NASHVILLE-BASED MUSICIAN TO PLAY ENERGY CITY ⇢PAGE B6
Former NHL Players
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Wed., April 23, 2014
Mailing No. 10769
City Police investigating suspicious death
The Estevan Police Service has launched an investigation into what it is describing as a suspicious death in the city. The EPS announced via press release Tuesday morning that the death occurred Monday night and that a post mortem was underway. In an interview Tuesday morning, Chief Paul Ladouceur said the deceased, who was discovered at a residence on Petterson Drive, was a female in her late 20s. “It’s being investigated as a suspicious death and we are moving forward with the investigation, and until we have more from the results of the post mortem, we really can’t comment because we need those results before we can confirm the actual cause of death,” Ladouceur said. Asked if the EPS had anyone in custody, Ladouceur said he couldn’t comment on that to protect the integrity of the investigation. “There will be more information forthcoming, the investigation is progressing very well and rapidly.” The results of the post mortem were not available before Tuesday’s press deadline. For updates as they become available see our website www.estevanmercury.ca
Election day! VOTERS TO SELECT NEW COUNCILLOR
Voters will be heading to the polls today to select a new member of council and answer two important questions being posed to them by the City of Estevan. Five candidates are running in the byelection, which was made necessary when former Councillor Chris Istace resigned just over one year into his fouryear term. Looking to fill his seat are Lynn Chipley, Stewart Miller, Trevor Knibbs, Waseem Mohammed and Marge Young. Of the five people in the running, Chipley is the lone candidate with previous council experience. She served two terms on council before falling to Roy Ludwig in the 2012 mayoral race. The local realtor and
owner of has stayed active in the community since her defeat and is currently a member of the Estevan Board of Police Commissioners and the Estevan Chamber of Commerce board of directors and is also involved in the 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games committee. Miller is no stranger to public service as the pastor of the Trinity Lutheran Church. Along with his duties at the church, Miller has been very involved in the public through such endeavors as the Warm Welcome Shelter and is also a member of the Estevan Ministerial Association. Young has become a prominent voice in the community through her involve ment Voters ⇢ Page A2
www.estevanmercury.ca
Issue 50
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY FOR 111 YEARS
Casino proposal gets full public airing By Norm Park normpark@estevanmercury.ca
The odds of placing a full-service casino in the Energy City may have moved a little closer to the reality side following a public presentation by the casino’s proposed developers, Little Pine First Nation. Little Pine chief Wayne Semaganis and the band’s economic development officer Evan Schemenauer spoke to about 70 people in the Estevan Legion Hall on April 15, providing some answers to a host of questions surrounding the proposal that is only in a formative stage. Estevanites will be asked to express their opinion on the topic in a referendum question that will be posed to them in today’s city council byelection balloting. Using information they have already gathered for a similar casino proposal in Lloydminster that is further along on the planning scale, Schemenauer and Semaganis said the proposal still has to gain the approval of the provincial government. The plan is to build the two casinos outside the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) jurisdiction, making them an economic development project for Little Pine and the cities. Schemenauer explained that the SIGA construction and management model is inefficient with poor returns on investment and is not one to be emulated. The two presenters noted that the SIGA board of directors is politically motivated rather than economically driven. That would be avoided in the Little Pine plan since the directors would be an independent economic development body. The casino and operators would have no association with the Battleford Tribal Council, which includes the Little Pine First Nations, but rather would have one with the City of Estevan. Speaking in general terms, Schemenauer said the casino proposal in Estevan, if it included a conference and entertainment centre along with a hotel and gas station, would be about a $75 million investment. An accompanying apartment to be built nearby to accommodate casino staff as well as local residents, would be built in a second phase and would not necessarily have to be built on reserve land. But, the casino and gas station
Little Pine First Nations representatives Chief Wayne Semaganis (left) and economic development director Evan Schemenauer (right) visited with Estevan Chamber of Commerce executive director Michel Cyrenne following the Casino information night in the Legion Hall April 15. would have to gain up to 20 acres for reserve status to enable the project to move on under the Community Development Corporation requirements of the Gaming Framework Agreement. The housing project would require about nine acres. “I know as the chief, we won’t try to force anything on anybody,” said Semaganis in his opening remarks. As a former casino manager, the chief said he has gathered important economic development knowledge since being elected to the role, and that included using professionally trained people like Schemenauer, who came aboard about four years ago to help the First Nations community utilize its resource funds and plan for the future. Little Pine has 1,600 band members with about half of them living on the reserve that is located halfway between Lloydminster and North Battleford. “We also hired a professional agrologist in 1992, and he’s still with us,” said Semaganis The band still has access to up to 40,000 acres they can use under the Treaty Land Act. The two casinos would be managed by a team of experienced casino managers from across Western Canada. The presenters pointed out that Lloydminster and Estevan were the last two viable communities in the province that could host a casino concept, and they enjoyed similar economic models.
“The urban reserve needs to look like the rest of the city and requires the same services as any other business,” said Schemenauer, who added the ideal location would provide easy visibility, and access, possibly along a main highway or thoroughfare. “We would complement what the City can do. We don’t look for breaks or special consideration. We can fit into any community and run a business. We need to break the image and gaming is a touchy issue. There are addictions, we don’t duck the question, but with best practices, the dangers are reduced,” said Semaganis. Little Pine has already entered into discussions with the nearby White Bear band council who have endorsed the plan, having captured the essence of the plan to work in concert, not as opposites. “We have oil royalties, and we were able to fix some things on the reserve starting in 1992, but now we want to use royalty money for the future, for when the wells run dry,” Semaganis added. Little Pine already has preliminary approval from Petro-Canada to construct a gas station in Estevan, and the plans for an Estevan casino may or may not include a conference centre that would seat up to 700 at tables or 1,500 bench style. “There are no major First Nations economic players in Estevan right now,” said Semaganis, referring to the city’s introduction to the plan. But Proposed ⇢ Page A2
Senchuk
Ford Sales Ltd.
118 Souris Ave. N., Estevan 306-634-3696 www.senchukford.ca