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FINANCIAL
Reynold Bert Certified Financial Planner 403B 9TH AVENUE, ESTEVAN, SK S4A 2V4 PH: (306)634-7979 · TOLL FREE: (877)779-0948 INFO@SPECTRAFINANCIAL.CA
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Wed., November 9, 2016
Issue 27
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY FOR 113 YEARS
www.estevanmercury.ca
Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240
Spruce Ridge Police Talk Constable Danielle Stephany with the Estevan Police Service (EPS) spoke to guests on Nov. 3, in a talk to newcomers to Estevan. The talk was an information session that eventually moved into a Q&A session regarding the law and responsibilities of the police. See the full story on Page 2. Photo by Sam Macdonald
City finalizes snow removal plans By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
For many Estevan residents, it might be difficult to think about winter right now, since the city has enjoyed clear skies and temperatures well above normal so far in November. But for Norm Mack, the manager of roads and drainage at the City of Estevan’s public works division, he has been planning for how the city will handle snow removal this winter. Estevan city council approved this year’s snow removal plan during their meeting on Nov. 7. The document discusses the procedures for removing the snow, and classifies the different roads in the city as Priority 1, 2 or 3. In his report to council, Mack said adequate snow removal for the streets and
designated sidewalks and pathways is critical to ensure vehicle and pedestrian traffic can continue to navigate the city. “Snow removal can be very expensive and an adequate and cost-effective level of service must be established,” said Mack. Priority 1 roads are the main arterial streets, such as Fourth Street, King Street, Perkins Street, Devonian Street, Kensington Avenue, 13th Avenue, most of Souris Avenue, and Sixth Street from 14th Avenue to Souris Avenue South. Several other routes receive Priority 1 status, including three roads used to access St. Joseph’s Hospital: Sister Roddy Road from Highway 39 to Wellock Road; Nicholson Road from Sister Roddy Road to Newcombe Drive; and Newcombe Drive from
King Street to Nicholson Road. Also listed as Priority 1 are the roads in front of Affinity Place, Wellock Road in front of the Estevan Regional Nursing Home, and 11th Avenue in front of the police station, fire hall and city hall. Priority 2 roads include access roads for local schools, higher-traffic residential roads such as Wellock Road, Nicholson Road and Fourth Avenue South, the downtown blocks of Fifth Street, and Souris Avenue North from King Street to Seventh Street. Remaining roads, the majority of which are in residential areas, are listed as Priority 3. Mack said they don’t have any changes for the snow clearing map this year, other than the city
has annexed the land for the mobile home park in southwest Estevan, so they have extended their snow clearing efforts to include that road. “I want to be aggressive with snow removal,” said Mack. “That’s what the citizens really want is a good snow removal plan. If it snows, we’ll be the first ones out there.” The snow removal plan also includes sidewalks and pathways. The downtown area is classified as Priority 1, as is Souris Avenue South to an area south of Perkins Street, and Souris Avenue North from King Street to Seventh Street. “We have a power broom,” said Mack. “You’ll see the skidsteers out there with big brooms. Rather than just a bucket, we power broom it. It sweeps everything, and it keeps
the sidewalks and pathways nice and dry.” The city will also clear the snow for Priority 2 and 3 sidewalks and pathways. Residents will be responsible for clearing snow from non-priority sidewalks. It’s important to keep the sidewalks clean, he said, because a lot of people continue to walk in the winter. The city spent about $50,000 on snow and ice removal efforts in the first three months of this year. That figure includes sanding and salting the streets to remove ice, and $420 on contractors. “Every week that ticks by with no snow, it’s a big savings to us,” said Mack. There is about $250,000 for snow and ice removal, including contractors, in the 2016 budget. Mack stressed a major snow event of at least 25
centimetres can cost about $100,000, as they have to clear snow from all the roads. The city purchased a snow blower last year, leaving them with two relatively new blowers in their equipment fleet. Mack vowed the other equipment is ready for winter, too. “The mechanics have been working on it, and have been told, just about every day for a month, to make sure it’s ready to go,” said Mack. “Breakdowns happen, and if we can’t handle the snow, we always have some good contractors … that will help us out with something.” In the meantime, the warm weather has permitted street sweepers to clean the streets and avenues around Estevan. Mack predicts that will continue as long as the weather permits.
Drilling forecast bodes well for industry By Sam Macdonald smacdonald@estevanmercury.ca
In light of the recent drilling forecast from the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC), president Mark Salkeld said there is good potential for the oil and gas industry in Saskatchewan, with the province predicted to outpace the amount of drilling expected in Alberta in 2017. In SK 3, a region that PSAC evaluates that includes Estevan and Wey-
burn, the forecasted number of wells in the area for 2017 is between 300 and 350 wells. Salkeld stated that this strong forecast for southern Saskatchewan— particularly the southern area of which Estevan is a part—is going to be a boon to the economy, with plenty of drilling activity going on in the Estevan and Weyburn area, specifically. “We realized that our numbers are showing there is more activity going on in southern Saskatchewan for
drilling and completion than there is in Alberta,” said Salkeld in a phone call with the Mercury. “We found some interesting things, and talked to some member companies down there. We chatted with people like Ray Frehlick with Prairie Mud, and talked about the on-the-ground implications, and it could be interesting.” Salkeld said that one advantage Saskatchewan has is the fact that top-performing companies in the area have developed what
he calls “a more cookiecutter-like process,” drilling and completing wells. This also entails wells that have become shallower over the years and are easier to set up and decommission. “We realized there was more drilling going on, we looked at the numbers, and they showed us that the wells have gotten shallower by almost 24 per cent,” said Salkeld. “They are only three quarters of the length they were back in 2014, in different areas
in Saskatchewan.” Salkeld said that wells in Saskatchewan range between 700 and 2,000 metres and that the provincial average spud to release date is five days. “It works out really well. It’s rigging up, drilling and completing, and putting wells into production as quickly as possible. It’s shallower formations, so it’s a ‘getting cash sooner’ sort of thing,” said Salkeld. He added although Alberta is very efficient in its
own right, as far as drilling is concerned, they are dealing with deeper formations, which take more time to drill. “It’s hard to say whether it will be a two year strategy to get some production going sooner rather than later, or if they’re going to go back to longer, deeper wells,” he said. “What we’re seeing is that, currently, you guys are busy. It’s busy in Saskatchewan, and we expect it to be more so in 2017.”
Come to Senchuk Ford on November 10th from 4pm-7pm Senchuk Ford Sales Ltd. and meet Chris Chittick of Tornado Hunters and 118 Souris Ave. N., Estevan 306-634-3696 Flash - The Tornado Truck www.senchukford.com