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Wednesday, August 23, 2017
www.estevanmercury.ca
Issue 16
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY SINCE 1903
Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240
Committee voices concerns with two highways in the area
By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
The South East Transportation Planning Committee continues to express its concern with a couple of highways in the Estevan area. Speaking at the Aug. 14 meeting of Estevan city council, Coun. Dennis Moore, who chairs the transportation committee, said Highway 47 between Estevan and the U.S. border is discussed every time they meet. He told council there have been a number of complaints recently, and it has been suggested that the speed limit on the highway should be reduced to 70 or 80 kilometres per hour due to its condition. Motorists who are familiar with the highway will adjust their speed accord-
ingly, thanks to the surface of the road and the rise and fall of the road surface, he said. But people coming in from the U.S., and other visitors to the area, aren’t familiar with the highway. “We’re pretty fortunate that nobody has landed off the side of the road, because in some areas, it dips pretty good,” said Moore. In the meantime, Moore said the committee will keep the highway front and centre for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, so that when they have some funds available, some action can occur. “We’re not sure just how they’re going to rectify it, because we did fix one low spot, and we had to dig a long ways down to get any solid surface to rebuild,” said Moore. Highway 47 south of
Estevan has been a sore spot for local motorists for many years, Moore said. It was poorly constructed to begin with, and over the years the condition has deteriorated. Now it’s in rough condition at a time when it costs more to rebuild the highway. At the same time, safety is their top priority, and they want to see something happen. The committee is also concerned with Highway 18 from Estevan to Oungre. Moore said a “shave and pave” has been completed on a portion of that road between Torquay and Oungre. That work has been needed for some time. Moore believes the repair targeted the worst stretch of that road. “When they can give us some money for it, then we take the worst part of it, and try to complete it for A2 » OTHER
A view of the eclipse Estevan area residents were treated to a partial eclipse of the sun on Monday. This photo captures the moment of greatest coverage, using No. 12 welding glass in front of the camera. The second crescent is caused by the optics of the camera and likely internal reflections. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
Mullen sentenced City delays hiring leisure services manager to eight years with Wenham and Wilson holding more job. Ward said the city will work with the By David Willberg
Nathan Russell Mullen has been sentenced to eight years in prison, stemming from a manslaughter case that occurred in 2014. Mullen was sentenced on Aug. 16 in Estevan. He was credited with double time served for the 40 months he has already spent incarcerated, meaning he has already been credited with 80 months of the 96-month sentence. He must also serve two-thirds of the remaining 16 months on his sentence. Mullen pleaded guilty to manslaughter in December 2016 in the death of Leslie Erin Dwyre. Dwyre was found dead in an apartment on Petterson Drive on April 21, 2014, after the Estevan Police Service (EPS) were notified of an incident in the residence. She was 27 at the time. Mullen, who had been in a relationship with Dwyre, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder shortly after the incident, which was described as a domestic situation, and has been in custody since his arrest. His sentencing had been delayed a couple of times earlier this year. Dwyre, who was originally from Brockville, Ont., had lived in the Estevan area for a couple of years and had taught at Bienfait Weldon School and Hillcrest School.
dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
The City of Estevan has delayed the hiring of a new leisure services manager. In an interview with the Mercury last week, city manager Jeff Ward said the city has transferred duties that former leisure services manager Nathan Jesse was handling. Jesse resigned from leisure services last month to take a job at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. “What we’ve done is we’ve rearranged some of the duties that Nathan was doing among the management team there,” said Ward. “With their co-operation, we’re finding out where they’re interested in and what they excel at.” The duties have largely been split between Erin Wilson, who is the leisure services programs manager, and Diane Wenham, who has moved over from the food and beverage manager to an events manager role. Ward noted that parks manager Rod March has taken over facility maintenance, but that had happened previously. He’s been working with one of the senior union members, Dan Kroeker, and Ward is also pleased with how that process is working out. He expects the current arrangement,
responsibility, will continue through the end of the year. “We just want to make sure the workload is suitable for that number of people,” said Ward. “Obviously, going into hockey season, where food and beverage can pick up and operations can pick up, we just want to make sure that everyone’s sustainable with the workload at that point.” But so, it has worked out well, and Ward doesn’t expect there will be any problems once the busy hockey season arrives. “Diane and Erin have really stepped up,” said Ward. “They’re encouraged that they can be a larger part of the process over at Affinity Place, and we’re very encouraged with all of the results that have happened so far.” He noted that Wenham, Wilson and March have been holding bi-weekly management meetings. While Wilson has been the programs manager for some time, Wenham will be the first events manager for the city in nearly four years. Jesse had been doing a lot of events-related work, and Ward said Wenham wants to make events at Affinity Place successful. Her work as food and beverage manager will be rolled into the events manager
union to make sure they have the right in-scope positions in place for food and beverage. The leisure services manager job posting, which has been up since Jesse announced his resignation, will remain just in case the city does decide to resume an active job search next year. “If there ever is a point where we feel that we’re overworking some of our management staff, where it’s too overbearing with food and beverage being busy, the arena being busy and the pool being busy, we would go through those resumes, take a look and maybe make some calls if required,” he said. The city received some applications for Jesse’s replacement during the past month. Ward expects the decision to not hire a replacement for Jesse would result in a significant cost-saving for the city, since one management position is being eliminated. He predicted it would be between $75,000 and $100,000, based on wages and benefits. He also noted the city has eliminated four out-of-scope positions, including three management roles, so far this year, and that has allowed the city to save a significant amount of money.
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