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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020

Roy Ludwig wins a third term as Estevan’s mayor

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

Roy Ludwig will get a third term as the mayor of Estevan.

Ludwig, who has been Estevan’s mayor since 2012 and a member of council since 1994, was elected as mayor Monday night, defeating Ray Walton, who was running for mayor, and for council, for the first time.

Ludwig received 1,632 of the 2,314 votes cast, or about 70.5 per cent of the popular vote, while Walton took 682.

Any doubt about the result was dashed early on, when Ludwig garnered 450 of the votes in the advanced polls and mail-in ballots, and he grew the lead with support from the drive-thru poll at the Estevan Fire Hall and the main polling station at the Estevan Church of God. In all three of his mayoral victories, Ludwig has captured at least 59 per cent of the popular vote.

“In politics, I’ve been in long enough, that I accept winning and losing, those two imposters the same, but I’m very happy tonight for the win, and I would like to

thank our community for their faith in me, for electing me to another term as mayor,” Ludwig told the Mercury. I can’t say enough of that, and I absolutely appreciate that.”

He’ll be at the helm of a relatively new council. Shelly Veroba and Travis Frank, the only two incumbents in the field, were re-elected, while Rebecca Foord, Lindsay Clark, Kirsten Walliser and Anthony Sernick will be new faces.

“I look forward to working with the new council,” said Ludwig.

“I think they’re a bright bunch of local people that will do their very best. They have their hearts in the right place, along with a couple of veterans, Shelly and Travis.”

It’s important to have that experience on council, as Ludwig believes it would be daunting to have a council with no incumbent members.

As for the four new councillors, Ludwig was impressed with them, and he was pleased to see the blend in backgrounds, in ages and genders.

He hopes the new council will continue to work closely with the city staff to continue to pay down the city’s debt. Economic develop-

mitigate the downturns in the other areas.”

The people he talked to provided a positive response to the direction of council the past four years, but he took nothing for granted.

Ludwig said the new council will face the challenges with compassion, resilience and innovation, and they will need to hold each other accountable.

“The health and well-being of our community remains paramount.

With the downturn in the different sectors in our community, we need to work at continued economic development and providing opportunities.”

He said it will be important to invest and support for education, which will provide a pathway for positive change, such as digital media, new technologies and entrepreneurship.

“We are looking at partnerships with our local college and other stakeholders to give more opportunities, especially in highdemand areas for our community.”

Ludwig said council will continue to work with A2 » WALTON

Roy Ludwig is going to be Estevan’s mayor for a third time, after winning Monday night’s civic election. ment needs to be a priority, especially with Unit 4 at the Boundary Dam Power Station shutting down next year and Unit 5 following suit three years later.

“We have been working very hard on the economic development side. We have to continue to do that, and bring new opportunities to our city, so that we can help

A diverse group will serve as city councillors

Shelly Veroba

Rebecca Foord

Travis Frank

Lindsay Clark

Kirsten Walliser

Tony Sernick

By David Willberg

It’s a council with three women – Veroba, Foord and Walliser – and there are three candidates under the age of 35 in Frank, Foord and Walliser.

Unofficial results from Monday night show Veroba finished first with 1,874 votes, followed by Foord (1,613), Frank (1,484), Clark (1,345), Walliser (1,187) and Sernick (1,025).

Other candidates seeking election were Geoff Thiessen (932 votes), Mark Henderson (889), Blaine

Chrest (783), Bernadette Wright (717) and Allan Yergens (512).

Veroba came in first for the second straight election.

She’s the first incumbent to take top spot in the councillor race since Ludwig did it in 2000.

“I was really excited when I saw I had the most votes, but my biggest thing is just being in the top six, because I really do want to be on council for the next four years, and I know it’s going to be a tough four years, but

I’m ready for it,” said Veroba.

She believes that with just two incumbents running for council, there were a lot of people who wanted the experienced councillors on there.

“I think experience is going to be important, because when I first came on council in 2016, I had the other experienced councillors who did help me when I had to phone them and ask them a question,” said Veroba.

Most times those councillors didn’t try to sway her

opinion; they were just trying to guide her along.

She would like to see more change among the committees that council members sit on. Veroba has spent the past four years on the same committees, and she hopes there can be more change.

Foord said she received a lot of positive feedback throughout the campaign.

People came to her and reached out with questions, and it was nice to talk to people she hadn’t met previ-

ously.

“They felt comfortable enough to be able to come to me and approach me,” said Foord.

This isn’t the first time she has been in council chambers. Foord was the student at large for city council in 2008, back when council still had the role. It helped her understand the procedure of a council meeting.

“I think a lot has changed over the years. I believe that the city council A2 » NEW

dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

Estevan voters have elected one of the most diverse groups of candidates in recent memory to be city councillors for the next four years.

Incumbents Shelly Veroba and Travis Frank will be joined by newcomers Rebecca Foord, Lindsay Clark, Kirsten Walliser and Tony Sernick on council.

Roy Ludwig will remain the mayor.

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Walton enjoyed experience of running for mayor « A1 local stakeholders, along with federal and provincial counterparts.

Council will also have to fight for carbon capture and storage technology at the Shand Power Station and for Unit 6 at the Boundar y Dam Power Station, and council also needs to continue to press for more equitable property tax structures from the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency.

Walton said he enjoyed the experience of running for mayor. He had a good team that worked with him, although he was disappointed with the result.

“I still think I got my point across, and part of it

was let’s be more transparent, and I still say that,” said Walton. “I’m the type of person who’s very frugal, I don’t like unnecessary spending.

I’m still upset personally over some of the spending, and it was never justified personally and probably never will.”

People spoke to him about the expansion of the Estevan Police Service building and the purchase of the former Murray GM building to be Estevan’s new fire hall. And he still wants to see the new Estevan Regional Nursing Home move forward. Walton offered his services to that board.

Walton said he would continue to follow council over the next four years,

because he wants to see the direction the city is headed.

“I think we have a good council, and I know quite a few of the people personally.

I’m hoping and I know they will look after the Estevan area the best they can,” said Walton, who is pleased with the mixture of male and female, and experienced and new members.

“Maybe someone in that group can run for mayor next time,” said Walton.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the city to change their approach to the election on a number of different fronts. For the first time, drive-thru polling was offered, with vehicles lined up at the Estevan Fire Hall,

first for an advanced poll on Oct. 30 and then a polling station on election day.

Advanced poll voting was held Nov. 2 and 3, with hundreds of votes cast. And mail-in balloting was an option, too. The mail-in ballots had to be in by 4 p.m. on Monday, and once people declared they wanted a mailin ballot, they couldn’t vote in person.

There was just one main polling station at the Estevan Church of God, and people had to wear masks when voting.

Electronic vote tabulating was used for the second straight election, allowing the results to be tabulated in less than 30 minutes.

Ray Walton was running for the mayor’s job for the first time.

New councillors will rely on incumbents’ experience « A1 has become a lot more transparent, and I would like it to see it become way more transparent, to be more open with the public about things and about what happens in council meetings,” said Foord.

She knows several members of the new council well, but there are others who she’ll interact with for the first time. Foord hopes the council members can get to know each other quickly so they can work in unison.

And she’s excited to see the number of young people on council, and the number of women councillors.

Frank said he is very excited to be back on council for another term. He spent the last four years learning the job and the issues council faces.

“To be able to come back and bring that experience in for another four years and lead a very new group of council is very exciting to

me,” said Frank.

He was undecided a few months ago whether he would seek another term on council, so it proved to be a good decision to run again.

Frank said it’s an interesting council. When he was elected in 2016, he believes he was the youngest person to ever have a seat. Now he’s an experienced member on a council with two other people under the age of 35.

Council has some big challenges to start with getting the four new councillors up to speed, and they’ll have to go through the budget process.

Moving forward, council will have to prepare for the shutdown of Units 4 and 5 at the Boundary Dam Power Station, and focus on economic development. He expects they won’t have to dedicate as much time to big projects.

Clark said it was “humbling” to be elected in his

first time on the ballot, and no matter what happened, it was going to be a good council.

“There was a diverse group and you could certainly find someone to vote for,” said Clark.

He would like to see council be more transparent and do more work to communicate with the community.

“They always have questions of what council’s doing, and I just think we have to be better at getting the message out,” said Clark.

“People aren’t upset at what the last council did. They see the city being run fairly well, but sometimes they want to know what’s going on.”

W hen decisions are made, they want to hear how the debate went, and tell people why they made tough decisions.

Clark pointed out there will be people spending their winter in Estevan for the

first time in years, because snowbirds can’t cross the Canada-U.S. border, so it’s important to have programs for them. And once the community does open up again, it will be important to have events and activities that bring people to the city and help local businesses.

Walliser described the new council as having a new look, and she believes there will be a lot of new ideas and opportunities with the variety of councillors who have been elected.

She anticipated that being part of council could be the biggest learning curve of her life.

“I think we’re going to rely heavily on Councillor Frank and Councillor Veroba for the next few months, and definitely the mayor,” said Walliser.

She has some experience at city hall from when she worked for the city as a summer student. That

experience helped her decide to run, because she had an understanding of the time commitment of being a councillor and the volume of information she has to know.

Walliser said she would like to see the city share more information. People told her they felt like they had to “go hunting” for information, and they want to know what’s going on.

She would like to see a policy that creates a thirdparty allocation that benefits everyone, after talking to agencies like the Estevan Family Resource Centre and Limitless Disability Advocacy Services.

Sernick described the evening as “nerve-wracking,” since he was in seventh spot after the advance poll and mail-in ballots, and was barely ahead of Thiessen for sixth after the drive-thru polling station.

“I had no idea going into it … but it was definitely

a nail-biter watching the results come in, which made it a lot of fun as well,” said Sernick.

People liked that he wants to bring a voice for the oil and gas sector to council, since council typically hasn’t had someone who is employed in that industry.

“You look at previous councils, and they try to have a diverse amount of people in there and represented, and I would say energy hasn’t been represented, so that’s a major reason why I’m doing it,” said Sernick.

People are concerned about jobs in the energy sector, and they want to see taxes and utilities kept in check.

He’ll approach council like he would when starting a new job, and he’s looking forward to budget deliberations.

“My goal is to listen to learn, and we can learn how to be a councillor,” said Sernick.

RM of Estevan elects in councillors in three divisions

Lorne Jahn (Division 1)

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Kevin Daoust (Division 3) Residents living in RM of Estevan’s Divisions 1, 3 and 5 headed to polling stations on Nov. 9 to choose their representatives for the next four years.

The unofficial results came in Monday night.

In Division 1, incumbent councillor Lorne Jahn kept his seat with 29 votes coming his way. Jeff Mack, who aspired for the position, gained 16 votes.

In Division 3, incumbent councillor Dennis Blackburn was defeated by newcomer Kevin Daoust. Thirty-seven people voted for Daoust as opposed to 28 voting for Blackburn.

In Division 5, the councillor seat was vacant. Ramona

Ramona Dukart (Division 5)

Dukart won the race with 53 votes, coming three votes ahead of Tania Hlohovsky Andrist (50 votes). The third candidate in this division was Dakota Michael, who had 14 votes.

Division 5 had the best voter turnout in the RM. In Division 1, Jahn has been on council for 27 years and the next term will bring him to 31 years as an RM councillor. Prior to the election, he said it would be his last time running, but he had some unfinished business he would like to see addressed before he retires from council work. For example, he would like to see taxes going down.

Jahn is now retired after

spending 30 years working draglines and also dedicated many years to raising cattle alongside his family.

In Division 3, Daoust, who's coming to the end of his career at SaskPower, said that during the next four years, he hopes to work with the provincial government to strengthen this corner of the province, focusing on roads and the rejuvenation of rural areas and Estevan as a whole.

During his campaign, he stated that if elected as a councillor he would make decisions in a calm, rational approach.

In Division 5, Dukart, who has retired from the South East Cornerstone Public School Division, where she

worked as an educational assistant in speech and language, now will have the capacity to help shape the future of the municipality, which is facing serious changes.

Over the next four years, her main focus will be on road repairs and transportation. She also plans to pay attention to snow removal, recreation facilities and programs, land use, planning and economic development, fire prevention, animal control, emergency planning, and possibly garbage removal.

Terry Keating was acclaimed to a second term as reeve.

The election for Divisions 2, 4 and 6 are slated for 2022.

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Salvation Army is gearing up for its annual kettle campaign

By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

While for some organizations 2020 turned to be a slower year, it's definitely not the case for the Salvation Army in Estevan. Now more than ever, the community needs them, and they are also in need of community support.

Their kettle campaign is set to start on Dec. 2. Volunteers will be out in the community up until the afternoon of Dec. 24. The campaign will help the Salvation Army to ensure that every family in the area has something on their tables no matter what situation they are in.

The kettle goal for this year is set at $20,000 and the goal for the mail-out appeal is $60,000.

"Total is $80,000 between the two (fundraisers). It's a little less than last year, but we also realize that this year is so different than any previous year … so we want to be sensitive to what the community is going through at this time, and we want to make sure that we put a goal that's reasonable, that we know we can use that money for the upcoming year and be able to meet the needs of the community," said director of ministry Ronza Reynard.

All money raised at Christmas and throughout the year stays in Estevan and is used to purchase food for those in need. In 2020, the local Salvation Army was supporting over 2,000 individuals on multiple occasions and will provide

The kettle campaign plays an important role for the Salvation Army each year. File photo help to many other individuals before the end of the year.

The kettle and mail-out campaign help the organization to meet the needs of the community. This year it will be pretty similar to what people are used to seeing, with a few minor changes.

"Right now we are in all of the locations that we are normally are in," said Reynard.

She explained that some regular volunteers this year won't be able to participate if they are in higher risk groups of the pandemic. For that reason, the Salvation Army might have kettles out less this year.

"We probably are going to be putting our kettles out Wednesday to Saturday, as opposed to Monday to Saturday.

So we are going to cut that back a couple of days."

Volunteers, ringing bells and accepting donations, will be at Estevan's locations of the Southern Plains Co-op’s Estevan grocery store, Walmart and Clifton's No Frills from Wednesday-Saturday, as well as at the Estevan Market Mall and Liquor Store on Saturdays.

Reynard added that many people already reached out to them expressing their interest in volunteering.

"We are excited about that, and if we have enough volunteers and we can put them out for these extra days, then we will. But right now we want to brace ourselves and prepare for what the situation seems to be looking like, which is a few less volunteers than we normally would get," said Reynard.

The Salvation Army usually gets companies taking several shifts, but now that many businesses switched to working from home, it might be a bit more difficult to have people join the campaign.

The mail-out will take place at the end of November,

so people can be watching their mailboxes for the Salvation Army's envelopes soon.

While people can always donate cash or submit a cheque, both through the mail or in person at the thrift store or kettle locations, this year the Salvation Army also came up with a new digital system.

"We ordered a few things called TipTap … These will be attached where the kettles are, and people can just tap their card. And I believe they are going to have three different amounts - $5, $10 and $20, so people who want to be cashless, they can just tap the card on any

of those. It's just tap and go," Reynard explained.

The kettles will be sanitized on regular basis and volunteers will be keeping distance. Unfortunately, due to precautionary measures, they won't be able to hand out traditional calendars or candy canes to kids. But people can stop by the thrift store to pick their calendars.

"We've just worked with all our businesses to see what their protocols are as well as what the Salvation Army's protocols are on how to do kettles this year," Reynard said, "We are planning everything like normal, doing all the things that we've done every year."

"We are so blessed. We live in a community that supports the Salvation Army, and the surrounding communities support us. We are happy that we can be here for anybody who needs something. Come in and see us, make a call, and we'll help anybody with whatever we can for whatever situation they might be in," Reynard said.

They also are planning to take calendars and possibly teddy bears to seniors again.

While they might not be able to go door to door this year, they still can drop some Christmas cheer in particular locations, so later it could be delivered to seniors.

If someone is interested in volunteering for the Salvation Army's kettle campaign, they can call 306-634-2074, ask for Jane Anne Ireland and she will arrange the kettle shift(s).

Applications now available for hampers

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

The Community Hamper Association is expecting to have another busy season in its quest to meet the needs of hundreds of people this Christmas season.

The association started accepting applications and referrals on Nov. 1, and they have already received more than 70 requests.

Char Seeman, who is the cochair of the association with Heather Woodhouse, said she isn’t surprised by the demand so far this year.

“I think the numbers are going to be fairly high this year,” said Seeman.

Last year the association filled 312 hampers, and she expects they will surpass that figure this year.

The association is encouraging anyone who thinks they will need a hamper to apply.

“Any little bit that we can do to make Christmas easier for anyone – if you’re back to work part-time, if you’re back to work three-quarters time or even back to work full-time – and you’re still trying to catch up on bills, and doing those kind of things, that’s what we’re here for, we’re here to help you have a Christmas, and for your kids to have presents and toys and stuff at Christmas, and that’s what we want to get.”

A lot of people have been able to return to work after they were laid

off at the start of the pandemic, but they don’t have extra money, and so the thought that these people might not have a Christmas dinner, or gifts under the tree, is sad to the hamper association members.

“We know you can make it 11 months out of the year, but come Christmas time, you get one thing extra thrown at you, and you can’t do it. That’s what we want to get across to people, is this is what we’re here for,” said Seeman.

Traditionally many groups and individuals fill hampers for the hamper association, but that won’t happen this year due to regulations from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA). Nor will the association be able to deliver hampers this year.

Many of the association’s supporters have committed to provide financial support, but it means that the hamper association is in need of more financial donations to ensure they have the money to fill all the hampers requested.

Seeman noted people will have to book appointments this year for when they can pick up their hampers.

Also, anyone who wants a hamper needs to have their request in by Dec. 5. This is a hard deadline this year.

“We cannot physically take hampers to people’s houses this year. They have to be picked up. So it’s logistics and everything; we had to have a firm, hard deadline for it,”

said Seeman.

Also, the hamper association can’t use food that’s donated to them in the hampers, so all food donations needs to go to the Salvation Army’s Food Bank.

The hamper association is also responsible for the Angel Tree program, which provides a toy to hamper recipients with a child or children. Nearly 500 toys were distributed last year.

The Angel Trees will be set up at Walmart, Mr. Mike’s Steakhouse Casual and Your Toy Store and More. People can pluck an angel from the tree – pink for girls and blue for boys. It will have an age range inscribed to indicate who to shop for.

Supporters go out, purchase a gift and return it to the angel tree.

Seeman said they are looking for volunteers for the Angel Tree for this year, and she cautioned people that someone might not be at the Angel Tree at Walmart at all times.

Mr. Mike’s will provide a gift card to anyone who brings a toy to their location, while Your Toy Store and More offers discounts to those who purchase toys at the store for the Angel Tree.

Seeman hopes they will be able to have toy drives in the city this year, as has happened in the past.

Canadian Tire has said they will be happy to have one.

All of the toys that are collected this year will be stored, and then they

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT

From left, Jolie Bayda, Shelley Dayman and Char Seeman from the Community Hamper Association once again expect another busy year. Missing is Heather Woodhouse. File photo will be set out in a toy store, so that parents can drop by and select a toy for their child.

People can also drop off cash donations, which will be used to purchase gifts. And they can bring cash donations for the hamper association to the Angel Tree.

The association will also have firm appointment times for when people can drop by to select toy(s) for the Angel Tree.

Donation boxes set up at the Days Inn, Blackbeard’s Family Restaurant and the Ice Factory to support the Angel Tree.

It’s already been a busy year for

the hamper association. Earlier this year, they partnered with the United Way Estevan, after the United Way received a $50,000 grant from the South Saskatchewan Community Foundation to provide food to local families during the pandemic.

The United Way then approached the association and the Salvation Army to determine the families most in need of assistance.

“We gave 100 families $100 worth of groceries every second week for 10 weeks. So we gave 100 families $500 worth of groceries.

That was super exciting and that helped,” said Seeman.

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Editorial

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

A4

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EDITORIAL

New council seems ready to face challenges The next Estevan city council definitely won’t be like one we’ve seen in the past.

It’s likely to be one of the most diverse councils in Estevan’s history. Three of the councillors (Travis Frank, Rebecca Foord and Kirsten Walliser) are under the age of 35. That’s likely a first.

There are also three female councillors (Foord, Walliser and Shelly Veroba). The last time there were three female council members was from 2006-2009.

And there are four newcomers, with Foord, Walliser, Lindsay Clark and Tony Sernick.

These new council members also represent different sectors from the community – health care, business and energy.

Nobody can accuse this council of being an old boys’ club, a complaint that we’ve heard about councils in the past.

They’re going to have a steep learning curve, but at least they have experienced members to help them out in Veroba, Frank and Mayor Roy Ludwig, who was elected for a third term as Estevan’s mayor.

(Ludwig has 26 years of municipal experience. And he’s had the longest tenure as a mayor since Harry Nicholson presided over the city in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s).

Despite all of the acrimony and the criticism that councils receive, we’re used to seeing the majority of council members carry over to the next term. The last time we had

four new members on a council was in 2000.

So it’s definitely going to be an interesting council to watch over the next four years.

It’s not going to be easy. They won’t always get along. We certainly hope they won’t always agree; respectful disagreements are a fundamental aspect of democracy, and an important part of a well-run council.

They all seem to have the best interests of the city at heart, although the definition of those best interests will be different.

And now that they’re on council, the hardest part begins: running the city.

Being on council always poses challenges. You have to deal with a variety of issues that come up.

The first task will be setting the city’s budget, and doing it during a pandemic that has affected the city’s bottom line.

COVID-19 won’t be around forever, but it’s going to be a factor for at least the first few months of the year. It will affect revenues on everything from facility passes at the Estevan Leisure Centre to facility rentals at different city-owned sites.

The biggest issue, though, will be economic development in general. As we’ve stated before, Estevan is facing some pretty uncertain times due to the pending closure of Units 4 and 5 at the Boundary Dam Power Station.

We’ve seen some good ideas brought forward to address the lost jobs in the com-

munity, but there’s still a lot of things that need to be done to make these ideas happen.

Council will also have to decide whether or not to proceed with a third arena for Estevan, knowing that no matter what they do, a significant number of people in the community will be ticked off.

There are the perpetual issues such as property tax rates and utility rates and city beautification. Those never go away.

They’ll have to continue to press the provincial government for a new nursing home.

There was one disappointing development Monday: the lack of voter turnout.

About 2,300 people showed up to vote. That would be a near-record low, especially in an election in which there was a mayoral vote.

It’s hard to say why. COVID isn’t an excuse; the city came up with plenty of opportunities for people to vote who are concerned about being out in public. It can’t be the weather; Estevan ducked the massive snowfalls that blasted other parts of the province.

Nobody should be happy with a voter turnout of 2,300.

And given the criticism levelled at council in the past, you have to wonder if some of those critics prefer to complain on social media and not try to create a change, or if maybe they live out of the city limits.

But we have our council. It looks to be a good council. And it’s definitely pretty unique by council standards.

What's worse: meet the enemy face to face or remain in the dark of the unknown?

The pandemic is spreading wider and also coming closer, shrinking around each one of us.

My brother got sick last week. He was the first one in the household. Then dad got a fever. Then my brother's girlfriend felt weak.

Mom is also not feeling 100 per cent, but hanging in there.

A few days after my brother's first symptoms his test came in positive for COVID-19.

Seems that the system is badly overwhelmed, so other family members didn't have tests done yet. Anyway, I'm not too worried about tests at this point, as the rest of the symptoms are alike.

They all are feeling somewhat alright, and I'm hoping it will stay like that until they fully recover. But ever since the news came in, I've been really worried for pretty obvious reasons.

First, my family is in St.-Petersburg. The distance always intensifies my worries, since I feel that I can't really help (not that there would be anything I could do if I was there, but it doesn't help the restless brain).

But my main concern now is that hospitals in most Russian regions have been working at over full capacity for a while now. The other day ambulance ended up bringing COVID-19 patients to the doors of the Ministry of Health because the hospitals refused to take them in since they were overfilled (there are not enough beds, so outside of patients lying in corridors, there is also such a thing as sitting hospitalization now).

It's pretty chaotic and seems that quite often if people need medical help they get lost in this chaos.

Besides, since February I've been reading

Ana Bykhovskaia Twenty Lines About… and educating myself on COVID-19, but the only thing I learned so far is we still hardly know anything about this novel coronavirus (research takes time, a lot of time, whether we want it or not). There are a few personal cases in which every person in the household or company got sick, but one. Why? No answer yet.

Several friends of mine went through the disease, some had unexpected after-effects such as a sore back or brain damage, others hardly knew they had it. No understanding of why it goes so different either. And so no way to predict what's going to happen to my family.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, in my head I was debating what was better, to meet the enemy, meaning to get sick, hoping that I'll get it in a light form, and get over with it at least for some time; or do my best to avoid getting sick, as going through a serious disease was never a good thing in general.

I don't know if COVID parties - gatherings with the alleged intention to catch the virus – are still a thing in the States, but I spent quite a bit of time in the summer trying to understand how I felt about it. Just a refresher, last summer there was news about young Americans throwing parties and inviting at least one person confirmed with COVID-19. The first person to get infected would receive a payout.

At the end of September, the New York Times reported on a Texas man, 30, dying after attending one of those gatherings.

As ridiculous as it sounds, the idea of an unknown enemy is still scaring me big time.

Unless we personally experience something that's a threat to every person, we keep granting that unknown enemy extra power. We tend to be more afraid of it than we would be if we've already met it. So I could see a shade of somewhat like common sense behind those parties.

But for the most part, I think it was an adrenaline rush, youth's maximalist protest and provocation. On the other hand, leaving aside the unknown factor, there are a lot of real reasons to be worried about the virus.

I used to smoke before, and I was one of those people who would say we are all going to die one day, so why not smoke? It was later that I figured that even though one day death will come for me, I still don't jump under the bus and instead always check the road before crossing. (I quit smoking soon after that discovery).

Some of the latest research suggests that the earlier patients who had COVID-19 in Wuhan and other places don't have antibodies anymore. So there is a good chance that we all are going to check it out for ourselves sooner or later. But now that COVID came really close to my family, and the unknown part of it worries me not the less, I know that I don't want to get to know the enemy intentionally at this time. At least so that my loved ones don't have to go through what I feel now.

Op-Ed A5

David Willberg Willberg’s World

Voter turnout shouldn’t be forgotten Joe Biden is the president-elect of the United States.

I’m reserving judgement on whether he’ll actually do well, but at least you know he’s not going to spew anti-democracy rhetoric.

Biden’s not going to make a plea to stop counting votes, and if he loses an election, you can be sure he would want a smooth transition of power.

And if there are threats of violence against those working at polling station, Biden would speak against it.

It’s too bad that we’ve spent the last week talking about contested mail-in ballots and unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, because something happened during the U.S. presidential election that should be celebrated by all sides.

Voter turnout was historically high.

Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris received more votes than any other presidential ticket in U.S. history.

President Donald Trump and his running mate, Vice-President Mike Pence, received more than 70 million votes – the secondmost of any presidential ticket ever, other than Biden-Harris.

Trump-Pence received more votes than they did in 2016, more votes than Barack Obama-Biden did in 2008 or 2012, and more votes than Ronald Reagan-George H.W. Bush received in their historically dominant victory in 1984.

Say what you will about Trump, and lord knows, I have, but you can’t deny his appeal to certain demographics of voters. Yes, you have the Trump stooges who believe everything Trump says, no matter how bizarre or unfounded it might be, but there are also a lot of educated, middle class people out there who will tell you their lives are better off now than when Trump first came into power.

And while I won’t deny a lot of the votes were votes against Trump or votes against Biden, Americans should be lauded for the high voter turnout, regardless of whether it’s at advanced polls, on election day or through mail-in ballots.

Once all of these mail-in ballots are counted, it will be interesting to see how many Americans actually voted, but it’s believed that this will be the highest percentage for eligible voter turnout in the U.S. in decades. We barely had 50 per cent turnout for our provincial election last month – a figure that nobody in Saskatchewan should have been happy about.

It’s also great to see that a woman will be the vice-president for the first time. I look forward to the day when it’s a more common occurrence. And you have to wonder if Harris will be president before the 2024 election.

This election followed a lot of the narratives I expected. The Democrats did better on the advanced polls and the mail-in ballots.

The Republicans had their best showing at the polls on election day itself.

Trump tried to declare victory prematurely, and did what he could to try to undermine the voting results while stirring up his base. And it was a close vote.

It will be interesting to see how Biden governs the country, especially given his age, and how he will go about mending the fractions, both within the U.S. and internationally, that have occurred during Trump’s tenure. In his victory speech Saturday, he did more to reach out to his opponents than Trump ever did during his four-year tenure.

The first challenge will be trying to reduce the burden of COVID-19 on the U.S. He won’t be inaugurated until January, so don’t expect any major changes before then.

COVID-19 has killed more than 235,000 people. There’s absolutely no way a nation as developed as the U.S. should be among the world leaders in COVID-19 caseload and deaths.

And we’ll see how Biden’s election affects Canada. We should expect a good working relationship between Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; the two were chummy before. If nothing else, dealing with the U.S. will be much easier and more stable. You won’t have to worry about trade restrictions that seemingly occur on a whim, although you can expect protectionism from Biden.

He has said he’ll cancel the permit for Keystone XL Pipeline, a project that has had an on-again, off-again status for more than a decade.That’s bad news for Canada, it’s bad news for Saskatchewan and it’s bad news for our energy sector.

Keystone XL should proceed and it should be finished one day.

But on the list of his priorities, Keystone XL is going to be pretty low for Biden. And you doubt he’ll spend much time dwelling on the decision once he does cancel Keystone XL. We won’t like it, nor should we.

But at least we can look forward to a much more productive relationship with a president who will bring stability, predictability and respect for democracy.

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EPS community programming officer Rae is adding social services to her responsibilities

By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

Starting in October, the Estevan Police Service (EPS) expanded the role of the community programming officer to encompass the duties of an in-house social worker.

The position of the community programming officer has been filled by Monica Rae since November 2018. While she was a great fit, with her degree and experience in the social work field, she believes that the expansion of her role and the new duties she is taking on will enhance her work and will also be beneficial for the community.

"I will still continue with my responsibilities as a community programming officer.

And then we will look to expand my role to encompass the new roles," Rae explained.

She added that even though the EPS' community engagement looks different these days, just like all other activities, it is still in place. "(The pandemic) just encouraged us to become increasingly creative with ways in which we (engage with the community)," said Rae. The role of the community engagement officer was interesting and rewarding, and the expansion of the position will make work even more valuable.

"I'm really excited about this (role). I think there is so much potential that exists.

And when I have quiet moments where I sit and reflect on what the potential is for this position, and what it could mean for the EPS and what this can mean for our larger community and the connections to many of the resources that we already have in the community that can offer support to the individuals that are coming in contact

with us, it really lights me up.

I think there is just so much to be getting from something like this for me personally and professionally and then out to our larger community as well.

“I think that any time that we can collaborate to bring the supports that people need and ensure that they get connected to those supports and that there is a collaborative approach from our community, I think that only good things can come from that."

Prior to this time, there was no in-house social worker with the EPS. The new position will provide an opportunity for EPS and for Rae in particular to connect with people that are coming into contact with law enforcement and find the best ways to support them, put them in touch with some of the valuable services that exist in the community and provide various types of help. "(I'll be) trying to assist them with coping skills and finding solutions to things they are struggling with, accessing resources whether it be counselling, maybe it's a resource for food and security, maybe it's further support for addiction, mental health, any of that," Rae explained.

The vision of having an in-house social worker has evolved from the administration that was looking ahead with harm reduction and overall increased attention to the health and well-being of the community. And while the EPS can't resolve all existing problems, the ways to address some of them in their work and provide more support to the community were in the talks well before the pandemic hit. And as the current situation put what's hopefully a temporary break

Monica Rae on many community activities the EPS was always involved with, it freed up some of Rae's time and created a new opportunity.

"I'm so grateful for the vision of the administration for this organization, it excited me and it fills me with hope. And I have just felt incredibly supported in my role here and I expect that to continue going forward," Rae said.

In her role as an inhouse social worker, Rae will be working with people who came in contact with the EPS in the first place. Depending on the situation, her duties may have her working with individuals on a regular basis or just providing one-time intervention and support.

She believes that this new asset will enhance the work the EPS is doing to make the community a better place to live.

Again, depending on a case, Rae may be required to attend to calls alongside EPS officers, or do some followup work to accommodate a situation.

"I'm really passionate about this opportunity. Being

able to sit back and sometimes when you meet with people and they've struggled immensely, or they've come into contact with police on multiple occasions, I really admire the opportunity to be able to sit down and really work through and help them identify the strengths they do possess … and the resilience that they have exhibited ...

And I think that when we can work from that kind of approach, that's where the magic is. I'm so humbled and really excited about this position," Rae said.

Rae was in "more of a direct social work role" when she lived in Alberta. While working in Estevan, she signed up with the Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers and is considered a registered social worker. Now she plans to participate in any related and relevant in-house training, and take other training opportunities available that will enhance her skills, support her role and increase her capacities to do this job to the best of her ability.

"There will be a lot of learning to me and I'm open to that," Rae said.

Estevan ducks the brunt of a powerful winter storm The weather conditions were far from ideal in Estevan on Sunday and Monday, but they were nowhere near as severe as what other parts of the province experienced.

A winter storm watch was in effect for the Estevan area on Sunday due to the projected storm, which was to bring rain, freezing rain, ice pellets, strong winds and approximately 20-30 centimetres of snow to the city.

The rain, freezing rain and winds materialized, but the snow did not, and as of Monday afternoon, there was a light layer of snow on

the ground.

Still, the Highway Hotline reported that winter conditions were prevalent on highways surrounding Estevan, thanks to icy and slippery sections. Others routes were wet and subject to freezing, and some areas had fog.

Crews could be seen sanding roads in and around the city.

Many highways in the southeast region did have “travel not recommended” advisories for part of Sunday evening.

The Ministry of Highways had issued such advi-

sories for Highway 13 from Weyburn to the Manitoba border, Highway 39 from Weyburn to Midale, Highway 18 from the east junction with Highway 9 to the Manitoba border, all of Highways 318 and 361, all of Highway 8 through southeast Saskatchewan, Highway 9 from the east junction with Highway 18 to the Trans-Canada Highway, and Highway 35 from Weyburn to the U.S. border.

Those highways were all reported to be ice-covered.

The advisories were lifted within two or three hours of being issued.

The SE Sask Road Conditions Facebook page also kept people up to date of the highway conditions.

Other parts of the province were hit much harder than the southeast. Some areas received over a foot of snow. Highway 1 from Swift Current to the Alberta border was closed.

The accumulations were so significant that the province government gave municipalities and school boards the ability to delay their elections in hit-hard areas. Those elections will have to be held on or before Nov. 25.

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Wildland fire consumed 4,000 acres of land and took 11 fire departments to extinguish A fire that consumed about 4,000 acres of pasture and prairie land last Wednesday was probably one of the biggest and most difficult emergencies southeast Saskatchewan has seen in recent years.

The call for service came in at about 3 p.m. The Portal International Fire Department was the first one on the scene, with the Oxbow/Enniskillen Fire Department joining for mutual aid in a matter of a few minutes. The two departments took over the dual incident command role, co-ordinating what turned out to be a battle that took 11 fire entities and seven hours to win.

The fire started south of Frobisher. Highway 9 South, approximately six kilometres north of the Canada-U.S. border was closed and the public was asked to avoid the area as dozens of firefighters along with local farmers, water haulers, RM representatives and others were trying to tame the raging elements.

"Off the start, it was pretty chaotic. It was challenging, just trying to figure out where we could even get to it. And also trying to co-ordinate that many people was difficult. The

wind was definitely not in our favour and causing a lot of grief for everybody involved," said Oxbow/Enniskillen Fire Chief Doug Pierce.

"All in all it was definitely a very tough fire to fight. The terrain definitely played a big role, with hills and rocks and not being able to get to where we wanted to."

At some point, the fire was also getting close to a few buildings.

"We had a couple of homes that we were concerned about, but we were able to get it under control before it got too close to the houses," said Pierce.

There were 17 members of the Oxbow/Enniskillen Fire Department working on scene alongside dozens of other Canadian and American firefighters that day.

"It was a staggering number (of firefighters), that's for sure," said Pierce. "And there is always a potential for firefighters to be in danger. It was so smoky, there were times when you couldn't see where you were going or where you needed to get to. So there is always the potential of that danger.

"But we had really good communication amongst all fire departments and everybody put in a great effort to

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be where they needed to be at any given time and I think we handled the danger part of it quite well."

Pierce added that while he and the Portal fire chief were the ones co-ordinating the operation over the radio, other fire departments were great to work with, every department played a big role and they all worked as a team.

That was the biggest operation that the Oxbow/Enniskillen Fire Department had to deal with. They've had some big fires that they've fought before, but it never involved so many people.

Pierce said it was about 4 p.m. when firefighters finally were able to get the flames under control and proceed with full extinguishment.

A flare stack started the fire.

When the operation was finally accomplished, local social media got flooded with gratitude to all people involved.

"Thanks to all fire departments that responded to fight the wild grass fire. Thank you to the RM of Coalfields and RM of Enniskillen for the graders and water truck.

Shaw Earth Moving and Iron Side contractors that brought dozers. To all the companies that supplied water trucks, the farmers and landowners that

hauled water, brought discs and tractors. Brett for supplying air support. This really was a great effort by everyone involved. To everyone who brought water, pizzas, sandwiches it was greatly appreciated and kept all firefighters fed and watered. It doesn't go unnoticed and was greatly appreciated. To the Carnduff RCMP and Carlyle RCMP for taking control and closing the highway so we could focus on our job. And to anyone that we missed," said Oxbow/Enniskillen Fire Department on their Facebook page.

Pierce also pointed out that the spray plane made a huge difference in the operation.

"Hats off to all agencies involved today from both sides of the international boundary," said Carlyle Fire Department.

"The Portal International Fire Department would like to say thank you and job well done to the following fire departments who responded (on Wednesday): Lignite FD, Columbus FD, Bowbells FD, Kenmare FD, Bienfait FD, Oxbow FD, Estevan FD, Alameda FD, Frobisher FD, Carlyle FD. Thank you to the RM of Coalfields and RM of Eniskillen for the motor graders, the oil companies and contractors that brought

The fire south of Frobisher consumed about 4,000 acres of pasture and prairie land. Photo submitted dozers and water tankers, the farmers and landowners that hauled water, brought discs and tractors. The guys in the planes dropping water. This really was a great effort by everyone involved. To everyone who brought water, pizzas, sandwiches it was greatly appreciated. We are grateful that no occupied structures were lost and everyone made it

home safe," said Portal International Fire Department in their Facebook post.

Dozens of comments and posts by fire departments, RMs, businesses and individuals echoed the ones above, thanking everyone involved for conducting a successful operation and putting their own lives at risk protecting the safety of everyone in the area.

Passing lane projects wrapping up With winter on the horizon, major projects for the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure are wrapping up. That includes a number of passing lane projects that have become Saskatchewan’s go-to method of improving highway capacity without twinning, and at a much lower cost.

Greg Ottenbreit, who was the Minister of Highways and Infrastructure until a cabinet shuffle on Monday, discussed the projects, including Highways 39 and 6 from Estevan to Regina.

Since the initial pilot project was done several years ago on Highway 10 between Balgonie and Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan has gone whole hog into passing lane development as a way to improve

highway safety. Along the way, large portions of roadway have been repaved at the same time.

Some of the stretches between the new sets of passing lanes that weren’t repaved this year may be done in the future, if warranted, according to Ottenbreit. But other areas do not require repaving at this time.

He noted some areas will see improvements to intersections.

“The sections that need it are definitely going to be redone,” he said of repaving.

Highway 39 between Milestone and Estevan is not complete, and there’s a reason for that. It’s a multiyear project, Ottenbreit said, and it won’t be done until next year.

As of Oct. 26, there were still portions of that stretch that had substantial drop-offs on

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the side. “They'll make things as safe as they possibly can,” Ottenbreit said.

The entire project, which started in 2018, encompasses 11 sets of passing lanes from Regina to Estevan.Two of those sets were done on Highway 6 south of Regina and were completed in 2018.

He said the Highway 39 project has five sets of passing lanes between Estevan and Weyburn.

“Two were opened, on 39, between Estevan and Weyburn.

And those are already complete.

The whole project is a $78 million safety project that includes five sets, or 10 lanes in total, between McTaggart and Milestone, and about 25 kilometres of paving.”

“Two of the four sets have opened north of Weyburn on Highway 39, and the contractors are working on both of those other projects … and then, once construction does cease for the season, there shouldn’t be any reductions in speed. They might not have the project completed, but they’ll make sure it’s safe for the winter.”

During the latter years of the oil boom, before the province’s revenue crashed by a billion dollars per years as a result

of substantially lower oil prices, the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure was well into the planning of twinning Highway 39 from Regina an area east of Estevan. Up until that point, the province had embarked on significant twinning projects on Highways 1, 16 and 11 in the previous two decades.

The plan for Highway 39 was changed to passing lanes.

Ottenbreit said, “I know there was anticipation of possibly twinning that project. But when you look at the actual traffic flows, it doesn’t really warrant a full twining of that project.

When that was talked about, the twinning, we really hadn’t done any passing lane projects yet, so when we started doing the first pilot project, between Fort Qu’Appelle and Regina, and then started rolling out some other ones, the safety was exemplary, and depending on the traffic flows, the passing lanes were more than adequate,” he said Ottenbreit added some twinning was done near Regina.

Passing lanes cost about a quarter of twinning, he noted. It is done within the normal roadway easement, so you don’t have the land acquisition problems or environmental impact.

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New business specializes in pizza and desserts Pizza and desserts might not seem like a natural combination of foods for a restaurant to specialize in, but Pinocchio Pizza seems to have found the right mix.

Pinocchio Pizza, located in the 1200-block of Seventh Street, opened last week, and already it has enjoyed a good response from the public, said Abhi Bhatla, who is one of the owners of the business.

The business has locations in Regina and Moose Jaw, and they viewed Estevan as an opportunity to expand.

It was a good location that was the Slice and Go pizza and grill restaurant previously.

“Actually our game plan there was to put in an ice cream shop where we would have varieties of ice cream and varieties of a few things,” said Bhatla. “But there was a pizza place already there.”

They already owned Pi-

nocchio Pizza locations in Regina and Moose Jaw, and The Flats Eatery and Drink in Estevan, and they thought that the take out and delivery business model of Pinocchio Pizza would work here. Pinocchio Pizza does not have a dine-in option.

In addition to their deep-dish pizza, ice cream and desserts, they serve a variety of appetizers, side dishes, salads, pastas, burgers and poutines. Bhatla said this will be really new for the community, and he expects a response similar to what was seen in Moose Jaw. “Obviously lots of people do pizza, it is a big competition in the market.

Pizza is always our number 1 thing, but we also wanted to accommodate a taste of different types of appetizers, different types of desserts, which are not easily found in Saskatchewan.”

Pinocchio Pizza has built up a good following in Regina, and once COVID-19 hit and it placed a greater emphasis on pick-up and deliveries, Pinocchio Pizza saw a greater opportunity for the concept, and expanded to Moose Jaw and Estevan.

He expects it will take a little bit of time to adapt to the different menu offerings, and the diversity, but with the different pizza options, they will enjoy the experience.

“We are doing lots of online things as well. We are introducing online ordering, so it’s very easy for people to go to our website and do online ordering, so we’re very user friendly with online ordering as well.”

And they ’re working on a rewards system for purchases. “ We are trying to be creative with the ongoing

From left, Bhaumik Chaudhari, left, and Sachin Chaudhari look forward to seeing customers at Pinocchio Pizza. pandemic as well as dealing with the rest of the market as well.”

The business employs several people in the community.

Bhatla said they are looking to forward to giving back to the different organizations in Estevan.

“We are very happy to come to the community, and

we want to give as many different products to the community and help out the community as much as we can in different ways as well,” said Bhatla.

Pinocchio Pizza is a new business located on Seventh Street in Estevan.

DOING BUSINESS IN ESTEVAN

How the Coal Transition Funds Are Helping Economic Development In the 2018 federal budget the Coal Community Transition Initiative (CCTI) was announced by the federal government. This fund was created to help communities transitioning away from coal fired power generation.

Since that time select communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan including Estevan, have been able to apply to Western Economic Diversification (WD) for funding to assist the community. But what does this actually mean for Estevan, and how are these funds being used and allocated?

the coal transition coordinator and business incubator. It has also funded feasibility studies for a short line railroad and a net-neutral gas plant. Funding was also awarded to the Southeast College for the development of the new heavy equipment operator program that will be offered out of the Estevan campus.

In February of 2020 it was announced by the provincial government that there would be an allocation of an $8 million fund for Estevan. To access these funds the community must first apply for funding from the CCTI. To start, this funding is to be used on Six projects have been approved for provincial funding so far, including Economic Development initiatives the recently announced Prairie in the City of Estevan. Typically, these are things like market analysis, Phoenix Potash feasibility study, a development plan to make the area branding, feasibility studies, coal a Rural Tech Hub, and feasibility of transition coordinator etc. Funding cannot be used for individuals, private significant agri-value processes in the business or business incentives. When southeast. the Estevan Economic Development Board has projects requiring funding, Ward added “We’re always open to opportunities to help out mine they can submit an application to workers that will be affected by WD. Funding is then awarded based this and if anyone has any ideas on the application and the benefits for transition training please reach it would provide to the community out to Richard, our Coal Transition not by city size or population.

Coordinator.”

“It is application based so there were multiple applications that have been The Economic Development Board is currently working on more projects rejected along with the ones that and preparing future expressions of have been approved” City Manager interest for WD and CCTI funding.

Jeff Ward recalled. “This funding can Moving forward there will be an also apply to the Rural Municipality emphasis on discussions with the along with other players in the area miners’ union, and employees from like the Southeast College” both the mine and the two power stations to identify opportunities for Thus far, the funding has been career transition as well as retraining used for city projects including curriculum for the Southeast College. branding and marketing initiatives, www.estevaneconomicdevelopment.ca | 306.634.1843

CLUES ACROSS 1. Third-party access (abbr.)

4. This (Spanish) 8. Goals 10. Something to do lightly 11. “Great” North Sea Empire legend 12. Iced or chilled drink 13. Weight units 15. Immune system response 16. Groundbreaking German pharmacologist 17. Milk-supplying companies 18. Enjoyable distraction 21. Doctor of Education 22. Type of submachine gun (abbr.)

23. Curved shape 24. Brew 25. The 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet 26. Advanced degree 27. Shock rocker 34. Enthusiast 35. Quiet’s partner 36. Hijacked 37. TV’s once needed them 38. Brings together 39. Narrow piece of wood 40. Paths 41. Monetary unit 42. Wings 43. Soviet Socialist Republic

CLUES DOWN 1. Gear 2. Outer part of a bird’s wing 3. Good luck charm 4. Removing from memory 5. Group of seven people 6. Records 7. German river 9. “Last of the Mohicans” actress Madeleine 10. Ancient Greek war galley 12. Nonsensical speak 14. Title of respect 15. Cast out 17. Have already done 19. Wood-loving insects 20. Analog conversion system (abbr.)

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A8 November 11, 2020

www.estevanmercury.ca

WELCOM

Welcome to estevan

Estevan Bears U18 AAA hockey team a testament t

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

The arrival of U18 AAA hockey in Estevan is a reflection of the determination and perseverance to bring the highest level of minor hockey to the Energy City and to southeast Saskatchewan.

Chad Farr, who was at the helm of the bid to land the Estevan Eclipse Downhole Solutions U18 AAA Bears, said it started about two years ago with the realignment of the Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA) and repositioning of AAA teams in the province.

SHA began its realignment with female AAA hockey teams, which resulted in eight teams being reduced to seven. Weyburn, which

has had the female AAA Gold Wings hockey team for more than a decade, asked the Estevan Minor Hockey Association for support to keep the Gold Wings program going.

The effort succeeded, and then the attention shifted to bringing male U18 AAA hockey to Estevan. “ We y b u r n M i n o r Hockey would support Estevan Minor Hockey’s proposal for a (female) AAA team and the application to reposition a (male) team here,” said Farr.

A formal application was submitted in the spring of 2019, and Estevan was awarded an expansion team in the Saskatchewan U18 AAA Hockey League in November 2019, joining 11 other teams from across the

province.

“I felt confident in our group and our committee to put together a really professional proposal to bring a team to Estevan,” said Farr, who believed that the southeast needed a male AAA hockey team.

Based on the number of kids from Estevan and other southeast communities who were going to other areas of the province to play midget AAA hockey, Farr had what he called a “quiet confidence” that they would be successful.

“We put together one heck of a proposal thanks to our committee and Becky Westling (from the City of Estevan),” said Farr.

The committee consisted of Farr, Kraig Wanner, Blake Jamieson, Greg Hof-

fort, Nathan Johnson, Brad Robinson, Doug Martens, Chad Jesse and the late Ron Areshenkoff. Roy Ludwig, Jeff Pierson and Ryan Siever came on board later.

“We put a committee together where we all had good backgrounds in what we needed to accomplish, and relied on their expertise to perform and bring it forward,” said Farr.

Most members of the group are still involved, and they’re all part of it for the right reasons.

From there, the focus shifted to hockey operations.

The Bears brought in Cole Zahn to be the president of hockey operations, and they started the selection process for a head coach and general manager.

“We had about 17 ap-

plicants from … all over North America, and Cole and the group selected Jeff Smith as our head coach,” said Farr.

Smith was no stranger to local hockey fans, as he had been an assistant coach with the Estevan Bruins since Januar y 2018. The move to hire Smith proved to be a popular one in the community.

Riley Hengen of Estevan and Willy Mason and Jason Johnstone of Weyburn are assistant coaches. Mason is a former Estevan Bruin.

“I made a couple of calls into Weyburn because I saw that to make this team successful was the relationship between Estevan Minor Hockey and Weyburn Minor Hockey was to have representatives from Weyburn,”

said Farr.

Scouts from throughout the region were also added to the team.

The Bears announced their recruits in May, and held their first training camp in August. Then they, and the other U18 AAA teams in Saskatchewan, had to wait for the green light from the Saskatchewan Health Authority to play games.

They had a couple of exhibition games against the Notre Dame Hounds in October, and then they played their first-ever regular season game against the Regina Pat Canadians on Nov 1.

Estevan lost that game 9-1 to a team expected to be the best in the South Division this season. Carson Birnie of Arcola scored the Bears first-ever goal.

Cade bendtsen - #2

kieran stewart - #3

Ayden LAmArre - #4

hunter weber - #6

Position: Defence Shoots: Left Birthday: January 2, 2003 Hometown: Carlyle, SK Fave NHL Team: Seattle Kraken Offseason Hobby: Golf Dream Job: Brain Surgeon

Position: Wing Shoots: Right Birthday: April 6, 2003 Hometown: Oxbow, SK Fave NHL Team: Vancouver Canucks Offseason Hobby: Golf Dream Job: Aerospace Engineer

Position: Defence Shoots: Left Birthday: April 20, 2004 Hometown: Gull Lake, SK Fave NHL Team: Vancouver Canucks Offseason Hobby: Going to the Lake Dream Job: Astronaut

Position: Defence Shoots: Left Birthday: March 13, 2003 Hometown: Saskatoon, SK Fave NHL Team: Boston Bruins Offseason Hobby: Fishing Dream Job: Professional Fisherman

Position Shoot Birthday: M Hometown: Fave NHL Te Blackh Offseason Ho Dream Jo

Zayden Sadlemyer - #12

blaze gutzke - #14

Carson Birnie - #15

Dallen Oxelgren - #16

turner mcm

Position: Centre / Right Wing Shoots: Right Birthday: April 18, 2005 Hometown: Buena Vista, SK Fave NHL Team: Calgary Flames Offseason Hobby: Surfing Dream Job: Engineer

Position: Right Wing Shoots: Right Birthday: July 12, 2005 Hometown: Francis, SK Fave NHL Team: Edmonton Oilers Offseason Hobby: Quading Dream Job: Pipeliner

Position: Left Wing Shoots: Left Birthday: February 22, 2005 Hometown: Arcola, SK Fave NHL Team: Washington Capitals Offseason Hobby: Wake Surf Dream Job: Engineer

Position: Defence Shoots: Left Birthday: March 21, 2004 Hometown: Weyburn SK Fave NHL Team: Chicago Blackhawks Offseason Hobby: Baseball Dream Job: Lineman

Position Shoot Birthday: Janu Hometown: Fave NHL Team: Offseason Ho Dream Job: P

Jackson Miller - #30

Austin HAllAdAy

cole zahn

jason johnstone

Position: Goalie Shoots: Left Birthday: June 11, 2004 Hometown: Estevan, SK Fave NHL Team: Seattle Kraken Offseason Hobby: Fishing Dream Job: Roller Coaster Tester

Position: Trainer Birthday: August 5, 1993 Hometown: Roche Percee, SK Fave NHL Team: Toronto Maple Leafs Offseason Hobby: Baseball Dream Job: Strength & Conditioning Coach

Position: President of Hockey Operations Birthday: October 9, 1985 Hometown: Bethune, SK Fave NHL Team: Vancouver Canucks

Position: Assistant Coach / Scout Birthday: March 27, 1971 Hometown: Weyburn, SK Fave NHL Team: Philadelphia Flyers Offseason Hobby: Golfing, long walks on the beach Dream Job: Pro Golfer

Cooper Chri

jeffrey

Position: H Shoot Birthday: Jan Hometown: Fave NHL Te Blackh Offseason Ho Dream Job: Cru

Go Bears Go !!!

Wishing you much success in your first season

DR. ROBERT KITCHEN MP Phone: 306-634-3000 www.drrobertkitchen.ca

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www.estevanmercury.ca

November 11, 2020 A9

ME BEARS

Good Luck this season!

to perseverance and dedication to kids But they learned a lot from that game, and picked up their first-ever regular season point in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Swift Current Legionnaires on Nov. 6.

Estevan was supposed to play their first home regular season game on Nov. 8, but it was postponed due to a snowstorm.

The home opener is now scheduled for Nov. 15 against the Yorkton Maulers at Affinity Place at 4 p.m.

Farr said it has been great to see the team on the ice.

“It’s been rewarding to see the smiles on the kids’ faces and the team play its first exhibition game at home. Obviously this year it’s our first season and we’re hoping to be competitive in the South Division,” he said.

isholm - #7

n: Centre ts: Left May 18, 2003 Weyburn, SK eam: Chicago hawks obby: Fishing ob: Actor

The Estevan Eclipse Downhole Solutions U18 AAA Bears played their first preseason home game in October against the Notre Dame Hounds. File photo

Position: Goalie Shoots: Left Birthday: September 3, 2005 Hometown: White City, SK Fave NHL Team: Washington Capitals Offseason Hobby: Going to the Lake Dream Job: Real Estate Investor

Hunter KannoK Leipert - #8

caden drury - #9

colby cuddington- #10

Tucker Buhay - #11

Position: Right Wing Shoots: Right Birthday: June 29, 2004 Hometown: Regina, SK Fave NHL Team: Rangers Offseason Hobby: Basketball Dream Job: Lawyer

Position: Forward Shoots: Right Birthday: March 31, 2004 Hometown: Carrot River, SK Fave NHL Team: Vancouver Canucks Offseason Hobby: Golf Dream Job: Surgeon

Position: Wing Shoots: Right Birthday: January 28, 2004 Hometown: Manor, SK Fave NHL Team: Pittsburgh Penguins Offseason Hobby: Golf Dream Job: Dog Whisperer

Position: Centre Shoots: Right Birthday: March 3, 2004 Hometown: Craven, SK Fave NHL Team: Chicago Blackhawks Offseason Hobby: Quading Dream Job: Playing in the NHL

ty mason - #21

ty mason - #21

daxin peterson - #22

diego Flota - #24

Position: Centre / Right Wing Shoots: Right Birthday: June 23, 2005 Hometown: Weyburn, SK Fave NHL Team: Edmonton Oilers Offseason Hobby: Boxing Dream Job: Police Officer

Position: Centre / Right Wing Shoots: Right Birthday: June 23, 2005 Hometown: Weyburn, SK Fave NHL Team: Edmonton Oilers Offseason Hobby: Boxing Dream Job: Police Officer

Position: Left Wing Shoots: Left Birthday: August 9, 2004 Hometown: Assiniboia, SK Fave NHL Team: Calgary Flames Offseason Hobby: Golfing Dream Job: Hockey Scout

Position: Defence Birthday: May 11, 2003 Hometown: Regina, SK

Joel Moriarty

riley hengen

Steve godfrey

Willy Mason

Position: Scout Shoots: Left Birthday: March 1, 1989 Hometown: Estevan, SK Dream Job: Plumber

Position: Assistant Coach Birthday: April 2, 1990 Hometown: Estevan, SK Fave NHL Team: Toronto Maple Leafs Offseason Hobby: Golf

Position: Manager Hometown: Estevan, SK Fave NHL Team: Boston Bruins Offseason Hobby: Golf

millen - #17

n: Centre ts: Left uary 30, 2003 Carievale, SK Edmonton Oilers obby: Farming Police Officer

Kelton pyne - #1

y smith

Head Coach ts: Left nuary 2, 1981 : Estevan, SK eam: Chicago hawks obby: Walking uise Ship Captain

Welcome to estevan Good Luck this season!

Position: Assistant Coach Birthday: January 18, 1979 Hometown: Weyburn, SK Fave NHL Team: Pittsburgh Penguins Offseason Hobby: Hanging at the cabin

GO BEARS GO!!!

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A10

Simulators assist heavy equipment operator training

By Brian Zinchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The auditorium at the Southeast College’s Estevan campus hosted an excavator last week, and a dozer, and an articulated dump truck. And yet no diesel was consumed, nor ground disturbed. Even so, several people got a chance to try their hand at those pieces of equipment, and several more.

Simulator heavy equipment operator training is coming to Southeast College in Estevan. An example of one of the simulators the college is acquiring was on display Nov. 3 for demonstration purposes.

The college is in the process of setting up a heavy equipment operator training program, which will rely on the use of simulators in addition to in-seat training on actual equipment.

Jody Holzmiller, vicepresident of education and training with Southeast College said: “The college is currently in the process of developing an industry accredited heavy equipment operator course. There are a few programs out there. We’ve heard from industry that they aren’t meeting the training needs. So, we are working towards building our own program.”

She noted the simulator was in Estevan for much of the week. The United Mine Workers of America Local 7606 as well college representatives are working together on putting together a program.

It’s still early stages, but she said students would likely get 30 hours per machine in the simulator, and probably 80-160 hours seat time in actual equipment.

“We’ll have them choose their two pieces of choice for when they get out into the

work experience,” she said.

They’re still working on which equipment will be highlighted, as well as partnerships for the training on actual equipment.

Southeast College is aiming for February 2021 for the program’s launch. The goal is to have a class size of eight, and eight simulators, allowing for a one-to-one ratio of students to simulators. The program length might be 16 weeks, but that could change.

Tuition costs also aren’t nailed down yet, either, but the last time a similar program was offered, tuition was $10,000 per student. Holzmiller said they’re hoping for that.

Joe Najjar is the territory manager for Canada and the U.S. for CM Labs, the simulator’s manufacturer. They are based in Montreal. He said, “Our headquarters, and everything you see here, is made in Canada.”

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“This is our go-to solution for community colleges, training organizations, that need to maximize the amount of machines that they can run on the same simulator. This can run up to 14 machines,” he said.

That includes excavator, wheel loader, bulldozer, articulated dump truck, motor grader, backhoe and numerous models of cranes. Additional equipment like skid-steer loader, telehandler and forklift are being added.

The simulator is a mockup of an operator’s cab, with joysticks, pedals and a steering wheel, with the appropriate controls being used for each simulated piece of equipment.

On the right is a touch screen which provides engine controls like a start button and throttle.

The trainee faces a 65inch monitor which can be rotated for either horizontal or vertical presentation.

Estevan MLA Lori Carr tried out a new simulator for heavy equipment at Southeast College’s Estevan campus on Nov. 3. Photo by Brian Zinchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The trainee sits on a moving, articulated seat, which mimics the experience of operating, bucking, moving and vibrating similar to a real machine. For instance, when an excavator’s teeth break through the hardpack dirt, you can feel it, quite literally, in your seat.

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The same occurs if you drive over uneven soil.

That’s a key consideration, as a significant portion of operating many pieces of earthmoving equipment is knowing how the equipment feels.

And more significantly, the simulator dirt performs similar real dirt. Loose dirt acts differently than hardpack dirt.

Estevan MLA and Minister of Government Relations Lori Carr tried it out. She said, “I didn’t know what to think when I got on it, but it is pretty real. I felt like I was in a machine, actually running the controls. And when I would hit the ground, my seat would bounce, it startled me. So, I think it’s going to be a really great tool, moving forward.”

Carr said: “I truly think that this goes to show what a great partnership can do between the regional college and the provincial government and the community and the industry. This is something that they saw as a need, and they decided to bring it here.

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Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Bruins open the season with a split versus Melville

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

The Estevan Bruins first games of the 2020-21 regular season provided a stiff test, thanks to a pair of games against the Melville Millionaires.

The Bruins rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to beat Melville 4-3 Friday night in Melville, but then dropped a 6-3 decision Saturday in the Black and Gold’s home opener at Affinity Place.

Both teams have received a considerable boost from Western Hockey League (WHL) talent. The Bruins have local product Cole Fonstad, who finished third in the WHL in assists last year and was a fifth round pick of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens in 2018, as well as forward Eric Pearce and defenceman Nolan Jones.

Melville, meanwhile, has five players: Jaydon Dureau and Reece Newkirk, who were also fifth round NHL selections, along with Joe Arntsen, Landon Kosior and Bryan Thomson.

Fonstad opened the scoring Friday 7:04 into the first period – his first regular season goal for the Bruins in nearly five years, as he scored as a 15-year-old midget AAA callup in 2015.

Newkirk scored to tie the

game, and then gave Melville the lead with a goal 27 seconds into the second. Jonathan Krahn doubled the advantage with six minutes to play in the middle frame.

Fonastad’s second of the game early in the third pulled the Bruins to within one, and Ryder Pierson – another Estevan product – tied the game a few minutes later.

Jones scored the winner for the Bruins with 37 seconds to play in the third period. Pinching in from the point, he was in a corner when he threw the puck towards the net, and the puck bounced in off a Melville defender.

Emerik Demers stopped 25 shots to get the win – his first regular season victory in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).

Melville led after the first period Saturday, with Krahn scoring on a power play midway through the first period and Dureau scoring with 26 seconds to play in the first period.

After neither team scored in the second, Luke Nkwama tallied twice for Melville in the opening 4 1/2 minutes of the third for a 4-0 advantage.

Mason Strutt’s goal 20 seconds after Nkwama’s second tally put Estevan on the board.

The two teams traded

Eric Pearce (26) jostles for possession of the puck with a Melville Millionaires player Saturday night at Affinity Place goals before the end of the game. Devan Harrison from a point shot and Eddie Gallagher in tight scored for the Bruins, while Zach McIntyre and Dureau tallied for Melville.

Gallagher’s goal came seconds after Melville’s Cole Stevenson checked Bruin forward Caleb Petrie from behind. Stevenson was assessed a five-minute major and ejected, but there was just 25 seconds remaining.

Demers and Eric Clark split the goaltending duties for

Estevan.

Head coach and general manager Jason Tatarnic said both games saw the Bruins struggle in the first two periods, only to pick up the pace in the third. The difference was they were able to win Friday.

“I thought we played better in the third (Saturday night), but it was a little bit too late,” said Tatarnic.

Several of Melville’s WHL players are high-end talents who played a lot both nights, too.

“Our guys have to rise up

to that challenge and accept it, and we just have to have a better effort. You should welcome that challenge and thrive in it. As a hockey player, you want to play against the best players that you can, and some of our guys have that opportunity right now, and it shows what you’re made of,” said Tatarnic.

The Bruins will visit the Humboldt Broncos Friday night, and then host Humboldt Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at Affinity Place.

• • •

Kersey Reich, a 19-yearold defenceman, has been traded by the Bruins to the Nipawin Hawks for prospect forward Brendan Holba.

Reich, who hails from Estevan, posted four goals and 14 points in 40 games for the Bruins as a rookie in 2019-20.

He was born and raised in Estevan and played his developmental hockey here until his second year at the U15 level, when he joined the Notre Dame AAA program. Then he spent three years playing U18 AAA hockey with the Swift Current Legionnaires.

“The Estevan Bruins thank Kersey for his contributions to the team on the ice and in the community,” the team said in a social media post. “As a hometown player, Kersey represented the club with pride and was a great role model with young fans and kids in Estevan.”

Holba (5'8”, 185 pounds) is a 2003-born forward currently playing with the Regina Pat Canadians. He was selected by the Hawks in the third round, 30th overall, in the 2018 SJHL Bantam Draft.

He had seven goals and 12 points in 43 games with the Pat Canadians last season – his first in U18 AAA hockey – and he’s expected to be part of the Bruins for the 2021-22 season.

Extreme volleyball club working towards start of season The Estevan Extreme Volleyball Club has started practising so that it can be ready for the upcoming season, and it has also started an important fundraiser.

The Extreme has several different teams for young volleyball players. They haven’t started their actual club volleyball season yet; rather, they have been holding camps for the athletes. Sessions started on Nov. 1 and are happening at the Doug Third Gymnasium, which will be their home for the next two seasons.

New for this year is the Atomic Smashball program, a modified game for girls and boys in Grades 4-6.

For girls in Grades 7-12, they have camps for girls in each age, ranging from under-13 to under-17, and they have a camp for boys who are ages 13-16.

About 100 kids have registered for the program, with the Atomic Smash the most

popular.

“Atomic Smashball is a program that Sask. Volleyball has been trying to get going,” said coach Mandy Murray. “It’s kind of an interesting program.

They teach the kids how to be aggressive. The very first day you start atomic, you learn how to attack or spike the ball.”

The format allows kids to become interested in the sport right away.

Another round of Atomic Smashball is scheduled for the spring of 2021.

They have enough kids in each of the different age groups to have a club team.

“We haven’t gone right into actual club season right now. We’re just doing volleyball camps,” said Murray.

A big emphasis has been getting the players back into game shape. They haven’t been able to play since mid-March, when the COVID-19 pandemic put the brakes on their season.

“It’s been a really long time since they’ve been back in the gym. We usually like to try and get them back in the gym in the beginning of October, and we didn’t get started until the beginning of November, waiting on Sask. Volleyball,” said Murray.

The Extreme volleyball club has about a dozen coaches, and they’re always looking for more. But the ones they have are a very dedicated group.

“We’ve got a really good group of coaches. We have some younger coaches, which is nice to see, who have been through the program themselves and now are coming back and coaching. So that’s fantastic and we’re really excited about that.”

Sask. Volleyball has told them they can start a club season on Nov. 30, which was much earlier than expected.

Their camps are essentially tryouts, but anybody who is not

The Estevan Extreme Volleyball Club has been holding camps to help players work on their skills. Photo submitted a part of the camps will attend one-day tryouts in November.

The tryouts for each of the five girls teams will be Nov. 21, starting with the 13U team at 10 a.m. Tryouts for boys team, for those 14-16 will be Nov. 21, starting at 5:45 p.m., and Dec. 5, starting at 2 p.m.

Please email at info@estevanextreme.com to register.

Every player must register to try out.

Extreme volleyball players are likely to compete in mini-leagues this year rather than tournaments. Sask. Volleyball is trying to figure out how they would offer tournaments this season.

A date hasn’t been set for mini-leagues, but they likely won’t happen until early in 2021.

“We usually don’t start competing until the end of

January or beginning of February anyways,” said Murray.

A Facebook Christmas auction is underway, with a lot of great prizes available, she said. People can find homemade items, toys, seasonal jackets, hair care products and more.

Each week some new items will be available. Bidding on the Week 3 items began on Monday.

Bears pick up first point; home opener postponed The Estevan Eclipse Downhole Solutions U18 AAA Bears hockey team will have to wait a little longer to play their first-ever regular season home game.

The game, scheduled for 2 p.m.

Sunday at Affinity Place against the Swift Current Legionnaires, was postponed due to the weather. A make-up date hasn’t been announced.

Head coach and general manager Jeff Smith said they were disappointed when they had to call off the contest.

“We had everything planned for our home opener. Most of the board

members came and watched practice because they were so excited for the home opener,” he said.

But he hopes they will be able to have more than 150 fans in attendance when they do have their first home game, scheduled for Nov. 15 against the Yorkton Maulers at 4 p.m. at Affinity Place.

Estevan lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Legionnaires in Swift Current on Friday. It marked the first regular season point for the Bears.

Colby Cuddington scored in the second period and Cooper Chisholm

tallied in the third for Estevan. Chisholm’s goal came early in the third, tied the game at 2-2 and forced extra time.

Overtime solved nothing, so the game went to a shootout, where Swift Current had the only goal.

Kelton Pyne made 33 saves for the Bears.

“Swift’s a good, hard-working team, and they came out flying,” said Smith. “We were a little timid to start, and it took us a period to find our feet and start playing.”

The Bears carried the play in the

second and third periods, he said, but it was the first period that cost them the win.

“Both teams definitely had chances to win. We just couldn’t capitalize on it, which was a big part of today’s (Sunday’s) practice of just putting pucks to the net and making sure we score goals. It was heartbreaking to lose that one, but it’s a good stepping stone in the right direction.”

It was a much better effort than their first game against the Regina Pat Canadians, which was a 9-1 loss on Nov. 1.

“They played a little harder,” said Smith. “They finished checks, they wanted the puck. The urgency was there. They shot the puck a lot more. We actually had over 25 shots, which was nice. They shot the puck, went to the net and banged in some rebounds.”

It also shows the players they are already capable of playing against the established teams.

Estevan’s next game will be Nov. 13 at the Yorkton Maulers. Then they will host Yorkton Nov. 15 at Affinity Place at 4 p.m.

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Classifieds

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

A12

Notices / NomiNatioNs

Obituaries Joe Mack February 9, 1927 October 21, 2020 Joe died surrounded by family at Spearfish South Dakota.

Joe was born to Sebastian and Helen (Dies) Mack in Lampman.

Joe is survived by his wife of 63 years; Marcia their 12 children, 38 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, brother and sister-inlaw Lawrence and Eleanor Mack, sister Monica Mack, sister-inlaw Rita Mack, sister-in-law Donnell Mack. Joe is pre-deceased by his parents Sebastian and Helen, parents-in-law Louis and Justine Marcotte. Three brothers; Ralph, Valentine, Pius; sisters Margaret Wock, Katie Wock, Lena Mack; brothers-in-law Ole Wock, Peter Wock, Edward Mack, Lloyd Mack, Allan Marcotte.

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Rob Cyr December 12, 1960 November 14, 2000 You meant so much to all of us You were special, and that’s no lie You brightened up the darkest day And the cloudiest sky.

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The power of being known Tim Pippus of the Estevan Church of Christ

Every September, the staff at Sara’s school has a party to celebrate the start of the new school year and to welcome new staff to the group. This year’s event was the best one ever.

One of the teachers said he would host everyone in his backyard. Then, he made a great decision. He brought his Alexa, a voice operated computer that is hooked to the Internet, out into the yard and said, “We are going to go around the circle and you have to tell Alexa to play a song and then you have to explain why you like that song and what it means to you.”

People would ask Alexa to play a song and then say, “This was our graduation song”, or “This is the first song that we danced to at our wedding.” Someone else would play one and then tell about seeing that band in concert.

I was surprised, not only by the range of musical styles, but by the range of the stories themselves. It was so much fun that most of us stayed there until 1:30 in the morning.

Before that night, they were just a group of nice people. Now, they are peo-

ple that I know something about. Before, they were defined by their job. Now, in my mind, they are defined by their stories. Previously, I knew them. Now, I really like them.

That is how it always works. We feel close to those that we know. We are, as scripture says, “united in love” (Colossians 2:2). We are not united by agreeing about everything. We are united when we care about each other.

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We think it is somehow dangerous to let others get too close or to know too much about ourselves. However, that only serves to isolate us and make us more suspicious of others. Add in the forced separation of the pandemic restrictions and, suddenly, many people feel lonely and discouraged.

However, being connected solves a lot of problems. As 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

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November 11, 2020 A13

Fire destroys one of Torquay’s grain elevators One of the most wellknown and visible landmarks in Torquay was destroyed by a fire last week.

The grain elevator at the east end of the village went up in flames early on Nov. 4.

Members of the Torquay Fire Department and the Estevan Fire Rescue Service, along with area farmers, spent several hours at the scene.

The wind was blowwing out of the west that night, so the flames and the smoke were not blowing towards the village.

The fire caused some damage to surrounding fields, but not to houses and other buildings.

Another grain elevator to the west also was not damaged.

Torquay resident Norma Patton filmed a portion of the

fire and posted the footage to her Facebook page. The video and her photos have since gone viral.

She noted that just after 1 a.m. on Nov. 4, her husband saw on Facebook that a friend of theirs had a message that one of the grain elevators was on fire.

“We looked outside and just saw that there was a big glow over the town. But we couldn’t see where the fire was coming from, where we lived, because we live on Miller Avenue, which is the south side of town.”

Patton drove to an area about half a kilometre away from the fire site, where she captured the video and took some of the pictures. She also photographed the cleanup

that ensued.

She said she was surprised at how large the fire was, and she’s also surprised at how much attention her videos and photos received.

“I knew that at 1:30 in the morning, most people in the area were in bed sleeping.

I figured most people in this town and anywhere else would not have seen it. And I just love taking pictures.”

But most of all, she is glad that the wind was blowing the right direction that night, and she’s pleased there are so many dedicated firefighters and farmers in the area who are willing to lend a helping hand.

“I could tell from my view that they just basically stayed back … and made sure that

nowhere else was burning. If the grass was burning, they would go over in those directions and

Three significant fires posed a threat to different communities in the southeast last week.

Estevan firefighters assisted with battling the flames alongside local fire departments in Bienfait, Torquay and in the Alameda area.

The first call for help for the Estevan Fire Rescue Service (EFRS) came in on Nov. 3 at about 1 p.m. Firefighters were dispatched to assist the Bienfait Fire Department in battling a wildland fire occurring about six kilometres north of town.

"Crews responded and we assisted Bienfait fire with containing and extinguishing that grass fire," said Estevan Deputy Fire Chief Rick Davies.

Local farmers came out and assisted firefighters in putting this fire out as well. There

were no injuries and no damage to structures or property other than land.

Estevan fire crews were on the scene until 5 p.m., and they left a water truck behind for a few more hours to be used by Bienfait firefighters.

The next emergency occurred on Nov. 4 at about 1 a.m. Estevan fire crews were dispatched to assist the Torquay Fire Department that was battling a grain elevator fire.

Local farmers also brought their equipment and helped firefighters on the scene.

The eastern grain elevator in the village was a complete loss, but there was no other damage to structures and no injuries. Crews were out on the scene for about eight hours.

And almost as soon as firefighters were done with

this fire, another call for assistance came from the Portal fire department with a large grass fire south of Frobisher.

Seven Estevan firefighters were on scene alongside dozens of other specialists battling a humongous fire for about seven hours. The EFRFS brought out three pieces of apparatus, including the tanker, new utility truck and the universal terrain vehicle (UTV).

(For more on the fire, please see Page A6).

Members of the local fire department, alongside the Estevan Police Service (EPS) and Estevan Emergency Medical Services, responded to a two-vehicle collision that occurred at about 3 p.m. on Nov. 6 on 13th Avenue.

Firefighters assisted with removing two occupants that were trapped in one of the vehicles. They were then turned over to EMS, but Davies said that it seemed that the injuries

were minor.

The scene was turned over to the EPS to investigate the incident.

One of the vehicles was knocked on its side in the collision.

The next call for service came in just after 3 p.m. on Nov. 8. Firefighters were dispatched to a business on the east side of Estevan to assist with an elevator rescue.

"There was a person that was trapped in the basement floor of the building in the elevator due to a power outage that was happening within the city," said Davies.

Fortunately, since the elevator got stuck in the basement, firefighters were able to quickly get the person out without an incident.

He added that when elevators get stuck on higher floors or in between levels they have to first manually get the elevator to a certain floor, which, depending on the type

One of the grain elevators in Torquay was destroyed by a fire last week. Photo

by Norma Patton have that under control so that the fire wouldn’t spread any further. There wasn’t much they

could do for the elevator itself, so they had to protect the area instead.”

Estevan crews assisted in battling three serious fires and responded to other calls in town

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Liquor Permit Advertising Form Under the provisions of The Alcohol and Gaming Regulations Act, 1997, Notice is hereby given that Chopper K Steakhouse Inc. has applied to the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) for a Restaurant permit to sell alcohol in the premises known as Chopper K Steakhouse at Hwy 9 Alameda SK, S0C 0A0.

Written objections to the granting of the permit may be filed with SLGA not more than two weeks from the date of publication of this notice.

Every person filing a written objection with SLGA shall state their name, address, and telephone number in printed form, as well as the grounds for the objection(s). Petitions must name a contact person, state grounds, and be legible. Each signatory to the petition and the contact person must provide an address and telephone number. Frivolous, vexatious or competitionbased objections within the beverage alcohol industry may not be considered and may be rejected by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Licensing Commission, who may refuse to hold a hearing.

Write to: Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, Box 5054 REGINA SK S4P 3M3

Emergency crews were called to a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Fifth Street and 13th Avenue on Friday. Photo by Ana Villarreal of elevator, may not always be possible.

Shortly after fire crews returned to the station, they were called for service again.

The call came in at about 4:30 p.m. This time a tree branch came in contact with a power line and caught on fire on the north side of Estevan. Crews

responded and secured the area until SaskPower arrived.

"But by then the branch burned off the power line. So we confirmed that there were no other fires to worry about and turned the scene over to SaskPower for them to do their minor repairs," Davies said.

IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF RONALD HENRY, LATE OF ESTEVAN, IN THE PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN, DECEASED. All claims against the above Estate, duly verified by Statutory Declaration and with particulars and valuation of security held, if any, must be sent to the undersigned before the 15th day of December, 2020.

ORLOWSKI LAW OFFICE PROF. CORP. 1215 - 5th Street ESTEVAN, Saskatchewan S4A 0Z5 TAX ENFORCEMENT LIST RURAL MUNICIPALITY OF CYMRI NO. 36 PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN

Notice is hereby given under the Tax Enforcement Act that unless the arrears and costs appearing opposite the land described in the following list are fully paid before the 28th day of January, 2021, a tax lien will be registered against the land.

Note: A sum for costs in an amount as prescribed in the regulations, is included in the amount shown against each parcel (Section 4(3) Tax Enforcement Act).

Description of Property

Title Total Arrears Number & Costs SW 17 4 10 2 142185999 $737.54 NW 31 4 10 2 142186057 $642.51 Parcel A Plan 102163632 Ext 0 145617138 $2,323.25 NE 16 5 10 2 148184781 $5,261.96 SE 36 5 10 2 142186002 $728.19 SW 16 5 11 2 108293777 $676.21 Parcel A Plan 101507420 Ext 68 108292709 $2,311.76 SW 15 5 12 2 108019212 $447.40 NE 7 6 11 2 107448802 $347.85 NW 15 6 11 2 106630062 $278.66 NE 16 6 11 2 104309388 $314.26 NW 16 6 11 2 104309401 $386.31 SE 16 6 11 2 104309423 $386.74 SW 16 6 11 2 104309445 $346.14 NE 15 6 12 2 135561663 $489.38 Dated at Midale, this 11th day of November, 2020.

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Flashback – June 30, 1950

Cheers Cheers to the gentleman who helped a woman with her horse trailer lights on Nov. 2.

He made a point of stopping her to let her know they weren’t working, he followed her into town to make sure there wasn’t any trouble, and then he helped get them working again.

Cheers to the Estevan Mercury for once again being honoured among its peers for news gathering and reporting to the city and southeast Saskatchewan. A proud 117-year history of being in the Saskatchewan news business.

Cheers to Tim Pippus’ column in the Estevan Mercury. His column has brought calm and clarity for readers during this time.

Cheers to all of the candidates in the civic election who let their name stand. Regardless of whether you were successful, your efforts to try to improve your community or school board should be applauded.

Cheers to all of the workers who were out on Sunday and Monday, clearing snow, sanding roads and highways, and doing their part to keep everything passable for those who had to travel.

Cheers to all of the fire department members on both sides of the border who came together to fight the serious grass fire south of Frobisher.

It took a lot of people a long time to bring that fire under control. And cheers to all of those involved with the response to the grain elevator fire in Torquay.

Jeers Jeers to an old lady at a local store who would not keep her distance in a lineup. Clearly precautions for COVID-19 should be taken seriously. Stay at the recommended distance and don’t encroach on people.

Jeers to the entrances at St. Joseph’s Hospital, as they look appalling and are covered with leaves.

Jeers to the Larry Leadfoots driving far too fast for the road conditions on Sunday afternoon and evening. If there’s a travel not recommended advisory out, it means you shouldn’t be travelling 10-20 kilometres above the speed limit.

To submit a cheer or a jeer, please email it to dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca, or visit www.estevanmercury.ca.

Berdahl school, photo taken June 30, 1950. Jack Twist was school teacher. Back row, from left, Andrew Himmelspach, Wilhelmina Himmelspach, Clara Shanner, Richard Shanner and Anna Himmelspach. Middle row, Donna Matis, Emilia Himmelspach, Bobbie Mantei, Eleanor McGillicky, Richard Olischefski, Bobbie Shanner, Margery Matis, Mary McGillicky and Dennis Pho. Front row, Dianne Pho, Donna Pho, Donald Pho, Gen McGillicky and Eileen Wingard, Photo courtesy of Ann Pho of Estevan. Photo submitted by Eleanor Mack

Estevan Family Resource Centre is running winter flower fundraiser The Estevan Family Resource Centre has launched its second flower fundraiser.

And since Christmas is already around the corner, this time they are offering a variety of beautiful poinsettias, cozy wreaths and other gorgeous winter live arrangements. The online sale will be running until Nov. 17, with a delivery for pick up scheduled to happen at one of the local shops on Dec. 2.

Misty Pennington, the Estevan Family Resource Centre’s chairperson, said the campaign is running through Growing Smiles Fundraising, which offers a variety of festive decorations through their online platform.

“People get different items to order, like poinsettias; there are holiday wreaths.

It’s like a festive fundraiser,” Pennington said.

Orders can be made online at www.estevanfamilycentre.growingsmilesfundraising.com. Credit card and e-transfer are accepted for payment. Anybody in Estevan or the area can purchase the items.

All proceeds stay in Estevan. This fundraiser helps to support operations at the Es-

tevan Family Resource Centre and helps their services to remain free to the community.

“We have a social worker service, that’s free and anybody in the community can utilize. We have a drop-in play … that’s free. We run different programs such as Gym Babies, Story Time and Sing Along. We also have an emergency stash of diapers and formula for anyone that’s in need,” Pennington said.

This is the first winter fundraiser for the centre. They tried the flower sales for the first time in the spring for outdoor flowers and that was a big success, so they decided to give the winter one a try.

“We are trying to find some COVID-friendly fundraisers,” Pennington explained.

The centre lost a few major fundraisers this year, so they are trying to find innovative ways to still gain some funds to keep operating.

They are planning on doing a few more things before the end of the year, and are also looking forward to running the outdoor flower sale again in the spring.

“We are so grateful and thankful to the community

People have a variety of poinsettias and Christmas compositions to choose from, while supporting the family centre. Photo submitted for the continuous support,” Pennington said.

The Estevan Family Resource Centre Inc. is a prevention model of service delivery offering a comprehensive range of programs aimed at enhancing child and family well-being by reducing family isolation, supporting healthy child development and providing information to support positive parenting.

“We act as a visible, inclusive and welcoming access point for all families in the community and surrounding area,” said the centre’s press release. “ We provide services in four core areas: parenting education, early learning, family wellness and support and information and referrals along with our drop-on and play area.”

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November 11, 2020 A15

No Stone Left Alone teaches kids about veterans A new initiative has come to Estevan to create awareness among school students about those who served their country.

No Stone Left Alone is being brought to Estevan by Elyse Mantei, whose father was in the military for 40 years.

Local students will attend the city cemetery for a ceremony that will include music, poetry, a moment of silence and the laying of a wreath.

“At the end, each kid get a poppy, and they go to the gravesite of a veteran, put the poppy down and they thank the veteran for their service,

and say whatever else they want to out of respect,” said Mantei.

A c losing ceremony wraps up the activity.

“It’s just to let kids know that our fallen soldiers will never be forgotten. We can always appreciate everything they did for our country,” said Mantei.

The Grade 7 and 8 students from Sacred Heart School/École Sacré Coeur and Pleasantdale School were scheduled to be there Monday, but those plans were postponed, since temperatures

were colder than normal. The students would have had to walk to the cemetery due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Their visit has been tentatively moved to Friday.

Also slated to participate are kids from St. Mary’s School on Nov. 15. Since it’s a weekend, parents will bring them to the cemetery.

“They’re very excited about it. The children seem really, really excited to learn and to go to the cemetery and do the ceremonies,” said Maintei.

Mantei’s father, John Wilkinson of Moose Jaw,

was approached six years ago about running this program in Saskatchewan.

Since that time, it has grown to other communities in the province. Mantei believes Estevan is the eighth community in the province to be involved.

“The program has only been in Canada since 2011, and it started in Edmonton. Now it’s spread across Canada. As of 2018, I believe it was just under 300,000 poppies laid,” she said.

So not only is this a program that is very meaningful to her, with a strong personal

connection, it’s a way to teach younger people about the importance of honouring veterans and their sacrifices.

“Once veterans pass on, we want to make sure that they know they will never be forgotten. We will always remember what they did for our country, for our families, for everybody.

A way of showing our respect, and showing them that we will never forget them is to leave a poppy on their gravestone.

Their stone will never be left alone; it will never be forgotten,” said Mantei.

Mantei is hopeful that

this program can grow next year to the other schools in the city and possibly Bienfait Weldon School, but the potential to do it this year was limited due to COVID-19.

“Due to the circumstances this year, we weren’t able to do as much, so that’s why we’ve had to resort to doing smaller ceremonies, with separate schools at a time. So hopefully we’ll be able to do it bigger next year.”

And she hopes that this can become part of Remembrance Day efforts at local schools moving forward.

13 Ways Inc. hired to consult on economic opportunities In the ongoing mission to grow the City of Estevan and provide new economic opportunities for residents and businesses, the City of Estevan and the economic development board have hired Doug Griffiths of 13 Ways Inc. to develop a strategy and action plan that identifies new economic opportunities and how best to attract businesses and new residents to the city.

The team from 13 Ways Inc. will be making their first trip to Estevan from Nov. 17-21. The focus will be on meeting new and former elected officials, people associated with economic development and administration.

The rest of the time will be assessing the community for opportunities and changes. Over the next several months, they will be returning to conduct more meetings and interviews with members of the public and business community.

The results from the meetings will be used to deliver a strategic plan and a tactical playbook for the economic development board to use in their effort to provide more economic opportunities in the City of Estevan.

“Engaging the public in a way that brings them through the process and excites them about the opportuni-

ties available to them and the business community is paramount to our process of developing this unique strategy,” said Griffiths. “By meeting with and engaging a diverse community, we are able to fully understand and mould our strategies to fit the community's needs.”

“Our new partnership with 13 Ways Inc. was made possible thanks to grant funding from Western Economic Diversification and the Coal Communities Transition Fund,”said city manager Jeff Ward.

“Since the fund was announced, we have made several applications for economic development initiatives and this project

Carr gets a new cabinet post Estevan MLA Lori Carr is going to remain in the provincial cabinet, but she will have a new role.

Carr was named the minister of Social Services on Monday, replacing Paul Merriman, who shifted over to the minister of Education role.

Previously Carr was the minister of Government Relations, minister responsible for First Nations, Métis and Northern Affairs, and minister responsible for the Provincial Capital Commission. Don McMorris is moving into that role.

Carr is in her second term as Estevan’s MLA. She was re-elected during last month’s

provincial election.

The new cabinet was sworn-in by Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan Russ Mirasty on Monday.

“It is an honour to put in place a new cabinet to guide a government with a strong, new mandate from the people of Saskatchewan,” said Premier Scott Moe. “Our cabinet will continue the crucial work of building a strong Saskatchewan, work that is even more important as we continue the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and manage Saskatchewan’s economic recovery.”

The size of cabinet remains unchanged at 18, in-

was one of the successful applications, so we’re excited to be able to move forward with Doug and his team.”

Griffiths, who is the author of the best-selling book 13 Ways to Kill your Community, is the leader of 13 Ways.

Griffiths retired from provincial politics in Alberta in 2015 to actively pursue his passion of helping communities, organizations and businesses grow stronger.

Griffiths’ team consists of three other staff members that specialize in areas such as strategic consulting and planning, as well as digital marketing.

Together the team uses their diverse experiences to develop strategic plans

Doug Griffiths for communities that are transitioning and looking to find new ways to attract business and residential opportunities to their communities.

EPS members lay charge under Public Health Act The Estevan Police Service has charged a 25-year-old Estevan man under the Public Health Act, following a gathering on Halloween.

Officers were called to a party at a residence in west Estevan, where they obser ved a large gathering of approximately 30-40 people.

This gathering was well in excess of the allow-

Lori Carr cluding Moe. Next week’s edition of the Mercury will have more on this story.

able limit for a private residence, which was 15 at that time.

A fine of $2,000 dollars, along with an $800 victim surcharge for hosting the gathering, was levied on the accused.

The EPS released the details Friday. No further information was immediately available.

This marked the

first time the EPS has issued a ticket under the Public Health Act over a COVID-related violation. The EPS has received complaints in the past that proved to be unfounded, and they have given out warnings.

Effective Nov. 6, the limit for a private gathering in a residence has been reduced to 10 people.

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Cha se E Ever stevan K the Ace y Th insm ur at th e Bla sday nig en Club h ck G rassh t @ 6:00 pm oppe r

FUNDR AISIN 1 year o f FREE c G RAFFLE leaning from Sa serv ve members the Press - 1 ye ices ar hip at TS $10 eac h - Draw &M Golf Course No 2020 - C all Jessie vember 27, at 306.4 for ticke 21 ts Novemb .3601 - Deadlin e er 25

Bingo Royal Night Cana d Legio ian Every n Th @ 6:45 ursday Nig h 2 war 6 up with t m-up game – $18 s .0 game 0 - 9 up w ith 2 w s – $2 1 a warm -up g .00 - 12 up rm-up a m with 2 es – $ For m 24.00 o (306) re informat 421-7 ion C all Be 927 rnice –

ale r Plant S undraise , 2020 F r te in 7 W er 1 - 1 Novemb red for pickup ve li Items de mber 2nd c e D e ansfer rd & E-tr family a C it d Cre tevan www.es ising.

Order at: gsmilesfundra in w ro centre.g com

Benson Recreation Fa cility Club Cash 4 Christmas 50/50 Draw - Win up to $10,000 (2000 tickets available) Draw date: December 1, 2020 Tickets available by ma il & etransfer. For more inf ormation call 306-421-9367 Tickets $10 Each

The Estevan Shoppers Mall is now the • Ardene • Dollarama • Eclipse LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!

• Marks • Money Mart • Nutters

• Peavey Mart • Pet Valu • Sask Liquor

• SaskTel • Sobeys • SportChek

• Star Gift • Studio C Fitness • The Brick

• The Source • Tim Horton’s • Warehouse One

400 King Street

A16 November 11, 2020

www.estevanmercury.ca

EPS releases names of five alleged impaired drivers The Estevan Police Service (EPS) has released the names of five people charged with alleged impaired driving infractions last month.

On Oct. 9, Perry Mitchell, 58, of Estevan was charged with operating a conveyance while impaired and operating a conveyance with a blood-alcohol content exceeding .08.

Also that day, Joseph Brooker, 29, of Estevan was charged with operating a conveyance while impaired and operating a conveyance with a blood-alcohol content exceeding .08.

The next day, Larry Horrocks, 61, of Estevan, was charged with operating a conveyance while impaired and operating a conveyance with a blood-alcohol content exceeding .08.

On Oct. 25, Andrew Greenfield, 33, of Hitchcock was charged with operating a conveyance while impaired and operating a conveyance with a blood-alcohol content exceeding .08.

That same day, Craig Bird, 38, of Carlyle was charged with operating a conveyance while impaired.

They are presumed innocent.

In other recent police news, the EPS responded to a north central residence Nov. 4 for a disturbance call. As a result, a 25-year-old Estevan woman was arrested for breaching conditions by consuming alcohol. She was lodged until sober and will be making a court appearance in December.

Officers and the Estevan Emergency Medical Services responded to the report of a vehicle-pedestrian collision in north central Estevan on Nov. 5. The driver of an eastbound car turned right at an intersection and collided with a youth who was riding westbound on his bicycle and crossing at the crosswalk. Only minor injuries were reported and the

bicycle sustained minor damage. The 75-year-old Estevan man was charged under the Traffic Safety Act for failing to yield the right of way.

A 32-year-old Stoughton man was arrested and charged as a result of a theft of merchandise at a north Estevan retail store. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Estevan Provincial Court on Dec. 20 at 9:30 a.m.

Police received a call regarding a male damaging the windshield of a vehicle.

Members attended and observed damage to the vehicle.

The male had left prior to members’ arrival. The matter is still under investigation.

Police arrested a 21-yearold Regina man for breaching conditions of his release on Nov. 6. He was released later in the evening for court in Estevan.

A 35-year-old Estevan woman was arrested and charged with mischief under the Criminal Code as a result of a disturbance at a south Estevan residence. After being arrested, the female kicked the door of a police vehicle, causing damage. She is scheduled to make her first appearance in Estevan Provincial Court on Dec. 21.

Police responded to a male in distress at a west Estevan parking lot. The male was located and brought to hospital without incident, where he was assessed by doctors before being admitted.

More graffiti was found by members in central Estevan.

The public is encouraged to call the EPS or Crime Stoppers regarding any information they may have regarding this ongoing crime.

Members were dispatched to a northeast Estevan apartment on Nov. 8 on the report of an assault that occurred between the occupants. A female was arrested upon arrival and transported to hospital for minor injuries. She was then

transported to the police station where she was lodged in cells.

Further investigation resulted in the Estevan woman being charged with assault with a weapon, uttering threats and breaching the conditions of her release order to keep the peace and be of good behaviour. She will remain in custody pending her appearance in Estevan Provincial Court the following day.

Officers stopped a driver from British Columbia in the 900-block of Fourth Street. A roadside alcohol test was completed and he blew a warning.

The driver was suspended from driving for three days as a result.

The vehicle he was driving was also impounded for three days.

Police stopped a truck downtown for a traffic offence.

The female driver had two warrants for her arrest. She was taken into custody and released a short time later with a new court date.

Members were notified of a theft of oilfield equipment from a business in east Estevan.

Police do not have a lot of details at the moment and are gathering evidence. If anyone saw anything suspicious or has any information on this theft, please call the EPS or Crime Stoppers. * * * The Carlyle RCMP is seeking the public’s assistance with a recent theft.

On Oct. 30, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., oil was stolen from an oil site just south of Redvers. Sixty to 70 barrels of oil were stolen from the site, with an approximate value of $2,300.

The site was left a mess, and the valves were left open.

If anyone has information about this occurrence, please contact Const. Dubeau at Carlyle RCMP 306-453-6707.

A l so, t h e Ca r nd u f f RCMP Detachment received a report of a utility trailer theft on Nov. 2. The theft occurred at an unknown time over the

previous weekend northwest of Carnduff, on property belonging to an area business.

The property is in full view of passing traffic on Highway 18.

Responsible individuals(s) disconnected a hitch-locking theft deterrent, and towed the trailer from the location.

The trailer was described as a white 2018 Continental Cargo single axle utility trailer with front and rear decals identifying it as such, and was last bearing Saskatchewan licence plate 785 LAJ. The Carnduff RCMP detachment is asking members of the public to contact police

if they happened to observe any suspicious activity in the location and/or suspicious individuals having no known business being in the area.

If you have information related to this advisory please call 310-RCMP for immediate response, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

City Hall: 1102 4th Street 8 am to 4:30 pm | (306) 634-1800 Leisure Office: 701 Souris Avenue 8 am to 4:30 pm | (306) 634-1880

Thank you to everyone for making Municipal Election 2020 Election a success November 9, 2020

FITNESS SCHEDULE MONDAY SPIN 6:10 AM - 6:50 AM AQUA AWE 9:15 AM - 10:00 AM GRIT 9:10 AM - 9:50 AM EASY STRETCH 10:10 AM - 10:50 AM SPIN 12:15 PM - 12:45 PM POWER BLAST 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM SPIN/CORE 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM AQUA STEP 5:15 PM - 6:00 PM OPEN 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM

ESTEVAN LEISURE CENTRE -2020 EFFECTIVE -SEPTEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 24, 2020

TUESDAY SPIN 6:10 AM - 6:50 AM AQUA AWE 9:15 AM - 10:00 AM SPIN 9:10 AM - 9:50 AM CARDIO BLAST 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM SPIN 5:30 PM - 6:10 PM OPEN 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM

WEDNESDAY GRIT 6:10 AM - 6:50 AM AQUA AWE 9:15 AM - 10:00 AM CORE BARRE ABOVE 9:10 AM - 10:15 AM FOAM ROLLER 10:30 AM - 11:10 AM BARRE ABOVE 12:15 PM - 12:45 PM POWER BLAST 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM AQUA STEP 5:15 PM - 6:00 PM OPEN 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM

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ADVANCE POLLS

THURSDAY SPIN 6:10 AM - 6:50 AM AQUA AWE 9:15 AM - 10:00 AM SPIN 9:10 AM - 9:50 AM CARDIO BLAST 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM HEAD TO TOE MOBILITY 5:00 PM - 5:45 PM SPIN 5:30 PM - 6:10 PM OPEN 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM

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FRIDAY GRIT 6:10 AM - 6:50 AM AQUA AWE 9:10 AM - 10:00 AM GRIT 9:10 AM - 9:50 AM EASY STRETCH 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM OPEN 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM

MAIL-IN BALLOT

SATURDAY OPEN 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM SUNDAY SPIN 9:10 AM - 9:50 AM DEEP WATER POWER 8:00 PM - 8:45 PM OPEN 9:00 AM - 9:50 PM

Get your Mail-In Ballot online PLEASE NOTE - Due to the pandemic-related protocols registration has moved to a PRE-Registration process. Users must pre-register online or by calling the Informationat Desk. Patrons will be screened upon arrival and asked a few questions as per the Operational Health and Safety Guidelines. Space between workout stations have either ncreased or a machine has been www.estevan.ca put into 'not in use.' Drinking fountains and change rooms will be closed.

Memberships that were bought previously were put on hold; the days remaining on memberships have been applied to your accounts starting June 8th, 2020. If you need a new membership, please either book online at www.estevan.ca or call the Information Desk for contactless payment.

or call Connie Spencer at 306-634-1802

Monday

AQUATIC SCHEDULE MONDAY LANE SWIM 6:00 AM - 6:45 AM LANE SWIM 7:00 AM - 7:45 AM LANE SWIM 8:00 AM - 8:45 AM AQUA AWE 9:15AM - 10:00 AM LANE SWIM 12:15 PM -1:00 PM LANE SWIM 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM SURF & SWIM 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM LANE SWIM 9:00 PM - 9:45 PM

November 2, 2020 EFFECTIVE10:00 - OCTOBER - DECEMBER between am &1 3:00 pm 19, 2020

TUESDAY WEDNESDAY LANE SWIM 6:00 AM - 6:45 AM LANE SWIM 6:00 AM - 6:45 AM Tuesday LANE SWIM 7:00 AM - 7:45 AM LANE SWIM 7:00 AM - 7:45 AM 3, 2020 LANE SWIM 8:00 AM - 8:45 AM November LANE SWIM 8:00 AM - 8:45 AM AQUA AWE 9:15AM - 10:00between AM AQUA AWE pm9:15AM - 10:00 AM 10:00 am & 3:00 LANE SWIM 12:15 PM - 1:00 PM LANE SWIM 12:15 PM -1:00 PM LANE SWIM 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM LANE SWIM 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM SURF & SWIM 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM SURF & SWIM 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM LANE SWIM 9:00 PM - 9:45 PM

Estevan Fire Hall DriveThru

801 - 13th Avenue

!

SATURDAY LANE SWIM 12:15 PM - 12:45 PM PUBLIC SWIM 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM LANE SWIM 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Friday Oc tober 30, 2020

FAMILY SWIM 6:15PM - 7:15 PM between 4:30 pm PUBLIC SWIM 7:15PM - 9:00and PM 7:30 pm

THURSDAY or Email a request to LANE SWIM 6:00 AM - 6:45 AM DRO@estevan.ca LANE SWIM 7:00 AM - 7:45 AM

FRIDAY LANE SWIM 6:00 AM - 6:45 AM LANE SWIM 7:00 AM - 7:45 AM LANE SWIM 8:00 AM - 8:45 AM AQUA AWE 9:15AM - 10:00 AM LANE SWIM 12:15 PM - 1:00 PM LANE SWIM 1:15 PM -2:00 PM SURF & SWIM 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM FREE SWIM 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM ** LANE SWIM 6:15 PM - 7:00 PM ***

LANE SWIM 8:00 AM - 8:45 AM AQUA AWE 9:15AM - 10:00 AM LANE SWIM 12:15 PM - 1:00 PM AQUA AWE 1:15 PM -2:00 PM SURF & SWIM 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM

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ELECTION DAY November 9, 2020

Church of God - 1920 Wellock Road SUNDAY 8:00am-8:00 pm LANE SWIM 1200 PM - 12:45 PM

**NO NOV 6 OR 27 *** ONLY OCT 9,16,30 & DEC 4,11,18

LANE SWIM 3:45 PM - 4:45 PM

EsFAMILY tevan Fire1:00 Hall 801-13th Avenue SWIM PM - -3:30 PM DEEP WATER POWER 8:00 PM - 8:45 PM 11:00am-7:00 pm

PLEASE NOTE - Due to the pandemic-related protocols, Lane Swim, Aqua Step, A.I.S., Deep Water Power Awe programming has moved to a PRE-Registration process. Users must pre-register online or by calling the Information Desk. For all other activities space is limited. Patrons will be screened upon arrival and asked a few questions as per the Operational Health and Safety Guidelines. Water fountains are not available.