor"life."Shelovedto bake,andwereweevergladshedid. Sheworkedvariouspart-timejobs overherlifetimeandwasproudofher endeavours.Herfatherhadpurchased afamilycabinonDay'sBeachatJackfishLakeearlyon,andasa result,thereweremanyadventuresandfondfamilymemories createdthereformuchofherlifetime.Thiswasmostdefinitelyher happyplace.ItwasherethatshewascrownedMissNorthwestern Saskatchewanin1948.

Shewaspreviouslydeceasedbyherparents,David/AmyJaeger, brotherBobJaeger,husbandBobDavidsonandbelovedson Thomas(Tom)Davidson.

Bettycareddeeplyforallherfamily.Sheleavesbehinddaughter LindaPelletier(Roger);sonLarryDavidson(Kathie);daughter JoanneDavidson(RobbHanson);preciousdaughter-in-law SherryDavidson;grandchildrenAlannaCoode(John),Drew Davidson(Lisa),JennyDavidson,AlixxDavidson,andTristin Hanson(Ashley);andgreat-grandchildrenOwen/ErikDavidson, Isaac/ElliotCoode,andTanner-JoeHanson.

Aprivategravesideintermentwilltakeplaceatalaterdatein NorthBattleford.

InLovingMemoryof JanetM.Bear March22,1965-April12,2019

She'sinthesun,the wind,therain,she'sin theairyoubreathewith everybreathyoutake. Shesingsasongof hopeandcheer;there's nomorepain,nomore fear.You'llseeherin thecloudsaboveand hearherwhisperwords oflove.You'llbe togetherbeforelong; untilthen,listentoher song.

-Lovealways,Ron,Sam,Audrey,Greg,andDeanna

CHARKO: Mrs. Sylvia Charko, resident of North Battleford, SK was welcomed into Heaven by her husband, Emil on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. A Funeral Service will be held Friday, April 19, 2024 – 11:00 a.m. from St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church, North Battleford, SK with Reverend Father Bohdan Demczuk as officiant. Left to cherish Sylvia’s memory is her son, Terry Charko; grandson, Michael; daughter, Zora Brouwer (Patrick Lamoureux); grandson, Tim (Michelle); granddaughter, Lindsey (Dakota Downham); extra special greatgrandson, Colson and sister-inlaw, Anne Ewanchuk. She was predeceased by her husband, Emil; son-in-law, Jeff Brouwer; daughterin-law, Kristy Charko; siblings: Minnie Goyan (John), Rose Nykiforuk (Walter), August Ewanchuk (Olga), Uhan Ewanchuk, and infant sister, Sawela; in-laws: John Charko (Natalie), Sonia (John Michayluk) and Mike Charko; beloved nieces: Elsie Nychyk, Adaline Green; nephews: Dale and Dennis Ewanchuk, Julian Goyan and Russell Michayluk; parents: Nick and Mary Ewanchuk. Memorial donations in Sylvia’s loving memory may be made to the BUH Foundation – PO Box 1358 North Battleford, SK S9A 3L8 or to a charity of the donor’s choice. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Eternal Memories Funeral Service and Crematorium – Trevor Watts Funeral Director.

Notice of Preparation of Assessment Roll Town of Hafford

Notice is hereby given that the assessment roll for the Town of Hafford for the year 2024 has been prepared and is open to inspection in the office of the assessor from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, April 19th, 2024 to May 21st, 2024.

A bylaw pursuant to Section 214 of The Municipalities Act has been passed and the assessment notices have been sent as required.

Any person who wishes to appeal against his or her assessment is required to file a notice of Appeals, accompanied by a $100.00 appeal fee for each assessment being appealed, to: Mike Ligtermoet, Secretary of the Board of Revision, c/o Assessor at the Town of Hafford, Box 220, Hafford, SK., S0J 1A0, by the 21st day of May, 2024.

Dated this 19th Day of April, 2024.

Devan Shorrock, Assessor

THE TOWN OF CUTKNIFE

The Tax Enforcement Act

Notice is hereby given under The Tax Enforcement Act, that unless the arrears and costs appearing opposite the land and title number described in the following list are fully paid before June 14, 2024, a tax lien will be registered against the land.

A sum for the costs of advertising and administrative costs as per current policy have been added to the arrears of each parcel

Notice of Preparation of Assessment Roll

R.M. of Meeting Lake No. 466

Notice is hereby given that the Assessment Roll for the R.M. of Meeting Lake No. 466 for the year of 2024 has been prepared and is open to inspection at the office of the Assessor, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., on the following days: Monday to Thursday, April 19, 2024 to May 21, 2024.

A bylaw pursuant to section 214 of The Municipalities Act has been passed and the Assessment Notices have been sent as required.

Any person wishing to appeal against his or her assessment is required to file his or her notice of appeal accompanied by a $100.00 appeal fee per parcel which will be returned if the appeal is successful to:

The Secretary of the Board of Revision, Marlene Hassard, Western Municipal Consulting Ltd., Box 149, Meota, Sask. SOM 1X0 by the 21st day of May, 2024.

Dated this 18th day of April, 2024.

Janelle Lavallee Assessor

Resort Village of Kivimaa – Moonlight Bay

NOTICE OF PREPARATION OF ASSESSMENT ROLL

RESORT VILLAGE OF KIVIMAA-MOONLIGHT BAY

Notice is hereby given that the assessment roll for the Resort Village of Kivimaa-Moonlight Bay for the year 2024 has been prepared and is open to inspection from April 19th, 2024 to May 21st, 2024. Please contact us by calling 306-845-3336 or emailing rvkmb@myaccess.ca and we will make the information available to you from 10 am to 4 pm on the following days:

Mondays: April 22nd, 29th, May 6th, 13th

Tuesdays: April 23rd, 30th, May 7th, 14th

Wednesdays: Apr 24th, May 1st, 8th, 15th

A bylaw pursuant to section 214 of The Municipalities Act has been passed and the assessment notices have been sent as required.

Any person who wishes to appeal against his or her assessment or classification to the board of revision is required to file his or her notice of appeal with: The Secretary, Board of Revision, 642 Agnew Street, Prince Albert, SK., S6V 2P1 by the 21st day of May, 2024.

Dated this 19th day of April, 2024

Dot Andrews, Assessor

RURAL MUNICIPALITY OF ELDON No. 471

NOTICE OF PREPARATION OF ASSESSMENT ROLL

Notice is hereby given that the assessment roll for the Rural Municipality of Eldon No. 471 for the year 2024 has been prepared and is open to inspection at the office of the Assessor of the municipality, until the time for lodging of appeals has expired, from 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, April 19, 2024 to May 21, 2024 inclusive (except on Statutory holidays).

A bylaw pursuant to Section 214 of The Municipalities Act has been passed and the assessment notices have been sent as required.

Any person who wishes to appeal against his or her assessment is required to file his or her notice of appeal with:

Mike Ligtermoet, Board of Revision Secretary

Nor Sask Board Services

642 Agnew Street, Prince Albert, SK S6V 2P1

Email: NorSaskBoardServices@sasktel.net

by the 21st day of May, 2024.

To forward your appeal fee of $200.00 per appeal and for more information regarding your assessment, please contact the Assessor at:

R.M. of Eldon No. 471

Dated this 8th day of April, 2024.

Administrator

Box 130, 212 Main Street, Maidstone SK S0M 1M0

(306) 893-2391

Dated this 19th day of April, 2024.

battlefords humane society

I’m a two year old Shepherd cross that just loves to cuddle! If you want a loyal and handsome man in your life, then look no further! He has been in the shelter for 120 days!

2 years 11 months Male. He has spent 275 days at the shelter! I am a staff favourite and I love to please people. I am a happy and loving dog, who is always excited to greet people, and just want some love.

battlefordshumanesociety.com

Notice of Intention to Alter Division Boundaries

Public Notice is hereby given that the Rural Municipality of Round Hill No. 467 intends to request to the Minister of Government Relations to alter the division boundaries by creating a new Division 7.

The proposed division boundaries shall be legally described as the former Village of Rabbit Lake. Township 48, Range 13, all the portion of the North Half of Section 13 excluding NE 13 - 48 – 13 - 3 Ext 1 and NW 13 – 48 – 13 – 3 Registered Plan No. 102305876 Ext 0, West of the 3rd Meridian in the Province of Saskatchewan.

The reasons for the proposal are to even out the voter base as per our division boundary review. An opportunity to discuss concerns will be provided during the regular council meeting on May 10th, 2024 from 10:00am – 11:00am at the Municipal Office 415 1st Ave Rabbit Lake.

Christina Moore

Administrator

RM of Round Hill No. 467

JOB OPENING

Lots of variety in this position! We will train.

• Filling propane cylinders

• Chainsaw and small motor repair

• Maintaining rental equipment

• General cleaning and building maintenance

• Mechanical experience is an asset but not a requirement

Drivers licence is required

Apply in person with resume to:

83 Railway Ave. North Battleford, SK. Phone: 306-445-3534

Employment Opportunity with the RM of Meeting Lake No. 466

SUMMER STUDENTS – GENERAL LABOURER

Duties May Include (but not limited to):

• Installation of signs

• Mowing

• Rock picking

• General maintenance

• Other tasks as directed

Skills and Abilities:

• Skilled in equipment and small tools

• Work well with others or independently

• Professional, positive and friendly attitude

• Driver’s licence would be an asset

Must be between 15 – 30 years of age (inclusive)

Work 32 hours per week with minimum of 8 weeks

Please submit resume stating qualifications, experience and references by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8, 2024 to: R.M. of Meeting Lake, Box 26, Mayfair, Sask. S0M 1S0

Fax 306-246-4974

E-mail: rm466@sasktel.net

We thank all applicants in advance. Only those under consideration will be contacted.

Town of Battleford is seeking an Accounting & Utility Clerk. This position reports directly to the Chief Administrative Officer. The posting will remain open until the position is filled. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Responsible for providing financial, administrative, and clerical services in Accounts Payable and Utility Billing.

• Preparing utility billings as per town policies and bylaws.

• Ensure GL and utility accounts are balanced.

• Prepare disconnection notices and manage delinquent utility accounts.

• GL Accounts receive and verify invoices, prepares batches for data entry, enters invoices into the system.

• Prepare cheques for signatures and mailing purposes.

• Communicate effectively as a front-line customer service representative.

• Receive funds and prepare receipts for tax and utility accounts, pet licenses, general transactions.

• Working with detailed, highly complex and sensitive materials on a regular basis.

• Ability to work with extended periods of sitting, working in a busy environment with frequent interruptions, must be able to multi-task.

• Grade 12 and some post-secondary courses in the field appropriate to the position is an asset.

• Minimum one (1) year experience in a municipal environment is an asset.

• Experience in computer programming and software including Microsoft Word, Excel, and Vadim.

• Must be bondable.

• The Town offers a comprehensive-defined benefits and pension plan.

• Permanent Full-Time position.

• Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.

• This position is open to both male and female candidates.

• This is a Union Position, per CUPE Agreement.

• Salary: $25.05/hour.

Interested candidates can apply by submitting a cover letter, resume, references online to: CAO Landon Chambers at: admin@battleford.ca

Dated this 15th day of April 2024. TOWN OF BATTLEFORD EMPLOYMENT

• Looking for an individual that is a team player

• Mechanically inclined

• Driver's License

endorsement would be an asset)

• Some welding skills are required

• Willing to travel with crew week days

SEASONAL MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEE

The

now

applications for a seasonal maintenance employee. Duties include but are not limited to: blading, snow removal, mowing, road maintenance, installing culverts and signs, equipment maintenance and repairs. Successful applicants will be required to: clean and lubricate equipment and refill equipment tanks, conduct pre-operational checks on equipment, operate computer-controlled equipment, operate heavy equipment, operate two-way radios and other communication equipment, perform minor repairs to equipment, secure special attachments to equipment and must have a valid driver’s license.

A competitive salary will be paid in accordance with qualifications and experience. Applications marked

“Seasonal Maintenance” will be received, in confidence. Please list experience and salary expectations.

Applications will be reviewed as received and the position will be filled once a suitable candidate has been retained.

Please submit your resumes early.

We thank all applicants for your interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

RM of Reford No. 379 Box 100

Wilkie, SK S0K 4W0

Phone: (306) 843-2342

Email: administrator@rmofreford.com

Fire bans respond to dry conditions

By Kathy Utri Correspondent

With warm weather, dry conditions set in. Maidstone Waseca and District Fire Board enacted a partial fire ban effective immediately (April 12). The RM of Eldon will not issue burn permits until conditions improve. A covered fire pit may still be used in town. Hope we get some rain this week!

Maidstone Gully Multiple 4-H Club Social Committee held a movie night April 3 at Waseca Community Centre. They watched a funny movie, “Nut Job 2” and enjoyed snacks. The club’s general meeting was April 8 at Milleton Hall. Demos were by Sheep and Light Horse as well as a judging demo for members. District 35 hosted a family dance April 13 in Lone

Rock with games, prizes and light snacks available to members. This weekend will be a busy one with a sheep-shearing demo clinic at Kayden Tuplin’s farm April 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The club will be donating pies to Waseca Community Centre Pie Bingo and some members will attend the annual Lloydminster Expo Judging Clinic. Members will have their own Club Fun Day Sunday, April 28 at 1 p.m. at Milleton Hall. The annual cleanup of Milleton Hall grounds and general meeting with a potluck will be Monday, May 6. Record book hand-in and questionnaire night is May 16. We look forward to seeing the community at Achievement Day Sunday, May 26 with the program beginning at 1 p.m. Members will also be showing at Lloydminster

Meota and District News

4-H Expo: Archery shoots on June 1, Light Horse runs June 1 and 2, Multi and Bench Judging will have their displays all set up June 2, Beef runs June 2 and 3, and Canine will be either June 1 or 2 (to be confirmed).

Maidstone Museum’s monthly board meeting April 15 was attended by five members. Thank you to the Maidstone Bowling Business League for their donation. Our annual raffle will be up and running May 1 with prizes of two $500 gift certificates from Diamond 7 Meats, a $500 Petro-Can gas card and a 1,600-pound garden wagon. Hours were set for the summer 2024 season: June 1 to Sept. 1 – open Saturdays and Sundays from 2 to 5 p.m. with other tours available anytime by phone appointment. With the passing of our faithful weekend volunteer, Christine Carlson, we will have

Shuffleboard shuttered until next fall

By Eric Callbeck Meota

The Meota seniors held their season final shuffleboard tournament at the Do Drop In. Nestor Fransoo ran a good tournament again. Winners were: first - Dave Sayers and Sven Christianson; second - Bob Lesko and Wally Mack; third - Eric Callbeck and Carole Dyck. The tournament ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. We again enjoyed an

ever-ready coffee pot and a delicious potluck lunch. Special mention goes out to Linda Ard’s delicious chicken soup. Games of Chit Chat, Tile Rummy and Sequence as well as watching some close games provided a relaxing, eventful day.

Looking back to the men’s world curling finals, we can feel proud of our Canadian team. Sweden’s final rock, a difficult draw on green ice, barely hung on by inches to take the honours. Was great to watch and leaves us with pride in a job well done.

As we approach summer, thoughts of travel remain on many minds. The proverbial bucket list can be enlightening as well as eyebrow-raising. Here

Maidstone High School’s graduating class was up for auction this week. Six teams of grads went on the bidding block to perform six hours of labour. | Photo submitted

to hire someone to man the station during open hours. We are also short of volunteers and appreciate all offers of assistance at any time. Anyone interested in joining the board, just let a member know. The next meeting will be May 13 at 7 p.m.

Congratulations to Ron Foley who won the Legion Club Room’s Chase the Ace draw last Thursday, taking home $466. He didn’t find the Ace of Spades valued at $8,274 so this week the jackpot will be about $8,700 at 27 cards. If the ace isn’t found April 18, the following week on April

25 they will play until the jackpot is won. Also, the Cornhole Tournament on April 27 is full but come on down to watch the fun and see who wins the 50/50.

Maidstone High School’s graduating class went up for auction this week. For many years a live slave auction was held but with the demise of the Maidstone Trade Fair, that option was lost. An online auction was set up at 32auctions.com running from April 13 to 19 at 8 p.m. Six teams of grads went on the bidding block. The auction is always a popular fundraiser with the graduates

Do Drop In’s final shuffleboard tournament of the season has been held. In the photo are organizer Nestor Fransoo with Eric Callbeck, Carole Dyck, Dave Sayers, Sven Christianson, Bob Lesko and Wally Mack. | Photos submitted

are a few local folks have done or are planning to do: a month-long trip to New Zealand; a two-month trip to Northern Scotland; a two-week trip to Vancouver Island; a two-month stay in Mexico; a trip to Ontario to take in many plays at the Niagara on the Lake and Stratford festivals; a trip

to Alberta to take in a few cowboy poetry events; a car trip to Newfoundland; and the many trips by our snowbirds. So great to hear of such diverse interests to whet our appetites.

Then there is our local golf course and the many great courses within driving distance. Any thoughts

From the Pastor’s Desk

By Pastor David L. Walker Turtleford Baptist Church

Spring has finally arrived. Here at the Turtleford Baptist Church, we had an amazing Palm Sunday, and then on Resurrection Sunday we combined a Good Friday service with a resurrection message.

Matthew, our district minister, and a few of the local ministers met at the Farm House in St. Walburg for lunch and a great time of fellowship.

Are you getting excited about resuming the GGMH sing? Mark April 28 on your calendar. If you have never attended the once-a-month evening of music, why don’t you? Because of so many participants, and because we never seem to have enough time for many house specials, we are not going to limit the gospel singing evening to one hour. Don’t worry, we will still have snack and fellowship time in the

willing to do any kind of work for six hours (farm, yard, house, you name it).

Maidstone Bowling Leagues will wrap up the season Saturday, April 20 with a busy evening of awards, potluck, door prize, kid prizes, basket raffle draw and ending with the annual general meeting. Doors open at 5 p.m., supper at 6.

Reminders

Sunday, April 21 - Pie bingo at Waseca Community Centre 1 p.m.

Tuesday, April 23Maidstone Disc Golf 2023 Awards Night 7 p.m. at Maidstone Bowling Alley.

of boredom can be quickly subdued with a little imagination.

Activities for the week included bridge Tuesday with Linda Killoran and Catriona Winterholt placing first. Second were Cletus Scherman and David Sharpe and third were Etta Miesner and Verne Iverson. In Thursday bridge, Fraser Glen and Jean Lawes were first. Second were Margaret Dyck and David Creegan. Canasta HF first was scored by Albert Huys and Gail Hilderman. Second were Cora Christianson and Eric Callbeck. HKF canasta winners were Nestor Fransoo and Tracey Esquirol. In second were Stella Rendle and Arlene Walker. Norwegian Whist winners were: first – Gordon Klein; second – Charlie Horrell; third – Arlene Walker.

lower auditorium.

We will share a variety of sandwiches, crackers, cheese and other food and of course some sweets. Throw an instrument in your vehicle, bring along your singing voice, and let’s have a great evening of gospel music.

Our Sunday morning average attendance is up by two from last year, and we give all the praise and glory to God for that. We would like to have you join us some Sunday for our 11 a.m. worship service. It is preceded by a coffee and chat time at 10:20 a.m. in the foyer, with as many as 14 gathering. We do not want to take anyone away from their regular place of worship, but if you have nowhere to attend, why not check us out? We believe you will be glad you did. Until next month remember, “God will meet you where you are, in order to take you where He wants you to go.”

A potluck lunch was shared at Meota’s Do Drop in during the club’s final shuffleboard tournament of the season.

Meeting Lake farmers market sets dates

By Elaine Woloshyn Correspondent

Does anyone have beautiful tulips and daffodils popping up yet? One lady has a strip of grass between the sidewalk and street and voilà, tulips are growing already. Quite a conversation piece on her city block. Condolences to the Miller family in Rabbit Lake on the passing of 94-year-old Ewald Miller. He passed away in Battlefords Union Hospital April 5 and his funeral was held in that village April 15. He is survived by wife Marian and their sons Jerry and Mark and families.

Some Mayfair residents attended the excellent comedy play in Cochin put on by their local community players’ organization. It was a great outing but not all the tickets got sold. They have wonderful plays with great actors and actresses. This coming November there will be more live theatre in the Cochin Community Hall.

Meeting Lake Regional Park will be having farmers markets again this spring and summer. The vendors have set the dates: May 18, June 1 and 15, July 1 and 13, Aug. 3 and 31. There is always a large variety of goods offered

Glaslyn Public Library is hosting a Kaiser Night April 26 in the early evening in the community hall. There will be refreshments, cash prizes and door prizes.

For those who travel great distances to watch live theatre, Loon Lake’s 30th annual is slated for April 26, 27 and 28. Call 639-836-7771 to see if there are any tickets left. Do not forget live theatre is to be held at the Dekker Centre in North Battleford starting Sunday, April 21 to 27. Clubs from various cities are performing 7:30 p.m. shows for one week. An affordable ticket package is $145 or $35 for one evening show. The first show on April 21 is Battl-

efords Community Players performing “An Inspector Calls.” Please call the Dekker Centre box office for tickets which are selling quickly. I am excited to be back home in my environment and hoping for great spring summer and fall seasons. The work is never-ending but I’m looking forward to mowing grass, pulling weeds, trimming trees, gardening and all the other jobs. The most annoying task is killing the nasty mosquitoes when they arrive in early May. In Yuma, Ariz., I did every one of the above except mowing grass because the trailer park employee did that. Oh yes, no mosquitoes in Yuma, just the

Jimmie Robinson, at age 90 years, scaled the famous Grand Canyon. He is now 103. He was a recent guest at my house amongst others. His secret to longevity is to keep active, get up early and go to bed late. Most elderly folks do the complete opposite. Jimmie still drives to a place near San Diego, Calif. for fresh homemade apple pie, ice cream and coffee on Saturday mornings. An amazing man. Go to Google and read his story. | Photos by Elaine Woloshyn

occasional fly. I’ll miss the roosters crowing at all hours, heralding sunrise, or so I thought. Not here. Their biological clocks don’t work properly.

Chuckling at this quip: “Working at an unemployment office is an intense job. If you get fired, you have to come in the next day.”

Borden Lions hosting a Mother’s Day brunch

By Lorraine Olinyk

At the April Lions meeting upcoming events were discussed. Mother’s Day Brunch is Sunday, May 12 in the Borden Community Centre from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Adults are $18, children five to 12 years $10 and preschool free. There will be a basket raffle and a children’s activity table. Proceeds from this brunch go to Diabetes Sask.

The Lions are having a giant outdoor flea market on Saturday, May 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., encompassing four blocks on the two main streets in Borden. There are many vendors booked and the Lions will have hot dogs, muffins/cookies and beverages for sale.

The current executive

members were voted in for 2024-25 – president Tom Redhead, vice-president Cody Bradshaw, secretary Brittany Kletzel, treasurer Justin Bisson and Tail Twister Bob Wardhaugh. Ed Neufeld and Archie Wainwright have built and painted three more kiddie carts and purchased the wheels for them. The club is looking for sponsors for the carts who can put their business decals on these carts. Sponsors who originally bought sponsorships are being asked to chip in $50 for upkeep. These carts will be giving kids rides on Diefenbaker Daze June 1 and 2. The Borden Lions have been asked to look after the parade on June 1 for Diefenbaker Daze.

The next Lions meeting is Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Norman Smith

Room of the Community Centre and new members are always welcome. The Borden Friendship Club held their business meeting April 10 with lunch brought by Rosann Carr. The club will pay $50 to the Borden Lions for upkeep of the Kiddie carts and will donate to Borden School for the breakfast program up until June of 2024. Ed Neufeld will look into having a float in the Diefenbaker Daze parade June 1 and, if he gets a people mover wagon, people volunteered to ride on it. Sandi Long reported on various bus trips and prices and this was tabled until August when more information will be available.

Nominating committee chair Brenda Tumbach gave a report and has contacted local members. She

will also contact those out of town as all executive positions need to be filled. Elections will be held at the annual meeting April 25 at the potluck supper to be held in the Club Room.

Annual fees, now $15, were discussed. Life members 85 and older do not pay. The club plans to invite senior clubs from Langham, Radisson and Maymont for supper and a program on Friday, June 7. Local members need to contact Lorraine Olinyk by May 24 if they are coming or not coming. The price for members for the June 7 supper will be decided on at the annual meeting.

The Borden Museum held a supper and silent auction April 13 in the Borden Community Centre and close to 120 were in attendance. They shared

food that would have been served to threshing crews in celebration of the farming community. As you entered the hall a farmer and his wife were set up in the entranceway with a bowl for donations. The hall was decorated with enlarged photos of threshing days, a pop-up museum on the Redberry Puffed Wheat Mill and a display of Fun on the Farm with animals and buildings that intrigued a few little ones.

The tables were nicely decorated by Brenda with mini wheat sheaves, live yellow or lilac spring flowers, pussy willows in a silver bowl and jars of wheat all set on colourful serviettes. On the tables were farm trivia questions about the 1930s and today.

After the meal, Heather Penner described the Redberry Puffed Wheat Plant that was started in the early 1900s north of Borden and then moved into Borden. When the railway quit picking up products, it was moved to Saskatoon on 33rd Street East.

Ed Neufeld played his guitar and sang Poor Poor Farmer, Dusty Old Farmer and Life on the Farm. Ruben Rempel told of early farming days, about his grandparents homesteading in the area and the difficulties faced trying to farm in those days. All during the meal and after, a slide show was running showing different years of threshing at Borden.

The museum had the school children write essays about their grandparents and the winner received cash prizes — $25,

$15 and $10. Winners were: juniors - Odin Schroeder, Lyla Golding and Hadley Ginter; seniors -Berkley Burletoff, Zoe Walker and Emma Larner.

The evening concluded with the announcement of silent auction item winners.

On the museum board are president Karen Kerr, secretary Brenda Tumbach, treasurer Ruben Rempel and members Martha Rempel, Stew and Eleanor Walton, Elaine Gunsch, Heather Penner, Ed Neufeld and Bev Hrynuik, village council representative. The museum plans to open on May 25 for the season.

On Sunday, April 14, a special service was held at St. John’s Anglican Church with Bishop Rod Andrew presiding when two young boys – Zake and Thorin of Saskatoon — were baptized and five ladies were welcomed into membership in the Anglican Church – Jean Brooke, Brenda Tumbach, Mary Hunchak, Amanda Middleton and Lorraine Olinyk.

Rev Carr began the service and then turned it over to the bishop who delivered the reflection and was in charge of the baptisms and receiving of new members. The five new members took part in the service with the readings or helping with Holy Eucharist. Zake and Thorin were each given a lit baptism candle and a gift of a Bible from the church and each of the ladies received a special gift, card and certificate from St. John’s. Following the service, lunch was served in the lower hall.

Above, Ruben Rempel with mannequins at Borden Museum supper. At right, Ed Neufeld singing. | Photos by Lorraine Olinyk