Yorkton This Week 2022-01-05

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Wednesday, January 5, 2022

New Year’s set

Staff Photo by Calvin Daniels

The Yorkton Terriers and Melville Millionaires hooked up in their annual New Year’s home-and-home set in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, playing

Friday in Yorkton, then in Melville Saturday. See game story Page A9 for the results.

City looks at facilities in new way

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer The City of Yorkton has taken a look at its public facilities to determine how well they serve the needs of those with dementia and their caregivers.

Monday at its regular meeting Yorkton Council heard a report

about a research project that the Recreation and Community Services Department has been involved in which ‘audited the facilities.’

“In April 2020, The Recreation and Community Services department was invited to attend an information session about a new project that was launching in Yorkton -

Interventions to Enhance Social Inclusion of Older Adults with Dementia in Saskatchewan,” explained Lisa Washington, Manager of Community - Culture & Heritage, with the City.

“This project was for five years, is federally funded and focuses on improving the public’s awareness of the stigma and social

isolation experienced by people with dementia and their care partners.

It focuses on supporting individual, community and organizational interventions to enhance social inclusion of older adults and their care partners in small cities and rural communities.

The project is conducted by the Saskatchewan Population Health and

Evaluation Research Unit … a bi-university health research unit based at the Universities of Regina and Saskatchewan, and it is funded by the Government of Canada New Horizons for Seniors Program.”

In March 2021 … the City applied for and received funding for an “Indoor Public Facility

Audit”, to encourage our facilities to be more inclusive and accessible for seniors living in Yorkton, including those living with dementia, explained Washington.

“We engaged a consultant, who had worked on a previous sub-project, to amalgamate two environment checklists -

Continued on Page A5

Top-10 YTW stories of 2021 Each year Yorkton This Week compiles a list of the top-10 news stories in the city from the past year as identified by the editorial staff. This is our look back at 2021.

#10 – New ag facility Parrish & Heimbecker, Limited (P&H) announced a new grain facility for the Yorkton area in June.

Already under construction at the time, and continuing through the test of 2021, the new facility is expected to be complete and receiving grain in June of 2022.

This facility will replace its current one, which has been in operation since 1980.

To complement the existing 6,000 tonne fertilizer shed and 7,800 ft2 AWSA heated chemical shed, the new structure will include 25,000 tonnes of

Construction is ongoing on a new Parrish & Heimdecker grain handling facility. (File Photo) grain storage and a 150 car CN loop track for continuous grain loading and movement to serve customers in the surrounding area.

#9 - Deer Park closer to new clubhouse In October a new clubhouse for Deer Park Golf Course was

given the green light, sort of, at the regular meeting of Yorkton Council.

With Councillors Quinn Haider and Darcy Zaharia opposed Council approved a budget of $7,200,000 for the project.

But, the project will still need to come back to Council

after tenders are received, and could be altered, even if the tenders come in below budget.

There would actually be three related tenders put out in the next few weeks.

The main building for the clubhouse had a suggested budget of just under $5 million.

Site work, including demolition of the existing clubhouse, asphalt and landscaping was budgeted at $1.2 million.

And a tender extending water and sewer services to the course was for $924,000.

The overall project was budgeted at $7,140,120.

As part of the original conceptual planning process, a high level estimate range of between $4 and $7 million dollars was provided to Council during the Feasibility Study Council presentation on Oct. 26, 2020.

The matter was before Council as the Deer Park Clubhouse Steering Committee and aodbt Architecture and Interior Design have completed the 100 per cent design process for a proposed new Clubhouse, explained Darcy McLeod – Director of Community Development, Parks & Recreation, with the City.

As for paying for the project, if it ultimately moves forward it was suggested it could be funded partially with $2.2 million in realized cost savings on the City Operations Centre Project.

The City would then need to borrow $5 million, with payments to come from previous Gallagher Centre Debt payments.

Continued on Page A2

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Wednesday, January 5, 2022 | www.YorktonThisWeek.com | Yorkton This Week

The theatre closed and re-opened. (File Photo)

The City is closer to a new Deer Park Clubhouse build. (File Photo)

Top-10 2021 Continued from Page A1 #8 - Federal election The Yorkton-Melville riding would remain under Conservative leadership once again as Cathay Wagantall won the September 20 election.

Wagantall received more than 22,900 votes or just over 69 per cent of the votes.

“It’s even more honouring to be able to continue to serve the riding of Yorkton-Melville,” she said, “I’ve never had so much engagement directly calling, emailing, asking so many questions and having so many concerns. The results show that they had the confidence in me with the answers I was able to give them and that trust, and that means more than I can imagine to be able to go to the hill and to represent YorktonMelville and continue to do my best to represent them and see more done for rural Canada.”

Wagantall beat five other candidates with Halsten David Rust (NDP) coming in second with 3,957 votes (12 per cent), Braden Robertson (PPC) followed up with 3,150 votes (9.5 per cent), then Jordan AmesSinclair (Liberal), who received 1,949 (5.9 per cent), then Denise Loucks (Maverick Party), and Valerie Brooks (Green Party) receiving less than 2 per vent of the vote with Loucks getting 583 votes, and Brooks 560 votes.

Federally, Wagantall said it wasn’t what they wanted, but it just means there is more work to do.

#7 - Familiar demolished

hotel

The hotel property along Broadway Street

began being demolished in September.

In March of this year the City of Yorkton was handed the property at 110 Broadway Street East – the former Ramada Hotel by Cornerstone Credit Union for taxes owing in the amount of $742,788.56.

At a regular meeting of Yorkton Council at the time Ashley Stradeski, Director of Finance with the City, explained the building as it sat was not saleable.

“The building’s in a lot worse shape than we’d thought,” he said, adding administration proceeded with a full review of the property and confirmed “. . . it’s in really bad shape.”

As a result, efforts to sell the building were not successful.

Prior to the final decisions by the Cornerstone Credit Union to hand the property to the City, Cornerstone had advertised the property for sale and had auctioned all contents of the property prior to the transfer of ownership to the City of Yorkton, detailed a report circulated to Council.

On May 5, 2021, 110 Broadway Street East was offered out to Public Tender for Sale, for a three-week period as is required by the Tax Enforcement Act. The tender included a $750,000 reserve bid and two options, which were to demolish the structure within six months or to repair/upgrade within six months.

There were no bids submitted for the purchase of the property by the tender closing date of May 26, 2021.

“It generated interest,” said Stradeski, add-

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ing the City took calls on the property but “at the end of the day there was zero bids on it.”

Stradeski did note to bring the building up to code before starting renovations was estimated to be almost $5 million.

The recommendation of Administration was to undertake demolition of the building, which was supported by Council June 28.

Some weeks later Council unanimously accepted the lowest tender of eight.

Seven bids were complete, and the bid received from Silverado Demolition Inc. was deemed to be best value as it was the qualified bidder with the lowest submitted bid, who also satisfies all other requirements of the City, noted a report to Council.

The bid price did not include the City of Yorkton landfill fees and will be the City’s responsibility.

On June 28, Council authorized Administration to proceed with a Public Tender for demolition of all structures at 110 Broadway Street East and associated parcels and to placing all associated fees on the property taxes thereafter and then to place 110 Broadway Street East and associated parcels for sale and re-development.

With the building gone the City will have a large lot to sell to try to recoup what will be approximately $1.25 million ($750,000 in back taxes and $450,000 in demolition costs).

#6 - New grandstand In February the Yorkton Exhibition Association announced they are officially breaking ground on the new grandstand they had been working toward for several months.

The work area was already fenced by the time of the announcement, and work tearing down everything but the metal frame and roof of

A familiar hotel went on the wrecking ball. (File Photo)

The grandstand was rebuilt (File Photo) the existing grandstand structure was expected to start immediately.

While they kept the existing roof structure, all other elements of the grandstand will be fully replaced.

The work on the $600,000 contract has been awarded to N.L. Construction of Yorkton, which fits with one of the YEA’s goals for the project, said YEA spokesperson Lori Walsh.

“We wanted to keep the project as local as possible,” she said.

Dustin Nehring, with N.L. said that the project is “not that challenging” in terms of construction, but noted anytime

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you undertake what is basically a large renovation “there are hurdles to overcome,” although starting out he said “we don’t see any major hurdles on this.”

The number of workers on staff will vary through the work period, with the project slated for completion in June.

Walsh said the total cost of the work will be $600,000, and she thanked the City of Yorkton as a funding partner, contributing 50 per cent, and Legacy Co-op for taking naming rights to the new facility.

It will be known as the Legacy Co-op Grandstand.

In the release issued at the time it was noted; “the grandstand has been a pillar in our community since the first one was built in 1914. The Exhibition Association hosts events on the grandstand, as do other community groups and organizations. This facility is an asset to the city of Yorkton as it is home to many great community events that help stimulate our economy and bring people together.

This will be the third grandstand in Yorkton’s history, and will serve our community for many more years to come.”

The facility has been an important fixture in the community, noted the release.

“Over the last century the Yorkton Exhibition has been committed to the preservation of our heritage by not only offering a wide range of events and programs, but also investing in community infrastructure,” it stated.

“The Yorkton Exhibition has been instrumental in obtaining these grounds and the facilities that exist such as the Agripavilion, Industrial Building, Ag Arena and Parimutuel building as they were built and paid for by the Yorkton Exhibition and turned over to the city. And without the Exhibition, it is unknown if the Parkland Agriplex or the Gallagher Centre as we know it, would exist today as our association procured the funding for that project. The grandstand is another investment we are making in the future of our city.”

Over the following months a number of donations were received and the grandstand opened in the summer in time for events such as chariot and chuckwagon races and tractor pulling.

Continued on Page A3

Up Front

Dry conditions hits the agriculture sector. (File Photo)

Wednesday, January 5, 2022 www.yorktonthisweek.com

A3

A reconciliation walk helped highlight residential school abuse and the finding of unmarked graves. (File Photo)

Top-10 2021 Continued from Page A2 #5 - Theatre closes but later saved In May the Landmark Cinemas Tower Theatre in Yorkton officially closed its doors for good. Landmark Cinemas announced that four movie theatres would be closing, including the one in Yorkton.

Bill Walker, the CEO of Landmark Cinemas Canada, talked about the company’s decision.

“It’s been a difficult road in a lot of the secondary markets for theatres for quite an extended period of time. Even pre-pandemic theatres in these small towns were certainly having some difficult times. I think the pandemic for us ultimately just highlighted some of those challenges and as we look towards the recovery. We look at the capital that’s required to sustain a successful operation; there in Yorkton, it’s ultimately not an investment that we are going to be able to afford and make,” he said. “As the business has evolved and consumer experience expectation evolves, some of these singlescreen markets just don’t work anymore.”

Walker said it wasn’t a decision that they came to lightly.

“It’s always difficult when we have to close some of these cinemas because many people have had their first dates, their first movies with their kids, and these experiences that they remember fondly, and it’s difficult to see those leave small communities.”

He added that he hopes that someone will come and buy the movie theatre from them so the residents of Yorkton can once again enjoy movies.

And, in October that is exactly what happened as movie fans were happy to learn the Tower Theatre would be re-opening.

Under new management – Magic Lantern Theatres -- significant upgrades took place at the theatre on Second Ave. in the city which closed its doors earlier this year.

“We’re restoring the original building,” Katrina Chapman, operations supervisor on the project explained at the time of the work being carried out.

As for how the theatre will operate, Chapman said there “will be no major changes” at least for the initial opening.

The theatre will open with one screen, but Chapman said the new ownership has interest “in a bigger expansion in the next year, or two . . .There is an eye to expansion with additional screens.”

The theatre maintained its familiar name.

“The name has such history, why would we change it,” said Chapman.

In the meantime, theatre goers are now able to enjoy some improved aesthetics including upgraded seats which will include slider seats.

Current work also includes upgraded sound.

“We’ve upgraded the speakers,” said Chapman.

And, there will be an improved concession area, offered Chapman.

As for what they plan to screen, Chapman said they will be looking to new releases, but added “you’re not going to see every movie with one screen,” and movies might not open locally the day of the release.

“But we’ll try to mitigate that the best we can,” she said.

The company that is doing the work now owns 11 theatres, including the Rainbow in Regina, the Capital in North Battleford, the Aurora in Meadow Lake and the Roxy in Saskatoon.

“We’re really good at this.

We serve a lot of rural communities,” said Chapman. “. . . We believe in community management. We want to have a theatre you can be proud of, both us and the community.

#4 - Zero municipal budget increase The City of Yorkton Operating and Capital Budgets for 2021 were passed without an overall increase in taxes collected.

The documents as passed showed a combined Operating and Capital Budget with no tax increases.

“The operating budget as presented does not require an increase in taxation,” said Ashley Stradeski, the City’s Director of Finance March 15.

“This is a budget that is very much status quo.”

While Stradeski noted COVID-19 impacted revenues, reducing or eliminating some streams at recreational facilities in particular, that was somewhat offset by grant dollars.

Fortunately for us, relief was available from the Federal and Provincial Governments in the form of the COVID Safe Restart program which provided us with funding of $975,000 to use to offset lost revenue and increased costs related to COVID-19, he explained. The budget as presented includes utilization of just under $350,000 of this funding to offset these decreased revenues and increased costs.

While there was a zero increase, some taxpayers will pay more in 2021.

The budget resulted in no overall increase in taxation for the City – while this means the City wasn’t raising its rates to collect more tax, it did not mean that individual property owners didn’t see changes to their taxes. It was a revaluation year for property assessments, and with it there were fluctuation in the value of nearly every property within the City, explained Stradeski.

While the City still collected the same amount of taxation dollars, the value of the properties determined how much each individual property paid of that.

#3 - Drought hits agriculture A

summer

season-long

Heading into winter, topsoil moisture on cropland was rated as 12 per cent adequate, 43 per cent short and 45 per cent very short.

#2 - Unmarked graves

The COVID-19 pandemic was again the biggest story of 2021. drought and extreme temperatures caused concerns across the local region and the province for agricultural producers.

The result of the below average rain was crop yields being much lower than average this fall.

However, on the positive side most crops were reported to be within the top two quality grades, and harvest was completed earlier than normal.

Harvest was practically complete in the province by the end of September, with nearly all regions having 99 per cent of the crop in the bin, according to the provincial crop report.

The five-year (2016-2020) average for harvest progress for that time of year was 79 per cent.

Harvest weather was favourable throughout the fall, allowing producers to harvest without major delays from rain or waiting for crops to mature.

Crop yields varied throughout the province, depending heavily on the amount of moisture received throughout the season.

Overall provincial yields are well below average, even areas that received timely rains reported below average yields.

Yields were impacted by the extreme drought, heat stress, wind, hail and grasshoppers.

Average yields are estimated as 30 bushel per acre for hard red spring wheat, 19 bushel per acre for durum, 49 bushel per acre for oats, 34 bushel per acre for barley, 21 bushel per acre for canola, 22 bushel per acre for peas and 870 pounds per acre for lentils.

Moisture conditions remained a concern into October, with much of the province receiving minimal or below average rainfall this year along with hot temperatures and drying winds throughout the growing season.

All regions in the province reported that their topsoil moisture was short or very short for most of the season.

In June the Cowessess First Nation announced a preliminary finding of 751 unmarked graves at a cemetery near the former Marieval Indian Residential School.

The Marieval Indian Residential School operated from 1899 to 1997 in the area where Cowessess is now located, about 140 kilometres east of Regina. Children from First Nations in southeast Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba were sent to the school.

The discovery led to the Yellow Thunderbird Lodge holding a Smudge Walk in Yorkton July 1.

The Walk was for ‘the children found and those yet to be found’.

Tribal Chief Isabel O’Soup said the walk was a time of reflection.

“I was sitting here thinking about residential schools and the effect it had ... on our people all across the country,” she said.

And it was a time to think about Canada on a day that usually marks the country’s birthday with celebrations. O’Soup said that this is not the time to celebrate given the recent discoveries of unmarked graves at former residential school sites.

“We’re honouring children that never came home from residential schools,” she said.

When you think about those children, celebration isn’t appropriate, offered O’Soup, adding it is a time when many are dealing with a range of emotions, including anger.

On Sept. 30, The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation was marked in Yorkton, starting with a long parade of more than 200 people down Broadway Street, followed by residential school survivors sharing their stories.

“I was happy when we were two blocks long (the parade),” said O’Soup, adding “this is just the start of it.”

O’Soup said the day was one which focuses on “learning the truth about residential schools – the legacy.”

O’Soup said it is clearly time for change because through change people may heal, are educated and find ways to better live together.

Madame Commissioner Mary Culbertson of the Office of the Treaty Commission and from Keeseekoose First Nation, said she was “honoured to be here with my family today,” adding that in spite of many responsibilities there was “no way I was going to miss walking with my own people.”

Culbertson noted that there “is a lot of intergenerational trauma we are all dealing with ... lateral violence is everywhere around us.”

Culbertson said it is time

to change things, “to put the brakes on here and now.

“Our generation, we stop this legacy now.”

The residential schools were “a system of genocide,” that didn’t work, but it did leave great scars.

#1 - COVID When it comes to the biggest story of 2021, it is a repeat of 2020, and a likely pick for story of the decade – COVID-19.

The pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of our public lives and through 2021 it has been something of a roller coaster ride of just how our community, province and country have been impacted.

The year began with many stores closed, public gatherings disallowed, many laid off or working reduced hours, coming out of a holiday season in 2020 where most gatherings simply did not happen.

As we entered spring and headed into summer the province began to loosen restrictions, businesses which had been forced to close re-opened, and the size of gatherings expanded.

Locally that meant events such as Eastern Professional Chariot & Chuckwagon Association races, Thunder in the Parkland Truck & Tractor Pulls at the fairgrounds, and stock car races at Yellowhead International Speedway were able to take place.

Regionally, summer fairs in places such as Invermay and Kelvington took place as well.

But, COVID was not done yet. A new variant, Omicron, arose and the highly contagious strain has infection rates rising significantly, and governments across the country have instituted varied measures in response.

In Saskatchewan new restrictions had not been instituted as 2021 came to a close, but growing numbers have had an impact.

As an example, the home and home Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League series scheduled for Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 between the Flin Flon Bombers and the La Ronge Ice Wolves as well the home and home scheduled for Dec. 30 and Jan. 1 between the Estevan Bruins and Weyburn Red Wings had been postponed until a later date, as a result of some players perhaps being in close contact with positive COVID-19 cases. As a precautionary measure the postponements will provide more time for extra testing to ensure the safety and health of everyone.

Provincially, as 2021 came to an end the province was reporting there had been 85,188 cases of COVID in Saskatchewan, with the sevenday average of daily new cases at 333 to end the year. There had been 955 deaths attributed to COVID in Saskatchewan since the start of the pandemic.

It was also reported 857,368 had been fully vaccinated up to Dec. 31.

Perspective Sask. Party needs to get on right path

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MURRAY MANDRYK

Classified Sales: Lisa Geysen

Murray Mandryk is a political columnist with the Leader Post

Politics You’d think it would work the opposite way, but the longer you are in power, the tougher it is to figure out what you’re doing wrong.

That’s the big problem for the Saskatchewan Party that will have been in power for 15 years by the time 2022 ends. Unfortunately, it’s not the only problem it’s facing in this coming year.

We are still in the throes of a global pandemic and the decisions are getting more complicated rather than easier.

Consider the heat Premier Scott Moe and his government took just prior to Christmas for being the only province not to implement severe restrictions to fight COVID-19’s Omicron variant.

If there is a legitimate criticism here, it’s likely the result of Moe and his government being rather oblivious last spring and summer to signs of a coming fourth COVID-19 that produced Saskatchewan’s deadliest by October.

This, too, reeks of an aging government that’s become a little too comfortable in the notion it has all the answers.

But in the case of the Omicron variant and what to do about the inevitable fifth wave, it actually does become rather complicated rather quickly.

For example, Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia issued before Christmas some of their toughest restrictions since the beginning of the pandemic, largely because they were already experiencing record daily cases. Manitoba, Alberta and B.C. — also experiencing a rise in daily cases — were quick to join in with their own tough restrictions to fight a variant said to be four to eight times more contagious than the Delta variant that hammered Saskatchewan particularly hard.

But the daily cases in Saskatchewan was in the neighbourhood of 50 to 60 new cases a day — roughly one-tenth of what they were during the fourth-wave peak in this province. Was immediately shutting down things needed? Or even the right response?

Sure, some will point to inevitable case increases in January as proof positive that Moe was wrong for not moving soon enough on the contagious Omicron variant some say may double cases every three to five days. (Although, it seems bizarre anyone would be cheering for this scenario to happen.)

But the book is still out on how virulent this strain will be and how many hospitalizations and ICU cases it may actually produce.

Moreover, imposing stricter restrictions like not allowing unvaccinated people to gather with vaccinated people for Christmas dinner would be impossible to enforce and would likely create a backlash that would make the unvaccinated even more stubborn about getting a needle.

Finally, we know from experience not every COVID-19 wave hits as hard or hits every place as hard.

For Moe and his Sask. Party government, moving early on Omicron was a bigger dilemma than some think.

There again, it’s rather hard to have all that much sympathy for a government that made some huge mistakes in 2021 and didn’t exactly issue an unequivocal apology for making them.

This, after all, was the same Sask. Party government that was telling us in May, June and July that it could never require its citizens to carry the proof-of-vaccination now in your wallet or on your smart phone because it would create two-tiered citizenship and would be an invasion of health privacy. Now, it takes credit for doing exactly what it said it wouldn’t/ couldn’t do.

Such mixed messaging and sometimes outright bad messaging in 2021 plagued the Sask.

Party 14 years removed from its opposition days when it was more skilled at listening to legitimate public concerns.

In 2022, it desperately needs to rediscover those skills. Otherwise, it will continue to have a very rough time selling the tough choices it will have to make.

Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics since 1983.

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◆Editorial◆

Many possible decisions, limited dollars A

s a new year dawns it is natural to wonder what lies ahead for the city?

The first thing to realize of course as Yorkton Council works through another year is that there will not be enough dollars to fulfill all the requests made by the community.

Through 2021, we saw presentations made to Council about the need for an indoor basketball facility to help deal with the growth of that sport among youth, the merits of a pump bike track, the need for a City-owned football field to facilitate growth in youth football, and the list goes on.

We also know Council is already looking at spending millions on a new Deer Park Golf Course Clubhouse, and either a major retrofit of the existing Kinsmen Arena, or as an option an even bigger project of building a new ice rink and tieing it into the existing Gallagher Centre complex.

And those are just recreational facility wants and needs.

Anyone who has followed Yorkton Council in stories in this publication will be keenly aware the municipality, like most cities across Saskatchewan and Canada, face a massive infrastructure deficit. Certainly Trent Mandzuk, Director of Public Works with the City has pointed out on various occasions that it will take decades at current spending levels to replace the City’s water and sewer lines, sidewalks, gutters and street pavement, even though

in the cases of some of that infrastructure it is already well beyond its anticipated life expectancy.

While we might be able to patch pavement, or slow down to avoid a growing number of potholes, and deal with crumbling sidewalks, deteriorating sewer and water lines are more concerning, dollars to increase replacement spending and speed the long replacement times are not easily found – at least without huge tax increases.

And, this Council were rather vocal following the last election they wanted to keep tax increases to a minimum, and they managed to hold the line with a zero per cent increase to overall tax dollars collected in 2021.

That was seen as prudent given the unknowns of being in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic, and the swings in property assessment coming from the most recent reassessment in Saskatchewan.

This time around, as Council delves into the public reveal of its 2022 budget in the coming weeks, the pressures on the numbers, including additional RCMP costs and reduced funding from the province will almost assuredly mean an increase in property taxes.

But the increase won’t likely have much impact on the infrastructure deficit, and the recreational facility needs that remain to be dealt with too, which ultimately suggests a somewhat tumultuous year ahead with rough decisions on the Council agenda.

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www.YorktonThisWeek.com | Wednesday, January 5, 2022

A5

Business License Bylaw updated

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer The City of Yorkton is adding some teeth to its Business License Bylaw to ensure compliance.

The Business License Bylaw licenses and regulates business activity within the City of Yorkton, detailed a report to the regular meeting of Council by Michael Eger – Director of Planning, Building & Development, with the City.

Eger explained, “Staff are struggling to gain compliance

“Staff are struggling to gain compliance with some businesses getting licensed, which creates an uneven playing field for those businesses that are complying.”

— Michael Eger – Director of Planning, Building & Development with some businesses getting licensed, which creates an uneven playing field for those businesses that are complying. It also demands significant staff time and takes away from our ability to undertake other duties.”

Past efforts to issue fines

have been unsuccessful as our current Bylaw does not properly support penalties.

As such Administration put forward a bylaw amendment.

The Business License Bylaw is adopted under the Cities Act, which sets parameters around penalties and gener-

ally allows fines through voluntary payment and then through summary conviction. The proposed penalties are therefore based on these limitations, and are generally consistent with the penalties imposed in other City bylaws, explained Eger.

“Typically, a contravention

would result in a fine that is double the license fee. Ongoing non-compliance would allow the City to pursue larger penalties through the Courts,” he said.

Eger added, staff will notify businesses that they may be fined for failing to purchase a business license through email communication and in-person follow-ups.

Council were unanimous in supporting the penalties, giving the amendments all three readings Monday.

Water security agency releases the 2021 conditions at freeze-up report Weather modeling data indicates that parts of central and northern Saskatchewan could see wetter than normal conditions between December and March, and near normal precipitation for the rest of Saskatchewan.

Due to minimal runoff in spring 2021 followed by what was generally a hot and dry summer, most agricultural areas of the province are currently experiencing drier than normal moisture conditions.

Conditions are driest starting in the central area of the province around Saskatoon and extending in a south westerly

direction toward Rosetown, down through Leader and then to the Maple Creek area.

While most larger water supply reservoirs across southern and central Saskatchewan have adequate supplies, some surface water users who rely on smaller reservoirs or dugouts have been impacted by the dry conditions.

Below normal rainfall was also received across the north throughout the 2021 growing season. With the wet conditions in 2020, water levels remained high throughout the first half of the year but have since tapered to near normal

heading into freeze-up. Winter flows in northern areas are expected to continue to drop to slightly below normal over the course of the winter.

In Saskatchewan’s grain belt region where conditions at freeze-up were much drier, the capacity of the soils and storage capacity within wetland areas will be higher, reducing the risk of above normal runoff come spring.

At this time, there are no areas where the Water Security Agency (WSA) believes that there is a heightened risk of above normal spring runoff in 2022. Current long-range fore-

casts and climate indices suggest near normal to above normal precipitation and below normal temperatures over the winter months for much of the province. However, given the current moisture conditions, even an above normal snowpack is not likely to yield an above normal snowmelt runoff.

WSA issues the Conditions at Freeze up Report during the late fall/early winter period.

Freeze-up conditions, in combination with the winter snowpack, becomes the initial base for the spring snowmelt runoff forecast. This report gives an

early indication of areas that are more vulnerable to potentially above or below normal runoff in the spring. It is not a spring runoff forecast, as winter snow accumulation is an integral component in the runoff yield during the melt and is impossible to predict at this juncture.

Modeling is compiled with data from various sources including Environment and Climate Change Canada and the US National Weather Service.

The initial Spring Runoff Outlook for 2022 will be issued in early February.

709 reasons why intersection safety should cross your mind Intersection safety and winter driving were the focus in November For the November Traffic Spotlight on intersection safety and winter driving, police reported 709 drivers in Saskatchewan who put themselves and others at risk by disobeying traffic signals and signs, or other intersection-related rules.

Those 709 intersection violations included: • 270 drivers who disobeyed stop signs • 196 drivers who failed to obey a traffic light • 82 drivers who made

a U-turn at traffic-light controlled intersections • 161 for other intersections-related Traffic Safety Act violations Following the rules and safe driving practices around intersections is always important, but particularly so when dealing with the reduced traction and visibility that comes along with driving during the winter.

Police also reported the following violations for the month of November: • 312 impaired drivers, including 210 who were charged with Criminal Code offences

• 4,524 tickets for speeding or aggressive driving • 206 tickets for seatbelt or passenger restraint infractions • 593 tickets for distracted driving (including 516 for using a mobile device while driving) Police continue to be on the lookout this month as the Traffic Safety Spotlight focuses on impaired driving.

Many drivers will experience that firsthand, since there are numerous checkstops happening throughout the province all month long. Luckily, making your stay at a

their recommendations.”

The majority of recommendations are toward improved signage to assist people with navigating more independently and finding services on their own, noted Washington.

Washington noted the project meets objectives in the City’s 2020 Strategic Plan, and aligns with aspects of the Official Community Plan.

Council supported

a recommendation to receive and file the report, and to encourage organizations and businesses to participate in the project “Interventions to Enhance Social Inclusion of Older Adults with Dementia in Saskatchewan” and learn more ways to enhance social inclusion of older adults with dementia in our community, by contacting the Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Unit.

CITY Continued from Page A1 one from the Alzheimer’s Society of Saskatchewan and the other from Age-Friendly Saskatchewan. She also reconnected with people from a previous project, two couples with lived experience with Dementia, to become our “Experts”,” she told Council.

“The Experts and the Consultant toured and audited each of our twelve public facilities, twice, using a different entrance each time, if possible. With each audit, observations began in the parking lot, and each entrance and exit were used at least once. The team roleplayed attending an event or accessing services and going through all the activities that would be involved in doing so. Additionally, the couples and the consultant, all resided outside of Yorkton making their experience that much more authentic.

The final report will be used as a resource to inform our operations moving forward. It has their comments, observations, completed checklists and photos for each facility plus some info on other financial resources (grants) that might assist with implementation of

File Photo

checkstop a short visit is as easy as making a plan for a safe ride home before you start drinking.

Need another reason to

drive sober? Maybe one of these good folks can give you a reason. SGI is checking in with checkstops around the prov-

ince all month and you can follow along with the hashtag #SKcheckstop on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

22012BS0

A6

Wednesday, January 5, 2022 | www.YorktonThisWeek.com | Yorkton This Week

January 5, 2022 - January 11, 2022

Next Council Meeting Monday, January 10, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.

GENERAL INQUIRIES: 306-786-1700 0D\RU¶V 2I¿FH $IWHU +RXUV (PHUJHQF\ $FFHVV &RPPXQLFDWLRQ :DWHU 3DUN <RUNWRQ $LUSRUW %XLOGLQJ 6HUYLFHV %\ODZ &RQWURO &HQWUDO %RRNLQJV ,QGRRU 2XWGRRU )DFLOLW\ 5HQWDOV &LW\ &OHUN

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A7

SaskEnergy sets new daily natural gas usage record Extreme cold weather across Saskatchewan this week resulted in recordbreaking natural gas demand in the province.

On December 28 and 29, natural gas consumption surpassed the previous daily record of 1.57 petajoules (PJ) which was set in February 2021.

A new daily record of 1.62 PJ was set on December 28 and broken again on December 29 with total system delivery of 1.64 PJ. Delivery numbers for December 30 and 31 are not yet finalized, but are also expected to exceed 1.6 PJ. Increased demand

SaskEnergy’s natural gas system design can accommodate additional capacity to manage increased consumption even on peak days.

— SaskEnergy President and CEO Ken From from SaskEnergy’s industrial customers, including natural gas use for power production, was

the main driver of this week’s record-setting consumption.

SaskEnergy measures

daily natural gas consumption for the 24-hour period from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. A PJ is a unit of measurement equivalent to one million gigajoules (GJ) of natural gas. An average Saskatchewan home consumes about 100 GJ of natural gas each year.

“SaskEnergy’s natural gas system design can accommodate additional capacity to manage increased consumption even on peak days,” SaskEnergy President and CEO Ken From said.

“Throughout the year, SaskEnergy employees inspect, maintain and

enhance the system to support safe and reliable natural gas delivery in all weather conditions.

In addition, employees monitor the system 24 hours a day to ensure sufficient system capacity to meet customer demand across the province.”

Here are three of SaskEnergy’s top natural gas safety tips to help keep you and your family safe this winter: 1. Keep your exterior appliance vents free of frost, ice and snow. If snow or ice blocks your home’s exterior appliance vents, it can cause

equipment to malfunction. Worse, it can cause a dangerous buildup of carbon monoxide—an odourless, colourless, tasteless, invisible gas formed by the incomplete combustion of fuels.

2. Keep your natural gas meter free of snow and ice, including the meter’s regulator and shut-off valve. Keeping snow and ice off and away from your natural gas equipment will help ensure it continues to operate when you need it most.

3. Have your furnace inspected every year.

- Submitted

January 5, 2022 - January 11, 2022

Next Council Meeting Monday, January 10, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.

A8

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Season’s Greetings from all of us at Yorkton This Week.

In This happy season of the year, we would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We wish you health, happiness and success for the coming year. We would like to thank you all for your continued support.

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Коли ми відзначаємо цей сезон свят, ми також відзначаємо друзів, сусідів та клієнтів, які виявляли нам стільки доброти та підтримки протягом усього року. Нам дуже пощастило бути частиною цієї яскравої та турботливої спільноти, і ми маємо таких людей, як ви, щоб подякувати за те, що ми почуваємо себе як вдома. Нехай свято та рік, що настає, доставлять вам таку саму радість, як ми отримали від усіх вас. Ми сподіваємось, що сезон знайде вас оточеними дарами любові, дружби, миру, задоволення, сміху, удачі та доброї волі.

Sports

Wednesday, January 5, 2022 www.yorktonthisweek.com

A9

Terriers and Mills split New Year’s set

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer The Yorkton Terriers headed down Highway #10 for a New Year’s Day encounter with the rival Melville Millionaires.

The Mills had handed the Terriers a 3-2 shoot-out defeat in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action Friday, and the Terriers were clearly looking for some pay back, as they took a 2-0 lead through the opening period of play.

Erik Boers scored to open things at 14:34 and less than a minute later Tanner Sklaruk found the twine behind Melville netminder Jared Thompson. The goal came at 15:21.

Greg Nelson scored the only goal of the second period at 10:09 to extend the Terrier lead to 3-0.

In the third Kishaun Gervais struck 4:05 into the third frame to make it a 4-0 lead for the visitors.

The Millionaires finally put one past Terrier netminder Kael

The Yorkton Terriers dropped an overtime game to Melville Friday in the city.

DePape at 10:16 of the third, a goal off the stick of Jonathan Krahn. It was the only goal to get past DePape who faced 31-shots for the win.

Thompson took the loss in the Melville net facing 36-shots.

Friday action The home-and-home set started Friday at

the Westland Insurance Arena.

In the opening frame the visiting Mills scored the only goal, a powerplay marker by Colby Ball at 12:20.

It took the Terriers only 2:42 into the middle frame to tie the game on a goal by Maddux Nollski.

A short-handed effort

by JD Hall at 11:59 gave the Terriers a 2-1 lead.

Brayden Taschuk tied the contest 2-2 with a goal at 16:50.

The tie held into the third period, and through it.

With the game knotted 2-2 through regulation time, the game headed to the five-minute overtime, but neither team

found the twine to secure the win.

The game went to the shoot-out where the Millionaires would earn a 3-2 win.

While the Terriers and Millionaires were back in action COVID-19 again postponed a series of games over the weekend.

The home and home

series scheduled for Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 between the Flin Flon Bombers and the La Ronge Ice Wolves as well the home and home scheduled for Dec. 30 and Jan. 1 between the Estevan Bruins and Weyburn Red Wings were postponed until a later date, as a result of some players perhaps being in close contact with positive COVID-19 cases. As a precautionary measure the postponements will provide more time for extra testing to ensure the safety and health of everyone.

New dates have yet to be determined.

As for the Terriers and Mills, Yorkton’s next action is scheduled for Tuesday when they are scheduled to visit Weyburn, while Melville host the Humboldt Broncos the same night.

Friday the Terriers are headed to LaRonge and will stop in Nipawin for a game Saturday.

Melville heads into North Battleford Friday then Kindersley Saturday, and Humboldt Sunday.

Wheelchair rugby co-creator honoured While I wouldn’t guess on just when I saw the documentary Murderball, I can say that I recall the movie as a fantastic one, which explains it being nominated for Best Documentary Feature for the 78th Academy Awards.

And, because it was a film about rugby, albeit rugby played by athletes in wheelchairs, I was of course immediately intrigued since I have come to appreciate rugby in its many shapes and forms.

So, when I saw a post online awhile back that Duncan Campbell was among the 2020-21 inductees into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame I reached out to a contact to help arrange an interview.

Campbell was one of the creators of wheelchair rugby.

Campbell was inducted in the Builder category for his role in developing the sport of Wheelchair Rugby from its early inception in 1976. Campbell’s involvement has led to the transformation of the sport from its beginnings, originally called ‘Murderball’. The sport has since evolved to become one of most popular Parasports, making its Paralympic Games debut in 1996 as a demonstration sport and achieving full medal status in 2000, notes www.sportshall.ca Campbell said the induction was gratifying.

“It was pretty cool – very cool,” he said.

CALVIN DANIELS

Sports Campbell said he takes the induction as something that reflects not only on his accomplishment, but also as something of a validation of the sport itself.

Wheelchair rugby sort of happened by luck, with a bit of design thrown in.

“It came out of four guys fooling around in a gym in Winnipeg,” said Campbell.

Growing up in Winnipeg, Campbell

Pickleball grant Pickleball Yorkton has been awarded a $4,500.00 Gender Equity grant from Canada’s Park and Recreation.

The grant is to support community implemented programs, events, and practices which has the potential to increase the participation and retention of girls and women in recreational sport in Canada.

The local club has established a subcommittee to formulate a plan to bring more women and girls to the sport of Pickleball in Yorkton.

The first step was to designate a time on the schedule, which is Thursday morning at 10 am -12:15 p.m. and evenings at 5-7:30 p.m., starting Jan. 6, 2022.

Step two will be to host a Ladies Learn to Play Clinic Jan. 15, 1-5 p.m. at the Gloria Hayden Gym. Registration for the event is now open now through the club.

Step three will be to plan special events,

was a typical Canadian youth with a love of sport including hockey, but a diving accident at age 17 left him a quadriplegic. While doctors thought he might never live or work independently again, Campbell remained determined to pursue an active lifestyle and began working out alongside other people with physical disabilities at a local gym in Winnipeg.

While getting back to

hockey was impossible Campbell did find his way back to sport.

“One night in 1976, he and four friends—Jerry Terwin, Randy Dueck, Paul LeJeune, and Chris Sargent—showed up for their weekly weightlifting workout at a Winnipeg rehab centre, but the volunteer who assisted them didn’t show up. They went down the hall to the gymnasium instead and began fooling around with a volleyball. Within 45 minutes they had the basic rules to a fastpaced, physical game similar to rugby, but played in wheelchairs on a basketball court.

They knew right away they had something and called it ‘murderball’,” detailed bcsportshall. com

Campbell said while not specifically looking to create a rugbystyle game the four were looking at what might develop into a team sport for people in wheelchairs.

“What we were thinking was there was no team sport for us to play,” he recalled. “We were trying to come up with a team sport.”

Soon after demonstrating the game to others in Canada, it spread to the US and overseas to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Britain.

In Campbell’s words, it “just blew up,” noted the bcsportshall.com – Campbell is an inductee there too. Now the world’s fastest growing wheelchair sport, Continued on page A16

Whiskers & Tails How much does it cost to own a cat?

Many people believe that cats are inexpensive pets to own. While they tend to be more affordable than dogs, you shouldn’t assume that the cost of caring for a cat is limited to food and litter. Here are a few things to think about before you adopt a feline friend.

Submitted Photo

games and promotions aimed to encourage women of all ages and skills to come and play in a social inclusive environment.

If you or anyone who wishes to come and play

with just Ladies, please contact pickleballyorkton@gmail.com to register or call 306-621-8926 for all the details and to register for the clinic Jan. 15.

- Submitted

Hear it. L Live itit.t

LIFE EXPECTANCY If you want to adopt a pet, you should be prepared to take on the responsibility of caring for the animal for the rest of its life. Unless you opt for an older cat, you’ll likely enjoy the company of your pet for many years to come. In fact, it’s not uncommon for indoor cats to live about 15 years.

your cat’s basic needs could end up costing more than $100 per month. In addition to food and litter, you need to budget for: x ,YY`LW aP_P]TYL]d PcLX^ x ALNNTYL_TZY^ x /PbZ]XTYR XPOTNL_TZY x /PY_LW NL]P x ;P_ WTNPYNP x ?Zd^ LYO MPOOTYR x ;]PaPY_TaP ^N]PPYTYR _P^_^ x 2]ZZXTYR _]PL_XPY_^ You’ll also need to pay for boarding or a pet sitter TQ dZ` RZ ZY L _]T[ ;W`^ dZ` YPPO _Z LY_TNT[L_P _SP cost of medication, surgery and hospitalization in the event of an illness or injury. For this reason, you might want to invest in pet insurance.

In addition, cats require a stimulating environment and plenty of affection. So before you decide to adopt, make sure you have the resources needed to give your feline friend a proper home.

COSTS TO CONSIDER ?SP]P L]P NP]_LTY YLYNTLW ZMWTRL_TZY^ _SL_ NZXP with being a responsible pet owner. In fact, meeting

FOSTER A FELINE ,N]Z^^ _SP NZ`Y_]d XTWWTZY^ ZQ NL_^ L]P LMLYOZYPO If you love cats but don’t have the resources for a long-term commitment, consider fostering. Contact a local animal shelter to learn more about the process.

Coralee Schoenrock 275 Bradbrooke Dr, Yorkton, SK S3N 3L3 306.782.1881 premiercarehearing.ca

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Agriculture

Wednesday, January 5, 2022 www.yorktonthisweek.com

A10

Weather more than immediate concern As we head into a new year farmers are going to start putting a pencil to plan for what to grow in 2022.

The scribbles best be in pencil because plans need to be elastic in the sense of being adaptable and have options to change plans because the year ahead certainly appears to be one very much in flux in terms of conditions for seeding come spring.

We are aware that much of the Canadian Prairies were dry in 2021, too dry in many areas, and that meant lower yields, and the lack of moisture even impacted quality of the crop produced with a lot

of canola having lower than expected oil content which is largely due to drought issues.

The snow that fell in many areas over the Christmas week is a good start to improving moisture come spring, although having shovelled more of that snowfall than I wanted to, it was evident it was a light snow meaning it would take a lot of snow to melt into an inch of actual water.

While snow is perhaps more comforting in making people think moisture conditions are going to be better, it ultimately comes down to rainfall through the growing season to pro-

Agriculture THIS WEEK

Calvin Daniels duce a crop, and timely rain is becoming less assured, at least by some of the research out there.

In a recent article at www.producer.com a story reported on an online Saskatchewan Agriculture Agronomy Update, where “Dave Sauchyn, research coordinator at the Prairie Adaptation

Research Collaborative, gave a synopsis of climate models and observations to help producers understand what their farms will face.

“He recently compiled average world temperatures in monthlong increments from January 1880 to the end of last month.”

In the article

Sauchyn was quoted as stating “Ever since the mid-1970s, every single month, this is thousands of months, have had a warmer than average temperature with one tiny exception … I think that’s December 1984.”

While some see global warming as some sort of conspiracy-generated bugaboo, Sauchyn’s data is rather startling, and for an industry such as agriculture which relies so completely on weather conditions being favourable to be successful, it has to be worrisome.

The same article went on to suggest “a warmer climate over land increases drought

severity.”

It is one thing for temperatures to be hot, some crops even like the heat, but less moisture at best reduces yields, and at its worst is a crop killer. You can even have more moisture in certain times, such as winter, but still face crop issues if rain is not timely when it’s hottest in the summer.

So short term – like planning for 2022 cropping – moisture is an immediate concern, but longer term it might well mean fundamental changes to farming on the Prairies – begging the question will the industry be ready for those changes?

Local forage plot demo gets funding

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan invested more than $218,000 in funding for 17 research projects through the Agricultural Demonstration of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) Program.

“Together with the province, our government is helping Saskatchewan farmers find practical ways to take advantage of the opportunities and address the challenges they face every day,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in a recent press release.

“These projects will give Saskatchewan farmers new direct applications of science in the field that will increase their

File Photo

sustainability and resiliency.”

The ADOPT Program provides funding to assist producer groups to evaluate and demonstrate new agricultural practices and technologies at the local level.

The results of successful trials can then be adopted by agricultural operations in the region.

“Funding applied

research that has an immediate impact on Saskatchewan producers drives our industry forward and responds to current issues facing the sector,” Agriculture Minister David Marit said in the release.

“We’re funding projects with practical applications that will directly support producers, like winter varieties of wheat

We are looking for your favourite

101 THINGS TO DO

and oats, spring cereal re-seeding options and the advantages of feeding supplemental protein on fall pasture.”

Among the recipients of funding was Yorkton Agricultural Information Inc. which will be getting $5,000 for a forage project.

The money will be

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These projects received $45,000 in additional industry support from Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association and Fertilizer Canada.

ADOPT is funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), a five-year, $3 billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen and grow Canada’s agriculture, agri-food and agriproducts sectors. This includes a $2-billion commitment that is costshared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.

Since the start of CAP in 2018, 210 projects have received $2.5 million in support through ADOPT.

Low crop yields, high prices for farmers in 2021

By Chelsea Kemp Local Journalism Initiative Reporter (Brandon Sun)

In And Around Yorkton.

used to create a forage demonstration plot out by the Tourism Yorkton office near where the Crops of the Parkland plots are planted each year, explained Thom Weir a member of the YAI board.

“It will help make people aware of some of the forages that we grow,” he told Yorkton This Week.

The plots will also be a good tool for groups such as Ducks Unlimited and local agrologists who are talking to producers about forage crops, said Weir, adding once established the plots will be easy access to show producers the different options.

Weir said the plan is to plant 16 varieties of forages, both legumes and grasses, in the spring of 2022.

Manitoba producers are wrapping up a year that saw some of the highest grain prices in living memory, matched by record-low crop yields.

For farmers, 2021 was a difficult year for the most part, but a lucky few found success in the face of an unprecedented drought, said Keystone Agriculture Producers director Charles Fossay.

“Prices are up, in many cases at highs that none of us have ever seen, [even those who have] been farming for 40 years or longer. Pricewise, things look well for most producers.

“It’s very tight supplies and probably in many cases … because of the shortage of grain and the tight supplies, that’s why prices went up for many producers who had grain to sell.”

For most of the province, crop yields were below average, he said, and in some areas, the

yields were almost at zero.

It is difficult to say how these yields will affect the everyday consumer, but it is possible they will begin to see higher food prices on some items because processors and food manufacturers are paying more for the raw product.

“It’s higher feed prices for hog producers, chicken producers, cattle producers. We’re also looking at higher wheat prices for the flour millers; high prices to the canola crushers that produce cooking oil,” Fossay said. “That eventually will all go down to consumers in some way or other. They may not end up paying the full price, but they will be picking up at least some of the increased costs.”

Farmers are also navigating the challenging economic landscape brought on by the historic drought over the summer, affecting overall crop yields.

“On my farm, I typically grow 45 bushels of canola and I’ll market that for $11 a bushel, so

I’ll get $500 an acre for my canola,” Fossay said.

“This year, my canola did 17 [bushels], and even though prices right now are around the $20 or $21 mark, I had pre-sold a lot of my canola for say, $15.

I’m going to average out a slightly higher price than what I normally get, but based on the 17 bushels, I’m maybe only going to be getting two-thirds of what I would get in a normal year.”

Preparing for seeding in 2022, farmers are hoping to see additional moisture in the province to help rebuild crops.

The provincial government has said between 100 and 120 millimetres of snow will be needed to help recharge the water system in Manitoba and bump soil moisture up to normal levels.

“What we really need right now is a very white, snowy winter,” Fossay said. “We also need some very timely rains in the spring and throughout the summer that make sure we continue to recharge our soil moisture.”

Continued on page A13

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Obituaries

BENOIT - We the family of Robert (Bob) Benoit, are heartbroken to announce his passing on December 20, 2021. Robert was born on September 20, 1945 in Winnipeg, MB. to Paul and Imelda Benoit. His younger years were spent in Winnipeg until he and Cynthia moved to Saskatchewan in 1972 to be close to her family. There they worked hard, made their permanent home and raised their two sons. Bob loved his family, loved his cars, loved watching sportssometimes to the dismay of his wife, loved his music and all the concerts attended throughout the years and totally loved the last 8 years spent living at the lake, enjoying all the wild life and beauty there. His rescue kitty cat Lilli - (Lillibug) as he called her, was a very special part of his last 8 years. Bob fought COVID and won but the valiant fight with cancer just could not be won. Bob was predeceased by his parents, Paul and Imelda, sister Florence, his infant daughter Cara and his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Ed and Rosie Paley. He leaves behind to celebrate his life and to cherish his memory, his loving wife of 51 years, Cynthia, son Sheldon (Cheryl and her son Benjamin), son Brendan (Sarah), sisters Claire, Pauline (Henry), Linda and brother Eugene (Rhonda) and several nieces and nephews. Many who knew Bob or worked with him can attest to his sense of humour and his strong work ethic. In his younger years he worked hard, he played hard. He will be sorely missed! A gathering for family and friends will be held on Wednesday, January 5, 2022 from 7 – 9 pm in the Yorkton Memorial Gardens Family Centre. A private graveside service will be held a later date. If so desired, donations in Bob’s memory may be made to the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan or to Paws & Claws Animal Rescue.

Condolences may be left for the family at www.baileysfuneralhome.com.

MURPHY - Vivian Evonne Murphy (Larson) was born in Yorkton and grew up on a farm in the Meadowville District. She attended the Meadowville Country School through grade 6 then went to the Saltcoats School to complete her education and graduate from grade 12. Growing up, Vivian had a passion for horses. She belonged to the 4-H beef club, learned how to curl and enjoyed playing soft ball. She also developed a lifelong friendship with her girlfriend Edna and the Schick families. In 1961 Vivian went to Prince Albert to study to be a Registered Nurse at the Victoria Union Hospital. This is where she met her close friend Marilyn and many adventurous and humorous stories were made when sneaking out of residence to have a good time.

Vivian graduated in 1964 and returned home to work at the Saltcoats Hospital. In 1965 Vivian married the love of her life, Leonard Murphy. They lived in Saltcoats and their first daughter Jackie was born in 1966. Their second daughter Kathie was born in 1967. Vivian and Leonard then bought her parents farm where she grew up and moved there. Vivian took a nursing position in Yorkton and in 1968 she joined the Yorkton Psychiatric Centre as it was named then. She worked there for 40 years before retiring in 2008, culminating in a 47 year nursing career. Vivian was very passionate about mental health. She was dedicated to her clients and a strong advocate for them.

She made close relationships with her colleagues (of which many lasted until her passing) and was known to be a jokester, pulling a few pranks with her colleagues and bosses along the way. Vivian’s love for horses never waned and in the 1970’s she started breeding and raising Arabians.

Her daughters developed a strong love for horses as well and over the years, Vivian coached them on training and riding their horses. She was always proud of her daughters’ equestrian accomplishments over the years. Vivian loved driving horses and Leonard built her many buggies, carts and wagons. Vivian then took up judging horse shows across southern Saskatchewan as well. She was involved with the Saltcoats Agricultural Society for 30 years and was the horse show director for many years, building the show into a qualifying event on several circuits. She was the president for four years and brought in entertainment like cow patty bingo, the dunk tank and the pig roast. Vivian was also part of the Yellowhead Arabian Horse Association which held many Arabian horse shows and boasted one of the best evening dinners and socials for exhibitors which her dear friend Marion could attest to. In addition, she belonged to the Carrot River Valley Arabian Association and the Saskatchewan Arabian Horse Association. Vivian was also very passionate about 4-H and always believed the program went along way in building character and poise for youth and developing them into strong citizens in her community. She was part of the Saltcoats 4-H Club for 17 years, was the Light Horse Project leader for many years and frequently spoke over the years about how much she loved her 4-H families. Through 4-H she formed a close bond with her girlfriend Gloria and many wonderful years were spent attending the Royal Red Arabian Horse Show together in Regina.

Vivian and Leonard were hard working people, running a mixed farming business as well as both working off the farm. They had a small dairy herd where they separated and sold the cream. They raised hogs as well at that time. They then moved into beef cattle and eventually built up a Simmental herd. Vivian and Leonard were very connected with their rural community and hosted many parties with their neighbours. Vivian was an avid curler and attended many bonspiels in Tonkin, Saltcoats, Dubuc and elsewhere in the surrounding communities. There was always a good time to be had at the parties and curling. Vivian also took pride in her flower gardens on the farm and continued with a beautiful back yard in Yorkton years later. Leonard and Vivian were fortunate to travel and enjoyed trips to Hawaii, England and Ireland, Churchill, Australia, Las Vegas and Victoria to name a few. Vivian was an accomplished accordion player, loved dancing to old time music with Leonard and later became a talented painter with some of her work displayed at the Godfrey Dean Centre. She took her talent back to Mental Health in 2016-2017 and taught art therapy to the clients who always said they looked forward to Wednesdays when she attended. When Leonard passed away in 2011, Vivian moved to Yorkton. There she met many new friends (including her friend Michael). She joined the seniors’ dancing circuit and the New Horizons Seniors Centre, eventually sitting on the board as well. After she retired, Vivian experienced some complications from surgery that limited her mobility though she never let that hold her back, even if it meant only burning up the dance floor a few times in the evening instead of all evening. During these adventures, she was blessed to meet her best friend Olga and together they shared laughter and comradery. In 2018 Vivian was diagnosed with cancer but she didn’t let it hold her back. That fall she organized and hosted a large 75th birthday party in Dubuc, attended by well over 100 people. Vivian fought a courageous battle against the cancer and was able to stay in her own home until the week before she passed. In her last week, Vivian talked a lot about how proud she was of her family: her strong marriage with Len, the accomplishments of her daughters (showing horses, flying, having successful careers) and the paths her two grandchildren are on. She reminisced lots about the stories of her life, her adventures and the people she met along the way whom she dearly loved. Vivian is predeceased by her husband Leonard Murphy, her parents Gerald and Elva Larson, her parents- in-law Charles and Gertrude Murphy, her sister-in-law Merle Larson and her brother-in law Bill Spokowski. She leaves to mourn her daughter Jackie (Scott Park) and their children Carter and Brooklyn; her daughter Kathie; her brothers Reuben and Donald (Marilyn); her sister-in law Shirley (Albert Liepert); her sister-in law Lois; many nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, cousins, other family, friends and colleagues.

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Obituaries

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Obituaries

Obituaries KITSCH – The family of Calvin Kitsch, originally from the Yorkton, Sask area, is saddened to announce his passing on Dec 17th, 2021, in Strathmore, AB, at the age of 83 years.

Calvin was born on the farm near Togo, Sask. He farmed for many years.

He moved to Yorkton and had his own farm supply business. He worked as a farm help for many years as well.

In 2012, he moved to Alberta to be closer to his children.

Calvin is survived by his children, Donna of Irricana, AB and Randy (Rowenna) of Langdon, AB; his furgrandkids Gunnar and Haven; sistersin-law Doreen Kryski, Marlene Anstey (Don Burback) and Janet Ostafie of Yorkton, SK; and brother-in-law Tony Ostafie of Yorkton, SK; as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Calvin was predeceased by his wife Mae; parents Adam and Elizabeth Kitsch; in-laws Walter and Nellie Ostafie; sisters Erna Giest, Norma Dunkley, Bertha Haberman and Alice Cheetham; brothers Orland Kitsch and Mervin Kitsch; brothers-in-law Dan Giest, Roy Dunkley, William Haberman, Fred Cheetham, Paul (Frances) Ripa, Ron Anstey and Paul Kryski; sister-in-law Alice Kitsch; and nieces Donna Giest and Amy Ostafie.

In keeping with Calvin's wishes, there will be a small service held in the spring of 2022 in Saskatchewan.

Those who wish to donate in memory of Calvin, may do so at the Canadian Liver Foundation (liver.ca/how-you-help/ways-to-donate) as a token of remembrance.

STEWART - Lenora “Lenore” Stewart passed away peacefully on Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at the age of 89 years. She was born in the Hamton District to John and Helen Achtymichuk and completed her schooling in Yorkton. Lenora met the love of her life, Brent Stewart, at a card game her brother Alfie was hosting in their family home. When she was eighteen years old Brent and Lenore eloped to be married and years later, they welcomed their only daughter, Jodi May, to complete their family union. As a kind person, with a strong business sense and wonderful people skills, Lenore was successful in anything she put her mind to. Early in their marriage Brent and Lenore lived in Winnipeg where she worked in a furniture store. Upon their return to Yorkton, they began their own business called Nu-Way Dry Cleaners. Lenore would get to work early in the morning to start the laundry process, rush home to get Jodi ready for school, and head back to the business for a full day of work and service to others. Following the closure of their dry-cleaning business, they enjoyed running a Hobby Shop. She spent 47 years of her life in business and was regarded as a strong business woman with a generous soul. Upon retirement, Lenore enjoyed traveling to many places including her dream trip to Hawaii. Throughout her life Lenore loved keeping busy with many hobbies such as needlepoint, knitting, sewing, beading, latchhooking rugs, playing cards - especially Bridge, doing Tai Chi, reading and bird watching. She will be cherished and always remembered for her hard-work ethic, empathy and class. Lenora is pre-deceased by her parents John and Helen Achtymichuk; husband Brent; brother and sister-inlaw Alfie and Georgina Achtymichuk. Left to cherish her memory and honour her life are her daughter Jodi; sister Bernice; special niece Margo (Curtis) and their family; numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. The funeral service was held on Monday, January 3 2022 from the Yorkton Memorial Gardens Family Centre. Crystal Bailey officiated. Music played was ‘Ava Maria’, ‘You Raise Me Up’ and ‘Amazing Grace’. The interment took place in the Garden of St. Mark with daughter Jodi as the urnbearer. Memorials were to the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

Condolences can be left at baileysfuneralhome.com

POZNIAK - Olga Pozniak of Yorkton, recent widow of Paul Pozniak passed away peacefully on December 21, 2021 at the age of 79.

The oldest of four daughters, Olga was born on August 22, 1942 in Preeceville, SK to Harry and Mary (Diakow) Wiwchar. Olga grew up on the family farm in the Hazel Dell area and attended the Halycry school. She did extremely well at school and was even promoted ahead one grade. Later, she attended school in Preeceville then Canora, living with her grandmother while going to school there.

Olga finished her high school diploma at Sacred Heart Academy in Yorkton. Being the oldest sibling, growing up on a farm created plenty of responsibilities for Olga and she cheerfully managed to handle all of them. She would help her father by driving the tractor during seeding/harvesting and helped with managing the cattle. Olga also played a big part in raising her younger sisters who looked up to her as a second mother. Despite all of the chores and duties at home, Olga still had time for social activities and sports – she loved dances and softball in particular. While attending her final year in Yorkton, she carpooled with fellow student Sylvia Pozniak for rides back to the farm on the weekends. It became obvious that Paul, Sylvia’s older brother, was always offering to pick them up and drive them back. This was the beginning of a lifelong relationship. Paul and Olga eventually began dating but had to continue over long distances. Olga attended business college in Saskatoon and Paul worked out of the province. Eventually, they both ended up back on the farm and were ready to settle down. On July 21, 1962, they were married in Preeceville, SK and soon after moved to Regina. Over the next ten years, Paul and Olga expanded their family with four children - Cindy, Rick, Brian and Blaine. In 1972, the family moved to Yorkton, where they built many memories. As when she was young, Olga continued to prove how she could masterfully juggle so many of life’s challenges. She raised four children, had a decades-long career at Zellers and was active in the community. She was a wonderful baker, and her quilts were works of art. She was a proud member of the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League and volunteered at the church hall and hospital for many years. She loved attending her grandkid’s school or sporting events whenever possible. Olga was predeceased by her loving husband of 59 years, Paul; parents Harry and Mary Wiwchar; brothers and sistersin-law Mike Pozniak, Peter Pozniak, Joe Pozniak, Steve Pozniak, Ethel Gulka, Florence Bilan, Steve Gulka, George Bilan and Marie Pozniak; grandson John Bryksa. Olga will always be fondly remembered by her large, loving family: children Cindy (Grant) Bryksa, Rick (Terri) Pozniak, Brian (Cathy) Pozniak and Blaine (Mary) Pozniak; grandchildren Tammie (Chad) Park, Mike (Amanda) Bryksa, Dave (Katrina) Bryksa, Kylie (Jordan) Carstairs, Hayden Pozniak, Victoria Iris, Jessica Iris, Alysha Forester and Matthew Forester; great grandchildren Jadyn Park, Tate Park, Colby Buck, Brayden Buck, Emerson Park, Izibella Bryksa, Ajay Bryksa, Emma Bryksa and Aliza Bryksa; sisters Sylvia (Ron) Holmes, Violet (Gerry) Schwitzer, and Verna (Glenn) Bird; brothers and sisters-in-law Al (Mary) Pozniak, Sylvia (Roger) Olynyk and Jerry (Shirley) Pozniak, Jennie Pozniak and Olga Pozniak; as well as the many more relatives and friends that Olga lovingly touched during her lifetime. The Funeral Liturgy was held on Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Yorkton with Rev. Father Leonid Malkov, C.Ss.R. as the Celebrant. The responses were led by Lorne Stechyshyn and St. Mary’s Funeral Choir members. The cross bearer was Izibella Bryksa and the epistle reader was Violet Schwitzer. Members of the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League participated in an honour guard in respect to Olga. Words of remembrance were shared in a eulogy by Brian Pozniak. The interment followed in the Garden of Gethsemane at Yorkton Memorial Gardens with Mike Bryksa, Dave Bryksa, Hayden Pozniak, Tammie/Emerson Park, Kylie Carstairs, Colby Buck, Brayden Buck and Ajay Bryksa serving as the casket bearers. Memorials may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation as gifts of remembrance. Condolences to the family can be posted at baileysfuneralhome.com

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Wednesday, January 5, 2022 | www.YorktonThisWeek.com | Yorkton This Week Obituaries

Obituaries

GAWDUN - Kelly Gawdun passed away at the Yorkton & District Nursing Home on December 22, 2021. He was 68 years of age.

Kelly was born on March 9, 1953 in Yorkton, to parents Alexander and Mary (Kowula) Gawdun. He went to school in Yorkton and graduated from the Yorkton Regional High School. As a teenager, Kelly was involved in numerous sports, hockey, baseball, and golfing and won many awards. Kelly worked on the family farm. They were grain farmers and turkey producers. He won many awards for his turkeys at Agribition in Regina.

He worked for a moving company, travelling across Canada. Kelly was also a drywaller and worked all over the Western Provinces and the North West Territories for many years. He succumbed to injury while drywalling which left him disabled. Kelly was adventurous.

He loved fishing with family, camping and hunting and travelled to many countries including; Cuba, Dominican Republic and U.S.A., as well as travelled across Canada from one coast to the other coast. He enjoyed family gatherings and hosting BBQ’s for the family. Kelly was predeceased by his brother Wayne (1997), father Alex (1998), mother Mary (2002) and sister Joan from Kamloops (2013). He is survived by his brother Wilfred Gawdun (Kamloops), sister Virginia Pickard (Yorkton), brother in law Dave Pitts (Kamloops), nephews; Glen, Jason, Troy, Shawn and Ryan, nieces; Tracy, Shanley and Renee, great nephews; Marcus, Matthew, Clark, Tyler and Ryan, great nieces; Megan, Adye, Kerri and Maya, and a great great niece and nephew Keltie and Connor. The Funeral Service was held on Wednesday, December 29, 2021 from the Yorkton Memorial Gardens Family Centre with Crystal Bailey, certified celebrant officiating. Music shared was, “Life Everlasting in Paradise”, “O Walk with God” and “He will Call”. The interment followed in the Garden of St. Matthew, Yorkton Memorial Gardens with Glen Pickard serving as urn bearer. Memorial donations may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation as gifts of remembrance. Condolences may be left for the family at www.baileysfuneralhome.com.

CHORNEY - On Wednesday, December 22, 2021, Metro Chorney, loving husband of Dorothy, and father of four daughters, passed away peacefully in the Yorkton and District Nursing Home. He went home to meet his Lord and Savior at the age of 95 years. Metro was born and raised on the family farm north of Rhein. Metro and his mom moved into Rhein, while he continued farming. On July 17, 1965 he married his sweetheart, Dorothy Koutny, and they were blessed with four daughters. After selling the farm, Metro began working at Morris Rod Weeder on the assembly line, a job he took great pride in. Pranks and laughter filled his shifts. He worked there for 19 years. Upon his retirement at the age of 65, he enjoyed many wonderful years filled with friends and family, grandchildren, lots of card games, fishing expeditions, hot weather destinations, bike rides, coffee gatherings, hockey games, dancing, harmonica playing and many giggles! Attending church was very important to Metro. He lived out his faith in God. Metro was predeceased by his parents, Wasyl and Polly Chorney, his step-father, Sam Lepowick, and his sister, Mary. Left with many wonderful, cherished memories are his wife of 56 years, Dorothy, his daughters and their families, Cindi, Emilee, Erin and Isaac Thorhaug; Crystal (Brent), Miranda, Kelsey and Bradley Elmy; Carla (Peter), Ryan and Jenna Ehrmauntraut, and Corlee (Jeremy), Jordan (Aimee), Brooklyn and Courtney Knodel. Metro is survived by his four brothers, John (Margaret); Mike (Linda), Joe (Marlene), Alex (Mary), a sister, Rosie and their families. He also leaves behind extended family members. The family would like to thank the staff at the Nursing Home for their love and care for Metro. Thank you to Baileys for all their compassion, understanding and patience. Thank you also to all that shared in Metro’s life. The Funeral Service was held on Monday, December 27, 2021 from Ebenezer Baptist Church. The speaker was Baron Stricker. Tributes were given by Metro’s family. Hymns shared were, “Little Church in the Wildwood”, “Amazing Grace” and “Just As I Am” with Elaine Patzer as organist and Diane Weinmaster as pianist. Harmonica music by Metro was also shared. The interment was held at the Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Yorkton & District Nursing Home, Gideon’s International or the Good Spirit Bible Camp as gifts of remembrance Condolences may be left for the family at www.baileysfuneralhome.com.

Obituaries

Obituaries

BUCKLE - On Dec 27 2021 Raymond passed away peacefully at the Yorkton Union Hospital at the age of 88. Raymond was born February 17, 1933 at the Yorkton Hospital to Samuel and Patricia Buckle. He was raised on the family farm 6 miles south of Yorkton. In 1974 he married Avis Buckle and instantly became a father to Blaine and Wade. Ray had a life-long career as a farmer and especially a cattleman. His passion for the cattle industry and any new ways for technology and marketing proved to be successful for him. Raymond’s kindness and generosity was felt by many, if it was just for his advice he was always willing to help. Raymond and Avis truly had a wonderful 28 years together.

Whether it was travelling, visiting friends and family or just going for a drive around the farm looking at the wildlife, it was doing things together and enjoying tremendously.

Avis passed away in 2002. His life changed tremendously and being alone, focused his time on driving out to the farm at least 2 times a day just checking to see how things were going. Up until a year ago he spent countless hours on his side by side and snowmobile. During the summer checking cows & fixing fence or trying to eliminate gophers with his 22.

Winter time coyotes were in big trouble with his shotgun and snowmobile.

In Raymond’s later years he still enjoyed travelling, he went on a safari in Africa, a tour of Australia and New Zealand and his final trip took him to China where he was able to help oversee cattle feeding that his brother and son were involved with. Friends and family were extremely important to Raymond, seeing his grandsons grow into men gave him a great feeling of accomplishment. Besides his wife Avis, Raymond was predeceased by his parents Samuel and Patricia Buckle; brother Farley Buckle; grandson Clinton Buckle; and daughter-in-law Chantelle Kirkham. Left to cherish his memories are sons Blaine (Glenda) and Wade (Phoebe); grandson Justin (Jessica) and their sons Paxton and Knighton, and grandsons Steven, Brennen and Graham. Also two brothers: Robert (Cynthia) & Sam (Helene); two sisters: Betty McLean & Sherry Morris; numerous nieces, nephews and his many other relatives and friends. The funeral service was held on Friday, December 31 2021 from the Yorkton Memorial Gardens Family Centre. Doreen Day officiated, with a tribute to Ray given by son Blaine, and a eulogy given by longtime family friend Richard Hornung. Music played was ‘Desperados Waiting for a Train’, ‘Old Dogs, Children & Watermelon Wine’, and ‘We’ll Meet Again’. The interment took place in the Yorkton City Cemetery with grandsons Brennen, Graham, Steven and Justin Buckle serving as the casketbearers. Memorials were to the Yorkton & District Nursing Home. The family would like to thank the staff of the Yorkton and District Nursing Home who Raymond spoke of very highly for their wonderful care. Also thank you to Bailey’s for their compassion. Thank you to those who attended the service in person and to those who watched the live video stream. Condolences can be left at baileysfuneralhome.com

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The sun still rises in the east and darkness falls at night but nothing now seems quite the same each day is not as bright.

The birds still sing, the flowers grow the breeze still whispers, too but it will never, ever be the same world without you.

It’s so sad that you had to go your leaving caused such pain but you were so very special and earth’s loss is heaven’s gain.

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KUZMAK - The family of Eva J. Kuzmak sadly announces her passing on December 28, 2021, at the Centennial Care Home, Langenburg, SK. She was 88 years old. A memorial service will be held at a future date in 2022, details to be finalized. Eva was the third child and only daughter born to Monarch (formerly Haner) (nee Finch) and Warren Rice, in Lavallee, Ontario. She also had 7 half siblings from her mother’s first marriage. During her teenage years and into her 20’s, her jobs included working at a bakery (she once said she actually got tired of donuts) and at the Fort Frances, Ontario town newspaper. On May 2, 1961, she married Albert (Abb) Kuzmak. They had 2 children – Susan and David. In July 1968, the family moved to Wroxton, SK for Abb’s job. They moved into Yorkton, SK in July 1981, after a change to Abb’s job. It was a happy time for the family as this was the first house they owned together. They resided there until Eva became a resident of the Yorkton Nursing Home in May of 2012. After her husband moved into the Centennial Care Home in Langenburg in April 2020, Eva was able to join him here in August 2020, where they were together until her passing. Eva was an avid knitter. When living in Ontario, she began knitting baby outfits for the hospital where her children were born. After moving to Saskatchewan, she continued to knit these baby outfits and send them back to the hospital in Ontario. Later, she started knitting newborn baby hats, and this became her pride and joy. She donated these hats to the hospital back in Ontario and then to the Yorkton Regional Hospital. Her claim to fame was being featured in an article in Our Canada magazine as a “Crafty Canadian”. In her lifetime, she knit over 2500 baby hats. Eva and Abb enjoyed 10 pin bowling in Ontario, but then switched to 5 pin bowling in Yorkton once moving to Saskatchewan. She was very dedicated to bowling in the Tuesday afternoon Ladies League and she was proud of her perfect attendance over the many years. Before automated score keeping, she volunteered as a score keeper for many bowling tournaments. After living in Yorkton for a few years, she started working part time at Agnew Surpass Shoe Stores in Parkland Mall. She enjoyed helping customers find appropriate footwear and get a good fit.

She had much success in part time shoe sales. When her arthritis became too much, she reluctantly gave up bowling and her job at Agnew Surpass. She also enjoyed Saturday night suppers out with Abb, visits with her children and grandchildren, going to garage sales with her neighbour Jean, going to “coffee row” at Dairy Queen, and reading ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ books. She is survived by her husband Abb of 60 years, her daughter Susan, her son David and his fiancé Margaret, grandsons John Kuzmak and Joel Kuzmak, and brother Bruce Rice. She was also an aunt, great aunt and great-great aunt. She was predeceased by her parents Warren and Monarch Rice, brother Dale Rice, daughter-inlaw Ann Kuzmak and her extended Kuzmak family. To leave a condolence for the family, please contact www.christiesfuneralhome.com. We also encourage you to listen to a Scottish bagpipe version of “Amazing Grace”, which was her favourite.

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BELANGER - Born to Bridgette Whitehawk and Aaron Belanger of Yorkton, SK, a daughter Sapphira Rose Belanger, on Tuesday, December 7, 2021.

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Apartments/Condos for Rent 1 BEDROOM Apartment with balcony Available December. No Pets. Call Kim 306-621-5050.

2 BEDROOM Apartment with balcony. Pets Allowed. Available Immediately. Phone Kim 306-6215050.

NEWLY RENOVATED 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartment on Dalebrooke Drive. Available December. Call Kim 306-621-5050.

RENOVATED 2 Bedroom Apartment on Dalebrooke Drive.

Available December. Call Kim 306-621-5050.

FOR SALE BY TENDER, farmland owned by the Estate of Lila Cherniawsky, located in the R.M. of Preeceville, No. 334 legally described as: SE 22-35-04 W2 Ext 0 Surface Parcel #142102437 (approx. 150 cultivated acres) SW 22-35-04 W2 Ext 0 Surface Parcel #142102448 (approx. 150 cultivated acres, 1000 sq. ft. house, bins, shop, water well, barn, granaries, fuel tank building, misc. buildings) The seller will only accept tenders on both properties as one package.

All tenders must grant seller exclusive possession of all buildings and yard site located on SW 22-35-04 W2 until July 31, 2022 to remove personal items.

Tender packages are available to interested parties by contacting: SHAWN PATENAUDE LAW Tel. (306) 782-4901 Email: reception@shawnpatenaudelaw.com Pick-up at #9-259 Hamilton Rd, Yorkton, SK S3N 4C6 OR 24 Main St N, Preeceville, SK S0A 3B0 All tenders must be received at one of the above addresses by 4:00 p.m. on January 14, 2022.

(Sale subject to probate and beneficiary consent) Highest or any tender will not necessarily be accepted

Yorkton This Week | www.YorktonThisWeek.com | Wednesday, January 5, 2022 Houses For Rent

Feed & Seed

BEAUTIFUL 2 or 3 bedroom townhouse; 1200 sq.ft., close to schools & hospital. Pictures can be viewed on Kijiji under Houses For Rent Yorkton. Call George at 306-537-3228

Wanted to Buy WANTED: Looking for someone to read Tarot Cards. Must be accurate.

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ACORN STAIRLIFT SUPER SLIDE 120, rail length 148”, 8 years old. Asking $1100.00.

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DRIVE MEDICAL TITAN AXS midwheel power chair. Used indoors only for 2 months. List price $3200.00 asking $2400.00.

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PRIDE VICTORY 10-4 wheel scooter, 4 years old. Asking $1500.00. Phone: 306-548-4674.

WALK-IN MEAT COOLER, 6’x8’ including compressor and wiring.

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Farm Implements FOR SALE! 2017 Kubota m6-141 tractor, loader & grapple. 3500hrs, excellent condition, well maintained. Asking $95,000 OBO. Call/text: 204-648-7136

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LOW Continued from page A10 He noted it will take many years to recharge moisture and build up reserves for the future.

In 2020, even though it was hot and dry, most farmers managed to get an average crop because they had good sub-soil moistures and rain fell during the summer, benefitting crop growth.

This year was a different story — the subsoil moisture had been depleted, and muchneeded rains did not appear for the most part in May, June and July.

These dangerous factors were only exacerbated by multiple days of temperatures reaching 30 C or warmer, hurting the crops.

Farmers across the Prairies faced this problem in 2021, causing a huge impact around the country, Fossay said, especially because Alberta and Saskatchewan experienced even harsher weather compared to Manitoba.

Western Canada typically produces 21 tonnes of canola and exports about 12 million tonnes out of the country, fuel-

ling trade, the economy and job growth.

This year saw only 12.5 million tonnes of canola produced, most of which will be processed in Canada and only a little bit will be exported.

“The hurt is very big,” Fossay said. “That means there’s less work for people at the elevators. There’s less work for the railway companies. There’s less work at the terminals. At some point, and it hasn’t happened yet, some of these businesses might be looking at laying off workers — that has an impact on everybody.”

He added these factors also make Canada a less dependable supplier of grain to international markets, which could lead to other countries buying wheat, grain and barley elsewhere.

Fossay said climatologists and others who examine weather patterns seem to indicate extreme weather may become the norm in the future.

“If you believe that global warming is occurring, [climatologists] say we’re going to see more extreme weather events

— we’re going to see more droughts. They could be longer droughts, they could be severe droughts, but we’ll also see the opposite, something like we saw in B.C., where we could see more rainfall in some years and more localized flooding in some years.”

The volatile and unpredictable weather will force farmers and consumers to find ways to adjust to changing weather patterns and the higher risks they will be exposed to — this includes looking at changing production

C & G SHUTTLE 1-306-647-3333 (cell) 1-306-620-3521 Airports, medical or shopping trips, up to 5 people.

Auctions QUICK SOLD AUCTION serving SE Saskatchewan. Let us help you get the best price in the least amount of time. Get Canada and USA wide coverage on our Online auction. Specializing in estate, antiques, collectable’s and vintage sales of all kinds. Certified antique and personal property appraiser.

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Smart shoppers find the best buys in the Yorkton This Week Classifieds.

General Employment

General Employment

Sun County Well Servicing in Estevan is looking for staff to join their team.

We are seeking floorhands and derrickhands. Preference will be given to applicants with experience, or a 1A or 3A license. H2S, First Aid training and a valid driver’s license are required. Starting wage is $31 per hour. We supply PPE and currently have a hiring bonus of $1000.

Please contact Shannon at

306-634-1221 or 306-421-3418 for more details.

NOW HIRING We are accepting applications for a

FRONT OFFICE POSITION This individual is often the first point of contact with the Company. As such, exceptional customer service and communication skills are needed in order to effectively and confidently assist with a wide range of needs. Past experience in a direct customer service role working with a diverse range of clients is required.

Related duties will be assigned. These may include support to the sales and editorial departments, accounting tasks, and data entry projects. The ideal candidate will also possess good computer skills and good keyboarding skills. A proven ability to work independently with a high degree of accuracy and confidentiality on multiple duties is an important skill for this position.

This is a permanent part time position.

Please send your resume along with a cover letter to John Bauman at jbauman@yorktonthisweek.com

practices and finding how moisture can be preserved in the soil.

“Farming is always evolving. Farmers are always adapting to change. Whether it’s changes to the crops we grow, changes to how we market our grain or changes in weather patterns. We will try and adapt. Hopefully, we are successful, but if we’re not successful, we have to hope that government and consumers can help us through the bad years so that we’re still here when we have better times.”

PLAN OF THE WEEK

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PLAN NUMBER 1-3674 ROOM FOR GROWING FAMILY The plans for this home include an unfinished basement, which could serve has extra storage space, more room for a growing family or a secondary suite for revenue.

The covered entry leads into a foyer with a coat closet ahead on the right. Across from the closet is an L-shaped stairway to the unfinished basement, separated from the great room by a half wall.

The great room, with sliding glass doors to a covered deck, includes a

gas fireplace, making the room a magnet for family activities in the cooler months. The covered deck will be ideal for al fresco meals and yearround grilling.

A large window in the open plan dining area looks out to the back garden. An optional buffet offers extra space for serving and storage.

The kitchen is divided from the great room and dining area by a work island with double sinks and space for the dishwasher. This will allow the after-meal clean-up crew to watch TV while they work. They will also appreciate the walk-in pantry and the L-shaped

counter configuration, which will save steps.

Off the kitchen is the laundry room, which includes a shelf for sorting and folding. A coat closet will provide space for gear, and the doorway to the double garage means the laundry room can double as a mud room.

The master bedroom is reached through a square archway from the great room. Overlooking the back garden, it includes an ensuite as well as a spacious walk-in closet.

The ensuite boasts a soaker tub in its own bayedout niche, as well as a shower stall. The double basins will ease the morn-

ing rush-hour.

The two secondary bedrooms, also reached through a square archway, share a three-piece bathroom. Bedroom No. 3 has a built-in desk and bedroom No. 4 features an extra-wide window sill.

A linen closet is located near the entrance to the master bedroom.

Exterior finishes include wood siding with painted trim and brick accents. The gable ends are clad in wooden shingles and feature decorative brackets. The painted wood pilasters that flank the entrance have brick bases, echoing the brickwork on either side of the garage door.

This home measures 40 feet wide and 65 feet, four inches deep. Ceilings are all nine feet high.

Living space, not including the unfinished basement, totals 1,646 square feet.

Plans for design 1-3674 are available for $855 (set of 5), $920 (set of 8) and $972 for a super set of 10. Also add $35.00 for Priority charges within B.C. or $60.00 outside of B.C. Please add H.S.T., PST, OR G.S.T (where applicable) to both the plan price and Priority charges.

Our 52ND Anniversary Edition of the Home Plan Catalogue containing over 400 plans is available for $15.50 (includes taxes, postage and handling). Make all cheque and money orders payable to “Jenish House Design Ltd.” and mail to: JENISH HOUSE DESIGN LTD. c/o...Yorkton This Week #201- 1658 Commerce Ave Kelowna, BC V1X 8A9 OR SEE OUR WEB PAGE ORDER FORM ON: www.jenish.com AND E-MAIL YOUR ORDER TO: homeplans@ jenish.com

Kaleidoscope

Wednesday, January 5, 2022 www.yorktonthisweek.com

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ART • ENTERTAINMENT • COMMUNITY

Children’s book helps with discussing death

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer Carla Mitchell, originally from the Preeceville area has a new children’s book out.

The book; ‘I Am Here For You: A Story to Support Your Grieving Child Through Death From Suicide’ has been self-published under the business name Puddle Jumper Publishing.

The story is available in three pronoun options to discuss the person who died: he/she/they.

“The story is designed to open a conversation between a grieving child and their caring adult; parent, other family member, teacher, counsellor, etc.,” explained Mitchell who now lives in Brandon.

“The story uses nature elements and child friendly rhymes to guide a direct, concrete and supportive conversation about death from suicide and feelings of grief.”

For the story Mitchell relies on her training to help create a helpful book including a Children’s Grief Certificate through Andrea Warnick Consulting.

“I am a social worker and end of life doula,” she explained. “In my clinical practice I specialize in providing bereavement support services to individuals and families through resource navigation and programming.”

“The story is based on the five Cs of children’s grief and provides a framework for the reader to address the five most common concerns of grieving children: Did I cause it? Can I catch it?

Can I cure it? Who will care for me? How will I stay connected?

“The story includes information about children’s grief, suggestions to support a grieving child, resources for caring adults to link into and a place for the child to capture their favourite memories/photos.”

The books are appropriate for children 4-12, this is the age groups where children need help understanding what death is, that it is permanent, that they did not cause it to happen.

While not being formally trained as a writer, Mitchell said it has always been an interest.

“As a youth, I participated in the Saskatchewan Writer Guild Teen Writing Experience. I have always enjoyed creative

writing and public speaking,” she said.

With that interest Mitchell said she felt the book was one she had to tackle.

“It is very difficult to talk about death with children,” she said.

“As adults we want to protect kids from hard things and try to shield them from death.

“But, one-in-14 children will experience the death of a parent or sibling before the age of 18 -- not including grandparents, other family members, friends, neighbors, pets, etc. -- so it is a reality that many parents must face.

“In our society, we try hard to avoid talking about death and like to use a lot of euphuisms ‘he went to sleep’, ‘we lost him’, etc. For kids this can be incredibly confusing and they often do not get the information they need to help them process death. When kids clearly understand what happened, that death is permanent and that their feelings are normal; they are better able to move forward with their grief experience.

The books help bring a shared language to the child and their caring adult, allowing them to have conversations about their experience and feelings.”

Asked about the book, Mitchell said it is hoped

Submitted Photo

Carla Mitchell to be only the first of a series she has planned.

“This story is the first in a collection of storybooks coming to the Puddle Jumper Publishing collection,” she said. “Future topics will include: death from substance use, death from natural causes, death from stillbirth

and death from medical assistance in dying.

“I was inspired to write these stories when we experienced a death in my own family and I needed to inform my young children what happened. I looked for a children’s book that would address death in concrete, direct, yet

child friendly terms and I couldn’t find anything. So I set out to write my own.

“I am very passionate about increasing death literacy -- the language skills to allow people to talk about and engage with death and grief -- so storybooks seems like a natural progression.”

In spite of what might be seen as a difficult topic, Mitchell said the story actually came together quite smoothly.

“I really enjoy writing and creating,” she said.

“The pictures in the book are real life things, made from trees, stickers, playdough, etc. Things that kids know, recognize and can engage with -- my own children helped in the creating process! I felt this was important because the purpose of the books is to be real and concrete, so this theme is present in the words and the pictures.

“The writing is playful and fun, but also based on grief theory and best practice approaches.

“The content was reviewed by grief experts in the field as well as real families who have been in the position of explaining death from suicide to a child. This peer review process is very important to me when I am designing the books.”

So, what was the most challenging aspect of the project?

“Finding the balance between being direct and honest, but also childfriendly and approachable,” said Mitchell.

“Death from suicide is a difficult topic and it is important to write in a way that honours the truth, but does not make assumptions about what happened.

“The story defines what suicidal thoughts are and death from suicide is -- suicide is when someone causes their own body to stop working -- it is up to the caring adult to flush out the details.

“There are prompts and guidance within the story to help the reader along with that.

“Having families review and critique the content was very helpful in achieving this balance.

“The best aspect of the book is having a tangible tool that can be used to open up these difficult conversations between a grieving child and their caring adult. The book is really saying to the child that you will be included, your feelings matter and we can talk about this together. It can be so hard to find the words to start this conversation, books are a beautiful way to connect.”

The books are written in first person so that the reader can guide the conversation, for example: the opening lines ‘A sad thing has happened, come sit by my side, when you want to talk, about your person who died. The reader can sub out the words ‘your person’ for the deceased persons name or title. The books are designed to be read by someone without specific grief training, such as parents, other family members teachers, counsellors, etc. inside of the books they will find a reader’s guide, conversational prompts on each page and a listing of resources where they can learn more about kid’s grief.

Mitchell said she has had many requests for future topic, including death from natural causes and death from substance use.

“I am presently working on these two titles as the next books in the collection,” she said.

The books are currently available for world-wide distribution on Amazon or by visiting www.puddlejumperpublishing.com A donation from each story will go towards support children’s grief programs.

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Scott loves Christian music

Yorkton This Week | www.YorktonThisWeek.com | Wednesday, January 5, 2022

“People love lists,” I heard my friend Scott Fitzsimmons say during a radio interview on Yorkton’s 98.5 The Rock FM. Jordan, his friend and colleague, wanted the station’s audience to hear about Scott’s newly established YouTube channel, “Scott loves Christian Music.”

He won’t be ranking the albums and titles he plays, he told Jordan.

There are too many opinions out there. Someone would get offended.

He’ll simply play and talk about the music that means the most to him.

What Scott says is worth listening to. He knows modern Christian music better than most of us. He used to manage

The Rock, the only commercial Christian radio station in the area. His thoughtful, skilled work helped make it what it is today, fifteen years after it began broadcasting.

Scott’s new broadcasting journey doesn’t surprise me. He was one of the first to encourage me to air my short radio spots, Simple Words.

After studio tapings, we sometimes visited in his office. I loved those conversations about faith, life and writing.

A cancer diagnosis altered Scott’s and his family’s lives forever.

These five hundred words can’t explain the agonizing journey, which included countless rounds of treatment,

KATHLEEN GIBSON Sunny Side Up has inspired readers of faith since 2001. Read more at www.kathleengibson.ca or reach Kathleen at sunnysideup.press@gmail.com

Sunny Side Up months in hospital and a stem cell transplant.

Gone was the life he and his wife Sharlene had previously, the status quo allowed most families. Beautiful years with normal ups and downs. (Funny how normal never seems sweet until it slips away as easily as water down the drain.) Sharlene became, in essence, a chauffeur

(taking Scott back and forth to medical facilities), while single parenting their three youngsters. Family life became laser focused on getting Daddy through.

Scott’s years of treatments have altered him forever. His cancer is in remission, but his treatments brought collateral damage. Among other things like severe

back and leg issues, they messed with his eyes.

Now legally blind, he’s adjusting to a world without the sight that enabled him to skillfully navigate life and work and family.

But Scott is clearly forging forward, grateful to God and countless others who have cared, prayed, and assisted in getting him thus far. His YouTube channel proves that. Goodness, my friend could be making lists of other kinds. Likely there are days he’s tempted to do so. Lists such as: Ten Ways Hospitals Can Kill You. Fourteen Reasons to Give Up. Five things I Hate About Being Disabled. Fifty Painless Ways to Leave Your Faith.

A15

Instead, Scott is proving that as a follower of Jesus Christ, his security and self-worth doesn’t rest in what can be taken away, but what can never be removed: God’s love and sufficient grace. He’s making lists of songs by musicians who sing and play for Jesus; Christian music that helps people keep going when they’d rather stop. Songs that remind them that when life shatters, God can make mosaics from the pieces. That there’s a Divine Companion on all our bumpy roads. Music that glorifies not the artists, but the God he loves to share. The Lord who is helping him through, and can do the same for us all.

Snow actually protects wintering plants Even though winter officially began on December 21, probably most of us feel like we have been having winter for quite a long time already! The snowfalls of the past week or two have certainly changed our gardening landscape. I read an interesting factoid about the snow: it makes a great “mulch” for our plants in the garden because it is like Mother Nature’s own insulation for the plants.

But it is also good for the garden: it keeps the ground frozen, and that protects our perennials.

Repeated freezing and thawing does more harm to our plants than consistent cold. So the lavish snowfalls we have had will be a good blanket for our outdoor plants.

And what about those plants that we brought indoors in the fall?

Depending on the setup you have for your plants, some might be looking quite good if they are under grow lights. But for many of us, those plants are starting to look a

little ragged and tired!

They don’t look like the lush specimens that we brought in three months ago!

What can we do for our plants? Most of them would like as much light as we can give them.

They might not like being in a very sunny window, but they would like nice gentle light.

We should be on the lookout for any visitors on our plants. We should check the leaves regularly and watch for any sign of pests like aphids.

If we see them, a nice little bath with insecticidal soap will take care of the problem.

We should also keep the containers tidy, and remove any fallen leaves.

The plants have gone through a big change in their environment when we moved them indoors, and it is only natural that some leaves will fall. Not only are they getting less light, but the temperature in a house with central heating is very different from the temperature fluctuations outdoors. So don’t

DEBBIE HAYWARD YORKTON AND DISTRICT HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

Gardener’s Notebook panic if a few leaves fall.

One thing we have to be watchful for is not to water our plants too much.

When our plants were outdoors with the sun beaming down on them and the summer winds drying out the soil, it is quite different than being indoors. And we have to remember that they are not growing in the same way as they were outside.

So we have to be sure not to get too generous with the watering can.

As a treat for the plants, we can give them some fertilizer as a little winter tonic. And if the plants are starting to look quite bedraggled, we might want to consider cutting them back so that their energy is going into

fresh new growth, rather than going into straggling stems that will likely get cut off later anyway.

And just as our plants

have to adjust to being inside for the winter, they will have to re-adjust all over again when the time comes for them to be returned to the great outdoors. We can talk about that when spring gets a little closer. As of today, January 5, the first day of spring 2022 is 74 days away. Gardeners always look ahead!

For our gardening friends who are celebrating Ukrainian Christmas this week, Khrystos

Rozhdayetsia, Christ is Born. Have a beautiful celebration of this special time.

Visit the Yorkton hort society at www.yorktonhort.ca and see some great holiday plant photos; thanks to our members who submitted photos and to our creative webmaster John who put it all together! Keep visiting our site, there is always something new!

Thank you to our friends at YTW for their

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL CHURCH TO CONFIRM EVENTS DUE TO COVID - 19 PRAIRIE HARVEST CHRISTIAN LIFE CENTRE .FMSPTF "WFOVF r 1)0/& Senior Pastors Des & Cheryl Klingspon &NQMPZNFOU 1SPHSBN

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109 Maple Avenue, Yorkton Senior Pastors Dag & Bukky Lawale &WFSZ 4VOEBZ 8PSTIJQ 4FSWJDF BU B N &WFSZ 8FEOFTEBZ #JCMF 4UVEZ BU Q N -BTU 'SJEBZ PG FBDI NPOUI 1SBZFS .FFUJOH BU Q N 'PS NPSF JOGPSNBUJPO QMFBTF QIPOF

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Seeking Your Own Happiness “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Acts 20:35 NIV

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Wednesday, January 5, 2022 | www.YorktonThisWeek.com | Yorkton This Week

WHEELCHAIR Continued from page A9 over fifty nations play wheelchair rugby. Its’ popularity has exploded since becoming a full Paralympic medal sport in 2000 and boosted further by the Academy Awardnominated Murderball.

“It’s the most-watched ... most-attended sport at the Paralympics,” Campbell told this journalist.

In 1995 wheelchair rugby appeared as a demonstration sport at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta.

The sport has had full medal status since the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia.

Asked why the sport has

grown so quickly, Campbell has an answer ready.

“I think it’s because it’s fast.

Its got a little bit of violence in it which people like,” he related.

The physical aspect perhaps came naturally to Campbell and the others coming from Canada where hockey is king.

Campbell said the sport also hits a sort of sweet middle when it comes to scoring.

“There’s never enough scoring in hockey and way too much in basketball,” he said, adding wheelchair rugby typically has 40 point scores, a bit higher at the top level of the game.

It helped too there were

para-athletes looking for a sport, “especially in the United States,” said Campbell.

“When the U.S. takes hold of something it grows.”

Initially, Campbell was a player.

“I was in it to play it,” he said, adding being part of the sport’s development in the early years came out of being an active player.

Campbell was a sort of ‘Johnny Appleseed’ of wheelchair rugby at the start. He moved to Edmonton and found the sport had not yet started there, so he kickstarted things.

A later move to B.C. found the wheelchair rugby organ-

ization with some obstacles “things that needed to be done,” he said, so he stepped up and got involved there too.

That would lead to an eventual job that lasted nearly a decade and a half working with the sport.

He has participated in every capacity from player to coach to administrator. He also served as a member of the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation, national development director for the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association, and committee member for the 2010 world wheelchair rugby championships.

In 2001, Canadian play-

ers changed the name of the national championship trophy to the Campbell Cup in his honour.

In 2013, Campbell received the prestigious Paralympic Order from Sir Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee.

So does Campbell have a vision of the sport’s future – a pro league perhaps?

Campbell said a pro league would be great but added “it’s not the end of my world.”

Now retired his vision is a broader base of grassroots wheelchair ruby, with “a team in every city ... people having a blast playing ... a tournament every weekend.”