Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Issue 13
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY SINCE 1903
www.estevanmercury.ca
Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240
Getting some air Kayden Hjorteland from Estevan gets a lot of air underneath him at the Trackside Motocross Association facility Saturday.
Passing lanes draw criticism from committees By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
As expected, the local Time to Twin Highways 39 and 6 Committee is not happy with the provincial government’s decision to proceed with passing lanes for Highways 39 and 6 from Estevan to Regina. In an article in last week’s Mercury, David Marit, the minister for Saskatchewan Highways and Infrastructure, said they were now looking at passing lanes for the 200-kilometre stretch of highways from Estevan to Regina, rather than twinning. He said there would likely be 15 sets of passing
lanes between Estevan and Regina, and he stressed that passing lanes have been effective for other highways. The provincial government said back in 2013 that they were looking to twin the highways. Time to Twin committee co-chair Marge Young said they are renewing their efforts, which started back in 2009, to have the highways twinned from Regina to North Portal. “I’m shocked, really, that they have done an about face in the last … three years going from twinning to twinning and passing lanes, and then all the way to passing lanes,” said Young.
Marge Young The people of this area deserve appropriate and safe highways, she said, and even though the government is going through hard times, they shouldn’t expect the people of this area to accept what Young
called the cheap way out. “The people east of Regina aren’t being expected to use passing lanes,” said Young. “They have a lot of traffic. A lot of it is commuter traffic, and they have semis as well. But we need to have appropriate, safe highways for our people here.” Young said she felt more confident about the possibility for twinning eight years ago than she does now. She noted the committee would like to meet with Marit, and they are working on a date in late August or September. “It’s a good thing in that we know he wants to
meet with us,” said Young. She has also spoken with Souris-Moose Mountain MP Robert Kitchen recently, and he encouraged them to not give up. They were scheduled to meet on Tuesday. Young noted the committee has taken a step back since 2013, when Premier Brad Wall revealed the government’s plan to twin the highways. But now Young says the committee needs to regroup. “ We ’ r e n o t r e a d y to give up on this,” said Young. “We feel that we need to renew our efforts.” Co-chair Lauralie Ireland said she is also frustrated with the govern-
ment’s decision. “Even though the economy is so bad in Saskatchewan, they still have to agree to keep people safe and passing lanes are not the answer,” Ireland said. While some people on Facebook have stated the region should take the passing lanes, since they are better than nothing, Young doesn’t share their opinion. “ I t ’s n o t g o i n g t o change the fact that we have all of these semis carrying freight from North Portal through to the No. 1 Highway or Regina, and we’ve always been about safety,” said Young. COMMITTEE A2 »
Estevan’s crime severity index hits 12-year low By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
Estevan’s crime severity index (CSI) was at its lowest level in a dozen years in 2016. Statistics Canada released the annual measurement of crime for 2016 on July 24. Estevan’s CSI stood at 95.24 in 2016, which was down from 128.73 the previous year, and the lowest it’s been since 2004, when it stood at 87.66. The figure is expressed as a rate per 100,000 people, and puts an emphasis on more violent and serious crimes, such as homicides and crimes that lead to fatalities or serious injuries. Police Chief Paul La-
douceur said one serious incident can have a significant impact on the CSI rating, particularly in a smaller city like Estevan. “If you have one very serious crime, that throws you way higher in the category,” said Ladouceur. “For example, if a city is the same size as Estevan, and we have one homicide, we’re way up, and will likely land ahead of that other city in the crime severity index.” There are a lot of other mitigating factors that can influence the numbers, he said, ranging from demographics to the industry to transient people. “While crime severity index is a good measurement tool, it shouldn’t be
the only measurement tool,” said Ladouceur. “I’ve stated that concern before that we don’t want to rely too much, solely, on the crime severity index, for how we’re doing as a police organization, because there are a lot of factors at play here.” Ladouceur said he didn’t want to speculate on why the local CSI figure is at its lowest level since 2004. The EPS will analyze the numbers, examine where they’re doing well and where they need to improve or do things differently. However, it does give the EPS a benchmark of what they’re doing, as they want to see Estevan’s CSI decline each year. “I would be more con-
cerned if I saw a spike to the top 10 or the top five from where we were in 2015,” said Ladouceur. Ladouceur encourages the public to look at the raw numbers, rather than just percentages and formulas, to determine whether their community is safe. “I’m not saying I doubt the numbers,” said Ladouceur. “I support what StatsCan is doing, and I believe in the fact that the numbers are coming in, but the reality at the end of the day is I don’t think that’s the only thing that should be weighing on a police service as far as success or community safety.” The police chief noted it’s not just the police who can fight crime, it’s the
public as well. He said they continue to receive support from the community, particularly when it comes to people calling the Report Impaired Drivers line. “When people are realizing ‘I’m not going to tolerate drunk drivers on my roadways,’ they’re picking up the phone and calling us,” said Ladouceur. “We see it with drug activity more than ever. People are actually calling and saying ‘I’ve got information for you,’ and they’re trusting the service to keep that information confidential.” According to StatsCan, a total of 1,006 crimes were handled by the EPS last year, compared to 1,299 in 2015. It’s a rate of 8,570.45 per 100,000 of population.
A total of 635 incidents were cleared, with 471 cleared by charge and 164 cleared otherwise. The EPS charged 468 people, with 432 of them adults and 36 of them youths. As for the Estevan RCMP, their CSI stood at 86.49, compared to 74.09 the previous year. According to StatsCan, the detachment dealt with 453 incidents last year, up from 385 the previous year. It’s a rate of 8,037.62 per 100,000 people. The RCMP had 201 incidents cleared, with 81 cleared by charge and 120 cleared otherwise. A total of 78 people were charged, with 71 of them adults and seven of them youths.
Senchuk Ford Sales Ltd.
118 Souris Ave. N., Estevan 306-634-3696 www.senchukford.com