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STICKING TOGETHER DURING THESE TIMES

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Seeding is underway

1. Like our post on insta & Make sure You’re Following us @McDEstevan 2. Share this Post On your Story & Tag us 3. Tell us/share a photo of how you’re Social Distancing Sunday was a long day for most farmers in the area. Progress was being made in the Outram area as well as further west and in other fields around Estevan. This year many operators started seeding as early as the last week of April and were trying to cover as many acres as possible. The Monday rain put a temporary break on the process, making it even more stressful for those who still had water in the fields from the last fall. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia

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By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

After months of speculation in the community and a 15-month drug investigation, the Estevan Police Service (EPS) has announced charges against four adults, all from Estevan.

Two males and two females have been charged for alleged drug trafficking offences following a lengthy combined services investigation in the Estevan area that began in January 2019, involving a specialized integrated unit, municipal police services, the RCMP and other support units.

The majority of investigation was carried out by an investigative unit then-known as the Regina Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU), in partnership with the Estevan Police Service, Estevan RCMP, Regina Police Service, Saskatoon Police Service and the National Weapons Enforcement Sup-

port Team (NWEST).

The team investigated drug trafficking offences alleged to have occurred between November 2016 and November 2019. An investigation involved the execution of numerous search warrants and the seizure of drugs, cash and firearms in November 2019.

Five people were initially arrested last November after police executed the search warrants at three residences and two businesses in Estevan.

But charges were not laid at the time as the investigation continued. Charges wouldn’t be laid for 5 1/2 months.

“I’ve been asked the question ‘Is this overly long for a drug investigation,’ and I’ve always said that some drug investigations take a matter of minutes and some take a matter of months and some take a matter of years,” Estevan Police Chief Paul Ladouceur told the Mercury.

He added that it depends on the number of people

involved, the complexity of the investigation and the techniques used by police organizations.

“This was a complex investigation that involved many units and many police services,” said Ladouceur.

In this case, it was a joint investigation that involved the CFSEU and other partnering agencies from throughout the province.

The four individuals – Andrew James Young, 38, Lindy Erin Darling, 37, Kyra Lorelle Gessner, 22, and Craig E. Tendler, 35 – were arrested without incident by members of the Estevan Police Service and Integrated Crime Reduction Team (I-CRT), and were jointly charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine.

As for the fifth person who was arrested back in November, she was not charged.

Ladouceur wouldn’t divulge whether anybody else would be charged, and he noted additional charges aren’t pending against the accused.

Ladouceur pointed out that since this was a conspiracy case, a lot of work went into the investigation.

They had to look at who was working together.

“When an investigation like this is initiated, we want to make sure that we take the time necessary to make sure that we gather all of the evidence that’s required to bring it before the courts,” he said.

Some of the evidence was gathered quickly and other evidence took time. With the number of search warrants involved, there was a lot of information to sift through.

In connection with this project, both Young and Darling were previously charged with weapons offences on Feb. 14.

Ladouceur didn’t divulge the amount of drugs seized, or the number or types of weapons involved, but there were a number of firearms involved. Methamphetamine was involved, but charges weren’t laid.

He recognizes that there has been a lot of speculation in the community over the past 5 1/2 months regarding the case, and he has heard the rumours on whether any charges would be laid.

“Any time that you execute a search warrant and then there’s not charges laid immediately following, people start to question what was going on, and whether there were grounds for a charge or not. Sure there are always rumours with these investigations, especially larger-scale investigations, and especially when warrants are executed in a smaller community.”

The EPS doesn’t respond to comments on social media and coffee row, he said, and ultimately this case will play out in court.

All four accused have been released by a justice of the peace on an undertaking and will make their first court appearances on the charges in Estevan Provincial Court on June 29.

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Cornerstone looking at adding French Immersion The South East Cornerstone Public School Division is studying the possibility of bringing French Immersion to two of its schools.

In a message posted on its Facebook and Twitter accounts, Cornerstone said it was considering having the program at Pleasantdale School in Estevan, with a potential start date as early as September.

Cornerstone is also looking at French Immersion for Assiniboia Park Elementary School in September 2021.

“We have had some queries, some asking around if that is something we would ever be interested in doing,” said Cor-

nerstone director of education Lynn Little.

Interest in French Immersion has been growing across the country, so Cornerstone thought they would send out a survey and find out what the community wants.

The survey was released last week and generated numerous responses. The deadline to submit the survey was Monday.

People could submit their comments digitally or through traditional mail, so an immediate breakdown of people’s thoughts wasn’t available.

If it did come to Estevan, the French Immersion program would likely start with a

Kindergarten to Grade 2 split classroom, and Cornerstone would likely need 10 students in each grade. Then a grade would be added each year, until French Immersion was offered in all grades at the school.

It would not affect the present classes at Pleasantdale.

“We have identified Pleasantdale as the building in which we would place the program, from the perspective of there is space in that building for additional classes to move up and through,” said Little.

They have already had conversations with staff about the French Immersion designation, and they would need

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to bring in resources. If there is enough interest, the division will host a parents night, when they would discuss what the program is and isn’t about, and if there is still sufficient interest, then they would make a commitment.

In the letter, Cornerstone noted that students generally enter French Immersion in either kindergarten or Grade 1.

They would have all classes in French from kindergarten to Grade 2, and then the English language arts program would be formally introduced in Grade 3.

In Grades 3-8, students have about 75 per cent of classes in French. In Grades 9-12, it would be a 50-50 split.

Sacred Heart School/ École Sacré Coeur in Estevan, which is part of the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division, currently offers French Immersion in the Energy City.

Little said that if French Immersion is brought to Pleasantdale, it could still be offered at Sacred Heart. Pleasantdale’s proximity to Sacred Heart is not a factor in the public division’s desire to bring it to Pleasantdale.

“We’ve had some conversations with Sacred Heart,” said Little. “This is an offering for a public French Immersion

programming, so I don’t know if there would be a great impact or not.”

Both Cornerstone and Holy Family programs would feed into the Grade 9-12 French Immersion programs at the Estevan Comprehensive School.

A possible joint-use school for South East Cornerstone and Holy Family, which was discussed at a public meeting in January, isn’t a factor in Cornerstone’s desire to bring French Immersion to Estevan.

“When we’re looking at developing buildings and moving forward, our needs for the next future, and trying to

A heartfelt thanks to the many businesses who have continued to communicate with their clients through our newspaper and website.

Even more heartfelt thanks go to the dozens of readers who have made a direct financial contribution over the past few weeks.

Every advertisement and donation helps us not only from an operating cost perspective, but it also sends us a very direct message that what we do matters, and you are prepared to support our efforts. We remain 100 per cent committed to keep our community updated.

Today, we here at The Estevan Mercury are facing unprecedented challenges, as you all are. We have taken drastic efforts to curtail our expenses and all of our staff members have taken part in one way or another.

O ur operations have been supported primarily by the local and regional businesses that have been ad-

vertising to our audience for 117 years. That model is challenged in today’s world.

Nearly 50 per cent of all advertising in Canada now goes to the duopoly of Facebook and Google. We, as an industry, are challenged to keep Canadian journalists employed and doing their jobs, telling your stories and providing the facts that you rely on us for.

Community news media organizations like ours are the glue that binds us together as a community. Our content truly reflects the community that we serve.

We have now implemented an online donation mechanism on our website, https://support.estevanmercury.ca/, to make it easy for our supporters, readers and community members to support us with direct contributions. Your contribution will be put toward ensuring our ability to continue to serve our community, here in Estevan and surrounding areas. Please

Lynn Little predict what we’ll need moving forward, identifying what programs the community is interested in us offering (is important),” said Little. “Because there has been some requests and some interest, we thought it was important to know and identify.”

Other public school divisions in the province also have French Immersion.

She’s confident that if there is enough interest, they can get the pieces in place to offer French Immersion in Estevan in September.

“If there is interest, we can get what we need to begin,” she said.

Estevan Mercury grateful for the public’s support consider the value that we add to our community and your own enjoyment of life here.

We will continue to tell compelling stories about your neighbourhood and the incredible people that make our community so special.

You will find a direct link to our donation page here: https://support.estevanmercury.ca/. If you prefer to drop a cheque in the mail or would like to discuss your contribution directly with me, please do. I’m at dtarnes@ estevanmercury.ca.

Finally, I want to finish by thanking you all for reading our stories in print and online. It is through our strong audience engagement that we create value for our advertisers and sponsors.

However in today’s world we all need to do more to ensure that news continues to be available, reliable and truthful.

Please do what you can.

Sincerely, Deanna Tarnes, Publisher, Estevan Mercury

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“Now I’m free:” Estevan woman discusses her journey home from overseas and self-isolation

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

The journey home to Estevan was a pretty challenging trip for Jan Park.

Park has been teaching overseas at the American Creativity Academy in Kuwait, a private girls school, for the past 15 years. It’s a school where parents send their children to receive Islamic values, but also hone an American or Canadian accent.

She’ll return to Kuwait every August for another year of teaching, then come back to Canada in June for two months with her husband Norm.

But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the school has been shut down for more than two months, and she was only able to find a return flight to Canada in midApril.

Those final weeks in Kuwait were not easy. The country shut down fairly early, before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic.

“We don’t know the reason. What I do know about the Kuwaiti government is they’re extremely protective of their citizens,” she told the Mercury.

As of Monday evening, the densely-populated country of 4.3 million people has had 5,278 cases and 40 deaths.

The final day of classes was Feb. 27. Two days later, it was announced schools were closed throughout Kuwait City. A school break was happening in March, so the government made the decision to end the school year before the break began.

Airports were also

closed and a curfew was imposed from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night.

“The first night of the curfew, I woke up at 4 a.m., and I looked out the window, and I thought it’s either … a UFO or a drone. I looked up and I could see it flying in the air and I thought ‘OK, they’ve got drones out.’”

Approximately 80 people who teach at the school reside in her building. Once school was cancelled, a few of them might gather to socialize, but at 4:55 p.m., a police vehicle would circulate the building three times, and they knew that it was time to go inside.

“It’s a population of a million, so there’s lots of traffic noise, and just lots of noise, and that was most unusual to see things still,” she said.

Park is one of about 400 people, all from outside the country, who teach at the school. She isn’t sure how many are still in Kuwait.

Roughly 30 people are still in the building.

When they went to grocery stores, she and people in her building would load up the vehicle. Kuwait’s government has been very serious about social distancing. Seven government officials would greet customers at a grocery store.

“Everybody gowned and masked, and at the door they had people wiping down carts, and handing out gloves and masks if you didn’t have them on,” she recalled. “A policeman was there, and they were taking temperatures.”

The lines might extend for a block or a block and a half early in the day, but peo-

Jan Park, pictured with her husband Norm is excited to be back in Estevan and out of self-isolation after the end of her teaching year in Kuwait. ple weren’t hoarding. There was a run on onions, which are a staple in the Kuwaiti diet, so the Kuwaiti government flew in 30,000 pounds of onions from Sudan.

After the school year ended, she tried to get out of the country and back to Canada, but nothing panned out. “ W hat we could not understand is why they would not send a military plane in.

The numbers were certainly there. We couldn’t understand that part. Later on I came to realize that co-ordinating flights with a closed airport is just a nightmare for people in logistics,” she said.

There had been a couple of emergency flights out of the country on Kuwaiti Airlines, and other airlines

said they would do evacuation flights, but only if the numbers were there.

One was to New York, but once she arrived, she would have had to find her own way to Canada. Another flight would take her only to Montreal. One would have sent her to Australia. The best bet for a while was one that would fly her to Frankfurt and then Toronto, and then she’d be on her own.

Finally there was a flight on April 15 that took her from Kuwait to Frankfurt and then Toronto. From there, she flew from Toronto to Calgary and then to Regina, where her husband was waiting.

It was a three-day journey, including the prolonged layovers; normally the trip takes about 21-28 hours.

After she arrived back in Canada, the Parks immediately went into a selfisolation that ended Saturday morning. A short time later, she was reflecting on the experience with the Mercury.

“Now I’m free. Gosh, I could feel the freedom, until I went out to go to the grocery store. The freedom was there when I walked; I walked for about 40 minutes, and I loved it. You can feel the wind and hear the birds and it was just gorgeous.”

When she went to the grocery stores, though, she noticed the changes, not just with the arrows and the social distancing. It was tough not to hug somebody she hadn’t encountered in a year.

A neighbour delivered groceries to the front step of

the Park home during their two weeks of quarantine. A neighbour was celebrating a birthday, and brought by some cupcakes for the couple.

They could talk through a door or window with their friends, but not get any closer.

Since coming back to Canada, she has had an online teaching session and a staff meeting with the people from the school in Kuwait.

She doesn’t know what she’s going to do next; she would like to return for the start of the school year, which is slated to happen Aug. 16.

Online teaching might be an option.

But in the meantime, she’s happy to be home, and looking forward to her extended stay in the Energy City.

Online benefit auction for Oxbow and Carnduff’s non-profits features plenty of items to choose from

By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

The times are tough, but for many, they could have been much tougher if not for the local charities supporting families in need. Two friends, Becky Panter and Anne Morrow, brought their efforts together and came up with a safe fundraiser to support the Carnduff and Area Food Bank and Oxbow Community Emergency group.

The online auction gathering money for the two local charities started on May 5 at noon and the bidding will continue until 9 p.m. on May 7. Panter and Morrow posted separate pictures and descriptions of each item on the Oxbow Benefit Auction – 2020 Facebook page.

Panter named a few out of the many items donated,

“There is everything from Norwex Tupperware, homebased businesses, my mom sent me money to buy some things, there is succulents, a lot of gift bags, hotel rooms that are being donated, books by local authors that have been donated.”

They had about 80 people and businesses donating the items. Panter said she was fascinated with people’s generosity and the community support they received.

People can bid under the pictures and if they win they are expected to pay with etransfer. Many items donated for the auction might make great gifts for Mother’s Day, so the organizers wanted to make sure that they had everything set and going before the date. Panter said that a two-night stay in a hotel in Regina is one of their bigger

items. But there is a lot to choose from.

One man who grew up in Carnduff and now is a paramedic in Alberta has donated a few of his books about working EMS. There are also such items as 10 hours of babysitting by a retired teacher and much more.

Like at any other auction, people can bid however much they are willing to spend.

Minimum bid increments are $2 and the highest bid at the end of the auction will win the item. Full details can be found on their Facebook page.

Panter hasn’t done anything like this before, but she used an example of family members who did something similar for Telemiracle and other organizations. She felt that there are many people in the area who may need support if not right now, then

t e g o t t a h W Mom for ! ? y a D s r e h t Mo

in the days to come. She explained that first, the pandemic “has made a dent in people and what they were making,” but the further decline in oil prices put many locals in an even more difficult situation.

“My income has been hit by that, but we have stockpiled. And I know there are some that probably haven’t been able to. So I’m thinking the food bank and the Oxbow emergency fund are going to be asked for a decent amount of money or supplies,” said Panter.

While the Carnduff and Area Food Bank focuses on food, the Oxbow Community Emergency group provides emergency support including food, medical and travel.

All proceeds from the online auction will be split 50/50 between the two organizations.

Dozens of items were donated for the online auction aimed at supporting Carnduff and Area Food Bank and Oxbow Community Emergency group. Photo submitted

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Tougher laws won’t change anything After the horrible shooting rampage in rural Nova Scotia that left 22 people dead and others injured, you knew the federal government was going to take measures when it comes to gun legislation.

Governments of all parties and at all levels can be reactionary. Something comes up and they take steps to reduce the chance of these types of incidents from happening again.

We’ve heard talk from the federal Liberal government since they were elected in 2015 about tougher new gun laws. They upped the rhetoric last year during the federal election.

And there’s strong support in voter-rich big city and suburban ridings for stricter gun legislation.

So it was only a matter of time before the Liberals took action.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his announcement last Friday, saying that the government would ban 1,500 models and variants of assault-style weapons.

This ban is in addition to an existing ban on most assault-style weapons that has been in place since 1978. You haven’t heard many calls for the 1978 ban to be repealed, and no government with a sense of self-preservation would look at eliminating the 1978 ban.

Trudeau did this without going through parliamentary procedures. He seems to think that this legislation was so essential that it couldn’t wait for MPs to gather again, even though his new firearm ban will pass through

the House of Commons and the Senate, and even though this country has, for the most part, operated quite well with the previous gun laws.

This does not mean we shouldn’t have gun control of any kind in Canada. We need laws that strike a balance. And generally Canada has done a very good job of finding that balance on gun laws.

Yes, we had the wasteful long-gun registry for over a decade that cost Canadian taxpayers billions of dollars and had no tangible benefits. But outside of that, our laws have worked.

The requisite due diligence and screening process is there. We’ve had bans on certain types of firearms for more than 40 years. There is absolutely no need for the average citizen to own the types of firearms that have been banned in this country for decades.

And you can argue that there is no need for people to own the types of firearms that Trudeau wants to ban now, although it might be better if that ban were to be left up to municipalities than the federal government, as some have suggested.

The tough question is whether the new firearm ban will change anything or save lives.

There’s going to be a tremendous cost, as the federal government has said there will be a buy-back program for those who currently own such firearms that are now outlawed.

In the case of the individual who perpe-

trated the crimes in Nova Scotia, it’s believed he was using guns that were obtained illegally.

Our regulated system is far more effective than what exists in the U.S., which has done next to nothing to curb gun violence in that country, and has led to the U.S. being among the world leaders in gun-related violence.

We’ve seen all of these mass shootings in the U.S., but the only real response to the situation has been the thoughts and prayers statement.

We need guns in society. We need certain types of firearms. There are certain goofballs out there who would like to see an outright ban on firearms of all kinds; they don’t get that a gun can be a tool for farmers. They likely think that hunting should be banned, too; evidently, they have never dined on moose meat or deer sausage.

And they don’t understand that some firearms are there for collectors or for shooting practice.

There is a balance to be found between having a ban on certain types of firearms, and preserving the rights of firearm owners, while keeping Canadians safe. The federal government might think they’ve improved that balance, but ultimately they haven’t done anything to make us safer, and that’s why Trudeau’s promise announced last week will be a costly waste.

It’s not as bad as the long gun registry of nearly a decade ago, but still a waste.

Dealing with the tragic downturn in oil Putting opposing political notions aside, the oil and gas industry has been the lifeblood for many economies, especially in the west, for decades. Seeing the tragic downturn amid the tanking prices mixed with a global pandemic is heartbreaking to say the least.

Before I made the glamourous turn to journalist, I spent many long days in various sectors of the oil and gas industry. One thing that people like me, who were never all-stars in school, could depend on if it all went south was finding a way into the industry.

It promised financial freedom in many scenarios. Granted, the pay was level with the difficulty of the work. Without the oil and gas, I am not sure I would have ever learned the proper work ethic it takes to make it in life.

I was a bare-faced 18-yearold looking for a way to make my mom proud. Having not graduated high school, I felt my options were limited. A friend of a friend said if I got my first aid and H2S tickets I could be in the back of a Chevy headed for northern B.C. onwards to an Ensign rig within the week.

Without even thinking, I got my tickets and before I knew it I was headed to Hope, B.C. where I would learn the industry that is managed pressure drilling. I was scared and I wasn’t sure I’d be able

Jordan Stricker Postcards from the Leg.

to hack it. My first shift was 35 days on and five off, which I found out when I got there.

Whether I wanted to or not, I was in it now and I had to go through with it. I am forever grateful I did.

Not only did I learn what a long day’s work actually was, I also learned how what we were doing out there impacted the economy. It was a glorious time for the industry and everyone had more work than they knew what to do with.

The next seven years I would transfer between underbalanced drilling, pipeline and industrial acoustics to name a few. I always knew the oil and gas wouldn’t be my end all and be all, but the people I met along the way are the reason for writing this article.

The industry has always received a bad wrap in some circles

for the sort of people who operate their lives on a shift-work basis and what they spend their money on. I can tell you first-hand, the people who work these jobs are some of the smartest, hardest working people you could ever hope to come across.

So often these days we look at the generations younger and scold them for their inability to get out there and make something of themselves. I always told young people before me if they wanted to learn what it took to make it anywhere, spend some time in the oil patch. What you could learn there would transfer to whatever avenue you choose to go down afterwards.

I can’t even fathom what so many of these workers are facing right now. As if a world-wide pandemic wasn’t enough, you also throw in a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia and the end result brings you to negative trading prices for the first time in history.

On April 21, for the first time, oil prices were trading at negative numbers. The price for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate oil fell as low as minus $37.63. The number comes from the demand destruction of oil due to COVID-19 restrictions along with the abovementioned price war.

That is about as scary as it gets for people who work hard day in and day out to provide for their

families. You also throw in the constant added regulation and taxes put on the industry and it makes you wonder if it will ever recover.

Again, putting politics aside, you can’t help but feel for these people. You spend a good chunk of your working life trying to master something that most people won’t try due to difficulty, and without warning it is taken away.

I can understand people wanting to stray away from fossil fuels and whatever else. But, this is not a time to push these ideologies. If you know someone who works in the industry who is dealing with the hardships that come with this, reach out. Let them know you are there for them.

Saskatchewan may be set to reopen soon, but the damage done to this sector has damages that still haven’t been uncovered, and probably won’t be until the pandemic is over.

Hopefully, we can see some sort of recovery that will put these people back to work. We can deal with the politics later. Rebuilding a ravaged economy should be priority number 1.

No matter how you look at it, the people of the oil and gas industry are a huge part of making that economic recovery happen once we’re in a world without the threat of COVID-19.

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Wednesday, May 9, 2020

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Expected rise in calls for mental health support not there, just yet

Ana Bykhovskaia Twenty Lines About…

Need advice, but not really

By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

Many of us are going through one or the other types of challenges.

And while it may feel that others’ problems are more serious than yours or the other way around, it’s definitely the times of changes and adjustments for every single person, from one-day-old kids who were born in new circumstances with no one visiting, to 100-year-old great grandparents who miss the few connections they had with the world through some entertainment in senior living places or family stop-bys.

I read somewhere that we are living now in the post-stability era. It does feel about right, the reality kind of exists but not really. It’s too fluid to count on, as if we were in the middle of the ocean on a foggy day with hardly any tools to find the way to the shore. And in this to say the least unstable reality, we now have more time for communication and we also need ways to get rid of our frustration caused by the changes in our personal life.

I noticed that the amount of online communication grew in times since the beginning of the quarantine. Even in comparison to the times when we could really meet, I now hear from many more people than then. Most of my conversations are somewhat alike. People call and tell about how things have changed for them. When it all started my first reaction was to give advice or direct them. I took their calls as a straightforward request for help. But apparently things weren’t that simple.

For example, one girlfriend has built her career working in beauty boutiques. Due to the pandemic, she obviously lost her job for now. At the time of the call, it was hard to say if she will ever get it back, so I started telling her about some courses she may take or temporary jobs she could try to get (after all, she was really worried about her mortgage). All she kept saying was "No." That situation has spiked my interest. Since there recently were a lot of cases of this kind, I started watching how we react to advices.

Mom was getting more and more upset about being forced to stay at home. She was like a tiger in the cage, walking from wall to wall, unable to get her brain off the problems. And again I tried the tactic of suggesting options that felt valid to me. I don’t think she even heard me.

Then I told her about my changes and she just listened.

The next time, we again discussed how things were working for me and she supported me in some of my doubts. She didn’t advise anything. She listened and cheered me up a bit. So I did the same for her. Instead of getting ahead of the problems and trying to resolve them I just listened, trying to understand what worried her the most.

The third time the situation repeated but it felt that our worries had a bit less weight. We talked them through. (It was like when you are a kid and you are afraid of the monster living under your bed. But then you get brave enough and look. It’s not there, and right at that moment it loses its power over you). So after we checked on things, we actually switched the topic to possible plans. We were fantasizing, but some little pieces of advice or suggestions were intertwined in the conversation.

The next time mom told me she checked the website I found. She actually found something that might be interesting for her. I, in turn, told her about a few things I changed following our last conversation. And we got into more details about how things worked for each of us, feeling more released in sharing the problems and more flexible listening to each other.

This was just one of the many examples, in which I lately watched myself and a person I was talking to trying to understand what was leading us. Rarely either of us directly asked for any advice, and even if we did, the outcome wasn’t as expected.

After a month and half of these observations, I realized that advice, without the support and careful and sometimes longish listening, is like seeds with no ground: they might be the best, but no chance they will grow. It’s easy to suggest looking from aside, but in most cases, it’s more important to give a person an ear and a shoulder, and then together you probably can come across some possible improvements.

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic was getting closer to Canada and then paralyzed most of the country with quarantine, the concerns about the public’s mental wellbeing have been growing.

The Mercury reached out to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Weyburn branch, covering the southeast corner of the province, to see how the situation has been so far in the area.

Tasha Collins, the program director for the CMHA Weyburn branch, said that even though they’ve been closed to the public they are still available for some services and supports. However, she noted that what they’ve been witnessing is not what they were predicting at the beginning of the quarantine.

“At this time, we have not received an influx of calls for support despite having the wellness support response line available at extended hours. We are expecting to have increased needs for support as we move forward, and this goes on,” said Collins.

Although the number of calls didn’t go up too much, the reason for many calls was different from before.

“Many of the calls we are receiving have to do in some way with the pandemic. Whether it is about government benefits including GST, CERB, etc., looking into what services and who is available to offer, or just wanting to talk about what they are experiencing at this time,” said Collins.

In mid-April, CMHA started talking about a potential echo pandemic of mental illness and mental health issues as a result of COVID-19. In their statement, they call for immediate action to get ready to handle the possible aftereffects of the current pandemic.

“To avoid a potential echo pandemic of mental illness and mental health issues as a result of COVID-19, the …CMHA calls for immediate investment in the scale-up of cost-effective, evidence-based community mental health programs and supports that can take the pressure off acute-care services across Canada,” says the statement.

“The hard truth is that our mental health system in Canada already lacked the capacity to meet demand before this pandemic began. We must act now to ensure we are prepared for a surge in mental health problems as a result of COVID-19,” said Margaret Eaton, CMHA’s national CEO. CMHA recommended that Canada significantly increase “mental health-promotion programs and supports for those experiencing new pandemic-related stress and anxiety and to stave off new demands on the system coming from the increases in depression, psychological distress, substance use, PTSD and domestic violence that almost always accompany large-scale disasters.”

“Intervening early, before people are in crisis, is not only the most compassionate and effective way to help get people back on their feet, it’s also the most cost-effective,” added Eaton.

And while the country is gearing up to face the mental aftereffects of the pandemic, quarantine and self-isolation, there are a few things that people may do to ensure their mental wellbeing.

“Try not to ignore or suppress anxious thoughts… Self-care is critically important… Seek information from reliable news sources only…Take recommended precautions as outlined by Health Canada… Try to stay connected to friends, family and other supports,” outlines the CMHA National office.

(For more details check cmha.ca).

If people are feeling significant

distress, they are encouraged to reach out for formal mental health supports from a health care professional or a local CMHA. The Weyburn branch is available to whoever may need supports or services, and they encourage anyone who may be struggling with their mental health or just in need of a conversation to contact them. The services currently available through CMHA Weyburn branch are: • A new CMHA wellness support response line for the southeast corner is available during extended hours from 1-8 p.m., Monday through Friday at 306-861-4951. (Note: This is a wellness support line, not a crisis line).

• Phone and email support and resources for the community and participants, Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (306-842-7959) or over email (tashac@cmhask.com).

• They are also providing lunches for CMHA Weyburn participants (including from other communities in the southeast) in need, following precautions.

• They are calling all current participants weekly to check-in, have a conversation and offer support if needed.

• They also came up with a few other local initiatives such as borrowing movies and supporting community-led initiatives.

May 4-10 also marks the CMHA’s 69th Mental Health Week and their theme is social connection. They encourage people to have real conversations about how they feel and do instead of using traditional short “I’m fine” answers.

For more information and tools about CMHA Mental Health Week people can visit www.mentalhealthweek.ca. They also can connect on social media using the hashtags #GetReal and #MentalHealthWeek.

Saskatchewan highway watchers are out at their posts

Mother Nature took care of all of its creatures, supplying us all with tools we need for survival. It ensured that curious pronghorns, which is literally translated as American antelope goats, have colours, suitable for their habitat, to mask them from the eyes of predators. Besides, the eyes of pronghorns, which actually don’t belong to the antelope family (their closest living relatives are giraffes and the okapi), can see as far as six kilometres away, and they are also the second fastest runners in the world after cheetahs. All that makes them pretty dangerous for southern Saskatchewan drivers travelling through currently brown fields, in which spotting a pronghorn and predicting its further actions becomes quite difficult. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia

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Medical businesses pleased to be open again The gradual process of reopening the province’s economy from the COVID-19 pandemic has started.

The first phase began May 4 with medical services such as dentistry, optometry, hearing clinics, physical therapy, opticians, podiatry, occupational therapy and chiropractic treatment centres opening their doors.

Stacy Wempe with the Scotsburn Dental Centre said they were looking forward to opening again, and seeing their customers, but they had to implement changes. Employees need to don such protective equipment as surgical gowns, blue booties, a hairnet and more.

“When we’re doing anything with the hand piece, we have to wear a special N95 mask,” she said.

If they’re using dental aerosols on a patient, they have to ensure a room is closed off, and then another patient can’t enter for 120 minutes. Four of the six rooms in the dental clinic are closed off, which is

good for them, because many dental offices have open rooms.

It means Scotsburn Dental will likely only be able to see 15 patients per day. Emergencies will be their priority, so check-ups haven’t been phased in yet.

“If people are in pain or anything like that, we would be seeing them,” she said.

In recent weeks, Scotsburn Dental has been open for emergencies only. They have been speaking to people over the phone regarding dental needs.

“We didn’t want them to go to the hospital. We want to keep people out of the hospitals, and we did a lot over the phone.”

She predicted dental offices would see the biggest change among the businesses allowed to open in Phase 1, because they work with people’s mouths. Scotsburn Dental has taken the necessary precautions, and they’re cleaning even more than in the past.

Sun Country Hearing Ltd. has had to learn a lot of

new things about protective personal equipment (PPE), and they had to have equipment rushed to Estevan to be ready to open Monday, but they were pleased to be open again.

Clients whose appointments were cancelled were understanding when they rescheduled.

Owner Jacquie Mvula said the biggest change is they won’t be able to fit somebody in between two appointments any longer if it will be a quick session, because they have to limit the number of people in the office and waiting room.

Clients also can’t bring someone with them, unless it’s a parent joining a child or a caregiver with a senior citizen.

“There will be some adjustments made as far as what I will be wearing, if we ask them to wear a mask, say, in a wax removal if we’re both reallya close to each other,” said Mvula.

D uring the past few weeks, they were available for emergency calls, and they repaired hearing aids for

their clients.

There was some confusion about whether they would be able to open on Monday, and the government didn’t confirm until late last week that audiologists would be part of Phase 1. Sun Country Hearing had the PPE equipment rushed to their sites in Estevan and Yorkton, and they had already hired some of their staff back in anticipation that they would be part of Phase 1.

Mvula reminds the public that it’s important to continue to support local businesses during these times because local business people have been doing all they can to back the community in the past few weeks.

Alexandra Meyer, an employee at the Estevan Eye Clinic, said it was a great feeling to be open again on Monday. They’re excited to help the public and ensure people’s eyes are healthy.

In the past six weeks, they have been handling emergencies and taking inquiries about contact lenses

Scotsburn Dental Centre is once again open to the public and meeting customers’ needs. and glasses over the phone.

“There are those who can’t see without their glasses. For us, that constitutes an emergency, and if they can’t drive without contacts or glasses, then we have to be able to be there for them and be able to fit them.”

Customers have handled the past few weeks well.

The clinic will have their front doors locked to limit the number of people in the building at once. Clients can enter by appointment for contact lens pickups, if they want to

look at glasses, and they have plastic shields set up in the office.

Meyer noted the clinic has tripled their cleaning efforts, staff members are wearing personal protective equipment, and they’re trying to do as much over the phone as possible.

Full eye exams are being booked, but even those have adapted.

Phase 1 also includes the opening of golf courses on May 15. Fishing season was allowed to open on schedule on May 5.

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Improvement B&S Construction and Prairie Sky Kitchens leave customers satisfied through their efforts For more than a decade, B&S Construction in Estevan has been striving to meet its customers’ needs.

Prairie Sky Kitchens was later added to its fleet of services, adding to the services it can provide.

A full-service construction company, B&S Construction does everything from interiors to exteriors, and residential and commercial projects. The company was founded in 2007

by Joe Billesberger and his grandfather. “ Nowaday s we have a dozen guys in the field – journeymen, carpenters, labourers. We have office staff, designers and labourers,” Joe Billesberger told the Mercury.

And thanks to the presence of Prairie Sky Kitchens, they’re able to do even more.

“We have a cabinet and countertop supply store, so the difference with our store is it’s more of a hands-on approach, so when people come in, we actually design the space, not just the cabinets,” said Billesberger.

If someone goes to a box store, they’re getting

cabinets. But when they go Prairie Sky, they’re getting the full design and walkthrough. Interior renovations are included as well.

“So between both B&S and Prairie Sky, we are able to do all scopes of the construction industry,” he said.

He gets a lot of questions about what it means to be a full-service construction company. People will tell him they didn’t realize he handles as much as he does.

“O ur car penters are expected to do everything from concrete work to finish work to exterior work. That’s what they’re trained for. It’s no different than a plumber.

A plumber doesn’t just do water lines all day. He does a full scope of everything involved in plumbing.”

T h e c o m p a n y g re w steadily after it opened, and has been consistently about the same size in the past few years. The economy hasn’t allowed B&S Construction to further its growth, but they’re able to keep employees busy on a daily basis.

B&S Construction also has an office in P.E.I., which

has helped expand their business.

Billesberger believes customer service has played a big role in their success.

“We take on any sort of work. I do have some skilled carpenters and journeyman carpenters on staff; that doesn’t mean we do just bigger construction jobs. We do maintenance and repairs for businesses around town, and just try to help out as much as we can. We have a lot of flexibility for what we can offer.”

He likes the constantly evolving nature of the job.

It’s not mundane; the construction industry brings something new for him and his staff to tackle.

Winter was a quieter time for B&S Construction and Prairie Sky Kitchen.

They had to close their retail store when COVID-19 hit, and they shifted primarily to online work. Some employees were laid off for a while, but now they ’ve brought staff members back for exterior works that need to be completed, such as insurance claims and concrete work.

With restrictions now

being gradually lifted, that will help a lot, too.

Spring would normally bring such projects as a basement renovations, kitchen remodelling, exterior works such as insurance jobs, additions and new home construction.

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B&S Construction and Prairie Sky Kitchens have their office located in the 600-block of Sixth Street.

Prairie Sky Kitchens also has a location on Railway Avenue in Carlyle.

B&S Construction has been a valuable part of Estevan’s business community since 2007, completing a variety of projects in the community. Photo submitted

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Improvement Greenhouses are important at this time of year

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

There’s no denying that flowers and plants can enhance the exterior or the interior of a home.

The southeast region is blessed with a number of greenhouses that have all you need to spruce up a residence with plants and flowers, or to help out green thumbs with their gardening essentials.

The Tail-Ling Hills Farm near Bienfait is in its second year of operations.

They opened for the season on Friday.

“We had a lot of returning customers that came back, and we had a lot of new customers who heard about us through some of the advertising that we did with the Estevan Mercury,” said Murphy.

Tail-Ling Hills has a

The Tail-Ling Hills Farm near Bienfait has a variety of options to satisfy the cravings of its customers. Photo submitted

lot of annuals with single premium pots, or six-pack pots, and perennials that are coming in this weekend.

They don’t have as many trees and shrubs this year due to supply issues from COVID-19 virus, but there’s still lots of variety around the greenhouse.

When she and her husband Gerald came to the region six years ago, they noticed there wasn’t a pri-

vate greenhouse in the area.

They wanted to provide local residents with a place to purchase nice annuals and a variety of different colours that can’t be found at other stores.

“We also love flowers.

It’s something that we absolutely love doing,” said Murphy.

The first year proved to be fruitful. They received a lot of positive feedback from

Farrah Klatt is the owner and operator of North 40 Acres Greenhouse outside of Bienfait.

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customers. It was a lot of work, but they learned a lot through research and trial and error.

“We had a lot of customers who had a lot of experience that they shared with us,” said Murphy.

New for this year is the addition of pond plants. A lot of people asked them last year if Tail-Ling Hills would carry them, because there is a need. Previously people had to go to Regina or Saskatoon to get water plants.

“Our one son is really into ponds, and so we’re building him a pond in the greenhouse that we’ll be able to display our pond plants with.”

A secondary greenhouse was constructed this year in part because they were awarded the City of Estevan’s flower contract.

Also new for this year is their website, which was designed by their 14-yearold son.

Restrictions associated with COVID-19 forced Tail-ling Hills to limit how many people they have in the greenhouse at once, but people have navigated the restrictions well.

The North 40 Acres Greenhouse is another business located eight kilometres north of Bienfait and west of the 605 grid road. Now in its third year, it’s operated

by Farrah Klatt, a lifelong green thumb who worked at the Shand Greenhouse at one time.

“I wanted to start my own business here on the farm for something to do and to help out with some income on the farm,” said Klatt.

North 40’s opening day was Tuesday. Right now their emphasis is bedding plants, flowers and plants for the garden. They have pots and can handle arrangements for people. “ They can bring me their own, and I will create an arrangement for them to enjoy throughout the summer,” Klatt said.

Perennials and annuals will be sold this year. She hopes the selection can grow a little more each year.

Customers are usually pretty happy. She is always pleased to hear that they liked her product and it

grows well, or that they like the colours or the vegetables.

“I’m always interested in hearing from them as to certain things that they would like for me to carry, so I’m always trying to bring in new stuff that they’re interested in and looking for.”

The pandemic has forced North 40 to make changes. They are offering deliveries for those who can’t make it to the farm, and they have contact-free pickup. A catalogue was created for people to look through to place their orders.

This year marks a milestone for Country Garden Greenhouse in Carlyle, as it is celebrating its 20th anniversary under the ownership of Allan Thomas. His wife Sylvia said they have lots to offer customers.

“We sell annuals, vegetables, plants, perennials, shrubs, trees and some giftware,” said Sylvia Thomas.

Seed packets and seed potatoes are also available.

The giftware includes planters and pots, and in the past they’ve had jewelry.

This year they wanted to add baking and artwork, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed those plans.

Opening day for them is May 6. Thomas compared it to a wedding.

“You work up right until the moment that it happens, and then everything’s stressful. As soon as you open the doors, then a lot of the stress goes away. But you can only do so much,” she said.

They will be able to have 10 people in the store at once.

Arrows on the floors to direct traffic, a second till has been added to the greenhouse, splash guards have been added for the staff, and they have extended the hours they will be open on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

“It’s a different year for keeping people safe.”

Customers are eager to see them open. They have grown extra vegetables to meet an expected higher demand. She called her husband a guru when it comes to seeds, and she believes people who have extra time due to the pandemic are eager to explore the world of gardening or enhance their properties with some new additions.

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Improvement Estevan’s community garden getting ready for new season

4 easy ways to revitalize your home for spring Spring is the perfect time to refresh your home. Here are some easy ways to perk up any room in your house.

1. Add a bright rug.

A cheerful print will infuse new life into the surrounding space. Just be sure that it’s large enough for all the furniture in the area to rest on it.

2. Change your linens.

Curtains, bedding and towels can make a big difference in the look of a room. Swap out what you have now for bright prints and cheery colours.

abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

Saskatchewan started slowly re-opening this week, which allowed many organizations across the province to get going. The Estevan community garden also proceeded with preparations for the new gardening season.

Shayna Burrell, who is one of the gardeners, said last Saturday they started working up the beds, putting new fertilizer and rototilling the plots. While doing so they had to follow all precautionary measures related to COVID-19.

There were just a few people doing the prep work this year, and now the gardeners can come and plant their beds whenever they want to. But Burrell underlined that everybody should still keep distance and obey other rules, most of which were put in place this year. “ We have a few new rules. We are closing the bench; nobody is allowed to use that. We are closing the shed to our gardeners, so they can’t go in there and use the tools. You have to bring your own tools this year,” said Burrell.

“We are going to put up a sanitization area near the water hose because everybody has to use that. So we are going to have to sanitize it before and after we use it, and make it safe for the next person.”

Outside of pandemicrelated changes, the board members also decided to plant some rhubarb in the garden and also will put up some perennials around the sign to make the community garden look more attractive.

Also, after some vandalism occurred at the location last year, they decided to put up some security lights to try to prevent it this year.

People can come in when they want to plant.

Some gardeners usually wait until June when there is no more risk of frosts, and others may start planting potatoes as soon as they can to get a head start. Burrell said that last year she didn’t see anybody when she was planting her bed, and she assumes that people won’t have problems because everyone comes at their convenience. But even if some families come at the same time, as long as they are keeping the six-foot distance they will be fine.

LANDSCAPE YOUR YARD

Burrell pointed out that people can’t plant anything questionable like marijuana, but outside of that they are free to organize their beds the way they want to.

There are 12 gardeners this year and they using 14 out of 18 plots. If the four beds don’t fill up before the middle of May, the board already has some plans for them.

“We did get a grant for new beds, but we are not sure if we’ll be able to build them this year or if we’ll have to wait until the next year to do that,” said Burrell.

The board hopes to replace four beds with new ones using the money they received. However, if the social distance rules will still be in place, the project might be postponed until a later time.

If someone wants to join the community garden, they can get a hold of chairperson Theresa Beck at 306-4618643. The fee is $30 for the plot and people have until May 15.

Burrell added that the plot fee is used to pay for water, garbage pickup and other minor expenses they may encounter throughout the season.

4. Refresh your walls.

A fresh coat of paint can work wonders. Whether you choose a fun new colour or stick to neutrals, your home will feel brand new.

Updating your home doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. If you’re on a budget, try simply rearranging your furniture or moving some of your decor around. The space will feel new and it won’t cost you a thing.

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While a bench is taped and the garden shed won’t be open for public use, the Estevan community garden is almost ready for the gardeners. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia

By Ana Bykhovskaia

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Improvement Lampman is organizing a community garden

By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

W ith spring getting into full bloom, the itch for gardening is getting stronger and stronger. But not everyone has room and capacities to create a garden, so Lampman resident Mark Morissette decided to take matters into his own hands and reached out to the town.

“We talked about the possibility of the community garden. It will give people something to do,” said Morissette.

Fortunately, the Town of Lampman had a decent lot available that they were willing to allocate for the project.

They will have to mow it and probably bring in the dirt, but the first steps are made.

“They said, ‘If you are willing to organize everything and look after it, you are more than welcome to try to make this a go,’” recalled Morissette.

And it went from there.

Currently, Morissette is

gathering people who are willing to get a plot. By last Friday after just a couple of days promoting the idea, he had six people on the list.

“Once we have a determined list of names, if there is not enough room the town actually suggested to possibly put a second plot if there was enough interest,” said Morissette.

“So far it seems fairly positive. It gives people something to do, with everything that’s going on people will be looking into more of something to do on their own. In our case, we’d like to have our own vegetables and teach the kids a little bit about how to plant the garden and what you need to do to look after it. And then it gives somebody something to do in the evening.”

Morissette has the majority of tools needed for gardening, which he is willing to share. COVID-19 related precaution rules will be put in place once the project gets going.

“Once we do have approval and then get a final count on who is interested, what we’ll do is we’ll make up the plots and then probably set up a schedule, just so not everybody is there at once.”

The community garden will be on 307 Second Avenue in Lampman. Morissette and his neighbour already went out to the plot to check what work needs to be done and to start planning for the garden. The plot sizes and organization of the garden are to be decided yet. But the project should be a go with any number of participants.

“We’ll just utilize the space. Some people might want just a smaller plot, some might want a bigger one.”

The lot is 50 by 125 feet, so Morissette assumes it can easily be split into 1012 beds.

“It’s a big garden and we can get a lot of coverage in there.”

The town said they will have water provided for the

SPRING CLEAN UPS

community members. They will also bring the heavier equipment to till it up and get it going. Morissette will donate the garden hose and the sprinkler system.

“And then once it’s going it will be our responsibility to look after it after the fact.”

Since the initial work

will be done by the town and Morissette will help with equipment, at this point he doesn’t foresee any cost for gardeners.

“The only real cost will be just time put in by members of the community to make it successful.”

The details will become more clear in mid-May when

Spring flowers are blooming

Crocuses are one of the first flowers to appear on flowerbeds in Estevan.

Gentle and beautiful, these little inflorescences usually open up at the same time with bright purple muscari and make yards more colourful just before tulips and daffodils take their turn in celebrating the beginning of spring.

These perennials are planted in the fall and belong to the same family as shaggy purple wild pasqueflowers that can be seen in the northern fields almost as soon as all the snow is gone. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia

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Lampman is holding a town hall meeting where they will discuss the project. Morissette would like to see the garden space set around May 20 so people could start planting.

If anyone is interested in getting a plot, they can call or message Morissette at 306-461-4286.

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May 6, 2020 A11

Call volumes remain higher in 2020 for EPS members The Estevan Police Service continues to see an increase in call volumes and Criminal Code charges.

According to the monthly crime numbers released at the April 28 meeting of the Estevan board of police commissioners, officers received 690 calls for service in March, down from 710 calls in March 2019.

But the EPS had 2,145 calls in the first three months of the year, an 11 per cent increase from the 1,932 they had in the first three months of 2019.

Fourteen crimes against the person were reported in March, with 11 assaults and three sexual crimes. So far this year, there have been 36 crimes against the person, with 27 assaults, seven sexual crimes and two assaults causing bodily harm.

There were 27 crimes against the person in the first three months last year.

The EPS also had 31 crimes against property in March, with 17 thefts under $5,000, 11 mischief/willful damage calls, two residential break and enters and one theft of a motor vehicle. So far this year, there have been 91 crimes against property, with 41 mischief/willful damage complaints and 37 thefts under $5,000 leading the way.

In the first three months of 2019, there were 57 crimes against property.

Nine charges were laid under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act (CDSA) in March, with five for trafficking and four

for possession. Fifteen charges were laid in the first three months of the year, including eight for trafficking and seven for possession.

Last year there were five CDSA charges in the first three months of the year.

The EPS had 11 Criminal Code Traffic Violations in March with six for impaired or exceeding related offences, four impaired by drug and one for dangerous driving or other.

In the first three months of the year, there were 32 charges, with 25 for impaired or exceed related offences, six for impairment by drug and one for dangerous driving or other.

Last year saw 24 such charges in the first three months.

While the EPS has had a lot of lowpriority calls and traffic infractions so far this year, the number of low-priority calls is down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Right now members have been directed to certainly enforce traffic stops, for example, but not minor traffic violations.

That has changed just recently, but under the early stage of this, with the close contact restrictions and so forth being in place, they certainly weren’t encouraged to go stop vehicles just at random,” said Police Chief Paul Ladouceur.

• • • The monthly report for Spec. Const.

Morgan Prentice, the city’s bylaw officer, shows that she had 181 infractions and oc-

currences in March. The vast majority of them were unkempt property inspections (87) and parking violations (62). She also had 18 animal calls.

Ladouceur said Prentice is doing a great job and is out in the community, so much so that the EPS is getting complaint calls about her work.

“Most of the complaints are in relation to her simply enforcing the bylaws. You can’t have it both ways. I was speaking with the mayor on this issue earlier as well, and ultimately I think there’s been a little bit of a relaxation on some of the enforcement with who we had in the position.”

• • • The police chief also addressed the recent shooting rampage in rural Nova Scotia that left 22 people dead. He pointed out this is a reminder that such an incident can happen at any time or anywhere.

“Often times we see that the police are at the forefront when lives are lost, but I think any life is as important to another,” said Ladouceur.

He also thanked the police board for their support to help prepare members for potential incidents that may arise, by providing them with the necessary equipment and by creating special sections.

“It’s incidents like this that remind us of the importance of having insurance,” said Ladouceur.

Police Chief Paul Ladouceur If something were to happen, Ladouceur believes the EPS is prepared thanks to the support from the police board and the community.

Estevan is getting ready for a Saturday cruise night

By Ana Bykhovskaia

abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

Cruise nights are an old and fun sweet tradition, which are becoming more and more popular during the age of self-isolation. But with

a recent negative example in Carievale, other communities considering the activity now have to think twice about calling for one.

On the other hand, a positive example of a recently held Oxbow cruise night

suggests that if rules are in place and communities remain responsible, it can be a great way to shake things up and support local restaurants.

So the Estevan community also put the word out to have a cruise night on May 9.

20052ll0

Chelsea Choma, who created the event on Facebook, set 6 p.m. as average start time, however, she underlined that she expects people to just go for a drive at any time and ensure that while having fun, everyone

20052ss0

LOCAL MATTERS.

is still following all of the health regulations.

“There’s no real event or meet time or anything like that, as you can’t have gatherings with today’s public health rules. I just wanted to encourage people to get out of their houses for an evening and support our local businesses in town,” said Choma.

She added that she isn’t really organizing anything, but just suggested that a cruise night is a great way to cheer everybody up during these trying times. She personally plans to go for a drive that evening and pick up supper for the family.

Choma hopes that others will also support the initiative and enjoy time with their families in their city.

“If you live in or close to town, on Saturday evening why not break out of the house, fill up the car with gas, give her a wash, get some take-out and go cruise the loop of Estevan and support our local businesses in town,” said Choma on the event page.

She also underlined that first of all everyone par-

ticipating should remember about the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s regulations.

“I am not condoning any gatherings or breaking of public health orders. Please abide by social distancing rules and gatherings of no more than 10. This is purely an idea to have people get out of their houses and support the local businesses; there is no actual start time or meeting place,” said Choma.

With many local restaurants currently offering a take-out option, Estevan shouldn’t experience any problems with people all coming to one place, and the night can become a great experience for the younger generation, who probably completely missed out on the times of cruise nights.

Besides, coming together while staying apart in this manner will still help people who might be stressed due to the current situation.

“We can’t live in fear, people still need to get out and enjoy themselves for their mental health,” said Choma.

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Fire safety measures have to be maintained were utilizing fire lanes for these curbside pickups,” said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser.

“This is definitely frowned upon, as we want to make sure that the fire lanes are open when an emergency occurs so the emergency (crews) can park there.”

The fire chief reminded the public that regardless of the pandemic, people have to observe all local bylaws, fire and building quotas, and fire lanes have to be left open at all times.

Another problem posing a threat to the public's safety that has recently occurred due to the

By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

The Este van F ire Rescue Service recently received a few calls from the bylaw officer, who informed them about issues appearing because of the COVID-19 pandemic and affecting the fire safety in the city.

The first problem arose that due to the current pandemic, many restaurants and stores turned to the curbside pickup option.

“It was brought to our attention that a lot of people, whether by grocery stores or by restaurants,

pandemic became obvious when firefighters were responding to fire alarms going off in apartment or condominium complexes.

“We noted that there are a lot of fire-rated separation doors that were propped open, the emergency exit stairwells,” said Feser.

The building operators explained that they took that measure because of the pandemic to limit the number of people touching door handles and surfaces.

“We do sympathize with that, however, these fire-rated separating doors are there for a reason, for the safety of the occupants. So in the

event of an emergency, it prevents smoke and flame from migrating into the exit stairwells. That way the occupants of the building can safely exit the building,” said Feser.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, these doors must remain closed at all times for the safety of the occupants.

Feser suggested that people can either install electromagnetic hold-open devices tight into firealarm panel systems or wrap up the cleaning process on the surfaces that are being touched.

But the fire safety measures should be followed at all times.

Fire Chief Dale Feser

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May 6, 2020 A13

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Souris Valley Theatre cancels season for 2020

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

One of Estevan’s top summer tourist attractions has announced that it won’t be

operating this year.

The Souris Valley Theatre’s board of directors voted Thursday night to cancel the 2020 season, including their main-stage production and

their children’s summer theatre camps.

Ranchers & Rustlers 2 was slated to be performed from July 6-24. The sequel to the musical that was staged at

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the theatre’s Frehlick Hall last year, this would have been the first time Ranchers & Rustlers 2 has been in Estevan in many years.

Last year Ranchers and Rustlers was brought back to Estevan after a lengthy absence, and proved to be a hit, attracting more than 200 people on several occasions.

Last year’s success made it even more difficult to cancel this year’s season.

“We had such a fantastic year last year. We had the best numbers we’ve seen since before our shutdown from the flooding of 2011, and … this year, had so much work put into it.”

The theatre was ahead of schedule for this year, as the crew and some cast members were already lined up. But given the uncertainty associated with COVID-19, they couldn’t guarantee there would be a season.

Frehlick Hall accommodates close to 300 people, and it’s unlikely crowds of that size will be permitted come July.

The building’s intimate setting would violate social distancing rules.

The need to line up a cast now meant they couldn’t play the waiting game, either.

“The cast members we bring in, they’re professionals, and they work tight schedules, and although their schedules have obviously seen a lot of change, we work with people who work in film and TV that

is still seeing some work right now,” said Godfrey.

They also have contracts that require certain timelines well in advance of the actual shows.

Ranchers & Rustlers 2 was the only show booked for this year. For the second straight year, the theatre was going to have just the one main-stage production, but they were working on a couple of drop-in acts that would be performed for a couple of nights, but nothing was confirmed.

“Right as we were looking into it, that’s when everything shut down because of COVID-19,” said Godfrey.

As for the summer theatre camps, they decided not to have them this year because of uncertainty with the facility, and whether they will have access to the washrooms as normal. The theatre will instead focus on upgrading their facilities, such as Frehlick Hall, which is nearly 20 years old.

“We have plans for the roof of the facility. We’re also going to be taking on the deep-cleaning project repairs throughout the facility. And so with all of this going on, there would be times in which the facility wouldn’t be usable for any guests we would have or any students.”

The theatre also wouldn’t be able to draw on the skills of their performers for the camps, which happen over the course of several weeks, and

are divided based on ages. Last year the theatre’s performers were heavily involved in the community and active in the summer theatre camps.

Godfrey was quick to point out the summer students who looked after the camps last year did an “incredible” job, too.

If the COVID-19 situation improved dramatically in the next few weeks, and the crowd restrictions are lifted, Godfrey said they would look at possibly having a shortterm performance later in the summer.

“Those short-term shows don’t rehearse at our facilities, so we don’t have to have as much notice in preparing those, so that’s an option.”

They would also look at having a show at another venue in the community if it happens outside of the season when they could use the hall.

It could be a drop-in show, a main-stage show or a hybrid performance that includes community people and professional actors.

The board is going to continue meeting regularly, he said, and they will discuss their options at their annual general meeting on Thursday night.

“We had such an amazing year last year, and we want to be able to build on that again.

When things change and everything starts running normally again, the public, we’re all going to want to get out and enjoy some entertainment.”

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Energy

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

A15

Saskatchewan Oil companies trying to stay positive amid pandemic and historic oil price lows

By Jordan Stricker Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Oil and gas companies around the globe could not have braced for what is now a reality for many. Between historic lows for oil prices, going as far as hitting the minus, along with a worldwide pandemic, companies are trying to stay positive and hope for better days ahead.

Warren Waldegger has been in the oil and gas industry for over 25 years.

Experiencing the many ups and downs the industry has brought over the years, he said no one could plan for what has become of the industry.

“I don’t know if anybody could anticipate the full lockdown scenarios that have played out here. I don’t think anybody could have planned for that,” said Waldegger.

Currently, Waldegger is the president and CEO of Fire Sky Energy, a private oil producer company that has been operating in Saskatchewan since 2010.

“It’s difficult. We have had to take some early steps to reduce costs. There is definitely a lot of changes that have had to take place,” said Waldegger.

“There are two things happening. You have COVID-19 causing a restricted work environment and you have an oil price collapse.

We were hit with a double

whammy trying to deal with both,” he added.

Waldegger said Fire Sky was deemed an essential service which has helped the company continue on. The price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia that initially tanked the oil prices and the demand destruction due to COVID-19 have brought on unique challenges for the industry.

“Q uite a few things have happened all at once that have resulted in some unprecedented volatility,” said Waldegger.

“Even some negative pricing. I have never seen that before,” he added.

Waldegger is referring to the market on April 21, when for the first time, oil prices were trading at negative numbers. The price for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate oil fell as low as minus-$37.63.

Waldegger said that prices are set on a monthly average, so the index price is a collection of all the trades that happened during the given month.

“When it goes negative on one day, it’s not necessarily what you are getting paid for that month but it obviously has a fairly detrimental impact on the price average for the month,” said Waldegger.

He added the federal government’s approach with the emergency wage subsidy will be helpful to businesses but other than that he feels the oil and gas industry has

Warren Waldegger been left behind.

“I think the feds are trying to stick to their environmental talking points and basically ignoring the significant liquidity issue that is happening in the industry,” said Waldegger.

“I don’t think that is going to be solved by a well abandonment commitment.

I think those have fairly minimal impacts on job creation and job sustainability in our industry,” he added.

Waldegger said Saskatchewan should look after itself going forward when it comes to relying on the federal government for getting

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the industry back on track.

“I don’t think we can sit back and wait for the feds. I think it is quite obvious the feds are not going to help us or our industr y,” said Waldegger.

“The province needs to do what is right for this industry within the province,” he added.

Waldegger said while he personally is an optimistic person, it has become difficult to remain optimistic amid all of the abovementioned issues, on top of the regulations and constant taxation the industry was seeing even before the pandemic and price war.

“We are going to see skilled people leave this industry for good and that is a major concern. That is one of our advantages here in Saskatchewan is having a very skilled and proud workforce,” said Waldegger.

“It is very difficult when you are asked to sit home and you can’t do your job,” he added.

Waldegger said he and his company have taken steps to try and protect his

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great country. In our sphere of influence, we are trying to make sure everyone stays as positive as possible,” said Waldegger.

“There are better times ahead. I don’t think demand is going away, it is on hold though,” he added.

This high profile auction will be accomplished with no public gatherings and respecting the safety for all involved.

CLIENTS NET WORTH”

Senior Mutual Fund Advisor, Manulife Securities Investment Services Inc Life Insurance Representative, Spectra Financial

team and remain optimistic through the difficult times the industry is in.

He added while there is no end date as of yet, there will be an end at some point.

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. We have a great province and a

CRANES & TRUCKING

All types of hoisting-tip heights to 350’ 15 – 245 Ton Mobile & R.T. Cranes 27 – 45 Ton Pickers 15 Ton Carrydeck - 3.2 Ton Mini Crawler Tractor Trailer Units Pile Drivers, Telehandler Office Trailer Rentals Manbaskets & Concrete Buckets

CORY CASEMORE Life Insurance Representative, Spectra financial

Phone: (306)634-7979 403B 9th Avenue, Estevan, SK S4A 2V4 INFO@SPECTRAFINANCIAL.CA • WWW.SPECTRAFINANCIAL.CA

Authorized Sales & Service & Warranty Centre for:

Professional, Independent, and Confidential Services. *Insurance Offered Through Spectra Financial Inc

Manulife, Manulife & Stylized M Design, Stylized M Design and Manulife Securities are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its affiliates under license. Manulife Securities Investment Services Inc. is a Member MFDA IPC. Insurance products and services may be offered to you through companies other than Manulife Securities Insurance Inc. Please be sure that you have a clear understanding of which company you are dealing with for each of your services and products.

Troye Carson • 306-421-3603

tcarsonsafety@sasktel.net

Frontier Place, Estevan

Preston Majeran • 306-421-6609 pmajeransafety@sasktel.net

www.skyliftservices.com

Highway 361 West (South Yard), P.O. Box 518, Lampman, SK, S0C 1N0

THE ESTEVAN MERCURY DRILLING REPORT We specialize in moving drilling rigs and other oil rig related equipment.

Carnduff, SK

306-482-3244

www.fasttruckingservice.com MOVING THE OIL & GAS INDUSTRY IN SASKATCHEWAN

Drilling Licenses No new licenses issued to Monday, May 4

Rig Report No rig activity to report.

306-634-5555

Midale

• Souris Valley Pipeline Limited operates a High Pressure Carbon Dioxide Pipeline in Southeast Saskatchewan, a component of the gas is Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S).

• As a member of Sask 1st Call, Souris Valley Pipeline would like to remind you to call Sask 1st Call at 1-866-828-4888.

• Statistics show that a significant cause of pipeline ruptures is due to third party damage.

For pipeline safety concerns or emergencies call toll free 1-866-PIPELINE (1-866-747-3546) Before excavating call Sask 1st Call at 1-866-828-4888 for a free locate. www.sask1stcall.com

SOURIS VALLEY PIPELINE LTD. 24 HOUR PHONE SERVICE 1-866-747-3546

SOURIS VALLEY PIPELINE LIMITED 617 Government Road S Weyburn, SK S4H 2B3 Phone: 306-848-0206 Fax: 306-848-0293

www.estevanmercury.ca

A16 May 6, 2020 City Hall: 1102 4th Street 8 am to 4:30 pm | (306) 634-1800 Leisure Office: 701 Souris Avenue 8 am to 4:30 pm | (306) 634-1880

Message From

The Mayor

We are happy to offer free landfill for the Operation Clean Sweep.

Unfortunately due to social distancing the City wide pick up will not be until fall.

Please take advantage of this service to help make our City a cleaner place.

FLUSHING PROGRAM Beginning Monday April 6,2020,and continuing to Friday, June 26,2020, the Water and wastewater Division will be carrying out Sanitary Sewer Main Flushing and Storm sewer Flushing, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. During the periods of jetting, residents and businesses are advised to securely cap basement floor drains. You may smell an odor in your home, this can be resolved by simply opening windows for a short period of time and running water to ensure all traps are full of water. Storm sewer will have no effect on homes and business’.

2020 Program Area will encompass all streets North of 6th Street, and west of Souris Ave within City limits including: Morsky Drive Larter Road MacCready Bay Tedford Way Matte Court Jesse Bay Wellock Road Irvine Crescent Dieppe Crescent Victory Road Gibbs Road Mayfair Drive Mayfair Bay Cardinal Avenue

Barabash Bay Taisey Crescent Newcombe Drive Nicholson Road Wahlmeier Drive Boyer Avenue Mack Place Mather Crescent Dyer Road Pettigrew Road McCormick Crescent Grundeen Crescent Thorn Crescent Sinclair Bay

Hill Avenue Veterans Avenue Veterans Crescent Veterans Bay Kohaly Avenue Lynd Crescent Hudson Road Hillcrest Drive Hillcrest Bay Woodend Place Cundall Drive King Street Chinook Bay

UTILITIES AND TAXES DURING COVID 19 PANDEMIC

The City of Estevan will be hosting an altered Operation Clean Sweep this Spring. A Free Landfill Weekend on May 15 through May 18, will be the sole opportunity for the Clean Sweep this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Typically, Operation Clean Sweep is a week-long event that has City Crews and residents cleaning up and disposing of refuse. City crews clean in entrances and outlying areas of the City, pick up organic waste material from yard fronts and offer a free landfill weekend.

New this year, a Househouse Hazardous Waste Drop off Day was slated – a partnership with Green for Life Environmental. All but that Free Landfill weekend will be postponed.

“Many residents are doing projects in their homes and yards, and we want to ensure that the Free Landfill Weekend can still happen, but with restrictions that are mandated by the Provincial Government at the forefront,” shared Norm Mack, Roads and Drainage Manager. “A new date will be announced when restrictions are lifted, and it is safe to hold the other opportunities.”

May 15th – 18th – FREE LANDFILL WEEKEND applies to the City of Estevan residents and their residential waste only. Commercial waste will be accepted for regular tipping fees.

Freon appliances are not included. No hazardous waste material will be accepted. Friday, 8am – 8pm, Saturday 9am – 6pm, Sunday 9am – 6pm, Monday 8am – 8pm.

If you would like more information or have any questions, please City Hall at 306-6341800.

2020 WATERMAIN FLUSHING SCHEDULE

To offer assistance and best service to citizens experiencing the effects of the economic impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City is committed to providing increased flexibility and immediate short-term relief for your utility and property tax payments through the following: UTILITY SERVICES: The City will continue to bill for utility services as normal. However, to best serve the City’s customers in these extraordinary times, the City has made the following changes to current utility collections activities: Utility disconnections due to arrears will be suspended until September 1, 2020; Late payment charges will be suspended on all utility accounts until September 1, 2020; and We will continue to generate utility bills, reminders and other related notices for customers who are in arrears to keep them informed of their current situation.

These measures are aimed at providing financial relief for customers who may not be able to afford to pay their bills on time. By suspending late payment charges, utility customers will have the option to delay bill payments without putting themselves in additional financial hardship. However, civic staff will continue to work with the City’s utility customers regarding payment arrangements so as not to leave them in a difficult financial situation in the future.

Delaying disconnections will help ensure that all homes have access to water, allowing for proper hand-washing and personal hygiene.

PROPERTY TAX: Your 2020 Property Tax notice will be delivered by the end of June, 2020.

To offer assistance and best service to citizens experiencing the effects of the economic impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City is committed to providing increased flexibility and immediate short-term relief for your 2020 Property Tax payment.

On your notice, your 2020 Property Tax due date will still show as July 31, 2020.

HOWEVER: The City is extending a two-month grace period to provide you with additional time to pay your 2020 Property Tax. You will not incur any late payment penalties on your 2020 Property Tax if you pay the full amount due by September 30, 2020.

We would like to answer your property tax-related questions. We understand and will work with you.

The City of Estevan will be flushing watermains to ensure good water quality for all users of City water. This work includes the turning of main water valves around the City, and flushing large quantities of water from various hydrants in each area. During this process you may notice a substantial drop in pressure, this will be brief. As well, discoloured water is possible during the days your area is scheduled for this work (see schedule below), please run a faucet for a few minutes until the water is clear again. Please contact City Hall at 634-1800 if issues persist. Thank you for your understanding during this important maintenance!

(1) Thursday, and Friday- May 28 and May 29 Area bounded by Perkins Street and Luscar Park on the North, Water Treatment Plant on the South, Woodlawn Ave on the West, and Hwy 47S Service Road on the East (Includes Luscar Park, City of Estevan Public Works yards, and businesses on Hwy 47S Service Road) (2) Monday – Friday- June 1-5 Area bounded by 6th Street on the North, Valley Street, 1st Street, and Westview Place on the South, Alice Road and Woodlawn Avenue on the West, and Souris Avenue on the East (includes Westview, Central, and downtown regions) (3 Monday- Friday June 8-12 Area bounded by 6th street on the North, McDonald Road and Perkins Street on the South, Souris Avenue on the West, and Kensington Ave on the East (includes the Eastend, Bay Meadows, and Valley view regions, and Jubilee Place) (4) Monday –Friday June 15-19 Area Bounded by City Cemetery on the North, King Street on the South, Sister Roddy Road on the West (formerly Woodlawn Avenue), and Souris Road (Hwy 47N) on the East (includes Dominion Heights, Pleasantdale, and Royal Heights regions, as well as Cundall Drive, Woodend Place, Chinook Bay and Hwy 47N Service Road) (5) Monday – Friday June 29-July 3 Area bounded by Spruce Drive and Princess Street on the North, King Street on the South, Souris Avenue on the West, and Kensington on the East (includes Hillside and Scotsburn regions) (6) Monday -Friday July 6-10 Area bounded by King Street on the North, CPR Railroad on the South, 14th Ave on the West, and Kensington on the East (includes 7th Street, 8th Street, 9th Street, Centennial, Trojan, and Soo Industrial regions) (7) Monday- Friday July 13-17 Area bounded by Kensington on the West, Sawyer Road on the East, North and South City Limits (includes Glen Peterson Industrial Park, East Industrial, Southeast Industrial regions, and properties along Hwy 39E Service Road)

Message from the Coal Transition Coordinator: We are all facing challenges with the pending closure of Boundary Dam units 4 and 5. Power production jobs, as well as coal mining jobs, will be affected. It’s our community responsibility to ensure we come out of this in a positive way, and although we continue to advocate for the use of clean coal, we need to pull together and solve the uncertainty of our future.

During my first weeks as Coal Transition Coordinator in Estevan, I have heard from folks who have some really good ideas. I have also been reviewing lists of communitygenerated opportunities that have been provided to me by colleagues. These ideas and opportunities are aimed at moving our community forward through this transition, but more approaches are needed.

We have been working closely with the Economic Development Department, City staff, Chamber of Commerce as well both Federal and Provincial governments in an attempt to secure new business opportunities that will strengthen our ability to grow and attract new business ventures in Estevan. At the same time, we want to keep our citizens at home shopping local at our current businesses while we find new ways to draw shoppers and families from outside our community, into Estevan.

We need to ask ourselves, “what do we have in Estevan that makes our city great?” and “what things in our community need to be fixed?”

If you have any suggestions that could possibly help our cause, we want to hear from you – and there’s no bad ideas. All submissions will be held in the strictest confidence. In the coming months, we will also be talking to local businesses, but most importantly, we want to hear from you.

We all want to remain positive and keep Estevan moving forward – and together, we will succeed.

Please send me your ideas.

Rick Sadick Coal Transition Coordinator, City of Estevan r.sadick@estevan.ca - 306-634-1843

Classifieds

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

A17

In MeMorIaM

Mobile/ Manufactured

Brooke Duckarmie May 1,1996 - September 5,2010 Happy 24th birthday in Heaven Brookie!

Miss you everyday Love you forever Gramma Doreen

YELLOW HEAD MODULAR HOME SALES

Brooke Duckarmie May 1, 1996 - September 5, 2010 Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl I know you will have The most beautiful day in Heaven I love you and miss you Brookie Mom XOXOXO

Stock homes Ready for Delivery!

Personal Messages Widow 60’s. If you are a MAN of faith, integrity, hardworking, 62 72; good mental, physical health.

Respond Box 432 MAIN Grande Prairie, AB. T8V 4Z2

306-496-7538 Yorkton, SK New sales lot in Lloydminster, AB. Call 780-872-2728

Farm ServiceS

HIP/KNEE Replacement?

FORAGE SEED FOR SALE: Organic & conventional: Sweet Clover, Alfalfa, Red Clover, Smooth Brome, Meadow Brome, Crested Wheatgrass, Timothy, etc.

Star City, SK. Birch Rose Acres Ltd. 306-921-9942.

LAND FOR SALE

Other medical conditions causing TROUBLE WALKING or DRESSING? The Disability Tax Credit allows for $2,500 yearly tax credit and $20,000 Lump sum refund.

Take advantage of this offer.

Feed & Seed

Apply NOW; quickest refund Nationwide!

Expert Help:

1-844-453-5372 Notice to creditors PROVINCE-WIDE CLASSIFIEDS. Reach over 550,000 readers weekly. Call this newspaper NOW or 306-649.1405 for details.

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Obituaries Otillia (Fichter) Gervais

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Otillia (Fichter) Gervais passed away at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Estevan, SK on March 28, 2020 at the age of 93 years. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, her family was unable to be by her side but visited her window daily while speaking to her on the phone. She sent hugs to her family by crossing her arms and threw kisses to them at each visit.

Otillia was born in the Estevan district at Sec. 32, Tp 3, Rge 7, W2nd, Saskatchewan. She attended Albany School about 1.5 miles from home. In the summer they walked to school and in the winter they went by horse and sleigh. At 15 years old she worked for George Simpson as a hired girl milking cows, feeding pigs, gathering eggs, washing clothes, and doing house work while going to school. She earned $5.00/month, which she took home to her parents. She then worked for one year at Elmer Chapman’s IGA just prior to marrying the love of her life, Edward Gervais in October of 1949.

Edward and Otillia farmed in the Hitchcock area and Otillia drove the grain truck for Edward taking Gary, Dwayne and Darryl with her. They had dinners in the field on a blanket and at night she had to leave boys in the house while she went out and milked the cows.

In 1963, Edward and Otillia moved to Estevan and Edward worked for the City of Estevan until 1964 when he lost half his foot in a sand spreader. Mom raised seven children and had as many as five or six roomers and borders to help make ends meet while dad was in the hospital and recuperating.

Edward and Otillia purchased a small convenience store, Avenue News, where mom worked for three or four years, until they sold it on October 31, 1971. In November, 1971 mom began working in dietary at St. Joseph’s Hospital, where she worked for the next five years. After Edward passed away, O|tillia stayed in her house for a few years, then moved to a condo to make life easier and finally enjoyed the last few years of her life at Creighton Lodge doing the things she loved: socializing, playing cards with family and friends, doing puzzles, and playing games on her laptop and then IPad. Otillia was a very hard worker, loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother and great, great grandmother.

Otillia will be missed by her children: Gary (Patricia) Gervais of Sorento, BC, Dwayne (Vickie) Gervais of Estevan, SK, Darryl (Pat) Gervais of Estevan, SK, Dennis (Karen) Gervais of Bienfait, SK, Mark (Leona) Gervais of Hitchcock, SK, Marvin (Annette) Gervais of Ponoka, AB, and her grandchildren Lyle (Colleen) Scammel, Collin (Kim) Gervais, Clinton (Jody) Gervais, Natalie (Brad) Gervais, Wanita (Allen) Honan, Shane Gervais, Nicole (Mark) Gervais. Missy (Brian) Lemky, Ryan (Melissa) Rand, Venessa (Darcey) Poole, Aaron (Lisa) Gervais, Chantelle (Tyler) Gervais, Jade (Mike) Grose, Edward J (Felicity) Gervais, Colton (Rebecca) Gervais, as well as numerous great grandchildren, two great, great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Many memories will be cherished by Otillia’s sisters, Wilhelmine Ruder, Phyllis (Ray) Phillips; sisters-in-law, Jean Dukart, Mae Breeze, Cecile Friess, Annette (Selby) Porter, Rita Brailsford, Elaine Thomas, and Linda (Harry) Moroz and brother-in-law Arno Schierle.

Otillia was predeceased by her husband, Edward Gervais; parents Sigmond and Rose (Bueller) Fichter; parents-in-law, Morris and Gertrude Gervais; sisters, Pauline Wock, Matilda Monteyne; Monica Schierle; brothers, Frank Fichter, Martin Fichter; sisters-in-law, Rose Fichter, Irene Fichter, Louise Frank, Gloria Mitchell, Adele Gervais; brothers-in-law, Martin Wock, Charlie Monteyne, Eugene Ruder, Victor Gervais, John Dukart, Adam Frank, Raegh Breeze, Ray Mitchell, Leo Gervais, George Friess, Jim Brailsford, and Cliff Thomas.

A special thank you to Dr. Cormier, the nurses of St. Joseph’s Hospital Unit A and Long Term, and to Shelley and the staff at Creighton Lodge for the special care and kindness they showed our mother, Otillia.

Due to the pandemic situation, a celebration of life of Otillia will be held at a later date. Those so wishing may make donations in memory of Otillia to the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation, 1176 Nicholson Rd., Estevan, SK S4A 0H3 Wendy Lesy 1962 - 2020

Career OppOrtunities Heavy Duty Mechanics, Heavy Equipment Operators and 1A Drivers required: Late model, clean CAT, JD equip: winch, dump, gravel trucks and trailers. Both camp and shop locations; R & B provided.

Wage negotiable.

Clean drivers abstract a must.

Send resume and work references to: Bryden Construction Box 100, Arborfield, Sk. S0E 0A0; Fax: 306-769-8844 Email: brydenconstruct@ xplornet.ca www. brydenconstruction andtransport.ca

Notices / NomiNatioNs Advertisements 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.

With the heaviest of hearts, the family of Wendy Marie Lesy announces her passing at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Estevan, Sask. on Sunday, April 26, 2020 at the age of 57 years.

Wendy’s memory will be forever cherished by her son Chris (Jenna) Lesy of Estevan and children: Slade, Bodhi and Liv; her daughter Kaila (Justin) Thomson of Estevan and children: Nina, Astrid, Imogen and Tilda. She will also be lovingly remembered by her siblings: Vivian (Greg) Walliser of Estevan, Mel (Irene) Murray of Estevan, Tammy (Lloyd) Dobrescu of Moose Jaw, Sask. and Michael (Angela) Murray of Barcelona, Spain; her brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Don Robinson of Edmonton, Alta., Randy Dyck of Estevan, Ron (Wendy) Lesy of Airdrie, Alta., Ken (Joan) Lesy of Edmonton, Alta., Valerie (Dwight) Hall of Estevan, Dwayne (Betty) Lesy of Edmonton, Velda (Raymond) Girard of Oxbow, Sask. and Lyle (Leslie) Lesy of Airdrie, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her husband Brian Lesy; parents: Douglas & Mary Murray; sisters: Agnes Robinson of Edmonton and Brenda Dyck of Estevan; father-in-law and mother-in-law: Albert and Marion Lesy.

In keeping with Wendy’s wishes, cremation has taken place and a graveside service will be held in her honour once the restrictions on gatherings are lifted.

In lieu of flowers, Wendy’s family would appreciate donations in her name to the Canadian Cancer Society, 1910 McIntyre Street, Regina, Sask., S4P 2R3 or online at cancer.ca Hall Funeral Services in Estevan is caring for Wendy’s family - Dustin Hall, Funeral Director.

Calvin William Richard Schlamp 1946 – 2020 With heavy hearts, the family wishes to announce that Calvin Schlamp, late of Bienfait, Sk passed away at the Regina General Hospital on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at the age of 73 years.

Calvin was predeceased by his parents, Peter and Ethel Schlamp and siblings, Albert, Clarence, Clifferd, Jean and Cynthia.

Calvin will be greatly missed by his loving wife of 53 years, Esther and their sons, Grant (Sonya) and their family Mariah, Tanner, Logan and Summer, Mark (Elaine) and their family, Jonah, Jenna and Jared and Michael (Kate Smith); and great grandchildren Madeleine, Jack and Alexis. Calvin is also survived by brothers, Kenneth, Larry and Mervin. Fond memories will be cherished by Calvin’s numerous extended family and friends.

Due to restrictions placed on us by the Covid-19 Pandemic, a Private Family Graveside service will be held at the Bienfait Cemetery.

Those so wishing may make donations in memory of Calvin to the Broken Arrow Youth Ranch, Box 44, Wood Mountain, SK S0H 4L0.

Deb Heidinger with Hall Funeral Services, Estevan is assisting the Schlamp family.

BUSINESS SERVICES LEGAL Barristers & Solicitors

Paul Elash Q.C. Aaron Ludwig, B.Sc., LL.B. Genevieve Schrader, B. Mgt., J.D. Gainsborough: Thursday a.m.

Carnduff: Thursday p.m.

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A18 May 6, 2020

www.estevanmercury.ca Obituaries Jean Wilson

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Jean Wilson at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Estevan, SK with her daughter by her side on April 17, 2020.

Jean was predeceased by her husband Howard Wilson; daughter Joyce Moroz; sisters, Peggy (Doug) Crate, Frances (Norm) Johnson and Ruth Lees; grandson David Gervais; son-in-law Don L. Holinaty; brother-in-law Henry Hiebert and sister-in-law Vera Hodgens.

Jean’s memory will be forever remembered by her daughters, June (Richard) Gervais, Beth (Ron) Gervais, Bev Holinaty, Helen Murfitt, Patsy (Orlie) Caan, Reta (Bob) Scott and Pat Wilson; sister Amy Hiebert; brother-in-law John Lees; as well as numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Jean will also be deeply missed by her extended family, Shirley Peterson and Wendy Horrocks as well as several others who called her mom or grandma.

There will be a private family graveside held at Souris Valley Memorial Gardens, Estevan, SK. It was Jean’s request that there be no flowers. Please consider giving a memorial donation to Creighton Lodge, 1028 Hillcrest Drive, Estevan, SK, S4A 1Y7 in memory of Jean.

The family would like to thank Dr. Babkis and nurses on Unit A for all the excellent care to their mother Jean. Thank you to Yvonne Clark, Dustin Hall and the staff at Hall Funeral Services. Thank you to all those for their prayers, phone calls, food and words of encouragement at this difficult time.

Yvonne Clark at Hall Funeral Services, Estevan is assisting Jean’s family.

Police release name of alleged impaired driver The Estevan Police Service (EPS) has released the name of a motorist recently charged for allegedly driving while impaired.

Nicholas Thauberger, 36, of Estevan, was charged April 19 with operating a conveyance while impaired and operating a conveyance with a blood alcohol content exceeding .08.

The charges have not been proven in court.

• • • Several local police agencies in the southeast are seeking the public’s assistance with recent incidents.

Members of the Estevan Fire Rescue Service and the EPS were dispatched to a dumpster fire at the corner of Sixth Street and Souris Avenue South just before 10 p.m. on April 27.

Upon arrival, contents of one dumpster were fully engulfed in flames. The fire was extinguished very quickly by the fire department and it did not spread to the other neighbouring dumpsters.

Police are investigating and are asking for assistance.

Officers believe the fire was deliberately set, and the EPS would love to see the suspects turn themselves into police to deal with the incident.

There were no injuries and there was little risk to other property.

If you have information related to this advisory, please call the Estevan Police Service at 306-634-4767.

The Carlyle RCMP is seeking the public’s assistance with a couple of incidents.

On April 20 at approximately 4 p.m., an officer with the Carlyle RCMP was travelling on Highway 48 near Wawota. The officer was heading westbound and encountered a blue Ford Fusion travelling eastbound at 195 kilometres per hour. The officer activated emergency equipment, but the suspect vehicle failed to stop for police.

The other incident earlier in the spring near Manor on March 28.

A group of approximately 12-14 all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) travelled on private property north of the village near Highway 603 and range road 2014.

The ATVs were on the property without the permission of the land owner. None of the ATV operators were identified. The property owner is concerned that the ATVs may cause damage or scare livestock.

Furthermore, the property owner is concerned that an ATV rider may get hurt while riding on the land.

If you have any information about the dangerous driving complaint or the ATVs, please call 310-RCMP, the Carlyle RCMP at 306-453-6707 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. The Carnduff RCMP is seeking the public’s assistance with suspicious individuals spotted in the community.

At approximately 12:30 a.m. on April 30, two males were observed to be loitering around and engaged in suspicious activity on Second Street West in the town.

The presence and activity of the individuals was observed and promptly reported.

“The Carnduff RCMP wishes to highlight and commend the concerned community member who recognized and reported the suspicious behaviour. This is a demonstration of looking out for ourselves while valuing the integrity of our neighbours and community,” the RCMP said.

If you have information related to this advisory please call 310-RCMP or Crime Stoppers.

The Fillmore RCMP Detachment is investigating a break and enter that occurred in Stoughton and is asking for public’s assistance.

During the early morning hours of April 29, an individual broke into the Town of Stoughton shop building and the RM of Tecumseh office building.

This is believed to have happened between 2:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.

Anyone with information or anyone who saw a suspicious person or vehicle in the town during those times is asked to call the Fillmore RCMP at 310-RCMP.

Karaoke nights with Robert Godfrey have been a big hit Robert Godfrey wants to do his part to keep people entertained during the days of COVID-19.

Godfrey was a regular on the stage for karaoke night at Gibby ’s Pub on Thursdays for a couple of months, but thanks to the pandemic, he can’t showcase his singing and dancing skills for the public.

So he came up with the idea for Kuarantine Karaoke.

“I was talking to a couple of my friends on the phone, and I said ‘If there’s one thing that’s really getting to me in all of this isolation, it’s that I can’t get out and do karaoke,’” he told the Mercury.

It was a brief discussion, but after the conversation was over, he wanted to try something new. So he assembled a studio in his basement, and played five of his go-to karaoke songs in what he thought would be a one-off performance.

“Whether people like it or hate it, I’ll know that I had fun doing it.”

He posted it around midnight and woke up the next morning to see a fabulous response to the video that he shared. People who weren’t his friends or that he barely knows were liking and sharing the video. More than 800 people have viewed that first show.

“I saw all of the people who say it gave something to enjoy in these unique times.

That was when I started thinking ‘Is this something that I could do again?’”

People started asking him to perform it again, and he started receiving requests.

So Godfrey set up the studio again for the encore to Kuarantine Karaoke.

There was a request

Robert Godfrey has received praise for his Kuarantine Karaoke nights, in which he sings and dances along to his favourite songs and requests each week. Photo

by Robert Godfrey show in which people reached out to him to play their favourite songs. And there was a Thursday night karaoke special, in which he played some of the slower songs he might hear at Gibby’s.

He has a variety of songs to play as well. In the case of the May 2 performance, Godfrey played Gnarls Barkley’s I Make you Crazy, Shania Twain’s Whose Bed have your Boots been Under, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Dani California, Lizzo’s I’m Cryin’ Because I Love You, and David Lee Murphy’s There might be a Little Dust on the Bottle.

Godfrey noted that he’s looking for requests as well, because he’s running out of songs to sing.

“It’s just been a lot of fun to do, and it ’s made me feel connected to ev-

eryone that’s watching the show or that’s commenting or messaging me, and it’s something that I myself look forward to doing every week, and I just have a lot of fun with it.”

The first show he did was a favourite because those are his songs that he likes to perform every week.

The Thursday night special performance was a close runner-up.

He never imagined that he would have this kind of reaction.

“I thought I’d probably get 20 or 40 people that it would reach, and I expected a couple of people would comment on it, and that would be it. I did not nearly expect the amount of people that watched it or that shared it or commented on it.

“That was the best part,

I think, is people have been so amazing in the comments, and I’ve had a tonne of friend requests from it, which is even better.”

If they enjoy the music and the show he puts on, or whether they get a laugh from something he stages from his basement, then it has exceeded his expectation.

He plans to continue at least until the restrictions from COVID-19 are lifted and he can resume his karaoke performances in front of a live audience. But even when that happens, Godfrey isn’t sure he’ll be ready to give it up.

He’s grateful for those who have watched and enjoyed the videos, and he’s always looking for more requests.

To watch videos of Kuarantine Karaoke, please visit www.estevanmercury.ca.

Country concert pushed back to 2021 The City of Estevan has announced the rescheduling of a marquee event that was slated for Affinity Place.

Due to public health and safety concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gord Bamford #Rednek Music Fest show scheduled for June 6 has been rescheduled to June 12, 2021.

Any refund requests will be honoured. Ticket holders will have 30 days to request a refund. Previously purchased tickets will be valid for the new date.

The concert was to feature Bamford, Saskatchewan-born country music star Jess Moskaluke, and country music performers Andrew Hyatt, Cory Marks, Duane Steele, Eric Ethridge, Ghost

The #Rednek concert slated for Affinity Place on June 6 has been pushed back to 2021. Photo submitted Boy and JoJo Mason.

It was also to have been part of the Estevan Exhibition’s Association Energy

City Ex. community event, featuring the Estevan Fair and Rodeo together on the same weekend. An official

announcement on the status of the fair and rodeo had yet to be made as of Mercury press time.

Two accidents and fires kept Estevan firefighters busy The Estevan Fire and Rescue Service (EFRS) members were called to a residential fire on April 29 that was started by a cigarette butt Around 11:30 p.m. the firefighters were dispatched to the north-central part of Estevan. The report said there was a fire occurring in the front yard of one of the residences.

“When crews arrived on scene it was found that there was a garbage can that had started on fire at a private residence,” said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser.

The fire was quickly extinguished without incident or injuries. Further investigation resulted in a predictable outcome.

The fire was started by a carelessly discarded smoking material. Once again, an unextinguished cigarette butt put a threat on the residents’ and the community’s safety.

“We can't stress this enough. We’ve seen a few instances of this in the last couple of weeks,” said Feser.

With no big rains yet, the Estevan area remains fairly dry and last year's vegetation that still covers the ground in the area is creating even more hazardous conditions for

fires. But even if it wasn’t the case, the fire chief reminded people that they always have to be mindful of where they are discarding their smoking materials.

“Don’t just flick your cigarette out of the window or just flick it in any other direction if you are standing outside. You want to make sure that you properly extinguish it, so it doesn’t start a fire,” said Feser.

Firefighters also assisted with clearing the scene after two separate accidents that happened in Estevan less than 24 hours apart.

The first call came in in the afternoon of April 30. The fire department was called to a two-vehicle collision in the northwest part of Estevan.

“When crews arrived on scene it was found that a vehicle has struck a parked car,” said Feser.

There were some fluid leaks and airbags were deployed. Firefighters brought the vehicles to zero energy, so they could be safely recovered by the towing company.

After that, the scene was turned over to the Estevan Police Service (EPS) for further investigation.

The second call came in at 5:30 a.m. on May 1. Members were dispatched to another two-vehicle collision that also occurred in the northwest area.

“Again there was fluid leaking, no entrapment, no injuries … as a result of this,” said Feser.

Firefighters zeroed out the vehicles as well, cleaned up all the fluids and turned the scene over to the EPS. Fire crews were also alerted to a structure fire in the south-central part of the city. The call came in at about 1:30 p.m. on April 30.

“What was happening when crews arrived on scene was what looked like a mobile home was being moved possibly to another location. But in order to do that, they were doing some hot works underneath the trailer with some cutting torches and some cutting tools and inevitably set some fabric underneath the mobile home on fire,” said Feser.

Crews were able to get in and quickly extinguish the fire. Neither individual working on the trailer nor the firefighters suffered any injuries as a result of the fire.

www.estevanmercury.ca

May 6, 2020 A19

Cheers & Jeers

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

A20

Jeers Jeers to those who still can’t grasp the concept of social distancing, be it inside or outside, or that we can’t have more than 10 people at a gathering at one time.

Jeers to these new restrictions on firearms the prime minister announced last week. The existing restrictions on assault-style weapons that have been in place since 1978 were sufficient. These new laws won’t make us safer.

Jeers to the motorists who refuse to use their signal lights, or who don’t signal well in advance.

Just because there are fewer drivers on the road doesn’t mean you get to ignore the fundamental rules of the road. Be smart and respect the other drivers out there.

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

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The power of the word “in” The ability of a two-letter preposition to change one’s perspective is powerful.

As I mused on what I, we and the world have faced over the past and probably coming months, a well-known verse of Scripture took on new meaning for me this past week. It also reminded me of how we need to read God’s Word without prejudice or preconceived interpretation. Huh? What am I talking about? Let me explain.

First of all, the definition of a preposition (although I’m sure you already know this): A preposition is a word that links a noun, pronoun, or noun

Linda Wegner Words of Worth phrase to some other part of the sentence. In His Word, God assures us that “in all these things, we are more than conquerors” but sadly, there have been many who have taken this promise totally out of context and used it for their own advantage.

Have you, like me, ever heard of unscrupulous people

Town of Bienfait Notice is hereby given that the assessment roll for the Town of Bienfait for the year 2020 has been prepared and is open in the office of the assessor from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the following days: Monday to Friday, May 1 to June 30, 2020.

A bylaw pursuant to section 214 of the Municipalities Act has been passed and the assessment notices have been sent as required.

Dated this 29th day of April 2020.

J. Franklin Assessor

He’s desperately trying to hang on to his youth, but....

Mike Keating Sales Consultant

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promising deliverance from physical healing for “an offering?” I won’t say any more but suffice it to point again to the Scripture that promised deliverance and peace right in the middle of our trials. And just as wonderful, Jesus already paid the price.

Going through the current pandemic and, for many of us, the discipline of self-

Note: A sum for costs in an amount required by subsection 4(3) of The Tax Enforcement Act is included in the amount shown against each parcel Description of Property Total Title Total Cost of Arrears Lot Block Plan and Number Arrears Advertising Advertising 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 18 19 20 15 16 17 15 16 7 8 9 10 7

8 17 10

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isolation, has been frustrating and even depressing. I admit to being a social person and going days on end without riding the bus or having tea with friends has been difficult.

This is where I am holding on to that glorious promise that in all these things, not just after they’re over and not dependent on a generous offering, we have the unsurpassed blessing and assurance of God’s presence in our lives.

“Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.”

Romans 8:37 Lonely? He’s there.

TAX ENFORCEMENT LIST Village of Roche Percee PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN Notice is hereby given under The Tax Enforcement Act that unless the arrears and costs appearing opposite the land and title number described in the following list are fully paid before the 7th day of July, 2020, an interest based on a tax lien will be registered against the land.

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Estevan’s award-winning senior twirlers held a “thank you” tea for their instructress Doroty Symons on May 2, and chose this occasion to present her with a painting signed by as many of her former majorettes as possible. Symons was instructing the baton twirlers in Estevan for the previous 10 years, and her girls have won a number of trophies and awards in international competition. From left, Canon Watts, former rector of the Anglican Church in Estevan, was on hand to pay tribute to Symons, as well as a number of other local dancers, including Lori Berday, Lynn Fagerheim, Laurie Ross, Verna Clayton and Cathye Friess.

Any person who wishes to appeal against his or her assessment is required to file his or her notice of appeal along with a fifty dollar ($50.00) fee to: The Assessor, Town of Bienfait, Box 220, Bienfait, SK. S0C 0M0 by the 30th day of June 2020.

Dustin Sands Sales Manager

306-634-5588 104 - Hwy. 47 S. Estevan, SK

Flashback – May 5, 1971

Cheers Cheers to all workers at the Estevan Regional Nursing Home for keeping the residents healthy and safe. And for going above and beyond in keeping residents happy and in touch with their family members in so many different ways.

Cheers to the staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital for the touching tribute they made to healthcare workers in Nova Scotia. It might seem simple, but it meant a lot to those on the east coast.

Cheers to the start of fishing season. At times like this, we need activities that can serve as a distraction.

Cheers to Robert Godfrey for his Kuarantine Karaoke each week. It’s fun to watch and you can tell he’s a great entertainer. Any chance we can hear Hotel California?

Cheers to those who organized the tribute to Roger Huber last week, and to all of those who showed up to recognize a man who was such a big part of the oil industry and the community.

Flooring Paint • Blinds • Backsplash Accent Walls

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$17,482.75

$1619.76

$2569.54

$2180.73 $1381.76 $1244.47 $858.59 $1083.00 $3461.82 $14,025.46 $3714.48 $4563.46 $1205.39 $1108.02 $1417.62 $12,182.98 $6240.83 $1786.05 $2708.44 $839.52 $2026.33 $1094.75 $195.70 $465.76

Sports A21

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New AAA Bears team announces first 12 recruits The Estevan Eclipse Downhole Solutions U18 AAA Bears hockey club has announced the first 12 recruits for their inaugural season.

The Bears revealed the commitments via their social media channels on Friday and Saturday.

Some of those players already have experience at the U18 (formerly known as midget) level, while others were in U15 (bantam) leagues last season.

The Bears were unable to have a spring camp this year because the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the closure of Affinity Place and other arenas across the province, but the club is still pleased with the talent coming in.

Players came from throughout the Bears drawing area of southeast Saskatchewan.

The first player they announced was goaltender Jackson Miller, a 2004-born athlete from Estevan. Miller spent last season with the Estevan Apex midget AA Bruins, and posted a 15-3 record with a 2.10 goals against average and a .918 save percentage for the Bruins, who had the best record in the Saskatchewan Midget AA Hockey League.

The other goaltender to commit is Kelton Pyne, a 2005-born netminder from White City, who played for the Prairie Storm bantam AA program. He had a 10-4-1

record with a 2.68 goals against average and .897 save percentage for the Storm, who were the top team in the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League’s South Division during the regular season.

The club also announced the signing of several defencemen:

• Cade Bendtsen (born in 2003) of Carlyle who played last season with the midget AA Bruins, and had six goals and 25 points in 31 games played.

• Hunter Weber (’03) from Saskatoon, who had one assist in 42 games with the midget AAA Yorkton Maulers.

• Boston Harkins (’05) of White City, who played with the bantam AA Prairie Storm and had four goals and 31 points in 31 Estevan’s Jackson Miller was games. among the first 12 players to • Br ady Bye (’04) of White City, who played last season commit to play for the new U18 with the Prairie Storm midget AAs AAA Bears hockey club. Photo and had a goal and 17 points in 35 courtesy of Lemon Wedge games played.

Marketing.

The forwards who commit • Carson Birnie (’05) of ted are:

• Ty Mason (’05) of Wey- Arcola, who played with the Reburn, who spent last season playing gina Monarchs bantam AA team bantam AAA hockey with the last season and had 28 goals and Notre Dame Hounds, and had 12 67 points in 29 games played. He goals and 25 points in 30 games. He played much of his minor hockey is the son of Willy Mason, who is an in Estevan.

• Turner McMillen (’03) assistant coach with the Bears and was part of the Estevan Bruins team of Carievale, who spent last season that won the Saskatchewan Junior with the Prince Albert Mintos midget AAA program and had 15 Hockey League title in 1999.

goals and 39 points in 44 games played. He played much of his minor hockey in Estevan as well before going to Prince Albert for two seasons of midget AAA. He’s also the younger brother of Bruins defenceman Kade McMillen.

• Zayden Sadlemyer (’05) of Buena Vista, who played last season with the bantam AA Prairie Storm and had 16 goals and 34 points in 31 games.

• Cooper Chisholm (’03), from Weyburn, who played last season with the midget AAA Mintos, and had five goals and 17 points in 40 games.

• Caden D r ur y (’04) of Carrot River, who played last season with the Prairie Hockey Academy and had six goals and 18 points in 35 games played.

“I’m really happy with the kids we have,” said head coach and general manager Jeff Smith. “There’s a lot of kids who wanted to come back and play for their local team, which is so nice to see and hear.”

When that first player commitment came in, it was a relief, but it was a reminder that now it’s for real and an actual team is being formed. His entire staff was watching to see who had signed, and Smith is looking forward to building excitement for the team.

The 12 players the y announced are those they had focused on, and now they’re pursuing

the remaining handful of players to round out the roster.

“There might be a kid or two that slips through the cracks in the north that we’re keeping eyes on. It’s always nice to have those extra spots just in case someone does come available.”

The more kids they have from the southeast region, the better they will be.

The lack of a spring camp was challenging. A lot of the kids have not played with each other or against each other, and it would have been a good experience for them to gain chemistry, and for Smith to tell where they would fit in a lineup.

It places an even greater emphasis on their scouting staff.

The Bears are looking for billets for the upcoming year. Four of the 12 players who have committed have family in town and won’t need to be billeted. But Smith still expects they will need 15 billet families for the upcoming season.

One has already stepped forward.

“The difference between billeting a Bruin and a Bear is that the Bears have an actual schedule to follow, meaning they have practice every morning, and then they go to school and then they’re going to have homework, and it’s going to be more structured,” said Smith.

Saskatchewan Summer Games postponed a year The Saskatchewan Games Council, the City of Lloydminster, and the Lloydminster 2020 Host Society have jointly announced the postponement of the 2020 Saskatchewan Summer Games until July 2021 due to health and safety concerns stemming from COVID-19.

The Games were originally scheduled to be held from July 26Aug. 1 in Lloydminster.

The large multi-sport event is now tentatively scheduled to run from July 18–24, 2021, and will feature competition from young athletes in 15 summer sports. All sports that

were originally included on the sport calendar in 2020 are committed to participate in 2021.

“As the global pandemic continues to develop in Saskatchewan and throughout Canada, ongoing discussions between the three parties indicate it is no longer viable for the

Games to proceed as planned in July 2020 while ensuring the health and well-being of all participants, volunteers, spectators, and event staff,” stated a press released for the event.

“The decision was made final following advice from the Saskatchewan Health Authority.”

Also, the Canada 55-and-over Games in Kamloops, B.C., have been postponed to Aug. 22-26, 2022 after taking many factors into consideration.

The Estevan Strippers hockey club and other local athletes were scheduled to compete at the event.

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A22 May 6, 2020

www.estevanmercury.ca

Sector 1 holding bottle drive for food bank A local company is organizing a community-wide bottle drive on Saturday in an effort to support the Estevan Salvation Army’s Food Bank.

Sector 1 Construction and Renovations’s employees will be out in the community, picking up bags of empty cans and bottles. The business is asking people to call them or email them, or send them a message on Facebook with their address, and they will pick up the empties between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

All of the recyclables will be placed in an empty Sector 1 enclosed trailer.

“We’ve been fortunate enough through COVID to be able to stay working,” said Sector 1 owner Sandon Weber. “We’re just trying

to figure out a way to try to give back, and we thought this was a good idea.”

Since SARCAN’s recycling depot is currently closed, Weber believes a lot of people have empty bottles piling up that they need to get recycled, so they came up with the idea for the bottle drive.

“I know the … Salvation Army Food Bank really needs help right now, so we thought that would be a good cause to donate all of the money to,” said Weber.

The money raised will be directed to the food bank so they can purchase the groceries they need.

Weber said there’s a real need for the food bank in Estevan right now and that need will only continue to grow the longer people

are out of work.

“I think they could really use the help. It made to the most sense to help them.”

We b e r s a i d S e c t o r 1 doesn’t have a goal for the fundraiser. He’s never done any thing like this before, so he doesn’t know what to expect. If they can raise $1,000, that would be great, but he recognizes that would be a lot of empty bottles and cans.

Everyone who donates to the bottle dr ive wil l be entered to win a $500 gif t c ard for the Home Hardware Building Centre, which is one of Sector 1’s vendors.

To contact Sector 1, call them at 306-421-3557 or email them at office@ sector1.ca.

Haley Weber and Sandon Weber from Sector 1 Construction and Renovations with their sons Grayson and Everett, and a couple of bags of empty bottles and cans. Photo submitted

Everyone who donates will be entered to win a $500.00 Home Hardware gift card!

BOTTLES & CANS

piling up??

Sector 1 Construction & Renovation will pick 'em up, store 'em and donate the proceeds to the Estevan Food Bank!

When: Saturday, May 9, 2020 How: Put your bottles on your driveway, text address to 306.421.3557 and we will pick them up!

Clean out your garage and donate your bottles to a great, local cause.

Section 1 Construction & Renovations is your local contractor specializing in custom residential & commercial renovations & property restoration for your entire project; outside and in!

102 Perkins Street 306-634-3553 306-421-3557 office@sector1.ca www.sector1.ca