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Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Issue 40

SERVING THE ENERGY CITY SINCE 1903

www.estevanmercury.ca

Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240

Mike The Magician Mike Dardant of New Orleans performs one of many illusions and tricks he had up his sleeve for guests at Estevan Comprehensive School on Feb. 2. Dardant was one of several performers to take to the stage at the Estevan Police Association’s variety night. Photo

by Sam Macdonald

Police have big plans for this year

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

The Estevan Police Service hopes to move forward with modernizing its technology this year, thanks to the expected purchase of new equipment for their vehicles, and potential changes for its dispatching system.

Police Chief Paul Ladouceur said they want to purchase in-vehicle laptop computers for their patrol vehicles, which will allow them to operate with greater efficiency. A total of six laptops are to be purchased, with an estimated cost of $8,000 each.

“We wouldn’t take a computer off someone’s desk, and expect them to perform well at work in the business sector,” Ladouceur told the Mercury. “And we have to remember that these cruisers, when these officers are out and about, are their offices as well.”

Laptops would be a one-time expense, as they could be easily transferred to vehicles purchased in the future.

The police chief said the laptops will ensure that the officers are spending more on patrols and less time in the police station.

Ladouceur cited the example of an officer who has to write a small report after tending to an alarm call. Currently they have to drive to the station to file that report. Now that report will be filed from the patrol vehicle.

“They will be able to access all kinds of information easily and quickly through that computer system,” said Ladouceur.

“They’ll be able to access police record management, licence plate information, photographs and so on.”

Most police agencies already have these systems, he said.

The laptops will also enhance officer safety, because officers can use the information on the laptops before entering a home or after pulling over a motorist. It could also help officers find out if someone is wanted on outstanding warrants from another jurisdiction, since they will have access to databases from other law enforcement agencies in the country.

“When it comes to positively identifying people, it enhances officer safety,” said Ladouceur.

As part of the addition of on-board laptops, the EPS wants to update

Police Chief Paul Ladouceur their dispatch centre to a computer automated dispatch (CAD) system, which would also improve efficiency. Ladouceur would like to see it happen this year, but they are in the early stages of the dispatch system, so the change might not happen until next year.

The EPS would retain its dispatchers as part of the change to CAD, and dispatchers will still answer calls that come into the police station. But the CAD would mark a transition to paperless dispatching.

Ladouceur believes the EPS should not have a pen-and-paper dispatching

system.

“Our communication officers, generally, use pen and paper to take calls,” said Ladouceur. “In this day and age, that’s becoming somewhat archaic, especially with high call volumes.”

When someone makes a call, the dispatcher will enter the data into a computer system. The CAD will be connected to the laptops in the patrol vehicles, and will provide information to the officers.

“They will know what other calls are happening at the same time, what other officers are at different locations should they need

backup, and it will also provide a map of the area that they’re responding to,” said Ladouceur.

If a break and enter is in process, police would get a live map sent to their terminal, allowing them to set up a perimeter.

Everything will also be time and date stamped.

“I will be able, or the inspector (Murray Cowan) will be able to pull those logs and see exactly what happened on a particular call: the time the officer was dispatched, the time the officer arrived, what other services arrived and attended, what was done at that call, and when the officers cleared,” said Ladouceur.

The EPS will have a better idea of which types of calls require the most amount of time, and the resources they are using in certain areas.

Ladouceur said they don’t know how much the CAD system will cost, since it wasn’t included in the budget.

“If we move forward with any portion of CAD this year, it would be because there are savings in other parts of the budget,” said Ladouceur.

But the on-board lap-

tops should be able to proceed this year regardless of what happens with the CAD system.

The EPS will also move forward with their canine unit. Const. Trevor Roberts was announced as the new K9 officer last year.

The new police dog still has to be selected, and there will be training for Roberts and the dog.

Ladouceur noted the canine vehicle will be a replacement for a police vehicle that was damaged while responding to a call during last July’s flash flood, so insurance will pay the replacement costs.

They will also proceed with the community services position, with veteran EPS Const. Jay Pierson handling that role. Not only will Pierson spend a lot of time in the schools, but he will be busy with senior citizens, newcomers and businesses.

The EPS will also focus on training this year by sending officers on highlevel courses, including crisis management, which would be useful for dealing with someone who is suicidal, or handling a hostage situation. Members will also undergo training for major crimes cases.

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Estevan Mercury

Preparations begin for spring runoff Spring might be several weeks away, but the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA) has already started to prepare for what could be a large runoff in the southeast.

The WSA released its first spring runoff outlook for the Souris River Basin on Feb. 1, with preliminary projections on each of the three southeast reservoirs.

Boundary Dam was at an elevation of 559.04 metres, as of Feb. 1, which is about one-sixth of a metre below the full supply level of 559.20 metres.

The WSA says prerunoff elevation for Boundary Dam is to be no

higher than 557.80 metres, which is nearly 1.25 metres below current levels.

“The preliminary operating plan for Boundary Reservoir is to allow the reservoir to fill and divert any additional runoff into Rafferty Reservoir,” the WSA said in a statement.

“In the event that Rafferty Reservoir reaches its full supply level, releases will be made from Boundary Reservoir into Long Creek rather than diverting over to Rafferty Reservoir for release directly into the Souris River.”

Rafferty Dam has a current depth of 549.07 metres, which is 1.43 me-

tres below the full supply level of 550.5 metres. The WSA was not releasing water from the dam as of Feb. 6.

R a ff e r t y w a s a l s o nearly half a metre below the normal drawdown level of 549.5 metres, which is specified in the international agreement for the Souris River.

The pre-runoff elevation for Rafferty Reservoir is to be no higher than 549.35 metres, which includes the additional drawdown for Boundary Reservoir.

“The present operating plan for Rafferty Reservoir is to store all inflow

in an attempt to raise the reservoir to its full supply level,” the WSA stated.

“With diverted volumes from Boundary Reservoir, Rafferty Reservoir is expected to fill in 2017.”

In the event that Rafferty Dam fills, diversions from Boundary Dam will cease and releases will be made at a controlled rate.

The reservoir will be returned to full supply by June 1.

As for Alameda Dam, the pre-runoff elevation is to be no higher than 557.86 metres. Alameda Reservoir’s current depth of nearly 557.80 metres is about three metres above

the required pre-runoff elevation.

The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA) announced on Feb. 3 that it has increased water releases from Alameda Dam, in preparation for spring runoff.

Outflows from Alameda Dam increased from 1.3 cubic metres per second (m3/s) to two m3/s, and further increases are possible during the coming weeks.

Its full supply level is 562 metres.

The water release has the potential to make the ice unsafe on Moose Mountain Creek below

Alameda Dam, and on the Souris River downstream of Oxbow.

The ice cover on Alameda Dam will also diminish, and ice that was previously safe to access may become unsafe.

The WSA says any person on, or near, a lake or river, should use extreme caution when crossing. For crossing a body of water, the Ministry of Environment recommends ice thickness of at least four inches for walking; six inches to drive a snowmobile or an ATV; eight inches for a car or light truck; and 12 inches for a heavy truck.

City sticking with snow removal protocol

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

The City of Estevan has no plans to alter the method it uses to remove snow from city streets, even though three snowstorms late last year pushed snow removal expenses well above the budgeted amount.

Speaking with the Mercury last week, city manager Jeff Ward said the city spent $398,000 on snow removal in 2016, which includes sanding, machinery and contractor costs. The budgeted amount was $260,000.

Ironically, the city had spent around $50,000 on snow removal in 2016 until

the first of three storms hit on Nov. 28. But the city received three significant snow dumps in the last five weeks of the year; the latter two resulted in blizzard warnings.

“The biggest thing, obviously, was getting the additional contractor support,” said Ward. “We usually budget between $90,000 and $100,000 (on contractors) each year, and last year we spent $225,000.”

Each large storm that hits the city costs about $100,000, thanks to money spent on overtime and contractors.

Ward noted that after the first snowstorm hit in late November, he spoke

with Norm Mack, the manager of roads and drainage for the city’s public works division, and discussed how to proceed with clearing the streets, how to manage overtime, and how to handle contractors.

They decided to remove all the snow from the streets, and Ward believes it was the right move, since Estevan was hammered by the first blizzard a week later. Most of the streets had been cleared when the blizzard struck.

“Great on Norm for identifying the issues that could potentially happen if we got multiple snowfalls of significant amounts,” said Ward.

The final storm, which

also generated a blizzard, arrived on Christmas Day. Ward expects the Christmas Day storm was likely the most expensive, because they were paying additional wages on stat holidays.

Ward believes people will be accepting of extra expenses for snow removal if they see a benefit from it. He compared the snowstorms late last year to being a “one in 100 years event,” since it was the most snow that Estevan ever recorded in December.

And many of the arterial roads were clear of snow and ice until Estevan received another snow storm in early February.

Ward reported that most of the comments he

has received on snow removal have been positive, and he believes that reflects the general public’s stance on the snow removal efforts.

If Estevan receives another large dump of snow this winter, they will follow the same snow-clearing method as last year.

“Norm has been working here for a long time, and he’s really perfected that priority street snow removal (list), and it worked perfectly,” said Ward. “So there’s nothing he would change in that event.”

There might be some changes with the allocation or management of snow dump sites, Ward said, since they spent a

lot of time pushing snow into higher piles late last year.

He predicted the decision to remove as much snow as they have should also help in the spring, as the city won’t have to spend as much money on pothole repairs and crack filling.

The city has budgeted $264,000 for snow removal in 2017. Ward said he didn’t want to increase the snow removal budget by a significant amount simply because Estevan had a lot of snow late last year.

“I wouldn’t start putting in a contingency of 300-grand in budget, and not doing sidewalk repair, or not doing road renewal,” said Ward.

Police preparing for fentanyl’s arrival The Estevan Police Service (EPS) has yet to have any calls regarding fentanyl in the community, but the department is still getting ready for the arrival of the opioid in Estevan.

Fentanyl is a powerful pain reliever that has also been used as a recreational

drug. A public health crisis was declared in Canada in 2015 due to overdoses from fentanyl use.

Local officers will be issued with naloxone, which is a nasal spray designed to be administered in the event of an opioid overdose.

“Our department is in the process now of purchasing that,” said police Chief Paul Ladouceur. “We’ve already got a supplier that we’re dealing with and our members will be carrying that with them on duty to self-administer or administer by others if necessary.”

The EPS is in the midst of policy development for

administering naloxone.

There have been concerns regarding what happens if someone complains about receiving naloxone from an officer.

“If somebody doesn’t need it, the one good thing with naloxone is it will have no adverse affects if you’re not suffering from an opioid overdose,” said

Ladouceur.

The EPS is treating naloxone as an emergency first aid procedure, similar to when an officer encounters someone needing CPR. Naloxone is expected to arrive in Estevan in the next few months.

“We haven’t seen a huge issue with fentanyl in this community yet, but

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that’s not to say it won’t reach here,” said Ladouceur. “We’re seeing it in the larger centres already; generally what’s happening there happens here.”

He believes other smaller city police forces in the province have had issues with fentanyl.

“It’s well noted that our concentration is heavily focused on drugs in this community, and we will continue to do that,” said Ladouceur. “Whether that be fentanyl, cocaine, meth or any other drug.”

There has also been a lot of discussion at the provincial level about how to prepare for the arrival of fentanyl in various communities, and how officers can detect a fentanyl overdose.

Inspector Murray Cowan added that there have been arrests for opioids in the past, although he can’t remember one specifically. However, he agrees with Ladouceur that fentanyl will eventually find its way here, based on trends that Cowan has seen in more than 20 years with the EPS.

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More projects and programs for newcomers and community

By Norm Park normpark@estevanmercury.ca

Stephanie Davis has been on the job for about three weeks now and already the new program co-ordinator for Southeast Newcomer Services, has lined up a series of events aimed at introducing new Estevan and area residents to the community and its people.

“I’m used to co-ordinating things,” said Davis, who was a newcomer herself about five years ago, moving to Estevan from her previous home near Clearwater, Florida to be with her husband-to-be Jack Davis. She said the kind of services the Newcomers team offers today’s immigrants, would have been a big help to her when she was making her move, so it is not going unnoticed.

But programming is her forte with this group.

Davis did some coordination work with the Estevan Humane Society in the past.

“We have some winter events scheduled, including a Winter Day of Fun on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum,” she said.

The fun begins at 1 p.m. she said with guest presenter Carol Daniels, a First Nations writer, singer, drummer, artist and storyteller from Regina. Daniels, who has appeared in Estevan before, will bring tales from her Cree Nation history as well as some other entertaining and educational additions.

The participants will enjoy some outdoor fun

by building a snowman, constructing some snow globes, getting involved in a scavenger hunt and building pasta snowflakes plus some painting of winter scenes.

“We will warm up with real coco and some other refreshments,” said Davis.

Another favourite for newcomers and local residents alike is the International Kitchen, which is back by popular demand with four dates set aside to experience the creation of culinary delights from different regions of the world, brought to the Newcomers’ kitchen by the newcomers themselves.

On Feb. 21, the first installment of the International Kitchen will feature food from the Mediterranean, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

There will be 20 participants with each person allowed to register for a maximum of two sessions.

A modest fee covers costs for maintaining the program.

This year the International Kitchen evenings will be held at Nicholson Centre in the Estevan Leisure Centre, the home of the Estevan Lions Club who are giving the newcomers’ team the use of their kitchen for these sessions.

The second round of the International Kitchen will see a focus on Russian cuisine on March 7 followed by some Peruvian dishes on March 21 and then Filipino delicacies on April 4. These are all Tuesday evening events that begin at 6:30.

“We also have a learnto-skate program being lined up with the Estevan Bruins this winter, once again, but I haven’t been able to get a firm date yet.

We’ll let everyone know when that is going to happen,” Davis said.

The traffic through the Southeast Newcomers headquarters on Sixth Street in Estevan and at their branch outlets in Weyburn and Carlyle, is more intense than ever with about 200 requests for assistance coming in last week alone throughout the southeast part of the province. Last month, saw 300 people registered for assistance with such things as citizenship issues, translations and daily living issues.

Davis said a pet awareness program will be offered in the future, to bring new arrivals in touch with laws, rules and regulations around owning pets in the province and the safety factors and risks, including cost. She believes that workshop will take place sometime around midMarch.

“We work on a grant basis and we move forward with the program once it gets approved,” Davis added.

This year, to help celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary as a country, Davis said the S.E. Newcomers will be entering a big float in the annual Bienfait July 1 parade.

“We’d like to make a statement using that venue and that event,” she said.

“Our role is to help immigrants feel more at home

Stephanie Davis, new program co-ordinator at Southeast Newcomer Services and if that means helping with paperwork or getting people involved in a parade, that’s good.”

Davis said when she picked up and moved, she left a job, car and some belongings behind, just to come to be with her mate and to experience a new lifestyle. She said she has now come to appreciate Canada, including the seasonal changes and the sometimes harsh winters.

“I also like the fact Canada doesn’t make it too easy to gain full citizenship or residency. It took me four years to get processed through the systems for permanent residency and that’s probably a good thing in the long run. But I can definitely relate to others who are experiencing the frustrations that can accompany the application,” she said with a smile.

What else might be on

the Newcomers’ agenda this winter?

Well, how about some ice fishing or snowmobiling, courtesy of local clubs and organizers who are willing to volunteer their time and talents to make new citizens a part of the community and culture. A little cross-country skiing will also be on the agenda seeing as how snow volumes are high this season.

The team is also getting involved in a Métis culture learning evening on Feb. 28 at the Estevan Public Library, beginning at 6:30.

The guest presenter for that event will be Christine Blondeau Perry. There will several Métis crafts and artifacts on display to help those in attendance understand the Métis back-story and cultural pursuits. The co-sponsor of the event will be the Métis Federa-

tion of Canada and Estevan Literacy Group.

“There is a lot of potential to experience winter here before it ends,” she added.

Community Initiatives funds many of the programs and, she emphasized again that the events are arranged for the entire community, not just newcomers.

“We want local residents to get out there with us, to mix and mingle so that everyone gets an idea as to how diverse we can be, yet still do things together and enjoy one another’s company. Newcomers also means arrivals from another province or city or town too. You are a newcomer to Estevan or Weyburn or the southeast. So come out and get acquainted with other newcomers and the local people,” Davis said in conclusion.

Man fined for driving over the limit Theodore Michael Noon was fined $1,560 and is prohibited from driving for a year, after his sentencing for driving while over the legal alcohol limit, at the Feb. 6 regular sitting of the Estevan provincial court.

Crown prosecutor Greg Piper stated to the

court that Noon showed signs of intoxication during a routine police check stop, early in the morning of Oct. 8, 2016, in Estevan. Police smelled alcohol during the stop.

At the time, Noon claimed that he had not been drinking before getting behind the wheel. He

was subsequently administered two breathalyzer tests by police, and gave two blood alcohol level readings of 210 mg/L. He was kept in custody overnight by police.

The Crown recommended an elevated fine, because of Noon’s blood alcohol level, which was

considered an aggravating factor, and was far in excess of the legal limit.

Noon was represented by a legal aid agent, who stated that Noon is employed as a carpenter, that he already spent a night in custody and that he faces financial difficulty after his vehicle was impounded and

a hefty fee was required to have it returned to him. Legal aid also noted that Noon entered an early guilty plea.

Presiding Judge Lane Wiegers acknowledged the early plea, and Noon’s lack of a prior record as mitigating factors.

Wiegers added the offence was still egregious

enough, given that Noon was driving while twoand-a-half times the legal limit and that it had to be reflected in the sentencing. In order to prevent Noon from facing an unreasonable financial burden, Wiegers fined him $1,200 with an additional $360 victim fine surcharge.

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Volume 113 Issue 40 Contact us: Phone: 634-2654 Fax: 634-3934 68 Souris Ave. N., Estevan By mail: Box 730, Estevan, Sask. S4A 2A6 Website: www.estevanmercury.ca Twitter: @Estevan_Mercury Facebook: facebook.com/EstevanMercury

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Is there a solution to our speedways?

It’s nice to know there will be comfortable times at City Hall for the rest of 2017.

All is well in the Energy City it seems.

There was nary a squeak from the assembled masses representing all the coffee corners and kitchen tables in Estevan when city council tabled this year’s budget.

There are no pressing issues it seems.

Well, there may be one, but it’s a small bump in the road … literally.

The biggest debate unearthed in this city deals with the mini-controversy surrounding speed humps on Wellock Road.

The idea of instituting a physical “slow down” speed bump (or hump) is preferred, as opposed to continual warnings, new reduce speed zone signs, and police surveillance and ticketing activities.

One to three speed humps will automatically force Wellock Road motorists to hit brakes at various intervals along their journey. The humps are a nuisance, but the powers that be can righteously emit the old line, “we told you so. We warned you. You didn’t listen. Now you will have speed humps.”

With traffic refusing to obey the 30 km/h speed zone near the one school and ball park along that stretch of road, it seemed almost inevitable that the recommendation to install speed humps would

Prairie Perspective MURRAY MANDRYK Murray Mandryk is a political columnist with the Leader Post

A rare interesting byelection Premier Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party government has yet to face a meaningful challenge at the polls.

Yes, it has won two general elections, which are truly an exhaustive challenge, at least for those participating in them.

Notwithstanding the gruelling nature of provincewide campaigns, like the ones in 2011 and 2016, the outcome was hardly in doubt.

With his strong rural support, Wall virtually expended all his political energy during the past two general election campaigns, driving up and down Highway 11 so he could focus on Regina and Saskatoon seats where the results were more in doubt.

Sadly, it has left rural Saskatchewan out of much of the political discourse.

However, a single byelection, like the one we are about to have in SaskatoonMeewasin to replace deceased Sask. Party MLA Roger Parent, is a different story.

be approved.

Wellock, along with a few other streets in the city, has gained notoriety thanks to the speedway attitude displayed by those who drive on it. It has been a tempting target for the motorists since there are long stretches where Wellock traffic can flow through, unimpeded by stop signs.

That won’t change, except there won’t be much of a flow to traffic, but rather a series of stop and go movements, or we should say, “slow and go,” traffic configurations.

Those following behind Wellock motorists will have to be on the lookout for brake lights and sudden deceleration.

While we are hopeful this action will solve an ever-lasting problem on Wellock Road, we would be hesitant to give a big thumbs up for this type of solution to be implemented in other areas of the city.

A little stop and go action on a straight stretch of roadway is not that invasive, but to have speed humps installed in other high traffic and higher speed areas might just prove to be a goodwill killer.

The local population wants to move along smoothly, not in fits and jerks so to introduce bumps or humps in all school and playground zones would be just too erratic and invasive.

However, the problem of slowing the

speeders down in these sensitive areas of the city, could continue to be an issue. We expect it will be.

We could beg for more stringent enforcement efforts, but as Estevan Police Chief Paul Ladouceur pointed out, that method can’t always be counted on since police constables are constantly on the move.

So while we might like to have police stationed in high traffic and speed zones for a lengthy period, for those who are moving along at 52 km/h instead of the posted 30 km/h it just might not be cost effective.

We did learn, a few years ago of a police force in a major city that did dispatch teams of speed law enforcers during key times of the year such as the first and second day of school and special school activity occasions. The fines were large and frequent, so frequent in fact, that the word got out in rapid fashion, through word of mouth, traditional media and social media, that this was a police department that meant business when it came to school zone speeders. It would have to be a concentrated effort, a very heavily concentrated effort, but it might be a partial solution to the alternative of more speed humps.

Leaders roll up their sleeves and get involved because they can focus exclusively on a single riding. It’s a treat for those voters, if you happen to like being inundated by politicians.

That said, with the Sask. Party’s 41-seat majority, this byelection won’t change the political landscape.

Contrary to popular myth, byelections aren’t even a very good gauge of political mood.

In the past 30 years, we have seen 25 byelections in Saskatchewan. Of those, 15 have been won by an opposition party candidate and 10 by a government party candidate.

That seems to somewhat dispel the notion that byelections are where voters get to safely take out their frustrations with an anti-government mood.

It doesn't say much about who will win the next general election.

Of the last 25 byelections in Saskatchewan, only 13 were won by a candidate whose party would go on to win the next general election.

The biggest byelection factor is the riding’s own political history.

In 19 of the past 25 Saskatchewan byelections, the winning candidate represented the party that last held the seat.

In fact, it’s now been 17 years since we saw a byelection where the candidate for the party that previously won the seat, didn’t hold that seat. That was in 2000 when former Liberal Glen MacPherson, after a close general election, lost the Wood River seat to Yogi Huygebaert, the recently retired

Sask. Party MLA. It was a meaningful contest. Had the riding gone to the NDP at the time, it would have meant the then Roy Romanow government would have had a clear majority and would not have required the two Liberal MLAs to form the “coalition” NDP-Liberal government.

Since its Wood River win, Liberals have not won a seat and are no longer a force. It has set the stage for a two-party province.

But if Saskatoon-Meewasin won’t change anything, why should rural voters, or anyone outside the riding care? Why might it be a political challenge for Wall?

It’s because the Saskatoon-Meewasin constituency byelection should be close and comes at a time when there is upheaval over the Wall government is budgets and other policies.

It even has some political intrigue.

While Parent won the seat in 2011 and last April, the area of the city was solid New Democrat from 1986 until 2011.

It will be competitive, especially with the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives running candidates that may split votes.

Add in the factor that the candidate running for the NDP is Ryan Meili, the Saskatoon doctor who twice ran for the NDP leadership and is expected to vie for that vacant post again.

One would think Wall and the Sask.

Party would dearly love to defeat Meili.

The Saskatoon-Meewasin byelection won’t change anything, but there is something at stake.

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Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Born on the Who pays for journalism? right, or wrong One way or another, it’s you side of town

By Tim Shoults

Norm Park All Things Considered Songs are sung and stories are told about people who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, or had to survive in the boondocks, ghettos or gang-infested ‘hoods.

For some, it taught them survival instincts and somehow made their lives richer if they survived and later managed to thrive.

Like several Saskatchewan kids, I never had that opportunity to survive the mean streets.

In the town I grew up in, there was no wrong side of the tracks. Oh ya, we had tracks, for sure, it was a CPR divisional point with a big station and roundhouse, but unlike other communities (i.e. Estevan) our town was not separated by tracks. If memory serves me, there were only a couple of small acreage farmers living on the immediate north side of the rail line. Everything else was built to the south. We never had to suffer the consequences of waiting for the railway before we could go about our business. The rail station signaled the dead end of Bosworth which was our main street. I loved the fact that my hometown had a main street that was labelled something other than Main Street. It was Bosworth and I don’t know why. The central business district was Bosworth and Avenue B. My home town was well designed … probably by accident.

The Yellowhead Highway was on the southern outskirts of my town and as a teenager, I often wondered out loud why there weren’t any businesses setting up along the south side of that highway to capture the attention of motorists. The golf course was seen from the highway.

Our welcoming sign was at the Y, which was the double entrance – exit turn-off into my town, which I thought was a great designing feat since it made the main entrance and exit a very safe process for motorists.

I was thrilled when I returned to that town about eight years ago, after being away for decades, to discover about a dozen businesses had set up operations on the south side of that highway, making it a real tempting stop and go target. There were gas stations, motels, restaurants and a manufacturing plant. It confirmed that I wasn’t such a stupid teenager after all.

But, even though we had 1,500 citizens back then, we didn’t have a “wrong side of town.” We just had east and west and a little north and south and no tracks in the equation.

There was no tough side of town. The closest we got to that would be where the meanest dog happened to live.

Nobody had dogs on leashes in our town. Dogs got the run of the joint and they did a good job of policing us with the help of the for real police.

On the east side we had the rinks, pool, one great playpark, elementary school and courthouse all in one concentrated sector as well as the community’s one and only significant hill with houses built up and down it.

On the west side we had the fairgrounds, major baseball diamond, golf course, high school and seniors’ home.

To me, that’s a well balanced town. Genius planning or luck?

Your address wasn’t that important in that town It wasn’t like Vancouver’s east side versus Grey Point or Marine Drive.

We could walk wherever we needed to go within 15 minutes and never acknowledged and didn’t care if we were west enders or east enders. We just were.

But, you know, we had the hospital and big coulee on the east side of town, so that probably made us better!

“I don’t need farmers; I get my food from the grocery store.”

Sounds ridiculous, right?

The Colorado Press Association used it as part of a recent marketing campaign, comparing it to the phrase “I don’t need newspapers; I get my news from the Internet.”

I was reminded of that as I read Shattered Mirror, the report from Ed Greenspon of the Public Policy Forum (PPF) on the Canadian media industry. (Disclosure: I attended one of the PPF’s round table discussions this past fall in Vancouver on behalf of Glacier Media and the BC and Yukon Community Newspapers Association.)

It’s a comprehensive report that does an excellent job of describing and analyzing the challenges facing Canadian media in a global digital age. More importantly, it has several recommendations on how to help support Canadian media and local news, including closing a tax loophole that gives advertisers a break when advertising in non-Canadian-owned online media (a break they don’t get for foreign-owned print advertising) and using the money generated from it, estimated at $300 million to $400 million per year, to fund local news and new media initiatives.

But what I think the report does best is make it clear why media outlets struggle in the digital age. It answers the question about not only how the food gets to the grocery store, but how much the farmer gets when you pay $1.29 for that tomato.

People have long misunderstood who pays for news, and how. In the days of paid circulation, many believed they were supporting the entire cost of their local newspaper when they plunked down their pocket change for a copy. In reality, reader revenue – where it exists – covers only a fraction of the real cost of reporting news, never mind the mechanical and logistical costs of preparing, printing and delivering it to readers.

Even the many community newspapers who deliver the news free of charge still hear the grumbles from unhappy subjects of coverage that we are just “trying to sell papers!”

The advent of the Internet has made people more aware of the real way people pay for content – with their attention. Sadly, this realization has come just at the point where the real money online goes not to the people who pay to produce what you read, but the people who organize and distribute it – primarily Google and Facebook, two US-based corporations that between them employ a grand total of

zero journalists in Canada.

However, readers are led to believe because they continue to be flooded with seemingly ever-increasing amounts of content for which they do not pay, and because they continue to be bombarded with marketing messages attached to that content, that somebody must be making enough money to pay for it.

They need to know that the model has shifted entirely. Advertising dollars online have become largely detached from content, and those who package others’ news to readers get the overwhelming share. Those who pay journalists to perform civic journalism simply can’t afford to do so off the dregs of digital revenue Facebook and Google have yet to siphon up.

The fundamental contract of media in the 20th century between reader, publisher and advertiser, when applied to the digital landscape, is as shattered as the mirror Greenspon uses to title his report.

People need to realize this contract has been fundamentally disrupted, and if it continues without some form of change, those who pay to create local journalism, many of whom have already been forced to cut back severely, will simply disappear from the landscape, to be replaced with nothing, in the case of countless communities. That’s the

message we as media outlets need to take from this report and bring to public attention.

If readers want to keep getting news as they’ve been getting it – that is, without paying directly – the Greenspon report’s recommendations provide a workable answer. If those aren’t acceptable to the public, or to the government, then the choices are for readers to pay for that content directly, or watch it disappear.

Greenspon is trying to keep that from happening, and I salute him and the PPF for their work. But neither the PPF, nor the media industry in Canada, nor the government will have the final say. In the end, you, as the reader, will.

And in the end, if the farmer can’t afford to grow tomatoes, you won’t find them at the grocery store.

Tim Shoults is VP Content and Audience Development for Glacier Media, which publishes weekly and daily community newspapers across Western Canada. He has worked as a reporter, editor, publisher and regional manager for community newspapers across B.C. and Alberta for the past 20 years. He is VP of the BC and Yukon Community Newspapers Association, an industry director of the National Newsmedia Council and a past VP of the Canadian Community Newspapers Association.

Where is the sacrifice shown on the other side of the issue?

The Editor: When it comes to financial sacrifice, Brad Wall clearly has no interest in practicing what he preaches.

Wall had no problem saying he expects “goodwill and good faith” from public sector workers while threatening them with layoffs and pay cuts.

He clearly had no problem telling 251 custodial workers, the lowest paid government workers, they’ll be fired as soon as

he chooses a contractor to replace them with employees who are paid even less.

But when Wall had a chance to show leadership and integrity by giving up some of his own income, he wanted no part of it.

Wall is now the last premier in Canada to accept a salary top-up from his party. It’s paid out of donations to the Sask. Party, meaning Wall is personally taking money from the corporations and wealthy individuals that his policies

benefit.

Wall’s $37,000 “topup” is about the same as what a full-time government custodian makes in a year. He could give it up and still be making a taxpayerfunded salary of $166,140.

When B.C. Premier Christy Clark recently stopped accepting her own stipend, Wall was encouraged to do the same. He refused.

Is this the kind of premier we want running our province? One who

continues pocketing tens of thousands in corporate donations each year, while throwing hundreds of Saskatchewan workers out of their living-wage jobs?

Don’t be fooled, we’re not all in this together.

Wall and his government are exempting themselves from having to make financial sacrifices in tough economic times, despite expecting everyone else to compromise.

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A6 February 8, 2017 Estevan Mercury

COUNCIL BRIEFS City will provide a scholarship NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE JANUARY 30 REGULAR MEETING OF ESTEVAN CITY COUNCIL

The City of Estevan has stepped forward to provide a scholarship to the Southeast College.

Estevan city council decided at its meeting on Jan. 30 to approve a new City of Estevan bursary, which would go to a student with financial needs who is enrolled in a full-time program at the Estevan campus.

The city’s contribution will be $1,000, and will be matched by the provincial government.

“Pursuing a post-secondary education takes determination, as well as financial sacrifice,” the college stated in a letter to council.

“And while supporting our students with a scholarship or bursary, you will help students relieve some of those pressures in order to focus on their studies and realize their dreams.”

This will be the first time that the city has provided a bursary for the college. *** Mayor Roy Ludwig presented a certificate of recognition to Marguerite Gallaway, in honour of her commitment to the Estevan Arts Council and other organizations.

Gallaway announced late last year she was stepping aside from the arts council after being involved for more than 45 years. She was the first executive director of the Organization of Saskatchewan Councils, and played a key role in bringing concerts and art exhibits to small cities and towns in Saskatchewan.

She also played an instrumental role in local tourism, including the establishment of the Estevan Tourism committee and the Souris Valley Theatre.

Gallaway will remain active in the community through the Souris Valley Museum, St. Paul’s United Church and the new Estevan regional nursing home committee. *** Council approved an amended building bylaw. The bylaw had

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The performance deposits would be fully refundable after final inspection, and all work being completed. Frank was concerned it would hurt Estevan’s competitiveness.

Ludwig said the performance deposits were included because developers would take out a permit and start on a project, but leave without completing them. It has created some unsightly properties, and has diminished property values.

Land development services will be directed to study an amendment to the zoning bylaw to create Mayor Roy Ludwig presented a certificate of recognition fines for those who leave develop- to Marguerite Gallaway at the Jan. 30 meeting of Estevan ments that aren’t finished. city council.

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Wednesday, February 8, 2017

New York based baritone making his way back home to Estevan in Midale, who will be in attendance.

Armstrong will be accompanied by Diana Anderson, from the Minot State University music department, who is familiar with Armstrong’s repertoire, since that is his alma mater.

“She has my charts now. I just sent them off to her the other day,” he said.

A couple of years ago Armstrong had lamented that in spite of all his international travels over the 20 years he has been singing in major opera productions, he had never been booked in Canada. That changed soon after that interview, when he was booked for a gig in Hamilton, Ontario with the symphony orchestra there.

He has also provided a musical treat for an audience in Medicine Hat in recent months, something similar to what he will be doing in his home town.

The ECS graduate was “discovered” early on after enrolling for studies at Minot State when he was singled out for special attention

By Norm Park normpark@estevanmercury.ca

The last time Chad Armstrong sang in Estevan was on the stage at the Estevan Comprehensive School in a student musical-theatre production in 1992.

“It’s about time I got back there,” he said, speaking to the Mercury from his home in New Jersey.

That will happen on March 4 when Armstrong, the big voiced baritone, will appear in St. Paul’s United Church to sing a few opera arias as well as a number of show tunes and musical theatre numbers in the second half of the OSAC arranged program.

“I do a little introduction, provide some opera history along the way in the first half, so it’s not just opera all the time,” he said.

Music from The Messiah will be well recognized by the audience and Armstrong said he’s prepared a special rendition of Holy City for his 98-year-old grandmother, a resident of Mainprize Manor

during an audition for the university’s choral group.

Armstrong and his wife, Sara, a soprano, will be wrapping up rehearsals for Beethoven’s Sidelio on March 1 or 2. This is in preparation for that production in the famed New York Metropolitan Opera House.

Armstrong said he will find his way to Minot and Estevan from there, hoping to make the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins home game against the Weyburn Red Wings on March 3.

As a big hockey fan, and former player, Armstrong had the pleasure to be assigned the duty of singing the American and Canadian national anthems at a New York Rangers game in Madison Square Garden last spring.

The couple, fairly new parents of a young daughter, are just now getting back into booking more appearances, but, he noted, Sara just recently had to turn down a contract offer in Florida due to a conflict in scheduling while he is

also trying to stay “close to home,” meaning New York and New Jersey and the more immediate states. In the past they have appeared in productions across Europe as well as in America.

Armstrong’s agent is currently in discussions with the Regina Symphony Orchestra too, which would bring the big voice back to the Prairies sometime in the future.

“It should be fun in Estevan. Nobody will have to worry about it being too much opera. This won’t be a tuxedo type appearance,” he said with a laugh.

And would he be agreeable to singing the national anthem at a Bruin game if it could be arranged in time?

“Sure, then I could say I’ve sung in Madison Square Garden and Affinity Place. It would be a treat for a former ECS guy,” he said with another chuckle. “I’m excited at being able to be home again. It’s been a long time getting it done.”

Advanced tickets available at Henders Drugs.

Chad Armstrong, the former Estevan resident will entertain local audience on March 4.

Farm Family nomination deadline approaching A message of love and super ranch management will be delivered to those attending this year’s Farmer Appreciation Evening dinner on March 9.

O rg a n i z e r s o f t h e event are also reminding the public that the deadline for nominations for the Farm Family of the Year, is fast approaching.

“This year we have received quite a few nomi-

nations, they have rolled in pretty steadily,” said event co-ordinator Alf Tide. “The deadline is Feb. 15.”

Besides the Farm Family of the Year Award, the evening’s entertainment will include brief public speeches from prize-winning 4-H Club members from three or four regional clubs.

The keynote address

will be delivered by Leona Dargis, who has an interesting story of perseverance and business survival to relate.

“Leona is the eldest of five sisters who lost their mother, father and grandmother all at once.

The family owned and operated a huge 4,000head cattle ranch on 7,000 acres of land near St. Paul, Alta. when a 2007 accident

claimed the lives of the parents and grandparent.

“The five girls stepped up and took on the job of running the ranch,” said Tide with Leona in the lead role. The lessons she learned along the way she is now willing to relate to others in her motivational address.

T h e e l d e s t D a rg i s daughter received a bachelor of applied sciences

degree in agri-business from Olds College and immediately set about the job of managing the huge ranch and all that it entailed, backed by her siblings.

It has been the biggest challenge of their lives.

“But they all learned the value of hard work,” said Tide.

L e o n a D a rg i s h a s been so successful at the

speaker ’s dais, she has now delivered her messages in 15 countries and will no doubt bring some fresh perspectives to her Estevan listeners.

The event will be directed by emcee Trevor Gowen and Tide said it is expected the dinner will be another sell out, just as it has been in the previous 51 years of its existence.

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A8 February 8, 2017

Estevan Mercury

Our readers have shared their personal photos and their love stories here in this Valentine’s Love Stories special feature.

Sheila & Randy

Lezlie & Jordan Naka

I have shared many great times with this guy!

Together for 43 years!

Love you Randy!

Cecille &Marc My husband Marc and I will be celebrating our 2nd year of marriage this August! It will be 11 years together this June!!

Tania & Aaron Turnbull Married for 6 years

Becky & Chris This is Chris. He is the man who pulls me up when I’m down and is my rock. We have been together for almost 5 years, and have a couple pretty cool kids to make up for that time. Even though he works away a lot, I’m not sure what I would do without him. He’s pretty much the best fish out there, and he is all mine!

Kaleena & Darnell My husband Darnell and I have been together for 16 years this month, and married almost 7.

Married forever!

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Baseball season warming up

By Jamie Harkins sports@estevanmercury.ca

Thoughts of the area’s youth turn to summer’s annual pastime this week.

Estevan Minor Baseball hosted its first free spring clinic for bantam and midget aged players from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Estevan Leisure Centre’s multipurpose room on Tuesday. Hopefuls for the Southeast Performance Pump Services midget AAA Twins had a bit more spring in their step as the club prepares to host the 2017 Baseball Saskatchewan championships from July 20 to 23 at Lynn Prime Park.

“With it being at our home diamond, it’s a big deal,” said Twins head coach Blaine Kovach, who helps instruct the bantam and midget camp with Twins assistant coach Kent Phillips. “It’s going to be a big push for us this year to really do well in the standings and our league because it is our league standings that determine who makes provincials. So, the better we do the better pool we’ll have and the better way we play will help us perform.”

Kovach said the championships will feature eight to 10 of the top midget AAA teams from the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League competing in a round robin and playoffs at the two diamonds at Lynn Prime Park over the three days for the chance to be crowned the best team in the province. He said the tournament will bring hundreds of players, family members and fans to the Energy City over that late July weekend and their goal is to be a tough but welcoming host.

“The city teams, they have already done their drafts for players for their teams,” he said. “Lots of their guys work out all winter long (while) lots of guys in our area they take the winter off. They play hockey and they do other things.

Which is great, it keeps them in shape.

But now especially with midget AAA provincials coming and this is the highest calibre of midget ball you can play, guys have got to start thinking baseball and get ready for the season.”

The Estevan Minor Baseball bantam and midget clinics are free of charge for interested participants and will run from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Estevan Leisure Centre multipurpose room until the end of March.

A mosquito and peewee aged players’ free clinic is also being run from 7 to 8 p.m. at the multipurpose room on Thursdays. Local coaches provide instruction during the hour-long sessions and the only thing asked is kids show up with their bat, glove, gym shoes and a desire to play some ball.

“The primary focus on these ones is to get the guys in the cage and hit,” said Kovach. “We also do a lot of bullpen, a lot of pitching work to just get the guys arms active and ready for the season. The way things are going it feels like spring time is sneaking up faster than it usually does, so it’s a better time now to start throwing than it would to be waiting a little bit longer.”

Bruins right wing Cole Rooney comes under pressure from Bombers defenceman Cory Thomas during the second period of Estevan’s 4-2 win over Flin Flon at Affinity Place on Sunday. Photo by Jamie Harkins.

Bruins battle back to beat the Bombers

By Jamie Harkins sports@estevanmercury.ca

The Estevan Power Dodge Bruins 4-2 comeback win over the Flin Flon Bombers at Affinity Place on Sunday came down to one team competing for 60 minutes and another for 55.

“We knew they were going to be coming off four games in five nights, so they were going to be a little bit tired,” said Bruins goaltender Nathan Alalouf, who made 31 saves for his 12th win of the season. “We needed to get on them early, which we did in the first period. They snapped up a little bit and gave us a push in the second, but then we answered in the third and were able to get it done.”

The Bombers dug themselves an early hole against the Bruins taking a hooking penalty 20 seconds into the first period, which resulted in a Jake Fletcher power play marker a minute-and-a-half into the game. Flin Flon stepped up the pressure following the goal

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with left wing Connor Beebe potting the equalizer at the 9:15 mark on a shot from the wall near the goal line that snuck through Alalouf.

Penalty trouble continued to dog the Bombers through the rest of the opening 20 minutes, but the Bruins failed to execute on their many power play opportunities including a two minute five-on-three advantage late in the frame.

The momentum seemed to shift in the second period when the Bruins found themselves on the wrong side of the referee’s calls for the majority of play, but a strong penalty kill that held the Bombers to mainly outside shots kept the away side at bay.

A Bruins penalty kill shortly into the third period didn’t have the same success thanks to Bombers leading scorer Greyson Reitmeier who picked up a failed Estevan clearing attempt, skated to the hash marks and fired a shot top corner glove side.

“I don’t think we were

undisciplined today,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood. “We took penalties, but I don’t think it was a matter of discipline.

You’re going to get boarding calls where you’re just finishing a clean check and the guy goes (into the boards). Those things happen.”

The Bruins seemed to come back and tie the contest about five minutes after the Bombers goal when right wing Matt McNeil jammed a puck past Flin Flon goalie Zac Robidoux on a net crash, but it was ruled a post had come off its moorings before the puck crossed the line. Bruins centre Kaelan Holt buried another past Robidoux with nine minutes to play in the third period by swatting in a puck lying open in the crease only to have the goal ruled no good due to a quick whistle.

Josh Rieger finally got one that counted with 5:33 left in the frame by tipping in a Jayden Davis centering pass.

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Rieger potted the game winner just under four minutes later on a slap shot from the point through traffic.

“Four games in five nights are difficult, but there is no excuse for that,” said Bombers head coach and general manager Mike Reagan. “We had them beat with (six) minutes left and pissed it away. We did that last night (in a 3-2 loss to the Notre Dame Hounds). We had a lead going into the third and did the same thing. So, we got to learn from this and make sure we clean it up for the playoffs.”

Alalouf said the drive for the tying goal was simply a result of the team working together to achieve a desired result. He said once they got it, each of them knew they’d get the winner as well.

“The game was back and forth all day,” added Lewgood. “It was fairly evenly played. We planned on playing 60 minutes and our guys just stuck to it.”

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B2 February 8, 2017

Estevan Mercury

Bruins centre Carson Birnie drives to the Broncos net during the third period of Estevan’s 6-3 loss to Swift Current at the Civic Auditorium on Saturday. Photo by Jamie Harkins.

Westmoreland Bruins bucked off Broncos sports@estevanmercury.ca

The bounces didn’t roll the Estevan Westmoreland peewee AA Bruins way in their 6-3 loss to the Swift Current Southwest Terminal Broncos at the Civic Auditorium on Saturday.

“We played a complete game,” said Bruins head coach Aren Miller. “We told the kids after (this game that sometimes) you work hard and play well and lose and today was one of those games.”

The Bruins controlled the action early against the Broncos, but it was the visitors that got on the scoreboard first thanks to a net-front deflection by Swift Current’s Kalan Lind 12:21 into the opening period. The Broncos’ Brady

Wilson made it 2-0 about three minutes into the middle frame with Lind potting the team’s third goal past Bruins netminder Talon Howie halfway through the contest.

Estevan’s James Mann brought his team to within two at the 13:26 mark of the second period by stealing the puck in the neutral zone resulting in a breakaway chance that the high-scoring forward made no mistake on by roofing the puck from in close on Broncos goalie Rylan Hildebrand.

The Bruins then stepped up the pressure only to have Broncos captain Jaydon Jessiman restore the three goal lead a little over two minutes later. The line of Mann, Boden Dukart and Ty Hoste went back to work early into the third period with

UNRESERVED

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Dukart notching the 4-2 marker on a net crash 4:28 into the stanza.

Swift Current’s Wilson and Dayne Feicht replied shortly after despite a determined push from the home side. The Bruins hard work finally paid off with 4:44 remaining on a Mason Kukura one-timer from the slot off a goal-line pass from centre Kaden Chrest.

“We just started crashing the net more,” said Chrest. “We couldn’t really get the bounces, but we did put a couple in.”

The loss, coupled with the Bruins 6-4 defeat to the Broncos (21-1) one day earlier, brings the club to a 14-7-1 record heading into the team’s three final games of the South Saskatchewan Minor Hockey League regular season. The Black and Gold will head

Thursday Feb. 9th 5:30 pm

to Yorkton this weekend to face the Terriers (11-11) on Saturday and Sunday before hitting Weyburn next Wednesday for a match

against the Wings (9-11-2).

“Yorkton is a team that has beat us twice, so that will be a good test going into the playoffs,”

said Miller. “We set our schedule up so we’d have some tougher games going into playoffs. It gets them battle ready.”

Bruins Battle Oilkids Estevan initiation Bruins player Rylan Diechart attempts to move the puck past a Weyburn Keywell Oilkids defender during a Saturday afternoon game at Affinity Place. Fourteen teams took over the ice at Affinity Place and the Power Dodge Ice Centre on Saturday for the annual Estevan Minor Hockey Association Initiation Tournament. Photo by Jamie Harkins.

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February 8, 2017 B3

Elecs captains find new home with Rattlers basketball team

By Jamie Harkins sports@estevanmercury.ca

The help of teammates, coaches, friends and family ensured this season would not be a lost one for a former Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) Elecs captain.

Tess Lindquist, who wore the C for the ECS Elecs senior girls basketball team in 2015-16, was set to make her debut this past fall as a member of the Medicine Hat College Rattlers women’s basketball team when tragedy struck. Only days before her first semester began at the school, Lindquist was involved in a motor vehicle accident where the athlete suffered a severe concussion.

A month after the injury’s diagnosis and the symptoms still causing great harm, Lindquist and Rattlers head coach Clayton Nielsen decided to put this season on the shelf with

Tess Lindquist

a focus on getting healthy in time for the 2017-18 campaign. The setback prevented Lindquist from reuniting on the court with 2014-15 ECS Elecs senior girls basketball team captain Kristen Skjonsby who joined the Rattlers in the fall of 2015.

“I’m still recovering from it,” said Lindquist, 18. “It was a pretty traumatic accident I guess you could say. It’s been quite hard, but I have really good roommates actually. Kristen is one of my roommates. We live in a residence. So, I’ve had a really large support group especially having my sister and grandparents (already living in Medicine Hat) too.”

Lindquist has not been able to physically participate in any Rattlers practices or games this season as a result of the injury and also had to drop a few of her classes in her two-year Occupational Therapy As-

sistant/Physical Therapy Assistant program resulting in her having to extend her studies at the school an extra year. Her hope is that she’ll be able to engage physically with the team by the end of the semester, but up until that time her commitment continues to

minutes and responsibility on court from last season and regularly starts at the small forward position.

“She’s doing good,” he said. “She’s definitely a very energetic fast-paced player. We’re trying to work on her just having a little more pace in regards

“I pretty much just do basketball and school. We practise every day of the week plus we have to do our own shooting drills outside of practice.”

-- Kristen Skjonsby focus on helping the Rattlers in other ways.

“She’s actually been really good with being a part of the team and just helping out wherever she can,” said Nielsen, noting Lindquist has compiled stats for the coaching staff, run the shot clock during practice and acted as a support teammate from the bench. “It’s a matter of just being there to help us put a team in. If we need her to do something she does it.”

Nielsen said an injury to another Rattlers player, Rachel Sherven, helped open a door for Skjonsby this season. He said the second year wing has seen a major increase in her

to not always going 100 miles an hour and trying to get her to slow down a little bit and use change of speed to her advantage…

At this level if you don’t change your speed you’re still pretty easy to guard even if you are going really fast.”

The Rattlers, which currently sit fourth in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) South Division standings with a record of 8-7, managed to add two former Elecs to their roster through the positive connections made between Saskatchewan high schools and the college’s coaching staff over the years as well as their

Kristen Skjonsby ability to sell the school as an alternative place for kids to play instead of the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina.

Skjonsby said Medicine Hat College and the Rattlers will provide her with a four-year universitytransfer degree in Commerce from Mount Royal University as well as a place to play the game she loves during post-secondary studies. She said basketball in the ACAC is fast, highly competitive and a definite step up from the high school game meaning there is a lot more needed in terms of commitment from its players.

“I pretty much just do basketball and school,” said Skjonsby, 20. “We practise every day of the week plus we have to do our own shooting drills outside of practice plus workouts...There is also

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a volunteer aspect of our team as we do a lot of volunteer stuff throughout the year. You need to have good time management to do that and have good grades because schooling takes a lot of time as well.”

Lindquist said studying at Medicine Hat College and playing for the Rattlers has been a goal of hers for years due to her family connections to the city. She said having Skjonsby there to provide support in getting adjusted to a collegiate athlete’s life and settling in with an injury is a big bonus.

“She’s got a spot on next year’s team,” said Nielsen. “I told her that ever since basically October when we knew that the concussion was pretty bad that she didn’t have to worry about basketball. We would have her next year and she just needs to get healthy and come back.”

B4 February 8, 2017

Estevan Mercury

Select Sharks Compete With Prairie Team Abbygael Birnie goes up for a block while playing with a combined Prairie team at a competition in Winnipeg late last month. Select members of the Estevan Sharks water polo club as well as some Weyburn Hurricanes players teamed up to compete with the Prairie team at the National Championship League series against Winnipeg. The girls Prairie team had an undefeated run through four games at the competition, while the boys squad went 3-0-1. Submitted photo.

Coaler Rollers get bigger and badder

By Jamie Harkins sports@estevanmercury.ca

The Estevan Junior Coaler Rollers got back in action this week with

a goal of making their fourth roller derby season a smashing success.

“We are definitely stronger and stronger every year,” said Coal-

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er Rollers coach Lorelei Lachambre. “We’re still one of the younger teams, (compared to clubs) that we play against, and physically smaller, so we have to grow as skaters and we also need to really physically grow a bit more so we have some more intimidation on the track. But I was very excited to see a couple of girls come back and I swear they’re a foot taller.”

The Coaler Rollers started the February to June season on Sunday with the first of two freeto-try recruitment sessions at the Trinity Lutheran Church gymnasium. The team will be practising out of the church gymnasium for the next two months with a focus on building skating skills in anticipation of their April to June game schedule that includes an opening tournament in Rocanville, their annual home tournament at Bienfait Memorial Arena in May and a number of away contests in June.

Members of the Estevan Junior Coaler Rollers derby team participate in their first practice of the season at the Trinity Lutheran Church gym on Sunday. The Coaler Rollers are holding a recruitment session for girls interested in trying out the sport this Thursday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Church gym. Photo by Jamie Harkins.

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tournament and the hope is they’ll have both a Level 1/2, introductory roller derby, and Level 3, full contact women’s roller derby rules, competition.

She noted they aim to have their own Coaler Rollers Level 3 team by season’s end.

“Right now we have nine Level 3 skaters and we need at least 12 to make a team,” she said.

“My goal that would make me so happy is if we could benchmark more of our twos up to threes so we could have a full Level 3 team and we wouldn’t have to borrow skaters to play games. I don’t know if that will happen, but that

will be my dream for this season.”

The Coaler Rollers will hold a second freeto-try session for girls in grades four to 12 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Trinity Lutheran Church gymnasium. Interested athletes are asked to bring water, a helmet if they have one and to dress comfortably, but skates and pads are available to borrow. A parent or guardian must also sign a waiver prior to skating. Anyone with questions can contact Lachambre at 306-4213289, lorelei-lachambre@ rocketmail.com or visit Estevan Junior Roller Derby on Facebook.

Liquor Permit Advertising Form Under the provisions of The Alcohol and Gaming Regulations Act, 1997, Notice is hereby given that 101288881 Saskatchewan Ltd. has applied to the Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) for a Restaurant permit to sell alcohol in the premises known as Jino Restaurant at 1133 4th St., Estevan SK S4A 0W6.

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 competition-based 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

www.estevanmercury.ca

February 8, 2017 B5

TS&M Bruins comeback attempt falls short

By Jamie Harkins sports@estevanmercury.ca

Too much time spent in the defensive zone, too many shots against and a number of tough penalty calls led the Estevan TS&M bantam AA Bruins to a 6-3 loss against the West Central Wheat Kings at Affinity Place on Saturday.

The Wheat Kings (1511-2) pressured the Bruins from the get-go with high-scoring West Central forward Cade Hayes capitalizing on a one-timer from the slot off a Colby Ralston pass 1:06 into the first period. Hayes and Ralston combined for a near identical marker six minutes later before Eric Robbie put West Central up 3-0 about six minutes into the middle stanza.

The Bruins then found the back of the net thanks to a seeing-eye point shot from defenceman Carey Levesque. Estevan’s Riley Niven made it a one-goal game three minutes later by passing the puck to Chase Gedak for a shot in close, circling around the net and depositing the rebound past Wheat Kings netminder Cody Beswitherick.

Wheat Kings forward Carson Dobson potted the 4-2 marker at the 14:29 mark of the second period when he drove to the front of the net from the corner and fired a shot short side on Bruins goaltender Zane Winter. Turner McMillen got that one back two minutes later blasting a shot from the hashmarks into the top corner.

“The fourth one (Winter) wants back for sure,” said Bruins head coach Tom Copeland. “It’s something he’s struggled with.

He’s a big kid, but he’s a first year goaltender and he’s still working on being strong and sometimes that means he’s not squared to the puck like he wants to be and that was a situation where he over-pursued it a little bit.”

The Wheat Kings led the Bruins 33-22 in shots after the second period, but the club would step up the pressure in the last frame.

West Central peppered 19 shots on the Estevan net over the final 20 minutes, as opposed to the Bruins only hitting their target three times, and connected on two more markers courtesy of Garin Scherr and Caleb Bacon.

“We ran on energy there in the third,” said

TS&M Bruins forward Riley Niven comes under pressure from a couple of Wheat Kings defenders at Affinity Place on Saturday. Photo by Jamie Harkins. currently hold the ninth spot in the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League (SBAAHL) South Division standings, but the team has a chance to move into the seventh position and a more favourable first round postseason opponent with a good showing at home this weekend.

The Black and Gold starts the final weekend of the SBAAHL regular season

Copeland, noting they have three players out with injuries and another who played sick. “It’s tough for a smaller team to play that physical a team, so coming from the (North Division) they play us hard. Some tough calls went against us tonight and we killed a lot of penalties, too much Dzone time and it just wears on you after a while.”

The Bruins (7-16-3)

with a contest against the Weyburn Crescent Point Wings (3-25) on Friday before playing the Regina Pat Blues (7-16-3) on Saturday.

The team completes the trek with a game against the Regina Monarchs (17-7-4) at Affinity Place on Sunday.

“We want to go into the playoffs rolling and we’re going to need a little bit from everybody if we’re going to get that done,” said

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Copeland. “This is when playoffs start for us. We

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B6 February 8, 2017

Estevan Mercury

A Warm Donation Valerie Hall (centre), a past Region 1 and president of the Estevan chapter of Quota International, was presented a quilt by the Hearts and Hands Quilt Guild. The guild sewed the quilt together in what was a cumulative 30 hour project. The quilt will be available as an auction item at one of Quota’s local events in the coming year.

Photo by Sam Macdonald

Police deal with thefts, frauds and more hotel. The matter is still under investigation.

Officers attended to a local care home to assist staff with a resident who was being unruly. The matter was resolved peacefully.

Police were called regarding an impaired driver during the Jan. 31 night shift. The vehicle was not located but police were pro- morning if they wanted the vided with a licence plate. police to pursue the matter.

Police received a comThe owner will be contacted plaint of an attempted scam regarding the complaint.

A 911 call was re- involving the Canada Reveceived and information nue Agency during the Feb. was relayed that someone 1 day shift. The complainwas trying to force their ant did not lose any money. way into a residence. Police The public is requested arrived to find male and to contact the Canadian female residents arguing in Antifraud Centre at 1-888495-8501 or their website the apartment. Alcohol wasEQUIPMENT, HUGE RV, VEHICLE to report similar incidents. a factor for both individuals.

A hit and run collision They were asked to provide statements the following involving a parked vehicle

Members of the Estevan Police Service were kept busy with thefts, frauds and other complaints in recent days.

Officers were notified during the Jan. 30 day shift of a theft from a local business. The matter is still under investigation.

Officers also received a complaint regarding the driving actions of a vehicle entering Estevan. The vehicle was located and the driver was issued a ticket under the Traffic Safety Act. Officers are investigating a credit card fraud involving the purchase of airline tickets and rental cars. The complaint was filed during the Jan. 31 day shift.

Police received a complaint of a fraud at a local

MACK AUCTION

ESTEVAN MOTOR SPEEDWAY

CONSIGN TODAY!

SATURDAY JUNE 20, 2015 OLE PETEHERYCH 9:00 A.M. — ESTEVAN, SK 306-634-3540 DIRECTIONS: EAST OF ESTEVAN ON SHAND ACCESS ROAD WATCH FORMARCH SIGNS THURSDAY, 30, 2017 7:00 PM DAYS INN, ESTEVAN, AUCTION Mack Auction Company presents Macdon 16’ 5020 mower conditioner sprayer, newSASK. Pool 3HP aeration fan,

LAND

a very large annual Equipment-RVwith very few cutting acres, Vermeer 2200 bushel Weststeel hopper bottom Vehicle Auction Saturday June 20, 2015 605L Series round baler with bale bin, 2- 1850 bushel Westeel hopper Estevan Motor Speedway, and Vemeer updates, Degelman bin, 2200pasture bushel Westeelland Rosco hopper Here is your chance toEstevan, own sixkicker quarter sections of fenced Sask 9:00 am. Consign Today!! A 14’ rock rake PTO drive, Degelman PTO bottom, Westeel 1600 bushel hopper in the North Portal/Northgate area. complete farm equipment dispersal rock picker, IH 5500 DT 28’ chisel plow bottom bin, 40 ton hopper bottom time rancher Harley Jahn!

MF 850 combine, MF 90 5. NE-28-01-03-W2 fertilizer bin, SakundiakRM HD 7-1400 OF Lots 1 & 2 shareforalong common water Lots Up 3, 4, cultivator, 5 & 6 will be SP combined. for auction TW25 Ford FWA tractor with FEL and grapple fork, Spra Coupe grain auger with Onan 18 HP, Check on source and will be combined.

This These four quarters are cross ENNISKILLEN #3;newPasture, FVA with dual PTO and 3PTH, DX 90 2WD for parts, 1997 Eagle Industries 24’ this ad each week for additions to half section is located adjacent fenced share water 2016 Taxes $311.07 tractor with FEL and 5720 hours, 2002 and gooseneck flat decksources, trailer, 3 PTH yard 67,800, this large sale!!

to the community pasture’s east valleys and coulees.

Grid Road Access, Also Known Visit www.mackauctioncompany.com for sale bill and photos. Join us on Facebook and Twitter. corrals.

3. SW-28-01-03-W2 RM OF As The Little Dipper Ranch 1. SW-22-01-04-W2 RM OF ENNISKILLEN #3; Pasture, FVA Heritage Site COALFIELDS #4; Pasture, FVA 47,700, 2016 Taxes $218.84 6. NW-27-01-03-W2 RM OF 32,200, 2016 Taxes $295.77 4. SE-28-01-03-W2 RM OF ENNISKILLEN #3; Pasture, FVA 2. SE-22-01-04-W2 RM OF ENNISKILLEN #3; Pasture, FVA 64,200, 2016 Taxes $319.55, COALFIELDS #4; Pasture, FVA 51,800, 2016 Taxes $237.66, Grid Road Access 32,400, 2016 Taxes $286.58, Seasonal Access Road & Low Abandoned Farm Yard With Level Crossing Power Service 831, Box 831, Estevan, SKBox S4A 2A7Estevan, SK S4A 2A7

(306) 634-9512, Ph: (306) 634-9512, (306)Ph: 421-2928, (306) 487-7815 421-2928, (306) 487-7815 Licensed, Bonded(306) & Insured P.L. 311962 Licensed, Bonded & Insured P.L. 311962 www.mackauctioncompany.com

www.mackauctioncompany.com

COLLISION REPAIR Since 1985 • Insurance Claim Specialists • Dents, Dings and Scratches Removed • Custom Color Matching Service

All Makes & Models Major or Minor Repairs Expert Appraisals & Quick Turnarounds 445 - 4th Street, Estevan

306-634-2815

was reported in the south end of the city. The complainant has been referred to a Saskatchewan General Insurance hit and run clinic to help identify a suspect.

A wellbeing check was conducted on a male who appeared to be living in a vehicle. He was in good health and in Estevan for employment purposes.

Police were called to a complaint of a possible fight at a residence during the Feb. 1 night shift. Several males were spoken to. No further police involvement was needed.

Two male youths were arrested during the Feb. 2 day shift, following an investigation into a theft of personal property at a business. Both were released to their parents and given a court date.

Police received a complaint of fraudulent online sales. The matter is still under investigation.

Officers issued a 60day driving suspension during the Feb. 2 night shift to a male under the age of 21 who was caught driving after consuming alcohol. His vehicle was also seized for three days.

Members conducted multiple curfew checks on individuals out on conditions.

Police received a complaint of a tanker truck

LAND

AUCTION

cutting off another motorist on Fourth Street during the Feb. 3 night shift. A licence plate was not provided and the vehicle was not located.

Officers assisted a business owner in east Estevan with identifying the owner of a vehicle parked on private property.

Police responded to a report of a group of people about to fight outside a downtown bar. Members attended and intervened and sent everyone on their way. A short time later, one of the males involved in the altercation returned to the scene and was arrested for public intoxication and lodged in cells until sober.

A traffic stop in the downtown area resulted in a 39-year-old woman being charged with impaired driving. A driver’s licence suspension was issued and the vehicle was seized for a minimum of 60 days.

Police received a report of two dogs that had escaped from their yard. High snow drifts near the fence appear to have made the escape possible. The public is asked to ensure their animal enclosures are adequate to contain their pets.

A complaint of a barking dog was received in the Pleasantdale area during the Feb. 4 night shift. Members attended but were unable to locate the dog.

Police received a complaint about a highly intoxicated male falling into a roadway in the Pleasantdale area. Patrols of the area were conducted, but the male was not located.

A number of traffic stops were conducted during the shift to confirm driver sobriety. No impaired drivers were identified, and it was noted that a significant number of vehicles remained parked at local bars after closing time.

Police received a report during the Feb. 5 day shift of an assault that occurred the previous day.

Statements were taken and the matter remains under investigation.

Officers received a complaint from a person who feels they are being harassed. Statements were taken and the matter is believed to be a valid concern. Police are continuing to investigate.

Members received parking complaints from around Affinity Place on Feb. 1 and 5. Some were vehicles located in handicapped parking stalls without properly displaying their placards, and in the case of the Feb. 5 violation, a vehicle was blocking the Flin Flon Bombers bus.

Tickets were issued for violations.

MACK AUCTION HUGE EQUIPMENT, RV, VEHICLE

Please join Mack Auction Company on March

VAL VEROBA, KELLY FLECK, 23rd for your chance to own 12 quarter ESTEVAN MOTORsections SPEEDWAY DALLAS FLECK & SHERRY MOFFAT of prime farmland in the RM of Browning #34. There is over $60,000.00 of THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017 Surface Lease Revenue being sold with the DAYS INN, ESTEVAN,SATURDAY SASK. land which located in the center of the JUNE 20, is2015 7:00 P.M. Lampman/Steelman 9:00 A.M. — ESTEVAN, SK gas and oil fields!

CONSIGN TODAY!

DIRECTIONS: EAST ON SHAND ACCESS 1. NW-19-04-06-W2 RM #34; FVA 80,400, 2016 TaxesOF ESTEVAN 7. SE-29-04-05-W2 RM #34; FVAROAD 61,600, 2016 Taxes WATCH FOR SIGNS $462.99, 2016 144 Acres Canola, 159 Titled Acres $354.72, 2016 120 Acres Soy Beans, 160 Titled Acres, $3050.00 Surface Lease Revenue Mack Auction presents Macdon 16’ 5020 mower conditioner sprayer, new Pool 3HP aeration fan, 2. NE-19-04-06-W2 RM #34;Company FVA 73,400, 2016 Taxes very large annual Equipment-RVwith very few8.cutting acres, Vermeer RM 2200 bushel hopper bottom $422.68, 2016a 146 Acres Canola, 159 Titled Acres, NE-28-04-05-W2 #34; FVAWeststeel 79,300, 2016 Taxes Vehicle Auction Saturday June 20, 2015 605L Series round baler with bale bin, 2- 1850 bushel Westeel hopper $13,350.00 Surface Lease Revenue $456.65, 2016 135 Acres Yellow Mustard, 160 Estevan Motor Speedway, Estevan, kicker and Vemeer updates, Degelman bin, 2200 bushel Westeel Rosco hopper Acres, $5775.00 Surface Revenue Sask RM 9:00 am.

Today!! A2016 Taxes 14’ rock rake PTOTitled drive, Degelman PTO bottom, WesteelLease 1600 bushel hopper 3. SW-19-04-06-W2 #34;Consign FVA 74,900, complete farm equipment dispersal rock picker, IH 5500 DT 28’ chisel plow bottom bin, 40 ton hopper bottom $431.31, 2016for145 Acres Canola, 160 Titled Acres, 9.

SE-28-04-05-W2 RM #34; FVA 69,800, 2016 Taxes long time rancher Harley Jahn! Up cultivator, MF 850 SP combine, MF 90 fertilizer bin, Sakundiak HD 7-1400 $3600.00 Surface Lease Revenue $401.94, 2016 135 Acres Yellow Mustard, 159 on for auction TW25 Ford FWA tractor with FEL and grapple fork, Spra Coupe grain auger with Onan 18 HP, Check Titled Acres,24’$7175.00 Surface Lease Revenue with dual PTO and 3PTH, DX 90 2WD for parts, 1997 Eagle Industries this ad each week for new additions to 4. SE-19-04-06-W2 RM #34; FVA 70,100, 2016 Taxes tractor with FEL and 5720 hours, 2002 gooseneck flat deck trailer, 3 PTH yard this large sale!! $403.67, 2016 135 Acres Canola, 148.65 Titled 10. SE-18-04-05-W2 RM #34; FVA 73,500, 2016 Visit www.mackauctioncompany.com for sale bill and photos. Join us on139 Facebook andWheat, Twitter. 140.24 Acres, $10,000.00 Surface Lease Revenue (SubTaxes $423.25, 2016 Acres Divided Yard Site Does Not Sell!)

Titled Acres $8450.00 Surface Lease Revenue (Sub-Divided Yard Site Does Not Sell!)

5. SE-29-04-06-W2 RM #34; FVA 71,300, 2016 Taxes $410.58, 2016 125 Acres Canola, 137.3 Titled 11. SW-17-04-05-W2 RM #34; FVA 82,100, 2016 Acres, Existing Surface Leases Not Included In Sale Taxes $472.77, 2016 140 Acres Wheat, 159 Titled (Sub-Divided Yard Site Does Not Sell!)

Acres, $6650.00 Surface Lease Revenue

6. SW-29-04-05-W2 RM #34; FVA 61,700, 2016 Taxes $355.30, 2016 132 Acres Soy Beans, 132.11 Titled Acres, $2725.00 Surface Lease Revenue

12. SE-06-04-05-W2 RM #34; FVA 76,500, 2016 Taxes $440.52, 2016 135 Acres Wheat, 159 Titled Acres

831, Box 831, Estevan, SKBox S4A 2A7Estevan, SK S4A 2A7 Ph: (306) 634-9512, Ph: (306) 634-9512, (306) 421-2928, (306) 487-7815 421-2928, (306) 487-7815 Licensed, Bonded(306) & Insured P.L. 311962 Licensed, Bonded & Insured P.L. 311962 www.mackauctioncompany.com

www.mackauctioncompany.com

JOSH LEBLANC REALTOR® PART TIME

Business B7

CHOICE REAL ESTATE

It takes more than a sign!

Cell: (306) 421-6778 josh.r.leblanc@gmail.com www.joshleblanc.ca 1228 Fourth Street Estevan,SK S4A 0W9

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Watershed team sends out reminders to area producers The Growing Forward 2 (GF2) program is rolling to a conclusion this year and the Upper Souris Watershed Association management team is sending out a message to farmers and ranchers that application deadline dates are creeping up on them.

“We will help you complete and submit the application. We can be the facilitators of your project,” said Bruce Duncan, assistant co-ordinator for the watershed group headed by David Pattyson who is executive director of the regional program that has an extensive reach throughout southeast Saskatchewan.

“It’s about protecting the watershed, quality and quantity,” he added.

Quality is always the number 1 issue for the association and projects to prevent manure runoff and protection of surface water that runs into rivers, or chemical runoffs or acreage drainage, are just part of the mandate.

The GF2 program was established as a federalprovincial framework for agricultural programs that

began in 2013, following up on a successful Growing Forward 1 project. Duncan said there are signals being sent out now that a Growing Forward 3 program will be in the works, but just as changes were made between the first and second editions, there will probably be changes (additions and subtractions) between the second and third generations of Going Forward.

Some funding is still available for valuable water management and security projects, said Duncan. The GF2 program rolls to a conclusion at the end of March, but final applications extend beyond that.

Projects that require pre-approval that can cover between 30 to 75 per cent of the project costs, have a June 30, 2017 application deadline.

The projects that involve rebate funding have a deadline date near the end of this year while the Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program (FRWIP) has an Aug. 1 application deadline.

“Fencing off waterways,

Bruce Duncan, assistant co-ordinator for Upper Souris Watershed Association. changing cattle confinement areas, securing water supplies, and old water well decommissioning are such things that will come into play under the pre-approved projects that require some peer review and/or engineering oversight before approval. Other FSP projects don’t require pre-approval with applications submitted after the projects are completed.

“If we have a big runoff season, where does that water

really go?” asked Duncan in rhetorical fashion, meaning that the Upper Souris team is beginning to find the answers and the solutions through farm owner agreements and shared project development.

Water flow, erosion control, farmyard runoffs, irrigation technology and efficiencies, carcass disposal, native rangeland grazing plans, native plant establishment and other environmental issues are covered under the pre-

Report indicates population increase Estevan’s population is back on a slight upswing, according to an annual report.

The covered population data posted on eHealth Saskatchewan’s website indicates that the City of Estevan’s population stood at 13,307 people as of June 30, 2016. The number is up from 13,205 a year earlier.

Population is based on the number of people carrying Saskatchewan Health cards in a community on June 30 each year. And while it is not a census, it has become a trusted gauge locally for the number of people living in the city.

Mayor Roy Ludwig said he was surprised that Estevan’s population was on the upswing, since the city

has been feeling the sting associated with the lower price of oil.

“Even though we see things turning around these last two months, and we are very confident they will continue to turn around, it’s great that our population has actually increased in the last year,” Ludwig said in an interview with the Mercury.

Ludwig said he has seen more confidence in the community, and more activity.

He believes most of the people who left the city during the economic slowdown likely did so in the first 12 months of the downturn, so he understands how Estevan’s population could enjoy a slight rebound in the last half of 2015 and the first half

of 2016.

The mayor said the covered population report has become a popular document with council and city staff over the years because it is tabulated annually, and during the boom years, it did a better job of tracking the number of transient workers in the city.

“We’ve tended to go with the health card numbers, which seemed more accurate,” said Ludwig. “So this is a positive development, and positive growth is always good.”

Ludwig is interested to see how the eHealth Saskatchewan report compares

with the findings of the 2016 national census, which is slated to be released on Feb. 8. The last censes in 2011 pegged Estevan’s population at 11,054, which was viewed as being too low by the council and city administration of the day.

The rural municipality of Estevan, meanwhile, had a population of 697 people as of June 30, 2016, which was a slight decrease from 715 the previous year.

The report also showed there were 60,157 people residing in the Sun Country Health Region, which was a slight increase from 59,685 the previous year.

FOR SALE BY TENDER HOME QUARTER FOR SALE Offers are invited for the land (no minerals; no buildings except as stated below):  SE 28-11-10 W2, located in the R. M. of Fillmore No. 96 (159.62 acres) (1900 square foot house, 16,800 bushels grain storage, cattle shelters, watering bowls, 2 sheds, 2 dugouts plus well water, house has chlorination iron filter RO water filtration and 120 acres cultivated) For anyone wishing to view the property, an open house will be held on February 11th, 2017 from 1:00 to 5:00.

Woodlawn Regional Park is accepting tenders for lease of 35x17 building located at the Boundary Dam location for the 2017 season.

The lease is for concession/convenience store.

Please submit tenders and description of services to be offered in writing to

Woodlawn Regional Park Box 1385 Estevan, SK S4A 2K9.

Tenders must be received by February 13, 2017.

Highest or any tender not necessarily accepted. Any questions please contact Business Manager Aaron-Lee Soparlo at 306-634-2324 or 306-471-7782.

An offer may be made for the above land.

An offer must be: - in writing with a certified cheque (payable to the undersigned) for 5% of the offered price as a deposit; and - placed in a sealed envelope marked “Land Tender” which reaches the undersigned by 10:00 a.m. CST Thursday, March 2, 2017 Balance of offered price is payable by cash or financing arrangements (satisfactory to the undersigned) when notice of intention to accept the offer is given.

Cheques of unsuccessful offerors will be returned.

The highest or any tender will not necessarily be accepted.

Offerors must rely on their own research of the property to determine acreage, condition and assessment. If you have any other questions regarding the sale of the land please call Claude at (306)722-7408.

Donald G. Horner Horner Law Office 21 - 5th Street N.E. Weyburn, SK S4H 0Y9

approved list of projects that farmers might want to pursue under the Farm Stewardship Program.

Those projects that come under the rebate banner might involve forage seeding, manure application, fencing, oil storage, shelterbelts, variable rate fertilizer equipment, irrigation planning and weather data collection. The rebate rate is generally between 30 and 50 per cent of the project’s cost.

The Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program (FRWIP) could include dugout excavation or expansion, wells, shallow and deep buried pipelines, rural water supply connections, relocation of livestock watering system and the decommissioning of the aforementioned wells where up to 90 per cent of the cost can be covered up to $10,000 per well.

The most popular beneficial management practices (BMPs) are the protection of high risk erosion prone and saline soils, which sees producers seeding marginal crop land to perennial forage. Funding is available for 50 per cent of seed and establishment costs up to $35 per acre for eligible land up to maximum of a $10,000 rebate. There are specific requirements for seed that needs to be approved by forage specialists and the seed must be purchased within 18 months of filing the claim.

Other popular projects, said Duncan, include fenc-

ing to protect surface water, stream and creek crossing, water and erosion control and native or riparian area grazing management plans.

“The maximum eligible funding per producer for FSP Growing Forward 2 is $50,000 over the five-year period, which is now coming to an end,” he said.

“I just want to remind producers, of the deadline again, pre-approval applications is June 30, this year with claims from the preapproval applications and rebate applications now being Jan. 31 of 2018.”

Eligible projects under the FRWIP program will receive rebates of 50 per cent up to a maximum program cap of $60,000.

And, as noted earlier, rebates for small and large diameter water wells are up to 90 per cent of eligible costs up to $10,000. These decommissions do require specific procedures to comply with the Water Security Agency (WSA) regulations.

“About two thirds of applications in the past have been FRWIP with the rest being Farm Stewardship.

The deadline, again, for FRWIP applications this year, is August 1 with a completion date no later than mid-February, 2018.

Any questions regarding the deadlines and 2017 programs, or assistance with the application process, may be directed to the Upper Souris Watershed Association at 306-634-7074.

SASKTIP INC. requires your assistance in the apprehension of the people responsible for the following resource violation. A cash reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the individuals involved. Anyone with information about this crime should contact the provincial Toll Free Turn in Poacher line at 1-800-667-7561, #5555 SaskTel cell subscriber or online saskatchewan.ca/tip. Calls are not traced or recorded in any way and callers may choose to remain anonymous.

On January 16, 2017 Estevan Conservation Officers received a call that 3 dark coloured snow machines had chased and run over a coyote approximately 5 miles northeast of Bienfait, Saskatchewan just after noon, about 12:30 pm. The snow machines stopped for a few minutes at the site and then continued northwest. Conservation Officers attended the site about 2:48 pm and found a coyote that had been run over with a snowmobile but it was still alive and had to be put down. Officers followed the snowmobile tracks to Highway 605 between Bienfait and Lampman. Do you know the persons responsible or have information about this wildlife crime? Your help is needed. t

Classifieds B8

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Auto MiscellAneous

Card of Thanks

Wrecking over 250 units... cars a n d t r u ck s. L o t s o f t r u ck s. . .

Dodge... GMC... Ford... Imports...

1/2 ton to 3 tons... We ship anywhere... Call or text 306-821-0260.

Lloydminster.

Thank You We would like to thank all those who sent cards, emails, phone calls, food and donations towards St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation.

Also to Mr. Doug Third for his services, to Dustin and all the staff at Hall Funeral Home.

Vernon McClement family

In MeMorIaM

Coming EvEnts Antique & Collectibles Sale, February 20-26 during mall hours at Market Mall, 2325 Preston Avenue, Saskatoon.

HealtH ServiceS

Kevin Briltz 1999 February 2017 February It has been 18 years since you have left us.

Those special memories of you will always bring a smile If only I could have you back for just a little while Then we could sit and talk again just like we used to do...The fact that you’re no longer here will always cause me pain, but you’re forever in my heart Until we meet again.

Love your wife and Daughter.Anusha and Brittny Conquergood.

CANADA BENEFIT GROUP - Attention Saskatchewan residents: Do you or someone you know suffer from a disability? Get up to $40,000 from the Canadian Government.

To l l - f r e e 1- 8 8 8 - 5 11- 2 2 5 0 o r www.canadabenefit.ca/free-assessment

Houses for sale ULTRA AFFORDABLE, modern homes for Saskatchewan starting at $90,000 delivered. Don’t overp a y ! 2 01 7 ’s a v a i l a b l e n o w ; w w w. b e s t bu y h o u s i n g. c o m .

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Hip or knee replacement?

Other medical conditions that lead to Restrictions in Walking or Dressing?

The disability tax credit allows for a:

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Feed & Seed

For Sale - MiSc

HEATED CANOLA WANTED!!

- GREEN CANOLA - SPRING THRASHED - DAMAGED CANOLA FEED OATS WANTED!!

- BARLEY, OATS, WHT - LIGHT OR TOUGH - SPRING THRASHED HEATED FLAX WANTED!!

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REACH OVER 500,000 Saskatchewan Readers Each Week!

Blanket Classifieds are carried in 79 community newspapers, which reach over 450 communities including 14 cities.

NutraSun Foods Ltd of Regina wants to buy your Organic Hard Red Spr ing and Conventional Hard White Wheat. Please contact Abe Ens at 306-751-2440.

Lump Sum Refund and Rebates For Expert Help

1-844-453-5372 One Year has Passed In Loving Memory of Nellie Maley 1928 2016 Two dear bright eyes, a tender smile, A Loving heart that knew no guile, Deep trust in God that all was right, Her joy to make some other bright.

If sick or suffering one she knew, Some gentle act of love she’d do, No thought of self, but of the other, I know he said “Well done” Mother.

Forever loved, deeply missed and cherished by her childrenDoug (Glynis) Maley, Marjorie Wright, Ron Maley and Jim (Bonnie) Maley,seven grandchildren, and five great grandchildren; siblings, Rose McGregor, Stella (Anton) Schaff, John (Paulette) Kish, Bill (Shirley) Kish, Alex Kish and Steve (Adele) Kish, as well as numerouss Nieces and nephews

Card of Thanks Card of Thanks The family of Yvonne Monteyne would like to thank all of those who sent cards, food, flowers and gave donations to Long Ter m Care - (St. Joseph’s Hospital) Special thanks to Dr. Christie and the staff at Long Term Care for all their love, care and compassion for Mom while she was a resident there.

Thank you to Pastor Stewart Miller for the great service and the choir and all those who helped with the lunch at Trinity Lutheran Church.

Also thanks to Dustin Hall and all those who helped at Hall Funeral Home.

F

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35 lines

Financial ServiceS Need A Loan? Own Proper t y?

Have Bad Credit? We can help!

Call toll free 1 866 405 1228 www.firstandsecondmortgages.ca

Feed & Seed Buying/Selling FEED GRAINS heated / damaged CANOLA/FLAX Top price paid FOB FARM

FARMLAND WANTED NO FEES OR COMMISSIONS! SUMMARY OF SOLD PROPERTIES North - 10 1/4’s North East - 14 1/4’s North West - 12 1/4’s East - 57 1/4’s West - 50 1/4’s Central - 219 1/4’s South - 100 1/4’s South East - 46 1/4’s South West - 65 1/4’s PURCHASING: SINGLE TO LARGE BLOCKS OF LAND.

www.westerncommodities.ca

Buying or Selling A Vehicle?

The Classifieds

Steel BuildingS / granarieS STEEL BUILDING SALE ....

“REALLY BIG SALE IS BACK \endash EXTRA WINTER DISC O U N T O N N OW ! ” \ ~ 2 0 X 19 $5,145. 25X27 $5,997. 28x27 $6,773. 30X31 $8,110. 35X 33 $11,376. 40X43 $13,978. One End wall included. Pioneer Steel 1-855-212-7036 www.pioneersteel.ca

will get you on the road!

Phone today!

306-634-2654

Drop food off at The Salvation Army 1107 4th Street, Estevan, SK

or visit www.skfoodbanks.ca to donate

WE WANT YOU!!

Cando is currently seeking qualified candidates for various positions at customer sites throughout Saskatchewan. Visit our careers page at www.candoltd.com for more details on the following opportunities: Locomotive Mechanic/Locomotive Electrician Locomotive Engineers Railway Conductors Mechanical Railcar Repair/Railcar Cleaners Strong teamwork and communication skills along with a passion for safety and customer satisfaction are essential for all positions. Individuals must be in good physical condition, meet all site security and safety requirements and be able to maintain safety critical medical status including passing drug and alcohol testing. Top candidates will be able to hold and maintain CROR qualifications, and have experience working in an industrial switching environment.

Please note the position title and location of interest on your resume. We thank all applicants for their interest however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Cando Rail Services is a dynamic, employee-owned company that provides railway support services to industry.

For more details on this and other postings, visit candoltd.com/careers

To submit a resume: E: employment@candoltd.com F: 204-725-4100

Auctions

PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. is a publicly-traded company in Calgary that acquires oil & gas fee title and royalty interests at fair market value.

To receive a cash offer, call 5872934 0 5 5 o r v i s i t w w w. p r a i r i e sky.com/Selling-Your-Royalties.

Support Your Local Food Bank

More than a job. Think career. Think ownership.

PROVINCE-WIDE CLASSIFIEDS. Re a c h ove r 5 5 0 , 0 0 0 re a d e rs weekly. Call this newspaper NOW or 306-649.1405 for details.

Farmland for Sale, Benson RM 35, SW 1/4 21-6-9-2W2. 160 acres, 130 plus acres presently cultivated. Soil: Brooking DB.SZ, Gently rolling. Well farmed. Currently leased. Grain, Canola, Peas, Lentils. 2 oil wells 7.53 acre land lease by Crescent Point in the Bakken oil formation. .5 mile S of grid road 705; 7.5 miles W of Hwy 47. $253,600.00 Cdn. Contact Rick at rickzimmerman6@gmail.com.”

877-695-6461 Visit our website @

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HARDY TREE, SHRUB, and berry seedlings delivered. Order online at www.treetime.ca or call 1-866873-3846. New growth guaranteed.

RENT BACK AVAILABLE Call DOUG 306-955-2266 saskfarms@shaw.ca

Western Commodities

The Strength is in Community Newspapers!

Adver tisements and statements contained herein are the sole responsibility of the persons or entities that post the advertisement, and the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association and membership do not make any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness or reliability of such advertisements. For greater information on advertising conditions, please consult the Association’s Blanket Advertising Conditions on our website at www.swna.com.

LAND FOR SALE

Yearly Tax Credit

$40,000

P: 306-649-1405 E: classifieds@swna.com W: www.swna.com

Career OppOrtunities

LAND AUCTION VAL VEROBA, KELLY FLECK, DALLAS FLECK & SHERRY MOFFAT THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017 DAYS INN ESTEVAN, SASK. 7:00 P.M. Please join Mack Auction Company on March 23rd for your chance to own 12 quarter sections of prime farmland in the RM of Browning #34. There is over $60,000.00 of Surface Lease Revenue being sold with the land which is located in the center of the Lampman/Steelman gas and oil fields!

For details go to www.mackauctioncompany.com or call 306-634-9512 PL 311962

Parts & accessories GREAT PRICES on new, used and re-manufactured engines, parts and accessories for diesel pickups. Large inventory, engines can be shipped or installed. Give us a call or check us out at www.thickettenginerebuilding.ca.

Thickett Engine Rebuilding. Ph. 204-532-2187 Russell, MB.

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www.estevanmercury.ca Career OppOrtunities Town of Foam Lake seeks to fill the position of: Chief Administrative Officer. Must have Urban Standard or Class “C” Certification and previous experience in municipal administration. For more information: foamlaketown@sasktel.net. 306272-3359

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February 8, 2017 B9

60-and-Over Club report Submitted by Shirley Graham

An elderly man visited a doctor for a thorough physical examination. Upon finishing the exam, the doctor said, “You’re as fit as a fiddle. You’ll live to be 80.”

“But I am 80,” the patient replied.

The doctor smiled.

“See, what did I tell you?” the doctor said.

Great news! The club’s canasta group is now over 20 members. Welcome, everyone.

The shuffleboard winners for the week of Jan. 30

Obituaries Lorraine E. Hinrichsen 1947 – 2017 Lorraine peacefully passed away on Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Estevan, SK at the age of 69 years.

Lorraine will be lovingly remembered by her family, nephew Kenneth Lang; niece, Kassandra Lang; husband Alvin Hinrichsen; step daughter Denise (Jim) Turner and their children Sam and Dana; step son Darren (Shelly) Hinrichsen and their children Chelsea and Lyndsay; step son Dan (Jackie) Hinrichsen and their children Mathew and Jordan; step son Curtis (Jeannine) Hinrichsen and their children, Kaylyn, Larissa and Avery.

Lorraine was predeceased by her parents, Stanley and Marguerite Lynch; brothers, Roy Lynch and Stany Lynch and sister Sandra Lang.

The Celebration of Lorraine’s life was celebrated on Monday, February 6, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at the Chapel of Hall Funeral Services, Estevan with Marion Huber officiating. Interment took place immediately following the service at Souris Valley Memorial Gardens and the lunch reception was held at St. Paul’s United Church Auditorium.

Memorial donations may be made to the Estevan Humane Society, Box 1095, Estevan, SK, S4A 2H7. Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Hall Funeral Services, Estevan, SK. Antoinette T. Styre 1955 - 2017 We are so very sad to announce the passing of our mom, grandma, sister, aunt and friend, Antoinette Styre. After a year-long struggle to try to stay with us, God took her home, quickly but peacefully, during the afternoon of January 27, 2017 at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Estevan, SK, at the age of 61.

Toni will be desperately missed and loved always by her daughters, Melissa (Chris) Deitz and their children, Jacob, Gabrielle and Sophia, and Jocelyn (Dustin) Hall and their children, Grace and Simon. Also left to cherish precious memories are her siblings and their families: brother Michael (Valerie) Styre and family - Caitlin (Eric) Czyzycki, Nikki Styre (Scott and Lily Coombs) and Lucas Styre, sister Mary Styre and brother John (Latiffa) Styre and family - Jenapher Klein and John Styre, as well as numerous extended family members and loving friends.

Toni was greeted in heaven by her parents, Barney and Verna Styre and her nephew Michael Adam Styre.

A Prayer Service was held on Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel of Hall Funeral Services, Estevan, with The Very Rev. Mike Sinclair officiating. The Funeral Mass was celebrated on Thursday, February 2, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. at St. John the Baptist R.C. Church, Estevan, by Rev. Doug Jeffrey, OMI. Interment followed at Souris Valley Memorial Gardens, after which a luncheon was held at the Beefeater Plaza, Estevan.

Toni spoke very fondly of her career as a Licensed Practical Nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital and very much enjoyed her years spent there. As such, donations in her memory to the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation, 1176 Nicholson Road, Estevan, SK, S4A 0H3 would be appreciated by her family.

Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Hall Funeral Services, Estevan.

Thank You

It really is hard to know where to start with this – we have experienced so much love and compassion over the last year or so. Our heartfelt thank you to mom’s many friends for helping her along her journey, whether it was getting her to and from Regina for appointments, staying the night with her when needed, or just being there with her – it meant so very much to her, and of course, us. Also, thank you to our extended family and friends for their assistance in various ways through this difficult time. Thank you to Dr. Aspe Lucero, Dr. Tsoi, and everyone involved with mom’s care, whether it be at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan or the Pasqua Hospital and Allan Blair Cancer Centre in Regina. Special thanks to our cousin, Rev. Doug Jeffrey for doing a beautiful job of celebrating mom’s funeral mass and to a great friend, Rev. Mike Sinclair for leading an equally beautiful prayer service. Thanks also to the altar servers, Rev. Brian Meredith and St. John the Baptist Parish for their accommodation, Annette Kendall and Anita Lowey for proclaiming the scripture readings, Evanne and Nathan Wilhelm, along with each and every musician for doing an outstandingly beautiful job, representatives from Ovarian Cancer Canada for their presence and the staff of the Days Inn for preparing an awesome lunch, and also a family supper for us. Finally, heartfelt gratitude to everyone for your offerings of food, flowers, memorial donations, cards, gifts, visits, phone calls, texts, prayers, and expressions of sympathy and love in so many other ways. If we have forgotten anyone, please accept our apologies and sincere thanks! Your kindness is very much appreciated, and will never be forgotten. Mom would have been so overwhelmed by this outpouring of love, and probably would have said, “all this fuss for me?!”

With our love and gratitude, Melissa, Chris & family, Jocelyn, Dustin & family

Keep our environment looking

were Mary Martin and Jo McKimm. Rose Weinrauch and Pat Kenn were second.

Margaret Sawyer was the winner in bridge. Joe Claude came in second and Mike Shier was third.

Jake Fichter finished in

first in cribbage. Jim Ward finished second and Eric Parker wound up third.

The next jam session will be held on Feb. 12.

A boy had reached the age of four without giving up the habit of sucking his

thumb. His mother tried everything, from bribery to threats.

Finally she said, “If you don’t stop sucking your thumb, your stomach is going to blow up like a balloon.”

Later that day, while walking in the park, the mother and son saw a pregnant lady sitting on a bench.

The four-year old watched her for a moment before saying, “Uh-oh, I know what you’ve been doing.”

Obituaries Gerald “Gerry” Muir MUIR - Gerald “Gerry” Muir, beloved husband of Karen Muir of Yorkton.

Gerry was gentle man with a gift for telling a great story, a love for his fellow man, and a quick tongue for a pun. Although speech became increasingly difficult, he found ways to see the humour in situations and make others laugh until he passed away on Wednesday, January 18th, 2017 at Yorkton and District Nursing Home.

Gerry grew up near Orcadia, then taught school in many Yorkton-area schools and was a director of education in Estevan. He raised four children with his first wife, Yvonne (Hall), before re-marrying and returning to Yorkton to run Patrick Place bed and breakfast. He was very involved with United Church and barber shop choirs and Rotary. In all of these, he showed a remarkable talent for connecting with people and making them laugh. Even at the end, Gerry was someone who exuded wit, thankfulness, concern for others, and a quiet faith in God. He is predeceased by his parents, William and Jessie Muir; parents-in-law, Williard and Edith Hall; brothers, Leslie, Ronnie, Kenneth, Leslie; sister, Jean Baker; brothers-in-law, Brock Baker and Patrick Hall; nephew, Grant, and niece, Bonnie. Gerry is lovingly remembered by his wife, Karen (nee Stewart); sons Brian (Debra), Cameron (Carolyn), Regan (Holly), and daughter Kirsten Marcia (Scott); step-children Andrea and Craig Conquergood; sisters-in-law Malinda Dong (Herb), Eileen Hall, and Alice Hall, Marjorie, Mary, and special sister-in-law, Joyce (nee McKen); auntie Alice Bittner; grandchildren Iain, Moira, Conall, Al, Lachlan, Kenzie, Logan, Graeme, McKenna, Adam, Kate, Brittny, Riley, Katelyn, Alexandra, Mckenzie, and Matthew; niece, Carol, Brenda (Bob) Baker, Donna (Brian) Gies; grand-nephew, David and grand-niece Erin Clifford (Rob), as well as many other relatives and good friends. The funeral service was held at St. Andrew’s United Church in Yorkton on Saturday, Jan. 21st 2017. The interment followed in the Orkney Cemetery. Donations may be made to either the Orkney Historical Society, c/o Ken Norman, 83 4th. Ave. N. Yorkton, SK S3N 1A4 or St. Andrew’s United Church, 29 Smith St. E. Yorkton, SK S3N 0H3 as gifts of remembrance. Condolences can be sent to the family at www.baileysfuneralhome.com Arrangements were entrusted to Bailey’s Funeral Home, Yorkton.

Donna Dutton 1934-2016 Donna Dutton (née Hagan), our beloved wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother (guy-ya), greatgrandmother, big-sister, sister-in-law, aunt, cousin and friend. Born on July 18, 1934 in Virden, Manitoba; died December 23, 2016 in Nanaimo, British Columbia, aged 82.

Mice, bears, cougars, coyotes and early mornings terrified our mother. Otherwise, mom embraced almost every aspect of her life fearlessly and with aplomb.

Mom was born in Virden, Manitoba in the middle of the great prairie drought of 1934. As a result, her parents, who were farmers, soon moved north in search of greener pastures and ended up living in a granary in Swan River, much to the chagrin of her Irish grandparents. In 1935, the family returned to the Virden area where mom attended the one-room Mayville School until her family settled on a farm near Woodnorth, Manitoba in 1946.

Mom was a good student with a keen and curious mind. She skipped two grades and moved to Virden at 16 to live with her Grandma Carleton and take her Grade 12. After High School, mom moved to Winnipeg where she obtained a teaching qualification from the Provincial Normal School.

At 18, mom landed a job teaching in a one-room school in Hillview, Manitoba for an annual salary of

$1,700.

Over the years, mom taught all grades and all ages but she clearly preferred to teach small children. In 1964, when our family moved to Redvers, Saskatchewan and there were no teaching positions available, mom applied to the local school board to open a private kindergarten. The school board granted its permission but forbid mom from teaching the students how to read. Parents of the students of this academy of higher learning have been known to refer to their children as graduates of the University of Redvers or the U of R. Naturally, mom taught everyone to read.

At Virden Collegiate, mom met our dad, Billie Dutton. They married in Virden in 1954 and forged a formidable partnership that lasted over 62 years. Together, our parents moved across Western Canada following Dad’s work in the oil industry some 17 times and made life-long friends wherever they landed, including Virden; Redvers; Estevan, SK; Midale, SK; and Calgary, AB. In later years, mom and dad retired to Vancouver Island and became snow birds – migrating first to Hawaii and then Arizona – which allowed them to golf all year round and host family and friends looking to escape the harsh prairie winters.

Mom raised four sons (Craig, Scott, Brad and Drew) with unlimited doses of love and wisdom. She welcomed their spouses (Lynn, Debra, Sandra and Oliver) into the family with open arms and became an adoring (and adored) grandmother to her fourteen grandchildren (Craig’s children: Brandi, Abbey, Mila and William; Scott’s children: Liam, Jordan, Mackenzie and Joshua; Brad’s children: Cassie (Bonokoski), Arlann, Amy and Tanner; and Drew’s children: Elise and Zoe) and her three great grandchildren (Eva Donna Dutton Youngberg, Luke Bonokoski, and Cooper Dutton).

Mom had many talents – but we never heard her boast, except, occasionally, about her grandchildren. She was a beloved and dedicated school teacher in the 50’s and 60’s; an outstanding homemaker, cook and stay-at-home mom in the 70’s; a successful Mary Kay saleswoman in the 80’s; and an accomplished golfer in retirement. At all times and in all circumstances, mom took care to look as good as she possibly could and strove, like her mother, to be the best-dressed woman at any function.

Mom had only a few vices: she had an insatiable sweet tooth and a small weakness for slot machines; she smoked like a chimney until her boys moved away from home; and she was known to have cheated, at least once, in a game of Monopoly with her grandchildren by illegally giving away money to keep insolvent players in the game.

After mom died, we retrieved some 2000 photos from her Iphone and her Ipad. The photos are a testament both to many of the things mom loved and her limited talent as a photographer. Unsurprisingly, there are many photos and (sometimes accidental) videos of our Dad, often with mom giggling in the background like a school girl, hundreds of pictures of her friends and family, particularly her grandchildren and great grandchildren, and a surprising number of selfies intended, we assume, to record her ever-changing hair colours and styles. The random collection of pictures she snapped over the last five or six years is a pretty good barometer of how active, engaged and interested mom stayed until the end of her life. Her photos chronicle a jam-packed schedule with Mom and Dad hosting guests and celebrating birthdays, baptisms, graduations, holidays, weddings, family reunions, and anniversaries across Canada, the U.S., Asia and Europe. Most often, mom is pictured in the middle of the action giggling with abandon or hugging a dear friend or family member close to her.

Throughout her life, mom took care of a large family and cultivated deep relationships across generations. Mom’s siblings, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren could always count on her to dole out sage advice and to provide a shoulder to cry on. She took the role very seriously and did not hesitate to offer her unvarnished perspective and counsel. Mom’s death leaves our extended family bereft of a dear friend and matriarch.

Mom ended up in the hospital in Nanaimo, B.C. in early December with a serious case of shingles that subsequently caused spinal meningitis. Mom rallied for several days and was able to enjoy visits with Dad, her boys, their spouses, her sister Maureen, a few dear friends, her cousins Corb and Cindy Phillips and many of mom’s grandchildren. Despite mom’s best efforts to recover and get home again, she died peacefully, surrounded by her family, just before Christmas.

We celebrated mom’s long and happy life with a wake, in the best Irish tradition, and a funeral service conducted by her friend, Pastor Stewart Miller, in Qualicum Beach, B.C. on December 29, 2016.

In addition to our father and her descendants, mom is survived by her younger siblings in Manitoba (Maureen Hagan, Keith (MaryAnne) Hagan, Colleen (John) Bucklaschuck and Shawn (Jocelyn) Hagan), her sister-in-law Lorraine Thompson (née Dutton), as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins. Mom was predeceased by her grandparents Ed and Jane (née Watt) Hagan and Emma Jane Jordan Carleton (née Glanville); her parents, Edward and Christena (née Jordan) Hagan; an infant brother, Jordan Bradford Hagan; her mother-in-law, Dollie Dutton (née McMillan); her sister-in-law Bernice Daniels Wright (née Dutton); her brothers-in-law, Fred Daniels, Howard Wright, John Thompson and Harvey Chalmers; and all of her many aunts and uncles (mom’s mother was the youngest of 13 children and her father had three younger siblings), including her close friend and youngest aunt, Eileen Phillips (née Hagan).

Even after mom died, we kept finding evidence of her love and thoughtfulness. In her favourite pine desk, which her maternal grandparents had somehow dragged with them from Ontario when they came West in the late 1800s, we found that mom had tucked away special documents and notes to herself memorializing important events from her entire life. Mom had saved correspondence with her grandparents and parents, love letters from our dad and cards and letters from her family and friends that had particularly touched her. On top of them all where mom knew we would find it, was a short, handwritten note from 2009 with the suggested hymns for her funeral and a comforting poem asking us not to grieve too much because she was grateful for a long and happy life and strongly believed that we would all one day be reunited.

When I am gone, release me, let me go . . .

I have so many things to see and do.

You mustn’t tie yourself to me with tears; Be happy that we had so many years.

I gave to you my love, you can only guess How much you gave to me in happiness.

Bridal Guide

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B10 February 8, 2017

Estevan Mercury

City seeking committee members Members at large are needed for Estevan’s new economic development committee.

The committee will likely include two representatives from each of the City of Estevan, the Rural Municipality of Estevan and the Estevan Chamber of Commerce.

City manager Jeff Ward said they hope to have five members at large as well, and hopefully with representation from different sectors, such as mining,

oil and gas, agriculture, retail and hospitality.

“We are looking for applications from people who are interested in economic development, and helping steer the city in that direction,” said Ward.

Ward believes this is an important time to have such a committee established, now that Estevan is emerging from an economic slowdown that started in 2014.

“I believe that the committee should all be in place, so that everyone can

Why shop locally? Why not go somewhere else and shop?

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Shopping locally helps support the community and its many activities. Local businesses support the many activities in the community with thousands of dollars of contributions every year to help make it a better place.

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get on the same page, and we can get a clear direction of what people in the city want to see for economic development, and what they feel the purpose of economic development is,” said Ward.

Estevan is a community with unique needs, he said, and so the input of various agencies and different sectors would be helpful.

Committee members will be tasked with creating Estevan’s new economic

development plan, Ward said, and offering input on whether to hire a new economic development officer.

The person who held the job previously, Manpreet Sangha, stepped down last summer to take a job in Ontario.

Since that time, there have been discussions on whether the city needs such an employee, and what that employee’s responsibilities would be.

Ward said there are two sides on whether a new eco-

nomic development person should be hired, but council has had discussions on the matter.

Economic development and tourism were previously handled by the Estevan Chamber of Commerce, but the city assumed responsibility for those departments in the summer of 2015.

“We want to make sure that we get the right process in place, so that not only are we able to collect data and statistics from the com-

Energy City hosts accessibility consultation

By Sam Macdonald smacdonald@estevanmercury.ca

A number of Estevanites and Spinal Cord Injury Saskatchewan Inc. met locally for a conversation on what can be done to make the Energy City a more accessible community that can be enjoyed by everyone.

A consultation took place at Affinity Place on Jan. 30, at which a number of matters relating to accessibility and what can be done to improve it locally, were discussed.

The association joined with 27 other non-profit

groups, to create the Canadian Access and Inclusion Project. The purpose of that project is to listen to Canadians with disabilities, to learn more about the barriers they face and what kinds of potential solutions there are, to the problems those barriers create.

According to Lyndley Diacon, aboriginal program developer for southern Saskatchewan with Spinal Cord Injury Saskatchewan Inc., the consultation focused on the experiences of disabled people, and what they thought keeps Canada from being a fully accessible and

inclusive society.

Guests also were asked for suggestions as to what could be changed to make Canada more accessible.

Diacon noted that many of the guests spoke up about the barriers to inclusion they have faced, not only in Estevan, but throughout Canada as a whole.

“Accessibility is a greater challenge in the smaller centres, and public spaces are not always accessible,” said Diacon, summing up the tenor of the discussion at the event. “Some additional barriers include equipment failures (in the case of) eleva-

Your Guide to Area ST. PAUL’S UNITED CHURCH

Sunday Worship and Sunday School

• 11:00 am

Jason Richards

EMAIL: stpaulsuc@sasktel.net Website: stpaulsestevan.ca

ALL are Welcome!!

GOSPEL CHAPEL ESTEVAN

1202 - 2nd Street Phone: 306-634-3761

“Holding fast the faithful word” Sunday:Worship 11:00 a.m.

Tuesday: Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m.

SUNDAY SERVICES: Bible Study - 10:00 a.m. • Worship - 11:00 a.m.

Evening Worship - Sunday and Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

An Associated Gospel Church

REAL LIFE

REAL PEOPLE

REAL GOD

Sunday Service at

10:00 am

Followed by coffee time

Estevan Alliance Church

Trinity Lutheran Church

Children’s Clubs Wednesdays 7-8 pm

Friday Night Youth 7:30 pm (Gr 7-12)

140 King Street (across from Staples)

306.634.2601

www.estevanalliancechurch.com /estevanalliance

PASTORS: JIM KEDGE & WAYLON KLIX

St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church Corner 12th Avenue & 2nd Street

Phone: 306-634-2190

Fax: 306-634-6845

Pastor: Father Brian Meredith MASSES: Saturday: 7:00 p.m.

Sunday: 10:00 a.m.

ALL WELCOME!

Faith Lutheran Church

100 King Street, Estevan, Sask • (306) 634-8133 • livinghope-ca.org

Nursery & Children’s Ministries available during the service.

Sunday School for all ages at 9:30 am

10:30 a.m. - Sunday Service

1107 4th Street • 306-634-2074 • www.facebook.com/salvationarmyestevan

Bible studies on any subject can be arranged at your convenience. Please call us.

Sunday Worship 10:30 am

THE SALVATION ARMY Estevan Community Church

www.estevangospelchapel.ca

CHURCH OF CHRIST TIM PIPPUS

tors and lifts, Saskatchewan’s winter weather and a lack of marked accessible spaces.

“This is not solely in the community of Estevan, but in many places in Canada.”

Diacon said that concerns of locals who attended the consultation will be taken to the Government of Canada, and eventually used to help create legislation that will remove barriers to inclusion and participation.

A final report on what sort of progress is made in such a pursuit will be available from the Canadian Access and Inclusion Project’s website this coming March.

Wednesday: Club DJ for kids 6:30 p.m.

306-634-2885 • 1418 3rd St. Estevan

1302 - 8th St., Estevan Office Phone: 306-634-3116 Email: estevan.cofc@sasktel.net

mercial businesses, but so that we can go out and sell Estevan to companies and at trade shows, anything that we can do to promote the city and garner positive interest to the city,” said Ward.

The city has yet to receive any applications for the member at large positions, and the other committee members haven’t been determined. A date for the committee’s first meeting also hasn’t been established.

E.L.C.I.C.

Sunday Worship & Sunday School - 10am PASTOR STEWART MILLER

Coffee & Fellowship after Worship 738 - 2nd Street, Estevan Church Office: 306-634-5684 E: trinity.luth@sasktel.net Website: www.etlc.ca

Sunday Service 10:30 am Sunday school during service Nicholson Centre Pastor Dan Krauss Phone: 306-471-8130 All Are Welcome Faithlc.com

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church 130 Souris Ave. N. Reverend Randy Kleemola Phone: 306-634-2024 email: st.peters@sasktel.net

www.stpeterslutheranestevan.com

Sunday Worship 9:30 a.m. - Bible Study 10:30 a.m. - Divine Service with Holy Communion and Sunday School A Congregation of LUTHERAN CHURCH - CANADA

Energy

B11

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Future growth for oil and gas employment still uncertain

By Sam Macdonald smacdonald@estevanmercury.ca

As the price per barrel of oil lingers in the ballpark of $50, the oil and gas industry continues to chug on in the Estevan area, making the most of what is available. Although the activity in the oil patch has not come close to returning to the levels it was at before the dramatic 2014 slide in the price for a barrel of oil, some in the industry are seeing an incremental increase in activity.

Tom Copeland, vicepresident and COO of Fire Sky Energy, said that he has seen an uptick in oil and gas activity in the Estevan area, but is reluctant to attribute the increase to only the price per barrel of oil.

“Some of it is related to the Crown permit expiry

window, on March 30. It’s often busy at this time of year, with companies trying to keep up with expiries,” said Copeland. “We have 40 drilling rigs in the area. That’s, historically, a pretty good number. Not as high as the 90 or 100 rigs a couple of years back, but if you look into the history, if you were running 35 to 40 rigs in the mid-2000s was a good number.”

One of the biggest challenges Copeland finds in the industry these days, is getting critical services, such as fracking crews.

He noted that finding contractors to provide those services can be more difficult, now that there are fewer contractors at work in the oil patch.

“We’ve had trouble getting fracking services.

Sometimes, you end up waiting. It’s not nearly as bad as it was two or three

years go, but certainly, it’s challenging at times,” he said. “Contractors are trying to net as much work as they can, and work efficiently. Frack crews are harder to get right now. A lot of that equipment is up in northern Alberta right now, where it’s getting busy.”

Al Biette, a manger with Future Energy Services Ltd. is not convinced there is any light at the end of the tunnel for the industry yet, and said he has not seen any evidence of an increase of activity in the oil and gas sector.

“I think the recovery of oil is still a year away.

We need to see (a price per barrel) in the low 60s for a consistent time, before there’s any increase in activity,” said Biette.

Copeland’s thoughts on the matter echoed Biette’s position. Copeland

noted an ideal price per barrel he’d like to see, to ensure growth in the industry would be around $70 a barrel.

Biette said, “That’s not beginning right now.

It’s still a ways away. Everyone has a bit of money they’re using up in the last quarter, to try and see a bit of activity because of that, but oil prices aren’t any stronger now than they were two months ago.”

Jeff Richards, vicepresident of strategic development at Southeast College, said there has been a decline in enrolment in courses and classes associated with the oil and gas industry, since the decline in the level of activity in the oil patch.

“It’s hard to make a commentary, because so much evidence is anecdotal. But one of the things we’ve seen at the col-

lege over the last couple of years is that when oil started to decline, there was still a lot of activity happening,” said Richards.

“There’s a bit of an elasticity to that kind of market, and sometimes at places like the college, we see a decline. That decline might be slower than in other industries that are attached to the energy sector.”

Richards said college is always doing energy training, even when the price per barrel of oil is down near lows of $30 and $40, adding, “There are folks who are always going to work in the oilfield.

We’re always training them. That can be anything from CPR and first aid, to a couple of electrical programs.”

A trend Richards has noticed is that the decline in oil and gas sector activity has resulted in a

coinciding increase in the amount of enrolment in other programs, such as mechanical or electrical.

Richards said an additional trend is the return of many who have been affected by the decline in oil and gas, to the college, to increase their education, taking more courses to be able to weather the volatility in the market, with more skills that can lead to better employment prospects.

Looking forward, Copeland said it’s difficult at this point, to say what trends will emerge in the industry. With both oil being around $50 per barrel and the impending Crown expiry window when permits run out as factors at play, Copeland said, “We’ll see what happens, come summertime. If it’s still busy, we’ll know that our oil patch is back, for lack of a better term.”

Cautious optimism for the oilpatch Oil and natural gas producers and service companies in southeast Saskatchewan are joining their counterparts in other parts of Canada in weighing in with a little optimism for the rest of this year when it comes to their professions.

In its first update in the 2017 drilling forecast, the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) said in late January they had revised their forecast numbers upward to a total of 5,150 wells to be drilled this year, an increase of 975, or 23 per cent from their November 2016 forecast for 2017.

PSAC said they based

their updated forecast on an average natural gas prices of C$3 mcf and crude oil prices at US$52.50 per barrel (West Texas Intermediate crude) with an American/Canadian exchange rate averaging 73 cents for the Canadian dollar compared with the U.S. greenback.

Mark Salkeld, president and CEO of PSAC said, “some of the Canadian oilfield service, supply and manufacturing sector are realizing some up-tick in activity as oil prices recover and operators increase drilling programs.” He also suggested the challenges related to the prolonged downturn

took their toll on the services sector with the effects rippling across all supporting industries.

“It took us many years to recover from a similar but less impactful downturn in the early 80s and it will be the same again now,” he said. “The cost savings exacted from the services sector over the last twoand-a-half years are not sustainable but that will be corrected as activity and the demand for people and equipment increases.”

On the provincial fronts, PSAC now estimates that 2,706 wells will be drilled in Alberta this year, an increase

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from the November 2016 forecast of 1,900 wells.

About 31 per cent more wells will be drilled in British Columbia with 367 now expected in that province, up from the 280 in the original forecast.

The hike in wells to be drilled in Saskatchewan is more modest, moving from 1,940 in the original forecast to 1,985 in the latest estimate.

There will also be a significant increase in wells in Manitoba, as they will move from an estimate of 50 wells, up to 73 in 2017.

Salkeld said, “with luck and favourable policies from

governments in Alberta, Ottawa and Washington with respect to the new royalty regime and pipeline approvals, the Canadian oilfield services sector will pick itself up and dust itself off and get people and equipment back

to work.”

PSAC welcomed news that winter drilling and service and supply industries were more robust to date, which bodes well for improved levels of activity over the rest of the year.

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B12 February 8, 2017

Estevan Mercury

A Special Supplement

FINANCIAL PLANNING

FOCUSED on your business and personal needs

TAX CONSULTING AND PREPARATION

SERVICES AND PREPARATION

- PERSONAL - CORPORATE

- BOOKKEEPING - PAYROLL

- FARM

- GST & PST RETURNS

OFFICE HOURS February, 8am-5pm (Closed over lunch) March & April, 8am-6pm (Open over Lunch)

Chartered Professional Accountants

Jim Vermeersch, B.Ed., FCPA, FCGA Donna Fonstad, Dipl. Acct.,CPA, CGA • Ryan Siever, B.Sc., CPA, CA 1123 - 4th Street Estevan, SK · 306.634.7331 · www.svf.ca

Do your teenagers know how to manage money?

As part of a recent study on general education levels of teenagers around the world, the Organisation for Economic Coope­ra­tion and Development tested 29,000 15-year-olds on their financial literacy. The OECD asked teens from 18 different countries to answer a series of questions that would evaluate their grasp of basic money management skills, including understan­ding a bank statement, figuring out the long-term cost of a loan, and understanding how insurance works.

The results showed that when it comes to money matters, young North Americans fall mid-range compared to their peers from ot­her countries. This is particularly troubling in light of the fact that young people are going into debt sooner and in greater numbers in order to pay for further education. About one student in seven who participated in the test was

unable to make even simple decisions concerning expenditures.

A FEW TIPS FOR PARENTS Here are four ways to improve your children’s knowledge of personal finances.

• Explain the difference between gross and net salaries, as well as paycheque deductions.

• Teach them to develop a heal­t hy relationship with mo­ n ey through open and honest conversations about personal finances.

• Encourage them to start managing their own money when they’re mature enough.

• Suggest they manage the bud­get of an upcoming activity or a fictitious project. You could ask them to budget the next trip to the grocery store, a fa­ mily vacation, or ex­pen­ses related to a first apartment.

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Maybe you plan to start a second career or work part time. Or maybe you look forward to volunteering or enjoying your favourite hobbies. But whatever your idea of retirement is, do it on your terms.

To help you do this, let’s sit down and talk. This will help us better understand what you want to do in retirement and develop the right retirement plan to help you get there.

Don’t wait. Call me today to get started on your retirement.

How to manage finances as a couple There’s no longer a one-size-fits-all financial agreement that suits every couple.

These days, individuals can enter a relationship at any phase of life. This means each par­tn­ er comes with a pre-established array of debts and savings, as well as firmly rooted financial habits and values.

Generally, couples are choosing one of the following arrangements: • Finances are completely merged. All money is kept in a joint bank account, into which all earnings are deposited and from which all expenses are paid.

• Finances are kept completely separate. Expenses are shared either equally or by assigning a percentage ba­sed on income. Each par­t­ner must pay his or her allotted portion of expenses but keeps a personal bank account.

• Finances are both mer­ged and sepa-

rate. There’s a joint account into which a portion of income is de­ posited and through which shared expenses are paid.

What’s left over from each person’s paycheque is kept in separate accounts.

Depending on the individuals involved and their particular priorities, any of the above systems can make for a positive and fair arrangement. The key is to be completely upfront with one another about finances, especially once shared property and/­or children are involved. Part­ners should divulge their budgets, debts, expenses and earnings, as well as their financial goals and concerns. Finally, it’s crucial to have a firm legal arrangement in place that allows your partner immediate access to your finances in the event of your unexpected demise. Without this provision, he or she may be left unable to make critical payments during an already difficult time.

Tyler Knibbs

Financial Advisor .

461 King Street Unit 3 Estevan, SK S4A 1K6 306-634-4870

Financial Statement and Tax Preparation Bookkeeping and Payroll Tax Planning and Consulting CRA Assistance Estate and Trust

Member – Canadian Investor Protection Fund

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N.M. MCMAHON

Chartered Professional Accountant 604 Government Rd. S • Weyburn, Saskatchewan S4H 2B4 Phone: (306) 842-5344 • Fax: (306) 842-5345 McMahon@McMahonCPA.ca

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February 8, 2017 A9

Our readers have shared their personal photos and their love stories here in this Valentine’s Love Stories special feature.

Dawn Marie & Darwin Beahm

My fiancé Jeffrey Anderson and I have been together 3 1/2 years and are getting married this summer! We have a wonderful son who also gets to help share our special day! I can’t wait to share their last name.

We started seeing each other just over 24 years ago, and this June we will celebrate our 22nd wedding anniversary.

Love this guy!

Chelsea Kawecki & Mitchell Meyer Can’t wait to get married!

Emily Beahm & Dustin Vicary

Wanda & Dave

Dustin and I have been together for fours years as of February 3, 2017. It all started in the summer of 2012. After 6 months and being friend-zoned twice, Dustin asked me out a third time. I said yes, and here we are. I still remember the teacher who saw us kiss in the hallway who said “Ah, young love. It’ll never last.” He is my first boyfriend and I plan on making him my husband one day; whenever that day may come. I am the luckiest woman in the world.

My husband Dave & I met 25 years ago when he was selling 50-50 tickets at a Bruins game & I was a sports reporter covering the Melville Millionaires. Our first date was spent watching a Canadiens-Bruins playoff game followed by pizza at the Tower.

We will celebrate our 22nd anniversary in July.

Looking back at that game when we met, I think I won a prize better than the 50-50!

Karie Guillas & Robert Carlson

From Kim Bachorcik to his wife Joan whom he married 38 years ago in Estevan in 1979.

Karie and her best friend Robert Carlson have been together for 17 months. Karie says that their daughters set them up and it has been the best thing ever! She says “This man is always there when I need him and I could not imagine my life without him!”

When God made women, he made a special person in my life. I would like to say to my wife, a special heartfelt Valentines Day! Joan has stood by me for the happy years and bad ones. You know when the right person comes into your heart and life. What makes Joan special to me, is that she is smart, kindhearted, lovable and just a wonderful person to me. God made angels in the world, but he made woman who a man sometimes takes for granted.

Les & Gladys Christensen

All I can say to my sweetheart is simply, “Thank you for all the wonderful years with you.”

Married 25 years Anniversary February 14th

Roses are red.

Sugar is sweet.

But not as sweet as you.

I will always be in love with you. When two people stay together today, it is a very special place and time.

Felicia Collins married her best friend

Tyler Hildebrand on May 17th,2016

So, have a special Valentine’s Day sweetheart. Joan will always be part of my life. Our special day is Sept. 8 every year. Some years are hard,some are happy. But if God hadn’t created all our special wives,our lives as men would be very lonely. So all of you are angels in my eyes. Especially my wife Joan.

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A10 February 8, 2017

Estevan Mercury

Our readers have shared their personal photos and their love stories here in this Valentine’s Love Stories special feature.

Beverly & Vince

4 1/2 years ago I said yes to Vince Burkholder. We met online & it has been a fantastic journey. He now has become my best friend & I love him very much.

Holly & Wayne have been married for 31 years with 3 kids and 7 moves, and Holly says there is still so much more to discover about each other.

Love this man.

Jennifer & Dale

Steven & Ashley

Marlene & Todd Todd and I have been married for 5 years this summer. I’m so head over heals in love with him and can’t believe how lucky I am to have met him. Seeing him is the best part of every day for me!

My husband Dale Moore and I have been married 12 years and together 14.

We actually met 14 years ago on Valentine’s Day! No better way to meet your one true love and best friend for life.

My husband, Steven Elton, and myself, Ashley Budd, have been married for 5 years, going on 6 years in July. We have 2 boys, 3 and 1. We met when we both worked at Subway in Saskatoon in my first summer before university.

That fall we started dated. We are different in many ways, but we still love each other very much.

Ron Sopp & Linda Himmelspach Sopp

Christa & Bart My husband Bart and I will be celebrating 20 years of marriage in May this year!

We’ve been together since 1995!

Me and my hubby Jason have been together 20 years this April and married for 13!

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We met in June 1985 at his brothers and my aunts wedding. At their reception I sat with the grooms family. Ron’s sister was introducing me to members of the Sopp family. I looked down the table and seen him. At the same time I was asking who is that, I was pouring gravy in my coffee and cream on my potatoes.

His dad Murray right away said “Oh that’s Ron and I think you like my boy!” Oh, how my in laws teased me so much about that day. They said “We knew you were going to be a good wife to him.” Actually Ron has been the best man, father and the worlds greatest grandpa God has given me. We’ve been through rough times and many,many good times. He’s been with me even through cancer. Our love is unconditional for one another. Our 29th anniversary is coming February 20. I love Ron more now and our love just gets stronger everyday.

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