Estevan Mercury 20230315

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Blizzard paralyzed the southeast on Saturday; joint effort eased the situation

A blizzard warning was issued for southeast Saskatchewan on Thursday. When it came Friday night, the weather forecast started becoming a reality.

The front that formed in Montana blanketed most of southern Saskatchewan over the evening and night hours on Friday.

The blizzard, with strong winds and significant falling snow, developed overnight. Widespread poor visibilities continued in most of the southeast Saturday morning, with whiteout conditions at times.

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By 11 a.m. on Saturday, Estevan was still reporting zero visibility with snow and blowing snow and easterly winds gusting as high as 80 kilometres per hour. All highways around Estevan and in other areas in the southeast were closed Saturday morning. As the day progressed and the weather started calming down, highways started gradually reopening, however, the Estevan area remained closed until later in the afternoon.

The Estevan RCMP said they received a total of seven calls that were directly related to the storm. The most serious involved a semi that broke down on Highway 39 east of the junction with Highway 18.

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“Overall, I think people did a good job of staying off the roads,” said Estevan

RCMP Cpl. Craig Park. “We had several semis stuck in the Roche Percee Valley that had to wait until the storm passed.”

Estevan firefighters were also called to Roche Percee Valley at about 9:30 a.m. Saturday to assist with traffic control.

“We were alerted quickly that there were no entrapments and/or injuries, but both vehicles were in the middle of the highway in the valley,” said Estevan

Fire Chief Rick Davies. “Crews established traffic control on both sides just to ensure the safety of the tow company and their staff while they were clearing up the debris.”

The blizzard warning was still in effect for the Estevan area Saturday morning, but the emergency services as well as the towing company were able to start working at the scene. Davies said it was a process to remove semis and clear the highway.

Firefighters spent about five hours on scene as semis were towed away and the debris was cleared to a safe level. Further cleaning occurred after the blizzard was over. Davies noted there wasn’t that much debris from the collision, and one of the semis blocking the highway was the main concern.

“There was as much debris as would be expected. It wasn’t crazy as far as some of them go, but one of the trucks was broke down or

stuck right in the middle of the road. So, if you would have been coming from either lane, like coming north or south, he would have been restricting that traffic flow. So, the main concern was to get all that off the road,” Davies explained. Other storm-related calls for the Estevan RCMP detachment also involved vehicles stuck in the snow or hitting the ditch. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

Increase in ‘violent incidents’ forces changes at ECS

By David Willberg

The Estevan Comprehensive School is taking a number of measures due to what it says is an increase in violent incidents at the school.

Johnson said the incidents happened just before the February break.

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In a letter sent out to parents on March 6, principal Nathan Johnson said the school has been in consultation with outside agencies, including the Estevan Police Service, along with its South East Cornerstone Public School Division superintendent, deputy directors and director of education Keith Keating.

In about a two-week span from Feb. 3-17, there were three assaults and two fistfights. Two of the assaults happened in a washroom and one was in a hallway.

Johnson characterized them as separate incidents.

“Throughout the school years, obviously we have some one-offs here and there, but we haven’t seen a stretch like that for an awful long time,” said Johnson. “It was time to take some action.”

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Recognizing

members. Estevan Fire Rescue hosts awards banquet.

The Estevan Comprehensive School has announced changes on everything from student attendance to spares. File photo

Snow-clearing crews were out on Monday, removing the windrows from Souris Avenue North.

Photos by David Willberg

“I think the public paid heed to the warnings and stayed off the roads, which was good. So, we didn’t have a lot [of stormrelated calls]. Most of it was big trucks, and they’re usually coming from out of town so they probably don’t hear the warning until the last minute and then they’re kind of stuck in it,” Park noted.

He added that during a previous big snowstorm, it seemed there were more people on the road, and the local RCMP had a lot more calls.

“It was much better and smoother this time,” Park said.

The Saskatchewan RCMP responded to 139 weekend weather-related calls. This figure includes calls for traffic collisions, as well as traffic hazards such as vehicles stuck in snowbanks. Approximately a third of these calls (49) were from the area around Regina, in the White Butte, Indian Head, Moose Jaw, Southey, Lumsden, Milestone and Weyburn detachment areas.

There were no fatal collisions reported to Saskatchewan RCMP from March 10-12.

The highways that were closed in the Weyburn area reopened Saturday morning and those shut down in the

Carlyle area soon followed suit, but travel was not recommended for them. Travel was also not recommended on many highways in southern Saskatchewan.

The City of Estevan also asked the residents to stay home, as many areas were unpassable. Crews were out cleaning the streets and trying to open the emergency roads at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday. However, with the blizzard still being at its height Saturday morning and zero visibility reported even within the city limits, the streets were filling up with snow drifts faster than the equipment could possibly clean them.

Norm Mack, roads and drainage manager with the City of Estevan’s public works division, said they had to deal with a lot of blocked streets on Saturday.

“Our main focus for Saturday was keeping roads open just so traffic can flow and for emergency services,” Mack said.

Every piece of equipment the city has was deployed on Saturday until about 7 p.m., and was back at work in the early morning Sunday. They also had a number of local contractors helping them battle the snow.

As the wind had gone

down, on Sunday and into Monday, they made some headway and started grading and windrowing the streets.

“As of this afternoon, 4 o’clock, 100 per cent of the city should be graded and windrowed,” Mack said Monday early afternoon.

“Blower number 1 and the fleet of trucks started this morning at 6 a.m. blowing windrows off the streets. And blower number 2 crew started at 1 p.m. Monday.

“There’s a lot of snow, some of these windrows are huge and impede traffic a bit. So we’re taking them

off as we speak … We may make good headway but we had a lot of snow that blew into the city and it’s going to take some work to get them off.”

He noted that removing windrows would also prevent further problems if another snowstorm was to hit the area in the near future. But it probably will take all week to get them off the streets. Mack also noted that outside of people who had to go to work, most residents listened to the city’s advice to stay home.

“Saturday was pretty quiet with traffic, and overall, it’s been very good. [Sunday] there was no limit to traffic, but [residents] helped out tremendously [by staying home],” Mack said.

The weather also caused trouble with events in the region. Fresh Air Fitness announced Friday that it was postponing its Energy Dash and Splash polar bear swim and run at Boundary Dam, which was slated for Saturday morning, due to the weather. The new date for the event is March 25.

The Estevan Arts Council also announced that the Poltava Ensemble performance on March 12 has been postponed and asked the public to stay tuned for the new performance date.

The city’s landfill and numerous businesses were closed Saturday due to the weather.

The Estevan Apex U18 AA Bruins’ playoff games on Saturday at Swift Current and on Sunday at home against Swift Current were postponed. Estevan won Game 4 4-3 in overtime Monday in Swift Current and will host the Broncos Wednesday night at Affinity Place, starting at 8:15 p.m.

As of 6:25 p.m. Saturday, the blizzard warning was finally lifted for the Estevan and Carlyle areas and a few other communities in the southeast. A blowing snow advisory remained in effect for some time after, as northeast winds gusting up to 50 km/h continued to give poor visibility in snow and blowing snow. Condition improved as winds diminished late Saturday evening.

Total snowfall amounted to close to 30 centimetres by Saturday evening.

Police have had an increased presence at school

The school had some incidents prior to Feb. 3, but nothing like what they experienced in the two weeks before the break.

“It was shortly thereafter we were able to have a meeting with some of our community partners, community agencies, and further meetings with senior leadership at South East Cornerstone Public School Division,” said Johnson.

Social services, mental health, the EPS and the Estevan RCMP were among those at the multi-agency meeting, and Johnson said everyone is on board.

They have not had any similar incidents since the end of the winter break.

“The measures, I’m sure the students aren’t jumping up and down about them, but I think they all understand where we’re coming from, from a point of safety and concern, and the kids have been really, really respectful,” said Johnson.

The new rules were put in place on March 6. Feedback thus far has been “very positive” from parents, Johnson said.

“I think everyone realizes that things need to be tightened up a little bit here,” said Johnson.

The letter states that if a student is excused from their class, the school asks that this is communicated by all parents using Edsby. If a student is excused from class by their parent, this means the student must be out of the building and not on school property for the excused period of time.

Staff will allow only one student out of their classroom at a time. If a student needs to leave a class, they will complete a sign-out sheet that will be in every room. This will allow staff to review trends in student absences and behaviour.

“We do not need any incidents because students left their class before the bell at the end of their class,” Johnson stated in the letter.

Students working outside of the classroom, such as for photography, science experiments and more, will stay in an area that a teacher can supervise.

Those who refuse to attend class or follow school expectations will be sent home and their parents/ guardians will be contacted.

“The focus of the school day needs to be on academics and positive behaviours,” the letter stated.

If a student has a spare,

options will be to work in the library or the office, or leave the school.

Lunch can be spent in the cafeteria, courtyard, library, gymnasium or outside of the school. All areas will be supervised, the letter states. Students are asked to keep the food from the cafeteria in the cafeteria.

If students are in a classroom at lunch time, it must be supervised.

“Students will be asked to move from the hallways to a supervised area. There have been too many incidents in the hallways where there is not direct supervision,” the letter states.

Outer bathroom doors have been removed to ensure student safety. The school said privacy remains a top priority and the bathroom stalls won’t be visible with the cameras. Video surveillance allows for monitoring who enters and leaves bathrooms.

Bathroom supervision has increased during the day and during breaks.

Johnson said this is the way the school intends to proceed. If an adjustment is needed, they will talk through them and make them accordingly.

“We’re anticipating that

this will be in place for a while,” said Johnson. The school anticipates these steps will be in place for at least the rest of the school year, but if this goes well, Johnson wonders if they would continue into the fall.

Johnson said the school has a great relationship with the Estevan Police Service, and the EPS is committed to increase patrols within the school day. Johnson would be in favour of having a member of the EPS present throughout the school day.

“That relationship goes a long ways to deterring some of these acts,” said Johnson. “Would we love to have a school resource officer back? Of course. But we know that’s a budgetary item and that’s not something within our control.”

The EPS has been very responsive to all of the incidents, Johnson said.

EPS Deputy Police Chief Murray Cowan said the EPS is holding increased foot patrols in the school since the recent stakeholder meeting. When resources permit, officers perform multiple foot patrols through the school during the day.

“There is police presence up there, and an increased police presence up there,” said Cowan.

But he said it’s unrealistic to think the EPS could be there throughout the school day, because they have other files and investigations to tend to.

“As far as having an officer up there all day, every day, throughout the school hours, no that’s not realistic. We don’t have the resourcing to do that,” said Cowan.

The EPS does not have a school resource or community liaison officer now due to funding and a restructuring of the organization. There are school resource programs in bigger cities, Cowan said, but they’re rare in smaller communities because of funding issues.

During the discussion of utilization rates at ECS in early 2020, there was talk of a satellite office for the EPS at the Comp., but Cowan said those plans aren’t on the table right now. If there was government funding available, they would look at it.

The letter states that for most students, there will be very little change in their current day-to-day practices.

“They will come to

school, strive to succeed academically and continue to build positive relationships with other students and staff. But for all students, we need to prioritize safety and these measures will help to achieve this,” the letter says.

“We need all students to follow the school expectations while they are in the building. As for the recent violence incidents, students must not allow this behaviour to become normalized. We need students to stop encouraging others to fight and stop taking video of these events to post on social media. Students found to be involved in these events will be addressed accordingly.

“ECS is fortunate to have so many caring adults that are available to help students resolve conflicts.

Students are encouraged to talk with an adult that they trust if they feel they or someone else is in danger.

“ECS is a great school, and our students and staff have the right to attend a safe school with a positive culture and we should not tolerate anything less. We want to work together to maintain our positive school culture and the safe and inclusive environment that our students deserve.”

Lampman showed great support for fundraiser

The people of the Lampman area were very generous with their support during a fundraiser for a teenage southeast Saskatchewan resident battling a rare disease.

A breakfast and auction fundraiser was held at the town’s community complex last month, raising $17,410 for the family of Kyla Dyer, who has been diagnosed

with aplastic anemia, a condition that affects bone marrow. She will require a bone marrow transplant.

A cheque was presented to the Dyer family March 7.

Linda Tremblay, who was one of the organizers for the event, said she was impressed with the generosity of the people and

how well the fundraiser went. People steadily passed through the doors of the complex for breakfast. There was a 50-50 draw, a raffle and a live auction that had a large variety of items, including meat packages, golf memberships, appliances, gift certificates, and items from businesses throughout the region.

and Madison Derosiers

Silas Daniel Desrosiers February 17, 2023 Sila F 23

The amount of money raised exceeded her expectations.

Tremblay said Kyla is still in hospital.

“The family is overwhelmed and grateful by all of the love and prayers and generosity from the community and the surrounding communities, because we had people from

Carlyle, Oxbow, Estevan and a bunch of other communities that sent stuff in.”

There were some businesses that she heard of for the first time because they supported the auction.

“I was amazed by how much we actually did make from all of the donations and the auction and the breakfast,” said Tremblay.

Dylan

The blizzard created near-zero visibility in Estevan on Saturday.

Estevan Fire Rescue Service celebrates the dedication of its members at annual awards night

By Ana Bykhovskaia

The Estevan Fire Rescue Service held its third annual Awards and Appreciation Banquet on March 4 at the Estevan Exhibition Hall.

Members were recognized for years of service and their work was celebrated during a festive supper. The award night was first introduced in 2020, but then the pandemic put the new tradition on pause until last year. Estevan Fire Chief Rick Davies said they hope the awards banquet will continue as an annual event created “to show a little bit of prestige to our people”.

This year, firefighter driver/operator Victor Frank received a 45 Years of Service Award. Other members awarded were Lieutenant Chad Perrault, 25 Years of Service Award; Captain Lincoln Empey and firefighter Matt Clausen, 15 Years of Service Awards; and fire assistant Rhonda Gillespie, 10 Years of Service Award.

The Estevan Firefighters Association (EFA) also handed out their annual awards during the night.

Firefighter Annie-France Bizier received a Brown Noser of the Year Award, and Empey was presented with the 2022 Best Attendance Award.

“We started [our Awards and Appreciation Banquet tradition] with the recognition of years of

service. We just wanted to put a little bit more prestige behind it … We had people that would put quite a few years of service in, so we wanted to make it a little bit more prestigious. But that’s about all we had for prestige. Then we’d always have kind of the fun, mockery type of awards with the Firefighters’ Association awards,” Davies explained.

In previous years the EFA also had a Driver of the Year Award, “celebrating” members that were involved in some kind of an incident while in service. This year there were no nominations in that category. There also used to be a Curling Champions Awards, but no curling events were held in 2022.

As for the Brown Noser this year, Davies noted that while it’s a jocose award, this year’s recipient is actually a great and eager member of their service.

“Annie Bizier was the recipient this year. And she’s very driven to learn. And she’s always here, first with the hand up to help with public events and that kind of thing. So that’s where it stemmed from for her,” Davies explained.

To finish off the evening ceremony, Estevan Fire Rescue presented two new annual awards, which came from nominations by fellow department members.

“With the recent passing of Dean Nagel, who was an active member, and the previous passing of Neil Kish, who was also an active

member, we were kicking around the ideas and different ways to keep their memory around and looking for ways to honour those guys,” Davies said. “So, when we were planning our awards banquet this year, we had come up with the two different awards.”

Dean Nagel was a firefighter driver/operator, and the award named after him recognizes the achievements of other firefighters.

Neil Kish was an officer with the EFRS, and the award named after him recognizes the work of other officers.

“We just thought it’d be prestigious awards … Some of the criteria we looked at were … the integrity, communication [skills], flexibility and adaptability, their

dedication throughout the year, their willingness to be a good team player, extra time. [We looked for] somebody that stands out above and beyond for that year. So we reached out to the group as a whole, and let them nominate anybody that they feel was [deserving] for the year 2022, that’s where we started,” said Davies.

“And then myself, Kyle [Luc, deputy fire chief] and some of the officers that weren’t involved went through the critiques and, from that list, whoever stood out the most was chosen as the winner.”

Empey received the inaugural Neil Kish Memorial Officer of the Year Award, and firefighter Tyler Stead became the first re-

cipient of the Dean Nagel Memorial Firefighter of the Year Award. These two awards will be presented to deserving firefighters and officers annually from now on.

The promotion of several EFRS members was also celebrated during the event. Bizier, M. Andrew Barr, Ben Brokenshire and Cam Sharp were promoted from probationary firefighters to firefighters. Mike Wock and Justin Herod were promoted from firefighters to lieutenants. Tyler Stead, Jeff Kuchinka and Mike Olson were promoted from firefighters to training officers. And Empey was promoted to fire inspector. A supper was catered by EB’s. The evening concluded with socializing.

Estevan fire crews respond to elevator entrapment incident

Local firefighters responded to several calls for service last week, including an elevator entrapment and various alarms.

In other recent news, on March 8 at about 4 p.m., fire crews were called to a building in southeast Estevan for an elevator rescue.

“Crews responded and were quick to get one occupant that was stuck in the elevator out. We made sure he was all good. Then crews isolated the elevator until the building management could get repairs completed,” said Estevan Fire Chief Rick Davies.

The next day at about 9 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to a fire alarm at a building in central Estevan. Incident command responded and determined the alarm was caused by construction work happening inside. With no emergency happening, crews were stood down.

A fire alarm went off in a residence in the southcentral area on March 10 at about 8:30 p.m. Firefighters responded, contacted the homeowner and quickly determined there was no emergency occurring, as

they believe the fire alarm was triggered by cooking.

On March 12 at about 4:30 p.m., firefighters also responded to a commercial fire alarm that went off in central Estevan. Crews checked the building, but there were no signs of smoke or fire. People working inside were unaware of what was happening, but nothing was found, and it was deemed either to be a faulty detection device or possibly it was accidentally set off by the people inside, who didn’t realize they did it.

To my wonderful patients and community of Estevan, It is with mixed emotions that I am announcing the closure of my general family medicine practice as I have been given the opportunity to complete further medical specialty training at the University of Saskatchewan.

Many believe that I returned to Estevan to practice with my father, a physician who has faithfully served our community for over 35 years. In truth, I chose to return to my home town to begin my career in rural maternal and obstetrical care, a critical service provided in Estevan to patients over 250 km in southeast Saskatchewan. It has been my joy and passion to provide care to new mothers and families, something I could have not done without the support of my physician colleagues, the St. Joseph’s a new physician establishing practice in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, times are changing. The pandemic, coupled with global economical rural patients to remain close to home to give birth. Estevan has had to navigate these challenges just like everyone else. I hope that with additional specialty timely care in rural Saskatchewan.

st, and I will tentatively continue to provide care to my obstetrical patients until June 28th. Patient medical records

It has been my great pleasure to have begun my career in Estevan, and I look forward to returning in a new specialist capacity in 2024. Sincerely and with gratitude,

Estevan Fire Rescue Service members were recognized for years of service and celebrated their work and achievements during the annual Awards and Appreciation Banquet on March 4. Photos courtesy of the EFRS

Captain Lincoln Empey received the first-ever Neil Kish Officer of the Year Award.

Firefighter driver/operator Victor Frank was recognized with a 45 Years of Service Award.

Tyler Stead was the first recipient of the Dean Nagel Firefighter of the Year Award.

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EDITORIAL

Estevan … the Innovation City

We’ve been hearing a lot of talk about innovation and technology in the community.

It’s nothing new for us. When you think about it, innovation has long been part of Estevan. It’s the reality of living in an industry-driven community with plenty of entrepreneurs who think outside of the box.

Innovation doesn’t have to be something grandiose that changes the world. Sometimes it can be something relatively simple that improves efficiencies or operations within a business or an industry.

There are a lot of people in the southeast oilpatch or the agriculture sector who encountered a problem, thought of how it could be addressed, found a solution through technology and applied it. It’s not necessarily something that they marketed. It might not have advanced beyond their shop or their farm. But it’s still innovation.

Then there are those who have come up with something that they have been able to market, make a difference to their industry and make a little money in the process.

We know about large-scale innovations down here. You can see it at the carbon capture and storage project at the Boundary Dam Power Station. It’s the first facility of its kind in the world. It has kept more than five million of carbon dioxide from entering the Earth’s atmosphere since October

2014. The captured CO2 is then sold for enhanced oil recovery.

Innovation at its finest. Ecnomic and environmental benefits. Well worth investing in.

But there’s so much more to innovation and technology in our area than Boundary Dam. And with the uncertain future for some of our industries, innovation is going to play a valuable role in our future.

We’ve had a history of producing bright minds, too. We heard from one of them, Dr. Eric Grimson, earlier this month when he made his presentation at the Southeast College’s Estevan campus. Grimson is the chancellor for academic advancement at MIT, a campus that knows a thing or two (or more) about coming up with great ideas.

While he was here – the first time he has been home in more than 20 years – he expressed his belief that Estevan should do its best to become a technology hub and attract specialists. Of course, if that happens, we stand to gain.

“The industrial base is changing, from what I understand, dramatically. But I’ve seen other communities do this. I think if you’re willing to take some risks and get support to do it, you have the ability to do it,” he said in an interview with the Mercury.

Grimson isn’t the only one we’ve produced. We all know that Jeff Sanquist,

the former vice-president of corporate at Microsoft and the current VP of product, community and growth for Automattic, is originally from Estevan. So is Kirsten Marcia, the president and CEO of Deep Earth Energy Production, which has been working on Canada’s first geothermal facility southwest of the Energy City.

The Southeast Techhub is going to play an important role in the future of our community as well.

When you talk to Gord More, the head of the Techhub, you can see the zeal he has for the role and the ideas he has for how technology can benefit the community.

We’re facing some uncertain times, both now and in the not-too-distant future. We have options on how we can handle it. We could do nothing and let our city fade. We can wait for a change in government and hope that it results in legislation changes, but even if that happens, it will only push back some things that are inevitable.

Or we can use the intelligence that we have in our community and try to come up with new ways to preserve and build the city we love.

We’re an agriculture, coal and an oil and gas city. We should be immensely proud of that. But we should also continue to build on what we have through the ingenuity of the people we have here

Estevan needs more regulated child care

The Governments of Saskatchewan and Canada announced last week that parent fees for regulated child care in the province will be reduced to $10 a day, starting April 1. It would sound like one of the greatest news items in a long time, if not for one big local hiccup. The serious shortage of regulated child care in Estevan.

A friend of mine who resides in Calgary has two little kids. Once the youngest one was about a year old, she decided that for her sanity and everyone’s safety, she had to start working. That meant kids needed day care.

Being a recent immigrant with no local experience and also being in the midst of the pandemic, she wasn’t able to secure a job relevant to her main education and experience. But the three of them staying at home full time were going crazy, so she applied and got a job in the daycare to which she also brought her two munchkins.

The daycare where they ended up was far from being the most expensive in Calgary, but in the beginning, while she was confirming her level of relevant education (which she did have), she found herself in a pretty absurd situation. She was working full-time, yet still paying her employer on top of giving up all of her wages to have her two kids in the daycare (and that’s after the employee discount). She chose that path not to go crazy feeling stuck at home, but still, it’s pretty ridiculous. Fortunately, that didn’t last too long. Once her level was confirmed, she got a raise and ended up making a few hundred dollars a month after paying their daycare fees.

Things changed for them big time when the federal and Alberta governments introduced the first programs aimed at eventually getting to $10-a-day daycare. The year 2022 started for them in a totally different situa-

Ana Bykhovskaia

Twenty Lines About…

tion with under $1,000 in bills for daycare for two kids instead of over $2,000 they had to pay before.

So once I learned about how much things changed for them, I started asking my friends here in Estevan, if they were able to benefit from the governments’ programs. (By then, Saskatchewan had also made the first steps towards dropping fees significantly). And apparently, no one, not a single mother I know and asked, was able to get a break with their daycare bills. Why?

The answer is simple, but the solution to the problem is more complicated.

Estevan only has two regulated childcare centres, and the line to get into either of them is apparently longer than it takes for a child to grow to daycare age. (Especially now that it doesn’t cost as much for the parents, hardly anybody drops out, and there are only so many spots.)

So, steps are made at the government level towards helping parents, mostly mothers, to be able to sincerely choose if they want to return to work or to stay home with their kids.

But in Estevan’s reality, the implementation of this vision, which outside of better opportunities for self-actualization for parents – which, in turn, usually results in a happier and a more successful community – is also beneficial and currently necessary for the economy. This is not getting too far ahead.

Estevan is not the only smaller community that finds itself in this situation. The Government of Saskatchewan has been try-

ing to encourage more regulated child care in the province for a while, and hopefully, we are to see the results of their campaigns and efforts soon.

The first potential positive bells for Estevan rang at the latest council meeting, when council approved a development permit for the third regulated child-care centre. We soon are to learn more about what’s coming. Yet, I’m not sure if it will have the capacity to satisfy the needs of our and surrounding communities.

I’m not sure if in other communities people started stepping forward and taking upon the serious job of opening regulated childcare centres either. But one thing I know for sure, we desperately need more regulated child care both in Estevan and in other places.

As of the end of 2022, there was a total of 19,790 regulated childcare spaces operational in Saskatchewan across 144 communities. To stimulate the changes and create more spaces, through the agreement, the governments are also providing funding for free training and education to increase the number of early childhood educators, wage enhancements of up to $5 per hour, and a range of grants for regulated childcare facilities. So the support is there.

After this last and third fee reduction, Saskatchewan is to become one of the first Canadian provinces to achieve the $10-aday child care milestone, which is three years ahead of schedule (the goal is to bring it down to a set level country-wide by 202526).

Hope local parents will also benefit from these changes and we soon will see the third regulated daycare opening its doors in Estevan, and probably even more to come if the need persists.

Is it time for a (time) change?

David Willberg Willberg’s World

I hope you enjoyed your sleep on Sunday.

Other people in North America weren’t so lucky.

The annual time change occurred on Sunday. At some arbitrarily-assigned time, clocks were shifted ahead one hour throughout the country, except for Saskatchewan and Yukon.

(I’ll refrain from the pointless debate on whether those that observe the time change are using daylight saving time, which is the conventional mainstream wisdom, or whether Saskatchewan and Yukon have daylight saving time because they don’t change their clocks, as some would have you believe).

I’ve always liked the concept of having the extra hour of daylight in the evening at the expense of early morning hours, at least from April to October. Give me more time to be outdoors in the evening. Give me an extra hour of daylight to take photos at the Estevan Motor Speedway, the local ball diamonds or other outdoor activities that we have in the southeast during the most-fun months.

Give me an extra hour of daylight to go jogging at the track south of the Estevan Comprehensive School, or to go walking on the pathways in our community.

If I get home at 8 p.m. from work, it gives me an extra hour of daylight so I can barbecue my supper, or just have supper on the patio while it’s still daylight.

Obviously there are downsides. Farmers won’t be happy. Many will have to get up to do chores in the dark.

If we change our clocks or, according to some, “observe daylight saving time”, it would take away part of the uniqueness of one of the really cool attractions in the southeast: the ninth hole at the Gateway Cities Golf Course at North Portal. Your tee shot would still land in a different country (if you do it right), but it wouldn’t land one hour later. Saskatchewan and North Dakota would be on the same time?

And would that mean that it would be two hours of difference instead of one between Saskatchewan and B.C.? Right now, it’s easier to call my family or to watch the Vancouver Canucks play. (Thankfully, the Canucks are easier to watch now than a few weeks ago).

The concept of “daylight saving time” seems to be losing support each year. Twenty years ago, Saskatchewan was a punchline because we didn’t change our clocks. We were viewed as backwater because we couldn’t figure out, or remember, that you set your clocks ahead in the spring and turn them back in the fall. Now we’re the envy of a lot of people.

A motion to adopt daylight saving time was passed at the 2001 Saskatchewan Urban Municipalizes Association’s convention. Of course, nothing came of it.

There was also talk at one time of bringing DST in for the eastern half of the province. I think Saskatoon might have been the dividing line. Again, the debate eventually faded.

If you’ve been in Consul in southwest Saskatchewan on or around the longest day of the year, you can understand why they might want the status quo. It’s still daylight at close to 10 p.m. as it is. They don’t need another hour of daylight in the evening.

It seems like the dissatisfaction with the time change started in 2007, when the date for it starting was switched from the first Sunday of April to the second Sunday in March, and the end was pushed back a week from the first Sunday in November to the second.

If we changed our clocks, we would have had sunrise on March 12 at 8:12 a.m. instead of 7:12 a.m. If it started in early April, as it used to, sunrise would have been around 7:45 a.m. instead of 6:45 a.m.

For Canadians and those in many parts of the northern U.S., winter conditions still exist, so our outdoor tourism attractions aren’t seeing the benefit of “daylight saving time” starting on March 12.

My guess is that during my lifetime, the concept of changing our clocks will be abandoned as more people question the practice. In fact, the change might come sooner. It’s going to take a group of jurisdictions to come together. B.C. has said it would consider dropping the time change, but it would need Washington, Oregon and California to be on board.

Once the first domino falls, others will go down as well until DST is a distant memory.

ECS parent responds to new measures at the school

The editor:

I, along with several parents I have spoken to online or by phone, are deeply concerned about the recent announcement that the Estevan Comprehensive School is taking measures to address growing violence within this school.

Several parents have reported that their children are afraid to use the washrooms in the school, for fear they could be assaulted. And indeed, this has happened, according to my discussion with the principal.

As a result, the school is removing the outer doors to the washroom and using cameras to monitor who

goes in and who goes out, among other measures.

I have a unique perspective in that I covered court in North Battleford for four years for the local paper there, and more recently, I covered Estevan docket court for the Estevan Mercury for about two years.

There was so little to report on in Estevan Provincial Court that I made it an unofficial policy to report on each and every drunk driver, otherwise I would hardly have any stories to write about. This was in sharp contrast to North Battleford, where I frequently spent two to three days in court, and could have filled the entire paper. That com-

munity had a designated youth court day, every Tuesday morning. In two years, I think I covered two youth cases in Estevan.

I strongly suggest that the Estevan Police Service deploy a sworn member to ECS from 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., each and every day that school is in session. That member should have a desk in the courtyard, and eat their lunch in the cafeteria. They should not be in an office. They should do regular walk arounds and ensure that washrooms are safe. I do not mean a rent-acop security guard. I mean a full police officer. Maybe they’re on light duties. Or maybe they can work on

their laptop in the courtyard. But we, as Estevan taxpayers, are paying for the police’s service. And if there isn’t that much crime on the streets during the day, but kids can’t go to the washroom without fear, then that is where the police should be.

My family added 14 years to our mortgage to come to Estevan, in large part because it was a safer community.

It is much better to sort out these issues with the trouble-makers now, when they are 17, than when they are 23. And our kids need to feel safe. Period.

Brian Zinchuk Estevan

Battle of the Books returns and provides fun for students

By David Willberg

For the first time in four years, the Estevan Area Literacy Grou’s (EALG) Battle of the Books was staged in Estevan, and local kids had a great time putting their knowledge of books to the test.

A competition for Grade 5 and 6 students was held March 1 at Pleasantdale School and March 9 at Spruce Ridge School.

A list of 10 books was supplied for students to read. Books were different for Grades 5/6 than Grades 7/8. Then they were asked questions to test their knowledge and memory of those stories.

This was the first Battle of the Books since 2019, and the first for Grace Caputo since she became the co-ordinator of the literacy group. She thought it was a fantastic event.

“The kids were asking about it for the last two years, and it just went really, really well,” said Caputo. Spruce Ridge, Pleasantdale, Westview, Hillcrest and Sacred Heart School/ Ecole Sacré Coeur had teams entered. About 60 kids were involved between the two events.

“I can’t believe how smart these kids are,” said EALG board chairwoman Louise Schnare. “I could not memorize that much information from that many books, and they were just writing it down as fast as they could.”

Westview School’s Book Thieves, consisting of Mason Fonstad, Hunter Sands, Andin Barlow and Noah Dubbin, won the Grade 5/6 competition. The Nerds of Narnia, comprised of Rory Tatarnic, Liam Kwochka, Taylor Ellis and Tyler Wagner, won the Grade 7/8 battle.

The Bats of Hillcrest had the best banner for the Grade 7/8 competition, while Random Nerds we Found on the Street from Westview had the best team name. In the Grade 5/6 competition, The Lightning Readers from Spruce Ridge had the best banner and SCittles from Sacred Heart/Sacré Coeur won for best name.

“The teachers really help out the students,” said Ca-

puto. “They help them with the reading. They actually are supposed to read them off of school time … but the teachers really help out with a lot of it.”

Teachers will have mock questions with students, Caputo said.

The literacy group rotates through its selection of books for the competition. The stories picked this year were supposed to be used in 2020. A different group of books will be used next year.

“Some of our board members are teachers, and they let us know their kids are reading this … as part of their classroom. So we don’t want to double up what they’re already learning in that school. We want to get ones that are outside of

what is being taught in the classroom,” said Schnare.

Schnare added the EALG is a member agency for the United Way Estevan. The funding helps the organization hold this event. The Community Initiatives Fund also helps with the event.

Caputo noted the Battle of the Books was very popular when it was held in the past. People wanted to know if the EALG would host it again.

They partnered with the Estevan Public Library, the Estevan Sunflower Network and the Settlement Workers in Schools to make the battle happen.

Most of the kids were participating in it for the first time.

“The kids get to work on it as a team together and enjoy it and read books that they probably, normally, wouldn’t even consider reading. It gets them to step out of that box. It brings back the love of books and reading, and that’s what we want to incorporate,” said Caputo.

While prizes were handed out, Caputo said everyone that participated was a winner.

Caputo and Schnare are looking forward to hosting the event again next year.

The schools that win the event get to host the next edition, which means Westview will host the Grades 5 and 6 and Spruce Ridge again hosts Grades 7 and 8.

Meet Maggie! She’s 3 years old and is looking for a farm home where she would thrive the most! When she is unsure of her new surroundings she can be a bit timid at first, but will warm up quickly. She’s very sweet, and friendly and will come up to you with a big dog grin and ask for a belly rub. Maggie loves walks and does great on a leash, but don’t be surprised if she stops for a belly rub a long the way! With proper introduction she would get along with another dog. She isn’t phased by cats at all, and most likely good with children. Maggie is such a lovely dog and is ready to be settled into a life she deserves!

Hi I’m Morgan! I’m a high-energy, fun-loving goofball. My favourite things to do is playing fetch and tug of war. I’m also a big fan of the snow! The staff at the shelter say I’m a good learner, and will thrive with someone who can help me reach my full potential. With proper introduction I could get along with dogs or cats. I’m a happy, healthy boy and can’t wait to meet my new family!

The Nerds of Narnia, from left, Rory Tatarnic, Liam Kwochka, Taylor Ellis and Tyler Wagner, won the Grade 7/8 Battle of the Books.

New bakery in Bienfait draws upon Kazakh traditions

By Ana Bykhovskaia

Teremok Bakery in Bienfait invited their first guests into the business at the very beginning of March, and right off the start they were swamped with an outpouring of support for the small business. The family bakery offers a wide variety of fresh, homemade, and as the first feedback suggests, delicious pastries, which may raise great memories for those who have Kazakh or European heritage, or it might just bring joy to people who appreciate good baking.

The Krets family, consisting of parents Alena and Alex, and their three kids Kristina, Jennifer and Kevin, started the business together, and they work hard to treat as many people in the area to their favourite desserts, as they can.

Jennifer, who along with her sister Kristina helps their mom a lot with the bakery, talked to the Mercury about their new family endeavour.

“Mom does all the cooking and baking, she’s the brain behind all of this. And then me and my sister are here to help her out, help her with the cooking, with [working] up front,

with the store and stuff like that,” Jennifer shared.

“It was my mom’s big dream to open a bakery. And we’re here to help her out and make her dream come true.”

For Alena, opening a bakery was a long-time dream, which she started turning into reality five to six years ago when she first tried selling little trays from home during Christmas and other holidays. Sometimes she’d make different pastries and bring them to her husband’s work, and everyone who tried her baking was always “super happy”, Jennifer recalled. The success of this hobby motivated the family to make the next step toward their mother’s dream.

“Eventually, we thought why not make something bigger from it. So, we then decided to post on Facebook a few years ago, and then my mom sold just from home. And then eventually, we said, ‘You know what, let’s open a bakery, like an actual building where people come in and we bake bread and buns and pastries,” she recalled.

Alena and Alex were both born in Kazakhstan, where they started a family and had their first child Kristina. Then, they

Teremok Bakery offers many delicious traditional Kazakh, Russian, Ukrainian and Canadian pastries.

decided to move to Germany, where Jennifer and Kevin were born, and in 2010, the family moved to Canada. When they decided to open a real bakery, Alena drew upon her heritage and memories to create something homey and cozy, and she named it Teremok – which is a small cabin that often appears in Slavic fairy tales and folklore as a magical creatures’ dwelling.

“The town where my mom was born and raised in Kazakhstan, they had a little bakery, and it looked like those wooden cabins. And mom said in Russia and Kazakhstan, Teremok is what they call that little wooden cabin in the woods. And because it reminded her of the bakery at home, she decided to use that name for our bakery as well,” Jennifer explained.

She noted that in Teremok, people of different heritages will be happy to find sweets and treats that their grandmas used to bake. Besides, the new business plans on bringing international goods and having part of their building used as a store.

“Hopefully within the next few weeks, we will get a lot of Russian and Ukrainian-type products,” Jennifer said.

“I live in Saskatoon, so when I come to visit, I usually buy all of that stuff there and then I bring it here. So, we thought, if we’re already opening something where we have traditional pastries, we can always try to bring in our products as well, like candies and fish and meats and all of that stuff that you can’t just find in every store here. And then that way people don’t always have to go to Regina.”

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While the store part of the business is still in the works, the bakery definitely attracted a lot of attention. Jennifer said they were very excited to see the amount of interest and support, which keeps them very busy, but also very happy now.

“We made a post the day before we opened, that we were going to open, and the amount of people that came and supported us was just absolutely crazy … Opening day was an absolute success,” Jennifer recalled. “We sold out almost everything we had in two or three hours after opening. So now, that we have everything working in the kitchen, a big oven and everything, we make fresh buns, fresh bread every day, lots of pastries, and it keeps us very, very busy.”

Jennifer said her family is very grateful to the community and they look forward to bringing in more traditional treats and products.

“We’ve received such great support from the community and so many words of encouragement that we really just wanted to say thank you to everybody. We’ve had so many people stop by from such a big area all around Estevan, and many people are enjoying it. We hear lots of good feedback,” Jennifer said.

“So, we really wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to everybody for the great support and being there for us and supporting us as we try to have this little bakery going in Bienfait.”

Teremok Bakery is located at 407 Main Street, Bienfait. They haven’t finalized their operating hours yet, so for the most up-to-date information check the Teremok Bakery Facebook page.

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Alex, Alena and Kevin Krets at their new business - Teremok Bakery in Bienfait.

Photos courtesy of Jennifer Krets

Jennifer, left, and Kristina Krets helped their family get Teremok Bakery up and running.

Teremok Bakery is located at 407 Main Street, Bienfait.

Estevan and District Music Festival returns to a fully live format with increase in entries

By Ana Bykhovskaia

The 59th Estevan and District Music Festival is to occur from March 20 and 30, with performances taking place at Trinity Lutheran St. Paul’s United Churches, and Spruce Ridge, Sacred Heart, St. Mary’s, Estevan Comprehensive and Bienfait Weldon Schools.

Alisha Mann, the president of the Estevan and District Music Festival, said it’s a busy time for the executive, but they are almost ready to go. The schedules are finalized, while adjudicators are chosen and are on their way.

This year, all performances and programs will be in person.

Piano performances will take place March 20-24 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Vocals and spoken word are slated for March 27-28 at St. Paul’s United Church. Strings and band performances are to occur on March 29-30 at the schools and St. Paul’s.

The festival will wrap up with two separate awards programs on April 2. One in the afternoon will be for bands, vocals and strings, and one in the evening will be for piano. Entry is $2 per session, and season tickets are $10.

Mann said participation is up, which was great to see after a few tough pandemic years.

“Participation is much higher than last year, which we expected going back to a live festival because we had to do a hybrid festival last year [due to COVID-related complications],” Mann said. “Registrations were only around 275 last year, and this year we have 400.”

While the interest is higher this year, it’s still not where it was before the pandemic. In the last live festival in 2019, there was around 600 participants. Mann noted that during the pandemic, both band and choral programs were suspended nearly everywhere in the schools and private studios, so it will take several years to see those programs rebound to what they were before.

A lot of the same kids are returning to partake in the festival, but there are also a lot of young, new performers joining it for the first time, which is encouraging to see, Mann said.

As always, piano has seen the highest participation rates with almost 300 entries. But there were some surprises in other disciplines as well.

“This year, the first time for our festival in a long time, we have a number of strings entries. That’s something that’s new. And I think it’s in part ... due to a new teacher coming to the area,” Mann shared.

This year’s adjudicators will be Alan Crane, piano; Melissa Wood, vocal/musical theatre/spoken word; and Scott Adelman, band/instrumental/strings.

Crane holds a bachelor of music from the University of Western Ontario and a master of music in piano performance from the University of British Columbia. For nearly 40 years, he has been teaching a full class of students, ranging from young beginners to pre-professional young musicians to adults. Many of Crane’s students have gone on to pursue careers in music.

In addition to being on

the faculty of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music, where he served a term as chair of the piano department, Crane teaches part-time at the Langley Community Music School, where he was, for many years, co-ordinator of the piano program. As well as teaching, Crane is an active performer.

Originally from Manitoba, mezzo-soprano Wood has called Saskatchewan home for the past 18 years. A graduate of Briercrest College, Wood received her bachelor of arts in music performance voice under the tutelage of Dr. Ron de Jager.

Since graduating, Wood’s passion has been to teach and perform. She has starred in numerous productions encompassing musical the-

atre to opera. Some of her more recent performances include Ruth in Pirates of Penzance, the Duchess in The Gondoliers, Miss Todd in Old Maid and the Thief, Golde in Fiddler on the Roof, The Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music and Marilla in Anne of Green Gables.

Wood has taught at Briercrest College in Caronport for the past 14 years.

Adelman is originally from Moose Jaw. He obtained his bachelor of music in music education degree from the University of Saskatchewan as a trumpet major in 1995. His 21 years of teaching experience in Saskatchewan began in the towns of Grenfell, Wolseley, Balcarres, Lemberg and Neudorf.

From 1999-2005, he taught band at Weyburn Junior High School and in 2006, Adelman moved to Regina to teach Grades 6-12 band for the Regina Catholic School Division. In the winter semester of 2010, Adelman was an interim conductor of bands at the University of Regina.

He has also taught music in Saudi Arabia.

In preparation for the festival, the executive was able to secure all volunteers two weeks in advance, and as of March 10, the only thing they had to organize was the scholarships.

“We get a number of donations from local businesses and individuals. Some are very specific about what they would like their scholarship

money or donation to go towards, whether it be a certain discipline or a certain age group. And others just have us do what we need with it,” Mann explained. “So, we have to now get together and go over that list of what we like to give out for prizes and for scholarships, and then we have to match it and match donors with the award recipients and organize that.”

The Estevan and District Music Festival usually gives away about $10,000 in scholarships and awards every year.

Mann also noted that the sponsorship has been pretty good this year. While some supporters were no longer

there due to various circumstances, there were new businesses and individuals to step in.

“We would like to thank the local businesses and members of the community for your contributions that make it possible to bring music education to students in Estevan and surrounding areas. Your generosity makes it possible for the Estevan and District Music Festival Association to award scholarships, awards, and bring in special adjudication and workshops to our community,” said the festival executive in the festival program.

Mann also noted that the festival is open to the public, and everyone is welcome to attend any of the regular performances or awards programs.

“Even though we’ve been in the community for nearly 60 years, some people still don’t know what music festival is. We are open to the public to come and watch the performances and our awards programs as well, which also include some of our top performers,” Mann said. The full schedule can be found at smfa.ca/districtfestivals under Estevan and District Music Festival, under the 2023 Festival Program.

This year’s Estevan and District Music Festival adjudicators are, from left, Alan Crane, piano; Melissa Wood, vocal/ musical theatre/spoken word; and Scott Adelman, band/instrumental/strings. Photos courtesy of the music festival

The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) is reminding farmers about the need to emphasize safety during the annual Agricultural Safety Week from March 12-18.

Robin Anderson, the communications co-ordinator with CASA, said this year’s tagline is Safety is our Promise, which is part of the broader three-year theme of Your Farm, Your Family, Your Success. This is the second year for that theme.

“Through that tagline, what we’re doing is building resources and information and things like that to inspire farm families and farmers to really start talking and implementing and thinking about farm safety and health every day,” said Anderson. Safety affects everyone in the agricultural industry, and CASA wants people to make the promise to do what they can to stay safe.

This year they want to focus on different themes so they can talk about things that can become problematic due to injuries suffered on farms.

“It’s trying to be inclusive and ask folks to just come on board and use the hashtag and talk with families and each other about farm safety,” she said.

She believes people are getting the message about safety on the farm.

“Farmers and farm families and farm workers, they are the stewards of the land. They grow safe and amazing food across the country. With this information, it’s not supposed to be about not doing things right. It’s about what you’re doing right and you can keep doing those things right and how you can keep staying safe and growing your farm,” said Anderson.

If people farm safely, then they can be successful from generation to generation, she said.

Farmers are more aware of the risks associated with their chosen profession, she said. They have all heard terrible things about what has

happened to people they know or even loved ones due to farming accidents.

“There are some things that are emerging. There are risks like full-body vibration that can absolutely affect your health long term. Grain entrapment is another risk that sometimes people tend to forget a little bit. But for the most part, the risks are pretty well known.”

Producers also get used to those risks that are associated with the farm, so they might not think about the power takeoff without a guard or the power line that might be nearby.

“It’s one of those things that you always have to

evaluate and watch, just to make sure that you’re always understanding and recognizing those hazards that exist on your farm, and making those decisions to be safer around those things, or mitigating those hazards by eliminating them or engineering controls around them, those types of activities,” said Anderson.

It’s also important for farmers to get adequate sleep and good nutrition, and have good mental and physical health.

“If you’re not looking after yourself, how can you look after your farm?” Anderson said.

It’s not just about one hazard, it’s about a multi-

tude of issues that could lead to someone getting seriously injured, she said. This year’s tagline is meant to inspire people, and have them believe it.

“It’s positive messaging about how awesome farms and farm families and farm workers are, and they can absolutely achieve a safe and successful farm.”

Anderson said CASA depends on people coming together and working towards the safety message. She’s not aware of any inperson events for Agricultural Safety Week, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t happening.

And it’s through the meetings with stakeholders

across the country that they come up with their tagline.

“Through that feedback of doing that theme of Your Farm, Your Family, Your Success, the theme actually came from that. It was just one of those things where the collaboration really worked, and then from that, we worked with them to come up with the taglines for each year and the calls for action.”

CASA is offering free online training throughout the month, and they can check out the Ag Safety Week website, agsafetyweek.ca, to see online information. There is also a mental health hub on their website with thoughts from mental health experts.

The Canadian Agriculture Safety Association wants farmers to always be aware of the need for safety. File photo

For the first time since 2019, the Estevan Farmer’s Appreciation Evening is going to be held in person, and the organizers of the event are looking forward to seeing a large crowd for the event.

The banquet will be held March 30 at the Beefeater Plaza. It will feature a similar lineup to past years, with the supper, the presentation of the prestigious Farm Family of the Year Award, several 4-H speakers and a guest speaker.

“Things are pulling together very nicely, and we’re really excited that we are back in person,” said Estevan Chamber of Commerce executive director Jackie Wall.

The Farm Family of the Year Award presentation is always a highlight of the evening, and hundreds of people traditionally turn out to recognize the recipients.

Wall said they have some new nominations for this year, to go along with the submissions that came in for 2022.

In the past two years, the award had to be presented to the farm family recipients at their respective farms due to COVID-19 restrictions. Wall said they have invited the Emde family, who won the award in 2021, and the Walter family, who were recognized in 2022, to be at the dinner so that they can be acknowledged and saluted by the public. The deadline to submit a nomination was on Monday. The return of the 4-H speakers will be popular as

well, Wall said, as they were a big part of the Farmer Appreciation Evening in the past. Organizers expect there will be a speaker from each of the Benson, Crossroads, Outram-Madigan, Browning and Steelman clubs.

“For me, it’s always the highlight,” said Wall said with a laugh. “Honestly, they are a tough act to follow. It’s just so great to see kids up on stage, learning how to interact with the crowd, speaking publicly, hearing their thoughts on subjects.”

The speakers always provide a lot of entertainment for the crowd.

There will also be a special presentation to the 4-H clubs from the organizing committee during the Farmer’s Appreciation Evening.

The guest speaker will be Danielle Wildfong of Leask, who will be talking about mental health in agriculture. Wall believes it is a timely subject in all industries, but there is a different kind of stress for farmers and ranchers.

Some members of the

committee have heard her speak previously, Wall said.

“She really pulls from real-life stories,” said Wall. “I think it will be upbeat. Obviously, we’re talking mental health, so there’s going to be some serious moments, but from what I’ve heard, she will have a unique style of speaking about it and use a lot of real examples.”

Wildfong has been talking about mental health for a long time and will adapt the presentation for what people need to hear, Wall said.

Wildfong’s bio states that she is a certified family enterprise advisor, a farm coach, is trained in mental health first aid and is a predictive index analyst focused on people and motivational dynamics. Her coaching business supports individuals and family businesses working through the human element of the transition process and preparing for lifestyle changes.

Also during the Farmer’s Appreciation Evening, the

organizers will be recognizing the late John Kish, who was part of the event for decades. He died in November. The Kish family will be presented with a plaque and flowers.

More than half of the tickets for the event have already been sold, and the chamber hasn’t followed up with those who have said they would be getting a table. Wall is confident it will be a sellout once again.

The event is organized by a committee, with representatives from the chamber, agriculture agencies and the farming community.

Wall said they have completed most of the tasks for the event. The plaque for the Farm Family of the Year Award has been ordered. They just don’t know which name will be added. They’ve been hosting the event for a long time, which gives them the benefit of experience, even though it’s been four years since they have welcomed the public.

Moose Mountain Ag Day celebrating 20th anniversary

By Stephanie Zoer

The Moose Mountain Ag Day event is scheduled to take place on March 24 at the Arcola Prairie Place Complex.

This will mark the 20th anniversary and Paul Martin from Martin Charlton Communications will be the guest speaker.

Martin was the first speaker in 2000 when this all began. He is a widely recognized business spokesperson who will be presenting on the agricultural sector. Martin will be speaking at around 7:30 p.m. His unique blend of communications and business knowledge has made him a highly sought-after consultant.

Organizers typically begin their meetings in November to hold this event during the winter months, but opted to change the event to March in the hopes of having better weather.

The committee consists of local producers, some of which are council members from surrounding RMs. Don Lees from Arcola is an original member.

According to Mark Neuman, this year’s event will be more of a social with a small tradeshow beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Daryl Harrison, the MLA for Cannington, will also be in attendance and will make a few opening remarks.

Lana Shaw, the research

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manager with the Southeast Research Farm, will talk about the many beneficial research projects they are working on for this year.

The meal will be prepared by Weir’s Catering and tickets are only sold in advance for the event.

A showing of the Canadian Cattleman’s Association’s Guardian of the Grasslands will start at 7 p.m. This short documentary is presented by a group of dedicated conservationists, ranchers and Canadian filmmakers.

This event is to appeal to both livestock and grain producers in the area, with the newest information available to help improve their operations.

Ken Evens from the Government of Saskatchewan will also be on hand. He is an agricultural program specialist. He is experienced in both the public and private agricultural sector, helping farmers in all areas with farm management.

4-H Member of the Month: Bode Pretty

Bode Pretty is in his third year with the Arcola-Kisbey 4-H Club, but it’s not his only experience with 4-H.

Bode, a 13-year-old in the intermediate age group, was part of the Weyburn club before he made the shift to the Arcola-Kisbey club. He said he has enjoyed the friendly nature of the Arcola-Kisbey Club and its small size, with only 11 members. He decided to join 4-H because it seemed like a lot of fun.

“My dad and my grandpa did it, too,” he said. Being part of 4-H gives him the opportunity to work with animals and be part of competitions, and to work alongside other members.

“I’ve enjoyed going to go all of the shows, and learning things about feeding the cattle,”

said Bode.

He has attended Agribition a couple of times, and he has been part of 4-H’s public speaking competitions.

While he was part of the Weyburn club, he and other members competed at the Weyburn Regional 4-H Calf Show. He was a member of the club’s grooming team that finished first in that competition in Weyburn. He also won the hardiest-working member award for his age group.

Bode said he would recommend being part of the Arcola-Kisbey club to others, because of the fun they have and the friendly people he has encountered. He expects that what he has learned through 4-H will help him out in the future.

FARM WITH CARE!

SAFETY SAVES LIVES

Your Farm, Your Family, Your Success

The Walter family won the Farm Family of the Year Award last year. File photo

By Gord Paulley

International Women’s Day was March 8, and it is fitting that local grain farmer Sandra Robertson is being recognized for her achievements in agriculture.

Living just east of Carlyle, she and her family sow and harvest several quarters of farmland in the area.

Robertson is the daughter of Walter (Jumbo) Panteluk, who passed away over 20 years ago, and her venture into farming began with the help of her father.

“In 1999, I asked my dad to help me with the down payment of a half section of land to raise cattle. I was divorced and using my settlement to get to work. The bank I had transferred to at the time was not at all interested in financing a woman to start up a farm.

“My dad steered me away from cattle since he wanted me to be able to leave home occasionally. He informed me that since I loved operating machinery so much, I should become a grain farmer. I told him I was not able to do such a thing,” Robertson recalled.

“So, he set out to prove to me I was wrong. He knew nothing about farming, but he loved the smell

of dirt. Neither one of us really knew what or where to find machinery to get started. Dad had a great idea. There was a shuttingdown farm auction right outside of Lampman early that spring. Dad took me there, and he bought pretty much all the equipment and away we went. We attended a few more auction sales and there you go; we had the machinery required.”

Grain farming was not providing a huge profit at the time, Robetson shared, but if she ran the machinery, and put in the long hours, there would be some income.

“So, I got out the Western Producer, which at the time was very informative on agricultural methods. I also went to every agriculture production meeting or session I could attend. At about that time, Kenny Appell was moving into an agricultural sales position with Precision Ag at Carlyle. Kenny took a very active interest in educating me on inputs. He was a great support. Gib Poole had an old Melroe Spray Coupe parked in his backyard that hadn’t been used for years, and he sold it to me, and this began my spraying operations,” Robertson shared.

“My youngest son, Garett, was still in school and as soon as he got home every day, he was out working at my side. He learned a lot about fixing from an employee of Andy’s [husband and owner of Reliable Metal Buildings]. I would read him the repair manual and he would do the hands-on. It worked great.

“Being a woman has had its challenges. Most men laughed and snickered behind my back. Melvin George stepped up to the plate though and answered all my questions when I asked. He was so supportive and still is today,” Robertson said.

“Today, the ones that snickered at me for trying to

farm say that I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have all my dad’s money. Since I am a woman, it is hard for them to give me the credit of being able to accomplish what they have accomplished with their family farm handed onto them by their parents.”

Robertson and her sons operate as Jumbo Farm

Kids. They manage three farming corporations, Robertson Prairie Acres Ltd., Gotta Go Farms Ltd., and GT Ventures Inc.

“Tanner oversees marketing and purchasing. Garett is in charge of repairs and maintenance. Both sons assist with the actual farming operation. Daughter Jennie does the bookkeeping. The only real overlapping of duties is by me. I am the mother and referee,” she chuckled.

Robertson is forever grateful for her father’s input and guidance to the world of agriculture. “I had the kind of dad all kids should have had. My dad encouraged me and built me up and helped me finance my career. He did not see me as perfect but loved me unconditionally. It was his expectation that the farm would be there if the kids wished to carry it on.

“Our family farm, Jumbo’s Farm Kids, which is named after him, is blessed to have Jesus, God the Father and Holy Spirit overseeing the needs and prosperity of our farm every step along life’s path and we couldn’t do without him. He doesn’t see any one of us as perfect. He sees all our flaws, but he loves us unconditionally.”

SALE3

FARM EQUIPMENT ONLINE AUCTION

Saturday, April 9th at 8:00am -

Thursday, April 13th at 10:00am

McEwen Acres LTD.

Ross & Eileen McEwen Francis, SK

Contact: 306-245-3299 or 306-537-6276

FROM FRANCIS 16 KM EAST ON GRID 708 & 1 KM NORTH

SALE5

FARM & LIVESTOCK EQUIPMENT ONLINE AUCTION

Saturday, April 15th at 8:00am -

Wednesday, April 19th at 10:00am

Brian & Mariette Arthur

Storthoaks, SK

Contact: 306-452-8838

SALE7

SALE2

1 mile west & 1 mile south of Carievale

SALE4

FARM EQUIPMENT ONLINE AUCTION

Wednesday, April 12th at 8:00am -

Sunday, April 16th at 10:00am Ron & Norma Luhning

Lumsden, SK

Contact: 306-731-2889 or 306-536-1520 FROM LUMSDEN 6 KM WEST ON HWY 11 AND 12 KM SOUTH

SALE6

FARM EQUIPMENT ONLINE AUCTION

Monday, April 17th at 8:00am -

Friday, April 21st at 10:00am Ross & Melody David (R&M David Farm LTD.) Ogema, SK

Contact: 306-459-7436 or 306-459-2738 FROM JUNCTION HWY #6 &

FARM EQUIPMENT ONLINE AUCTION

Thursday, April 20th at 8:00am - Monday, April 24th at 10:00am

Marilyn Zimmerman & The Estate of Stanley Zimmerman

Estevan, SK

Sandra Robertson and daughter Jennie pictured with a portrait of famous actor John Wayne. “He is my hero, and he was my dad’s hero,” said Sandra. “John Wayne says it like the way it is and gets the job done, every time!” Photo by Gord Paulley

By Fallyn Shier

The Carnduff & Area Beef 4-H Club held its monthly general meeting on Feb. 8 at the Carnduff Education Complex.

This was followed by our club public speeches. Each year our members write and complete a speech to help us learn public speaking skills. On Feb. 15, some of our members met after school in Carnduff to work on our record books. A record book is also a requirement to be completed each year by all club members.

The highlight for this past

The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA) has released the spring runoff forecast for the province.

It shows that near-normal runoff is projected for a sliver of an area in and around Estevan, along with a patch in the far southeast corner of the province. The area immediately east of Estevan is expected to have above-average runoff

Areas west of Estevan are expected to have below-normal runoff

The forecast was released prior to the blizzard that struck southeast Saskatchewan on March 10 and 11.

Both Rafferty Reservoir and Grant Devine Lake are below their Feb. 1 drawdown target elevations, the WSA said.

Based on current hydrological conditions within

month was our bus tour on Feb. 24.

We boarded the bus in Carnduff at 7 a.m. to begin our day. From there, we went to the Fort Qu’Appelle Fish Culture Station to learn about a fish hatchery in Saskatchewan.

We later carried onto the Saskatchewan Science Centre in Regina for some fun and an IMAX movie. It was a super fun day had by all.

To finish off February, we had seven of our Carnduff members attend the District 41 public speaking event that took place in Alameda. Two of our members, Jagger Allum and Fallyn Shier, placed in the top three for their age categories.

the basin and the volumetric runoff forecasts, the WSA said non-flood operations are in effect, as described in the 1989 Canada-U.S. Agreement on Flood Control and Water Supply in the Souris River Basin. As such, no additional drawdown of these reservoirs is required prior to the spring runoff

Due to a below-normal snowpack and dry conditions in the fall, most of the basin is expected to observe a belownormal runoff response in 2023, the WSA said. The area below the reservoirs is expected to see a near-normal snowmelt runoff response, due to an above-normal snowpack.

Based on current conditions, neither Rafferty Reservoir nor Grant Devine Lake are expected to fill in 2023. Boundary Dam Res-

ervoir is more likely to fill, the WSA said.

The current operation plan is to divert any excess water from Boundary Dam to Rafferty, the WSA said. It is anticipated that additional reservoir releases during the spring runoff period will be limited to what may be required to meet international apportionment obligations.

Any releases to satisfy

these international obligations will be made from Grant Devine Dam.

“Detailed forecasts for the Souris River Basin are developed on or near the first and 15th of each month, beginning in February, up until the snowmelt runoff event,” the WSA said. “These forecasts can be found on wsask.ca.”

As for the rest of Saskatchewan, in eastern and northern

areas of the province, precipitation recorded in the spring and early summer was above normal with some areas recording higher than the 90th percentile accumulations. However, late summer and the fall were drier than normal, resulting in slightly drier than normal soil moisture conditions at freezeup over these areas.

There were two significant early snowfall events late in

fall 2022, the WSA said. The first event impacted areas across the southwest and the east-central portions of the province. This heavy snowfall was followed by warmer temperatures, which melted much of the snowpack and improved soil moisture near the surface. In the southeast, there was significant snowfall that occurred through a couple of systems in December.

Seven Carnduff 4-H members competed at District 41 public speeches in Alameda. Back row, from left, Brynn Scott, Bryler Franken, Declynn Allum, Jagger Allum and Damion Seymour. Front row, Fallyn Shier and Mason Shier. Photo courtesy of Fallyn Shier

A12

Estevan U11 Bearcats win Sask. female title

The Estevan Bearcats 2 are the champions of the U11 A age group in the Saskatchewan Female Hockey League (SFHL).

The Bearcats 2 defeated Kindersley’s Western Prairie Klippers 3-1 Sunday in the league final in Weyburn. The win capped a tremendous season for the ‘Cats, who went 18-2 in the regular season and finished first in the East Division.

For the tournament, the top two teams in the East and West Divisions were slotted in the A pool for a round robin, and the third and fourth place teams were in the B event.

The Bearcats opened with a 5-3 win over the Weyburn Goldwings. Jorja Rutledge and Hunter Sands each scored twice and Abigail Jutras also scored.

Their next game was an 8-2 win over the Battlefords Sharks. Sands had three goals, Jutras scored twice, and Rutledge, Hunter Istace and Rowan Grimes also scored.

Their final round-robin game was a 3-2 defeat against the Klippers, who went 20-0 during the regular season. Rutledge and Everleigh Blanchette scored to give the ‘Cats a 2-1 lead,

but the Klippers stormed back with two goals late in the game.

In the league final, the Klippers continued their momentum early, taking a 1-0 lead 15 seconds into the game. “We had the girls prepped and ready to go, and the Klippers came out and scored 15 seconds into the game,” said Hammett. “It was extremely

nerve-wracking. The girls did a great job of controlling their emotions and shaking it off.”

The Bearcats 2 played great defensive hockey the rest of the way in front of goaltender Madelyn Stead, outshooting the Klippers 3012. Rutledge tied the game at one five minutes after the opening goal, Zyla Hammett

Lampman School wins provincial mixed curling title

Lampman School has another athletic accomplishment to celebrate.

Last fall, the school’s Grizzlies senior girls’ volleyball team won the silver medal at the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association’s 2A provincial championships.

And now there will be a championship banner coming after the Grizzlies

won the mixed provincial curling title in Hanley on the weekend.

The Grizzlies went 3-0 in the round robin. They defeated Meadow Lake 8-6, doubled up Moose Jaw Peacock 12-6 and trounced Tisdale 9-2 to finish first in their pool.

Lampman then defeated Maple Creek 9-4 in the semifinal and the

scored what turned out to be the game winner halfway through the first and Jutras added the insurance marker halfway through the second. Hammett called it the best all-round effort of the season. “We played so well defensively,” he said. “We didn’t give their top players any good looks at our net. We just played a really good de-

fensive game and won the battles. The girls just really wanted it. You could tell.”

The Bearcats 2 played with consistency and demonstrated a strong work ethic, he said. Stead was in goal for all of their games.

Seven of the 14 players on the Bearcats are eligible to return next season. Hammett believes this experience will help the players as they

continue to progress through female hockey in the region.

“Female hockey has come such a long way in Estevan, with the growth of our program. It’s just a testament to the commitment of the girls, winning this league championship. From where the girls started at the start of the year, to where we finished, there was so much improvement and commitment to hockey, it was just great to see. I definitely see some of our girls going on to bigger and better things.”

The Estevan Snechuk Bearcats 1 were in the B event. They lost 8-4 to the Weyburn Blizzard in the B final.

Their first game was a 4-1 win over the Swift Current Colts. Lexie Fonstad scored twice, and Olivia Walton and Peyton Saunders also had goals.

The next game was a 2-2 tie with the Milestone Flyers. Fonstad and Isla Roberts were the goal scorers.

The next game was a 5-3 win over the Colts. Brynley Rosengren finished with a hat trick, while Fonstad and Renesemee Thompson also scored.

In the B final, Roberts scored twice and Fonstad and Rosengren also scored.

host Hanley team 5-3 in the final.

Members of the team are skip Mathias Fornwald, third Sydney Willock, second Tye Farnsworth, lead Jamie Johnson and alternate Jayden Fleck. Johnson is in Grade 10 and the others are in Grade 11. Trevor and Dawn Willock are the coaches.

Estevan Sharks win three gold medals at Regina meet

The 2022-23 water polo season is one step closer to completion following the Community League Finals tournament in Regina.

Athletes from Saskatchewan’s four water polo clubs, including the Estevan Sharks, competed at the Lawson Aquatic Centre in Regina on March 4 and 5.

The March 4 competition was for the mini and atom age groups. Estevan sent two mini teams, both for athletes under the age of 10, and two atom teams for those under 13.

The older swimmers in the mini age group will move up to the atom age group next year. They competed against two other teams without the aid of a flotation belt and

gained valuable experience to go along with success in the pool. One mini team won a gold medal and the other won silver.

The atom level is split into the boys’ and girls’ divisions with four teams competing in each group. The atom boys were strong competitors and came home with the gold medal. The atom girls played hard and learned lots but missed out on medalling at this tournament.

The next day brought the older athletes to the pool. The under-15 bantam age group had athletes joining the Weyburn Hurricanes for both the boys’ and girls’ teams. There were four teams in each division. The bantam boys missed

out on a medal at this tournament, while the bantam girls came home with a gold medal after an exciting final.

Sunday evening was for the open age group. The Sharks had three female athletes and one male athlete joining with other teams for the tournament, and the athletes all came home with bronze medals.

“The Estevan Sharks water polo club is very proud of all the water polo athletes that have trained hard this year and competed in all the tournaments. Your hard work and excitement for the game has paid off. Congratulations and see you at the pool.”

The Sharks will compete at spring provincials in Saskatoon on March 25 and 26.

Team members are coach Trevor Willock, Jayden Fleck, Jamie Johnson, Tye Farnsworth, Sydney Willock and Mathias Fornwald.

Photo by Dawn Willock

Estevan Sharks Minis with their gold medals are, from left, coach Kristy Jones, Ayla Smelt, Rosalie Horrocks, Jaxson Ward, Jaxon Reinhardt, Eoin Jones, Eli Sclear and coach Alan Smelt. Photo courtesy of the Estevan Sharks

Members of the Estevan U11 A Bearcats 2 team that won the league title are players Abigail Jutras, Annabella Biggs, Avi Mack, Bentley Urquhart, Everleigh Blanchette, Harlow Ludwig, Harris Ng, Hunter Istace, Hunter Sands, Jorja Rutledge, Madelyn Stead, Paisley McIntyre, Rowan Grimes and Zyla Hammett, and coaches Kaila Jutras, Chris Hammett and Aaron Ludwig. Photo courtesy of Chris Hammett

Slide into Spring Spiel went against blizzard

The Slide into Spring Spiel at the Power Dodge Curling Centre attempted to sweep winter away despite the weather trying to bury the Power Dodge Curling Centre under snowbanks last weekend.

The fun curling event was slated for March 10-11, however, due to a blizzard that hit the southeast on the same days, the teams started playing Friday evening, but then postponed the rest of the activities until Sunday.

“We got curling Friday evening and had our Friday evening as scheduled. But unfortunately, due to the weather, we were not able to go Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening, like scheduled, but we postponed for a day and we went on Sunday,” said Estevan Curling Club manager Pauline Ziehl Grimsrud.

“We were fortunate that ev-

erybody was able to fit it in on their schedule.”

Eight teams participated in the curling part of the Slide into Spring Spiel, and even more people came to watch and joined curlers for a festive supper.

“We had a really nice crowd here all weekend,” Ziehl Grimsrud said.

The 11th annual Slide into Spring Spiel saw sixend games, a steak supper, a curl-opoly board and cross ice shoot out.

“It was really a lot of fun. We had lots of great curling, and we had lots of prizes. People were having a good time. We had our Monopoly board, it’s actually called

the curl-opoly board. So, we played that and everybody had a good time getting around with their markers and winning prizes there too,” Ziehl Grimsrud said Monday. “And then we were able to bring the barbecue in from Bert Baxter’s yesterday, and we had a barbecue steak supper. It was delicious.”

Slide into Spring is a very casual event. It’s the only bonspiel of its kind for the Estevan Curling Club every year, where the focus is on fun and friendship rather than the sports side of the game.

“It’s just about getting together, having fun and seeing different people from

the club that curl on different nights. And we had visitors [joining us], so it was a really nice weekend,” Ziehl Grimsrud said.

She also thanked everyone that supported their fun event and helped it happen.

“Thank you to the people who volunteered and donated and special thanks to Bert Baxter’s for their barbecue again this year, we very much enjoyed it,” Ziehl Grimsrud said.

“And thank you to the City of Estevan; they cleaned in front of our door [and around] here, so we were able to get in and able to have the event on Sunday. We appreciate that.”

The club still has two weeks of regular league curling left, and then the Estevan Oilfield Technical Society will host its 64th annual open bonspiel on March 24-25.

Estevan second at U11 AA year-end tournament

The Estevan Ironside Energy U11 AA Bruins wrapped up their season by hosting and finishing second at the South East Minor Hockey League’s (SEMHL) year-end tournament.

Six teams competed in the tournament, which was held at Affinity Place and the Power Dodge Arena from Friday to Sunday.

Estevan won two of the three games that they played.

The Bruins opened with a 7-6 victory over the Moosomin Ice Badgers Friday afternoon. Ethan Phillips’ goal late in the second period proved to be the winner. Neither team scored in the third.

Phillips had three goals and two assists for Estevan, while Penn Tytlandsvik had two goals and two helpers. Braxton Shier and Andin Barlow had the other goals.

Coach Rodney Phillips said they were pleased to have a game like that for their opener.

“We went up there last weekend and they beat us.

We knew it was going to be tough. Those are the kinds of games you want to be in, those one-goal games, because those are fun,” Rodney Phillips said. Estevan was supposed to play the Weyburn Wings in their next game, but Weyburn had to forfeit because the blizzard that hit southeast Saskatchewan kept the Wings in Weyburn. It was the only game that didn’t happen during the weekend due to the storm, as the other teams arrived in Estevan before the weather turned ugly. Weyburn was able to make it here for Sunday’s games. In the semifinal round, Estevan defeated the Melville Millionaires 4-3. Ethan Phillips had two goals and an assist, while Tytlsandsvik had three helpers. Barlow notched the winner. Estevan fell 9-4 to the Yorkton Terriers in the league final. Phillips had Estevan’s first two goals of the game. Nash Cameron and Tytlandsvik also scored.

Ty Blackburn was in goal for all three games.

Yorkton did not lose in league play or the playoffs this season.

Moosomin won the B final over Melville and Weyburn took the C final over the Northeast Wolfpack.

Rodney Phillips was pleased with how the team played at the tournament. Every game was close and they competed hard.

“Everybody was excited and stepped up an extra level. They knew that it was important and it was a team effort all weekend,” he said.

This was the first time that Estevan has hosted the year-end tournament for the SEMHL. He noted there was a similar competition in Weyburn last year.

Estevan was among the teams that was interested in hosting the tournament this year. When the other teams backed out, it meant the competition was coming here. The other teams were pleased with the ef-

Moosomin will play Redvers in Big Six final

The 2023 Big Six Hockey League final will be a battle of Highway 8 rivals.

The Moosomin Rangers defeated the Bienfait Coalers 7-2 last Wednesday night in Moosomin in the fifth and deciding game of their bestof-five semifinal series.

Moosomin will now play the Redvers Rockets in the final round. The Rockets defeated the Yellow Grass Wheat Kings in three straight games in their semifinal matchup.

Bienfait had won its previous four games when facing elimination in this year’s playoffs. The Coalers won two straight over the Carnduff Red Devils with their season on the line in the quarter-finals, and also beat Moosomin twice in mustwin games.

Game 1 will be played March 17 at 8 p.m. in Redvers. Game 2 will be two nights later in Moosomin at 7 p.m. Game 3 is March

24 in Redvers at 8 p.m. and Game 4, if necessary, would be March 26 in Moosomin at 7 p.m. A date for Game 5 has not been decided.

The Rockets were the topranked team in the regular season at 19-1. They have not lost in Big Six action since their first game of the regular season in November. The Rangers, meanwhile, had the third-best record at 16-4.

Each team has won one Big Six title. Redvers’ championship came in 2018. The Rockets have been a powerhouse in recent years though, including last season when they lost in the final to the Carnduff Red Devils.

Moosomin’s title came in 2004. The Rangers largely played in the Triangle League, and rejoined the Big Six for the 2021-22 season.

It was a tough weekend for Big Six teams in Hockey Saskatchewan provincial play. In the senior B provincial

final, the Carlyle Cougars lost 4-3 to the Wadena Wildcats Sunday night in Carlyle in Game 1 of the best-of-three series. The contest had to be pushed back a day due to the blizzard that struck southeast Saskatchewan on the weekend.

Game 2 is March 18 in Wadena and Game 3, if necessary, would be the following day, also in Wadena.

In the senior D provincial final, the Carnduff Red Devils lost 8-3 to the Kyle Elks Sunday in Carnduff in the first matchup in the best-ofthree series. That game also had to be pushed back a day due to the storm.

Game 2 is March 18 in Kyle and Game 3, if necessary, would be the following day in Kyle.

The Rockets were eliminated from the senior C south final Friday in a 3-1 loss to the Kenaston Blizzards. Redvers had lost Game

1 6-2 six days earlier.

The Estevan Ironside Energy Service finished second at the year-end tournament that they hosted this past weekend. Photo sourced from U11 AA Bruins’ Facebook page

forts of the host team and community.

“A lot of our parents put a lot of work into it, and it went very well,” said Phillips.

It’s a tournament that the U11 AAs would look to host again.

Phillips was pleased with

the calibre of hockey during the weekend. It’s a good league to be in and it was competitive.

Two players, Kolter Snell and Payton Molstad, will be eligible to return next year. Also back will be an affiliated player, Dane Johnson.

The rest of the team will move up to the U13 level. “We had a good season. We didn’t know what to expect, but we competed well, so finishing second in the league for the first time being in it in a few years was really good,” Phillips said.

Eight teams partook in a fun weekend curling event at the Power Dodge Curling Centre. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia

Wednesday, March 16, 1977

Students from Westview captured the elementary public school basketball championship held at Westview on March 9, 1977. They won out against Souris Valley, Hillside and Pleasantdale Schools in the double knock-out competition. Front row, from left, Teresa Stregger, Leanne Brandon

Early years education at Sacred Heart School/ École Sacré Coeur was the focus of an open house on March 7.

Teacher Megan Vanstone said they had over 70 kids come to check out the school. Some of them are current students, others are young people registered for next year. They also had parents come to check out what they have to offer.

When the school held the open house for the first time last year, Vanstone said it was only an hour in length. This year they expanded it to two hours, which Vanstone said made a big difference because the kids were able to explore everything the school has to offer.

“We invite all of our current families to come and see some of the different programming that we offer for our earlier students, and we also invite new registrants, just so that they can come in and get to know everybody,

meet some of the teachers, and meet some of the students that their kids will be in class with next year.”

But they also want to have as many people at the open house as possible, in case someone is undecided about where they want to send their kids.

“We really like to give them an opportunity to come and see how things work here and meet us and get to know us, and oftentimes we find that it makes them want to be part of our community later,” said Vanstone.

When the students enter the school for the open house, they are given a passport that has stations which highlight the different programs the school has to offer for early years kids. There are stations for literacy, movement, technology, the French language, sensory play and other activities that are part of programming in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programs.

“The kids go to each

station, they try some of the activities out, so at the STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] they work with robots, or they get to make straw rockets or they do some building activities,” said Vanstone.

In the library, the kids enjoy a literacy campout where they hop in a tent with a parent, read a story and do some different letter recognition activities. Sensory activities were in the pre-kindergarten room and focused on dinosaurs.

“There was slime, fossils and volcanoes,” said Vanstone. “There was a million things in there for kids to play with.”

Vanstone’s daughter is starting kindergarten this fall and attended the open house. She said it was tough getting the child out of the dinosaur area.

And since the school offers French immersion, they get to practise colours, letters and numbers. After each station, kids got

MAYOR’S MESSAGE:

As we move toward spring with the thaw and freezing cycles, please be aware of the treacherous conditions that this presents when walking outside.

GUARD/MATRON

The Estevan Police Service is seeking applications for a casual Guard/Matron position.

Guard/Matrons provide constant observation of persons held in custody at the Estevan Police Service Detention Center. Hours of work can vary and will include night shifts. Length of shifts vary from three to eight hours to a maximum of 40 hours per week. Successful applicants may also be called upon on short notice. Training will be provided.

Application packages can be picked up in person or downloaded from our website at www.estevanpolice.ca

Completed packages are to be forwarded to the attention of;

Murray Cowan

Deputy Chief of Police

Estevan Police Service

301-11th Avenue, Estevan, Saskatchewan

S4A 1C7 • 306-634-4767

Anyone interested in this position may also contact Fern THIESSEN fthiessen@estevanpolice.ca or call 306.634.1510 for further information

a sticker in their passports, and then they brought it back to the main entrance on their way home. They show where they went and talk about their personal highlights.

The dinosaur room was

a hit this year, she said, and the literacy campout is a favourite for the kids.

The open house was introduced last year because Sacred Heart didn’t have many people in the school due to COVID-19,

so they thought it would be a good opportunity to get everybody in the door and give them a chance to see how things work. After the success of last year, they expect it will be an annual occurrence.

PLEASE HELP KEEP OUR SIDEWALKS SAFE SO ALL CITIZENS CAN ENJOY A SAFE PASSAGE WHILE WALKING

Traffic Bylaw 2016-1963

Depositing Substances

53. (1) No person shall deposit any natural substances on any highway, public sidewalk, boulevard or ditch within the City of Estevan (3) The occupier of property in the City of Estevan shall remove any snow, ice or other obstruction from the public sidewalk adjacent to such property within twenty-four (24) hours of the time such snow, ice or other obstruction appears on such public sidewalk.

* In the event that this subsection is not complied with, the City may remove such snow, ice or other obstructions at the expense of such occupants or owner, and in the event of the non-payment of such expense, such expense may be charges against the property as a special assessment to be recovered in like manner as and with the taxes.

, Karen Gerrie, Lisa Ror, Dana John, Shelly Giesbrecht and coach Lenora Wolos. Back row, Dee-Dee Martin, Robin Prime, Linda Lylyk, Michelle Kennedy and Diane Hanson. The team mascot is Winnie Westview.

Sacred Heart educational assistant Jen Lozinsky interacts with Nico Mitchell at the Sacred Heart open house.

EMMA OLISCHEFSKI

“ The Light of Our Lives”

Who passed away March 16,2004.

The special years will not return, When we were all together, But with the love inside our hearts, You will walk with us forever.

Love Terry, Brian, and Gaylene

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Olivia Willa Hirsch

August 7, 2015 - March 15, 2021

We Miss You Olive “Every Year

Everything

I have ever learned in my lifetime leads back to this: the fires and the black river of loss whose other side is salvation, whose meaning none of us will ever know. To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go”

“In Blackwater Woods” by Mary Oliver

WE BUY DAMAGED GRAIN HEATED... LIGHT BUGS... TOUGH

MIXED GRAIN SPRING THRASHED

WHEAT... OATS PEAS... BARLEY CANOLA... FLAX

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AGPRO SEEDS LTD. BUYING HEATED, DAMAGED OFFGRADE CANOLA & FEED GRAINS. #1 buyer on the prairies,

4 QUARTERS of LAND FOR SALE by Owner R.M. #76

ONLINE AUCTION FOR THE SASKATCHEWAN MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE CROWN LAND SALE

OBITUARIES

Adaline Luella de Schneider 1923 - 2023

Adaline passed away in Estevan on January 9, 2023, after brief illness, weeks shy of her hundredth birthday.

Olivia Willa Hirsch

August 7, 2015March 15, 2021

Olive, You were bright, magnificent, fun, hilarious, brilliant,thoughtful, energetic, artistic, compassionate, dramatic, beautiful, fierce, stubborn, exciting and extraordinary. We love and miss you, Love, your family and Friends

COMING EVENTS

61st DRAGGINS CAR SHOWApril 7 and 8 at Prairieland Park, Saskatoon. Check out the “Battle of the Automotive Technicians”!. Draggins Rod & Custom Car Club. Visit our website; Draggins.com.

Looking for Vendors! Fort

Qu’Appelle Spring Trade Show, April 22nd and 23rd, 2023. Please contact Tammy at 306-728-5690 or accounts@grasslandsnews.ca for more information. Or you can download the brochure at www.forttradeshow.com

LAND FOR SALE

FARMLAND WANTED

I am currently PURCHASING single to large blocks of land.

NO FEES OR COMMISSIONS

Saskatchewan born and raised, I know land, farming and farmland and can help you every step of the way.

Doug Rue, for further information 306-716-2671

saskfarms@shaw.ca www.sellyourfarm land.com

NE 14-07-10 Consists of house, quanset, corrals, garage & bins Contact Ritchie Pilgrim 306-620-9831 or pilgrimritchie @gmail.com

FOR SALE BY TENDER WEST CENTRAL PELLETING LTD IS ACCEPTING BIDS FOR THE FOLLOWING:

1998 TEREX TB85 SELF PROPELLED MANLIFT Located at 100 Bruce Saunders Way, Wolseley, SK. Unit will be sold as is where is. Successful bidder will be responsible for all costs and arrangements for the removal from property. Highest or any accepted CLOSING DATE FOR BIDS IS: MARCH 31, 2023 Bids can be submitted to danwcp@sasktel. net For more info contact Dan at 306-918-7908

Advertisements and statements contained herein are the sole responsibility of the persons or entities that post the advertisement, and the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association and membership do not make any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness,truthfulness, or reliability of such advertisements. For greater information on advertising conditions, please consult the Association’s Blanket Advertising Conditions on our website at www.swna.com.

Find QUALIFIED, LOCAL EMPLOYEES, using the strength of community newspapers! Visit www.swna.com or call 306-6491405 to find out how!

MORE ROLHEISER BOOKS Ken Rolheiser releases SEVENTH book MORE LETTERS FROM THE LITTLE PENCIL OF A LOVING GOD. Amazon - paperback and kindle. See https://www.amazon.com/author/krolhie1005

PROVINCE-WIDE CLASSIFIEDS.

51 local community newspapers, distributing to over 450 communities, including 14 cities. Reach over 550,000 readers weekly. Call 306649-1405 or visit www.swna.com for details.

REQUIRED IMMEDIATELY:

Person to COOK & CLEAN for heavy construction camp this winter with possibility of year round. Winter location:

Must have valid driver’s licence and safe food and handling ticket.

Send resume and work references to:

Bryden Construction and Transport Co. Inc.

Fax: 306-769-8844

brydenconstruct@ xplornet.ca www.

brydenconstruction andtransport.ca

HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATORS: needed this winter for dozers, excavators, rock trucks: near Carrot River, Sk. Camp/R & B provided. Competitive wages. Valid drivers license req’d.

Send resume and work references to:

Bryden Construction and Transport Co. Inc. S0E 0A0; Fax: 306-769-8844

brydenconstruct@ www. brydenconstruction andtransport.ca

Trevor Oswald Lowe 1952-2023

Trevor Lowe, late of Torquay, SK passed away at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Estevan, SK on Sunday, March 5, 2023 at the age of 70 years after a very short battle with cancer. Originally from Briercrest, SK, Trevor married Narrie in 1975 and began farming around the Torquay area shortly after. Trevor was proud of the fact that he had owned a horse everyday of his life. Trevor loved horses, trucks and following his grandkids’ sports. In the year 2022, Trevor and Narrie visited every single province in Canada. From polar bears, to outlaw caves, to sour toe cocktails Trevor and Narrie enjoyed it all. Trevor had a sense of humour that was second to none and this was evident right up until his passing. Trevor will be missed dearly by his friends and family who were so lucky to have him in their lives.

Trevor was preceded in death by his parents, George and Gwen Lowe; sister Betty (Ray) Cooper; brother Ian Lowe and parents-in-law David and Teresa Halvorson.

Trevor is survived by his loving wife Narrie Lowe and their daughters, Kaley Lowe, Janel (Brett) Pearson and Stacey Lowe (Brent Welta). Fond memories will be cherished by grandchildren Bon Lowe, Magnus Pearson, Nole Pearson and Ellis Pearson. Trevor will be missed by his siblings, Judy (Larry) Miller, Georgina (Paul) Daniel and sister-in-law Lynn Lowe, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, May 5, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. at the

Canadian Legion, Estevan branch with a luncheon to follow. Interment will take place at the Torquay Cemetery following the service.

Adaline was the youngest of five children born to Paul and Ellen Jahn (Hoehne). She grew up on the family farm southeast of Estevan, attending school in Shand and Forest Glen and then high school in Estevan. She worked in Estevan and in Winnipeg before marrying Edward (Ned) de Schneider on July 1, 1946. They lived southeast of Estevan for 43 years, raising two children on their farm of grain crops, cattle, pigs and assorted poultry. Adaline was the quintessential farm wife. She grew a big garden and would can and freeze abundantly. She sewed clothes for herself and Deshan and her knitting kept us all in mitts and scarves. She believed in serving a full meal every day, all food groups covered. She also loved baking, so cookies were abundant and there was always dessert.

Ned and Adaline moved into Estevan in 1989. Adaline continued to enjoy cooking, baking, knitting and crocheting. And crossword puzzles and jigsaw puzzles were never far away. She gladly found time to serve as the social coordinator for their condo and help with delivery of Meals on Wheels.

Ned passed away in 1995 and Adaline later remarried an old school friend and long time neighbour, Mylan Chase. Adaline and Mylan enjoyed their 20 years together, until Mylan’s passing in 2018. After a fall and hip replacement, Adaline moved to Hill View Manor where she continued to enjoy life and the people around her. Family was the focus of Adaline’s life. She was surrounded by pictures of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was always interested in what everyone was doing and took great delight in phone calls.

Adaline is survived by her children, Brad (Chris) de Schneider and Deshan (Jerry) Kortello, grandchildren, Carla (Dave) and Craig (Andrea) and three great grandchildren, William, Elizabeth and Charlotte. Additionally, she leaves behind numerous nieces and nephews and their families, all of whom she appreciated and admired.

She was predeceased by her husband of 49 years, Ned de Schneider, her second husband Mylan Chase, her parents, Paul and Ellen Jahn, and her siblings, Rueben (Agnes) Jahn, Esther (Henry) Krueger, Allan Jahn, Clarence (Lorna) Jahn and Irene (Oksel) Tannas.

The family wishes to express their appreciation to the staff of Hill View Manor and to offer special thanks to Shirley Thera who was a dear friend to Adaline.

The Memorial Service for Adaline will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 in St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Estevan, with Rev. Adrian Kramer officiating. Please join the family for a time of lunch and fellowship immediately following the service. Interment will take place at Forest Glen Cemetery at 4:00 p.m.

Hall Funeral Services in Estevan is caring for the de Schneider family - Dustin Hall, Funeral Director.

Anna Styre 1936-2023

Anna Styre, late of Estevan, SK passed away at St. Joseph’s Hospital on Sunday, March 5, 2023 at the age of 86 years. Anna was predeceased by her parents, Albert and Margaret Schoff; husband Tony Styre; daughter Terry Styre; grandchildren, Michael, Verne, Tamara and Presley Styre; and sisters, Margaret (Hector) Schaff and Christine (Bruno) Wanner. She will be lovingly remembered by her daughter Glenda Styre and sons, Mervin (Debbie) Styre, Les (Vivyan) Styre and Darwin Styre. Grandma’s memory will be cherished by her grandchildren, Tammy Styre, Trevor Styre, Natasha Styre, Katrina Mantei, Trey, Alex, Ava, Austin and Nixon. Cremation has taken place and a family Graveside Service will be held at a later date.

Hall Funeral Services in Estevan is caring for the Styre familyDeb Heidinger, Funeral Director.

Beverley Faye Hagel

1943-2023

With broken hearts, the family wishes to announce that Beverley passed away at the Regina General Hospital on Monday, March 6, 2023 at the age of 79 years. Beverley was preceded in death by her parents, Raymond and Lena Thompson and sister Karen Thompson. Beverley is survived by her loving husband of 59 years, Allen and their children, Yansey (Brenda) Hagel and Eugene (Cheryl) Hagel. Grandma’s memory will be forever cherished by her grandchildren, Bradley Hagel, Nicole Hagel (Cory Fraser), Cole Hagel (Brieanna Leel) and Shelby Hagel Peckover (Jackson). She will be missed by her brother Marvin (Annette) and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Cremation has taken place and a private family service will take place at a later date.

Those wishing to pay tribute to Beverley via a donation in her memory may do so directly to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Saskatchewan, 1738 Quebec Ave., Saskatoon, SK S7K 1V9.

Hall Funeral Services in Estevan is caring for the Hagel familyDeb Heidinger, Funeral Director.

Clarence (CJ) Heinz 1935 - 2023

Clarence Heinz, late of Hitchcock, Sask. passed away peacefully with family by his side on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Estevan, Sask. Clarence is survived by his loving wife of 691/2 years, Sharon; seven children: Larry (Michelle), Lorna, Lee (Barbara), Linda (Dan), Leslie (Melody), Lindsay (Sandy) and Loran (Marianne); 17 grandchildren and 33 great grandchildren, and brother Larry (Margaret). He was predeceased by his parents: Michael & Pauline Heintz; brother Theodore; infant son Lloyd Michael; granddaughters: Katherine, Clara and Sharon; great granddaughter Ava, and great grandson Blaze. A celebration of Clarence’s life was held on Monday, March 13, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. at Hall Funeral Services, Estevan, with Rev. Sathiadas Antony presiding. A time of lunch and fellowship followed at the Hitchcock Community Hall. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Clarence may be made to the St. Joseph’s Health Care Auxiliary, 1176 Nicholson Road, Estevan, SK, S4A 0H3. Hall Funeral Services in Estevan provided care to the Heinz family - Dustin Hall, Funeral Director.

Village of Roche Percee Grass Cutting 2023 Season

Tenders are invited for the Village of Roche Percee grass mowing to be carried out during the 2023 season from April 2023 – October 2023 to Council specifications within the urban limits of The Village of Roche Percee.

Specifications are available on request from the Village Administrator. Contractors must carry a minimum of five (5) million

Liability Insurance and work within required Health and Safety Regulations. Confirmation of relevant insurance and Workers

Compensation Letter of Good Standing should be included with any tender submitted to Council.

Quotations should be sent to The Village Office at the below address in a sealed envelope to be received no later than April 1, 2023. Village of Roche Percee

Drewtiz dancers receive ballet exam results

Students from the Drewitz School of Dance, under the direction of Lorie-Gay Drewitz-Gallaway and assistant teacher Hunter Hildebrand, were evaluated in ballet badges and enrichment tests through the Canadian Dance Teachers’ Association.

The exams use a professional dance syllabus taught by certified teachers across Canada. Children are examined in presentation, musicality and strong technical criteria. Exams took place Jan. 17 with Melissa Wallace from Swift Current evaluating the students.

The results, which were received recently, are as follows:

From left, Claire Kwochka, Jocoas Montecillo, examiner Melissa Wallace (appearing via Zoom), Rylee Gallaway and Madelyn Grobbink

Photo courtesy of the Drewitz School of Dance

Ballet badges and enrichments: Preliminary ballet badge: Successful: Eve Beatty,

NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT TOWN OF MIDALE

Notice is hereby given that the assessment roll for the Town of Midale for the

from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, March 17, 2023 to April 17, 2023.

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

Any person who wishes to appeal against his or her assessment is required to Secretary of the Board of Revision, Western Municipal Consulting Ltd. Box 149 Meota, SK S0M 1X0; and a copy of the notice of appeal, accompanied by a $25.00 fee, must also be sent to:

Assessor, Town of Midale Box 128 Midale, Saskatchewan S0C 1S0

Dated this 17th day of March, 2023

Dena Scott Assessor

Briar Curzo n-Gough, Scarlett Dow, Rylee Gallaway, Madelyn Grobbink, Claire Kwochka, Chloe McGillicky, Sarah Mellon, Jocoas Montecillo, Heavenly Navarro, Sophie Neufeld and Haylee Schaff

Grade 3 ballet enrichment: Highly commended: Sydney Lainton and Payton Sernick. Commended: Brooke Dzeryk, Cana Marsh, Marin Burnett and Tegan Mosley.

Notice of Call for Nominations Municipal Elections

PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that nominations of candidates for the office of:

Councillor: Rural Municipality of Coalfields No. 4 – Division 4 will be received by the undersigned during regular business hours from March 15th to April 25th, 2023, and on Nomination Day, the 26th day of April, 2023, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at The Rural Municipality of Coalfields No. 4 Office, 423 Main Street, Bienfait.

Please note, a criminal record check and public disclosure statement must be submitted with nomination forms. Nomination forms may be obtained at the following location: The Rural Municipality of Coalfields No. 4 Office 423 Main Street Bienfait, Saskatchewan

Dated this 15th day of March, 2023.

Returning Officer

By David Willberg

The Estevan Bruins will begin the 2022-23 SJHL postseason the same way they finished last season’s playoffs: by playing the Flin Flon Bombers.

Fans of the Black and Gold are hoping this series will finish the same way the last one did: with a Bruins’ victory.

The Bruins defeated the Bombers in seven games in the 2022 SJHL final to win their first championship since 1999. Estevan was the top-ranked team in last year’s playoffs, while the Bombers were the fifth seed. This time Flin Flon is the third-ranked team, while the Bruins are seeded sixth.

The series begins with games March 17 and 18 in Flin Flon, Man. Games 3 and 4 would be March 21 and 22, respectively, in Estevan. Game 5, if necessary, would be March 24 in Flin Flon, followed by Game 6 two nights later in Estevan and Game 7 March 28 in Flin Flon.

“I think there are people around the league who are pretty excited about it. For us, come playoff time, you play who you have to play, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” said Bruins’ head coach and general manager Jason Tatarnic.

The Bruins were focused on their own spot in the standings late in the season. They didn’t wrap up the Viterra Division title until last Wednesday, and know they would be the sixth seed until Friday night.

Tatarnic said there are enough players from last year’s series on both sides

who remember how intense the seven-game battle was, and how tough it was to win in the other opponent’s rink. The home team won all seven games in that showdown.

“Players who participated in that final have some memories of that series. For us, we have to focus on us and what it’s going to take to be successful. We’re different teams than we were last year. They have some things that they do very well, in their rink and on the road, so there’s some things that we have to pay attention to,” said Tatarnic. It will help that they had a couple games in Flin Flon in late January as opposed to October.

“I think for teams that can black out the noise or all the stuff outside of the ice surface, it will be beneficial for them. Who knows what kinds of crowds we’re going to get in both rinks. I think we’ve established a pretty good rivalry. We created a rival from last year and I think it’s carried over to this year. The games will be intense and they will be games that will be competitive,” said Tatarnic.

And it will help to have players who were part of last year’s championship team. Goaltender Cam Hrdlicka, defenceman Aleksa Babic, and forwards Kade Runke, Cody Davis, Mitch Kohner and Keagon Little were on the Bruins’ roster. Goaltender Jackson Miller was an affiliate player for the 2022 postseason.

“I say it all the time: ‘You don’t know what it takes to win until you win.’ Our guys know that feeling, they know what they sacrificed.

Flin Flon took it to Game 7 and they were really close. They know what it takes to get that far. Those players have that experience on their roster.”

Tatarnic hopes to see great crowds in Estevan for Games 3 and 4.

“I know our fans played a big part in our run last year, so our guys really benefit from it, and it does play a part in how our team does perform.”

The Bombers won three of the four matchups with the Bruins this season. Estevan took the first meeting 8-6 in Estevan in October. The Bombers won the next two, 5-1 and 3-1, in Flin Flon in January. Then the Bombers won 7-6 in overtime in Estevan in February – a game the Bombers led 5-2 at one point. As for player health, Ta-

tarnic didn’t rule out anyone from playing in Game 1. That being said, there are a few players who are day to day.

•••

The Bruins dropped a 5-4 decision to the Melville Millionaires last Wednesday at Affinity Place.

Tucker Buhay, who spent his last two seasons of U18 hockey playing with the Estevan Steelhaus AAA Bears, had a hat trick for Melville, including two in the first period as Melville led 4-0 after 20 minutes. Isaac Suppin also scored twice.

“We have to figure out how to start on time here pretty quick,” said Tatarnic. “If we don’t start on time in Flin Flon, it will be pretty tough to come back against that team.”

Runkie scored early in the second for the Bruins,

but Buhay picked up his third of the night 30 seconds later. Little scored a short-handed goal 1:41 after Buhay’s hat trick marker, and Tim Tychonick pulled Estevan to within two before the period was out.

Ilia Chmelevski scored late in the third for Estevan to finish the scoring. Most of the final frame was spent in the Mills’ end, but Estevan only scored once.

Hrdlicka allowed Melville’s first three goals along with their fifth goal. He finished with 15 saves on the night. Miller stopped nine of the 10 shots he faced in the first period.

Buhay’s performance came on a night in which his former Bears’ teammate, Carter Onrait of Estevan, was making his SJHL debut for the Bruins. Onrait, 17, has spent the past two seasons with the Bears and has one more year of eligibility remaining at the AAA level.

“Carter did all right,” said Tatarnic. “He’s a guy who’s in our plans at some point, unless he makes the Western Hockey League.” The Bruins clinched the division title that night despite the loss, as Weyburn lost at the Humboldt Broncos.

Estevan was supposed to be wrapping up the regular season Saturday night with a game at the Weyburn Red Wings, but that contest was postponed until Monday night due to the blizzard that hit southeast Saskatchewan.

(Results of the game were not available at press time; a recap of the game can be found at www.sasktoday. ca).

The Estevan Bruins will face the Flin Flon Bombers for the second straight season. Last year the Bruins beat the Bombers in the SJHL final. File photo

GO BRUINS GO!

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