CANADA 150
SPEEDWAY
Bienfait celebration
Canada Day Program
Year-end event
A3
A9
A12
Harmony Resler
PHOTO CLUB
REALTOR®
Your Dream, My Mission
306.421.2606
*each office independently owned and operated
CHOICE REAL ESTATE
Issue 9
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY SINCE 1903
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
www.estevanmercury.ca
Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240
City of Estevan’s pre-Canada 150 event was a smash hit By Jaime Polmateer jpolmateer@estevanmercury.ca
The City of Estevan’s pre-Canada 150 celebration was deemed a success with the event ending up well attended as swaths of Energy City residents went out to take advantage of the many activities offered. The event took place Friday afternoon and evening at Centennial Park and in front of and inside Affinity Place, featuring live entertainment, bouncy castles, food vendors and lots of other things to keep people busy and amused. “(It was) awesome. It was one of the best events ever I think — great turnout, tons of kids and lots for them to do,” said Rod March, parks manager for
the City of Estevan. “The concert was great, we had two different bands there; we had a little bit of a hindrance with the weather because it rained a bit, I think it may have scared a couple of people away, but it looks like they came back and we couldn’t be happier with the turnout and how the crowd behaved.” Though March couldn’t give an exact number on how many people showed up for the pre-Canada 150 celebration, he said a lot of the vendors ran out of food, with a few having to leave early, so that could be an indication of the size of the crowd. Some of the other popular attractions included a kids’ science show put on by Regina’s Funtazm and
Amery Lenek showed off her artistry with some chalk drawings outside Affinity Place on Friday in the midst the Canada 150 celebration put on by the City of Estevan. the local emergency services’ open house, where the Estevan Police Service
Tianna Wallman was impressed by the fire truck display put on by Estevan Fire Rescue Services at the City of Estevan’s Canada 150 celebration on Friday.
(EPS) and Estevan Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) had their vehicles on display, as well as EPS’ new K-9 unit. At roughly 5 p.m. Funtazm got the children riled up to sing O Canada and Happy Birthday and 150 cupcakes were brought out in the shape of a maple leaf to show some patriotism. “It was successful and to pull that off in a couple months, because that’s when the funding became available, I think we did pretty good considering the timelines,” said March of the event. “We got some really
good entertainment and we couldn’t have been happier.” Live music was provided by former Estevan resident Chris Henderson, who started things off, followed by Third Degree Birnz who kept the crowd going into the night, until just before midnight when Happy Birthday and O Canada were sung again alongside an additional 150 cupcakes. A flag raising ceremony was led by the Royal Canadian Legion’s Estevan branch. Bagpipes played and the Canadian flag was lifted up by the ladder of a fire truck, a
display March described as beautiful. “It went really well, they just used the fire truck; obviously it’s not as good as having an actual flagpole, but we just adapted to our surroundings and it worked out really well,” he said. The overall turnout was so good, in fact, March added if the prospect arose to do it again in coming years the city would likely jump at the chance. “If the opportunity comes up as it did this time we will definitely put on another festival similar to this one because we consider it a real success and it was really good,” he said.
service bay, where the parts were stored. Also, a fenced off area has been added to the east end of the property for outdoor training. “We’re going to bring up a lot of the equipment that we use in day-to-day training to ensure that the firefighters are properly trained to respond to all kinds of emergencies,” said Feser. They have also tackled some renovations in the
front area. Not only will it be used for the fire department’s office, but it will have public education materials and historical displays. “The guys have been working very hard, and now it’s time for the contractors to come in,” said Feser. Contractors pressure washed the exterior of the building on Monday, and painting is expected to happen this week. Framing needs to happen in the front office, he
said. Electricians need to install the lighting for the indoor training room. Then the firefighters will come in to tackle the drywall, painting and flooring. There have been some issues that have come up during construction, but Feser said those were largely related to waiting for supplies. They had hoped the overhead doors would arrive earlier, but those doors have now been installed. EQUIPMENT⇢A2
New fire hall renovations continue By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
The renovations for the Estevan Fire Rescue Service’s new home are progressing nicely, and fire Chief Dale Feser is confident fire trucks and other equipment could start moving over soon. The building, which is located on 13th Avenue in central Estevan, was previously the home of Murray GM’s Estevan dealership.
Murray GM vacated the building last December to move to its new home on Kensington Avenue, and the city purchased the building early this year for $2.3 million. The fire department’s current home is on Third Street. In an interview with the Mercury on Tuesday morning, Feser said firefighters have been able to tackle a lot of the renovation work during work bees on train-
ing nights and weekends. Feser noted the building was previously divided into three areas: the auto body area, the service department, and the offices and showroom. Walls have been demolished between the auto body department and the service bay to create the area where their trucks and other equipment will be stored. A new indoor training room will be located in the
Senchuk Ford Sales Ltd.
118 Souris Ave. N., Estevan 306-634-3696 www.senchukford.com