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Welcome to Estevan. Locals help bring in Ukrainian family fleeing war. PAGE A3
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022
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‘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
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City crews were out on April 13 to keep the roads in Estevan open for as long as possible. Photo by David Willberg « A1 “Our intention is not to didn’t get time to spend with storm. It remained in effect April 14. Saskatchewan Public spend a bunch of money on their family at all through until late on April 13. Wellock Road from the Safety Agency equipment snow removal when it’s going Easter, but that’s our job. to melt here in the next week And I’d like to thank them,” cemetery road to Sister Rod- arrived the evening of April Mack said. dy Road, and the 900-block 13 to assist with transportor so,” Mack said. Mayor Roy L udwig of Third Street were closed ing people in the city if they So as the week goes were stranded. on, bringing more sunshine, praised everyone involved on April 13 and 14. Notice to Air Missions All schools for the especially in the afternoons, with the snow-clearing efshut down the Estevan Re- South East Cornerstone the city crews will be switch- forts. “We’ve got good con- gional Airport’s runways on Public School Division were ing their focus to water and drainage situations. Mack tractors. Our staff … they’re April 13, and they reopened c losed April 13 and 14. asked the public to assist experienced and they do to the public the following Schools for the Holy Family great work. And the contrac- day. Roman Catholic Separate with that where possible. City hall, the city land- School Division were open “I’d like to ask home- tors have been very good. owners and residents, if you We call and they come,” fill and the Estevan Leisure April 13, but students were Centre also had to shut encouraged to stay home, see a catch basin with snow he said. He is also pleased with down on April 13. City hall and they shut down April on it or if you know where it is, please, help us out by how the communit y re- reopened at noon the next 14. Due to the Good Friday exposing some of these catch sponded by pushing stuck day, and the leisure centre basins. If you’ve got one vehicles or getting groceries resumed pre-scheduled rink and Easter long weekend, near your house, near your for people they knew could programming at 4 p.m. on followed by Spring Break April 14. from April 18-22, schools back lane or near your street not get out. “I was hoping, cauBoth the landfill and will not reopen until April corner, help us out by making sure it may be open,” tiously optimistic, that the the leisure remained closed 25. storm would miss us, but … on April 15 because it was Highways in southeast Mack said. He also thanked every- once we saw it hit Bismarck, Good Friday, and they re- S askatche wan remained one involved for their help and locked right in on Mi- sumed operations on April open on April 12 and into April 13, but they were and co-operation last week. not, we knew it was coming.” 16. The blizzard warning The city assisted St. closed that afternoon and “I just like to thank the citizens for helping out and was actually issued early on Joseph’s Hospital staff in did not reopen until the folthe contractors and the city April 11, giving people lots transporting employees to lowing morning due to the employees. Some of them of notice of the approaching and from the hospital on hazardous travel conditions.
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The storm brought lots of snow throughout the community. Photo submitted
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Ukrainian family has arrived in Estevan after fleeing country early in the war By David Willberg A family of Ukrainians has a new life in Estevan since relocating to the Energy City earlier this month. The Nedozhdii family – consisting of Volodymyr, his wife Yevheniia, their daughter Karyna and their son Rostyslav – arrived in the community on April 9. Josh Biggs, who was part of the effort to bring the Nedozhdii family to Canada, said they left Ukraine on March 15. They stayed in a hotel in Warsaw until their visa was approved on April 5. Their flights were booked from Warsaw to Toronto, and then Toronto to Regina. “When the war broke out, I reached out to a friend of mine, Brian Petersen, who works at Redhead Equipment, because I knew he had a few new Canadians who worked there,” said Biggs. He asked Petersen to reach out to the Ukrainians he knew to see if they had friends or family members
who wanted to seek refuge in Canada. “You could tell they’ve been hurting pretty hard from everything that was happening,” said Petersen. Oleksandr Sych, who works at Redhead Equipment, had some relatives looking to come to Canada. “He said the day before his cousin had called and said that they wanted to come over,” said Petersen. “I think that was about the time Russia had attacked that nuclear power station and there was a fire in it. So, they were pretty frightened obviously.” At that time, Volodymyr Nedozhdii expressed his desire to come to Canada at any cost. The Nedozhdii family resided in a rural community about 100 kilometres east of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. “I believe an airport about 10 miles away from them was one of the Russian targets, so I believe they were within earshot of bombs
From left, Alex Sych, Yevheniia Nedozhdii, Rostyslav Nedozhdii, Karyna Nedozhdii and Volodymyr Nedozhdii. Photo submitted by Josh Biggs
Meeting at the Regina International Airport were, from left, Alex Sych, Volodymyr Bendasyuk, Brian Petersen, Volodymyr Nedozhdii, Josh Biggs and Kristin Biggs. Front row, Yevheniia Nedozhdii, Rostyslav Nedozhdii, Karyna Nedozhdii, Anna Biggs, Jake Biggs and Nash Biggs. Photo submitted by Josh Biggs and that kind of thing,” said Biggs. “So they needed to seek refuge, and through a translator, the father has said that when Alex reached out to him, at that moment, his … 15-year-old daughter was stocking away food and water into their root cellar.” The family started preparations so they could flee to Poland. The Canadian embassy in Warsaw has a lineup of several hundred people at all times, Biggs said. “When I was booking their flights, I asked Alex to inquire about what they have for baggage. I was expecting they would have a big suitcase each and maybe a couple of boxes, but they left with three suitcases, and then when they got to Regina Airport, I saw they had two medium-sized suitcases and one carry-on,” said Biggs. “It’s pretty hard to grapple for a privileged Canadian like me.” After each step, they felt more confident, and seeing them come down the stairs
resulted in “a big sigh of relief,” Biggs said. When they picked up the family at the Regina International Airport, it was one of the most emotional moments of Biggs’ life. During the interview with the Mercury, he became emotional talking about seeing them in person for the first time. “It’s been over a month since we started on this process and working on it and working through the details, and at every step … nothing was for sure, whether it was first getting them out of Ukraine, which was the first challenge, and then the next challenge was getting their visas approved,” said Biggs. Biggs and members of his family were joined by Petersen and Sych at the airport. “ The paper work was crazy,” said Petersen. “It was 80 or 100 hours into probably getting them over here. There were lots of roadblocks along the way, of course, so a month later it was pretty crazy that
they were here.” Pe t e r s e n s a i d t h e Nedozhdii family were very brave to leave on almost a moment’s notice and trust a total stranger. “They’re very grateful and very upbeat. Just a great family, actually,” Petersen said. The family went into quarantine because their COVID-19 vaccinations aren’t recognized in Canada, and they speak minimal English, but they’re eager to learn the language and want to get to work. They are in good spirits as they adjust to life in Canada and they’re eager to explore their new home. They are residing in a fully-furnished apartment and the kids will be attending school in Estevan. “They’re fabulous people and I’m thrilled to have them in the community,” said Biggs. Petersen said the Ukrainians who have come to work for Redhead Equipment are some of the best workers the business has had, and they’re
among the best mechanics and great people who are an asset for the community. The community has been great as well, Petersen said, with local residents and businesses stepping forward with money and items needed to help the family adjust to life in Canada. Biggs hopes to see other Ukrainian families come to Estevan. He noted there is an agency named the Sunflower Network bringing people to the province, but in this instance, they saw an urgency in getting the family here, so he and Petersen handled the process. Petersen noted the Sunflower Network – named for the official flower of Ukraine – is a charity that people can support to help Ukrainians come to Saskatchewan. And while they didn’t go that route, because they have the resources to bring a family to Estevan on their own, Petersen said it’s a great way if people want to help those in Ukraine.
Estevan Patch garden receives council’s blessing Estevan city council has given the green light for the Estevan Patch Garden to proceed. Council discussed the project at its meeting on April 11, with Chris and Bethany Paul – the two people who are spearheading the concept – appearing before council to answer questions from members. The garden would be located on a parcel of city land behind the water tower and the Smith Street alley, pending the approval of people living in the area. The idea was first discussed at the March 28 council meeting, when Bethany Paul sent a correspondence to council about the possibility of a “take as you need” garden for people in the community. She noted at the start of the presentation on April 11 that her husband Chris is the one with the big dream. Bethany Paul praised council for
the ease of this process. “I know you guys have really put a lot of work into it,” said Mayor Roy Ludwig. Chris Paul pointed out he has met with Rod March, the city’s manager of parks and facilities, about land in the city that is available, which led to a business plan. Chris Paul was looking for approximately two acres of land, and if that wasn’t possible, the project would be scaled back. “He went through and showed me plots that potentially I could ask for that might be available.That doesn’t mean I’m going to get them, but I could ask,” said Chris. “After looking through the city and what the city owned, I basically fell in love with one and I’ve done my drawings around that one.” March has expressed support for the location. Paul said the property requested is the best fit due to its central location.
Ample parking, a splash park, play structure and an outdoor washroom facility are nearby. Access to water is adjacent to the site. He noted they would not put up any permanent structures on the land; they would ensure that the grounds are maintained and presentable from April 1-Nov. 30 each year, with access to the property year-round; and they would have appropriate signage of garden guidelines. If the City of Estevan or city council feel the Estevan Patch is not keeping up to the agreement, the land can be reclaimed at any time. They hope to apply for charitable status for 2023, which would enable them to seek grants. The Pauls have also spoken to the Salvation Army about the needs facing the community and the ministry’s growing client list. Excess produce will be delivered to the Salvation Army or
the Warm Welcome Kitchen. Planting, watering and harvesting are all planned to be community events. If someone has an immediate need for produce, they will be asked to check the produce stand. If it is empty, the Pauls should be contacted. There won’t be any produce pickup without permission, because the Pauls need to keep track of the inventory. Members of council praised the project. Councillor Shelly Veroba said she was pleased to see that the Pauls are invested in it, and she thinks the location near the water tower would be ideal. She also praised the idea of promoting the harvest dates. Councillor Kirsten Walliser appreciates that it not only looks at the nutritional needs of people, but the Pauls also want to have young people
involved, and more experienced gardeners mentoring the youths. Councillor Rebecca Foord expressed her support as well, but asked for the consultation with people in the area because it might add to traffic in the back alleys. “We’re so fortunate in our community that anytime you have something good like this, the volunteers come forward and the community,” said Foord. In the future, they would like to have a free seed bank, offer free starter plants, provide free gardening classes, and canning and preservation workshops. Paul pointed out that he has received excellent support from the community and people have already stepped forward with donations. A Facebook page for the Estevan Patch has already been created and they will also have an Instagram account.
EDITORIAL A4
| Wednesday, April 20, 2022 | www.SASKTODAY.ca
Staff SERVING CANADA’S SUNSHINE CAPITAL Sales Manager Pat Pasloski - ppasloski@estevanmercury.ca
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EDITORIAL
Snow removal passes an ultimate test Volume 116 Issue 45 Contact us: (306) 634-2654 68 Souris Avenue N. Estevan, SK S4A 2M3 www.estevanmercury.ca @Estevan_Mercury facebook.com/EstevanMercury
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It was billed as potentially a generational snowstorm, and it lived up to the hype. Southeast Saskatchewan was smacked with a powerful blizzard last week. It forced schools to close, businesses to shut down and a variety of services to be suspended. The message by the early afternoon of April 13 was simple: if you’re not an essential service, stay home. And for the next two days, we were told that if we didn’t have to be on the road, then stay home so that snow removal crews could do their jobs. (It helped that April 15 was Good Friday, so a lot of people had the day off ). For those who experienced this blast from Mother Nature, they won’t soon forget it. It also proved to be one of the sternest tests of Estevan’s snow removal protocol since it was implemented nearly a decade ago. Snow removal is one of those things that you can always justify to residents, as long as it’s done properly. You don’t want to have crews working overtime to deliver the service to clear a couple of inches of snow. That would be wasteful. But you can’t turn it into a bare-bones service, either. Eventually, you’ll get the storms that will bring so much snow that the roads become impassable. (We’ve seen
that in this community in the past). City crews and a host of contractors were out on April 13 to attack the roads as quickly as possible so that they were somewhat drivable. They did the best they could. Eventually, they were going to lose the battle, because you have lots of snow falling, heavy winds blowing, dozens of kilometres of roads in the community and only so many workers and pieces of equipment available. And once the worst of the storm was finished, they had to shift their priorities to clearing the roads, especially the arterial roads and the Priority 2 roads. There were a few complicating issues. One is that we had a weather aftershock looming with more snow in the forecast. So, if they didn’t clear out the snow, the situation was only going to get worse. The other issue was the timing. Dealing with a snowstorm in mid-April is not the same as dealing with the last big dump in December 2021. The city had to decide what to do with all of this snow, since the usual snow dump sites weren’t available. The city is pretty damn good at removing snow in the winter. But they’re not as experienced when it comes to dealing with snow in April. Last year when we had a big dump in April, the temperatures warmed up a few days later and the snow melted without
requiring a big snow removal effort. This year we had a lot more snow from a far more potent system, and thanks to the temperatures and additional snow that came after the storm, an all-out snow removal effort was needed. You’re never going to make everyone happy with snow removal efforts. Some are going to wonder why their road wasn’t tackled right away, while the road to the south was. Others will want to know why their street is Priority 3 while another road is Priority 2. And you’ll get some who will wonder why the city spent all of this money on snow removal when the weather will eventually warm up. They’ll say there’s no long-term need to remove all of that snow from the roads. But most people get it. They understand that you needed to move quickly to keep the roads passable for as long as possible when the snow hit, and you need to remove the snow from the streets once the snow was finished. After all, everybody – including those who live on quiet residential roads and who drive small cars – has to be able to get to work and drive around the community. We survived the storm of April 2022, and the snow that followed. Hopefully, we can now look forward to enjoying more spring-like weather.
Sometimes, to change one needs to stop 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.
Probably just like many of you, I was caught in the house from Tuesday evening until Friday afternoon. Fortunately, we had advanced notice. Once our “big storm” locked our neighbours in Bismarck and Minot down, we knew we were next. Emergency services said to stock up on water and ensure we had everything needed for a few days, and asked us, gently but insistently, to stay home. So I did. And I tell you these few days were some of the best ones in a long time. I guess I could have crossed many big projects out of my long-term to-do list. At least, I could have cleaned the house after the winter, or gotten some studying done. But I didn’t. All I did was watch the snow falling. During those few days, I spent hours with a cup of coffee just looking through the windows. The valley, which was almost ready for the first green splashes just before, was gradually turning into a winter fairy tale – quiet, cozy and peaceful. Once the wind died down, the last signs of rush disappeared from that world. I live out of town, so I didn’t have any equipment cleaning the streets, or any people walking by. My dogs were hibernating in their doghouses, and wildlife hid in the bush. Even birds, which were causing a ruckus in the backyard every day, happily starting at 5:30 a.m. and going until the night, became completely quiet. It seemed that outside the snow, everything else was put on pause. Everything was still. So I allowed my consciousness to quiet down too. I let all worries and concerns go, as there wasn’t much I could do with five-
Ana Bykhovskaia Twenty Lines About… foot snowdrifts in the driveway. They looked like big frozen waves, which came out of the white ocean and instantly stopped, creating an obstacle zone all around the house. And I had no intention of even attempting to overcome those obstacles without help. The help came on Friday when my two best neighbours in the world brought their tractor and skid steer over and saved me from my winter island, allowing for a happy end to my winter novel. But before that, I was just observing. I was observing the world around me and the world inside me. As my mind was slowing down, I was observing the changes within myself. Contemporary life with power, vehicles and the internet allows and also pushes us to move non-stop. And even when I try to slow down, I feel guilty for missing out on living it to the fullest. But since this pause was compulsory, I just surrendered and enjoyed it. And I actually noticed many positives in taking a break. It allowed me to better understand myself, to understand where I am and who I am, what my values are and what should be my priorities. Before that, I did most things automatically and reactionary. If I had to work, I worked; if someone needed help, I helped; if someone invited me to go somewhere, I went. But rarely did I have a chance to choose or do something I needed
or wanted for myself. With calving season underway, by the time of the storm, I also was somewhat tired. My husband and brother-in-law do 99 per cent of the work, but even that little bit of balancing between my job, the farm and other sides of life for me were exhausting enough. I didn’t realize to the fullest how tired I was until again, I got a real break. Since I couldn’t go anywhere, I allowed myself to get as much sleep as I needed, and that sure made a difference. This pause also allowed me to step back and look at my life from the aside, noticing what was important and what was just creating noise rather than meaning or value. And once that got crossed out, I got more time for things that matter. I also noticed that this break created space for inspiration, helping to overcome burnout. If you don’t do things you really enjoy for some time, you start missing them and feel more enthusiastic about them later. So once the driveway was cleared, tagging and feeding baby calves felt like a real pleasure and adventure once again. This little winter break recharged me and helped me re-evaluate many things. It made me feel happier, rested and motivated. It also made me start calling grandma more often. It was just three days, but I think those days made me a better version of myself. I hope that you got to have as great of a break as I did during the storm. But if not, make sure you have one planned for yourself, as once the life comes back out from under that white blanket, it appears to be 100 times more colourful and meaningful than it seemed before.
Flooring
OP-ED A5
Blinds Paint
| Wednesday, April 20, 2022 | www.SASKTODAY.ca
David Willberg Willberg’s World
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New physicians coming to Estevan to replace those who are leaving
The biggest potholes contest It’s the type of contest that newspeople enjoy each year – the Saskatchewan’s Worst Road competition organized by CAA Saskatchewan. People are encouraged to submit the most troublesome road(s) in their region and then gather public support. If nothing else, it gives the media a chance to think about the roads that we believe are the worst in the province, and then compare them to the final list. And it gives us ammunition when dealing with government. It’s a great reminder to governments of which roads are in less than ideal condition and need attention. If a road or highway appears in consecutive years, well, it might be a sign that something really needs to be done. The contest isn’t perfect. It’s often vague. For example, the one highway in our area that cracked the list so far this year is listed as “Highway 18 Estevan.” At no point does it say whether it’s the portion of Highway 18 that cuts through Estevan, all of which has been resurfaced in the past few years. But if you were to ask the people who drive Highway 18 from Estevan to Outram on a regular basis about the state of that highway, they would tell you it’s likely one of the worst in the province and should be resurfaced pronto. We’ve also started to see more and more municipal roads appearing on the list the past few years. Perhaps it’s time for a worst stretch of highway contest, and a worst stretch of road in a city, town or village. Remember back in 2013, when Souris Avenue North in Estevan from King Street to Wellock Road was in such abysmal shape? It would have been a perfect candidate for worst municipal road in the province. (Fortunately, Souris Avenue North is no longer a punch line). I think most roads in Estevan are in pretty good shape, certainly far better than they were 10-15 years ago. Yes, there are the troublesome spots. Fifth Street really needs some fresh asphalt, and the roads in the industrial section of the city have long been an issue, one that doesn’t seem to have an easy solution other than pave the roads. The residential road rehabilitation program that’s slated to start in Estevan this year should go a long way in rectifying some of our more troublesome streets. Most of our highways are in good shape, too. It’s impossible for all of them to have asphalt in perfect condition, but most have held up well. You can still go 100 kilometres per hour without having to worry about swerving to avoid potholes. But there are some that need attention. Highway 18 west of Estevan is one of them. Highway 47 north of Estevan is also due for a couple lifts of asphalt. If we see a resurgence in oilfield activity in the southeast, then Highway 47 is going to take a lot of the brunt in the increased activity, and its deterioration will be accelerated. Still, it’s not as bad as Highway 47 from Stoughton to Highway 1. You could issue a permanent “travel not recommended” declaration for that stretch and nobody would argue. When the government does resurface Highway 47 from Stoughton to Estevan, three or four sets of passing lanes might be in order due to all of the truck traffic. The Roche Percee Access Road has long been one of the worst roads in the province, and right now it’s as bad as it’s ever been. It’s not as busy as say, Highway 39 from Estevan to Weyburn, but there is still activity, it’s still provincial jurisdiction, it’s not the stereotypical flat and straight Saskatchewan road, and it is the access point to a tourist attraction, the pierced rock formations near the village, which might have more activity if the road was better. It’s a tough one for the province to justify resurfacing because the traffic isn’t so abundant, but they have to do something about it soon, because what they’re doing now isn’t working. There are other highways in the southeast in need of attention, but these are some of the worst culprits. Regardless, the Worst Roads Contest makes for some interesting discussion and comparisons as we try to jostle to get our roads resurfaced and brought up to an adequate standard. And it makes for some good jokes regarding who has the worst roads and the biggest potholes.
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St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan
By David Willberg Several physicians are leaving the community after a few years of service, but others are on their way. Dr. Ryan Cormier, Dr. Germin Atia, Dr. Navjot Pannu and Dr. Daniel Garcia have all announced their departure in recent weeks. Garcia has already gone, while the other three will leave before the end of June. A couple of new physicians are scheduled to start practising in Estevan in June, and another is slated to come in July. One more is to be here in September. The hospital is also in final discussions to bring in an obstetrician-gynecologist in June. “The challenges of retention remain and the success of recruitment remains,” said St. Joseph’s Hospital executive director Greg Hoffort. “It’s certainly a challenge and it’s something that we work towards and want to do better, but thanks to the recruiting efforts of St. Joseph’s Hospital, the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation, it looks like we’ll be adding as many physicians as will be leaving and we’ll be looking to continue that recruiting.” The hospital went through some service interruptions in August and September of last year due to staff shortages. Hoffort said he can’t guarantee there won’t be more, with staffing challenges due to COVID-19 and other factors. “We’re recruiting nurses non-stop. The staff we have do an amazing job to meet the needs of the community … from over 250 of them. There’s not an overabun-
dance of them and they do an amazing job with what they have.” That includes support, care and physician staff. Retention is a challenge, Hoffort concedes, and physicians leave for a variety of reasons. In some cases, it’s due to family. Others want to be in a larger centre. In the case of the four who are in the process of leaving, two were Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment physicians with three-year return of service requirements and filled their terms. “They’re going back to where they have family or where they have lived before, and are potentially seeking different opportunities as physicians,” said Hoffort. Physicians in Estevan have to meet family office requirements, while family physicians manage the care in the emergency room on a rotation. “It’s a tremendous service that they provide the community and it’s demanding. We continually meet with the physicians. We have monthly physician meetings with the entire group. We have quarterly one-on-one meetings with them and certainly are always exploring solutions.” Hoffort believes the improvements in recreation in the community, such as the master pathway and sidewalk project, will help with recruitment and retention, but he concedes they have work to do on the retention side. “ We have been ver y successful on the recruitment side as a group effort and we’ve got some work to do (for retention), as do many communities in Saskatchewan and in the country.”
Dr. Kevin Wasko, the physician executive for integrated rural health with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, said Estevan is not alone when it comes to challenges associated with retention. “It’s a perpetual challenge across many rural communities when a vacancy comes up, to be able to fill that vacancy,” said Wasko. The SHA relies predominantly on SIPPA, and through that, internationally-trained physicians are recruited and matched with rural communities where there are vacancies. “ W herever there are vacancies in the province, those communities will be identified, and then we go through a process where the vacancies are prioritized, and the amount of applicants that we have that are accepted into the program are then matched to those vacancies,” said Wasko. He noted about 18 months ago, Weyburn was in need of physicians, but that situation has improved as new physicians have moved to that city. Retention has always been an issue in rural Saskatchewan, he said. People who are born and raised in a community, or have connections to that community, are more likely to stay. Being able to practise the type of medicine one wants, and being supported by colleagues and health professionals, will also be factors for whether a physician stays. “We do have a province that has relied heavily on international-trained physicians, and we’re grateful for them and the service they’ve provided, but that connection to a community will
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always be more challenging for someone who hasn’t come from that community originally,” said Wasko. There is a lot of work that has to go into retention. It’s also important to encourage young local people to go into a career in medicine. He also believes it’s important for the provincial medical school to admit those who grew up in rural Saskatchewan and want to return to their rural communities. Most physicians who come from elsewhere put in the time for the mandatory return in service, Wasko said, and when the time is up they have the opportunity to leave. If the physician hasn’t set down roots or don’t believe they belong, Wasko said it’s very likely they will leave when the time is up. Those who leave Estevan and other rural communities are going to larger centres, Wasko said. Some physicians will remain in the province and choose to move to Regina and Saskatoon. But Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary are the most common destinations. Wasko believes that retention needs to have an “all hands on deck” approach through a collaboration between local and SHA leadership, as well as community leaders. “The more a physician feels welcomed, the more that they feel like it’s a place where they can set down roots and raise their family, the more likely they’re going to stay.” Wasko has announced he is leaving the role with the SHA, effective the end of June. He cited fatigue after taking a leading role in the province’s fight against COVID-19.
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What happens when someone goes missing? Volunteer SAR activation explained By Ana Bykhovskaia It’s been three years since the establishment of the South East Saskatchewan Search and Rescue (SESKSAR) chapter of Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Saskatchewan (SARSAV) – a volunteer organization trained to become a resource for policing agencies in cases when someone goes missing. SESKSAR covers the entire southeast corner of the province, and has a number of members professionally trained and equipped to respond to a call day or night at any time of the year to assist with search and rescue operations. However, unless the chapter is activated, SESKSAR members are not authorized to participate in the operation. The Mercury spoke to RCMP Cpl. George Riffel, Estevan Police Chief Richard Lowen, SARSAV president Bobbi Buchanan, and SESKSAR president Katia Bigney, who explained when and how the SESKSAR chapter is activated if someone from the area goes missing. SESKSAR can be requested as a resource by the RCMP or municipal police, depending on where the emergency has occurred, however, it doesn’t happen instantly. When an RCMP detachment or municipal police get a call of a missing person, the first step is their investigation. If a missing person is reported in a city, municipal police look at the circumstances to determine, whether the outer resources are needed. “We would follow general investigative procedure,” Lowen said.
“It would start with the patrol officers going out to meet with the witnesses, and/or search the area locally. Again, it depends on the circumstances, if a missing person was reported outside, or on a trip, or away, or within the city. “If it’s within the city, we start internally with an investigation, and then weigh the risk and how many people have to be notified whether that’s media or public support that we’re looking for. All those things will be examined by the officers attending in the general patrol area.” If a person went missing within the city, and the municipal police have an area of a search, they are the agency responsible. If volunteer SAR resources are required, the municipal police would notify the provincial emergency communications centre to activate SARSAV chapter(s), and they would start working together to determine search area and proceed with further steps. The initial process is similar for the RCMP. First of all, the local detachment investigators have got to make sure that the person is actually missing and that the situation reported meets the criteria of a missing person investigation. If it does and resources from outside the local detachment are required, they contact the RCMP District Management Team to get information and further directions. “They then call one of our on-call search managers. Sometimes that’s for advice, sometimes that’s for activation. That’s a case-by-case evaluation that we make. But the detachment maintains control of the investigation,
and that has to be ongoing,” Riffel explained. When they make that call to the district, the district either agrees or disagrees that search and rescue is an appropriate resource to call in. The search manager first decides whether or not the situation meets the criteria to deploy. And second, depending on the nature of the investigation, if it is something where it’s possible to safely use the volunteer resources. Many factors are taken into consideration before trained volunteers can be called in. The search manager assesses any potential risks associated with the situation, checks if it’s somebody that has a history of violence, or if they’re fleeing, or if they have access to weapons, or have mental health issues, etc. If the risks are high, then only police members are used. Besides, if the case is sensitive, where there’s a criminal investigation ongoing, the situation keeps changing, or if it’s a matter of possible scene contamination, or just the information can’t be released as much, then the volunteer SAR probably won’t be brought in. “If we are in a position that the volunteers can be used, then our search manager decides on resources, based on the area, the type of search, terrain, weather, whether we’re calling snowmobiles … or whatever is required … Do we need 20 people, do we need three people, what do we need?” Riffel explained. SARSAV is activated by the RCMP “F” Division GSAR search manager or the municipal police service designate of requesting authority
having jurisdiction via phone to the provincial emergency communications centre, requesting the resources they need. The established procedure is for the nearest three SARSAV chapters to activate, but the authority having jurisdiction may request only their local SAR team or specialized resources such as trackers as they see fit. The authority having jurisdiction may indicate that additional resources from Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency and/or more than just the closest chapter may or may not be required. The search manager sets up date, time and location for muster, and then attends the location with police members. Once the SAR teams and other support resources are called in, their task is to assist with the operation, but the investigation itself is the responsibility of the local police investigating unit that stays in contact with the family and reports to the media, and thus to the public when it’s the time to do so. The search manager maintains control of the search operation, while RCMP or municipal police continue to investigate using all incoming information. Riffel noted that their first goal is to analyze the situation to ensure that they are making fact-based decisions and then proceed with the investigation and all further steps needed. The RCMP or municipal police will be the ones who have the fullest information and use it most efficiently in SAR operations. However, from the civilians’ perspective, what’s being done by police agencies and/or volunteer SAR may not always look this way. “The RCMP or any police ser-
vice is not going to be able to communicate every detail to the public, so the public’s not always working with the most accurate knowledge. The public doesn’t know every single piece of the investigation, they’re working with a lot of guesses and speculations. And that’s not accurate, so the public’s perception which usually involves emotions, [often spread through social media], doesn’t really add up to evidence or facts that we’re going to make decisions based on,” Riffel explained. There are no general criteria as to when a person is considered missing because every case is unique and has to be investigated first. “We could be calling a search within five minutes if we know that it’s a toddler that’s run away or something extreme like that. But if it’s somebody that’s just turned their phone off for a little bit, or somebody that’s got a habit of leaving and showing up at somebody else’s house, well, then, three hours later, they’re probably going to end up at that house again. We don’t do knee-jerk reactions; we have to investigate and base our decisions and actions on facts and changing information along the way. And every case is different,” Riffel said. The same goes for the activation of the volunteer search and rescue group(s). Those resources might be very helpful in one situation, and not needed in another case. “We’re not going to call in a ton of resources when we don’t know what we need or if we need them, so as we gain information, we make different decisions,” Riffel pointed out.
Estevan’s Legion branch salutes long-time members The Estevan branch of the Royal Canadian Legion saluted the contributions of many of its members during its annual Vimy Awards Night Saturday night. Pins were presented in affiliate, associate, ordinary and life member categories. In the affiliate group, the recipients were as follows: Timothy Sieben and Colleen Jensen for five years; Marvin Paulson for 20 years; and William Baryluk, Albert Petrash, J. McKelkie, George McGillicky, W. Orsted, Garry Hirsch, A. Kish, J. Kish, A. Dougherty and R. Audet for 25 years. (First names
of some recipients were not available). Fo r a s s o c i a t e s t a tus, Robert Kitchen, Burt Blondeau, Lionel Bender, Jim Maley, Dianne Allen, Cheryl Andrist, Kim Ball, Angela Clements, Chris McIntyre, Warren Ross, Robert Wilhelm and Clinton Schlapkohl were saluted for five years of service. Jim (Frosty) Forrest, Willie Forrest, Connie St. Onge, Marlene Grube, Heather McKinnon and Mark Panteluk have 10 years of service. Ed Schell, Frank John and Theresa Densley were lauded for 20 years.
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George Parrish, Lenora Wanner, John Fedyk, Kenneth Harris, Dennis Kendall, Gary St. Onge, Clarence Durr and Margery Gingras were recognized for 25 years with the Legion. David Bachorcik has been a member for 30 years; H. Perkins, E. Skjerpen, L. Wanner and P. Marcotte for 35 years; Mel Murray, D. Cairns and H. George for 40 years; and David Dukart and Ray Walton for 45 years. Ordinary members recognized were David Elliott for five years; Elmer Vicary and David Bannatyne for 20 years; D. Rogowski for 40 years; Howard Donaghy and Bill Kapiczowski for 50 years; Duane Bill for 55 years; and Charlie Gessner for 60 years. Life members saluted were: Alice D ukart and Vince McGillicky for 25 years; Al Fellner, Leonard Grube and Dave Laing for 35 years; John Gulak, Lyle D ukart, Sharren D ukart and Richard Marcotte for 40 years; and Jim Spenst for 70 years. Certificates of appreciation were presented during the evening to Golden West Broadcasting, Aaron Dukart and the schools in Estevan. Certificates of merit went to John Greenhough and Gloria Leitch. The event is named after the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and Saturday marked the 105th anniversary of
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Vimy Night committee chair Troy LeBlanc presented awards during the evening. the start of the battle. Canadian forces dislodged the Germans from Vimy Ridge, a key strategic point in northeast France, during the battle, which lasted from April 9-12, 1917. Canada succeeded after those from France and Great Britain were defeated, and the victory is viewed by historians as a coming of age for Canada as a nation. Local military historian Craig Bird, who founded the Southeast Military Museums, discussed the local impact of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. He had held an informative session on the battle earlier in the day. Mayor Roy Ludwig and Estevan Legion president Jim (Frosty) Forrest Estevan MLA Lori Carr presented certificates of merit to John addressed the crowd during Greenhough and Gloria Leitch. Sergeant-at-arms the banquet. Willie Forrest stands at attention.
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| Wednesday, April 20, 2022 | www.SASKTODAY.ca
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Council awards tender for watermain replacement The tender has been granted for this year’s watermain replacement program in Estevan GenCo Asphalt was awarded the tender for $414,420 during the April 11 meeting of Estevan city council. The work is for Kohaly Avenue from King Street to Nicholson Road, and for the Lynd Crescent south leg. The tender includes preparing the sub-grade, and supplying and installing sub-base, base, and asphalt and concrete sidewalks. The roadway reconstruction project is to start Aug. 15 and completion is set for Sept. 9. If more time than planned is required due to weather or other issues, the schedule will be reset accordingly. • • • Council gave the green light for Thunder City Power and Leisure to have a demo rides day on May 28 that would require blocking off the north half of 11th Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets. The business plans on having a small demo track with a few small piles of clay for hills. Dave Heier with Thunder City said he doesn’t expect there will be much speed involved with a small, closed course, and he doesn’t expect the closure would affect the nearby Estevan Salvation Army. A barbecue lunch would be served. C o u n c i l l o r L i n d s ay
Clark said this event is the type of activity that will help bring people to the downtown area. Councillor Travis Frank voiced support, but wanted to know if council has allowed private businesses to close off portions of roads before, and whether this would create a precedent. Mayor Roy Ludwig said this shouldn’t affect neighbouring businesses. • • • Fort Distributors was awarded the city’s dust control tender of $.35 per litre, with an estimated cost of $115,000. Norm Mack, the manager of the road and drainage division for public works, noted the city has been using magnesium chloride in the past few years from Fort Distributors, which also supplies many of the surrounding RMs with the product and has storage tanks in the RM of Estevan yard. The city is responsible for a number of gravel roads within the city limits. Some require one application annually while others need two. • • • Council approved a new policy for utility disconnection for non-payment of residential water bills. Accounts 30 days past due will receive a reminder notice by mail and those 60 days past due will receive a disconnection final notice. Account holders will be given the opportunity to make payment arrangements
with the utility clerk before the disconnection date. No exceptions will be made. A minimum amount will be required to make payment arrangements, which must be made with the utility clerk before the disconnection date. Payment arrangements will only be set to a maximum of two months to pay off the outstanding amount. Any broken payment arrangements will result in immediate water disconnection without further notice. Once the water and sewer crew is dispatched to a property, a service fee established in the utility rates bylaw will be applied to the account, whether services are shut off or not. Any obstruction present with the shut off valve will result in penalty established under the utility rates bylaw until the shut off valve can be accessed. Once a service has been disconnected, all outstanding amounts including services fees are required to be paid in full for services to be restored. Account holders will have to contact city hall to arrange for reconnection of
services. Once payment is confirmed, crews will be dispatched to the property for reconnection. Resident/owner must be present at the property to restore water services. • • • Council gave the green light for the creation of a multi-unit residential project on a 1.47-acre parcel of land in the southeast corner of the Estevan Market Mall property. Their approval is subject to entering a servicing agreement. The concept has not been
submitted, as a third party is involved. It was noted the zoning district can accommodate a variety of land uses within the parcel. Council approved the plan, subject to entering into a servicing agreement. • • • Three building permits worth $92,000 were issued in March. Two were miscellaneous permits worth $27,000 and one was a garage for $65,000. So far this year, six permits worth $112,200 have
been approved. • • • Council gave first reading to a bylaw regarding ATV usage in the community. The bylaw change is needed to allow the Estevan Police Service to use a new Kubota RTV520 utility vehicle to assist officers in Estevan responding to emergency situations across the pathway system. The funding for the unit came from the provincial government. Second and third readings will occur at a later date, after public consultation.
SE College to host an open house The Southeast College’s Estevan campus is going to promote programs and other post-secondary institutions during an open house on
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April 26 from 2-6 p.m. Sheena Onrait, the manager of marketing and communications with the college, said this is a great time to have an open house, and invite everyone to the Estevan campus to find out about the college and other schools. “Of course, we have our full-time programs, our first-year university with our partnership with the U of R,” said Onrait. “We’re actively taking registrations for our adult basic ed. program starting in the fall again, and of course we always have lots of interest in our English as another language programs.” But they thought this would be a good opportunity to invite other post-secondary programs from across Saskatchewan and elsewhere. In addition to the college, participating campuses will include Luther College/University of Regina, Saskatchewan Apprentice-
ship and Trade Certification Commission, Dumont Technical Institute, Olds College, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, the Recording Arts Institute of Saskatoon, Great Plains College, Parkland College, the University of Calgary, the University of Lethbridge, Lakeland College and the Canadian Armed Forces Naval Reserves. “We have the facility, we have lots of space, so why don’t we invite our friends?” asked Onrait. “So that’s what we did. We ended up with quite a wide variety of folks coming to share the information that they have to share on their post-secondary institution or their school.” Each school will have their table set up to share the information that they brought for the come-andgo event. This marks the first time the college has been able to host the open house in 2019.
Onrait said she thought now was the time to have the open house after talking to a friend whose son is in Grade 12. He noted that they haven’t had the chance to talk to post-secondary institutions. The soon-to-be graduate wasn’t sold on what to do next. “I thought ‘you’re right, Grades 11 and 12s haven’t had barely anyone into their schools in the last couple of years’ because there hasn’t been any in-person career fairs that we all normally attend in the fall,” said Onrait. The college was already going to have an open house, with information on its own programming. “This is much different and much larger and a much broader education opportunity for people to come in and talk to their recruiters,” said Onrait. A similar event will happen April 27 at the Weyburn campus.
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AGRI NEWS A8
| Wednesday, April 20, 2022 | www.SASKTODAY.ca
Co-op’s new Agro Centre getting close to completion By Ana Bykhovskaia Southern Plains Co-op's latest big development is getting close to completion ahead of the seeding season. The project has seen more progress, and in just several weeks it will open its doors to supply local farmers with fertilizer, chemicals and seed, on top of everything else the current Co-op Agro Centre on Kensington Avenue provides, including bulk petroleum and feed and farm hardware lines. Southern Plains Co-op general manager Brian Enns said the two buildings that are being constructed now will soon be ready to serve customers. "It's a new phase for Southern Plains Co-op, as we enter into a new business line. The construction is progressing well. Our fertilizer building will be opening at the end of April or the first week of May. And then our warehouse will follow shortly after that," Enns said. He added that they faced supply chain issues at some point, but for
the most part, the project has been moving forward almost as planned. The new development has been in the works for about five years with the board of directors, as they've been looking for a new direction for the business. "Everyone's aware with the mandates coming on carbon and what may happen, we're not sure where our petroleum business may go in the future. And we still want to be there and looking at whatever other opportunities there are for the co-op to move forward," Enns explained. A big decision was finally made, and the co-op started growing to meet the needs of the farming community in the area. The new centre is adjacent to the co-op cardlock on the bypass. Enns said they acquired that property at the same time with land for the fuel station. "We weren't sure what to do with it, we had an idea. And it just took time to get everything into place before we could move forward with this new business line," Enns said. The big new buildings and the new development will allow the co-
The new Southern Plains Co-op Agro Centre on the Estevan bypass is slated to be completed by May. op to bring in fertilizer, chemicals and seed, which they didn't have before. "That's a big part of what's going out there. Our existing businesses that we have will move there, transition to that location. But the fertilizer, chemical and seed business are all new to us. We weren't in those lines," Enns noted. Employees from Kensington will transfer to the new location as
well, and more people are already hired to keep the bigger centre running smoothly. The cardlock on Kensington will stay in operation, and the building will be converted into office space. Then the administration will be moved over there. Some of the new product will be directly delivered to the farms, but a lot of it co-op will have in stock. "It's a $6.5-million investment
that we're putting into the buildings out there," Enns said. "It was a big decision." He added the growing price of fuel puts a lot of pressure on farmers, which also makes it riskier for the new project. The grand opening for the centre will be announced at a later date and is planned to take place in July or August.
JB Hansen’s homesteading story is now in print By Ana Bykhovskaia A new book shines a light on the life of a local homesteader, preserving the history of southeast Saskatchewan. John Hansen, better known in this corner of the province as JB Hansen, was born in Norway, where he learned the basics of farming.
Early in life, he left the old country behind for the beckoning opportunities of the new world. He arrived in the U.S. at the beginning of the 20th century. Hansen stayed in North Dakota for about five years and even went to a business college to learn English for one winter. In 1909, JB Hansen moved to Canada. He even-
tually settled on a homestead about seven kilometres west of Oungre, where he spent most of his life and raised 10 kids. JB Hansen then retired to Estevan in the late 1940s, where he passed away in 1965. And 110 years after his arrival to Canada, his granddaughter, Elaine Melby Ayre, released a book based on his
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4-H Member of the Month: Dylan Frey Name: Dylan Frey Club: Alameda 4-H Club Age group: Senior Age: 16 Years in 4-H: Eleven
Being part of 4-H has proven to be a great learning experience for Dylan Frey. Frey, 16, is one of the experienced members in the Alameda 4-H Club, having been involved for 11 years. He joined because his parents were the leader and the general leader of the club, and because they have 350 head of cattle. “The people are great,” he said. “And I just love showing cows and raising. They’re among my favourite things to do.” He has met so many people in the cattle industry through 4-H. His family has taken them to Canadian Western Agribition in the past, and he has competed in the grooming and showmanship components at the prestigious cattle show.
Frey won a banner for his heifer in 2019 at the regional 4-H Show and Sale in Alameda, and he has been recognized for his showmanship, judging and grooming skills. Last year, he earned a banner for 10 years in 4-H. Public speaking is an important part of 4-H and Frey earned third in a public speaking competition this year. And he has spoken at an event in Neepewa, Man. He expects the lessons he learned in 4-H will pay off in the future. There is little parental assistance in the club, and he has learned to do most things by himself. “My family always has a bunch of calves. We’re up at 4:30 or 5 in the morning to be… washing calves. You have to take charge and be responsible.” Frey plans to go to college for crop technology and wants to get a degree in agronomy. He would recommend the club and 4-H to other people. It teaches hard work, and while he has done so much through 4-H, he said he could do anything he dreams of, ranging from cattle and chickens to learning to bake.
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memoirs, sharing the challenges and victories of his life, and also details of his lifestyle. The Mercury spoke to Melby Ayre about her family, her times in the southeast and the new book, which took about five years to complete. "It was a thrill to actually have me hold this book in my hands," Melby Ayre said. She took her grandfather's memoir, handwritten in the mid-60s and later translated by her mother and aunt from Norwegian into English, and around 2017 she decided to turn it into a book. By augmenting it with a variety of interesting primary sources, and her personal comments, she brought new life to the realities of southeastern Saskatchewan homesteading in the Rural Municipality of Souris Valley in the first half of the 20th A9 » TWO
Elaine Melby Ayre just recently received the hardcover copy of her new book Homesteading in the Last Best West. Photo submitted by Elaine Melby Ayre
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Two books preserve history of the southeast « A8 century. A variety of primary sources such as postcards, letters and journals used in the book help readers indulge in the times described. “I use the memoir plus a lot of other descriptions, so it helps you understand the location and the way they did things and all that kind of stuff,” Melby Ayre said. The book gives readers of today a better understanding of everyday life in those homesteading days. Many examples show changes in the forms of travel, cost of living, farming methods, food preparation and daily activities, all to help understand the history of the region. Characters’ personal stories show they found ways to thrive and have good times despite the challenges of the times, through which the book serves to inspire readers in dealing with the problems of today. The book covers historical facts about the area and is filled with many insightful and funny comments
opening up the world of farming in southeast Saskatchewan in the first half of the 1900s. “This is a good friend of mine's … description; she said, 'This book is meticulous in detail and description. Elaine pours her heart and soul into this book, as she did in The Princess Doll's Scrapbook. It is a labour of love, but also a gift of first-hand memory and experience shared generously with generations to come. I am grateful for this contribution to the preservation of Saskatchewan's history.' "For this book, I used a lot of not just my grandfather's notes, but my mother had a habit of writing little stories down on pieces of paper, and she'd have little books where she had kept things like a diary of a trip or stuff like that," Melby Ayre said, explaining the style and the contents of her book. The book also has sidebars, which may share advice on how to build a fire from The Fannie Farmer's
John, better known as JB, and Dina Hansen enjoying their special day. Photo submitted by Elaine Melby Ayre
1896 Cookbook or look into the history of a Winnipeg couch. "I added a lot of details like talking about using all but the squeal. There is that little episode where he was talking about how the wet feed got scarce and the pork prices were low. And they got [someone] to come and butcher the pigs, so they froze them. And they had lots to eat that winter. Then I did an article about what they did back then using all but the squeal. They would make their own salt pork, or they'd render out their own lard to make their fat, they were making soap at home and stuff like that. I even put in some recipes here and there. And there's a lot of stuff about the school," Melby Ayre shared. Even though the book was started in 2017, a medical emergency – a gastrointestinal tumour that resulted in surgery in 2018 – put work on pause. This reality made getting this history written down before it's too late even more significant. The book was finally completed in 2022, and the first copy was delivered to the author's door on April 13. The Homesteading in the Last Best West also complements The Princess Doll's Scrapbook, the first book written by Melby Ayre and published in 2015, which is also based on emigration and immigration history but looks at Melby Ayre's grandmother's side. It started with an old porcelain doll, given to Melby Ayre by her grandmother, who came to Canada in the 1870s. "I have this doll. And I wanted the family to know about it. I did write a little short five-page thing that I sent out to my family back in the early 1990s. And then when I got married and my son was born, and then my granddaughter was born, then I got to thinking that I should get this story put together," Melby Ayre recalled. Melby Ayre's mother, Edith Melby, was the oldest of 10 in the JB Hansen's family, and Melby Ayre,
Melby Ayre’s first book The Princess Doll’s Scrapbook was inspired by an old doll, given to her by her grandmother in the late 1960s. Ayre had the doll repaired and dressed in a replica of her grandmother’s wedding dress during one of the sales for her first book. Photo submitted by Elaine Melby Ayre also the oldest daughter in her family, naturally inherited the task to preserve family stories, as she was there to watch everyone in the family being born and grow. Melby Ayre, who now resides in Peace River, Alta., where her husband and one of her sons are running a safety training company, was raised at a farm not far from her grandparents' homestead by Oungre. In the 60s, she lived and worked in Estevan and she also got to live at her grandparents' homestead in 1966-68 when she taught home economics at the Estevan Collegiate Institute. She is currently trying to reduce her stock of The Princess Doll's Scrapbook and is selling it for $22.50,
including shipping. She also has an errata copy with a correction sheet for just $8 including mailing. She plans to put the money raised from this book’s sales towards relief funds in Ukraine. Melby Ayre said that while she will try to come down to the Estevan area around Canada Day to promote the new book, she is mainly doing sales by mail and online now. Currently Homesteading in the Last Best West is available through books. friesenpress.com, at Henders Drugs, potentially soon at the Beaubier Coop and directly from Melby Ayre, as she ordered 500 books for herself, her loved ones and anyone who may want to learn about her family and history of the area.
Distracted Driving Distractions a major safety threat when driving Distracted driving is a significant safety issue. Eating, talking with passengers, adjusting vehicle controls and using a mobile phone while behind the wheel are activities that take drivers’ attentions away from the road. In fact, distractions are broken down into several categories: • Visual distractions: Anything that takes one’s eyes off of the road. • Manual distractions: Anything that takes one’s hands off of the steering wheel. • Cognitive distractions: Anything that takes one’s mind off of driving. Drivers can follow these tips to make vehicles distraction-free and reduce the risk for accidents or near misses. Make adjustments before setting off: Make adjustments to mirrors, radio stations and seat settings prior to driving. In addition,
drivers who intend to utilize a GPS navigation system should enter the address and look ahead at the course before getting on the road. Keep smartphones out of sight: Reducing the urge to check a phone alert or send a text may come down to out of sight, out of mind. Silence the phone and store it in the glove compartment, centre console or a purse in the back seat. The phone should not be handled until the destination is reached or if the vehicle is pulled over safely out of traffic. Smartphones have settings that can be programmed to send automatic notifications to people contacting the phone owner to say they’re driving or temporarily unavailable. Eat before leaving: Consuming food or drink on the road takes a person’s hands off the wheel and eyes off the road. Drivers should
Keep your eyes on the road.
try to eat before getting on the road, or pull over to a rest stop for a snack if need be. Use hands-free devices in emergencies: Many cars come equipped with Bluetooth or other hands-free technology that enables a distress call to be made without having to take hands off the wheel. Many are voiceactivated or can be engaged with the push of a button. Limit passengers: A vehicle full of passengers can be very distracting. It’s why many areas no longer allow newly minted teenage drivers to transport more than a few passengers until they’re older and more experienced. Limiting passengers even for experienced adults can help reduce distractions as well. People can take steps to reduce distractions on the road and share their advice with others they love.
Texting and driving is one form of distracted driving. Photo credit by FatCamera / E+ / Getty Images
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No injuries in dragline incident near Estevan The Westmoreland Coal Company says nobody was injured in an incident involving a dragline earlier this month. The accident occurred early on April 9 near the Shand Power Station outside of Estevan. The company responded quickly. Conan Mullaney, the general manager of the Estevan Mine Site, said a pad failure occurred on a dragline. The cause of the failure has yet to be determined. “We went in right away and started stabilizing the machine, and got it basically stable,” said Mullaney. “We’re working to further stabilize it as we go about trying to recover the machine.” The company has been working on the recovery plan. Mullaney said they are in constant communication with their customers and the regulators who are overseeing the incident. It’s not known how long the dragline will be out of service. Mullaney said the mine has ample coal inventories to sustain coal deliveries, so they don’t anticipate any issues while the dragline is down.
A pad failure was the cause of an incident involving a dragline near Estevan earlier this month. Photo by Marleen Vicary
Hillcrest School’s breakfast program returning to normal By Ana Bykhovskaia For many years, the Hillcrest School Breakfast Club has been bringing students of all ages together by providing nutritious meals and a great start to a day. The pandemic reshaped the beloved community program, but at the end of this month, after two years of changes and challenges, the school is bringing breakfasts back. "For the past two years, during the pandemic, we
still had breakfasts delivered to students in individual classrooms. That's the way we did it so that we could still do breakfasts and keep everybody separated and safe at the same time," said Sara Pippus, Hillcrest School's community liaison. "On April 27, we will go back to being able to have students gather all together in our breakfast room and host breakfast again like we had done in past years." The school was happy to find a way to keep delivering
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breakfasts to students during the pandemic, but they are really looking forward to bringing the more traditional format back as it carries many more benefits for each student and for the school in general. Pippus noted that the original breakfast club would bring older and younger students together, allowing them to get to know each other and learn many useful social skills. The breakfast club also allowed students to connect with volunteers and thus with the community. Teachers are also encouraged to come to breakfast, which brings the school together even more. "The huge difference that we saw was just that lack of being able to be together and getting to know each other. When kids are in a space like that, they learn all sorts of social skills and learn manners and different things about nutrition. There's a whole learning piece there that happens when they're all together … when nutrition and getting along is the focus … And we find that with things, we have a reduction in bullying because our
older kids know our younger kids and vice versa. And oftentimes the older kids are the ones who are helping the little ones get their breakfasts and sitting with them," Pippus explained. Breakfasts were and will be open to everyone in the school. Not only does the program take some pressure off parents in the morning but being universal, it also cuts down on a lot of stigmas that might be attached to a need for some support. This is the 11th year for the Hillcrest School Breakfast Club. Pippus said that throughout the entire time the community, grant providers and partners have been "incredible." "I think they all definitely saw a need, especially during the pandemic times and even before that if anything, we had more support during the time that we were making alterations to our program. We've had a lot of people come and ask us if we need extra help or extra support for families," Pippus said. "We felt really supported throughout that whole time and even now as we start our program up
again, I put out a call for volunteers again and within a week I had a full slate of volunteers. “I'll have five or six volunteers easily for each day, which is fantastic and really, really makes a difference in what we can do in the breakfast room in terms of not only serving the food but having our kids have a chance to get to know people from their community. I think that's extremely valuable." "A big thanks to the volunteers. A big thanks to everyone who supported us throughout the pandemic. And we just can't say enough how we feel so grateful to our community and grateful that this is something that we're still able to do at our school to help support our kids and family," Pippus said. The breakfasts will look almost like they used to with just some minor changes made to improve food safety and enhance cleaning, as to Saskatchewan Health Authority requirements and advice. Pippus underlined that the return of the in-person breakfast program is really
important for the school. "It's important for all of our kids to be able to get together and be together and see each other. I can't stress enough how much good it does in terms of helping kids get along well with each other. And just that whole connection piece that we missed for the last two years," Pippus said. "It's refreshing for students who may not eat at home to come and eat together here with their siblings ... It's also encouraging to see older kids mixing with younger kids in a positive way,” said Pippus. “And that community piece, just having people in the building, there's something that happens to kids, when they see their community coming out to support them. It forms a different layer of trust because then they see them in a grocery store later or uptown and they're like, 'I know you.' It causes some kind of confidence in our kids that I think is really important for their future and for their everyday life where they feel like they're surrounded by a really good community."
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Bruins preparing for SJHL final against Flin Flon By David Willberg The Estevan Bruins and the Flin Flon Bombers played four close, hardfought games in the regular season, and fans should look forward to more of the same in the SJHL final. The two clubs will meet in the best-of-seven showdown that starts Friday night in Estevan. Game 2 will be the following night, also in Estevan. Both games are at 7 p.m. Games 3 and 4 will be April 26 and 27, respectively, in Flin Flon. Game 5, if necessary, is set for April 30 in Estevan, Game 6 would be May 3 in Flin Flon and Game 7 would be May 6 in Estevan. The Bruins, who had the top record in the regular season at 43-10-2-3, good for 91 points, and reached the final by sweeping the Yorkton Terriers in four straight in the best-of-seven semifinal series. They have won a season-high eight straight games, dating back to their quarter-final victory over the Notre Dame Hounds. The Bombers, meanwhile, were fifth in the regular season (34-21-2-1, 71 points) and defeated the second-ranked Humboldt Broncos in five games in their semifinal showdown.
The Estevan Bruins will face the Flin Flon Bombers in the SJHL final. File photo They previously dispatched of the Battlefords North Stars in the quarter-finals. Estevan won three of the four games with Flin Flon during the 2021-22 regular season, defeating the Bombers 3-1 on Oct. 20 in Estevan, 3-2 on Nov. 20 in Flin Flon and 3-2 on Feb. 4 in Estevan. The Bombers lone victory was a 3-2 overtime decision on Nov. 19 in Flin Flon. Since the Centennial Cup national junior A hockey championship, sponsored by Tim Hortons, will be in Estevan this year, and the
Bruins have already qualified as the host team, the Bombers will also be in the tournament as the SJHL rep. Estevan is seeking their first league title since 1999, which was also their last appearance at the national event. Flin Flon is looking for their first championship since 1993, and last appeared at nationals as the host team in 2001. Bruins head coach and general manager Jason Tatarnic said all the teams left in the playoffs in the semifinals were excellent, so he wasn’t surprised that the Bombers
defeated the Broncos. “ F lin F lon’s a good team. They’re big. They’re really good defensively and their goaltender (Cal Schell) is playing well,” said Tatarnic. He isn’t worried about the automatic Centennial Cup spot impacting the intensity of the series. “If you get to this part of the season, or this stage, your goal is to win a league championship. Flin Flon is trying to achieve that. We’re trying to achieve that. I don’t expect any lack of intensity out there,” said Tatarnic. The Bruins will be mak-
ing their first appearance in the final since losing in seven games to the Nipawin Hawks in 2018. Bruins’ forward and Alameda product Cody Davis, whose older brother Jayden was on that 2018 team, was at several games in the final. He expects it will take a lot of hard work to beat the Bombers, and he anticipates the games will be similar to what they experienced in the regular season. “There are going to be hard games, there’s going to be a lot of hard-hitting and physical play and intensity,”
said Cody Davis. The Bombers have a great defence, but he believes the Bruins can match up well against that group. Davis is excited to be playing in the final with what is essentially his hometown team. “I’ve never really come this close to winning the league before, and it’s great for the community of Estevan,” said Davis. Attending those games in the 2018 playoff run gives him an idea of what to expect, but he recognizes it will be very different as a player than as a spectator. Tatarnic hopes the fans will come out and pack the arena for the final. “Our goal is to try to win a league championship. It’s been a long time,” said Tatarnic. “All the support we can get will help us that much more in our goal.” The Bruins will have a 15-day break between Game 4 against Yorkton and Game 1 against Flin Flon – the fourth time this season they have had at least 13 days between games. Tatarnic said this latest break was a chance to rest, recover from a stomach flu that ran through the team, and start practising and preparing for the series. Nobody is expected to be out of the lineup for Game 1 due to injury.
Coal Country Run, Walk or Bike this year By Ana Bykhovskaia The Coal Country Run will return to an in-person competition on May 14, and for the first time in its history, it will offer an option for bicycle adepts. The runners, walkers and cyclists will gather at Woodlawn Reginal Park’s Rotary Park Hall in the morning of May 14 for a five-kilometre, 10-km or 20-km adventure. The walk and run will start at 10 a.m., and bikers will take off at 9:45 a.m. The running and walking routes will go through Woodlawn park trails, and the bikers will get to have a closer look at the new Estevan pathway system, as their route will take them through the city and back into the park. For the youngest participants, there will be the Kids’ Mini Mile, which is a little less than a mile and will be a lot of fun for the children. They will take off at 11:30 a.m. from the hall as well. “We’ve always had them preregister, but this year, we’re just going
to have them come down and register the day of the race. If they want to come before they can, but they also can just come down [on the day of the race],” said Peggy Rohatyn, who organizes the event and operates Fresh Air Fitness with Debby Knight. The finish line for all participants will be at Rotary Park as well, where a lunch supported by the Southern Plains Co-op will be served. Rohatyn said the interest so far has been good. They also hope to see a lot of people taking advantage of the biking component. “We thought of the biking event because the new trails would be nice. This is our first year for that, so there might be some things that we have to improve on for next year. But there’s a lot of bikers out there, so I think it’ll be good,” Rohatyn said. All proceeds from the event will go to Fresh Air Fitness, plus $500 will be designated to a scholarship for one ECS student with an interest in health and wellness. Rohatyn said they always have maintenance to do,
and they added weight racks and have more projects on the agenda for this summer for the outdoor fitness site. “We are adding beach volleyball and Crossnet volleyball. And we’re going to get it done with the proper stand and all that kind of stuff. And then we’re also going to have some clinics this year with certified instructors. There’ll be one for senior citizens, so they can see what there is for them to do. There’ll be one for aerial yoga; there’ll be one for regular yoga. We’re hoping to have a meditation one down there. We’re hoping to have maybe a running clinic down there,” Rohatyn said. “We’ve talked to the other gym owners and they’re going to jump in and help us out. We’re going to have some girls do some bungee because we’ve got bungee, and we’re going have them put a little program together for that just to show people what it’s about and how they can do it.” Fresh Air Fitness will also host a force competition this summer.
Usually, Coal Country Run attracts about 120-130 participants, and that’s about what the organizers hope to see, however, everyone is welcome to join the race. “That’s a nice number to keep track of. Of course, if we have more, that’s awesome, we’ll gladly take it because it is a fundraiser. But we also like to make sure it’s run well. So, if we can have anywhere between 100 and 150, that would be awesome,” Rohatyn said. She added that behind-thescenes work has already begun. They are currently ordering T-shirts and looking for volunteers, who closer to the date will help mark off the courses and will ensure things go smooth on the day of the event. “We usually marked that the night before, but this year, we’ll be putting up markers about a week before the event on the biking course, on pathways, just to let people know that there might be a few more bikes on there than normal,” Rohatyn said. Medals will be ordered from
Murray Arnold, and there will be winners in many different categories. They will also have a two-day Information Expo running during the registration on May 13 from 5-8 p.m., and during the race on May 14 from 9 a.m.-noon. free to all vendors. “If there’s anybody who wants to promote their business or promote a sport that they do or anything like that, we don’t charge them anything, they can come down if they want. We’ll have a table set up and they can have a little vendors’ expo,” Rohatyn said. On the morning of the run, OM Yoga Studio will offer a class to participants, and Recharge Massage Studio will provide massages afterwards. To register for the race people can stop by Henders Drugs, get a hold of Rohatyn or Knight, or go to runningroom.com. Rohatyn added that they appreciate it if people registered by May 13, but they will accept participants up until the morning of the event.
New U15 softball team for southeast Saskatchewan Southeast Saskatchewan is home to a new U15 girls softball team. The Southeast Sun Devils will begin play this spring. Players hail from Estevan, Alameda, Oxbow, Alida, Carievale, Carlyle, Carnduff and Weyburn. Home games will be in Estevan, Weyburn, and possibly Alameda and Carlyle.
Nearly 25 players tried out and 12 were selected. “It was probably one of the best tryouts I’ve had,” said coach Randy Gooding. “I’ve coached the provincial teams for the past five years, and … I had the most girls show up for tryouts than ever before.” A date for the start of the season hasn’t been established but Gooding
expects it will happen in early May. “Some of the girls haven’t played for a while, and lots of them haven’t played a whole bunch. But they look half decent. I think we’ll be very competitive.” The players have a good understanding of the game, and Gooding said they have some decent pitchers and a couple of excellent catchers.
Gooding said there is a good contingent of talent in the local area and they are looking for competitive opportunities. They will be playing in the Regina Minor Softball League’s A division. The Sun Devils program also has a U17 team, and this new team will help the athletes prepare for that age group.
“They’re bonding very well and we’ve practised with the U17 team, which was an excellent practice. They seem like they’re happy to be in association of a great club, and we plan on doing more of that,” he said. The U15 Sun Devils are looking for financial support, and Gooding said people can look forward to some upcoming fundraisers.
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Mermaids compete at artistic swimming provincials Numerous members of the Estevan Mermaids artistic swimming club were in Regina recently for the Sadie Caulder Knight Provincial Championship. In the 10U limited figures, Lainey Halkyard was third with a score of 24.25. Also competing from Estevan were Ava Collomb, who was eighth with a score of 23; Lia Mantei, 11th, 22.33; Charlie Pyra, 13th, 22.0833, and Brinley Groenveld, 16th, 20.5 The 10U limited team free squad, consisting of Collomb, Clements, Pyra, Halkyard, Mantei and Harper Davies, was second with a score of 31.2571. In 12U figures, Isabelle Pyra was 12th (24.9168) and Makaley Fonstad was 17th (22.25). In novice figures, Sarah Kamel was sixth (20.25). Isabelle Pyra was fourth in the 12U solo free final champi-
onship with a score of 25.9434. In 12U limited figures, Tenley Clements was seventh with a score of 22 and Harper Davies was ninth (21.6667). In 15U figures with exhibition, Ava Allen was fourth (41.1355). Other Mermaids’ swimmers were Sasha Mantei (36.5234), Rowyn Shier (35.1198), S ierra Mantei (33.7448) and Sarah Pyra (33.2005). In the without exhibition division, Rowyn Shier had a score of 35.1198. Sierra Mantei finished at 33.7448 and Sarah Pyra’s score was 33.2005. Rowyn Shier was sixth in 15U solo free final at 52.8 and sixth overall in championship at 87.9198. In the 15U duet free, Sierra Mantei and Sarah Pyra were fifth with a championship score of 84.506, thanks to a 33.4727 in figures and 51.03 in routine. In the 15U team free
championship, Sarah Kamel, Isabelle Pyra, Sierra Mantei, Mahaley Fonstad, Sarah Pyra and Rowyn Shier were fifth with a total score of 78.8887, thanks to a 50.6417 in routine and 28.2470 in figures. In the junior solo free final, Rebecca Duncan was fifth for her routine at 60.6667 and Laura Swirski was seventh at 57.0917. In junior duet free final, Ava Allen and Sasha Mantei were fourth with a routine score of 56.7. In the junior team free final, the Southeast Connections team finished first with a score of 58.483. Aivry Culy finished first in junior limited figures with a score of 53.0667 in routine and 26.25 in figures. Rebecca Duncan and Chanel Thieven were first in masters duet free final with a routine score of 57.5.
Rebecca Duncan and Chanel Thieven were first in the masters’ free duet class. Photo courtesy of the Estevan Mermaids
Junior curling team had a great season A junior curling team that competed out of the Estevan Curling Club impressed during what was a challenging season. Estevan Curling Club manager Pauline Ziehl-Grimsrud, who is also their coach, said it started two years ago when three Fradette sisters – Heidi, Amy and Andie, all from Lake Alma – decided to participate in the club’s youth programming. “It so happened that we had some other girls that were in our club already that were looking to do more competitive curling, and wanted to put in more time and do more than what our program was offering,” said Ziehl-Grimsrud. She started working with them on Tuesday nights, and it developed into Heidi and Amy being joined by Kristen Carlson and Melina Stead of Estevan coming together as a team. They came together every Tuesday at 6 p.m. to practise for an hour.
“These girls really wanted to work hard and develop their curling skills,” said Ziehl-Grimsrud. They also played doubles on Tuesday nights in the second half of the season, and they played in the open league on Thursday nights. “Just given the circumstances of this quasi-COVID season we had, they played a couple of bonspiels here in Estevan. They also were in Lampman and they did a fun day at Lake Alma,” said Ziehl-Grimsrud. They decided they wanted to take a shot at the Saskatchewan Winter Games as the Zone 1 representative. They were ready to start playing the qualifier at the Power Dodge Curling Centre in Estevan in January when they found out the Winter Games were postponed to 2023. “It was a great disappointment for the girls, because they were really focusing on doing
that,” said Ziehl-Grimsrud. The kids who would have aged out from Winter Games eligibility this year will get another chance next year, so the Fradette, Carlson and Stead team will get to try again. ZiehlGrimsrud expects to see three or four southeast teams take a shot at competing in the Games. “ We’re probably one of the areas with the strongest curling. You just have to look at the high school playdowns. Wawota, Carnduff and one of the Lampman teams got gold, bronze or finished fourth at the high school provincials,” said Ziehl-Grimsrud. The rink wasn’t just strong against their age group. They competed in the Thursday night adult league at the curling club, and they went 5-0 at the curling club’s fun spiel in March. “They worked really hard and have the potential to be a really strong team.”
From left, Heidi Fradette, Kristen Carlson, Melina Stead and Amy Fradette were part of a successful curling team this year. Photo submitted by Pauline Ziehl-Grimsrud
New spring hockey team giving kids more time to play A new spring youth hockey team has been formed in Estevan, giving local players a chance to further their skills. Coach Dustin Tangjerd said the Sask. Junior Bears U11 squad, comprised of 16 players from Estevan, Weyburn and Carlyle, all born in 2011, was formed because the 2022 Centennial Cup national junior A Hockey Championship, presented by Tim Hortons, is being played in Estevan, and so the ice is in later than normal. Local sponsors are Preferred Energy and CFO Oilfield Rentals. They played their first exhibition game on April 11,
defeating the South East Army 12-3. Tangjerd was pleased with the effort. Players from the same community played together on a line or a defence pairing as much as possible. “The kids were really excited and they played hard with a new team and a new uniform,” Tangjerd said. The Army had players from Regina, Rouleau, Radville, Midale, Coronach and more. “It was huge to be able to watch the players and understand their skill sets in an actual game. We’ve only seen them in practices prior. Just to understand how they click and they work
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and their attitudes and what their drives are – it was great to be able to do that,”said Tangjerd. Tangjerd hopes they can have a couple more exhibition games. Their first tournament was the Source for Sports AAA Challenge from April 14-17 in Brandon, Man.They went 1-3 at the tournament, opening with a 7-4 win over Brandon’s Western Canada Hockey Academy 2011, but then losing 9-2 to the Parkland Thunder, 8-4 to Winnipeg’s Professional Hockey Development program, and 9-7 to the Junior Oil Caps 2011. They will play in the North American Hockey Classic April 21-24 in Winnipeg. Estevan Bruins assistant coach Phil Fife has helped with development and running practices for the team when available. Fife and the Bruins community
Cashton Symons (9), Colby Gress (13) and Tayson Tangierd (34), and the rest of the Sask. Junior Bears recently faced the South East Army at Affinity Place. Photo by Wanda Harron Photography commitment have been huge for the team and building the
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and they have been able to provide that extra development some players are looking for, while still balanced for those looking to play other spring sports. Tangjerd said they are hoping the city can commit to leaving one sheet of ice for the month of April every year, in hopes to potentially grow this opportunity for other age groups interested in trying spring hockey.
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sport of hockey in Estevan, Tangjerd said. He noted that when ice isn’t available in Estevan in the spring, parents interested in having their children play spring hockey usually have to travel out of the region to practise, which can be costly and a great time commitment. The Bears have offered a lower-cost option in Estevan. The interest and comment have been tremendous, he said,
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April 20, 2022 A13
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
Thank you to our community for their patience and kindness for helping one another out during and after the storm, along with our staff for the dedication and effort in working through the weekend and doing a tremendous job in snow removal, much appreciated!
ESTEVAN POLICE SERVICE 6
SALE BY PUBLIC TENDER
TENDER FOR SALE OF VEHICLE Bidding Document I/We………………………………………………………………………………………… of…………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… (Tel. No……………………………….) is/ are agreeable to the above terms and conditions and hereby
6
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R/T Shaker 5.7L HEMI
10,587 a 3 m Administrative
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30,000.00
car
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from the
.
Date…………………………………
Signature………………………………
Witness………………………….....
Witness ..............................................
excellent
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the clearly marked V
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2nd
City of Estevan - 2021 Notice to consumers for Water Quality Estevan Waterworks Call 306-634-1820 for further explanation Required Testing by Permit Number of Tests Completed Number of Tests Not Parameter each year in 2020 Meeting the Permit in 2020
Bacteriological
154 Regular Samples
275
0
A sample after each main repair or construction
53
1 - A false positive on an area that had a boil water issued due to construction
Turbidity (on-site)
1. After each filter on a continuous basis.
1. Continuous
0
Turbidity is a measure of the clarity of the water. For our water supply, turbidity shall not exceed 0.3 NTU from any filter.
2. Daily from the storage reservoir before entering the distribution system
2. Every 2 hours
0
3. At the same frequency and locations as for bacteriological samples.
3. Completed for the bacteriological samples
0
630
0
52
0
1. Every 4 hours per day for treated water entering the distribution system
1. Every 2 hours operators perform an analysis and monitored continuously
0
2. At the same frequency and locations as for bacteriological sampling, for free and total residuals.
2. Completed for the bacteriological samples 190 samples and 304 spot checks
0
4
Aluminium - is carrying over from our clairifier we are trying different chemicals and process to correct.
1
0
8
0
A harmless form of bacteria called Total Coliform is routinely monitored in the distributed water. If found, coliform show a break down in the disinfection process or possible outside contamination. Positive results require additional testing to test for pathogens
Fluoride (on-site)
365
Fluoride is added as a dental aid. Levels are not to exceed 1.5 mg/l
Fluoride (off-site testing)
52
Levels not to exceed 1.5 mg/l
Chlorine Residual (on-site) Chlorine is added to disinfect the water and the levels must be maintained at a chloramine residual greater then 0.5 mg/l and free ammonia of >0.1 mg/l < 0.5 mg/l throughout the distribution system.
Chemical – General
bicarbonate calcium; carbonate; chloride; conductivity; hardness; magnesium; nitrate; pH; sodium; sulphate; and total dissolved solids; aluminium; arsenic; barium; boron; cadmium; chromium; copper; iron; lead; manganese; selenium; uranium; and zinc
4
Pesticides and Organics
Atrazine, Bromoxynil, Carbofuran, Chlorpyrifos, Dicamba, 2,4-D, Diclofopmethyl, Dimethoate, Malathion, MCPA Pentachlorophenol, Picoram, Trifluralin
1 every 2 years
Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM’s) THM’s are a disinfection by-product and are not an immediate risk but over time THM ingestion is a suspected carcinogen. Each individual sample is not to exceed 350 ppb and annual average not to exceed 100ppb
Cyanide and Mercury Haloacetic Acids (HAA)
8
We switched to Rafferty water source and after the new source of water was online we saw a significant reduction in our disinfection byproducts. 1 1 0 8 8 average under the max limit
Organics Benzene, Benzo(a)pyrene, Carbontetrachloride, Dichlorobenzene, Dichloroethane, Dichloropjenol, Ethylbenzene, Monochlorobenzene, Perfluorooctanesulfonate, Perfluorooctanoic Acid, Tetrachloroethylene, Tetrachlorophenol 2.3.4.6, Toluene, Trichlorowethylene, Trichlorophenol 2.4.6, Vinyl chloride, Xylene
Microcystin LR or total Microcystin toxins Ultraviolet Intensity
1 every 2 years
1
0
One sample per summer month
8
0
Continuously
Continuously
0
once a week
52
0
Ultraciolet Intensity (mW/cm2) of each lamp, Lamp Status, nd flow rate through cells
Ultraviolet Transmittance On-site testing of transmittance at 54 nm Wavelength
The City of Estevan Water Treatment Plant is a surface water plant that focuses on the removal of suspended solids and the inactivation of pathogenic organisms through a multiple barrier approach, i.e. chemical aided settling, filtration, disinfection. All limits that each parameter must be within, comes from the Environmental Protection Act 2002 and associated Regulations to that Act. Go to www.saskh2o.ca for details and a complete listing of all levels throughout the province. A full detailed listing of all the levels of these parameters as well as the Waterworks Annual Report is located at www.estevan.ca or is available at the Estevan Library and City Hall.
A14 April 20, 2022
www.SASKTODAY.ca City of Estevan TREATED DRINKING WATER ANALYSIS 2021 SUMMARY
NOTES:
Sale by Tender
A value given in box denotes a calculated average over the given time period. All other
1. Under the provision of the Tax Enforcement Act the City of Estevan offers for sale the following properties:
values indicate the latest one time grab sample. All values in mg/l unless indicated otherwise. MAC is the Maximum Acceptable Concentration as per the Department of Environment
Civic Address
IMAC is the Interm Maximum Acceptable Concentration as per the Department of Environment
522 FIRST STREET LOT: 5; BLOCK: 90; PLAN: C3929 310 FOURTH STREET LOT: 6, 7, 8; BLOCK 103, PLAN: C3929
AO is the Aesthetic Objective set by the Department of Environment and Resource management PO is our Plant Objective.
PHYSICAL PARAMETERS:
2021
Colour, units Temperature, deg C pH Turbidity, NTU Total Chlorine leaving plant, mg/l Fluoride, mg/l Total Dissolved Solids, mg/l
2020
3 10.9 7.80 0.12 2.37 0.6 198
3 12.1 7.44 0.11 2.45 0.7 410
HEALTH AND TOXICITY AND OTHER METALS: (mg/l) 2021 2020
RECOMMENDED OBJECTIVE
15 15.0 6.5-9.0 0.30
AO AO AO MAC
1.5 1500
MAC AO
RECOMMENDED OBJECTIVE
Boron 0.20 0.50 5 Cyanide Total <0.0020 <0.0020 0.2 Mercury <0.0000050 <0.0000050 Selenium <0.000113 0.0014 0.01 Aluminium 0.186 0.0702 0.2 Arsenic 0.0030 0.0028 0.025 Barium 0.0628 0.0766 1 Calcium 60 56 Cadmium <0.00015 <0.00015 0.005 Chromium <0.019 <0.00019 0.05 Copper <0.00829 0.0139 1 Iron <0.1 <0.1 0.3 Potassium 20 18 Magnesium 36 33 500 Sodium 86 74 300 Lead <0.007 0.0010 0.01 Zinc <0.004 <0.004 5 Uranium 0.001 0.0033 0.02 Total Trihalomethanes In Distrubution System 57 Sample 84 to be < 350 One year ave < 100
BACTERIOLOGICAL:
2020
Total Samples Taken <200 Background *>200 Background Positive Coliform Bacteria Giardia Cryptosporidium
213 0 0 0 0 0
OTHER IN-HOUSE LAB RESULTS: Alkalinity Conductivity Iron Chlorides Hardness Nitrates Sulphates Manganese
PESTICIDES and OTHER ORGANICS: 2,4-D 1,2-Dichloroethylene 1,2-Dichlorobenzene 1,2-Dichloroethane 1,4-Dichlorobenzene 2,3,4,6-Tetrachlorophenol 2,4-Dichlorophenol 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol Atrazine Benzene Benzo (a) pyrene Bromoxynil Carbon Tetrachloride Chlorobenzene Chlorpyrifos Carbofuran Dichloromethane/Methylene chloride Dimethoate
2019
2020
275 882 0.03 68 309 9.7 1 <0.01
298 1213 0.04 54 426 0.2 358 <0.01
2021
2020
<0.00010 <0.00010 <0.00050 <0.00050 <0.00050 <0.00050
<0.00050 <0.00040 <0.00050 <0.00040
<0.00030 <0.00030 <0.00050 <0.00010
<0.00050 <0.00030 <0.00050 <0.00010
<0.00050
<0.00050
<0.00050 <0.00050
<0.00050 <0.00050
<0.0000050<0.0000050 <0.00010 <0.00010
<0.00010 <0.00050 <0.00010 <0.00010
<0.00010 <0.00050 <0.00050 <0.00010
PESTICIDES and OTHER ORGANICS (Continued): 2021
Dicamba Diclofop-methyl Ethylbenzene Malathion Pentachlorophenol (PCP) Picloram Trifluralin Toluene Tetrachloroethene Vinyl chloride Xylene m+p MCPA Trichloroethlyne/Tetrachloroethene Perfluoroctane-sulfate Perflurorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)
2020
<0.00010 <0.00010 <0.00010 <0.00010 <0.00050
<0.00050
<0.00010 <0.00050 <0.00010 <0.00010
<0.00010 <0.00050 <0.00010 <0.00010
<0.00010
<0.00050
<0.00050
<0.00050
<0.00050 <0.00050 <0.00050 <0.00050
<0.00010 <0.00010 <0.0010 <0.0010 <0.000010 <0.000001 <0.00010 <0.00001
MAC MAC MAC MAC MAC AO MAC AO MAC MAC
RECOMMENDED OBJECTIVE
173No sample to 0 contain >200 0 background 0 0 0 0
2021
IMAC MAC MAC MAC PO MAC MAC
MAC
Legal Land Description
717 THIRD STREET LOT: 15; 1118 SECOND STREET LOT: 26; 737 FOURTH STREET LOT: 20;
BLOCK: 31; PLAN: AG4740 BLOCK: 60A; PLAN: 102248557 BLOCK: 32; PLAN: AG4740
2. A tender must be submitted in a sealed envelope marked “Property Tender” addressed to the City of Estevan. Address: 1102 4th Street Estevan, SK S4A 0W7 3. Tenders must be postmarked by 4:30 p.m. on May 13, 2022 4. A certified cheque to the municipality for 25% of the amount of the tender must accompany the tender. Tenders submitted without certified funds will not be considered. 5. Highest, or any tender, not necessarily accepted. 6. Successful bidder will have fourteen (14) days to provide the balance of cash to complete the purchase. The deposit will be forfeited if the successful bidder does not finalize the agreement for sale within the required time. 7. All legal costs, title transfer fees and applicable taxes are the responsibility of the purchaser and are in addition to the bid price. 8. Tender information packages can be found on our website: www.estevan.ca Dated the 13th day of April 2022 Trina Sieben, Tax Assessor, City of Estevan
CITY OF ESTEVAN – 2022 WATERMAIN FLUSHING SCHEDULE The City of Estevan will be flushing water mains to ensure good water quality for all users of City water. This work includes the turning of main water valves around the City and flushing large quantities of water from various hydrants in each area. During this process you may notice a substantial drop in pressure, this will be brief. As well, discoloured water is possible during the days your area is scheduled for this work (see schedule below), please run a faucet, (bathtub is best), for a few minutes until the water is clear again. Please contact City Hall at 634-1800 if issues persist. Thank you for your understanding during this important maintenance! (1) Thursday, and Friday June 9-10 Area bounded by Perkins Street and Luscar Park on the North, Water Treatment Plant on the South, Woodlawn Ave on the West, and Hwy 47S Service Road on the East (Includes Luscar Park, City of Estevan Public Works yards, and businesses on Hwy 47S Service Road) (2) Monday - Friday June 13-17 Area bounded by 6th Street on the North, Valley Street, 1st Street, and Westview Place on the South, Alice Road and Woodlawn Avenue on the West, and Souris Avenue on the East (includes Westview, Central, and downtown regions) (3 Monday - Friday June 20-24 Area bounded by 6th street on the North, McDonald Road and Perkins Street on the South, Souris Avenue on the West, and Kensington Ave on the East (includes the Eastend, Bay Meadows, and Valley view regions, and Jubilee Place) (4) Monday - Friday June 27-30 Area Bounded by City Cemetery on the North, King Street on the South, Sister Roddy Road on the West (formerly Woodlawn Avenue), and Souris Road (Hwy 47N) on the East (includes Dominion Heights, Pleasantdale, and Royal Heights regions, as well as Cundall Drive, Woodend Place, Chinook Bay and Hwy 47N Service Road)
RECOMMENDED OBJECTIVE 500
AO
0.3 250 800 45 500 0.05
AO AO AO MAC MAC AO
RECOMMENDED OBJECTIVE 0.1 0.014 0.02
IMAC MAC MAC
0.1 0.9 0.005 0.009 0.005 0.00001 0.005 0.005 0.08 0.09 0.09 0.05 0.2
MAC MAC MAC IMAC MAC MAC IMAC MAC MAC MAC MAC MAC IMAC
RECOMMENDED OBJECTIVE
0.12 0.009
MAC MAC
0.19 0.06 0.19 0.045 0.024 0.05 0.002 0.3 0.1 0.05
MAC MAC IMAC IMAC AO MAC MAC AO MAC MAC
COMMENTS: Aluminum After switching to Rafferty water we have had an issue with Aluminum carry over from our clarifier. We are going to hire an outside consultant to help address the issue. The number is above the recommended astatic recommendation and at these values is not cause any known health problems. We will work to get this problem corrected.
(5) Monday - Friday July 4-8 Area bounded by Spruce Drive and Princess Street on the North, King Street on the South, Souris Avenue on the West, and Kensington on the East (includes Hillside and Scotsburn regions) (6) Monday - Friday July 11-15 Area bounded by King Street on the North, CPR Railroad on the South, 14th Ave on the West, and Kensington on the East (includes 7th Street, 8th Street, 9th Street, Centennial, Trojan, and Soo Industrial regions) (7) Monday - Friday July 18-22 Area bounded by Kensington on the West, Sawyer Road on the East, North and South City Limits (includes Glen Peterson Industrial Park, East Industrial, Southeast Industrial regions, and properties along Hwy 39E Service Road)
Sanitary Sewer Main and Storm Sewer Jetting Program Beginning Monday May 2, 2022, and continuing to Friday, August 26,2022 the Water and wastewater Division will be carrying out Sanitary Sewer Main jetting, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. During the periods of jetting, residents and businesses are advised to securely cap basement floor drains. You may smell an odor in your home, this can be resolved by simply opening windows for a short period of time and running water to ensure all traps are full of water. Storm sewer will have no effect on homes and business’ and will commence August 29,2022 2018 Program Area will encompass all streets South of Railroad Tracks, and East of Souris Ave within City limits including: Jubilee Place Murray Street Duncan Road McDonald Road McLeod Ave Galloway Street Rooks Ave Perry Crescent Perkins Street 1st Street A
1st Street 2nd Street 3rd Street 4th Street 5th Street 6th Street 2nd Avenue 3rd Avenue 4th Avenue 5th Avenue
6th Avenue 7th Avenue 8th Avenue 9th Avenue 10th Avenue Souris Avenue South Sun Valley Drive Park Drive Sunset Bay
Mississippian Drive Devonian Street Escana Street Imperial Avenue Pacific Street Superior Avenue
PUBLIC NOTICE The Council of the City of Estevan pursuant to the Cities Act that the Council of the City of Estevan, gives notice of its intention to amend the Traffic Bylaw 2016-1963 within the City of Estevan. On April 11, 2022 meeting the first reading of this bylaw was passed and the final readings is expected to be on April 25, 2022. The proposed Bylaw 2022-2054 may be inspected by any person in the City Clerk’s Office, on the main level of City Hall, between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm, Monday to Friday. Dated this 13th day of April 2022. Judy Pilloud, City Clerk 1102 4th Street Estevan, SK S4A 0W7
CLASSIFIEDS A15
| Wednesday, April 20, 2022 | www.SASKTODAY.ca Obituaries
Obituaries Eva Hagel 1934 - 2022
Donna Bardal Donna Bardal, 75, of West Fargo (formerly of Crosby) died peacefully at Sanford Hospital on March 16, 2022 with her son Darin Bardal at her bedside. Donna was born in Estevan, Saskatchewan on December 12, 1946, to Louise Larsen. She grew up in Crosby and graduated from Crosby High School in 1965. After high school, Donna completed beautician school in Minot and moved to Crosby, where she started working as a beautician at Lorna’s. While living in Crosby, Donna meet the love of her life Arlin Bardal who she later married in Lompoc, California. After getting married Donna was given the gift of having a son, Darin Bardal in 1975. Donna was a wonderful mother to Darin. Donna was loving, caring and offered essential advice to her son when he needed it most. Donna worked most her life as a caregiver at the Good Samaritan Center in Crosby where she enjoyed helping and caring for residents. Donna was also grateful for the friendships she developed with colleagues while working in Crosby. Anyone lucky enough to meet Donna would know she was a special person with a heart of gold that enjoyed life. Donna loved reading and listening to country music. Donna was a walking encyclopedia when it came to the history of Waylon Jennings, Jonny Cash, and Willie Nelson. Later in life, Donna found a love for the football. Donna became a Minnesota Vikings fan and looked forward to watching Sunday football with Arlin. After the spring of 2019, Donna enjoyed spending winters and springs with her son Darin in West Fargo, having weekly phone conversations with friend Rose Bakke and spending summers in Crosby with her cousins Judy, Karen, Sheryl, Randy, Roger and brother Corey. Donna is survived by her son Darin Bardal West Fargo, brother Corey Bilstad, Crosby, brother-in-law Rob Dean Mesa AZ, sister-in-law Debbie Bilstad, Rawling WY, and sister-in-law Evonne Thompson Billings MT. Donna was preceded in death by husband Arlin Bardal, parents Louise and Vern Bilstad, brother Loren Bilstad, sister Connie Dean, Mother and Father-in-law Arnold and Agnes Bardal. Donna’s Funeral service will Saturday May 28th 2 PM at Stakston-Martin Funeral Home in Crosby Augusta CHARTRAND, “Gusty” 1922 – 2022 AUGUSTA “GUSTY” CHARTRAND She died as she lived, a Christian With very sad hearts we announce Mom’s passing on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, 19 days before her 100th birthday. She was predeceased by her parents Fred and Rosalie Kurbs; siblings John, Mary, Emily, Rose and Matilda; great-granddaughter Shelby; and her partner of 24 years Al Seman. Left to cherish her memory are her daughter Barb Peterson (Ron Ulmer); sons Randy Chartrand and Tim Chartrand; grandchildren Renatta Peterson (Drew Ives), Angela Peterson (Rob Cardinal), Joel Peterson (Val Peterson) and Bobby Chartrand; great-grandchildren Andrew, Josh and Tatianna Ives, Regan and Colten Cardinal, Trinity and Gabriel Chartrand; as well as many nieces and nephews. As well as a Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother, Mom was a school teacher, Augusta taught hundreds of children how to read. She began her teaching career in 1941 in a small country school named Paisley Brook in the Big Muddy area of Saskatchewan. From there, Mom went to Minton, East Poplar, Scout Lake and Moose Jaw. In 1954, she accepted a position in Hirsch, teaching grades 1-6. In 1960, Mom accepted a position in Lampman, teaching Grade 1 for 20 years. She had students from 65 years ago that were still in contact with her a week before her passing. She never quit teaching. Mom was still tutoring kids at 97 years of age. In addition to being the strongest woman I have ever known, Mom loved gardening and always had her yard full of flowers. She was an avid writer and had many stories published in magazines like Folklore and The Senior Magazine. Mom also published a compilation book of poetry called “Rubies, Pearls and Other Precious Gems”, an anthology of prose and poetry for inspiration and enjoyment. After retirement, her door was always open. Mom took in boarders and was a volunteer tutor of English as a second language We, the family, moved Mom to Regina in 2006 to be closer to her family. In 2014, I had to move Mom to a seniors care home where she spent the last 8 years. She loved her room at Ashton Manor and she loved teasing and joking with the staff. Our family would like to extend a very special thank you to Safia and all the staff for their care and compassion. The grandchildren are saying “Grandma pulled a Betty White”. Safe travels Mom, you will be missed. We love you. A Celebration of Life will be at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday April 23, 2022 at New Hope Lutheran Church, 370 McIntosh Street North, Regina, SK. For those not able to physically attend, a livestream may be viewed at newhopelutheranregina.com. Online messages of condolence may be left at www. paragonfuneralservices.com.
Frances Loretta Kleebaum Frances Loretta Kleebaum, late of Estevan, SK passed away April 8, 2022 at the age of 87 year. Frances was predeceased by her parents, Frank and Della Rose Klyne; 2 infant daughters, Vivian and Mary Rose; brothers: Victor, Joe, Bill, Lawrence, Gilbert and Buster. Frances is survived by her husband, Herman; her daughters: Charlotte Brieman (Gerry) and their children, Alayna (Dan), Dayna (Jesse); Janet (Dick) Boniface and their children: Robert, Vanessa and Jennifer; Lynne Squirechuk (John) and their daughter Kristianna; Gwen Pettit and her son Daxton (Rhegan); Rhonda Dzuba (Brent) and their children Teneille (R.J.), Nashton; her sisters, Gertie Granrud and Beulah Shields; as well as numerous great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. The family of Frances would like to extend a special “thank you” to Shelly and staff at Creighton Lodge, where Frances and Herman resided for the past 6 years. Please know Mom loved you all very much. To the Estevan Home Care, RNs, aides and staff, your kindness and compassion was greatly appreciated. To Doctors and nurses on unit A at St. Joseph’s Hospital, and also thank you to the nurses and aides at Tatagwa View for the wonderful care during Mom’s final days. As requested, there will be no funeral service held at this time. Interment will be held at a later date at Estevan Cemetery, Estevan, SK. For family and friends so wishing, charitable donations in memory of Frances may be made to the Creighton Lodge, 1028 Hillcrest Drive, Estevan, SK, S4A 1Y7. Arrangements were entrusted to RD Family Funeral Chapel & Crematorium, Weyburn, SK (8480333 ~ 1-888-848-0333) Expressions of sympathy to the family may be sent to our website at: www. rdfuneralchapel.com “Honouring Life and Celebrating Memories”
Eva Caroline Hagel (Siniawski) late of Estevan, Saskatchewan passed away peacefully at the Regina General Hospital, Regina, Saskatchewan with family at her side. She was predeceased by her loving husband Richard; parents: Frank and Emma Siniawski and brother-in-law Edward Daley. She leaves to cherish her memory, her sons: Mervin (Valerie), Wesley (Ruth), Gregory (Jacqueline), Joseph (Nathalie), Delmond (Jason) and Kevin (Anita); 11 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren; sisters: Loraine Siniawski, Marlene Daley and Elaine Siniawski, and her nieces and nephews. The Prayer Service will be held on Friday, April 22, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Hall Funeral Services in Estevan with Connie Wheeler officiating. The Funeral Mass for Eva will be celebrated on Saturday, April 23, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Estevan, with Reverend Sathiadas Antony the celebrant. Interment will follow at Souris Valley Memorial Gardens, after which a luncheon will take place in the parish hall. For those who are unable to attend in person, you are invited to join the family virtually. Please visit Eva’s tribute page at www.hallfuneralservices.ca for details. Eva was born in the Earl Grey area of Saskatchewan. The family later moved to Markinch, Saskatchewan where she attended Wylie and Markinch schools. Eva’s fond memories growing up as a child were the country picnics (especially the races where she would take first prize). She enjoyed the track and field days with a fond memory of her going with a beautiful crocheted purse that her mother made for her. Her father made sure she had enough money for the day, and she was proud that she came home with money still left over. She enjoyed her country living as a child growing up. Later, she went to Regina job hunting. Her first job was at A N T Grocery store. Her second job was at the Army and Navy Store, working in the shoe department. She then ventured off to Wilson’s Stationery, an interesting place to work. It was at that time she met the love of her life, Richard. They met at one of the dances in Regina. They were married on November 7, 1955 at Little Flower Roman Catholic Church in Regina, Saskatchewan with celebrant Reverend S. Liebel. Eva took up country living again after she met Richard. It was a small operation that grew through the years, and after 25 years of marriage they built a house on the farm. Along with that the family grew with grandchildren and great grandchildren. After 50 years of marriage, they moved into their new home in Estevan. For many years she took part in craft sales, loved to crochet and doing up flower arrangements which she enjoyed. She also loved dancing and tending to her flower gardens. As time went on and the children grew older, Eva decided to take an active part in her parish and community. She became a member of St. John the Baptist church, serving as a Lector and Communion Minister for many years. She joined the Catholic Women’s League in 1972, and served as President, Secretary and served funeral lunches, etc. She also served on the CWL Regional as Chairperson and Treasurer, attended regional, diocese and provincial conventions. She served on Parish Council as Public Relations Chairperson. She helped with Meals on Wheels, and also sat on the board of the Estevan Farmers’ Market and served as Chairperson for 2 years. She also sat on the RCMP Seniors Advisory Board for a number of years. Eva’s most notable charity work is when she joined the St. Joseph’s Health Care Auxiliary in 1986, where she served as President from 1989-1991 and again from 2007-2009 and Secretary from 20102016. She served as Councilor, moving up to PRO Councilor in the Saskatchewan Health Care Auxiliary Association. She was recognized on the local level for years of service including life membership. She worked at St. Joe’s Corner gift shop (she also made up flower arrangements for the gift shop for many years). She took part in teas, bake sales and silent auctions, and also attended district meetings and Saskatchewan Health Care Auxiliary Association and national conventions. Those wishing to pay tribute to Eva via a donation in her memory, may do so directly to the St. Joseph’s Health Care Auxiliary, 1176 Nicholson Road, Estevan, SK S4A 0H3. “Life was good, we had our ups and downs.... but we were truly blessed” - Eva Hagel Hall Funeral Services in Estevan is caring for the Hagel family – Dustin Hall, Funeral Director.
In MeMorIaM
Joan M. Cook Passed Away April 26, 2009 Your laugh is gone forever Your hands we cannot touch Thanks for all that we have shared And for loving us so much Love: Your Family
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WE ARE COMMITTED
The Estevan Golden Hawks claimed Molson’s Fastball champions title in 1974. The winning team consisted of, front row, from left, R. Nadon, D. Wetsch, D. Duce, D. Wetsch and L. Anderson, back row, G. Broadhead, H. Pippus, T. Kerr, L. Rathgaber, B. Loewen and C. Elson. Missing from the photo are K. Muhlum, L. Ingerson and J. Kereluchuk. Trophies, from left, League Winners for the Moose Jaw Invitational Tournament and League Playoff Champions. Photo submitted by Dale Wetsch
Fire crews respond to collision, alarms A collision blocked traffic on Fourth and Kensington Avenue on Easter Sunday, and Estevan fire crews helped at the scene. They also responded to a suspicious alarm later the same day. The first call for service came in at 11:30 a.m. Two vehicles collided at the intersection of Fourth Street and Kensington Avenue. No injuries were reported, but both vehicles were leaking fluids and weren’t drivable. The collision occurred at the north side of the intersection, blocking off all northbound traffic. Estevan Police Service and fire crews established traffic control to ensure the public’s safety. The occupants of the vehicles were checked and were confirmed to have no injuries as a result of the collision, said Fire Chief Dale Feser, but substantial damage occurred to both vehicles. A tow truck was needed to help clear the scene, which was turned over to the Estevan Police Service. At about 5:45 p.m., firefighters responded to a residential smoke/carbon monoxide alarm. Conflicting reports were coming from the monitoring agency and dispatch. Crews attended the scene and confirmed the device activation. They also found that someone has entered the passcode on the premises, however, the homeowners were away on vacation and no one was supposed to be in the house. “Once we arrived to find that the location was unsecured, we immediately called the Estevan city police in. We did not make an entry into the home until after they cleared the home to ensure there was nothing suspicious that was going on. They were able to go in and confirm nobody was in the home, however, the door was unlocked. Crews did go in after that just
to double-check there was no cause for any alarms inside the structure itself. Then the scene was turned back over to the Estevan city police so that way they can secure the premises,” Feser said. Earlier in the week, firefighters had six calls in under 48 hours. On April 12 at about 3:30 p.m., fire crews were called to a residential fire alarm occurring in south-central Estevan. It was a cooking-related incident, and there wasn’t enough smoke to warrant any ventilation efforts, Feser said. At the same time, another call for service came in, requiring firefighters to attend to a stove fire, which also occurred in south-central Estevan. Units were split up to attend both locations at the same time. In the second case, the stove fire selfextinguished. Feser noted that there was a lot of residue and grease build-up in the stove, which enflamed. “Good reminder to have everybody check the ovens and make sure that cooking surfaces remain clean. That’ll prevent any accidental fires from occurring,” Feser said. At about 7:30 p.m. on the same day, fire crews responded to smoke/carbon monoxide alarms, which were going off in a residence in south Estevan. No CO or heat signatures were found in the house. The detection devices were inspected, and one of the pieces appeared faulty and was setting off the whole home. At 3 a.m. on April 13, another CO alarm went off, this time in the north-central area of the city. The family had safely evacuated the home upon firefighters’ arrival, and no one was experiencing any symptoms of CO poisoning. Firefighters entered and tested the building, but no CO was found, and a faulty detection device was to blame.
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At about 8:30 a.m., a commercial fire alarm occurred in the south-central area of Estevan in an eight-storey complex. “We found that there were detection devices that were going off in the garbage waste bin collection shoots. The scene was assessed on all the floors and it was found that due to the incoming storm, there was a lot of wind and snow that was coming in on the eighth floor to the mechanical maintenance room and it was actually shorting out these devices,” Feser said. “Thankfully there was no fire occurring. All the residents did an excellent job mustering down into the evacuation area to be accounted for. And after we found that there were no fire conditions, they were allowed to return to the suites.” Another CO alarm went off at about 8:30 p.m. in southeast Estevan. The family had evacuated the building upon firefighters’ arrival. No CO was found in the building, and it was concluded that it was another malfunctioning detection device. The public is asked to make sure that their CO and smoke alarms are up to date. The devices have a 10-year lifespan, which starts from the date of manufacturing noted on the back of the device. Once they expire that need to be replaced. Feser thanked the city crews for working tirelessly since the beginning of the snowstorm, not only clearing the city but also ensuring access to the fire station. He also asked the public to assist the fire department and the city crews in keeping fire hydrants around Estevan accessible. “We can’t thank Norm Mack and his roads and drainage crew enough for the amazing job that they had done in keeping the streets and roadways clear and open,” Feser said.
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