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Weyburn Review, Weyburn, Saskatchewan -- April 28, 2021
news
Prairie Sky Co-op reviews success of past year
By Greg Nikkel Prairie Sky Co-operative had a full review of their past year in a virtual annual meeting on Thursday evening, and reported a successful year in spite of the challenges posed by COVID-19, which did have an impact on operations. Manager Kevin Arthur announced that the Coop’s new Home Centre in Weyburn will be open in July of this year, and the cardlock upgrade at their Milestone facility was completed in 2020. The new Home Centre will be able to meet a wide variety of needs,
from hardware to those planning renovations or to build a new home, he said. The estimated total cost of the project is $8.8 million, of which $5.8 million has been set up as assets under construction. The project will be finance with an investment from FCL and a loan. New projects for the Co-op coming up include adding diesel exhaust fluid to the Weyburn cardlock, and completing an upgrade in the Weyburn food store. He also pointed out that Prairie Sky Co-op entered into an agreement with the Radville Co-op to provide
management services, in addition to the services they provide to other coops, such as accounting, credit management and fuel delivery services. Speaking about the impact of the pandemic, Arthur paid tribute to the Co-op staff, as in addition to an added workload due to drastic increases in food and pharmacy sales and deliveries, and extra cleaning and sanitation in all locations, the employees “faced the added stress of working out in public through this very uncertain time. I believe they want above and be-
yond to keep our customers safe and to ensure our community had access to essentials throughout the pandemic.” It was announced at the AGM that the board approved a patronage allocation to members in the amount of $1,635,447, which is down from 2020 when the allocation was $2,712,241. In the financial report, sales in the food division was up significantly from the year before, with total sales of $24,084,276, compared to $21,688,782 in 2020; general merchandise sales were up slightly,
reaching $3,387,696, up from $3,297,610 in 2020; the petroleum division saw a significant decrease, with sales totaling $36,170,095, down from $43,310,574 in 2020; and in the branches division, sales totaled $7,563,385, a significant decrease from $15,804,754 the year before. The grand total of sales in 2021 was $71,205,452, down from $84,101,711 in 2020. Cash payments to members will total $2,521,043, and net savings will be $2,422,484, with a percentage of 3.5 per cent, compared to 5.5 per cent in 2020, and 7.9
per cent in 2019. For the board of directors, the incumbent directors Ken Kot, Leanne Anderson and Stella Swertz were re-elected by acclamation to threeyear terms, and new board member Al York was elected by acclamation for a two-year term. In spite of lower net earnings by the Co-op, the board approved the following patronage allocation rates: food and pharmacy, two per cent; petroleum and oil, three per cent; home centre and agro, two per cent; and liquor, two per cent.
Thousands of tabs donated towards new lift for Weyburn Group Homes By Greg Nikkel Several boxes, each filled with thousands of tabs from pop and beer cans, were donated on Friday to the Weyburn Group Homes Society, as part of a fundraiser started by a resident to help buy a new mechanical lift. The pop can tabs were collected for the last two and a half years by Weyburn resident Yvonne Dzuba, and they were brought to a group home residence on Lorraine Street. The tabs will be cashed in at a recycler, with the proceeds to go towards buying a mechanical lift. Colin Folk, executive director for the Weyburn Group Homes, explained that resident Cass Simpson had the idea to collect the tabs as a fundraiser as the building they use for day programs, on Water Street, is not wheelchair accessible on the second floor. “There’s no lift, and we can’t get a permit to build a ramp, because it would go
out to the street, so we have to buy a mechanical lift for it,” said Folk, adding they have 10 people in the day program currently who use the building at different times. “Because we don’t have a day program building, we converted an apartment suite to use for the day program,” he said, noting there are a total of 77 residents in the Group Homes currently, with a number of them accessing the WorKin Shop facility for day programs. Dzuba noted she used to collect the pop can tabs for the Canadian Cancer Society, but they haven’t been accepting them the last couple of years. A friend of hers, Heather Fellner, called and suggested that she donate them towards this fundraiser at the Group Homes, and Dzuba was happy to do that, so they can go to a local need. She has friends and family collecting them and sending them to her from
B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, including from in Weyburn, and over the last two and a half years, she accumulated eight boxes filled with them. “I have a box full coming from Alberta,” she added, noting she had to sort them and bag them, taking out the coloured tabs from the regular ones, as the recycler won’t want them all combined. Folk admitted he never takes the tabs off, and didn’t know they could be collected and recycled in this way. He said the lift isn’t cheap, costing around $6,000, plus there will be a maintenance cost of around $125 a month once it’s installed. Dzuba noted she wouldn’t have known about this fundraiser had her friend not called her and told her about it. “We’ve had other people who wanted to donate cash to the cause, so it’s all good,” said Folk. “I appreciate you thinking of us.”
Pop can tabs donated for fundraiser
Review Photo 7746 — Greg Nikkel
Yvonne Dzuba, back left, gathered with Colin Folk, executive director of the Weyburn Group Homes Society, and Angela Cherney, a group home resident, to present a donation of several boxes of pop can tabs collected over the last two or three years. The donation was made for a fundraiser begun by a Group Homes resident, Cass Simpson, to install a mechanical lift at a day program building to enable residents like this one to access the building for programs. The donation was made on Friday morning at a group home on Lorraine Street.
Envision Counselling seeks new volunteer board members
Celebrating Earth Day with a homemade picture
Austin Melnyk celebrated Earth Day, held on April 22, by creating a picture that he made using nature. Austin is nine years old. In his Grade 3 class at Haig, his teacher asked students what they can do for Earth Day, and he came up with an idea to make a picture out of items found in nature while recycling a piece of cardboard at the same time. He enjoyed taking a “recess” break to go for a short walk to collect some Photo -- Courteay of Meagan Melnyk items for the project.
E nv i s i o n C o u n s e l ling and Support Centre is seeking new volunteer members for their Board of Directors. The current Board of Directors is made up of passionate volunteers who guide the mission, vision and governance of Envision Counselling and Support Centre while working together with staff to ensure the organization is meeting the needs of those living in the communities they serve. Envision Counselling provides therapeutic counselling and support, crisis intervention, in-home services, groups, workshops and education that helps individuals, families and couples feel empowered and content. “We are fortunate to have had an array of enthusiastic and concerned individuals representing our Board,” said Christa Daku, executive director of Envision Counselling and Support Centre. “Since our
inception in 1994, we have had more than 50 different community members sit on our board.” Being a non-profit, community-based organization serving Southeast Saskatchewan for over 25 years, Envision Counselling is looking for members who live and work in the southeast as well and are inspired to create change. “We welcome anyone to apply to volunteer on our Board,” Daku said. “We want to hear the voices and experiences of those in the communities we serve and hear about what impacts them.” Daku went on to say that En-
vision is especially looking for individuals with skills and experience in diversity and inclusion. Envision Counselling values respect, inclusivity, adaptability and community. As a community member, if you believe that your values align with these, consider applying to become part of their Board of Directors team. More information on how to apply to become a member of the Board of Directors for Envision Counselling can be found on their website at www. envisioncounsellingcentre. com. The deadline for applications is May 10, 2021.