Paint a Prairie musical landscape ... Prairie Sons David Liam
left, and Godwin Friesen address a small, eager crowd at the Biggar Long Term Care Home, Tuesday, giving a small glimpse into their concert later that evening, all part of the Biggar and District Arts Council concert season. The sixth show in the lineup, Prairie Sons were a deeply layered musical journey into the land they call home. (Independent
Roberts,
Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
The Biggar Senior Nationals hit the ice for Game 2 versus the visiting Davidson Cyclones in Provincial B action. The Provincial opener in Davidson, Feb. 15 was a 5-1 loss but Saturday in the Jube, the Nats put it together, taking a powerful Cyclone team to OT for a 6-5 win. The following night for the Game 3 decider in Davidson, the Nats season came to an end with a 10-2 loss. Give them a hand, the Nats were entertaining to watch all season, being in nearly every game. Here is to next season!
(Independent Photos by Kevin Brautigam)
Council minute highlights
The regular meeting of Biggar Town Council was held February 4 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Attending the meeting were Mayor Jim Rickwood, Councillors Alan Boyle, Dakota Ekman, Nicole Hoppe, Kevin McNicholls, Edward Young, and Ivan Young.
Council resolved that the following reports from Administration and Council Committees be accepted as presented: Committee Meeting of The Whole Minutes January 28, 2025. Committee Meeting of the Whole Notes January 28, 2025. Staffing Committee Meeting Minutes January 29, 2025. Recreation Board Meeting Minutes January 20, 2025. Recreation Director Report January 2025. Community Development Officer Report. Chief Administrative Officer Report.
Council resolved that the General Accounts Paid in the amount of $120,484.24 including payment numbers, payroll deposit, and online payments, totalling $55,661.63, and the list of accounts for approval in the amount of $104,711.51 including payment numbers, be approved as submitted.
Council resolved that the following correspondence be accepted and filed: Biggar RCMP Report January 20, 2025. Biggar RCMP Report January 27, 2025. Biggar RCMP Report February 3, 2025. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Strategic Plan Consultation. Biggar Landfill Usage Reports September - December 2024. SARCAN Household Glass Annual Report 2024. WCMGC Meeting Minutes January 23, 2025.
Council resolved that the purchase of nine new Council chairs be
approved.
Council resolved that Biggar Farm in the Dell be issued a one-time startup grant of $50,000, and furthermore that an annual operating grant of $20,000 be allocated to Biggar Farm in the Dell going forward.
Council resolved that the Town of Biggar approve the renewal of the board advertising agreement with the Biggar Senior Nationals.
Council resolved that a sponsorship donation of $1,000 be made to the Biggar and District Family Centre.
Council resolved that the request submitted by the Biggar School of Dance to use the Transit Van during their Dance Festival this April, be approved.
• 8:20 a.m. Councillor Ekman left the meeting.
Council resolved that the request submitted by Biggar Town and Country
Fair Days Committee for the Town of Biggar to accept donations and issue charitable receipts on behalf of the Biggar Town and Country Fair Days Committee be declined. Also, that the sponsorship request submitted by Biggar Town and Country Fair Days Committee be received, and furthermore that a donation be issued for $1,250 to be allocated towards the Biggar Town and Country Fair Days Fireworks Display. Further, that the community stage donation request submitted by Biggar Town and Country Fair Days Committee be received and that a donation be issued for $1,000 towards this project.
• 8:30 a.m. Councillor Ekman returned to the meeting.
• Meeting adjourned at 8:56 p.m.
by Sgt. Dereck Crozier, Biggar Detachment
This past week the detachment handled 39 occurrences.
Traffic Safety related events had nine drivers receiving tickets and 15 others given written warnings on various infractions. An older cream-coloured pick-up truck with two occupants was reported acting suspiciously creeping around rural properties in the RM of Biggar. A 2008 gold Town and Country van was recovered in Biggar after being stolen out of Leduc.
A 21-year-old female from Big River entered into the local Library to ask for help after being assaulted in a residence on Fourth Avenue. A 32-year-old male has been arrested and charged for assault after being treated for a knife injury to his hand. No contact conditions have been put in place and the male will make his appearance in Biggar Provincial Court, May 7.
A 911 call was received from the southeast corner in the RM of Perdue. Police and EMS attended to assist a 34-year-old female who was assaulted. A 39-yearold male was arrested and place on no contact conditions and will make his appearance in court on March 5.
In the early morning hours of February 19, a lone thief went to work in the Town of Biggar and broke into the hockey rink and bowling alley. The person is described as approximately 5’ 8”, wearing a red plaid jacket, black ski mask, black hoodie, black winter pants, black shoes, and yellow work gloves. The public in town is being asked for assistance, anyone with any street cameras in town, if they could please check if they captured any suspicious activity matching this person’s description while they roamed around on foot. Take care out there!
Hearing Clinic planned for the RM of Biggar Ratepayers
What animal found on the farm is loud enough to damage your hearing? Are earmuffs more effective than earplugs? Do you know how to prevent noise-induced hearing loss? Do you have hearing loss? What type of hearing protection should I use?
To offer answers to those questions and much more information, appointments can be made for a Hearing Clinic for Farmers which is being held for the ratepayers of the RM of Biggar No. 347 on Monday, March 17 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Community Hall in Biggar. To book an appointment please call (306) 948-2422.
The clinic will include a visual inspection of the ear canal and ear drum and a hearing screening with explanation of those results. Participants will be shown how to insert earplugs and will receive information to take home.
Playing on a Blue Card
When necessary, referrals are made. Hearing aids are not sold at the clinic. Agriculture health and safety resources and programs will also be reviewed.
“On the farm, there are many noises including those from augers, tractors, shotguns and squealing hogs at feeding time that can damage your hearing”, says Kendra Ulmer, Nurse and Clinic Director for the Agricultural Health and Safety Network, at the Canadian Centre For Rural and Agricultural Health, University of Saskatchewan. The clinic is being offered to RM 347 ratepayers because they are members of the Agricultural Health and Safety Network and is cosponsored by the Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health and Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture.
U18 Nat Outlaws take Game 1 ... Biggar/Wilkie National Outlaw, Heath Trayhorne looks for an opportunity against the visiting Unity Lazers, Saturday at the Jube. Facing the Lazers all year in the Hi-Way 14 league, the Nat Outlaws find themselves butting heads with Unity in the Provincial B. They took the contest 2-1 with Game 2 coming this March 1 in Unity. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
Biggar RCMP are looking assistance in apprehending a thief who broke into the Biggar Jubilee Stadium and the Biggar Bowling Alley. (Photo for The Independent courtesy of Biggar RCMP)
by Doug Firby, former Editorial Page Editor at the Calgary Herald
The CBC/Radio-Canada has become a political football this election cycle, with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre promising to “defund” it if he gains power in the upcoming federal election.
Once again, the leader of the Opposition finds that playing to his MAGA-lite freedom fighters puts him offside with the moderate Canadians whose support he needs. For all his claims of listening to ordinary Canadians, he seems tone-deaf about Canada’s national broadcaster.
Many of us get exasperated with the CBC’s Toronto-centric perspective, perceived liberal bias, and at times preachy tone. But we don’t see its destruction as a solution - we just want it to be better.
Polling shows strong support for the CBC in some form. A survey of 2,055 adults conducted for McGill University’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy found that 78 per cent of Canadians want CBC/RadioCanada to continue - if it addresses major criticisms. The top four, ranked in order, are: 1.) unreliable funding; 2.) advertising; 3.) biased reporting; and 4.) telling people what to think.
Supporters see it as a vital tool in shaping Canadian cultural identity, made more urgent by U.S. President
by Stuart Trew, Director of the Trade and Investment Research Project, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Political and business leaders constantly warn of supposed barriers strangling Canada’s eastwest trade, claiming it’s easier to do business with foreign countries than within our own borders.
Transportation Minister Anita Anand argues that removing internal obstacles to trade - whatever they may bewould lower the cost of everything in Canada by 15 per cent while adding $200 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP).
If that sounds too good to be true, it is.
More trade takes place between provinces than between U.S. states or European Union countries. While provincial trade was
Donald Trump’s threats to annex our country.
When asked whether a public broadcaster like CBC/Radio-Canada is still essential in the digital age, eight in 10 respondents to the McGill survey said it was either equally or more important than before.
Critics, however, argue that it serves as a propaganda tool for elite Liberal interests.
Poilievre - whose party is leading in the pollsreceives wild cheers from partisan audiences when he vows to defund the CBC.
But as deep as the divide is, there’s one uncomfortable truth most people agree onthe CBC needs to address deep-rooted dysfunction that undermines its ability to fulfil its mandate.
The CBC is a troubled puppy. And nothing short of sustained soulsearching will restore its health.
Why do conservative Canadians feel such acrimony toward the CBC? Mostly because they don’t feel they get a fair shake. Reporters are sworn to objectivity, but sometimes it seems like they’re just going through the motions, paying lip service to perspectives from the right. After all, the Poilievre set is not their tribe (and here I thought the only tribe reporters belonged to was the Truth Tribe).
The CBC is also captive to political correctness. This is why it demoted senior reporter Wendy Mesley for repeating in
pulled southward following the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement of the late 1980s, this shift had nothing to do with internal barriers in Canada. It was driven by profits.
While discussions often focus on provinces trading with one another, it is crucial to remember that trade actually occurs between companies that buy and sell goods and services to each other and to consumers. There are simply far more companies and consumers in the more populated and, for most parts of Canada, geographically closer United States.
Time and again, Canadian companies say the main barrier to interprovincial trade is transportation costs and the sheer size of the country. This raises an
a private meeting at The Corp the provocative title of a book by Pierre Vallières, a leader of the Front de libération du Québec (offensive because the title included the N-word).
It also failed to replace some of its charming curmudgeons, including the late Rex Murphy, whose right-of-centre views clashed with the network’s leadership.
The news department, which helps fill the void left by collapsing newspapers and local commercial TV and radio, does things that leave me baffled. The National, its flagship nightly newscast, is branded as a “show” - as if it’s there to entertain rather than inform. The night of the crash at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., it devoted almost the entire hour to having Paul Hunter speculate from across the Potomac River on the fate of the passengers (who were obviously dead). One can only assume the outpouring of grief was amplified by the fact that CBC reporters use the airport regularly.
Meanwhile, CBC’s local television newscasts remain puzzling, typically drawing the lowest ratings in competitive Canadian markets. In Calgary, for example, the CBC’s daily television broadcast reaches just 20,000 people on average.
But there are positives, too, notably in the growth of its digital audience. And its
important question: what is driving the current interprovincial trade mania? - provincial trade mania?
In a scramble to appear in control of the Trump tariff emergency, the federal government is searching for what it calls “no-cost approaches” to diversifying trade away from the United States, including within Canada.
One such approach - a proposal that all provinces should mutually recognize the regulations, standards and worker training requirements in all other provinces as equivalent to their own - could save businesses in Canada some money. But the cost of mutual recognition could easily be borne by workers.
An overly broad mutual recognition agreement between provinces would be a classic recipe for a
entertainment division has produced some winning programs. Nothing compares to Jonny Harris’s Still Standing. North of North, the comedy set in Iqaluit, is groundbreaking, and Allan Hawco’s Saint-Pierre is a police procedural with an authentic Canadian twist.
So, the CBC’s record as a bastion of Canadian culture is mixed. There’s little evidence it deserves a massive funding boost. But there’s also no strong argument for doing away with it.
CBC/Radio-Canada was budgeted to receive $1.38 billion in 2024-25 but claims it is chronically underfunded. In December, it announced 600 job cuts (politicians rightly question why, if funding is so tight, it paid out $18.4 million in bonuses in 2023-
race to the bottom on standards. Low standards or weaker health and safety protections in any province, however inadequate, would have to be recognized across the country.
For example, following the tragic Humboldt Broncos bus crash, all provinces agreed to adopt minimum entry-level training requirements for heavy truck drivers. While it took far too long for them to harmonize training requirements at an acceptable level, this targeted and more thoughtful approach to dealing with internal trade irritants is far preferable to the politically expedient mutual recognition approach.
The provinces and federal government are addressing the small list of other trade irritants through a regulatory
INDEPENDENT
24). Meanwhile, the incumbent Liberal government is considering a proposal from Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge to double The Corp’s funding - if the party manages to hold onto power in the next federal election, expected in late spring. Given the Liberals’ precarious grip on power, that’s a long shot.
Before increasing CBC funding, any government must explore how the broadcaster can improve. Can it appeal to all Canadians, regardless of political stripe? Who are the faceless bureaucrats in Toronto making the calls? Based on what I see, some of them need to go.
Let’s put the cards on the table. The U.S. media juggernaut is so powerful that no Canadian media
reconciliation process under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. There are issues with the process, but they stem from a lack of transparency and public involvement.
Provincial liquor boards, which restrict trade in alcohol for public health reasons, are the only obvious barrier to interprovincial trade in Canada. Even here, provinces are finally, albeit slowly, making it easier to buy wine from other provinces.
What Minister Anand and a few provinces are proposing with respect to mutual recognition of regulations and standards would weaken democracy and allow businesses to cut corners to boost profits. We are rushing headlong toward this bad outcome under the illusion of standing up for Canada and fighting
company stands a chance without some government support. The collapse of private news media proves the point. Don’t believe those who claim they’d do better if only the CBC were gone - advertisers just aren’t interested in supper-hour news anymore. Success shouldn’t mean getting a job in Hollywood. It should mean creating a space where great stars can thrive at home. Quebec has done it - thanks to the French language as a cultural barrier. The rest of Canada could do it, too. But not with the CBC as it is. If it wants to regain relevance, it must understand what ordinary people are all about. Only then might it deserve the cash it so desperately seeks.
Trump. It would be far more beneficial for east-west trade to improve Canada’s trade infrastructure, including rail, roads and electrical transmission lines. Companies will ship more within Canada if it is faster and cheaper to do so.
Overheated rhetoric about internal trade barriers will not defend us from an autocratic U.S. administration intent on sucking jobs and investment out of Canada. It will not get resource projects up and running faster or ensure there are new markets for Canadian goods. Seeking new ways to hamstring governments trying to bolster local jobs and industry or strengthen public protections points us in precisely the wrong direction.
If there were one million people in Saskatchewan in 1937, then there must be a million stories about it. Here are a few of mine, taken from the old Life and Times (L&T).
The Depression of the so-called “Dirty Thirties” was bad enough, but 1937 was the worst of the worst. In one of his books, a great writer of those times reported that even the prime minister of Canada didn’t know there was a Depression until 1937.
Actually, the price of grain had gone way, way down about 1933 or so, and as young fellows up in Great Bend, we heard a lot of stories from old farmers:
“By the time Al had made out the ticket for my load of wheat, I was lucky to get out with my team,” or “Things were so dry that summer that the kids who still believed in Santa Claus didn’t believe
in rain!”
Things were pretty bad, all right, but being young we really never noticed that much. We gathered eggs and butchered steers, and ate fairly well.
The generation just a few years older were the ones that took the beating. The parents, including ours, who, because everything was so depressed, found that they couldn’t provide for their children, must have felt awful!
Dad and Mother did a lot of hard work to try and make ends meet, and succeeded in a way, although they had to give up the homestead they both loved. And plans that the folks had for the future of their family just had to be abandoned. I don’t know where everybody went but there were sure a lot of empty farmsteads about until a lot of displaced people started arriving from Europe.
If I remember right, 1937 started out okay. We put the crop in and it came up. Then sorry ... it just didn’t rain. I suppose I could look it up but there really wasn’t that much rain that year, although the record people say that since then we’ve had years with less. But what really did the damage around our part was a hot, hot week near the end of July.
Quinn Minute
Wild animals as pets by Rix
Quinn
Many towns now prohibit citizens from housing jungle animals.
What, exactly, is a “wild pet?” That depends on your town, and what its council considers more dangerous than a roving bachelors’ party.
For instance, some communities term boa constrictors “wild.” In others, they’re considered “non-poisonous reptiles with a lethal hug.” That’s reminds me of my great aunt, who visited us on holidays.
Coyotes, wolves and hyenas are also wild, even though they disguise themselves as loveable, giant-fanged dogs. My neighbour Charlie once owned a wolf, and it ate four parakeets and two of Charlie’s toes before he wised up and sold it to the sister he never liked.
Extremely large animals, like elephants or rhinos, don’t fit well in back yards. Also, walking
In those times every little village in the country had a sports day. I forget exactly where the sports day was on that hot week, but I remember coming out of the cool basement to the 110°F heat and 20 m.p.h. wind. As we went the 50-feet or so to the old truck, we knew we weren’t going anywhere! What fields did show a bit of green on that morning, sure turned brown fast and died - so did the dreams of most of the “next year” farmers.
Sometime before that, one of the neighbours had made a killing on the stock market. He bought a whole lot of September wheat and sold short at the previous May price. In the interval, the price of wheat dropped from around .75¢ in May to .35¢ in September, meaning he bought at .35¢ and sold at .75¢! Of course he made lots of money and drove a big fine car all through those bad years. He may have made lots of money but he sure lost lots of friends and was no longer one of the boys!
I met him a long time later in Europe where he was a big shot in the army, still drawing in lots of money ... and still losing lots of friends!
When Y.T. (Yours Truly) hears someone complain about those times and disappointments, he is
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MONDAY
an elephant is awkward, and cleaning up after it might require that pet owner to pull a wagon, too.
How about chickens?
One community outlawed them, even though few are aggressive, and most are toothless.
They were banned not for aggression, but for crowing. No city person wants to hear anybody mouth-off at dawn, especially a birdbrain (maybe that’s why they forced my friend Dave out of town, too).
Bottom line: If you want to view carnivorous animals, visit the zoo. If you want to pet a loud animal, invite my friend Dave to dinner.
Family Memory Book?
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bound to remember:
• Statistics people say that the average crop in Saskatchewan in 1937 was about two bushels per acre. Actually, rented land and all, on six quarters the Mason family got about 75 bushels from potholes.
• Thousands of horses and cattle were sent to far-off places where there was feed for them. But thousands more were sold for 1¢ a pound. As a matter of fact, an old guy from down south drove his team of horses, pulling a stoneboat, up to the Leney stockyard, tied them to a post and walked home. I know he did because we gave him a bit of a ride!
• In the winter that followed, hundreds of acres of reeds were cut on the Sipanok channel after freeze up, baled and sent south for feed. Some of the cattle wouldn’t lie on the stuff let alone eat it!
• Dad took the one-inch wide slats from an old couch that we had, cut them to different lengths, turned them up at the back and made a kind of five-foot wide swather behind the horse-pulled mower blade. Although we put up a hundred
loads of Russian Thistle in 12-foot high stacks, not much of it got used. By the spring of 1938, we had gotten rid of most of the cattle and only had one left. Years later, when those stacks had settled to only five-feet high, turned black and mouldy, a few cows got into them and really gobbled the stuff up. Cows may have four stomachs but that mouldy old thistle sure made a quick short-cut trip through them all, and then ... watch out!
• Although in that book about the Great Depression, it says that even the prime minister of Canada didn’t know there was one until 1937, then finally sent some relief. I don’t know how much if anything the Maritime people got for sending out those tough, snowshoe shaped fish, but I understand that some of them even got eaten!
5 P.M.
• The government of the day also threw itself out of joint by paying farm labourers $5 a month. They also gave a farmer $5 for keeping them! A lot of people (including Y.T.) took it, too! Many years later, I always wondered how the same government could pay me a staggering $1.59 per diem just for being shot at, no questions asked! Looking through the ragged pages of the old L&T is sure enlightening sometimes, if only to remind a guy that things really aren’t that bad out here.
And even if times do get worse, if 1937 does come again, we’ll realize that somehow we’ll muddle through and maybe be the better for it. I can hear it all now. Way on about 2063 some doddering old guy with a faraway look in his eyes will say, “By Gosh, I sure remember the dry spring of 2025!”
Bob Mason Notable Notes
Dear Money Lady Readers:
I was speaking at a Toronto event a few months ago to about 600-plus seniors and was chatting with a lovely lady after the event that was telling me how much she had lost in the stock
market during COVID. I wanted to caution all my reader. Now that we’re on the cusp of another recession - please do not pull out your investments when the market falls.
Suffice it to say that you need to create a portfolio that you can live with during up-markets and downturns. You should never live or die by your portfolio, and if you are in that situation, you need to get into something less risky.
Let’s take a little risk test together.
Say you have $10,000 in cash and we are sitting at a table together.
Your $10,000, in all its hundred dollar bill glory is put in a nice big pile in
the middle of the table.
Okay, now let’s play the market.
I have a quarter: heads you get to keep your money; tails you lose it. Now I know this is an extreme example, but sometimes that’s how it feels when you’re watching your investments, right?
Let’s try this again, if you lost 20 per cent of your investment portfolio, would you be okay with that? Yes? What if your portfolio was $1,000,000. A 20 per cent loss is $200,000. Are you still comfortable with this possibility?
Most people say they can handle the ups and downs of the market, but
research shows that we tend to hold on to losing positions far too long in the hope of avoiding errors or suffering a loss. We like to think that we are rational in our decisions, but most evidence suggest that investors act irrationally and have frequent errors in judgement. Some of us will even take a hands-off approach to stock picks and hold on to securities that are familiar or ones to which we have an emotional attachment. If you think you can predict the outcome of a stock, wake up. The reality is that you cannot. Becoming overconfident creates unwarranted faith in your stock picks and
Armchair Gardening
by Patricia Hanbidge,
Orchid Horticulture
This is the perfect time of year to become an armchair gardener. Winter is still in full force and there is enough snow outside that not much can actually be done. There is time to sit and read, cover to cover, each seed catalogue that arrives in the mailbox ... and if you are not receiving enough catalogues, just ask your friends or turn on the computer! There is a whole world of gardening possibilities at your fingertips! The new varieties, the tried and true, the heritage, the odd and unusual or hard to find seeds are all out there.
If you find you are having trouble deciding what new seeds to order for the garden, there is plenty of help available. A good source for searching out catalogues is as close as your home computer. Type in ‘garden seed sources for the Prairies’ or any variety you can think of and you will be amazed at what appears.
If you subscribe to any of the gardening magazines they too will usually contain a listing of different seed suppliers. You have just enough time to read through these listings, pick out a few, order the catalogues or shop online. After all, we likely still will have a few days of winter ahead. In order to have the most success possible it is helpful to understand a little bit about the common terms used in seed catalogues. Reading the small print about each selection is important. Vegetable varieties are
listed with days to harvest, which means from seeding date to when you can actually harvest your vegetables. This will always vary within a week or two depending on the weather. In Saskatchewan you can usually rely on a late spring frost so be prepared.
Other terms you might need help deciphering include: heirloom, heritage, open-pollinated and hybrid. Many plant varieties are hybrids meaning the flowers of two related species have been cross-pollinated to produce a new flower or vegetable variety that exhibits superior growth or hybrid vigour.
The seed from hybrid varieties will likely be sterile, however, if it does germinate, it is unlikely that the flowers or vegetables will be like the parent plant. In fact, the plants may be sterile and not produce flowers at all.
If you wish to save seeds from what you plant, then it will be important to grow open-pollinated, also commonly called heritage or heirloom plants. These plants, as they breed true, are not a hybrid cross so saving seeds from these plants will produce very similar plants when the seeds from these plants are grown.
Last but not least, it is important to understand the difference between annual, biennial and perennial. Annuals are plants that will complete their entire life cycle in one growing seasongerminate, grow, flower and set seed. In less severe climates, what we consider annuals
are often perennial in nature - but for us on the Prairies they are most definitely annuals. Biennials will take two years to complete their life cycle and will often only produce vegetative growth the first year and flower and fruit in the following year. Perennials are plants that survive our winter in the great outdoors and live for three years or more. Spend your time wisely - expanding your knowledge while armchair
gardening! Patricia Hanbidge is the Lead Horticulturist with Orchid Horticulture. Find us at orchidhort. com; by e-mail at info@ orchidhort.com; on facebook @orchidhort and on instagram at #orchidhort. Tune into GROW Live on our Facebook page facebook.com/orchidhort or check out the Youtube channel GROW youtube.com/channel/ UCzkiUpkvyv2e2HCQlFl0JyQ?
becoming too nervous makes you sell-out when you clearly should ride out the trend. Not everyone acts the same with risk, especially seniors that no longer have an “earning run-way” to make up for losses. It is best to have your investments managed by a portfolio manager or licensed investment advisor with a firm that you can trust. Make sure you understand the products you are choosing with your advisor and always invest to the point that you can sleep at night. It is so important for you to create your own competitive advantage and to choose investment
products that match your future goals and risk tolerance. Don’t worry so much about the gossiping and bad news stories on the TV. You cannot be a profit-chasing gambler in the stock market, and if it sounds too good to be true, you know it probably is.
Good luck and best wishes!
Written by Christine Ibbotson, author, finance writer, syndicated national radio host, and now on BNN Bloomberg News, and CTV News. Send your money questions (answered free) through her website at info@ askthemoneylady.ca
Advertising doesn’t cost, it pays!
Open Cupboard Tops
Richards
by Brenda Richards
So, climbing on a chair and standing on my countertops to reach and clean the tops of my cupboards is no longer an option.
First, my knees won’t take it; second, balancing just to get my boots on is a feat in it’s self; and
last, frankly I hate asking someone else for help. But over the years I have picked up a tip and now it is much easier ... no damp cloth, comet, scrubbing and rinsing each section. You just put down waxed paper on the top of each cupboard. When it comes to cleaning, just remove the gritty, greasy, dusty waxed paper and put down a new layer. Now, this isn’t full proof as I have to enlist someone else to climb onto the countertop (saves me even more time, lol): and you still have to remove and clean all of those lovely things you’ve stored up there. This I will gladly do with two feet solidly on the kitchen floor.
Christine Ibbotson Ask The Money Lady
Brenda
Twiddling My Thumbs
25024KK0
Unhinged tariff
threats
have Canadians looking inward for ag opportunities
by Calvin Daniels
It is interesting how US president Donald Trump has become the focus of so much discussionlittle of it positive of his views outside his die hard constituents and even some of those seem to be wavering in the face of his almost daily outlandish pronouncements.
For example attending a recent junior hockey game in Yorkton where I was chatting with a couple of guys connected to the team’s past, and Trump came up in relation to how important the Connor McDavid goal felt in the recent 4 Nations Cup in relation to national pride and as a snub of Trump’s nonsensical chatter about our fine sovereign nation becoming an American state.
One of those I chatted with did note with a smile that journalists at least are happy because Trump provides fodder to write
about on a daily basis. I for one could do without ever having to write about Trump’s vitriol again, but alas here I am once again.
Trump should be relegated to bad caricatures in political cartoons, but the American people have given him near carte blanche powers so his often off-the-wall comments and views are more of a threat than they should be.
For Canada Trump’s rhetoric is of course confusing coming from the leader of a country we have long seen as our trusted neighbour and ally. In a few short weeks Trump has destroyed that illusion.
So tariff threats hang over trade with a major market for Canada exporters, and one senses we should underestimate what Trump might do next as he lays covetous eyes on Canada - along with the Panama Canal, Greenland and the Gaza Strip.
Certainly Canadians need to batten down the proverbial hatches in preparation for rough waters ahead.
A good start is to buy Canadian first when possible - support Canadian business as much as possible. Every extra dollar spent on Canadian products will help buffer the damage
tariffs to exports south will cause.
If you can’t find a Canadian product, look for those of our allies in this trade war, for example Mexico.
In terms of looking domestically in our purchases it goes beyond just what we chose at the grocery store, or where we vacation.
We as a country must become more united in terms of trade within our own borders.
Business province-toprovince in Canada is not as smooth as one might expect.
There are a myriad of rules and regulations which simply do not jive when crossing a provincial border creating a hurdle to domestic trade which frankly should not exist - we are after all, all Canadians.
The federal government said recently it will break down trade barriers between provinces by removing 20 out of 39 exceptions to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. That is a start.
Now the provinces need to set aside political differences and break down the barriers to facilitate smoother Interprovincial trade - a move frankly long overdue and now critically required.
Gartner
MARKET
Calvin Daniels Agriculture
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The Saskatchewan Traveller ... Nova Scotia Edition by Trudy and Dale Buxton
Kentville, Nova Scotia is the largest community in the Annapolis Valley with
Cabaret Cabaret
a population of around 6,700 people.
Kentville was mainly established back in the mid 1700’s and was built on the banks of the Cornwallis River and just downstream is a large tidal river that empties into the Minas Basin. The location of Kentville provided an easy fording point in the water system making the area an important crossroads for other communities in the Annapolis Valley. This location was also the end of the line for larger sailing ships coming down the river.
The area was first settled by the Acadians and along with the help of the Mi’kmaq First Nations, built dikes along the river to hold back the salt waters of the basin and developed fertile farm land. The Acadians
from the United States. The Pinewoods community is listed as one of the Historic Black Communities of Canada.
The railway established its headquarters in Kentville in 1868 and from there began shipping many of the farm goods from the Annapolis Valley to British markets, mostly at this time was the large crops of apples.
located in the Annapolis Valley and home to the annual Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival each spring and attracting thousands to enjoy the festivities.
Another well know festival is the Harvest Fest which features the very popular Kentville Pumpkin People, people of the community find unique ways of displaying
Pumpkin People in Kentville, Nova Scotia
by Delta Fay Cruickshank for the Biggar Museum and Gallery
There is a resort town in the county of Argyll in Northwest Scotland called Oban.
It is also the ferry terminal for the ferries to the Scottish islands of Mull, Barra, Islay and more. People have been settling in the horseshoe shaped bay since Mesolithic times. In 1794 a distillery was built there, and the town grew.
Now as a ferry terminal and resort town, the population can swell in the summers to 24,000, from 8,500. It is only a two-hour, 16-minute drive from Glasgow on the west coast so you understand the swelling of the population in the warmer months.
Maybe someone came from this Scottish resort town and decided to call the area after their hometown. It wasn’t named because of the similarity of landscape for sure, as Oban Scotland is on a bay on the Forth of Lorn. Oban means “Little Bay”. Now, not too many bays or bodies of water where Oban, Saskatchewan is (or was).
There was a school in the Oban area in 1928.
Oban, not a resort town here
There were nine families in the area, and because the existing schools at Naseby and Castlewood where too far away to walk, Oban got its own school. There was a store in Oban as well. I haven’t found too much information about the store or the town itself, but in the Harvest of Memories, North Biggar History books, there are pictures of the first students and a list of the teachers at the school.
A chance phone call to Harvey Moncrief filled in so much more information about the Oban School. It is still standing! On the way to Landis, across the highway from P&H there is a building surrounded by caragana bushes and that is the Oban School! Still hanging in there!
Harvey was telling me that his grandfather used his team of horses in 1928 to help dig the basement for the school. The whole community chipped in and built the school. It was a very modern school building as the toilets were inside the building! No running out to the outhouse for the Oban students! The boys’ facilities were in the basement and the girls
was upstairs. Harvey’s mother went to that school, as did the Affleck children, the Fasts, Carruthers, Hildebrandts, Tebbs and Redlichs. The school was built on a quarter section donated by J.P. Pendlebury.
I assume the school closed in 1960, as did so many of the small country schools. That was when the students began being bussed to bigger centres like Biggar. There was a school in Landis at that time. Maybe the Oban students went to Landis School, but not sure that Landis had High School classes.
Oban was also the location for the last interlocking tower. It was built in 1910 and closed in 1990. It is now at the Saskatchewan Railway Museum. The museum is on Highway 60, southwest of Saskatoon on the Pike Lake Highway. What was an Interlocking tower?
A building housing a series of levers attached pipes and clamps which controlled semaphore signals and train derails. It was high enough for engineers to see the signals to prevent trains from crashing into each
other as they crossed the track at Oban. The Grand Truck Pacific Railway needed it to cross the Canadian Pacific tracks there. The GTP became the Canadian National in 1919.
The population of the rural areas around Biggar
was large compared to now. At the beginning of the settlement of this area at the beginning of the 20th century folk started farming on quarter sections. One family on one quarter section compared to several sections owned now by one family. Times change, people come and go, seems only the land stays. Did it get this cold in the early 1900’s? How did people cope at minus 30? I am so grateful for central heating and indoor plumbing during these polar vortexes.
Oban, Argyll, Scotland. (Photo for The Independent courtesy of Wikipedia)
Battle on the Boards ... Biggar U9 Nationals hosted the Dodsland Stars, Saturday at the Jube for a high-scoring, entertaining contest. Nats came out on top, winning 14-10. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
PUBLIC NOTICE:
THE RM OF ROSEMOUNT WILL BE CONSIDERING OFFERS ON THE POSSIBLE SALE OF THE CANDO COMMUNITY HALL
LOCATED @ 503 – ELM AVE (BLK 29) CANDO, SK
1960 – 40 X 60 HALL WITH KITCHEN AND CONTENTS
OFFERS WILL BE RECEIVED UNTIL MARCH 17TH, 2025
PLEASE EMAIL OFFERS TO rm378@sasktel.net OR FAX TO 306-658-2028
INQUIRIES CAN BE MADE TO THE RM OF ROSEMOUNT OFFICE @ 306-658-2034 OR BY CONTACTING CAROL @ 306-937-3954
250236W0
Biggar National Players receive awards…Biggar National’s captain Derek Argue(top photo) was this year’s recipient, as the award is given out through a committee, including chairperson Joe Cey and other local brothers Lester, Roger, and Mike, rewarding the efforts of the hardest working local player in the league. and Jonathan Redlick receives an award from Manager Ken Kernohan for being a 2nd team all-star for the league. (photos for The Independent by Dale Buxton)
Until he’s dethroned, Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue will be the favourite every time he slides out of the hack at the Canadian men’s curling championship.
Gushue has a record six Canadian titles in his distinguished career, and he’s going for No. 7 this week in Kelowna at the Montana’s Brier. A victory would give him and his rink of third Mark Nichols, second Brendan Bottcher and lead Geoff Walker an unprecedented four consecutive championships.
Since winning his first Brier in front of home fans in St. John’s in 2017, Gushue has guided his rink to Brier titles in
by
Phil Heilman Sask West Hockey League (SWHL) semis have kicked off, as well as Hockey Saskatchewan provincials continuing to go deeper.
League
The one seed Hafford Hawks and the four seed Edam 3 Stars started off their best of five matchup on Friday night in Hafford, with the 3 Stars coming away with a 5-3 win.
Owen Latendresse scored the only goal of the opening frame for a 1-0 Edam lead. Colby Daniels would tie things up at 1 at the 14:47 mark of the second period, but the 3 Stars would explode for three goals from Brady Deobald
Biggar Bowling Weekly Scores
Monday Adult Mixed
Gushue faces strong field at Brier
2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Last year, in Regina, the 2017 world champion and 2006 Olympic gold medallist defeated Matt Dunstone of Winnipeg in the final for his third consecutive win.
Despite Gushue’s stellar record in recent Briers, he and his rink are far from a sure thing this week in Kelowna. Among the 18 competitors are at least three or four who could easily dethrone him and recent mediocre Grand Slam results indicate that Gushue and his rink could be ripe for the taking.
In January’s WFC Masters in Guelph, Gushue went winless in four games within his pool and, naturally, didn’t advance to the playoffs. But that event was held shortly after former Brier champion skip Bottcher had joined the team, replacing E.J. Harndon, and the team chemistry may have not been up to snuff. It should be by now.
Again, this year’s Brier field is solid. Four rinksGushue, Dunstone, Mike McEwen and Brad Jacobs
(PPG), Josh LaClare and Cody Danberg in a threeminute span for a big 4-1 lead after 40 minutes. In the third period, Connor Neave would cut the lead to 4-2 early, but Brent Weber would restore the three-goal lead just four minutes later. Andrew Galambos would round out scoring.
Taryn Kotchorek took the win, stopping 29 of 32 shots. Joel Gryzbowski stopped 21 of 26 shots in the loss.
In Game 2 on Saturday night in Edam, the 3 Stars were able to complete the comeback in a 3-2 overtime victory. Edam now leads the series 2-0.
Brandon Lesko opened the scoring late in the first period on the power
- pre-qualified through a variety of on-ice successes, while the other 14 rinks qualified through provincial and territorial championships. McEwen, Dunstone and Jacobs are likely the strongest challengers to Gushue. All have had success on the Grand Slam circuit this year and any one of those rinks would be strong challengers to the suddenly dominant Scottish rinks on the world stage (Bruce Mouat of Scotland is No. 1 in the world while the top Canadian-ranked team is Dunstone, at No. 3. Gushue has fallen to eighth).
Other Brier contenders could be four-time Brier champ Kevin Koe, Northern Ontario’s John Epping, Saskatchewan’s Rylan Kleiter and Manitoba champ Reid Carruthers. Whoever comes out of Kelowna wearing the Brier crown earns a trip to Moose Jaw for the world championships starting March 29. And if the winner in Kelowna thought the competition was stiff in
the Okanagan city, just wait. Mouat and Ross Whyte of Scotland are ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the world. Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller is No. 2 and Germany’s up-andcoming rink skipped by Marc Muskatewitz showed signs in Grand Slam events recently that he’s ready for the world stage. Italy’s Joel Retornaz is also a world power and lately, curlers from Asian countriesmostly on the women’s side, mind you - have shown they’re on the way up.
Gushue’s not thinking that far ahead. Kelowna and the Canadian championship is his focus this week and the challenge is daunting.
• Columnist Norman Chad, on more things overheard from the four-legged competitors through the years at the Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden: 1. “I’m fed up with online dating - how come everyone looks like Lassie in their photo?”; 2. “There’s a German Shepherd in Stall 231 who acts like they won
Sask West This Week
play, with Brady Deobald tying things up midway through the second period. Jeremy Boyer would give the Hawks the 2-1 lead, but with the goalie pulled, Jordan Fransoo would tie it back up. Cody Danberg was the overtime hero.
Joel Gryzbowski stopped 42 of 45 shots in the overtime loss, while Taryn Kotchorek stopped 33 of 35 shots in the win. The two seed Wilkie Outlaws fired up their best of five matchup against the three seed Kindersley Klippers. The Outlaws struck first,
winning 6-2 and taking the 1-0 series lead. Mitch Suchan started it off early, followed by Rick Cey’s third of the playoffs at the 2:41 mark. Jessey Pocock snuck one in just under the wire to cut the lead to 2-1. The Outlaws took control in the middle frame, with Brett Schell, Mike Sittler and Rory Gregoire all scoring for a big 5-1 lead after 40 minutes. Brody Ryberg would cut the lead to 5-2, but Carter Wakelin’s first career senior hockey goal would secure the victory.
Logan Drackett stopped 39 of 45 shots in the
World Wars I and II.”
• Globe and Mail columnist Cathal Kelly, on the recent U.S. animosity toward Canada and its chumminess with Russia: “If Hollywood made Rocky IV again, Ivan Drago would be from Winnipeg.”
• Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: “Maybe Donald Trump wants to take over Canada just so his country can win a hockey tournament again.”
• Headline at TheBeaverton.com : “Canada annexes 4 Nations Championship”
• Toronto Star’s Bruce Arthur, on X: “Making (Wayne) Gretzky the honourary captain ... (at the U.S-Canada final) was almost the equivalent of a phantom limb. His silence while palling around with a man who wants to destroy Canada is deafening.”
• Comedy guy Steve Burgess of Vancouver: “Gretzky is our honourary captain? He’ll go to centre ice and surrender.”
• Comedian Torben Rolfsen of Vancouver: “Fans in Montreal not
loss, while Jared Herle stopped 31 of 33 shots in the win.
Provincials
In the Senior ‘B’ Bracket, the Biggar Nationals came from behind to win Game 2 against the Davidson Cyclones of the Sask Valley Hockey League, winning 6-5 in overtime. That forced a winner take all game 3, with Davidson taking advantage of their home surroundings with a big 10-2 win. The Cyclones move onto the North final and a date with the Kindersley Klippers. Davidson has the hammer in the series.
only booed the U.S. anthem, they booed the announcement asking fans to show respect for the anthem.”
• Another one from Rolfsen, after a number of arrests were made during the post-game celebrations following the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl win: “Most of them were released the next morning. The worst ones were sentenced to watch Rocky V.”
• RJ Currie of sportsdeke. com: “Canucks starting goaltender Thatcher Demko is out weekto-week, and he’ll be replaced by backup Kevin Lankinen. Demko is hampered by a lower body injury and a lower save percentage.”
• Headline at fark.com: “Travis Kelce showers Taylor Swift with $100K in Valentine’s gifts. Meanwhile, the rest of us are still debating if a $20 box of chocolates is too much.”
• Care to comment? E-mail brucepenton2003@ yahoo.ca
In the ‘C’ Bracket, the Wilkie Outlaws took care of business in Eston, winning 4-2 in Game 2. They sweep the series and move onto the North final to play against the Lanigan Pirates of the Long Lake Hockey League. The Outlaws have the hammer in the series. In the ‘D’ Bracket, the Edam 3 Stars opened up their series against the Shellbrook Elks of the Twin Rivers Hockey League, with Edam coming away with the 8-1 win.
Biggar well represented at Western Funbowl
Tuesday Night Mixed
Thursday Afternoon Seniors
YBC
Ladies High Single - Marilyn Miller 268. Ladies High Triple - Marilyn Miller 636. Mens High Single - Jonathan Redlick 209. Mens High Triple - Jonathan Redlick 564.
Ladies High Single - Melissa Raschke 178. Ladies High Triple - Melissa Raschke 455. Mens High Single - Michael Hebert 187. Mens High TripleMichael Hebert 534.
Ladies High Single - Winnie Roloston 200. Ladies High Triple - Marcia Besse 453. Mens High
Single - Walter Fernets 238. Mens High TripleWalter Fernets 496.
Pee Wee Single - Hadley Harrabek 120; Triple - Hadley Harrabek 292. Bantam Single - Natalie Poirier 130; Triple - Natalie Poirier 287. Junior Single - Tanner Pollock 182; Triple - Jesse Bourk 484. Senior High Single - Noah Park 238; High Triple - Noah Park 668.
The Great Western Funbowl and Rising Stars provincial bowling tournaments were held in Saskatoon Feb 15-16. Teams from all areas of Saskatchewan competed in a Pins Over Average format to see who would take the gold medal and represent Team Saskatchewan at the Inter-provincials in Saskatoon April 23-27. Each tournament had an A and a B team participating. West Sask Funbowl A-Team: Max Bozhok (Rosetown), Jason Raschke (Biggar), Leah Clark (Lashburn), Penny Andersen (Rosetown), and Coach Darion Jones (Rosetown). West Sask Funbowl B Team: Lanny Lamarche (Rosetown), Melissa Raschke (Biggar), Mel Lumley (Cutknife), Coach Marilyn Miller (Perdue), and Mary Ramsay (Cutknife). West Sask A-Team finished up in fourth place for the A side with three of the bowlers, Jason, Max and Leah, earning prizes for top Pins over average. West
Sask B-Team finished
in sixth place on the B side. In the final playoffs, South Sask B took silver, East Sask A, bronze, and South Sask A received Gold and will represent Saskatchewan at Funbowl Inter-Provincials. Rising Stars West Sask A-Team: Eric Kozakevich (Rosetown), Cliff Forsyth (Rosetown), Lynn Berger (Rosetown), Dianne Misener (Biggar), Coach Russell Goebel (Lashburn). B-Team: Leonard Lapierre (Lashburn), Bridget Berg (Rosetown), Coach Alvin Anderson (Lashburn),
Yvonne Markewich (Biggar), Mat Harrabek (Biggar). Cliff Forsyth was fourth overall in the mens singles and Yvonne Markewich second in singles for womens standings. Both ended up playing in the singles stepladder and both ended up receiving third place in their respective divisions at the end. A-Team then continued to play a tiebreaker for third place and a spot in the playoffs for A-teams but came up short against South Sask A placing fourth overall on the A side. The West
Sask B-Team was second for the B-side and went on to play in the B side stepladder playoffs beating out Moose Jaw B, then Regina B twice winning The B-side competition. West sask B-Team played in the final against South Sask A. West Sask won the match in a 5-2 point win taking first place and will be representing Team Saskatchewan at the Rising Stars InterProvincials in April in Saskatoon. South Sask A received silver and North Sask A bronze medals.
Local Bowlers going to Provincials…Local bowlers Yvonne Markewich and Mat Harrabek competed in the Rising Stars tournaments on February 15th and 16th, with thier other West Sask Team B teamates Leonard Lapierre from Lashburn, Bridget Berg from Rosetown and Coach Alvin Anderson from Lashburn in Saskatoon and earned the right to play in the Inter-Provincials this April in Saskatoon as Team Saskatchewan. Congratulations team!
Whale ship captain 49. Moved quickly on foot 50. Volcanic craters
55. Large musical instrument 56. Liquefied natural gas
57. Ethiopian town
59. Not closed
60. A team’s best pitcher
61. Spiritual leader of a Jewish congregation
62. Disfigure
63. Prefix denoting “in a” 64. Sleep
CLUES DOWN
1. S. American plant
2. Soul and calypso song
3. Fruit of the service tree
4. Continent
5. Albania’s capital
6. Poisonous plant
7. Argues
8. Assists
9. Town in Galilee
10. Russian leader
12. Promotional materials
14. Wings
19. Not odd
23. Expression of creativity
24. Conceptualize
25. A digital tape recording of sound
26. Peyton’s little brother
27. Cost, insurance and freight (abbr.)
28. Difference in potential
29. Owner
34. I (German)
35. Chinese conception of poetry
36. The world of the dead
37. Sign language
39. Coincide
40. Religious observance
41. Confined condition (abbr.)
42. Polite interruption sound
44. Texas ballplayer
45. Type of sword
46. Abba __, Israeli politician
47. Basic unit of a chemical element
48. Native American people in California
51. Swiss river
52. Hebrew calendar month
53. Easily swindled person
54. One point south of southwest
58. Small island (British)
Biggar Barracuda Swim Club AGM
March 10/2025 - 7pm
Biggar & District Credit Union Board Elections, Bylaw Approvals & Registration Night EVERYONE WELCOME
SHROVE TUESDAY
Tuesday March 4, 2025
Biggar United Church 4:30pm - 6:30pm “Use basement ramp North Door” Adults - $15 8 & under - free Call for a Ride 948-2280 leave message
HORSESHOE E CHAROLAIS
ARIES –
Mar 21/Apr 20
People are not mind readers, Aries. If you want others to know how you are feeling, you are going to have to give them some sort of indication this week.
TAURUS –
Apr 21/May 21
You may discover that you enjoy a great deal of support from other people right now, Taurus. This includes those who you didn’t realize are on your side.
GEMINI –
May 22/Jun 21
Even though it can be challenging at certain times, try to see the positives in every situation, Gemini. This may make it easier to overlook some of their faults.
CANCER –
Jun 22/Jul 22
Try to stretch beyond your comfort zone and limits this week, Cancer. This likely will involve meeting new people and asking a lot of questions along the way. You will develop and grow.
LEO –
Jul 23/Aug 23
Leo, this is a great time to communicate with friends and socialize. Put aside any worries and engage in lighthearted activities that will enable you to laugh and smile.
VIRGO –
Aug 24/Sept 22
The more peaceful and understanding you are this week, Virgo, the more you will get along with the other people in your life. Be the diplomat instead of a warrior this time around.
LIBRA –
Sept 23/Oct 23
Libra, this is a good week for cleaning up your space and devising a better organizational system at work. You might be so good at cleaning up that you forget where you put things.
SCORPIO –
Oct 24/Nov 22
Scorpio, do not feel like you have to change your personality to fit certain situations this week. Just be yourself. Those who want to be around you will naturally gravitate to you.
SAGITTARIUS
–
Nov 23/Dec 21
A great deal of information is available if you simply request it, Sagittarius. Word your request in a way that guarantees cooperation from others.
25. Broken branch
26. Indicates ten
Chaps
CAPRICORN –
Dec 22/Jan 20
Currently fashionable
Collision
More slim
European city
Capricorn, you are so focused on a personal project that you may completely forget about the needs of others. Make a change this week to be more receptive to others’ needs.
Implicitly 16. The side of something that is sheltered from the wind
AQUARIUS –
Jan 21/Feb 18
17. The Mount Rushmore State
19. Gold or silver wire cord
21. Muscles along insects’ diaphragm 22. Trent Reznor’s band
Aquarius, take a look at the bigger picture to identify what you will need for the next few months. Then discuss your ideas with others to see if what you have planned is plausible.
PISCES –
23. Sweet juicy gritty-textured fruit
Feb 19/Mar 20
Your good mood will be elevated for much of the week, Pisces. Don’t fret about a little hiccup along the way. You will bounce back quickly with a smile on your face.
27. Expression of annoyance
29. Brings together
31. Ancient city in Thrace 33. Sailors’ spirit
34. Looked into 36. Muckraking woman journalist Rheta
38. A type of cast
39. One’s responsibility
41. Where golfers begin
43. Make a mistake
44. Semitic Sun god
JUST SEND US YOUR DOCUMENTS AND LET US PRINT THEM FOR YOU.
Annual Bull Sale At the Ranch, near Kenaston, SK. Saturday, March th, 2:00pm Selling 50 yearling bulls and 20 two year olds. Semen tested. Call Layne or Paula Evans 306-252-2246. Layne (306)561-7147 Catalogue, videos, and online bidding will be on DLMS.ca
LAND FOR RENT
53. Unwise
54. Most supernatural
56. “Dennis” is a famous one
57. Ointments
58. Exam
59. Leaked blood
CLUES DOWN
1. Baseball managers assemble it
2. Revised
LAND FOR RENT
3. Mountain is a popular kind
4. Takes to civil court
30. Honk
Legislative body
49. Gasteyer and de Armas 50. Ancient people of 51. Cheerless 55. Sick
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2025
OBITUARIES
THERESA (TERI) OLIVIA BUSSE (nee PAULSON)
1948 - 2025
( Picture taken on Teri’s 70th Birthday )
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Teri on January 19 after a courageous three-year journey with leiomyosarcoma.
Teri was born in Wadena, SK, to Hage Paulson (nee Dolo) and Ted Paulson. She enjoyed an active, happy childhood on the farm, then spent many of her schoolaged years in Margo, SK. She developed her independence and enterprising spirit at an early age. She made her own money by setting hair for ladies in town, babysitting, and even creating her own “raffle” for prizes with tickets sold door to door. Teri received an education degree at the University of Saskatchewan. In her final year of study, she met law student Stuart Busse, and they married in 1970.
Upon graduation, the couple moved to Swift Current to begin their careers and their life together. A few short months into their marriage, Teri received her first cancer diagnosis, and it was life-threatening. Surgery and radiation gave her a new lease on life.
The couple bought a home in Biggar, SK, in 1972. Stuart opened a law practice, while Teri taught at Biggar Composite High School.
After their first child, Susan, was born in 1976, Teri decided to leave the classroom. Her second daughter, Leah, came along in 1979. Teri was a consummate homemaker: cooking, sewing, keeping a spotless home, hosting, gardening, canning, baking, volunteering, and serving on committees.
In 1986 Teri and Stuart enrolled their daughters in Registered Education Savings Plans through the Canadian Scholarship Trust Plan (CST). Not only did Teri see this as an opportunity to help her girls access higher education, but she also discovered a career opportunity that aligned closely with her values.
In 1991 she became an Agency Owner and Branch Manager for CST. In her four-decade career, she logged more than 1.5 million kilometers travelling across Saskatchewan to meet with parents, and helped thousands of children follow their postsecondary dreams, and dozens of representatives to develop meaningful and rewarding careers. In 2023, CST recognized her contributions with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Teri remained Agency Owner and Branch
by Father Edward Gibney,
The Gift of Winter Snow
As I sat in the rectory of the Church, preparing to write this article, I began looking out the window at all the beautiful, pure white snow, that covers our town.
Other than a small mark of brown gravel, where the cars have driven, almost everything is a pure and sparkling white, and as I have spent many years, living in the city, where it is dirty from all the salt and gravel spread everywhere, I am greatly appreciative of the beauty of winter in rural communities. This image of pure white snow is an image of God.
The beauty of the white snow, and the sparkling of light across its surface is a
reminder of the true nature of God, who is ‘light from light.’
Last week I looked out the doors of the Church, to a home across the street, which had a bright light above its door, and there was a wonderful shimmer of snow particles stretching from that house to the Church. It was so wonderful that I just stood and marvelled at it for quite some time, recognizing that God had brought me to the doors of the Church, at that moment, so that I could see the wonders of His presence.
And in relation to that, as I was looking at that sparkling light shining across the snow, I sensed the silence of the moment.
No one was in the Church with me, and I was not making any noise. No one was
Manager of the Busse Branch until her final breath. She maintained her class, strength, dignity, kindness, loving energy, unwavering integrity, and decisiveness until the ultimately peaceful and comfortable end. Not only did Teri work hard, she also played hard. Teri and Stuart took great joy in travelling. However, her favourite place in the world was the family cabin at Turtle Lake. She delighted in time with friends and family boating, quadding, and sitting on the deck in the summer and snowmobiling and sitting around the fireplace in the winter.
No matter the season, Teri surrounded herself with family, friends and pets. She loved her pets like babies, and could often be spotted pushing her beloved cat Jaxen around the neighbourhood in a stroller.
Teri is lovingly remembered by her husband Stuart, daughters Susan (granddog Goldie) and Leah Fahlman (Brian), grandson Brandon Fahlman, brother Garry Paulson (Gail) and family, brotherin-law Gene Busse (Sheila Wills) and family, extended family members, her CST family, her cat, Jaxen, and her many cherished friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, her parents-in-law, and sister-in-law Donna Busse (Gene Busse).
Teri was known for creating and maintaining many close personal relationships. She and Stuart loved to host and attend parties, and Teri was known to be both the first and last person on the dance floor. Her memorial service will be no different.
Teri’s “Journey’s End Party” will be held on Friday, April 25, 2025 in Saskatoon. It will be a time to remember a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, colleague, and friend. It will be a time to toast the contributions of her successful career, and a life well lived. And, yes, it will be a time to dance.
Please email TerisPartyRSVP@gmail.com to RSVP for catering purposes and to get the party schedule, which will include a service, meal, and a social with dancing. Everyone is welcome. Teri requested that everyone listen to the song ‘I Hope You Dance’ by Lee Ann Womack as this song spoke to her approach to and love of life.
outside, trudging through the snow, and no cars came by at that time. It was a beautiful moment of silence, which reminded me that we find God in silence.
We all need those moments of silence, for it is when we put aside the busyness and noise of our world, that we can hear God speak to us. God blesses us with moments of silence, so that we can listen to His guidance, and I find that these cold winter days offer great moments of silence.
But we should not forget that God’s great gift of mercy and forgiveness is exemplified by that white snow as well. God’s forgiveness of our sins makes us like the snow that covers the imperfections of our world, for in His forgiveness we are made, “as white as snow.” Snow reminds us of the purity and goodness of God. And finally, those heavy snow storms we occasionally get, are also signs of God. A large snow storm
St. Gabriel roman CatholiC ChurCh 109 - 7th Ave.W, Biggar Father Edward Gibney Parish Phone: 306-948-3330
Saturday Mass.......7:00p.m. Sunday Mass....... 11:00a.m. our lady of fatima CatholiC ChurCh, Landis Sunday Mass.......9:00a.m.
Presbyterians, Anglicans and Lutherans
St.Pauls Anglican Redeemer Lutheran 205 4th Ave. E 319 7th Ave. E MARCH 9 10:30am Regular Worship (REDEEMER) MARCH 23 10:30am Regular Worship (REDEEMER) Rev. Daphne Bender Pastor’s cellular Phone: 1-306-621-9559 Office Phone: 306-948-3731 (Messages are forwarded to Pastor’s phone immediately)
Biggar associated gospel church 312 - 8th Ave.W. and corner of Quebec St., Biggar
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
NEW
BEGINNINGS CHURCH
...In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope...1Pe 1:3 You are Invited Sunday Tea and Coffee -10:15am Worship - 10:30am NEW HORIZONS 117 3rd Ave. W, Biggar For more info - Philip Watson - 250-487-8476
has the power to change our lives. All our plans go out the window, and we discover so many things to do in our homes, and with our families. The power of those storms is a sign of God’s power, for it reminds us that God is Almighty, and that His plans are more important than ours.
