Moose Jaw Express June 7 2023

Keep your weekend free on Saturday, June 24th, as the Western Development Museum (WDM) is hosting their annual historical fashion show. This year, the theme is “Flower Power,” and will take place at 1:00 pm at the museum.

“We are very excited to bring this program back. We had done it a few times before the pandemic, and this is the first one since 2019,” explains Karla Rasmussen, programs manager for the WDM.

The fashion show is a worthwhile visit, as the items are not on static display at the museum.

“Traditionally, the Moose Jaw loca-

tion has a lot of transportation items in our collection. We have cars, we have planes, we have trains,” she says. “It’s kind of a nice way to get these pieces out, because we don’t really have a lot of textiles in most of our locations.”

“We have close to 80,000 artifacts in the whole WDM system. There are four museums, plus our corporate office. I think we have about a third of them actually out on display; everything else is in storage. That’s mainly because the valuable real estate in our museums is pretty full already.”

More than just a display of clothing, the fashion show is designed to tell Saskatchewan’s story through people and the clothing they wore, which tells a lot about an individual.

“We have an MC who does a runthrough with each ensemble that comes out, so we do get to look a little bit deeper than just seeing a pretty dress up on stage. We find out a little more about people who wore these items,” says Rasmussen.

The fashion show uses their hands-on collection, which includes items that are not as fragile as those kept in storage.

“These ones are hands-on. So... we have more of them in the collection. If something rips or tears it’s not the end of the world, we can sew it,” she said. “Whereas the ones we have in storage or in exhibits tend to be more special because they’re maybe one of a kind, and they may have a very particular Saskatchewan story connected with them.”

Rasmussen explains that the WDM is happy to tell Saskatchewan’s story through several approaches, and not just in transportation as the Moose Jaw branch focuses on.

“This way it’s through clothing, and the people who wore them. We learn a little more about them. So, what did they chose it for? Was the item hand-made? What was their favorite colour? There are all kinds of little interesting threads that

“They go back... the earliest one is from the 1930s. Most of them, however, are from the 60s and 70s, where very loud floral patterns were kind of at their height.

“It’s very unique. Some of these are one of a kind because they were handmade by an individual, rather than store bought.”

The theme for this year’s fashion

show is ‘Flower Power.’

“We call this the ‘Flower Power’ fashion show because most of the patterns have flowers and floral patterns involved in some way, shape, or form…

“We do kind of see some of these things come back in fashion today, in 2023, but most of them will look a little bit shocking to us I think, because of those very bright floral patterns.”

These clothing items have been donated by Saskatchewan residents, which helps tell our story as these items were actually worn by the people who helped build and shape our province, rather than being reproductions or of general historical merit.

“All of these pieces have been donated by individuals and families over the years,” confirms Rasmussen.

For those looking to donate to the museum, they are still accepting donations but the number of items in storage continues to grow.

“We do still take donations, but… we’ve gotten a little pickier about what we accept,” says Rasmussen. “We have a list of things we don’t accept anymore, because we have so many of them already.

“I know one piece that is clothing related that we do not accept currently is wedding dresses. We have many, many, many wedding dresses from very far back to more modern times.

“However, if someone is interested in donating something, they can contact our Moose Jaw location.”

For anyone looking to donate items to the WDM, or for more information on the fashion show, they can be reached at 306-693-5989.

If you are interested in modeling, they are still accepting volunteers for this event.

Moose Jaw student graduates from the Royal Military College of Canada this May

This May, a Moose Jaw student graduated from the nationally recognized Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston Ontario. The institution is highly selective and has an acceptance rate of just over 10%.

Officer Cadet David Francesco Cozzi graduated on Friday, May 19th with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and has received a Commission Script in the name of His Majesty to forward his career by training to be an Aerospace Control Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

“I came from a military family, and I was born in Wichita Falls (Texas, USA) because my father was posted there. The first time I lived in Moose Jaw was in 2008, and I attended elementary school at St. Michaels,” says Cozzi, whose story resembles many who serve in our community through 15 Wing Moose Jaw.

“I consider Moose Jaw my hometown because I have spent a lot of time there and always had great memories, great military and non-military friends. Moose Jaw is small but cozy, and it was as if I had always lived there.

“At the end of high school, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life, but I always wanted to help others and people in need,” Cozzi explains as he reflects on his inspiration to join the RMC.

At that time, he attended Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, which is a civilian university.

“After my first year there, I realized I wanted to do more. Having more challenges, making better friends, and doing more exciting things in my life, but mostly ‘helping.’ So, I decided to follow in my father’s footsteps and join the CAF.

“I decided to pursue a psychology

degree at RMC. I chose this path because military members, families, and civilians going through difficult times need to ‘talk and be listened to’.” Cozzi was not certain about his career path initially but found a love for psychology which was affirmed after each class he took.

As well as loving the psychology courses, Cozzi also admired the RMC where he was now studying.

“RMC is a family where civilian and military personnel take care of you and help you overcome difficulties that life presents you day after day. I loved the professors and all the material that was taught.”

“After graduating in psychology, in the long term I would like to continue this path and my studies to offer better psychological support to families and military members.”

For the immediate future, Cozzi is enjoying a few days with family before being posted at 22 Wing in North Bay, Ontario. Here, he will begin his training as an Aerospace Control Officer.

“RMC is not a typical university where you can manage your life solo, but it is an institution where you can receive a lot of support and help,” explains Cozzi as he describes life at the RMC. At RMC life is not all sunshine and roses.

“There are different challenges like learning a second language (English or French) before graduating, getting in physical shape so all members can pass the physical fitness tests every semester, studying military subjects, studying for university courses, military exercises, and much more.”

He describes the experience as challenging but affirms that with this chal-

lenge comes room for growth.

“RMC is a structure that opens your mind and offers numerous possibilities for the future, with lots of support along the way to help you succeed.”

For anyone interested in studying at the RMC, Cozzi gives some insights into life in this new setting.

“Finding a balance between military activities and study is not always easy,” he explains. “Usually, in the first year, you arrive at RMC in August (before the academic semester starts). The first month is dedicated to military training and team cohesion, learning the ranks and the rules of

the CAF and RMC. We do a lot of sports to pass the physical fitness tests.

“During the academic year, we have about five weekends where we do military training and wear uniforms all week. Initially, everything seems complicated, but thanks to the support of the military and civilian staff, the balance between military life and study is balanced.”

Always thankful and appreciative of those who offered support along the way, Cozzi reflects on his time spent in Moose Jaw.

“First of all, I have to thank the City of Moose Jaw, my friends, and my teachers at St. Michael’s who all welcomed me like a child born and raised there from the first day I arrived. At Moose Jaw, I always felt at home and safe.

“I would also like to thank the Moose Jaw Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) who worked hard to help military families posted there. The 15 Wing MFRC also played a fundamental role in my life as a child in the military.”

The MFRC works closely with the military and helps support active personnel mentally, socially, physically, and financially to better help them on their mission to protect Canadian values.

“I also want to thank 15 Wing and CFB Moose Jaw and all those who work there who have always seemed to impress my dad and keep him smiling throughout his time there.

“Thanks to my fantastic hockey coaches, and to all my family for the support they have always given me during my time at RMC, and of course thanks to all the friends that I have made along the way.

“In closing I definitely agree that Moose Jaw is genuinely a ‘friendly city.’”

McLauchlan, Ian Thomas, Cindy Church & Marc Jordan

On Friday May 19th, David Cozzi, a Moose Jaw student, graduated from the acclaimed Royal Military College of Canada and speaks about his experience

Aaron Walker - Moose Jaw Express / Moose Jaw Today.com

Officer Cadet David Francesco Cozzi on his graduation from the Royal Military College of Canada on Friday, May 19th, 2023

The Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston Ontario

June Specials:

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Moose Jaw dog obedience expert provides safety training to Canada Post workers

Gordon Edgar - Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

Gary Overs, a Moose Jaw-area dog obedience trainer and national obedience competitor, visited Canada Post workers on May 30 to give them training on how to interact with dogs — and especially how not to get bitten.

“They reached out to me a year ago because their frequency of bites to their [mail] carriers has gone up,” Overs explained in an interview with MooseJawToday. com. “So, I did one last year, and this year they asked me to come back again for a review.”

Overs said he and a local veterinarian used to do bite prevention training in local schools, because while things like ‘Stop, Drop, and Roll’ might be common knowledge, reacting to a dog attack is not.

Postal workers can’t really afford not to know that particular skill, Overs pointed out.

“I’ve been professionally training dogs for over 40 years now,” he said. “We compete at a very high level, my dog Tuck and I. He’s a Golden Retriever, and he just turned three. He’s a very, very good obedience dog, he’s at the highest obedience level he can be trained to.”

Overs runs Gary Overs Kennelling & Obedience, which has been one of Moose Jaw’s top pet centres since 1991, providing grooming, nutrition consultations, basic training, and boarding. In 2006, Overs opened Gary Overs K-9 Academy, which takes obedience training to the next level for interested owners and pets. Overs and Tuck are nationally ranked in obedience, field, and hunting trials, and his wife Shelley trains Tuck for agility, a sport he holds two additional titles in.

More information on Overs’ business is at www. garyoverspetcare.ca.

Owners should help delivery workers stay safe

Jen Tribier, a local area supervisor with Canada Post, said in an email that while they love dogs, they need the public’s help in keeping their employees safe.

Canada Post advises Canadians to help out with the following basics:

Don’t let your dog get past you when answering the door.

Keep dogs inside, in a fenced yard, or tied up where they can’t reach anyone on official business who needs to get to the front door or mailbox.

Keep front doors and fence gates closed.

Keep the dog away from the screen door, even if it is locked — many dogs are more than strong to get through a screen if they are agitated enough.

How to be safe as a delivery person

For delivery workers on the other side of the interaction, Overs said the first thing is to read the situation. Rattle the fence or door before entering a property to give the dog notice you’re there, then assess the animal’s attitude.

“You have to read the dog. If it’s charging you, is it stopping 10 feet from you to size you up or bark? Or is he full on committed to coming at you and biting you?”

Overs said many dogs are just putting on a show, usually out of fear. A strange person is entering their space and their reaction is defensive.

“Quite often, they’ll stop, hit the brakes. If they’re barking at you and their ears are pinned back, chances are you’re not going to get bit, and at that point in time you would look straight at them and just try and back yourself away.”

If the dog continues to be aggressive, it is vital to show them you aren’t a victim — face them, be loud and intimidating, and do not let them circle behind you, Overs advised. Back away slowly rather than turning to run. If a dog attacks, be prepared to fight.

Rain showers boost emerging crops across province

Ron Walter - For Moose Jaw Express

Seeding in the northwest southwest and west cent regions is over nine-tenths done In the southeast which includes Moose Jaw seeding was 80 per cent done, nine per cent below the average.

Excessive moisture delayed seeding in the southeast.

Showers increased crop land soil moisture with five per cent surplus, 76 per cent adequate, 17 per cent short and two per cent very short

“You offer the dog something other than yourself to bite. Whatever’s closest to them that you put out, that’s what they’ll bite, so you would offer them something with your weak hand … and that way you have your strong hand to defend yourself.”

A package, hat, or anything else that comes to hand should go between you and the dog. If the dog gets hold of you, you fight. Do not hit their heads — they’re ready for that and will fight harder. Strike their spine, their throat, their eyes. Kick and punch and yell, because dog attacks pose a serious threat to life and limb.

“The biggest thing I want people to understand is to do the proper thing for their dogs,” Overs added. “Put the time in, train your dog right, take obedience classes, and that way you can enjoy your dog because it has a proper upbringing and a foundation in training.

“It’s no different than a young child being traumatized. Don’t take your dog to the dog park for socialization, where they’re going to get beat up or bullied and be affected for the rest of their life. Good dogs are made, not necessarily just born.”

Emerging crops are doing well after rain showers that covered most of the province last week.

Spring wheat is the best with 27 per cent rated excellent for development and 60 per cent good.

Barley is rated 23 per cent excellent and 65 per cent good while peas are 23 per cent excellent and 64 per cent good.

Winter wheat is rated lowest with 16 per cent excellent and 84 per cent good.

Most seeding should be complete by next week.

Provincially 89 per cent of the crop was seeded, according to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture crop report. That’s just three points behind the long term average.

Gary Overs, third from left with white shirt and sunglasses, with Canada Post Moose Jaw workers (photo courtesy Canada Post)

King George hosts family appreciation day with discounted portrait photography

Gordon Edgar - Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

Publisher: Robert Ritchie - rob@mjvexpress.com

Editor: Joan Ritchie - jritchie@moosejawtoday.com

Sales: Wanda Hallborg - mjexpress7@sasktel.net

Gladys Baigent-Therens - gbaigenttherens@moosejawtoday.com

Kevin Ogle - kogle@moosejawtoday.com

Thank you to all the contributing writers, without your time and support, the paper would not look the same.

Send your stories, events and pictures to: jritchie@moosejawtoday.com

Joan Ritchie

Joyce Walter

Ron Walter John Kreutzwieser

Gordon Edgar Randy Palmer Jason G. Antonio Saddman Zaman

With thoughts of summer approaching , I read a great article written by David Smith, “Living Life Through the Eyes of a Child.” https:// www.linkedin.com/pulse/ living-life-through-eyeschild-david-smith/

I am sure everyone has some sweet stories to tell of their childhood summers, as summers are a time to enjoy our great surroundings, warm weather, late nights and lots of fun. Of course, evenings around a flickering fire roasting marshmallows, stargazing and aurora borealis nights here on the prairies, sun and sand at the great beaches in our province, and lots of laughter create the best backdrop for the season.

Smith writes, “Perhaps we make life more difficult than it needs to be …that if we were to look at life through our “inner child’s eyes” we might be able to accept things as they are while seeking what they could be rather than dwelling upon what went wrong or why something might never be accomplished..

“As a child, dreams are built with and upon shifting sands [at the beach]...only to have them washed out or destroyed; children tend to pick up the pieces quickly and rebuild their dreams as if they had never been taken from them…

“While walking along the shore a child will find many lost and forgotten objects floating upon the waters – learning at a young age that one person’s waste can become the basis for another’s wonderment that something considered to be trash by one can, with a little imagination, can be another’s treasure.”

I personally can attest to the wonderment found by children in the simple things in life. Last summer visiting our grandsons in Powell River during a walk along the shoreline, one grandson was turning over every rock he could find. My husband asked him what he was doing and he exclaimed, “I’m looking for treasures!”

Kids see treasures even in a little crab harbouring under a rock…

Smith writes, “A child learns quickly that those who linger too long on the beach without moving tend to get burned (a lesson many adults forget).

A child gives meaning to life by seeking to fulfill their dreams (rather than blindly running from their reality).

“Live your life through the eyes of a child this summer – seeking the pleasure (rather than the pain) and the possible (instead of accepting that which has already been proven real) in whatever you say or do.”

Let’s all aim to enjoy the here and now and enjoy the simple pleasures of life, the people around us and laughing together as though we were kids!

King George School hosted a family appreciation day on June 1 for students and their families to drop by and have their picture taken, grab a hot dog and an ice cream, and visit with each other.

Jill Tressel, the principal at King George School, said the day was a way to give back and thank families for their support of the school and fundraising efforts. The school recently completed a long-term playground project, organized by the School Community Council.

“We have a professional photographer who is taking family pictures and individual student pictures outside today,” Tressel explained. “So, families will be able to access their pictures online, and they can buy just one if they want, or the whole package.

“We’ve had a really good response, and then we have Devo’s Dogs here, so students and parents are buying hot dogs, and the Kona Ice food truck is on their way.”

Jennifer Rayner dropped by the school on a break from work to see her daughter, Lila, and get some photos taken together. She said it was a rare opportunity and she was pleased with the results.

“The school throws a lot of great events, and I wanted to just come say ‘hi’ to my kid and see her in her everyday world,” Rayner commented. “We haven’t been part of the school for very long, but they seem to do lots of fun fundraisers and family oriented events.”

“We definitely have lot of activities here, and it’s a great school,” Lila agreed. “I don’t really like getting my picture taken, but it’s for the memories, so.”

The photographer is Mitchell Stevens, a portrait

photographer who recently moved to Moose Jaw from Brandon, MB, and is putting the final touches on his studio at 44 Fairford Street West. Like many, Stevens started as an amateur photographer. He decided to go full-time after realizing his photos were having an impact beyond what he had realized. He is committed to working with clients until they like the photo he’s taken of them. “I was just doing [photography] for fun, but I had a few friends whose lives I ended up changing, because I improved their self-esteem entirely,” Stevens explained. “I had a friend who went to a few different studios for professional shots and ended up leaving, crying, which I didn’t know until later. But we worked together and tried a few things, you know, like, ‘OK, that sucks… Let’s try it again.’ And I’ve carried on from there.

“It’s been busy today. I haven’t even finished setting up, I’ve just been taking photos since I got here, so that’s pretty fun.”

Tressel noted this is the first time King George School has brought in a photographer. Most families struggle to find time for family photos, and having professional photos taken has the potential to be stressful and expensive.

“Our SCC is also sponsoring 10 families today, so their pictures will be paid for,” Tressel said. “We’re just offering an opportunity for a family portrait, which is something that families may or may not be able to afford sometimes.”

With the day turning out a popular success, future end-of-year family portrait days could become regular.

Concerts in the Park are back for the summer

Moose Jaw Health Foundation’s 28th Annual Concerts in the Park are back for a full season beginning on Wednesday, June 14th and running until Wednesday, Aug 23rd. The concerts are FREE and take place at the Crescent Park Amphitheatre on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. A collection for the Health Foundation will follow. Everyone is Welcome!

The Moose Jaw Health Foundation’s Concerts in the Park have raised over $127,000 to help patients with new state-of-the-art equipment. Funds raised from this year’s Concerts will support the enhanced detection of breast cancer with a Philips MRI Breast Coil and surgical care equipment for breast cancer detection, all funds staying in our community. Ryan Hrechka, Chair of the Foundation, stated, “Each year, people look forward to spending time listening to great music at Concerts in the Park. We appreciate all the bands that volunteer their time to entertain those that attend each week. Concerts in the Park are one way that the Foundation says “thank you” to our donors who generously support us to improve healthcare at the Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital.”

Kelly McElree, Executive Director of the Foundation, is excited to MC Concerts in the Park again. Kelly said, “This is a fantastic way for people in Moose Jaw to enjoy a warm summer evening outdoors - great music and entertainment for a good cause. We see so many donors and supporters in the audience each week. So come out and enjoy this fantastic event in our community. It’s a toe-tappin’ good time.”

2023 Schedule

June 14 Annie and the Uncannies

June 21 Band City Band

June 28 Bonnie and the Jets

July 05 SRW Country and Friends

July 12 TBA July 19 TBA

July 26 Justntyme Aug 02 Heritage Fiddlers

Aug 09 Scott Heatcoat and the Entertainers

Aug 16 Timothy Eatons Jam Band

Aug 23 Derald Busse & Friends (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.)

For more information on the Moose Jaw Health Foundation, please visit mjhf.org.

Joan Ritchie EDITOR

Photographer Mitchell Stevens takes a family portrait for Jennifer and Lila Rayner (photo by Gordon Edgar)

squirrel dines on bark pulled from a tree trunk. Ron Walter photo

Thunderbird Viaduct has colourful and storied 94-year history

From a rickety wood bridge to a modern concrete construct, the Fourth Avenue Bridge — also known as the Thunderbird Viaduct — has been a valuable lifeline for residents to reach both sides of the community.

A flimsy wooden bridge was built across Thunder Creek in 1909 and was known as the “Fifty Cent Bridge” because children would often attempt to trick pedestrians into paying a toll, according to archival material and history books.

The city replaced that structure with the 2,000-foot-long concrete Fourth Avenue Bridge in 1929 for $164,729, with Mayor James Pascoe officially opening it on Dec. 19, 1929, according to archival newspaper clippings.

“I declare this bridge open to traffic. God save the King,” the mayor said.

More than a dozen politicians — including a Canadian senator, MPs, MLAs, and the mayor of Regina — crowded onto the bridge to bask in the “glory of the architectural marvel.”

“The Moose Jaw bridge (combines) the grace of the old Grecian structures with the strength of the Roman buildings,” provincial public works minister J.F. Bryant said. The latter has lasted through the ages and, Bryant said amidst laughter, the Moose Jaw viaduct “should last for 3,000 years.”

After the ceremony, 150 people paid $1 each to attend a gala banquet at the Grant Hall.

Dr. Claude Allan Porter Turner, an engineer from Minneapolis, designed the bridge, an example of the art moderne style of architecture.

According to architectural historian Ross Herrington, Turner may have been influenced by the opening of Tutankha-

mun’s tomb in 1922, resulting in Egyptian elements. This can be seen in the terra cotta lamp standards, the coloured bollards, and the ornate column heads supporting the structure.

The bridge is similar in design to the Albert Street Memorial Bridge in Regina, on which Turner also worked.

from southern Alberta.

It is possible, if not likely that neither man spent much time in Moose Jaw. It is unknown why the artist who made these medallions opted to honour Mike Oka and Bear Ghost.

Unfortunately, the city council of the day was not privy to the bridge’s design.

Regardless, it is assumed that Bear Ghost and Mike Oka represent the Native peoples who lived in the area for generations. In 2017 the city installed a plaque on the bridge that noted its true name as Thunderbird Viaduct. The bridge was given that name in 1952 when council adopted a report providing naming suggestions for multiple city bridges. The report also recommended other bridges be known as Assiniboine Bridge, Blackfeet Bridge, Sioux Bridge, and Cree Bridge. The Thunderbird name was chosen, in part, because it was felt that Thunder Creek was named after the thunderbird of Aboriginal culture.

Also along the bridge are images of moose and two Aboriginal men, Bear Ghost and Mike Oka.

Bear Ghost likely had a connection to the Moose Jaw Sioux, who fled to Canada after the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. Ted Bison from Sayre, Oklahoma, told late Moose Jaw historian Leith Knight that Bear Ghost was his great-great-grandfather. There are, however, records of multiple men with the same name.

Meanwhile, Mike Oka appears to have been a member of the Blood Tribe

Gary McDowell

Michelle Ellis

The Thunderbird Viaduct at sunrise. File photo

One of the lamp posts. File photo

The Thunderbird Viaduct looking north. File photo

The Mike Oka medallion. File photo

Sask Parks announces an unforgettable 2023 camping season filled with excitement and inclusion

This camping season, Saskatchewan’s provincial parks are offering excitement and inclusion opportunities that are destined to be unforgettable.

“We are thrilled to kick off the camping season and showcase the natural beauty, cultural significance, and fun of our provincial parks,” Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Laura Ross said.

“We recognize visitors come to our parks to spend quality time with loved ones, and we’re eager to provide amazing experiences to help create special moments this camping season.”

The scheduled events for 2023 began on Thursday, May 18th, and will continue throughout the season.

Programming includes guided hikes, educational programs, musical and cultural performances, and self-guided Park Discovery Packs.

These Park Discovery Packs are available to be borrowed in most provincial parks, and this is already in effect. In these packs, campers can find all the supplies required to complete a given craft, carry out a scientific experiment to promote learning, or to simply get out and explore the park.

As we all work on tight schedules, there is often a last-minute schedule change that permits a camping trip that wasn’t expected. For these occasions, the Sask Parks

reservation website is prepared to help. The “Camping this Weekend” feature is a tool you can use to quickly see what options are still currently available near you when you need to make those last-minute plans.

Striving to offer more than excitement, this season will also see a huge effort to promote inclusion.

On November 15, 2022, The Accessible Saskatchewan Act was introduced and received Royal Assent on May 17, 2023.

This legislation helps make Saskatchewan a more ac-

the National Accessibility Week (NAAW) is running an awareness campaign from May 29 to June 4, 2023.

In the past few years, Saskatchewan’s provincial parks have received financial investments making them more accessible and inclusive for all our residents, and this year there is a strong focus on expanding this effort with the backing of newly passed legislation.

New features range from beach wheelchairs and access mats to more accessible campsites and buildings. This is just the beginning, and it was announced that more upgrades are being planned.

“Whether it’s a day at the lake, spending time in nature, or camping out under the stars, we want our provincial parks to be accessible and welcoming for everyone,” Ross announced. “As we replace or build new facilities, we always look at how to remove barriers and create a more inclusive environment, so that everyone can have fun in our parks and enjoy time outdoors.”

For Moose Jaw residents, just a few of the relevant upgrades to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park include beach wheelchairs, accessible campsites, and accessible picnic sites that can serve as a day-trip destination.

As a friendly reminder, campers are asked to purchase their daily or weekly Park Entry Permits prior to visiting any of our provincial parks. These permits can be purchased online and printed, and this makes for “an effortless camping experience,” according to the recent Sask Parks press release.

With your pass purchased in advance and printed, you can proceed directly to your campsite and be automatically checked in, so long as the pass remains valid and is clearly displayed with your vehicle.

During this unforgettable camping season, let’s see you and your family outside enjoying the fresh air and exploring all our great province has to offer!

A full list of accessible campsites across Saskatchewan can be found at https://www.tourismsaskatchewan. com/places-to-go/provincial-parks/stay-in-saskparks/ camping/barrier-free.

cessible province and works to prevent and remove barriers affecting persons with disabilities.

A barrier, by definition, includes anything that can stop people from independently accessing buildings or participating in their communities. In the context of parks and recreation, this includes access to beaches, park facilities, and admission to parks in general.

As an initiative to help promote inclusion and accessibility in our communities as well as recreational spaces,

Pool and water safety tips

With warm temperatures finally here to stay, many families in Moose Jaw are preparing to jump in the water, whether that be in a private pool, a public pool, or a lakeside beach — here’s what to remember to keep activities fun and safe.

Pools and water bodies are an awesome source of exercise, an escape from the heat, and provide a deal of enjoyment, but water-related incidents remain a leading cause of accidental death and injury worldwide. Water safety should be taken seriously to minimize the chances of sudden tragedy.

Understanding the risk

Drowning incidents most commonly occur because of

complacency, inadequate supervision, and a lack of safety measures. Experienced swimmers are not immune — in fact, according to the Saskatchewan Lifesaving Society, overconfidence is a leading risk factor, leading to taking chances such as swimming while impaired by substances (most commonly alcohol), dismissing the need for a Personal Flotation Device (PFD) while boating or playing on a structure, and swimming alone.

In many cases, accidents happen in a moment of distraction. It is vital to recognize that drowning can happen silently and quickly, even in shallow water. Even small amounts of water accidentally inhaled into the lungs can cause shock and disorientation, silence calls for help, and make keeping one’s head above water while trying to recover a much more difficult task.

• Never engage in water activities alone!

• Take care of each other — watch for signs of distress, tiredness, or impairment, regardless of how experienced participants are.

• Wear a PFD/life jacket — PFDs protect against accidents, such as capsizing, striking one’s head or being struck, and becoming tired. They also enable swimmers and boaters in emergency situations to help others because they don’t have to spend all their energy on themselves.

For more information about our provincial parks, visit https://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com/places-to-go/ provincial-parks.

To download the summer events calendar for Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, visit https://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com/places-to-go/provincial-parks/parkevents/park?pid=buppp&.

For more information or to book a campsite with Sask Parks, visit https://parks.saskatchewan.ca.

safety this

• Plan for emergencies: Take water safety courses, keep emergency equipment maintained and inventoried, and respect the water.

Safety Tips for Parents:

1. Active adult supervision: Never leave children unattended or unwatched, even for a moment. Active supervision means focused, maintained attention. Make the job that person’s official and only responsibility. Avoid distractions such as phone use, lengthy conversations, cooking, or yard work.

2. Secure barriers: Private pool areas must be fenced, at least four feet high, with a self-closing and self-latching gate. Ensure there are no gaps that a small child could squeeze through.

3. Take a CPR course: Knowing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is less difficult than sometimes perceived. CPR instruction is kept as simple as possible so that emergency providers can remember it in fight, flight, or freeze situations. CPR can keep victims alive long enough for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to arrive.

4. Teach swimming skills: Enroll children in swimming lessons at accredited aquatic centers to improve their water safety and confidence in the water.

5. PFDs: Ensure that children and inexperienced swimmers wear properly fitted life jackets when in or around water bodies.

6. Clear the pool area: Remove toys, floats, and other enticing items from the pool when not in use to prevent attracting unsupervised children.

7. Educate children: Teach children about pool safety rules, such as not running near the pool, not diving into shallow water, and never swimming alone.

8. Establish pool rules: Implement clear and consistent pool rules for your family and guests. Enforce safety measures — being temporarily unpopular is worth it to minimize the risk of life-altering accidents.

9. Emergency preparedness: Keep a phone nearby, have a well-stocked first aid kit and other emergency equipment, be trained and aware, and remember no one plans disasters into their day planner — accidents are a surprise.

Aaron Walker - Moose Jaw Express / Moose Jaw Today.com

Friends and family enjoy a pool day in the backyard (xavierarnau/E+/Getty Images)

Free Regional Park Passes available with your library card at the Moose Jaw Public Library

From May 18th toSeptember 15th, you can borrow a free Regional Park Pass good for up to seven days by using your library card at the Moose Jaw Public Library

Aaron Walker - Moose Jaw Express / Moose Jaw Today.com

This summer, the Moose Jaw Public Library is freely offering a Regional Park Pass to library patrons with a valid library card.

“And that is what libraries are all about. We want to provide opportunities for people who might not be able to afford to have them otherwise, so that’s one way that we can do it,” says Arwen Rudolph, director of the Palliser Regional Library.

To pick up a park pass, all you need to do is stop by the Moose Jaw Public Library with your library card. “People can just show up to their public library and check a pass out if they have a library card, and it’s free. They can check it out for seven days.”

“They can use that pass to get access to any regional park in Saskatchewan,” Rudolph confirms.

The program has a first come, first served basis, so there is currently no option to book ahead or place a hold.

“Unfortunately, we are not able to reserve passes. It’s just show up, and if we have one, you can have it.”

Currently there are 1200 passes available province-wide, and these are distributed among public libraries. Last year, 365 passes were circulated in the Palliser region alone.

“We are anticipating similar, if not better circulation this year as more people know about the program,” says Rudolph.

“Last year it was just a pilot project… we [Palliser region] were one of the regions that did it,” she says. “And it went so well that they rolled it out across the province this year, so we are just one region of many who are participating.”

The program relies on the level of public interest and engagement.

“I hope it will be a permanent program,” she says. “If it continues to go well, and there continues to be interest, then I think yeah, it will probably be something you can expect on a yearly basis.”

“But of course, it is not a guarantee because it’s not just a region involved… it’s all public libraries, and of course, the Regional Park system as well.”

So far, the program has seen some success and the outlook is optimistic. “We are anticipating… there will be good interest this year,” she says. “There is a fair bit of demand for it.”

After the seven-day rental period, patrons are asked to return the park pass to the library.

“If you don’t return the park pass, the value of the pass is listed as $50. So, it becomes a lost item on your library card, and you can’t check out anything else until you have resolved that.”

“There are no overdue fines charged at any of the Palliser branches.” But this depends on where you are, as some of the seven provincial library regions charge fines and others do not. “As long as you return it [in Palliser], then all is forgiven.”

Currently there is no plan to expand the program to include provincial parks such as Buffalo Pound. “I have not heard that that is something that’s in the works,” confirms Rudolph.

There is, however, a planned inclusion of a Western Development Museum pass.

“Something that we’re working on, and which is already a program in Saskatoon is you can check out a pass to the Western Development Museum. That branch [Wheatland] is in Saskatoon, and that is something that we would like to do here. It’s in the works, but not something that’s available yet.”

“I think that libraries are, in general, getting into more of these sort of community partnerships and discovering how the library can help other organizations in our community get the word out about the things they have to offer,” says Rudolph.

Other organizations have the opportunity to get involved. “This Regional Park Pass program was organized through the Saskatchewan Library Association. They were the group that got everyone together and they were the contact group for the libraries. If you are an organization and are interested in doing something like this, it would be a good place to start.”

“I really hope that people are excited about it, and that we see a lot of people interested in using the passes this year,” Rudolph says.

The Regional Park Pass program is in effect between May 18th and September 15th, 2023.

Cool off, splash around: Spray parks, splash pads open June 1 to August 31

Moose Jaw’s spray parks and splash pads are about to open for the summer season, providing a cooling option for all ages on those hot days when sunscreen and shade aren’t quite cutting it.

The City of Moose Jaw has five spray parks and two splashing/paddling pools — depending on a person’s height and flexibility — at the following locations, operating from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily:

Spray Parks

- 1996 Summer Games Playground at 16th Avenue Southwest

- Crescent Park spray park on the 200 block of Fairford Street East

- Co-op Community Spray Park at Ninth Avenue Northeast and Ominica Street East; (wheelchair accessible)

- Elgin Park on the 1000 block of Eighth Avenue Northwest; (wheelchair accessible)

- Kinsmen West Park Spray Park on Meier Drive

Splash pads

- Optimist Park at Fifth Avenue Southwest and Lillooet Street

- Park Hill Park at 10th Avenue South-

Dolly

west and Duffield Street West

Summer heat events are becoming more common as climate change disrupts established weather patterns and gradually increases average temperatures. Urban environments, with large surface areas of concrete, asphalt, and other heat-retaining and -radiating materials, fewer green spaces, and industrial activity, can be several degrees Celsius warmer than surrounding urban areas.

Environment Canada defines a heat wave as more than three consecutive days of temperatures at or above 32°C, which means residents in the city could be experiencing a heat wave while those just outside city limits are not.

Protecting oneself during a heat wave could mean staying inside, particularly if you have complicating risk factors. However, if you’re out, about, and loving it, protect yourself and your family with strong, water-resistant sunscreen, hats, plenty of drinking water, breaks from prolonged direct sunlight, and, of course, playing around in the water.

For family members with more fur,

Moose Jaw’s two dog parks are located next to each other on the 1500 block of High Street West. Keep in mind dogs are also susceptible to heat illnesses, so watch them carefully and take advantage of the

running water at the parks to keep them hydrated.

The Moose Jaw Urban Community Forest is another option for a cooler outdoor environment, with snacks to boot. Trees and growing things offer more than shade: They actively cool the surrounding air and retain less heat than artificial surfaces. The forest is on Thatcher Drive between Simcoe Street and VLA Gate and produces free fruit between July and September.

The city’s other major green spaces are Crescent Park and Wakamow Valley. Crescent Park includes lawn bowling, tennis courts, one of the spray parks, and the Moose Jaw Public Library and Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery — both air-conditioned public spaces with plenty of community attractions and activities.

Wakamow Valley is the Moose Jaw River valley park. It has seemingly unlimited recreational options, including disc golf, canoe and kayak rentals, picnic areas, playgrounds, and over 20 kilometres of walking trails.

Parton Imagination Library children’s program comes to Moose Jaw

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a literacy program for children from 0 to 5 years old, has arrived in Moose Jaw thanks to the efforts of the Moose Jaw Literacy Network and many contributing partners.

The program was announced last year by Christine Boyczuk, co-ordinator for the Moose Jaw Literacy Network (MJLN). Boyczuk had hoped to have things up and running by August 2022. Despite some delay, registration began in January 2023 with 60 children initially signed up.

Fundraising and organizing efforts have been supported by Wanda Peakman at the Moose Jaw Early Years Family Resource Centre (EYFRC), which is hosting the program, and by the Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce. Donors supporting the program include the Moose Jaw Optimist Club, Rotary Club

Gordon Edgar - Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

of Wakamow, the Family Resource Centre, Kids First, Moose Jaw Public Library, Moose Jaw Events Centre, and many generous private donations.

Each child enrolled in the program receives a high-quality book every month, selected by a panel of early childhood literacy experts.

A child enrolled in the program at birth and benefiting from the full five years of the Imagination Library would have a collection of 60 books at their fifth birthday. Parton set up the Imagination Library in honour of her father — an intelligent and hard-working man who was nevertheless illiterate. The goal of the library is to instill a permanent love of reading, learning, and education.

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is hugely popular with parents and caregivers,” Boyczuk noted in an email to the

Moose Jaw Express. “The child receives a free quality book in the mail every month that provides a wonderful opportunity for parents and caregivers to cuddle up and share stories with their little ones.

“Exposure to books from a young age can help encourage a love of reading that will last a lifetime.”

The cost of the books is heavily discounted: $3.55 per child per month, or $215 for the five years. Boyczuk said that as financial support continues to grow, the Literacy Network hopes to enroll up to 300 children.

Donations are invited by contacting the Moose Jaw Literacy Network at mjliteracy@yahoo.ca.

Learn more about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library at imaginationlibrary. com/ca.

Children frolic in the water at the neighbourhood spray park (AHPhotoswpg/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Stop by the Moose Jaw Public Library to borrow a free Regional Park Pass between May 18 and September 15, 2023

Christine Boyczuk poses with a Dolly Parton cutout at the Moose Jaw Early Years Family Resource Centre (Moose Jaw Literacy Network/Facebook)

Some Prairie South trustees disappointed with inadequate funding from province

Jason

Some Prairie South School Division trustees are disappointed that the province is not providing adequate funding for education, considering their organization is facing an operating deficit next year of $5.3 million.

In next year’s budget, Prairie South (PSSD) expects revenues of $99,273,356, expenses of $95,941,724 and capital purchases of $11,387,990.

The operating surplus is $3,331,632, but after removing $8,650,000 in new school funding from grant revenues, the surplus turns into a deficit of $5,318,268, business superintendent Ron Purdy explained during the most recent board meeting.

The division is also facing a cash deficit of $3,788,298 due to capital asset purchases, amortization/depreciation, and future employee benefit expenses and payments, he continued. The division expects to cover that using its unrestricted surplus fund.

Purdy reviewed the budget category by category with trustees. His main message was almost every expense area was increasing compared to this year.

One notable revenue item is the division expects to receive an increase in grant funding of 1.4 per cent. However, since that doesn’t include the extra $1 million received from the province to address inflation, that increase is only worth roughly $100,000.

Trustee discussion

Some inflationary areas where divisions have been struggling — and that the province gave them money to address — are plant (building) operations, insurance premiums, heating and electricity costs, buses pars and rising fuel costs, said trustee Shawn Davidson.

Plant/building costs next year are projected to de crease by $456,849 from this year, while transportation costs are pegged to climb by $9,410, he continued, before asking for clarity on those areas.

Division administration removed $1 million from plant operations and put it toward preventative mainte nance and renewal (PMR) because the province reduced PMR funding this year, said Purdy. Meanwhile, the divi sion expects caretaking costs to rise by $100,000, water to go up $30,000, heating to increase by $70,000, insurance to jump by $40,000 and “virtually just about everything” else to rise.

As for transportation, salaries are a big increase, but the division can offset that using savings from bus repairs, he continued. PSSD has budgeted roughly $600,000 for the past few years for maintenance but has not spent that because of solid repair work.

Furthermore, fuel costs have risen in the past few years, so Prairie South added $700,000 to the budget, Purdy said. The division has roughly $200,000 to spare, but this July’s federal clean fuel tax will likely eat up that amount.

Prairie South uses over one million litres of gasoline per year, which means every penny at the pump costs $10,000.

Davidson appreciated hearing why those numbers are so high, considering they’re useful to have while “pounding the table” during discussions with the Ministry of Education about addressing increasing costs.

“… This is nebulous, and any time we get into funding arrangements which are nebulous like this, it’s very

PRAIRIE SOUTH SCHOOL DIVISION

The next PSSD board meeting is TUESDAY, JUNE 6.

an interesting process, said trustee Lew Young. While expenses are increasing, the division is providing more services and incentives than before.

“We have heard throughout the province that funding for education is not there like it used to be and it has fallen behind,” he continued. “The last number of years, we have been fortunate to be able to implement a budget to be able to enhance services in our school division.”

Providing these services has cost roughly $4 million, while the money has come from dwindling reserves, Young added. The state of provincial education saddened him, while he noted that PSSD students would have suffered much more if the division hadn’t used its reserves to cover shortfalls.

Board chairwoman Giselle Wilson also thanked administration and the board for using those reserves.

“The reality is that here in Prairie South, we are OK. It’s also fair to say our partners in this province are not,” she added. “It would be nice to get to a point where education — and the value of education — is properly funded.”

Three Métis grandmas share culture with students through fun activities

Three Métis grandmothers have been working with Prairie South School Division recently to educate kids about that culture and act as bridges between European and First Nation peoples.

The Three Kokums is composed of Val Trudel, Wonda Alton and Marquita Neufeld. Since September, they have visited 26 classrooms and spoken to almost 900 students in grades 1 to 12 while completing eight cultural projects and initiatives.

The women spoke about their activities during the board of education’s recent meeting.

Trudel has always been interested in cultural crafts, especially beading. She believes working with youths gives her an outlet for sharing that creativity and cultural knowledge.

Alton became interested in genealogy as an adult and learned she was Métis. She worked for cultural organizations in the 1990s and 2000s and earned a diploma in early childhood education. She worked for years as an ed- ucational assistant in Saskatoon and Medicine Hat.

She, too, enjoys working on cultural crafts.

Neufeld worked for 32 years in education, first with the Thunder Creek School Division and then with Prairie South. She was an educational assistant for 10 years before she acquired her education degree.

After more than three decades in education, Neufeld retired last June.

“Not being one to stay at home, I decided I needed to reinvent myself. And I’d always had a passion for who I am as a Métis person,” she said. “And I really think we are the bridge between the Europeans and First Nations group, that we can get out there and we can try to tell people about our culture (and) the things that we do.”

While she admitted that she’s not as talented with crafts as her partners, Neufeld — the group’s spokeswoman — enjoys reading to the students. In turn, the youths connect with the women and want them to stay.

The Three Kokums wanted to work with Prairie South because they knew some kids did not understand each other, so they wanted the youths to develop that cultural understanding about why it’s important to accept

people’s traditions, Neufeld explained.

“We wanted to authentically incorporate the indigenous/Métis content into the classroom,” she said. “Being that as I grew up as a Métis child, we are the ones that are perfectly capable of doing this without — hopefully — people questioning why and what we’re doing.”

The group connects the cultural teachings with curriculum outcomes while they leave materials that teachers can use or incorporate into lessons. Their other goal is to remind students that everyone belongs together regardless of skin colour and they shouldn’t let that issue cause separation.

Neufeld then discussed some activities they had done this past year.

The trio has helped some Grade 9s make small, beaded objects, such as orange T-shirts, red poppies, the Métis flag, a pink shirt, and the four-coloured Aboriginal circle symbol.

Another activity has been leading loom beading for some Grade 8s. The youths were excited to participate, Neufeld continued, while the boys eagerly joined in after seeing what the girls were making.

The three grandmothers visited École Palliser Heights Elementary School for an activity about talking sticks. Neufeld read the pupils a story about a crow and a magpie and made accompanying bird noises.

“I get into my stories,” she chuckled, noting after students made their talking sticks, they walked back to their classroom, making bird noises.

Other students have made medicine bags, where they traced pictures or shapes and then painted dots over them. The three grandmothers then spoke to them about the four spiritual medicines — sage, cedar, sweetgrass and tobacco — and gave them three of the four medicines. The grandmothers also teach about jigging, drumming, and organizing feasts.

Some upcoming projects include an animal footprint scavenger hunt, creating Red River carts, making dream catchers, going on a plant identification walk, pattern making with dots, and making Bannock.

G. Antonio - Moose Jaw Express

Jason G. Antonio - Moose Jaw Express

The Three Kokums speak to Prairie South trustees during a recent board meeting. From left are Val Trudel, Wonda Alton and Marquita Neufeld. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

Reflective Moments

By Joyce Walter - Moose Jaw Express

Feet on wall promises to eliminate back pain

If it isn’t the scammy e-mails coming from someone purporting to be our phone service/internet provider, the next most annoying e-mails are those from sources unknown who have remedies for everything that might be wrong with our health.

The health concerns encompass the entire body, from revival of dead hair follicles to solving the pain of ingrown toenails and contagious toe fungus to tingling feet and legs and every body part in between, including fat bellies and drooping chests.

Some of the e-mails go so far as to mention bodily functions that have no business being discussed outside the privacy of the doctor’s office. Even the bears have more manners in their cleanliness discussions through use of a certain brand of tissue.

Usually I delete such annoying and uninvited messages but the other day one caught my eye and it had graphics that were intriguing without being creepy.

I was interested because it claimed that back pain and other ailments could be controlled or eliminated by simply lying on the floor with one’s feet on the wall. Of course the person in the photo was slim and looked agile. And young, soo, soo young. But I was not deterred even though I haven’t been slim in years and never was that agile. Where, indeed, is the photo of a short, rotund, senior

citizen who surely needs back pain relief as much as or more than a younger counterpart?

But no such photos appeared so I let my eyes wander to all the reasons anyone with back pain should follow this plan for a cure. Such activity, the verbiage said, would straighten the spine, remove pressure from the lower lumbar area, drain lactic acids from the legs and reduce muscle soreness. In addition, headaches and their severity would be reduced and the body’s nervous system would be in top shape.

As I sat at the table envisioning where I might undertake this feet-on-wall escapade I decided the best spot would be right there, just before the stairs leading to the landing. There would be space there if some clutter were moved to another hoarding spot.

The instructions said to sit on the floor with one’s left side against a wall. Carefully then one was to lower one’s back to the floor and maybe put a rolled towel under the neck. Then slowly raise the legs and put both feet flat against the opposite wall. Hold that position for 10-15 minutes or for whatever time span is comfortable.

There were no instructions given for how one would get up off the floor if one is not slim, young and agile. Common sense told me at least my brain was agile enough to know participating in such an exercise would not turn

out favourably for me.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.

I might be able to get down there on the floor and get my feet on the opposing wall but getting up after my minute or so of discomfort would be the Kodak moment. But with my agile brain, I knew I had picked that spot for a reason. I could butt move myself in the direction of the stairs and once close enough, could place my legs over the top stair and use the handrail to hoist myself up.

But then I figured I could be in trouble if I tumbled down the three stairs and blocked the doorway so Housemate could not enter. I imagine he would just keep trying his key, ringing the bell and pounding on the door until I managed to roll myself away out of range. He would shake his head in disbelief before asking if I had any serious injuries.

But to heck with feet on the wall. My back specialist has given me a partial push-up exercise to strengthen my back muscles. I can do it from the comfort of the middle of my bed, thus eliminating the possibility of falling off the mattress and hurting myself. As long as the springs don’t cave in and dump me off.

He merely grinned when I said I would be an Olympic contender the next time I visited his office.

Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net

Province to provide additional $40 million to education funding

Gordon Edgar -

The Government of Saskatchewan is providing an additional $40 million to Saskatchewan’s school divisions following concerns raised by school divisions, teacher advocacy groups, and parents, who have asserted that the province is chronically underfunding education.

An announcement of the additional funding was made on Thursday, June 1. Education minister Dustin Duncan had promised a top-up in May following an April 29 “Rally for Education” in front of the Provincial Legislature, and suggested timing the top-up for November, similar to last year’s top-up. He revised that plan after school divisions across the province complained they are required to submit final budget proposals by June 30.

“This funding is being provided to school divisions to respond to the needs of a growing and diverse province,” the province said in a prepared statement.

“This 4.5 per cent increase in school operating when compared to last year is part of the government’s commitment to ensuring students all across the province have access to high quality education,” Duncan said.

Funding of $20 million will be provided to school divisions to address school enrolment growth, while an additional $20 million will go to hire classroom and oth-

Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

toward classroom support hiring, and $275,760 for operational funding in response to estimated enrolment growth. The combined total is $981,123 with this announcement, representing a 1.2 per cent funding increase.

Holy Trinity Catholic School Division will receive $208,206 for classroom supports, and $285,960 in operational funding, for a total of $494,166, or a 1.9 per cent increase in funding.

er support staff such as teachers, educational assistants, speech language pathologists, counsellors, and educational psychologists.

Prairie South School Division is receiving $705,363

The funding percentage increases described by the province in their release are somewhat unclear, however. When the provincial budget was first announced in March, school division across the province — including in Moose Jaw — said that the increase to the education budget for 2023-24 amounted to between 0.7 and 0.8 per cent over the 2022-23 school year, falling far short of inflationary pressures, much less enrolment growth. Updates and consultations since provincial budget day have resulted in some confusion about the final yearover-year percentage increases. MooseJawToday.com has reached out to financial officers at Prairie South School Division and Holy Trinity Catholic School Division for clarification on how the additional monies will affect their budgets for the coming year.

Briercrest’s TESOL Degree Receives Provincial Authorization

Briercrest College continues pursuit of excellence in education with Provincial Authorization for TESOL Degree

Briercrest College has achieved another milestone in its commitment to delivering exceptional education by obtaining provincial authorization for one more of its accredited degree programs.

The BA Applied Linguistics: TESOL program was approved for authorization this month after a thorough review process by the Saskatchewan Higher Education Quality Assurance Board (SHEQAB). That means the TESOL Bachelor of Arts degree through Briercrest is now provincially authorized as a university-level degree.

Since 2007, Briercrest’s BA Applied Linguistics: TESOL degree has been recognized by the national accrediting body, TESL Canada, at Professional Standard Two, the highest level for undergraduate programs. In that time, the program has graduated more than 130 students teaching English here in Canada and worldwide.

The BA Applied Linguistics: TESOL program is now the province’s only undergraduate TESOL training program.

David Catterick, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, said that “While the quality of English language teacher training on offer here at Briercrest has been recognized by the national accrediting body for many years, this latest authorization is formal recognition by the province of the overall quality of the degree. We are excited to continue training English language teachers for the province and the world in the years to come.”

Provincial authorization is an extra accreditation step

Submitted by Briercrest Staff

that allows Briercrest students to pursue graduate education or employment opportunities specifically requiring a university degree. Briercrest was first authorized to provide a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities in 2013. In July 2015, a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Arts in History were added to the list of provincially authorized degrees.

Briercrest College and Seminary Receives Degree

Granting Authorization

New Degree Programs for Briercrest College

In 2021, when three other programs received SHQABs approval, Dr. Don Taylor, Dean of the College, was thrilled about the new recognitions. During that time, he expressed that it would position students for further educational pursuits and career opportunities, in addition to highlighting the excellence of their education: “Our drive to have degrees authorized is to obtain the recognition that our students deserve as they invest in their studies.” Don added, “These authorizations give assurance to students and parents that their Briercrest education counts and stands alongside university-level education.”

Regarding the TESOL degree receiving provincial authorization, Don still agrees that receiving this achievement reflects the educational excellence at Briercrest: “I am so pleased that external reviewers from across Canada have affirmed the quality and effectiveness of our TESOL program that trains up such skilled, employable, and gospel-ready students.”

Briercrest College now offers eight provincially authorized bachelor’s degrees in the following disciplines:

Humanities, English, History, Psychology, Biblical Studies, Business Administration, General Studies, and TESOL.

Moose

The Prairie South School Division offices are located at Ninth Avenue Northwest in Moose Jaw (photo by Jason G. Antonio)

From The Kitchen

By Joyce Walter - Moose Jaw Express

Sour raw rhubarb produces sweetest desserts, relishes

It is rhubarb season in backyard gardens and at farmers’ markets. This versatile vegetable or fruit, depending on interpretation, takes centre place in a wide variety of dessert options.

And chopped or diced rhubarb freezes nicely to ensure there will be rhubarb pies, puddings and cakes when winter comes again.

• • • BAKED RHUBARB PUDDING

3 cups raw rhubarb, chopped

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbsps. flour

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup Graham cracker crumbs

In a medium bowl, beat the egg then add rhubarb, sugar and flour. Pour into a greased 8 inch baking dish.

Combine butter, brown sugar and crumbs. Sprinkle over the rhubarb mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-45 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Store leftovers in refrigerator. Serves six.

RHUBARB CAKE

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

2 cups raw rhubarb, diced

Topping:

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and blend well. Sift together flour, salt, soda and seasonings. Add to egg mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in rhubarb and nuts.

Pour into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Blend sugar and cinnamon and place on top of mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes. Serve warm as a coffee cake or cold with whipped

cream or ice cream. Alternately, prepare a rhubarb sauce and drizzle over the top. Store leftovers in cool place. • • •

RHUBARB CUSTARD PIE

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup sugar

2 tbsps. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups raw rhubarb, finely chopped

1 unbaked pie shell

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsps. flour

2 tbsps. butter, melted

In medium bowl, beat eggs well. Add sugar, 2 tbsps. flour and salt. Add rhubarb and stir until rhubarb is well coated. Pour into the pie shell.

In a separate bowl combine brown sugar, 2 tbsps. flour and melted butter. Sprinkle over the rhubarb mixture.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes.

Let cool on rack until completely set. Store in refrigerator before slicing.

Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel. net

SARCAN building new $4M venue in Grayson Business Park

After nearly 20 years of accepting the community’s cans and bottles for recycling at its Manitoba Street location, SARCAN will soon move to a new location in the north end of town.

Construction crews began work in April on a new $3.95 million, 11,000-square-foot recycling depot at 52 Highland Road in the Grayson Business Park. The organization expects the new venue to open in December or January and will hold a grand opening.

According to Chantelle Diakuw, SARCAN’s assistant director of collections, the new building will be “bigger, better and brighter” and offer more chutes for orders, a more spacious customer reception area, a drop-off area that is double in size, a larger parking lot and more space to collect bulk orders.

There will also be new, more efficient equipment to help with recycling.

“SARCAN has grown tremendously since we first occupied that depot in Moose Jaw. We have more than doubled the volume of materials we collect … and we have seen huge growth in customer traffic,” she said.

Last year The Friendly City’s depot collected 17.6 million containers and had roughly 56,000 customer visits. Diakuw thought those numbers were positive, along

CITY HALL COUNCIL NOTES

THE NEXT REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING IS MONDAY, JUNE 13.

City council has decided to write off the taxes of a struggling seniors’ group while it plans to pursue outstanding revenue from a sports committee that helped organize the 2020 Scotties.

During a recent executive committee meeting, council voted to abate the municipal portion of this year’s property tax at 510 Main Street North, which includes the Moose Jaw and District Senior Citizens Association; the taxes are worth $$39,884.21.

Furthermore, council decided to use this year’s municipal tax revenue to fund the write-off, while it agreed to amend the purchase and sales agreement from Jan. 1, 2022 between the City of Moose Jaw and Moose Jaw Non-Profit Housing Corporation (MJNPHC) to include the reduction for 2022 and 2023 to 2026.

Association members spoke to city council during an in-camera — behind-closed-doors — meeting several months ago about their economic plight, which is how this decision came about.

Meanwhile, council voted to write off $50,000 in accounts receivable for the 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts bid that it advanced to the now-defunct Downtown Facility and Fieldhouse Inc. (DFFH). Instead, it will pursue through collections the $50,000 advance money it gave to the Scotties bid committee/Curl Moose Jaw Inc. Council officially approved the motions relating to

with the fact the staff — all are from Diversified Services — do a great job of collecting and recycling containers.

“We have a great relationship with them (Diversified Services) and always have,” she stated.

It was pointed out to Diakuw that many depot customers are of low socio-economic status, don’t have vehicles and walk to deliver their bags of containers. With the new building being more than four kilometres north, that might pose a problem for some people.

“Customers visit SARCAN in all kinds of ways.

They walk, they bike, they carpool,” she said. “The new depot is on a bus route and is accessible that way as well.” Diakuw added that she was “super excited” about the new depot — especially since she is from Moose Jaw — and thought everyone else would be thrilled with the new building too.

According to SARCAN’s website, it has collected and recycled more than 10 billion containers during its 35 years.

Its most recent data from 2021-22 shows 84 per cent of all containers purchased in Saskatchewan were returned, which equals 498,934,625 units or more than 47 million pounds of materials diverted from landfills.

Furthermore, it collected 1,112,923 pounds of paint, 3,386,712 pounds of electronics, 54,168 pounds of batteries, and eliminated 50,662 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, which equalled removing 10,756 vehicles from the road and powering 9,328 homes with the saved energy.

SARCAN is the recycling division of SARC, the province-wide association that provides services to community-based organizations that support people experiencing disability, and works in contract with the Government of Saskatchewan to recycle beverage containers bought in the province, along with other items.

Council cancels property taxes for struggling seniors’ group

Jason G. Antonio - Moose Jaw Express

the two groups during its May 23 regular meeting.

During a media scrum afterward, Mayor Clive Tolley explained that the seniors’ groups at the Timothy Eaton Gardens and Cosmo Centre have been struggling to pay their bills for the past few years. Both approached council during the last two budget discussions asking for financial support so they could keep their doors open.

“And I noticed that the … Eaton’s group, they have been doing a lot of fundraising and special events (lately) and I applaud them for that,” he said. “They’re trying to solve their own problems.”

Tolley was on city council 30 years ago and recalled that the intention with the creation of the Timothy Eaton Centre was if a private business existed in the building, it would pay taxes on its portion. However, the non-profit housing corporation upstairs and the seniors’ activities and dining room downstairs would not have to pay property taxes.

The City of Moose Jaw used to own unit 1 in a two-owner/two-unit condo corporation at 510 Main Street North, while Moose Jaw Non-Profit Housing Corporation used to own unit 2.

At one point, the corporation owned 45.52 per cent of the property that housed low-income seniors’ apartments. The city-owned a 54.48-per-cent share and leased all of unit 1 to the seniors’ association, Vision Travel and

IG Wealth Management.

However, in November 2021, city council voted to complete a conditional purchase and sale agreement with the corporation for the municipality’s share of unit 1 for $1, commencing Jan. 1, 2022. The corporation was then supposed to take on the existing lease agreements with the tenants.

The purchase and sales agreement included a fiveyear exemption from municipal taxes worth $40,000 annually that would go into effect in 2022. This exemption was subject to the Moose Jaw and District Senior Citizens Association remaining a tenant.

The three main tenants were expected to remain under the new agreement, while Moose Jaw Housing Authority would look after the building’s operations and maintenance. Meanwhile, the city would not have to contribute any funding to repairs and renovations that the building required in the future.

Meanwhile, with the pursuit of the Scotties’ money, Tolley explained that the agreement with the committee was the latter would share any profits generated with the municipality. Since that apparently didn’t happen, the city wants to collect the advance bid.

“The DFFH is disbanded and we would be going after ourselves because we now own the building,” he added. “It’s (now) being operated on a contract by OVG360.”

Jason G. Antonio - Moose Jaw Express

Moose Jaw’s current SARCAN depot has operated at its Manitoba Street location for nearly 20 years but will soon move to a new location on Highland Road. File photo

WDM School Learning Day hosts Métis teachings, planes,

blacksmithing, and more

The Moose Jaw Western Development Museum (WDM) was a figurative beehive of activity on June 1 as nine schools and one homeschool group from across southern Saskatchewan bussed hundreds of kids in to learn about early settler days. Over 250 students attended the event.

“They’re from across southern Saskatchewan, so there’s some local folks here, we have two schools from farther away in the Chinook School Division, we’ve got Success School, and we’ve got Hazlet School coming, too. That’s always nice to see,” said Karla Rasmussen, WDM Programs Manager.

“For some of the students, especially the younger ones, this may be their first field trip, which is a great way to experience the WDM. I mean, it’s always a great time to come here, but on a day like this, there’s demonstrations, we’ve got a bunch of our volunteers here sharing their knowledge and skills, and it’s a little different than a regular museum visit because of everything they get to touch and interact with.”

province. As the Moose Jaw branch of the Western Development Museum is focused on transportation, the overall theme was transportation-based discovery.

One event station that students found a big hit was the live animals. This station featured Rollo the horse and two baby sheep. Rollo works with the Carousel Riders horseback riding school in Moose Jaw and spent the day on a field trip at the museum.

Walking up to the museum, one or two students could be overheard saying: “I want a horse now!”

Grade 2 students of the Assiniboia Seventh Avenue School were accompanied by Jade Leucks, a parent chaperone, and were asked which stations they liked best. Bexley stated that “I like the sewing booth,” where event volunteers were giving sewing lessons.

Laura liked “the horse and the lamb,” as did Dex, who said his favorite part was “seeing the baby sheep.”

Inside activities included:

Cow milking and ice-cream making

15 Wing Moose Jaw personnel answering questions and assisting with paper airplane-making

Flight and vintage airplane tours

The Prairie Hearts Quilters Guild

Typewriters

Telescopes

Building toys, games, and pastimes

Rail history and a steam locomotive talk

Trains and boxcars

Métis Cultural teachings

Iman and Gage liked the trains and wide selection of airplanes, both of which

a replica aircraft hangar that is built in the exact same proportions as the first hangar built in Moose Jaw in 1920.

Jim Gushuliak with the Vintage Aircraft Restorers ran the booth in this area. Similar to other event stations, he guided the students around the displays and shared our history for the next generation to appreciate. Standing next to the Vickers Vedette CF-SAB, he talked about its restoration project. “This plane took twelve years to reconstruct,” he explained as he recalls working on the aircraft.

The Métis also brought along some Bannock bread and jam, which proved hugely popular.

2Lt. Elise de Garie, in training as a Snowbirds Public Affairs Officer, answered numerous excited questions from children sitting in the WDM’s mockup of a Snowbirds Tutor cockpit, ranging from how an ejection seat works to why wearing a helmet while flying is important.

“Today we are attending the Western Development Museum School Learning Day,” de Garie said, “so we’re welcoming kids throughout the museum, we’re doing paper plane crafts, and we’re introducing them to what 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, which is the Snowbirds, does.”

This was the first time the event has been held since 2019 due to the pandemic. It is an annual event that provides a great educational experience.

Outdoor educational activities included a blacksmithing forge demonstration with well-known local artisan Don Fox, looking through a solar telescope, nail hammering, penny farthing bicycles, and a group from Carousel Riders, a horse farm outside Moose Jaw that offers riding lessons, boarding, and equine special events.

The museum was divided into a series of educational event stations, all of which took part in telling the history of our

the Western Development Museum in Moose Jaw is well known for.

In the airplane quarter of the museum, volunteers from the military were teaching students how to make paper airplanes. This area was another big hit as students vied for the best picture of their planes in flight.

One of these stations was hosted by the Vintage Aircraft Restorers, who have restored or reconstructed aircraft that are currently in the museum. They work out of

The event also featured a blacksmith, penny-farthings, old-style typewriters that students could try out, butter churning, and one table allowed students to try their hand at sewing. At the blacksmith booth, volunteers Mike and Don taught students about the Legend of Arthur and the Excalibur, which many had not yet heard of.

The Métis portion was organized by New Southern Plains Métis Local 160. Similar to their presentations at the Moose Jaw Public Library on May 17, president Darrell Hawman shared history and storytelling, Al Chaisson shared some of the Michif language, and Rick Pickering showed students how to put together a Red River Cart.

15 Wing sent several personnel in addition to the Snowbirds, including technicians and pilots in training. Lana Meyers, a Grade 4 teacher at MacNeill Elementary School in Regina who helped organize the visit, said it was awesome for the students, teachers, and staff to chat with the military personnel. She also had high praise for the other educational stations.

“The Métis presentation was amazing, they showed us the Red River Carts, and talked a little bit about the Michif language, and they taught the kids a little bit of history. And they got some Bannock with jam on it before they left, they really loved that.

“The ice cream making and the milking were neat, a lot of the kids are talking about that, and the blacksmithing. He heats up the metal and pounds it down and he’s making little things out of it, that’s quite neat because that’s something we don’t normally get to see.

“We’re learning about the early settlers of Saskatchewan right now,” Meyers added, “so today fits in perfectly with our curriculum.”

These lessons, along with hands-on experience in some areas, provide a great resource to help nurture the minds of students as they partake in their education.

If you would like to have your class participate in next year’s event, or to volunteer yourself at any of the event stations, you can reach out to Kathy or Shirley at 306-693-5989.

Gordon Edgar and Aaron Walker - Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

2Lt. Elise de Garie and Captain Andrew MacKay answer questions about the Snowbird

Don Fox, a local blacksmith artisan recently honoured for 35 years of WDM volunteering, gives a demonstration

A WDM volunteer runs a milking and ice cream making session with visiting students

Canadian Forces members from 15 Wing’s flight school interacted with the kids and helped them make paper airplanes

Darrell Hawman, president of New Southern Plains Metis Local 160 (left, seated, in blue), watches Al Chaisson give students a Michif lesson

Rollo, a 20-year-old pony, was the star of the Carousel Riders show, pictured with handlers Maryjane Korluk and Karen Kristy

By Leon Retief

Leon Retief is a retired physician with clinical and research experience. He likes drinking wine, listening to music and reading.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.

The Genesis Quest –The Geniuses and Eccentrics on a Journey to Uncover the Origin of Life on Earth

Michael Marshall Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 360 pages

All societies have their own creation myths which describe the origin of the cosmos and of life itself.

In spite of these myths, the big question remains: just how did life originate? Not an easy question to answer.

The thing about life is that is a very complex phenomenon and biologists are still not unanimous about a common definition or description. As is often the case in biology (and medicine), concepts are frequently a bit fuzzy around the edges.

Marshall does not really elaborate about this but I do not think that it detracts from the book – in fact this is one of the best popular books on this subject that I have read for some time.

Origin research, not as glamorous as the often-overhyped breakthroughs in, say, cosmology or medicine, always had to make do with the few financial crumbs left over after the other subjects have emptied the purse.

Marshall begins his history in the 1920’s, with Alexander Oparin and JBS Haldane’s concept of the origin of

life in the primordial soup. Both were communists and he speculates that their viewpoints, rooted as they were in materialism, were influenced by this political philosophy. Be that as it may, life could not have originated by any process other than the probiotic interaction of chemicals.

In 1953 Stanley Miller discovered that amino acids, an essential building block of proteins, could form under natural conditions. He was only 22 at the time and nothing in the rest of his long career equaled this youthful accomplishment.

Miller’s assumptions about the prevailing conditions in the primeval atmosphere are now known to be false and were severely criticized. In spite of this it inspired many new ideas, hypotheses and experiments, fertilizing discussions during the 1970’s and 80’s about which of life’s basic functions came first, where it occurred and the nature of the first organisms.

Marshall discusses the four major theories addressing this: proteins first, compartmentalization first (being separate from the environment), RNA first (the RNA world) and metabolism first. Discovery of undersea waterspouts seemed to support the metabolism first theory to some extent and is supported by some major figures in the field.

This of course raises the question: where exactly did life originate – in the sea, suboceanic waterspouts, or small pools alternately dried out and watered by rainfall.

The latter scenario inevitably reminded me of Charles Darwin’s 1871 letter to Joseph Hooker: “But if (and oh what a big if) we could conceive in some warm little pond with all sorts of ammonia and phosphoric salts, light, heat,

electricity etcetera present, that a protein compound was chemically formed, ready to undergo still more complex changes…”

On page 215 we read: “Astute readers may sense a ‘but’ coming, and it is a big one. Go back over the chapter so far and count the number of times you see the word ‘experiment’. There won’t be many… The whole elaborate edifice has very little experimental evidence behind it.”

Every theory mentioned above contributed important insights about the origin of life, insights which expanded when scientists realized that energy, in the form adenosine triphosphate (ATP) or a precursor, must have been of cardinal importance in the origin of life and its organization.

In the last part of the book, “Reunification,” Marshall gives a good resume of the present state of affairs. No single concept, theory or process can adequately describe something as complex as life – to do that we need an ensemble of metabolism, genes, and a membrane bound cell.

Jack Szostak is a Nobel laureate who has done remarkable and charming experiments with ribonucleic acid, succeeding in establishing a model system where genes copy themselves inside a membrane-bound cell, although so far they have not shown any signs of metabolism.

The boundary between life and non-life seems to be fading. “In truth, the question is arguably meaningless. The first life was so intimately bound up with its surroundings that it is difficult to tell what should count as organism and what as surroundings. If chemical reactions in a pool make a protein, but this happens a millimetre away from the nearest DNA, which label should we use? We can only decide which parts of the pool are alive and which aren’t, and in the absence of a lipid membrane to define a cell, there is no good criterion.”

Bottom line: no, we don’t know. I doubt that we will attain that knowledge even in my granddaughter’s lifetime.

The book is well written and readers do not need previous knowledge of biology or biochemistry. A few illustrations would not be amiss, though.

Those who want to find out more about this fascinating subject are invited to watch this video: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=vEZJdK5hhvo

New technology on full display during tour of Buffalo Pound plant

For nearly a year, the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant has been a beehive of activity as hundreds of orange- and yellow-clad workers have been constructing new buildings and installing modern technology.

Watching all the activity has been Ryan Johnson, president/CEO of the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation. He has been involved with the project in some capacity since the beginning, including during the years-long pre-planning stages.

Clad in a yellow vest and blue helmet, Johnson graciously gave the Moose Jaw Express a tour of the expanding venue and discussed the changes with a knowledgeable command of what was happening.

“It’s exciting. It’s a career highlight. It’s the most important thing I’ve ever done,” Johnson said. “I’m just the project cheerleader … . (Staff) are doing the hard work.”

New construction

Only three new buildings are being constructed during the plant renewal project, including a new administration centre. This is where offices, laboratories and maintenance shops will be under one roof instead of “scattered all over the place.”

Work crews will demolish the old admin building but use the basement for storage and as a warehouse.

Contractors are building two new summer lagoons, where processed wastewater will be stored. The pits will retain the water longer so organic materials can sink while the clean water rises. The plant can then pipe that water back to the lake.

The corporation must still annually “de-sludge” the pits for roughly $1 million each time by removing all organic material and shipping it to the Moose Jaw landfill.

Cleaning agents

Another new building will hold chemicals such as chlorine. That structure will be on the site’s south side and not in the middle of the complex. Johnson was grateful for this change since it meant staff wouldn’t be exposed to chlorine gas if a leak occurred.

For the past 38 years, the current chemical building has been regenerating carbon for the granular-activated carbon (GAC) filters. But with the conversion to biologically activated carbon filters, that structure is no longer needed.

Moving inside the plant, Johnson’s vast knowledge of the existing equipment and the new gear was on display.

“I love this stuff,” he said with a smile. Important technology

Perhaps the biggest— and most important — technological change is the ad-

dition of six new dissolved air floatation (DAF) units. This new technology will help the plant produce 250 megalitres (250 million litres) per day, possibly increasing to 350 mL/day “if unexpected growth in the area” occurs.

The DAF tanks house air saturators that inject billions of bubbles into the water and create a microscopic fizzing and popping similar to opening a soft drink container — but on an industrial scale that can clean millions of litres of water, explained Johnson.

The tanks are 20 feet deep and the bubbles burst out of hundreds of nozzles like a pressure sprayer.

While one DAF unit was operating during the tour, Johnson was excited that experts — including internationally renowned water process “guru” Dave Pernitsky — would be on site in early June to test the system. Barring any problems, the three experts could give the go-ahead for the units to start working.

“The plant has never run at 200 megalitres before. I’ll be retired before it hits 250 megalitres,” chuckled Johnson. A long life

Another new structure is the ozone building and load-lift pumps. This technology will deal with the taste and odour of the water. Currently, a giant yellow crane sits in a pit surrounded by thousands of rebar poles.

“It’s an incredible amount of steel … ,” Johnson said. “The walls can be punched out if they need to expand it in the future.”

The water initially looks “like a really muddy milkshake” because of all the clay, algae and other materials, but as the bubbles work, that brown water turns white.

The plant will likely exist for another 100 years, but it needs to be refreshed every 25 years, he continued. The concrete from the original 1955 plant and subsequent expansions is still good, but the technology keeps improving.

“There’s no reason they can’t keep adding capacity in one direction and process (equipment) in another direction,” he said, adding, “I want to leave the plant in good hands for the next 25 years.”

Book Image: Amazon.ca

Jason G. Antonio - Moose Jaw Express

Thousands of rebar pieces, as part of the ozone building that will treat water’s taste and odour. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

Ryan Johnson, president/CEO of the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation, gives a tour of the site. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

The milky white liquid is a sign the new technology — dissolved air floatation (DAF) units — is working to clean the water. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

The new administration building, looking north. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

The nozzles inject bubbles into the water to help clean it. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

By Patricia Hanbidge

Scent in the Summer Garden

Summer evenings are fabulous for enjoying the sweet and yes, romantic scents of your garden. Summer on the prairies is short so spending as much time as possible outside is always recommended. If you have a spot in your garden that you frequent in the evening…. or even in the later evening then plan to plant to include marvelous scent. Better yet, plant a window box or other suitable planting outside your bedroom window. As the cool night air wafts into your bedroom, it could carry the evocative scents of a host of truly exotic flowers that might only bloom at night.

Many of the night blooming plants are very sweetly scented and will emit their fragrance at night in order to attract insects for pollination. Some of my favourite scented plants like wisteria, magnolia and gardenia will not survive in our prairie climate – but there are lots of

scented plants we can grow very well.

For the best lemon scent (and taste) in the world plant some lemon verbena. It is a truly delicious scent that conjures up the extreme pleasure of sucking on lemon sherbet sweets. Tangy on the outside while at the same time being extremely refreshing on the inside. On the prairies this is a tender herb that is best grown in a container of some kind. Bring it inside in the autumn, give it a variety of life support treatment before you finally cut it back, let it rest in preparation of another summer outside.

Other annuals that have lots of scent for summer include any of the scented geraniums. Lemon, peppermint, rose and even chocolate scents are available. You might also get the added benefit of enjoying them inside for at least part of the winter. A must for every garden is evening scented stock. This is a rather small plant that comes to life after dark to reveal purple flowers that carry a wonderful spicy scent that will literally ambush those in close proximity.

A couple of other great choices are nicotiana and heliotrope. Nicotiana (a member of the tobacco family) is a simply splendid flower that becomes intensely scented at night. The ivory flowers are most scented but it also is available in pink, red, and green. Heliotrope is a temperate perennial native to Peru and should be planted in full sun but in a rich humus soil that is kept evenly moist.

Brugmansia is a fast-growing bushy plant with large trumpet-like flowers. They are extremely fragrant with a spicy, exotic scent. Please do be cautious as all parts of this plant are poisonous.

Even though we garden in a rather extreme climate, it is still possible to grow lavender as an annual. Give it full sun and well-drained soil. The purple to white flow-

ers are a marvel and emit a very complex scent. Once harvested the aroma will subtly change as the days pass by.

Our hardy shrub roses are not to ever be ignored in the scent category. Rosa rugosa is an old time rose that is not the best to view or grow but makes up for any shortcoming in beauty by its truly exquisite scent. On the hottest days’ plan to place your nose close to the warm summer scent of a rugosa rose blossom and create a memory that is truly unequaled.

Other favourites that surely should not be forgotten include sweet peas, lilac, mock orange and thyme. 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?

Provincial Court Report:

Judge grants bail to man accused of possessing drugs, firearms

A provincial court judge has granted bail to Zackery Marckoski, a resident accused of possessing drugs for trafficking and allegedly having numerous weapons and firearms.

Judge Brian Hendrickson decided that Marckoski would be released from jail during a bail hearing held in Moose Jaw Provincial Court on May 29. The alleged offender had been in custody at the Regina Correctional Centre since his arrest on Nov. 30, 2022.

The judge imposed a publication ban on the hearing, which prevents the media from reporting any of the alleged facts.

As part of his release conditions, Marckoski must appear before the court when required, report to a bail supervision officer, live at an approved residence, enrol in the e-monitoring program, take assessments or programming for addictions, not possess weapons or firearms,

have no contact with two of three co-accused and not be near their home or work.

Marckoski’s preliminary inquiry is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 6, at Court of King’s Bench, while a trial is expected in the fall of 2024.

According to previously released information, the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) blocked off the 1000 block of Stadacona Street West for a lengthy period on Nov. 30, 2022, to arrest Zackery Marckoski, considered dangerous to the public.

Marckoski had failed to return to a correctional centre in Regina in August and had been considered “at large” since then. He was last seen in Moose Jaw on Oct. 3 after fleeing police in a vehicle.

The MJPS Tactical Response Team, accompanied by a K-9 officer, executed a warrant to arrest Marckoski, who was taken into custody.

Three other people were arrested at the scene and were under investigation for weapons offences. Marckoski was said to have a lengthy criminal record that included violence, possession of weapons, including firearms, dangerous driving, and flights from police.

As a result of further investigations and a subsequent search warrant at the residence in the 1000 block of Stadacona Street West, police later charged three individuals arrested in connection with Marckoski.

Jessica Proulx, 21, Michael Joel McKecknie, 39, and Nicole Belsher, 37, were each charged with three counts of drug possession for trafficking and with numerous weapons and firearms-related offences. All three were released on conditions and were to appear in court later. Marckoski faces these same charges as well as a prohibited driving charge.

Jason G. Antonio - Moose Jaw Express

RM of Moose Jaw announces ribbon cutting for new public works buildings

Gordon Edgar - Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

The Rural Municipality of Moose Jaw No. 161 (RM of Moose Jaw) has announced a Grand Opening ceremony for their new public works buildings, with refreshment, presentations, and a ribbon-cutting set to take place starting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, July 11.

“Basically, we relocated our public works buildings, we built two brand new public works buildings outside of the city limits of Moose Jaw,” explained Mike Wirges. Wirges has been the Chief Administrative Officer for the RM of Moose Jaw for nearly 10 years.

“We’re moving out into the country, just outside Boharm, and that decision was based on looking at the future and the kind of additional space we require.”

The RM started the search for land a few years ago and quickly settled on some land already owned in Boharm, rather than paying high prices for land within Moose Jaw city limits, Wirges said. The buildings are still only a short drive away — roughly 9 kilometres west on

Current

Caribou Street.

The RM’s municipal office will remain at its current location at the Regional Municipal Plaza on Caribou Street West.

“It’s an 80 by 20, so about 9,600 square foot building that we’ve put up, in addition to a smaller, I’d say 4,500 square foot storage building,” Wirges said. “It’s the first time we’ve built out there since ‘86, if I’m not mistaken, so we figured it was time to move into a location that we could expand if necessary.”

The yard will store all of the RM’s public works equipment. Public Works crews are responsible for graveling and grading of public roads, the installation and maintenance of culverts, road construction, noxious weed control, and mowing throughout the RM.

Wirges estimated the project had taken about nine months from ground-breaking to completion.

bridge dispute between city, CP Rail similar to same spat in 1980s

The dispute between city hall and Canadian Pacific Railway about paying to fix the Fourth Avenue Bridge is nothing new, as both parties squabbled during a similar dispute in the late 1980s.

Based on an agreement the municipality and CP Rail — now Canadian Pacific Kansas City — signed when the Thunderbird Viaduct opened in 1929, the rail company was responsible for maintaining the centre steel span while the municipality was responsible for maintaining the road and concrete work, according to material in the Moose Jaw Public Library archives.

Both parties began conversations in 1984 — 55 years after the structure was built — about rebuilding the bridge.

In January 1986, the city imposed a 10-tonne limit on the bridge after an engineer’s report indicated the centre span was deteriorating. However, the rail company never provided city hall or city council with the engineer’s full report, only recommendations about how to repair the bridge.

One option was to shore up the centre span or replace the section altogether, even though this would “foul traffic for some time,” according to a Regina Leader-Post article.

In September 1987, council hired Saskatoon’s C.C.D. Engineering (Western) Ltd. at $226,547 to repair the bridge, which was the lowest of all bids received but still higher than the project estimate of $160,000. These repairs included concrete work on sidewalks, curbs, parapet walls and miscellaneous work.

City engineer Al Schwinghamer said the city would not have to close the bridge during this construction phase but would

shutter it during the second phase in 1988.

Officials believed the bridge would be finished by 1988 at the latest.

Council also agreed to a CP Rail proposal to split the project cost of roughly $1.2 million, to accept $200,000 from the company so the municipality had full maintenance control in the future, and accept $50,000 to modify the bridge’s design to include decorative features.

In late September, the project’s cost jumped to $1.4 million because CPR said contractors would have to perform work in the winter — something the city wanted to avoid. This increased the cost-sharing for each party to $760,000.

In February 1988, price estimates rose to $4.2 million, with the steel span expected to cost $1.2 million and the concrete work projected to be $3 million. Around this time, the province agreed to pay 67 per cent of the concrete work because the bridge was part of the province’s highway

network.

On June 30, 1988, the city closed the bridge because another engineer’s report deemed it unsafe — the welds were “suspect” — with municipal officials saying the closure would last 10 months.

An article from July 1988 indicated that CP Rail refused to accept responsibility for replacing the steel truss section. Furthermore, negotiations bogged down after the city asked the company to cost share for the concrete work.

“(City commissioner Jim) Bennett said negotiations have been protracted primarily because CP rail is not able to make decisions locally and all proposals must be reviewed by Vancouver and Montreal offices,” a Times-Herald article from August 1988 said.

The company subsequently turned down the entire cost-sharing proposal, but the city launched a court action and the National Transportation Agency (NTA)

became involved.

“In its (final) ruling, the NTA said responsibility for the reconstruction cost of the steel portion of the bridge lies solely with CP Rail … and the concrete portion with the city,” a Leader-Post article from September 1988 said.

Around this time, South Hill businesspeople approached council to explain how much money they were losing.

One hotel owner said his food losses were 15 per cent and his bar sales were down 20 per cent. A pizza shop owner said his customers had declined 5.9 per cent. A drug store put an expansion on hold, while the 7-11 saw a 29-per-cent drop in sales.

In November 1988, city officials said work to remove the old steel span would occur in January or February 1989, while the bridge was expected to open in the fall of 1989. Meanwhile, a Times-Herald article indicated the bridge was the focus of most debate during that fall’s civic election.

An article from May 1989 said the city planned to start its work later that month, while CP Rail would remove the steel section beginning that June.

Finally, after 18 months of closure, vehicles began rolling over the Fourth Avenue Bridge on Nov. 28, 1989. Alderman Mel Stern and Mayor Stan Montgomery were the first to officially cross the bridge in a car, although a few pedestrians and cyclists had already made the trek.

CP paid roughly $1.2 million to restore the steel span, while the city paid over $2.2 million — the province covered 67 per cent — for the concrete and deck work.

Federal arbitrator helping city, CP Rail reach agreement on rehab costs for Viaduct

A federal arbitrator is helping the City of Moose Jaw and Canadian Pacific Railway reach an agreement on how much money each should contribute to support rehabilitation of the Thunderbird Viaduct — a project whose cost continues to increase.

The municipality entered mediation with the railway company — now known as Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKS) — last year to confirm a cost-sharing agreement for the Fourth Avenue bridge. The city believes the bridge allows CPKS to continue offering uninterrupted services and operations at its rail yard.

The structure’s design has been finished since last year and is shovel-ready, with the city waiting for CPKS’s engineers to review the design and approve it and related permitting requirements.

A recent city council report indicated — and city hall confirmed — that media-

tion between the two parties had failed, so they were advancing the matter to arbitration through the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).

Rail arbitration is one of three types of arbitration the agency offers for dispute resolution, according to its website.

The types of disputes under this category include the application of any rate or charge for movement of goods; charges for incidental services; road and utility crossings; and any other railway matter under Part III of the Canada Transportation Act.

The possible outcome is the arbitrator will make a legally binding, confidential decision to settle a dispute, the website says.

Either the arbitrator or the parties can then establish the rules of procedure — since there are no legislated rules — or they can follow the agency’s proposed

rules of procedure. They then simultaneously exchange proposals and briefs, while the CTA will hold the hearings at its head office unless the parties agree to an alternative location.

Arbitration awards will include confidential written reasons and will be made within seven days after the hearing’s close, the website said. The arbitrator is not limited to choosing between one or the other party’s position — the award may be consistent with the position of either party or may be different from their positions.

Arbitration awards will be final and binding on the parties.

City hall told the Express by email, “Arbitration is ongoing and we are hoping for a quick resolution. This project consumes a significant portion of the transportation capital budget and we would like clarity in advance of 2024 budget submis-

sions.”

City hall added that it wouldn’t have a formal cost estimate for the bridge rehabilitation until later this year.

However, what’s known is that the municipality thought in December 2020 that the project would start in 2022 and cost $11.12 million.

By September 2021, that cost estimate had jumped to $16 million.

City administration discussed the project during the budget discussions last December but did not give a cost estimate then. It’s possible, based on inflation, that the project has now jumped to roughly $20 million.

The Moose Jaw Express will produce another story about the first dispute between the City of Moose Jaw and Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 1980s over who was responsible for repairing the bridge.

Jason G. Antonio - Moose Jaw Express

Jason G. Antonio - Moose Jaw Express

A collage of archival news clippings speak to the bridge dispute between the city and CP Rail in the 1980s. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

Public works road grader on a rural road (Jung Getty/ Moment/Getty Images)

Para Hockey Worlds: Team Hosts step up as guides, cheerleaders for visiting athletes

Canada is hosting the Para Hockey World Championship for the first time in the sport’s history and Moose Jaw is front and center for visiting teams and fans, which is why locals are volunteering as Team Hosts for the event.

“The Team Host is basically the connection person for each of the teams in town,” explained Mia Fairley, who is volunteering as the host for Team Norway. “We make ourselves available to them at all times, in case there’s anything they need, from the rink to the hotel.”

The World Championship is an international event featuring eight teams from around the world, ranked here by their world standing:

USA

Canada

Korea

Czechia

Norway

China

Germany

Italy

When the World Championship was announced to be taking place in Moose Jaw on March 27, 2023, Team Canada captain Tyler McGregor said it was a “his-

Gordon Edgar - Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

toric moment.”

“It’s been years since our families and friends and home fans have been able to come to cheer us on, with the exception of a few tournaments and a few games along the way, so we’re really, really looking forward to this,” McGregor added.

Being part of that history is important to fans like Fairley.

“It’s a great opportunity to be close to the sport,” she said. “I was able to be a team host for the World Challenge in Leduc, Alberta in 2015, so I had a bit of an understanding of what’s required.”

Having a local assigned to each team to answer questions about the community, run errands that might be difficult for someone with no knowledge of the area, and organize cheering at each game is an important part of welcoming international athletes to Canada, she explained.

“We spend quite a bit of time with them, I met them here at the rink initially and got to know them. … When you’re moving a large team, there’s always things that get missed, so we’re here to pick that up, make sure everything’s smooth from hotel to rink to going out for meals, things like that.”

Fairley is from Baldwinton, SK, where she has organized and coached a para hockey club since 2011. Her son and husband are also involved.

“We love the sport, so it was a pretty easy decision when the opportunity came up. I mean, Canada’s hosting for the first time — I wanted to be part of it.”

Laurie Ewen is the Team Host for Team Korea. When she saw online that volunteers were needed, she didn’t hesitate.

“I had been wanting to help out in some way,” Ewen explained, “so when they put the call out, I was there. And I

told the person, you know, I can say ‘hi’ in Korean, so that’s how I got the assignment.”

Ewen’s Team Korea contact has been helping her understand the nuances of the sport, as well as how to cheer the team on in Korean. She said the team is ultra-focused on their sport and she has been amazed at their athleticism and skill.

“I’m trying to be at all their practices, and I sit as close to their bench as I can for their games and hold up a sign with their flag on it. I make sure they know they have fans here and we’re happy to have them here,” she said.

“I know they appreciate it because I see their smiles and they’re always waving. They’re an awesome group. I think people should come out, it’s a very interesting sport, and I can tell you it’s something I’d never be able to do.

“These are ultimate athletes, they’re incredible,” Ewan added. “And I’d like to say, ‘Go Team Korea!’”

Follow along with results and check out the World Para Hockey Championship schedule at paralympic.org/moosejaw-2023/schedule.

Czechia para hockey team goes above and beyond for young fan with disability

Gordon Edgar - Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

When Team Czechia won their first-ever World Para Hockey Championship medal with a 3-2 victory over Team China to take bronze on June 4, one young superfan was right there at the glass sharing in the team’s joy.

Ryder Rowe is a young Moose Javian who is a wheelchair user because of spina bifida. His aunt Melissa works at Quality Inn & Suites, where the Czech para hockey team was staying, and she decided to ask if the team would sign a hat for Ryder.

“It all started when I asked them if they could sign his hat, just so that he’d have something to remember them by,” Melissa Rowe explained. “And then, they invited him out to the hotel, so after practice one day they all came and met him in the lobby and took pictures and gave him a pin, and just visited with him.”

The players made friends with Ryder and invited him to their next game, but Ryder had to explain that he had school and wouldn’t be able to make it to the 3 p.m. starting time.

So, the head coach of the Czechia team wrote a note to Ryder’s teacher: “Dear Mrs. W, please let [Ryder] watch para hockey game Czech vs. Italy on 2nd June from 3 p.m. Thank you, Coach of

Czechia Team Jakub Novotny.”

The note worked, and Ryder made it to that game. And, when he arrived, Novotny and the team had another surprise.

“When he got to that game, actually, he got to his spot and the head coach came and handed him a fully autographed jersey from the team,” said Melissa Rowe.

“And since then, every game he was at, they were all high fiving him on their way

in and out.

“And it was actually so cool yesterday, when they won their bronze medal, he was right up there, and in the middle of celebrating [Novotny] came running up to him and was pounding on the glass and giving him a high five through the glass.”

Melissa said Ryder has been over the moon with excitement for days. The team

helped him realize that being in a wheelchair doesn’t mean he can’t do sport.

“There’s a sledge hockey club in Regina that has contacted him, so he’ll be starting that in October,” Rowe said. “They’re just amazing role models, those boys, just an amazing group of guys, and this has been wonderful for Ryder.”

Canada’s Dominic Cozzolino sends a pass back to the point while battling Czechia’s Michal Geier (photo by Randy Palmer)

The entire team visited with Ryder

Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com reporter Randy Palmer covered the World Hockey Championship tournament held in Moose Jaw from start to finish – May 28th to June 4th, 2023. The articles written for Saturday and Sunday, May 27th and 28th appeared in the Moose Jaw Express prior to this publication in Volume 16, Issue 12, Weds. May 31st, 2023. Here is the coverage for the rest of the tournament.

U.S. uses steady pressure to take Para Hockey Worlds win over Czechia

MAY 29, 2023

Defending Paralympic and World gold medalists roll to 7-1 victory to open Worlds appearance

Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

It might not have been the overwhelming victory some were expecting, but it was a commanding win just the same for the United States in their opening game of the World Para Hockey Championship.

The U.S. roared out to a 3-0 in the first period, led 5-1 through two and would take a 7-1 victory over Czechia in the first game of day two at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

While the final result was all but expected given the pedigree and skill of the Americans, to keep things fairly close much of the contest was a positive for Czechia, who dropped to 1-1 after a 3-0 win over Korea on Sunday.

“The U.S, is a very good team so we expected something like that, but we scored and that was pretty empowering for

us, and we’ll try and move on from there,” said Czechia forward Filip Vesely, who scored his team’s lone goal with 5:17 to play in the second period.

“We like to learn from them, too, every fight on the ice is a learning experience for us. It was a bit of a rollercoaster against them in the defensive zone, but we’ll build from this and get ready for the next match.”

Czechia coach Jakub Novotny echoed his player’s comments, especially when it came to using every game against elite teams to help build their own game.

“Our goal wasn’t to win today, to be honest,” he said. “We knew the U.S. is a better team than us and we set little goals to make sure our tactics were there and we

were doing the right things. We can learn from that, so I think the players did it well today… it was a much closer game (than past match-ups) since our players are getting used to the speed of the game, and it was actually quite fun out there today.”

Travis Dodson led the United States with a pair of goals in the first period and a hat trick overall, while Brody Roybal had a goal and an assist to go along with single markers from Declan Farmer, Noah Grove and Malik Jones. Kevin McKee picked up three assists.

For the United States, it was business as usual and an important win to get things off on the right foot.

“It was a good first game for us, it was good to get our feet wet in the tournament and get moving,” Dodson said. “I thought we played really well, we were hard to

play against, but you have to give credit to Czechia, they’re growing and getting a lot better and they showed it. So it was good to get that first win.”

Jen Lee picked up the win in goal for the United States, turning aside nine shots, while Martin Kudela had 22 saves for Czechia.

MONDAY

MAY 29, 2023

If you heard a hockey team didn’t register their first shot on goal until five minutes remained in the second period, odds are you’d think the game was an absolute blowout.

Not so fast.

While that’s the situation Team Norway found themselves in against World Para Hockey Championship medal hopeful Team China on Monday afternoon, things were exceptionally close at that point, with China nursing a 1-0 lead.

A three-goal third period would lead to China pulling away once and for all, though, and they’d go on to a 5-1 win at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

“They’re fast and highly skilled and we just tried to play a defensive game and

China remains unbeaten after commanding Para Hockey Worlds win over Norway

Xxxxx-goal third period leads Paralympic bronze medalists to x-x victory

Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

said of keeping things close for so long. “They fought very hard, and in the first and second period the saves were very easy for me. They did most of the work and I just laid down and let it hit my legs.

“It was a very fun game. I think we played really well, but China is very fast and have a lot of good players, so it was a bit too difficult but still very good for our guys.”

China head coach Jin Xian Xu admitted that the lack of finish was a bit of a concern in the early going, even if things did turn out fine in the end.

As per usual Shen Yi Feng led China’s assault, putting up two goals and three points, giving him six goals and eight points in his first two games. Wang Zhi Dong scored a pair, while Zhang Zheng added a goal and an assist. Li Hong Gang and Lyu Zhi tacked on two helpers each. Goaltender Wang Wei didn’t have much to do in the first half of the game, but had eight saves when things were all said and done.

Loyd Remi Solberg scored the lone goal for Norway with 48 seconds remaining in the game.

limit their opportunities and hope we got some good goaltending, which we definitely had tonight,” said Norway coach Ken Babey. “So for me as a coach against a team like China, we just wanted to give a strong effort, show courage and stay in the battles right to the end, and I thought we did that. China is going to be a force to handle the rest of the way.”

With the kind of pressure China was generating throughout the first two periods, without a solid showing from netminder Andreas Sundt, things could have gotten out of hand in a hurry. Sundt would turn aside 28 shots total, which while not an overly busy game, still featured plenty of difficult saves.

“It was a lot on my teammates,” Sundt

“One of our strategies is to use our speed, and today I found out that even though we have quite a few attempts, we’re not getting as many point s aswe’re expecting,” he said. “When they are in defensive mode, it’s hard to get to the goal, so we used a strategy of pulling them away from the goal and taking longer shots and try and score that way.”

There was the added factor that the two teams hadn’t faced one another before in international play.

“During last night’s game between Norway and Germany, we were watching the game and found that one of the characteristics of Norway is that their team speed was a bit slower than our team’s and we used that as a strategy,” Jin said.

China next faces Germany at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, while Norway is back on the ice against Italy at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Students from schools in Moose Jaw and area were cheering for both teams during the game between the U.S. and Czechia.

U.S. forward Malik Jones battles for the puck with Czechia defender Pavel Dolezal at the side of the net.

U.S. forward Josh Pauls and Czechia’s Vaclav Hecko connect on a thunderous hit in the third period.

Czechia goaltender Martin Kudela makes a save during a scramble in front of the net.

Czechia and U.S. players battle for the puck along the boards.

China’s Lyu Zhi attempts to strip the puck from Norway’s Knut Andre Nordstoga.

Norway goaltender Andreas Sundt gets his glove on this scoring attempt by Shen Yi Feng.

China’s Wang Zhi Dong (right) celebrates his second-period goal with Lyu Zhi.

Canada gets job done with win over Korea at Para Hockey Worlds

Cozzolini puts up eight points as Canada takes 15-1 victory in first game for tour nament hosts

Randy

Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

Team Canada’s first-ever World Para Hockey Championship game on home soil went pretty much as expected.

When you have a world power taking on a relative neophyte in the sport, the result isn’t going to be all that close, and that was the case as Canada faced Korea at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

Canada scored seven goals in the first, built an 11-0 lead through two and would go on to a 15-1 victory to get their tournament off to a solid start.

Coach Russ Herrington pointed to the fact Korea had a tough game against Czechia yesterday as Canada had the day off as one factor in how well things turned out for the hosts.

“The Korea-Czechia game yesterday was pretty tightly played and physical, and they ended up actually losing a player to injury tonight,” Herrington said. “Then our guys were rested and ready to go. There were a lot of fans, a lot of family here, the Snowbirds were here. So I think that really energized our crew and getting one early really settled the nerves and allowed guys to just focus on playing.”

Fittingly, team captain Tyler McGregor would do the honours of scoring Canada’s first goal in a world championship on home soil, with the marker coming only 1:23 into the proceedings.

Things just kept going from there, with Canada’s depth and skill hemming Korea into the zone for the majority of the first two periods. Korea wouldn’t register a shot until just over five minutes remained in the second, when they took advantage of Canada’s first penalty of the game.

To get a sense of how the result was

just over five minutes to play in the second period.

as predictable as it was, one just had to watch the special feature played between periods that showed Canada working with Korea during a special training camp in Calgary earlier this year.

It’s all part of the ongoing process to grow and improve the game, especially when it comes to a young and building team like the crew from Korea.

“I hope that when they left Calgary that they were able to take some things back to Korea and work on it and continue to improve,” Herrington said. “We’ve all been there, when you kind of have that contrast between a team that’s been together for a while versus a team that’s just trying to figure out what this level is all about.”

Still, this is a world championship and Canada has their eyes set on gold, which means they had to do what they had to do.

“The big thing to us was it felt like a mature effort tonight, in that there wasn’t a lot of variance from what our true identity is,” Herrington said. “Our commitment to playing defensively and protecting the middle of the ice, we did a real good job of that. And there were two or three goals in particular that you see and you’re like ‘yes, this is exactly why we keep preaching this’. So everyone contributed and it was a great effort all around.”

Dominic Cozzolino led Canada with an eight-point night that included four goals, two of them on the power play. As one might expect, he was quick to pass off praise to his teammates for the all-around team game.

“Honestly, I just got lucky tonight,” he said. “It’s just a testament to this team that we have and everybody contributed, which is really nice to see. Hopefully we keep rolling into tomorrow..”

Cozzolino also pointed to the win being important simply as an icebreaker, given that it was the first time Canada had played a world para hockey game at home.

“That’s the kind of stuff you’d like coming into a tournament,” he said. “Especially on home ice with great fans. So yeah, that was a really nice one to get out of the way.”

Ah yes, the fans. Close to 1,000 people took in the contest, offering Canada the kind of support they’d never seen before.

“It’s amazing,” Cozzolino said. “I always as a kid always dreamed of playing for Team Canada at home, so to have the fans in the crowd with lots of our teammates’ families and friends and everything, it’s incredible.”

The contest also featured a pair of career milestones, as Cozzolino hit 100 points for his career and McGregor cracked the 200-point mark for their time playing internationally.

McGregor joined Adam Dixon in finishing with two goals and five points, while James Dunn had a hat trick and five points of his own. Zach Lavin, Corbyn Smith, Auren Halbert and Raphaelle Tousignant rounded out Canada’s offence.

Seung Hwan Jung drew a huge cheer when he scored Korea’s lone goal with 7:17 to play in the third period.

Canada goaltender Jean-Francois Huneault faced only six shots to earn the win.

Korea’s Hyuk Jun Choi got the start in goal for Korea and made 12 saves in the first period before giving way to Dae Han Bong, who made his first international appearance and stopped 22 shots, including a penalty shot on Cozzolino.

Stillitano spectacular as Italy takes shutout World Para Hockey win over Germany

It was a game to remember for Italy goaltender Santino Stillitano and his teammates to open Day 3 of the World Para Hockey Championship.

Stillitano would stop every shot he faced through regulation, overtime and the shootout as Italy battled to a 1-0 victory over Germany to keep their hopes for a playoff spot alive.

All told, Stillitano would turn aside 26 shots on Tuesday morning, including a host of huge saves in the third period to not only keep the game scoreless but also give his team a chance to win.

And win they did, improving to 1-1 to sit tied for second place in Group B with Germany, who fell to 1-1.

“It’s teamwork, if everyone works together you can stop everything,” Stillitano said through a translator. “And if the team is sure in how I’m playing in net, then I’m sure and relaxed and able to see the game another way and with zero pressure. That’s important.”

Even with Germany controlling the play much of the game -- and especially in the third period when they racked up 13 shots -- Italy limited second chances and prevented many scoring opportunities in front of the net.

That was all by design as Italy took what they had learned in previous games against Germany and put it into practice.

“It asked my players to play really well in the defensive zone because we know Germany is going to play fast and get a lot of shots,” said Italy coach Mirko Bianchi. “I’m so happy for our goaltender, too, he’s one of the older players on our team and had a great game, and the team, too…. to win this kind of game, we have to fight altogether all the time, and if that happens, we’ll see. Today it was good, but now we have to win tomorrow and it’s not finished for us.”

Christoph Depaoli went bar down to score the first goal of the shootout, and after Stillitano stopped Ingo Kuhli-Lauenstein and Felix Schrader, Nils Larch would put on a nifty stickhandling display before slipping a shot past Germany goaltender Simon Kuntz to touch off a raucous cele-

bration by the Italians.

Germany player of the game Jan Malte Brelage was naturally left wondering how things could have been different if they’d had a bit more puck luck on their side.

“We did a great job on defence and on offence as well, but when you don’t shoot a goal, you can’t win a game,” he said. “Mostly we were playing in their end and we had so much pressure on the goal, but their goalkeeper was very good, I have to admit that.

We did a very good job and were just unlucky.”

Germany coach Andreas Pokorny was of a similar thought, especially with

how they controlled the game for long stretches of time.

“It was a good game, at the beginning we were a little bit nervous but then we found our game,” he said. “Every time it’s a good game against Italy because they play a similar style as us. We had the pressure on them and couldn’t score a goal, and when you don’t score a goal after that many chances, it’s tough.”

Kuntz had a solid game in his own right, carrying his own shutout into the shootout. He’d finish with 10 saves.

Both teams go into the final day of round robin action with their playoff hopes intact. Germany takes on unbeaten China at 11 a.m., while Italy faces winless Norway at 3 p.m. The marquee game of the round robin, Canada vs. the United States, is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Tickets are available on www.sasktix. ca.

Canada’s Anton Jacobs-Webb battles for the puck with Korea’s Lee Jun Yong.

Canada goaltender Jean-Francois Huneault makes his first save of the game off Korea’s Jung Seung Hwan with

Team Italy players celebrate their win with goaltender Santino Stillitano (centre) after his shutout.

Germany goaltender Simon Kuntz snares a Team Italy shot.

Italy’s Nils Larch sneaks the puck under Germany goaltender Simon Kunst for the game-winning goal in the shootout.

MAY 30, 2023

United States take early lead, go on to World Para Hockey shutout win over Korea

Five-goal first period leads to 9-0 victory as U.S. improve to 2-0 in Group A Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

Two games into the World Para Hockey Championship and the United States have looked every bit like the defending Paralympic and World champions they are.

One day after taking a 7-1 win over Czechia to open the tournament at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, the U.S. scored five goals in the first period and went on to a 9-0 victory over Korea to improve to 2-0 in Group A.

Korea fell to 0-3 and will play in the quarter-finals.

“I thought we really wanted to start well and I liked the start we had, and I really liked the fact that all three lines played well,” said United States coach David Hoff. “We had a lot of offensive time from all three groups and just the puck possession of all three lines, too. And I

thought we played a complete game, we didn’t want to rub it in at the end and the guys were respectful that way.”

The U.S. scored four goals in the second period to build their 9-0 lead but didn’t push all that hard in the third and were held without a goal in the final frame.

A big part of that was a solid defensive showing by Korea, who have made that a focal point of their game as they look to continue to rebuild their program after winning bronze on home soil during the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympics.

“After Pyeongchang 2018, a lot of players retired and that made the game a lot harder to play, so we’ve focussed on defence and building that part of our game,” said Korea captain Jang Dong Shin. “Against Canada (a 15-1 loss) it

didn’t really work well, but we played a lot better today and it was a closer game.”

Knowing that the result was probably going to end up in their favour led to the U.S. mainly focussing on their own game and continuing to improve, especially with the tougher games ahead.

“I think you’re just trying to focus on good habits and keep getting better at the little things,” said U.S. standout Declan Farmer, who had a hat trick against Korea. “Obviously when the score gets to where it is, it’s harder to keep that same intensity, but we did our best to do that, push the pace and build good habits into tomorrow.”

Evan Nichols had a pair of goals for the United States, while Travis Dodson and Chris Douglas had a goal and two assists each. David Eustace and Josh Pauls picked up a goal and had two points apiece. Noah Grove added three assists.

Griffin Lamarre had six saves to earn the win in goal for the U.S., while Bong Daehan stopped 14 shots in 21:58 of work for Korea before giving way to Choi Hyuk Jun, who saved nine shots the rest of the way.

The U.S. now turns their attention to the biggest game of the round robin against Canada, with that contest going at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night.

Needless to say, Farmer and his teammates are looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s always fun to play the host nation,” he said. “We were in the Czechia a few years ago and they sold out the place, 10,000 people, so hopefully they can sell out here and we’ll have a great game for all the fans.”

TUESDAY

MAY 30, 2023

Canada battles to one-goal win over Czechia in World Para Hockey Championship

Dixon scores game-winner late in second period as tournament hosts take 2-1 win at Moose Jaw Events Centre Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

It isn’t often that both teams come out of a hockey game feeling like winners, but the contest between Canada and Czechia at the World Para Hockey Championship on Tuesday night was one of those cases.

Czechia gave the tournament hosts and definitive medal favourites all they could handle before dropping a 2-1 decision in one of the closest games of the tournament so far -- eclipsed only by the 1-0 war between Italy and Germany earlier in the day.

As the score would indicate, there was little to chose between the two teams from start to finish.

Canada took a 1-0 lead out of the first period on a goal by captain Tyler McGregor, but Czechia captain Radek Zelinka got that one back 2:26 into the second period. The teams settled into a tight-checking battle from there, and it took a grinding goal on the power play by Adam Dixon with 2:16 remaining in the frame to give Canada the lead back.

The final period was all tension, as both teams had chances, but Canada was able to hang on and pick up the slim victory.

“I’m extremely happy about the result, we didn’t really expect that before the game and I’m really proud of the boys in the dressing room for putting up such a battle,” Zelinka said. “After scoring the first goal, we believed we could win the game. It’s a shame it didn’t work out for us today, but we feel pretty good for the next game.”

McGregor immediately gave a ton of

credit to Czechia for their performance when asked for his opinion of the result.

“It was closer than we would have liked, but I think in reflecting on that, you have to give so much credit to them, they played an outstanding game,” he said. “They’re fast, they’re physical, they’re good. They skated really well and they tested us all game long and for our team, we were talking about regardless how the score ended up, it was good to be in a close game and hang on to a lead in the third period.

the drop of the puck right through to the end.”

Getting a test like that at this point in the tournament could also have benefits down the road, he added.

“We don’t play in many games over the years where you have to scratch and claw to hold on to a lead and I think that’s important in the development of our team and taking strides forward, and we felt in the third period we managed really well. That’s something we can use moving forward whether it’s tomorrow or in the future and the big games ahead.”

Czechia goaltender Martin Kudela was given praise by everyone in the postgame media interview zone for his performance, as his 20 saves on the night included a handful where even his teammates felt a goal was inevitable, only for him to come up with the incredible stop.

Dominic Larocque wasn’t tested as often in Canada’s goal, making nine saves, but came through when Czechia was pressing to try and take the lead and tie the game.

“Can I swear?” Czechia coach Jakub Novotny asked before pausing and saying matter-of-factly, “I’m (effing) proud of my boys. They played so hard. I don’t know what to say, I don’t have words right now and I’m trying to process it. We thought it would be a hard game for us but we didn’t expect to be one short. I’m trying to calm my emotion because I’m so proud of our players, they put so much work into this game, it was the third game in three days and this still pulled this out of them. It’s amazing.”

“For us, we need to create confidence and build from that moving into tomorrow (against the United States) and really start looking ahead to that right away.”

Team Canada coach Russ Herrington was of much the same opinion when it came to the quality of game Czechia played.

“I think we knew going into the game that they have the ability to frustrate you,” he said. “They have a terrific goaltender, you saw how tough their D are to generate offence against and they proved that from

Korea captain Jang Dong Shin fires a pass behind U.S. defender Travis Dodson as Malik Jones follows the play.

Korea’s Kim Inkyum and Chris Douglas from the United States battle for the puck.

Korea’s Jung Seung Hwan has one of his sticks knocked out of his hand by Declan Farmer.

U.S. forward Malik Jones goes hard into the end boards with Korea’s Jung Seung Hwan.

Canada’s Dominic Cozzolino, Tyler McGregor and Adam Dixon celebrate after Dixon scored the second goal.

Czechia goaltender Martin Kudela makes a spectacular save on Canada’s Dominic Cozzolino.

Canada’s Adam Dixon watches the puck cross the goalline for Canada’s second goal.

Canada’s Dominic Cozzolino sends a pass back to the point while battling Czechia’s Michal Geier.

China defeats Germany to cap World Para Hockey round robin with perfect record

Yi Feng puts up four goals as China takes 7-0 victory in final preliminary round game

With the way the World Para Hockey Championship round robin works, Team China had an inkling heading into the tournament that they would have a chance at putting together a solid showing in the round robin.

Seeing as the event doesn’t take into account results from the previous Paralympics, China was seeded according to their previous showing at a world championship, that being their victory in the World B Pool in 2021 that earned them promotion into the A Pool.

A year later, China would continue their meteoric rise with a bronze medal at the 2022 Paralympics. But since that result wasn’t a factor in their worlds seeding, China was treated as a team that had just been promoted to the top pool.

Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

third comfortable win in as many outings.

“The run-up to Worlds this year was very similar to the run-up in 2022 for the Winter Olympics, so we’ve been preparing for a lot of different scenarios,” said China coach Yin Ji Wu. “The difference is we’d never played Team Norway before this time, but it’s gone very well so far.”

That things were as close as they were between the two teams was in part a product of Germany’s defence-first style of play, something Yin admitted was a bit frustrating for his crew.

“I think some of the players on the team today weren’t maintaining a cool mind, and obviously Team Germany (focussed on defence), so we should have adjusted our strategies accordingly to create more offence and score more,” he said.

That frustration led to a few more penalties than China would like to see, especially knowing that playing undisciplined will be suicidal against elite teams like Canada and the U.S.

“That’s what I told my team right after the game, we need to reduce the penalties,” Yin said. “Even though the two teams are different in their levels, if one person is gone from the team we have four players against five and that’s not what we want to be doing.”

pics and they’re going for a medal, so they’re a good team,” Pokorny said. “Today we played right to the end and didn’t

give up, the first two goals were a little bit too quick, but other than that I’m very proud of the team because they played physical and good compared to our game yesterday (a 1-0 shootout loss to Italy).

But that’s the difference between a perfect team and our team.”

While China now looks toward the quarter-finals, Germany had to sit and wait for the result from the afternoon game between Italy and Norway to find out whether they would be facing relegation to the B Pool. An Italy win would see Germany sent down alongside Norway, with a Norway win seeing Italy joining them in Pool B.

“We’ve had three good games now and now we have to wait to see what happens… we did our best, we showed up, and we’ll see if we get to stay up,” Pokorny said.

The results have shown it.

Playing lower-ranked teams in Group B, China has cruised into the playoffs with a perfect 3-0 record, outscoring their opposition 22-2 in the process. That included a 7-0 victory over Germany on Wednesday morning, giving the Chinese crew their

Shen Yi Feng continued his impressive tournament with four goals for China, giving him 11 through three games. Wang Zhi Dong scored a pair and Che Hang had their other marker.

Germany coach Andreas Pokorny was happy with his team’s showing, especially to see progression compared to their previous meeting with China, where they absorbed a 17-1 loss.

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China’s Shen Yi Feng drives in on Germany goaltender Simon Kunst and would score his fourth goal of the game and 11th of the tournament.

China’s Hu Guang Jian absorbs a hit from Germany’s Jan Malte Brelage

Team China sing their national anthem after finishing the round robin with a 3-0 record.

United States use stellar defence to take close World Para Hockey win over Canada

Canada held to four shots through first two periods as U.S. go on to take 3-0 victory in final game of round robin Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

It was the marquee game of the World Paralympic Hockey Championship round robin, and it absolutely lived up to its advance billing.

With 2,784 fans filling the stands at the Moose Jaw Events Centre on Wednesday night, Team Canada and the United States put on a barnburner of a contest, featuring tons of speed, even more skill and plenty of hard hits.

And while the U.S. would come away with a 3-0 victory that included an empty net goal, there was little question the two teams showed the kind of intensity they’re capable of -- and gave everyone in the building hope they’ll once again meet in the gold medal game on Sunday.

“I thought we had a really good start, the crowd was into it and there was a lot of excitement in the building,” said United States head coach David Hoff. “I thought the tempo between the two teams was really good, we generated a bit more in shots but it had to be a fun game for people to watch, and I think that was really cool tonight, it was a good environment.”

The U.S. got off to as solid a start as they could have hoped, holding Canada to only two shots in each of the first two periods and taking a 1-0 lead thanks to a goal by Brody Roybal with just over five minutes to play in the second.

Thing is, even though the U.S. was holding things down defensively, as the score would indicate, Canada was also getting the job done themselves.

That was in no small part due to the performance of goaltender Dominic Larocque, who made a handful of big saves through the first two periods and finished with 14 stops overall.

“It was a pretty good came, they know us pretty well and we know them pretty

well and it’s always a tight game,” Larocque said. “It’s a new year for us, there are new guys on the team and it’s part of our process to build from games like this. Win or loss, we’ll learn from that game and we’ll hope to see them again.”

A major factor in how the U.S. was able to keep Canada in check was their ability to just come in waves, a product of the depth and skill that allows them to run all three lines on rotation.

“That was a great team win and I think we just wore them down,” Roybal said. “We just go out and play our game and don’t really worry about who we’re playing against. We knew if we played all three lines, our team is so deep at this point we can play anybody out there and we can compete with the best of them and that’s what we tried to do.”

Even with that advantage, though, Canada was able to get something going in the third period.

In addition to getting more shots on U.S. goaltender Jen Lee and finishing with nine in total, Canada was able to generate pressure and came within inches of snap-

ping the shutout on a handful of occasions.

That was a source of pride for Team Canada captain Tyler McGregor.

“I think we got better as the game went on, and the thing we have to remind ourselves is that they don’t give out medals on Day 4 of a world championship, so we’ll reflect on tonight and look forward to our semifinal game,” he said.

“When you put on this jersey, you want to give absolutely everything you have and Ii think we demonstrated that tonight. So regardless of the outcome, we’re proud of our team and excited for the strides we took going on.”

Canada head coach Russ Herrington was of much the same opinion.

“The only thing we ask of our athletes is to lay it all out there and give us 100 per cent of what they have that particular day, and I think the ovation from the crowd at the end of the day tells you all you need to know,” he said. “Our players, that’s the type of effort we need every night to beat any country in the world let alone the best country in the world.”

McGregor even noticed a few tweeks that could help improve their outcome should the teams meet again.

“Our effort was outstanding, but we were a little hesitant at the bluelines chipping pucks out and chipping pucks in and I think that’s going to be extremely important,” he said. “We have the skating ability and fitness level to play with them, it’s just being really good at our bluelines and going on attack and just having that confidence and that belief to just make a really good hockey play and try and generate something… We started to really sense and feel that going on and that led to some chances.”

Jack Wallace scored the other goal for the United States in the third period and Travis Dodson finished things off with the empty-netter.

One thing both teams mentioned was the fan support. The largest crowd of the tournament showed up to support Canada, and with nearly 3,000 people in the building, the atmosphere was… well, we’ll let the guy who called for it describe it.

“Oustanding,” McGregor said with a huge grin. “I stood here 24 hours ago and shared my excitement for it and they showed up and did exactly what we needed. The energy was unbelievable and it was the best crowd I’ve played in front of on home ice. I imagine it’s the same for the other guys in the locker room other than a few who competed in Vancouver. They were amazing and hopefully that trend continues going on.”

Both Canada and the U.S. advance to the semifinals, and will await the quarter-final winners Saturday.

Thursday is the tournament’s rest and recovery day, with the quarters on Friday. Czechia faces Italy at 3 p.m. while China will take on Korea at 7 p.m.

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Italy avoids World Para Hockey relegation with win over Norway

With 3-1 victory, Italy to finish second in Group B and play in quarter-finals; Norway and Germany relegated to B Pool Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

Heading into their match-up with Norway at the World Para Hockey Championship on Wednesday afternoon, Team Italy faced the most pressure of any team in the tournament thus far.

Either win or find yourself relegated to the B Pool next season.

But like they did 24 hours earlier in their epic 1-0 shootout win over Germany, Italy managed to come up huge.

Stephan Kaffman scored the eventual game-winner 5:06 into the third period and Italy would go on to a 3-1 victory, booking their spot in the quarter-final and -- most importantly -- ensuring they will remain in the A Pool for the 2024 World Championship.

“I’m so happy. I’m so happy for the team, I’m so happy for the players,” said Italy coach Mirko Bianchi. “We knew that when we arrived here that it was going to be a difficult world championship, and starting with China was good for us because we knew our focus would be on the other two games. We tried to do our best and we fought really well in the second and third games and I’m just so proud of the players to win such an important game.”

Christoph Depaoli opened scoring for Italy with the lone goal of the second

period before Kaffman extended the lead to 2-0. Audun Bakke got Norway back within one, with nine minutes to play, but Andrea Macri restored the two-goal lead three minutes later, and that’s where things would finish.

“We knew that today was the day, that it was the match we had to win,” Depaoli said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy one, but luckily we won… We played very good, and Santino our goaltender had an extraordinary performance, it was just a really good game and we’re so happy to win.”

Italy goaltender Santino Stilitano picked up where he left off in his team’s epic win a day earlier, stopping 21 shots to give his team a chance to win.

“They shot more than us, but we played good defence and our goalie was

great,” Bianchi said. “Everybody was trying not to make a mistake or give a present to the other team and the guys did enough to win.”

Unfortunately, the nature of international hockey means someone had to be relegated.

In 2023, that will be Norway and Germany after they finished in third and fourth place in Group B.

Norway veteran Jan Roger Klakegg didn’t mince words with the disappointing turn of events.

“We didn’t play good enough, so we didn’t deserve any better,” Klakegg said. “We wanted to show that it was a mistake going down into the B Group, but we didn’t show it, and its not like we wanted. There were too many mistakes, we didn’t follow the gameplan and that’s what happens when you do that… we learned a lesson today and we have to step up.”

Team Norway coach Ken Babey felt that his crew played well against Italy, but a few too many mistakes at bad times led to Italy pulling away.

“There were moments I thought we played very well, and there were moments we made some mistakes with the puck that led two or three of the goals,” Babey said. “Italy played very well, they were block-

ing shots and Italy made the saves when they needed to, and even though we carried the play at times, we gave it up at the wrong time and that’s what happens.”

The goal now will be to temper the disappointment with a win in the seventh-eighth place game on Friday.

“Now we want to set our sights on playing a good game against Germany and show that maybe we deserved to stay in the A Pool,” Babey said,

Italy, meanwhile, gets ready to face Czechia in their quarter-final.

“They’re one of the best Czech teams we’ve seen in many years and that’s okay, we like to play against a good team because if you want to grow you have to play your best,” Bianchi said. “That’s one reason I’m so happy we stayed in the A Pool, we can play the best teams and I know it’s tough, but that’s the point for us.”

Canada goaltender Dominic Larocque hauls in a shot.

Canada’s Alexis Auclair and the Noah Grove of the United States go into the end boards.

Norway’s Martin Hamre lays a hit on Italy’s Andrea Macri.

Italy had plenty to celebrate for the second game in a row after their 3-1 win saw them avoid relegation.

Czechia puts on defensive clinic on way to Para Hockey World quarter-final win over Italy

Italy held to only four shots as Czechia advances to semifinals with 4-0 victory, Randy Palmer - Moose

There have been impressive defensive performances through the past week during the World Para Hockey Championship at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, but none stood out more than what Czechia put together against Italy in their semifinal match-up on Friday afternoon.

Czechia hemmed Italy into their own zone almost the entire game and would hold their opposition to a total of four shots -- one in the first, one in the second and two in the third -- on their way to a 4-0 victory.

As a result, Czechia will now face Canada in the semifinal on Saturday at 7 p.m.

“I think we knew that Italy plays this way, they are a very good defensive team and they were waiting for breakaways, so we wanted to play with the puck the whole game,” said Czechia forward Zdenek Habl, who scored his team’s opening goal late in the second period.

“Every game we want to play 100 per cent, every player, and this game was up to us. We were supposed to have chances and

China

it’s good that we did.”

Although Czechia had held Italy to a single shot through the first period and a half, things were still scoreless heading into the last five minutes of the second.

That was a product of Italy’s impressive defensive zone coverage and a stellar showing from goaltender Gabriele Araudo, who made a host of big saves and finished with 29 stops on the afternoon.

Habl brought a huge sign of relief when he scored Czechia’s first goal with 4:56 remaining in the second, and once the dam broke, things came fast and furious. Pavel Kubes made it 2-0 49 seconds later and Michal Geier extended the edge to 3-0 with a shorthanded goal 52 seconds after that mark.

“The first period wasn’t our game as much as we wanted, but after we scored the first goal, we loosened up a lot in our minds and it went well from that point,” said Czechia head coach Jakub Nototny.

“We told the guys that if we have the puck, they can’t score, and that was the way today.”

For their part, Italy made no bones about their strategy heading into the game -- play as well as you can defensively and take advantage of openings as they come. Problem is, Czechia didn’t give them many chances, hence the lopsided shot clock.

“It’s a point of pride for us, in this sport everything starts from the defence,” said Italy forward Andrea Macri. “So we enjoyed the first part of the match, we wanted to make it not an easy game, but they made so few mistakes and were really good in the moment.”

Italy head coach Mirko Bianchi was of much the same opinion, especially with how they were able to frustrate Czechia through the first half of the game.

“I’m so proud of the team, we played really good defensive zone coverage and we work a lot on that, so we’re really happy about that,” he said. “Then we have to move, we have to move the puck and play under pressure, so we have to do

something more. I’m happy, but there are some things we have to do to improve as a team.”

Czechia now has the unenviable task of facing the host Canadians in the semifinal. The teams met in the round robin and had an absolute barnburner of a game before Canada escaped with a 2-1 win.

“I want to stay humble, because it was a great performance the last time we met, but I want to be cautious because Canada has something more to offer,” Novotny said. “So we’ll have to be even tougher against them, hit them even harder and get in their minds.”

Italy, meanwhile, moves on to face Korea in the fifth-place game Sunday and will aim to turn in as solid a showing as possible while letting the chips fall where they may.

“I don’t think about fifth place, I’d like to see a good game on defence like we had today and then we’ll see what happens,” Bianchi said.

turns in solid showing against Korea to advance to World Para Hockey semifinal

Five-goal first-period paces way to 7-2 win, China to face United States on Saturday Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

Friday night’s World Para Hockey Championship game between China and Korea went pretty much as expected.

After rolling through the round robin with a 3-0 record and outscoring the opposition 21-2 in the process, China scored five goals in the first period and would go on to a 7-2 victory over Korea in the quarter-final at Moose Jaw Events Centre.

With the win, China will now face the United States in their semifinal, while Korea will take on Italy in the fifth-sixth place game.

Things were interesting in the early going, as China’s Yu Tao Cui opened scoring 2:17 in, only to have Seung Hwan Jung reply for Korea just under three minutes later. The rest of the period belonged to China, though, as Shen Yi Feng, Wang Zhi Dong, Li Hong Guan and Tian Jin Tao all scored to take the 5-1 lead.

China coach Yin Ji Wu pointed to the familiarity the two teams have with one another as a factor in planning for the game and getting off to a quick start.

“Team Korea is one team we’re very familiar with, and even before we came to Canada, Korea visited China for three days and we played against them for three days,” he said. “So we knew what we were going to face from them.”

Once the game was in control, China began to take a far more careful approach to their play -- ramping down the intensity somewhat in the process -- given the bigger games ahead.

“I told the players before the game to avoid injuring yourselves, because we have two big games in the next two days

and if anyone gets injured it’ll affect the whole team.

Yin said. “We were able to win this game and now we look forward to playing the U.S.”

Cho Byeong Seok scored Korea’s second goal 6:12 into the final period -and beauty at that, roofing a perfect shot from a hard angle -- but Li and Tian added insurance markers to make it a 7-2 final.

Sueng Hwan said that while his team was disappointed with the loss, they were looking forward to the fifth-sixth place game against Italy and the opportunity to redeem themselves.

“As we expected, China was a vey strong team and we were prepared, and even though we lost we did all we could,” Seung Hwan said. “Honestly, we’ve been losing again and again and again, so we’ve been disappointed in that result, but we will try our best (against italy) and we’ll

win and go back to Korea happy.”

China, meanwhile, will turn their attention to what will be far and away their toughest test of the tournament in their semifinal against the gold-medal hopeful United States.

“We’re looking forward to facing Team U.S.A., which is probably one of the top teams in the whole world,” Yin said. “So we’re going to learn from them, their individual skills and their team coordination.”

Saturday’s schedule saw the seventh-eighth place game between Norway and Germany lead things off at 11 a.m., followed by the semifinal between China and the U.S. at 3 p.m. and the semifinal between Canada and Czechia at 7 p.m.

Jaw Express

Team Czechia celebrates after scoring their second goal.

Czechia’s Karl Wagner sends a gets off a center pass in front of Italy’s Alessandro Andreoni and Mateo Remotti Marnini.

Czechia’s Pavel Kubes sends a pass into the slot on Italy goaltender Gabriele Araudo.

Italy goaltender Gabriele Araudo snares a shot in close by Czechia’s Michal Geier.

China’s Wang Zhi Dong circles to the front of the net after dodging a check by Korea’s Ryu Jee Hyun

China’s Song Xiao Dong flips a puck to the front of the Korea net ahead of Jung Seung Hwan.

Team Korea’s Yu Inchul looks to corral the puck out of traffic at the side of his net. Korea’s Kim Young Sung braces for a hit by China’s Lyu Zhi.

MORNING GAME 1

SATURDAY

JUNE 3, 2023

Norway rolls to win over Germany and seventh-place finish at Para Hockey Worlds

Pair of first period goals give Norway solid start, go on to 6-1 win in final game of tour nament

When the World Para Hockey Championship began just under a week ago, the seventh-eighth place game was the one contest no one wanted to be a part of.

Not only would playing in the game mean you finished in the bottom two of the tournament, it also meant you’d be relegated to the B Pool for the 2024 World Championship.

Such was the case for Team Norway and Team Germany on Saturday morning at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, with Norway coming away with a 6-1 victory to finish in seventh place.

“I think with our team, we have a lot of young players who played in key situations, and now they know what its like to get up to the A Pool,” said Norway coach Ken Babey. “I’m really proud of our team’s effort, they played hard for each other and executed the gameplan almost to a tee and didn’t give Germany a lot to work with. It was a good learning curve for our team this whole tournament and I think you’ll see in the Paralympics very soon.”

The contest was a rematch from Day 1 of the tournament, where Germany took a 5-3 victory. As a result, Norway was looking for a measure of revenge on top of picking up their first win.

“I felt the first game we had a lot of puck control and we didn’t execute the game plan all the way through, and that

SATURDAY

JUNE 3, 2023

Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

given how they’d had some solid showings in the preliminary round.

“We wanted to end this tournament well because we had three really good games, but today we weren’t ready” Pokorny said. “They were better skaters and checkers and it was just a hard one today… we talked before that Norway wanted to win this game, but we wanted to end it good, too, and we just didn’t have anything. We know we’re close with Norway and they were just better than us today.”

Andreas Sundt turned aside seven shots to earn the win while Simon Kunst was far busier at the other end of the ice with 21 stops.

nized. It made for some really good hockey games and we want to the thank Moose Jaw, we enjoyed it.”

Babey hails from Saskatoon, and expressed pride in his home province for the success in pulling a large event of in such a short period of time.

“I’m very proud being from Saskatchewan and seeing the great job the Moose Jaw organizing committee did,” he said. “They did a great job, there wasn’t anything they missed, everything went amazingly well. I’m very proud that we were here and everybody treated us so well.”

led to some bad goals against,” Norway captain Knut Andre Nordstoga said. “So it felt good today to show how we can play, get the win and finish off the tournament with a win. It was really important for us.”

Norway wasted no time getting things going, with Ola Oiseth and Audun Bakke scoring in the first period for a 2-0 lead through 15 minutes. Oiseth then finished off his hat trick with a pair of second period goals before Alexander Lyngroth and Loyd Remi Solberg added further insurance markers in the third.

Lucas Sklorz scored Germany’s lone goal in the second period.

Germany coach Andreas Pokorny was disappointed in the result, especially

With their tournament coming to an end, both teams were thankful for the experience of playing in Moose Jaw, even if they didn’t get the result they wanted.

“It was a very good tournament from the beginning to the end, it was great to be here, to play here and to experience the whole atmosphere,” said Sklorz. “It was great organization and a great tournament and we’d like to come back, hopefully in the A Pool.”

Pokorny was of much the same opinion, “We enjoyed it here, it was very good organization, it was a good place,” he said. “It’s not Calgary or Toronto, but it’s a nice city and everything was perfectly orga-

United States dominate China to advance to World Para Hockey gold medal game

Four-goal first period sets tone as U.S. goes on to 10-1 win in semifinal, to play for gold on Sunday night

Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

Heading into the World Para Hockey Championship semifinal between the United States and China, there were plenty of questions as to just how the game would turn out.

Both teams had put together impressive showings in their respective round robins and were a combined 6-0, with goal differentials well into the digits on the positive side of things.

As it turns out, the United States looks like they’re just on another level right now.

The U.S. scored four goals in the first, added another four in the second and would go on to a 10-1 victory at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

As a result, the United States will look to win their third straight world championship gold medal when they face the winner of Canada and Czechia on Sunday night.

“It was fun out there, I think the pace was real fast and boys came together and got the job done,” said United States forward Malik Jones. “We’re just enjoying the win right now and we’ll refocus and get ready for the gold medal game tomorrow.”

Jones was one of a handful of offensive standouts for the U.S., putting up two goals and five points. Declan Farmer had a hat trick and five points, while Brody Roybal picked up a three-goal game of his own.

Ben Musselman and Kevin McKee rounded out scoring for the U.S.

A major factor in the result, once again, was the Americans’ ability to simply roll three lines and see virtually no

drop off from one shift to the next. That led to their crew being able to apply continuous pressure and take away any time China had to make plays,

As the contest progressed, China had to rush their chances more and more, lowering their effectiveness when they did get into the U.S. zone.

That was all by design, said U.S. head coach David Hoff.

“We want to be hard to play against, and not just physically but mentally as well,” he said. “Try and hold a conversation for a couple minutes straight and you’ll find it starts to grind, and it’s the same with a shift. We really want to wear on people physically and mentally and that’s where getting fresh bodies out there makes a difference. We’ve done a great

job of that all tournament and we’ll need to do it in the gold medal game as well.”

China, meanwhile, took the approach that many teams are taking in games against the U.S. this week -- use any opportunity you can to learn from the best in the world.

“This was our second time to play against Team USA, the first time was at the last Paralympics and the score was very similar to what we had today, so we wanted to learn from them,” said China forward Xu Jin Qiang. “This A Pool game is the top hockey and we always want to learn when we can from these teams.”

Wang Zhi Dong and Li Hong Guan scored for China.

Jenn Lee played the first two periods for the U.S. and had two saves, while Griffin Lamarre had three saves in the final 15 minutes. Ji Yan Zhao had 13 stops for China.

Now, it’s on to the medal games.

China will play for bronze against the loser of Czechia and Canada at 3 p.m. Sunday, and it’s a contest they will be putting a special emphasis on.

“We won a bronze medal the last Paralympics, but there might be some people questioning the ability of our team,” Xu said. “By bringing some hardware home, hopefully that’ll answer any question from people questioning our abilities.”

The United States will look to just keep on keeping on against their gold medal game opponent,

“Whoever we play, we’ll be looking to play our game and do what’s worked

for us all week,” Jones said. “Hopefully that means we come home with the gold medal.”

… holds….

Ola Oiseth celebrates after scoring for Norway in the second period.

Germany’s Frank Rennhack and Norway’s Loyd Remi Solberg battle for position on a point shot in front of German goaltender Simon Kunst.

U.S. captain Josh Pauls circles around his net ahead of China’s Zhang Zheng.

Team USA forward Declan Farmer picks up the puck in the China zone…

… and scores his team’s sixth goal of the game.

Canada takes comfortable win over Czechia in semifinal to face U.S. for gold

Four-goal first period paves way to 5-0 win and return to championship final, Czechia to face China for bronze

Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

Canada and the United States will once again play for a World Para Hockey Championship gold medal.

Every single World and Paralympic final since 2015 has involved the two arch-rivals, with the U.S. having won the title in five of those six match-ups.

Canada booked their spot in the title game on Saturday night, scoring four goals in the first period and going on to a 5-0 victory at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

It was a relatively comfortable win for the tournament hosts, as one might expect given their flying start -- Dominic Cozzolino opened scoring only 26 seconds into the game, and Canada was immediately off to the races.

“That was big, the first line started the game hot and had a lot of momentum, but we definitely had to battle through and get to our defensive structure to pull this one off,” said Canada forward Zach Levin, who scored his team’s fourth goal of the period. “We still stayed defensively strong the whole game and there were some moments where we lost our touch there, but we have a young group, we’re on a good path and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

James Dunn had goals 18 seconds apart beginning at the six minute mark to round out Team Canada’s first period scoring.

The fact Canada was able to take control of the game quickly was important in coach Russ Herrington’s view, especially in light of how close things were in their 2-1 round robin win over Czechia.

“You take a page from teams that are successful, and you look at our opponent in the gold medal final and what they did to China today,” he said, referring to the United States 10-2 win in the other semifinal. “Sometimes it’s a matter of planting the seed of doubt, where they were able to do that to us in the first game by keeping it tight throughout, we were able to do it today with that start. But I thought Czechia battled hard tonight and had a really

good game and I hope they win the bronze medal.”

As well as things went early for Canada, they were equally as close the rest of the way through. Canada added only one more goal to their ledger, that from Cozzolino in the third period.

Dominic Larocque turned aside 11 shots to earn the win, while Martin Kudela had 19 saves for Czechia.

As one might expect, Czechia was left wondering what might have been if things had turned out better in the first 10 minutes.

“It’s bad luck for us,” said Czechia veteran Pavel Kubes. “ We had some mistakes on the first shift and there as a lucky bounce and it went in. Then the same the second shift and third shift and then it’s hard to catch up on the momentum… IIt seems to happen every tournament to us. There’s some game where we’re out of luck and the other team gets lucky bounces. That’s what happened during the first five minutes and that’s hockey, it’s what it is.”

Czechia coach Jakub Novotny was happy to see a response from his troops and hopes that builds into the bronze medal game against China on Sunday afternoon.

“We’re going all in tomorrow,” he said matter-of-factly. “There’s nothing left for us and everyone wants to win and if you finish a tournament with a win, it’s always a nice feeling. That’s how we want to end this performance here, with a bronze medal, and we’re looking forward to it.”

Canada, meanwhile, turns their attention to another gold medal game, and

Herrington had no issues with laying out what it will take to find a win against an absolute powerhouse like the U.S.

“If we don’t control (Declan) Farmer, (Brody) Roybal, (Jack) Wallace and (Josh)

Pauls, it’s going to be a long night for us,” he said. “If we can control those guys like we did the other night, we can hang in long enough that the crowd might get us something or we earn ourselves a bounce and do something we haven’t done in our long time.

“But it’s going to require our best version, and the difference is tomorrow’s best version has to be better than today’s best version which had to be better than Wedesnday’s best version,” Herrington added. “Facts prove it, they’re the best time in the world and to be the best you have to beat the best and we’re looking forward to that opportunity.”

S O U T H O F T H E

B R I D G E D A Y

Canada’s Auren Halbert attempts to get off a pass while absorbing a hit from a Czechia defender.

Canada captain Tyler McGregor picks up a puck out of traffic and looks to send a pass to the front of the net.

Canada coach Russ Herrington prepares to lay out plans during a timeout.

Team Canada forward Adam Dixon got in a little too close to Czechia goaltender Martin Kudela to get a shot off.

Canada’s James Dunn leads the rush up ice during the second period.

Korea defeats Italy in shootout to finish in fifth place at Para Hockey Worlds

Korea battles to 2-1 victory to pick up first win of tournament on final day of competition

To say the least, it was a tough week for Team Korea at the World Para Hockey Championship.

Not only could they not seem to catch a break in the round robin, they also had to deal with the eventual gold-medal finalists Canada and the U.S. before running into a tough Team China in the quarter-final.

So it stood to reason that the hockey gods would shine a bit of light Korea’s way on Sunday morning in the fifth-sixth place game, and sure enough, that’s what happened.

Korea battled to a 1-1 draw through regulation and overtime with Team Italy and then saw Jang Dong Shin score three times in the shootout to take a 2-1 victory at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

As a result, Korea will finish in fifth

Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw

place and Italy in sixth, with both teams returning to Pool A for the Worlds in 2025.

“It’s right after the game and there’s a lot of things going through my mind, but I’m just happy we were able to get the win,” said Korea’s Lee Jun Yong “There was a lot of weight on our shoulders going into this game and I’m happy for the team we won and we’re looking forward to the next time we get to play.”

Korea head coach Kim Taoe Ho was equally as pleased with the result, even if seeing it go to a shootout wasn’t exactly what they were hoping for.

“I don’t like it because it’s really hard on the heart, but we had a good goalie who made some saves and then Jang our captain scored a couple of big goals and it was nice to get the win,” he said. “Any time you can win a hockey game you’re happy, and this was for fifth and sixth so it was an important game for us.”

As the score would indicate, the game was close in every aspect, from time of possession to legitimate scoring chances and on the shot clock.

Both Korea goaltender Choi Hyuk Jun and Italy’s Santino Stillitano were sharp from the get go, and they needed to be as both teams had early chances. Choi finished with 19 saves, while Stillitano

was right there as well with 22 stops of his own.

Stephan Kafmann opened scoring for Italy 10 minutes into the second period and Cho Byeong Seok replied for Korea three minutes later with the only goals of regulation.

The shootout would end up going 12 shooters deep before Jang scored the winner and Choi made a save on Andrea Macri to finish things off.

It was a disappointing game result for Italy, but they were proud of their impres-

sive defensive performance just the same.

“It was a very good game, and we knew that Korea would be a strong team,” said forward Matteo Remotti-Marnini.

“Then the shootout is just 50-50, you don’t know how it’s going to go and it wasn’t good for us. But I’m proud of my team and my line, I expected we could win, but we’ll get them next time.”

Seeing his crew come as close as they did to a win was a positive for coach Mirko Bianchi.

“It was a tough game, we played good and we’re on the same level, and I’m happy for that,” he said. “Then the penalty shots are a like a lottery, and I’m not so happy we lost like that, but we fought to the end against Korea and I’m happy for the team.”

Czechia claims first-ever World Para Hockey medal with win over China in bronze game

Zelinka scores game-winner late in third period as Czechia takes 3-2 win to finish third in Moose Jaw

After the week Team Czechia put together during the World Para Hockey Championship, it seemed only fitting that they found themselves playing for a medal on Sunday afternoon at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

And even more fitting that they’d come away with a win in the bronze medal game.

Captain Radek Zelinka scored on a shot from the point with 2:14 to play in the third period, and Czechia would go on to pick up the first medal in their country’s history with a 2-1 victory over Team China.

“We are extremely happy, but we put a lot of work into this championship and the preparation, the whole season was very tough for us and we’re really grateful to the whole of Czech hockey for this medal,” said Czechia veteran Michal Geier. “It’s our first-ever medal and we’re so happy, it’s overwhelming.”

The contest was as close as could be from start to finish.

China’s Cui Yu Tao opened scoring only 1:27 into the contest, but Geier would get that one back before the period was out.

Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

Paralympics, but largely took the loss in stride given how close things were between the two teams.

“Team Czechia has a great team, they were executing their strategies and seemed to be very disciplined,” said China defenceman Zhu Zhan Fu. “We have a young team, there were a lot of things we learned and we’ll try our best to win a medal next time.”

China coach Yin Jiwu pointed to that youth as a factor in how things played out, especially given the high-pressure situation.

Geier then gave his team the lead 2:05 into the second, only to have China respond as time ran down in the frame. Shen Yi Feng tied the game 2-2 with 12 seconds remaining, and there things would remain until Zelinka’s game-winner.

That things were so close wasn’t a surprise given how the teams had played throughout the week.

“It was a hard game for us, we expected the tight result because we saw them the whole championship and they had a great team,” Geier said. “But we played a great game and it was a huge win.”

Czechia coach Jakub Novotny was at a loss for words when trying to fully describe what the win meant to his crew.

“It was nervewracking for us, but we told our players it was the best western movie we ever saw after the game,” he said. “He shoots he scores (a last-minute goal)? It’s amazing and we feel so much satisfaction, the players put in so much work and we love this result. It’s extremely… yeah, it’s extremely.”

China had hoped to at least match their third-place showing from the 2022

“For our team today, we were competing for the bronze medal and everyone was really nervous and we made quite few mistakes ourselves that gave our opponent opportunities,” Yin said. “The important thing is learning to deal with pressure, the pressure caused by travelling to a foreign country to compete and everything about a world championship. So we will try our best to improve in those areas in the future.”

Ji Yan Zhao finished the game with seven saves, while Martin Kudela had 13 stops for Czechia in yet another stellar performance.

“Our goalie was just a wall the entire tournament and we knew we could count on him this game as well,” Novotny said. “So it all came together, and after the first period we started to shoot more and create more pressure on them and it all worked out.”

The medal was a long time coming for Czechia and one they hope will be the first of many.

“Everyone on our team staff were extremely happy,” Novotny said. “We’ve been working as a team for a long time, and it’s the guys in the past who built this team, they built the base for us and we’re satisfied with what we did here.

“I’m very proud of our players not just for this medal but for how they played the whole tournament and hopefully this is a sign of things to come.”

Express

Italy’s Eusebiu Antochi takes a hit along the end boards from Korea’s Ryu Jee Hyun.

Italy’s Eusebiu Antochi picks up the puck as teammate Andrea Macri and Korea’s Lee Jun Yong battle along the end boards.

Korea goaltender Choi Hyuk Jun makes a shootout save on Nils Larch.

Czechia’s Alex Ohar makes his way to the front of the net for a scoring chance on China goaltender Ji Yan Zhao.

Czechia and China battle for the puck in front of the China goal.

Czechia captain Radek Zelinka offers congratulations to Team China.

Team Czechia listen to their national anthem after winning the first medal in their country’s history.

U.S. turns in impressive performance on way to World Para Hockey gold medal win over Canada

Americans score pair of shorthanded goals, go on to 6-1 victory in championship final at Moose Jaw Events Centre

When Team Canada coach Russ Herrington said in advance of the gold medal final that it would take an almost perfect game to defeat the United States at the World Para Hockey Championship, he wasn’t kidding.

And the United States showed exactly what he meant on Sunday night.

The U.S. scored a pair of goals in each period, including two shorthanded, as they went on to a 6-1 victory to claim gold in front of nearly 3,000 fans at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

It was as complete a performance in-game and throughout the week as the United States could have hoped for, and it all led to their fifth straight world and Paralympic championship dating back to 2018.

“We’ve just been working our way up all week, it started at base camp and now we’ve got to the top of the mountain and it feels great,” said U.S. forward David Eustace. “Hopefully it’ll never end, we just have to keep working and keep grinding all the time and hopefully we’ll keep on winning.”

Randy

The U.S. got things going only 2:48 into the game when Josh Misiewicz scored the game’s opening goal, and tournament MVP Declan Farmer made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal with 44 seconds to play in the period.

Eustace then made it 3-0 1:23 into the second, followed by a second U.S. shorthanded goal from Jack Wallace with 4:33 to play in the frame to give the U.S. a 4-0 lead heading into the third.

“We just had to keep the intensity up, keep grinding on them and make them make mistakes. It worked well,” Eustace said of their strategy and how they built their lead.

Canada captain Tyler McGregor nearly brought the roof off the building when he went in on a partial breakaway and beat U.S. goaltender Jenn Lee with Canada’s

lone goal 4:22 into the third, but Farmer and Kevin McKee scored in the latter half of the period to wrap things up.

U.S. head coach David Hoff pointed to the performance of his top four players as a key to their success, as Farmer, Wallace, Brody Roybal and captain Josh Pauls were outstanding from start to finish.

The foursome saved some of their best work for their penalty kill, with their shorthanded markers changing the state of the game both times they were scored.

“Any time we have an important kill, you’re going to see Farmer, Roybal, Wallace and Pauls on the ice, and every one of them is a threat to do something individually,” Hoff said. “That’s one thing we told the guys, just be patient and the chances will come. They definitely got some chances, and then we had David Eustace and Travis Dodson playing so well, too. When you have a so-called third line playing that well, it makes it so hard for teams to do very much against you.”

Needless to say, it was a disappointing result for Team Canada, as they continue to battle to find a way to deal with the depth and skill the U.S. brings every time they face one another.

“They are an excellent team, and as of right now they’re the best team in the world and that’s not a slight on our team,” McGregor said. “We showed up to this tournament with eight players in their first world championship, and it’s heartbreaking, but every single person in that room showed their ability to compete and what they could do. The result is just what it is, but I’m proud of how we played the whole week.”

Herrington had hoped to see his crew find a way to deal with the United States top four, but that was always going to be a nigh impossible task.

“To say they’re good is an under-

statement,” he said. “Declan Farmer is the best player in the world and he showed it again this week, then Josh Pauls and Jack Wallace aren’t far behind him. We’re just at a different stage in our development than they are. They’ve earned their way to the top of the mountain, and we said this week, no one gets drafted to the top of the mountain. Sometimes you have to scratch and claw and get up there, and sometimes you fall back a little bit, it’s a long journey.”

Lee finished with eight saves to earn the win, Dominic Larocque stopped 17 shots for Canada.

Now, the look turns toward the future. For the U.S., that means a tradition spate of turnover as more players move

EVENING GAME 3

SUNDAY

JUNE 4, 2023

into the program and bolster their alreadyimpressive core.

“It’s just a really good group of guys,” Hoff said. “It’s tough, because this is the last time those guys will be together because in a few months we’ll be selecting a new team and we’ve never had the whole group of guys two years in a row. It’s very competitive to be on this team right now.”

Canada, meanwhile, will look to continue to build as they aim to eventually take a hard run at the iron colossus astride the world of para hockey.

“We’re trying to be Team Canada, and Team USA is Team USA,” Herrington said. “That’s the biggest final step, we’re not there yet, because we’re a team that competes for gold medals and they’re a team that wins gold medals. They put that on display again tonight, and we’ll just keep working hard to try and get there.”

Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

Team Canada captain Tyler McGregor celebrates his goal with teammate Dominic Cozzolino.

Team Canada shows their disappointment after falling to the U.S. in the gold medal final.

Canada’s Tyler McGregor makes contact with the United States’ Chris Douglas along the boards.

Team USA captain Josh Pauls with the World Para Hockey Championship trophy.

Team U.S. forward and tournament most valuable player Declan Farmer celebrates one of his two goals on the night.

Team Canada salutes the 2,838 fans who took in the gold medal final on Sunday night.

Tyler McGregor puts a shot past U.S. goaltender Jenn Lee for Canada’s lone goal of the gold medal final.

Team USA are the 2023 World Para Hockey Championship gold medalists.

Miller Express keep rolling along with sixth-straight win as fast start continues

Moose Jaw takes 7-1 win over Swift Current and 4-2 win over Regina before closing out week with 8-2 win against Weyburn.

Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

The early-season wins just keep adding up for the Moose Jaw Miller Express.

The local Western Canadian Baseball League crew picked up their sixth-straight victory on Sunday afternoon at Ross Wells Park, scoring runs in four straight innings and going on to an 8-2 victory over the Weyburn Beavers.

That win came on the heels of another pair of solid performances last week, including a 7-1 win over Swift Current on Thursday and 4-2 win over Regina on Friday.

Moose Jaw is now 6-1 to start the season and hold down first place in the WCBL East Division.

Moose Jaw 8, Weyburn 2

It was another solid game at the plate by the Tweet brothers that helped get things done.

Second-year veteran Dawson Tweet had a 3-for-4 day that included his fourth double of the season and a run scored, while rookie Wyatt Tweet was 2-for-4, scored a pair of runs and added an RBI.

Dawson is now hitting .550 through Moose Jaw’s first seven games, while Wyatt boosted his average to an even .500.

Lead-off hitter Thomas Soto continued his solid start to the season, going 1-for-3 with two runs scored, while catcher Chaz Poppy also had a pair of hits.

Even with all that offence, things were close in the early going between the two teams, as the game was tied 1-1 through four innings.

It was all Moose Jaw from there, though, as the Express put up two runs in the fifth, another in the sixth, three more in the seventh and closed things out with their eighth run in the eighth inning.

That production was more than enough to get the job done, thanks to yet another solid starting pitching performance. Matt Vasquez allowed a single run on three hits while striking out five to pick up the win, striking out eight and walking only one.

Julian Gonzalez allowed a single run in an inning of work before Jake King tossed two scoreless innings and struck out three. Triston Seitz pitched a scoreless ninth and had a pair of strikeouts. Miller Express 7, Swift Current 1

Brayan Villar turned in the best start for Moose Jaw this season on Thursday night at Ross Wells Park, holding the 57s to a single hit over five innings and striking out nine.

That was more than enough to secure the win, as the Express scored their first run in the second inning and tacked on three more in the fifth to give Villar plenty of run support.

It would have been difficult for the Millers relievers to be Villar’s equal, but they gave it a shot -- Gonzalez pitched three innings and allowed a single run on two hits before Zach Sigmon tossed a scoreless final inning.

Reigning Miller Express MVP Nate Mensik had seen his season get off to a bit of a slow start by his standards, but that all changed Thursday. He’d go 4-for-5 at the plate, hitting a double, crossing the plate twice and knocking in a run. Mensik saw his average climb nearly 200 points and is now hitting .368.

Austin Gurney had a pair of hits for Moose Jaw, including a triple, while Chaz

Moose Jaw High School Associations Athletes of the Month – May 2023

This month’s sponsor is Aaron Ruston from Purposed Financial Corp.

Poppy also had a pair of hits, Miller Express 4, Regina 2

Kellan Voggesser was his usual allstar self against the Red Sox on Friday at Ross Wells, throwing the first quality start of the season for the Express as he allowed two runs on four hits over six innings, striking out six.

He trailed 2-0 until the fifth inning, when the Moose Jaw bats finally came awake and saw the Millers put up three runs and take the lead for good.

Kaleb Waller took over in the seventh and held Regina to only three hits in two innings of work, and Sigmon would finish things off by striking out the side in the ninth.

Mensik was back at it at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a triple, run scored and two RBI. Dawson Tweet also had a stellar game at the dish, going 3-for-4 with a double, run scored and RBI.

The Miller Express were back in action Tuesday when they travelled to Weyburn. Next home action is Wednesday against the Beavers, with game time 7 p.m. at Ross Wells Park.

Hillcrest

in Moose Jaw experiences an amazing hole-in-one!

During Men’s Night at Hillcrest Golf Club In Moose Jaw on Wednesday evening, May 31st, 2023,something happened that has never happened or been seen before and most likely will never happen again.

Matt Maltais took out his driver on Par 4 – hole 15, tee’d up from the blue tees, took the shot, carried his ball 422 yards and dropped it in the hole for an ACE!

Back Row: Sarah Roszell (Track & Field-RVCI), Jacob Michelson (Track & Field - BCA), Nolan Kearns (Track & Field - CCS), Javin Boynton (Track & FieldCCI), Ademide Adewumi (Volleyball/Basketball/Badminton/Track & Field-CCS), Hailey Noble (Track & Field - VCI), Kylee Cooper (Badmonton - AEP) Front Row: Emma Viczko (Track & Field - VCI), Allan Lu (Badmonton - AEP), Elias Yuke (Track & Field - RVCI), Shaine Closs (Track & Field - CCI), Danae McCroy (Track & Field - BCA).

Miller Express hitter Luke Lachance in action against the Weyburn Beavers on Sunday afternoon.

Miller Express pitcher Brayan Villar had one of his team’s best starts of the season in their win over

The Western Development Museum announces their upcoming 2023 summer events

Check out the WDM’s summer lineup as they host a variety of fun and educational programs between June and August Aaron Walker - Moose Jaw Express / Moose Jaw Today.com

The Western Development Museum (WDM) is the place to be this year, as they announce their upcoming summer 2023 program schedule.

Throughout this summer, Leslie, who is a summer student at the WDM, is hosting six Summer Pop-Up events on weekends.

These events take place on Sundays and are set up as drop-in family activities. Each event features a different theme, and a fun yet educational program is provided based around this theme. Activities range from crafts to games to hands-on activities that kids can participate in.

For those of us who grew up creating imaginary worlds with LEGO, the Saskatchewan LEGO Users Group (SLUG) is hosting an event featuring talented members from all across Western Canada. Here, members will display their creations and bring inspiration to those of us who built with the bricks in the past.

One fascinating element of this display is that all the creations are unique. “Nothing comes with instructions or is from a kit,” explains Karla Rasmussen, programs manager at the WDM.

On each day of the show, there will be special attendee events and public talks by the group.

As well, vendors will be selling LEGO bricks for those who are inspired to begin their own creations or take up a past hobby once again.

The Brickspo event takes place over two days, between July 29 and 30.

Additionally, this summer the steam train will be back in operation and providing rides, although no specific date can be given at this time.

To gain an appreciation for the hard

work that goes behind their operational steam train, engineers who are in training must complete an intensive steam-engineering course, and then complete 80 hours of practical experience with a qualified engineer. This is difficult to attain, given that there are not a lot of steam trains still in operation.

“This is the only operational steam locomotive in Saskatchewan,” affirms Rasmussen. There are other operational trains of different types, but the steam train is unique to the Moose Jaw branch of the WDM.

The train is known as the K+S Potash Canada Short Line 101 and has been providing rides since 1978.

As well, there is an operational steam tractor that will be the centerpiece of the

“Blow Off Some Steam Day” event on August 12th. The event is based around this historical machine, and the general public is invited to check it out as it begins chuffing off steam once again and operates as it would have done in the early days of Saskatchewan’s history.

A complete list of upcoming events at the WDM this summer includes:

June 10: BMO Free Admission Day

June 24: “Flower Power” Fashion Show

July: Gopher Seek and Find and Time

Hopping Activity Sheet

· July 2: Summer Pop-Up #1: The Marvel of Medicine

· July 9: Summer Pop-Up #2: Roarin’

Roadsters

· July 16: Summer Pop-Up #3: It’s All

Fun and Games…

· July 23: Summer Pop-Up #4: Canadian Creativity

· July 29 and 30: Brickspo

· August: Yellow and Green Seek and Find

· August 6: Summer Pop-Up #5: Making Moose Jaw

· August 12: Blow Off Some Steam Day

· August 13: Summer Pop-Up #6: Baking

Be sure to mark your calendars and bring out the entire family, as the summer events offered by the WDM are assured to be both exciting and educational.

The WDM is the largest human history museum in Saskatchewan with a collection of nearly 80,000 artifacts, as stated on their website at https://wdm.ca/moosejaw/.

For more information, the Western Development Museum can be reached at 306-693-5989.

For the “Blow Off Some Steam Day” event on August 12th, the WDM’s own steam tractor will be the star of the show.

306-691-0080

888 Main Street

Not only is the Turanza EV made for zero-emission vehicles, but it’s also made with recycled and renewable materials. On May 19th, 2023, Bridgestone unveiled the company’s first-ever replacement tire designed exclusively for the electric vehicle market. The Turanza EV grand touring tire debuted with limited fitments aimed specifically at premium EVs, with plans to introduce additional sizes next year.

The initial fitments are aimed at the Tesla Model 3, Model S, Model X, Model Y and the Ford Mustang Mach-E.

Photo by: Aaron Walker

The Western Development Museum announces their upcoming 2023 summer event schedule. Photo by: Aaron Walker

Canadian Hong Kong Veterans – Japanese Canadian Internment –The Aleutian Campaign of WW 2 and Internment of Ukrainians in WW 1

How Reparations Payments to Japanese Canadians led to Reparations for Hong Kong Vets and Ukrainian Canadians

PART 1

Sequence of Story:

1 WW 2 Canadian Veterans of the Battle for Hong Kong - The Hong Kong Veterans – Compensation

2 1942 Canadian Pacific War Anxiety –Japanese Canadians – Internment During WW 2 – Canadians Fighting Japanese in Aleutians and the Death of Stanley Maxmen of Moose Jaw

3 Internment of Austro-Hungarian ‘Ukrainians’ in WW 1

While researching a story about Kanao Inouye, a Nikkei born in Kamloops, B.C. on May 24, 1916 and is the only Canadian citizen hanged for treason in WW 2, I read of the experience of Canadians who fought in Hong Kong.

Canada entered World War 2 against Germany in September 1939 following the NAZI invasion of Poland. Hitler and the NAZIs had been granted a portion of Czechoslovakia and then went ahead and took the entire country. The invasion of Poland the following year was too much.

These events were the work of Hitler, a Madman, but it is a familiar scenario throughout history and one NATO leaders fear today in Eastern Europe.

Japan in China

There is a long history of Japanese and Korean animosity. The Empire of Japan took control of the Korean Peninsula in 1910. Invaders are never satisfied. China was in a state of chaos and Civil War in the 1930s and were vulnerable. In 1937 the Imperial Japanese Army launched an invasion campaign in China. By the fall of 1941 they controlled most of southern China.

Canadians Sent to Support British in Hong Kong November 1941

By Richard Dowson - For Educational Purposes

ans surrendered on Christmas Day, 1941. Those not killed were taken prisoner. Canadians at Hong Kong

1 Canadians sent to Hong Kong: 1,975

2 Canadian Casualties: 290 Killed, 493 Wounded

3 Canadians who Died in Japanese POW Camps: 264

Life in the POW Camps was terrible. Veterans’ Affairs Canada writes:

“116534 Private Harry Cyselman, Moose Jaw; 116047, Acting Corporal William Albert Hall, Expanse; L13164 Private Leo W. Miller, son of Mr. and Mrs. S. E. Miller, 506 Fairford Street, West, Moose Jaw; 116674 Wilfred Samuel Moore, Elbow (Died in Japanese POW Camp); 116305 Private Frank Neufield, Rush Lake; 116112 Private Cornelius Nickel, Herbert; and 116568 Private Ernest Buck, Gravelbourg.

“C” Company, Royal Rifles of Canada, aboard H.M.C.S. Prince Robert en route to Hong Kong, 15 November 1941 (Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-166999).

Hong Kong was controlled by the British. Worried the Japanese would attack, and because they were fighting a war in North Africa and Europe, the British asked Canada to send support troops to help defend Hong Kong.

At the request of the British, Canada organized the Winnipeg Grenadiers and Royal Rifles of Canada, a couple of RCAMC Nurses and an HQ Unit, into “C” Force and shipped them off to Hong Kong aboard HMCS Prince Robert. They arrived on November 15, 1941.

On December 7, 1941 the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. The United States declared war and entered the war against Germany and its allies.

Hong Kong Attacked – Canadians Surrender to Japan

The Imperial Japanese Army attacked Hong Kong on December 8, 1941, soon after their attack on Pearl Harbour. The colony was quickly over-run. The Canadi-

“After the colony surrendered, the cruelty would continue. For more than three and a half years, the Canadian POWs were imprisoned in Hong Kong and Japan in the foulest of conditions and had to endure brutal treatment and near-starvation.

In the filthy, primitive POW quarters in Northern Japan, they would often work 12 hours a day in mines or on the docks in the cold, subsisting on rations of 800 calories a day.”

Moose Jaw and District Men Captured at Hong Kong

From the Moose Jaw Times Herald, Saturday December 27, 1941: “Lieutenant Richard Maze, Assiniboia (Willowbunch), formerly with the South Saskatchewan Regiment in Weyburn.

After the War: Return on HMCS Prince Robert

In an odd twist of fate, HMCS Prince Robert picked-up the surviving Canadian POWs and brought them home to Vancouver.

After WW 2 – Surviving Hong Kong Veterans Request Special Reparations Reparations (Financial Compensation) –Reparations Defined: “the making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged.”

The Hong Kong Veterans were unique in that they were all either killed or imprisoned. None escaped the fall of Hong Kong. They requested special compensation for their ordeal. Although the Japanese ‘lost’, the process was slow. Finally, in 1951 a Treaty of Peace was signed officially ending hostilities in the Pacific.

In 1952 Hong Kong Veterans received financial compensation for their ordeal. Each was given $1.50 a day to compensate for the nightmare. As far as the Japanese and Canadian governments were concerned, that was the end of the matter. The Veterans continued to press for better compensation. The story has a pleasant conclusion.

Group of Canadian Japanese POW Camp Survivors (Source Unknown)

Canadian Hong Kong Veterans

Ukrainians in WW 1, Con’t

PART 2

Events on Canada’s West Coast After The USA Declares War on Japan

1942

Hong Kong Veterans Become POWs

Beginning in January 1942 the Canadian survivors of the Battle for Hong Kong became Prisoners of War of the Japanese. A Total of 264 would die while Prisoners of the Japanese.

Growing Fear and Anxiety

After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, a fear that the Japanese Imperial Army would attack the West Coast of North America intensified.

The fear was somewhat unfounded, but Canada had been at war with NAZI Germany since September 1939, for more than 2 years and now, as an Ally of the United States, Canada was now at war with Japan. Canadian men and women were overseas fighting and at home, many worked in supporting the war effort. War had put Canadians ‘on edge’. They directed unfound fears against Japanese Canadians living on the West Coast.

bol was presented to the Squadron by the local Chief of the Saanich First Nation in March 1942 while the Squadron was stationed at Patricia Bay. It was incorporated into their logo.

ver to accommodate 1,500.

Approximately 21,000 Japanese Canadians were moved from a ‘buffer zone’ along the West Coast. Some went to Albert where they worked on sugar beet farms.

My relative, John Sekia, was interned. He was sent to Red Pass Junction near Jasper, Alberta to work on the railway, and then, later, transferred to Tete Jaune Cache, B.C. After time spent there he moved to Raymond, Alberta where he worked on a sugar beet farm. Mr. Sekia eventually bought his own farm in Southern Alberta where he raised his family. He retired in Lethbridge.

The property of the Japanese Canadians, such as fishing boats, was sold and the Federal Government kept the money to off-set the cost of internment.

No information was found indicating any Internee died during internment. This may be incorrect.

ans Request Reparations

The Idea of Reparations Was Controversial

The Position of the Liberal Government of Pierre Trudeau

In 1984 Japanese Canadians negotiated with the Liberal Government of Pierre Trudeau for compensation for property sold without their consent and for time spent in Internment Camps. In a speech on June 29, 1984 Trudeau is quoted as saying, “I do not see how I can apologize for some historic event to which we… were not a party. We can regret that it happened.”

Trudeau went on to ask where such claims for compensation would end. He used the examples of the Chinese Head Tax or the Ukrainian Canadian Internment. (The Canadian Encyclopedia)

Japanese Bomb Dutch Harbour

On June 3 and 4, 1942, six months after Pear Harbour, an Imperial Japanese Naval force attacked the Aleutian Islands (American Territory) in what was thought as a preparation for the invasion of American Territory. Japanese aircraft bombed Dutch Harbour.

Japanese Invade Attu and Kiska Islands, Part of the United States

On June 6 and 7, 1942, Japanese forces landed on and captured Attu and Kiska islands, the first and only invasion of the United States by Japan. They established a garrison and the Islands remained in Japanese hands until a joint force of Canadians and American re-took them on August 15, 1943.

Japanese Shell Estevan Point, Vancouver Island

On June 20, 1942 Japanese Submarine

I-26 shelled the Estevan Point Lighthouse on the west coast of Vancouver Island. On the same day Japanese Submarine, I-25 shelled parts of the Oregon Coast.

Tragedy at Umnak

On July 16, 1942 a Flight of 6 P-40 Kittyhawks were ordered to fly from Cold Harbour for Umnak, the Aleutian Islands. Weather was unpredictable. The destination became cloud covered. Four Kittyhawls crashed into the top of a hill near the destination. One turned out to sea and was never seen again. Only one, the Flight Commander, made it to Umnak.

Flight Sergeant Stan Maxmen, R/100245, Age 20 from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan was one of the 4 killed on the hillside. The airmen were killed on impact.

Flight Sergeant Stanley Ray Maxmen was the son of Ole and Annabelle Maxmen, 803 Main Street N., Moose Jaw and the husband of Edythe Elsie ‘Chesworth’ Maxmen, 1115- 4th Avenue NW, Moose Jaw. They had been high school sweet hearts at Central Collegiate and had only been married a few months.

Since Flt. Sgt. Maxmen was killed in a Foreign country, the U.S.A., his remains were never returned to Canada. He is buried at Fort Richardson Post Cemetery, Anchorage, Alaska.

Canadian Response

The Alaska Highway

In Response the Canadian and American governments constructed the Alaska Highway in 1942. The highway, starting at Dawson Creek, B.C., connected the ‘lower’ United States in the south by road with Alaska. Canada also constructs fortifications along the West Coast.

RCAF Fighter Squadron 111F

In 1942 to United States ask for RCAF support in Alaska. On June 11, 1942, the RCAF Fighter Squadron 111 moved from Patricia Bay (Victoria) to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska where they flew their Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawks Fighter in support of American operations. This unique Thunderbird Totem sym-

Canada Enacts War Measures Act –Japanese Canadians Internment Begins Canada initiated a program for the forced removal and internment of Japanese Canadian from the West Coast. More than 21,000 people of all ages were involved.

Canadian Newspapers stirred animosity by printing bias and hateful comments. Internment of Japanese Canadians

Beginning in 1942, many, many Japanese Canadians were interned in ‘camps’. These Camps were mostly in abandoned towns and villages in the British Columbia Interior. For example, some were sent to Greenwood; some to Tete Jaune Cache; and some to Sandon and New Denver in the Slocan Valley.

Those on the Lower Mainland were ‘routed’ through the Exhibition Grounds in Vancouver before being sent to other locations.

New facilities were built in New Den-

World War One – Internment of Ukrainian Canadians

Internment Not a New Idea – It was used during WW 1

Internment of citizens thought to be a threat to Canadian security was not a new. It was used in World War One.

Those Interned were mostly new immigrants from Western Ukraine, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that was at war with Canada. The people were often referred to as ‘Austrian Ukrainian’ because they came from the ethnically diverse regions of Galicia and Bukovyna.

About 80,000 had to register and ‘report’ regularly. Over 8500 were placed in Canadian Internment Camps between 1914 and 1920 and of these, some, like Mary Manko Haskett, a child at the time, were born in Canada.

The Canadian Encyclopedia writes that 107 died in captivity; some from suicide, and 6 were shot trying to escape. There were riots. It was very difficult for these people who fled Eastern Europe for a better life in Canada to be locked in camps.

A large camp was located at Eaton, Saskatchewan, on Highway 7, about 20 Km southwest of Saskatoon, on property now shared with the Saskatchewan Railway Museum.

After World War 2 – Japanese Canadi-

The Conservative Government of Brian Mulroney

In 1988 the Conservative Government of Brian Mulroney signed an agreement with the Japanese Canadians to pay compensation for interning them and selling their property. Each survivor was given a payment of $21,000. Another 12 Million was set aside for Human Rights Projects and the Government gave an official apology.

The Hong Kong Veterans Association Receive Reparations

The 1988 the Conservative Government of Brian Mulroney settlement with Japanese Canadians motivated the Hong Kong Veterans to demand compensation. The feeling was, if the Japanese Canadians deserved compensation then they did too.

After five years of negotiations, in 1993, the Canadian Government awarded each surviving member of “C” Force and their widows, $24,000.00. They also received 100% pension coverage and an apology from Japan. Japan did not provide any compensation.

Internment of Ukrainian Canadians in WW I Recognized

In 2005 “The Ukrainian Canadian Restitution Act”, based on ‘Bill C-331’ which stated, “to recognize the injustice that was done to persons of Ukrainian descent and other Europeans who were interned at the time of the First World War.” (Canadian Encyclopedia)

A 10 Million Dollar Fund was established to recognize the experience.

Comment

Wars end. There are no winners. There is no Glory.

Source Unknown

Credit: Unknown – Bombing of Dutch Harbour

Credit CVWM: Flt. Sgt. Stanley R. Maxmen, Moose Jaw

This is New Denver in the Slocan Valley. There was only one road out in the winter.

Jack Long / National Film Board of Canada/Library and Archives Canada/ PA-142853

This is the Memorial at Eaton, Saskatchewan.

Internees and Canadian Soldiers. Internment Camp No. 2 at Edgewood, BC, on the Columbia River. The Library and Archives Canada/PA-127064 Photo was taken in about 1916.

Japanese Canadian Internment Camp Community kitchen at a Japanese, Greenwood BC, 1943.National Film Board of Canada / Library and Archives Canada / C-024452

Can you find the hidden words? They may be horizontal, vertical, diagonal, forwards or backwards.

& GAMES

Children

-- Erma Bombeck

Provisional

34. Noncommissioned officers

37. Hindu princess

38. Desire

40. Noble

41. Desert plants

43. Anthology

44. Bigger

46. Huge

47. Ardent

48. Melodies 49. Grain disease

50. Visage

51. Affirm

53. Kind of moss

56. East southeast

Soak (up)

Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each 3-by-3 block contain all of the digits 1 thru 9.

If you use logic you

AIRPORT, ANGEL, BELIEVE, BLINDS, BUNNY, CLAN, CLASSIC, COURTEOUS, CROWN, EMBRACE, ENTRANCE, EXILE, EXPLANATION, GANDER, GREAT, HOSES, HOUSE, MAGNITUDE, MONTH, MOTION, , PARTRIDGE, POLICY, POTATO, PRICE, PRISON

SETBACK, SPACE, SPINE, SYSTEM, WIDE

Moose

AUTOS

1993 Mazda standard stick shift, new tires, good running. $800.00. Knight left-handed 7 golf clubs. New wheeled cart, $150.00. Phone

306-693-2743

For Sale- 2008 Chrysler Sebring 4 cyl,2.4 L, good condition. 1998 1500 pick up diesel truck 4 x 4, $3000.00. 1993 Ford Ranger 4L automatic 4 x 4 complete with topper, $3000.00 or offers. Call 306-313-4772

MISCELLANEOUS

For Sale- computer & printer $100.00, desk 30”

x 36” $50.00, Swival office chair $25.00, standing lamp & shade $20.00, white leaf table $10.00, 2 small child lamps $10.00 for 2, 26” TV with remote works well $50.00, picnic cooler $10.00, coffee urn 30 cup $20.00. Call 306693-5003

For Sale- 20 ft. extension ladder $65.00. Kenmore sewing machine in cabinet $40.00. 2 fans 17in $15.00 each. Collection of dolls from different countries, approx. 75 dolls $150.00. Call 306693-3129

Firearms, I am paying cash for guns in the Moose Jaw and surrounding area. Any condition, parts, Ammunition or anything pertaining to firearms. Free pickup of unwanted, gas operated lawn, garden, snow blowers, recreational, chainsaws, generators, boat engines, etc., as well as smaller farm equipment, Moose Jaw and surrounding area. Call or text 306-641-4447

Sunbeam Mixmaster

$20.00, Honeywell portable humidifier $10.00, Propane deck heater $20.00, Glass top patio table 3.5 x 5 foot with 4 padded chairs $50.00, Patio table umbrella with stand $50.00, Wicker 4 drawer storage stand

$20.00. Call 306-6310084

ing machine. One phone needs new battery. $50.00. Please call 306630-8192

residential and commercial. Enjoys small or large projects involving plaster, drywall, concrete, painting, taping, texturing, stucco repair, tile and T bar. I work for the Heritage Society and enjoy beautification projects. Quality work. Free estimates. Discount for seniors. Phone Bob Huston 1-587-889-1000. Need work done? Contact Bill at 306-6302268. Interior/exterior, renovations, formwork,

framing, finishing, tiling, painting and all construction, roofing/ sidingno job too big or small. Reasonable rates, 30 years’ experience. Moving jobs done reasonably: appliances, furniture, dump runs. Call to do it all. $45.00 a load. 306-630-2268

GARAGE SALES

PRAIRIE OASIS ANNUAL GARAGE SALE June 8th & 9th - Noon - 6pm, June 10th -9am

For Sale reconditioned barbeque new burner and connector. Very good condition, ideal for cabin or camping. Must be seen, always inside. $90.00. Call 306-6813304 equipment for sale- 1976 Dodge 3 ton, 35,000 miles no rust. Rock EZE rock picker with rake attached Hydraulic Drive. Phone 306-475-2664

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

Panasonic cordless phones x 3 with answer-

For Sale- Walnut China Cabinet with glass shelves. 47” tall x 23” wide by 11” deep. Asking $225.00. Call 306-6939304 or 306-630- 9304

SPORTS

Clearance Sale- NASCAR 1-24 scale die cast replicas, also 1-24 scale funny cars & hockey figurines by MacFarlane. By Appointment Only call 306-631-7698

SERVICES

Semi-Retired Contractor – 47 years in business,

Lynbrook Golf Club celebrates Owen Morhart’s 35+ years as a dedicated

It was a special day on June 5,, 2023, at the Lynbrook Golf Club in celebration of 35+ years for Owen Morhart as a dedicated and valued employee and ground’s keeper. His story is historical. He started when the Lynbrook only had sand greens. In 1987, the Lynbrook had 325 members and at that time, they were the only 18-hole golf course in Saskatchewan that still had sand greens.

In 1990, Owen was part of the crew to develop the back 9 holes from sand to grass greens. That fall, Owen and a crew of guys started on the front 9 and finished in the spring of 1991.

In the fall of 1998, Owen and crew worked with Echo Valley Irrigation on the front 9 installing a water system and in the spring of 1999, the back 9 watering system was up and running, too.

A devastating moment for Owen happened when one of his employees sprayed a chemical that kills weeks and everything else onto the greens instead of a watering agent in August of 2005. Inadvertently, the greens turned brown. Through advice from many around the world as to how to correct the situation, Owen worked to get the

grounds almost back to normal by the following year.

In the fall of 1999, the original golf clubhouse was torn down for the construction of a new clubhouse. In the spring of 2000, the new clubhouse was up and ready for business as a proshop, club storage and restaurant, all under one roof. Owen was around to salvage the old clubhouse and turn it into a storage shed for random maintenance items. Unfortunately, an electrical fire destroyed the shed in September of 2015. Thankfully, now Owen has a new heated shop with an office and cement floor.

Through it all, Owen says there is nothing in this world that he loves more than ‘playing golf with ‘the boys’ and family.’ He’s played on courses from California to South Carolina, but his favourite course is the Lynie. It has been his home for 35+ years.

On Saturday, June 3rd, the Lynbrook Golf Club celebrated Owen’s milestone and his 55th birthday by hosting a golf tournament and rounding the evening out with Karaoke, visiting and lots of fun. We all found out that Owen’s 2nd love next to golf is singing…and he enjoyed singing his heart out!

Thanks to Lynbrook Golf Club for supplying all of the Lynbrook-related historical information in their Lynbrook Enquirer dated June 5, 2023.

Congratulations Owen on your milestone. The staff and club members appreciate everything you have done for them in making the course a wonderful place to golf!

If you would like your notice or event added to this list, contact us at: jritchie@moosejawtoday. com

Cornerstone Christian School

Concert with choir and vocal jazz will take place on Thursday, June 8 at 7 p.m. at Zion United Church, under the direction of Josh Carley. In addition to music from several different genres, the choir will perform selections with eight part harmony. Everyone welcome.

The Moose Jaw Art Guild Opening Reception of “A Collection of Creativity “ will be held at the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre on Sat., June 10, 2 - 4 pm. The exhibition will run until July 5th.

The Guild “Art Creation Time” will be held on Sun., June 11, 1:30 -5:00 pm at the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery. Bring your projects and enjoy creating together. Non-members are also welcome. Call 306-6926667.

Town and Country Singles

Dance on June 10,2023 at Cosmo Senior Center 235 - 3rd. Ave. NE from 7:30 to 11:00 PM. Band is Dennis and Curtis Ficor! Come on out for an evening of fun! Married couples are welcome! Cost is $15 per person. For more information contact 306-691-6634.

Children’s Festival at Kiwanis Oval in Wakamow Valley on Saturday, June 17th from 9am to 2pm. The event is free to attend. There will be a petting zoo, Kona Ice, magic show, Sask. Reptile show, Bounce-alot, face painting, Farmer’s Market, Ariel, mascots, Bohs demo day, car raffle, pound fitness by Brandi, trolley tours, Shrine Club T-Birds, games of chance, bubbles station, dino digs, Free hot dogs to the first 1000 kids.

A ‘Flower Power’ Fashion Show will be held at the WDM in Moose Jaw on Saturday, June 24 at 1:00 pm Take a trip through time with our flower Power Fashion Show. You will be treated to 30+ ensembles of floral fashion. Learn about the people who wore them and the types of occasions they were chosen for. Refreshments to follow. Regular Museum admission applies. FREE for WDM members.

Living Springs Church Moose

Jaw Offering Griefshare Meetings – 303 Coteau Street invites anyone interested to attend Griefshare groups. The meetings take place on Thursdays at 7:00 pm. GriefShare is a friendly, caring group of people who will walk alongside you through one of life’s most difficult experiences. You don’t have to go through the grieving process alone. It hurts to lose someone. Find help at GriefShare. To register, go to www.giefshare.org or contact Isaac Nadarajah at isaac@livingsprings.life and attend as many meetings as you like.

Briercrest Heritage Day will be held on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at 10:00 AM. Lots of events for a fun family day! Optional 50’s theme costumes. Show & Shine (cars, trucks, tractors, semi’s, etc.) contact Merv Gadd (306) 631-7932.

Parade at 2:00 PM. Slow Pitch Tournament contact Justin Hill (306) 513-7985. Beer Gardens, Concession on the grounds, Credit & Debit Available. Lots of museum happenings: Dusty Old Farmers, Blacksmith Larry Paysen, Cowboy Poetry Fred Cockburn, Pie & Ice Cream, museum tours, Bouncy Castles for the kids. Dry Camping available contact: Merv Gadd (306) 6317932. Organized by Briercrest Museum, Community Centre, Rink & Firefighters.

Upcoming Events in Moose Jaw

GRAND OPENING for the RM of Moose Jaw No. 161 New Location for the New Public Works Buildings will be held on Tuesday July 11th from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. There will be Presentations

+ Ribbon Cutting 2:30 p.m. The new location is located 4 miles West of City limits on Caribou St. West (Grid 735) in Boharm.

Exclusive VIP Experience for Chamber Members through the Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce, and local chambers across Saskatchewan, have teamed up with the Saskatchewan Riders offering for just $99 you will get “skip the line” access to the Terrace Lounge with private bar, game day snacks, fan gear and a chance to network with other Chamber businesses. Get your green on and join us on July 15! Only 215 tickets will be sold. For tickets and information, email Allyson McDonald at Allyson. McDonald@saskriders.com.

Moose Jaw Lawn Bowling Club regular Bowling times are Tues @9:30 am Mon thru Thurs @7pm - $ 5 drop in fee. First 2 visits FREE.

Nar-Anon Meetings every Monday 7—8pm (Moose Jaw

Nar-Anon Family Group) is a twelve-step program for relatives and friends affected by someone else’s drug use and is in-person at Moose Jaw Alliance Church, 14 Neslia Place. Come in Main Doors – Meeting in Rm 103. You Are Not Alone! Your anonymity and what you say at meetings will be carefully guarded.

Toastmasters clubs utilize communication skill components to create the smorgasbord of benefits Toastmasters have potential to provide.

Big Country Toastmasters club meets on Wednesdays at 7pm.

Regular training opportunities have resumed with in-person @ saskpolytech in addition to virtual experience.

For more information text 306690-8739 or email officers-3418@ toastmastersclubs.org

TAP Toastmasters (TAP) meet every Tuesday at 7 pm. Email cathymorrell@gmail.com

Church of Our Lady Bingo tales place at the Church of Our Lady Community Centre, 566 Vaughan Street on Tuesday evenings. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Bingo begins at 7:00 p.m.

TOPS (Take off Pounds Sensibly) weight loss support group meets every Wednesday evening at the Alliance Church, 14 Neslia Place. (Corner of Thatcher Drive W. & 9th Ave.W.) Please enter through the west-facing door, turn right and go to end of the hallway by the library, to room 105. Weigh-in takes place from 6:30-7:00 pm. Meeting to follow. TOPS can help you reach your weight loss goal by providing you with tools, information and support to be successful. The group shares friendship, weight loss tips and offers encouragement to one another. New members are very welcome. Our scale weighs up to 500 lbs.

The Moose Jaw Stamp Club Meetings are the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 6:30pm at the Lindale School staff room, 1322 11th Ave. NW (north entrance). Call 306-693-5705 for information.

Moose Jaw Camera ClubInterested photographers are welcome and invited to join and Be Focused With Us! For more information: Wanda - 306-6937440 or Len - 306-693-7685. themoosejawcameraclub.com

Line Dancing every Wednesday from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. at St. Andrews Church. Call

306.692.7365 for more information.

Moose Jaw Public Library, 461 Langdon Cres. Phone 306.692.2787; visit their website at https://www.moosejawlibrary.ca/

Summer Library Hours MONTHU 9:30 AM-9:00 PM FRI-SAT

9:30 AM-6:00 PM SUN 1:00 PM-5:00 PM SATURDAY, JULY

1 – CLOSED

Summer Reading Club starts on June 17. There will be games, crafts, a movie on the big screen, treats, face painting and more! Get ready to blast off into Summer Reading Club and celebrate the start of summer. You can pick up your Summer Reading Club package at the library.

Have you tried Creativebug? Did you know that you have free access to Creativebug with your library card? Enjoy guilt[1]free inspirational screen time, nurture your creative soul by learning new skills, and learn easy ways to practice your craft every day. Access Creativebug now!

CHILDREN’S PROGRAM-

MING IN JUNE:

LEGO WEEKENDS! Saturdays & Sundays in June Time: Open hours in the Children’s Department Ages: 4 and up This is a self-guided activity.

MAKER SATURDAYS Saturdays, June 10 & 24 Time: 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm in the Herb Taylor Room Ages: 8-12 Registration required.

SUMMER READING LAUNCH!

Saturday, June 17 Time: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm in the The Library Ages: All ages Drop-in program.

SUMMERTIME BABY STORYTIME! Tuesdays, June 27 to August 29 Time: 10:30 am in the Children’s Program Room Ages: 0-2 and their caring adults Drop-in program

YOUTH PROGRAMMING IN

JUNE:

HOW DO I DO THAT!? Tuesday, June 13 Time: 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm in the Herb Taylor Room Ages: 15-21 Drop-in program

TEEN GAMERS Wednesday, June 14 Time: 6:30 pm in the Herb Taylor Room Ages: 12-19 Snacks provided Drop-in program

TEEN “I MADE THIS” Wednesday, June 21 Time: 6:30 pm in the Herb Taylor Room Ages: 12-19 Snacks provided Drop-in program

ADULT PROGRAMMING IN

JUNE:

TECH TIME Ongoing Time: By appointment only Location: Information Desk Ages: All ages To book an appointment, call the Library at 306-692-2787

MAGIC THE GATHERING Saturdays, June 17 Time: 2:00 pm in the Reading Room Ages: 13 and up Drop-in program

MJ CHESS CLUB AT THE LIBRARY Sundays, Jun 11 & 25 Time: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm in the South Meeting Room Ages: All ages Drop-in program

CYBERPUNK RED TTRPG Sundays, June 11 & 25 Time: 2:00 pm in the Reading Room Ages: 15 and up (14 and under with an adult guardian) Registration required.

The Royal Canadian Legion – Branch 59 Moose Jaw, 268 High St W Moose Jaw; Contact: 306-692-5453. Facebook @ ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION-Branch 59 Moose Jaw. Instagram: @Royalcanadianlegion59. SHA restrictions in effect at all Legion events. Bingo every Monday evening in the Lounge. Play starts at 6pm, Paper goes on sale at 5pm. Playing ten regular games with 2 parts each and 3 extra games, all games are cash prizes. Please invite your friends for a fun night out.

Dart League every Thursday starting at 6pm. $25 to enter for the season. No membership required. Cribbage every Tuesday at 1:30pm. Registration at 1pm. Cost $2 and please pre-register your team by calling 306.693.9688.

Drop-in Shuffleboard league every Friday at 7:00pm. Chase the Ace/Meat Draw every Saturday. To see the total check out Facebook page on Wednesday and Fridays for the upcoming Saturdays numbers.

For current listing of events online visit: Monthly Calendar | Royal Canadian Legion Branch 59- Moose Jaw (royalcanadianlegionbranch59moosejaw.ca)

Moose Jaw and District Seniors: For more information Call: 306-694-4223 or Email: mjsenior@shaw.ca . The centre is now open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8am – 8pm.

Fitness Level & Indoor Walking

Track open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Friday’s 8am4pm

Wood working area – Monday to Friday 8 am – 4 pm

Timothy Eaton Cafe open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.

– 4 p.m. Cinnamon Buns are on Thursday’s. Tuesday is pie day.

Kitchen is open Monday to Friday. Everyone is welcomed.

Billiards open daily from 8 a.m.

– 4 p.m. as well as Monday & Thursday evenings from 4:30 –

8 p.m.

Pickle Ball – Monday & Thursday mornings @ 10 a.m.

- Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday afternoons @ 1 p.m.

- Monday & Thursday evenings @ 7 p.m.

- Wednesday @ 6pm

Fitness- Chair/Low Impact Fitness Mondays & Thursdays @ 1:00 p.m.

Cribbage – Wednesdays @ 1

p.m.

Hand & Foot Card Game for Beginners – Thursday @9:30 am.

Mah Jong – Wednesday @1

p.m.

500 Cards – Thursdays @ 1 p.m.

New – Full Body Work Out Monday at 9:30am and Wednesday at 9:30 am

Scrabble – Monday’s at 1pm

New – Spades Tuesday and Friday at 1pm

Line Dancing – Tuesdays @ 10 a.m.

Intro to Line Dancing – Wednesday’s @ 11am

Table Tennis – Monday Afternoon 1pm

Art & Crafts – Monday, Tuesdays & Wednesdays @ 1 p.m.

Floor Shuffleboard – Tuesdays & Thursdays @ 1 p.m.

Paper Tole – Tuesdays @ 1 p.m.

Nickle Bingo – Fridays @ 1 p.m.

Quilting – Every Friday 9am to 4pm

Lounge – Friday’s from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Jam and dancing (New Name Change) – Friday’s 9 a.m.

Texas Hold’em - Thursday @ 6:30pm

June 10th A BUGSYS FUNDRAISER Bacon cheeseburger with fries and salad. $25 tickets at the front desk.

Cosmo Senior Citizens’ Centre Weekly Activities – 235 3rd Ave. N.E. Phone 306.692.6072 or email cosmo@sasktel.net. Check them out on Facebook.

Weekly Activities for May

Monday: 9:30 Pickleball/1:00

Floor Shuffleboard/7:00 Camera Club – only on the 1st Monday of each month

Tuesday: 9:30 Jam Session/1:00 Pickleball/7:00

Friendship Bridge/7:00 Beginners Only – Pickleball

Wednesday: 8:30 TOPS/9:30 Pickleball/1:00 PONYTAIL Canasta/ 1:00 Floor Shuffleboard

Thursday: 10:00 Line

Dance/1:00 Pickleball

Friday: 10:00 Beginner Pickleball/1:00 Regular Pickleball

Moose Jaw ANAVETS: Army, Navy & Air Force Veterans Unit #252 – 279 High St. W, Moose Jaw. 306.692.4412 or anaf252@ sasktel.net

Friday Evening Fun Pool and Darts at 7 pm.

Saturday at 4:30 pm Meat Draw, 50/50 and gift card. Everyone including non-members are welcome to join in.

10th Annual Veterans Golf Event at the Deer Ridge Par 3 Golf Course here in Moose Jaw on June 10th. Price per person is $65. Please register and pay for your team by June 8th – golf carts are available at the golf course but are limited so please book ahead. Meal and prizes to follow at 279 High St. W. June 10th – Live music by Brandon and Company. $10 cover charge. Food and drink specials. 7 pm to close.

June 30th – Live music by Donny Parenteau, a recording artist. $10 cover charge. Food and drink specials. 7 pm to close.

FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES #3395

EVERY THURSDAY: Ladies

Auxiliary “Meat Draw” – ticket sales start at 5:30 pm, draws start at 6:00 pm – Meat Draw, 50/50, “Chase the Ace”

EVERY SUNDAY: Aerie “Meat Draw” – ticket sales start at 2:30 pm – Meat Draw, 50/50, Mystery Draw, “Chase the Ace” MONDAY THRU SATURDAY –DROP IN POOL – 1:00 pm to 1:30 start time. Singles and Doubles. Partners draw from those attending to play.

June 3, 2023 – ROD WILLIER – DJ Music and Karaoke in the Eagles Club Lounge – 7:00 pm to 12:00 pm

June 10, 2023 – RUNAWAY TRAIN – playing 8:00 pm to closing in the Eagles Club Lounge

Jun 16 & 17, 2023 – BADLANDS

COUNTY BAND - – Eagles Club Lounge 8:00 pm closing Western Development Museum; 50 Diefenbaker Drive, Moose Jaw. Please call for more information (306) 6935989.

You can read more about the upcoming sessions and how to sign up for the free Virtual Coffee Club talks at: https://wdm. ca/coffeeclub/

June 10: BMO Free Admission

Day

· June 24: “Flower Power” Fashion Show

· July: Gopher Seek and Find and Time Hopping Activity Sheet

·

July 2: Summer Pop-Up #1: The Marvel of Medicine

· July 9: Summer Pop-Up #2: Roarin’ Roadsters

· July 16: Summer Pop-Up #3: It’s All Fun and Games…

· July 23: Summer Pop-Up #4: Canadian Creativity

· July 29 and 30: Brickspo

· August: Yellow and Green

Seek and Find

· August 6: Summer Pop-Up #5: Making Moose Jaw

August 12: Blow Off Some Steam Day

· August 13: Summer Pop-Up #6: Baking

A ‘Flower Power’ Fashion Show will be held at the WDM in Moose Jaw on Saturday, June 24 at 1:00 pm Take a trip through time with our flower Power Fashion Show. You will be treated to 30+ ensembles of floral fashion. Learn about the people who wore them and the types of occasions they were chosen for. Refreshments to follow. Regular Museum admission applies. FREE for WDM members.

OPINION/EDITORIAL TO THE EDITOR LETTERS

RE: HAS THE CITY OF MOOSE JAW BECOME THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION?

A recent article in MooseJawToday.com (May 29) by Jason G. Antonio says, “The mayor’s office has received many calls recently about bylaw officers ticketing out-of-province vehicles because those motorists thought they were exempt from having to fill the parking meters, Mayor Clive Tolley said.”

For several weeks I have mused about the signage at the downtown parking lot at Fairford and First Ave West. The sign reads: “Parking

RE: SALUTE TO UNSUNG HEROES

Distinguished honor and salutes to the forest firefighters, military personnel, 911 staff, homeowners, strangers, volunteers, reservists, community groups, aviators and others who help combat our annual forest fires and other disasters. To those brave folks who fight a merciless foe, thank you for your stamina, duty, courage, sacrifices and more.

Our leaders need to focus on our own needs rather than costly immutable support to others afar

Guidelines for Submitting Letters to the Editor:

Due to space allotment in Moose Jaw Express for free letters to the editor, we find it necessary to establish some guidelines in submissions that will be in effect as of March 15, 2021.

• All letters to the editor submitted to the Moose Jaw Express newspaper should not exceed 800 words, although they can be much longer to be included in our online daily MooseJawToday.com . In this case, we reserve the right to edit them accordingly.

• A full name and contact information will need to be included with each submission for verification.

Pay Here. No App Required”. On another sign it reads: “Pay Fee At Pay Station”. I have met people in the lot wondering how to use the public parking lot because there is nowhere to pay for parking. On two occasions I have met people from out of town wanting to park, but fearing a parking ticket. I told them to forget about paying for park-

with their sense of entitlement. We’ve yet to rebuild parts of Lytton, Fort MacMurray, devastated areas in the Maritimes and many other locations throughout the country.

Bravo for a few to help us like Mexico, NZ, USA and Australia to show mutual goodwill as Canada helps so many abroad. To those who donated food, money, clothings or their time and permitted our displaced Canucks to stay in their homes, good karma to you! Climate threat is here despite the naysayers and the news is not fake. Nations spend crazy mon-

Why do we use the phrase ‘casting aspersions?’

• Only the name will be included in publication with the letter as the contributor.

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

All columns, letters to the editor and editorials are solely the personal opinions of the writers themselves and not necessarily the opinions of The Moose Jaw Express

ing because the City removed the pay station, but left misleading signage in place.

How are people to follow instructions when the City of Moose Jaw removes the necessary equipment to follow them?

Sadly, City Hall appears to be the author of confusion.

A.W. Allan

ey on chasing the stars, foreign aid and distant wars while the threat is in our backyard. Heroes come in many forms including essential service workers and resilient people facing an uphill battle. We cannot control lightning strikes but fires caused by carelessly preventable human activity needs tough consequences including hefty fines and long jail time. To those unsung heroes herein, you have angel’s wings...

Kerwin Maude, b.a.

Rev. Dr. John Kreutzwieser is a retired pastor from Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Moose Jaw, SK. He graduated with a doctorate degree in 2006 from the Robert Webber Institute for Worship Studies in Florida.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.

Aspersion

As a follow up to last week’s word, vindicate, I examine the word, aspersion. When I couldn’t find the item that I was looking for, I cast aspersions on Patti for not putting it back where it belonged. In the end she was vindicated, as it was my fault for misplacing the item. If you are casting aspersions, you are suggesting that someone’s character or work is questionable or substandard, even though you know they are not usually that way.

Aspersion means a false or misleading charge against someone, occasionally with intent to harm that person’s reputation. The politician was known to cast aspersions about his opponents during his speeches, so it was hard to trust what he was saying about anything. Harming someone’s reputation with falsehoods in a speech is known as slander, and doing the same thing in writing is known as libel. Any private citizen who can claim to have suffered harm because of such defamation may sue. So why aren’t politicians suing continuously for casting aspersions? Because an exception is often made for public persons. To successfully sue a politician or celebrity one must prove that any such statement was made with reckless disregard for the truth. Political opponents most often just grin and bear it.

Because it comes from the original use of the word. In the late 1500s aspersion was a sprinkling with water in religious ceremonies. At a baptism the priest in Roman Catholic circles or the pastor in Protestant congregations used aspersion as the means of applying the water to the child or adult. The Orthodox churches used immersion into the water and some heirs of the Protestants followed suit, especially those who practiced adult baptisms only. When the whole congregation was sprinkled with holy water in remembrance of baptism or for spiritual cleansing, through the means of an aspergillum (small, perforated container with a handle), it was called an aspersion. Over time the act of casting water as an aspersion led to the naming of casting untruths or accusations upon others as aspersion

Aspersion is derived from the Latin verb aspergere, meaning to sprinkle on. (Spargere is Latin for sprinkle, scatter, or strew.) The Latin theological term for the shedding of Christ’s blood is aspercion. “No sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall; to make this contract grow.” (The Tempest by William Shakespeare) In this line aspersion refers to a sprinkling of blessing, referencing a sprinkling of rain.

In the Old Testament books of the Bible sprinkling was part of the ritual to consecrate priests and holy things. “Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and his sons’ garments with him. He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.” (Exodus 29:21) It is blood that is used not water for the aspersion, but it foreshadows the aspersion of water in the Christian context. “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you,” declares the Lord through the prophet, (Ezekiel 36:25) is a more direct foreshadow of Christian rites of aspersion. Blood certainly causes spots, however, splattering water can cause soil and stain, even though that it not the intent. So, aspersion became associated with comments that stain or soil a reputation with intent to impinge the truth.

“I don’t mean to cast aspersions on Jake’s ability to do this job, but he seems to have trouble finishing tasks on

time.” Even though the speaker did not want to mislead anyone about Jake’s ability, just using the word aspersion suggests misleading information about Jake’s capability.

“Despite the rumours, she refused to cast any aspersions until she had all the facts, which was the right thing to do.” She did not want to mislead anyone into believing rumours that may not be true.

I should have been a little more careful in my aspersions towards Patti the other week. I certainly do not desire to soil her reputation.

Columnist John Kreutzwieser loves to research words and writes this weekly Word Wisdom column for Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com. He has an interest in the usage, origin, and relevance of words for society today. Greek and Latin form the basis of many words, with ancient Hebrew shedding light on word usage.

John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com . Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.

TRINITY UNITED CHURCH

277 Iroquois St W Moose Jaw, SK

Next Service: June 11th, 2023 10:30am

Rev. Doug Shepherd

Please include the Moose Jaw Health Foundation in your estate plan to help your community for generations to come.

Please contact us for more information Moose Jaw Health Foundation 55 Diefenbaker Drive Moose Jaw, SK S6J 0C2 Phone (306) 694-0373 www mjhf.org

Payment Machine Missing

Pay Fee At Pay Station

BASEBALL

Friday

5 p.m. NET MLB Baseball

Minnesota Twins at Toronto Blue Jays.

Monday

6 p.m. TSN MLB Baseball

Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers.

Wednesday

5 p.m. NET MLB Baseball Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles.

BASKETBALL

Friday

6:30 p.m. WXYZ 2023 NBA Finals Denver Nuggets at Miami Heat.

Monday 6:30 p.m. NET WXYZ 2023 NBA Finals Miami Heat at Denver Nuggets.

Tuesday 5 p.m. TSN CEBL Basketball Montreal Alliance at Niagara River Lions.

FOOTBALL

Thursday 7 p.m. TSN CFL Football BC Lions at Calgary Stampeders.

Friday 6:30 p.m. TSN CFL Football Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Saturday

5 p.m. TSN CFL Football Ottawa Redblacks at Montreal Alouettes.

TSN CFL Football Saskatchewan Roughriders at Edmonton Elks.

HOCKEY

Thursday

6 p.m. CBKT NET 2023

Stanley Cup Final Vegas Golden Knights at Florida Panthers.

Saturday

6 p.m. CBKT NET 2023

Stanley Cup Final Vegas Golden Knights at Florida Panthers.

Tuesday

6 p.m. CBKT NET 2023

Stanley Cup Final Florida Panthers at Vegas Golden Knights. HORSE RACING

Thursday

5 p.m. FSR Horse Racing America’s Day At the Races.

Popper (N) Hoarding: Buried Alive Hoarding: Buried Alive Dr. Pimple Popper

COM Sheldon 'Til Death Friends Friends Friends Friends Big Bang Big Bang

TCM (6:00) < Long Day's Journey Into Night <+++ Suddenly, Last Summer ('59) Elizabeth Taylor. Movie

Ultimate Disc AUDL: Carolina Flyers at Philadelphia Phoenix NHRA Pro Dangerous Storm Chaser s

CRV1 (6:00) <+++ The Batman ('22) Robert Pattinson. Expecting Amy "Gestation" Clone High Clone High

CRV2 (:05) < The Munsters ('22) Sheri Moon. Just Like (:40) Just Like (:20) Just Like That "Diwali"

CRV3 (:20) The Office (:10) Law "Possession" Billions "Fight Night" Gossip "Fire Walks With Z"

HBO Movie < The Perfect Weapon ('16) The

ENCAV Movie <+ Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla ('74) <+++ Ghostbusters ('84) Bill Murray (P) Movie

CMT Raymond Raymond The Office The Office Frasier Frasier Cheers Cheers

TLC (6:00) 90 Day Fiancé (N) 90 Day (N) Match Me Abroad 90 Day 90 Day Fiancé

DISC Street "Running Ryan" Maritime "Deception Island" Homestead Rescue Homestead Rescue

COM Sheldon 'Til Death Big Bang Big Bang Big Bang Big Bang Big Bang Big Bang

TCM Movie (:45) <++ Valley of the Dolls ('67) Patty Duke, Barbara Parkins. < Love Has Many Faces

47 AMC <+++ Air Force One ('97) Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Harrison Ford Walking "King County"

48 FSR (6:30) NHRA NHRA in 30 Motorcycle Racing NASCAR Xfinity Dangerous Drives

55 CRV1 (6:20) <+++ Dune ('21) Timothée Chalamet. <+ Prey for the Devil ('22) (P) Movie

56 CRV2 (6:20) <+++ West Side Story ('21) Ansel Elgort. RuPaul Drag Race (N) (:10) < Kimi ('22)

57 CRV3 (:20) The Office "Money" (:10) Law & Order Billions Gossip Girl "Hope Stinks"

58 HBO COVID (:45) The Soul of America (:05) Sarah Silverman (:10) White

SATURDAY EVENING MOVIES SPORTS SPECIALS 7 PM 7:30 8 PM 8:30 9 PM 9:30 10 PM 10:30

3 CBKFT Les enfants de la télé Pour emporter (N) Dans les eaux

< Born Yesterday <+++ The Solid Gold Cadillac ('56) Judy Holliday <+++ Phffft! ('54)

AMC (6:00) <+++ Back to the Future ('85) <+++ Back to the Future Part II ('89) Michael J. Fox.

FSR DRL Drone Racing Level 12 NASCAR Race Hub Dangerous Iraq Convoy

CRV1 (:15) < Coda ('19) Katie Holmes, Patrick Stewar t. Dark Side (:50) Dark Side-Ring (N) (:40) Dark Side 56 CRV2 (6:05) <+++

Jack Nicholson. <+++ My Own Private Idaho ('91) Movie

33 CMT Raymond Raymond The Office The Office Frasier Frasier Cheers Cheers

35 TLC 7 Little Johnstons (N) Doubling Down (N) You, Me & "Let Me Ex-plain" 7 Little Johnstons

38 DISC Gold Rush: White Water Gold Rush: White Water Homestead "Drowning" Homestead Rescue

41 COM Sheldon 'Til Death Bob Heart Bob Heart Bob Heart Bob Heart Big Bang Big Bang

42 TCM (6:00) < Sunset Boulevard <+++ In a Lonely Place ('50) Humphrey Bogart. <+++ The Player ('92)

47 AMC (6:00) <++ Central Intelligence ('16) <++ The Last Stand ('13) Forest Whitaker,Arnold Schw arzenegger.

48 FSR Motorcycle Racing Motorcycle Racing Dirt Dangerous Drives

55 CRV1 Movie (:25) <+ Prey for the Devil ('22) <++ A Man Called Otto ('22) Tom Hanks.

56 CRV2 (6:10) < Ron's Gone Wrong <+ Firestarter ('22) Zac Efron. (:40) < The Humans ('21) Richard Jenkins.

57 CRV3 (:20) The Office (:45) The Office (:10) Law & Order Billions "Lamster" Gossip Girl

58 HBO (5:55) < Wig < Reopening Night ('21) < Wig ('19) (:35) Barry WEDNESDAY EVENING MOVIES SPORTS SPECIALS 7 PM 7:30 8 PM 8:30 9 PM 9:30 10 PM 10:30

3 CBKFT Question (N) L'épicerie Dans l'oeil du dragon (N) Bonsoir bonsoir!

(Live) Plays Plays Week Blue JaysGotta See It

25 EDACC Big Bang etalk (N) Goldbergs Goldbergs Flashpoint Wonder (SP) Wonder (N)

26 W Mom Mom Will & Grace Will & Grace <+ What a Girl Wants ('03) Colin Firth, Amanda Bynes.

29 ENCAV (:10) <+++ Romancing the Stone ('84) Michael Douglas. Bad Behaviour "The Worst" Run the Movie

33 CMT Raymond Raymond The Office The Office Frasier Frasier Cheers Cheers

35 TLC Save My Skin (N) My 600-Lb. Life "J.T.'s Story" Dr. Pimple Popper

38 DISC Expedition Unknown I Survived Bear Grylls Homestead "Poisoned" Homestead "High and Dry"

41 COM Sheldon 'Til Death Friends Friends Friends Friends Big Bang Big Bang

42 TCM Movie (:45) < Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero (:15) <++ Burden of Dreams ('82) Claudia Cardinale.

47 AMC (6:00) <+++ Pitch Perfect ('12) <++ Pitch Perfect 2 ('15) Rebel Wilson, Anna Kendrick.

48 FSR (5:00) Ultimate Ultimate Disc AUDL: Carolina Flyers at Philadelphia Phoenix Dangerous Urban Rescue

140 Main St N | 306-694-5766

B&B Fruit Stand starting its 39th year in Moose Jaw as a city staple

Todd Bell is now in his 39th year selling fruits, vegetables, and other fresh produce from B&B Fruit Stand, which has been located for the past few years at 432 High Street West, in the parking lot between Water Vision Pool & Spas and Fine Line Builders.

“When I first started, my very first year, I had a partner, and his last name started with a ‘B’ as well, so that’s where the name comes from,” Bell explained. “That [partnership] only lasted a year, but I kept the name.”

Bell has been running his fruit stand since his uncle, who owned an orchard in B.C., began looking for new ways to sell his produce. He said he’s been dealing with the same producers, and mostly the same families, ever since. That’s allowed him to keep the timeline of his produce, from harvest to seller to customer, at less than a week for most items — even when he has to source from the US.

Gordon Edgar - Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

“The vegetables I’ll get local when they’re available, and mainly out of B.C. as far as fruit goes,” he said, “except at this time of year, obviously nothing is ready up here, so it’s all out of California for now.

“I’m not knocking the grocery stores, but they have to go through a long chain of command, and warehouses and distribution centres, so that typically takes a while.”

Bell said the local Saskatchewan Hutterite colonies are some of his best suppliers. The Hutterite colonies produce large amounts of fresh vegetables, and even put out some more cold-hardy fruit varieties, such as watermelon and Saskatoon berries.

One of his greatest enjoyments after his decades operating his stand is seeing multiple generations coming to B&B Fruit Stand.

“When I started, if a 40-year-old were coming to the stand with their 10-year-old or however old they are, well at this point

I’m probably into the third generation of customers,” Bell smiled. “Yeah, I get lots of girls and guys coming down, and they’re in their 40s now, and they’ll say,

‘I remember when I was seven or eight, coming out here with mom and dad!’ Which is really nice.”

Surprisingly, he related, he still occasionally meets people who have lived in Moose Jaw their whole lives and are visiting his stand for the first time.

Bell currently has a substantial selection of fresh fruit including mangoes, kiwis, strawberries, green grapes, and apples — again, although they are from California, they are less than a week off of their vine or tree or bush — and a good selection of local vegetables. He carries other goods, too, such as fresh honey from Moose Javian producer Bar over HC apiaries.

As the season advances, expect fresh rotations of fruit and veg as harvests come in, and a steady selection of staples from farther-flung suppliers. Bell is at his stand every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The B&B Fruit Stand Facebook page is active with updates, so be sure to give Bell a follow to stay in the loop: facebook. com/BBfruitstand.

My Addictions clothing store doubles customers after move to Main

Gordon Edgar - Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

Since moving into their new, much-more-visible location on the corner of Main Street and Fairford, My Addictions has doubled its customers, according to owner Joan Falasca.

Falasca moved her store from Moose Jaw’s Town ‘N Country Mall in late April. Despite building a loyal customer base and doing well at that location, she said the move to downtown has allowed her to grow her business substantially.

“It’s been excellent so far, I’ve had all my old customers, but also my total customers have doubled since I moved down here,” Falasca said. “So now I’ve ended up hiring more people to help with the tourists and everyone else.

“I used to be the last clothing store people would come to in Moose Jaw, after they’d looked everywhere else and couldn’t find what they wanted. And now, I think, a lot of people are coming here first, so this is probably one of the best lo-

cations.”

My Addictions clothing boutique seeks to fill Moose Jaw’s niche for a clothing store catering to people in their 30s and up, Falasca explained, and she pays close attention to what customers are

looking for.

“There’s really nothing ‘young’ in my store, it’s more a 30-plus store, all the way up to 90. And then, I listen to my customers, I want to hear what they want. So, there was nowhere to buy petite clothing, for example. And then men, they wanted a better selection of men’s clothing.

“Normally, if people know a good brand name, you know, that’s something they’re willing to buy plenty of. But they can’t find it in Moose Jaw. If they can find it somewhere else, that’s where they’re going to go. But if I can bring it in, that’s more convenient for them, so paying attention is very important.”

That flexibility and responsiveness is an advantage Falasca has, and she is always happy when she can successfully start carrying a new brand that makes life easier for her clients. She’s been pleased with the response to that mindset so far, noting that the men’s clothing section in

particular was stocked based on feedback — in other words, what men actually want and need to wear, rather than following trends or supplier incentives.

Follow My Addictions clothing store on their Facebook business page at facebook.com/myaddictionsinmoosejaw for their updates. Their official address is at 304 Main Street North, on the corner opposite City Hall and the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre.

Todd Bell at his produce stand (photo by Gordon Edgar)

Joan Falasca, proprietor of My Addictions clothing boutique, at her store (My Addictions/Facebook)

My Addictions clothing boutique (photo by Gordon Edgar)

Decoration Day an opportunity to remember those who fought in Canada’s earliest battles

Special ceremony in Rosedale Cemetery includes placing of flags on thousands of headstones throughout city Randy Palmer - Moose Jaw Express

While Remembrance Day might be more familiar as a way to commemorate those who fought in battles for Canada’s freedom, the first Sunday in June every summer brings another special opportunity.

Decoration Day is held by Royal Canadian Legion branches all over the country as a way to remember those who fought in battles before the First World War, as Canada was finding its way as a modern nation in some of its earliest days.

The first Decoration Day took place in June 1890, when veterans of the Fenian Raids more than 20 years earlier placed decorations at the Canadian Volunteers Monument in Toronto. The following year, the public took notice, with 30,000 people taking part in remembrance ceremonies during the 25th anniversary of the Raids.

“Soldiers wanted some kind of recognition after the battles they went into, and this was long before Remembrance Day was even thought of,” said Bob Travale, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 59 president. “So they had a tradition every June when all the veterans could come out and wear their medals and show that they fought for their country. I can remember as a little kid, there were many more Second World War and First World War veterans and they would parade on Decoration Day. So to us, it’s an annual tradition and we do this in honour of our veterans.”

A major part of the event is the placement of Canadian flags on gravestones of service members, with over 1,100 alone placed in Rosedale Cemetery, where the Moose Jaw Decoration Day ceremony took place.

“And even in the East End cemetery, there’s a lot of history there,” added Travale. “There are RCMP in there going

back to the Batoche Rebellion, because Moose Jaw was used at that time as the hospital when that was happening.”

As is tradition, members of the Saskatchewan Dragoons stood sentinel during the event, holding fast in the sweltering late-morning heat on Sunday. Various groups and organizations including the

City of Moose Jaw, RCMP, Anavets and Legion laid wreaths at the Rosedale cairn in honour of those who had fallen.

Travale hopes that as time goes on Decoration Day will continue to be an event that helps those remember everyone who fought for Canada.

“It’s important to us to keep the public

aware that there are veterans who died in battle and are laying in cemeteries across Canada,” he said. “This is a very important day for us and it will always mean a lot.”

Sights from the 2023 Decoration Day ceremony at the Rosedale Cemetery in Moose Jaw.