Estevan Mercury 20180718

SAVOUR THE SOUTHEAST A3

SOFTBALL PROVINCIALS

Proceeds presented to Envision

A11

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Wednesday, July 18, 2018

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Issue 11

SERVING THE ENERGY CITY SINCE 1903

Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240

King Street construction slowed Statements reflect positive by severe rain but on schedule financial picture

By Brady Bateman

bbateman@estevanmercury.ca

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

The audited financial statements for 2017 for the City of Estevan were released at Monday night’s meeting of Estevan city council, and they show that the city made progress in a number of directions last year.

Giselle Bourgeois and Ashley Rushton from MNP presented the document to council. Bourgeois reported that the city had $4.95 million in cash at the end of last year, up from the $2.68 million as of Dec. 31, 2016.

Bourgeois said better management and monitoring of cash flows allowed the city to have more cash on hand.

She suggested setting aside cash for catastrophes such as a flood or a large snowstorm.

“So that’s a good thing to have,” Bourgeois said.

When asked by Councillor Greg Hoffort regarding a suitable amount of cash for the city, Bourgeois said she believes the city has reached it.

“I would suggest maybe putting some of that inside in some longer-term investments to plan for the longer-term infrastructure,” said Bourgeois.

City manager Jeff Ward said that when he was hired as the city treasurer in 2013, the procedure was to “bud-

get to zero,” and the city had no money in the bank, which was a “frustrating” way to operate, particularly when emergencies occurred Ward would like to see the city’s cash reserve at between $4 million and $5 million each year.

“A lot of that is timing,” said Ward. “There could be bills that come in at year-end that aren’t paid until January, because the bills don’t come until the new year.”

As for whether the growing cash volumes would allow the city to not need a property tax increase each year, Ward said that would be a council decision. The city had a one per cent property tax increase this year.

The city also saw its net debt – the difference between total financial assets versus liabilities – drop in 2017. The assets were at $12.87 million, while liabilities were at $35.50 million, for a net debt of $22.93 million.

The net debt was $25.89 million at the end of the previous year.

“That’s almost a $3 million decrease, which is nice to see,” said Bourgeois.

Hoffort noted the debt remains the city’s No. 1 impediment to doing business, and almost every decision relates to the debt.

Ward said he wasn’t A2 » COUNCIL

Recent heavy rainstorms have slowed construction along King Street but the City of Estevan still hopes to have the project completed by late July.

Kiflom Weldeab, the engineer for the city, stated that crews have been hindered by the excessive moisture, as they have to allow time for the ground to dry before continuing any work on sub-grade and sub-base aspects of the King Street rehabilitation project.

“We’re not sure what impact the rain will have,” said Weldeab. “There were around five days where we were unable to make progress due to the weather but we are still hoping to stay on schedule.”

The construction runs along King Street from Pine Avenue to Kensington Avenue and originally began with an estimated completion time of six weeks.

During the construction there is no through traffic access allowed on King Street with a detour route including Peterson Drive and Rooney Road for southbound traffic, and Henry Street from Spruce Drive to Bannatyne Avenue for northbound traffic.

“We want to thank the public for their patience and understanding,” said Weldeab. “People are continuing to obey the rules

Construction continues along King Street. Photo by Brady Bateman and we just want to thank them for staying away from construction zones. We understand the inconvenience the construction has caused but the public has been very understanding.”

The city also reminds the public that removing barricades in construction zones constitutes an offence under the Criminal Code and the Traffic Safety Act. Members of the Estevan Police Service continue to monitor the area and conduct enforcement of proper driving techniques in these areas. Anyone caught driving through

construction areas or removing safety barricades could face serious charges.

The city plans to widen King Street to a “true four-lane” road, he said, with crews pushing the road out on the north side to match the size of the road on the west side with no narrowing.

“The only problem we have had with the project so far is the rain,” said Weldeab.

“If the weather stays the same it may push us back a bit. A little water isn’t going to hurt anything, but when you get a few inches several days in

a row it slows us down.”

During the closure of King Street, the Estevan Shoppers Mall, Canadian Tire, Tim Hortons, Estevan Alliance Church, Midwest Surveys, Canada Capital Energy and Living Hope Church have no access from their properties onto King Street with access only through Peterson Drive. No Frills and Mobil Gas Bar currently have access only through Spruce Drive.

This is the secondphase, in a three-phase project to continue improving King Street, with the third phase schedule to take place next summer.

Unit 3 at Boundary Dam remains offline It’s been more than a month since a powerful thunderstorm swept through Estevan and knocked Boundary Dam offline for several hours.

While the other units at Boundary Dam are now operating again, Unit 3 is still offline. Unit 3 is the unit connected to the power station’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility.

In its monthly update on the CCS facility at Boundary Dam that was released on July 10, SaskPower reiterated previous

statements that multiple transmission and distribution power lines and poles went down during the thunderstorm on June 14, which then tripped all four generating units at Boundary Dam. The damage to Units 4, 5 and 6 was less severe than Unit 3, and power to those units has now been restored, but Unit 3 suffered some damage and remains offline to inspect and repair equipment.

In an email with the M e r c u r y, S a s k P o w e r spokesperson Jonathan

Tremblay said the storm did damage to a lot of individual turbine pieces, diaphragms and bearings.

“The turbine has been dismantled so we could access individual pieces inside,” said Tremblay.

“These parts require precision analysis and repairs so they have been transported to specialized workshops throughout Canada and the U.S. “Due to summer vacations, it’s taking a bit of time to get a spot in their work queue, but assessment is underway.”

Tr e m b l a y e x p e c t s SaskPower will have more information this week about what work needs to be done on the parts, and a timeline to return them to the power station.

It’s very rare to see such extensive damage and such violent weather directly at a power plant, he said.

The damage sustained to the other infrastructure, including the switching station, at and around the plant has also been repaired. SaskPower has also addressed dozens of

damaged poles and lines.

When Unit 3 is offline, it means that the CCS facility is going to be offline.

The CCS facility remains ready and available to resume capturing once the power unit is restored.

Prior to the storm, the CCS facility had been online throughout the month, or 39.8 per cent of the time, and captured 21,586 tonnes of carbon dioxide in June, which represents 22.2 per cent of its maximum capacity for the month.

The CCS facility remains ready and available

to resume capturing once the power unit is restored.

The one-day peak for carbon dioxide captured at the CCS facility last month was 2,240 tonnes.

A total of 2,190,624 tonnes of CO2 have been captured at Boundary Dam since the project went online in 2014.

The outage at Unit 3 meant that the monthly average for power produced at the unit was around 45 megawatts, well below the average of 104 1/2 megawatts for the previous 12 months.

A2 July 18, 2018

Estevan Mercury

Cannabis retailer location has been determined Estevan city council met with the owner of the city’s first cannabis retail outlet, and approved the location for the store, during Monday night’s council meeting.

The store, named Prairie Sky Cannabis, will be located at 421 Kensington Avenue, in a strip mall in northeast Estevan. John Thomas, who owns the company with his brother David, was at the meeting and spoke to council.

Prairie Sky Cannabis was selected as the retailer for Estevan through a lottery offered by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority earlier this year.

The company also received the permits for Battleford, Martensville and Moosomin.

“We’re very excited to take on this new venture, and very excited to be in Estevan, and very conscious that this is still an industry that has some concerns

(associated) with it,” said Thomas.

The company hopes to meet the bylaws and regulations of all levels of government, he said. But they are excited to be part of an industry that is about to be legalized and will be growing quickly.

Members of council were able to speak to Thomas about the bylaw.

Councillor Travis Frank asked whether there would be marijuana paraphernalia

or advertising at the outlet.

Thomas said that SLGA has outlined regulations regarding the business, and what they can’t do. The paraphernalia won’t be allowed. People won’t be able to see inside the business from the outside, either.

And there won’t be posters or other marijuanarelated advertising on the windows.

“That goes back to the kind of business we’re trying to run,” said Thomas.

“As the designs come out, we’re thinking about a pretty clean image.”

They want to bring a sense of legitimacy to the business, and they don’t want to run it in a tacky fashion.

In a report to council, Richard Neufeld, the city’s land development services manager, noted the outlet needs to be at least 200 metres from a school, and the distance has been measured at 237 metres from Estevan

Comprehensive School.

The storefront will look essentially the same as it does now, and it will be visible to the general public and from the facing street.

Neufeld noted that one respondent was not pleased with the proposal, and expressed concerns with issues related to the location and young people using cannabis.

Another respondent didn’t want a retailer near their business.

Council reduces term and value for loan « A1 expecting to see that large of a reduction in net debt, because of the city’s purchase of a building to serve as the new fire hall next year.

“I just like to make sure there’s a cash reserve, and our net debt is reducing,” said Ward. “Those two figures are what I look at when I open up the statements, and I think we’re moving on a very healthy track.”

Assets rose from $10.41 million at the end of 2016 to $12.87 million

at the end of 2017, while liabilities dropped from $36.30 million to $35.50 million.

Long-term debt accounts for the bulk of the liabilities. As of the start of 2018, the principal for the long-term debt was $30.39 million, down slightly from the $30.99 million at the end of 2016. The city took out a $3.5 million loan last year to pay for the purchase of the city’s new fire hall, and to pay for the work on King Street from Bannatyne

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Avenue to Pine Avenue.

It did pay down more than $4 million in debt last year.

Revenues were at $33.63 million last year.

Taxes and other unconditional revenue, such as revenue sharing, accounted for the bulk of the revenues at $21.42 million, while fees and charges were at $10.51 million.

Revenue sharing from the provincial government came in at $2.16 million, below the budgeted figure of $2.41 million, while grants in lieu of taxes came in at $2.26 million, below the projected amount of $2.43 million due to cuts from the provincial government.

Expenses were at $31.03 million. Transportation services were the largest expense at $6.40 million, followed by recreation and cultural services ($6.22 million), general government services ($6.16 million), protective services ($5.69 million) and utility services (a little more than $5 million).

“There were some variations within the different categories, in particular protection services. The wages did increase there, as well as (there were) the repairs and maintenance that were needed on the new fire hall,” said Bourgeois.

Giselle Bourgeois from MNP discussed the audited financial statements for the City of Estevan during Monday night’s council meeting.

Transportation services saw a significant increase thanks in part to the amount spent on snow removal.

The surplus of revenues over expenses before other capital contributions was a little less than $2.6 million. After $2.05 million in provincial capital grants and contributions, thanks largely to support for water utility projects, the surplus was $4.65 million.

Taxes receivable increased to $1.80 million, up from $1.18 million, Bourgeois said, which she said is a reflection of the economy.

The information con-

tained in the financial statements influenced council’s decision regarding the borrowing bylaw, which received three readings from council.

The initial bylaw called for the city to borrow $2 million this year, for a term of 15 years, so that it could pay for work on King Street, valued at $1.4 million, sidewalks renewal ($300,000), and the demolition of the Civic Auditorium ($300,000).

But council decided to take the Civic Auditorium demolition out of the loan, and pay for it with existing

funds, bringing the value of the loan down to $1.7 million. And it will be paid back over 10 years instead of 15.

The city is scheduled to pay down slightly more than $4 million in debt principal this year, so the net debt reduction this year will be around $2.3 million.

City treasurer Trudy Firth said three readings were needed last night because the six big banks are all raising their interest rates. The rate for this loan will be 4.18 per cent.

“They have given us until July 20 … to lock this rate in. Other than that, we would have waited too long, and the rate probably would be going up,” said Firth.

Ward said he believes the changes to the borrowing bylaw show council is very confident with how they’re operating, and where they’re at financially.

Third Page A3

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

From left, Heidi Hesselink with Savour the Southeast, Christa Daku and Tania Hlohovsky-Andrist from Envision Counselling and Support Centre and Josh LeBlanc with Savour celebrate recording-breaking donations from Savour the Southeast going to Envision Counselling and Support Centre Inc.

Record funds donated for Envision Counselling and Support Centre Inc.

By Brady Bateman bbateman@estevanmercury.ca

A record amount of funds were raised this year through Savour the Southeast, with all proceeds going towards funding at Envision Counselling and Support Centre Inc. Wi t h m o r e t h a n $43,000 raised through the event, Envision said they couldn’t have been happier with the outcome.

“I just want to thank the southeast as a whole,” said Christa Daku, executive director with Envision. “For two years consecutively, we’ve run a deficit budget because of a lack of government funding. We’ve never been a fundraising entity, and we have always relied on community and donor support. All the proceeds

from Savour the Southeast will go directly to the services we provide.”

Founded in 1994 under the name Violence Intervention Program (VIP), Envision aims to provide counselling services as well as crisis intervention, inhome services, and education to help individuals and families in the community.

“I would have to say this is the largest donation we’ve ever received,” said Daku.

“The funding will be going directly towards public education and another component is obviously to provide client support and care through our counselling programs. Part of every dollar raised will touch each and every program whether directly or indirectly.”

Located at Affinity

Place in May of this year, Savour the Southeast featured a large variety of alcohol and food vendors from across the province that came to showcase their products. Musical acts performed throughout the event.

“It takes a tremendous amount of volunteers to host an event like this,” said Daku.

“We had over 100 volunteer shifts to be filled and we would like to personally thank everybody who stepped up and took some of those shifts.”

Attracting more than 1,500 people, including exhibitors and over 130 volunteers, Savour the Southeast has proven itself a great success and continues to be supported strongly by the community.

Josh LeBlanc, who co-chaired the Savour the Southeast committee, said that the entire team continues to be amazed by the amount of community support that they receive through Savour the Southeast and the amount of money able to be raised for Envision.

“This was our third year and it was another wonderful success,” said LeBlanc.

“Every year we’re blown away by the community.

There is always great support for this event and we’re super happy they all came out again.”

Envision hopes to be able to continue to help the community with the funds raised and expresses deep gratitude to volunteers who were able to make the event such a success.

Josh LeBlanc is confident Savour will continue Josh LeBlanc is confident Savour the Southeast will return in 2019, but it will have different organizers.

In a post on his Facebook page on Monday morning, LeBlanc said that the organizing committee for the event would be taking a break.

“In order for any event to stay fresh and new, we need to have fresh people on board,” said LeBlanc.

Heidi Hesselink and Jeff Walters have been part of the event since its outset, and Jeff Pierson was also on the committee this year.

Representatives of the Envision Counselling and Support Centre were also involved with Savour this year, since they received funds from this year’s event.

The benefitting charity for Savour has been part of an extended organizing committee each year, and has also supplied volunteers for the event.

LeBlanc stressed that he never said Savour the Southeast was finished, or that it wouldn’t happen next year.

Within a few hours of his social media post on Monday, LeBlanc said he received four or five inquiries from service groups and non-profit organizations who want to host the event.

The committee had discussions after the event in May of whether they want to continue hosting the event.

“It’s been a discussion after every one of them – do we keep going with it? Are we doing it? And then we’ve always decided to,” said LeBlanc.

When Savour first started in 2016, it was not intended to be an annual event. It was meant to be a fundraiser

for the 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games in Estevan.

But it proved to be so popular that it continued for the next two years.

“We can see that by the outpouring of support that we’ve had in the past that people love it. It was something that we want to keep trying, and it’s something we don’t want to see leave the community.”

It has raised nearly $150,000 for local charities in its three-year run.

LeBlanc also noted events like Savour are facing new expectations from the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority. While he didn’t delve into too much detail on that issue, he said there are rule changes coming for trade show discounts and the business and logistics side of events like Savour.

Vendors remain highly interested in the event. The committee was always negotiating with vendors to try to get them to come to Estevan.

“We have had vendors tell us that they will only go to Premier (wine, spirits and food showcase) in Saskatoon and our show,” said LeBlanc.

“We have had vendors come back to us and say our show is the most fair show in all of Saskatchewan.

“So we have never really had issues filling up Affinity Place with vendors, especially with the alcohol vendors. They’re always willing and very excited.

We’ve had tonnes of newcomers come to the show last year. They said they’ll be back.”

LeBlanc believes it’s important for Savour to continue to happen each year so that organizers can keep in touch with vendors.

Demand remains high for food bank

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

The Estevan Salvation Army has continued to see a growing demand for its services.

In an interview with the Mercury, Ronza Reynard, the manager of the Salvation Army’s Family Services program, said the food bank’s usage is well ahead of last year’s pace. More than 500 individuals have accessed the food bank in the first six months of the year.

Approximately 380400 people had used the food

bank in the first six months of last year.

“I know some of the businesses are picking up, but there are still a lot of people out there who can’t secure themselves some full-time work, so just trying to make all the ends meet has just been difficult,” said Reynard.

She estimates 17 new families have accessed the food bank so far this year.

“That’s a high number of new people accessing the food bank. That’s something you would normally see in a year, not in six months,”

Reynard said.

Close to $41,000 in food and material assistance has been distributed so far in 2018, she said. The material assistance includes merchandise from the Thrift Store.

Reynard is surprised the demand for the food bank is up, because the price of oil has been on the rebound and some people have been able to return to work. But the Salvation Army has been prepared for the increased activity.

The shelves at the food bank aren’t full, but Reynard

believes they’re still in good shape following the Canada Post food drive in June.

The food drive was moved from the fall to June this year to help the food bank before the summer months, and because the timing was better for the schedules for the volunteers with Canada Post.

It collected about a tonne of food.

Reynard hopes the Salvation Army will have enough food to get through the summer months. Pancake mix, maple syrup, coffees, teas, canned beans and

soup are among the items they need.

“People still need to access the food bank, and we’re still here to help,” she said. “They just need to call and set up an appointment, and we can help them out.”

The Salvation Army’s annual Back to School Backpack Program will start up again in a few weeks. In the past, Staples was their partner, but since that business closed last year, the Salvation Army has been handling it on their own.

People can apply to receive a backpack filled with

school supplies from Aug. 1-10, and the backpacks will be handed out in the third week of August.

“You’re going to have some loose leaf paper, pencils, pens … and a couple of erasers,” Reynard said. “It’s everything somebody is going to need for their students to go back to school, it’s just going to be able to help them, to give them a start so there are a few less things that they need.”

Supplies in the backpack will be donated by the community and purchased by the Salvation Army.

Editorial A4

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Staff

SERVING CANADA’S SUNSHINE CAPITAL Publisher

Rick Sadick - rsadick@estevanmercury.ca

Editor

David Willberg - dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

Editorial Staff:

Brian Zinchuk - brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net Corey Atkinson - sports@estevanmercury.ca Brady Batemean - bbateman@estevanmercury.ca

Advertising Manager

Deanna Tarnes - dtarnes@estevanmercury.ca

Advertising Sales Teresa Hrywkiw - thrywkiw@estevanmercury.ca

Production:

Fay Bonthoux -fbonthoux@estevanmercury.ca

Administration:

Vaila Lindenbach - vlindenbach@estevanmercury.ca Jennifer Bucsis - jbucsis@estevanmercury.ca

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EDITORIAL

The financial picture is improving Five years ago, the financial picture for the City of Estevan was pretty bleak.

The principle alone for the long-term debt was hovering over $40 million. It wasn’t uncommon for the city to dip into a line of credit midway through the year, before property taxes came in, so that it could pay wages and meet other financial obligations.

The debt situation was so bad that the city had to pay down $5 million in debt in 2014.

While the financial picture for the city isn’t perfect, it is impressive how far it has advanced in the last five years, according to audited financial statements for 2017 that were released at Monday night’s city council meeting.

The figure that the city often points to is the net debt, which compares assets versus liabilities. It stood at $22.9 million, down nearly $3 million from 2016. While some might question whether any net debt is a good thing, most municipalities will have that debt.

The amount of cash for the city was a

From the Top of the Pile BRIAN ZINCHUK

Greyhound failure proves STC wasn’t alone Buses, it seems, have largely gone the way of the dodo bird in Western Canada.

Oh, sure, there are some regional lines in Alberta and Manitoba. B.C. has its own thing.

But a little over a year ago, Saskatchewan killed off the Saskatchewan Transportation Company. While a few small outfits here and there have picked up some of the slack, it’s nowhere near what it once was. And without Greyhound, the idea of interprovincial travel by bus is over.

The death of Greyhound in Western Canada unfortunately confirms that the provincial government wasn’t smoking dope when it came to the economics of bus service out here. There simply aren’t any, at least for running full-sized coaches on a daily basis.

If Greyhound couldn’t make money at it, after the better part of a century in business, then there probably isn’t much money to be made.

We’ve seen this before. There used to be

shade under $5 million at the end of last year, the highest it has been in years. The annual surplus was at $4.6 million. And long-term debt dropped to $34.8 million, including interest, from $35.2 million, although the decline would have been larger if the city didn’t take out additional debt to the purchase and renovation of the new fire hall.

When the city was growing and the economy was booming, there were projects that needed to be done. We needed a new arena to replace the Civic Auditorium. We needed a new water reservoir to service the northern half of the city, especially as the city’s population was pushing further north.

But other decisions that were made left the city under that mound of debt.

As for audited financial statements, they’re an important document for the city and local residents. Even though the statements usually aren’t out until June or July, it reflects the city’s financial performance for the previous calendar year.

For those who wonder where their money is being spent, it’s about as good of a document as we get. It shows how much

money is spent on each department. We find out how much is dedicated to protective services, recreation, infrastructure, water and the other services the city has to provide.

For those who gripe about financial mismanagement with the city, it shows that the city has been doing a much better job in the last few years.

At the same time, an improved financial picture might make it more difficult for the city to come to residents and ask for a tax increase or a utility rate increase each year, even if that increase is three per cent or less.

When people see that the city is posting a seven-figure surplus, with a larger cash reserve, they might not want a tax increase.

The city’s rosier financial picture could also result in renewed calls for infrastructure spending, particularly resurfacing of residential roads and upgrades to sidewalks.

But at least the financial picture is better than it’s been in some times. It creates options that weren’t there five years ago.

And as the finances improve, it makes it even more important for the city to be effective stewards of its money.

regular rail passenger service throughout the Prairies. But the demise of regular branchline passenger rail service was long before my time. My 75-year-old father took a train from Swan River to Stenen when he was around eight years old. Another time, when he was in his early 20s, he took a train from Winnipeg to Hyas or Sturgis (he can’t remember). That was the last time.

I once talked to the man whose job it was to shut down those old passenger stations, including the one at Hyas, where I grew up as a child. I don’t remember what year it was, but it was before I was born in 1975, I’m pretty sure. I don’t think it was a happy time for him.

If there was money to be made on passenger rail service in Western Canada (besides Via Rail, which doesn’t really count for much), it would still exist. It doesn’t.

Thankfully, buses took the place of rail service for decades. But that time is now gone.

Some people might suggest the key might be these new-fangled ideas of ridesharing or autonomous vehicles might be the answer. Or better yet, the idea that private vehicle ownership will disappear in a few years, and self-driving vehicles will take over the world. You just fire up your app on your phone, a car shows up, takes you where you want to go, and disappears when you’re done.

That’s great, but how do I get to Edmonton if I need to go? Take an Uber or Lyft? Will a self-driving electric car will pick me up from my house and have enough charge to get me to Edmonton from Estevan? I don’t think so.

Nor do I think some socialist utopia is going to do away with private vehicle ownership, ever.

One of the reasons cited for the downfall of Greyhound includes the rise of really cheap

airfare. That may be true for intercity travel, say from Regina to Calgary, or Winnipeg to Edmonton. Despite the sardine can seats in most economy classes today, the journey is certainly much shorter. But that doesn’t help anyone in between, who might be going from North Battleford to Yorkton. Even if they are to take a flight, they still have to be able to get to the airport.

While there are many reasons why so many people stopped taking buses, the loss of one man’s head surely was a primary one. It doesn’t surprise me one bit that a man being decapitated by another passenger, on a Greyhound, was a major tipping point for many passengers. The minister for Saskatchewan’s Crown Investment Corp. attributed that event to causing ridership to drop substantially on STC. I have been fortunate enough to be able to afford private vehicles, and have been so for a long time. The last time I took a bus was over 20 years ago. But not everyone is in that situation. The loss of STC, and now Greyhound, is going to be difficult for them.

Even if we do see small players come in to replace parts of STC and Greyhound, I wouldn’t expect anyone to be able to piece together such a widespread network, and certainly not one nationwide. There is no easy answer when a business model simply collapses, with no obvious replacement.

Market failure is one of the reasons many Crown corporations, like STC, existed in the first place.

With regards to buses, the market has certainly failed now.

Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can reached at brian.zinchuk@ sasktel.net.

Op-Ed A5

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Ooh, child, things are going to get easier…

Corey Atkinson New Material Only

When I was cruising up and down the radio dial a few years ago, I happened upon a Minneaplois radio station that had what amounted to a repeater signal in Bismarck/Mandan, N.D. Through the airwaves I heard a man whose voice didn’t sound like anything I’d ever heard or expected on talk radio or sports talk radio. “The Common Man” Dan Cole was the afternoon guy in a way that intrigued me. It was like listening to David Letterman, if Letterman took himself less seriously and his golf game way more seriously.

Regina commercial radio and the bigger cities in Canada have talk radio that seems to include one hour of one person’s opinion, one hour of people agreeing with that person and one hour of commercials.

The concept of talk radio for news is to find something to be outraged about and pick at its festering scab for weeks. The concept of sports talk radio is to find one or two reliable topics that will get everyone riled up and get a few regular recognizable national callers in to talk about other things. I’m glad we have neither of those things locally.

But Cole is and remains different. He had regular callers that were given monikers rather than names. He called some of his callers ‘rubes’, and yes, it was a touch on the mocking side.

Like most of the sports talk guys in this province, there’s little preparation beyond the lifetime of experience but there’s a bit of a rebellious streak. He’s not as prone to the ups and downs of any sports season – and in general you’ll find far fewer actual sports talk on his show than you’ll find in most programming on a sports talk radio network – and through that, one can cut through the typical cyclical takes. The home team isn’t doing very well. Oh, look they won a few games, now they’re going to win the championship, etc.

More than once after Minnesota Vikings wins, there would be Starship’s ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ played mockingly over other host’s overly positive takes and the home broadcaster’s play-by-play explosions over great plays. Or after losses, there would be the Five Stairsteps’ ‘Ooh Child’ with the similar negative takes and bad plays.

It was a not-so-subtle reminder of all that sports is and can be without the whole idea that it’s life or death.

For fans, it’s happy sometimes and it’s disappointing other times and it always will be, but it’s not something to talk hours about dissecting defensive line footspeed of late round potential draft picks down to the 100th of a second.

Even at the professional level, it’s entertainment and the minute it stops being like that is the minute you’ve crossed over the line and you’re into mockable territory.

It’s an odd kind of person to be on a sports talk radio, and he certainly got a lot of people upset with him for this idea but it’s also kind of a necessary take.

Or else we slip into the Saskatchewan habit of only having strictly the sports-iest of sports takes, for the most easily outraged audience possible, and the hosts can’t possibly be bothered to have other people they might not agree on for an actual discussion of issues beyond ‘the team is good’ vs ‘the team is bad.’ But they can’t even bring themselves to do that, lest they offend any of the fans who wish to hook Riders’ minutia into their veins.

We have hours and hours of space on the commercial radio stations in this province dedicated to sports talk every week. It would be refreshing if some of those hours would be used to take itself less seriously.

Local resident concerned about the potential for job losses The editor: In the July 10 article in the Estevan Mercury on Units 4 and 5 at Boundary Dam being retired, there was a comment made by SaskPower that, in my view, tried to “sugar coat” this whole announcement.

They admitted that by retiring Units 4 and 5, it would cause about a 40job decrease, yet it would not cause layoffs, as those individuals would move to other areas in the company.

I am assuming that most of those jobs will not be in Estevan.

But the real factor they left out, is there will be more than 40 jobs lost over

this announcement.

What they did not tell you was obviously they will not be mining as much coal as they needed in previous years once this retirement happens. So that will lead to a 80-100-person layoff, possibly at the local coal mine that supplies Boundary Dam, which will have a huge spinoff in the community of Estevan and surrounding area, because a lot of local businesses rely on the coal company to stay in business.

If those businesses can’t afford to stay in business, they shut down, in turn laying off their employees.

This impacts the whole area

and the whole province.

If anybody reading this does not think this announcement is going to affect them in some way or another, you’re wrong.

SaskPower is doing some great things to keep fossil fuels alive in this province and keep the power prices low, but if things were to change and we get away from low power prices, nobody will be able to afford a future in the province.

SaskPower, and the Province of Saskatchewan in my opinion, were the leaders of the world in clean coal technologies, and it is a shame to throw that all away when we have an

abundance of coal at our fingertips.

We just had task force meetings on how to transition the workers to other industries from the coal fired generation and coal mines in the area, and what it sounds like to me is the federal government has all this funding for training and transitioning. Why not use those funds towards carbon capture and storage and keep the people working where they choose to call home? Not only that, it builds our country.

Jody Dukart International Rep United Mine Workers of America

North Portal border crossing expansion is underway Construction has started on the expansion of the border crossing at North Portal.

Luke Reimer, a communications officer for the Canada Border Services Agency’s Prairie Region, said work began at the end of May, and is expected to last for 18 to 24 months.

“The project is going to enhance the border experience for all travellers at North Portal in a few different ways,” said Reimer.

It’s going to increase the capacity of the port of entry by adding a third processing lane. A new and taller canopy will be constructed and three bilevel primary inspection line booths will be added to streamline traffic flow.

“This will allow processing of traveller and commercial trucks at any designated booths,” said Reimer.

The commercial warehouse will be renovated for more efficient processing.

“That’s the building where the semi-trucks and commercial vehicles will come through,” said Reimer.

There will also be a drive-thru into unloading bays, and an increase in the parking area to accommodate 12 semi-trucks at one time. Right now it can accommodate eight trucks.

Site lighting and systems will be improved for enhanced safety and security, and solar panels will be installed to power the facility with renewable energy.

Work has started on an expansion of the North Portal border crossing.

The estimated total project cost is $15.5 million for demolition of previous structures on the site, consultations and construction.

He doesn’t expect there will be significant disruptions in service. The North Portal border crossing will be open around the clock throughout the project, Reimer said, and the goal is to keep separate lanes open at all times.

But there is also the potential for delays during construction. The border crossing was down to one lane a few weeks ago due to curb removal.

Motorists can also use the Estevan and Northgate crossings during construction.

Reimer said the project was needed due to the amount of traffic that passes through the crossing. It’s the busiest land border crossing in Saskatchewan, and ranked

10th in the country last year for commercial trucks processed.

“This project will maximize our processing efficiencies, and ensure that our border infrastructure is designed to accommodate high traffic volumes during our peak travel times,” said Reimer.

Commercial traffic volumes have increased over the years, and the facility has not been upgraded since the 1980s.

There is enough traffic

to warrant a third processing lane, he said.

“Over the past five years, officers at North Portal have processed about 800 travellers … a day, so we definitely are seeing traffic volumes,” said Reimer.

It’s hard to speculate whether the upgrades will result in increased traffic, since there are many factors that influence traffic volumes, he said, but the changes will allow officers to process volumes more effectively and efficiently.

Your opinion matters

Estevan Mercury Publications welcomes your opinion, and we encourage our readers to submit a Letter to the Editor. Do you have an opinion on an article that appeared in this week’s paper, or on an issue in the community? You can submit your Letter to the Editor by visiting www.estevanmercury.ca, or by emailing it to editor@estevanmercury.ca.

Business A6

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Street Fair draws people to downtown businesses

By Brady Bateman

bbateman@estevanmercury.ca

The Estevan Downtown Business Association (DBA) hosted its annual Street Fair on Saturday, with attractions ranging from sidewalks sales, bouncy castles and this year’s newest addition – bumper cars.

The 1200-block and part of the 1100-block of Fourth Street were barricaded off from vehicle traffic from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to allow people the ability to wander through the wide range of activities.

Around 15 businesses were involved with the fair, with a variety of street sales and merchandise discounts available to the public.

DBA president Jennifer Pettitt, who owns Jenny Joans women’s clothing store downtown, was pleased with the support. “ We ’ r e t r y i n g t o draw a lot of attention and awareness to what businesses we have downtown.

We invite various vendors and food trucks as well as service organizations like the Humane Society to come be a part of the activities,” said Pettitt.

“We have a lot of

things that are free to anyone who comes down like bouncy castles and face painting, that are all being sponsored by members of the Downtown Business Association, and really what’s a Street Fair without a bouncy castle?”

Also involved in the Street Fair were several different local food trucks and other food vendors.

The Estevan Humane Society hosted a cat café for the event where visitors could meet the cats available for adoption.

The annual fair has been a long time tradition in Estevan and seems to remain popular with families and people of all ages.

“The events been going on as long as I can remember,” said Pettitt.

“I’ve owned Jenny Joans for around 25 years and it’s been going on for at least 10 of those years, maybe more.”

The Estevan Police Service and Estevan Fire Rescue Service also made appearances at the fair.

Fire trucks and crews were on scene for tours of the vehicles. The Estevan Police Service’s police dog Max could be seen sharing friendly interactions and photos with children while

From left, Abby Jones and Maya Farr met Estevan Police Service dog Max and handler Const. Paul Chabot during the Street Fair. they monitored the area.

“It’s about getting the community involved and letting them know what businesses and services they have available downtown, and doing some fundraising,” said Pettitt.

“We want everyone to have a good time and come down to support local, everything we have here, from the food trucks to all the events is all locally sponsored.”

Payton Mathieson had his face painted by Elsie Alexander.

Energy

A7

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Meili agrees with shutting down BD4 and BD5

By Brian Zinchuk brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili agrees with SaskPower not pursing carbon capture and storage with Boundary Dam Units 4 and 5. He spoke to the Mercury about this on July 12.

Estevan Mercury: What are your thoughts on SaskPower not proceeding with CCS on BD4 and 5?

Ryan Meili: I think it makes a lot of sense. The amount of investment in the first round, in BD3, has not been paying off in terms of the operating of that facility at the level it was expected to. To put that kind of money into furthering down the road of what continues to be an expensive, experimental approach for reducing carbon, the case for that is not strong when you compare it to other ways of reducing our emissions.

Mercury: There are serious indications that it may proceed, eventually, with CCS on Shand. What do you think of that?

Meili: One of the things I think wasn’t done well enough the first time around was our homework. And this, hopefully, will be an exploration, and an actual exploration, where they won’t proceed for political reasons, but they’ll proceed if it’s actually a good project, where it will reduce emissions

and do so in a way that is affordable.

Mercury: We’ve been hearing of this “equivalency agreement” for a long time. I thought it was done, but apparently not. Is this ever going to happen, or is this a pipe dream? And if it doesn’t happen, that means BD4 and 5 shut down in 17 months. What do you think about that?

Meili: I think it’s a real risk that they be shut down in 17 months. We should be preparing for that possible eventuality.

We don’t have that agreement. I don’t know why. We should by now.

Has this government’s reluctance to communicate in any meaningful way around the pan-Canadian framework on climate change made that more difficult? It’s not for me to say, but it seems like a real possibility that’s the case, where it’s hard for the federal government to say, “Yes, we’ll see that as an equivalency and account for that,” while there’s resistance around working together on any other aspect of this.

I do have real concerns that the way the provincial government has managed that federalprovincial relationship has made it harder for us to do that, and it’s accelerating the process that has to happen, but could be happening in a way that puts us in real danger. If we have

those go offline quickly, without having the time to increase the capacity, through gas or renewables, we could be in a situation of having inadequate electrical power.

Mercury: Is this a case of, because we’re not playing ball on the carbon tax, that’s why we’re not getting any equivalency agreement?

Meili: I’m not in those rooms, so I don’t know for sure, but one has to wonder. I would really hope the federal government would not put us in a situation where we might actually be struggling to provide sufficient energy for our public. At the same time, you have to see the way the provincial government has managed that federal-provincial relationship has made it much harder for these things to proceed properly.

Mercury: The net result of shutting down Units 1, 2, 4 and 5 means Boundary Dam, in a few years, will be using about half the coal than it was a few years ago. That’s already meant a partial reduction in mining, and will result in a further result. What does this mean for Estevan and its coal mining economy?

Meili: We are seeing a world that is moving away from coal. Whatever the pace of that is, and the pace matters; whatever the pace of that is, we need to be looking at what’s our

way out of this. Trying to force that continue when it isn’t the best way to produce power, isn’t wise. So what are the things we can do to be looking at? Where can the people, who are currently working in that industry, see themselves working in a few years?

What I am frustrated about is that this government has done nothing.

And we have seen a little bit of discussion from the federal government, coming around and having community meetings, but absolute nothing from this government looking at how do we plan for a transition that is actually a just transition. A transition that people have good, mortgage-paying, quality jobs that reflect their experience and their skills, in the area they live.

I think there are huge possibilities for that, including in the renewable energy field. As well as being the coal belt, it’s also a sun and wind belt. There’s lots of opportunities in that area. No one is having that conversation right now.

Mercury: Should SaskPower convert BD4 and 5 to natural gas?

Meili: That’s a little bit beyond my knowledge level on how easily that conversion can be done and if it’s the right way to do it. Maybe I’ll say it this way. We should be looking, as we’re looking to replace power, also to replace employment in the area where that employment already exists.

I would say you put an emphasis, a premium, on whatever kind of development needs to be done, in the southeast, so that we’re not, as we’re doing this change, disproportionately harming an area that has been such an important part of our economy and such an important source of energy over the years.

Mercury: SaskPower Minister Dustin Duncan has strongly hinted that more natural gas power generation is in the future. What do you think about this? Should we be building natural gas power plants, and if so, where?

Meili: We should be

moving as quickly as possible to increasing our capacity in renewable energy. There are some ways we can do that in a really ambitious fashion that will both increase our capacity for energy production as well as opportunities for local revenue generation and employment. Gas is going to be part of the mix, but that wouldn’t be my top priority. My top priority would be moving us towards a more economically and environmentally sustainable approach with a really strong emphasis on renewables.

Keep our environment looking

THE ESTEVAN MERCURY DRILLING REPORT DRILLING LICENSES

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People A8

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Souris Valley Museum teaches the history of the sky and stars to local families Regina Astronomical Society to teach the history of the sky and the stars to children and families in Estevan.

“Night Under the Stars is a new event the museum

By Brady Bateman bbateman@estevanmercury.ca

The Souris Valley Museum partnered with the

Thank You The Estevan Lions Club members thank the golfers, holes sponsors, those who donated items, and everyone else who supported the July 12th golf tournament to raise funds for the CNIB. Without your support this event would not have been such a success for the 24th year.

Without you, this event would not have been such a success.

All proceeds will go to CNIB (Canadian National Institute For The Blind)

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Annabella Biggs and Jake Biggs pose as astronauts at the Souris Valley Museum’s Night Under the Stars. a success, kids and parents alike had asked the museum to hold an event in the evening, allowing further exploration and understanding of the stars, which prompted the creation of the Night Under the Stars.

“We decided to open the museum for additional hours for the event, running from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.,” said Veneziano.

“We think the hours will allow families to come down to the museum and participate in a range of space-related events, including our alien toss, photo booths and our

train like an astronaut station, as well as using telescopes to explore the stars. We also have a snack concession with proceeds going to funding the museum.”

The event was open to families and youths of all ages with donation-based admission to the museum, and a concession stand was offered with proceeds going to further events and activities at the museum.

“Because it’s a new event we didn’t know how successful it would be,” said Veneziano.

“If it’s successful we

will definitely look at doing something similar again, possibly next summer, or in the fall as we would like to have something scheduled in the autumn months.”

Veneziano also stated the museum would like to thank the Regina Astronomical Society for their help in planning the event and providing a team of volunteers to assist with the activities, as well as the community for being supportive and continuing to attend museum sponsored events such as a Night Under the Stars.

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is hosting this year as a part of our summer lineup,” said Mark Veneziano, curator and director at the museum.

“Our summer lineup this year also includes our Teddy Bear Picnic … as well as our Pioneer Fun Day on August 18.”

Designed in partnership with the Regina Astronomical Society, the event was created in hopes of teaching youths and families about the history of the stars and constellation groups that they are part of, as well as other interesting astronomical facts and history.

“This is a very interesting and unique event,” said Veneziano. “We had the privilege of partnering with the Regina Astronomical Society so they came down from Regina with a team of volunteers and brought telescopes as well as possibly a solar telescope to be able to look at the sun during dusk.”

As a part of the museum’s spring break activities this year, a space history exploration camp was held for children in the community. Although the camp was

OF THE

MONTH

 NEW ARRIVAL 

Kolt Micheal Gillies

Carter Davenport

Tom Gillies and Tanya Skoczylas would like to announce their new baby boy, Kolt Micheal Gillies.

Proud grandparents are Barbara & Barry Gillies and Greg & Brenda Skoczylas. Proud siblings are Kianna & Karter McGillicky

I have delivered the papers for the last 6 years, and it has been a fun experience for me. Delivering papers has helped me interact with people and develop a great work habit.

Working for the Mercury is a great opportunity and I highly recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a little extra money!

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BELIEVES IN SUPPORTING LOCAL!

Every month the Estevan Mercury pays tribute to its dedicated carriers who strive for excellence and deliver your paper each week.

McDonald’s Restaurant proudly supports hard work and doing your best and will be supplying the carrier of the month with a gift card for a meal at the McDonald’s location in Estevan.

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www.estevanmercury.ca

July 18, 2018 A9

Family Centre offering summer camps for youths The Estevan Family Resource Centre has been offering activities for local youths this summer.

Mackenzie Holman and Kelsey Pastachak are the family centre’s summer students this year, and are in charge of the summer camps. Each camp runs from Monday to Thursday, and has a different theme.

“Our first week was Carnival Week, so it was mostly just games with the kids,” said Holman. “It was also a younger age group this week; it was for Grades 1 to 3.”

The remaining camps are for Grades 3 to 6.

The children who attended the Carnival Camp enjoyed the activities.

“The first day we had games, like basketball shooting, a ring toss and a bean bag toss,” said Holman.

They also enjoyed Minute to Win It games, water activities such as a water balloon fight and an obstacle course with water challenges, and then the camp wrapped up with crafts and games.

Snacks were served every day.

The remaining camps

are for students in Grades 3 to 6.

The Girls Week camp is now underway, and next week it will be Culture Week.

“It is learning about different countries and food and things like that,” said Pastachak.

Remaining camps will be Sweet Shop, which will teach youths about candy and sweets; Kids in the Kitchen, which will offer cooking lessons, Art Week and Science Week.

The camps run from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and from 1-3 p.m. Young people can attend the morning or the afternoon.

The registration numbers are pretty good, they said. The morning class for the Carnival Week was full and the afternoon camp had a few openings, but then for Girls Week, the afternoon class was full and the morning class had a couple of openings.

Each session can have 10 to 15 young people, except for cooking-related camps, which can accommodate seven to 10, since they said it can get busy in the kitchen.

“The kids get to meet

Kane Massier, Hope Massier, Penn Tytlandsvik and Isla Tribiger attended the Estevan Family Resource Centre’s summer camp last week. new friends,” said Holman.

“For some of our baking classes they get to learn how to bake, and they can take the recipe home and they

can bake for themselves and cook for themselves. For Girls Week, we are talking about themselves and who they are.”

“For science Week, they get to do experiments,” added Pastachak later.

This year marks the first time that both Holman

and Pastachak have been involved with the camp, and they have enjoyed the experience, so it’s not just the kids who are having fun.

A10 July 18, 2018

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Sports A11

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Pitcher Sydney Madsen throws a pitch Saturday during the round robin part of the tournament. Submitted photo

The Estevan Elite pose with their gold medals won at provincials.

Submitted photo

Elite under-12 softball team wins gold medal at provincials in extra innings over Unity

By Corey Atkinson sports@estevanmercury.ca

Estevan Elite lived up to their name as the U12 girls won B provincials this weekend in Regina.

The Elite went undefeated in the round robin part of the 11-team tournament Friday and Saturday and proceeded to the gold medal game Sunday against

the Unity Panthers.

“We only lost a couple of games all year between our exhibition games and our season,” coach Randy Gooding said. “We went in and we knew we had really good pitchers, and a fairly good infield.”

Then the Elite started connecting at the plate, which had been an issue at times during the season.

“It made it a lot easier,” Gooding said.

The gold medal game against Unity was tied 6-6 after the fourth inning and as the game went on still close, extra innings were needed to decide the game.

The sixth inning ended 11-10, with Unity tying the game in the top of the seventh. Estevan couldn’t score in their half of the inning,

bringing on an extra eighth inning, which the teams exchanged runs.

“It got pretty nerve wracking,” Gooding said.

“The girls, they stayed in it and kept on cheering and working hard…

“I wasn’t surprised.

Unity’s known to be a pretty good ball team every year. We’d already played them once and it was a

tough game.”

It took until the ninth inning when Zoey Thompson ripped a walkoff hit to the outfield, scoring a runner from second base.

“Everyone sat there with their fingers crossed and kept cheering,” Gooding said. “We got one of our better hitters up there (Thompson) and we got to that part of the lineup and

she got the right hit and got the run home.”

Both Thompson and Katelyn Zukewich pitched well for the Elite during the tournament but Gooding preferred not to single out any players on the team since they all played well.

“Everyone worked together pretty hard,” Gooding said. “I can’t say anyone did any better than anyone.”

Regular season schedule released for Bruins What starts with Millionaires and ends in a third consecutive division banner?

The Power Dodge Estevan Bruins are hoping that it’s the 2018-19 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) regular season.

The Bruins season will begin Sept. 14 when the Bruins travel to play the Melville Millionaires in the first of a home and home that weekend with their division rivals. The Bruins home opener is Sept. 15 at Affinity Place against the Mils. The Bruins will seek to defend the Viterra Division crown they’ve won the previous two seasons.

The regular season will have its usual events. Once again the SJHL Showcase will take place at Warman, with the Bruins playing a pair of games there during Sept. 23-26. That includes their first battle with the

Humboldt Broncos on the season Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. at Warman.

The Broncos will make their first appearance of the season at Affinity Place Oct. 5. Their only other appearance of the regular season here will be Nov. 22.

The regular season will last 58 games, and there will be another SJHLMJHL showcase in midJanuary 2019.

The regular season concludes with a home and home series against the Weyburn Red Wings, March 1, 2019 in Weyburn and March 2, 2019 at Estevan.

The SJHL’s regular season will begin Sept.

12 at Humboldt where the Broncos will play host to the Nipawin Hawks. That game will be broadcast nationwide on The Sports Network/CTV. The pre-season schedule hasn’t been released yet.

The Power Dodge Estevan Bruins celebrate a goal during the Canalta Cup final against the Nipawin Hawks in April. File photo

A12 July 18, 2018

Estevan Mercury

Amanda Minchin

Head Pro & General Manager TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club

Be a better putter

We have talked about spending more time on your short game including your chipping and wedge shots.

We need to now focus on putting. Chances are if you are a good putter, you can shoot some pretty good scores. If you struggle to get the ball in the hole with your putter, it won’t matter how far you hit your driver or how precise your iron play is, your score will suffer.

What makes someone a great putter? Good mechanics, ability to read greens and confidence. Good putting mechanics will include having your eyes over the ball, a consistent stroke and follow through, and solid contact.

Reading greens is another skill that good (and great) putters have.

They are able to determine which way a putt will break and by how much.

Being able to read greens comes from playing experience and understanding how greens are built. For instance, if you can determine which way water would drain from a putting surface, you can make a better judgment on how a putt might break.

All good putters are confident. This means that they

expect to make every putt and are able to silence the possible negative thoughts that might creep into their heads, especially over those three-foot putts. A confident putter with average mechanical putting skills can, more often than not, make more putts compared to a mechanically skilled putter who lacks confidence.

How do you accomplish all of this to become a better putter? You should seek out your local PGA of Canada Professional who can take a look at your putting stroke to determine any obvious deficiencies. You can also search out the help of a certified Aim Point Instructor who can help you with learning the slopes of greens and how to read breaks.

Becoming confident is really a state of mind. You have a better chance of making a putt simply by telling yourself that you will make it, regardless of what your stroke looks like.

The next time you play golf, tell yourself before every putt that you will make it. Just see what happens.

You might just start making more putts, and lowering that score.

Second annual fun day aims to raise funds for Special Olympics

By Corey Atkinson sports@estevanmercury.ca

They had so much fun last year at a barbecue and softball game between members of the Special Olympics and local law enforcement, they’re doing it again this year.

Members of the Estevan Police Service and RCMP are back after last year’s event, which again will take place this year at the softball diamonds at Pleasantdale.

“The barbecue is for Special Olympics to buy some stuff,” said organizer Don Cameron. “Last year we were able to buy another wheelchair accessory and bought athletes a couple of wheelchairs so they can bowl.”

There were also some shirts that they were able to buy last year so that when they represent the community they have uniforms, Cameron said.

“This is the second year where we’re trying to have a little bit of fun and have our athletes have a little bit of fun, and have the athletes have a little bit of fun,” Cameron said.

The event last year was a success with a lot of people playing and spectators out for a good afternoon as well.

“Last year we had quite a few (people) there,” said Cameron. “We had most of our athletes there, whoever can play. The ones with wheelchairs can come up and support.”

This year, the barbecue gets underway at 11 a.m.

Stuart Minchin takes a hit at last year’s softball exhibition against local law enforcement. File photo stay and watch the game. “ We ’ d a p p r e c i a t e that,” Cameron said. “The ballgame is free, we’re not charging for that. It’s just entertainment for anyone to come out and have fun.”

Aug. 12 and the game’s first pitch is scheduled to be at 1 p.m.

Cameron said anyone who wants to show up and support through the barbecue is welcome and also to

Speedway looks to attract new drivers

By Corey Atkinson sports@estevanmercury.ca

The season has gone fairly well for the Estevan Motor Speedway despite a couple of rain-soaked events and cancellations.

At an EMS meeting Monday night at the Days Inn, president Byron Fichter laid out the financials from some of the most recent nights, which included a

rainout and a rain-shortened Dakota Modifieds tour stop.

Things are OK compared to last year.

“Some races have been more successful than others,” Fichter said. “Weather’s been a huge factor this year. Every race has either been rained out or been a threat of rain in general, so that’s a huge factor every race. But for the most part, considering where we started from the begin-

ning of the year until now, we have dug ourselves out of a hole and are trending in a positive direction.”

Gates are generally good on the special nights like the Dakota Mods tour, and the Dirt Wars weekend coming up Saturday and Sunday will bring in more fans of the hobby stocks.

“Say Sunday had 90 per cent chance of rain, guys aren’t going to come here

for one night of racing. The appeal of a doubleheader is that if you’re going to drive to race, you’ll race two nights.

I kind of don’t look at forecasts anymore because they just depress me but knock on wood we get two days without rain for a change.”

They also have a plan to get some more drivers into the field this Saturday rather than appealing to Mother Nature.

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July 18, 2018 A13

Golden Eels take plenty of medals from pair of meets The Estevan Golden Eels Swim Club had themselves a great weekend at a pair of meets in southern Saskatchewan last weekend.

The Eels went to Weyburn on Saturday and Assiniboia Sunday and are already getting great results in front of hosting provincials at the RM of Estevan Aquatic Centre July 28.

A lot of personal bests were earned on the weekend

by the swimmers. Winning medals at events like this are an indication they were in the top three for their age in their combined swims on the day.

At Weyburn, the team won 732 points and won the second highest point total among the clubs there, beating the host Weyburn Silver Seals who had 382 points.

Morgan Hirsch won bronze in the age 7-8 girls,

and Marcus DeLeeuw won gold in the age 7-8 boys.

Jordyn Tarnes won gold in the age 9-10 girls and Alianna Young won silver. Blake Andrist was the bronze medal winner for the age 9-10 boys.

Emily Tarnes won gold in the age 11-12 girls, while Ethan Elliot and Tristan Threinen were tied for silver in the age 11-12 boys.

Mikayla Hack won gold in the gold for age 1314 girls, Josie Andrist won silver, and Rebecca Duncan won bronze in that age

group. Cameron Gillingham was the gold medal winner for the age 13-14 boys.

Taeghen Hack won gold for age 15-17 girls, and Charlotte Andrist was the silver medal winner. Chris Sutter won silver in the age 15-17 boys.

A smaller group went to Assiniboia Sunday where they once again won the meet’s top points total as a team.

Jennika Linthicum won the bronze for age 7-8 girls, and there was a sweep of the age 9-10 girls with Jordyn

Rachel Duncan, front, swam at both meets. Photo submitted Trinity Heleta, front was among the Eels who completed. Photo submitted

This group of Golden Eels swimmers went to Assiniboia for a meet over the weekend and swam well.

Tarnes winning gold, Young winning silver and Hailey Tangjerd earning bronze.

Emily Tarnes was gold in age 11-12 girls, and Elliot won gold for age 11-12 boys, with Threinen winning silver for that age group.

Mikayla Hack was the gold medalist in age 13-14 girls, and sister Taeghen Hack won gold for age 15-17 girls.

Gillingham was the

gold medal winner for the age 13-14 boys, while Dylan Pryznyk won bronze in the age group. Sutter once again won the silver in the age 1517 boys.

The next meet for the Eels will be in Gravelbourg July 21 for the Southern Semi-Finals. Eels who qualify there will swim at provincials the following weekend here.

Estevan’s Daae fourth in stock cars for Dakota Classic Mods Tour

Blind tee shot Kevin Ross hit a tee shot while wearing a blindfold during the Estevan Lions Club’s CNIB Golf Classic on Thursday at the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Course. A total of 72 golfers entered the Texas scramble tournament, and as part of the competition, they donned a blindfold for their tee shot on the first hole. Proceeds of the tournament will be directed to CNIB to assist those with vision loss.

The 29th annual Kupper Dakota Classic Modifieds Tour that rumbled through the Estevan Motor Speedway the same weekend that a major thunderstorm rumbled through the area concluded with some familiar faces on top of the leaderboard.

Hunter Marriott of Brookfield, Mo., won the event with a total of 192 points in the modifieds division while Eilijah Zevenbergen of Allendorf, Iowa won the stock car division with 197 points.

The annual tour is scheduled to hit five racetracks in North Dakota plus the EMS in early July in the A-modified and street stock

divisions, weather permitting.

Rain and storms ripped through another stop on the tour. As well as the Monday night stop in Estevan, Tuesday night’s events in Williston were curtailed due to the rain.

The highest ranked modifieds driver from the Estevan area was Kody Scholpp in 18th place with 118 points.

Estevan’s Austin Daae was fourth in stock car points points with 181, behind Joe Flory (195) and Dalton Flory (190), both of Williston, N.D. Fourth place is the highest finish for an Estevanarea driver in several years.

Austin Daae, leading in a heat race at EMS last week, placed high in the standings for the stock cars on the Dakota Modifieds Tour that went through Estevan and North Dakota racetracks. File photo Weather permitting, the next event at the Estevan track will be the Border City Dirt Wars July 21-22 with a

full slate of hobby stocks, street stocks, sport mods, A-modifieds and slingshots on the menu.

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Estevan Mercury

A few calls for fire department Members of the Estevan Fire Rescue Service had a couple of fire alarm calls to tend to last week.

The first call was a commercial fire alarm in northwest Estevan on July 10, after a wall-mounted alarm was pulled.

They were also dispatched to a residential fire alarm the following day in northeast Estevan.

Both calls proved to be false alarms.

Members also participated in a bi-weekly training session on July 10 at the fire hall. The firefighters performed checks of the fire trucks to make sure their equipment was clean, up-to-date and working.

They also did some work to the city’s water truck, which they use if they need to haul in extra water.

Firefighters also attended the Street Fair in downtown Estevan on Saturday. People looked inside one of the fire trucks, and the fire department members interacted with the public.

Davies noted five or six members of the Estevan Fire Rescue Service, including Fire Chief Dale Feser, were at the Country Thunder music festival near Craven on the weekend, working with Team Response’s fire and medical team.

“They were there volunteering and participating with those crews,” said Davies.

With the number of firefighters out of town, Davies said it was good to have a quieter week.

Changing lights Will VanSickle works on the new lights inside the Power Dodge Ice Centre on Thursday afternoon.

The new lights have been installed at the arena this month, and are among the upgrades in the facility.

www.estevanmercury.ca

July 18, 2018 A15

Estevan police investigating an assault Members of the Estevan Police Service are investigating an assault that occurred during the July 13 night shift.

Police were on patrol just after 11 p.m. that night, and came upon a man suffering from what police described as “severe” injuries. The assault occurred near the intersection of Souris Avenue North and Seventh Street.

Estevan Emergency Medical Services (EMS) was called to treat the man, who was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital. He was admitted for observation as he suffered injuries to his head and face.

The victim was released from St. Joseph’s Hospital the following day but had to go to Regina for further treatment.

Police dog Max was called to assist. Police have recovered evidence from the area and are continuing to investigate. A male

suspect has been identified.

The men are known to each other so there is not believed to be any risk to the public.

Police are hoping that the suspect will come to the police station on his own and deal with this incident.

A female was also present during the assault and she has been identified. Police are hoping she will come forward on her own as well.

If anyone has information pertaining to this assault, they are asked to contact the Estevan Police Service.

A theft was reported to police during the July 9 day shift, in which a fishing rod was taken from the back of a pickup truck that was parked near a central Estevan residence.

The matter remains under investigation.

Members stopped a vehicle in the 900-block of King Street during the July 9 night shift. A 31-year-old

male from Dalmeny was issued a 72-hour driving suspension and his vehicle was impounded for three days after he provided a sample with a warn on an approved screening device.

Police responded to a two-vehicle collision in the 1500-block of Third Street.

Both vehicles were drivable and the drivers were assisted with providing statements.

Officers responded to a complaint of a theft from a local business during the July 10 night shift. The suspect vehicle was located at a local lounge and investigation into the matter led to charges of theft under $5,000 for a 40-year-old Estevan man. He was released with an undertaking to an officer in charge and a promise to appear court in August.

Police arrested a 29-year-old British Columbia man for public intoxication. Subsequent

investigation revealed he had warrants with a different agency, dating back to 2012. He was lodged in cells and remanded for court.

A syringe was located by a member of the public in a northeast Estevan neighbourhood during the July 12 night shift. Members attended and safely disposed of it. The public is reminded to be sure to call police when items such as this are located, as there are health risks involved if they aren’t disposed of properly.

A 23-year-old Estevan woman was arrested and

transported to the police station, where she was lodged in cells for breaching a condition of her undertaking. She entered a location where the primary purpose is the sale of alcohol. She was held for court the following morning at 9:30 a.m.

Members conducted check stops around Estevan during the July 13 night shift.

No impaired drivers were found. One driver was checked on a roadside device and was just under the legal limit. Another driver charged for operat-

ing a vehicle on a learner’s licence without a supervising driver.

Officers were dispatched to a disturbance in a downtown alley. Three men were located and spoken to. They were all intoxicated and one was found to be on a conditional sentence order, and was not to consume alcohol.

Police are looking into a possible theft of fuel from a local service station that occurred during the July 14 day shift. Police are awaiting video from the incident. The matter is under investigation.

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For Sale - MiSc 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.

Brian Larry Lang Oct 11 1965- July 31 2015 Of all the special gifts in life However great or small To have you as my son Was the greatest gift of all A special time A special face A special son I can’t replace With an aching heart I whisper how I miss my son And love you so.

Love Mom (Kathy Lang), Brother Robert Lang , Leigh Lang and Robert Glas

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.

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LegaL/PubLic Notices IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF RONALD DOUGLAS HOWE, LATE OF ESTEVAN, IN THE PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN, DECEASED All claims against the above estate, if any, must be sent to the undersigned before the 31st day of July, 2018.

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Obituaries

Obituaries

Darrell Brent Patrick Kammermayer On Saturday, June 23, 2018, Darrell Brent Patrick Kammermayer died in his home at Glenavon, SK, with his loving wife, Diane, by his side.

Darrell worked at various kinds of jobs including a turkey farm, lumber yard and retail; in 1976 he started working as a labourer for SaskPower. He managed to work his way up to a Charge Engineer at Boundary Dam while at SaskPower.

Darrell coached little league baseball, he was a die-hard Roughrider fan, an animal lover and an old car collector. But there was nothing he loved more than his wife, Diane, and her cooking.

Darrell was predeceased by his infant daughter, Maggie; one grandchild, Dakota; his parents, grandparents, uncle and in-laws.

He is survived by his loving spouse, Diane; their children, Curtis, Melissa (Jackie) and Rebecca (Jeff); his grandchildren, Cassandra, Lea, Logan, Jill, Heavenlee (Andrew), Michael, Jared (Tianna), Tekena, Isiah (Kelsey), Shamus, Chaylene (Shaun) and Kevin; great-grandchildren Vanassa, Laura, Keyshia, Nathaniel, Bentley, (one on the way) and Olivia; his sisters, Corinne Sandstrom (Dennis), their sons Aaron and Aric and grandniece Charlotte; Karen McIntyre (Dave), sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews. Darrell’s funeral will be held on Friday, July 27, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. at Matthews Funeral Home, 750 6th Ave. W., Melville, SK. Darrell was cremated, and his ashes will be buried in the Waldron Cemetery following the service. Lunch will be served in the Waldron Hall. Everybody is welcome. In lieu of flowers, those so wishing may make donations to the Waldron Cemetery Fund. Arrangements are entrusted to Matthews Funeral Home, Melville.

POLL, George George Poll, late of Regina, SK, passed away on Tuesday, July 3, 2018 at the age of 89 years. He is survived by his five children, Kathy Grier, Mark, Rhonda, Anna Wasiluk, and Georgina; eleven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

A Memorial Service is planned for Thanksgiving weekend. A full obituary will be published at a later date. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.speersfuneralchapel. com

THOMPSON, Phyllis Noreen (Duncombe) On Monday, July 9th, 2018, Phyllis passed away peacefully at the Pasqua Palliative Care Unit in Regina, SK. Phyllis was born on September 27, 1922 in Medicine Hat, AB. Phyllis is survived by her daughter, Bonnie (Lorne); sons Bradley (Gwen), Blaine (Jana), Darcy (Colleen); daughter-inlaw Patricia Thompson; sisters Mona Widenmaier and Jean Jaskow; sister-in-law Barbara Duncombe and brother-in-law

William Thompson.

She was predeceased by her parents James & Harriet (Dewing) Duncombe; husband Archie; son Mark and grandson Curt Thompson; three sisters Margaret Browton, Marion Purves, Kathleen McLean; four brothers, James, Douglas, John and Richard; sisters-in-law Vi Duncombe, Norma Duncombe, Loretta McIlroy, Winnifred Murray, Jen Doerr, Iris Munro; brothersin-law Harold Browton, James Purves, John McLean, Albert Widenmaier, Frank Jaskow, Robert Thompson, John Thompson.

She is lovingly remembered by 12 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the staff at Qu’Appelle House Care Home, Pasqua Palliative Care Unit 3A and Dr. A. Paul for their excellent care and concern. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Estevan Nursing Home.

Private graveside services will be held at a later date.

Rest in Peace Mom - “Your work here on earth is done”

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www.estevanmercury.ca

Pair with drug charges given time to apply for court-appointed counsel

Two impaired drivers receive similar sentences six months to pay. He also received a 12-month driving prohibition.

That was the same sentence Wiegers handed down moments earlier to Stacy Gillies. She had been noted by Estevan Police on April 21 of driving suspiciously, pulling back into the same parking lot she had just left.

Gillies initially denied she was drinking, but police smelled alcohol on her and Gillies failed the roadside screening device.

She eventually blew .100 and .90, just over the legal limit.

Gillies had a prior impaired driving conviction from 16 years prior.

The Crown prosecutor recommended a minimum sentence.

Wiegers questioned Gillies, who was representing herself, and found she was not working at present, and a single mom.

She had been working as a waitress.

“Is this bad judgement on your part?” the judge asked, “Oh, yes,” Gillies replied.

“This crime is a real scourge in our community,” Wiegers said. He handed her the same sentence – a $1,200 fine, $360 victim surcharge, and a 12-month driving prohibition. Gillies asked for three months to pay.

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Two people appearing before Estevan Provincial Court on July 9, both with a drunk driving conviction in the distant past, received similar sentences close to the mandatory minimums after entering guilty pleas.

David Soderholm was leaving a licensed establishment on King Street on April 23 at 12:30 a.m.

He turned west onto King Street, then south on Petterson Drive, when he was pulled over by the Estevan Police Service. He admitted to having a couple of drinks.

Soderholm failed the roadside screening device and then subsequently blew .110 and .090, in excess of the .08 legal limit for intoxication.

Soderholm, 45, had a .08 conviction in 2001, but nothing since then. His lawyer, Joelle Graham, indicated he was single with no dependents, and was laid off as a truck driver.

He had underestimated how long it would take for the alcohol to clear his system, and told her, “If I had waited another hour…”

Judge Lane Wiegers agreed with the joint submission and told Soderholm, “You’ll have to do better.” He sentenced Soderholm to a $1,200 fine and $360 victim impact surcharge, and gave him

O

CAREERS

weapon (bear spray) and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose (machete).

They were not in custody during their Monday court appearance.

On June 7, at approximately 5:50 p.m., the pair was arrested in a commercial parking lot by plain clothes officers. The arrests happened without incident. The two were subsequently searched, which resulted in the seizure of cocaine and money.

IT

Having been denied legal aid, two people charged with drug offences had their case adjourned on Monday to Aug. 13 so they can apply to the court for court-appointed legal counsel.

Richard Lee Colt Guillas, 23, and Vanessa A. Remlinger, 27, both appeared before Judge Lane Wieg-

ers in Estevan Provincial Court on Monday. The two are jointly charged with several offences, including trafficking cocaine, trafficking hydromorphone and possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. They are also charged with possession of property (Canadian currency) obtained by crime under $5,000, possession of a prohibited

M

By Brian Zinchuk brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net

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2018 YUKON

Stock : AA4640

58,543

2018 COLORADO

SOLD

Stock : AA4330

CASH PRICE

SOLD D L O S 2018 YUKON

D L O S

Stock : AA4830 $ MSRP: 72,080 $ DISCOUNT: $14,057

2018 TERRAIN

SOLD

Stock : AA1130

2018 YUKON XL

Stock : AA1440 $ MSRP: 84,170 DISCOUNT: $12,357

*select vehicles are up to 25% off. Cash prices do not include taxes or registration. See dealer for more details.

311 Kensington Avenue Estevan

CASH PRICE

58,023

306-634-3661 www.murrayestevan.com

$

CASH PRICE

71,813