Reduce waste and save money
Henders drugs
with watkins hand soap refills!
1220 - 4th Street, Estevan 306-634-3666
Welcome to Estevan. Locals help bring in Ukrainian family fleeing war. PAGE A3
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022
READ IT ONLINE AT
‘It’s one of the biggest snowfalls Estevan has ever seen’ Physician recruitment and retention. An issue for Estevan and other communities.z PAGE A5
What if someone goes missing? Search and rescue activation explained. PAGE A6
Snow removal efforts were underway in earnest on April 14 for both city streets and parking lots. Photo by David Willberg
By Ana Bykhovskaia and David Willberg
Opportunities for farmers. Latest updates on co-op’s Agro centre. PAGE A8
Almost game time. How will the SJHL final look? PAGE A11
Estevan went from having no snow on the ground to lots of snow in a short period of time. A powerful blizzard hammered the southeast corner of the province from April 12-14, bringing heavy snow and howling winds, and creating all sorts of havoc for motorists, regardless of whether they were on the highway or driving within a community. Schools and businesses were closed, while many services were interrupted. More than a foot of snow fell on Estevan from April 12-14, with the bulk of the snow coming on April 13. More snow fell on April 16 and 17. Snow removal efforts in Estevan started at 4 a.m. on April 13, just a few hours after the historic snowstorm hit the Energy City. Fortified by all available contractors, city crews went to work to keep pace with the snow and wind, creating huge windrows in a matter of hours. The public was asked to stay home as much as possible, park their vehicles in driveways if they could, and make sure they don’t take their cars out, as most roads were unpassable for twowheel drive vehicles. Norm Mack, the manager of roads and drainage with the City of Estevan, said this snowstorm turned out different from what they expected, and they had to readjust their strategy on the go
to ensure maximum safety of residents. “ We were watching radar and satellite environment, and Tuesday night, we were on the edge of it, as it was heading east towards Manitoba. But during the course of the night, the whole storm system veered off and went north and northwest, right overtop of us. That changed everything. We got a lot more snow than we anticipated. It’s one of the biggest snowfalls Estevan has ever seen … in that short of a period from cutting grass one day to six-foot drifts in people’s yards. It’s pretty amazing,” Mack said. A lot of drivers that had to go somewhere got stuck on the roads. Even 4x4 trucks in some areas couldn’t make it through the drifts. And while the city crews were doing their best to maintain the traffic flow, there was not much they could do until the weather started co-operating. Estevan city crews and contractors continued battling the snow throughout the Easter long weekend to ensure all streets were unplugged and residents could get out of their driveways and get to their destinations at any time. But as of Monday morning, the main mission has been accomplished and Estevan became passable again. “We spent a large amount of time grading and using loaders cleaning some streets. The northwest area of the city was probably the heaviest, the worst, as the wind direction had blown many streets closed there. So we were
faced with getting them open with loaders and bucketing the snow out. But they are all open now,” said Mack. With temperatures staying below 0 C at the end of last week, snow from the main arteries was loaded and hauled away. Due to warmer weather earlier and it warming up again now, the city’s dumpsites are muddy and soft, and Mack said their hauling time is very limited as the dumpsites are becoming completely impassable. He added that some of the roads are still rough, but at this point, they will let Mother Nature help them out with a lot of the remaining snow. And while snow removal efforts continue, the main focus is now shifting to drainage. “Our main focus was to get all the roads passable and open again. We had many that were blocked off, and people couldn’t get out of their driveways. Now all streets are open, mind you some are rough, and we are currently still blowing off some streets,” Mack said. “But we expect warm temperatures coming with melts this week. So we’re going to let Mother Nature help us out and melt some of the snow.” The warmer temperatures would not allow the blowers to work properly as the snow will get wet and heavy, and will be plugging the equipment. Besides, with it being the middle of April, it doesn’t make sense to spend more money than absolutely necessary. A2 » FOCUS
We’re Donating $1 From
EVERY Breakfast Extra Value Meal Until May 15!
Better Together
2022 Edge
2022 Bronco Sport
2022 Explorer Limited Hybrid
2022 Escape
Standard 12” Touchscreen and SYNC® 4A^
Versatile Maximum Cargo Space
Up to 5,000 lbs of Towing Power
Available Foot-Activated Li gate^^
118 Souris Ave. N., Estevan
306-634-3696
ends May 2, 2022
www.senchuk.com
Find out more at www.senchuk.com