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Thursday, June 10, 2021
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Ag Society may plan a fair this summer, but no midway
It’s a Small World
Plans depend on lifting of restrictions By John Cairns Staff Reporter
The Battlefords Agricultural Society is looking ahead towards re-opening and possibly hosting a fair event later this summer. In an interview airing on the Talk of the Town show on Access Now TV, Ag Society Manager Jocelyn Ritchie expressed optimism that an event will be hosted in the wake of the provincial announcement that the remaining restrictions could all be removed July 11. “I’m really hoping to put something together,” said Ritchie. But even if the restrictions are lifted, time is an issue and there will be noticeable changes from previous years. North West Territorial Days did not go ahead due to the pandemic in 2020. Should it return in August, it would be a different and more scaled down show and the event might not even go by that name for this year. The most significant change would be the absence of midway rides. Ritchie confirmed they are not going to have a midway
for 2021 as West Coast Amusements is not able to travel this summer. Ritchie said they could not get enough people to tour this summer. “Staff is an extreme issue,” said Ritchie. Despite that, they are “still hoping to have great events for people to come out.” Details remain up in the air but some tentative ideas are being tossed about. Ritchie did say they may try to have a parade, and hold a demolition derby or perhaps chuckwagon races and horse shows. There may be a smallerscale trade show, as well as children’s activities. Food booths are likely to return as well. They are looking at the week of Aug. 18, which would be their traditional date to host the fair. With the midway not on the schedule, Ritchie said it is possible the major events could be shifted to the weekend to include Saturday and Sunday. These plans are still dependent on the province lifting restrictions. Ritchie said they will be watching closely to see what happens by June 20.
If restrictions are not lifted for the summer and the reopening is delayed again, “we are going to go full force in the fall,” Ritchie said. She also pledged to let everyone know what their plans are once those are finalized. The Ag Society had a board meeting planned for Wednesday where some decisions could be made. Even if given green light to hold summer events, Ritchie expects many restrictions will still be in place. “We will make sure everybody is extremely safe ... when we do host any events or activities out here.” It has been a struggle for the Ag Society over the past year. All their major events, including North West Territorial Days as well as the Agrimex trade show in the spring, were cancelled. Ritchie says they have also lost most of their staff. They are in the process of hiring new staff. Planning for a return has been a challenge, as Ritchie noted their attempts to reopen have been put on hold over the last several months due to changing restrictions. Continued on Page 3
Lew Wall and Ruben Rempel seen amongst miniature buildings that were built by relatives of Rempel’s depicting Borden in the 1920s . The buildings had been on display at the Saskatoon Western Development Museum and were donated to Borden Museum in 2020. See the story and more photos inside. Photo by Lorraine Olinyk
Trunk main project construction begins By John Cairns Staff Reporter
All the talk and discussion is done, and construction is underway. City Hall in North Battleford confirmed in a news release Monday construction on a major project for a new force main, new sewage pumping station and decommissioning the old sewage treatment plant has begun. The work on the approximately $16 million
project started in the final week of May when pipe began arriving at storage sites in the city. The contractors working on the project were both selected in the past month. The contract for the force main installation was awarded to Hamm Construction, while the contract for the sewage pumping station upgrade and the sewage treatment plant decommissioning was awarded to Con-Tech General Contractors.
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The goal behind the project is “to provide long-term sanitary service for the residents of North Battleford,” according to the city’s news release. The planned expansion is to add capacity to accommodate the growth of the city in coming years. It is being funded by the federal, provincial and municipal governments. Construction of the force main is expected to continue until the end of this year.
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