Yorkton This Week 2022-12-07

YPL nominated for national award

By Tyson Off Staff Writer

YORKTON – The Yorkton Public Library has recently been select ed as one of the top four finalists for an award through the National Dementia-Friendly Communities Awards Program, according to a media release from the

YPL dated Dec. 1.

“The award is The Dementia-Friendly Organization (small to medium) award, which recognizes a not-for-prof it or for-profit organiza tion or business with less than 250 staff that has implemented a demen tia-friendly initiative,” continued the release.

“We didn’t do a pro

ject of our own but we participated in some projects that other local groups were doing — one of them was a facil ity audit by the city of Yorkton — they audited a number of their facilities to see how they rated as far as accessibility, com fort and safety for those facing dementia,” said Amber Harvery, Branch

Manager at the YPL.

After the results of the city’s audit, the YPL made small improve ments to the facility that were geared towards those living with demen tia.

“It grew from there –the Alzheimer’s Society supported our library – small steps that made a big impact,” said

Harvery.

“Some of these small steps are what got us on the radar for this national award which is Demetia Friendly Communities... they’re just trying to rec ognize all sizes of com munities and the work that they’re doing,” con tinued Harvery.

“We did the facility audit and we made the

changes right away — to signage, tripping hazards, just general things — we made those quickly,” said Harvey, adding, “that added up and turned into ‘make sure we have large print computers with large print keyboards’ — to make it welcome — to make it accessible for everybody,” noting that it

City water consumption and sewer rates to increase in 2023

By Tyson Off Staff Writer

YORKTON – Yorkton City Council voted unani mously at their Dec. 5 meeting to increase the water consumption and sewer rates.

“The 2023 proposed water consumption and sewer rate increase is 4.75%, and $3.00 residen tial base rate increase, which equates to an approximate combined increase of 7.6 to a resi dent or approximately

$5.00 a month. These figures were identi fied to develop the 2023 Operational and Capital budgets. The increase equates to approximately $300,000 of revenue to be used for water and sewer infrastructure projects,”

read the report, Proposed Bylaw No. 16/2022 - A Bylaw to Amend Bylaw No. 20/2006 for 2023 Water and Sewer Rates.

“The rates are con stantly going up — and I’m assuming that’s the trend everywhere —

and that’s solely to help replace infrastracture,” commented Councillor Darcy Zaharia.

“We know what the consumer price index is coming in at and inflation is 7 per cent, so a lot of our cost is going up strict

ly on increased cost,” said Aron Hershmiller, Assistant Director of Environmental Services, in his reply to Councillor Zaharia, adding, “this year we’re still looking at a net positive with 4.75

A2

Staff Photo by John Bauman

Fire on the west side

Fire crews were called to an apartment building at Ashwood and Riverview during the early morning hours of Dec. 5 to find the building fully engulfed in flames. Pictured here several hours later, the building continued to billow with smoke.

Continued from Page A1 was also important to have a quiet space for people to read without distractions.

The most import ant part of making the library more welcom ing to people living with dementia was the train ing provided to YPL staff by the Alzheimer’s Society. The training was specific in recogniz

ing dementia so the staff would know what was required to provide a better service.

“We got the commun ity consultant through the Alzheimer’s Society to put on training for our staff,” said Harvey, “when someone comes in with dementia — or any struggles — we can recognize it and we want to treat everyone with

any challenges appropri ately.”

The winner of the award will be announced at the beginning of January, but Harvey said the work they’ve put in to making the library more accessible is already inspiring neighbouring communities to do the same.

“For us, of course we’re helping the

patrons, but we’ve been inspiring some other libraries nearby – it helps everyone,” said Harvery, adding, “it only takes something small to be more welcoming.”

“We don’t want people with dementia to think they can’t go out and the library — to me — is of huge importance to their quality of life,” said Harvey, noting it’s import

ant for people living with dementia to know the library is a safe place that will present lesser challenges for them.

The Yorkton Public Library has been a part of the Dementia Supports in Rural Saskatchewan initiative since 2020 alongside a number of community agencies and organizations collaborat ing with the Alzheimer

Society of Saskatchewan including the City of Yorkton, SaskAbilities, the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery, and Parkland Valley District.

For more informa tion on the subject visit https://www.ruralde mentiask.ca/ and https:// alzheimer.ca/en/takeaction/become-demen tia-friendly/dementiafriendly-canada.

Continued from Page A1 per cent and a base-rate increase – if we can keep stepping up we’ll keep stepping up as minimally as we can...looking at our assets and managing the best we can.”

The detailed report confirmed that Yorkton’s water and sewer rates are lower than average among other cities in the province.

“For illustrative pur poses, we looked at the City of Yorkton’s pro posed 2023 rates and compared them with ten other Saskatchewan cities’ 2022 rates. When comparing Yorkton’s proposed base rate of $21.25/month to the

CITYother cities, you can see that Yorkton’s rate is significantly lower than the average base rate charge of $46.06 / month. Yorkton’s usage rate of $3.50 per cubic meter (m3) is also below the average of $3.86 /m3 when compared with the other communities,” detailed the report.

“By taking Yorkton’s average of 13 cubic meters (2,860 gallons) per household per month and using this figure, an aver age home in Yorkton can expect monthly cost of $66.75 compared to $61.67 in 2022. (*** Some home owners’ charges will be lower or higher than this amount, depending on

their usage, as we are using the actual averages for Yorkton.) When total ing the monthly usage with the base rate char ges (total monthly char ges), Yorkton is again well below the average with a monthly bill of $66.75/month compared to the average of $96.28 / month,” continued the report.

“There’s some really great numbers here to show how efficient we are,” commented Mayor Mitch Hippsley, adding, “I know that Yorkton is very fortunate to have an aquifer...we’ve got to pro tect our water or else we don’t have a city.”

“No one wants to see

increases — none of us here want to see increas es — but if this main tains where we’re at and keeps us on the positive side of things – I totally

support this,” said Mayor Hippsely, adding, “I do know — by the main taining of the mainten ance of the water — that’s why we’re attracting the

Province re-introduces changes for alcohol in outdoor parks

By John Cairns SASKTODAY.ca

REGINA -The provin cial government is once again re-introducing legislation to pave the way for municipalities and park authorities to designate outdoor parks for consumption of alco hol.

On Monday the gov ernment introduced legislation to amend the Alcohol and Gaming Regulation Act, 1997,

bringing in several chan ges to liquor regulations designed to remove restrictions. According to a news release they include:

1. Providing muni cipalities and park authorities discretion to designate outdoor public places such as parks for consumption of beverage alcohol by individuals of legal drinking age.

According to SLGA Minister Lori Carr in speaking to reporters,

municipalities will make the final determination.

“As opposed to us say ing, ‘this is going to be the new rule, and you’re going to have to deal with it,’ we’re going to let them decide what’s right for their community,” said Carr.

Carr told reporters municipalities will have the opportunity to draft their rules the way they want, if they feel it’s appropriate to allow alcohol in a park. If they don’t want that to hap

pen, they don’t have to, she said.

She said municipal ities who decide wheth er to allow that permit ting “will know whether people living in that com munity will be able to handle that responsibil ity.”

2. The regulations also will be simplifying recorking provisions for permittees. Right now you can recork a bottle of wine, but Carr said this would cover requests like ciders and beers.

3. The legislation will allow homemade beer, wine and cider to be served at family events that are permitted with a special occasion per mit, including prod ucts manufactured at a U-Brew or U-Vin facility.

According to the prov ince, currently you can make your own wine or beer and serve it at a private function such as a family supper. Right

now a function requiring a special occasion per mit needs to purchase one from a retail outlet, and currently you can not serve any home-pre pared alcohol at an event requiring a special per mit, such as weddings. The province states the changes brought in will allow home brewed alco hol to be served as long as it is free of charge.

A large print keyboard at the YPL used to assist people with dementia.

A quiet reading space was among the small changes the YPL made to accommo date those living with dementia.

ag businesses – that’s a huge factor which also brings great jobs to the City of Yorkton and that just spins into many dif ferent circles.”

Submitted Photo

Minister for Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority Lori Carr speaks to reporters Monday at the legislature on liquor changes.

Courtesy Council media package

Up Front

Yorkton Pay It Forward group heads Christmas Squad program

By Tyson Off Staff Writer

YORKTON – Local Facebook group, Pay It Forward Yorkton, cele brates the tenth year of their Christmas Squad program.

“This year is our ten year anniversary –we have more families than ever at this point in time,” said Shelly Ross, Administrator for and Creator of the Pay It Forward Yorkton group.

The group saw an influx of families in need

this year due to the high er prices of groceries among other things.

“Incredible volume this year — we might have served 50 fam ilies in the past — we have probably about 100 applications right now,” said Ross, adding, “you can definitely look at the economy and see where things are going — rents are up, cost of living is up, groceries are up — everything is up and there’s so little that so many of these people have trickle down to pay

for a Christmas.”

“We have pretty act ively matched most of them with sponsors in a very short period of time — the program is pretty well known and we still have a few that we have to match — but in gen eral things are getting covered,” said Ross.

“The way the program works is that we request families that are needing assistance to contact us via e-mail with a descrip tion of why they need access to the program and then we match them

with a sponsor to provide them with a Christmas meal hamper for their family and a family gift.”

“A very important part of our program is the sponsor is respon sible for shopping for the family and dropping off the hamper to the family — the reason for that is it’s pretty important to feel the other side of the program — so you can go out and spend this money and that’s a great thing but when you’re thanked by that family it can be emotional – it can

be a moment,” said Ross.

“It’s a really nice experience for families with kids as well – the experience of giving as much as receiving.”

Though the group acts charitably, Ross said they are not an active charity.

“This is a group of people – we don’t take cash from anyone, so how this works and how it remains legal is why the families and the busi nesses [that take part] shop for the family.”

“We don’t do cash donations, we do dona

tions to each individual family, so Pay It Forward and Christmas Squad truly is just a third party connecting people,” said Ross.

“Every little bit helps,” said Ross, add ing, “it takes a lot of people to do this and a lot of families and they like to know they’ve been a part of something.”

For more informa tion or to take part in the group’s happenings, visit the Pay It Forward Yorkton group on Facebook.

Project Cornerstone recipients announced

Submitted by Cornerstone Credit Union

YORKTON –Cornerstone Credit Union announced the recipients of their Project Cornerstone funding for 2022.

Four community pro jects have been chosen to receive a share of $75,000 – the most ever given out in a single year through the annual Project Cornerstone program.

The 2022 recipients are:

• Neudorf Community Hall – $25,000 for repairs to the hall’s basement floor

• Vibank Co-operative Community Centre – $20,000 for kitchen improvements

• Yorkton Minor Baseball – $20,000 for four new batting cages at Jubilee Park

• Saltcoats Volunteer Fire Department –$10,000 for new firefight ing equipment

“We are very excited to help fund these pro jects. They are vital improvements for the residents who take pride in their communities,” said Cornerstone Credit Union CEO Doug Jones. “We look forward to fol lowing their progress and celebrating with them as

they complete the pro jects.”

Over 70 deserving applications were sub mitted after Project Cornerstone applica tions opened in the spring. Eligible com munity groups were invited to apply for up to $50,000 for capital pro jects. Cornerstone Credit Union experienced a strong year financially and, after considering the quality of the appli cations, decided to invest $75,000 for 2022.

Since 2006, Project Cornerstone has awarded $451,000 to 41 commun ity projects across the region. Applications for funding will open again in the spring of 2023.

About the Projects Yorkton Minor Baseball Yorkton Minor Baseball will receive $20,000 to construct four new batting cages at Jubilee Park. The organization has already raised $65,000 and will be able to complete the project with this funding.

The new batting cages will help young ball play ers improve their skills and offer a recreational opportunity to the com munity.

“This project has been approximately

four years in the mak ing,” said project man ager Tom Courville. “We thank Cornerstone Credit Union for recognizing the value of the batting cages for our community and helping us reach our objective of completing it for the 2023 baseball season.”

Neudorf Community Hall

Neudorf Community Hall will receive $25,000 for repairs to the hall’s basement floor. The pro ject involves removing old flooring, repairing sections of concrete that are cracking and heaving, and levelling the entire surface before installing new flooring.

As in many rural com munities throughout the region, the hall is a hub of activity during the year. The facility is often rented out to the public for weddings, meetings, and other gatherings.

“We are beyond excit ed to have been chosen as one of Cornerstone’s grant recipients this year,” said Jamie Schutz, chair of the Neudorf Community Hall Board. “This funding is pivotal for our small commun ity organization and will help us achieve a renova tion goal that would have otherwise taken us far

Terriers host Teddy Bear Toss and First Responders Night

By Tyson Off Staff Writer

YORKTON – The bears were hitting the ice at the Terriers’ Dec. 3 matchup against the Flin Flon Bombers during the club’s Teddy Bear Toss and First Responders Night.

The teddy bear toss is a long-running tradition with hockey clubs across North America that sees stuffed animals thrown onto the ice after the home team scores their first goal. The bears are collected and then donat ed to local charitable organizations to be dis tributed to kids who may otherwise not receive a gift for the holidays.

“This is something that hockey in general has adopted throughout the years just to kind of give back to kids that may not be able to get a gift for Christmas,” said Grayson Neufeld, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Terriers, adding, “it’s just some thing that we like to do

in the holiday season that gives these kids an oppor tunity to get a gift.”

“The concept origin ated with the Kamloops Blazers in 1993,” read an article on Wikipedia, not ing, “the first recorded teddy bear toss occurred on Dec. 5, 1993,” and “the tradition spread quickly through the Canadian Hockey League and around the world.”

“We donate all of our bears to the Salvation

Army here in Yorkton,” said Neufeld, “they give them out to the kids over the Holiday season — they go to hospitals and they give them to sick kids — it’s just something that everybody else has been doing and it’s great for the Terriers and giving back to the community.”

In addition to the teddy bear toss, the club offered free admission to first responders employed in their respective fields.

longer to complete.”

Vibank Co-operative Community Centre

Vibank Co-operative Community Centre (VCCC) will receive $20,000 for kitchen upgrades. The renova tions will improve the rink’s canteen with new appliances, countertops, cupboards, and serving windows.

Fundraisers, dona tions and surplus funds from canteen revenues will cover approxi mately half the cost of the project, with the rest funded through Project

Cornerstone.

“We are thankful for Cornerstone’s gener ous funding,” said VCCC canteen director Crystal Petersen. “I’m excited to see our facility trans form. It hasn’t seen any significant renovations in the canteen since its ori ginal build in 1975.”

Saltcoats Volunteer Fire Department

Saltcoats Volunteer Fire Department will receive $10,000 to help replace two expiring self-contained breathing apparatus and air tanks, as required by legislation.

“We were a little shocked when we got the call that we had been selected for funding,” said Fire Chief Harry Smith. “This important funding will help our firefighters to be safer and better equipped when providing vital ser vices to the community.”

The fire department provides services to the Town of Saltcoats and the surrounding rural muni cipality. The commun ity has already raised several thousand dol lars through raffles and a pancake breakfast to help cover these costs.

Cornerstone Credit Union Yorkton

Wall’s legacy one of growth

MURRAY MANDRYK

Murray Mandryk is a political columnist with the Leader Post

Politics

Critics suggest that former premier Brad Wall and now the current Saskatchewan Party govern ment have simply been lucky.

There is always an element of luck in politics, although luck without good management will only take you so far.

The previous conservative-minded govern ment — Grant Devine’s Progressive Conservative administration that ran Saskatchewan between 1982 and 1991 — demonstrated neither good luck nor good management.

Its 10 deficit budgets caused by massive over spending and huge tax cuts took the province to the brink of bankruptcy. But it didn’t help that Saskatchewan also faced the worst drought in half a century and cratering oil prices and poor potash prices caused by over production.

The outcome was an all-too-familiar one for a province that had long defined itself by losing its young people moving away to Alberta, B.C. and elsewhere.

This was the reality for most of the 16 years of the NDP government and every other govern ment prior to Wall’s Sask. Party administration the province had experienced since population peaked in 1934.

Things were starting to turn around under the Lorne Calvert NDP administration in the earlyto-mid-2000s.

It can be argued that former premier Brad Wall did inherit these political good times that included an already-growing population that crossed the 1,000,000 barrier in July 2007.

For a brief seven-year period starting with the last two years of the Calvert government and five first years of the Wall government, we actually saw more in-migration (people moving to Saskatchewan from other provinces) than outmigration (people leaving for other province.) That’s something that almost never happened since the 1920s.

But there are valid reasons why Brad Wall would cite population growth in his years as pre mier as his crowning achievement.

There is the Saskatchewan Party government success story.

“It was the idea that somehow we were the ‘wee’ province or that we’d always be in and out of the equalization (as a ‘have-not’ province),” Wall said in an interview last week prior to the unveil ing of his premier’s portrait in the Saskatchewan Gallery of the legislature.

Yes, Wall was blessed with fantastic budgets in 2008 and 2009 — budgets even better than the $1.1-billion surplus now predicted for 2022-23 in the mid-year update. (Given that we were looking at a $483-million budget deficit in March, this is a rather amazing turnaround.)

But there were also some rather bad budget/ economic years in this province dependent on the fickleness of oil, grain, potash, oilseed and pulse crop prices and the good weather to grow them.

This year’s will be the first budget balanced since current Premier Scott Moe took over from Wall. And Wall had his share of budget clunkers, including his last 2017-18 that led to his departure.

Yet the hallmark of the Sask. Party government under Wall and after has been growth — about 150,000 in his decade in office and almost another 50,000 in the five years since he has left.

“Saskatchewan people wanted to see a govern ment that reflected their own pride in the prov ince,” Wall said in the interview, recalling the days when no one believed Saskatchewan could obtain the national average of about one-per-cent growth a year.

Wall does credit the Calvert administration for implementing corporate and resource royalty changes and immigration policies that helped kick start the growth as he arrived in office in 2007.

But he cites the intangibles of simply believing this province could grow and his dogged efforts to ensure that happened.

Wall recalls trips everywhere from Ontario to Ireland to recruit workers to come to Saskatchewan.

He also recalls trips to Ottawa to convince then-Conservative-government immigration min ister Jason Kenney to increase the province’s immigration quotas to bring people.

Wall’s legacy is one of sustained Saskatchewan growth after years when many came to believe that was impossible.

Luck may have been involved, but it was more than that.

Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics since 1983.

The passport was delivered in one week

By Anastasiia Bykhovskaia Estevan Mercury

Life has been playing funny tricks on me lately, proving over and over again that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.

For about a month now, most of my plans have been finding their way to get me out of my comfort zone and shake things up a bit. The latest surprise came last week.

Now that the travel restrictions are in the past, yet COVID’s effects on all kinds of systems are still a thing of the present, most of you probably have heard about the difficulties associated with acquiring a Canadian passport. I definitely had. And as my Canadian citizenship certificate was on the way, I researched the situation and came up with a personal plan.

The options citizens have today are defined by their travel needs. If you don’t plan on going anywhere any time soon, you can just follow the traditional route – apply for a passport at any Service Canada branch and receive it by mail. The official processing time is at least 20 business days plus the mail ing time.

I’ve monitored the discussions about passport processing times for a while, and it seemed that even though it’s get ting better, it still may take longer than a month to get your passport this way, which wouldn’t work with my travel plans.

The next option is to apply for a 10-day passport processing. You don’t

need proof of travel, but you would need to mention a near, anticipated travel date in your application form. You also would need to either go to a passport office or find a Service Canada Centre that offers 10-day processing. In our case, the closest one is in Regina.

There are also options for an urgent pick-up (by end of next business day, done in a passport office with urgent pick-up service, walk-in only) and express pick-up (in two to nine busi ness days, done in a passport office with urgent pick-up service, walk-in or by appointments). In these cases, you will need proof of travel and will pay extra fees.

With travel plans in mind, but noth ing solidified yet, I chose the 10-day processing route. The soonest appoint ment available was in mid-January. So I headed to Regina last Wednesday to try my luck as a walk-in.

The centre opens at 8:30 a.m., so I thought if I arrive by noon, I’d have enough time to get everything done, as the application process is supposed to take about 15 minutes, or so I read. Well, my assumptions were wrong. The employee greeted me at the doors and said the line was already too long, so they weren’t accepting any more appli cants for that day.

While the centre opens at 8:30 a.m., the building doors open at 7:30 a.m., one of the staff said, and took a pause. So, I built my new plan accordingly – be there at 7:30, waste that one hour wait ing, but hopefully save myself some

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Happy December! Cryophilic is the word of the week, which means thriving or growing best at low temperatures. Cryophilic is a word most often found used in technical contexts. The word comes from the combining forms of cryo- (“cold”) and -philic (“having an affinity for”), and entered the language in the early 20th century (merriam-webster.com). It is typically used to describe bacteria, but may possibly also be used in a figurative manner, to describe your friend who especially enjoys outdoor snow and ice activities all winter. The holiday season is fast approaching! Join in the fun with YPL’s version of Elf on a Shelf…Slo on the Go! Check out the clue and find Slo, stop at the front for a small treat and ballot for the draw. Play along every weekday!

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Welcome to ‘Wordy Wednesday’ brought to you by our friends at Yorkton Public Library, (including Slo the friendly sloth), and appearing here cour tesy of Yorkton This Week.

SWF calls Bill C-21 amendment largest gun prohibition in legislative history

Submitted by the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation

The Federal Government introduced a significant amend ment to Bill C-21, which expanded the definition of a prohibited fire arm, effectively ban ning millions of hunting and sporting rifles, in addition to the models already included in the

proposed legislation. This surprise 11th hour amendment constitutes the largest gun prohibi tion in Canadian legisla tive history.

In committee last week, changes were pro posed to expand the def inition of a prohibited firearm to include semi-automatic rifles and shotguns “designed to accept a detachable cartridge magazine

with a capacity greater than five cartridges of the type for which the firearm was originally designed”. A full list of firearms banned by name can be found at https://mpfirearmspub licstore.blob.core.win dows.net/firearms-refer ence-table/frt-traf-eng. pdf.

“The Federal Government have reneged on their prom

ises to hunters, sports shooters, and farmers/ ranchers, as evidenced by the prohibition of hundreds of regu larly used firearms included in Bill C-21”, says Gil White, SWF’s Recreational Firearms Community Chair.

On Dec. 1, the Government of Saskatchewan intro duced The Saskatchewan Firearms Act, to pro

tect the rights of law ful firearms owners.

The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation looks forward to work ing with the Ministry of Corrections, Policing, and Public Safety to mitigate the impact that this draconian Federal Legislation will have to the Saskatchewan fire arms community.

There are approxi mately 115,000 licensed

firearms owners in Saskatchewan - 75,000 of whom may be penalized, and criminalized with this updated Bill. Firearm owners are encouraged to contact their elected Members of Parliament, Minister Mendicino, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and voice their dis appointment and con cerns over this latest development.

Veterinary professor at USask launches bovine health podcast

By Victoria Dinh USask Media Relations

SASKATOON – A University of Saskatchewan (USask) beef cattle specialist at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) has launched a new podcast that gives listeners a Canadian perspective on beef cattle health and nutrition.

Dr. John Campbell (DVM), whose research interests include beef cattle and health management, posted the first episode of his Beef Cattle Health and Nutrition podcast on Oct. 31.

“I’ve always been interest ed in knowledge translation,” said Campbell, a professor and researcher in the WCVM’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. “I’ve had lots of mentors over the years that showed me the import ance of that.”

Campbell credits his inter est in knowledge translation— or interpreting and sharing research findings with produ cers and the public—to Drs. Eugene Janzen (DVM), Paul Greenough (DVM) and Ray Butler (DVM), all former fac ulty members at the WCVM who Campbell worked with when he was a new faculty member more than three dec ades ago.

“I just saw the importance of that and how that was part of not just doing the research, but trying to get it out to people,” said Campbell, who also writes beef cattle health articles for a regular column in The Western Producer. “[The pod cast] is just another way that people can learn some of the things that we’re discovering through research.”

What helps to differenti ate this podcast from others is

that Campbell and his guests give a Canadian perspective on specific animal health and nutrition topics that are of interest to beef producers.

“It’s nice to get the research out there and the knowledge out there that we’re gener ating here in Canada out to our producers as well,” said Campbell. “There’s certainly lots of things we can learn from our colleagues in the U.S. as well—our systems are simi lar. But there are some differ ences, and most of those are geographic and [about] what we feed and how we manage our cattle.”

Campbell hopes to release podcast episodes weekly and plans “to cover a gamut of health and nutritional topics.” So far, the podcast’s four episodes feature western Canadian researchers discuss ing topics such as feed testing,

preconditioning, vaccinations for calves, and extended graz ing.

Campbell said the tar get audience for his podcast is mainly cow-calf beef pro ducers, but he also plans to include some content that would be interesting to produ cers involved in feedlot cattle operations.

While Campbell acknow ledges it may be too early to measure the podcast’s success, he does identify some advan tages of podcasts.

“We’re hoping that it’s another venue of provid ing that kind of [knowledge extension] information to producers,” said Campbell.

“The advantage of it is that you don’t have to leave home and go to a meeting or have to be in front of a computer. You can do it in your truck or while you’re doing something

MP advises businesses to apply for CSJ funding

Submitted by Cathay Wagantall

YORKTON – Cathay Wagantall, Member of Parliament for YorktonMelville, would like to advise organiza tions and businesses that applications for Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) funding are being accepted until Jan. 12, 2023.

Canada Summer Jobs is an initia tive of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which aims to help all young Canadians develop the skills and gain paid work experience to successfully transition into the labour market.

“In 2022, there were approximately 85 CSJ grant recipients in Yorkton-

Melville, which is good, but there were many more applicants that didn’t receive funding and there were some recipients that felt they were under funded,” said Wagantall, adding, “CSJ is far from a perfect program, but I would strongly encourage employers to consider submitting an application for 2023.”

CSJ provides wage subsidies to employers from not-for-profit organ izations, the public sector, and pri vate sector organizations with 50 or fewer full-time employees, to create summer work experiences for young people aged 15 to 30 years. Public and private sector employers are eligible

PASSPORT

Continued from Page A4 time in line and get it done by 9:30 a.m. at the latest.

Thanks to my sched ule, I was actually on my days off, so I didn’t need to worry about work. Thanks to the Value Village close by, I spent several wonderful hours enjoying treasure hunt ing. And thanks to rela tives and friends, finding a place to stay overnight

in Regina was easy and indeed pleasant.

The next morning, I was at the doors at 7:33 a.m. (My bad, I didn’t put time for parking into my equation.) And guess what? I was 13th in line.

The line for the day was formed by 10 a.m., if not earlier. The cen tre was understaffed due to several reasons, and while everything was indeed nice and very

PROVINCE

Continued from Page A2

4. The legislation also eliminates a require ment that applicants publish intentions to obtain a new liquor per mit in local newspapers.

These moves by the province to allow alcohol in public parks had been previously introduced by the former SLGA Minister Jim Reiter dur ing the final week of the 2022 spring session. But the original bill ultim ately died on the order paper after the oppos ition NDP made it known they wanted further con sultations with stake holders.

The NDP seem much more amenable to the changes this time around.

Opposition SLGA Critic

Nathaniel Teed told reporters he welcomes “any legislation that modernizes legislation on the books,” and sup ported allowing munici palities to opt in and opt out.

Teed said his col leagues had been “engaging with stake holders all summer long, and we are confident with those conversations that we can look at this legislation. Of course, we will want to put some comments on the record, look at it in committee.”

As for the decision by the NDP not to proceed swiftly to passing the legislation last spring, Teed said “we’re not here to rubber stamp bills. We’re here to review

polite, as I was observing the situation, my brain kept suggesting pictures from a Zootopia cartoon – the episode at the DMV, remember?

Once I made it to the application processing booth, it indeed took 15 minutes to get done. But it took me until almost noon to get there. And since I was “planning” to be done before 9:30, by the time I made it to the

to receive funding for up to 50% of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage. As in previous years, not-for-profit employers are eligible to receive up to 100% of the provincial territorial minimum hourly wage for each employee.

Job placements will occur during the summer of 2023, starting in April 2023, and will need to be full time with a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40 hours per week, and a duration of six to 16 weeks.

Employers interested in apply ing for CSJ 2023 funding can submit their applications electronically using either the online fillable application

final point, my brain was collapsing from lack of caffeine and my stomach was singing serenades from lack of nutrients. (So, we ended up hav ing a good laugh when the employee was help ing me with the applica tion, as my stomach tried answering his questions before I had a chance to open my mouth.)

After all, I got it all done and will be receiv

else. That’s what I like about podcasts.”

The project is jointly fund ed by the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) and Alberta Beef Producers. Campbell adds that the BCRC has a webinar series available for producers that focuses on numerous topics including nutrition, beef quality, and sustainability.

The Beef Cattle Health and Nutrition podcast is avail able on Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and other podcast providers.

Campbell welcomes feed back on current episodes as well as suggestions for future topics: “If people have ideas or things they’d like to hear, that’d be great.”

Contact Dr. John Campbell (john.campbell@usask.ca) with comments or topic recommen dations.

or the Grants and Contributions Online Service. The online fillable applica tion is the fastest way for employers to submit an application online, while the Grants and Contributions Online Service requires the user to create an account before submitting an applica tion for CSJ.

“The deadline for applications for funding for 2023 is earlier than it was in 2022,” said Wagantall. “I urge those who want to apply to ensure that they do so as soon as possible.”

Additional information about the program and application information can be found at www.canada.ca/can ada-summer-jobs.

ing my passport in the mail in a few days. Hurray!

Conclusions: if you are planning on applying for a passport any time soon, don’t make my mistakes. Find your best option, come early, eat before you come and/or take some food and coffee with you (they did have a water fountain there), and even though the wait ing might be annoying,

try to have fun with it. The fact that the system is not working to its best, to say the least, doesn’t mean that employees are not doing their best or that you shouldn’t have a good time despite all the challenges.

Over this past month, the main thing I learned is when my original plans collapse, other doors open, and all I can do is enjoy the new scenarios.

cerned.

them and engage with stakeholders all summer long.”

He noted there had been concerns raised in municipalities with high volumes of addictions or mental health issues. Some of those munici palities may not jump on board, he said.

Carr confirmed there has been discussions and consultations with stake holders, including muni cipalities. She also said it was municipalities that had come forward to request the changes.

In response to worries that loosening the regu lations might create pot entially dangerous situa tions with more people drinking and driving, Carr was not too con

“I really don’t think it’s any different now from someone going to a restaurant or a bar and consuming alcohol. We expect everybody to get a safe ride home and do the responsible thing.”

Regarding provincial parks, this rule change could potentially pave the way provincial parks to allow alcohol con sumption on their pub lic spaces at some point. But according to the province, this would be a separate decision by gov ernment’s Parks, Culture and Sport ministry.

It also seems unlikely to happen. The indica tion from Minister Carr is the provincial parks have been “pretty stringent on

their use of alcohol in the parks” and she didn’t see them changing that.

The expectation is the

bill will ultimately be passed during the spring sitting in time for the summer of 2023.

Laketown Leaders club members learn the benefits of walking with poles

Saltcoats Laketown Leaders club members gathered at the Saltcoats Town Hall to give walking with poles a try.

Anne Stupak and Karen Ransome, Certified Urban Pole Instructors from Yorkton’s Urban Poling Club were joined by 10 Ladies of the Leaders club to experience the benefits of walking with poles first hand.

The Clinic offered participants the opportunity to try the two types of poles provided. The Activator Poles are designed to aid walkers that experi ence balance and stability issues. The Urban Poles Series 300 are designed for those that are looking for that full body workout when they head out for a walk. Based on each person’s self evaluation the group chose the poles that most suited their abilities. Pole heights were determined for each per son and the technique of how each pole is used, and the practicing began. It is not as easy as one may think it is; it takes concentration and coordination at the beginning but once the walkers

started to relax the walking became more comfortable. The proper use of each type of pole is what makes Nordic walking the full body workout that it claims to be. The pole handles are designed to aid the walker in off load ing their weight onto it and not on their lower back, hips, knees and feet. The Poles help to promote better posture and by standing up right your breath ing deeper and with the two points of contact at all times, the foot and the pole, there is less chance of trips and falls. The poles come with rubber boots for indoor walking or outdoors in the summer, they also house a steel tip under the removable boot that works very well on packed snow and ice. The poles are adjustable and can easily be packed in a suitcase for travel adven tures.

“It was so good to see the ladies come out and really engage in discovering how and why these poles would be good for them. Many of them felt the need to get more active and if using these poles makes them feel more able and excited

to get walking then we have done our duty” stated Karen Ransome. “Urban Poling or better known as Nordic walk ing is really catching on in Canada! Europe has been walking with poles for decades, and we want to change that!” Stupak states, “we want to have walking with poles as common a sight as bicycle helmets and seat belts!”

Stupak and Ransome are very will ing to continue to spread the good news and health benefits of walking with poles through clinics and work shops. Clinics are approximately 1-2 hours long and require a good sized

hall or gym. We provide all the poles for the clinics and discuss which poles would best suit the walker’s needs, and instruct the proper walking technique designed for the type of pole required. We are also proud that Urban Poling is a Canadian Company and is owned by women with the goal of getting people out walking, walking with poles, and Karen and I want to be a part of the goal in our area.

The Urban Poling Clinics can be arranged by calling Anne Stupak @ 306-621-8926 or email urbanpolingclub@ gmail.com

pole

makes Nordic walking the full body work out.

Members of the Saltcoats Laketown Leaders Club gathered at the Town Hall to participate in an urban pol ing clinic conducted by Anne Stupak and Karen Ransome, certified urban poling instructors from Yorkton’s Urban Poling Club.

Next Council Meeting Monday, December 19, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.

December 7 - December 13, 2022

Staff Photos by Calvin Daniels

Sp orts

Terriers take loss and win in weekend games

By Tyson Off Staff Writer

YORKTON – The Terriers were in Melfort on Dec. 2 to face the Mustangs and hosted the Flin Flon Bombers on Dec. 4 for their Teddy Bear Toss and First Responders night.

It was a shutout loss for the Terriers on Dec. 3 at Northern Lights Palace when they faced off against the Melfort Mustangs.

The Mustangs Zac Somers opened up the scoring at 1:09 of the first, followed by Dawson Leroux at 2:57 and David Rioux at 6:17.

The second period saw three more on the board for Melfort with Kevin Monnoch hitting the tar get at 4:33, Ben Tkachuk at 12:33 and another from Somers at 18:06.

The lone goal of the third period was another from Rioux at 13:34

resulting in a 7-0 loss for the Terriers.

The Terriers’ Caleb Allen let three of seven shots through in the first period before being replaced with Tysen Smith at 6:17. Smith took on 33 shots and blocked 29.

James Venne was in net for the shutout win, blocking 28 shots.

On Dec. 4 the Terriers played host to the Flin Flon Bombers for their Teddy Bear Toss and First Responders night.

The teddy bear toss is a long-running tradition with hockey clubs across North America that sees stuffed animals thrown onto the ice after the home team scores their first goal. The bears are collected and then donat ed to local charitable organizations to be dis trubuted to kids who may otherwise not receive a gift for the holidays.

In addition to the

teddy bear toss, free admission was provided to first responders in the area to recognize their contribution to the com munity.

The Terriers’ Greg Nelson put the team on the board and the teddy bears on the ice at 8:44 of the first. After clear ing the ice of the bears and resuming the game, Colton Koran scored another for the team at 10:38.

The Bombers scored early in the second on a power play effort with the puck coming off the stick of Jacob Vockler at 00:45, but was answered a short time later by Terrier Dylan Ruptash at 3:33 followed by another goal from Ruptash at 17:32 to close out the second period.

The puck didn’t see the inside of a net until the latter half of the third with Bomber Alexi Sylvestre scoring at 14:28

of the period. One more goal from the Terriers’ Ruptash at 19:35, sealing the deal on a hat trick and closing out the match with a 5-2 win.

Caleb Allen was in net for the Terriers, blocking 38 of 40 shots.

Harmom Laser-Hume spent the first two per iods of the match in net for the Bombers, facing 21 shots and blocking 17.

Kenneth Marquardt was netminder for the third, facing 16 shots and block ing 15.

The Terriers will hit the road starting Dec. 6 when they visit Nipawin to take on the Hawks, Flin Flon on Dec. 9 to play the Bombers and will face off against the La Ronge Ice Wolves on Dec. 10.

Sacred Heart High School honoured athletes at their Fall Sports Awards on the evening of Dec. 1

Former NHLer speaks at Agribition

There are few things more ‘Saskatchewan’ than playing hockey, or being connected to the farm.

And, the two things actually have a common thread, both being high ly stressful at times.

So it was less surpris ing that some might think when former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy was the speaker recent ly at the Grain Expo Conference at Canadian Western Agribition.

Kennedy, an advo cate for abuse sur vivors was invited by Agribition CEO and

long-time friend from Swift Current Shaun Kindopp to speak on the challenges and impacts of mental health and addictions issues.

“I’m involved in agri culture but it’s part of my life I never really brought into public,” said Kennedy.

Kennedy grew up on a dairy farm at Elkhorn, Man., and was involved in horses near Spruce Meadows in Alberta for a number of years, before moving to south west Saskatchewan and buying a farm there.

“We farm in the

Lucky Lake area,” he said, adding his mom actually came from the area, and a grandfather is buried there.

But facing a room full of farmers made Kennedy nervous.

“I was quite con

CALVIN DANIELS Sports

cerned about it. I was probably the most inexperienced farmer in the world,” he related.

But, his topic ultim ately resonated with the farmers gathered, the issue of mental health.

Kennedy said the farm sector is far from immune from mental health issues. In fact, the stats are scary sug gesting “one-in-four farmers contemplated suicide in the last year.”

But, Kennedy said if you consider the pres sures they face, it is understandable they face a lot of stress.

With the investment that goes into planting a crop, worries about whether it will rain and if it does whether it might be too much, and of course the season end prices for what is har

vested, are all stressful.

While farmers can’t avoid the stresses of the career they have chosen the key is to understand “ways to manage it,” said Kennedy. “It’s man aging the stresses.”

He said producers do everything they can to ensure “the 7000 acres of crop are healthy,” but also need to remember, “the most important part of it all is our men tal health.”

Of course there are some things farmers have to deal with that is different from most.

The Terriers’ Greg Nelson put the team on the board and the teddy bears on the ice.

The school’s most improved players. Back Row, from left to right, Rylan Bernauer, Ty Chisholm, Sam Sheppard and AJ Etrata. Front Row, from left to right, Madison Hamilton, Susanna Reed, Annika Bahrey and Berlin Syrota.

The Most Valuable Player Award for athletes in their respective sports. Back Row Kapaya Chilufya, Rhencent Manalo, Emmanuel Adefolarin, Adam Lawson, Tyler Bissonnette and Nicklas Looft. Front Row, from left to right, Yuka Burrell, Angela Fetsch, Paige Fedorowich, Elyse Johnson, Ella Kozak, Halle Mykytyshyn and Layla Szysky.

Recipients of the school’s Rookie of the Year Awards. Back Row, from left to right, Cassidy Johnson, Samantha Roussin, Adrienne Eagles and Keisha Quinto. Front Row, from left to right, Graden Leik, Dylan Prince and Ty Chisholm.

Recipients of the St. Sebastian Award. Back Row, from left to right, Joy Singkala, Ryame Soanes, Eli Shannon, John Bryksa and Nick Looft. Front Row, from left to right,Mariana Stickwood, Yuka Burrell, Emma Koberinski and Tori Yaremovich.

Photos Courtesy of Rachel Sterzuk, SHHS Principal

Artists showcase rangoli at GDAG

By Tyson Off Staff Writer

YORKTON – The Godfrey Dean Art Gallery is currently showcas ing the works of a local brother and sister artis tic duo.

Artists Purvish and Megha Patel practice rangoli, an art form “in which patterns are creat ed on the floor or a table top using materials such

as powdered lime stone, red ochre, dry rice flour, coloured sand, quartz powder, flower petals and coloured rocks,” read the aritcle on ran goli from Wikipedia.

Yorkton This Week caught up with the duo prior to the completion their second piece now on display at the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery.

“This is Rangoli — that’s what we call it in

India — it’s a traditional art passed down from years and years – it’s passed down from gen erations to generations,” said Purvish of his know ledge of the art form.

Purvish said the art is often associated with celebrations that take place in his home coun try of India, noting it is believed to keep evil things away from homes. The duo uses a col

oured and fine-grained sand for their rangoli and up to 12 different colours, though Purvish admits it is hard to find quality coloured sand in the area, so they opt to import it directly from suppliers in India or pur chase it through online retailers.

“Even if you go on Amazon and buy those colours you would hard ly get more than 12 col

India, they use a lot more colours than what you see in here.”

As for the application of the sand, Megha said the technique involves holding the sand in one’s palm and draining it through fingers onto the canvas; the canvas in this case being the concrete floor of the art gallery.

“It’s a technique between your thumb and your first finger,” said Purvish, noting the motion mimics the pour ing of a bottle.

The time involved in creating rangoli is like any other art form.

“It depends on how big you want to go — we won’t say we’re pros — but if you see a pro who does rangoli on a daily basis, they can do a ran goli in hour or so.”

Purvish said the ran goli that was currently on display — a peacock – the national bird of India — took the duo roughly six hours to complete, noting that they had planned for a larger piece but ran out

right now will also be a combo of twelve colours – once we start drawing we can go as big as we want, so Megha wants to start from the centre this time and we’ll go in each direction until our colour runs out,” said Purvish of the latest piece.

Purvish, who has lived in Canada for 13 years and Megha, who has been here for three, said they are proud to showcase a piece of their culture in the community, noting that this is their first time doing so.

“It’s a good thing to bring our culture,” said Purvish, adding, “you know Canada is a multicultural country — bring ing your culture out –being able to share those cultural values with different cultures — it’s always a proud moment for us to show some thing.”

Modern Art in the Traditional Way: Rangoli, will be on display at the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery until Dec. 23.

From left to right, artistic brother and sister duo, Purvish and Megha Patel.

Purvish and Megha Patel take time to measure the space for the rangoli that is currently on display at the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery’s main gallery.

A rangoli of a peacock, the national bird of India, complete with intricate designs.

Staff photos by Tyson Off

- Patricia Irene Duncan, born on November 19, 1946, passed away on September 19, 2022 in Yorkton where she lived for many years. Mom died peacefully in the Wallace Unit of the Yorkton Nursing Home at 75 years old. She will be lovingly remembered by her 3 children; Glen, Angela and Todd, as well as 5 grandchildren; Magnum, Alex, Nick, Mack and Lizzy, and greatgrandson, whom she thankfully just met; Joyner Moorhead. She was born in Rocky Mountain House, AB and later raised in Richleigh, SK by Mary and Dave Duncan. Her birth parents were Florence and Joe Meyers. She also had 2 brothers named Danny and Bobby Duncan. All of us are grateful for the love and support of all of her caregivers and friends, as well as the Christian brothers and sisters from the churches nearby, who helped her through the years. Thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts.

LEES - The family of Terry Lees are saddened to announce his passing on November 27, 2022 at the age of 59 years. Terry was born on May 25, 1963 in Yorkton, SK, a son of Fred and Pauline Lees. He grew up on the family farm in the Jedburgh district. He attended Jedburgh and Yorkton Schools. Following his education he gained employment at the Regional High School and Ram Industries. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Terry was forced to terminate his employment. When his illness demanded additional care Terry became a Long Term Care Resident of Country Meadows at Yorkton Nursing Home. Here he volunteered his time helping other residents with games and exercises. He also proudly looked after the flowers and plants that surrounded country meadows. The staff recalled him saying, “When I’m gone, I would like to be remembered as a very helpful person. Life is not perfect but very enjoyable.” Terry was predeceased by father Fred; brothers, Dean and Darcy and several aunties and uncles. Left to mourn his passing and cherish his memory is his mother Pauline, nephews Colby and Abby, aunties and cousins. Funeral Service was held on Friday, December 2, 2022 at Yorkton Memorial Gardens Family Centre with Rev.

Esterhazy. Lynn met Allan in 1969 and were married soon after on April 4, 1970. They lived, farmed, and raised their family on the same family farm that Allan grew up on, for the last 52 years. Lynn was an active member of different organizations including being a Board Member of the Morris Lodge for 25 years. She loved going and meeting the members of the Llewellyn Sunshine Club at various homes in the neighborhood monthly. Lynn became a 4H Leader for the cooking class that she held in her new kitchen for many years which she had many fond memories of. She was a proud member of the Bangor and District Heritage Club for 27 years. Lynn succumbed to her lung disease that she has fought tirelessly for the last three years in the Regina General Hospital with her family at her side. Lynn is survived by her husband Allan, son Lloyd (Erin), daughter Carol (Mike), her grandchildren; Tate, Tess, Leim, Jaida, Teagan, Tionna and Lily. Her brother Larry (Edna), Brother-in-Law Robert Burkitt, Murray Bolton (Lorie), Sister-in-Laws Eileen Lewis, Lois Bulbeck and Sylvia McClinton (Jim). A Funeral Services was held on Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 1:00 pm from Christie’s Funeral Home and Crematorium with Rev. Nancy Brunt officiating. The Eulogist was Erin Bolton, Organist Sharron Gibbler, and Urn Bearers were Tate James Bolton & Leim James Bolton. Honourary Urn Bearers were Jaida Bolton, Teagan Bolton, Tionna Bolton, Lily Bolton and Tess Bolton. Following the service a time of fellowship and refreshment was served in the reception room at Christie’s Funeral Home. If friends so desire, memorial donations may be made in Lynn’s memory to the Bangor Morris Lodge.

PELLETIER - Walter Pelletier of Melville, beloved husband of Jean Pelletier passed away on November 25, 2022. Mr. Walter Pelletier was born on September 24, 1934 in the Crescent Lake area. He was the son of Nazaire and Madeline (nee St. Pierre) Pelletier. Walter attended school at Crescent Lake School in his younger years. He grew up in the surrounding Sask. district. After he attended school, he began working for various farmers in Canada and the United States. He met and married his wife Jean on August 27, 1960 in Yorkton. They moved to Calgary, AB in 1968. He worked there doing various jobs, roofing and dry walling. In 2007 he moved back to Melville, SK and spent the remainder of his life there. Walter is predeceased by his parents, his son Murray Dean Pelletier, nine brothers; Joe, Frank, Alex, Bill, Francis, Fred, Marcel, Ernest and Sylvester and four sisters; Edna, Evelyn, Irene and Adelle. He

LOCKHART - Edna was born on the family farm to Joseph and Agnes (nee Kirchner) Matalski on April 5, 1942. After receiving her education and helping on the family farm during her upbringing she moved to Yorkton to begin her working life at a local restaurant. Edna was introduced to Lorne Lockhart and the two began courting and with time they were united in Holy Matrimony on November 26, 1960. Edna and Lorne were blessed with five children, Raymond, Clare, Dale (Shirley), Lorna (Wayne), and Brenda. Edna was a very hard working person and did her absolute best with whatever needed to be done on the mixed farm that she and Lorne ran from growing gardens, keeping the family home in order, cooking, baking, and of course raising the children. She was also an active member of the Yorkton Exhibition and was willing to lend a hand whether it was serving tea or selling steaks to many other activities. Edna was always extremely happy to be invited to take part in events from the Exhibition Board. Edna ran the canteen at Heartland Livestock for many years, this is where she was doing what she truly enjoyed, cooking, serving food, and meeting people. On the family farm, Edna always made people welcome. If you happen to be there during mealtime, whether you were family, friend, or custom worker hauling grain, there was always a seat the table for you. When Edna’s grandchildren came for a visit, they were the light of her life, but she would also say, I love to see them come, but it’s nice to see them go too. Edna is predeceased by her parents, Joseph and Agnes; her beloved husband, Lorne; one sister, Joyce; two brothers, John and Robert; one son, Raymond; and by one grandson, Carter. She leaves to celebrate her life her children; her grandchildren, Jeremy, Jennifer, Kristal, Carter, Emma, Jessica, Stephanie, David, Micheal, and Kimberley; and by her great-grandchildren, Nikita, Danika, Jaxon, Brigette, Logan, Liam, Vienna, Carter, and Malcolm. A funeral mass was celebrated on Friday December 2, 2022 at 1:00 P.M. from the Chapel of Kopan’s Funeral Service with Reverend father Louis Kim Nguyen from St. Gerard’s Roman Catholic Church serving as the Celebrant with Cyndi Hoffart leading the congregation in the singing of the hymns, “Amazing Grace”, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”, and “The Lord is My Shepherd”. Dale Lockhart gave the First Reading from Ecclesiastes 3:3-11 and Kristal Lockhart gave the Second Reading from 2 Timothy 4:6-8. Brenda Lockhart delivered a heartfelt tribute to her mother with Stephanie Lockhart leading the congregation in the closing prayer. The interment followed in the Rosemount Cemetery in the Rokeby District with David Lockhart, Stephanie Lockhart, Jeremy Lockhart, Jennifer Lockhart, Kristal Lockhart, and Micheal Lockhart serving as the Pallbearers. Those so wishing to make a charitable contribution in memory of the Late Edna Lockhart may do so with a gift to the Yorkton Exhibition Association #455 Broadway Street West Yorkton, SK S3N 2X1 or to the Saskatchewan Heart & Stroke Foundation #100-119 14th Street NW Calgary, AB T2N 1Z6 1-888-4734636 or online at www.heartandstroke.ca as a token of remembrance. Mother, you may be gone but will never be forgotten. You will always be held close to our hearts. Life is Good! Kopan’s Funeral Service was honoured to have been entrusted with funeral arrangements. 306-7830099 or www.kopans.ca

Fleury, Wymen Pelletier, Dennis Langan and Jeremy Langan serving as casket bearers. Memorials in memory of Walter may be made to the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan as gifts of remembrance. Condolences may be left for the family at www.baileysfuneralhome.com.

leaves to mourn his passing, his wife Jean of Calgary, four children; Debbie Pelletier of Calgary, Dean Pelletier of Calgary, Darrell Pelletier of Saskatoon and Gary Pelletier of Melville, three grandchildren; Trinity and Tyrone of Saskatoon and Dylan Fleury of Yorkton, five great grandchildren; Pierce, Orin, Axton, Sidney and Payton all of Saskatoon as well as many nieces and nephews. We will miss him dearly. The Wake and Prayer Vigil were held on Wednesday, November 30, 2022 from the Prairie Harvest Community Centre, Yorkton, SK. The Funeral Mass was celebrated on Thursday, December 1, 2022 from St. Gerard’s Roman Catholic Church with Rev. Fr. Louis Kim Nguyen as Celebrant. The cross bearer was Dean Pelletier. Diana Hornung led the choir in the singing of the hymns. The interment followed in the Yorkton City Cemetery with Tyrone Pelletier, Payton Pelletier, Dylan

Father Yevhen Zadorozhnyi of St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church officiating. The responses were led by Lorne Stechyshyn and the Funeral Choir. The cross bearer was Elaine Gorchinski. The interment followed in the Garden of St. Luke at Yorkton Memorial Gardens with Colby Lees, Abby Lees, Ray Gorchinski, Thomas Schurko, Ronnie Hiduk and Lionel Woytas serving as the casket bearers. Condolences to the family can be posted at baileysfuneralhome.com. Memorial donations in memory of Terry may be made to St. Mary’s Church Building Fund, 155 Catherine Street, Yorkton, SK S3N 0B9 as gifts of remembrance.

BOLTON - Lynn Janet Bolton (Schmidt) was born on July 8, 1952 in Langley, BC to Henry and Rosella Schmidt. They moved to Saskatchewan to farm in the Marwin District in 1960, where she attended school in Marwin until grade 8 when she started attending high school in

DUNCAN

Rest in Peace, Mom, and we’ll see you again one day!

Smart shoppers find the best buys in the Yorkton

DERGOUSOFF, Sam- We are sad to announce the passing of Sam Dergousoff. He died peacefully at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre on Dec. 1, 2022, and we

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Team Kelly Knapp defeated Team Micheal Carss in the final of the Scott Comfort RE/MAX Blue Chip Realty SCT event in Wadena. In an excellent game, Substitute Skip Dustin Kidby, made a double run back for the win in a well fought battle. After an action packed back and forth game, the teams were tied in the 8th end, and Michael Carrs made an excellent shot with his last leaving team Knapp with a difficult double run back for the win.

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Yorkton This Week is owned and operated by The Prairie Newspaper Group LP, a division of GVIC Communications Corp.

tioner

Curling action in Wadena

Miracles occur every moment, somewhere. Often, we don’t notice them. They seem too ordinary. A miracle should be miraculous, right? An instant heal ing. A tree blossoming mid-prairie-winter. A house standing strong in a natural disaster, when every nearby house was flattened.

We need stories like that on our screens. People despair of car nage. War. Dirty politics (and politicians). A hellheaded climate.

It’s nearly Christmas, Lord. Can’t you prove to the world you still make miracles?

But I’ve noticed something. Many of God’s best miracles don’t ever make the

Yes, God still does miracles

news. He never intend ed it. He slips them to us quietly. Simply, sweetly; in times good and bad. Most mean little to any one but the people who need them most. Like Cousin Sharon.

Sharon has a terrible back. I’m not sure how it even holds her up. She had a great doctor for a decade—an anaesthe siologist and internist she trusted implicitly, even with huge needles necessary to treat her herniated and bulging discs. But ten years ago, Dr. Jim retired from personal practice and became an on-call spe cialist. Fortunately, his replacement suited her too.

Sharon also had a bad knee, and earlier

this year had it replaced. Months before her sur gery, she explained her back issues to her sur geon, requesting to be put completely out dur ing the surgery, rather than have an epidural administered through a needle in her spine.

“That needle has nowhere to go,” she added.

The medical person nel made light of her

concerns. Dismissed them entirely. “You won’t feel a thing,” they assured her. That hap pened again at her preop appointment with the scheduled anaesthesi ologist.

Surgery day arrived. Waiting for the anaes thesiologist to arrive and administer the epidural, fear grabbed Sharon. She felt utterly alone. Tearful. Dreading

the future. A better knee—but at the cost of her fragile back.

Then the door opened.

She hadn’t seen him for a decade, nor he, her. But Sharon knew that face. Dr. Jim. In a large urban centre with five major hospitals, he was on call that day to replace the scheduled practitioner, who for some reason couldn’t keep his appointment. I’ll let her tell you what happened next.

“I started the tears. It was a gift from God. We looked at each other. He was surprised to see me as I was him. I said two words. “My back.”

He said to the surgeon, ‘I need to pull up Sharon’s MRI… then he came over

Holiday food for thought

At this time of year we think about holiday plants in various forms, and I found an interest ing site from the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture, usda.gov/ media). The article was entitled “Thank A Farmer This Harvest Season”. While we can thank our farmers for all they do for food produc tion at any time of year, this article focused on some specific holiday foods that we, as garden ers, would find interest ing.

For example, if you are planning your Christmas menu and are thinking that it would be nice to bake a beautiful pumpkin pie, take note of this. In 2021 in the

United States, there was almost 1.9 billion pounds of pumpkin pro duced. That was up by 26% from 2020. And if you and I were playing a garden trivia game and had to guess which state produced most of those pumpkins, we’d have to guess Illinois, which produced 98% of the pumpkins that went into pies. It boggles the mind, doesn’t it. If every pump kin weighed ten pounds, that would be one mil lion, nine hundred thou sand pumpkins!

What about cran berries, another favor ite holiday flavor. The article said that in the US last year, cranberry farmers produced about 353,700 tons of cranber

ries. Considering that when we buy fresh cran berries, the bags are usually about 340 grams, that’s a lot of bags of saucy berries, isn’t it!

One Christmas flavor that is important to many of us is wheat: especially on Christmas Eve!

Did you know that Saskatchewan produced 15.9 million metric tonnes

of wheat in 2020—that works out to 583.2 million bushels! An astonishing number to think about!

Another flavor that tastes like Christmas is buckwheat (I’m thinking of buckwheat cabbage rolls, made with either sour or sweet cabbage leaves—just bring out the roaster and the but ter and I’m good to go!

Delicious!) And what about the cabbage itself?

Canadian farmers grew 165,070 metric tonnes of cabbage with 54% of it being grown in Quebec. I learned that there is not a lot of commercial cabbage production in Saskatchewan because of the large amount of canola grown here.

Even mushrooms, a vital ingredient in Mom’s marvellous mushroom soup that we always make for Christmas Eve, has an amazing commercial record. Did you know that mushroom growers in Canada raised 132,589 metric tonnes of mush rooms in 2020?

Now, let’s think about decorating our holiday table. If we’re think ing of poinsettia plants, our imaginations can go far beyond the trad itional red color. There are white, creams, pinks, and speckled varieties, as well as novelty colors like orange and yellow. I saw a picture of a white poinsettia called J’adore White Pearl. It wasn’t solid white, but had a

to me and said, ‘I will be with you the whole time. I know exactly how to handle your back. No worry. ‘Just go to SLEEP, Sharon.’”

She breathed a pray er of gratitude—and didn’t wake up until she got to her hospital room.

“Kathleen, God provided for me in an anxious, delirious moment,” she said. “To this day I can hardly believe that really hap pened.”

A miracle is what happened. To Sharon. With love from God.

I hear an echo. Quietly, simply, sweetly, a baby slipped into our agonized world—God, robed in flesh.

“Fear not, I am with you. Love, Jesus.”

gentle blush of pink, and green leaves that had some lighter green varie gation. It was just so very pretty!

Almost five million poinsettias were grown in Canada in 2021. From my homework I learned that there is always some thing new in the world of poinsettias, not only with their colors, but also their sizes. Some grow ers are producing plants that are smaller, which make them perfect for people who don’t have a lot of room in their home for a big plant.

We have so many reasons to offer thanks, especially for the deli cious food that we are lucky enough to enjoy at Christmas! We offer thanks to all those who had a part to play is pro ducing this food, those who prepare it, and those who gather at the table to share it with us.

See what’s new with the hort society at www. yorktonhort.ca. Thank you to our friends at YTW. Have a good week!

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email us at editorial@yorktonthisweek.com

Stress remains a problem farmers often face alone

When it comes to our health there are all kinds of suggestions of how to go about being healthier.

It ranges from fit ness centres to those on diets that avoid flour or meat or rely only on foods available hundreds of years ago, to those pointing to the healing qualities of cer tain herbs and crystals. Figure out the one that works and you should be physically better off.

But what about our minds?

While it is widely promoted to be healthi er physically, and many are at least keeping an eye on that element of their lives, it still seems less attention is paid to mental health.

It’s not that there are not services to help when we feel that our mind is overwhelmed and the decisions we might be making are detrimental, but seek ing that help is still dif ficult for many.

We are all right tell

ing a medical profes sional we have head aches or a sore back, but often far more reluctant to talk about our thoughts.

So what has this all have to do with a col umn on agriculture?

Well the topic of mental health was delved into as Sheldon Kennedy was the speaker recently at the Grain Expo Conference at Canadian Western Agribition.

Kennedy, an advo cate for abuse sur vivors was invited by Agribition CEO and long-time friend from Swift Current Shaun Kindopp to speak on the challenges and impacts of mental health and addictions issues.

Kennedy said the farm sector is far from immune from mental health issues. In fact, the stats are scary sug gesting “one-in-four farmers contemplated suicide in the last year.”

But, Kennedy said if

Agriculture

WEEK

you consider the pres sures they face, it is understandable they face a lot of stress.

With the investment that goes into planting a crop, worries about whether it will rain and if it does whether it might be too much, and of course the sea son end prices for what is harvested, are all stressful.

While farmers can’t avoid the stresses of the career they have chosen the key is to under stand “ways to manage it,” said Kennedy. “It’s managing the stresses.”

Kennedy’s message is not new, but needs to be retold to reinforce

the importance of men tal health of the farm.

In fact, back in 2017, Kim Keller, a farm er and co-founder of Saskatchewan Women in Agriculture said a University of Guelph study shows the level of stress being faced.

Keller told those who were attending a panel discussion the Farm Fitness and Finance Forum at the Grain Millers Harvest Showdown in Yorkton that fall that a study showed 35 per cent of farm respondents faced depression, 42 per cent said they faced high stress on a daily basis and 58 per cent anxiety.

But perhaps the most concerning data was that 40 per cent also said they wouldn’t seek help, she said.

Keller said that resistance to find help has dire implications.

“In the (United) States farmers are twice as likely to commit sui cide than the general public,” she said. Mike Neilson a rancher near Willowbrook told the conference he went through life threaten ing cancer and that cre ated stress and impact ed his mental health. He said it can come down to “a decision to be mentally well, to feel good about yourself … One main thing I had to learn … was to put myself first.”

Neilson said finding a balance when things are wearing on your mind is difficult, espe cially on a livestock farm.

“The cattle indus try is a unique indus try in that you really can’t take a break from

your animals,” he said. “There’s no days off so to speak.”

It was a theme Kennedy picked up on in a recent inter view with this reporter where he noted there is the isolation as farmers operate on their farm away from co-workers who might sense some thing being wrong.

It can be easy to start to over think problems when driving the trac tor around and around a field cultivating.

“The longer we struggle in our heads the more steam it (the problem) picks up,” said Kennedy.

And, on the farm you live the business.

“You drive down that lane you see the work that needs to be done,” said Kennedy.

Kennedy has been talking about mental health issues for some 30 years, and says things have gotten better, but one senses there is far more progress which needs to be made.

SASKATOON – By combining heat from microwaves and infra red energy, University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers have uncov ered a new, more energy efficient way to process lentils, making them more nutritious and digestible. The findings may result in more value for consumers, food processors, ingredient manufacturers, and pro ducers.

Processing red lentils with a specialized com bination infrared micro wave system—a counter top device that allows heating by microwave and radiant heat simul taneously—the USask research team was able to substantially improve how easily these lentils could be digested.

“The process makes these macromolecules— starch and protein— more accessible to

enzymes in our bodies,” said Mehdi Foroushani, USask doctoral student and first author on the study published in the journal Food Chemistry Advances.

By tweaking the amount of moisture in the lentils, and the amounts of microwave and infra red energy, the research team was able to make more than 96 per cent of the starch digestible, and more than 85 per cent of the protein digestible, measured by how quick ly the product dissolves in vitro. In raw lentils, less than 69 per cent of starch is digestible and less than 80 percent of protein is digestible.

To better understand what happened at the molecular level and examine it in the fin est detail possible, the research team analyzed the lentil samples using USask’s Canadian Light

Source synchrotron.

“Starch has a smooth surface,” said USask doc toral student Tahereh Najib, co-author of the study. “We make it kind of rough, so it’s more accessible by enzymes and the starch can be better broken down.”

More than two mil lion tonnes of lentils are produced on average each year in Canada, the world’s biggest producer, with the majority pro duced in Saskatchewan. Lentils are harvested, cleaned, and graded before packaging or fur ther processing. Most are cooked and consumed as a whole grain, but a growing volume of lentils is dried and turned into a powder to isolate pro teins from starches and used as a food additive.

“Our process takes 200 per cent less dry ing time,” said USask College of Engineering

“The unique nature of this energy method is that there is no input of chemicals used for dry ing, there is no output in terms of release of green house gases.”

In microwaving, heat is generated from the center of the lentil and radiates outward—mois ture and heat escape to the outside environment. By simultaneously roast ing the surface of the len tils with infrared heat, the research team was able to increase the over all efficiency and better seal in the microwave heat.

“By having more plantbased alternative food ingredients in our diet, one can also reduce our environmental footprint by fulfilling our need for proteins from plant sources,” said Meda.

The ideal setting of lentil moisture, micro wave energy intensity, and infrared roasting depends largely on how the lentil flour will be used.

“Modified lentil flour can be a great source of plant-based ingredi ents for our dietary and nutritional needs, and our kitchen and food processing operations,” said Meda. “Lentil flour serves as an additive or substitution to our food system to not only make the food nutritious but also preserve its accept able texture.”

The USask-processed lentils have not yet been assessed or approved for official trials involv ing human or animal consumption, for which a commercial kitchen is required. While the tex ture may be acceptable, how does the zapped len til flour taste?

“At home we have been using it, and the aroma has improved to ‘acceptable,’ and not deteriorated compared to any other commer cial variety,” said Meda. “We’re happy to report there is not much loss in any of the sensory qualities: colour, texture, aroma.”

Currently, the len til flour is processed in very small batches—only 50 grams. The next steps in the research involve improving the flavour, scaling up to process lar ger amounts of lentils, applying the process to other legumes and oil seeds, and examining whether the technique could also improve seed quality for germination.

The research was funded by the joint Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture-Government of Canada Agriculture Development Fund.

Innovation Saskatchewan invests in remote monitoring technology for rural water treatment facilities

The Government of Saskatchewan announced that it is investing over $1.9 mil lion in 10 industry-led research and develop ment projects through the Saskatchewan Advantage Innovation Fund (SAIF) and Agtech Growth Fund (AGF). SAIF supports the commercialization of game-changing innova tions in the province’s core economic sectors, while the AGF operates in parallel to accelerate the commercialization of novel agricultural tech nologies.

“Our industries are innovating aggressive ly to create jobs and drive economic growth,” Minister Responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan Jeremy Harrison said. “The Government of Saskatchewan will con tinue to support these

cutting-edge innovations by investing strategically through programs like SAIF and the AGF.”

One of the projects being announced today is led by Saskatoonbased Delco Water. The company is working with a number of rural municipalities and First Nations, including the Meadow Lake Tribal Council, to develop and pilot remote sensing technologies for water treatment facilities in rural Saskatchewan.

“These facilities are complex,” Vice President of Delco Water Scott Marchinko said. “Having the ability to not only cap ture the data in real-time but also use this data to drive positive outcomes will help support the safe and reliable delivery of water to the communities served.”

Access to clean drink ing water and waste water treatment is a significant challenge for many rural and First Nation commun ities in Saskatchewan. Treatment facilities are expensive to establish and maintain. Delco’s

technology aims to help communities overcome this challenge. “Realtime remote monitor ing will allow us to pro actively maintain our systems and minimize downtime” a Technical Services Manager with the Meadow Lake Tribal

Council Sulaiman Oggu said.

The intake period for both SAIF and the AGF is held twice per year. Funding decisions have been made for the fall intake of 2021 and spring intake of 2022. The nonrepayable grants that

have been committed to companies in the two intakes are listed in the backgrounder.

For more information about the Saskatchewan Advantage Innovation Fund (SAIF), and Agtech Growth Fund (AGF), visit www.innovationsask.ca.

researcher Dr. Venkatesh Meda (PhD), principal investigator on the study.

Continued from Page A10

To start with there is the isolation. They oper ate on their farm away from co-workers who might sense something being wrong.

It can be easy to start to over think problems when driving the trac tor around and around a field cultivating.

“The longer we strug gle in our heads the more steam it (the problem) picks up,” said Kennedy.

And, on the farm you live the business.

“You drive down that

lane you see the work that needs to be done,” said Kennedy.

While there is always work needing to be done, Kennedy said farmers need to find balance, with ways of letting go of the stress of all the things needing to done.

Farming is also very much seen as a job of the individual, so when something is going wrong “you just don’t talk about it,” said Kennedy, add ing everybody, farmers included must learn “how we talk about it

(mental health).”

It’s something Kennedy said he saw too often in hockey too.

“It’s fairly common in the hockey world,” he said, adding players hesitate to seek help when facing mental health stressors.

Whether with hockey, or farming “there’s a reluctance to reach out and ask for help,” con tinued Kennedy.

Kennedy said in the case of farmers they can spend a lot of time and effort deciding on what

Whiskers & Tails

How to effectively discipline your dog

Is your dog behaving badly? While it can be tempting to scream, yell and get angry, these methods of punishment are ineffective and can be detrimental to your dog’s well-being. Instead, try using these techniques.

REWARD GOOD BEHAVIOUR

Positive reinforcement works better than traditional punishments. Condition your dog to behave appropriately by giving them treats and belly rubs when they do the right thing. Dogs like to please their owners, and they’ll work hard to keep you happy.

PUNISH BAD BEHAVIOUR IMMEDIATELY

To be effective, punishments should be doled out directly following the undesirable behaviour. If you weren’t there to witness the misdemeanour, don’t try to punish your dog after the fact. They won’t understand why they’re being disciplined, and doing so may create fear and anxiety that could lead to aggression.

EMPLOY THE POWER OF REDIRECTION

The best way to discipline your dog is to correct their behaviour. For example, if you catch your dog chewing on your shoe, say “No” and remove it from their mouth. Present them with one of their toys and

praise them when they begin chewing on it instead.

In addition, it’s useful to understand that pets often act out when they’re bored. Keeping your dog active will often help get rid of pent-up energy and prevent bad behaviour.

Lastly, you should never hurt, shake or intimidate your dog. If you feel like your pup is out of control, consult a professional dog behaviourist for help.

crops to grow next spring, which field to grow them on, what inputs to invest in, because that is important to the farm’s success.

The key is to invest even a small fraction of that time in working on mental health issues, adding if they did that “they’d be way better off,” he said.

Kennedy said if a per son is struggling with a mental health issue it has an impact on every thing else they do as they struggle to cope, and that can impact farm oper ations in a detrimental way.

It can be finding that avenue to get away from the stress; exercise or meditation, or whatever works, or it might be reaching out for profes sional sport.

Whatever is the answer “build it into your calendar,” said Kennedy. “. . . It has to be a priority.”

“Not doing it will eventually affect every thing else. Everything else will suffer.”

Kennedy said it is OK to reach out for help.

If something’s bugging you holding it in gives the problem power, but once you talk to someone about it “it loses all its power.”

While Kennedy put together a solid NHL career his path was not an easy one. In fact, it was the hurdles he faced which had him become an advocate on the issue of abuse, after revealing publicly he had been a victim of abuse from Graham James with the Swift Current Broncos as a junior player, and after going through a public battle with alcohol.

Today Kennedy is watching his sons grow up, one is only a couple of months old, the other four years old with the eldest “learning to skate,” said his father.

So given what he went through is Kennedy hoping his sons opt for some interest other than hockey?

“I want to introduce him (the eldest for now) to as many things as pos sible, as many sports as possible, to art and to music,” he said. “I will tell them to figure out what they like.”

And, Kennedy recog nizes that it is hockey which gives him a plat form to help.

“We’ve been doing this almost 30 years,” he said, adding slowly more people are talking

and progress is being made in terms of mental health.

Two examples of other voices covered here are the books Finding Murph: How Joe Murphy Went From Winning a Championship to Living Homeless in the Bush by Rick Westhead and The Save of My Life: My Journey Out of the Dark by Corey Hirsch and Sean Patrick Conboy.

“It’s nice to see others talking about mental health,” he said. “It is all about progress, we’ve come a long way.”

Kennedy added he knows “it’s taken a long time to change” how people view men tal health issues, but he has seen it get better. “. . . Really we know more today than we did.”

E. YORKTON

Sheldon Kennedy

Submitted Photo