November 13, 2013
WEDNESDAY
Remembrance Day Service held At ECS
www.estevanmercury.ca Issue 28
New Curator At EAGM
⇢ A3
⇢ A13
Minor ball volunteer Lindsay Clark, right, speaks to members of the selection committee about the baseball diamonds at Cactus Park, while viewing the facility from above on First Street.
Students Head To Work
⇢ A9
They gave it their best shot. Now it’s out of their hands. Thursday was the final opportunity for Estevan’s bid committee for the 2016 Saskatchewan Games to make their case, and they crammed in every last detail. In a site visit that lasted more than six hours, the selection committee saw nine proposed venues, including the athletes village, media centre and site of the opening and closing ceremonies. They also found time for lunch. “It went better than I anticipated, by far,” said Estevan co-chair Brian Senchuk. “I was very happy with all our board members and how they approached it professionally and just said the right things and spoke from the heart. It was really nice to see. The weather was perfect.” Although the tour was supposed to be over by 3 p.m., the selection committee asked to see the archery grounds and the canoe/kayak venue at Boundary Dam, which meant it didn’t wrap up until about 4:30 p.m. “We were confident in our bid, and they gave us even more confidence in how good we did,” Senchuk said. The day began with a lengthy tour of the Estevan Comprehensive School, the proposed site of the athletes village as well as the track, tennis,
Bruins Fall To Weyburn
⇢ B2
Thursday
Friday
High -1º Low -4º
High 4º Low -6º
High 2º Low -3º
High -8º Low -8º
Careers .......B14-15 Church Dir........ B11 Classifieds ....B8-10 Obituaries ....... B10 Perspective........ A6
Business .......... A14 Energy ........A12-13 Services Dir. ...B12-13 Sports .......... B1 - 5 Community ......B6t
Saturday
Sunday
Mailing No. 10769
Scan with your smartphone to visit The Mercury’s mobile website
WEATHER & INDEX
Site visit “better than anticipated”
basketball and volleyball venues, and Senchuk said the time was well spent. “They were very, very impressed with our school and our students. That was a very big impression. As far as our athletes village is concerned, it’s an A-1 facility for that. “With the exception of being late for dinner, everything was very good. I even learned a lot about our facilities myself. Every place we went to was a highlight. It was awesome.” The selection committee had visited Melfort on Tuesday and Humboldt on Wednesday, and wrapped up their evaluations in Swift Current on Friday. The people behind Estevan’s bid can only wait for the next week or two to see whether they get the Games. And while the competition is stiff, Senchuk said he’s proud of the job the committee did in staking their claim. “Obviously, they have four very good applications, and they’re all deserving. Their decision isn’t going to be an easy one. “We did the best we could. I don’t think we have any questions about what we put together. I think we’re very happy with what we did, and we did everything possible to make Estevan the site of the 2016 Summer Games. We’re very satisfied.”
Istace stepping down from city council City council will have a vacancy in the near future. In an interview Tuesday, Councillor Chris Istace told The Mercury that he and his family will be moving to the Vancouver Island community of Chemainus later this year. Istace said the decision to step down from council, which he will do at the end of 2013, was a difficult one. “I absolutely enjoyed (being on council) but we all have to look out for ourselves and our families,” he said. “I feel a little disappointed in not being able to complete the mission I was on to better the community, but at the same time I think I had the impact I wanted and saw a few things come to fruition that I wanted to do.” Currently in his second term on council, Istace was first elected in 2009. He re-
ceived the most votes among the six successful candidates in that election and was again given a strong mandate in October 2012 when he received 2,061 votes — second among the incumbent councillors and third overall. Istace has been among the vocal members of council and was a strong proponent of the City’s new recycling program. He has also been an advocate for leisure activities and has pushed for more pathways and green spaces in Estevan. Istace said he was proud to bring a different perspective to council during his two terms. “At the time when I first came on, I brought a younger perspective on how we approach our outdoor spaces, green spaces, facilities. The point of view of what people might want to see (for young
Chris Istace families). “Recycling, pushing that non-stop and not changing my view on how to accomplish it. I was really happy to see that part of it. From a business owner and economic side of things, just to see the City constantly work to a point where we are open and willing to work with business and developers and make it a place where it is easy to do business and replace any previous stigma or preconceived notions.”
Along with his work on council and involvement in the business community, Istace was also an active member of the Estevan Rotary and served as president of the Trackside Motocross Park. Once he officially steps down, the City will be forced to hold a by-election as the next civic election is not scheduled until 2016. Under provincial bylaws, the only way a community can avoid a by-election is if a seat becomes vacant in the same year that the election takes place. Istace said that although the City currently has some challenges ahead of it, most notably a significant amount of debt, he feels things are moving in the right direction. “It’s always a critical time, there is always something going on. But the other
members of council that are here and I am extremely impressed and actually taken aback by the great job that (Mayor Roy Ludwig) has done. “We have done a lot of work over the last while to get the right management in place. From a fiscal standpoint, (treasurer) Jeff Ward is a blessing and is providing council with the answers we needed, and he is giving the public the openness and the transparency they want. Everything is out there and we are all educated now together. Next year is going to be tough and money-wise I don’t think we are going to be able to do a whole lot. It’s a tough road ahead, but there is a strong, confident council that knows that road is there and is excited to take on that challenge. There is a great team there.”
Ford Sales Ltd. 118 Souris Ave. N., Estevan 306-634-3696 Parts: 306-634-5653 E-mail: sales@senchuk.com www.senchuk.com
CALL FOR ALL THE DETAILS!