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Lincoln and Kayleigh Mizell were among the people out fishing along the banks of the Souris River at the Woodlawn Regional Park on Monday afternoon. Since Monday was Victoria Day, and it was such a warm day, it was a great opportunity for families to get out and enjoy outdoor activities, whether it be on the water or dry land. Photo by David Willberg

Discontinuation of emergency services sparks frustration in rural communities

By Jordan Stricker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, and David Willberg The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has begun to implement their temporary conversion of rural community emergency rooms in the province, starting off with seven, with another five to be utilized in remaining phases.

The SHA’s COVID-19 surge plan outlines temporary conversion of community hospitals to what is called alternate level of care (ALC).

According to the SHA, ALC refers to a patient that could be cared for in an alternate setting, rather than an acute care setting.

This would refer to palliative, convalescing, respite, rehab or longterm care patients.

Currently, this is taking place in Arcola, Radville, Lanigan, Broadview, Preeceville, Herbert and Kerrobert.

The discontinuation in Arcola took effect on May 14.

During the remaining phases of the SHA’s COVID-19 surge plan, they will utilize the same conversion in Wolseley and Davidson during phase two, and in Biggar, Leader and Oxbow during phase three.

A date has not been established for the Oxbow conversion.

Residents of Arcola have been voicing anger with the move since they found out last week emergency services would be discontinued May 14.

Bailey Verbeem took to social media to share a story of how she believes having emergency services in the community saved the life of her one-year-old son Bohdi.

Early this year, he had an eye infection, an infection in both ears, a cough, runny nose and an extremely high fever. Then she noticed that his hands and feet were starting to turn purple.

Verbeem messaged her friend, who is a nurse, and explained to her what was going on, and she told her to go to the Arcola Hospital immediately. Verbeem’s friend called the

Emergency and acute care services have been discontinued in Arcola. File photo hospital to say Verbeem and Bohdi were coming.

“When I got to the hospital, everything was already being set up for him,” she said.

They tested him right away, found Bohdi’s oxygen level to be low at 80 per cent, put him on oxygen, took his blood work, x-rays and more.

“Not only were the staff good to Bohdi, they were amazing with me

too,” said Verbeem.

The doctor assessed Bohdi and had him air-lifted to Regina General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus “If it wasn't for Arcola Hospital being so close I don't know or want to think of what Bohdi's outcome would have been if I had to drive any further.

They saved my baby's life,” she said.

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Outdoor playtime May slowly passed its midpoint, which means that many species start taking their somewhat grown babies out. This fox family was spotted playing up on the hill west of Estevan. Mama was taking a sunbath, and her little puppies were wrestling in the dust. But as soon as the fox noticed movement, which could pose a potential danger on her family, she instantly ran away, while cubs disappeared in the hole. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia

Committee trying to bring food bank to Lampman A committee has been formed in Lampman to bring a food bank to the town.

Representatives of the Lampman Family Centre, Browning 4-H Club, Lampman Public Library, Lampman School Community Council, Lampman Recreation and Lampman branch of the Royal Canadian Legion have come together because of the downturn in the economy.

They believe some individuals and families in the community could have difficulty providing basic needs.

They are asking that if someone would like access to the food bank, or have a hamper delivered to their home each week, to fill out a form and drop it off in an envelope at the grocery store or the town office in the black mail box, and say it is for the food

bank. All names will be kept confidential.

If the committee knows of an individual or family in Lampman area who might need their help, they are asked to send an email to lampmanfoodbank@gmail.com.

“We just thought there would probably be a need out there, and the last thing we would want is to find out later that people needed stuff and they couldn’t get it, just because they didn’t ask,” said Maureen Ulrich, who is part of the food bank committee.

Committee members have seen the Lampman Lions Club do food hampers at Christmas time in the past, so they thought it was time to see if anyone needed help.

There has been an area in Lampman where people in need could pick up food, first at

the town’s rink and now at the town office. But it hasn’t been used much since the move to the town office. Those food banks had non-perishable food items such as pasta, canned goods and sauces, to go with toiletries.

“Sometimes we would go to the rink and it would be empty. How long has it been empty? This is just an easier way of figuring out when we need to restock so we can keep the supply consistent.”

People from the family centre and the library were working together to keep the food bank stocked. Adding the other organization has allowed it to be a co-ordinated effort.

“Everyone is so willing to help. Gerry’s Store, we talked to them about taking in some of the forms and once we know how much we need and who

needs it, we’ll set up a process whereby people can just walk into the store and pick up some extra canned goods, drop them in a box for the food bank, or maybe make a cash donation.”

Flyers have been sent out to the community so people know who to contact if they need assistance or want to support the food bank.

Ulrich said the committee would like to be able to drop off a hamper once a week, so that people don’t have to come in.

“We can tailor it to what you need, what are your allergies, what do you need as far as non-perishables,” said Ulrich.

The hampers would also be able to provide items such as toiletries, or even sanitizer or diapers or baby formula, since those items that can become expensive or difficult to get.

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And they talked a lot about seniors and their needs, and being able to cater to them so they don’t have to worry about going out to shop during the pandemic.

“We will certainly be

looking for donations, but at the moment, we’re not, though. What we’re looking for is people. There’s no point in asking people for a lot of items if there isn’t a need. We sense the need is there.”

Arcola residents frustrated by SHA decision « A1 According to the SHA, discussions with community leaders in all 12 communities have occurred throughout the process in order to specifically outline these changes in each community hospital.

Arcola Town Council, though, said it is “very unhappy” with the SHA decision.

“Along with our resid e n t s a n d s u r ro u n d i n g communities we are very concerned with the level of emergency health services available to us at this time,” Mayor Keith Erick wrote in a letter.

They pointed out that the STARS Air Ambulance landed in Arcola 19 times last year, which they said was the same number as St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan.

“This shows you how necessary and vital the emergency services are to Arcola and surrounding communities,” Erick said.

There are also two ambulances in the area that serve a 200-kilometre perimeter, or 3,000 square kilometres.

“In the heart of oil and farming communities, can you imagine the emergencies that are to come up in this large of an area? It would not take long for two ambulances to be used at one time, leaving families to drive 45-60 minutes to the next-nearest ER.” The town council wants to know why they can’t wait until it is necessary to close the emergency department and redirect staff; why the SHA can’t send one nurse and doctor at a time for training instead of completely closing the ER; what happens with doctors, nurses and staff until cases increase in the province; and what the timeline is for the temporary closure, and if the government has a plan.

They also encouraged residents to reach out to C a n n i n g t on M LA D a n D’Autremont and other provincial officials with their concerns.

SHA CEO Scott Livingstone said the conversions are taking place to protect people in long-term and to use facilities’ capacity to pro-

vide care for alternative level of care positions in larger facilities. “[It’s] so that we can both build capacity to support the reopening of the healthcare system, but also maintain capacity for COVID-19 surges and outbreaks as they arise,” said Livingstone during a press conference last week.

Although the cases in Saskatchewan remain low among the provinces, the SHA says it is continuing with the phased approach in the event outbreaks like the ones taking place in the north do arise again.

There have been reports that communities like Preeceville have received as little as one day notice before the conversion started taking place in their community hospital. Livingstone said the plan was made public weeks ago and it is now at the point these measures will be implemented.

“There have been discussions with local communities and mayors around this and when we said we were going to implement it in four to six weeks, we started doing that last week and that is where we are today,” he added.

Livingstone added the health system deals with closures of services all over the province all the time with short notices due to staffing difficulties and other issues.

“In many cases we are not able to prepare or tell communities what is going to happen on a temporary basis in advance, in this case we did,” said Livingstone.

“We will continue to manage our capacity as the premier has referred to before. Once we restart our healthcare system … we will be using that dimmer switch as we watch what happens across the province, with respect to the mixing of individuals and reduced restrictions.”

The SHA said timelines for phase three of the conversions will occur once phase two conversions are completed.

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Carnduff-born author is working on fourth book about life and challenges of being in the EMS

By Ana Bykhovskaia

abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

Dale Bayliss was born and raised in Carnduff, and that’s where his passion for helping people was cultivated.

He started his career as a professional helping others back in the 1980s working ambulance. Bayliss has spent a lifetime of dedicated hard work in the emergenc y medical services (EMS), as a registered nurse in emergency, special care unit (ICU); as a flight nurse, flight paramedic; as a volunteer firefighter and as a dedicated educator in all EMS programs for many years.

A few years ago, he started working on a book series that would reflect the rich experience he gathered through his life and through working with hundreds of other professionals, who dedicate their lives to helping others.

The Mercur y talked to Baylis while he was in Fort McMurray, where he works as a clinical instructor at Keyano College, which lately, was put on pause by COVID-19 as well as by the major flood that hit the area.

Bayliss' life and career choice were shaped by a road

accident. When he was 16 years old, one of his friends was badly hit by a car north of Carnduff, and there was no ambulance back then in that corner of the province.

There was a local emergency medical technician course, held locally, and Bayliss signed up for it right away.

“I was about halfway through the course and they realized how old I was,” said Bayliss.

He still was only 16, and the course was designed for those 18-plus.

“I just said ‘I’m not quitting,’ so I kept going.”

He graduated the course and started working the ambulance in the Carnduff-Oxbow area. From March 1984-August 1987, he was working full-time, managing the servicing.

“Back then having a small-town ambulance I really got attached to Oxbow and the people, the hospital,” said Bayliss. “I was raised in Carnduff, so it wasn’t too far from then my home …

When you are dealing with people you know you seem to want to care that much more and you put in that much more effort.”

Being close to home also felt good, but it wasn’t meant to last as Bayliss felt that he could do more to

help others.

“Then I was realizing that there were so many things that we could not do in 1987, and back then there were no paramedics.”

Bayliss went to nursing school in Regina and graduated as a registered nurse. However, that year there were no jobs in Saskatchewan, so he ended up moving to Alberta. He was planning to come back to Saskatchewan in a year, but that didn’t work out. He’s been working as a paramedic since 1991 along with working as a nurse. He’s worked for the STARS Air Ambulance and spent some time working up north.

Bayliss came home to Carnduff more while his parents were alive. His father Walter Bayliss, who was well-known to the community and always was helping everybody around him, died in 2011. And Bayliss, who already was looking for a way to give back, found something he could do to help others even more.

“I thought how I can give back. And we’ve lost quite a few paramedics because of the post-traumatic stress and we’ve seen a lot of badness in our industry,” said Bayliss.

Then one of his stu-

Dale Bayliss with Jack, a rescue dog he met earlier this year. Since then they have become really good friends. Photo submitted

Dale Bayliss has been involved in helping people all his life. Photo submitted dents and co-workers, who he stayed in touch with, committed suicide, which became the final straw.

“I thought there’s gotta be a way to stop this. And then I started writing my book.”

Bayliss plans to write eight books, which are his way to reach out to many people. Three books are already published and can be found all across Canada, the U.S., New Zealand, Australia and Europe.

His first book, Caretakers & Lifesavers: My Memoirs – To Hell and Back, was published in July 2017. It is the story of his life, and it proved that his idea to help others to focus on the good in life through books was working.

“I did my first book and I was working on my second book. And one of the paramedics that’s actually from Saskatchewan, he was going to commit suicide and then he saw what I said and he actually called a friend and got help,” recalled Bayliss.

He then finished and published book two, Between Life & Death, in October 2017. He actually wrote it twice, with the first version being third hand, which Bayliss didn’t like after all and rewrote it, talking from his own perspective.

“This book will forever be my biggest gift to my EMS family, and to my late therapy dog, Tinsel, who was stolen from me by cancer,” said Bayliss on his website.

Two-thirds of the cases described in the second book are real, and the rest is fiction because the author wanted to integrate teaching and therapy as part of the book.

The third book, Nobody Walks Alone: Overcoming the Darkness of

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EMS, was published in December 2018. “ This book demonstrates that … working in EMS at just the right time, in the right place, along with the right desire to help we make a difference,” said Bayliss.

He is currently working on the fourth book, which is over two-thirds finished.

The book talks about what happens from the front doors of a hospital, and Bayliss said that he is adding some current realities to it including things that have changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The next books are geared towards the emergency medical responders (EMR), primary care paramedics and advanced care paramedics that make up most prehospital care providers. Books two through eight are meant to build a formal foundation of knowledge at all levels of the current EMS system. The final book is to be a survival guide of sorts for emergency medicine for anyone to read.

Each book will build on the previous book and are all uniquely different.

“I want these books to be an inspiration to those that come after me, to continue the legacy of helping others.

“The books have something for anybody.”

In the books, there are many reflections of his past in southeast S askatchewan, where people around taught and inspired him.

For example, nurse Ann Marie Baerwald, who died of cancer, taught Bayliss to see the best in people, the lesson that stayed with him for life. He also recalled his memories of helping others a lot, which was just a part of the lifestyle growing up in a

small town, where his family was raising cows, horses and sheep at different times.

“If you ever needed a hand, and this goes back to my dad, if any of our neighbours e ver needed something, we would drop anything we were doing and we would go help them,” recalled Bayliss. “And there never was a monetary value to it.”

Echoing that spirit of support and help coming from the Bayliss family, Alex Tompkins wrote in his review on Bayliss’ book on Amazon, “I was a neighbour of Dale, our kids are the same age; he was always willing to help anyone and that's what his family did.

Dale and his brother Donnie hauled a lot of bales from our farm. He was always an ambitious fellow with a great personality.”

Bayliss still cares a lot about his hometown and comes to visit occasionally.

Just recently he has donated a few sets of his books to the Oxbow Benefit Auction – 2020, and the set of three was sold for $100 with proceeds from the auction going towards Carnduff ’s food bank and the Oxbow emergency fund.

Since Walter Bayliss died, a group of friends including Bayliss came together and started a project called the Get Back Program, in which they teach courses to medical professionals with all proceeds going to different healthcare organizations. For five years they also did a walk, walking 100 kilometres in 24 hours and raising awareness about post-traumatic stress in life of medical first responders.

Bayliss' books always can be found in Carduff ’s drugstore, and also can be purchased online.

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Editorial

Wednesday, May 20 , 2020

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Staff SERVING CANADA’S SUNSHINE CAPITAL Publisher / Marketing Specialist

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EDITORIAL

We can't afford to be complacent Phase two of the Government of Saskatchewan’s reopening strategy is now in effect.

Retail businesses and malls are now able to open again, meaning that we can return to our favourite stores and shop without using a computer, although it won’t be business as usual within those businesses.

Farmers markets will be able to open for the season as well, which is good news for those who enjoy markets like the one offered in Estevan.

Hairstylists, barber shops, massage therapists and other services will also open again, meaning that those who are starting to get a little scruffy, or who are a little tense, can book an appointment.

Campgrounds will be open again June 1.

We have to be smart enough to know that going and shopping for new clothes, furniture or jewelry, or visiting a market, or getting a new hairdo, won’t be as simple as it was 2 1/2 months ago. There will be new procedures to be followed.

Still, it’s encouraging that this latest rounds of businesses are open. They won’t be up to full speed for a while, but it gets more people working again and it creates revenue streams for businesses and it gives us another reason to go out.

We saw with phase 1, which included nonessential medical services, that their operations have changed. Some of those businesses that

could open again haven’t done so yet.

Those who went golfing on or after May 15 certainly noticed the differences in the game.

Thankfully the government has allowed courses to open again, and it has eased up some restrictions, while still ensuring that social distancing is followed as much as possible.

We have been able to enjoy golfing, going to our favourite stores and getting our hair cut again because we have done our part to prevent the spread of pandemic. For the most part, Saskatchewan residents have followed the regulations imposed by the provincial government.

You can’t always maintain two metres of distance, but we’ve done the best we’ve can.

At the same time, now that we’re into phase two, we can’t become complacent.

We saw in the far north what happens when people don’t do the right thing. It’s hard to say whether the outbreak in La Loche and other northern communities was due to stupidity, irresponsibility or a lapse in judgement, but the bottom line is it happened, people have become sick and died, and that region continues to deal with the consequences.

As of last Friday, the far north had 55 more cases than the Saskatoon area, despite having a fraction of the population.

A surge in cases can happen anywhere if we aren’t smart.

This does not mean we should shut ourselves in and not use these services now that

they’re open again. We just have to follow the new rules and listen to the instructions of staff.

As of press time, we don’t know yet when Phase 3 will take effect, which would increase the size of public and private gatherings to 15, and allow for personal services, restaurants, gyms, fitness facilities and childcare facilities to open again. Don’t expect it to happen before early June. If the number of new cases for COVID-19 continues to drop, it might be sooner rather than later. If we experience a surge, especially in non-isolated areas, Phase 3 will be delayed.

Once restaurants and gyms and other businesses are open again, it will be another boost to the economy and to our morale.

When they do open, we’ll still have to follow guidelines.

Some conspiracy theorists out there will look at our numbers and say that it’s proof that this pandemic was overblown and that we over-reacted to what was happening elsewhere.

They’ll say we’re being too cautious, and we could return to normal, or close to normal, and not have a surge in cases. The reality is that we have the lower caseloads in the south, and in much of Saskatchewan, because we did the right thing and followed the rules.

We’ve had 15 cases of COVID-19 in southern Saskatchewan. None of them are active. Our last cases were reported April 4.

Let’s be vigilant and keep it that way.

Can the CFL survive the pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken aim at every aspect of our way of living. Now the impacts are really hitting home for sports fans, players and owners alike as the CFL seeks a bailout from the federal government to stay afloat during and postpandemic.

The CFL has been apart of the Canadian way of life for over a century. For many, when hockey is not on, at least the CFL season will be around to keep the live sports itch at bay.

In many of the markets, especially in Saskatchewan, football is not just a game. It’s part of the way people live and the Roughriders are an extension of those who view and love the game.

Imagining a time when Roughrider nation can’t pack Mosaic Stadium is something that, even as a Calgary-born transplant, no one wants to witness.

Sports in our daily lives is worth so much more than killing a few hours a few times a week.

Seeing a league that is so much a part of the fabric of this nation struggling the way it is, is tragic.

It further shows that no one is safe from the hardships the

Jordan Stricker Postcards from the Leg.

pandemic has brought.

Personally, when the sports leagues started to shut down, that is when I really took in the severity of the situation we are facing.

These organizations are dependent on packed stadiums, merchandise and advertising among many other factors to stay afloat during any given season.

For all of them to pack it in and kiss goodbye any sort of flowing income, meant we are really in for a rude awakening of what is to come. And were we ever.

The commissioner of the CFL, Randy Ambrosie, recently asked the federal government for up to $150 million in assistance and added he believes the 2020 season will be cancelled during

a questioning from a House of Commons committee on May 7.

Ambrosie told the committee the best-case scenario for the 2020 season is a drastically truncated schedule. He added the most likely scenario is no season at all.

Amrbosie also said the league is currently reliant on money from fans, broadcasters and sponsors who pay in advance for games. He said if the season is cancelled, the financial crisis for the CFL will become “very real and very big.”

I don’t even want to really consider a Canada without the CFL. I grew up in a household with a 1992 Grey Cup champion who will remain nameless, due to the fact he sported a certain red jersey, and this is Rider country.

Some of my greatest memories to date were watching his old games, scouting new talent and everything else related to the game.

What makes the league so great, is the style is so completely unique to our country. Gritty, tough, fast and intense, just the way we like it. It’s not the NFL, but it’s ours and that is all that matters.

To think that if this goes

south, there could be a generation who would only hear stories of the great Stampeders and Roughriders rivalry, or any of the great legendary CFL storylines is heartbreaking. To lose something that is completely unique to Canada is something that should be prevented at all costs.

There have been reports that the CFL is looking to use hub cities as some sort of saving grace to the 2020 season. The idea is to have a city in the east and one in the west where all teams play, minus the fans so the season could continue.

Whether or not there is an agreement to save the 2020 season the money being hemorrhaged from these teams in some cases you would have to think would be difficult to recover from.

At this point, Saskatchewan not being able to host the Grey Cup is the least of our concerns.

The big battle that is ahead is whether the league can remain viable until the pandemic passes and we can get back to a somewhat normal way of living.

We can only hope that something is done to not only save the upcoming season, but save the entire league as well.

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1339 Fourth St., Estevan, SK S4A 0X1 Office 306.634.1020 lynn.chipley@c21.ca www.century21.ca/lynn.chipley

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

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Regional parks prepare for the start of camping season on June 1

Ana Bykhovskaia Twenty Lines About…

Infodemic – second or first enemy?

The other day mom sent me a video, in which the background voice explains that the current pandemic was planned and played out by some invisible masterminds to clean and weaken the population.

Not only is the lockdown a measure of current cleansing in which the weakest will die, but the virus itself was produced in a lab to get rid of people. When its mission is almost completed, the curing vaccine will be given only to those who were chosen to make it through the global tragedy, so the population stays at about one billion people. My eye started twitching after a few seconds of this video.

The flow of misinformation and disinformation accompanying this pandemic, a natural and quite regular process of a virus spill-out from animals’ world to humans, is unbelievable. Since day one we started hearing various theories of virus origin.

The appearance of fake information is generally quite common when it comes to something scary, unresearched and new, but this virus that’s also known as SARS-Cov-2 or COVID-19 has beaten all records. Why? There are numerous reasons.

First, for a while, we didn’t have too big of a pandemics that we could use as strong examples. The more recent, somewhat similar SARS and MERS didn’t supply us with strong enough numbers for spread and death to compare. Other diseases we were facing in the 21st century were spreading differently thus not posing such a serious threat as easily transmitted from human to human respiratory killer-virus.

Remember those comic videos about controversial information coming from officials, like wear a mask, but don’t wear it, stay home, but go for walks and so on? Well, a lot of it happened because (ta-dam, here comes the secret) they’ve never been through anything of this scale and type either. So the complete lack of data resulted in a lot of controversial information that often came from what we perceive as trusted authorities, simply because they also don’t really know how it works.

Our second enemy is panic (when Trump suggested what he did, I first thought nobody would take it seriously, and the next thing we know, people were taken to hospitals after injecting disinfectant). Thirdly, these days a lot of fake or inaccurate information is shared with good intentions to help and protect the health and well-being of loved ones, which unlike political information manipulations makes it feel less dangerous thus often doesn’t activate the analytical processes.

So as a result for the last four-plus months we’ve been sinking in misinformation, inaccurate or false information shared accidentally, and disinformation, which is deliberately shared fake news. And I don’t know what makes more damage, the virus itself or the global information chaos around it.

By the beginning of May, the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN, a great source for checking what you hear and see) distinguished seven waves of misinformation. Most of them died down a bit after time but are still in the air.

The first one was about the virus’ origin. During the second the information field was getting flooded with edited videos in which people fainted outside. In most cases, these were actually strongly impaired individuals, or people having other health issues, but for many, at that point, the novel virus became even scarier.

The third one was one of the biggest ones when people started sharing some insane cures or ways to protect themselves.

In the fourth wave IFCN started seeing not just misinformation related to survival in the face of the virus, but some bad ideas like anti-Chinese thoughts. The next wave brought supremacist messages suggesting that some groups are better than the others or are chosen to survive.

Lockdowns as the main method used around the world of containing the virus, for which we don’t have a cure, resulted in a lot of disinformation as well. The later weeks brought in the politicization of the virus and the related politics. People started using it to spread ideas about the government.

For a long time now we’ve been lacking clear and simple messages, and for many, when it comes to COVID-19, the trust level is below zero. It’s easier to believe that an evil mastermind created this chaotic scenario than believing that it’s comparable to previous pandemics that killed millions in our history. And the further the tendency lasts the more dangerous it becomes, killing people using crazy cures, greatly endangering those mistrusting and thus disobeying the recommendations and orders, and upraising in a face for future economic problems.

We’ve said it again and again, please, always check your facts, think, analyze, don’t share unless you know and trust the source.

In the 21st century, the main wars are happening in the information field and now we are learning a new one, so keep your mind defence up.

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

Regional parks in southeast Saskatchewan are looking forward to the start of camping season June 1.

The provincial government, in its Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan released last month, included the opening of campgrounds in Phase 2 of the initiative, although the campgrounds would have to meet some criteria once they open.

The regulations stipulate that seasonal campers are welcome, but campers will have to maintain social distancing.

Short-term campsites will only be allowed to have 50 per cent occupancy.

Also, only Saskatchewan residents will be able to camp, as inter-provincial travel is not recommended at this time.

Maureen Daoust, who is the business manager at Woodlawn Regional Park, said they want to adhere to the government mandates.

“Our seasonal campers are pretty excited,” Daoust told the Mercury. “ We’re pretty excited. We’re very happy with the unveilling of Re-Open Saskatchewan and the phases, and that we can open the park.”

Campers can’t wait to get to the park for the season.

Some of their amenities will have to be closed, including the beach at the Boundary Dam Recreation Site, playground structures, the Fresh Air Fitness outdoor gym and shower facilities. The closure of showers means that Woodlawn won’t be able to have tent users for the time being.

“We are a full-service campground, so everyone can hook up their RV to sewer and potable water,” said Daoust.

Rental halls and washrooms won’t be open on June 1, either.

Their gate house will be open and staffed for June 1. The maintenance crew will have to be scaled back a

Woodlawn Regional Park is looking forward to the start of the camping season.

File photo little bit, which she views as unfortunate.

Bob Goodward, the board chair at the Moose Creek Regional Park, said they are looking forward to the start of the camping season. A couple of big attractions at the park – the Alameda Dam boat launch and the Moose Creek Golf Course – have opened already.

The park received a lot of phone calls once it was announced when they would be able to open for the season.

Moose Creek has about 265 campsites. Approximately 230 of them are full-time seasonals, and the rest are for short-term campsites.

G o o d w a rd s a i d t h e seasonal campers are aware they’ll have to follow new restrictions.

“They will still have to follow the rules. It’s no different than living in their house in town. Social distancing and whatever the rules of the government are still in place at that time.”

Many of the seasonal campers have their units out at the park throughout the year as well.

The lack of tenting won’t leave a big impact on the park,

because they only have two tenting sites.

Their beach, playground, fish filleting shack and play structure will be closed.

Donna Frank, the manager of Mainprize Regional Park, said they were pleased that the government made a decision, rather than leaving it up to the individual regional parks.

“People have been booking for a little while. We’ve had to do a little bit of rearranging. Other than that, getting ready is a little different this year because services are scaled back.”

It won’t be business as usual at the park, but from what she has heard from campers, they’re happy and they’re looking forward to coming out to the campgrounds, and going fishing and golfing, even with the restrictions that are in place, and talking to people once again.

Mainprize has 186 seasonal campsites and approximately 40 overnight sites and another 30 in overflow for overnight and short-term campers. The cabins in the park are privately owned.

Public areas such as the

Mainprize Regional Park will have campers at its sties this year. Photo submitted

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beach will still be closed.

Campers will need to have the capabilities for sewer and water. A few family reunions have had to be cancelled.

People who have been calling want to know how soon they can get out there.

As restrictions are modified as the summer progresses, Frank hopes they can start having events for children this summer.

Suzanne Brown, manager of the Oungre Memorial Regional Park, said it won’t be business as usual, and most of the summer functions, such as reunions, weddings and socials, had to be cancelled.

People will have to get used to social distancing, and so it will certainly be a different summer.

Among the amenities that will be open for campers during the summer will be the golf course.

Brown said they haven’t received a lot of questions, as the information is posted on the Sask. Regional Parks website and the O ungre Memorial Regional Park website, and most people are aware of the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan and how it will affect them.

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311 KENSINGTON AVE (306) 634-3661 MurrayEstevan.com

A6 May 20, 2020

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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

PUBLIC NOTICE The Council of the City of Estevan pursuant to the Cities Act that the Council of the City of Estevan, gives notice of its intention to implement four bylaw to Regulate Taxes within the City of Estevan.

On May 11, 2020 meeting the first reading of these bylaws was passed and the final readings is expected to be on June 15, 2020 The proposed Bylaw 2020-2023 Health Levy, 2020-2024 Library Levy, 20202025 Business Improvement District, 2020-2026 Fix the Rate of Taxation may be inspected by any person in the City Clerk’s Office, on the main level of City Hall, between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm, Monday to Friday.

Dated this 15th day of May , 2020.

Judy Pilloud 1102 4th Street Estevan, SK S4A 0W7

2020 WATERMAIN FLUSHING SCHEDULE 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)

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 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.

Business A7

Each office independently owned and operated

IT TAKES MORE THAN A SIGN!

Josh LeBlanc

REALTOR® (PART-TIME)

306-421-6778

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

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Black Beard’s new service has been popular It’s been a roller coaster ride for Black Beard’s Restaurant.

The venerable Estevan restaurant, located in the Days Inn, was forced to shut down in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But they started to operate a carry-out service on April 27, and they have changed their business model as well.

Brittany Zahn, the food and beverage manager at Black Beard’s, said they have a carry-out service that is open from Monday to Saturday.

People can call in at 306634-6456 for their favourite Black Beard’s appetizers and supper meals, with pickup in

the castle doors.

They have also started online ordering, which they hadn’t offered before, through the bbtogo.ca website.

“O ur whole menu is there. It’s super easy to use, which is a big benefit, because nothing is more annoying than having to struggle to order some food online,” Zahn told the Mercury.

Their burgers and fries have likely been their most popular option. Wing Wednesdays have done very well. The restaurant has all of the nightly specials they had before the restaurant was forced to close its dining room two months ago.

Fish and chips are among the meals offered through Black Beard’s To Go. Photo by Robert Godfrey of Lemon Wedge Marketing.

Poutines have also been a popular option.

The Black Beard’s breakfast menu has not been added as of yet, and Zahn isn’t sure when that will happen.

The take-out menu was available for supper from Monday to Saturday until May 16. Starting on May 19, the Black Beard’s To Go service was expanded to include lunches, meaning they will be open from Monday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The restaurant will still be open for supper takeout on Saturdays, starting at 4:30 p.m.

Zahn previously said that due to the popularity of the supper service, they would add lunch before too long.

Black Beard’s has started to do pre-ordered, pre-made meals, so people can order lasagne, marinated chicken, steaks and other meals that they pick up and prepare at home. All meals come with a choice of potato or salad.

“They can pre-order and pick-up, and they can freeze it or make it at home or do what they like with it. We have options for two and four people, to try to just make that easier for people.”

Barbecue packs include foods to barbecue at home, and they have grocery essential packs with potatoes,

Brittany Zahn and other employees at Black Beard’s Restaurant are excited to be offering Black Beards to Go, with its familiar menu foods and ready to prepare meals. Photo by Robert Godfrey of Lemon Wedge Marketing. dairy products and vegetables.

Protein packs, with a variety of meats, have been their most popular order.

The first week in late April was really busy for them, because people hadn’t had their Black Beard’s fix for six or seven weeks. Since that time, the demand has been steady.

“It’s been good being

open again,” said Zahn.

It’s also allowed them to rehire six or seven staff members so they have people to prepare the meals and take the order and payments.

People seem to be enjoying Black Beard’s new takeout system, she said. The customers she has talked to are happy to have their favourite foods again and they find the online

ordering system easy to use.

And some have found that the cost of the nightly specials are similar to what it would cost to feed a family of four from a fast food establishment.

“I think there’s a lot of value in our food and our service, so I think that’s starting to speak for itself, too,” she said.

Province announces projects for highway stimulus

By Jordan Stricker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Premier Scott Moe announced on Wednesday a $300 million stimulus package focusing on new highway projects in the province.

The stimulus plan announcement comes a week af ter the province’s announcement of a $7.5 billion, two-year capital plan to help

stimulate Saskatchewan’s economic recovery post COVID-19.

The $300 million in stimulus funds will be invested over the next two years and will include thin-membrane surface upgrades, passing lanes and improvements to municipal roads and airports.

“Infrastructure investments are important for growth, quality of life, and safe transportation,” said

Highways and Infrastructure Minister Greg Ottenbreit in a media release.

“This stimulus package will provide an economic boost creating jobs and building priority infrastructure projects which will serve the citizens of the province for decades to come,” he added.

Projects that will be apart of the stimulus plan include upgrades to 325 km of thin-membrane surface

e m o c l We BACK! The Estevan Shopper’s Mall is so excited to announce

highways, 24 to 26 new sets of highway passing lanes, rehabilitation of at least 100 rural municipality roads and improvements to community airports.

Nine sets of passing lanes on Highways 39 and 6 from Regina to the CanadaU.S. border are included.

The $300 million is an addition towards the $357 million tabled in the province’s estimates released on

ardene • Dollarama • Eclipse • Marks • Money Mart • Nutters • Peavey Mart • Pet Valu • Sask Liquor • SaskTel • Sobeys • SportChek • The Brick • The Source • Tim Horton’s • Warehouse One Studio C Fitness will not be open in this phase. please enter through the door by Sobeys please respect local distancing Reduced hours are: Monday - Saturday: 11am - 6pm Sunday & Holidays: Closed See individual stores for additional safety measures 400 King Street Estevan, SK S4A 2B4

We welcome any move toward maintaining and eventually growing these job numbers to get our economy on track.”

According to the province, this year’s fiscal plan also includes improvements to more than 1,000 km of provincial highways, which is the first year of the 10year Growth Plan to build and upgrade 10,000 km of highways.

Local journalism needs your support We are navigating a daunting, unprecedented time and our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates you need to keep safe and informed.

Now more than ever, we need your support.

Choose a level of support

we are now open again!

We will be operating under reduced hours with some new procedures to keep us all safe.

March 18.

“Provincial road builders generate more than $5 billion in provincial GDP out of an economy of $73 billion or roughly seven per cent of the total provincial economy,” said Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association president Shantel Lipp. “ We employ close to 30,000 workers, making our industry one of the largest employers in the province.

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A8 May 20, 2020

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Estevan has had a pandemic plan since early 2000s

By Ana Bykhovskaia

abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

Scientists around the world have been talking about the threat of a deathly pandemic for many years, however, the current outbreak demonstrated that despite all warnings, on the global stage, governments and global organizations weren’t ready for the reality.

Nevertheless, on a local level, many communities including Estevan appeared to be more proactive.

So far Estevan hasn’t had any cases of COVID-19. The city was fast to react when things started quickly moving almost two months ago, and was successful in imposing measures needed to protect the population, which also played a role in how the situation developed here.

The Mercury reached out to Helen Fornwald, the city’s

emergency measure organization (EMO) co-ordinator, to find out what allowed us to reorganize many vital processes in a timely manner.

“We were well prepared.

We meet on a regular basis …

We do have a lot of situations that we respond to with emergency services. We work well with emergency services. And we do have a tabletop (exercise a) minimum once a year, so I felt that we were prepared,” said Fornwald.

The earlier pandemic plan was put together by the City of Estevan in 2004 following the SARS outbreak.

Later, when H1N1 hit in 2009, the existing plan was updated and after the crisis was over, remained in place for the future. It’s been in place until 2020 when COVID-19 changed almost everything.

“When coronavirus hit, we actually updated the City of Estevan pandemic plan

again. We did that at the beginning of March,” said Fornwald. “With viruses, it follows the same template, but every virus is different.”

Preparedness allowed Estevan’s EMO to react fast and efficiently. Fornwald also outlined that the community has been very responsive throughout the entire emergency.

“I’m really thankful for the community support and (for following) social distancing.”

Up until the current pandemic, the Estevan EMO had been meeting on a monthly basis. Since March, they started meeting on a weekly basis via conference calls, supplying everyone onboard with the most up-to-date information and to ensure that they are following and imposing the most recent Saskatchewan Health Authority recommendations and restrictions.

The COVID-19 pandemic plan covers the purpose of it with city alert phases, which include the city pandemic mitigation phase in phase 1, the alert period in phas3 2, and the response period in phas3 3. It also goes through the EMO communication strategy, the service level priorities, business continuity plan and legislative information. They have the guidelines on reporting for being sick and dealing with possible sick at work situations.

The pandemic plan also has a section covering adequate recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as preventative measures and best practices. They also have the department services priorities with the pandemic.

Fornwald pointed out that the plan assumed always having PPE in stock for any kind of a virus outbreak. However, because of the nature

Estevan EMO co-ordinator Helen Fornwald of this particular pandemic, they had to order some additional supplies to ensure there wouldn’t be any shortages.

Even though the city had a pandemic plan in place for many years, they haven't done any joint tabletop exercises dedicated to a possible virus spread. Fornwald noted that when the current emergency is over, they probably will plan

to practise their response procedures for the possible future pandemics.

The tabletop exercises come from the local EMO. As a co-ordinator Fornwald sets up those activities in consultation with Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency aiming to work through emergencies that are the most probable for the region.

Gilliss now a partner at Trobert Gilliss Law Firm An Estevan law firm has taken a step forward with the addition of a new partner.

Kathryn Gilliss is now a partner at the Trobert Gilliss Law Firm, the latest step forward for her in her career.

She started working at the practice following her first and second years of law school. Then she started her articles there in June 2014, and after she was called to the bar the following year, she became an associate at the firm.

Every law office will have its own processes to become a partner, but for her, she said she considers herself fortunate to have found a great work environment so early in her career, and she has worked hard the past few years.

Gilliss went on maternity leave last year following the birth of her first child, and at the end of the leave, she and Trobert had a conversation that made partnering together for the long-term make sense.

“I’m very excited,” she told the Mercury. “It’s something that the moment you enter law school, that’s al-

Kathryn Gilliss, left, and James Trobert from the Trobert Gilliss Law Firm in Estevan. Photo submitted ways in the back of your mind as a goal for most young lawyers. For me, it wasn’t even so much partnering in a firm, but finding the right firm or the right person to partner with.”

She believes it’s wonderful to have accomplished

this so early in her career, and she is happy to remain working with Trobert.

“We’ve been here for quite a while, and I think James would agree that we’re like a little family here,” she said. “We’re a smaller office, which has allowed us

all to work together for a long time, and we all work together really well. It makes it all that much sweeter that it’s really cemented to be a long-term thing now.”

Trobert said he is excited to have her as a partner.

“The year that she was

off on mat leave, it’s hard working alone, so it’s nice to have another person at the office to bounce things off of, and to cover for you,” said Trobert.

Gilliss compared being a partner to owning and operating the business,

and that’s been the biggest transition for her. It’s also meant a change in responsibilities, as she now has to worry about more than just her clients.

Trobert said the arrangement has worked out well. The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t helped, though, as it arrived in Saskatchewan shortly after Gilliss became partner, but they have adjusted.

“It’s been really good the last couple of months here, so kudos to her that she’s worked hard and rebuilding her clientele after mat leave,” said Trobert.

The law firm has three support staff, and Trobert’s wife Doris handles the bookkeeping.

Trobert Gilliss is also in a new home, at the intersection of 14th Avenue and Fourth Street – a building they share with Century 21 Border Real Estate Service.

It ’s proved to be a great move, because they have more space, and so they can do their work and adhere to social distancing. Trobert expects they will be able to better serve the needs of their clients.

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www.estevanmercury.ca

May 20, 2020 A9

How it feels to have a baby during the pandemic

By Ana Bykhovskaia

abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

Carrying and then having a baby is the period in life filled with changes of all types, but giving birth to a baby in the times of global pandemic might take this experience to a whole new level.

Griffin Charlie Klatt was born to happy parents Derek and Charlene at 5:07 a.m. on April 1 at St. Joseph’s Hospital. Throughout most of nine months, everything was going as planned, until several weeks before the due date when the world made a flip and everything changed.

And while the first days of the quarantine were the most intense for changes, closures and new circumstances, Charlene said that even though she felt stressed because of the pandemic, for them the experience still ended up being very positive.

Griffin became a younger brother to Lennox who was born in February 2018, and having the second baby was definitely different this time. For example,

the last month prior to the big day, they only had every other visit with the doctor. “ R a t h e r t h a n e ve r y week, we went every second week and you just do a phone visit on the opposite weeks,” recalled Charlene.

The hospital visits also started with a screening, with the staff asking about the health conditions. Derek wasn’t allowed to join Charlene for her last appointments and the ultrasound in the end.

When the time came, Charlene and Derek headed to the hospital, where the general procedures remained mainly the same with just some precautionary measures added. “ The nurses told us they were going to be washing their hands a lot more, and if we were uncomfortable with anything just to ask to wash their hands again. And they told us no visitors, only my husband was allowed,” said Charlene.

This time they both had to answer the screening questions prior to being checked in the hospital, but after that everything was

going as normal. The Klatts were the only family on the floor and with no visitors allowed they felt pretty comfortable and safe, having the time for themselves.

“It was absolutely nice.

It was more peaceful, and you didn’t feel as stressed out. It felt like you could really bond with the baby in comparison to having visitors,” said Charlene.

While not having visitors made it a bit more relaxed for parents, the staff ensured that they also could have some rest when needed.

“The staff was fantastic.

They made sure that I was comfortable, and the baby was comfortable. And if I was tired they took the baby and watched him for me.

They were wonderful,” said Charlene.

All flowers and cards were sent to their home address instead of the hospital.

Nobody rushed the family out, and they could take their time and make sure that they were ready to take baby Griffin home.

The first months are usually also quite intense and busy for families. And

Derek and Charlene Klatt greeted their baby Griffin, born in the midst of pandemic. Photo submitted

at this time, they really could feel the difference. The older kid was strongly missing the outdoor activities and playdates that kept him busy helping to use up his energy. “ We had a very busy life. We had a couple of playdates a week and then we’d either go to the energy outlet or swimming, something like that once a week, little stir crazy,” said Charlene.

They are now doing lots of painting, crafts and even some baking and rock painting together. Charlene noted that if it was her first baby, having it in current circumstances would be amazing because it would allow the family more time to bond, but with the toddler, it makes things a bit more difficult. It was also difficult not to have visitors during the first month at home, as they started feeling a bit lonely separated from their family and friends.

On the other hand, there were some useful changes such as the grocery delivery offered by Estevan stores, which became the family’s sheet anchor.

“I haven’t been to stores since March.”

The main thing Charlene finds stressful now is the check-ups that have been taking place over the phone ever since Griffin was born.

“I feel like you have to see him if there is something wrong with him,” said

Griffin Charlie Klatt was born at St. Joseph’s Hospital at 5:07 a.m. on April 1. Photo submitted Charlene.

Usually, families come in at two weeks, a month and then two months. Charlene did one visit over the phone and then asked the public health nurse to come in when Griffin was a week old to weigh and check him to ensure that everything was going well.

She still doesn’t know when they will be able to come in for a check-up.

The province is gradually

reopening now, but the COVID-19 virus is not gone yet. While nobody knows when the pandemic will be over, Charlene said that stressing about it doesn't help. Besides, in her experience, the hospital did their best to ensure her family’s safety. “(Do) not be as worried about COVID here anyways as you could be. I stressed way more than I had to,” said Charlene.

Derek and Charlene Klatt with their older son Lennox, baby Griffin and two dogs Duke and Gus. Photo by Starr Mercer Photography

Hillcrest School finds a unique way to deliver Hurricane performance during the pandemic Hillcrest School has found a unique way to have its annual Hurricane performance this spring.

The annual musical was supposed to happen at the end of May, but had to be cancelled after classes were suspended in March. A short time later, the company that created the show they were working on, Sally Sells Sea Shells, sent an email to Sarah Posehn, who was directing the Hurricane production. “ They were working frantically on creating this show that could be performed and rehearsed and created entirely online, specifically because of all of the musicals that had been cancelled due to the coronavirus and everything shutting down,” Posehn told the Mercury.

The new production is

fittingly named The Show Must go Online, with a different set of characters than Sally Sells Sea Shells. It’s the story of kids trying to perform a show named Brushes with Greatness through the Internet.

Posehn promptly messaged principal Kristy Johnson and community education liaison Sara Pippus, and they voiced their support.

Then she messaged the 12 kids who were in the original musical to get this new production going. Many of the students have more than one role.

“It ’s broken up that each character gets about a minute-long monologue, or a monologue mixed with a song, and they’re supposed to record themselves at home, so it ’s using things they would have.”

One character has to make a toothbrush with googly eyes, and then make the toothbrush perform, and others have siblings who are supposed to participate by yelling and banging on doors in the background.

“The kids record themselves doing their part, and then they send it to me, and what I’m going to do is link all of the videos in order, and then polish it up a little bit to help create the musical.”

When you play all of the individual pieces in a row, it creates the production.

It was a bit of a slow start, but now they’re moving forward.

“It’s been a challenge to get them to have the confidence to say that ‘Yes, they are going to be willing to record themselves, and they are going to sing all by

themselves and record it.”

Cast members have been meeting two or three times a week on Microsoft Teams to plan and talk about their parts.

“I uploaded the vocal accompaniment tracks and the background music for them, and the script and everything, so I also had their scripts delivered thorugh our courier service with the school division,” said Posehn.

Now they’re ready to start practising with her so she can give them feedback online, and then they’ll be asked to submit the first draft of the performance at the end of May. “It’s supposed to look a little bit thrown together and a little bit rough.”

But they’re also learning about proper lighting and camera position.

Posehn hopes it can be

finished by the end of the school year in June, but the most important element is to see the students connected and being creative in these tough times.

“We just wanted them to still sing and dance and have a project, and something that will connect them to their peers, because we were just getting to the fun part of the musical in school.”

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It’s been a year unlike any other for the week on Wednesdays Mary’s Little Lambs preschool in Estevan, Their school y but the children, their families and teacher September to late M Patty Ksenych have handled the adversity Lawrence prais as well as could be expected. work with the childre Owner Mary Lawrence said they have “She worked in th 24 students in their four-year-old class who a few years ago, befo will graduate this year from the pre-school knows what the childr and move into kindergarten in the fall. entering kindergarten “This year, of course, has been quite what they are expec different for our graduating class. We al- structures her classes f ways have a spring concert and graduation for kindergarten,” said ceremony that parents and grandparents When COVIDcome to, and Patty has taught the children ewan in March, they about four or five songs.” some concerns from p Then the graduates will receive their the preschool would diploma. It’s been tough not having the “Once they anno ceremony this year, but the pre-school made schools were closed, changes to recognize their students.

Lawrence.

“It was a different one (this year), but Mary’s Little L I was thinking of it as we were working on parents to say they w getting things together,” said Lawrence. the school year online “We’d be having all of the parents and Ksenych was will to te the grandparents here, and the songs are any children present. so cute. It’s just too bad they didn’t get to Then they had perform them.” would get the videos This year the school had to have their timately they opted f graduation on video, so they prepared it which meant the vid in April, printed off all of the diplomas, attached a photo of the student to the diploma, and provided a few words on how the student did during the school year.

Both Lawrence and Ksenych believe that this year was a wonderful group of kids.

Before COVID-19 came to Saskatchewan in mid-March, their school year was going well. It was the first time in 10-15 years they didn’t have full classes. Often their classes are full, and they have a wait list. The ongoing economic challenges facing was a factor, Lawrence said.

And with the school divisions in town offering preschool classes, it has started to chip away at Mary’s Little Lamb’s enrolment.

Their capacity is 30 kids for their four-year-old age group. And they can have up to 20 three-year-olds; they had 18 three-year-olds this year.

Four-year-olds come twice a week for a two-hour class on Tuesdays or Thursdays. Sgt. Tyler McMille Three year-olds get one two-hour session a from Mary’

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Mary’s ttle Lamb’s reschool

May 20, 2020 A11

Linley Jamieson

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tes enjoyed learning r at preschool

s. year runs from early May. sed Ksenych for her en. the school system quite ore we started. So she ren need when they’re n, and she understands cted to know, so she for getting them ready d Lawrence.

-19 came to Saskatchwere already hearing parents about whether remain open. ounced that all of the we closed, too,” said

Lambs went to the were willing to finish e through some videos. each the class without . to decide how they s to the parents. Ulfor a YouTube video, deos had to be private

and parents needed an account.

“We decided we would make a monthly package for the parents with worksheets and art supplies, and we planned the whole month of classes and sent them everything they would need as far as supplies or sheets would go. And then we did a video once a week for the four-year-old class and the three-year-old class,” said Lawrence.

Ksenych went through the whole schedule as she normally would, reading to the kids, saying hi to them all and singing songs she had been teaching them.

“It was a lot more work for us, but it seemed to work out well. A lot of parents were really appreciative that we had done this.”

At the end of the school year, the kids also received a DVD, created by Teresa Stovin, with music and photos taken by Ksenych during the school year.

Parents have been very supportive throughout this situation, Lawrence said, sending pictures of children doing worksheets at home, and telling them how much they enjoyed the videos. And the children have done very well, too.

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A12 May 20, 2020

www.estevanmercury.ca

Retailers look forward to seeing customers again

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

Retailers in the Estevan area are looking forward to seeing their customers once again.

Retail outlets in Saskatchewan were able to open their doors to public access starting on Tuesday, although the way in which they do business is very different than what it was a couple of months ago, before they were forced to shut their doors to in-person shopping due to COVID-19.

Many of the retailers, though, have been able to maintain some measure of sales through online shopping and other means.

Jennifer Pettitt, who owns Jenny Joans, said the past two months have been different, but they were fortunate to have their website established well before the store was closed to the public.

“We were able to func-

tion at a capacity that is sustainable to us, so we are very happy about that,” said Pettitt. “We have had a lot of local support as well.”

People have also been shopping over the phone.

Online shopping has been part of their business for the past three years, and Jenny Joans has a good base in Canada and the U.S. Their web-based business is a lot of work when compared to in-person sales, and Pettitt estimates they have done about half of their normal business.

Jenny Joans has seven employees, but during the past two months, they have had to lay off their part-time and casual workers, leaving just Pettitt and another fulltime worker.

When they reopen on Tuesday, they will be back to almost full staff levels.

“Our hours are going to be a little bit less, not a lot … so that we can maintain a

Lincoln Empey from the House of Stationery was looking forward to the business opening again on May 19. File photo

safe environment for people to shop,” she said.

R ules now in place mean that people will be able to shop somewhat normally, but they will have hand sanitizer at both entrances and throughout the store.

The front counter will have barriers to keep staff and customers safe. “ We will have directional arrows in the store, so it will be easy to keep the distance without really having to bypass another customer,” she said.

The number of customers allowed in the store will be capped at five, and they might have to call or text customers to let them know it’s OK to enter the store.

“It ’s so that we can maintain a good distance and maintain a cleaning standard after each customer visits.”

Customers will be allowed to try on items, but those items will be sanitized afterwards with a steamer that exceeds 200 degrees.

Merchandise could also go into quarantine for 72 hours, which is long enough that the virus won’t live long enough on clothing.

Cleanings will occur at regular intervals, after every customer exchange at the till, and in the change rooms, so that people know it’s safe.

Masks will be available for customers as well.

People won’t be able to try on items such as sunglasses.

Pettitt said they have missed seeing their customers every day. It’s been such a long time, and Pettitt hopes customers will enjoy returning to the store.

The House of Stationery has also done pretty well, said owner Lincoln Empey.

They locked the front doors a couple of months ago, leaving access to the back door for curbside pickups and deliveries.

While their sales are down from last year, they have been able to operate.

Most of their business has come through the phone, fax or email, rather than online.

The House of Stationery employs seven people, and the local business has been able to retain all of them, although they have been limited to part-time work.

They will still limit the number of staff they have on shift once the store reopens. “ We’ll probably have three or four staff at a time to limit the amount of interaction from having that many people in the building at one time.”

They will disinfect ever ything more diligently than normal, and implement social distancing measures with the store.

Empey said he looks forward to seeing their customers once again and getting the business back to some level of normalcy.

“I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been one of the ones who has been doing the deliveries, so I get to see them every once in a while.”

The Estevan Shoppers Mall will be open again, although they will be operating under reduced hours with some new procedures to keep everyone safe.

A few of the businesses have been able to remain open the past couple of months, because they fit under the essential services legislation. But others had to shut down. And much like other businesses elsewhere in the city, some adapted to

From left, Chelsi Melle, Jennifer Pettitt and Shelley Perkins are looking forward to seeing customers again at Jenny Joans. Photo submitted keep serving customer needs.

Studio C 24-Hour Fitness won’t be able to open until a later date, because it fits under Phase 3 of the ReOpen Saskatchewan Plan.

M a l l c u s t om e r s a re asked to enter through the west door by Sobeys, and to respect social distancing.

They should see individual stores for additional safety measures.

Phase 2 for Re-Open Saskatchewan includes retail shops like clothing stores, shoe stores, flower shops, sporting good and adventure stores, vaping supply shops (vaping and consumption of vaping products not permitted in stores); boat, ATV and snowmobile dealers; gift, book and stationery stores;

jewelry and accessory stores; toy stores; music, electronic and entertainment stores; pawn shops; thrift stores; travel agencies; marinas and u-pick produce.

Also, some personal service businesses can begin providing services to the public, subject to the personal care services guidelines, including hairdressers and barber shops, registered massage therapists, acupuncturists and acupressurists.

Garage sales are not permitted at this time and will be re-assessed in later phases.

P ublic markets and farmers markets may begin operations with the necessary precautionary measures in place.

Envision is going to start the process of reopening The Envision Counselling and Support Centre has announced that they will be starting their re-opening process, in accordance with the provincial government’s guidelines.

Envision offices will remain closed to the general public, but will be open for

individual appointments when calls are made in advance.

As of May 19, Envision Counselling will be open by appointment only between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Safety of staff and those using services will continue

to be a top priority while re-opening. Within the office, face-to-face counselling sessions will be available with appropriate personal protective equipment for both staff and clients. Telephone and video sessions will still be available for those in isolation or those

LOCAL MATTERS.

not comfortable coming to the office.

Counselling is an invaluable service, especially in times of uncertainty. Envision Counselling says it is working to find the best way to continue offering services while also keeping employees and members of

the community safe during this time.

This decision is made in accordance with other Saskatchewan agency initiatives and will require collaboration from partner organizations and the community as knowledge on this change takes effect.

Envision Counselling will continue to monitor and update their agency’s response accordingly and ask for patience and grace as they move through this re-opening. Any ser vice changes can be found on Envision’s website and their Facebook page.

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A13

Friends are paying a beautiful tribute to a co-runner LOCAL ENERGY COMPANY SUPPORTED PROJECT

By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

Five friends – Iris Curriel, her husband Dave Finkas, Pat Rae, Bonny Curzon and Cheryl Anseth – enjoyed running together for years.

Curriel became sick last November and died in January from very aggressive lung cancer. While going through the loss, the other four wanted to honour her memory. “ When Iris died this January, we all were pretty

shocked that she has passed away. What (could) we do?..

So we just started brainstorming,” recalled Anseth.

Anseth came up with an idea to put up a bench at the Woodlawn Regional Park trails, where they all used to run together, and others found the idea wonderful. “ I t ’s w h e n y o u g o through the trees, back of the soccer, football field.

There is a trail back through the trees there. Iris was one of these people that liked

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trees and just feeling like you are in a forest when you are running through there. So she really liked that. And her husband picked out a spot…

It overlooks the river and is back behind the trees, so it has some shade,” explained Anseth.

Wood lawn Park has specific benches they put in the park, which made the project quite straight forward and things started moving.

The friends realized that they needed to do some fundraising to cover the expenses. They also wanted to raise some money for cancer research, so they decided to make some T-shirts and sell them.

Curzon recalled that Curriel came into her life mainly through running, which in the end shaped their fundraising efforts.

“It’s probably been six or seven years when Iris started running with Cheryl, and Pat and I. And before that I met Iris when our kids played hockey together, about 12 years ago. So I first met her then, and then Pat said she was bringing a friend to run with us at Affinity… We didn’t know who that friend was, and all of a sudden Iris arrived. And I went, ‘Oh, I know Iris.’ So we go way back,” recalled Curzon.

Iris’ husband used to join the running buddies sometimes as well. And even though they all ran together for years, the two of them never participated in any running competition together, so they were really looking forward to this year’s Coal Country Run. “This was going to be the year because we thought that was crazy that we’ve never run in the race together. And then she got sick…

And then it never happened,” said Curzon with emotion.

So the friends came up with an idea of selling “I Run for Iris” T-shirts that all people who want to celebrate Curriel’s life could wear participating in the Coal Country Run. Sunset Embroidery designed the T-Shirts, which also say “You run the race well!” on the back. Anseth explained that Curriel was quite competitive and always ran races well, so this phrase also was meant to commemorate her.

They made a few posts on social media about the fundraising and almost instantly Hank’s Maintenance stepped forward with a $1,000 donation towards the project.

“In this time of COVID and an economic downturn, I

A bench in memory of Iris Curriel is completed and installed. Seated is Dave Finkas, standing, from left, are Pat Rae, Bonny Curzon and Cheryl Anseth.

Photo submitted

Friends are planning to wear T-shirts during the Coal Country Run in memory of Iris Curriel. Photo submitted think this is totally remarkable and deserves recognition,” said Anseth.

The bench has arrived and Finkas put it together.

The bench is paid for thanks to Hank’s Maintenance support and almost $600 has additionally been raised for cancer research so far. Anseth said that everybody was really pleased with the project.

Not only was it a beautiful tribute to the life of a person they love and miss, but it also helped to go through the loss.

“It really helped with family and friends to have something that showed how much we appreciated her life here and how much she was valued as a person. That

bench will be there for years and years and years,” said Anseth emotionally.

“It’s a tribute to her. It’s an honour to do this for Iris.

It makes us feel good, that even though she lost her life, her legacy will live on because we’ll have this…”

Curzon’s voice wavered. “Just the fact that the bench is there and she is remembered.

She’ll always be remembered by people who knew her, but even people who didn’t know her will see that... And just the fact that all the funds go to cancer research, hopefully that will help in the future for finding cures for lung cancer and other cancers.”

Anseth, Curzon and a

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few other people in the community put their T-shirts on May 9, the day when Coal Countr y Run 2020 was supposed to happen, and headed out to different trails in Estevan to run or walk in memory of Curriel.

“We promised Iris before she died that we would do 5K for her, so we did our 5K on Saturday and it gave us a little bit of closure too,” said Anseth. “We did it for Iris and we thought about her all the way around.”

“She was such a humble person, so she never would want any attention. She was a very soft-spoken, humble person, so she didn’t like to be in the limelight, but it’s nice that she is,” said Curzon.

“She was such a good, honest person … Some of us are still runners, and she’ll always be there. We always visualize her with us when we run. So I guess it inspires us to keep healthy and keep fit and keep going. She would have loved that, she really wanted us to continue either walking or running, whatever we do because she was a person who was really into fitness.”

Once the park opens, the Iris Curriel bench will be put on the Preddy Trails, which are a part of the Coal Country Run. Iris T-shirts will still be sold until the Coal Country Run can happen, be it later this year or next year. They are $25 and to order a T-shirt people can contact Anseth at 306-421-0453 or Curzon at 306-421-5803.

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A14

Woodlawn excited to be open for the golf season

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

It ’s the day that the TS&M Wood lawn Golf Course has been waiting for, and as it turns out, local golfers were eager for it, too.

The course, and others throughout the region and the province, opened for play Friday, the day that was announced through the provincial government’s ReOpen Saskatchewan Plan.

The first tee time was at 7:30 a.m. Friday morning, and thanks to the nice weather during the Victoria Day long weekend, and the eagerness of the public to hit the links, there was a steady stream of players, “We had a very booked tee sheet Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday,” said head pro and general manager Amanda Minchin. “Of course, opening weekend is on a long weekend, and people haven’t been able to play golf, haven’t been able to do a lot of things outside.”

The maintenance crew was busy last week, ensuring the course is ready for play.

Minchin believes Woodlawn looked great for opening day.

“I’m lucky enough that I get to come to work here every day, even though we were closed, looking down hole No. 1 and No. 9, it looks awesome. It’s greening up here. Obviously there hasn’t been any traffic on it, there hasn’t been cart traffic, and

From left, Lori Kruka, Cindy Mack, Dawn Ramstead and Keith Ramstead were the first foursome at the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Course this year. Photo submitted the greens look awesome.”

As has been documented previously, operations will be different at the start of the season, although not to the degree that was expected. Instead of 20-minute intervals between tee times initially announced in Re-Open Saskatchewan, it will be 12 minutes, which isn’t too bad for Woodlawn considering they typically have nine minutes between tee-offs.

“It was going to be very

tough for any golf course to operate with 20-minute tee times. Their hands were going to be tied, and you weren’t going to be able to accommodate your season pass holders, your members and the general public.”

They have also found out their driving range and putting greens could open on May 15. There will be stalls set up on the driving range, and social distancing rules will be in effect. Range golf balls will be sanitized.

Men’s nights and women’s nights can also take place, although tournaments cannot. A date hasn’t been set for men’s and women’s night to resume at Woodlawn, since those have shotgun starts.

Their clubhouse is closed to the public, although food can be delivered onto the course, and they offer curbside pickup.

“Golfers will have the chance … to call in on holes eight and 17 to pre-order

from our takeout menu, if they want. We’ll have that ready. They can still grab drinks and beer, and we’ll be following all of the rules inside, and there will be very limited access to the inside.

They’ll be just allowed inside the deck door.”

There will be just one player allowed in a power cart, unless the two players are from the same household. Golfers aren’t to touch the pins, and once the golf ball hits the pin, the golfer’s

play on that hole is over.

As for green fee players, people are encouraged to pre-pay over the phone, but if they can’t, they can pay once they arrive. Payment outside will be preferred.

Walk-ons won’t be allowed now, either.

A greeter will be on site to answer people’s questions.

Woodlawn is excited to have the season underway, and they look forward to seeing the public, both members and green fee players.

Speedway cancels two remaining programs in May The Estevan Motor Speedway (EMS) has announced the cancellation of its next two race programs, but they’re still hoping to have something for drivers this month.

The EMS’s board voted on May 12 to call off their programs slated for May 22 and 29, bringing the total number of cancelled race programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic to four. They earlier cancelled a season-opening double-header slated for the first weekend in May. But the track is going to hold a closed, limited practice session May 23 for racers.

“We’re going to have it closed off in sessions,” said board president Byron Fichter.

There will be 10 cars and one pit crew per car at the speedway’s grounds at one time. The 10 cars will be split into two sections of five in the pits, with social distancing measures taken into consideration when determining where the cars will be located.

Five cars will be allowed to drive onto the track at once.

Each driver will be allowed to have one pitman.

“With the practice sessions, it’s going to be structured in a way for us to make a few dollars,” said Fichter.

There will be sessions from 2-4 p.m., 5-7 p.m. and 8-10 p.m. The hour between the practices will give them a chance to have vehicles and their crews leave, prepare the track, and for the next set of drivers to move in.

It will also allow them to have a soft trial for when they are able to start racing, and they get to ensure their equipment is working.

“There’s lots of frost in the ground,” said Fichter. “The ground shifts and moves. All of our electrical stuff ’s inside.

The test and tune is the perfect opportunity to get the scoring and timing up to speed, and

get the prep work of the track done.”

The track’s board has been working with the Government of Saskatchewan about having a better outline of what the speedway can do in June. Their next program is scheduled for June 13, which is to be the Tougher than Dirt tour stop.

The EMS has also looked at the possibility of races without fans in the stands, similar to what a track in South Dakota did last month. Racing fans would pay to watch the race via pay per view.

It’s another topic the track has discussed with the

provincial government.

Fichter noted that tracks in North Dakota have been granted 20 per cent access of their grandstands. So if the track could normally seat 1,000 people, they would now be able to admit 200.

“If they say we can’t have any grandstand (spectators), we are working on a theoretical pay per view event. Again, we can’t do that unless we know we can make some money, or at least break even.”

Financial issues are a concern for the speedway. The track relies heavily on sponsorship, and that’s going to be tough this year due to financial

challenges facing people in the community. Cancelling events is tough on them, since much of their revenues come from ticket sales and admission fees.

“We can’t take sponsorship money from people when we aren’t racing, because we aren’t able to promote those sponsors.”

A decision hasn’t been made on the Dakota Classic Modified Tour double-header, scheduled for July 11 and 12.

It had been billed as the biggest event in the speedway’s history.

Fichter said there would be a lot of factors on whether the tour stops would proceed.

Council hears support and opposition for third rink Estevan city council received messages of support and opposition for a possible third arena in the city during Monday night’s meeting.

The support came from the Estevan atom Knights hockey club. Head coach Sheldon Beatty and assistant coach Jon Park said that with the addition of a much-anticipated under-18 AAA hockey team, the Knights believe Estevan needs to look thoroughly at the possibility of a third ice surface.

According to them, the third arena has been much-needed since the old Civic Auditorium was demolished.

Beatty and Park cited several reasons:

• Early evening practice times that are hard on coaches, parents and young players when every week parents have to leave work early to try to accommodate these ice times.

• Estevan Minor Hockey Association hockey teams have to travel out of town to play home games. If players want to practise and play out of town, Beatty and Park said they can request to be released and play in those communities, at a much-discounted cost.

• When practising and playing home games, Beatty and Park said it is frustrating to be in facilities that they believe are sub-par to Estevan’s. They noted kids have to use hand-warmers

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in gloves and toques under their helmets, and water bottles are freezing on the benches.

• If a third ice surface is constructed, they believe Estevan minor hockey and other events could be bigger.

“We all know this will be a very interesting subject for the city of Estevan,” they wrote. “There will be backlash and praise from many people, as we have seen in the discussions on various social media outlets already.”

Council also received letters from a contingent of elected officials from surrounding communities: Bienfait Mayor Paul Carroll, Alameda Mayor Perry Kinder, Lampman Mayor Jay

Jones, Midale Mayor Allan Hauglum, Torquay Mayor Michael Strachan, RM of Coalfieds Reeve Richard Tessier, RM of Cambria Reeve Darwin Daae, RM of Browning Reeve Pius Loustel and RM of Cymri Reeve Joe Vilcu.

“Being the surrounding communities that support the City of Estevan’s economy, we are opposed to the idea of building another rink with so many existing rinks in the area,” they wrote.

They pointed out there are five skating facilities in the communities surrounding Estevan that are less than 60 kilometres away. These facilities are underutilized and have ample slots of ice time available during the season.

“Many of our community members work in Estevan and support the city in many aspects. By building another facility, our rinks will continue to be underutilized, therefore being detrimental to our communities as well as Estevan.”

These rural communities in the area rely on having a local rink to draw residents to the community, and without them, the rural communities will deteriorate.

Council has previously stated that they would not make a decision on a third arena for the Energy City during this term. Rather, they would leave it up to the next council.

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May 20, 2020 A15

Prairie Dog Drive-In Theatre digs in for 40th season

By Kelly Johnson of the Carlyle Observer The Prairie Dog DriveIn Theatre in Carlyle has stood the test of time, becoming one of only a few drive-in movie theatres remaining in Saskatchewan.

It opened for its 40th season during the Victoria Day long weekend.

This year the theatre opened by showing Trolls World Tour, which is an animation production.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic there was some worry if the theatre would be allowed to open. The Saskatchewan Government just recently gave the thumbs up for the opening, and we all know that “the show must go on.”

The Prairie Dog has been operated by Ray Boutin and his wife Frances, with the help of their daughters Simone and Janelle. They became the proprietors in 1997, purchasing it from the original owner who built and

opened the theatre in 1980.

It is located on the flatlands north of Carlyle, adjacent to Highway 9, which is the gateway to the summer vacation resorts of Kenosee Lake and White Bear Lake.

The theatre was originally called the KenPar Cinema; Boutin changed the name to the Prairie Dog Theatre in !998.

The first movie shown

by Boutin was Liar Liar starring Jim Carrey and fittingly, it was screened on May 15, 1997, which was opening night for this year.

The drive-in theatre has provided entertainment for scores of movie buffs as well as for the Boutins.

Titanic was one movie that drew a huge crowd; Boutin brought his 26-foot sailboat and parked it by the marquis sign for added effect.

Another memorable incident – which takes place at drive-in movies everywhere, as anyone would know that has patronized the outdoor theatres – involved hiding

in the truck. On this particular night a brown sedan stopped a few miles north of the drive in, unknowingly in the view of a local farmer, who watched the alleged moviegoers pile into the trunk, leaving only the driver visible to negotiate the box office. Boutin received a call from the farmer and when the brown sedan pulled up the driver was informed that it was trunk check night at the theatre and all wound up being happy paying customers.

As well drive-in movie goers had been known to hide others things in the trunk, namely cases of beer.

In Saskatchewan it is illegal to consume these refreshments in a motor vehicle and on many nights an effort had to be made to calm the moviegoers and curb the partying customers.

After all this was a tradition in the province to load up the vehicle and make a night out at the movies.

The dr ive-in movie

business has seen many changes, from fixed speakers that hung on the window, carbon arc projectors which you had to be licensed and certified to run, to the new modern projectors, which provide a digital quality picture for the viewer.

T h e b i g c h a n ge, o f course, for this season is the COVID-19 pandemic, making opening to the public another challenge in itself.

The venue will only be open to a portion of as many vehicles to maintain physical distancing, and each spot will be numbered. There have also been changes to their concession and washrooms.

Boutin was expecting a full house again; the nostalgia of the drive-in theatre with the pandemic having kept people at home.

He has had inquiries from all over the province, with people wanting to attend this very special weekend for the Prairie Dog Drive In Theatre.

A line-up formed along Highway 9 on May 15 as people were eager to watch a movie at the Prairie Dog Drive-in. Photo by Kelly Johnson of the Carlyle Observer

Vehicles were spaced out accordingly at the Prairie Dog Drive-In on May 15. Photo by Kelly Johnson of the Carlyle Observer

Several honours for southeast Sask. at SCMA Awards The southeast region was well represented during the Saskatchewan Country Music Association (SCMA) Awards on Saturday night.

Former Estevan resident Chris Henderson won the award for the Top Male Artist of the Year for the second consecutive year.

He released his latest

album, Point of View, last year.

Henderson, who now resides in Regina, also performed during the night, with a quarantine version of his song Didn’t Want my Sweater Back.

M i c a h Wa l b a u m o f Forget was announced as the winner of the SCMA’s

Youth Development Bursary.

She has also had a busy year performing, and was selected to be on the stage at last year ’s Countr y Thunder festival near Craven.

The Happy Nun Café in Forget was selected as the top music venue, thanks to its popularity for concerts.

Also among the win-

ners was Weyburn’s Tenille Arts, who was named the top Female Artist of the Year. She also shared the songwriter award with Alex Kline and Allison Veitz for the song Somebody Like That.

Arts won the Estevan Junior Idol (now Estevan Sings Junior) contest in

2006, and was a finalist for Estevan Idol (now Estevan Sings) a few years later.

Former Estevan resident Cal Gratton was named the top music director for a secondary market for his work in Melfort.

S everal other musicians who have performed in southeast Saskatchewan

were recognized during the ceremony.

The SCMAs had to be awarded digitally this year, with performances and award announcements happening through a video.

For a video of Henderson’s performance, please visit www.estevanmercury. ca.

Council gives first reading to mill rate bylaws Four bylaws related to taxation were brought forward for first reading at the May 10 meeting of Estevan city council.

The primary bylaw dealt with the rate of taxation, which affects property taxes in Estevan. For the second straight year, there will not be an increase for the municipal share of property taxes.

There was just a one per cent increase in 2018.

Three other property tax documents were brought forward at the meeting. The first was the health care levy, which has been around for roughly a decade. The levy generates approximately $310,000 for physician recruitment and retention, and for the city’s commitment to the new Estevan Regional Nursing Home.

The city has paid off the bulk of its commitment to the building.

The next one was the library levy, which has been

in place since 2015. The city will pay $34.74 per capita, or $398,920, to the Southeast Regional Library, and $25,000 to the local operations of the Estevan Public Library.

Estevan and other Saskatchewan municipalities are mandated to support regional libraries each year.

The Estevan Public Library has been closed since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayor Roy Ludwig noted that the Southeast Regional Library has reached out to the city and has offered to help cover the cost of a capital improvement.

“A portion of the savings … from when the library is shut down, they are willing to work with us and spend that money on a capital item (at the library),” said Ludwig.

The mayor suggested directing the money towards new carpets in the library.

The final levy is new this

year: a Business Improvement District levy that is to raise $27,500. Ludwig noted the city has taken the money it contributes to BID out of its operating portion of the budget and will now be assessed as a levy.

All of the bylaws will need second and third readings before they’re final.

• • • Council approved an encroachment request for 902 Second Street. The city approved a detached garage with a secondary suite on the property. The development is almost completed, but it has created a new issue with slope stability on the property. A fence and cement pad encroach into the adjoining city road right of way.

The owner wishes to

reconstruct the fence and to build a retaining wall which, are approximately two feet outside the property line.

It is not expected to create problems for sidewalk improvements.

• • • The monthly water quality report for April showed the city treated nearly 173 million liters of water and pumped nearly 139 million litres into the distribution system. There were no plant upsets and all regulated parameters were below government regulations except trihalomethanes, which will be addressed through the shift in the primary water source from Boundary Dam to Rafferty Dam. • • • Six building permits

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• • • Council gave second and third readings to the official community plan document. The city began work on the official community plan nearly two years ago, and the comprehensive document, which is more than 100 pages in length, will offer guidance for the next decade.

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Looking for the big one

Online gambling has become a new curse during pandemic

By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

Matthew Montes and Saryna Montes were out fishing on the Souris River at the Woodlawn Regional Park’s free park on Sunday afternoon. While it was a windy day in southeast Saskatchewan, the warm temperatures made it a good day to be out enjoying activities such as fishing.

Quarantine has closed all lounges and casinos, thus leaving gambling addicted people with hardly any options to feed their habits.

Shauna Altrogge, who is the director of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Saskatchewan Division’ gambling awareness program (GAP), said that there is “strong evidence suggesting that due to COVID-19, and all bricks and mortar gambling being shut down (VLT's, slots, casinos, bingo halls, etc.), people are seeking out online gambling for a variety of reasons.”

She added that online gambling could be done responsibly if people are simply accessing it as a form of recreation and doing it reasonably and within the balance of other activities.

“However, given the current situation we find ourselves in with the pandemic, and people being holed up at home, they might be bored, isolated, lonely, feeling stress or anxiety.

Gambling to escape negative feelings or viewing it as an easy way to make money, due to financial worries (due to

job loss, lay-offs, etc.), could be problematic. So, this is an area of concern, and could shift those casino players over to online play or introduce new gamblers to online gambling opportunities,” said Altrogge.

There is no governmentoperated online gambling websites in Saskatchewan, which means if people want to gamble, they have to do so outside of our province. In Canada that is made available in Ontario, Quebec and B.C., as well as in some of the U.S. states, most countries of the European Union, some Caribbean nations and other places in the world.

“Interestingly, a recent report suggested that internet use is up 68 per cent by Canadians since the pandemic, and it would be reasonable to assume some of that increase could be related to online gambling,” said Altrogge.

There are a number of risks that come with gambling online that people need to be aware of, she said, including its accessibility as it operates 24/7, and solitude since there might not be anyone to watch over a person gambling like casino staff or others. Besides, a player can be intoxicated, while gam-

bling at home.

Furthermore, online gambling is riskier in terms of site legitimacy and fairness in pay-outs. It also decreases the perception of the value of cash, which is changed over to credits. It may result in credit card security issues. On top of that, people gambling online easily lose track of time and money spent.

Altrogge suggested a few tips for safe online gambling.

“Only spend what you can afford to lose. Keep track of the amount of time that you play, decide on a time limit and stick to it. Keep track of your spending while playing. Remember that the numbers on the screen are real money. Avoid chasing your losses. If you’re a parent who gambles online, keep your password safe and consider using software to block access to gambling sites from minors,” said Altrogge.

“Look for sites with options where you can set your own spend and session limits.

If you are having a problem, request to be self-excluded from the site. There is also software that blocks access to all online gambling sites. See www.gamblock.com for more details.”

Oxbow’s school happy to receive nutrition grant The Oxbow Prairie Horizons School is one of 10 schools from across Saskatchewan to receive a $10,000 grant to support student nutrition through the Mosaic Extreme School Makeover Challenge.

Learning support teacher Valerie McNab, who shares responsibility for the breakfast program with student services co-ordinator Brenda Miller, said the money will be used for the school’s breakfast program and other initiatives.

Oxbow Prairie Horizons has had a breakfast program for about five years, and they serve breakfast every morning in some way.

Fresh fruit is available to all on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, while toast, yogurt, cereal and fruit are served on Wednesdays. The days in which fruit is served attract about 75 kids every day.

The Wednesday menu gets

60-75 kids each day.

“I think the kids really enjoy it,” McNab said. “In the elementary end, when she (Miller) is serving fruit … there’s always lots of visiting.”

It’s a wonderful way to start the morning, and it’s a nice social time on Wednesdays, to sit down and have meal with friends.

The money from Mosaic will also allow them to have the larger breakfast on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and then serve fruit on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“The thought behind that is welcoming them back to the school after a weekend with a meal, and then seeing them off before the weekend with a meal as well through a hearty breakfast.”

An afterschool program will also be supported with the money. The school is going to partner with the Expressway Family Centre, which oper-

ates out of the school, to have cooking programs and have a chef come in to guide kids on food preparation and choices.

Parents will also be invited to participated.

McNab said most students have a good day at school if they’ve had a good breakfast.

“If we can fill a belly, it’s easier to fill a brain,” she said.

“That would be our main goal behind this, is preparing people to learn, promoting some social skills at the same time, and some fellowship with their fellow students.”

The school has received money from Vermillion Energy on multiple occasions in the past for their breakfast program, and they have received money from Farm Credit Canada as well.

Mosaic is pleased to support Oxbow and other schools in the province.

“The success of this pro-

gram grows year over year, thanks in large part to the commitment from educators in our province,” said Sarah Fedorchuk, the Mosaic Company’s vice-president of public affairs and government relations for North America.

“Now in its 14th year, Mosaic remains committed to funding the Mosaic Extreme School Makeover Challenge to ensure 10 more schools can provide healthier school environments for their students.”

The grants across the

province will support projects that have goals including building or renovating kitchen, garden and other indoor and outdoor facilities; enhancing, through courses, clubs and other efforts, the learning opportunities available for students, families and communities about topics including nutrition, cooking, Indigenous traditional knowledge and environmental sustainability; promoting reconciliation and celebrating cultures; and implementing or

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increasing breakfast, lunch and other programs.

Schools from across the province submitted their projects to compete for the total of $100,000 in prizes, provided

by Mosaic.

To encourage grassroots initiatives to help improve student nutrition, the Mosaic Challenge began in 2006. Mosaic and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) have continued to partner for the initiative since then.

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May 20, 2020 A17

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Card of Thanks I wish that I could thank each and every one of you personally, for the overwhelming kindness and support that you have shown to us at the time of Roger’s passing but that would be impossible.

Let me begin with the compassion and dignity shown to us by the staff, the Doctor on call at St Joseph’s Hospital. Your kindness and patience with us will never be forgotten.

Thank you for all of the food, flowers, cards, that were delivered to the house, and all of the kind thoughts and offers of help that came with them.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all of the family and dear friends that surrounded us with such an overwhelming amount of love and support. We couldn’t have done it without you all.

To Tamera, James and Jesse, I can only say that “your Dad would be so proud of you for giving him the amazing send off!� And he would be amazed that you pulled it off without his guidance! And to Mike, Roddy, Lonny, Aaron and Art for making it happen and for the deep respect shown to your Boss.

And thank you from the bottom of our hearts, to Deb,Vic and the staff at Hall Funeral Home. You led us through the process with love and kindness we will never forget.

And most of all, “thank you� to my kids and grandkids that wrapped their strong loving arms around me daily in person and through technology and got me through this time. I love you more than you will ever know.

God Bless you all!

Shirley Huber Thank Yousw Thanks to my sister June.

To my friends; Shirley, Char, Wendy, Colleen, Pat, Ray, Young, and Helen Sereggela, for all your Love and support after the passing of my dear mother Jean Wilson.

To my dear Nephew Eldon Wilson,Thanks.

Thanks to Wanda Kjersem, you were her dear friend.

Thanks to the rest or her Creighton Lodge family for their support and words of encouragement.

To Shelley Veroba and staff you have made Creighton Lodge a place to call home one of the finest.

Dr. Christie, Dr. Sheikh thanks for her care over the years.

I am lost without my mom, but we will meet again one day.

God Bless You All Bev Holinaty

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Wildland fire and controlled burns part of Estevan Fire Rescue Service’s recent call volumes

By Ana Bykhovskaia

abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

The Estevan Fire Rescue Service (EFRS) was called to a wildland fire May 12 at about 1 p.m.

The fire occurred south of Outram and just north of the U.S. border. A number of controlled burns were taking place in that area at the same time, but thanks to the accurate land location given by the caller, firefighters were able to make it to the scene in a timely manner.

The fire was extinguished without incident. However, the results of the investigation into the fire cause were rather disappointing. “After the investigation of this particular (fire), it appears that it was fairly close to an intersection, which could lead to the cause of the fire possibly being careless discarding of smoking materials,� said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser. “But also with all the other controlled burns in the area too, it could have been something

that maybe has gotten away from somebody and got into the area that they didn’t want to have burned.�

Crews cleaned up the scene and on the way back to the station they came across another fire that wasn’t called in, didn’t seem to be supervised by anyone and appeared to be out of control. So firefighters suppressed that fire as well. No incident occurred and the cause wasn’t determined for that fire.

Feser reminded farmers and ranchers in the area to always ensure that the controlled burns they are conducting are supervised at all times.

On May 11, the EFRS also conducted their first prescribed burn of the year in the Chinook Bay area. Prescribed burns are aimed at controlling overgrown vegetation to prevent the potential of fires spreading. “All of the forecasts that we are currently seeing submitted to the fire departments are predicting an extremely dry summer and fall. So we are

trying to get some of that stuff on the wildland-urban (areas) under control before it goes under major threat while conditions are favourable,� said Feser.

Fire crews were working at the scene for about six hours Monday and then continued for another three hours the following day, trying to get the southeast of the valley. Feser said that there are a few little areas left that they still would like to clean up, but they also have stage 2, in which they would like to go to the other side of the railroad and conduct a controlled burn between the rail line and Highways 39 west.

The rains that occurred later this week put a pause on their progress.

Feser said people were pretty receptive and happy about the burn, as it does promote new growth of vegetation and also controls the wood tick population, and helps to fight invasive weed species. “If we stay on top of it, we’ll make that valley look nice and lush especially after

Estevan Fire Rescue Service conducted the first prescribed burn in the Chinook Bay area last Monday. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia a couple of days of rain ‌ and a couple of days of sunshine,� said Feser.

On May 12 at about 11:30 a.m. firefighters were also alerted to a commercial fire alarm activation. Crews responded to find out that it was indeed an issue with the fire alarm system and there was

no emergency occurring at the location. So crews stood down and returned to the station, while the command vehicle stayed on site and assisted the property manager in troubleshooting.

Feser also reminded people that if they are encountering an emergency, instead of calling

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police or fire services directly they should dial 911, as it makes the work of all emergency measures organizations more efficient. “Call 911, so that way all emergency services are alerted at the same time and are dispatched accordingly,� said Feser.

Cheers & Jeers

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

A19

Flooring Paint • Blinds • Backsplash Accent Walls 306-634-5588 104 - Hwy. 47 S. Estevan, SK

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Flashback – Wednesday, May 24, 1995

Cheers Cheers to the fellow who turned in a lost purse the night of May 7, and to all who return lost articles or possessions.

Cheers to the Estevan Mercury and Southeast Lifestyles for the combination of the two papers into just one. It was a great idea.

Cheers to the farmers of southeast Saskatchewan who are out in the field once again and planting the crops in the field. Our farmers produce the crops that feed the world, and play a big part in Saskatchewan’s economy.

Cheers to the reopening of the retail businesses in Estevan and other communities.

Please remember to shop local, but to respect social distancing regulations when you do.

Cheers to being able to golf and fish during the Victoria Day long weekend. These are sports that can be enjoyed by small groups of people in spread-out areas.

Cheers to the work that’s happening at Centennial Park in Estevan. Once we’re able to use them, the splash park and the play structure will be a lot of fun for the kids.

Young skippers from Hillcrest School were preparing for the Jump Rope for Heart event by organizing their various team stations and limbering up for the two-hour skipping marathon. The team consisted of back row, from left, Chelsea Dekok and Chantel Bonokoski, along with, front row, Pamela McClelland, Jenna Harris, Tiffany Densley and Lindsey Vicary. The school raised over $3,000 in pledges for the Heart and Stroke Foundation in the process.

Jeers Jeers to the social media trolls who fail to think before they post, who don’t do their research on a subject, or who are stuck with their pre-conceived notions. What’s worse is many of them don’t put their name behind their opinion.

Jeers to the people who continue to toss litter in the ditches and fields near our highways. It creates an eyesore and we don’t have people out cleaning them up in the spring like we normally do.

Jeers to the government for not including Highway 47 from Estevan to Stoughton in its highways stimulus spending package. That stretch of highway is really beat up, still has a lot of traffic on it, and needs to be addressed.

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

CONSIGN TODAY! Equipment-RV-Vehicles Auction

TIMED ONLINE ONLY 5 DAY AUCTION

Make me an encourager Of all the times I’ve lived through, including both bad times and bad situations, I don’t think I ever remember hearing so many stories of neighbours helping neighbours or of strangers helping strangers.

Although, admittedly, kindness doesn’t erase a virus called corona, but it sure makes its consequences easier to bear.

Like many of you, I’ve read through the biblical Book of Acts many times and heard often of Barnabas; having said that, these past few days he and his life have

Linda Wegner Words of Worth stood out to me in a new way. As the newly launched church was in the process of expanding to include Gentiles as well as Jewish believers, contention arose. (Some things never change as one group finds it hard to accept another.)

Paul and Barnabas trav-

LANDSCAPE YOUR YARD

elled to the affected churches to admonish Jewish believers to open their hearts to these new brothers and sisters.

Paul’s life and ministry revealed that he was very human; even as he admonished believers to open their hearts to others, at least once he found it impossible to do the same. Specifically, he was not willing to have John Mark accompany them on another mission trip because he’d “abandoned” them earlier.

Barnabas, however, was

willing to give him a second chance. The men parted company. (Thankfully they later resolved the issue, according to Col. 4:10; Philemon 1:23-24) As I refer back to my appreciation for friends and neighbours, we need to be careful that we maintain a gracious and helping spirit even when the restrictions are lifted. Being an encourager isn’t always about roses and appreciation but may God remind us of how He’s used others to bless us and how He asks that we become a blessing to others. We’ll never agree on everything but may God make us ambassadors of His forgiveness and inspiration.

“Brethren, love one another….”

Starting June 27, 2020

Auction items will be on display at Estevan Motor Speedway June 15 for viewing.

Call 306-634-9512 to consign.

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

Sand Gravel Crushed Rock Pea Gravel DELIVERED TO YOUR YARD

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We have implemented the following changes to keep you safe: • No Contact Drop Off & Pickup • Appointment Times For Drop Off And Pickup • No Contact Payment • Following All Social Distancing Measures

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A20 May 20, 2020

www.estevanmercury.ca

RETAIL REVITALIZATION

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BUY MORE SAVE MORE ON BED GEARS NEW SLEEP LINE UP

BUY 1 GET 20% OFF, BUY TWO GET 25% OFF, BUY 3 GET 30% OFF.

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