Weekend lunch program prepares for Project Shine with volunteer opportunities

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Joan Ritchie

Joyce Walter Ron Walter John Kreutzwieser

Gordon Edgar Randy Palmer Jason G. Antonio Aaron Walker our evening dining. We had to take a separate elevator up and before we even got on we were scanned for weapons, probably a good thing considering the location. The restaurant was lovely but I must admit the view of the high-rise across the street wasn’t exactly the scenery I was expecting.

A business trip recently took us to the ‘windy-city’ of Chicago. It was an interesting few days but I must admit that my love of the prairies here in Saskatchewan outshines the city of Chicago more than a visit to the “Michigan Golden Mile”.

Don’t get me wrong, I love mini-getaways, even if it’s work-related and this was no exthe experience.

Chicago is a huge city and from the onset landing at O’Hara International Airport, it became apparent that walking was the order of the day. We walked more than a half-an-hour from the landing terminal to the luggage claim area.

We then heralded a cab to get us to the hotel suite close to the convention centre where we were going to spend the next few days. That took about an hour-and-athe exorbitant cost for the cab in American dollars to get us to where we needed to go.

Our accommodation was great, but because it was downtown close to the convention centre, the area was sort of sketchy and walking after dark wasn’t recommended.

Chicago is located on Lake Michigan and the lake itself from one side across to the opposite shore is 59 miles. It’s a huge deal!

Another positive about the hotel is that it is linked to the convention centre by a skywalk and that was very well received the following day when we woke up to rain.

Two days of continuous walking was apparently good for us, with a sit-down rest now and then.

We did have a little over a day to enjoy the sights and sounds of the city, but we couldn’t get anywhere notable without using expensive transportation. Uber was our choice and we both were very impressed with the vehicles, their cleanliness, and the friendliness of the drivers. I would recommend it to anyone. The good thing about using Uber is that you can track the vehicle upon booking, know exactly how far it is from your location of pick-up and then be able to track your trip in progress to the destination.

We walked about half of the Michigan Golden Mile, visiting shops and street-side stops for a break. We went to Neiman Marcus but you needed to have a bag full of money to shop there. A jean-top with a little bit of jeweling on the shoulders was a mere $1320 and a golf shirt was $800 American, a little outside our shopping budget. Macy’s was well-worth the trip with all kinds of price points, although

The 7-storey water tower shopping mall was another extravagant experience.

We took an interesting architectural boat tour up the river late one afternoon that was well-received because we could just relax and enjoy, followed by dinner on the Navy Pier.

Next day was homeward bound and now I can say, ‘Been there; done that!’

Send your letters to the editor to: jritchie@moosejawtoday.com or 888-241-5291

All ads in the Moose to refuse, classify, revise or censor any ads for any reason in its sole discretion. This paper may include inaccuracies or

Gordon Edgar - Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

The team co-ordinating the weekend lunch program for the needy, operated out of St. Aidan Anglican Church on 1st Avenue NE, are preparing to help out with Project Shine when it launches Aug. 1, and to receive help in turn from employees at Moose Jaw Co-op and SaskWater.

“We’re partnering with the Co-op [Food Store] and SaskWater to serve our community lunches on the weekend,” explained Nathan McLean, who helps co-ordinate volunteers for the weekend lunch program. “As part of that, we’re fundraising through a till campaign, and on August 12 the volunteers from our lunch program will come and bag groceries for people and hopefully make some nice connections there and maybe tell people a bit more about what we’re doing and how we serve the community.

A volunteer prepares chili for serving at the weekend lunch program, operated from St. Aidan (courtesy Nathan McLean) funding to continue.

In return for the help at the Food Store on August 12, employees from the Co-op and SaskWater will join volunteers at St. Aidan on August 19 to help prepare and serve lunches.

“That will be the reversal, on August 19, where they’ll come to see what we do,” McLean said. “They’ll participate in preparing lunches that day and handing them out to our community members. So, that will be good for them to get some exposure and get to know the guests we serve.”

PiT Count involvement

“And that will kind of launch our campaign.”

The weekend lunch program, begun during COVID, has become a vital part of the community for people struggling with food insecurity — a number that continues to rise, according to the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank.

Volunteers co-ordinated by St. Aidan serve lunches from the church’s steps on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 10:30 a.m. during the summer. The lunches are free for anyone who needs them. Usually it’s sandwiches, but sometimes there are smokies or bowls of chili as well.

On August 1, the Moose Jaw Co-op and SaskWater will launch what they have called Project Shine. For the whole of August, Co-op Food Store customers will be able to donate to the lunch program at the checkout till. In partnership with SaskWater, the Co-op will match donations up to $5,000, giving the program much-need

Unrelated to Project Shine, but occurring in the same time-frame, St. Aidan will serve as a base for the August 26 Point-in-Time Count being organized by Square One Community, Inc. The count will yield invaluable statistics about the number of people in Moose Jaw who lack reliable, safe housing. It will include questions about housing insecurity, whether participants also take care of pets while homeless, whether they’re working, demographic information, and more.

Because of the importance of the weekend lunch program and the generosity and commitment of its volunteers, McLean elaborated, a table will be set up for the PiT Count during the day’s lunch distribution.

The weekend lunch program doesn’t just help people experiencing homelessness. Seniors, low-income families with children, people with disabilities, and others are feeling the strain of trying to feed themselves.

Volunteers for the program do not need to be members of the St. Aidan congregation. To help with volunteering, text or call Nathan McLean at 306-531-2241.

Good Scoop ice cream shop continues fundraising for Transition House

Jason G. Antonio - Moose Jaw Express

A group of all-female entrepreneurs comprised of elementary and high school students has started an ice cream business as part of a project to support the Moose Jaw Transition House.

few young women had the idea to start a youth leadership collective (YLC), with the goal — among other things — of gaining business experience.

“We’re just really interested in seeing the power of what we can do kind of by ourselves and what we can create and the people we can help … ,” said group co-founder Jakson McAuley.

McAuley and other founders sent notices to high schools announcing the YLC project and encouraging other young women to join. Some joined because they knew each other through sports, while others were recruited after submitting resumés.

The initiative grew to 10 young women from Vanier, Peacock, Central and King George Elementary. Most girls are in Grade 11, while one is in Grade 12 and one is in Grade 8.

The group includes Rose Miko, Ireland Guillaume, Madison Marktanner, Kate Hansen, Joyce Xu, Josie Rogers, McAuley, Callista McQueen, Mitike Cridland and Mattaya Coupland.

They then brainstormed projects they could pursue, eventually landing on an ice cream business.

“It kind of just popped into Jakson’s head. She kind of just thought of it and was like, ‘Let’s open an ice cream store,’ and we kind of just all made it happen,” recalled Hansen.

There didn’t seem to be many ice cream shops downtown, while a conversation with now-graduated students inspired the all-female YLC team to start with a sweet treat business, said McAuley, noting it’s also “a very summer thing.” ness, although a few ran lemonade stands as children.

The young women opened The Good Scoop on July 1 at 31 Main Street North — hours are 12 to 9 p.m. — between John’s Music Ltd. and Celtic Heart Day Spa. The group operates in the front of Tara’s Commodities — which sells ethnic oil and rice products — because that business belongs to Xu’s mother.

Business has been great since the shop opened, with many tourists popping in, although it would be nice if more residents visited, said McAuley.

Hansen noted that business is brisk when the weather is hot, while McAuley laughed that no one comes when it’s raining.

“This is like an extreme version of that,” laughed McAuley. “It’s a lot more make-it-up-as-you-go than I thought. A lot of problems are thrown at you (but) you kind of have to get through.

“But it’s been really good so far … . We’ve learned a lot about the way everything works and reaching out to (other) businesses and what we need to do to get more people through the door. But it’s been really good to get some real-world experience.”

Hansen agreed, saying it’s been fun interacting with tourists and learning from where they’ve come.

Once the summer ends, The Good Scoop will donate chose that charity, McAuley explained, because they are young women and thought it was appropriate to support an organization that helps women in Moose Jaw.

Being an all-female business team has been great since they all get along, while it’s similar to hanging out with friends, she continued.

“It’s kind of empowering,” McAuley chuckled.

The Good Scoop will close on Aug. 31, while the girls are unsure if they will reopen next summer since the project was short-term.

“We wanted to get a taste of what business is like,” added McAuley.

The Good Scoop can be found on various social media pages. Contact info is 306-519-8489 or thegoodscoop31@gmail.com.

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Lumsden-Morse to hold by-election on August 10

An election is being held after Saskatchewan Party MLA Lyle Steward resigns for health reasons

The Lumsden-Morse constituency is holding an upcoming by-election on August 10, and this will be held at the Canswan Building at 83 Ominica Street West in Moose Jaw.

The by-election was called after the previous Lumsden-Morse Saskatchewan Party MLA Lyle Stewart resigned for health reasons.

“After he resigned, you have six months for a by-election to be called to elect a new member for the constituency,” explained Joyce Holland, the Returning

This year’s Lumsden-Morse candidates are Les Guillemin with the Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan; Kaitlyn Stadnyk with the New Democratic Party (NDP); Isaiah Hunter with the Saskatchewan Green Party; Blaine McLeod with the Sas- a large rural area,” said Holland. “We need to give those voters the opportunity to vote. They would be more than an hour away from (some) tech voting location(s).”

Moose Jaw has a tech poll only. “If you come to Moose Jaw, you will be voting with the new technology.”

Tech polling differs by viewing the candidate list on a secure computer screen, but you still mark your choice on a physical ballot. When the vote is competed, the ballot will drop into a locked and secure box.

“With these new tech polls, we want to make sure those things go smoothly,” (to assist), tabulators to help and make sure the machine doing the counting is operating correctly.”

Each polling location has at least a Dep(DRO), sometimes a Poll Clerk, and sometimes an Information workers for the next election, and they can already express interest (for that election),” said Holland. She noted that all poelection.

There is some controversy surrounding the upcoming election. With the writ being dropped unexpectedly on July 13, the election date lines up with the start of harvest.

For many in the rural constituency, it can be challenging to make the time to vote.

Anyone who visits the website can any jobs they express interest in. “De-suitable,” she said.

Polling details

“This by-election is not for anyone living in Moose Jaw, to be very clear,” explained Holland. “We are the rural area around (Moose Jaw). We are Lumsden-Morse; Moose Jaw has its own constituencies… and they are not voting at this time.”

“Anyone in the whole constituency can go to any one of these tech locations that location,” said Holland. “It’s only on limited to their own area.” er, information is available at https://cdn. elections.sk.ca/upload/E-161HB-Homebound-Application-2020-FINAL.pdf.

Tech polls will be open August 3 – 8 but will be closed on August 7 for the Saskatchewan Day stat holiday. On August 9, polling will once again close in preparation for the August 10 polling date.

“All the polls are open on August 10,” polls and 16 manual polls throughout the constituency.

Voting hours are 12 a.m. – 8 p.m., but on August 10 they are open 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.

To access the Moose Jaw location, Holland asks that voters use the southwest entrance. For anybody with mobility issues, there’s a wheelchair-accessible ramp at the northwest corner of the building. Parking is available in the adjacent lot to the south, at Safeway, or along Ominica Street West.

For a list of parties and their platforms, you can visit https://www.elections.sk.ca/candidates-political-parties/ political-parties/ and click on the link to each separate party.

To view the list of voting locations, visit https://www.elections.sk.ca/2023byelections/voting-locations/#lum.

The Moose Jaw location can be contacted by calling 1-833-398-0370 or 306693-7016. They can also be reached by email at lum@elections.sk.ca.

- katchewan Party; and Jon Hromek with the Saskatchewan United Party.

There are two additional elections scheduled for the same date. These will be held at the Regina Coronation Park and at Regina Walsh Acres, but these locations do not include Lumsden-Morse polling.

In the Lumsden-Morse constituency, 16 manual polling stations. “We have such

“It’s a tough time to call an election for people, because of holidays and this is a very rural constituency. Calling it when they are starting to harvest has been a little controversial,” explained Holland. “We knew it was coming, we just didn’t know when.”

Anyone interested in working at a future election can do so by visiting Elections.sk.ca. “We will be looking for

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By Patricia Hanbidge

Trees and the Environment –

Part II

Trees and other green spaces are extremely valuable for our quality of life. Not only is a nice walk through a forested area a balm for our souls, but living in harmony with nature will improve your health and increase your longevity of life. Good landscaping will save your money on your heating and cooling bills and will also increase the value of your property.

do not think about. They contribute to the health of our have the ability to capture and store carbon in their biomass - their roots, branches and even their stumps. Even more exciting is that the older a tree is, the better it can absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Research has shown that almost 70% of the carbon stored in trees is accumulated in the last half of their lives.

It is only a theory, but it is thought that older trees will store more carbon because they are at the top of the tree canopy and thus have consistent access to the sun. However, it is not just the height of a tree that is important, as trees will store more carbon in proportion to their size. This happens through the process of photosynthesis, where the trees will take the energy from the sun, and along with carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, will convert it into carbon based sugars that is then stored in the tree and allows the tree to do its daily work.

It is especially important as we are now well aware of the importance of reducing emissions and reversing the effects of climate change. If you think about it, every time we use energy we are responsible for producing greenhouse gases. Driving our cars, heating and cooling our homes, turning on a light, operating farm machinery are just a few of the ways we contribute to climate change every day of our lives.

With this thought in mind, the Shand Greenhouse was built in 1991 adjacent to the Shand Power Station. The goal of building this greenhouse was to aid in offsetting the environmental impacts of generating electricity for Saskatchewan communities. There are many other of land conservation, reclamation, phytoremediation, shelterbelts and to provide new habitat for wildlife. Also, this program provides afforestation of portions of Saskatchewan in order to assist in the mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions.

Shand Greenhouse is investing in our environment by producing native plants and then distributing these tree and shrub seedlings free-of-charge to Saskatchewan groups and individual land owners. There are some eligibility criteria for you to qualify for free trees. Please go to the website at https://www.saskpower.com/our-power-future/our-environmental-commitment/shand-greenhouse for complete information. You can tour Shand Greenhouse by appointment anytime between 8am and 4:30pm Monday through Friday, from July to September or from January to April. They grow trees, shrubs and native plants utilizing waste heat generated by Shand Power Station and have now grown and distributed 12.5 million seedlings to date.

Hanbidge is the Lead Horticulturist with Orchid Horticulture. Find us at www.orchidhort.com; by email at info@orchidhort.com; on facebook @orchidhort and on instagram at #orchidhort. Tune into GROW Live on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/orchidhort or check out the Youtube channel GROW https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzkiUpkvyv2e2HCQlFl0JyQ?

Carly Jaye mural to freshen south wall at Boh’s Cycle & Sporting Goods

Gordon Edgar - Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

Carly Jaye Art’s newest mural will soon be enchanting customers of Boh’s Cycle & Sporting Goods on Main Street with a building-scaled illustration incorporating outer space, the Northern Lights, Saskatchewan Prairie elements and, of course, cycling.

The mural will replace a Gus Froese artwork, titled National Light and Power Co., memorializing the changes that electric lighting brought to the city. The mural was originally sponsored by the Moose Jaw Asphalt Company and was completed by Froese in 1993.

“The downside to this project is that we had to cover up a Gus Froese mural,” artist Carly Jaye Smith said. “We did have approval from the appropriate sources to do so, and it was over 30 years old, so…

That’s the thing about street art, you have to appreciate it while it’s there, because there’s no guarantee of longevity.”

The old mural will undoubtedly be missed, but Boh’s owner Brittan Calibaba said it was past the point of being properly maintained for its heritage value.

“We had to do some mortar work on the wall last fall, so I called the [Moose Jaw Public Art Committee], and the city’s responsibility for the mural expired in 2007,” Calibaba explained. “So, they gave me the go-ahead to do what I needed to do in terms of infrastructure repair. They said that it wasn’t protected anymore, so after I knew it

“I called Carly, and we started working together on it, as we already have a couple of times before.”

Froese’s family was made aware of the process and took photos of the mural for archival purposes.

Calibaba and Smith worked together on the design. She expects that if the weather co-operates, she will be

“With this design, we tried to incorporate the themes of the other two murals, on the north wall and the façade,” Smith explained. “So, similar colour tones and palette, and it’s still cyclists, but there’s a daytime setting on the north, so we went with this night time, riding bicycles at night kind of thing on this side.”

Smith has been decorating the community for eight years now, including public art and private. Her mural work can seen be on the Palliser Regional Library headquarters in South Hill, on the Mad Greek Restaurant just up Main Street from Boh’s, and at the Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce, to list only a few.

Emotion Arts & Music Festival will be held Aug 3-7 at the Besant Campground

Explore your creative side with over 100 performers from around the world

Aaron Walker - Moose Jaw Express / MooseJawToday.com

Explore your creative side and reconnect with good friends at this year’s Emotion Arts and Music festival, which will be held at the Besant Campground between Aug. 3 – 7.

The music festival will feature some of the best electronic musicians and mind-blowing talent from over 100 performers from around the world.

The Besant Campground location provides a beautiful space to explore your creativity, let loose, and connect with friends.

Some of the festivities include artwork from a wide variety of artists, numerous food vendors on site, and workshops focused on creative expression.

On Thursday, Aug. 3, there will be a movie night at

A small sample of the performers includes Woofax, Lori the HiFi Princess, Cameron St. Denis, and Moonbeams ft. Zhe the Free from Canada. A few of the international artists in attendance will include Sammy Senior

(New Zealand) and X-Ray Ted (UK). campground, no pets, no unauthorized vendors or popup shops (these must be registered in advance), and those in attendance are asked not to drive around unnecessarily after you have parked. The event is also drug- and weapon-free.

For a suggested list of items to bring, visit EmotionMusicFestival.com/what-to-bring

If you have to leave the campground for any reason, vehicles will be charged a $5 re-entry fee. Drivers are reminded not to drink and drive, and guests are asked to have a designated driver available.

The festival starts Thursday, Aug. 3 at 1:00 p.m., and ends Monday, Aug. 7 at 5:00 a.m.

The event is intended for those aged 19+.

The Besant Campground is located 15 minutes west of Moose Jaw along the Trans-Canada Highway and the entrance is on the south side of the highway.

Tickets for the event can be purchased online at EmotionMusicFestival.com/tickets.

For further information and frequently asked questions, visit EmotionMusicFestival.com/faq.