TWM Top Story - May 25, 2020
TSB continues investigation regarding Guernsey train derailments
Daniel Bushman
It has been over five months since a train carrying crude oil derailed west of Guernsey and more than three months after a second train derailed just east of the community Feb. 6. With 34 cars coming off the tracks Dec. 9 and 32 out of 104 from a Canadian Pacific freight hauling crude oil derailing in February, investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) were called in while cleanup commenced at both sites.
According to the TSB, preliminary examination indicated an estimated 1.5 million litres of product was released to either the ground or atmosphere during the first derailment and site examination suggests that 27 of the cars lost product and released an estimated 1.6 million litres to either the ground or atmosphere in the second derailment.
Noting that both investigations remain in the examination and analysis phase, TSB’s Acting Director, Investigations, Rail/Pipeline Dan Holbrook sent a pair of safety advisory letters to the Director General of Rail Safety at Transport Canada relating to enhanced track standards for key routes and modifying key train speed based on various train risk profiles.
In Holbrook’s safety advisory letter highlighting enhanced track standards for key routes it stated, during the second derailment on the north side of the train, impact marks were observed on the wheel treads of tank cars located in the 28th, 29th and 31st positions behind the head-end locomotive. The marks observed were consistent with impact that occurs when a wheel tread contacts a broken rail.
The letter reads in 2015 the TSB investigated two Canadian National Railway (CN) derailments on the CN Ruel Subdivision involving the release of large volumes of petroleum crude oil. In both cases, Holbrook said amongst other factors, the cause of the derailment was related to either broken joint bars or a broken rail.
Since Jan. 1, 2015, the TSB stated it has been to seven train derailments involving tank cars that were transporting petroleum crude oil. Of those, six resulted in a significant release of petroleum crude oil and a review of the accidents indicated each of the seven derailments occurred on a key route on which the track was maintained in accordance with the Track Safety Rules (TSR) Class 3 or 4 standard. In each case, Holbrook stated the derailments occurred as a result of a broken rail, broken joint bars or other track infrastructure conditions. Six of those seven derailments since Jan. 1, 2015 occurred during the winter months.
In the letter Holbrook stated, “Although CP maintained the Sutherland Subdivision to a Class 4 standard, in the two months between Dec. 9, 2019 and Feb. 6, 2020, there were two significant derailments near Guernsey, both of which resulted in the release of substantial amounts of petroleum crude oil. While both investigations are ongoing, in both cases, the suspected cause appears to be related to a broken rail. Considering the 2015 CN derailments on the Ruel Subdivision and the recent CP experience on the Sutherland Subdivision, maintaining track to the TSR minimum standards on key routes may not be adequate to protect against derailments.”
Holbrook continued by noting, “In order to reduce the frequency and mitigate the risks associated with accidents involving key trains on key routes, it is imperative that the track infrastructure is adequately maintained. Considering that the underlying causes of the seven accidents identified were all related to failures of track infrastructure, Transport Canada is advised that the current TSR do not address the increased risks associated with the operation of key trains. Therefore, Transport Canada should consider revising the Rules Respecting Track Safety to include enhanced track standards for key routes.”
In the second safety advisory letter sent to the Director General of Rail Safety at Transport Canada which touched on modifying key train speed based on various train risk profiles, Holbrook stated train speed is one of the primary factors that contributes to the severity of a derailment. “However, other factors such as train length, train weight, the position of the first car(s) derailed, the position of the cars in the train and tank car design also play a role. In order to reduce the frequency of these accidents and the commensurate risk to the public, property and the environment, Transport Canada should further review and modify key train speeds, as appropriate, based on various train risk profiles while also considering other factors that influence the severity of a derailment.”
Right after the second derailment near Guernsey which forced the community to temporarily evacuate as a precaution, an order was given by the federal government restricting the speed of key trains. With the train travelling at 42 mph at the time of the second accident, TSB said the derailment happened at a speed that was permitted by the Rules Respecting Key Trains and Key Routes in force at the time. However, Holbrook said despite using the best tank cars available to transport petroleum crude oil, about 27 of the tank cars released an estimated 1.6 million litres of product. “This suggests that the recent tank car design improvements alone are insufficient to fully mitigate the risk of adverse consequences resulting from derailments involving DGs (dangerous goods), particularly at this speed.”
While he suggested other factors, such as the integrity of the track structure can play a role in a derailment, Holbrook noted there is a distinct tie between train speed and adverse outcome when large quantities of dangerous goods are involved.
Since both investigations remain in the examination and analysis phase with a final report still to come, to provide an idea of the process the TSB takes as it reaches a conclusion, much of the investigation occurs after its team leaves the site.
During the examination and analysis phase, the TSB may: examine company, vehicle, government and other records; examine selected wreckage in the laboratory and test selected components and systems; read and analyze recorders and other data; create simulations and reconstruct events; review autopsy and toxicology reports; conduct further interviews; determine the sequence of events; identify safety deficiencies; and update the public on the investigation.
Like the safety advisory letters that were released, the TSB does not wait until its investigation is complete or the final report is published to make important safety information public. If, at any stage of the investigation, the TSB identifies safety deficiencies, it informs those who can address the problem right away.
After the examination and analysis phase, TSB stated an investigation report is then drafted. The Board reviews the draft report and it may approve it, ask for minor amendments, or return it for further work. Once the draft report is approved, it is sent to designated reviewers on a confidential basis for comment.
A designated reviewer may be any person—including a company, corporation, manufacturer or association—who, in the opinion of the Board, will contribute to the completeness and accuracy of the report.
The Board considers all the designated reviewers’ comments and amends the report as required. Once the Board approves the final report, it is released to the public on the TSB website and through traditional and social media.
The TSB publishes its investigation reports as quickly as possible, but it takes the time it needs to conduct a thorough investigation and produce a report that advances safety and meets the expectations of the Canadian public and the transportation industry.
While there is still time before a final report is approved and released as the investigation continues, at both derailment sites east and west of Guernsey, large equipment was brought in to remove the derailed cars and to clean the area.
The Watrous Manitou reached out to the Ministry of Environment for an update as to how the progress was going and the ministry indicated that since Canadian Pacific Railway is responsible for all costs associated with the derailment, including the emergency response, environmental assessment and all required remediation, that CP would be in a better position to provide an update.
While the sites certainly look much different than they did during the derailments in December and February, after reaching out to Canadian Pacific after TSB’s update in April, the company indicated it did not have an update to provide at this time.
Daniel Bushman
It has been over five months since a train carrying crude oil derailed west of Guernsey and more than three months after a second train derailed just east of the community Feb. 6. With 34 cars coming off the tracks Dec. 9 and 32 out of 104 from a Canadian Pacific freight hauling crude oil derailing in February, investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) were called in while cleanup commenced at both sites.
According to the TSB, preliminary examination indicated an estimated 1.5 million litres of product was released to either the ground or atmosphere during the first derailment and site examination suggests that 27 of the cars lost product and released an estimated 1.6 million litres to either the ground or atmosphere in the second derailment.
Noting that both investigations remain in the examination and analysis phase, TSB’s Acting Director, Investigations, Rail/Pipeline Dan Holbrook sent a pair of safety advisory letters to the Director General of Rail Safety at Transport Canada relating to enhanced track standards for key routes and modifying key train speed based on various train risk profiles.
In Holbrook’s safety advisory letter highlighting enhanced track standards for key routes it stated, during the second derailment on the north side of the train, impact marks were observed on the wheel treads of tank cars located in the 28th, 29th and 31st positions behind the head-end locomotive. The marks observed were consistent with impact that occurs when a wheel tread contacts a broken rail.
The letter reads in 2015 the TSB investigated two Canadian National Railway (CN) derailments on the CN Ruel Subdivision involving the release of large volumes of petroleum crude oil. In both cases, Holbrook said amongst other factors, the cause of the derailment was related to either broken joint bars or a broken rail.
Since Jan. 1, 2015, the TSB stated it has been to seven train derailments involving tank cars that were transporting petroleum crude oil. Of those, six resulted in a significant release of petroleum crude oil and a review of the accidents indicated each of the seven derailments occurred on a key route on which the track was maintained in accordance with the Track Safety Rules (TSR) Class 3 or 4 standard. In each case, Holbrook stated the derailments occurred as a result of a broken rail, broken joint bars or other track infrastructure conditions. Six of those seven derailments since Jan. 1, 2015 occurred during the winter months.
In the letter Holbrook stated, “Although CP maintained the Sutherland Subdivision to a Class 4 standard, in the two months between Dec. 9, 2019 and Feb. 6, 2020, there were two significant derailments near Guernsey, both of which resulted in the release of substantial amounts of petroleum crude oil. While both investigations are ongoing, in both cases, the suspected cause appears to be related to a broken rail. Considering the 2015 CN derailments on the Ruel Subdivision and the recent CP experience on the Sutherland Subdivision, maintaining track to the TSR minimum standards on key routes may not be adequate to protect against derailments.”
Holbrook continued by noting, “In order to reduce the frequency and mitigate the risks associated with accidents involving key trains on key routes, it is imperative that the track infrastructure is adequately maintained. Considering that the underlying causes of the seven accidents identified were all related to failures of track infrastructure, Transport Canada is advised that the current TSR do not address the increased risks associated with the operation of key trains. Therefore, Transport Canada should consider revising the Rules Respecting Track Safety to include enhanced track standards for key routes.”
In the second safety advisory letter sent to the Director General of Rail Safety at Transport Canada which touched on modifying key train speed based on various train risk profiles, Holbrook stated train speed is one of the primary factors that contributes to the severity of a derailment. “However, other factors such as train length, train weight, the position of the first car(s) derailed, the position of the cars in the train and tank car design also play a role. In order to reduce the frequency of these accidents and the commensurate risk to the public, property and the environment, Transport Canada should further review and modify key train speeds, as appropriate, based on various train risk profiles while also considering other factors that influence the severity of a derailment.”
Right after the second derailment near Guernsey which forced the community to temporarily evacuate as a precaution, an order was given by the federal government restricting the speed of key trains. With the train travelling at 42 mph at the time of the second accident, TSB said the derailment happened at a speed that was permitted by the Rules Respecting Key Trains and Key Routes in force at the time. However, Holbrook said despite using the best tank cars available to transport petroleum crude oil, about 27 of the tank cars released an estimated 1.6 million litres of product. “This suggests that the recent tank car design improvements alone are insufficient to fully mitigate the risk of adverse consequences resulting from derailments involving DGs (dangerous goods), particularly at this speed.”
While he suggested other factors, such as the integrity of the track structure can play a role in a derailment, Holbrook noted there is a distinct tie between train speed and adverse outcome when large quantities of dangerous goods are involved.
Since both investigations remain in the examination and analysis phase with a final report still to come, to provide an idea of the process the TSB takes as it reaches a conclusion, much of the investigation occurs after its team leaves the site.
During the examination and analysis phase, the TSB may: examine company, vehicle, government and other records; examine selected wreckage in the laboratory and test selected components and systems; read and analyze recorders and other data; create simulations and reconstruct events; review autopsy and toxicology reports; conduct further interviews; determine the sequence of events; identify safety deficiencies; and update the public on the investigation.
Like the safety advisory letters that were released, the TSB does not wait until its investigation is complete or the final report is published to make important safety information public. If, at any stage of the investigation, the TSB identifies safety deficiencies, it informs those who can address the problem right away.
After the examination and analysis phase, TSB stated an investigation report is then drafted. The Board reviews the draft report and it may approve it, ask for minor amendments, or return it for further work. Once the draft report is approved, it is sent to designated reviewers on a confidential basis for comment.
A designated reviewer may be any person—including a company, corporation, manufacturer or association—who, in the opinion of the Board, will contribute to the completeness and accuracy of the report.
The Board considers all the designated reviewers’ comments and amends the report as required. Once the Board approves the final report, it is released to the public on the TSB website and through traditional and social media.
The TSB publishes its investigation reports as quickly as possible, but it takes the time it needs to conduct a thorough investigation and produce a report that advances safety and meets the expectations of the Canadian public and the transportation industry.
While there is still time before a final report is approved and released as the investigation continues, at both derailment sites east and west of Guernsey, large equipment was brought in to remove the derailed cars and to clean the area.
The Watrous Manitou reached out to the Ministry of Environment for an update as to how the progress was going and the ministry indicated that since Canadian Pacific Railway is responsible for all costs associated with the derailment, including the emergency response, environmental assessment and all required remediation, that CP would be in a better position to provide an update.
While the sites certainly look much different than they did during the derailments in December and February, after reaching out to Canadian Pacific after TSB’s update in April, the company indicated it did not have an update to provide at this time.
TWM Top Story - May 18, 2020
Hospital in Lanigan converted to ALC site; no conversions in Watrous yet
Daniel Bushman
Wanting to be prepared in case of a potential influx in COVID-19 cases, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) initiated its phased approach of converting hospitals as part of its COVID-19 surge plan. As part of that plan a number of hospitals including in Lanigan have temporarily been converted to Alternate Level of Care (ALC) sites leading to emergency services being disrupted. While not deemed an ALC site, Watrous has been identified as a COVID-ready hospital. So far the facility in Watrous has not been converted and emergency services resume.
SHA stated the reason for the ALC site conversion is to ensure capacity is available to address a potential surge in COVID-19 cases. “There are 12 community hospitals, including the facility in Lanigan, that are identified for temporary conversion to ALC as part of this plan. ALC refers to a patient that could be cared for in an alternate setting, rather than an acute care setting. This would refer to palliative, convalescing, respite, rehab or long-term care patients.”
In its rural update issued May 7, SHA stated while the efforts of residents in the province has resulted in some success to flatten the curve allowing Saskatchewan to reopen, planning is still being done for a potential surge in COVID-19 cases. “The reality is that our health care system cannot change quickly to a marked increase in demand, if that curve suddenly starts to rise.”
Occurring in a phased approach over a four to six week period, SHA noted the first conversion phase involving community hospitals in Lanigan, Kerrobert, Herbert Preeceville, Broadview and Radville was scheduled to be completed. The remaining six temporary conversions to ALC sites in the province will follow in subsequent phases.
“The identified hospitals will be temporarily closed to acute care admissions and will only accept admissions to ALC. Emergency services in these locations will also be temporarily disrupted and will not be available at these facilities.”
SHA stated the measure is necessary to help protect its most vulnerable populations. “It will reduce traffic within these community hospitals, and will support the cohorting of staff, which reduces the risk of exposure. This measure
will also help us to increase capacity in our other sites for the potential COVID-19 surge in cases. Keeping patients and staff safe and healthy continues to be our number one priority.”
The conversion also allows for the movement of ALC patients from tertiary and regional hospitals to create space for a potential COVID-19 surge. It also separates COVID and non-COVID pre-acute or post-acute patients in the community in community hospitals to avoid transmission.
During a media conference May 13 and with new cases of COVID-19 low, SHA CEO Scott Livingstone was asked why the temporary conversions including in Lanigan went ahead.
Livingstone noted the decision to move forward with the planned ALC conversions in the 12 facilities in rural Saskatchewan was for a number of reasons. “One is to protect those folks in long-term care and to use the facilities capacity to provide care for alternative level of care positions in our larger facilities so that we can both build capacity to support the reopening of the health care system but also maintain capacity for a COVID surge and outbreaks as they arise throughout the pandemic.”
With emergency services temporarily disrupted and not available in Lanigan, SHA said in case of an emergency, people who live in the community or immediate area are asked to call 911. “EMS will assess the patient, initiate treatment and transport to the most appropriate facility to provide further care for the patient’s illness/injury. Alternatively, the patient could go to their nearest available emergency department. For non-urgent health related questions, those can be directed to HealthLine 811. This is the same process that would be in place in the case of a regular emergency services disruption at a community hospital.”
Despite those emergency services being temporarily disrupted and halted, Livingstone said SHA will continue to manage capacity and once the health care system is restarted then types of services may also change. That will also all depend on how things go with reduced restrictions and the reopening of other components of the economy over the coming weeks. Services offered to the community may also change depending on the types of COVID surges and how they are managed.
While the hospital in Lanigan is temporarily converted to an ALC site, in Watrous as part of SHA’s COVID-19 surge plan, that facility has been deemed a COVID-ready hospital. Unlike the 12 hospitals being made into ALC sites, SHA said changes to hospitals named COVID-ready will only occur when triggers determined through modelling have been reached.
“COVID designations are currently not in place for any hospital. There will be a phased approach to conversion that will be determined by the incidence and prevalence of COVID-19 in a community and the surrounding geographic area. Our priority is to care for people as close to home as possible.”
SHA indicated as hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients increase, regular hospitalizations of non-COVID patients will continue as normal. “By separating COVID-ready and non-COVID facilities we will avoid cross-contamination, decrease the risk of transmission, contain the virus, and prevent patients admitted for non-COVID-19 issues from becoming infected. All emergency departments continue to remain open in hospitals designated COVID-ready and non-COVID.”
Daniel Bushman
Wanting to be prepared in case of a potential influx in COVID-19 cases, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) initiated its phased approach of converting hospitals as part of its COVID-19 surge plan. As part of that plan a number of hospitals including in Lanigan have temporarily been converted to Alternate Level of Care (ALC) sites leading to emergency services being disrupted. While not deemed an ALC site, Watrous has been identified as a COVID-ready hospital. So far the facility in Watrous has not been converted and emergency services resume.
SHA stated the reason for the ALC site conversion is to ensure capacity is available to address a potential surge in COVID-19 cases. “There are 12 community hospitals, including the facility in Lanigan, that are identified for temporary conversion to ALC as part of this plan. ALC refers to a patient that could be cared for in an alternate setting, rather than an acute care setting. This would refer to palliative, convalescing, respite, rehab or long-term care patients.”
In its rural update issued May 7, SHA stated while the efforts of residents in the province has resulted in some success to flatten the curve allowing Saskatchewan to reopen, planning is still being done for a potential surge in COVID-19 cases. “The reality is that our health care system cannot change quickly to a marked increase in demand, if that curve suddenly starts to rise.”
Occurring in a phased approach over a four to six week period, SHA noted the first conversion phase involving community hospitals in Lanigan, Kerrobert, Herbert Preeceville, Broadview and Radville was scheduled to be completed. The remaining six temporary conversions to ALC sites in the province will follow in subsequent phases.
“The identified hospitals will be temporarily closed to acute care admissions and will only accept admissions to ALC. Emergency services in these locations will also be temporarily disrupted and will not be available at these facilities.”
SHA stated the measure is necessary to help protect its most vulnerable populations. “It will reduce traffic within these community hospitals, and will support the cohorting of staff, which reduces the risk of exposure. This measure
will also help us to increase capacity in our other sites for the potential COVID-19 surge in cases. Keeping patients and staff safe and healthy continues to be our number one priority.”
The conversion also allows for the movement of ALC patients from tertiary and regional hospitals to create space for a potential COVID-19 surge. It also separates COVID and non-COVID pre-acute or post-acute patients in the community in community hospitals to avoid transmission.
During a media conference May 13 and with new cases of COVID-19 low, SHA CEO Scott Livingstone was asked why the temporary conversions including in Lanigan went ahead.
Livingstone noted the decision to move forward with the planned ALC conversions in the 12 facilities in rural Saskatchewan was for a number of reasons. “One is to protect those folks in long-term care and to use the facilities capacity to provide care for alternative level of care positions in our larger facilities so that we can both build capacity to support the reopening of the health care system but also maintain capacity for a COVID surge and outbreaks as they arise throughout the pandemic.”
With emergency services temporarily disrupted and not available in Lanigan, SHA said in case of an emergency, people who live in the community or immediate area are asked to call 911. “EMS will assess the patient, initiate treatment and transport to the most appropriate facility to provide further care for the patient’s illness/injury. Alternatively, the patient could go to their nearest available emergency department. For non-urgent health related questions, those can be directed to HealthLine 811. This is the same process that would be in place in the case of a regular emergency services disruption at a community hospital.”
Despite those emergency services being temporarily disrupted and halted, Livingstone said SHA will continue to manage capacity and once the health care system is restarted then types of services may also change. That will also all depend on how things go with reduced restrictions and the reopening of other components of the economy over the coming weeks. Services offered to the community may also change depending on the types of COVID surges and how they are managed.
While the hospital in Lanigan is temporarily converted to an ALC site, in Watrous as part of SHA’s COVID-19 surge plan, that facility has been deemed a COVID-ready hospital. Unlike the 12 hospitals being made into ALC sites, SHA said changes to hospitals named COVID-ready will only occur when triggers determined through modelling have been reached.
“COVID designations are currently not in place for any hospital. There will be a phased approach to conversion that will be determined by the incidence and prevalence of COVID-19 in a community and the surrounding geographic area. Our priority is to care for people as close to home as possible.”
SHA indicated as hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients increase, regular hospitalizations of non-COVID patients will continue as normal. “By separating COVID-ready and non-COVID facilities we will avoid cross-contamination, decrease the risk of transmission, contain the virus, and prevent patients admitted for non-COVID-19 issues from becoming infected. All emergency departments continue to remain open in hospitals designated COVID-ready and non-COVID.”
TWM Top Story - May 11, 2020
Charges laid after multiple break and enters including in Watrous
Daniel Bushman
After multiple break and enters to several businesses, residences and vehicles over a two month span in central Saskatchewan, a pair of people are now facing numerous charges.
Between Feb. 4 and Apr. 26, Saskatchewan RCMP received reports of break, enters, thefts and property-related offences across central Saskatchewan. A joint investigation involving a number of RCMP detachments was launched by the Saskatoon RCMP Provincial General Investigation Section (GIS) to identify those responsible for the crimes including one which occurred in Watrous.
From that investigation, police went over the evidence including surveillance videos which revealed an unknown male and a white Ford F-150 truck being present at crime scenes.
With the assistance of several RCMP detachments and Saskatoon Police Service, more information about the truck was received. Officers were then able to identify the owner of the vehicle and the male in the surveillance videos as 37-year-old Cody Kemick.
Saskatoon Provincial GIS along with officers from Saskatoon, Outlook, Rosetown and Humboldt detachments executed a search warrant May 2 at Kemick’s residence in Saskatoon. RCMP said Kemick and another occupant of the residence were arrested without incident.
Police then searched the residence and seized approximately $35,000 worth of stolen property including tools, computers, electronic devices, ammunition, cheques, hair salon products, lottery tickets and clothing. RCMP said these items are believed to be from break and enters from Watrous, Lucky Lake, Dinsmore, Rosetown, Kerrobert, Aberdeen, Humboldt, Milden, Conquest and Saskatoon.
Because of that, Kemick has been charged with three counts of Break and Enter, 10 counts of Possession of Stolen Property, one count of Theft and one count of Mischief.
A second person, Chantal Dubois of Saskatoon was charged with one count of Break and Enter and seven counts of Possession of Stolen Property.
Kemick and Dubois were remanded for court in Saskatoon on May 6, 2020.
Watrous RCMP Sergeant Jeffrey Friedenstab indicated some of the mentioned possession of stolen property charges are related to the break and enter at CIC. “It was determined they had fleet cards that were located in the safe at CIC. The fleet cards were stolen from the safe and used at different times. Because of that more charges will be forthcoming.”
As the investigation continues, Friedenstab noted the white Ford F-150 truck used during the break and enter at CIC is different than the white coloured truck used during the break, enter and attempted theft of the ATM at the Lanigan Esso. “There is more than one crime group running around right now and after looking at the surveillance video, we determined the truck from Lanigan was a different one than the one used at the CIC break and enter. Surveillance showed the grill of each truck was different and on the truck owned by Kemick, there was distinctive damage to the front end, middle front bumper which we found visible in the video provided to us by CIC.”
With RCMP continuing to search for the suspects involved in the break and enter in Lanigan, Friedenstab said police have issued two arrest warrants, one for 43-year-old Brenda Kayson and another for 26-year-old Julia Frenchman, both with no fixed address for possession of stolen property and uttering a forged document. The pair allegedly passed two CIC cheques that were stolen from the business.
In a separate case, Friedenstab said RCMP were able to identify the alleged suspects who were at the Best Way Construction break and enter in Watrous. “They were arrested in Humboldt for a break and enter at the RM of Wolverine shop. The vehicle they were in at the RM shop was the same one seen on surveillance video in Watrous checking out vehicles in the parking lot at Best Way Construction.”
While RCMP were able to lay charges related to the CIC break and enter and seize a substantial amount of stolen property, Friedenstab said they continue to look for those involved in other recent incidents. “If you have any information on any local break and enters, please contact the RCMP or Crime Stoppers. With the nice weather here, we also want to remind people to lock their doors both at home and in their vehicles. By locking your vehicles and your homes, it can prevent a lot of potential thefts.”
Daniel Bushman
After multiple break and enters to several businesses, residences and vehicles over a two month span in central Saskatchewan, a pair of people are now facing numerous charges.
Between Feb. 4 and Apr. 26, Saskatchewan RCMP received reports of break, enters, thefts and property-related offences across central Saskatchewan. A joint investigation involving a number of RCMP detachments was launched by the Saskatoon RCMP Provincial General Investigation Section (GIS) to identify those responsible for the crimes including one which occurred in Watrous.
From that investigation, police went over the evidence including surveillance videos which revealed an unknown male and a white Ford F-150 truck being present at crime scenes.
With the assistance of several RCMP detachments and Saskatoon Police Service, more information about the truck was received. Officers were then able to identify the owner of the vehicle and the male in the surveillance videos as 37-year-old Cody Kemick.
Saskatoon Provincial GIS along with officers from Saskatoon, Outlook, Rosetown and Humboldt detachments executed a search warrant May 2 at Kemick’s residence in Saskatoon. RCMP said Kemick and another occupant of the residence were arrested without incident.
Police then searched the residence and seized approximately $35,000 worth of stolen property including tools, computers, electronic devices, ammunition, cheques, hair salon products, lottery tickets and clothing. RCMP said these items are believed to be from break and enters from Watrous, Lucky Lake, Dinsmore, Rosetown, Kerrobert, Aberdeen, Humboldt, Milden, Conquest and Saskatoon.
Because of that, Kemick has been charged with three counts of Break and Enter, 10 counts of Possession of Stolen Property, one count of Theft and one count of Mischief.
A second person, Chantal Dubois of Saskatoon was charged with one count of Break and Enter and seven counts of Possession of Stolen Property.
Kemick and Dubois were remanded for court in Saskatoon on May 6, 2020.
Watrous RCMP Sergeant Jeffrey Friedenstab indicated some of the mentioned possession of stolen property charges are related to the break and enter at CIC. “It was determined they had fleet cards that were located in the safe at CIC. The fleet cards were stolen from the safe and used at different times. Because of that more charges will be forthcoming.”
As the investigation continues, Friedenstab noted the white Ford F-150 truck used during the break and enter at CIC is different than the white coloured truck used during the break, enter and attempted theft of the ATM at the Lanigan Esso. “There is more than one crime group running around right now and after looking at the surveillance video, we determined the truck from Lanigan was a different one than the one used at the CIC break and enter. Surveillance showed the grill of each truck was different and on the truck owned by Kemick, there was distinctive damage to the front end, middle front bumper which we found visible in the video provided to us by CIC.”
With RCMP continuing to search for the suspects involved in the break and enter in Lanigan, Friedenstab said police have issued two arrest warrants, one for 43-year-old Brenda Kayson and another for 26-year-old Julia Frenchman, both with no fixed address for possession of stolen property and uttering a forged document. The pair allegedly passed two CIC cheques that were stolen from the business.
In a separate case, Friedenstab said RCMP were able to identify the alleged suspects who were at the Best Way Construction break and enter in Watrous. “They were arrested in Humboldt for a break and enter at the RM of Wolverine shop. The vehicle they were in at the RM shop was the same one seen on surveillance video in Watrous checking out vehicles in the parking lot at Best Way Construction.”
While RCMP were able to lay charges related to the CIC break and enter and seize a substantial amount of stolen property, Friedenstab said they continue to look for those involved in other recent incidents. “If you have any information on any local break and enters, please contact the RCMP or Crime Stoppers. With the nice weather here, we also want to remind people to lock their doors both at home and in their vehicles. By locking your vehicles and your homes, it can prevent a lot of potential thefts.”
TWM Top Story - May 4, 2020
Phase one to reopen to begin; SHA releases new modelling data
Daniel Bushman
After implementing restrictions and social distancing measures while methodically and cautiously evaluating the current situation in the province, the first phase of the Re-open Saskatchewan Plan begins May 4. As numbers of confirmed new cases of COVID-19 remained low last week with exception to Lloydminster and La Loche where the reopen plan has been put on hold, the launch of the first phase allows for some services to reopen with a second phase occurring later this month.
Phase one will allow for public access to medical services to be reinstated. That can also include access to dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, opticians, podiatry, occupational therapy and chiropractic treatment. The provincial government said for those who reopen, when it is not possible to physically distance, providers will be required to take precautionary measures as outlined by the Chief Medical Health Officer.
Low-risk outdoor recreational activities will also be allowable with precautionary measures, including fishing and boat launches (May 4), golfing with physical distancing guidelines (May 15) and a fixed date (June 1) and clear guidelines for the operation of parks and campgrounds.
As those services commence and golf courses gear up to swing into the season May 15, the province’s second phase of reopening will occur May 19. That phase will include the reopening of retail businesses and select personal services that were previously not deemed allowable. Those retail businesses include: clothing stores; shoe stores; flower shops; sporting good/adventure stores; vaping supply shops; boats, ATV and snowmobile dealers; gift, book and stationery stores; jewelry and accessory stores; toy stores; music, electronic and entertainment stores; pawn shops; and travel agencies.
The personal service businesses that can begin providing services to the public include: hairdresser/barber; registered massage therapist; acupuncturist; and acupressurist.
In both phases, the size restrictions of public and private gatherings will remain at a maximum of 10 people. Meanwhile, the remaining three phases in the five phase plan have no determined start dates.
As Saskatchewan begins to reopen and other provinces across Canada release plans to reopen as well, there continues to be a strong emphasis on remaining vigilant in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. Noting that just because the province is moving forward does not mean that COVID-19 is gone from its borders, last Tuesday the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) released new modelling data regarding what if scenarios.
After its original models were unveiled Apr. 8, SHA has since been able to include Saskatchewan specific data and through the efforts of residents in the province, the numbers indicated Saskatchewan is in a significantly better spot to manage COVID-19 than before.
The latest data showed the province’s basic reproductive number for the virus is 3.12. SHA said that means the average number of people a single COVID-19 positive person in Saskatchewan would infect, had no interventions been undertaken and everyone was susceptible would be 3.12. However, with the introduction of public health measures in March and April, the effective reproductive number in Saskatchewan is actually 0.7 as of Apr. 25. That number is the average amount of people one person with the virus is likely to infect at the current time, after the effects of the interventions have been factored in.
While that number of 0.7 can change with behaviours and interventions, having it under the number one means the province is currently in a good spot. Analysis going back to early March indicates the value of this number has been under one since early April.
“This new data brings with it cautious optimism,” Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone said. “Thanks to the Saskatchewan people’s efforts and our own robust actions on testing, contact tracing and other public health measures, we are flattening the curve and helping ensure our health system can manage the surge in demand that may come from COVID-19.”
Using the new Saskatchewan specific data, SHA said it can now adjust its planning scenarios and continue to plan for the worst while aiming for the best. Because SHA was able to plug Saskatchewan specific data into its models, it also adjusted the province’s COVID-19 Readiness Plan.
Stressing the models are not predictions but rather what ifs, SHA said they need to run the data in order to be prepared for a worst case scenario. However, that worst case scenario looked a lot better compared to the data from earlier in April.
From its Apr. 8 COVID-19 Readiness Plan and before it had its own reproductive number of 3.12, SHA took modelling estimates of three scenarios using a different reproductive number for each. From those scenarios released earlier in April:
• the upper-range (scenario 1) showed 408,000 cumulative total cases with 710 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 4,265, 215 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 1,280, 1,230 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 8,370 deaths.
• mid-range analysis (scenario 2) showed 262,000 cumulative total cases, 205 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 1,265, 60 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 380, 370 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 5,260 deaths.
• low-range analysis (scenario 3) showed 153,000 cumulative total cases, 60 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 390, 20 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 120, 120 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 3,075 deaths.
Being able to have a better picture of what could occur in the province and remembering the number as of Apr. 25 was 0.7, SHA created the Saskatchewan Age Stratified Scenario using its reproductive number of 3.12. From that scenario it showed the province could have 254,756 cumulative total cases, 190 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 1,736, a total of 60 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 412, a total of 403 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 3,050 deaths.
SHA said the revised planning scenario ensures Saskatchewan remains prepared for a major surge. It also indicated the maximum capacity can be reduced by 1,000 hospital beds, 400 ICU beds and 400 ventilators (total ventilators in planned scenario of 403 are within current SHA ventilator capacity of 486).
While the modelling numbers were encouraging as residents in Saskatchewan try to keep the spread of COVID-19 to a minimum, officials from SHA were quick to state that COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon. SHA indicated they will be monitoring the province as it begins to reopen in phases during May.
Along with its new Saskatchewan data modelling, SHA was also able to adjust its offensive and defensive portion of the COVID-19 Health System Readiness Plan.
From an offensive standpoint, some of those adjustments and continuations included:
• maximizing testing capacity, accessibility and speed, including ongoing expansion of rapid testing capability across the province and outreach to populations less likely to seek testing;
• surging contact tracing to stay ahead of demand, including a plan to meet any scenario up to 618 news cases per day in Saskatchewan;
• helping prevent spread by restricting staff to work in a single facility;
• contingency planning to use hotels to cohort COVID-19 positive patients who require intermediate care; and
• continuing to expand virtual care options to provide continuity of service while maintaining physical distancing, wherever possible.
Meanwhile, the SHA’s defensive strategy portion of the plan focuses on the readiness of its acute care services to meet any potential surge in demand from COVID-19.
While adjustments have been made to the plan like estimating needing 1,000 fewer hospital beds, 400 fewer ICU beds and 400 fewer ventilators than previously announced, staged activation of COVID-19, non-COVID-19, and mixed hospitals remains the same.
That means if required due to patient demand and safety, Watrous has been designated as a COVID-19 hospital while Lanigan has been designated a temporary conversion to alternate level of care patients.
If the need arrives, Watrous will have staged stand up based on demand and would receive COVID-19 patients only. Emergency services would remain open according to the report. Lanigan would see stand up with a temporary suspension of emergency services.
SHA said these changes are not immediate but the health authority proactively identified 20 out of its 65 hospitals that would be designated COVID-19 hospitals. COVID-19 hospitals will initially act as mixed hospitals but as the COVID-19 patient census increases, non-COVID patients may be relocated from the facility to non-COVID or mixed hospitals.
The staged responses related to integrated rural health stems from a potential increased demand through a combination of COVID and non-COVID facilities. That includes no facility closures and temporarily converting some hospitals like Lanigan to support alternative level of care patients over the next four to six weeks. That would mean alternate level of care patients will flow from tertiary and regional hospitals to create capacity in those locations. There would also be a temporary suspension of emergency department services to support reallocation of staff to higher need sites. SHA said no field hospitals for the local area have been contemplated as capacity in the rural area exists and timing and trigger points for deployment of the plan may be adjusted.
With the latest modelling data released Apr. 28, SHA and the Ministry of Health said they are developing a plan to resume, in a staged approach, community services, elective surgeries and diagnostics that were impacted by earlier service slowdowns. The elements of this plan will be activated in phases, with each phase triggered by surveillance data on transmission of the virus in the community. Identification of which services will resume will consider factors such as highest priority patient needs, risk of transmission of the virus, impact on COVID-19 surge capacity, impact on inventory of personal protective equipment and other factors.
“Going forward there will be ups and downs in our fight against COVID-19,” Saskatchewan Health Authority Chief Medical Officer Dr. Susan Shaw said. “That is why it is so critical that we be guided by the data and be willing to adapt as we learn more about COVID-19 and how the virus is behaving in the Saskatchewan context. While we support the province’s plan for gradually reopening the province, it is a critical time to remind Saskatchewan residents that this will be a phased process where we still need our citizens to be vigilant and practice the same precautions that have proven effective to date.”
SHA said Saskatchewan residents can continue to help by taking specific action, including: practicing good hygiene, washing hands regularly and physical distancing (two metres apart wherever possible); staying home, whenever and wherever possible; abiding by provincial and local travel, self-isolation, event and gathering restrictions; and avoiding visiting hospitals and long-term care facilities, unless there are compassionate reasons for doing so.
As of Apr. 28 when the new modelling data was released, Saskatchewan had one new confirmed case of COVID-19 in the Regina region, bringing the provincial total to 366. However, the following day a total of 17 new confirmed cases were reported including a sixth death in the province and a cluster identified in Lloydminster.
As of Apr. 29 the provincial total increased to 383 with 11 of the new cases from the far north (La Loche), five from the north region (four in Lloydminster) and one from the Saskatoon area.
Eighty-six of the cases were considered active while recoveries remained at 291. As of Apr. 29, there were 10 people in hospital – seven are receiving inpatient care (four in Lloydminster and three in Saskatoon), while three are in intensive care (Saskatoon).
The new COVID-19 cases in Lloydminster were linked to a cluster based in Lloydminster Hospital. Thirteen cases have been identified, including five health care workers and eight patients, and transmission has occurred in the hospital setting.
As of Apr. 29 patients were being co-horted in separate units in Lloydminster Hospital. All health care workers who have been identified as close contacts with a confirmed case are being tested as the contact investigation continues.
Meanwhile, a couple of mass-gathering events were recently held in Saskatchewan where the provincial government stated organizers mistakenly believed that gatherings were allowed as long as attendees maintained two metres of separation. However, these types of group events are not allowed – whether or not people practise physical distancing. Any gatherings that exceed 10 people are in violation of the current public health order.
As Saskatchewan reached a total of 383, comparatively, Canada had a total of 50,373 cases with the most in Quebec (25,757) followed by Ontario (15,728), Alberta (4,850) and B.C. (2,053). Next door in Manitoba, there were 272 cases. Overall in Canada there were 2,905 deaths due to COVID-19.
Globally, according to the World Health Organization, there were almost three million confirmed cases with nearly 205,000 deaths. The United States accounted for almost one million of those confirmed cases with 50,492 deaths.
Daniel Bushman
After implementing restrictions and social distancing measures while methodically and cautiously evaluating the current situation in the province, the first phase of the Re-open Saskatchewan Plan begins May 4. As numbers of confirmed new cases of COVID-19 remained low last week with exception to Lloydminster and La Loche where the reopen plan has been put on hold, the launch of the first phase allows for some services to reopen with a second phase occurring later this month.
Phase one will allow for public access to medical services to be reinstated. That can also include access to dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, opticians, podiatry, occupational therapy and chiropractic treatment. The provincial government said for those who reopen, when it is not possible to physically distance, providers will be required to take precautionary measures as outlined by the Chief Medical Health Officer.
Low-risk outdoor recreational activities will also be allowable with precautionary measures, including fishing and boat launches (May 4), golfing with physical distancing guidelines (May 15) and a fixed date (June 1) and clear guidelines for the operation of parks and campgrounds.
As those services commence and golf courses gear up to swing into the season May 15, the province’s second phase of reopening will occur May 19. That phase will include the reopening of retail businesses and select personal services that were previously not deemed allowable. Those retail businesses include: clothing stores; shoe stores; flower shops; sporting good/adventure stores; vaping supply shops; boats, ATV and snowmobile dealers; gift, book and stationery stores; jewelry and accessory stores; toy stores; music, electronic and entertainment stores; pawn shops; and travel agencies.
The personal service businesses that can begin providing services to the public include: hairdresser/barber; registered massage therapist; acupuncturist; and acupressurist.
In both phases, the size restrictions of public and private gatherings will remain at a maximum of 10 people. Meanwhile, the remaining three phases in the five phase plan have no determined start dates.
As Saskatchewan begins to reopen and other provinces across Canada release plans to reopen as well, there continues to be a strong emphasis on remaining vigilant in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. Noting that just because the province is moving forward does not mean that COVID-19 is gone from its borders, last Tuesday the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) released new modelling data regarding what if scenarios.
After its original models were unveiled Apr. 8, SHA has since been able to include Saskatchewan specific data and through the efforts of residents in the province, the numbers indicated Saskatchewan is in a significantly better spot to manage COVID-19 than before.
The latest data showed the province’s basic reproductive number for the virus is 3.12. SHA said that means the average number of people a single COVID-19 positive person in Saskatchewan would infect, had no interventions been undertaken and everyone was susceptible would be 3.12. However, with the introduction of public health measures in March and April, the effective reproductive number in Saskatchewan is actually 0.7 as of Apr. 25. That number is the average amount of people one person with the virus is likely to infect at the current time, after the effects of the interventions have been factored in.
While that number of 0.7 can change with behaviours and interventions, having it under the number one means the province is currently in a good spot. Analysis going back to early March indicates the value of this number has been under one since early April.
“This new data brings with it cautious optimism,” Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone said. “Thanks to the Saskatchewan people’s efforts and our own robust actions on testing, contact tracing and other public health measures, we are flattening the curve and helping ensure our health system can manage the surge in demand that may come from COVID-19.”
Using the new Saskatchewan specific data, SHA said it can now adjust its planning scenarios and continue to plan for the worst while aiming for the best. Because SHA was able to plug Saskatchewan specific data into its models, it also adjusted the province’s COVID-19 Readiness Plan.
Stressing the models are not predictions but rather what ifs, SHA said they need to run the data in order to be prepared for a worst case scenario. However, that worst case scenario looked a lot better compared to the data from earlier in April.
From its Apr. 8 COVID-19 Readiness Plan and before it had its own reproductive number of 3.12, SHA took modelling estimates of three scenarios using a different reproductive number for each. From those scenarios released earlier in April:
• the upper-range (scenario 1) showed 408,000 cumulative total cases with 710 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 4,265, 215 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 1,280, 1,230 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 8,370 deaths.
• mid-range analysis (scenario 2) showed 262,000 cumulative total cases, 205 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 1,265, 60 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 380, 370 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 5,260 deaths.
• low-range analysis (scenario 3) showed 153,000 cumulative total cases, 60 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 390, 20 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 120, 120 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 3,075 deaths.
Being able to have a better picture of what could occur in the province and remembering the number as of Apr. 25 was 0.7, SHA created the Saskatchewan Age Stratified Scenario using its reproductive number of 3.12. From that scenario it showed the province could have 254,756 cumulative total cases, 190 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 1,736, a total of 60 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 412, a total of 403 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 3,050 deaths.
SHA said the revised planning scenario ensures Saskatchewan remains prepared for a major surge. It also indicated the maximum capacity can be reduced by 1,000 hospital beds, 400 ICU beds and 400 ventilators (total ventilators in planned scenario of 403 are within current SHA ventilator capacity of 486).
While the modelling numbers were encouraging as residents in Saskatchewan try to keep the spread of COVID-19 to a minimum, officials from SHA were quick to state that COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon. SHA indicated they will be monitoring the province as it begins to reopen in phases during May.
Along with its new Saskatchewan data modelling, SHA was also able to adjust its offensive and defensive portion of the COVID-19 Health System Readiness Plan.
From an offensive standpoint, some of those adjustments and continuations included:
• maximizing testing capacity, accessibility and speed, including ongoing expansion of rapid testing capability across the province and outreach to populations less likely to seek testing;
• surging contact tracing to stay ahead of demand, including a plan to meet any scenario up to 618 news cases per day in Saskatchewan;
• helping prevent spread by restricting staff to work in a single facility;
• contingency planning to use hotels to cohort COVID-19 positive patients who require intermediate care; and
• continuing to expand virtual care options to provide continuity of service while maintaining physical distancing, wherever possible.
Meanwhile, the SHA’s defensive strategy portion of the plan focuses on the readiness of its acute care services to meet any potential surge in demand from COVID-19.
While adjustments have been made to the plan like estimating needing 1,000 fewer hospital beds, 400 fewer ICU beds and 400 fewer ventilators than previously announced, staged activation of COVID-19, non-COVID-19, and mixed hospitals remains the same.
That means if required due to patient demand and safety, Watrous has been designated as a COVID-19 hospital while Lanigan has been designated a temporary conversion to alternate level of care patients.
If the need arrives, Watrous will have staged stand up based on demand and would receive COVID-19 patients only. Emergency services would remain open according to the report. Lanigan would see stand up with a temporary suspension of emergency services.
SHA said these changes are not immediate but the health authority proactively identified 20 out of its 65 hospitals that would be designated COVID-19 hospitals. COVID-19 hospitals will initially act as mixed hospitals but as the COVID-19 patient census increases, non-COVID patients may be relocated from the facility to non-COVID or mixed hospitals.
The staged responses related to integrated rural health stems from a potential increased demand through a combination of COVID and non-COVID facilities. That includes no facility closures and temporarily converting some hospitals like Lanigan to support alternative level of care patients over the next four to six weeks. That would mean alternate level of care patients will flow from tertiary and regional hospitals to create capacity in those locations. There would also be a temporary suspension of emergency department services to support reallocation of staff to higher need sites. SHA said no field hospitals for the local area have been contemplated as capacity in the rural area exists and timing and trigger points for deployment of the plan may be adjusted.
With the latest modelling data released Apr. 28, SHA and the Ministry of Health said they are developing a plan to resume, in a staged approach, community services, elective surgeries and diagnostics that were impacted by earlier service slowdowns. The elements of this plan will be activated in phases, with each phase triggered by surveillance data on transmission of the virus in the community. Identification of which services will resume will consider factors such as highest priority patient needs, risk of transmission of the virus, impact on COVID-19 surge capacity, impact on inventory of personal protective equipment and other factors.
“Going forward there will be ups and downs in our fight against COVID-19,” Saskatchewan Health Authority Chief Medical Officer Dr. Susan Shaw said. “That is why it is so critical that we be guided by the data and be willing to adapt as we learn more about COVID-19 and how the virus is behaving in the Saskatchewan context. While we support the province’s plan for gradually reopening the province, it is a critical time to remind Saskatchewan residents that this will be a phased process where we still need our citizens to be vigilant and practice the same precautions that have proven effective to date.”
SHA said Saskatchewan residents can continue to help by taking specific action, including: practicing good hygiene, washing hands regularly and physical distancing (two metres apart wherever possible); staying home, whenever and wherever possible; abiding by provincial and local travel, self-isolation, event and gathering restrictions; and avoiding visiting hospitals and long-term care facilities, unless there are compassionate reasons for doing so.
As of Apr. 28 when the new modelling data was released, Saskatchewan had one new confirmed case of COVID-19 in the Regina region, bringing the provincial total to 366. However, the following day a total of 17 new confirmed cases were reported including a sixth death in the province and a cluster identified in Lloydminster.
As of Apr. 29 the provincial total increased to 383 with 11 of the new cases from the far north (La Loche), five from the north region (four in Lloydminster) and one from the Saskatoon area.
Eighty-six of the cases were considered active while recoveries remained at 291. As of Apr. 29, there were 10 people in hospital – seven are receiving inpatient care (four in Lloydminster and three in Saskatoon), while three are in intensive care (Saskatoon).
The new COVID-19 cases in Lloydminster were linked to a cluster based in Lloydminster Hospital. Thirteen cases have been identified, including five health care workers and eight patients, and transmission has occurred in the hospital setting.
As of Apr. 29 patients were being co-horted in separate units in Lloydminster Hospital. All health care workers who have been identified as close contacts with a confirmed case are being tested as the contact investigation continues.
Meanwhile, a couple of mass-gathering events were recently held in Saskatchewan where the provincial government stated organizers mistakenly believed that gatherings were allowed as long as attendees maintained two metres of separation. However, these types of group events are not allowed – whether or not people practise physical distancing. Any gatherings that exceed 10 people are in violation of the current public health order.
As Saskatchewan reached a total of 383, comparatively, Canada had a total of 50,373 cases with the most in Quebec (25,757) followed by Ontario (15,728), Alberta (4,850) and B.C. (2,053). Next door in Manitoba, there were 272 cases. Overall in Canada there were 2,905 deaths due to COVID-19.
Globally, according to the World Health Organization, there were almost three million confirmed cases with nearly 205,000 deaths. The United States accounted for almost one million of those confirmed cases with 50,492 deaths.
TWM Top Story - Apr. 27, 2020
Province makes plans to Re-open Saskatchewan; local business survey results released
Daniel Bushman
As Saskatchewan keeps flattening the curve and new positive cases of COVID-19 remain low, the provincial government unveiled its plans to reopen Saskatchewan in an effort to keep the economy going in a safe way.
In a rare provincial address, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe spoke to residents of the province last Wednesday evening stating the government will be taking a cautious and methodical approach as it moves forward. Moe praised people of the province for following the guidelines and restrictions.
“Saskatchewan has reduced the spread of COVID-19. We have flattened the curve. And that is thanks to you. Each and every one of you.”
With 326 cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, 61 active, four deaths and five people in hospital on the day of Moe’s address, the premier said, “To put those numbers in context, on a per capita basis, the number of COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan is about 70 percent below the Canadian average, and the number of serious outcomes - hospitalizations and deaths - is more than 90 percent below the national average. And at the same time, the COVID-19 testing rate in Saskatchewan is more than 40 percent higher than the national average. We are doing so well here.”
Taking the decision to reopen Saskatchewan extremely seriously, Moe noted there are risks on both sides. “If we move too quickly, we risk increasing the spread of COVID-19. If we move too slowly, we risk permanent damage to the livelihoods of thousands of Saskatchewan people. Businesses that may never reopen, and jobs that may never come back. So we have to find the right path.”
Moe hopes that right path is contained in the plan announced Apr. 23 which will be carried out in five phases. Joined by Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab, Moe announced the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan.
“Over the next several weeks, restrictions will be gradually lifted by adding more types of businesses to the allowable businesses list, meaning that they can reopen if they so choose,” Moe said. “All businesses and public venues will be required to continue following physical distancing and cleaning and disinfection practices to protect both employees and customers. Members of the public will be expected to follow physical distancing rules and to stay home if they are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms.”
The Re-Open Saskatchewan plan consists of five phases and the timing and order of the businesses and workplaces included in each phase is subject to change throughout the process based on a continuous assessment of transmission patterns and other factors.
Phase One – Beginning May 4
• The first phase of the plan includes the reopening of medical services restricted under the current public health order, and the resumption of low-risk outdoor recreational activities, including fishing and boat launches, golf courses and a fixed date for parks and campgrounds. The size restrictions of public and private gatherings will remain at a maximum of 10 people.
• On May 4, public access to medical services will be reinstated, including access to dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, opticians, podiatry, occupational therapy and chiropractic treatment. When it is not possible to physically distance, providers will be required to take precautionary measures as outlined by the Chief Medical Health Officer.
• Low-risk outdoor recreational activities will be allowable with precautionary measures, including fishing and boat launches (May 4), golfing with physical distancing guidelines (May 15) and a fixed date (June 1) and clear guidelines for the operation of parks and campgrounds.
Phase Two – May 19
• The second phase of the plan includes the May 19 reopening of retail businesses and select personal services that were previously not deemed allowable.
• The size restrictions of public and private gatherings will remain at a maximum of 10 people.
• A full list of retail businesses and select personal services that will be deemed allowable in phase two is included in the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, along with guidance, protocols, and physical distancing measures that allowable businesses and services are required to observe. Retail businesses that were previously not allowed can begin providing services to the public, including: clothing stores; shoe stores; flower shops; sporting good/adventure stores; vaping supply shops; boats, ATV and snowmobile dealers; gift, book and stationery stores; jewelry and accessory stores; toy stores; music, electronic and entertainment stores; pawn shops; and travel agencies.
Some personal service businesses can begin providing services to the public, including: hairdresser/barber; registered massage therapist; acupuncturist; and acupressurist.
Phase Three – Date To Be Determined
• The third phase will be implemented following an evaluation of transmission patterns of COVID-19, and does not have a pre-determined date. The third phase will include the reopening of remaining personal services, along with the reopening of restaurant-type facilities, gyms and fitness facilities, licensed establishments and childcare facilities. Capacity limits will remain in some facilities, such as limits to 50 percent of regular capacity for restaurants and licensed establishments. The remaining personal service businesses can begin providing services to the public, including: esthetician; tattoo artist; cosmetologist; electrologist; manicurist; pedicurist; sun tanning parlour; facilities in which body piercing, bone grafting or scarification services are provided; and other personal service facilities.
• All businesses and customers will be expected to maintain physical distancing practices, guidelines and recommendations.
• Other than in allowable businesses, the size of public and private gatherings will increase to a maximum of 15 people.
Phase Four – Date To Be Determined
• The fourth phase will be implemented following an evaluation of transmission patterns of COVID-19, and does not have a pre-determined date. The fourth phase will include the reopening of indoor and outdoor recreation and entertainment facilities.
• All businesses and customers will be expected to maintain physical distancing practices, guidelines and recommendations.
• Other than in allowable businesses, the size of public and private gatherings will increase to a maximum of 30 people.
Phase Five – Date To Be Determined
• The fifth phase will be implemented following an evaluation of transmission patterns of COVID-19 and the preceding four phases, and will include the consideration of lifting long-term restrictions.
Monitoring Transmission of COVID-19 and Phase Advancement Criteria
• As restrictions are gradually lifted, the Government of Saskatchewan and Dr. Saqib Shahab, Chief Medical Health Officer, will carefully monitor the daily number of reported cases and other important indicators. These factors will inform decisions regarding the pace at which the restrictions can be lifted or put back in place if required.
• Transmission is controlled;
• Health system capacities are in place to test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact;
• Outbreak risks are minimized in special settings like health facilities and nursing homes;
• Preventive measures are in place in workplaces, schools and other essential places;
• Importation risks can be managed; and
• Communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to adjust to the new norm.
The plan will also provide clear guidance to the public so they can continue to follow current public health orders and prepare accordingly for lifting of restrictions.
A number of long-term measures and restrictions that are related to the highest risk areas will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
These long-term restrictions include:
• Maintaining the current Provincial State of Emergency;
• Recommendations against non-essential international and interprovincial travel;
• Mandatory 14-day self-isolation following international travel, exposure to COVID-19, or a positive COVID-19 test;
• Visitor restrictions limited to compassionate reasons at long-term care homes, hospitals, personal care homes and group homes;
• The suspension of classes in all primary and secondary educational institutions, both public and private; and
• Large public gatherings remain prohibited.
The following recommendations should remain in place through all five phases:
• Protective measures for vulnerable populations;
• Individuals should continue working from home if they can do so effectively;
• Physical distancing must be maintained, wherever possible;
• People must stay at home when they are sick;
• Vulnerable individuals, such as seniors and those with underlying health conditions, should continue to exercise caution and minimize high-risk exposures, such as public outings;
• Personal hygiene will continue to be a key prevention measure;
• Enhanced cleaning and disinfection should take place in workplaces, public spaces and recreational facilities;
• Although the public health order regarding the size of gatherings does not apply to businesses and workplaces, they are expected to follow the recommended public health measures, including: physical distancing for staff and clients; regular cleaning and disinfection; frequent hand washing and sanitizing; use of PPE where available and appropriate; and keeping staff who demonstrate or report COVID-19 symptoms out of the workplace; and
• Long-term care and personal care homes must ensure that each staff member works in only one facility.
Re-Open Saskatchewan does not include service delivery plans for the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Resumption of elective surgeries, diagnostics and other non-essential procedures currently suspended as part of the COVID-19 system response will be considered separately, with updates on that plan coming in the near future.
During the announcement Apr. 23, Moe was asked if schools and universities would be able to reopen. “Universities would be the decision of the institutions as they made the decision on their own to go online. I likely expect for the most part that would continue throughout this term. With respect to schools, there really isn’t an opportunity for us to have a discussion around reopening schools in the next number of weeks. And as we get into the end of May early June we are nearing the end of the school year and I expect that we would have a discussion at some point as to whether it would be worth the risk to reopen the schools for just a week or two at the end of the year or allow them to continue to be closed and hope to reopen this fall. That is where the K to 12 school system is.”
With the announcement of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, the provincial government stated Saskatchewan residents should be aware that the public health order limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people remains in place. However, with extreme caution and under the following conditions, one or two close families may form an extended household group:
• The families or friends must remain consistent. Do not visit different families or friends every day.
• If you are going to create an extended household group, consider if any member of the group has any chronic health conditions that would put them at greater risk, or if they are in close contact with someone who could be vulnerable.
• Gatherings must still follow the public health order and be no more than 10 people.
• Stay home if you are ill.
• Maintain physical distancing where possible.
To read more about the full Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, people can visit www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19.
As the province released its plans to re-open Saskatchewan, recently over 100 local area businesses from 12 communities participated in a COVID-19 Business Impact Survey. The survey which was conducted through a partnership involving Mid-Sask Municipal Alliance (MSMA), the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group, the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce and the Watson and District Chamber of Commerce served as a business needs assessment, an inquiry into personal protective emergency (PPE) gear inventory, and more importantly a way to gauge stress levels of area businesses experiencing the closing down of the economy due to the COVID-19 world-wide pandemic. From the results, the survey indicated with 40 percent of respondents registering their stress levels at seven to eight on a scale of one to 10, cash flow, grants and financial supports were identified as the most immediate needs. Of those taking the survey, almost 68 percent had been in business for more than 10 years while 28 percent of the respondents were from the retail sector. The second largest group (27 percent) were direct to consumer services and the third largest group of respondents were part of accommodations and food services. Checking all of the boxes that applied, when it came to the impact COVID-19 had on operations, a total of 88 respondents or 77 percent said business operations was the number one thing that had been impacted. Number two was sales (69 percent) followed by customer demand (63 percent), supply chain (39 percent), employee availability (35 percent), and technology (eight percent). A total of 14 percent were not sure yet. The business survey service was set up by the Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance and stated the responses from the area will be included in province-wide data to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 at a provincial level. In reviewing the responses, the survey stated local organizations have been at work, determining existing support services across the region, identifying gaps in services and researching potential supports that could be put in place in an attempt to guide businesses through this trying time. Responses were tracked by community and results were distributed out to local business associations following the initial Apr. 3 deadline for submissions.
Daniel Bushman
As Saskatchewan keeps flattening the curve and new positive cases of COVID-19 remain low, the provincial government unveiled its plans to reopen Saskatchewan in an effort to keep the economy going in a safe way.
In a rare provincial address, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe spoke to residents of the province last Wednesday evening stating the government will be taking a cautious and methodical approach as it moves forward. Moe praised people of the province for following the guidelines and restrictions.
“Saskatchewan has reduced the spread of COVID-19. We have flattened the curve. And that is thanks to you. Each and every one of you.”
With 326 cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, 61 active, four deaths and five people in hospital on the day of Moe’s address, the premier said, “To put those numbers in context, on a per capita basis, the number of COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan is about 70 percent below the Canadian average, and the number of serious outcomes - hospitalizations and deaths - is more than 90 percent below the national average. And at the same time, the COVID-19 testing rate in Saskatchewan is more than 40 percent higher than the national average. We are doing so well here.”
Taking the decision to reopen Saskatchewan extremely seriously, Moe noted there are risks on both sides. “If we move too quickly, we risk increasing the spread of COVID-19. If we move too slowly, we risk permanent damage to the livelihoods of thousands of Saskatchewan people. Businesses that may never reopen, and jobs that may never come back. So we have to find the right path.”
Moe hopes that right path is contained in the plan announced Apr. 23 which will be carried out in five phases. Joined by Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab, Moe announced the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan.
“Over the next several weeks, restrictions will be gradually lifted by adding more types of businesses to the allowable businesses list, meaning that they can reopen if they so choose,” Moe said. “All businesses and public venues will be required to continue following physical distancing and cleaning and disinfection practices to protect both employees and customers. Members of the public will be expected to follow physical distancing rules and to stay home if they are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms.”
The Re-Open Saskatchewan plan consists of five phases and the timing and order of the businesses and workplaces included in each phase is subject to change throughout the process based on a continuous assessment of transmission patterns and other factors.
Phase One – Beginning May 4
• The first phase of the plan includes the reopening of medical services restricted under the current public health order, and the resumption of low-risk outdoor recreational activities, including fishing and boat launches, golf courses and a fixed date for parks and campgrounds. The size restrictions of public and private gatherings will remain at a maximum of 10 people.
• On May 4, public access to medical services will be reinstated, including access to dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, opticians, podiatry, occupational therapy and chiropractic treatment. When it is not possible to physically distance, providers will be required to take precautionary measures as outlined by the Chief Medical Health Officer.
• Low-risk outdoor recreational activities will be allowable with precautionary measures, including fishing and boat launches (May 4), golfing with physical distancing guidelines (May 15) and a fixed date (June 1) and clear guidelines for the operation of parks and campgrounds.
Phase Two – May 19
• The second phase of the plan includes the May 19 reopening of retail businesses and select personal services that were previously not deemed allowable.
• The size restrictions of public and private gatherings will remain at a maximum of 10 people.
• A full list of retail businesses and select personal services that will be deemed allowable in phase two is included in the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, along with guidance, protocols, and physical distancing measures that allowable businesses and services are required to observe. Retail businesses that were previously not allowed can begin providing services to the public, including: clothing stores; shoe stores; flower shops; sporting good/adventure stores; vaping supply shops; boats, ATV and snowmobile dealers; gift, book and stationery stores; jewelry and accessory stores; toy stores; music, electronic and entertainment stores; pawn shops; and travel agencies.
Some personal service businesses can begin providing services to the public, including: hairdresser/barber; registered massage therapist; acupuncturist; and acupressurist.
Phase Three – Date To Be Determined
• The third phase will be implemented following an evaluation of transmission patterns of COVID-19, and does not have a pre-determined date. The third phase will include the reopening of remaining personal services, along with the reopening of restaurant-type facilities, gyms and fitness facilities, licensed establishments and childcare facilities. Capacity limits will remain in some facilities, such as limits to 50 percent of regular capacity for restaurants and licensed establishments. The remaining personal service businesses can begin providing services to the public, including: esthetician; tattoo artist; cosmetologist; electrologist; manicurist; pedicurist; sun tanning parlour; facilities in which body piercing, bone grafting or scarification services are provided; and other personal service facilities.
• All businesses and customers will be expected to maintain physical distancing practices, guidelines and recommendations.
• Other than in allowable businesses, the size of public and private gatherings will increase to a maximum of 15 people.
Phase Four – Date To Be Determined
• The fourth phase will be implemented following an evaluation of transmission patterns of COVID-19, and does not have a pre-determined date. The fourth phase will include the reopening of indoor and outdoor recreation and entertainment facilities.
• All businesses and customers will be expected to maintain physical distancing practices, guidelines and recommendations.
• Other than in allowable businesses, the size of public and private gatherings will increase to a maximum of 30 people.
Phase Five – Date To Be Determined
• The fifth phase will be implemented following an evaluation of transmission patterns of COVID-19 and the preceding four phases, and will include the consideration of lifting long-term restrictions.
Monitoring Transmission of COVID-19 and Phase Advancement Criteria
• As restrictions are gradually lifted, the Government of Saskatchewan and Dr. Saqib Shahab, Chief Medical Health Officer, will carefully monitor the daily number of reported cases and other important indicators. These factors will inform decisions regarding the pace at which the restrictions can be lifted or put back in place if required.
• Transmission is controlled;
• Health system capacities are in place to test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact;
• Outbreak risks are minimized in special settings like health facilities and nursing homes;
• Preventive measures are in place in workplaces, schools and other essential places;
• Importation risks can be managed; and
• Communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to adjust to the new norm.
The plan will also provide clear guidance to the public so they can continue to follow current public health orders and prepare accordingly for lifting of restrictions.
A number of long-term measures and restrictions that are related to the highest risk areas will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
These long-term restrictions include:
• Maintaining the current Provincial State of Emergency;
• Recommendations against non-essential international and interprovincial travel;
• Mandatory 14-day self-isolation following international travel, exposure to COVID-19, or a positive COVID-19 test;
• Visitor restrictions limited to compassionate reasons at long-term care homes, hospitals, personal care homes and group homes;
• The suspension of classes in all primary and secondary educational institutions, both public and private; and
• Large public gatherings remain prohibited.
The following recommendations should remain in place through all five phases:
• Protective measures for vulnerable populations;
• Individuals should continue working from home if they can do so effectively;
• Physical distancing must be maintained, wherever possible;
• People must stay at home when they are sick;
• Vulnerable individuals, such as seniors and those with underlying health conditions, should continue to exercise caution and minimize high-risk exposures, such as public outings;
• Personal hygiene will continue to be a key prevention measure;
• Enhanced cleaning and disinfection should take place in workplaces, public spaces and recreational facilities;
• Although the public health order regarding the size of gatherings does not apply to businesses and workplaces, they are expected to follow the recommended public health measures, including: physical distancing for staff and clients; regular cleaning and disinfection; frequent hand washing and sanitizing; use of PPE where available and appropriate; and keeping staff who demonstrate or report COVID-19 symptoms out of the workplace; and
• Long-term care and personal care homes must ensure that each staff member works in only one facility.
Re-Open Saskatchewan does not include service delivery plans for the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Resumption of elective surgeries, diagnostics and other non-essential procedures currently suspended as part of the COVID-19 system response will be considered separately, with updates on that plan coming in the near future.
During the announcement Apr. 23, Moe was asked if schools and universities would be able to reopen. “Universities would be the decision of the institutions as they made the decision on their own to go online. I likely expect for the most part that would continue throughout this term. With respect to schools, there really isn’t an opportunity for us to have a discussion around reopening schools in the next number of weeks. And as we get into the end of May early June we are nearing the end of the school year and I expect that we would have a discussion at some point as to whether it would be worth the risk to reopen the schools for just a week or two at the end of the year or allow them to continue to be closed and hope to reopen this fall. That is where the K to 12 school system is.”
With the announcement of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, the provincial government stated Saskatchewan residents should be aware that the public health order limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people remains in place. However, with extreme caution and under the following conditions, one or two close families may form an extended household group:
• The families or friends must remain consistent. Do not visit different families or friends every day.
• If you are going to create an extended household group, consider if any member of the group has any chronic health conditions that would put them at greater risk, or if they are in close contact with someone who could be vulnerable.
• Gatherings must still follow the public health order and be no more than 10 people.
• Stay home if you are ill.
• Maintain physical distancing where possible.
To read more about the full Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, people can visit www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19.
As the province released its plans to re-open Saskatchewan, recently over 100 local area businesses from 12 communities participated in a COVID-19 Business Impact Survey. The survey which was conducted through a partnership involving Mid-Sask Municipal Alliance (MSMA), the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group, the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce and the Watson and District Chamber of Commerce served as a business needs assessment, an inquiry into personal protective emergency (PPE) gear inventory, and more importantly a way to gauge stress levels of area businesses experiencing the closing down of the economy due to the COVID-19 world-wide pandemic. From the results, the survey indicated with 40 percent of respondents registering their stress levels at seven to eight on a scale of one to 10, cash flow, grants and financial supports were identified as the most immediate needs. Of those taking the survey, almost 68 percent had been in business for more than 10 years while 28 percent of the respondents were from the retail sector. The second largest group (27 percent) were direct to consumer services and the third largest group of respondents were part of accommodations and food services. Checking all of the boxes that applied, when it came to the impact COVID-19 had on operations, a total of 88 respondents or 77 percent said business operations was the number one thing that had been impacted. Number two was sales (69 percent) followed by customer demand (63 percent), supply chain (39 percent), employee availability (35 percent), and technology (eight percent). A total of 14 percent were not sure yet. The business survey service was set up by the Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance and stated the responses from the area will be included in province-wide data to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 at a provincial level. In reviewing the responses, the survey stated local organizations have been at work, determining existing support services across the region, identifying gaps in services and researching potential supports that could be put in place in an attempt to guide businesses through this trying time. Responses were tracked by community and results were distributed out to local business associations following the initial Apr. 3 deadline for submissions.
TWM Top Story - Apr. 20, 2020
Teachers continue to help students despite COVID-19 closures
Daniel Bushman
Under normal circumstances students and teachers would be back in their classrooms this week after the Easter break. However, with these uncertain times and schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students, teachers and school divisions have had to adapt.
With doors closed and lockers empty at schools throughout Horizon School Division, the division is offering supplemental learning for students as teachers have been contacting families to best see how to move forward with learning supports.
In Watrous, working from home, Watrous Elementary School Principal Patrick Borsa said his staff has been doing what they can as things have been going about as good as can be expected. “Our staff communicates regularly through email, texting and Zoom. It is definitely strange not going to the school to see and talk to each other.”
Winston High School Principal Terry Braman said it has been a whirlwind of emotions as a staff since the announcement of the closure. “The staff including myself have been on a roller coaster but mainly our only concern is for our students, our kids, they are and always have been our main focus. Yes, we had concerns about their education but that is secondary, to us it is just caring about their own personal well-being. That is all that mattered to us when it was announced and it will be what drives us moving forward.”
Like other schools throughout the local area, Watrous Elementary and Winston High had to make rapid changes when word came from the Saskatchewan government that they would have to temporarily shut down. With Horizon School Division doing its best to provide supplemental learning resources for families and students through its schools during this time, despite the uncertainty and all of the changes, both Borsa and Braman noted their staffs have been amazing.
“They have been busy making personal phone calls, texts and emails to families, planning lessons for a time frame they have no idea what will be,” said Borsa who continued, “and of course they are learning new methods of instruction and new ways of how to deliver lessons. Zoom, Google Meet, Google Classroom, Seesaw, and Screencastify are just a few that we are learning how to use and trying to get comfortable with!!”
With his staff also busy, Braman said, “We personally connected back with our Winston families to discuss the options for supplemental learning that begins Apr. 20. Once we connected with our students and families, the staff has been hard at work preparing to deliver education remotely. This has been the great unknown but we are working our way through it and will continue to do so. I felt a strong sense of anxiety when thinking about the future of education with the pandemic but that only lasted a short time. It was immediately replaced by a sense of calm when I thought about my staff. I am a lucky principal with the dynamic, caring and resilient staff that I have at Winston. They are incredible people who give so much for our kids and from the bottom of their hearts, want the best for them. They are the best, hands down.”
As part of the supplemental learning opportunities, in an Apr. 9 message from Horizon School Division Director of Education Kevin Garinger, he appreciated the planning and preparation being done for Horizon students. “Working from your kitchen tables, your basements, your spare bedrooms, your patios, and anywhere else with a phone and the Internet, you have been keeping our system alive. You have been a source of calm and reassurance for families across Horizon, as you began reaching out, building upon relationships already established, and gathering critical feedback to support supplemental learning for students throughout this crisis. The hours you have spent engaged in this work has not gone unnoticed. I am inspired every day by your dedication, Horizon. Education is one of the key tools we have to wage war against this virus. We will continue to provide opportunities and support for education in the midst of the challenges we face. We will continue to teach. We will continue to learn. We will continue to be here for each other.”
Trying to establish a bit of a routine, with what would have been the Easter break now over, Borsa noted WES staff will continue to plan, learn and communicate with families and students through the supplemental learning time frame; however long that will be.
Braman said WHS will also begin supplemental learning and continue on in a “very fluid environment where flexibility will be key. The staff is starving to reconnect with students and we will be doing that through Google Classrooms, online video conferencing, phone, email, you name it, we will do it in light of the social distancing we must maintain.”
As supplemental learning becomes the new normal for at least the next while, both principals said it is tough knowing there are a number of highlights and events that would have taken place at each school over the coming months.
“It is definitely a very strange feeling not sitting together with staff to plan out activities that we usually have scheduled for the last couple of months of school,” said Borsa. “There are so many enjoyable events that everybody looks forward to at this time of year that are now up in the air. We really are all in this together and the unknown is what makes it difficult to comprehend. Even without the usual activities, it is really the daily interactions with our students that we miss the most.”
With his staff missing the students and many milestones ahead including a graduation that was supposed to be held in early May, Braman said, “I promised our Gr. 12s that we will have a graduation ceremony for them. I feel very strongly about this and they deserve it. It will be the details of the what, where, and when that will differ than the tradition.”
Hoping everyone is staying healthy and finding new ways to spend quality time with their families during this time, Borsa said he is looking forward to the day when the school bell rings once again and classes resume.
“When you have to stay at home and social distance, you realize very quickly how much we take for granted. Often in the spring the students and staff begin to look forward to spending more time outside and even getting ready for the upcoming summer to recharge, but right now I think its safe to say we would be happy to be back in our building following some very familiar routines.”
Braman also echoed those comments and hopes to be back at school soon. “Our students are the reason we do what we do. We are going to make the best of a bad situation and we will get through this like we do anything else, together.”
Daniel Bushman
Under normal circumstances students and teachers would be back in their classrooms this week after the Easter break. However, with these uncertain times and schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students, teachers and school divisions have had to adapt.
With doors closed and lockers empty at schools throughout Horizon School Division, the division is offering supplemental learning for students as teachers have been contacting families to best see how to move forward with learning supports.
In Watrous, working from home, Watrous Elementary School Principal Patrick Borsa said his staff has been doing what they can as things have been going about as good as can be expected. “Our staff communicates regularly through email, texting and Zoom. It is definitely strange not going to the school to see and talk to each other.”
Winston High School Principal Terry Braman said it has been a whirlwind of emotions as a staff since the announcement of the closure. “The staff including myself have been on a roller coaster but mainly our only concern is for our students, our kids, they are and always have been our main focus. Yes, we had concerns about their education but that is secondary, to us it is just caring about their own personal well-being. That is all that mattered to us when it was announced and it will be what drives us moving forward.”
Like other schools throughout the local area, Watrous Elementary and Winston High had to make rapid changes when word came from the Saskatchewan government that they would have to temporarily shut down. With Horizon School Division doing its best to provide supplemental learning resources for families and students through its schools during this time, despite the uncertainty and all of the changes, both Borsa and Braman noted their staffs have been amazing.
“They have been busy making personal phone calls, texts and emails to families, planning lessons for a time frame they have no idea what will be,” said Borsa who continued, “and of course they are learning new methods of instruction and new ways of how to deliver lessons. Zoom, Google Meet, Google Classroom, Seesaw, and Screencastify are just a few that we are learning how to use and trying to get comfortable with!!”
With his staff also busy, Braman said, “We personally connected back with our Winston families to discuss the options for supplemental learning that begins Apr. 20. Once we connected with our students and families, the staff has been hard at work preparing to deliver education remotely. This has been the great unknown but we are working our way through it and will continue to do so. I felt a strong sense of anxiety when thinking about the future of education with the pandemic but that only lasted a short time. It was immediately replaced by a sense of calm when I thought about my staff. I am a lucky principal with the dynamic, caring and resilient staff that I have at Winston. They are incredible people who give so much for our kids and from the bottom of their hearts, want the best for them. They are the best, hands down.”
As part of the supplemental learning opportunities, in an Apr. 9 message from Horizon School Division Director of Education Kevin Garinger, he appreciated the planning and preparation being done for Horizon students. “Working from your kitchen tables, your basements, your spare bedrooms, your patios, and anywhere else with a phone and the Internet, you have been keeping our system alive. You have been a source of calm and reassurance for families across Horizon, as you began reaching out, building upon relationships already established, and gathering critical feedback to support supplemental learning for students throughout this crisis. The hours you have spent engaged in this work has not gone unnoticed. I am inspired every day by your dedication, Horizon. Education is one of the key tools we have to wage war against this virus. We will continue to provide opportunities and support for education in the midst of the challenges we face. We will continue to teach. We will continue to learn. We will continue to be here for each other.”
Trying to establish a bit of a routine, with what would have been the Easter break now over, Borsa noted WES staff will continue to plan, learn and communicate with families and students through the supplemental learning time frame; however long that will be.
Braman said WHS will also begin supplemental learning and continue on in a “very fluid environment where flexibility will be key. The staff is starving to reconnect with students and we will be doing that through Google Classrooms, online video conferencing, phone, email, you name it, we will do it in light of the social distancing we must maintain.”
As supplemental learning becomes the new normal for at least the next while, both principals said it is tough knowing there are a number of highlights and events that would have taken place at each school over the coming months.
“It is definitely a very strange feeling not sitting together with staff to plan out activities that we usually have scheduled for the last couple of months of school,” said Borsa. “There are so many enjoyable events that everybody looks forward to at this time of year that are now up in the air. We really are all in this together and the unknown is what makes it difficult to comprehend. Even without the usual activities, it is really the daily interactions with our students that we miss the most.”
With his staff missing the students and many milestones ahead including a graduation that was supposed to be held in early May, Braman said, “I promised our Gr. 12s that we will have a graduation ceremony for them. I feel very strongly about this and they deserve it. It will be the details of the what, where, and when that will differ than the tradition.”
Hoping everyone is staying healthy and finding new ways to spend quality time with their families during this time, Borsa said he is looking forward to the day when the school bell rings once again and classes resume.
“When you have to stay at home and social distance, you realize very quickly how much we take for granted. Often in the spring the students and staff begin to look forward to spending more time outside and even getting ready for the upcoming summer to recharge, but right now I think its safe to say we would be happy to be back in our building following some very familiar routines.”
Braman also echoed those comments and hopes to be back at school soon. “Our students are the reason we do what we do. We are going to make the best of a bad situation and we will get through this like we do anything else, together.”
TWM Top Story - Apr. 13, 2020
SHA releases COVID-19 response plan
Daniel Bushman
Implementing key strategies with hopes of mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in the province, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) released the next phase of its COVID-19 response plan which specifically noted Watrous and Lanigan facilities.
The details of the report were released as SHA aims to be transparent with the public. As part of that, if required due to patient demand and safety, SHA stated Watrous has been designated as a COVID-19 hospital while Lanigan has been designated a temporary conversion to alternate level of care patients.
If the need arrives, Watrous will have staged stand up based on demand and would receive COVID-19 patients only. Emergency services would remain open according to the report. Lanigan would see stand up starting immediately and phased over four to six weeks with a temporary suspension of emergency services.
SHA said these changes are not immediate but the health authority proactively identified 20 out of its 65 hospitals that would be designated COVID-19 hospitals. COVID-19 hospitals will initially act as mixed hospitals but as the COVID-19 patient census increases, non-COVID patients may be relocated from the facility to non-COVID or mixed hospitals.
The staged responses related to integrated rural health stems from a potential increased demand through a combination of COVID and non-COVID facilities. That includes no facility closures and temporarily converting some hospitals like Lanigan to support alternative level of care patients over the next four to six weeks. That would mean alternate level of care patients will flow from tertiary and regional hospitals to create capacity in those locations. There would also be a temporary suspension of emergency department services to support reallocation of staff to higher need sites. SHA said no field hospitals for the local area have been contemplated as capacity in the rural area exists.
“Our job as a health care system is to provide care for those in need and to be ready for any scenario,” SHA CEO Scott Livingstone said. “While we understand Canadian data is starting to show some hopeful signs about flattening the curve on COVID-19, it is critical to remember not to be complacent. We need to continue to escalate our response to ensure we are prepared for the worst case scenarios and we need the public to help us avoid those scenarios.
“We wanted to be transparent with the plan going forward so the public is aware of the escalated measures we will put into place if needed, but it is critical to remember that many of the changes proposed in this plan will be implemented only in response to anticipated surges in patient demand that start to exceed our capacity,” Livingstone continued. “Changes like conversion to COVID-19 dedicated hospitals will only occur where it is absolutely required to ensure safety and maintain access for patients who need our care.”
Also in the Health System Readiness report for COVID-19 released Apr. 8 was dynamic modelling to help assess the impact of various ‘what if’ scenarios. The modelling data indicates that the key variable for saving lives and protecting health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic is public compliance with prescribed isolation measures, physical distancing, effective hand washing and staying home, whenever and wherever possible. It also indicates that current interventions are making a difference.
SHA stated the models continuously update and provide estimated scenarios about the transmission of COVID-19 in a population, the impact of various public health interventions, and impact on acute care demand.
Presenting three scenarios (high-range, mid-range, and low-range) Apr. 8 with estimates in addition to the non-COVID-19 hospital capacity, SHA noted each have key variables which are the basic reproductive constant (R0): the average number of people one person with COVID-19 would infect.
From that data, the modelling analysis includes: Scenario 1 – high-range - R0 = 4.0; Scenario 2 – mid-range - R0 = 2.76; and Scenario 3 – low-range - R0 = 2.4.
For scenario 1 (4.0 - high-range from early Canadian estimates), assuming Saskatchewan continues with current levels of COVID-19 measures including testing, tracing and physical distancing, modelling estimates showed at the peak, 4,265 COVID-19 patients will require to be in an acute care hospital simultaneously. Of those hospitalized, 1,280 COVID-19 patients will be in the ICU with 90 to 95 percent requiring ventilation.
For scenario 2 (2.76 - low Italy range), if Saskatchewan were to continue with current levels of COVID-19 measures including testing, tracing and physical distancing, at the peak, 1,265 COVID-19 patients will require to be in an acute care hospital simultaneously. Of those hospitalized, 380 COVID-19 patients will be in the ICU with 90 to 95 percent requiring ventilation.
For scenario 3 (2.4 - Wuhan, Imperial Model), if Saskatchewan were to continue with current levels of COVID-19 measures including testing, tracing and physical distancing, modelling estimates show at the peak, 390 COVID-19 patients will require to be in an acute care hospital simultaneously. Of those hospitalized, 120 COVID-19 patients will be in the ICU with 90 to 95 percent requiring ventilation.
Taking the modelling estimates of the three scenarios, SHA provided analysis of COVID-19 patients only with peak values (except where cumulative):
The upper-range (scenario 1) would have 408,000 cumulative total cases with 710 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 4,265, 215 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 1,280, 1,230 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 8,370 deaths.
Mid-range analysis (scenario 2) would see 262,000 cumulative total cases, 205 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 1,265, 60 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 380, 370 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 5,260 deaths.
Low-range analysis (scenario 3) would see 153,000 cumulative total cases, 60 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 390, 20 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 120, 120 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 3,075 deaths.
In its report, SHA said the dynamic modelling is not a prediction but rather an effort to provide a range of ‘what if’ scenarios. “Current interventions have made a difference. The most important variable to save lives and protect health care workers is public compliance with isolation measures, physical distancing and washing your hands.”
With models showing Saskatchewan is not immune to the spread of COVID-19, SHA warns people can expect more cases and deaths. “We are learning from the experience of other provinces and around the world - modelling scenarios are based on our best knowledge at this time and will continue to be updated with Saskatchewan data.”
In an effort to implement key strategies and prevent the spread of COVID-19, SHA has increased access to testing through the creation of 38 testing sites around the province and tripled the staff available for contact tracing efforts to detect and prevent community transmission.
The provincial health authority noted as public health measures and capacity for community care services continues to increase, the acute care system has also been planning to add capacity. Up to 57 percent more acute care capacity will be phased in as needed over the next several weeks in anticipation of increased hospitalization rates. They also stated that none of the major changes in this plan are immediate.
As of Apr. 5, 43 percent of Saskatchewan’s acute care beds were available for use, largely as a result of the slow down and preparation for the surge.
Looking at the bigger picture, SHA indicated it is implementing other key strategies including: increasing testing (over 14,000 tests performed); identifying cases early; expanding contact tracing capacity (over 300 percent increase in staff); enforcing Chief Medical Health Officer orders; data tools to manage cases, clusters and outbreaks; expanding HealthLine 811 (more than 250 staff trained); delivering more services through virtual care models (more than 750 clinicians set up); testing and assessment centres (38 SHA operated testing sites across the province and five assessment sites in operation with 21 planned to open in the coming weeks); prioritizing testing; protecting health care workers and first responders; screening in Long-Term Care; partnering with communities and across sectors; and messaging for health education, health promotion and health equity.
In addition to the measures being taken by SHA they said despite the pandemic the goal is to sustain essential and urgent health services for non-COVID patients.
Also in the report the health authority noted there will be disruptions to “normal” health services delivery. “This may mean alternate service delivery methods such as virtual care; the response will be staged according to increases in demand; cohorting of COVID-19 positive patients as much as possible. Field hospitals will be used where demand exceeds facility based on capacity; Ethical decision making will occur throughout all aspects and phases of the pandemic based on the SHA Ethical Framework; SHA will need to deploy staff and physicians to other facilities to support care; Safety and Infection Prevention and Control will guide SHA’s work; and centralized bed flow coordination service to better serve all patients.
With the ongoing implementation of a province-wide slow down of non-essential/non-urgent services, SHA explained what they have been able to do:
• freed up more than 1,000 beds so far;
• staged expansion of acute care capacity;
• phase in 57 percent more acute beds as needed;
• increase intensive care beds from 98 ICU beds to 963
beds as needed;
• preservation of supplies;
• labour pool strategy;
• dedicated spaces for cohorting COVID-19 patients;
• creation of designated COVID-19, non-COVID-19 and mixed hospitals as needed;
• creation of additional community treatment capacity;
• 450 ventilators are available to meet modelled demand for low and mid-range scenarios;
• planned capacity ventilator requirement of 860 creates a gap of 410 ventilators; however, there are confirmed orders for 200 with 100 expected in the next two to three weeks; and
• multiple orders for invasive and non-invasive ventilators have been placed and SHA and the ministry are working with vendors and the federal government to close this gap.
“No health system in the world can manage this challenge without the sustained help of the general public,” SHA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Susan Shaw said. “To save lives, Saskatchewan residents need to do their best to stay healthy and strong and abide by the restrictions and guidelines for the general public around COVID-19. Demand will exceed our capacity as a health system if we are not diligent about these measures.”
After Saskatchewan released its report, the Public Health Agency of Canada provided its modelled scenarios Apr. 9. Like the SHA, the Public Health Agency of Canada used a series of models to generate scenarios including ‘no control,’ ‘weaker controls (delay and reduce the peak),’ and ‘stronger epidemic control.’ Other interventions such as border controls and domestic travel restrictions were also explored in the modelling studies.
In the scenarios showing the impact of public health measures, where stronger epidemic controls were used like a high degree of social distancing and isolation, at the peak between one and 10 percent of Canada would be infected as summer approached. With weaker controls (delay and reduce the peak) like low degree of physical distancing and low percentage of cases and their contracts traced and isolated or quarantined, at the peak, between 25 to 50 percent of people would be infected as fall approached. With no control efforts, at the peak, between 70 and 80 percent of people would be infected in summer.
When viewing the chart of cumulative deaths under different scenarios over the course of the pandemic, the Public Health Agency of Canada provided numbers for two scenarios where 2.5 percent and five percent of the population was infected. For 2.5 percent, there would be 934,000 cases of COVID-19, 73,000 hospitalizations, 23,000 patients in ICU and 11,000 deaths. If five percent of the population becomes infected, there would be just over 1.8 million cases, 146,000 hospitalizations, 46,000 patients in ICU and 22,000 deaths. Those numbers which fall under stronger epidemic control pale in comparison to if weaker and no controls would be implemented. If half of the population became infected, over 200,000 deaths could occur. If 80 percent of the population became infected with no controls in place, more than 300,000 deaths could occur.
The Public Health Agency of Canada stated, “Models cannot predict what will happen, but rather can help us understand what might happen to ensure we can plan for worst cases and drive public health action to achieve the best possible outcome. Canada is at an earlier stage of the COVID-19 pandemic than some other countries. We have an opportunity now to control the epidemic and prepare the health system. Other countries have shown that this can be done. We know what needs to be done: keep up physical distancing, increase testing, self-isolate cases, and rapidly trace contacts. This is the best way for Canada to get out of the epidemic in the shortest time possible with the fewest number of deaths.”
As both reports were released, Saskatchewan reported seven new, confirmed cases of COVID-19 Apr. 9, bringing the provincial total to 278. One hundred and sixty of the cases were considered active while 12 more people had recovered, bringing the provincial total to 115 recoveries.
Daniel Bushman
Implementing key strategies with hopes of mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in the province, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) released the next phase of its COVID-19 response plan which specifically noted Watrous and Lanigan facilities.
The details of the report were released as SHA aims to be transparent with the public. As part of that, if required due to patient demand and safety, SHA stated Watrous has been designated as a COVID-19 hospital while Lanigan has been designated a temporary conversion to alternate level of care patients.
If the need arrives, Watrous will have staged stand up based on demand and would receive COVID-19 patients only. Emergency services would remain open according to the report. Lanigan would see stand up starting immediately and phased over four to six weeks with a temporary suspension of emergency services.
SHA said these changes are not immediate but the health authority proactively identified 20 out of its 65 hospitals that would be designated COVID-19 hospitals. COVID-19 hospitals will initially act as mixed hospitals but as the COVID-19 patient census increases, non-COVID patients may be relocated from the facility to non-COVID or mixed hospitals.
The staged responses related to integrated rural health stems from a potential increased demand through a combination of COVID and non-COVID facilities. That includes no facility closures and temporarily converting some hospitals like Lanigan to support alternative level of care patients over the next four to six weeks. That would mean alternate level of care patients will flow from tertiary and regional hospitals to create capacity in those locations. There would also be a temporary suspension of emergency department services to support reallocation of staff to higher need sites. SHA said no field hospitals for the local area have been contemplated as capacity in the rural area exists.
“Our job as a health care system is to provide care for those in need and to be ready for any scenario,” SHA CEO Scott Livingstone said. “While we understand Canadian data is starting to show some hopeful signs about flattening the curve on COVID-19, it is critical to remember not to be complacent. We need to continue to escalate our response to ensure we are prepared for the worst case scenarios and we need the public to help us avoid those scenarios.
“We wanted to be transparent with the plan going forward so the public is aware of the escalated measures we will put into place if needed, but it is critical to remember that many of the changes proposed in this plan will be implemented only in response to anticipated surges in patient demand that start to exceed our capacity,” Livingstone continued. “Changes like conversion to COVID-19 dedicated hospitals will only occur where it is absolutely required to ensure safety and maintain access for patients who need our care.”
Also in the Health System Readiness report for COVID-19 released Apr. 8 was dynamic modelling to help assess the impact of various ‘what if’ scenarios. The modelling data indicates that the key variable for saving lives and protecting health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic is public compliance with prescribed isolation measures, physical distancing, effective hand washing and staying home, whenever and wherever possible. It also indicates that current interventions are making a difference.
SHA stated the models continuously update and provide estimated scenarios about the transmission of COVID-19 in a population, the impact of various public health interventions, and impact on acute care demand.
Presenting three scenarios (high-range, mid-range, and low-range) Apr. 8 with estimates in addition to the non-COVID-19 hospital capacity, SHA noted each have key variables which are the basic reproductive constant (R0): the average number of people one person with COVID-19 would infect.
From that data, the modelling analysis includes: Scenario 1 – high-range - R0 = 4.0; Scenario 2 – mid-range - R0 = 2.76; and Scenario 3 – low-range - R0 = 2.4.
For scenario 1 (4.0 - high-range from early Canadian estimates), assuming Saskatchewan continues with current levels of COVID-19 measures including testing, tracing and physical distancing, modelling estimates showed at the peak, 4,265 COVID-19 patients will require to be in an acute care hospital simultaneously. Of those hospitalized, 1,280 COVID-19 patients will be in the ICU with 90 to 95 percent requiring ventilation.
For scenario 2 (2.76 - low Italy range), if Saskatchewan were to continue with current levels of COVID-19 measures including testing, tracing and physical distancing, at the peak, 1,265 COVID-19 patients will require to be in an acute care hospital simultaneously. Of those hospitalized, 380 COVID-19 patients will be in the ICU with 90 to 95 percent requiring ventilation.
For scenario 3 (2.4 - Wuhan, Imperial Model), if Saskatchewan were to continue with current levels of COVID-19 measures including testing, tracing and physical distancing, modelling estimates show at the peak, 390 COVID-19 patients will require to be in an acute care hospital simultaneously. Of those hospitalized, 120 COVID-19 patients will be in the ICU with 90 to 95 percent requiring ventilation.
Taking the modelling estimates of the three scenarios, SHA provided analysis of COVID-19 patients only with peak values (except where cumulative):
The upper-range (scenario 1) would have 408,000 cumulative total cases with 710 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 4,265, 215 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 1,280, 1,230 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 8,370 deaths.
Mid-range analysis (scenario 2) would see 262,000 cumulative total cases, 205 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 1,265, 60 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 380, 370 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 5,260 deaths.
Low-range analysis (scenario 3) would see 153,000 cumulative total cases, 60 hospital admissions per day, a hospital census of 390, 20 ICU admissions per day, an ICU census of 120, 120 patients requiring ventilation and a cumulative total of 3,075 deaths.
In its report, SHA said the dynamic modelling is not a prediction but rather an effort to provide a range of ‘what if’ scenarios. “Current interventions have made a difference. The most important variable to save lives and protect health care workers is public compliance with isolation measures, physical distancing and washing your hands.”
With models showing Saskatchewan is not immune to the spread of COVID-19, SHA warns people can expect more cases and deaths. “We are learning from the experience of other provinces and around the world - modelling scenarios are based on our best knowledge at this time and will continue to be updated with Saskatchewan data.”
In an effort to implement key strategies and prevent the spread of COVID-19, SHA has increased access to testing through the creation of 38 testing sites around the province and tripled the staff available for contact tracing efforts to detect and prevent community transmission.
The provincial health authority noted as public health measures and capacity for community care services continues to increase, the acute care system has also been planning to add capacity. Up to 57 percent more acute care capacity will be phased in as needed over the next several weeks in anticipation of increased hospitalization rates. They also stated that none of the major changes in this plan are immediate.
As of Apr. 5, 43 percent of Saskatchewan’s acute care beds were available for use, largely as a result of the slow down and preparation for the surge.
Looking at the bigger picture, SHA indicated it is implementing other key strategies including: increasing testing (over 14,000 tests performed); identifying cases early; expanding contact tracing capacity (over 300 percent increase in staff); enforcing Chief Medical Health Officer orders; data tools to manage cases, clusters and outbreaks; expanding HealthLine 811 (more than 250 staff trained); delivering more services through virtual care models (more than 750 clinicians set up); testing and assessment centres (38 SHA operated testing sites across the province and five assessment sites in operation with 21 planned to open in the coming weeks); prioritizing testing; protecting health care workers and first responders; screening in Long-Term Care; partnering with communities and across sectors; and messaging for health education, health promotion and health equity.
In addition to the measures being taken by SHA they said despite the pandemic the goal is to sustain essential and urgent health services for non-COVID patients.
Also in the report the health authority noted there will be disruptions to “normal” health services delivery. “This may mean alternate service delivery methods such as virtual care; the response will be staged according to increases in demand; cohorting of COVID-19 positive patients as much as possible. Field hospitals will be used where demand exceeds facility based on capacity; Ethical decision making will occur throughout all aspects and phases of the pandemic based on the SHA Ethical Framework; SHA will need to deploy staff and physicians to other facilities to support care; Safety and Infection Prevention and Control will guide SHA’s work; and centralized bed flow coordination service to better serve all patients.
With the ongoing implementation of a province-wide slow down of non-essential/non-urgent services, SHA explained what they have been able to do:
• freed up more than 1,000 beds so far;
• staged expansion of acute care capacity;
• phase in 57 percent more acute beds as needed;
• increase intensive care beds from 98 ICU beds to 963
beds as needed;
• preservation of supplies;
• labour pool strategy;
• dedicated spaces for cohorting COVID-19 patients;
• creation of designated COVID-19, non-COVID-19 and mixed hospitals as needed;
• creation of additional community treatment capacity;
• 450 ventilators are available to meet modelled demand for low and mid-range scenarios;
• planned capacity ventilator requirement of 860 creates a gap of 410 ventilators; however, there are confirmed orders for 200 with 100 expected in the next two to three weeks; and
• multiple orders for invasive and non-invasive ventilators have been placed and SHA and the ministry are working with vendors and the federal government to close this gap.
“No health system in the world can manage this challenge without the sustained help of the general public,” SHA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Susan Shaw said. “To save lives, Saskatchewan residents need to do their best to stay healthy and strong and abide by the restrictions and guidelines for the general public around COVID-19. Demand will exceed our capacity as a health system if we are not diligent about these measures.”
After Saskatchewan released its report, the Public Health Agency of Canada provided its modelled scenarios Apr. 9. Like the SHA, the Public Health Agency of Canada used a series of models to generate scenarios including ‘no control,’ ‘weaker controls (delay and reduce the peak),’ and ‘stronger epidemic control.’ Other interventions such as border controls and domestic travel restrictions were also explored in the modelling studies.
In the scenarios showing the impact of public health measures, where stronger epidemic controls were used like a high degree of social distancing and isolation, at the peak between one and 10 percent of Canada would be infected as summer approached. With weaker controls (delay and reduce the peak) like low degree of physical distancing and low percentage of cases and their contracts traced and isolated or quarantined, at the peak, between 25 to 50 percent of people would be infected as fall approached. With no control efforts, at the peak, between 70 and 80 percent of people would be infected in summer.
When viewing the chart of cumulative deaths under different scenarios over the course of the pandemic, the Public Health Agency of Canada provided numbers for two scenarios where 2.5 percent and five percent of the population was infected. For 2.5 percent, there would be 934,000 cases of COVID-19, 73,000 hospitalizations, 23,000 patients in ICU and 11,000 deaths. If five percent of the population becomes infected, there would be just over 1.8 million cases, 146,000 hospitalizations, 46,000 patients in ICU and 22,000 deaths. Those numbers which fall under stronger epidemic control pale in comparison to if weaker and no controls would be implemented. If half of the population became infected, over 200,000 deaths could occur. If 80 percent of the population became infected with no controls in place, more than 300,000 deaths could occur.
The Public Health Agency of Canada stated, “Models cannot predict what will happen, but rather can help us understand what might happen to ensure we can plan for worst cases and drive public health action to achieve the best possible outcome. Canada is at an earlier stage of the COVID-19 pandemic than some other countries. We have an opportunity now to control the epidemic and prepare the health system. Other countries have shown that this can be done. We know what needs to be done: keep up physical distancing, increase testing, self-isolate cases, and rapidly trace contacts. This is the best way for Canada to get out of the epidemic in the shortest time possible with the fewest number of deaths.”
As both reports were released, Saskatchewan reported seven new, confirmed cases of COVID-19 Apr. 9, bringing the provincial total to 278. One hundred and sixty of the cases were considered active while 12 more people had recovered, bringing the provincial total to 115 recoveries.
TWM Top Story - Apr. 6, 2020
Doing your part to help prevent the spread of COVID-19
Daniel Bushman
With local residents, businesses, organizations and communities as a whole trying to do their best to help flatten the curve while preventing the spread of COVID-19, it has meant numerous changes over recent weeks.
From schools shutting down, people self-isolating in their homes to businesses closing or tweaking their hours while implementing added safety measures, people have been trying to adjust in rapid fashion. Locally that has also meant numerous cancellations to events as each new week arrives.
While it has also created anxiety and a relatively unknown time line as to when things will return to a more normal, many people have continued to press ahead to the best of their ability. A big part of that new normal has been social distancing, gathering restrictions and self-isolation.
As April arrived the plea from health officials and all levels of government to remain vigilant continued. With the lowest number of new confirmed cases reported in Saskatchewan spanning over a week (eight on Mar. 31 and then nine Apr. 1), officials were quick to remind residents it is integral not to get complacent with precautions for COVID-19.
“It’s as important as ever to stay home whenever possible, and to avoid close contact (a minimum of two metres) with others to prevent spreading the virus,” read a statement on the Saskatchewan government website. “People who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, travellers returning from international destinations, including the United States, and those who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 are required to self-isolate under the current public health order.”
Despite the mandated self-isolation, the provincial government noted there were still reports of people across the province disregarding the directives, which will only increase the amount of time it takes to flatten the curve. “Do your part to help protect yourself, your neighbours and your community.”
Appreciating the many who have been heeding the warnings within his community, Watrous Mayor Ed Collins said, “I would like to thank the residents who are following the social distancing and gathering restrictions as mandated by the Government of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Health Authority and encourage those who are not to do so.”
Collins continued by acknowledging the local business sector and the important role they are playing during this trying time. “To the businesses that are open, thanks for the work that you have done to minimize the risk by the reduction of store hours, employees wearing personal protective equipment, the installation of shields at checkouts, etc. I know that these are difficult times for business and I applaud your efforts. We are in this together and if we all do our part we can reduce the risk and get back to normal sooner. Stay Safe and Stay Healthy!!”
In an effort to help stay safe and healthy, the Saskatchewan Government provided the following:
• Practice proper cough and sneezing etiquette (into the bend of your elbow);
• Wash your hands often with soap and water;
• If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer;
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands;
• Maintain safe food practices;
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick;
• Avoid unnecessary travel – inside and outside your community;
• Gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited and you must practice social distancing; and
• If you experience any symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough or breathing issues) use the self-assessment tool at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 to determine if you should contact HealthLine 811.
As many in Saskatchewan continue to try and flatten the curve of COVID-19, the eight new confirmed cases Mar. 31 were the lowest in a week. The following day Saskatchewan added nine more and on Thursday, 13 for a total of 206 confirmed cases. As of Apr. 2, four people were in hospital with two receiving inpatient care in Saskatoon, one in intensive care and another in the intensive care unit in Regina.
On Sunday, Mar. 29, two Saskatchewan residents located in separate parts of the province passed away in hospital as a result of complications related to the COVID-19 virus. The two deaths were the first in Saskatchewan tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of those one was related to travel while both people were in their 70s. On Apr. 1, the provincial government announced a third Saskatchewan resident in the 80 to 89 age range died from complications related to COVID-19.
Overall in the province as of Apr. 2, 96 cases are travellers, 44 are community contacts (mass gatherings included), 10 have no known exposures and 56 are under investigation by local public health. As of Apr. 1, 24 cases could be traced back to a Christopher Lake snowmobile rally dinner Mar. 14.
Of the overall cases in Saskatchewan, 103 are from the Saskatoon area, 44 from the Regina area, 38 from the north, nine from the central region, nine from the south and three from the far north.
Six cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults. Ninety-three cases are in the 20-44 age range; 74 are in the 45-64 age range; and 33 are in the 65-plus range. Fifty-five percent of the cases are males and 45 percent are females.
As of Apr. 2, six more people had recovered from COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, bringing the provincial total to 36.
To date (as of Apr. 2), 11,395 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province. Saskatchewan continues to have the second highest rate of testing per capita among the provinces.
Meanwhile on a national level, as of Apr. 2 there were 10,132 confirmed cases in Canada which included just over 4,600 in Quebec, a total of 2,793 in Ontario, 1,066 in B.C. and 871 in Alberta.
Globally, according to the World Health Organization, there were more than 900,000 confirmed cases around the world as of Apr. 2 with nearly 46,000 deaths in 205 countries, areas or territories. The United States made up more than 187,000 of those confirmed cases followed by Italy with more than 110,000, Spain with more than 102,000 and China with over 82,000. The Republic of Korea which had been near the top had dropped to 14th overall after taking substantial social distancing measures and sat at 9,976 confirmed cases.
Daniel Bushman
With local residents, businesses, organizations and communities as a whole trying to do their best to help flatten the curve while preventing the spread of COVID-19, it has meant numerous changes over recent weeks.
From schools shutting down, people self-isolating in their homes to businesses closing or tweaking their hours while implementing added safety measures, people have been trying to adjust in rapid fashion. Locally that has also meant numerous cancellations to events as each new week arrives.
While it has also created anxiety and a relatively unknown time line as to when things will return to a more normal, many people have continued to press ahead to the best of their ability. A big part of that new normal has been social distancing, gathering restrictions and self-isolation.
As April arrived the plea from health officials and all levels of government to remain vigilant continued. With the lowest number of new confirmed cases reported in Saskatchewan spanning over a week (eight on Mar. 31 and then nine Apr. 1), officials were quick to remind residents it is integral not to get complacent with precautions for COVID-19.
“It’s as important as ever to stay home whenever possible, and to avoid close contact (a minimum of two metres) with others to prevent spreading the virus,” read a statement on the Saskatchewan government website. “People who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, travellers returning from international destinations, including the United States, and those who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 are required to self-isolate under the current public health order.”
Despite the mandated self-isolation, the provincial government noted there were still reports of people across the province disregarding the directives, which will only increase the amount of time it takes to flatten the curve. “Do your part to help protect yourself, your neighbours and your community.”
Appreciating the many who have been heeding the warnings within his community, Watrous Mayor Ed Collins said, “I would like to thank the residents who are following the social distancing and gathering restrictions as mandated by the Government of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Health Authority and encourage those who are not to do so.”
Collins continued by acknowledging the local business sector and the important role they are playing during this trying time. “To the businesses that are open, thanks for the work that you have done to minimize the risk by the reduction of store hours, employees wearing personal protective equipment, the installation of shields at checkouts, etc. I know that these are difficult times for business and I applaud your efforts. We are in this together and if we all do our part we can reduce the risk and get back to normal sooner. Stay Safe and Stay Healthy!!”
In an effort to help stay safe and healthy, the Saskatchewan Government provided the following:
• Practice proper cough and sneezing etiquette (into the bend of your elbow);
• Wash your hands often with soap and water;
• If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer;
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands;
• Maintain safe food practices;
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick;
• Avoid unnecessary travel – inside and outside your community;
• Gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited and you must practice social distancing; and
• If you experience any symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough or breathing issues) use the self-assessment tool at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 to determine if you should contact HealthLine 811.
As many in Saskatchewan continue to try and flatten the curve of COVID-19, the eight new confirmed cases Mar. 31 were the lowest in a week. The following day Saskatchewan added nine more and on Thursday, 13 for a total of 206 confirmed cases. As of Apr. 2, four people were in hospital with two receiving inpatient care in Saskatoon, one in intensive care and another in the intensive care unit in Regina.
On Sunday, Mar. 29, two Saskatchewan residents located in separate parts of the province passed away in hospital as a result of complications related to the COVID-19 virus. The two deaths were the first in Saskatchewan tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of those one was related to travel while both people were in their 70s. On Apr. 1, the provincial government announced a third Saskatchewan resident in the 80 to 89 age range died from complications related to COVID-19.
Overall in the province as of Apr. 2, 96 cases are travellers, 44 are community contacts (mass gatherings included), 10 have no known exposures and 56 are under investigation by local public health. As of Apr. 1, 24 cases could be traced back to a Christopher Lake snowmobile rally dinner Mar. 14.
Of the overall cases in Saskatchewan, 103 are from the Saskatoon area, 44 from the Regina area, 38 from the north, nine from the central region, nine from the south and three from the far north.
Six cases involve people 19 years of age and under, while the remainder are adults. Ninety-three cases are in the 20-44 age range; 74 are in the 45-64 age range; and 33 are in the 65-plus range. Fifty-five percent of the cases are males and 45 percent are females.
As of Apr. 2, six more people had recovered from COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, bringing the provincial total to 36.
To date (as of Apr. 2), 11,395 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province. Saskatchewan continues to have the second highest rate of testing per capita among the provinces.
Meanwhile on a national level, as of Apr. 2 there were 10,132 confirmed cases in Canada which included just over 4,600 in Quebec, a total of 2,793 in Ontario, 1,066 in B.C. and 871 in Alberta.
Globally, according to the World Health Organization, there were more than 900,000 confirmed cases around the world as of Apr. 2 with nearly 46,000 deaths in 205 countries, areas or territories. The United States made up more than 187,000 of those confirmed cases followed by Italy with more than 110,000, Spain with more than 102,000 and China with over 82,000. The Republic of Korea which had been near the top had dropped to 14th overall after taking substantial social distancing measures and sat at 9,976 confirmed cases.
TWM Top Story - Mar. 30, 2020
COVID-19 in Saskatchewan
Daniel Bushman
Trying to keep up with the situation regarding the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, the following are some of the updates received from the Saskatchewan Government and Saskatchewan Health Authority. Knowing that these can change in an instant, the information is accurate as of Mar. 26, 2020.
Saskatchewan had nine new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 95. There were no new presumptive cases awaiting testing. Three people have recovered from the virus, though there may be more cases yet to be reported to Public Health. Five people have been hospitalized: three in Regina and two in Saskatoon. Five cases are a result of local transmission, with one additional case reported Mar. 26 in the northern region. The rest are travel-related. Four confirmed cases relate to those 19 years of age and under. Forty-five cases are in the 20 to 44 age range; 32 are in the 45 to 64 range; and 14 cases have been confirmed in the 65-plus range. A total of 57 percent of the cases are males and 43 percent are females. To date, 6,915 COVID-19 tests have been performed by the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory.
Globally as of Mar. 26, according to the World Health Organization, China (81,961), Italy (74,386), and the United States (63,570) had the most cases with reports of the United States surpassing China. Canada had 3,409 cases with Quebec (1,629), Ontario (858), B.C. (725) and Alberta (486) having the most cases.
In Saskatchewan a public health order was amended to include the limiting of indoor and outdoor gatherings to no more than 10 people, except for families in the same household, and where critical public and business services are conducted. The order also states that all businesses not identified as critical public services be closed.
On Mar. 20, Premier Scott Moe signed an order pursuant to the provincial State of Emergency directing that all orders of the government and Chief Medical Health Officer must be followed and that law enforcement agencies in Saskatchewan have the full authority to enforce those orders. From that, all persons who have travelled internationally shall go into mandatory self-isolation for 14 days from date of arrival back into Canada.
“I know that the vast majority of Saskatchewan people are taking their personal responsibility seriously and following this order,” Moe said. “But a few are not. This is not a suggestion. It is not a guideline. It is the law and it must be followed.”
The Ministry of Health is working with licensing bodies to support the recruitment of recently retired health professionals like registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, laboratory, diagnostic technicians and others to assist with the expected demands on the acute care system during the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Domestic flights that had a confirmed case of COVID-19 identified onboard are now listed at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 under Travel Information.
The provincial government is trying to provide clarity to businesses surrounding the operations of allowable business services, in consultation with the Chief Medical Health Officer. A list of critical public services and allowable business services has been created to inform the business community of which businesses can continue to operate in accordance with social distancing practices.
The government released a comprehensive list of critical public services and business services that will be allowed to continue operating during the COVID-19 response and maintaining critical services to the public and industry to prevent supply chain disruption.
The list includes: health care and public health workers; law enforcement, public safety and first responders; production, processing and manufacturing and the supporting supply chains; transportation and logistics; government and community services; media and telecommunications; construction including maintenance and repair; select retail services; and banking and financial services. A more detailed list can be found on the government's website.
Effective Mar. 26, non-allowable business services will be unable to provide public-facing services. While closure of non-allowable business services prevents certain businesses from providing public facing services, it does not preclude opportunities for non-allowable business services to expand into online retailing, or providing pickup or delivery services. Examples of non-allowable business services that will be prohibited from providing public-facing services includes: clothing stores; shoe stores; flower shops; sporting good and adventure stores; vaping supply shops; boats, ATV, or snowmobile retailers; gift, book, or stationary stores; jewelry and accessory stores; toy stores; music, electronic and entertainment stores; pawn shops; and travel agencies. This is in addition to the business services that were ordered closed Mar. 23.
The provincial government is temporarily suspending eviction hearings as a result of the COVID-19 emergency.
The Office of Residential Tenancies (ORT) will not be accepting applications for eviction related to missed or late rent, or for other non-urgent claims. Previous eviction orders for non-urgent matters (example: not related to health and safety concerns) will not be enforced, and previously scheduled hearings for non-urgent matters have been cancelled.
The ORT will only be conducting eviction hearings for urgent situations where there is a potential risk to health or safety resulting from violence or damage to property. Hearings may also take place for situations where a tenant has been locked out by their landlord or where a landlord has been accused of not providing essential services such as power and water.
Tenants who are unable to pay their rent during the state of emergency will be expected to pay their rent in full once the state of emergency is over.
Town of Watrous statement: As more positive cases of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) are confirmed in Saskatchewan and around the world, the health and safety of our community remains a top priority.
In an effort to keep our staff and you safe while continuing to provide essential services to residents during this uneasy time, we ask that you please review the following important information from our Watrous Town Council and its administration:
• The Town of Watrous administrative staff are available via telephone and email from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday to answer any questions you may have;
• Our essential services such as water supply, waste collection and emergency/protective services are critical to everyone’s well-being and they continue to function uninterrupted;
• Payment options for residents can be done online, by mail or through using our drop box which is available during office hours only in the main entrance at the Town Office; and
• The Transfer Station is currently operating under regular winter hours (Tuesday and Thursday from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.) until further notice.
We would also like to remind everyone to continue to protect yourself, family, friends and our community by following orders and protocols issued by the provincial and federal governments. For all travellers returning from international destinations – including the United States – a mandatory 14-day self-isolation order has been implemented from the provincial and federal governments. Violation of the order may result in an arrest and a fine of $2,000.
For more on the mandatory order or for other COVID-19 information, people are encouraged to visit www.saskatchewan.ca/coronavirus or monitor local and provincial news outlets.
Most importantly, during this time please remember to remain at home whenever possible, practice proper hand washing and hygiene, observe all self-isolation protocols and please practice social distancing.
As of last week, many local businesses were providing home delivery of essential goods. Please support them during this time if you are able. People who do not want to venture out are encouraged to lean on their neighbours, friends or family who can safely be there to help.
We appreciate your understanding during this time as we as a community try to help ‘flatten the curve.’ By doing this we can also help our medical professionals take care of us. It takes every individual in our community and beyond to do their part in order for us to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and remain safe from this global pandemic.
Daniel Bushman
Trying to keep up with the situation regarding the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, the following are some of the updates received from the Saskatchewan Government and Saskatchewan Health Authority. Knowing that these can change in an instant, the information is accurate as of Mar. 26, 2020.
Saskatchewan had nine new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 95. There were no new presumptive cases awaiting testing. Three people have recovered from the virus, though there may be more cases yet to be reported to Public Health. Five people have been hospitalized: three in Regina and two in Saskatoon. Five cases are a result of local transmission, with one additional case reported Mar. 26 in the northern region. The rest are travel-related. Four confirmed cases relate to those 19 years of age and under. Forty-five cases are in the 20 to 44 age range; 32 are in the 45 to 64 range; and 14 cases have been confirmed in the 65-plus range. A total of 57 percent of the cases are males and 43 percent are females. To date, 6,915 COVID-19 tests have been performed by the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory.
Globally as of Mar. 26, according to the World Health Organization, China (81,961), Italy (74,386), and the United States (63,570) had the most cases with reports of the United States surpassing China. Canada had 3,409 cases with Quebec (1,629), Ontario (858), B.C. (725) and Alberta (486) having the most cases.
In Saskatchewan a public health order was amended to include the limiting of indoor and outdoor gatherings to no more than 10 people, except for families in the same household, and where critical public and business services are conducted. The order also states that all businesses not identified as critical public services be closed.
On Mar. 20, Premier Scott Moe signed an order pursuant to the provincial State of Emergency directing that all orders of the government and Chief Medical Health Officer must be followed and that law enforcement agencies in Saskatchewan have the full authority to enforce those orders. From that, all persons who have travelled internationally shall go into mandatory self-isolation for 14 days from date of arrival back into Canada.
“I know that the vast majority of Saskatchewan people are taking their personal responsibility seriously and following this order,” Moe said. “But a few are not. This is not a suggestion. It is not a guideline. It is the law and it must be followed.”
The Ministry of Health is working with licensing bodies to support the recruitment of recently retired health professionals like registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, laboratory, diagnostic technicians and others to assist with the expected demands on the acute care system during the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Domestic flights that had a confirmed case of COVID-19 identified onboard are now listed at www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 under Travel Information.
The provincial government is trying to provide clarity to businesses surrounding the operations of allowable business services, in consultation with the Chief Medical Health Officer. A list of critical public services and allowable business services has been created to inform the business community of which businesses can continue to operate in accordance with social distancing practices.
The government released a comprehensive list of critical public services and business services that will be allowed to continue operating during the COVID-19 response and maintaining critical services to the public and industry to prevent supply chain disruption.
The list includes: health care and public health workers; law enforcement, public safety and first responders; production, processing and manufacturing and the supporting supply chains; transportation and logistics; government and community services; media and telecommunications; construction including maintenance and repair; select retail services; and banking and financial services. A more detailed list can be found on the government's website.
Effective Mar. 26, non-allowable business services will be unable to provide public-facing services. While closure of non-allowable business services prevents certain businesses from providing public facing services, it does not preclude opportunities for non-allowable business services to expand into online retailing, or providing pickup or delivery services. Examples of non-allowable business services that will be prohibited from providing public-facing services includes: clothing stores; shoe stores; flower shops; sporting good and adventure stores; vaping supply shops; boats, ATV, or snowmobile retailers; gift, book, or stationary stores; jewelry and accessory stores; toy stores; music, electronic and entertainment stores; pawn shops; and travel agencies. This is in addition to the business services that were ordered closed Mar. 23.
The provincial government is temporarily suspending eviction hearings as a result of the COVID-19 emergency.
The Office of Residential Tenancies (ORT) will not be accepting applications for eviction related to missed or late rent, or for other non-urgent claims. Previous eviction orders for non-urgent matters (example: not related to health and safety concerns) will not be enforced, and previously scheduled hearings for non-urgent matters have been cancelled.
The ORT will only be conducting eviction hearings for urgent situations where there is a potential risk to health or safety resulting from violence or damage to property. Hearings may also take place for situations where a tenant has been locked out by their landlord or where a landlord has been accused of not providing essential services such as power and water.
Tenants who are unable to pay their rent during the state of emergency will be expected to pay their rent in full once the state of emergency is over.
Town of Watrous statement: As more positive cases of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) are confirmed in Saskatchewan and around the world, the health and safety of our community remains a top priority.
In an effort to keep our staff and you safe while continuing to provide essential services to residents during this uneasy time, we ask that you please review the following important information from our Watrous Town Council and its administration:
• The Town of Watrous administrative staff are available via telephone and email from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday to answer any questions you may have;
• Our essential services such as water supply, waste collection and emergency/protective services are critical to everyone’s well-being and they continue to function uninterrupted;
• Payment options for residents can be done online, by mail or through using our drop box which is available during office hours only in the main entrance at the Town Office; and
• The Transfer Station is currently operating under regular winter hours (Tuesday and Thursday from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.) until further notice.
We would also like to remind everyone to continue to protect yourself, family, friends and our community by following orders and protocols issued by the provincial and federal governments. For all travellers returning from international destinations – including the United States – a mandatory 14-day self-isolation order has been implemented from the provincial and federal governments. Violation of the order may result in an arrest and a fine of $2,000.
For more on the mandatory order or for other COVID-19 information, people are encouraged to visit www.saskatchewan.ca/coronavirus or monitor local and provincial news outlets.
Most importantly, during this time please remember to remain at home whenever possible, practice proper hand washing and hygiene, observe all self-isolation protocols and please practice social distancing.
As of last week, many local businesses were providing home delivery of essential goods. Please support them during this time if you are able. People who do not want to venture out are encouraged to lean on their neighbours, friends or family who can safely be there to help.
We appreciate your understanding during this time as we as a community try to help ‘flatten the curve.’ By doing this we can also help our medical professionals take care of us. It takes every individual in our community and beyond to do their part in order for us to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and remain safe from this global pandemic.
TWM Top Story - Mar. 23, 2020
Preventing the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Daniel Bushman
As the global pandemic COVID-19 (Coronavirus) spreads across the world and into Saskatchewan, things have been changing weekly, daily and even hourly. With a huge focus on social distancing to stop or slow down the spread of the highly contagious disease, numerous cancellations, postponements and initiatives have occurred. Implementing protocols, health and safety measures there are a large number of local businesses who remain open, including us, for as long as we are able.
But with all of the changes coming frequently, this article has been revised a number of times and most likely more information has since become available after press time. In an effort to try and provide you with factual and current information, the following article will key in on a number of areas including what local implementations have been taken, what Saskatchewan is doing as well as the financial aid package offered by the federal government.
As 16 cases of COVID-19 were reported by the Government of Saskatchewan in the province Mar. 18, it declared a provincial State of Emergency, giving the government broad powers to address the pandemic. This includes measures like the ability to limit travel to or from a community or region of the province and directing that property or equipment be deployed to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the news conference Mar. 18, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said, “If we are not able to flatten the curve, if we don’t take these social distancing measures seriously, there is no health system in the world that will be able to manage what will occur. It is incumbent on us in this province to do our level best to ensure that we are able to flatten that curve and that our health system is able to handle what is going to happen over the course of the next number of weeks and the next number of months.
“It is only together if we take this situation seriously and that is what I am asking each and every resident of this province to do, is to take this situation very seriously . . . we will get through this and we will get through this together.”
The government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Health Officer, also made a number of new orders Mar. 18 to reduce the risk to Saskatchewan people, prevent transmission and ensure that acute care services are preserved for residents most at risk for severe illness.
The following measures took effect immediately: public gatherings larger than 50 people are prohibited; all restaurants, bars and event venues must limit their seating to 50 percent of capacity or up to a maximum of 50 people, whichever is lesser. All must be able to ensure social distance of one to two metres between customers. Retail spaces including grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations are exempted from this policy but must have processes to maintain a one to two metre separation; all gyms, fitness centres, casinos and bingo halls are ordered to close until further notice; residents are advised to limit any non-essential travel outside of Saskatchewan, with the exception of people who live in border communities and are commuting for work; any licensed restaurants and taverns in Saskatchewan will be permitted to sell alcohol as an offsale according to SLGA regulations indefinitely; all crown utilities will implement bill-deferral programs allowing a zero-interest bill deferral for up to six months for Saskatchewan residents whose ability to make bill payments may be impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions; and all Government of Saskatchewan ministries, agencies and Crown corporations will implement a phased-in work from home policy effective Monday, Mar. 23, applicable to employees deemed non-essential. This means that any employees able to work from home should do so immediately, while providing managers a period to plan for work-force continuity.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is discontinuing all non-urgent/elective surgeries, procedures and diagnostics as of Mar. 23. This action will allow the SHA the ability to redeploy nurses and other staff and ensure medical supplies and personal protective equipment are available when needed and reduce risk of further exposure to our care providers and patients.
The SHA will continue to provide services to patients who require emergent and urgent care. Cancer, urgent and emergent surgeries will continue as planned. Patients will be contacted regarding their scheduled service.
Parents with children in daycares should be preparing for further restrictions.
Local area changes
As people are social distancing, self-quarantining themselves from trips around the globe, some businesses temporarily closing, events cancelled and governments trying to do what they feel is best, like you, I too am trying to navigate through uncharted waters. I would invite you to read this week’s editorial for what The Watrous Manitou and the Lanigan Advisor are each trying to do.
The following are a few things that local area communities are doing as well. If your community is not mentioned below, I do apologize and I would invite you to reach out to them if you are wondering what services have been cancelled, closed or postponed. With information changing so rapidly and with so many other intangibles, I was unable to contact each community directly. The following were obtained through social media posts or email and because things transpire so quickly, if I missed something or the below information has changed after press time, I do apologize:
Watrous: The Town of Watrous is taking precautionary measures and closing the Town Office, Civic Centre, Heritage Room, Fitness Centre, Gallery on 3rd, Watrous Centennial Arena, Watrous Curling Rink and Wheatland Regional Library Watrous Branch. The Town said people can use online payment options or regular mail for payments normally made to the Town. A drop box is also available inside the front office door. The Watrous Senior Centre is also closed until further notice.
In Watrous and Colonsay, the Saskatoon Co-op Food Store locations are providing an early shopping hour for the elderly and vulnerable (9 a.m. to 10 a.m.) each day and 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sundays.
The Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre will be closed until further notice.
Also in Watrous and Manitou Beach a few businesses have either temporarily closed or are offering other methods of doing business like take-out and delivery options.
Watrous RCMP: in response to the on going COVID-19 pandemic Watrous RCMP are suspending front counter services. What does this mean? Criminal record checks will no longer be done until further notice, any issue that can be dealt with over the phone will be such as a motor vehicle collision report, statement forms and collision reports can be emailed out and returned in a similar fashion. If you are unsure of your issue, call the office at 306-946-3316 before attending. Watrous RCMP will continue to respond to emergency calls and will continue patrols of the towns, villages and RMs it serves. As always call 911 if it is an emergency situation.
Manitou Beach: The Resort Village has closed its office until further notice. Essential services like water and roads will continue and emails and calls will be monitored. Council meetings will also be conducted as scheduled but as a health and safety precaution, the meetings are closed to the general public.
In Imperial, the Town Office is closed until at least Mar. 30 when the decision will be reassessed. People can contact the Town at town.imperial@sasktel.net. After a council meeting, council also decided to refill all hand sanitizer dispensers in the community’s businesses and more updates will follow in the future.
In Colonsay, a number of places have also closed temporarily.
In Drake, Last Mountain Bowbenders have closed the indoor archery range at the Drake Sportsplex until further notice.
In Jansen, the RM of Prairie Rose and Village of Jansen office is closed until further notice. All Village of Jansen recreation facilities are closed including the Community Hall and bowling alley.
All branches of Parkland Regional Library are closed until at least Apr. 1. That includes the library in Jansen.
In Lanigan, the Town Office and the Town Public Works shop is closed. The Town Public Works crew will continue to perform their daily duties to ensure the community continues to operate smoothly. While the Town Office is closed there are a number of other ways to contact them like calling, online banking or emailing. All Town of Lanigan public facilities like the arena and hall are closed until further notice while the arena is closed for the season.
The Wheatland Library Lanigan Branch is closed until at least Apr. 1 meaning there is no story time and after school programs.
The Lanigan Co-op Food Store is opening one hour earlier (8 a.m. to 9 a.m.) for those aged 65 and older or to other guests vulnerable during this time.
The Community Gift and Thrift store is closed for an indefinite period of time and asked that people do not drop off donations during that indefinite period.
In Allan, our correspondent Sarah Ross said the library has postponed all programming for the foreseeable future. The season at the communiplex has ended abruptly as well. Most events around town are currently postponed or wrapped up.
In Viscount, our correspondent Sandra Reid noted most things are cancelled for now.
Libraries: In addition to the Jansen, Watrous and Lanigan branches closing, Nokomis, Viscount and Young Wheatland Library branches are also closed until further notice.
MP Tom Lukiwski: in response to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, Tom Lukiwski’s Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency office is closed to the public. Lukiwski’s constituency staff will continue to work on-site for the time being but will not receive in-person walk-in visits or appointments from the public.
Carlton Trail College: all regional learning locations including Watrous will be closed until further notice. Individual programming
Libraries: In addition to the Jansen, Watrous and Lanigan branches closing, Nokomis, Viscount and Young Wheatland Library Branches are also closed until further notice.
MP Tom Lukiwski: in response to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, Tom Lukiwski’s Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency office is closed to the public. Lukiwski’s constituency staff will continue to work on-site for the time being but will not receive in-person walk-in visits or appointments from the public.
Carlton Trail College: all regional learning locations including Watrous will be closed until further notice. Individual programming and/or alternate learning scenarios will be communicated directly with students, as needed. College updates will be posted via its website www.carltontrailcollege.com.
Local groups willing to help
Amidst all of the closures taking place, a few groups have stepped up to lend a hand in their communities.
A Facebook group called Watrous Manitou Cares has been established for Watrous, Manitou Beach and the surrounding area. Created by Lori Ann Frey, the group is for people who may need assistance during this trying time and people who have the ability to help. On the page it stated: “Just a reminder to please follow the social distancing protocol as volunteers. When dropping off requested items please just ring doorbells/knock on the door and leave items at the door. We all want to be sure we are keeping everyone as safe as possible while still helping out, as well as limiting our contact with others outside our household. We each need to do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
Lori Ann said people who would like to utilize the service can call or text her at 306-946-7836. “We can get them connected with someone who can help out.”
The Jansen and District Kin also recognize that these are very uncertain times, and there may be people in their community who need a little extra help right now.
“If you know of someone elderly, immunocompromised, self-isolating, or who may be too anxious to go out in public that needs assistance please let us know. We would like to make sure everyone has all the groceries/supplies they need and we are willing to coordinate payment from you and delivery of any required items to you to the best of our abilities. Call or text Lyndsay at 306-360-7222 or Angel at 306-365-7545 or message us through Facebook! We also suggest that anyone who has an abundance of supplies (toilet paper, wipes, baby necessities, etc.) or non-perishable food items to please donate what they can to the Lanigan Food Bank.”
Saskatchewan schools, long-term care, hospitals, churches and travel
Long-term care/SHA facilities
On a more provincial level, the Chief Medical Health Officer of Saskatchewan made the following order pursuant to Section 45 of The Public Health Act effective Mar. 16: The Chief Medical Health Officer orders that visitors to long-term care homes, hospitals, personal care homes and group homes are restricted to essential visitors only. Essential visitors means immediate family visiting for compassionate reasons. SHA said under all circumstances do not visit if you have respiratory, gastric, or flu-like symptoms (common cold, diarrhea/vomiting) or if you have travelled outside of Saskatchewan in the past 14 days. All community, foundation and other public and spiritual gatherings within any SHA-operated facility are on hold effective immediately until further notice. Services provided by community volunteers who are 65 years of age or older, in non-essential service areas have been suspended.
Like other health care facilities, Manitou Lodge in Watrous has implemented strict visitor restrictions as required by Saskatchewan Health Authority. Because of those restrictions mandated by SHA, the lodge will be trying to allow family members of those in the lodge to FaceTime with their family member during activity hours. People can email mandmrec1@gmail.com or contact the house numbers: Harmony 306-946-1282, Sunrise 306-946-1281, and Prairie 306-946-1283. By having FaceTime, family members are welcome to keep in contact with loved ones during this time of isolation.
Central Parkland Lodge in Lanigan released the following statement Mar. 16: Due to the protection of our residents and health care staff, there has been a visitor restriction notice sent out from Saskatchewan Health Authority. If you are not feeling well, please stay home! If you are a volunteer over the age of 65, we ask that you please stay home as well!
In a post on its Facebook page, Central Parkland Lodge stated, “We are hoping for everyone to stay healthy and happy, and send our thanks for understanding the current situation. If you have any questions regarding volunteering or attending a program, please feel free to give me a call at any time 306-365-1425.”
Faith-based organizations
Faith-based organizations are no longer exempt to public gathering restrictions ordering that no public gathering of over 250 people in any one room take place.
Schools
Last Monday, the Government of Saskatchewan announced that all classes in Saskatchewan pre K-12 schools will be suspended indefinitely, effective Mar. 20, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Parents who were able to keep children home were encouraged to do so last week with no absence or grade impacts. Every student will receive a final grade based on their current grade, and students will progress to their next grade level next year. Every student who is eligible to graduate from Gr. 12 this year will graduate. The Ministry of Education and School Divisions will work with Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Institutions to adapt entry requirements for programs commencing in the next academic year.
The provincial government said teachers and staff can work from home or in schools as scheduled during the class cancellations. For the rest of the scheduled school year, the Ministry of Education will work with school divisions and Saskatchewan teachers to implement a supplemental curriculum program through distance and alternative learning methods. While this supplemental curriculum will have no impact on final grades, it will ensure that students seeking to continue learning will have the resources necessary to do so.
The provincial government indicated the measures apply to daycares that are co-located with schools, but do not apply to licensed daycare facilities outside of schools. Further measures regarding licensed daycare facilities are being considered and will be implemented at a later date.
Travel guidelines:
The Federal Government and Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer recommended that any residents currently travelling internationally should return to Canada while commercial options were available. The Federal Government and Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer also recommend avoiding all non-essential international travel until further notice.
The pair stated all travellers returning from international destinations - including the United States – need to self-isolate and monitor their health for 14 days upon return. Travellers returning from within Canada are advised to self-monitor for 14 days upon return.
Addressing the nation last Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said as the situation evolved so would the government’s response. As part of that, the border between Canada and the United States was closed for non-essential travel with goods and trade exempt.
Provincial aid
Finance Minister Donna Harpauer tabled the 2020-‘21 Estimates Mar. 18, the government’s spending plans for the coming year. The government is taking the unusual step of tabling the spending estimates without revenue forecasts for the coming year because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is an unprecedented and challenging time in our province, our country and the world,” Harpauer said. “We are all feeling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our government’s first priority is the safety and health of Saskatchewan people. That is precisely why we need to proceed with these expenditures now, providing stability and much needed new spending at the start of the fiscal year. It is particularly important our health care funding flows and our infrastructure investment is in place to help our economy.
“We have a very strong cash position of $1.3 billion, so we are well positioned to manage through this challenging time, and are able to provide additional resources to address the health and economic challenges of COVID-19 as required.”
Capital investment of $2.7 billion by Crown corporations and Executive Government will serve as an important economic stimulus during this challenging time.
The Ministry of Health’s expense is $5.77 billion, a record investment and an increase of more than $211 million, or 3.8 percent, from one year ago.
The government will provide the Saskatchewan Health Authority with a $3.74 billion grant this year, an increase of $140.6 million, or 3.9 percent over last year. The government said this funds the doctors, nurses and other health care professionals who today are on the front lines in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, while meeting the health needs of Saskatchewan residents.
Federal financial aid
The Federal Government announced Mar. 18 that along with waiving the period for employment insurance that new measures of up to $27 billion in direct support to Canadian workers and businesses plus $55 billion to meet liquidity needs of Canadian businesses and households through tax deferrals would be used to stabilize the economy.
At a press conference, Trudeau said people who don’t qualify for employment insurance and who don’t have access to paid sick leave will be able to access the federal government’s emergency care benefit providing up to $900 bi-weekly, for up to 15 weeks. This flat-payment benefit would be administered through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and provide income support to: workers, including the self-employed, who are quarantined or sick with COVID-19 but do not qualify for EI sickness benefits; workers, including the self-employed, who are taking care of a family member who is sick with COVID-19, such as an elderly parent, but do not quality for EI sickness benefits; and parents with children who require care or supervision due to school closures, and are unable to earn employment income, irrespective of whether they qualify for EI or not.
Application for the benefit will be available in April 2020, and require Canadians to attest that they meet the eligibility requirements. They will need to re-attest every two weeks to reconfirm their eligibility.
For over 3.5 million families with children, who may also require additional support, the Government is proposing to increase the maximum annual Canada Child Benefit (CCB) payment amounts, only for the 2019-‘20 benefit year, by $300 per child. The overall increase for families receiving CCB will be approximately $550 on average; these families will receive an extra $300 per child as part of their May payment. In total, this measure will deliver almost $2 billion in extra support.
Together, the proposed enhancements of the GSTC and CCB will give a single parent with two children and low to modest income nearly $1,500 in additional short-term support.
The government said it is also taking steps to protect jobs, providing employers of small businesses with a temporary wage subsidy equal to 10 percent of salary paid to employees for a period of three months. This will encourage employers to keep staff on the payroll during these uncertain times.
The Canada Revenue Agency will defer the filing due date for the 2019 tax returns of individuals, including certain trusts. For individuals (other than trusts), the return
filing due date will be deferred until June 1, 2020. However, the Agency encourages individuals who expect to receive benefits under the GSTC or the Canada Child Benefit not to delay the filing of their return to ensure their entitlements for the 2020-‘21 benefit year are properly determined.
For trusts having a taxation year ending Dec. 31, 2019, the return filing due date will be deferred until May 1, 2020.
The Canada Revenue Agency will allow all taxpayers to defer, until after Aug. 31, 2020, the payment of any income tax amounts that become owing on or after today and before September 2020.
For lower income people, in May the government will supplement the GST credit to offset the consumer tax they pay. Every adult who qualifies will receive up to $300 and up to $150 per child.
For people paying off student loans, including young people and those starting a family, a six month interest free moratorium will be placed on their Canada Student Loans.
For those experiencing homelessness, the government is doubling the reaching home program which provides funding to communities to address their local needs.
For those fleeing domestic or gender-based violence, funding is being boosted for shelters that provide sanctuary when self-isolating at home is not an option.
For First Nations, Inuit and Metis Nation communities, a distinctions based Indigenous Community support fund is being set up.
For businesses, export development Canada will provide support. For farmers and primary producers the government will boost Farm Credit Canada. In the coming days, the government will look at ways to support them all like the Canada Account.
The Minister of Finance has also been in regular contact with the heads of Canada’s large banks, and continues to encourage them to show flexibility in helping their customers whose personal or business finances are affected by COVID-19. The Superintendent of Financial Institutions has also made clear his expectation that banks will use the additional lending capacity provided by recent government actions to support Canadian businesses and households.
In response, banks in Canada have affirmed their commitment to working with customers to provide flexible solutions, on a case-by-case basis, for managing through hardships caused by recent developments. This may include situations such as pay disruption, childcare disruption, or illness. Canada’s large banks have confirmed that this support will include up to a six-month payment deferral for mortgages, and the opportunity for relief on other credit products. These targeted measures respond to immediate challenges being faced across the country and will help stabilize the Canadian economy.
The Government, through CMHC, is providing increased flexibility for homeowners facing financial difficulties to defer mortgage payments on homeowner CMHC-insured mortgage loans. CMHC will permit lenders to allow payment deferral beginning immediately.
For a more comprehensive list, people can visit www.twmnews.com and click on the COVID-19 Updates page or visit www.canada.ca.
As of Mar. 19 Saskatchewan had four new, presumptive positive cases for COVID-19. The provincial total for cases was 20: 12 presumptive positive and eight confirmed. Three of the four presumptive positive cases are related to travel and one is a close contact of a previously reported case.
Daniel Bushman
As the global pandemic COVID-19 (Coronavirus) spreads across the world and into Saskatchewan, things have been changing weekly, daily and even hourly. With a huge focus on social distancing to stop or slow down the spread of the highly contagious disease, numerous cancellations, postponements and initiatives have occurred. Implementing protocols, health and safety measures there are a large number of local businesses who remain open, including us, for as long as we are able.
But with all of the changes coming frequently, this article has been revised a number of times and most likely more information has since become available after press time. In an effort to try and provide you with factual and current information, the following article will key in on a number of areas including what local implementations have been taken, what Saskatchewan is doing as well as the financial aid package offered by the federal government.
As 16 cases of COVID-19 were reported by the Government of Saskatchewan in the province Mar. 18, it declared a provincial State of Emergency, giving the government broad powers to address the pandemic. This includes measures like the ability to limit travel to or from a community or region of the province and directing that property or equipment be deployed to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the news conference Mar. 18, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said, “If we are not able to flatten the curve, if we don’t take these social distancing measures seriously, there is no health system in the world that will be able to manage what will occur. It is incumbent on us in this province to do our level best to ensure that we are able to flatten that curve and that our health system is able to handle what is going to happen over the course of the next number of weeks and the next number of months.
“It is only together if we take this situation seriously and that is what I am asking each and every resident of this province to do, is to take this situation very seriously . . . we will get through this and we will get through this together.”
The government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Health Officer, also made a number of new orders Mar. 18 to reduce the risk to Saskatchewan people, prevent transmission and ensure that acute care services are preserved for residents most at risk for severe illness.
The following measures took effect immediately: public gatherings larger than 50 people are prohibited; all restaurants, bars and event venues must limit their seating to 50 percent of capacity or up to a maximum of 50 people, whichever is lesser. All must be able to ensure social distance of one to two metres between customers. Retail spaces including grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations are exempted from this policy but must have processes to maintain a one to two metre separation; all gyms, fitness centres, casinos and bingo halls are ordered to close until further notice; residents are advised to limit any non-essential travel outside of Saskatchewan, with the exception of people who live in border communities and are commuting for work; any licensed restaurants and taverns in Saskatchewan will be permitted to sell alcohol as an offsale according to SLGA regulations indefinitely; all crown utilities will implement bill-deferral programs allowing a zero-interest bill deferral for up to six months for Saskatchewan residents whose ability to make bill payments may be impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions; and all Government of Saskatchewan ministries, agencies and Crown corporations will implement a phased-in work from home policy effective Monday, Mar. 23, applicable to employees deemed non-essential. This means that any employees able to work from home should do so immediately, while providing managers a period to plan for work-force continuity.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is discontinuing all non-urgent/elective surgeries, procedures and diagnostics as of Mar. 23. This action will allow the SHA the ability to redeploy nurses and other staff and ensure medical supplies and personal protective equipment are available when needed and reduce risk of further exposure to our care providers and patients.
The SHA will continue to provide services to patients who require emergent and urgent care. Cancer, urgent and emergent surgeries will continue as planned. Patients will be contacted regarding their scheduled service.
Parents with children in daycares should be preparing for further restrictions.
Local area changes
As people are social distancing, self-quarantining themselves from trips around the globe, some businesses temporarily closing, events cancelled and governments trying to do what they feel is best, like you, I too am trying to navigate through uncharted waters. I would invite you to read this week’s editorial for what The Watrous Manitou and the Lanigan Advisor are each trying to do.
The following are a few things that local area communities are doing as well. If your community is not mentioned below, I do apologize and I would invite you to reach out to them if you are wondering what services have been cancelled, closed or postponed. With information changing so rapidly and with so many other intangibles, I was unable to contact each community directly. The following were obtained through social media posts or email and because things transpire so quickly, if I missed something or the below information has changed after press time, I do apologize:
Watrous: The Town of Watrous is taking precautionary measures and closing the Town Office, Civic Centre, Heritage Room, Fitness Centre, Gallery on 3rd, Watrous Centennial Arena, Watrous Curling Rink and Wheatland Regional Library Watrous Branch. The Town said people can use online payment options or regular mail for payments normally made to the Town. A drop box is also available inside the front office door. The Watrous Senior Centre is also closed until further notice.
In Watrous and Colonsay, the Saskatoon Co-op Food Store locations are providing an early shopping hour for the elderly and vulnerable (9 a.m. to 10 a.m.) each day and 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sundays.
The Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre will be closed until further notice.
Also in Watrous and Manitou Beach a few businesses have either temporarily closed or are offering other methods of doing business like take-out and delivery options.
Watrous RCMP: in response to the on going COVID-19 pandemic Watrous RCMP are suspending front counter services. What does this mean? Criminal record checks will no longer be done until further notice, any issue that can be dealt with over the phone will be such as a motor vehicle collision report, statement forms and collision reports can be emailed out and returned in a similar fashion. If you are unsure of your issue, call the office at 306-946-3316 before attending. Watrous RCMP will continue to respond to emergency calls and will continue patrols of the towns, villages and RMs it serves. As always call 911 if it is an emergency situation.
Manitou Beach: The Resort Village has closed its office until further notice. Essential services like water and roads will continue and emails and calls will be monitored. Council meetings will also be conducted as scheduled but as a health and safety precaution, the meetings are closed to the general public.
In Imperial, the Town Office is closed until at least Mar. 30 when the decision will be reassessed. People can contact the Town at town.imperial@sasktel.net. After a council meeting, council also decided to refill all hand sanitizer dispensers in the community’s businesses and more updates will follow in the future.
In Colonsay, a number of places have also closed temporarily.
In Drake, Last Mountain Bowbenders have closed the indoor archery range at the Drake Sportsplex until further notice.
In Jansen, the RM of Prairie Rose and Village of Jansen office is closed until further notice. All Village of Jansen recreation facilities are closed including the Community Hall and bowling alley.
All branches of Parkland Regional Library are closed until at least Apr. 1. That includes the library in Jansen.
In Lanigan, the Town Office and the Town Public Works shop is closed. The Town Public Works crew will continue to perform their daily duties to ensure the community continues to operate smoothly. While the Town Office is closed there are a number of other ways to contact them like calling, online banking or emailing. All Town of Lanigan public facilities like the arena and hall are closed until further notice while the arena is closed for the season.
The Wheatland Library Lanigan Branch is closed until at least Apr. 1 meaning there is no story time and after school programs.
The Lanigan Co-op Food Store is opening one hour earlier (8 a.m. to 9 a.m.) for those aged 65 and older or to other guests vulnerable during this time.
The Community Gift and Thrift store is closed for an indefinite period of time and asked that people do not drop off donations during that indefinite period.
In Allan, our correspondent Sarah Ross said the library has postponed all programming for the foreseeable future. The season at the communiplex has ended abruptly as well. Most events around town are currently postponed or wrapped up.
In Viscount, our correspondent Sandra Reid noted most things are cancelled for now.
Libraries: In addition to the Jansen, Watrous and Lanigan branches closing, Nokomis, Viscount and Young Wheatland Library branches are also closed until further notice.
MP Tom Lukiwski: in response to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, Tom Lukiwski’s Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency office is closed to the public. Lukiwski’s constituency staff will continue to work on-site for the time being but will not receive in-person walk-in visits or appointments from the public.
Carlton Trail College: all regional learning locations including Watrous will be closed until further notice. Individual programming
Libraries: In addition to the Jansen, Watrous and Lanigan branches closing, Nokomis, Viscount and Young Wheatland Library Branches are also closed until further notice.
MP Tom Lukiwski: in response to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, Tom Lukiwski’s Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency office is closed to the public. Lukiwski’s constituency staff will continue to work on-site for the time being but will not receive in-person walk-in visits or appointments from the public.
Carlton Trail College: all regional learning locations including Watrous will be closed until further notice. Individual programming and/or alternate learning scenarios will be communicated directly with students, as needed. College updates will be posted via its website www.carltontrailcollege.com.
Local groups willing to help
Amidst all of the closures taking place, a few groups have stepped up to lend a hand in their communities.
A Facebook group called Watrous Manitou Cares has been established for Watrous, Manitou Beach and the surrounding area. Created by Lori Ann Frey, the group is for people who may need assistance during this trying time and people who have the ability to help. On the page it stated: “Just a reminder to please follow the social distancing protocol as volunteers. When dropping off requested items please just ring doorbells/knock on the door and leave items at the door. We all want to be sure we are keeping everyone as safe as possible while still helping out, as well as limiting our contact with others outside our household. We each need to do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
Lori Ann said people who would like to utilize the service can call or text her at 306-946-7836. “We can get them connected with someone who can help out.”
The Jansen and District Kin also recognize that these are very uncertain times, and there may be people in their community who need a little extra help right now.
“If you know of someone elderly, immunocompromised, self-isolating, or who may be too anxious to go out in public that needs assistance please let us know. We would like to make sure everyone has all the groceries/supplies they need and we are willing to coordinate payment from you and delivery of any required items to you to the best of our abilities. Call or text Lyndsay at 306-360-7222 or Angel at 306-365-7545 or message us through Facebook! We also suggest that anyone who has an abundance of supplies (toilet paper, wipes, baby necessities, etc.) or non-perishable food items to please donate what they can to the Lanigan Food Bank.”
Saskatchewan schools, long-term care, hospitals, churches and travel
Long-term care/SHA facilities
On a more provincial level, the Chief Medical Health Officer of Saskatchewan made the following order pursuant to Section 45 of The Public Health Act effective Mar. 16: The Chief Medical Health Officer orders that visitors to long-term care homes, hospitals, personal care homes and group homes are restricted to essential visitors only. Essential visitors means immediate family visiting for compassionate reasons. SHA said under all circumstances do not visit if you have respiratory, gastric, or flu-like symptoms (common cold, diarrhea/vomiting) or if you have travelled outside of Saskatchewan in the past 14 days. All community, foundation and other public and spiritual gatherings within any SHA-operated facility are on hold effective immediately until further notice. Services provided by community volunteers who are 65 years of age or older, in non-essential service areas have been suspended.
Like other health care facilities, Manitou Lodge in Watrous has implemented strict visitor restrictions as required by Saskatchewan Health Authority. Because of those restrictions mandated by SHA, the lodge will be trying to allow family members of those in the lodge to FaceTime with their family member during activity hours. People can email mandmrec1@gmail.com or contact the house numbers: Harmony 306-946-1282, Sunrise 306-946-1281, and Prairie 306-946-1283. By having FaceTime, family members are welcome to keep in contact with loved ones during this time of isolation.
Central Parkland Lodge in Lanigan released the following statement Mar. 16: Due to the protection of our residents and health care staff, there has been a visitor restriction notice sent out from Saskatchewan Health Authority. If you are not feeling well, please stay home! If you are a volunteer over the age of 65, we ask that you please stay home as well!
In a post on its Facebook page, Central Parkland Lodge stated, “We are hoping for everyone to stay healthy and happy, and send our thanks for understanding the current situation. If you have any questions regarding volunteering or attending a program, please feel free to give me a call at any time 306-365-1425.”
Faith-based organizations
Faith-based organizations are no longer exempt to public gathering restrictions ordering that no public gathering of over 250 people in any one room take place.
Schools
Last Monday, the Government of Saskatchewan announced that all classes in Saskatchewan pre K-12 schools will be suspended indefinitely, effective Mar. 20, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Parents who were able to keep children home were encouraged to do so last week with no absence or grade impacts. Every student will receive a final grade based on their current grade, and students will progress to their next grade level next year. Every student who is eligible to graduate from Gr. 12 this year will graduate. The Ministry of Education and School Divisions will work with Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Institutions to adapt entry requirements for programs commencing in the next academic year.
The provincial government said teachers and staff can work from home or in schools as scheduled during the class cancellations. For the rest of the scheduled school year, the Ministry of Education will work with school divisions and Saskatchewan teachers to implement a supplemental curriculum program through distance and alternative learning methods. While this supplemental curriculum will have no impact on final grades, it will ensure that students seeking to continue learning will have the resources necessary to do so.
The provincial government indicated the measures apply to daycares that are co-located with schools, but do not apply to licensed daycare facilities outside of schools. Further measures regarding licensed daycare facilities are being considered and will be implemented at a later date.
Travel guidelines:
The Federal Government and Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer recommended that any residents currently travelling internationally should return to Canada while commercial options were available. The Federal Government and Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer also recommend avoiding all non-essential international travel until further notice.
The pair stated all travellers returning from international destinations - including the United States – need to self-isolate and monitor their health for 14 days upon return. Travellers returning from within Canada are advised to self-monitor for 14 days upon return.
Addressing the nation last Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said as the situation evolved so would the government’s response. As part of that, the border between Canada and the United States was closed for non-essential travel with goods and trade exempt.
Provincial aid
Finance Minister Donna Harpauer tabled the 2020-‘21 Estimates Mar. 18, the government’s spending plans for the coming year. The government is taking the unusual step of tabling the spending estimates without revenue forecasts for the coming year because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is an unprecedented and challenging time in our province, our country and the world,” Harpauer said. “We are all feeling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our government’s first priority is the safety and health of Saskatchewan people. That is precisely why we need to proceed with these expenditures now, providing stability and much needed new spending at the start of the fiscal year. It is particularly important our health care funding flows and our infrastructure investment is in place to help our economy.
“We have a very strong cash position of $1.3 billion, so we are well positioned to manage through this challenging time, and are able to provide additional resources to address the health and economic challenges of COVID-19 as required.”
Capital investment of $2.7 billion by Crown corporations and Executive Government will serve as an important economic stimulus during this challenging time.
The Ministry of Health’s expense is $5.77 billion, a record investment and an increase of more than $211 million, or 3.8 percent, from one year ago.
The government will provide the Saskatchewan Health Authority with a $3.74 billion grant this year, an increase of $140.6 million, or 3.9 percent over last year. The government said this funds the doctors, nurses and other health care professionals who today are on the front lines in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, while meeting the health needs of Saskatchewan residents.
Federal financial aid
The Federal Government announced Mar. 18 that along with waiving the period for employment insurance that new measures of up to $27 billion in direct support to Canadian workers and businesses plus $55 billion to meet liquidity needs of Canadian businesses and households through tax deferrals would be used to stabilize the economy.
At a press conference, Trudeau said people who don’t qualify for employment insurance and who don’t have access to paid sick leave will be able to access the federal government’s emergency care benefit providing up to $900 bi-weekly, for up to 15 weeks. This flat-payment benefit would be administered through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and provide income support to: workers, including the self-employed, who are quarantined or sick with COVID-19 but do not qualify for EI sickness benefits; workers, including the self-employed, who are taking care of a family member who is sick with COVID-19, such as an elderly parent, but do not quality for EI sickness benefits; and parents with children who require care or supervision due to school closures, and are unable to earn employment income, irrespective of whether they qualify for EI or not.
Application for the benefit will be available in April 2020, and require Canadians to attest that they meet the eligibility requirements. They will need to re-attest every two weeks to reconfirm their eligibility.
For over 3.5 million families with children, who may also require additional support, the Government is proposing to increase the maximum annual Canada Child Benefit (CCB) payment amounts, only for the 2019-‘20 benefit year, by $300 per child. The overall increase for families receiving CCB will be approximately $550 on average; these families will receive an extra $300 per child as part of their May payment. In total, this measure will deliver almost $2 billion in extra support.
Together, the proposed enhancements of the GSTC and CCB will give a single parent with two children and low to modest income nearly $1,500 in additional short-term support.
The government said it is also taking steps to protect jobs, providing employers of small businesses with a temporary wage subsidy equal to 10 percent of salary paid to employees for a period of three months. This will encourage employers to keep staff on the payroll during these uncertain times.
The Canada Revenue Agency will defer the filing due date for the 2019 tax returns of individuals, including certain trusts. For individuals (other than trusts), the return
filing due date will be deferred until June 1, 2020. However, the Agency encourages individuals who expect to receive benefits under the GSTC or the Canada Child Benefit not to delay the filing of their return to ensure their entitlements for the 2020-‘21 benefit year are properly determined.
For trusts having a taxation year ending Dec. 31, 2019, the return filing due date will be deferred until May 1, 2020.
The Canada Revenue Agency will allow all taxpayers to defer, until after Aug. 31, 2020, the payment of any income tax amounts that become owing on or after today and before September 2020.
For lower income people, in May the government will supplement the GST credit to offset the consumer tax they pay. Every adult who qualifies will receive up to $300 and up to $150 per child.
For people paying off student loans, including young people and those starting a family, a six month interest free moratorium will be placed on their Canada Student Loans.
For those experiencing homelessness, the government is doubling the reaching home program which provides funding to communities to address their local needs.
For those fleeing domestic or gender-based violence, funding is being boosted for shelters that provide sanctuary when self-isolating at home is not an option.
For First Nations, Inuit and Metis Nation communities, a distinctions based Indigenous Community support fund is being set up.
For businesses, export development Canada will provide support. For farmers and primary producers the government will boost Farm Credit Canada. In the coming days, the government will look at ways to support them all like the Canada Account.
The Minister of Finance has also been in regular contact with the heads of Canada’s large banks, and continues to encourage them to show flexibility in helping their customers whose personal or business finances are affected by COVID-19. The Superintendent of Financial Institutions has also made clear his expectation that banks will use the additional lending capacity provided by recent government actions to support Canadian businesses and households.
In response, banks in Canada have affirmed their commitment to working with customers to provide flexible solutions, on a case-by-case basis, for managing through hardships caused by recent developments. This may include situations such as pay disruption, childcare disruption, or illness. Canada’s large banks have confirmed that this support will include up to a six-month payment deferral for mortgages, and the opportunity for relief on other credit products. These targeted measures respond to immediate challenges being faced across the country and will help stabilize the Canadian economy.
The Government, through CMHC, is providing increased flexibility for homeowners facing financial difficulties to defer mortgage payments on homeowner CMHC-insured mortgage loans. CMHC will permit lenders to allow payment deferral beginning immediately.
For a more comprehensive list, people can visit www.twmnews.com and click on the COVID-19 Updates page or visit www.canada.ca.
As of Mar. 19 Saskatchewan had four new, presumptive positive cases for COVID-19. The provincial total for cases was 20: 12 presumptive positive and eight confirmed. Three of the four presumptive positive cases are related to travel and one is a close contact of a previously reported case.
TWM Top Story - Mar. 16, 2020
Local area steps up for Telemiracle 44
Daniel Bushman
As the streamers tumbled down from above and the curtain dropped, people in Saskatchewan once again had reason to celebrate as Telemiracle 44 raised just over $5.5 million. The 20-hour telethon which began Mar. 7 and ran until Mar. 8 in Regina had people across the province and beyond ringing those phones.
As part of the over $5.5 million raised, the community of Watrous and the surrounding area once again stepped up bringing in just over $5,000 more than last year’s local total. Watrous Kinette President Mel Rostie who was one of eight Kin members from Watrous attending this year’s Telemiracle said every year the local area comes together in a huge way. Rostie shared a breakdown of this year’s local donations:
• Pie Auction at Manitou Lodge: $7,550;
• Sweetheart Lunch: $603.99;
• Craft and Trade Show Lunch: $749;
• Toilets for Telemiracle: $4,868.90;
• Cassies Younique Party: $252.35;
• Winston High School Ham and Scalloped Potato Supper: $1,400;
• Watrous Kinsmen Donation: $2,020;
• Manitou Springs Hotel and Mineral Spa: $1,000;
• John’s Plate: $500;
• Personal donations: $709.55;
• Helping Hands: $463.25; and
• Watrous Elementary School Bake Sale: $1,153 (sent in by mail and not part of Sunday's presentation total).
That made the final Watrous Telemiracle total $21,270.04!
Rostie and seven local Kin members were all smiles as they presented this year’s total on stage in Regina Sunday afternoon. “We are proud to represent our community and sincerely appreciate everyone’s continued support. Those are your hard earned, generously given dollars.”
The group also worked shifts one and three on the phones and treasury. “We were humbled from the very start as the opening of the show told a story of a family who received much needed support from Telemiracle. The talent was amazing and the kinship that takes place behind the scenes was like a big family reunion.”
This year a pair of new Watrous Kin members took part in Telemiracle. Rostie said Alexina and Mikaela were able to experience what the 20-hour telethon was all about.
“Telemiracle further magnifies the passion our communities have for a better tomorrow,” said Alexina. “It provides hope to those who need it most. I am so fortunate to be involved with this inspiring event.”
Mikaela added, “Telemiracle is an inspirational community where we are able to give back and help others in need. I am proud to be a Watrous Kinette and happy I had the chance to attend.”
One of the many highlights of this year’s show were the 80 talented Saskatchewan performers who appeared throughout the telethon and during the Countdown to Telemiracle pre-show. As part of that, some local talent was centre stage including Nikeesha Goodsman of Viscount, Jenna Schmidt who was part of a dance group and Jarvis Mattson of Watrous.
Not only did the 80 performers showcase talents from every corner of the province, they also raised money for the telethon – which was once again matched by Nutrien, who presented a total donation of $159,161 on stage just before the end of the broadcast.
“I am thrilled and humbled by the generosity of Saskatchewan people that supported Telemiracle this year,” said Telemiracle 44 Chair Jesse Shkuratoff. “Once again, Telemiracle brought our province together and the impact of these donations will be felt across Saskatchewan.”
As the final numbers on stage revealed a total of $5,523,472, with this year’s incredible generosity added, the total raised by Telemiracle since 1977 is now over $140 million.
“We were brought to tears once again as that final total was revealed,” said Rostie. “That just showed there are 5.5 million reasons to carry on with our fundraising efforts next year!”
All Telemiracle proceeds stay in Saskatchewan and are granted through the Kinsmen Foundation for specialized medical and mobility equipment, and assistance with medical travel. The Foundation receives over 1,000 applications for assistance from Saskatchewan residents each year.
Daniel Bushman
As the streamers tumbled down from above and the curtain dropped, people in Saskatchewan once again had reason to celebrate as Telemiracle 44 raised just over $5.5 million. The 20-hour telethon which began Mar. 7 and ran until Mar. 8 in Regina had people across the province and beyond ringing those phones.
As part of the over $5.5 million raised, the community of Watrous and the surrounding area once again stepped up bringing in just over $5,000 more than last year’s local total. Watrous Kinette President Mel Rostie who was one of eight Kin members from Watrous attending this year’s Telemiracle said every year the local area comes together in a huge way. Rostie shared a breakdown of this year’s local donations:
• Pie Auction at Manitou Lodge: $7,550;
• Sweetheart Lunch: $603.99;
• Craft and Trade Show Lunch: $749;
• Toilets for Telemiracle: $4,868.90;
• Cassies Younique Party: $252.35;
• Winston High School Ham and Scalloped Potato Supper: $1,400;
• Watrous Kinsmen Donation: $2,020;
• Manitou Springs Hotel and Mineral Spa: $1,000;
• John’s Plate: $500;
• Personal donations: $709.55;
• Helping Hands: $463.25; and
• Watrous Elementary School Bake Sale: $1,153 (sent in by mail and not part of Sunday's presentation total).
That made the final Watrous Telemiracle total $21,270.04!
Rostie and seven local Kin members were all smiles as they presented this year’s total on stage in Regina Sunday afternoon. “We are proud to represent our community and sincerely appreciate everyone’s continued support. Those are your hard earned, generously given dollars.”
The group also worked shifts one and three on the phones and treasury. “We were humbled from the very start as the opening of the show told a story of a family who received much needed support from Telemiracle. The talent was amazing and the kinship that takes place behind the scenes was like a big family reunion.”
This year a pair of new Watrous Kin members took part in Telemiracle. Rostie said Alexina and Mikaela were able to experience what the 20-hour telethon was all about.
“Telemiracle further magnifies the passion our communities have for a better tomorrow,” said Alexina. “It provides hope to those who need it most. I am so fortunate to be involved with this inspiring event.”
Mikaela added, “Telemiracle is an inspirational community where we are able to give back and help others in need. I am proud to be a Watrous Kinette and happy I had the chance to attend.”
One of the many highlights of this year’s show were the 80 talented Saskatchewan performers who appeared throughout the telethon and during the Countdown to Telemiracle pre-show. As part of that, some local talent was centre stage including Nikeesha Goodsman of Viscount, Jenna Schmidt who was part of a dance group and Jarvis Mattson of Watrous.
Not only did the 80 performers showcase talents from every corner of the province, they also raised money for the telethon – which was once again matched by Nutrien, who presented a total donation of $159,161 on stage just before the end of the broadcast.
“I am thrilled and humbled by the generosity of Saskatchewan people that supported Telemiracle this year,” said Telemiracle 44 Chair Jesse Shkuratoff. “Once again, Telemiracle brought our province together and the impact of these donations will be felt across Saskatchewan.”
As the final numbers on stage revealed a total of $5,523,472, with this year’s incredible generosity added, the total raised by Telemiracle since 1977 is now over $140 million.
“We were brought to tears once again as that final total was revealed,” said Rostie. “That just showed there are 5.5 million reasons to carry on with our fundraising efforts next year!”
All Telemiracle proceeds stay in Saskatchewan and are granted through the Kinsmen Foundation for specialized medical and mobility equipment, and assistance with medical travel. The Foundation receives over 1,000 applications for assistance from Saskatchewan residents each year.
TWM Top Story - Mar. 9, 2020
The Big Float named finalist for prestigious award
Daniel Bushman
Manitou Beach has once again found itself in the provincial spotlight after a lot of hard work and dedication by a number of individuals. One of nearly 90 nominations in 13 award categories for this year’s Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence, The Big Float at Manitou Beach was recognized as a finalist for the Community Event of the Year Award.
Community Development Officer Brendan Manz who was part of the organizing committee was thrilled to see The Big Float named as one of three finalists in its category. “We decided to focus on bringing in more events to go along with the annual Fun Run held in Watrous. From the Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition to a whole host of centennial celebrations held at Manitou Beach last year, there was a lot of effort put in by organizers. The fact that we are able to be recognized for the work that we do around events which have become an important aspect of our tourism industry, it is great to be recognized for that.”
After the idea flowed from wanting to plan something unique and new for the centennial celebrations at Manitou Beach, nearly 2,000 people registered for The Big Float held July 13, 2019. With people coming from all over Saskatchewan, other Canadian provinces and various parts around the globe, Manz said that July afternoon was pretty spectacular. “What a way to celebrate our lake and the unique features that we have with the water. The other thing it did was attract a different demographic to come float and be a part of the record. We had people attend from all over and they were able to see what it is like at Manitou Beach and what we have to offer. It was a chance to bring those people out who maybe normally would not have come out. Bringing upwards of 2,000 people into your community for a weekend is a pretty unique thing.”
Spearheaded by Manitou Beach resident Sarah McKen, Manz said the group would not have been able to pull everything off without all of the volunteers and committee members chipping in. “I commend them all for their willingness to help out and organize such a really unique event to our area and province.”
Because of the tremendous success of The Big Float in 2019, Manz added they are planning to have another one, this time for July 11, 2020. “We are going to partner with the Boogaloo this year because having both events fall on the same weekend last year worked out really well. We plan to coordinate the events together for this year and promote it as a whole.”
As for being named a finalist for the Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence, this is the fifth different category that either a local business, person or event has been a finalist in over recent years. “A lifetime achievement award was given to Arnold and Millie Strueby of Danceland and Manitou Springs Resort and Mineral Spa won Business of the Year and was a finalist for Service Excellence. Last year, the Fred Heal Tourism Ambassador Award was presented to the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group and now we are up for Community Event of the Year. It really shows we are not a one-trick pony. We have a lot of provincially recognized people, events and attractions here in our communities and that is saying a lot for us, especially when you consider we compete against others from larger centres.”
Joining The Big Float as a finalist in this year’s Community Event of the Year Award is Showdown in Cowtown from Maple Creek and The Boomtown Cup from Shaunavon.
The remaining finalists and categories include:
Business of the Year Award (over 20 Full-Time Employees) sponsored by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce - Saskatchewan Science Centre, Regina; Skyxe Saskatoon Airport, Saskatoon; and Wanuskewin, Saskatoon.
Business of the Year Award (under 20 Full-Time Employees) sponsored by Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority - Grotto Gardens Country Market, Maple Creek; The Happy Nun Café, Forget; and Rebellion Brewing Company, Regina.
Fred Heal Tourism Ambassador Award Sponsored by Wanuskewin - Mane Productions, Saskatoon; Meewasin Valley Authority, Saskatoon; and Western Trophy Outfitters/Great Grey Outfitters, Candle Lake area.
Gil Carduner Marketing Award Sponsored by Phoenix Group - Canadian Western Agribition, Regina; SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, Saskatoon; and Wanuskewin, Saskatoon.
Indigenous Tourism Experience Award sponsored by Regina Exhibition Association Limited - Aski Holistic Adventures, Cumberland; House Living Sky Casino Powwow, Swift Current; and Wanuskewin, Saskatoon.
Marquee Event of the Year Award sponsored by PrintWest - Canadian Western Agribition, Regina; NHL Heritage Classic, Regina; and Western Canada Summer Games, Swift Current.
Rookie of the Year Award sponsored by the Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club - Nutrien Wonderhub, Saskatoon; Odla Restaurant and Market, Saskatoon; and Regina Beach Aquatic Adventures, Regina Beach.
Service Excellence Award sponsored by Delta Hotels by Marriott Regina - Farm One Forty, Vanscoy; Northern Lights Vintage Spa, Maple Creek; and Scott Lake Lodge, Scott Lake.
Tourism Employee of the Year Award sponsored by Harvard Broadcasting Regina - Arnold McKenzie, Legislative Assembly Service of Saskatchewan, Regina; Katie Willie, Wanuskewin, Saskatoon; and Robert Holden, Firesong, Fowler Lake.
Tourism Employer of the Year Award sponsored by the Regina Airport Authority - Atlas Hotel, Regina; CAA Saskatchewan; and Gold Eagle Lodge, North Battleford.
Travel Media Award - Kevin Dunn, Saskatoon; Karen Pinchin, Boston, MA; and Jenn Sharp, Saskatoon.
Tourism Builder Award sponsored by Tourism Saskatchewan - Brad Muir, Waskesiu Lake; Gordon Olson, Big River; and Dr. Ernie Walker, Saskatoon.
“Tourism Saskatchewan is exceedingly proud of the businesses, events, employees and leaders chosen for the gala spotlight,” Tourism Saskatchewan CEO Mary Taylor-Ash said. “We look forward to honouring their vision, innovation, collaboration, pride of place and deep commitment to great service and experiences.”
This year the finalists and award recipients will be honoured at the 31st annual Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence Gala Apr. 2 in Regina.
Daniel Bushman
Manitou Beach has once again found itself in the provincial spotlight after a lot of hard work and dedication by a number of individuals. One of nearly 90 nominations in 13 award categories for this year’s Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence, The Big Float at Manitou Beach was recognized as a finalist for the Community Event of the Year Award.
Community Development Officer Brendan Manz who was part of the organizing committee was thrilled to see The Big Float named as one of three finalists in its category. “We decided to focus on bringing in more events to go along with the annual Fun Run held in Watrous. From the Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition to a whole host of centennial celebrations held at Manitou Beach last year, there was a lot of effort put in by organizers. The fact that we are able to be recognized for the work that we do around events which have become an important aspect of our tourism industry, it is great to be recognized for that.”
After the idea flowed from wanting to plan something unique and new for the centennial celebrations at Manitou Beach, nearly 2,000 people registered for The Big Float held July 13, 2019. With people coming from all over Saskatchewan, other Canadian provinces and various parts around the globe, Manz said that July afternoon was pretty spectacular. “What a way to celebrate our lake and the unique features that we have with the water. The other thing it did was attract a different demographic to come float and be a part of the record. We had people attend from all over and they were able to see what it is like at Manitou Beach and what we have to offer. It was a chance to bring those people out who maybe normally would not have come out. Bringing upwards of 2,000 people into your community for a weekend is a pretty unique thing.”
Spearheaded by Manitou Beach resident Sarah McKen, Manz said the group would not have been able to pull everything off without all of the volunteers and committee members chipping in. “I commend them all for their willingness to help out and organize such a really unique event to our area and province.”
Because of the tremendous success of The Big Float in 2019, Manz added they are planning to have another one, this time for July 11, 2020. “We are going to partner with the Boogaloo this year because having both events fall on the same weekend last year worked out really well. We plan to coordinate the events together for this year and promote it as a whole.”
As for being named a finalist for the Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence, this is the fifth different category that either a local business, person or event has been a finalist in over recent years. “A lifetime achievement award was given to Arnold and Millie Strueby of Danceland and Manitou Springs Resort and Mineral Spa won Business of the Year and was a finalist for Service Excellence. Last year, the Fred Heal Tourism Ambassador Award was presented to the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group and now we are up for Community Event of the Year. It really shows we are not a one-trick pony. We have a lot of provincially recognized people, events and attractions here in our communities and that is saying a lot for us, especially when you consider we compete against others from larger centres.”
Joining The Big Float as a finalist in this year’s Community Event of the Year Award is Showdown in Cowtown from Maple Creek and The Boomtown Cup from Shaunavon.
The remaining finalists and categories include:
Business of the Year Award (over 20 Full-Time Employees) sponsored by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce - Saskatchewan Science Centre, Regina; Skyxe Saskatoon Airport, Saskatoon; and Wanuskewin, Saskatoon.
Business of the Year Award (under 20 Full-Time Employees) sponsored by Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority - Grotto Gardens Country Market, Maple Creek; The Happy Nun Café, Forget; and Rebellion Brewing Company, Regina.
Fred Heal Tourism Ambassador Award Sponsored by Wanuskewin - Mane Productions, Saskatoon; Meewasin Valley Authority, Saskatoon; and Western Trophy Outfitters/Great Grey Outfitters, Candle Lake area.
Gil Carduner Marketing Award Sponsored by Phoenix Group - Canadian Western Agribition, Regina; SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, Saskatoon; and Wanuskewin, Saskatoon.
Indigenous Tourism Experience Award sponsored by Regina Exhibition Association Limited - Aski Holistic Adventures, Cumberland; House Living Sky Casino Powwow, Swift Current; and Wanuskewin, Saskatoon.
Marquee Event of the Year Award sponsored by PrintWest - Canadian Western Agribition, Regina; NHL Heritage Classic, Regina; and Western Canada Summer Games, Swift Current.
Rookie of the Year Award sponsored by the Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club - Nutrien Wonderhub, Saskatoon; Odla Restaurant and Market, Saskatoon; and Regina Beach Aquatic Adventures, Regina Beach.
Service Excellence Award sponsored by Delta Hotels by Marriott Regina - Farm One Forty, Vanscoy; Northern Lights Vintage Spa, Maple Creek; and Scott Lake Lodge, Scott Lake.
Tourism Employee of the Year Award sponsored by Harvard Broadcasting Regina - Arnold McKenzie, Legislative Assembly Service of Saskatchewan, Regina; Katie Willie, Wanuskewin, Saskatoon; and Robert Holden, Firesong, Fowler Lake.
Tourism Employer of the Year Award sponsored by the Regina Airport Authority - Atlas Hotel, Regina; CAA Saskatchewan; and Gold Eagle Lodge, North Battleford.
Travel Media Award - Kevin Dunn, Saskatoon; Karen Pinchin, Boston, MA; and Jenn Sharp, Saskatoon.
Tourism Builder Award sponsored by Tourism Saskatchewan - Brad Muir, Waskesiu Lake; Gordon Olson, Big River; and Dr. Ernie Walker, Saskatoon.
“Tourism Saskatchewan is exceedingly proud of the businesses, events, employees and leaders chosen for the gala spotlight,” Tourism Saskatchewan CEO Mary Taylor-Ash said. “We look forward to honouring their vision, innovation, collaboration, pride of place and deep commitment to great service and experiences.”
This year the finalists and award recipients will be honoured at the 31st annual Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence Gala Apr. 2 in Regina.
TWM Top Story - Mar. 2, 2020
Communities look back at 2019 and ahead for 2020
Daniel Bushman
With projects large and small taking place in communities within the area along with events, upgrades and maintenance, as each place maps out 2020 and reflects back on 2019, The Watrous Manitou attempted to reach out to the local area communities to see how 2019 went and what could be in store for 2020.
Here are the responses TWM received by press time:
Allan - Mayor Les Alm said there were a number of notable items from 2019. One of those was the continuation of work being done on the Allan and Community Emergency Response Centre. “On May 12, 2018 the official sod turning was held for the new Allan and Community Emergency Response Centre. Through generous donations and countless volunteer hours of hard work through 2018, 2019 and into 2020, the new centre is almost ready to move into. The new building will house the fire department, first responder group and be the emergency operations centre for the local Emergency Measure Organization. The grand opening is being planned for May during Emergency Preparedness Week.”
Alm noted the Farming for Parks and Recreation committee was also busy as the group planned and executed its first crop planted with proceeds going to Parks and Recreation in the community. Unfortunately he said 2019 was not the best year for farming and the crop will not be harvested until the spring but Alm greatly appreciated the generous donation of seed, fertilizer, equipment and time from businesses and local farmers. “Our hope is that this can continue into the future to raise money for recreation in the community.”
Patrons using the arena in Allan remembered Logan Schatz who tragically lost his life in a bus crash in 2018 and was the captain of the Humboldt Broncos. From the hard work of Kelly Schatz and friends, ‘Schatzy’s Corner’ was opened in the Allan and District Communiplex last winter. The area is for kids to shoot around in during their down time at tournaments in Allan and Alm said it has been very well used. “You really need to come and see it if you haven’t already. In March 2019 a ceremony was held to unveil the new signs naming the skating rink in the Allan and District Communiplex the ‘Logan Schatz Memorial Arena.’”
With volunteers stepping up throughout the community, Alm wanted to extend his appreciation to those on local committees. “They have been very busy planning and hosting events in town. We have had an ‘Old Fashion Christmas in the Park’ to library activities, museum and cultural events and in June, Family Day in the Park will take place.”
As 2020 has commenced, hockey and curling remained in full swing at the communiplex and in November Alm said municipal elections will be held. “Many of our current council members have decided not to put their names forward so hopefully there will be community interest in keeping Allan growing and vibrant.”
Colonsay - a short drive from Allan, in Colonsay Mayor Jim Gray said 2019 included paving a new street. “That was our biggest thing and this coming year we are going to pave the part in front of the Co-op.”
Also in 2019, Gray indicated they rented the former tire shop building to house fire trucks. “Otherwise it has been mostly everyday work.”
However, the mayor did note the news of Mosaic’s Colonsay potash mine idling indefinitely has been a big
blow to the community and its residents. “We have got a lot of people out of work and sounds as if it won’t be coming back.”
As far as what is to come for the community and projects in 2020, Gray said he will not know until the budget is approved.
Drake - Mayor Peter Nicholson said last year was really status quo in terms of projects although in late spring the lagoon expansion was finished. “That was a fairly big project and this year the community has secured another government grant for infrastructure improvements.”
With the latest grant, Nicholson said they are looking at doing some major water system repairs. “We are going to increase the holding capacity by 60,000 litres. There will be a new well dug, a refurbish of the existing well, upgrades to the existing facility, etc.”
In addition to the infrastructure projects, after it was announced that Conexus Credit Union would be closing its doors in Drake, the decision was made by council to purchase the building. “That is going to be renovated into a new town office, a new library facility, and a community meeting facility on the mezzanine level upstairs. We are hoping to have the renovations completed within the next six months.”
Guernsey - With Guernsey dissolving into the Rural Municipality of Usborne, aside from two major train derailments nearly two months apart, RM Administrator Anna Rintoul said 2019 was a relatively quiet year for Usborne/Guernsey. “There were no major capital projects or any real highlights. We applied again for the MREP grant to continue repairing/resurfacing PG 668, but were unsuccessful in obtaining funding. A few repairs were done on our own (shoulder work, etc.) but nothing as far as resurfacing goes. The plan is the same for 2020. We have an application in to complete another stretch of that road under the new SARM RIRG program, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for that.”
Imperial - Last year was a busy one in Imperial as Town Administrator Joslin Freeman shared some of the highlights and work that was done. Some of those items from 2019 included: street upgrades with sand sealing, sidewalk maintenance, roof replacements on the water treatment plant and sewer lift station, and the installation of a portable speed sign.
The Palliser Library Imperial Branch also had a makeover of sorts with new carpet and an administrative desk. “They also always have lots of fun programs happening for kids and adults.”
Another unique place Freeman shared about at Imperial is Jack’s Place. “It is going strong and for those not knowing what it is, it is a place to drop off and pick up stuff for free. There is everything from kitchen appliances to Christmas decorations and it is being operated by Shirley Flostrand. If you have a child going to university this is the place to come to get dishes, glasses and coffee mugs.”
Freeman also mentioned recycling has started back up and people have been very receptive to utilizing it.
As for items in 2020, Freeman said nothing is official as the budget has not been finalized, however, more street upgrades with sand sealing and the possibility of repaving Main Street are all on the table for discussion.
“There will be continued sidewalk maintenance, another business on Main Street will see rubber stone installed in front. In 2019 a fire hydrant replacement program was put in place and that will continue. There may be a slight increase in property tax, but currently nothing has been decided. The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members!”
Manitou Beach - Chief Administrative Officer Beverley Laird said there were a number of items taking place in 2019, a year in which the resort community marked a century of incorporation. Laird said a total of 43 properties changed hands from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2019 and of those changes, 24 were new people coming to the beach.
As part of 2019, the resort village hosted its third ever Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition in August which saw a number of local people and visitors attend. Along with the chainsaw carving competition, the Centennial Committee, Recreation Board and many volunteers had events all year commemorating Manitou Beach’s 100 anniversary. “Winter Fest was held in February, Wisdom Weekend in May, Canada Day and The Big Float in July, and a Picnic Party and Water Ceremony in August. Also the Centennial Mural was installed on the north side of the Community Hall.”
The Manitou Reflections sculpture was also created by local artists and Laird said they expect it to be installed in the spring. “This stainless steel sculptural wall will be the focal point in the newly created lakeshore park called Uhmann Centennial Park.”
Along with centennial celebrations, 2019 also saw a bi-election and plans for a retirement living complex. A signage corridor was also planned and will be implemented. Laird noted the Jubilee Drive-In had great attendance and the flea market remains strong.
As 2019 came to a close and 2020 commenced, Laird said it was the first year in a long time that there were no major projects conducted. “There was no need to do any flood prevention projects as two lift stations had been upgraded in 2018. Water Security Agency was out this fall to assess how our berm was holding up and the results showed it is great. Water Security Agency gave us a gold star for our efforts.”
Meanwhile, as 2020 gets underway, along with elections taking place later this year Laird noted the subdivision separating the west end of the drive-in property will be completed and the parcel will be offered for development. The resort community is also looking at upgrading the east sewage lift station in 2020, repairing the walls in the sewage lagoon and possibly installing a new bridge in Wellington Park.
Simpson - Mayor Jeremy Nimchuk said a lot of rink fundraising has taken place. A comedy night, hockey draft, ladies night and New Year’s parties were held to raise funds for the facility.
“We need to do something with the rink whether it is removing the roof or trying to replace it. Regardless, we still need to raise money to pay for the power and keep the heat on.”
Other items of note from 2019 included placing new Christmas lights on the power poles in town which were all donated and creating an ice rink on Main Street across from the hotel. “This is the second time the rink has been made and it was all volunteers who did it.”
A twinkle tour was also held before Christmas which included a hot dog roast for the kids and ice skating.
In addition, Richardson Pioneer’s Simpson Ag Business Centre provided the Simpson Volunteer Fire Department with $25,000 which went towards new equipment, suits and nozzles.
As for 2020, Nimchuk said the community will start to plan for Homecoming 2021.
Viscount - Mayor of Viscount Moe Kirzinger said the Village moved into the former bank building at the beginning of last year. With a $56,000 accessibility grant
they were also able to make a parking lot at the rink. “We got half of it done with that grant and we want to do the other half. The rink has also been doing a trip of the month fundraiser for upgrades and that has been going good.”
Kirzinger noted the community has also annexed some land from the RM into the village boundaries as they were subdividing some industrial lots. “We had one person move in, a heavy equipment operator.”
The mayor also highlighted an increase in the school population and the village came in under budget.
“For our town we still have a full line of businesses which is good.”
For 2020, Kirzinger said some of the goals include paving and redoing infrastructure. The community’s annual street dance is planned for August and has been a tremendous fundraiser over the years. Aside from that, Kirzinger said there are no real other big celebrations for 2020.
Watrous - Town Administrator Orrin Redden said a big emphasis in 2019 was placed on the east industrial area where Manitou Mainline Chrysler is located.
“We did get the paving done in 2019 and addressed most of the drainage issues out there,” said Redden who noted the work was a big amount of the Town’s capital works budget.
“We paved the road to Manitou Mainline Chrysler and then there is a road constructed looping straight east from Home Hardware and down to Chrysler. We hope to complete that this year and there is some cleanup left to do. It won’t be paved anytime soon but we hope to complete the drainage and rough road work to gravel. The lots next to Home Hardware are also available for purchase and there is water, sewer, power, and gas hooked up.”
At the turn next to Watrous Concrete is where the former substation site is located. With that property now owned by the Town, Redden said they want to focus on tidying the area up before marketing that corner lot next to Hwy. 2.
With all of the significant road work being done in the east industrial area, Redden said there was not a lot of other street work completed in 2019. “We rebuilt a couple of blocks on 2nd Street West, just the excavation but not paving. Some of those sections were really frost boiled. We also did quite a bit of asphalt patching.”
In addition to that work, Main Street incurred a few unexpected water main breaks in 2019. An issue on the minds of council as 2020 moves along, Redden said, “The water main on Main Street is not holding up as well as others. Main Street is important but the trouble is if you begin to replace mains, you have to do it all at once. It needs a new water main, then the water services to the buildings need to be replaced, new sidewalks installed, and then new asphalt. The estimate is around $650,000 for one block.”
With a substantial amount of money needed to fix four blocks, Redden suggested there are other options, however, the main concern is the water main. “Something will have to be addressed to look at the breaks and a plan will have to be implemented. It is such an undertaking and there is no easy answer. Everyone recognizes the importance of the situation but it is a large undertaking. You would have to look at diverting traffic, possibly businesses having to help fund the project while trying to keep places easily accessible to their customers.”
Water/sewer work has become a large part of the community’s budget over recent memory as Redden figured in the past six to eight years, the Town of Watrous has undertaken $10 million worth of water/sewer work. “There is some debt that has to be paid back but replacing the water main on Main Street is definitely something that is receiving a lot of discussion.”
Sticking with the theme of water/sewer, new well number seven was created in 2018 and the plan for 2019 was to do a pipeline to tie it into the existing line. While the pipeline has yet to be tied into the existing line, Redden said the project was tendered in the fall and will now be a spring job. Building, mechanical and electrical still has to be completed and is something council will look at during budget deliberations for 2020.
“We have adequate water supply but if our main well went down for any length of time this well will be a reserve to ensure we can supply our reverse osmosis water treatment plant. We have three wells without this new one but the two older ones can’t meet the volume the plant requires to run. In addition we also decommissioned some of our old wells that we weren’t using last year as well.”
With the significant capital projects including the lagoon, water treatment plant and water/sewer in the east industrial area, Redden said there will not be a lot of additional projects planned for 2020.
One project that is on the horizon along with discussion of the water main on Main Street involves heavy rain events. “There can be issues with getting the sewer away when ground water gets in and bottlenecks things up. That is a big project with a few options to look at for how to get the water out of town quicker but that will be left up to council to sort out what to do moving forward.”
Aside from water/sewer projects and work being done in the east industrial area, Redden noted a few other things that took place in 2019 and what will continue in 2020:
• seeking more storage space, across the road from the east industrial area, the Town acquired the PFRA compound which is next to the Town shop and near the Watrous Fire Hall. With that, the newly added mobility van has a spot to park, joining the larger mobility vehicle as part of the fleet. “Acquiring that warehouse compound was really fortunate for us with that added space. There is not a lot of outside space at the Town shop;”
• bylaw enforcement continues with last year being year two of the program in Watrous. “We are continuing similar to last year with very little bylaw enforcement done in the winter;”
• the Watrous Cemetery did not see any major capital projects but through public works there has been an increased emphasis in upkeep and maintenance;
• the sportsgrounds has a new concession facility constructed through a partnership with the Winston High School’s football team, Watrous Minor Ball and the Town of Watrous;
• the rest area shelter near the rail tracks at the end of Main Street has been essentially completed with assistance from Manitou Springs Mineral Spa. “People come in using the rail to visit the spa and Manitou Springs helped provide funding for it. People can get off the train and rest while they wait for a ride to the spa. It will also act as a resting place for other travellers during the summer as well;” and
• housing starts continue on the residential lot property across from the Watrous District Health Complex. Three homes have been constructed with two of those completed. The Town has since received deposits on five others.
Young - CAO of Young, Lyle Hannan said there were a few items of note from 2019. “We had the office move to the old bank building at the end of 2019 and we replaced a truck and purchased an old fire pumper, but nothing major.”
Hannan said there is nothing major planned for 2020 although a general election will be held later in the year.
Daniel Bushman
With projects large and small taking place in communities within the area along with events, upgrades and maintenance, as each place maps out 2020 and reflects back on 2019, The Watrous Manitou attempted to reach out to the local area communities to see how 2019 went and what could be in store for 2020.
Here are the responses TWM received by press time:
Allan - Mayor Les Alm said there were a number of notable items from 2019. One of those was the continuation of work being done on the Allan and Community Emergency Response Centre. “On May 12, 2018 the official sod turning was held for the new Allan and Community Emergency Response Centre. Through generous donations and countless volunteer hours of hard work through 2018, 2019 and into 2020, the new centre is almost ready to move into. The new building will house the fire department, first responder group and be the emergency operations centre for the local Emergency Measure Organization. The grand opening is being planned for May during Emergency Preparedness Week.”
Alm noted the Farming for Parks and Recreation committee was also busy as the group planned and executed its first crop planted with proceeds going to Parks and Recreation in the community. Unfortunately he said 2019 was not the best year for farming and the crop will not be harvested until the spring but Alm greatly appreciated the generous donation of seed, fertilizer, equipment and time from businesses and local farmers. “Our hope is that this can continue into the future to raise money for recreation in the community.”
Patrons using the arena in Allan remembered Logan Schatz who tragically lost his life in a bus crash in 2018 and was the captain of the Humboldt Broncos. From the hard work of Kelly Schatz and friends, ‘Schatzy’s Corner’ was opened in the Allan and District Communiplex last winter. The area is for kids to shoot around in during their down time at tournaments in Allan and Alm said it has been very well used. “You really need to come and see it if you haven’t already. In March 2019 a ceremony was held to unveil the new signs naming the skating rink in the Allan and District Communiplex the ‘Logan Schatz Memorial Arena.’”
With volunteers stepping up throughout the community, Alm wanted to extend his appreciation to those on local committees. “They have been very busy planning and hosting events in town. We have had an ‘Old Fashion Christmas in the Park’ to library activities, museum and cultural events and in June, Family Day in the Park will take place.”
As 2020 has commenced, hockey and curling remained in full swing at the communiplex and in November Alm said municipal elections will be held. “Many of our current council members have decided not to put their names forward so hopefully there will be community interest in keeping Allan growing and vibrant.”
Colonsay - a short drive from Allan, in Colonsay Mayor Jim Gray said 2019 included paving a new street. “That was our biggest thing and this coming year we are going to pave the part in front of the Co-op.”
Also in 2019, Gray indicated they rented the former tire shop building to house fire trucks. “Otherwise it has been mostly everyday work.”
However, the mayor did note the news of Mosaic’s Colonsay potash mine idling indefinitely has been a big
blow to the community and its residents. “We have got a lot of people out of work and sounds as if it won’t be coming back.”
As far as what is to come for the community and projects in 2020, Gray said he will not know until the budget is approved.
Drake - Mayor Peter Nicholson said last year was really status quo in terms of projects although in late spring the lagoon expansion was finished. “That was a fairly big project and this year the community has secured another government grant for infrastructure improvements.”
With the latest grant, Nicholson said they are looking at doing some major water system repairs. “We are going to increase the holding capacity by 60,000 litres. There will be a new well dug, a refurbish of the existing well, upgrades to the existing facility, etc.”
In addition to the infrastructure projects, after it was announced that Conexus Credit Union would be closing its doors in Drake, the decision was made by council to purchase the building. “That is going to be renovated into a new town office, a new library facility, and a community meeting facility on the mezzanine level upstairs. We are hoping to have the renovations completed within the next six months.”
Guernsey - With Guernsey dissolving into the Rural Municipality of Usborne, aside from two major train derailments nearly two months apart, RM Administrator Anna Rintoul said 2019 was a relatively quiet year for Usborne/Guernsey. “There were no major capital projects or any real highlights. We applied again for the MREP grant to continue repairing/resurfacing PG 668, but were unsuccessful in obtaining funding. A few repairs were done on our own (shoulder work, etc.) but nothing as far as resurfacing goes. The plan is the same for 2020. We have an application in to complete another stretch of that road under the new SARM RIRG program, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for that.”
Imperial - Last year was a busy one in Imperial as Town Administrator Joslin Freeman shared some of the highlights and work that was done. Some of those items from 2019 included: street upgrades with sand sealing, sidewalk maintenance, roof replacements on the water treatment plant and sewer lift station, and the installation of a portable speed sign.
The Palliser Library Imperial Branch also had a makeover of sorts with new carpet and an administrative desk. “They also always have lots of fun programs happening for kids and adults.”
Another unique place Freeman shared about at Imperial is Jack’s Place. “It is going strong and for those not knowing what it is, it is a place to drop off and pick up stuff for free. There is everything from kitchen appliances to Christmas decorations and it is being operated by Shirley Flostrand. If you have a child going to university this is the place to come to get dishes, glasses and coffee mugs.”
Freeman also mentioned recycling has started back up and people have been very receptive to utilizing it.
As for items in 2020, Freeman said nothing is official as the budget has not been finalized, however, more street upgrades with sand sealing and the possibility of repaving Main Street are all on the table for discussion.
“There will be continued sidewalk maintenance, another business on Main Street will see rubber stone installed in front. In 2019 a fire hydrant replacement program was put in place and that will continue. There may be a slight increase in property tax, but currently nothing has been decided. The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members!”
Manitou Beach - Chief Administrative Officer Beverley Laird said there were a number of items taking place in 2019, a year in which the resort community marked a century of incorporation. Laird said a total of 43 properties changed hands from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2019 and of those changes, 24 were new people coming to the beach.
As part of 2019, the resort village hosted its third ever Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition in August which saw a number of local people and visitors attend. Along with the chainsaw carving competition, the Centennial Committee, Recreation Board and many volunteers had events all year commemorating Manitou Beach’s 100 anniversary. “Winter Fest was held in February, Wisdom Weekend in May, Canada Day and The Big Float in July, and a Picnic Party and Water Ceremony in August. Also the Centennial Mural was installed on the north side of the Community Hall.”
The Manitou Reflections sculpture was also created by local artists and Laird said they expect it to be installed in the spring. “This stainless steel sculptural wall will be the focal point in the newly created lakeshore park called Uhmann Centennial Park.”
Along with centennial celebrations, 2019 also saw a bi-election and plans for a retirement living complex. A signage corridor was also planned and will be implemented. Laird noted the Jubilee Drive-In had great attendance and the flea market remains strong.
As 2019 came to a close and 2020 commenced, Laird said it was the first year in a long time that there were no major projects conducted. “There was no need to do any flood prevention projects as two lift stations had been upgraded in 2018. Water Security Agency was out this fall to assess how our berm was holding up and the results showed it is great. Water Security Agency gave us a gold star for our efforts.”
Meanwhile, as 2020 gets underway, along with elections taking place later this year Laird noted the subdivision separating the west end of the drive-in property will be completed and the parcel will be offered for development. The resort community is also looking at upgrading the east sewage lift station in 2020, repairing the walls in the sewage lagoon and possibly installing a new bridge in Wellington Park.
Simpson - Mayor Jeremy Nimchuk said a lot of rink fundraising has taken place. A comedy night, hockey draft, ladies night and New Year’s parties were held to raise funds for the facility.
“We need to do something with the rink whether it is removing the roof or trying to replace it. Regardless, we still need to raise money to pay for the power and keep the heat on.”
Other items of note from 2019 included placing new Christmas lights on the power poles in town which were all donated and creating an ice rink on Main Street across from the hotel. “This is the second time the rink has been made and it was all volunteers who did it.”
A twinkle tour was also held before Christmas which included a hot dog roast for the kids and ice skating.
In addition, Richardson Pioneer’s Simpson Ag Business Centre provided the Simpson Volunteer Fire Department with $25,000 which went towards new equipment, suits and nozzles.
As for 2020, Nimchuk said the community will start to plan for Homecoming 2021.
Viscount - Mayor of Viscount Moe Kirzinger said the Village moved into the former bank building at the beginning of last year. With a $56,000 accessibility grant
they were also able to make a parking lot at the rink. “We got half of it done with that grant and we want to do the other half. The rink has also been doing a trip of the month fundraiser for upgrades and that has been going good.”
Kirzinger noted the community has also annexed some land from the RM into the village boundaries as they were subdividing some industrial lots. “We had one person move in, a heavy equipment operator.”
The mayor also highlighted an increase in the school population and the village came in under budget.
“For our town we still have a full line of businesses which is good.”
For 2020, Kirzinger said some of the goals include paving and redoing infrastructure. The community’s annual street dance is planned for August and has been a tremendous fundraiser over the years. Aside from that, Kirzinger said there are no real other big celebrations for 2020.
Watrous - Town Administrator Orrin Redden said a big emphasis in 2019 was placed on the east industrial area where Manitou Mainline Chrysler is located.
“We did get the paving done in 2019 and addressed most of the drainage issues out there,” said Redden who noted the work was a big amount of the Town’s capital works budget.
“We paved the road to Manitou Mainline Chrysler and then there is a road constructed looping straight east from Home Hardware and down to Chrysler. We hope to complete that this year and there is some cleanup left to do. It won’t be paved anytime soon but we hope to complete the drainage and rough road work to gravel. The lots next to Home Hardware are also available for purchase and there is water, sewer, power, and gas hooked up.”
At the turn next to Watrous Concrete is where the former substation site is located. With that property now owned by the Town, Redden said they want to focus on tidying the area up before marketing that corner lot next to Hwy. 2.
With all of the significant road work being done in the east industrial area, Redden said there was not a lot of other street work completed in 2019. “We rebuilt a couple of blocks on 2nd Street West, just the excavation but not paving. Some of those sections were really frost boiled. We also did quite a bit of asphalt patching.”
In addition to that work, Main Street incurred a few unexpected water main breaks in 2019. An issue on the minds of council as 2020 moves along, Redden said, “The water main on Main Street is not holding up as well as others. Main Street is important but the trouble is if you begin to replace mains, you have to do it all at once. It needs a new water main, then the water services to the buildings need to be replaced, new sidewalks installed, and then new asphalt. The estimate is around $650,000 for one block.”
With a substantial amount of money needed to fix four blocks, Redden suggested there are other options, however, the main concern is the water main. “Something will have to be addressed to look at the breaks and a plan will have to be implemented. It is such an undertaking and there is no easy answer. Everyone recognizes the importance of the situation but it is a large undertaking. You would have to look at diverting traffic, possibly businesses having to help fund the project while trying to keep places easily accessible to their customers.”
Water/sewer work has become a large part of the community’s budget over recent memory as Redden figured in the past six to eight years, the Town of Watrous has undertaken $10 million worth of water/sewer work. “There is some debt that has to be paid back but replacing the water main on Main Street is definitely something that is receiving a lot of discussion.”
Sticking with the theme of water/sewer, new well number seven was created in 2018 and the plan for 2019 was to do a pipeline to tie it into the existing line. While the pipeline has yet to be tied into the existing line, Redden said the project was tendered in the fall and will now be a spring job. Building, mechanical and electrical still has to be completed and is something council will look at during budget deliberations for 2020.
“We have adequate water supply but if our main well went down for any length of time this well will be a reserve to ensure we can supply our reverse osmosis water treatment plant. We have three wells without this new one but the two older ones can’t meet the volume the plant requires to run. In addition we also decommissioned some of our old wells that we weren’t using last year as well.”
With the significant capital projects including the lagoon, water treatment plant and water/sewer in the east industrial area, Redden said there will not be a lot of additional projects planned for 2020.
One project that is on the horizon along with discussion of the water main on Main Street involves heavy rain events. “There can be issues with getting the sewer away when ground water gets in and bottlenecks things up. That is a big project with a few options to look at for how to get the water out of town quicker but that will be left up to council to sort out what to do moving forward.”
Aside from water/sewer projects and work being done in the east industrial area, Redden noted a few other things that took place in 2019 and what will continue in 2020:
• seeking more storage space, across the road from the east industrial area, the Town acquired the PFRA compound which is next to the Town shop and near the Watrous Fire Hall. With that, the newly added mobility van has a spot to park, joining the larger mobility vehicle as part of the fleet. “Acquiring that warehouse compound was really fortunate for us with that added space. There is not a lot of outside space at the Town shop;”
• bylaw enforcement continues with last year being year two of the program in Watrous. “We are continuing similar to last year with very little bylaw enforcement done in the winter;”
• the Watrous Cemetery did not see any major capital projects but through public works there has been an increased emphasis in upkeep and maintenance;
• the sportsgrounds has a new concession facility constructed through a partnership with the Winston High School’s football team, Watrous Minor Ball and the Town of Watrous;
• the rest area shelter near the rail tracks at the end of Main Street has been essentially completed with assistance from Manitou Springs Mineral Spa. “People come in using the rail to visit the spa and Manitou Springs helped provide funding for it. People can get off the train and rest while they wait for a ride to the spa. It will also act as a resting place for other travellers during the summer as well;” and
• housing starts continue on the residential lot property across from the Watrous District Health Complex. Three homes have been constructed with two of those completed. The Town has since received deposits on five others.
Young - CAO of Young, Lyle Hannan said there were a few items of note from 2019. “We had the office move to the old bank building at the end of 2019 and we replaced a truck and purchased an old fire pumper, but nothing major.”
Hannan said there is nothing major planned for 2020 although a general election will be held later in the year.
TWM Top Story - Feb 17, 2020
Area bands together after train derailment
Daniel Bushman
As a raging fire was extinguished, plumes of black smoke disappeared and residents returned to their homes, crews continued to clean up at the site of a train derailment near Guernsey. The second derailment to occur near the community in almost two months, at approximately 6:15 a.m. on Feb. 6, 32 cars out of 104 from a Canadian Pacific freight hauling crude oil derailed just east of Guernsey, sparking a massive blaze.
According to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), CP’s crude oil unit train originated at Rosyth, Alta. and was destined for Stroud, Oklahoma, proceeding eastward at about 42 m.p.h. on the CP Sutherland Subdivision. TSB noted the train experienced a train-initiated emergency brake application at Mile 43.4, about 1 1/2 miles west of Guernsey. Subsequent examination identified that 32 tank cars had derailed with several tank cars breached and an undetermined amount of petroleum crude oil product released. The product ignited and a pool fire ensued involving a number of tank cars.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment indicated that when the derailment occurred, approximately 1.2 million litres of oil spilled from the cars. The ministry stated the amount of recovered oil is currently being determined and is complicated by the fact that a significant portion burned off during the incident.
While there were no injuries to the CP crew, which was comprised of a locomotive engineer and conductor, the TSB said the train itself consisted of two distributed-power locomotives (one at each end), a covered hopper car loaded with sand located in position two, followed by 104 tank cars loaded with petroleum crude oil (UN1267, Class 3 PG I) and another covered hopper loaded with sand located the 107th position (108 rolling stock in total).
With the train weighing 14,896 tons and 6,445 feet in length, TSB noted in a Feb. 14 preliminary report that the derailed tank cars were all DOT 117J100-W tank cars.
“The tank cars located from line 32 to 63 (32 cars) derailed. One derailed tank car that remained upright was otherwise unaffected and was subsequently re-railed. Of the remaining 31 derailed cars, about 19 derailed cars were involved in a pool fire from released product west of the crossing, while an estimated 12 cars derailed east of the crossing but were not directly involved in the fire.”
While TSB has found there have been no mechanical defects observed that could be considered casual to date, a review of the locomotive event recorder download determined that the train was handled in accordance with regulatory and company requirements.
As the investigation continues with each tank car being cleaned, purged and staged prior to inspection, TSB indicated as of Feb. 12, about 17 of the derailed cards had been examined with several exhibiting breaches.
With the oil burning from the derailment Feb. 6 which created huge plumes of smoke overhead that morning, a mandatory evacuation was issued for residents of Guernsey.
Dissolved into the Rural Municipality of Usborne, Administrator Anna Rintoul said RCMP, fire personnel, CP, and Canadian Public Safety representatives worked closely with the RM as approximately 85 residents from the community left during the morning mandatory evacuation. Blocking off a portion of Hwy. 16 next to Guernsey and setting up detours, local fire, RCMP and EMS crews were able to keep everyone safe. CP’s emergency response team and contractors also arrived on site to work with local fire officials to control and extinguish the remaining fires while a team from the TSB attended.
After responding to the first train derailment west of Guernsey Dec. 9, Lanigan Fire Chief Barry Hooper thought he would never witness something like that again. Almost two months later and at around 6:15 a.m., Hooper found himself staring at his phone in disbelief as he read the call of another derailment, a short distance from the first one.
“You would think there would be a better chance at winning the Lotto Max than having two derailments so close together,” Hooper said. “It was almost identical to the first one and almost the same amount of cars but this time we were concerned about the smoke going over Guernsey. Responding to the fire, we notified the Humboldt Fire Department right away and we were stationed in Guernsey. In the community it stunk pretty good and there was also some stuff falling out of the sky.”
Like others including Jerome Fisher who was feeding cows at his nearby farm when he heard the brakes of the train before seeing a glow, Guernsey resident Al Bowman was also awake early Thursday morning. “I heard the train going by but it sounded different than usual. It was almost like a Department of Highways’ truck scraping snow on the highway and not that usual clickety-clack.”
With the wind coming out of the east and blowing in the direction of Bowman’s home, he heard a loud bang which rattled his windows before there was complete silence. Thinking the situation was somewhat unusual, Bowman shrugged it off and continued on with his morning routine. An hour or so later while on his computer he noticed a post on his Facebook page about a train derailment. Assuming it was from two months ago, he carried on until glancing out his window.
“I saw the black smoke and noticed flashing lights on the next street over. I had a feeling we were going to be evacuated.”
As the haze continued to wrap itself around the community like a thick blanket, the local fire department made the call to get everyone out. Situated at the former school in Guernsey, Hooper requested the Town of Lanigan open its doors for Guernsey residents and emergency crews did not waste time, going door to door to evacuate people from the hamlet.
It was not long after the decision to evacuate was made by the fire department when Bowman received a knock at his door and was told to go. Able to head to the hall in Lanigan, Bowman quickly packed up his things and joining others, left.
Lanigan Town Administrator Jennifer Thompson said the Lanigan Town Hall was quickly made available and with the help of volunteers, the community provided meals and refreshments to everyone at the hall.
“The Lanigan and District Fire Department contacted the Lanigan Town office on Thursday morning asking to prepare the Community Hall for evacuation of the Hamlet of Guernsey. With the help of local businesses, the Town of Lanigan was able to have a breakfast available. Dinner and supper were served that day as well with the help of volunteers and coordinator, Lanigan Town Councillor Velda Daelick at the helm. As it became apparent that the evacuation centre needed to be available on Friday as well, Town of Lanigan representatives were able to plan food for Guernsey residents on Friday.”
As Hooper and other members from the local fire department ensured residents were notified about the evacuation and with the Town of Lanigan opening up the hall, it was not long after the evacuation order when safety personnel, heavy equipment and other big machinery began arriving at the derailment site in droves.
CP emergency response and HazMat crews were also deployed to the scene to work with the fire department to assess and minimize the impact to the surrounding area. Other crews began appearing at the site from Manitoba, Alberta and other parts of Saskatchewan including a provincial safety response team.
The site became a hub of activity as semi after semi hauling equipment unloaded backhoes while gravel trucks began dropping off loads as well. A command post was created and Hooper estimated there were around a dozen bulldozers and loaders to go along with trailers, a food area, tents and washroom facilities.
“It was pretty much exactly the same as the first derailment. You didn’t realize how much equipment came through, but there was a lot.”
Helping to clean up the first derailment site about six kilometres west of Guernsey, Ron Ediger’s phone began going off Thursday. Based out of Watrous, the owner of Melron Services Ltd. answered the call and was asked to give the crews at the second derailment site a hand fighting the fire. “When we received the call to come immediately, our guys all stopped what they were doing and jumped into their trucks and equipment.”
Seven employees from Melron Services Ltd. began hauling numerous loads of dirt to the location just east of Guernsey to assist with getting the fire out. Teaming up with the other crews and emergency members, the group from Melron spent substantial time bringing in dirt to keep the blaze under control.
“They were all willing to go and do whatever they needed to help out,” said Ron. “We are so proud of them all.”
With large equipment busy digging and the fire still burning, crews started separating the railcars. With 34 cars derailing Dec. 9, this time crews dealt with 32 derailed cars. Once CP crews were given approval, they were able to pull the pin on the cars and locomotive still on the tracks so they could be moved away from the area.
With the heat turned up and the fire still burning, the Lanigan and Humboldt fire departments needed some extra resources with their water pumping efforts. “We had our tanker, they had their tanker and then there was another tanker that came from Saskatoon and we used the Nutrien Lanigan mine’s water supply. We kept the working equipment cool by spraying it down and that allowed the crews to keep working close to the derailment. Last time we pumped water for 37 hours straight and we were probably pretty close to that again. That whole time we had to haul water, driving back and forth to the mine but Nutrien had it set up for us.”
As each heap of railcars were separated, the glow from the fire began subsiding. However the smoke continued to plume during the late hours Thursday and into the early morning hours Friday. At that point the fire department grew concerned. Unlike the first derailment where the department let the fire burn itself out, this time they made the call to extinguish it.
“We didn’t do as much fire fighting in the first one because they let most of it burn and we mostly protected the equipment they used. This time, because of the wind direction pushing the smoke over Guernsey, after a certain length of time we did extinguish it.”
Nearly 32 hours after the derailment, the fire was deemed out. “We had the fire out by around 2 p.m. Friday and the first train went through a few hours later. Between the two derailments, we have probably used 10 years worth of pumping on our new fire truck. In total, with both derailments we probably spent around 80 hours out there and 75 hours of straight pumping.”
While Hwy. 16 was reopened less than 48 hours after the first derailment, because of the proximity of the second derailment from the curve along the highway, a detour remained in place until late Wednesday afternoon before the highway was reopened.
“We didn’t have the room like the first one,” said Hooper. “The biggest thing is there was not much room between the highway and the track so that is why the highway was still closed long after the fire.”
With the highway blocked off for part of last week, RM Administrator Anna Rintoul said the RM’s public works staff had been busy working with CP and the crews while maintaining the detour. “As of Wednesday morning there was still lots of equipment at the site and RCMP presence by the barricades.”
A short distance from the barricades in nearby Guernsey, last week Rintoul said things began returning to normal. “There are small bits of ash around town but CP was recently in Guernsey to see how everything looked.”
Allowed back to his home twice during the evacuation, Bowman was able to tend to his pets and make sure everything at his residence was okay. When word was given he could head home for good, he and other evacuees at the hall in Lanigan began clapping. “CP representatives had brought us all pizza so we had some and headed home. I haven’t talked to anyone else but at my place I found absolutely no damage from the smoke that went over Guernsey. No smell either.”
However, not having any damage may not be the case for everyone in the hamlet. Rintoul said evacuees had received instructions and forms for claims and reimbursements for eligible expenses because of the derailment.
“They are able to fill out claims and submit individually if need be. The RM will be submitting a bill for the roadwork and any damages to the roads as a result of the detour. CP has been really good about this, as we had to do this last time as well.”
With things starting to return to normal and as the evacuation order ended Feb. 7, Thompson said the Town of Lanigan was pleased to have been able to accommodate and assist Guernsey residents while they were relocated.
“We would like to thank the RM of Usborne, Lanigan and District Fire Department, Lanigan and District Ambulance Association, the RCMP, mutual aid organizations and Canadian Pacific Railway in ensuring the safety of our region during the initial hours of the train derailment. Thank you also to the volunteers and offers of support from surrounding communities and businesses. When an emergent situation occurs, we are all one community and it is greatly appreciated!”
From Bowman’s perspective, he was very appreciative of the way CP and the many volunteers and organizations took care of the whole situation. “Everyone was great. The Reeve, RM office staff, councillors, Lanigan volunteers, the Town of Lanigan, the RCMP, fire fighters and the representative CP sent to the Evacuation Centre to be with us. The CP reps were all amazing. Everyone had helping us as their number one goal. I’m still overwhelmed by their caring kindness. I had someone tell me, “What did you expect? This is Saskatchewan.” And I really believe that.”
Like so many others from the community and the area, Bowman did not think a second derailment would occur so close to Guernsey. “No I sure didn’t expect it but if I were to sum up what I took away from this event it would be finding out that there is a plan in place for emergencies such as this. That is comforting to know. That and how many good people there are ready to help.”
Like Bowman, CP was appreciative of the work done by local fire officials, Saskatchewan emergency response representatives, local government officials, local police and others for their support in responding to the incident. In a statement, CP said, “We also thank those impacted by the evacuation for their patience and understanding and apologize for the inconvenience this incident has caused. CP will continue to work with the affected residents who have now returned to their homes. Crews continue to work on-site to ensure all equipment is removed and the area fully restored.”
Overseeing the emergency operations, and environmental assessment and remediation efforts which are already underway, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment said Canadian Pacific Railway is responsible for all costs associated with the derailment, including the emergency response, environmental assessment and all required remediation. “The Ministry of Environment will provide ongoing regulatory oversight for contaminant remediation activities to ensure they are conducted in a timely and responsible manner and in accordance with all applicable legislated requirements as the operation proceeds. It is not known exactly how long the cleanup will take to complete but can be expected to take up to several months. Fortunately, in both cases, the spill was fully contained to the railway and highway ditches, and impacted a relatively small area. Frozen ground likely helped reduce the risk of contaminants penetrating too deeply in both the December and February incidents.”
A few days removed from fighting fires at the derailment site, looking back, Hooper said, “I just couldn’t believe it when that call came in a second time. Now there are two derailments to deal with. Two weeks ago we were in Saskatoon and had a debriefing on the first derailment and I guess we will be doing it again.”
Daniel Bushman
As a raging fire was extinguished, plumes of black smoke disappeared and residents returned to their homes, crews continued to clean up at the site of a train derailment near Guernsey. The second derailment to occur near the community in almost two months, at approximately 6:15 a.m. on Feb. 6, 32 cars out of 104 from a Canadian Pacific freight hauling crude oil derailed just east of Guernsey, sparking a massive blaze.
According to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), CP’s crude oil unit train originated at Rosyth, Alta. and was destined for Stroud, Oklahoma, proceeding eastward at about 42 m.p.h. on the CP Sutherland Subdivision. TSB noted the train experienced a train-initiated emergency brake application at Mile 43.4, about 1 1/2 miles west of Guernsey. Subsequent examination identified that 32 tank cars had derailed with several tank cars breached and an undetermined amount of petroleum crude oil product released. The product ignited and a pool fire ensued involving a number of tank cars.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment indicated that when the derailment occurred, approximately 1.2 million litres of oil spilled from the cars. The ministry stated the amount of recovered oil is currently being determined and is complicated by the fact that a significant portion burned off during the incident.
While there were no injuries to the CP crew, which was comprised of a locomotive engineer and conductor, the TSB said the train itself consisted of two distributed-power locomotives (one at each end), a covered hopper car loaded with sand located in position two, followed by 104 tank cars loaded with petroleum crude oil (UN1267, Class 3 PG I) and another covered hopper loaded with sand located the 107th position (108 rolling stock in total).
With the train weighing 14,896 tons and 6,445 feet in length, TSB noted in a Feb. 14 preliminary report that the derailed tank cars were all DOT 117J100-W tank cars.
“The tank cars located from line 32 to 63 (32 cars) derailed. One derailed tank car that remained upright was otherwise unaffected and was subsequently re-railed. Of the remaining 31 derailed cars, about 19 derailed cars were involved in a pool fire from released product west of the crossing, while an estimated 12 cars derailed east of the crossing but were not directly involved in the fire.”
While TSB has found there have been no mechanical defects observed that could be considered casual to date, a review of the locomotive event recorder download determined that the train was handled in accordance with regulatory and company requirements.
As the investigation continues with each tank car being cleaned, purged and staged prior to inspection, TSB indicated as of Feb. 12, about 17 of the derailed cards had been examined with several exhibiting breaches.
With the oil burning from the derailment Feb. 6 which created huge plumes of smoke overhead that morning, a mandatory evacuation was issued for residents of Guernsey.
Dissolved into the Rural Municipality of Usborne, Administrator Anna Rintoul said RCMP, fire personnel, CP, and Canadian Public Safety representatives worked closely with the RM as approximately 85 residents from the community left during the morning mandatory evacuation. Blocking off a portion of Hwy. 16 next to Guernsey and setting up detours, local fire, RCMP and EMS crews were able to keep everyone safe. CP’s emergency response team and contractors also arrived on site to work with local fire officials to control and extinguish the remaining fires while a team from the TSB attended.
After responding to the first train derailment west of Guernsey Dec. 9, Lanigan Fire Chief Barry Hooper thought he would never witness something like that again. Almost two months later and at around 6:15 a.m., Hooper found himself staring at his phone in disbelief as he read the call of another derailment, a short distance from the first one.
“You would think there would be a better chance at winning the Lotto Max than having two derailments so close together,” Hooper said. “It was almost identical to the first one and almost the same amount of cars but this time we were concerned about the smoke going over Guernsey. Responding to the fire, we notified the Humboldt Fire Department right away and we were stationed in Guernsey. In the community it stunk pretty good and there was also some stuff falling out of the sky.”
Like others including Jerome Fisher who was feeding cows at his nearby farm when he heard the brakes of the train before seeing a glow, Guernsey resident Al Bowman was also awake early Thursday morning. “I heard the train going by but it sounded different than usual. It was almost like a Department of Highways’ truck scraping snow on the highway and not that usual clickety-clack.”
With the wind coming out of the east and blowing in the direction of Bowman’s home, he heard a loud bang which rattled his windows before there was complete silence. Thinking the situation was somewhat unusual, Bowman shrugged it off and continued on with his morning routine. An hour or so later while on his computer he noticed a post on his Facebook page about a train derailment. Assuming it was from two months ago, he carried on until glancing out his window.
“I saw the black smoke and noticed flashing lights on the next street over. I had a feeling we were going to be evacuated.”
As the haze continued to wrap itself around the community like a thick blanket, the local fire department made the call to get everyone out. Situated at the former school in Guernsey, Hooper requested the Town of Lanigan open its doors for Guernsey residents and emergency crews did not waste time, going door to door to evacuate people from the hamlet.
It was not long after the decision to evacuate was made by the fire department when Bowman received a knock at his door and was told to go. Able to head to the hall in Lanigan, Bowman quickly packed up his things and joining others, left.
Lanigan Town Administrator Jennifer Thompson said the Lanigan Town Hall was quickly made available and with the help of volunteers, the community provided meals and refreshments to everyone at the hall.
“The Lanigan and District Fire Department contacted the Lanigan Town office on Thursday morning asking to prepare the Community Hall for evacuation of the Hamlet of Guernsey. With the help of local businesses, the Town of Lanigan was able to have a breakfast available. Dinner and supper were served that day as well with the help of volunteers and coordinator, Lanigan Town Councillor Velda Daelick at the helm. As it became apparent that the evacuation centre needed to be available on Friday as well, Town of Lanigan representatives were able to plan food for Guernsey residents on Friday.”
As Hooper and other members from the local fire department ensured residents were notified about the evacuation and with the Town of Lanigan opening up the hall, it was not long after the evacuation order when safety personnel, heavy equipment and other big machinery began arriving at the derailment site in droves.
CP emergency response and HazMat crews were also deployed to the scene to work with the fire department to assess and minimize the impact to the surrounding area. Other crews began appearing at the site from Manitoba, Alberta and other parts of Saskatchewan including a provincial safety response team.
The site became a hub of activity as semi after semi hauling equipment unloaded backhoes while gravel trucks began dropping off loads as well. A command post was created and Hooper estimated there were around a dozen bulldozers and loaders to go along with trailers, a food area, tents and washroom facilities.
“It was pretty much exactly the same as the first derailment. You didn’t realize how much equipment came through, but there was a lot.”
Helping to clean up the first derailment site about six kilometres west of Guernsey, Ron Ediger’s phone began going off Thursday. Based out of Watrous, the owner of Melron Services Ltd. answered the call and was asked to give the crews at the second derailment site a hand fighting the fire. “When we received the call to come immediately, our guys all stopped what they were doing and jumped into their trucks and equipment.”
Seven employees from Melron Services Ltd. began hauling numerous loads of dirt to the location just east of Guernsey to assist with getting the fire out. Teaming up with the other crews and emergency members, the group from Melron spent substantial time bringing in dirt to keep the blaze under control.
“They were all willing to go and do whatever they needed to help out,” said Ron. “We are so proud of them all.”
With large equipment busy digging and the fire still burning, crews started separating the railcars. With 34 cars derailing Dec. 9, this time crews dealt with 32 derailed cars. Once CP crews were given approval, they were able to pull the pin on the cars and locomotive still on the tracks so they could be moved away from the area.
With the heat turned up and the fire still burning, the Lanigan and Humboldt fire departments needed some extra resources with their water pumping efforts. “We had our tanker, they had their tanker and then there was another tanker that came from Saskatoon and we used the Nutrien Lanigan mine’s water supply. We kept the working equipment cool by spraying it down and that allowed the crews to keep working close to the derailment. Last time we pumped water for 37 hours straight and we were probably pretty close to that again. That whole time we had to haul water, driving back and forth to the mine but Nutrien had it set up for us.”
As each heap of railcars were separated, the glow from the fire began subsiding. However the smoke continued to plume during the late hours Thursday and into the early morning hours Friday. At that point the fire department grew concerned. Unlike the first derailment where the department let the fire burn itself out, this time they made the call to extinguish it.
“We didn’t do as much fire fighting in the first one because they let most of it burn and we mostly protected the equipment they used. This time, because of the wind direction pushing the smoke over Guernsey, after a certain length of time we did extinguish it.”
Nearly 32 hours after the derailment, the fire was deemed out. “We had the fire out by around 2 p.m. Friday and the first train went through a few hours later. Between the two derailments, we have probably used 10 years worth of pumping on our new fire truck. In total, with both derailments we probably spent around 80 hours out there and 75 hours of straight pumping.”
While Hwy. 16 was reopened less than 48 hours after the first derailment, because of the proximity of the second derailment from the curve along the highway, a detour remained in place until late Wednesday afternoon before the highway was reopened.
“We didn’t have the room like the first one,” said Hooper. “The biggest thing is there was not much room between the highway and the track so that is why the highway was still closed long after the fire.”
With the highway blocked off for part of last week, RM Administrator Anna Rintoul said the RM’s public works staff had been busy working with CP and the crews while maintaining the detour. “As of Wednesday morning there was still lots of equipment at the site and RCMP presence by the barricades.”
A short distance from the barricades in nearby Guernsey, last week Rintoul said things began returning to normal. “There are small bits of ash around town but CP was recently in Guernsey to see how everything looked.”
Allowed back to his home twice during the evacuation, Bowman was able to tend to his pets and make sure everything at his residence was okay. When word was given he could head home for good, he and other evacuees at the hall in Lanigan began clapping. “CP representatives had brought us all pizza so we had some and headed home. I haven’t talked to anyone else but at my place I found absolutely no damage from the smoke that went over Guernsey. No smell either.”
However, not having any damage may not be the case for everyone in the hamlet. Rintoul said evacuees had received instructions and forms for claims and reimbursements for eligible expenses because of the derailment.
“They are able to fill out claims and submit individually if need be. The RM will be submitting a bill for the roadwork and any damages to the roads as a result of the detour. CP has been really good about this, as we had to do this last time as well.”
With things starting to return to normal and as the evacuation order ended Feb. 7, Thompson said the Town of Lanigan was pleased to have been able to accommodate and assist Guernsey residents while they were relocated.
“We would like to thank the RM of Usborne, Lanigan and District Fire Department, Lanigan and District Ambulance Association, the RCMP, mutual aid organizations and Canadian Pacific Railway in ensuring the safety of our region during the initial hours of the train derailment. Thank you also to the volunteers and offers of support from surrounding communities and businesses. When an emergent situation occurs, we are all one community and it is greatly appreciated!”
From Bowman’s perspective, he was very appreciative of the way CP and the many volunteers and organizations took care of the whole situation. “Everyone was great. The Reeve, RM office staff, councillors, Lanigan volunteers, the Town of Lanigan, the RCMP, fire fighters and the representative CP sent to the Evacuation Centre to be with us. The CP reps were all amazing. Everyone had helping us as their number one goal. I’m still overwhelmed by their caring kindness. I had someone tell me, “What did you expect? This is Saskatchewan.” And I really believe that.”
Like so many others from the community and the area, Bowman did not think a second derailment would occur so close to Guernsey. “No I sure didn’t expect it but if I were to sum up what I took away from this event it would be finding out that there is a plan in place for emergencies such as this. That is comforting to know. That and how many good people there are ready to help.”
Like Bowman, CP was appreciative of the work done by local fire officials, Saskatchewan emergency response representatives, local government officials, local police and others for their support in responding to the incident. In a statement, CP said, “We also thank those impacted by the evacuation for their patience and understanding and apologize for the inconvenience this incident has caused. CP will continue to work with the affected residents who have now returned to their homes. Crews continue to work on-site to ensure all equipment is removed and the area fully restored.”
Overseeing the emergency operations, and environmental assessment and remediation efforts which are already underway, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment said Canadian Pacific Railway is responsible for all costs associated with the derailment, including the emergency response, environmental assessment and all required remediation. “The Ministry of Environment will provide ongoing regulatory oversight for contaminant remediation activities to ensure they are conducted in a timely and responsible manner and in accordance with all applicable legislated requirements as the operation proceeds. It is not known exactly how long the cleanup will take to complete but can be expected to take up to several months. Fortunately, in both cases, the spill was fully contained to the railway and highway ditches, and impacted a relatively small area. Frozen ground likely helped reduce the risk of contaminants penetrating too deeply in both the December and February incidents.”
A few days removed from fighting fires at the derailment site, looking back, Hooper said, “I just couldn’t believe it when that call came in a second time. Now there are two derailments to deal with. Two weeks ago we were in Saskatoon and had a debriefing on the first derailment and I guess we will be doing it again.”
TWM Top Story - Feb. 10, 2020
Train derailment forces evacuation
Daniel Bushman
Nearly two months after 34 railcars went off the tracks about six kilometres west of Guernsey, a second train derailment took place, this time much closer to the community. At around 6:15 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 6 a number of railcars containing crude oil derailed just a short distance east of Guernsey prompting evacuations and the closure to a portion of Hwy. 16.
Like the Dec. 9 event, which also involved crude oil and Canadian Pacific Rail, several railcars were ignited, spilling into the ditch and crumpling into a heap at a crossing. Speaking to members of the media Feb. 6, President of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency Marlo Pritchard noted he had received reports the train was carrying approximately 104 cars when 31 derailed approximately 10 kms from the previous derailment in December. About a dozen cars remained on fire during the afternoon Feb. 6 and there were still cars burning Feb. 7.
Attending the first derailment, local emergency crews also responded to last week’s scene as Guernsey was placed under a mandatory evacuation due to air quality concerns. Along with local first responders, CP emergency response teams were on hand Thursday to contain the fire. CP issued a statement indicating there were no injuries to its crew and there was no impact to waterways. As was the case in December, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) also deployed a team of investigators to the site of the derailment.
Planning to truck south to Moose Jaw, Jerome Fisher got up early last Thursday to feed his cows. Living at the farm his wife Beth grew up at, Jerome got on his jacket, braved the elements, and ventured outdoors. With the couple’s farm located less than one kilometre from where the derailment occurred, at 6:15 a.m. Fisher was busy tending to his cattle when he heard the train hit the brakes. Since the farm house obstructed his view of the train from where he was standing in the corral, Jerome did not see the cars burst into flames but rather a glow.
Illuminating the area as large plumes of smoke filled the sky, Paul Huls was also awake early in the morning and was driving along Hwy. 16 close to where the Fishers live. When Huls came upon the derailment, he said, “We saw a big fireball and then train cars burning.”
Jerome’s wife Beth was sleeping when she awoke to the ring of her phone. On the other end was her sister asking if she had heard about the derailment. With the wind blowing from the east, Fisher was fast asleep when the derailment took place. But after answering the call from her sister, when she looked out her window, Beth could see the fire and emergency vehicles just down the road.
“My first thought was, ‘not again,’” Fisher exclaimed as she watched the flames leap into the sky. Figuring the derailment must have involved oil as opposed to potash which is transported from the nearby mine, there was soon a knock at her door. A member from the Lanigan and District Fire Department stopped by around 7:30 a.m. to make sure the Fishers were aware of what was going on. “Since the wind was not headed in our direction, we were not evacuated and allowed to stay home.”
Watching from her window, Beth was surprised at how a second derailment could have happened near Guernsey in such a short time span. “I’ve lived here my whole life and I have never seen a train derailment. It is very odd to see two in two months. They had been doing a lot of work on that rail line during the fall and after this latest derailment, I was just hoping no one was hurt. I asked the firefighter who came to our house right away if anyone was hurt and I was told everyone was okay.”
With Jerome headed for Moose Jaw as part of his trucking job and daylight breaking, Beth could not believe the amount of black smoke billowing into the sky. The plume covered Guernsey as it pushed further east and not long after that, evacuations took place.
Since Guernsey has dissolved into the Rural Municipality of Usborne, Administrator Anna Rintoul said RCMP, fire personnel, CP, and Canadian Public Safety representatives worked closely with the RM as approximately 85 residents from Guernsey had to leave. The Lanigan and District Fire Department who responded to the scene requested the Town of Lanigan prepare for residents of Guernsey as they evacuated the community.
Lanigan Town Administrator Jennifer Thompson said the Lanigan Town Hall was made available for residents of Guernsey and with the help of volunteers, the Town of Lanigan provided meals and refreshments to everyone at the hall.
With people from Guernsey being told to leave, Beth’s home also became a haven for her son Logan’s family and nearby neighbours. “Logan just came off of working nights at Pound-Maker and had gone to bed but he was woken up and his family got evacuated around 8:30 a.m. They came to our place and two more neighbours and their little girl joined us as well. We have the space and were happy to welcome people over. I told my husband, “Guernsey is being evacuated.” He said, “Well how many people can our house hold?” There are lots of people in Guernsey who have connections that live close by so there were places for people to go.”
As her family and their neighbours came over, reflecting on the situation, Beth said she was just really grateful everyone was okay and not hurt. “I am so thankful for the time of year as well that there is not any dry grass around. I feel for the railroad crews and emergency people who have to deal with this. Kudos to them.”
A few kilometres southwest of the Fisher farm and a short drive from Guernsey is where Nutrien’s Lanigan potash mine is situated. With the thick smoke coming from the derailment and mine staff working above and below ground, Nutrien spokesperson Will Tigley said, “Right now our operations and teams at Lanigan are not impacted by this train derailment. We continue to monitor the situation and are taking the necessary precautions to keep our people safe.”
As word spread about the derailment, the news reached Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Faced with a second major event near Guernsey in less than two months, Federal Minister of Transport Marc Garneau issued the following through a number of tweets on his Twitter account: “I am seized with this morning’s rail incident in Guernsey, Sask. We are gathering the facts and I am following this very closely. Rail safety remains my top priority. The derailments of railway cars containing dangerous goods over the past year are concerning. I’m issuing an immediate order to slow trains carrying large quantities of dangerous goods on federally regulated railway tracks across Canada. Effective at midnight on Feb. 7, this Ministerial Order will require the slowdown of trains with 20 or more cars carrying dangerous goods. In cities, trains will be limited to 20 m.p.h. Outside of these areas, trains will be limited to 25 m.p.h. This will be in place for 30 days. This is a precautionary measure being taken today, as we are seeing similarities between today’s accident and other recent rail accidents. I’ve asked my officials to examine all issues related to these accidents to determine if additional safety measures will be required. I cannot compromise on safety and will not hesitate to take further swift action as is necessary.”
After Garneau’s announcement Feb. 6, Canadian Pacific Railway Limited also responded to the crude oil derailment near Guernsey.
“Immediately after the derailment, CP implemented a slow order on its crude trains as a precautionary measure as it gathers facts related to this incident. Since then, Transport Canada has issued a Ministerial Order, effective for 30 days at midnight on Friday, Feb. 7. The order requires a slowdown of “key trains (which contain 20 or more cars carrying dangerous goods). In metropolitan areas, these trains will be limited to 20 m.p.h. Outside these areas, trains will be limited to 25 m.p.h.”
“CP fully supports this action and it has been implemented effective immediately,” said Keith Creel, CP President and CEO. “Until we better understand the facts relating to today’s incident, it is prudent to operate with an abundance of caution. We equally share Minister Garneau’s concerns, and remain committed to safe operations, as we always have been.”
CP added it is working collaboratively with local officials in responding to the derailment and is deploying claims officers to assist community members displaced by the incident and evacuation. “CP is in close contact with regulators and local officials and will keep them informed as the situation progresses. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.”
The company also stated crews will be working diligently and will ensure the area is cleaned up and restored after CP safely recovers from this incident.
As Thursday night arrived residents from Guernsey remained evacuated and the Saskatoon Fire Department received a mutual aid request to help with the fire near the community, sending one water tanker to support operations. Crews continued to keep the blaze at bay and as the sun began coming up Friday morning, they were still hard at work at the derailment site.
Residents from Guernsey who had been evacuated Thursday spent the night with family, friends or in hotels and as of Friday morning, were still evacuated. Breakfast and lunch was served at the Lanigan Town Hall Friday for those displaced from their homes as they awaited more information on the situation from CP. With questions for CP surrounding the derailment and when residents of Guernsey could return home, Rintoual said the RM was grateful to the local volunteers in Lanigan for helping out and opening the hall.
For motorists using Hwy. 16 near Guernsey, according to the Highway Hotline, a portion of the highway remained closed as of press time. A detour was in place for motorists to head north on Hwy. 20 to Grid 340 then south on Grid Range Rd. 2233.
As information continues to be provided, The Watrous Manitou will have more on the derailment in next week’s edition.
Daniel Bushman
Nearly two months after 34 railcars went off the tracks about six kilometres west of Guernsey, a second train derailment took place, this time much closer to the community. At around 6:15 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 6 a number of railcars containing crude oil derailed just a short distance east of Guernsey prompting evacuations and the closure to a portion of Hwy. 16.
Like the Dec. 9 event, which also involved crude oil and Canadian Pacific Rail, several railcars were ignited, spilling into the ditch and crumpling into a heap at a crossing. Speaking to members of the media Feb. 6, President of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency Marlo Pritchard noted he had received reports the train was carrying approximately 104 cars when 31 derailed approximately 10 kms from the previous derailment in December. About a dozen cars remained on fire during the afternoon Feb. 6 and there were still cars burning Feb. 7.
Attending the first derailment, local emergency crews also responded to last week’s scene as Guernsey was placed under a mandatory evacuation due to air quality concerns. Along with local first responders, CP emergency response teams were on hand Thursday to contain the fire. CP issued a statement indicating there were no injuries to its crew and there was no impact to waterways. As was the case in December, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) also deployed a team of investigators to the site of the derailment.
Planning to truck south to Moose Jaw, Jerome Fisher got up early last Thursday to feed his cows. Living at the farm his wife Beth grew up at, Jerome got on his jacket, braved the elements, and ventured outdoors. With the couple’s farm located less than one kilometre from where the derailment occurred, at 6:15 a.m. Fisher was busy tending to his cattle when he heard the train hit the brakes. Since the farm house obstructed his view of the train from where he was standing in the corral, Jerome did not see the cars burst into flames but rather a glow.
Illuminating the area as large plumes of smoke filled the sky, Paul Huls was also awake early in the morning and was driving along Hwy. 16 close to where the Fishers live. When Huls came upon the derailment, he said, “We saw a big fireball and then train cars burning.”
Jerome’s wife Beth was sleeping when she awoke to the ring of her phone. On the other end was her sister asking if she had heard about the derailment. With the wind blowing from the east, Fisher was fast asleep when the derailment took place. But after answering the call from her sister, when she looked out her window, Beth could see the fire and emergency vehicles just down the road.
“My first thought was, ‘not again,’” Fisher exclaimed as she watched the flames leap into the sky. Figuring the derailment must have involved oil as opposed to potash which is transported from the nearby mine, there was soon a knock at her door. A member from the Lanigan and District Fire Department stopped by around 7:30 a.m. to make sure the Fishers were aware of what was going on. “Since the wind was not headed in our direction, we were not evacuated and allowed to stay home.”
Watching from her window, Beth was surprised at how a second derailment could have happened near Guernsey in such a short time span. “I’ve lived here my whole life and I have never seen a train derailment. It is very odd to see two in two months. They had been doing a lot of work on that rail line during the fall and after this latest derailment, I was just hoping no one was hurt. I asked the firefighter who came to our house right away if anyone was hurt and I was told everyone was okay.”
With Jerome headed for Moose Jaw as part of his trucking job and daylight breaking, Beth could not believe the amount of black smoke billowing into the sky. The plume covered Guernsey as it pushed further east and not long after that, evacuations took place.
Since Guernsey has dissolved into the Rural Municipality of Usborne, Administrator Anna Rintoul said RCMP, fire personnel, CP, and Canadian Public Safety representatives worked closely with the RM as approximately 85 residents from Guernsey had to leave. The Lanigan and District Fire Department who responded to the scene requested the Town of Lanigan prepare for residents of Guernsey as they evacuated the community.
Lanigan Town Administrator Jennifer Thompson said the Lanigan Town Hall was made available for residents of Guernsey and with the help of volunteers, the Town of Lanigan provided meals and refreshments to everyone at the hall.
With people from Guernsey being told to leave, Beth’s home also became a haven for her son Logan’s family and nearby neighbours. “Logan just came off of working nights at Pound-Maker and had gone to bed but he was woken up and his family got evacuated around 8:30 a.m. They came to our place and two more neighbours and their little girl joined us as well. We have the space and were happy to welcome people over. I told my husband, “Guernsey is being evacuated.” He said, “Well how many people can our house hold?” There are lots of people in Guernsey who have connections that live close by so there were places for people to go.”
As her family and their neighbours came over, reflecting on the situation, Beth said she was just really grateful everyone was okay and not hurt. “I am so thankful for the time of year as well that there is not any dry grass around. I feel for the railroad crews and emergency people who have to deal with this. Kudos to them.”
A few kilometres southwest of the Fisher farm and a short drive from Guernsey is where Nutrien’s Lanigan potash mine is situated. With the thick smoke coming from the derailment and mine staff working above and below ground, Nutrien spokesperson Will Tigley said, “Right now our operations and teams at Lanigan are not impacted by this train derailment. We continue to monitor the situation and are taking the necessary precautions to keep our people safe.”
As word spread about the derailment, the news reached Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Faced with a second major event near Guernsey in less than two months, Federal Minister of Transport Marc Garneau issued the following through a number of tweets on his Twitter account: “I am seized with this morning’s rail incident in Guernsey, Sask. We are gathering the facts and I am following this very closely. Rail safety remains my top priority. The derailments of railway cars containing dangerous goods over the past year are concerning. I’m issuing an immediate order to slow trains carrying large quantities of dangerous goods on federally regulated railway tracks across Canada. Effective at midnight on Feb. 7, this Ministerial Order will require the slowdown of trains with 20 or more cars carrying dangerous goods. In cities, trains will be limited to 20 m.p.h. Outside of these areas, trains will be limited to 25 m.p.h. This will be in place for 30 days. This is a precautionary measure being taken today, as we are seeing similarities between today’s accident and other recent rail accidents. I’ve asked my officials to examine all issues related to these accidents to determine if additional safety measures will be required. I cannot compromise on safety and will not hesitate to take further swift action as is necessary.”
After Garneau’s announcement Feb. 6, Canadian Pacific Railway Limited also responded to the crude oil derailment near Guernsey.
“Immediately after the derailment, CP implemented a slow order on its crude trains as a precautionary measure as it gathers facts related to this incident. Since then, Transport Canada has issued a Ministerial Order, effective for 30 days at midnight on Friday, Feb. 7. The order requires a slowdown of “key trains (which contain 20 or more cars carrying dangerous goods). In metropolitan areas, these trains will be limited to 20 m.p.h. Outside these areas, trains will be limited to 25 m.p.h.”
“CP fully supports this action and it has been implemented effective immediately,” said Keith Creel, CP President and CEO. “Until we better understand the facts relating to today’s incident, it is prudent to operate with an abundance of caution. We equally share Minister Garneau’s concerns, and remain committed to safe operations, as we always have been.”
CP added it is working collaboratively with local officials in responding to the derailment and is deploying claims officers to assist community members displaced by the incident and evacuation. “CP is in close contact with regulators and local officials and will keep them informed as the situation progresses. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.”
The company also stated crews will be working diligently and will ensure the area is cleaned up and restored after CP safely recovers from this incident.
As Thursday night arrived residents from Guernsey remained evacuated and the Saskatoon Fire Department received a mutual aid request to help with the fire near the community, sending one water tanker to support operations. Crews continued to keep the blaze at bay and as the sun began coming up Friday morning, they were still hard at work at the derailment site.
Residents from Guernsey who had been evacuated Thursday spent the night with family, friends or in hotels and as of Friday morning, were still evacuated. Breakfast and lunch was served at the Lanigan Town Hall Friday for those displaced from their homes as they awaited more information on the situation from CP. With questions for CP surrounding the derailment and when residents of Guernsey could return home, Rintoual said the RM was grateful to the local volunteers in Lanigan for helping out and opening the hall.
For motorists using Hwy. 16 near Guernsey, according to the Highway Hotline, a portion of the highway remained closed as of press time. A detour was in place for motorists to head north on Hwy. 20 to Grid 340 then south on Grid Range Rd. 2233.
As information continues to be provided, The Watrous Manitou will have more on the derailment in next week’s edition.
TWM Top Story - Feb. 3, 2020
Mosaic Colonsay idling for foreseeable future
Daniel Bushman
As Mosaic’s Colonsay potash mine began idling in September leaving hundreds without work, last week’s announcement of the mine idling for the foreseeable future was not the news employees, their families and the communities they reside in had been hoping for.
Impacting about 343 of its hourly workforce when the mine first began idling, Vice President of Public Affairs and Government Relations with Mosaic Sarah Fedorchuk said on Tuesday, Jan. 28 Mosaic met with its remaining Colonsay workforce to advise them the site will remain idled for the foreseeable future.
“While a difficult decision to make, giving our Colonsay workforce a clear picture of our plans is an important step in allowing them to best prepare for their future.”
While some of the company’s salaried Colonsay employees have since moved on to new roles in other areas of the business unit, Fedorchuk said the latest decision will impact the remaining approximately 80 salaried staff. “We met with them (Jan. 28) to discuss their role, varying end dates or other opportunities.”
Colonsay Mayor Jim Gray was disappointed with the announcement, leaving some from his community without a job. Upwards of 25 people had been residing in Colonsay while working at the mine and now with the latest news, the mayor said, “They are not going to keep all the employees here because there is not work here.”
Already feeling the pinch in town since September’s idling, Gray noted there had been five employees from Colonsay who were kept on at the site but were part of the number impacted Jan. 28. A bunch of other employees had already been transferred to Esterhazy according to Gray. “Most of them are out of work. Then your older ones who have been there all their lives, well they don’t know anything else but that. It is going to be hard. It is going to be hard in the town. Where do you find that kind of money that you are going to lose from potash sharing and stuff like that? Other small towns like Bruno, Viscount, and all through there, it is going to be hard on everybody. I just feel sorry for the workers and how it happened the way it has.”
A number of employees with Mosaic also reside in Watrous, the largest community within the immediate area. As they lost their jobs at the mine, Watrous Mayor Ed Collins reciprocated what his fellow mayor from Colonsay had to say. “As a community leader I’m disappointed and saddened by this news. I feel for the employees, their families, the community at large and all those who are directly affected as well as those indirectly affected. It will impact our business sector and possibly our schools, depending on the length of this idling.”
As he heard about the discouraging news, Collins said, “We are a resilient community and very diversified so hopefully that will assist in retaining a number of the affected employees to remain in our community. As the demand and price increases for this product we hope that the mine will open to full capacity in the foreseeable future.”
Like the hundreds who lost their jobs at the mine, local area resident Daniel Veld had spent a number of years working at Mosaic Colonsay. Starting at the mine Mar. 21, 2011, Veld was part of a production crew operating on the surface, running one of the areas from the lab/raw ore storage to compaction three.
When the idling was first announced in August, Veld saw his employment at the mine cease the following month. From there, like so many others, it became a waiting game. As each month passed and with no news of production resuming, Veld began looking for other job opportunities. While others have not been as fortunate, in December Daniel secured a position as a salesperson at Manitou Mainline Chrysler.
“I know another guy from our crew got on with CN and another in the trucking industry,” said Veld who has been selling vehicles now for just over a month. “Some have found work in and around Saskatoon with many others still looking.”
As the mine remains idle moving forward, Fedorchuk said Mosaic will be providing transition services, educational bursaries through a retraining fund to obtain new skills and education, and access to other services like its Employee Family Assistance Plan (EFAP).
Approximately 45 positions will remain in place at Colonsay to complete safety and regulatory checks and conduct minimal maintenance.
With the decision to begin idling its mine coming last year, Fedorchuk said at that time it was in response to a challenging spring. “We believe that idling Colonsay will allow us to reduce our current inventory levels, lower our cash costs of production and provide a buffer to any delay in new potash contract shipments.”
Unprecedented wet weather in the Midwest United States had negatively impacted its North American spring fertilizer sales volumes and phosphates margins. Mosaic said those same factors drove grain prices higher and provided significant opportunities in fall 2019 and beyond.
“We’ve experienced a North American spring season that was wetter and later than any in recorded history,” said Mosaic President and CEO Joc O’Rourke. “While our Potash and Mosaic Fertilizantes businesses continued to perform well, weakness in the phosphates market negatively impacted second quarter results.”
The company also indicated the accelerated ramp up of the low-cost Esterhazy K3 potash project was also a factor. The production, combined with available inventory facilitated the idling of the higher cost Colonsay potash mine. “These actions are expected to lower Mosaic’s cost of production, accelerate inventory depletion, avoid $40 to $50 million in cash expenditures in 2019, and increase the company’s leverage to strengthening markets into 2020.”
As the news was first announced that Mosaic's Colonsay mine is to remain idled for the foreseeable future, a few days later Nutrien confirmed that its Vanscoy mine will resume production in March 2020. Nutrien spokesperson Will Tigley said, “We are still reviewing exact timing and developing our recall plan for employees.”
Tigley indicated Nutrien expects a positive medium to long-term outlook in the potash markets as the company heads toward the spring of this year.
With word of Vanscoy resuming production next month, Tigley also confirmed Nutrien's Allan and Lanigan mines have been back to regular operations since late December.
Daniel Bushman
As Mosaic’s Colonsay potash mine began idling in September leaving hundreds without work, last week’s announcement of the mine idling for the foreseeable future was not the news employees, their families and the communities they reside in had been hoping for.
Impacting about 343 of its hourly workforce when the mine first began idling, Vice President of Public Affairs and Government Relations with Mosaic Sarah Fedorchuk said on Tuesday, Jan. 28 Mosaic met with its remaining Colonsay workforce to advise them the site will remain idled for the foreseeable future.
“While a difficult decision to make, giving our Colonsay workforce a clear picture of our plans is an important step in allowing them to best prepare for their future.”
While some of the company’s salaried Colonsay employees have since moved on to new roles in other areas of the business unit, Fedorchuk said the latest decision will impact the remaining approximately 80 salaried staff. “We met with them (Jan. 28) to discuss their role, varying end dates or other opportunities.”
Colonsay Mayor Jim Gray was disappointed with the announcement, leaving some from his community without a job. Upwards of 25 people had been residing in Colonsay while working at the mine and now with the latest news, the mayor said, “They are not going to keep all the employees here because there is not work here.”
Already feeling the pinch in town since September’s idling, Gray noted there had been five employees from Colonsay who were kept on at the site but were part of the number impacted Jan. 28. A bunch of other employees had already been transferred to Esterhazy according to Gray. “Most of them are out of work. Then your older ones who have been there all their lives, well they don’t know anything else but that. It is going to be hard. It is going to be hard in the town. Where do you find that kind of money that you are going to lose from potash sharing and stuff like that? Other small towns like Bruno, Viscount, and all through there, it is going to be hard on everybody. I just feel sorry for the workers and how it happened the way it has.”
A number of employees with Mosaic also reside in Watrous, the largest community within the immediate area. As they lost their jobs at the mine, Watrous Mayor Ed Collins reciprocated what his fellow mayor from Colonsay had to say. “As a community leader I’m disappointed and saddened by this news. I feel for the employees, their families, the community at large and all those who are directly affected as well as those indirectly affected. It will impact our business sector and possibly our schools, depending on the length of this idling.”
As he heard about the discouraging news, Collins said, “We are a resilient community and very diversified so hopefully that will assist in retaining a number of the affected employees to remain in our community. As the demand and price increases for this product we hope that the mine will open to full capacity in the foreseeable future.”
Like the hundreds who lost their jobs at the mine, local area resident Daniel Veld had spent a number of years working at Mosaic Colonsay. Starting at the mine Mar. 21, 2011, Veld was part of a production crew operating on the surface, running one of the areas from the lab/raw ore storage to compaction three.
When the idling was first announced in August, Veld saw his employment at the mine cease the following month. From there, like so many others, it became a waiting game. As each month passed and with no news of production resuming, Veld began looking for other job opportunities. While others have not been as fortunate, in December Daniel secured a position as a salesperson at Manitou Mainline Chrysler.
“I know another guy from our crew got on with CN and another in the trucking industry,” said Veld who has been selling vehicles now for just over a month. “Some have found work in and around Saskatoon with many others still looking.”
As the mine remains idle moving forward, Fedorchuk said Mosaic will be providing transition services, educational bursaries through a retraining fund to obtain new skills and education, and access to other services like its Employee Family Assistance Plan (EFAP).
Approximately 45 positions will remain in place at Colonsay to complete safety and regulatory checks and conduct minimal maintenance.
With the decision to begin idling its mine coming last year, Fedorchuk said at that time it was in response to a challenging spring. “We believe that idling Colonsay will allow us to reduce our current inventory levels, lower our cash costs of production and provide a buffer to any delay in new potash contract shipments.”
Unprecedented wet weather in the Midwest United States had negatively impacted its North American spring fertilizer sales volumes and phosphates margins. Mosaic said those same factors drove grain prices higher and provided significant opportunities in fall 2019 and beyond.
“We’ve experienced a North American spring season that was wetter and later than any in recorded history,” said Mosaic President and CEO Joc O’Rourke. “While our Potash and Mosaic Fertilizantes businesses continued to perform well, weakness in the phosphates market negatively impacted second quarter results.”
The company also indicated the accelerated ramp up of the low-cost Esterhazy K3 potash project was also a factor. The production, combined with available inventory facilitated the idling of the higher cost Colonsay potash mine. “These actions are expected to lower Mosaic’s cost of production, accelerate inventory depletion, avoid $40 to $50 million in cash expenditures in 2019, and increase the company’s leverage to strengthening markets into 2020.”
As the news was first announced that Mosaic's Colonsay mine is to remain idled for the foreseeable future, a few days later Nutrien confirmed that its Vanscoy mine will resume production in March 2020. Nutrien spokesperson Will Tigley said, “We are still reviewing exact timing and developing our recall plan for employees.”
Tigley indicated Nutrien expects a positive medium to long-term outlook in the potash markets as the company heads toward the spring of this year.
With word of Vanscoy resuming production next month, Tigley also confirmed Nutrien's Allan and Lanigan mines have been back to regular operations since late December.
TWM Top Story - Jan. 27, 2020
Local couple's invention created to protect flaggers
Daniel Bushman
They are preventable and can be avoided but each year flaggers are killed by motorists in construction zones across the country. After one of those tragic incidents in 2012, a local couple has come up with a way to try and put a stop to more of those deaths along highways in Canada.
Ashley Richards was just 18 years old when she was struck and killed by a vehicle in a construction zone near Midale on Hwy. 39. Despite signage put in place on that August day in 2012, Richards who was on the job just a short time was struck by a vehicle exceeding the allowable speed limit.
While the driver was found guilty of dangerous driving causing death, this is not the first time a flagger has been killed on a highway. According to WorkSafe Saskatchewan, each year in Canada motorists kill approximately 20 flaggers. Due in large part to the high speed of motorists, highway workers are at a high risk of being injured or even killed while flagging. It can become even more dangerous in high traffic areas where there is a greater risk of aggressive drivers.
After hearing about the horrific tragedy in 2012, Kim and Donna Kreutzer were heartbroken. With children and grandchildren of their own, Kim and his wife Donna learned that Ashley was an identical twin sister to Tamara and sister to four other siblings. Heading west to find work, Ashley ended up in Saskatchewan where she took training to become a flag person. Only in the province for three weeks, she had been planning to return home to New Brunswick before she was tragically killed.
“Then and there we decided we wanted to make it possible for a flag person to be out of the danger zone,” said Kim who added, “but not take the job away from people who want to work.”
Hoping to come up with an innovative product that would eliminate the risk of flaggers being injured or killed, the Kreutzers created the Guardian Angel Auto Flagger.
“With this auto flagger we believe that we have done what we set out to do. The flag person can now operate the flagger in a safe way and operate the flagger from a seat inside a vehicle or in the work zone and off the driving lane.”
Going off the back of a vehicle, the Guardian Angel Auto Flagger hooks up to a receiver and is plugged in to a trailer outlet under the lift gate. A flagger arm, traffic lights along with a camera are mounted together as part of the device and the person operating the unit uses a wireless remote.
“This allows the flag person to assess the safest location and adjust to changing situations. The flag person is removed from any danger areas and the unit itself does not require a trailer to maintain. There is no plate, no batteries, no solar panels, no generator and no more trouble backing up.”
Wanting to make a difference, Kim reached out to Ashley’s family to let them know about the work being done to try and save lives. It was not long after when Kim and Donna received a letter from Brenda and Tom Richards, Ashley’s parents.
“They told us they really hope the device will be accepted so that people working in the construction zones can return home safely to their families. They felt the Guardian Angel Auto Flagger will prevent some other senseless person from taking another life. Brenda and Tom said they miss Ashley every day and it is hard for them to drive through a construction zone. It makes them mad when they see people speeding through those zones and like us, they hope that 2020 will be safer for highway workers across the country.”
While just in the manufacturing stages, Kim said they have already secured a patent in Canada and the United States for the Guardian Angel Auto Flagger and are hoping to garner interest for the units. “I firmly believe this invention will help make construction zones safer, protecting workers and saving lives.”
Daniel Bushman
They are preventable and can be avoided but each year flaggers are killed by motorists in construction zones across the country. After one of those tragic incidents in 2012, a local couple has come up with a way to try and put a stop to more of those deaths along highways in Canada.
Ashley Richards was just 18 years old when she was struck and killed by a vehicle in a construction zone near Midale on Hwy. 39. Despite signage put in place on that August day in 2012, Richards who was on the job just a short time was struck by a vehicle exceeding the allowable speed limit.
While the driver was found guilty of dangerous driving causing death, this is not the first time a flagger has been killed on a highway. According to WorkSafe Saskatchewan, each year in Canada motorists kill approximately 20 flaggers. Due in large part to the high speed of motorists, highway workers are at a high risk of being injured or even killed while flagging. It can become even more dangerous in high traffic areas where there is a greater risk of aggressive drivers.
After hearing about the horrific tragedy in 2012, Kim and Donna Kreutzer were heartbroken. With children and grandchildren of their own, Kim and his wife Donna learned that Ashley was an identical twin sister to Tamara and sister to four other siblings. Heading west to find work, Ashley ended up in Saskatchewan where she took training to become a flag person. Only in the province for three weeks, she had been planning to return home to New Brunswick before she was tragically killed.
“Then and there we decided we wanted to make it possible for a flag person to be out of the danger zone,” said Kim who added, “but not take the job away from people who want to work.”
Hoping to come up with an innovative product that would eliminate the risk of flaggers being injured or killed, the Kreutzers created the Guardian Angel Auto Flagger.
“With this auto flagger we believe that we have done what we set out to do. The flag person can now operate the flagger in a safe way and operate the flagger from a seat inside a vehicle or in the work zone and off the driving lane.”
Going off the back of a vehicle, the Guardian Angel Auto Flagger hooks up to a receiver and is plugged in to a trailer outlet under the lift gate. A flagger arm, traffic lights along with a camera are mounted together as part of the device and the person operating the unit uses a wireless remote.
“This allows the flag person to assess the safest location and adjust to changing situations. The flag person is removed from any danger areas and the unit itself does not require a trailer to maintain. There is no plate, no batteries, no solar panels, no generator and no more trouble backing up.”
Wanting to make a difference, Kim reached out to Ashley’s family to let them know about the work being done to try and save lives. It was not long after when Kim and Donna received a letter from Brenda and Tom Richards, Ashley’s parents.
“They told us they really hope the device will be accepted so that people working in the construction zones can return home safely to their families. They felt the Guardian Angel Auto Flagger will prevent some other senseless person from taking another life. Brenda and Tom said they miss Ashley every day and it is hard for them to drive through a construction zone. It makes them mad when they see people speeding through those zones and like us, they hope that 2020 will be safer for highway workers across the country.”
While just in the manufacturing stages, Kim said they have already secured a patent in Canada and the United States for the Guardian Angel Auto Flagger and are hoping to garner interest for the units. “I firmly believe this invention will help make construction zones safer, protecting workers and saving lives.”
TWM Top Story - Jan. 20, 2020
Trio from Watrous helps Hilltops capture sixth consecutive national title
Daniel Bushman
It is a feat that may never be replicated and one that was made possible with the help of former members of the Winston Wildcats football team. As the regular season came to a conclusion this past fall, the Saskatoon Hilltops not only went undefeated (8-0) but rolled right to the Canadian Junior Football League championship where the club beat Langley 11-6. Capturing its sixth straight national title, the only team in Canadian Junior Football League history to do so, the Hilltops also boasted three former members of the Wildcats from Watrous on this year’s roster.
Fifth year Hilltop Ryder Klisowsky, third year player Brady Fossen and first year player Cole Dunham who were all once members of the Wildcats high school football program sported the familiar colours of blue and gold with Saskatoon. The three who played during different seasons for the Wildcats in Watrous joined forces with other members of the Hilltops this year as each achieved success in capturing a national title.
Heading into his final year with the Hilltops, Klisowsky had been called upon to defend the offensive line while protecting his quarterback. For his hard work and dedication this past season, the Canadian Junior Football League in conjunction with the Prairie Football Conference announced Klisowsky as one of five players from the league named as a 2019 Conference Offensive Line All-Star.
“It meant a lot to receive this honour after lots of years of hard work! And a huge credit to my coaches for believing in and helping me reach this point,” said Klisowsky who was also awarded with a Don McDonald Memorial Scholarship and named the Hilltops Lineman of the Year.
As a whole, the Watrous product said despite a few injuries his season went really good. “Being named an all-star was for sure a highlight this year and being able to go undefeated and helping the team win six championships in a row was another. It was an unbelievable experience to be able to win another championship with everyone that I’ve played with for five years. There was nothing greater than winning with my family.”
From pre-season to the national championship, the Hilltops kicked off the perfect season by defeating Winnipeg Aug. 18 by a 34-20 score. From there Saskatoon beat Regina 34-16 Aug. 25, edged the Edmonton Huskies Sept. 1 by a close 24-22 score, upended Regina 28-21 Sept. 7, rolled over Calgary 53-6 Sept. 22 and scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Edmonton Wildcats 38-10 to close out the month. In October, the team continued to build momentum and took down the Winnipeg Rifles 49-22, upended the
Edmonton Wildcats 48-8 on Oct. 13 and then 31-7 Oct. 20. The team then beat the Edmonton Huskies Oct. 27 by a score of 30-14 before taking on the London Beefeaters Nov. 2 in a game which the Hilltops won handily by a 51-1 count. That set up the CJFL national championship against Langley. In a low scoring contest Nov. 16, Saskatoon came out on top 11-6 to take its sixth straight title.
“I was happy with how we worked as a team,” said Klisowsky on the season. “It might not have been perfect but we always found a way to win and that’s because we trusted in each other to figure out how to win. The national game was very emotional for me realizing that it was my last game with the team. We didn’t play as great as we should have in that game as a whole offensively but our defence stepped up and played amazing.”
Noting how great it has been to see a number of Watrous players contribute to the team over his five years, Klisowsky added the support from back home was also tremendous. “Everyone back home truly cares about us and there are no words to describe how grateful I am for everything they’ve done for me! Truly they are the best fans out there!”
Now that the lineman’s career with the Hilltops has come to an end, Klisowsky said he is grateful to a number of people and to all of his former coaches for helping him learn the skills and techniques which aided in his success. “A special thanks to Winston Widcats’ head coach Barry Croshaw for helping me to be able to move forward with my football career and everything he’s helped teach me. I also wanted to thank my parents for everything they’ve done for me because without their endless support there’s no way I would’ve been able to do well and continue with my football career. They deserve more praise than I could give and they’re the best parents anyone could ask for! And thank you to Daniel Bushman at The Watrous Manitou for all you’ve done with following us and telling the town about all we’ve done! Without you it wouldn’t be the same. Thank you for everything you’ve done!”
Like Ryder, this year Brady Fossen found himself in the starting lineup on a regular basis. Hoping to carry the momentum of the team’s success from last season, Fossen entered year three with Saskatoon. After being a special teams and backup player behind three fifth year linebackers the previous season, Fossen got the nod in the starting lineup for the 2019 campaign.
“The expectations on starting linebackers are high as we are expected to play downhill to stop the run as well as drop in passing situations to cover receivers. We could match up against 300+ pound offensive linemen or receivers who are often the fastest players on the field on any given play. Play action can make our lives even more difficult.”
Fossen said because of the added expectations, this year was definitely a learning curve as the former Wildcat adjusted to the significant increase in playing time. “I felt like I improved every game and finished the season as a better player than when I began.”
Facing tough competition, Fossen said the Hilltops were in some close games early on against Regina and the Edmonton Huskies but having the veteran presence on the team helped to push them forward and preserve the club’s winning streak into the Canadian Bowl.
“I was able to contribute a lot more than in previous years. That made the whole experience more special for me. It is pretty unbelievable to be a part of the sixth consecutive national championship for this team. I’m glad I was able to contribute and be a part of history.”
Being able to chip in and start in the Canadian Bowl also served as Fossen’s number one highlight from the year. “It was absolutely electric. The fans packed the stands and the rain was coming down when we marched onto the field. Langley came out next to the pounding of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Metallica, which really fired everyone up, myself especially.”
While the game was a grind and not a lot of points were scored, Fossen said during the final drive Langley was down by five with one minute remaining. Making progress on its drive, Langley tried to pull ahead late with one last attempt. “On third down their quarterback scrambled and threw the ball, which was bobbled by the receiver and knocked down by one of our veteran defensive backs. The sideline erupted, knowing we had just won the game. Playing in such a close game makes the victory even more rewarding.”
Noting that he had the opportunity to play in big moments and in big games for his high school team in Watrous, Fossen said those key situations really helped him prepare for this year. “It was also definitely nice to have some former teammates with me. I get along really well with both Cole and Ryder and it was cool to see them on the practice field every day. I felt that both of them had a great season and I will be looking forward to seeing Cole back out there next year.”
Brady who received a scholarship at the end of the season for someone who is attending a post-secondary institution full-time said the support from back home really made this season a special one. “It was fantastic. My family was always there to support me, and I really appreciated that. They set aside their schedules to come watch me. My aunts and uncles came to watch some games as well. After games I would often have congratulatory texts from my co-workers from Blairs, and other friends.”
Cole Dunham who also was a recipient of a scholarship knows that feeling of having support from back home. Like Ryder and Brady, the first year Hilltop said there was not a game where he did not feel the support of his hometown.
“No matter where I looked there was always a familiar face in the crowd cheering us Watrous boys and the team on, because honestly none of us would be here without the support from our hometown, family and friends.”
While the other two members of the team from Watrous have had some experience suiting up for Saskatoon, this was Cole’s first year adjusting from the familiar six-man game to the 12-man style of football. “I think on a personal level, way better than I had expected going from six-man to 12-man football, but it was a humbling experience because there are a lot of great players out there.”
Happy with the way the team fared in 2019, Dunham made an immediate impact on the field as well. “The highlight of the year was getting the nod from the coaches saying I had an opportunity to play in my first year. The first time I got to run through those fireworks and really feel what a Hilltop game day is like, I really felt like a part of the team.”
Being able to compete and contribute, Dunham said it was surreal to be a part of a national champion and a privilege and experience of a lifetime. “I got a chance to play in most home games this year which was a great surprise for me as I was on special teams and also cornerback on defence. The national game was one of the most intense and nerve-wracking games I have ever watched but watching them hold up the trophy at the end was one of the most amazing feelings.”
And for Dunham, being able to not only share in the national championship victory but having the opportunity to practice and suit up with both Ryder and Brady was also memorable. “Getting the chance to play with Watrous players again made me feel like having a family within another family. It makes us feel pretty proud all coming from the Watrous Wildcats and bringing to the field what our coaches in Watrous taught us as well as what Hilltops coach Sarge (Tom Sargeant) taught us this season.”
Daniel Bushman
It is a feat that may never be replicated and one that was made possible with the help of former members of the Winston Wildcats football team. As the regular season came to a conclusion this past fall, the Saskatoon Hilltops not only went undefeated (8-0) but rolled right to the Canadian Junior Football League championship where the club beat Langley 11-6. Capturing its sixth straight national title, the only team in Canadian Junior Football League history to do so, the Hilltops also boasted three former members of the Wildcats from Watrous on this year’s roster.
Fifth year Hilltop Ryder Klisowsky, third year player Brady Fossen and first year player Cole Dunham who were all once members of the Wildcats high school football program sported the familiar colours of blue and gold with Saskatoon. The three who played during different seasons for the Wildcats in Watrous joined forces with other members of the Hilltops this year as each achieved success in capturing a national title.
Heading into his final year with the Hilltops, Klisowsky had been called upon to defend the offensive line while protecting his quarterback. For his hard work and dedication this past season, the Canadian Junior Football League in conjunction with the Prairie Football Conference announced Klisowsky as one of five players from the league named as a 2019 Conference Offensive Line All-Star.
“It meant a lot to receive this honour after lots of years of hard work! And a huge credit to my coaches for believing in and helping me reach this point,” said Klisowsky who was also awarded with a Don McDonald Memorial Scholarship and named the Hilltops Lineman of the Year.
As a whole, the Watrous product said despite a few injuries his season went really good. “Being named an all-star was for sure a highlight this year and being able to go undefeated and helping the team win six championships in a row was another. It was an unbelievable experience to be able to win another championship with everyone that I’ve played with for five years. There was nothing greater than winning with my family.”
From pre-season to the national championship, the Hilltops kicked off the perfect season by defeating Winnipeg Aug. 18 by a 34-20 score. From there Saskatoon beat Regina 34-16 Aug. 25, edged the Edmonton Huskies Sept. 1 by a close 24-22 score, upended Regina 28-21 Sept. 7, rolled over Calgary 53-6 Sept. 22 and scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Edmonton Wildcats 38-10 to close out the month. In October, the team continued to build momentum and took down the Winnipeg Rifles 49-22, upended the
Edmonton Wildcats 48-8 on Oct. 13 and then 31-7 Oct. 20. The team then beat the Edmonton Huskies Oct. 27 by a score of 30-14 before taking on the London Beefeaters Nov. 2 in a game which the Hilltops won handily by a 51-1 count. That set up the CJFL national championship against Langley. In a low scoring contest Nov. 16, Saskatoon came out on top 11-6 to take its sixth straight title.
“I was happy with how we worked as a team,” said Klisowsky on the season. “It might not have been perfect but we always found a way to win and that’s because we trusted in each other to figure out how to win. The national game was very emotional for me realizing that it was my last game with the team. We didn’t play as great as we should have in that game as a whole offensively but our defence stepped up and played amazing.”
Noting how great it has been to see a number of Watrous players contribute to the team over his five years, Klisowsky added the support from back home was also tremendous. “Everyone back home truly cares about us and there are no words to describe how grateful I am for everything they’ve done for me! Truly they are the best fans out there!”
Now that the lineman’s career with the Hilltops has come to an end, Klisowsky said he is grateful to a number of people and to all of his former coaches for helping him learn the skills and techniques which aided in his success. “A special thanks to Winston Widcats’ head coach Barry Croshaw for helping me to be able to move forward with my football career and everything he’s helped teach me. I also wanted to thank my parents for everything they’ve done for me because without their endless support there’s no way I would’ve been able to do well and continue with my football career. They deserve more praise than I could give and they’re the best parents anyone could ask for! And thank you to Daniel Bushman at The Watrous Manitou for all you’ve done with following us and telling the town about all we’ve done! Without you it wouldn’t be the same. Thank you for everything you’ve done!”
Like Ryder, this year Brady Fossen found himself in the starting lineup on a regular basis. Hoping to carry the momentum of the team’s success from last season, Fossen entered year three with Saskatoon. After being a special teams and backup player behind three fifth year linebackers the previous season, Fossen got the nod in the starting lineup for the 2019 campaign.
“The expectations on starting linebackers are high as we are expected to play downhill to stop the run as well as drop in passing situations to cover receivers. We could match up against 300+ pound offensive linemen or receivers who are often the fastest players on the field on any given play. Play action can make our lives even more difficult.”
Fossen said because of the added expectations, this year was definitely a learning curve as the former Wildcat adjusted to the significant increase in playing time. “I felt like I improved every game and finished the season as a better player than when I began.”
Facing tough competition, Fossen said the Hilltops were in some close games early on against Regina and the Edmonton Huskies but having the veteran presence on the team helped to push them forward and preserve the club’s winning streak into the Canadian Bowl.
“I was able to contribute a lot more than in previous years. That made the whole experience more special for me. It is pretty unbelievable to be a part of the sixth consecutive national championship for this team. I’m glad I was able to contribute and be a part of history.”
Being able to chip in and start in the Canadian Bowl also served as Fossen’s number one highlight from the year. “It was absolutely electric. The fans packed the stands and the rain was coming down when we marched onto the field. Langley came out next to the pounding of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Metallica, which really fired everyone up, myself especially.”
While the game was a grind and not a lot of points were scored, Fossen said during the final drive Langley was down by five with one minute remaining. Making progress on its drive, Langley tried to pull ahead late with one last attempt. “On third down their quarterback scrambled and threw the ball, which was bobbled by the receiver and knocked down by one of our veteran defensive backs. The sideline erupted, knowing we had just won the game. Playing in such a close game makes the victory even more rewarding.”
Noting that he had the opportunity to play in big moments and in big games for his high school team in Watrous, Fossen said those key situations really helped him prepare for this year. “It was also definitely nice to have some former teammates with me. I get along really well with both Cole and Ryder and it was cool to see them on the practice field every day. I felt that both of them had a great season and I will be looking forward to seeing Cole back out there next year.”
Brady who received a scholarship at the end of the season for someone who is attending a post-secondary institution full-time said the support from back home really made this season a special one. “It was fantastic. My family was always there to support me, and I really appreciated that. They set aside their schedules to come watch me. My aunts and uncles came to watch some games as well. After games I would often have congratulatory texts from my co-workers from Blairs, and other friends.”
Cole Dunham who also was a recipient of a scholarship knows that feeling of having support from back home. Like Ryder and Brady, the first year Hilltop said there was not a game where he did not feel the support of his hometown.
“No matter where I looked there was always a familiar face in the crowd cheering us Watrous boys and the team on, because honestly none of us would be here without the support from our hometown, family and friends.”
While the other two members of the team from Watrous have had some experience suiting up for Saskatoon, this was Cole’s first year adjusting from the familiar six-man game to the 12-man style of football. “I think on a personal level, way better than I had expected going from six-man to 12-man football, but it was a humbling experience because there are a lot of great players out there.”
Happy with the way the team fared in 2019, Dunham made an immediate impact on the field as well. “The highlight of the year was getting the nod from the coaches saying I had an opportunity to play in my first year. The first time I got to run through those fireworks and really feel what a Hilltop game day is like, I really felt like a part of the team.”
Being able to compete and contribute, Dunham said it was surreal to be a part of a national champion and a privilege and experience of a lifetime. “I got a chance to play in most home games this year which was a great surprise for me as I was on special teams and also cornerback on defence. The national game was one of the most intense and nerve-wracking games I have ever watched but watching them hold up the trophy at the end was one of the most amazing feelings.”
And for Dunham, being able to not only share in the national championship victory but having the opportunity to practice and suit up with both Ryder and Brady was also memorable. “Getting the chance to play with Watrous players again made me feel like having a family within another family. It makes us feel pretty proud all coming from the Watrous Wildcats and bringing to the field what our coaches in Watrous taught us as well as what Hilltops coach Sarge (Tom Sargeant) taught us this season.”
TWM Top Story - Jan. 13, 2020
SaskWater relocating operations from Watrous
Daniel Bushman
After working out of Watrous for a number of years, a recent decision by SaskWater will see its local area operations relocated. SaskWater Manager, Corporate Communications Courtney Mihalicz said the transition from the company’s current location at 102 – 13th Ave. E. in Watrous to a different community is expected to be completed by the summer of 2020.
“A decision was made to relocate staff to more efficiently manage resources and support the work required in that area,” stated Mihalicz who added SaskWater currently has several locations around the province including in Hanley where the three employees from the Watrous site will be based out of.
“The (Watrous) closure will not impact services in the area. Staff in that area are responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Saskatoon Southeast Water Supply canal system and that work will continue as per normal operations.”
SaskWater, as a commercial Crown utility, has had a presence in Watrous since 2002 and prior to that, Mihalicz noted the Saskatchewan Water Supply Board, which became the Saskatchewan Water Corporation in 1984 operated in Watrous as well. Despite the company’s longevity within the community, once the transition does take place, the ATCO building at the current site in Watrous will be moved to Hanley while the shop and lot will remain. Currently the future of the shop and lot has yet to be determined.
The news of the relocation is the second such announcement involving Watrous as the provincial government announced last month the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture’s extension services in Watrous are being sent to Humboldt in March 2020. With five employees in Watrous from that sector able to continue their roles in Humboldt, Agriculture Minister David Marit said, “Establishing an office in Humboldt allows us to maximize the positive impact of our extension services on the agriculture community. We will continue to serve our clients in the Watrous region from our Humboldt office, while expanding specialists’ reach by being co-located with Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation in a larger centre.”
The move from Watrous to Humboldt will bring the ministry and Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation services together in the same community “enhancing the services offered by both organizations to producers in the region.”
Daniel Bushman
After working out of Watrous for a number of years, a recent decision by SaskWater will see its local area operations relocated. SaskWater Manager, Corporate Communications Courtney Mihalicz said the transition from the company’s current location at 102 – 13th Ave. E. in Watrous to a different community is expected to be completed by the summer of 2020.
“A decision was made to relocate staff to more efficiently manage resources and support the work required in that area,” stated Mihalicz who added SaskWater currently has several locations around the province including in Hanley where the three employees from the Watrous site will be based out of.
“The (Watrous) closure will not impact services in the area. Staff in that area are responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Saskatoon Southeast Water Supply canal system and that work will continue as per normal operations.”
SaskWater, as a commercial Crown utility, has had a presence in Watrous since 2002 and prior to that, Mihalicz noted the Saskatchewan Water Supply Board, which became the Saskatchewan Water Corporation in 1984 operated in Watrous as well. Despite the company’s longevity within the community, once the transition does take place, the ATCO building at the current site in Watrous will be moved to Hanley while the shop and lot will remain. Currently the future of the shop and lot has yet to be determined.
The news of the relocation is the second such announcement involving Watrous as the provincial government announced last month the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture’s extension services in Watrous are being sent to Humboldt in March 2020. With five employees in Watrous from that sector able to continue their roles in Humboldt, Agriculture Minister David Marit said, “Establishing an office in Humboldt allows us to maximize the positive impact of our extension services on the agriculture community. We will continue to serve our clients in the Watrous region from our Humboldt office, while expanding specialists’ reach by being co-located with Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation in a larger centre.”
The move from Watrous to Humboldt will bring the ministry and Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation services together in the same community “enhancing the services offered by both organizations to producers in the region.”
TWM Top Story - Jan. 6, 2020
Watrous RCMP Detachment to lose member position
Daniel Bushman
Despite serving a large area encompassing a number of communities and rural municipalities, the Watrous RCMP Detachment will be losing one of its member positions. Currently staffed with a sergeant and four constables, the local detachment was recently informed that once an officer transfers out the vacant position will not be filled.
Since arriving at the Watrous RCMP Detachment three years ago, Sergeant Jeffrey Friedenstab has held meetings with local elected officials to keep them updated as to what is taking place within the area. The meetings are designed as a way for officials to provide feedback, bring up any concerns or pose questions. At the latest meeting in December, Friedenstab informed officials in attendance that the detachment will in fact be losing a member position.
“I am not worried about an increased workload for us, I am just worried about being able to cover the area,” explained Friedenstab. “Our entire detachment is around 4,500 square kilometres and it can take approximately 50 minutes to drive from one end to the other.”
Friedenstab’s understanding about the position not being filled at the local detachment is due to the province’s Emergency Response Teams in Prince Albert and Regina needing more member positions to become fully staffed. “Right now when there is a call and the Emergency Response Team has to be deployed they try and put one team together from the two places which defeats the purpose of having them in two places to begin with.”
In order to have the two-team model work in Prince Albert and Regina without pulling resources and funds away from each other, Friedenstab said something had to give elsewhere. “F Division Headquarters left it to each district management team and it came strictly down to being based on calls for service for criminal code calls. The amount of calls we have dictates we should have 3.2 officers here and since we had the lowest call volume in the central district, we had to give up a position. The north and south districts also had to give up a position as well.”
Seeking information on whether additional provincial funding could be used to maintain current staffing levels for the local detachment while increasing the number of Emergency Response Team positions in Saskatchewan, The Watrous Manitou reached out to the provincial finance minister’s office in Regina for an interview. However, The Watrous Manitou was referred to a Corrections and Policing official and received the following information: “Government works with the RCMP through the Provincial Policing Services Agreement to provide police services to rural municipalities, and urban municipalities with populations under 5,000 people. Approximately $91 million was provided to the RCMP for this purpose through the Provincial Policing Services Agreement in 2019-‘20. Government does not direct police operations, staffing levels or the organizational structure of the RCMP. For information on staffing levels, you may wish to contact “F” Division Headquarters in Regina.”
Reaching out to “F” Division Headquarters in Regina, RCMP Media Relations Officer Rob King said when analyzing the Watrous Detachment’s workload, time required to respond to calls in the area and the type of calls coming in, a member from Watrous would be better utilized in another position. While there is no set time as to when the transition will take place, King confirmed the move will be made to provide the province’s Emergency Response Team with an additional member in either Prince Albert or Regina.
When asked about the importance of having a full contingent of members in rural areas as opposed to relocating positions, King cited they are trying to be more strategic in where people are being placed. “With the creation of the Combined Traffic Services unit you are getting more traffic members working through and in and around the Watrous area and across the province. Before, that might have been something delegated off to detachments but now we are spreading it out through the Combined Traffic Services. With our CRT we are using information garnered from across the province to strategically combat crime or crime trends in certain areas. Potentially if something was happening in Watrous, we could bring five, six, seven, eight members in for a specific period of time to address that one situation. It is more trying to manage and trying to utilize taxpayer dollars to maximize the policing effect in the entire area.”
Despite those other services being offered, when Watrous Mayor Ed Collins and members of Watrous Town Council heard about the upcoming reduction at the detachment they were disappointed. “That is certainly a concern for us, given the fact that their territory has expanded in the last number of years. Certainly with the expanded territory we are worried about the reduction in services.”
Collins also noted that means losing a person living within the community and who is making a positive impact as well. “We are concerned about that. Anytime we lose someone, we lose potentially a family and someone working in the community. The Town is going to be writing a letter of non-support to our local MLA and/or “F” Division and we encourage residents to do the same.”
While Reeve for the Rural Municipality of Morris Bob Penrose was pleased to hear the area has a low call volume for criminal code calls, he was frustrated to hear the detachment will be losing a member. Sharing about recent thefts and trespassing on yard sites within his RM, after the meeting Penrose said, “I guess we should be happy that we have less crime which is why we are losing an officer but in turn does that mean we will get more crime because of where our position is in our province? West of Young in the RM of Morris, there always seems to be some problems, maybe that is the breaking off point by criminals travelling out here from Saskatoon. We have had a few things take place in Watrous over the years but we do live in a pretty good area so I guess we should be happy about that.”
Overall, King said after the position at the local detachment is not filled operations should be relatively the same. “Especially when you factor in something like the provincial response team for serious incidents. Like conservation officers, the highway traffic patrol officers are able to respond to serious incidents and you have CRT officers who not only do the traffic enforcement but if they are in the area and something serious happens they can respond to it as well. It is more spreading the membership and the work around in different areas as opposed to laying it all on the detachment areas. The workload for the specific detachment people remaining shouldn’t change too much.”
While the workload may be similar according to King, Friedenstab said situations could arise that could hamper that scenario. “If someone transfers, you are waiting to have that spot filled and it can take up to a year sometimes. If you have someone who goes on PAT leave or MAT leave or long-term ODS, then your four goes to three. Out of those three officers someone will be off and then one person would go on a day shift and one on a night shift or maybe nobody is working and there are people taking calls and that will affect service delivery. Then there are times where officers will be attending training and will not be able to respond while at those meetings out of town.”
Another situation that could arise with the decrease in members at the Watrous RCMP Detachment would be going from having sergeant status to one with a corporal.
“I think what bothered me the most was that by losing a person we might be losing a sergeant,” said a disappointed Penrose. “I grew up in Watrous and it was always a corporal but when we went to that sergeant status I felt that it was an important thing for the town. Just to take another step back, I think it is probably harder to go back to that.”
Penrose along with other local area RM members attending the meeting also brought up the fact that response times to farms would decrease with the loss of a member. “As farmers we know that in our yards, we are not going to have that immediate help. By removing a position it will just make it worse.”
When looking at just how large the patrolling area for the Watrous Detachment is whether responding to a farm or community outside of Watrous, a person can get a sense of the time it could take to arrive on scene. Starting from Breckner Road near the Mosaic potash mine by Colonsay, the detachment’s border heads west between Zelma and Allan and then moves southeast through the Rural Municipality of Morris. As part of that, the patrol area includes the communities of Young, Watrous, Manitou Beach, Simpson, Imperial and surrounding RMs as it heads down Hwy. 2 just beyond Liberty. The border then continues east over Last Mountain Lake to the railway crossing near Semans. From there the detachment area ventures north, encompassing Nokomis, Lockwood and up to the Drake grid road. At that juncture, the perimeter then goes west back to Breckner Road, south of Hwy. 16.
While it can take about 50 minutes for a responding officer to go from one corner of the patrolling area to the opposite one, Friedenstab said with a full compliment of RCMP members at the detachment over recent years, it has helped to alleviate that response time.
“Since I have been here we have always had our five members to cover that large area. Most of the time you are able to have two people working a shift so if you get a call you can go right away. With this upcoming change, a call with fewer numbers means you have to wait for a member to get up and get dressed. That means you also have to hold off until your backup arrives so there is two of you responding to the call and that ends up taking more time.”
Because of the upcoming changes, people are being encouraged to sign up for the Saskatchewan Crime Watch Advisory Network. The network provides the RCMP and its Provincial Response Team partner agencies with the ability to communicate directly with the public on matters of crime prevention.
People can sign up at www.saskcrimewatch.ca to receive crime watch advisories from their local RCMP detachments and as situations might be occurring, detachment commanders will have the ability to send important advisories by text message, email or phone. Those who sign up or register online will have the ability to choose how they would like to receive these advisories. The network is designed to ensure that people in Saskatchewan can play an important part in public safety.
“At my farm if someone reported my truck stolen it can get out pretty quick on that advisory network so people could be looking out for it and it makes us all a little more aware. We are all walking around with a phone so it would be great for people to use it,” said Penrose.
While Penrose hopes the Saskatchewan Crime Watch Advisory Network will help reduce and discourage crime locally, he is also hoping that the decision to remove a position at the Watrous RCMP Detachment will be reversed.
“We do a mail out for our taxes once a year and we will be providing an update to our taxpayers in that mail out to let their elected officials know about this situation.”
While King understands the disappointment from communities and RMs in the local area, he said a police presence will still remain. “We are supplementing the detachment now with so many more things like the combined traffic services, the PRT teams, and the Crime Reduction Teams. By supplementing all those things, the number of police hours in the area is probably actually going to increase even without this member.”
Daniel Bushman
Despite serving a large area encompassing a number of communities and rural municipalities, the Watrous RCMP Detachment will be losing one of its member positions. Currently staffed with a sergeant and four constables, the local detachment was recently informed that once an officer transfers out the vacant position will not be filled.
Since arriving at the Watrous RCMP Detachment three years ago, Sergeant Jeffrey Friedenstab has held meetings with local elected officials to keep them updated as to what is taking place within the area. The meetings are designed as a way for officials to provide feedback, bring up any concerns or pose questions. At the latest meeting in December, Friedenstab informed officials in attendance that the detachment will in fact be losing a member position.
“I am not worried about an increased workload for us, I am just worried about being able to cover the area,” explained Friedenstab. “Our entire detachment is around 4,500 square kilometres and it can take approximately 50 minutes to drive from one end to the other.”
Friedenstab’s understanding about the position not being filled at the local detachment is due to the province’s Emergency Response Teams in Prince Albert and Regina needing more member positions to become fully staffed. “Right now when there is a call and the Emergency Response Team has to be deployed they try and put one team together from the two places which defeats the purpose of having them in two places to begin with.”
In order to have the two-team model work in Prince Albert and Regina without pulling resources and funds away from each other, Friedenstab said something had to give elsewhere. “F Division Headquarters left it to each district management team and it came strictly down to being based on calls for service for criminal code calls. The amount of calls we have dictates we should have 3.2 officers here and since we had the lowest call volume in the central district, we had to give up a position. The north and south districts also had to give up a position as well.”
Seeking information on whether additional provincial funding could be used to maintain current staffing levels for the local detachment while increasing the number of Emergency Response Team positions in Saskatchewan, The Watrous Manitou reached out to the provincial finance minister’s office in Regina for an interview. However, The Watrous Manitou was referred to a Corrections and Policing official and received the following information: “Government works with the RCMP through the Provincial Policing Services Agreement to provide police services to rural municipalities, and urban municipalities with populations under 5,000 people. Approximately $91 million was provided to the RCMP for this purpose through the Provincial Policing Services Agreement in 2019-‘20. Government does not direct police operations, staffing levels or the organizational structure of the RCMP. For information on staffing levels, you may wish to contact “F” Division Headquarters in Regina.”
Reaching out to “F” Division Headquarters in Regina, RCMP Media Relations Officer Rob King said when analyzing the Watrous Detachment’s workload, time required to respond to calls in the area and the type of calls coming in, a member from Watrous would be better utilized in another position. While there is no set time as to when the transition will take place, King confirmed the move will be made to provide the province’s Emergency Response Team with an additional member in either Prince Albert or Regina.
When asked about the importance of having a full contingent of members in rural areas as opposed to relocating positions, King cited they are trying to be more strategic in where people are being placed. “With the creation of the Combined Traffic Services unit you are getting more traffic members working through and in and around the Watrous area and across the province. Before, that might have been something delegated off to detachments but now we are spreading it out through the Combined Traffic Services. With our CRT we are using information garnered from across the province to strategically combat crime or crime trends in certain areas. Potentially if something was happening in Watrous, we could bring five, six, seven, eight members in for a specific period of time to address that one situation. It is more trying to manage and trying to utilize taxpayer dollars to maximize the policing effect in the entire area.”
Despite those other services being offered, when Watrous Mayor Ed Collins and members of Watrous Town Council heard about the upcoming reduction at the detachment they were disappointed. “That is certainly a concern for us, given the fact that their territory has expanded in the last number of years. Certainly with the expanded territory we are worried about the reduction in services.”
Collins also noted that means losing a person living within the community and who is making a positive impact as well. “We are concerned about that. Anytime we lose someone, we lose potentially a family and someone working in the community. The Town is going to be writing a letter of non-support to our local MLA and/or “F” Division and we encourage residents to do the same.”
While Reeve for the Rural Municipality of Morris Bob Penrose was pleased to hear the area has a low call volume for criminal code calls, he was frustrated to hear the detachment will be losing a member. Sharing about recent thefts and trespassing on yard sites within his RM, after the meeting Penrose said, “I guess we should be happy that we have less crime which is why we are losing an officer but in turn does that mean we will get more crime because of where our position is in our province? West of Young in the RM of Morris, there always seems to be some problems, maybe that is the breaking off point by criminals travelling out here from Saskatoon. We have had a few things take place in Watrous over the years but we do live in a pretty good area so I guess we should be happy about that.”
Overall, King said after the position at the local detachment is not filled operations should be relatively the same. “Especially when you factor in something like the provincial response team for serious incidents. Like conservation officers, the highway traffic patrol officers are able to respond to serious incidents and you have CRT officers who not only do the traffic enforcement but if they are in the area and something serious happens they can respond to it as well. It is more spreading the membership and the work around in different areas as opposed to laying it all on the detachment areas. The workload for the specific detachment people remaining shouldn’t change too much.”
While the workload may be similar according to King, Friedenstab said situations could arise that could hamper that scenario. “If someone transfers, you are waiting to have that spot filled and it can take up to a year sometimes. If you have someone who goes on PAT leave or MAT leave or long-term ODS, then your four goes to three. Out of those three officers someone will be off and then one person would go on a day shift and one on a night shift or maybe nobody is working and there are people taking calls and that will affect service delivery. Then there are times where officers will be attending training and will not be able to respond while at those meetings out of town.”
Another situation that could arise with the decrease in members at the Watrous RCMP Detachment would be going from having sergeant status to one with a corporal.
“I think what bothered me the most was that by losing a person we might be losing a sergeant,” said a disappointed Penrose. “I grew up in Watrous and it was always a corporal but when we went to that sergeant status I felt that it was an important thing for the town. Just to take another step back, I think it is probably harder to go back to that.”
Penrose along with other local area RM members attending the meeting also brought up the fact that response times to farms would decrease with the loss of a member. “As farmers we know that in our yards, we are not going to have that immediate help. By removing a position it will just make it worse.”
When looking at just how large the patrolling area for the Watrous Detachment is whether responding to a farm or community outside of Watrous, a person can get a sense of the time it could take to arrive on scene. Starting from Breckner Road near the Mosaic potash mine by Colonsay, the detachment’s border heads west between Zelma and Allan and then moves southeast through the Rural Municipality of Morris. As part of that, the patrol area includes the communities of Young, Watrous, Manitou Beach, Simpson, Imperial and surrounding RMs as it heads down Hwy. 2 just beyond Liberty. The border then continues east over Last Mountain Lake to the railway crossing near Semans. From there the detachment area ventures north, encompassing Nokomis, Lockwood and up to the Drake grid road. At that juncture, the perimeter then goes west back to Breckner Road, south of Hwy. 16.
While it can take about 50 minutes for a responding officer to go from one corner of the patrolling area to the opposite one, Friedenstab said with a full compliment of RCMP members at the detachment over recent years, it has helped to alleviate that response time.
“Since I have been here we have always had our five members to cover that large area. Most of the time you are able to have two people working a shift so if you get a call you can go right away. With this upcoming change, a call with fewer numbers means you have to wait for a member to get up and get dressed. That means you also have to hold off until your backup arrives so there is two of you responding to the call and that ends up taking more time.”
Because of the upcoming changes, people are being encouraged to sign up for the Saskatchewan Crime Watch Advisory Network. The network provides the RCMP and its Provincial Response Team partner agencies with the ability to communicate directly with the public on matters of crime prevention.
People can sign up at www.saskcrimewatch.ca to receive crime watch advisories from their local RCMP detachments and as situations might be occurring, detachment commanders will have the ability to send important advisories by text message, email or phone. Those who sign up or register online will have the ability to choose how they would like to receive these advisories. The network is designed to ensure that people in Saskatchewan can play an important part in public safety.
“At my farm if someone reported my truck stolen it can get out pretty quick on that advisory network so people could be looking out for it and it makes us all a little more aware. We are all walking around with a phone so it would be great for people to use it,” said Penrose.
While Penrose hopes the Saskatchewan Crime Watch Advisory Network will help reduce and discourage crime locally, he is also hoping that the decision to remove a position at the Watrous RCMP Detachment will be reversed.
“We do a mail out for our taxes once a year and we will be providing an update to our taxpayers in that mail out to let their elected officials know about this situation.”
While King understands the disappointment from communities and RMs in the local area, he said a police presence will still remain. “We are supplementing the detachment now with so many more things like the combined traffic services, the PRT teams, and the Crime Reduction Teams. By supplementing all those things, the number of police hours in the area is probably actually going to increase even without this member.”
TWM Top Story - Dec. 23, 2019
Watrous Citizens of the Year named
By Daniel Bushman
The hours of planning, volunteering, fundraising and renovating are countless, but all of the hard work done by a number of volunteers has not gone unnoticed. With this year’s Watrous Citizen of the Year award going to a group, members of Watrous Childcare Inc. were all smiles as their names were called for the 2019 honour.
What started out in 2015 as an idea to see a community run daycare centre created and one day open in Watrous became a reality in 2019. While community members have come and gone from the committee since its inception, many have remained and Watrous Childcare Inc. President Sara Dunne, Vice-President Brendan Manz, Treasurer Sabrina Hanchuk, Secretary Lindsay Crittenden, Jennifer Beeler, Erin Wolff, Rae-ann Brown, Tiffany Dreger, Christa Braman and Vaughn Jones were all on hand at the Town of Watrous Christmas party Dec. 12 to receive Citizen of the Year accolades.
Nominated by Shannon Williams, the local resident detailed in her letter how the group began its fundraising efforts four years ago which included barbecues, selling Christmas trees, perogies, holding bowling tournaments, conducting a sold-out trailer lottery and securing funds from local businesses and organizations.
With important steps taken to ensure that a daycare could become a reality, Williams outlined the efforts by the Watrous Childcare Inc. committee: “While continually working to fundraise, the committee also began looking at potential locations for the Childcare Centre while considering the feasibility of building a new building or renovating an existing building. The committee also began working with the Ministry of Early Childhood Education to align the organization with the many rules and regulations associated with opening a licensed daycare centre in Saskatchewan.”
As work intensified, in 2017 the group received a massive boost when Watrous Childcare Inc. partnered with the Watrous Kinsmen and Kinettes to purchase the Pentecostal Church building on Main Street, across from the Watrous Elementary School.
“With the building secured, work to renovate the building began. The committee transitioned to not only working as fundraisers, but also to becoming project managers. The committee oversaw the renovations ensuring that the design and specs would meet the needs and safety of the children who would be in attendance, while also providing an environment that promotes the many aspects of early learning education. This over $100,000 renovation included all new drywall, flooring, kitchen, bathrooms, a one-of-a-kind loft, roof, furnace, air conditioner, siding, play yard, and signage. Following the renovation, the committee transitioned once again, into business managers. The first executive director and staff was hired in June of 2019, and the daycare officially opened for business on July 3. The official ribbon cutting was held on Sept. 21. Through fundraising, project management, and business management, the committee created a much needed community asset. The 20 seat daycare’s attendance is nearly full on a daily basis!”
It was that tremendous effort and dedication by the members over that time which Williams felt they were deserving of Watrous Citizen of the Year honours.
“Without the dedication, commitment, and perseverance this group of community residents have shown, the Watrous Kinsmen Childcare Centre would not exist today. The Centre not only serves a need today but will create a legacy for childcare in Watrous for future generations. This is why they deserve to be 2019 Watrous Citizens of the Year.”
Accepting the award and speaking on behalf of the group, Manz thanked Williams for her nomination while also extending gratitude towards the Town of Watrous for the prestigious honour.
“We came together as a group of citizens. In front of you today you have mothers and fathers. Some of us have grown up here while others have not. We have existing day care providers, health care professionals, entrepreneurs, teachers, those from legal and financial backgrounds, those who have worked on boards, while others who hadn’t. But because of our diverse backgrounds, we each had our own set of skills we could bring to the board. We are accepting this award for what we were able to achieve, but none of it would have been possible without the citizens and local businesses of Watrous and the area supporting our vision.”
Through the generosity of the local Kinsmen and Kinettes, Manz said the building they were able to acquire is essentially mortgage free. “This will go a long way to keep the centre financially viable and the service we provide affordable for all families in the community.”
During the acceptance speech and on behalf of the group, Manz stated, “We would also like to recognize some of our major supporters including the Watrous Rotary Club, the Town of Watrous, Affinity Credit Union, the Mosaic Company, Nutrien, Manitou & District Regional Park, the Resort Village of Manitou Beach, and Melron Services. We would also like to thank Royce Dyck and his team at Quality Plus Construction plus the many other local subcontractors and trades who worked on various parts of our renovation.
“We’d like to thank and recognize our staff and volunteers. Krystal Klenk-Potts, as the centre’s first Executive Director gave up her own licence day home to come and share her passion for childcare at a community run facility. We’d like to recognize her staff including Sophie, Rachelle, and Trista. Every week we hear from families whose children cannot wait to go to daycare the next day! That is a testament to the job they do day in and day out. In only a few short months, our 20 seat facility already sees on average 15 kids a day and we only know this number will continue to grow. We are also happy to report that the centre has turned a small profit in four of the five months we’ve been in operation and setting us up for one day (hopefully soon) to receive government funding to continue to grow the programing at the Watrous Kinsmen Childcare Centre.”
With the community banding together and joining forces with members of Watrous Childcare Inc. to support the new facility, Manz and the group were tremendously appreciative of the citizens of Watrous. “You supported our fundraisers – from bowling tournaments, Christmas tree and perogie sales, online auctions, garage sales, barbecues, steak and trivia nights, our sold-out trailer raffle, and other organizations’ events that supported the daycare including mock weddings, rodeos, steak nights, and work place campaigns; we can’t thank everyone enough!”
By Daniel Bushman
The hours of planning, volunteering, fundraising and renovating are countless, but all of the hard work done by a number of volunteers has not gone unnoticed. With this year’s Watrous Citizen of the Year award going to a group, members of Watrous Childcare Inc. were all smiles as their names were called for the 2019 honour.
What started out in 2015 as an idea to see a community run daycare centre created and one day open in Watrous became a reality in 2019. While community members have come and gone from the committee since its inception, many have remained and Watrous Childcare Inc. President Sara Dunne, Vice-President Brendan Manz, Treasurer Sabrina Hanchuk, Secretary Lindsay Crittenden, Jennifer Beeler, Erin Wolff, Rae-ann Brown, Tiffany Dreger, Christa Braman and Vaughn Jones were all on hand at the Town of Watrous Christmas party Dec. 12 to receive Citizen of the Year accolades.
Nominated by Shannon Williams, the local resident detailed in her letter how the group began its fundraising efforts four years ago which included barbecues, selling Christmas trees, perogies, holding bowling tournaments, conducting a sold-out trailer lottery and securing funds from local businesses and organizations.
With important steps taken to ensure that a daycare could become a reality, Williams outlined the efforts by the Watrous Childcare Inc. committee: “While continually working to fundraise, the committee also began looking at potential locations for the Childcare Centre while considering the feasibility of building a new building or renovating an existing building. The committee also began working with the Ministry of Early Childhood Education to align the organization with the many rules and regulations associated with opening a licensed daycare centre in Saskatchewan.”
As work intensified, in 2017 the group received a massive boost when Watrous Childcare Inc. partnered with the Watrous Kinsmen and Kinettes to purchase the Pentecostal Church building on Main Street, across from the Watrous Elementary School.
“With the building secured, work to renovate the building began. The committee transitioned to not only working as fundraisers, but also to becoming project managers. The committee oversaw the renovations ensuring that the design and specs would meet the needs and safety of the children who would be in attendance, while also providing an environment that promotes the many aspects of early learning education. This over $100,000 renovation included all new drywall, flooring, kitchen, bathrooms, a one-of-a-kind loft, roof, furnace, air conditioner, siding, play yard, and signage. Following the renovation, the committee transitioned once again, into business managers. The first executive director and staff was hired in June of 2019, and the daycare officially opened for business on July 3. The official ribbon cutting was held on Sept. 21. Through fundraising, project management, and business management, the committee created a much needed community asset. The 20 seat daycare’s attendance is nearly full on a daily basis!”
It was that tremendous effort and dedication by the members over that time which Williams felt they were deserving of Watrous Citizen of the Year honours.
“Without the dedication, commitment, and perseverance this group of community residents have shown, the Watrous Kinsmen Childcare Centre would not exist today. The Centre not only serves a need today but will create a legacy for childcare in Watrous for future generations. This is why they deserve to be 2019 Watrous Citizens of the Year.”
Accepting the award and speaking on behalf of the group, Manz thanked Williams for her nomination while also extending gratitude towards the Town of Watrous for the prestigious honour.
“We came together as a group of citizens. In front of you today you have mothers and fathers. Some of us have grown up here while others have not. We have existing day care providers, health care professionals, entrepreneurs, teachers, those from legal and financial backgrounds, those who have worked on boards, while others who hadn’t. But because of our diverse backgrounds, we each had our own set of skills we could bring to the board. We are accepting this award for what we were able to achieve, but none of it would have been possible without the citizens and local businesses of Watrous and the area supporting our vision.”
Through the generosity of the local Kinsmen and Kinettes, Manz said the building they were able to acquire is essentially mortgage free. “This will go a long way to keep the centre financially viable and the service we provide affordable for all families in the community.”
During the acceptance speech and on behalf of the group, Manz stated, “We would also like to recognize some of our major supporters including the Watrous Rotary Club, the Town of Watrous, Affinity Credit Union, the Mosaic Company, Nutrien, Manitou & District Regional Park, the Resort Village of Manitou Beach, and Melron Services. We would also like to thank Royce Dyck and his team at Quality Plus Construction plus the many other local subcontractors and trades who worked on various parts of our renovation.
“We’d like to thank and recognize our staff and volunteers. Krystal Klenk-Potts, as the centre’s first Executive Director gave up her own licence day home to come and share her passion for childcare at a community run facility. We’d like to recognize her staff including Sophie, Rachelle, and Trista. Every week we hear from families whose children cannot wait to go to daycare the next day! That is a testament to the job they do day in and day out. In only a few short months, our 20 seat facility already sees on average 15 kids a day and we only know this number will continue to grow. We are also happy to report that the centre has turned a small profit in four of the five months we’ve been in operation and setting us up for one day (hopefully soon) to receive government funding to continue to grow the programing at the Watrous Kinsmen Childcare Centre.”
With the community banding together and joining forces with members of Watrous Childcare Inc. to support the new facility, Manz and the group were tremendously appreciative of the citizens of Watrous. “You supported our fundraisers – from bowling tournaments, Christmas tree and perogie sales, online auctions, garage sales, barbecues, steak and trivia nights, our sold-out trailer raffle, and other organizations’ events that supported the daycare including mock weddings, rodeos, steak nights, and work place campaigns; we can’t thank everyone enough!”
TWM Top Story - Dec. 16, 2019
Train derailment sparks explosion near Guernsey
Daniel Bushman
Thirty-four railcars went off the tracks about six kilometres west of Guernsey going from a peaceful night to a raging inferno. Hauling crude oil and heading towards the community, the CP cars derailed adjacent to Hwy. 16 around 12 a.m. Dec. 9. Piling up on the tracks and blocking Wolverine Road, the railcars spilled into the ditches and slid into a pasture near a pair of homes.
The clock struck 12:18 a.m. and Lanigan Fire Chief Barry Hooper’s phone went off. Seeing it was an emergency call, Barry joined other firefighters as they quickly got into their gear and raced towards the scene. With temperatures plummeting during the middle of the night, the firefighters arrived to the massive fire as heavy black smoke engulfed Hwy. 16.
“You could not see a thing,” said Hooper who has never witnessed such an incident during his over three decades with the department. “There was just heavy black smoke.”
Scouting out the area while flames leapt into the night sky, the local firefighters noted a pair of farm houses just across the tracks off Wolverine Road and went to see if anyone was home.
With their driveways merging together a short distance from the railway crossing, Melanie Loessl and her daughter Jennifer live next door to each other. Used to trains rolling through the area, when the cars carrying crude oil derailed and the fire was ignited, Melanie and Jennifer were sleeping. It was not until over an hour from when the railcars left the tracks that Jennifer got a knock on her door from the Lanigan Fire Department.
With flames engulfing the cars a short jaunt away, Jennifer answered her front door and then quickly gave her mom a call. Waking up to her phone, Melanie saw her daughter’s number on the screen.
“It was around 1:40 a.m. when Jennie called and she told me to look out my window. The train derailed pretty much right at the end of the driveway. I looked out and all I saw were those flames.”
Comparing it to something out of a movie, Melanie was instructed that her family might have to evacuate and she was to get to her daughter’s right away. With adrenaline pumping, Melanie braved the frigid elements and ventured outdoors to Jennifer’s place.
“When I looked down the driveway, it was crazy. It was engulfed in flames. I thought it was right in our yard.”
As the smoke from the intense fire continued to build and with the wind pushing the plume over the highway, Hooper and the fire department’s next objective was to block the road as quickly as possible.
“All of the sudden a semi came through the smoke,” said the fire chief. “Believe it or not, you couldn’t even see his headlights. We could hear him but we didn’t know if he was even going to make it through the smoke. It is hard for someone to visualize that black heavy smoke but you couldn’t see a thing.”
With the driver safely through on Hwy. 16, Hooper radioed dispatch who contacted Humboldt/Lanigan RCMP to attend the scene and block the road. Waiting for the RCMP and preventing motorists from venturing through the smoke, Hooper’s focus shifted back to the fire at the derailment. “We knew we weren’t going to put it out so we did a walk around trying to stay away from the site as far as we could. You couldn’t get across Wolverine Road at the crossing so we drove all the way around. There was an engine parked alone on the east side and we thought there was 10 or 12 cars derailed but you couldn’t tell because of the dark black smoke.”
As the fire department assessed the situation the RCMP arrived and blockades were set up at various points including further west near Plunkett and east near the junction of Hwy. 16 and road #668 just outside of Guernsey.
With the surreal sight continuing to play out about 300 yards away from Jennifer’s house, looking out the window Melanie figured she saw about a dozen cars on fire either in the ditch or in her pasture. “Some of them had fallen towards our houses and some I guess had fallen to the other side towards the highway but we couldn’t even see the other side of the tracks so it was hard to tell.”
As the fire intensified and with safety a priority, firefighters told Loessl and her family to pack a bag to leave just in case. Getting her jacket on to head home and grab her belongings, Melanie left Jennifer’s place around 2:41 a.m. and on her short trek, an explosion filled the night air.
“I was coming back down the driveway when one of the cars blew up. It was unbelievable. The flames. The heat. I ran into the pasture because it scared me. The flames were so high, the cars looked like mini cars compared to the flames. It was scary.”
Once safely back at her home, Melanie quickly packed and then around 3:15 a.m. the family was told they should leave. As Loessl and her family vacated the area to her cousin’s place nearby, CP emergency response and HazMat crews were deployed to the scene to work with the Lanigan Fire Department to assess and minimize the impact to the surrounding area. With no injuries, a CP spokesperson said CP crews made initial assessments of the situation, including the number of cars involved.
Hooper and his team soon got word there were 34 cars that had derailed with more remaining on the tracks. “Once we got that number we had to find where all of these cars were and just east of the crossing there were at least 10 or 12 on a pile.”
While determining where all of the railcars were located, unhooking a locomotive still hooked up near the derailment became a concern. “Once CP crews got approval, they pulled the pin and pulled about 70 cars away just to get them out so they wouldn’t catch on fire.”
As each hour passed by, the flames showed no sign of slowing down and continued to aid in the gigantic heavy black cloud of smoke. Hooper said they called in the Humboldt Fire Department to help with water pumping efforts and located a water supply at the Nutrien Lanigan mine. “We had our tanker, they had their tanker and then there was another tanker that came from Saskatoon and that was our only water supply. We pumped water for 37 hours straight. That was just the pumping part and that whole time we had to haul water, driving back and forth to the mine. Nutrien had it set up for us there to haul water. We were never going to put the fire out at that point but they did pump some water for protection and to cool equipment.”
By the end of the first shift for the Lanigan Fire Department, they had deployed 16 people who were there for 24 hours and then more firefighters attended from Lanigan to relieve the ones on scene for a few hours before switching back.
“In total we probably spent around 39 hours out there and 37 hours of straight pumping. That is probably five years worth of pumping on our new truck right there. That is a lot of pumping and our new truck worked just perfect. Everything was heated up inside and kept guys warm. Everything worked really well.”
As daybreak arrived, more and more people began appearing at the area west of Guernsey, coming from Manitoba, Alberta and other parts of Saskatchewan including a provincial safety response team. Semi after semi hauling equipment also unloaded backhoes while gravel trucks began dropping off loads as well. A command post was set up on the south side of the fire and as everyone was set to continue containing the area, the wind changed.
“We had a whole bunch of hoses setup to pump some water but the wind changed so we had to get out of there. Everyone had to switch out and go back all the way around to the highway because the railway crossing was still blocked.”
With more people and equipment arriving each hour, Hooper estimated there were around a dozen bulldozers and a dozen loaders to go along with trailers, a food area, tents and washroom facilities. “You didn’t realize how much equipment came through until later on but it was a lot. Gravel trucks from all over started showing up dumping gravel for the track beds and to make some approaches wherever they had to. There were things happening all over. Once it got dark that night then they started hauling gravel to the east side to build up the gravel to get the line reopen.”
As the large equipment began digging, crews started separating the cars. Working in the heat, equipment operators were forced to temporarily back out before resuming operations again. Because it was so hot, the Lanigan Fire Department was responsible for cooling the equipment with water. “We were working fairly close to the heat the whole time. It was nice and warm but it was fairly dangerous. All of the sudden there would be a whistle coming from these tanks and they are getting pressure and there were a few that did blow but for the most part it wasn’t too bad. As they pulled the tanks apart they were burning a long time and some of them were red hot.”
While a large portion of the 34 cars that derailed caught fire, Hooper estimated eight or 10 that came off the tracks did not. “They were derailed so it was quite a job to pull them out of the way.”
As a windy and frigid Monday continued, CP said crews worked diligently and ensured the area would be cleaned up and restored after the company safely recovers from the incident. Later in the afternoon, Hwy. 16 remained closed as the fires continued to burn and smoke filled the sky. CP emergency response and HazMat crews worked closely with the firefighters to extinguish an area of the derailment site that was still burning. Removal of derailed cars was also underway in portions of the site where it was safe.
CP also stated there was no impact to waterways and they were in close contact with regulators and local officials to keep them informed as the situation progressed.
On Monday, Dec. 9 the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) also deployed a team of investigators to the site of the derailment to gather information and assess the occurrence. According to the TSB, preliminary examination indicated about 19 of the cars lost their entire loads releasing an estimated 1.5 million litres of product to either the ground or atmosphere. Travelling at about 45 mph and destined for Stroud, Oklahoma, the train experienced a train-initiated emergency brake application at mile 48.85, near Guernsey and the covered hopper car in position two and the following 33 tank cars derailed. The head-end 23 tank cars derailed east of the crossing and came to rest in various positions in a large pile over a distance of approximately 500 feet. About 20 of the 23 tank cars sustained breaches, released product and became engulfed in a large pool fire.
With the firefighters containing the area and other crews working in -30˚C temperatures, Melanie who returned home later in the morning Dec. 9 was appreciative of their efforts. “I feel sorry for them because it was so cold out and they were all out there working like crazy and making sure we were safe. It was endless hours for them and the workers trying to clean it up and get it out.”
While the highway remained closed as Tuesday morning arrived, CP reopened the rail line once all track repairs and safety inspections were completed. By Tuesday afternoon, nearly 40 hours after the derailment, fires at the site were contained while CP’s HazMat team reduced and extinguished what fires remained while working closely with the firefighters. The highway was later reopened and by 2 p.m. Hooper and his crew received the green light to head home.
“I don’t think hardly any fire department has experienced something like this,” said Hooper after reflecting on the incident. “I don’t think anybody is ever set for something like this.”
“I’ve lived there for 20 years and have seen nothing like that before,” said Melanie who added railcars were being loaded on semis this past Wednesday, Dec. 11 while the cleanup continued. “It can happen, I know that, and I am just thankful the workers were safe and everybody was safe through it all.”
Hooper agreed, “It is just a good thing no one was hurt or a life lost. I am proud of the members from our fire department and the work they did.”
As word of the derailment made its way across the country, local Member of Parliament for Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan Tom Lukiwski expressed his concern and best wishes for the first responders who dealt with the derailment. “This time we were lucky. This could have been a tragedy on the scale of the Lac Megantic derailment in Quebec. This time, thank heavens, no one has been injured so far.”
With the event occurring near Guernsey, Lukiwski felt there remains a need for more oil pipelines. “They are not only vital to the economy of Western Canada. Pipelines are also the safest way to transport oil, period.
“How many more incidents like this do we need to prove that rail is the most dangerous way to transport oil? How many more environmental disasters? How many more lives put at risk?”
The local MP said, “They say that all politics is local and this is a prime example. The Liberal government’s failure to build pipelines is not some far-away policy debate. It’s affecting the quality of life and safety of real people right here in Saskatchewan.”
As work continued at the derailment site west of Guernsey last week, CP said crews were ensuring the area would be cleaned up and restored. Crews will remain on scene for a number of weeks and an investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.
TWM Top Story - Dec. 9, 2019
Chase the Ace tops $100,00 for Heritage Centre
Wow, what a way to wrap up the year-long Chase the Ace project! On Nov. 29th when the Ace of Spades card was finally pulled from the diminished deck of cards, the confetti guns blasted away, patrons jam-packed into TB’s Bar & Grill broke into boisterous cheers and project leader Lyle Emmons along with vice-chair Glenda McArthur couldn’t contain their smiles as the colourful contents of the confetti guns rained down upon them. A huge cash jackpot to give away on the final night was a script that couldn’t have been written any better for the Chase the Ace finale.
The festivities marked the culmination of 53 consecutive weekly Friday night draws held at TB’s Bar & Grill. The inaugural Watrous Manitou Beach Heritage Centre Chase the Ace game concluded with the awarding of $54,787 in prize money! The weekly prize of $7,090 was won by Model Meats Staff, and the $47,697 Ace Jackpot was won by Trevor Soderberg of Young.
As the days rolled by during the final week of ticket sales for Chase the Ace, hundreds of individuals, all with smiles on their face and possibly visions of sugar plums, Santa and dollar signs in their mind, reached into their pockets to shell out more than $35,000 for tickets. They knew it was their last chance to purchase tickets for a shot at a major cash prize. Maybe it was the time of the season or maybe they felt good about the investment they were making in their community, regardless, they were happy and many voiced the opinion they were waiting for the fun to begin again in 2020.
Over the past number of weeks Emmons has been asked often, “How’s the game goin’?” In response, he has always expressed his deep-felt appreciation of how fully the community embraced Chase the Ace as a legitimate fundraising project, ultimately resulting in a truly successful fundraiser for our community’s new Heritage Centre. Ticket sales, metaphorically, went through the roof the past few weeks as the jackpot climbed into the $25,000 range and beyond. Ticket sales topped out at $233,100, half of which has been awarded as cash prizes, approximately 98 percent of which stayed in our extended community; the other half, minus expenses, is turned over to the Heritage Centre. Once the dust has settled, the Heritage Centre should be the recipient of approximately $110,000 from the game. Emmons also anticipates receiving a charitable gaming grant which will bump up the total proceeds from the game.
The Chase the Ace project confirmed, if it ever needed to be confirmed, our community can achieve much when individuals, groups and businesses work together for a common goal. The Heritage Centre and Chase the Ace are proof positive. Both undertakings were successful because of the team effort at a community level. Emmons swells with pride when he speaks of who comprised the Chase the Ace team of volunteers he led. The team included a committee of nine, 32 volunteer ticket sellers and two official game proxies; as well, a dozen local business locations were on board with staff to sell Chase the Ace tickets during business hours. Top to bottom, the game was a community effort. “The overall support from the community, the dedicated team of volunteers and the businesses involved was incredible,” says Emmons.
To be a player in the game, individuals had to purchase tickets. The tickets were valid only for that week’s draw. No doubt, it was the deep-set desire of the public to be a player in the game that ultimately resulted in the game’s success. Every ticket buyer is to be thanked for the support given to the game, and ultimately to the Heritage Centre.
Who bought Chase the Ace tickets? Through discussions with ticket buyers over the course of the year, Emmons discovered four types of individuals were buyers. The first type was the person tired of sending his/her money to Lotto Max or 649 and seeing no return to the community; the second individual felt the fundraising game was for a great cause (the Heritage Centre) and thus should be supported; the third type wanted a chance to win the cash jackpot (hey, there’s a little gambler in all of us!); and, for the fourth person it was the combination of all three aforementioned reasons that led to the purchase of tickets.
Whatever the reason, individuals have been lining up to buy tickets since the project kicked off at Watrous Mainline Motor Products on November 24, 2018, and good stories have been told by many of the cash prize winners. As an example, upon receiving the jackpot cheque, Trevor Soderberg told Emmons he is unfortunately one of the many potash miners hit by the recent lay-offs, so the jackpot cash was very timely, especially considering Christmas is just around the corner. Soderberg was volunteering at the dinner theatre in Young when he was informed he had won $47,697. As a way of giving back to his community, Soderberg used some of his windfall to purchase a raisin pie for $1,000 at the pie auction held in conjunction with the dinner theatre. Proceeds from the pie auction were to help cover the cost of renovations at the local community hall. Congratulations, Trevor, on many levels that’s a good news story!
A few of the 54 cash prize game winners graciously donated all or a portion of their winnings to the Heritage Centre, other winners re-invested some or all of their winnings in more tickets in hopes of achieving the big win. All support, from every ticket buyer, was much appreciated by the project’s committee.
How will the net proceeds from Chase the Ace be used? At the time of issuing the licence for the game, Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority approved how the net proceeds from the game could be spent by the Heritage Centre. The Heritage Centre completed extensive (and expensive!) renovations and purchased many furnishings prior to opening on June 28, 2019, to create an excellent facility, so the proceeds have been put to good use.
Of course, facilities such as art galleries, museums and heritage centres do, from time to time, require additional funding from donations and fundraising. As successful as the game was, the Heritage Centre Board of Directors will appreciate additional funding from time to time in the future, if it is to remain an evolving home for our community’s history, a spot where our past can be preserved for the future. To that end, Emmons has indicated he is in the process of getting a group of volunteers together to pursue a second Chase the Ace licence with the expectation of starting another game in late February or early March.
The number of individuals and businesses involved with Chase the Ace was significant. The hard-working committee members included Lionel Sproule, Glenda McArthur, Darlene Kornelsen, Al Mosewich, Susan Jabs, Tracy Wiebe, Lyle Smith, Darlene Martin and Emmons. They were joined by Dave Somers and Ruth Morningstar, the game’s two official proxies. The team of volunteer ticket sellers included Sue Alcock, Vince and Dee Armstrong, Kathy Bergen, Shelley Engele, Ray and Janis Hall, Deb Holm, Nancy Holma, Jim Hrynkiw, Mel Manson, Karen and Fraser Mark, Garnet Martin, John McArthur, Sherwin Petersen, David and Joyce Potts, Cathy Sather, Les Schuster, Bob Silzer, Denise Thoner, Murray and Bella Treble, Bing and Wendy Vanthuyne, Keith and Cindy Vanthuyne, Bryan and Kerry Van Vaals, and Wes and Connie Woiden. Locations selling Chase the Ace tickets included Watrous Pharmacy, TB’s Bar & Grill, Affinity Credit Union, Watrous Mainline Motors, Manitou Springs Resort Spa, Watrous Town Office, Centennial Ford Sales, Miz Bojangles Hair Salon, P&H Elevator, Manitou Chrysler, ODA Coffee & Wine Bar, Golf Course Clubhouse Restaurant, and the Heritage Centre.
Wow, what a way to wrap up the year-long Chase the Ace project! On Nov. 29th when the Ace of Spades card was finally pulled from the diminished deck of cards, the confetti guns blasted away, patrons jam-packed into TB’s Bar & Grill broke into boisterous cheers and project leader Lyle Emmons along with vice-chair Glenda McArthur couldn’t contain their smiles as the colourful contents of the confetti guns rained down upon them. A huge cash jackpot to give away on the final night was a script that couldn’t have been written any better for the Chase the Ace finale.
The festivities marked the culmination of 53 consecutive weekly Friday night draws held at TB’s Bar & Grill. The inaugural Watrous Manitou Beach Heritage Centre Chase the Ace game concluded with the awarding of $54,787 in prize money! The weekly prize of $7,090 was won by Model Meats Staff, and the $47,697 Ace Jackpot was won by Trevor Soderberg of Young.
As the days rolled by during the final week of ticket sales for Chase the Ace, hundreds of individuals, all with smiles on their face and possibly visions of sugar plums, Santa and dollar signs in their mind, reached into their pockets to shell out more than $35,000 for tickets. They knew it was their last chance to purchase tickets for a shot at a major cash prize. Maybe it was the time of the season or maybe they felt good about the investment they were making in their community, regardless, they were happy and many voiced the opinion they were waiting for the fun to begin again in 2020.
Over the past number of weeks Emmons has been asked often, “How’s the game goin’?” In response, he has always expressed his deep-felt appreciation of how fully the community embraced Chase the Ace as a legitimate fundraising project, ultimately resulting in a truly successful fundraiser for our community’s new Heritage Centre. Ticket sales, metaphorically, went through the roof the past few weeks as the jackpot climbed into the $25,000 range and beyond. Ticket sales topped out at $233,100, half of which has been awarded as cash prizes, approximately 98 percent of which stayed in our extended community; the other half, minus expenses, is turned over to the Heritage Centre. Once the dust has settled, the Heritage Centre should be the recipient of approximately $110,000 from the game. Emmons also anticipates receiving a charitable gaming grant which will bump up the total proceeds from the game.
The Chase the Ace project confirmed, if it ever needed to be confirmed, our community can achieve much when individuals, groups and businesses work together for a common goal. The Heritage Centre and Chase the Ace are proof positive. Both undertakings were successful because of the team effort at a community level. Emmons swells with pride when he speaks of who comprised the Chase the Ace team of volunteers he led. The team included a committee of nine, 32 volunteer ticket sellers and two official game proxies; as well, a dozen local business locations were on board with staff to sell Chase the Ace tickets during business hours. Top to bottom, the game was a community effort. “The overall support from the community, the dedicated team of volunteers and the businesses involved was incredible,” says Emmons.
To be a player in the game, individuals had to purchase tickets. The tickets were valid only for that week’s draw. No doubt, it was the deep-set desire of the public to be a player in the game that ultimately resulted in the game’s success. Every ticket buyer is to be thanked for the support given to the game, and ultimately to the Heritage Centre.
Who bought Chase the Ace tickets? Through discussions with ticket buyers over the course of the year, Emmons discovered four types of individuals were buyers. The first type was the person tired of sending his/her money to Lotto Max or 649 and seeing no return to the community; the second individual felt the fundraising game was for a great cause (the Heritage Centre) and thus should be supported; the third type wanted a chance to win the cash jackpot (hey, there’s a little gambler in all of us!); and, for the fourth person it was the combination of all three aforementioned reasons that led to the purchase of tickets.
Whatever the reason, individuals have been lining up to buy tickets since the project kicked off at Watrous Mainline Motor Products on November 24, 2018, and good stories have been told by many of the cash prize winners. As an example, upon receiving the jackpot cheque, Trevor Soderberg told Emmons he is unfortunately one of the many potash miners hit by the recent lay-offs, so the jackpot cash was very timely, especially considering Christmas is just around the corner. Soderberg was volunteering at the dinner theatre in Young when he was informed he had won $47,697. As a way of giving back to his community, Soderberg used some of his windfall to purchase a raisin pie for $1,000 at the pie auction held in conjunction with the dinner theatre. Proceeds from the pie auction were to help cover the cost of renovations at the local community hall. Congratulations, Trevor, on many levels that’s a good news story!
A few of the 54 cash prize game winners graciously donated all or a portion of their winnings to the Heritage Centre, other winners re-invested some or all of their winnings in more tickets in hopes of achieving the big win. All support, from every ticket buyer, was much appreciated by the project’s committee.
How will the net proceeds from Chase the Ace be used? At the time of issuing the licence for the game, Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority approved how the net proceeds from the game could be spent by the Heritage Centre. The Heritage Centre completed extensive (and expensive!) renovations and purchased many furnishings prior to opening on June 28, 2019, to create an excellent facility, so the proceeds have been put to good use.
Of course, facilities such as art galleries, museums and heritage centres do, from time to time, require additional funding from donations and fundraising. As successful as the game was, the Heritage Centre Board of Directors will appreciate additional funding from time to time in the future, if it is to remain an evolving home for our community’s history, a spot where our past can be preserved for the future. To that end, Emmons has indicated he is in the process of getting a group of volunteers together to pursue a second Chase the Ace licence with the expectation of starting another game in late February or early March.
The number of individuals and businesses involved with Chase the Ace was significant. The hard-working committee members included Lionel Sproule, Glenda McArthur, Darlene Kornelsen, Al Mosewich, Susan Jabs, Tracy Wiebe, Lyle Smith, Darlene Martin and Emmons. They were joined by Dave Somers and Ruth Morningstar, the game’s two official proxies. The team of volunteer ticket sellers included Sue Alcock, Vince and Dee Armstrong, Kathy Bergen, Shelley Engele, Ray and Janis Hall, Deb Holm, Nancy Holma, Jim Hrynkiw, Mel Manson, Karen and Fraser Mark, Garnet Martin, John McArthur, Sherwin Petersen, David and Joyce Potts, Cathy Sather, Les Schuster, Bob Silzer, Denise Thoner, Murray and Bella Treble, Bing and Wendy Vanthuyne, Keith and Cindy Vanthuyne, Bryan and Kerry Van Vaals, and Wes and Connie Woiden. Locations selling Chase the Ace tickets included Watrous Pharmacy, TB’s Bar & Grill, Affinity Credit Union, Watrous Mainline Motors, Manitou Springs Resort Spa, Watrous Town Office, Centennial Ford Sales, Miz Bojangles Hair Salon, P&H Elevator, Manitou Chrysler, ODA Coffee & Wine Bar, Golf Course Clubhouse Restaurant, and the Heritage Centre.
TWM Top Story - Dec. 2, 2019
Village of Young and RM of Morris acquire Conexus building
Daniel Bushman
After an announcement was made earlier this year that Conexus Credit Union would be closing nine of its branches including in Young and Drake, the company then requested offers for its buildings which were left vacant in early October. From that, a handful of municipalities like Young and the Rural Municipality of Morris have come forward to take on the facilities.
In a release, the Village of Young and the RM of Morris No. 312 announced they acquired the Conexus Credit Union building in Young. The acquisition of the building was initially spearheaded by the RM of Morris and reeve Robert Penrose said, “We needed to address our aging administrative building and this was a great opportunity to do so.”
The RM of Morris discussed the potential opportunity with the Village of Young and both decided to propose acquisition of the building for the purposes of sharing a municipal office. “The ability to acquire a newer building, share operating costs, improve service to the public, and explore future collaboration between the municipalities was appealing,” explained Young Mayor Julia Schultz.
With the acquisition, the municipalities are planning to begin the move in December and noted they will be keeping the community informed as plans and dates get finalized.
Along with the acquisition of one of its buildings in Young, Conexus said over the past few months after requesting offers from communities to acquire and use its buildings in Chamberlain, Cupar, Drake, Middle Lake, Mossbank, Spy Hill, Young and two locations in Regina – Fifth Avenue and Wallace, the company has finalized several other offers. In addition to the Village of Young and the RM of Morris taking on the Conexus building in Young, the Town of Cupar has taken on the Conexus building in Cupar, Circle Project has taken on the Fifth Avenue location in Regina, and Ignite Adult Learning has taken on the Wallace location in Regina.
Conexus said it is still finalizing details for the buildings in Chamberlain, Drake, Middle Lake, Mossbank and Spy Hill.
Daniel Bushman
After an announcement was made earlier this year that Conexus Credit Union would be closing nine of its branches including in Young and Drake, the company then requested offers for its buildings which were left vacant in early October. From that, a handful of municipalities like Young and the Rural Municipality of Morris have come forward to take on the facilities.
In a release, the Village of Young and the RM of Morris No. 312 announced they acquired the Conexus Credit Union building in Young. The acquisition of the building was initially spearheaded by the RM of Morris and reeve Robert Penrose said, “We needed to address our aging administrative building and this was a great opportunity to do so.”
The RM of Morris discussed the potential opportunity with the Village of Young and both decided to propose acquisition of the building for the purposes of sharing a municipal office. “The ability to acquire a newer building, share operating costs, improve service to the public, and explore future collaboration between the municipalities was appealing,” explained Young Mayor Julia Schultz.
With the acquisition, the municipalities are planning to begin the move in December and noted they will be keeping the community informed as plans and dates get finalized.
Along with the acquisition of one of its buildings in Young, Conexus said over the past few months after requesting offers from communities to acquire and use its buildings in Chamberlain, Cupar, Drake, Middle Lake, Mossbank, Spy Hill, Young and two locations in Regina – Fifth Avenue and Wallace, the company has finalized several other offers. In addition to the Village of Young and the RM of Morris taking on the Conexus building in Young, the Town of Cupar has taken on the Conexus building in Cupar, Circle Project has taken on the Fifth Avenue location in Regina, and Ignite Adult Learning has taken on the Wallace location in Regina.
Conexus said it is still finalizing details for the buildings in Chamberlain, Drake, Middle Lake, Mossbank and Spy Hill.
TWM Top Story - Nov. 25, 2019
Local resident receives prestigious award
Daniel Bushman
Whether she is getting behind the wheel of her family’s combine during harvest, promoting agriculture through speaking engagements across the globe or creating a conversation about mental health, Lesley Kelly has not only been an advocate for the agriculture sector but a tremendous support to many within the industry and abroad.
For her efforts and dedication through promoting agriculture to both producers and consumers alike, Kelly was recently recognized as this year’s Food and Farming Champion Award recipient at the Public Trust Summit in Saskatoon. Held in a different Canadian city each year, Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan (FFC SK) said the goal of the conference is to increase public trust in Canada’s food system and felt the Watrous resident was the perfect person to be named as this year’s Champion Award recipient.
“This was our fourth year to present the Champion Award and we were pleased to see a great deal of support from the industry,” said Clinton Monchuk, Executive Director of FFC SK. “Our panel of judges had to choose from five impressive nominations from across all areas of Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector.”
Actively farming with her family near Watrous where they grow wheat, durum, canola, barley, oats, lentils, peas and flax, Lesley said, “I’m so very honoured to receive such an award because the agriculture industry is comprised of smart and talented people doing amazing things. To be recognized among my peers, is such an honour.”
The FFC SK said Kelly has done a tremendous amount for the industry and continues to be a positive force within it. “Lesley is the head and heart behind the popular High Heels & Canola Fields blog where she dispels myths about agriculture and brings consumers and farmers together. In the past year, she has expanded her reach by co-hosting the What the Farm podcast which explores various topics in food and farming through real life conversations. Lesley’s goal in being involved in agriculture beyond the farm is to build community and bring people together, create conversation, collaborate and identify solutions that help both the industry and consumers. Lesley is also a respected leader in advocating for mental health. In addition to being part of the national #BellLetsTalk campaign, she is the co-founder of the Do More Agriculture Foundation whose mission is to break barriers and support all producers in taking care of their mental well-being.”
Not only an advocate for agriculture but a mother of two boys and the daughter of Garnet and Darlene Martin, Lesley explained the importance of agriculture and what it means to be recognized for her hard work. “Only two percent of the population are involved in agriculture and we are in a time where so many of us are interested in food and health. That also means there are so many questions as to how farming plays a huge role to what we buy in the grocery store and feed our families. Farming is no longer an occupation where you can only grow or raise food, sell your products and continue this cycle every year. Farmers are marketers, accountants, mechanics, lawyers, etc. and now communicators. Communication is needed to share why we do the things we do on our farm and answer those questions to help keep and maintain the trust we have with consumers. If we lose that trust, that is where we are seeing more regulations and our freedom of choice - the choice of how we farm dissipate, and at a cost. These regulations may not be in the best interests of the farmer and consumer.”
Recently emceeing the Saskatchewan Women in Ag conference in Saskatoon before heading to North Dakota to talk about mental health in agriculture with the North Dakota Farmers Union, Kelly said she wants to continue to help the agriculture industry by sharing different perspectives that consumers and others may not be hearing. “That might be from marketing campaigns, activists, etc. that are causing confusion and mistrust. I do that by sharing our daily life on the farm through pictures, videos and articles in hopes that it helps to answer questions and build community where people can go to talk about farming.”
It is through that sharing at various conferences, on her podcast and via social media that more and more people are taking note and learning the truth. Because of that Lesley’s efforts have not gone unnoticed by those within the agriculture industry. FFC SK said one of the nominators who submitted Kelly’s name for the Food and Farming Champion Award noted, “There is no piece of Saskatchewan agriculture that she has left untouched. Her mission of continual positivity, even in the face of adversity, is helping to bridge the gap between farmers and consumers.”
Hearing those words and realizing the impact she has had on others, Lesley said, “When I first started my blog, High Heels & Canola Fields, I didn’t know where I wanted it to go but I did have a goal. My goal is to help make a positive impact on people, online and offline and in and outside the agriculture industry, and even further, to help make the world a better place. We are in a time where our nation and world is divided, and it’s hard to find acts of kindness and love in our social media feeds, and watching the news. If I can help make someone’s day better through a photo, a funny video or a vulnerable video about life, a nice message, that to me helps our world become a little bit kinder and brighter. I’ve learned that in agriculture, our people are our greatest assets. We’re always hearing about the latest innovation or the newest technology that will advance agriculture. But in my opinion, we’ve forgotten about the people and human part. If we focus on our people, that is where we will see the greatest opportunities and advancements in agriculture. By sharing different perspectives, I try to show how there is hope, love, kindness, even in adverse situations.”
After receiving the Food and Farming Champion Award Nov. 13 which honours those who work to advocate for agriculture and inspire public trust in Saskatchewan’s food industry, Lesley said it has not only been meaningful but has acted as a reminder to continue to do what she has been doing. That is breaking down barriers, blogging, co-hosting podcasts, speaking at conferences and other engagements, helping out with the family farm and just being a positive advocate for an industry she loves.
“I have the opportunity to do some pretty amazing things, and some I never thought were possibilities. I love what I am doing and am so grateful to travel and learn and talk to others from around the world. I started small, got out of my comfort zone and tried. Tried things to see if I liked them, tried new things to learn and having the courage to do so because I love the adventure. The adventure has also been of finding my place at the farm and industry table and sharing that journey and vulnerability with others because there are so many of us finding our way too. There are times where I have thought I don’t belong and I don’t have enough expertise to be here. What I have learned is have the courage to show up and speak up and to use my gifts, skills and experience to help. Having unique gifts, skills and experience are assets at the farm and within the industry and can help your team go further.”
Daniel Bushman
Whether she is getting behind the wheel of her family’s combine during harvest, promoting agriculture through speaking engagements across the globe or creating a conversation about mental health, Lesley Kelly has not only been an advocate for the agriculture sector but a tremendous support to many within the industry and abroad.
For her efforts and dedication through promoting agriculture to both producers and consumers alike, Kelly was recently recognized as this year’s Food and Farming Champion Award recipient at the Public Trust Summit in Saskatoon. Held in a different Canadian city each year, Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan (FFC SK) said the goal of the conference is to increase public trust in Canada’s food system and felt the Watrous resident was the perfect person to be named as this year’s Champion Award recipient.
“This was our fourth year to present the Champion Award and we were pleased to see a great deal of support from the industry,” said Clinton Monchuk, Executive Director of FFC SK. “Our panel of judges had to choose from five impressive nominations from across all areas of Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector.”
Actively farming with her family near Watrous where they grow wheat, durum, canola, barley, oats, lentils, peas and flax, Lesley said, “I’m so very honoured to receive such an award because the agriculture industry is comprised of smart and talented people doing amazing things. To be recognized among my peers, is such an honour.”
The FFC SK said Kelly has done a tremendous amount for the industry and continues to be a positive force within it. “Lesley is the head and heart behind the popular High Heels & Canola Fields blog where she dispels myths about agriculture and brings consumers and farmers together. In the past year, she has expanded her reach by co-hosting the What the Farm podcast which explores various topics in food and farming through real life conversations. Lesley’s goal in being involved in agriculture beyond the farm is to build community and bring people together, create conversation, collaborate and identify solutions that help both the industry and consumers. Lesley is also a respected leader in advocating for mental health. In addition to being part of the national #BellLetsTalk campaign, she is the co-founder of the Do More Agriculture Foundation whose mission is to break barriers and support all producers in taking care of their mental well-being.”
Not only an advocate for agriculture but a mother of two boys and the daughter of Garnet and Darlene Martin, Lesley explained the importance of agriculture and what it means to be recognized for her hard work. “Only two percent of the population are involved in agriculture and we are in a time where so many of us are interested in food and health. That also means there are so many questions as to how farming plays a huge role to what we buy in the grocery store and feed our families. Farming is no longer an occupation where you can only grow or raise food, sell your products and continue this cycle every year. Farmers are marketers, accountants, mechanics, lawyers, etc. and now communicators. Communication is needed to share why we do the things we do on our farm and answer those questions to help keep and maintain the trust we have with consumers. If we lose that trust, that is where we are seeing more regulations and our freedom of choice - the choice of how we farm dissipate, and at a cost. These regulations may not be in the best interests of the farmer and consumer.”
Recently emceeing the Saskatchewan Women in Ag conference in Saskatoon before heading to North Dakota to talk about mental health in agriculture with the North Dakota Farmers Union, Kelly said she wants to continue to help the agriculture industry by sharing different perspectives that consumers and others may not be hearing. “That might be from marketing campaigns, activists, etc. that are causing confusion and mistrust. I do that by sharing our daily life on the farm through pictures, videos and articles in hopes that it helps to answer questions and build community where people can go to talk about farming.”
It is through that sharing at various conferences, on her podcast and via social media that more and more people are taking note and learning the truth. Because of that Lesley’s efforts have not gone unnoticed by those within the agriculture industry. FFC SK said one of the nominators who submitted Kelly’s name for the Food and Farming Champion Award noted, “There is no piece of Saskatchewan agriculture that she has left untouched. Her mission of continual positivity, even in the face of adversity, is helping to bridge the gap between farmers and consumers.”
Hearing those words and realizing the impact she has had on others, Lesley said, “When I first started my blog, High Heels & Canola Fields, I didn’t know where I wanted it to go but I did have a goal. My goal is to help make a positive impact on people, online and offline and in and outside the agriculture industry, and even further, to help make the world a better place. We are in a time where our nation and world is divided, and it’s hard to find acts of kindness and love in our social media feeds, and watching the news. If I can help make someone’s day better through a photo, a funny video or a vulnerable video about life, a nice message, that to me helps our world become a little bit kinder and brighter. I’ve learned that in agriculture, our people are our greatest assets. We’re always hearing about the latest innovation or the newest technology that will advance agriculture. But in my opinion, we’ve forgotten about the people and human part. If we focus on our people, that is where we will see the greatest opportunities and advancements in agriculture. By sharing different perspectives, I try to show how there is hope, love, kindness, even in adverse situations.”
After receiving the Food and Farming Champion Award Nov. 13 which honours those who work to advocate for agriculture and inspire public trust in Saskatchewan’s food industry, Lesley said it has not only been meaningful but has acted as a reminder to continue to do what she has been doing. That is breaking down barriers, blogging, co-hosting podcasts, speaking at conferences and other engagements, helping out with the family farm and just being a positive advocate for an industry she loves.
“I have the opportunity to do some pretty amazing things, and some I never thought were possibilities. I love what I am doing and am so grateful to travel and learn and talk to others from around the world. I started small, got out of my comfort zone and tried. Tried things to see if I liked them, tried new things to learn and having the courage to do so because I love the adventure. The adventure has also been of finding my place at the farm and industry table and sharing that journey and vulnerability with others because there are so many of us finding our way too. There are times where I have thought I don’t belong and I don’t have enough expertise to be here. What I have learned is have the courage to show up and speak up and to use my gifts, skills and experience to help. Having unique gifts, skills and experience are assets at the farm and within the industry and can help your team go further.”
TWM Top Story - Nov. 18, 2019
Food bank receives tremendous support as holiday season arrives
Daniel Bushman
Not only did the Watrous and District Food Bank receive an overwhelming response in 2019 after experiencing a deficit in 2018, but that response has allowed the non-profit organization to continue to purchase food items throughout the year. While monetary and food donations are still welcome, especially with the upcoming Christmas hampers, at its annual meeting Oct. 22, members of the food bank were pleased with how the year has gone.
Chair of the Watrous and District Food Bank Darren Holland said numerous people, organizations and businesses stepped up extending their generosity through monetary and food donations. “Our revenue essentially doubled from the year previous and we had so many new people support the food bank. Additional sponsors and rural municipalities also jumped on board and personal donations went up about three times over the previous year. Having all of that added help has made it easier for us financially to be able to purchase food items for those using the food bank.”
Breaking down the numbers from the financial report, this year expenses were up slightly from 2018 going from $21,491.25 to $23,658.28 with the greatest amount spent on food and goods for hampers ($20,394.01). As for the rest of this year’s expenses, $222.06 went to administrative, $315 was allocated for membership/registration fees, $261.25 went to advertising, $611.62 was for insurance, $12 was allocated for bank fees, $1,382.85 went towards utilities and $459.49 was spent on building supplies.
On the income side, the food bank saw a substantial increase after a call was issued last year for additional support. In 2018, the Watrous and District Food Bank had an income of $16,593.64 and in 2019 the total income was $32,224.74. Comparing the two years, personal donations saw the largest increase going from $4,229.05 in 2018 to $12,026.45 in 2019. Holland said it was incredible to see so many people lend a hand this past year. In addition, local businesses provided $4,597.23 in 2019, up from $2,127.06 last year. The Rotary/Legion/Social Clubs contributed $6,598.65 in 2019 compared to $4,886.66 last year while corporate donations also saw an increase this year going from $3,432.50 in 2018 to $4,163 in 2019. Another new area of revenue came from local rural municipalities as they contributed $3,000 this year. The Food Banks of Saskatchewan also provided $1,624.11, local churches/similar groups contributed $194.35 and the food bank had $20.95 in interest.
Overall, from July 2018 to June 2019, the food bank had a total income of $32,224.74 and total expenses of $23,658.28. “Thank you to the many individuals and businesses that continue to donate funds and a variety of perishable and non-perishable food items.”
Also noted at this year’s annual meeting was the addition of two new board members. Joining Holland, treasurer Amanda Dezotell, secretary Glenda Cox McArthur, Judy Dunne, Erin Wolff and Amanda McArthur are Mary Kratchmer and Colleen Hunt.
Serving clients in the Watrous, Manitou Beach, Young, Simpson, Imperial, Nokomis, Viscount and Liberty areas every second and fourth Wednesday of each month, Holland said overall the food bank distributes about 65 hampers per month. Helping prepare and distribute those hampers are 18 volunteers who also purchase groceries, stock shelves and lend a hand where needed. Holland said the food bank greatly appreciates their help including assistance from Interlake who comes on a regular basis to pack dry hampers at the food bank’s location at 107 3rd Ave. E.
In addition to packing and distributing its regular hampers, for the annual Christmas hampers, last year the food bank handed out 84, up from 72 the year before. “About half of those homes that applied last year included children (154 adults and 87 children).”
Now with the holiday season approaching once again, the food bank is not only planning to provide special Christmas hampers but will also be offering gently used clothing. “One of the special projects that we are doing this year is providing clothes. Gwen Deneiko has been coordinating the project and when clients come to pick up their Christmas hampers they can go through Gwen’s Boutique and pick up some household items and gently used clothing. If you might have something you feel could be useful to a family whether it is clothes like jackets, toques, mitts, shirts or any practical items you are welcome to donate those.”
Another unique idea the food bank tried last year was sponsor a hamper. Holland said they received an overwhelming response from the community and businesses who donated funds to sponsor hampers for $135. “People can individually sponsor a hamper, join other families and split the cost or get together with fellow employees or as an organization and buy a family Christmas hamper. We thought we would give it a try last year and see how it would go and we were so grateful to everyone who participated and decided to do it again this year.”
Distributed Dec. 21, anyone in need of receiving a Christmas hamper this year can let the food bank know by Dec. 11. Packed inside the hampers, recipients will get either a turkey or ham, one dozen buns, a jug of milk, one dozen eggs, five pounds of Christmas oranges, 10 pounds of potatoes, carrots and onions, stuffing, Kraft Dinner, pasta or rice, Sidekicks or potato, a box of crackers, a breakfast item, cans of soup, canned meats, meals in a can, canned fruit and vegetables, pasta sauce, juice, cranberries, a cake mix, one tub of margarine, peanut butter and a box of chocolates. For hampers distributed to families with children, toys will be included in those as well.
People who prefer not to sponsor an entire hamper but want to help financially can do so either by mailing funds to Box 794 in Watrous or they can contact the food bank as well. Other initiatives are also being planned this year including the Watrous Emergency Services Stuff the Ambulance campaign which will be taking place Wednesday, Dec. 4. In conjunction with the Co-op Food Store in Watrous, members of the Watrous Emergency Services will be collecting donations in the Co-op food store parking lot during the early part of the evening. The goal is to stuff the ambulance as many times as possible with food donations which will be used to help fill Christmas hampers.
“Over the years, we have had great community support and continual efforts made by many businesses through food, toy and monetary donations and we know that will continue again this year. Along with the Stuff the Ambulance initiative, the Saskatoon Co-op food store in Watrous will be providing us with a cash donation to go towards the purchase of hams this year while Integra Tire in Watrous will be holding its annual Toy Drive where people can buy toys and drop them off at the business. People can also purchase toys at The Bargain Shop or toiletries at
Watrous Pharmacy for the hampers.”
Seeing the community coming together each year, Holland said it has become an opportunity to spread some holiday cheer. “It has made the Christmas season very meaningful to some who have been a part of helping out in some way and it is also meaningful for those who receive the hampers as well.”
Daniel Bushman
Not only did the Watrous and District Food Bank receive an overwhelming response in 2019 after experiencing a deficit in 2018, but that response has allowed the non-profit organization to continue to purchase food items throughout the year. While monetary and food donations are still welcome, especially with the upcoming Christmas hampers, at its annual meeting Oct. 22, members of the food bank were pleased with how the year has gone.
Chair of the Watrous and District Food Bank Darren Holland said numerous people, organizations and businesses stepped up extending their generosity through monetary and food donations. “Our revenue essentially doubled from the year previous and we had so many new people support the food bank. Additional sponsors and rural municipalities also jumped on board and personal donations went up about three times over the previous year. Having all of that added help has made it easier for us financially to be able to purchase food items for those using the food bank.”
Breaking down the numbers from the financial report, this year expenses were up slightly from 2018 going from $21,491.25 to $23,658.28 with the greatest amount spent on food and goods for hampers ($20,394.01). As for the rest of this year’s expenses, $222.06 went to administrative, $315 was allocated for membership/registration fees, $261.25 went to advertising, $611.62 was for insurance, $12 was allocated for bank fees, $1,382.85 went towards utilities and $459.49 was spent on building supplies.
On the income side, the food bank saw a substantial increase after a call was issued last year for additional support. In 2018, the Watrous and District Food Bank had an income of $16,593.64 and in 2019 the total income was $32,224.74. Comparing the two years, personal donations saw the largest increase going from $4,229.05 in 2018 to $12,026.45 in 2019. Holland said it was incredible to see so many people lend a hand this past year. In addition, local businesses provided $4,597.23 in 2019, up from $2,127.06 last year. The Rotary/Legion/Social Clubs contributed $6,598.65 in 2019 compared to $4,886.66 last year while corporate donations also saw an increase this year going from $3,432.50 in 2018 to $4,163 in 2019. Another new area of revenue came from local rural municipalities as they contributed $3,000 this year. The Food Banks of Saskatchewan also provided $1,624.11, local churches/similar groups contributed $194.35 and the food bank had $20.95 in interest.
Overall, from July 2018 to June 2019, the food bank had a total income of $32,224.74 and total expenses of $23,658.28. “Thank you to the many individuals and businesses that continue to donate funds and a variety of perishable and non-perishable food items.”
Also noted at this year’s annual meeting was the addition of two new board members. Joining Holland, treasurer Amanda Dezotell, secretary Glenda Cox McArthur, Judy Dunne, Erin Wolff and Amanda McArthur are Mary Kratchmer and Colleen Hunt.
Serving clients in the Watrous, Manitou Beach, Young, Simpson, Imperial, Nokomis, Viscount and Liberty areas every second and fourth Wednesday of each month, Holland said overall the food bank distributes about 65 hampers per month. Helping prepare and distribute those hampers are 18 volunteers who also purchase groceries, stock shelves and lend a hand where needed. Holland said the food bank greatly appreciates their help including assistance from Interlake who comes on a regular basis to pack dry hampers at the food bank’s location at 107 3rd Ave. E.
In addition to packing and distributing its regular hampers, for the annual Christmas hampers, last year the food bank handed out 84, up from 72 the year before. “About half of those homes that applied last year included children (154 adults and 87 children).”
Now with the holiday season approaching once again, the food bank is not only planning to provide special Christmas hampers but will also be offering gently used clothing. “One of the special projects that we are doing this year is providing clothes. Gwen Deneiko has been coordinating the project and when clients come to pick up their Christmas hampers they can go through Gwen’s Boutique and pick up some household items and gently used clothing. If you might have something you feel could be useful to a family whether it is clothes like jackets, toques, mitts, shirts or any practical items you are welcome to donate those.”
Another unique idea the food bank tried last year was sponsor a hamper. Holland said they received an overwhelming response from the community and businesses who donated funds to sponsor hampers for $135. “People can individually sponsor a hamper, join other families and split the cost or get together with fellow employees or as an organization and buy a family Christmas hamper. We thought we would give it a try last year and see how it would go and we were so grateful to everyone who participated and decided to do it again this year.”
Distributed Dec. 21, anyone in need of receiving a Christmas hamper this year can let the food bank know by Dec. 11. Packed inside the hampers, recipients will get either a turkey or ham, one dozen buns, a jug of milk, one dozen eggs, five pounds of Christmas oranges, 10 pounds of potatoes, carrots and onions, stuffing, Kraft Dinner, pasta or rice, Sidekicks or potato, a box of crackers, a breakfast item, cans of soup, canned meats, meals in a can, canned fruit and vegetables, pasta sauce, juice, cranberries, a cake mix, one tub of margarine, peanut butter and a box of chocolates. For hampers distributed to families with children, toys will be included in those as well.
People who prefer not to sponsor an entire hamper but want to help financially can do so either by mailing funds to Box 794 in Watrous or they can contact the food bank as well. Other initiatives are also being planned this year including the Watrous Emergency Services Stuff the Ambulance campaign which will be taking place Wednesday, Dec. 4. In conjunction with the Co-op Food Store in Watrous, members of the Watrous Emergency Services will be collecting donations in the Co-op food store parking lot during the early part of the evening. The goal is to stuff the ambulance as many times as possible with food donations which will be used to help fill Christmas hampers.
“Over the years, we have had great community support and continual efforts made by many businesses through food, toy and monetary donations and we know that will continue again this year. Along with the Stuff the Ambulance initiative, the Saskatoon Co-op food store in Watrous will be providing us with a cash donation to go towards the purchase of hams this year while Integra Tire in Watrous will be holding its annual Toy Drive where people can buy toys and drop them off at the business. People can also purchase toys at The Bargain Shop or toiletries at
Watrous Pharmacy for the hampers.”
Seeing the community coming together each year, Holland said it has become an opportunity to spread some holiday cheer. “It has made the Christmas season very meaningful to some who have been a part of helping out in some way and it is also meaningful for those who receive the hampers as well.”
TWM Top Story - Nov. 11, 2019
The importance of Remembrance Day
Daniel Bushman
Canadians from coast to coast are pausing Nov. 11 to remember and honour those who fought and continue to fight for our freedom. It was at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month 101 years ago when the Armistice was signed signalling the end of World War I. In communities like Watrous, people will observe a moment of silence Nov. 11 to mark the sacrifice of the many who have fallen in the service of their country, and to acknowledge the courage of those who still serve.
Along with the community Remembrance Day ceremony taking place at the Watrous Civic Centre Nov. 11, local schools also held events of their own. President of the Lanigan Legion Branch #143 Jim Hatcher said being able to hold Remembrance Day ceremonies in schools and local communities each year not only honours those who fought for our freedom but it also plays an important role in teaching youth about the significance of the day and the sacrifices made.
“Unless we do that, the youth don’t really know what Remembrance Day is all about,” said Hatcher. “We try to impress upon them that people sacrificed very big for us and for our freedom that we enjoy today. If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t have that freedom. We want young people to know that because things can be forgotten.”
Like Hatcher, Nokomis Legion Branch #290 President Doug Potter said it is integral that Canadians honour those who provided us with our freedom. “They basically guaranteed our freedom. If it wasn’t for them who knows what things would be like today. The bravery of those men going ashore and into the unknown, they fought and died for our freedom. I encourage everyone to attend a Remembrance Day ceremony.”
A reminder of the past is also on display at the Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre. A free Remembrance Day exhibit was created in honour of the local men and women who served and helped during the wars. Kathy Bergen with the Heritage Centre said people could stop by the building on Main Street in Watrous Nov. 8 and 9 to view the exhibit and can also see it after the Remembrance Day service Nov. 11 and for the remainder of the month.
The exhibit includes items from the since disbanded Watrous Legion, a Wall of Remembrance honouring four people who served from Watrous and Manitou Beach, an activity area for kids, and other additional items related to people who served from the area.
Bergen felt it was important to honour the locals who served and fought for our freedom and the exhibit provides a glimpse into that history from WWI and WWII.
In addition to acknowledging the significance of Remembrance Day through ceremonies and exhibits, the annual Poppy Campaign also took place across Canada. According to the Royal Canadian Legion, every year from the last Friday of October to Nov. 11, tens of millions of Canadians wear a poppy as a visual pledge to honour Canada’s Veterans and remember those who sacrificed for the freedoms people enjoy today.
In Watrous, the Nokomis Legion Branch #290 drops off poppy boxes at a number of local places and businesses. With 70 members nationally involved with the Nokomis Legion Branch #290, Potter said they serve the Nokomis, Govan, Lockwood and Watrous area.
Like other legions within the country including Nokomis, Hatcher said Lanigan Legion Branch #143 also tries its best to make a difference in its area and hopes people would consider joining a branch. “Right now it is easier than ever to become a member. Because the numbers are decreasing so badly at branches, anyone can be a member. In Lanigan we meet once a month and we go through our local business and conduct things that we are able to try and do in the community. We put money back into the community through our poppy fund and our main objective is to look after our Veterans.”
Along with the fundraisers, visiting local schools and conducting monthly meetings, Hatcher said Lanigan Branch #143 members also organize the annual Remembrance Day service in Lanigan and a flag day in June where they decorate local Veterans’ graves. “That is super important when we put that flag on their graves that day. It is a showing of respect and acknowledgement of their service and what they did for us.”According to the Canadian War Museum, the war to end all wars 101 years ago left a massive impression on the country. Close to 61,000 Canadians were killed during the war, and another 172,000 wounded. Many more returned home broken in mind and body. From the small colony of Newfoundland 1,305 were killed and several thousand wounded.
In total, the Canadian War Museum said some 619,636 Canadians enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the war and approximately 424,000 served overseas. Of these men and women, 59,544 members of the CEF died during the war, 51,748 of them as a result of enemy action. The small Royal Canadian Navy reported 150 deaths from all causes. No accurate tabulation exists for Canadians who served as volunteers in the Royal Navy or British Army. An additional 1,388 Canadians died while serving with the British Flying Services.
Of the more than 172,000 Canadians who reported wounds during the war, medical authorities classified approximately 138,000 as battle casualties. The rest were injuries suffered away from the war zone. Of the wounded who survived, 3,461 men and one woman had a limb amputated. No reliable method existed for tracking or treating psychological casualties, but authorities identified over 9,000 Canadians as suffering from “shell shock”.
This was an enormous contribution from a population of just under eight million people in 1914. Approximately seven percent of the total population of Canada was in uniform at some point during the war, and hundreds of thousands of additional Canadians worked on the home front in support of the war.
Reflecting on the impact of Remembrance Day, Hatcher said he lost an uncle who was 19 years old during WWII. “He was in the trenches and it was his time to move, he stood up and it was over. I had a lot of uncles who were in the forces and only one did not come back home. It is important to take time to remember those who have fought for our freedom and continue to fight for our freedom. From soldiers that have gone before us to the officers and surviving Veterans today, we pause to remember and honour them. I am 78 years old and have lived in this free country for all of these years. It has a lot to do with the people who fought and made it possible for me to live here along with everybody else who are able to enjoy what we have. It could have been so much different. There are still things around the world that aren’t right and we are still losing people in peacekeeping efforts. Hopefully we can have our governments and others do things to keep peace in this world. The chance to live in this country and enjoy our freedom is pretty awesome.”
Daniel Bushman
Canadians from coast to coast are pausing Nov. 11 to remember and honour those who fought and continue to fight for our freedom. It was at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month 101 years ago when the Armistice was signed signalling the end of World War I. In communities like Watrous, people will observe a moment of silence Nov. 11 to mark the sacrifice of the many who have fallen in the service of their country, and to acknowledge the courage of those who still serve.
Along with the community Remembrance Day ceremony taking place at the Watrous Civic Centre Nov. 11, local schools also held events of their own. President of the Lanigan Legion Branch #143 Jim Hatcher said being able to hold Remembrance Day ceremonies in schools and local communities each year not only honours those who fought for our freedom but it also plays an important role in teaching youth about the significance of the day and the sacrifices made.
“Unless we do that, the youth don’t really know what Remembrance Day is all about,” said Hatcher. “We try to impress upon them that people sacrificed very big for us and for our freedom that we enjoy today. If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t have that freedom. We want young people to know that because things can be forgotten.”
Like Hatcher, Nokomis Legion Branch #290 President Doug Potter said it is integral that Canadians honour those who provided us with our freedom. “They basically guaranteed our freedom. If it wasn’t for them who knows what things would be like today. The bravery of those men going ashore and into the unknown, they fought and died for our freedom. I encourage everyone to attend a Remembrance Day ceremony.”
A reminder of the past is also on display at the Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre. A free Remembrance Day exhibit was created in honour of the local men and women who served and helped during the wars. Kathy Bergen with the Heritage Centre said people could stop by the building on Main Street in Watrous Nov. 8 and 9 to view the exhibit and can also see it after the Remembrance Day service Nov. 11 and for the remainder of the month.
The exhibit includes items from the since disbanded Watrous Legion, a Wall of Remembrance honouring four people who served from Watrous and Manitou Beach, an activity area for kids, and other additional items related to people who served from the area.
Bergen felt it was important to honour the locals who served and fought for our freedom and the exhibit provides a glimpse into that history from WWI and WWII.
In addition to acknowledging the significance of Remembrance Day through ceremonies and exhibits, the annual Poppy Campaign also took place across Canada. According to the Royal Canadian Legion, every year from the last Friday of October to Nov. 11, tens of millions of Canadians wear a poppy as a visual pledge to honour Canada’s Veterans and remember those who sacrificed for the freedoms people enjoy today.
In Watrous, the Nokomis Legion Branch #290 drops off poppy boxes at a number of local places and businesses. With 70 members nationally involved with the Nokomis Legion Branch #290, Potter said they serve the Nokomis, Govan, Lockwood and Watrous area.
Like other legions within the country including Nokomis, Hatcher said Lanigan Legion Branch #143 also tries its best to make a difference in its area and hopes people would consider joining a branch. “Right now it is easier than ever to become a member. Because the numbers are decreasing so badly at branches, anyone can be a member. In Lanigan we meet once a month and we go through our local business and conduct things that we are able to try and do in the community. We put money back into the community through our poppy fund and our main objective is to look after our Veterans.”
Along with the fundraisers, visiting local schools and conducting monthly meetings, Hatcher said Lanigan Branch #143 members also organize the annual Remembrance Day service in Lanigan and a flag day in June where they decorate local Veterans’ graves. “That is super important when we put that flag on their graves that day. It is a showing of respect and acknowledgement of their service and what they did for us.”According to the Canadian War Museum, the war to end all wars 101 years ago left a massive impression on the country. Close to 61,000 Canadians were killed during the war, and another 172,000 wounded. Many more returned home broken in mind and body. From the small colony of Newfoundland 1,305 were killed and several thousand wounded.
In total, the Canadian War Museum said some 619,636 Canadians enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the war and approximately 424,000 served overseas. Of these men and women, 59,544 members of the CEF died during the war, 51,748 of them as a result of enemy action. The small Royal Canadian Navy reported 150 deaths from all causes. No accurate tabulation exists for Canadians who served as volunteers in the Royal Navy or British Army. An additional 1,388 Canadians died while serving with the British Flying Services.
Of the more than 172,000 Canadians who reported wounds during the war, medical authorities classified approximately 138,000 as battle casualties. The rest were injuries suffered away from the war zone. Of the wounded who survived, 3,461 men and one woman had a limb amputated. No reliable method existed for tracking or treating psychological casualties, but authorities identified over 9,000 Canadians as suffering from “shell shock”.
This was an enormous contribution from a population of just under eight million people in 1914. Approximately seven percent of the total population of Canada was in uniform at some point during the war, and hundreds of thousands of additional Canadians worked on the home front in support of the war.
Reflecting on the impact of Remembrance Day, Hatcher said he lost an uncle who was 19 years old during WWII. “He was in the trenches and it was his time to move, he stood up and it was over. I had a lot of uncles who were in the forces and only one did not come back home. It is important to take time to remember those who have fought for our freedom and continue to fight for our freedom. From soldiers that have gone before us to the officers and surviving Veterans today, we pause to remember and honour them. I am 78 years old and have lived in this free country for all of these years. It has a lot to do with the people who fought and made it possible for me to live here along with everybody else who are able to enjoy what we have. It could have been so much different. There are still things around the world that aren’t right and we are still losing people in peacekeeping efforts. Hopefully we can have our governments and others do things to keep peace in this world. The chance to live in this country and enjoy our freedom is pretty awesome.”
TWM Top Story - Nov. 4, 2019
Plans in the works to create a multi-million dollar Manitou Oasis Village
Once built it will become one of the largest local area developments in recent memory, rivalling similar projects within Western Canada. The multi-phase, multi-million dollar Manitou Oasis Village which would be developed at Manitou Beach has been billed as a retirement living project and health centre. In addition it will also offer retail space, a community courtyard, state-of-the-art fitness aqua facility and 41 underground parking stalls.
Over 75 interested residents from the area filled the community hall at Manitou Beach to hear about the project during an informational meeting Oct. 29. With the meeting chaired by Community Development Officer Brendan Manz with introductions by former Manitou Beach Mayor Eric Upshall, founder of Health Haven Holdings Ltd. Michael Byrne along with his senior project manager Dan Guenther, architect Paul Blaser and marketing strategist Daria Malin were in attendance to share about the substantial project.
“After doing extensive research over the past six months, I heard a lot of feedback from people saying they were interested about it and have realized just how much work has already gone into this project,” said Byrne who developed the concept. “It was very heartwarming to see this many people here and their positive responses. I think we have the ability to build community and this is what this is all about, it is community. I want to impress that this is not my project, this is our project.”
Michael who is from Edmonton and owns a cabin at Manitou Beach shared about his vision and his passion to create the upscale facility near the shores of Little Manitou Lake. “I fell in love with Manitou Beach,” said Byrne who has extensive experience within the financial services and capital market industry. “In 2006 my wife and I heard about the place on a Sunday. I looked it up and we came on a Wednesday and bought a cottage the following Sunday. I have always felt incredibly comfortable here and it is just a great place.”
Already putting in a tremendous amount of work and investment on the project, Byrne felt the resort community is the perfect fit for a development of this magnitude. “There is demand for upscale seniors’ housing and a growing demand for a healthy lifestyle environment. The natural health attributes at Manitou have been recognized for more than 100 years. There has also been an increase in popularity at the beach seeing a 20 percent increase of visitors between 2018 and 2019 and tourist numbers not seen in over 80 years. So why not Manitou Beach?”
The founder of the project noted health retreat destination vacations are a growing market with retreats and resorts across Canada and the United States. “This place will provide individuals with a learning and healing experience; an educational opportunity with regards to healthy meals, natural remedies, alternative medicine, the healing properties of Manitou Lake, and more.”
Comparing market data from a number of other senior housing complexes in Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Calgary, Byrne said the seniors’ housing at Manitou Beach will provide the same type of amenities as those in larger cities and will serve a growing demographic who want to lead independent, active and healthy lifestyles with their peers.
Looking at building Manitou Oasis Village in phases, Byrne said as demand grows they would expand on those phases. As of right now though, for the $18.9 million Phase 1 project, he is planning for 33 healing haven long-term units and six health vacation short term stays for people to enjoy. Meals and cleaning would also be part of those long-term units which would surround a courtyard. “It is going to be created as a village within the village.”
Currently Michael said a feasibility study has been done, land identified, a preliminary building design and rendering. Development costs have been completed and a corporate structure and financing model established. The .826 acre site which the complex would be built on has also been secured and is located across the street from the Burger Buoy and Manitou Springs Mineral Spa and Resort. At four storeys tall, the founder said it will not be a spa featuring pedicures or facials but more aimed towards a healing and therapeutic type centre.
“It is basically about taking full advantage of the natural attributes of the water, the air and the location of Manitou. It is so quiet you can hear the silence here. Manitou Beach is a diverse community of individuals from all walks of life and all professions and when they are here, everyone here is here for the same reason. It is a nice place to live. You have people here who have moved from all over Western Canada and beyond who have either built a house or fixed up a cottage. All I need to do is in the next year or so is find 33 people. I think I can do that.”
But before the 33 people are able to reside at Manitou Oasis Village, in order for Phase 1 to be successful, Byrne said the community has to show its support at the ground level. “That is why I structured this opportunity for individuals and businesses within Watrous and Manitou Beach to invest at the ground level. We are offering the opportunity to 25 people or entities who would be willing to invest $25,000 each and from there we proceed to the next level of development. A project of this magnitude may seem overwhelming and hard to comprehend to some but the communities of Watrous and Manitou Beach deserve it. As Paul Blaser, the architect stated, there is no doubt in Michael’s mind that he will see this project through.”
If all goes according to plan, those shovels on the multi-million dollar facility could be in the ground as early as mid-2020. After submitting a building permit, blueprint production and begin engineering site testing, construction would then commence on Phase 1. Phase 1 which would see the U-shape design and therapeutic amenities created also incorporates retail space which would be placed along the front of the building facing the lake. A target of completing construction would be 2021 while completion of Phase 2 is scheduled for late 2023/early 2024. The overall project could near or surpass the $40 million range.
Michael said there will be a significant amount of building materials and resources required, much of which can be accessed through local contractors and suppliers. “So far I have been able to hire my team who are all from Saskatchewan and am continuing to look forward on expanding that. I also welcome any questions on the project and people can reach me at 1-780-722-5221 or email michaelb@healthhavenholdings.com.”
Word of this development and of this magnitude has been welcome news for Manitou Beach Mayor Gerald Worobec. Attending the Oct. 29 meeting, Worobec said, “It is almost difficult to put the words together on what the future holds for the village on this project. It is incredible. We are looking at a potential $40 million complex going up in our little village. It is going to be the envy of Western Canada and beyond. To be a part of it is incredible and what Micheal and his team are doing is incredible. We are very fortunate to be a part of it.”
Noting the development would be a “tremendous anchor to keep the resort community viable and keep it going,” Worobec said the village would have a few things to do with its infrastructure but the mayor said accommodating the project is very workable. “We can make sure they are good to go with water and sewer and whatever else we need to supply. This project is going to stimulate so many other things. It is going to help us, it is going to help Watrous, the main street, housing sales and provide jobs. It is endless what it will do for us.”
Over 75 interested residents from the area filled the community hall at Manitou Beach to hear about the project during an informational meeting Oct. 29. With the meeting chaired by Community Development Officer Brendan Manz with introductions by former Manitou Beach Mayor Eric Upshall, founder of Health Haven Holdings Ltd. Michael Byrne along with his senior project manager Dan Guenther, architect Paul Blaser and marketing strategist Daria Malin were in attendance to share about the substantial project.
“After doing extensive research over the past six months, I heard a lot of feedback from people saying they were interested about it and have realized just how much work has already gone into this project,” said Byrne who developed the concept. “It was very heartwarming to see this many people here and their positive responses. I think we have the ability to build community and this is what this is all about, it is community. I want to impress that this is not my project, this is our project.”
Michael who is from Edmonton and owns a cabin at Manitou Beach shared about his vision and his passion to create the upscale facility near the shores of Little Manitou Lake. “I fell in love with Manitou Beach,” said Byrne who has extensive experience within the financial services and capital market industry. “In 2006 my wife and I heard about the place on a Sunday. I looked it up and we came on a Wednesday and bought a cottage the following Sunday. I have always felt incredibly comfortable here and it is just a great place.”
Already putting in a tremendous amount of work and investment on the project, Byrne felt the resort community is the perfect fit for a development of this magnitude. “There is demand for upscale seniors’ housing and a growing demand for a healthy lifestyle environment. The natural health attributes at Manitou have been recognized for more than 100 years. There has also been an increase in popularity at the beach seeing a 20 percent increase of visitors between 2018 and 2019 and tourist numbers not seen in over 80 years. So why not Manitou Beach?”
The founder of the project noted health retreat destination vacations are a growing market with retreats and resorts across Canada and the United States. “This place will provide individuals with a learning and healing experience; an educational opportunity with regards to healthy meals, natural remedies, alternative medicine, the healing properties of Manitou Lake, and more.”
Comparing market data from a number of other senior housing complexes in Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Calgary, Byrne said the seniors’ housing at Manitou Beach will provide the same type of amenities as those in larger cities and will serve a growing demographic who want to lead independent, active and healthy lifestyles with their peers.
Looking at building Manitou Oasis Village in phases, Byrne said as demand grows they would expand on those phases. As of right now though, for the $18.9 million Phase 1 project, he is planning for 33 healing haven long-term units and six health vacation short term stays for people to enjoy. Meals and cleaning would also be part of those long-term units which would surround a courtyard. “It is going to be created as a village within the village.”
Currently Michael said a feasibility study has been done, land identified, a preliminary building design and rendering. Development costs have been completed and a corporate structure and financing model established. The .826 acre site which the complex would be built on has also been secured and is located across the street from the Burger Buoy and Manitou Springs Mineral Spa and Resort. At four storeys tall, the founder said it will not be a spa featuring pedicures or facials but more aimed towards a healing and therapeutic type centre.
“It is basically about taking full advantage of the natural attributes of the water, the air and the location of Manitou. It is so quiet you can hear the silence here. Manitou Beach is a diverse community of individuals from all walks of life and all professions and when they are here, everyone here is here for the same reason. It is a nice place to live. You have people here who have moved from all over Western Canada and beyond who have either built a house or fixed up a cottage. All I need to do is in the next year or so is find 33 people. I think I can do that.”
But before the 33 people are able to reside at Manitou Oasis Village, in order for Phase 1 to be successful, Byrne said the community has to show its support at the ground level. “That is why I structured this opportunity for individuals and businesses within Watrous and Manitou Beach to invest at the ground level. We are offering the opportunity to 25 people or entities who would be willing to invest $25,000 each and from there we proceed to the next level of development. A project of this magnitude may seem overwhelming and hard to comprehend to some but the communities of Watrous and Manitou Beach deserve it. As Paul Blaser, the architect stated, there is no doubt in Michael’s mind that he will see this project through.”
If all goes according to plan, those shovels on the multi-million dollar facility could be in the ground as early as mid-2020. After submitting a building permit, blueprint production and begin engineering site testing, construction would then commence on Phase 1. Phase 1 which would see the U-shape design and therapeutic amenities created also incorporates retail space which would be placed along the front of the building facing the lake. A target of completing construction would be 2021 while completion of Phase 2 is scheduled for late 2023/early 2024. The overall project could near or surpass the $40 million range.
Michael said there will be a significant amount of building materials and resources required, much of which can be accessed through local contractors and suppliers. “So far I have been able to hire my team who are all from Saskatchewan and am continuing to look forward on expanding that. I also welcome any questions on the project and people can reach me at 1-780-722-5221 or email michaelb@healthhavenholdings.com.”
Word of this development and of this magnitude has been welcome news for Manitou Beach Mayor Gerald Worobec. Attending the Oct. 29 meeting, Worobec said, “It is almost difficult to put the words together on what the future holds for the village on this project. It is incredible. We are looking at a potential $40 million complex going up in our little village. It is going to be the envy of Western Canada and beyond. To be a part of it is incredible and what Micheal and his team are doing is incredible. We are very fortunate to be a part of it.”
Noting the development would be a “tremendous anchor to keep the resort community viable and keep it going,” Worobec said the village would have a few things to do with its infrastructure but the mayor said accommodating the project is very workable. “We can make sure they are good to go with water and sewer and whatever else we need to supply. This project is going to stimulate so many other things. It is going to help us, it is going to help Watrous, the main street, housing sales and provide jobs. It is endless what it will do for us.”
TWM Top Story - Oct. 28, 2019
Liberals take minority government; Conservatives sweep Sask.
Daniel Bushman
Encouraging people to vote and have their say, nearly 18 million Canadians from coast to coast cast their ballots as part of this year’s federal election and at the end of the day a Liberal minority government was voted into power.
After having a majority during the last federal election, the Liberal Party received 157 seats this time around followed by the Conservative Party which gained seats for a total of 121. After a lackluster showing in the previous election, the Bloc Québécois attained 32 seats this time followed by the NDP - New Democratic Party with 24, the Green Party with three and one Independent seat was won by former Liberal Jody Wilson-Raybould.
While the Liberal Party won the most seats, overall it was the Conservative Party receiving the most number of votes according to Elections Canada with just over 6.1 million (34.4 percent) compared to just over 5.9 million (33.1 percent) that the Liberal Party garnered. The NDP were third overall in total votes with just over 2.8 million (15.9 percent).
In Saskatchewan, it was a wave of blue as the Conservative Party took all 14 ridings with 366,611 of the 570,505 votes (64.3 percent). Elections Canada data indicated the NDP were second in the number of votes with 111,379 (19.5 percent) followed by the Liberal Party with 66,031 (11.6 percent), the Green Party with 14,417 (2.5 percent) and the People’s Party of Canada with 10,211 (1.8 percent).
Locally in the Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan riding voter turnout was approximately 73.49 percent (nationally it was approximately 65.95 percent) with a total of 43,273 votes cast. Of those votes in the local riding, 30,801 or 71.2 percent went to incumbent Conservative Tom Lukiwski. The NDP’s Talon Regent was second with 7,394 votes (17.1 percent) followed by the Liberal Party’s Cecilia Melanson with 2,383 votes (5.5 percent), the People’s Party of Canada’s Chey Craik with 1,565 votes (3.6 percent), and the Green Party’s Gillian Walker with 1,130 votes (2.6 percent).
While he was hoping to see the Conservative Party take over as the government, Lukiwski was pleased with the results in his riding and in Saskatchewan.
“I felt very confident going into the election. I had a great campaign team with hundreds and hundreds of volunteers who came out so we were feeling really optimistic about our chances.”
Stating he was a bit surprised to see such a high majority of people (71.2 percent) voting for him, Lukiwski added, “I think it was just a reflection of the fact that people were so disenchanted with the federal government with Justin Trudeau and the anger was palpable. It was beyond anything I’d ever seen before in my political career. That just paid off I think in the election results. It just ended up that people wanted a change and wanted Justin Trudeau to basically start respecting Western Canada again and that showed up in the results.”
With the Conservative Party claiming all 14 seats in Saskatchewan and 33 of 34 seats in Alberta, Lukiwski felt a message was sent to Parliament Hill. “That is a very, very strong statement I think to Mr. Trudeau that he has to start looking at and respecting and listening to the concerns of Western Canada, in particular our two provinces.”
As part of the Conservative stronghold in Saskatchewan and Alberta along with the increase in seats by the Bloc Québécois in Quebec, Lukiwski said it appears as though there is more division rising up in the country.
“I believe in a united Canada and I believe in all Canadians from every region in Canada should be able to participate in all aspects of our economy but Mr. Trudeau has brought this division on by himself in his attacks against Western Canadian premiers, for example.
“I also noted within hours of the election results there were a lot of ‘Wexit’ messages going on and I think the last time I saw there were over 55,000 or 60,000 people that signed up within an hour to a ‘Wexit’ page,” continued Lukiwski who shared about the potential separatist movement in the West. “That doesn’t look like to me people are calming down. If anything, their anger may be even higher now than it was prior to the election.”
Remaining the official opposition, the MP also admitted his party still has work left to be done, especially in Ontario and Quebec when it comes time to try and form government when the next election is called. However with a Liberal minority government, Lukiwski feels the next few years are going to be very challenging for that party and its leader. “The proof will be in the pudding if he is truly willing to work on behalf of all Canadians but in particular Western Canada then yes, perhaps this government can survive a little longer than would be normal but I’ve yet to see him demonstrate in any meaningful way that he really is listening and wants to work and support the oil and gas sector in Western Canada.”
As for Lukiwski, he plans to continue to try and represent his constituents as well as he can. “My approach has always been, I don’t care who voted for me or who didn’t vote for me, if one of my constituents needs help and comes to me for assistance I am going to give them every bit of assistance I possibly can.”
On a national level, the MP said he will remain supportive of his party’s leader Andrew Scheer and the Conservative caucus while putting pressure on the prime minister. “Hopefully we will be able to force him into taking action on some of these key files like the oil and gas file that would make a huge difference in the lives of Canadians out here in the West. We are hurting out here. The oil and gas sector is hurting and people are continuing to suffer financially. We need a way to get our product to tide water and unless Mr. Trudeau does an abrupt about face, that is not going to happen anytime soon.”
With the federal election over, a different type of election results poured in from Elections Canada as more than 1.1 million elementary and secondary school students participated in Student Vote Canada 2019. After learning about the electoral process, researching the parties and platforms, and debating Canada’s future, students cast their ballots for the official candidates running in their school’s riding. As of 3 p.m. Oct. 22 a total of 1,187,987 votes were reported from 7,981 schools, with results from 338 federal ridings.
From those, the Liberal Party took 22.3 percent of the popular vote and won 112 seats, forming a minority government. Justin Trudeau won in his riding of Papineau. The NDP formed the official opposition with 24.8 percent of the popular vote and 98 seats. Jagmeet Singh won his seat in Burnaby South. The Conservative Party took 25.1 percent of the popular vote and won 93 seats. Andrew Scheer won his seat in Regina-Qu’Appelle. The Green Party took 18.1 percent of the popular vote and won 27 seats. Elizabeth May won her seat in Saanich-Gulf Islands. The Bloc Québécois took 1.3 percent of the popular vote and won 12 seats. Yves-François Blanchet won his seat in Beloeil-Chambly.
In Saskatchewan, 45,249 students participated in Student Vote Canada 2019 and of the 14 seats up for grabs in the province, the Conservatives took 11 while the NDP won three.
Daniel Bushman
Encouraging people to vote and have their say, nearly 18 million Canadians from coast to coast cast their ballots as part of this year’s federal election and at the end of the day a Liberal minority government was voted into power.
After having a majority during the last federal election, the Liberal Party received 157 seats this time around followed by the Conservative Party which gained seats for a total of 121. After a lackluster showing in the previous election, the Bloc Québécois attained 32 seats this time followed by the NDP - New Democratic Party with 24, the Green Party with three and one Independent seat was won by former Liberal Jody Wilson-Raybould.
While the Liberal Party won the most seats, overall it was the Conservative Party receiving the most number of votes according to Elections Canada with just over 6.1 million (34.4 percent) compared to just over 5.9 million (33.1 percent) that the Liberal Party garnered. The NDP were third overall in total votes with just over 2.8 million (15.9 percent).
In Saskatchewan, it was a wave of blue as the Conservative Party took all 14 ridings with 366,611 of the 570,505 votes (64.3 percent). Elections Canada data indicated the NDP were second in the number of votes with 111,379 (19.5 percent) followed by the Liberal Party with 66,031 (11.6 percent), the Green Party with 14,417 (2.5 percent) and the People’s Party of Canada with 10,211 (1.8 percent).
Locally in the Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan riding voter turnout was approximately 73.49 percent (nationally it was approximately 65.95 percent) with a total of 43,273 votes cast. Of those votes in the local riding, 30,801 or 71.2 percent went to incumbent Conservative Tom Lukiwski. The NDP’s Talon Regent was second with 7,394 votes (17.1 percent) followed by the Liberal Party’s Cecilia Melanson with 2,383 votes (5.5 percent), the People’s Party of Canada’s Chey Craik with 1,565 votes (3.6 percent), and the Green Party’s Gillian Walker with 1,130 votes (2.6 percent).
While he was hoping to see the Conservative Party take over as the government, Lukiwski was pleased with the results in his riding and in Saskatchewan.
“I felt very confident going into the election. I had a great campaign team with hundreds and hundreds of volunteers who came out so we were feeling really optimistic about our chances.”
Stating he was a bit surprised to see such a high majority of people (71.2 percent) voting for him, Lukiwski added, “I think it was just a reflection of the fact that people were so disenchanted with the federal government with Justin Trudeau and the anger was palpable. It was beyond anything I’d ever seen before in my political career. That just paid off I think in the election results. It just ended up that people wanted a change and wanted Justin Trudeau to basically start respecting Western Canada again and that showed up in the results.”
With the Conservative Party claiming all 14 seats in Saskatchewan and 33 of 34 seats in Alberta, Lukiwski felt a message was sent to Parliament Hill. “That is a very, very strong statement I think to Mr. Trudeau that he has to start looking at and respecting and listening to the concerns of Western Canada, in particular our two provinces.”
As part of the Conservative stronghold in Saskatchewan and Alberta along with the increase in seats by the Bloc Québécois in Quebec, Lukiwski said it appears as though there is more division rising up in the country.
“I believe in a united Canada and I believe in all Canadians from every region in Canada should be able to participate in all aspects of our economy but Mr. Trudeau has brought this division on by himself in his attacks against Western Canadian premiers, for example.
“I also noted within hours of the election results there were a lot of ‘Wexit’ messages going on and I think the last time I saw there were over 55,000 or 60,000 people that signed up within an hour to a ‘Wexit’ page,” continued Lukiwski who shared about the potential separatist movement in the West. “That doesn’t look like to me people are calming down. If anything, their anger may be even higher now than it was prior to the election.”
Remaining the official opposition, the MP also admitted his party still has work left to be done, especially in Ontario and Quebec when it comes time to try and form government when the next election is called. However with a Liberal minority government, Lukiwski feels the next few years are going to be very challenging for that party and its leader. “The proof will be in the pudding if he is truly willing to work on behalf of all Canadians but in particular Western Canada then yes, perhaps this government can survive a little longer than would be normal but I’ve yet to see him demonstrate in any meaningful way that he really is listening and wants to work and support the oil and gas sector in Western Canada.”
As for Lukiwski, he plans to continue to try and represent his constituents as well as he can. “My approach has always been, I don’t care who voted for me or who didn’t vote for me, if one of my constituents needs help and comes to me for assistance I am going to give them every bit of assistance I possibly can.”
On a national level, the MP said he will remain supportive of his party’s leader Andrew Scheer and the Conservative caucus while putting pressure on the prime minister. “Hopefully we will be able to force him into taking action on some of these key files like the oil and gas file that would make a huge difference in the lives of Canadians out here in the West. We are hurting out here. The oil and gas sector is hurting and people are continuing to suffer financially. We need a way to get our product to tide water and unless Mr. Trudeau does an abrupt about face, that is not going to happen anytime soon.”
With the federal election over, a different type of election results poured in from Elections Canada as more than 1.1 million elementary and secondary school students participated in Student Vote Canada 2019. After learning about the electoral process, researching the parties and platforms, and debating Canada’s future, students cast their ballots for the official candidates running in their school’s riding. As of 3 p.m. Oct. 22 a total of 1,187,987 votes were reported from 7,981 schools, with results from 338 federal ridings.
From those, the Liberal Party took 22.3 percent of the popular vote and won 112 seats, forming a minority government. Justin Trudeau won in his riding of Papineau. The NDP formed the official opposition with 24.8 percent of the popular vote and 98 seats. Jagmeet Singh won his seat in Burnaby South. The Conservative Party took 25.1 percent of the popular vote and won 93 seats. Andrew Scheer won his seat in Regina-Qu’Appelle. The Green Party took 18.1 percent of the popular vote and won 27 seats. Elizabeth May won her seat in Saanich-Gulf Islands. The Bloc Québécois took 1.3 percent of the popular vote and won 12 seats. Yves-François Blanchet won his seat in Beloeil-Chambly.
In Saskatchewan, 45,249 students participated in Student Vote Canada 2019 and of the 14 seats up for grabs in the province, the Conservatives took 11 while the NDP won three.
TWM Top Story - Oct. 21, 2019
Local couple thankful for remarkable recovery
Daniel Bushman
As Albert and Kathleen Kimmig spent Thanksgiving together at their farm north of Manitou Beach, Kathleen knew that things could have been very different. Driving from Watrous to her farm on May 5, 2018, smoke billowed off in the distance. What Kathleen did not realize until she arrived home was the smoke was coming from a grass fire on the yard with her husband unconscious next to it. Uncertain if Albert would survive 17 months ago, as this Thanksgiving approached, Albert not only left Manitou Lodge, walking out the doors himself but has reunited with Kathleen back at the farm.
While it was a monumental occasion Sept. 30 as Albert received hugs and cheers from staff and residents at Manitou Lodge in Watrous the road to being discharged from the long-term care facility, a very rare feat in itself, was a long one.
On a spring day in May, the wind picked up at the Kimmig farm north of Manitou Beach causing a grass fire to spread quickly. With the aid of the wind, the blaze engulfed a shed, two vehicles, a water truck with a tank, a fence and a row of trees. Albert who tried to extinguish the fire was overcome by the smoke and after receiving extensive burns to his body, the retired farmer had to be taken from the hospital in Watrous by STARS to Saskatoon and then to Edmonton to the burn unit. With 40 percent burn coverage to his body with second and third degree burns it was determined by doctors that Albert’s chance for survival was slim.
In isolation, Albert was bandaged from head to toe as he received 24 hour care. A tube was inserted into his mouth so he could obtain fluids and Albert would later undergo many hours of skin grafting. Specialists, nurses and aides spent considerable hours with Albert including a world-renowned burn expert in an attempt to have him recover.
“We are very grateful for the expertise of these wonderful workers and their skill knowledge,” said Kathleen who continued, “Albert had many skin grafts and surgeries and his right knee was burned to the bone. Albert has no kneecap and a flap transplant from his thigh now replaces as a covering. Microsurgery to connect arteries took place over eight hours and to date that site is still healing.”
Because Albert could not swallow, he also lost numerous pounds and was unable to speak during his time at the burn unit. “It was not until this summer a Saskatoon neurologist advised us that smoke inhalation had harmed his esophagus and had cut off oxygen to his brain.”
However, remarkably, after all of the surgeries, skin grafts and baby steps forward, Albert slowly began to eat soft food and thickened liquids. Gradually the now 79-year-old was able to eat solids and Kathleen recalled bringing him a burger which he indicated there was nothing finer.
Improving weekly, Albert was released from the burn unit in Edmonton in September 2018 and was checked in at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon. He underwent further healing and physiotherapy before relocating to City Hospital in Saskatoon for more intense therapy.
“Several times he believed he could walk and staff would find him on the floor.”
Persevering and determined not to give up, Albert was transported closer to home by the end of October when he transferred to the hospital at the Watrous District Health Complex and then to Manitou Lodge until his release almost a year later on Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. Through his long and painful journey, Kathleen said the support he received was incredible. “He appreciated very much the encouragement, cards, letters and visits from friends and relatives and those from the Watrous area. The support received, whether financial, over the phone, prayers and personal visits were encouragement that kept hopes alive. The response through financial help we gratefully received assisted in all the expenses of being away from our community. Local assistance to the airport for rides and to home again, to house sitting and pet care, phone calls and hugs were much appreciated. We have such a responsive community towards needs and different issues that can only be met by smaller communities such as ours. We are certainly blessed.”
Now back at the farm for a couple of weeks since leaving Manitou Lodge, Kathleen said Albert loves to be busy but has not quite learned to pace himself. “His appetite is excellent, his short-term memory still a little slow and I believe I could serve the same meal to him two days in a row and he wouldn’t know. But when he recalls decades back, he is still ‘as sharp as a tack’ as the saying goes. He just completed taking apart, repairing and putting back together a heavy-duty stand mixer I have had since the 1970s.”
While Albert tinkers around the house, Kathleen admits her husband will miss having an audience for his stories while he was at the lodge. But just being back at home and able to walk by himself was virtually unimaginable when the road to recovery first began 17 months ago.
“We are so thankful and blessed that we know and give credit to our Father God. We are also very mindful of the skills of the medical profession and staff who partnered in Albert’s recovery. I was amazed at Albert’s determination to walk again against all odds. I commented to a relative that “what did we really expect when we prayed?” Prayer changes things. One of his plastic surgeons in Edmonton had given Albert a 30 to 40 percent chance of survival and commented later that he was surprised by Albert’s strong will power and his faith to overcome obstacles when it was known he probably would not survive. All things through our God is possible, if we believe. Thanksgiving praise is very prominent in our response to this miraculous recovery.”
Daniel Bushman
As Albert and Kathleen Kimmig spent Thanksgiving together at their farm north of Manitou Beach, Kathleen knew that things could have been very different. Driving from Watrous to her farm on May 5, 2018, smoke billowed off in the distance. What Kathleen did not realize until she arrived home was the smoke was coming from a grass fire on the yard with her husband unconscious next to it. Uncertain if Albert would survive 17 months ago, as this Thanksgiving approached, Albert not only left Manitou Lodge, walking out the doors himself but has reunited with Kathleen back at the farm.
While it was a monumental occasion Sept. 30 as Albert received hugs and cheers from staff and residents at Manitou Lodge in Watrous the road to being discharged from the long-term care facility, a very rare feat in itself, was a long one.
On a spring day in May, the wind picked up at the Kimmig farm north of Manitou Beach causing a grass fire to spread quickly. With the aid of the wind, the blaze engulfed a shed, two vehicles, a water truck with a tank, a fence and a row of trees. Albert who tried to extinguish the fire was overcome by the smoke and after receiving extensive burns to his body, the retired farmer had to be taken from the hospital in Watrous by STARS to Saskatoon and then to Edmonton to the burn unit. With 40 percent burn coverage to his body with second and third degree burns it was determined by doctors that Albert’s chance for survival was slim.
In isolation, Albert was bandaged from head to toe as he received 24 hour care. A tube was inserted into his mouth so he could obtain fluids and Albert would later undergo many hours of skin grafting. Specialists, nurses and aides spent considerable hours with Albert including a world-renowned burn expert in an attempt to have him recover.
“We are very grateful for the expertise of these wonderful workers and their skill knowledge,” said Kathleen who continued, “Albert had many skin grafts and surgeries and his right knee was burned to the bone. Albert has no kneecap and a flap transplant from his thigh now replaces as a covering. Microsurgery to connect arteries took place over eight hours and to date that site is still healing.”
Because Albert could not swallow, he also lost numerous pounds and was unable to speak during his time at the burn unit. “It was not until this summer a Saskatoon neurologist advised us that smoke inhalation had harmed his esophagus and had cut off oxygen to his brain.”
However, remarkably, after all of the surgeries, skin grafts and baby steps forward, Albert slowly began to eat soft food and thickened liquids. Gradually the now 79-year-old was able to eat solids and Kathleen recalled bringing him a burger which he indicated there was nothing finer.
Improving weekly, Albert was released from the burn unit in Edmonton in September 2018 and was checked in at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon. He underwent further healing and physiotherapy before relocating to City Hospital in Saskatoon for more intense therapy.
“Several times he believed he could walk and staff would find him on the floor.”
Persevering and determined not to give up, Albert was transported closer to home by the end of October when he transferred to the hospital at the Watrous District Health Complex and then to Manitou Lodge until his release almost a year later on Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. Through his long and painful journey, Kathleen said the support he received was incredible. “He appreciated very much the encouragement, cards, letters and visits from friends and relatives and those from the Watrous area. The support received, whether financial, over the phone, prayers and personal visits were encouragement that kept hopes alive. The response through financial help we gratefully received assisted in all the expenses of being away from our community. Local assistance to the airport for rides and to home again, to house sitting and pet care, phone calls and hugs were much appreciated. We have such a responsive community towards needs and different issues that can only be met by smaller communities such as ours. We are certainly blessed.”
Now back at the farm for a couple of weeks since leaving Manitou Lodge, Kathleen said Albert loves to be busy but has not quite learned to pace himself. “His appetite is excellent, his short-term memory still a little slow and I believe I could serve the same meal to him two days in a row and he wouldn’t know. But when he recalls decades back, he is still ‘as sharp as a tack’ as the saying goes. He just completed taking apart, repairing and putting back together a heavy-duty stand mixer I have had since the 1970s.”
While Albert tinkers around the house, Kathleen admits her husband will miss having an audience for his stories while he was at the lodge. But just being back at home and able to walk by himself was virtually unimaginable when the road to recovery first began 17 months ago.
“We are so thankful and blessed that we know and give credit to our Father God. We are also very mindful of the skills of the medical profession and staff who partnered in Albert’s recovery. I was amazed at Albert’s determination to walk again against all odds. I commented to a relative that “what did we really expect when we prayed?” Prayer changes things. One of his plastic surgeons in Edmonton had given Albert a 30 to 40 percent chance of survival and commented later that he was surprised by Albert’s strong will power and his faith to overcome obstacles when it was known he probably would not survive. All things through our God is possible, if we believe. Thanksgiving praise is very prominent in our response to this miraculous recovery.”
TWM Top Story - Oct. 14, 2019
Tree planting along Rotary Walking Trail a real community effort
Daniel Bushman
With an opportunity to beautify phase two of the Rotary Walking Trail in Watrous, help the environment and come together as a community, Tree Canada, local businesses, organizations and students from Watrous Elementary School joined forces to plant over 200 trees.
Part of an initiative between Home Hardware and Tree Canada, the Sept. 26 project involved other local groups like the Watrous Rotary, Green Acres Greenhouse and the Town of Watrous. With 110 trees to be planted through a Tree Canada and Home Hardware grant, Watrous Rotary provided a matching grant to cover an additional 110 trees for a total of 220.
Despite a cold September morning, the group of volunteers, local Rotarians, students and staff from Watrous Elementary School and staff members from Watrous Home Hardware got down to work. Leading up to the plant, Tree Canada Community Advisor for Saskatchewan, Kelvin Kelly was on hand to educate students about the importance of the trees to the environment.
Using an example of the weight of a volunteer student, Kelly noted an average sized tree, through a process of “photosynthesis” will absorb and store approximately 22 kg (48 lbs.) of carbon per year. That same tree as it goes through 42 years of its life would eventually store/sequester 2,000 pounds or one ton of carbon. Add another 219 trees to that total and in 42 years, with the 220 trees that were planted along the trail, they would have captured and stored approximately 440,000 pounds or 220 tons of carbon over that span. A real eye-opening figure, after explaining the value and benefit of the trees that would be planted in Watrous, Kelly and Watrous Elementary School Principal Patrick Borsa along with the Gr. 6 and 7 classes and their teachers braved the elements and headed to the trail.
Borsa said about 65 students from both grades had a blast planting the trees despite the weather. They also enjoyed a pizza lunch afterwards courtesy of Home Hardware. “It was just a really good opportunity for our school and students to give something back to the community that will be part of it for years. We often have our community reach out to help our school, and this was a nice way to give a little back.”
Al Mosewich with the Watrous Rotary who has been integral in seeing the walking trail come to fruition over the years said phase two of the trail and the tree planting has really become a community project. “This is not just the Rotary’s project, it is the kids in school helping plant the trees; the generous donors supporting the path and providing these trees; Rotarian Jim Coulter helping mark the spots off for the trees to go; Dion Tarasoff and the Town of Watrous crew digging the holes; the Mierau family who are donating a gazebo to be placed nearby phase two of the trail; the Regier family who allowed us to put the trail on their land and also combine the crop before we planted these trees; Mel Penrose from the greenhouse who has staged everything for us and who has provided the mulch; Ken Bushman at Home Hardware who took the initiative to apply for the grant through Tree Canada for these trees; and the list goes on. I get excited to see our Rotarians, volunteers, staff from Home Hardware and the students and staff from the elementary school come together for a project like this. It is definitely a community effort and our local Rotarian Dan Mierau was really the workhorse behind this project for us. It all came together and it really shows the world how people can make a difference together.”
Mel Penrose from Green Acres Greenhouse said it has been such a terrific initiative that Home Hardware and the Watrous Rotary Club have taken. “They’ve accomplished something that will be appreciated by residents and visitors in Watrous for a long time. And involving the elementary school kids helps to foster that community pride and involvement for the future.”
Watching everything take place and seeing the camaraderie between everyone, Kelly noted how tremendous the support was for the project. “It is excellent to see everyone out here working together for such a good cause.”
As Tree Canada marked 27 years in their partnership with Home Hardware, Kelly said Home Hardware has been an integral part of helping the environment during that time as the two have joined forces on a national level to plant trees across the country. Over those years, Home Hardware and Tree Canada have planted more than 26,905 trees in Canadian communities valued at over $1 million.
As a whole, since 1992 Tree Canada has planted more than 82 million trees, greened more than 660 schoolyards, helped restore places hit by natural disasters and brought together urban forestry experts greening cities all across Canada.
“Here in Watrous, we really appreciate Ken and his team for stepping up and providing beauty, shelter and protection along the trail. This is the second year that Ken and the Home Hardware in Watrous have participated with the program, joining many other stores from across the country.”
Dealer/co-owner of Watrous Home Hardware Ken Bushman said it was great to see local groups come together to support a worthy cause including having the students and teachers from the elementary school come and join them.
“I am glad Home Hardware was able to help provide the trees to be planted along the trail and I was also reminded at how great the community of Watrous is. To have our staff, volunteers, local Rotarians and the Gr. 6 and 7 classes come together and plant the trees was really great to see. Mel Penrose from Green Acres was great in getting all of the trees together for us and we really appreciated all of her help. The support from everyone involved with this project from before we arrived to plant the trees until after they were all in the ground has been amazing.”
Daniel Bushman
With an opportunity to beautify phase two of the Rotary Walking Trail in Watrous, help the environment and come together as a community, Tree Canada, local businesses, organizations and students from Watrous Elementary School joined forces to plant over 200 trees.
Part of an initiative between Home Hardware and Tree Canada, the Sept. 26 project involved other local groups like the Watrous Rotary, Green Acres Greenhouse and the Town of Watrous. With 110 trees to be planted through a Tree Canada and Home Hardware grant, Watrous Rotary provided a matching grant to cover an additional 110 trees for a total of 220.
Despite a cold September morning, the group of volunteers, local Rotarians, students and staff from Watrous Elementary School and staff members from Watrous Home Hardware got down to work. Leading up to the plant, Tree Canada Community Advisor for Saskatchewan, Kelvin Kelly was on hand to educate students about the importance of the trees to the environment.
Using an example of the weight of a volunteer student, Kelly noted an average sized tree, through a process of “photosynthesis” will absorb and store approximately 22 kg (48 lbs.) of carbon per year. That same tree as it goes through 42 years of its life would eventually store/sequester 2,000 pounds or one ton of carbon. Add another 219 trees to that total and in 42 years, with the 220 trees that were planted along the trail, they would have captured and stored approximately 440,000 pounds or 220 tons of carbon over that span. A real eye-opening figure, after explaining the value and benefit of the trees that would be planted in Watrous, Kelly and Watrous Elementary School Principal Patrick Borsa along with the Gr. 6 and 7 classes and their teachers braved the elements and headed to the trail.
Borsa said about 65 students from both grades had a blast planting the trees despite the weather. They also enjoyed a pizza lunch afterwards courtesy of Home Hardware. “It was just a really good opportunity for our school and students to give something back to the community that will be part of it for years. We often have our community reach out to help our school, and this was a nice way to give a little back.”
Al Mosewich with the Watrous Rotary who has been integral in seeing the walking trail come to fruition over the years said phase two of the trail and the tree planting has really become a community project. “This is not just the Rotary’s project, it is the kids in school helping plant the trees; the generous donors supporting the path and providing these trees; Rotarian Jim Coulter helping mark the spots off for the trees to go; Dion Tarasoff and the Town of Watrous crew digging the holes; the Mierau family who are donating a gazebo to be placed nearby phase two of the trail; the Regier family who allowed us to put the trail on their land and also combine the crop before we planted these trees; Mel Penrose from the greenhouse who has staged everything for us and who has provided the mulch; Ken Bushman at Home Hardware who took the initiative to apply for the grant through Tree Canada for these trees; and the list goes on. I get excited to see our Rotarians, volunteers, staff from Home Hardware and the students and staff from the elementary school come together for a project like this. It is definitely a community effort and our local Rotarian Dan Mierau was really the workhorse behind this project for us. It all came together and it really shows the world how people can make a difference together.”
Mel Penrose from Green Acres Greenhouse said it has been such a terrific initiative that Home Hardware and the Watrous Rotary Club have taken. “They’ve accomplished something that will be appreciated by residents and visitors in Watrous for a long time. And involving the elementary school kids helps to foster that community pride and involvement for the future.”
Watching everything take place and seeing the camaraderie between everyone, Kelly noted how tremendous the support was for the project. “It is excellent to see everyone out here working together for such a good cause.”
As Tree Canada marked 27 years in their partnership with Home Hardware, Kelly said Home Hardware has been an integral part of helping the environment during that time as the two have joined forces on a national level to plant trees across the country. Over those years, Home Hardware and Tree Canada have planted more than 26,905 trees in Canadian communities valued at over $1 million.
As a whole, since 1992 Tree Canada has planted more than 82 million trees, greened more than 660 schoolyards, helped restore places hit by natural disasters and brought together urban forestry experts greening cities all across Canada.
“Here in Watrous, we really appreciate Ken and his team for stepping up and providing beauty, shelter and protection along the trail. This is the second year that Ken and the Home Hardware in Watrous have participated with the program, joining many other stores from across the country.”
Dealer/co-owner of Watrous Home Hardware Ken Bushman said it was great to see local groups come together to support a worthy cause including having the students and teachers from the elementary school come and join them.
“I am glad Home Hardware was able to help provide the trees to be planted along the trail and I was also reminded at how great the community of Watrous is. To have our staff, volunteers, local Rotarians and the Gr. 6 and 7 classes come together and plant the trees was really great to see. Mel Penrose from Green Acres was great in getting all of the trees together for us and we really appreciated all of her help. The support from everyone involved with this project from before we arrived to plant the trees until after they were all in the ground has been amazing.”
TWM Top Story - Oct. 7, 2019
WES to replace demolished playground equipment
Daniel Bushman
After many years of providing a place for adventures and enjoyment, one of the play structures at Watrous Elementary School was taken down. Because of recent safety concerns, Horizon School Division elected to remove the aging structure Sept. 21, leaving a spot for new equipment in the future.
Contacted by The Watrous Manitou, Horizon School Division issued the following statement regarding the demolition: “Our facilities services staff are trained in playground safety, and perform regular inspections of each of our playground structures, and sites, on a monthly basis. Part of the inspection is to review components of the play structure and identify as to whether they may require repair, or replacement. Often, the components of the playground are not repairable, and no suitable replacement parts can be sourced because the components are quite old and the overall unit is at end of life.
In the case of Watrous Elementary, they have been busy upgrading their play structures for some time now. Their oldest unit, which was removed following discussions with the school, and the principal, had reached a point where a substantial amount of the apparatus was no longer acceptably safe, and so the decision was made to decommission it.
In general, if repairs are able to be completed by facilities staff, or by external playground contractors, we will opt to conduct the repairs, and do our best to maintain them in the best possible condition. We are at a stage however, where we have a few of these types of playgrounds that are 20 plus years old, made mostly of wood, and are at end of life.”
Built in 1993 with an estimated cost of $18,300 the playground equipment at Watrous Elementary School had served students, local residents and visitors for a number of years. According to an article in the May 24, 1993 edition of The Watrous Manitou that project moved forward in three phases with $6,500 of the funds initially raised coming from various school activities like the book fair, field day food sales, and Christmas concert. In the spring of 1992, staff from the school along with two members from the local school board made the decision to push ahead on the project and a landscape design was created. Numerous businesses and individuals also lent a hand financially and through volunteering to see the project come to fruition. Along with a play structure, the project also included sand around the equipment’s perimeter and an adjacent grassy area.
Now 26 years later current Watrous Elementary School Principal Patrick Borsa said with the recent demolition the school’s plan moving forward is to look at different companies who are selling playground equipment to see what could be placed at the elementary school. Borsa indicated the school would like to form a committee with members of the school’s community council (SCC) and then create a community playground committee similar to what was done a few years ago when the elementary school added new equipment to the northwest end of the grounds. Wanting the equipment to be used by students and kids from the community and those visiting town, Borsa said once a committee is formed, fundraising initiatives will take place in addition to a recent fundraiser that the school conducted for the future playground project.
Daniel Bushman
After many years of providing a place for adventures and enjoyment, one of the play structures at Watrous Elementary School was taken down. Because of recent safety concerns, Horizon School Division elected to remove the aging structure Sept. 21, leaving a spot for new equipment in the future.
Contacted by The Watrous Manitou, Horizon School Division issued the following statement regarding the demolition: “Our facilities services staff are trained in playground safety, and perform regular inspections of each of our playground structures, and sites, on a monthly basis. Part of the inspection is to review components of the play structure and identify as to whether they may require repair, or replacement. Often, the components of the playground are not repairable, and no suitable replacement parts can be sourced because the components are quite old and the overall unit is at end of life.
In the case of Watrous Elementary, they have been busy upgrading their play structures for some time now. Their oldest unit, which was removed following discussions with the school, and the principal, had reached a point where a substantial amount of the apparatus was no longer acceptably safe, and so the decision was made to decommission it.
In general, if repairs are able to be completed by facilities staff, or by external playground contractors, we will opt to conduct the repairs, and do our best to maintain them in the best possible condition. We are at a stage however, where we have a few of these types of playgrounds that are 20 plus years old, made mostly of wood, and are at end of life.”
Built in 1993 with an estimated cost of $18,300 the playground equipment at Watrous Elementary School had served students, local residents and visitors for a number of years. According to an article in the May 24, 1993 edition of The Watrous Manitou that project moved forward in three phases with $6,500 of the funds initially raised coming from various school activities like the book fair, field day food sales, and Christmas concert. In the spring of 1992, staff from the school along with two members from the local school board made the decision to push ahead on the project and a landscape design was created. Numerous businesses and individuals also lent a hand financially and through volunteering to see the project come to fruition. Along with a play structure, the project also included sand around the equipment’s perimeter and an adjacent grassy area.
Now 26 years later current Watrous Elementary School Principal Patrick Borsa said with the recent demolition the school’s plan moving forward is to look at different companies who are selling playground equipment to see what could be placed at the elementary school. Borsa indicated the school would like to form a committee with members of the school’s community council (SCC) and then create a community playground committee similar to what was done a few years ago when the elementary school added new equipment to the northwest end of the grounds. Wanting the equipment to be used by students and kids from the community and those visiting town, Borsa said once a committee is formed, fundraising initiatives will take place in addition to a recent fundraiser that the school conducted for the future playground project.
TWM Top Story - Sept. 30, 2019
Local primary health teams welcome new physicians
Daniel Bushman
There will be a couple of new faces to the health teams in Watrous, Imperial and Lanigan as a pair of physicians will be filling vacancies at each. After an announcement was made in March by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) that there would be a few changes to both teams this fall, Angela Luron with SHA said starting this week those changes will start taking place.
In Lanigan, beginning Sept. 30, Dr. Joseph Akinjobi will be joined by physician Dr. Marianne Awad to provide physician services at the Lanigan Integrated Hospital and the Lanigan and District Medical Clinic. Awad is taking over from Dr. Chander Sharma who is transferring to Watrous to take on the role vacated at the end of July by Dr. Hammad Akhtar.
Luron said Awad obtained her medical degree in 2007 from Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine in Egypt. Then in 2009 she received her Family Medicine residency at the Alexandria University Hospital in Egypt.
“Dr. Awad has experience practicing emergency medicine as well as family medicine, with a really strong focus on multidisciplinary, team-based care. She has a strong patient and family centred approach to her clinical practice. Dr. Awad has successfully completed the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment (SIPPA), providing her the opportunity to learn the Saskatchewan health system, which will certainly serve her well as she serves the community of Lanigan and area.”
As Awad and her family move to Lanigan, Sharma will be transferring to the Watrous Imperial team near the beginning of October.
“We can confirm that Dr. Sharma will be providing orientation in Lanigan for Dr. Awad from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 alongside Dr. Akinjobi. Dr. Sharma will then transition to the Watrous Imperial Primary Health Team on Oct. 4 of 2019 and will start his orientation. We are thankful for Dr. Sharma’s commitment and years of service in the Lanigan area and we are very pleased to welcome him to the Watrous Imperial team,” said Luron. “He will be joining his wife Dr. Kavita Choudhary and Dr. Olanike Adebayo along with two nurse practitioners Julie Wolff and Carrie Su.”
While Akhtar departed earlier this summer to join his family back in England, Luron said he will be returning to the area to provide several weeks of locum coverage throughout the fall with the Watrous Imperial team. During his time back, Akhtar will be providing a focused orientation for Sharma from Oct. 4 to 11. “There will be a limited number of appointments available with Dr. Akhtar in October and November in Watrous as well as in Imperial.”
Working in partnership with SHA, Watrous Mayor Ed Collins said the news of having a full compliment of physicians and nurse practitioners on staff in the community is really positive. “Certainly it is good they were able to fill Dr. Akhtar’s vacant position so quickly. We are thrilled to have Dr. Sharma join our team.”
Luron also noted SHA appreciates being able to work in partnership with the Town of Watrous and the surrounding communities and RMs in providing the local health services. “We are always appreciative of working closely with them to make sure we are aware of community health needs and keeping them up to date with all of the planning around the providers.”
Daniel Bushman
There will be a couple of new faces to the health teams in Watrous, Imperial and Lanigan as a pair of physicians will be filling vacancies at each. After an announcement was made in March by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) that there would be a few changes to both teams this fall, Angela Luron with SHA said starting this week those changes will start taking place.
In Lanigan, beginning Sept. 30, Dr. Joseph Akinjobi will be joined by physician Dr. Marianne Awad to provide physician services at the Lanigan Integrated Hospital and the Lanigan and District Medical Clinic. Awad is taking over from Dr. Chander Sharma who is transferring to Watrous to take on the role vacated at the end of July by Dr. Hammad Akhtar.
Luron said Awad obtained her medical degree in 2007 from Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine in Egypt. Then in 2009 she received her Family Medicine residency at the Alexandria University Hospital in Egypt.
“Dr. Awad has experience practicing emergency medicine as well as family medicine, with a really strong focus on multidisciplinary, team-based care. She has a strong patient and family centred approach to her clinical practice. Dr. Awad has successfully completed the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment (SIPPA), providing her the opportunity to learn the Saskatchewan health system, which will certainly serve her well as she serves the community of Lanigan and area.”
As Awad and her family move to Lanigan, Sharma will be transferring to the Watrous Imperial team near the beginning of October.
“We can confirm that Dr. Sharma will be providing orientation in Lanigan for Dr. Awad from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 alongside Dr. Akinjobi. Dr. Sharma will then transition to the Watrous Imperial Primary Health Team on Oct. 4 of 2019 and will start his orientation. We are thankful for Dr. Sharma’s commitment and years of service in the Lanigan area and we are very pleased to welcome him to the Watrous Imperial team,” said Luron. “He will be joining his wife Dr. Kavita Choudhary and Dr. Olanike Adebayo along with two nurse practitioners Julie Wolff and Carrie Su.”
While Akhtar departed earlier this summer to join his family back in England, Luron said he will be returning to the area to provide several weeks of locum coverage throughout the fall with the Watrous Imperial team. During his time back, Akhtar will be providing a focused orientation for Sharma from Oct. 4 to 11. “There will be a limited number of appointments available with Dr. Akhtar in October and November in Watrous as well as in Imperial.”
Working in partnership with SHA, Watrous Mayor Ed Collins said the news of having a full compliment of physicians and nurse practitioners on staff in the community is really positive. “Certainly it is good they were able to fill Dr. Akhtar’s vacant position so quickly. We are thrilled to have Dr. Sharma join our team.”
Luron also noted SHA appreciates being able to work in partnership with the Town of Watrous and the surrounding communities and RMs in providing the local health services. “We are always appreciative of working closely with them to make sure we are aware of community health needs and keeping them up to date with all of the planning around the providers.”
TWM Top Story - Sept. 23, 2019
Concerns raised about severe highway conditions
Daniel Bushman
It was to become a freshly paved high-clearance corridor for shippers to haul over-height loads across Saskatchewan but after construction began and funding was deferred, completion was halted on a stretch of Hwy. 15. While the project west of the Hwy. 2 junction south of Watrous and north of Simpson was scheduled to be finished in 2015, about 14 kilometres of the highway was never fully completed and with recent rains, the condition of that stretch became increasingly worse.
Many who travel that route on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis have come to expect they will be driving much slower than the speed limit and when it rains, those brave enough to venture out on the 14 km chunk of highway cross their fingers and hope not to slide off the road. A few weeks ago, after about three days worth of precipitation, those who had to navigate through the slick grooves along the bumpy patch of road to get to work or to transport students to school had to methodically weave their way over the terrain. For others unfamiliar with the road, they hit the ditch.
Alex Gill who feels the highway within the Rural Municipality of Wood Creek has been forgotten about has watched the familiar scene of vehicles hitting the ditch play out more times than he can remember. “Someone is going to get killed on this road,” said the local resident after noting four vehicles slid into the ditch during one of those rainy days in mid-September. “If there was an emergency that arose requiring first responders and the road was in this type of condition after a rain, how would they ever get to someone’s farm or out to a field to help?”
Like so many who utilize that portion of Hwy. 15, Gill has been left in disbelief about the conditions and has snapped pictures and taken videos to prove just how bad it has gotten. More recently, after a large amount of moisture fell he helplessly watched as one vehicle after another slid off the road and into the ditch. “A couple weeks ago after the rain I had a van and a truck go off the road right in front of me.”
While the section of road is currently maintained with added gravel and grading to help try and mitigate the issues, back in June 2011 the provincial government announced it would rebuild the whole stretch of Hwy. 15 from the Hwy. 2 junction all the way to Kenaston. In fact, in that announcement around $45 million was earmarked for the 57 kilometre stretch of road as part of the high-clearance corridor. The road was to go from a thin membrane surface to an asphalt concrete pavement capable of carrying primary weight truck traffic, the highest allowable weight at which shippers can transport their goods.
As the funds were put in place the process was to encompass three stages with the first stage beginning at the junction of Hwy. 11. That is where aggregate (gravel) crushing of materials began in preparation for on-road construction to commence in the spring and summer of 2012. Construction was then slated to continue east towards Hwy. 2 over the following three construction seasons with completion of the project in 2015. In addition, all the utility lines that could obstruct over-height loads were to be buried to allow items to be moved without the need to temporarily cut utility lines or other structures.
While work did in fact start at the junction of Hwy. 11 and utility lines were buried, work on the multi-million dollar project eventually ceased. Executive director of communications and customer service with the ministry of highways and construction Doug Wakabayashi explained the circumstances surrounding the sudden halt on completing the project. “Back in 2011 the province announced the creation of a high-clearance corridor that would run from Melville to the Alberta border. Part of the route included Hwy. 15 so as part of that route at the time it was announced the province was going to upgrade Hwy. 15 between the junction of Hwy. 2 and the junction of Hwy. 11. Subsequent to that, about 13 kms from the junction of Hwy. 11 running to the east were upgraded and paved and about 20 kms from the junction of Hwy. 2 to the west, the grading was completed but it was never surfaced. The reason for that is that was at the time when the province’s resource revenues fell drastically and there was a pretty major change in the fiscal position of the government. Due to that, the upgrades to Hwy. 15 was deferred.”
Living adjacent to where the unfinished portion of the highway is located is Robert Oakes and his family. Oakes was living on the property when the announcement was made to rebuild the highway back in 2011 but since crews left the 14 km stretch of road unfinished it has deteriorated. “A few weeks ago was the worst it has been but it is getting progressively worse. When it rains the water sits in the potholes and then you get 10 vehicles going over that spot and it gets twice as big.”
Oakes said gravel has been put on the road to help fill in the holes, temporarily fixing the situation but he would like to see the provincial government restore the project’s funding so the job can be completed.
“People using that road will stop on our driveway and they ask me how they can get off this highway. About two summers ago a person stopped on an approach with his camper and I went and asked if he needed help. He told me his family had been using this route every summer to go to Alberta but this was the last time.”
And it is not just the Oakes family who have had to deal with the incomplete highway on a daily basis. Not far across the road from where Robert and his family live is Len Moore. Moore’s story is very similar to Robert’s as he also has been dealing with the rough conditions. “If I go east, I have five miles of that mess and if I go west, I have four.”
Growing up on the farm along Hwy. 15 Moore eventually moved away for work but then about seven years ago returned home. Living 13 kms west of the junction of Hwy. 2 and 15, Moore has become increasingly frustrated about the way the incomplete road has been handled. “When it rains it is just a sloppy mess and for smaller cars it is virtually impassable.”
Like Gill and Oakes, Moore has also helped motorists out of the ditch when the conditions sour. “There has been people we have helped that have hit the ditch and we have pulled them out. I ride a motorcycle and even when they did have a good covering of gravel on there it was dangerous on a motorcycle. I had one guy two summers ago from France travelling around the world on a bicycle and he was worked up because the map didn’t show the gravel. I finished cutting my grass and put his bike in my truck and gave him a ride. Then just last spring right at the west end of the construction there was a rollover and less than a mile west of there on the asphalt there was a rough spot on a grade and a woman from Newfoundland rolled.”
The incident involving the woman occurred in August 2016 and it ultimately ended in tragedy as her dog was killed. Elle Gottzi and her two-year-old Husky Naina had successfully crossed the country after going more than 10,000 kms over three weeks and were on their way home when her vehicle veered into a slough.
Facing all sorts of roads, weather conditions and wildlife, it was not until she was motoring along on Hwy. 15 between Kenaston and the junction of Hwy. 2 when her trip went horribly wrong. On that particular August day, Gottzi mapped out her route which would take her from Three Hills, Alta. to Raymore. Speaking to The Watrous Manitou back in 2016, Gottzi said her path happened to fall on Hwy. 15.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Gottzi did her best to evade potholes, rough patches and broken pavement but it was on one of those broken pieces of road that completely knocked her Honda Element out of control, sending it into the slough and landing upside down. Trapped in her vehicle as water filled the interior, Gottzi tried to remain focused while frantically searching for a way out.
“I was holding my breath and periodically swallowing the swampy dirty water to lessen the pressure in my lungs. I was carefully and blindly examining with my hands everything around me in the car while in an upside down position.”
Gottzi needed to break the windows to get out but could not find anything heavy enough. Running out of air she extended her feet and felt the ground. Realizing one of the windows was broken, she knew it was her only way out. Not knowing where her dog was, Gottzi managed to slip through the space where the back window was located and shot towards the surface.
Gasping for air, Elle did not see her Husky Naina and chaotically began searching for her friend. Relentlessly diving below the surface to find a way to her dog, Gottzi could see nothing. The survivor caught a glimpse of a vehicle approaching so she did her best to elevate herself on the sunken car and flagged the motorists down. However it would be too late as her dog Naina perished.
Left with a horrifying experience and without a vehicle, Gottzi received an outpouring of support from the local community and eventually made it back home. However before leaving Watrous another accident occurred in essentially the same spot 15 hours later, this time a couple from the United States who ended up in a slough on the opposite side of the road where Gottzi’s vehicle went in.
“After driving more than 10,000 kms crossing the country in all sorts of conditions and roads, it took Saskatchewan’s back country to have my trip abruptly end and be fatal for my dog. It took an American couple to drive there to have pretty much the same end as well. If a dog’s life isn’t important for some, you can easily imagine a kid instead, a human life. It is just a matter of time before the next story like mine appears.”
Since those terrifying incidents in 2016 more rollovers have occurred and like previous owner of Watrous Towing Lorrie Struthers, current owner Shaun Wheten has responded to calls of vehicles rolling over or hitting the ditch along the 14 km stretch of Hwy. 15.
“That road has always been bad. I really don’t understand why it is such a bad road,” said Wheten. “I hate going down it and I will actually avoid it if I have to find someone. I will take other back roads and hauling vehicles on it especially, I will take a different road if I can.”
While Wheten figured some of those calls he has responded to along Hwy. 15 are a result of driver error he noted the condition of the road is not ideal. He also stressed when responding to incidents, motorists passing by his truck need to slow down. “You are basically helping us out and saving our lives by slowing down. I will never send my son out with a half-ton again. He went to do a fuel delivery and almost got smoked by a semi. My daughter was in my deck truck one time, honked the horn at me because someone spun out and hit the ditch close to us.”
But despite countless calls from local area residents and those passing through along Hwy. 15, the chunk of road remains unfinished. Shaking his head, Moore said he would really like to see that 14 km stretch fixed right away. “This road was engineered to be built up to grade and finished with asphalt and that is what I want to see. If they can’t do the other 30 kms or so immediately we can deal with that but we can’t deal with a half built highway.”
When asked about fixing that 14 km chunk as opposed to the whole highway, Wakabayashi indicated traffic volumes on that stretch of road are generally pretty low with around 210 to 240 vehicles per day. “In order to continue with the upgrades to Hwy. 15 with those traffic volumes it is difficult to prioritize that when you compare it with other needs on the provincial transportation system.”
Moore figured those lower numbers are due to more and more people avoiding the highway because of the conditions. “The dust caused by the gravel is dangerous too. There was one local driver who pulled into a yard because she knew there was a vehicle somewhere behind her and didn’t want to risk slowing down to turn south. Had she done that she would have been hit because the vehicle was right behind her but the dust made it impossible to see.”
Oakes said while the ministry may consider Hwy. 15 to be a lower priority with lower traffic volumes, he feels that by fixing that section could actually alleviate some of the traffic volume pressure on Hwy. 16. Oakes has been told by drivers pulling campers who come to his door that they will never again use Hwy. 15 and will be travelling along Hwy. 16. “People are going the extra distance to use Hwy. 16 or Hwy. 1 and it starts congesting those highways.”
Wakabayashi said he has heard the concerns of motorists and residents and a plan is being put in place to try and help remedy the situation. “So what we are doing right now is we are working with an individual named Richard Porter who has experience with transportation infrastructure issues in rural municipalities and with SARM and is also active on area transportation planning committees. He is helping us engage the local RMs so we can look at what options might exist to improve the performance of the gravel section of the highway. The weather we have seen (a few weeks ago) shows what can happen to the performance with the gravel section when it gets wet.”
Like many producers hoping to get back in their combines last week after the recent rains, Richard Porter was also hoping to be able to wrap up harvest soon. Porter confirmed he had been contacted by the ministry about meeting with local RMs about the road situation and the head chairperson of 11 transportation committees in the province and chair of the north central transportation planning committee said, “There is some discussion that will start after harvest.”
As for whether or not the road would eventually be completed and how much it would actually cost? “That would have to be prioritized,” continued Wakabayashi. “When we look at where we invest our money each year, for example in the last few years our capital construction budget has been in the $350 million range, which sounds like a lot of money and it is a lot of money, but where we invest that, that has to be prioritized amongst needs across the entire provincial highway system.”
So while motorists and local area residents wait for a solution and answers to a seemingly ever-growing issue, Wakabayashi said signage is being put in place, the condition of the highway has been updated on the provincial highway hotline to alert motorists of its condition and a grader is being brought in.
“We empathize with people that use that highway on a regular basis. Certainly we are aware of the condition of it. It is not like we don’t know the condition of it and we recognize that people are frustrated and right now our priority is to work with local governments and look at what options might exist for at least improving the gravel section of the road.”
Daniel Bushman
It was to become a freshly paved high-clearance corridor for shippers to haul over-height loads across Saskatchewan but after construction began and funding was deferred, completion was halted on a stretch of Hwy. 15. While the project west of the Hwy. 2 junction south of Watrous and north of Simpson was scheduled to be finished in 2015, about 14 kilometres of the highway was never fully completed and with recent rains, the condition of that stretch became increasingly worse.
Many who travel that route on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis have come to expect they will be driving much slower than the speed limit and when it rains, those brave enough to venture out on the 14 km chunk of highway cross their fingers and hope not to slide off the road. A few weeks ago, after about three days worth of precipitation, those who had to navigate through the slick grooves along the bumpy patch of road to get to work or to transport students to school had to methodically weave their way over the terrain. For others unfamiliar with the road, they hit the ditch.
Alex Gill who feels the highway within the Rural Municipality of Wood Creek has been forgotten about has watched the familiar scene of vehicles hitting the ditch play out more times than he can remember. “Someone is going to get killed on this road,” said the local resident after noting four vehicles slid into the ditch during one of those rainy days in mid-September. “If there was an emergency that arose requiring first responders and the road was in this type of condition after a rain, how would they ever get to someone’s farm or out to a field to help?”
Like so many who utilize that portion of Hwy. 15, Gill has been left in disbelief about the conditions and has snapped pictures and taken videos to prove just how bad it has gotten. More recently, after a large amount of moisture fell he helplessly watched as one vehicle after another slid off the road and into the ditch. “A couple weeks ago after the rain I had a van and a truck go off the road right in front of me.”
While the section of road is currently maintained with added gravel and grading to help try and mitigate the issues, back in June 2011 the provincial government announced it would rebuild the whole stretch of Hwy. 15 from the Hwy. 2 junction all the way to Kenaston. In fact, in that announcement around $45 million was earmarked for the 57 kilometre stretch of road as part of the high-clearance corridor. The road was to go from a thin membrane surface to an asphalt concrete pavement capable of carrying primary weight truck traffic, the highest allowable weight at which shippers can transport their goods.
As the funds were put in place the process was to encompass three stages with the first stage beginning at the junction of Hwy. 11. That is where aggregate (gravel) crushing of materials began in preparation for on-road construction to commence in the spring and summer of 2012. Construction was then slated to continue east towards Hwy. 2 over the following three construction seasons with completion of the project in 2015. In addition, all the utility lines that could obstruct over-height loads were to be buried to allow items to be moved without the need to temporarily cut utility lines or other structures.
While work did in fact start at the junction of Hwy. 11 and utility lines were buried, work on the multi-million dollar project eventually ceased. Executive director of communications and customer service with the ministry of highways and construction Doug Wakabayashi explained the circumstances surrounding the sudden halt on completing the project. “Back in 2011 the province announced the creation of a high-clearance corridor that would run from Melville to the Alberta border. Part of the route included Hwy. 15 so as part of that route at the time it was announced the province was going to upgrade Hwy. 15 between the junction of Hwy. 2 and the junction of Hwy. 11. Subsequent to that, about 13 kms from the junction of Hwy. 11 running to the east were upgraded and paved and about 20 kms from the junction of Hwy. 2 to the west, the grading was completed but it was never surfaced. The reason for that is that was at the time when the province’s resource revenues fell drastically and there was a pretty major change in the fiscal position of the government. Due to that, the upgrades to Hwy. 15 was deferred.”
Living adjacent to where the unfinished portion of the highway is located is Robert Oakes and his family. Oakes was living on the property when the announcement was made to rebuild the highway back in 2011 but since crews left the 14 km stretch of road unfinished it has deteriorated. “A few weeks ago was the worst it has been but it is getting progressively worse. When it rains the water sits in the potholes and then you get 10 vehicles going over that spot and it gets twice as big.”
Oakes said gravel has been put on the road to help fill in the holes, temporarily fixing the situation but he would like to see the provincial government restore the project’s funding so the job can be completed.
“People using that road will stop on our driveway and they ask me how they can get off this highway. About two summers ago a person stopped on an approach with his camper and I went and asked if he needed help. He told me his family had been using this route every summer to go to Alberta but this was the last time.”
And it is not just the Oakes family who have had to deal with the incomplete highway on a daily basis. Not far across the road from where Robert and his family live is Len Moore. Moore’s story is very similar to Robert’s as he also has been dealing with the rough conditions. “If I go east, I have five miles of that mess and if I go west, I have four.”
Growing up on the farm along Hwy. 15 Moore eventually moved away for work but then about seven years ago returned home. Living 13 kms west of the junction of Hwy. 2 and 15, Moore has become increasingly frustrated about the way the incomplete road has been handled. “When it rains it is just a sloppy mess and for smaller cars it is virtually impassable.”
Like Gill and Oakes, Moore has also helped motorists out of the ditch when the conditions sour. “There has been people we have helped that have hit the ditch and we have pulled them out. I ride a motorcycle and even when they did have a good covering of gravel on there it was dangerous on a motorcycle. I had one guy two summers ago from France travelling around the world on a bicycle and he was worked up because the map didn’t show the gravel. I finished cutting my grass and put his bike in my truck and gave him a ride. Then just last spring right at the west end of the construction there was a rollover and less than a mile west of there on the asphalt there was a rough spot on a grade and a woman from Newfoundland rolled.”
The incident involving the woman occurred in August 2016 and it ultimately ended in tragedy as her dog was killed. Elle Gottzi and her two-year-old Husky Naina had successfully crossed the country after going more than 10,000 kms over three weeks and were on their way home when her vehicle veered into a slough.
Facing all sorts of roads, weather conditions and wildlife, it was not until she was motoring along on Hwy. 15 between Kenaston and the junction of Hwy. 2 when her trip went horribly wrong. On that particular August day, Gottzi mapped out her route which would take her from Three Hills, Alta. to Raymore. Speaking to The Watrous Manitou back in 2016, Gottzi said her path happened to fall on Hwy. 15.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Gottzi did her best to evade potholes, rough patches and broken pavement but it was on one of those broken pieces of road that completely knocked her Honda Element out of control, sending it into the slough and landing upside down. Trapped in her vehicle as water filled the interior, Gottzi tried to remain focused while frantically searching for a way out.
“I was holding my breath and periodically swallowing the swampy dirty water to lessen the pressure in my lungs. I was carefully and blindly examining with my hands everything around me in the car while in an upside down position.”
Gottzi needed to break the windows to get out but could not find anything heavy enough. Running out of air she extended her feet and felt the ground. Realizing one of the windows was broken, she knew it was her only way out. Not knowing where her dog was, Gottzi managed to slip through the space where the back window was located and shot towards the surface.
Gasping for air, Elle did not see her Husky Naina and chaotically began searching for her friend. Relentlessly diving below the surface to find a way to her dog, Gottzi could see nothing. The survivor caught a glimpse of a vehicle approaching so she did her best to elevate herself on the sunken car and flagged the motorists down. However it would be too late as her dog Naina perished.
Left with a horrifying experience and without a vehicle, Gottzi received an outpouring of support from the local community and eventually made it back home. However before leaving Watrous another accident occurred in essentially the same spot 15 hours later, this time a couple from the United States who ended up in a slough on the opposite side of the road where Gottzi’s vehicle went in.
“After driving more than 10,000 kms crossing the country in all sorts of conditions and roads, it took Saskatchewan’s back country to have my trip abruptly end and be fatal for my dog. It took an American couple to drive there to have pretty much the same end as well. If a dog’s life isn’t important for some, you can easily imagine a kid instead, a human life. It is just a matter of time before the next story like mine appears.”
Since those terrifying incidents in 2016 more rollovers have occurred and like previous owner of Watrous Towing Lorrie Struthers, current owner Shaun Wheten has responded to calls of vehicles rolling over or hitting the ditch along the 14 km stretch of Hwy. 15.
“That road has always been bad. I really don’t understand why it is such a bad road,” said Wheten. “I hate going down it and I will actually avoid it if I have to find someone. I will take other back roads and hauling vehicles on it especially, I will take a different road if I can.”
While Wheten figured some of those calls he has responded to along Hwy. 15 are a result of driver error he noted the condition of the road is not ideal. He also stressed when responding to incidents, motorists passing by his truck need to slow down. “You are basically helping us out and saving our lives by slowing down. I will never send my son out with a half-ton again. He went to do a fuel delivery and almost got smoked by a semi. My daughter was in my deck truck one time, honked the horn at me because someone spun out and hit the ditch close to us.”
But despite countless calls from local area residents and those passing through along Hwy. 15, the chunk of road remains unfinished. Shaking his head, Moore said he would really like to see that 14 km stretch fixed right away. “This road was engineered to be built up to grade and finished with asphalt and that is what I want to see. If they can’t do the other 30 kms or so immediately we can deal with that but we can’t deal with a half built highway.”
When asked about fixing that 14 km chunk as opposed to the whole highway, Wakabayashi indicated traffic volumes on that stretch of road are generally pretty low with around 210 to 240 vehicles per day. “In order to continue with the upgrades to Hwy. 15 with those traffic volumes it is difficult to prioritize that when you compare it with other needs on the provincial transportation system.”
Moore figured those lower numbers are due to more and more people avoiding the highway because of the conditions. “The dust caused by the gravel is dangerous too. There was one local driver who pulled into a yard because she knew there was a vehicle somewhere behind her and didn’t want to risk slowing down to turn south. Had she done that she would have been hit because the vehicle was right behind her but the dust made it impossible to see.”
Oakes said while the ministry may consider Hwy. 15 to be a lower priority with lower traffic volumes, he feels that by fixing that section could actually alleviate some of the traffic volume pressure on Hwy. 16. Oakes has been told by drivers pulling campers who come to his door that they will never again use Hwy. 15 and will be travelling along Hwy. 16. “People are going the extra distance to use Hwy. 16 or Hwy. 1 and it starts congesting those highways.”
Wakabayashi said he has heard the concerns of motorists and residents and a plan is being put in place to try and help remedy the situation. “So what we are doing right now is we are working with an individual named Richard Porter who has experience with transportation infrastructure issues in rural municipalities and with SARM and is also active on area transportation planning committees. He is helping us engage the local RMs so we can look at what options might exist to improve the performance of the gravel section of the highway. The weather we have seen (a few weeks ago) shows what can happen to the performance with the gravel section when it gets wet.”
Like many producers hoping to get back in their combines last week after the recent rains, Richard Porter was also hoping to be able to wrap up harvest soon. Porter confirmed he had been contacted by the ministry about meeting with local RMs about the road situation and the head chairperson of 11 transportation committees in the province and chair of the north central transportation planning committee said, “There is some discussion that will start after harvest.”
As for whether or not the road would eventually be completed and how much it would actually cost? “That would have to be prioritized,” continued Wakabayashi. “When we look at where we invest our money each year, for example in the last few years our capital construction budget has been in the $350 million range, which sounds like a lot of money and it is a lot of money, but where we invest that, that has to be prioritized amongst needs across the entire provincial highway system.”
So while motorists and local area residents wait for a solution and answers to a seemingly ever-growing issue, Wakabayashi said signage is being put in place, the condition of the highway has been updated on the provincial highway hotline to alert motorists of its condition and a grader is being brought in.
“We empathize with people that use that highway on a regular basis. Certainly we are aware of the condition of it. It is not like we don’t know the condition of it and we recognize that people are frustrated and right now our priority is to work with local governments and look at what options might exist for at least improving the gravel section of the road.”
TWM Top Story - Sept. 16, 2019
LLVIF implements new changes courtesy of local support
Daniel Bushman
Residents, patients and staff utilizing the Long Lake Valley Integrated Facility (LLVIF) in Imperial will notice a few upgrades all thanks to substantial support from the community and surrounding area.
With an expansion of the Telehealth Saskatchewan Program and a newly built patio fence at the facility, LLVIF Manager Blair Broadfoot said they were both possible only because of the number of generous donations that came in.
A total cost of approximately $4,000 to bring to LLVIF with $2,500 of that raised through community donations, the manager explained the significance of having the Telehealth Saskatchewan Program and what it means for Imperial and area residents.
“Telehealth allows patients to attend appropriate clinical appointments, consultations or follow-ups via video conferencing with a physician or specialist that is outside of their home community. This is done by using communication and information technology that allows two way communications between the physician and the patient. It is enhanced by the utilization of the latest in tele-diagnostic instruments which may include digital stethoscopes, patient examination cameras, and digital imaging. Telehealth enables a remote patient to ‘visit’ an out-of-town health care provider while remaining in their home community, health region or province.”
In one recent example, Broadfoot said a client explained how much he appreciated not having to travel for his consultation appointments. By not having to go a lengthy distance, he was able to remain close to home and concentrate on recovering from his illness.
Located within the facility, Broadfoot remarked the unique program is also able to provide professional education sessions for health care staff, physicians and the general public as well as offering various administrative services to members of regional health authorities in the province. Those services include health care administration meetings that help to reduce travel and increase participation in regional and provincial meetings.
“The Long Lake Valley Integrated Facility staff appreciate the opportunities the telehealth equipment allows for educational sessions. Travel and staff time was often a deterrent for attending education sessions.”
As the LLVIF received its new expanded program inside, outside a new patio fence was being built after the original one was deemed to be in disrepair. Now finished, Broadfoot said, “The fence cost $4,000 and again the community came through with donations of $3,000.”
Greatly appreciating the support for both recent changes, Broadfoot hopes that patients and staff using the facility will also enjoy the new improvements.
Daniel Bushman
Residents, patients and staff utilizing the Long Lake Valley Integrated Facility (LLVIF) in Imperial will notice a few upgrades all thanks to substantial support from the community and surrounding area.
With an expansion of the Telehealth Saskatchewan Program and a newly built patio fence at the facility, LLVIF Manager Blair Broadfoot said they were both possible only because of the number of generous donations that came in.
A total cost of approximately $4,000 to bring to LLVIF with $2,500 of that raised through community donations, the manager explained the significance of having the Telehealth Saskatchewan Program and what it means for Imperial and area residents.
“Telehealth allows patients to attend appropriate clinical appointments, consultations or follow-ups via video conferencing with a physician or specialist that is outside of their home community. This is done by using communication and information technology that allows two way communications between the physician and the patient. It is enhanced by the utilization of the latest in tele-diagnostic instruments which may include digital stethoscopes, patient examination cameras, and digital imaging. Telehealth enables a remote patient to ‘visit’ an out-of-town health care provider while remaining in their home community, health region or province.”
In one recent example, Broadfoot said a client explained how much he appreciated not having to travel for his consultation appointments. By not having to go a lengthy distance, he was able to remain close to home and concentrate on recovering from his illness.
Located within the facility, Broadfoot remarked the unique program is also able to provide professional education sessions for health care staff, physicians and the general public as well as offering various administrative services to members of regional health authorities in the province. Those services include health care administration meetings that help to reduce travel and increase participation in regional and provincial meetings.
“The Long Lake Valley Integrated Facility staff appreciate the opportunities the telehealth equipment allows for educational sessions. Travel and staff time was often a deterrent for attending education sessions.”
As the LLVIF received its new expanded program inside, outside a new patio fence was being built after the original one was deemed to be in disrepair. Now finished, Broadfoot said, “The fence cost $4,000 and again the community came through with donations of $3,000.”
Greatly appreciating the support for both recent changes, Broadfoot hopes that patients and staff using the facility will also enjoy the new improvements.
TWM Top Story - Sept. 9, 2019
Town of Watrous adds second mobility van to fleet
Daniel Bushman
Watching the faces of those at Manitou Lodge light up as they embark on another adventure or hearing that a resident from Watrous was able to attend an appointment who normally would be unable to on their own has been encouraging to Watrous Town Councillor and mobility van board member Pat Isherwood. With a new mobility van arriving in 2017 and a second smaller version just purchased by the town, Isherwood said, “Utilizing either mobility van is a specialized service that provides transportation options for residents with mobility impairments so those within the community now have the option of using either vehicle.”
After obtaining the new 14 passenger mobility van two years ago, which includes space for five wheelchairs, the Town of Watrous recently purchased its second smaller unit. Arriving last month and coming with a cost of $50,935, a 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan was retrofitted to include space for a wheelchair and four people. The retrofit allows for a ramp to easily come down from the back of the van and a wheelchair to be loaded into the vehicle.
“Now that the minivan is in service, people from the community are welcome to utilize it to go back and forth in Watrous, travel to Manitou Beach and beyond. Those residents requiring the specialized service can then go to medical appointments, travel from their home to downtown or head to the Civic Centre for an event. They can also use them to be taken to a hair appointment or be dropped off at church. In the case of the residents at Manitou Lodge, they are often driven to a number of outings and really enjoy spending time at the different places they visit.”
However in order for people to use the vehicles, Isherwood said volunteer drivers are required. “We are grateful for Bob Silzer who has done a tremendous amount of driving and Monique Sundquist from the lodge has also given of her time but we do need more volunteers to help drive when residents need a lift somewhere.”
Isherwood said people willing to volunteer and drive either the larger mobility van or the minivan need a valid driver’s licence and a completed criminal record check. “We are fortunate to be able to have these units for residents to use but we really do need more volunteers willing to drive them.”
As of right now people wanting to rent out the mobility vans can take trips within Watrous, Manitou Beach or out of town. While the cost is minimal with a maximum cap within Watrous and to Manitou Beach per trip, Isherwood said the fees are there to help cover gas and any maintenance expenses. For those wanting to travel further than Watrous and the beach, a minimum charge is applied and an amount set per kilometre. “It is a reasonable amount for people and if anyone would like to use either mobility van or become a volunteer driver, they can contact the Town Office.”
Daniel Bushman
Watching the faces of those at Manitou Lodge light up as they embark on another adventure or hearing that a resident from Watrous was able to attend an appointment who normally would be unable to on their own has been encouraging to Watrous Town Councillor and mobility van board member Pat Isherwood. With a new mobility van arriving in 2017 and a second smaller version just purchased by the town, Isherwood said, “Utilizing either mobility van is a specialized service that provides transportation options for residents with mobility impairments so those within the community now have the option of using either vehicle.”
After obtaining the new 14 passenger mobility van two years ago, which includes space for five wheelchairs, the Town of Watrous recently purchased its second smaller unit. Arriving last month and coming with a cost of $50,935, a 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan was retrofitted to include space for a wheelchair and four people. The retrofit allows for a ramp to easily come down from the back of the van and a wheelchair to be loaded into the vehicle.
“Now that the minivan is in service, people from the community are welcome to utilize it to go back and forth in Watrous, travel to Manitou Beach and beyond. Those residents requiring the specialized service can then go to medical appointments, travel from their home to downtown or head to the Civic Centre for an event. They can also use them to be taken to a hair appointment or be dropped off at church. In the case of the residents at Manitou Lodge, they are often driven to a number of outings and really enjoy spending time at the different places they visit.”
However in order for people to use the vehicles, Isherwood said volunteer drivers are required. “We are grateful for Bob Silzer who has done a tremendous amount of driving and Monique Sundquist from the lodge has also given of her time but we do need more volunteers to help drive when residents need a lift somewhere.”
Isherwood said people willing to volunteer and drive either the larger mobility van or the minivan need a valid driver’s licence and a completed criminal record check. “We are fortunate to be able to have these units for residents to use but we really do need more volunteers willing to drive them.”
As of right now people wanting to rent out the mobility vans can take trips within Watrous, Manitou Beach or out of town. While the cost is minimal with a maximum cap within Watrous and to Manitou Beach per trip, Isherwood said the fees are there to help cover gas and any maintenance expenses. For those wanting to travel further than Watrous and the beach, a minimum charge is applied and an amount set per kilometre. “It is a reasonable amount for people and if anyone would like to use either mobility van or become a volunteer driver, they can contact the Town Office.”
TWM Top Story - Sept. 2, 2019
Watrous duo help Giants take Westerns
Daniel Bushman
It was a season to remember for a pair of local ball players who not only put in a lot of time and dedication but were rewarded for all of their hard work. Cooper Isherwood and Kohle Huber dusted off their cleats and grabbed their ball gloves in anticipation of another ball season. The Watrous residents set their sights on having a successful year and at the end of it all, both added provincial and Western Canadian titles to their names.
After the Sask Five 15U Bantam AAA Giants captured a provincial title last year, the team along with Isherwood and Huber were looking to retain the title again this season. Advancing through league play to the 12-team provincial tournament in Saskatoon Aug. 2 to 4, the AAA Giants were 2-1 through round-robin play and then defeated the Saskatoon Astros in the semifinal. In the provincial championship, the Sask Five 15U AAA Giants took down the Regina White Sox 5-3 to capture the title once again and advance to the 15U AAA Western Canadian Championship in Lloydminster Aug. 16 to 18.
With the club on a roll, both Isherwood and Huber were anticipating that momentum to carry over to the Western Canadian Championships, and it did. In the championship event, Sask Five Giants went up against the Coquitlam Reds from B.C., Northwest Prairie Pirates out of Lloydminster, Carillon Sultans of Manitoba, North Winnipeg Pirates and the Red Deer Ernco Braves.
In the team’s first game Thursday evening, thanks to a pair of grand slams, the Giants surged past the host team from Lloydminster 16-11. Off to a 1-0 start, the Giants then faced Red Deer. In that Friday morning game, Sask Five tallied 10 hits with Huber getting three of them and Isherwood chipping in with two of his own. Huber also threw 47 pitches where he had a no hitter going against the Braves, giving up zero runs through three innings. Tugged on account of a pitch count to ensure he received the required rest before he took the mound again, Huber was followed by Easton Brons and closer Ethan Campbell. For his effort, Huber was recognized as the player of the game.
Scoring a combined 24 runs through two games and with all cylinders firing, the Giants continued their strong play and took game three over North Winnipeg by a 12-1 score. That gave the Saskatchewan contingent a 3-0 record with game four set for Saturday morning, Aug. 17.
Seeking a win to give the Giants an automatic berth to the final on Sunday, Huber and Isherwood came through to help secure a 9-1 win. Isherwood was also named player of the game for his efforts.
Sitting at 4-0 and an automatic berth to the final, the Sask Five Giants gave players some rest and an opportunity for some of the other players to step into a leadership role in their fifth game. In that fifth game of the tournament, Huber and Isherwood each produced multiple hits but it was not enough and the Sask Five Giants were unable to put points on the scoreboard. Despite the 11-0 defeat, the Giants shook off the loss and carried a 4-1 record into the final.
In the Western Canada Baseball championship final, Sask Five Giants met the host Northwest Prairie Pirates, a team which sat at 3-2 and had lost to the Giants earlier in the tournament. In the third Huber kicked off a seven run inning which led to the team eventually winning 11-4. Huber also pitched two and two-third innings allowing one hit, one run and getting one strike out on 38 pitches. The victory also gave the Giants an overall record of 5-1 with a total of 56 runs scored to 29 against.
Ecstatic with the huge win, both players from Watrous reflected on what they brought to the table in that championship match.
“For me in the final, my first at bat and first pitch of the game, their pitcher drilled me to make it my 12th hit by a pitch on the year,” said Isherwood. “This really got the bench excited as it set the tone. Then later in the game I threw a guy out trying to steal second base.”
Huber said, “In the final, the bases were loaded and I came up to bat. We were down 2-0 and I hit a single into left field scoring three runs and that got us going for the rest of the game.”
While taking home the top prize was a tremendous accomplishment for the team, it was even sweeter for the pair of local players who spent a lot of time travelling back and forth during the year. “We did put in a lot of time and miles,” said Isherwood who added, “Playing with Martensville makes it a one and a half hour drive for practices and our home games. Away games were in Saskatoon at the Nutana Ball Fields and we also played some tournaments in Saskatoon and Okotoks, Alta. and had an exhibition game down in Swift Current.”
Mostly catching and playing second or third base, Isherwood said putting in that extra time and then being able to win the title was an incredible experience. “It was amazing! I’ve never had so much adrenaline. Going off the start of the year, no one expected us to even win provincials. I have never experienced something like this ever. In the final game when there was a comeback to the mound when Kohle was pitching and he just stuck his arm out and caught it like a professional goalie for the second out, I knew we did it!!”
Agreeing with his teammate, Huber said, “It was very exciting to win this year.” Pitching and playing shortstop during the season Huber continued, “Two years ago I played with the Saskatoon Braves and we lost our semifinal game. If we would have won we would have went to Westerns so it was great. This year in the final at Westerns, for the final out it was an easy play to the second baseman and everyone ran from the dugout and field. It was a very special achievement.”
And even more special that the pair from Watrous were able to be a part of it. “We’ve been through a lot of sports together and it is very fun” said Huber.
Isherwood added, “It was fun and I could not have asked for a better year. The guys were awesome.”
Observing with other parents from the stands during the games and driving back and forth to practices in Martensville during the season, Jean Mulhall, Cooper’s mom said, “Watching these young men improve over the last three and a half months and staying strong and unified amongst the ups and downs of each inning played for the season, provincials and Westerns makes me a very very proud parent!”
Kohle’s mom Cindy said, “Even though Cooper and Kohle were from outside the Sask Five area they were made to feel welcome by the local boys on the team. By the end of the season their cohesiveness definitely showed when they were able to win two different championships within two weeks. It was truly a season to remember.”
Daniel Bushman
It was a season to remember for a pair of local ball players who not only put in a lot of time and dedication but were rewarded for all of their hard work. Cooper Isherwood and Kohle Huber dusted off their cleats and grabbed their ball gloves in anticipation of another ball season. The Watrous residents set their sights on having a successful year and at the end of it all, both added provincial and Western Canadian titles to their names.
After the Sask Five 15U Bantam AAA Giants captured a provincial title last year, the team along with Isherwood and Huber were looking to retain the title again this season. Advancing through league play to the 12-team provincial tournament in Saskatoon Aug. 2 to 4, the AAA Giants were 2-1 through round-robin play and then defeated the Saskatoon Astros in the semifinal. In the provincial championship, the Sask Five 15U AAA Giants took down the Regina White Sox 5-3 to capture the title once again and advance to the 15U AAA Western Canadian Championship in Lloydminster Aug. 16 to 18.
With the club on a roll, both Isherwood and Huber were anticipating that momentum to carry over to the Western Canadian Championships, and it did. In the championship event, Sask Five Giants went up against the Coquitlam Reds from B.C., Northwest Prairie Pirates out of Lloydminster, Carillon Sultans of Manitoba, North Winnipeg Pirates and the Red Deer Ernco Braves.
In the team’s first game Thursday evening, thanks to a pair of grand slams, the Giants surged past the host team from Lloydminster 16-11. Off to a 1-0 start, the Giants then faced Red Deer. In that Friday morning game, Sask Five tallied 10 hits with Huber getting three of them and Isherwood chipping in with two of his own. Huber also threw 47 pitches where he had a no hitter going against the Braves, giving up zero runs through three innings. Tugged on account of a pitch count to ensure he received the required rest before he took the mound again, Huber was followed by Easton Brons and closer Ethan Campbell. For his effort, Huber was recognized as the player of the game.
Scoring a combined 24 runs through two games and with all cylinders firing, the Giants continued their strong play and took game three over North Winnipeg by a 12-1 score. That gave the Saskatchewan contingent a 3-0 record with game four set for Saturday morning, Aug. 17.
Seeking a win to give the Giants an automatic berth to the final on Sunday, Huber and Isherwood came through to help secure a 9-1 win. Isherwood was also named player of the game for his efforts.
Sitting at 4-0 and an automatic berth to the final, the Sask Five Giants gave players some rest and an opportunity for some of the other players to step into a leadership role in their fifth game. In that fifth game of the tournament, Huber and Isherwood each produced multiple hits but it was not enough and the Sask Five Giants were unable to put points on the scoreboard. Despite the 11-0 defeat, the Giants shook off the loss and carried a 4-1 record into the final.
In the Western Canada Baseball championship final, Sask Five Giants met the host Northwest Prairie Pirates, a team which sat at 3-2 and had lost to the Giants earlier in the tournament. In the third Huber kicked off a seven run inning which led to the team eventually winning 11-4. Huber also pitched two and two-third innings allowing one hit, one run and getting one strike out on 38 pitches. The victory also gave the Giants an overall record of 5-1 with a total of 56 runs scored to 29 against.
Ecstatic with the huge win, both players from Watrous reflected on what they brought to the table in that championship match.
“For me in the final, my first at bat and first pitch of the game, their pitcher drilled me to make it my 12th hit by a pitch on the year,” said Isherwood. “This really got the bench excited as it set the tone. Then later in the game I threw a guy out trying to steal second base.”
Huber said, “In the final, the bases were loaded and I came up to bat. We were down 2-0 and I hit a single into left field scoring three runs and that got us going for the rest of the game.”
While taking home the top prize was a tremendous accomplishment for the team, it was even sweeter for the pair of local players who spent a lot of time travelling back and forth during the year. “We did put in a lot of time and miles,” said Isherwood who added, “Playing with Martensville makes it a one and a half hour drive for practices and our home games. Away games were in Saskatoon at the Nutana Ball Fields and we also played some tournaments in Saskatoon and Okotoks, Alta. and had an exhibition game down in Swift Current.”
Mostly catching and playing second or third base, Isherwood said putting in that extra time and then being able to win the title was an incredible experience. “It was amazing! I’ve never had so much adrenaline. Going off the start of the year, no one expected us to even win provincials. I have never experienced something like this ever. In the final game when there was a comeback to the mound when Kohle was pitching and he just stuck his arm out and caught it like a professional goalie for the second out, I knew we did it!!”
Agreeing with his teammate, Huber said, “It was very exciting to win this year.” Pitching and playing shortstop during the season Huber continued, “Two years ago I played with the Saskatoon Braves and we lost our semifinal game. If we would have won we would have went to Westerns so it was great. This year in the final at Westerns, for the final out it was an easy play to the second baseman and everyone ran from the dugout and field. It was a very special achievement.”
And even more special that the pair from Watrous were able to be a part of it. “We’ve been through a lot of sports together and it is very fun” said Huber.
Isherwood added, “It was fun and I could not have asked for a better year. The guys were awesome.”
Observing with other parents from the stands during the games and driving back and forth to practices in Martensville during the season, Jean Mulhall, Cooper’s mom said, “Watching these young men improve over the last three and a half months and staying strong and unified amongst the ups and downs of each inning played for the season, provincials and Westerns makes me a very very proud parent!”
Kohle’s mom Cindy said, “Even though Cooper and Kohle were from outside the Sask Five area they were made to feel welcome by the local boys on the team. By the end of the season their cohesiveness definitely showed when they were able to win two different championships within two weeks. It was truly a season to remember.”
TWM Top Story - Aug. 26, 2019
Dancers young and old enjoy taking a twirl at Toonie Tuesdays
Daniel Bushman
Decades ago Danceland was hopping with people as hundreds would make the trip to the iconic building to take a whirl on the dance floor. With vehicles parked from one side of the road to the other, inside the historic dance hall at Manitou Beach, patrons would eagerly dance while listening to their favourite musicians perform. Now decades later and over the summer months that electric atmosphere has been revived with one car after another arriving at Danceland for something known as Toonie Tuesdays.
During a recent Tuesday evening in August, owner of Danceland Millie Strueby could be spotted playing the keyboard on stage as people entered through the doors. Strueby who came up with the idea of Toonie Tuesdays nearly 20 years ago is joined by four other musicians as they play during the Old Time music portion of the night. After the group hits the final note of their last song, a couple who have been driving out from Etters Beach each week during the summer take over. Over the past several weeks, the pair have been teaching those young and old a few dances. On this particular occasion it is the two-step. Going through the moves, kids flow onto the floor eager to learn, some with their friends and others with their parents or grandparents. Being put through the paces, the kids are encouraged to pair up with family members, creating a lasting memory and one cherished by many who years ago danced as youngsters themselves.
“It is just like the old days,” said Millie from the iconic Danceland. “We lost the family dance years ago because people didn’t bring kids to dances anymore. This year we decided to have Toonie Tuesday starting at 7:30 p.m. and an hour in, we leave some time for the kids so it provides them with an opportunity to learn how to dance.”
With a few upbeat songs for the kids to dance to, as the kids portion of the night wraps up with the famous Chicken Dance, they leave the floor with smiles on their faces and memories of a fun evening. Followed by an open mic before the lights are dimmed on another evening, Strueby’s decision to implement a different format this year for Toonie Tuesdays has paid off. Attracting hundreds of people to Danceland on a weekly basis, local and visiting families with young children have been coming to give dancing a try.
“The kids part of the evening is what has really taken off but of course there are adults who don’t know how to dance either so it is the adults and the children learning a different dance every week and doing some family dances as well. Overall we’ve had good crowds this year mainly because there are more people around than in other years and more families as well. I think over the years word has spread to come check out Toonie Tuesdays and this year we have had over 300 coming each week during summer.”
With Old Time music kicking things off along with the time slot geared towards the kids and local talent performing during the open mic portion, it has appeared to be the right combination. Getting the open mic part of the night off the ground this year has been local resident Al Madland and his team of Melvin Odne and Jarvis Mattson. Al who organized jam sessions at The Alley in Watrous during the winter months along with Odne and Mattson have combined forces with Strueby this summer.
“We have had a lot of younger people play or sing and it has been fun to watch them,” said Madland. “While it would be nice to see more of the local talent come out and perform, those who have been on stage have seemed to enjoy it.”
Found each Tuesday at the dance hall ensuring things run smoothly during the open mic part of the night, Madland watches from the back of the hall with a grin as the local talent takes the stage. Celebrating his birthday Aug. 20, coincidentally on the same night as Toonie Tuesday, Madland was happy with how the evening had gone.
“Along with some of the locals we have had a lot of people from the campground come out and sing this summer,” he said. “We have all of the equipment set up at Danceland for people to use if they like and what happens is people come to Manitou Beach to camp and see that we have an open mic night. Since they don’t have their equipment with them they ask if they can come out and use ours. Some perform on their own and some are put with a group. We have had a kid from Regina come out on three occasions. He’s 10 years old and can really sing. The first time he came out he was on the drums for the Miettinen girls from Watrous and the next two times he asked if he could sing. We have also had people from Manitoba and Alberta perform and people from numerous places in Saskatchewan as well. It gives them great experience and it also provides a great opportunity for them to learn what it is like playing in front of a crowd.”
With 355 people in attendance two weeks ago and another strong crowd last week, Madland said it has been really enjoyable. “Having Melvin on sound and Jarvis helping me out and performing as well has been great. Without them I wouldn’t be able to make it work. Seeing the smiles on people’s faces throughout the night makes it all worth it.”
With the open mic portion of the night allowing for a variety of music, Strueby said it all comes down to whoever shows up and whatever they decide to play. “There have been five piece bands show up but if bands don’t come or there is no local talent scheduled for the evening then Jarvis gets on stage. It is all spontaneous and whatever happens, happens. We get people coming and going and it is a full night of entertainment.”
With a smile on her face as she watches the enthusiastic dancers take a spin on the floating maple floor situated on layers of soft horse hair, Millie said, “Having the local talent play, that is fun and you don’t even have to know how to dance. Just watching the kids is fun. They get so excited and some of the little ones get dressed up for Toonie Tuesday because they are going to a dance at Danceland.”
And for the kids who break out a move or two on the dance floor, it becomes a memorable life moment for them as well. “I remember from those first years I did Toonie Tuesdays, I now have 20 and 30 year olds coming up to me saying they learned how to dance at Toonie night so it has paid off. Now they can go anywhere and feel more confident when they dance. It is a fun night and there is a lot of local talent coming out of the woodwork.”
While both Strueby and Madland encourage other local singers and bands to come perform, the pair are pleased with the results so far. In fact for Strueby, seeing Toonie Tuesdays continue on for nearly two decades has been quite a surprise after it originated from a jam session. With her husband Arnie and some of their band members from The Decades, Millie said the weekly night all started because they were strumming one time and people kept encouraging them to keep playing.
“So we called it a jam session at the beginning and it evolved into three or four people that clicked together and we went every Tuesday. So we added the Toonie part to it and just went with that. Two dollars gets you in the door like it did back then and it is a lot of fun.”
Now 19 years later, people are still coming back to spend their Tuesday evenings at Danceland. “It starts at the beginning of June and goes until the end of September. People of all ages can experience Danceland and dancing on its floor. Our only rule is no food or drinks on the floor because spills are bad to clean up. Other than that wear any clean shoes and have fun.”
Daniel Bushman
Decades ago Danceland was hopping with people as hundreds would make the trip to the iconic building to take a whirl on the dance floor. With vehicles parked from one side of the road to the other, inside the historic dance hall at Manitou Beach, patrons would eagerly dance while listening to their favourite musicians perform. Now decades later and over the summer months that electric atmosphere has been revived with one car after another arriving at Danceland for something known as Toonie Tuesdays.
During a recent Tuesday evening in August, owner of Danceland Millie Strueby could be spotted playing the keyboard on stage as people entered through the doors. Strueby who came up with the idea of Toonie Tuesdays nearly 20 years ago is joined by four other musicians as they play during the Old Time music portion of the night. After the group hits the final note of their last song, a couple who have been driving out from Etters Beach each week during the summer take over. Over the past several weeks, the pair have been teaching those young and old a few dances. On this particular occasion it is the two-step. Going through the moves, kids flow onto the floor eager to learn, some with their friends and others with their parents or grandparents. Being put through the paces, the kids are encouraged to pair up with family members, creating a lasting memory and one cherished by many who years ago danced as youngsters themselves.
“It is just like the old days,” said Millie from the iconic Danceland. “We lost the family dance years ago because people didn’t bring kids to dances anymore. This year we decided to have Toonie Tuesday starting at 7:30 p.m. and an hour in, we leave some time for the kids so it provides them with an opportunity to learn how to dance.”
With a few upbeat songs for the kids to dance to, as the kids portion of the night wraps up with the famous Chicken Dance, they leave the floor with smiles on their faces and memories of a fun evening. Followed by an open mic before the lights are dimmed on another evening, Strueby’s decision to implement a different format this year for Toonie Tuesdays has paid off. Attracting hundreds of people to Danceland on a weekly basis, local and visiting families with young children have been coming to give dancing a try.
“The kids part of the evening is what has really taken off but of course there are adults who don’t know how to dance either so it is the adults and the children learning a different dance every week and doing some family dances as well. Overall we’ve had good crowds this year mainly because there are more people around than in other years and more families as well. I think over the years word has spread to come check out Toonie Tuesdays and this year we have had over 300 coming each week during summer.”
With Old Time music kicking things off along with the time slot geared towards the kids and local talent performing during the open mic portion, it has appeared to be the right combination. Getting the open mic part of the night off the ground this year has been local resident Al Madland and his team of Melvin Odne and Jarvis Mattson. Al who organized jam sessions at The Alley in Watrous during the winter months along with Odne and Mattson have combined forces with Strueby this summer.
“We have had a lot of younger people play or sing and it has been fun to watch them,” said Madland. “While it would be nice to see more of the local talent come out and perform, those who have been on stage have seemed to enjoy it.”
Found each Tuesday at the dance hall ensuring things run smoothly during the open mic part of the night, Madland watches from the back of the hall with a grin as the local talent takes the stage. Celebrating his birthday Aug. 20, coincidentally on the same night as Toonie Tuesday, Madland was happy with how the evening had gone.
“Along with some of the locals we have had a lot of people from the campground come out and sing this summer,” he said. “We have all of the equipment set up at Danceland for people to use if they like and what happens is people come to Manitou Beach to camp and see that we have an open mic night. Since they don’t have their equipment with them they ask if they can come out and use ours. Some perform on their own and some are put with a group. We have had a kid from Regina come out on three occasions. He’s 10 years old and can really sing. The first time he came out he was on the drums for the Miettinen girls from Watrous and the next two times he asked if he could sing. We have also had people from Manitoba and Alberta perform and people from numerous places in Saskatchewan as well. It gives them great experience and it also provides a great opportunity for them to learn what it is like playing in front of a crowd.”
With 355 people in attendance two weeks ago and another strong crowd last week, Madland said it has been really enjoyable. “Having Melvin on sound and Jarvis helping me out and performing as well has been great. Without them I wouldn’t be able to make it work. Seeing the smiles on people’s faces throughout the night makes it all worth it.”
With the open mic portion of the night allowing for a variety of music, Strueby said it all comes down to whoever shows up and whatever they decide to play. “There have been five piece bands show up but if bands don’t come or there is no local talent scheduled for the evening then Jarvis gets on stage. It is all spontaneous and whatever happens, happens. We get people coming and going and it is a full night of entertainment.”
With a smile on her face as she watches the enthusiastic dancers take a spin on the floating maple floor situated on layers of soft horse hair, Millie said, “Having the local talent play, that is fun and you don’t even have to know how to dance. Just watching the kids is fun. They get so excited and some of the little ones get dressed up for Toonie Tuesday because they are going to a dance at Danceland.”
And for the kids who break out a move or two on the dance floor, it becomes a memorable life moment for them as well. “I remember from those first years I did Toonie Tuesdays, I now have 20 and 30 year olds coming up to me saying they learned how to dance at Toonie night so it has paid off. Now they can go anywhere and feel more confident when they dance. It is a fun night and there is a lot of local talent coming out of the woodwork.”
While both Strueby and Madland encourage other local singers and bands to come perform, the pair are pleased with the results so far. In fact for Strueby, seeing Toonie Tuesdays continue on for nearly two decades has been quite a surprise after it originated from a jam session. With her husband Arnie and some of their band members from The Decades, Millie said the weekly night all started because they were strumming one time and people kept encouraging them to keep playing.
“So we called it a jam session at the beginning and it evolved into three or four people that clicked together and we went every Tuesday. So we added the Toonie part to it and just went with that. Two dollars gets you in the door like it did back then and it is a lot of fun.”
Now 19 years later, people are still coming back to spend their Tuesday evenings at Danceland. “It starts at the beginning of June and goes until the end of September. People of all ages can experience Danceland and dancing on its floor. Our only rule is no food or drinks on the floor because spills are bad to clean up. Other than that wear any clean shoes and have fun.”
TWM Top Story - Aug. 19, 2019
Manitou Maple Madness proves to be a cut above
Daniel Bushman
Carved out of massive pieces of wood, a gigantic crocodile watched motionless as spectators passed by while a pair of youngsters made a splash and an eagle soared under a blue tarp as nine carvers put their talents to the test during the third ever Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition. With a handful of other spectacular carvings thrust into the spotlight during the Aug. 8 to 11 event at Manitou Beach, carvers from across the country, including one from Manitou Beach, dazzled onlookers with their work.
Choosing from the enormous pieces of wood sourced from Glaslyn and locally and transported in by J.D. Weber Tree Services, once carvers made their selections, they got to work creating incredible and awe-inspiring masterpieces. One by one each project began taking shape and once the final touches were made, those watching the event were left in amazement.
Manitou Beach Mayor Gerald Worobec who was also one of the organizers said, “The carvers just knocked it out of the park this year. They just did an unreal job and we are really happy with the quality of carvings. They were really, really well done. Those poor judges had a tough time deciding who to give the nod to in the end but it was a real good event.”
After the hum of chainsaws ended Sunday, the judges took a walkabout to inspect each carving before making their decision. People in attendance also had the opportunity to vote on their favourite work and so did the carvers.
Taking home this year’s first place prize of $3,500 was Medicine Hat, Alberta’s Marina Cole who created ‘Cannon Ball’. Cole was also the winner of the People’s Choice award for $1,000 and was one of three carvers winning the Carvers’ Choice award (each receiving $334).
Each carver posted about their inspiration behind their work and Cole’s depicted two children swimming in the lake with one of them doing a cannonball into the water. The winning carver said, “My inspiration for this carving are my beautiful kids and beautiful Manitou Beach where everyone can come and enjoy the magnificent healing waters!”
Set up right next to Cole was this year’s second place winner of $2,000 and another Alberta carver, Ryan Villiers. Creating ‘Genie’s Quest,’ Villiers also joined Cole as one of the three winners of the Carvers’ Choice, receiving $334 for a total of $2,334.
Carving the Beast from Beauty and the Beast at the last Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition, Villiers was joined this year by his dad Colin and carved Abu the monkey from the movie Aladdin holding a lamp with Genie coming out of it. “Disney was always a childhood favourite and I always sketched the VHS covers in my sketch pad. There is too much turmoil in the world and carving the Genie from Aladdin, to me, represents happiness and enlightenment. The Genie has the gift of granting three wishes - whatever you desire! The Genie then makes your wishes come true . . . granting the happiness everyone desires and is hopeful for.”
With kids making a splash for first place and a Genie granting Abu’s wish to win some prize money, this year’s third place winner of $1,000 was Rob Milner from Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Milner created ‘Soaring Eagle,’ a majestic eagle flying near another perched on a cliff. Milner then created a bench attached to where the eagles were flying for people to sit. Enjoying the opportunity to be at Manitou Beach, during the morning of day three of the competition Milner posted on his Facebook page that Manitou Maple Madness was the best event he had ever attended. “Everyone here has been so kind. So far this has been a very pleasurable event and it isn’t even over yet. Loads of laughs and gold memories, and more to come.”
Milner also shared about his inspiration behind his creation. “I chose this bird for its symbol of beauty, bravery, courage, honour, pride, determination and grace. The eagle is viewed as a pure spirit. The eagle is known for its great strength, leadership and vision. An eagle never surrenders to the size or strength of its prey!! The eagle is man’s connection to the divine as it flies higher than any other bird. The eagle bestows freedom and the courage to look ahead.”
Along with the top three finishers and the People’s Choice award being handed out, the third winner of Carvers’ Choice was Winnipeg, Manitoba’s De-Ann Holmes for her creation, ‘Before Alice and Wonderland.’ Joining Cole and Villiers, Holmes took home $334 and shared her inspiration behind her carving. “The white rabbit is the spark of curiosity that activates Alice’s spiritual awakening. It is the white rabbit who leads Alice down the rabbit hole . . . It is the white rabbit which Alice runs after and searches for endlessly in Wonderland, a symbol of her quest for knowledge. The rabbit finds a watch - “Well no wonder you’re late! This clock is exactly two days slow!” - The Mad Hatter examining the watch.”
In addition to the winners, Marty Duerinckx created ‘Basic Instincts’ depicting an eagle holding a fish in its talons with a bear looking up at the eagle. Jim Niedermayer who has competed at the event in the past made a large Blue Heron looking up to the sky. Another returning carver, Doug Linglebach created ‘Big Bertha,’ a massive crocodile stretching a number of feet in length. Carver Patricia Dippolito’s inspiration came from Manitou Beach’s past as she carved a Sea Monkey and Manitou Beach’s own Wayne Seabrook carved ‘Bird Bath,’ using satire to make an environment statement with an eagle, gull and raven.
As for the rest of Manitou Maple Madness, carvers also participated in a quick carving event, creating bears, a beaver, owls and other works that people could bid on. A water boiling competition was also held as was axe throwing and bouncy castles were set up for the kids with food available for purchase. With lots to do and check out, Worobec said the entire four days were fantastic.
“They went really well and we had the best Thursday we ever had out of the three events we’ve held. We were blown away by that and while it was slower Friday evening because of the Rider game on TV and the Garth Brooks concert in Regina, Saturday was really good and so was Sunday.”
Worobec said the axe throwing was done by a crew out of Regina who allowed a number of competitors to try it out and some of them walked away with a prize. “We had really good sponsorship this year for prizes. People were coming out of the woodwork and lending a hand by sponsoring prizes. It was awesome.”
Men’s, ladies’ and kids’ events were set up for the axe throwing with prizes handed out and then the sign up sheet was quickly filled for the water boiling competition. “We ended up with two heats of four for the adults and two heats of four for the kids. The four winners then went head-to-head and we had four nice prizes for them.”
Then after everything wrapped up, the community came together to celebrate Manitou Beach’s 100th birthday since incorporation. With entertainment, powwow dancers, refreshments and birthday cake, Worobec said it went really well.
“While we did have a bit of a delay as we generated the cheques for the winning carvers, after announcing the winners we had the cake cutting and people enjoyed cake, juice, coffee and visited as well. Watrous Mayor Ed Collins said a few words on behalf of the community and our local MLA Donna Harpauer and local MP Tom Lukiwski were also in attendance. They were completely blown away by the event. The Lakeside Country Inn also took the carvers out for a cruise along the lake on their pontoon boat and I think they really enjoyed that experience as well. Our attendance as a whole was definitely higher than the previous two chainsaw carving competitions which was really good to see. That final day on Sunday, the parking lot was packed and the weather was practically perfect with the exception of a shower Friday.”
The mayor did note that the third ever event was to be the final one; however with the popularity of the chainsaw carving competition growing each year, he said it looks like it could continue.
“This was supposed to be the last one but people have been encouraging us to continue the event and it looks like we will be doing that. It has been picking up momentum and I think we would like to keep that going in two years time. We really had a good time and it was lots of fun. It was very busy, a lot of work and our volunteers did a tremendous job and at the end of the day, it was well worth every minute of it.”
Daniel Bushman
Carved out of massive pieces of wood, a gigantic crocodile watched motionless as spectators passed by while a pair of youngsters made a splash and an eagle soared under a blue tarp as nine carvers put their talents to the test during the third ever Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition. With a handful of other spectacular carvings thrust into the spotlight during the Aug. 8 to 11 event at Manitou Beach, carvers from across the country, including one from Manitou Beach, dazzled onlookers with their work.
Choosing from the enormous pieces of wood sourced from Glaslyn and locally and transported in by J.D. Weber Tree Services, once carvers made their selections, they got to work creating incredible and awe-inspiring masterpieces. One by one each project began taking shape and once the final touches were made, those watching the event were left in amazement.
Manitou Beach Mayor Gerald Worobec who was also one of the organizers said, “The carvers just knocked it out of the park this year. They just did an unreal job and we are really happy with the quality of carvings. They were really, really well done. Those poor judges had a tough time deciding who to give the nod to in the end but it was a real good event.”
After the hum of chainsaws ended Sunday, the judges took a walkabout to inspect each carving before making their decision. People in attendance also had the opportunity to vote on their favourite work and so did the carvers.
Taking home this year’s first place prize of $3,500 was Medicine Hat, Alberta’s Marina Cole who created ‘Cannon Ball’. Cole was also the winner of the People’s Choice award for $1,000 and was one of three carvers winning the Carvers’ Choice award (each receiving $334).
Each carver posted about their inspiration behind their work and Cole’s depicted two children swimming in the lake with one of them doing a cannonball into the water. The winning carver said, “My inspiration for this carving are my beautiful kids and beautiful Manitou Beach where everyone can come and enjoy the magnificent healing waters!”
Set up right next to Cole was this year’s second place winner of $2,000 and another Alberta carver, Ryan Villiers. Creating ‘Genie’s Quest,’ Villiers also joined Cole as one of the three winners of the Carvers’ Choice, receiving $334 for a total of $2,334.
Carving the Beast from Beauty and the Beast at the last Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition, Villiers was joined this year by his dad Colin and carved Abu the monkey from the movie Aladdin holding a lamp with Genie coming out of it. “Disney was always a childhood favourite and I always sketched the VHS covers in my sketch pad. There is too much turmoil in the world and carving the Genie from Aladdin, to me, represents happiness and enlightenment. The Genie has the gift of granting three wishes - whatever you desire! The Genie then makes your wishes come true . . . granting the happiness everyone desires and is hopeful for.”
With kids making a splash for first place and a Genie granting Abu’s wish to win some prize money, this year’s third place winner of $1,000 was Rob Milner from Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Milner created ‘Soaring Eagle,’ a majestic eagle flying near another perched on a cliff. Milner then created a bench attached to where the eagles were flying for people to sit. Enjoying the opportunity to be at Manitou Beach, during the morning of day three of the competition Milner posted on his Facebook page that Manitou Maple Madness was the best event he had ever attended. “Everyone here has been so kind. So far this has been a very pleasurable event and it isn’t even over yet. Loads of laughs and gold memories, and more to come.”
Milner also shared about his inspiration behind his creation. “I chose this bird for its symbol of beauty, bravery, courage, honour, pride, determination and grace. The eagle is viewed as a pure spirit. The eagle is known for its great strength, leadership and vision. An eagle never surrenders to the size or strength of its prey!! The eagle is man’s connection to the divine as it flies higher than any other bird. The eagle bestows freedom and the courage to look ahead.”
Along with the top three finishers and the People’s Choice award being handed out, the third winner of Carvers’ Choice was Winnipeg, Manitoba’s De-Ann Holmes for her creation, ‘Before Alice and Wonderland.’ Joining Cole and Villiers, Holmes took home $334 and shared her inspiration behind her carving. “The white rabbit is the spark of curiosity that activates Alice’s spiritual awakening. It is the white rabbit who leads Alice down the rabbit hole . . . It is the white rabbit which Alice runs after and searches for endlessly in Wonderland, a symbol of her quest for knowledge. The rabbit finds a watch - “Well no wonder you’re late! This clock is exactly two days slow!” - The Mad Hatter examining the watch.”
In addition to the winners, Marty Duerinckx created ‘Basic Instincts’ depicting an eagle holding a fish in its talons with a bear looking up at the eagle. Jim Niedermayer who has competed at the event in the past made a large Blue Heron looking up to the sky. Another returning carver, Doug Linglebach created ‘Big Bertha,’ a massive crocodile stretching a number of feet in length. Carver Patricia Dippolito’s inspiration came from Manitou Beach’s past as she carved a Sea Monkey and Manitou Beach’s own Wayne Seabrook carved ‘Bird Bath,’ using satire to make an environment statement with an eagle, gull and raven.
As for the rest of Manitou Maple Madness, carvers also participated in a quick carving event, creating bears, a beaver, owls and other works that people could bid on. A water boiling competition was also held as was axe throwing and bouncy castles were set up for the kids with food available for purchase. With lots to do and check out, Worobec said the entire four days were fantastic.
“They went really well and we had the best Thursday we ever had out of the three events we’ve held. We were blown away by that and while it was slower Friday evening because of the Rider game on TV and the Garth Brooks concert in Regina, Saturday was really good and so was Sunday.”
Worobec said the axe throwing was done by a crew out of Regina who allowed a number of competitors to try it out and some of them walked away with a prize. “We had really good sponsorship this year for prizes. People were coming out of the woodwork and lending a hand by sponsoring prizes. It was awesome.”
Men’s, ladies’ and kids’ events were set up for the axe throwing with prizes handed out and then the sign up sheet was quickly filled for the water boiling competition. “We ended up with two heats of four for the adults and two heats of four for the kids. The four winners then went head-to-head and we had four nice prizes for them.”
Then after everything wrapped up, the community came together to celebrate Manitou Beach’s 100th birthday since incorporation. With entertainment, powwow dancers, refreshments and birthday cake, Worobec said it went really well.
“While we did have a bit of a delay as we generated the cheques for the winning carvers, after announcing the winners we had the cake cutting and people enjoyed cake, juice, coffee and visited as well. Watrous Mayor Ed Collins said a few words on behalf of the community and our local MLA Donna Harpauer and local MP Tom Lukiwski were also in attendance. They were completely blown away by the event. The Lakeside Country Inn also took the carvers out for a cruise along the lake on their pontoon boat and I think they really enjoyed that experience as well. Our attendance as a whole was definitely higher than the previous two chainsaw carving competitions which was really good to see. That final day on Sunday, the parking lot was packed and the weather was practically perfect with the exception of a shower Friday.”
The mayor did note that the third ever event was to be the final one; however with the popularity of the chainsaw carving competition growing each year, he said it looks like it could continue.
“This was supposed to be the last one but people have been encouraging us to continue the event and it looks like we will be doing that. It has been picking up momentum and I think we would like to keep that going in two years time. We really had a good time and it was lots of fun. It was very busy, a lot of work and our volunteers did a tremendous job and at the end of the day, it was well worth every minute of it.”
TWM Top Story - Aug. 12, 2019
Record broken at 28th annual Watrous Fun Run
Daniel Bushman
Packed from one end of the street to the other, Main Street in Watrous was not only filled with vehicles of all makes and models but hundreds of people who were eager to check out each of the entries at this year’s Watrous Fun Run Auto Show and Shine. As has been the case for so many years prior, the 28th annual event featured sunshine, family-friendly events, food and a tremendous amount of vehicles.
Noting this would be the final event for organizers Jason and Laura Lindgren, vehicle owners showed their support for the pair as 280 entries were submitted for this year’s Fun Run. That number also set a new record for the event beating 2017’s number of 274. Last year there were more than 230 entries registered.
With numbers climbing towards 300 as the morning went along, that meant overflow was needed to park all of the entries. Space was created at the Watrous Civic Centre parking lot along with a portion of 4th Ave. W. and even part of the parking space next to the former Shop Easy.
“This year’s show was excellent,” said Jason. “We had an average number of local entries and I think there were a quite a few vehicles still parked at home in the garage but I really appreciated all of the local residents who supported this year’s event.”
Enjoying the 2019 version as much as his previous 23 events, Lindgren said he and wife Laura first shadowed the Coachman Car Club back in 1995 and then began organizing in 1996. Having the support from local businesses, organizations and the volunteers over the years helped to make the annual event in Watrous grow to what it is now. Because of that continued support and popularity, Lindgren extended his sincere appreciation to those who have been behind the Fun Run in the past. He also hopes the many who have graciously supported the event will continue to do so in the future as the economic impact to the local area extends beyond that one day.
“A week after the show in Watrous Laura and I went to Brandon, Man. for the annual interprovincial car show called Super Run. It is held in Saskatoon every second year and other years it rotates between Brandon and Red Deer.”
Hosting anywhere between 600 and 1,000 vehicles over three days with activities throughout the week, Jason said they were able to visit with a number of people familiar with the annual event in Watrous and many who attended it.
“One individual from LaRonge had said that because of our event and hospitality, he and his wife have seriously considered Watrous as one of their potential retirement communities. Another gentleman had expressed that the event brought him to town and he was amazed at the huge selection of automobile inventory that Watrous had. He ended up purchasing a new truck at Centennial Ford because of it.”
As residents of a smaller community, Lindgren said being able to host events like the Watrous Fun Run is integral for the future growth and stability of the area. “There is a lot more economic spin off in a community than just food, lodging and fuel. It is because of these businesses that we are able to successfully cater to and host these events with such success. As small towns and villages seem to disappear, it is more important than ever to keep Watrous and Manitou Beach as a destination point on the map. A place where people want to live, work, raise a family and retire. I sincerely hope a group will take on the 29th annual edition July 25, 2020 and Fun Run events beyond next year as well. I will be embarrassed and very disappointed if the town and its business community let this event disappear.”
While no specific group has confirmed they will take on the event moving forward, Community Development Officer with the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group Brendan Manz said, “The Watrous Manitou Marketing Group has taken an active role in finding the next group of people to carry on the Watrous Fun Run Auto Show and Shine or create a similar Main Street event for next year.”
As for this year’s show, after it wrapped up and owners took their vehicles for a drive through Watrous and Manitou Beach, the annual award’s banquet was held. This year’s award winners from the show included:
Top 10 spectator picks (in no particular order other than number one received the most votes)
• 10th #256 Hawkeye - 1936 Chevy - sponsored by MCI Sales;
• ninth #194 Myles Eckersley - 1966 Chevelle - sponsored by Watrous Co-op;
• eighth #146 Roger Davidson - 1966 VW Beetle - sponsored by Gerry’s Barber Shop;
• seventh #114 Ellery Siermachesky - 1967 Ford - sponsored by Watrous Tire and Battery;
• sixth #111 Matt Anderson - 1987 Dodge Truck - sponsored by Watrous Concrete;
• fifth #42 Jacob Siegfried - 2014 Jeep - sponsored by M&M Small Engine Repair;
• fourth #196 Bernie Niska - 1934 Pontiac - sponsored by Care Printing;
• third #183 Garrett Benell - 1966 Chevelle - sponsored by Watrous Tire & Battery;
• second #116 Kyle Stachiack - 1969 Charger - sponsored by The Watrous Manitou; and
• first #180 Harlan Coakwell - 1959 Chev Apache - sponsored by Sly’s Repair
Best Harley
• #169 - Terry Sather - 2016 Harley Davidson - sponsored by DMH Plumbing & Heating
Best Antique Bike
• #148 - Gordon Anderson - 1956 - sponsored by Al’s Truck N’ Car Wash
Best Other Motorcycle
• #205 - Roger Davidson - 2017 Indian Chief - sponsored by Integra Tire
Best Paint
• #47 - Randy Worobec - 1932 Ford Coupe - sponsored by Storage First
Best Unrestored
• #239 - Brian Harrison - 1970 Cuda - sponsored by Watrous Home Hardware
Best Import
• #145 - Rick Middleton - 1960 Triumph - sponsored by H&R Block
Coolest Rat Rod
• #256 - Hawkeye - 1936 Chevy 5 Window Coupe - sponsored by Tri-Central Insurance
Oldest Entry
• #155 - Rob and Joyce Burkitt - 1924 Ford - sponsored by Watrous Lawn & Leisure
Farthest Entries - sponsored by Pip’s Esso & Subway
• #256 - Hawkeye - 1936 Chevy 5W Coupe - West Kelowna, B.C. - 1,305 km; and
• #13 - Tom Kennedy - 1934 Ford Pickup - Tappen, B.C. - 1,218 km
Dealer Picks
Best Ford
• #260 - Gerald Bernauer - 1968 Shelby Mustang - sponsored by Centennial Ford
Best GM
• #180 - Harlan Coakwell - 1959 Chev Apache - sponsored by Watrous Mainline Motors
Best Mopar
• # 140 - Lyle Poncelet - 1971 Hemi Challenger - sponsored by Manitou Mainline Chrysler
VIP Draw Winner
• #67 - Steve Harris - 1977 Olds Cutlass - sponsored by Manitou Springs Resort and Mineral Spa
Pre-Registration Draw
• #37 -Al and Joanne Jennings - 1967 Beaumont Sport - sponsored by Watrous Fun Run
Best Club Participation
• Sask Ford Mercury Club - 29 club entries - sponsored by Watrous Fun Run
Daniel Bushman
Packed from one end of the street to the other, Main Street in Watrous was not only filled with vehicles of all makes and models but hundreds of people who were eager to check out each of the entries at this year’s Watrous Fun Run Auto Show and Shine. As has been the case for so many years prior, the 28th annual event featured sunshine, family-friendly events, food and a tremendous amount of vehicles.
Noting this would be the final event for organizers Jason and Laura Lindgren, vehicle owners showed their support for the pair as 280 entries were submitted for this year’s Fun Run. That number also set a new record for the event beating 2017’s number of 274. Last year there were more than 230 entries registered.
With numbers climbing towards 300 as the morning went along, that meant overflow was needed to park all of the entries. Space was created at the Watrous Civic Centre parking lot along with a portion of 4th Ave. W. and even part of the parking space next to the former Shop Easy.
“This year’s show was excellent,” said Jason. “We had an average number of local entries and I think there were a quite a few vehicles still parked at home in the garage but I really appreciated all of the local residents who supported this year’s event.”
Enjoying the 2019 version as much as his previous 23 events, Lindgren said he and wife Laura first shadowed the Coachman Car Club back in 1995 and then began organizing in 1996. Having the support from local businesses, organizations and the volunteers over the years helped to make the annual event in Watrous grow to what it is now. Because of that continued support and popularity, Lindgren extended his sincere appreciation to those who have been behind the Fun Run in the past. He also hopes the many who have graciously supported the event will continue to do so in the future as the economic impact to the local area extends beyond that one day.
“A week after the show in Watrous Laura and I went to Brandon, Man. for the annual interprovincial car show called Super Run. It is held in Saskatoon every second year and other years it rotates between Brandon and Red Deer.”
Hosting anywhere between 600 and 1,000 vehicles over three days with activities throughout the week, Jason said they were able to visit with a number of people familiar with the annual event in Watrous and many who attended it.
“One individual from LaRonge had said that because of our event and hospitality, he and his wife have seriously considered Watrous as one of their potential retirement communities. Another gentleman had expressed that the event brought him to town and he was amazed at the huge selection of automobile inventory that Watrous had. He ended up purchasing a new truck at Centennial Ford because of it.”
As residents of a smaller community, Lindgren said being able to host events like the Watrous Fun Run is integral for the future growth and stability of the area. “There is a lot more economic spin off in a community than just food, lodging and fuel. It is because of these businesses that we are able to successfully cater to and host these events with such success. As small towns and villages seem to disappear, it is more important than ever to keep Watrous and Manitou Beach as a destination point on the map. A place where people want to live, work, raise a family and retire. I sincerely hope a group will take on the 29th annual edition July 25, 2020 and Fun Run events beyond next year as well. I will be embarrassed and very disappointed if the town and its business community let this event disappear.”
While no specific group has confirmed they will take on the event moving forward, Community Development Officer with the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group Brendan Manz said, “The Watrous Manitou Marketing Group has taken an active role in finding the next group of people to carry on the Watrous Fun Run Auto Show and Shine or create a similar Main Street event for next year.”
As for this year’s show, after it wrapped up and owners took their vehicles for a drive through Watrous and Manitou Beach, the annual award’s banquet was held. This year’s award winners from the show included:
Top 10 spectator picks (in no particular order other than number one received the most votes)
• 10th #256 Hawkeye - 1936 Chevy - sponsored by MCI Sales;
• ninth #194 Myles Eckersley - 1966 Chevelle - sponsored by Watrous Co-op;
• eighth #146 Roger Davidson - 1966 VW Beetle - sponsored by Gerry’s Barber Shop;
• seventh #114 Ellery Siermachesky - 1967 Ford - sponsored by Watrous Tire and Battery;
• sixth #111 Matt Anderson - 1987 Dodge Truck - sponsored by Watrous Concrete;
• fifth #42 Jacob Siegfried - 2014 Jeep - sponsored by M&M Small Engine Repair;
• fourth #196 Bernie Niska - 1934 Pontiac - sponsored by Care Printing;
• third #183 Garrett Benell - 1966 Chevelle - sponsored by Watrous Tire & Battery;
• second #116 Kyle Stachiack - 1969 Charger - sponsored by The Watrous Manitou; and
• first #180 Harlan Coakwell - 1959 Chev Apache - sponsored by Sly’s Repair
Best Harley
• #169 - Terry Sather - 2016 Harley Davidson - sponsored by DMH Plumbing & Heating
Best Antique Bike
• #148 - Gordon Anderson - 1956 - sponsored by Al’s Truck N’ Car Wash
Best Other Motorcycle
• #205 - Roger Davidson - 2017 Indian Chief - sponsored by Integra Tire
Best Paint
• #47 - Randy Worobec - 1932 Ford Coupe - sponsored by Storage First
Best Unrestored
• #239 - Brian Harrison - 1970 Cuda - sponsored by Watrous Home Hardware
Best Import
• #145 - Rick Middleton - 1960 Triumph - sponsored by H&R Block
Coolest Rat Rod
• #256 - Hawkeye - 1936 Chevy 5 Window Coupe - sponsored by Tri-Central Insurance
Oldest Entry
• #155 - Rob and Joyce Burkitt - 1924 Ford - sponsored by Watrous Lawn & Leisure
Farthest Entries - sponsored by Pip’s Esso & Subway
• #256 - Hawkeye - 1936 Chevy 5W Coupe - West Kelowna, B.C. - 1,305 km; and
• #13 - Tom Kennedy - 1934 Ford Pickup - Tappen, B.C. - 1,218 km
Dealer Picks
Best Ford
• #260 - Gerald Bernauer - 1968 Shelby Mustang - sponsored by Centennial Ford
Best GM
• #180 - Harlan Coakwell - 1959 Chev Apache - sponsored by Watrous Mainline Motors
Best Mopar
• # 140 - Lyle Poncelet - 1971 Hemi Challenger - sponsored by Manitou Mainline Chrysler
VIP Draw Winner
• #67 - Steve Harris - 1977 Olds Cutlass - sponsored by Manitou Springs Resort and Mineral Spa
Pre-Registration Draw
• #37 -Al and Joanne Jennings - 1967 Beaumont Sport - sponsored by Watrous Fun Run
Best Club Participation
• Sask Ford Mercury Club - 29 club entries - sponsored by Watrous Fun Run
TWM Top Story - Aug.5, 2019
The Big Float part of centennial celebrations
Daniel Bushman
It was almost like a snapshot from the 1920s (minus perhaps a giant inflatable pink flamingo or two) as people came out in droves July 13, 2019 to go for a float in Little Manitou Lake. Rivalling Banff during the 1920s, Manitou Beach was the place to be during the summer months as beach-goers would crowd the shores and take in the ‘healing waters.’ Over 90 years later, a familiar scene from the 1920s would play out, this time on a Saturday afternoon as nearly 2,000 people packed the beach to take part in the Big Float.
Aiming to set a local record for the most people floating in the buoyant water at one time, Community Development Officer with the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group Brendan Manz said the afternoon event went extremely well. “We had 1,640 people from across the globe who registered to float. There were a lot of Saskatchewan and Alberta people who came for the event and we had a lot of publicity beforehand which really helped to put it in the spotlight. We had heard a few media outlets in Alberta even talked about the Big Float and it ended up being a fantastic day and the weather was great.”
Like others who made their way to the Big Float location near the Burger Buoy, ODA’s and Mike’s Beach Bar, Manitou Beach Mayor Gerald Worobec thought back to when he was a kid. Going over the memories of being at the beach at an early age until now, Worobec could not recall seeing the place as busy as it was during that July afternoon. “This was probably for me one of the most exciting and spectacular events I’ve seen at the beach. I was awestruck with the whole thing. It was fabulous and I found out that there were people from all over the place who came and it was such a fun thing to be a part of. It was a blast and I really enjoyed it. I have never seen anything like it.”
Waking up to calm waters Saturday morning, Manz said organizers made a few final tweaks, set up the registration area across the road from the water and got set for what was to come.
“We had 3,000 engagements on our Facebook page leading up to the Big Float but were not sure how many people would actually come. We knew a large number was a possibility and actually there ended up being more people in attendance who did not register as part of that 1,640 number. Overall we could not have asked for a better turnout.”
In addition to 1,200 people registering from Saskatchewan, Manz noted 265 local people signed up for the event along with 85 from Alberta, 21 from Manitoba, 16 from B.C., 24 from other parts of Canada, 14 from the United States, and 15 from further destinations including three from Germany, three from Moscow, two from Switzerland, and two from the United Kingdom.
“The Big Float definitely engaged people who necessarily would not have come to see us but they sought to be a part of a local record which we attained and to be a part of this event. It got people coming out of the cities who normally would not have come to see us on that weekend. They received more exposure to Manitou Beach and it might be something we look to build on in the future.”
Agreeing wholeheartedly, Woroboc was pleased to see the beach receiving a lot of exposure from the people who turned out. “Brendan did a fabulous job of getting the word out leading up to the event. Every time I turned on the radio or went on Facebook or what have you, it was out there and was well done and organized. It was a pretty proud day and really fun and I hope the committee looks at trying it again next year. Maybe we will hit that 2,000 mark or better.”
In order to create an event like the Big Float, Manz said it could not have been done without the organizers, volunteers and the support from the local community.
“We really appreciated the community and volunteers willing to lend a hand. We had about 25 local residents helping out that day including members from the Watrous RCMP, Watrous Fire Department and Watrous EMS who were great to work with. Just a hats off to everyone for helping to make it happen.”
While Manz and Worobec were not around to experience the incredible numbers of people visiting Manitou Beach back in the 1920s, the pair heard from local residents that the beach looked like it once did during that time period.
“Back then the businesses were all busy and hundreds of people would be in the water and on the beach at any given time,” said Manz. “That is what this place used to be and that has always been our goal to get back to that and this day was an opportunity to celebrate it. On July 13, businesses were busy, people were swimming in the water and relaxing on the beach. When the horn blew at 2 p.m. to signal the official start of the Big Float and the plane flew overhead to snap pictures, people floating in the water and those on the beach gave an enormous cheer. To hear that many people so excited gave me goose bumps. It was incredible to witness.”
A real highlight to the year for a lot of people while signifying Manitou Beach’s 100th anniversary since incorporation, the Big Float is not the only thing people are celebrating. Later this week people will have the chance to once again mark the big year with the third-ever Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition followed by a community picnic.
Taking place next to the Community Hall at Manitou Beach, at least nine carvers will compete at this year’s chainsaw carving competition. Going Aug. 8 to 11, world class carvers will be showing off their talents by taking massive pieces of wood and creating masterpieces. A quick carve event will also return for a third year where people can watch and bid on the smaller carvings with the winning bidder taking the finished piece home.
Worobec said, “In addition to other things that are going to be happening during Aug. 8 to 11 like whittling, bouncy castles, having food vendors on site and a dunk tank, we will have a person doing some axe throwing demonstrations and we will do the water boiling competition again. Once people took to the water boiling competition during our second year of the chainsaw carving event, we had 16 competitors sign up and we took the winner from each heat so four people went head-to-head with some prizes awarded after. It ended up being a really fun event.”
The mayor of the beach noted a few returning carvers will be joined this year by a few new ones who will display their handiwork to those in attendance. People can watch the progress of the carvers each day with the final pieces being judged Sunday afternoon. Since hosting the event is quite costly to hold every other year, Worobec said some local businesses have stepped up in a major way for the 2019 event including Watrous Home Hardware, Manitou Mainline Chrysler and Melron Service. “Their sponsorship will help tremendously with this event and along with gate admission, a 50/50 draw and revenue from the beer gardens, it will all help with the added costs. This was not intended to be a money making event but to hold a different event for people to enjoy. I think it has started to become well-known and a lot of people look forward to it when it takes place.”
As carvers spend Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday creating and crafting their works, once they complete their projects Sunday, judging will take place in the early afternoon in conjunction with a community picnic.
Dignitaries will be in attendance for the picnic which will mark the community’s 100th anniversary. Worobec along with others will be speaking at the afternoon event and there will also be entertainment as well. People wanting to attend the picnic can bring their own food or buy some from the vendors on site. Birthday cake, coffee and juice will also be served and Manz said the entertainment for the big celebration includes Guy Anderson, The Garry Girlz and Pow wow drummers, singers and dancers.
“This day is pretty neat because it is the actual day of incorporation so it will be a nice wrap up with the chainsaw carving competition ending that afternoon as well.” Manz continued, “It has been a pretty terrific year both at Manitou Beach and in Watrous. With the opening of the Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre and another great Fun Run Auto Show and Shine, the area’s popularity appears to be at an all-time high. There might not be as much going on in 2020 as of now but the popularity of the area continues to grow and these events help make that happen.”
Daniel Bushman
It was almost like a snapshot from the 1920s (minus perhaps a giant inflatable pink flamingo or two) as people came out in droves July 13, 2019 to go for a float in Little Manitou Lake. Rivalling Banff during the 1920s, Manitou Beach was the place to be during the summer months as beach-goers would crowd the shores and take in the ‘healing waters.’ Over 90 years later, a familiar scene from the 1920s would play out, this time on a Saturday afternoon as nearly 2,000 people packed the beach to take part in the Big Float.
Aiming to set a local record for the most people floating in the buoyant water at one time, Community Development Officer with the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group Brendan Manz said the afternoon event went extremely well. “We had 1,640 people from across the globe who registered to float. There were a lot of Saskatchewan and Alberta people who came for the event and we had a lot of publicity beforehand which really helped to put it in the spotlight. We had heard a few media outlets in Alberta even talked about the Big Float and it ended up being a fantastic day and the weather was great.”
Like others who made their way to the Big Float location near the Burger Buoy, ODA’s and Mike’s Beach Bar, Manitou Beach Mayor Gerald Worobec thought back to when he was a kid. Going over the memories of being at the beach at an early age until now, Worobec could not recall seeing the place as busy as it was during that July afternoon. “This was probably for me one of the most exciting and spectacular events I’ve seen at the beach. I was awestruck with the whole thing. It was fabulous and I found out that there were people from all over the place who came and it was such a fun thing to be a part of. It was a blast and I really enjoyed it. I have never seen anything like it.”
Waking up to calm waters Saturday morning, Manz said organizers made a few final tweaks, set up the registration area across the road from the water and got set for what was to come.
“We had 3,000 engagements on our Facebook page leading up to the Big Float but were not sure how many people would actually come. We knew a large number was a possibility and actually there ended up being more people in attendance who did not register as part of that 1,640 number. Overall we could not have asked for a better turnout.”
In addition to 1,200 people registering from Saskatchewan, Manz noted 265 local people signed up for the event along with 85 from Alberta, 21 from Manitoba, 16 from B.C., 24 from other parts of Canada, 14 from the United States, and 15 from further destinations including three from Germany, three from Moscow, two from Switzerland, and two from the United Kingdom.
“The Big Float definitely engaged people who necessarily would not have come to see us but they sought to be a part of a local record which we attained and to be a part of this event. It got people coming out of the cities who normally would not have come to see us on that weekend. They received more exposure to Manitou Beach and it might be something we look to build on in the future.”
Agreeing wholeheartedly, Woroboc was pleased to see the beach receiving a lot of exposure from the people who turned out. “Brendan did a fabulous job of getting the word out leading up to the event. Every time I turned on the radio or went on Facebook or what have you, it was out there and was well done and organized. It was a pretty proud day and really fun and I hope the committee looks at trying it again next year. Maybe we will hit that 2,000 mark or better.”
In order to create an event like the Big Float, Manz said it could not have been done without the organizers, volunteers and the support from the local community.
“We really appreciated the community and volunteers willing to lend a hand. We had about 25 local residents helping out that day including members from the Watrous RCMP, Watrous Fire Department and Watrous EMS who were great to work with. Just a hats off to everyone for helping to make it happen.”
While Manz and Worobec were not around to experience the incredible numbers of people visiting Manitou Beach back in the 1920s, the pair heard from local residents that the beach looked like it once did during that time period.
“Back then the businesses were all busy and hundreds of people would be in the water and on the beach at any given time,” said Manz. “That is what this place used to be and that has always been our goal to get back to that and this day was an opportunity to celebrate it. On July 13, businesses were busy, people were swimming in the water and relaxing on the beach. When the horn blew at 2 p.m. to signal the official start of the Big Float and the plane flew overhead to snap pictures, people floating in the water and those on the beach gave an enormous cheer. To hear that many people so excited gave me goose bumps. It was incredible to witness.”
A real highlight to the year for a lot of people while signifying Manitou Beach’s 100th anniversary since incorporation, the Big Float is not the only thing people are celebrating. Later this week people will have the chance to once again mark the big year with the third-ever Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition followed by a community picnic.
Taking place next to the Community Hall at Manitou Beach, at least nine carvers will compete at this year’s chainsaw carving competition. Going Aug. 8 to 11, world class carvers will be showing off their talents by taking massive pieces of wood and creating masterpieces. A quick carve event will also return for a third year where people can watch and bid on the smaller carvings with the winning bidder taking the finished piece home.
Worobec said, “In addition to other things that are going to be happening during Aug. 8 to 11 like whittling, bouncy castles, having food vendors on site and a dunk tank, we will have a person doing some axe throwing demonstrations and we will do the water boiling competition again. Once people took to the water boiling competition during our second year of the chainsaw carving event, we had 16 competitors sign up and we took the winner from each heat so four people went head-to-head with some prizes awarded after. It ended up being a really fun event.”
The mayor of the beach noted a few returning carvers will be joined this year by a few new ones who will display their handiwork to those in attendance. People can watch the progress of the carvers each day with the final pieces being judged Sunday afternoon. Since hosting the event is quite costly to hold every other year, Worobec said some local businesses have stepped up in a major way for the 2019 event including Watrous Home Hardware, Manitou Mainline Chrysler and Melron Service. “Their sponsorship will help tremendously with this event and along with gate admission, a 50/50 draw and revenue from the beer gardens, it will all help with the added costs. This was not intended to be a money making event but to hold a different event for people to enjoy. I think it has started to become well-known and a lot of people look forward to it when it takes place.”
As carvers spend Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday creating and crafting their works, once they complete their projects Sunday, judging will take place in the early afternoon in conjunction with a community picnic.
Dignitaries will be in attendance for the picnic which will mark the community’s 100th anniversary. Worobec along with others will be speaking at the afternoon event and there will also be entertainment as well. People wanting to attend the picnic can bring their own food or buy some from the vendors on site. Birthday cake, coffee and juice will also be served and Manz said the entertainment for the big celebration includes Guy Anderson, The Garry Girlz and Pow wow drummers, singers and dancers.
“This day is pretty neat because it is the actual day of incorporation so it will be a nice wrap up with the chainsaw carving competition ending that afternoon as well.” Manz continued, “It has been a pretty terrific year both at Manitou Beach and in Watrous. With the opening of the Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre and another great Fun Run Auto Show and Shine, the area’s popularity appears to be at an all-time high. There might not be as much going on in 2020 as of now but the popularity of the area continues to grow and these events help make that happen.”
TWM Top Story - July 15, 2019
Local resident receives new lease on life
Daniel Bushman
For three days a week, spending four hours in a hospital receiving life-sustaining dialysis therapy each time over a five year time period, it had become painfully routine for Manitou Beach resident Michael Gaudet. Monday, June 10 appeared to be no different but by the time the day came to an end it would be life-altering for the 60-year-old who patiently awaited a kidney transplant.
Since he was informed that he needed a new kidney, the second time he would require such a transplant in his life, the artist and author essentially put his life on hold. Receiving upwards of 2,800 dialysis treatments and spending over 11,200 hours in a hospital over the next five years, June 10, 2019 started out like any other day for Gaudet. Michael and his wife Sharon got up on that June 10 morning, had a bite to eat and made the over one hour trek to Saskatoon where Michael spent the next four hours receiving dialysis. After another life-saving treatment, he and Sharon hopped back into the vehicle and returned home where they enjoyed supper and went to bed. Asleep and prepared to go in for another routine treatment, Gaudet’s phone rang. On the other end was nephrologist Dr. Ahmed Shoker, the medical director of the provincial transplant program.
“Michael, we have a kidney for you.”
Words Michael and Sharon had been waiting for . . . words that his supporters had been hoping for . . . and words that Gaudet had remarkably heard once before.
It was nearly 40 years ago when Gaudet was first diagnosed with end stage renal failure. On emergency dialysis in Toronto, he endured seven months of being hooked up to a machine before his brother Steve generously donated one of his own kidneys. Lasting for 34 years, a record Gaudet notes for Western Canada, his kidney began to taper off and in 2014 it was time for a new one. However, the problem this time around was that Michael did not have a willing donor and had to wait it out.
Unfortunately the local resident is not alone in that waiting game as four million Canadians and 850 million people across the globe are estimated to have kidney diseases from various causes. That is according to the Kidney Foundation of Canada who noted chronic kidney disease causes at least 2.4 million deaths per year globally and is now the sixth fastest growing cause of death.
Elizabeth Myles, Executive Director of The Kidney Foundation of Canada said since 2008 the number of people living with kidney failure in Canada has grown by 35 percent. “It is the 10th leading non-accidental cause of mortality in Canada, so the situation remains alarming for Canadians.”
The Kidney Foundation of Canada further explained a person can lose more than 50 percent of their kidney function before symptoms appear. Currently, nearly 49,000 Canadians are being treated for kidney failure and 25 percent of patients were late referrals, meaning they began dialysis fewer than 90 days after first seeing a nephrologist.
For Gaudet, knowing he could die without dialysis, it meant five gruelling years of going back and forth to Saskatoon and being hooked up to a machine. “I never gave up hope though because my surgeon, Dr. Michael Moser kept saying to me that one of these days at 3 a.m. you will be wheeling down towards the operating room for a kidney. Just keep the faith.”
Not giving up or losing hope, the phone call Michael and Sharon had been waiting for finally came. Dr. Shoker explained to Gaudet that he had a kidney for him. While it was not a perfect match, it was indeed a good match.
Packing an overnight bag as quickly as he humanly could, like they had done so many times before, Michael and Sharon hopped into their vehicle and travelled to Saskatoon for one last time. Arriving at the hospital around 10:30 p.m., Gaudet said the whole series of events were a bit of a blur. “It just happened like a bolt out of the blue. Sure enough at 3 a.m. Dr. Moser was there saying, ‘I told you so.’”
Around 4:30 a.m., Michael had himself a new kidney and also met the person who received the other kidney from an organ donor who had passed away. The other recipient turned out to be Gaudet’s dialysis neighbour from the hospital ward. “Someone died of a heart attack but before he died, he signed his donor card and the family honoured his wishes. That is just huge. Sometimes families can intervene but now his kidney is living on in two different people and so he has a long legacy of kidney health ahead of him thanks to his amazing gift. I really encourage everyone out there to sign their donor cards, it is pretty painless.”
While Michael and his neighbour on the ward both received new leases on life, the new kidney in Gaudet took a bit of time to begin functioning properly. “The kidney was sleepy at the beginning so it took about a week. They gave me medication, almost like a kidney turbo booster and about five days later the kidney began working.”
Known for his gigantic murals, personal portraits and even penning books detailing his journey of receiving his first transplant, Gaudet soon began seeing immediate improvements to his health and well-being. After his new kidney began working properly, Gaudet’s blood pressure decreased, various blood components and toxins went down and he started to get more energy. He could go for walks without getting shortness of breath, his joint and muscle pain vanished and the biggest thing he noticed was better mental clarity.
“When you are on dialysis you can have pretty severe brain fog. Put it this way, if you think of something you need from town and write it down you have a hope. If you forget your list, you are out of luck. If you forget to write what you need down in the first place it passes right on by and you won’t have a clue what you needed.”
As his health improved considerably, within about two weeks since his transplant Gaudet’s new kidney was functioning normally. Over the course of four nights, Gaudet also shed 22 pounds of extra fluid. “For the first few days I had to have tons of fluid by intravenous to keep the kidney swimming but it wasn’t getting shed so I needed to go for three or four extra dialysis treatments just for comfort. Then after it kicked in, my doctor said I was doing dialysis without a machine. It was amazing and I really feel it is a new lease on life.”
While the kidney transplant has given Gaudet the knowledge that he will no longer be tethered to a dialysis machine, the transplant also brings with it anti rejection drugs and extra vitamins. “The anti rejection drugs tend to make a person more vulnerable for picking up any bugs so when I go to town I wear a mask just to be safe. For the next five or six weeks the medication will be pretty intense but after that it will taper off to more of a maintenance dosage.”
Anticipating living a normal life once again, the five year road of receiving dialysis was not an easy one but Gaudet knew he just had to push ahead.
“I had dialysis three times a week for four hours but that also meant driving to and from Manitou Beach to Saskatoon which is over an hour away. I basically just zoned out and cranked my tunes during each trip. What can you do besides persevere? I ended up in the emergency room 13 times over Christmas in 2014 with blood pressure issues and they just couldn’t get a handle on it. I switched doctors and all of a sudden I was told I needed this, this and this to deal with my blood pressure and after that I had no problems. Once we got all settled in and got the numbers and treatment figured out, I just went to Saskatoon, arrived at 11:45 a.m. and brought my laptop with me. It was like my portable office and I just tinkered around on my laptop. I figured eventually I would get that call for a transplant. You just have to stay positive. It did take five years but I was really trying to put signs out there to indicate I needed this replacement. Somehow or another the universe conspired to cooperate and it just came out like a bolt of lightning and it is like a real miracle. Lots of people, like hundreds and hundreds of people, were praying for me too and that was a real help for me.”
Having that support helped Gaudet tremendously but as he waited for his new kidney and as he made trips to and from Saskatoon each week, he still had bills to pay and a career to tend to.
“I was not ready to retire,” he said. “As much as I felt like it some days, I couldn’t.”
So to the best of his ability, he picked up his brush, put on his creative hat and continued to work. “I spent time on my signature large-scale murals when energy permitted including putting time and efforts towards the Resort Village of Manitou Beach’s celebration mural which we unveiled earlier this year. I also worked on the audio book version of my first two books: ‘Dancing with Rejection: A Beginner’s Guide to Immortality,’ and ‘A Work in Progress: The Life my Brother Saved.’ The audio-book versions were being narrated and produced by Regina-based sound engineer Shawn Broom of ‘The Story of U’ podcast fame.”
While he was not able to go full speed ahead, the artist and author was able to still accomplish a few projects. And as for what is next now that Gaudet has his new lease on life. He already has some work lined up once he feels a bit better. While in the hospital recovering from his transplant, Gaudet reached out to a bunch of different people and received up to two months of light design work that he can do from his drafting table at home. Because he can only lift 10 pounds for the time being, Gaudet figured he is a few months away from painting bigger projects but met someone in the hospital who would like him to do a commission.
“That will be a fun project to do once I am feeling up to it.”
Gaudet is also planning to help a kidney advocate based out of the United States who created a campaign to pass out decals to living donors and kidney recipients and he will be featured on an online program. “She wants me to create a whole new design campaign for her project and so far she has given out around 30,000 of these decals across the globe. There is also a new online show called Global Kidney Health which is done by Urban Health Alliance. It goes online as a video with interviews and I am talking about my kidney journey. It is going to be really interesting.”
With things looking up for Gaudet, aside from putting a temporary hold on his career, the artist said he now feels great. “I can walk three or four blocks before getting winded. Before I could barely make it to the car and I would be puffing for breath. When you are on dialysis you have a lot of extra fluid on board, even in your lungs but I left the hospital with them dry. One thing that I found very important was to buy a water bottle and stay hydrated. The best advice I can give to a transplant recipient is to be compliant, don’t mess with your medication, take the medication on time and listen to your doctor. Play by the rules.”
Hoping the new kidney lasts for a long time, like the one from his brother, Gaudet was sincerely appreciative towards his doctors, nurses, the donor family, his wife Sharon and all of those who have walked with him along the way. That appreciation was also extended to the multitudes who have been in similar situations as Michael and have been supportive to him as well.
In 2014 Gaudet created a Facebook support group with encouragement from his wife for peer-to-peer support. “In the first year back in 2014, the group grew to over 900 members. The idea was to ask members for strategies for kidney health and since that time, the group has grown to over 22,000 members. It is a ‘living encyclopedia for all things kidney-related.’ In a way, it is a powerful legacy to kidney health on the Internet.”
That group which has members from all over the world have acted as supporters, encouraging many on their journeys like Gaudet as they wait for a transplant or receive dialysis. “There are lots from that group who have had more than one transplant like myself and one person from that group has had four transplants. I have been posting updates throughout my journey and sometimes I receive 1,000 likes or 400 or 500 comments because people have been following me and hoping and praying I do get this transplant. I am just one of many on the site. It is like a cheering squad for all of the transplant recipients and dialysis patients. Someone will post on the site that they are going to persevere and they had a great day and dialysis was going good. Everyone wants to encourage everyone so they get behind that person through likes or positive comments. Your mental attitude is everything really. You can sink into despair or get really upset and angry but it won’t help. You have to stay positive and buoyant and have faith it is going to happen. I am living evidence and proof of that.”
Daniel Bushman
For three days a week, spending four hours in a hospital receiving life-sustaining dialysis therapy each time over a five year time period, it had become painfully routine for Manitou Beach resident Michael Gaudet. Monday, June 10 appeared to be no different but by the time the day came to an end it would be life-altering for the 60-year-old who patiently awaited a kidney transplant.
Since he was informed that he needed a new kidney, the second time he would require such a transplant in his life, the artist and author essentially put his life on hold. Receiving upwards of 2,800 dialysis treatments and spending over 11,200 hours in a hospital over the next five years, June 10, 2019 started out like any other day for Gaudet. Michael and his wife Sharon got up on that June 10 morning, had a bite to eat and made the over one hour trek to Saskatoon where Michael spent the next four hours receiving dialysis. After another life-saving treatment, he and Sharon hopped back into the vehicle and returned home where they enjoyed supper and went to bed. Asleep and prepared to go in for another routine treatment, Gaudet’s phone rang. On the other end was nephrologist Dr. Ahmed Shoker, the medical director of the provincial transplant program.
“Michael, we have a kidney for you.”
Words Michael and Sharon had been waiting for . . . words that his supporters had been hoping for . . . and words that Gaudet had remarkably heard once before.
It was nearly 40 years ago when Gaudet was first diagnosed with end stage renal failure. On emergency dialysis in Toronto, he endured seven months of being hooked up to a machine before his brother Steve generously donated one of his own kidneys. Lasting for 34 years, a record Gaudet notes for Western Canada, his kidney began to taper off and in 2014 it was time for a new one. However, the problem this time around was that Michael did not have a willing donor and had to wait it out.
Unfortunately the local resident is not alone in that waiting game as four million Canadians and 850 million people across the globe are estimated to have kidney diseases from various causes. That is according to the Kidney Foundation of Canada who noted chronic kidney disease causes at least 2.4 million deaths per year globally and is now the sixth fastest growing cause of death.
Elizabeth Myles, Executive Director of The Kidney Foundation of Canada said since 2008 the number of people living with kidney failure in Canada has grown by 35 percent. “It is the 10th leading non-accidental cause of mortality in Canada, so the situation remains alarming for Canadians.”
The Kidney Foundation of Canada further explained a person can lose more than 50 percent of their kidney function before symptoms appear. Currently, nearly 49,000 Canadians are being treated for kidney failure and 25 percent of patients were late referrals, meaning they began dialysis fewer than 90 days after first seeing a nephrologist.
For Gaudet, knowing he could die without dialysis, it meant five gruelling years of going back and forth to Saskatoon and being hooked up to a machine. “I never gave up hope though because my surgeon, Dr. Michael Moser kept saying to me that one of these days at 3 a.m. you will be wheeling down towards the operating room for a kidney. Just keep the faith.”
Not giving up or losing hope, the phone call Michael and Sharon had been waiting for finally came. Dr. Shoker explained to Gaudet that he had a kidney for him. While it was not a perfect match, it was indeed a good match.
Packing an overnight bag as quickly as he humanly could, like they had done so many times before, Michael and Sharon hopped into their vehicle and travelled to Saskatoon for one last time. Arriving at the hospital around 10:30 p.m., Gaudet said the whole series of events were a bit of a blur. “It just happened like a bolt out of the blue. Sure enough at 3 a.m. Dr. Moser was there saying, ‘I told you so.’”
Around 4:30 a.m., Michael had himself a new kidney and also met the person who received the other kidney from an organ donor who had passed away. The other recipient turned out to be Gaudet’s dialysis neighbour from the hospital ward. “Someone died of a heart attack but before he died, he signed his donor card and the family honoured his wishes. That is just huge. Sometimes families can intervene but now his kidney is living on in two different people and so he has a long legacy of kidney health ahead of him thanks to his amazing gift. I really encourage everyone out there to sign their donor cards, it is pretty painless.”
While Michael and his neighbour on the ward both received new leases on life, the new kidney in Gaudet took a bit of time to begin functioning properly. “The kidney was sleepy at the beginning so it took about a week. They gave me medication, almost like a kidney turbo booster and about five days later the kidney began working.”
Known for his gigantic murals, personal portraits and even penning books detailing his journey of receiving his first transplant, Gaudet soon began seeing immediate improvements to his health and well-being. After his new kidney began working properly, Gaudet’s blood pressure decreased, various blood components and toxins went down and he started to get more energy. He could go for walks without getting shortness of breath, his joint and muscle pain vanished and the biggest thing he noticed was better mental clarity.
“When you are on dialysis you can have pretty severe brain fog. Put it this way, if you think of something you need from town and write it down you have a hope. If you forget your list, you are out of luck. If you forget to write what you need down in the first place it passes right on by and you won’t have a clue what you needed.”
As his health improved considerably, within about two weeks since his transplant Gaudet’s new kidney was functioning normally. Over the course of four nights, Gaudet also shed 22 pounds of extra fluid. “For the first few days I had to have tons of fluid by intravenous to keep the kidney swimming but it wasn’t getting shed so I needed to go for three or four extra dialysis treatments just for comfort. Then after it kicked in, my doctor said I was doing dialysis without a machine. It was amazing and I really feel it is a new lease on life.”
While the kidney transplant has given Gaudet the knowledge that he will no longer be tethered to a dialysis machine, the transplant also brings with it anti rejection drugs and extra vitamins. “The anti rejection drugs tend to make a person more vulnerable for picking up any bugs so when I go to town I wear a mask just to be safe. For the next five or six weeks the medication will be pretty intense but after that it will taper off to more of a maintenance dosage.”
Anticipating living a normal life once again, the five year road of receiving dialysis was not an easy one but Gaudet knew he just had to push ahead.
“I had dialysis three times a week for four hours but that also meant driving to and from Manitou Beach to Saskatoon which is over an hour away. I basically just zoned out and cranked my tunes during each trip. What can you do besides persevere? I ended up in the emergency room 13 times over Christmas in 2014 with blood pressure issues and they just couldn’t get a handle on it. I switched doctors and all of a sudden I was told I needed this, this and this to deal with my blood pressure and after that I had no problems. Once we got all settled in and got the numbers and treatment figured out, I just went to Saskatoon, arrived at 11:45 a.m. and brought my laptop with me. It was like my portable office and I just tinkered around on my laptop. I figured eventually I would get that call for a transplant. You just have to stay positive. It did take five years but I was really trying to put signs out there to indicate I needed this replacement. Somehow or another the universe conspired to cooperate and it just came out like a bolt of lightning and it is like a real miracle. Lots of people, like hundreds and hundreds of people, were praying for me too and that was a real help for me.”
Having that support helped Gaudet tremendously but as he waited for his new kidney and as he made trips to and from Saskatoon each week, he still had bills to pay and a career to tend to.
“I was not ready to retire,” he said. “As much as I felt like it some days, I couldn’t.”
So to the best of his ability, he picked up his brush, put on his creative hat and continued to work. “I spent time on my signature large-scale murals when energy permitted including putting time and efforts towards the Resort Village of Manitou Beach’s celebration mural which we unveiled earlier this year. I also worked on the audio book version of my first two books: ‘Dancing with Rejection: A Beginner’s Guide to Immortality,’ and ‘A Work in Progress: The Life my Brother Saved.’ The audio-book versions were being narrated and produced by Regina-based sound engineer Shawn Broom of ‘The Story of U’ podcast fame.”
While he was not able to go full speed ahead, the artist and author was able to still accomplish a few projects. And as for what is next now that Gaudet has his new lease on life. He already has some work lined up once he feels a bit better. While in the hospital recovering from his transplant, Gaudet reached out to a bunch of different people and received up to two months of light design work that he can do from his drafting table at home. Because he can only lift 10 pounds for the time being, Gaudet figured he is a few months away from painting bigger projects but met someone in the hospital who would like him to do a commission.
“That will be a fun project to do once I am feeling up to it.”
Gaudet is also planning to help a kidney advocate based out of the United States who created a campaign to pass out decals to living donors and kidney recipients and he will be featured on an online program. “She wants me to create a whole new design campaign for her project and so far she has given out around 30,000 of these decals across the globe. There is also a new online show called Global Kidney Health which is done by Urban Health Alliance. It goes online as a video with interviews and I am talking about my kidney journey. It is going to be really interesting.”
With things looking up for Gaudet, aside from putting a temporary hold on his career, the artist said he now feels great. “I can walk three or four blocks before getting winded. Before I could barely make it to the car and I would be puffing for breath. When you are on dialysis you have a lot of extra fluid on board, even in your lungs but I left the hospital with them dry. One thing that I found very important was to buy a water bottle and stay hydrated. The best advice I can give to a transplant recipient is to be compliant, don’t mess with your medication, take the medication on time and listen to your doctor. Play by the rules.”
Hoping the new kidney lasts for a long time, like the one from his brother, Gaudet was sincerely appreciative towards his doctors, nurses, the donor family, his wife Sharon and all of those who have walked with him along the way. That appreciation was also extended to the multitudes who have been in similar situations as Michael and have been supportive to him as well.
In 2014 Gaudet created a Facebook support group with encouragement from his wife for peer-to-peer support. “In the first year back in 2014, the group grew to over 900 members. The idea was to ask members for strategies for kidney health and since that time, the group has grown to over 22,000 members. It is a ‘living encyclopedia for all things kidney-related.’ In a way, it is a powerful legacy to kidney health on the Internet.”
That group which has members from all over the world have acted as supporters, encouraging many on their journeys like Gaudet as they wait for a transplant or receive dialysis. “There are lots from that group who have had more than one transplant like myself and one person from that group has had four transplants. I have been posting updates throughout my journey and sometimes I receive 1,000 likes or 400 or 500 comments because people have been following me and hoping and praying I do get this transplant. I am just one of many on the site. It is like a cheering squad for all of the transplant recipients and dialysis patients. Someone will post on the site that they are going to persevere and they had a great day and dialysis was going good. Everyone wants to encourage everyone so they get behind that person through likes or positive comments. Your mental attitude is everything really. You can sink into despair or get really upset and angry but it won’t help. You have to stay positive and buoyant and have faith it is going to happen. I am living evidence and proof of that.”
TWM Top Story - July 8, 2019
Local residents take in victory parade for Raptors
Daniel Bushman
It will be a moment that millions of Canadians will remember for a very long while and for two people from Watrous, an experience they will not soon forget. As the Toronto Raptors were defeating the Golden State Warriors in game six of the NBA finals in Oakland, back in Ontario, Earl Hayhurst and Dexter Darwich were at Niagara Falls.
Flying out from Saskatchewan to Ontario for the NXNE (North by North East) music festival, both Hayhurst and Darwich had booked their tickets way back in February not knowing the Raptors would be in the NBA finals. By luck they just happened to be at Niagara Falls when the team won the title June 13 and were in downtown Toronto when the victory parade was held.
“When they won it was nuts,” said Hayhurst who owns Video Stop in Watrous. “People were driving up and down the streets honking horns and screaming.”
Not only was it bedlam in Niagara Falls and Toronto as fans took to the streets to celebrate but an entire nation erupted. With viewing parties held across the country, including at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, preliminary data from Numeris confirmed the June 13 game attracted an average audience of 7.7 million viewers on TSN, CTV, and RDS, making it the most-watched NBA game on record in Canada and the biggest English-language television broadcast in three years. A record 15.9 million unique Canadian viewers or 44 percent of Canada’s population tuned in to watch some part of the game. TSN and CTV’s post-game coverage attracted an average audience of 6.5 million viewers who watched the Raptors celebrate their historic 114-110 game six win.
After the historic victory, a massive parade was planned for the Raptors in Toronto the following Monday, a day that Hayhurst and Darwich just happened to be in the city. As millions of people once again tuned in from across the country to watch the celebratory event unfold, it was estimated that at least a million people flooded the streets in the Greater Toronto Area to take in the victory parade June 17.
Starting in the morning at the Princes’ Gates, located on the Exhibition Place grounds, members of the Raptors hopped on busses and slowly made their way through the hundreds of thousands of fans lining the streets, ending at Nathan Phillips Square for a celebration rally.
Staying a block away from where the parade ended, Hayhurst and Darwich waded into the crowd earlier in the day to check out the festivities. “The parade itself was insane. Having been to a bunch of music festivals in the past this was the biggest crowd I’d ever seen,” said Hayhurst. “Sadly it was poorly policed and quite scary. There were people near us climbing on a parked ambulance and people were climbing the Bay building construction site. It became clear to us that the parade wasn’t going to arrive while we were there so we ended up leaving because we had previously booked a harbour cruise.”
Looking back at that decision, Hayhurst was glad they left when they did because the festivities were periodically interrupted as emergency services responded to a shooting at the back of the square near Queen Street West and Bay Street. “The shooting that took place was in the area we were. It was nuts.”
Toronto police said four people were shot and suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and police took three people into custody and were searching for a fourth person. Two firearms were also recovered after shots rang out at approximately 3:30 p.m., just after the basketball team arrived at Nathan Phillips Square.
Escaping before the stampede from a panicked crowd took place, when Hayhurst and Darwich returned to the area after their harbour cruise Earl said it was still busy. “They had closed the two main subway lines in the downtown core so it was packed.”
Getting to their Air bed and breakfast by 7 p.m. that night and returning to Watrous 24 hours later, Hayhurst recalled the whole experience, one he never imagined would have been possible just four months earlier.
Daniel Bushman
It will be a moment that millions of Canadians will remember for a very long while and for two people from Watrous, an experience they will not soon forget. As the Toronto Raptors were defeating the Golden State Warriors in game six of the NBA finals in Oakland, back in Ontario, Earl Hayhurst and Dexter Darwich were at Niagara Falls.
Flying out from Saskatchewan to Ontario for the NXNE (North by North East) music festival, both Hayhurst and Darwich had booked their tickets way back in February not knowing the Raptors would be in the NBA finals. By luck they just happened to be at Niagara Falls when the team won the title June 13 and were in downtown Toronto when the victory parade was held.
“When they won it was nuts,” said Hayhurst who owns Video Stop in Watrous. “People were driving up and down the streets honking horns and screaming.”
Not only was it bedlam in Niagara Falls and Toronto as fans took to the streets to celebrate but an entire nation erupted. With viewing parties held across the country, including at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, preliminary data from Numeris confirmed the June 13 game attracted an average audience of 7.7 million viewers on TSN, CTV, and RDS, making it the most-watched NBA game on record in Canada and the biggest English-language television broadcast in three years. A record 15.9 million unique Canadian viewers or 44 percent of Canada’s population tuned in to watch some part of the game. TSN and CTV’s post-game coverage attracted an average audience of 6.5 million viewers who watched the Raptors celebrate their historic 114-110 game six win.
After the historic victory, a massive parade was planned for the Raptors in Toronto the following Monday, a day that Hayhurst and Darwich just happened to be in the city. As millions of people once again tuned in from across the country to watch the celebratory event unfold, it was estimated that at least a million people flooded the streets in the Greater Toronto Area to take in the victory parade June 17.
Starting in the morning at the Princes’ Gates, located on the Exhibition Place grounds, members of the Raptors hopped on busses and slowly made their way through the hundreds of thousands of fans lining the streets, ending at Nathan Phillips Square for a celebration rally.
Staying a block away from where the parade ended, Hayhurst and Darwich waded into the crowd earlier in the day to check out the festivities. “The parade itself was insane. Having been to a bunch of music festivals in the past this was the biggest crowd I’d ever seen,” said Hayhurst. “Sadly it was poorly policed and quite scary. There were people near us climbing on a parked ambulance and people were climbing the Bay building construction site. It became clear to us that the parade wasn’t going to arrive while we were there so we ended up leaving because we had previously booked a harbour cruise.”
Looking back at that decision, Hayhurst was glad they left when they did because the festivities were periodically interrupted as emergency services responded to a shooting at the back of the square near Queen Street West and Bay Street. “The shooting that took place was in the area we were. It was nuts.”
Toronto police said four people were shot and suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and police took three people into custody and were searching for a fourth person. Two firearms were also recovered after shots rang out at approximately 3:30 p.m., just after the basketball team arrived at Nathan Phillips Square.
Escaping before the stampede from a panicked crowd took place, when Hayhurst and Darwich returned to the area after their harbour cruise Earl said it was still busy. “They had closed the two main subway lines in the downtown core so it was packed.”
Getting to their Air bed and breakfast by 7 p.m. that night and returning to Watrous 24 hours later, Hayhurst recalled the whole experience, one he never imagined would have been possible just four months earlier.
TWM Top Story - July 1, 2019
Needed rains arrive in June
Daniel Bushman
While it took some time - more time than many would have liked - the wettest month of the year finally started living up to its reputation as the local area received some much needed moisture in June. After hardly any precipitation during the spring, fields and lawns remained very dry and sloughs and bodies of water receded in a lot of areas across Saskatchewan. However, by the time the final week of June arrived, the month had almost reached its average for rainfall.
At 85.9 mm being the average number for rainfall in June, Meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada Terri Lang said the vast majority of precipitation fell in a four day span totalling almost 67 millimetres (2.6 inches). Add that to previous numbers and June had around 74.7 mm (almost three inches) for the area, a substantial amount more than the previous three months combined.
“In May you only saw about 12.6 mm of rain, April had only 7.1 mm and March there was only 2.6 mm of rain so it was very dry coming into that period. I think that has been the same for many places across Saskatchewan and some places saw the driest spring on record.”
The first larger rainfall for some places like Lanigan and Jansen areas occurred when a slow moving disturbance brought rain and scattered thunderstorms to southern Saskatchewan June 14 to 16. From local reports, the Lanigan area received anywhere from an inch and a quarter by Pound-Maker to an inch and three quarters north of Lanigan to two inches just west of town. LeRoy and Nokomis each received at least an inch while Watrous had to wait another week for the rain, receiving about two-tenths of an inch. Outside of Young, there was merely a sprinkle.
As for other areas in the province, Environment and Climate Change Canada issued the following rainfall totals in millimetres from 6 a.m. Friday, June 14 to 5 a.m. Monday, June 17: Saskatoon 5, Regina less than 1, Prince Albert 12, Moose Jaw 2, Swift Current 17, Yorkton 46, North Battleford 6, Pilger 65, Leader 42, Melfort 30, Scott 26, Broadview 23, Wynyard 21, Rosetown 20, Indian Head 17, Outlook 15, Coronach 12, Cypress Hills Park 12, Lucky Lake 11, Spiritwood 10, Estevan 9, Waseca 9, Val Marie 8, Mankota 8, Maple Creek 8, Loon Lake 8, Assiniboia 7, Last Mountain 4, Rockglen 2 and Meadow Lake 2.
After the first larger system went through parts of Saskatchewan, a second slow moving low pressure system bringing an extended period of rainfall to southern Saskatchewan rolled into the area June 21 and 22. Local reports indicated Lanigan had around two inches of rain while Jansen reached closer to two and a half inches. Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a weather summary of 24 hour rainfall amounts (in millimeters) up to 8 a.m. Saturday, June 22 which included: Cypress Hills: 69, Assiniboia: 50.1, Coronach: 46.2, Wynyard: 43.5, Clavet: 40.4, Lucky Lake: 39.5, Craik: 38.4, Moose Jaw: 37.8, Wynyard: 35.6, Pilger: 35, Eastend: 35, Lucky Lake: 35, Watrous: 33.6, Val Marie: 33.2, Swift Current: 39, Regina: 31, Conquest: 30.5, Spalding: 29.2, Gravelbourg: 28.7, Maple Creek: 33, Saskatoon: 27.9, Elbow: 27, Last Mountain: 23, and Rockglen: 20.6.
Environment and Climate Change Canada also provided a summary for the seven day total rainfall amounts reported to them from Sunday, June 16 to midnight Sunday, June 23 with rainfall in millimetres: Coronach: 121.4, Assiniboia: 101.3, Swift Current: 95.3, Cypress Hills: 91.6, Lucky Lake: 77.9, Val Marie: 77.6, Moose Jaw: 73.8, Watrous: 68.3, Saskatoon: 60.3, Wynyard: 59.7, Eastend: 56.9, Regina: 55.5, Leader: 47, Weyburn: 35.1, Prince Albert: 28.4, Yorkton: 18.3, and Estevan: 12.5. It is estimated that the Lanigan area received around 109 mm from June 14 to 23.
Lang said despite the downpours across regions in the province near the end of the month, there were still places in the province which are down a couple hundred millimeters of rain over the past year. “It will make a dent in that for sure.”
Michael Brown, Crops Extension Specialist at the Regional Services Branch in Watrous for the Ministry of Agriculture said, “The recent rains in the Watrous/Lanigan area have been timely for some and too late for others. Fall seeded crops and some early seeded spring crops have been impacted by varying degrees with the lack of early season precipitation. Spotty showers in May helped some areas with germination and carried crops to the recent precipitation with adequate soil moisture to minimize effects from the lack of rain. Livestock producers saw some recharge of dugouts and sloughs, contributing to their water supply for the coming weeks. Ideally, it would have been nice if it would have arrived earlier, but the recent moisture is good news for hay and pasture production, and will certainly help livestock producers secure some more feed for their animals. These rains haven’t come without their share of headache though, fields that had areas with some crop emergence and other areas with the seed still sitting in a dry seedbed that received enough moisture to germinate will now have various stages of crop growth making pesticide and harvest timing more difficult. As well, some fields have now passed the stage for in-crop weed control and the precipitation has resulted in the emergence of a late flush of weeds. Although these rains help immensely, more will be needed in the coming weeks, especially during flowering when yield loss from moisture stress is greatest.”
Daniel Bushman
While it took some time - more time than many would have liked - the wettest month of the year finally started living up to its reputation as the local area received some much needed moisture in June. After hardly any precipitation during the spring, fields and lawns remained very dry and sloughs and bodies of water receded in a lot of areas across Saskatchewan. However, by the time the final week of June arrived, the month had almost reached its average for rainfall.
At 85.9 mm being the average number for rainfall in June, Meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada Terri Lang said the vast majority of precipitation fell in a four day span totalling almost 67 millimetres (2.6 inches). Add that to previous numbers and June had around 74.7 mm (almost three inches) for the area, a substantial amount more than the previous three months combined.
“In May you only saw about 12.6 mm of rain, April had only 7.1 mm and March there was only 2.6 mm of rain so it was very dry coming into that period. I think that has been the same for many places across Saskatchewan and some places saw the driest spring on record.”
The first larger rainfall for some places like Lanigan and Jansen areas occurred when a slow moving disturbance brought rain and scattered thunderstorms to southern Saskatchewan June 14 to 16. From local reports, the Lanigan area received anywhere from an inch and a quarter by Pound-Maker to an inch and three quarters north of Lanigan to two inches just west of town. LeRoy and Nokomis each received at least an inch while Watrous had to wait another week for the rain, receiving about two-tenths of an inch. Outside of Young, there was merely a sprinkle.
As for other areas in the province, Environment and Climate Change Canada issued the following rainfall totals in millimetres from 6 a.m. Friday, June 14 to 5 a.m. Monday, June 17: Saskatoon 5, Regina less than 1, Prince Albert 12, Moose Jaw 2, Swift Current 17, Yorkton 46, North Battleford 6, Pilger 65, Leader 42, Melfort 30, Scott 26, Broadview 23, Wynyard 21, Rosetown 20, Indian Head 17, Outlook 15, Coronach 12, Cypress Hills Park 12, Lucky Lake 11, Spiritwood 10, Estevan 9, Waseca 9, Val Marie 8, Mankota 8, Maple Creek 8, Loon Lake 8, Assiniboia 7, Last Mountain 4, Rockglen 2 and Meadow Lake 2.
After the first larger system went through parts of Saskatchewan, a second slow moving low pressure system bringing an extended period of rainfall to southern Saskatchewan rolled into the area June 21 and 22. Local reports indicated Lanigan had around two inches of rain while Jansen reached closer to two and a half inches. Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a weather summary of 24 hour rainfall amounts (in millimeters) up to 8 a.m. Saturday, June 22 which included: Cypress Hills: 69, Assiniboia: 50.1, Coronach: 46.2, Wynyard: 43.5, Clavet: 40.4, Lucky Lake: 39.5, Craik: 38.4, Moose Jaw: 37.8, Wynyard: 35.6, Pilger: 35, Eastend: 35, Lucky Lake: 35, Watrous: 33.6, Val Marie: 33.2, Swift Current: 39, Regina: 31, Conquest: 30.5, Spalding: 29.2, Gravelbourg: 28.7, Maple Creek: 33, Saskatoon: 27.9, Elbow: 27, Last Mountain: 23, and Rockglen: 20.6.
Environment and Climate Change Canada also provided a summary for the seven day total rainfall amounts reported to them from Sunday, June 16 to midnight Sunday, June 23 with rainfall in millimetres: Coronach: 121.4, Assiniboia: 101.3, Swift Current: 95.3, Cypress Hills: 91.6, Lucky Lake: 77.9, Val Marie: 77.6, Moose Jaw: 73.8, Watrous: 68.3, Saskatoon: 60.3, Wynyard: 59.7, Eastend: 56.9, Regina: 55.5, Leader: 47, Weyburn: 35.1, Prince Albert: 28.4, Yorkton: 18.3, and Estevan: 12.5. It is estimated that the Lanigan area received around 109 mm from June 14 to 23.
Lang said despite the downpours across regions in the province near the end of the month, there were still places in the province which are down a couple hundred millimeters of rain over the past year. “It will make a dent in that for sure.”
Michael Brown, Crops Extension Specialist at the Regional Services Branch in Watrous for the Ministry of Agriculture said, “The recent rains in the Watrous/Lanigan area have been timely for some and too late for others. Fall seeded crops and some early seeded spring crops have been impacted by varying degrees with the lack of early season precipitation. Spotty showers in May helped some areas with germination and carried crops to the recent precipitation with adequate soil moisture to minimize effects from the lack of rain. Livestock producers saw some recharge of dugouts and sloughs, contributing to their water supply for the coming weeks. Ideally, it would have been nice if it would have arrived earlier, but the recent moisture is good news for hay and pasture production, and will certainly help livestock producers secure some more feed for their animals. These rains haven’t come without their share of headache though, fields that had areas with some crop emergence and other areas with the seed still sitting in a dry seedbed that received enough moisture to germinate will now have various stages of crop growth making pesticide and harvest timing more difficult. As well, some fields have now passed the stage for in-crop weed control and the precipitation has resulted in the emergence of a late flush of weeds. Although these rains help immensely, more will be needed in the coming weeks, especially during flowering when yield loss from moisture stress is greatest.”
TWM Top Story June 24, 2019
Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre set to open
Daniel Bushman
In 2011 a group of people came together with the idea of wanting to preserve local history with the eventual goal of having a place to share those stories in. Now eight years later and with a building of their own, the dream of opening the doors to the Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre has become a reality.
Chairperson of the Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre Board Kathy Bergen said while this will not be the official grand opening of the facility at 403 Main Street in Watrous, the group wanted to share the progress that has been made and allow the public to come and take a look.
“We have set up a lot of the exhibits and while there is still work left to be done, with summer approaching we wanted to open the doors and share our history.”
Getting a glimpse of the second floor at the heritage centre where everything is being done, it is evident that a tremendous amount of time and hard work took place to transform the space to become a first-class facility. Filling up the area with unique items of the past and items that are special to the Watrous and Manitou Beach area, Bergen said, “We really wanted this place to showcase more than just items, we wanted it to be a place to share stories and keep the stories of the past alive.”
Commemorating Manitou Beach’s 100th anniversary this year, Bergen said the heritage group felt it was important to highlight the occasion and people will have the chance to view a number of items related to Manitou Beach and the lake. With the area’s early history being documented, people can enter a room containing tools and arrowheads generously provided by the Allin and Farago families. There visitors can learn more about the First Nations people and their journey to Little Manitou Lake decades ago. An adjacent room notes the lake products like salts, the brine shrimp industry and the properties of the healing waters.
In connection to the lake and its unique properties, tourism is highlighted in a room of its own before visitors can take a trip down memory lane to learn about the Chalet Pool and the world famous Danceland. People can view the late Orin McIntosh’s scale models of each building and the intricate details he put into them.
From there guests can make their way back into the main area to spot items relating to Watrous: Our Hometown. Bergen said the plan is to utilize that space for rotating exhibits that pertain to the local area. But the rich history of the local area does not end there as people can stop in the CBK room. With the actual ‘On Air’ signage inviting visitors into the space, the original CBK letters and other priceless items from the CBK building are housed in the one-of-a-kind room.
A room specifically for Watrous is next door where Dr. Stipe’s original doctor’s bag can be found along with 4-H trophies from decades ago and even a myriad of hats. On the other side of the wall, in another room, the roots of the railroad can be discovered. An integral part of the community during its early days, the railroad brought visitors to the area and replicas of the train station and water tower are placed in that room along with photos and other potential collections.
Bergen said a family room is also being developed which is located just outside of the railroad room and will include a public computer with access to the heritage centre’s website, history books and other heritage options. Eventually Bergen said many local family histories will be included on the computer and people will be able to utilize that information for research purposes.
Culminating the visit on the second floor of the heritage centre is an area where historical items from the Watrous Post Office are situated.
Bergen said being able to have so many unique displays under one roof is something the group is proud of.
“We want to keep the stories of the past alive and this is a great way to do that. There are so many stories to share and we are hearing memories from people almost daily.”
The Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre will continue to develop its content for exhibits during the year and after opening in the afternoon June 28, will remain open for visitors to check out throughout the summer and into fall.
“We are also looking forward to our eventual grand opening as well and are thrilled to be able to share this history with everyone."
Daniel Bushman
In 2011 a group of people came together with the idea of wanting to preserve local history with the eventual goal of having a place to share those stories in. Now eight years later and with a building of their own, the dream of opening the doors to the Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre has become a reality.
Chairperson of the Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre Board Kathy Bergen said while this will not be the official grand opening of the facility at 403 Main Street in Watrous, the group wanted to share the progress that has been made and allow the public to come and take a look.
“We have set up a lot of the exhibits and while there is still work left to be done, with summer approaching we wanted to open the doors and share our history.”
Getting a glimpse of the second floor at the heritage centre where everything is being done, it is evident that a tremendous amount of time and hard work took place to transform the space to become a first-class facility. Filling up the area with unique items of the past and items that are special to the Watrous and Manitou Beach area, Bergen said, “We really wanted this place to showcase more than just items, we wanted it to be a place to share stories and keep the stories of the past alive.”
Commemorating Manitou Beach’s 100th anniversary this year, Bergen said the heritage group felt it was important to highlight the occasion and people will have the chance to view a number of items related to Manitou Beach and the lake. With the area’s early history being documented, people can enter a room containing tools and arrowheads generously provided by the Allin and Farago families. There visitors can learn more about the First Nations people and their journey to Little Manitou Lake decades ago. An adjacent room notes the lake products like salts, the brine shrimp industry and the properties of the healing waters.
In connection to the lake and its unique properties, tourism is highlighted in a room of its own before visitors can take a trip down memory lane to learn about the Chalet Pool and the world famous Danceland. People can view the late Orin McIntosh’s scale models of each building and the intricate details he put into them.
From there guests can make their way back into the main area to spot items relating to Watrous: Our Hometown. Bergen said the plan is to utilize that space for rotating exhibits that pertain to the local area. But the rich history of the local area does not end there as people can stop in the CBK room. With the actual ‘On Air’ signage inviting visitors into the space, the original CBK letters and other priceless items from the CBK building are housed in the one-of-a-kind room.
A room specifically for Watrous is next door where Dr. Stipe’s original doctor’s bag can be found along with 4-H trophies from decades ago and even a myriad of hats. On the other side of the wall, in another room, the roots of the railroad can be discovered. An integral part of the community during its early days, the railroad brought visitors to the area and replicas of the train station and water tower are placed in that room along with photos and other potential collections.
Bergen said a family room is also being developed which is located just outside of the railroad room and will include a public computer with access to the heritage centre’s website, history books and other heritage options. Eventually Bergen said many local family histories will be included on the computer and people will be able to utilize that information for research purposes.
Culminating the visit on the second floor of the heritage centre is an area where historical items from the Watrous Post Office are situated.
Bergen said being able to have so many unique displays under one roof is something the group is proud of.
“We want to keep the stories of the past alive and this is a great way to do that. There are so many stories to share and we are hearing memories from people almost daily.”
The Watrous-Manitou Beach Heritage Centre will continue to develop its content for exhibits during the year and after opening in the afternoon June 28, will remain open for visitors to check out throughout the summer and into fall.
“We are also looking forward to our eventual grand opening as well and are thrilled to be able to share this history with everyone."
TWM Top Story - June 17, 2019
Celebrating the importance of tourism
By Daniel Bushman
With over 150 thousand visitors to the Watrous and Manitou Beach area and spending upwards of $25 million each year, the area continues to be a premier destination in the province. With the uniqueness of the properties in Little Manitou Lake and the tremendous amenities and attractions that come with it, more and more people are not only visiting but in a lot of cases, they are calling the area home.
Community Development Officer and the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group’s Brendan Manz said the number of visitors coming on a yearly basis rivals what larger centres up to 10 times the size of Watrous and Manitou Beach receive.
“Not only do those figures mean more and more people are spending their holidays with us or holding reunions, weddings and other events but they also help keep the business sector rolling.”
It is because of those visits and the spending taking place that Manz expects another real strong summer. “We are lucky that as a small community we can support a tourism economy with 150,000 people. People in other communities that are four or five times the size of us don’t have that ability. We really rely on our business community for that and try our best as the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group to promote them.”
Manz said while they are out promoting businesses and the area, the marketing group also recognizes they are not the front line people. “It is the business owners and the local staffs they employ who all help build a positive business experience that we are hoping to achieve. Those are the memories that people take back with them. It is not necessarily the marketing material that they remember, it is when they come here and stay here and then when they think back to their positive experiences while visiting they share those memories with their friends. I am frequently told by people that they specifically moved here because of their positive experiences they had when they visited.”
It is those experiences and the tremendous work being done by the local marketing group and Manz that was recognized provincially through the Tourism Saskatchewan awards. Receiving the Fred Heal Tourism Ambassador Award earlier this year, Manz said the award signifies the hard work done on a provincial level not only by promoting tourism locally but also throughout Saskatchewan. “We work with many other destinations across the province to promote Saskatchewan beyond our borders including at trade shows. We are also running campaigns into Alberta and we work with travel writers right across the globe in partnership with Tourism Saskatchewan. At the end of the day we want to be known as a premier destination providing ‘unsinkable experiences’ and so far we have been able to achieve that. Receiving the ambassador award shows we are on the right track and we will continue to move forward provincially, nationally and globally.”
Named as one of Canada’s top 50 spas by Spas of America, Manitou Springs Resort and Mineral Spa has been attracting guests from all corners of the world. As part of that global recognition, CEO Dwight Hayter spent May 29 to 31 in Toronto at Rendez-vous Canada (RVC), an annual event with over 1,800 international tourism industry leaders in attendance.
Now his second time attending RVC, Hayter said this year was a very positive experience which significantly raised awareness and tourism for his resort and mineral spa, the lake, and the surrounding businesses within Watrous and Manitou Beach. “International tourism operators and media writers from many countries from all over the world were able to meet with me over the three day conference, so I could explain “The Dead Sea of Canada” and possibly entice them to include us on their guests’ travel itineraries. I had 34 appointments booked in a three day period, which was the maximum I could book and each appointment lasted only 15 minutes so it was important to focus on the unique experience we can offer them at Manitou Springs and sell them on that idea.”
Hayter also spent time with media writers from Japan, China, Korea, Germany and the United Kingdom, many of them taking a USB stick from Hayter containing pictures, brochures and videos of the beach and his resort and spa.
“Many stated they would probably write an article on Manitou Springs as they are always looking for new and interesting tourism experiences to share in their home countries.”
While it can typically take a year after attending RVC before noticing an increase in people visiting the resort because of tourism companies booking a year in advance, Hayter said he has already noticed an increase in international customers.
“Asian countries and Germany are particularly interested in our Resort, as their lifestyles in those countries are very much spa orientated already. When you say “The Dead Sea of Canada,” you definitely get their attention. The country of India has also taken a very large interest in us, although many of the tour operators from India have not visited Saskatchewan before and are currently making up their itineraries and scheduled stops for the first time.”
Citing his meetings as being very positive, Hayter said many people could not believe mineral waters were so concentrated in such a small community.
“I am extremely confident that our resort and our communities will see significant increases in tourism traffic in the coming years, as the response from the tour operators and the media I met with was extremely positive. Many of the tour operators have already added our destination to their selling sheets and itineraries, and I am grateful to Tourism Saskatchewan for thinking so highly of us and to allow us to attend this prestigious event.”
Hayter said other representation from Saskatchewan at the show included Lloyd Lake Fishing Lodge, the RCMP Heritage Centre in Regina, Wanuskewin Heritage Park (Saskatoon) and Tourism Saskatoon. “Tourism Saskatoon has been a close partner of Manitou Springs for a couple of years now, as they recognize that our business and Little Manitou lake is a great day trip for anyone visiting Saskatoon so I am very grateful to their staff and management for all that they have recently done to help promote Manitou Springs.”
With the addition of Manitou Beach and Watrous on the itineraries of potential visitors across the globe, those able to check out the area in 2019 will be able to celebrate and commemorate Manitou Beach’s 100th anniversary since its incorporation. With a few events already held this year, more are on the docket as the summer heats up. Add the annual Fun Run Auto Show ‘N’ Shine in Watrous, the Spirit of Manitou Studio Trail, a trek to view the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area, first protected in 1887, and a handful of other highlights occurring each summer and people will be able to take in a variety of fun things while visiting.
Another event of note is ‘The Big Float,’ a record attempt to see how many people will float in the lake at Manitou Beach at one time. While the Guinness World Record crew will not be in attendance July 13, Manz said local organizers still want to make it a record for the beach.
“We encourage people to come to the lake at 2 p.m. July 13 and have as many people as possible hop in and go for a float. We are going to do some aerial photography at the main beach and get a cool vantage point while also celebrating the beach’s 100th anniversary and the lake’s unique properties. We are going to have registration earlier in the morning so we can keep count of how many people will be in the lake. It should be a lot of fun and a very unique experience.”
Along with The Big Float, a month later the third ever Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition will commence Aug. 8 to 11. With two previous events featuring high-calibre carvers at Manitou Beach, Manz said this year could be the largest yet.
“We have around 10 carvers committed to coming so far and we have had inquiries from right across the province seeking information on the event. People are also invited to come out Aug. 11 to enjoy a picnic commemorating the beach’s 100th. As part of that, speeches will take place and the candles will be blown out to mark 100 years since incorporation.”
But that is not all for the centennial activities at the resort village as a host of others will continue to take place throughout the remainder of 2019 either with local artisans, businesses or organizations. “We want this to be a special year and we also want to recognize the hard work done throughout the area by people to make this a place of unsinkable experiences.”
A big part of the Watrous and Manitou Beach area, tourism also extends throughout the province and the impact it has is pretty incredible. Recently marking Saskatchewan Tourism Week, Tourism Saskatchewan highlighted how big of a contributor the tourism industry is to the Saskatchewan economy. Some of those statistics included:
• annually, tourism generates more than $2.37 billion in travel expenditures;
• more than 13.6 million visits are made to and within the province each year;
• tourism is an export industry, injecting $600 million annually to the local economy and stimulating growth throughout the province;
• there are 63,800 Saskatchewan residents employed in tourism or tourism-related jobs;
• with more than 3,200 attractions, events and businesses, Saskatchewan’s tourism industry showcases the province’s history, culture and traditions to the world; and
• Saskatchewan’s tourism sector is 95 percent small- or medium-sized businesses, and many are independently owned or operated.
Tourism Saskatchewan CEO Mary Taylor-Ash said, “Our citizens benefit from an industry that provides enriching travel discoveries and showcases Saskatchewan’s natural beauty and warm hospitality. Tourism Saskatchewan appreciates the enthusiasm of communities, attractions and operators for celebrating this special week for our industry.”
By Daniel Bushman
With over 150 thousand visitors to the Watrous and Manitou Beach area and spending upwards of $25 million each year, the area continues to be a premier destination in the province. With the uniqueness of the properties in Little Manitou Lake and the tremendous amenities and attractions that come with it, more and more people are not only visiting but in a lot of cases, they are calling the area home.
Community Development Officer and the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group’s Brendan Manz said the number of visitors coming on a yearly basis rivals what larger centres up to 10 times the size of Watrous and Manitou Beach receive.
“Not only do those figures mean more and more people are spending their holidays with us or holding reunions, weddings and other events but they also help keep the business sector rolling.”
It is because of those visits and the spending taking place that Manz expects another real strong summer. “We are lucky that as a small community we can support a tourism economy with 150,000 people. People in other communities that are four or five times the size of us don’t have that ability. We really rely on our business community for that and try our best as the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group to promote them.”
Manz said while they are out promoting businesses and the area, the marketing group also recognizes they are not the front line people. “It is the business owners and the local staffs they employ who all help build a positive business experience that we are hoping to achieve. Those are the memories that people take back with them. It is not necessarily the marketing material that they remember, it is when they come here and stay here and then when they think back to their positive experiences while visiting they share those memories with their friends. I am frequently told by people that they specifically moved here because of their positive experiences they had when they visited.”
It is those experiences and the tremendous work being done by the local marketing group and Manz that was recognized provincially through the Tourism Saskatchewan awards. Receiving the Fred Heal Tourism Ambassador Award earlier this year, Manz said the award signifies the hard work done on a provincial level not only by promoting tourism locally but also throughout Saskatchewan. “We work with many other destinations across the province to promote Saskatchewan beyond our borders including at trade shows. We are also running campaigns into Alberta and we work with travel writers right across the globe in partnership with Tourism Saskatchewan. At the end of the day we want to be known as a premier destination providing ‘unsinkable experiences’ and so far we have been able to achieve that. Receiving the ambassador award shows we are on the right track and we will continue to move forward provincially, nationally and globally.”
Named as one of Canada’s top 50 spas by Spas of America, Manitou Springs Resort and Mineral Spa has been attracting guests from all corners of the world. As part of that global recognition, CEO Dwight Hayter spent May 29 to 31 in Toronto at Rendez-vous Canada (RVC), an annual event with over 1,800 international tourism industry leaders in attendance.
Now his second time attending RVC, Hayter said this year was a very positive experience which significantly raised awareness and tourism for his resort and mineral spa, the lake, and the surrounding businesses within Watrous and Manitou Beach. “International tourism operators and media writers from many countries from all over the world were able to meet with me over the three day conference, so I could explain “The Dead Sea of Canada” and possibly entice them to include us on their guests’ travel itineraries. I had 34 appointments booked in a three day period, which was the maximum I could book and each appointment lasted only 15 minutes so it was important to focus on the unique experience we can offer them at Manitou Springs and sell them on that idea.”
Hayter also spent time with media writers from Japan, China, Korea, Germany and the United Kingdom, many of them taking a USB stick from Hayter containing pictures, brochures and videos of the beach and his resort and spa.
“Many stated they would probably write an article on Manitou Springs as they are always looking for new and interesting tourism experiences to share in their home countries.”
While it can typically take a year after attending RVC before noticing an increase in people visiting the resort because of tourism companies booking a year in advance, Hayter said he has already noticed an increase in international customers.
“Asian countries and Germany are particularly interested in our Resort, as their lifestyles in those countries are very much spa orientated already. When you say “The Dead Sea of Canada,” you definitely get their attention. The country of India has also taken a very large interest in us, although many of the tour operators from India have not visited Saskatchewan before and are currently making up their itineraries and scheduled stops for the first time.”
Citing his meetings as being very positive, Hayter said many people could not believe mineral waters were so concentrated in such a small community.
“I am extremely confident that our resort and our communities will see significant increases in tourism traffic in the coming years, as the response from the tour operators and the media I met with was extremely positive. Many of the tour operators have already added our destination to their selling sheets and itineraries, and I am grateful to Tourism Saskatchewan for thinking so highly of us and to allow us to attend this prestigious event.”
Hayter said other representation from Saskatchewan at the show included Lloyd Lake Fishing Lodge, the RCMP Heritage Centre in Regina, Wanuskewin Heritage Park (Saskatoon) and Tourism Saskatoon. “Tourism Saskatoon has been a close partner of Manitou Springs for a couple of years now, as they recognize that our business and Little Manitou lake is a great day trip for anyone visiting Saskatoon so I am very grateful to their staff and management for all that they have recently done to help promote Manitou Springs.”
With the addition of Manitou Beach and Watrous on the itineraries of potential visitors across the globe, those able to check out the area in 2019 will be able to celebrate and commemorate Manitou Beach’s 100th anniversary since its incorporation. With a few events already held this year, more are on the docket as the summer heats up. Add the annual Fun Run Auto Show ‘N’ Shine in Watrous, the Spirit of Manitou Studio Trail, a trek to view the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area, first protected in 1887, and a handful of other highlights occurring each summer and people will be able to take in a variety of fun things while visiting.
Another event of note is ‘The Big Float,’ a record attempt to see how many people will float in the lake at Manitou Beach at one time. While the Guinness World Record crew will not be in attendance July 13, Manz said local organizers still want to make it a record for the beach.
“We encourage people to come to the lake at 2 p.m. July 13 and have as many people as possible hop in and go for a float. We are going to do some aerial photography at the main beach and get a cool vantage point while also celebrating the beach’s 100th anniversary and the lake’s unique properties. We are going to have registration earlier in the morning so we can keep count of how many people will be in the lake. It should be a lot of fun and a very unique experience.”
Along with The Big Float, a month later the third ever Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw Carving Competition will commence Aug. 8 to 11. With two previous events featuring high-calibre carvers at Manitou Beach, Manz said this year could be the largest yet.
“We have around 10 carvers committed to coming so far and we have had inquiries from right across the province seeking information on the event. People are also invited to come out Aug. 11 to enjoy a picnic commemorating the beach’s 100th. As part of that, speeches will take place and the candles will be blown out to mark 100 years since incorporation.”
But that is not all for the centennial activities at the resort village as a host of others will continue to take place throughout the remainder of 2019 either with local artisans, businesses or organizations. “We want this to be a special year and we also want to recognize the hard work done throughout the area by people to make this a place of unsinkable experiences.”
A big part of the Watrous and Manitou Beach area, tourism also extends throughout the province and the impact it has is pretty incredible. Recently marking Saskatchewan Tourism Week, Tourism Saskatchewan highlighted how big of a contributor the tourism industry is to the Saskatchewan economy. Some of those statistics included:
• annually, tourism generates more than $2.37 billion in travel expenditures;
• more than 13.6 million visits are made to and within the province each year;
• tourism is an export industry, injecting $600 million annually to the local economy and stimulating growth throughout the province;
• there are 63,800 Saskatchewan residents employed in tourism or tourism-related jobs;
• with more than 3,200 attractions, events and businesses, Saskatchewan’s tourism industry showcases the province’s history, culture and traditions to the world; and
• Saskatchewan’s tourism sector is 95 percent small- or medium-sized businesses, and many are independently owned or operated.
Tourism Saskatchewan CEO Mary Taylor-Ash said, “Our citizens benefit from an industry that provides enriching travel discoveries and showcases Saskatchewan’s natural beauty and warm hospitality. Tourism Saskatchewan appreciates the enthusiasm of communities, attractions and operators for celebrating this special week for our industry.”
TWM Top Story - June 10, 2019
Watrous Kinsmen Childcare Centre set to open
By Daniel Bushman
After almost four years of planning and hard work, holding numerous fundraisers and receiving tremendous support from the community, the Watrous Kinsmen Childcare Centre will officially open its doors next month. With a pre-registration night for the centre taking place June 10, vice-president for the Watrous Kinsmen Childcare Centre Board Brendan Manz said it is an exciting time for all of the board members and the community as a whole.
“To date we have raised over $200,000 and renovated the building so that we can offer 20 spots for children. We are extremely excited and I know the community is very excited as well. We have had a lot of people stopping committee members on the street or anytime we are at the building having a meeting, people are stopping in to see when it is going to be ready.”
Taking over the former Pentecostal Church property at 709 Main Street in Watrous after a generous donation from the Watrous Kin to buy the property, the inside of the building includes brand new furnishings and equipment. Manz said as it opens, it will be professionally operated.
“We have a fenced outdoor yard space for the kids to play in, we are right near the elementary school, and there is a loft feature inside the facility that kids and families will be excited about. We also have washroom facilities, an office space for our director, brand new kitchen area, toys, books and tables to use as well to provide a positive, fun and learning environment for the kids.”
Along with the building ready to be opened, Manz said the board hired Krystal Klenk-Potts who will be the director. “We are excited to have her on board as our new director. She will be working with our board of directors and has previous experience running a licensed daycare of her own.”
The goal is to also hire additional staff with the Watrous Kinsmen Childcare Centre looking to be open Monday to Friday throughout the year. Manz said they are still working out exact hours of when they will be in operation during the week and will depend on the families’ schedules who register.
“We are thinking around 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. but we also do know about 30 to 40 percent of people in town generally work shift work between the mines and health care so we know we need to help cater to those types of hours.”
Manz said they will begin accepting children ages 18 months up to five years old and may offer infant spots in the future. “The priority right now is for kids between 18 months and five years of age needing full-time care. Priority will be for those kids and then we will fill the remaining spots with families requiring part-time care for their kids and then those who may occasionally need childcare.”
The vice-president of the board noted they are still working very closely with the provincial ministry to be licensed and are hoping that the approval processes will happen over the next few weeks with the final inspections taking place shortly after. As part of that work with the provincial ministry, the childcare centre board also brought in consultants from early childhood education to ensure everything is up to code and standards to create a safe and fun facility. If all goes well with the inspections then the centre should be open in early July.
Manz said it is because of the support from people and the community that they were able to reach the building’s completion and final inspections.
“We couldn’t have done it without the community. For us to have a partner like the Kinsmen and also the Kinettes, the Watrous Rotary Club, the Town of Watrous and private businesses and organizations, it has been tremendous. We also received help from Quality Plus Construction and other trades and subcontractors who helped us out tremendously during the renovation phase. And we also held fundraisers where the community supported us immensely like the trailer lottery, barbecues, perogy sales, online auctions, Christmas tree sales and any other fundraiser we came up with to raise every penny we could. Now after almost four years we have a space that we can be proud of.”
Along with the community support, it was also not without a lot of dedication from members of the board who were able to make the dream become a reality. Joining Manz on the board is president Sara Dunne, treasurer Sabrina Hanchuk, secretary Lindsay Crittenden and board members Erin Wolff, Christa Braman, Jennifer Beeler, Tiffany Dreger, Vaughn Jones and Rae-ann Brown.
“We worked with a very dedicated team of professionals who all brought great backgrounds and ideas. We are all young parents and understand caring for children but none of us really had extensive knowledge of operating a daycare. It has been a learning curve for us and will continue to be one as we open and become an operational board. But we are excited about the opportunity ahead. We are also going to be inviting parents who have kids in our childcare centre to be a part of our board. We want to make sure they are involved and have their say as well.”
While Manz agreed that the process has been a lot of hard work to the point that it almost did not happen, he said everything has fallen into place along the way.
“Luckily having this property kind of fall into our lap and the Kin stepping up to help us purchase it was huge. Without them and other donors seeing the need for this building, who knows where we would have been today. It all came in at the right time and we got the sense that the way things had gone, this was meant to be. We are excited to see it get rolling and be officially opened and this will be something that the community can be proud of.”
By Daniel Bushman
After almost four years of planning and hard work, holding numerous fundraisers and receiving tremendous support from the community, the Watrous Kinsmen Childcare Centre will officially open its doors next month. With a pre-registration night for the centre taking place June 10, vice-president for the Watrous Kinsmen Childcare Centre Board Brendan Manz said it is an exciting time for all of the board members and the community as a whole.
“To date we have raised over $200,000 and renovated the building so that we can offer 20 spots for children. We are extremely excited and I know the community is very excited as well. We have had a lot of people stopping committee members on the street or anytime we are at the building having a meeting, people are stopping in to see when it is going to be ready.”
Taking over the former Pentecostal Church property at 709 Main Street in Watrous after a generous donation from the Watrous Kin to buy the property, the inside of the building includes brand new furnishings and equipment. Manz said as it opens, it will be professionally operated.
“We have a fenced outdoor yard space for the kids to play in, we are right near the elementary school, and there is a loft feature inside the facility that kids and families will be excited about. We also have washroom facilities, an office space for our director, brand new kitchen area, toys, books and tables to use as well to provide a positive, fun and learning environment for the kids.”
Along with the building ready to be opened, Manz said the board hired Krystal Klenk-Potts who will be the director. “We are excited to have her on board as our new director. She will be working with our board of directors and has previous experience running a licensed daycare of her own.”
The goal is to also hire additional staff with the Watrous Kinsmen Childcare Centre looking to be open Monday to Friday throughout the year. Manz said they are still working out exact hours of when they will be in operation during the week and will depend on the families’ schedules who register.
“We are thinking around 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. but we also do know about 30 to 40 percent of people in town generally work shift work between the mines and health care so we know we need to help cater to those types of hours.”
Manz said they will begin accepting children ages 18 months up to five years old and may offer infant spots in the future. “The priority right now is for kids between 18 months and five years of age needing full-time care. Priority will be for those kids and then we will fill the remaining spots with families requiring part-time care for their kids and then those who may occasionally need childcare.”
The vice-president of the board noted they are still working very closely with the provincial ministry to be licensed and are hoping that the approval processes will happen over the next few weeks with the final inspections taking place shortly after. As part of that work with the provincial ministry, the childcare centre board also brought in consultants from early childhood education to ensure everything is up to code and standards to create a safe and fun facility. If all goes well with the inspections then the centre should be open in early July.
Manz said it is because of the support from people and the community that they were able to reach the building’s completion and final inspections.
“We couldn’t have done it without the community. For us to have a partner like the Kinsmen and also the Kinettes, the Watrous Rotary Club, the Town of Watrous and private businesses and organizations, it has been tremendous. We also received help from Quality Plus Construction and other trades and subcontractors who helped us out tremendously during the renovation phase. And we also held fundraisers where the community supported us immensely like the trailer lottery, barbecues, perogy sales, online auctions, Christmas tree sales and any other fundraiser we came up with to raise every penny we could. Now after almost four years we have a space that we can be proud of.”
Along with the community support, it was also not without a lot of dedication from members of the board who were able to make the dream become a reality. Joining Manz on the board is president Sara Dunne, treasurer Sabrina Hanchuk, secretary Lindsay Crittenden and board members Erin Wolff, Christa Braman, Jennifer Beeler, Tiffany Dreger, Vaughn Jones and Rae-ann Brown.
“We worked with a very dedicated team of professionals who all brought great backgrounds and ideas. We are all young parents and understand caring for children but none of us really had extensive knowledge of operating a daycare. It has been a learning curve for us and will continue to be one as we open and become an operational board. But we are excited about the opportunity ahead. We are also going to be inviting parents who have kids in our childcare centre to be a part of our board. We want to make sure they are involved and have their say as well.”
While Manz agreed that the process has been a lot of hard work to the point that it almost did not happen, he said everything has fallen into place along the way.
“Luckily having this property kind of fall into our lap and the Kin stepping up to help us purchase it was huge. Without them and other donors seeing the need for this building, who knows where we would have been today. It all came in at the right time and we got the sense that the way things had gone, this was meant to be. We are excited to see it get rolling and be officially opened and this will be something that the community can be proud of.”
TWM Top Story June 3
Remembering a
Royal visit
Daniel Bushman
On a Saturday in June, eight decades ago, Watrous became one of the most sought after destinations in the country as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made a brief stop in the community. With the 1939 Royal Tour, the first-ever for a reigning monarch to visit Canada, thousands of people descended upon the community - around 4,000 of them school children - just to get a glimpse of the Royals on that June 3 afternoon in 1939.
Spending almost a month in Canada and touring the nation by train, the King and Queen arrived from London, England by ship and began their tour in Quebec City May 17. From there they headed west through Ontario and the prairie provinces before reaching B.C. After a visit on the west coast, the Royals then made the return trip east. It was during their return trip through Canada that the Royal couple stopped in Watrous. With a visit in Saskatoon just prior, the Royal train made its way towards Watrous, stopping for a brief time and then continued along to Melville. From there, the King and Queen headed eastward and down through the United States before wrapping up their trip in Halifax. With WWII starting later that year, as part of their tour, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth aimed to deliver a message of goodwill and solidarity.
As plans were put in place for the King and Queen to visit Watrous, one of just a handful of stops made in Saskatchewan during the tour, the anticipation mounted. According to the May 25, 1939 edition of The Watrous Signal, “Watrous is one of the favoured prairie points to have a real visit from Their Majesties.” With an expected 10 minute stop during the late afternoon Saturday, June 3, every detail was planned for the occasion.
“With an energetic Royal Reception Committee at work the past six weeks, everything has been planned to make the occasion go along correctly, handling the crowds expected with no difficulty and caring for upwards of three or four thousand children who have signified their intention of coming to Watrous to see their King and Queen. With official assurance direct from Buckingham Palace that Their Majesties will appear on the platform at the rear of the train, the Committee has lost no time in spreading the good news and making plans to give the people who come to Watrous one great big grand celebration by which to remember the occasion.”
Rural schools were informed with careful detail of the committee’s plans, were instructed where to gather and when and the arrival time of the train. Along with the plans of the Royal arrival, a big sports day was scheduled to coincide with the day and began at 10 a.m. with a baseball tournament followed by a torchlight procession through town, a huge bonfire and fireworks display. It was all culminated with a dance in Grest Hall. Along with the Watrous Band playing throughout the day, bands from Simpson and Drake were also in attendance and old-time horse races and a chariot race were part of the day.
Businesses in Watrous were also decorated for the occasion, a half holiday was declared in Nokomis for Saturday afternoon and evening June 3 and Viscount town council petitioned to declare a full civic holiday for that date. Meanwhile former Lieutenant Governor Dr. H.E. Munro and Mrs. Munro were amongst those being presented to Their Majesties at the parliament buildings in Regina May 25. “Also being presented, of course, will be the provincial member for Watrous constituency, Mr. Frank Krenn, editor of the Bruno Leader, and Mrs. Krenn.”
Inching closer to the June 3 arrival of the King and Queen, at the final Royal Reception Committee meeting in Watrous, Inspector D. L. Hicks reported officials of 90 schools had noted they would be attending the visit with approximately 2,500 children. A dozen more schools were expected and Rev. Augustine Nenzel was bringing 50 college boys from Muenster while more people were coming from Bruno and other places outside of Watrous.
Col. H. Harbord also provided a sketch of the proposed layout where children and others would be assembled, with approximately 10,000 people to be within 30 yards of the observation platform of the train.
But it was not just the local planning committee organizing things in Watrous as community, officials from CBK in Watrous were in charge of microphone installations for the royal visit broadcasts in Winnipeg and Regina. Those included R.D. Cahoon, CBK manager, W.W. Grant, chief operator, and Messrs. Johnston and Haggerty. While Cahoon, Grant and Johnston went to Winnipeg, Haggerty travelled to Regina. “We are informed that double sets of microphones and their attached equipment are set up for each of the broadcasts outside of the main studios, this as a final safeguard against mechanical interruption when, should such occur, a turn of a switch will press into service the second set.”
Also written in the local paper from 1939, it noted electrical contractor at CBK in Watrous, J. R. Young was asked by the CBC if he could supply equipment for the King’s speech by signal at Government House library in Regina. While he did not have the correct signal equipment his son Marshall was a craftsman and despite some hesitation from CBC engineers in Winnipeg, he was able to turn out a signal box.
“So Marshall set to work and in his home workshop turned out a signal box which CBC engineers describe as a beautiful job and a credit to any up to date factory. The box is made of walnut, flashlight bulbs being used for the signal lights.”
After all of the preparation and anticipation, the day finally arrived and from all accounts was much larger and successful than anticipated. In the June 8, 1939 edition of The Watrous Manitou, “Watrous and district roared a tumultuous welcome to Their Majesties, King George and Queen Elizabeth, on Saturday afternoon, when the Royal train stopped here for 15 minutes. The biggest crowd in the history of Watrous, estimated at well over 15,000 crowded the town to greet the King and Queen.”
Descending from their train, Their Majesties were greeted by Mayor H.E. Agar and Mrs. Agar, who presented the Queen with a bouquet of flowers. Also presented to their Majesties were H. McCreadie, chairman of the Watrous Royal Reception committee; Mrs. J. Fred Johnston, wife of the federal member of parliament for Lake Centre constituency; and A. R. Rhodes of Zelma, who wove a gift which was presented to Queen Elizabeth.
Some of Rhodes’ items can still be found at the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon and the gift by Rhodes to the Queen was a unique woven basket containing flowers. A message was enclosed in the basket of flowers presented to the Queen reading: This basket was woven by hand from Saskatchewan wheat straw by Mr. A. R. Rhodes of Zelma, Sask. Mr. Rhodes presented it to the Watrous community for presentation to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth on the occasion of the Royal visit, June 3, 1939. The maker of this basket was at one time a regimental quartermaster sergeant in the Queen’s Own Yorkshire Dragoons. He was twice in charge of mounted detachments for Royal escort, first to Princess Christian and next to the Duke of Clarence, about 50 years ago. He rode on the right of the Royal carriage when the wife of the Viceroy of India presented the York and Lancaster regiment with their new colours. Mr. Rhodes is also the proud possessor of a sword which he won for swordsmanship while service with His Majesty’s forces. He saw over a year of active service in the South African campaign. The committee wishes you to accept this basket of flowers as a token of their esteem and loyal devotion and with the hope that you and the King may long be spared to reign over us in peace and righteousness. - Hugh McCreadie, Chairman, Reception Committee.
It was reported that from the early morning hours of the memorable day, truckload after truckload of people arrived in town from neighbouring towns and villages and it was estimated that more than 4,000 school children were on hand.
MaryLou Driedger’s mom was 13 years old and one of those school children in attendance when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made a stop in Watrous. Dorothy Schmidt along with her teacher and classmates from Kansas School near Drake made the trek to Watrous on that June 3 day. Hoping to see a glimpse of royalty, Schmidt shared her memorable experience with her daughter MaryLou before she passed away.
“One of the highlights of my school career was singing for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. In 1939 they were on a coast-to-coast tour of Canada by train and were scheduled to stop in Watrous, Saskatchewan for a few minutes. There were hundreds of children at the train station from many different schools in our area. We were all lined up along the tracks. Each school was assigned a certain place where we had to stand. There were ropes set up along the track and we had to stay behind them. Our teachers had all taught us the same song to sing for the King and Queen. It was a song that had been especially written for that day. The train stopped and the King and Queen came out on a little porch at the end of the train to wave to us and listen to us sing. After we finished singing they took away the ropes that had been set up along the track and we all dashed up to the train to get as close as we could to the royal couple. I thought I might be able to touch the Queen’s dress. I remember I ran up to the train but there were so many people I couldn’t get close to the Queen. When I turned around I couldn’t see the other kids from my school or my teacher and I thought I was lost. I was actually quite scared until I finally spied someone I recognized in that big crowd and was able to rejoin my class. I remember the Queen was wearing a blue hat that day.”
Along with the many students in attendance including Schmidt, the town also played host to thousands more people from the district. Weather conditions were ideal with the vast majority of the crowd gathering at the CNR depot which provided the best view. In the paper from eight decades ago, it was reported “a party of 71 adults and children came in one monster truckload from 20 miles northeast of Jansen and after seeing the King and Queen, joined in the big torchlight parade organized by Postmaster E. B. Miller. Another truckload was noticed from northeast of Wadena, approximately 140 miles from Watrous. All had a wonderful time.”
As the King and Queen left the comforts of their train and came to meet with members of the large crowd it “made a decided hit.” His Majesty, during conversation asked the population of the town and sought information on conditions hereabouts.
“Looking fit and tanned, the King wore a lounge suit of grey flannel with a hairline stripe, a pale blue shirt and a darker blue tie. He did not wear a hat. The Queen looked charming in a sky blue triple sheer ensemble, fitted to the waist and falling to the hem, the same dress she wore in the parade in Montreal. The dress was trimmed at the neck line with white fox. Her hat was of straw, tied with a veil and trimmed with flowers.”
After meeting with the public, the King and Queen then boarded the train and remained on the platform of the observation car as the train began slowly pulling away. It was accompanied by cheers “for a distance of a mile. A massed band of 70 pieces including musicians from Watrous, Simpson, Drake and other points under the baton of D. A. Cumming, of Watrous, played, “Will Ye No Come Back Again?” as their Majesties waved a farewell to Watrous.”
As the Royals departed, the big sports day that was organized for the day continued, hitting record high attendance and a “nice sum was cleared to go toward the building a the new Legion home in town.”
Lanigan won the ball tournament defeating the Prairie Rangers while Watrous and LeRoy also entered teams. As the winner, Lanigan played a touring team, Dunseith, but lost 8-1.
The bareback horse races resulted in R. Stock taking first, B. Newman second and L. Carlson third.
The winners of the Model T Ford car race were Clare Currie of Govan, O. Simpson of Nokomis was second and C. Wladyka of Watrous was third.
F. Issacs was the winner of the chariot race followed by E. Leslie.
“Evening festivities in Watrous were many and varied. At 9:30 p.m., a monster torchlight parade was staged down Main Street under the direction of E. B. Miller. Heading the parade were bands from Watrous and neighbouring towns, followed by municipal officials from the entire district.”
Everything concluded at Grest Hall and at Manitou Beach, which was also crowded with picnickers throughout the day, White’s swimming pool and Danceland catered to many guests.
“Of interest to hundreds of visitors was the new radio station, CBK, prairie outlet for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which is to be opened in July.”
It was also noted that copies of the Royal Visit issue of The Watrous Manitou were sent by airmail to the Pacific coast and were put in the train car and on the pilot train. The Watrous Manitou office was advised by mail that the papers would be read by members of the press from London, New York and elsewhere. A local merchant, S.J. Nemetz also had the honour of filling an order for six chickens for the Royal train.
While the Royal couple never returned to Watrous after that June 3 stop, it provided an incredible memory for the thousands in attendance for years to come. In a speech captured by the CBC as the King and Queen said farewell at a luncheon in Halifax, the Queen extended her gratitude to Canadians.
“I am thanking you for the wealth of affection that you have offered us throughout these unforgettable weeks,” she said. “Some I know came scores of miles to meet us and that has touched me deeply.”
Almost two months later, in the July 27, 1939 edition of The Watrous Manitou, a note was printed about Queen Mary sending thanks:
Miss Sylvia Harbord of Watrous recently wrote an interesting account of the Royal Visit to Canada and mailed it to her grandmother, Mrs. Walter Harbord at Hornsey, London, England. The latter, believing it would be of interest to Their Majesties forwarded the letter and following is the reply received. Miss Harbord is a daughter of Col. and Mrs. H. Harbord, Freshwater district.
Marlborough House, S.W.I. July 7, 1939
Dear Madam:
I am commanded by Queen Mary to thank you very much indeed for sending your granddaughter’s letter from Canada for Her Majesty to read. It is very charmingly written - so vivid and natural, and gives a wonderfully clear impression of the effect produced in Canada itself by the King and Queen. Her Majesty has heard from them how moved they were by the enthusiastic and affectionate welcome they received on all sides. Queen Mary was touched and pleased by your kind thought in sending the letter, which is returned herewith with many thanks.
Yours truly, Cynthia Colville
Royal visit
Daniel Bushman
On a Saturday in June, eight decades ago, Watrous became one of the most sought after destinations in the country as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made a brief stop in the community. With the 1939 Royal Tour, the first-ever for a reigning monarch to visit Canada, thousands of people descended upon the community - around 4,000 of them school children - just to get a glimpse of the Royals on that June 3 afternoon in 1939.
Spending almost a month in Canada and touring the nation by train, the King and Queen arrived from London, England by ship and began their tour in Quebec City May 17. From there they headed west through Ontario and the prairie provinces before reaching B.C. After a visit on the west coast, the Royals then made the return trip east. It was during their return trip through Canada that the Royal couple stopped in Watrous. With a visit in Saskatoon just prior, the Royal train made its way towards Watrous, stopping for a brief time and then continued along to Melville. From there, the King and Queen headed eastward and down through the United States before wrapping up their trip in Halifax. With WWII starting later that year, as part of their tour, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth aimed to deliver a message of goodwill and solidarity.
As plans were put in place for the King and Queen to visit Watrous, one of just a handful of stops made in Saskatchewan during the tour, the anticipation mounted. According to the May 25, 1939 edition of The Watrous Signal, “Watrous is one of the favoured prairie points to have a real visit from Their Majesties.” With an expected 10 minute stop during the late afternoon Saturday, June 3, every detail was planned for the occasion.
“With an energetic Royal Reception Committee at work the past six weeks, everything has been planned to make the occasion go along correctly, handling the crowds expected with no difficulty and caring for upwards of three or four thousand children who have signified their intention of coming to Watrous to see their King and Queen. With official assurance direct from Buckingham Palace that Their Majesties will appear on the platform at the rear of the train, the Committee has lost no time in spreading the good news and making plans to give the people who come to Watrous one great big grand celebration by which to remember the occasion.”
Rural schools were informed with careful detail of the committee’s plans, were instructed where to gather and when and the arrival time of the train. Along with the plans of the Royal arrival, a big sports day was scheduled to coincide with the day and began at 10 a.m. with a baseball tournament followed by a torchlight procession through town, a huge bonfire and fireworks display. It was all culminated with a dance in Grest Hall. Along with the Watrous Band playing throughout the day, bands from Simpson and Drake were also in attendance and old-time horse races and a chariot race were part of the day.
Businesses in Watrous were also decorated for the occasion, a half holiday was declared in Nokomis for Saturday afternoon and evening June 3 and Viscount town council petitioned to declare a full civic holiday for that date. Meanwhile former Lieutenant Governor Dr. H.E. Munro and Mrs. Munro were amongst those being presented to Their Majesties at the parliament buildings in Regina May 25. “Also being presented, of course, will be the provincial member for Watrous constituency, Mr. Frank Krenn, editor of the Bruno Leader, and Mrs. Krenn.”
Inching closer to the June 3 arrival of the King and Queen, at the final Royal Reception Committee meeting in Watrous, Inspector D. L. Hicks reported officials of 90 schools had noted they would be attending the visit with approximately 2,500 children. A dozen more schools were expected and Rev. Augustine Nenzel was bringing 50 college boys from Muenster while more people were coming from Bruno and other places outside of Watrous.
Col. H. Harbord also provided a sketch of the proposed layout where children and others would be assembled, with approximately 10,000 people to be within 30 yards of the observation platform of the train.
But it was not just the local planning committee organizing things in Watrous as community, officials from CBK in Watrous were in charge of microphone installations for the royal visit broadcasts in Winnipeg and Regina. Those included R.D. Cahoon, CBK manager, W.W. Grant, chief operator, and Messrs. Johnston and Haggerty. While Cahoon, Grant and Johnston went to Winnipeg, Haggerty travelled to Regina. “We are informed that double sets of microphones and their attached equipment are set up for each of the broadcasts outside of the main studios, this as a final safeguard against mechanical interruption when, should such occur, a turn of a switch will press into service the second set.”
Also written in the local paper from 1939, it noted electrical contractor at CBK in Watrous, J. R. Young was asked by the CBC if he could supply equipment for the King’s speech by signal at Government House library in Regina. While he did not have the correct signal equipment his son Marshall was a craftsman and despite some hesitation from CBC engineers in Winnipeg, he was able to turn out a signal box.
“So Marshall set to work and in his home workshop turned out a signal box which CBC engineers describe as a beautiful job and a credit to any up to date factory. The box is made of walnut, flashlight bulbs being used for the signal lights.”
After all of the preparation and anticipation, the day finally arrived and from all accounts was much larger and successful than anticipated. In the June 8, 1939 edition of The Watrous Manitou, “Watrous and district roared a tumultuous welcome to Their Majesties, King George and Queen Elizabeth, on Saturday afternoon, when the Royal train stopped here for 15 minutes. The biggest crowd in the history of Watrous, estimated at well over 15,000 crowded the town to greet the King and Queen.”
Descending from their train, Their Majesties were greeted by Mayor H.E. Agar and Mrs. Agar, who presented the Queen with a bouquet of flowers. Also presented to their Majesties were H. McCreadie, chairman of the Watrous Royal Reception committee; Mrs. J. Fred Johnston, wife of the federal member of parliament for Lake Centre constituency; and A. R. Rhodes of Zelma, who wove a gift which was presented to Queen Elizabeth.
Some of Rhodes’ items can still be found at the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon and the gift by Rhodes to the Queen was a unique woven basket containing flowers. A message was enclosed in the basket of flowers presented to the Queen reading: This basket was woven by hand from Saskatchewan wheat straw by Mr. A. R. Rhodes of Zelma, Sask. Mr. Rhodes presented it to the Watrous community for presentation to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth on the occasion of the Royal visit, June 3, 1939. The maker of this basket was at one time a regimental quartermaster sergeant in the Queen’s Own Yorkshire Dragoons. He was twice in charge of mounted detachments for Royal escort, first to Princess Christian and next to the Duke of Clarence, about 50 years ago. He rode on the right of the Royal carriage when the wife of the Viceroy of India presented the York and Lancaster regiment with their new colours. Mr. Rhodes is also the proud possessor of a sword which he won for swordsmanship while service with His Majesty’s forces. He saw over a year of active service in the South African campaign. The committee wishes you to accept this basket of flowers as a token of their esteem and loyal devotion and with the hope that you and the King may long be spared to reign over us in peace and righteousness. - Hugh McCreadie, Chairman, Reception Committee.
It was reported that from the early morning hours of the memorable day, truckload after truckload of people arrived in town from neighbouring towns and villages and it was estimated that more than 4,000 school children were on hand.
MaryLou Driedger’s mom was 13 years old and one of those school children in attendance when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made a stop in Watrous. Dorothy Schmidt along with her teacher and classmates from Kansas School near Drake made the trek to Watrous on that June 3 day. Hoping to see a glimpse of royalty, Schmidt shared her memorable experience with her daughter MaryLou before she passed away.
“One of the highlights of my school career was singing for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. In 1939 they were on a coast-to-coast tour of Canada by train and were scheduled to stop in Watrous, Saskatchewan for a few minutes. There were hundreds of children at the train station from many different schools in our area. We were all lined up along the tracks. Each school was assigned a certain place where we had to stand. There were ropes set up along the track and we had to stay behind them. Our teachers had all taught us the same song to sing for the King and Queen. It was a song that had been especially written for that day. The train stopped and the King and Queen came out on a little porch at the end of the train to wave to us and listen to us sing. After we finished singing they took away the ropes that had been set up along the track and we all dashed up to the train to get as close as we could to the royal couple. I thought I might be able to touch the Queen’s dress. I remember I ran up to the train but there were so many people I couldn’t get close to the Queen. When I turned around I couldn’t see the other kids from my school or my teacher and I thought I was lost. I was actually quite scared until I finally spied someone I recognized in that big crowd and was able to rejoin my class. I remember the Queen was wearing a blue hat that day.”
Along with the many students in attendance including Schmidt, the town also played host to thousands more people from the district. Weather conditions were ideal with the vast majority of the crowd gathering at the CNR depot which provided the best view. In the paper from eight decades ago, it was reported “a party of 71 adults and children came in one monster truckload from 20 miles northeast of Jansen and after seeing the King and Queen, joined in the big torchlight parade organized by Postmaster E. B. Miller. Another truckload was noticed from northeast of Wadena, approximately 140 miles from Watrous. All had a wonderful time.”
As the King and Queen left the comforts of their train and came to meet with members of the large crowd it “made a decided hit.” His Majesty, during conversation asked the population of the town and sought information on conditions hereabouts.
“Looking fit and tanned, the King wore a lounge suit of grey flannel with a hairline stripe, a pale blue shirt and a darker blue tie. He did not wear a hat. The Queen looked charming in a sky blue triple sheer ensemble, fitted to the waist and falling to the hem, the same dress she wore in the parade in Montreal. The dress was trimmed at the neck line with white fox. Her hat was of straw, tied with a veil and trimmed with flowers.”
After meeting with the public, the King and Queen then boarded the train and remained on the platform of the observation car as the train began slowly pulling away. It was accompanied by cheers “for a distance of a mile. A massed band of 70 pieces including musicians from Watrous, Simpson, Drake and other points under the baton of D. A. Cumming, of Watrous, played, “Will Ye No Come Back Again?” as their Majesties waved a farewell to Watrous.”
As the Royals departed, the big sports day that was organized for the day continued, hitting record high attendance and a “nice sum was cleared to go toward the building a the new Legion home in town.”
Lanigan won the ball tournament defeating the Prairie Rangers while Watrous and LeRoy also entered teams. As the winner, Lanigan played a touring team, Dunseith, but lost 8-1.
The bareback horse races resulted in R. Stock taking first, B. Newman second and L. Carlson third.
The winners of the Model T Ford car race were Clare Currie of Govan, O. Simpson of Nokomis was second and C. Wladyka of Watrous was third.
F. Issacs was the winner of the chariot race followed by E. Leslie.
“Evening festivities in Watrous were many and varied. At 9:30 p.m., a monster torchlight parade was staged down Main Street under the direction of E. B. Miller. Heading the parade were bands from Watrous and neighbouring towns, followed by municipal officials from the entire district.”
Everything concluded at Grest Hall and at Manitou Beach, which was also crowded with picnickers throughout the day, White’s swimming pool and Danceland catered to many guests.
“Of interest to hundreds of visitors was the new radio station, CBK, prairie outlet for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which is to be opened in July.”
It was also noted that copies of the Royal Visit issue of The Watrous Manitou were sent by airmail to the Pacific coast and were put in the train car and on the pilot train. The Watrous Manitou office was advised by mail that the papers would be read by members of the press from London, New York and elsewhere. A local merchant, S.J. Nemetz also had the honour of filling an order for six chickens for the Royal train.
While the Royal couple never returned to Watrous after that June 3 stop, it provided an incredible memory for the thousands in attendance for years to come. In a speech captured by the CBC as the King and Queen said farewell at a luncheon in Halifax, the Queen extended her gratitude to Canadians.
“I am thanking you for the wealth of affection that you have offered us throughout these unforgettable weeks,” she said. “Some I know came scores of miles to meet us and that has touched me deeply.”
Almost two months later, in the July 27, 1939 edition of The Watrous Manitou, a note was printed about Queen Mary sending thanks:
Miss Sylvia Harbord of Watrous recently wrote an interesting account of the Royal Visit to Canada and mailed it to her grandmother, Mrs. Walter Harbord at Hornsey, London, England. The latter, believing it would be of interest to Their Majesties forwarded the letter and following is the reply received. Miss Harbord is a daughter of Col. and Mrs. H. Harbord, Freshwater district.
Marlborough House, S.W.I. July 7, 1939
Dear Madam:
I am commanded by Queen Mary to thank you very much indeed for sending your granddaughter’s letter from Canada for Her Majesty to read. It is very charmingly written - so vivid and natural, and gives a wonderfully clear impression of the effect produced in Canada itself by the King and Queen. Her Majesty has heard from them how moved they were by the enthusiastic and affectionate welcome they received on all sides. Queen Mary was touched and pleased by your kind thought in sending the letter, which is returned herewith with many thanks.
Yours truly, Cynthia Colville
TWM Top Story - May 27, 2019
MSMA looking to grow region while working together
Daniel Bushman
Joining forces and looking to move the region forward is part of the strategy for the Mid-Sask Municipal Alliance (MSMA). With a dedicated group consisting of the rural municipalities of LeRoy #339, Morris #312, Prairie Rose #309, along with the communities of Lanigan, LeRoy, Nokomis, Watrous, Watson, Manitou Beach, Drake Jansen and Humboldt, the MSMA recently held its annual general meeting to share how 2018 went and also what the future holds.
Working collectively on a number of issues including housing, health care, education, infrastructure and major developments, Director of Operations and Planning for the MSMA Celine Favreau said the group gains strength from one another for the long-term betterment of the region. Having originally completed a community action plan in 2010 that identified key goals and strategies, the municipalities had also formally signed a memorandum of understanding and funding agreement at that time. This year the group is completing a review and update to its governing documents and defining a new regional strategic plan.
At its Apr. 4 annual general meeting in Lanigan, the group went over a number of items including its financials. In its 2018 report, as of Dec. 31, 2018, the MSMA had a total income of $86,354.89 with the majority of that coming from membership fees and per assessment allocation. Associate member fees and operating revenue comprised the remaining revenue. On the expense side, wages and salaries made up the majority of the total figure while general and administrative expenses combined for an additional $10,012.04 for a total expense of $92,463.05 and an overall deficit of $6,108.16.
In the chairman’s report, current MSMA chairman and Watrous councillor Gary Bergen touched on the progress made by MSMA in 2018.
“Over the past year we have reached out to neighbouring municipalities and are sincere in our interest to open up the network to be more inclusive and build on our capacity to attract new investment and residents into the region. Our staff person took the initiative to obtain the Asset Management Planning Certification this past fall which will strongly support the efforts of the municipal members to update existing asset management plans and make progress on a regional asset management strategy.”
Also in his report, Bergen added, “Moving through 2019 our economic development efforts will continue to connect with businesses across the region as we host industry meetings, and work toward attracting new investment by generating leads of potential investors to the region. Our primary goal continues to be the well-being of each and every member of the alliance and as the region evolves we appreciate that as members we continue to be engaged in this uniquely progressive group.”
As dialogue has been taking place with neighbouring municipalities, Favreau, who is marking the end of her fourth year with MSMA and the first year of a second three-year term is excited about what the future holds. Since inception Favreau said the MSMA has tried to make it attractive to live and do business in the region and as such is implementing a new communication strategy including improvements to the MSMA’s brand. Work also continues towards the completion of individual asset management plan (AMP) updates and a regional AMP strategy. “This work continues to be pending approval of an application submitted to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in 2018.”
An economic development strategy was also defined in the annual report with a focus on investment attraction to the area and Favreau noted MSMA will continue to work with existing businesses to identify potential gaps in services and outsourced supply chains that could potentially be attracted to the region. The director of operations and planning said part of this strategy includes accessing funding though the federal program Invest Canada.
Highlighting the point made by Bergen of connecting with neighbouring municipalities over the past year, Favreau said in January 2018 MSMA sent letters of interest out to 20 councils requesting an opportunity to attend meetings. “Over the next half year I attended 16 council meetings and spoke to councils about the progress of the MSMA and passing on an invitation to join the network as an associate member. This outreach has resulted in one new associate member the RM of St. Peter #369 joining the group and the RM of Humboldt currently in consideration of the membership options. And we will continue to communicate with our neighbours going forward.”
With a mission to work together to sustain, build and grow the communities and RMs within the MSMA region, Favreau said moving ahead the group will honour that mission with efforts that include: defining a regional land-use planning strategy including a review of infrastructure needs for growth; identifying a model for an engaging buy local strategy across the region; contacting potential partners with an interest in improving high-speed Internet services to every household; implementing a region-wide business retention and expansion initiative to support existing business owners in every community; and expanding communications strategies locally, national and international audiences.
Favreau also categorized four sections of focus which include Governance, Planning, Economic Development, and Marketing. Under each, Favreau outlined immediate strategies that MSMA is taking and ones that are currently on the drawing board.
Governance
Immediate actions include: partners in business - businesses within the region recognized as stakeholders and contributors to projects; associated memberships - providing any neighbouring municipality with the opportunity to connect to the network at an introductory rate; planning district member - available to a neighbouring municipality that commits to aligning its OCP with the District Plan and is approved by the existing MSMA members; and reciprocal membership category - provides the MSMA with the opportunity to exchange memberships with other not for profit organizations.
On the drawing board ideas include: regional buy local app - to support shop local initiatives and tourism, branded mobile apps reward users for visiting places within the region; regional business network - advanced sector specific teams; and regional business permits - allows trades and other regional businesses to work across municipality boundaries.
Planning
Immediate actions include: member Official Community Plan (OCP) updates; municipal asset management plan updates; and municipal GIS mapping.
On the drawing board ideas include: region-wide upgraded hi-speed Internet model; regional asset management strategy; land-use planning mapping; and regional OCP implementation process.
Economic Development
Immediate actions include: investment attraction strategy and entrepreneurial support services.
On the drawing board ideas include: regional business retention and expansion strategy; sector specific teams (ag, manufacturing, tourism, commercial hub); regional employment opportunity network; regional economic development department; and regional development corporation.
Marketing
Immediate actions include: MSMA member council meetings; MSMA region - monthly newsletter; new brand and website - the MSMA region; MSMA neighbouring council meetings; and administrator and foreman meetings.
On the drawing board ideas include: municipal website home page link to MSMA region site; new brochure and promo pieces - the MSMA region; MSMA communications strategy update; and business partner website home page link to MSMA region site.
“An important part of achieving our mission is measuring the results of our efforts. This year will mark the 10th year of the Mid-Sask regional partnerships, six of those years as an incorporated entity,” said Favreau. “This region is now growing into its competitive advantage – The MSMA Region - Rural Charm – Urban Promise. Let’s continue to build a region that is all inclusive and continues to attract new residents to each and every community.”
Along with Favreau as director of operations and planning and Bergen as the chairman, the board of directors includes vice-chairman Peter Nicholson representing Drake and treasurer Kathy Jones representing Jansen.
The directors include Velda Daelick representing Lanigan, Ken Crowter representing LeRoy, Dennis Krieser representing Nokomis, Rob Muench representing Humboldt, Tom Bergen representing the RM of Prairie Rose, Mandy Green representing Watson, Keith Thoner representing the RM of Morris, and Laurie Bzdel representing Manitou Beach.
Corporate sponsors supporting the MSMA’s investment attraction initiative currently in progress across the region include BHP, Affinity Credit Union, Manitou Springs Resort and Mineral Spa, and Watrous Mainline Motors with the LeRoy Credit Union joining as a new sponsor since the annual general meeting was held.
The annual general meeting was well attended with guest speakers including: John Guenther from the Community Planning Branch of the Sask Ministry of Government Relations, Gavin Conacher, Lorrie McGowan and Chandra Mark from the Department of International Engagement with the Sask Ministry of Trade & Export; and Warren Lorenz of Nuvu Technologies.
Daniel Bushman
Joining forces and looking to move the region forward is part of the strategy for the Mid-Sask Municipal Alliance (MSMA). With a dedicated group consisting of the rural municipalities of LeRoy #339, Morris #312, Prairie Rose #309, along with the communities of Lanigan, LeRoy, Nokomis, Watrous, Watson, Manitou Beach, Drake Jansen and Humboldt, the MSMA recently held its annual general meeting to share how 2018 went and also what the future holds.
Working collectively on a number of issues including housing, health care, education, infrastructure and major developments, Director of Operations and Planning for the MSMA Celine Favreau said the group gains strength from one another for the long-term betterment of the region. Having originally completed a community action plan in 2010 that identified key goals and strategies, the municipalities had also formally signed a memorandum of understanding and funding agreement at that time. This year the group is completing a review and update to its governing documents and defining a new regional strategic plan.
At its Apr. 4 annual general meeting in Lanigan, the group went over a number of items including its financials. In its 2018 report, as of Dec. 31, 2018, the MSMA had a total income of $86,354.89 with the majority of that coming from membership fees and per assessment allocation. Associate member fees and operating revenue comprised the remaining revenue. On the expense side, wages and salaries made up the majority of the total figure while general and administrative expenses combined for an additional $10,012.04 for a total expense of $92,463.05 and an overall deficit of $6,108.16.
In the chairman’s report, current MSMA chairman and Watrous councillor Gary Bergen touched on the progress made by MSMA in 2018.
“Over the past year we have reached out to neighbouring municipalities and are sincere in our interest to open up the network to be more inclusive and build on our capacity to attract new investment and residents into the region. Our staff person took the initiative to obtain the Asset Management Planning Certification this past fall which will strongly support the efforts of the municipal members to update existing asset management plans and make progress on a regional asset management strategy.”
Also in his report, Bergen added, “Moving through 2019 our economic development efforts will continue to connect with businesses across the region as we host industry meetings, and work toward attracting new investment by generating leads of potential investors to the region. Our primary goal continues to be the well-being of each and every member of the alliance and as the region evolves we appreciate that as members we continue to be engaged in this uniquely progressive group.”
As dialogue has been taking place with neighbouring municipalities, Favreau, who is marking the end of her fourth year with MSMA and the first year of a second three-year term is excited about what the future holds. Since inception Favreau said the MSMA has tried to make it attractive to live and do business in the region and as such is implementing a new communication strategy including improvements to the MSMA’s brand. Work also continues towards the completion of individual asset management plan (AMP) updates and a regional AMP strategy. “This work continues to be pending approval of an application submitted to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in 2018.”
An economic development strategy was also defined in the annual report with a focus on investment attraction to the area and Favreau noted MSMA will continue to work with existing businesses to identify potential gaps in services and outsourced supply chains that could potentially be attracted to the region. The director of operations and planning said part of this strategy includes accessing funding though the federal program Invest Canada.
Highlighting the point made by Bergen of connecting with neighbouring municipalities over the past year, Favreau said in January 2018 MSMA sent letters of interest out to 20 councils requesting an opportunity to attend meetings. “Over the next half year I attended 16 council meetings and spoke to councils about the progress of the MSMA and passing on an invitation to join the network as an associate member. This outreach has resulted in one new associate member the RM of St. Peter #369 joining the group and the RM of Humboldt currently in consideration of the membership options. And we will continue to communicate with our neighbours going forward.”
With a mission to work together to sustain, build and grow the communities and RMs within the MSMA region, Favreau said moving ahead the group will honour that mission with efforts that include: defining a regional land-use planning strategy including a review of infrastructure needs for growth; identifying a model for an engaging buy local strategy across the region; contacting potential partners with an interest in improving high-speed Internet services to every household; implementing a region-wide business retention and expansion initiative to support existing business owners in every community; and expanding communications strategies locally, national and international audiences.
Favreau also categorized four sections of focus which include Governance, Planning, Economic Development, and Marketing. Under each, Favreau outlined immediate strategies that MSMA is taking and ones that are currently on the drawing board.
Governance
Immediate actions include: partners in business - businesses within the region recognized as stakeholders and contributors to projects; associated memberships - providing any neighbouring municipality with the opportunity to connect to the network at an introductory rate; planning district member - available to a neighbouring municipality that commits to aligning its OCP with the District Plan and is approved by the existing MSMA members; and reciprocal membership category - provides the MSMA with the opportunity to exchange memberships with other not for profit organizations.
On the drawing board ideas include: regional buy local app - to support shop local initiatives and tourism, branded mobile apps reward users for visiting places within the region; regional business network - advanced sector specific teams; and regional business permits - allows trades and other regional businesses to work across municipality boundaries.
Planning
Immediate actions include: member Official Community Plan (OCP) updates; municipal asset management plan updates; and municipal GIS mapping.
On the drawing board ideas include: region-wide upgraded hi-speed Internet model; regional asset management strategy; land-use planning mapping; and regional OCP implementation process.
Economic Development
Immediate actions include: investment attraction strategy and entrepreneurial support services.
On the drawing board ideas include: regional business retention and expansion strategy; sector specific teams (ag, manufacturing, tourism, commercial hub); regional employment opportunity network; regional economic development department; and regional development corporation.
Marketing
Immediate actions include: MSMA member council meetings; MSMA region - monthly newsletter; new brand and website - the MSMA region; MSMA neighbouring council meetings; and administrator and foreman meetings.
On the drawing board ideas include: municipal website home page link to MSMA region site; new brochure and promo pieces - the MSMA region; MSMA communications strategy update; and business partner website home page link to MSMA region site.
“An important part of achieving our mission is measuring the results of our efforts. This year will mark the 10th year of the Mid-Sask regional partnerships, six of those years as an incorporated entity,” said Favreau. “This region is now growing into its competitive advantage – The MSMA Region - Rural Charm – Urban Promise. Let’s continue to build a region that is all inclusive and continues to attract new residents to each and every community.”
Along with Favreau as director of operations and planning and Bergen as the chairman, the board of directors includes vice-chairman Peter Nicholson representing Drake and treasurer Kathy Jones representing Jansen.
The directors include Velda Daelick representing Lanigan, Ken Crowter representing LeRoy, Dennis Krieser representing Nokomis, Rob Muench representing Humboldt, Tom Bergen representing the RM of Prairie Rose, Mandy Green representing Watson, Keith Thoner representing the RM of Morris, and Laurie Bzdel representing Manitou Beach.
Corporate sponsors supporting the MSMA’s investment attraction initiative currently in progress across the region include BHP, Affinity Credit Union, Manitou Springs Resort and Mineral Spa, and Watrous Mainline Motors with the LeRoy Credit Union joining as a new sponsor since the annual general meeting was held.
The annual general meeting was well attended with guest speakers including: John Guenther from the Community Planning Branch of the Sask Ministry of Government Relations, Gavin Conacher, Lorrie McGowan and Chandra Mark from the Department of International Engagement with the Sask Ministry of Trade & Export; and Warren Lorenz of Nuvu Technologies.
TWM Top Story - May 20, 2019
Manitou Beach residents recognized for their volunteer efforts
Daniel Bushman
When it comes to volunteering, for Pat Weichel and Elaine Muzichuk, it has essentially become part of the couple’s DNA. With Elaine residing at the resort village of Manitou Beach since 1980 and Pat moving to the community in 1993, the work done by both over the years has not gone unnoticed. Because of their service and dedication to the area, Pat and Elaine were recently recognized through the Prairie Central District’s Volunteer Recognition Program.
At a presentation for the pair during Manitou Beach’s council meeting May 13, Bonnie Wohlberg, Community Consultant for Prairie Central District for Sport, Culture and Recreation said the volunteer recognition program acknowledges and appreciates “exceptionally awesome community volunteers involved in sport, culture, and recreation.”
With two annual deadlines for nominations to be accepted, an individual, individuals or a group is selected for the award at each deadline. The recipients receive a $1,000 grant to put back into an initiative in the area of their volunteerism in their respective community.
With a tremendous focus on helping to beautify Manitou Beach and aid in creating an attractive place to live and visit, it was an easy decision for the April deadline recipients to select where they would like the $1,000 grant to go towards. “We are donating the money to CiB. The money will be used to purchase some of the flowers this year.”
Being chosen for the volunteer recognition award, Pat and Elaine were surprised when they received a call that they had been selected. “When Manitou Beach councillor Chris Moffatt told us we were going to receive this award, both of us were speechless,” said Weichel. “Neither of us have thought that we had done anything special, we simply did things that any volunteer would do.”
Residing at Manitou Beach for a number of years, current mayor Gerry Worobec said without people like Pat and Elaine to take on projects and to sit on different boards, the community would not be where it is today.
“We need people like that to be steadfast and lead the way and then other people will sit up and take notice and decide to come on board. That is how it all starts and that is how it is all maintained. People have come and gone on many different boards, myself included, and without volunteers we would not have anything. It is especially imperative at the beach because we have a pretty small population base that is there year around but we have a large number of events so it is easy to get volunteer burnout. But when you get people like Pat and Elaine that hang in there year after year after year it is a big plus for our community.”
Active in their professional teachers’ organizations, when both Muzichuk and Weichel retired, they began directing their volunteer efforts towards their community. Over the years the list of projects and initiatives accomplished by both grew and so did their pride for the resort village.
Serving as mayor of Manitou Beach for a period, Weichel later established the weekly Communities in Bloom (CiB) bingo and continues to pitch in during CiB cleanup mornings. He is part of the CiB project planning committee and a member of the planning committee for the Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw competition in 2017 and also for this year’s event.
Elaine served as a public representative on the Saskatchewan College of Dental Surgeons executive committee, teaches quilting during the winter months, helped to form the Manitou Beach ‘Salt an’ Heppers’, the red hatters ladies group and has been an integral part of Manitou Beach CiB since its inception in 2005.
Sue Alcock, who is part of CiB recalled the first year of its inception and the important role Muzichuk played as the pair worked together.
“Elaine and I heaved and hauled all sorts of items from back alleys as a cleanup project. We bonded over loading stoves, roof tiles and branches into the back of her truck. Elaine rolled up her sleeves to tackle any job that needed to be done, including moving and planting whisky barrel planters, planting lily bulbs and rounding up people to help!”
The following year, Muzichuk took over as chairperson of CiB at Manitou Beach, a position she held for a number of years. Involved with CiB in a number of ways including organizing yard and garden tours, Muzichuk coordinated and hosted teas for the unveiling of multiple heritage plaques, helped to develop a community garden and tree nursery, and continues to coordinate annual planting of barrel planters and flower beds. She previously coordinated the cleanup of Wellington Park and the Regional Park and among other things, played a part in redesigning the welcome sign area to Manitou Beach.
With both Weichel and Muzichuk involved with Manitou Beach and CiB over the years, it should come as no surprise how much they enjoy the community. “Manitou Beach is a unique place, a very peaceful and calm place. There are so many treasures here. We are very blessed to be able to call Manitou Beach home.”
Taking pride in the resort village, Weichel said since it is such a special place, in some ways that was how CiB came to be. Wanting to see the community beautified, back in the early 2000s, “a group of people, including Elaine happened to attend a seminar about Communities in Bloom put on by Parks and Rec. They immediately saw this as a vehicle that could be used to improve the beach, and so CiB was initiated in 2005.”
The first years were spent trimming trees and walking the lake shore collecting trash. Then as the years progressed, the group began undertaking major work at Wellington Park.
“We started running bingos around 2008, and this enabled us to generate funds for some major projects like the ‘Welcome to Manitou Beach’ sign and pillar, the community garden, and the many historical plaques, just to name a few. I think that these efforts inspired pride in our community. You see fewer properties that are run down and there’s a garden tour every couple of years where home owners can show off their yards. But CiB is more than flowers. It has a historical aspect, involved in infrastructure, coordination with the municipality and more. When residents buy into the CiB program the entire community benefits.”
Worobec said Weichel and Muzichuk have achieved great things with CiB and have put in a lot of flower pots in the community, kept trees trimmed and have a good idea of what is going on at Wellington. “It also frees up our staff. They take on a lot of responsibility that takes away hours of labour for our staff so we are able to do other things. I want to pass along a big congratulations and the village thanks them for their work and dedication.”
Taking initiative and wanting to see the community flourish, Weichel explained the importance of what it means to volunteer. “I don’t think it’s possible to overstate the importance of volunteering. Volunteering gives one pride in accomplishment and ownership of the end result. When I walk around Manitou Beach, I see the various projects CiB has completed, and I think to myself, that I helped to make this happen. This is my community. We are just a couple of the many volunteers past and present who have worked so hard to make Manitou Beach the wonderful place that it is. We can only hope that future volunteers will step up and keep Manitou Beach the special place that it is. It’s not ‘just the beach,’ it’s my home and I’m proud of it.”
Daniel Bushman
When it comes to volunteering, for Pat Weichel and Elaine Muzichuk, it has essentially become part of the couple’s DNA. With Elaine residing at the resort village of Manitou Beach since 1980 and Pat moving to the community in 1993, the work done by both over the years has not gone unnoticed. Because of their service and dedication to the area, Pat and Elaine were recently recognized through the Prairie Central District’s Volunteer Recognition Program.
At a presentation for the pair during Manitou Beach’s council meeting May 13, Bonnie Wohlberg, Community Consultant for Prairie Central District for Sport, Culture and Recreation said the volunteer recognition program acknowledges and appreciates “exceptionally awesome community volunteers involved in sport, culture, and recreation.”
With two annual deadlines for nominations to be accepted, an individual, individuals or a group is selected for the award at each deadline. The recipients receive a $1,000 grant to put back into an initiative in the area of their volunteerism in their respective community.
With a tremendous focus on helping to beautify Manitou Beach and aid in creating an attractive place to live and visit, it was an easy decision for the April deadline recipients to select where they would like the $1,000 grant to go towards. “We are donating the money to CiB. The money will be used to purchase some of the flowers this year.”
Being chosen for the volunteer recognition award, Pat and Elaine were surprised when they received a call that they had been selected. “When Manitou Beach councillor Chris Moffatt told us we were going to receive this award, both of us were speechless,” said Weichel. “Neither of us have thought that we had done anything special, we simply did things that any volunteer would do.”
Residing at Manitou Beach for a number of years, current mayor Gerry Worobec said without people like Pat and Elaine to take on projects and to sit on different boards, the community would not be where it is today.
“We need people like that to be steadfast and lead the way and then other people will sit up and take notice and decide to come on board. That is how it all starts and that is how it is all maintained. People have come and gone on many different boards, myself included, and without volunteers we would not have anything. It is especially imperative at the beach because we have a pretty small population base that is there year around but we have a large number of events so it is easy to get volunteer burnout. But when you get people like Pat and Elaine that hang in there year after year after year it is a big plus for our community.”
Active in their professional teachers’ organizations, when both Muzichuk and Weichel retired, they began directing their volunteer efforts towards their community. Over the years the list of projects and initiatives accomplished by both grew and so did their pride for the resort village.
Serving as mayor of Manitou Beach for a period, Weichel later established the weekly Communities in Bloom (CiB) bingo and continues to pitch in during CiB cleanup mornings. He is part of the CiB project planning committee and a member of the planning committee for the Manitou Maple Madness Chainsaw competition in 2017 and also for this year’s event.
Elaine served as a public representative on the Saskatchewan College of Dental Surgeons executive committee, teaches quilting during the winter months, helped to form the Manitou Beach ‘Salt an’ Heppers’, the red hatters ladies group and has been an integral part of Manitou Beach CiB since its inception in 2005.
Sue Alcock, who is part of CiB recalled the first year of its inception and the important role Muzichuk played as the pair worked together.
“Elaine and I heaved and hauled all sorts of items from back alleys as a cleanup project. We bonded over loading stoves, roof tiles and branches into the back of her truck. Elaine rolled up her sleeves to tackle any job that needed to be done, including moving and planting whisky barrel planters, planting lily bulbs and rounding up people to help!”
The following year, Muzichuk took over as chairperson of CiB at Manitou Beach, a position she held for a number of years. Involved with CiB in a number of ways including organizing yard and garden tours, Muzichuk coordinated and hosted teas for the unveiling of multiple heritage plaques, helped to develop a community garden and tree nursery, and continues to coordinate annual planting of barrel planters and flower beds. She previously coordinated the cleanup of Wellington Park and the Regional Park and among other things, played a part in redesigning the welcome sign area to Manitou Beach.
With both Weichel and Muzichuk involved with Manitou Beach and CiB over the years, it should come as no surprise how much they enjoy the community. “Manitou Beach is a unique place, a very peaceful and calm place. There are so many treasures here. We are very blessed to be able to call Manitou Beach home.”
Taking pride in the resort village, Weichel said since it is such a special place, in some ways that was how CiB came to be. Wanting to see the community beautified, back in the early 2000s, “a group of people, including Elaine happened to attend a seminar about Communities in Bloom put on by Parks and Rec. They immediately saw this as a vehicle that could be used to improve the beach, and so CiB was initiated in 2005.”
The first years were spent trimming trees and walking the lake shore collecting trash. Then as the years progressed, the group began undertaking major work at Wellington Park.
“We started running bingos around 2008, and this enabled us to generate funds for some major projects like the ‘Welcome to Manitou Beach’ sign and pillar, the community garden, and the many historical plaques, just to name a few. I think that these efforts inspired pride in our community. You see fewer properties that are run down and there’s a garden tour every couple of years where home owners can show off their yards. But CiB is more than flowers. It has a historical aspect, involved in infrastructure, coordination with the municipality and more. When residents buy into the CiB program the entire community benefits.”
Worobec said Weichel and Muzichuk have achieved great things with CiB and have put in a lot of flower pots in the community, kept trees trimmed and have a good idea of what is going on at Wellington. “It also frees up our staff. They take on a lot of responsibility that takes away hours of labour for our staff so we are able to do other things. I want to pass along a big congratulations and the village thanks them for their work and dedication.”
Taking initiative and wanting to see the community flourish, Weichel explained the importance of what it means to volunteer. “I don’t think it’s possible to overstate the importance of volunteering. Volunteering gives one pride in accomplishment and ownership of the end result. When I walk around Manitou Beach, I see the various projects CiB has completed, and I think to myself, that I helped to make this happen. This is my community. We are just a couple of the many volunteers past and present who have worked so hard to make Manitou Beach the wonderful place that it is. We can only hope that future volunteers will step up and keep Manitou Beach the special place that it is. It’s not ‘just the beach,’ it’s my home and I’m proud of it.”
TWM Top Story - May 13, 2019
Watrous budget increases slightly
Daniel Bushman
With a number of projects on the docket for 2019 and anticipating growth in both the residential and industrial areas, Watrous town council approved an overall increase to its budget. While last year’s municipal portion of the budget went up five percent, this year residents will see a 2.5 percent bump to keep up with current projects, maintenance and daily operations.
Town Administrator Orrin Redden said the approved budget has no changes to the education/school portion of the taxes but incorporates a 2.5 percent increase on the municipal side. Redden said with the minimal bump, the average homeowner would see around a 1.7 percent increase to their total tax bill for the year, ranging anywhere from $40 per year to upwards of $100 per year. “I think for the majority of people the increase for them would fit somewhere in that $50 to $60 range per year.”
Also going up was the water and sewer rates for the community. “They increased in January most notably for the capital/infrastructure levy. This flat rate levy is dedicated to water/sewer capital works (WTP/lagoon) either debt servicing or to establish reserves for future capital works.”
After last year’s five percent budget increase to adjust for the drop in provincial revenue sharing, this year that grant funding rose slightly. However, Redden said the increase to an overall total of $380,000 is still less than what Watrous had received in 2017.
With the approved budget, Redden highlighted a few projects and updates in a number of categories:
Transportation and Street Work
Construction will continue and be completed on the service road and access to the industrial lots located near Watrous Home Hardware. The road (4th Avenue) running next to Home Hardware to the newly created lots will be up to grade while the access road near Watrous Concrete running towards Manitou Mainline Chrysler will be paved. “That road right off Hwy. 365 to the dealership will be paved but the town won’t be paving the 4th Avenue road by the Home Hardware this year.”
With 20 industrial lots for purchase in that new industrial section, Redden said they are fully serviced with power, gas, water, sewer and phone.
Nearby in the newer residential lot parcel across from the Watrous District Health Complex, two homes have been built and Redden said a third will be constructed on the 500 block of 8th Street. Town council has also agreed to sell the vacant lots in that parcel at a substantial discount for the remainder of this year.
Water/Sewer
Last year a new well was created and a pipeline will be built this year connecting Well #7 to the existing infrastructure (Well #6). “Next year council will look at the mechanical aspect of the well but this project was initiated to help meet the growth of the community and added water usage from the new Reverse Osmosis water system. It is part of a three year project and it will be completed in 2020.”
In addition to the pipeline being built, there will also be some fire hydrant replacements and watermain valve replacements at intersections within town to upgrade some of the aging watermains.
Along with the infrastructure maintenance and upgrades, Redden said, “Town council had an engineering study done regarding flooding and significant rainfall amounts to certain areas like 3rd Street, 8th Avenue and 6th Avenue and how the water funneled into those places before heading out of town. Council is reviewing those studies regarding sanitary sewer capacity and flood mitigation measures and are hopeful to receive some funding through a new federal government program called Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. An expression of interest was submitted on behalf of the town for the funding and if approved, there could be a fall intake for the actual projects.”
Redden said over the past eight years there has been a total of about $9.5 million invested into water/sewer projects and if they receive approval through the federal government’s new program, it would go towards increasing capacity to the sanitary/sewer from the town to the lagoon.
Public Health and Welfare
Upgrades and improvements were budgeted for last year at the Watrous Cemetery to include a columbarium and a cement pad for a second columbarium in the future. In collaboration with the Do-Gooders group, a water feature was also installed to beautify the area. For this year, Redden said, “There is nothing major planned other than a continued effort to maintain and beautify the area.”
The Town of Watrous agreed to continue to remain involved with the medical clinic operations, working in collaboration with the Primary Health Management area of the Saskatchewan Health Authority to keep a stable group of health providers practicing in the community.
Redden said the town has also applied for provincial funding to replace the small mobility van. “Our bigger unit has been in use but we would like to purchase a new vehicle to replace the aging smaller unit.”
Recreation and Culture
After a new Zamboni ice resurfacer was purchased last year, council has teamed up with Watrous Minor Ball, the Winston High School football team and the local Kinsmen to create a new washroom/concession/storage building at the sportsgrounds. Redden said the facility has been completed with the local organizations picking up around 75 percent of the cost with the Town of Watrous funding the rest.
A substantial project that will be done in time for swimming season is the replacement of the pool’s aging boiler. Redden said the existing boiler is the original one installed when the pool was first built well over a decade ago. “Council weighed out the cost of repairing the boiler for about $20,000 to get through a couple of more years versus replacing it new for around $60,000 and would last longer. In the end they elected to buy a new one which will be installed soon.”
Work on a new rest area is being done where the railway station and visitor centre used to be located at the end of Main Street. With some funding assistance from the town, Manitou Springs Mineral Spa and the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group have been working together to create the structure. “With more and more tourists visiting our area, the rest area is being constructed for those who utilize the Via Rail system. This way once they get off the train they will have a place to wait until transportation arrives to pick them up. So far the walls have been framed and work should be wrapped up in a few months.”
Environmental Services
As a member of the Regional Authority of Carlton Trail (REACT), the community has entered its third year of a five year commitment contributing to a new landfill site in the RM of LeRoy. Redden estimated the contribution for the five years is around $300,000 overall.
Daniel Bushman
With a number of projects on the docket for 2019 and anticipating growth in both the residential and industrial areas, Watrous town council approved an overall increase to its budget. While last year’s municipal portion of the budget went up five percent, this year residents will see a 2.5 percent bump to keep up with current projects, maintenance and daily operations.
Town Administrator Orrin Redden said the approved budget has no changes to the education/school portion of the taxes but incorporates a 2.5 percent increase on the municipal side. Redden said with the minimal bump, the average homeowner would see around a 1.7 percent increase to their total tax bill for the year, ranging anywhere from $40 per year to upwards of $100 per year. “I think for the majority of people the increase for them would fit somewhere in that $50 to $60 range per year.”
Also going up was the water and sewer rates for the community. “They increased in January most notably for the capital/infrastructure levy. This flat rate levy is dedicated to water/sewer capital works (WTP/lagoon) either debt servicing or to establish reserves for future capital works.”
After last year’s five percent budget increase to adjust for the drop in provincial revenue sharing, this year that grant funding rose slightly. However, Redden said the increase to an overall total of $380,000 is still less than what Watrous had received in 2017.
With the approved budget, Redden highlighted a few projects and updates in a number of categories:
Transportation and Street Work
Construction will continue and be completed on the service road and access to the industrial lots located near Watrous Home Hardware. The road (4th Avenue) running next to Home Hardware to the newly created lots will be up to grade while the access road near Watrous Concrete running towards Manitou Mainline Chrysler will be paved. “That road right off Hwy. 365 to the dealership will be paved but the town won’t be paving the 4th Avenue road by the Home Hardware this year.”
With 20 industrial lots for purchase in that new industrial section, Redden said they are fully serviced with power, gas, water, sewer and phone.
Nearby in the newer residential lot parcel across from the Watrous District Health Complex, two homes have been built and Redden said a third will be constructed on the 500 block of 8th Street. Town council has also agreed to sell the vacant lots in that parcel at a substantial discount for the remainder of this year.
Water/Sewer
Last year a new well was created and a pipeline will be built this year connecting Well #7 to the existing infrastructure (Well #6). “Next year council will look at the mechanical aspect of the well but this project was initiated to help meet the growth of the community and added water usage from the new Reverse Osmosis water system. It is part of a three year project and it will be completed in 2020.”
In addition to the pipeline being built, there will also be some fire hydrant replacements and watermain valve replacements at intersections within town to upgrade some of the aging watermains.
Along with the infrastructure maintenance and upgrades, Redden said, “Town council had an engineering study done regarding flooding and significant rainfall amounts to certain areas like 3rd Street, 8th Avenue and 6th Avenue and how the water funneled into those places before heading out of town. Council is reviewing those studies regarding sanitary sewer capacity and flood mitigation measures and are hopeful to receive some funding through a new federal government program called Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. An expression of interest was submitted on behalf of the town for the funding and if approved, there could be a fall intake for the actual projects.”
Redden said over the past eight years there has been a total of about $9.5 million invested into water/sewer projects and if they receive approval through the federal government’s new program, it would go towards increasing capacity to the sanitary/sewer from the town to the lagoon.
Public Health and Welfare
Upgrades and improvements were budgeted for last year at the Watrous Cemetery to include a columbarium and a cement pad for a second columbarium in the future. In collaboration with the Do-Gooders group, a water feature was also installed to beautify the area. For this year, Redden said, “There is nothing major planned other than a continued effort to maintain and beautify the area.”
The Town of Watrous agreed to continue to remain involved with the medical clinic operations, working in collaboration with the Primary Health Management area of the Saskatchewan Health Authority to keep a stable group of health providers practicing in the community.
Redden said the town has also applied for provincial funding to replace the small mobility van. “Our bigger unit has been in use but we would like to purchase a new vehicle to replace the aging smaller unit.”
Recreation and Culture
After a new Zamboni ice resurfacer was purchased last year, council has teamed up with Watrous Minor Ball, the Winston High School football team and the local Kinsmen to create a new washroom/concession/storage building at the sportsgrounds. Redden said the facility has been completed with the local organizations picking up around 75 percent of the cost with the Town of Watrous funding the rest.
A substantial project that will be done in time for swimming season is the replacement of the pool’s aging boiler. Redden said the existing boiler is the original one installed when the pool was first built well over a decade ago. “Council weighed out the cost of repairing the boiler for about $20,000 to get through a couple of more years versus replacing it new for around $60,000 and would last longer. In the end they elected to buy a new one which will be installed soon.”
Work on a new rest area is being done where the railway station and visitor centre used to be located at the end of Main Street. With some funding assistance from the town, Manitou Springs Mineral Spa and the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group have been working together to create the structure. “With more and more tourists visiting our area, the rest area is being constructed for those who utilize the Via Rail system. This way once they get off the train they will have a place to wait until transportation arrives to pick them up. So far the walls have been framed and work should be wrapped up in a few months.”
Environmental Services
As a member of the Regional Authority of Carlton Trail (REACT), the community has entered its third year of a five year commitment contributing to a new landfill site in the RM of LeRoy. Redden estimated the contribution for the five years is around $300,000 overall.
TWM Top Story - May 6, 2019
Fire roars through national wildlife area
Daniel Bushman
Fire departments have been on high alert this spring as a lack of moisture combined with high winds created ideal conditions for wildfires to spread. With the recent massive grass fire near Biggar and other fires occurring within the local region, fire bans have been implemented throughout a large part of Saskatchewan. While some moisture arrived near the end of April, for part of the Last Mountain National Wildlife Area, it came too late.
Situated east of Simpson and first protected in 1887, Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area (NWA) has been officially recognized as a special place for wildlife. With just over 15,000 hectares of land at the north end of Last Mountain Lake, during the afternoon Apr. 24 some of that land was engulfed by a raging inferno.
With the sun shining and the wind humming along at 30 km/h and gusting up to 50 km/h, Protected Areas Manager, Canadian Wildlife Service Kerry Hecker had planned to do some work outside during that blustery afternoon. Working at the office on site at the Last Mountain National Wildlife Area, Hecker got a call from a staff member who was watching a fire blow farther into the NWA from the road ditch. Stepping outside of the facility and into nature just before 2 p.m., Hecker glanced across the prairie landscape and her eyes became fixated on an ever-growing plume of smoke.
Sensing how close it was getting to the site, Kerry examined the situation and realized a fire had been feasting on the wildlife habitat and was moving towards her. While doing prescribed burns at the national wildlife area over the years, Hecker has experience with fires but with one of this magnitude and with the wind helping to fuel the flames, she called for help. Phoning 911 around 2 p.m. and with giant columns of smoke thrust into the atmosphere, it did not take long for help to arrive. First on the scene was the Simpson Fire Department who were notified through the 911 call.
Rapidly growing by the minute and with the wind aiding in its path of destruction, Mayor of Simpson and member of the Simpson Fire Department Jeremy Nimchuk said the department headed for the blaze as soon as they could, requesting mutual aid from Imperial and Watrous along the way.
First on scene, the Simpson Fire Department was soon joined by the Imperial and Watrous departments while word continued to spread about the massive blaze. Trained wildland firefighters from the Canadian Wildlife Service, including Hecker, got their water tanks and headed out to assist as well. Farmers and neighbours willing to pitch in also joined forces and Nimchuk said the department quickly communicated with everyone and made a plan of action on how to attack the fire. “People were bringing water and tractors and discers and any help they could offer,” he said. “There was probably around 30 people at least between firemen and farmers. The help was unbelievable and the people who got together and offered their help was pretty incredible. There were people coming from all over and I was even getting text messages from people in Liberty and Stalwart asking if they could bring water and trucks.”
Nimchuk who had never been involved with a fire of that size added the experience of the Watrous Fire Department also aided in containing the fire. “Watrous did some backburning to help save water and we didn’t have to put on a pile of water because of the techniques they used which helped quite a bit. We were lucky that day that the wind was in our favour and the fire headed to the lake. If it would have been going in the other direction, it would have been a lot worse. We were pretty lucky that way.”
As tractors pulled discers through the earth and tilled the soil to prevent the fire from advancing, Hecker was in touch with the office administrator, Lois Vanthuyne back at the wildlife site watching the blaze rampage towards her. The house where Hecker and her family live in was also nearby and she said the fire got to within a mile of the yard site before it was extinguished. “I deal with fire a lot in my job but to see it that close to the office, buildings and the house where my kids were, it was quite scary.”
In the end, Hecker said they were really quite fortunate that there was not more damage. “The fire went right through the wildlife habitat and right up to the lake. They had the fire stopped at the lake and then just had to deal with flanked fires.”
Nimchuk said it remains a mystery at how the fire started on that windy afternoon. “No one really knows . . . It could have been anything.”
Once the damage had been done and the fire out, Nimchuk said trucks arrived back at Simpson around 7:30 p.m. He heard it was estimated that 700 acres had been engulfed by the fire and burned. Hecker said a prairie trail was damaged and fence posts blackened but otherwise the majority of the fire went through wildlife habitat.
“I am thankful that there were no houses, people or buildings in the fire’s path,” she added. “There were no cattle in the fields yet. It was just grass with some trees and this fire will actually rejuvenate the grass and trees.”
Kerry was also quick to note the scenario and situation as a whole could have been much worse had the help not arrived as fast as it did. “It was really quite amazing and gratifying to have the volunteer fire departments, local farmers and neighbours who helped. There were farmers discing the fields and the fire guards that got cultivated in just happened to be in the best possible place from a wildlife habitat perspective. We are most grateful for the assistance from Simpson, Imperial and Watrous fire departments, neighbours, people in the area who brought cultivators, and everyone working and coming together. We really appreciated it! We are just grateful it started where it did so it could run to the lake.”
Along with Hecker, Nimchuk was also really impressed with the community and local farmers who helped do what they could do to put out the fire as quickly as possible.
As the fire was contained and extinguished, it was not the only one striking the province and the local region. After responding to its first grass fire of 2019 on Apr. 12, the Watrous Fire Department has been busy attending a number of fires since then. The Apr. 12 fire occurred in the morning and over the following eight days the department noted on its Facebook page that it responded to a tractor fire, another grass fire, and a grass fire and structure fire. Then on Apr. 21 members were dispatched to another grass fire at 9:38 p.m., returning close to two hours later.
Along with the Watrous region, conditions have also been dry in the Drake, Lanigan and Jansen area as well. Lanigan Fire Chief Barry Hooper said they have been fortunate no major fires have occurred this spring but more moisture is certainly needed. “Knock on wood we have not had anything so far and hopefully with the local rural municipalities implementing fire bans that will help as well. We have been pretty lucky so far.”
With the dry conditions, numerous local area RMs and municipalities have implemented fire bans, joining a lengthy list of others across Saskatchewan. As of May 1, according to the provincial fire bans page, the local RMs of Wood Creek No. 281, Big Quill No. 308, Usborne No. 310, Morris No. 312, Lost River No. 313, and Blucher No. 343 were under fire bans while Clavet, Liberty, the resort village of Manitou Beach, Meacham, and Simpson were part of the local urban municipalities under fire bans. Meanwhile the RM of Prairie Rose and village of Jansen reissued a fire ban May 2.
Daniel Bushman
Fire departments have been on high alert this spring as a lack of moisture combined with high winds created ideal conditions for wildfires to spread. With the recent massive grass fire near Biggar and other fires occurring within the local region, fire bans have been implemented throughout a large part of Saskatchewan. While some moisture arrived near the end of April, for part of the Last Mountain National Wildlife Area, it came too late.
Situated east of Simpson and first protected in 1887, Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area (NWA) has been officially recognized as a special place for wildlife. With just over 15,000 hectares of land at the north end of Last Mountain Lake, during the afternoon Apr. 24 some of that land was engulfed by a raging inferno.
With the sun shining and the wind humming along at 30 km/h and gusting up to 50 km/h, Protected Areas Manager, Canadian Wildlife Service Kerry Hecker had planned to do some work outside during that blustery afternoon. Working at the office on site at the Last Mountain National Wildlife Area, Hecker got a call from a staff member who was watching a fire blow farther into the NWA from the road ditch. Stepping outside of the facility and into nature just before 2 p.m., Hecker glanced across the prairie landscape and her eyes became fixated on an ever-growing plume of smoke.
Sensing how close it was getting to the site, Kerry examined the situation and realized a fire had been feasting on the wildlife habitat and was moving towards her. While doing prescribed burns at the national wildlife area over the years, Hecker has experience with fires but with one of this magnitude and with the wind helping to fuel the flames, she called for help. Phoning 911 around 2 p.m. and with giant columns of smoke thrust into the atmosphere, it did not take long for help to arrive. First on the scene was the Simpson Fire Department who were notified through the 911 call.
Rapidly growing by the minute and with the wind aiding in its path of destruction, Mayor of Simpson and member of the Simpson Fire Department Jeremy Nimchuk said the department headed for the blaze as soon as they could, requesting mutual aid from Imperial and Watrous along the way.
First on scene, the Simpson Fire Department was soon joined by the Imperial and Watrous departments while word continued to spread about the massive blaze. Trained wildland firefighters from the Canadian Wildlife Service, including Hecker, got their water tanks and headed out to assist as well. Farmers and neighbours willing to pitch in also joined forces and Nimchuk said the department quickly communicated with everyone and made a plan of action on how to attack the fire. “People were bringing water and tractors and discers and any help they could offer,” he said. “There was probably around 30 people at least between firemen and farmers. The help was unbelievable and the people who got together and offered their help was pretty incredible. There were people coming from all over and I was even getting text messages from people in Liberty and Stalwart asking if they could bring water and trucks.”
Nimchuk who had never been involved with a fire of that size added the experience of the Watrous Fire Department also aided in containing the fire. “Watrous did some backburning to help save water and we didn’t have to put on a pile of water because of the techniques they used which helped quite a bit. We were lucky that day that the wind was in our favour and the fire headed to the lake. If it would have been going in the other direction, it would have been a lot worse. We were pretty lucky that way.”
As tractors pulled discers through the earth and tilled the soil to prevent the fire from advancing, Hecker was in touch with the office administrator, Lois Vanthuyne back at the wildlife site watching the blaze rampage towards her. The house where Hecker and her family live in was also nearby and she said the fire got to within a mile of the yard site before it was extinguished. “I deal with fire a lot in my job but to see it that close to the office, buildings and the house where my kids were, it was quite scary.”
In the end, Hecker said they were really quite fortunate that there was not more damage. “The fire went right through the wildlife habitat and right up to the lake. They had the fire stopped at the lake and then just had to deal with flanked fires.”
Nimchuk said it remains a mystery at how the fire started on that windy afternoon. “No one really knows . . . It could have been anything.”
Once the damage had been done and the fire out, Nimchuk said trucks arrived back at Simpson around 7:30 p.m. He heard it was estimated that 700 acres had been engulfed by the fire and burned. Hecker said a prairie trail was damaged and fence posts blackened but otherwise the majority of the fire went through wildlife habitat.
“I am thankful that there were no houses, people or buildings in the fire’s path,” she added. “There were no cattle in the fields yet. It was just grass with some trees and this fire will actually rejuvenate the grass and trees.”
Kerry was also quick to note the scenario and situation as a whole could have been much worse had the help not arrived as fast as it did. “It was really quite amazing and gratifying to have the volunteer fire departments, local farmers and neighbours who helped. There were farmers discing the fields and the fire guards that got cultivated in just happened to be in the best possible place from a wildlife habitat perspective. We are most grateful for the assistance from Simpson, Imperial and Watrous fire departments, neighbours, people in the area who brought cultivators, and everyone working and coming together. We really appreciated it! We are just grateful it started where it did so it could run to the lake.”
Along with Hecker, Nimchuk was also really impressed with the community and local farmers who helped do what they could do to put out the fire as quickly as possible.
As the fire was contained and extinguished, it was not the only one striking the province and the local region. After responding to its first grass fire of 2019 on Apr. 12, the Watrous Fire Department has been busy attending a number of fires since then. The Apr. 12 fire occurred in the morning and over the following eight days the department noted on its Facebook page that it responded to a tractor fire, another grass fire, and a grass fire and structure fire. Then on Apr. 21 members were dispatched to another grass fire at 9:38 p.m., returning close to two hours later.
Along with the Watrous region, conditions have also been dry in the Drake, Lanigan and Jansen area as well. Lanigan Fire Chief Barry Hooper said they have been fortunate no major fires have occurred this spring but more moisture is certainly needed. “Knock on wood we have not had anything so far and hopefully with the local rural municipalities implementing fire bans that will help as well. We have been pretty lucky so far.”
With the dry conditions, numerous local area RMs and municipalities have implemented fire bans, joining a lengthy list of others across Saskatchewan. As of May 1, according to the provincial fire bans page, the local RMs of Wood Creek No. 281, Big Quill No. 308, Usborne No. 310, Morris No. 312, Lost River No. 313, and Blucher No. 343 were under fire bans while Clavet, Liberty, the resort village of Manitou Beach, Meacham, and Simpson were part of the local urban municipalities under fire bans. Meanwhile the RM of Prairie Rose and village of Jansen reissued a fire ban May 2.
TWM Top Story - Apr. 29, 2019
Local couple donates $100,000 to new children's hospital
Daniel Bushman
Family, team work and helping a community grow and flourish have been integral parts to Ron and Melissa Ediger’s lives. Named as last year’s Watrous Citizens of the Year, the couple have not only been a fixture in the community but have also been generously giving back. That kindness has extended beyond Watrous as the owners of Melron Service Ltd. recently provided a $100,000 donation to Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The funds provided by Ron and Melissa will be used to support an exam room in Pediatric Emergency in the new children’s hospital being built in Saskatoon. Presenting the gift to members of the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation, Melissa and Ron were grateful for the opportunity.
“We are pleased to help contribute to a happy and healthy future so that Saskatchewan children and their families can enjoy life like we have. We want to leave a legacy from the Ediger family.”
In a release from the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation, it stated, “The exam room that the Edigers have chosen to support will greatly benefit children and families who find themselves in Saskatchewan’s first 24-hour Pediatric Emergency in the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. The room is one of 10 that will allow children to feel more relaxed and comfortable in an environment that is often considered scary. It will allow for comprehensive evaluation, stabilization and treatment of critically injured children. The new Pediatric Emergency will have room to treat over 21,000 children each year.”
With other substantial contributions made within Watrous and the surrounding area over the years, the Edigers were pleased to be able to provide their $100,000 gift for an exam room in the new children’s hospital, something that will benefit many for years to come.
“When a child spends time in Pediatric Emergency, a family goes from the comforts of home to an environment full of uncertainties,” said Brynn Boback-Lane, President and CEO of Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. “We are grateful that the Edigers have stepped on board to help provide comfort during what can be the hardest time a family may face. Their generosity is a true commitment to our children and families that will bring hope when it’s needed most.”
With a major emphasis placed on family, both Ron and Melissa felt providing towards the children’s hospital was the right thing to do. “With four of our own kids, our 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, our gift towards pediatric health care is a commitment from us to help provide hope to families and their children requiring visits to the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. Coming from humble beginnings, we have been fortunate over the years with our business and this is one way we can give back.”
Currently, construction on Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital is over 90 percent complete and set to open in the fall. Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation’s “We Are Saskatchewan” Capital Campaign has raised $68 million towards a goal of at least $75 million.
Daniel Bushman
Family, team work and helping a community grow and flourish have been integral parts to Ron and Melissa Ediger’s lives. Named as last year’s Watrous Citizens of the Year, the couple have not only been a fixture in the community but have also been generously giving back. That kindness has extended beyond Watrous as the owners of Melron Service Ltd. recently provided a $100,000 donation to Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The funds provided by Ron and Melissa will be used to support an exam room in Pediatric Emergency in the new children’s hospital being built in Saskatoon. Presenting the gift to members of the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation, Melissa and Ron were grateful for the opportunity.
“We are pleased to help contribute to a happy and healthy future so that Saskatchewan children and their families can enjoy life like we have. We want to leave a legacy from the Ediger family.”
In a release from the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation, it stated, “The exam room that the Edigers have chosen to support will greatly benefit children and families who find themselves in Saskatchewan’s first 24-hour Pediatric Emergency in the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. The room is one of 10 that will allow children to feel more relaxed and comfortable in an environment that is often considered scary. It will allow for comprehensive evaluation, stabilization and treatment of critically injured children. The new Pediatric Emergency will have room to treat over 21,000 children each year.”
With other substantial contributions made within Watrous and the surrounding area over the years, the Edigers were pleased to be able to provide their $100,000 gift for an exam room in the new children’s hospital, something that will benefit many for years to come.
“When a child spends time in Pediatric Emergency, a family goes from the comforts of home to an environment full of uncertainties,” said Brynn Boback-Lane, President and CEO of Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. “We are grateful that the Edigers have stepped on board to help provide comfort during what can be the hardest time a family may face. Their generosity is a true commitment to our children and families that will bring hope when it’s needed most.”
With a major emphasis placed on family, both Ron and Melissa felt providing towards the children’s hospital was the right thing to do. “With four of our own kids, our 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, our gift towards pediatric health care is a commitment from us to help provide hope to families and their children requiring visits to the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. Coming from humble beginnings, we have been fortunate over the years with our business and this is one way we can give back.”
Currently, construction on Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital is over 90 percent complete and set to open in the fall. Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation’s “We Are Saskatchewan” Capital Campaign has raised $68 million towards a goal of at least $75 million.
TWM Top Story - Apr. 22, 2019
Young drama production a hit
Daniel Bushman
People hoping to find a ticket to this year’s production put on by the Young Drama Club may have found themselves out of luck as all three nights sold out in a hurry. For those who did get a spot, there were a lot of laughs and enjoyment as the ‘Suwork Family Reunion’ was centre stage.
Director Sherry Shouse said people filled the Young Community Hall Apr. 4, 5 and 6 to check out the performance, enjoy a meal served by Young Parks and Rec and had some drinks poured by the Young Swimming Pool Committee.
“This year’s performance of Suwork Family Reunion was a huge success with all three nights selling out,” said an excited Shouse. “The cast was put to task not only acting but singing and dancing their way to the finale.”
Shouse provided a bit of a synopsis on this year’s production which included a number of familiar faces and a few new ones: “As with any family get-together there is always a bit of conflict with Mary Sha’nay’nay – who’s ever-changing personality was very suspicious of that ‘E-talian and his E-tailian ways.’ And the conflict didn’t end there . . . food kept disappearing and Sue the family organizer was constantly bugging Mom Suwork to “stop inviting every Tony, Dick and Harry to the party ‘er I mean reunion.” The twins Rig and Rich tried to work together to serenade cousin Katie’s best friend Trudy, but sadly Rich was shot down by the over the top personality of the “Jersey girl” who was too “citified” for cowboy Rich. Amidst all the arguing, Sue and Mom Suwork finally convinced the family that life is too short to be arguing about silly things and were brought together by a star performance of “We are a Family.” The reunion ended with Tony (the E-talian) singing his own version of New York, New York appropriately retitled “Suwork, Suwork” and asking Elle, the British adopted daughter, for her hand in marriage. Who knows, maybe the Suworks will have another “family party” to help celebrate the marriage of Elle and Tony.”
Shouse said the cast did a tremendous job in addition to all of the volunteers and sponsors who lent a hand. “We really appreciated the three volunteers who helped make the song, ‘Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy’ an entertaining and funny performance. We were also really grateful to all who attended the show, helping to create another successful production! And we were very appreciative to Mooney Insurance, RBC and MNP for the door prize donations.”
This year’s cast included: Blanche Allingham as Grandma Suwork, John Allingham as Grandpa Suwork, Donna Fischer as Sue, Garnet Johnson as Tom, Rikee Rowan as Becky, Nancy Holdner as Judy, Ewald Weber as Elwood, Pam Lindberg as Sandra, Kelvin Gieselman as Jake, Terry Sperling as Rig, Aaron Bushell as Rich, Carrie Schaan as Bonnie, Debs Green as Elle, Dan Fischer as Tony, Chantelle Gieselman as Mary - Sha’nay’nay, Holly Train as Gloria, Taylor Rowan as Katie, Kellen Dreger as Trudy, Mike Dadachov as Dick, Lyle Johnson as Harry, Annie Bishop as Brenda, and Jolene Haines as Jodi. Along with Sherry Shouse as the director, this year’s sound men were Barry Shouse and Cody Gieselman, the prompter was Kathy Regush and MaryAnn McIvor helped with props.
Daniel Bushman
People hoping to find a ticket to this year’s production put on by the Young Drama Club may have found themselves out of luck as all three nights sold out in a hurry. For those who did get a spot, there were a lot of laughs and enjoyment as the ‘Suwork Family Reunion’ was centre stage.
Director Sherry Shouse said people filled the Young Community Hall Apr. 4, 5 and 6 to check out the performance, enjoy a meal served by Young Parks and Rec and had some drinks poured by the Young Swimming Pool Committee.
“This year’s performance of Suwork Family Reunion was a huge success with all three nights selling out,” said an excited Shouse. “The cast was put to task not only acting but singing and dancing their way to the finale.”
Shouse provided a bit of a synopsis on this year’s production which included a number of familiar faces and a few new ones: “As with any family get-together there is always a bit of conflict with Mary Sha’nay’nay – who’s ever-changing personality was very suspicious of that ‘E-talian and his E-tailian ways.’ And the conflict didn’t end there . . . food kept disappearing and Sue the family organizer was constantly bugging Mom Suwork to “stop inviting every Tony, Dick and Harry to the party ‘er I mean reunion.” The twins Rig and Rich tried to work together to serenade cousin Katie’s best friend Trudy, but sadly Rich was shot down by the over the top personality of the “Jersey girl” who was too “citified” for cowboy Rich. Amidst all the arguing, Sue and Mom Suwork finally convinced the family that life is too short to be arguing about silly things and were brought together by a star performance of “We are a Family.” The reunion ended with Tony (the E-talian) singing his own version of New York, New York appropriately retitled “Suwork, Suwork” and asking Elle, the British adopted daughter, for her hand in marriage. Who knows, maybe the Suworks will have another “family party” to help celebrate the marriage of Elle and Tony.”
Shouse said the cast did a tremendous job in addition to all of the volunteers and sponsors who lent a hand. “We really appreciated the three volunteers who helped make the song, ‘Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy’ an entertaining and funny performance. We were also really grateful to all who attended the show, helping to create another successful production! And we were very appreciative to Mooney Insurance, RBC and MNP for the door prize donations.”
This year’s cast included: Blanche Allingham as Grandma Suwork, John Allingham as Grandpa Suwork, Donna Fischer as Sue, Garnet Johnson as Tom, Rikee Rowan as Becky, Nancy Holdner as Judy, Ewald Weber as Elwood, Pam Lindberg as Sandra, Kelvin Gieselman as Jake, Terry Sperling as Rig, Aaron Bushell as Rich, Carrie Schaan as Bonnie, Debs Green as Elle, Dan Fischer as Tony, Chantelle Gieselman as Mary - Sha’nay’nay, Holly Train as Gloria, Taylor Rowan as Katie, Kellen Dreger as Trudy, Mike Dadachov as Dick, Lyle Johnson as Harry, Annie Bishop as Brenda, and Jolene Haines as Jodi. Along with Sherry Shouse as the director, this year’s sound men were Barry Shouse and Cody Gieselman, the prompter was Kathy Regush and MaryAnn McIvor helped with props.
TWM Top Story Apr. 15, 2019
Manitou Memories mural unveiled
Daniel Bushman
As intricate details were transferred from photo to canvas and with each precise stroke of the brush by artist Michael Gaudet, the history of Manitou Beach began to come alive. Reliving earlier days, Gaudet’s massive mural entitled ‘Manitou Memories’ will provide observers with a snapshot of the resort’s unique and historic past for generations to come.
Commemorating Manitou Beach’s 100th birthday of being incorporated, councillor Chris Moffatt was part of a group who helped to spearhead the mural project along with other events that will take place in 2019. Moffatt said the mural on the Manitou Beach Community Hall depicts a time in the beach’s history where some of the buildings that existed along the shore became well-known to locals and visitors.
“We are proud to have the mural as a component of the recent improvements to the village community hall and are excited to renew the hall and continue to develop it as an active centre of our community gatherings.”
Once the dream of creating the mural came to fruition, Michael Gaudet, who calls Manitou Beach home was asked to take on the project and along with a group of local advisors got down to work.
“The Resort Village of Manitou Beach informed me that it was my baby,” said a thrilled Gaudet. “The village received a larger funding package to rejuvenate our community hall with a new roof and siding that included provisions for the mural, called ‘Manitou Memories’. The concept was to cover the entire north-facing wall. This has benefits, including the fact that north-facing murals will not be affected by a lot of direct sunlight. Also, the mural will be highly visible from Lakeview Drive.”
Spanning 24 feet at its base, the massive mural rises 16 feet to the apex and was cut out to perfectly match the shape of the hall’s wall. With the space allotted for Gaudet’s project, the artist met with local advisors consisting of Darrell Baschak, Laurie Bzdel and Lionel Sproule and was grateful for their valuable input. During that time, Gaudet pitched his plan, one that included a rather unique and historical image.
“Prior to his passing, the late Homer Burke provided me with his original panoramic black and white photo of MacLachlan Beach circa 1921. I used that photo as a reference for a ‘triptych’ (three part) painting. I remembered this photograph and requested that the estate provide it again as a reference for this project. The family happily complied the second time around.”
In the image, which is now part of the mural, Homer is pictured as the boy standing on the dock beside his Dad Art Burke who was the first constable stationed at Manitou Beach in the 1920s.
“I think the unique perspective of my reference material that shows a view looking south to the beach really creates an interesting, fresh look,” said Gaudet after unveiling the finished mural. “The pier that features prominently adds a three-dimensional illusion to the design, as it leads your eye nicely into the landscape. I enjoyed ‘fleshing out’ the colour and texture of the water in the mural. The water occupies a very significant part of the design, you might say, the foundation of the design. This is my way of honouring the ‘healing waters’ as our most important attraction here at Manitou Beach.”
Gaudet also added another unique aspect within the mural, one not depicted in the photo, but one he felt was integral to include.
“Early on in the design process it was pointed out to me that our First Nations friends said a big part of their tradition is the story of charging buffalo and horses that were seen in spirit form in and around Little Manitou Lake. So, I felt it was imperative to include visions of these creatures intermingled in the clouds above the lake. You might have to look twice to ingest this phenomenon.”
Michael began work on the massive project this past November and with large panels to utilize, Gaudet enlisted the help of Vince Armstrong to build a temporary frame. Working in the village shop also aided in the progress of the project, eliminating the harsh winter elements. Once March arrived and the final brush stroke was applied, the mural was ready to be put up on the hall’s wall.
“I am very happy and grateful that I had this opportunity to once again express my artistic soul in the creation of this mural,” said Gaudet. “There is something very special and unique in the visual power of large murals, located in such a prominent location. I think a project of this magnitude will telegraph a very powerful message to our thousands of visitors who come to the beach each year. That being said, Manitou Beach is also a community that cares about and nurtures its artistic community, while honouring its rich history in this way. I really appreciate the Resort Village of Manitou Beach council for providing this opportunity to exercise creative freedom with this project. I would like to think that I, in turn, honoured this trust by creating a mural that will be enjoyed by generations to come.”
Because of the tremendous effort that went into the project by Gaudet, the Resort Village of Manitou Beach applied to receive funding from the Heritage Canada Anniversaries Grant to help cover the cost. Moffatt noted the intent of all Heritage Canada programs are to utilize local artists, artisans and heritage performers.
“Manitou Beach is fortunate to have an artist such as Michael Gaudet who lives here and works professionally as a mural artist. His paintings are highlights in many Canadian communities but we didn’t have one here in his hometown. This funding provided an opportunity to take on this meaningful project and the mural will become a nostalgic connection to the history of Manitou Beach for residents and visitors to enjoy.”
With funding received from the Heritage Canada Anniversaries Grant, Moffatt said the local grant advisors were able to allocate dollars towards the mural and other centennial celebration events like a pipe ceremony, Wisdom Weekend, the 100th birthday picnic and the First Nations water ceremony.
Along with the grant, Moffatt added the community is also very grateful to other funders who assisted with portions of the centennial events being held this year. “We want to acknowledge the financial support by Affinity Credit Union, SaskEnergy, the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group, Manitou Springs Hotel and Mineral Spa, Melron Services and other funders looking to support our events. We also appreciate the volunteers and community supporters for helping to make this year a great one.”
In addition, the resort village also received approval for a second, separate and artistic development grant at Manitou Beach using Heritage Canada Legacy funding. “The Legacy grant is designed to provide only half of the money for physical developments. One of those projects that the grant will be used for is a free-standing, stainless steel installation which will be located on the shore of the lake. Right now a fundraiser is currently underway to raise the matching funds to produce that artwork and site development proposed by the artistic team of Michael Gaudet, Darrell Baschak, and Bob Thibault. Once completed, that too will recognize the legacy of the resort village, its heritage and its beauty.”
Daniel Bushman
As intricate details were transferred from photo to canvas and with each precise stroke of the brush by artist Michael Gaudet, the history of Manitou Beach began to come alive. Reliving earlier days, Gaudet’s massive mural entitled ‘Manitou Memories’ will provide observers with a snapshot of the resort’s unique and historic past for generations to come.
Commemorating Manitou Beach’s 100th birthday of being incorporated, councillor Chris Moffatt was part of a group who helped to spearhead the mural project along with other events that will take place in 2019. Moffatt said the mural on the Manitou Beach Community Hall depicts a time in the beach’s history where some of the buildings that existed along the shore became well-known to locals and visitors.
“We are proud to have the mural as a component of the recent improvements to the village community hall and are excited to renew the hall and continue to develop it as an active centre of our community gatherings.”
Once the dream of creating the mural came to fruition, Michael Gaudet, who calls Manitou Beach home was asked to take on the project and along with a group of local advisors got down to work.
“The Resort Village of Manitou Beach informed me that it was my baby,” said a thrilled Gaudet. “The village received a larger funding package to rejuvenate our community hall with a new roof and siding that included provisions for the mural, called ‘Manitou Memories’. The concept was to cover the entire north-facing wall. This has benefits, including the fact that north-facing murals will not be affected by a lot of direct sunlight. Also, the mural will be highly visible from Lakeview Drive.”
Spanning 24 feet at its base, the massive mural rises 16 feet to the apex and was cut out to perfectly match the shape of the hall’s wall. With the space allotted for Gaudet’s project, the artist met with local advisors consisting of Darrell Baschak, Laurie Bzdel and Lionel Sproule and was grateful for their valuable input. During that time, Gaudet pitched his plan, one that included a rather unique and historical image.
“Prior to his passing, the late Homer Burke provided me with his original panoramic black and white photo of MacLachlan Beach circa 1921. I used that photo as a reference for a ‘triptych’ (three part) painting. I remembered this photograph and requested that the estate provide it again as a reference for this project. The family happily complied the second time around.”
In the image, which is now part of the mural, Homer is pictured as the boy standing on the dock beside his Dad Art Burke who was the first constable stationed at Manitou Beach in the 1920s.
“I think the unique perspective of my reference material that shows a view looking south to the beach really creates an interesting, fresh look,” said Gaudet after unveiling the finished mural. “The pier that features prominently adds a three-dimensional illusion to the design, as it leads your eye nicely into the landscape. I enjoyed ‘fleshing out’ the colour and texture of the water in the mural. The water occupies a very significant part of the design, you might say, the foundation of the design. This is my way of honouring the ‘healing waters’ as our most important attraction here at Manitou Beach.”
Gaudet also added another unique aspect within the mural, one not depicted in the photo, but one he felt was integral to include.
“Early on in the design process it was pointed out to me that our First Nations friends said a big part of their tradition is the story of charging buffalo and horses that were seen in spirit form in and around Little Manitou Lake. So, I felt it was imperative to include visions of these creatures intermingled in the clouds above the lake. You might have to look twice to ingest this phenomenon.”
Michael began work on the massive project this past November and with large panels to utilize, Gaudet enlisted the help of Vince Armstrong to build a temporary frame. Working in the village shop also aided in the progress of the project, eliminating the harsh winter elements. Once March arrived and the final brush stroke was applied, the mural was ready to be put up on the hall’s wall.
“I am very happy and grateful that I had this opportunity to once again express my artistic soul in the creation of this mural,” said Gaudet. “There is something very special and unique in the visual power of large murals, located in such a prominent location. I think a project of this magnitude will telegraph a very powerful message to our thousands of visitors who come to the beach each year. That being said, Manitou Beach is also a community that cares about and nurtures its artistic community, while honouring its rich history in this way. I really appreciate the Resort Village of Manitou Beach council for providing this opportunity to exercise creative freedom with this project. I would like to think that I, in turn, honoured this trust by creating a mural that will be enjoyed by generations to come.”
Because of the tremendous effort that went into the project by Gaudet, the Resort Village of Manitou Beach applied to receive funding from the Heritage Canada Anniversaries Grant to help cover the cost. Moffatt noted the intent of all Heritage Canada programs are to utilize local artists, artisans and heritage performers.
“Manitou Beach is fortunate to have an artist such as Michael Gaudet who lives here and works professionally as a mural artist. His paintings are highlights in many Canadian communities but we didn’t have one here in his hometown. This funding provided an opportunity to take on this meaningful project and the mural will become a nostalgic connection to the history of Manitou Beach for residents and visitors to enjoy.”
With funding received from the Heritage Canada Anniversaries Grant, Moffatt said the local grant advisors were able to allocate dollars towards the mural and other centennial celebration events like a pipe ceremony, Wisdom Weekend, the 100th birthday picnic and the First Nations water ceremony.
Along with the grant, Moffatt added the community is also very grateful to other funders who assisted with portions of the centennial events being held this year. “We want to acknowledge the financial support by Affinity Credit Union, SaskEnergy, the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group, Manitou Springs Hotel and Mineral Spa, Melron Services and other funders looking to support our events. We also appreciate the volunteers and community supporters for helping to make this year a great one.”
In addition, the resort village also received approval for a second, separate and artistic development grant at Manitou Beach using Heritage Canada Legacy funding. “The Legacy grant is designed to provide only half of the money for physical developments. One of those projects that the grant will be used for is a free-standing, stainless steel installation which will be located on the shore of the lake. Right now a fundraiser is currently underway to raise the matching funds to produce that artwork and site development proposed by the artistic team of Michael Gaudet, Darrell Baschak, and Bob Thibault. Once completed, that too will recognize the legacy of the resort village, its heritage and its beauty.”
TWM Top Story - Apr. 8, 2019
Winterhawks make history with league and provincial win
Daniel Bushman
As sticks were taped, skates sharpened, jerseys stitched and the puck dropped to signal a new season of senior hockey, there was something special taking place on and off the ice at the Watrous Centennial Arena. And once the final buzzer sounded on the year for the Watrous Winterhawks, they had themselves a league championship and a Senior A provincial title, something the team had never achieved before.
After assembling a cast of skilled, dedicated and hard-working players a few seasons ago, the Watrous Winterhawks went on to capture a league and Senior B provincial championship in 2016-‘17. With a few changes after that double banner year, the team took aim at repeating the feat but ended up just short last year. Looking to experience that rare accomplishment from two seasons prior, the 2018-‘19 campaign began.
Tapped to guide the club on the bench this year was head coach Jesse Mattson. In his rookie year as head coach, the Watrous native was joined by his dad Jason and former Winterhawk captain and head coach Scott Collins. With help from trainer Travis Frey, equipment manager Jamie Williams and Dylan Snell as the team’s driver, the club embarked on what would be a remarkable year.
Loaded with local talent from top to bottom, a handful of familiar other players brought in for their goal scoring and leadership qualities and two netminders who would lead the Long Lake Hockey League in several categories, the team was ready to roll.
Right from the opening face off, it was evident that the senior hockey club from Watrous was on a mission. Lead by its captain Woody Klassen, the defenceman said, “I have the luxury of being a part of a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make our team what it is. To see the end result now is so rewarding. The success on the ice was the result of incredible support from the community, countless hours of work by our executive, and a group of guys who were dedicated every night to play for one another. Our team had a ton of talent this year but what really put us over the top was our commitment to outwork our opponents and take care of our own end consistently every game. Everyone in our room knew if we accomplished those two things there wasn’t a team in Saskatchewan that could stop us.”
That commitment to outwork their opponents began right from day one as the team would beat the defending LLHL champions 7-0 in the first game of the year Nov. 9. The win would begin a nine game winning streak before losing to Davidson 6-5 Dec. 18. The team then rebounded a few nights later to defeat those same Cyclones 6-1 and then continued to score, adding three more wins before a Foam Lake Flyers club would hand them just their second loss of the year. After that defeat, Watrous would not lose again in LLHL action.
“From day one we knew we had a very strong team and we held ourselves with high expectations all year,” said Mattson. “We play in one of the best senior hockey leagues in the province and to only lose twice all year including playoffs in league is a big accomplishment. It is definitely one of the best teams I’ve ever seen.”
Going 16-2 in the LLHL regular season, scoring 129 goals for (an average of seven goals per game) and allowing just 37 (an average of two goals per game), the team accumulated 32 points to take first in the standings, five points ahead of second place Foam Lake. After an opening round bye, the Winterhawks met LeRoy and defeated them 10-3, 11-3 and 9-3 to move on to the league final against Foam Lake. Facing the league’s top point-getter and third best netminder, Watrous had a tall task ahead but as was the case during the year, they stuck to their game and won 4-1, 4-3 and 6-0 to sweep the LLHL final. Duplicating their success from two seasons ago, their championship win came at home Mar. 21.
“Winning in front of your home fans is incredibly special,” said the team’s head coach. “Being able to celebrate with the people that have supported you all year long was awesome. The support we received this year was exceptional and that made winning at home even more special.”
Klassen said winning that league title was a little redemption for how the season ended last year and it played a role in the team’s provincial quest as well. “Playing league and provincial playoffs at the same time is quite the grind so the fact we swept the league was very beneficial for our provincial run. I’m not sure we really were aware that Watrous hadn’t won a provincial A championship before until a couple weeks ago but once we realized that it almost gave us extra incentive to get the job done. We took a lot of pride in that fact we could put Watrous on the map in that conversation.”
Looking to capture a provincial title to go along with its league banner, the Winterhawks added a few players to its line up and entered the Senior A bracket, a division they had never won a championship in before. Two seasons ago when the team won league, they had also captured the Senior B bracket. This year in ‘A’, things would be different as the team faced the likes of Kindersley, Foam Lake, Naicam and Milestone.
Going into the A bracket each round became a best of three series. Watrous would receive home ice throughout the provincial run and all they had to do was keep winning and home ice was theirs.
In the first round, the Winterhawks were matched up against a high-powered Kindersley squad, one that was also seeking a Senior A title. After battling some nerves early on, Watrous stayed the course during game one Feb. 5 and like they had done throughout the LLHL regular season, filled the net and won 8-2. Game two was slated less than a week later and like the first game, Watrous poured on the momentum to win 7-2, sweeping the opening series.
Facing a familiar opponent in round two, Watrous hosted Foam Lake. At that time, both teams were on a collision course to meet up in the LLHL final so they got to know each other quite well before the season ended. In round two, Watrous shut out the Flyers in game one 6-0, the same score the teams would see in game three of the LLHL final about a month later. Then in game two, Watrous carried the momentum and won 7-2 to move on to the third round of provincials.
With a combined 28 goals for and six goals against in four games, Watrous met Naicam for the right to advance to the provincial final. Hosting the Vikings Mar. 9, Watrous found itself in tough but edged the skillful team 4-3. Game two which was held Mar. 16 provided the Winterhawks with its only loss of their lengthy provincial run, a 6-4 defeat in Naicam. The loss set up a third and final game back in Watrous.
“Senior A provincials being as tough as they are, we knew things wouldn’t come easy,” reflected Mattson. “We knew there was going to be bumps in the road and that we would have to keep battling through the tough games. Fortunately for us, we only had one blemish, a game which probably helped us win our championship. Losing game two against Naicam kind of gave us that reality check and showed us we weren’t invincible.”
With their backs against the wall, the Winterhawks hit the ice for game three and made sure they were not hanging up their skates early, winning 8-1 and moving on to the Senior A provincial final.
Sizing up their next and final opponent, the Winterhawks retained home ice advantage and hoped to feed off the enthusiasm from the local fans as they hosted Milestone in game one Mar. 23. Perhaps catching many members of the opposition off guard, Watrous went to work and netted seven goals as the team won 7-3 and began focusing on winning game two in Milestone Mar. 30. While the team defeated the Flyers by four goals in game one, Mattson knew game two would be much different.
“Milestone was our toughest test in provincials for sure. They were a very hard-working team that was physical and relentless on the forecheck. Our plan was to stay composed throughout the game, take care of our own end, and execute on the mistakes that Milestone would make.”
As should be the case in any provincial final, mistakes were few in game two and despite not having its leading scorer in the line up, Watrous took a 1-0 lead. However in the third, Milestone replied and both teams found themselves in a close 1-1 contest. Players from both sides tried to beat the goalies but the pair each stood tall for their respective teams.
The clubs, who fought hard to earn their spot in the final, continued to battle to see who would get the next goal. That marker would finally come off the stick of Chad Murton after a nice set up from Andrew Bailey and Watrous went ahead 2-1 with 13:30 to play. Hoping for more, the Winterhawks tried to nab another but Riley Ross kept the puck out of his net. As the seconds continued to tick off the clock, teams tightened up not wanting to give the other any advantage. Then with 1:19 to play, a time out was called. The Flyers tugged Ross from the cage for an extra attacker and despite the added skater were unable to solve Brody Hoffman. With time running out and the Winterhawks inching closer to a Senior A provincial title, the final buzzer sounded and it was jubilation for the team wearing white.
“Our guys paced well throughout the game, and came up clutch when we needed it,” said an elated Mattson who added it was a roller coaster final 20 minutes. “Going into the third up 1-0 we were extremely happy with the position we were in. Once Milestone tied it up early and got a breakaway the next shift I felt worried and nervous. The guys were relentless though, and turned the momentum around. When we scored our second goal I was relieved, and knew that we had an opportunity to win the game.”
Klassen attributed a lot of the success during the provincial run to the leaders in the dressing room and being able to rise to the occasion.
“I may wear the C but ultimately we have a room full of leaders. What’s really special to me is the fact we have imports that care just as much as the locals. We have a really tight-knit group of guys who hold each other accountable.”
Once the final few seconds disappeared and the realization of winning the team’s first-ever Senior A provincial title arrived, Mattson said the feeling was incredible and impossible to describe.
“It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever been a part of. As the final buzzer went, emotions became strong. It wasn’t until the whole team was sitting in the dressing room that it really set in.”
Thrilled to see the team win both league and provincials, Mattson said it was made possible because of a full team effort. “Our whole team bought in to our game plan, and everybody on the team fulfilled their roll on the team.”
“It’s tough to compare our run two years ago with our run this year,” said Woody. “Two years ago was my first time winning either championship which was really special but I think what sets this year apart from that year is the camaraderie in our dressing room. This was our third year as a group together and I felt this year we really united as a team. We have a family in that dressing room and it makes winning that much sweeter.”
As had been the case throughout the entire year and the provincial run, Mattson said the fans who supported the team were incredible. “I could not believe the amount of people that travelled to Milestone. We had at least 100 fans there, which is absolutely incredible for an away game. The energy they gave us with their cheering helped out so much. Sometimes they made us feel like we were playing at home. This victory was for the fans and the town of Watrous, because without them we couldn’t have done this. Bringing the first ‘A’ title to Watrous is very special and a huge accomplishment for our team.”
Klassen also echoed those same feelings and was grateful for all of the support. “Can’t really say enough about the fans and community. The support for our team is really unmatched by any in this province. It makes playing in Watrous really special for everyone involved. We don’t just fill our home rink, every game this year I can remember seeing fans in the stands in opposing teams rinks as well. The fans really attribute to the success on the ice. I really appreciate everyone who has been involved this year with the team both on and off the ice. The generosity of time and money has been incredible. We sincerely appreciate our fans, executive, coaches, teammates, and our families!”
Along with that work done behind the bench and on the ice, the Winterhawk executive was also hard at work helping to make things run smoothly throughout the year. President of the Winterhawks Jeff Siegfried said the dedication put forth by executive members Marshal Inkster, Tracy Ullyott, Lane Manson, Jean Mulhall, Jaylin Klassen, Karen Siegfried, Brad Baker and Karter Elderkin was a huge help this season and tremendously appreciated. Siegfried also noted how important the fans, sponsors and volunteers were in making the year extra special.
“Without them this season would not have been as great as it was and on behalf of the executive we are so grateful for the support this past year!” Siegfried continued, “Having a competitive senior hockey team in Watrous brings notoriety in the province and should give our residents something to be proud of. All of us like talking about hockey, and it is so much fun to have a positive topic of conversation when you are out on the street. We as a team and as an executive are excited to celebrate with our community and look forward to hanging up two more banners in our arena!”
Daniel Bushman
As sticks were taped, skates sharpened, jerseys stitched and the puck dropped to signal a new season of senior hockey, there was something special taking place on and off the ice at the Watrous Centennial Arena. And once the final buzzer sounded on the year for the Watrous Winterhawks, they had themselves a league championship and a Senior A provincial title, something the team had never achieved before.
After assembling a cast of skilled, dedicated and hard-working players a few seasons ago, the Watrous Winterhawks went on to capture a league and Senior B provincial championship in 2016-‘17. With a few changes after that double banner year, the team took aim at repeating the feat but ended up just short last year. Looking to experience that rare accomplishment from two seasons prior, the 2018-‘19 campaign began.
Tapped to guide the club on the bench this year was head coach Jesse Mattson. In his rookie year as head coach, the Watrous native was joined by his dad Jason and former Winterhawk captain and head coach Scott Collins. With help from trainer Travis Frey, equipment manager Jamie Williams and Dylan Snell as the team’s driver, the club embarked on what would be a remarkable year.
Loaded with local talent from top to bottom, a handful of familiar other players brought in for their goal scoring and leadership qualities and two netminders who would lead the Long Lake Hockey League in several categories, the team was ready to roll.
Right from the opening face off, it was evident that the senior hockey club from Watrous was on a mission. Lead by its captain Woody Klassen, the defenceman said, “I have the luxury of being a part of a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make our team what it is. To see the end result now is so rewarding. The success on the ice was the result of incredible support from the community, countless hours of work by our executive, and a group of guys who were dedicated every night to play for one another. Our team had a ton of talent this year but what really put us over the top was our commitment to outwork our opponents and take care of our own end consistently every game. Everyone in our room knew if we accomplished those two things there wasn’t a team in Saskatchewan that could stop us.”
That commitment to outwork their opponents began right from day one as the team would beat the defending LLHL champions 7-0 in the first game of the year Nov. 9. The win would begin a nine game winning streak before losing to Davidson 6-5 Dec. 18. The team then rebounded a few nights later to defeat those same Cyclones 6-1 and then continued to score, adding three more wins before a Foam Lake Flyers club would hand them just their second loss of the year. After that defeat, Watrous would not lose again in LLHL action.
“From day one we knew we had a very strong team and we held ourselves with high expectations all year,” said Mattson. “We play in one of the best senior hockey leagues in the province and to only lose twice all year including playoffs in league is a big accomplishment. It is definitely one of the best teams I’ve ever seen.”
Going 16-2 in the LLHL regular season, scoring 129 goals for (an average of seven goals per game) and allowing just 37 (an average of two goals per game), the team accumulated 32 points to take first in the standings, five points ahead of second place Foam Lake. After an opening round bye, the Winterhawks met LeRoy and defeated them 10-3, 11-3 and 9-3 to move on to the league final against Foam Lake. Facing the league’s top point-getter and third best netminder, Watrous had a tall task ahead but as was the case during the year, they stuck to their game and won 4-1, 4-3 and 6-0 to sweep the LLHL final. Duplicating their success from two seasons ago, their championship win came at home Mar. 21.
“Winning in front of your home fans is incredibly special,” said the team’s head coach. “Being able to celebrate with the people that have supported you all year long was awesome. The support we received this year was exceptional and that made winning at home even more special.”
Klassen said winning that league title was a little redemption for how the season ended last year and it played a role in the team’s provincial quest as well. “Playing league and provincial playoffs at the same time is quite the grind so the fact we swept the league was very beneficial for our provincial run. I’m not sure we really were aware that Watrous hadn’t won a provincial A championship before until a couple weeks ago but once we realized that it almost gave us extra incentive to get the job done. We took a lot of pride in that fact we could put Watrous on the map in that conversation.”
Looking to capture a provincial title to go along with its league banner, the Winterhawks added a few players to its line up and entered the Senior A bracket, a division they had never won a championship in before. Two seasons ago when the team won league, they had also captured the Senior B bracket. This year in ‘A’, things would be different as the team faced the likes of Kindersley, Foam Lake, Naicam and Milestone.
Going into the A bracket each round became a best of three series. Watrous would receive home ice throughout the provincial run and all they had to do was keep winning and home ice was theirs.
In the first round, the Winterhawks were matched up against a high-powered Kindersley squad, one that was also seeking a Senior A title. After battling some nerves early on, Watrous stayed the course during game one Feb. 5 and like they had done throughout the LLHL regular season, filled the net and won 8-2. Game two was slated less than a week later and like the first game, Watrous poured on the momentum to win 7-2, sweeping the opening series.
Facing a familiar opponent in round two, Watrous hosted Foam Lake. At that time, both teams were on a collision course to meet up in the LLHL final so they got to know each other quite well before the season ended. In round two, Watrous shut out the Flyers in game one 6-0, the same score the teams would see in game three of the LLHL final about a month later. Then in game two, Watrous carried the momentum and won 7-2 to move on to the third round of provincials.
With a combined 28 goals for and six goals against in four games, Watrous met Naicam for the right to advance to the provincial final. Hosting the Vikings Mar. 9, Watrous found itself in tough but edged the skillful team 4-3. Game two which was held Mar. 16 provided the Winterhawks with its only loss of their lengthy provincial run, a 6-4 defeat in Naicam. The loss set up a third and final game back in Watrous.
“Senior A provincials being as tough as they are, we knew things wouldn’t come easy,” reflected Mattson. “We knew there was going to be bumps in the road and that we would have to keep battling through the tough games. Fortunately for us, we only had one blemish, a game which probably helped us win our championship. Losing game two against Naicam kind of gave us that reality check and showed us we weren’t invincible.”
With their backs against the wall, the Winterhawks hit the ice for game three and made sure they were not hanging up their skates early, winning 8-1 and moving on to the Senior A provincial final.
Sizing up their next and final opponent, the Winterhawks retained home ice advantage and hoped to feed off the enthusiasm from the local fans as they hosted Milestone in game one Mar. 23. Perhaps catching many members of the opposition off guard, Watrous went to work and netted seven goals as the team won 7-3 and began focusing on winning game two in Milestone Mar. 30. While the team defeated the Flyers by four goals in game one, Mattson knew game two would be much different.
“Milestone was our toughest test in provincials for sure. They were a very hard-working team that was physical and relentless on the forecheck. Our plan was to stay composed throughout the game, take care of our own end, and execute on the mistakes that Milestone would make.”
As should be the case in any provincial final, mistakes were few in game two and despite not having its leading scorer in the line up, Watrous took a 1-0 lead. However in the third, Milestone replied and both teams found themselves in a close 1-1 contest. Players from both sides tried to beat the goalies but the pair each stood tall for their respective teams.
The clubs, who fought hard to earn their spot in the final, continued to battle to see who would get the next goal. That marker would finally come off the stick of Chad Murton after a nice set up from Andrew Bailey and Watrous went ahead 2-1 with 13:30 to play. Hoping for more, the Winterhawks tried to nab another but Riley Ross kept the puck out of his net. As the seconds continued to tick off the clock, teams tightened up not wanting to give the other any advantage. Then with 1:19 to play, a time out was called. The Flyers tugged Ross from the cage for an extra attacker and despite the added skater were unable to solve Brody Hoffman. With time running out and the Winterhawks inching closer to a Senior A provincial title, the final buzzer sounded and it was jubilation for the team wearing white.
“Our guys paced well throughout the game, and came up clutch when we needed it,” said an elated Mattson who added it was a roller coaster final 20 minutes. “Going into the third up 1-0 we were extremely happy with the position we were in. Once Milestone tied it up early and got a breakaway the next shift I felt worried and nervous. The guys were relentless though, and turned the momentum around. When we scored our second goal I was relieved, and knew that we had an opportunity to win the game.”
Klassen attributed a lot of the success during the provincial run to the leaders in the dressing room and being able to rise to the occasion.
“I may wear the C but ultimately we have a room full of leaders. What’s really special to me is the fact we have imports that care just as much as the locals. We have a really tight-knit group of guys who hold each other accountable.”
Once the final few seconds disappeared and the realization of winning the team’s first-ever Senior A provincial title arrived, Mattson said the feeling was incredible and impossible to describe.
“It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever been a part of. As the final buzzer went, emotions became strong. It wasn’t until the whole team was sitting in the dressing room that it really set in.”
Thrilled to see the team win both league and provincials, Mattson said it was made possible because of a full team effort. “Our whole team bought in to our game plan, and everybody on the team fulfilled their roll on the team.”
“It’s tough to compare our run two years ago with our run this year,” said Woody. “Two years ago was my first time winning either championship which was really special but I think what sets this year apart from that year is the camaraderie in our dressing room. This was our third year as a group together and I felt this year we really united as a team. We have a family in that dressing room and it makes winning that much sweeter.”
As had been the case throughout the entire year and the provincial run, Mattson said the fans who supported the team were incredible. “I could not believe the amount of people that travelled to Milestone. We had at least 100 fans there, which is absolutely incredible for an away game. The energy they gave us with their cheering helped out so much. Sometimes they made us feel like we were playing at home. This victory was for the fans and the town of Watrous, because without them we couldn’t have done this. Bringing the first ‘A’ title to Watrous is very special and a huge accomplishment for our team.”
Klassen also echoed those same feelings and was grateful for all of the support. “Can’t really say enough about the fans and community. The support for our team is really unmatched by any in this province. It makes playing in Watrous really special for everyone involved. We don’t just fill our home rink, every game this year I can remember seeing fans in the stands in opposing teams rinks as well. The fans really attribute to the success on the ice. I really appreciate everyone who has been involved this year with the team both on and off the ice. The generosity of time and money has been incredible. We sincerely appreciate our fans, executive, coaches, teammates, and our families!”
Along with that work done behind the bench and on the ice, the Winterhawk executive was also hard at work helping to make things run smoothly throughout the year. President of the Winterhawks Jeff Siegfried said the dedication put forth by executive members Marshal Inkster, Tracy Ullyott, Lane Manson, Jean Mulhall, Jaylin Klassen, Karen Siegfried, Brad Baker and Karter Elderkin was a huge help this season and tremendously appreciated. Siegfried also noted how important the fans, sponsors and volunteers were in making the year extra special.
“Without them this season would not have been as great as it was and on behalf of the executive we are so grateful for the support this past year!” Siegfried continued, “Having a competitive senior hockey team in Watrous brings notoriety in the province and should give our residents something to be proud of. All of us like talking about hockey, and it is so much fun to have a positive topic of conversation when you are out on the street. We as a team and as an executive are excited to celebrate with our community and look forward to hanging up two more banners in our arena!”
TWM Top Story - Apr. 1, 2019
Changes to local primary health teams
Daniel Bushman
The Watrous Imperial Primary Health Team and the Lanigan physician practice will see some staffing changes as a few familiar faces will be departing later this year. In Watrous, doctor Hammad Akhtar and nurse practitioner Jessica Niyongabo will be leaving their positions while in Lanigan a search is underway to secure a physician after doctor Chander Sharma will be relocating in the fall.
Angela Luron with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) shared about the upcoming changes. “Nurse practitioner Jessica Niyongabo has accepted a new position in a different community with her last day in Watrous May 3. We are certainly sad to see Jessica leave after more than two years of exceptional service to the community. We wish her the very best in her next adventures.”
With Niyongabo’s departure, Luron said they were able to bring in a new person for the position hiring nurse practitioner Carrie Su, who will begin her orientation with the Watrous Imperial team Apr. 26. “Carrie comes to us with some experience work in rural Saskatchewan already on an interdisciplinary team under the primary health model. She is quite passionate about community health education and health promotion. We are really looking forward to welcoming her to the team.”
One of the longest serving physicians in the area, Dr. Akhtar, has decided to join his family back in England where his wife Madeeha is currently studying medicine. Leaving Watrous at the end of this coming July, Luron said Akhtar has been with the local team since October 2012. “He really played a key role in helping to establish a strong foundation of the primary health care model in the communities including the successful integration of nurse practitioners onto the team. He has also been with us through our move to our new location and through the implementation of our electronic medical records. He has certainly been through a lot with our team and the community and has been very essential in providing lots of support and that strong foundation. We know that he and his family will be very missed by our patients and the community but we are very happy for him and wish him all the best.”
Leaving a physician spot open, with Akhtar’s departure on the Watrous Imperial team, SHA was able to secure another doctor, one that many may be familiar with. Dr. Chander Sharma will be moving from his medical practice in Lanigan as of October 2019 and will join his wife Dr. Kavita Choudhary in Watrous.
“They moved to Watrous several years ago and Dr. Sharma is really looking forward to being closer to his family and to practicing in the primary health model of community care. We know that Dr. Sharma has made strong contributions to the Lanigan practice over the years and will also surely be missed in the Lanigan area.”
With Akhtar leaving at the end of July and Sharma not starting with the Watrous Imperial team until October, Luron said SHA is working on a coverage plan for August and September and are also working hard to recruit a replacement physician for the Lanigan area for October 2019 to work alongside Dr. Joseph Akinjobe.
“We want to be clear that while these changes and recruitment efforts are underway we don’t anticipate a significant impact in terms of access to the care and services being provided in Lanigan or Watrous or Imperial. It certainly is a priority for us to maintain the services in these communities. However, we would like to thank the communities in advance for their patience as we work to adjust our appointment schedules over the next eight weeks or so to accommodate Jessica’s departure and Carrie’s orientation.”
Luron said they are also confident there will not be a gap in service in Lanigan as recruitment efforts are well underway. “We have worked hard over the last number of years to build a strong foundation in rural health in particular. I think our ability to recruit successfully to these teams shows that we have established a pretty strong foundation of health care and of the health team. People are interested in wanting to come and work for us. It also reduces the stress on the community when we can maintain services.”
Luron also noted SHA appreciates being able to work in partnership with the Town of Watrous and the surrounding communities and RMs in providing the local health services.
With the upcoming changes, Watrous Mayor Ed Collins said the community was happy to have both Akhtar and Niyongabo as part of its team and will miss them.
“It was great working with them and they did a wonderful job for us. Certainly we are sorry to see them go but appreciated their dedication to the community and the area.”
Pleased that the two soon to be vacant spots have already been secured in Watrous, Collins said, “By having those spots filled, service will not be disrupted to a great degree. We are also certainly happy to have our new physician and nurse practitioner on board and look forward to working with them both.”
As Akhtar and Niyongabo depart from Watrous and Sharma from Lanigan later this year, the three shared about their experiences while Su commented on looking forward to arriving in Watrous. The following is a brief question and answer with each with the help of SHA:
Dr. Hammad Akhtar
What work have you been most proud of during your time in Watrous and Imperial?
I feel very proud to play my role in the team to reopen the emergency services and Watrous hospital in 2013. The establishment of a new and improved integrated health clinic in hospital was also a special achievement. The development of well-functioning, efficient team of healthcare professionals in Watrous is very satisfying. I take a lot of pride to be a member of this remarkable team.
What have you most appreciated about the community, and what will you miss the most?
The way people welcomed and embraced us was incredible. It enabled us to blend in the community. We appreciate overwhelming support and help from everyone throughout. It helped us to raise our family and provided lots of opportunities for children in sports and school. I feel very fortunate and humble to serve this amazing community.
If you had one piece of advice to share with the community about living their best, healthiest life, what would it be?
Eat healthy, regular exercise and continue to care for each other.
Jessica Niyongabo
What work have you been most proud of during your time in Watrous and Imperial?
During my three years of working in Watrous and Imperial I have many memories I will hold close to my heart. When I began my practice as a nurse practitioner in 2016, I was excited but a little intimidated by the responsibility. Since that time, I have been able to develop my skills in the clinic, in long-term care and in the community setting. I have enjoyed seeing familiar faces along the way and working with a variety of people, from older adults to babies and new mothers. It was so special to get to know everyone and it’s those small moments I will not forget.
I am most proud of the community health teaching I was able to do at Interlake, Jubilee Court, elementary school and Westridge. Being able to provide health teaching and empower people with their own health knowledge makes me feel like I’m helping strengthen their life and health practices.
What have you most appreciated about the community, and what will you miss the most?
I have most appreciated how open and loving everyone has been. Watrous has made me feel like I have a second home, with people opening up their homes to me and always providing warm words of support throughout the years. The community has always been eager to engage in the health care initiatives. Thank you for being so trusting and willing to engage in the health care provided over the years.
If you had one piece of advice to share with the community about living their best, healthiest life, what would it be?
My main belief is being aware of what we nourish our bodies with food and physical activity. Having access and the ability to make informed food choices has a huge impact for our health. As I have said many of times this is nothing you master and move on from. Eating healthy, whole foods and getting enough physical activity is a continuous cycle we are experiencing as humans. Keep in mind you’re human. Know that it’s okay if you need to reset and restart again. Keep up the positive self-talk that you can do it.
Dr. Chander Sharma
What work have you been most proud of during your time in Lanigan?
I am proud of our great team work and mutual support, providing round-the-clock emergency services have been the most gratifying experience!
What will you miss the most about the community and the work in Lanigan?
It has been wonderful working and living in Lanigan, have received great affection and support from the magnificent community that I am going to cherish forever and forever!
What do you most enjoy about rural, team-based health care?
Interconnectedness is the most amazing part of rural team-based health care system. During my stay in Lanigan, I have found Interconnectedness as the most amazing part of rural team-based health care system.
Carrie Su
What excites you about coming to work in the communities of Watrous and Imperial?
Watrous and Imperial are vibrant communities infused by a lively and friendly ambiance along with a rich mix of history and culture.
What attracted you to the nurse practitioner position on this Primary Health Team?
The practice of the nurse practitioner is greatly supported by the multidisciplinary team and the local communities. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to exercise my role as a nurse practitioner to its full potential, not just limited to the daily clinic practice, but also reaching out and building stronger and healthier communities together.
Daniel Bushman
The Watrous Imperial Primary Health Team and the Lanigan physician practice will see some staffing changes as a few familiar faces will be departing later this year. In Watrous, doctor Hammad Akhtar and nurse practitioner Jessica Niyongabo will be leaving their positions while in Lanigan a search is underway to secure a physician after doctor Chander Sharma will be relocating in the fall.
Angela Luron with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) shared about the upcoming changes. “Nurse practitioner Jessica Niyongabo has accepted a new position in a different community with her last day in Watrous May 3. We are certainly sad to see Jessica leave after more than two years of exceptional service to the community. We wish her the very best in her next adventures.”
With Niyongabo’s departure, Luron said they were able to bring in a new person for the position hiring nurse practitioner Carrie Su, who will begin her orientation with the Watrous Imperial team Apr. 26. “Carrie comes to us with some experience work in rural Saskatchewan already on an interdisciplinary team under the primary health model. She is quite passionate about community health education and health promotion. We are really looking forward to welcoming her to the team.”
One of the longest serving physicians in the area, Dr. Akhtar, has decided to join his family back in England where his wife Madeeha is currently studying medicine. Leaving Watrous at the end of this coming July, Luron said Akhtar has been with the local team since October 2012. “He really played a key role in helping to establish a strong foundation of the primary health care model in the communities including the successful integration of nurse practitioners onto the team. He has also been with us through our move to our new location and through the implementation of our electronic medical records. He has certainly been through a lot with our team and the community and has been very essential in providing lots of support and that strong foundation. We know that he and his family will be very missed by our patients and the community but we are very happy for him and wish him all the best.”
Leaving a physician spot open, with Akhtar’s departure on the Watrous Imperial team, SHA was able to secure another doctor, one that many may be familiar with. Dr. Chander Sharma will be moving from his medical practice in Lanigan as of October 2019 and will join his wife Dr. Kavita Choudhary in Watrous.
“They moved to Watrous several years ago and Dr. Sharma is really looking forward to being closer to his family and to practicing in the primary health model of community care. We know that Dr. Sharma has made strong contributions to the Lanigan practice over the years and will also surely be missed in the Lanigan area.”
With Akhtar leaving at the end of July and Sharma not starting with the Watrous Imperial team until October, Luron said SHA is working on a coverage plan for August and September and are also working hard to recruit a replacement physician for the Lanigan area for October 2019 to work alongside Dr. Joseph Akinjobe.
“We want to be clear that while these changes and recruitment efforts are underway we don’t anticipate a significant impact in terms of access to the care and services being provided in Lanigan or Watrous or Imperial. It certainly is a priority for us to maintain the services in these communities. However, we would like to thank the communities in advance for their patience as we work to adjust our appointment schedules over the next eight weeks or so to accommodate Jessica’s departure and Carrie’s orientation.”
Luron said they are also confident there will not be a gap in service in Lanigan as recruitment efforts are well underway. “We have worked hard over the last number of years to build a strong foundation in rural health in particular. I think our ability to recruit successfully to these teams shows that we have established a pretty strong foundation of health care and of the health team. People are interested in wanting to come and work for us. It also reduces the stress on the community when we can maintain services.”
Luron also noted SHA appreciates being able to work in partnership with the Town of Watrous and the surrounding communities and RMs in providing the local health services.
With the upcoming changes, Watrous Mayor Ed Collins said the community was happy to have both Akhtar and Niyongabo as part of its team and will miss them.
“It was great working with them and they did a wonderful job for us. Certainly we are sorry to see them go but appreciated their dedication to the community and the area.”
Pleased that the two soon to be vacant spots have already been secured in Watrous, Collins said, “By having those spots filled, service will not be disrupted to a great degree. We are also certainly happy to have our new physician and nurse practitioner on board and look forward to working with them both.”
As Akhtar and Niyongabo depart from Watrous and Sharma from Lanigan later this year, the three shared about their experiences while Su commented on looking forward to arriving in Watrous. The following is a brief question and answer with each with the help of SHA:
Dr. Hammad Akhtar
What work have you been most proud of during your time in Watrous and Imperial?
I feel very proud to play my role in the team to reopen the emergency services and Watrous hospital in 2013. The establishment of a new and improved integrated health clinic in hospital was also a special achievement. The development of well-functioning, efficient team of healthcare professionals in Watrous is very satisfying. I take a lot of pride to be a member of this remarkable team.
What have you most appreciated about the community, and what will you miss the most?
The way people welcomed and embraced us was incredible. It enabled us to blend in the community. We appreciate overwhelming support and help from everyone throughout. It helped us to raise our family and provided lots of opportunities for children in sports and school. I feel very fortunate and humble to serve this amazing community.
If you had one piece of advice to share with the community about living their best, healthiest life, what would it be?
Eat healthy, regular exercise and continue to care for each other.
Jessica Niyongabo
What work have you been most proud of during your time in Watrous and Imperial?
During my three years of working in Watrous and Imperial I have many memories I will hold close to my heart. When I began my practice as a nurse practitioner in 2016, I was excited but a little intimidated by the responsibility. Since that time, I have been able to develop my skills in the clinic, in long-term care and in the community setting. I have enjoyed seeing familiar faces along the way and working with a variety of people, from older adults to babies and new mothers. It was so special to get to know everyone and it’s those small moments I will not forget.
I am most proud of the community health teaching I was able to do at Interlake, Jubilee Court, elementary school and Westridge. Being able to provide health teaching and empower people with their own health knowledge makes me feel like I’m helping strengthen their life and health practices.
What have you most appreciated about the community, and what will you miss the most?
I have most appreciated how open and loving everyone has been. Watrous has made me feel like I have a second home, with people opening up their homes to me and always providing warm words of support throughout the years. The community has always been eager to engage in the health care initiatives. Thank you for being so trusting and willing to engage in the health care provided over the years.
If you had one piece of advice to share with the community about living their best, healthiest life, what would it be?
My main belief is being aware of what we nourish our bodies with food and physical activity. Having access and the ability to make informed food choices has a huge impact for our health. As I have said many of times this is nothing you master and move on from. Eating healthy, whole foods and getting enough physical activity is a continuous cycle we are experiencing as humans. Keep in mind you’re human. Know that it’s okay if you need to reset and restart again. Keep up the positive self-talk that you can do it.
Dr. Chander Sharma
What work have you been most proud of during your time in Lanigan?
I am proud of our great team work and mutual support, providing round-the-clock emergency services have been the most gratifying experience!
What will you miss the most about the community and the work in Lanigan?
It has been wonderful working and living in Lanigan, have received great affection and support from the magnificent community that I am going to cherish forever and forever!
What do you most enjoy about rural, team-based health care?
Interconnectedness is the most amazing part of rural team-based health care system. During my stay in Lanigan, I have found Interconnectedness as the most amazing part of rural team-based health care system.
Carrie Su
What excites you about coming to work in the communities of Watrous and Imperial?
Watrous and Imperial are vibrant communities infused by a lively and friendly ambiance along with a rich mix of history and culture.
What attracted you to the nurse practitioner position on this Primary Health Team?
The practice of the nurse practitioner is greatly supported by the multidisciplinary team and the local communities. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to exercise my role as a nurse practitioner to its full potential, not just limited to the daily clinic practice, but also reaching out and building stronger and healthier communities together.
TWM Top Story - Mar. 25, 2019
Allan names rink in honour of Logan Schatz
Daniel Bushman
Family and friends of Logan Schatz, the community of Allan and members of the hockey world came together Mar. 16 in Allan as part of a dedication ceremony. At the arena where Schatz grew up in, the community held a ceremony to rename the rink the Logan Schatz Memorial Arena in Logan’s honour.
Mayor of Allan Les Alm said the ceremony was very emotional for the community as they remembered Logan who was the captain of the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos before he tragically passed away last April. Alm said many people looked up to Schatz, evident by all those in attendance. “The waiting room was packed with the Schatz family, friends, Humboldt Broncos’ family members and community members.”
Logan’s parents, Bonnie and Kelly Schatz introduced their family before a former teacher of Logan’s, Craig Reinhardt said a few words at the dedication ceremony.
“It was absolutely wonderful to see so many people out to this event and the whole community stands behind and fully supports the Schatz family.”
Alm said having the arena named the ‘Logan Schatz Memorial Arena’ was something the community wanted to do, adding to Logan’s legacy and the mark that he left on all those who knew him.
“Every time anyone enters the rink, they will think of Logan and he will forever be remembered as a ‘son of Allan.’ Saturday, Mar. 16, 2019 really was Logan Schatz day in Allan and really made the Allan Winter Festival a special day.”
Hockey and Logan were synonymous right from a young age. Logan’s dad Kelly recalled his son stepping on to the ice when Logan was four years old and was an Allan Junior Flame during his minor hockey days. Excelling in hockey and playing for many hockey teams in his career, Schatz then became a Humboldt Broncos’ player and captain.
In 2017-‘18, Logan’s final season with the Broncos, the 5’9 centreman had 22 goals and 63 assists for 85 points in 57 games during the regular season. In the 2018 playoffs, he had posted 13 points in nine games. But it was not just his point totals that made an impression. A leader both on and off the ice, because of Logan’s character, determination and leadership abilities, Alm said it was important to remember Schatz.
“Logan Schatz was mature beyond his years, was an all around great person and friend to so many. He will be fondly and lovingly remembered as a young man who had limitless potential.”
As the rink was renamed in Logan’s honour and along with the memories of his minor hockey days, another recent reminder now remains a permanent fixture at the arena. Logan’s dad Kelly created Schatzy’s Corner, a mini rink area where kids can play, have fun and learn about Logan. “Schatzy’s Corner was opened this winter and has been very busy with kids playing during weekend hockey tournaments in the rink. Every child playing in Schatzy’s Corner will know and remember Logan’s legacy as a person and as a hockey player.”
After an emotional dedication ceremony, it was only fitting that the Allan Flames senior hockey team hit the ice that evening. Taking on Kinistino in game two of the Wheatland Hockey League final, Alm said the Kinistino Tigers team all wore LS stickers on their helmets in memory of Logan. A special thank you to Corey and Anita Church was announced for the sign they made and installed on the timekeeper’s box in the arena. And Brian Hinz, who taught Logan Industrial Arts in Humboldt was also in attendance and was acknowledged for designing and creating the newly installed, ‘Logan Schatz Memorial Arena’ signs located at the arena.
Before the game started, Kelly Schatz dropped the puck with Logan’s initials on it and Logan’s brother Brandon along with Kinistino Tiger Tristen Elder, who was a teammate of Logan’s with the Broncos took the ceremonial face off. After an emotional face off, the game then got underway and Allan went on to win 5-3, taking a two game series lead in the best of five. A fitting end to a memorable and moving day.
Daniel Bushman
Family and friends of Logan Schatz, the community of Allan and members of the hockey world came together Mar. 16 in Allan as part of a dedication ceremony. At the arena where Schatz grew up in, the community held a ceremony to rename the rink the Logan Schatz Memorial Arena in Logan’s honour.
Mayor of Allan Les Alm said the ceremony was very emotional for the community as they remembered Logan who was the captain of the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos before he tragically passed away last April. Alm said many people looked up to Schatz, evident by all those in attendance. “The waiting room was packed with the Schatz family, friends, Humboldt Broncos’ family members and community members.”
Logan’s parents, Bonnie and Kelly Schatz introduced their family before a former teacher of Logan’s, Craig Reinhardt said a few words at the dedication ceremony.
“It was absolutely wonderful to see so many people out to this event and the whole community stands behind and fully supports the Schatz family.”
Alm said having the arena named the ‘Logan Schatz Memorial Arena’ was something the community wanted to do, adding to Logan’s legacy and the mark that he left on all those who knew him.
“Every time anyone enters the rink, they will think of Logan and he will forever be remembered as a ‘son of Allan.’ Saturday, Mar. 16, 2019 really was Logan Schatz day in Allan and really made the Allan Winter Festival a special day.”
Hockey and Logan were synonymous right from a young age. Logan’s dad Kelly recalled his son stepping on to the ice when Logan was four years old and was an Allan Junior Flame during his minor hockey days. Excelling in hockey and playing for many hockey teams in his career, Schatz then became a Humboldt Broncos’ player and captain.
In 2017-‘18, Logan’s final season with the Broncos, the 5’9 centreman had 22 goals and 63 assists for 85 points in 57 games during the regular season. In the 2018 playoffs, he had posted 13 points in nine games. But it was not just his point totals that made an impression. A leader both on and off the ice, because of Logan’s character, determination and leadership abilities, Alm said it was important to remember Schatz.
“Logan Schatz was mature beyond his years, was an all around great person and friend to so many. He will be fondly and lovingly remembered as a young man who had limitless potential.”
As the rink was renamed in Logan’s honour and along with the memories of his minor hockey days, another recent reminder now remains a permanent fixture at the arena. Logan’s dad Kelly created Schatzy’s Corner, a mini rink area where kids can play, have fun and learn about Logan. “Schatzy’s Corner was opened this winter and has been very busy with kids playing during weekend hockey tournaments in the rink. Every child playing in Schatzy’s Corner will know and remember Logan’s legacy as a person and as a hockey player.”
After an emotional dedication ceremony, it was only fitting that the Allan Flames senior hockey team hit the ice that evening. Taking on Kinistino in game two of the Wheatland Hockey League final, Alm said the Kinistino Tigers team all wore LS stickers on their helmets in memory of Logan. A special thank you to Corey and Anita Church was announced for the sign they made and installed on the timekeeper’s box in the arena. And Brian Hinz, who taught Logan Industrial Arts in Humboldt was also in attendance and was acknowledged for designing and creating the newly installed, ‘Logan Schatz Memorial Arena’ signs located at the arena.
Before the game started, Kelly Schatz dropped the puck with Logan’s initials on it and Logan’s brother Brandon along with Kinistino Tiger Tristen Elder, who was a teammate of Logan’s with the Broncos took the ceremonial face off. After an emotional face off, the game then got underway and Allan went on to win 5-3, taking a two game series lead in the best of five. A fitting end to a memorable and moving day.
TWM Top Story - Mar. 18, 2019
The boy from Watrous who won the Stanley Cup
Daniel Bushman
Playing his entire National Hockey League career with the storied Montreal Canadiens of the early 1950s and alongside some of the best to ever suit up, Paul Meger was an up and comer who was looking forward to finding a permanent home in the NHL. However, a life-threatening injury cut his professional career short only a few years after it began and almost took his life as well.
Almost 70 years later and enjoying each day as it comes, Meger recently celebrated his 90th birthday with his family. While he considers Barrie, Ont. his adopted home, he still has a special place in his heart for Watrous, the place where his story all began.
The first chapter of Meger’s life starts in Watrous before his journey would eventually take him east where he would become a part of the Stanley Cup winning Montreal Canadiens. However, with a lot of years and potential left, at just 25 years old, his NHL career would abruptly end. Receiving a life-threatening injury to his head during a game, Meger was forced to retire from playing hockey only a few years after turning professional. While he had to hang up his skates as a player, his passion for the game never left him. That passion for hockey and for sports in general also had Meger inducted into the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame back in 1992 as both an athlete and builder.
Now residing at a retirement home in Barrie, Meger still has his Stanley Cup ring, even digging it out and proudly wearing it during his 90th birthday party. In his room sits an engraved Stanley Cup bowl and his AHL Rookie of the Year trophy which remind him of his younger days where he skated alongside future Hall of Famers. It is also in his room where a scrapbook filled with all kinds of photos from his playing days can be found. Inside, the book contains a number of items including newspaper articles and clippings like one from 1952 of Meger pictured with Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard, both sporting fedoras after they each scored a hat trick to beat Chicago 8-3. Flipping through the pages and reminiscing about his days playing hockey, Meger enjoys sharing his stories with those young and old, even talking about his birthplace of Watrous.
“To be honest I don’t really remember too much (about Watrous) but I have often thought about it,” said Meger over the phone from his Barrie residence. “People will ask if I remember where I was born and I say, ‘I sure do.’ Watrous, it was home. That is where I started things off but mom and dad had to move on. I was young enough not to stay so I had to go along. My one brother went back one time but I have never been back.”
Born Feb. 17, 1929 to Albert Meger and Eda (nee Dreger) of Watrous, Paul was one of eight boys and one of the oldest (Paul’s only sister, a twin to one of his brothers passed away during infancy). It was not long after Albert and Eda began having children that they relocated from their farm by Watrous to try their luck around Biggar.
“Dad farmed during the 1930s and I remember just vaguely mom and me were at the well to get a pail of water and mom said, ‘Look at that field out there.’ The grain had all come up but it was all brown and it was burnt. It must have been a tough time for mom and dad. I wondered what they were going to do with the field. Dad had to disc it down and resow it because the grain was no good coming up.”
Like so many others enduring those tough years during the drought, the Meger family soon decided to move east, travelling to Manitoba and settling in the Selkirk area in the late 1930s. It was there that Paul’s love for the game of hockey came to be.
One day a pair of skates were dropped off at the Meger household. “An old army fellow that used to be in the army would bring mom some old clothes and stuff. One day he brought a package over to the house. Mom said, ‘Did you want to start unpacking it and see what he left us?’ I started unpacking it and out came an old pair of skates!”
Not knowing how to skate, Paul grabbed the used pair of blades and went to the cattle trough at his family’s farm to test them out. Since there was always water that spilled over the sides of the trough and froze during the winter months, Meger tried his best to skate on the frozen section of water. “I was on my rear end more than anything else,” he recalled. “I was young enough and foolish enough to get up and try so I did. I got up and finally I could move, not very far, but I finally got where I could move in those skates and stay up.”
Being a good mile or so from school, during the week Paul and his friends would always meet up, walking along the Red River. In the winter and with the river frozen, one year some of his buddies started playing hockey. Since he had been practicing his skating at home near the cattle trough, it was during one particular morning that Meger snuck his skates out the door and took them to school. “I stopped at the Red River, put the skates on and skated. I did that all the way to school.”
Getting comfortable in his skates, Paul’s next piece of equipment was a hockey stick. Not having enough money to buy one, Paul headed into the bush and found some crooked sticks, whittled them down like a hockey stick and that was the start of what would eventually lead to his hockey career. “But I never thought I would play hockey to be honest. The good Lord said, ‘Paul, I want you to be a hockey player and well I turned out not too bad either.’”
With his stride improving on the river ice and near the cattle trough as each winter passed, Meger started playing his minor hockey in Selkirk, Man. His strong work ethic and determination got him noticed and he was later recruited by ‘Hap’ Emms to play Junior A hockey in Barrie, Ont. It was there that he played with the Flyers for three seasons beginning in 1946-‘47.
Right off the hop it was evident that Meger had a promising career as the forward accumulated 27 points in 31 games during his rookie season followed by a 30 goal, 30 assist effort in his second year. He then erupted with 75 points in 40 games in his third season with the team. During his junior career in Barrie, he was also voted as the Flyers Most Popular Player and selected to the OHA First All-Star Team in 1947-‘48. In his second season, the Flyers advanced to the Memorial Cup final where Meger had 17 points in 10 games in the Memorial Cup. The following season, his third in the league, Meger was again selected as an all-star, leading his team in scoring.
It was also during his time playing junior hockey in Barrie that Paul would meet his future wife Betty. Paul’s daughter Debra Scott shared about that first meeting between her parents, a meeting which ironically occurred in a rink. “My dad says he was in Barrie playing junior hockey and was public skating when this pretty girl came up to him and asked him to skate with her.”
After agreeing to go for a skate, Paul and Betty’s relationship blossomed and the couple would eventually marry, having two daughters and one son.
Turning professional for the 1949-‘50 season with the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League, Meger’s play was once again noticed and the forward was named the AHL’s Rookie of the Year. Meger registered 26 goals and 40 assists in 63 games and received Second All-Star Team honours.
The following year, after notching 34 goals in 46 games for Buffalo, according to records from the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame, in February of 1951 Meger was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for $15,000 and two players. After being brought in by the NHL club, Meger then helped the team reach the Stanley Cup final. He also earned an AHL First Team All-Star selection for his effort with Buffalo.
Tucked safely away in Meger’s scrapbook of hockey treasures, a newspaper article by Jack Horrigan noted ‘Peppy Paul Meger’ was considered as one of the Bison’s most popular players. In the article, Horrigan noted former Buffalo General Manager Art Chapman always considered Meger his greatest find.
“All Meger could do was fall on his seat when he first reported to our training camp,” Chapman would say. “But there was something about the determination he showed when he’d get up - he’d always be right back in the thick of things.”
Reflecting on his time with Buffalo and later Montreal, Meger said, “Some things were meant to be and by golly I was sure glad it was meant to be.”
During that 1951-‘52 season, the rookie NHL forward found himself playing with some of the best players in the game. On a line with the likes of Billy Reay and Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion, Meger netted 24 goals and added 18 assists in 69 games for the Canadiens. His effort put him fourth overall on the team in points, just two behind legend Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard, 12 back of his line mate Geoffrion and 23 points back of Nokomis native Elmer Lach.
During his rookie campaign, Meger also scored his first and only NHL hat trick in a big 8-3 win over Chicago. When asked if he remembered his achievement, without missing a beat Meger replied, “Yup. And the Rocket scored a hat trick that night too. The next week in the dressing room (coach) Dick Irvin - he was for the players and was real good - he came in. He always had a quarter for the newspaper and the reporter would come in and talk hockey to Dick. I heard Dick giving him a hard time. He said, ‘Here is a kid that scored three goals and just because Rocket scored three, he is a star already. Give the kid a break.’ Here he was giving him a hard time for not writing about me. Dick was a real player’s coach.”
After the rookie's regular season, in the playoffs Meger continued to help his club, chipping in with three helpers as the team made its way to the Stanley Cup final before ultimately losing to Detroit. Despite not winning the NHL’s greatest trophy that season, Meger said having veteran players on the team like Elmer Lach and Billy Reay made his transition to the big stage a lot easier.
“Elmer was a real helper to me, a senior on the team,” said Meger of the Nokomis native and NHL Hall of Famer. “He would sit and talk to you, tell you what he thought and boy I think it sunk in. Being my centreman, Billy Reay was like a father. He was a senior in the league and what a guy he was. I had a great time with the guys I played with.”
After a solid rookie campaign, the 5’7”, 160 pound left winger returned to the Montreal lineup for the 1952-‘53 season. While his point totals dropped to nine goals and 17 assists in 69 games (still good for sixth on the team in points), Meger scored once and added two assists in the playoffs. Playing more of a defensive role and despite his point totals being down from a year prior, that year Meger and the Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins four games to one to capture the Stanley Cup.
Wearing number 20, Meger who was 23 years old at the time won the championship with players like Jean Beliveau, Reg Abbott, Butch Bouchard, Doug Harvey, Dickie Moore, Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard, Billy Reay, Elmer Lach, Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion and in net, Gerry McNeil and Jacques Plante. Coached by legend Dick Irvin, the team itself contained a total of 10 players that would later go on to be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
“Winning the Cup, it was big time. I remember standing with the Stanley Cup. When you are in that business, you don’t really realize how hard it is to win some of these things but I was fortunate enough to be one of them that won the Stanley Cup.”
Competing in that era also meant going up against some of the NHL’s toughest players. One of those guys that Meger found himself facing in the corner one night was Detroit Red Wing and future Hall of Famer Gordie Howe, another Saskatchewan native. It was a well-known fact that anybody that goes into the corner with number nine was not coming out first.
“The one day the coach (Dick Irvin) said, ‘You are always checking people, maybe you would like to check Gordie Howe tonight? I will play you against Gordie Howe,’” Meger recalled of his coach’s request. “I didn’t mind as long as I was playing. I remember Gordie and I got into the corner and I was lucky enough, I got the puck out of there killing a penalty. I got the puck out and everything and Gordie said to me, ‘Way to go kid!’”
Things were going pretty good for the Watrous born Meger and in the 1953-‘54 season, he would split time between the Canadiens and the Quebec Hockey League’s Montreal Royals, accumulating 30 points in 23 games with the Royals and 13 points in 44 games with the Canadiens. But Meger’s world and his professional hockey career would come to a life-altering halt during the 1954-‘55 campaign.
Hoping for a solid year ahead, Meger dressed for 13 games and was on the ice in Boston during a November contest when Leo Labine’s skate punctured Paul’s skull and damaged tissue in his brain.
“It was just one of those fluke things that happened,” Meger said of the incident from 1954. “He picked the puck up and I went to check him. He was coming around his own net and I partially checked him and we fell. He fell and I fell behind him and the heel of his skate hit the right side of my head. You can still feel where the skate went through the skull. There is no bone there.”
After getting repaired as much as possible on the bench, Meger was told by the coach he was done for the game and was put on a train from Boston back to Montreal to see Dr. Wilder Penfield, one of Canada’s foremost surgeons. Best known for the discovery of surgical treatment for epilepsy and the founder and first director of the world famous Montreal Neurological Institute, Meger said Dr. Penfield saved his life. “When I told him that I played hockey in Boston and I got hurt down there, he said, ‘And you got all the way here? Boy we will change that! If a guy gets hurt, we need to make sure he is able to travel.’”
Unlike today where teams can fly or ride the bus, Meger had to take the train home and was lucky to make it from Boston to Montreal. Feeling things were not quite right, Meger said, “I remember just a pounding when I got out of the train. The trainer gave me some painkillers I remember but I was in real bad shape.”
While Meger felt his conditioning leading up to the hockey season helped him stay alive, Dr. Penfield who would become fairly good friends with Paul later on, explained to the forward that he was lucky to be alive.
“I remember one of the doctors said he was fairly religious so I said to him, “I talked to the good guy up there the other day and he said, ‘Paul we just don’t have room for you.’”
After performing multiple surgeries to help Meger recover and get back on his feet, following the operations he received a visit in the hospital from NHL President at that time Clarence S. Campbell and Montreal Canadiens Manager Frank J. Selke. “They came into the hospital with the helmets they had at that time. They put them on me just to see if they would have helped. They both felt no. All there really was was a strap going down underneath your chin. They didn’t think it would have helped. They weren’t made like they are today. It is just a shame the way I got hurt and things were all over because I would have had a few more years.”
Still recovering in hospital, months after his injury the 26 year old would receive a hand from the Canadiens after an incident stemming from a lengthy suspension given to one of the team’s stars. It was Mar. 13, 1955 and Montreal was taking on Boston when late in the game, Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard was struck in the head with a stick. While one of the linesmen was trying to break up an ensuing fight, he took a punch to the face courtesy of Richard. The ‘Rocket’ was then suspended for the remaining three games of the regular season and playoffs while Hal Laycoe, who had struck Richard and was involved in the skirmish, went unpunished. That sent Montreal fans into a frenzy and a few days later during the Canadiens and Red Wings game, a riot broke out at the Forum and in the streets. At the Mar. 17 game NHL President Clarence Campbell who suspended Richard attended the contest after it started but fans soon noticed him and because of the way the suspension was handled, it set off the riots. Because the riots were so bad inside the arena, a tear gas bomb was set off and fans spilled out on to the streets where rioting continued. The game was called early and it was forfeited to the Red Wings.
With fans wanting their money back because of the shortened version of the game, Selke worked out a plan suggesting Montreal fans could turn over the gate money from the ‘Riot Night’ to Meger. Paul’s daughter Debra found the article talking about Selke’s idea:
“The game ended at the first period and fans have a right to get their money back,” says Selke, “but the suggestion has been made that the money be turned over to Meger. I cannot push the idea because it might not be quite fair to the fans, so I am having release forms printed. When all hockey is cleared away the fans who held tickets that night will be invited to come around to the Forum. If they wish to take the cash they will receive same. If they wish to sign the release form, the seat money will be turned over to Paul. He could get anywhere up to $25,000.”
The article went on to state that perhaps Paul Meger would get a five-figure break and know that the fans and Forum were pulling for him. Paul’s daughter Debra said as far as she knows, he did receive the money while recovering in hospital.
After spending months in the Western Hospital and then at the Neurological Institute, Paul soon healed from his injury but his professional playing days were over. With time to think about his future, he returned to Barrie where he ended up reuniting with a familiar face from his past.
“I got in touch with ‘Hap’ Emms, my junior coach. He was really good to me. He had an electrical business and I started working for him and got my license as an electrician. One day he said to me to go with this older chap that was working for him and try working on a few things. Then one morning Mr. Emms said to me, ‘Here, take a few of these calls for electrical work.’ He said the guy I was working with felt I was ready. So I went and did some calls. I got pretty good at it and then tried appliance repairs and I liked that.”
While the father of three was getting more and more involved in another career outside of hockey, the sport which he had come to love was not entirely out of the picture. Meger’s passion for hockey continued and he began coaching. According to the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame, in 1956-‘57 he was behind the bench for Alliston. That year he took them to the OHA Junior D finals. Two seasons later, he guided the Camp Borden Air Force team to the Canadian Armed Forces Championship and in 1962-‘63, was the coach of the Barrie 7-Ups Intermediate A squad. The next season he was guiding the Orillia Bantams to a Little NHL Consolation Championship.
During that time he became a founding member of the Barrie Minor Hockey Association, coaching eight years within it. He won three Little NHL Championships in four final appearances and won an OMHA title and the Silver Stick Championship.
But it was not just hockey that Meger enjoyed. The athlete and coach was also an accomplished ball player and during his junior days was a softball catcher for Bryson’s Grill. He was also a baseball catcher and helped the Barrie Flyers capture a pair of South Simcoe League titles. Trading in his ball glove and bat for a golf club, Meger later won the 1983 Barrie Country Club Seniors Championship and in that same year received the Ontario Medal for Citizenship in recognition of his efforts on behalf of minor hockey, the Cubs, the Multiple Sclerosis Society and with St. Andrew’s Church. Then in 1992 he was inducted into the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame as both an athlete and builder.
With everything that he accomplished over those years, looking back on his life Paul said, “People tell me, ‘Boy you are lucky, you played hockey and with some of the best players in the world at that time.’ It is quite a thing sometimes when you look back. I feel that more now than ever. I had a career in hockey with the biggest teams in the world. I have been very lucky and fortunate. I was very fortunate in life and I have no regrets about my hockey injury, it was just one of those fluke things that happened in life but I am here to talk about it.”
Noting that most of his memory remains pretty good, Meger still enjoys striking up a conversation about his playing days in the NHL and looks forward to every day being a good one.
“I am pretty pleased, life has been good to me. Every once in a while I am talking to my friends and one friend will ask how I can be so jolly? I said, ‘Well I am the guy talking about it and can remember it.’ As mom said too, she was a tough old girl, she must have been she had eight boys; she was a good mother and I remember going home after one hockey season and talking at the breakfast table with her about the family. She said, ‘Paul as tough as it was, we always had lots to eat and we had people helping us with clothing and so on and really we have nothing to complain about.’ Even she thought life was tough but it could be worse. Through my injury and everything else I was very fortunate. Who would have thought I would be good enough to play in the NHL and one of the kids that learnt how to skate on the Red River? I had a real good go at it.”
Daniel Bushman
Playing his entire National Hockey League career with the storied Montreal Canadiens of the early 1950s and alongside some of the best to ever suit up, Paul Meger was an up and comer who was looking forward to finding a permanent home in the NHL. However, a life-threatening injury cut his professional career short only a few years after it began and almost took his life as well.
Almost 70 years later and enjoying each day as it comes, Meger recently celebrated his 90th birthday with his family. While he considers Barrie, Ont. his adopted home, he still has a special place in his heart for Watrous, the place where his story all began.
The first chapter of Meger’s life starts in Watrous before his journey would eventually take him east where he would become a part of the Stanley Cup winning Montreal Canadiens. However, with a lot of years and potential left, at just 25 years old, his NHL career would abruptly end. Receiving a life-threatening injury to his head during a game, Meger was forced to retire from playing hockey only a few years after turning professional. While he had to hang up his skates as a player, his passion for the game never left him. That passion for hockey and for sports in general also had Meger inducted into the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame back in 1992 as both an athlete and builder.
Now residing at a retirement home in Barrie, Meger still has his Stanley Cup ring, even digging it out and proudly wearing it during his 90th birthday party. In his room sits an engraved Stanley Cup bowl and his AHL Rookie of the Year trophy which remind him of his younger days where he skated alongside future Hall of Famers. It is also in his room where a scrapbook filled with all kinds of photos from his playing days can be found. Inside, the book contains a number of items including newspaper articles and clippings like one from 1952 of Meger pictured with Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard, both sporting fedoras after they each scored a hat trick to beat Chicago 8-3. Flipping through the pages and reminiscing about his days playing hockey, Meger enjoys sharing his stories with those young and old, even talking about his birthplace of Watrous.
“To be honest I don’t really remember too much (about Watrous) but I have often thought about it,” said Meger over the phone from his Barrie residence. “People will ask if I remember where I was born and I say, ‘I sure do.’ Watrous, it was home. That is where I started things off but mom and dad had to move on. I was young enough not to stay so I had to go along. My one brother went back one time but I have never been back.”
Born Feb. 17, 1929 to Albert Meger and Eda (nee Dreger) of Watrous, Paul was one of eight boys and one of the oldest (Paul’s only sister, a twin to one of his brothers passed away during infancy). It was not long after Albert and Eda began having children that they relocated from their farm by Watrous to try their luck around Biggar.
“Dad farmed during the 1930s and I remember just vaguely mom and me were at the well to get a pail of water and mom said, ‘Look at that field out there.’ The grain had all come up but it was all brown and it was burnt. It must have been a tough time for mom and dad. I wondered what they were going to do with the field. Dad had to disc it down and resow it because the grain was no good coming up.”
Like so many others enduring those tough years during the drought, the Meger family soon decided to move east, travelling to Manitoba and settling in the Selkirk area in the late 1930s. It was there that Paul’s love for the game of hockey came to be.
One day a pair of skates were dropped off at the Meger household. “An old army fellow that used to be in the army would bring mom some old clothes and stuff. One day he brought a package over to the house. Mom said, ‘Did you want to start unpacking it and see what he left us?’ I started unpacking it and out came an old pair of skates!”
Not knowing how to skate, Paul grabbed the used pair of blades and went to the cattle trough at his family’s farm to test them out. Since there was always water that spilled over the sides of the trough and froze during the winter months, Meger tried his best to skate on the frozen section of water. “I was on my rear end more than anything else,” he recalled. “I was young enough and foolish enough to get up and try so I did. I got up and finally I could move, not very far, but I finally got where I could move in those skates and stay up.”
Being a good mile or so from school, during the week Paul and his friends would always meet up, walking along the Red River. In the winter and with the river frozen, one year some of his buddies started playing hockey. Since he had been practicing his skating at home near the cattle trough, it was during one particular morning that Meger snuck his skates out the door and took them to school. “I stopped at the Red River, put the skates on and skated. I did that all the way to school.”
Getting comfortable in his skates, Paul’s next piece of equipment was a hockey stick. Not having enough money to buy one, Paul headed into the bush and found some crooked sticks, whittled them down like a hockey stick and that was the start of what would eventually lead to his hockey career. “But I never thought I would play hockey to be honest. The good Lord said, ‘Paul, I want you to be a hockey player and well I turned out not too bad either.’”
With his stride improving on the river ice and near the cattle trough as each winter passed, Meger started playing his minor hockey in Selkirk, Man. His strong work ethic and determination got him noticed and he was later recruited by ‘Hap’ Emms to play Junior A hockey in Barrie, Ont. It was there that he played with the Flyers for three seasons beginning in 1946-‘47.
Right off the hop it was evident that Meger had a promising career as the forward accumulated 27 points in 31 games during his rookie season followed by a 30 goal, 30 assist effort in his second year. He then erupted with 75 points in 40 games in his third season with the team. During his junior career in Barrie, he was also voted as the Flyers Most Popular Player and selected to the OHA First All-Star Team in 1947-‘48. In his second season, the Flyers advanced to the Memorial Cup final where Meger had 17 points in 10 games in the Memorial Cup. The following season, his third in the league, Meger was again selected as an all-star, leading his team in scoring.
It was also during his time playing junior hockey in Barrie that Paul would meet his future wife Betty. Paul’s daughter Debra Scott shared about that first meeting between her parents, a meeting which ironically occurred in a rink. “My dad says he was in Barrie playing junior hockey and was public skating when this pretty girl came up to him and asked him to skate with her.”
After agreeing to go for a skate, Paul and Betty’s relationship blossomed and the couple would eventually marry, having two daughters and one son.
Turning professional for the 1949-‘50 season with the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League, Meger’s play was once again noticed and the forward was named the AHL’s Rookie of the Year. Meger registered 26 goals and 40 assists in 63 games and received Second All-Star Team honours.
The following year, after notching 34 goals in 46 games for Buffalo, according to records from the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame, in February of 1951 Meger was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for $15,000 and two players. After being brought in by the NHL club, Meger then helped the team reach the Stanley Cup final. He also earned an AHL First Team All-Star selection for his effort with Buffalo.
Tucked safely away in Meger’s scrapbook of hockey treasures, a newspaper article by Jack Horrigan noted ‘Peppy Paul Meger’ was considered as one of the Bison’s most popular players. In the article, Horrigan noted former Buffalo General Manager Art Chapman always considered Meger his greatest find.
“All Meger could do was fall on his seat when he first reported to our training camp,” Chapman would say. “But there was something about the determination he showed when he’d get up - he’d always be right back in the thick of things.”
Reflecting on his time with Buffalo and later Montreal, Meger said, “Some things were meant to be and by golly I was sure glad it was meant to be.”
During that 1951-‘52 season, the rookie NHL forward found himself playing with some of the best players in the game. On a line with the likes of Billy Reay and Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion, Meger netted 24 goals and added 18 assists in 69 games for the Canadiens. His effort put him fourth overall on the team in points, just two behind legend Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard, 12 back of his line mate Geoffrion and 23 points back of Nokomis native Elmer Lach.
During his rookie campaign, Meger also scored his first and only NHL hat trick in a big 8-3 win over Chicago. When asked if he remembered his achievement, without missing a beat Meger replied, “Yup. And the Rocket scored a hat trick that night too. The next week in the dressing room (coach) Dick Irvin - he was for the players and was real good - he came in. He always had a quarter for the newspaper and the reporter would come in and talk hockey to Dick. I heard Dick giving him a hard time. He said, ‘Here is a kid that scored three goals and just because Rocket scored three, he is a star already. Give the kid a break.’ Here he was giving him a hard time for not writing about me. Dick was a real player’s coach.”
After the rookie's regular season, in the playoffs Meger continued to help his club, chipping in with three helpers as the team made its way to the Stanley Cup final before ultimately losing to Detroit. Despite not winning the NHL’s greatest trophy that season, Meger said having veteran players on the team like Elmer Lach and Billy Reay made his transition to the big stage a lot easier.
“Elmer was a real helper to me, a senior on the team,” said Meger of the Nokomis native and NHL Hall of Famer. “He would sit and talk to you, tell you what he thought and boy I think it sunk in. Being my centreman, Billy Reay was like a father. He was a senior in the league and what a guy he was. I had a great time with the guys I played with.”
After a solid rookie campaign, the 5’7”, 160 pound left winger returned to the Montreal lineup for the 1952-‘53 season. While his point totals dropped to nine goals and 17 assists in 69 games (still good for sixth on the team in points), Meger scored once and added two assists in the playoffs. Playing more of a defensive role and despite his point totals being down from a year prior, that year Meger and the Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins four games to one to capture the Stanley Cup.
Wearing number 20, Meger who was 23 years old at the time won the championship with players like Jean Beliveau, Reg Abbott, Butch Bouchard, Doug Harvey, Dickie Moore, Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard, Billy Reay, Elmer Lach, Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion and in net, Gerry McNeil and Jacques Plante. Coached by legend Dick Irvin, the team itself contained a total of 10 players that would later go on to be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
“Winning the Cup, it was big time. I remember standing with the Stanley Cup. When you are in that business, you don’t really realize how hard it is to win some of these things but I was fortunate enough to be one of them that won the Stanley Cup.”
Competing in that era also meant going up against some of the NHL’s toughest players. One of those guys that Meger found himself facing in the corner one night was Detroit Red Wing and future Hall of Famer Gordie Howe, another Saskatchewan native. It was a well-known fact that anybody that goes into the corner with number nine was not coming out first.
“The one day the coach (Dick Irvin) said, ‘You are always checking people, maybe you would like to check Gordie Howe tonight? I will play you against Gordie Howe,’” Meger recalled of his coach’s request. “I didn’t mind as long as I was playing. I remember Gordie and I got into the corner and I was lucky enough, I got the puck out of there killing a penalty. I got the puck out and everything and Gordie said to me, ‘Way to go kid!’”
Things were going pretty good for the Watrous born Meger and in the 1953-‘54 season, he would split time between the Canadiens and the Quebec Hockey League’s Montreal Royals, accumulating 30 points in 23 games with the Royals and 13 points in 44 games with the Canadiens. But Meger’s world and his professional hockey career would come to a life-altering halt during the 1954-‘55 campaign.
Hoping for a solid year ahead, Meger dressed for 13 games and was on the ice in Boston during a November contest when Leo Labine’s skate punctured Paul’s skull and damaged tissue in his brain.
“It was just one of those fluke things that happened,” Meger said of the incident from 1954. “He picked the puck up and I went to check him. He was coming around his own net and I partially checked him and we fell. He fell and I fell behind him and the heel of his skate hit the right side of my head. You can still feel where the skate went through the skull. There is no bone there.”
After getting repaired as much as possible on the bench, Meger was told by the coach he was done for the game and was put on a train from Boston back to Montreal to see Dr. Wilder Penfield, one of Canada’s foremost surgeons. Best known for the discovery of surgical treatment for epilepsy and the founder and first director of the world famous Montreal Neurological Institute, Meger said Dr. Penfield saved his life. “When I told him that I played hockey in Boston and I got hurt down there, he said, ‘And you got all the way here? Boy we will change that! If a guy gets hurt, we need to make sure he is able to travel.’”
Unlike today where teams can fly or ride the bus, Meger had to take the train home and was lucky to make it from Boston to Montreal. Feeling things were not quite right, Meger said, “I remember just a pounding when I got out of the train. The trainer gave me some painkillers I remember but I was in real bad shape.”
While Meger felt his conditioning leading up to the hockey season helped him stay alive, Dr. Penfield who would become fairly good friends with Paul later on, explained to the forward that he was lucky to be alive.
“I remember one of the doctors said he was fairly religious so I said to him, “I talked to the good guy up there the other day and he said, ‘Paul we just don’t have room for you.’”
After performing multiple surgeries to help Meger recover and get back on his feet, following the operations he received a visit in the hospital from NHL President at that time Clarence S. Campbell and Montreal Canadiens Manager Frank J. Selke. “They came into the hospital with the helmets they had at that time. They put them on me just to see if they would have helped. They both felt no. All there really was was a strap going down underneath your chin. They didn’t think it would have helped. They weren’t made like they are today. It is just a shame the way I got hurt and things were all over because I would have had a few more years.”
Still recovering in hospital, months after his injury the 26 year old would receive a hand from the Canadiens after an incident stemming from a lengthy suspension given to one of the team’s stars. It was Mar. 13, 1955 and Montreal was taking on Boston when late in the game, Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard was struck in the head with a stick. While one of the linesmen was trying to break up an ensuing fight, he took a punch to the face courtesy of Richard. The ‘Rocket’ was then suspended for the remaining three games of the regular season and playoffs while Hal Laycoe, who had struck Richard and was involved in the skirmish, went unpunished. That sent Montreal fans into a frenzy and a few days later during the Canadiens and Red Wings game, a riot broke out at the Forum and in the streets. At the Mar. 17 game NHL President Clarence Campbell who suspended Richard attended the contest after it started but fans soon noticed him and because of the way the suspension was handled, it set off the riots. Because the riots were so bad inside the arena, a tear gas bomb was set off and fans spilled out on to the streets where rioting continued. The game was called early and it was forfeited to the Red Wings.
With fans wanting their money back because of the shortened version of the game, Selke worked out a plan suggesting Montreal fans could turn over the gate money from the ‘Riot Night’ to Meger. Paul’s daughter Debra found the article talking about Selke’s idea:
“The game ended at the first period and fans have a right to get their money back,” says Selke, “but the suggestion has been made that the money be turned over to Meger. I cannot push the idea because it might not be quite fair to the fans, so I am having release forms printed. When all hockey is cleared away the fans who held tickets that night will be invited to come around to the Forum. If they wish to take the cash they will receive same. If they wish to sign the release form, the seat money will be turned over to Paul. He could get anywhere up to $25,000.”
The article went on to state that perhaps Paul Meger would get a five-figure break and know that the fans and Forum were pulling for him. Paul’s daughter Debra said as far as she knows, he did receive the money while recovering in hospital.
After spending months in the Western Hospital and then at the Neurological Institute, Paul soon healed from his injury but his professional playing days were over. With time to think about his future, he returned to Barrie where he ended up reuniting with a familiar face from his past.
“I got in touch with ‘Hap’ Emms, my junior coach. He was really good to me. He had an electrical business and I started working for him and got my license as an electrician. One day he said to me to go with this older chap that was working for him and try working on a few things. Then one morning Mr. Emms said to me, ‘Here, take a few of these calls for electrical work.’ He said the guy I was working with felt I was ready. So I went and did some calls. I got pretty good at it and then tried appliance repairs and I liked that.”
While the father of three was getting more and more involved in another career outside of hockey, the sport which he had come to love was not entirely out of the picture. Meger’s passion for hockey continued and he began coaching. According to the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame, in 1956-‘57 he was behind the bench for Alliston. That year he took them to the OHA Junior D finals. Two seasons later, he guided the Camp Borden Air Force team to the Canadian Armed Forces Championship and in 1962-‘63, was the coach of the Barrie 7-Ups Intermediate A squad. The next season he was guiding the Orillia Bantams to a Little NHL Consolation Championship.
During that time he became a founding member of the Barrie Minor Hockey Association, coaching eight years within it. He won three Little NHL Championships in four final appearances and won an OMHA title and the Silver Stick Championship.
But it was not just hockey that Meger enjoyed. The athlete and coach was also an accomplished ball player and during his junior days was a softball catcher for Bryson’s Grill. He was also a baseball catcher and helped the Barrie Flyers capture a pair of South Simcoe League titles. Trading in his ball glove and bat for a golf club, Meger later won the 1983 Barrie Country Club Seniors Championship and in that same year received the Ontario Medal for Citizenship in recognition of his efforts on behalf of minor hockey, the Cubs, the Multiple Sclerosis Society and with St. Andrew’s Church. Then in 1992 he was inducted into the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame as both an athlete and builder.
With everything that he accomplished over those years, looking back on his life Paul said, “People tell me, ‘Boy you are lucky, you played hockey and with some of the best players in the world at that time.’ It is quite a thing sometimes when you look back. I feel that more now than ever. I had a career in hockey with the biggest teams in the world. I have been very lucky and fortunate. I was very fortunate in life and I have no regrets about my hockey injury, it was just one of those fluke things that happened in life but I am here to talk about it.”
Noting that most of his memory remains pretty good, Meger still enjoys striking up a conversation about his playing days in the NHL and looks forward to every day being a good one.
“I am pretty pleased, life has been good to me. Every once in a while I am talking to my friends and one friend will ask how I can be so jolly? I said, ‘Well I am the guy talking about it and can remember it.’ As mom said too, she was a tough old girl, she must have been she had eight boys; she was a good mother and I remember going home after one hockey season and talking at the breakfast table with her about the family. She said, ‘Paul as tough as it was, we always had lots to eat and we had people helping us with clothing and so on and really we have nothing to complain about.’ Even she thought life was tough but it could be worse. Through my injury and everything else I was very fortunate. Who would have thought I would be good enough to play in the NHL and one of the kids that learnt how to skate on the Red River? I had a real good go at it.”
*Photos of Paul Meger below courtesy Debra Scott*
TWM Top Story - Mar. 11
Slow down, move over and stay safe
Daniel Bushman
With numerous close calls and in some instances tragic, highways can become hazardous for first responders and tow truck drivers parked along the side of the road. By not slowing down, lives are put at risk for those trying to help others and in some very unfortunate circumstances those instances have turned fatal.
As was the scenario last year and the year prior, during the evening Mar. 7 towing companies and emergency response personnel from across Saskatchewan join in solidarity as part of a Slow Down and Move Over Awareness Rally. With their lights flashing and parked on the shoulder of Hwy. 2 just outside of Watrous, members of Watrous Towing, EMS and fire also joined in unison by activating their lights during a portion of the evening.
The event which takes place across the province honours and shows respect to those who have been killed along roads in the province while trying to help others. It was also meant to raise awareness that motorists need to slow down and move over while passing tow trucks and emergency response personnel.
Two years ago the first ever rally was held after tow truck driver Courtney Schaefer died in a four vehicle crash on Hwy. 22 in southeastern Saskatchewan. During that rally, hundreds of trucks from across Saskatchewan activated their emergency lights, showing respect while raising awareness.
Hoping the annual event will eventually become a nationwide awareness campaign, first responders and tow truck drivers will plan to turn on their emergency lights and stand beside their vehicles again next year, honouring Schaefer and other drivers who have been tragically killed while on the job.
Daniel Bushman
With numerous close calls and in some instances tragic, highways can become hazardous for first responders and tow truck drivers parked along the side of the road. By not slowing down, lives are put at risk for those trying to help others and in some very unfortunate circumstances those instances have turned fatal.
As was the scenario last year and the year prior, during the evening Mar. 7 towing companies and emergency response personnel from across Saskatchewan join in solidarity as part of a Slow Down and Move Over Awareness Rally. With their lights flashing and parked on the shoulder of Hwy. 2 just outside of Watrous, members of Watrous Towing, EMS and fire also joined in unison by activating their lights during a portion of the evening.
The event which takes place across the province honours and shows respect to those who have been killed along roads in the province while trying to help others. It was also meant to raise awareness that motorists need to slow down and move over while passing tow trucks and emergency response personnel.
Two years ago the first ever rally was held after tow truck driver Courtney Schaefer died in a four vehicle crash on Hwy. 22 in southeastern Saskatchewan. During that rally, hundreds of trucks from across Saskatchewan activated their emergency lights, showing respect while raising awareness.
Hoping the annual event will eventually become a nationwide awareness campaign, first responders and tow truck drivers will plan to turn on their emergency lights and stand beside their vehicles again next year, honouring Schaefer and other drivers who have been tragically killed while on the job.
TWM Top Story - Mar. 4, 2019
Frozen Tongue Challenge a big success
Daniel Bushman
Not only did the idea of having a Frozen Tongue Challenge stick but it was an overwhelming success as close to $18,000 was raised for the unique fundraiser. With the temperature dipping to -25˚C and feeling more like -34˚C with the wind chill, a pair of local residents braved the elements Feb. 25 before one of them had the task of sticking his tongue to a frozen pole.
With the funds going towards the purchase of a new rural fire association response unit for the Watrous Fire Department, the first-ever Frozen Tongue Challenge pitted Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Matheson against Jeff Siegfried of Watrous Mainline Motors. After the challenge was issued by Siegfried in January, Matheson agreed and the pair were tasked with trying to raise more money than the other with the loser having to stick his tongue to a frozen pole.
A crowd gathered at Watrous Mainline Motors during the frigid Feb. 25 evening and after a few opening remarks, both Andrew and Jeff were handed folded signs with their totals on them. After unveiling the amounts, Jeff raised a total of $8,668.90 while Andrew accumulated $9,110.71, edging out his competitor by just $441.81.
Siegfried then had to hop on the back of a truck, stuck his tongue to the frozen pole and made good on the challenge.
“If you had me hooked to something that was monitoring my vital signs, they would have been off the charts,” said Jeff. “I had some concern when I was pouring the warm water on my tongue and the Thermos was getting lighter, but my tongue wasn’t budging. The pole was so cold that it was freezing the water into an ice-cube around my tongue. I was relieved when I pulled a little harder and could feel it releasing, not tearing, and I didn’t run out of water! I tried to tell any kids watching “that wasn’t very fun” and that even though I did it, it is not something that should be attempted. My tongue will be sore for a few days and I can’t imagine tearing it off as so many people have described!”
After setting an original goal of $5,000, by the final morning of the challenge, Matheson knew that they had attained over $15,000 so he was okay to stick his tongue to a frozen pole if he lost the challenge. “But Tuesday morning I was definitely happy that my tongue was not feeling like I had burnt it on hot coffee that’s for sure! And truth be told, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Jeff do it!”
After hearing of the need for a new rural fire association truck for the fire department, it was Siegfried who came up with the unique challenge, something that caught quite a few people’s attention. “When describing the challenge to people, I got quite a few cringes and lots of shock value, that’s the attention I wanted to get people talking about this fundraiser. While more and more people found out about this fundraiser, Andrew and I also did interviews with many provincial news outlets and radio talk shows and by the end of the challenge, it reached some national sources as well.”
Because of the attention locally, provincially and nationally, people certainly were talking about the Frozen Tongue Challenge and were also donating as $17,779.61 was raised.
“I was very pleased with the support from the community, what a nice way to start off a campaign for such a large capital expenditure,” said Siegfried. “It was really surprising how many people came out to watch when it was such a cold night – thanks to each of them.”
“I am still in shock with how this fundraiser was received as well as the totals that were obtained in the five weeks of the Frozen Tongue Challenge,” replied Matheson. “When we started talking about the event happening I told Jeff and others that asked me about it that I would be happy if this got us around $5,000 towards this dream of replacing our rural fire truck, Engine 2. So, when we flipped those signs and were close to $18,000 I was completely overwhelmed. The support was amazing. I have always been so proud of our community for the dedication to always supporting the groups that are out fundraising for different initiatives. The support for this crazy fundraiser was no different!”
Funds from the inaugural event will now be used towards the purchase of a new rural fire association truck for the Watrous Fire Department. Currently having two rural engines, Matheson said Engine 2 is the only truck designated for brush and grass fires. “It is a 1978 Dodge and has served the rural areas surrounding Watrous for over 40 years. Engine 4 is designated for structural fires and providing extra water to brush and grass fires and stationary fire suppression. Purchasing a new response vehicle is always approached with the community in mind first. We are always looking at ways to better our responses as well as our fire suppression capabilities. The replacement of this truck would help keep maintenance costs down (all parts for the current truck that need replacing have to be manufactured since it is so outdated). As well it provides safe fire suppression efforts to the firefighters.”
With the money that came in from the challenge, Matheson noted that replacing a fire truck is a lengthy process and not something that will be completed in the coming months. Estimating that it will be another year or two before the truck can be built or purchased, he said the department will also be looking at possible grant applications or other ideas in conjunction with the Watrous Rural Fire Association.
“This definitely has put us in a spot to look at more fundraisers in the future. There are already other ideas being brought forward for new fundraising initiatives for this so we will have to see what transpires with those. On behalf of the Watrous Fire Department, we are just so appreciative of everyone who donated to this fundraiser and we really appreciate Watrous Mainline Motors for challenging us. Our battery drive was also a huge success and we were able to recycle 3,300 pounds of used batteries and brought in just under $1,000 that was allocated towards the rural brush truck as well.”
Siegfried said being able to contribute towards such an integral part of the community was really important and he hopes fundraising efforts for the new rural fire unit will continue.
“It’s important for all of us to remember the importance of our protective services, and add their financial support when projects like this come along. These people are trained to respond in situations that none of us hope to ever find ourselves in. Let’s hope that they are called upon as infrequently as possible, but when they are, they are equipped to manage any situation quickly, safely and effectively.”
With his tongue healing last week, when asked if this fundraiser might be brought back again next year, “Stay tuned. I’ve approached some other individuals who are considering it.”
Not only did the idea of having a Frozen Tongue Challenge stick but it was an overwhelming success as close to $18,000 was raised for the unique fundraiser. With the temperature dipping to -25˚C and feeling more like -34˚C with the wind chill, a pair of local residents braved the elements Feb. 25 before one of them had the task of sticking his tongue to a frozen pole.
With the funds going towards the purchase of a new rural fire association response unit for the Watrous Fire Department, the first-ever Frozen Tongue Challenge pitted Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Matheson against Jeff Siegfried of Watrous Mainline Motors. After the challenge was issued by Siegfried in January, Matheson agreed and the pair were tasked with trying to raise more money than the other with the loser having to stick his tongue to a frozen pole.
A crowd gathered at Watrous Mainline Motors during the frigid Feb. 25 evening and after a few opening remarks, both Andrew and Jeff were handed folded signs with their totals on them. After unveiling the amounts, Jeff raised a total of $8,668.90 while Andrew accumulated $9,110.71, edging out his competitor by just $441.81.
Siegfried then had to hop on the back of a truck, stuck his tongue to the frozen pole and made good on the challenge.
“If you had me hooked to something that was monitoring my vital signs, they would have been off the charts,” said Jeff. “I had some concern when I was pouring the warm water on my tongue and the Thermos was getting lighter, but my tongue wasn’t budging. The pole was so cold that it was freezing the water into an ice-cube around my tongue. I was relieved when I pulled a little harder and could feel it releasing, not tearing, and I didn’t run out of water! I tried to tell any kids watching “that wasn’t very fun” and that even though I did it, it is not something that should be attempted. My tongue will be sore for a few days and I can’t imagine tearing it off as so many people have described!”
After setting an original goal of $5,000, by the final morning of the challenge, Matheson knew that they had attained over $15,000 so he was okay to stick his tongue to a frozen pole if he lost the challenge. “But Tuesday morning I was definitely happy that my tongue was not feeling like I had burnt it on hot coffee that’s for sure! And truth be told, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Jeff do it!”
After hearing of the need for a new rural fire association truck for the fire department, it was Siegfried who came up with the unique challenge, something that caught quite a few people’s attention. “When describing the challenge to people, I got quite a few cringes and lots of shock value, that’s the attention I wanted to get people talking about this fundraiser. While more and more people found out about this fundraiser, Andrew and I also did interviews with many provincial news outlets and radio talk shows and by the end of the challenge, it reached some national sources as well.”
Because of the attention locally, provincially and nationally, people certainly were talking about the Frozen Tongue Challenge and were also donating as $17,779.61 was raised.
“I was very pleased with the support from the community, what a nice way to start off a campaign for such a large capital expenditure,” said Siegfried. “It was really surprising how many people came out to watch when it was such a cold night – thanks to each of them.”
“I am still in shock with how this fundraiser was received as well as the totals that were obtained in the five weeks of the Frozen Tongue Challenge,” replied Matheson. “When we started talking about the event happening I told Jeff and others that asked me about it that I would be happy if this got us around $5,000 towards this dream of replacing our rural fire truck, Engine 2. So, when we flipped those signs and were close to $18,000 I was completely overwhelmed. The support was amazing. I have always been so proud of our community for the dedication to always supporting the groups that are out fundraising for different initiatives. The support for this crazy fundraiser was no different!”
Funds from the inaugural event will now be used towards the purchase of a new rural fire association truck for the Watrous Fire Department. Currently having two rural engines, Matheson said Engine 2 is the only truck designated for brush and grass fires. “It is a 1978 Dodge and has served the rural areas surrounding Watrous for over 40 years. Engine 4 is designated for structural fires and providing extra water to brush and grass fires and stationary fire suppression. Purchasing a new response vehicle is always approached with the community in mind first. We are always looking at ways to better our responses as well as our fire suppression capabilities. The replacement of this truck would help keep maintenance costs down (all parts for the current truck that need replacing have to be manufactured since it is so outdated). As well it provides safe fire suppression efforts to the firefighters.”
With the money that came in from the challenge, Matheson noted that replacing a fire truck is a lengthy process and not something that will be completed in the coming months. Estimating that it will be another year or two before the truck can be built or purchased, he said the department will also be looking at possible grant applications or other ideas in conjunction with the Watrous Rural Fire Association.
“This definitely has put us in a spot to look at more fundraisers in the future. There are already other ideas being brought forward for new fundraising initiatives for this so we will have to see what transpires with those. On behalf of the Watrous Fire Department, we are just so appreciative of everyone who donated to this fundraiser and we really appreciate Watrous Mainline Motors for challenging us. Our battery drive was also a huge success and we were able to recycle 3,300 pounds of used batteries and brought in just under $1,000 that was allocated towards the rural brush truck as well.”
Siegfried said being able to contribute towards such an integral part of the community was really important and he hopes fundraising efforts for the new rural fire unit will continue.
“It’s important for all of us to remember the importance of our protective services, and add their financial support when projects like this come along. These people are trained to respond in situations that none of us hope to ever find ourselves in. Let’s hope that they are called upon as infrequently as possible, but when they are, they are equipped to manage any situation quickly, safely and effectively.”
With his tongue healing last week, when asked if this fundraiser might be brought back again next year, “Stay tuned. I’ve approached some other individuals who are considering it.”
TWM Top Story - Feb. 18, 2019
A look back and ahead with local communities
Daniel Bushman
With 2018 in the books and 2019 underway, local communities have been busy with a number of projects this past year and this year will be no exception. As each community begins to map out 2019 and with the announcement by the provincial government that municipal revenue sharing is set to increase for 2019-‘20, The Watrous Manitou attempted to reach out to local area communities to see how 2018 went and what could be in store for 2019.
Here are the responses TWM received by press time:
Allan - Mayor Les Alm said there were a number of items taking place in the community in 2018. One of the larger projects is the new Allan Emergency Services Centre building which is being constructed at 324 1st Ave. across from the car wash. “We are very close to our funding goal of $480,000 and are still asking the community for donations to buy one square foot for $100 and receive a taxable donation receipt. Steve Peters is our Project Manager for the construction of this new facility, which we are planning to have a grand opening in the spring of 2019.”
In addition to the emergency services centre, Alm said a reservoir upgrade project was completed in 2018 to ensure safe drinking water through the water works and reservoir for the next few decades. “This was accomplished in large part from grant money that was applied for and received.”
Streets have been earmarked as a high priority and work will be ongoing for the next foreseeable future. Alm noted road work on Maple Drive and Sylvite Crescent was completed in the fall of 2018. “This street resurfacing project is using a new chemical technology that binds the material to make a hard surface that will last for years.” In addition, pavement grinding on 2nd Ave., Princess Street and Agnes Ave. took place and this will be worked on to ensure a solid base for future street work.
Also in 2018, Alm said, “An unexpected and possibly the largest service ever held in Allan, to my memory, was in April 2018 with the memorial service for Logan Schatz. Logan grew up in Allan and was the captain of the Humboldt Broncos. The community came together like never before and I was personally deeply touched by the volunteerism, donating of time and food and the coordination that took place to safely park and transport nearly 3,000 people to and from the Communiplex for the service. The community and district love and support for Kelly and Bonnie Schatz and family was very moving and emotional for everyone involved. Thank you to everyone who contributed or was in some way involved. Kelly Schatz has built “Schatzy’s Corner” in the skating rink for kids to play in between games during tournaments. Come and see it.”
Looking at 2019, Alm said some of the community’s future plans include: ongoing street and sidewalk repair with much of the work weather dependent; and upgrades to the water distribution and waste water collection (sewer) systems during power outages to avoid water advisories. “We plan on installing a fully automated emergency standby pump for our water and standby generators for our sewer lift stations so that during power outages residents will still be able to have water and flush toilets.”
Alm said there is also an economic development strategy to attract more residents and houses as well as new businesses to town.
“When young families move to the community, they want a school for their children and recreational activities to keep them busy and involved. Recreation is a large and important aspect of Allan and the extended community. I am pleased to announce that in the spring of 2019, town owned land directly east of Allan will be farmed as part of the Agricultural Fundraising Project for recreational investment through our Parks and Recreation Board. This will take a great deal of planning, volunteering and coordination to be successful. Many small communities have been actively participating in these types of projects for years with great benefits for recreation in the community.”
Colonsay - The community had a few projects on the go during the 2018 fiscal year and there are a few items already on the agenda for 2019. Maureen Moen with the Town of Colonsay said in 2018 several of the community’s streets were upgraded with a seal coating. A second notable project that occurred included the installation of an electric fire pump which acts as a water supply back up in the event of a fire in town.
In addition, Moen said, “A major fundraiser headed by the Colonsay Recreation Board was the Shier Land Project. This fundraiser was made possible through a generous donation by Herb Shier. Herb donated the use of a quarter section piece of his land to produce a canola crop in the 2018 crop year. Several volunteers and local businesses were involved in this undertaking resulting in over $60,000 being raised for the Colonsay Recreation Board.”
Moving into 2019, budget meetings will be held in the near future and capital projects will be determined at that time. Moen said another item of interest for 2019 is the Colonsay Swimming Pool’s 50th anniversary. “The Colonsay Swimming Pool will be celebrating 50 years since the establishment of the local pool. Plans are in the works to recognize and celebrate this milestone.”
Drake - Mayor Peter Nicholson said in 2018 the Village of Drake saw the completion of its new lagoon cell project in late summer and the village managed to dredge its old cell once freeze up happened and equipment could be brought in. “We also had engineers complete a study on our potable water system going forward and we are in the process of studying the final report we received in late fall.”
Looking at 2019, Nicholson said, “We will be beginning the construction of a new well that will act as a back up to our existing well ensuring we will always have a good source of water.”
Guernsey - With Guernsey dissolving into the Rural Municipality of Usborne, RM administrator Anna Rintoul said the biggest item of note in 2018 was the completion of the Guernsey water treatment plant which was finished in March. “This consisted of drilling wells and installing a Reverse Osmosis plant, which we completed under the CWWF/PTIC grant program.”
Imperial - Mayor Ted Abrey said 2018 saw the Town of Imperial enjoying the use of its newly acquired backhoe to assist in maintenance and snow removal. “We replaced sidewalks that were in need, and did rubber topping sidewalk repairs in other spots.” Sealing of cracks in the pavement on the town access road was also completed and sand sealant was applied on various blocks as an ongoing yearly project within the town.
Abrey noted a new administrator was hired to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of the town’s previous one. Renovations were also completed to the town office and painting was done in the Community Centre. In addition the mayor said upgrades were done to the artificial ice plant in Imperial’s community rink this past fall and skating, hockey and curling are now in full swing.
“The town also has a continuous program of tree pruning during the colder months, and each year new trees are planted to replace aging and deteriorating ones. Stone planters on our sidewalks are planted and maintained each year to beautify our main street.”
With the budgeting process starting in February, Abrey said new projects are to be decided at that time. However, he added, “We do know that four new channels will be added to our community-owned cable system, and further upgrades will be done. Negotiations are in the works for MAVTV to be added as well, which will broadcast worldwide auto racing.”
Also for 2019, Abrey said work is slated to commence in the coming months to renovate the former doctor’s residence to add a suite in the basement dedicated to housing the community’s visiting ambulance attendants who currently occupy the main floor. New signage to advertise the four churches located in Imperial has been constructed and will be erected when the ground thaws in the spring.
“Council continues to strive to keep Imperial looking forward to the future, while still appreciating the rich heritage of our community. We appreciate the efforts of our residents in beautifying our town, making it a pleasure to drive into and a pleasure to live in.”
Manitou Beach - Mayor Gerry Worobec said the resort village had a busy 2018 and in 2019 is looking forward to commemorating the 100th anniversary of being incorporated as a resort community.
In 2018, Worobec said they had a number of items on the docket including upgrades and the replacement of two of the three lift stations. They also did wiring for nine pumping stations to handle water on the relatively dry side of the berm.
“We have the stations all wired up and there is power poles by each one with panels. When the spring runoff comes, there will be these good sized electric pumps that will go into eight foot deep sump holes and they will hopefully manage the runoff and pump it into the lake.”
The resort village also upgraded its street lighting and did further development on the beaches while improving signage. Another area the village looked at was the sewer and water billing and the elimination of water minimums. “We changed it to a basic fee for sewer and water plus actual utilization based on bi-monthly readings of water use.”
Other areas that saw improvements were at the Jubilee Drive-In with a new digital projector, development at the skating pond, and community hall improvements with the addition of a screened deck area and two wheelchair accessible bathrooms. The resort community also completely redid the outside of the hall and made some improvements on a number of chainsaw carvings around the beach. Worobec noted the local convenience store across from Relics also did some renovations.
“In addition we have developed a working relationship with local First Nations and have been spending a lot of time with them and working towards a few things.”
Moving into 2019 and with this year being Manitou Beach’s centennial and the bi-annual chainsaw carving competition, Worobec said they will officially be marking the 100th birthday with a picnic and dignitaries and speeches will take place on the final day of the chainsaw carving competition. Other events have also been scheduled throughout the year as Manitou Beach commemorates its centennial.
Simpson - Mayor Jeremy Nimchuk noted there were quite a few things that took place in 2018 and also already in 2019. “The roof on the rink surface had two rafters bust in summer of 2017 so we decided in 2018 to raise money to repair it between the town and the rink board. We have done multiple fundraisers to start our efforts in repairing.”
In the meantime, with no rink to use, a few members of the town decided to build an outdoor rink for the community to use this winter.
Leading up to the holidays, Nimchuk said a family fun day was held Dec. 23 with family skating, a hay ride and twinkle tour followed by hot chocolate and a visit from Santa.
Earlier last year, Nimchuk said throughout the summer crews were busy cutting down dead trees, cleaning up bushes and making the cemetery look nice.
The Simpson Volunteer Fire Team has also been busy and is in full swing with monthly meetings and training while upgrading the community’s fire equipment.
Nimchuk said another significant item that occurred was the closure of the grocery store in town. “The Simpson Co-op board decided to close our grocery store as of Jan. 31 and they will be stocking a few food items at our Co-op gas station.”
With the calendar flipped to 2019, Nimchuk said the Hockey Bags held their annual cabaret in Simpson on Jan. 16, with all proceeds going to the rink. “They had a fantastic turnout!”
The mayor noted the community is planning to continue with its fundraising efforts for the rink starting with a comedy night featuring Lee Bells with a cabaret to follow. Nimchuk said more details will be coming out in the future.
Along with the fundraisers for the rink, Nimchuk said the Simpson Homemakers are in the process of starting to plan their semi-annual ladies night out.
Viscount - Mayor of Viscount Moe Kirzinger said there were a few notable events that took place in the community in 2018 including work at the bowling alley and opening a brand new park. As many residents enjoyed the new upgrades at the bowling alley, in the summer, Koller Park was opened. Kirzinger said the new area was named after a local resident who has volunteered for a number of decades. The new park at Viscount includes benches, things for kids to do and a shelter. In addition to the bowling alley upgrades and park unveiling, Kirzinger said, “We had our big street dance and ball tournament again in August.”
From an improvement standpoint, the mayor said they got rid of a couple old buildings on main street and those commercial lots are now up for sale.
As for 2019, Kirzinger noted a bylaw officer will be brought in to help beautify the community, similar to what some other communities like Watrous have been doing. After the closure of St. Alphonse school a few years ago, Kirzinger said the Catholic School Board decided to give the building back to the community and a purchaser was found for it. Currently the building is being transformed into a four-plex and there are a few suites already leased out.
In addition, one highlight that residents and visitors can look forward to in 2019 is the 30th anniversary of the street dance in the community Aug. 10.
“We usually get up to 800 people and we have a ball tournament that is pretty well attended. It has been a good fundraiser over the years. We set up a stage and block the street off.”
Watrous - There were a number of items and projects focused on in 2018 with more on the docket for 2019. Watrous Mayor Ed Collins highlighted a few areas of note, one of which included the Watrous Volunteer Fire Department. “The Town replaced all SCBA equipment and tanks which cost about $60,000 and was shared 50/50 with the Watrous Rural Fire Protection Association.”
The Town of Watrous also developed a columbarium area at the cemetery which included benches, landscaping, and a parking area. With assistance from the Do Gooders, a water feature was also installed and the total overall work done on cemetery upgrades by the town cost around $30,000.
With regards to transportation and streets, Collins said they added a bucket truck to the fleet and upgraded the skid steer. One of the larger projects undertaken involved the construction of a service road, lift station and access to the town’s industrial lots next to Home Hardware. “We are anticipating that project will be completed in 2019.”
Collins also noted the Watrous Centennial Arena received a chiller replacement worth around $80,000 and a new ice resurfacer Zamboni which was partially funded through donations by local area businesses.
At the Watrous Sportsgrounds, Collins said the town was approached by Watrous Minor Ball and Winston High School’s football program about a joint project which would see a facility built to house concessions, washrooms and storage. Some of the work was already completed in 2018 and it is expected to finish in 2019.
With substantial water and sewer projects taking place over the last few years including the addition of a reverse osmosis water system, Collins said they were able to complete work on the lagoon expansion and aeration project that started in the fall of 2016. “We also completed water and sewer mains and sewage lift station servicing to the town’s industrial lots located next to Home Hardware, Manitou Mainline Chrysler and other future commercial/industrial land. We have also began the process of adding another well site (well #7). Hydrogeological work and the well were drilled in 2018. The pipeline and pumphouse/mechanical will be phased over 2019 and 2020.”
Along with some of those projects running into 2019, Collins said they have other items under consideration as they begin budget deliberations. Some of those areas include: continuing with improvements and upgrades at the cemetery; completing construction of the service road and access to the town’s industrial lots by Home Hardware. Continuing with street rebuilds on some of the side streets where bad frost boils occur in the spring; working on the rest area/Via Rail shelter at end of Main Street; conducting fire hydrant replacements and water main valve replacements in strategic areas; and potentially doing an engineering review which would focus discussion around sanitary sewer capacity and flood mitigation measures.
Young - Mayor of Young Julia Schultz said there were some highlights for the community in 2018 and more are ahead for 2019. “In 2018 we hired a new CAO Lyle Hannan. We also improved our office hours to suit the community better. We have done much needed repairs on sidewalks and roads. Also the Young Swimming Pool has undergone a huge renovation in the summer.”
Moving to 2019, Schultz said the community is having winter rink suppers twice a month. In addition, the mayor said, “We are renovating the village office and continuing repairs on sidewalks and roads. We upgraded our second fire truck and we are also very excited that our newly renovated swimming pool will be open this summer and it includes a water slide.”
Daniel Bushman
With 2018 in the books and 2019 underway, local communities have been busy with a number of projects this past year and this year will be no exception. As each community begins to map out 2019 and with the announcement by the provincial government that municipal revenue sharing is set to increase for 2019-‘20, The Watrous Manitou attempted to reach out to local area communities to see how 2018 went and what could be in store for 2019.
Here are the responses TWM received by press time:
Allan - Mayor Les Alm said there were a number of items taking place in the community in 2018. One of the larger projects is the new Allan Emergency Services Centre building which is being constructed at 324 1st Ave. across from the car wash. “We are very close to our funding goal of $480,000 and are still asking the community for donations to buy one square foot for $100 and receive a taxable donation receipt. Steve Peters is our Project Manager for the construction of this new facility, which we are planning to have a grand opening in the spring of 2019.”
In addition to the emergency services centre, Alm said a reservoir upgrade project was completed in 2018 to ensure safe drinking water through the water works and reservoir for the next few decades. “This was accomplished in large part from grant money that was applied for and received.”
Streets have been earmarked as a high priority and work will be ongoing for the next foreseeable future. Alm noted road work on Maple Drive and Sylvite Crescent was completed in the fall of 2018. “This street resurfacing project is using a new chemical technology that binds the material to make a hard surface that will last for years.” In addition, pavement grinding on 2nd Ave., Princess Street and Agnes Ave. took place and this will be worked on to ensure a solid base for future street work.
Also in 2018, Alm said, “An unexpected and possibly the largest service ever held in Allan, to my memory, was in April 2018 with the memorial service for Logan Schatz. Logan grew up in Allan and was the captain of the Humboldt Broncos. The community came together like never before and I was personally deeply touched by the volunteerism, donating of time and food and the coordination that took place to safely park and transport nearly 3,000 people to and from the Communiplex for the service. The community and district love and support for Kelly and Bonnie Schatz and family was very moving and emotional for everyone involved. Thank you to everyone who contributed or was in some way involved. Kelly Schatz has built “Schatzy’s Corner” in the skating rink for kids to play in between games during tournaments. Come and see it.”
Looking at 2019, Alm said some of the community’s future plans include: ongoing street and sidewalk repair with much of the work weather dependent; and upgrades to the water distribution and waste water collection (sewer) systems during power outages to avoid water advisories. “We plan on installing a fully automated emergency standby pump for our water and standby generators for our sewer lift stations so that during power outages residents will still be able to have water and flush toilets.”
Alm said there is also an economic development strategy to attract more residents and houses as well as new businesses to town.
“When young families move to the community, they want a school for their children and recreational activities to keep them busy and involved. Recreation is a large and important aspect of Allan and the extended community. I am pleased to announce that in the spring of 2019, town owned land directly east of Allan will be farmed as part of the Agricultural Fundraising Project for recreational investment through our Parks and Recreation Board. This will take a great deal of planning, volunteering and coordination to be successful. Many small communities have been actively participating in these types of projects for years with great benefits for recreation in the community.”
Colonsay - The community had a few projects on the go during the 2018 fiscal year and there are a few items already on the agenda for 2019. Maureen Moen with the Town of Colonsay said in 2018 several of the community’s streets were upgraded with a seal coating. A second notable project that occurred included the installation of an electric fire pump which acts as a water supply back up in the event of a fire in town.
In addition, Moen said, “A major fundraiser headed by the Colonsay Recreation Board was the Shier Land Project. This fundraiser was made possible through a generous donation by Herb Shier. Herb donated the use of a quarter section piece of his land to produce a canola crop in the 2018 crop year. Several volunteers and local businesses were involved in this undertaking resulting in over $60,000 being raised for the Colonsay Recreation Board.”
Moving into 2019, budget meetings will be held in the near future and capital projects will be determined at that time. Moen said another item of interest for 2019 is the Colonsay Swimming Pool’s 50th anniversary. “The Colonsay Swimming Pool will be celebrating 50 years since the establishment of the local pool. Plans are in the works to recognize and celebrate this milestone.”
Drake - Mayor Peter Nicholson said in 2018 the Village of Drake saw the completion of its new lagoon cell project in late summer and the village managed to dredge its old cell once freeze up happened and equipment could be brought in. “We also had engineers complete a study on our potable water system going forward and we are in the process of studying the final report we received in late fall.”
Looking at 2019, Nicholson said, “We will be beginning the construction of a new well that will act as a back up to our existing well ensuring we will always have a good source of water.”
Guernsey - With Guernsey dissolving into the Rural Municipality of Usborne, RM administrator Anna Rintoul said the biggest item of note in 2018 was the completion of the Guernsey water treatment plant which was finished in March. “This consisted of drilling wells and installing a Reverse Osmosis plant, which we completed under the CWWF/PTIC grant program.”
Imperial - Mayor Ted Abrey said 2018 saw the Town of Imperial enjoying the use of its newly acquired backhoe to assist in maintenance and snow removal. “We replaced sidewalks that were in need, and did rubber topping sidewalk repairs in other spots.” Sealing of cracks in the pavement on the town access road was also completed and sand sealant was applied on various blocks as an ongoing yearly project within the town.
Abrey noted a new administrator was hired to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of the town’s previous one. Renovations were also completed to the town office and painting was done in the Community Centre. In addition the mayor said upgrades were done to the artificial ice plant in Imperial’s community rink this past fall and skating, hockey and curling are now in full swing.
“The town also has a continuous program of tree pruning during the colder months, and each year new trees are planted to replace aging and deteriorating ones. Stone planters on our sidewalks are planted and maintained each year to beautify our main street.”
With the budgeting process starting in February, Abrey said new projects are to be decided at that time. However, he added, “We do know that four new channels will be added to our community-owned cable system, and further upgrades will be done. Negotiations are in the works for MAVTV to be added as well, which will broadcast worldwide auto racing.”
Also for 2019, Abrey said work is slated to commence in the coming months to renovate the former doctor’s residence to add a suite in the basement dedicated to housing the community’s visiting ambulance attendants who currently occupy the main floor. New signage to advertise the four churches located in Imperial has been constructed and will be erected when the ground thaws in the spring.
“Council continues to strive to keep Imperial looking forward to the future, while still appreciating the rich heritage of our community. We appreciate the efforts of our residents in beautifying our town, making it a pleasure to drive into and a pleasure to live in.”
Manitou Beach - Mayor Gerry Worobec said the resort village had a busy 2018 and in 2019 is looking forward to commemorating the 100th anniversary of being incorporated as a resort community.
In 2018, Worobec said they had a number of items on the docket including upgrades and the replacement of two of the three lift stations. They also did wiring for nine pumping stations to handle water on the relatively dry side of the berm.
“We have the stations all wired up and there is power poles by each one with panels. When the spring runoff comes, there will be these good sized electric pumps that will go into eight foot deep sump holes and they will hopefully manage the runoff and pump it into the lake.”
The resort village also upgraded its street lighting and did further development on the beaches while improving signage. Another area the village looked at was the sewer and water billing and the elimination of water minimums. “We changed it to a basic fee for sewer and water plus actual utilization based on bi-monthly readings of water use.”
Other areas that saw improvements were at the Jubilee Drive-In with a new digital projector, development at the skating pond, and community hall improvements with the addition of a screened deck area and two wheelchair accessible bathrooms. The resort community also completely redid the outside of the hall and made some improvements on a number of chainsaw carvings around the beach. Worobec noted the local convenience store across from Relics also did some renovations.
“In addition we have developed a working relationship with local First Nations and have been spending a lot of time with them and working towards a few things.”
Moving into 2019 and with this year being Manitou Beach’s centennial and the bi-annual chainsaw carving competition, Worobec said they will officially be marking the 100th birthday with a picnic and dignitaries and speeches will take place on the final day of the chainsaw carving competition. Other events have also been scheduled throughout the year as Manitou Beach commemorates its centennial.
Simpson - Mayor Jeremy Nimchuk noted there were quite a few things that took place in 2018 and also already in 2019. “The roof on the rink surface had two rafters bust in summer of 2017 so we decided in 2018 to raise money to repair it between the town and the rink board. We have done multiple fundraisers to start our efforts in repairing.”
In the meantime, with no rink to use, a few members of the town decided to build an outdoor rink for the community to use this winter.
Leading up to the holidays, Nimchuk said a family fun day was held Dec. 23 with family skating, a hay ride and twinkle tour followed by hot chocolate and a visit from Santa.
Earlier last year, Nimchuk said throughout the summer crews were busy cutting down dead trees, cleaning up bushes and making the cemetery look nice.
The Simpson Volunteer Fire Team has also been busy and is in full swing with monthly meetings and training while upgrading the community’s fire equipment.
Nimchuk said another significant item that occurred was the closure of the grocery store in town. “The Simpson Co-op board decided to close our grocery store as of Jan. 31 and they will be stocking a few food items at our Co-op gas station.”
With the calendar flipped to 2019, Nimchuk said the Hockey Bags held their annual cabaret in Simpson on Jan. 16, with all proceeds going to the rink. “They had a fantastic turnout!”
The mayor noted the community is planning to continue with its fundraising efforts for the rink starting with a comedy night featuring Lee Bells with a cabaret to follow. Nimchuk said more details will be coming out in the future.
Along with the fundraisers for the rink, Nimchuk said the Simpson Homemakers are in the process of starting to plan their semi-annual ladies night out.
Viscount - Mayor of Viscount Moe Kirzinger said there were a few notable events that took place in the community in 2018 including work at the bowling alley and opening a brand new park. As many residents enjoyed the new upgrades at the bowling alley, in the summer, Koller Park was opened. Kirzinger said the new area was named after a local resident who has volunteered for a number of decades. The new park at Viscount includes benches, things for kids to do and a shelter. In addition to the bowling alley upgrades and park unveiling, Kirzinger said, “We had our big street dance and ball tournament again in August.”
From an improvement standpoint, the mayor said they got rid of a couple old buildings on main street and those commercial lots are now up for sale.
As for 2019, Kirzinger noted a bylaw officer will be brought in to help beautify the community, similar to what some other communities like Watrous have been doing. After the closure of St. Alphonse school a few years ago, Kirzinger said the Catholic School Board decided to give the building back to the community and a purchaser was found for it. Currently the building is being transformed into a four-plex and there are a few suites already leased out.
In addition, one highlight that residents and visitors can look forward to in 2019 is the 30th anniversary of the street dance in the community Aug. 10.
“We usually get up to 800 people and we have a ball tournament that is pretty well attended. It has been a good fundraiser over the years. We set up a stage and block the street off.”
Watrous - There were a number of items and projects focused on in 2018 with more on the docket for 2019. Watrous Mayor Ed Collins highlighted a few areas of note, one of which included the Watrous Volunteer Fire Department. “The Town replaced all SCBA equipment and tanks which cost about $60,000 and was shared 50/50 with the Watrous Rural Fire Protection Association.”
The Town of Watrous also developed a columbarium area at the cemetery which included benches, landscaping, and a parking area. With assistance from the Do Gooders, a water feature was also installed and the total overall work done on cemetery upgrades by the town cost around $30,000.
With regards to transportation and streets, Collins said they added a bucket truck to the fleet and upgraded the skid steer. One of the larger projects undertaken involved the construction of a service road, lift station and access to the town’s industrial lots next to Home Hardware. “We are anticipating that project will be completed in 2019.”
Collins also noted the Watrous Centennial Arena received a chiller replacement worth around $80,000 and a new ice resurfacer Zamboni which was partially funded through donations by local area businesses.
At the Watrous Sportsgrounds, Collins said the town was approached by Watrous Minor Ball and Winston High School’s football program about a joint project which would see a facility built to house concessions, washrooms and storage. Some of the work was already completed in 2018 and it is expected to finish in 2019.
With substantial water and sewer projects taking place over the last few years including the addition of a reverse osmosis water system, Collins said they were able to complete work on the lagoon expansion and aeration project that started in the fall of 2016. “We also completed water and sewer mains and sewage lift station servicing to the town’s industrial lots located next to Home Hardware, Manitou Mainline Chrysler and other future commercial/industrial land. We have also began the process of adding another well site (well #7). Hydrogeological work and the well were drilled in 2018. The pipeline and pumphouse/mechanical will be phased over 2019 and 2020.”
Along with some of those projects running into 2019, Collins said they have other items under consideration as they begin budget deliberations. Some of those areas include: continuing with improvements and upgrades at the cemetery; completing construction of the service road and access to the town’s industrial lots by Home Hardware. Continuing with street rebuilds on some of the side streets where bad frost boils occur in the spring; working on the rest area/Via Rail shelter at end of Main Street; conducting fire hydrant replacements and water main valve replacements in strategic areas; and potentially doing an engineering review which would focus discussion around sanitary sewer capacity and flood mitigation measures.
Young - Mayor of Young Julia Schultz said there were some highlights for the community in 2018 and more are ahead for 2019. “In 2018 we hired a new CAO Lyle Hannan. We also improved our office hours to suit the community better. We have done much needed repairs on sidewalks and roads. Also the Young Swimming Pool has undergone a huge renovation in the summer.”
Moving to 2019, Schultz said the community is having winter rink suppers twice a month. In addition, the mayor said, “We are renovating the village office and continuing repairs on sidewalks and roads. We upgraded our second fire truck and we are also very excited that our newly renovated swimming pool will be open this summer and it includes a water slide.”
TWM Top Story - Feb. 11, 2019
Simpson Co-op grocery store closes
Daniel Bushman
After serving residents of Simpson and the surrounding area for decades, the Simpson Co-op’s grocery store has closed its doors. With a manager and two part time staff operating the store, the building provided residents a place to purchase groceries but with costs continuing to rise and a decline in traffic, the place closed Jan. 31.
Dennis Vanthuyne with the Simpson Co-op said the decision was made to shut down the grocery part of the Co-op as costs continued to go up. “With the coolers and freezers running, the power bills and other costs continually going up, the grocery store was not feasible any longer. There were not enough people shopping there any more so the fuel portion of the Simpson Co-op was subsidizing the grocery department. So the decision was made to close the store so the Co-op could offer more equity through the fuel portion.”
Vanthuyne said a public meeting was held prior to the Jan. 31 closure and ultimately with the lack of traffic to the business, it was decided to shut it down.
With that decision to close the grocery store, Vanthuyne who works at the Simpson Co-op gas station said they will be selling some items at the gas station that were offered at the grocery store.
According to the Simpson history book, Down Memory Lane, it was back in the 1940s when the Simpson Co-op first expanded into groceries and hardware. The Simpson Co-operative Association decided to purchase the R.H. Mills’ store June 30, 1944 and the grocery aspect would last for almost 75 years.
However, on Sept. 21, 1958 the Co-op was badly damaged by a fire. Because of the destruction that it caused, a new store was constructed on the site with volunteer labour and officially opened Feb. 19, 1959.
Ralph Moore who was on the Co-op board for a few years until April 1975 was one of the people that helped to build the grocery store back up. Moore said the south portion was badly damaged and was replaced with a new one through the winter months. Living 12 miles from town, Moore came in and was one of the volunteers that lent a hand to rebuild the place.
“We had one head carpenter and then volunteers from the district worked on it,” he said.
At one time in the community, Moore said there were three grocery stores but as the years went on, in 1982, the Co-op became the only one left after the closure of R & S Shop-Rite. The Co-op then expanded its floor space and storage area and in 1985 the store front was given a face lift.
“It served the people in Simpson and the area and it is too bad the store is closed now.”
As for the Simpson Co-op itself, according to the Simpson history book, in 1938 when times were dire in the agriculture world, a small group of pioneer farmers got together and started to search for ways to improve their economic lot by working together. From those gatherings a decision was made and the Simpson Co-op was established.
The organizational meeting was held Mar. 30, 1938 in the local municipal office and the provisional board included Roy Cole, John Pieper, A.R. McGregor, R.G. Quennell, Wallace McDonald, Richard Clark, David Freeman and W.H. Drake. The first secretary was Sam Orr and the first president was Roy McGregor.
The history book notes the Simpson Co-operative Association was incorporated Apr. 11, 1938 and coal, wood, oil, grease and twine were handled from the Pool office. Sam Orr, who was the Pool agent also acted as manager. Then in 1941, oil shed and barrel service was started.
A few years later, in 1943, George Carr began managing the bulk stations, handling fuel, oil, grease, flour, salt, chicken and hog feed. After a series of managers, Mr. Cragg was asked to manage the store and he did until 1953. Other managers over the years included Martin Wagman, Charles Spencer, Corky Birt, Pius Nagy, Maurice Tomarat, Alvin Hausauer, T.H. (Finnie) Hjorleifson, Ken Gillespie, Vern Triol, Harvey Choquette, Bill Twist, Glenn Crawford, Randy Miller and Dennis Vanthuyne.
In 1957, tank and metre service was installed. Operators of the fuel truck over some of the years were Thomas Harper, James Taylor, Robert Robinson, Ralph Moore, Victor Gullacher, Oscar Swanson and Dennis Vanthuyne.
In 1963 the Co-op celebrated its 25th anniversary with a special program and on Apr. 11, 1978, the Simpson Co-operative Association held its 40th annual meeting.
Daniel Bushman
After serving residents of Simpson and the surrounding area for decades, the Simpson Co-op’s grocery store has closed its doors. With a manager and two part time staff operating the store, the building provided residents a place to purchase groceries but with costs continuing to rise and a decline in traffic, the place closed Jan. 31.
Dennis Vanthuyne with the Simpson Co-op said the decision was made to shut down the grocery part of the Co-op as costs continued to go up. “With the coolers and freezers running, the power bills and other costs continually going up, the grocery store was not feasible any longer. There were not enough people shopping there any more so the fuel portion of the Simpson Co-op was subsidizing the grocery department. So the decision was made to close the store so the Co-op could offer more equity through the fuel portion.”
Vanthuyne said a public meeting was held prior to the Jan. 31 closure and ultimately with the lack of traffic to the business, it was decided to shut it down.
With that decision to close the grocery store, Vanthuyne who works at the Simpson Co-op gas station said they will be selling some items at the gas station that were offered at the grocery store.
According to the Simpson history book, Down Memory Lane, it was back in the 1940s when the Simpson Co-op first expanded into groceries and hardware. The Simpson Co-operative Association decided to purchase the R.H. Mills’ store June 30, 1944 and the grocery aspect would last for almost 75 years.
However, on Sept. 21, 1958 the Co-op was badly damaged by a fire. Because of the destruction that it caused, a new store was constructed on the site with volunteer labour and officially opened Feb. 19, 1959.
Ralph Moore who was on the Co-op board for a few years until April 1975 was one of the people that helped to build the grocery store back up. Moore said the south portion was badly damaged and was replaced with a new one through the winter months. Living 12 miles from town, Moore came in and was one of the volunteers that lent a hand to rebuild the place.
“We had one head carpenter and then volunteers from the district worked on it,” he said.
At one time in the community, Moore said there were three grocery stores but as the years went on, in 1982, the Co-op became the only one left after the closure of R & S Shop-Rite. The Co-op then expanded its floor space and storage area and in 1985 the store front was given a face lift.
“It served the people in Simpson and the area and it is too bad the store is closed now.”
As for the Simpson Co-op itself, according to the Simpson history book, in 1938 when times were dire in the agriculture world, a small group of pioneer farmers got together and started to search for ways to improve their economic lot by working together. From those gatherings a decision was made and the Simpson Co-op was established.
The organizational meeting was held Mar. 30, 1938 in the local municipal office and the provisional board included Roy Cole, John Pieper, A.R. McGregor, R.G. Quennell, Wallace McDonald, Richard Clark, David Freeman and W.H. Drake. The first secretary was Sam Orr and the first president was Roy McGregor.
The history book notes the Simpson Co-operative Association was incorporated Apr. 11, 1938 and coal, wood, oil, grease and twine were handled from the Pool office. Sam Orr, who was the Pool agent also acted as manager. Then in 1941, oil shed and barrel service was started.
A few years later, in 1943, George Carr began managing the bulk stations, handling fuel, oil, grease, flour, salt, chicken and hog feed. After a series of managers, Mr. Cragg was asked to manage the store and he did until 1953. Other managers over the years included Martin Wagman, Charles Spencer, Corky Birt, Pius Nagy, Maurice Tomarat, Alvin Hausauer, T.H. (Finnie) Hjorleifson, Ken Gillespie, Vern Triol, Harvey Choquette, Bill Twist, Glenn Crawford, Randy Miller and Dennis Vanthuyne.
In 1957, tank and metre service was installed. Operators of the fuel truck over some of the years were Thomas Harper, James Taylor, Robert Robinson, Ralph Moore, Victor Gullacher, Oscar Swanson and Dennis Vanthuyne.
In 1963 the Co-op celebrated its 25th anniversary with a special program and on Apr. 11, 1978, the Simpson Co-operative Association held its 40th annual meeting.
TWM Top Story - Feb. 4, 2019
Local company welds together lasting legacy
Daniel Bushman
Innovation, hard work and top quality were represented for more than six decades as Bergen Industries not only grew from a tiny company just outside the community of Drake but it became well-known both nationally and internationally. With thousands of agricultural implements and trailers built by Bergen Industries over its 68 years in business, each product was uniquely created to last. While the company closed its doors in April of 2017, the legacy of the Bergen brand and the work that went into creating it still remains.
First launched by Peter Bergen in 1949, the company went from a tiny blacksmith shop on Bergen’s homestead one mile east of Drake to eventually relocating to a much larger home just off Hwy. 20. Designing, manufacturing and selling short-line agricultural equipment, livestock and utility trailers along with some components for oil industry drilling rigs, Bergen Industries not only became well-known throughout the immediate area and Western Canada but in other parts of the world.
Born in 1929, the founder of Bergen Industries, Peter Bergen, spent his younger years on the family farm just outside of Drake. It was there that he was able to learn about hard work, dedication and how to make things run. With a curiosity for welding, he enrolled in a three month course at the University of Saskatchewan and studied about refining his craft. “I came back home after the course and said to my dad, ‘I need some money to buy a welder.’”
With knowledge of how to weld from his time at university and a welder to call his own, Peter then began implementing his manufacturing career, one that would last for decades. “I had a few guys helping me out in that first year at the farm in our blacksmith shop and it just grew from there.”
During a time when the need for horses to do the bulk of farm work was decreasing but roads had to be cleared in the winter for vehicles, Peter not only designed but also manufactured a V-type snowplow. The unit had a wing span of 7’6”, a hydraulic lift, and chains that came all complete and ready to hitch up to any standard tractor. Weighing about 800 pounds and with a price tag back then of only $275, the plow was scooped up by local farmers. It was not long after the success of his V-type snowplow that Bergen added a rotary snowplow and bale bunchers to his list of products. At $660, the rotary snowplow had a width cut of 6’6”, a fan size of six blades, 40 inches and a removable double auger. With replaceable sprockets, a hydraulic lift and weighing 1,075 pounds, farmers were able to utilize the dynamic design to plow snow.
Along with creating his snowplows, Bergen also did repair work and demand grew for his services and more space was needed. In 1961, the first shop was constructed at the farm measuring 14’ x 20’ and plows continued to move off the assembly line. Known as Bergen Manufacturing at that time, in addition to the new shop, the first 10.75 inch grain auger was invented. Looking to use it for his own farm and for a few neighbours, it was not long until word of the new auger spread. Pretty soon an order for 50 of them arrived from A.A. Neuman who was based just up the road at Esk.
Loading up to 100 bushels per minute capacity in wheat, the auger ran directly off the tractor’s P.T.O. shaft and with used tires and new tubes, Neuman sold them for $850.
“That happened the first year after I built them,” said Peter. “Having that order come in sure helped to get things off the ground.”
After a 24’ x 30’ Quonset was built to keep up with demand and space and with three or four employees now creating augers, demand continued to skyrocket. Bergen and his staff which included the likes of Merl Krehbiel and Jake Bergen relocated once more. Building a shop spanning 30’ x 50’ and a new home for his family on the outskirts of Drake, Peter filled the shop with augers, getting his gears and chains from Saskatoon and hauling metal from the city by using a farm truck. He also redesigned his 10.75 inch grain auger to include a drop box and eliminated the drive shaft at the top end of the auger. Bergen Manufacturing also implemented another product during the mid-1960s, seed drill transports.
“We built our augers in that new shop and we painted them there but they were too big to fit in the shop so we had to stick the one side out the window. We built so many of those augers and I remember we would paint them and pull them outside in the middle of winter and as soon as we did, the paint froze on and it stayed on there forever. We painted augers red and orange for Canadian Cooperative Implements Limited who we sold augers to for years. I still see the odd one around.”
Then from 1967-70, Bergen Manufacturing began growing its transport line and started producing two wheel swather transports, upgraded their seed drill transports to hydraulic lifts and remodelled their swather transports to four wheel units.
Not long after those advancements, a new 4,000 square foot shop began taking shape in Drake and boat trailers arrived on the production line. “We had been mostly doing drill transports, swather transports, grain augers and had gotten out of snowplows so we thought we would add trailers to our product line.”
Through the early 1970s, as was the case with his previous products, demand for trailers grew reaching 700 per year. With upwards of 15 staff including the Hawkes boys from Watrous (Rick, Dave and Lee), Bergen said they continued to weld and create their well-known products. “At one time we were doing about eight augers per day and then upwards of 500 per year. While we sold to a lot of places in Western Canada, we also had around 150 dealers in the United States, mostly in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and into Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Kansas. Big Bud Tractors out of Montana was our biggest dealer, taking 20 augers at a time. We would deliver them ourselves.”
Building a few thousand augers out of their building along with trailers and other implements, Bergen added 2,100 square feet to the plant and in 1977, invented the Bergen 16 inch grain auger, the world’s largest. Then a year later he invented the first hydraulic swing auger and began production of 16 inch swing augers. Bergen Manufacturing also introduced the direct drive swing auger as the early 1980s arrived and invented the heavy harrow bar, featuring half-inch tynes.
Needing more space yet again, Peter mapped out plans for a major expansion and in 1982, cement was poured for a new 25,000 square foot facility on the east side of Hwy. 20 at Drake. “That allowed us to build more trailers and instead of creating just boat trailers we began building livestock trailers as well.”
With the new building opening in 1983, it included a restaurant, office space and a large area for production. The relocation also meant Bergen Manufacturing came to an end and the name Bergen Industries was born. Over the next six years, more products were designed like the rock digger, large post pounder and hydraulic elk squeeze and demand for the local company’s products continued.
Ed Bergen, who is the son of Peter and previous manager/president of the company said, “It seemed when grain prices were up, we were selling more augers because cattle prices were down but then when cattle prices increased we were selling more livestock trailers and not as many augers.”
While augers, trailers and other implements were being sent out the door to customers, food was also being cooked up in the restaurant. Ran by Darlene Lozinski, Bergen said having the restaurant in the main building was a nice bonus for the staff to use during their busy weeks and it also brought in farmers, truckers and those looking for a cup of coffee or a delicious piece of pie.
“The restaurant was really nice to have in the building because you could grab a bite to eat and were close by if you needed to take a phone call or a salesman would pop by,” said Ed.
With the business entering its 40th year of existence, in 1989 Peter decided it was time to retire. While he retired, the creator of the company stayed close by to check out the operations and visit with his past customers and staff. Taking on the company after he retired were his children, who over the years learned the intricacies of how things operated. Ed became the president and the company continued to push forward.
“We responded to the needs of the markets that we served and succeeded in developing the kinds of products that Dad envisioned. They were sturdy large pieces that would wear well over time and cut production times on the field. If anything, we were known for over-building our products.”
Along with Ed, his brother Al who was the production manager began to add to Bergen Industries with new and innovative technology. In the early 1990s, a self-levelling heavy harrow was introduced and the company added down draft paint rooms and a new finishing room. They also introduced a taper nose gooseneck stock trailer and header transports, swather transports with brakes and lights and flax bunchers.
The $500,000 surface preparation blasting booth which was 18’ x 53’ was designed by Al with the intention of preparing the best possible surface for their products prior to painting. The system utilized a steel grit which removed all mill scale and was capable of producing a white metal type finish to a level of NACE1. The blasting media was also 100 percent recycled and the non-broken down media was returned to the storage hopper for reuse. That ability allowed Bergen Industries to have an efficient system and provide a topcoat which adhered to a more enduring base on their products. That also meant manufactures like Hitachi Canada came on board as a customer, contracting Bergen Industries to manufacture custom designed surface preparation blasting booths.
The two paint rooms with down-draft booths were state-of-the-art and had a paint system comprised of plural pumps and electrostatic guns. Ed said facilities with that capability can turn out oil field equipment up to 50 feet long and 18,000 pounds. And that was just what Bergen Industries did. When the oil boom hit, Ed said they signed a contract to build large equipment for the oil drilling industry.
“We hit our peak in 2007 and had about 45 employees doing oil patch equipment. We had some really good years there until there was a change in the Alberta government and the oil industry began to decline.”
While the Bergens faced the obstacle of a drop in the oil industry they continued to produce agricultural implements and in 2009, designed, engineered and started production of roll over protection systems for mining giant BHP. They also introduced the 6200 series swather transports and marked 60 years in business.
Bergen Industries then operated for another eight years following their milestone before opting to close the doors in the spring of 2017. The company then held an auction conducted by Ritchie Brothers the following year where they sold off their remaining equipment. While the business is now closed, during their 68 years of operation products were shipped throughout Western Canada, to the United States, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Costa Rica, France and Asia.
“The technology changed over the years,” said Peter. “But we were able to adapt. My greatest contribution over my time at the company was that I taught every man in Drake how to weld there.”
Pretty incredible for a company that first started out of a blacksmith shop and grew to become known throughout the world.
Daniel Bushman
Innovation, hard work and top quality were represented for more than six decades as Bergen Industries not only grew from a tiny company just outside the community of Drake but it became well-known both nationally and internationally. With thousands of agricultural implements and trailers built by Bergen Industries over its 68 years in business, each product was uniquely created to last. While the company closed its doors in April of 2017, the legacy of the Bergen brand and the work that went into creating it still remains.
First launched by Peter Bergen in 1949, the company went from a tiny blacksmith shop on Bergen’s homestead one mile east of Drake to eventually relocating to a much larger home just off Hwy. 20. Designing, manufacturing and selling short-line agricultural equipment, livestock and utility trailers along with some components for oil industry drilling rigs, Bergen Industries not only became well-known throughout the immediate area and Western Canada but in other parts of the world.
Born in 1929, the founder of Bergen Industries, Peter Bergen, spent his younger years on the family farm just outside of Drake. It was there that he was able to learn about hard work, dedication and how to make things run. With a curiosity for welding, he enrolled in a three month course at the University of Saskatchewan and studied about refining his craft. “I came back home after the course and said to my dad, ‘I need some money to buy a welder.’”
With knowledge of how to weld from his time at university and a welder to call his own, Peter then began implementing his manufacturing career, one that would last for decades. “I had a few guys helping me out in that first year at the farm in our blacksmith shop and it just grew from there.”
During a time when the need for horses to do the bulk of farm work was decreasing but roads had to be cleared in the winter for vehicles, Peter not only designed but also manufactured a V-type snowplow. The unit had a wing span of 7’6”, a hydraulic lift, and chains that came all complete and ready to hitch up to any standard tractor. Weighing about 800 pounds and with a price tag back then of only $275, the plow was scooped up by local farmers. It was not long after the success of his V-type snowplow that Bergen added a rotary snowplow and bale bunchers to his list of products. At $660, the rotary snowplow had a width cut of 6’6”, a fan size of six blades, 40 inches and a removable double auger. With replaceable sprockets, a hydraulic lift and weighing 1,075 pounds, farmers were able to utilize the dynamic design to plow snow.
Along with creating his snowplows, Bergen also did repair work and demand grew for his services and more space was needed. In 1961, the first shop was constructed at the farm measuring 14’ x 20’ and plows continued to move off the assembly line. Known as Bergen Manufacturing at that time, in addition to the new shop, the first 10.75 inch grain auger was invented. Looking to use it for his own farm and for a few neighbours, it was not long until word of the new auger spread. Pretty soon an order for 50 of them arrived from A.A. Neuman who was based just up the road at Esk.
Loading up to 100 bushels per minute capacity in wheat, the auger ran directly off the tractor’s P.T.O. shaft and with used tires and new tubes, Neuman sold them for $850.
“That happened the first year after I built them,” said Peter. “Having that order come in sure helped to get things off the ground.”
After a 24’ x 30’ Quonset was built to keep up with demand and space and with three or four employees now creating augers, demand continued to skyrocket. Bergen and his staff which included the likes of Merl Krehbiel and Jake Bergen relocated once more. Building a shop spanning 30’ x 50’ and a new home for his family on the outskirts of Drake, Peter filled the shop with augers, getting his gears and chains from Saskatoon and hauling metal from the city by using a farm truck. He also redesigned his 10.75 inch grain auger to include a drop box and eliminated the drive shaft at the top end of the auger. Bergen Manufacturing also implemented another product during the mid-1960s, seed drill transports.
“We built our augers in that new shop and we painted them there but they were too big to fit in the shop so we had to stick the one side out the window. We built so many of those augers and I remember we would paint them and pull them outside in the middle of winter and as soon as we did, the paint froze on and it stayed on there forever. We painted augers red and orange for Canadian Cooperative Implements Limited who we sold augers to for years. I still see the odd one around.”
Then from 1967-70, Bergen Manufacturing began growing its transport line and started producing two wheel swather transports, upgraded their seed drill transports to hydraulic lifts and remodelled their swather transports to four wheel units.
Not long after those advancements, a new 4,000 square foot shop began taking shape in Drake and boat trailers arrived on the production line. “We had been mostly doing drill transports, swather transports, grain augers and had gotten out of snowplows so we thought we would add trailers to our product line.”
Through the early 1970s, as was the case with his previous products, demand for trailers grew reaching 700 per year. With upwards of 15 staff including the Hawkes boys from Watrous (Rick, Dave and Lee), Bergen said they continued to weld and create their well-known products. “At one time we were doing about eight augers per day and then upwards of 500 per year. While we sold to a lot of places in Western Canada, we also had around 150 dealers in the United States, mostly in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and into Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Kansas. Big Bud Tractors out of Montana was our biggest dealer, taking 20 augers at a time. We would deliver them ourselves.”
Building a few thousand augers out of their building along with trailers and other implements, Bergen added 2,100 square feet to the plant and in 1977, invented the Bergen 16 inch grain auger, the world’s largest. Then a year later he invented the first hydraulic swing auger and began production of 16 inch swing augers. Bergen Manufacturing also introduced the direct drive swing auger as the early 1980s arrived and invented the heavy harrow bar, featuring half-inch tynes.
Needing more space yet again, Peter mapped out plans for a major expansion and in 1982, cement was poured for a new 25,000 square foot facility on the east side of Hwy. 20 at Drake. “That allowed us to build more trailers and instead of creating just boat trailers we began building livestock trailers as well.”
With the new building opening in 1983, it included a restaurant, office space and a large area for production. The relocation also meant Bergen Manufacturing came to an end and the name Bergen Industries was born. Over the next six years, more products were designed like the rock digger, large post pounder and hydraulic elk squeeze and demand for the local company’s products continued.
Ed Bergen, who is the son of Peter and previous manager/president of the company said, “It seemed when grain prices were up, we were selling more augers because cattle prices were down but then when cattle prices increased we were selling more livestock trailers and not as many augers.”
While augers, trailers and other implements were being sent out the door to customers, food was also being cooked up in the restaurant. Ran by Darlene Lozinski, Bergen said having the restaurant in the main building was a nice bonus for the staff to use during their busy weeks and it also brought in farmers, truckers and those looking for a cup of coffee or a delicious piece of pie.
“The restaurant was really nice to have in the building because you could grab a bite to eat and were close by if you needed to take a phone call or a salesman would pop by,” said Ed.
With the business entering its 40th year of existence, in 1989 Peter decided it was time to retire. While he retired, the creator of the company stayed close by to check out the operations and visit with his past customers and staff. Taking on the company after he retired were his children, who over the years learned the intricacies of how things operated. Ed became the president and the company continued to push forward.
“We responded to the needs of the markets that we served and succeeded in developing the kinds of products that Dad envisioned. They were sturdy large pieces that would wear well over time and cut production times on the field. If anything, we were known for over-building our products.”
Along with Ed, his brother Al who was the production manager began to add to Bergen Industries with new and innovative technology. In the early 1990s, a self-levelling heavy harrow was introduced and the company added down draft paint rooms and a new finishing room. They also introduced a taper nose gooseneck stock trailer and header transports, swather transports with brakes and lights and flax bunchers.
The $500,000 surface preparation blasting booth which was 18’ x 53’ was designed by Al with the intention of preparing the best possible surface for their products prior to painting. The system utilized a steel grit which removed all mill scale and was capable of producing a white metal type finish to a level of NACE1. The blasting media was also 100 percent recycled and the non-broken down media was returned to the storage hopper for reuse. That ability allowed Bergen Industries to have an efficient system and provide a topcoat which adhered to a more enduring base on their products. That also meant manufactures like Hitachi Canada came on board as a customer, contracting Bergen Industries to manufacture custom designed surface preparation blasting booths.
The two paint rooms with down-draft booths were state-of-the-art and had a paint system comprised of plural pumps and electrostatic guns. Ed said facilities with that capability can turn out oil field equipment up to 50 feet long and 18,000 pounds. And that was just what Bergen Industries did. When the oil boom hit, Ed said they signed a contract to build large equipment for the oil drilling industry.
“We hit our peak in 2007 and had about 45 employees doing oil patch equipment. We had some really good years there until there was a change in the Alberta government and the oil industry began to decline.”
While the Bergens faced the obstacle of a drop in the oil industry they continued to produce agricultural implements and in 2009, designed, engineered and started production of roll over protection systems for mining giant BHP. They also introduced the 6200 series swather transports and marked 60 years in business.
Bergen Industries then operated for another eight years following their milestone before opting to close the doors in the spring of 2017. The company then held an auction conducted by Ritchie Brothers the following year where they sold off their remaining equipment. While the business is now closed, during their 68 years of operation products were shipped throughout Western Canada, to the United States, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Costa Rica, France and Asia.
“The technology changed over the years,” said Peter. “But we were able to adapt. My greatest contribution over my time at the company was that I taught every man in Drake how to weld there.”
Pretty incredible for a company that first started out of a blacksmith shop and grew to become known throughout the world.
TWM Top Story - Jan. 28, 2019
Former Wildcats help Hilltops take fifth straight title
Daniel Bushman
Not only was history made for one of the country’s top junior football programs as it captured its fifth straight national title but that milestone was reached with the help of four players that once suited up for the Winston Wildcats. Sporting blue and gold for the high school football team out of Watrous before wearing the same colours for the Saskatoon Hilltops, Ryder Klisowsky, Landon Schutte, Brady Fossen and William Martens were all part of the championship winning Hilltops this past season.
The four who played during different seasons for the Wildcats in Watrous each had roles to play in the Hilltops successes both on and off the field.
Sporting number 61 for the Hilltops, Ryder Klisowsky is the veteran of the four former Wildcats and has been called upon to protect his quarterback. Completing his fourth year with the Hilltops, the offensive lineman was listed as a starter this past year and while he was nervous to begin the season, Klisowsky settled in nicely. “As the year went on it got easier and the nerves calmed down a bit. The highlight for me this year was being able to let my fifth year players leave as champions and it meant a lot to see the guys I’ve been playing with for four years leave as champions.”
Klisowsky along with the rest of the team not only found success once again this season but made sure they were back at the national title game. “It was nice being able to roll over all of our opponents even with our third game being a little rocky for us but after that game we sorted everything out and figured out how to get the job done again.”
Saskatoon went through the year undefeated with wins against Regina, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. In the PFC semifinal, the Hilltops beat Winnipeg 58-5 and then defeated Edmonton 28-9 in the final. Advancing to the Canadian Bowl against Langley, Saskatoon went up 9-0 after the opening quarter before scoring 22 points in the second quarter. After halftime, the Hilltops added another 20 points in quarter three before seven to end the fourth quarter as the team ran away with a 58-21 victory and its fifth consecutive national title. That was also the first time any junior team in Canada has won five straight national championships.
Being able to compete in that game in Saskatoon Nov. 17, Klisowsky rose to the occasion. “The national championship game went well for me and I believe I played one of my best games. I was very nervous at the start of the game but that went away after the offence’s first play of the game.” From there, Klisowsky and the team were able to play a solid four quarters and for the Watrous product, he collected his fourth national championship title with the team.
“The Drive for Five this year was an amazing ride. It was a thing that has never been attempted by any other team before and I am just honoured that I was able to be a part of that team and to be part of one of only four Hilltops teams to have an undefeated season.”
In at the middle linebacker spot for the Hilltops, Landon Schutte entered his third year with the team and was a second stringer. Wearing number 46, Schutte said 2018 was incredible for him both inside and outside of football.
“From start to finish this season was a highlight and of course winning the PFC and CJFL championships topped it all off. Being on the travel roster this year was great. My first two years there was so much senior depth in the linebacking crew so I had to observe and learn from the older guys. To finally get that travel spot my third year was a great reward. It is crazy to think I’ll be one of those veteran players for the next two years.”
With the type of calibre that the Hilltops put on the field, Schutte said it was important to remain humble and do a good job when his name was called upon. While unable to suit up in the final game due to an injury, Schutte was excited about winning the title on home turf and is already making sure to be ready to go for the 2019 campaign.
“Ever year we set out with a new goal of improving from the last and breaking the championship record. This year’s fifth year players left with five rings on their hands and to never lose a championship is incredible. We had three fifth year linebackers this year (the dream team) and I’ve never seen anything like it. The Hilltop community in Saskatoon is outstanding and the Hilltops feel like a family. The brotherhood between your fellow teammates is unmatched.”
Wearing number 30, Brady Fossen is also no stranger to success and this past season provided him with the opportunity to develop into a stronger player. Competing in the Sam linebacker spot, Fossen said, “I’ve moved into the role of a player contending for a spot on the top 40 roster for away games and playoffs. I was fortunate to travel to two away games this season against the Calgary Colts and Edmonton Wildcats, as well as dress and play in the Canadian Bowl. Playing in the national final was definitely a highlight for me, where I was able to make a few special teams tackles.”
Fossen said being able to win that national title was a thrill and having a group of veteran leaders that were a dominant force aided in that victory. Add in experienced coaches and the Watrous product said, “A huge amount of time and energy are put into the team by the coaches, players, and everyone else who supports us, so it is nice to see that pay off with a rewarding season. We came up against many tough players and teams this season, always had an answer to their biggest threats, and found a way to win.”
On the team for two seasons and getting in on some action in this year’s national game, Brady shared about his experience in that big contest. “ I wasn’t overly nervous going into the final, partly because I felt comfortable in the role I was in (mostly special teams), and traditionally the B.C. Conference isn’t as tough as the match ups we face in the Prairie Conference. I have a lot of confidence in the starting group to get the job done but with that said, Langley certainly had some talented players. Receiver Jevon Cottoy is listed at 6’5” 240 lbs. and tore up the B.C. conference all season. He was certainly the biggest threat faced by the defence but our defensive coaches crafted a special game plan to minimize his impact and it worked quite well! It also felt pretty good to see the graduating players able to win the final in their last year on the team.”
For the rookie of the four former Wildcats, William Martens wrapped up his first year with the Hilltops and played defensive back. For Martens, being able to wear the Hilltop blue and gold was incredible. Wearing number 20 this year, Martens got some playing time during home games and said it was a great experience.
“Being part of a national championship team is one of the best experiences I’ve had! Having all of the hard work during the season pay off by winning the championship made every late night practice and sore muscle worth it! GO HILLTOPS!”
As the four former Wildcats savoured the victory, back home in Watrous head coach of the Winston Wildcats Barry Croshaw said this past season was the first time that the Wildcats had that many players on the Hilltops roster at one time. “It’s fun to be able to go in and watch so many of our former players on the field in various capacities. It was really great to see the boys win the national championship together in their various roles, whether it was a starting guard, a back-up linebacker, through special teams contributions or by helping out on the practice squad. It was one of the proud moments for sure in what has turned out to be many such moments that our former players have blessed us with over the years.”
Croshaw recalled the significant impact each had while playing with the Wildcats and added all were key members of the respective teams they played on. “Hopefully the skills both on and off the field that we try to provide them with have helped them as they moved forward with their football careers.”
Utilizing the skills that each gained from competing during their high school careers and learning under Croshaw and the rest of the Wildcat football coaches, it should come as no surprise that each of the four have played well and have a common bond when they step on the field.
Martens said, “Playing with the other Wildcats, I had a great experience being able to continue being teammates after high school. It made the Hilltops feel more like family. The support from back home was great! I had a lot of my friends come watch games which made them even more special and fun to play in.”
“Playing with the Wildcats gave me a taste of what a winning atmosphere feels like, with credit to the coaches and tradition of the team,” said Fossen. “Mr. Croshaw, Armstrong, Braman, Thomas, Jackson, as well as all of the other coaches have created a special team atmosphere that breeds success. I feel like a lot of the same values are expected of a player whether they’re on the Wildcats or the Hilltops. I believe playing in Watrous teaches the attitude as well as the skills necessary to be successful. Playing with Ryder, Landon, and William feels like a continuation from high school, and it’s nice to have people from my hometown competing.”
Fossen also added how great it was seeing the support from people around Watrous and the interest they have taken. “It makes me feel like I’m still part of the community even though I’m not around town for most of the year. I just really appreciate all the support from my family, friends, and community!”
Landon also echoed some similar thoughts and said, “It’s great having familiar faces on the team. Ryder, Brady, and William are all stand up guys and the home games are incredible in the playoffs. The seats are packed full of blue and gold.”
Ryder said, “Having the other players from Watrous is awesome to see on the team. All of us have been playing well this year with major improvements. It is nice to see the other guys getting playing time in the national championship as well and I hope they continue to do well on this team.”
As for the support from back home from family and friends, Klisowsky said it was unbelievable. “I can’t begin to thank everyone and I just want to thank my parents with all of the support that they gave me during the season because I wouldn’t have been able to play my best without them. I would also like to thank my high school coaches since I would not be able to play football without what they taught me and gave me a chance to keep playing. With the Drive for Five now over we move on to the Mix for Six next year!”
Daniel Bushman
Not only was history made for one of the country’s top junior football programs as it captured its fifth straight national title but that milestone was reached with the help of four players that once suited up for the Winston Wildcats. Sporting blue and gold for the high school football team out of Watrous before wearing the same colours for the Saskatoon Hilltops, Ryder Klisowsky, Landon Schutte, Brady Fossen and William Martens were all part of the championship winning Hilltops this past season.
The four who played during different seasons for the Wildcats in Watrous each had roles to play in the Hilltops successes both on and off the field.
Sporting number 61 for the Hilltops, Ryder Klisowsky is the veteran of the four former Wildcats and has been called upon to protect his quarterback. Completing his fourth year with the Hilltops, the offensive lineman was listed as a starter this past year and while he was nervous to begin the season, Klisowsky settled in nicely. “As the year went on it got easier and the nerves calmed down a bit. The highlight for me this year was being able to let my fifth year players leave as champions and it meant a lot to see the guys I’ve been playing with for four years leave as champions.”
Klisowsky along with the rest of the team not only found success once again this season but made sure they were back at the national title game. “It was nice being able to roll over all of our opponents even with our third game being a little rocky for us but after that game we sorted everything out and figured out how to get the job done again.”
Saskatoon went through the year undefeated with wins against Regina, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. In the PFC semifinal, the Hilltops beat Winnipeg 58-5 and then defeated Edmonton 28-9 in the final. Advancing to the Canadian Bowl against Langley, Saskatoon went up 9-0 after the opening quarter before scoring 22 points in the second quarter. After halftime, the Hilltops added another 20 points in quarter three before seven to end the fourth quarter as the team ran away with a 58-21 victory and its fifth consecutive national title. That was also the first time any junior team in Canada has won five straight national championships.
Being able to compete in that game in Saskatoon Nov. 17, Klisowsky rose to the occasion. “The national championship game went well for me and I believe I played one of my best games. I was very nervous at the start of the game but that went away after the offence’s first play of the game.” From there, Klisowsky and the team were able to play a solid four quarters and for the Watrous product, he collected his fourth national championship title with the team.
“The Drive for Five this year was an amazing ride. It was a thing that has never been attempted by any other team before and I am just honoured that I was able to be a part of that team and to be part of one of only four Hilltops teams to have an undefeated season.”
In at the middle linebacker spot for the Hilltops, Landon Schutte entered his third year with the team and was a second stringer. Wearing number 46, Schutte said 2018 was incredible for him both inside and outside of football.
“From start to finish this season was a highlight and of course winning the PFC and CJFL championships topped it all off. Being on the travel roster this year was great. My first two years there was so much senior depth in the linebacking crew so I had to observe and learn from the older guys. To finally get that travel spot my third year was a great reward. It is crazy to think I’ll be one of those veteran players for the next two years.”
With the type of calibre that the Hilltops put on the field, Schutte said it was important to remain humble and do a good job when his name was called upon. While unable to suit up in the final game due to an injury, Schutte was excited about winning the title on home turf and is already making sure to be ready to go for the 2019 campaign.
“Ever year we set out with a new goal of improving from the last and breaking the championship record. This year’s fifth year players left with five rings on their hands and to never lose a championship is incredible. We had three fifth year linebackers this year (the dream team) and I’ve never seen anything like it. The Hilltop community in Saskatoon is outstanding and the Hilltops feel like a family. The brotherhood between your fellow teammates is unmatched.”
Wearing number 30, Brady Fossen is also no stranger to success and this past season provided him with the opportunity to develop into a stronger player. Competing in the Sam linebacker spot, Fossen said, “I’ve moved into the role of a player contending for a spot on the top 40 roster for away games and playoffs. I was fortunate to travel to two away games this season against the Calgary Colts and Edmonton Wildcats, as well as dress and play in the Canadian Bowl. Playing in the national final was definitely a highlight for me, where I was able to make a few special teams tackles.”
Fossen said being able to win that national title was a thrill and having a group of veteran leaders that were a dominant force aided in that victory. Add in experienced coaches and the Watrous product said, “A huge amount of time and energy are put into the team by the coaches, players, and everyone else who supports us, so it is nice to see that pay off with a rewarding season. We came up against many tough players and teams this season, always had an answer to their biggest threats, and found a way to win.”
On the team for two seasons and getting in on some action in this year’s national game, Brady shared about his experience in that big contest. “ I wasn’t overly nervous going into the final, partly because I felt comfortable in the role I was in (mostly special teams), and traditionally the B.C. Conference isn’t as tough as the match ups we face in the Prairie Conference. I have a lot of confidence in the starting group to get the job done but with that said, Langley certainly had some talented players. Receiver Jevon Cottoy is listed at 6’5” 240 lbs. and tore up the B.C. conference all season. He was certainly the biggest threat faced by the defence but our defensive coaches crafted a special game plan to minimize his impact and it worked quite well! It also felt pretty good to see the graduating players able to win the final in their last year on the team.”
For the rookie of the four former Wildcats, William Martens wrapped up his first year with the Hilltops and played defensive back. For Martens, being able to wear the Hilltop blue and gold was incredible. Wearing number 20 this year, Martens got some playing time during home games and said it was a great experience.
“Being part of a national championship team is one of the best experiences I’ve had! Having all of the hard work during the season pay off by winning the championship made every late night practice and sore muscle worth it! GO HILLTOPS!”
As the four former Wildcats savoured the victory, back home in Watrous head coach of the Winston Wildcats Barry Croshaw said this past season was the first time that the Wildcats had that many players on the Hilltops roster at one time. “It’s fun to be able to go in and watch so many of our former players on the field in various capacities. It was really great to see the boys win the national championship together in their various roles, whether it was a starting guard, a back-up linebacker, through special teams contributions or by helping out on the practice squad. It was one of the proud moments for sure in what has turned out to be many such moments that our former players have blessed us with over the years.”
Croshaw recalled the significant impact each had while playing with the Wildcats and added all were key members of the respective teams they played on. “Hopefully the skills both on and off the field that we try to provide them with have helped them as they moved forward with their football careers.”
Utilizing the skills that each gained from competing during their high school careers and learning under Croshaw and the rest of the Wildcat football coaches, it should come as no surprise that each of the four have played well and have a common bond when they step on the field.
Martens said, “Playing with the other Wildcats, I had a great experience being able to continue being teammates after high school. It made the Hilltops feel more like family. The support from back home was great! I had a lot of my friends come watch games which made them even more special and fun to play in.”
“Playing with the Wildcats gave me a taste of what a winning atmosphere feels like, with credit to the coaches and tradition of the team,” said Fossen. “Mr. Croshaw, Armstrong, Braman, Thomas, Jackson, as well as all of the other coaches have created a special team atmosphere that breeds success. I feel like a lot of the same values are expected of a player whether they’re on the Wildcats or the Hilltops. I believe playing in Watrous teaches the attitude as well as the skills necessary to be successful. Playing with Ryder, Landon, and William feels like a continuation from high school, and it’s nice to have people from my hometown competing.”
Fossen also added how great it was seeing the support from people around Watrous and the interest they have taken. “It makes me feel like I’m still part of the community even though I’m not around town for most of the year. I just really appreciate all the support from my family, friends, and community!”
Landon also echoed some similar thoughts and said, “It’s great having familiar faces on the team. Ryder, Brady, and William are all stand up guys and the home games are incredible in the playoffs. The seats are packed full of blue and gold.”
Ryder said, “Having the other players from Watrous is awesome to see on the team. All of us have been playing well this year with major improvements. It is nice to see the other guys getting playing time in the national championship as well and I hope they continue to do well on this team.”
As for the support from back home from family and friends, Klisowsky said it was unbelievable. “I can’t begin to thank everyone and I just want to thank my parents with all of the support that they gave me during the season because I wouldn’t have been able to play my best without them. I would also like to thank my high school coaches since I would not be able to play football without what they taught me and gave me a chance to keep playing. With the Drive for Five now over we move on to the Mix for Six next year!”
TWM Top Story - Jan. 21, 2019
Parrish and Heimbecker expanding capabilities near Watrous
Daniel Bushman
Substantial work is underway on an expansion at Parrish & Heimbecker’s facility south of Watrous that will see its fertilizer and grain capabilities grow with a new 6,000 tonne fertilizer warehouse, added grain handling, storage upgrades and a 150-car spot.
“The expansion at our Parrish Siding location is key in providing our customers with timely and personalized service, a complete crop input product offering and expanded grain marketing opportunities,” said Keith Thiessen, General Manager, Parrish & Heimbecker – Parrish Siding. “We look forward to bringing this improved offering to area producers and continuing to grow alongside existing and new customers.”
Western Regional Manager for Parrish & Heimbecker, Lloyd Heimbecker said, “We are always excited to grow our business in local communities. We are fortunate to be a Canadian family-owned business doing business with other families in and around the Watrous area. These relationships with our customers make it easy for us to want to look at growth opportunities. Our customers have told us they are looking forward to the investment that we are making at the facility.”
Situated just off Hwy. 2 south of Watrous, the new 6,000 tonne fertilizer facility will give producers access to global fertilizer markets while completing the crop input offering at the Parrish Siding location. Thiessen said the expansion will be a big addition to the company which will also benefit producers within the area and surrounding regions.
Working with CN Railway, as part of the expansion, Parrish & Heimbecker is looking forward to an increase in rail siding to a 150-car spot. Thiessen said having the 150-car spot would be huge for the company and will allow for added capacity. “We had been able to cater to producers within a 25 to 30 mile radius but with these expansions we can now grow that reach to a 60 to 80 mile radius.”
Justin Watson, VP Crop Inputs Canada for Parrish & Heimbecker said the massive expansion is the 14th major fertilizer investment that P&H has made in Canada since 2015. “With all of the upgrades we are doing, this move will allow us to be a total service location and will put us in a great position to cater to producers for decades to come.”
Thiessen added, “Once all of the upgrades are completed, we will have a world class facility. The company would not have done this massive expansion without the support from the community and surrounding area. We are grateful to our customers for the support we have received over the years and look forward to the future.”
Bringing full crop input solutions together in a single location, the offering from Parrish & Heimbecker will include seed, crop nutrients and crop protection.
The expansion plans for the grain facility include doubling the storage capacity, tripling the speed of grain loading and significantly increasing grain cleaning efficiency through the installation of high speed grain cleaners.
Work began on the project about two months ago and Heimbecker said the concrete foundation work is now completed for the elevator expansion with the majority of the work to commence in the spring. The fertilizer shed should be complete and operational within the next week or two and customers utilizing the services can expect a full line of crop nutrient products to be available from the new facility.
While the fertilizer facility should be ready to roll in the near future, Watson said the grain facility upgrades are expected to be completed in July of 2019. The additional 20,000 tonnes of grain storage and grain handling system upgrades will not only increase overall capacity as well as efficiency of handling and shipping, it will also enable the location to handle multiple commodities at a time.
“As a proud, Canadian family-owned and operated business, P&H is committed to investing in facilities and capabilities that support Canadian producers as they strive to grow and market the best crop,” said John Heimbecker, President Grain Division and Executive Vice President, Parrish & Heimbecker. “We continue to see a drive to reach the top of the yield curve among growers in the Watrous area and we are dedicated to providing the products and services to help these growers realize the full potential of their acres.”
With between 19 and 22 people working at the local facility near Watrous, once the expansion is complete, Lloyd Heimbecker said, “Most of the work will result in efficiency gains on the operational side of things. This will benefit our customers both locally and on the export side.”
Daniel Bushman
Substantial work is underway on an expansion at Parrish & Heimbecker’s facility south of Watrous that will see its fertilizer and grain capabilities grow with a new 6,000 tonne fertilizer warehouse, added grain handling, storage upgrades and a 150-car spot.
“The expansion at our Parrish Siding location is key in providing our customers with timely and personalized service, a complete crop input product offering and expanded grain marketing opportunities,” said Keith Thiessen, General Manager, Parrish & Heimbecker – Parrish Siding. “We look forward to bringing this improved offering to area producers and continuing to grow alongside existing and new customers.”
Western Regional Manager for Parrish & Heimbecker, Lloyd Heimbecker said, “We are always excited to grow our business in local communities. We are fortunate to be a Canadian family-owned business doing business with other families in and around the Watrous area. These relationships with our customers make it easy for us to want to look at growth opportunities. Our customers have told us they are looking forward to the investment that we are making at the facility.”
Situated just off Hwy. 2 south of Watrous, the new 6,000 tonne fertilizer facility will give producers access to global fertilizer markets while completing the crop input offering at the Parrish Siding location. Thiessen said the expansion will be a big addition to the company which will also benefit producers within the area and surrounding regions.
Working with CN Railway, as part of the expansion, Parrish & Heimbecker is looking forward to an increase in rail siding to a 150-car spot. Thiessen said having the 150-car spot would be huge for the company and will allow for added capacity. “We had been able to cater to producers within a 25 to 30 mile radius but with these expansions we can now grow that reach to a 60 to 80 mile radius.”
Justin Watson, VP Crop Inputs Canada for Parrish & Heimbecker said the massive expansion is the 14th major fertilizer investment that P&H has made in Canada since 2015. “With all of the upgrades we are doing, this move will allow us to be a total service location and will put us in a great position to cater to producers for decades to come.”
Thiessen added, “Once all of the upgrades are completed, we will have a world class facility. The company would not have done this massive expansion without the support from the community and surrounding area. We are grateful to our customers for the support we have received over the years and look forward to the future.”
Bringing full crop input solutions together in a single location, the offering from Parrish & Heimbecker will include seed, crop nutrients and crop protection.
The expansion plans for the grain facility include doubling the storage capacity, tripling the speed of grain loading and significantly increasing grain cleaning efficiency through the installation of high speed grain cleaners.
Work began on the project about two months ago and Heimbecker said the concrete foundation work is now completed for the elevator expansion with the majority of the work to commence in the spring. The fertilizer shed should be complete and operational within the next week or two and customers utilizing the services can expect a full line of crop nutrient products to be available from the new facility.
While the fertilizer facility should be ready to roll in the near future, Watson said the grain facility upgrades are expected to be completed in July of 2019. The additional 20,000 tonnes of grain storage and grain handling system upgrades will not only increase overall capacity as well as efficiency of handling and shipping, it will also enable the location to handle multiple commodities at a time.
“As a proud, Canadian family-owned and operated business, P&H is committed to investing in facilities and capabilities that support Canadian producers as they strive to grow and market the best crop,” said John Heimbecker, President Grain Division and Executive Vice President, Parrish & Heimbecker. “We continue to see a drive to reach the top of the yield curve among growers in the Watrous area and we are dedicated to providing the products and services to help these growers realize the full potential of their acres.”
With between 19 and 22 people working at the local facility near Watrous, once the expansion is complete, Lloyd Heimbecker said, “Most of the work will result in efficiency gains on the operational side of things. This will benefit our customers both locally and on the export side.”
TWM Top Story - Jan. 14, 2019
Generosity overflows towards local food bank
Daniel Bushman
With overwhelming support from those in Watrous and the surrounding area, Christmas hampers were packed and shelves stocked as the Watrous and District Food Bank received tremendous help over the holiday season. Operating with a deficit, the community and surrounding area not only stepped up in a huge way but provided the local food bank with additional food and funds for the remainder of 2018 and for the beginning of 2019.
Watrous and District Food Bank chair Darren Holland said after the need went out for items and donations, the food bank received an incredible $15,429 in donations for the month of December, a total that Holland figured was the largest ever for a month.
“We were so impressed and appreciative for all the donations from the community and surrounding area. We had businesses, people, schools, agencies and others that stepped up and helped.”
With an opportunity to garner additional funds through a matching grant, Holland said the food bank also submitted the numbers to Nutrien who has offered a matching grant in December, providing funds to food banks throughout Saskatchewan. “We anticipate receiving a portion of the matching grant as the funds from Nutrien are distributed amongst all Saskatchewan food banks on the basis of the number of individuals each food bank assists.”
This year, a total of 80 Christmas hampers were prepared in Watrous and were handed out in the community and to those in the surrounding area. The hampers also included gifts for 83 children and Holland said, “There was a tremendous amount of gifts that were brought in this year. The Bargain Shop in Watrous put in a lot of time and effort and Integra Tire did a fabulous job in getting toys to us as well. The Watrous Pharmacy provided us with donations of household items and the Watrous and District Ambulance and Watrous RCMP filled up the ambulance with food donations from Watrous Elementary School and then from people dropping items off at the Co-op Food Store as part of the Stuff the Ambulance campaign. Members of the banks in town also helped and many people stepped up and sponsored families this year which was the first time we had decided to do an initiative like that. It was very well received and appreciated and all of those donations filled the Christmas hampers and also our shelves to start 2019.”
Holland added the Nokomis School, Watrous Elementary School and Winston High School also contributed in a big way including receiving assistance from some of the elementary school students as they helped pack the Christmas hampers Dec. 15. “Local businesses also came together in support along with the dealerships and the Co-op Food Store provided us with the hams for the hampers. Along with the students, volunteers and community members also helped pack the hampers. There were so many people that lent a hand this year and we are just so appreciative of all of them.”
In addition to the volunteers and those who donated financially or with food items, Holland said the food bank board also did a tremendous job including Amanda Dezotell who coordinated the hampers.
“We are just so appreciative of the support we have received not only for the Christmas hampers but also to help us begin 2019.”
Daniel Bushman
With overwhelming support from those in Watrous and the surrounding area, Christmas hampers were packed and shelves stocked as the Watrous and District Food Bank received tremendous help over the holiday season. Operating with a deficit, the community and surrounding area not only stepped up in a huge way but provided the local food bank with additional food and funds for the remainder of 2018 and for the beginning of 2019.
Watrous and District Food Bank chair Darren Holland said after the need went out for items and donations, the food bank received an incredible $15,429 in donations for the month of December, a total that Holland figured was the largest ever for a month.
“We were so impressed and appreciative for all the donations from the community and surrounding area. We had businesses, people, schools, agencies and others that stepped up and helped.”
With an opportunity to garner additional funds through a matching grant, Holland said the food bank also submitted the numbers to Nutrien who has offered a matching grant in December, providing funds to food banks throughout Saskatchewan. “We anticipate receiving a portion of the matching grant as the funds from Nutrien are distributed amongst all Saskatchewan food banks on the basis of the number of individuals each food bank assists.”
This year, a total of 80 Christmas hampers were prepared in Watrous and were handed out in the community and to those in the surrounding area. The hampers also included gifts for 83 children and Holland said, “There was a tremendous amount of gifts that were brought in this year. The Bargain Shop in Watrous put in a lot of time and effort and Integra Tire did a fabulous job in getting toys to us as well. The Watrous Pharmacy provided us with donations of household items and the Watrous and District Ambulance and Watrous RCMP filled up the ambulance with food donations from Watrous Elementary School and then from people dropping items off at the Co-op Food Store as part of the Stuff the Ambulance campaign. Members of the banks in town also helped and many people stepped up and sponsored families this year which was the first time we had decided to do an initiative like that. It was very well received and appreciated and all of those donations filled the Christmas hampers and also our shelves to start 2019.”
Holland added the Nokomis School, Watrous Elementary School and Winston High School also contributed in a big way including receiving assistance from some of the elementary school students as they helped pack the Christmas hampers Dec. 15. “Local businesses also came together in support along with the dealerships and the Co-op Food Store provided us with the hams for the hampers. Along with the students, volunteers and community members also helped pack the hampers. There were so many people that lent a hand this year and we are just so appreciative of all of them.”
In addition to the volunteers and those who donated financially or with food items, Holland said the food bank board also did a tremendous job including Amanda Dezotell who coordinated the hampers.
“We are just so appreciative of the support we have received not only for the Christmas hampers but also to help us begin 2019.”
TWM Top Story - Jan. 7, 2019
Local Holiday Giveaway winners announced
Daniel Bushman
It was a great way to begin the holiday season for a number of people who participated in the third annual local Holiday Giveaway. Along with more than a dozen winners at participating businesses, two people had their names picked from the many thousands of entries as major prize winners. This year, the grand prize winner took home $5,000 in holiday giveaway money while the secondary prize awarded this year was a $500 travel voucher from Watrous Travel.
Selected during the Town of Watrous’ annual Christmas party at the civic centre Dec. 14, Jim Bieber’s name was picked from an estimated 30,000 entries as this year’s big winner. Along with Bieber, who resides in Colonsay, an excited Keitha Solvason collected her travel voucher from Watrous Travel’s Erin Wolff. Community Development Officer with the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group Brendan Manz was on hand as the winners were chosen and said the third ever Holiday Giveaway for Watrous was another success.
“With more than 23,000 entries in our first year, over 30,000 entries last year and about the same amount for this year, people from Watrous, Manitou Beach and the surrounding area showed their support by shopping local. We had close to 30 local businesses participate again this year and seeing all of those entries just shows you how much shopping is done in our area. This is a great opportunity to promote our local businesses. I know there is that temptation to shop outside of Watrous but we are lucky to have the services we do and it is great to see people utilizing them during the holiday season.”
Colonsay’s Jim Bieber has been shopping in Watrous for years and when he got the call that he had been drawn as this year’s $5,000 grand prize winner he was quite surprised. “I have never won too much before so it caught me off guard.”
Turning 65 a few weeks after he claimed his winnings, Bieber was thrilled to receive the early birthday present. “I appreciate the businesses in town and it was nice to win this, especially at holiday time.”
Bieber said he entered his name three times, once at the Watrous Co-op, once at the Watrous Pharmacy and once at Watrous Home Hardware. Interestingly enough, those were the same amount of entries last year’s winner Les Johnson from Young had filled out and also the same three businesses he had done so at. Going with approximately the same amount of overall entries as last year, the probability that Bieber’s name would be selected was 0.01 percent or 1 in 10,000. Now with the $5,000, Bieber is able to spend the money within Watrous and Manitou Beach at the participating businesses that were involved with the holiday campaign and has until the middle of 2019 to do so.
As for the travel voucher, Keitha was excited when her name was drawn. Recently married and planning a trip to Europe, Solvason was over the moon with her voucher. Stopping by Watrous to pick it up, she said the timing was perfect.
As the grand prize and secondary prize were handed out, participating businesses also gave away their own prizes as part of the local contest. Some of the winners from that included: Doug Ball - (Integra Tire); Ron Vogt - (Melron Services); Aaron Rowan - (Young’s Equipment); Jesse Weber - (Dunham Services); Calvin Sather - (Watrous Electronics); Darlene Martin - (Wheatland Dental Clinic); Shawn Wheten - (The Watrous Manitou); Colby Reichert - (Miz Bojangles Hair Studio); Jerry Reichert - (Cervus Equipment); Marie Ritthaler - (John’s Plate); Jay Enns - (NAPA); Joe Zimmerman - (Pip’s); Terry Sitter - (Western Financial); Helen Penner - (Model Meats); Carmen Almen - (TB’s Bar and Grill); Lorne Bradbeer - (Pepper Tree); Joanne Gingrich - (Inksters); and Al Harding - (Success RV’s).
Manz said, “Once again we really appreciated all the residents and visitors that shopped local this year. We would not be having a shop local campaign if the support was not there so we do really appreciate it!”
Daniel Bushman
It was a great way to begin the holiday season for a number of people who participated in the third annual local Holiday Giveaway. Along with more than a dozen winners at participating businesses, two people had their names picked from the many thousands of entries as major prize winners. This year, the grand prize winner took home $5,000 in holiday giveaway money while the secondary prize awarded this year was a $500 travel voucher from Watrous Travel.
Selected during the Town of Watrous’ annual Christmas party at the civic centre Dec. 14, Jim Bieber’s name was picked from an estimated 30,000 entries as this year’s big winner. Along with Bieber, who resides in Colonsay, an excited Keitha Solvason collected her travel voucher from Watrous Travel’s Erin Wolff. Community Development Officer with the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group Brendan Manz was on hand as the winners were chosen and said the third ever Holiday Giveaway for Watrous was another success.
“With more than 23,000 entries in our first year, over 30,000 entries last year and about the same amount for this year, people from Watrous, Manitou Beach and the surrounding area showed their support by shopping local. We had close to 30 local businesses participate again this year and seeing all of those entries just shows you how much shopping is done in our area. This is a great opportunity to promote our local businesses. I know there is that temptation to shop outside of Watrous but we are lucky to have the services we do and it is great to see people utilizing them during the holiday season.”
Colonsay’s Jim Bieber has been shopping in Watrous for years and when he got the call that he had been drawn as this year’s $5,000 grand prize winner he was quite surprised. “I have never won too much before so it caught me off guard.”
Turning 65 a few weeks after he claimed his winnings, Bieber was thrilled to receive the early birthday present. “I appreciate the businesses in town and it was nice to win this, especially at holiday time.”
Bieber said he entered his name three times, once at the Watrous Co-op, once at the Watrous Pharmacy and once at Watrous Home Hardware. Interestingly enough, those were the same amount of entries last year’s winner Les Johnson from Young had filled out and also the same three businesses he had done so at. Going with approximately the same amount of overall entries as last year, the probability that Bieber’s name would be selected was 0.01 percent or 1 in 10,000. Now with the $5,000, Bieber is able to spend the money within Watrous and Manitou Beach at the participating businesses that were involved with the holiday campaign and has until the middle of 2019 to do so.
As for the travel voucher, Keitha was excited when her name was drawn. Recently married and planning a trip to Europe, Solvason was over the moon with her voucher. Stopping by Watrous to pick it up, she said the timing was perfect.
As the grand prize and secondary prize were handed out, participating businesses also gave away their own prizes as part of the local contest. Some of the winners from that included: Doug Ball - (Integra Tire); Ron Vogt - (Melron Services); Aaron Rowan - (Young’s Equipment); Jesse Weber - (Dunham Services); Calvin Sather - (Watrous Electronics); Darlene Martin - (Wheatland Dental Clinic); Shawn Wheten - (The Watrous Manitou); Colby Reichert - (Miz Bojangles Hair Studio); Jerry Reichert - (Cervus Equipment); Marie Ritthaler - (John’s Plate); Jay Enns - (NAPA); Joe Zimmerman - (Pip’s); Terry Sitter - (Western Financial); Helen Penner - (Model Meats); Carmen Almen - (TB’s Bar and Grill); Lorne Bradbeer - (Pepper Tree); Joanne Gingrich - (Inksters); and Al Harding - (Success RV’s).
Manz said, “Once again we really appreciated all the residents and visitors that shopped local this year. We would not be having a shop local campaign if the support was not there so we do really appreciate it!”
TWM Top Story - Dec. 24, 2018
Watrous Citizens of the Year named
Daniel Bushman
Putting a major focus on community and through their tremendous generosity and efforts over the years, the honour of this year’s Watrous Citizens of the Year went to a most deserving Ron and Melissa Ediger. While at first the pair from Watrous were surprised to learn they had been recognized, they were also tremendously honoured to join the others that have received the prestigious award.
Presented with the Citizens of the Year award at the Town of Watrous Christmas party Friday, Dec. 14, Melissa said, “It is a humbling honour because there are so many people who have won it previously that I just feel are more deserving. It is an honour, which I really appreciate.”
In agreement, Ron said, “We try hard and we appreciate the community, the town and the support we receive and want to give back and show people the appreciation of what they have given us over the years.”
The owners of Melron Services in Watrous, the pair not only began the business from the ground up but have grown it to become well-known throughout the area. It is also because of that growth and support that they have in turn given back through substantial donations towards many initiatives within the community and beyond. Some of the many funds Ron and Melissa have provided locally have gone towards things like the Watrous District Health Complex, the new Zamboni at the Watrous Centennial Arena , the Watrous Manitou Beach Heritage Centre, the Watrous Kinsmen Bull-A-Rama and numerous clubs and organizations. In addition to their fundraising efforts, Ron and Melissa have also contributed through supplying equipment, labour and prizes towards various events and organizations.
“We are very fortunate we have such a wonderful community,” said Melissa. “We have lots of young people and families here too and we know we are going to have a good community for a lot of years. A lot of our customers have also become friends and it is really nice to have that association with your customers. You feel like you are doing a good job serving them and that is why you are in business.”
Echoing those sentiments, Ron added, “Compliments to our staff because without them we wouldn’t be doing what we are doing. They have been very good for us and we have a lot of faithful employees that do super work and also support the community at large. That is all part of the growing atmosphere and being able to give back. Community is very important and we want to keep building it up and keeping it strong.”
Arriving in Watrous in 1990, Melissa purchased the gift store in the Mall at 3rd and Main from Angie Chambers. Along with daughter Avril Reifferscheid, the pair had it together before Melissa and Ron began Melron Services. “He came home one day and thought we should buy a backhoe. I thought, what are we going to do with a backhoe? And then voila, one thing lead to another.”
Coming from Nokomis, Ron brought along his business knowledge to Watrous. After getting into the business world in 1972, in 1988 he decided to sell his place in Nokomis and moved to Watrous where he began selling vehicles with Mainline Motors. It was during that time that he made a lot of acquaintances and met numerous customers. After he left the world of selling cars and began Melron Services, “a lot of people followed us and stayed our customers. That is how it grew, just playing in the dirt.”
Recently celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary, the Edigers have become a pillar within the community and because of that, were noticed for their efforts and generosity. Melron Services employee Brandon Osmak along with the Watrous Kinsmen nominated Ron and Melissa as this year’s recipients for Watrous Citizens of the Year.
“When we got the phone call that we were chosen we couldn’t believe it,” said Ron. “I still feel we totally don’t deserve it. It is just another day in our household to do what we do and make things happen.”
Along with the support they have received from the community, both Ron and Melissa were quick to note how substantial the support has also been from their family.
“They have been on our side since day one. The boys and girls have supported us over the years and kept our wits about us over the years. And it is the friends we have had, it has really been good. We have awesome neighbours and no complaints at all.”
And how fitting that on a night where Ron and Melissa were honoured for their work within the community at the Watrous Civic Centre that just down the street and at about the same time they were receiving their award, Ron’s name was pulled as the weekly winner of the Chase the Ace draw, a fundraiser for the Watrous Manitou Beach Heritage Centre.
“That was quite something,” he smiled after finding out he had won $412. “Our journey and our time in Watrous has been super. If we were to begin and start all over, we would probably do it all over again.”
Daniel Bushman
Putting a major focus on community and through their tremendous generosity and efforts over the years, the honour of this year’s Watrous Citizens of the Year went to a most deserving Ron and Melissa Ediger. While at first the pair from Watrous were surprised to learn they had been recognized, they were also tremendously honoured to join the others that have received the prestigious award.
Presented with the Citizens of the Year award at the Town of Watrous Christmas party Friday, Dec. 14, Melissa said, “It is a humbling honour because there are so many people who have won it previously that I just feel are more deserving. It is an honour, which I really appreciate.”
In agreement, Ron said, “We try hard and we appreciate the community, the town and the support we receive and want to give back and show people the appreciation of what they have given us over the years.”
The owners of Melron Services in Watrous, the pair not only began the business from the ground up but have grown it to become well-known throughout the area. It is also because of that growth and support that they have in turn given back through substantial donations towards many initiatives within the community and beyond. Some of the many funds Ron and Melissa have provided locally have gone towards things like the Watrous District Health Complex, the new Zamboni at the Watrous Centennial Arena , the Watrous Manitou Beach Heritage Centre, the Watrous Kinsmen Bull-A-Rama and numerous clubs and organizations. In addition to their fundraising efforts, Ron and Melissa have also contributed through supplying equipment, labour and prizes towards various events and organizations.
“We are very fortunate we have such a wonderful community,” said Melissa. “We have lots of young people and families here too and we know we are going to have a good community for a lot of years. A lot of our customers have also become friends and it is really nice to have that association with your customers. You feel like you are doing a good job serving them and that is why you are in business.”
Echoing those sentiments, Ron added, “Compliments to our staff because without them we wouldn’t be doing what we are doing. They have been very good for us and we have a lot of faithful employees that do super work and also support the community at large. That is all part of the growing atmosphere and being able to give back. Community is very important and we want to keep building it up and keeping it strong.”
Arriving in Watrous in 1990, Melissa purchased the gift store in the Mall at 3rd and Main from Angie Chambers. Along with daughter Avril Reifferscheid, the pair had it together before Melissa and Ron began Melron Services. “He came home one day and thought we should buy a backhoe. I thought, what are we going to do with a backhoe? And then voila, one thing lead to another.”
Coming from Nokomis, Ron brought along his business knowledge to Watrous. After getting into the business world in 1972, in 1988 he decided to sell his place in Nokomis and moved to Watrous where he began selling vehicles with Mainline Motors. It was during that time that he made a lot of acquaintances and met numerous customers. After he left the world of selling cars and began Melron Services, “a lot of people followed us and stayed our customers. That is how it grew, just playing in the dirt.”
Recently celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary, the Edigers have become a pillar within the community and because of that, were noticed for their efforts and generosity. Melron Services employee Brandon Osmak along with the Watrous Kinsmen nominated Ron and Melissa as this year’s recipients for Watrous Citizens of the Year.
“When we got the phone call that we were chosen we couldn’t believe it,” said Ron. “I still feel we totally don’t deserve it. It is just another day in our household to do what we do and make things happen.”
Along with the support they have received from the community, both Ron and Melissa were quick to note how substantial the support has also been from their family.
“They have been on our side since day one. The boys and girls have supported us over the years and kept our wits about us over the years. And it is the friends we have had, it has really been good. We have awesome neighbours and no complaints at all.”
And how fitting that on a night where Ron and Melissa were honoured for their work within the community at the Watrous Civic Centre that just down the street and at about the same time they were receiving their award, Ron’s name was pulled as the weekly winner of the Chase the Ace draw, a fundraiser for the Watrous Manitou Beach Heritage Centre.
“That was quite something,” he smiled after finding out he had won $412. “Our journey and our time in Watrous has been super. If we were to begin and start all over, we would probably do it all over again.”
TWM Top Story - Dec. 17, 2018
Watrous District Health Complex receives digital X-ray upgrades
Daniel Bushman
In a move aimed at supporting quicker diagnosis and improved care for patients, thanks to a joint effort between the Watrous Community Health Foundation and the provincial government, the Watrous District Health Complex has received significant digital X-ray upgrades.
Part of five rural community hospitals that are receiving the new equipment and moving from film to digital X-ray images, Watrous joins Lanigan, Rosthern, Wadena and Wynyard to receive the upgrades. While the Saskatchewan Health Authority is in the process of digitalizing the equipment in all five communities, both Watrous and Lanigan officially cut the ribbon on their new technology at a pair of ceremonies Dec. 7.
In order to receive the digital X-ray upgrades, local health foundations were responsible for covering approximately half the cost for the new technology ($100,000) while the provincial government was responsible for the remaining half which totalled $500,000 or $100,000 per site.
Looking after the local portion, Watrous Community Health Foundation Chair Murray Westby said there was no hesitation from the foundation to lend a hand when they were informed of the project. “We were very supportive and indicated that we would be there with the $100,000 as soon as they received the go ahead. One of the criticisms we have had in Watrous is that our X-ray equipment was not up to where it should be and people were having to go to Saskatoon and having to get their X-rays done again after having them in Watrous. In terms of service to our clients and the costs associated with running back and forth to the city all the time, we felt it was important to do this.”
With a local commitment of $100,000, Westby said it was an easy decision to back the project for the local foundation, which has representation from Watrous, Manitou Beach, Young, Simpson and Zelma and the Rural Municipalities of Wood Creek, Morris, Wreford, Usborne and Viscount.
“As soon as we heard what the conditions were, we immediately said we were behind it.”
This is not the first time the foundation has been able to help in a big way. Over the years Westby said the local foundation has been able to support a number of initiatives including providing substantial funding towards the construction of Manitou Lodge, operating the medical clinic before it relocated to the Watrous District Health Complex, helping purchase equipment and items of need and then most recently, helping to bring digital X-ray upgrades to Watrous.
“It is all tied into the service we offer for the community. Over those years we have spent several hundreds of thousand of dollars in addition to operating the medical clinic and putting funds towards the construction of Manitou Lodge. We feel we perform a valuable function in the community and when we can do something like this, it is just an excellent opportunity.”
On hand at the Dec. 7 announcement in Watrous, Manager of Medical Imaging at Saskatoon City Hospital and SHA Manager - Diagnostics Richard Dagenais explained the importance of moving from film to digital X-rays.
“Prior to this being implemented, all of these sites had film and some people will remember when you had a camera you took pictures, brought them somewhere and waited a day for the film to be developed. It was sort of like that. Film was acquired and an individual piece of film might take two or three minutes to develop but if you needed three or four different pictures taken, you might wait 15 or 20 minutes for all those pictures to be available. So you were kind of stuck waiting for the film to be processed before you could go back to where you needed to be for the next stage of your treatment. You had that one copy of that piece of film and it went back to the emergency department and then the only person that could look at it was the emergency doctor or it went to your family physician. On a daily basis, the x-ray staff would get all that film back and put it in a bundle and send them to the city to be read by a radiologist. Once they are gone, if a physician in the emergency department wanted to look at it, they can’t anymore. It would take anywhere between 24 and 72 hours before that film would come back with the radiology result.”
Now with the digital X-ray upgrades Dagenais said three or four pictures might take six or seven minutes before they are ready as opposed to 15. The images are then stored on a centralized computer system and are available immediately to any clinician across the province. The radiologist can also look at the images right away and get a result back anywhere between a half an hour to two hours. Other physicians can also look at the images at the same time instead of waiting to view the film image.
In addition to cutting down on wait times and increasing accessibility, another huge difference Dagenais pointed out is the film processing itself which used a lot of chemistry and needed to be maintained. “There was a whole quality component of having to manage that and managing the temperature of the chemistry.”
Switching from film to digital, Dagenais said for the patients, it now provides faster care, better care, better access to care and for patients who do go into the city, typically it means they will not have to have their X-rays repeated. Understanding the importance of having that new technology in place in communities like Watrous, Dagenais also stressed his gratitude to the local health foundation who came to the table to raise the money for the digital X-ray equipment.
“This project started a little bit over four years ago when we really started seriously looking at doing this, looking at where we would get the money to do it, what would be involved and it takes a lot of time and the foundation’s support was critical.”
While unable to attend the announcement and with fellow MLA Todd Goudy bringing greetings on behalf of the provincial government, Rural and Remote Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit said, “Our government is committed to improving access to high-quality medical imaging across Saskatchewan. Digital images save time for physicians and patients, and result in patients receiving their X-ray results quicker than ever before. Strong community support helps our health system meet the need for specialized services across Saskatchewan. Our government thanks the local communities and their respective health foundations, whose generosity is helping make these digital X-ray upgrades a reality.”
Daniel Bushman
In a move aimed at supporting quicker diagnosis and improved care for patients, thanks to a joint effort between the Watrous Community Health Foundation and the provincial government, the Watrous District Health Complex has received significant digital X-ray upgrades.
Part of five rural community hospitals that are receiving the new equipment and moving from film to digital X-ray images, Watrous joins Lanigan, Rosthern, Wadena and Wynyard to receive the upgrades. While the Saskatchewan Health Authority is in the process of digitalizing the equipment in all five communities, both Watrous and Lanigan officially cut the ribbon on their new technology at a pair of ceremonies Dec. 7.
In order to receive the digital X-ray upgrades, local health foundations were responsible for covering approximately half the cost for the new technology ($100,000) while the provincial government was responsible for the remaining half which totalled $500,000 or $100,000 per site.
Looking after the local portion, Watrous Community Health Foundation Chair Murray Westby said there was no hesitation from the foundation to lend a hand when they were informed of the project. “We were very supportive and indicated that we would be there with the $100,000 as soon as they received the go ahead. One of the criticisms we have had in Watrous is that our X-ray equipment was not up to where it should be and people were having to go to Saskatoon and having to get their X-rays done again after having them in Watrous. In terms of service to our clients and the costs associated with running back and forth to the city all the time, we felt it was important to do this.”
With a local commitment of $100,000, Westby said it was an easy decision to back the project for the local foundation, which has representation from Watrous, Manitou Beach, Young, Simpson and Zelma and the Rural Municipalities of Wood Creek, Morris, Wreford, Usborne and Viscount.
“As soon as we heard what the conditions were, we immediately said we were behind it.”
This is not the first time the foundation has been able to help in a big way. Over the years Westby said the local foundation has been able to support a number of initiatives including providing substantial funding towards the construction of Manitou Lodge, operating the medical clinic before it relocated to the Watrous District Health Complex, helping purchase equipment and items of need and then most recently, helping to bring digital X-ray upgrades to Watrous.
“It is all tied into the service we offer for the community. Over those years we have spent several hundreds of thousand of dollars in addition to operating the medical clinic and putting funds towards the construction of Manitou Lodge. We feel we perform a valuable function in the community and when we can do something like this, it is just an excellent opportunity.”
On hand at the Dec. 7 announcement in Watrous, Manager of Medical Imaging at Saskatoon City Hospital and SHA Manager - Diagnostics Richard Dagenais explained the importance of moving from film to digital X-rays.
“Prior to this being implemented, all of these sites had film and some people will remember when you had a camera you took pictures, brought them somewhere and waited a day for the film to be developed. It was sort of like that. Film was acquired and an individual piece of film might take two or three minutes to develop but if you needed three or four different pictures taken, you might wait 15 or 20 minutes for all those pictures to be available. So you were kind of stuck waiting for the film to be processed before you could go back to where you needed to be for the next stage of your treatment. You had that one copy of that piece of film and it went back to the emergency department and then the only person that could look at it was the emergency doctor or it went to your family physician. On a daily basis, the x-ray staff would get all that film back and put it in a bundle and send them to the city to be read by a radiologist. Once they are gone, if a physician in the emergency department wanted to look at it, they can’t anymore. It would take anywhere between 24 and 72 hours before that film would come back with the radiology result.”
Now with the digital X-ray upgrades Dagenais said three or four pictures might take six or seven minutes before they are ready as opposed to 15. The images are then stored on a centralized computer system and are available immediately to any clinician across the province. The radiologist can also look at the images right away and get a result back anywhere between a half an hour to two hours. Other physicians can also look at the images at the same time instead of waiting to view the film image.
In addition to cutting down on wait times and increasing accessibility, another huge difference Dagenais pointed out is the film processing itself which used a lot of chemistry and needed to be maintained. “There was a whole quality component of having to manage that and managing the temperature of the chemistry.”
Switching from film to digital, Dagenais said for the patients, it now provides faster care, better care, better access to care and for patients who do go into the city, typically it means they will not have to have their X-rays repeated. Understanding the importance of having that new technology in place in communities like Watrous, Dagenais also stressed his gratitude to the local health foundation who came to the table to raise the money for the digital X-ray equipment.
“This project started a little bit over four years ago when we really started seriously looking at doing this, looking at where we would get the money to do it, what would be involved and it takes a lot of time and the foundation’s support was critical.”
While unable to attend the announcement and with fellow MLA Todd Goudy bringing greetings on behalf of the provincial government, Rural and Remote Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit said, “Our government is committed to improving access to high-quality medical imaging across Saskatchewan. Digital images save time for physicians and patients, and result in patients receiving their X-ray results quicker than ever before. Strong community support helps our health system meet the need for specialized services across Saskatchewan. Our government thanks the local communities and their respective health foundations, whose generosity is helping make these digital X-ray upgrades a reality.”
TWM Top Story - Dec. 10, 2018
Weather conditions cause widespread outages
Daniel Bushman
While the scenery looked picturesque, the hoarfrost, fog and mist that descended upon the province over the past couple of weeks created massive outages throughout Saskatchewan. At its height, SaskPower said between 175,000 and 200,000 customers in the province were without power Dec. 4, the largest outage dating back to 1981. That overall total was much higher when you combine the remaining widespread outages from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 and then those from Dec. 5.
The first of the substantial outages occurred Nov. 30 and went into the weekend before a massive outage struck Dec. 4. Over 25,000 calls were placed to the SaskPower outage centre between Friday night (Nov. 30) and Monday morning (Dec. 3), and another 33,000 calls during just the morning Dec. 4. SaskPower’s Jordan Jackal said the dense fog and mist that built up on trees and power infrastructure was to blame for the majority of the outages.
“There has been a build up of frost on most of our, if not all of our power infrastructure, power lines, and power poles for much of south and central Saskatchewan.”
Creating substantial weight from the build up, the power lines began to sag from the hoarfrost and in some cases broke or snapped off where they were connected on power poles. Trees sagging or branches breaking from the hoarfrost also caused lines to trip and because of those issues, outages began occurring one after another.
“We had crews cycling in and out night and day through the weekend and a few contractors that called in as well helped out with some of that. It was pretty widespread in many areas in southern and central Saskatchewan and in smaller pockets in general. Aside from a few transmission issues, it was the smaller pockets in general, more than you might see during a big summer storm. Those pockets were really frequent and there were a lot of small power outages throughout that area.”
Locally, outages were reported during different times throughout the weekend and last week as well. Over the Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 weekend, outages spanned over a large area to include communities like Lanigan, Jansen, Drake, LeRoy, Nokomis, Holdfast, Liberty, Imperial, Simpson, Watrous, Manitou Beach, Young and Viscount. The outages also occurred outside of that region including in the larger cities. Some of those outages lasted for a few hours while others went on for up to 11 hours or more as crews feverishly worked to fix them.
“We know that there were numerous outages over the course of the weekend and we know in some cases, people went fairly lengthy periods without power. We just really thank people for their patience,” said Jackal. “Our crews were out there working long hours and we were managing them to make sure they were working safely and not over fatigued or anything to that effect. We are out there doing this as quickly but also as safely as possible. So we do really thank people for their patience.”
Not only were the outages present throughout the weekend but they lasted into last week as well. On Tuesday, widespread outages were reported leaving a couple of hundred thousand people in the dark. While places like Watrous and Manitou Beach had power, communities and rural residents north and east of those places did not. SaskPower said because of the significant issues from the frost, power units at Boundary Dam, Shand and Poplar River Power Stations tripped off during the morning and SaskPower lost generation. SaskPower was working as quickly and safely as possible to bring those units back on line and power was restored to some areas by early Tuesday afternoon.
Most residential customers across the province had power by the evening and by 10 p.m., power was restored to all areas of southeastern Saskatchewan, including Carnduff and Oxbow. SaskPower said there may have been a small number of customers in rural areas who were still experiencing outages as the night continued.
As hundreds of people across the province were working to restore the power Tuesday, SaskPower said they had taken over 33,000 calls in the outage centre that morning, equal to all the calls taken in November.
With the ice and frost situation not improving, the system remained in a delicate position and Wednesday more local outages occurred. SaskPower said crews were working hard to repair damage caused by substation issues and power was out in Cudworth, Wakaw, Aberdeen, Viscount, Bruno, Meacham, Alvena, Vonda, Colonsay, Lanigan, Jansen, Drake and Lockwood. In addition to the local area power outages, Moose Jaw also found itself without power as Wednesday morning continued.
During the outages, some people were using generators and SaskPower encouraged those to have installed transfer switches. “Without a transfer switch, your generator will feed power back into the lines, creating a serious hazard for our personnel working to restore power. Never operate a generator in a house, garage or enclosed building. Doing so will put you and your family at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.”
With all of the outages locally and provincially, Jackal stressed if people see a downed lined, a damaged power pole or damaged equipment to stay at least 10 metres away if not further. “Always assume there is power flowing through it. Sometimes it might be a downed line but there is always a possibility that there is power going through it. Generally the power will trip off but it doesn’t always. Make sure to give our outage centre a call at 310-2220. If it is busy and you can’t get through and it is an obvious public safety issue, call 9-1-1.”
Daniel Bushman
While the scenery looked picturesque, the hoarfrost, fog and mist that descended upon the province over the past couple of weeks created massive outages throughout Saskatchewan. At its height, SaskPower said between 175,000 and 200,000 customers in the province were without power Dec. 4, the largest outage dating back to 1981. That overall total was much higher when you combine the remaining widespread outages from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 and then those from Dec. 5.
The first of the substantial outages occurred Nov. 30 and went into the weekend before a massive outage struck Dec. 4. Over 25,000 calls were placed to the SaskPower outage centre between Friday night (Nov. 30) and Monday morning (Dec. 3), and another 33,000 calls during just the morning Dec. 4. SaskPower’s Jordan Jackal said the dense fog and mist that built up on trees and power infrastructure was to blame for the majority of the outages.
“There has been a build up of frost on most of our, if not all of our power infrastructure, power lines, and power poles for much of south and central Saskatchewan.”
Creating substantial weight from the build up, the power lines began to sag from the hoarfrost and in some cases broke or snapped off where they were connected on power poles. Trees sagging or branches breaking from the hoarfrost also caused lines to trip and because of those issues, outages began occurring one after another.
“We had crews cycling in and out night and day through the weekend and a few contractors that called in as well helped out with some of that. It was pretty widespread in many areas in southern and central Saskatchewan and in smaller pockets in general. Aside from a few transmission issues, it was the smaller pockets in general, more than you might see during a big summer storm. Those pockets were really frequent and there were a lot of small power outages throughout that area.”
Locally, outages were reported during different times throughout the weekend and last week as well. Over the Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 weekend, outages spanned over a large area to include communities like Lanigan, Jansen, Drake, LeRoy, Nokomis, Holdfast, Liberty, Imperial, Simpson, Watrous, Manitou Beach, Young and Viscount. The outages also occurred outside of that region including in the larger cities. Some of those outages lasted for a few hours while others went on for up to 11 hours or more as crews feverishly worked to fix them.
“We know that there were numerous outages over the course of the weekend and we know in some cases, people went fairly lengthy periods without power. We just really thank people for their patience,” said Jackal. “Our crews were out there working long hours and we were managing them to make sure they were working safely and not over fatigued or anything to that effect. We are out there doing this as quickly but also as safely as possible. So we do really thank people for their patience.”
Not only were the outages present throughout the weekend but they lasted into last week as well. On Tuesday, widespread outages were reported leaving a couple of hundred thousand people in the dark. While places like Watrous and Manitou Beach had power, communities and rural residents north and east of those places did not. SaskPower said because of the significant issues from the frost, power units at Boundary Dam, Shand and Poplar River Power Stations tripped off during the morning and SaskPower lost generation. SaskPower was working as quickly and safely as possible to bring those units back on line and power was restored to some areas by early Tuesday afternoon.
Most residential customers across the province had power by the evening and by 10 p.m., power was restored to all areas of southeastern Saskatchewan, including Carnduff and Oxbow. SaskPower said there may have been a small number of customers in rural areas who were still experiencing outages as the night continued.
As hundreds of people across the province were working to restore the power Tuesday, SaskPower said they had taken over 33,000 calls in the outage centre that morning, equal to all the calls taken in November.
With the ice and frost situation not improving, the system remained in a delicate position and Wednesday more local outages occurred. SaskPower said crews were working hard to repair damage caused by substation issues and power was out in Cudworth, Wakaw, Aberdeen, Viscount, Bruno, Meacham, Alvena, Vonda, Colonsay, Lanigan, Jansen, Drake and Lockwood. In addition to the local area power outages, Moose Jaw also found itself without power as Wednesday morning continued.
During the outages, some people were using generators and SaskPower encouraged those to have installed transfer switches. “Without a transfer switch, your generator will feed power back into the lines, creating a serious hazard for our personnel working to restore power. Never operate a generator in a house, garage or enclosed building. Doing so will put you and your family at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.”
With all of the outages locally and provincially, Jackal stressed if people see a downed lined, a damaged power pole or damaged equipment to stay at least 10 metres away if not further. “Always assume there is power flowing through it. Sometimes it might be a downed line but there is always a possibility that there is power going through it. Generally the power will trip off but it doesn’t always. Make sure to give our outage centre a call at 310-2220. If it is busy and you can’t get through and it is an obvious public safety issue, call 9-1-1.”
TWM Top Story - Dec. 3, 2018
Jubilee Drive-In not being relocated as bylaw amendments submitted
Daniel Bushman
Hoping to address misinformation that had been circulating about the future of the community owned Jubilee Drive-In and clarifying amendments to a pair of bylaws, Manitou Beach council held a public hearing Nov. 26 before its regular council meeting. The hearing involved amendments to bylaw number 2/2014, the Official Community Plan and also bylaw number 3/2014, the Zoning Bylaw.
Speaking to residents of Manitou Beach that were in attendance for the meeting, mayor Gerald Worobec said, “I would like to clarify some misinformation that has been floating around. First, the village is not closing the drive-in. Second, the village is not currently developing the east area of the drive-in. Third, the village is not selling land for $1. And fourth, the village is not selling park model sites for $35,000.”
The amendments to the bylaws, if approved, would essentially see the large parcel of land, part of which the drive-in property sits on, split up into three sections for potential future development. Worobec said the amended bylaws would specifically allow under discretionary use in the Highway Commercial District and the Community Service District for consideration of a park model and RV seasonal camping development. The amendments that council proposed were also to correct two errors in the Park Model Residential District: ‘Uses Accessory to Discretionary Uses’ was listed twice in the Zoning Bylaw and the ‘Side Set back Requirements’ will be corrected from 10 metres to three metres.
The proposed amendments, if approved, would then allow Manitou Beach to entertain a park model/RV development which could then go on the subdivided property. Worobec said that would create revenue from the potential sale of the property and long-term taxation revenue. “This helps recoup a portion of the cost of the purchase of the drive-in property and is the fiscally responsible thing for council to do. Multiple developments are permitted already in the Highway Commercial District such as: indoor or outdoor amusement establishments; auto body repair and paint shops; and building materials sales and storage.”
By splitting up the parcel of land into three sections, Worobec said that will also allow the drive-in to remain where it is. “Council has no intention of closing the drive-in. Initially there was a proposal that was presented to us that included the drive-in property but then upon further investigation and looking into what it would cost to move the screen, the effects of moving it for the business and the building on the current property would have to be knocked down; financially it would not be worth it. We then looked into other ideas and as the talk around the council table continued we thought about breaking that parcel up into three pieces. So there is the drive-in property where the screen and the building sits on, the next parcel is the piece of property to the east of that and the third is where the horseshoe pits and ball diamonds are located.”
After putting in substantial fundraising efforts and a lot of work to find a projector for the drive-in, Worobec said they were not just going to close it because of a possible development. “We also just put the Twister combine there as well and we wouldn’t have gone through that process if we had plans to shut down the drive-in. Council feels that by keeping the drive-in operational under a private operator, it garners revenue for the Village and will continue to attract visitors to Watrous and Manitou Beach, benefiting local businesses. That is why we made these other areas available for people who wanted to do development. There is a desire for roughly 70 to 100 sites so those two parcels of property east of the drive-in would satisfy that need. It would be a very long time before we would even look at developing the drive-in property because there is just not that need right now to use that parcel. We also thought it would cost less to manually move the horseshoe pits as opposed to the drive-in screen and building. That land east of the drive-in is just sitting there costing the village money and with water and sewer infrastructure that goes right by it we thought we would try and generate some revenue.”
In its very early stages and still needing to go through quite a few steps before a developer could even go forward, Worobec said if the amended bylaws are approved and a developer is awarded the green light, the resort community would offer up the middle parcel first. “Community planning would have to accept our amendment to the zoning bylaw. Where the misconception lies is until we get this zoning changed or make it allowable for campers and park models, we can’t even entertain or consider any proposals.”
As of now, the mayor said they currently have one proposal submitted for development should it reach that far. “No one else has come forward saying they want to put a hotel, convention centre or dealership there. This is what we have received and we are trying to accommodate them and weigh the options and see if that is the best option for that area.”
Should the amended bylaws be approved and serious interest received from developers, then Worobec said going forward the process would still include a public notice and a public hearing held prior to offering any municipal land for sale. Then if there is any development proposals/purchase agreements and they fall under discretionary use for that district then public notice will be given and a public hearing held.
“Discretionary use means that if a developer purchased the property and wanted to develop anything listed under ‘discretionary use’ the process is as follows: all properties within a minimum 75 metre radius would be notified of the proposal by mail; public notices would be posted and put in the local paper as directed by provincial legislation; submissions could then be received for the public hearing that is associated with the proposal; and council can either approve the proposal, approve with conditions or deny the proposal altogether. As we continue along with this process, there has to be transparency and that is what we intend on doing. We are just trying to put the community’s best interest at the forefront.”
Daniel Bushman
Hoping to address misinformation that had been circulating about the future of the community owned Jubilee Drive-In and clarifying amendments to a pair of bylaws, Manitou Beach council held a public hearing Nov. 26 before its regular council meeting. The hearing involved amendments to bylaw number 2/2014, the Official Community Plan and also bylaw number 3/2014, the Zoning Bylaw.
Speaking to residents of Manitou Beach that were in attendance for the meeting, mayor Gerald Worobec said, “I would like to clarify some misinformation that has been floating around. First, the village is not closing the drive-in. Second, the village is not currently developing the east area of the drive-in. Third, the village is not selling land for $1. And fourth, the village is not selling park model sites for $35,000.”
The amendments to the bylaws, if approved, would essentially see the large parcel of land, part of which the drive-in property sits on, split up into three sections for potential future development. Worobec said the amended bylaws would specifically allow under discretionary use in the Highway Commercial District and the Community Service District for consideration of a park model and RV seasonal camping development. The amendments that council proposed were also to correct two errors in the Park Model Residential District: ‘Uses Accessory to Discretionary Uses’ was listed twice in the Zoning Bylaw and the ‘Side Set back Requirements’ will be corrected from 10 metres to three metres.
The proposed amendments, if approved, would then allow Manitou Beach to entertain a park model/RV development which could then go on the subdivided property. Worobec said that would create revenue from the potential sale of the property and long-term taxation revenue. “This helps recoup a portion of the cost of the purchase of the drive-in property and is the fiscally responsible thing for council to do. Multiple developments are permitted already in the Highway Commercial District such as: indoor or outdoor amusement establishments; auto body repair and paint shops; and building materials sales and storage.”
By splitting up the parcel of land into three sections, Worobec said that will also allow the drive-in to remain where it is. “Council has no intention of closing the drive-in. Initially there was a proposal that was presented to us that included the drive-in property but then upon further investigation and looking into what it would cost to move the screen, the effects of moving it for the business and the building on the current property would have to be knocked down; financially it would not be worth it. We then looked into other ideas and as the talk around the council table continued we thought about breaking that parcel up into three pieces. So there is the drive-in property where the screen and the building sits on, the next parcel is the piece of property to the east of that and the third is where the horseshoe pits and ball diamonds are located.”
After putting in substantial fundraising efforts and a lot of work to find a projector for the drive-in, Worobec said they were not just going to close it because of a possible development. “We also just put the Twister combine there as well and we wouldn’t have gone through that process if we had plans to shut down the drive-in. Council feels that by keeping the drive-in operational under a private operator, it garners revenue for the Village and will continue to attract visitors to Watrous and Manitou Beach, benefiting local businesses. That is why we made these other areas available for people who wanted to do development. There is a desire for roughly 70 to 100 sites so those two parcels of property east of the drive-in would satisfy that need. It would be a very long time before we would even look at developing the drive-in property because there is just not that need right now to use that parcel. We also thought it would cost less to manually move the horseshoe pits as opposed to the drive-in screen and building. That land east of the drive-in is just sitting there costing the village money and with water and sewer infrastructure that goes right by it we thought we would try and generate some revenue.”
In its very early stages and still needing to go through quite a few steps before a developer could even go forward, Worobec said if the amended bylaws are approved and a developer is awarded the green light, the resort community would offer up the middle parcel first. “Community planning would have to accept our amendment to the zoning bylaw. Where the misconception lies is until we get this zoning changed or make it allowable for campers and park models, we can’t even entertain or consider any proposals.”
As of now, the mayor said they currently have one proposal submitted for development should it reach that far. “No one else has come forward saying they want to put a hotel, convention centre or dealership there. This is what we have received and we are trying to accommodate them and weigh the options and see if that is the best option for that area.”
Should the amended bylaws be approved and serious interest received from developers, then Worobec said going forward the process would still include a public notice and a public hearing held prior to offering any municipal land for sale. Then if there is any development proposals/purchase agreements and they fall under discretionary use for that district then public notice will be given and a public hearing held.
“Discretionary use means that if a developer purchased the property and wanted to develop anything listed under ‘discretionary use’ the process is as follows: all properties within a minimum 75 metre radius would be notified of the proposal by mail; public notices would be posted and put in the local paper as directed by provincial legislation; submissions could then be received for the public hearing that is associated with the proposal; and council can either approve the proposal, approve with conditions or deny the proposal altogether. As we continue along with this process, there has to be transparency and that is what we intend on doing. We are just trying to put the community’s best interest at the forefront.”
TWM Top Story - Nov. 26, 2018
Food bank seeking support as holiday season arrives
Daniel Bushman
Despite expenses outweighing income for 2018, the Watrous and District Food Bank is gearing up for its annual Christmas hampers which will be distributed next month. While the food bank has been tremendously appreciative of the generosity over the years from local and area residents and businesses, at its annual meeting Oct. 29, an overall deficit was reported.
Chair of the Watrous and District Food Bank Darren Holland said in the 2018 financial report, the non-profit organization had received $16,593.64 of income while expenditures tallied $21,491.25.
“Unfortunately we are in a deficit for this year of almost $5,000 and although the majority of our expense numbers were similar to 2017, we did experience some added costs this year.”
Breaking down the numbers from the financial report, expenses tallied $21,491.25 with $17,093.16 of that for groceries; rent was $1,200; membership/registration fees were $315; advertising $185.07; insurance $610.56; Christmas hampers $517.06; bank fees $4; utilities $1,030.56; and building supplies $535.84.
On the income side, the food bank tallied $16,593.64 with personal donations accumulating $4,229.05; Food Banks of Sask. provided $1,412.28; local businesses provided $2,127.06; local churches provided $475; the Rotary, Legion and social clubs provided $4,886.66; corporate donations tallied $3,432.50; and interest was $31.09.
Comparatively in 2017, expenses were $19,803.26 with groceries costing $17,166.76 followed by rent ($1,200), administrative ($189.53), membership/registration fees ($315), advertising ($356.97), and insurance ($575). Income for 2017 was $23,507.11 with personal donations reaching $12,879 followed by Food Banks of Sask. ($1,209.66), Food Banks of Canada ($30.36), local businesses ($3,021.27), corporate donations ($3,700), Rotary, Legion and social clubs ($1,645.01), local churches and groups ($435.15), and interest ($42.92).
“We are about $7,000 below last year’s income numbers this year but if people would like to donate towards the food bank either financially or through food donations, they are more than welcome to and it would be tremendously appreciated.”
With a wider reach, serving clients in the Watrous, Manitou Beach, Young, Simpson, Imperial, Nokomis, Viscount and Liberty areas, Holland said the food bank distributes about 62 hampers per month, or 31 every second and fourth Wednesday of the month. A total of 18 volunteers purchase groceries, prepare and distribute hampers, stock shelves and lend a hand where needed. Holland said the food bank greatly appreciates their help including assistance from Interlake who comes on a regular basis to pack dry hampers at the food bank’s back alley location at 107 3rd Ave. E.
In addition to its regular hampers, for the annual Christmas hampers, last year the food bank distributed 72 for those who applied. “About half of those homes that applied last year included children.”
Now with the holiday season approaching, the food bank is once again gearing up for those annual Christmas hampers. Distributed Dec. 15, anyone in need of receiving a hamper can let the food bank know by Dec. 7. Holland added if people know of someone who would like a hamper they can also get in touch with the food bank to make arrangements.
The annual Christmas hampers are comprised of more food items and toys for children than a normal hamper which is distributed throughout the year and Holland said people wanting to help financially with those can do so either by mailing funds to Box 794 in Watrous or they can contact the food bank as well. Other initiatives are also being planned this year for residents and businesses looking to help including the Watrous Emergency Services Stuff the Ambulance which will take place Dec. 4. In conjunction with the Co-op Food Store in Watrous, members of the Watrous Emergency Services will be collecting donations in the Co-op food store parking lot during the early part of the evening. The goal is to stuff the ambulance as many times as possible with food donations which will be used to help fill Christmas hampers.
“Over the years, we have had great community support and continual efforts made by many businesses through food, toy and monetary donations and we know that will continue again this year. Along with the Stuff the Ambulance initiative, the local Co-op food store will be donating hams while Integra Tire in Watrous will be holding its annual Toy Drive again. People can purchase toys and drop them off at Integra Tire for the food bank and they will be collected and placed into Christmas hampers.”
New this year, Holland said people will have the opportunity to sponsor a family and purchase an entire Christmas hamper for $135. “People can either individually sponsor a hamper, join other families and split the cost or get together with fellow employees or as an organization and buy a family Christmas hamper.”
Packed inside the hampers, recipients will get either a turkey or ham, one dozen buns, a jug of milk, one dozen eggs, five pounds of Christmas oranges, 10 pounds of potatoes, carrots and onions, stuffing, Kraft Dinner, pasta or rice, Sidekicks or potato, a box of crackers, a breakfast item, cans of soup, canned meats, meals in a can, canned fruit and vegetables, pasta sauce, juice, cranberries, a cake mix, one tub of margarine, peanut butter and a box of chocolates. For hampers distributed to families with children, toys will be included in those as well.
As the community comes together to help out with the Christmas hampers once again, Holland said it has become an opportunity to spread some holiday cheer.
“It has made the Christmas season very meaningful to some who have been a part of helping out in some way and it is also meaningful for those who receive the hampers as well.”
For more information on this year’s Christmas hampers, people can see the ad in this week’s paper.
Daniel Bushman
Despite expenses outweighing income for 2018, the Watrous and District Food Bank is gearing up for its annual Christmas hampers which will be distributed next month. While the food bank has been tremendously appreciative of the generosity over the years from local and area residents and businesses, at its annual meeting Oct. 29, an overall deficit was reported.
Chair of the Watrous and District Food Bank Darren Holland said in the 2018 financial report, the non-profit organization had received $16,593.64 of income while expenditures tallied $21,491.25.
“Unfortunately we are in a deficit for this year of almost $5,000 and although the majority of our expense numbers were similar to 2017, we did experience some added costs this year.”
Breaking down the numbers from the financial report, expenses tallied $21,491.25 with $17,093.16 of that for groceries; rent was $1,200; membership/registration fees were $315; advertising $185.07; insurance $610.56; Christmas hampers $517.06; bank fees $4; utilities $1,030.56; and building supplies $535.84.
On the income side, the food bank tallied $16,593.64 with personal donations accumulating $4,229.05; Food Banks of Sask. provided $1,412.28; local businesses provided $2,127.06; local churches provided $475; the Rotary, Legion and social clubs provided $4,886.66; corporate donations tallied $3,432.50; and interest was $31.09.
Comparatively in 2017, expenses were $19,803.26 with groceries costing $17,166.76 followed by rent ($1,200), administrative ($189.53), membership/registration fees ($315), advertising ($356.97), and insurance ($575). Income for 2017 was $23,507.11 with personal donations reaching $12,879 followed by Food Banks of Sask. ($1,209.66), Food Banks of Canada ($30.36), local businesses ($3,021.27), corporate donations ($3,700), Rotary, Legion and social clubs ($1,645.01), local churches and groups ($435.15), and interest ($42.92).
“We are about $7,000 below last year’s income numbers this year but if people would like to donate towards the food bank either financially or through food donations, they are more than welcome to and it would be tremendously appreciated.”
With a wider reach, serving clients in the Watrous, Manitou Beach, Young, Simpson, Imperial, Nokomis, Viscount and Liberty areas, Holland said the food bank distributes about 62 hampers per month, or 31 every second and fourth Wednesday of the month. A total of 18 volunteers purchase groceries, prepare and distribute hampers, stock shelves and lend a hand where needed. Holland said the food bank greatly appreciates their help including assistance from Interlake who comes on a regular basis to pack dry hampers at the food bank’s back alley location at 107 3rd Ave. E.
In addition to its regular hampers, for the annual Christmas hampers, last year the food bank distributed 72 for those who applied. “About half of those homes that applied last year included children.”
Now with the holiday season approaching, the food bank is once again gearing up for those annual Christmas hampers. Distributed Dec. 15, anyone in need of receiving a hamper can let the food bank know by Dec. 7. Holland added if people know of someone who would like a hamper they can also get in touch with the food bank to make arrangements.
The annual Christmas hampers are comprised of more food items and toys for children than a normal hamper which is distributed throughout the year and Holland said people wanting to help financially with those can do so either by mailing funds to Box 794 in Watrous or they can contact the food bank as well. Other initiatives are also being planned this year for residents and businesses looking to help including the Watrous Emergency Services Stuff the Ambulance which will take place Dec. 4. In conjunction with the Co-op Food Store in Watrous, members of the Watrous Emergency Services will be collecting donations in the Co-op food store parking lot during the early part of the evening. The goal is to stuff the ambulance as many times as possible with food donations which will be used to help fill Christmas hampers.
“Over the years, we have had great community support and continual efforts made by many businesses through food, toy and monetary donations and we know that will continue again this year. Along with the Stuff the Ambulance initiative, the local Co-op food store will be donating hams while Integra Tire in Watrous will be holding its annual Toy Drive again. People can purchase toys and drop them off at Integra Tire for the food bank and they will be collected and placed into Christmas hampers.”
New this year, Holland said people will have the opportunity to sponsor a family and purchase an entire Christmas hamper for $135. “People can either individually sponsor a hamper, join other families and split the cost or get together with fellow employees or as an organization and buy a family Christmas hamper.”
Packed inside the hampers, recipients will get either a turkey or ham, one dozen buns, a jug of milk, one dozen eggs, five pounds of Christmas oranges, 10 pounds of potatoes, carrots and onions, stuffing, Kraft Dinner, pasta or rice, Sidekicks or potato, a box of crackers, a breakfast item, cans of soup, canned meats, meals in a can, canned fruit and vegetables, pasta sauce, juice, cranberries, a cake mix, one tub of margarine, peanut butter and a box of chocolates. For hampers distributed to families with children, toys will be included in those as well.
As the community comes together to help out with the Christmas hampers once again, Holland said it has become an opportunity to spread some holiday cheer.
“It has made the Christmas season very meaningful to some who have been a part of helping out in some way and it is also meaningful for those who receive the hampers as well.”
For more information on this year’s Christmas hampers, people can see the ad in this week’s paper.
TWM Top Story - Nov. 19, 2018
Watrous RCMP host workshop and town hall event
Daniel Bushman
There was a strong police presence in Watrous last week as members from a number of area detachments spent the day in the community Nov. 13. The following evening, RCMP officers from the Watrous detachment headed to Nokomis where they held a town hall type event, similar to the one put on in Imperial Mar. 21.
Watrous RCMP Sergeant Jeff Friedenstab said the workshop was created to bring in members of the polygraph examiners from Regina to provide training to junior officers. “It was a one day workshop and the members out of Regina said they could provide training but we would have to organize it. I originally was going to host it for our local detachment but after contacting a few other detachments, they were interested in attending as well so we moved it to the Heritage Room at the Town of Watrous building.”
With 23 officers in attendance from detachments including Watrous, Rose Valley, Wadena, Wynyard, Craik, and Warman, Friedenstab organized the workshop and two members from the Regina polygraph service came out for the day. “It was very well received and the detachment out of Warman which has quite a number of members said they will probably hold another one so more of their officers can attend.”
The workshop which was geared towards junior officers provided additional training on how to take proper statements from witnesses and suspects and included other useful tools and tips that were shared.
“It was beneficial to host this event and it provided an opportunity for some of our members and others to take part and gain additional skills to use in the field.”
The following evening Friedenstab said members from the Watrous detachment headed to Nokomis, (which is within their patrol area), to host a town hall type meeting for the public.
Over this past year, RCMP throughout the province have put on similar meetings aimed at sharing information, hearing concerns and answering questions that people may have.
In March, members of the Watrous RCMP hosted a town hall type event in Imperial where close to 30 people attended. Friedenstab along with constables Dave Hannah and Jamie Dowling were at that meeting and Friedenstab was pleased with the turnout, appreciating those who made the effort to attend and ask questions relating to a variety of topics.
Similar to that March gathering, people came together in Nokomis Nov. 14 where officers answered questions and shared information. Along with Friedenstab, constables Hannah and Dowling once again ran the event and were joined by Staff Sergeant Greg Abbott from Saskatoon, who is the district manager for the Watrous Detachment and four others. The members in attendance spent the evening discussing services provided through contract policing.
In addition to other meetings involving community officials and local councils held this year, Friedenstab said the two town hall type events were a success. “We have been encouraging people to come out and share any concerns or ask any questions. We also encourage local municipalities to start up rural crime watch programs to help deter people from causing crimes.”
With five members at the detachment in Watrous, the local RCMP services a large area with a population of roughly 4,500.
Daniel Bushman
There was a strong police presence in Watrous last week as members from a number of area detachments spent the day in the community Nov. 13. The following evening, RCMP officers from the Watrous detachment headed to Nokomis where they held a town hall type event, similar to the one put on in Imperial Mar. 21.
Watrous RCMP Sergeant Jeff Friedenstab said the workshop was created to bring in members of the polygraph examiners from Regina to provide training to junior officers. “It was a one day workshop and the members out of Regina said they could provide training but we would have to organize it. I originally was going to host it for our local detachment but after contacting a few other detachments, they were interested in attending as well so we moved it to the Heritage Room at the Town of Watrous building.”
With 23 officers in attendance from detachments including Watrous, Rose Valley, Wadena, Wynyard, Craik, and Warman, Friedenstab organized the workshop and two members from the Regina polygraph service came out for the day. “It was very well received and the detachment out of Warman which has quite a number of members said they will probably hold another one so more of their officers can attend.”
The workshop which was geared towards junior officers provided additional training on how to take proper statements from witnesses and suspects and included other useful tools and tips that were shared.
“It was beneficial to host this event and it provided an opportunity for some of our members and others to take part and gain additional skills to use in the field.”
The following evening Friedenstab said members from the Watrous detachment headed to Nokomis, (which is within their patrol area), to host a town hall type meeting for the public.
Over this past year, RCMP throughout the province have put on similar meetings aimed at sharing information, hearing concerns and answering questions that people may have.
In March, members of the Watrous RCMP hosted a town hall type event in Imperial where close to 30 people attended. Friedenstab along with constables Dave Hannah and Jamie Dowling were at that meeting and Friedenstab was pleased with the turnout, appreciating those who made the effort to attend and ask questions relating to a variety of topics.
Similar to that March gathering, people came together in Nokomis Nov. 14 where officers answered questions and shared information. Along with Friedenstab, constables Hannah and Dowling once again ran the event and were joined by Staff Sergeant Greg Abbott from Saskatoon, who is the district manager for the Watrous Detachment and four others. The members in attendance spent the evening discussing services provided through contract policing.
In addition to other meetings involving community officials and local councils held this year, Friedenstab said the two town hall type events were a success. “We have been encouraging people to come out and share any concerns or ask any questions. We also encourage local municipalities to start up rural crime watch programs to help deter people from causing crimes.”
With five members at the detachment in Watrous, the local RCMP services a large area with a population of roughly 4,500.
TWM Top Story - Nov. 12, 2018
Community rallies behind local family
Daniel Bushman
The place was packed, food served, donated items and pies auctioned off and entertainment enjoyed as people from Watrous and the surrounding area came together to not only raise funds for a local family but to show their support. With an already tremendous outpouring of support towards Derek and Lindsey Bushman and their five children, a sold out fundraiser was held Nov. 8 at the Watrous Civic Centre to help the young family while Lindsey continues to fight a rare and aggressive cancer. At the end of the night, around $15,000 was raised for the family, almost $5,000 of that from the live pie auction alone where one pie sold for $1,000!
Organized and put on by Lori Ann Frey and members of the Watrous School of Dance along with Lane Manson and TB’s Bar and Grill, around 300 people attended the evening supper which included over 80 silent auction items, a live pie auction, entertainment from the Watrous School of Dance, the Philadelphia Mennonite Brethren Junior Youth and a song from Emma and Miley Bushman, Derek and Lindsey’s daughters and their niece Natalie Bushman. With members of both Derek and Lindsey’s families in attendance, the evening was inspirational and moving as so many attended to show their support towards the family.
For the better part of a year and a half, 29-year-old Lindsey has been fighting a rare and aggressive form of cancer. While the Watrous resident at first did not know what she was fighting, after not having a diagnosis, she along with her husband Derek chose to go to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to find answers. That decision, according to her doctor, saved her life.
Since spending three weeks at Mayo Clinic in the United States a few months ago, Derek and Lindsey have returned home as she continues to battle the cancer in her body, receiving radiation and soon rounds of chemotherapy.
With expenses both now and in the future, people have overwhelmingly come together in a show of support for the young family in Watrous. Through various things like GoFundMe, a barbecue held by Centennial Ford during its 50th anniversary, and so many others dropping off financial donations over the past few months, the wave of support spilled over Nov. 8.
Since Derek and Lindsey were unable to be in attendance at the fundraiser, on behalf of them, myself (Daniel), my sister Tanya Jansen and Lindsey’s sister Jaymie Peters were asked by the group putting on the event to share. We have been so blown away from the outpouring of support, the encouragement and prayers of so many, at times it is hard to know how to respond and to know what to say. But because of the tremendous outpouring of support and because of how many people have been touched by Derek and Lindsey’s story, we wanted to share their journey with those unable to make the fundraiser.
The following is the majority of what we shared during the evening Nov. 8:
“How can a person say thank you enough for such an outpouring of support? How can a person say thank you enough for the many prayers, words of encouragement and financial donations received? How can a person express their sincerest thanks to everyone who has taken a moment of their time to help out my brother and sister-in law? And how can someone who has felt an overwhelming outpouring of support from so many say how appreciative they are? The only thing to say is . . . thank you!
Thank you to the many who have given so generously through the GoFundMe page that has been set up for Derek and Lindsey. Thank you to the many who have dropped off money and cheques to help them with their expenses and future costs. Thank you to the many who have made meals, have watched their kids, helped with yard work, dropped off cards of encouragement, offered support in any way possible, and who have prayed.
Thank you as well to Centennial Ford who asked us if they could give Derek and Lindsey the proceeds from their 50th anniversary barbecue. Thank you to Lori Ann Frey and members of the Watrous School of Dance and to Lane Manson and TB’s Bar and Grill for holding a fundraiser for Derek and Lindsey and asking us to speak here on behalf of the Baumann and Bushman families this evening. Thank you to the Town of Watrous for waiving the Civic Centre rental fee as well. Thank you to the teachers and staff at Watrous Elementary School and pre-school for your help with the kids. Thank you to our church family for all you have done and continue to do for our families. Thank you to the generous donors who provided items, pies and time this evening. And to each and every one of you who are here tonight, thank you.
We are truly grateful for you and we cannot express our gratitude enough.
After more than a year and a half of searching for answers and seeking a diagnosis, despite not knowing what she had attacking her body and not being covered by health insurance, Lindsey along with Derek decided to go to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
With time becoming more and more critical, it was there that she finally received a diagnosis and a plan to begin treatment on what had been attacking her body. With her septum already destroyed and her sinuses disappeared, Lindsey had consultations, tests, blood work, and then surgery where samples were extracted and a diagnosis reached.
After her surgery at Rochester, Minnesota Aug. 30, doctors found signs of lymphoma and a few days later, pathologists confirmed that it was indeed lymphoma. A week later Derek and Lindsey were informed that she had Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type is a rare and aggressive type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, starting in T-cells but developing most often in natural killer (NK) cells. Developing in organs or tissues other than the lymph nodes, it usually affects areas in the nose, most often the nasal passages and can also affect the paranasal sinuses or the upper part of the throat.
More common in Asia, Central America and South America, it occurs more often in men than women and the average age at diagnosis is 60. It is also strongly linked to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), especially in people of Asian ancestry. Since Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma is already rare and Lindsey has only ever resided in Canada, is caucasian and 29-years-old, the odds of her being diagnosed with it are astounding.
After a diagnosis was reached, a scan was also done showing the cancer had not yet spread, an answer to many prayers. Lindsey and Derek were told that treatment could be done in Saskatoon so they returned home after three weeks where they had an appointment in the city with the oncologist Sept. 17. Two days later Lindsey was taken by ambulance to St. Paul’s after she had a nose bleed that wouldn’t stop. After being released from hospital, Lindsey had a scheduled radiologist appointment the following day and was informed that radiation treatment would begin in 10 days. After hearing the news of having to once again wait, Lindsey developed a fever and was admitted to the oncology ward at Royal University Hospital that same day. Because of her condition, the cancer centre doctors worked overtime to come up with a radiation treatment plan to begin a few days later instead of 10 days after, which was originally scheduled. They also did a CT, MRI and made Lindsey a radiation mask immediately, yet another answer to prayer.
Lindsey began radiation for 20 days, receiving chemotherapy once a week during that time. It was at the beginning of her treatment that Lindsey’s doctor said the cancer had found its way to the lymph nodes but was caught just before it began to spread. Her doctor also said the decision to go to Mayo Clinic saved her life.
For more than a month Derek and Lindsey remained at RUH where she received treatment. After her radiation finished in mid-October, doctors told her that she needed to gain her strength before they could begin ramping up her chemotherapy treatments. Derek and Lindsey returned home to Watrous Oct. 30 and while exhausted, Lindsey is scheduled to begin her chemotherapy treatments later this month. The current plan will have her do three straight days of chemotherapy before having a three week break. She will do that three times and doctors have told her that once her chemotherapy is completed, the cancer should be taken care of with a 70 percent chance it will not return. After that, reconstructive surgery is a good possibility so the road to recovery remains long.
However, that path has not been walked alone. Throughout this journey, we have been absolutely overwhelmed by the support we have received from so many. We are just in awe of how so many caring people have come together to support us and Derek and Lindsey during this time. People we know really well to those we have never met and others from different parts of the continent have all banded together like a family. I can’t tell you how many times I have gotten goose bumps when people have dropped off money for Derek and Lindsey or people email to let me know they and others are praying for us. We have realized that this story has touched so many and the generosity and kindness by you has touched us.
We are also reminded about the love we have from God and how He has a plan for each and every one of us. We might not like the way His plans go sometimes and we might not understand them but we are relying on our faith in Christ to get us through this difficult time. There have been instances along this journey where God has been so evident that we know He is walking alongside us. It is also the many prayers by so many that we have been able to continue along each day.
My grandma, who passed away from cancer 18 years ago would always say, ‘take one day at a time’ and we have been hanging on tight to those words and will continue to do so in the days, weeks and months ahead.”
While Derek and Lindsey were unable to attend the fundraiser, they wanted to express their sincerest gratitude as well and have been blown away by the generosity and kindness of so many. “Well where do we begin? No one ever puts themselves in these situations. As we spent all this time searching for a diagnosis, we didn’t honestly expect life to take such a dramatic turn so quickly. Things went downhill and got so intense so quickly, yet in the midst of it all, the stress has been so minimal. We have God to praise for that. When we have had to spend nearly two months away from our children our family and friends have loved them! People have supplied meals to help ease the responsibilities of those watching our children. And while the financial burden of the last two months appeared huge, we have our amazing family, community, friends, church, businesses, people from near and far, and people we don’t even know, to thank for their generosity through their financial means. We know there is a long road ahead with future expenses but we are overwhelmed, humbled and speechless when it comes to support we have received. It has been such a gift from God! Nothing we say or do will ever be enough to express our gratitude. We look forward to the day where Lindsey is back to her healthy self and can be involved in the things she loves again. We are blessed to belong to such an amazing community. From the very bottom of our hearts, thank you. Thank you so incredibly much.”
Daniel Bushman
The place was packed, food served, donated items and pies auctioned off and entertainment enjoyed as people from Watrous and the surrounding area came together to not only raise funds for a local family but to show their support. With an already tremendous outpouring of support towards Derek and Lindsey Bushman and their five children, a sold out fundraiser was held Nov. 8 at the Watrous Civic Centre to help the young family while Lindsey continues to fight a rare and aggressive cancer. At the end of the night, around $15,000 was raised for the family, almost $5,000 of that from the live pie auction alone where one pie sold for $1,000!
Organized and put on by Lori Ann Frey and members of the Watrous School of Dance along with Lane Manson and TB’s Bar and Grill, around 300 people attended the evening supper which included over 80 silent auction items, a live pie auction, entertainment from the Watrous School of Dance, the Philadelphia Mennonite Brethren Junior Youth and a song from Emma and Miley Bushman, Derek and Lindsey’s daughters and their niece Natalie Bushman. With members of both Derek and Lindsey’s families in attendance, the evening was inspirational and moving as so many attended to show their support towards the family.
For the better part of a year and a half, 29-year-old Lindsey has been fighting a rare and aggressive form of cancer. While the Watrous resident at first did not know what she was fighting, after not having a diagnosis, she along with her husband Derek chose to go to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to find answers. That decision, according to her doctor, saved her life.
Since spending three weeks at Mayo Clinic in the United States a few months ago, Derek and Lindsey have returned home as she continues to battle the cancer in her body, receiving radiation and soon rounds of chemotherapy.
With expenses both now and in the future, people have overwhelmingly come together in a show of support for the young family in Watrous. Through various things like GoFundMe, a barbecue held by Centennial Ford during its 50th anniversary, and so many others dropping off financial donations over the past few months, the wave of support spilled over Nov. 8.
Since Derek and Lindsey were unable to be in attendance at the fundraiser, on behalf of them, myself (Daniel), my sister Tanya Jansen and Lindsey’s sister Jaymie Peters were asked by the group putting on the event to share. We have been so blown away from the outpouring of support, the encouragement and prayers of so many, at times it is hard to know how to respond and to know what to say. But because of the tremendous outpouring of support and because of how many people have been touched by Derek and Lindsey’s story, we wanted to share their journey with those unable to make the fundraiser.
The following is the majority of what we shared during the evening Nov. 8:
“How can a person say thank you enough for such an outpouring of support? How can a person say thank you enough for the many prayers, words of encouragement and financial donations received? How can a person express their sincerest thanks to everyone who has taken a moment of their time to help out my brother and sister-in law? And how can someone who has felt an overwhelming outpouring of support from so many say how appreciative they are? The only thing to say is . . . thank you!
Thank you to the many who have given so generously through the GoFundMe page that has been set up for Derek and Lindsey. Thank you to the many who have dropped off money and cheques to help them with their expenses and future costs. Thank you to the many who have made meals, have watched their kids, helped with yard work, dropped off cards of encouragement, offered support in any way possible, and who have prayed.
Thank you as well to Centennial Ford who asked us if they could give Derek and Lindsey the proceeds from their 50th anniversary barbecue. Thank you to Lori Ann Frey and members of the Watrous School of Dance and to Lane Manson and TB’s Bar and Grill for holding a fundraiser for Derek and Lindsey and asking us to speak here on behalf of the Baumann and Bushman families this evening. Thank you to the Town of Watrous for waiving the Civic Centre rental fee as well. Thank you to the teachers and staff at Watrous Elementary School and pre-school for your help with the kids. Thank you to our church family for all you have done and continue to do for our families. Thank you to the generous donors who provided items, pies and time this evening. And to each and every one of you who are here tonight, thank you.
We are truly grateful for you and we cannot express our gratitude enough.
After more than a year and a half of searching for answers and seeking a diagnosis, despite not knowing what she had attacking her body and not being covered by health insurance, Lindsey along with Derek decided to go to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
With time becoming more and more critical, it was there that she finally received a diagnosis and a plan to begin treatment on what had been attacking her body. With her septum already destroyed and her sinuses disappeared, Lindsey had consultations, tests, blood work, and then surgery where samples were extracted and a diagnosis reached.
After her surgery at Rochester, Minnesota Aug. 30, doctors found signs of lymphoma and a few days later, pathologists confirmed that it was indeed lymphoma. A week later Derek and Lindsey were informed that she had Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type is a rare and aggressive type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, starting in T-cells but developing most often in natural killer (NK) cells. Developing in organs or tissues other than the lymph nodes, it usually affects areas in the nose, most often the nasal passages and can also affect the paranasal sinuses or the upper part of the throat.
More common in Asia, Central America and South America, it occurs more often in men than women and the average age at diagnosis is 60. It is also strongly linked to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), especially in people of Asian ancestry. Since Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma is already rare and Lindsey has only ever resided in Canada, is caucasian and 29-years-old, the odds of her being diagnosed with it are astounding.
After a diagnosis was reached, a scan was also done showing the cancer had not yet spread, an answer to many prayers. Lindsey and Derek were told that treatment could be done in Saskatoon so they returned home after three weeks where they had an appointment in the city with the oncologist Sept. 17. Two days later Lindsey was taken by ambulance to St. Paul’s after she had a nose bleed that wouldn’t stop. After being released from hospital, Lindsey had a scheduled radiologist appointment the following day and was informed that radiation treatment would begin in 10 days. After hearing the news of having to once again wait, Lindsey developed a fever and was admitted to the oncology ward at Royal University Hospital that same day. Because of her condition, the cancer centre doctors worked overtime to come up with a radiation treatment plan to begin a few days later instead of 10 days after, which was originally scheduled. They also did a CT, MRI and made Lindsey a radiation mask immediately, yet another answer to prayer.
Lindsey began radiation for 20 days, receiving chemotherapy once a week during that time. It was at the beginning of her treatment that Lindsey’s doctor said the cancer had found its way to the lymph nodes but was caught just before it began to spread. Her doctor also said the decision to go to Mayo Clinic saved her life.
For more than a month Derek and Lindsey remained at RUH where she received treatment. After her radiation finished in mid-October, doctors told her that she needed to gain her strength before they could begin ramping up her chemotherapy treatments. Derek and Lindsey returned home to Watrous Oct. 30 and while exhausted, Lindsey is scheduled to begin her chemotherapy treatments later this month. The current plan will have her do three straight days of chemotherapy before having a three week break. She will do that three times and doctors have told her that once her chemotherapy is completed, the cancer should be taken care of with a 70 percent chance it will not return. After that, reconstructive surgery is a good possibility so the road to recovery remains long.
However, that path has not been walked alone. Throughout this journey, we have been absolutely overwhelmed by the support we have received from so many. We are just in awe of how so many caring people have come together to support us and Derek and Lindsey during this time. People we know really well to those we have never met and others from different parts of the continent have all banded together like a family. I can’t tell you how many times I have gotten goose bumps when people have dropped off money for Derek and Lindsey or people email to let me know they and others are praying for us. We have realized that this story has touched so many and the generosity and kindness by you has touched us.
We are also reminded about the love we have from God and how He has a plan for each and every one of us. We might not like the way His plans go sometimes and we might not understand them but we are relying on our faith in Christ to get us through this difficult time. There have been instances along this journey where God has been so evident that we know He is walking alongside us. It is also the many prayers by so many that we have been able to continue along each day.
My grandma, who passed away from cancer 18 years ago would always say, ‘take one day at a time’ and we have been hanging on tight to those words and will continue to do so in the days, weeks and months ahead.”
While Derek and Lindsey were unable to attend the fundraiser, they wanted to express their sincerest gratitude as well and have been blown away by the generosity and kindness of so many. “Well where do we begin? No one ever puts themselves in these situations. As we spent all this time searching for a diagnosis, we didn’t honestly expect life to take such a dramatic turn so quickly. Things went downhill and got so intense so quickly, yet in the midst of it all, the stress has been so minimal. We have God to praise for that. When we have had to spend nearly two months away from our children our family and friends have loved them! People have supplied meals to help ease the responsibilities of those watching our children. And while the financial burden of the last two months appeared huge, we have our amazing family, community, friends, church, businesses, people from near and far, and people we don’t even know, to thank for their generosity through their financial means. We know there is a long road ahead with future expenses but we are overwhelmed, humbled and speechless when it comes to support we have received. It has been such a gift from God! Nothing we say or do will ever be enough to express our gratitude. We look forward to the day where Lindsey is back to her healthy self and can be involved in the things she loves again. We are blessed to belong to such an amazing community. From the very bottom of our hearts, thank you. Thank you so incredibly much.”
TWM Top Story - Nov. 5, 2018
McWillie named Player of the Year
Daniel Bushman
Having a love for the game has not only translated into a successful career of striking out batters and hitting home runs but that dedication and hard work has also earned Tyler McWillie Baseball Sask’s Player of the Year honours. Recognized as the best player to suit up in 2018, McWillie was bestowed with Baseball Sask’s 2018 Player of the Year award which was handed out at the provincial organization’s annual general meeting and awards luncheon Oct. 20 in Regina.
Playing within the Watrous Minor Ball system before moving on to compete for Muenster, his province and his country, Tyler was elated to receive the award. “To be named Baseball Sask’s Player of the Year is pretty special. It is an honour to be thought of that way and I cannot thank all the coaches enough that have got me to where I am today. It is something that I am really honoured and proud of.”
Sitting in English class down in Colby, Kansas where he is attending junior college, Tyler said he received a text from his mom Renai that he had been awarded with something pretty cool. “I never thought too much into it and then I got back to my dorm and my jaw dropped when I found out what it was. Again it is something I take a lot of pride in. There are so many athletes that were in the same category as me and it almost gives me shivers thinking that they nominated me for the award.”
While Tyler said 2018 might not have been the greatest statistic wise, he felt the year was his best as a whole. Coming off elbow surgery, McWillie not only had the task of recovering but putting in a lot of hard work to regain his full potential. With a lot of support from his family, friends and teammates, Tyler went to work and began his rehab. “I lost most of my strength and it took a while to get it back. It was difficult taking that step back but I had to learn to get better every day and that is what I thought I needed to do.”
While it did not come as easy or as quickly as the pitcher and hitter wanted, McWillie began buying into the process and pretty soon the discouragement turned into results and his laser quick velocity returned as did his smooth swing of the bat. “I was able to overcome a lot this past year and because of that, it will be a year I will remember for a very long time.”
His hard work both on and off the field did not go unnoticed as Baseball Sask’s High Performance Director Greg Brons understood how tough it was for Tyler. Brons was the person who submitted the nomination for McWillie to be this year’s Player of the Year stating: Tyler McWillie is one of the most dedicated, loyal, and hardest working players we have ever had in the program. 2017 saw him win a gold medal at the Canada Games as he was on the mound for the final out. In September, he found out he needed surgery on his elbow. Thankfully it was not the UCL but it required a tremendous amount of rehab during the off season. 2018 proved to be a great year for him once he got his strength back. He competed with the Muenster Red Sox. At provincials, he pitched six innings for the win and struck out 11 batters. At the Canada Cup in Moncton, Tyler was a key player on the mound and at the plate for Team Sask. He had two home runs at the tournament – one against Team Ontario and one versus Team Quebec. He was always a threat with the bat as many teams tried pitching around him. On the mound he got the save versus Team B.C. in a 1-0 win and the save versus Team Quebec which allowed us to finish fifth overall at the tournament. He flashed a 90+ m.p.h. fastball at the tournament during his appearances. Greg Hamilton with Team Canada will be inviting Tyler to the qualifying tournament in Panama in November. Currently, Tyler is in Kansas playing junior college baseball and is fitting in really well with his new teammates along with Sask teammates Ryan Olchoway and Logan Hofmann. Coach Ryan Carter at Colby is very happy to have Tyler on his roster and believes he will be a big part of their success in the Jayhawk conference this year.
Growing up on the farm, McWillie said he picked up a glove and bat right from an early age. Having members of his family already involved in ball also spurred on McWillie’s passion for the game. “I started around the age of five. I always used to watch my Dad play fastball growing up and my brothers and I would play catch for countless hours during the game.”
While the game on the field would come to a close for Tyler’s Dad Norman, the one between the McWillie brothers would be put on pause with hopes it would resume once the family arrived back at the farm. “We would get home and I would beg to go outside and play more,” said Tyler, adding, “My brothers and my Dad are a big reason for where I am today with the hours they would play with me and I cannot thank my Mom enough for all the driving she has done for me.”
It was also Tyler’s mom Renai who accepted the Player of the Year award on Tyler’s behalf while he is down in Colby, Kansas. Since his time began south of the border, Tyler said the new adjustment has been going pretty well. “I am really enjoying my time down here. I knew some guys before like Logan Hoffman from Muenster so that has been really nice. He helped me to get settled in and the coaches are great. I am really happy with the school I have picked.”
As McWillie gets used to his new surroundings in a community of about 6,500, he noted how his past successes have aided in paving the way to where he is now. Some of those early accomplishments were evident on the ball diamonds in Watrous as he competed within the local minor ball system. “Watrous Minor Baseball was a great place to start with my development and that is where I learned to love the game. Playing ball on a Saturday with my best friends was something that I loved doing. I was fortunate to have my Dad as a coach growing up and he always pushed me to be better and I really think that helped with my success. All the coaches I had growing up loved the game and that has had an affect on me as well.”
Learning and loving the sport also brought with it the opportunity to try out different positions. Tyler has not only excelled at being able to pitch and hit but he has applied that knowledge during game situations, both on the mound and at the plate.
“Being able to pitch and hit is a huge advantage. When I am in the box against an opposing pitcher, I can almost guess what they will be throwing because I am able to put myself in their shoes and vise versa when I am the pitcher. I think it gives me an upper hand against the competition. If I had to choose a favourite position though it would probably be pitching because there is no better feeling than striking a batter out. I like having control of the game and that is what pitching does.”
Because of the way he approaches the game, McWillie has not only been able to compete locally and within Saskatchewan but around the continent as well. “Baseball has taken me all over North America. I have been on so many trips to the United States and to the eastern part of Canada. I have been grateful enough to compete at a high level since I was around the age of 11 and you do not really realize it at the time but looking back at all the places I have been, it really is something special.”
McWillie will be adding another destination to his list of places when he takes part in Team Canada’s national trip to Panama Nov. 13 to Dec. 3. McWillie said he is thrilled to be a part of the journey ahead. “I have always dreamt of putting on the jersey of our national team. I had chills running through my whole body when I was talking to Greg Hamilton with Team Canada. Although I have made the initial selection I still need to prove myself. I am really looking forward to the competition that we will be facing. It will be an incredible experience.”
After McWillie has a chance to be a part of Team Canada on the global stage, he will return to Kansas to focus on the college season. “I am really looking forward to a great year.”
And through it all, with all of the success he has already had in his career, Tyler was quick to point out it has been a team effort along the way. “My family is number one, my father, brothers and mother have helped me tremendously. I have always looked up to Eugene McWillie as well since he dominated the game of softball for so many years. All the coaches I have had have helped, the main thing is they always make baseball fun, I have never thought of it as a chore, it is always something I am able to enjoy.”
Daniel Bushman
Having a love for the game has not only translated into a successful career of striking out batters and hitting home runs but that dedication and hard work has also earned Tyler McWillie Baseball Sask’s Player of the Year honours. Recognized as the best player to suit up in 2018, McWillie was bestowed with Baseball Sask’s 2018 Player of the Year award which was handed out at the provincial organization’s annual general meeting and awards luncheon Oct. 20 in Regina.
Playing within the Watrous Minor Ball system before moving on to compete for Muenster, his province and his country, Tyler was elated to receive the award. “To be named Baseball Sask’s Player of the Year is pretty special. It is an honour to be thought of that way and I cannot thank all the coaches enough that have got me to where I am today. It is something that I am really honoured and proud of.”
Sitting in English class down in Colby, Kansas where he is attending junior college, Tyler said he received a text from his mom Renai that he had been awarded with something pretty cool. “I never thought too much into it and then I got back to my dorm and my jaw dropped when I found out what it was. Again it is something I take a lot of pride in. There are so many athletes that were in the same category as me and it almost gives me shivers thinking that they nominated me for the award.”
While Tyler said 2018 might not have been the greatest statistic wise, he felt the year was his best as a whole. Coming off elbow surgery, McWillie not only had the task of recovering but putting in a lot of hard work to regain his full potential. With a lot of support from his family, friends and teammates, Tyler went to work and began his rehab. “I lost most of my strength and it took a while to get it back. It was difficult taking that step back but I had to learn to get better every day and that is what I thought I needed to do.”
While it did not come as easy or as quickly as the pitcher and hitter wanted, McWillie began buying into the process and pretty soon the discouragement turned into results and his laser quick velocity returned as did his smooth swing of the bat. “I was able to overcome a lot this past year and because of that, it will be a year I will remember for a very long time.”
His hard work both on and off the field did not go unnoticed as Baseball Sask’s High Performance Director Greg Brons understood how tough it was for Tyler. Brons was the person who submitted the nomination for McWillie to be this year’s Player of the Year stating: Tyler McWillie is one of the most dedicated, loyal, and hardest working players we have ever had in the program. 2017 saw him win a gold medal at the Canada Games as he was on the mound for the final out. In September, he found out he needed surgery on his elbow. Thankfully it was not the UCL but it required a tremendous amount of rehab during the off season. 2018 proved to be a great year for him once he got his strength back. He competed with the Muenster Red Sox. At provincials, he pitched six innings for the win and struck out 11 batters. At the Canada Cup in Moncton, Tyler was a key player on the mound and at the plate for Team Sask. He had two home runs at the tournament – one against Team Ontario and one versus Team Quebec. He was always a threat with the bat as many teams tried pitching around him. On the mound he got the save versus Team B.C. in a 1-0 win and the save versus Team Quebec which allowed us to finish fifth overall at the tournament. He flashed a 90+ m.p.h. fastball at the tournament during his appearances. Greg Hamilton with Team Canada will be inviting Tyler to the qualifying tournament in Panama in November. Currently, Tyler is in Kansas playing junior college baseball and is fitting in really well with his new teammates along with Sask teammates Ryan Olchoway and Logan Hofmann. Coach Ryan Carter at Colby is very happy to have Tyler on his roster and believes he will be a big part of their success in the Jayhawk conference this year.
Growing up on the farm, McWillie said he picked up a glove and bat right from an early age. Having members of his family already involved in ball also spurred on McWillie’s passion for the game. “I started around the age of five. I always used to watch my Dad play fastball growing up and my brothers and I would play catch for countless hours during the game.”
While the game on the field would come to a close for Tyler’s Dad Norman, the one between the McWillie brothers would be put on pause with hopes it would resume once the family arrived back at the farm. “We would get home and I would beg to go outside and play more,” said Tyler, adding, “My brothers and my Dad are a big reason for where I am today with the hours they would play with me and I cannot thank my Mom enough for all the driving she has done for me.”
It was also Tyler’s mom Renai who accepted the Player of the Year award on Tyler’s behalf while he is down in Colby, Kansas. Since his time began south of the border, Tyler said the new adjustment has been going pretty well. “I am really enjoying my time down here. I knew some guys before like Logan Hoffman from Muenster so that has been really nice. He helped me to get settled in and the coaches are great. I am really happy with the school I have picked.”
As McWillie gets used to his new surroundings in a community of about 6,500, he noted how his past successes have aided in paving the way to where he is now. Some of those early accomplishments were evident on the ball diamonds in Watrous as he competed within the local minor ball system. “Watrous Minor Baseball was a great place to start with my development and that is where I learned to love the game. Playing ball on a Saturday with my best friends was something that I loved doing. I was fortunate to have my Dad as a coach growing up and he always pushed me to be better and I really think that helped with my success. All the coaches I had growing up loved the game and that has had an affect on me as well.”
Learning and loving the sport also brought with it the opportunity to try out different positions. Tyler has not only excelled at being able to pitch and hit but he has applied that knowledge during game situations, both on the mound and at the plate.
“Being able to pitch and hit is a huge advantage. When I am in the box against an opposing pitcher, I can almost guess what they will be throwing because I am able to put myself in their shoes and vise versa when I am the pitcher. I think it gives me an upper hand against the competition. If I had to choose a favourite position though it would probably be pitching because there is no better feeling than striking a batter out. I like having control of the game and that is what pitching does.”
Because of the way he approaches the game, McWillie has not only been able to compete locally and within Saskatchewan but around the continent as well. “Baseball has taken me all over North America. I have been on so many trips to the United States and to the eastern part of Canada. I have been grateful enough to compete at a high level since I was around the age of 11 and you do not really realize it at the time but looking back at all the places I have been, it really is something special.”
McWillie will be adding another destination to his list of places when he takes part in Team Canada’s national trip to Panama Nov. 13 to Dec. 3. McWillie said he is thrilled to be a part of the journey ahead. “I have always dreamt of putting on the jersey of our national team. I had chills running through my whole body when I was talking to Greg Hamilton with Team Canada. Although I have made the initial selection I still need to prove myself. I am really looking forward to the competition that we will be facing. It will be an incredible experience.”
After McWillie has a chance to be a part of Team Canada on the global stage, he will return to Kansas to focus on the college season. “I am really looking forward to a great year.”
And through it all, with all of the success he has already had in his career, Tyler was quick to point out it has been a team effort along the way. “My family is number one, my father, brothers and mother have helped me tremendously. I have always looked up to Eugene McWillie as well since he dominated the game of softball for so many years. All the coaches I have had have helped, the main thing is they always make baseball fun, I have never thought of it as a chore, it is always something I am able to enjoy.”
TWM Top Story - Oct. 29, 2018
Manitou Mainline Chrysler holds grand opening
Daniel Bushman
History was made and a new era commenced as upwards of 600 people went through the doors of the brand new Manitou Mainline Chrysler in Watrous during its grand opening. With close to 400 new and used vehicles lined up and ready to be purchased at the state-of-the-art 25,000 square foot facility, the official grand opening ceremony was held at the dealership just off of Hwy. 2 in Watrous.
With dignitaries, special guests and customers from the community, surrounding area and province in attendance Oct. 20, co-owner and president of the dealership Curtis Merrifield said the grand opening was excellent.
“The team we have in Watrous did a great job of putting on the event and it was great to see so many people make it out and show their support. It was really a good grand opening with so many customers turning out to see what we have to offer.”
After officially putting the shovels in the ground last October, people were able to stop by just over a year later to take in the celebrations of the finished facility. On behalf of business partners Jason Ediger and Keegan McAvoy and land partner Don Campbell, Merrifield shared words of appreciation to the many people that helped with the project and those who have supported the venture.
“Without Don Campbell, the Town of Watrous, Melron and Wright Construction, we would not have been at the point where we were at to have the grand opening. They all went really above and beyond and we really appreciated it and are excited to be part of the community.” An excited Merrifield continued, “It is great to be able to open a dealership like this in Watrous and I think it will not only bring in more people to the community and the area but also strengthen the business community. Having a third dealership here and being a new brand, I think it will provide another reason to come to Watrous. The last time there was a Chrysler dealership in Watrous was back when I was a kid so having Chrysler return will make this town a bigger attraction. There are three strong car dealerships here and people should be proud of that.”
For Merrifield and Ediger, it was also a coming home of sorts as the pair began their careers within the car industry at Watrous Mainline Motors. “We started at Mainline and Don Campbell and my Dad (Gerald Merrifield) gave us our start. Jason was there with me and we are definitely happy to be back in Watrous. It is where we grew up and where we first started.”
After moving from Watrous, the pair set up shop in Rosetown and for Curtis, he said it has been quite the journey. “I owe the opportunity to Don and my dad. They gave me my first opportunity at Watrous Mainline Motors and then in Rosetown and Jason and I were able to go there and create something pretty incredible. Don and Dad stayed with us to get the Kindersley and Virden dealerships as well and now we have come full circle back to Watrous where it all began. When I left town I did not think I would be back but it is pretty exciting to return home.”
Noting how great his business partners have been along the way and with the help from those within Watrous, Curtis said without them, Manitou Mainline Chrysler would not have come to fruition.
“I was blown away at how quick things came together and a lot of that was due to the support from my business partners Jason Ediger and Keegan McAvoy, land partner Don Campbell, and the Town of Watrous and Melron. I think this business will be a positive thing for years to come and as we grow as a dealership, more people will come in to town. Bringing in more people to Watrous is positive for everybody and I am excited to be a part of Watrous and Manitou Beach again.”
Merrifield also said it has been nice to have his Mom Lynn lending a hand at the new dealership. “My Mom is helping us out which has been really great. She does tours when people come through the doors and welcomes them with open arms. She is also donating her salary back to different organizations in town and has been incredible for us. It is great to have her and to have other local area people on staff. The group we have here is excellent.”
Along with Curtis, general manager of the new dealership Ryan Hunt also shared a few words during the grand opening ceremony. He was joined by Watrous Mayor Ed Collins, Manitou Beach Mayor Gerry Worobec, and RM of Morris Reeve Bob Penrose, who brought greetings. Melron owners Ron and Melissa Ediger, who purchased the first vehicle from the dealership, provided Manitou Mainline Chrysler with a plaque containing a sculptured Ram that is now displayed in the lounge area.
Hunt said the enthusiasm from everyone in attendance was contagious and despite the wet weather earlier in the month leading to a lot of farmers being on the fields, he said the grand opening was still a huge success.
“It was exciting to see so many people coming through the doors and watching their reactions as they saw the brand new place for the first time. This is an exciting time for the community and the area and we had people coming from as far away as Manitoba, Swift Current, Prince Albert, Rosetown and down by Weyburn.”
The general manager also mentioned how appreciative he was that the local dignitaries were able to attend the special day including Hendry’s owner Bob Hendry from Nokomis. “We were grateful that Bob was able to make it as well and are excited to be able to work with him moving forward.”
As part of the ceremonies, a board with the inscription of Manitou Mainline Chrysler, carved by local artist Wayne Seabrook was used for the official ribbon cutting. Curtis Merrifield received a chainsaw from Manitou Beach Mayor Gerry Worobec and cut the ‘ribbon’ to officially open the dealership. People who were shuttled to the business from nearby then had the opportunity to check out the vehicles and the 25,000 square foot facility which includes auto repairs, a quick lube oil change bay, detailing services, and a parts department. A barbecue was also put on and prizes given away throughout the day. Customers also had the chance to interact with the nearly 40 employees that are on staff. Hunt said when it came to hiring, it was nice to be able to bring in a lot of local and familiar faces.
“Having local faces was a focus of mine,” he said. “We want to have people at Manitou Mainline Chrysler here for a long time and hiring from the community was important to me. People are the foundation of this business and the strength of the community and we wanted to have that here. This is exciting for us and we want this place to have an inviting atmosphere. That is the most important thing to us. We want to stand out and be different and we are appreciative of those who were able to stop by Oct. 20. For those who were riding in the combine trying to get harvest completed and unable to make it, we look forward to meeting you in the near future.”
Daniel Bushman
History was made and a new era commenced as upwards of 600 people went through the doors of the brand new Manitou Mainline Chrysler in Watrous during its grand opening. With close to 400 new and used vehicles lined up and ready to be purchased at the state-of-the-art 25,000 square foot facility, the official grand opening ceremony was held at the dealership just off of Hwy. 2 in Watrous.
With dignitaries, special guests and customers from the community, surrounding area and province in attendance Oct. 20, co-owner and president of the dealership Curtis Merrifield said the grand opening was excellent.
“The team we have in Watrous did a great job of putting on the event and it was great to see so many people make it out and show their support. It was really a good grand opening with so many customers turning out to see what we have to offer.”
After officially putting the shovels in the ground last October, people were able to stop by just over a year later to take in the celebrations of the finished facility. On behalf of business partners Jason Ediger and Keegan McAvoy and land partner Don Campbell, Merrifield shared words of appreciation to the many people that helped with the project and those who have supported the venture.
“Without Don Campbell, the Town of Watrous, Melron and Wright Construction, we would not have been at the point where we were at to have the grand opening. They all went really above and beyond and we really appreciated it and are excited to be part of the community.” An excited Merrifield continued, “It is great to be able to open a dealership like this in Watrous and I think it will not only bring in more people to the community and the area but also strengthen the business community. Having a third dealership here and being a new brand, I think it will provide another reason to come to Watrous. The last time there was a Chrysler dealership in Watrous was back when I was a kid so having Chrysler return will make this town a bigger attraction. There are three strong car dealerships here and people should be proud of that.”
For Merrifield and Ediger, it was also a coming home of sorts as the pair began their careers within the car industry at Watrous Mainline Motors. “We started at Mainline and Don Campbell and my Dad (Gerald Merrifield) gave us our start. Jason was there with me and we are definitely happy to be back in Watrous. It is where we grew up and where we first started.”
After moving from Watrous, the pair set up shop in Rosetown and for Curtis, he said it has been quite the journey. “I owe the opportunity to Don and my dad. They gave me my first opportunity at Watrous Mainline Motors and then in Rosetown and Jason and I were able to go there and create something pretty incredible. Don and Dad stayed with us to get the Kindersley and Virden dealerships as well and now we have come full circle back to Watrous where it all began. When I left town I did not think I would be back but it is pretty exciting to return home.”
Noting how great his business partners have been along the way and with the help from those within Watrous, Curtis said without them, Manitou Mainline Chrysler would not have come to fruition.
“I was blown away at how quick things came together and a lot of that was due to the support from my business partners Jason Ediger and Keegan McAvoy, land partner Don Campbell, and the Town of Watrous and Melron. I think this business will be a positive thing for years to come and as we grow as a dealership, more people will come in to town. Bringing in more people to Watrous is positive for everybody and I am excited to be a part of Watrous and Manitou Beach again.”
Merrifield also said it has been nice to have his Mom Lynn lending a hand at the new dealership. “My Mom is helping us out which has been really great. She does tours when people come through the doors and welcomes them with open arms. She is also donating her salary back to different organizations in town and has been incredible for us. It is great to have her and to have other local area people on staff. The group we have here is excellent.”
Along with Curtis, general manager of the new dealership Ryan Hunt also shared a few words during the grand opening ceremony. He was joined by Watrous Mayor Ed Collins, Manitou Beach Mayor Gerry Worobec, and RM of Morris Reeve Bob Penrose, who brought greetings. Melron owners Ron and Melissa Ediger, who purchased the first vehicle from the dealership, provided Manitou Mainline Chrysler with a plaque containing a sculptured Ram that is now displayed in the lounge area.
Hunt said the enthusiasm from everyone in attendance was contagious and despite the wet weather earlier in the month leading to a lot of farmers being on the fields, he said the grand opening was still a huge success.
“It was exciting to see so many people coming through the doors and watching their reactions as they saw the brand new place for the first time. This is an exciting time for the community and the area and we had people coming from as far away as Manitoba, Swift Current, Prince Albert, Rosetown and down by Weyburn.”
The general manager also mentioned how appreciative he was that the local dignitaries were able to attend the special day including Hendry’s owner Bob Hendry from Nokomis. “We were grateful that Bob was able to make it as well and are excited to be able to work with him moving forward.”
As part of the ceremonies, a board with the inscription of Manitou Mainline Chrysler, carved by local artist Wayne Seabrook was used for the official ribbon cutting. Curtis Merrifield received a chainsaw from Manitou Beach Mayor Gerry Worobec and cut the ‘ribbon’ to officially open the dealership. People who were shuttled to the business from nearby then had the opportunity to check out the vehicles and the 25,000 square foot facility which includes auto repairs, a quick lube oil change bay, detailing services, and a parts department. A barbecue was also put on and prizes given away throughout the day. Customers also had the chance to interact with the nearly 40 employees that are on staff. Hunt said when it came to hiring, it was nice to be able to bring in a lot of local and familiar faces.
“Having local faces was a focus of mine,” he said. “We want to have people at Manitou Mainline Chrysler here for a long time and hiring from the community was important to me. People are the foundation of this business and the strength of the community and we wanted to have that here. This is exciting for us and we want this place to have an inviting atmosphere. That is the most important thing to us. We want to stand out and be different and we are appreciative of those who were able to stop by Oct. 20. For those who were riding in the combine trying to get harvest completed and unable to make it, we look forward to meeting you in the near future.”
TWM Top Story - Oct. 22, 2018
Centennial Ford celebrates 50 years in business
Daniel Bushman
Cake was cut, lunch served, vehicles sold and prizes won as Centennial Ford in Watrous not only marked a milestone but provided an opportunity for its customers and local area residents to celebrate the occasion. For the past 50 years the community-minded dealership has sold thousands of vehicles, won numerous awards and provided substantial funds towards community initiatives.
Current owner of Centennial Ford, Michelle Amendt along with previous owners Earle Amendt Sr. and Earl Jr. were joined by family members, staff, dignitaries and customers Oct. 13 to commemorate the past 50 years. Michelle said she was excited to be able to celebrate the massive milestone, noting the importance of those who have supported the dealership within the community and surrounding area.
First starting as a Ford dealership, gas station and restaurant in 1968 along Hwy. 2 in Watrous, Centennial Ford underwent a major renovation 20 years later to include a 5,500 square foot back shop. While the gas station and restaurant eventually disappeared allowing more room for vehicles, two more renovations including the most recent change of the dealership’s frontage occurred; with all three spearheaded by former owner Earle Amendt Sr.
But before Earle Sr. took on the dealership and implemented some of his changes, Michelle said the building was first purchased from Peter and Barbara Rogina by Maynard Fossen and Dale Hayter. Under the leadership of Fossen and Hayter, Centennial Ford moved ahead and in 1984, Earle Amendt Sr. purchased Fossen’s shares. Bing Vanthuyne was also a part owner for several years, starting at the dealership in 1969 and becoming part owner in 1973. “He was an owner for approximately 20 years and his no pressure, friendly nature has proved an essential part of Centennial Ford’s success,” said Michelle.
As the business continued to grow, Earle Amendt Sr. eventually became sole owner of the company, running the dealership for a number of years before selling it approximately 15 years ago to Earl Amendt Jr. and Michelle Amendt. Then in December 2016, Michelle took on the sole role of owner.
Being able to be part of a family owned business, Michelle said it has been very cool. “Pride says it all,” she emphasized. “There has been a lot of hard work, dedication and commitment that have made it happen for us to be here today. There are two key players that have contributed to the success and growth of Centennial Ford over the past number of years. I have had the pleasure of working with these two over the past 20 years and knowing them my entire life! Earle Sr. spent 34 years overseeing the business with his vision, organizational skills and attention to detail with numbers. Earl Jr. has been involved for 30 years using his wit and charm to sell vehicles, manage people and manage inventory.”
With 24 employees currently at the dealership, Amendt said it is an incredible achievement to be able to reach 50 years of business in Watrous.
“There are few businesses, especially in today’s day and age, that can say they have marked 50 years and we really feel proud and honoured to have achieved that. I think what makes us special is the people, both staff and our customers. We have an excellent staff that work together and we strive to give excellent service and pay close attention to our customers’ needs. We have received over 20 Customer Satisfaction Awards from Ford of Canada, the most recent was the President’s Diamond Club Award achieved for 2017. This is the highest customer satisfaction award that you can achieve from Ford.”
Because of the support from Watrous and the surrounding area, Michelle was quick to point out that it remains the reason they are still in business. “It has been excellent over the years and the community is extremely important to us. Without it, we would not be here today.”
It is because of the importance of community to Centennial Ford that they have also in turn given back. “Over the last 50 years Centennial Ford has been involved with many community events. We have been able to donate $30,000 to the Watrous Swimming Pool, $50,000 to the Watrous Hospital Foundation, and $50,000 to the Watrous/Manitou Beach Heritage Centre. We have also hosted many Drive Events to raise money for the Watrous community including for Winston High School, the Watrous Curling Rink, the Watrous School of Dance and the United Church to name a few. Additionally, we held many Drive Events for the surrounding area as well that included Young, Imperial, Lanigan, Viscount, Davidson, Allan and Colonsay. With Ford’s generous donations through those events and others, over $85,000 dollars for those local groups and charities has been raised!”
Amendt also noted that outside of the day to day business operations, the Centennial Ford family has been involved within the community. “Throughout the past several years Centennial Ford management and owners have been involved in the community in various roles including as president of Chamber of Commerce, past Kinsmen president, Fun Run car show chair, on Watrous Town Council, Knights of Columbus, president of the organizing committee to build the Manitou Springs Hotel, plus coaching baseball and hockey. Currently Earl Jr. is part of the United Church board and I have been an active member of the Music Festival committee and Horizon Winds Band committee for several years. I have also coached and managed the local swim club for 20 years. For us it is more than selling cars. We appreciate the community we have grown up in, raised our kids in and have done business in. To our customers, the community and the surrounding area, we appreciate you and we hope to be able to continue to serve you in the future!”
Daniel Bushman
Cake was cut, lunch served, vehicles sold and prizes won as Centennial Ford in Watrous not only marked a milestone but provided an opportunity for its customers and local area residents to celebrate the occasion. For the past 50 years the community-minded dealership has sold thousands of vehicles, won numerous awards and provided substantial funds towards community initiatives.
Current owner of Centennial Ford, Michelle Amendt along with previous owners Earle Amendt Sr. and Earl Jr. were joined by family members, staff, dignitaries and customers Oct. 13 to commemorate the past 50 years. Michelle said she was excited to be able to celebrate the massive milestone, noting the importance of those who have supported the dealership within the community and surrounding area.
First starting as a Ford dealership, gas station and restaurant in 1968 along Hwy. 2 in Watrous, Centennial Ford underwent a major renovation 20 years later to include a 5,500 square foot back shop. While the gas station and restaurant eventually disappeared allowing more room for vehicles, two more renovations including the most recent change of the dealership’s frontage occurred; with all three spearheaded by former owner Earle Amendt Sr.
But before Earle Sr. took on the dealership and implemented some of his changes, Michelle said the building was first purchased from Peter and Barbara Rogina by Maynard Fossen and Dale Hayter. Under the leadership of Fossen and Hayter, Centennial Ford moved ahead and in 1984, Earle Amendt Sr. purchased Fossen’s shares. Bing Vanthuyne was also a part owner for several years, starting at the dealership in 1969 and becoming part owner in 1973. “He was an owner for approximately 20 years and his no pressure, friendly nature has proved an essential part of Centennial Ford’s success,” said Michelle.
As the business continued to grow, Earle Amendt Sr. eventually became sole owner of the company, running the dealership for a number of years before selling it approximately 15 years ago to Earl Amendt Jr. and Michelle Amendt. Then in December 2016, Michelle took on the sole role of owner.
Being able to be part of a family owned business, Michelle said it has been very cool. “Pride says it all,” she emphasized. “There has been a lot of hard work, dedication and commitment that have made it happen for us to be here today. There are two key players that have contributed to the success and growth of Centennial Ford over the past number of years. I have had the pleasure of working with these two over the past 20 years and knowing them my entire life! Earle Sr. spent 34 years overseeing the business with his vision, organizational skills and attention to detail with numbers. Earl Jr. has been involved for 30 years using his wit and charm to sell vehicles, manage people and manage inventory.”
With 24 employees currently at the dealership, Amendt said it is an incredible achievement to be able to reach 50 years of business in Watrous.
“There are few businesses, especially in today’s day and age, that can say they have marked 50 years and we really feel proud and honoured to have achieved that. I think what makes us special is the people, both staff and our customers. We have an excellent staff that work together and we strive to give excellent service and pay close attention to our customers’ needs. We have received over 20 Customer Satisfaction Awards from Ford of Canada, the most recent was the President’s Diamond Club Award achieved for 2017. This is the highest customer satisfaction award that you can achieve from Ford.”
Because of the support from Watrous and the surrounding area, Michelle was quick to point out that it remains the reason they are still in business. “It has been excellent over the years and the community is extremely important to us. Without it, we would not be here today.”
It is because of the importance of community to Centennial Ford that they have also in turn given back. “Over the last 50 years Centennial Ford has been involved with many community events. We have been able to donate $30,000 to the Watrous Swimming Pool, $50,000 to the Watrous Hospital Foundation, and $50,000 to the Watrous/Manitou Beach Heritage Centre. We have also hosted many Drive Events to raise money for the Watrous community including for Winston High School, the Watrous Curling Rink, the Watrous School of Dance and the United Church to name a few. Additionally, we held many Drive Events for the surrounding area as well that included Young, Imperial, Lanigan, Viscount, Davidson, Allan and Colonsay. With Ford’s generous donations through those events and others, over $85,000 dollars for those local groups and charities has been raised!”
Amendt also noted that outside of the day to day business operations, the Centennial Ford family has been involved within the community. “Throughout the past several years Centennial Ford management and owners have been involved in the community in various roles including as president of Chamber of Commerce, past Kinsmen president, Fun Run car show chair, on Watrous Town Council, Knights of Columbus, president of the organizing committee to build the Manitou Springs Hotel, plus coaching baseball and hockey. Currently Earl Jr. is part of the United Church board and I have been an active member of the Music Festival committee and Horizon Winds Band committee for several years. I have also coached and managed the local swim club for 20 years. For us it is more than selling cars. We appreciate the community we have grown up in, raised our kids in and have done business in. To our customers, the community and the surrounding area, we appreciate you and we hope to be able to continue to serve you in the future!”
TWM Top Story - Oct. 15, 2018
WorkHorse Hub founded by local resident named ABEX Award finalist
Daniel Bushman
It is an innovative and creative way of matching employees with employers within the agricultural sector and later this month, WorkHorse Hub (co-created by local resident Morgan Knezacek), will be up for an ABEX award. Celebrating Saskatchewan business excellence, WorkHorse Hub was named a finalist in the Innovation Award category for this year’s 35th annual Achievement in Business Excellence (ABEX) Awards.
Grouped with other innovative businesses throughout Saskatchewan, Knezacek, who now calls Manitou Beach home, was honoured and thrilled when she found out WorkHorse Hub was named a finalist. “We were taught to work hard, always be learning and stay grounded.” Growing up on the family farm between Watrous and Manitou Beach, Morgan gained experience working with her parents Ed and Mary, and brothers Luke and Gavin before starting her career and eventually co-creating WorkHorse Hub with Kristjan Hebert.
An entrepreneur in the agriculture sector, Knezacek began consulting across the province for grain farms, predominantly larger ones, where she would help with everything from hiring to navigating succession. However, it was during that time she discovered the need for labour was a lot bigger than she thought.
“I had the opportunity to attend an industry conference and quickly realized that across all agricultural sectors, HR and finding good labour was a major pain point.”
What Knezacek gleaned from her time at the industry conference in Winnipeg was the immense struggle employers in those sectors were faced with in trying to find the right people. “I think employers found it challenging to promote their job opportunities and attract candidates. After that conference, I thought there has to be a way to solve this on a larger scale.”
Knowing that hiring recruiters to help Morgan would not be enough to deal with the magnitude of the issue, Knezacek got down to business. After having a conversation with Kristjan, who ended up becoming her business partner, the pair talked about how to solve this problem.
“We honed in on an idea and it was essentially based on a dating, match.com concept. If people can get matched for love why can’t they get matched for work?”
Setting out to create this unique online site and opportunity for both employer and employee in the agriculture sector, Knezacek and Hebert launched WorkHorse Hub.
“We invested in market research and began to understand that producers want help finding the right people to work for their operation so we decided to combine our expertise in human resources, agriculture, and technology and transform the way agriculture hires.”
Building a team proficient in development, human resources, marketing, immigration law among other fields, Knezacek explained their new way of finding the right matches for both the employee and employer.
“We are striving to revolutionize the way agriculture workers are hired. We use a matching algorithm that matches job seekers to employers and vice versa. We have candidates that are local and from around the world, they can choose to be in our database and receive messages from employers or remain private and just recieve match updates. Some are looking to get exposure and experience working on farms and others are millenial or generation z farmers from Australia, for example. Their parents have given them lots of experience as a kid growing up but they’d like to go away for a few years, gain some exposure and bring that knowledge back to the farm. It’s a piece of the succession path for those candidates.”
Because of their innovative and user-friendly system, WorkHorse Hub was recognized as a finalist for this year’s ABEX Awards. In order to be selected for the prestigious awards, ABEX applicants went through a rigorous adjudication process with 52 finalists ultimately selected in nine business categories. Finalists are then judged on the quality of their application and supporting documents, including a Safety Plan. The Safety Plan is an important aspect of each application, Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board is the Safety Partner for the ABEX Awards.
“It is a really rewarding place to be,” said Knezacek of WorkHorse Hub, which can be found online at www.workhorsehub.ca. “I feel like we have a lot of room to grow but can also appreciate how far we’ve come. That is all kudos to our team. We have a fantastic group of people that are just as passionate—or maybe even more passionate than I am—that are helping us move forward. Myself and Kristjan could not do this alone. We’ve got a great team!”
Knezacek also added she would not be where she is today without the support from her family. “My husband Matthew has been such a tremendous support and an encouragement to me as I have taken on this venture. We have been so blessed by our daughter Gwenyth and both her and my husband mean the world to me.”
Along with WorkHorse Hub in the Innovation Award category, sponsored by Saskatchewan Polytechnic, the other finalists are: InfraReady Products (1998) Ltd., Quantum Mechanical Technology Inc., Viking Innovations Ltd., and Linnaeus Plant Sciences Inc.
The remaining categories include: the Community Involvement Award, the Export Award, the Growth and Expansion Award, the Marketing Award, the New Venture Award, the Service Award, the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the Priority Focus Award.
Five additional awards will be awarded on the night of the ABEX Awards and include: the prestigious Business Leader of the Year Award, the Community Leader of the Year Award, the Saskatchewan Hall of Fame, the Roger Phillips Chamber Builder, and the ABEX Business of the Year.
Steve McLellan, CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce said, “It’s an honour for the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce to continue to host this event and pay tribute to the Saskatchewan businesses that are doing amazing things in our province and across the globe.”
The finalists for the 2018 ABEX Awards, presented by Conexus Credit Union will be recognized at this year’s ABEX Awards Oct. 20 at TCU Place in Saskatoon. For a complete list of the finalists, people can visit www.saskchamber.com.
Daniel Bushman
It is an innovative and creative way of matching employees with employers within the agricultural sector and later this month, WorkHorse Hub (co-created by local resident Morgan Knezacek), will be up for an ABEX award. Celebrating Saskatchewan business excellence, WorkHorse Hub was named a finalist in the Innovation Award category for this year’s 35th annual Achievement in Business Excellence (ABEX) Awards.
Grouped with other innovative businesses throughout Saskatchewan, Knezacek, who now calls Manitou Beach home, was honoured and thrilled when she found out WorkHorse Hub was named a finalist. “We were taught to work hard, always be learning and stay grounded.” Growing up on the family farm between Watrous and Manitou Beach, Morgan gained experience working with her parents Ed and Mary, and brothers Luke and Gavin before starting her career and eventually co-creating WorkHorse Hub with Kristjan Hebert.
An entrepreneur in the agriculture sector, Knezacek began consulting across the province for grain farms, predominantly larger ones, where she would help with everything from hiring to navigating succession. However, it was during that time she discovered the need for labour was a lot bigger than she thought.
“I had the opportunity to attend an industry conference and quickly realized that across all agricultural sectors, HR and finding good labour was a major pain point.”
What Knezacek gleaned from her time at the industry conference in Winnipeg was the immense struggle employers in those sectors were faced with in trying to find the right people. “I think employers found it challenging to promote their job opportunities and attract candidates. After that conference, I thought there has to be a way to solve this on a larger scale.”
Knowing that hiring recruiters to help Morgan would not be enough to deal with the magnitude of the issue, Knezacek got down to business. After having a conversation with Kristjan, who ended up becoming her business partner, the pair talked about how to solve this problem.
“We honed in on an idea and it was essentially based on a dating, match.com concept. If people can get matched for love why can’t they get matched for work?”
Setting out to create this unique online site and opportunity for both employer and employee in the agriculture sector, Knezacek and Hebert launched WorkHorse Hub.
“We invested in market research and began to understand that producers want help finding the right people to work for their operation so we decided to combine our expertise in human resources, agriculture, and technology and transform the way agriculture hires.”
Building a team proficient in development, human resources, marketing, immigration law among other fields, Knezacek explained their new way of finding the right matches for both the employee and employer.
“We are striving to revolutionize the way agriculture workers are hired. We use a matching algorithm that matches job seekers to employers and vice versa. We have candidates that are local and from around the world, they can choose to be in our database and receive messages from employers or remain private and just recieve match updates. Some are looking to get exposure and experience working on farms and others are millenial or generation z farmers from Australia, for example. Their parents have given them lots of experience as a kid growing up but they’d like to go away for a few years, gain some exposure and bring that knowledge back to the farm. It’s a piece of the succession path for those candidates.”
Because of their innovative and user-friendly system, WorkHorse Hub was recognized as a finalist for this year’s ABEX Awards. In order to be selected for the prestigious awards, ABEX applicants went through a rigorous adjudication process with 52 finalists ultimately selected in nine business categories. Finalists are then judged on the quality of their application and supporting documents, including a Safety Plan. The Safety Plan is an important aspect of each application, Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board is the Safety Partner for the ABEX Awards.
“It is a really rewarding place to be,” said Knezacek of WorkHorse Hub, which can be found online at www.workhorsehub.ca. “I feel like we have a lot of room to grow but can also appreciate how far we’ve come. That is all kudos to our team. We have a fantastic group of people that are just as passionate—or maybe even more passionate than I am—that are helping us move forward. Myself and Kristjan could not do this alone. We’ve got a great team!”
Knezacek also added she would not be where she is today without the support from her family. “My husband Matthew has been such a tremendous support and an encouragement to me as I have taken on this venture. We have been so blessed by our daughter Gwenyth and both her and my husband mean the world to me.”
Along with WorkHorse Hub in the Innovation Award category, sponsored by Saskatchewan Polytechnic, the other finalists are: InfraReady Products (1998) Ltd., Quantum Mechanical Technology Inc., Viking Innovations Ltd., and Linnaeus Plant Sciences Inc.
The remaining categories include: the Community Involvement Award, the Export Award, the Growth and Expansion Award, the Marketing Award, the New Venture Award, the Service Award, the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the Priority Focus Award.
Five additional awards will be awarded on the night of the ABEX Awards and include: the prestigious Business Leader of the Year Award, the Community Leader of the Year Award, the Saskatchewan Hall of Fame, the Roger Phillips Chamber Builder, and the ABEX Business of the Year.
Steve McLellan, CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce said, “It’s an honour for the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce to continue to host this event and pay tribute to the Saskatchewan businesses that are doing amazing things in our province and across the globe.”
The finalists for the 2018 ABEX Awards, presented by Conexus Credit Union will be recognized at this year’s ABEX Awards Oct. 20 at TCU Place in Saskatoon. For a complete list of the finalists, people can visit www.saskchamber.com.
TWM Top Story - Oct. 8, 2018
Winston High School ready to Take Action for SSLC 2019
Daniel Bushman
With less than a year to go before the 40th annual Saskatchewan Student Leadership Conference (SSLC) descends upon Watrous, many at Winston High School are hard at work preparing for the provincial event. Hoping to have tremendous community support as the 2019 conference arrives Sept. 18 to 20, students and staff on the SSLC committee at the school have been meeting and planning since last year.
In anticipation for SSLC 2019, this year 23 students and four advisors from Winston High School spent a few days in Langenburg where the 2018 conference was held. During their experience, they had the opportunity to make connections, learn what to expect for 2019 and shared in the excitement of being with other student leaders.
“It was pretty awesome and it was neat to be able to see other students from around the province,” said Winston High School student Sarah Martens, who attended this year’s SSLC. Emily Roney, who also was able to take part agreed, adding, “Overall it was a good time and a really good experience!”
During the leadership conference, students and advisors from across Saskatchewan spent three days listening to speakers, taking in a trade show and networking with others before returning back to their schools with an opportunity to make a difference. Treyl Ernst, who also attended the SSLC with Winston High School said being able to take in everything really put things into perspective. “It showed that a person really can make a difference at their school and it was also a great way to kick off the year.”
While the contingent from Winston High School also accepted the SSLC banner from Langenburg, which will be on display at the school leading up to next year’s conference, they also gave a presentation to those in attendance, hyping up the Watrous event.
The team of students and advisors from Winston High School also had the chance to scout out the conference and glean information from it.
“We wanted to see what we can bring back to our school,” said Winston High School student Emily Fossen. “We also made connections with numerous people including those at the trade show and with some sponsors. We were able to speak to students in attendance as well and hype up our event for next year.”
Roney said after attending the conference she felt more excited about the SRC and being a part of it this year. Ernst added, “Being at SSLC was such a fun atmosphere and we are excited for next year.”
In an effort to make SSLC 2019 in Watrous a success, teacher and co-chair of the conference Tina Edwards said they will be relying heavily on the community for its support.
“Watrous has held not one but two conferences in the past and now this will be a third. There is no way that a community is able to hold multiple conferences without its support so I think it just shows how great Watrous and the area has been.”
Hosting in 1993, 2012 and now in 2019, the SSLC committee in Watrous is aiming at inviting 900 students and 150 advisors to take in the 2019 conference. Co-chair Lori Bartko, who was also involved with the 2012 event said they were able to invite around 750 students last time and are hoping for even more.
“The only way that can happen though is by having billet families. Billets do not need to feel as though they have to entertain those who will stay with them. They just have to provide a place for the students to sleep, make sure they get the students to and from where they need to go and that type of thing.”
In addition to requiring billets, Edwards added they also need sponsorship support. Local area businesses and organizations can lend their support financially or through in kind donations with four levels of sponsorship that each will be recognized for, depending on funding amounts.
“About 65 percent of our revenue will be raised through the registration fees but the remainder comes from our valuable sponsors. Corporate and community sponsors have played an integral role in past conferences and their involvement has ultimately led to a tradition of excellence and success. Without sponsors we will be unable to host a quality event so it is so important to have people on board.”
With the aim of showcasing Watrous, Edwards said, “Our whole goal for the 2019 conference is to make Watrous feel like it is a part of everyone that attends. We want students and advisors to come here and make them feel like this town is theirs and provide them with a rich and memorable experience.”
With SSLC 2019’s key theme of Take Action and going along the lines of Hollywood with a red carpet, gala awards and being thrust into the spotlight, Martens said they want it to be more about just the glitz and glamour.
“Take Action means stand up and take responsibility, take initiative and help people. It means to do, not just sit back and wait. We want students to become involved in a positive way.”
For more on SSLC 2019, people can go online to www.sslc2019.com or they can contact Tina Edwards or Lori Bartko. Other Winston High School staff will also be heading up various chair committees as well as the conference gets closer.
“There is still a lot of work left to be done but we are looking forward to next year’s conference.”
Daniel Bushman
With less than a year to go before the 40th annual Saskatchewan Student Leadership Conference (SSLC) descends upon Watrous, many at Winston High School are hard at work preparing for the provincial event. Hoping to have tremendous community support as the 2019 conference arrives Sept. 18 to 20, students and staff on the SSLC committee at the school have been meeting and planning since last year.
In anticipation for SSLC 2019, this year 23 students and four advisors from Winston High School spent a few days in Langenburg where the 2018 conference was held. During their experience, they had the opportunity to make connections, learn what to expect for 2019 and shared in the excitement of being with other student leaders.
“It was pretty awesome and it was neat to be able to see other students from around the province,” said Winston High School student Sarah Martens, who attended this year’s SSLC. Emily Roney, who also was able to take part agreed, adding, “Overall it was a good time and a really good experience!”
During the leadership conference, students and advisors from across Saskatchewan spent three days listening to speakers, taking in a trade show and networking with others before returning back to their schools with an opportunity to make a difference. Treyl Ernst, who also attended the SSLC with Winston High School said being able to take in everything really put things into perspective. “It showed that a person really can make a difference at their school and it was also a great way to kick off the year.”
While the contingent from Winston High School also accepted the SSLC banner from Langenburg, which will be on display at the school leading up to next year’s conference, they also gave a presentation to those in attendance, hyping up the Watrous event.
The team of students and advisors from Winston High School also had the chance to scout out the conference and glean information from it.
“We wanted to see what we can bring back to our school,” said Winston High School student Emily Fossen. “We also made connections with numerous people including those at the trade show and with some sponsors. We were able to speak to students in attendance as well and hype up our event for next year.”
Roney said after attending the conference she felt more excited about the SRC and being a part of it this year. Ernst added, “Being at SSLC was such a fun atmosphere and we are excited for next year.”
In an effort to make SSLC 2019 in Watrous a success, teacher and co-chair of the conference Tina Edwards said they will be relying heavily on the community for its support.
“Watrous has held not one but two conferences in the past and now this will be a third. There is no way that a community is able to hold multiple conferences without its support so I think it just shows how great Watrous and the area has been.”
Hosting in 1993, 2012 and now in 2019, the SSLC committee in Watrous is aiming at inviting 900 students and 150 advisors to take in the 2019 conference. Co-chair Lori Bartko, who was also involved with the 2012 event said they were able to invite around 750 students last time and are hoping for even more.
“The only way that can happen though is by having billet families. Billets do not need to feel as though they have to entertain those who will stay with them. They just have to provide a place for the students to sleep, make sure they get the students to and from where they need to go and that type of thing.”
In addition to requiring billets, Edwards added they also need sponsorship support. Local area businesses and organizations can lend their support financially or through in kind donations with four levels of sponsorship that each will be recognized for, depending on funding amounts.
“About 65 percent of our revenue will be raised through the registration fees but the remainder comes from our valuable sponsors. Corporate and community sponsors have played an integral role in past conferences and their involvement has ultimately led to a tradition of excellence and success. Without sponsors we will be unable to host a quality event so it is so important to have people on board.”
With the aim of showcasing Watrous, Edwards said, “Our whole goal for the 2019 conference is to make Watrous feel like it is a part of everyone that attends. We want students and advisors to come here and make them feel like this town is theirs and provide them with a rich and memorable experience.”
With SSLC 2019’s key theme of Take Action and going along the lines of Hollywood with a red carpet, gala awards and being thrust into the spotlight, Martens said they want it to be more about just the glitz and glamour.
“Take Action means stand up and take responsibility, take initiative and help people. It means to do, not just sit back and wait. We want students to become involved in a positive way.”
For more on SSLC 2019, people can go online to www.sslc2019.com or they can contact Tina Edwards or Lori Bartko. Other Winston High School staff will also be heading up various chair committees as well as the conference gets closer.
“There is still a lot of work left to be done but we are looking forward to next year’s conference.”
TWM Top Story - Oct. 1, 2018
Snow halts harvest as cool weather kicks off fall
Daniel Bushman
It was an abrupt end to summer and atrocious start to fall for many people across Canada including those in Saskatchewan and Ontario. On a day which should normally include sunshine and colourful leaves falling from trees, harsh winds, snow and rain took its place. Further east in Ontario was even worse as a tornado ripped through Kinburn, Dunrobin and Gatineau on the final day of summer.
The snow, rain and cooler conditions that invaded much of Saskatchewan also put a damper on harvest operations as producers had to halt combines until fields dry up. While it does not happen often, Environment Canada’s David Phillips said approximately 30 percent of Septembers in Saskatchewan contain snow but what surprised him the most was the amount of hours of snow that arrived.
“I think in Saskatoon there was around 35 hours of snow over the last three days (ending summer and starting fall). I know it didn’t accumulate that much because it came with the temperatures hovering around that freezing mark with some rain. But it was a bit of a wake up call.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada said a frontal wave brought the first bout of snow with the most significant amounts observed in southwestern Saskatchewan. The early onset of snow resulted in numerous power outages as the heavy wet snow fell on trees with remaining foliage. “Snowfall measurements are a challenge during this time of year due to the wet nature of the snow and the melting that occurs throughout the day.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada did provide a few approximate totals in centimetres from places across the province which included: Conquest: 10 to 15; Rosetown: 10 to 15; Kindersley: 10; Strasbourg: 6; Lucky Lake: 5; and Yorkton: 3.
With that snowy reminder of what is to come for people residing in Saskatchewan, Phillips said the snow at the end of September also put a damper on harvest operations.
“In regions where harvest is not completed yet this was not a welcome kind of interruption. But it is not as if it will stay.”
After getting out of the gates in good time and well ahead of the five year average, many local area producers have since had to sit and wait. According to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly crop report for the period of Sept. 18 to 24, a total of 68 percent of the crop is now in the bin, now just slightly ahead of the five year average of 64 percent for this time of year.
Rain was recorded throughout most of the province through the week and up to 15 cm of snow was reported in some areas in the central regions.
Harvest is most advanced in the southwestern region, where 88 percent of the crop is now combined. The southeastern region has 87 percent combined, the west-central 59 percent and the east-central region 58 percent combined. The northeastern region has 34 percent combined, while the northwestern region has 27 percent combined.
In the weekly crop report, it stated 97 percent of lentils, 96 percent of field peas, 82 percent of durum, 53 percent of spring wheat, 48 percent of canola and 28 percent of flax has now been combined.
With the late season rain and snow, topsoil moisture conditions have improved across the province. Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as four percent surplus, 58 percent adequate, 32 percent short and six percent very short. Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as 48 percent adequate, 42 percent short and 10 percent very short.
The majority of crop damage was due to lodging, while rain and snow caused quality loss.
While the snow did disappear as last week continued, Phillips felt there will not be a major warm up anytime soon but things should dry up and combines will be humming once again. “It is going to be a coolish Canadian air that will be dominating the scene over the next week.”
As fall hits, Phillips said there is a battle raging as summer still wants to hang on but winter wants to get a foothold creating that tug of war. “We saw really with the tornadoes in the Ottawa area and the Gatineau area, a day where it would be like the dog days of summer, very hot and humid and then at the same time it was snowing in Saskatchewan. It shows you what a great country that we live in where it is never dull when you are talking about the weather.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada confirmed tornadoes and a downburst hit Sept. 21 as a cold front tracked over southern Ontario Friday afternoon and evening resulting in severe thunderstorms which produced two tornadoes and two downbursts.
One severe thunderstorm produced a tornado that tracked over Kinburn, Dunrobin and Gatineau between approximately 4:40 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. This tornado damaged or destroyed numerous buildings, overturned vehicles and snapped many trees and hydro poles. There were also reports of multiple injuries including several people that were critically injured. Preliminary assessment of the damage indicates that this was a high end EF-3 tornado with wind speeds up to 265 km/h.
A second severe thunderstorm produced a tornado in the neighbourhood of Arlington Woods in Ottawa near 6 p.m. Environment and Climate Change Canada said this tornado significantly damaged buildings and snapped many trees and hydro poles. Preliminary assessment of the damage indicates that this was a high end EF-2 tornado with wind speeds up to 220 km/h.
Another severe thunderstorm produced a downburst in Calabogie near 4 p.m. Several houses had roof damage and many trees were snapped and uprooted. Winds associated with this downburst are estimated to be up to 175 km/h.
Yet another area of damage from a severe thunderstorm was investigated at Sharbot Lake. A downburst with maximum winds of about 110 km/h knocked down many trees in the area.
“It really shows you how wild it can be with too much winter in the west and too much summer in the east. If we could always have a balance we would be happy.”
Moving forward, Phillips said, “We still think winter will be shorter than it was last year. I think (the recent snow) is just nature’s wake up call to tell us we are entering the cold season so this is kind of the cold and frosty snowy kind of weather we might get but it is not something that will have any staying power. It is almost like the weather trailer giving you a preview of what we are going to see.” Phillips continued, “As they say in Newfoundland, ‘If you don’t like the weather out the front door, look out the back door.’ It does change and it changes a lot on the prairies. My sense is, the cold air has arrived but I still think there will be some double digit temperatures.”
Daniel Bushman
It was an abrupt end to summer and atrocious start to fall for many people across Canada including those in Saskatchewan and Ontario. On a day which should normally include sunshine and colourful leaves falling from trees, harsh winds, snow and rain took its place. Further east in Ontario was even worse as a tornado ripped through Kinburn, Dunrobin and Gatineau on the final day of summer.
The snow, rain and cooler conditions that invaded much of Saskatchewan also put a damper on harvest operations as producers had to halt combines until fields dry up. While it does not happen often, Environment Canada’s David Phillips said approximately 30 percent of Septembers in Saskatchewan contain snow but what surprised him the most was the amount of hours of snow that arrived.
“I think in Saskatoon there was around 35 hours of snow over the last three days (ending summer and starting fall). I know it didn’t accumulate that much because it came with the temperatures hovering around that freezing mark with some rain. But it was a bit of a wake up call.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada said a frontal wave brought the first bout of snow with the most significant amounts observed in southwestern Saskatchewan. The early onset of snow resulted in numerous power outages as the heavy wet snow fell on trees with remaining foliage. “Snowfall measurements are a challenge during this time of year due to the wet nature of the snow and the melting that occurs throughout the day.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada did provide a few approximate totals in centimetres from places across the province which included: Conquest: 10 to 15; Rosetown: 10 to 15; Kindersley: 10; Strasbourg: 6; Lucky Lake: 5; and Yorkton: 3.
With that snowy reminder of what is to come for people residing in Saskatchewan, Phillips said the snow at the end of September also put a damper on harvest operations.
“In regions where harvest is not completed yet this was not a welcome kind of interruption. But it is not as if it will stay.”
After getting out of the gates in good time and well ahead of the five year average, many local area producers have since had to sit and wait. According to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly crop report for the period of Sept. 18 to 24, a total of 68 percent of the crop is now in the bin, now just slightly ahead of the five year average of 64 percent for this time of year.
Rain was recorded throughout most of the province through the week and up to 15 cm of snow was reported in some areas in the central regions.
Harvest is most advanced in the southwestern region, where 88 percent of the crop is now combined. The southeastern region has 87 percent combined, the west-central 59 percent and the east-central region 58 percent combined. The northeastern region has 34 percent combined, while the northwestern region has 27 percent combined.
In the weekly crop report, it stated 97 percent of lentils, 96 percent of field peas, 82 percent of durum, 53 percent of spring wheat, 48 percent of canola and 28 percent of flax has now been combined.
With the late season rain and snow, topsoil moisture conditions have improved across the province. Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as four percent surplus, 58 percent adequate, 32 percent short and six percent very short. Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as 48 percent adequate, 42 percent short and 10 percent very short.
The majority of crop damage was due to lodging, while rain and snow caused quality loss.
While the snow did disappear as last week continued, Phillips felt there will not be a major warm up anytime soon but things should dry up and combines will be humming once again. “It is going to be a coolish Canadian air that will be dominating the scene over the next week.”
As fall hits, Phillips said there is a battle raging as summer still wants to hang on but winter wants to get a foothold creating that tug of war. “We saw really with the tornadoes in the Ottawa area and the Gatineau area, a day where it would be like the dog days of summer, very hot and humid and then at the same time it was snowing in Saskatchewan. It shows you what a great country that we live in where it is never dull when you are talking about the weather.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada confirmed tornadoes and a downburst hit Sept. 21 as a cold front tracked over southern Ontario Friday afternoon and evening resulting in severe thunderstorms which produced two tornadoes and two downbursts.
One severe thunderstorm produced a tornado that tracked over Kinburn, Dunrobin and Gatineau between approximately 4:40 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. This tornado damaged or destroyed numerous buildings, overturned vehicles and snapped many trees and hydro poles. There were also reports of multiple injuries including several people that were critically injured. Preliminary assessment of the damage indicates that this was a high end EF-3 tornado with wind speeds up to 265 km/h.
A second severe thunderstorm produced a tornado in the neighbourhood of Arlington Woods in Ottawa near 6 p.m. Environment and Climate Change Canada said this tornado significantly damaged buildings and snapped many trees and hydro poles. Preliminary assessment of the damage indicates that this was a high end EF-2 tornado with wind speeds up to 220 km/h.
Another severe thunderstorm produced a downburst in Calabogie near 4 p.m. Several houses had roof damage and many trees were snapped and uprooted. Winds associated with this downburst are estimated to be up to 175 km/h.
Yet another area of damage from a severe thunderstorm was investigated at Sharbot Lake. A downburst with maximum winds of about 110 km/h knocked down many trees in the area.
“It really shows you how wild it can be with too much winter in the west and too much summer in the east. If we could always have a balance we would be happy.”
Moving forward, Phillips said, “We still think winter will be shorter than it was last year. I think (the recent snow) is just nature’s wake up call to tell us we are entering the cold season so this is kind of the cold and frosty snowy kind of weather we might get but it is not something that will have any staying power. It is almost like the weather trailer giving you a preview of what we are going to see.” Phillips continued, “As they say in Newfoundland, ‘If you don’t like the weather out the front door, look out the back door.’ It does change and it changes a lot on the prairies. My sense is, the cold air has arrived but I still think there will be some double digit temperatures.”
TWM Top Story - Sept. 24, 2018
Completion of industrial lots part of projects left for 2018
Daniel Bushman
With a focus placed on developing the east side industrial area of Watrous, crews continue to push forward before the winter season arrives. In addition to the work being done on the industrial parcel of land, other projects and notable items have also been taking place before 2018 comes to a close.
Beginning with the east side industrial area, along with completing the installation of water and sewer throughout the industrial lots, the community’s first sewage lift station was also finished. Constructed on a lot owned by the town and adjacent to Watrous Home Hardware, the lift station is now in operation. With water and sewer lines also running through the industrial parcel, Town Administrator Orrin Redden explained the setup.
“The water/sewer runs from 4th Ave., crossing Hwy. 365 and then moving past Home Hardware towards the town’s industrial lots and lift station. From there they run south towards the Chrysler dealership with the water portion looping back to 2nd Ave. towards where the ambulance and fire rescue units are housed. The sanitary portion follows the water lines but goes just to where the old SaskPower substation was located. The town now owns that portion of land right at the corner of Hwy. 365 and Hwy. 2 where the substation was so once SaskPower cleans up the site we hope to use that section as saleable property.”
With water and sewer installed and completed, the next phase for the industrial parcel involves road work, which is currently underway. Public Works Superintendent Dion Tarasoff said the contractor hired for the road work has been on site for the past three weeks working on the service road, cutting it down to sub grade. While crews remain in a bit of a holding pattern to begin work at the portion where the substation was previously situated, Tarasoff said they have been able to continue work elsewhere.
“There is still a fair bit of work to do in addition to that portion of land where the substation used to be located. While SaskPower cleans up the transmission lines, construction crews will be creating a new approach where Campbell Road is located off Hwy. 365 and it will be about halfway between where the current temporary approach is and Watrous Concrete. That approach will then become the main entrance road leading towards Mainline Chrysler Watrous.”
Paving that portion of roadway, the crews will also be working a little further north near the Watrous Home Hardware where they will be realigning the intersection of 4th Ave. E. and Hwy. 365. A requirement from the Ministry of Highways, Redden said, “Due to safety concerns, that intersection will be realigned to make it closer to a 90˚ angle. We will also be paving 4th Ave. E. next to the Home Hardware and it will be running to the 20 industrial lots that the town owns.”
If all goes well and the weather cooperates, Tarasoff said they would like to have all of the paving and road work completed by the end of fall. “We had hoped to see things done a bit earlier but there were a few unexpected delays that we had to wait for.”
While the work continues within the industrial area, nearby at the new residential lots located along 8th Ave. E., between 4th St. E. and Hwy. 365, Redden said one house has already been constructed with a second to be started this year. “We have 12 serviced lots on that 8th Ave. E. portion with two now sold. As more lots begin to sell, council will eventually decide whether to extend construction south to 7th Ave. E. or north to 9th Ave. E. Currently those areas have power and gas but not water and sewer so council would have to make the decision to go ahead on either before further services would be added.”
As a second house is slated to be built in the serviced residential area, a different type of service will be up for renewal at the end of the year. Currently there are just a few months remaining on the contract with Commissionaires South Saskatchewan after town council deciding to do a one year trial. Council made the decision to see bylaw enforcement increased in 2018 throughout Watrous and hired the company Jan. 1, 2018. Since that time, some residents have expressed concern there has been too much strict enforcement and Redden noted the town has heard their concerns and will be looking at creating a workable policy.
The contract with Commissionaires South Saskatchewan first began Jan. 1, 2018 with the aim of enforcing the town’s bylaws beyond just regulations for dogs and cats. After initial efforts were made to focus on education rather than enforcement earlier on in the year, the bylaw officers began enforcement throughout the summer.
“There was some good progress made through beautifying and tidying up properties and in general, property cleanup was addressed. However, we understand that some were disappointed with the way the bylaws were being enforced and I think council will be looking at some common ground as to how to move forward with that.”
Overall, Redden added that council has been pleased with the general maintenance and beautification done by the residents of the community and by the public works crew. “Members on council have received numerous compliments from visitors to our town who have noted how clean and beautiful it is.”
Beautification and extensive work has also been done at the Watrous Cemetery after the town purchased a columbarium, which was installed earlier this year. More recently, a rock fountain was built for visitors to enjoy. “There have been some niches already purchased for the columbarium and the Do-Gooders group along with the town shared the costs towards the creation of a rock fountain.”
With the fountain and flower bed recently completed at the cemetery, along with the Do-Gooders, Steve Schmidt was also instrumental in building the structure and flower bed area. The Do-Gooders said they have really appreciated the willingness from the Town of Watrous to allow them to fulfill a dream of theirs in updating the cemetery area and for helping out to cover some of the costs. The group, which now numbers approximately 15, also previously created the directory at the cemetery and installed a bench. Adding to that project list, the fountain was completed in recent weeks and come spring, flowers will be planted in the flower bed.
Spearheading the project, the Do-Gooders also wanted to extend their appreciation to Butch Monk, the seasonal cemetery maintenance employee who has been working hard with the upkeep at the cemetery.
Meanwhile, other work has also taken place within the community as the Watrous Arena received some upgrades to benefit those utilizing the facility. Inside the rink, the aging chiller was replaced and a new one installed. Tarasoff said, “It was a fairly large expense but will benefit those using the arena for many years to come.”
This past spring, through numerous local donations, a new ice resurfacer was also purchased for the rink and is all decked out and ready to roll for the season.
“We are excited to see it put to use this winter and it will be nice having a new unit to flood the ice.”
Daniel Bushman
With a focus placed on developing the east side industrial area of Watrous, crews continue to push forward before the winter season arrives. In addition to the work being done on the industrial parcel of land, other projects and notable items have also been taking place before 2018 comes to a close.
Beginning with the east side industrial area, along with completing the installation of water and sewer throughout the industrial lots, the community’s first sewage lift station was also finished. Constructed on a lot owned by the town and adjacent to Watrous Home Hardware, the lift station is now in operation. With water and sewer lines also running through the industrial parcel, Town Administrator Orrin Redden explained the setup.
“The water/sewer runs from 4th Ave., crossing Hwy. 365 and then moving past Home Hardware towards the town’s industrial lots and lift station. From there they run south towards the Chrysler dealership with the water portion looping back to 2nd Ave. towards where the ambulance and fire rescue units are housed. The sanitary portion follows the water lines but goes just to where the old SaskPower substation was located. The town now owns that portion of land right at the corner of Hwy. 365 and Hwy. 2 where the substation was so once SaskPower cleans up the site we hope to use that section as saleable property.”
With water and sewer installed and completed, the next phase for the industrial parcel involves road work, which is currently underway. Public Works Superintendent Dion Tarasoff said the contractor hired for the road work has been on site for the past three weeks working on the service road, cutting it down to sub grade. While crews remain in a bit of a holding pattern to begin work at the portion where the substation was previously situated, Tarasoff said they have been able to continue work elsewhere.
“There is still a fair bit of work to do in addition to that portion of land where the substation used to be located. While SaskPower cleans up the transmission lines, construction crews will be creating a new approach where Campbell Road is located off Hwy. 365 and it will be about halfway between where the current temporary approach is and Watrous Concrete. That approach will then become the main entrance road leading towards Mainline Chrysler Watrous.”
Paving that portion of roadway, the crews will also be working a little further north near the Watrous Home Hardware where they will be realigning the intersection of 4th Ave. E. and Hwy. 365. A requirement from the Ministry of Highways, Redden said, “Due to safety concerns, that intersection will be realigned to make it closer to a 90˚ angle. We will also be paving 4th Ave. E. next to the Home Hardware and it will be running to the 20 industrial lots that the town owns.”
If all goes well and the weather cooperates, Tarasoff said they would like to have all of the paving and road work completed by the end of fall. “We had hoped to see things done a bit earlier but there were a few unexpected delays that we had to wait for.”
While the work continues within the industrial area, nearby at the new residential lots located along 8th Ave. E., between 4th St. E. and Hwy. 365, Redden said one house has already been constructed with a second to be started this year. “We have 12 serviced lots on that 8th Ave. E. portion with two now sold. As more lots begin to sell, council will eventually decide whether to extend construction south to 7th Ave. E. or north to 9th Ave. E. Currently those areas have power and gas but not water and sewer so council would have to make the decision to go ahead on either before further services would be added.”
As a second house is slated to be built in the serviced residential area, a different type of service will be up for renewal at the end of the year. Currently there are just a few months remaining on the contract with Commissionaires South Saskatchewan after town council deciding to do a one year trial. Council made the decision to see bylaw enforcement increased in 2018 throughout Watrous and hired the company Jan. 1, 2018. Since that time, some residents have expressed concern there has been too much strict enforcement and Redden noted the town has heard their concerns and will be looking at creating a workable policy.
The contract with Commissionaires South Saskatchewan first began Jan. 1, 2018 with the aim of enforcing the town’s bylaws beyond just regulations for dogs and cats. After initial efforts were made to focus on education rather than enforcement earlier on in the year, the bylaw officers began enforcement throughout the summer.
“There was some good progress made through beautifying and tidying up properties and in general, property cleanup was addressed. However, we understand that some were disappointed with the way the bylaws were being enforced and I think council will be looking at some common ground as to how to move forward with that.”
Overall, Redden added that council has been pleased with the general maintenance and beautification done by the residents of the community and by the public works crew. “Members on council have received numerous compliments from visitors to our town who have noted how clean and beautiful it is.”
Beautification and extensive work has also been done at the Watrous Cemetery after the town purchased a columbarium, which was installed earlier this year. More recently, a rock fountain was built for visitors to enjoy. “There have been some niches already purchased for the columbarium and the Do-Gooders group along with the town shared the costs towards the creation of a rock fountain.”
With the fountain and flower bed recently completed at the cemetery, along with the Do-Gooders, Steve Schmidt was also instrumental in building the structure and flower bed area. The Do-Gooders said they have really appreciated the willingness from the Town of Watrous to allow them to fulfill a dream of theirs in updating the cemetery area and for helping out to cover some of the costs. The group, which now numbers approximately 15, also previously created the directory at the cemetery and installed a bench. Adding to that project list, the fountain was completed in recent weeks and come spring, flowers will be planted in the flower bed.
Spearheading the project, the Do-Gooders also wanted to extend their appreciation to Butch Monk, the seasonal cemetery maintenance employee who has been working hard with the upkeep at the cemetery.
Meanwhile, other work has also taken place within the community as the Watrous Arena received some upgrades to benefit those utilizing the facility. Inside the rink, the aging chiller was replaced and a new one installed. Tarasoff said, “It was a fairly large expense but will benefit those using the arena for many years to come.”
This past spring, through numerous local donations, a new ice resurfacer was also purchased for the rink and is all decked out and ready to roll for the season.
“We are excited to see it put to use this winter and it will be nice having a new unit to flood the ice.”
TWM Top Story - Sept. 17, 2018
Finding answers to an unknown
Daniel Bushman
After more than a year and a half of searching for answers, seeking a diagnosis and making numerous trips for appointments, scans and biopsies, a young mother of five has finally received some news. With no diagnosis and her condition worsening each day, Lindsey Bushman of Watrous along with her husband Derek made the decision to travel to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota hoping for help.
Extremely tired, in substantial pain and wanting to know what was attacking her body, Lindsey and Derek flew down to Mayo Clinic Aug. 23, a day before her first consultation. With the unknown battle inside of her progressing rapidly, Lindsey’s septum had been already destroyed and her sinuses disappeared. With a cavity forming in her left cheek, sores in her mouth and not wanting to risk whatever it was inside of her reach her eyes, ears or brain, Lindsey began consultations Aug. 24. Running tests and going over blood work, surgery was then scheduled for Lindsey Aug. 30 where it was hoped that samples could be extracted and a diagnosis reached.
Despite doing similar biopsies in Canada, in this particular instance, the ENT (ears, nose, throat) surgeon was able to go in and clean out Lindsey’s sinus area before extracting samples from her. It was during the surgery that the ENT surgeon was joined by a pathologist in the operating room. “Having both in there allowed them to check the tissue samples as they were removed,” said Derek. “After multiple samples were taken, they could tell it was not a vascular disease (Wegeners GPA) but instead was a lymphoma, a type of cancer in the blood/lymph nodes and possibly some form of Idiopathic Midline Destructive Disease (IMDD).”
While both Wegeners and IMDD were discussed in Canada, neither were ever confirmed and with the rare type of lymphoma Lindsey would later be diagnosed with, the news came with mixed emotions.
“So after surgery (Aug. 30), the doctors met with us and explained they had found signs of lymphoma in the biopsy and were certain it was not Wegeners, which we had been chasing up to this point. They still needed a few days for the pathologists to confirm that it was indeed lymphoma and also what type of lymphoma. But even with the news that they knew it was probably lymphoma we both had tears of happiness and relief. Yes, we just found out Lindsey more than likely had cancer but at least we knew instead of wondering. The doctor also informed us that it was treatable and there was a high probability that it was curable.”
While hearing the word ‘cancer’ was not something the pair were hoping for, both Derek and Lindsey felt a little more at ease knowing what they were up against. That and the added knowledge that it could be treatable aided in making the next few days a little easier. But while that news provided some type of relief, Lindsey’s energy continued to disappear and rest became extremely important.
Because her biopsy was performed before the Labour Day long weekend in the United States, the pair had to wait a little longer before the confirmed results arrived. The ENT surgeon informed Derek and Lindsey that as soon as the pathology department confirmed the type of cancer she had, they would book an appointment with an oncologist and set up a PET/CT scan to make sure the lymphoma had not spread throughout the rest of Lindsey’s body, affecting any organs.
A week later, Derek and Lindsey were informed that she had Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type is a rare and aggressive type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, starting in T-cells but developing most often in natural killer (NK) cells. Developing in organs or tissues other than the lymph nodes, it usually affects areas in the nose, most often the nasal passages and can also affect the paranasal sinuses or the upper part of the throat.
More common in Asia, Central America and South America, it occurs more often in men than women and the average age at diagnosis is 60. It is also strongly linked to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), especially in people of Asian ancestry. Since Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma is already rare and Lindsey has only ever resided in Canada, is caucasian and 29-years-old, the odds of her being diagnosed with it are astounding.
Because Lindsey had this now-known attacker inside of her for over a year and a half, there was concern that it had spread to other parts of her body. To know for sure and to know what stage it had progressed to, a PET/CT scan was performed during the afternoon Sept. 10. The results from that would reveal if the lymphoma had spread to other parts or organs in the body.
Following up with the oncologist and doctors the following day, Derek shared some incredible news, “Fortunately it had not spread and was localized to the nose area. This was a huge relief, because of Lindsey’s symptoms. We had been searching for answers for over a year and half and we assumed with that much time before being diagnosed it provided enough of a period for the lymphoma to spread. It was a huge answer to prayer,” he continued. “We thought for sure it had spread to other parts of the body. Just because it had taken so long to find a diagnosis and our research had said it is an aggressive form of lymphoma, we could only think of the worst. I know many people were praying that it would not spread and for it to be considered an early stage lymphoma and not spread, what a blessing it was to hear that news.”
With many hurdles left to overcome and despite not currently being covered by Saskatchewan Health for their health care expenses at Mayo Clinic, the biggest hurdle had just been accomplished with the news of the lymphoma not spreading and being treatable. Derek and Lindsey insisted the support from back home and around the country has aided in helping them to overcome each one of those hurdles along the way.
“The support has been overwhelming and has definitely helped to keep our spirits up. When we would call home or get messages from our family that so and so dropped off supper for our kids, or so and so dropped off money or this person is offering to do this or that, there just are really no words to explain how thankful and grateful we are for that. There are people we don’t know that have given to us and that says a lot about community and the generosity of being in the community we are. When I say community, it doesn’t just mean the town we live in but family, friends and those we don’t even know. We are just so appreciative! Words of encouragement, prayers and other means of support towards us and our family have been so incredible throughout this time and we cannot say thank you enough for that. Those reminders have helped us so much in knowing that we have care and support back home!”
After meeting with the oncologist and doctors last week, Derek and Lindsey planned to head home and begin their next leg of their long journey, defeating the lymphoma inside of Lindsey.
“The Mayo Clinic doctors are more than willing to send all our scans and documents to the Saskatoon Cancer Centre and to be in contact with them with a treatment plan so treatment could be done in Saskatoon. Depending on what they agree on, it looks like about three cycles of chemotherapy along with radiation over the course of about three months. There is a high chance that this chemotherapy and radiation combination will cure Lindsey from the lymphoma and we are trusting and relying on our faith to help get us through this next phase of our journey.”
It has been that faith in Jesus which has provided hope and encouragement for the Bushman family. “It has been everything. There are some tough moments through a journey like this but to know we are loved and cared for by our God and creator and we can give our worries to Him, and ultimately know that we can have eternal life with Him really brings on a peace and love in us that cannot be explained. We have recently been leaning on this verse in the Bible. It is Philippians 4:13: For I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
Daniel Bushman
After more than a year and a half of searching for answers, seeking a diagnosis and making numerous trips for appointments, scans and biopsies, a young mother of five has finally received some news. With no diagnosis and her condition worsening each day, Lindsey Bushman of Watrous along with her husband Derek made the decision to travel to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota hoping for help.
Extremely tired, in substantial pain and wanting to know what was attacking her body, Lindsey and Derek flew down to Mayo Clinic Aug. 23, a day before her first consultation. With the unknown battle inside of her progressing rapidly, Lindsey’s septum had been already destroyed and her sinuses disappeared. With a cavity forming in her left cheek, sores in her mouth and not wanting to risk whatever it was inside of her reach her eyes, ears or brain, Lindsey began consultations Aug. 24. Running tests and going over blood work, surgery was then scheduled for Lindsey Aug. 30 where it was hoped that samples could be extracted and a diagnosis reached.
Despite doing similar biopsies in Canada, in this particular instance, the ENT (ears, nose, throat) surgeon was able to go in and clean out Lindsey’s sinus area before extracting samples from her. It was during the surgery that the ENT surgeon was joined by a pathologist in the operating room. “Having both in there allowed them to check the tissue samples as they were removed,” said Derek. “After multiple samples were taken, they could tell it was not a vascular disease (Wegeners GPA) but instead was a lymphoma, a type of cancer in the blood/lymph nodes and possibly some form of Idiopathic Midline Destructive Disease (IMDD).”
While both Wegeners and IMDD were discussed in Canada, neither were ever confirmed and with the rare type of lymphoma Lindsey would later be diagnosed with, the news came with mixed emotions.
“So after surgery (Aug. 30), the doctors met with us and explained they had found signs of lymphoma in the biopsy and were certain it was not Wegeners, which we had been chasing up to this point. They still needed a few days for the pathologists to confirm that it was indeed lymphoma and also what type of lymphoma. But even with the news that they knew it was probably lymphoma we both had tears of happiness and relief. Yes, we just found out Lindsey more than likely had cancer but at least we knew instead of wondering. The doctor also informed us that it was treatable and there was a high probability that it was curable.”
While hearing the word ‘cancer’ was not something the pair were hoping for, both Derek and Lindsey felt a little more at ease knowing what they were up against. That and the added knowledge that it could be treatable aided in making the next few days a little easier. But while that news provided some type of relief, Lindsey’s energy continued to disappear and rest became extremely important.
Because her biopsy was performed before the Labour Day long weekend in the United States, the pair had to wait a little longer before the confirmed results arrived. The ENT surgeon informed Derek and Lindsey that as soon as the pathology department confirmed the type of cancer she had, they would book an appointment with an oncologist and set up a PET/CT scan to make sure the lymphoma had not spread throughout the rest of Lindsey’s body, affecting any organs.
A week later, Derek and Lindsey were informed that she had Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type is a rare and aggressive type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, starting in T-cells but developing most often in natural killer (NK) cells. Developing in organs or tissues other than the lymph nodes, it usually affects areas in the nose, most often the nasal passages and can also affect the paranasal sinuses or the upper part of the throat.
More common in Asia, Central America and South America, it occurs more often in men than women and the average age at diagnosis is 60. It is also strongly linked to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), especially in people of Asian ancestry. Since Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma is already rare and Lindsey has only ever resided in Canada, is caucasian and 29-years-old, the odds of her being diagnosed with it are astounding.
Because Lindsey had this now-known attacker inside of her for over a year and a half, there was concern that it had spread to other parts of her body. To know for sure and to know what stage it had progressed to, a PET/CT scan was performed during the afternoon Sept. 10. The results from that would reveal if the lymphoma had spread to other parts or organs in the body.
Following up with the oncologist and doctors the following day, Derek shared some incredible news, “Fortunately it had not spread and was localized to the nose area. This was a huge relief, because of Lindsey’s symptoms. We had been searching for answers for over a year and half and we assumed with that much time before being diagnosed it provided enough of a period for the lymphoma to spread. It was a huge answer to prayer,” he continued. “We thought for sure it had spread to other parts of the body. Just because it had taken so long to find a diagnosis and our research had said it is an aggressive form of lymphoma, we could only think of the worst. I know many people were praying that it would not spread and for it to be considered an early stage lymphoma and not spread, what a blessing it was to hear that news.”
With many hurdles left to overcome and despite not currently being covered by Saskatchewan Health for their health care expenses at Mayo Clinic, the biggest hurdle had just been accomplished with the news of the lymphoma not spreading and being treatable. Derek and Lindsey insisted the support from back home and around the country has aided in helping them to overcome each one of those hurdles along the way.
“The support has been overwhelming and has definitely helped to keep our spirits up. When we would call home or get messages from our family that so and so dropped off supper for our kids, or so and so dropped off money or this person is offering to do this or that, there just are really no words to explain how thankful and grateful we are for that. There are people we don’t know that have given to us and that says a lot about community and the generosity of being in the community we are. When I say community, it doesn’t just mean the town we live in but family, friends and those we don’t even know. We are just so appreciative! Words of encouragement, prayers and other means of support towards us and our family have been so incredible throughout this time and we cannot say thank you enough for that. Those reminders have helped us so much in knowing that we have care and support back home!”
After meeting with the oncologist and doctors last week, Derek and Lindsey planned to head home and begin their next leg of their long journey, defeating the lymphoma inside of Lindsey.
“The Mayo Clinic doctors are more than willing to send all our scans and documents to the Saskatoon Cancer Centre and to be in contact with them with a treatment plan so treatment could be done in Saskatoon. Depending on what they agree on, it looks like about three cycles of chemotherapy along with radiation over the course of about three months. There is a high chance that this chemotherapy and radiation combination will cure Lindsey from the lymphoma and we are trusting and relying on our faith to help get us through this next phase of our journey.”
It has been that faith in Jesus which has provided hope and encouragement for the Bushman family. “It has been everything. There are some tough moments through a journey like this but to know we are loved and cared for by our God and creator and we can give our worries to Him, and ultimately know that we can have eternal life with Him really brings on a peace and love in us that cannot be explained. We have recently been leaning on this verse in the Bible. It is Philippians 4:13: For I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
TWM Top Story - Sept. 10, 2018
Parole ineligibility decided in Carlson case
Daniel Bushman
Parole ineligibility was decided last week in the case relating to the 2008 disappearance and murder of James Carlson of Watrous. In a packed Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench Sept. 5, Justice Gerald Allbright, who presided over the case, imposed a minimum 10 year parole ineligibility sentence for Taylor Wolff, who was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
After about a 40 minute delay, Bre McAdam with the Star Phoenix said impact statements were then read by members of the Carlson family who noted they would never have closure until James’ body is found. McAdam said after the impact statements were read, the Crown argued for parole ineligibility of “well-beyond” the minimum of 10 years for second degree murder. The defence in the case argued the 10 year ineligibility was appropriate because their client “is a completely different person than he was when he was (a) 23-year-old.” McAdam stated the defence also noted two years ago Wolff became committed to sobriety and faith. Before handing down his parole ineligibility decision, Allbright added he is certain Wolff is a different person today and if it were not for significant changes made in his life, noted in the 26 support letters court received, parole ineligibility would have increased.
The decision of the minimum 10 year parole ineligibility comes less than a month after Allbright read his 72-page document in court Aug. 10 in which he reached a guilty verdict.
Ten years ago, James was last seen at Video Stop in Watrous with an appointment to do work at a farm the following day. Never arriving at that appointment, five days later his work truck and all his work tools were located abandoned in a field near Allan. Then in May 2010, James’ white Monte Carlo was located concealed on a secluded rural property near Rosthern. It was reported to police by the land owner who advised the car was sitting abandoned in the location for two years. Over the years, tips from the public were received and extensive searches for James conducted around the Watrous, Imperial and Holdfast areas.
Daniel Bushman
Parole ineligibility was decided last week in the case relating to the 2008 disappearance and murder of James Carlson of Watrous. In a packed Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench Sept. 5, Justice Gerald Allbright, who presided over the case, imposed a minimum 10 year parole ineligibility sentence for Taylor Wolff, who was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
After about a 40 minute delay, Bre McAdam with the Star Phoenix said impact statements were then read by members of the Carlson family who noted they would never have closure until James’ body is found. McAdam said after the impact statements were read, the Crown argued for parole ineligibility of “well-beyond” the minimum of 10 years for second degree murder. The defence in the case argued the 10 year ineligibility was appropriate because their client “is a completely different person than he was when he was (a) 23-year-old.” McAdam stated the defence also noted two years ago Wolff became committed to sobriety and faith. Before handing down his parole ineligibility decision, Allbright added he is certain Wolff is a different person today and if it were not for significant changes made in his life, noted in the 26 support letters court received, parole ineligibility would have increased.
The decision of the minimum 10 year parole ineligibility comes less than a month after Allbright read his 72-page document in court Aug. 10 in which he reached a guilty verdict.
Ten years ago, James was last seen at Video Stop in Watrous with an appointment to do work at a farm the following day. Never arriving at that appointment, five days later his work truck and all his work tools were located abandoned in a field near Allan. Then in May 2010, James’ white Monte Carlo was located concealed on a secluded rural property near Rosthern. It was reported to police by the land owner who advised the car was sitting abandoned in the location for two years. Over the years, tips from the public were received and extensive searches for James conducted around the Watrous, Imperial and Holdfast areas.
TWM Top Story - Sept. 3, 2018
Province's projected deficit
less after first quarter
Daniel Bushman
With the goal of returning the province to balance by 2019-‘20, Saskatchewan’s Finance Minister and MLA for Humboldt-Watrous, Donna Harpauer has not only been tasked with making tough decisions along the way but staying the course to get Saskatchewan back to balance. Harpauer and the provincial government released its first quarter numbers, noting the budget remains on track with a projected deficit of $306 million, $59 million less than originally projected.
“Three months into the fiscal year, we’re seeing a growing economy and an improving fiscal picture,” said Harpauer, who added the lower deficit has been attributed to a higher revenue forecast with a larger net income from Government Business Enterprises and higher non-renewable resource revenue.
“We have seen some strength in oil pricing which is a major factor in why the deficit is less than previously forecasted.”
According to the provincial government, the value of oil production increased a total of eight percent through the first four months of 2018, over the same period last year while potash production increased 11.3 percent in the first quarter of 2018 over the same period last year. Total manufacturing sales have also increased by 11.1 percent and international exports are up by four percent.
However, while the numbers have been encouraging over the first quarter, Harpauer said they are preliminary and there still remains a deficit. “There is going to be a lot of work to do in order to balance and keep on track with our three year plan.”
Another big obstacle Harpauer and the government has been faced with is the uncertainty south of the border with the current trade situation. With NAFTA negotiations between Canada and the United States still not resolved early last week and tariffs implemented, being a trade reliant province has made it more difficult to operate.
“Obviously there has been some problems with the NAFTA negotiations and tariffs that have been brought down by the United States, effecting Saskatchewan. Other countries have also raised trade concerns with Canada and all of that is extremely concerning as we move forward. Saskatchewan and our government have been advocating very heavily for a pipeline but so far there has been no shovels in the ground for the Kinder Morgan pipeline, so that is a concern.”
Harpauer added the nation is also experiencing the largest differential in oil prices observed, making a large difference to the revenues coming into not just Saskatchewan but also Canada. “Twenty-five percent differential is huge but that is because we are forced to ship our oil south and we can’t access international markets so we are price takers in a very limited market. Should we be able to get our oil to port, it makes a huge difference in the price that we can obtain.”
Another concern raised by the finance minister is the potential for decline in future investments in Saskatchewan because of the tax changes in the United States. “We were very competitive but now we no longer are. I am hearing from different corporations that future investments are probably not going to look at Canada right now and that will affect all of our provinces because there is varying investing that happens in different places but tax competitiveness is huge and we are seeing a lot of investment going south.”
Asked about whether or not she is discouraged from the outcome so far related to NAFTA and tariffs, Harpauer said, “It is disappointing that this is where we are. We refused to have negotiations without Mexico; however, Mexico took the offer from the United States and now have arrived at some sort of agreement which again puts us behind in these negotiations and that is disappointing and a huge concern because it affects a number of industries within our province.”
Absorbing the decisions made nationally while trying to obtain a balanced budget next year, Harpauer said crunching the numbers and trying to make the right choices has been tough but she has been able to lean on some help as well.
“We have a treasury board that deliberates all budget decisions and I have to say I have an extremely strong team to work with so I by no means am doing this alone. I have enjoyed it but there are challenges. There is not a doubt the deficit is worrisome because as long as we have a deficit we are borrowing to operate which is not what we want to do. It is something we want to get away from and that is why balancing is so important. We want to do so, so that we can maintain the services that we have in health care, education and social safety net programs. It is a balancing act and there is still tough decisions we are going to have to make going forward.”
Recognizing some of those tough decisions are not always favourable to some, Harpauer felt measures taken in the last budget have been working heading to balance.
“Yes, there were tough decisions made but yet this is what we are going to need to do because we are not going to see a huge recovery I don’t believe in oil and we are reliant very heavily on oil. With all of the circumstances with trade and tax competitiveness, I don’t think we are going to see a huge boom in oil in the next number of years so this just becomes more critical in how we need to get back to balance.”
With a lot to consider leading into next year, Harpauer who grew up on a farm near Guernsey said work has started on the next budget and MLAs will soon return to Regina for the fall session. But despite some of the economic struggles and implemented tariffs from south of the border, Harpauer is optimistic moving forward.
“Generally as much as there is a lot of uncertainty out there, which is raising concern, I think things are still positive within our province. The forecasters are all forecasting - albeit modest - economic growth, which is the first time in two years the forecasters have done so. The other thing is the province is still holding a very strong credit rating with bonding agencies which is great allowing us to borrow money at a much lower interest rate. That bond rating is also something that investors look to. Being the second highest in Canada I think is very important to our province and we are hoping to maintain that and that is because we have a plan to get back to balance. That is why we need to keep working hard, holding the line, and being fiscally responsible and get back to balance.”
less after first quarter
Daniel Bushman
With the goal of returning the province to balance by 2019-‘20, Saskatchewan’s Finance Minister and MLA for Humboldt-Watrous, Donna Harpauer has not only been tasked with making tough decisions along the way but staying the course to get Saskatchewan back to balance. Harpauer and the provincial government released its first quarter numbers, noting the budget remains on track with a projected deficit of $306 million, $59 million less than originally projected.
“Three months into the fiscal year, we’re seeing a growing economy and an improving fiscal picture,” said Harpauer, who added the lower deficit has been attributed to a higher revenue forecast with a larger net income from Government Business Enterprises and higher non-renewable resource revenue.
“We have seen some strength in oil pricing which is a major factor in why the deficit is less than previously forecasted.”
According to the provincial government, the value of oil production increased a total of eight percent through the first four months of 2018, over the same period last year while potash production increased 11.3 percent in the first quarter of 2018 over the same period last year. Total manufacturing sales have also increased by 11.1 percent and international exports are up by four percent.
However, while the numbers have been encouraging over the first quarter, Harpauer said they are preliminary and there still remains a deficit. “There is going to be a lot of work to do in order to balance and keep on track with our three year plan.”
Another big obstacle Harpauer and the government has been faced with is the uncertainty south of the border with the current trade situation. With NAFTA negotiations between Canada and the United States still not resolved early last week and tariffs implemented, being a trade reliant province has made it more difficult to operate.
“Obviously there has been some problems with the NAFTA negotiations and tariffs that have been brought down by the United States, effecting Saskatchewan. Other countries have also raised trade concerns with Canada and all of that is extremely concerning as we move forward. Saskatchewan and our government have been advocating very heavily for a pipeline but so far there has been no shovels in the ground for the Kinder Morgan pipeline, so that is a concern.”
Harpauer added the nation is also experiencing the largest differential in oil prices observed, making a large difference to the revenues coming into not just Saskatchewan but also Canada. “Twenty-five percent differential is huge but that is because we are forced to ship our oil south and we can’t access international markets so we are price takers in a very limited market. Should we be able to get our oil to port, it makes a huge difference in the price that we can obtain.”
Another concern raised by the finance minister is the potential for decline in future investments in Saskatchewan because of the tax changes in the United States. “We were very competitive but now we no longer are. I am hearing from different corporations that future investments are probably not going to look at Canada right now and that will affect all of our provinces because there is varying investing that happens in different places but tax competitiveness is huge and we are seeing a lot of investment going south.”
Asked about whether or not she is discouraged from the outcome so far related to NAFTA and tariffs, Harpauer said, “It is disappointing that this is where we are. We refused to have negotiations without Mexico; however, Mexico took the offer from the United States and now have arrived at some sort of agreement which again puts us behind in these negotiations and that is disappointing and a huge concern because it affects a number of industries within our province.”
Absorbing the decisions made nationally while trying to obtain a balanced budget next year, Harpauer said crunching the numbers and trying to make the right choices has been tough but she has been able to lean on some help as well.
“We have a treasury board that deliberates all budget decisions and I have to say I have an extremely strong team to work with so I by no means am doing this alone. I have enjoyed it but there are challenges. There is not a doubt the deficit is worrisome because as long as we have a deficit we are borrowing to operate which is not what we want to do. It is something we want to get away from and that is why balancing is so important. We want to do so, so that we can maintain the services that we have in health care, education and social safety net programs. It is a balancing act and there is still tough decisions we are going to have to make going forward.”
Recognizing some of those tough decisions are not always favourable to some, Harpauer felt measures taken in the last budget have been working heading to balance.
“Yes, there were tough decisions made but yet this is what we are going to need to do because we are not going to see a huge recovery I don’t believe in oil and we are reliant very heavily on oil. With all of the circumstances with trade and tax competitiveness, I don’t think we are going to see a huge boom in oil in the next number of years so this just becomes more critical in how we need to get back to balance.”
With a lot to consider leading into next year, Harpauer who grew up on a farm near Guernsey said work has started on the next budget and MLAs will soon return to Regina for the fall session. But despite some of the economic struggles and implemented tariffs from south of the border, Harpauer is optimistic moving forward.
“Generally as much as there is a lot of uncertainty out there, which is raising concern, I think things are still positive within our province. The forecasters are all forecasting - albeit modest - economic growth, which is the first time in two years the forecasters have done so. The other thing is the province is still holding a very strong credit rating with bonding agencies which is great allowing us to borrow money at a much lower interest rate. That bond rating is also something that investors look to. Being the second highest in Canada I think is very important to our province and we are hoping to maintain that and that is because we have a plan to get back to balance. That is why we need to keep working hard, holding the line, and being fiscally responsible and get back to balance.”
TWM Top Story - Aug. 27, 2018
Watrous and Imperial Primary Health expanding hours in both communities
By Daniel Bushman
In an effort to better meet the needs of residents in Watrous, Imperial and the surrounding area, Watrous and Imperial Primary Health are adding more hours to their centres at both communities.
Starting Sept. 1, Watrous Primary Health Centre will be open until 8:30 p.m. on most Monday and Thursday evenings (excluding statutory holidays) while beginning Sept. 5, the Imperial Clinic will be open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Angela Luron with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said by extending the hours in Watrous and adding a full clinic day in Imperial it will improve the ability for people to access important health services. The changes are being made as part of SHA’s strategy and response to improving access for the communities regarding appointments with physicians and nurse practitioners.
Over the past three years information data and feedback from community members was collected and from that Luron said, “What we are seeing is approximately half of the visits to the Watrous emergency department are for non-emergencies and many of those visits happen after 5 p.m. This is telling us that we need to make some changes to have the health centres open when the community needs us. Making primary health services available outside of the traditional daytime weekday hours is a priority for primary health care across the province and we are proud to be making these improvements for the communities of Watrous, Imperial and the surrounding area.”
After looking at the services and all of the data, Luron said they knew they had to increase provider capacity and needed to be open on some of those evenings and hours that go beyond traditional hours. Having the benefit of being properly resourced they are now able to do that.
“The team is able to help people with non-emergencies, making it better for people to visit the health centre instead of the emergency department for non-emergency and non-critical health needs. It is also a lot more cost effective to take care of people with non-emergency health needs in the health centre instead of in the emergency department.”
Working in conjunction with Luron and SHA, Watrous Mayor Ed Collins was happy about adding to the local health services. “We are certainly pleased to be able to provide another great service and with the added day in Imperial it means people from that community will not have to drive as far to access care.”
Collins said in Watrous, having the expanded hours also allows people to make appointments to better fit their schedules. “We are certainly pleased and happy with the opportunity to expand those services.”
With five care providers and extended hours to both Watrous and Imperial Primary Health, Luron is encouraging people to come to the health centre instead of the emergency department if they are not having a health emergency. The new changes which go into effect shortly will also provide people who may be working an opportunity to get an appointment outside of those working hours.
“This is important, especially in communities where people might go elsewhere to work for the day and then come back just before supper. Being available later in the day is also important for parents picking kids up from school or daycare towards the end of the day. Once they pick up their kids they may realize that the kids are having a health concern and can call to see if we have any urgent appointments open that evening at the health centre.”
Over the next few months information will be provided by SHA discussing the best ways to utilize local health services.
By Daniel Bushman
In an effort to better meet the needs of residents in Watrous, Imperial and the surrounding area, Watrous and Imperial Primary Health are adding more hours to their centres at both communities.
Starting Sept. 1, Watrous Primary Health Centre will be open until 8:30 p.m. on most Monday and Thursday evenings (excluding statutory holidays) while beginning Sept. 5, the Imperial Clinic will be open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Angela Luron with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said by extending the hours in Watrous and adding a full clinic day in Imperial it will improve the ability for people to access important health services. The changes are being made as part of SHA’s strategy and response to improving access for the communities regarding appointments with physicians and nurse practitioners.
Over the past three years information data and feedback from community members was collected and from that Luron said, “What we are seeing is approximately half of the visits to the Watrous emergency department are for non-emergencies and many of those visits happen after 5 p.m. This is telling us that we need to make some changes to have the health centres open when the community needs us. Making primary health services available outside of the traditional daytime weekday hours is a priority for primary health care across the province and we are proud to be making these improvements for the communities of Watrous, Imperial and the surrounding area.”
After looking at the services and all of the data, Luron said they knew they had to increase provider capacity and needed to be open on some of those evenings and hours that go beyond traditional hours. Having the benefit of being properly resourced they are now able to do that.
“The team is able to help people with non-emergencies, making it better for people to visit the health centre instead of the emergency department for non-emergency and non-critical health needs. It is also a lot more cost effective to take care of people with non-emergency health needs in the health centre instead of in the emergency department.”
Working in conjunction with Luron and SHA, Watrous Mayor Ed Collins was happy about adding to the local health services. “We are certainly pleased to be able to provide another great service and with the added day in Imperial it means people from that community will not have to drive as far to access care.”
Collins said in Watrous, having the expanded hours also allows people to make appointments to better fit their schedules. “We are certainly pleased and happy with the opportunity to expand those services.”
With five care providers and extended hours to both Watrous and Imperial Primary Health, Luron is encouraging people to come to the health centre instead of the emergency department if they are not having a health emergency. The new changes which go into effect shortly will also provide people who may be working an opportunity to get an appointment outside of those working hours.
“This is important, especially in communities where people might go elsewhere to work for the day and then come back just before supper. Being available later in the day is also important for parents picking kids up from school or daycare towards the end of the day. Once they pick up their kids they may realize that the kids are having a health concern and can call to see if we have any urgent appointments open that evening at the health centre.”
Over the next few months information will be provided by SHA discussing the best ways to utilize local health services.
TWM Top Story - Aug. 20, 2018
Seeking answers while dealing with an unknown
Daniel Bushman
It has been a long and arduous road for a local family of seven and after coming up with no answers for nearly two years, there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel. After having three children, Lindsey Bushman of Watrous became pregnant with twins and it was during her pregnancy that she began feeling congested in her sinuses. Not thinking too much of it, her symptoms continued to worsen throughout her pregnancy and after giving birth to twin boys Feb. 13, 2017, the congestion started to turn into an unhealthy state.
“At first I thought I just had a cold,” said the 29-year-old. “When it continued to worsen, I just thought it was because I was run down from having our twins and getting back into the swing of things at home.”
Two months after that though Lindsey found herself in a doctor’s office searching for some type of relief and a few answers. Nothing was improving and after visiting her doctor, she was referred to a specialist. After getting the okay to see an ENT (ears/nose/throat) specialist, the long waiting game of finding a diagnosis got underway.
“We waited a few months and never heard back. We called and were told they had received the referral but the specialist was gone on leave and there was no definite time frame when patients would be accepted.”
Not risking waiting around any longer, Lindsey was referred to a different ENT specialist. While waiting to see the specialist, Bushman’s sinuses and tissues in her nose were being attacked and were slowly deteriorating. She also often found herself sick with infection and her sense of taste and smell disappeared altogether.
“I had no energy and I could barely get out of bed in the morning. Even the day to day tasks I struggled with. I didn’t know if I’d wake up sick one day or healthy the next.”
Then in October of 2017, the Watrous resident was able to see a specialist and a CT scan along with a scope on her nose were performed two months later. “At that point we knew there was something not right and my ENT specialist decided we needed to do nasal septum reconstruction.”
A process to repair the wall of bone and flexible tissue between the two nasal passages, Lindsey had surgery just after celebrating her 29th birthday. Then six weeks later at her post operation follow up, she learned that whatever was invading her nasal cavity was spreading.
“I could fit a Q-tip between my septum at that point. Now, I have no septum left. I can touch the tips of two of my fingers together in my nose. Whatever is attacking me has just eaten away all of it.”
Bushman was sent for a biopsy May 1 and doctors began searching for a diagnosis and treatment to prevent further progression. Wegener’s Granulomatosis, an autoimmune disorder was one theory. The rare disorder where the exact cause is unknown attacks and destroys healthy body tissue by mistake. Small-sized blood vessels in the nose, sinuses, ears, lungs and kidneys become inflamed and damaged and other areas may also be affected in some cases. It can also produce a type of inflammatory tissue known as a granuloma that’s found around the blood vessels.
To see if in fact the diagnoses was Wegener’s, a doctor took a small sample of affected tissue but the results came back negative. “We were told that with nasal biopsies, it is extremely hard to confirm Wegener’s Granulomatosis. But something was going on because things had been progressing faster and faster and my nasal area was deteriorating at a rapid rate.”
Then a week after her biopsy, another hurdle arrived; Lindsey became really sick. “I couldn’t get out of bed and there was incredible pain. Thankfully my ENT specialist was able to put me on some medication, which ended up helping.”
With relief and finally having some energy back, Bushman figured things were looking up. However, a second CT scan, this time done May 26, showed more progression. Thinking the situation involved an autoimmune disease as opposed to just a sinus issue, Lindsey was referred to a Rheumatologist, a specialist who deals with immune-mediated disorders. The earliest appointment was scheduled for Sept. 18, 2018 but Bushman could not wait that long. The continual progression of deterioration was not willing to push pause and wait for the September meeting so Lindsey was able to find another specialist, getting an appointment in June.
After meeting with the specialist but not confirming Lindsey had Wegener’s Granulomatosis, it was decided to perform another biopsy and begin treatment. Like the previous biopsy, it came back negative once again. “It was suggested perhaps I had IMDD or Idiopathic Midline Destructive Disease, which does not respond to the same treatment as Wegener’s and requires localized radiation. A form of lymphoma, IMDD is also extremely hard to diagnose and essentially is done by elimination of other diagnoses.”
Looking into whether or not she had IMDD, in the meantime, Bushman was prescribed for medication for Wegener’s Granulomatosis and also saw a naturopath and osteopath for their opinions. With time becoming a serious factor, she waited for something to work. “Instead of getting better, I became really sick at the end of July and had a fever of 105˚F. I contracted pneumonia and because of the severity of the situation was sent to Royal University Hospital and went for another CT scan. The CT scan showed even more progression, I had bone loss and it was moving into my sinuses. At that point I was discharged with antibiotics and headed for another biopsy, which was a few weeks ago.”
At her biopsy, going over the latest results, doctors elected to rule out Wegener’s Granulomatosis and IMDD. Lindsey was taken off her medication and her specialists began seeking further opinions from across the country. It was also at that point that Lindsey and her husband Derek decided to pursue the idea of visiting a Mayo Clinic in the United States.
With more than one million people going to Mayo Clinic each year for care and 88 percent of patients visiting Mayo Clinic for a second opinion receiving a new or refined diagnosis, the Bushmans felt it was something they needed to try.
“We had no diagnosis and the progression of what I have has not only destroyed my septum but it had started working its way into my sinuses. I now have a cavity in my left cheek and with it eating away right under my eyes and near my brain, we felt we did not want to risk losing anymore time.”
Collecting all of her medical records, CT scans, appointment forms, and getting a passport done, Lindsey was also able to see optometrist Warren Toews to ensure her eyes were still okay. After accumulating as much information as she could, an email was compiled and sent to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to see if she could get in. Making the decision to head south of the border, Lindsey also received the support of her specialists after they had discussions with doctors in Calgary, Hamilton and Toronto and came up with no new information or diagnoses.
“We know everything takes time but we didn’t have that luxury anymore and Mayo Clinic got back to us right away. We were approved and had a schedule within a week.”
While the news of being approved and able to attend a Mayo Clinic was a long awaited relief, her appointed was slated for Sept. 26, over a month away. “We were excited to get in but devastated to learn that it would not be until later in September.”
Getting sick again, this time right after she found out about the appointment date and with time such a factor, Derek and Lindsey thought maybe one of the other Mayo Clinics in Arizona or Florida would be able to get them in earlier. With the fear of having to wait another six more weeks, the couple composed an email and sent it off at 10:30 p.m. Aug. 12. Not expecting anything to change, the pair received an email by 8:04 the next morning stating the Mayo Clinic was able to set up a new appointment for Aug. 24 in Minnesota.
“There is no explanation other than God had answered our prayers. There have been so many people praying and asking for something to happen and it was granted. We were just so thankful and we know there is still a long road ahead but to get us in that much sooner, it was just a real blessing.”
Scheduled to be at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., later this week, over a month earlier than originally planned, Derek and Lindsey said there will be between five to eight business days of testing for outpatients. Then after that, it all depends on the diagnosis. Once a diagnosis is made, more treatments would take place and there would be lots of follow ups and reconstructive surgery.
Whether or not that would all be done in the United States or some of it in Canada, the pair said there remains a long road ahead. “It scares me how things progressed and escalated so quickly in my nasal and sinus area,” said Lindsey, who grew up on a farm between Watrous and Drake. “But we have been leaning on our faith to help get us through.”
While the pair are relieved to be able to head to Minnesota and hopefully receive some answers, there are a lot of expenses that will be adding up during their time there. Lodging, transportation, food and the cost of health care in the United States are a few of those while future treatments, being off work and raising five kids will also put a strain on finances. To help alleviate some of the added financial stress, a gofundme page has been established for the pair and their kids. In addition to that, family and friends have been lending a hand and people from the church the Bushmans attend have also rallied around the family by providing meals, offering childcare, and yard maintenance.
“Many people have been finding out about what we have been going through and are coming to us asking, ‘What can we do to help?’ We are just so overwhelmed and humbled by that outpouring of support from family, friends, our church family, co-workers, the Watrous School of Dance family, neighbours, our specialists, the doctors and nursing staff here in Watrous and people we don’t know. We’ve had so many generous people stop by offering to help and even helping us with our flights, it is truly amazing.”
After being told by her ENT specialist that she is a one in a million case, Lindsey said, “People wonder how I have remained calm while juggling kids and work on top of this. I tell them that God has given us an unexplainable peace. We have found that peace through Him and have been reminded by that from these verses in the Bible: Philippians 4:6-7: Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
The couple said while it has been really hard not knowing what is going on, they are looking forward to getting some answers and are hopeful that it will all work out.
If people would like to help cover some of the expenses that the family will face, they can go to www.gofundme.com and search Derek and Lindsey Bushman or type: www.gofundme.com/derek-and-lindsey-bushman or if people prefer not to donate online, they can drop off funds at The Watrous Manitou's office at 309 Main Street in Watrous or mail monetary donations addressed to Derek and Lindsey Bushman to The Watrous Manitou, Box 100, Watrous, Sask., S0K 4T0 and they will be passed along to the couple.
Daniel Bushman
It has been a long and arduous road for a local family of seven and after coming up with no answers for nearly two years, there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel. After having three children, Lindsey Bushman of Watrous became pregnant with twins and it was during her pregnancy that she began feeling congested in her sinuses. Not thinking too much of it, her symptoms continued to worsen throughout her pregnancy and after giving birth to twin boys Feb. 13, 2017, the congestion started to turn into an unhealthy state.
“At first I thought I just had a cold,” said the 29-year-old. “When it continued to worsen, I just thought it was because I was run down from having our twins and getting back into the swing of things at home.”
Two months after that though Lindsey found herself in a doctor’s office searching for some type of relief and a few answers. Nothing was improving and after visiting her doctor, she was referred to a specialist. After getting the okay to see an ENT (ears/nose/throat) specialist, the long waiting game of finding a diagnosis got underway.
“We waited a few months and never heard back. We called and were told they had received the referral but the specialist was gone on leave and there was no definite time frame when patients would be accepted.”
Not risking waiting around any longer, Lindsey was referred to a different ENT specialist. While waiting to see the specialist, Bushman’s sinuses and tissues in her nose were being attacked and were slowly deteriorating. She also often found herself sick with infection and her sense of taste and smell disappeared altogether.
“I had no energy and I could barely get out of bed in the morning. Even the day to day tasks I struggled with. I didn’t know if I’d wake up sick one day or healthy the next.”
Then in October of 2017, the Watrous resident was able to see a specialist and a CT scan along with a scope on her nose were performed two months later. “At that point we knew there was something not right and my ENT specialist decided we needed to do nasal septum reconstruction.”
A process to repair the wall of bone and flexible tissue between the two nasal passages, Lindsey had surgery just after celebrating her 29th birthday. Then six weeks later at her post operation follow up, she learned that whatever was invading her nasal cavity was spreading.
“I could fit a Q-tip between my septum at that point. Now, I have no septum left. I can touch the tips of two of my fingers together in my nose. Whatever is attacking me has just eaten away all of it.”
Bushman was sent for a biopsy May 1 and doctors began searching for a diagnosis and treatment to prevent further progression. Wegener’s Granulomatosis, an autoimmune disorder was one theory. The rare disorder where the exact cause is unknown attacks and destroys healthy body tissue by mistake. Small-sized blood vessels in the nose, sinuses, ears, lungs and kidneys become inflamed and damaged and other areas may also be affected in some cases. It can also produce a type of inflammatory tissue known as a granuloma that’s found around the blood vessels.
To see if in fact the diagnoses was Wegener’s, a doctor took a small sample of affected tissue but the results came back negative. “We were told that with nasal biopsies, it is extremely hard to confirm Wegener’s Granulomatosis. But something was going on because things had been progressing faster and faster and my nasal area was deteriorating at a rapid rate.”
Then a week after her biopsy, another hurdle arrived; Lindsey became really sick. “I couldn’t get out of bed and there was incredible pain. Thankfully my ENT specialist was able to put me on some medication, which ended up helping.”
With relief and finally having some energy back, Bushman figured things were looking up. However, a second CT scan, this time done May 26, showed more progression. Thinking the situation involved an autoimmune disease as opposed to just a sinus issue, Lindsey was referred to a Rheumatologist, a specialist who deals with immune-mediated disorders. The earliest appointment was scheduled for Sept. 18, 2018 but Bushman could not wait that long. The continual progression of deterioration was not willing to push pause and wait for the September meeting so Lindsey was able to find another specialist, getting an appointment in June.
After meeting with the specialist but not confirming Lindsey had Wegener’s Granulomatosis, it was decided to perform another biopsy and begin treatment. Like the previous biopsy, it came back negative once again. “It was suggested perhaps I had IMDD or Idiopathic Midline Destructive Disease, which does not respond to the same treatment as Wegener’s and requires localized radiation. A form of lymphoma, IMDD is also extremely hard to diagnose and essentially is done by elimination of other diagnoses.”
Looking into whether or not she had IMDD, in the meantime, Bushman was prescribed for medication for Wegener’s Granulomatosis and also saw a naturopath and osteopath for their opinions. With time becoming a serious factor, she waited for something to work. “Instead of getting better, I became really sick at the end of July and had a fever of 105˚F. I contracted pneumonia and because of the severity of the situation was sent to Royal University Hospital and went for another CT scan. The CT scan showed even more progression, I had bone loss and it was moving into my sinuses. At that point I was discharged with antibiotics and headed for another biopsy, which was a few weeks ago.”
At her biopsy, going over the latest results, doctors elected to rule out Wegener’s Granulomatosis and IMDD. Lindsey was taken off her medication and her specialists began seeking further opinions from across the country. It was also at that point that Lindsey and her husband Derek decided to pursue the idea of visiting a Mayo Clinic in the United States.
With more than one million people going to Mayo Clinic each year for care and 88 percent of patients visiting Mayo Clinic for a second opinion receiving a new or refined diagnosis, the Bushmans felt it was something they needed to try.
“We had no diagnosis and the progression of what I have has not only destroyed my septum but it had started working its way into my sinuses. I now have a cavity in my left cheek and with it eating away right under my eyes and near my brain, we felt we did not want to risk losing anymore time.”
Collecting all of her medical records, CT scans, appointment forms, and getting a passport done, Lindsey was also able to see optometrist Warren Toews to ensure her eyes were still okay. After accumulating as much information as she could, an email was compiled and sent to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to see if she could get in. Making the decision to head south of the border, Lindsey also received the support of her specialists after they had discussions with doctors in Calgary, Hamilton and Toronto and came up with no new information or diagnoses.
“We know everything takes time but we didn’t have that luxury anymore and Mayo Clinic got back to us right away. We were approved and had a schedule within a week.”
While the news of being approved and able to attend a Mayo Clinic was a long awaited relief, her appointed was slated for Sept. 26, over a month away. “We were excited to get in but devastated to learn that it would not be until later in September.”
Getting sick again, this time right after she found out about the appointment date and with time such a factor, Derek and Lindsey thought maybe one of the other Mayo Clinics in Arizona or Florida would be able to get them in earlier. With the fear of having to wait another six more weeks, the couple composed an email and sent it off at 10:30 p.m. Aug. 12. Not expecting anything to change, the pair received an email by 8:04 the next morning stating the Mayo Clinic was able to set up a new appointment for Aug. 24 in Minnesota.
“There is no explanation other than God had answered our prayers. There have been so many people praying and asking for something to happen and it was granted. We were just so thankful and we know there is still a long road ahead but to get us in that much sooner, it was just a real blessing.”
Scheduled to be at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., later this week, over a month earlier than originally planned, Derek and Lindsey said there will be between five to eight business days of testing for outpatients. Then after that, it all depends on the diagnosis. Once a diagnosis is made, more treatments would take place and there would be lots of follow ups and reconstructive surgery.
Whether or not that would all be done in the United States or some of it in Canada, the pair said there remains a long road ahead. “It scares me how things progressed and escalated so quickly in my nasal and sinus area,” said Lindsey, who grew up on a farm between Watrous and Drake. “But we have been leaning on our faith to help get us through.”
While the pair are relieved to be able to head to Minnesota and hopefully receive some answers, there are a lot of expenses that will be adding up during their time there. Lodging, transportation, food and the cost of health care in the United States are a few of those while future treatments, being off work and raising five kids will also put a strain on finances. To help alleviate some of the added financial stress, a gofundme page has been established for the pair and their kids. In addition to that, family and friends have been lending a hand and people from the church the Bushmans attend have also rallied around the family by providing meals, offering childcare, and yard maintenance.
“Many people have been finding out about what we have been going through and are coming to us asking, ‘What can we do to help?’ We are just so overwhelmed and humbled by that outpouring of support from family, friends, our church family, co-workers, the Watrous School of Dance family, neighbours, our specialists, the doctors and nursing staff here in Watrous and people we don’t know. We’ve had so many generous people stop by offering to help and even helping us with our flights, it is truly amazing.”
After being told by her ENT specialist that she is a one in a million case, Lindsey said, “People wonder how I have remained calm while juggling kids and work on top of this. I tell them that God has given us an unexplainable peace. We have found that peace through Him and have been reminded by that from these verses in the Bible: Philippians 4:6-7: Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
The couple said while it has been really hard not knowing what is going on, they are looking forward to getting some answers and are hopeful that it will all work out.
If people would like to help cover some of the expenses that the family will face, they can go to www.gofundme.com and search Derek and Lindsey Bushman or type: www.gofundme.com/derek-and-lindsey-bushman or if people prefer not to donate online, they can drop off funds at The Watrous Manitou's office at 309 Main Street in Watrous or mail monetary donations addressed to Derek and Lindsey Bushman to The Watrous Manitou, Box 100, Watrous, Sask., S0K 4T0 and they will be passed along to the couple.
TWM Top Story - Aug. 13, 2018
Guilty verdict handed down in Carlson case
Daniel Bushman
After going over information and testimonies presented at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench in June, a guilty verdict was reached in the trial related to the disappearance and alleged murder of James Carlson from Watrous. Justice Gerald Allbright, who presided over the trial, found Taylor Wolff guilty of second-degree murder in Carlson’s death.
Bre McAdam with the Star Phoenix had been covering the trial in its entirety since it began June 11 and said Allbright read his 72-page decision in court during the morning Aug. 10. McAdam said Allbright read his analysis explaining DNA of Wolff was found on two cigarette butts and on the neck of a cleaning bottle at Carlson’s home. Allbright continued by stating even though Carlson’s body has never been found, there is no doubt he died from an unlawful act.
McAdam said Allbright summarized evidence given by people including witness Lindsay Reiber, who Allbright found to be a “credible witness.”
In accepting this, Allbright found that Wolff caused James Carlson’s death. After the guilty verdict of second-degree murder was handed down (which could carry a life sentence with no parole for between 10 and 25 years), court adjourned. McAdam said the Crown and defence will argue parole eligibility Sept. 5.
On May 14, 2008 James was working at a Watrous area farm during the day and made an appointment to do work at another farm the following day. Between 7 and 8 p.m. that evening, James went to Video Stop in Watrous, the last confirmed sighting of him. Five days later, James’ work truck and all his work tools were located abandoned in a field near Allan.
In May, 2010, James’ white Monte Carlo was located concealed on a secluded rural property near Rosthern. It was reported to police by the land owner who advised the car was sitting abandoned in the location for two years.
Over the years, tips from the public have been received and extensive searches conducted around the Watrous, Imperial and Holdfast areas. Farm land, rock piles, bush areas, bodies of water and wells have been examined.
Daniel Bushman
After going over information and testimonies presented at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench in June, a guilty verdict was reached in the trial related to the disappearance and alleged murder of James Carlson from Watrous. Justice Gerald Allbright, who presided over the trial, found Taylor Wolff guilty of second-degree murder in Carlson’s death.
Bre McAdam with the Star Phoenix had been covering the trial in its entirety since it began June 11 and said Allbright read his 72-page decision in court during the morning Aug. 10. McAdam said Allbright read his analysis explaining DNA of Wolff was found on two cigarette butts and on the neck of a cleaning bottle at Carlson’s home. Allbright continued by stating even though Carlson’s body has never been found, there is no doubt he died from an unlawful act.
McAdam said Allbright summarized evidence given by people including witness Lindsay Reiber, who Allbright found to be a “credible witness.”
In accepting this, Allbright found that Wolff caused James Carlson’s death. After the guilty verdict of second-degree murder was handed down (which could carry a life sentence with no parole for between 10 and 25 years), court adjourned. McAdam said the Crown and defence will argue parole eligibility Sept. 5.
On May 14, 2008 James was working at a Watrous area farm during the day and made an appointment to do work at another farm the following day. Between 7 and 8 p.m. that evening, James went to Video Stop in Watrous, the last confirmed sighting of him. Five days later, James’ work truck and all his work tools were located abandoned in a field near Allan.
In May, 2010, James’ white Monte Carlo was located concealed on a secluded rural property near Rosthern. It was reported to police by the land owner who advised the car was sitting abandoned in the location for two years.
Over the years, tips from the public have been received and extensive searches conducted around the Watrous, Imperial and Holdfast areas. Farm land, rock piles, bush areas, bodies of water and wells have been examined.
TWM Top Story - Aug. 6, 2018
Mainline Chrysler Watrous nears opening date
Daniel Bushman
After officially putting the shovel into the ground this past October, Mainline Chrysler Watrous will soon see its doors open to the public for the first time later this month. General Manager of the new dealership, Ryan Hunt said they are excited about officially opening in just a couple of weeks at their location just off Hwy. 2 in Watrous.
“It has been a lot of hard work to get to this point but we are thrilled to be able to say that Mainline Chrysler Watrous will be opening by the end of August.”
With a few things left to be done over the next few weeks Hunt said, “We are excited to be able to join the community of Watrous and serve our future customers within the town, surrounding area and province.”
In anticipation of opening, Hunt along with some of the employees from the dealership have already been busy increasing stock with new vehicles arriving at a temporary lot, located next to Melron Service Ltd.
“Some of our staff that will be at the brand new dealership have already started getting things lined up, bringing out new vehicles and getting them ready to be put on the lot. Once we open, people can stop by our location on the east side of town off Hwy. 2 to take a look.”
Just a short drive away from the temporary lot, work has been well underway at the site of the dealership’s permanent residence. Melron Service Ltd. has been busy doing the excavating and ground work while Wright Construction is constructing the 25,000 square foot facility. Work is also being done to finish the entrance to the dealership which will be just off road #668 next to Watrous Concrete. There are also plans to see the five acre parcel of land include a paved lot.
Employing around 35 people once operational, the dealership will be selling new and used vehicles, offering service and selling parts and will become the third automotive dealership in Watrous, joining Centennial Ford and Mainline Motors.
Daniel Bushman
After officially putting the shovel into the ground this past October, Mainline Chrysler Watrous will soon see its doors open to the public for the first time later this month. General Manager of the new dealership, Ryan Hunt said they are excited about officially opening in just a couple of weeks at their location just off Hwy. 2 in Watrous.
“It has been a lot of hard work to get to this point but we are thrilled to be able to say that Mainline Chrysler Watrous will be opening by the end of August.”
With a few things left to be done over the next few weeks Hunt said, “We are excited to be able to join the community of Watrous and serve our future customers within the town, surrounding area and province.”
In anticipation of opening, Hunt along with some of the employees from the dealership have already been busy increasing stock with new vehicles arriving at a temporary lot, located next to Melron Service Ltd.
“Some of our staff that will be at the brand new dealership have already started getting things lined up, bringing out new vehicles and getting them ready to be put on the lot. Once we open, people can stop by our location on the east side of town off Hwy. 2 to take a look.”
Just a short drive away from the temporary lot, work has been well underway at the site of the dealership’s permanent residence. Melron Service Ltd. has been busy doing the excavating and ground work while Wright Construction is constructing the 25,000 square foot facility. Work is also being done to finish the entrance to the dealership which will be just off road #668 next to Watrous Concrete. There are also plans to see the five acre parcel of land include a paved lot.
Employing around 35 people once operational, the dealership will be selling new and used vehicles, offering service and selling parts and will become the third automotive dealership in Watrous, joining Centennial Ford and Mainline Motors.
TWM Top Story - July 16, 2018
A plan to revitalize
Main Street Watrous
Daniel Bushman
It is a topic more and more rural communities are talking about, but for Watrous steps are being taken to come up with strategies and solutions on how to see the community’s main street rejuvenated while creating an overall community economic development plan. Consultations have been underway to come up with a plan aimed at future growth and as part of that, a community-wide engagement meeting was recently held to garner input into the current and future state of Watrous’ Main Street.
Community Development Officer with the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group Brendan Manz said Prairie Wild Consulting out of Saskatoon was hired in January to begin a planning process and long-term community economic development plan. Engaging with the community over the past several months, the group conducted surveys with residents and business owners including at the tourism barbecue in Watrous May 30. The consultation process culminated June 28 with a business community focus group luncheon in addition to a communitywide engagement session held in the evening.
Providing an opportunity for local residents and business owners to share challenges, concerns and feedback around current business and community development, Manz said the luncheon with the local business community provided solid feedback and discussion relating to Watrous’ Main Street.
“What we have been seeing on main street is a recent loss or closure to some of our businesses and we know there are others looking to retire and move on in the next few years. I think it is important for us to have a plan in place before it is too late.”
At the luncheon meeting June 28, Manz said there was representation from business owners located on main street and beyond including Manitou Beach. The community development officer said around 50 people from Watrous and Manitou Beach including a few members from Watrous and Manitou Beach council made it out for the evening engagement meeting, showing interest towards the current and future state of Watrous’ Main Street.
“We are seeing a transition in retail in a lot of different areas so I think it is important to go through the planning process and see where this takes us. Main street remains a vital part of the community and it is important to have it as vibrant as possible. We are lucky to have the tourist numbers that we do coming through the community and main street provides an opportunity for people to spend more time and money in our community, which is important.”
At the two meetings, Manz said discussion from attendees ranged from getting rid of or tearing down a few things on main street to beautifying the area to make it an attractive place for residents and tourists. Other suggestions like incentives and assistance for businesses new and old were also brought up.
“Having around 50 people come to the community-wide engagement meeting was extremely positive, especially since it was a nice evening leading into the long weekend. Without that input and the input from the surveys, we would not really know what people want to see. We know that it won’t solve all the problems, but the input will be used towards a long-term plan and it is a start.”
Once the plan is completed, it will be directed towards council and the marketing group to see things through. Manz said they will potentially be looking at a variety of things like engaging the youth and the arts community, better partnering with local businesses, developing a theme for main street and involving the local Heritage Centre, which is currently being worked on.
“We will be looking at how we can bring in changes to our main street but also be respectful of the history and what it includes at the same time. We don’t want to lose sight of that as well.”
Manz said the consulting firm will now be compiling all of its findings and the entire plan with its recommendations will be completed later in the summer or early fall. The findings will then be released along with recommended items that could take place once approved by the marketing group and Watrous and Manitou Beach councils. “Once we get the plan, we will review it and will start laying down a plan on how some of these items can be undertaken. This year is all about the planning but by next year we could start seeing some results and action items. Some of those things that don’t cost a lot of money or take a lot of time could be implemented right away.”
Noting that anything being done will need to be a team effort, Manz said it is an important step in the right direction towards revitalizing a key piece of the community.
“When it comes to attracting new business, we are seeing investment on Hwy. 2 and people think we have a lot going on here. That needs to continue on our main street as well.”
Suggesting beautifying main street as a start, such as doing something as small as adding flowers or benches to something larger like a universal theme amongst businesses, Manz said it can create a place that people want to invest in. “I think there are some quick things we can do to make it a little more attractive which in turn will encourage people to invest in. We have a lot of good things going for our community, especially when you combine Watrous and Manitou Beach. We have a new automotive dealership being built in town, joining other substantial dealerships and other businesses that have been built, renovated or expanded in the past year or two, which is tremendous. Add in our tourist numbers and everything else that other communities don’t have and I think we can be an attractive place for investment. If we can do that, I think businesses will come.”
Main Street Watrous
Daniel Bushman
It is a topic more and more rural communities are talking about, but for Watrous steps are being taken to come up with strategies and solutions on how to see the community’s main street rejuvenated while creating an overall community economic development plan. Consultations have been underway to come up with a plan aimed at future growth and as part of that, a community-wide engagement meeting was recently held to garner input into the current and future state of Watrous’ Main Street.
Community Development Officer with the Watrous Manitou Marketing Group Brendan Manz said Prairie Wild Consulting out of Saskatoon was hired in January to begin a planning process and long-term community economic development plan. Engaging with the community over the past several months, the group conducted surveys with residents and business owners including at the tourism barbecue in Watrous May 30. The consultation process culminated June 28 with a business community focus group luncheon in addition to a communitywide engagement session held in the evening.
Providing an opportunity for local residents and business owners to share challenges, concerns and feedback around current business and community development, Manz said the luncheon with the local business community provided solid feedback and discussion relating to Watrous’ Main Street.
“What we have been seeing on main street is a recent loss or closure to some of our businesses and we know there are others looking to retire and move on in the next few years. I think it is important for us to have a plan in place before it is too late.”
At the luncheon meeting June 28, Manz said there was representation from business owners located on main street and beyond including Manitou Beach. The community development officer said around 50 people from Watrous and Manitou Beach including a few members from Watrous and Manitou Beach council made it out for the evening engagement meeting, showing interest towards the current and future state of Watrous’ Main Street.
“We are seeing a transition in retail in a lot of different areas so I think it is important to go through the planning process and see where this takes us. Main street remains a vital part of the community and it is important to have it as vibrant as possible. We are lucky to have the tourist numbers that we do coming through the community and main street provides an opportunity for people to spend more time and money in our community, which is important.”
At the two meetings, Manz said discussion from attendees ranged from getting rid of or tearing down a few things on main street to beautifying the area to make it an attractive place for residents and tourists. Other suggestions like incentives and assistance for businesses new and old were also brought up.
“Having around 50 people come to the community-wide engagement meeting was extremely positive, especially since it was a nice evening leading into the long weekend. Without that input and the input from the surveys, we would not really know what people want to see. We know that it won’t solve all the problems, but the input will be used towards a long-term plan and it is a start.”
Once the plan is completed, it will be directed towards council and the marketing group to see things through. Manz said they will potentially be looking at a variety of things like engaging the youth and the arts community, better partnering with local businesses, developing a theme for main street and involving the local Heritage Centre, which is currently being worked on.
“We will be looking at how we can bring in changes to our main street but also be respectful of the history and what it includes at the same time. We don’t want to lose sight of that as well.”
Manz said the consulting firm will now be compiling all of its findings and the entire plan with its recommendations will be completed later in the summer or early fall. The findings will then be released along with recommended items that could take place once approved by the marketing group and Watrous and Manitou Beach councils. “Once we get the plan, we will review it and will start laying down a plan on how some of these items can be undertaken. This year is all about the planning but by next year we could start seeing some results and action items. Some of those things that don’t cost a lot of money or take a lot of time could be implemented right away.”
Noting that anything being done will need to be a team effort, Manz said it is an important step in the right direction towards revitalizing a key piece of the community.
“When it comes to attracting new business, we are seeing investment on Hwy. 2 and people think we have a lot going on here. That needs to continue on our main street as well.”
Suggesting beautifying main street as a start, such as doing something as small as adding flowers or benches to something larger like a universal theme amongst businesses, Manz said it can create a place that people want to invest in. “I think there are some quick things we can do to make it a little more attractive which in turn will encourage people to invest in. We have a lot of good things going for our community, especially when you combine Watrous and Manitou Beach. We have a new automotive dealership being built in town, joining other substantial dealerships and other businesses that have been built, renovated or expanded in the past year or two, which is tremendous. Add in our tourist numbers and everything else that other communities don’t have and I think we can be an attractive place for investment. If we can do that, I think businesses will come.”
TWM Top Story - July 9, 2018
Local health team adding nurse practitioner
Daniel Bushman
With the pressures of longer wait times, the Saskatchewan Health Authority along with the Town of Watrous will be adding to its local Primary Health Care team. Providing service to Watrous, Imperial and surrounding communities, the Saskatchewan Health Authority along with the community have secured the services of a second nurse practitioner, bringing the total of physicians and nurse practitioners to five.
Joining the current team of doctors Hammad Akhtar, Kavita Choudhary, and Olanike Adebayo along with nurse practitioner Jessica Niyongabo will be Julie Wolff.
Manager with Primary Health Care Angela Luron said the addition of Wolff will be a big benefit to the area and to the care of patients utilizing the services in both Watrous and Imperial.
“We know that the current wait time for a regular appointment has been anywhere from two to six weeks for quite some time now, and we know we have to do better,” said Luron. “By adding Julie to the team we are planning to reduce those times while continuing to provide excellent care.”
Luron also noted that they have been making ongoing improvements to scheduling and clinical service delivery methods over the past few years, but that these efforts alone have not improved access enough – additional health care provider capacity is needed.
Watrous Mayor Ed Collins said adding a second nurse practitioner to the local team will be a tremendous benefit to the community and area. “Anytime we can add another professional to the Primary Health Care team is wonderful. It should also help alleviate and cut down on wait times. When we are able to expand the health care services, it is a plus.”
From Liberty, Sask., Wolff is joining the team in July and Luron said Julie provides a strong commitment to and passion for rural health care. “We feel very fortunate to bring her on. She has many years of nursing experience and has been practicing as a Primary Health Nurse Practitioner in southern Saskatchewan.”
Having three physicians working in the local facilities and two full-time nurse practitioners, Luron said they are able to provide care within a collaborative practice model, meaning a community member can be seen by any of the five providers. “Since we’ve implemented the electronic medical record system in 2015, this makes sure that any of the five providers can access the patient information that they need in order to have the full story and all of the information required to provide the best care.” Luron explained that this means a person can book an appointment with any physician or nurse practitioner, rather than waiting to see a specific person.
By adding Wolff to the team, Luron explained how the team will also now actively pursue the community engagement and development aspect of Primary Health.
“We know that supporting a healthy community involves much more than just clinical appointments – Primary Health Nurse Practitioners are also trained to focus on health education, health promotion, and illness prevention outside the walls of the health centre, right alongside the day-to-day lives of community members. This will partly involve improving our health connections and outreach work with the many community groups that already exist in and around Watrous and Imperial. This will also involve asking and learning about what is most important to community members for living a healthy life, and looking at how we can best support that by working together.”
Daniel Bushman
With the pressures of longer wait times, the Saskatchewan Health Authority along with the Town of Watrous will be adding to its local Primary Health Care team. Providing service to Watrous, Imperial and surrounding communities, the Saskatchewan Health Authority along with the community have secured the services of a second nurse practitioner, bringing the total of physicians and nurse practitioners to five.
Joining the current team of doctors Hammad Akhtar, Kavita Choudhary, and Olanike Adebayo along with nurse practitioner Jessica Niyongabo will be Julie Wolff.
Manager with Primary Health Care Angela Luron said the addition of Wolff will be a big benefit to the area and to the care of patients utilizing the services in both Watrous and Imperial.
“We know that the current wait time for a regular appointment has been anywhere from two to six weeks for quite some time now, and we know we have to do better,” said Luron. “By adding Julie to the team we are planning to reduce those times while continuing to provide excellent care.”
Luron also noted that they have been making ongoing improvements to scheduling and clinical service delivery methods over the past few years, but that these efforts alone have not improved access enough – additional health care provider capacity is needed.
Watrous Mayor Ed Collins said adding a second nurse practitioner to the local team will be a tremendous benefit to the community and area. “Anytime we can add another professional to the Primary Health Care team is wonderful. It should also help alleviate and cut down on wait times. When we are able to expand the health care services, it is a plus.”
From Liberty, Sask., Wolff is joining the team in July and Luron said Julie provides a strong commitment to and passion for rural health care. “We feel very fortunate to bring her on. She has many years of nursing experience and has been practicing as a Primary Health Nurse Practitioner in southern Saskatchewan.”
Having three physicians working in the local facilities and two full-time nurse practitioners, Luron said they are able to provide care within a collaborative practice model, meaning a community member can be seen by any of the five providers. “Since we’ve implemented the electronic medical record system in 2015, this makes sure that any of the five providers can access the patient information that they need in order to have the full story and all of the information required to provide the best care.” Luron explained that this means a person can book an appointment with any physician or nurse practitioner, rather than waiting to see a specific person.
By adding Wolff to the team, Luron explained how the team will also now actively pursue the community engagement and development aspect of Primary Health.
“We know that supporting a healthy community involves much more than just clinical appointments – Primary Health Nurse Practitioners are also trained to focus on health education, health promotion, and illness prevention outside the walls of the health centre, right alongside the day-to-day lives of community members. This will partly involve improving our health connections and outreach work with the many community groups that already exist in and around Watrous and Imperial. This will also involve asking and learning about what is most important to community members for living a healthy life, and looking at how we can best support that by working together.”
TWM Top Story - July 2, 2018
Young to rebuild swimming pool
Daniel Bushman
With substantial local support and a lot of hard work, the Young Swimming Pool committee has been making a splash as it strives to rebuild the community’s pool. With a fundraising goal of $250,000, the committee has already raised approximately $140,000 and is hopeful to see more come in during the months ahead.
Going towards repairs, the pool will see a total facelift once completed as funds will be used for a new liner, rebuilding the pool walls, a new cover, replumbing the water lines to the pool, back filling and new concrete. The committee said some prep work has already started on the project in Young and the contractor is set to start work in mid-July.
“It is very important to keep the pool operational,” said the committee. “It is a vital part of our community during the summer. We offer public swimming, swimming lessons, and the last couple of years we have offered lane swimming, and water yoga. The pool also employs youth from Young and surrounding areas.”
Consisting of Taylor Rowan, Jolene Haines, Julia Schultz, Lydia Huston, and Kellen Dreger, the fundraising committee said efforts to raise money have been going really well.
“We have received numerous donations and support from local and corporate businesses as well as residents of Young and surrounding areas. Our committee has also been busy hosting fundraising events throughout the year such as a Steak Night at TB’s, a Plant Nite, a bottle drive and ladies night out.”
The group has also planned a bottle drive for mid-September and a Halloween Kids’ Dance and Halloween Howler Cabaret coming up in the latter part of October.
The committee added if people want to contribute financially or through volunteering with fundraisers or at the pool, they can contact youngswimmingpool@outlook.com or they can send donations to the Village of Young, Box 359, Young, Sask. S0K 4Y0.
Daniel Bushman
With substantial local support and a lot of hard work, the Young Swimming Pool committee has been making a splash as it strives to rebuild the community’s pool. With a fundraising goal of $250,000, the committee has already raised approximately $140,000 and is hopeful to see more come in during the months ahead.
Going towards repairs, the pool will see a total facelift once completed as funds will be used for a new liner, rebuilding the pool walls, a new cover, replumbing the water lines to the pool, back filling and new concrete. The committee said some prep work has already started on the project in Young and the contractor is set to start work in mid-July.
“It is very important to keep the pool operational,” said the committee. “It is a vital part of our community during the summer. We offer public swimming, swimming lessons, and the last couple of years we have offered lane swimming, and water yoga. The pool also employs youth from Young and surrounding areas.”
Consisting of Taylor Rowan, Jolene Haines, Julia Schultz, Lydia Huston, and Kellen Dreger, the fundraising committee said efforts to raise money have been going really well.
“We have received numerous donations and support from local and corporate businesses as well as residents of Young and surrounding areas. Our committee has also been busy hosting fundraising events throughout the year such as a Steak Night at TB’s, a Plant Nite, a bottle drive and ladies night out.”
The group has also planned a bottle drive for mid-September and a Halloween Kids’ Dance and Halloween Howler Cabaret coming up in the latter part of October.
The committee added if people want to contribute financially or through volunteering with fundraisers or at the pool, they can contact youngswimmingpool@outlook.com or they can send donations to the Village of Young, Box 359, Young, Sask. S0K 4Y0.
TWM Top Story - June 25, 2018
Couple thankful to be alive after bear attack
Daniel Bushman
What started out as ensuring the safety of others ended with a near-death experience after a local couple was attacked multiple times by a bear in northern Saskatchewan. Now a few weeks removed from the traumatic experience, Brad Schroeder along with his wife Casadi are grateful to be alive and back home in Lanigan.
Joining families from the Northwest Community Church out of Meadow Lake for a family camp, Brad and Casadi Schroeder were invited to be guest speakers to share about their recent experience in Thailand. Making the trek from Lanigan with their kids up to Bethel Gospel Camp near Jeannette Lake in Meadow Lake Provincial Park, the family arrived June 8. After pulling into camp Friday, a bear had been spotted but Brad said the director and a conservation officer were able to deter it from sticking around.
With the bear gone, the Schroeders spent the weekend meeting and visiting with families including reconnecting with their aunt Grace and her husband Alan, who pastors at Northwest Community Church. Enjoying the beauty of the area, the Schroeder family went to bed Saturday night only to be woken up by the noise of a bear outside their cabin door.
“Our son Noah was awake Sunday morning around 7:30 or 8 a.m. and told us a bear was pushing on the door,” said Brad. “We started banging on the window to scare it away from the cabin.”
The male bear, which conservation officers would later tell Brad was around two or three years old, slowly sauntered off to another building where the kitchen, chapel and some dorm rooms were located. A pop up tent where kids were sleeping in was also nearby the building. As the bear continued to investigate the premises, Casadi feared it might eventually wander into the tent where the kids were sleeping. Maintaining a safe distance, she opened the door of her cabin and headed towards the main building and the bear. Since there was a blind spot behind the building, Casadi slowly took the corner by making a wide angle as not to startle the bear. Making her way around, the bear had found its way onto a raised wooden walkway near the doors to the main facility. The bear turned, noticed Casadi, and began walking towards her.
“When he turned towards me, he started coming down the raised walkway,” she said. “I was maintaining a good distance from him and I thought maybe he was curious. He began approaching towards my left and I thought he was headed for the fire pit area to look around for food where we had a wiener roast earlier in the weekend. I had this moment where I thought, okay good, he does not want to head towards me.”
But that all changed in a flash. While black bears can appear slow and methodical, they can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h and as soon as the bear veered off the platform, it bolted towards Schroeder.
“He came right at me,” said Casadi. “I was behind a tree and he got up on his two hind legs and reached with his claws around the tree. For a quick second, I took a breath and thought, he is going to climb the tree and not eat me. The next thing I knew he was tearing into my legs and the bites were so deep.”
With powerful jaws, the bear continued to bite Schroeder’s legs, shaking his head and ripping the flesh apart. “At that point I was like, Jesus this is it. I am ready to go. The bear was just so strong and the pain was so much, I didn’t know how I would fight him.”
As the bear charged Casadi and got her to the ground, Brad darted from their cabin towards the scene, engaging with the animal. “I was fighting with the bear and I told Cas to run,” he said.
Getting up in severe pain, Casadi was able to make it to a nearby cabin where she pounded on the door. “I hit that door and started pounding. I didn’t have time to try and see if the door was locked and then all of a sudden, the bear was eating my legs again. He was not going to let me go.”
Screaming in terror that she was being eaten by a bear, the door to the cabin opened and one of the people inside came out, trying to force the bear away. Brad was also able to make it over to the cabin, helping as well.
“All I remember is that somehow my legs came free and I got in the cabin,” said a shaken Casadi. “Brad was able to get inside as well.”
With the bear still lingering outside, Casadi sat down clutching her legs in pain. Despite feeling like she would pass out, Schroeder was able to stay alert and an officer that had been staying at camp for the weekend was able to get a first aid kit and began cleaning her wounds.
“It was super painful,” said Schroeder. “There were a few kids in the cabin and I tried to be calm but I almost blacked out because the pain was so intense. On my one side there were chunks of flesh the size of toonies that were gone from my legs because of the bites. That wasn’t even my bad leg. On my right side, they just told me not to look. It was that bad.”
Because of the proximity of the camp up north, there was no cell service but someone was able to access a Wi-Fi network and message a friend to call for help. After Brad and Casadi made it to the confines of the cabin, Brad’s focus shifted towards their three children who were back in the family’s cabin.
“Two of our kids saw the whole thing and I needed to get back to the cabin. I thought I saw the bear saunter off a bit so I took off running.”
However, the bear was still around and caught up to Brad, knocking him over. “I was able to get free pretty quickly but I am not too sure how. I kept going and made it to the cabin, slammed the door and made sure the kids were okay.”
The bear then returned to the cabin that Casadi and other campers were in. As the bear stayed close by, a mom of two little girls in the cabin put up a mattress to keep them from seeing the bear, in hopes of not scaring them further.
With Casadi being attended to in the cabin and Brad with their children in the other, help arrived 45 minutes later as an ambulance and a team of conservation officers made it to camp.
Brad said the conservation officers were able to trap the bear that attacked them and euthanized it before sending the animal away for testing. Casadi said test results from the bear’s DNA on her pants and from the bear showed a match, confirming that it was the same bear that had attacked the couple.
“The officers told us it was very abnormal behaviour for the bear to do what it did. With the forest fires that came within a mile of the camp in May, they felt the male bear was out of its natural habitat and hungry, which may have played into the attack.”
Going in the ambulance, Brad and Casadi rode to the hospital in Meadow Lake while Brad’s aunt Grace and her husband Alan followed them with the couple’s kids. After a few hours in hospital, the Schroeders were released and eventually returned to Lanigan.
While Brad had some scrapes and cuts, Casadi received 34 staples to close the wounds from the bear’s teeth. “When we arrived at the hospital, the first thing the doctor said is that this was the best case scenario. The bites were all on my legs and he said they will heal but if they were on my upper body, then you are looking at organs and stuff and that would have been severely worse.”
As a precaution, Brad and Casadi also received rabies shots a few days after being released from hospital and were given the all clear. Half of Casadi’s staples were also removed this past week.
Reflecting back on the traumatic experience Casadi said, “You never expect something like that to happen.”
After praying and reflecting on the events that unfolded during that Sunday morning she continued, “I had a clear vision of Jesus holding my upper body pulling me backwards and I feel it was a miracle because my upper body didn’t get a scratch.”
Brad, who is one of the pastors at Christian Fellowship Church in Lanigan added, “I felt God’s strength and His protection over the kids during the attack. We are also so thankful for the church and camp at Meadow Lake, they have been so supportive since this happened. The ambulance driver that took us to the hospital, she had counselled at the camp when she was younger and she was very good to us during our ride to the hospital. We are just so thankful for a lot of things.”
Now back home resting and recovering, the pair said, “All of the support we have received at home has been pretty amazing, especially from our church. They have offered meals, child care and cleaning. The community as well has stopped by with baking and fruit and all sorts of stuff. We have felt very supported throughout this experience.”
Casadi also said it has been incredible at how little pain she has experienced since the attack. “It is nothing short of a miracle. I am grateful to be alive and to be able to be home and walk.”
Since the bear attack, a GoFundMe page has been set up for the family to help cover expenses and therapy through the trauma of the experience. If people want to donate, they can go online to: www.gofundme.com/3pm5r8-cas-and-brad-support-fund
Daniel Bushman
What started out as ensuring the safety of others ended with a near-death experience after a local couple was attacked multiple times by a bear in northern Saskatchewan. Now a few weeks removed from the traumatic experience, Brad Schroeder along with his wife Casadi are grateful to be alive and back home in Lanigan.
Joining families from the Northwest Community Church out of Meadow Lake for a family camp, Brad and Casadi Schroeder were invited to be guest speakers to share about their recent experience in Thailand. Making the trek from Lanigan with their kids up to Bethel Gospel Camp near Jeannette Lake in Meadow Lake Provincial Park, the family arrived June 8. After pulling into camp Friday, a bear had been spotted but Brad said the director and a conservation officer were able to deter it from sticking around.
With the bear gone, the Schroeders spent the weekend meeting and visiting with families including reconnecting with their aunt Grace and her husband Alan, who pastors at Northwest Community Church. Enjoying the beauty of the area, the Schroeder family went to bed Saturday night only to be woken up by the noise of a bear outside their cabin door.
“Our son Noah was awake Sunday morning around 7:30 or 8 a.m. and told us a bear was pushing on the door,” said Brad. “We started banging on the window to scare it away from the cabin.”
The male bear, which conservation officers would later tell Brad was around two or three years old, slowly sauntered off to another building where the kitchen, chapel and some dorm rooms were located. A pop up tent where kids were sleeping in was also nearby the building. As the bear continued to investigate the premises, Casadi feared it might eventually wander into the tent where the kids were sleeping. Maintaining a safe distance, she opened the door of her cabin and headed towards the main building and the bear. Since there was a blind spot behind the building, Casadi slowly took the corner by making a wide angle as not to startle the bear. Making her way around, the bear had found its way onto a raised wooden walkway near the doors to the main facility. The bear turned, noticed Casadi, and began walking towards her.
“When he turned towards me, he started coming down the raised walkway,” she said. “I was maintaining a good distance from him and I thought maybe he was curious. He began approaching towards my left and I thought he was headed for the fire pit area to look around for food where we had a wiener roast earlier in the weekend. I had this moment where I thought, okay good, he does not want to head towards me.”
But that all changed in a flash. While black bears can appear slow and methodical, they can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h and as soon as the bear veered off the platform, it bolted towards Schroeder.
“He came right at me,” said Casadi. “I was behind a tree and he got up on his two hind legs and reached with his claws around the tree. For a quick second, I took a breath and thought, he is going to climb the tree and not eat me. The next thing I knew he was tearing into my legs and the bites were so deep.”
With powerful jaws, the bear continued to bite Schroeder’s legs, shaking his head and ripping the flesh apart. “At that point I was like, Jesus this is it. I am ready to go. The bear was just so strong and the pain was so much, I didn’t know how I would fight him.”
As the bear charged Casadi and got her to the ground, Brad darted from their cabin towards the scene, engaging with the animal. “I was fighting with the bear and I told Cas to run,” he said.
Getting up in severe pain, Casadi was able to make it to a nearby cabin where she pounded on the door. “I hit that door and started pounding. I didn’t have time to try and see if the door was locked and then all of a sudden, the bear was eating my legs again. He was not going to let me go.”
Screaming in terror that she was being eaten by a bear, the door to the cabin opened and one of the people inside came out, trying to force the bear away. Brad was also able to make it over to the cabin, helping as well.
“All I remember is that somehow my legs came free and I got in the cabin,” said a shaken Casadi. “Brad was able to get inside as well.”
With the bear still lingering outside, Casadi sat down clutching her legs in pain. Despite feeling like she would pass out, Schroeder was able to stay alert and an officer that had been staying at camp for the weekend was able to get a first aid kit and began cleaning her wounds.
“It was super painful,” said Schroeder. “There were a few kids in the cabin and I tried to be calm but I almost blacked out because the pain was so intense. On my one side there were chunks of flesh the size of toonies that were gone from my legs because of the bites. That wasn’t even my bad leg. On my right side, they just told me not to look. It was that bad.”
Because of the proximity of the camp up north, there was no cell service but someone was able to access a Wi-Fi network and message a friend to call for help. After Brad and Casadi made it to the confines of the cabin, Brad’s focus shifted towards their three children who were back in the family’s cabin.
“Two of our kids saw the whole thing and I needed to get back to the cabin. I thought I saw the bear saunter off a bit so I took off running.”
However, the bear was still around and caught up to Brad, knocking him over. “I was able to get free pretty quickly but I am not too sure how. I kept going and made it to the cabin, slammed the door and made sure the kids were okay.”
The bear then returned to the cabin that Casadi and other campers were in. As the bear stayed close by, a mom of two little girls in the cabin put up a mattress to keep them from seeing the bear, in hopes of not scaring them further.
With Casadi being attended to in the cabin and Brad with their children in the other, help arrived 45 minutes later as an ambulance and a team of conservation officers made it to camp.
Brad said the conservation officers were able to trap the bear that attacked them and euthanized it before sending the animal away for testing. Casadi said test results from the bear’s DNA on her pants and from the bear showed a match, confirming that it was the same bear that had attacked the couple.
“The officers told us it was very abnormal behaviour for the bear to do what it did. With the forest fires that came within a mile of the camp in May, they felt the male bear was out of its natural habitat and hungry, which may have played into the attack.”
Going in the ambulance, Brad and Casadi rode to the hospital in Meadow Lake while Brad’s aunt Grace and her husband Alan followed them with the couple’s kids. After a few hours in hospital, the Schroeders were released and eventually returned to Lanigan.
While Brad had some scrapes and cuts, Casadi received 34 staples to close the wounds from the bear’s teeth. “When we arrived at the hospital, the first thing the doctor said is that this was the best case scenario. The bites were all on my legs and he said they will heal but if they were on my upper body, then you are looking at organs and stuff and that would have been severely worse.”
As a precaution, Brad and Casadi also received rabies shots a few days after being released from hospital and were given the all clear. Half of Casadi’s staples were also removed this past week.
Reflecting back on the traumatic experience Casadi said, “You never expect something like that to happen.”
After praying and reflecting on the events that unfolded during that Sunday morning she continued, “I had a clear vision of Jesus holding my upper body pulling me backwards and I feel it was a miracle because my upper body didn’t get a scratch.”
Brad, who is one of the pastors at Christian Fellowship Church in Lanigan added, “I felt God’s strength and His protection over the kids during the attack. We are also so thankful for the church and camp at Meadow Lake, they have been so supportive since this happened. The ambulance driver that took us to the hospital, she had counselled at the camp when she was younger and she was very good to us during our ride to the hospital. We are just so thankful for a lot of things.”
Now back home resting and recovering, the pair said, “All of the support we have received at home has been pretty amazing, especially from our church. They have offered meals, child care and cleaning. The community as well has stopped by with baking and fruit and all sorts of stuff. We have felt very supported throughout this experience.”
Casadi also said it has been incredible at how little pain she has experienced since the attack. “It is nothing short of a miracle. I am grateful to be alive and to be able to be home and walk.”
Since the bear attack, a GoFundMe page has been set up for the family to help cover expenses and therapy through the trauma of the experience. If people want to donate, they can go online to: www.gofundme.com/3pm5r8-cas-and-brad-support-fund
TWM Top Story - June 18, 2018
Trial underway related to the disappearance of Carlson
Daniel Bushman
Information and testimonies related to the disappearance and alleged murder of James Carlson from Watrous were presented last week at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench. While Carlson has never been located since he disappeared under suspicious circumstances in 2008, Taylor Wolff was charged June 17, 2016 with one count of second degree murder relating to Carlson. Following a hearing in 2016, Wolff was subsequently released on a recognizance and was under house arrest in Watrous.
Along with other reporters, Bre McAdam with the Star Phoenix was covering the trial this past week and said according to agreed upon facts presented during the first day of trial June 12, court heard Carlson disappeared a month before he was expected to testify at a preliminary hearing for Wolff after the accused was charged with possessing drugs intended to be sold to Carlson. Crime scene investigators at court also detailed evidence in James’ home of blood, a pair of bullet fragments and cleaning solution. It was also pointed out in court that no fingerprints found in Carlson’s house matched those of Wolff after multiple swabs were taken from the scene and sent for DNA testing.
During trial June 12, Crown witness Lindsay Reiber testified about the possible whereabouts of Carlson being in a well near Watrous. McAdam said Reiber shared in court that the accused told her he dealt with James after a confrontation at Carlson’s home. McAdam added Reiber was a paid police agent in 2013 when she gave a fuller account of what she was told. Defence lawyer Brad Mitchell suggested Reiber gave information that was based on rumours because she wanted to start a new life. Reiber said she decided to come forward with her story because she wanted Carlson’s parents to have closure.
During testimony provided in court June 13, Layne Boorman told court he lied to police 10 years ago when he gave his statement that the accused showed him a gun and warned him not to go to Carlson’s home. McAdam said Boorman testified last week that he was a scared teenager at the time he provided his statement. Because of recanting his statement, the trial entered a voir dire hearing to determine if the out-of-court statement should be admissible for the truth of its contents. Justice Gerald Allbright reserved his decision on the voir dire until Monday (June 18), when the trial resumes. McAdam said the trial is expected to continue this week.
On May 14, 2008 James was working at a Watrous area farm during the day and made an appointment to do work at another farm the following day. Between 7 and 8 p.m. that evening, James went to Video Stop in Watrous, the last confirmed sighting of him. Five days later, James’ work truck and all his work tools were located abandoned in a field near Allan.
In May, 2010, James’ white Monte Carlo was located concealed on a secluded rural property near Rosthern. It was reported to police by the land owner who advised the car was sitting abandoned in the location for two years.
Over the years, tips from the public have been received and extensive searches conducted around the Watrous, Imperial and Holdfast areas. Farm land, rock piles, bush areas, bodies of water and wells have been examined.
In 2013 the RCMP Historical Case Unit created a YouTube video revealing details of the James Carlson investigation and asked farmers and land owners to check for any sign of James Carlson’s remains or any indication of suspicious activity.
Daniel Bushman
Information and testimonies related to the disappearance and alleged murder of James Carlson from Watrous were presented last week at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench. While Carlson has never been located since he disappeared under suspicious circumstances in 2008, Taylor Wolff was charged June 17, 2016 with one count of second degree murder relating to Carlson. Following a hearing in 2016, Wolff was subsequently released on a recognizance and was under house arrest in Watrous.
Along with other reporters, Bre McAdam with the Star Phoenix was covering the trial this past week and said according to agreed upon facts presented during the first day of trial June 12, court heard Carlson disappeared a month before he was expected to testify at a preliminary hearing for Wolff after the accused was charged with possessing drugs intended to be sold to Carlson. Crime scene investigators at court also detailed evidence in James’ home of blood, a pair of bullet fragments and cleaning solution. It was also pointed out in court that no fingerprints found in Carlson’s house matched those of Wolff after multiple swabs were taken from the scene and sent for DNA testing.
During trial June 12, Crown witness Lindsay Reiber testified about the possible whereabouts of Carlson being in a well near Watrous. McAdam said Reiber shared in court that the accused told her he dealt with James after a confrontation at Carlson’s home. McAdam added Reiber was a paid police agent in 2013 when she gave a fuller account of what she was told. Defence lawyer Brad Mitchell suggested Reiber gave information that was based on rumours because she wanted to start a new life. Reiber said she decided to come forward with her story because she wanted Carlson’s parents to have closure.
During testimony provided in court June 13, Layne Boorman told court he lied to police 10 years ago when he gave his statement that the accused showed him a gun and warned him not to go to Carlson’s home. McAdam said Boorman testified last week that he was a scared teenager at the time he provided his statement. Because of recanting his statement, the trial entered a voir dire hearing to determine if the out-of-court statement should be admissible for the truth of its contents. Justice Gerald Allbright reserved his decision on the voir dire until Monday (June 18), when the trial resumes. McAdam said the trial is expected to continue this week.
On May 14, 2008 James was working at a Watrous area farm during the day and made an appointment to do work at another farm the following day. Between 7 and 8 p.m. that evening, James went to Video Stop in Watrous, the last confirmed sighting of him. Five days later, James’ work truck and all his work tools were located abandoned in a field near Allan.
In May, 2010, James’ white Monte Carlo was located concealed on a secluded rural property near Rosthern. It was reported to police by the land owner who advised the car was sitting abandoned in the location for two years.
Over the years, tips from the public have been received and extensive searches conducted around the Watrous, Imperial and Holdfast areas. Farm land, rock piles, bush areas, bodies of water and wells have been examined.
In 2013 the RCMP Historical Case Unit created a YouTube video revealing details of the James Carlson investigation and asked farmers and land owners to check for any sign of James Carlson’s remains or any indication of suspicious activity.
TWM Top Story - June 11, 2018
Despite funding cuts, RM hopeful to repair road #668
Daniel Bushman
With improvements to road #668 between Watrous and Guernsey underway last year and the plan to continue them this year, the Rural Municipality of Usborne was forced to take a different route after being denied additional funding through the Municipal Roads for the Economy Program (MREP). Despite having to scale back the work to road #668 because of funding cuts, that did not stop the spring thaw and recent rains from creating potholes near the corner of where the Sharon Mennonite Church is located and just west of Nutrien’s mine.
RM Administrator Anna Rintoul said the RM which maintains the road applied for MREP through SARM to have those portions of the road repaired. “Unfortunately, our application was unsuccessful along with many others, as SARM only accepted seven of 32 applicants this year. Despite that, we are currently working with our engineer to come up with an affordable plan to repair.”
With the road requiring repair, Reeve for the RM of Usborne Jack Gibney said they have hired a contractor to patch potholes on certain portions of #668. “As there have been government cuts to MREP, our project for resurfacing six kilometres of #668, from the potash mine to the curve near Toman’s farm was denied. We are in the process of negotiations with the contractor to resurface from the mine west to the first curve, as well as from the Sharon Church to the curve north of Toman’s farm.”
Gibney was hopeful all arrangements would fall into place this past week and added as soon as the contractor finishes last year’s paving project, they will be able to start on those road repairs. “We hope to see this repair project completed, hopefully by the end of June. There are no other major road projects planned for this year, other than the usual maintenance on the busy Bloomfield Road, as well pulling the shoulders, gravelling, dust control, and replacing culverts across the entire RM as needed.”
In the fall last year, the RM began improvements to road #668 as barricades and detours were set up along a pair of sections of the road while crews conducted the work. The plan for those sections was to improve the surface and upgrade the road to primary weights. Asphalt milling and cementing were done on both and sub-base repair in certain sections was added. With that work done and despite some application setbacks, Rintoul said road #668 remains a big priority for the RM.
“The RM’s public works staff work diligently to keep everything signed, staked and flagged. However, with the recent rainfall we’ve experienced, the RM would once again like to remind motorists to slow down.”
To ensure the safety of those utilizing road #668, Rintoul said as many markers as possible have been placed by the potholes. “There are also signs at each end of the road alerting motorists that there is broken pavement along the road.”
Despite the warning signs and markers in place, during a rainy June 1, a white box truck spilled into one of the ditches on a stretch of road past the curve where the Sharon Mennonite Church is located. Local area resident Rob Bowman travels road #668 on a daily basis and was passing by around 7:30 p.m. when he came upon the incident. “A tow truck was hauling the box truck out of the ditch when I got there,” said Bowman. “The driver appeared to have hit a section of the water-filled potholes and lost control. By the time I returned a while later, everything had been cleaned up.”
Gibney said, “There was ample reflectors out on both sides of the road and closer to the mine, and the reflectors are put in place to make people aware of road hazards and the need to slow down. This truck involved was on a road with a 10 ton weight restriction.”
As the rains subsided, crews were busy fixing that particular area and Rintoul said the RM will still be able to move forward with completing last year’s project on #668. “The second layer of pavement is being completed, along with line painting for that project, on #668 (as a continuation of last year’s MREP project, joint with the RM of Morris). This is estimated to be completed by mid-June, weather dependent.”
Rintoul reiterated the RM understands the need to repair the road and has been working to have road #668 fixed for a number of years, beginning with the PIPP program in 2016. “Unfortunately we were unable to get our partnerships together for the PIPP program, and missed out on that funding – the cost to repair the entire stretch of road is estimated at $15 million dollars. The MREP through SARM for the 2017 construction year was a joint project with the RM of Morris for the south portion – being that it was a joint project, it made us more favourable to the powers that be for approval. That portion of that project alone cost RM 310 in excess of $1.5 million, above the $750,000 that was received through SARM MREP funding. The RM had plans to complete add-ons to the project this past fall but due to time constraints and cost (as well as the SARM MREP application for 2018 construction season), this had to be tabled.”
Daniel Bushman
With improvements to road #668 between Watrous and Guernsey underway last year and the plan to continue them this year, the Rural Municipality of Usborne was forced to take a different route after being denied additional funding through the Municipal Roads for the Economy Program (MREP). Despite having to scale back the work to road #668 because of funding cuts, that did not stop the spring thaw and recent rains from creating potholes near the corner of where the Sharon Mennonite Church is located and just west of Nutrien’s mine.
RM Administrator Anna Rintoul said the RM which maintains the road applied for MREP through SARM to have those portions of the road repaired. “Unfortunately, our application was unsuccessful along with many others, as SARM only accepted seven of 32 applicants this year. Despite that, we are currently working with our engineer to come up with an affordable plan to repair.”
With the road requiring repair, Reeve for the RM of Usborne Jack Gibney said they have hired a contractor to patch potholes on certain portions of #668. “As there have been government cuts to MREP, our project for resurfacing six kilometres of #668, from the potash mine to the curve near Toman’s farm was denied. We are in the process of negotiations with the contractor to resurface from the mine west to the first curve, as well as from the Sharon Church to the curve north of Toman’s farm.”
Gibney was hopeful all arrangements would fall into place this past week and added as soon as the contractor finishes last year’s paving project, they will be able to start on those road repairs. “We hope to see this repair project completed, hopefully by the end of June. There are no other major road projects planned for this year, other than the usual maintenance on the busy Bloomfield Road, as well pulling the shoulders, gravelling, dust control, and replacing culverts across the entire RM as needed.”
In the fall last year, the RM began improvements to road #668 as barricades and detours were set up along a pair of sections of the road while crews conducted the work. The plan for those sections was to improve the surface and upgrade the road to primary weights. Asphalt milling and cementing were done on both and sub-base repair in certain sections was added. With that work done and despite some application setbacks, Rintoul said road #668 remains a big priority for the RM.
“The RM’s public works staff work diligently to keep everything signed, staked and flagged. However, with the recent rainfall we’ve experienced, the RM would once again like to remind motorists to slow down.”
To ensure the safety of those utilizing road #668, Rintoul said as many markers as possible have been placed by the potholes. “There are also signs at each end of the road alerting motorists that there is broken pavement along the road.”
Despite the warning signs and markers in place, during a rainy June 1, a white box truck spilled into one of the ditches on a stretch of road past the curve where the Sharon Mennonite Church is located. Local area resident Rob Bowman travels road #668 on a daily basis and was passing by around 7:30 p.m. when he came upon the incident. “A tow truck was hauling the box truck out of the ditch when I got there,” said Bowman. “The driver appeared to have hit a section of the water-filled potholes and lost control. By the time I returned a while later, everything had been cleaned up.”
Gibney said, “There was ample reflectors out on both sides of the road and closer to the mine, and the reflectors are put in place to make people aware of road hazards and the need to slow down. This truck involved was on a road with a 10 ton weight restriction.”
As the rains subsided, crews were busy fixing that particular area and Rintoul said the RM will still be able to move forward with completing last year’s project on #668. “The second layer of pavement is being completed, along with line painting for that project, on #668 (as a continuation of last year’s MREP project, joint with the RM of Morris). This is estimated to be completed by mid-June, weather dependent.”
Rintoul reiterated the RM understands the need to repair the road and has been working to have road #668 fixed for a number of years, beginning with the PIPP program in 2016. “Unfortunately we were unable to get our partnerships together for the PIPP program, and missed out on that funding – the cost to repair the entire stretch of road is estimated at $15 million dollars. The MREP through SARM for the 2017 construction year was a joint project with the RM of Morris for the south portion – being that it was a joint project, it made us more favourable to the powers that be for approval. That portion of that project alone cost RM 310 in excess of $1.5 million, above the $750,000 that was received through SARM MREP funding. The RM had plans to complete add-ons to the project this past fall but due to time constraints and cost (as well as the SARM MREP application for 2018 construction season), this had to be tabled.”
TWM Top Story - June 4, 2018
Watrous and Lanigan to receive X-ray equipment upgrade
media release
X-ray equipment in five rural community hospitals including Watrous and Lanigan is being upgraded from film to digital images, supporting quicker diagnosis and improved care for patients.
“Our government is committed to improving access to high-quality medical imaging across Saskatchewan,” Rural and Remote Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit said. “Digital images save time for physicians and patients, and result in patients receiving their X-ray results quicker than ever before.”
The Saskatchewan Health Authority is in the process of digitalizing the X-ray equipment in Lanigan, Rosthern, Wadena, Watrous and Wynyard. It is anticipated that full implementation, including equipment upgrades and renovations, will be complete in fall 2018.
Digital images can be quickly shared between physicians and specialists across the province. A diagnostic interpretation by a radiologist can then be provided within minutes. This eliminates the need to transport film images to be read by a radiologist, which can take days.
“This technology investment is an important step for Saskatchewan Health Authority as we begin to fulfill the vision of better co-ordination of health care services across the province,” Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone said. “As one organization, our intent is to improve systems so employees and physicians can focus on what they do best, which is patient care and support. By improving access to medical imaging, we are on the right path of ensuring our province’s hospitals are able to coordinate their services to ensure patients receive high-quality, timely health care, closer to home.”
The Government of Saskatchewan contributed $500,000 to upgrade X-ray equipment from analog radiography to digital radiography in these five sites. The remaining $500,000 in matching funding (approximately $100,000 per site) was provided by local health foundations to cover the costs associated with the equipment upgrade, infrastructure and renovations.
“Strong community support helps our health system meet the need for specialized services across Saskatchewan,” Ottenbreit said. “Our government thanks the local communities, and their respective health foundations, whose generosity is helping make these digital X-ray upgrades a reality.”
media release
X-ray equipment in five rural community hospitals including Watrous and Lanigan is being upgraded from film to digital images, supporting quicker diagnosis and improved care for patients.
“Our government is committed to improving access to high-quality medical imaging across Saskatchewan,” Rural and Remote Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit said. “Digital images save time for physicians and patients, and result in patients receiving their X-ray results quicker than ever before.”
The Saskatchewan Health Authority is in the process of digitalizing the X-ray equipment in Lanigan, Rosthern, Wadena, Watrous and Wynyard. It is anticipated that full implementation, including equipment upgrades and renovations, will be complete in fall 2018.
Digital images can be quickly shared between physicians and specialists across the province. A diagnostic interpretation by a radiologist can then be provided within minutes. This eliminates the need to transport film images to be read by a radiologist, which can take days.
“This technology investment is an important step for Saskatchewan Health Authority as we begin to fulfill the vision of better co-ordination of health care services across the province,” Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone said. “As one organization, our intent is to improve systems so employees and physicians can focus on what they do best, which is patient care and support. By improving access to medical imaging, we are on the right path of ensuring our province’s hospitals are able to coordinate their services to ensure patients receive high-quality, timely health care, closer to home.”
The Government of Saskatchewan contributed $500,000 to upgrade X-ray equipment from analog radiography to digital radiography in these five sites. The remaining $500,000 in matching funding (approximately $100,000 per site) was provided by local health foundations to cover the costs associated with the equipment upgrade, infrastructure and renovations.
“Strong community support helps our health system meet the need for specialized services across Saskatchewan,” Ottenbreit said. “Our government thanks the local communities, and their respective health foundations, whose generosity is helping make these digital X-ray upgrades a reality.”
TWM Top Story - May 28, 2018
Watrous budget approved with increase
By Daniel Bushman
With an overall municipal increase of five percent to this year’s budget, Watrous town council approved the bump as the community looks to grow in 2018, keep up with current expenditures and mitigate the decrease in provincial revenue sharing.
Town Administrator Orrin Redden said the overall uniform mill rate (4.71 mills), commercial mill rate (6.96 mills) and base tax - which is the same for all classes of property for a developed property ($1,033) - all increased by five percent. In addition there was a pre-established water/sewer consumption rate increase that also took effect Jan. 1, 2018. Redden added council is also proposing an increase to the Capital Infrastructure Levy to begin later this year pending Saskatchewan Municipal Board approval.
The bump in the budget also coincided with provincial revenue sharing dropping seven percent, down $28,000 for Watrous from what it received in 2017. While there was a drop in revenue sharing, everything remained the same for the education/school mill rates portion of the budget as announced by the provincial government.
After going through the numbers and approving this year’s budget, Redden said the average total property tax bill will equate to an increase of approximately 3.2 percent. “The range for the average total property tax bill increase is anywhere from around 2.7 percent up to 4.2 percent but the average comes in around that 3.2 percent mark. Depending on a home’s assessment that means residents could be paying anywhere from $75 to $160 a year more. On average, taking the 3.2 percent as a median they would be looking at a $100 increase for this year.”
Tax prepayment estimate notices were mailed in January and actuals were recently sent out once the budget was approved. Redden added there is a two percent discount on any unpaid municipal taxes to the end of May and one percent in June.
As for the expenditure side of the budget, some of the areas of note include:
Water/Sewer
The Town will begin developing an additional raw water source to ensure adequate supply, hydrogeology work and a well, which will come with a price tag of $150,000 and be on the books for 2018 only. The balance of the project will be phased over the next couple of years.
Work is currently underway on the east side of Watrous as water/sewer for the east side industrial development is being installed. The Town’s share for the project is $300,000 for the affected Town owned land. The other affected land owners will be contributing proportionately. As part of the work, a sewer lift station is being constructed behind Watrous Home Hardware on the Town’s portion of land. The sewer lines will service Home Hardware, running east through the new industrial area and then south to where the new Chrysler dealership is being built. The water line that is going in will be looped back to where the fire hall is located. The work which has already started is projected to be completed in about six weeks.
Environmental Services
As a member of the Regional Authority of Carlton Trail (REACT), the community is contributing to a new landfill site being constructed in the RM of LeRoy. As such, the Town is in year two of a five year commitment with REACT ($70,000/year). “This is a significant cost increase for this portion of the budget.”
Protective Services
The town will be doing a full replacement of the Watrous Fire Department’s SCBA equipment (masks, harnesses, and tanks) ensuring the community is fully compliant with all safety/OH&S requirements. The replacement program is cost shared with the Watrous Rural Fire Protection Association which consists of the Resort Village of Manitou Beach and Rural Municipalities of Morris, Wood Creek, Usborne and Wreford. The total cost of the full replacement for the department is $70,000.
Transportation and Street Work
While this portion of the budget remains similar to previous years, a significant part of the contracted street maintenance and capital will be allocated to the new east side industrial site, located next to Watrous Home Hardware. The total cost of that work is $300,000.
Public Health and Welfare
Approval was given for upwards of $25,000 to be used towards completing cemetery upgrades and improvements. Redden said the Town will be announcing more details on the project soon.
The Town of Watrous will continue to remain involved with the medical clinic operations, working in collaboration with the Primary Health Management area of the Saskatchewan Health Authority to keep a stable group of health providers practicing in the community.
Recreation and Culture
A new Zamboni ice resurfacer was purchased for $120,000 and will be used once the ice goes in later this year at the Watrous Centennial Arena. The ice resurfacer was funded entirely by donations and contributions from the supportive Watrous and area business community.
The Watrous Centennial Arena will also see another improvement as the chiller will be replaced at a cost of $60,000.
Redden said council is also considering participating with Watrous Minor Ball, the elementary and high schools, and the Winston Wildcats football team on purchasing a new washroom/concession/storage building at the sportsgrounds. The facility would be used by minor ball, the high school football team and for track events.
By Daniel Bushman
With an overall municipal increase of five percent to this year’s budget, Watrous town council approved the bump as the community looks to grow in 2018, keep up with current expenditures and mitigate the decrease in provincial revenue sharing.
Town Administrator Orrin Redden said the overall uniform mill rate (4.71 mills), commercial mill rate (6.96 mills) and base tax - which is the same for all classes of property for a developed property ($1,033) - all increased by five percent. In addition there was a pre-established water/sewer consumption rate increase that also took effect Jan. 1, 2018. Redden added council is also proposing an increase to the Capital Infrastructure Levy to begin later this year pending Saskatchewan Municipal Board approval.
The bump in the budget also coincided with provincial revenue sharing dropping seven percent, down $28,000 for Watrous from what it received in 2017. While there was a drop in revenue sharing, everything remained the same for the education/school mill rates portion of the budget as announced by the provincial government.
After going through the numbers and approving this year’s budget, Redden said the average total property tax bill will equate to an increase of approximately 3.2 percent. “The range for the average total property tax bill increase is anywhere from around 2.7 percent up to 4.2 percent but the average comes in around that 3.2 percent mark. Depending on a home’s assessment that means residents could be paying anywhere from $75 to $160 a year more. On average, taking the 3.2 percent as a median they would be looking at a $100 increase for this year.”
Tax prepayment estimate notices were mailed in January and actuals were recently sent out once the budget was approved. Redden added there is a two percent discount on any unpaid municipal taxes to the end of May and one percent in June.
As for the expenditure side of the budget, some of the areas of note include:
Water/Sewer
The Town will begin developing an additional raw water source to ensure adequate supply, hydrogeology work and a well, which will come with a price tag of $150,000 and be on the books for 2018 only. The balance of the project will be phased over the next couple of years.
Work is currently underway on the east side of Watrous as water/sewer for the east side industrial development is being installed. The Town’s share for the project is $300,000 for the affected Town owned land. The other affected land owners will be contributing proportionately. As part of the work, a sewer lift station is being constructed behind Watrous Home Hardware on the Town’s portion of land. The sewer lines will service Home Hardware, running east through the new industrial area and then south to where the new Chrysler dealership is being built. The water line that is going in will be looped back to where the fire hall is located. The work which has already started is projected to be completed in about six weeks.
Environmental Services
As a member of the Regional Authority of Carlton Trail (REACT), the community is contributing to a new landfill site being constructed in the RM of LeRoy. As such, the Town is in year two of a five year commitment with REACT ($70,000/year). “This is a significant cost increase for this portion of the budget.”
Protective Services
The town will be doing a full replacement of the Watrous Fire Department’s SCBA equipment (masks, harnesses, and tanks) ensuring the community is fully compliant with all safety/OH&S requirements. The replacement program is cost shared with the Watrous Rural Fire Protection Association which consists of the Resort Village of Manitou Beach and Rural Municipalities of Morris, Wood Creek, Usborne and Wreford. The total cost of the full replacement for the department is $70,000.
Transportation and Street Work
While this portion of the budget remains similar to previous years, a significant part of the contracted street maintenance and capital will be allocated to the new east side industrial site, located next to Watrous Home Hardware. The total cost of that work is $300,000.
Public Health and Welfare
Approval was given for upwards of $25,000 to be used towards completing cemetery upgrades and improvements. Redden said the Town will be announcing more details on the project soon.
The Town of Watrous will continue to remain involved with the medical clinic operations, working in collaboration with the Primary Health Management area of the Saskatchewan Health Authority to keep a stable group of health providers practicing in the community.
Recreation and Culture
A new Zamboni ice resurfacer was purchased for $120,000 and will be used once the ice goes in later this year at the Watrous Centennial Arena. The ice resurfacer was funded entirely by donations and contributions from the supportive Watrous and area business community.
The Watrous Centennial Arena will also see another improvement as the chiller will be replaced at a cost of $60,000.
Redden said council is also considering participating with Watrous Minor Ball, the elementary and high schools, and the Winston Wildcats football team on purchasing a new washroom/concession/storage building at the sportsgrounds. The facility would be used by minor ball, the high school football team and for track events.
TWM Top Story - May 21, 2018
Fee changes and secured load guidelines implemented at REACT stations
Daniel Bushman
Users of the Regional Authority of Carlton Trail (REACT) transfer stations and landfills will be paying more to dump loads off after fees changed May 1. In addition to the fees being adjusted, secured load guidelines have also been implemented for those transporting any type of materials to their nearest landfill or transfer station.
In an effort to keep up with higher costs of operation and to help cover the costs of changes related to regulations instituted by the Ministry of Environment, people taking waste to transfer and landfill sites will now pay a minimum charge of $5. REACT Operations Manager Lyle Ruf said, “For example, if you bring one bag of garbage that is worth $2.50, you would be charged an additional $2.50 for a minimum charge for coming in the landfill. If you brought three bags in, which are $7.50 (or three tags), that is all you would pay. You wouldn’t pay anything additional to that.”
People will also need to provide identification showing proof of residency (driver’s licence/utility bill) and if they are not a REACT member, they will be charged a higher rate. Users of the stations or landfills can still use their previous tags they purchased before May 1 but once they run out, they will have to pay more. Garbage tags are now $2.50 a tag and half tags will no longer be accepted at transfer stations or landfills. A full tag must be on each 77 L bag or can (this also applies to curbside pickup tag-a-bag).
With local transfer station sites situated near Colonsay, Drake, Lanigan, LeRoy, Meacham, Viscount, Watrous and Young, Ruf said the changes were implemented as a result of the Ministry of Environment’s regulations being enforced at landfills across the province and the increased cost of meeting those standards. “We had to upgrade our facilities to have engineered cells, runoff ponds, berms and leachate ponds in order to protect the environment.”
REACT CEO Wendy Yaworski said the Ministry of Environment has made solid waste and best practices a priority in the province and as such the practices are required to be followed.
“In rural Saskatchewan we need to follow the best practices in an effort to protect the environment. However, with the significant costs associated with the regulations that we are required to follow and running the risk of operating with a deficit, we were left no choice but to raise fees.”
But it is not just regulations that have incurred higher costs for REACT as Yaworski said other day-to-day expenses have also gone up.
“A few years ago, work done at a cell at the Hoodoo landfill cost between $40,000 and $50,000 to dig and put it into working order. Last fall work was started on a new cell that had to be engineered and included the necessary requirements to be operational. Once done, that will cost us close to $600,000. Our overhead costs have also gone up tremendously. A front load truck that collects garbage, in 2014 we paid around $250,000 for it. Now it is costing us around $380,000. Even a small residential truck that would go to Watrous, a new one of those would be $121,000 and a few years ago it used to be around $80,000. Everything is going up so either we start to try and cover the deficit off or we can’t stay operational.”
In addition to the fee increases to help cover the changes, people utilizing the transfer stations and landfill sites are also required to secure their loads during transport. For example, if it is branches there would need to be some type of net or tarp over top so they would not blow out. If it is something like a couch, there would need to be a strap that would be going over top of it preventing it or its cushions from flying out. Essentially, Ruf said whatever is necessary to secure the load in the vehicle or what the load is being hauled in without it blowing off and into the ditches is required.
If the load is not secured, then to dump it off at one of the sites will cost more than the normal fee. Operators can also refuse entry into the site if the load is unsecured or they will collect a surcharge which can be double the cost of the load. “The reasoning for that is we very often get calls to go clean up stuff on roadways that has blown out of trucks and this will help cover the cost of doing that. Every load should be secured. It is provincial law.”
In addition to the new changes, Ruf said REACT is doing more around its cells to keep blown litter in place. “We are taking steps to try and contain that at the cells so we don’t get blown litter travelling across the country. We will be putting 30 foot high fences around our garbage cells to try and retain everything in our cells. It will be at both of our landfills and the transfer stations. We will start phasing that in over a period of time.”
REACT is also encouraging people to not buy overpackaged items and recycle as much as possible to reduce waste. That includes using cloth shopping bags as opposed to plastic bags as the plastic bags can pose a challenge for landfills, easily blowing all over the place.
While fee increases may not be popular, Ruf and Yaworski said people within the REACT district are in a good spot compared to others in the province that have had landfills shutdown and are left no options as far as economically replacing them. According to Ruf, the ministry has mentioned those who do not have a site close by may have to haul their garbage, unload it and return home from a site a minimum distance of 200 km away (400 km total of driving back and forth).
“Not long ago there were 534 landfills in the province and as of last year, they have now been reduced to 256,” said Yaworski.
“It is challenging for us to implement these changes and we want the public to understand it is a challenging time for us. I want to encourage people to give our office a call if they have questions regarding the fee increases so we can help to address them.”
With a total of 17 transfer stations, and two landfills within its borders, REACT consists of 31 urban and 16 rural municipalities that have joined together to manage their solid waste and recycling. On its website, REACT said its guiding principle is to divert as much waste from the landfill as possible. Through waste reduction and recycling, REACT’s goal is to dispose of 65 percent less waste to landfill.
Daniel Bushman
Users of the Regional Authority of Carlton Trail (REACT) transfer stations and landfills will be paying more to dump loads off after fees changed May 1. In addition to the fees being adjusted, secured load guidelines have also been implemented for those transporting any type of materials to their nearest landfill or transfer station.
In an effort to keep up with higher costs of operation and to help cover the costs of changes related to regulations instituted by the Ministry of Environment, people taking waste to transfer and landfill sites will now pay a minimum charge of $5. REACT Operations Manager Lyle Ruf said, “For example, if you bring one bag of garbage that is worth $2.50, you would be charged an additional $2.50 for a minimum charge for coming in the landfill. If you brought three bags in, which are $7.50 (or three tags), that is all you would pay. You wouldn’t pay anything additional to that.”
People will also need to provide identification showing proof of residency (driver’s licence/utility bill) and if they are not a REACT member, they will be charged a higher rate. Users of the stations or landfills can still use their previous tags they purchased before May 1 but once they run out, they will have to pay more. Garbage tags are now $2.50 a tag and half tags will no longer be accepted at transfer stations or landfills. A full tag must be on each 77 L bag or can (this also applies to curbside pickup tag-a-bag).
With local transfer station sites situated near Colonsay, Drake, Lanigan, LeRoy, Meacham, Viscount, Watrous and Young, Ruf said the changes were implemented as a result of the Ministry of Environment’s regulations being enforced at landfills across the province and the increased cost of meeting those standards. “We had to upgrade our facilities to have engineered cells, runoff ponds, berms and leachate ponds in order to protect the environment.”
REACT CEO Wendy Yaworski said the Ministry of Environment has made solid waste and best practices a priority in the province and as such the practices are required to be followed.
“In rural Saskatchewan we need to follow the best practices in an effort to protect the environment. However, with the significant costs associated with the regulations that we are required to follow and running the risk of operating with a deficit, we were left no choice but to raise fees.”
But it is not just regulations that have incurred higher costs for REACT as Yaworski said other day-to-day expenses have also gone up.
“A few years ago, work done at a cell at the Hoodoo landfill cost between $40,000 and $50,000 to dig and put it into working order. Last fall work was started on a new cell that had to be engineered and included the necessary requirements to be operational. Once done, that will cost us close to $600,000. Our overhead costs have also gone up tremendously. A front load truck that collects garbage, in 2014 we paid around $250,000 for it. Now it is costing us around $380,000. Even a small residential truck that would go to Watrous, a new one of those would be $121,000 and a few years ago it used to be around $80,000. Everything is going up so either we start to try and cover the deficit off or we can’t stay operational.”
In addition to the fee increases to help cover the changes, people utilizing the transfer stations and landfill sites are also required to secure their loads during transport. For example, if it is branches there would need to be some type of net or tarp over top so they would not blow out. If it is something like a couch, there would need to be a strap that would be going over top of it preventing it or its cushions from flying out. Essentially, Ruf said whatever is necessary to secure the load in the vehicle or what the load is being hauled in without it blowing off and into the ditches is required.
If the load is not secured, then to dump it off at one of the sites will cost more than the normal fee. Operators can also refuse entry into the site if the load is unsecured or they will collect a surcharge which can be double the cost of the load. “The reasoning for that is we very often get calls to go clean up stuff on roadways that has blown out of trucks and this will help cover the cost of doing that. Every load should be secured. It is provincial law.”
In addition to the new changes, Ruf said REACT is doing more around its cells to keep blown litter in place. “We are taking steps to try and contain that at the cells so we don’t get blown litter travelling across the country. We will be putting 30 foot high fences around our garbage cells to try and retain everything in our cells. It will be at both of our landfills and the transfer stations. We will start phasing that in over a period of time.”
REACT is also encouraging people to not buy overpackaged items and recycle as much as possible to reduce waste. That includes using cloth shopping bags as opposed to plastic bags as the plastic bags can pose a challenge for landfills, easily blowing all over the place.
While fee increases may not be popular, Ruf and Yaworski said people within the REACT district are in a good spot compared to others in the province that have had landfills shutdown and are left no options as far as economically replacing them. According to Ruf, the ministry has mentioned those who do not have a site close by may have to haul their garbage, unload it and return home from a site a minimum distance of 200 km away (400 km total of driving back and forth).
“Not long ago there were 534 landfills in the province and as of last year, they have now been reduced to 256,” said Yaworski.
“It is challenging for us to implement these changes and we want the public to understand it is a challenging time for us. I want to encourage people to give our office a call if they have questions regarding the fee increases so we can help to address them.”
With a total of 17 transfer stations, and two landfills within its borders, REACT consists of 31 urban and 16 rural municipalities that have joined together to manage their solid waste and recycling. On its website, REACT said its guiding principle is to divert as much waste from the landfill as possible. Through waste reduction and recycling, REACT’s goal is to dispose of 65 percent less waste to landfill.
TWM Top Story - May 14
Donations being accepted after fire
Daniel Bushman
There has been an outpouring of support as residents of the Watrous area and beyond are joining together to help Albert and Kathleen Kimmig after Albert was severely burned in a fire earlier this month. Albert and Kathleen’s nephew, Aaron Meyerhoff set up a GoFundMe page and a drop off location has been established in Watrous by the Kimmig’s neighbours where people can also donate funds in support of the family.
Albert, who is a retired farmer started a controlled burn at his farm north of Manitou Beach May 5 but with a strong wind, the fire later spread at a rapid rate. A shed, two vehicles, a water truck with a tank, a fence and a row of trees were all destroyed.
Aaron said his 78-year-old uncle was found unconscious some 10 feet from the fire by Kathleen who was returning from Watrous when she saw columns of black smoke in the direction of their home.
Emergency crews were dispatched to treat Albert and contain the blaze while STARS was flown in from Saskatoon. After a couple of hours of treatment in the emergency room in Watrous, STARS transferred Albert to Saskatoon and then from there to the Edmonton Burn Centre.
“Albert has burns to 40 percent of his body, with 25 percent of that being third degree burns. His heart and lungs are currently a cause for concern as well as the possibility of infections in his long haul to recovery,” said Aaron. “Albert is well-known in his community and is a friend and helper to any and all. He would abandon his own home labours to help others. His own wife wished she was his neighbour as many of her “honey do” lists were left undone over the years.”
Aaron said Albert was in a coma but is now awake and undergoing treatment. “We are asking for friends, family and well-wishers to help out with the large financial burden this will have on their family. Expenses include: intensive treatment and rehab that will be ongoing; ambulance fees and STARS air ambulance fees; spousal travel to and from one province to another; home maintenance and expenses.”
This past Thursday, May 9, Kathleen said, “Albert’s going for about six hours of skin grafting Thursday. He has his stomach tube out and can get his fluids by mouth. The doctor said that when Albert arrived at the U of A burn unit they did not have much hope for his survival. Albert told me he is one of five on the unit with grass fire burns. He was in good spirits and there are wonderful staff on the burn unit. Therapy and healing will take many months and Albert is swathed in bandages from neck to feet. He was awake out of induced coma (May 8) when I first saw him. I gave him everyone’s notice of prayers and condolences and he teared up. He will be at the burn centre for at least a month and many ongoing months of rehab and healing. The doctor told me they didn’t except him to survive when he first arrived but one doctor told him there is a reason God still has him here. Praise the Lord. Have had prayer times with him. He is astounded of all the help coming in. My heartfelt thanks go out too. Pray for both of us. Love to all. God is good all the time!”
On May 10, Aaron Meyerhoff provided an update after Albert's surgery. "Albert has come out of surgery. He is as well as the doctors expected him to be after surgery. They put him on a ventilator for the time being but hope to remove that Friday morning, as long he’s doing good. The surgery went well. The doctors took off all the burnt skin, grafted all the parts they wanted to. Donor grafts weren't needed due to Albert having enough good skin to use for the grafts. In five to seven days they will look to see if the grafts took. At present Albert is back on a feeding tube."
An initial fundraising goal of $5,000 was set by Aaron on the GoFundMe page last week and was reached in the first day it was set up. A new goal of $20,000 was established as the nephew of Albert said there still remains a great financial need.
“Kathleen has already received some initial medical bills and we want to keep the fundraising going as this will be a long road to recovery for Albert. With that we are setting a new financial goal towards the ongoing support of Albert and Kathleen; both for the immediate medical and travel expenses, but also for the mid and long term costs.”
To donate online, people can go to: www.gofundme.com/support-for-albert-kimmig
Albert and Kathleen’s neighbours have also set up a donation drop off location in Watrous, which is at the Watrous Pharmacy and will be there until May 19.
Daniel Bushman
There has been an outpouring of support as residents of the Watrous area and beyond are joining together to help Albert and Kathleen Kimmig after Albert was severely burned in a fire earlier this month. Albert and Kathleen’s nephew, Aaron Meyerhoff set up a GoFundMe page and a drop off location has been established in Watrous by the Kimmig’s neighbours where people can also donate funds in support of the family.
Albert, who is a retired farmer started a controlled burn at his farm north of Manitou Beach May 5 but with a strong wind, the fire later spread at a rapid rate. A shed, two vehicles, a water truck with a tank, a fence and a row of trees were all destroyed.
Aaron said his 78-year-old uncle was found unconscious some 10 feet from the fire by Kathleen who was returning from Watrous when she saw columns of black smoke in the direction of their home.
Emergency crews were dispatched to treat Albert and contain the blaze while STARS was flown in from Saskatoon. After a couple of hours of treatment in the emergency room in Watrous, STARS transferred Albert to Saskatoon and then from there to the Edmonton Burn Centre.
“Albert has burns to 40 percent of his body, with 25 percent of that being third degree burns. His heart and lungs are currently a cause for concern as well as the possibility of infections in his long haul to recovery,” said Aaron. “Albert is well-known in his community and is a friend and helper to any and all. He would abandon his own home labours to help others. His own wife wished she was his neighbour as many of her “honey do” lists were left undone over the years.”
Aaron said Albert was in a coma but is now awake and undergoing treatment. “We are asking for friends, family and well-wishers to help out with the large financial burden this will have on their family. Expenses include: intensive treatment and rehab that will be ongoing; ambulance fees and STARS air ambulance fees; spousal travel to and from one province to another; home maintenance and expenses.”
This past Thursday, May 9, Kathleen said, “Albert’s going for about six hours of skin grafting Thursday. He has his stomach tube out and can get his fluids by mouth. The doctor said that when Albert arrived at the U of A burn unit they did not have much hope for his survival. Albert told me he is one of five on the unit with grass fire burns. He was in good spirits and there are wonderful staff on the burn unit. Therapy and healing will take many months and Albert is swathed in bandages from neck to feet. He was awake out of induced coma (May 8) when I first saw him. I gave him everyone’s notice of prayers and condolences and he teared up. He will be at the burn centre for at least a month and many ongoing months of rehab and healing. The doctor told me they didn’t except him to survive when he first arrived but one doctor told him there is a reason God still has him here. Praise the Lord. Have had prayer times with him. He is astounded of all the help coming in. My heartfelt thanks go out too. Pray for both of us. Love to all. God is good all the time!”
On May 10, Aaron Meyerhoff provided an update after Albert's surgery. "Albert has come out of surgery. He is as well as the doctors expected him to be after surgery. They put him on a ventilator for the time being but hope to remove that Friday morning, as long he’s doing good. The surgery went well. The doctors took off all the burnt skin, grafted all the parts they wanted to. Donor grafts weren't needed due to Albert having enough good skin to use for the grafts. In five to seven days they will look to see if the grafts took. At present Albert is back on a feeding tube."
An initial fundraising goal of $5,000 was set by Aaron on the GoFundMe page last week and was reached in the first day it was set up. A new goal of $20,000 was established as the nephew of Albert said there still remains a great financial need.
“Kathleen has already received some initial medical bills and we want to keep the fundraising going as this will be a long road to recovery for Albert. With that we are setting a new financial goal towards the ongoing support of Albert and Kathleen; both for the immediate medical and travel expenses, but also for the mid and long term costs.”
To donate online, people can go to: www.gofundme.com/support-for-albert-kimmig
Albert and Kathleen’s neighbours have also set up a donation drop off location in Watrous, which is at the Watrous Pharmacy and will be there until May 19.
TWM Top Story - May 7
Fast melt rushes through area
Daniel Bushman
The snow lasted longer than most would have liked but when it melted, it went quick, causing a rapid rush of water throughout parts of the province. In a span of just a few days, the sun zapped months worth of snow as creeks, fields, lakes, rivers and even roads absorbed the rise in levels.
After spending millions of dollars over the last number of years constructing berms to protect the shoreline, businesses and homes, the resort village of Manitou Beach crossed its fingers as water came barrelling through Wellington Creek.
With Little Manitou Lake already high, Manitou Beach Mayor Gerry Worobec said the melt went fast. “I think we were prepared well enough for it and we managed to stay ahead of it,” said Worobec who added at the back end of Wellington where water flows in from culverts and fields to a slough, the water rose high enough to flow over a dam, starting to erode it.
“I noticed that the creek all of the sudden increased quite a bit so we got back there and had a look Friday night (Apr. 20) and the water was going over the top. We got a piece of equipment from Trent Ediger of Melron Service and with his loader and our backhoe we got it repaired. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if that dam would have washed out completely.”
After work was done last year on building up the berm along the shoreline, the new culverts under the road next to Danceland were able to absorb the high water and Worobec said there were no issues there. A few other areas collected a fair amount of water but village crews were busy pumping those areas dry and at Camp Easter Seal water pooled but those levels also came down.
“There was a bit of infiltration to our sewer system from ground water but we have that isolated and are taking some measures to alleviate that problem. We had the Richardson trucks out there doing a great job to manage that situation for us. Our village staff also did a fantastic job, putting in long hours to help manage the runoff.”
With a major lift station upgrade slated to take place in June, Worobec said that improvement will also fix up a few issues the resort community was experiencing bringing with it a price tag around $1 million. Until that upgrade takes place, Worobec said the worst of the melt is over for the beach although there was a bit of water still flowing into the lake at the east end. As for just how much water ended up flowing into the lake from the spring melt, “Once the ice goes out we will know for sure but just judging from some of the areas, I think it will be up four or five inches from last fall. The highest levels we have ever had though were from the fall previous. After that we dropped about 14 inches over the summer but with this melt, we will gain about four or five of that back. But we were prepared for this year and we have the pumping stations and nine sump holes set up . . . we will keep one big pump here during the summer in case we have a flash flood.”
While the resort community is essentially done with the spring melt, other areas within surrounding rural municipalities are still experiencing high water levels and roads being compromised. One of those RMs bordering Manitou Beach is the RM of Usborne No. 310. Spanning over an area east of Watrous to Lockwood and then up past Drake and Lanigan before returning back over towards Plunkett, RM Administrator Anna Rintoul said there is a lot of water compromising roads. One of those roads happens to be a main highway and while it does not fall within the RM’s jurisdiction, Rintoul said water was flowing over Hwy. 16 west of Lanigan early last week before beginning to recede. “Last week a stop light was put up and it was down to one lane of traffic. On Thursday (May 3), the water was lower than earlier in the week and not on the highway as much. However, it was still down to one lane of traffic.”
Another area that the RM has been monitoring is ‘old Hwy. 20’ and Range Road 2223. “Both bridges are compromised and roads are currently closed. Township Road 330 is also closed due to surrounding quarters being underwater and water running over the road. Range Road 2230 is also completely under water. Essentially any areas with creek crossings, the roads are compromised.”
Rintoul said most roads experiencing compromised conditions have been closed or barricaded in RM 310. “Our staff is working diligently to keep on top of this, although some of the roads that are completely underwater will not be on the radar until water levels go down.”
In the Rural Municipality of Wolverine, located near Plunkett and spanning between Guernsey and Humboldt and running just north of Lanigan, Public Works Supervisor Dale Becker said they have had 26 spots where water was over the road with most of those east of Hwy. 20. Of those, seven were not passable or unsafe to drive on as of May 1. Becker said they are hopeful those areas will be reopened after repairs are made. “We would like to have our main roads passable by May 11 and then begin working on our secondary and back roads after that. If there is a road closed and marked with signage, please do not go down that road.”
Becker said the fast melt within the RM occurred over about two days and with lots of wind and snow in the area, the water came fast. “It was over Hwy. 20 and was over Hwy. 16. We are hoping to see the tail end go by pretty quickly.”
In the RM of Wreford, which spans east of Imperial and Simpson then up to Venn and over past Nokomis, RM Administrator Melanie Rich said the RM is hopeful that levels will start to recede. “A couple of the councillors and RM employees have been keeping an eye on the water level at our bridge on the Simpson grid but they think we should be okay. To my knowledge, we do not have water encroaching the roads.”
While not part of the RM’s jurisdiction, water remains high around Hwy. 15 west of Nokomis but as of last week had not gone over the road.
In the RM of Prairie Rose, which encompasses an area east of Lockwood, Drake and Lanigan, spanning across over Esk and Jansen to Dafoe and Hwy. 6, Chief Administrative Officer Melissa Dieno said the water has been receding quickly since the spring thaw. While the Quill Lakes water levels remain a concern as they flow into the RM from just east of the RM’s border, Dieno said there are not any other concerns with year round municipal roads for the ratepayers to be aware of with regards to the spring melt.
As for the Quill Lakes, over the years the high water levels have caused immense losses of property, infrastructure and livelihoods. Executive Director of the Quill Lakes Watershed Association No. 14 Kerry Holderness said, “We have hit an increase in elevations of water in the Quill Lakes almost every year since 2005, the most unprecedented extremes of a wet cycle since the last peak water levels in 1914. The wet cycle that reached the 1914 peak was around 22 years long. Even with the dry summer and fall we experienced in 2017, and the low snowfall in the southern portions of the watershed, there was significantly higher snow pack in north and east areas, accompanied by late fall rains. This saturated region could still provide trouble for the whole system in the spring of 2018. We must wait and see what the spring runoff brings.”
Over the years since the substantial rise in levels, the water within the Quill Lakes has already flooded almost 100,000 acres of public and private lands, and millions in infrastructure. Since 2005, approximately 5.436 billion cubic metres (5,436,000,000) of water has flowed into the Quill Lakes with nothing released downstream or towards the ocean.
Holderness said if a current 13-year trend continues with its extreme wet two-year cycles followed by above average two-year moderate levels, which have been going back and forth since 2005, “we are due for another two years of extreme summer rains. They could resume this year if those trends repeat again, as a fourth consecutive cycle.”
To try and curb the potential threat of more water flowing into the lakes, the watershed association is hoping to implement a strategy to try and get in front of the problem using mitigation measures. Those measures, if implemented, would prevent or minimize future damages to property, the economy and the environment.
Daniel Bushman
The snow lasted longer than most would have liked but when it melted, it went quick, causing a rapid rush of water throughout parts of the province. In a span of just a few days, the sun zapped months worth of snow as creeks, fields, lakes, rivers and even roads absorbed the rise in levels.
After spending millions of dollars over the last number of years constructing berms to protect the shoreline, businesses and homes, the resort village of Manitou Beach crossed its fingers as water came barrelling through Wellington Creek.
With Little Manitou Lake already high, Manitou Beach Mayor Gerry Worobec said the melt went fast. “I think we were prepared well enough for it and we managed to stay ahead of it,” said Worobec who added at the back end of Wellington where water flows in from culverts and fields to a slough, the water rose high enough to flow over a dam, starting to erode it.
“I noticed that the creek all of the sudden increased quite a bit so we got back there and had a look Friday night (Apr. 20) and the water was going over the top. We got a piece of equipment from Trent Ediger of Melron Service and with his loader and our backhoe we got it repaired. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if that dam would have washed out completely.”
After work was done last year on building up the berm along the shoreline, the new culverts under the road next to Danceland were able to absorb the high water and Worobec said there were no issues there. A few other areas collected a fair amount of water but village crews were busy pumping those areas dry and at Camp Easter Seal water pooled but those levels also came down.
“There was a bit of infiltration to our sewer system from ground water but we have that isolated and are taking some measures to alleviate that problem. We had the Richardson trucks out there doing a great job to manage that situation for us. Our village staff also did a fantastic job, putting in long hours to help manage the runoff.”
With a major lift station upgrade slated to take place in June, Worobec said that improvement will also fix up a few issues the resort community was experiencing bringing with it a price tag around $1 million. Until that upgrade takes place, Worobec said the worst of the melt is over for the beach although there was a bit of water still flowing into the lake at the east end. As for just how much water ended up flowing into the lake from the spring melt, “Once the ice goes out we will know for sure but just judging from some of the areas, I think it will be up four or five inches from last fall. The highest levels we have ever had though were from the fall previous. After that we dropped about 14 inches over the summer but with this melt, we will gain about four or five of that back. But we were prepared for this year and we have the pumping stations and nine sump holes set up . . . we will keep one big pump here during the summer in case we have a flash flood.”
While the resort community is essentially done with the spring melt, other areas within surrounding rural municipalities are still experiencing high water levels and roads being compromised. One of those RMs bordering Manitou Beach is the RM of Usborne No. 310. Spanning over an area east of Watrous to Lockwood and then up past Drake and Lanigan before returning back over towards Plunkett, RM Administrator Anna Rintoul said there is a lot of water compromising roads. One of those roads happens to be a main highway and while it does not fall within the RM’s jurisdiction, Rintoul said water was flowing over Hwy. 16 west of Lanigan early last week before beginning to recede. “Last week a stop light was put up and it was down to one lane of traffic. On Thursday (May 3), the water was lower than earlier in the week and not on the highway as much. However, it was still down to one lane of traffic.”
Another area that the RM has been monitoring is ‘old Hwy. 20’ and Range Road 2223. “Both bridges are compromised and roads are currently closed. Township Road 330 is also closed due to surrounding quarters being underwater and water running over the road. Range Road 2230 is also completely under water. Essentially any areas with creek crossings, the roads are compromised.”
Rintoul said most roads experiencing compromised conditions have been closed or barricaded in RM 310. “Our staff is working diligently to keep on top of this, although some of the roads that are completely underwater will not be on the radar until water levels go down.”
In the Rural Municipality of Wolverine, located near Plunkett and spanning between Guernsey and Humboldt and running just north of Lanigan, Public Works Supervisor Dale Becker said they have had 26 spots where water was over the road with most of those east of Hwy. 20. Of those, seven were not passable or unsafe to drive on as of May 1. Becker said they are hopeful those areas will be reopened after repairs are made. “We would like to have our main roads passable by May 11 and then begin working on our secondary and back roads after that. If there is a road closed and marked with signage, please do not go down that road.”
Becker said the fast melt within the RM occurred over about two days and with lots of wind and snow in the area, the water came fast. “It was over Hwy. 20 and was over Hwy. 16. We are hoping to see the tail end go by pretty quickly.”
In the RM of Wreford, which spans east of Imperial and Simpson then up to Venn and over past Nokomis, RM Administrator Melanie Rich said the RM is hopeful that levels will start to recede. “A couple of the councillors and RM employees have been keeping an eye on the water level at our bridge on the Simpson grid but they think we should be okay. To my knowledge, we do not have water encroaching the roads.”
While not part of the RM’s jurisdiction, water remains high around Hwy. 15 west of Nokomis but as of last week had not gone over the road.
In the RM of Prairie Rose, which encompasses an area east of Lockwood, Drake and Lanigan, spanning across over Esk and Jansen to Dafoe and Hwy. 6, Chief Administrative Officer Melissa Dieno said the water has been receding quickly since the spring thaw. While the Quill Lakes water levels remain a concern as they flow into the RM from just east of the RM’s border, Dieno said there are not any other concerns with year round municipal roads for the ratepayers to be aware of with regards to the spring melt.
As for the Quill Lakes, over the years the high water levels have caused immense losses of property, infrastructure and livelihoods. Executive Director of the Quill Lakes Watershed Association No. 14 Kerry Holderness said, “We have hit an increase in elevations of water in the Quill Lakes almost every year since 2005, the most unprecedented extremes of a wet cycle since the last peak water levels in 1914. The wet cycle that reached the 1914 peak was around 22 years long. Even with the dry summer and fall we experienced in 2017, and the low snowfall in the southern portions of the watershed, there was significantly higher snow pack in north and east areas, accompanied by late fall rains. This saturated region could still provide trouble for the whole system in the spring of 2018. We must wait and see what the spring runoff brings.”
Over the years since the substantial rise in levels, the water within the Quill Lakes has already flooded almost 100,000 acres of public and private lands, and millions in infrastructure. Since 2005, approximately 5.436 billion cubic metres (5,436,000,000) of water has flowed into the Quill Lakes with nothing released downstream or towards the ocean.
Holderness said if a current 13-year trend continues with its extreme wet two-year cycles followed by above average two-year moderate levels, which have been going back and forth since 2005, “we are due for another two years of extreme summer rains. They could resume this year if those trends repeat again, as a fourth consecutive cycle.”
To try and curb the potential threat of more water flowing into the lakes, the watershed association is hoping to implement a strategy to try and get in front of the problem using mitigation measures. Those measures, if implemented, would prevent or minimize future damages to property, the economy and the environment.
TWM Top Story - Apr. 30, 2018
Bull-A-Rama an overwhelming success
Daniel Bushman
An adrenaline packed night had spectators filling up the Watrous Centennial Arena in anticipation as bull riders from across Western Canada including one rider from New Zealand strapped themselves in for quite a ride. Presented by the Watrous Kinsmen, Bull-A-Rama included top riders from Bull Riders Canada and youth from the area as well. With prize money to be handed out, the evening concluded with a cabaret featuring Nice Horse.
Organizer Chris Soroka said the whole event went really well and was better than he could have imagined. “We had a lot of turnout from Watrous and the surrounding communities.”
Estimating that were more than 700 people in attendance for the Apr. 21 Bull-A-Rama, Soroka said they were still tabulating the total amount of money that was brought in as part of the Watrous Daycare fundraiser.
“We as Kinsmen could not have been happier to see such a big turnout. It was an unbelievable feeling and I would love to see this happen again next year. By the way things sounded from sponsors, we would like to see this event happen again. Without such great sponsors we would not be able to put these events on. We really appreciated them and all the volunteers who helped to make this happen. It is a heart warming feeling to see people jump in and give a helping hand.”
Beginning the Bull-A-Rama, youngsters hopped on horses, riding before the main event. Leading up to the bull riding, the national anthem was sung and a moment of silence was held for the Humboldt Broncos and the team’s personnel. Former Bronco Brad Toews was on hand wearing his jersey as his daughter Sunshine carried a Broncos flag as she rode in remembrance of the team. After the moment of silence, the riders strapped themselves in and the bull riding got underway.
With over $5,000 in prize money up for grabs, this was the first BRC Central Tour stop, earning double points for riders for the BRC Finals.
In the Long Round, Edson, Alberta’s Micheal Ostashek took first with a score of 85, taking $1,229. In second was Ponoka Alberta’s Wacey Finkbeiner who took a score of 84 for $921. Cody Coverchuck of Meadow Lake, Sask. placed third with a score of 83 and took home $614. Jacob Gardner of Dawson Creek, B.C. was fourth with a 79, taking $307. While not winning money, Wade Marshall of Invercargill, New Zealand was fifth with a score of 78, Linden Roloff of Bezanson, Alta. was sixth with a 77, Tim Lipsett of Lumsden, Sask. was seventh with a score of 76 and Shane Peters of Delburne, Alta. was eighth with a score of 75.
In the Canadian Global Championship Round, Wacey Finkbeiner was first with a score of 87, taking home $2,475. In second was Tim Lipsett with a score of 82.5, taking home $2,025.
The overall average after the two rounds put Finkbeiner in first with a score of 171, claiming the buckle and earning total money of $3,396. Lipsett claimed second with an overall score of 158.5 for a total of $2,025. Ostashek who was first in the Long Round ended with a score of 85 for $1,229. Coverchuck placed fourth with a score of 83 and won $614. Gardner was fifth with a score of 79 and earnings of $307. While taking home any money, Marshall was sixth at 78, Roloff seventh at 77 and Peters placed eighth with a 75.
Before the Long Round and then before the Canadian Global Championship Round, aspiring riders took over the arena. Riding Peewee Bareback were Gavin Rose, Whip Gertner and Nolan Soroka. On Junior Bareback were Huck Watson, Bronc Toews and Cade Bartel. The Peewee SaddleBronc included Whip Gertner while Junior SaddleBronc had Bronc Toews, Chet Meston, Ryker Kempton and Houston Friesen. Riding in the Senior SaddleBronc were Ryley Humfrey and Jax Meston. After the two rounds, Hanley’s Houston Friesen won the mini bronc average.
Daniel Bushman
An adrenaline packed night had spectators filling up the Watrous Centennial Arena in anticipation as bull riders from across Western Canada including one rider from New Zealand strapped themselves in for quite a ride. Presented by the Watrous Kinsmen, Bull-A-Rama included top riders from Bull Riders Canada and youth from the area as well. With prize money to be handed out, the evening concluded with a cabaret featuring Nice Horse.
Organizer Chris Soroka said the whole event went really well and was better than he could have imagined. “We had a lot of turnout from Watrous and the surrounding communities.”
Estimating that were more than 700 people in attendance for the Apr. 21 Bull-A-Rama, Soroka said they were still tabulating the total amount of money that was brought in as part of the Watrous Daycare fundraiser.
“We as Kinsmen could not have been happier to see such a big turnout. It was an unbelievable feeling and I would love to see this happen again next year. By the way things sounded from sponsors, we would like to see this event happen again. Without such great sponsors we would not be able to put these events on. We really appreciated them and all the volunteers who helped to make this happen. It is a heart warming feeling to see people jump in and give a helping hand.”
Beginning the Bull-A-Rama, youngsters hopped on horses, riding before the main event. Leading up to the bull riding, the national anthem was sung and a moment of silence was held for the Humboldt Broncos and the team’s personnel. Former Bronco Brad Toews was on hand wearing his jersey as his daughter Sunshine carried a Broncos flag as she rode in remembrance of the team. After the moment of silence, the riders strapped themselves in and the bull riding got underway.
With over $5,000 in prize money up for grabs, this was the first BRC Central Tour stop, earning double points for riders for the BRC Finals.
In the Long Round, Edson, Alberta’s Micheal Ostashek took first with a score of 85, taking $1,229. In second was Ponoka Alberta’s Wacey Finkbeiner who took a score of 84 for $921. Cody Coverchuck of Meadow Lake, Sask. placed third with a score of 83 and took home $614. Jacob Gardner of Dawson Creek, B.C. was fourth with a 79, taking $307. While not winning money, Wade Marshall of Invercargill, New Zealand was fifth with a score of 78, Linden Roloff of Bezanson, Alta. was sixth with a 77, Tim Lipsett of Lumsden, Sask. was seventh with a score of 76 and Shane Peters of Delburne, Alta. was eighth with a score of 75.
In the Canadian Global Championship Round, Wacey Finkbeiner was first with a score of 87, taking home $2,475. In second was Tim Lipsett with a score of 82.5, taking home $2,025.
The overall average after the two rounds put Finkbeiner in first with a score of 171, claiming the buckle and earning total money of $3,396. Lipsett claimed second with an overall score of 158.5 for a total of $2,025. Ostashek who was first in the Long Round ended with a score of 85 for $1,229. Coverchuck placed fourth with a score of 83 and won $614. Gardner was fifth with a score of 79 and earnings of $307. While taking home any money, Marshall was sixth at 78, Roloff seventh at 77 and Peters placed eighth with a 75.
Before the Long Round and then before the Canadian Global Championship Round, aspiring riders took over the arena. Riding Peewee Bareback were Gavin Rose, Whip Gertner and Nolan Soroka. On Junior Bareback were Huck Watson, Bronc Toews and Cade Bartel. The Peewee SaddleBronc included Whip Gertner while Junior SaddleBronc had Bronc Toews, Chet Meston, Ryker Kempton and Houston Friesen. Riding in the Senior SaddleBronc were Ryley Humfrey and Jax Meston. After the two rounds, Hanley’s Houston Friesen won the mini bronc average.
TWM Top Story - Apr. 23, 2018
Sister of Chanda Van de Vorst delivers powerful message
Daniel Bushman
It can come down to one decision and that choice can lead to devastating and lifelong consequences. Through tragic circumstances in which a family was taken too soon, the sister of Chanda (nee Mierau) Van de Vorst is hoping people will make the right choice to not drive drunk or distracted.
Returning to the community she grew up in and the high school she attended, Tana Deibert shared her heart-wrenching experience of not only losing her sister, but a brother-in-law, a niece and nephew after the vehicle they were in was hit by a drunk driver. Deibert also talked to those at Winston High School in Watrous about how she has journeyed on through her own life since that horrific day Jan. 3, 2016.
Having spoken at more than 20 schools in both Saskatchewan and Alberta, Tana was invited to talk at Winston High School Apr. 16 by the school’s Students Against Drinking and Driving (SADD) group. “The main reason I decided to do my presentation is that one decision can make a difference. If I can make the decision process change in one person’s mind for each presentation that I do, it is well worth it. Being able to come to Winston High School, that has been my goal for over a year. This town grieved with us and I wanted to bring some type of healing and hope to the community of Watrous.”
Winston High School teacher and SADD adviser, Cindy Cantelon said the group started up this year after conversations last year amongst the current Gr. 12 students. After attending the provincial SADD conference in Saskatoon in October where Tana spoke, the local SADD group wanted to have her speak before next month’s grad.
Winston High School’s SADD president Damion Weber and vice president Chalsey Diment said the group began the year with no funds and after many fundraisers, collecting recycling and washing dishes for the Town Christmas party, they were able to use the money to attend the provincial SADD conference in Saskatoon.
“We brought in Mrs. Deibert to show the consequences of drinking and driving and the simple decisions you can make that could help save lives. We initially set the goal to bring this speaker before our Gr. 12 graduation to ensure our peers were safe during this time. We also decided to bring SADD into our school because we have watched and heard of many accidents involving alcohol during our high school years and decided it was time to take action. We may be a small group but we have high hopes in making an impact on others. We hope as we leave at the end of June that Winston SADD continues to thrive and helps to make positive change in regards to drinking and driving.”
With the high school students and staff along with community members and Tana’s family in attendance, Deibert, who is a teacher at Goodsoil shared about the struggles and reality of receiving word that her sister and her family perished because of a drunk driver.
Thirty-four-year-old Jordan, thirty-three-year-old Chanda and their kids, who were just five and two decided to visit friends in Osler Jan. 2, 2016. Playing board games and having a lot of fun, after an enjoyable night, the family decided to leave at midnight.
“It was during the same time, someone else was making decisions . . . after a night of drinking, what should have been a 10 minute drive for her to get home, the person ended up taking a right turn and not a left, going to Louis Riel Trail. She did not stop or take the curve and going 120 km/h, she blew through the stop sign, crossed the first double lane and in the other, hit the Van de Vorst car. It took me one year and seven months to go to that site after the crash,” said Deibert. “I had no interest going there but because there was a roadside memorial to be put up in honour of my sister and her family the following month, I went.”
It was 5:30 a.m., Jan. 3, 2016 and the phone rang at the Deibert home. “We didn’t answer. We thought why would someone call that early?”
An hour later, a member of the RCMP was at Tana’s door. Being in a small town of a couple hundred people, she knew something was wrong. “My husband answered and frantically called me to the door. All I could do was put my hands in the middle of my body. The member of the RCMP asked me if I was Chanda and Jordan’s sister. I said I was and he told me three words, “They are dead.” I asked about my nephew Miguire and he said he had died. I then asked about my niece Kamryn. He said she was still alive but did not know for how much longer.”
Getting ready to make the four hour drive from Goodsoil to Saskatoon, Tana said they arrived at Royal University Hospital to see her niece. As the family of 10 were near Kamryn’s side, doctors performed tests and it was determined that Kamryn was brain dead. The family agreed to keep her alive so that she could be put on the transplant donor list and it was during their time spent with Kamryn that the aunts painted her finger nails and toe nails. “Kamryn loved having her nails painted so we wanted to do that for her. Kamryn was our hero because she was able to save three lives through organ donation. I encourage everyone to have that discussion of donating organs. We have received letters over a year later from recipients that are doing well. Jordan and Chanda also had their tissue donated which will help save many lives as well.”
After 36 hours in the hospital, the family said one final goodbye to Jordan, Chanda, Kamryn and Miguire and began making funeral arrangements. Joining around 1,000 people at Elim Church in Saskatoon for the funeral, members of the Mierau and Van de Vorst families also had the upcoming and difficult task of attending court proceedings, waiting to hear from the driver of the other vehicle, Catherine McKay.
“We wanted to hear from her and see if there was any remorse but she was skyped in from prison. She was looking at the floor for the two minutes she was on the screen with no emotion or reaction. We left disappointed and angry and found out later that it would be six months before she would come to court.”
With the funeral over and court proceedings underway, Deibert said the family then began the process of cleaning out the contents of Chanda’s home.
Speaking to the students at Winston High School, Tana said, “I want you to close your eyes for a minute. Visualize yourself walking in the front door of your home, seeing the kitchen and its contents, the fridge, dishes left to be done, the bedroom needing to be organized, toys on the living room floor, the basement and the backyard. Remember the laughter, the family dinners, what is in the cupboards and the freezer. We went through it all and dispersed it. It took three months to go through. It was the hardest three months of my life.”
Deibert said the family also went and chose a grieving stone, writing down how each person should be remembered and the legacy they left. “All of the rain checks we had promised with Chanda, Jordan and the kids, those are all now at the grave site.”
Still trying to process the tragedy while coping with the tremendous loss of loved ones, another day that will forever be etched in the minds of the family arrived. Heading to the court house July 27, 2016, the room where sentencing was to take place was standing room only. With the Mierau and Van de Vorst families along with co-workers, friends and the kids of Catherine McKay in attendance, they all awaited the outcome.
“We could hear her coming before we saw her because she was wearing shackles,” said Tana of McKay’s arrival. Once in the court room, over 20 victim impact statements were read, spanning four and a half hours. After the statements were read including one from Tana, the judge accepted a joint submission from the crown and defence of a 10 year sentence for McKay in addition to a 12 year ban on driving and a weapons ban as well. Since that sentence was handed down, it was about six months later that the family was made aware that McKay was sent to a healing lodge near Maple Creek in an effort to allow her to become rehabilitated before being released at the end of her sentence.
“She has her own room, a living room and a bathroom. She has escorted day passes and can visit with her family.”
Trying to find a glimmer of hope through the dark valleys of life, Deibert started to pick up the pieces and returned to teaching. At first it was extremely difficult to make it through a day but eventually those struggles became more subdued. After an idea of wanting to share her story through a presentation, she approached her school’s principal.
“They let me do the presentation and that is why I am here today. This is my 22nd presentation and my goal is to one day present across Canada. There are five stages of grief and once you reach acceptance, if you don’t move forward, you are moving backwards. For me, it comes down to decisions. What are you going to do? It becomes your choice. When I wake up, I have something to do that I can try and make a difference in someone’s life. What is your goal? It is up to you to make wise decisions. You might think you won’t get caught driving down a back road impaired but maybe your best friend is on the same road thinking the same thing. What are you willing to do to make the right decision and how can you help others?”
Concluding her morning presentation at the high school, Deibert finished by flashing images of her family on the projector screen in the school’s gym. “The biggest element is the human element so I show the pictures of my family to show that there is a family behind every statistic. Any type of story you see or hear, there is a family behind every single tragedy. Even the ones you don’t hear about and that doesn’t mean just death, it means all kinds of tragedies.”
Wearing her sister’s hockey jersey and a necklace of courage in memory of her niece and nephew, Tana also wanted to convey a message to the residents of Watrous. “I just wanted to say thank you to the community for all that they have done for my family and for myself. I played at the Music Festival’s 50th Gala event here in Watrous Apr. 15 and everyone was so welcoming. It has just been everything that we are so appreciative of. From sitting and visiting with my mom, to being at the vigil a few years ago, hanging glow-sticks in remembrance of my sister and her family and supporting us through the GoFundMe page that was set up. Anything from small to large, we have appreciated it.”
Daniel Bushman
It can come down to one decision and that choice can lead to devastating and lifelong consequences. Through tragic circumstances in which a family was taken too soon, the sister of Chanda (nee Mierau) Van de Vorst is hoping people will make the right choice to not drive drunk or distracted.
Returning to the community she grew up in and the high school she attended, Tana Deibert shared her heart-wrenching experience of not only losing her sister, but a brother-in-law, a niece and nephew after the vehicle they were in was hit by a drunk driver. Deibert also talked to those at Winston High School in Watrous about how she has journeyed on through her own life since that horrific day Jan. 3, 2016.
Having spoken at more than 20 schools in both Saskatchewan and Alberta, Tana was invited to talk at Winston High School Apr. 16 by the school’s Students Against Drinking and Driving (SADD) group. “The main reason I decided to do my presentation is that one decision can make a difference. If I can make the decision process change in one person’s mind for each presentation that I do, it is well worth it. Being able to come to Winston High School, that has been my goal for over a year. This town grieved with us and I wanted to bring some type of healing and hope to the community of Watrous.”
Winston High School teacher and SADD adviser, Cindy Cantelon said the group started up this year after conversations last year amongst the current Gr. 12 students. After attending the provincial SADD conference in Saskatoon in October where Tana spoke, the local SADD group wanted to have her speak before next month’s grad.
Winston High School’s SADD president Damion Weber and vice president Chalsey Diment said the group began the year with no funds and after many fundraisers, collecting recycling and washing dishes for the Town Christmas party, they were able to use the money to attend the provincial SADD conference in Saskatoon.
“We brought in Mrs. Deibert to show the consequences of drinking and driving and the simple decisions you can make that could help save lives. We initially set the goal to bring this speaker before our Gr. 12 graduation to ensure our peers were safe during this time. We also decided to bring SADD into our school because we have watched and heard of many accidents involving alcohol during our high school years and decided it was time to take action. We may be a small group but we have high hopes in making an impact on others. We hope as we leave at the end of June that Winston SADD continues to thrive and helps to make positive change in regards to drinking and driving.”
With the high school students and staff along with community members and Tana’s family in attendance, Deibert, who is a teacher at Goodsoil shared about the struggles and reality of receiving word that her sister and her family perished because of a drunk driver.
Thirty-four-year-old Jordan, thirty-three-year-old Chanda and their kids, who were just five and two decided to visit friends in Osler Jan. 2, 2016. Playing board games and having a lot of fun, after an enjoyable night, the family decided to leave at midnight.
“It was during the same time, someone else was making decisions . . . after a night of drinking, what should have been a 10 minute drive for her to get home, the person ended up taking a right turn and not a left, going to Louis Riel Trail. She did not stop or take the curve and going 120 km/h, she blew through the stop sign, crossed the first double lane and in the other, hit the Van de Vorst car. It took me one year and seven months to go to that site after the crash,” said Deibert. “I had no interest going there but because there was a roadside memorial to be put up in honour of my sister and her family the following month, I went.”
It was 5:30 a.m., Jan. 3, 2016 and the phone rang at the Deibert home. “We didn’t answer. We thought why would someone call that early?”
An hour later, a member of the RCMP was at Tana’s door. Being in a small town of a couple hundred people, she knew something was wrong. “My husband answered and frantically called me to the door. All I could do was put my hands in the middle of my body. The member of the RCMP asked me if I was Chanda and Jordan’s sister. I said I was and he told me three words, “They are dead.” I asked about my nephew Miguire and he said he had died. I then asked about my niece Kamryn. He said she was still alive but did not know for how much longer.”
Getting ready to make the four hour drive from Goodsoil to Saskatoon, Tana said they arrived at Royal University Hospital to see her niece. As the family of 10 were near Kamryn’s side, doctors performed tests and it was determined that Kamryn was brain dead. The family agreed to keep her alive so that she could be put on the transplant donor list and it was during their time spent with Kamryn that the aunts painted her finger nails and toe nails. “Kamryn loved having her nails painted so we wanted to do that for her. Kamryn was our hero because she was able to save three lives through organ donation. I encourage everyone to have that discussion of donating organs. We have received letters over a year later from recipients that are doing well. Jordan and Chanda also had their tissue donated which will help save many lives as well.”
After 36 hours in the hospital, the family said one final goodbye to Jordan, Chanda, Kamryn and Miguire and began making funeral arrangements. Joining around 1,000 people at Elim Church in Saskatoon for the funeral, members of the Mierau and Van de Vorst families also had the upcoming and difficult task of attending court proceedings, waiting to hear from the driver of the other vehicle, Catherine McKay.
“We wanted to hear from her and see if there was any remorse but she was skyped in from prison. She was looking at the floor for the two minutes she was on the screen with no emotion or reaction. We left disappointed and angry and found out later that it would be six months before she would come to court.”
With the funeral over and court proceedings underway, Deibert said the family then began the process of cleaning out the contents of Chanda’s home.
Speaking to the students at Winston High School, Tana said, “I want you to close your eyes for a minute. Visualize yourself walking in the front door of your home, seeing the kitchen and its contents, the fridge, dishes left to be done, the bedroom needing to be organized, toys on the living room floor, the basement and the backyard. Remember the laughter, the family dinners, what is in the cupboards and the freezer. We went through it all and dispersed it. It took three months to go through. It was the hardest three months of my life.”
Deibert said the family also went and chose a grieving stone, writing down how each person should be remembered and the legacy they left. “All of the rain checks we had promised with Chanda, Jordan and the kids, those are all now at the grave site.”
Still trying to process the tragedy while coping with the tremendous loss of loved ones, another day that will forever be etched in the minds of the family arrived. Heading to the court house July 27, 2016, the room where sentencing was to take place was standing room only. With the Mierau and Van de Vorst families along with co-workers, friends and the kids of Catherine McKay in attendance, they all awaited the outcome.
“We could hear her coming before we saw her because she was wearing shackles,” said Tana of McKay’s arrival. Once in the court room, over 20 victim impact statements were read, spanning four and a half hours. After the statements were read including one from Tana, the judge accepted a joint submission from the crown and defence of a 10 year sentence for McKay in addition to a 12 year ban on driving and a weapons ban as well. Since that sentence was handed down, it was about six months later that the family was made aware that McKay was sent to a healing lodge near Maple Creek in an effort to allow her to become rehabilitated before being released at the end of her sentence.
“She has her own room, a living room and a bathroom. She has escorted day passes and can visit with her family.”
Trying to find a glimmer of hope through the dark valleys of life, Deibert started to pick up the pieces and returned to teaching. At first it was extremely difficult to make it through a day but eventually those struggles became more subdued. After an idea of wanting to share her story through a presentation, she approached her school’s principal.
“They let me do the presentation and that is why I am here today. This is my 22nd presentation and my goal is to one day present across Canada. There are five stages of grief and once you reach acceptance, if you don’t move forward, you are moving backwards. For me, it comes down to decisions. What are you going to do? It becomes your choice. When I wake up, I have something to do that I can try and make a difference in someone’s life. What is your goal? It is up to you to make wise decisions. You might think you won’t get caught driving down a back road impaired but maybe your best friend is on the same road thinking the same thing. What are you willing to do to make the right decision and how can you help others?”
Concluding her morning presentation at the high school, Deibert finished by flashing images of her family on the projector screen in the school’s gym. “The biggest element is the human element so I show the pictures of my family to show that there is a family behind every statistic. Any type of story you see or hear, there is a family behind every single tragedy. Even the ones you don’t hear about and that doesn’t mean just death, it means all kinds of tragedies.”
Wearing her sister’s hockey jersey and a necklace of courage in memory of her niece and nephew, Tana also wanted to convey a message to the residents of Watrous. “I just wanted to say thank you to the community for all that they have done for my family and for myself. I played at the Music Festival’s 50th Gala event here in Watrous Apr. 15 and everyone was so welcoming. It has just been everything that we are so appreciative of. From sitting and visiting with my mom, to being at the vigil a few years ago, hanging glow-sticks in remembrance of my sister and her family and supporting us through the GoFundMe page that was set up. Anything from small to large, we have appreciated it.”
TWM Top Story - Apr. 16, 2018
Support received from around the world after tragedy
Daniel Bushman
Communities, provinces, a nation and parts of the world have banded together in a tremendous outpouring of support after the tragic crash involving the Humboldt Broncos Apr. 6. Players and personnel of the Broncos along with the team’s bus driver and members of Bolt FM passed away as the team’s bus was headed to Nipawin for a playoff game before being hit by a semi. Many of those who survived remain in serious or critical condition.
Since the tragic event, which has affected people from different corners of the world, people have banded together showing incredible support for all those affected. A GoFundMe page was started by Humboldt’s Sylvie Kellington in hopes of raising money for players and families affected by the tragedy and in six days, over 120,000 people from upwards of 60 countries around the world had donated more than $10.2 million, one of the largest campaigns ever. That number continued to climb as last week progressed.
While there are countless initiatives to mention, others showed support in a variety of ways including the National Hockey League where teams have paid tribute to the Broncos including on Apr. 7. The Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks wore ‘Broncos’ on the back of their jerseys and along with multiple clubs, were to donate the proceeds of their 50/50 to the Broncos. Moments of silence were held across the league and that extended into other leagues as well. Having a close relationship with players on the Humboldt team, Imperial’s Connor Ingram, who plays goal for the American Hockey League’s Syracuse Crunch had #HumboldtStrong on the back of his mask. He and others are also donating money for every save he makes for the duration of the season and playoffs. The team also paid tribute Apr. 14 by wearing Humboldt on the back of their jerseys. A silent auction was also held with the proceeds benefitting the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS) Air Ambulance. Proceeds from the 50/50 were also going to STARS.
At the Allan Cup in Rosetown, Rosetown Red Wings player David Stumborg who also suited up for the Drake Canucks this season wore his old Broncos sweater during warmups Apr. 9. Other players and coaches have also honoured and remembered those on the Humboldt team. Trainers and many many others have also remembered Dayna Brons, who was the team’s athletic therapist and the 16th person to pass away from the tragedy.
After the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers played their games Apr. 7, both head coaches headed to Saskatoon where they visited with members of the Broncos in hospital. Hockey Night in Canada hosts Don Cherry and Ron MacLean were also present as they travelled to Saskatoon and then Humboldt as well.
Some members of the media broadcasting hockey games have paid tribute to Bolt FM’s Tyler Bieber who did play-by-play for the Humboldt Broncos. Many including Calgary Flames play-by-play man Derek Wills dedicated their broadcasts to him. The voice of the Saskatoon Blades Les Lazaruk has offered to call a game next season, encouraging others to do so in Tyler’s memory. Other athletes and teams from various professional sports also paid tribute including the Saskatchewan Rush. In the MLB, Marcus Stroman of the Toronto Blue Jays wrote Humboldt Broncos! on his hat and is auctioning it off with the proceeds going towards the team. Cincinnati Reds player and Canadian Joey Votto wrote Humboldt Broncos on his cleats as he took to the field in Pittsburgh.
Then last week, sticks, microphones, trainer packs and broadcast headsets were placed outside of people’s front doors, at arenas, offices and municipal buildings across the world in remembrance of those who perished. On social media the tribute was named #SticksOutForHumboldt and was kick-started after former Bronco broadcaster Brian Munz tweeted out he received a text from a friend, encouraging people to place sticks outside. Other fundraisers and initiatives have also been planned in communities and in schools locally and nation-wide as people raise funds for the families and team. There were also vigils and community rallies in support of Humboldt and the Broncos including closer to home.
Locally, in Allan, where captain of the Broncos Logan Schatz was from, the community gathered Apr. 8 to mourn his loss and remember him and his team. Town of Allan Administrator Christine Dyck said, “The Town of Allan and surrounding community is in mourning with so many other communities, our entire country and families everywhere. The Humboldt Broncos bus collision Apr. 6th has shaken our world to the core. In the disaster, we lost one of our own, Logan Schatz. Allan residents grieve with Kelly and Bonnie and their entire family. On Saturday, flowers and a sign appeared in the snow in front of the Allan Town Office.
The Allan community is a quietly caring place. The communiplex committee worked hard over the weekend to put together a touching memorial vigil, which included some local representation as well as live streaming the Humboldt vigil. It is estimated that 300 people joined Logan’s grandparents in Allan on Sunday, Apr. 8th. The Schatz family has a kitchen overflowing with food. The Nutrien Allan mine rescue teams gave up the curling rink where they normally train at this time of year to enable the facility to be used for Logan’s service.
Through their sorrow, the town has pulled together, Saskatchewan strong, and many hands will be working through the weekend to get things ready for Logan’s final tribute. Our prayers are with all those lost, their families, friends and communities. We also pray for the survivors and hope they can come through this tragedy.
The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love. (H. Humphrey) #broncostrong”
A short drive away in Colonsay, people rallied behind Layne Matechuk, who also suited up for the Broncos this year. Amanda Reiman with the Colonsay Rec Board said, “On behalf of the Colonsay Rec Board and the Colonsay Town Council, we are deeply saddened by the Humboldt Broncos incomprehensible tragedy and there are few words that will bring comfort to the 15 families who have lost a loved one. Those families are in our hearts, thoughts and prayers. To those still in hospital and their families, we offer you our strength and support in any way it is needed. We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the Schatz family for their loss of Logan and the grief they are all enduring is unimaginable. On Sunday, Apr. 8, we held a rally for Colonsay’s own, Layne Matechuk and a live stream of the Humboldt vigil. Layne remains in hospital and is fighting hard to get well and come home. Please keep Layne, his sister Carley and parents Kevin and Shelley in your prayers. We would like to thank the group of individuals who came together on very short notice Saturday to put together a wonderful tribute to the Humboldt Broncos. Our community continues to make me proud with their selfless acts of love and compassion. To the entire Matechuk family, we offer our shoulders for you to lean on, and our backs to help carry your burdens. May Layne be blessed with the strength and courage needed to pull through and endure what are likely to be difficult days ahead. Please continue to pray for the entire Bronco family. #broncostrong”
In Lanigan before the community’s minor hockey awards were presented Apr. 10, the town came together to remember and pay tribute to Humboldt and the Broncos. With numerous players from the area a part of the Broncos hockey system during their playing days along with Murray Brookbank, who was the Broncos assistant coach for many years, candles were lit, a jersey and headset were placed on a table and sticks set up in front of the stage to honour those who had passed on. Kyle Renwick opened the evening extending condolences and after a moment of silence, deputy mayor Mark Pratchler offered his condolences as well and said a few words to those in attendance. Following Pratchler, Brookbank shared a message to the minor hockey players and families at the Lanigan Town Hall. Brookbank said hockey is a big part of life in Saskatchewan and no one knows when a life can be taken. “Make sure and have fun and enjoy the game. In times like this we need to come together and stay together in support of Humboldt. Hug someone today and never take family and friends for granted.”
Former Bronco and current pastor in Lanigan, Brad Schroeder also said a few words during the tribute and led those in attendance in a time of prayer. Schroeder was followed by Mental Health Therapist Ryan Melin who talked about coping with tragedy.
Along with the tribute in Lanigan and other local communities, condolences and support also poured out on social media and flags in many places were lowered to half mast. Also in support of Humboldt, Niagara Falls went green and gold as both the American and Canadian Horseshoe Falls were lit up with the Bronco colours. Messages of condolences from the Canadian Prime Minister, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, President Donald Trump and the Queen of England were also given. At the Legislature in Saskatchewan, the Bronco colours illuminated the building and will be used for 16 nights, honouring the 16 lives lost in the tragedy. Hockey sticks were set outside the Legislature and office doors as well and a book of condolences was also available for people to sign. Humboldt-Watrous MLA Donna Harpauer, who delivered the provincial budget last Tuesday also shared her condolences as her thoughts were with the families and the team.
In Humboldt, where flowers and tributes were placed at the steps leading into the rink, thousands of people filled the Elgar Petersen Arena for a vigil Apr. 8, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Scott Moe. With the rink full, other facilities were also made available for those attending the vigil. Meant to be a place for the community to begin the healing process, the inter-denominational service included messages from Humboldt mayor Rob Muench, Bronco president Kevin Garinger, a number of ministers, pastors and priests including team chaplain Sean Brandow and concluded with singing, hugs and tears.
During the vigil, Garinger provided words of what many felt and have been feeling. “We are gathered in a state of shock, and unthinkable heartache. This tragedy has devastated our families, our Humboldt Broncos organization, our community, Saskatchewan, Canada, and our world. For many of us, the real reach and scope of this community tragedy will not be fully realized for days, or weeks, or months or even years, as we continue to process everything that has taken place over these last days. But in all this darkness, a light has shone through. This light has come from the first responders and the medical professionals who have worked miracles and continue to work miracles for those members of our Broncos family. It comes from the remarkable community of Humboldt, and the countless communities across our province and country, as people come together to offer their strength, their time and their kindness. And they do this while they’re working through their own grief. This light has come from people across this globe, reaching out to offer condolences, and to share a truly staggering level of generosity and support. And this light will only grow in time. And in time, the darkness will be less. We are so grateful to the members of our extended hockey family, to our Saskatchewan and Canadian brothers and sisters, for their support. Countless partner organizations, companies, sports teams, television personalities, politicians and more have reached out, directly and indirectly, to offer their support. To everyone who has shared a message of condolence, to everyone who has called, or emailed, or posted online to show their support, we hear you, and we feel your love. I cannot put into words how much this has meant to us. I want to say to all the Humboldt Broncos families, billets, coaching staff, teammates, classmates, teachers, friends, community members - not one of us is alone in our grief. Continue to reach out. Reach out to one another for help and support. Across our region, our province, our country and our globe we will find strength in one another. Today and for everyday forward, we are all Humboldt Broncos, and we will be forever Humboldt Broncos strong.”
Also on the bus with the Broncos and team personnel were members of Bolt FM and the driver from Charlie’s Charters. Lyndon Friesen, president of Golden West Radio which Bolt FM is a member of, shared the following: “It is with great sadness that we have learned both Tyler and Brody were victims of this tragedy. Tyler travelled with the team frequently as the play-by-play announcer. Having been with Golden West since the launch of Bolt FM in news and on-air, Tyler was a shining example of what it means to serve a community. Brody had recently joined our Golden West family, mentored by Tyler and the Bolt FM team. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of all the young men we lost and our own colleagues whose lives have been cut short by this tragic event.”
Charlie’s Charters, the company that employed bus driver Glen Doerksen shared a heartfelt post by the Kinistino Tigers: “The Tigers are saddened to learn that the gentleman who drove our bus to playoff games this spring was lost in the terrible accident yesterday. In talking to him, he spoke at length of his time in rinks with his own family and how much he enjoyed being able to take and watch other teams from minor, to senior, to SJHL to their hockey games. Our trips to Foam Lake and Allan were on horrible highways due to winter storms. We got on that bus and trusted him with our lives and both times he got us home safely. Tragically yesterday he and many others didn’t make it home and our hearts are broken for your families and friends including Charlie and the staff at Charlie’s Charters. We will never forget the smile on your face as we left Allan after winning the Championship and got you to give “two honks for the Cup”. Tonight Glen, we give two honks for you. Rest easy sir.”
Along with the outpouring from across the world, the Saskatchewan Health Authority is also providing counselling supports for people to utilize. CEO Scott Livingstone said, “On behalf of the Saskatchewan Health Authority, I want to offer our condolences to the family members, the Humboldt Broncos, City of Humboldt, and all of those who have lost a loved one . . . we are also thinking of those injured in the accident and the family members supporting them. Our thoughts are with them in this difficult time. I also want to extend my sincerest gratitude to all of the first responders, physicians, nurses, clerks, administrative staff, security and all other health providers that pulled together to respond to this situation. Many physicians and staff members were called away from their families and friends to deal with the significant number of patients, many with very serious injuries. They, along with other emergency services including police, fire departments and STARS, came together as one single team to provide care and comfort to those affected by this terrible event. I commend all involved for their quick and selfless actions. The Saskatchewan Health Authority has sent counsellors to various affected sites to provide support. We will continue to work with community leaders and community partners to determine what resources are required for grief counselling. This includes extending mental health supports to the first responders who were on site for the accident.”
The Psychology Association of Saskatchewan (PAS) issued a statement that they are aware of how this event may impact Humboldt, Nipawin, greater Saskatchewan, and hockey communities in days and weeks to come. Dr. Kristi Wright said, “There are no words to express our deepest sympathies and condolences to all those who were affected, and who lost precious family and community members. We would also like to thank all those who were there to provide immediate assistance and emergency care. This is a heart-breaking tragedy, felt province and nation-wide. As psychologists, we are prepared to assist individuals reacting to this terrible situation as best we possibly can. Most of the time, the immediate response and grief is an understandable reaction to such a traumatic event, and may not require any formal treatment aside from the love and support of family, friends, and community. However, if you feel you or a loved one requires professional assistance, you can consult with your family doctor or any mental health resource that have been made available to your community. They may refer you for counselling services, or you may also self-refer to local mental health services. Visit psychsask.ca/resources for a list of resources for both short-term and longer-term counselling and support services available in Saskatchewan.
This list will continue to be updated in the coming days and will include services that are freely available through the Saskatchewan Health Authority, community associations and organizations, as well as through privately-funded, fee-for-service resources.”
In the Horizon School Division, Director of Education and CEO Kevin Garinger, who is also the president of the Broncos issued the following letter to parents and caregivers: “It is with the deepest sadness that we mourn the loss of lives following Friday’s horrific accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the parents/caregivers, families, friends, teammates, classmates, billets, coaches, teachers, staff, fans, communities and countless others who have been impacted by this tragedy involving the Humboldt Broncos. Though our hearts are broken in the aftermath of this immense loss, I know that we will come together to offer each other strength and support in this extremely difficult time.
As a school division, Horizon is doing everything we can to support our students, staff and communities through this tragedy. A team of professionals has been mobilized across a number of Horizon schools to support the needs of grieving students and staff. These professionals include counsellors and other trained members of the Horizon Traumatic Events Response Team. In the coming days, we will be working to determine how best to support students and staff as we navigate these unthinkable circumstances. We are also encouraging anyone who feels the need for further support to make contact with health services and professionals in their area. Please contact your school principal with any questions, or for assistance connecting with these services.
I want to commend our first responders, emergency workers and medical professionals for their work in response to this terrible event. I also want to thank everyone who has sent messages of condolence and support from across Saskatchewan, Canada, and the world. I know that we will all keep the families and friends of those impacted by this tragedy in our thoughts and prayers.”
Students and staff at schools throughout Horizon wore green and yellow Apr. 9 in a show of support and remembrance while the schools in Humboldt were closed Monday before resuming later in the week. Various fundraisers at schools within the province have also been taking place.
As many paused, reflected, mourned and tried to cope with such a tragedy, former Bronco players and coaches have also been doing the same. Spending considerable time on the ice, in the dressing room and on the bus, this tragedy has hit home for many. Watrous native Bob Beatty was a big part of the Humboldt Broncos, coaching the team from 1996 to 2004 and winning a national title in 2003. Like others who have stepped behind the bench in Humboldt, Beatty said the Broncos remain a team close to his heart.
“The team is certainly a huge part of the community as all teams are. The junior team in Humboldt is certainly the lifeblood of the community, the focal point, rallying point and topic of conversation, much the same as senior teams are in every town. It has hit home and living as close to Humboldt as I do in Watrous, the young fellas that have played for the Broncos around the surrounding area and beyond, there is a lot of support everywhere and not just in the hockey family. It is around the country and the entire world and we are mourning with the people of Humboldt and certainly the kids and the families that are impacted.”
Asked to speak at a vigil last week in B.C., Beatty said riding the bus has always been a big part of junior hockey. “It is a place where there is a lot of bonding and a lot of support and some ribbing and just a fun time to be with each other. Some of the bus trips get a bit gruelling but it is a time to bond together and you become part of a team. There is some satisfaction arriving at that point where you are part of a team. We all wonder why this time and not the other thousands of trips that we made, and not just hockey teams but the sporting world in general. Riding the bus is an essential part of competing in sport and this tragedy is just very sad.”
Since the Apr. 6 event, Beatty said the support towards the community of Humboldt and the people living there has been tremendous. “I hope they know we are all grieving with them and we are all a family. I hope that there is some semblance of comfort in the fact that there is an overwhelming amount of support for everybody involved.”
Three brothers that grew up on a farm near Drake were also part of the Humboldt Broncos during their hockey careers. Twin brothers Scott and Steven and their oldest brother Brad Schroeder each played for the team and were also trying to understand why such a tragedy took place. The three recalled many memories during their time with the club.
Playing with his twin brother Steven, Scott remembered the special bonds created by being part of a team, the brotherhood made and what it meant to be together in unity. “Especially in our years where we were lucky enough to win championships it was the attitude of winning that made the difference and so it’s my hope for these survivors (both families and players) that they would have an attitude of winning, to know that even though they’ve suffered a defeat in this, that they can still recover and that there is hope. In my years with the Broncos we stuck together in wins and losses because we were a team. I remember to just how special the bus was. Just the fact that we were all together was the main thing. One of my favourite memories of the bus was coming back from the airport after we won the RBC and we took the bus from Saskatoon to Humboldt and it was the happiest time. Then once we got to Humboldt we were able to be welcomed by the town at the rink. It just went to show how much the fans and the town was invested in the Broncos.”
Scott’s brother Steven was also a member of the Humboldt Broncos for three seasons with his last year being 2008-‘09. Attending the vigil in Humboldt Apr. 8, he shared these thoughts:
“Being a member of the Humboldt Broncos for three years was one of the greatest times in my life. If you were to ask people about the team during my time there, they might tell you all about different kinds of numbers. They might talk about the amount of games played, the wins we had, the losses, the goals or points, the amount of hours spent on the buses, or the championships. But looking back, it was a different number that counted. It was the number of teammates you would have and the friendships that lasted long after our time as Broncos. Friendships among teammates, coaches, trainers, media, billets, the fans and the community.
Hockey teams tend to create a certain kind of relationship. It’s a group of young men learning what it takes to overcome physical and mental challenges. They put aside differences for the good of the team. They sacrifice themselves for their teammates and they create memories that last a lifetime. It’s the kind of friendship where you can part ways for years and come back like nothing has changed, because you both wore the same jersey.
I was reminded of all of this on Apr. 6. In a second things can change. All those other numbers don’t matter if you don’t have people around you. The Humboldt Broncos and the city of Humboldt have shown us this. They have shown us that in the greatest darkness, there is still good. And they have shown us that when it comes down to it, we can all throw on the same jersey and be on the same team. They have inspired people all over Saskatchewan, Canada, and across the world.
To the members of the Humboldt Broncos, whose lives ended much to soon, I am sorry that you didn’t get the opportunity to see how you inspired a nation and brought people together. I’m sorry that you didn’t get the opportunity to grow up into men and enjoy your teammates longer. I hope and pray that you are remembered for how you played the game, how you laughed and treated people around you, how you lived, and not how you died.
To the members of the Broncos who are still with us, your families, and the city of Humboldt, thank you for your strength and determination. Thank you for showing us what it looks like to fight. And thank you for reminding us what truly matters in life. You epitomize everything that a Humboldt Bronco should be.”
Like his younger brothers, for three years Brad Schroeder wore the Bronco jersey and was also one of the assistant captains. Now the pastor at Christian Fellowship Church in Lanigan, Brad said growing up and playing minor hockey he looked forward to the days when he could ride the bus to games with his teammates. Citing the road trips on the bus as a highlight during his junior hockey career, Brad said it was the time spent with players and coaches that was precious.
“Your teammates really became family and times on the bus were times where you had nothing else to do but hang out with your friends, watch movies together, talk, play cards, etc. Bus rides were times where your bond as teammates grew. You didn’t always realize it, but they were built-in team-building times,” said Schroeder. “For myself and many others, junior hockey represented the first time I was strictly and primarily a hockey player. Your one job and focus is on hockey, on your team. And your time is more freed up than before to focus on hockey and your teammates. So in junior hockey there becomes tremendous camaraderie with teammates. You hang out at the rink at practice and games, at the gym when you work out together, and you are often spending any free time together hanging out at one of the billet homes as well. And of course you hang out together on the bus rides and in the hotels on road trips. Most of your days are spent with your teammates so you become very close very quickly. Junior hockey is a tremendously unique and special time in life. Most hockey players I know point to these years as a highlight of their hockey careers simply because of the camaraderie between teammates.”
Suiting up for Humboldt, Brad said he was blessed to play in that community. “It is an amazing town that loves and supports their team incredibly. It is amazing to me how quickly and deeply Humboldt adopts their players who come from all over the province and country as their own. Right from the get go, the Broncos players, no matter where you come from, become part of the Humboldt family. The Broncos have always been woven into the fabric of that community and the bond between town and team runs incredibly deep.”
It is that relationship between the team and the city that has remained strong through all of this.
“A tragedy of this magnitude has ripple effects that touch countless lives. Every person who knew someone involved in this tragedy, every person connected in some way with Humboldt and area, every person connected to the hockey world, every person who has ever lost someone, every person who has family and friends they can’t imagine losing, is affected in varying degrees. The breadth of the ripple effects is not surprising. And thankfully, technology these days allows people to offer support in a variety of ways, regardless of geographical distance. It is hard to see light and hope in the midst of a situation like this. And for many it may take a long time to see any of that. But the incredible support of countless individuals across the globe does provide a ray of hope. It speaks to the capacity for love and empathy and compassion in us. It speaks to the deep need we all have for community, for relationship. It speaks to the reality that healing can come through relationship. Every human being is acquainted with suffering to some degree. It is an unfortunate part of life in a broken world. But since we are all acquainted with it, we are each able to help others who are suffering. What the incredible support that has come in over these past days speaks to me is that no one has to suffer alone. There are countless people who are available and want to support people who are hurting, whether that help is in supplying practical needs, emotional support, prayer and spiritual help, whatever it may be.”
The church in Lanigan where Brad preaches each Sunday set up an area in the foyer last week as a place of remembrance and prayer. The room is a place that people can go to and have a quiet place to remember as well as to reflect and pray. It is also a place of encouragement and hope and Schroeder said it is during times like these where finding words to help cope is incredibly tough.
“Something like this is so difficult to comprehend. We are all full of questions and wrestling and often our questions go unanswered. But for what it’s worth I find two truths helpful right now. The first is God is not distant and unacquainted with our suffering. The second is death is God’s enemy. What I mean by these is this: God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. He lived among us and He suffered greatly, most explicitly as He went to the cross to die for us. He knows suffering. And because He shared in our humanity and knows our suffering He is able to help us in our time of need, when we are suffering, and invites us to come to Him (Hebrews 2:14-18, 4:14-16). He came because He wanted to put an end to suffering eternally, to offer us eternal hope and eternal life. The Bible speaks of death as God’s enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26) and something that has been and will be defeated (1 Corinthians 15:50-57; Hebrews 2:14-15; Revelation 20:14). He came to defeat death. And obviously this is not fully our reality at the moment, we all know that. We still experience death, as we are all too aware of right now. But it is what Jesus came to accomplish eternally and He tells us, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). Death isn’t God’s desire for us and He came to offer eternal life because He loves us (John 3:16). Even though I can’t understand the magnitude of this tragedy and I have many questions that don’t have answers right now I am able to know deeply that this breaks God’s heart even more than it does mine. We know that this isn’t the way it is supposed to be, and God agrees! That is the whole reason He came! He is not distant, He is with us. And He came to offer hope and healing and eternal life even in the midst of our earthly suffering. So I continue to believe and lean on the truths that God is with us and knows our suffering and offers healing, even eternally.”
Daniel Bushman
Communities, provinces, a nation and parts of the world have banded together in a tremendous outpouring of support after the tragic crash involving the Humboldt Broncos Apr. 6. Players and personnel of the Broncos along with the team’s bus driver and members of Bolt FM passed away as the team’s bus was headed to Nipawin for a playoff game before being hit by a semi. Many of those who survived remain in serious or critical condition.
Since the tragic event, which has affected people from different corners of the world, people have banded together showing incredible support for all those affected. A GoFundMe page was started by Humboldt’s Sylvie Kellington in hopes of raising money for players and families affected by the tragedy and in six days, over 120,000 people from upwards of 60 countries around the world had donated more than $10.2 million, one of the largest campaigns ever. That number continued to climb as last week progressed.
While there are countless initiatives to mention, others showed support in a variety of ways including the National Hockey League where teams have paid tribute to the Broncos including on Apr. 7. The Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks wore ‘Broncos’ on the back of their jerseys and along with multiple clubs, were to donate the proceeds of their 50/50 to the Broncos. Moments of silence were held across the league and that extended into other leagues as well. Having a close relationship with players on the Humboldt team, Imperial’s Connor Ingram, who plays goal for the American Hockey League’s Syracuse Crunch had #HumboldtStrong on the back of his mask. He and others are also donating money for every save he makes for the duration of the season and playoffs. The team also paid tribute Apr. 14 by wearing Humboldt on the back of their jerseys. A silent auction was also held with the proceeds benefitting the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS) Air Ambulance. Proceeds from the 50/50 were also going to STARS.
At the Allan Cup in Rosetown, Rosetown Red Wings player David Stumborg who also suited up for the Drake Canucks this season wore his old Broncos sweater during warmups Apr. 9. Other players and coaches have also honoured and remembered those on the Humboldt team. Trainers and many many others have also remembered Dayna Brons, who was the team’s athletic therapist and the 16th person to pass away from the tragedy.
After the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers played their games Apr. 7, both head coaches headed to Saskatoon where they visited with members of the Broncos in hospital. Hockey Night in Canada hosts Don Cherry and Ron MacLean were also present as they travelled to Saskatoon and then Humboldt as well.
Some members of the media broadcasting hockey games have paid tribute to Bolt FM’s Tyler Bieber who did play-by-play for the Humboldt Broncos. Many including Calgary Flames play-by-play man Derek Wills dedicated their broadcasts to him. The voice of the Saskatoon Blades Les Lazaruk has offered to call a game next season, encouraging others to do so in Tyler’s memory. Other athletes and teams from various professional sports also paid tribute including the Saskatchewan Rush. In the MLB, Marcus Stroman of the Toronto Blue Jays wrote Humboldt Broncos! on his hat and is auctioning it off with the proceeds going towards the team. Cincinnati Reds player and Canadian Joey Votto wrote Humboldt Broncos on his cleats as he took to the field in Pittsburgh.
Then last week, sticks, microphones, trainer packs and broadcast headsets were placed outside of people’s front doors, at arenas, offices and municipal buildings across the world in remembrance of those who perished. On social media the tribute was named #SticksOutForHumboldt and was kick-started after former Bronco broadcaster Brian Munz tweeted out he received a text from a friend, encouraging people to place sticks outside. Other fundraisers and initiatives have also been planned in communities and in schools locally and nation-wide as people raise funds for the families and team. There were also vigils and community rallies in support of Humboldt and the Broncos including closer to home.
Locally, in Allan, where captain of the Broncos Logan Schatz was from, the community gathered Apr. 8 to mourn his loss and remember him and his team. Town of Allan Administrator Christine Dyck said, “The Town of Allan and surrounding community is in mourning with so many other communities, our entire country and families everywhere. The Humboldt Broncos bus collision Apr. 6th has shaken our world to the core. In the disaster, we lost one of our own, Logan Schatz. Allan residents grieve with Kelly and Bonnie and their entire family. On Saturday, flowers and a sign appeared in the snow in front of the Allan Town Office.
The Allan community is a quietly caring place. The communiplex committee worked hard over the weekend to put together a touching memorial vigil, which included some local representation as well as live streaming the Humboldt vigil. It is estimated that 300 people joined Logan’s grandparents in Allan on Sunday, Apr. 8th. The Schatz family has a kitchen overflowing with food. The Nutrien Allan mine rescue teams gave up the curling rink where they normally train at this time of year to enable the facility to be used for Logan’s service.
Through their sorrow, the town has pulled together, Saskatchewan strong, and many hands will be working through the weekend to get things ready for Logan’s final tribute. Our prayers are with all those lost, their families, friends and communities. We also pray for the survivors and hope they can come through this tragedy.
The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love. (H. Humphrey) #broncostrong”
A short drive away in Colonsay, people rallied behind Layne Matechuk, who also suited up for the Broncos this year. Amanda Reiman with the Colonsay Rec Board said, “On behalf of the Colonsay Rec Board and the Colonsay Town Council, we are deeply saddened by the Humboldt Broncos incomprehensible tragedy and there are few words that will bring comfort to the 15 families who have lost a loved one. Those families are in our hearts, thoughts and prayers. To those still in hospital and their families, we offer you our strength and support in any way it is needed. We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the Schatz family for their loss of Logan and the grief they are all enduring is unimaginable. On Sunday, Apr. 8, we held a rally for Colonsay’s own, Layne Matechuk and a live stream of the Humboldt vigil. Layne remains in hospital and is fighting hard to get well and come home. Please keep Layne, his sister Carley and parents Kevin and Shelley in your prayers. We would like to thank the group of individuals who came together on very short notice Saturday to put together a wonderful tribute to the Humboldt Broncos. Our community continues to make me proud with their selfless acts of love and compassion. To the entire Matechuk family, we offer our shoulders for you to lean on, and our backs to help carry your burdens. May Layne be blessed with the strength and courage needed to pull through and endure what are likely to be difficult days ahead. Please continue to pray for the entire Bronco family. #broncostrong”
In Lanigan before the community’s minor hockey awards were presented Apr. 10, the town came together to remember and pay tribute to Humboldt and the Broncos. With numerous players from the area a part of the Broncos hockey system during their playing days along with Murray Brookbank, who was the Broncos assistant coach for many years, candles were lit, a jersey and headset were placed on a table and sticks set up in front of the stage to honour those who had passed on. Kyle Renwick opened the evening extending condolences and after a moment of silence, deputy mayor Mark Pratchler offered his condolences as well and said a few words to those in attendance. Following Pratchler, Brookbank shared a message to the minor hockey players and families at the Lanigan Town Hall. Brookbank said hockey is a big part of life in Saskatchewan and no one knows when a life can be taken. “Make sure and have fun and enjoy the game. In times like this we need to come together and stay together in support of Humboldt. Hug someone today and never take family and friends for granted.”
Former Bronco and current pastor in Lanigan, Brad Schroeder also said a few words during the tribute and led those in attendance in a time of prayer. Schroeder was followed by Mental Health Therapist Ryan Melin who talked about coping with tragedy.
Along with the tribute in Lanigan and other local communities, condolences and support also poured out on social media and flags in many places were lowered to half mast. Also in support of Humboldt, Niagara Falls went green and gold as both the American and Canadian Horseshoe Falls were lit up with the Bronco colours. Messages of condolences from the Canadian Prime Minister, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, President Donald Trump and the Queen of England were also given. At the Legislature in Saskatchewan, the Bronco colours illuminated the building and will be used for 16 nights, honouring the 16 lives lost in the tragedy. Hockey sticks were set outside the Legislature and office doors as well and a book of condolences was also available for people to sign. Humboldt-Watrous MLA Donna Harpauer, who delivered the provincial budget last Tuesday also shared her condolences as her thoughts were with the families and the team.
In Humboldt, where flowers and tributes were placed at the steps leading into the rink, thousands of people filled the Elgar Petersen Arena for a vigil Apr. 8, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Scott Moe. With the rink full, other facilities were also made available for those attending the vigil. Meant to be a place for the community to begin the healing process, the inter-denominational service included messages from Humboldt mayor Rob Muench, Bronco president Kevin Garinger, a number of ministers, pastors and priests including team chaplain Sean Brandow and concluded with singing, hugs and tears.
During the vigil, Garinger provided words of what many felt and have been feeling. “We are gathered in a state of shock, and unthinkable heartache. This tragedy has devastated our families, our Humboldt Broncos organization, our community, Saskatchewan, Canada, and our world. For many of us, the real reach and scope of this community tragedy will not be fully realized for days, or weeks, or months or even years, as we continue to process everything that has taken place over these last days. But in all this darkness, a light has shone through. This light has come from the first responders and the medical professionals who have worked miracles and continue to work miracles for those members of our Broncos family. It comes from the remarkable community of Humboldt, and the countless communities across our province and country, as people come together to offer their strength, their time and their kindness. And they do this while they’re working through their own grief. This light has come from people across this globe, reaching out to offer condolences, and to share a truly staggering level of generosity and support. And this light will only grow in time. And in time, the darkness will be less. We are so grateful to the members of our extended hockey family, to our Saskatchewan and Canadian brothers and sisters, for their support. Countless partner organizations, companies, sports teams, television personalities, politicians and more have reached out, directly and indirectly, to offer their support. To everyone who has shared a message of condolence, to everyone who has called, or emailed, or posted online to show their support, we hear you, and we feel your love. I cannot put into words how much this has meant to us. I want to say to all the Humboldt Broncos families, billets, coaching staff, teammates, classmates, teachers, friends, community members - not one of us is alone in our grief. Continue to reach out. Reach out to one another for help and support. Across our region, our province, our country and our globe we will find strength in one another. Today and for everyday forward, we are all Humboldt Broncos, and we will be forever Humboldt Broncos strong.”
Also on the bus with the Broncos and team personnel were members of Bolt FM and the driver from Charlie’s Charters. Lyndon Friesen, president of Golden West Radio which Bolt FM is a member of, shared the following: “It is with great sadness that we have learned both Tyler and Brody were victims of this tragedy. Tyler travelled with the team frequently as the play-by-play announcer. Having been with Golden West since the launch of Bolt FM in news and on-air, Tyler was a shining example of what it means to serve a community. Brody had recently joined our Golden West family, mentored by Tyler and the Bolt FM team. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of all the young men we lost and our own colleagues whose lives have been cut short by this tragic event.”
Charlie’s Charters, the company that employed bus driver Glen Doerksen shared a heartfelt post by the Kinistino Tigers: “The Tigers are saddened to learn that the gentleman who drove our bus to playoff games this spring was lost in the terrible accident yesterday. In talking to him, he spoke at length of his time in rinks with his own family and how much he enjoyed being able to take and watch other teams from minor, to senior, to SJHL to their hockey games. Our trips to Foam Lake and Allan were on horrible highways due to winter storms. We got on that bus and trusted him with our lives and both times he got us home safely. Tragically yesterday he and many others didn’t make it home and our hearts are broken for your families and friends including Charlie and the staff at Charlie’s Charters. We will never forget the smile on your face as we left Allan after winning the Championship and got you to give “two honks for the Cup”. Tonight Glen, we give two honks for you. Rest easy sir.”
Along with the outpouring from across the world, the Saskatchewan Health Authority is also providing counselling supports for people to utilize. CEO Scott Livingstone said, “On behalf of the Saskatchewan Health Authority, I want to offer our condolences to the family members, the Humboldt Broncos, City of Humboldt, and all of those who have lost a loved one . . . we are also thinking of those injured in the accident and the family members supporting them. Our thoughts are with them in this difficult time. I also want to extend my sincerest gratitude to all of the first responders, physicians, nurses, clerks, administrative staff, security and all other health providers that pulled together to respond to this situation. Many physicians and staff members were called away from their families and friends to deal with the significant number of patients, many with very serious injuries. They, along with other emergency services including police, fire departments and STARS, came together as one single team to provide care and comfort to those affected by this terrible event. I commend all involved for their quick and selfless actions. The Saskatchewan Health Authority has sent counsellors to various affected sites to provide support. We will continue to work with community leaders and community partners to determine what resources are required for grief counselling. This includes extending mental health supports to the first responders who were on site for the accident.”
The Psychology Association of Saskatchewan (PAS) issued a statement that they are aware of how this event may impact Humboldt, Nipawin, greater Saskatchewan, and hockey communities in days and weeks to come. Dr. Kristi Wright said, “There are no words to express our deepest sympathies and condolences to all those who were affected, and who lost precious family and community members. We would also like to thank all those who were there to provide immediate assistance and emergency care. This is a heart-breaking tragedy, felt province and nation-wide. As psychologists, we are prepared to assist individuals reacting to this terrible situation as best we possibly can. Most of the time, the immediate response and grief is an understandable reaction to such a traumatic event, and may not require any formal treatment aside from the love and support of family, friends, and community. However, if you feel you or a loved one requires professional assistance, you can consult with your family doctor or any mental health resource that have been made available to your community. They may refer you for counselling services, or you may also self-refer to local mental health services. Visit psychsask.ca/resources for a list of resources for both short-term and longer-term counselling and support services available in Saskatchewan.
This list will continue to be updated in the coming days and will include services that are freely available through the Saskatchewan Health Authority, community associations and organizations, as well as through privately-funded, fee-for-service resources.”
In the Horizon School Division, Director of Education and CEO Kevin Garinger, who is also the president of the Broncos issued the following letter to parents and caregivers: “It is with the deepest sadness that we mourn the loss of lives following Friday’s horrific accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the parents/caregivers, families, friends, teammates, classmates, billets, coaches, teachers, staff, fans, communities and countless others who have been impacted by this tragedy involving the Humboldt Broncos. Though our hearts are broken in the aftermath of this immense loss, I know that we will come together to offer each other strength and support in this extremely difficult time.
As a school division, Horizon is doing everything we can to support our students, staff and communities through this tragedy. A team of professionals has been mobilized across a number of Horizon schools to support the needs of grieving students and staff. These professionals include counsellors and other trained members of the Horizon Traumatic Events Response Team. In the coming days, we will be working to determine how best to support students and staff as we navigate these unthinkable circumstances. We are also encouraging anyone who feels the need for further support to make contact with health services and professionals in their area. Please contact your school principal with any questions, or for assistance connecting with these services.
I want to commend our first responders, emergency workers and medical professionals for their work in response to this terrible event. I also want to thank everyone who has sent messages of condolence and support from across Saskatchewan, Canada, and the world. I know that we will all keep the families and friends of those impacted by this tragedy in our thoughts and prayers.”
Students and staff at schools throughout Horizon wore green and yellow Apr. 9 in a show of support and remembrance while the schools in Humboldt were closed Monday before resuming later in the week. Various fundraisers at schools within the province have also been taking place.
As many paused, reflected, mourned and tried to cope with such a tragedy, former Bronco players and coaches have also been doing the same. Spending considerable time on the ice, in the dressing room and on the bus, this tragedy has hit home for many. Watrous native Bob Beatty was a big part of the Humboldt Broncos, coaching the team from 1996 to 2004 and winning a national title in 2003. Like others who have stepped behind the bench in Humboldt, Beatty said the Broncos remain a team close to his heart.
“The team is certainly a huge part of the community as all teams are. The junior team in Humboldt is certainly the lifeblood of the community, the focal point, rallying point and topic of conversation, much the same as senior teams are in every town. It has hit home and living as close to Humboldt as I do in Watrous, the young fellas that have played for the Broncos around the surrounding area and beyond, there is a lot of support everywhere and not just in the hockey family. It is around the country and the entire world and we are mourning with the people of Humboldt and certainly the kids and the families that are impacted.”
Asked to speak at a vigil last week in B.C., Beatty said riding the bus has always been a big part of junior hockey. “It is a place where there is a lot of bonding and a lot of support and some ribbing and just a fun time to be with each other. Some of the bus trips get a bit gruelling but it is a time to bond together and you become part of a team. There is some satisfaction arriving at that point where you are part of a team. We all wonder why this time and not the other thousands of trips that we made, and not just hockey teams but the sporting world in general. Riding the bus is an essential part of competing in sport and this tragedy is just very sad.”
Since the Apr. 6 event, Beatty said the support towards the community of Humboldt and the people living there has been tremendous. “I hope they know we are all grieving with them and we are all a family. I hope that there is some semblance of comfort in the fact that there is an overwhelming amount of support for everybody involved.”
Three brothers that grew up on a farm near Drake were also part of the Humboldt Broncos during their hockey careers. Twin brothers Scott and Steven and their oldest brother Brad Schroeder each played for the team and were also trying to understand why such a tragedy took place. The three recalled many memories during their time with the club.
Playing with his twin brother Steven, Scott remembered the special bonds created by being part of a team, the brotherhood made and what it meant to be together in unity. “Especially in our years where we were lucky enough to win championships it was the attitude of winning that made the difference and so it’s my hope for these survivors (both families and players) that they would have an attitude of winning, to know that even though they’ve suffered a defeat in this, that they can still recover and that there is hope. In my years with the Broncos we stuck together in wins and losses because we were a team. I remember to just how special the bus was. Just the fact that we were all together was the main thing. One of my favourite memories of the bus was coming back from the airport after we won the RBC and we took the bus from Saskatoon to Humboldt and it was the happiest time. Then once we got to Humboldt we were able to be welcomed by the town at the rink. It just went to show how much the fans and the town was invested in the Broncos.”
Scott’s brother Steven was also a member of the Humboldt Broncos for three seasons with his last year being 2008-‘09. Attending the vigil in Humboldt Apr. 8, he shared these thoughts:
“Being a member of the Humboldt Broncos for three years was one of the greatest times in my life. If you were to ask people about the team during my time there, they might tell you all about different kinds of numbers. They might talk about the amount of games played, the wins we had, the losses, the goals or points, the amount of hours spent on the buses, or the championships. But looking back, it was a different number that counted. It was the number of teammates you would have and the friendships that lasted long after our time as Broncos. Friendships among teammates, coaches, trainers, media, billets, the fans and the community.
Hockey teams tend to create a certain kind of relationship. It’s a group of young men learning what it takes to overcome physical and mental challenges. They put aside differences for the good of the team. They sacrifice themselves for their teammates and they create memories that last a lifetime. It’s the kind of friendship where you can part ways for years and come back like nothing has changed, because you both wore the same jersey.
I was reminded of all of this on Apr. 6. In a second things can change. All those other numbers don’t matter if you don’t have people around you. The Humboldt Broncos and the city of Humboldt have shown us this. They have shown us that in the greatest darkness, there is still good. And they have shown us that when it comes down to it, we can all throw on the same jersey and be on the same team. They have inspired people all over Saskatchewan, Canada, and across the world.
To the members of the Humboldt Broncos, whose lives ended much to soon, I am sorry that you didn’t get the opportunity to see how you inspired a nation and brought people together. I’m sorry that you didn’t get the opportunity to grow up into men and enjoy your teammates longer. I hope and pray that you are remembered for how you played the game, how you laughed and treated people around you, how you lived, and not how you died.
To the members of the Broncos who are still with us, your families, and the city of Humboldt, thank you for your strength and determination. Thank you for showing us what it looks like to fight. And thank you for reminding us what truly matters in life. You epitomize everything that a Humboldt Bronco should be.”
Like his younger brothers, for three years Brad Schroeder wore the Bronco jersey and was also one of the assistant captains. Now the pastor at Christian Fellowship Church in Lanigan, Brad said growing up and playing minor hockey he looked forward to the days when he could ride the bus to games with his teammates. Citing the road trips on the bus as a highlight during his junior hockey career, Brad said it was the time spent with players and coaches that was precious.
“Your teammates really became family and times on the bus were times where you had nothing else to do but hang out with your friends, watch movies together, talk, play cards, etc. Bus rides were times where your bond as teammates grew. You didn’t always realize it, but they were built-in team-building times,” said Schroeder. “For myself and many others, junior hockey represented the first time I was strictly and primarily a hockey player. Your one job and focus is on hockey, on your team. And your time is more freed up than before to focus on hockey and your teammates. So in junior hockey there becomes tremendous camaraderie with teammates. You hang out at the rink at practice and games, at the gym when you work out together, and you are often spending any free time together hanging out at one of the billet homes as well. And of course you hang out together on the bus rides and in the hotels on road trips. Most of your days are spent with your teammates so you become very close very quickly. Junior hockey is a tremendously unique and special time in life. Most hockey players I know point to these years as a highlight of their hockey careers simply because of the camaraderie between teammates.”
Suiting up for Humboldt, Brad said he was blessed to play in that community. “It is an amazing town that loves and supports their team incredibly. It is amazing to me how quickly and deeply Humboldt adopts their players who come from all over the province and country as their own. Right from the get go, the Broncos players, no matter where you come from, become part of the Humboldt family. The Broncos have always been woven into the fabric of that community and the bond between town and team runs incredibly deep.”
It is that relationship between the team and the city that has remained strong through all of this.
“A tragedy of this magnitude has ripple effects that touch countless lives. Every person who knew someone involved in this tragedy, every person connected in some way with Humboldt and area, every person connected to the hockey world, every person who has ever lost someone, every person who has family and friends they can’t imagine losing, is affected in varying degrees. The breadth of the ripple effects is not surprising. And thankfully, technology these days allows people to offer support in a variety of ways, regardless of geographical distance. It is hard to see light and hope in the midst of a situation like this. And for many it may take a long time to see any of that. But the incredible support of countless individuals across the globe does provide a ray of hope. It speaks to the capacity for love and empathy and compassion in us. It speaks to the deep need we all have for community, for relationship. It speaks to the reality that healing can come through relationship. Every human being is acquainted with suffering to some degree. It is an unfortunate part of life in a broken world. But since we are all acquainted with it, we are each able to help others who are suffering. What the incredible support that has come in over these past days speaks to me is that no one has to suffer alone. There are countless people who are available and want to support people who are hurting, whether that help is in supplying practical needs, emotional support, prayer and spiritual help, whatever it may be.”
The church in Lanigan where Brad preaches each Sunday set up an area in the foyer last week as a place of remembrance and prayer. The room is a place that people can go to and have a quiet place to remember as well as to reflect and pray. It is also a place of encouragement and hope and Schroeder said it is during times like these where finding words to help cope is incredibly tough.
“Something like this is so difficult to comprehend. We are all full of questions and wrestling and often our questions go unanswered. But for what it’s worth I find two truths helpful right now. The first is God is not distant and unacquainted with our suffering. The second is death is God’s enemy. What I mean by these is this: God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. He lived among us and He suffered greatly, most explicitly as He went to the cross to die for us. He knows suffering. And because He shared in our humanity and knows our suffering He is able to help us in our time of need, when we are suffering, and invites us to come to Him (Hebrews 2:14-18, 4:14-16). He came because He wanted to put an end to suffering eternally, to offer us eternal hope and eternal life. The Bible speaks of death as God’s enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26) and something that has been and will be defeated (1 Corinthians 15:50-57; Hebrews 2:14-15; Revelation 20:14). He came to defeat death. And obviously this is not fully our reality at the moment, we all know that. We still experience death, as we are all too aware of right now. But it is what Jesus came to accomplish eternally and He tells us, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). Death isn’t God’s desire for us and He came to offer eternal life because He loves us (John 3:16). Even though I can’t understand the magnitude of this tragedy and I have many questions that don’t have answers right now I am able to know deeply that this breaks God’s heart even more than it does mine. We know that this isn’t the way it is supposed to be, and God agrees! That is the whole reason He came! He is not distant, He is with us. And He came to offer hope and healing and eternal life even in the midst of our earthly suffering. So I continue to believe and lean on the truths that God is with us and knows our suffering and offers healing, even eternally.”
TWM Top Story - April 9, 2018
Winter cold sticks around as spring arrives
Daniel Bushman
Snow storms packed a punch in March and as the end of winter came to a close, the area was left with not only a lot more snow than in previous years but also contained a lot colder temperatures as well.
“March may have come in like a lion but it went out like frozen lamb chops,” said Environment Canada’s David Phillips, who added it was so frigid that some of the coldest overnight temperatures in the world heading into the final week of last month were found in the prairies. In fact as the final weekend of March arrived, various parts of the province shattered old records for low temperatures. According to Environment Canada over a dozen places including Watrous and Wynyard were part of that benchmark which spanned from Mar. 30 to Apr. 1.
Along with other locations setting new record low temperatures, Watrous saw its new record during Friday morning Mar. 30 reach -32.4˚C. The old record of -25.6˚C was set in 1969 with records dating back to 1953. Wynyard’s new record was -26.4˚C. The old record of -24.4˚C was set in 1975 with records dating back to 1941. Other places like Meadow Lake, Melfort, Nipawin, Prince Albert, Key Lake, Collins Bay, Assiniboia, Kindersley, Moose Jaw, Rosetown and Weyburn also set new records during the weekend.
“These are temperatures that would be considered cold in the dead of winter,” said an astonished Phillips. “We have seen March painfully cold throughout the entire month. There was not a lot of warmth with 1.6˚C as the warmest. What has made it particularly long was that February was more than 5˚C colder than normal and March has been up to six degrees colder than normal.”
In fact, it had been so cold that Phillips said a person would have to go back all the way to 1990 to observe a February and March as cold as the one in 2018.
But it was not just February and March that faced bone-chilling values. Winter began on a cold note in November and while there were some balmy moments in December and January, that was about it for nice weather.
“True to form, March was one of the snowiest months in your area,” said Phillips, who added the big question now becomes when will the snow leave?
Showing colder than normal values to start April, “It is going to be slow coming and the soil is not going to warm up quickly. Farmers are going to be lucky to get onto fields in April. I think they will as we will eventually see temperatures warm up . . . this year we are not going to go from slush to sweat, it is going to be a slow, patient and painful type of trend upwards. Then towards the middle and end of April there is no swing back to colder than normal kind of conditions.”
That is a far cry from even just two years ago as the area saw an incredible 20.8˚C day Apr. 2 with an overnight low of -4.4˚C. Other warmer days continued later in the month in 2016 as the grass began turning green and snow disappeared. Not so for this year’s Apr. 2. A dismal -8.4˚C with an added wind chill swept through during the day and an overnight value of -24.5˚C infiltrated the area. While both 2016 and 2018’s Apr. 2 numbers appear to be abnormal temperatures, Phillips was quick to remind people that April can be a cruel month. “It is cruel for Canadians because we think we are owed the spring like nice weather but it takes its sweet time coming.”
Daniel Bushman
Snow storms packed a punch in March and as the end of winter came to a close, the area was left with not only a lot more snow than in previous years but also contained a lot colder temperatures as well.
“March may have come in like a lion but it went out like frozen lamb chops,” said Environment Canada’s David Phillips, who added it was so frigid that some of the coldest overnight temperatures in the world heading into the final week of last month were found in the prairies. In fact as the final weekend of March arrived, various parts of the province shattered old records for low temperatures. According to Environment Canada over a dozen places including Watrous and Wynyard were part of that benchmark which spanned from Mar. 30 to Apr. 1.
Along with other locations setting new record low temperatures, Watrous saw its new record during Friday morning Mar. 30 reach -32.4˚C. The old record of -25.6˚C was set in 1969 with records dating back to 1953. Wynyard’s new record was -26.4˚C. The old record of -24.4˚C was set in 1975 with records dating back to 1941. Other places like Meadow Lake, Melfort, Nipawin, Prince Albert, Key Lake, Collins Bay, Assiniboia, Kindersley, Moose Jaw, Rosetown and Weyburn also set new records during the weekend.
“These are temperatures that would be considered cold in the dead of winter,” said an astonished Phillips. “We have seen March painfully cold throughout the entire month. There was not a lot of warmth with 1.6˚C as the warmest. What has made it particularly long was that February was more than 5˚C colder than normal and March has been up to six degrees colder than normal.”
In fact, it had been so cold that Phillips said a person would have to go back all the way to 1990 to observe a February and March as cold as the one in 2018.
But it was not just February and March that faced bone-chilling values. Winter began on a cold note in November and while there were some balmy moments in December and January, that was about it for nice weather.
“True to form, March was one of the snowiest months in your area,” said Phillips, who added the big question now becomes when will the snow leave?
Showing colder than normal values to start April, “It is going to be slow coming and the soil is not going to warm up quickly. Farmers are going to be lucky to get onto fields in April. I think they will as we will eventually see temperatures warm up . . . this year we are not going to go from slush to sweat, it is going to be a slow, patient and painful type of trend upwards. Then towards the middle and end of April there is no swing back to colder than normal kind of conditions.”
That is a far cry from even just two years ago as the area saw an incredible 20.8˚C day Apr. 2 with an overnight low of -4.4˚C. Other warmer days continued later in the month in 2016 as the grass began turning green and snow disappeared. Not so for this year’s Apr. 2. A dismal -8.4˚C with an added wind chill swept through during the day and an overnight value of -24.5˚C infiltrated the area. While both 2016 and 2018’s Apr. 2 numbers appear to be abnormal temperatures, Phillips was quick to remind people that April can be a cruel month. “It is cruel for Canadians because we think we are owed the spring like nice weather but it takes its sweet time coming.”
TWM Top Story - Apr. 2, 2018
Watrous RCMP hold town hall
meeting in Imperial
Daniel Bushman
With RCMP led town hall meetings taking place across the province aimed at sharing information, hearing concerns and answering questions that people may have, members of the Watrous RCMP hosted an event in Imperial Mar. 21.
Close to 30 people from the Imperial, Simpson and Liberty area along with representation from surrounding rural municipalities were in attendance as they heard from sergeant Jeff Friedenstab and constables Dave Hannah and Jamie Dowling.
Friedenstab said he was pleased with the turnout and appreciated those who made the effort to attend and ask questions on a variety of topics.
One of the more prevalent issues that has been making headlines throughout the province is protecting property like farmyards where it may take police a bit of time to respond to. While Friedenstab said each situation is specific and different, there really is not one right answer in how to deal with that type of potential threat.
“For situations like that, I would say those involved need to weigh the consequences of their actions. When it comes to protection of property, there are provisions within the criminal code that allow people to take steps to protect their own personal well-being and that of others as well as property. It has to be reasonable in the eyes of the law in what they are doing. The first thing they should be doing before anything is calling 911. Do not act on your own. Make sure you know your land location and your family knows your land location so when you or they call in, we can respond as quickly as possible. We are able to utilize a prairie locator app so we can punch in the location and respond as efficiently as possible.”
Friedenstab said in an effort to help deter a potential threat, if someone does come on the property, let them know you are there. “Challenge them as to why they are there. If they are there for an illegal reason and they are discovered that can prompt them to leave. Having well-lit yards, a security system or a trail cam are also some options to help prevent thefts.”
The sergeant also noted that about 90 percent of vehicle thefts are a result of leaving keys in an unlocked vehicle. “All the vehicles that we have recovered, the keys were originally left in them and in some instances, firearms were left behind the seat at farmyards. We ask that the guns are locked up safely. We are trying to deter people from stealing vehicles and with Hwy. 2 going right through our area, we see a lot of transient crime. If thieves come through and aren’t able to find unlocked vehicles with keys in them then they will move on to somewhere else.”
With regards to marijuana, Friedenstab said there are pilot projects underway that would be used to help enforce driving under the influence. Other stipulations are also being implemented by the province. Friedenstab added the detachment is aware that marijuana, cocaine and meth are being used in the area.
While drug use can occur in many communities, Friedenstab said the detachment has observed an overall decline in crimes like break and enters. In 2015, there were 44 reported in the local area, in 2016 there were 37 and in 2017, just 17 break and enters. Those were largely done in outbuildings and shops outside of towns.
Addressing some of the questions posed by those in attendance, Friedenstab said the most common calls they receive relate to thefts, break and enters, mental health, personal violence and even malfunctions of railway crossing arms.
With five members at the detachment, Friedenstab told the attendees that the local RCMP services a large area with a population of roughly 4,500. Currently this year they have 1,680 files with 1,000 of those being related to traffic stats. “There are also false 911 calls and calls related to mental health situations that are included in those figures.”
As the hour and a half meeting wrapped up, Friedenstab said they are looking at holding something similar again down the road. “We encourage people to come out and share any concerns or ask any questions. We also encourage local municipalities to start up rural crime watch programs to help deter people from causing crimes.”
Meanwhile this past week, Saskatchewan police including the RCMP and conservation officers launched a gun amnesty program, encouraging people to turn in unwanted guns and ammunition, no questions asked. The law enforcement agencies made the announcement Mar. 26 in an effort to improve public safety. The program is targeted for people who have come across guns now in their possession and have no use for them.
“The province’s amnesty also allows people to turn in firearms and unwanted ammunition to local detachments who have had spouses, family members and loved ones that may have passed away and their guns are still stored away and are of no use.”
The program was implemented across Saskatchewan after Regina held a two week municipal gun amnesty program in 2017 where police reportedly collected 157 firearms. The program is slated to run until Apr. 27.
meeting in Imperial
Daniel Bushman
With RCMP led town hall meetings taking place across the province aimed at sharing information, hearing concerns and answering questions that people may have, members of the Watrous RCMP hosted an event in Imperial Mar. 21.
Close to 30 people from the Imperial, Simpson and Liberty area along with representation from surrounding rural municipalities were in attendance as they heard from sergeant Jeff Friedenstab and constables Dave Hannah and Jamie Dowling.
Friedenstab said he was pleased with the turnout and appreciated those who made the effort to attend and ask questions on a variety of topics.
One of the more prevalent issues that has been making headlines throughout the province is protecting property like farmyards where it may take police a bit of time to respond to. While Friedenstab said each situation is specific and different, there really is not one right answer in how to deal with that type of potential threat.
“For situations like that, I would say those involved need to weigh the consequences of their actions. When it comes to protection of property, there are provisions within the criminal code that allow people to take steps to protect their own personal well-being and that of others as well as property. It has to be reasonable in the eyes of the law in what they are doing. The first thing they should be doing before anything is calling 911. Do not act on your own. Make sure you know your land location and your family knows your land location so when you or they call in, we can respond as quickly as possible. We are able to utilize a prairie locator app so we can punch in the location and respond as efficiently as possible.”
Friedenstab said in an effort to help deter a potential threat, if someone does come on the property, let them know you are there. “Challenge them as to why they are there. If they are there for an illegal reason and they are discovered that can prompt them to leave. Having well-lit yards, a security system or a trail cam are also some options to help prevent thefts.”
The sergeant also noted that about 90 percent of vehicle thefts are a result of leaving keys in an unlocked vehicle. “All the vehicles that we have recovered, the keys were originally left in them and in some instances, firearms were left behind the seat at farmyards. We ask that the guns are locked up safely. We are trying to deter people from stealing vehicles and with Hwy. 2 going right through our area, we see a lot of transient crime. If thieves come through and aren’t able to find unlocked vehicles with keys in them then they will move on to somewhere else.”
With regards to marijuana, Friedenstab said there are pilot projects underway that would be used to help enforce driving under the influence. Other stipulations are also being implemented by the province. Friedenstab added the detachment is aware that marijuana, cocaine and meth are being used in the area.
While drug use can occur in many communities, Friedenstab said the detachment has observed an overall decline in crimes like break and enters. In 2015, there were 44 reported in the local area, in 2016 there were 37 and in 2017, just 17 break and enters. Those were largely done in outbuildings and shops outside of towns.
Addressing some of the questions posed by those in attendance, Friedenstab said the most common calls they receive relate to thefts, break and enters, mental health, personal violence and even malfunctions of railway crossing arms.
With five members at the detachment, Friedenstab told the attendees that the local RCMP services a large area with a population of roughly 4,500. Currently this year they have 1,680 files with 1,000 of those being related to traffic stats. “There are also false 911 calls and calls related to mental health situations that are included in those figures.”
As the hour and a half meeting wrapped up, Friedenstab said they are looking at holding something similar again down the road. “We encourage people to come out and share any concerns or ask any questions. We also encourage local municipalities to start up rural crime watch programs to help deter people from causing crimes.”
Meanwhile this past week, Saskatchewan police including the RCMP and conservation officers launched a gun amnesty program, encouraging people to turn in unwanted guns and ammunition, no questions asked. The law enforcement agencies made the announcement Mar. 26 in an effort to improve public safety. The program is targeted for people who have come across guns now in their possession and have no use for them.
“The province’s amnesty also allows people to turn in firearms and unwanted ammunition to local detachments who have had spouses, family members and loved ones that may have passed away and their guns are still stored away and are of no use.”
The program was implemented across Saskatchewan after Regina held a two week municipal gun amnesty program in 2017 where police reportedly collected 157 firearms. The program is slated to run until Apr. 27.
TWM Top Story - Mar. 26, 2018
Water projects and development lead list for Watrous in 2018
By Daniel Bushman
Marking Canada’s 150th birthday with a homecoming, seeing larger capital projects near completion, welcoming a few new businesses, the news of a heritage centre and daycare along with some water and sewer work were all part of a busy 2017. Now in 2018, Watrous will see a continuation of projects, infrastructure work, some changes with regards to bylaws and the addition of new homes and businesses.
Watrous Town Administrator Orrin Redden said, “We celebrated a homecoming this past year which was well attended and people had a really good time. We are also pleased with the stability of the medical clinic in Watrous and area communities and municipalities have helped to provide assistance to the town for those clinical operations and that has been helpful. We are encouraged to see our local RCMP numbers remain strong. In previous years it could take a while to replace an officer after they left but the local detachment has been able to bring members in to keep those numbers steady.”
Redden also highlighted a few other areas of interest where projects and work have been and continue to be done.
Water/Sewer
Lagoon expansion
In 2017, work was done to a lagoon expansion with the work to be fully completed in early 2018. Receiving two-thirds of the total funding to help cover the cost of the expansion, the town picked up the remaining tab to create a larger lagoon, accommodating more people and businesses locating to Watrous. With just a small amount of work left to the expansion, Redden said it is already operational.
Water treatment plant
The new reverse osmosis water treatment plant has been in operation for just over two years now and Redden said it is producing great quality water.
“The plant has been operating really good and we continue to learn more about the operations as we move along. We are putting out about 100,000 imperial gallons (450,000 litres) of treated water per day which equates to approximately 6.5 to 7 million imperial gallons (30 million litres) of water on a two month billing cycle.”
Sump pump bylaw
As spring arrived, Watrous council approved a sump pump bylaw which is aimed at regulating the discharge of ground water collected from residential subsurface drainage collection systems. Created to reduce the impact collected ground water has on the sanitary sewer collection system and lagoon, Redden said heavy rainfall events over the past few years have overwhelmed the sanitary sewer mains to the point where basement backups have occurred.
“If residents can direct ground water to the surface as opposed to the sanitary sewer, it will greatly reduce the burden on the system. In most residential homes, sump pits have been plumbed directly into the sanitary sewer drains. The bylaw now requires home owners to have installed a two-way sump pump diversion system which allows for the collected water to be diverted to either the surface or the sanitary drain. Clean ground water must be diverted to the surface from Apr. 1 to Sept. 30 but may be directed to the sanitary drain from Oct. 1 to Mar. 31. Council asks for your compliance with this bylaw by May 1.”
Water pipes/Main Street work
With the winter conditions and deep frost, some of the older water pipes under the road on Main Street were dealt a blow. Redden said they have no immediate plans to rip apart Main Street and repave it, but council has spent time looking at a capital plan.
“The issue with Main Street is the infrastructure underground and council has had some discussions in terms of planning to somehow remedy that. There is currently no immediate plan to pave Main Street as there is other street work that would have to be done along with that. Some of the valves under the road are also older so they would need to be replaced. Some sections of sidewalk could also be fixed so council does not have a short term plan right now. It is something that is being looked at and will continue to be looked at. We had a couple of water main bursts over the past two years and then two weeks ago some old service lines were leaking near the Pepper Tree Restaurant and Mainline, so looking at improvements is something that would have to be done on a much larger scale and a larger financial commitment.”
Redden also said during the winter months, town crews have been flushing the service lines, trying to keep lines thawed and running a camera underground to make sure things are working in proper order.
“This winter the frost really went deep so the issue of frozen water services has been more prevalent than in other years.”
Industrial and residential starts
Industrial development
Work was done last year on a new industrial parcel next to Watrous Home Hardware on the east part of town. Redden said the lots are for sale and a tender recently closed for the water/sewer installation. The power and phone lines have been connected and gas will be installed this year for that parcel of land owned by the town. A road will then be extended from 4th Ave. E., leading traffic to that area as the town hopes to see more commercial and industrial businesses built.
South of that location, near Hwy. 2 leading out of Watrous, the new Dodge dealership continues to make progress. Redden said the town has a proposed service road to the dealership just north of where the SaskPower substation used to be located at the junction of Hwy. 365 and Hwy. 2 and just south of Watrous Concrete. That road, once approved, will allow customers access to the dealership once it is completed later this year.
Housing starts
As for housing starts, Redden said one is currently underway on 12th Ave. E., north of the sportsgrounds and one sale is pending for a new start in the 500 block along 8th Ave. E., across from the Watrous and District Health Complex. There has also been interest from others on that parcel of land serviced and owned by the town.
Bylaw officers
Members of Commissionaires South Saskatchewan have been in the community since Jan. 1 to enforce the town’s bylaws. Town council approved the move which would see the new bylaw enforcement officers provide a stronger presence in town to help achieve enforcing some of the bylaws. So far, Redden said the bylaw officers have been in Watrous surveying the community and talking with residents. “They have been here a couple of times per month and right now they are getting to know the community and get an idea about the layout while meeting residents.”
Contracted out by the town for 2018, Redden said, “The same company has been going to Nokomis for the past few years and visits Watrous a few times a month. As the year progresses, they will be looking at implementing bylaws and once fall arrives, council will look at the progress made and decide if it is worth continuing with the contract or not.”
Marijuana legalization
As Canada gets set to legalize marijuana later this year, the province released a list of private retailers regulated by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority. Of those approximately 60 permits to private operators, Watrous was not included in the original list of communities. According to the government, the initial allocation of retail store permits will be in municipalities and First Nations with populations of at least 2,500, with larger communities being allocated additional permits. Eligible First Nations and municipalities will have the option to opt out of having a retail cannabis store in their community if they choose. The final number of retail permits will depend on the number of community leaders that decide to opt out.
Because of Watrous not being included on the list, council is taking a wait and see approach as to what happens in the future with regards to the legalization.
Town budget
As for the town budget, Redden said council will be meeting throughout March and will approve its budget in early April. “We are waiting for some firm revenue sharing numbers from the provincial government before we move forward with our budget. Once we have those then it can help determine what we can do in the future.”
By Daniel Bushman
Marking Canada’s 150th birthday with a homecoming, seeing larger capital projects near completion, welcoming a few new businesses, the news of a heritage centre and daycare along with some water and sewer work were all part of a busy 2017. Now in 2018, Watrous will see a continuation of projects, infrastructure work, some changes with regards to bylaws and the addition of new homes and businesses.
Watrous Town Administrator Orrin Redden said, “We celebrated a homecoming this past year which was well attended and people had a really good time. We are also pleased with the stability of the medical clinic in Watrous and area communities and municipalities have helped to provide assistance to the town for those clinical operations and that has been helpful. We are encouraged to see our local RCMP numbers remain strong. In previous years it could take a while to replace an officer after they left but the local detachment has been able to bring members in to keep those numbers steady.”
Redden also highlighted a few other areas of interest where projects and work have been and continue to be done.
Water/Sewer
Lagoon expansion
In 2017, work was done to a lagoon expansion with the work to be fully completed in early 2018. Receiving two-thirds of the total funding to help cover the cost of the expansion, the town picked up the remaining tab to create a larger lagoon, accommodating more people and businesses locating to Watrous. With just a small amount of work left to the expansion, Redden said it is already operational.
Water treatment plant
The new reverse osmosis water treatment plant has been in operation for just over two years now and Redden said it is producing great quality water.
“The plant has been operating really good and we continue to learn more about the operations as we move along. We are putting out about 100,000 imperial gallons (450,000 litres) of treated water per day which equates to approximately 6.5 to 7 million imperial gallons (30 million litres) of water on a two month billing cycle.”
Sump pump bylaw
As spring arrived, Watrous council approved a sump pump bylaw which is aimed at regulating the discharge of ground water collected from residential subsurface drainage collection systems. Created to reduce the impact collected ground water has on the sanitary sewer collection system and lagoon, Redden said heavy rainfall events over the past few years have overwhelmed the sanitary sewer mains to the point where basement backups have occurred.
“If residents can direct ground water to the surface as opposed to the sanitary sewer, it will greatly reduce the burden on the system. In most residential homes, sump pits have been plumbed directly into the sanitary sewer drains. The bylaw now requires home owners to have installed a two-way sump pump diversion system which allows for the collected water to be diverted to either the surface or the sanitary drain. Clean ground water must be diverted to the surface from Apr. 1 to Sept. 30 but may be directed to the sanitary drain from Oct. 1 to Mar. 31. Council asks for your compliance with this bylaw by May 1.”
Water pipes/Main Street work
With the winter conditions and deep frost, some of the older water pipes under the road on Main Street were dealt a blow. Redden said they have no immediate plans to rip apart Main Street and repave it, but council has spent time looking at a capital plan.
“The issue with Main Street is the infrastructure underground and council has had some discussions in terms of planning to somehow remedy that. There is currently no immediate plan to pave Main Street as there is other street work that would have to be done along with that. Some of the valves under the road are also older so they would need to be replaced. Some sections of sidewalk could also be fixed so council does not have a short term plan right now. It is something that is being looked at and will continue to be looked at. We had a couple of water main bursts over the past two years and then two weeks ago some old service lines were leaking near the Pepper Tree Restaurant and Mainline, so looking at improvements is something that would have to be done on a much larger scale and a larger financial commitment.”
Redden also said during the winter months, town crews have been flushing the service lines, trying to keep lines thawed and running a camera underground to make sure things are working in proper order.
“This winter the frost really went deep so the issue of frozen water services has been more prevalent than in other years.”
Industrial and residential starts
Industrial development
Work was done last year on a new industrial parcel next to Watrous Home Hardware on the east part of town. Redden said the lots are for sale and a tender recently closed for the water/sewer installation. The power and phone lines have been connected and gas will be installed this year for that parcel of land owned by the town. A road will then be extended from 4th Ave. E., leading traffic to that area as the town hopes to see more commercial and industrial businesses built.
South of that location, near Hwy. 2 leading out of Watrous, the new Dodge dealership continues to make progress. Redden said the town has a proposed service road to the dealership just north of where the SaskPower substation used to be located at the junction of Hwy. 365 and Hwy. 2 and just south of Watrous Concrete. That road, once approved, will allow customers access to the dealership once it is completed later this year.
Housing starts
As for housing starts, Redden said one is currently underway on 12th Ave. E., north of the sportsgrounds and one sale is pending for a new start in the 500 block along 8th Ave. E., across from the Watrous and District Health Complex. There has also been interest from others on that parcel of land serviced and owned by the town.
Bylaw officers
Members of Commissionaires South Saskatchewan have been in the community since Jan. 1 to enforce the town’s bylaws. Town council approved the move which would see the new bylaw enforcement officers provide a stronger presence in town to help achieve enforcing some of the bylaws. So far, Redden said the bylaw officers have been in Watrous surveying the community and talking with residents. “They have been here a couple of times per month and right now they are getting to know the community and get an idea about the layout while meeting residents.”
Contracted out by the town for 2018, Redden said, “The same company has been going to Nokomis for the past few years and visits Watrous a few times a month. As the year progresses, they will be looking at implementing bylaws and once fall arrives, council will look at the progress made and decide if it is worth continuing with the contract or not.”
Marijuana legalization
As Canada gets set to legalize marijuana later this year, the province released a list of private retailers regulated by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority. Of those approximately 60 permits to private operators, Watrous was not included in the original list of communities. According to the government, the initial allocation of retail store permits will be in municipalities and First Nations with populations of at least 2,500, with larger communities being allocated additional permits. Eligible First Nations and municipalities will have the option to opt out of having a retail cannabis store in their community if they choose. The final number of retail permits will depend on the number of community leaders that decide to opt out.
Because of Watrous not being included on the list, council is taking a wait and see approach as to what happens in the future with regards to the legalization.
Town budget
As for the town budget, Redden said council will be meeting throughout March and will approve its budget in early April. “We are waiting for some firm revenue sharing numbers from the provincial government before we move forward with our budget. Once we have those then it can help determine what we can do in the future.”
TWM Top Story - Mar. 19, 2018
Raising awareness to slow down and move over
Daniel Bushman
It has been a tragic scene on too many roads in Saskatchewan as many motorists passing first responders and tow trucks parked along the side of the road do not slow down, putting the lives of those trying to save others at risk. In some very unfortunate cases, people have been tragically killed because of motorists not slowing down and moving over.
During the evening Mar. 7, towing companies and emergency response personnel from across Saskatchewan including those from Watrous joined in solidarity as part of a Slow Down and Move Over Awareness Rally. The annual event was held to honour and show respect to those who have been killed along roads in the province while trying to help others. It was also meant to raise awareness that motorists need to slow down and move over while passing tow trucks and emergency response personnel on roads in the province.
Members of Watrous Towing, EMS and fire stopped on the shoulder along Hwy. 2 during the evening Mar. 7 and activated their lights.
One year ago, the first ever rally was held after tow truck driver Courtney Schaefer died in a four vehicle crash on Hwy. 22 in southeastern Saskatchewan. During that rally, hundreds of trucks from across Saskatchewan activated their emergency lights, showing respect while raising awareness.
Hoping to see the annual event continue and become a nationwide awareness campaign, first responders and tow truck drivers will once again plan to turn on their emergency lights and stand beside their vehicles next year, honouring Schaefer and other drivers who have been tragically killed while on the job.
Daniel Bushman
It has been a tragic scene on too many roads in Saskatchewan as many motorists passing first responders and tow trucks parked along the side of the road do not slow down, putting the lives of those trying to save others at risk. In some very unfortunate cases, people have been tragically killed because of motorists not slowing down and moving over.
During the evening Mar. 7, towing companies and emergency response personnel from across Saskatchewan including those from Watrous joined in solidarity as part of a Slow Down and Move Over Awareness Rally. The annual event was held to honour and show respect to those who have been killed along roads in the province while trying to help others. It was also meant to raise awareness that motorists need to slow down and move over while passing tow trucks and emergency response personnel on roads in the province.
Members of Watrous Towing, EMS and fire stopped on the shoulder along Hwy. 2 during the evening Mar. 7 and activated their lights.
One year ago, the first ever rally was held after tow truck driver Courtney Schaefer died in a four vehicle crash on Hwy. 22 in southeastern Saskatchewan. During that rally, hundreds of trucks from across Saskatchewan activated their emergency lights, showing respect while raising awareness.
Hoping to see the annual event continue and become a nationwide awareness campaign, first responders and tow truck drivers will once again plan to turn on their emergency lights and stand beside their vehicles next year, honouring Schaefer and other drivers who have been tragically killed while on the job.
TWM Top Story - Mar. 12, 2018
Winter Storm Blasts Area
By Daniel Bushman
March roared in like a lion across Saskatchewan bringing with it much needed moisture for farmers but headaches for motorists and sore muscles for shovellers. The storm which brought anywhere from 7 cm of snow to more than 40 cm in areas of central and southeastern Saskatchewan also created treacherous road conditions and closing highways around Regina.
In communities like Watrous, crews were out removing snow throughout the weekend and into last week after the area was hit with around 30 cm. Climatologist with Environment Canada David Phillips said the snow provided “a shot in the arm for the economy and producers.”
While Phillips said there was no specific data available for Watrous, he looked at nearby stations and found anywhere between 25 and 35 cm had fallen. Phillips pegged the Watrous area more than likely had around 30 cm, more than what the area had received all winter.
“That accumulation would have been from Sunday, Monday and Tuesday so there were close to 60 hours worth although it was not always snowing, but for most of that period it was snowing or blowing or drifting snow.”
While a good chunk of western Saskatchewan received a dose of snow from a storm in Alberta, the central and southeastern sections were the recipients of a Colorado storm. Some areas also received snow from both with the Colorado storm carrying moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.
“This storm was good for moisture but I don’t think it is your last one,” Phillips added. “When you look statistically over averages in Watrous, about 21 cm of snow falls after the first of March to sometime maybe in April or May . . . what you have got up to this particular one was about 25 cm of snow so this one was more than what you had all winter.”
Despite the added accumulation, Phillips said the large snowfall probably will not produce a flood. “I don’t think this storm when it melts will unless you had an instant melt and the ground was too frozen and the water ran into lakes. My sense is that it was bone-dry up to that time so it won’t become a flood issue. What will depend upon that is will you get more Colorado lows and April showers? I don’t think one is out of the woods yet but it wasn’t as though you had a lot of recharge going on there in the fall and then the winter. It is not as if you are in a very moist situation, you are in a deficit situation still, when you look at the maps. This is more of a blessing.”
Some of that fallen snow was forecast to melt over the weekend as the forecast showed temperatures climbing above 0˚C. However, the climatologist said not to get your hopes up for spring quite yet.
“That is not spring arriving, it is a little teaser and sometimes March can disappoint us. We think that it is over and spring is around the corner and then we get back into some snow and cold.”
As for the snow accumulations, the following is a summary of total snowfall for Saskatchewan received by Environment Canada as of 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, Mar. 6. The summary of the 48 hour snowfall totals are in centimetres and include: Melville: 43, Prince Albert: 39, Vibank: 34, Regina: 30-35, Strasbourg: 32, Yorkton: 32, Codette: 30, Wynyard: 30, Qu’Appelle: 29, Christopher Lake: 27, Hudson Bay: 25, Broadview: 25, Langenburg: 24, Limrick: 24, Saskatoon: 20-25, Kipling: 20-25, Maryfield: 22, Holbein: 22, Weyburn: 15-20, Melfort: 15-20, Moosomin: 20, Estevan: 20, Yorkton: 20, Coronach: 20, Lucky Lake: 19, La Ronge: 19, Pontrilas: 19, Spalding: 19, Kipling: 18, Emma Lake: 17, North Battleford: 15, Carlyle: 15, Gerald: 15, Conquest: 13, Oxbow: 12, Ile-a-la-Crosse: 11, Stewart Valley: 10, Rockhaven: 9, and Clavet: 7.
By Daniel Bushman
March roared in like a lion across Saskatchewan bringing with it much needed moisture for farmers but headaches for motorists and sore muscles for shovellers. The storm which brought anywhere from 7 cm of snow to more than 40 cm in areas of central and southeastern Saskatchewan also created treacherous road conditions and closing highways around Regina.
In communities like Watrous, crews were out removing snow throughout the weekend and into last week after the area was hit with around 30 cm. Climatologist with Environment Canada David Phillips said the snow provided “a shot in the arm for the economy and producers.”
While Phillips said there was no specific data available for Watrous, he looked at nearby stations and found anywhere between 25 and 35 cm had fallen. Phillips pegged the Watrous area more than likely had around 30 cm, more than what the area had received all winter.
“That accumulation would have been from Sunday, Monday and Tuesday so there were close to 60 hours worth although it was not always snowing, but for most of that period it was snowing or blowing or drifting snow.”
While a good chunk of western Saskatchewan received a dose of snow from a storm in Alberta, the central and southeastern sections were the recipients of a Colorado storm. Some areas also received snow from both with the Colorado storm carrying moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.
“This storm was good for moisture but I don’t think it is your last one,” Phillips added. “When you look statistically over averages in Watrous, about 21 cm of snow falls after the first of March to sometime maybe in April or May . . . what you have got up to this particular one was about 25 cm of snow so this one was more than what you had all winter.”
Despite the added accumulation, Phillips said the large snowfall probably will not produce a flood. “I don’t think this storm when it melts will unless you had an instant melt and the ground was too frozen and the water ran into lakes. My sense is that it was bone-dry up to that time so it won’t become a flood issue. What will depend upon that is will you get more Colorado lows and April showers? I don’t think one is out of the woods yet but it wasn’t as though you had a lot of recharge going on there in the fall and then the winter. It is not as if you are in a very moist situation, you are in a deficit situation still, when you look at the maps. This is more of a blessing.”
Some of that fallen snow was forecast to melt over the weekend as the forecast showed temperatures climbing above 0˚C. However, the climatologist said not to get your hopes up for spring quite yet.
“That is not spring arriving, it is a little teaser and sometimes March can disappoint us. We think that it is over and spring is around the corner and then we get back into some snow and cold.”
As for the snow accumulations, the following is a summary of total snowfall for Saskatchewan received by Environment Canada as of 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, Mar. 6. The summary of the 48 hour snowfall totals are in centimetres and include: Melville: 43, Prince Albert: 39, Vibank: 34, Regina: 30-35, Strasbourg: 32, Yorkton: 32, Codette: 30, Wynyard: 30, Qu’Appelle: 29, Christopher Lake: 27, Hudson Bay: 25, Broadview: 25, Langenburg: 24, Limrick: 24, Saskatoon: 20-25, Kipling: 20-25, Maryfield: 22, Holbein: 22, Weyburn: 15-20, Melfort: 15-20, Moosomin: 20, Estevan: 20, Yorkton: 20, Coronach: 20, Lucky Lake: 19, La Ronge: 19, Pontrilas: 19, Spalding: 19, Kipling: 18, Emma Lake: 17, North Battleford: 15, Carlyle: 15, Gerald: 15, Conquest: 13, Oxbow: 12, Ile-a-la-Crosse: 11, Stewart Valley: 10, Rockhaven: 9, and Clavet: 7.
TWM Top Story - Mar. 5, 2018
Watrous RCMP hold meeting with local representatives
Daniel Bushman
With an opportunity to share information, discuss local issues and brainstorm solutions to problems, members of the Watrous RCMP met with area elected officials in the Heritage Room in Watrous Feb. 22. The meeting was the second such Community Visit with elected officials and community representatives held with local RCMP in the past year.
Watrous RCMP Sgt. Jeff Friedenstab led the meeting and felt it was important to get together with those representing local councils and rural municipalities to dialogue, share information and address any concerns or issues that may be prevalent.
“The Community Visit gives officials a chance to talk with one another and discuss things they are seeing in their area and hear if others are experiencing similar problems,” Friedenstab said. “It helps build relationships and trust so people feel free to bring issues and problems to our attention.”
In addition to Friedenstab, Cst. Dave Hannah and Cst. Jamie Dowling from the Watrous detachment were also in attendance with other delegates encompassing an area stretching to the RM of Prairie Rose, down to Nokomis, over to the RM of Big Arm and up to Manitou Beach and Watrous. The group that was in attendance during the Thursday evening visit touched on a variety of topics including the federal government’s upcoming marijuana legislation. Friedenstab said there was not a lot of new information that could be communicated with regards to the legislation as the RCMP does not know what the laws will be quite yet.
In addition to the upcoming legislation, Friedenstab talked about enforcement of drug impaired drivers. “We have Standard Field Sobriety Testing and Drug Recognition Evaluator Programs that we use to catch drug impaired drivers. New devices for detection similar to what are being used for alcohol are being tested but none are approved yet.”
Rural crime watch programs and the importance of having them were also highlighted during the meeting.
“I told the group in attendance that if there were three things I could impart on them to help us and themselves: one was the establishment of crime watch groups; the second was the use of trail cams on their property; and the third was taking common sense proactive approaches like locking vehicles and not leaving keys anywhere in them, even if in a locked shop. If the shop is broken into, the auto is gone and not leaving firearms in vehicles or unlocked in the home.”
With crime watch programs, Friedenstab added the RCMP does not expect citizen’s crime watch groups to do the job of the RCMP but rather to work with them as extra eyes and ears and as a means of communicating suspicious activity to the police and to their neighbours.
“The Watrous detachment boundaries leave us a large area to police even when fully staffed. The detachment currently has one sergeant, four constables and one public service employee.”
Friedenstab also highlighted the fact that crime statistics are low for the area. While he stated there was one three week spike last June and July, it was attributed to individuals coming out of Saskatoon that were eventually apprehended following a high speed chase into town.
Overall, Friedenstab was pleased with the discussion and topics and added the community visits will continue into the future.
“I may also expand them into a town hall format, opening them up to anyone from the area.”
Daniel Bushman
With an opportunity to share information, discuss local issues and brainstorm solutions to problems, members of the Watrous RCMP met with area elected officials in the Heritage Room in Watrous Feb. 22. The meeting was the second such Community Visit with elected officials and community representatives held with local RCMP in the past year.
Watrous RCMP Sgt. Jeff Friedenstab led the meeting and felt it was important to get together with those representing local councils and rural municipalities to dialogue, share information and address any concerns or issues that may be prevalent.
“The Community Visit gives officials a chance to talk with one another and discuss things they are seeing in their area and hear if others are experiencing similar problems,” Friedenstab said. “It helps build relationships and trust so people feel free to bring issues and problems to our attention.”
In addition to Friedenstab, Cst. Dave Hannah and Cst. Jamie Dowling from the Watrous detachment were also in attendance with other delegates encompassing an area stretching to the RM of Prairie Rose, down to Nokomis, over to the RM of Big Arm and up to Manitou Beach and Watrous. The group that was in attendance during the Thursday evening visit touched on a variety of topics including the federal government’s upcoming marijuana legislation. Friedenstab said there was not a lot of new information that could be communicated with regards to the legislation as the RCMP does not know what the laws will be quite yet.
In addition to the upcoming legislation, Friedenstab talked about enforcement of drug impaired drivers. “We have Standard Field Sobriety Testing and Drug Recognition Evaluator Programs that we use to catch drug impaired drivers. New devices for detection similar to what are being used for alcohol are being tested but none are approved yet.”
Rural crime watch programs and the importance of having them were also highlighted during the meeting.
“I told the group in attendance that if there were three things I could impart on them to help us and themselves: one was the establishment of crime watch groups; the second was the use of trail cams on their property; and the third was taking common sense proactive approaches like locking vehicles and not leaving keys anywhere in them, even if in a locked shop. If the shop is broken into, the auto is gone and not leaving firearms in vehicles or unlocked in the home.”
With crime watch programs, Friedenstab added the RCMP does not expect citizen’s crime watch groups to do the job of the RCMP but rather to work with them as extra eyes and ears and as a means of communicating suspicious activity to the police and to their neighbours.
“The Watrous detachment boundaries leave us a large area to police even when fully staffed. The detachment currently has one sergeant, four constables and one public service employee.”
Friedenstab also highlighted the fact that crime statistics are low for the area. While he stated there was one three week spike last June and July, it was attributed to individuals coming out of Saskatoon that were eventually apprehended following a high speed chase into town.
Overall, Friedenstab was pleased with the discussion and topics and added the community visits will continue into the future.
“I may also expand them into a town hall format, opening them up to anyone from the area.”
TWM Top Story - Feb. 19, 2018
Nutrien's operations to continue
as fourth quarter report released
Daniel Bushman
Operations will continue at Nutrien’s Allan and Lanigan potash mines along with its local farm retail centres as the merged company of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan and Agrium moves forward. There had been some reports that one or two mines could be shut down should fertilizer demand taper off but speaking to reporters earlier this month in Saskatoon, Nutrien CEO Chuck Margo said the company’s plans are going to be very similar to last year with more potash being produced this year.
Vice President, Investor and Corporate Relations for Nutrien, Richard Downey spoke to The Watrous Manitou and said operations are rolling right along since the merger took place.
“Late last year there was a little bit of down time just for inventory management (at the mines) but they are all back up and running full out. Demand for potash globally is extremely strong right now so we have got all the mines running pretty hard.”
With demand for potash high and the company moving forward, Downey also addressed jobs within the mines and retail farm centres. “Across the company at the corporate level, there will be some impact on jobs but those are corporate functions where you’ve got two tax departments or two communications departments for example. There will be some reduction at the corporate level but the operations, there will be really no impact.”
As progress continues for Nutrien, Downey said, “It is great to have the merger closed as of the start of the year because it has been almost two years in preparation for it. It has been a busy time putting the two companies together but it has been going well. We are focused on getting the systems and people in place that we need to and are already starting to deliver on our synergies so things are going well.”
Moving ahead in 2018, Downey has been pleased with the strong demand on the potash side of things and added the Chinese nitrogen production has come down, helping the nitrogen markets in terms of pricing.
“It looks like overall demand is going to be good globally for really all three fertilizers.”
Earlier this month the company released its fourth quarter results and some of the notable items outlined by Nutrien included:
• Agrium fourth quarter earnings from continuing operations, adjusted for items not included in guidance, of $0.781 per share (net earnings from continuing operations of $0.19 per share);
• PotashCorp fourth quarter adjusted earnings of $0.06 per share (net loss of $0.09 per share);
• 2017 earnings for Agrium were supported by record Retail EBITDA of $1.2 billion and margins of 10 percent, while stronger potash prices, sales volumes and lower cash costs per tonne benefited both companies;
• Nutrien full-year 2018 guidance of $2.10 to $2.60 earnings per share from continuing operations, excluding incremental D&A related to purchase price allocation of $150 million to $300 million;
• Nutrien 2018 EBITDA3 of $3.2 billion to $3.7 billion;
• Nutrien sold its equity stake in Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) in January 2018 for net proceeds of $685 million;
• Nutrien announced an agreement to purchase Agrichem, a leading Brazilian specialty plant nutrition company with total annual historical net sales of over $55 million; and
• Nutrien achieved over $40 million in run-rate synergies year-to-date 2018.
As for the PotashCorp gross margin bridge, Nutrien said the potash gross margin grew due to higher prices and reduced per-tonne costs while nitrogen gross margin benefited from stronger sales prices, more than offsetting higher per-tonne costs. The phosphate gross margin declined due to lower realized selling prices and a $276 million non-cash impairment charge relating to the company’s White Springs and feed phosphate facilities.
Also in its fourth quarter report, Nutrien stated it is hoping to complete integration by bringing people, systems, assets and operations together while aligning operations and reporting to work as one. The company is also aiming to deliver synergies with a $500 million annual run-rate expected by the end of 2019, achieving synergies below industry benchmark standards.
Moving forward, Nutrien added it will be conducting a complete portfolio review of the combined company, determining key priorities and completing required sales of equity investments. Some of its capital priorities will involve a continued investment in growth opportunities with a focus on retail, enhancing shareholder returns and maintaining a strong balance sheet with investment grade credit ratings.
As the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services looks to grow, Downey said Nutrien will not only play a critical role in feeding the future but will also put a strong focus on community.
“The commitment to the community and the communities in which we operate are critical. Nutrien is the largest employer in the province and I imagine one of the largest contributors and that will continue.”
as fourth quarter report released
Daniel Bushman
Operations will continue at Nutrien’s Allan and Lanigan potash mines along with its local farm retail centres as the merged company of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan and Agrium moves forward. There had been some reports that one or two mines could be shut down should fertilizer demand taper off but speaking to reporters earlier this month in Saskatoon, Nutrien CEO Chuck Margo said the company’s plans are going to be very similar to last year with more potash being produced this year.
Vice President, Investor and Corporate Relations for Nutrien, Richard Downey spoke to The Watrous Manitou and said operations are rolling right along since the merger took place.
“Late last year there was a little bit of down time just for inventory management (at the mines) but they are all back up and running full out. Demand for potash globally is extremely strong right now so we have got all the mines running pretty hard.”
With demand for potash high and the company moving forward, Downey also addressed jobs within the mines and retail farm centres. “Across the company at the corporate level, there will be some impact on jobs but those are corporate functions where you’ve got two tax departments or two communications departments for example. There will be some reduction at the corporate level but the operations, there will be really no impact.”
As progress continues for Nutrien, Downey said, “It is great to have the merger closed as of the start of the year because it has been almost two years in preparation for it. It has been a busy time putting the two companies together but it has been going well. We are focused on getting the systems and people in place that we need to and are already starting to deliver on our synergies so things are going well.”
Moving ahead in 2018, Downey has been pleased with the strong demand on the potash side of things and added the Chinese nitrogen production has come down, helping the nitrogen markets in terms of pricing.
“It looks like overall demand is going to be good globally for really all three fertilizers.”
Earlier this month the company released its fourth quarter results and some of the notable items outlined by Nutrien included:
• Agrium fourth quarter earnings from continuing operations, adjusted for items not included in guidance, of $0.781 per share (net earnings from continuing operations of $0.19 per share);
• PotashCorp fourth quarter adjusted earnings of $0.06 per share (net loss of $0.09 per share);
• 2017 earnings for Agrium were supported by record Retail EBITDA of $1.2 billion and margins of 10 percent, while stronger potash prices, sales volumes and lower cash costs per tonne benefited both companies;
• Nutrien full-year 2018 guidance of $2.10 to $2.60 earnings per share from continuing operations, excluding incremental D&A related to purchase price allocation of $150 million to $300 million;
• Nutrien 2018 EBITDA3 of $3.2 billion to $3.7 billion;
• Nutrien sold its equity stake in Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) in January 2018 for net proceeds of $685 million;
• Nutrien announced an agreement to purchase Agrichem, a leading Brazilian specialty plant nutrition company with total annual historical net sales of over $55 million; and
• Nutrien achieved over $40 million in run-rate synergies year-to-date 2018.
As for the PotashCorp gross margin bridge, Nutrien said the potash gross margin grew due to higher prices and reduced per-tonne costs while nitrogen gross margin benefited from stronger sales prices, more than offsetting higher per-tonne costs. The phosphate gross margin declined due to lower realized selling prices and a $276 million non-cash impairment charge relating to the company’s White Springs and feed phosphate facilities.
Also in its fourth quarter report, Nutrien stated it is hoping to complete integration by bringing people, systems, assets and operations together while aligning operations and reporting to work as one. The company is also aiming to deliver synergies with a $500 million annual run-rate expected by the end of 2019, achieving synergies below industry benchmark standards.
Moving forward, Nutrien added it will be conducting a complete portfolio review of the combined company, determining key priorities and completing required sales of equity investments. Some of its capital priorities will involve a continued investment in growth opportunities with a focus on retail, enhancing shareholder returns and maintaining a strong balance sheet with investment grade credit ratings.
As the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services looks to grow, Downey said Nutrien will not only play a critical role in feeding the future but will also put a strong focus on community.
“The commitment to the community and the communities in which we operate are critical. Nutrien is the largest employer in the province and I imagine one of the largest contributors and that will continue.”
TWM Top Story - Feb. 12, 2018
Watrous Co-op to amalgamate with Saskatoon
By Daniel Bushman
With a vote of 88 percent in favour, history was made Feb.7 as Co-op members in Watrous voted to amalgamate with the Saskatoon Co-op. The amalgamation meeting was held at the Watrous Civic Centre and needing to attain at least 66 percent in favour in order to move forward, 123 voted yes and 16 no.
Watrous Co-op General Manager Andrew Parrott, Saskatoon Co-op CEO Grant Wicks and Watrous Co-op Vice President Ron Frey spoke to members and guests in attendance about the reasons for amalgamating before opening the floor for questions from members.
A handful of people posed questions ranging from receiving equity, Co-op numbers, differing costs of groceries and petroleum, board representation and what would happen if the local Co-op indeed amalgamated. Parrott, Wicks and Frey fielded the questions and while there were those in attendance who disagreed with the move to amalgamate, looking at financial projections Parrott said, “If we didn’t do this we would have had to seriously look at our operations as a whole and what is making money for us and what we are losing money on and then having to change it. This way we can keep everyone exactly the same and all positions can stay and we are really excited about that. This is definitely the right way to go forward.”
Wicks, who made the trip to Watrous for the Feb. 7 meeting also tried to address some of the concerns raised during the meeting. “These questions that ask about numbers, facts and figures, we can provide those and provide people with answers, whether they are the ones they want or not. We can give them an answer but when their concerns are based on feelings and maybe unease and fear around change and what is going to happen in the future, it is very hard to answer those questions with facts and figures because it is about how people feel. The only way we can really respond to those is through our actions going forward. That is what I would ask people of Watrous and members of Watrous Co-op to do. Watch what we do and how we keep our promises and if you are not satisfied that we are doing what we said we would do, you let us know. It is our intent to live up to the letter and the spirit of all our commitments and we will let the local people judge us on it. It is going to be up to us to show those folks that the right decision was made.”
Following the question period, a motion was made to amalgamate and voting took place. Just a week previous, Hepburn members also voted in favour to amalgamate with Saskatoon. With the overwhelming majority voting to move forward in both communities, Parrott said the results showed that the local board and directors are on the right track moving forward.
“We are very happy with the results and are looking forward to joining with Saskatoon and Hepburn in creating new Co-ops. It is a really exciting day for us.”
All that remains now is official approval from members in Saskatoon to have both Watrous and Hepburn join forces. If approved, Parrott said Watrous will amalgamate Aug. 19, 2018. With lots of work left to do in order to get ready, Parrott said once that August date gets closer, information packages with new member numbers will be sent out.
“The way we are working that right now is most of the Co-op numbers are four digit numbers and we have to get to a six digit number so we are just going to be adding two numbers to the front of them and if it’s a three digit number then three numbers.”
Jointly going to be part of something new, Wicks said Saskatoon Co-op might have a bigger representation than a smaller community because there is more people but stressed the amalgamation to form a new cooperative will be a new company. “It is not us and them anymore it is all of us together.”
The Saskatoon CEO said amalgamating will benefit the Watrous Co-op, adding expertise and resources for potentially new opportunities in the community. “If (any new opportunities) turn out to be good business decisions and it is something that the membership is going to get behind, we can spend $1 million, or two or three or four or five million dollars on a new facility and perhaps a new commodity. That would have been very difficult for Watrous to do simply because they just wouldn’t have the resources or expertise.”
Another question that was a concern for those employed with the Watrous Co-op was retention of staff. “I can tell you that there has been a lot of amalgamations across western Canada as retails are faced with the same realities that Saskatoon and Watrous and Hepburn have been faced with,” said Wicks. “I am not aware of any situations where there have been job losses but I am aware of several where there has been new jobs created.”
Moving forward, once approved by Saskatoon Co-op members, Wicks said the next steps to amalgamate involve blending equity files, policies resolved, and human resource issues that need to be worked through.
“There is a lot of work to be done but it is the first time it’s happened for Saskatoon Co-op and we’ve reached out to some of our sister retails here in the province of Saskatchewan who have been through it lately and gotten some insight through them . . . We are going to be seeking that advice and getting that input from other retails that have been through it and find the best practices and take it forward. It is going to be busy but it is going to be worth it.”
By Daniel Bushman
With a vote of 88 percent in favour, history was made Feb.7 as Co-op members in Watrous voted to amalgamate with the Saskatoon Co-op. The amalgamation meeting was held at the Watrous Civic Centre and needing to attain at least 66 percent in favour in order to move forward, 123 voted yes and 16 no.
Watrous Co-op General Manager Andrew Parrott, Saskatoon Co-op CEO Grant Wicks and Watrous Co-op Vice President Ron Frey spoke to members and guests in attendance about the reasons for amalgamating before opening the floor for questions from members.
A handful of people posed questions ranging from receiving equity, Co-op numbers, differing costs of groceries and petroleum, board representation and what would happen if the local Co-op indeed amalgamated. Parrott, Wicks and Frey fielded the questions and while there were those in attendance who disagreed with the move to amalgamate, looking at financial projections Parrott said, “If we didn’t do this we would have had to seriously look at our operations as a whole and what is making money for us and what we are losing money on and then having to change it. This way we can keep everyone exactly the same and all positions can stay and we are really excited about that. This is definitely the right way to go forward.”
Wicks, who made the trip to Watrous for the Feb. 7 meeting also tried to address some of the concerns raised during the meeting. “These questions that ask about numbers, facts and figures, we can provide those and provide people with answers, whether they are the ones they want or not. We can give them an answer but when their concerns are based on feelings and maybe unease and fear around change and what is going to happen in the future, it is very hard to answer those questions with facts and figures because it is about how people feel. The only way we can really respond to those is through our actions going forward. That is what I would ask people of Watrous and members of Watrous Co-op to do. Watch what we do and how we keep our promises and if you are not satisfied that we are doing what we said we would do, you let us know. It is our intent to live up to the letter and the spirit of all our commitments and we will let the local people judge us on it. It is going to be up to us to show those folks that the right decision was made.”
Following the question period, a motion was made to amalgamate and voting took place. Just a week previous, Hepburn members also voted in favour to amalgamate with Saskatoon. With the overwhelming majority voting to move forward in both communities, Parrott said the results showed that the local board and directors are on the right track moving forward.
“We are very happy with the results and are looking forward to joining with Saskatoon and Hepburn in creating new Co-ops. It is a really exciting day for us.”
All that remains now is official approval from members in Saskatoon to have both Watrous and Hepburn join forces. If approved, Parrott said Watrous will amalgamate Aug. 19, 2018. With lots of work left to do in order to get ready, Parrott said once that August date gets closer, information packages with new member numbers will be sent out.
“The way we are working that right now is most of the Co-op numbers are four digit numbers and we have to get to a six digit number so we are just going to be adding two numbers to the front of them and if it’s a three digit number then three numbers.”
Jointly going to be part of something new, Wicks said Saskatoon Co-op might have a bigger representation than a smaller community because there is more people but stressed the amalgamation to form a new cooperative will be a new company. “It is not us and them anymore it is all of us together.”
The Saskatoon CEO said amalgamating will benefit the Watrous Co-op, adding expertise and resources for potentially new opportunities in the community. “If (any new opportunities) turn out to be good business decisions and it is something that the membership is going to get behind, we can spend $1 million, or two or three or four or five million dollars on a new facility and perhaps a new commodity. That would have been very difficult for Watrous to do simply because they just wouldn’t have the resources or expertise.”
Another question that was a concern for those employed with the Watrous Co-op was retention of staff. “I can tell you that there has been a lot of amalgamations across western Canada as retails are faced with the same realities that Saskatoon and Watrous and Hepburn have been faced with,” said Wicks. “I am not aware of any situations where there have been job losses but I am aware of several where there has been new jobs created.”
Moving forward, once approved by Saskatoon Co-op members, Wicks said the next steps to amalgamate involve blending equity files, policies resolved, and human resource issues that need to be worked through.
“There is a lot of work to be done but it is the first time it’s happened for Saskatoon Co-op and we’ve reached out to some of our sister retails here in the province of Saskatchewan who have been through it lately and gotten some insight through them . . . We are going to be seeking that advice and getting that input from other retails that have been through it and find the best practices and take it forward. It is going to be busy but it is going to be worth it.”
TWM Top Story - Feb. 5, 2018
Scott Moe wins Sask. Party leadership race
Article courtesy Jordan Twiss/Shellbrook Chronicle
It took five months of campaigning, and five ballots.
But after all was said and done, Rosthern-Shellbrook MLA and former environment minister, Scott Moe, shocked the province by being selected as the leader of the Saskatchewan Party, and Saskatchewan’s new premier.
Nowhere was the surprise more palpable than at Saturday’s Sask. Party Leadership Convention, held at Saskatoon’s Praireland Park, where more than 2,000 party members gathered to celebrate, and greet the man or woman who would be selected to lead the Sask. Party into the post-Brad Wall era.
Moe’s victory, which saw him garner 8,075 votes (or 53.9 per cent of the vote), defied the predictions of pollsters, which, in the week leading into the convention, had Moe pegged as a distant third place finisher, behind fellow leadership candidates Ken Cheveldayoff, and Alanna Koch.
It was also a come-from-behind victory, as Moe trailed Koch by fewer than 50 votes after the results of the first ballot were read, with Cheveldayoff a close but unexpected third, Gordon Wyant in fourth place, and Tina Beaudry-Mellor a distant fifth.
However, once Beaudry-Mellor and Wyant were removed from the running after the second and third ballots, respectively, Moe surged into the lead. And Cheveldayoff’s elimination from leadership contention after the fourth ballot results were revealed, gave Moe the push he needed to take the place of the outgoing Premier Wall, who officially retired from politics on Jan. 31.
In the end, Moe topped Koch, who was deputy minister to Premier Wall before taking a leave of absence to run for the Sask. Party leadership, by just 1,161 votes in the fifth and deciding ballot.
But while the closeness of the race sparked questions about division within the party, Moe was quick to silence any doubt, and said that he, his fellow candidates, and the party, would be united going forward.
“We are stronger and more unified than ever before,” he said in his victory speech.
“I am truly humbled to be a part of this team, and by the trust that you have placed in me to lead this party, and this province, into the future.”
Moe launched his bid for the Sask. Party leadership Sept. 1, 2017, with the support of 21 of his fellow MLAs, and a promise to “stand with Saskatchewan” – a promise he reiterated many times throughout the campaign, and at the leadership convention.
His platform included promises to balance the budget by 2019, restore PST exemptions on crop, health, and life insurance, and establish a ministry of international trade and exports, which will be responsible for growing Saskatchewan’s presence in markets around the world.
However, in a media scrum with reporters following his victory, Moe said his first priority upon returning to Regina would be to get up to speed on budget talks, and look to implement his promise on PST exemptions, and a separate promise to spend $30 million to put 400 educational assistants in classrooms across the province.
Moe added that he’d also be looking at the policy platforms of his fellow candidates, to see if any can be implemented by his government going.
Most notable, however, was Moe’s vow to continue leading the province’s stand against the federal carbon tax being imposed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government – even if it means taking the feds to court.
“I will fight for this province. I will fight for our economy to ensure that we do not have a carbon tax, “ he said.
“Justin Trudeau, if you’re wondering how far I will go, just watch me.”
Wall fires parting shots
Many of Moe’s statements echoed ones made by Premier Wall in his final address to the party at Saturday’s convention.
Defiant in his exit as he was in his final years as leader of the Sask. Party, Wall began by imploring the party to unite in the aftermath of the leadership race, and face the challenges that lie ahead. Namely, the 2020 general election.
“It is important that the state of the party be strong tonight because of what lies ahead, because of what we will need to do in the future, and because of what we will need to do on behalf of the province in 2020,” he said.
From there, Wall used his 30-minute address to fire parting shots at the opposition: the opposition NDP in Saskatchewan, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley’s NDP government, and the federal government.
Taking aim at the feds first, Wall said the Sask. Party would continue its opposition to the federal carbon tax, and that it wouldn’t seek approval from Ottawa on its Made-in-Saskatchewan strategy to combat climate change, or any other policies.
“We don’t work for the feds. This party works for the people of Saskatchewan,” he said.
Turning to the Saskatchewan NDP next, Wall denounced the party’s cynicism about the province’s future prospects, and its discomfort with the province’s reliance on the oil and gas, and mining sectors.
He added that, going forward, the Sask. Party must continue to be the party of hope and optimism.
“If we come out of this convention today… if we come out humble and hard-working and disciplined, offering a vision and a program worthy of this great province, if we come out of here united behind a leader, well, then hope wins,” he said.
“Because this is the new Saskatchewan, and hope wins here.”
* Editor’s note: Jordan Twiss covered the leadership convention on behalf of the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association, providing members with the article and accompanying photos.
Article courtesy Jordan Twiss/Shellbrook Chronicle
It took five months of campaigning, and five ballots.
But after all was said and done, Rosthern-Shellbrook MLA and former environment minister, Scott Moe, shocked the province by being selected as the leader of the Saskatchewan Party, and Saskatchewan’s new premier.
Nowhere was the surprise more palpable than at Saturday’s Sask. Party Leadership Convention, held at Saskatoon’s Praireland Park, where more than 2,000 party members gathered to celebrate, and greet the man or woman who would be selected to lead the Sask. Party into the post-Brad Wall era.
Moe’s victory, which saw him garner 8,075 votes (or 53.9 per cent of the vote), defied the predictions of pollsters, which, in the week leading into the convention, had Moe pegged as a distant third place finisher, behind fellow leadership candidates Ken Cheveldayoff, and Alanna Koch.
It was also a come-from-behind victory, as Moe trailed Koch by fewer than 50 votes after the results of the first ballot were read, with Cheveldayoff a close but unexpected third, Gordon Wyant in fourth place, and Tina Beaudry-Mellor a distant fifth.
However, once Beaudry-Mellor and Wyant were removed from the running after the second and third ballots, respectively, Moe surged into the lead. And Cheveldayoff’s elimination from leadership contention after the fourth ballot results were revealed, gave Moe the push he needed to take the place of the outgoing Premier Wall, who officially retired from politics on Jan. 31.
In the end, Moe topped Koch, who was deputy minister to Premier Wall before taking a leave of absence to run for the Sask. Party leadership, by just 1,161 votes in the fifth and deciding ballot.
But while the closeness of the race sparked questions about division within the party, Moe was quick to silence any doubt, and said that he, his fellow candidates, and the party, would be united going forward.
“We are stronger and more unified than ever before,” he said in his victory speech.
“I am truly humbled to be a part of this team, and by the trust that you have placed in me to lead this party, and this province, into the future.”
Moe launched his bid for the Sask. Party leadership Sept. 1, 2017, with the support of 21 of his fellow MLAs, and a promise to “stand with Saskatchewan” – a promise he reiterated many times throughout the campaign, and at the leadership convention.
His platform included promises to balance the budget by 2019, restore PST exemptions on crop, health, and life insurance, and establish a ministry of international trade and exports, which will be responsible for growing Saskatchewan’s presence in markets around the world.
However, in a media scrum with reporters following his victory, Moe said his first priority upon returning to Regina would be to get up to speed on budget talks, and look to implement his promise on PST exemptions, and a separate promise to spend $30 million to put 400 educational assistants in classrooms across the province.
Moe added that he’d also be looking at the policy platforms of his fellow candidates, to see if any can be implemented by his government going.
Most notable, however, was Moe’s vow to continue leading the province’s stand against the federal carbon tax being imposed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government – even if it means taking the feds to court.
“I will fight for this province. I will fight for our economy to ensure that we do not have a carbon tax, “ he said.
“Justin Trudeau, if you’re wondering how far I will go, just watch me.”
Wall fires parting shots
Many of Moe’s statements echoed ones made by Premier Wall in his final address to the party at Saturday’s convention.
Defiant in his exit as he was in his final years as leader of the Sask. Party, Wall began by imploring the party to unite in the aftermath of the leadership race, and face the challenges that lie ahead. Namely, the 2020 general election.
“It is important that the state of the party be strong tonight because of what lies ahead, because of what we will need to do in the future, and because of what we will need to do on behalf of the province in 2020,” he said.
From there, Wall used his 30-minute address to fire parting shots at the opposition: the opposition NDP in Saskatchewan, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley’s NDP government, and the federal government.
Taking aim at the feds first, Wall said the Sask. Party would continue its opposition to the federal carbon tax, and that it wouldn’t seek approval from Ottawa on its Made-in-Saskatchewan strategy to combat climate change, or any other policies.
“We don’t work for the feds. This party works for the people of Saskatchewan,” he said.
Turning to the Saskatchewan NDP next, Wall denounced the party’s cynicism about the province’s future prospects, and its discomfort with the province’s reliance on the oil and gas, and mining sectors.
He added that, going forward, the Sask. Party must continue to be the party of hope and optimism.
“If we come out of this convention today… if we come out humble and hard-working and disciplined, offering a vision and a program worthy of this great province, if we come out of here united behind a leader, well, then hope wins,” he said.
“Because this is the new Saskatchewan, and hope wins here.”
* Editor’s note: Jordan Twiss covered the leadership convention on behalf of the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association, providing members with the article and accompanying photos.
TWM Top Story - Jan. 29, 2018
Hughes honoured for his dedication to the game
By Daniel Bushman
With local rinks essentially considered a second home for Lockwood’s Hilton Hughes, the well-known and now retired official has not only spent considerable time on the ice with whistle in hand but has also sported numerous other hats off the ice as well. Assuming the role of Long Lake Hockey League Referee in Chief in 1978 and remaining in that position to this day, Hughes was recently recognized by the league for his involvement over the years.
The announcement came as a surprise to no one (except for Hilton) and for the 90 year old, Dec. 29 was just like any other winter night during the regular season. With a frigid evening outside, Hughes bundled up and made the trek from his farm located on the outskirts of Lockwood and headed to the familiar confines of a nearby hockey arena. Something he has done for decades, Hughes entered the rink in Drake and began his usual routine of getting ready to watch the puck drop. However on this December evening, it would be a little different.
“I didn’t know anything about it all,” said a surprised Hughes about being honoured. “A few of my relations came including some from Alberta. I didn’t know that and if I would have seen them I would have wondered what was going on.”
Posted ahead of time on the LLHL website and through word of mouth, a date was set by the league to recognize Hughes. With the LLHL comprised of teams from Davidson, Drake, Lanigan, LeRoy, Watrous and Wynyard, it would be the Canucks and Monarchs that were in attendance for Hughes’ recognition. League president Ryan Collins and secretary and statistician Vern Rudneski made the drive out from Watrous and were also on hand to present Hughes with a winter jacket embroidered with the words Long Lake Hockey League. A handful of officials mentored through the years by Hughes were also on hand for the occasion.
Collins, who is not only the league president but officiates himself said it was an honour to be a part of the ceremony, adding Hilton is someone that cannot be replaced. “Wherever I went as an official or player, I think he was at every game and I think he has probably been to every rink in Saskatchewan.”
Over the decades, Hughes helped to organize when, where and which officials and linesmen would be headed to each arena in the region and he has been a tremendous Referee in Chief for the league since its inception in 1978. It was also during that time that Hughes also officiated many senior and some minor hockey league contests. Collins said through those years, Hughes was able to provide other officials with insight and experience.
“You could always ask Hilton a question about officiating and everyone looked up to him. He earned a lot of respect around the league and he is just a genuine human being and a professional. Everyone comes and goes on the LLHL executive but Hilton has been there since the league’s inception. We are very grateful for his service and dedication.”
LLHL secretary and statistician Vern Rudneski said Hughes was respected by the players both on and off the ice as he would chat and kid with them during games. It was also appreciated by teams to not have to find officials for games as Hilton took care of that. “He was a mentor to many young officials as he visited with them between periods offering encouragement and helpful tips. He drove many miles following hockey games and continues to follow his great-grandkids in their hockey. The LLHL felt it was time to acknowledge the many years of dedication.”
Receiving the accolades, Hughes said it was a tremendous honour. “It meant a lot and what I’ve done has been rewarding.”
While hockey has always been in his blood, officiating was not far behind. With a vast knowledge of the game, Hughes enjoyed playing the sport but swapped his stick for a whistle and traded in his sweater for the striped variety back in 1952, when he was 25 years old.
“I went to Cupar one night with Nokomis in case they were short,” said Hughes. “Funny part was, I was standing and talking to my uncle and somebody from Cupar asked me if I would represent Nokomis on the ice.”
Looking to lend a hand, Hughes grabbed a whistle and that is where it all started. Born in Cupar and moving to Lockwood in 1942, Hughes would call hundreds of games throughout his career, making good friendships and earning respect from players, coaches and fans along the way.
“It was the camaraderie that I enjoyed. If you respected the players then they would respect you. You could be the best official in the world but if you were against them and they saw that . . . you had to earn their respect and to get it you had to earn it and that is what I tried to do.”
While Hughes mainly focused on officiating senior hockey, he also strapped on the skates to help with minor hockey too. However, with cows to milk on the farm near Lockwood, Hughes had to do a bit of juggling to make things work.
“I would milk the cows in the morning, then go officiate at one of the rinks. I remember doing a tournament in Simpson and I milked the cows in the morning then went and did a game and came back to do chores before driving back to Simpson for the night game. That was just part of everyday life back then.”
Another memory that Hughes recalled was being able to do a Pee Wee tournament in Watrous. Citing the experience as an honour to be chosen for, Hughes remembered hundreds of people packing the rink in Watrous. Three of the teams represented were from Watrous, Foam Lake and Eston and one of the players on Foam Lake’s team was future NHL’er Bernie Federko. Another player Hughes thought was very talented was Eston’s Blythe Stevenson who would go on to play with the Swift Current Broncos of the WCHL.
Hughes worked two games during that tournament and then had to head back to milk his cows. Wanting to return to watch the later game, Hilton recalled he was scheduled for two other games the next day.
“I was impressed with the kids and I was wanting to go back to watch that last game. The enthusiasm from the kids was something that struck me. They gave it a lot of effort.”
Throughout his time as an official, Hughes enjoyed being on the ice, calling upwards of 70 games a season. During that time, he also managed to avoid getting seriously injured, aside from one major blow.
Before helmets were made mandatory, Hughes was officiating a senior game in Nokomis during a stormy night in 1973. After dropping the puck, Hughes was backing up from the circle when a shot came careening towards him. Clipping him in the head, Hilton went down with a fractured skull and spent the next six weeks in a hospital.
“We had helmets the next year,” Hughes quipped.
Back on the ice after that season, Hilton continued to do what he loved and a few years after that, the Long Lake Hockey League was formed.
“I was getting calls from people about what was being called or not being called at games and so we just formed an association,” said Hughes.
Taking on the position of Referee in Chief for the LLHL in 1978, Hilton has held that role ever since. As part of his work on and off the ice, in June 1988, he was honoured as a life member of the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association referee division, something not many people in the province are recognized for. Hughes also received a special award of merit in 1991 and was entered into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame for the Lockwood & National Midget Organizing Committee.
Wes Smith, past Referee’s Division Executive Member and SODM (Saskatchewan Officiating Development Model) Supervisor with the Saskatchewan Hockey Association spent many officiating years with Hilton on the executive of the Referees Division. Both Zone coordinators in the Division for many years, Smith said the pair spent lots of weekends together planning for upcoming seasons in addition to watching officials in their respective areas. “Before the days of instant communication that we enjoy today, we relied on Hilton to find out the early outcome of many provincial playoff games. He seemed to attend one every night somewhere within his driving range. Some of the games he was actually on the ice so he could give a firsthand account of the game he had seen.”
Smith also had the honour of presenting Hilton with his Lifetime Award with the Referees Division and when he found out the LLHL also acknowledged Hughes for his dedication to the game, he was thrilled.
“He was great to work with as he has such a sense of humour that he could easily diffuse a volatile situation both on and off the ice. I am so glad the Long Lake Hockey League honoured Hilton for his service. I played in that league before I went over to the ‘dark side.’ I knew Hilton then and my parents were friends with the Hughes’ as well as I grew up south on Hwy. 20 near Nokomis. I will always respect him for his many contributions to hockey.”
While Hughes has now been retired from officiating for the past eight years, he keeps close watch from the stands, going to as many senior hockey games as he can. He also puts on the miles during the winter travelling to watch his great-grandkids suit up as well.
“It has been pretty great to watch them and then being honoured at the game in December was an honour for me too. I didn’t know anything about it and usually I would have lots to say but they kept it a secret. It was a pretty special moment.”
By Daniel Bushman
With local rinks essentially considered a second home for Lockwood’s Hilton Hughes, the well-known and now retired official has not only spent considerable time on the ice with whistle in hand but has also sported numerous other hats off the ice as well. Assuming the role of Long Lake Hockey League Referee in Chief in 1978 and remaining in that position to this day, Hughes was recently recognized by the league for his involvement over the years.
The announcement came as a surprise to no one (except for Hilton) and for the 90 year old, Dec. 29 was just like any other winter night during the regular season. With a frigid evening outside, Hughes bundled up and made the trek from his farm located on the outskirts of Lockwood and headed to the familiar confines of a nearby hockey arena. Something he has done for decades, Hughes entered the rink in Drake and began his usual routine of getting ready to watch the puck drop. However on this December evening, it would be a little different.
“I didn’t know anything about it all,” said a surprised Hughes about being honoured. “A few of my relations came including some from Alberta. I didn’t know that and if I would have seen them I would have wondered what was going on.”
Posted ahead of time on the LLHL website and through word of mouth, a date was set by the league to recognize Hughes. With the LLHL comprised of teams from Davidson, Drake, Lanigan, LeRoy, Watrous and Wynyard, it would be the Canucks and Monarchs that were in attendance for Hughes’ recognition. League president Ryan Collins and secretary and statistician Vern Rudneski made the drive out from Watrous and were also on hand to present Hughes with a winter jacket embroidered with the words Long Lake Hockey League. A handful of officials mentored through the years by Hughes were also on hand for the occasion.
Collins, who is not only the league president but officiates himself said it was an honour to be a part of the ceremony, adding Hilton is someone that cannot be replaced. “Wherever I went as an official or player, I think he was at every game and I think he has probably been to every rink in Saskatchewan.”
Over the decades, Hughes helped to organize when, where and which officials and linesmen would be headed to each arena in the region and he has been a tremendous Referee in Chief for the league since its inception in 1978. It was also during that time that Hughes also officiated many senior and some minor hockey league contests. Collins said through those years, Hughes was able to provide other officials with insight and experience.
“You could always ask Hilton a question about officiating and everyone looked up to him. He earned a lot of respect around the league and he is just a genuine human being and a professional. Everyone comes and goes on the LLHL executive but Hilton has been there since the league’s inception. We are very grateful for his service and dedication.”
LLHL secretary and statistician Vern Rudneski said Hughes was respected by the players both on and off the ice as he would chat and kid with them during games. It was also appreciated by teams to not have to find officials for games as Hilton took care of that. “He was a mentor to many young officials as he visited with them between periods offering encouragement and helpful tips. He drove many miles following hockey games and continues to follow his great-grandkids in their hockey. The LLHL felt it was time to acknowledge the many years of dedication.”
Receiving the accolades, Hughes said it was a tremendous honour. “It meant a lot and what I’ve done has been rewarding.”
While hockey has always been in his blood, officiating was not far behind. With a vast knowledge of the game, Hughes enjoyed playing the sport but swapped his stick for a whistle and traded in his sweater for the striped variety back in 1952, when he was 25 years old.
“I went to Cupar one night with Nokomis in case they were short,” said Hughes. “Funny part was, I was standing and talking to my uncle and somebody from Cupar asked me if I would represent Nokomis on the ice.”
Looking to lend a hand, Hughes grabbed a whistle and that is where it all started. Born in Cupar and moving to Lockwood in 1942, Hughes would call hundreds of games throughout his career, making good friendships and earning respect from players, coaches and fans along the way.
“It was the camaraderie that I enjoyed. If you respected the players then they would respect you. You could be the best official in the world but if you were against them and they saw that . . . you had to earn their respect and to get it you had to earn it and that is what I tried to do.”
While Hughes mainly focused on officiating senior hockey, he also strapped on the skates to help with minor hockey too. However, with cows to milk on the farm near Lockwood, Hughes had to do a bit of juggling to make things work.
“I would milk the cows in the morning, then go officiate at one of the rinks. I remember doing a tournament in Simpson and I milked the cows in the morning then went and did a game and came back to do chores before driving back to Simpson for the night game. That was just part of everyday life back then.”
Another memory that Hughes recalled was being able to do a Pee Wee tournament in Watrous. Citing the experience as an honour to be chosen for, Hughes remembered hundreds of people packing the rink in Watrous. Three of the teams represented were from Watrous, Foam Lake and Eston and one of the players on Foam Lake’s team was future NHL’er Bernie Federko. Another player Hughes thought was very talented was Eston’s Blythe Stevenson who would go on to play with the Swift Current Broncos of the WCHL.
Hughes worked two games during that tournament and then had to head back to milk his cows. Wanting to return to watch the later game, Hilton recalled he was scheduled for two other games the next day.
“I was impressed with the kids and I was wanting to go back to watch that last game. The enthusiasm from the kids was something that struck me. They gave it a lot of effort.”
Throughout his time as an official, Hughes enjoyed being on the ice, calling upwards of 70 games a season. During that time, he also managed to avoid getting seriously injured, aside from one major blow.
Before helmets were made mandatory, Hughes was officiating a senior game in Nokomis during a stormy night in 1973. After dropping the puck, Hughes was backing up from the circle when a shot came careening towards him. Clipping him in the head, Hilton went down with a fractured skull and spent the next six weeks in a hospital.
“We had helmets the next year,” Hughes quipped.
Back on the ice after that season, Hilton continued to do what he loved and a few years after that, the Long Lake Hockey League was formed.
“I was getting calls from people about what was being called or not being called at games and so we just formed an association,” said Hughes.
Taking on the position of Referee in Chief for the LLHL in 1978, Hilton has held that role ever since. As part of his work on and off the ice, in June 1988, he was honoured as a life member of the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association referee division, something not many people in the province are recognized for. Hughes also received a special award of merit in 1991 and was entered into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame for the Lockwood & National Midget Organizing Committee.
Wes Smith, past Referee’s Division Executive Member and SODM (Saskatchewan Officiating Development Model) Supervisor with the Saskatchewan Hockey Association spent many officiating years with Hilton on the executive of the Referees Division. Both Zone coordinators in the Division for many years, Smith said the pair spent lots of weekends together planning for upcoming seasons in addition to watching officials in their respective areas. “Before the days of instant communication that we enjoy today, we relied on Hilton to find out the early outcome of many provincial playoff games. He seemed to attend one every night somewhere within his driving range. Some of the games he was actually on the ice so he could give a firsthand account of the game he had seen.”
Smith also had the honour of presenting Hilton with his Lifetime Award with the Referees Division and when he found out the LLHL also acknowledged Hughes for his dedication to the game, he was thrilled.
“He was great to work with as he has such a sense of humour that he could easily diffuse a volatile situation both on and off the ice. I am so glad the Long Lake Hockey League honoured Hilton for his service. I played in that league before I went over to the ‘dark side.’ I knew Hilton then and my parents were friends with the Hughes’ as well as I grew up south on Hwy. 20 near Nokomis. I will always respect him for his many contributions to hockey.”
While Hughes has now been retired from officiating for the past eight years, he keeps close watch from the stands, going to as many senior hockey games as he can. He also puts on the miles during the winter travelling to watch his great-grandkids suit up as well.
“It has been pretty great to watch them and then being honoured at the game in December was an honour for me too. I didn’t know anything about it and usually I would have lots to say but they kept it a secret. It was a pretty special moment.”
TWM Top Story - Jan 22, 2018
Local writer's song makes Academy shortlist
Daniel Bushman
It has been quite the journey for song writer and singer Bruce Rawling who not only had one of his songs included in a movie but it also made the Academy Awards short list for original song. Rawling, who lives at Manitou Beach with his wife Bonnie, was recently recognized for his song, Walk On Faith, which is part of the movie Year By The Sea.
“I was pretty shocked and excited,” said Bruce. “This whole journey has just been an amazing ride! I feel very honoured to have even made it this far!”
Last month, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced 70 songs for nominations to be the best original song, with the winner taking home an Oscar. Rawling’s song Walk On Faith is part of that list and is up against contributions from people like Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey, Nick Jonas and Dierks Bently. Over the past few weeks, voting members of the Academy’s music branch received the list of the eligible choices along with a compilation of video clips representing the songs’ placement in their respective films. Members then vote for up to five picks in order of preference. Once the votes are tallied, the top five songs selected from the music branch then go out as nominees for general voting, with a maximum of two songs from any one film allowed to appear on the final ballot. Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced Jan. 23.
“This is most definitely a highlight. It’s not every day that this has happened, let me assure you. It always feels good when something you create is appreciated, and when it touches people’s hearts. Even when it’s on a small scale.”
Writing for a number of years, Rawling began his craft while in high school where he wrote songs and delivered newspapers with his very close friend Dale Johnson. As Rawling started playing in bands and eventually toured to many different types of venues, Johnson’s path took him to Hollywood where he is now a movie producer.
“He has been sending me scripts to write songs for as I feel inspired. I’ve written several songs for scripts that he has sent, some have made it as far as the director’s desk and others didn’t fit with the direction of the films. This is the first American film that I’ve had a song included in a major film.”
Born in Outlook, Rawling grew up in Meadow Lake and now calls Manitou Beach home. Along with Bonnie, the pair have recently come alongside Arnold and Millie Strueby at Danceland to help support where they can. When not at the beach, Bruce hits the open road touring and singing throughout western Canada. There is also the possibility the producers of Year By The Sea may have him tour through the United States to promote the movie soundtrack.
While Rawling said his journey through life has brought with it ups and downs, he has continued to lean on his faith. “I’ve known good times, but have also had some really difficult times as well. For me it has been my faith in Jesus that has helped me so many times to carry on. The song ‘Walk On Faith’ is an expression of that for me.
“Every step of this process has been surprising and exciting. I went in with no expectations, and so each step along this journey has just felt like a bonus! It’s been really good to work with people who have a passion for telling a story, and who have integrity, vision, and incredible perseverance.”
Released in 2016, Year By The Sea stars Karen Allen, Yannick Bisson, S Epatha Merkerson, Michael Cristofer and Celia Imrie and is directed by Alexander Janko. The feature film is based on Joan Anderson’s New York Times best-selling memoir, Year By The Sea and is about a woman hoping to reclaim who she was before marriage and children. An empty nester retreats to Cape Cod where she embarks upon a quest to set herself free.
Daniel Bushman
It has been quite the journey for song writer and singer Bruce Rawling who not only had one of his songs included in a movie but it also made the Academy Awards short list for original song. Rawling, who lives at Manitou Beach with his wife Bonnie, was recently recognized for his song, Walk On Faith, which is part of the movie Year By The Sea.
“I was pretty shocked and excited,” said Bruce. “This whole journey has just been an amazing ride! I feel very honoured to have even made it this far!”
Last month, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced 70 songs for nominations to be the best original song, with the winner taking home an Oscar. Rawling’s song Walk On Faith is part of that list and is up against contributions from people like Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey, Nick Jonas and Dierks Bently. Over the past few weeks, voting members of the Academy’s music branch received the list of the eligible choices along with a compilation of video clips representing the songs’ placement in their respective films. Members then vote for up to five picks in order of preference. Once the votes are tallied, the top five songs selected from the music branch then go out as nominees for general voting, with a maximum of two songs from any one film allowed to appear on the final ballot. Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced Jan. 23.
“This is most definitely a highlight. It’s not every day that this has happened, let me assure you. It always feels good when something you create is appreciated, and when it touches people’s hearts. Even when it’s on a small scale.”
Writing for a number of years, Rawling began his craft while in high school where he wrote songs and delivered newspapers with his very close friend Dale Johnson. As Rawling started playing in bands and eventually toured to many different types of venues, Johnson’s path took him to Hollywood where he is now a movie producer.
“He has been sending me scripts to write songs for as I feel inspired. I’ve written several songs for scripts that he has sent, some have made it as far as the director’s desk and others didn’t fit with the direction of the films. This is the first American film that I’ve had a song included in a major film.”
Born in Outlook, Rawling grew up in Meadow Lake and now calls Manitou Beach home. Along with Bonnie, the pair have recently come alongside Arnold and Millie Strueby at Danceland to help support where they can. When not at the beach, Bruce hits the open road touring and singing throughout western Canada. There is also the possibility the producers of Year By The Sea may have him tour through the United States to promote the movie soundtrack.
While Rawling said his journey through life has brought with it ups and downs, he has continued to lean on his faith. “I’ve known good times, but have also had some really difficult times as well. For me it has been my faith in Jesus that has helped me so many times to carry on. The song ‘Walk On Faith’ is an expression of that for me.
“Every step of this process has been surprising and exciting. I went in with no expectations, and so each step along this journey has just felt like a bonus! It’s been really good to work with people who have a passion for telling a story, and who have integrity, vision, and incredible perseverance.”
Released in 2016, Year By The Sea stars Karen Allen, Yannick Bisson, S Epatha Merkerson, Michael Cristofer and Celia Imrie and is directed by Alexander Janko. The feature film is based on Joan Anderson’s New York Times best-selling memoir, Year By The Sea and is about a woman hoping to reclaim who she was before marriage and children. An empty nester retreats to Cape Cod where she embarks upon a quest to set herself free.
TWM Top Story - Jan. 15, 2018
Watrous Co-op seeking to amalgamate
By Daniel Bushman
In a move that would see substantial savings, create a large partnership and provide members with positive benefits, the Watrous Co-op is planning to amalgamate with the Saskatoon Co-op and Hepburn Co-op. Contingent on approval from its members, general manager of the Watrous Co-op Andrew Parrott said in early 2017, boards from Watrous, Hepburn and Saskatoon had a vision of strengthening the co-ops by partnering to provide benefits to all members. The boards also reviewed a feasibility study planning the proposed partnership through amalgamation and found the benefits to the members were very positive.
“Today’s retail landscape continues to become more complex, and our competitors are continuing to expand and consolidate,” Parrott said. “Adding value for current and future members was at the forefront of this decision, but this also positions our co-ops to remain competitive, relevant and successful in an ever-changing market. By partnering together with neighbouring co-ops that share values, our co-ops will become better together.”
Financially, Parrott said the partnership would see the Watrous Co-op sites realize a savings of $300,000 per year because of increased efficiencies. “The feasibility study shows that the amalgamated co-op will be in a strong financial position to continue our emphasis on our Equity and Cash Back Programs to our members. Equity programs from both retails are in a strong position and would be expected to continue following amalgamation.”
If the amalgamation were to move forward, Parrott said there would be no job losses and added the feasibility study conducted by the co-ops showed the opportunity for new job creation. “All employees of the Watrous Co-op will have the opportunity to be employed with the new co-operative association. This may involve different responsibilities for our team members.”
In addition, the general manager said, “All members will benefit as a result of this partnership through amalgamation. By partnering, we will realize benefits from increased sales, increased margins and greater net savings. We will be able to offer all members a wider range of products and services, some of which are not currently available at the Watrous Co-op today. Amalgamation will also provide some communities with products and services that might not have been previously available in their communities. The biggest benefit to members from these co-ops by far would be the ability to use one co-op number in over eight communities and at over 30 different locations.”
While still in the early stages, Parrott said they will try to retain similar co-op numbers for the members and equity accumulated in either co-operative association will not be lost. “Individual equity will automatically be carried forward. If you are a member who holds membership at two or more of these co-ops, any and all equity would be combined.”
With the potential amalgamation on the horizon, a meeting is being held during the evening Feb. 7 at the civic centre in Watrous where members can register, listen to an information session and then cast their vote. Parrott said if everything passes, the goal is to begin the amalgamation process immediately after the vote has taken place. The effective date of the amalgamation could be as early as summer 2018. The new co-op’s board would be comprised of nine elected officials with elections held annually thereafter according to the bylaws.
“This is an exciting time for our co-op and for the community and this will set us up to be successful in the future. Co-ops were built on the concept of working together to help serve their communities better. That founding principle remains at the heart of this partnership, even as the world around us continues to change. If people have questions about any of the information or the amalgamation, I encourage them to get in touch with me.”
The local co-operative dates back to 1934 when a group of local farmers in Renown held the first organizational meeting Nov. 17, 1934. That resulted in Renown Co-operative being incorporated Mar. 23, 1935. According to the co-op’s website, operating out of a caboose for the first few years, the group had a part-time employee and only wood and coal was handled. The first agent was R. Norris, who at the time, was also the Pool Elevator Agent. Twine was added for sale and in 1937, gasoline and oil were also available to buy from the co-op.
Then in the early 1940s, the co-op moved into a building, formerly used by Security Lumber Company and owned by J.O. Davis. The co-op rented the building and also hired Davis to be its manager. At that time, wrenches, farm implement parts and other items were added as inventory. Not long after that, the co-op purchased stock of groceries, hardware and dry goods from the Libby Bros. General Store. It was also at that time in 1943 when the board of directors grew to nine.
As WWII ended, farm fuel sales increased and all fuel sales were delivered in 45 gallon drums. In 1951, metred fuel began and M. Laird had a contract to deliver the co-op’s fuel. The fuel was contracted out until the bulk fuel business moved to Watrous, which was when the local co-op elected to buy their own delivery truck.
Coal was used as a heating material and until the late 1950s, it was handled primarily at the Amazon Branch of the Renown Co-op. The Amazon Branch eventually closed in 1959.
With an eye on the future, discussion took place with plans to either include operating a bulk station only, building a store in Renown and expanding; or centralizing and support the organization of a co-op centre in Watrous.
As farms grew, some of the rural populations declining and Watrous becoming larger, a special meeting was held January 1958 to discuss relocating the co-op to Watrous. A feasibility survey took place and presented to the board in July 1961 and a decision was made to relocate to Watrous. Even though the co-op was still operating as the Renown Co-op Association, just over one year later on Nov. 1, 1962, the grand opening of the bulk station and store took place. The Renown store officially closed in September 1965 and the name changed to the Watrous Co-op Association at the next annual general meeting.
From there, the Watrous Co-op continued to grow and gained new members while primarily focusing on petroleum, oil, hardware and feed. Then in 1998, the Watrous Co-op elected to expand and over the next decade, grew in all areas. Part of that growth included the construction of a food store, the gas bar and C-store and the farm and hardware centre in Watrous.
By Daniel Bushman
In a move that would see substantial savings, create a large partnership and provide members with positive benefits, the Watrous Co-op is planning to amalgamate with the Saskatoon Co-op and Hepburn Co-op. Contingent on approval from its members, general manager of the Watrous Co-op Andrew Parrott said in early 2017, boards from Watrous, Hepburn and Saskatoon had a vision of strengthening the co-ops by partnering to provide benefits to all members. The boards also reviewed a feasibility study planning the proposed partnership through amalgamation and found the benefits to the members were very positive.
“Today’s retail landscape continues to become more complex, and our competitors are continuing to expand and consolidate,” Parrott said. “Adding value for current and future members was at the forefront of this decision, but this also positions our co-ops to remain competitive, relevant and successful in an ever-changing market. By partnering together with neighbouring co-ops that share values, our co-ops will become better together.”
Financially, Parrott said the partnership would see the Watrous Co-op sites realize a savings of $300,000 per year because of increased efficiencies. “The feasibility study shows that the amalgamated co-op will be in a strong financial position to continue our emphasis on our Equity and Cash Back Programs to our members. Equity programs from both retails are in a strong position and would be expected to continue following amalgamation.”
If the amalgamation were to move forward, Parrott said there would be no job losses and added the feasibility study conducted by the co-ops showed the opportunity for new job creation. “All employees of the Watrous Co-op will have the opportunity to be employed with the new co-operative association. This may involve different responsibilities for our team members.”
In addition, the general manager said, “All members will benefit as a result of this partnership through amalgamation. By partnering, we will realize benefits from increased sales, increased margins and greater net savings. We will be able to offer all members a wider range of products and services, some of which are not currently available at the Watrous Co-op today. Amalgamation will also provide some communities with products and services that might not have been previously available in their communities. The biggest benefit to members from these co-ops by far would be the ability to use one co-op number in over eight communities and at over 30 different locations.”
While still in the early stages, Parrott said they will try to retain similar co-op numbers for the members and equity accumulated in either co-operative association will not be lost. “Individual equity will automatically be carried forward. If you are a member who holds membership at two or more of these co-ops, any and all equity would be combined.”
With the potential amalgamation on the horizon, a meeting is being held during the evening Feb. 7 at the civic centre in Watrous where members can register, listen to an information session and then cast their vote. Parrott said if everything passes, the goal is to begin the amalgamation process immediately after the vote has taken place. The effective date of the amalgamation could be as early as summer 2018. The new co-op’s board would be comprised of nine elected officials with elections held annually thereafter according to the bylaws.
“This is an exciting time for our co-op and for the community and this will set us up to be successful in the future. Co-ops were built on the concept of working together to help serve their communities better. That founding principle remains at the heart of this partnership, even as the world around us continues to change. If people have questions about any of the information or the amalgamation, I encourage them to get in touch with me.”
The local co-operative dates back to 1934 when a group of local farmers in Renown held the first organizational meeting Nov. 17, 1934. That resulted in Renown Co-operative being incorporated Mar. 23, 1935. According to the co-op’s website, operating out of a caboose for the first few years, the group had a part-time employee and only wood and coal was handled. The first agent was R. Norris, who at the time, was also the Pool Elevator Agent. Twine was added for sale and in 1937, gasoline and oil were also available to buy from the co-op.
Then in the early 1940s, the co-op moved into a building, formerly used by Security Lumber Company and owned by J.O. Davis. The co-op rented the building and also hired Davis to be its manager. At that time, wrenches, farm implement parts and other items were added as inventory. Not long after that, the co-op purchased stock of groceries, hardware and dry goods from the Libby Bros. General Store. It was also at that time in 1943 when the board of directors grew to nine.
As WWII ended, farm fuel sales increased and all fuel sales were delivered in 45 gallon drums. In 1951, metred fuel began and M. Laird had a contract to deliver the co-op’s fuel. The fuel was contracted out until the bulk fuel business moved to Watrous, which was when the local co-op elected to buy their own delivery truck.
Coal was used as a heating material and until the late 1950s, it was handled primarily at the Amazon Branch of the Renown Co-op. The Amazon Branch eventually closed in 1959.
With an eye on the future, discussion took place with plans to either include operating a bulk station only, building a store in Renown and expanding; or centralizing and support the organization of a co-op centre in Watrous.
As farms grew, some of the rural populations declining and Watrous becoming larger, a special meeting was held January 1958 to discuss relocating the co-op to Watrous. A feasibility survey took place and presented to the board in July 1961 and a decision was made to relocate to Watrous. Even though the co-op was still operating as the Renown Co-op Association, just over one year later on Nov. 1, 1962, the grand opening of the bulk station and store took place. The Renown store officially closed in September 1965 and the name changed to the Watrous Co-op Association at the next annual general meeting.
From there, the Watrous Co-op continued to grow and gained new members while primarily focusing on petroleum, oil, hardware and feed. Then in 1998, the Watrous Co-op elected to expand and over the next decade, grew in all areas. Part of that growth included the construction of a food store, the gas bar and C-store and the farm and hardware centre in Watrous.
TWM Top Story - Jan. 8, 2018
PotashCorp and Agrium merge to form Nutrien
Daniel Bushman
Combining forces to create the world’s largest ag-retail network and the largest potash producer with nearly 20,000 employees and operations and investments in 14 countries, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc. successfully completed a merger of equals to form Nutrien.
After receiving clearance from the United States’ Federal Trade Commission Dec. 27 and obtaining all regulatory approvals required to close their proposed merger of equals transaction, the transaction closed to begin the new year Jan. 1, 2018. Trading of Nutrien shares then began on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges under the ticker symbol NTR Jan. 2.
“We are proud to launch Nutrien, a company that will forge a unique position within the agriculture industry,” said Chuck Magro, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nutrien. “Our company will have an unmatched capability to respond to customer and market opportunities, focusing on innovation and growth across our retail and crop nutrient businesses. Importantly, we intend to draw upon the depth of our combined talent and best practices to build a new company that is stronger and better equipped to create value for all our stakeholders.”
The merger of equals between Potash Corporation and Agrium is very significant within the local area as it means that potash mines near Lanigan and Allan along with Crop Production Services locations at Colonsay, Drake, Liberty and Watrous all fall under the same umbrella.
With Nutrien moving forward, the company is expected to generate $500 million (US) of annual operating synergies, primarily from distribution and retail integration, production and SG&A optimization, and procurement savings. The company said it expects to achieve approximately $250 million (US) of those synergies by the end of 2018 with the full annualized run-rate achieved by the end of 2019.
In a release issued by Nutrien, the company said, “With major capacity expansion projects complete, expected proceeds from the divestiture of equity investments and significant cash flow generation capability, Nutrien will have flexibility to invest in focused growth initiatives and return excess capital to shareholders, while also prioritizing a strong investment grade credit rating profile.”
Along with the merge, a board and senior leadership team will be moving the company forward. While some of the company’s board of directors (with equal representation from Agrium and PotashCorp.) and members of its senior leadership team were previously announced, others have now been named. The group includes: Jochen Tilk, who will serve as the Executive Chair and Derek Pannell, who will serve as the Board’s independent Lead Director. Nutrien’s senior leadership team includes: Wayne Brownlee, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Steve Douglas, Executive Vice President and Chief Integration Officer. Additional members of Nutrien’s senior leadership team include: Harry Deans, Executive Vice President and President, Nitrogen; Michael Frank, Executive Vice President and President, Retail; Kevin Graham, Executive Vice President and President, Sales; Susan Jones, Executive Vice President and President, Phosphate; Lee Knafelc, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer; Leslie O’Donoghue, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer; Joe Podwika, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer; Brent Poohkay, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer; Raef Sully, Executive Vice President and President, Potash; and Mike Webb, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer.
The company will have its registered head office in Saskatoon with other corporate offices in Calgary, Loveland Campus in Loveland, Colo. and the Northbrook sales office in Northbrook, Ill.
As the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services, the company will produce and distribute over 25 million tonnes of potash, nitrogen and phosphate products worldwide. With this capability and its agriculture retail network, Nutrien feels it is well positioned to supply the needs of its customers. “We operate with a long-term view and are committed to working with our stakeholders as we address our economic, environmental and social priorities. The scale and diversity of our integrated portfolio provides a stable earnings base, multiple avenues for growth and the opportunity to return capital to shareholders.”
As Nutrien began operating last week, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall was cautiously optimistic about the recently approved merger, based on commitments made in recent meetings with the Chief Executive Officers and Board Chairs of the two merging corporations.
Wall said those commitments included: Nutrien’s registered head office and global potash operations will be located in Saskatoon; corporate office positions in Saskatchewan will increase by at least 15 per cent, to approximately 300; approximately 4,500 of Nutrien’s 20,000 employees worldwide will be located in Saskatchewan; two new business functions will relocate to Saskatchewan; and CEO and/or Executive Chair of the Nutrien Board and th
Daniel Bushman
Combining forces to create the world’s largest ag-retail network and the largest potash producer with nearly 20,000 employees and operations and investments in 14 countries, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc. successfully completed a merger of equals to form Nutrien.
After receiving clearance from the United States’ Federal Trade Commission Dec. 27 and obtaining all regulatory approvals required to close their proposed merger of equals transaction, the transaction closed to begin the new year Jan. 1, 2018. Trading of Nutrien shares then began on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges under the ticker symbol NTR Jan. 2.
“We are proud to launch Nutrien, a company that will forge a unique position within the agriculture industry,” said Chuck Magro, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nutrien. “Our company will have an unmatched capability to respond to customer and market opportunities, focusing on innovation and growth across our retail and crop nutrient businesses. Importantly, we intend to draw upon the depth of our combined talent and best practices to build a new company that is stronger and better equipped to create value for all our stakeholders.”
The merger of equals between Potash Corporation and Agrium is very significant within the local area as it means that potash mines near Lanigan and Allan along with Crop Production Services locations at Colonsay, Drake, Liberty and Watrous all fall under the same umbrella.
With Nutrien moving forward, the company is expected to generate $500 million (US) of annual operating synergies, primarily from distribution and retail integration, production and SG&A optimization, and procurement savings. The company said it expects to achieve approximately $250 million (US) of those synergies by the end of 2018 with the full annualized run-rate achieved by the end of 2019.
In a release issued by Nutrien, the company said, “With major capacity expansion projects complete, expected proceeds from the divestiture of equity investments and significant cash flow generation capability, Nutrien will have flexibility to invest in focused growth initiatives and return excess capital to shareholders, while also prioritizing a strong investment grade credit rating profile.”
Along with the merge, a board and senior leadership team will be moving the company forward. While some of the company’s board of directors (with equal representation from Agrium and PotashCorp.) and members of its senior leadership team were previously announced, others have now been named. The group includes: Jochen Tilk, who will serve as the Executive Chair and Derek Pannell, who will serve as the Board’s independent Lead Director. Nutrien’s senior leadership team includes: Wayne Brownlee, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Steve Douglas, Executive Vice President and Chief Integration Officer. Additional members of Nutrien’s senior leadership team include: Harry Deans, Executive Vice President and President, Nitrogen; Michael Frank, Executive Vice President and President, Retail; Kevin Graham, Executive Vice President and President, Sales; Susan Jones, Executive Vice President and President, Phosphate; Lee Knafelc, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer; Leslie O’Donoghue, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer; Joe Podwika, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer; Brent Poohkay, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer; Raef Sully, Executive Vice President and President, Potash; and Mike Webb, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer.
The company will have its registered head office in Saskatoon with other corporate offices in Calgary, Loveland Campus in Loveland, Colo. and the Northbrook sales office in Northbrook, Ill.
As the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services, the company will produce and distribute over 25 million tonnes of potash, nitrogen and phosphate products worldwide. With this capability and its agriculture retail network, Nutrien feels it is well positioned to supply the needs of its customers. “We operate with a long-term view and are committed to working with our stakeholders as we address our economic, environmental and social priorities. The scale and diversity of our integrated portfolio provides a stable earnings base, multiple avenues for growth and the opportunity to return capital to shareholders.”
As Nutrien began operating last week, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall was cautiously optimistic about the recently approved merger, based on commitments made in recent meetings with the Chief Executive Officers and Board Chairs of the two merging corporations.
Wall said those commitments included: Nutrien’s registered head office and global potash operations will be located in Saskatoon; corporate office positions in Saskatchewan will increase by at least 15 per cent, to approximately 300; approximately 4,500 of Nutrien’s 20,000 employees worldwide will be located in Saskatchewan; two new business functions will relocate to Saskatchewan; and CEO and/or Executive Chair of the Nutrien Board and th