May 9, 2012
WEDNESDAY
Mother Daughter Look-a-Like Contest
ECS Students Go Hungry for a Good Cause
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Free Spirit Unveiled
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About 80 Roche Percee residents packed into Al Turnbull’s auto body shop last Thursday to hear the redevelopment proposal for the village. They also learned that they have until May 15 to make a decision on whether or not they will accept the deal put forward on May 3. Thursday’s proposal to the residents was a lot swap, where they would receive new land out of the flood plain, for their old property in the flood plain. Reid Lillico, chief administrative officer of Commonwealth Group, which was hired by the village in late 2011, said the plan would be completely covered by the province. “(It’s) a direct swap. All the costs to develop the 38 lots, including water, sewer and road, sidewalks, etc., the whole development, would be covered by government,” he said. Commonwealth consults in structuring publicprivate partnerships, in or-
Friday
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Careers .......B20-23 Church Dir........ B17 Classifieds ..B14-19 Obituaries ....... B16 Perspective........ A6
Energy ........B14-15 Services Dir. B18-19 Sports .......... B1 - 5 Community ..... B11
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Mailing No. 10769
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Lyndon Stachoski, representing the Village of Roche Percee, opened the meeting with village residents last Thursday to look at the redevelopment proposal for the area. der to support infrastructure renewal, high quality public services and the efficient use of public assets. After recently meeting with the
province, they were asked to come back to the community to see if a proposal could be organized that would deal with the ma-
jority of Roche Percee’s issues. The proposal needs approval from the village before it can go back to the province. Lillico told those in attendance the decision they must make is more about the future of the village than it is about an individual property. “You, as a community, are going to have to make some decisions, and you’re going to have to stand up to the plate,” said Lillico. “If you want Roche Percee to survive … this is the only way it’s going to survive.” In some respect time is running out, as Deputy Mayor Sharon Wells noted interest in Roche Percee is growing thin in Regina. The May 15 deadline, just 11 days following the meeting, allows for little flexibility. “There’s not a whole lot of wiggle room for the simple reason that Commonwealth is meeting with the ministers (in late May),” said Wells. “They’re not
meeting with bureaucrats. The bureaucrats have basically said, ‘We’re running out of patience for Roche Percee.’ They’re meeting directly with the ministers, and the ministers are saying, ‘You know, we’ve got to get something done, and get it done now.’ They do have a timeline within their own system that you either take the deal or you don’t get it.” If the proposal was approved on May 15, Lillico suggested development on the new land would begin no later than July 1. The village council said a lottery would be an appropriate way to go about doling out individual land parcels. All lots will be the same size, regardless of how much land was previously owned. The village is in the process of purchasing 10 acres of land from M&S Coal at the south side of the village and has taken an option on another 40 acres. ⇢ A2
Fight on to keep Holly in action
Johner Family Expands Musical Horizons
Thursday
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Decision on Roche Percee’s future coming by May 15
by Chad Saxon of The Mercury
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www.estevanmercury.ca Issue 1
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WEATHER & INDEX
Weyburn Duo Wins Walleye Classic
Some old-fashioned ,grassroots political action is afoot to try and get the dog service restored at the North Portal Border Crossing. In the most recent federal budget, it was announced that the Canada Border Services Agency must cut its budget by $143 million over the next three years. Shortly after the announcement, it was learned that over 1,100 CBSA employees had been given their layoff notice. Among the lesser known measures taken by the CBSA was the elimination of the detector dog service at the North Portal Crossing which was comprised of Holly and her handler Tobin Tisdale. Up until the service was discontinued, Holly was the CBSA’s only detector dog in Saskatchewan and had been used not only at the
local crossing but also at the Regina and Saskatoon international airports and other border crossings in the province. Concerned about the elimination of the service and its potential impact on the community, a group of local residents began placing posters around the area highlighting the cuts and asking people to contact Souris-Moose Mountain MP Ed Komarnicki. Pat Dzuba, who spearheaded the poster campaign with her husband Sam, said they were spurred to action after learning the service would be eliminated. “We absolutely need a drug dog, we have to have a drug dog,” Dzuba said. “We have just been trying to help. We don’t need any more drugs in Saskatchewan, or anywhere.” To get word of the cuts out, Dzuba began distributing posters and said the community has been very supportive of the effort to
The fight is on to get the detector dog service at the North Portal Border Crossing restored. The service, which was comprised of Holly and handler Tobin Tisdale, was part of the Canadian Border Services Agency cuts following the recent federal budget. get Holly reinstated. “I took them to the schools and to the hospital and everybody was great
there. I put them on all of the bulletin boards. Somebody told me the other day they saw one in the Regina
General Hospital.” Another group alarmed about the cuts is the union that represents the over 7,000 CBSA employees, the Canadian Immigration Union. Saskatchewan president Brea Lewis said not having Holly’s services deprives the CBSA of an important tool against wrongdoers at border crossings in the province. “Our closest dog for front line detection dogs is Emerson, Manitoba and Coots in Alberta,” Lewis said. Ron Moran, the CIU’s national vice-president for the Prairies, said when the cuts were announced, they were told that front-line staff would not be affected. However, they have since come to learn that in Saskatchewan not only has Holly been cut, five intelligence officers, including one who was stationed in Estevan are on the chopping block. ⇢ A2
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