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Sunflowers Canada’s top feel-good crop

Bright sunflower fields west of Estevan have been making hundreds of people driving by smile, stop, take pictures and enjoy one of the most happy-looking plants. But sunflowers are not just beautiful to look at, this year they are actually warming the hearts of many producers as prices and the demand for this special crop has gone up, and the hectares seeded are at their highest level in years. For Agri News see pages A10-11. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia

School year start delayed by one week, province announces $40 million for safety of staff and students By Brian Zinchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The provincial government has amended its back to school plan for students, with a new first day of classes. In a Facebook video posted Saturday, Premier Scott Moe said that school would be starting on Sept. 8, a week later than school divisions in the southeast initially planned. Two days later, he explained why. During a press conference with Saskatchewan chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab, Moe said that he sought to address concerns he’s heard over the past several weeks, noting that the usual excitement about a return to school is “mixed with some anxiety.” “And I understand,” he said. “I know that most parents want to see their kids go back to school, but they also have concerns. And they

have questions. They are looking for more clarity on how things are going to work and what things are going to look like. So today, I want to provide as much clarity as we can.” The announcement came as the opposition New Democratic Party has been calling for more clarity from the government on its COVID-19 back-to-school plan. Moe said the provincial government would be providing “more resources, more information, more time and more testing capacity to ensure a safe return to school this fall.” He added the province will allocate $40 million from the $200 million provincial COVID-19 contingency fund for additional costs related to ensuring the safety of students and staff through the pandemic. This is in addition to $40 million in savings schools realized from not operating in the springtime.

The $40 million in contingency funding will see half made available to school divisions on an application basis for pandemicrelated costs including staffing and sanitation supplies. Another $10 million will be available to enhance non-classroom options like distance learning to help ensure immunocompromised and medically fragile students have continuous access to learning across school divisions, available on an application basis. The last $10 million will be allocated to the Ministry of Education to centrally procure masks, personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies for school divisions. Moe noted that COVID-19 testing in Saskatchewan has ramped up from 1,000 to 1,500, then 2,000 tests per day. It is now approaching 3,000 and by early September will reach 4,000 tests per day. He explained that testing, including voluntary, randomized testing, will

be available for students and staff. He also pointed out all teachers and school staff are being encouraged to seek testing prior to returning to school and at frequent points throughout the school year. Priority access to testing will be established for teachers and school staff in the coming days, with referrals available through 811. Targeted school testing is a key focus of the expanded testing plans, with plans including targeted monitoring, testing of students with parental consent, and priority testing for teachers and school staff. Participating schools will be selected based on a number of factors, such as number of students in the school and if the community is experiencing a recent surge of new cases. In school public health visits for routine childhood vaccinations will now include COVID-19 testing, where parental consent is granted, Moe noted. School divisions are to release

their school-specific operation plans online no later than Aug. 26, to allow parents to decide what they will be doing. This may mean some parents refraining sending their kids to school, choosing distance learning instead. Moe said individual schools will be somewhat different. These include things like busing protocols and which entrances students will use. As for the extra days before school starts, Moe said, “It will provide teachers and other staff two to four day to be in the school, to be trained on protocols, make sure their classrooms are configured properly, and in some cases, hold virtual meetings with parents to discuss exactly what the new procedures are.” The terms and conditions of the collective bargaining agreement currently held with the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation will be honoured, the government noted A2 »MOE

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Masks now mandatory at all Walmarts, including Estevan By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

Masks or other kinds of face coverings were made mandatory in all Walmart locations across Canada, as of Aug. 12. This safety measure is aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19. While the initiative was already in place in all American stores since mid-July, as well as in many Canadian locations due to regional policies, in Estevan the change caused a controversial reaction. As soon as the new policies came into place, the talks about the Estevan Walmart being an exception and not making masks mandatory for customers started quickly spreading over social media. The Mercury reached out to Walmart corporate affairs manager Felicia Fefer to clarify the situation. “Safety continues to be Walmart’s number one priority and we will continue to take measures necessary to ensure the well-being of our customers and associates,” said Fefer. She explained that according to Health Canada,

if a person wears a mask or other face cover properly, they can reduce the spread of their own infectious respiratory droplets. She also pointed out that over 60 per cent of their more than 400 stores are in regions of the country where there is some form of local government mandate on face coverings. “For this reason, and to help bring more consistency across our store network, starting August 12, 2020, we require all customers and associates working in any Walmart store not already subject to a local government mandate to wear a mask or face covering in areas of our stores accessible to the public,” said Fefer. This means that there are no exceptions to these policies and masks or face coverings are now mandatory at Walmart in Estevan as well as in every other Walmart in Canada and the U.S. D uring the week of Aug. 12-18, the store is providing complimentary disposable masks to customers who didn't bring their own. Walmart acknowledged that it's not possible for everyone to wear a face covering, and

the associates are supposed to be trained on those exceptions to help reduce friction and make the process as easy as possible for everyone. “If a customer does not have a face covering, does not meet one of the exemptions or doesn’t accept a complimentary mask offered between August 12 and 18, they will be prohibited from entering the store,” said Fefer. After Aug. 18, all people coming into Walmart are expected to bring their own masks or face covering. “We trust our customers and believe the vast majority will abide by the new policy. We will have an associate at the door who will remind customers about the new policy and take reasonable measures to enforce it,” said Fefer. And while some people weren’t happy with the latest safety measures implemented by the Walmart head office, many others accepted and even supported the initiative. The local store manager said that they are really grateful to the Estevan community for being receptive to the current changes and noted that during the

Signs at the Estevan’s Walmart state that masks are now mandatory at all times while in-store. first several days they didn’t have any problems with customers, who all were following the new rules. The latest corporate mandate became an addi-

tion to other safety protocols aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19 that Walmart was taking at its locations since the beginning of the pandemic. The other

measures include enhanced cleaning and sanitizing procedures, limiting the number of customers, staff health screening and control over people flows inside the store.

Moe encouraged schools to reduce class sizes « A1 in a release. Instructional hours will not be extended, meaning depending on the

school division, there will be two to four fewer instructional days this school year.

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School divisions have been working within the provincial guidelines and public health guidance provided through the Safe Schools Plan to implement initiatives like block scheduling, cohorting, and considerations for alternating school days. Under the new funding made available to divisions, additional staff to reduce class sizes in exceptional circumstances will be considered. Moe said school divi-

sions are encouraged “to use all the capital assets they have, to the greatest ability they can, to reduce class size.” He noted that if one school has larger class sizes, but another school a mile away has additional capacity, it should be used. He didn’t specifically say students would be reassigned to different schools, however. Shahab said that occasional clusters in school or a family of a student may still ��

occur, but “it should not always be a cause of concern,” he said, adding it should not cause panic. With enhanced testing, there will be cases of students who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, he noted. If a student is sick, they should stay home. He pointed out, with cough and cold season coming, that 99 times out of 100, testing does not turn out to be COVID. If they test negative, they can come back when better. Moe noted how there have been concerns at each stage of Saskatchewan’s reopening, be it retail, health services or athletics, but they

have all been done successfully. School divisions are currently preparing plans for submission to the Ministry of Education this week for considerations of altering operations of high-density schools, primarily in collegiate settings, under Level 3 of the Safe Schools Plan. Shahab said: “It’s really important for children to be in schools, both for their education and for their social development and mental health.” He will be sending his own son to school. “I have one child starting school in high school,” he said. “My son will go to school, whether Level 2 or Level 3.”

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South Saskatchewan Regiment’s colours found a new home at the Estevan’s branch of the legion By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

The South Saskatchewan Regiment (SSR) colours were re-dedicated Saturday afternoon at the Estevan branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. The solemn ceremony was attended by several special guests, including Estevan MLA Lori Carr, SourisMouse Mountain MP Robert Kitchen, Mayor Roy Ludwig and Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) vice-principal Brian Wright. SSR veterans Dave Rooks, Robert Rooks, Ron Hitchcock, John Greenhough and Ken Turner also partook in the ceremony that was open to the public. On that day the Southeast Military Museum became a new home for the colours and Craig Bird, the founder of the museum, made a presentation about the history and voyage of the flags. “The regimental colours usually consist of two separate flags. One being the suzerain's, or king or queen’s flag, and the unit flag,” explained Bird. The SSR was formed in

1905. The regiment’s colours were the Union Jack with the South Saskatchewan round in the centre of it, and the unit colour having a South Saskatchewan crest on the blue background with battles that SSR fought in with the 152nd battalion that was its predecessor during the First World War. “Each regiment’s ability to keep its formation was potentially critical to its and therefore its army’s success. In the chaos of battle not least due to the amount of dust, smoke and battlefield soldiers they needed to be able to determine where the regiment was and to be able to keep track of the commanders," said Bird, explaining the role of the colours. In contemporary battles, when people aren’t riding horses anymore, colours were eliminated and are no longer carried during the battles. But they continue to be used during formal events and to represent the history of that regiment. D ur ing the S econd World War, on Aug. 19, 1942, the SSR took part in

From left, John Greenhough, Robert Rooks, Ron Hitchcock, Ken Turner and Dave Rooks showed the South Saskatchewan Regiment’s colours. the Dieppe Raid operation. Soldiers from the regiment pushed over the beach at Dieppe, France, in the dim light of the early morning and entered the small village of Pourville, believing that surprise had been achieved. To their dismay, however, the Germans had de-

Estevan MLA Lori Carr, Mayor Roy Ludwig, Souris-Mouse Mountain MP Robert Kitchen, ECS vice principal Brian Wright and Southeast Military Museum founder Craig Bird pictured with the SSR colours.

tected the raid and the SSR was met with heavy gunfire by the enemy. By the end of the Dieppe Raid, the SSR lost 84 men. And by war’s end, the regiment had suffered 475 casualties. “ That ’s some of the highest casualty rate in the Canadian army during World War Two,” said Bird. Regimental flags were generally awarded by the head of state during a special ceremony. Estevan residents who attended the re-dedication ceremony on Saturday had a chance to watch a rare footing of the historical moment when the colours were given to the regiment by King George V in the midst of First World War, on July 16, 1943. It was a top-secret ceremony since the location had to be kept secret because of the king’s and high-ranking Canadian official’s presence. “They called it Operation Flag at the time to keep it under the radars,” said Bird. Nineteen members of SSR from Estevan died during Second World War. The overseas battalion was disbanded on Dec. 15, 1945, and the soldiers were

transferred back to Canada. The unit in Estevan kept existing until Sept. 1, 1968, when it was stood down and reduced to zero strength. “The unit wasn’t disbanded, but it was reduced so that, god forbid, if there is ever a war, we can still raise the South Saskatchewan Regiment,” explained Bird. He noted that regimental colours, even when they are replaced or not used anymore, are usually kept at religious buildings, museums or other places of significance to that regiment, but aren’t destroyed. On March 24, 1970, the SSR colours were retired and put up at the ECS. For about 50 years the flags were there to teach students about the military history of the region. Dave Rooks participated in the original dedication ceremony at the ECS. He said he still remembers that day when a lot of students gathered up for the ceremony. With the establishment of the Southeast Military Museum and some changes at ECS, it was decided to move the colours over to the legion, where they will take

their rightful place among other important historical artifacts. Dave Rooks said that he felt great about the colours being moved to the legion, where they will be available to the public for viewing. During the presentation, Bird also showed a unique video in which Dutch people marched and sang a song commemorating the SSR. The video was from 2020 when the Netherlands were celebrating their liberation, in which the regiment played a big role. The colours now will be a part of the Southeast Military Museum's collection. And the mission of the museum is to preserve history and memory of those who served during World Wars, as well as the Cold War, peace-keeping missions and Afghanistan, and also to educate the future generations about those contributions and sacrifices. During the presentation, Bird also thanked the president of Estevan’s legion Jim (Frosty) Forrest for housing the Southeast Military Museum at the hall.

Creighton Lodge residents have loved summer Submitted by Shelly Veroba

We missed putting in a June column because the Mercury did an article on us instead, so we didn’t want to overtake the paper with too much about ourselves. I will try and update our June and July information in this column. In any other year, the July column would have us describing in excitement the party that was held for our anniversary barbecue. But 2020 has dealt us all a summer without parties, which we are learning to be okay with in order to maintain our safety. July 1 was our 10th anniversary since the RM of Estevan led the way and gathered a group of like-minded

RM’s to help find a way to have the ownership of Creighton Lodge back under the RMs. The RMs of Cymri, Cambria, Benson and Coalfields joined forces with the RM of Estevan and on July 1, 2010, the lodge was reopened under the guidance of the Creighton Lodge Management Committee, consisting of a representative from all 5 RMs. Ten years later the lodge is still one of the best retirement homes in southeast Saskatchewan. We will just have to celebrate extra when we are able to all come together again. Happy anniversary, Creighton Lodge! In June we had to say goodbye to Marco Stasiuk as he left for his new home at the Estevan Regional Nursing Home. We hope he is settling in

okay and meeting new people. Mary Kowalski will be joining us in August and we can’t wait to meet her. We spent some of our time watching a few Danielle Steele movies. Most of us enjoy reading her books and her movies are a delight as well. Since our families have been able to come in the lodge and we are able to go out and enjoy the nice weather, we cut our movie afternoons down to twice a month. We prefer to visit with family and friends and enjoy the sun while we can. Jean Delorme and Ted Fai’s family came to help with our flower beds in July. Thank you so much as the weeds were starting to get out of control in some of the beds. We couldn’t do what we do at the lodge if it wasn’t for the great amount of

people who volunteer their time behind the scenes. We miss seeing our regular list of volunteers and hope to have you all return soon. June and July saw the ice cream truck pull up once again. A Cherry on Top served up maple walnut, cherry cheesecake, sherbet, vanilla with a swirl of caramel and so many more flavours that we were all on a sugar high for a few hours after they pulled away. Dennis Moore showed up when the truck arrived and he visited with us, encouraged many to have seconds, which of course we did, and then he made sure the tab was paid as he drove away enjoying a vanilla cone. Thank you Dennis and Marlene Moore for thinking of us on this hot summer day. We hosted the Olson broth-

ers from Wawota on July 29. They played for us in the backyard under the shade of a tree. We sipped our water, tapped our toes and enjoyed every minute of the music. COVID has taken away our ability to invite musical guests into the lodge, but we are thankful for a large outside area so we can still hear the music play. We celebrated a few birthdays in June. Happy birthday to Virginia Schopf, Josephine Longney, June Fuhr, Richie Mack and Alma McGill. We ordered in donuts from Tim Horton’s. In July, happy birthday to Jean Wanner and Lois Matt. Ice cream sandwiches from Dairy Queen were our birthday delight. We may not be going to many restaurants lately, but we sure love enjoying their treats.

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Editorial

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Staff SERVING CANADA’S SUNSHINE CAPITAL Publisher / Marketing Specialist

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Published weekly by Prairie Newspaper Group Limited Partnership, 68 Souris Avenue N., Estevan, SK S4A 2M3.The Estevan Mercury is owned and operated by Prairie Newspaper Group Limited Partnership, a subsidiary of Glacier Media Inc. Advertising rates are available upon request and are subject to change without notice. Conditions of editorial and advertising content: The Estevan Mercury attempts to be accurate in Editorial and Advertising content; however, no guarantee is given or implied. The Estevan Mercury reserves the right to revise or reject any or all editorial and advertising content as the newspaper’s principals see fit. The Estevan Mercury will not be responsible for more than one incorrect insertion of an advertisement, and is not responsible for errors in advertisements except for the space occupied by such errors. The Estevan Mercury will not be responsible for manuscripts, photographs, negatives and other related material that may be submitted for possible publication. All of the Estevan Mercury’s content is protected by Canadian Copyright laws. Reviews and similar mention of material in this newspaper is granted on the provision that The Estevan Mercury receives credit. Otherwise, any reproduction without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. Advertisers purchase space and circulation only. Rights to any advertisement produced by The Estevan Mercury, including artwork, typography, photos, etc., remain the property of this newspaper. Advertisements or parts thereof may not be reproduced or assigned without the consent of the publisher. We acknowledge financial support of the Government of Canada. Nous reconnaissons l'appui financier du gouvernement du Canada.

EDITORIAL

Numbers paint an interesting picture If you want to see the financial health, and the priorities, of a municipality, the audited financial statements are a good place to start. The City of Estevan released its audited document on Aug. 10, about two or three months later than normal due to delays caused by COVID-19. The document, whose numbers were effective Dec. 31 of last year, before COVID was front of mind for us, checks most of the boxes for a good fiscal picture. The city has two numbers it likes to point to: net debt and long-term debt. Net debt is the excess of liabilities over assets; fittingly much of the liabilities are tied up in long-term debt. The net debt was down from $18.85 million to $16.82 million, a $2 million decrease, continuing a trend shown by the city for the past few years. The net debt is a number that the city, and many other municipal governments, point to when discussing their financial picture. The long-term debt, the number which the general public wants to hear about, dropped from $28 million to $23.7 million. The city has made paying down that debt a top priority for most of the past decade; not that long ago, it was above the $40 million mark. The city also had a surplus in its operations from 2019. About the only downside is that cash was down by about a million dollars, from $7.1

million to $6.1 million; restricted funds remain about the same at around $3 million. But $3 million in unrestricted cash left the city in a good position entering 2020. The financial statements also show how much the city pays in each department, giving you a snapshot of where its fiscal priorities are; recreation services, protective services (including both police and fire, transportation services and the utility are among those that account for expenses; recreation was the largest expense last year). Obviously, the city is going to take some form of a financial hit due to COVID. While they have been able to save money on some fronts, since some facilities weren’t open, the lost revenues will definitely outweigh the savings. In the short-term, the city will take a hit because they gave people the chance to defer property tax and utility bill payments by a couple of months without penalty. They are going to have to come collecting eventually, because they have operations to run and bills to pay, just like the rest of us. But they could take the short-term hit and not plead poverty. The bigger repercussions in the shortterm will be the lost revenues from facility passes and rentals. In the longer-term, there will be consequences with taxes owing if people can’t pay the tax bills, or if they have to cut back on expenses

such as facility passes to the Estevan Leisure Centre, or if they can’t afford to rent a facility. It will be tough for the city to have $3 million in unrestricted cash at the end of this year. Those who have paid attention to municipal politics remember the days when the city would need to use its overdraft to pay the bills while it waited for property taxes to come in, or enter into short-term borrowing to meet its financial obligations. Those days are mercifully over. If the city would have been using those practices at this point in history, the consequences would have been pretty serious. In the past, this space has been used to suggest the city might want to enter into some form of cash reserves or a rainy day fund for some of the surplus cash. It’s a comment the auditors have made when presenting the financials to the city. And given some of the challenges facing the city, a rainy day fund might make sense. At the same time, it’s likely a good thing the city has kept all of its cash on hand, rather than using the rainy day fund. If the city sees its cash rebound for a few years, and continues to drop its long-term debt and net debt, then it might be time to look at a reserve. While it could always be better, the city deserves a lot of credit for its management of taxpayer money. And that’s something you couldn’t say just a few years ago.

Masks: At the edge of freedom and safety We often take our safety as our own prerogative and responsibility. We choose to learn how to defend ourselves or to possess weapons. We hire monitoring agencies. We call the police if our safety is at risk. We put on sunscreen to protect ourselves from the sun. We take vitamins to maintain health and protect ourselves from preventable health issues. We put seatbelts on and immure our kids in car seats when on the road. We buy insurance to protect ourselves from financial trouble. At the same time, most of us agreed that our freedom ends where others' freedom begins. Which means, that we usually protect ourselves using whatever means we have. It may include paying for protection or hiring others to help protect us. It also includes building the system, which is supposed to protect society from individuals that violate others’ freedom. But again, the main motivation and the focus of our survival instincts is ourselves and our loved ones. In other words, when it comes to our safety, we do our best to ensure that we’ll survive using whatever means are available within our own reach and our own freedom. And that’s what most individuals do, at least in the contemporary world the way I’ve known it. Not for the first time in history, but definitely for the first time in a long time, COVID-19 is putting us through a tricky challenge. The challenge is where we have to find a balance between the survival instincts and thirst for our personal freedom and rights. This time the equation is more compli-

Ana Bykhovskaia Twenty Lines About… cated, since we don’t have a say at securing our own safety, which now lays in the hands of others, but we are required to give up some of our freedoms to try and see if it will work at all. Yes, I’m talking about masks, little rags, which have generated some vicious debates in communities all around the world. We’ve been talking about working our way through the pandemic together since this new deadly virus has landed in Canada. But for many, “together” was more of a blurry motto. We were saying that we are all in this together and only together we can get through it. For a while, in Estevan, it meant showing support to whoever had to keep working to keep others going, plus staying at home (with no other options really available). But the idea of togetherness now has come to an action, and at this time the action assumes doing something to my personal freedom to protect others which in the end is supposed to get back to me. And it’s definitely not an easy action to take. First, there is so much unclarity with everything surrounding the virus. Even though we all are already really tired of it, it’s still pretty new. There is not enough research and experience to say almost anything for sure. Scientists assume, politicians echo, journalists report. But after trials and further research, a lot of the original information

proves to be wrong. I remember reporting on one of the first Dr. Saqib Shahab press-conferences at the beginning of the pandemic, when he explained that masks might be more harm than good because they provoke us to touch our faces even more, and thus we are at more risk of getting the virus into our system. Summary: masks won't protect us. But we are in the midst of a totally different story now and masks became an accessory that protects others from us, our sneezes and coughs. And while still not doing much or anything at all for us, they are supposed to help the common goal of limiting the spread and allowing time for … Here the options vary: for the vaccine, for a steady spread in which the health systems are not overloaded and each person can get the treatment they need, or just for the possibility of a somewhat normal life where we keep distance and follow other precaution measures, but keep going with our lives. Besides, we are asked and now often obliged to give up our personal freedom for the sake of others with no clarity about if we are gaining anything at all. And that's hard to take in and accept as well. Yes, maybe masks don’t do that much, I don't know, but how much do they actually hurt? I couldn’t find a single valuable argument that they do at all (unless you have health issues, in which case seems that everyone agreed that not wearing a mask is fine). But just think about it, even if masks are not working that great but if there is a slight chance that your loved ones and you will be protected if others agree to wear masks, isn’t it worth it?

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Wednesday, August 19, 2020

David Willberg Willberg’s World

Enjoying what’s in your backyard By the time you have this paper in your hands, I’ll be back from a holiday through much of western Canada. It’s amazing how much ground you can cover in just a few days. In our case, it was much of south and central Saskatchewan and Alberta, along with southeast B.C. It was great to get away, although like most holidays, there just isn’t enough time to do all that you want to do, and once it’s over, there’s a list of things you wish you had done. This particular holiday was with my parents. There were areas I hadn’t been to previously, and others I hadn’t seen in the nearly 20 years I’ve been in Estevan. Some were attractions that I’ve been to before, but haven’t had the time to enjoy since I was a child, such as the Columbia Glacier Field between Banff and Jasper. Now that I’m a lot older than the last time I spent actual time there, I’ll appreciate it a lot more. (Although the glacier has receded considerably since I was previously there. No summer snowball fight this time). One of the destinations that was on my folks’ travel itinerary was the Big Muddy of south-central Saskatchewan. Mom was born in Bengough before moving to a farm west of Fillmore as a child, and hasn’t spent much time in the Big Muddy since. Dad was viewing the area for the first time. It’s an area you hear about a lot, but people don’t necessarily know much about it. A lot of people have travelled to the Castle Butte formation south of Bengough, and it’s likely the best-known and most accessible part of the Big Muddy. But the region is much more than that. If you really want the full experience, Tourism Coronach has tours of the Big Muddy, with options based on what you want to see or how much time you have. Castle Butte is part of a couple of tours, but a featured component is the Sam Kelly Outlaw Caves, and you have to take the tour to view them. The caves provide great insight into the history of the rumrunners and the cattle and horse rustlers who used to hide out in the area. The tour guide is a long-time resident of the area who is a wealth of information about the region, and has plenty of great stories to tell about Indigenous people in the area, the outlaws who used to spend time there and the other people who have resided around Coronach. And the scenery, particularly from the hills of the Big Muddy, showcases the spectacular beauty of south-central Saskatchewan. It would be a stretch to say that the Big Muddy Tours are the best-kept secret in Saskatchewan, and it’s amazing how few people really know about them, not just in Saskatchewan, but in Coronach. You would hope that in a community the size of Coronach, everyone would have taken the tours at least once, so they can learn more about their region’s history and see how beautiful their surrounding area can be. That’s not the case. Tourism Coronach was awarded a grant for all of their school students to take the tour, but those plans were dashed by COVID-19. The town is facing an uncertain future due to the eventual demise of conventional coal-fired power, so tourism becomes even more important. The tours are worth the drive. It’s about 200 kilometres from Estevan to Coronach, the same distance as Estevan to Regina. But to many people, the distance from Estevan to Coronach might as well be the same as the Energy City to Saskatoon or Winnipeg. It doesn’t help that the drive to Coronach doesn’t have the greatest of highways, either. It’s not just some in Coronach who take their attractions for granted, or who don’t think of what they have in their backyard as tourism. It happens all over the province and all over the country for that matter. How many people in the Estevan area think of what we have in our backyard as tourism? But places like Woodlawn Regional Park and the Hidden Valley Golf and RV Resort bring people here. So do the Estevan Motor Speedway, the Roche Percee rocks, the amenities at the Estevan Leisure Centre and the various cultural sites. You don’t need to have mountains or oceans or massive amusement parks or a large community to have tourist attractions. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of having something that’s cool and unique that you can promote to the public.

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

Each office is independently owned and operated.

The Brick keeps adding new products to meet customers’ diverse needs Everybody knows that The Brick is a place to go for quality furniture, electronics, appliances and bedding. With more than 220 locations across Canada, Estevan isn’t the only city where The Brick is a big part of the community. But the company is always looking to add new products, and it appears to have found a winner. Estevan store manager Trina Milford said the Estevan franchise is starting to see more activity in the store, and there’s been more traffic in the Estevan Shoppers Mall, where the store is located. “We’re selling a lot of patio furniture and beds right now, and appliances are in high demand right now,” said Milford. The popularity of patio furniture is to be expected. It’s a seasonal item, and it usually sells as quickly as it comes in. Now that summer has just a few weeks remaining, the furniture sales will be coming to an end soon. Beds usually sell at this time of year, with young people going back to school. Appliances are a consistent seller at any time of year, but they’ve been particularly popular in the past couple of months, now that people are able to once again return to the store for purchases. Customers have also been renovating their homes this summer, and so they’ve been purchasing TVs or new furnishings, and upgrading other items. But a top new seller are the arcade systems for popular video games. “They’re starting to bring back the retro gaming systems, so I’m sure that those will become a popular item coming

into Christmas,” she said. Games such as Pac-Man, Street Fighter and others can now be found at The Brick. “They’ve come out with little arcade systems that have the games built into them,” said Milford. She admits she didn’t see the popularity coming, but they’re a great setup and they’re likely to remain popular. “They’re just small, little compact arcade systems that definitely bring back the oldstyle gaming systems compared to what the modern days are used to now. It’s nice to have a little touch of what the games were like back in the day,” said Milford. The systems have done very well so far. They were included with the purchase of a television or furnishings, but they have also been sold on their own. As more become available for purchase, Milford expects the systems will become more popular. The Brick employs six fulltime staff members in Estevan. Additional cleaning measures have been implemented, but they have become more frequent, with people adapting to the changes and maintaining the six-foot social distance. “We’re usually a close customer interaction, so having to sell to our customers at a distance has been a little bit challenging, because we’re used to having a close customer relationship.” The customers have done a great job of navigating through the changes caused by the pandemic as well, and The Brick is happy they continue to make The Brick a place for their business.

Tulilla Lemoine is pleased The Brick is now selling old-scale arcade games. Photo submitted

Leanne Biccum, left, and Trina Milford with one of the chairs available for sale at The Brick in Estevan. Photo submitted

Council approves mail-in ballot for election Estevan city council has approved a bylaw to allow mailin ballots for the 2020 civic election. Council gave second and third readings to the bylaw at the Aug. 10 meeting. It’s believed that it should make it easier for some to vote, especially amid COVID-19. “We’re trying to keep people safe, and still give them the opportunity to vote, so mail-in ballots will be one of the options available,” said city clerk Judy Pilloud. People who are going to be out of town on election day Nov. 9 are among those expected to use a mail-in ballot. Once a person has successfully applied to receive a mail-in ballot, the ballot has to be mailed to Pilloud’s office by Nov. 9. Councillor Shelly Veroba wanted to know what would happen if someone initially

wanted to do a mail-in ballot, and received such a ballot, but then decided to vote in person instead. Pilloud said it wouldn’t be allowed. “Once you have signed that paper, saying that you want a mail-in ballot, you will not be allowed cast your ballot in the polls (in person),” said Pilloud. Mayor Roy Ludwig urged people to vote in this election. Council also gave second and third readings to a bylaw for the terms of reference for the coal transition committee. The committee has members of the City of Estevan, as well as the Town of Bienfait, and the RMs of Estevan and Coalfields. Ludwig said the city will continue to lobby for carbon capture and storage technology, but the committee is needed to discuss other options for Estevan, and the are making progress on a number of fronts.

* * * Also at the meeting, Meilssa Thomas, the general manager of the First Nations Cannabis Company, sent a letter to council on behalf of BATC Investments Limited Partnership (LP), which is owned and operated by five First Nations Bands. The company is looking to establish a cannabis retail outlet in Estevan. The Energy City has had just one outlet since December 2018, when cannabis became legal. Thomas noted that BATC Investments LP was successful in opening a licensed cannabis store, FN Cannabis Co, in Nipawin, The Nipawin store is currently bringing in over $100,000 in income and employs six local people a year. The city has approved having a second cannabis store

in Estevan, but Ludwig said the provincial government is going to open up the licensing process. Ludwig pointed out any cannabis outlets would have to fall within the city’s requirements for location. * * * Council approved $12,500 towards building a tangible capital asset list. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is offering in up to $75,000 in support for asset management plans. City manager Jeff Ward noted that city treasurer Trudy Firth has been working on a capital asset list. This document would give the city more sure condition ratings on linear assets such as sewer and roads. “It’s a big push from the provincial government, whenever you ask for money, on whether you have an asset plan,” said Ward.

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Southeast College has all one may need for successful career, in a new and safer format By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

Southeast College has been successfully navigating through the pandemic and now they are ready to greet the new students at all of their campuses. “The Southeast College board of governors has worked closely with our CEO Patrick Stoddart, along with our management and staff, since the start of the pandemic to ensure that our return to campus for staff and students is done in the safest manner possible. We are pleased with the work that has been accomplished in a short period of time to adapt and prepare for the integration of blended learning and the COVID-related changes within our college operations,” said board chair Janice Giroux. While the end of the year and some summer plans were interrupted by the pandemic,

the college was still able to bring back the majority of their safety training courses by the middle of June. “We were able to run (safety courses) consistently throughout the summer … It was nice to be able to get back to somewhat normal of our routine and be able to provide those valued courses and services to the industry and to other clients in southeast Saskatchewan,” said SE College marketing and communications manager Sheena Onrait. The college dedicated a lot of time to preparing for the fall, and as the situation with COVID-19 was evolving, they had to adjust all of their procedures to be able to have a safe start to the new class year. “We are transitioning most of our programs into a blended learning environment. We put all our staff through an online learning course just to

Janice Giroux, board chair prepare people for that, so that they have a basic knowledge of what it takes to learn online and what it takes to put programs online,” said Onrait. She noted that the engagement for the upcoming year has been “excellent.” The majority of the programs are either filled or are almost at the capacity.The college is accepting the applications right up to the

start date of the programs, and the spots are going fast. The college will have a staggered start to their programs, so they still expect to see some changes in their engagement numbers. Onrait said there is a lot of interest in all of the programs offered by the college. With the pandemic and the slowdown in the economy, a lot of people turned towards education, choosing to invest in themselves, becoming stronger as professionals. Since March, the college’s board was working hard and in tight contact with the staff, providing assistance and support. “Our engagement across the board has been wonderful,” said Onrait. “The college is also getting great feedback on their plan and implementation of their plan for fall for resuming post-secondary and our adult basic education (ABE).

The only big change the students will see in the new school year due to the ongoing pandemic is the size of the classes in some cases. “Earlier this summer we went in and we looked at our classrooms. We looked at how we could reconfigure our classrooms to accommodate social distancing within our classroom spaces,” said Onrait. In some cases, some of the class sizes may have been decreased, but other classes have stayed the same depending on the class settings. The college will also implement other safety measures required and recommended by the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the Ministry of Advanced Education. “It’s everything from decreased classroom sizes to accommodating social distancing, to enhanced cleaning protocols, which is standard across the

board. We have a COVID health screening questionnaire, which is again very common out there now, hand sanitizer stations throughout our campuses as well as our front doors. And, of course, we are a maskfriendly environment as well.” Onrait went on to explain that masks are not mandatory at any of the campuses at this point, but if people prefer to wear them, they are welcome to do so. She added that the situation remains fluid and it can change as they move forward, but as of right now masks are not mandatory. “We are looking forward to classes and to being able to provide the level and the quality of education that the Southeast College is known for in southeast Saskatchewan,”said Onrait. Further information about the SE College and its programs can be found at their website at www.southeastcollege.org.

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

CONSTRUCTION BULLETIN

Message From

KING STREET The City of Estevan is undertaking construction for the Watermain replacement The affected area includes King street between Hudson Rd. and Cundall Drive. Property access and parking restrictions are to occur. This work will commence August 4, 2020 and will take approximately six (6) weeks to complete (subject to weather) City of Estevan will perform this work within the current Bylaw regulations and specifications. Safety Construction site could be dangerous. If you have children, please ask them to keep a safe distance from the site. We will take every precaution to ensure public safety, but we need your assistance to constrain the natural curiosity of younger children. Please DO NOT attempt to go close to areas affected. Theft or Vandalism If you see any act of vandalism, theft or anyone suspiciously tampering with equipment, signage or barricades please contact 306-634-1800, or after hours call Police. Questions and Concerns The City of Estevan, Engineering Services apologize for any inconveniences that this work may cause and thank you in advance for your cooperation and patience. If you have any question or concerns, please call at 634-1800 or approach the supervisor or foreman on site.

The Mayor As we look forward to another school year beginning, let us be aware that we must maintain social distancing.

FITNESS

ESTEVAN LEISURE CENTRE - 2020

SCHEDULE EFFECTIVE - AUGUST 4 - 31, 2020 Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

SPIN

GRIT

Saturday

6:10 am - 6:50 am

CORE BARRE ABOVE

9:10 am - 9:50 am

9:10 am - 10:00 am

Friday

Thursday

SPIN

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9:10 am - 9:50 am

Wednesday

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GRIT

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9:10 am - 10:15 am

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FOAM ROLLER

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11:10 am - 11:50 am

11:10 am - 12:00 pm

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

AFTERNOON / EVENING CARDIO BLAST 1:10 pm - 2:00 pm

1:10 pm - 2:00 pm

SPIN

5:30 pm - 6:10 pm

PLAY PARKS OPEN

OPEN

The intent of the Bylaw is to provide a framework to recover capital costs for municipal services and facilities through new development within the City of Estevan. The Bylaw may be accessed through the City Clerk’s office or by contacting Land Development Services.

WEIGHT ROOM OPEN

OPEN

6:00 am - 9:00 pm

9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Public notice is hereby given that the Council of the City of Estevan, pursuant to Section 24 of the Planning and Development Act, 2007 and the City of Estevan Community Engagement Policy Bylaw No. 2020-2027 will consider adoption of Off-Site Development Levy Bylaw No. 2020-2030.

CARDIO BLAST POWER BLAST

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9:00 am - 9:00 pm

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AUGUST 2020

Must be 16 years of age to participate in fitness classes and have a completed Par-Q Questionnaire prior to participating in classes. The questionnaire lets our fitness instructors determine abilities and Rusty Duce Park | 1400 Nicholson Road needs of each participant. Hillcrest Park| 265 Rooks Road

PLAY PARKS PLAY PLAY PARKS PARKS

Sunday

Monday

CLOSED

Tuesday

To discuss the proposed bylaw in detail, please contact Land Development Services to arrange for an appointment.

Hillside Park | 825 George Street For concerns or questions please contact Playpark Coordinator Cassidy Reich at 306-634-1880 Your play park leaders are: Nyla Dyck, Madison Flaman and Charlotte Andrist

Wednesday

Thursday 5

Friday 6

Prior to further consideration of this Bylaw, a public hearing will be held:

Saturday 7

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AUGUST 2020 AUGUST AUGUST 2020 2020

PLEASE NOTE - Due to the pandemic-related protocols fitness registration has moved to a PRE-Registration process. Users must pre-registerRusty online or by calling the Duce Park | 1400 Nicholson Road | 1400 RustyNicholson Ducethe Park Road | 1400 Nicholson Road Seasons Week Information Desk. Patrons will be screened upon arrival and asked a few questions as per the Operational Health and Safety Guidelines.Rusty DropDuce in isPark available weight Hillcrestfor Park| 265 Rooks Road Park| 265 Hillcrest Rooks Road Park| 265 Rooks Road room. Space between 9 workout stations have 10either increased or a machine 11 has been put into 'not 12 in use.' Water fountains 13are not available. Hillcrest 14 Hillside 15 Park | 825 George Street

Hillside Park | 825Hillside George Street Park | 825 George Street For concerns or questions please contact Playpark Coordinator Cassidy Reich at 306-634-1880 For concerns or questions For concerns please contact or questions Playpark please Coordinator contact Playpark Cassidy Reich Coordinator at 306-634-1880 Cassidy Reich at 306-634-1880 Your play park leaders are: Nyla Dyck, Madison Flaman and Charlotte Andrist Your play park leadersYour are:play Nylapark Dyck, leaders Madison are:Flaman Nyla Dyck, andMadison CharlotteFlaman Andristand Charlotte Andrist

Monday Wednesday Thursday SaturdaySaturday Robots Week SundaySunday Sunday Monday Monday TuesdayTuesdayTuesdayWednesday WednesdayThursday Thursday Friday Friday Friday Saturday 2 3 4 5 6 7 16 17 18 19 20 21 228 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8

CLOCSLEOCDSLEODSED

Schedule Subject to Change. Please visit www.estevan.ca Don’t see what you are looking for? for updates on closures and cancellations. Proper footwear Do you have an idea for something we should try? and exercise wear is required to participate. Please note Please contact the Program Manager Seasons Week ConstructionSeasons Week Week during school breaks, (Teachers Convention, Spring Break and Seasons Week at 306-634-1880. 9 10 11 12 13 239 24 25Break)11 26 and 27 Christmas Fitness, Aquatic 9 10 10 11 12 Centre 12Arena schedules 13 We would love to hear your ideas! may vary. Please visit our live schedules at www.estevan.ca

Robots WeekWeek Robots Week Robots 16 17

Construction WeekWeek Construction Construction Week 23 24

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Date: Location: Time:

September 21, 2020 Council Chambers, City Hall 6:00 PM

The public hearing is your opportunity to make presentations directly to Council. Those unable to attend may submit written comments to the City Clerk. City Clerk, cityclerk@estevan.ca

14 28

20 21 10:00 29 am 30 20 - 12:00 21 pm CRAFTS, GAMES & ACTIVITIES 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm 27 SWIMMING 28 27 27 28 20

OPEN MON-FRI EXCEPT ON DESIGNATED DAYS.

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City Hall, 1102 – Fourth Street, Estevan,

The Bylaw may be viewed at City Hall during regular office hours or viewed online at www.Estevan.ca. 21

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Estevan Chamber of Commerce held their annual Get out on the Green golf event at Woodlawn By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

The Estevan Chamber of Commerce hosted its ninth annual Get out on the Green golf event at the Estevan Woodlawn Golf Course on Aug. 13. “It is a chance for people to get out of the office, to have a day out at the golf course, to catch up on what’s happening with the chamber and what we are up to. And it’s also a great opportunity for the chamber to get out and thank our members and thank our sponsors. And it’s a good event for the chamber as far as generating some revenue to help us push forward with our initiatives,” explained Estevan chamber’s executive director Jackie Wall. They were unable to do the shotgun start, and tee-off times were staggered 10 minutes apart. However, they did maintain most of the Texas scramble rules. Sixty-eight members of the chamber, which formed 17 teams, enjoyed the day of golfing. After they received clearance for organizing the event, the chamber had only about two weeks to put everything together. And the participants seemed to

be really grateful for the opportunity to get their minds off the daily tasks. “It was really refreshing, people were anxious to get out and do something that was a little bit back to usual with a lot of modifications, but overall we had such great comments. People were very happy that we were able to move ahead, even though we had to have some special parameters in place,” said Wall. “We were very fortunate to be able to have a lot of sponsors. If they chose they could be at their hole within specific guidelines. We were also very fortunate to be able to have a lot of sponsors. And I just want to say thank you to everybody that supported us this year.” She added that in golf it’s really easy to maintain distance between players, which allowed them to enjoy the day of outdoor activities in great company. HUB International and Wil-Tech teams scored 58. There were no mulligans or a putting string this year because they had to minimize contact between people. So they ended up doing a count back and HUB International was claimed the winner of the event. D ue to COVID-re-

The winning HUB International team consisted of Warren Waldegger, Andrew Tait, Keith Cassidy and Blaine Crest. Photo by Cathy Empey

lated safety measures, the chamber also wasn’t able to have a big banquet at the end, but people could get their burgers as they were coming in and then they could either stay a bit longer or leave after they were done. "The chamber was still able to have many points of contact with not only

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the golfers but with the sponsors as well,” said Wall. “We were able to really talk to people and see how they were doing, how they were coping, how things were adjusting within their businesses or their industry.” With the great amount of diversity in what different businesses are facing, for the chamber it’s important to

stay relevant. “Many of them have taken on the huge challenge of pivoting their business or working within the new restrictions. For some businesses, they’ve even been busier. Obviously, some have been very, very slow or they’ve had to shut down entirely,” said Wall. The chamber is cur-

rently trying to decide on the best format for their coffee talks, which is another initiative that helps them to stay in touch with their members and better understand their needs. With the restriction for larger gatherings, they might consider a virtual format. The decision will be made in September.

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Wednesday, August 19, 2020

August Crown land sale above average, five rigs drilling and oil production rebounds slightly By Brian Zinchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Despite extremely sluggish drilling activity in Saskatchewan’s oilpatch, the Aug. 11 Crown land sale for petroleum and natural gas rights brought in $2.4 million. And Saskatchewan’s oil production has seen a slight rebound after a sharp dip due to the destruction of oil demand stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $2.4 million sale falls within the range of the six sales conducted over the last year, which varied from $3.4 million in December 2019 to $442,000 in the previous sale in June. Indeed, the $2.4 million is higher than the average of $2 million per sale over the last year. Land sales are posted several months in advance. Oil companies, typically through their land agents, will ask the Ministry of Energy and Resources to put a certain parcel up for bid and

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then bid competitively on that parcel. In the case of the Aug. 11 sale, the closing date for postings was April 14, a month into the COVID-19 crisis, and less than a week before West Texas Intermediate oil prices tumbled for one day into negative pricing territory. While oil companies will often use land agencies to mask who is actually buying the parcels, some chose not to. In this sale, Villanova Energy Inc. was the most active with six parcels. Vermillion Energy Inc. picked up three. Buffalo Hill Resources bought two, as did Midale Petroleums Ltd. Aldon Oils Ltd. got one, as did Vital Energy Inc. and ROK Resources Inc. The bonus bid per hectare ranged from a high of $3,449.50, paid by Vital Energy, to $24.71, paid by Aldon Oils. On Aug. 13, Minister of Energy and Resources Bronwyn Eyre said of the land sale, “It’s a reasonably strong result. And I think it shows that the sector sees opportunity here. And then, it's a sign of some economic recovery.” She added, “In light of everything that we have faced, it's also positive in that Saskatchewan has performed well compared to our neighbouring jurisdiction.” Eyre said Saskatchewan had done better than Alberta so far this fiscal year. Saskatchewan still has attractive geology and a stable royalty regime, she said. “It’s a cautiously good sign, and we’ll take it,” she said. Over the previous five years, Saskatchewan would typically have 30 to 50 drilling rigs working in midAugust. That’s substantially

less than 2010 to 2014, when there would be closer to 100 rigs. In August 2011, a record of 122 active rigs was set. The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on oil demand has had a dramatic effect on drilling. Until mid-July, there was only one rig working in Saskatchewan, and it was drilling for helium, not oil. Eyre noted, “Since then, over the last few weeks, there has been a bit of an increase. There have been 18 wells drilled since mid-July, so again, a little bit of cautious, slow improvement,” she said. On Aug. 12, there five drilling rigs working in Saskatchewan. One was drilling for helium south of Eastend for North American Helium. Of the four rigs drilling for oil, two were drilling in west central Saskatchewan, at Dodsland and Plato, for Teine Energy Ltd. Prairie Thunder Resources Ltd. had one rig drilling on the outskirts of Macklin. The last rig was drilling near Carievale, for Fire Sky Energy Inc. Asked if there is anything the province can or should do to incentive drilling, she said, “We are looking at things. So, we are engaging with sector stakeholders. We're looking at potential new initiatives, things we might be able to do to help accelerate new investments and employment as we move into this economic recovery. But that’s work that, in some cases anyways, was being done prior to the perfect storm, because we were looking at some potential areas where we could do something. We’re continuing that now, obviously.” Eyre spoke of trying to maximize secondary recovery, a process known as water-

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flooding, within the province. Eyre said Saskatchewan’s oil production had increased to 395,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June. That’s up from 361,000 in May, an increase of 34,000 bpd. In March, Saskatchewan was producing 502,700 bpd, so the May numbers represented a fall of 28.2 per cent. June’s numbers were 21.4 per cent lower than March’s. “Oil production levels are expected to climb in July and into the fall, as more shut-in and turned down production is brought back and new drilling occurs. So, I think the trend is seen as positive,” Eyre said. Saskatchewan also has a higher number of drilled but uncompleted wells, which Eyre sees as a positive. When oil companies do decide to eventually complete and bring those wells online, it will help production. She also noted that gasoline demand is improving in North America, another positive sign.

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NDP economy critic Trent Wotherspoon said, “The fact of the matter is that the sales up a little bit at this time. But it's a tiny fraction of the land sales that we were experiencing back just a number of years ago, and it reflects that. “This important industry to Saskatchewan is in a challenging situation. Hopefully, the modest increase shows that there's some daylight for this industry. Because the fact of the matter is that thousands of workers in the energy sector have lost jobs in the last number of years. And that's created real hardship for those workers that have lost jobs and it's created real hardship for Saskatchewan, with the loss of investment and the loss of royalties that flow in from this important sector. Wotherspoon went on, “So it's an indication that this sector is in a challenging situation, and it should be also be a reminder and a wake-up call to the government to do all it can to secure an economic recovery that works for people and creates jobs that folks can count on. And certainly that includes things like market access, but acting to eliminate the PST on construction labour to help fire up the economy, acting on renewable power like rooftop solar, as well, and utilizing a Sask-first procurement approach when we're building the infrastructure that Saskatchewan needs.” As for drilling, Wotherspoon said, “The drilling activity, or lack thereof, is devastating for the workers who count on those jobs, and it reflects this industry that's in a really challenging spot. And so, it's a reminder why we need to do all we can now to secure an economic recovery that creates jobs for thousands of people across Saskatchewan.”

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August 19, 2020 A9

House of Stationery has what you need for your office, whether it be traditional or at home The House of Stationery is still the place you want to go in Estevan for your office supplies. The long-time Estevan business, located in the heart of downtown on Fourth Street, has always been meeting the needs of the local business community with its electronics, desks, chairs and office supplies. And it ’s always been there with supplies for your home as well. It was closed for about two months at the start of

the COVID-19 pandemic, but still had some demand through online shopping. And now that it’s open again, people are eager to equip their office with supplies. Only now, the office is the home in many cases, as more people shift to working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Electronics, such as computers, webcams and printers, have been selling well. “The only problem is that it was hard to get the

product,” said owner Lincoln Empey. “We’ve been waiting for printers for over two months to get low-end inkjet printers in stock.” Once they are fully stocked, Empey expects supplies for the home office will grow in popularity. “ I d o n’t t h i n k t h i s (working from home) is going to change any time soon, I think people are going to possibly continue to work from home, or maybe job sharing, with half working from home and half working

from the office,” he said. Customers who are making the shift to working from home can find desks, including sit-stand work stations, chairs, various other electronics related to computers, and everyday office products such as pens, pencils and erasers. The sit-stand work stations have slowly gained a greater share of the marketplace. Toner and ink cartridge sales have also sold well. The customers have handled the situation well, calling to find out what the House of Stationery can do for them at this time. Empey said they’re trying to hold their own. The staff have been understanding, as they have been working part-time hours every second day. And they’re hoping to open with full-time hours again in September, being open until 6 p.m. instead of

Computers and other products for a home office are popular at the House of Stationery. Photo by Wanda Harron 5 p.m., and also being open person shifting to work from on Saturdays. home, and they also have Employees have done board games, puzzles, scrapa good job of navigating booking supplies and arts through difficult times. and crafts supplies that will The House of Stationery engage the mind and foster is more than just an office people’s creativity. supply store. They sell Keurig And they are also carrycoffee pods, which, of course, ing masks as people continue could also be handy for the to navigate the pandemic.

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The House of Stationery is a long-standing business in the community that meets the needs for home and office customers. Photo by Wanda Harron

Drewitz School of Dance (Estevan) Celebrating 38 years of Professional Dance Instruction in the Estevan Community & Area (Pre-school through to Major Levels)

Held at: 1037 2nd Street, Estevan Directed by: Lorie-Gay Drewitz-Gallaway, A.R.A.D.

(Director, Teacher, Choreographer, Examiner, Adjudicator) • Registered Ballet Teacher with the Royal Academy of Dancing • Tap and Jazz Examiner for the Canadian Dance Teacher’s Assoc., Sask. Branch • Ballet Examiner for the Canadian Dance Teacher’s Assoc., Sask. Branch • Member and Associate of the Royal Academy of Dancing, London, England • Member of the Canadian Dance Teacher’s Assoc., Sask. Branch (Stage & Ballet) • A.D.A.P.T. Syllabus Teacher in Tap & Jazz (Brian Foley) • Member of the Scottish Dance Teacher’s Alliance, Highland Branch • Member of Dance Masters of America, Inc. • Stage Consultant C.D.T.A. National Board (1999-2002) • Honourary Member C.D.T.A. 2002/ A.D.A.P.T. 2005 • National C.D.T.A. Jazz Rep. (National Board 2006) • National C.D.T.A. Ballet Syllabus Rep. (2019) • Associate C.D.T.A. Acro Dance.

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Harvest is progressing in the southeast Harvest is ongoing in the southeast corner of the province. While some farmers around Estevan had a little bit of a break over the weekend after getting their peas off the fields, others were still working on their pulses or proceeded to canola. One per cent of the crop was combined and three per cent was swathed or ready to straight-cut in the southeast, as of Aug. 10, according to the Government of Saskatchewan’s weekly crop report. The five-year average (2015-2019) for this time of year is three per cent of the crop combined and five per cent of the crop swathed or ready to straight-cut. Sixty-six per cent of the fall rye, 26 per cent of the winter wheat, nine per cent of the field peas, seven per cent of the barley and three per cent of the lentils were in the bin. There were scattered rain showers throughout the region, ranging from a couple millimetres (mm) to over an inch in some areas. The area south

of Broadview received the most rain in the province during Aug. 4-10 period with 39 mm. The Grenfell area received 37 mm, the Odessa area 33 mm, areas west of Weyburn 31 mm, the Moosomin area 20 mm, the Briercrest area 12 mm, the Marquis area 7.5 mm, the Carnduff area five mm and the Lampman area three mm. Moisture conditions remained around the same level as the previous week. Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as 47 per cent adequate, 48 per cent short and five per cent very short. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is rated as 28 per cent adequate, 53 per cent short and 19 per cent very short. The majority of crop damage was due to wind, dry conditions and localized reports of hail. There were also reports of grasshoppers, bertha armyworms and diamondback moths in the region. Haying and baling is wrapping up in the region and yields are lower than normal. Dry conditions have limited pasture growth in the region.

On Sunday fields west of Oungre saw some dusty action as farmers were finishing up their peas and moving over to lentils on a hot summer day. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia

Flax straw from being bought for biomass fuel By Greg Nikkel of the Weyburn Review A Saskatchewan company, Prairie Clean Energy (PCE) of Regina, has found a way to take the thousands of tonnes of Saskatchewan flax straw that gets burned or trashed on the prairies every year and turn it into something that can provide income to producers and sustainable growth for rural Saskatchewan. PCE is processing and selling flax straw for biomass fuel to Canadian and global customers. “There is a world shortage of wood fibre used to make biomass fuel and almost 670,000 tonnes of flax straw gets burned or trashed on the prairies every year. Flax straw actually burns at higher BTUs per pound than wood fibre, making it a natural alternative to wood, and most importantly, something Saskatchewan flax farmers can make money from,” said CEO Mark Cooper. He noted there are hundreds of power plants in Asia, Europe and some in North America that are using biomass fuel, mostly wood, to power them. There are plants like this in Japan that is even sourcing sawdust from furniture factories in Vietnam, just so they can have enough biomass fuel to burn. To connect directly with flax producers and answer questions, PCE held a town hall in Weyburn recently, and similar events in other

Thousands of tonnes of Saskatchewan flax straw gets burned or trashed every year. Photo submitted Saskatchewan communities. “O ur plan is to buy baled flax straw by the tonne from producers and if they can’t bale it, we’ll come out and bale it for them,” said Trevor Thomas, founder of the company. “This is where future jobs in rural Saskatchewan can come in. We want this global issue to be a Saskatchewan success.” He notes that one third of the world’s flax crops are grown on the prairies, much of it here in Saskatchewan, and most farmers will burn off the flax straw or bale it as bedding for livestock, but otherwise have no other way to deal with the straw. Cooper explained that BTUs per pound is what determines the most efficient fuel for burning, and said most wood will produce between 4,000 and 7,000 BTUs per pound. In comparison, flax straw will burn at about 8,200 BTUs per pound. PCE is signing con-

Wishing the farmers a safe & successful harvest. Thank you for all that you do.

Lori Carr, MLA Estevan Constituency Office 306.634.7311

loricarrmla@sasktel.net

tracts with Saskatchewan flax producers right now to buy their flax straw from them, process it and provide it to customers in Canada and around the world as biomass fuel. At the meetings, or when contacted by farmers about signing up with them, the producers are asked to

sign a letter of intent, and then information is sent to them, such as the pricing for buying the straw, and they ask the farmers how much flax they are producing. Once a contract is signed, the farmers are asked to bale the straw in square bales and stack them for pickup, or if they are unable

to bale them, PCE will arrange to come and do the baling and will haul the straw away. “ We’re Saskatchewan boys, we’re not from some fancy office in Toronto. These are our communities, and we want to talk to producers face-to-face and explain it to them,” said Cooper,

adding a big positive is that the demand for biomass fuel is only going to go up as countries move away from coal-burning power plants, and prices are very good right now for the flax straw. Producers who are interested in learning more about this can go to their website

www.estevanmercury.ca

August 19, 2020 A11

Local family pioneering sale of micro-cannabis By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

A farm family from southeast Saskatchewan has turned to a new plant, and is one of the first in the province to do so. Trent Emmel, who farms lentils, canola, durum and more in the Bromhead area, is the president of T8 Cannabis, which is just the second micro cultivation cannabis project in Saskatchewan. He has been partnering with Charles Wentworth of Nibbler, a consulting firm that has helped T8 through the process of securing its licence. The local company gets its name because Emmel has eight kids. Emmel said he wanted to get into the business to help his family, but also because he saw the medical benefits of cannabis. “I saw a little girl that was suffering with … epilepsy, and she had all these fits, but I saw it and that really sparked my interest with how a guy could help people. I’ve had a family member who has had the shakes, and is using the cannabis oil, and it’s fixing him. No more shakes,” said Emmel. He wanted to expand the family farm, but land is hard to acquire. If he could grow crop in the fields, why not inside a canopy, where it would be climate controlled. “Then I kept researching more and more what cannabis is doing for people, and it just drove me harder and harder to

make it succeed,” said Emmel. T8 is fully licensed and has had some sales already, but the majority of the crop was sold for medical testing purposes. The company earned its licence on Dec. 6, 2019. “We had a couple of options to either go straight to market where the real money would be made, or to do some medical research testing at the lab using the product,” said Wentworth. “The main reason we went down that avenue is because a small cannabis producer like T8, we need to show the market what the differences are between small-batch cannabis … and a company that has 25 acres.” As a microcultivator, they are restricted by the amount of space they can use. The particular licence they procured is designed for small operators to become legal cannabis producers with a small amount of capital. “We can grow as much as we want, but we’re restricted by the real world space in which we’re governed, which is roughly 2,150 square feet,” said Wentworth. Every plant they grow is inspected and touched by their master grower Marty Ibot, who is originally from the Philippines and now residing in Estevan. He went from being a labourer to a master grower. “We always hire local people. Always,” said Wentworth. “So when we were advertising for a new master

T8 Cannabis, located in the Bromhead area, is just the second micro cultivator of cannabis in Saskatchewan. grower, we could have chosen people with master’s degrees from universities in Ontario and out here in Vancouver, but Trent and the family were adamant that they wanted to train in-house and make sure it was a local person.” Three full-time employees and nine part-time workers are currently with T8. While there have been hiccups associated with being in a new industry, they have learned from those challenges. As a rural-based company, T8 has additional hurdles to be cleared. “A lot of the time, we need special equipment. Sometimes we need a special kind of labourers to come in. So again, we had a lot of issues there where we had to bring things in from outside of Canada even. Getting things

to Estevan sometimes is a challenge,” said Wentworth. It would have been cheaper and easierw to do it in a bigger city, but Emmel wanted to do it locally for his kids and family. “Cannabis is allowing some of these farms, which aren’t expanding, to be utilized for the next generation,” Wentworth. T8 Cannabis is not a company that would set out to make millions of dollars, Wentworth said, but Emmel has entered into it to help his kids have a comfortable life, and once they’re older, to find the work-life balance. Small-batch cannabis is a superior product to what is created in larger operations, said Wentworth, who compared it to the difference between craft beer and macro-

breweries. “There’s still a lot of confusion there in the marketplace, when people go into a retail outlet, cannabis retail outlet, because people go in, and the consumer is confused about what the difference is between what we call craft cannabis, which is what T8 cannabis grows, and massproduced stuff. The consumer still needs education,” said Wentworth. The business partners met through Wentworth’s love of hunting. He has spent time in Saskatchewan, and met Emmel through a couple of mutual friends. “I got to know Trent … and then travelled to Estevan on more than one occasion, met his family, and that’s where our relationship really grew, because I saw the reason

he was doing the business,” said Wentworth. “Everything else can be solved. Problems can be solved. The process of growing the cannabis can be solved. But the team is what’s more important than anything. The team that’s behind it.” Emmel said he is pleased with how things have gone thus far, too. People in the area have been supportive of the venture. “You would never know there was a cannabis cultivation facility there, because of the way the federal rules stand. We’re very restricted,” said Wentworth. Wentworth sees the potential in the market for craft cannabis, and he and Emmel are pleased to be one of the first micro cultivators in the province.

Saskatchewan putting $15 million into agtech The Government of Saskatchewan has announced $15 million in funding for development of agricultural technology, or agtech. Through Innovation Saskatchewan, funds will be invested in a privately-managed fund targeted exclusively at agtech companies that require venture capital to develop past the start-up phase and scale up their business operations and manufacturing. This investment will accelerate the province’s economic recovery from COVID-19 and build upon a record year for venture capital investment in Saskatchewan, the government said in a release. Deals worth $114 million were made in 2019, more than the previous five years combined, and most of those investments were made in

Saskatchewan’s tech sector. Innovation Saskatchewan will issue a request for proposal (RFP) in the coming weeks to begin exploring fund options with the private sector. “Saskatchewan is rising to the challenge of feeding a growing world population and innovation in agriculture technology plays an important role in meeting that growing demand,” Agriculture Minister David Marit said in a release. “This investment will ensure producers have made-in-Saskatchewan technology that supports their efforts to grow high-quality, sustainable food.” Minister Responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan Tina Beaudry-Mellor said the intention is to combine the province’s investment with private equity to drive more agricultural investment. The idea is to provide something private equity fund managers can leverage

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into further investment. “The litmus test will be areas where we’ll have obviously high growth potential,” she said by phone on Aug. 13. “Mostly, I think it would be new concepts, but I think there's also the opportunity to have that investment go in areas where there's different models with new innovations attached to it that might be considered as well.” She said some of the major trends are precision seeding and spraying, including the use of various forms of drone technology. And when it comes to drones, think beyond ones that fly. Autonomous machinery is another possibility – tractors and other equipment that drive themselves. “It's an exploding area,” she said. Sensor technology, on machines and in-ground are other areas. Genomic research for climate-

change resistant is another. Beaudry-Mellor pointed out that a few weeks earlier, the province announced $1 million for the Agtech Growth Fund, meant as seed funding for developing ideas and coming up with prototypes and field testing. She said, “This fund is really for the companies like that to take their proof of concept, and to grow it and to scale it and, hopefully, get to the point to be their merger and acquisition or an IPO and so this is the other side of that. “I think one of the things that we've learned through COVID is really the importance of the food supply chain, and also how really fragmented the whole agtech space is right now, which I think creates a really important opportunity for Saskatchewan, not just in terms of recovering our economy from COVID, but also number of our growth plan targets,” she said.

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NDP Agriculture Critic Yens Pedersen said in an emailed statement, “The NDP believes in the importance of research and innovation in the ag sector, and improving and building on opportunities for value-adding is important for our provincial economy. We also believe in prudent financial management of government finances. “ Today ’s announcement is fairly general, but it appears that this will benefit a limited number of people and companies. In contrast, the government has admitted that it would only cost the province $20 million to remove the reference margin limits from AgriStability, as many groups have called for. Removing the reference margin limits from AgriStability would have a broad impact and greatly improve the program at a time when producers are struggling after being hit with several adverse events over the past two years.”

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Wednesday, August 19, 2020

A12

Local U18 ball teams finish their season The Southeast U18 AAA Twins (8-10) wrapped up their regular season by splitting games on the weekend. The Twins opened the weekend with a doubleheader against the Regina Athletics at Lynn Prime Park. First was a 10-2 loss to the Athletics. Bryson Andres had two hits, and knocked in the Twins two runs. Kaiden Lyons started and gave up seven runs, five of them earned, in 3 2/3 innings. Their next game was a 4-3 win over Regina. The Twins trailed 2-0 early, but rallied to lead 4-1 after three and held on for the victory. Anders and Mason Fichter each had two hits. Ty Nikolejsin went 6 1/3 innings, and gave up three runs while striking out seven. Dallen Oxelgren didn’t give up a run in two-thirds of an inning of relief. The next day, the Twins travelled to Yorkton for a doubleheader to close out the regular season, and opened with a 12-9 win over the Parkland Expos, but then lost 12-7 in the second game. The first game was tied at 5-5 after seven innings, with the Twins getting all five runs in the first inning. After each team scored twice in the eighth, the Twins outscored the Expos 5-2 in the ninth. Rylan Erb had three hits, two runs and two runs batted in, and Dallen Oxelgren scored three times in the win. Jayke Smolinski gave up five runs, one

unearned, in seven innings of work. The Twins fell behind early against the Expos in the second game, trailing 11-4 through four innings, and never pulled close. Levi Cooley had two hits and three runs batted in during the game. The Twins used four pitchers in the game, with Mason Fichter starting and giving up seven runs, one unearned, in 2 2/3 innings. The Twins finished the regular season with an 8-10 record. As of Mercury press time, it was not determined if they would make the playoffs. * * * The Estevan U18 AA Brewers won their final four games in league play to finish the season with a 13-3 record. First they swept a doubleheader with the Lumsden Cubs, winning 14-3 and 12-1 on Aug. 15. The Brewers scored six times in the third inning and five in the fourth to blow open a game that was a 3-2 Estevan lead entering the bottom of the third. Riley Nevin had three runs and two hits, while Daylen Babyak had three runs batted in. Four pitchers shared duties for the Brewers, with Kaleb Bechtold starting and lasting 2 1/3 innings. Estevan raced out to a 9-1 lead after 2 1/2 innings in the second game and cruised to a win in a game called after five innings. Kaleb Poole brought in four runs in the victory. A sweep of the Regina Blue Jays was much closer, with Estevan winning 4-1 and 7-5. Tyler

Ty Nikolejsin pitched for the U18 AAA Twins against the Regina Athletics on Saturday. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia Saigeon had a home run to lead the offensive attack in the first game. Neven went the distance, giving up just one unearned run while striking out six in seven innings. Estevan scored three in the first and four in the third to lead 7-1 in the second game, then gave up four in the fourth and held on for the win.

Neven and Tayce Miller each had two hits for the Brewers. Kaleb Bechtold gave up five runs, but four were unearned, and struck out four in four innings. Jesse Schill didn’t give up a run in three innings of relief. The Brewers finished the season in third in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League’s U18 AA division with their 13-3 record.

Local drivers dominate at speedway program With just two programs to go until the track champions are crowned for the 2020 season, the standings picture became a little clearer for most classes during the Estevan Motor Speedway’s program Saturday night. Estevan’s Kody Scholpp won the modified feature to bolster his lead atop the division. Devin Raynard of Lampman was second, Bienfait’s Tyler Wagner was third and Estevan’s Ed Turnbull came in fourth. Scholpp leads the point standings with 236 points. Les McLenehan of Estevan sits second with 215 points. Connor Hansen of Torquay won the hobby stock feature for the third consecutive program. A trio of Lampman drivers rounded out the top four: Landon Runge, Dexter Saxon and Riley Raynard. Kaiden Tuchscherer leads the points standings with 223 in what is becoming a close race. Hansen has forced his way into second with 219 points, and Kruz Wilson of Manor is third at 215 points. Lampman’s Leevi Runge won the sport mod feature. Kyle Scholpp of Lampman was second, Bailey

Cousins of Morden, Man., came in third and Blake Penna of Estevan was fourth. Runge now has 218 points to lead the overall standings. Justin Fichter of Estevan sits second with 198 points. Estevan’s Austin Daae, making his second appearance at the track this season, was the winner of the stock car feature. Chris Hortness of Estevan was second, Geoff Mann of Roche Percee was third and Jeremy Istace of Estevan wound up fourth. Hortness extended his lead to 233 points. JJ Barnstable is the closest to him with 215 points. Ryder Raynard won the sling shot feature for the fifth time in six races. Cash Saxon of Lampman was second, Jenna Emmel came in third and Keenan Glasser of Estevan was fourth. Raynard has the lead in the standings with 239 points. Saxon is second with 226 points. The next program at the speedway will be a doubleheader weekend Aug. 28 and 29. Track champions will be crowned following the second night.

Landon Runge (52L) of Lampman came in second in the hobby stock feature. Photo by Deanna Tarnes

Female football making strides towards season The Estevan Kinette Club Viragos U18 female football team continues to make important strides towards the start of their first season. The Viragos, which is a word for a female warrior, will feature young women in Grades 7-12. At a meeting earlier this year at the Estevan Comprehensive School, about 20 young women voiced their interest in being part of the program. Kevin Mortenson, who is the president of Penta Completions Estevan Minor Football, said they could use even more young talent. The Viragos will play under the minor football banner. “ We ’r e l o o k i n g t o strengthen the numbers, both for players, obviously, and coaches,” said Mortenson. The Kinette Club has stepped forward as the Viragos sponsor. A presentation recently took place as part of

the Kinettes’ support for the program. They also have their coach, Shanelle Rioux, who is no stranger to football in Estevan. Rioux played minor football and high school football in Estevan, and has also played for the Regina Riot women’s tackle football team. Last year she attended the Grey Cup festival in Regina through the all-Canadian Titan program. She attended camps and other activities designed to further her skills and learn more about the game. “We’re happy that she is helping develop our girls program here in Estevan. She can relate more with these girls, she’s the same age as many of them, and those younger ones will be looking up to her because she’s been there and she’s done that. I don’t know what other level of football she has to play,” said Mortenson. An emblem has been

designed for the Viragos, and Dynamic Signs has taken care of helmet stickers. The Viragos will play against teams from Moosomin, Yorkton, Melville and Regina. “We’ve been conversing back and forth. There’s a tentative schedule, and basically, we’ll be playing each other once, and then the playoff format, right around Thanksgiving, those games will be on the weekend.” Mortenson is excited to have the program in Estevan. Estevan Minor Football has had numerous female players on its teams since the organization was first formed back in 2008. And Mortenson noted Moosomin has been angling Estevan to get a team going for a number of years. “We’ve just been putting it off because we were short on practice facilities with the grass at Chow Field getting redone,” he said.

Estevan Viragos coach Shanelle Rioux, left, with Estevan Kinette Club president Robyn Ruzicka in recognition of the Kinettes support for the Viragos. Photo submitted He’s also excited to have the Estevan Kinettes Club step up to sponsor the team

for the next three years. “The service clubs in Estevan has been phenomenal,

helping out minor football or even the high school football program,” said Mortenson.

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Cheers & Jeers

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

A13

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Flashback – Wednesday, Aug. 26, 1998

Cheers to SaskEnergy for beautifying the area near 7-11 in north-central Estevan. The grass that’s now in place looks great. Cheers to the members of the Estevan Road Runners club for their efforts to stay fit and accept a challenge during the pandemic. Cheers to having a female tackle football team in Estevan. The girls deserve to have the chance to play against girls, just like the boys play versus boys. Cheers to the Souris Valley Antique Association and the Estevan Car Club for the parade that was held in Midale recently. People loved seeing all of the old tractors and vehicles rolling through the town. Cheers to Estevan Minor Baseball for still having a season this year, despite all of the challenges caused by COVID-19. It was weird seeing the players not in the dugouts. Cheers to seeing ice installed at Affinity Place for the upcoming hockey season. It also means there’s a nice, cool place to be indoors. Cheers to Kelly at Sobey’s for helping out the handicapped with groceries to their vehicle.

Jeers Jeers to businesses that are mandating the use of face masks in order to shop or work there. Since when do businesses have the right to infringe on our human rights and freedom of choice? Jeers to the drivers who won’t use their signal lights before turning, or who wait they’re five feet before the turn. It creates a hazard for the rest of us. Jeers to those who travel below the speed limit when using the left hand lane on Highway 39 between Estevan and Bienfait. Even if you’re going to turn left onto Highway 18 to head towards Bienfait, that’s not a reason for you be in the inside lane for several kilometres before the turn. Jeers to the Hospital Board for not having enough staff for the lab. It takes a week for someone to answer the phone to be able to make an appointment for lab work. Jeers to employers who do not treat their employees with respect.

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

In August 1998, the First Baptist Church Vacation Bible School held a hat contest. The winners of the contest were Destinee Pastachak, Kyla Deitz, MacKenzie Laing-Briscoe, Cody Smith, Kirsten Deitz, Courtney Wall, Morgan Kaip and Emery Pastachak.

Ready and waiting When I was a kid, camping with my family at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, I always looked forward to going to the park store and buying Creamsicles. You know, the orange popsicle sort of thing with ice cream in the middle. I loved them. Eventually, though, that fad passed, and I did not think about Creamsicles again. About a month ago, my family was, once again, at Buffalo Pound and as we wandered into the store, I wondered, “Do they even make Creamsicles anymore?” The answer: yes, they do! And they are as good as I remembered. Interestingly, though I have not bought a Creamsicle for more than 40 years,

Tim Pippus of the Estevan Church of Christ someone somewhere continued making them and when I finally decided I wanted one again, it was ready and waiting for me. This incident made me think about how God is always providing what I need. Even when I am completely unaware of it and do not understand, he cares for me and is working behind the scenes preparing for my future. And here is the best

part. 2 Timothy 1:9 reminds us that, “(God) has saved us and called us to a holy life— not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time”. Underline the “not because of anything we have done” part. Everything happens simply because God is gracious to us. I need this reminder

because I often act as if I am in charge of everything and that I have earned every good thing that I have. However, I have been given much more than I deserve. I have always been looked after. I have received the answers that I needed at just the right time. Even things that looked bad initially often turned out to be for my good. It is good to remember that we are not alone. God is near. He knows and loves us. God is gracious and he provides. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).

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Wednesday, August 19, 2020

A14

In MeMorIaM

ANNE COOLEY July 19, 1916 - August 25, 2009 “A little tear falls from my eye I swallow hard, try not to cry I think of you so far away 11 years ago you died today Still sometimes when I’m all alone I hope and pray to hear the phone to hear you say just one more time That I am loved and you are fine But on life’s road there’s no return So now I must try hard To learn to live and love and do The very way you taught me to But Mother dear remember this You for me are truly missed.” From your loving son, Doug

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Notices / NomiNatioNs Advertisements and statements contained herein are the sole responsibility of the persons orentities that post the advertisement, and the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association andmembership do not make any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness orreliability of such advertisements. For greater information on advertising conditions, pleaseconsult the Association’s Blanket Advertising Conditions on our website at www.swna.com. PROVINCE-WIDE CLASSIFIEDS. Reach over 550,000 readers weekly. Call this newspaper NOW or 306-649.1405 for details.

Lots & AcreAges for sALe Macoun Lot For Sale Lovely secluded 140’ x 50’ lot for sale on the edge of town. It’s located at 621 John St. in Macoun. The perfect place to build a retirement home or to raise a family but still have the feel of the country. Septic tank can be included. The lot is approved for water and sewer hook ups. Make us an offer by emailing jaelynpenner@gmail.com or reach Jenee @ 204.621.8095 via text or phone.

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Obituaries Blossom Carter 1929 - 2020 With sadness, but also with grateful hearts for a long and happy life, the family of Blossom Carter announces her passing at St. Joseph's Hospital Special Care Home, Estevan, Sask. on Friday, August 14, 2020 at the age of 90. Blossom's family is left with a lifetime of precious memories. She will be forever loved and missed by her daughter Beverly Carter and her sons: Nevin (Kara) Fenske and their daughter Aven, Morgan Fenske (Kaelyn Elliott) and Dane Fenske; daughter Brenda (John) Hodgens and their sons: Kelly (Morgan) Hodgens and their children: Graysen, Peyton and Lennox; Robin (Theresa) Hodgens and their children: Nathan and Terra; daughter Colleen (Ken) Spence and their sons: Kristopher Spence and Dylan Spence (Denise Kirkness). She is also survived by her brother-in-law Brian Carter; sister-inlaw Honor Carter and numerous nieces and nephews. Blossom was predeceased by her husband Kenneth Carter; parents: Alex & Lillian Bowie; siblings: Mary (Arthur) Gibbs, Barbara (Vincent) Fernandez, Oscar Bowie and Doreen (Doug) Fritchley. A private family Funeral Mass was held in the Chapel of Hall Funeral Services, Estevan on Tuesday, August 18, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. with Rev. Sathiadas Antony presiding. Those wishing to make donations in Blossom's memory may do so directly to the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan, 301 - 2550 12th Avenue, Regina, Sask., S4P 3X1. Hall Funeral Services in Estevan cared for Blossom's family Dustin Hall, Funeral Director. Robert John Shaw "Bob Zombie" 1965 - 2020 It is with broken hearts that we share that after a courageous battle with cancer, Robert Shaw passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 6, 2020 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan at the tender age of 55 years. Robert Shaw, affectionately known as Bob or Zombie had an infectious laugh and a kind heart. If you were lucky enough to be loved by Bob, you knew a pure and deep love like no other. Bob was predeceased by his youngest son Tylar Shaw and his mother Dianne Moracci. He leaves to mourn his loss his two surviving children: Samantha and Kristopher Shaw, as well as his sister Laurie Shaw and nieces: Jodi Shaw and Avery Beatty. Bob also leaves some of his best memories with his special friends who became his family: Tyson Morhart & Dakota Jaworski (Baylee & Nash), Christa & Bart Morhart (Emma), Carina Morhart & Lincoln Wanner (Madison), Cara & Al Kuchinka (Aden & Noah) and Charlene & Tom Elliott. He will also be dearly missed by many other family members and dear friends. We are all lucky that Bob had room in his heart for so many loved ones. Due to current restrictions on gatherings, a private celebration of Bob’s life was held in the Chapel of Hall Funeral Services, Estevan. Following this, all were invited to attend the graveside service on Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 11:45 a.m. at Souris Valley Memorial Gardens, Estevan, Sask. Sandy Career OppOrtunities Dalziel officiated. If friends so desire, donations in Bob’s Heavy Duty Mechanics, memory may be made to Heavy Equipment the St. Joseph’s Hospital Operators and Foundation, 1176 Nicholson 1A Drivers required: Road, Estevan, Sask., S4A Late model, clean 0H3. Even more importantly, CAT, JD equip: winch, if you are able - the best way dump, gravel trucks and you can honour Bob is to trailers. Both camp and donate blood. shop locations; R & B Hall Funeral Services in provided. Estevan cared for Bob's Wage negotiable. family - Dustin Hall, Funeral Clean drivers abstract Director. a must. Send resume and work references to: Bryden Construction Box 100, Arborfield, Sk. S0E 0A0; Fax: 306-769-8844 Email: brydenconstruct@ xplornet.ca www. brydenconstruction andtransport.ca

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Margaret “Marie” Walter 1936 – 2020 It is with heavy hearts that the family wishes to announce that Marie Walter, late of Estevan, Sask. passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 8, 2020 at St. Joseph’s Special Care Home at the age of 83 years. Marie was born in 1936, south of Macoun, Sask. She was the second youngest daughter of Roy and Pauline McGillicky. She took her schooling at the Thorson School. On June 4, 1957, Marie married the love of her life, Charles Walter of Lampman. They lived and farmed for nine years in the Lampman district. They had two daughters, Glenda born in 1958 and Charlene born in 1962. They moved to Estevan in 1966. Marie began working at the St. Joseph’s Hospital in 1968and continued until her retirement in 2001 at the age of 65 years old. Marie loved gardening and growing flowers which she spent her day meticulously caring for them. She loved playing cards especially with her grandchildren. Marie was a huge fan of Toronto Blue Jays baseball and would never miss a game on TV. Left with precious memories are her daughters, Glenda (Barrie) Willette and Charlene (Vic) Schoff. Marie will be greatly missed by her grandchildren: Brent (Sarah Douville) Willette, Shawn Willette, Travis (Ashley Coleman) Willette, Brendon (Kendra) Schoff and Ashley Schoff; great grandchildren: Chad (Amanda Dumba Schlacter) Willette, Chelsey Willette, Savannah Willette, Ethan Willette, Jaxson Willette, Brody Schoff and Kaden Schoff. Marie will also be missed by her great great grandchildren Jayden Dumba and Baby Jackson; sister Paulette (John) Kish and numerous nieces, nephews and in-laws. Marie was predeceased by her husband Charles Walter; parents Roy and Pauline (Zimmerman) McGillicky; brothers, Roy, George and Ralph McGillicky; sisters, Irene Monteyne and Roseann (Andrew) Monteyne; niece Wendy Adderley and numerous extended family members. A private Funeral Mass was held in the Chapel of Hall Funeral Services, Estevan on Thursday, August 13, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. with Rev. Sathiadas Antony presiding. Interment followed at Souris Valley Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers were Brent Willette, Shawn Willette, Travis Willette, Brendon Schoff, Ashley Schoff and Chad Willette.

Thank You

Special thanks to the Long Term Care Staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital for their excellent care. The family of the later Marie Walter wish to express sincere thanks to everyone for their kindness through this difficult time. A sincere thank you to Rev. Sathiadas Antony for the beautiful Funeral Mass and to the pallbearers. Thank you to the staff of Hall Funeral Services. Friends and family wishing to make donations in Marie’s memory may do so to the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan, 301 - 2550 12th Avenue, Regina, Sask., S4P 3X1. Hall Funeral Services in Estevan cared for Marie’s family – Deb Heidinger, Funeral Director. Faye Marilyn (Houston) Prommer November 3, 1942 – July 27, 2020 Mrs. Faye Prommer of Glen Ewen, Sk. passed away peacefully at the St. Joseph's Hospital on Monday July 27, 2020 at the age of 77. Faye is survived by one daughter, Melissa (Burt) Blondeau (sons, Bradey and Cole); grand-"furbaby", Cooper; brother-in-law, Wain Elkin; nephew, Travis (Jennifer) Elkin; niece, Twyla (Lindsay) Sweeney (their children, Aryanna and Zachary). Faye was predeceased by her husband, Rudy Prommer; parents, Hugh and Alberta Houston; sister, Maxine Elkin. A public graveside funeral service was held at the Glen Ewen Cemetary, Glen Ewen, Sk. on Sunday August 2, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. with Mrs. Sandy Dalziel officiating. Donations in memory of Faye can be directed to the Glen Ewen Communiplex, Box 69, Glen Ewen, Sk. S0C 1C0 or to the charity of one’s choice.

Joyce Gladys Evans June 23, 1954 – August 3, 2020 Passed away peacefully at the Hardy View Lodge in Grand Forks, B.C. at the age of sixty-six (66) years. She fought valiantly against the cancer which finally took her life. She will be remembered and sadly missed by her loving spouse Tim Lee, sister Gail (Thickett), nephew Doug (Thickett), and niece Kim (Thickett). Joyce’s mother, Verna (Kieper), also passed away on the 5th of August 2020. Joyce’s large family connection of uncles, aunts, and cousins will miss Joyce and her mother dearly. The many friends, colleagues, and teammates Joyce met during her lifetime join in our sorrow. Joyce was predeceased by her father, Bruce Evans, and brotherin-law Don Thickett. Joyce graduated from Major Pratt Collegiate in 1973. She attended the Kelsey Institute in Saskatoon and received her Diploma of Recreation and Community Development. She also received a BGS degree and an education certificate from Brandon University. Throughout the years she earned many diplomas and certificates from various courses and workshops. Joyce dedicated her life to serving the people of her community. She did this by working in the notfor-profit, municipal, and provincial government sectors. She was a recreation co-ordinator, community development consultant, executive director of not-for-profit organizations devoted to those with mental challenges, career consultant, victim’s assistance co-ordinator, and businesswoman. Joyce was a great athlete. She played on all the teams in high school, held sprinting records for years, represented Manitoba on its female baseball team (shortstop), and with her team was inducted into Manitoba’s Baseball Hall of Fame. She enjoyed all sports but had a real love for golf. Joyce loved to travel and go camping. She enjoyed traveling in Australia, Japan, America, and Canada. Camping holidays were grand tours of provinces with daily rounds of golf. During her youth Joyce was a 4-H member. She was a founding member of the Roche Perce Tours and Trails Group. In later years she joined the University Women Organization. Joyce was a member of the Grand Forks Carvers Guild and was a talented carver and turner. She also enjoyed doing stained glass projects. Basically, she was ‘crafty’ in that she would see something, be intrigued, and then go and do it. Most of all, Joyce enjoyed people – especially in a relaxed social setting. Her greatest enjoyment was to have people over for some good food, a few drinks, good conversation and perhaps a game of cards. She loved to dance, and attend concerts, festivals, movies, and local productions of all kinds. She really liked parades. When called upon, Joyce made herself available to help in whatever way she could in all the communities in which she lived. She will truly be missed. There will be a memorial for Joyce in Penticton on the August long weekend, 2021. Anyone wishing to remember Joyce can do so by making a donation to your local SPCA. Condolences may be shared with the family by visiting https://www.grahamfuneralhome.ca

www.estevanmercury.ca

August 19, 2020 A15

Controlled burn went out of control

Aug. 12 was Tim Hortons Camp Day at the two Estevan locations and all across the country. From left, Gretchen Buevarra, Jhoana Montecillo, Tammy Alcantara, Melba Mendoza, Noel Ubaldo and Kamal Kaur at Tim Hortons on King Street were cooking and serving customers with fresh coffee and baking. Money from empowering bracelet sales and from every cup of coffee sold, be it a steaming hot beverage or ice coffee, will help send children to camps. All money raised on this day went to Tim Hortons Foundation Camps, which is a non-profit charitable organization founded in 1974, helping children to change their stories for the better.

CAREER Labourer /Operator (CASUAL)

The Town of Midale invites applications for the permanent full time position of:

LABOURER The Town of Midale is offering an exciting permanent full time opportunity. This entry level permanent, full time Labourer position is an integral component to the Town of Midale maintenance processes. We are seeking a long term, goal-oriented individual with an interest in a municipal career. The Labourer will be responsible to: • operate various pieces of equipment as required (tractor, mower, skid steer, grader etc.); • perform all duties associated with roads and infrastructure maintenance and repair; • operate water treatment, distribution system, sewage treatment and collection facilities; • participate in the after-hours and weekend ‘On Call’ rotation; • various other duties as assigned. The successful candidate will: • have completed Grade XII or equivalent; • possess a valid Class 5 driver’s license; • preference will be given to those applicants who possess their Level 2 Water Treatment, Level 1 Distribution and Wastewater Distribution Certification. The successful candidate will be required to provide a drivers abstract and a criminal record check prior to start of employment. Resumes will be accepted until suitable candidate have been found. Please submit resumes or direct further position inquiries to: Town of Midale, Box 128, Midale, SK S0C 1S0 Electronic resumes to: townofmidale@sasktel.net The Town of Midale thanks all applicants for their interest in this employment opportunity but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

JOB DESCRIPTION We are calling all women and men who are interested in part-time/casual income. Retired/ semi-retired candidates are welcome! Providence Grain Group Inc. was established in 2002, and we are one of the few producer-owned agricultural commodity businesses in Canada. Providence Grain Group is currently searching for a casual (4-10 hours per week) Labourer /Operator to join us in Stoughton, SK. Primary functions will include supporting the handling, cleaning and shipping of grain. JOB REQUIREMENTS: • Experience in a manual labour environment • Willing to work outdoors • Must have the ability to communicate clearly and concisely and follow directions • Ability to work in a team-based environment and independently • Must be legally entitled to work in Canada

Thick black smoke spreading over Estevan on Aug. 14 could be seen from miles away. The smoke was coming from the Regens Metals yard. And while it was initially reported as a controlled burn, the situation went out of control quite fast and required Estevan Fire Rescue Service (EFRS) assistance. Crews dispatched to the location successfully extinguished the fire with the assistance of the employees running heavy equipment and were back to the station by 11 p.m. As firefighters were working at the scene, two other calls came in, alerting them about a possible fire near Affinity Place and another possible grass fire south of the city along Highway 47. “Crews did respond to both of those calls, and nothing was found. We deemed them probably being from that smoke,” said Estevan Deputy Fire Chief Rick Davies. The incident is still under investigation. The initial report said that it was wood that was planned to be burned, but the fire got into some tires, which would have resulted in the black smoke. Earlier last week, the EFRS were also called to a wildland fire. The call came in on Aug. 11 at about 2 p.m. The fire occurred by the Highway 39 bypass northeast of Estevan right by Bert Baxter Transport’s yard. “Crews responded … and did encounter a small and easily handled and contained wildfire that was occurring,” said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser. The fire was extinguished without incident. Upon fur-

ther investigation, it was found that the cause of the fire was a cigarette that wasn’t properly discarded. “Anybody who is smoking in their vehicles ... you want to make sure that you are properly extinguishing your cigarettes using ashtrays as opposed to throwing them out the window as this can easily start a fire especially when we are in drier conditions with the wind,” said Feser. Firefighters also responded to a vehicle versus deer accident. The call came in on Aug. 12 at 10 a.m. The collision occurred about 10 kilometres west of Torquay on Highway 18. Crews provided traffic control. The vehicle was undrivable, so firefighters zeroed out energy and assisted with getting a towing company out. Aug. 13 saw firefighters responding to a residential carbon monoxide (CO) alarm call. The incident occurred at about 4 p.m. on the northwest side of the city. “There were preliminary findings of CO readings in the basement,” said Davies. People had evacuated the building and crews established ventilation and ensured that the readings were down to normal levels. Gas-powered equipment that was used in the house by a contractor is believed to be the source of CO. There were no reports of injuries or anyone getting sick. On Aug. 16, Davies, who was the duty officer for the weekend, also responded to a call for assistance. A transformer was leaking on Fourth Street, so Davies attended and assisted SaskPower with traffic control to allow them to do clean-up and repairs safely.

JOB FUNCTIONS: • Assist in the unloading and loading of grain commodities by both rail and truck • Weigh or measure materials and products • Maintain equipment, machinery, and work stations What We Offer: • Competitive compensation: 25$ per hour • Friendly and professional work environment Job Types: Casual Salary: $25.00 per hour

Black smoke coming from a big burning pile at the Regens Metals yard in Estevan.

Please email resumes to hr@providencegrain.ca Or call 236.999.1443

CAREER 1176 Nicholson Road Estevan, SK S4A 0H3 Tel: 306.637.2400 Fax: 306.637.2490

1-Click Contractors Ltd. - Estevan Recruiting Home Maintenance and Cleaning professionals to work as independent contractors for clients in the Estevan area. For a low monthly fee, we will take care of marketing and scheduling so you can focus on the work you do best! Seeking contractors in the following areas: -

House cleaning Painting, wallpaper, drywall preparation Tiling and flooring Carpentry Faucet and fixture replacement Yard services

Contact: Donna Frank, dfrank@1-click.ca or call (833) 634-1082 for more information.

ACTING ADMINISTRATOR The Town of Midale is a dynamic and progressive municipality located on Highway #39 between Estevan and Weyburn. Midale has a population of over 600 residents and has a K to 12 school as well as several updated recreational facilities. For more information on our community please visit www.townofmidale.com. We are seeking an individual with an interest in a municipal career to fill an Acting Administrator position within the Town Office. Applicants must be qualified as required by The Urban Municipalities Act and have working knowledge of local government accounting practices, payroll and general office procedures. They should be proficient with general computer setup, Microsoft Word, Excel and Munisoft Municipal Accounting programs. Excellent communication, time management and public relations skills are required. The Town also employs a part-time office assistant, town foreman and one laborer. Salary negotiable depending on experience. Applicants are invited to submit a resume with a cover letter, references and a current criminal records check by mail or email. All submissions will be held in confidence. The successful candidate will be required to provide a criminal record check prior to start of employment. Resumes will be accepted until suitable candidate has been found. Please submit resumes or direct further position inquiries to: Town of Midale Box 128, Midale, SK S0C 1S0 Electronic resumes to: townofmidale@sasktel.net The Town of Midale thanks all applicants for their interest in this employment opportunity but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Job Posting: Recovery Coach Job Details: The Recovery Coach is a therapeutic guide journeying with patients on their road of recovery from admission to at least the first year of their recovery. Recovery Coaches provide assessments and contribute insightful, practical, and meaningful information to the development of treatment planning. Team members welcome and orientate patients who are in primary treatment to the recovery process. Recovery Coaches provide support in the form of, but not limited to, individual recovery support, sharing of personal stories of recovery and group activities such as during support group meetings like AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), NA (Narcotics Anonymous), and CMA (Crystal Meth Anonymous) etc. As a member of the treatment team, the Recovery Coach meets daily in a collaborative fashion with the team to discuss patient progress, resident group dynamics, and make any necessary adjustments to treatment plans. A Recovery Coach must possess personal experiential knowledge of addiction disorders and a thorough understanding of life and recovery foundations and be willing to participate in supporting patients from a personal experiential perspective. The below list is a guideline and may not be inclusive of all expected duties on a day-today basis. A Recovery Coach is required to prioritize and respond to the needs of the daily operations of St. Joseph’s Addiction and Recovery Centre in a professional and calm manner. • Meets with patients regularly to establish therapeutic relationships • Completes patient orientation to the recovery centre and to recovery. • In collaboration with the Clinical Manager, reviews and supports patients’ progress and supports the Treatment Integration • Plan during the treatment process and during the first week of a patient being admitted. • Supports patients in identifying weekly individualized treatment goals. • Provides timely information to the clinical team. • Provides private and scheduled individual recovery coaching sessions. • Maintains excellent charting. • Facilitates specialized recovery groups as assigned. • Contacts alumni on a scheduled basis to do check-ins and determines the need for additional supports as required. • Facilitates group interaction, workshops and educational groups on site as directed by the program schedule. • Assesses suicidality and possibility for danger to self or others. • Begins and ends group activities in a timely manner. • Attends all treatment planning meetings, and goal setting groups, in-service training, and general staff meetings. • Enters all completion details into the electronic medical record and tracks outcomes. • Helps to plan and execute alumni activities as well as alumni engagement initiatives. QUALIFICATIONS • Preference will be given to Recovery Coaches who identify themselves as being in recovery. All Recovery Coaches will have a minimum of 2 years of recovery. • Experience in supporting people who are chemically dependent or people who have other process or concurrent disorders. • Experience facilitating 12 step groups. • If the applicant is in recovery, they will be required to identify that they have been abstinent from mood altering substances for two years at the time of application. Pay as per established schedule based on education/experience St. Joseph’s Hospital of Estevan has been serving the community since 1938 and we offer a wide range of services to Estevan and surrounding area. http://stjosephsestevan.ca/ Estevan is a young and dynamic community and a great place to raise a family. http://estevan.ca/ Please send your resume by August 28, 2020 to Mark Pettitt, Director of Support Services, St. Joseph’s Hospital of Estevan at e-mail: mark.pettitt@saskhealthauthority.ca or Juanita Fleming, Clinical Manager, St. Joseph’s Addiction and Recovery Centre at: juanita.fleming@saskhealthauthority.ca

A16 August 19, 2020

www.estevanmercury.ca

Mr. Mikes continues supporting and feeding the community By Ana Bykhovskaia abykhovskaia@estevanmercury.ca

Mr. Mikes Steakhouse Casual has been serving Estevan for over three years now, and throughout this entire time, its community involvement has been unprecedented. Restaurant manager John Murray, who had various experiences in the restaurant industry and has worked in four provinces and in England, said that Estevan has been great to him since the very beginning of his time here. “Everything has been really positive. We are a busy restaurant and our guests have accepted us,” said Murray in the interview with the Mercury. He came to Estevan to open the long-desired restaurant. Murray, who prefers to work for the big brands due to the structure and balance, said that he really enjoys Mr. Mikes because of its casual steakhouse atmosphere, where everyone is welcome, but any occasion becomes special when you are here. And that, along with the great cuisine, is what keeps the restaurant as full as it’s allowed to be most of the time. And Mr. Mikes menu deserves a separate story. Their ribeye and sirloin steaks make real foodies come back over and

over again. But the restaurant has much more than unbelievably tasty steaks. “For the sauté side, people really love our seafest fettuccine, which is a fantastic dish. It’s very popular. For the appies, our bruschetta, spinach dip, lobster dunk, stuff you can’t get in other restaurants,” said Murray. Estevan has become home for Murray and his family. He’s been involved with the community through the Kinsmen Club as well as the Chamber of Commerce. “I love Estevan. I fell in love when I moved here,” said Murray. “A lot of great people, a lot of great businesses.” This love is translated though even greater community engagement and support, in which Estevan’s Mr. Mike’s is among the top restaurants in the network. Murray explained that there are two layers to this. The brand encourages a lot of community involvement, but the local branch goes above and beyond that almost doubling the suggested by the brand initiatives. “We believe in Estevan. We believe in supporting the groups, the organizations and the charities. We are the first restaurant in our brand that started the GratiTuesday program,” said Murray. “It was a

NOTICE TO CREDITORS In the estate of DENIS LEROY JOHNSON, late of Lake Alma, Saskatchewan, deceased. All claims against the above estate, duly verified by statutory declaration and with particulars and valuation of security held, if any, must be sent to the undersigned before the 31st day of August, 2020. TROBERT GILLISS LAW FIRM Barristers & Solicitors 1339 4th St Estevan, Saskatchewan S4A 0X1 Phone: (306) 634-2616 Fax: (306) 634-9881 Email: tglaw@sasktel.net

TAX ENFORCEMENT LIST

FORM 2 (Section 4)

Rural Municipality of Cambria No. 6 PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN

Notice is hereby given under The Tax Enforcement Act that unless the arrears and costs appearing opposite the land and title number described in the following list are fully paid before the 19th day of October 2020, an interest based on a tax lien will be registered against the land. Note: A sum for costs in an amount requited by subsection 4(3) of The Tax Enforcement Actis included in the amount shown against each parcel. DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY Part of Lot

Lot

Blk

Plan

PT of Sec.

Sec Twp

Range

Meridian

Title No.

Total Arrears

Costs Advertising

136577852

$1,909.74

$13.34

$1,923.08

107507897

$1,923.26

$13.34

$1,936.60

107507864

$1,216.32

$13.34

$1,229.66

passion of mine. The ownership group and myself decided, let’s do this. We launched it as a trial basis for three or four Tuesdays in a row. I showed the numbers to our head office and they said, ‘Keep going.’” GratiTuesdays were put on pause for the summer and due to the pandemic and will be coming back in September. Murray said that the fundraiser became so popular that it fills up a year in advance. “We are full now until the end of 2021. We have a couple of dates left at the end of next year … We’ve given over $120,000 in three years back to the community through that program.” The restaurant has been raising money for sports teams, charity organizations, mission trips and other local projects and initiatives. And it’s only one out of their many programs. “We do what we can to support (the community) because they support us,” said Murray. Mr. Mikes is also known for their trivia nights, live music and other community projects,

most of which are also coming back in September. Since the beginning of the pandemic trivia nights has been going on Facebook and have attracted thousands of people from across the country. Murray said that they’ve been so popular that he plans to keep going with the virtual game nights once a month. While the pandemic months weren’t easy on the restaurant, it’s now getting back to normal. Their hours are still different (Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-2 p.m. for lunches only, no lunches on weekends, and 4-8 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday, 4-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday) and they can only operate at 50 per cent capacity to maintain the safe distance between guests, but they were able to call all of their employees back. And Murray said that his team, most of which has been there since day one, are the ones to thank for the success of the restaurant. September will also see the local restaurant hosting a community barbecue fundraiser for Special Olympics, which they do every year. (The date is to be set yet.) But this time the

NOTICE TO CREDITORS In the estate of SPENCER MARTIN MINCHIN, late of Estevan, Saskatchewan, deceased. All claims against the above estate, duly verified by statutory declaration and with particulars and valuation of security held, if any, must be sent to the undersigned before the 31st day of August, 2020. TROBERT GILLISS LAW FIRM Barristers & Solicitors 1339 4th St Estevan, Saskatchewan S4A 0X1 Phone: (306) 634-2616 Fax: (306) 634-9881 Email: tglaw@sasktel.net

Public Notice Rural Municipality of Estevan No.5 Notice of Intent to Amend Zoning Bylaw Pursuant to Section 207 of The Planning and Development Act, 2007, the Council of the Rural Municipality of Estevan No.5, hereby gives notice of its intention to amend Zoning Bylaw 5-2014 as follows:

barbecue will be dedicated to MR. MIKES 60th anniversary. To make the celebration even more special the restaurant is also running a promotion that will go up until Sept. 6. When you buy a $60 gift card you receive a punch card for six delicious Mikeburgers, which

is a $100 value. “Right now, Estevan is leading in (promo) sales in the 45-store market,” said Murray. For the updates on the hours and announcements of activities and promotions people can check Estevan’s Mr. Mike’s Facebook page.

TENDER The R.M. of Cambria No. 6 is accepting tenders for the purchase of Lot12 Blk/Par 1 Plan B3275 Ext 0. Sealed Tenders to purchase will be received by the municipal office until 4:30pm, Saskatchewan Time, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th, 2020. Tenders will be opened at the regular council meeting held at 8:00am, Wednesday September 9, 2020 at the municipal office. Lowest or any tender not necessarily accepted. Tenders may be submitted by email, mail or in person. R.M. of Cambria Box 210 217 Poole St. Torquay, SK S0C 2L0

Bylaw 2020-10: Map Change: Map Change: To rezone Parcel M in the SW 35-0208-W2M from Agriculture Resource District (AR) to General Commercial District (COM1) as indicated in bold on the plan of proposed subdivision map below:

Total Arrears and Costs

107271547

$405.44

$13.34

$418.78

132379410

$1,711.04

$13.34

$1,724.38

107296140

$817.58

$13.34

$830.92

107296162

$817.58

$13.34

$830.92

107193865

$864.94

$13.34

$878.28

150627966

$1,023.21

$13.34

$1,036.55

140566822

$857.87

$13.34

$871.21

107275956

$893.38

$13.34

$906.72

128977936

$835.06

$13.34

$848.40

PT SE

128977914

$803.27

$13.34

$816.61

128977880

$799.99

$13.34

$813.33

128977891

$763.93

$13.34

$777.27

107275394

$820.87

$13.34

$834.21

140179147

$1,085.47

$13.34

$1,098.81

107193809

$627.84

$13.34

$641.18

107193821

$624.50

$13.34

$637.84

142186013

$655.35

$13.34

$668.69

148149030

$5,986.34

$13.34

$5,999.68

142866580

$387.58

$13.34

$400.92

142866265

$525.41

$13.34

$538.75

142866344

$584.72

$13.34

$598.06

PT NE

131264007

$2,693.91

$13.34

$2,707.25

102016156

149542128

$1,481.85

$13.34

$1,495.19

102269291

151258170

$3,402.06

$13.34

$3,415.40

Dated this 19th day of August, 2020

Monica Kovach Treasurer

Our CFO doesn’t wear hoodies. Intent: To rezone 5 acres within Parcels A and B from Agriculture Resource District (AR) to General Commercial District (COM1). Reason: To accommodate the subdivision of a parcel for commercial purposes.

LEGAL Barristers & Solicitors

Paul Elash Q.C. Aaron Ludwig, B.Sc., LL.B. Genevieve Schrader, B. Mgt., J.D.

P. 306-634-3631 • F. (306) 634-6901 • www.kohalyelash.com

She wears bunny hugs.

Public Inspection: Any person may inspect the proposed bylaw at the R.M. of Estevan Municipal Office at #1 – 322 - 4th Street, Estevan, Saskatchewan between 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday, excluding statutory holidays. Copies are available at cost. Public Hearing: Council will hold a public hearing to receive submissions, written or verbal, on the proposed bylaw at 11:00 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday, August 26th, 2020 in the Council Chambers of the R.M. of Estevan No. 5, #1-322 - 4th Street Estevan, Saskatchewan. Dated at Estevan, Saskatchewan this 11th day of August, 2020. Michelle Dickie, Administrator

BUSINESS SERVICES

Gainsborough: Thursday a.m. Carnduff: Thursday p.m. 1312- 4th Street, Estevan, SK S4A 0X2

From left, Angel Smith, Lydia Hanson and Kaleb Bechtold are always there to help make any occasion at Mr. Mikes Steakhouse Casual special. Photo submitted

20ACU033 Our CFO wears bunny hugs Estevan Mercury w/o Jul 6 3.18”W x 7.50”H

AUDIOLOGIST

POLITICIAN

“Your ears deserve an audiologist” #5 - 418 Kensington Ave. (Across from Walmart)

306-636-EARS (3277)

1.866.863.6237 | affinitycu.ca

Lori Carr, MLA JACQUIE MVULA M.S., R. Aud. Audiologist/Owner

www.suncountryhearing.com

Estevan Constituency Office

306.634.7311 loricarrmla@sasktel.net

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