Can’t play nice ... What can only be called, “Idiocy” had volunteers cleaning up after vandals hit the Springwater beach area. Damaged playground equipment and junk littered the area as partygoers decided to ruin the area for families looking for a quick and local outing. Fortunately, volunteers have cleaned the area, and the damaged playground equipment will soon be fixed. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
With the summer break a wee bit over half, kids are enjoying their holiday from school. The Biggar Day Program fills the need for interaction with friends and great camp councillors. Running every afternoon, Monday to Friday at the Jubilee with occasional trips to parks, pool and playgrounds on a registration or drop-in basis. This, unfortunately, is the last week of the season.
(Independent Photos by Kevin Brautigam)
RM of Biggar council minute highlights
The regular meeting of the RM of Biggar No. 347 was held June 18 at the municipal office at 9 a.m. Attending were Reeve Jeanne-Marie de Moissac, Councillors Brad Poletz, Melanie Peiffer, Dale Thomson, Mark Sagon, Greg Mundt (electronically), and Brian Watson, and Administrator Sandi Silvernagle.
The following are some highlights of the meeting.
Council agreed the the meeting agenda for June 18 be adopted as presented with the additions of Approach Application, Monarch Well site preparation, and mowing Business Park.
Members from the Ministry of Highways design and construction teams attended the meeting to discuss the questions council had about the Highway 51 rebuild. Potentially, the project will begin in 2025. The approaches from Duperow and Learmonth roads were adjusted to accommodate semi trucks when approaching the highway. Council suggested that 100foot minimum would accommodate heavy trucks. Landowner concerns that were relayed to councillors Watson and Peiffer were given and project managers will respond to the RM about those questions. Dust control and detours will be dealt with by the contractor that is awarded the tender.
Council agreed that
the April 2024 Bank Reconciliation and Financial Statement were received and filed as presented.
Council agreed that payments for cheques, online payments and online utility payments, Mastercard, monthly remittances, and May payroll, in the amount of $173,527.50, were approved.
Council agreed that the following correspondence be accepted and filed: Agriculture Health and Safety Network Update Newsletter; Professional Storm Chaser Presentation Bookings; RMM Division 6 Golf Tournament; Parkinson Farms - Gravel For Sale; Dionco Sales - 480 Proline Mower Demo.
Council agreed that the membership with Apiculture Health and Safety Network, University of Saskatchewan, be renewed for $1,352.20 for 2024.
Councillor reports for Division 1-6, Reeve’s report, and Acting Foreman reports, all for the month of June, were presented.
• 12:30 p.m. - Councillor Mundt disconnected electronically from Council meeting.
Council agreed on payment of $800 for snow removal in Springwater for eight hours at $100 per hour.
Council approved an independent contractor agreement with Mike Dionne to provide on-call street snow removal in Springwater
at $100/hour. This is only in effect when the municipality foreman or administrator contacts the contractor to remove snow and set hours agreed upon.
Council agreed to go to an in-camera discussion as per Part III of LAFOIP (21) Solicitor/Client Privileges. Be it resolved that the members of council agree to keep in confidence matters that are discussed at a meeting that is closed.
Council agreed that contractor Silver Eagle Excavating prepare the well and stockpile site at the existing Monarch Well site for the quoted price of $10,000.
Council agreed the approve the sponsorship of $500 to AITC to provide for learning opportunities, seed kits, books or field trips for students.
Council agreed to approve the per diems in the amount of $2,286.54.
• Meeting adjourned at 2:05 p.m.
by Sgt. Dereck Crozier, Biggar Detachment
This past week 25 occurrences were handled by the Biggar detachment. Six motorists were provided enhancement
Biggar RCMP Report
in traffic safety. A report of a vehicle being abandoned on Highway 4the vehicle had broken down and owners were notified that it was time to arrange removal.
A welfare check with EMS completed on a Duperow resident - all was fine. Later in the week police were back to Duperow for a dispute
between neighbours.
A disturbance was reported on Fourth Avenue West in Biggar, as an individual was in breach of their no contact order and was yelling, screaming and flipping garbage bins outside of a residence. They were relocated to avoid further incident.
Two young animal owners were walking their dogs on leash, when the dogs decided they had a problem with each other. The traumatizing event lead to unnecessary grief and circumstance for one owner. Thankfully no injuries to a person, however, the lesson to be learned is owners must always be in control of their animals and have the means and strength to be able to control them properly when they decide to instinctively act on their own accord.
A keep the peace situation was needed as the by-law officer ran into
some uncooperative residents under investigation of the nuisance bylaw for unsightly yards. Complaint of loud music being played outside from a back-alley neighbour that was having an afternoon birthday party.
Three sets of 1980 trailer axles were stolen from a rural location in the RM of Biggar, as well, fuel reported stolen from vehicles along with pitch forks from a shed on a rural yard in the RM of Glenside.
In town, three ladies were seen looking for a bargain with the pile of items sitting in parking lot near Chico’s. The owner expressed they would like the stuffed toy back.
A report of a hit and run near the post office on Second Avenue East on a vehicle parked roadside. The second vehicle was located and the collision was dealt with. Take care out there!
Co-op Cardlock breaks ground ... A big day for Duperow Co-op as ground broke on their new cardlock facility on Highway 14, Monday. Construction of the new facility will start soon with an opening set for the new year. From left to right: Albert Kammer, Jamie Lehnert, Andrew Haynes, Murray Anderson, Angela Buhler, Bob Atkinson, Ashton Akister, Kim Benoit, Norm Kobelsky, Martine de Bussac. It is fantastic to see a good, local company investing in the future of our community! Congratulations, and we can’t wait! (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
Thanks for the Museum Memories ... The Biggar Museum thanked donors and area residents with a barbecue this past Friday, a tasty pat on the back for giving our community a cultural record keeper. Here, Rita Sutherland, Brenda Bindig and Don Danskin put their barbecuing skills to the test, feeding an eager group on a nice afternoon. (Independent Photo by Dale Buxton)
Saskatchewanians are overtaxed. They need tax relief
by Gage Haubrich, Prairie Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Compared to the rest of the country, Saskatchewan residents are the most likely to report that they are struggling financially.
While rent and groceries both eat away at a family’s budget, even together those costs pale in comparison to the largest cost a family faces every year - taxes.
In Saskatchewan, the average family pays 47 per cent of their yearly income in taxes. Families pay so much in taxes that, for the first six months of the year, you aren’t working for yourself: all your earnings essentially go toward filling up the government’s piggy bank.
The upcoming election is a perfect time for politicians to commit to putting more money back in Saskatchewanian’s pockets.
So far, the NDP is the only party that has promised any new tax relief if elected. NDP leader Carla Beck has
promised to slash the province’s 15 cent-perlitre gas tax.
Premier Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party haven’t made any new election commitments on tax relief yet, but they do point out their government’s past tax cuts.
Let’s look at the taxcutting record of both parties.
The Saskatchewan Party has been in power for almost two decades. In 2007, families making $75,000 a year could expect to pay about $6,400 in provincial taxes. Today, that same family pays $3,860 to Regina every year.
That $2,540 of savings is because of years of tax cuts that have added up over time. In 2008 and 2011, the government increased the basic personal amount. That means you can earn more money without being hit by provincial income taxes. In 2017, the government also reduced each tax bracket by half a percentage point.
But while Moe and
his predecessor have had ample time to lower taxes, they have also done their best to ensure taxpayers pay more Provincial Sales Tax (PST).
In 2017, the government raised the PST from five to six per cent and removed exemptions for used cars, restaurant meals and children’s clothes. In 2022, Moe started charging the PST on all different types of event tickets.
But what about the NDP?
In 2006, the NDP cut the PST from seven to five per cent, which meant Saskatchewan had the lowest PST outside of Alberta. In the same year, the NDP also cut business taxes from 17 to 12 per cent.
But they haven’t hesitated to raise taxes either. In the 1993 budget, former NDP Premier Roy Romanow hiked the gas tax, PST, and business taxes. If Moe wants to prove to taxpayers that he cares about affordability, a PST cut is the way to do it. Unlike the NDP’s promise to
cut the gas tax, a PST cut would make almost everything a family buys cheaper. And it would show that the government has learned from its mistake of raising the tax in the past.
Finance Minister Donna Harpauer has stated that it wasn’t “possible” to lower taxes and balance the budget because of all the government’s spending increases.
This means that any politician promising a much-needed tax cut in
Saskatchewan will need to present a concrete plan for reducing government spending to make it feasible.
According to the Fraser Institute, the Saskatchewan government has spent an average of about $900 million per year on corporate welfare since 2007. Slashing these handouts would be enough to cut the gas tax or reduce the PST by one percentage point and eliminate the deficit.
The NDP has rightly
called out Moe for increasing the debt.
But promising a tax cut without a plan to balance the budget just means taxpayers will end up paying off the government’s debt later, when the bill will be even bigger. Both parties need a plan to make life affordable for Saskatchewan taxpayers, but they also need a plan to get the budget back to balance at the same time.
Peak Oil is dead: Technology shatters the era of scarcity
by Rashid Husain Syed, global energy and political analyst
It is undeniable that fossil fuels are a finite resource.
At the start of the 21st century, there was intense debate over the concept of ‘Peak Oil.’ Experts like the late Matthew Simmons strongly argued that the ‘oil era’ was nearing its end, predicting that global oil demand would soon surpass supply, leading to severe shortages. For many, this seemed like a sign that our oil-dependent civilization was about to collapse.
However, this prediction has turned out to be wrong.
Now, the debate has shifted to a new debate: Peak Demand, not Peak Oil. The key question is when global demand for crude oil will reach its peak. Some, like the International Energy Agency, suggest that
peak oil demand is just around the corner.
Even when Peak Oil was a hot topic, the fossil fuel industry remained upbeat. The industry believed technological advancements would continue to meet the world’s growing thirst for crude oil.
At the heart of the discussion were terms like proven and probable reserves. Recoverable and possible reserves were other ways of looking at the overall picture. The issue wasn’t a lack of resources beneath the surface; the real question was whether the available technology could extract those resources in an economically viable and feasible way. Resources are considered recoverable reserves if they can be developed with reasonable certainty from a given date under current economic conditions, operating methods, and
government regulations. Proven reserves are those considered to have a 90 per cent probability of being recoverable. Unproven reserves are not yet deemed recoverable due to regulatory or economic factors. These unproven reserves are further divided into probable and possible reserves. Probable reserves have an estimated 50 per cent chance of being recovered, while possible reserves have only a 10 per cent chance of recovery.
As a result, there was a growing emphasis on the possibility that technology would enable the industry to access resources previously considered merely possible. The industry’s first major breakthrough came with horizontal drilling, which allowed the extraction of massive shale resources that had been buried beneath
the surface for ages. The existence of shale resources was already known, but bringing them to the surface in an economically viable way was a technological challenge that the industry had not yet solved.
Horizontal drilling turned out to be the solution, transforming global oil geopolitics. Thanks to the shale revolution, the United States became the world’s largest oil producer. This shift gave Washington some leverage against pressure from Gulf Arab oil producers and allowed it to pursue a more independent foreign policy.
Even today, technology continues to play a critical role in addressing global energy demand and supply challenges. In addition to shale, new oil frontiers have emerged, including Brazil and Guyana.
Recent advancements in ultra-high pressure
drilling technology, such as those used by U.S. supermajor Chevron in its new Gulf of Mexico project, could unlock more than five billion barrels of known but previously inaccessible oil deposits globally. This includes more than two billion barrels in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico alone, according to analysts quoted by Charles Kennedy in Oilprice. com
Last week, Chevron announced a breakthrough in ultra-high pressure drilling technology, making history with the first-ever successful application of this new technology for ultra-deep reservoirs. This $5.7 billion project, called Anchor, marks the beginning of oil production from deepwater areas that had previously been offlimits due to the lack of equipment capable of handling pressures of up
to 20,000 pounds per square inch. Until now, subsea technology was limited to pressures of 15,000 psi.
“This industry-first deepwater technology allows us to unlock previously difficult-toaccess resources and will enable similar deepwater high-pressure developments for the industry,” said Chevron Executive Vice President Nigel Hearne.
Another U.S. oil company, Beacon Offshore Energy, is aiming to replicate Chevron’s 20,000psi achievement at its Shenandoah deepwater field, also off the coast of Louisiana.
With global oil demand facing pressure and new technology continuing to unlock more resources from beneath the surface, the era of Peak Oil appears to have been sidelined - perhaps permanently.
Notable Notes
Bob Mason
Most indexes catagorize entries ranging A to Z, and on looking through some of the three thousand or so items in my overly long L&T (Life and Times), right at the start, of course, we come to “Abstract Anything”!
Of course not having been very well educated in the arts, this “Abstract” stuff was way over my head. Maybe I should have looked a little bit farther down in the dictionary, past “Abstract” to the word “Abstruse” which means “hard to understand” because “Abstract” is sure enough incomprehensible (boy, there’s
Abstract Anything
another dandy word!) to me!
I checked anyway.
Abstract: Adj. (L.P.P. of abstrahere - ab(s) from+trahere; to draw. Theoretical, not practical or applied ... et cetera and still more et cetera...
Whew!
Y.T. (Yours Truly) has scribbled quite a bit of stuff over the years, so it came as a bit of a shock when a university professor, no less, handed him an anthology of verse, and said, “Try fashioning some of your verses after these people’s writings, and maybe you’ll be successful some day!”
I took the book home and started to read through it. As a matter of fact, I read all of it and nearly had to go get a paper bag to throw up in! In all its many pages, I found only a few lines that were even remotely meaningful to me!
I took the book back to the professor.
“Holy Annie!” I told the guy - and he was a big literary name at the time. “I can’t compete
with these famous poets whose reputations have been made from verses like: ‘Elephant ears and orange peel; lying in the middle of the road.’
“Cripe,” I continued. “If our 6-year-old kids wrote stuff like that, I’d sure bring them into Saskatoon for a psychiatric examination!”
“But you don’t know how to read these creations,” the professor sputtered. “A lot of those lines are very abstract and you’ve got to more or less read in-between them. That famous writer was noted because much of his writing made a person think!”
“Sorry,” I said. “As far as verses go, thinking was never my long suit!”
I guess he hadn’t played a lot of bridge because he gave me a blank look like he didn’t know what a “long suit” was!
Still, he was kind of unconvinced that he should be expecting me to be impressed and gush over this “abstract” stuff.
I said something like, “I’ll bet that some friend
Farming needs to be better neighbours with nature
Agriculture
Daniels
by Calvin Daniels
A recent headline on a farm media website caught my attention.
It read: ‘Bird survey focuses on regenerative farming’.
Now one doesn’t want to assume too much, even in an opinion piece, but it is highly likely birds are going to congregate more on land in which regenerative farming practices are used.
The idea of regenerative farming in the broadest of strokes, is to treat the land more naturally, and that has to dovetail nicely with where wildlife - birds being part of that - are happiest.
The fate of wildlife - at least south of the tree line - relies largely on farmland.
Yes there are enclaves of public lands - provincial parks an obvious example - but most land on the Prairies is farmed, and for wildlife to survive their life and life cycles generally have to fit into the general operational practices of a modern farm.
And the two thingswildlife survival and farming techniquesdon’t necessarily mesh that well.
In the days of my youth some 50 years ago, dad might well have climbed down off the tractor to move a duck nest that would otherwise have gone through the cultivator, a cultivator that was probably 12-18 feet in that era.
That isn’t likely to happen when you are pulling tillage equipment that can be 70-feet so you may not even notice the nest.
And sloughs survived in my youth.
Today the goal is to drain them because again it’s handier for large equipment not needing to manoeuvre
of his bet him a bundle he couldn’t write something that bad and get it printed!”
Sorry again. It was obvious to this educated guy that Y.T. didn’t have a clue to the great inspirational thoughts that the verses implied! End of conversation ... and almost the end of Y.T.’s scribbling career!
I suppose that everyone has heard of the two kids in the art gallery who were looking at an abstract painting when one says, “Let’s get outta here before someone comes along and thinks we did it!”
Out of the mouth of babes!
So a critic was standing beside me many years ago in a Toronto museum, and we were looking at a statue.
“Isn’t it wonderful,” he gushed, “such taste and texture.”
“Sure,” says this Dumb Guy (that’s me ... D.G.) from Saskatchewan. “But what in the world is it?”
“It’s a whale,” he breathes, exasperated. “Aren’t those eyes wonderful?”
“Yeah,” says the D.G. from Sask. (that’s me again!), “but why did the
sculptor put them on the whales back?”
“It’s symbolic,” says the well-educated critic. “And it is abstractly implying that a whale is part of nature, too, just as we are, even as it keeps one eye on the heavens!”
“Darn good idea!” the D.G. from Sask. sez. “A guy told me one time that ever since the USAAF (United States Army Air Force) bombed the dickens out of the Canadian Army at Caen, he has kept one eye on the heavens, too!”
The critic gave Y.T. a look of pity and despair that is usually reserved for artistic numbskulls from out West, and turned away.
When we were kids and memorizing the tunes of Harry Lauder (I don’t think many have heard of him!) ... “It was in her father’s cottage at the bottom of the glen, I left me bonnie lassie bathed in tears.”
We would crowd up to the front of the old phonograph - I’d write gramophone in here but the alliteration is no good! - and try to make out some of the scratchy words that we knew made sense.
Times have sure changed, though, and comparing those tunes to the modern ones, so has the music!
I don’t know whether it is “abstract” or not. But as Y.T. stares into the contorted faces of some modern entertainers and tries to translate those grimaces into something understandable, he is often moved to wonder where he left his earplugs.
Criticism aside, though, without a doubt this abstract thing has quite a place in our lives.
When certain smells, sounds or scenes suddenly appear - at least to older folks - sometimes they really impress us, often differently, with some memory of the past!
So next summer, when the Wolf Willow is blooming and you happen to be standing near some old guy who sniffs the Prairie air and, just like he was some kind of critic, says, “Isn’t that a wonderful smell!”
Don’t make a wisecrack like, “Yeah, it sure is! But there must be a horse around here somewhere, too!”
around them.
And today, most producers rely on chemicals for weed and bug control, and while that is understandable in terms of maximizing crop production, it might not be the best thing for birds which eat weed seeds and bugs, and may not fare the best if soaked by the aerial application of a crop protection product.
It probably isn’t the best for whitetail, or fox, or other mammals either.
Now you can make the argument that the world doesn’t need sparrows or meadowlarks as much as it needs food production, and that is hard to disagree with.
But, it would be better to find a balance which allows birds to survive and crop to be produced.
So far it hasn’t seemed a priority for most, and that is reflected in lower bird counts of many species today than even a few decades ago. That in itself is not an encouraging trend.
It is a trend we obviously need to work to change before it is too late for the birds.
Calvin
Ask The Money Lady
Christine Ibbotson
Dear Money Lady Readers:
I recently received a question from someone wondering about debt consolidation in retirement and this reminded me of a talk I did a few years ago on the Honeymoon Phase of Retirement.
We all go through
... MY PEACE I GIVE UNTO YOU ...
JOHN 14:27
Do you want peace in life? You can have it!
Find out how!
Wednesdays 7pm
Aug 7 - Sept 25
Seventh-day Adventist Church
320 6th Ave East
306-951-7440
this phase when we initially retire. That great moment when you can finally sleep-in everyday, no prospecting calls, no angry co-workers and no demanding bosses. You’re finally free from the rat race, and you welcome the honeymoon stage of retirement with open arms.
But did you know that four out of five retirees today find themselves in debt only 18 months after they’ve retired? They may have walked into retirement with no debt, but after the honeymoon stage, there now in it.
The problem arises from not planning properly.
I know you planned all your way to get to retirement, but failure to plan in retirement can be just as problematic - mentally and financially. Many retirees leave work with no plan and no clear to-do list.
Let’s face it, your professional identity most likely defined you to the outside world. Once you retire, that identity is lost, along with all the people, culture and community that you were immersed in. So, who are you going to be in retirement? What are you going to do with the next 20-30 years of your life? You must have a new game plan. Fear of being irrelevant and alone has no place in this new phase of your life.
Now I don’t suggest you to try to replicate your career by switching to consulting or public speaking. Often this does not work out the way you expect it to. Instead, you need to re-channel your energy into new aspirations, maybe a part-time job you could love, with no stress (as paid employment or volunteer endeavours).
Most people will need
to redefine their identity, so below are some questions to ask yourself to get started.
• What do you really want to do and what is meaningful to you now?
• What things haven’t you tried in your life but secretly would like to?
• Where will you live in retirement? Could you divide your time between two locations a year?
• Could you be a mentor to millennials? Could you start a club to meet more like-minded people?
• Have you worked out your financial plan and included travel (even if it’s on a shoestring budget)?
Pure leisure for most retirees gradually becomes pure boredom and we’ve seen a new trend of retirees that are having difficulty adjusting. Many overidentified with their careers and now need to remind themselves that they still
have value. Remember, there is so much more to experience in this new phase of your life. Why not go back to school, start a small hobbybusiness, make a plan to leave a meaningful legacy, become a teacher or tour guide, improve your health, take dance lessons, or learn a new skill.
Always keep planning your life. I know you’ve done a good job planning to get to retirement, so now you must continue that plan to reinvent your life in retirement too.
Good luck and best wishes!
Written by Christine Ibbotson, author, finance writer, national radio host, and now on CTV Morning Live, and BNN, syndicated across Canada. Send your money questions (answered free) through her website at askthemoneylady.ca
Harvest slowly advances
Harvest is underway in many areas of the province as hot and dry conditions continue to advance crop maturity, according to the weekly crop report for August 6-12.
Producers that haven’t begun to harvest continue to desiccate, empty grain bins and prepare equipment. Pasture conditions in much of Saskatchewan are diminishing due to the hot and dry conditions. Sporadic rainfall in north and east parts of the province will benefit later seeded crops as they mature, but it is too late to benefit early seeded crops. With more producers beginning to harvest in Saskatchewan, harvest progress has increased in the last week and is currently six per cent complete. This is slightly above the five and 10-year averages, both of which are five per cent. The southwest is the furthest ahead in the province with 16 per cent harvest complete in this region. The southeast trails behind with 11 per cent of crops harvested. Harvest is just beginning in central Saskatchewan with only two per cent complete in the east-central region and one per cent complete in the west-central region. Harvest has yet to start in both northwest and northeast Saskatchewan, but producers are ready to go when crops are ready.
Winter wheat and fall rye harvested acres have
greatly increased in the last week. Provincially, 55 per cent of winter wheat is harvested, which is up 43 per cent in the last week, and 42 per cent of fall rye is harvested, which is up 27 per cent from a week ago. Pulse crop harvest continues as 28 per cent of lentils and 26 per cent of field peas are now harvested. Triticale is the leading spring-seeded cereal crop as 28 per cent of crops have been harvested, followed by eight per cent of barley crops now taken off. Three per cent of durum and two per cent of spring wheat have been combined. Harvest progress for oilseeds is insignificant as only one per cent of canola and mustard have been harvested.
Certain areas in northern and eastern regions received notable rainfall this week that will benefit later seeded crops and pasture conditions. The Kuroki area received the most rainfall this past week with 55 millimetres. The second highest rainfall was recorded around Wadena with 48 millimetres, followed by the Kelvington area with 36 millimetres. The Rose Valley and Middle Lake areas received notable rainfall as well with 35 millimetres in each area.
With the overall dry conditions this past week, topsoil moisture conditions continue to diminish. Cropland topsoil moisture is current-
ly 29 per cent adequate, 48 per cent short and 23 per cent very short. Hayland topsoil moisture is 24 per cent adequate, 47 per cent short and 29 per cent very short. Pasture topsoil moisture is 16 per cent adequate, 47 per cent short and 37 per cent very short.
The limited rainfall in Saskatchewan is also impacting livestock water supplies and some livestock producers are concerned about water availability for their animals. Provincially, one per cent of livestock water supplies are severely short, 31 per cent are moderately short, 22 per cent are anticipated to be short in the next couple months and 47 per cent are not expected to be short for the foreseeable future. When asking producers if they are concerned about water availability on their farm, 77 per cent indicated they aren’t concerned while 23 per cent said they are.
The majority of crop damage in Saskatchewan this week was from dry conditions paired with hot temperatures. Grasshopper damage to crops was also reported during this period, which is not surprising as hot and dry conditions generally promote grasshopper activity. Symptoms of sclerotinia stem rot are showing up in several canola fields and many crops this past week also experienced wind and aphid damage.
Those dang City Slickers won everything!
Remember When
During a recent conversation with a good friend of mine, he told me a story about the biggest prize he ever won in his life.
Twenty-odd years ago he was the manager of a courier office in the city when a delivery man from a rival company came in to his office with a delivery. After the transaction was completed, the delivery man took a book of raffle tickets out of his pocket and asked my friend if he would like to buy one.
The raffle was a fundraiser for a small town conservation fish and wildlife club some 50 miles away in the gentleman’s hometown. The grand prize in the raffle was a high-end ATV, all tricked out with a topnotch hunting package, complete with a winch attached to the front end for hauling things out of the mud.
Not being an outdoorsman, my friend had no real interest in buying a ticket for the draw but the gentleman persisted, and so my friend bought a couple of tickets for the draw just to placate the gentleman so he would go on his way.
And a month or two down the road, my friend got a totally unexpected phone call: He had just won the grand prize in the conservation club raffle!
After determining the date and time of the award ceremony, my friend contacted his father-in-law, who had a big enough truck to help him bring the prize back to his house. They then went the 50 miles to the small-town conservation club to claim his prize on the appointed day.
As he stepped out of the truck at the conservation club to get his prize, he noticed a general air of disgruntlement amongst the members of the club who were milling around waiting for the award ceremony to begin. He approached one of the members, who was dressed in the appropriate plaid shirt and
accompanying hunting ensemble, and asked why the crowd was so unhappy.
The club member angrily replied, “Because some city fella won the grand prize in our raffle!”
Oh.
That ATV was coveted by every hunter and angler in the conservation club. And for an outsider to win it, and a ‘city slicker’ to boot, was too much for many of the local club members to bear.
Sensing that the mood of the crowd around him was less than enthusiastic and wanting to get out of there in one piece, when the award ceremony began he hurriedly shook hands and said his ‘Thank Yous’ to the raffle convenors, helped his Father-in-law load the ATV in the back of their truck, and quickly hightailed it out of there before the crowd around him became too unruly.
When he told me this story, I had to chuckle. This sort of thing used to happen all the time in our little town when I was a kid.
Growing up in a small town in cottage country, the population of our town would swell by at least five times over the summer as the people from the city came to their cottages to enjoy their summer on the water in our neck of the woods.
Our local Lion’s Club always held a massive fundraising raffle every summer, with the grand prize drawing happening at the end of the summer at our annual fall fair around the time that everyone went back home for school. Tickets were sold through nearly every business establishment in town over the course of the summer, taking maximum advantage of the summer tourist trade in order to help boost sales and maximize the amount of money raised for local charities.
The local Lion’s club always had an excellent grand prize every year, generously donated by one of the local merchants.
One year, it was a deluxe fishing boat, complete with outboard motor and trailer, and the year after that it was a large-sized fold-down tent trailer so you could take the whole family with you on a camping trip! All were great prizes that elicited excitement for the draws and
made you want to step up and buy the winning ticket!
The problem was, back then none of us locals ever won any of the grand prizes in our own draws! It was always a cottager there for the summer, a ‘city slicker’, of all people, who always won our grand prize! And we locals kept getting more and more disgruntled every year because the dang city fellas kept winning all the grand prizes in our local draws every fall!
I guess it stood to reason because there were five times as many of them as there were of us in the summer, so the odds of a city person winning our grand prize always increased by a factor of five over the summer while our odds never seemed to change. While this story was written with tonguefirmly-in-cheek, I honestly don’t remember any of us locals ever winning any of the grand prizes in our own draws, ever! Just once we would have liked to have seen a local win the big prize, even if it was a local we didn’t like! But in fairness, you really couldn’t complain because the draw was fair for everybody and the cottagers made a generous contribution to our local economy every summer, with many of our local jobs and businesses being dependant on the summer tourist trade. Many a time those summer jobs kept the people in our little town afloat.
So even though we locals never won any of the big prizes in our own raffles, in truth our little town was always
the big winner. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the local Lions club and other noteworthy service groups, the money raised by those organizations always went to our local hospital for new equipment or to causes that benefited many disadvantaged people around our town and the surrounding area. So you could take solace in the fact that the money raised through those raffles certainly did a lot of good for our local charities.
But it sure would have been nice to win one every now and then!
PRECISION AUTOBODY WRITING
ESTIMATES IN BIGGAR! We’ve been working with Fred & Patsy at Spyder Autobody for the past 3 years, and will continue servicing the Biggar community with mobile SGI appraisals
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• Free pickup and delivery 2326 Avenue C North Saskatoon 306-664-4156
Keith Schell
It was a beautiful Saturday morning as we jumped on the bike and are headed for Montana for our week-long holiday.
The bike and trailer were all polished up, loaded, and off we went.
It was a great start to the day ... a quick stop in Rosetown for a coffee and off then off towards Kindersley.
The Saskatchewan Traveller ... Bike Holiday skipped to “Plan B”
McGee once held the status of village until the end of 1955 when it was restructured under the RM of Pleasant Valley.
The community of Fiske has a current population of around 65 people and was named after Mr. Fiske, who was of Scandinavian heritage, who was a major financial backer of the new railroad that went through the community in 1909. It has been said that the same family was involved with a large know rubber company south of the border in the USA.
The one thing that is so refreshing when you are travelling in the morning is that there is very little wind, and the fresh smell of the prairie is very nice.
It was about Netherhill that problems began with the trusty motorcycle. The sound of banging and vibration underneath the bike told me that we were in for a long day of going nowhere.
Did you know that D’Arcy and McGee were named after the same person? Yes, Thomas D’Arcy McGee was an Irish Canadian politician, journalist, poet and one of the Fathers of Confederation. McGee worked hard in convincing people in the 1860’s that Canada should be an independent and self-governing country from the British Empire. McGee was once called Canada’s first Nationalist.
Not knowing what was going on we limped the bike into Kindersley. Of course on a Saturday it was impossible for anyone to look at what was going on.
was the perfect place to hang out, have a soda pop, a little lunch and decide what our next plan would be.
I will say that the Red Lion was very hospitable and the lunch we ordered was very tastyI would recommend this place to anyone. We had some time to wait and planning our next move, we didn’t want to go back to work right away as we were looking to get some welldeserved relaxation, so we decided to switch to a holiday “Plan B” and look for some airline tickets to a destination out east.
Well, so much for this day. With the feeling of being defeated we called friends to come down to Kindersley and take us home.
While we were waiting rescue, we decided that the Red Lion Inn
I can’t thank the owners of Ter-Shel Construction enough for taking the time out of their day in coming down to Kindersley and helping us to get our damaged bike back to Biggar.
I am happy to report that by the end of the day, we had decided to purchase some airline tickets and head for the east coast to see family and friends. This is where we will pick up our story next week as we take a journey into the eastern province of Nova Scotia and our week-long “Plan B”.
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Business & Professional …
– 6:00
ARIES –
Mar 21/Apr 20
You are the master of leaping before looking, Aries, and this week is no different. You are not satisfied with hanging back and assessing the situation before acting. You’re right in the mix.
TAURUS –
Apr 21/May 21
Taurus, do not pretend to be a neutral party when two people come up to you seeking advice. You are too loyal to avoid taking sides, but it could affect the relationship with the other person.
GEMINI –
May 22/Jun 21
CANCER –
Jun 22/Jul 22
Use the past as motivation to make some serious changes in your life, Cancer. This is the week to begin plotting a few ideas that can have a large impact.
LEO –
Jul 23/Aug 23
Leo, there may be some room in the budget for a few splurges this week. As long as you do not go too overboard, you can snag that item that you have had your eyes on for some time.
VIRGO –
Aug 24/Sept 22
LIBRA –
Sept 23/Oct 23
Libra, if no one is asking for advice right now, it’s best to leave your life coach tendencies on the side. If and when someone needs your help, you can believe they’ll come calling.
SCORPIO –
Oct 24/Nov 22
Scorpio, you have big news and you’re ready to tell the world. Hold it in a little longer so that your audience will be chomping at the bit to hear what you have to say.
SAGITTARIUS –
Nov 23/Dec 21
CAPRICORN
–
Dec 22/Jan 20
Capricorn, if someone in your social circle is in need of a new perspective, you may have to speak up and help get them on a better path. Take this responsibility seriously.
AQUARIUS –
Jan 21/Feb 18
You have come a long way in a short time, Aquariuss. Keep up the hard work and you will continue to see results you can be proud of.
PISCES –
Feb 19/Mar 20
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Gemini, it may be time to step in and help a loved one refocus their energies. Rather than let them dwell on a difficult situation, work to offer them a new perspective.
OPTOMETRISTS
Don’t be so sure that you’ve examined every detail and checked them multiple times, Virgo. Your plan has to be foolproof for it to work. Run it by another set of eyes.
Sagittarius, it can be challenging for you to avoid the soap opera that is seemingly unfolding around you right now. Do your best to stay out of the fray for the time being.
SUDOKU
Pisces, you will have to try to tune out the static all around you this week and concentrate on the things you need to accomplish. There is no wiggle room for distractions right now.
GALLARDO Liner
Services
REFLECTIONS
Seek Spiritual Guidance by Father Edward Gibney, Biggar/Landis Roman Catholic Church
In his book, The Journey of the Mind to God, Saint Bonaventure, addressing what we need to do in times of difficulty, stated, “... seek the answer in God’s grace, not in doctrine; in the longing of the will, not in the understanding; in the sighs of prayer, not in research; seek the bridegroom, not the teacher; God, and not man; darkness not daylight; and look not for the light but rather for the raging fire that carries the soul to God with intense fervour and glowing love. The fire is God, and the furnace is in Jerusalem, fired by Christ, in the ardour of his loving Passion.”
We can take from these words of Saint Bonaventure some guidelines for us to live our lives in our current, sometimes overly scientific minded world. Those who have questions about the value of love and marriage, should not only get advice from a marriage therapist, but they should also go and talk to a couple, who have been married for 40 or 50 years.
If someone has questions about abortion, they should not only listen to medical practitioners, but they should also talk to the young woman who lost a child in childbirth. Those who consider Euthanasia, should not just listen to the nurse who is trained
DON McKINLEY
May 18, 1953 - August 25, 2022
Forever missed and loved, McKinley family.
to guide people to end their lives; they should also listen to a son or daughter who has lost a parent and misses them dearly.
And when someone wants to understand the existence of God, it makes no sense to solely listen to an atheist, or an existentialist philosopher. To understand the existence of God we need to talk to people who have faced struggles in life, and have recognized that God has been with them in their difficulties.
I am not suggesting that the opinions of these, more ‘scientific proof’ type people should not be considered, but since there are a wide range of opinions out there on all these subjects and others, one should avail for themselves both metaphysical and spiritual opinions as well as physical world attitudes.
I personally have greater trust in the opinions of a person who has lived a situation, then in one who has only studied books on one side of the subject.
May God Bless you and protect you.
Happy 90th Birthday August 28th
If you see Jack in town, stop to wish him a happy 90th!
PRAIRIE NOTES ADULT COMMUNITY CHOIR
Wednesday, September 18, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., registration night for Prairie Notes adult community choir at Redeemer Lutheran Church.
75$ a person, $130/couple. Phone Cindy Hoppe at 306-948-7147 for more information. No experience necessary, just a love of singing.
Jump on Board with the Biggar Arts Council
If you have an interest in musical performances , visual art, or local school productions and are looking for a break from your usual bedlam for a couple hours in the evening, the Biggar Arts Council is looking for you! New members are needed to keep live entertainment coming to our community.
The Biggar and District Arts Council is a non-profit organization whose mandate is to bring visual and performing arts for all ages and varieties of interest to our community and we have been doing just that for the past 45 years.
We meet once a month from September to June and we welcome you to join us in “enriching our community through the arts”. For further information contact Sherry Martin 948-2048. Please join us at our AGM on September 10. See Coming Events for details.
Presbyterians, Anglicans and Lutherans
Worship - 10:30 a.m.
St.Pauls Anglican Redeemer Lutheran 205 4th Ave. E 319 7th Ave. E AUGUST 25, ST.PAULS ANGLICAN SEPTEMBER 8 REDEEMER LUTHERAN SEPTEMBER 22 REDEEMER LUTHERAN Rev. Daphne Bender Pastor’s cellular Phone: 1-306-621-9559 Office Phone: 306-948-3731 (Messages are forwarded to Pastor’s phone immediately)
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. Biggar
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
BIGGAR MUSEUM
How is your gardening growing this year? Do you have an excess of produce? Will you be making relishes, jams, jellies, chutneys, pickles, etc. and homemade crafts. Would you like to sell some of your bounty?
The Biggar Museum & Gallery will be hosting a Home Harvest alongside their Soup Sale on Friday September 27, 11:00 – 1:00. Tables are available in the gallery; all we are asking is for a donation. Call 948-3451 to reserve your spot now!
On Sports
Jim Reiter, MLA
Rosetown-Elrose Constituency
215 Main Street, Rosetown
Monday – Friday, 9:00 – 5:00
Encouraging start to Blue Jays’ rebuild
Tel: 306-882-4105
Fax: 306-882-4108
Toll free; 1-855-762-2233
E-mail: jimreitermla@sasktel.net
Box 278, Rosetown SK S0L 2V0
Please call with questions or concerns
Toronto Blue Jays are doing it right. When a Major League Baseball team like the Jays falls flat on its face, it not only disappoints fans from Deer Lake, Nfld. to Duncan, B.C., and all points in between, but it makes a mess of its owners’ bottom line. Rogers, the media company that calls Bruce
Jim Reiter, MLA
Rosetown-Elrose Constituency
215 Main Street, Rosetown
Monday – Friday, 9:00 – 5:00
Tel: 306-882-4105
Fax: 306-882-4108
Toll free; 1-855-762-2233
E-mail: jimreitermla@sasktel.net
Box 278, Rosetown SK S0L 2V0
Please call with questions or concerns
the shots for the Jays, obviously wants more people to tune in when the Jays are playing on TV, because they can then charge more for commercials and, in theory, boost future budgets for the ball club to pursue better players. Anyway, back to the Jays doing it right. After falling into last place in the American League East, a full 15 games out of first place and without a whisker of a chance to earn a wildcard berth, Jays’ management threw in the towel at the trade deadline and dealt off a few precious commodities for prospects.
Attention: Kathie
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Please let me know which you prefer by return email and we can get this ad started Thursday, November 24.
Price: $35.28 plus gst per week
Talk to you later, Urla Tyler, Advertising Consultant
Buffalo on Aug. 12 and all he did in his first four games was go 8-for-15 at the plate, including three doubles and three RBI. Maybe it was just beginner’s luck, or maybe the Jays knew what they were doing when they insisted on Wagner being part of the parcel for Kikuchi’s services.
With Bo Bichette on the injured list, the Jays need some stability at second base, and Wagner might be the guy to give them that.
the Canadian team’s fold could be the beginning of a renaissance that returns the Blue Jays to prominence. And that would make a lot of people happy, fans and owners alike.
• From Fark.com: “Lamar Jackson thinks he’s better known for No. 8 than Troy Aikman. The defence attorney calls Steve Young, Cal Ripken and the ghost of Kobe Bryant to the witness stand.”
two miles to go they cut away for 20 minutes of highlights from break dancing. Please take the Olympics away from NBC.”
• Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg: “Colin Kaepernick offered to return to the NFL with L.A. Chargers. As NFL ideas go this is as bad as the Steelers’ black and brown striped throwback uniforms.”
• Phil Mushnick of the New York Post: “The NFL’s new kickoff rules should only take three or four seasons for players, coaches and fans to learn.”
Also acquired by the Jays in the Kikuchi trade was outfielder Joey Loperfido, who has yet to set the world on fire, batting a little over .200 in his first few games with Toronto.
• L.A. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp: “When the ball’s in the air, as a receiver, it’s just you want to be a Frisbeecatching dog out there.”
One of those deals involved pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, a left-hander with so-so numbers, being sent to Houston, a playoff contender for whom an extra arm in the starting rotation or bullpen might be the difference come October. Only a few Blue Jays’ fans shed a tear when Kikuchi was traded, but among the prospects who were acquired by the Blue Jays were a pair of exciting youngsters who could represent the start of a rebuild.
One of them was Will Wagner, a 26-year-old infielder who is the son of long-time MLB closer Billy Wagner. The Jays called him up from AAA
But it’s Wagner who could be the sparkling gem in this deal. Toronto has had good luck in the past with sons of former big-leaguers. Slugger Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., is the son of the former Expo star; Bichette grew up around major leaguers because his father, Dante, hit 274 career homers over a 14-season career. And Daulton Varsho’s father, Gary, played for the Cubs, Pirates, Reds and Phillies for eight years in the 1980s and ’90s.
The 2024 season is a lost cause for Toronto, but deals such as the one that brought Wagner into
• Sportswriter Thomas Friesen in the Brandon Sun, at the end of a column which offered a bevy of tips for winning at match-play golf: “If you follow all these tips and still lose, it’s not your fault. That guy was probably just a sandbagger and/or got lucky.”
• Headline at TheBeaverton.com : “Leafs announce that making Matthews captain is the best way to distract fans from the fact they haven’t made any significant roster changes again.”
• Brad Dickson of Omaha: “I’m watching the women’s marathon on tape delay and with
• RJ Currie of sportsdeke. com: “The Wall Street Journal ranks Ohio State as the most valuable football program in college. Turns out there are more than 1.5 billion bucks in Buckeyes.”
• Another one from Currie: “Ex-Blue Bomber receiver turned TSN analyst, Milt Stegall, has been involved in the CFL for 29 years. Isn’t it time he learned how to pronounce Saskatchewan?”
• Headline at fark.com: “Vikings confirm Sam Darnold will be 2024 quarterback, predict he will be best QB named Sam in Vikings’ history.”
• Care to comment? E-mail brucepenton2003@ yahoo.ca
