After Dark Series Returns To Gallery Stage ⇢A12 Bruins Blast Bombers
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Wed., Feb. 5, 2014
www.estevanmercury.ca
Mailing No. 10769
Zajac to run for Conservative nomination
A DISTINGUISHED CAREER
A familiar face on the Estevan sports scene has announced his plans to seek the Conservative party nomination for the Souris-Moose Constituency. Phil Zajac spoke with the Mercury Monday to publicly announce his plans to succeed Ed Komarnicki, the veteran MP who announced in 2013 that he would not seek another term in office when an election is called in 2015. Zajac said he has long held an interest in politics and feels that he’s at the right time in his life to give it a try with his daughter ready to graduate high school. “It’s a good way to give back to the community,” he said. “I’ve lived in lots of places and this has been a great community for me and my family.” Although he’s new to running for office, Zajac said his educational background — he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Beloit College in Beloit, Wis. — included classes that touched on topics such as international relations, policy development and western political thought. Zajac added that he also has a long track record of community service. He has been heavily involved in local football and has been the head coach of the bantam Steelers program for the past two seasons. He has also coached girls’ softball and recently took over as chairman of the board for the Estevan Public Library. Zajac has also served on various volunteer committees and feels a move into politics is a natural progression for him. “I think this is a good way for me to be an advocate for this community,” he said. “I think I have a diplomatic personality, but I am also strong enough to stand some ground for what southeast Saskatchewan needs.” Among those needs that Zajac speaks of is the twinning of Highways 39 and 6 from North Portal to Regina. He feels that twinning is not just a responsibility of the province and that the federal government should also be involved, if and when twinning takes place. “I think the trucks that are tearing up that road are international and interprovincial. That would be one thing that would be a priority for me, advocating the federal government to provide funds to twin 39,” he said. “There is no reason for people to be dying on that road, and I think there would actually be more business coming through because the roads would be more practical to use.” Zajac said he is also keeping track of the local housing situation, noting that
Capt. Robert Rooks (left) accepts the Lt.-Gov. Military Service Medal from Lt.-Col. Lyle Johnson at the recent Robert Burns dinner. By Norm Park Of The Mercury It’s called a Departure with Dignity and certainly beats “being drummed out of the service,” said Capt.
Robert Rooks, who was enjoying his last few hours as an army reservist. Rooks was slated for official retirement from military service, having reached the mandatory retirement age
of 65, the same day as the PPCLI Estevan Elks Army Cadets were celebrating Robert Burns’ birthday, which just happens to be the same day of the month, (Jan. 25) → A3
St. Joe’s naming rights up for bids How would you like to have a section of the local primary health care facility in Estevan named after your company, family or organization? Well, the opportunity has surfaced that will allow you to do just that. The St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation revealed this past week that they are now in the position of selling the naming rights to different sections of the hospital. Those meeting the bid requirements will have the right to name the sector for a period of 10 years and then have the first refusal rights for a repurchase of the name and site. The foundation’s executive director, Becky Conly, said the needs are two-fold. The first major financial commitment looming on the near horizon will be the need to refurbish certain areas of the facility that is now 20 years old. “It is in need of some major repairs, upgrades and renovations. The foundation would like to be able to fund those improvements and continue to support the capital equipment wish list;
however, the foundation was in need to find a way to fund these initiatives and to also pay off the remainder of the mortgage on the adjoining Foundation Clinic,” she said. The elimination of the clinic’s current $2.3 million mortgage is the second major reason for the naming rights move. “This is a 10-year, $2.3 million project that we will focus on continually. If this initiative is successful, it will ensure stability and sustainability to the foundation regardless of the economy,” said Conly. The clinic currently has rent-paying tenants, which allows the foundation to pay down the mortgage at a slower pace, but since the foundation’s main purpose is to provide capital equipment needs for the hospital, there is a desire among the board of directors to accelerate the payments that will allow them to eliminate the $2.3 million bill and focus on future needs. Conly said the initiative had been in the works for several months, and
it has now been given the nod of approval by the hospital’s board of directors as well as the foundation’s board members. Hospital board chairman John Billesberger said, “We are happy to unveil this initiative and look forward to seeing the support from the community come in as it always has,” he said. A sample of the naming rights values of various areas or workspaces within the hospital includes a $5,000 price tag to name a primary care hospital room or $300,000 to get the rights to name the clinic itself. Other areas and their suggested naming rights values include: the Atrium $100,000; medical unit $65,000; diagnosis centre $500,000; surgery $60,000; emergency ward $100,000, maternity $65,000 and long-term care courtyard $55,000. A complete list of the hospital sites and evaluations, as well as details regarding the project may be obtained by contacting Conly at the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation at 306637-2474.
Phil Zajac while Estevan is the epicentre of the issue, it is beginning to spill out into surrounding communities. He added that he is also concerned about crime and feels that a strong RCMP and Estevan Police Service is the best way to battle the issues. Along with his volunteer work in the community in which he worked heavily with local youth, Zajac feels his business background — which exposed him to both the oilfield and agriculture sectors — will be a benefit to him moving forward. “I think I have a good reputation with farmers and oilfield guys, and when I put my team together I will have a very broad mix of people … it’s not just a collection of one section of life. With everybody’s perspective, when you put them in a group you can get a good picture of how things are.” Although the process to replace Komarnicki has not officially begun, Zajac has already begun building his team and making his plans to seek the nomination, which, based on the recent success of the Conservative Party in the region, will likely be a tougher task than the actual election. “I think the whole campaign will be a learning experience because nobody is a real veteran,” said Zajac who added he will soon be launching his website at the address TEAMPHIL2015.com. “There will be lots of mistakes and corrections along the way, but I think that is why picking your team is very important so that you do have a solid plan in place to touch as many people as you can.” Thus far, Estevan chiropractor Dr. Robert Kitchen is the only other candidate to announce plans to seek the nomination.
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