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Issue 49
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY SINCE 1903
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240
ESTEVAN’S
SOURCE FOR LOCAL & REGIONAL NEWS
Nathan Johnson next ECS principal By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca
The Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) has its new principal for the 202021 school year. Nathan Johnson, who is currently the vice-principal, has been hired for the job. He replaces Pat Jeannot, who will be retiring at the end of the current school year. Jeannot has been the principal at the school since 2013. “I’m very excited. I had a little bit of time for it to sink in, it’s been a couple of weeks since the hiring was made and I’m very excited about going into the future at the same school I’ve been at my whole career,” said Johnson. Johnson has been a viceprincipal for seven years and a part of the staff at the Comp. for 15 years. “I’ve been on the leadership team for the last seven years and it felt like a good fit. And the position became available, that I’d like to try into that role. I was very interested in staying at the same building that I have been at and I’m glad that I’ve been given that opportunity.” Johnson believes that knowing the background and having long-term experience in this particular school will help to make the transition into the new position and his future work smooth. “We’ve got great students and staff and wonderful families to work with. It’s a great job,” said Johnson. “Knowing students, staff and families, it’s very helpful instead of coming in the situation where I don’t know any of that.” Talking about future development, he pointed out that he plans to continue growing on the collaboration that already exists at the Comp. “We are continuing to try to engage as many learners as we can. What we are trying to do is work together as a staff and we’ll be very collaborative going forward as we have been. I’m just excited for the opportunity that I can continue some of the work that we’ve already started,” said Johnson. He has also taken an
Nathan Johnson active role in the school and in the community. Until recently Johnson was a boys’ volleyball team coach at the ECS. But this year he took a step back and Kevin Perkins took more of a leadership role, while Johnson was also involved coaching his own kids’ hockey teams, which took quite a bit of time as well. “As of right now we haven’t made any decisions as to how that will go,” said Johnson. “I think Kevin will maintain the leadership role with the volleyball team next year.” He also said that the upcoming changes to the ECS, including the potential conversion and renovation that would make it a Grade 7-12 school, are something he is looking forward to. “I think that would be very exciting if that went forward. We are a ways away from that I think. But if we ever have gone to that point, I think it should be a very exciting time for the community to have the expansion of the ECS and possibilities with the elementary schools. I would see it more as exciting times than challenging times,” said Johnson. And while students are off school now, the entire staff team has been really busy lately planning, adapting to the new situation and trying to make sure that they can still meet the needs of all their learners, even though they have some challenging times ahead. In the interview with the Mercury last Friday, Johnson noted that while the mood in the school was “uneasy” and everybody was unsure about how things will work out, he hoped that in the next couple of weeks the new reality would become clearer and people would feel better about the situation.
Thousands of birds chose Estevan as their tourist destination Thousands of birds were spotted resting west of Estevan. White and Canadian geese joined with different breeds of ducks into a huge flock for a lunchtime pit stop by the Estevan wastewater treatment plant on Sunday. While birds were taking their time to rest before they hit the skies again, the big live cloud could be seen and heard from miles away. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia
Community was very generous with its support for the United Way Estevan By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
The community was once again very generous towards the United Way Estevan in 2019. According to financial statements released during the organization’s annual general meeting March 25, the United Way received $394,983 in donations in 2019, up from $387,595 the previous year, eclipsing their goal of $340,000 for 2019. The bulk of the donations, $377,152, came during the United Way’s telethon in October. The amount raised was a new off-air record. Corporate donations accounted for $215,715 of their donations in 2019, up from $215,244 the previous year. They also received $61,472 in employee donations (down from $67,849), $32,380 in small business donations (up from $31,985) and $9,699 in educational donations (up from $6,502). But the big increases came through non-profit support, which went from $2,667 in 2018 to $9,623 in
2019, and individual donations, which jumped from $46,481 in 2018 to $52,773 last year. As for expenses, the United Way distributed $284,100 to its member agencies and $35,000 through its community impact fund. Campaign expenses ($43,400) accounted for the bulk of their remaining costs. The financial statements were among the highlights of the annual meeting, which was held through a teleconference call as opposed to their traditional format, which would include a supper. Still, 30 people, including board members, member agency representatives and others, called in for the meeting. A new executive was elected. Melanie Graham will be the president for 2020, with Danny Ewen the first vice-president and Becca Gustafson the second vicepresident. Lynn Trobert is the treasurer and Becca Foord will be the past-president. Foord and Graham both tabled reports during the meeting. Graham said she
Melanie Graham is the president of the United Way Estevan’s board for 2020. Photo submitted joined the board in 2014, and soon found she was included in a group who treated each other like family, which is very important to her. “Not only did the board members show great teamwork and respect each other, but also motivation, collaboration, leadership, positivity – all of these which made becoming a part of the team an easy decision,” Graham said. Many in the Estevan area are facing difficult times in a rapidly changing economy and world, but the United
Way’s goal is to continue to strive to aid member agencies and enhance all lives in the community and surrounding area. “We’re fortunate to live in a city where despite times of uncertainty, the community always pulls together in support of our cause. And I’m confident the same will happen in 2020,” she said. The United Way’s 44th annual telethon is slated to happen Oct. 16 and 17 at the Royal Canadian Legion’s Estevan branch. A2 » UNITED
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