Yorkton This Week 2023-03-08

The Abominable Snow Slam 2023 was hosted Saturday at the M.C. Knoll School gym, with a baker’s dozen clubs represented. See Page A3 for more details.

Mayor calls for consultant input on operations

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer

Following a ‘Notice of Motion’ by Mayor Mitch Hippsley at the regular meeting of Council the city will be spending $80,000 for a consultant to review some of its core services.

“Council has been meeting quarterly (scheduled Committee of the Whole Meetings) which provides the opportunity to provide direction to Administration on the objectives that are deemed a priority of Council. The

priority of reviewing City operations began a number of months ago and now has moved forward from our queue to the present,” explained Hippsley.

“Council needed an independent organization to provide breadth from work with other municipalities to assist us with identifying operational savings that could be re-invested in the City’s Capital Program or other initiatives. Gathering this information on operations will help educate and find efficiencies. The longer term objective is to build a sustained culture and mindset

for continuous improvement in the City of Yorkton.” After much investigation and interviews with several organizations that provide this very specific service, a company known as MNP has been hired to do a 3-4 month project looking at the following areas:

• Data Analytics

• Fleet

• Procurement

• General Operational Efficiencies

“The proposal of $80,000 for the consulting services will come from the

Rainy Day Reserve fund and will not add costs to our budget,” said Hippsley. “Council sees this as an investment that will pay back moving forward. Council recognizes that times are always in constant change & there will be significant ideas brought forward.

The motion to approve engaging the consulting firm Meyers Norris Penny (MNP) LLP to collaborate with Council and Administration in developing a ‘Continuous Improvement Program’, was unanimously approved by Council without discussion.

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer

Dog owners using Wriggly Field Dog Park in the city are hoping the city will add some amenities and new fixtures to the facility.

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer

Appearing before the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday

Shannon O’Neill said dog owners are hoping to see three features added at the park; lighting at the north gate, a wind shelter for owners, and some

Yorkton Council approved its 2023 Water Main Replacement Program – Tender award at its regular meeting Monday.

“The City’s 2023 water main replacement program is sched-

canine enrichment structures.

The park was opened in 2015, and sees continued growth in year round usage, said O’Neill, citing that according to reports (source: Abacus Data), almost one mil-

uled to replace 590 meters of cast iron pipe on Circlebrooke Drive between Glenbrooke Drive and Parkview Road.

Since its original installation in 1966, this section of water main has experienced 15 breaks, many of which are classified as blowouts indicating

lion Canadians adopted or brought pets into their homes during the pandemic.

Pet owners needs a safe option to exercise their dogs and Wriggly Field has been this for many Yorkton dog

pipe integrity is severely compromised,” explained Trent Mandzuk – Director of Public Works with the City.

“In 2022, the City’s program was expanded at the end of the season to include 190 meters between Glenbrooke Drive and Riverview Road. This was

owners since its inception in 2015, however the park amenities need to continue developing with this drastic increase in pet ownership, explained O’Neill.

O’Neill said dog and owner safety is the most

Request to make upgrades at Wriggly Park Council approves water main replacement tender

done as an emergent response following a number of water main breaks in the area, one resulting in a sanitary sewer collapse causing a number of sanitary backups.”

This year’s project intends to carry on with water main renewal as well as replace-

important issue currently at Wriggly Field. As it stands to date, there are two lights inside the park fence however they are not very bright and only light up the south gate

Continued on Page A2

ment of service connections from the main to property lines as part of the program.

Two bids were received for the project, with the lowest being slightly over the estimated budget, explained Mandzuk.

Continued on Page A2

— Staff Photo by Calvin Daniels

Tim Hortons donates $3,380 to Health Foundation

YORKTON –Tim Hortons held a Holiday Smile Cookie campaign during December where they donated the proceeds of all the Smile Cookies purchased to help purchase equipment for the Yorkton Regional Hospital.

Yorkton Tim Hortons has supported the work of The Health Foundation for several years by consistently making donations.

Starting March

13, Tim Hortons will

begin another campaign in support of the work of The Health Foundation. From March 13 to April 24 Tim Hortons will donate 10 cents from every hot beverage sold. The total will be announced during The Health Foundations Airwaves for Health Radiothon which will be held April 24 and 25.

“We are very pleased by the ongoing support Mauricio Gomez, the

owner of Yorkton Tim Hortons has consistently provided our work,” said Ross Fisher, Executive Director of The Health Foundation, adding, “not only do they support our annual radiothon but Mr. Gomez has indicated they intend to continue the Holiday Smile Cookie campaign. We appreciate that as all the funds we raise are used to buy equipment for the Yorkton Regional Hospital.”

Vishal Sharma, General Manager for the Yorkton Tim Hortons, presented a cheque for $3,380 to Ross Fisher, Executive Director of The Health Foundation on March 6. Courtesy Health Foundation

YBID continues snow removal program with SaskAbilities

By Tyson Off Staff Writer

YORKTON – The Yorkton Business Improvement District supplied SaskAbilities with a cheque for $6,000 during a presentation at City Centre Park on March. 2.

“Way back in 2004 we started the Clean Sweep summer program,” said Donna Brothwell, Executive Director for YBID in an interview with Yorkton This Week, noting workers were supplied by SIGN at the time.

Brothwell noted that in 2020, after visiting several businesses downtown during the winter, that some of the sidewalks were less than accommodating.

“I was visiting the businesses and literally fall-

ing into little pot holes of snow or ice on the walks in the district,” said Brothwell, adding, “it was becoming—in the winter time—un-shoppable – unwalkable.”

“We decided to approach SIGN and see if they could start the winter program and shovel where the empty buildings are,” said Brothwell, adding, “I checked with the city with regards to that and there is fines that are put out on the business owners, but some of those business owners live in Toronto – they live in BC.”

Though businesses are fined by the city for not clearing snow, in the case of vacant buildings without local owners the snow remains.

“It was really hard for them (the business

owners) to find someone to shovel never mind getting it done each time it snowed,” explained Brothwell, “we decided to put some money into a program that every time it snows these [workers] would get out there and clear the walks.”

“It worked really good and started out as basically just the empty build-

ings – at least we could keep it walkable – keep it so that nobody is going to hurt themselves,” said Brothwell.

“Now it’s kind of grown into a little bit more,” said Brothwell, “last year we celebrated SaskAbilities taking over both programs—the summer and the winter programs— they’ve made them into

actual real jobs through employment services.”

“It was just last spring that we took on the project,” said Brittany Garbutt, Employment Services Senior Supervisor with SaskAbilities’ Partners In Employment.

“We were pretty excited when Donna came to us with the opportunity because we’re always looking for ways to give back to our community and it was a really great way of being an inclusive employer,” said Garbutt.

Garbutt said that SaskAbilities employs three to five workers each year per season to take care of the sidewalk cleaning. The seasons are broken down into the snow removal project and the sidewalk cleaning in the summer.

“Any vacant properties in our district – this team goes out and makes sure the snow is cleared in front of those properties and they lay down salt if there’s any ice to make sure that our business district is walkable – that it’s safe,” said Garbutt.

“Through our employment division—Partners In Employment—we’re always looking to promote those inclusive employment opportunities so the whole project is meant to be inclusive,” said Garbutt.

“It’s really a positive program for all of the organizations involved for the community,” said Brothwell, adding, “the workers who work the program feel like they really are doing the community a service and they are, they really are.”

Multicultural plans shared at Council

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer

Darlene Stakiw

with the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan (MCoS), appeared before the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday to help raise Awareness for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

March 21 is designated by the United Nations (UN) as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

“It’s a day observed all around the world to focus attention on the problems of racism and the need to promote racial harmony. The UN made this designation in 1966 to mark a tragic event

that took place in 1960 in Sharpeville, South Africa when 69 people lost their lives and 180 others were injured when the police fired on a crowd of peaceful demonstrators who were challenging laws that restricted black South Africans’ movements under apartheid,” detailed a report circulated to council by Stakiw.

Canada was one of the first countries to support the UN initiative and launched its first annual campaign against racial discrimination in 1989.

In Saskatchewan, this remains the day when we join with nations around the world to promote a society, which is free from all forms of racism,

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said Stakiw. The Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan (MCoS) has been raising awareness of the benefits of cultural diversity and the dangers of racism since November 22, 1975. There are three events this month which Stakiw encouraged people to attend, and to bring along a friend.

• On Tuesday, March 21, there is a Film Screening, part of the Open Cinema hosted by Yorkton Film Festival

(YFF), at the Yorkton Public Library, at 7:00 p.m. In celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, ‘The Pass System’ will be shown, with a discussion afterwards. Admission is free.

• On March 22 at 6:30 p.m., Author Michelle Good, will be at the Painted Hand Casino, Event Centre. Michelle’s book ‘Five Little Indians’ was the 2023 Selection for One Book, One Province.

TENDER

Continued from Page A1

The lowest tender was from Accurate HD for $2,672,691.30.

Funding for this project will come from the following sources:

*$720,000 from 2023 annual water main replacement budget *$284,000 from 2023 annual sanitary sewer replacement budget *$100,000 from 2023

Yorkton Public Library has a ‘Five Little Indian’ Book-Club-In-a-Bag so if you haven’t read this year’s provincial selection, you still have a chance. This event is also free of charge.

• On March 28th, at 7:30 p.m., Yorkton Arts Council is presenting ‘Motus O – Prisoner of Tehran’ at the Anne Portnuff Theatre. This unique dance performance is based on the book of the same name, written by Iranian born writer/

annual trench repair budget *$1,818,700 from Water Works 2023/2024 capital budget (total $3,335,000)

Mandzuk also noted, “Cost of install is up approximately 15 per cent on average in comparison to 2022 pricing.”

“As a comparison water rates were increased 4.75 per cent for 2023.”

“Homeowners were offered to have the remaining portion of their service connections replaced as part of the project for a flat rate of $4,000. 15 residents signed on to participate in the program,” added

Continued from Page A1 and cement padded area. The rest of the park is very dark, and you cannot see your pet if they stray anywhere else.

The shelter would give owners a place to get out of inclement weather.

The proposed shelter would be similar to the baseball dugouts at J.C Beach Ball Diamond to not only match the aesthetic but also this allows for a partially open shelter where pet owners can effectively watch their pets.

Structures would keep dogs happy.

With such an increase in park usage the poten-

speaker Marina Nemat. “The Prisoner of Tehran” was a contender for Canada Reads 2012 and tells the story of the author’s peaceful childhood that was shattered when the Iranian Revolution of 1979 ushered in a new era of Islamic rule. It is an astonishing account of one woman’s remarkable courage in the face of terror and her quest for freedom. Yorkton Public Library has also created a Book-Club-In-a-Bag for ‘Prisoner of Tehran’.

Mandzuk.

The $4000 cost is about half regular costs, and can be paid over four years, interest free. The 15 sign-ups are approximately one-third of the properties on the line.

tial risk of dog fights increases as well.

Enrichment structures not only provide fun for the dogs, but it has been known to “reduce stress in dogs and reinforce socialization practices” (source: Purdue University), explained the presentation.

When asked the potential cost of the improvements, O’Neill said while it might vary and they had not worked with the city on an estimate they were expecting $15$20,000.

The request was referred to future budget discussions by Council.

Members of the Yorkton Business Improvement District presented SaskAbilties with a cheque for $6,000 on March 2.

Up Front

Abominable Snow Slam 2023

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer

The Abominable Snow Slam 2023 was hosted Saturday at the M.C. Knoll School gym. A baker’s dozen clubs were represented with International Mantis Canada bringing the most non-local competitors with 24.

The Weary Warrior Award went to the Srok family who travelled 728 kilometres to compete.

In men’s breaking Troy McLelland of Vilcu’s Karate broke five bricks.

Topping the women’s breaking was local competitor Chloey Forster breaking four boards.

The cutting champion was Nik Srok of Kuro Tora.

The women’s black belt grand champion was Chloey Forster of YMATC.

The men’s black belt grand champion was Colby Yee of Jin Pal Hapikdo.

Among the clubs Spirit of the Dragon led the way with 24 firsts, followed by YMATC and IMC each with 13.

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Sask. United off to a good start

MURRAY MANDRYK

Politics

Those that see the Saskatchewan Party as a slick, smooth-running political machine may be missing two critical points.

It wasn’t that way in the very beginning and it might not be that way now.

Contrast this with the Saskatchewan United Party––Sask. United, as it prefers––that pulled off a well-organized launch last week complete with noise makers, slick videos and enthusiasm from a big crowd seldom seen at such an initial event.

Of course, one should be careful not to get too caught up in Sask. United’s initial hype.

People should also remember that Scott Moe has proved to be an underrated and formidable politician, himself.

He took over a Sask. Party wavering in popularity after 2017 budget and built it back up again. In the middle of a pandemic while running against an opposition led by a doctor, he held the Sask. Party’s large majority in the 2020 election. He even took a seat away from the NDP in the next-available byelection.

As for his opposition to the right, Moe immediately addressed those discontent enough to vote Buffalo Party on 2020 election night.

And he has since tweaked government policy with the Saskatchewan First Act (that is taking on the federal government when it comes to resources), the Marshal Services Act (that is clearly a nod to a perceived increase in rural crime) and continues to take on Ottawa when it comes to guns and everything else.

As for the newly minted Sask. United, it’s still driven by and obsessed by anti-COVID-19 vaccines and the long-gone health and masking restrictions that accompanied it.

Masking, supposed lockdowns and “experimental vaccines” were reoccurring themes at the Sask. United launch in Saskatoon last week.

How this plays with the 80 to 90 per cent of the province (including the rural, older demographic to which Sask. United is targeting) that got vaccinated is questionable.

Certainly, some of the nonsense of the rhetoric we heard won’t be helpful. To hear former Conservative cabinet minister Gerry Ritz suggest anti-vaccine jurisdictions like South Dakota fared better during COVID-19 than Saskatchewan did is telling.

The per 100,000 people COVID-19 death rate in South Dakota is 359 and in North Dakota it is 323. We have had 1,882 COVID-19 deaths in Saskatchewan that has 1,205,119 people — a rate of 156 deaths per 100,000. The only U.S. states to fare better were Vermont and Hawaii.

But while some of Sask. United rhetoric will be off-putting to some, much of it is the stuff that clearly crosses all political lines in this province:

“Saskatchewan’s healthcare system is losing its talent. Doctors and nurses are finding work elsewhere for better pay, and medical training is failing to keep pace.”

“Sask. United will champion efficiency and opportunity and serve the people of Saskatchewan proper healthcare.”

“Saskatchewan is in desperate need of authentic leadership. It’s time to elect those who will champion the conservative values that our province knows and loves.”

It’s worth remembering that when the Sask. Party started a quarter century ago, it, too, was overrun by ideologues opposing abortion and demanding chain gangs or boot camps for youth.

And Sask. United is less worried about that catering to the centre-liberal vote. It’s squarely aiming at the Sask. Party.

Moreover, what we saw at the launch of Sask. United was a lot of organization. The sizeable crowd armed with noise-makers were treated to a rather spectacular and moving campaign video around the theme of pride in the province broadcast on the Internet.

Contrast with what we’ve recently seen from the Sask. Party government that recently put up a free fishing day promotion on Moe’s social media feeds with pictures from Idaho.

Sask. United demonstrated it already has political skills, money, organization wherewithal and support.

The Sask. Party can’t ignore Sask. United.

Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics since 1983.

◆Editorial◆

What message is service review sending

At Monday’s meeting of Yorkton Council Mayor Mitch Hippsley put forward a ‘Notice of Motion’ where, if passed by Council at some point, would have the city spend $80,000 to hire a consultant to review city operations.

Council has been meeting quarterly (scheduled Committee of the Whole Meetings) which provides the opportunity to provide direction to Administration on the objectives that are deemed a priority of Council. The priority of reviewing City operations began a number of months ago and now has been moved forward from our queue to the present.

Council has previously suggested a desire to have an independent organization to provide breadth from work with other municipalities to assist with identifying operational savings that could be reinvested in the City’s Capital Program or other initiatives, noted Hippsley’s report to Council Monday.

The process being put forward, and the dollars it will cost taxpayers are both somewhat interesting.

To begin with, Council always points the city administration in a direction, and administration is supposed to work toward those goals.

One would fully expect this Council has asked administration to identify operational savings since they took office.

That they now seek outside eyes at the very least brings into question if this council trusts its administration, and that perception itself is concerning given that the key administration positions are veteran, and taxpayers pay them quite well.

If there is a rift in terms of trust between Council and administration it needs to be addressed, and sooner than

later. So, if we assume for a moment this administration and council need some added guidance, is a consultant service with a fee of $80,000 the best place to start?

There are certainly past mayors and councillors in the city who might be brought together for a consultation reflective of how things have been done locally in the city. It would be something of a foundational/benchmarking exercise.

The Mayor then regularly meets with other city mayors from across the province. They would seem to be another natural source of information on whether Yorkton approaches things in a significantly different way.

When it comes to resources the city is also part of SUMA provincially, and FCM nationally, which have resources which can be accessed as well.

So are consultants needed? Or, other avenues open that save some dollars?

Of course at the end of the day $80K is not a huge expense in terms of overall municipal costs, and they will certainly find some things to suggest Yorkton might do differently since rare is the consultation process that doesn’t find something that aligns with its given mandate. Here they will be tasked with finding efficiencies and savings, so they will.

But, alas those are findings they could likely unearth with a review of any municipality in the country, and a year from now another firm would make new suggestions here too.

If the process saves the city significant dollars it’s a win financially, but will the real cost be the relationship of council and staff?

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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 courtesy of Yorkton This Week. March 8 is International Women’s Day. On this day, people around the world celebrate the achievements of women, increase visibility, and call out inequality. It is a great time to think about the origin of the word “woman.” Woman is a compound of “wife” and “man,” a combination that can be traced back to Old English. When Old English was first being spoken in the 5th century AD, there were two distinct words for men and women: “wer” meant “adult male,” and “wif” meant “adult female.” There was a third word, “man,” which simply meant “person” or “human being.” By the 1600s, the version we know today was established: “woman.” (www.quickanddirtytips. com) Make International Women's Day your day and do what you can to truly make a positive difference for women and the whole world.

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Terriers hand out hardware

While the Yorkton Terriers still have a few games on the SJHL schedule, they held their windup banquet and awards night Saturday.

The award winners

included:

• Scholar Athletic

Award – Donated by Yorkton Terriers Hockey Club – Aiden Knutson

• Ed Ruf Memorial

Donated by Elsie Ruf –

Logan Cyca

• Jamie Standish

Memorial Mr. Personality

Donated by Yorkton

Terriers Hockey Club –

Quintin Unreiner

• Most Gentlemanly

Donated by Yorkton

Terriers Hockey Club –

Cale Strasky

• Chaplin’s Award

Donated by Chaplin John and Karen Anderson and family – Caleb Allen

• Unsung Hero Award

Donated by N.R. Park and Sons Jewellery – Brett Butz

• Most Popular Player

Award Donated by Amos

Border Memorial – Clay

Sleeva

• Mr. Hustle Award

Donated by Yorkton Co-op

– Cohner Saleski

• Rookie of the Year

Donated by Dr. Johann

Roodt – Dylan Ruptash

• Most Improved Award Schoenroths and Wolfe Memorial – Pavel

Mckenzie

• Top Defensemen

Award Donated by Parks

Jewellery – Tyson Perkins

• Coaches Award The

Josh Campbell Memorial –

Greg Nelson

• Most Valuable Player

Guy Lamb Memorial –

Dylan Ruptash

• Volunteer of the Year

– Phil Decker

• President’s Trophy

Donated by N.R. Park and Sons Jewellery – Logan

Cyca

• In School Mentorship

– Big Brothers/Big Sisters –Logan Cyca

The Most Valuable Player Guy Lamb Memorial went to Dylan Ruptash. From left Terrier assistant couch Scott Musqua, Ruptash, head coach Mat Hehr and assistant coach Zach Rakochy.

The Coaches Award ‘The Josh Campbell Memorial’ was presented to Greg Nelson. From left Terrier assistant coach Scott Musqua, Nelson, head coach Mat Hehr, and assistant coach Zach Rakochy.

The Most Popular Player Award donated by Amos Border Memorial went to Clay Sleeva. From left Terrier assistant coach Scott Musqua, Sleeva, head coach Mat Hehr and assistant coach Zach Rakochy.

The Rookie of the Year Donated by Dr. Johann Roodt was presented to Dylan Ruptash. From left Terrier assistant coach Scott Musqua, Ruptash, head coach Mat Hehr, Perkins and assistant coach Zach Rakochy.

Top Defensemen Award donated by Parks Jewellery went to Tyson Perkins. From left Terrier assistant coach Zach Zakocky, head coach Mat Hehr, Perkins and assistant coach Scott Musqua.

The Volunteer of the Year was presented to Phil Decker, right, by Terrier president Corvyn Neufeld.

March 8 - March 14, 2023

Next Council Meeting

Monday, March 27, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.

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From shackles to success: Emily O’Brien’s inspiring journey

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer

Emily O’Brien made a mistake. She got in with the wrong person who had her trying to smuggle cocaine into Canada. She was caught at the airport in Toronto, pleaded guilty to trafficking, and was sentenced to four years in jail.

O’Brien said she remembers going into the jail in shackles, wrist-towrist, ankle to ankle, and the sound of the iron bars clanging shut behind her.

It was a difficult

experience but one O’Brien said ended up changing her life in a very positive fashion.

“Prison in many ways saved my life,” she told those attending the FCC Young Farmer Summit in Yorkton Wednesday.

It was while in prison O’Brien started Cons & Kernels (now Comeback Snacks), a popcorn snack line now in 700 locations.

While noting in business the financial bottom line is crucial in order to keep operation, there is more to Comeback Snacks for O’Brien than money.

O’Brien said she believes as an entrepreneur emotional profit is just as important in business.

“I think all of us want to generate emotional profit,” she said.

The popcorn business provided O’Brien with that opportunity. In jail “it was a comfort food,” that allowed inmates to work together. “Popcorn brought us together,” said O’Brien.

While still in prison O’Brien began building a business, one that she was able to pursue fully upon her release.

“Another chance at life was possible,” she said. “No matter what, you can always change how you will react to anything.”

Part of that process is knowing the person in the mirror.

“First you need to understand yourself before you can understand your business,” said O’Brien. That understanding often requires being ready to forgive, others and yourself for past issues so you can move forward, she added.

“What forgiveness

does, it returns balance,” said O’Brien, adding the old transgressions “. . . no longer haunt us. They’re gone.”

Certainly time in jail gave O’Brien a level of resiliency, which she added has to be earned, that it cannot be bought or borrowed.

“Don’t let one problem stop you,” she said. “Resiliency is what will sustain you when things get tougher . . . If you can adapt and learn you can survive.”

Starting in her mother’s kitchen O’Brien built her brand, her bottom

line and her emotional profit.

The emotional profit comes from helping others, which often means hiring others who have served time in jail.

O’Brien said it’s not easy for those with a record to find employment but having gone through it herself she understands most just want another chance.

“Emotional profit comes from changing the world in ways I believe in,” she said, adding that means helping others where she can and making a product she loves.

Relationships are the new bottom line on family farms

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer

When operating any business, the family farm included, relationships are critical.

That was one of the messages those attending a FCC Young Farmer Summit in Yorkton Wednesday heard.

“I want you to treat your relationships on your farm as just as important as your bottom line,” said speaker Danielle Wildfong, adding that is not a new idea, suggesting “relationships have long been the bottom line.”

Wildfong, a professional advisor, told the producers attending that relationships are the new bottom line on their farms, and those relationships need to be constantly worked on.

Too often people simply fail to communicate in such a way that they don’t build the relationships they should whether with family, or staff.

“I don’t know why people lead with fear … but it doesn’t help you,” said Wildfong, adding fear can create rifts and misunderstandings which can linger. It’s a situation where

you need to build positive relationships as a foundation.

“You have the opportunity every day when you get up to decide how you will treat other people,” said Wildfong.

To be successful the decision must be to treat people with love and respect, trust and honesty. Wildfong said of course relationships need work, but people can be better dealing with them if they try.

“I want you to believe you can make changes for the better,” she said, adding it is a case of mindset.

Mitigating risk in farming: Steps to take for long-term success

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer

Farming is a big dollar business with lots of aspects – weather and prices prime examples – which create financial risk.

So learning how to navigate that risk is essential, explained Evan Shout CFO at Hebert Grain Ventures at Moosomin during a FCC Young Farmer Summit in Yorkton Wednesday.

To start, farmers need to recognize they are among the one per cent in terms of wealth, said Shout. Farmers might not recognize that but two measures of being in that upper one percent is to have $1 million or more in assets, and to have more than $200K in earnings.

When you think about the value of land and machinery in terms of assets, and sales based on canola at $21 a bushel “you are one of the one per cent.”

But, with the wealth comes big risk, but that is part of farming.

“You take risks to get rewards,” said Shout.

The key is mitigating risk, and that takes a level of planning.

Shout said in general people, farmers included, “over estimate what they can do in one year.”

And by contrast they also “underestimate what they can do in 10

years.”

Shout said as a result it takes a plan to make progress on lessening risks particularly in the short team.

It can come down to making what might be seen as small changes, but which cumulatively have a far bigger impact.

That is where the idea of five per cent comes into play in planning, offered Shout, although he suggested six per cent to be a bit ahead of the curve.

If you can increase efficiency by five per cent, it helps.

If you increase yields by five per cent at the same time, the positive impact is better.

If you can market and get just five per cent more, the bottom line gets yet another bounce.

When it all is factored together the effect on the bottom one can be huge, noted Shout.

Interestingly costs, especially crop input costs, are not an area Shout suggested cuts.

“As ag businesses we complain about costs, but they don’t matter. It’s return on equity that matters,” he said.

To make the small changes still requires an open mind to change, said Shout, adding in farming “change is constant,” so be prepared for it.

Shout said it’s also important to remember you can always do bet-

ter. If you reach a point where you think you have it perfect somebody else in the world is invariably doing things better.

At the same time a farmer needs to plot their own course to success.

“Quit looking over the fence because you don’t know what’s going on across the fence,” said Shout.

Shout said it is also important to hire good people to help, but when you take that step, let them do their job.

“It doesn’t make sense to have smart people and then tell them what to do,” he said. “We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

That works into creating a farm career where hired staff will stay, and that’s important as hired help is hard to find.

Finding staff is a world issue at present, said Shout, adding “when the world has labour issues, agriculture has really big issues.”

So build relationships with staff, offered Shout, who then added it’s not always easy. “The more people you have the more complex it is.”

It can ultimately mean giving good staff more say, even company shares, to create a career, but in so doing you maintain experience and that helps mitigate risk too, he explained.

“We are in a business. We need to make careers,” said Shout.

In that respect it helps to visualize, suggesting those attending close their eyes to “think about who you are today”, and then about who they want to become and how they will get there.

How one gets to where they want to be will mean having a willingness to “evolve and adapt.”

In that regard Wildfong suggested attending the meeting itself was a positive step indicating a willingness to “better yourself through continuing education.”

In the end though relationships are built through good communication.

“Sixty per cent of family enterprise failures are caused by lack of communication,” said Wildfong.

With communication there needs to be transparency and honesty for it to work, said Wildfong,

adding that will help solve conflicts and build the key relationships.

If the communication isn’t there it can lead to resentment, sometimes of others, but often of oneself because you haven’t stood up for what you need, she said.

So be sure to talk on the farm.

“Everybody needs to feel appreciated. Deep down it’s what everybody needs,” said Wildfong. So start things by having discussions.

“If you get the foundation right you’re good to go to work through tough stuff,” she said. “. . . Trust is built on communication.”

March 8, 2023 - March 14, 2023

Next Council Meeting

Monday, March 27, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PROPOSED BYLAW NO. 2/2023

Amendment to the Traffic Bylaw No. 18/2016

Public Notice is hereby given that the Council of the City of Yorkton intends to consider approving Bylaw No. 2/2023, to amend the Traffic Bylaw No. 18/2016, at the March 27, 2023 Regular Council Meeting. The Proposed Traffic Bylaw amendment will include changes to include a section relating to temporary weight restrictions that may be declared for certain roads and for a limited time. A Public Hearing will be held at the March 27, 2023 Regular Council Meeting to allow the public to express their opinion or concern with any of the changes being proposed.

You can review the bylaw on the city’s website www.yorkton.ca or by visiting City Hall. Questions regarding the proposed bylaw may be directed to:

René Richard, Director of Engineering & Asset Management

Phone: (306) 786-1734

Email: rrichard@yorkton.ca

OR Nicole Baptist, Bylaw & Safety Supervisor

Phone: (306) 828-2425

Email: nbaptist@yorkton.ca

Public Hearing: City Council will hear all persons who are present and wish to speak to the proposed bylaw and all written submissions will be read verbatim aloud unless the submitter is in attendance to speak on the submission, on Monday, March 27, 2023 in City Hall Council Chambers, Yorkton, Saskatchewan at 5:00 p.m.

Any written submissions must be received by 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 and must be directed to:

Jessica Matsalla, City Clerk

Box 400, 37 Third Avenue North Yorkton, SK S3N 2W3

Email: jmatsalla@yorkton.ca

Danielle Wildfong

Vintage sleds race in Saltcoats

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer

It was nearly perfect weather, sunny, not too warm and not too cold, for the 21st annual edition of the Vintage Snowmobile Race at Saltcoats Regional Park.

The annual event, presented by the Saltcoats Volunteer Fire Department was for pre-1974 single cylinder snowmobiles.

The day included races for youth 12-15, a

30-miles Race for drivers over 50, and the 100mile, main event.

In the main event first place was #19 Sam Wilson, second place was #75 Tory Tangedal and third was #134 Terry Bush.

For drivers over 50 first was #47 Pat Haddow, second #134 Terry Bush and third #72 Tyron Tangedal.

In the youth race first was #007 Jesse Haddow, second #911 Kyson Gervais and third #87 Kanen Nabozniak.

So this March marks the 12th year of Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM), a program which “inspires students to realize, understand and engage with their own connections to agriculture and food,” notes a recent release from Agriculture in the Classroom Saskatchewan.

“For more than a decade, Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month has given us an opportunity to celebrate our connections - as Canadians - to agriculture,” said Rebecca Sooksom, chair of Agriculture in the Classroom Canada in the release. “Linking

Ag in classroom noble effort

students with food producers helps keep that connection strong so the next generation of Canadians knows not only where their food comes from, but also the importance of the sector to our communities from coast to coast.”

So, students who will graduate high school in June have had Agriculture Literacy Month focusing attention on the farm sector and food for their entire school lives.

One might expect the students graduating this year will be rather food and farm savvy, at least if the program has fulfilled its goal which is to inspire students to realize, understand and

Agriculture THIS WEEK

Calvin Daniels

engage with their own connections to agriculture and food.

Whether that is a reality where students are more knowledgeable about their food, and equally about the efforts producers make in producing it, is of course something which will be hard to quantify.

But, it is an effort

which is important because we need a better educated public which understands farm challenges and understands producers are generally trying to be good environmental stewards, while feeding the world, and earning a profit to be financially viable.

The trio of goals are

not always something which work smoothly in sync, but farmers do typically try to maintain balance.

In a world of social media rhetoric and Internet generated misinformation and background white noise of food and farming, educating youth so they can recognize the underlying realities is crucial.

“Connecting our youth to agriculture is an important piece of strengthening Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector,” Agriculture Minister David Marit said in a recent provincial release proclaiming Agriculture Literacy Month in Saskatchewan.

“Presentations from

industry experts can help educate children on the work that goes into producing the highquality food that our province is known for.”

So the 12-year effort is certainly worthwhile, but whether it has significantly influenced students to be more farm and food knowledgeable will only be fully seen as they become adults and how they then react to the issues facing farmers and food production.

Certainly, as the population of farmers declines and informed general public is a must, and hopefully Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month is building that broader knowledge base.

USask awarded $14 million to support innovative crop research

SASKATOON –

The University of Saskatchewan (USask) has been awarded $14 million through Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF), with $7.2 million of the funds allocated to operating the Crop Development Centre (CDC) for the next five years.

Nineteen USask researchers were awarded $6.8 million to support 29 innovative croprelated projects, ranging from using plant-derived ethanol and biodiesel to reduce plastic waste, to developing nutritionally balanced milk using pulse and oilseed protein, to tackling a root rot

problem in lentils, a key export for Saskatchewan.

“I am grateful for the investment in crop research at USask by the provincial and federal governments, and industry partners that recognizes the tremendous economic and social contributions of our researchers,” said USask Vice-President Research Baljit Singh.

“Their innovations help deliver on USask’s commitment to addressing global food security and creating value-added products that make Saskatchewan a world leader in agriculture.”

The ADF is supported through the Canadian Agricultural

Partnership, a five-year, $3 billion investment by federal, provincial, and territorial governments to strengthen Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector. This includes a $2-billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 percent federally and 40 percent provincially/territorially, with a $388-million investment in strategic initiatives for Saskatchewan agriculture.

CDC a world leader in plant breeding Plant geneticist and wheat breeder Dr. Curtis Pozniak (PhD), a professor in USask’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources and

CDC director since 2020, stressed the importance of support from the Ministry of Agriculture since CDC’s inception 52 years ago.

“We are grateful for this significant ADF funding to support CDC’s operations. It speaks to the province’s commitment to the CDC’s mission, which is to improve the profitability of Saskatchewan and western Canadian growers,” he said. “This support is invaluable to achieving our vision of being global leaders in the area of plant breeding, pathology, and quality of the grain crops that we grow in Western Canada.”

The operating funds

support the work of eight CDC scientists, grain quality testing, and field operations.

Pozniak said CDC has developed more than 500 crop varieties across 40 different crop types over the past five decades, noting that high-yielding productive varieties are fundamental to a sustainable agriculture production system. Thanks to CDC’s innovations, Saskatchewan is now the world leader in exporting peas, lentils, and chickpeas to fast growing markets such as India, Bangladesh, and northern Africa.

An economic assessment of the CDC showed that for every dollar

invested in the CDC, there was a $12 return to growers, he said. If one considers just pulse crops alone, such as lentils and peas, that return is a substantial $44 for each dollar invested.

“Over the next five years, we will continue our work to be globally recognized for research and crop development and build our capacity in terms of people and infrastructure so that we can expand the important work that we do at CDC,” said Pozniak.

Developing MAGIC lentils to fight root rot Dr. Sabine Banniza (PhD), professor in Continued on Page A13

Terriers take two in old-fashioned tilts with Mills

The Highway 10 rivalry, SJHL-style, wrote another chapter Friday as the Yorkton Terriers visited the Melville Millionaires.

The newest chapter was one highlighted by goals and referee calls.

The first period certainly went the way the visiting Terriers would have wanted, taking a 4-1 lead.

Logan Cyca started the scoring for Yorkton with a goal 3:22 into the contest.

Carter McKay knotted the score for the Mills, scoring a short-handed effort at 4:06.

A powerplay goal by Ashton Funk 20-seconds later gave the Terriers a 2-1 lead.

Twenty-three seconds later

Karsten Kruska made it 3-1, with Pavel Mckenzie adding the fourth Terrier goal at 12:30.

It was a better middle stanza for the home team.

Nathan Fox scored a powerplay marker 1:28 into the period to make 4-2.

Then 7:41 in Aiden Robson scored to cut the Yorkton lead to one.

From there the teams traded one more goal each in the second period.

Greg Nelson scored from Yorkton with Sam Schofield responding for Melville mak-

ing it 5-4 through 40-minutes. In the third period the Terriers pulled away with three unanswered goals, in a period where the referees would have nearly worn out their whistles. The teams would combine to serve 13 roughing penalties, four fighting majors, 13 10-minute misconducts –seven of those assessed at the 20-minute mark, and seven game misconducts.

The calls built on a roughhouse game which in the first two periods included two calls for kneeing, one for a hit to the head – a second was called in the third period, two slashing calls, a checking from behind and two calls for spearing.

Meanwhile there were goals in the final 20-minutes too.

JD Hall scored an unassisted marker at 3:07, with Cohner Saleski matching the unassisted effort at 10:21.

Karsten Kruska rounded out the 8-4 win with a goal at 15:03.

Caleb Allen was in net for the Terriers facing 33-shots in the win, while Clement Labillois guarded the cage for the Millionaires facing 32-shots in the loss.

Back in Yorkton

It was a rare afternoon start for the Terriers, but it proved to their liking as they took a

second win in as many days from Melville.

Pavel Mckenzie started things in the SJHL encounter scoring a powerplay goal 2:07 into the contest to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead on Westland Insurance Arena ice.

Karsten Kruska scored a short-handed effort at 11:46 to make it 2-0.

The Millionaires then responded with a pair of powerplay markers to tie the game 2-2. Tucker Buhay struck at 12:05 and Nathan Fox at 18:15.

It was a powerplay effort by Colton Koran at 19:05 that edged the Terriers ahead 3-2 through 20-minutes of play.

In the middle frame

McKenzie scored an unassisted goal for Yorkton at 3:08, only to have Melville respond with a goal by Carter McKay at 5:27, again on the powerplay.

McKenzie was back to make it a 5-3 contest with his hat trick completing effort at 8:09.

And, that was it as the third period was a scoreless affair.

Ethan Rau took the loss in net for the Mills facing 33-shots, while Caleb Allen secured the win for Yorkton facing 32-shots.

The Terriers are in action next hosting Humboldt on March 10..

Excited to be part of new wheelchair rugby team

Wheelchair Rugby Canada recently announced Canada will send a women’s team to Paris to compete in the 2023 Women’s Cup. The event will mark Canada’s first international competition dedicated to female wheelchair rugby athletes, participating in the event’s third edition.

“They have the tournament for some time in Paris, but Canada hasn’t put together a team before” explained Ashley Munro, an Alberta athlete who will be on the first women’s team to represent Canada.

“I’m so super excited.”

Munro said creating the team is an important opportunity for women and the sport.

“I just want everyone to know how grateful I am to have this opportunity to travel with these amazing women, to represent Canada, and meet the other incredible women attending the tournament,” she said.

“It’s a special moment

to have enough women to put an all women’s tournament together, and I hope it encourages other girls and women to come out and try wheelchair rugby.”

Munro, who lives in Calgary said the number of women in wheelchair rugby is still rather low, counting herself fortunate that there are four on her local team.

But to put together an all women’s team capable of playing internationally is a big one.

“It’s just getting enough people interested at that level,” said Munro, adding the effort had been discussed for a few years, but was put on the backburner as so many things as COVID struck.

To create the team is less about winning in Paris, and more about continuing to encourage women to participate in the sport. While a few women do make international rosters in what are essentially co-ed possible teams, playing as a team will open doors.

CALVIN DANIELS Sports

“I think it encourages other people, to have more women wanting to play,” said Munro.

“The sport is continu-

ously growing and having women highlighted like this is extraordinary to see.” Still there has been

significant growth in the women’s game; the 2022 World Championships saw an historic 13 female athletes descend on Veijle, Denmark – three were on Australia’s Gold Medal Squad.

Of course the pool of athletes is a smaller one.

“In general there a lot more men with disabilities than there are women,” observed Munro.

Munro said while the overall sport of wheelchair rugby is a welcoming one, and her own experience has been one where players, both male and female have been helpful, having a team of women is still positive.

There will be a greater commonality of experience with other female athletes that can be important in helping attract and help new players adapt to the game, offered Munro.

“Having a tournament like this will help reach other women who are interested,” said Munro.

It is a sentiment echoed by National Team

member, Melanie Labelle in a Wheelchair Rugby Canada release.

“The spotlight we have has the potential to create that spark in newcomers,” she said. “Every woman [on this team] has the opportunity to be a leader for the next generation.

In her own case, Munro said she was actually tested to see what para sport might suit her, and it was suggested she try wheelchair rugby.

“I said ‘why not’,” she said, adding she loved the camaraderie of the team aspect of the sport.

While the Canadian team will be a first, Munro said she hopes it is only a first outing for what becomes an ongoing program.

“Hopefully having all women teams and tournaments become commonplace in the near future,” she said.

The event in Paris will be held March 8-12 and will be hosted by the French Wheelchair Rugby Federation.

Ashley Munros

Photo courtesy Wheelchair Sports Alberta WSA

The Terriers took two from Melville in a home-and-home weekend set.

ATAMANCHUK - Peter Paul Atamanchuk of Dauphin, MB, went home to be with the Lord on February 10, 2023, at the Dauphin Personal Care Home. Pete was born to George and Anne Atamanchuk on August 6, 1938, on their family farm near Fork River, MB. Pete attended Pine View School, completing Grade 10. In a Catechism class, he first laid eyes on his future sweetheart, Helen Semchyshyn. The two were married on June 4, 1960, in the St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Fork River, MB, where they have been life-long members. Their joy of dancing together began to unfold, as did a family of five children. Pete excelled as a fastball pitcher and home run hitter. Beyond ball, he was passionate about hockey, hunting, and fishing. He shared his enthusiasm and knowledge with many down through the generations. Pete had pursued several career paths, which moved his family from Manitoba to British Columbia and Saskatchewan. His work ethic was impressive. He was an exceptional heavy equipment operator, grain elevator agent, and diamond driller, drilling as far away as Tuktoyaktuk, NWT. During their sunset years, Pete and Helen attended the various events and sports games of their grand and greatgrandchildren. They included everyone in games of Canasta, camping, fishing, hunting, and so much more fun…making each child feel special. The care and concern for those Pete loved and the effort he extended to enhance the well-being of others will be cherished forever. He made safety and the comfort of others his priority. Left to cherish many great memories are his wife of 62 years, Helen, and children Barbara Wyatt, Mary Baron, Dave Atamanchuk, Cindy and Greg Matsalla, Brian and Launa Atamanchuk, 20 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild. Pete was predeceased by his infant siblings Bill and Mary 1933/1935, parents George and Anne 1979/1992, brother-inlaw Johnny Semchyshyn 1983, in-laws William and Mary Semchyshyn

1990/2007, son-in-law Ricky Wyatt 2014, sister-in-law Elizabeth Seminchuk 2017, and great-granddaughter Emberleigh Matsalla 2019. A heartfelt thank you is extended to Dr. Penrose, Dr. Mathison, and all of the hospital, home care, personal care home, and handy-van workers who cared for Pete so very well. We also thank Sneath-Strilchuk Funeral Services for their personal assistance and professional service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Prayers were offered on Friday, March 3, 2023 at 7:00 pm from SneathStrilchuk Family Care Centre in Dauphin, MB. Funeral Service was held on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 10:30 am from Sneath-Strilchuk Family Care Centre in Dauphin, MB. Interment followed in St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in Fork River, MB. Pallbearers were Ryan Johnson, Jerrid Matsalla, Oree Wyatt, Justin Matsalla, Dawson Atamanchuk, Nathan Wyatt, Shaun Atamanchuk, Nolan Atamanchuk. Sneath-Strilchuk - Dauphin Chapel 204-638-4110 www.sneathstrilchuk.com

KARDYNAL - Mike Kardynal passed away at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Esterhazy, SK at the age of 98 on February 25, 2023 with his four children present. Mike was born on November 19, 1924 in Mukhavka (Muchawka), Western Ukraine to Philip and Tekla Kardynal (Dutchak). In 1939, at the age of 15, Mike emigrated to Canada with his father and mother, and two brothers, Harry and Taras. The family came to the Amsterdam area, north of Canora. The family worked for farmers in the Amsterdam and Canora area before moving north to Pelly in 1940. In May of 1941, the family came south to the Saltcoats area, where two other sons, Robert and Paul, were born. The family established their roots there, where Philip and Tekla farmed until retirement to Yorkton in 1968. Upon his parents retiring, Mike bought two quarters of their land and has continued to farm the land until his passing. Mike worked his entire life; farming was in his blood. In 1944, Mike bought his first quarter of land from a land agent. As he was only 20 years old at the time, Mike had to buy the land in trust of his father. When Mike was not farming his land, he would go to work at various jobs across Canada. He worked in Geraldton, ON in the mine and then at the hospital. He worked one season on a ship sailing on Lake Superior and Lake Ontario. He also worked at the Bralorne, BC gold mine for 9 years going there every winter to make money to put towards his farming operation, which he did until he got married. Mike was married to his wife Adeline on September 2, 1956. They were married for 65 years; and in all their years of marriage, they were rarely apart. Together, they built a successful farming operation, which included both grain and cattle farming for many years before focusing strictly on grain farming. Even at the age of 98 years old, you could not keep Mike off the combine; he made sure that his sons got him up on the combine this past fall so that he could help in getting the crop off his land. It seemed that harvest time brought out a renewed energy in him. Mike was fortunate in that he was able to remain on the family farm with the exception of the last three weeks of his life; that is a testament to the importance of the farm to him, and his will to remain there as long as he could. In addition to farming, Mike served as a councillor for the Rural Municipality of Wallace for 20 years; he believed in giving back to the community he served, and thought this was the best way he could do this. He was a principled person, and brought this to his role as a councillor. Mike is predeceased by his wife Adeline, who passed away on June 29, 2022. He is also predeceased by his parents (Philip & Tekla), Adeline’s parents (Peter & Mary), his siblings (Harry and Taras) his sister-in-law’s (Elsie, Lucy, and Judy), and his daughter-in-law (Terri). Mike leaves to cherish his memory, his son Larry (Angelina) and their children Jagger and Willow; his daughter Patsy (Bryan), and their children Ashley (Kyle) and great-grandchildren Harlow, Wynn & Rooke; Katelyn (Ryan), and Heather (Aaron); his son Danny (Debbie), and his children Danielle (Spencer) and Tanner; and Debbie’s daughter Lori and grandson Justin; his son Michael (Carol) and Carol’s children Leim, Jaida, Teagan, Tionna, and Lily. Mike is also survived by his siblings, Robert and Paul; and Adeline’s siblings, Matt, Alex and Helen. “Farming – It’s sort of in your blood. You don’t think about the long hours or the money. You do it because you love it.” The Funeral Service was held on Saturday, March 4, 2023 from Yorkton Memorial Gardens Family Centre with Rev. Fr. Leonid Malkov, C.Ss.R. and Crystal Bailey, Certified Celebrant officiating. The candle lighter was Paul Kardynal and the Epistle reader was Laurie Kardynal. Tribute and words of remembrance were given by Pat Kuspira and Katelyn Kuspira. The interment followed in the Garden of Crucifixion, Yorkton Memorial Gardens with Ashley Materi, Katelyn Kuspira, Heather Kuspira, Danielle Rees, Tanner Kardynal, Jagger Kardynal and Willow Kardynal serving as casket bearers. Memorial donations may be made to St. Anthony’s Hospital Foundation, Inc. Box 280 Esterhazy SK S0A 0X0 or a charity of choice as gifts of remembrance.

PEPPLER - Gerry passed away at 89 years of age on February 25, 2023 in the comfort of her family’s home in White City, SK. Gerry was born August 30, 1933 at the Yorkton Union Hospital to Joseph & Mary (MacKenzie) Neil. Her family moved to Yorkton from Kessoch in 1940. She received her education in Yorkton & graduated from Yorkton Collegiate Institute in 1952. A business course followed & then she joined the workforce. She had a number of places of employment until January 1960 when she went to work for Yorkton Television. Over the years in TV she became well known for her work as a host & interviewer on Shamrock Side of the Morning. She became the Program Director in 1971 & held that office until she retired in 1992. Gerry was always proud of the work she did & the connections that she made. Many of the people Gerry interviewed became fast friends. In 1954 she was united in marriage to Ernie Peppler. They ran a successful farming operation in the Rhein area until Ernie passed away in 2004. They have one son Trent who was born in 1966. The family would live at the farm near Rhein from spring to fall and in Yorkton in the winter. Gerry & Ernie were involved in both communities. Gerry always kept a huge garden & they took pride in the yard at the farm. They enjoyed socializing with friends. At harvest time Gerry became the farm hand whether it was moving equipment or providing meals to the crew. Although they moved to Yorkton in the winter they were at the farm every weekend so Trent & Ernie could snowmobile. They enjoyed curling together & over the years were fortunate to travel to several world curling championships around the world. After retiring Gerry devoted herself to volunteering. She received the YWCA Woman of Distinction award for her contribution to a rural community. In 2000 she received the Saskatchewan Volunteer medal. And most recently in February 2023 she was honored to receive the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee medal for her significant contribution to her community. Over the years she served on many local & provincial boards. She served for 25 years on the Yorkton Housing Authority, 15 years on the Credit Union Board, Sherwin House & the Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers. She was an honorary life member of the Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers & the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce. She devoted over 25 years as a volunteer with the Sunrise Health District, was a board member of the Health Foundation of East Central Saskatchewan & Parkland Victims Services as well as a life member of Beta Sigma Phi. Trent & Jacqui’s home in White City became Gerry’s second home. She lived with their family for 6 months to be their grandma childcare provider when Drew was 6 months old so Jacqui could return to work early. She spent most holidays and every summer for the past 9 years with the family. Gerry loved her family and would always clear her busy volunteer schedule when they needed her help. Gerry was an attentive Grandma and could be found sitting inside the box forts Drew had made playing with him or sitting on the floor playing with his cars. She offered a confidential ear to Emily with their late night conversations all while giving her a back scratch. She always wanted to know how all the kids were doing and took a lot of pride in her family. Gerry was a part of our family’s daily life. When we decided we were opening a business we would bounce business ideas off of her, she was a willing taste tester and our cheerleader. She was our loyal cash counter when the ice cream truck would arrive back home from being at an event. Anything she could do to help make her family’s lives easier she would do. Gerry’s calendar was always close at hand to keep all of the meetings she attended and volunteering hours straight. She loved to stay involved and to give back to the community that she loved. She seemed busier than most people that worked full time which we believe kept her active and young. She was always very proud of the work that was accomplished on the boards she participated in and with the connections she made whether when she was working in television or in her volunteer work. Many of these connections became lifelong for her & she cherished the visits & conversations that followed. Gerry was a dedicated friend and was always connecting with her friends for lunch or coffee, gathering with her Beta group or the neighbourhood coffee group. She always kept her family informed of what was happening with the extended family. She was the conduit of information to keep us all in the loop. She was a mover & a shaker until covid reared its ugly head which forced Gerry to stay at home and stop many of her volunteer activities. This is when Gerry started to show her age & she started slowing down. Gerry had a brief cancer diagnosis & spent her last 2 weeks in the care of her family in White City. She was surrounded by her family as she peacefully passed. Gerry was a beautiful person inside & out. She will be deeply missed by all that knew her. Gerry is survived by her son Trent, his wife Jacqui Kennett-Peppler, grandchildren Emily & Drew and step grandchildren Kira, Jon & Quinn Kennett of White City, SK; her brother Don (Marilyn) Neil of Calgary; brother in law Gerry (Bev) Peppler of Barrie, ON; sister in law Emily Peppler of Rhein, SK as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins and many, many friends. At Gerry’s request there will be no funeral. She was cremated & her ashes will be put to rest at a later date. If friends wish to make a memorial donation, Gerry requested that the Health Foundation or Parkland Victims Services be the recipients. It has been heartwarming for the family to see all the comments on social media on how Gerry has impacted their lives & we appreciate people’s sharing of those stories. We would encourage everyone to take a page from Gerry’s life story & see how you can make a positive impact in your community. We would also like to thank Gerry’s friends for helping support her in the last few years and specifically Jean Bryski for the ongoing support especially over the last the month as we navigated Gerry’s last health crisis. Bailey’s Funeral Chapel & Crematorium are in charge of the arrangements.

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Advertisements and statements contained herein are the sole responsibility of the persons or entities that post the advertisement, and the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association and membership do not make any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or reliability of such advertisements. For greater information on advertising conditions, please consult the Association’s Blanket Advertising Conditions on our website at www.swna.com.

BUSINESS CLOSING NOTICE –A. GOODE UPHOLSTERY LTD.

Please be advised that due to the passing of Nelson Alfred Saunders, the owner and operator of A. Goode Upholstery, the business is currently being wound up. Clients who may have items currently held at the business premises of A. Goode Upholstery are required to pick up their items or make arrangements with the interim upholsterer by March 31, 2023 for completion of any required work that was to be done by A. Goode Upholstery. Any unclaimed items that remain will be kept in storage, by the Personal Representative, Sharon Saunders, for a period of 1 year commencing March 31, 2023. Any items that remain uncollected at the expiry of the 1-year period will be deemed abandoned and dealt with accordingly. Please contact the business directly by telephone at 306-782-1744 or attend at the business during the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. A. Goode Upholstery thanks you for your continued patronage over the years and for your cooperation in this matter. In addition to the above, if anyone happens to know where Nelson Saunders stored his 1971 Monte Carlo, please contact the business as indicated above.

Find QUALIFIED, LOCAL EMPLOYEES, using the strength of community newspapers! Visit www.swna.com or call 306-6491405 to find out how!

PROVINCE-WIDE

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 year-round 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 walkin closet. The ensuite boasts a soaker tub in its own bayed-out niche, as well as a shower stall. The double basins will ease the morning rushhour.

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 $915 (set of 5), $980 (set of 8) and $1032 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 Home Plan Catalogue containing over 400 plans is available for $16.50 (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

Sask. to achieve $10 a day child care by April

The Governments of Saskatchewan and Canada are pleased to announce that parent fees for regulated child care in the province will be reduced to $10 a day starting April 1, 2023.

Saskatchewan is one of the first Canadian provinces to achieve this milestone, which is three years ahead of schedule as outlined in the CanadaSaskatchewan CanadaWide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement to bring down child care fees to $10 day by 2025-26.

“The Government of Saskatchewan is committed to investing in affordable, inclusive and high-quality child care that provides children with a positive start in life while also giving parents the flexibility and choice

to build both a family and career,” Education Minister Dustin Duncan said.

Parents whose children are under the age of six and attend regulated child care on a full-time basis can expect to pay $217.50 per month. The fee reductions will result in families saving an average of $395 to $573 per month for each child under six from the average comparable fees as of March 31, 2021.

“Today is a major achievement for families in Saskatchewan, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould said. “By working together, Canada and Saskatchewan have achieved our shared goal of affordable child care three years ahead of schedule. We are

continuing to focus on achieving other important targets through the Canada-wide system, such as space creation and support to early childhood educators, to ensure that every family has access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive child care.” This parent fee reduction is the third fee reduction since the signing of the Canada-Saskatchewan

Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement in August 2021. The agreement includes a federal investment of nearly $1.1 billion over five years for regulated early learning and child care programs and services for children under the age of six in Saskatchewan. A total of 19,790 regulated child care spaces are operational in Saskatchewan across

USASK

Continued from Page A9 USask’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources, was awarded $421,000 in ADF funding as well as additional support from the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Association to develop a multi-parent advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) lentil population to explore resistance to two soilborne pathogens that researchers believe are the main problems for root rot.

Root rot affects the below-ground portion of the developing plant, leading to poor performing pulse crops. Once root rot has set in, nothing can be done to reverse it.

Keeping YOU informed each week in our community-Yorkton This Week.

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Surveys between 2015 and 2017 indicate that 48 to 99 per cent of lentil and pea fields had moderate to severe root rot in Saskatchewan, and complete yield losses were reported in heavily infested fields in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Banniza’s team will use four “elite” lines of lentils that are close to being varieties that could be commercially grown and intercross them with four close wild relatives that have known resistance to the two pathogens, called Fusarium avenaceum and Aphanomyces euteiches.

“We will do an intensive crossing program to generate loads and loads of crosses—resulting in about 400 lines—that combine the genes of those two lentil groups as much as possible,” said Banniza. “Then we will evaluate them in the phytotron (controlled environment facility) for resistance to these two pathogens.”

Banniza is hopeful that her four-year project will identify resistant lines that can be developed right away into commercial varieties or are just a few steps away from that.

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Using Saskatchewan ethanol and biodiesel to reduce plastic waste

In a world confronting a steadily growing mound of plastic waste that is polluting land and water alike, Dr. Martin Reaney (PhD), professor in USask’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources, has been awarded $360,000 to develop technology to degrade plastics to reusable forms by using Saskatchewan-produced biodiesel and ethanol.

Biodiesel is a diesel fuel substitute made from plant oil or other renewable material.

Reaney said his team some years ago developed an “incredibly efficient” and very inexpensive catalyst using vegetable oil and salt water to make biodiesel, with glycerol as a byproduct. Researchers learned that they could add hydroxides of sodium, potassium or even lithium to the glyceride, with the resulting glycerol alkoxide crystallizing into a cheap catalyst.

When a catalyst is combined with ethanol and added to plastic materials, such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate, used to make water bottles etc.), or PLA (polylactic acid, used to make plastic film, etc.) plastics, or plastic powders from drinking water bottles, it reacts quickly to release monomers, which are the original materials used to create the plastic.

Another common source of non-biodegradable plastic waste is polystyrene, which is often used as an expanding foam in appliances or for moulding. This type of plastic can easily be dissolved in biodiesel, which is a fuel created from oils. The resulting mixture can then be utilized in various products, like concrete additives and sealants.

“I think if you combine this technology with some other innovations, such as laws requiring plastics be designed to be reaggregated back into pure plastics, this could be revolutionary,” said Reaney.

Nutritionally balanced milk from pulse-oilseed proteins

The non-dairy milk market is growing rapidly, with a predicted global worth of more than $3.7 billion US by 2026. Dr. Mike Nickerson (PhD), professor and acting head of food and bioproduct sciences at USask’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources, has been awarded $305,000 to develop a more nutritionally balanced milk alternative.

“We want to mimic more of the three-and-ahalf, four per cent protein level of milk whereas some of the other plant-based milks tend to be lower in that amount,” said Nickerson.

He also noted that many alternative milk products, especially

144 communities as of December 31, 2022. Through the agreement the governments are also providing funding for free training and education to increase the number of early childhood educators, wage enhancements of up to $5.00 per hour, and a range of grants for regulated child care facilities.

“These subsidies help families like mine because my wife and I

legume-based products such as soya milk, have a “beanie” flavour.

“We want to develop a gluten-free, plant-based milk with that complete healthy fatty acid profile, and also pay attention to flavour and try to improve the flavour profiles of these milk products,” he said.

The key technology his team is developing is the blending of proteins, Nickerson said, making expansion into other products such as ice cream and yogurt attractive.

The technology brings several advantages to Saskatchewan agriculture producers, he said, with value-added opportunities for more plant proteins and expanded market segments for those ingredients, as well as higher demand for crops.

Other ADF funding recipients at USask are:

• Bishnu Acharya (Engineering), $201,333 for valorization of canola meal by developing canola meal extract as a microbial media for fermentation; and $175,000 for investigating the feasibility of agricultural biomass power generation in Saskatchewan.

• Yongfeng Ai (Agriculture and Bioresources), $208,500 for investigating the use of infrared heating to improve functional and nutritional attributes of pea flours in prototype food products; and $359,400 for the development, characterization, and food use of novel whole-cell flours from Canadian pulses.

• Sabine Banniza (Agriculture and Bioresources), $225,950 for exploring the diversity of Fusarium solani and F. Oxysporum infecting pulse crops.

• Jonathan Bennett (Agriculture and Bioresources), $411,699 for identifying microbial inocula to increase salt tolerance in barley.

• Kirstin Bett (Agriculture and Bioresources), $129,361 for identifying genetic tools to ensure Saskatchewan dry beans are protected from anthracnose.

• Maryse Bourgault (Agriculture and Bioresources), $433,964 for investigating livestock re-integration in cropping systems for soil health improvement.

• Won Jae Chang (Engineering), $550,853 for development of economical salinity remediation strategies for agriculture water using innovative desalination minerals.

• Anas El-Aneed (Pharmacy and Nutrition), $153,625 for commercializing green extraction technology of phytosterols from canola oil waste stream.

• Supratim Ghosh (Agriculture and Bioresources), $210,000 for developing pulse protein-based whipped cream with healthy vegetable fat as a high-value dairy alternative.

both work and we have two kids,” Sanjay Patel, a Saskatoon parent whose children attend a regulated family child care home said.

“I’ll probably be saving around $500 to $600 a month compared to last year with this most recent reduction in parent fees. This is going to help my family out a lot because we’ll have more money left over for other things our family can use.”

• Pierre Hucl (Agriculture and Bioresources), $96,527 for increasing the efficiency of canary seed breeding and enhancing herbicide tolerance; and $99,983 for combining higher anthocyanin levels, enhanced quality, and improved disease resistance in the purple wheat.

• Darren Korber (Agriculture and Bioresources), $262,500 for investigating commercially ready vegan protein-based entrapment systems for probiotics for inclusion in plantbased foods.

• Randy Kutcher (Agriculture and Bioresources), $173,823 for developing an accelerated disease phenotyping system to select wheat germplasm resistant to FHB and stripe rust; and $208,150 for evaluating flax-chickpea intercropping for disease management – fungicide regime and variety selection.

• Curtis Pozniak (Agriculture and Bioresources), $195,001 for marker-assisted prebreeding for alternative semi-dwarfing genes and anther extrusion in durum and bread wheat.

• Sean Prager (Agriculture and Bioresources), $226,500 for examining potential threats from pea seed-born mosaic virus and developing PSbMVbased tools to study legume seed development.

• Martin Reaney (Agriculture and Bioresources), $260,000 for investigating vegan soft cheese and yogurt replacement products from pulses.

• Jeff Schoenau (Agriculture and Bioresources), $102,789, for straw harvesting strategies to provide feedstock while maintaining soil and environmental quality.

• Jafar Soltan (Engineering), $45,000 for investigating potential and feasibility of ozone treatment processes for the reduction of off-flavours and improvement of colour of plant proteins.

• Takuji Tanaka (Agriculture and Bioresources), $218,000 for development of applications of legume protein enriched fraction derivatives: combinations of proteolysis and conjugation.

• Tom Warkentin (Agriculture and Bioresources), $270,250 for developing soybean cultivars for profitable, sustainable prairie cropping systems; and $278,875 for increasing protein-yield in pea using nested association mapping; and $155,747 for the development of SNP markers for markerassisted selection of pea for water use efficiency and micronutrients.

• Albert Vandenberg (Agriculture and Bioresources), $225,000 for breeding high value lentils for future consumer trends; and $250,000 for 3F2Bfast forward faba bean breeding.

Words change, but Truth remains the same

First came a moment of shocked silence, followed by uproarious laughter.

While explaining the game of Boggle to my granddaughters, I noted that a plural word may garner two points. Spotting the word “foot” on the sample shake of letters, I said, “See, you’d get one point for foot. But the letter ‘s’ connects to it. Now you’ve got two words, foot and foots. If you put them both on your list, you get double points.”

“FOOTS isn’t a word, Nana!” they squealed. “The plural of foot is feet!”

Acknowledging their point, I laughed too. But later something niggled. I remembered that for some reason, I’d used

‘foots’ quite recently. Aha. While explaining to a friend the special gift (a hand-crocheted sweater) planned by two of those granddaughters for the sister in the middle, I’d said, “Sherah does the work, but Tabatha foots the bill for the yarn.”

Pulling up my online dictionary, I looked up ‘foots’. It confirmed my use and also a second, though archaic, meaning — the sediment remaining in the bottom of an newly emptied vessel. Synonym for “dregs.” “Guess what, girls. Foots IS a word!” I told them when I saw them next.

“That’s crazy,” one said, as I explained.

“No way,” said another.

Sunny Side Up

“Why not just say, “Tabatha pays the bill?”

Rolling their eyes, they moved on.

“They just don’t get it,” I complained to the foots in my empty coffee cup. “They expect my generation to respect their new words, but they don’t respect ours.”

That’s not new. Over time, some words have changed meaning entirely. Every time I refer to my frequent

summer footwear as “thongs,” those same girls nearly flip out, (if that phrase still means to ‘have a fit’”).

“Flip flops, Nana! We’ve TOLD you that.”

“Back off. Get your own word,” I grump back. But I’m on shaky ground. My dictionary affirms both their meaning and mine, though “footwear” comes first.

All language evolves over time. Centuries

ago, people understood backlog to mean “the largest log in the fireplace.” Some English words have even flipped their definitions entirely. Bully once meant “sweetheart.”

Prestigious meant “anything involving trickery, illusion or conjuring.” Cute denoted anyone thought “clever or shrewd,” such as a crooked lawyer.

Accurate use of words is crucial for communication. For those seeking truth about God, this is especially true of our Bible. In a faithful effort to be sure scripture may be clearly understood by each new generation, entire teams of scholars, lovingly and painstakingly working from

original manuscripts, translate them into contemporary words.

No translation of scripture is perfect, however. Sadly, theologians warn that some, in attempts to alter God’s truth to fit popular ideologies and social constructs, are intentionally misleading. If you’re looking for a deeper understanding of scripture, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (find it online) is the easiest, most understandable resource for anyone who wishes to delve into the meaning and intent of God’s inspired words as originally recorded. Thankfully, those are true in every generation, and for every generation.

Looking back at garden successes

Looking back, what would you say were some of the big successes in your garden plantings last year? One of ours would have been the beautiful dark-blue salvia that we had growing in a large container. It seemed to bloom and bloom, and the dark indigo color was almost electric in the bright sunny spot where the container lived. Salvia would definitely be on our list of ‘things to grow’ this year!

Let’s make some tea and chat about salvias for a few minutes. Salvia is part of the sage family, and there are more than one thousand cousins in the family. Some are annuals, and some are perennials. The salvia we had in our container was an annual, and one with many positive qualities! Allow me to introduce it

to you! This pretty plant bloomed all summer; the plant is sturdy and holds up well against wind and weather; it attracts bees and butterflies; grows wonderfully in a container; and the color was simply outstanding.

And talk about easycare! Salvia like a bright and sunny location; they can do well even in poor soil, as long as it drains well. They do not like wet feet. The plants have very few issues with pests or diseases, and if we deadhead them, they will reward us with a summer of bloom!

If you have grown salvia before, you know that there are two varieties that we might see at the greenhouse this spring. The leaves on both look the same: elongated, dark-green leaves that come to a point. The flowers, though, are each

Gardener’s Notebook

lovely and unique. The salvia that I described to you has long, sturdy stems rising above the leaves, with small blue flowers growing tight against the stem. It grows quite tall, perhaps 18 inches or so. I read that this kind of salvia has the unusual name “mealycup” salvia. Blue and lavender colors are the most common for this plant.

Then there is also the salvia that has flowers that also grow along the stem but are larger: these flowers look like elongated bells, and come in several colors including white, dark purple and red. These are more compact plants, but very lush-looking. Whichever kind we pick, they will be lovely, because they pro-

vide constant bloom and bright colors, plus unusual flowers that give a nice contract of texture in our containers.

I hope that you are checking out the University of Saskatchewan website https://agbio.usask.ca/ events/2023 for upcoming online horticultural sessions. Speaking of salvias, there is a session on Thursday, March 9 from 7PM – 9PM called “Surrendering To Salvias” and gardeners can find out everything we need to know about this wonderful plant. You can register up to one hour before the session begins. And be sure to see the other great classes on offer, online, in the coming weeks!

The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be holding their first meeting of 2023 on March 15 at the Yorkton Public Library at 7:00 PM. Our special guest will be Dana from Mehan Flowers, and she’ll be telling us about growing specialty cut flowers, perfect for any occasion! Come out, everyone is welcome! You don’t have to be a hort member to attend the presentation. Be watching our website, www.yorktonhort.ca, for new information about upcoming meetings. Thank you to our friends at YTW for their fine work every week. Have a good week and enjoy your garden planning!

A Beautiful Life

Thur. March 9: Moleben - 2:00 pm - Yorkton Nursing Home

Fri. March 10: Moleben - 10:00 am - Yorkton Crossing

Sun. March 12: Divine Liturgy - 10:00 am - Yorkton

Sun. March 12: Orthodoxy Vespers - 5:00 pm - Yorkton

Westview United Church

355 Bradbrooke Dr. 306-783-3063 westviewuc.ca

Worship Sundays @ 10:30am

Submitted Photo

Sask. Winter Games

Study at 7:00 p.m.

Last Friday of each month - Prayer Meeting at 7 p.m. For more information please phone 306-782-2427

“A Place of New Beginnings”

St. Andrew’s United Church

SECOND AVENUE AND SMITH STREET OFFICE 306-783-4157

MINISTER REV. JEN DRESSER

Website: http://www.standrewsyorkton.ca

Facebook: St. Andrew’s United Church

Join us Sunday, March 12th at 10:30 am Online (Zoom/Facebook/Youtube) and in person!

Church of God in Christ Mennonite

AT SALTCOATS

SUNDAY SCHOOL EVERY SUNDAY AT 10:00 AM

SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE AT 11:00 AM

EVERYONE WELCOME

Pastor Laurel Wiebe -- 306-898-2099

Pastor Tim Warkentin - 306-217-8222

Minister : The Rev. Deborah Smith

Everyone is welcome!

St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church

155 CATHERINE STREET 306-783-4594

Conducted by Ukrainian Redemptorist Fathers Phone 306-783-4594 or 306-783-7778

Saturday - 5 p.m. (English)

Sunday - 9:00am (Ukrainian) 11:00am (English)

SICK CALLS ANYTIME—BAPTISM AND MARRIAGE BY APPOINTMENT

St. Mark The Evangelist Orthodox Church

160 Betts Ave., Yorkton, Sask

“Services In English”

www.stmarkyorkton.ca

St. Gregory Palamas Sunday

Saturday, March 11th - Vespers 6:00 PM

Sunday, March 12th Divine Liturgy 10:00 AM

Presanctified Liturgy - Wednesday, March 15th 6:00 PM

Priest: Rodion Luciuk Phone: 306-782-2482 Cell: 306-621-5341

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

The 2023 Sask. Winter Games wrapped on Feb. 25. The week-long event featured nine district teams competing in 16 sports.The Yorkton Cross Country Ski Club was among the local groups in attendance.

Pictured here 10-year-old Vaida Kuntz from YCCSC.

The City of Yorkton renews partnership agreement for the Access Communications Water Park

The City of Yorkton and Access Communications Co-operative are excited to announce today the renewal of their partnership agreement for the naming rights to the Access Communications Water Park in the Gallagher Centre.

As part of the agreement, the Gallagher Centre will continue to feature free public Wi-Fi internet service throughout the complex, allowing guests to easily connect and interact online.

“The Gallagher Centre plays a big role in bringing the Yorkton community together, and we couldn’t be happier to continue this partnership,” said Carmela Haines, CEO of Access Communications. “Access proudly reinvests in the communities we serve. Delivering technology that connects people is what we do, and we look forward to the continued partnership with

the City of Yorkton.”

“We’re grateful to Access Communications for delivering their Wi-Fi internet services to all Gallagher Centre guests,” said Mitch Hippsley, Mayor of Yorkton. “Communication is ‘KEY’ to any organization and Access Communications is a much appreciated partnership. The Gallagher Centre is a true gem to the area surrounding Yorkton and all the events it hosts, and these partnerships help ensure its continued success and viability.”

The Access Communications Water Park is a draw for families in Yorkton and the entire Parkland area. The Water Park offers unique amenities, including a wavepool with zero-depth beach entry, 25-metre instructional pool, whirpool, lazy river, twostorey waterslide, party room, sauna and steam rooms, plus a

two-storey climbing wall. The Water Park is located in the Gallagher Centre, eastern Saskatchewan’s sports, recreation, entertainment, and convention hub.