Estevan Mercury 20171220

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Issue 33

SERVING THE ENERGY CITY SINCE 1903

www.estevanmercury.ca

Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240

Civic will open again if insurance comes through

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

It appears that the Civic Auditorium could be open again, if the City of Estevan gets the full insurance coverage needed.

Estevan city council voted unanimously at its meeting on Monday night to reopen the 60-year-old arena, pending the insurance report. Mayor Roy Ludwig hopes the insurance document, which is being prepared by a local firm, could be submitted this week or next week, and he is confident the report’s findings will be favourable for the building.

Council’s decision came after receiving a report from C.A. Reed and Associates (Sask) Ltd. consulting engineers. That report was sought by local resident as a second opinion on the future of the Civic.

The initial report by WSP Group Associates last month caused council to close the Civic on Nov. 7.

The biggest concern was the WSP report’s findings that several glulam columns had sunk three inches.

While the report from CA Reed and Associates echoed some of the WSP Group’s concerns, it found that the arena could remain open for some time.

Councillor Shelly Vero-

ba, in making the motion to reopen the arena, said council has been waiting to hear back from the insurance company and Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S).

OH&S concerns have resolved, she said.

“I would be happy to open the Civic again if we can get insurance, at least until April … 15th or 30th, in that area,” said Veroba.

An in-depth structural report, which will cost an estimated $50,000, will need to happen early next year, and Veroba stressed the need to implement recommendations from Fire Chief Dale Feser in his report, released from earlier this month.

Then it became a little confusing. Council moved onto a report from the South East Transportation Committee, then returned to discussing the future of the Civic.

Ludwig read a statement on the arena, in which he cited the Reed report and discussed some of the work that needs to happen, and the changes needed for the building moving forward.

“Some of the glulam columns on the north and south sides have settled from one inch to three inches,” said Ludwig. “This is not because of foundation settlement, but rather rot and decay at the concrete grade beam foundation level. This

Mayor Roy Ludwig reads a statement on the future of the Civic Auditorium during Monday night’s council meeting, moments after city council gave its blessing for the arena to open again. is not unusual with these types of structures due to the high humidity level of the complex.”

Some of the crossbracing rods, because of the decay and sinking of the columns, are in hightension mode and need to be relieved, the mayor said.

Other rods that are too loose will need to be tightened.

The work on the rods won’t take long, but it will need to be completed before the building reopens.

“The glulam columns should be fine the rest of the season with repairs,” said Ludwig. “These repairs would include adding steel

support at the bottom of the columns to connect to the existing grade beams.”

Epoxy resin may have to be injected into the bottom 24 inches of the columns.

The mayor noted the building would be restricted to a maximum of 300 spectators, and seating and activity will be restricted to the south side of the building.

A notice will be placed on the building, stating that it is under structural engineering review, and could be closed immediately.

As for the OH&S findings, employees feel comfortable working in the

Civic right now.

According to the Reed report, the life expectancy of a building like the Civic is usually limited to 50 to 75 years. To build a new structure like the Civic would cost 10 to 20 per cent more than to renovate the current building.

Some confusion occurred among council members when discussing the work that needs to happen and the cost of the repairs and the in-depth structural report.

A small group of local residents attended the meeting to show support for the Civic. One of those resi-

dents, Warren Waldegger, spoke at the Nov. 24 meeting and called for the Civic to open again.

He is pleased the arena could be open soon, calling it “a good first step.” He saw no reason for the insurance company to oppose the arena reopening.

“I think they have a document that allows them to move forward with a short-term plan, and then hopefully we can look at a long-term strategy,” said Waldegger, who also pointed out the confusion among council with the report and what needs to be done.

A2 » WALDEGGER

Police warn the public after carfentanil detected The Estevan RCMP has issued a warning to the public, after the Health Canada Drug Analysis Centre confirmed that carfentanil was detected in a substance seized by investigators in the Frobisher area in October.

The RCMP had submitted the substance to Health Canada for testing. The carfentanil detection was announced on Saturday.

RCMP Sgt. Jeff Clarke said carfentanil was not suspected when the drug bust occurred in October, but he’s not surprised that it was detected, either. He stressed officers take safety precautions when dealing with any drugs due to the possible presence of such opioids as fentanyl and carfentayl.

Sending the substance to Health Canada is standard procedure, he said.

Carfentanil is a deriv-

ative of fentanyl, but according to an RCMP news release, it can be 100 times more powerful than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine. Exposure to a very small amount of this drug could be fatal through ingestion, inhalation or absorption through the skin.

Clarke said this is the first time, to his knowledge, that the local RCMP has encountered fentanyl or carfentanil.

Carfentanil is regulated under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).

In a news release, the RCMP warned the public about the dangers of consuming illicit drugs from unregulated sources.

“Street drugs are often represented as one thing but can unknowingly contain other substances such as

carfentanil,” the RCMP stated in the news release. “This particular drug may still be circulating in southern Saskatchewan. Contact should be completely avoided and police should be notified.”

Provincial health authorities have been notified and are providing situational awareness to their staff.

“In the event of opioid exposure, naloxone kits have been distributed across the country to help ensure member safety. Those same kits are also used by members as an initial medical intervention for people in emergency situations due to opioid overdose.”

Fentanyl, carfentanil and other opioids continue to be a top priority for the RCMP. Marion Ellson, a 52-year-old woman from Regina, and Neil Goertzen,

a 60-year-old man from Regina, are facing an additional charge of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking in connection with the seizure, which occurred during the Thanksgiving long weekend.

Ellson had previously been charged with one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, one count of possession of a firearm while prohibited from doing so, and one count of careless storage of a firearm. All three charges are under the Criminal Code. She is also facing two counts of possession of a controlled substance and an earlier count of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).

Goertzen was already charged with one count of possession of a firearm with-

out a licence and one count of careless storage of a firearm under the Criminal Code, and one count of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking under the CDSA. Both made court appearances on Dec. 18, and have been remanded into custody. Their next court appearance will be Jan. 8, 2018.

While the detection of carfentanil happened in the RCMP’s jurisdiction, it has caught the attention of Estevan Police Service (EPS) Chief Paul Ladouceur, who has been warning about the dangers of fentanyl and other opioids.

He noted the EPS has not encountered fentanyl or carfentanil yet, but he predicted the drugs would trickle into the community.

“When we see these drugs come from the larger centres, they do make their way to smaller centres. It’s just a matter of time,” said Ladouceur. “We have been preparing for this.”

If someone is caught trafficking carfentanil, then Ladouceur predicted there would be serious consequences.

Members of the EPS have been equipped and trained with naloxone kits to protect themselves if they come into contact with such a drug, or to administer it to someone who is experiencing an overdose.

“We’ve taken it upon ourselves to educate our members, to issue our members with this kit and to train them in how to administer it to somebody suffering from a potential overdose,” said Ladouceur.

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Estevan Mercury

City releases details of 2018 budget

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

The City of Estevan’s budget for 2018 includes more money for King Street, funding for a utility project and a one per cent property tax increase.

The budget package was posted to the City of Estevan’s website on Tuesday. The financial plan is expected to be passed in January, with the exception of the mill rate factors.

The city is encouraging the public to offer their thoughts on the document.

Total revenues for the 2018 general fund budget are pegged at $25.8 million, down slightly from the 2017 projected figure of $26.1 million. The difference, according to city manager Jeff Ward, is the loss of funding from the grants in lieu of taxation from the provincial government, and a six per cent reduction in the municipal operating grants.

Property taxes and grants ($21.8 million) will account for the bulk of the revenues in 2018.

General operating expenses are at nearly $24.7 million, up slightly from $24.5 million, which means a net operating surplus of $1.1 million.

Capital spending is estimated at $2.8 million, which results in a deficit of $1.7 million. Ward has recommended the city borrow $2 million to complete capital projects.

The utility fund has more than $8.7 million in revenues for 2018, compared with $7.8 million in 2017, due to federal and provincial support for the water intake project, and a proposed increase for the

infrastructure levy.

Utility expenditures are pegged at $4.8 million in operating, plus another $3.2 million in capital.

The most significant capital project for the general fund will be the King Street rehabilitation from Pine Avenue to Kensington Avenue, which has an estimated price tag of $950,000. Once it is finished, King Street from Souris Avenue North to Kensington Avenue will have been resurfaced since the start of 2017.

“There are no undergrounds between Pine Avenue and Spruce (Drive), and the ones between Spruce and Kensington are all redone, and they’re all PVC (pipe), so they won’t have to be redone,” said Ward.

Cundall Drive to Hudson Drive would likely be in the 2019 budget because of issues with the undergrounds.

The 10-year fleet renewal program will continue for $450,000 next year.

Ward said the program allows the city to avoid having some years with higher purchasing costs.

“We have a cleaner fleet with fewer repairs,” said Ward.

Sidewalk renewal, repair and construction will receive $275,000.

About $200,000 will be directed to repairs and the remainder will be used for construction.

The city spent $175,000 this year, including the construction of new sidewalks on Wellock Road. “ We r e a l i z e d t h a t needs to be a priority, too,” said Ward.

The new Estevan fire

City manager Jeff Ward hall will receive another $125,000 for further renovations. The emergency measures organization area needs to be set up in the upstairs area, and training rooms and showers are needed.

The pool liner at the Hillcrest Play Park will be rehabilitated. Public health has told the city that some of the pools need to be upgraded. The city received a grant that will cover $15,000 of the $50,000 cost.

There is also money in the budget for the Kensington Greens Park in northeast Estevan.

“It’s a very large park with very minimal grade, so water sets there, the salts come up and it’s very hard to get grass to grow properly in that area,” said Ward.

The city wants a twoyear project, with earthwork, drainage and seeding in the first year.

Other highlights from the capital budget include new controllers for some traffic lights, modern sport flooring for the leisure centre’s multi-purpose room, an assessment of need and upgrades in the leisure centre’s weight room.

The budget also calls for establishing a tourism centre in the old concession area of the leisure centre, which would mean

discontinuing the use of the tourism information booth near the Souris Valley Museum.

Expenses for an expansion of the Estevan Police Service building and repairs to the Civic Auditorium are not included in the budget right now, but Ward anticipates those issues will be discussed extensively before the budget is approved.

The budget includes a one per cent property tax increase. Ward said council recognizes there have been significant tax increases during the past few years, including the eight per cent increase in 2017.

Reassessment was also very hard on some ratepayers.

“I think council realizes that they have taken the steps in the last four years to correct the path it was on,” said Ward. “Our financial position is quite

« A1 “Based on what I’ve seen and the reports, I believe they can open with a three to five-year plan with doing an engineering study and loosening the tension or tightening the tension on those rods immediately.”

Waldegger said most people have thanked him for speaking to council about the issue and sharing his thoughts. He has been part of a committee, struck by the Estevan Minor Hockey Association, lobbying for the Civic.

“We were instrumental in getting this second report provided to council, along with some additional recom-

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of feedback during the past six weeks, he said, particularly from people associated minor hockey.

Ludwig stressed that the electrical and mechanical components are at their life end, and will need to be brought to a certain standard should the Civic remain open.

“We as a council are not looking at putting good money after bad, and then still having an old building that’s in disrepair,” said Ludwig. “If we can fix it structurally and work around the issues to keep it open safely for the hockey parents and the kids, that’s fine. We’re willing to do that. We want to do that.

But again, we have to be cognizant of the costs at the end of the day.”

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mendations regarding the long-term use of the facility, how they might be able to reduce operating costs going forward,” he said.

The committee has also been compiling information to justify having a third ice surface in Estevan.

Waldegger said the C.A. Reed report showed there isn’t a lot of risk associated with the structure, which was the concern from the original WSP report.

Ludwig said the WSP report was very comprehensive and well done. The CA Reed report, meanwhile, was shorter and more to the point, but left council feeling that perhaps the structural issues weren’t as significant as what WSP reported.

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Some of that was going to pay down debt that was used on former local improvements, and things like that.”

The infrastructure levy would increase to $30 per billing cycle, which would generate $650,000 a year.

“Once you get to about that $1.2 million or $1.3 million mark, you can now look at what a water main replacement project for an area would be, and you can do it out of that fund,” said Ward.

Since the infrastructure fee is increasing, there won’t be a water consumption rate increase or a utility bill increase in 2018.

The city will pay down $4.038 million in debt next year, which would leave the debt at $26 million. If the city borrows $2 million for capital projects, the debt would finish the year at around $28 million.

Waldegger pleased the Civic could open again

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a bit better, but still being cautious that there is still an infrastructure deficit.”

The water intake project, which will shift the city’s primary water source from Boundary Dam to Rafferty Dam, will continue. There is an estimated cost of $3 million for 2018, with the city, the provincial government and federal government each supplying a third of the cost.

The project is expected to wrap up in 2019.

The infrastructure levy on bi-monthly utility bills will increase, and that money will be set aside to resume the water main replacement program in the future.

“Right now our infrastructure levy is $20 per billing cycle on each utility bill, and that creates about $450,000 per year,” said Ward. “That was being used in our utility fund, just within our operations.

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Sask. Party candidates share thoughts at local forum

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

The five candidates vying to be the next leader of the Saskatchewan Party, and in turn, the next premier of the province, were in Estevan on Dec. 14 for a next premier’s luncheon, hosted by the Estevan Chamber of Commerce.

Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Ken Cheveldayoff, Alanna Koch, Scott Moe and Gordon Wyant squared off in the event. Former Conservative MP Rob Clarke withdrew from the race the day before, after spending just one month in the field.

Each candidate was given a five-minute opening statement and a oneminute closing statement to discuss their platforms and answer questions from the chamber. Those questions focused on the future of coal-fired electrical generation, reforms for the property tax assessment system to prevent large increases in property taxes, and recruitment and retention of physicians and medical technicians.

Cheveldayoff was the first to speak. After sharing his background in politics, and giving thoughts on such issues such as repealing the provincial sales tax on insurance premiums and increasing Internet service in rural Saskatchewan, Cheveldayoff addressed the chamber’s questions.

He noted the Saskatchewan government and the Nova Scotia government have successfully negotiated extensions to employ coal-fired electrical generation beyond 2030, as long as equivalent reductions and carbon dioxide emissions accompany the extensions.

The recently-released Saskatchewan climate change strategy will help the province address climate change issues as well, he said.

As for assessment, Cheveldayoff suggested the four-year cycle used by the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA) needs to be replaced.

“The ups and downs in evaluations move so quickly, as you’ve seen in this community, so we certainly have to look at tightening it up and making it more reflective of the actual value,” said Cheveldayoff.

Cheveldayoff predicted the newly formed

Saskatchewan Health Authority would help with physician recruitment and retention.

He also reiterated his previous claim that he is the candidate best able to bridge the gap between rural and urban ridings.

“We have to win in both rural and urban (ridings), and if you want to win, you need someone with elected experience,” said Cheveldayoff.

Beaudry-Mellor said her campaign has focused on three components: smart social investments in such things as the inclusion of financial literacy and entrepreneurship for kindergarten to Grade 12 education; building a strong economy by encouraging entrepreneurship; and performance management in the economy with a twoyear budget cycle.

“When I entered this leadership race, I had a very clear sense of it was I wanted to contribute to it, and that was I wanted to be able expand the parametres of policy conversations that we would have, and I wanted to bring new people into the party,” she said.

On the coal-fired energy front, Beaudry-Mellor noted the Alberta government would put up $40 million to help workers transition from coal mining, and they would top up employment insurance benefits to 75 per cent, while providing tuition vouchers, retraining programs and more.

She also noted the province’s commitment to have 50 per cent of its power generated by renewables by 2030.

Beaudry-Mellor said a shift in the assessment system would be connected to her plan for longer budget cycles.

“If I put forward a two-year budget process, I think it makes sense to do the tax assessment piece on a two-year process as well,” said Beaudry-Mellor.

Wyant said this leadership campaign has been about renewal, not just within the party, but with Indigenous people, teachers, municipalities and other groups.

As for the questions, Wyant said that when he was the minister responsible for SaskPower, he broached the idea of transitioning the economy, and bringing in different

groups to create a path forward.

Equivalency agreements have given the government time to plan, but the planning needs to happen now.

“We need to talk about infrastructure,” said Wyant. “There’s a significant amount of infrastructure that the Saskatchewan Power Corporation has down here and we need to be able to take advantage of that infrastructure as we grow and diversify the economy.”

An economic diversification fund should be put in place, he said.

Wyant is concerned with the significant increases in assessment, especially during an economic downturn. He agreed that the assessment cycle needs to be addressed.

“We need to look at some flexibility within the assessment and at SAMA, so that we’re not shocking an already struggling region and sector,” said Wyant.

Wyant suggested expanding scope of practice for nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and others in the healthcare system, particularly primary healthcare, would help with shortages. It’s also important to invest in healthcare technology.

Koch said the need for electricity is growing each year, and Saskatchewan is transitioning to greener electricity options, which are more expensive. They impact household budgets, and puts Saskatchewan at a disadvantage with provinces that have hydroelectricity.

The province has to protect communities and families that rely on coalfired power plants and coal mining for jobs, she said.

“Carbon capture and storage is a made in Saskatchewan solution to reducing carbon emissions,” said Koch. “SaskPower needs a cost-effective generation option that supplies baseload power for when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining.”

Coal is an abundant and cheap fuel source, she said, and the government has to evaluate the viability of using CCS in Saskatchewan.

Koch agreed with the other candidates on the need to look at assessment cycles. The current system creates shock to the economy, she said, and it’s not

reflective of what is happening with the economy.

Koch suggested looking to other jurisdictions for best practices in assessment.

“There are definite changes we need to make,” said Koch. “We can’t keep with this situation that we have. It’s not supposed to have this big impact.”

Koch noted the province has seen some improvement in recruiting doctors, but solutions are needed for nurse practitioners to be able to operate to their full scope.

Moe was the last to speak. He said his platform has fiscal sustainability, investments for schools and healthcare facilities, and support for Saskatchewan industries and businesses.

He said upswings in residential, commercial and agricultural property values create challenges.

“We do need to do some further work and consult with chambers, and also with municipalities … across the province to navigate these waters,” said Moe. He believes the government has made progress on recruitment of physicians and nurse practitioners, but more work is needed. The government has changed how it brings in foreign doctors, and where they are from.

As for coal, Saskatchewan has 4,000 megawatts of power generation now, and will need to add 2,500 to 3,000 megawatts of power production.

“We have all sorts of opportunities when it comes to repowering our generation capacity,” said Moe. “We have biomass.

We have access to hydro in certain areas. We have wind and solar as well.

But wind and solar need to be backed up by either natural gas, or they need to be backed up by coal with carbon capture attached to it, which is much cleaner actually when you look at that system,” said Moe. Investment in CCS can rejuvenate and extend the life of oilfields, he said, and add jobs to communities.

The leadership race began in August after Premier Brad Wall announced he would be leaving provincial politics once the new leader is chosen.

The winner of the Sask. Party leadership race will be announced on Jan. 27, 2018.

Alanna Koch

Tina Beaudry-Mellor

Ken Cheveldayoff

Gordon Wyant

Scott Moe

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Did council make the right move?

It’s been a little more than six weeks since Estevan city council voted in favour of closing the Civic Auditorium indefinitely, but for many in our community, it seems like a much longer delay than that.

But it appears that this issue has been given some closure, at least for now.

Estevan city council has voted in favour of keeping the Civic open for the duration of the ice sports season, as long as a report from a local insurance company is favourable. That report is expected this week or next week.

Nobody should have been surprised that there was a significant outcry to the Civic’s closure. For some people in our community, there is a strong emotional attachment to the 60-year-old arena.

But more importantly, the sudden loss of a third ice sheet in the community created problems for some in the community.

The Estevan Minor Hockey Association has been particularly vocal about the loss of the Civic and their desire to keep it open.

The flip side is there is also a strong contingent of people who believe the Civic

From the Top of the Pile BRIAN ZINCHUK

Campaigning hard, but hardly fighting On Dec. 14, the five remaining candidates for the leadership of the Saskatchewan Party, and with it, the position of premier, filed into the Days Inn in Estevan for a “Next Premier Luncheon.” The soldout event was admirably put on by the Estevan Chamber of Commerce.

It was the first full day with a reduced slate – Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Gord Wyant, Scott Moe, Alanna Koch and Ken Cheveldayoff. The day before, Rob Clarke dropped out of the race. His candidacy was the definition of “flash in the pan.” He was the last to join in, on Nov. 15, well after much of the formal debates had already taken place. In less than a month, he was out, throwing his support behind Cheveldayoff. It was a very expensive dalliance, as it cost $25,000 to jump in, never mind the expenses.

Four of the five candidates on hand worked the room, going around to each table, shaking hands, meeting new people and catching up with those they knew. For whatever reason, Moe was the last to arrive, just before things were about to begin, so he missed out on the networking.

I had made the effort a few months be-

should be closed for good. They argue the city should proceed with a new third ice surface, but only if it makes fiscal sense.

If it doesn’t, then Estevan should have just two arenas.

There is also an appetite to have a field house constructed in favour of a third arena.

For whatever reason, the group that wanted the Civic closed has been largely silent over the last six weeks. They haven’t attended council meetings, posted on social media, written letters to the editor or voiced their thoughts publicly.

We hope that city council made the right move by keeping the Civic Auditorium open. We hope that it will make it through the season, and it might even have a few more years left in it.

Whether it has a few months, or a few years, likely won’t be known until after the current ice sports season is finished.

But at least the decision to keep the arena open through the end of the season gives council time to make a decision on the building’s future, and whether it should look at a third arena.

It would also give user groups the three arenas they covet for the duration of the season, and it would give them the ice surface they need in a few weeks, when the SaskTel Tankard rolls into town.

The city would have had a hard time operating with just one arena for two to three weeks during the Tankard.

At the same time, people need to realize that the Civic’s days are numbered.

There’s a reason why you don’t see many 60-year-old arenas out there, particularly ones that have had as much usage as the Civic over the last few years.

Spending big money on the mechanical and electrical components of the arena doesn’t make sense, either.

So hopefully people won’t complain in January and February if it’s -30 C outside, and frigid inside the Civic. You might not like it, but if you think you’re getting lots of taxpayer dollars spent on heating for a 60-year-old arena, then you’re asking a little too much.

But a cold third arena beats having only two arenas, right?

fore in sitting down with each of these five candidates, in person, for half an hour, to interview them about their energy policy for Pipeline News. I gave them a list of topics I would be covering beforehand, since this was likely going to be the most intensive interview they would have on energy during the campaign. As a monthly paper, it’s impossible to keep up the daily ebb and flow of a campaign like this, and for the most part, the energy issues have been static (the cancellation of the Energy East pipeline being the exception). We had already printed the series of stories, each about two pages in length, before Clarke had entered the race, and his short-lived candidacy meant there would be no interview later.

You can find all stories at pipelinenews.ca and by searching for the candidate’s name.

During these interviews I made the point of telling each of them how truly tough things have been for the oilpatch in the last few years, because I think it’s an important message for any new premier to hear.

As these candidates made their way to Estevan this past fall, I did as best as I could to attend their meet-and-greets, getting to three of them so far. What was interesting was I did not see any overlap between the attendance between the meet and greets I attended for Wyant, Cheveldayoff and Moe. I would have expected a lot of the local SaskParty supporters to check out several of the candidates, but of those three sessions, that had not been the case.

The chamber luncheon was a good opportunity for those people to come together and see all five candidates in action. Each had been given five minutes to answer three local, pertinent questions on clean coal, tax reassessment and health care.

For several, this was their third time in

Estevan, so far, in this campaign. All had made it at least once before. One noted he had put on 31,000 kilometres. Another said 34,000, so far. Koch pointed out that the day before, she had successfully made it to each and every riding in the province.

I have never seen so many candidates working so hard in a campaign like this.

Not even close. As soon as the Estevan luncheon was over, all five were on the road again to make it for a similar supper in Yorkton, with its chamber of commerce, that very evening. Each took their own path, and Cheveldayoff got there by way of Weyburn, which was a roundabout way to say the least. I know this due to his Facebook video posting that afternoon.

While they are campaigning hard, they are not campaigning against each other.

There were a few signs of that in the media with regards to questions about the Weyburn debate, but none of that came up in Estevan. I saw no elements of animosity or conflict between these candidate, and very little in the way of contrasting themselves from the others. Zero negativity. For all the miles (or kilometres) they’ve been putting on, the spark has been in their vehicle’s engines, instead of between each other.

From what I’ve seen, all five remaining candidates have been all-go, no-quit. How no one has had a coronary yet is beyond me.

That may be because the prize is tangible. It’s not the leadership of the party, and then in a few years, an election and hopefully a win and formation of government. For each of these, on Jan. 29, they’re the premier, should they win, with two years left in the mandate.

Will the campaign get nasty towards the end? I guess we’ll see.

Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at brian. zinchuk@sasktel.net.

Lynn Chipley

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Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Tankard just over a month away Corey Atkinson New Material Only

The Viterra Last Chance Scotties qualification tournament at the Power Dodge Curling Centre had a lot of drama for the teams involved.

The Scotties women’s curling provincial championship is a rollicking time, with some of the best shot-making in any of the provinces. The quality of teams in Saskatchewan and depth of these teams is arguably better that anywhere in the country. So you want to get there.

For all of the teams involved, it was literally their last chance to qualify for the provincial Scotties tournament in Melfort. And there was no shartage of quality among the teams here. You had Candace Chisholm from Weyburn winning the A side plus Stefanie Lawton from Saskatoon winning the B side. That’s a lot of experience with those teams, not the least of which was Lawton’s four provincial Scotties wins as skip. Lawton’s rink just barely lost to Penny Barker in last year’s provincial Scotties or else she’d have a fifth title.

Chisholm added Lana Vey to the team as third. Vey has had four appearances at the national level, including a silver medal in 2007. Mandy Selzer of Balgonie, who won a national junior title only 11 years ago, was here.

That’s just the qualification level for the women’s provincial Scotties. Unfortunately for women’s curling, only nine teams will be there in Melfort for a round robin. I hope we get that tournament here in the near future. But there’s another major curling event coming to this area that people are looking forward to: the 2018 SaskTel Tankard.

The 16-team triple knockout event for the men’s provincial curling crown has only four teams that have qualified so far officially (Estevan’s Brent Gedak being the most important name to have here), but we can count on the points standings of the major national and provincial tours to add some more familiar names. Rinks skipped by Steve Laycock, Colton Flasch, Adam Casey and Josh Heidt would all qualify today through their points standings if the deadline was today.

While Laycock lives in Saskatoon, his second residence could likely be listed as ‘The Brier’, having been there six times already as a member of a provincial championship team.

There are people in the area who will find curling tickets in their stockings. I hope they enjoy the draws as much as I would because it’s bound to be very good, even in the early matches. There will be some truly elite teams among the 16 that will be here.

But the issue with curling has lately been seen to be that the youth haven’t quite taken to the sport as their parents and grandparents did. Efforts to improve scoring, strategy and professionalism of some of the elite teams have taken away a part of the original appeal of curling: that anybody with a razor sharp sense of direction and a mind for chess could do this.

As a spectator sport, many have been able to watch the game on TV and listen to the strategy of the teams involved.

Putting microphones on the players has been an amazing way to listen to what they’re thinking and why they’re doing it, and the implications when they mess up.

There were only a few people there at the last chance tournament last weekend for the A final and the B final, many of which were family and friends of Chisholm and her team.

Given the quality of teams there, there should have been more but this is the Christmas season and the tournament is usually held in January (pushed earlier because of the Olympics this year).

I really hope the city and area residents come out in droves for the Tankard in a few weeks. It’s the only proper Saskatchewan send-off for the team that will go to Regina as the representative for the Tim Hortons Brier.

Remembrance of our veterans doesn’t end on Nov. 11 The editor: It was the worst-ever peacetime crash of a Royal Canadian Air Force plane.

On Sept. 15, 1946, at the Estevan Regional Airport, Dakota 962 stood on her tail, stalled and crashed, killing 21 people.

Twenty of the airmen on board were experienced pilots and highly decorated combat veterans. Among the 20 pilots killed were nine re-

cipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Two more received the medal posthumously. Some had Distinguished Flying medal ribbons alongside their DFC. Leading aircraftsman Bill Kirko of Toronto, age 20, was the groundcrew airman. His discharge notice from the service was sitting in a basket at a Winnipeg orderly room.

The only epitaph for

the plane at the National Defence History section in Ottawa is a handwritten entry on an aircraft record card, “1619146 struck off.”

“A mass funeral service was held in Estevan for the airmen.”

The crash brought grief to 21 families. Thirteen young women became widows. Some had small children who would never know their fathers.

These men walked our streets, ate at our tables and fought for our country. They flew in our cloudy and clear skies.

The Forever in the Clouds monument, which depicts the 21 faces of the fallen airmen, belongs in Estevan in the heart and soul of the city.

Lester Hinzman Estevan

Have some respect The editor: I’m writing this letter as a concerned landowner and I’m wondering if anyone has any respect for private property any longer.

I own land along the Souris River north of North Portal and I am sick and tired of every macho, camowearing guy thinking he can ignore my “No Trespassing” signs and drive all over

my land, either by truck or quad. There is only one way in and out of my land and it is, and has always been, posted, but obviously that means nothing.

This fall in hunting season, someone ripped down the “No Hunting or Trespassing” signs, of which there were two, one on each side of the lane.

Let’s put it this way:

how would you like me to drive across your front lawn, maybe even set up a tent and camp there, because that has happened on my property as well.

If you don’t know who owns the property, ask around or consult a rural municipality map. Give me a call. I’m not hard to deal with. Just let me know what’s going on. Sometimes

there are cattle in the pasture, sometime I’m there with my family, and don’t need to wonder who is coming or going, or what their intent is.

Treat other people’s property the way you would want them to treat yours.

Just have some respect.

Susan Shepherd Alameda

American tax measures will hurt middle class The editor: U.S. President Donald Trump chose the U.S. ambassador to Canada, Kelly Craft, who happens to be the wife of a U.S. coal magnate billionaire.

Trump hires only billionaires and millionaires

to serve in government positions. It is a government especially for the ultra-rich to keep them happy.

It has been stated that the Tax Reform Bill now in progress will be very hard on the middle-class, while

giving the wealthy individuals a huge reduction on their taxes, including President Trump.

The U.S. president keeps stating that he is “draining the Washington swamp.” So today we have a White House sewer with

President Trump sitting on his throne of turds.

We are so fortunate to be living in Canada, where this nonsense does not exist, up until now.

Gerry Fichtemann Estevan

EPS arrest two in a drug bust Two men have been charged for drug-related offences following a cocaine trafficking investigation by the Estevan Police Service’s (EPS) Drug Intelligence Unit on a street level dealer using the alias Toby.

Members of the drug unit, assisted by the EPS patrol section, interrupted a drug transaction between two males on Friday afternoon at approximately

4:30 p.m. The males were arrested without incident while inside a parked vehicle located at a convenience store on the north side of Estevan.

Multiple packages of cocaine totaling 7 1/2 grams were seized along with $400. The vehicle was subsequently seized as offence-related property.

The total street value of the cocaine seized is estimated at $1,300.

Michael Lee Cameron, a 34-year-old from Estevan, and Christopher Lee Gibson, a 39-yearold from Lampman, are charged with trafficking cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. Both charges are under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Cameron and Gibson were remanded into custody and made their first court appearance on

Dec. 18.

“We continue to investigate all levels of drug trafficking,” said police Chief Paul Ladouceur.

“If you choose to traffic illegal drugs in this community, be prepared to get caught and face the consequences of your actions.”

The EPS says it will not allow drugs to ruin the lives of Estevan residents, particularly the city’s youth, he said.

A6 December 20, 2017

Estevan Mercury

Long-time water manager retiring from city

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

When Kevin Sutter came to work for the City of Estevan’s utility division in 1987, he thought he would be here for a couple of years.

But he wound up staying for more than 30 years, and guided the city through numerous key construction and expansion projects.

Sutter has announced he is retiring, effective Jan. 29. He can now collect a full pension, thanks to his tenure, and he is looking for some new challenges.

Sutter came to the city after working in the water treatment plant at the Canadian Forces station in Alsask, Sask. He spent a year at Alsask, but the base was closing, so he needed to find work. He found it in Estevan in March 1987.

“I started as a water treatment plant operator, and the plant itself was very undersized,” said Sutter.

“At that time, there were four employees who were hired to run the water treatment plant.”

At the time, the city was planning to build a new plant, since the plant that was open could not meet treatment standards of the day.

“We pretty much had to run the plant around the clock, 24 hours per day, to just meet the demand,” said Sutter. “Lots of times we could not even do that. We shut the tower off during high demand times.”

The construction of the new water treatment

plant in 1989 was a big step forward, he said, because it allowed the city to treat water year-round and meet demands. The Smith Street reservoir was added in 1990. While the city has improved these facilities over the years, the core of the system is still anchored to what was built in 1989.

When Sutter was hired in 1987, he was told he would be hired for two years, because the new plant would be fully automated, and operators wouldn’t be required.

“That was fine with me, because I would get some good experience,” he said. “But as it turned out, as the plant was being built, the superintendent who was looking after things left at the time, and the city was without anybody for a while.”

The idea of running the water treatment plant without operators did not pan out, and he would be staying with the city.

In 1990, he became superintendent of the water treatment plant and the Smith Street reservoir.

Six years later, the facultative loon treatment facility was failing and a new facility was needed.

Following negotiations, the city and SaskPower entered into an agreement that allowed the city to build a new mechanical wastewater treatment plant and use the effluent to cool the generating system at the Shand Power Station, eliminating discharges of the municipal effluent into the environment. Sutter described the

system as innovative.

He became the superintendent of water and wastewater treatment. It was a role he held until 2015, when he was made the manager of all water and wastewater services, including the water and sewer crew that looked after the undergrounds.

The addition of a new water reservoir in northwest Estevan in 2013 was another highlight of his tenure.

“That was deemed necessary because the population at the time was growing quite quickly in Estevan, and we were not able to maintain our 24 hours of stored drinking water, if the population were to continue to grow,” said Sutter.

It meant the city would be separated into two pressure zones, improving water pressure for those in north Estevan.

A new residuals management program opened earlier in the fall, with the federal and provincial governments joining the city to cover one-third of the costs.

And a water intake project is also underway, again with federal and provincial support.

The intake project, which will shift Estevan’s primary water source from Boundary to Rafferty Dam, is slated to be finished in 2019.

Sutter said he thought about remaining with the city until the intake project is complete, but he believes the city has the people in place to handle this project.

The city advertised for a superintendent to work

Kevin Sutter has retired as the head of the city’s water division. File Photo under him. Shane Bucsis started in September, and has been learning from Sutter.

“I’m comfortable leaving with the staffing that we have here,” said Sutter.

“We’ll be able to fulfill all the needs of the city.”

Recent years have brought challenges. The flood of 2011 created challenges for the city’s water and wastewater treatment systems. A fire just before the second reservoir opened put a strain on the city’s water system. Flash floods in 2015 and 2016 brought their own challenges.

Changes in regulations represent the biggest changes Sutter has experienced.

When he started with the city, the provincial government regulated water treatment plants and had a set of guidelines to meet.

“The biggest one is turbidity levels. That’s how clear the water is,” said Sutter. “If you look at turbid water, it would look cloudy, and clear water would obviously look clear.”

When he started, the

city couldn’t match the required turbid levels in the summer months, because of the overtaxed system and the old technology.

The province also boosted its standards in 2002 regarding water quality, and technology and operators at water treatment plants, after hundreds of people were left sick in North Battleford the year before by contaminated drinking water.

The new water intake project will improve the quality of the city’s drinking water.

City manager Jeff Ward said he was somewhat surprised when Sutter retired, since he believed Sutter would stick around until the intake project was finished.

“The person we’ve brought in is very capable, and I think Kevin realizes that his competency and his capability is there, and that he was going to be leaving the water treatment plant in good hands, along with the experienced staff down there that are all great,” said Ward.

The level of training that Sutter had is rare, Ward said, since there are few certified to work in a Level 3 wastewater treatment plant and a Level 4 water treatment plant.

“He was always taking extra courses and stuff to help save money, so that he could be certified to do additional things at the plant such as electrical work and instrumentation work, so it’s really a testament to … his commitment to his job,” said Ward.

Sutter said he is thankful for the support shown by the water division staff and city council members of the years.

“I have had the benefit of working with some exceptional operators, both who are currently employed with the city, and those who went on to bigger and better things,” said Sutter.

He has worked with six different mayors and a lot of councillors, and is grateful he was given an opportunity to come to Estevan and be a manager at a relatively young age.

Chelsey’s story Chelsey* sent private pictures to her new boyfriend the first week school started.

By Halloween they were broken up, but the pictures remained in his phone.

Now Chelsey is worried, if he starts sharing them with his friends, can she report her ex-boyfriend to the police?

Chelsey’s class had a guest speaker from Envision who talked about cyberviolence and navigating social media.

Chelsey finds out that sharing those pictures is illegal, and what she can do to protect herself.

Envision’s educational outreach in the schools offers presentations on topics involving Healthy Relationships, Sexual Assault, and Gender Roles. Envision hopes that by informing students about these subjects, they will be able to make decisions that keep them safe and healthy.

*Name changed for privacy.

When you donate to Envision, you help them venture into the community, so that kids like Chelsey receive education on issues that affect their lives. Envision has been operating for nearly 25 years in Southeast Saskatchewan. They have four offices with more than 30 staff members.

If you or someone you know could benefit from Envision Counselling and Support Centre, please call the office at 306-637-4004.

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December 20, 2017 A7

Meili brings leadership campaign to Estevan

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

One of the candidates in the New Democratic Party’s (NDP) leadership race was in Estevan on Monday night to share his thoughts on the future of Saskatchewan.

Ryan Meili discussed his ideas, what he has heard as he travels around Saskatchewan and some of the positive steps the party can take.

The campaign has been going well, he said.

Meili has visited numerous communities in the province.

“The support is really strong,” said Meili. “We’ve been selling a lot of new memberships, and we’ve had a lot of people donating their time and their money to the campaign, and it’s really encouraging just what the response has been so far.”

While there are differences in what he hears in communities, there are some common threads.

People are frustrated with the deep cuts seen in the provincial budget earlier this year, but he said people aren’t willing to turn to the NDP. “What we need to do in the NDP, and this is what people tell me over and over again, is not knock the Sask. Party and not

criticize them as our major focus, but talk about what it is we could do better,” said Meili.

Meili noted a lot of people have concerns about corporate and union donations. They see donations coming in from those groups, and they believe those donations influence political process and decisions that are made.

“In our campaign, we’ve made the bold move of not only promising to get rid of corporate and

result, he said Canadians spend too much money on generic and brand name drugs.

“So I’m pushing for a national pharmacare program, but until we get there, I think Saskatchewan might have to take the lead and implement our own province-wide program,” said Meili.

On the local front, Meili said he would keep the current carbon capture and storage facility at SaskPower’s Boundary Dam

“In our campaign, we’ve made the bold move of not only promising to get rid of corporate and union donations, but also not accepting them during this race.”

NDP leadership candidate Ryan Meili. union donations, but also not accepting them during this race,” said Meili.

“We’re sort of putting our money where our mouth is.”

Pharmacare is also drawing a lot of attention, he said. Canada is one of the few countries with universal healthcare that doesn’t offer universal drug coverage. As a

Power Station operating, but doesn’t believe the economics at this time justify expansion. He would look to invest in renewable energy and other ways to generate power while decreasing carbon emissions.

“It’s an area with lots of sunlight and lots of wind,” said Meili. “I think as we invest in renewable energy, we really should

17124CC1 17124CC2 17125CC1 17125CC2

focus on making sure that a lot of that investment happens in the energy heartland of Saskatchewan.”

If the economics for CCS do improve, then Meili said he would be open to a conversation on additional investment.

The oil and gas sector, meanwhile, is very important to the southeast region, but it’s susceptible to boom and bust cycles.

Meili said it’s important to support people in the industry, while ensuring there is enough investment of profits to transition to other energy sources and other employment opportunities, creating more diversity in the economy.

Meili is running for the NDP’s leadership for the third time; he finished second in 2010 and 2015.

He said those experiences helped him get his name and ideas out.

“I’ve had the chance to be talking with people and in the public eye on a number of issues,” said Meili.

As he travels around the province, Meili finds that people understand what he wants to do in politics. He also believes that some of his other experiences, particularly in

New Democratic Party leadership candidate Ryan Meili was in Estevan on Monday evening to discuss his vision for the province. Photo by Brian Zinchuk the healthcare sector, have boosted his profile.

He has also learned a lot in the last two campaigns.

Only a couple of people attended the event in Estevan, so Meili scrapped a planned speech on his platform, which has a large emphasis on healthcare, in favour of a question and

answer session with those present.

The NDP leadership campaign will be held on March 3, 2018. Trent Wotherspoon is the other declared candidate.

The party has been without a permanent leader since Cam Broten stepped down following the 2016 provincial election.

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A8 December 20, 2017

Estevan Mercury

Cornerstone school division responds to concerns regarding autism supports

By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca

The South East Cornerstone Public School Division is responding to comments over the supports available in schools for students with autism.

In last week’s edition of the Mercury, Katie Emde, whose son, Avery, is autistic, expressed concerns with the supports for her son. She noted she no longer has access to an occupational therapist through the school division.

Emde previously voiced her concerns with the education and health-care systems in an appearance at the Saskatchewan legislature on Dec. 6.

Lynn Little, the director of education for the school division, said the school division has 184 intensive needs students, including 44 with autism.

“We have a full service school division, and what that means is we have professional support with specialized training to support children, their families and the staff in whatever the diagnosis is,” said Little.

Lynn Little The division has two occupational therapist positions that were filled in the past, but haven’t been filled this year.

One left the school division at the end of the 2016-17 school year for personal reasons, and the other transitioned to a different role in the division.

In the case of the latter, she is working in early learning and care, allowing her to work with those five years of age and under.

Little is excited to have that person working with younger children.

But if the occupational therapist positions remain unfilled, that person could spend some time in an occupational therapist’s role.

The school division is still looking to fill those positions, she said.

“We’re continuing to advertise, and we are making contact with the institutions that have training for occupational therapists,” said Little. “There isn’t a program in Saskatchewan, so we … have gone outside the province, and we’ll continue to do that.”

These have been difficult positions to fill in the past, as there isn’t a large number of applicants.

Little said the school division could be without someone for the remainder of the school year, but she hopes that won’t happen.

The school division does have 8.6 full-time equivalent (FTE) speech language pathologists who have training in sensory matters, communication and moblization to work with those with autism; 2 1/2 FTE educational psychologists, who can help set plans and strategies; 16 FTE students services counsellors who have a social worker background and can work with families directly; and just over four FTE early learning and care consultants who work with children with vulnerabilities between the

ages of zero and five.

Those numbers are unchanged from the 2016-17 school year, except for the speech language pathologists. The division actually has more pathologists than a year ago.

“We had a couple of individuals who were on leave last year, and so we didn’t have a full contingent, because they’re hard to refill for a short period of time,” said Little.

All have quality behavioural solutions training, which is a program that supports children on the autism spectrum.

“It’s really a pro-active de-escalation strategy meant for prevention along the way, but it’s supporting children through communication, and sometimes it might be frustration with communication and acting out,” said Little.

The provincial budget that was handed down in March has not had an impact on supports available at this time, she said.

She hopes the school division will be able to maintain the supports that it currently has.

“Last year we were able to keep our supports for learning in place, but we did make reductions in other areas … that we can’t continue to keep,” she said.

South East Cornerstone works with other agencies with the support positions mentioned above, including an autism spectrum disorder consultant from the former Sun Country Health Region.

Little said division staff members have spoken with Emde about issues related to autism supports, but the school division hasn’t heard a lot of concerns from other residents.

“The speech language pathologists, with their training, are able to pick up some of those pieces because they have that sensory training, so we’ve been able to rely on them a little heavier than we have in the past,” said Little.

She also noted that the school division operates under a response to intervention model, meaning it has increased professional supports to ensure the children with the greatest needs have support from the highest-trained staff members.

Christmas lunch fills dining hall at Trinity Lutheran church Trinity Lutheran Church in Estevan held a Christmas lunch that brought enough people to fill every seat in the dining hall, with about 200 people in attendance. Turkey and all the other standards for Christmas dinners were available for people to eat. Members of the congregation had all helped to purchase the food and prepare it for those who wanted to come in and get a good meal.

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Midale receives $25,000 in funding to reopen its decommissioned children’s paddling pool

By William Acri

wacri@estevanmercury.ca

The Town of Midale has received $25,000 from the Richardson Pioneer Foundation to reopen its paddling pool that was closed five years ago. The town has been functioning with just the main pool and that pool has been overcrowded at times.

“The money will be used to refurbish the paddling pool back to a usable state; the main pool has been finished for awhile but it’s great to get funding for the other pool so we can put it back into service for the community,” said Midale Mayor Allan Hauglum.

The community of Midale has many families living within it and the paddling pool is perfect for children.

“The young kids will be very happy to have the paddling pool running again; it

will be great for summer and parents in the community will be happy as well to be able to bring their younger children to their own pool,” said Hauglum.

The paddling pool was closed because it fell into a state of disrepair and it could no longer function as a pool used by the public.

“When it closed there was no money at the time to fix up the pool and we had to close it,” he said.

It is hoped the return of the paddling pool will ease some of the overcrowding in the main pool, which reopened to the public on Canada Day after being shut down for nearly two years.

“We seen it ... with our main pool, that the lifeguards we hired had to turn people away because the main pool was getting to full.

Having the paddling pool back is going be great for 2018,” said Hauglum.

An application was sub-

mitted to the Richardson Pioneer Foundation on behalf of the town to receive funding for repair and reopen the paddling pool.

Randy Riege and Mike Sarada from Richardson Pioneer were in attendance during the cheque presentation. They were representing the company and Sarada lives in the Midale area.

“There was an application put forward to us on behalf of the Town of Midale to the Richardson Foundation who approved the $25,000 donation,” said Riege.

Richardson Pioneer has been doing charity work in the areas it operates for a long time and they believe the work they do is important.

“At the Richardson Foundation we do numerous acts of charity across Canada; I think to date we have given out about $1.6 million to various communities and we believe the

From left, Randy Riege from Richardson Pioneer, Midale Mayor Allan Hauglum and Michael Sarada from Richardson Pioneer participated in a cheque presentation from the Richardson Pioneer Foundation to the Town of Midale. communities we operate in do need funding and we are proud to be part of that,” said Riege.

The reopening of the paddling pool will create some important jobs for students looking for sum-

Drinking water advisory in Macoun A portion of the village of Macoun has been subject to a drinking water advisory since Dec. 13.

The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency issued the advisory. The

affected area includes all buildings for the west half of the village, north of the railway tracks, and for any individuals who may access water from the west water system.

People are asked to boil water for at least one minute prior to use. This includes water for drinking water, washing fruits and vegetables and brushing teeth. People can also use

Your Holiday

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an alternative water source known to be safe for drinking water.

According to the Sask.

Alerts app, the advisory is to remain in effect until Dec. 22.

mer jobs.

“Getting the pool up and running is great. As Randy mentioned, the kids are going to have something to do this summer and also some employment can be brought the community and provide some summer jobs

for students,” said Sarada.

“The value this brings to the community is the kids are going to have something to do all summer and they will have a place to cool down on those hot days we get sometimes,” said Hauglum.

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A10 December 20, 2017

Estevan Mercury

Community gives for the Angel Tree program

By William Acri wacri@estevanmercury.ca

The Angel Tree program wrapped up this past weekend and the Estevan community was very generous this year, with excellent support shown on one day in particular.

Approximately 250 toys and $2,700 were collected at the Estevan Canadian Tire outlet on Dec. 14.

“Toys and money have been coming in consistently since we have been here. We arrived here just after 9:00 a.m. this morning, and we will be here until the store closes,” said Deputy Fire Chief Rick Davies.

“The biggest donation we have received so far is hard to say, it varies a bit. We have had someone come by and donate $200 and sometimes we get one toy or a whole box of toys.”

The Estevan Fire Rescue Service and the Estevan Police Service were at Canadian Tire, collecting donations and gifts.

Once everything was collected, the toys were stored at the Estevan Fire Hall, where they will

be part of the Toy Store on Dec. 20 and 21.

The Angel Tree itself was located at the Estevan Walmart for two weeks in December, and many more toys were collected.

Individuals with children who receive a hamper through the Community Hamper Association can drop by the Toy Store to select a toy for their child.

“The fire department was involved with it last year and we have been working the Angel Tree for almost three years,” said Davies.

“The group that looks after the Angel Tree will come in and sort everything and I believe who ever the gifts are getting donated to will pick and choose what they want and after we are done out here tonight we will be purchasing toys through the firefighters association that we will donate.”

Davis said the Angel Tree program brings a lot of value to the community because it helps out those who are struggling during the Christmas season.

The donations ensure that a lot of children get toys at Christmas.

From left, Deputy Fire Chief Rick Davies, Firefighter Lee Mantei and Estevan Police Service Const. Steven Enns were outside Canadian Tire, accepting donations from the pubic as part of the Angel Tree donation drive on Dec. 14.

City Hall: 1102 4th Street 8 am to 4:30 pm | (306) 634-1800 Leisure Office: 701 Souris Avenue 8 am to 4:30 pm | (306) 634-1880

Message From

The Mayor

Join us December 22 for the Jingle Mingle.

For more info, call Leisure Services at 306-634-1880 CAREER OPPORTUNITIES LAND DEVELOPMENT MANAGER The City of Estevan is searching for a talented senior level Manager who can provide superior customer service, adapt quickly to a challenge, and wants to be part of a growing community.

Position Title: Land Development Manager Reports To: City Manager Business Division: Land Development Services Summary: The successful applicant will lead, manage, supervise and co-ordinate all Land Development Services Division of the City of Estevan. The Land Development Manager will focus on the following duties:

AFFINITY PLACE Must be 19 | ID Required

SPECIALTY DRINKS & SNACKS CHRISTMAS MUSIC

City is looking for Board Committee Members Economic Development Board One Member at Large Needed!

Prosperity is a result of a coordinated, cooperative effort of many individuals and organizations in the public, private and civil sectors. Serving as a Member at Large will permit you to join in the exchange of ideas and information that becomes a part of our strategic plan and development as well as participate in the decision making process of this organization.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Economic Development Board please submit a letter with your past and present experiences that would be relevant to this board and your qualifications by December 31, 2018 to: Jeff Ward, City Manager 1102 4th Street, Estevan, SK, S4A 0W7 Email : j.ward@estevan.ca Applications will be considered and chosen at the discretion of the board of directors based on best fit for the Community Strategy and applications received.

The City of Estevan invites interested citizens to sit on

The Community Grant Committee If you are interested in becoming part of this committee, please send a letter explaining your qualifications and what past experiences in sport, culture and recreation either as a participant, coach or board member that you have had that could benefit this board. Preference will be given to individuals who have shown local experience and have lived in our community for more than 3 years. Please apply in writing by December 30, 2017: City Clerk, 1102 - 4th Street, Estevan, SK S4A 0W7 Ph: 306-634-1852

Fax: 306-634-9790

email: cityclerk@estevan.ca

The City of Estevan invites interested citizens to sit on

The Estevan Board of Police Commissioners.

If you are interested in becoming a Member at Large, please send a letter explaining your qualifications and what past experiences you have that could benefit this board in writing by December 30, 2017: City Clerk, 1102 - 4th Street, Estevan, SK S4A 0W7 Ph: 306-634-1852

Fax: 306-634-9790

email: cityclerk@estevan.ca

Criminal Records Check may be required upon request.

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• Manages, Supervises and co-ordinates Land Development Services.

• Administers the Development Plan & Zoning Bylaw.

• Researches and prepares bylaws, policies, plans and regulatory proposals for Land Planning and Development activities.

• Delivery and maintenance of urban planning programs and services such as: - Current Planning practices - Processing and issuing of property/zoning compliance certificates - Coordinating the planning and design of City initiated land developments • Manages City land sales.

• Responds to requests for information and investigates complaints and/or bylaw infractions.

• Responsible for preparation and negotiation of development and service agreements, designs and concept plans.

• Responsible for the enforcement of the land use bylaws, development permit conditions and servicing agreements.

• Assists the public and associate staff members with Business Division records, bylaws, policies and procedures.

• Responsible for the overview of development permit, rezoning and subdivision process.

• Assists in developing and implementing Community Economic Development and Tourism/Marketing strategies for the City.

• Acts as liaison with Federal, Provincial and Local Government Officials, City Solicitor, Consultants, Customers and Members of Boards and Committees.

• Participates in the appointment, training, appraisal, promotion, demotion, transfer or dismissal of staff.

• Attend meetings of Council and Council Committees as assigned and participates in the exchange of information and providing guidance and advice.

• Drafts correspondence resulting from decisions of Council.

• Provides advice on Building upgrades.

• Acts as Secretary to the Estevan Development Appeals Board.

• Other duties as assigned REQUIRED EDUCATION & TRAINING • University Degree in Urban Planning recognized by the Canadian Institute of Planners.

• Membership or eligibility for membership into the Canadian Institute of Planners • Proficiency in Microsoft Office • Proficiency in AutoCAD Map 3D • Valid Class 5 Driver’s License EXPERIENCE AND ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS • Five (5) years Municipal Experience • Five (5) years Project Management Experience • Experience in Subdivision design preferred • Training with AutoCAD Civil 3D would be an asset • Superior leadership, interpersonal and organizational abilities • Superior oral and written communication skills APPLICATION DEADLINE This position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found.

The City of Estevan offers a competitive salary and an outstanding benefits package.

For further information or to apply, please contact: Sheryl March,Human Resource Generalist 1102-4th Street, Estevan, SK S4A 0W7 Ph: (306) 634-1841 • Fax: (306) 634-9790 • apply@estevan.ca We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

Public Notice The Council of the City of Estevan pursuant to the Cities Act that the Council of the City of Estevan, gives notice of its intention to Bylaw 2017-1991 to Establish and Economic Development Board and Bylaw 2017-1992 to Agree to Mutual Aid for the surrounding areas for the specific purpose of Regulating use in the City of Estevan.

On the December 4, 2017 meeting the first reading of both bylaws was passed and the final reading is expected to be on December 18, 2017.

The proposed Bylaws 2017-19901 and 2017-1992 may be inspected by any person in the City Clerk’s Office, on the main level of City Hall, between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm, Monday to Friday.

Dated this 6th day of December, 2017 Judy Pilloud 1102 4th Street Estevan, SK S4A 0W7

www.estevanmercury.ca

December 20, 2017 A11

The CP Rail Holiday Train rolled into Estevan on Friday afternoon. Live performances were courtesy of Dallas Smith and Terri Clark.

Holiday Train brings Christmas cheer to Estevan

By William Acri wacri@estevanmercury.ca

Christmas came by rail to Estevan with the Canadian Pacific (CP) Holiday Train rolling through town mid-day on Friday afternoon.

The train that came to Estevan was the U.S. version of the train, and it crossed into Canada earlier on Friday at North Portal.

Canadian country music stars Dallas Smith, Terri

Clark and Kelly Prescott were the featured acts. Darren Savard, Ken Post and Richard Levesque were the other performers. They played some Christmas carols and some of their original music.

The purpose of the Holiday Train is two-fold, in that it brings Christmas to many small towns accessible by rail, and it also raises food and money for food banks.

“We have been com-

A large crowd watches country music stars Dallas Smith and Terri Clark sing and play their instruments.

Musicians Kelly Prescott, Darren Savard, Ken Post and Richard Levesque accompanied the two singers.

ing here every year before I worked with the Salvation Army at the thrift store,” said Rhonda Olsen, who is the supervisor at the thrift store. “I just enjoy coming out here and seeing the sense of community and seeing everyone come together and enjoy an afternoon.”

People showed up early waiting for the train to stop in Estevan. Many brought out their children and came prepared with mittens, hats and warm coffee.

The weather this year has been unseasonably warm, which helped attract the large crowd.

The Holiday Train supports food banks in the communities it visits, and the local Salvation Army received $4,500 from CP Rail during the event.

The Salvation Army not only received a large sum of money but it had its

cube van parked not far from where the train stopped, so people dropped off a variety of non-perishable food items. By the time the event was over, the cube van had its entire floor covered with various boxes and baskets containing donated food.

The CP Holiday Train program launched in 1999 and has since raised $13 million and countless pounds of food for the towns along its route. The Holiday Train has been running for 19 years.

The U.S. version of the Holiday Train started at the Adirondack Junction/Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve in Quebec, with Prescott, Jonathan Roy, Jim Cuddy and Devin Cuddy serving as the entertainment. It made its way through six U.S. states and four Canadian provinces during its journey.

The final stop was Dec. 17 in Brooks, Alta.

City Hall: 1102 4th Street 8 am to 4:30 pm | (306) 634-1800 Leisure Office: 701 Souris Avenue 8 am to 4:30 pm | (306) 634-1880

DROP IN RECREATION

ICE SKATING SCHEDULE

EFFECTIVE - December 23, 2017 - January 5, 2017

INDOOR Saturday, Dec. 23 Sunday, Dec. 24

Monday, Dec. 25 Tuesday, Dec. 26 Wed. Dec. 27 - Fri. Dec. 29

Sunday, Dec. 31 Monday, Jan. 1 Tue. Jan. 2 - Fri. Jan. 5

SHINNY 6 - 10 YRS SHINNY 11 - 15 YRS FAMILY SKATE PRESCHOOL PUCK TIME PARENT & TOT SKATE SHINNY FAMILY FAMILY SKATE CLOSED SHINNY FAMILY FAMILY SKATE PARENT & TOT SKATE NOON HOCKEY 16+ YRS SHINNY 6 - 10 YRS SHINNY 11 - 15 YRS PARENT & TOT SKATE SHINNY FAMILY FAMILY SKATE FAMILY SKATE PARENT & TOT SKATE NOON HOCKEY 16+ YRS SHINNY 6 - 10 YRS SHINNY 11 - 15 YRS

1:15 pm - 2:15 pm 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm 10:00 am - 11:00 am 11:15 am - 12:00 pm 12:15 pm - 2:00 pm 2:15 pm - 4:00 pm

POWER DODGE ICE CENTRE POWER DODGE ICE CENTRE POWER DODGE ICE CENTRE AFFINITY PLACE AFFINITY PLACE AFFINITY PLACE AFFINITY PLACE

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm 11:15 am - 12:00 pm 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm 1:15 pm - 2:15 pm 2:15 pm - 3:15 pm 11:15 am - 12:00 pm 12:15 pm - 2:00 pm 2:15 pm - 4:00 pm 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 11:15 am - 12:00 pm 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm 1:15 pm - 2:15 pm 2:15 pm - 3:15 pm

AFFINITY PLACE AFFINITY PLACE AFFINITY PLACE AFFINITY PLACE POWER DODGE ICE CENTRE POWER DODGE ICE CENTRE POWER DODGE ICE CENTRE POWER DODGE ICE CENTRE POWER DODGE ICE CENTRE POWER DODGE ICE CENTRE AFFINITY PLACE AFFINITY PLACE AFFINITY PLACE AFFINITY PLACE

Please note during school breaks, (Teachers Convention, Spring Breaks and Christmas Breaks) and when Ice becomes available arena schedules may vary. Please visit our live schedules at www.estevan.ca

OUTDOOR (SUNDAYS) - FREE FOR EVERYONE KINSMEN RINK

Warm up shack, change room and washrooms. Outdoor lights. Children under 10 years of age must be under direct supervision of a parent or guardian 16 years of age or older. Helmets are strongly recommended for all participants. Keep pucks down on the boarded rinks to prevent injury to spectators and players.

RUSTY DUCE RINK

Warm up shack, change room and washrooms. Outdoor lights. Children under 10 years of age must be under direct supervision of a parent or guardian 16 years of age or older. Helmets are strongly recommended for all participants. Keep pucks down on the boarded rinks to prevent injury to spectators and players.

WESTVIEW RINK

Warm up shack and change room. Outdoor lights. Children under 10 years of age must be under direct supervision of a parent or guardian 16 years of age or older. Helmets are strongly recommended for all participants. Keep pucks down on the boarded rinks to prevent injury to spectators and players.

800 Block of George Street 10:00 am - 9:30 pm

1300 Block of Nicholson Road 10:00 am - 9:30 pm 1700 Block of 1st Street 10:00 am - 9:30 pm

Opening dates vary depending on the weather Typically it takes three to ve centimeters of snow and an extended period of cold weather to make the rinks. Rinks will be closed if temperatures lead to melting and ponding.

WEIGHT ROOM MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

6:00 AM - 10:00 PM 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM 6:00 AM - 10:00 PM 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM

FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

6:00 AM - 9:00 PM 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM

DROP IN RECREATION

AQUATIC SCHEDULE SAT. DEC. 23 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM SUN. DEC. 24 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM MON. DEC. 25 CLOSED TUE. DEC. 26 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM WED. DEC. 27 6:00 AM - 9:00 AM 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM THURS. DEC. 28 6:00 AM - 9:00 AM 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM FRI. DEC. 29 6:00 AM - 9:00 AM 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM FAMILY SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM AIS FAMILY SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM AIS FAMILY SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM AIS FAMILY SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM

EFFECTIVE - December 23, 2017 - January 5, 2017

SAT. DEC. 30 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM SUN. DEC. 31 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM MON. JAN. 1 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM TUE. JAN. 2 6:00 AM - 9:00 AM 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM WED. JAN. 3 6:00 AM - 9:00 AM 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM THURS. JAN. 4 6:00 AM - 9:00 AM 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM FRI. JAN. 5 6:00 AM - 9:00 AM 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM FAMILY SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM AIS LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM AIS LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM LANE SWIM AIS LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM AIS LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM LANE SWIM PUBLIC SWIM

* Schedule Subject to Change. Please visit www.estevan.ca for updates on closures and cancellations. Proper footwear and exercise wear is required to participate. Please note during school breaks, (Teachers Convention, Spring Break and Christmas Break) Fitness, Aquatic Centre and Arena schedules may vary. Please visit our live schedules at www.estevan.ca 701 Souris Avenue North | Estevan, SK | Tel: 306-634-1888 | www.estevan.ca

A12 December 20, 2017

Estevan Mercury

Council approves leisure services signage report Estevan city council approved an updated version of the signage policy for the leisure centre during Monday night’s council meeting.

The policy governs who, what and how events are promoted within the facility, to reduce confusion of who can promote events and where to post them; to help staff have guidelines and direction on what is acceptable and unacceptable; and to provide guidelines for organizations in the facility for who post content within the leisure centre without consent.

Current user groups and organizations of the leisure centre can use community bulletin boards and interior poster boards for events in the facility. External organizations with a reserved facility rental or sponsorship through the city can use the community billboards, external digital billboard and interior poster boards for events held in the facility.

Community organizations can post on approved bulletin boards.

Anonymous communications will not be permitted.

Prohibited material will include items believed to demean or expose to ridicule individuals or groups based on gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, national origin, creed or disability; obscene materials; and material that would incite hatred or violence.

Advertising related to private, commercial activities will not be permitted unless sanctioned by City of Estevan policies.

Also, materials in a language other than English or French must have an English translation within the material being posted.

Materials cannot be posted on walls, columns, doors, windows, floors, elevators, building exteriors, sidewalks, windows and trees without approval of the City of Estevan’s marketing department. *** Coun. Dennis Moore, who chairs the South East Transportation Planning Committee, noted the committee has had talks about upgrading Highway 47 south of Estevan and north of Stoughton. The highway has become the committee’s top priority, and it would be the most costly

issue. Moore said the committee hopes the highways can be included in the 2018-19 provincial budget. *** The monthly report from Green for Life Environmental shows that 3,743 recycling carts were emptied last month, with a total weight of 29,690 kilograms. The average weight was 7.93 kilograms.

The biggest day was on Nov. 6 in the Hillside subdivision, when 656 carts were emptied with a total weight of 5,370 kilograms, and an average cart weight of 8.19 kilograms.

A total of 14,157 trash carts were emptied in November, with a total weight of 250,370 kilograms, and an average weight of 17.69 kilograms per cart. *** Water treatment plant chemical tenders were awarded to several companies: Border Chemical Company Ltd. received the aluminum sulphate tender at the water treatment plant for $68,670; ClearTech Inc. was awarded the liquid chlorine tender at the water treatment plant for $18,666.06

and the potassium permanganate tenders for $20,538 for saturator; Canadian Colors and Chemicals Ltd. was awarded the ammonium sulfate tender for $10,500; and Brenntag Canada Inc. was awarded the hydrofluosilicic acid tender for $10,034.55 and the sodium hydroxide solution for $68,657.63. *** Five building permits, with a total value of $891,500, were issued in November, bringing the totals for the year to 57 permits worth slightly more than $5.9 million. Three of the permits were single-family residential permits worth $803,000. Two miscellaneous permits worth $88,500 were also issued. *** Council gave second and third readings to a pair of bylaws. The first will to establish the economic development board to provide advice and recommendations for council in matters regarding community development in the city and rural municipality of Estevan.

The other is for the mutual aid agreement between the city of Estevan and neighbouring towns, villages and municipalities in the event of a disaster.

New bylaw enforcement officer has started a bylaw enforcement officer for several months.

Michelle Pickering was promoted from the role to that of constable with the EPS in the late spring, and officially stepped down from her bylaw duties in the early summer.

Newton, who had been a dispatcher with the EPS, was hired to be the bylaw enforcement officer early in the fall, but before she could start her bylaw duties, the EPS needed to replace her as a dispatcher, and she needed the adequate training.

EPS officers have been handling bylaw enforcement calls whenever pos-

Estevan’s new bylaw enforcement officer is now at work, checking for parking violations, animal control issues, unkempt properties and other infractions.

According to a report filed at the Dec. 13 meeting of the Estevan board of police commissioners, Spec. Const. Josie Newton started on Nov. 20. In the final third of the month, she issued 10 parking violations, attended to one animal impound, one animal violation, one aggressive animal, two other animalrelated calls, one unkempt property violation and two taxi bylaw calls.

Estevan was without

Bylaw enforcement officer Josie Newton sible in recent months.

So far this year, the highest volumes of bylawrelated calls have been

parking violations with 192 occurrences, animal calls (138), unkempt property inspections (124), parking complaints (113) and general cleanup (108). But all those categories have been down since the EPS didn’t have a bylaw enforcement officer.

Police Chief Paul Ladouceur said Newton has done very well so far, and has the confidence to handle the job.

“She is already out there going through uncollected fines that were backlogged,” said Ladouceur.

She is also looking at bylaws for ride-sharing services now that the

government is looking at allowing Uber and other companies into the province, and has been working on integrated business licence checks.

Also during the meeting, Ladouceur provided an update on the EPS website, which has been down for several months.

“The company that is looking after our website has a draft design with all of the templates, so it’s looking good now,” he said. “I said it has to be designed for the media, too, so I think it will be very user-friendly for the media.”

Members of the public

will be able to do criminal record checks online. They will also be able to access Freedom of Information Act requests online and make complaints against police.

“It will be a lot more convenient for the public as well,” said Ladouceur.

The chief said the EPS is looking at a multilingual option that would allow people to view the website in French and possibly even Tagalog.

Ladouceur said the process of getting the website up and running is taking longer than anticipated because they’re trying to integrate everything at once.

FOR SALE The Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5 has the following equipment for sale: • 2014 Schulte Mower - Model XH1500 $ 16,000 obo 1000 rpm, laminate tires, walking beams, in excellent condition – Pictures can be found on our website at www.rmestevan.ca

New Year’s Eve Bash

For more information contact Blaine at (306) 421-1942

Metis Federation of SK, Estevan at Estevan Legion Hall

December 31st from 8pm to 1pm

Music by D. J. Brad Bengert

Late Lunch Provided Noise-makers and party favours will be available for midnight.

Tickets: $20.00

per person Please call for tickets: Linda Sopp (306) 421-1199 or Betty Albertson (306) 634-3352

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LEGAL NOTICE Notice is hereby given to Walter Frederick Lukye that a court application has been made against you. You are hereby required to be personally in attendance at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, January 8, 2018 at the Estevan Court of Queen’s Bench, 1016-4th Street, Estevan, Saskatchewan. If you fail to attend court, a court order may be made in your absence. Contact the law office of Bell, Kreklewich & Chambers for the full particulars of the court application.

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Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Bruins exchange 4-2 scores with Melville in the final games before Christmas

By Corey Atkinson sports@estevanmercury.ca

Bruins forward Zach Goberis dumps the puck in against Melville Friday night at Affinity Place. while signing autographs on hockey cards given out before the game. “Everyone’s pretty excited to go home on break but these two games are important divisional games.

We haven’t played Melville since the beginning of the year. It was important to show them we’re the best team in the division and one of the best teams in the league.”

Hayden Guilderson’s goal at 5:50 of the third alleviated a bit of the pressure on the Bruins.

“Ultimately I think we were confident throughout and with them putting some pressure on, maybe we’d have been squeez-

ing our sticks a little more,” Lewgood said.

“But at the end of the day I thought we were fine. I thought we played with confidence throughout the game and not too much of it. I thought that the guys did a good job of managing their mindsets.

Didur stopped 29 of 31 shots in the game while the Bruins fired 33 shots at Melville’s Brandon Wells.

“It’s definitely a step on the right direction going into the break,” said Didur. “You want to go into the holidays in good spirits and being happy, playing a well-played game defensively. I thought we did all the right

things to get the win.”

Saturday in Melville, the team didn’t have as much early success. They went down 3-0 and didn’t hit the scoresheet until late in the third period. Fletcher scored at 15:04 of the third and Arthur Miller scored at 17:23 to put the pressure on Melville, but they tallied into an empty net with Estevan goaltender Matt Lukacs on the bench and two seconds on the clock.

Lukacs stopped 18 of 21 shots in the loss, while Colby Entz saved 33 of 35 in Melville’s net.

With 35 games gone in the season, the Bruins with a couple of point ahead of Weyburn (19-11-3-0) for first place in the Viterra Division with Weyburn holding two games in hand.

“Our record doesn’t indicate where we want to be,” said Lewgood. “Our last month has been a real tough one on the schedule and as a result our wins and losses are down from where we thought we could be. But as far as our mindset and our confidence and those types of things, we’re happy with the group, we’re happy with the effort we’ve put forth and we’ve let a few slip away from us, not from our lack of effort but from decisions and mistakes and breakdowns.”

But the injuries and the breakdowns are all in the rear view mirror during the Christmas break. Some, like Fletcher and Didur, will go home to British Columbia for the holidays.

“I’ll go home and I’ll be visiting mom and dad and both sides of the family,” said Fletcher. “It’ll be good to go home and regenerate. We’ve had a pretty busy couple of months here, especially November. It’ll be good to just go home and see everyone and relax and then come back healthy with lots of energy ready to get back at ‘er in the second half.”

The Bruins’ next action is Dec. 30 in Weyburn and New Year’s Day at 3 p.m. at Affinity Place against the Red Wings.

Hayden Guilderson tries to look for a rebound against Melville goaltender Brandon Wells Friday at Affinity Place.

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Most millionaires aren’t particularly known for being all that generous, but the Melville Millionaires and the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins handed each other 4-2 wins in each other’s buildings in their last games before the Christmas break.

The Bruins (20-12-2-1) won 4-2 at Affinity Place Friday while the Mils (12-21-02) won 4-2 in Melville Saturday before the two teams scattered for the holiday break.

“I thought we played a pretty solid effort there,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood after Friday’s game. “A couple of breakdowns cost us and bad luck with the second goal against.

I thought it was a weak call that put us down two (men) and then it’s tough to kill those ones with that much time on them.”

Lewgood thought his team had a very good effort and managed the puck well Friday. The offensive zone coverage was good to get the Bruins a 4-1 lead early in the third period.

“I thought our puck distribution was crafty,” Lewgood said. “We managed the puck pretty well, in other words we weren’t turning the puck over and making unnecessary plays, other than a few instances. The key is we skated hard and we limited their opportunities.”

Jake Fletcher’s 15th goal of the season 5:32 into the first period established the lead for the Buins and the team’s Johnny Witzke and Kaelan Holt each scored in the second period before Melville’s Tucker Chapman scored on Bo Didur with eight seconds left in the period.

“Obviously it’s pretty big and we had a great turnout tonight fanwise,” said Fletcher,

B2 December 20, 2017

Estevan Mercury

Estevan’s Kristy Johnson qualifies for provincial Scotties with Candace Chisholm rink

By Corey Atkinson sports@estevanmercury.ca

The southeast will rise again, in curling terms at least.

The Candace Chisholm rink out of Carlyle – which includes Estevan’s Kristy Johnson — was one of two qualifying teams at the Viterra Last Chance Qualifier last weekend at the Power Dodge Curling Centre.

It was the first year with the team for Johnson, who curls alongside third Lana Vey and second Natalie Bloomfield, but they’ve all had experience playing together before in different formations. That helped them defeat the Stefanie Lawton rink 10-7 Saturday afternoon to claim their spot at the provincial Scotties in Melfort Jan. 2-7, 2018.

“The chemistry is really easy,” Johnson said.

“Natalie, Candace and I have curled together probably for 12 years on and off. Then Lana and Natalie curled together for a couple of years.

We just really gel. We have similar personalities and we work really well together.

Lana and Candace complement each other really well in the back end.”

The Chisholm rink started out by defeating the Deana Schenher rink from Melville 7-5 Saturday and the Mandy Selzer rink from Fox Valley 6-5 Saturday morning.

Tied 7-7 after the seventh end, Chisholm lost the hammer after needing to draw to the four-foot to count one. She wouldn’t need the hammer as she stole one in the eighth end, two more in the ninth and ran Lawton out of rocks in the 10th to claim the victory.

“The ice out there was great,” Chisholm said. “The Estevan curling centre did great with the ice. We started out playing here in league and they worked on the ice

a tremendous amount and it’s in good condition right now.”

Going to the provincial Scotties will be part of the long road for the team.

“We didn’t do many ‘spiels this year,” Johnson said. “We only did four, which is less than what we normally do. So these extra games through the challenge ‘spiels is usually beneficial for us. Even though our chemistry works, we still have to get used to each other…. It’s exciting. There’s a lot of good teams out there.

Our province is pretty wide open and anybody can win it.”

“Right from the start of the season it’s our goal to get to provincials,” said Chisholm. “We kind of went through the last chance and it could be anybody’s game out there and we’re just really proud.”

It wasn’t the end of the line for the Lawton rink, as they won 7-4 over Biggar’s Brett Barber to claim the B side crown and, quite literally, the very last spot in the provincial Scotties.

Lawton has won four provincial titles but can’t remember if she’d even won it through earning the very last spot in the field.

“I know that other teams like (Lawton’s third) Steph Schmidt and Colleen Jones, they like to qualify through their last chance and they go on to win the worlds,” Lawton said. “Sometimes it’s a motivation to come out of the last spot and you’re just ready and just keep going.”

With the hammer, Lawton scored a pair in the ninth end to take a commanding 7-4 lead and played a peel game once Barber had to go into the rings. The two teams shook hands with Lawton’s skip stones still not thrown. Lawton’s front end of lead Brooklyn Lemon and second Cristina Goertzen played nearly

Stefanie Lawton shouts instructions to sweepers Cristina Goertzen (left) and Brooklyn Lemon Saturday at the Power Dodge Curling Centre. flawless through the week.

There was a lot of time between the A final and the B final for Lawton’s team to think about the match but whatever pressure they put on themselves wasn’t too much to handle.

“We’ve been playing well so it’s just making sure we don’t have a bad end,” said Lawton. “Some of our other games, like against Candace, we gave up four and we had a few different ends like that. We just wanted to make sure we played a strong game all the way through. That’s what we were focusing on.”

Lawton is once again on a newer team like many in the field with this being their first season together.

“Steph and Brook played together two years prior to this,” she said. “I’ve played with Steph. She joined us at the Scotties in Moose Jaw (in 2015). She went in for Sherri Singler when she hurt her ankle.

Cristina is brand new to us.

But it’s a great team and it’s a lot of fun.”

Natalie Bloomfield, left, and Estevan’s Kristy Johnson sweep a rock Saturday at the Power Dodge Curling Centre.

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The Royal Canadian Legion, Estevan Branch #60 would like to thank all members & volunteers for the hard work done throughout 2017 to help manage our financial crisis. We want to thank our customers for the support of our fundraisers, social events & activities, and particularly for the support of a very successful Truck Raffle held on Dec. 1st. We are proud members A special thank you goes to the manager and staff of the of this community and Murray GM dealership in town for wish everyone a very helping us promote the Raffle and sell tickets for the Truck Raffle.

Merry Christmas!

We’ve received the message loud and clear that the City of Estevan residents are behind our organization and the work done within the community, and our newly elected Executive Committee is going to work hard in 2018 to continue rebuilding this Branch!

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www.estevanmercury.ca

December 20, 2017 B3

Apex Bruins win big on the weekend

By Corey Atkinson sports@estevanmercury.ca

The Estevan Apex Bruins had little trouble disposing of a pair of visiting foes on the weekend.

The Bruins (13-6-2) beat Moose Jaw 5-1 Saturday and the Regina Capitals 6-2 Sunday, taking both games handily.

“We had a really good start the last couple of games, which was really nice for us,” said Bruins head coach Robin Ulrich.

“In a few weekends previous to that we were sluggish coming out of the gate. A good start is always good for us. The ability to get some points and score some goals and have a contribution from all three lines is really nice.”

Josh Romanyk scored with 10 seconds left in the first period Friday to give the Bruins the lead.

Although Moose Jaw tied the game early in the second, the Bruins scored four unanswered – including three in the third. Those goal scorers were Triston Sorenson, Jaiden Gervais, Dawson Schaff on the power play and Joey Meredith shorthanded. Logan Nagel got the win in net with 21 saves.

Sunday against the Capitals, the Bruins aggressive forecheck stood out as a key factor, frustrating Regina and leading to countless turnovers.

“I think any type of hockey you play, when you put pressure on people it forces them to move the puck quickly,” said Ulrich. “(Saturday) night I thought we weren’t aggressive off the hop and we kind of let Moose Jaw do some things and look good. But when you put pressure on them

Apex Bruins forward Dalton Schrader tries to go around Regina Capitals player Adam Probe Sunday at Affinity Place. it forces them to move the puck and forces turnovers.

We did a good job of that (Sunday).”

Carson Benning scored Estevan’s first goal Sunday at 6:57 on a shot from the point that went cleanly through behind Regina’s Joshua Babcock. They then lit up Babcock with quick strikes in the second, as Zach Ashworth, Daymon Wanner and Gervais scored in a 2:24 stretch to give the Bruins a big 4-0 lead.

“We started capitalizing on our opportunities moving the puck and our defensive game really picked up,” said Wanner.

“Everything was just clicking for us in the second.”

The Bruins also got goals from Cale Adams and Romanyk in the third.

Bryson Garton stopped 30 shots in the win.

“Even though the scores were a bit lopsided, both of our goaltenders

played well,” said Ulrich.

If there is one thing the Bruins weren’t able to do well was turn the other cheek when it came to penalties. They let the Capitals have eight power plays in the game compared to the Bruins four.

“That’s something we’ll need to clean up is our penalties and just our ability to retaliate… if we feel we’ve had a cheap shot or a slight to us,” she said.

“That’s an area we need to clean up because we can’t always be relying… on the PK to kill penalties for us.”

The Bruins’ next game will be Dec. 30 at Melville.

Estevan has gone 13-2 in their last 15 regular season games.

“We would have liked to have had a better start to be in the top teams for sure,” said Wanner. “We’re capable of it. We’re pretty happy with where we are right now.”

Top hockey talent tapped for tournaments Several athletes from the southeast have been chosen to play on the Sask Winter Games’ hockey teams in a couple of months.

The bantam-aged girls team for Team Southeast will have a lot of representation from the Estevan area, with defenceman Karleigh Mackenzie, and forwards Bailey Farr and Kayla Wanner making the team from Estevan.

The three girls play on the Power Tech midget Bear Cats. The Parkland Valley team for the Games will also have Brynn Kuntz on defence. Kuntz also plays for the Bear Cats.

The boys team of first year bantam-aged play-

ers also has some players from the local bantam AA team. Goaltender Jackson Miller, and forwards Kaden Chrest and Mason Fichter are all from Estevan and play on the TS&M Bruins.

Forwards Mason Kukura from Bienfait and Colby Cuddington from Manor are also on the Bruins and will be on Team Southeast. Bromhead’s Colby Durr and defenceman Alec Waldegger from Estevan played a game for the Bruins as affiliated players earlier this year.

The Sask Winter Games will be Feb. 18-24, 2018 in North Battleford.

Last week, the top 160 bantam age players were announced by the Saskatch-

ewan Hockey Association that will play in the Sask First Male Bantam Tournament later this month. The tournament will be Dec. 28-30 in Regina and will feature teams made of the top 80 second-year bantamage players from the southern part of the province and the top 80 from the north.

Named to the team are TS&M Bruins goaltender Zane Winter, and forwards Tyson Dales, Clay McKersie from Estevan and forwards Kieran Stewart from Oxbow and Turner McMillen from Carievale.

Also named to the team was Estevan-born forward Maximus Wanner, playing for the Prairie Hockey Academy in Caronport.

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B4 December 20, 2017

Estevan Mercury

Westmoreland Bruins play well in final TS&M Bruins beaten twice period versus Swift Current on the road

By Corey Atkinson Sports@estevanmercury.ca

The weekend went fairly well for the Westmoreland Bruins but the final period they played was probably their best.

The Bruins (2-12-0) lost 6-3 and 10-5 at home to the Swift Current Broncos (8-6-1) at Affinity Place in their first home games since October. The game was out of hand for the Bruins late Sunday but the players didn’t give up trying to score and play well.

“That’s what we’re going to focus on, the last period of (Sunday’s) game,” said Bruins head coach Kris Hollingshead. “Actually we played well alongside of them for two periods (Saturday) too. The effort was there but it was the little things that ended up costing us.”

Jordan Marcotte scored with 1:03 left in the first period to tie the game against the Broncos, but Swift Current added a pair in the second. A shortanded goal

by Rylan Williams of the Broncos made the game 4-1 at 8:35 of the third but the Bruins matched them goal for goal after that.

Marcotte scored his second and Ty Hoste also scored before the end of the game. Tallan Howie was in net for Estevan for the entire game.

The series was the first home games for the Bruins since the

Goaltender Tallan Howie of the Bruins makes a save Sunday afternoon on a wraparound attempt against Swift Current at Affinity Place. weekend before Halloween. That time away from the ice helped the team rest and recuperate, as did the last two weeks away from even road games.

“It gave us a chance to heal up,” Hollingshead said. “Our captain (Carson Birnie) was out and we haven’t seen him for nine weeks and it was good to have him back in the lineup.

Yesterday was the first time in about nine weeks that we had

our full roster.”

The Bruins went into the third period down 8-3 and even further down 10-3 but quick goals from Hoste and Marcotte helped spark the Bruins to playing better for the rest of the game.

Hoste had two in the game, and Tate Kasick scored the other.

But the Bruins have some work in front of them.

“We’ve got to get back to the basics and get the puck to the net

and capitalizing on ur opportunities,” Hollingshead said. “We’re getting lots of chances and lots of first looks and the second and third shots, we’re not capitalizing on. We’ve got to learn to drive to the net harder and tie up pucks in front of our own net and helping our goalie.”

The Bruins play Thursday night against Weyburn (12-0-2) to close out their pre-Christmas schedule.

The TS&M Estevan AA Bantam Bruins closed out the preChristmas schedule with a better result in their last game than in their second last game.

The Bruins (6-10-2) played two games in the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League’s north division, a notoriously difficult place to win. They lost 11-1 to the high flying Prince Albert Pirates Saturday and 5-4 to the Saskatoon Stallions (11-6-2) Sunday. The team was missing regulars Nathan Wagstaff, Kade Bentsen, Kaleb Poole and Mason Kukura.

The Bruins went down 7-0 after the second period. Turner McMillen scored 58 seconds into the third period but the Pirates responded with four more before the end of the game. Jackson Miller and Zane Winter split the duties in net in the loss, combining for 40 saves.

Clay McKersie’s goal 14:20 into the third period tied the game 4-4 in Saskatoon Sunday but their joy and momentum were shortlived as just 1:06 later the Stallions took the lead for good. Kieran Stewart scored two in the game, and Tayce Miller had the other.

Affiliated player Colby Durr had a pair of assists.

Winter stopped 50 shots in the Bruins net.

Their next action will be Jan. 6, 2018 in North Battleford and Jan. 7 at the Saskatoon Outlaws.

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www.estevanmercury.ca

December 20, 2017 B5

Carnduff’s winning streak continues in Big Six With just one week to go in the Big Six Hockey League season before a Christmas break, teams have started to pull away from the bottom two.

The first place Carnduff Red Devils (11-1-0) are certainly one of those teams, earning wins over Arcola/Kisbey 10-1 Friday and Oxbow 7-6 Saturday to extend their lead in the league.

The Red Devils jumped out to a 6-0 lead on Arcola/ Kisbey (0-10-0) in the first period and were up 10-0 by the end of the second. Big Six leading scorer Matt Audette had three goals and a pair of assists, while Shawn Gallant scored three goals and an assist in the game for the Red Devils.

Carnduff was in danger of going to overtime against an undermanned Oxbow Huskies (5-6-0) team when they scored the winning goal with 31 seconds to go in regulation when Mark Moriarty scored his second of the game. Both Audette and Moriarty scored a pair for the Red Devils in the game. Derek Cooney had two goals and two assists in the game for the Huskies.

Redvers (9-4-0) is staying close to the league leader, just a pair of wins behind the Red Devils with a 7-5 home win over Carlyle (1-11-1) Wednesday and a 5-2 home win over Yellow Grass (7-4-1) Saturday. Carlyle attempted a comeback after going down 6-3 after two periods Wednesday but Kevin Mann’s empty net goal for the Rockets with five seconds left sealed the game for the Rockets. Kelsey Kenler scored a pair for the Rockets in the game while five different scorers hit the net for the Cougars.

Dakota Rose scored a goal and an assist for the Rockets Saturday, with Drew Hoff adding a pair of assists, while Corey Koski and Devon Johnson scored for Yellow Grass.

The Bienfait Coalers are 6-4-0 on the season, licking their wounds after a 5-2 road loss at the Wawota Flyers (6-1-3) in which only 10 players dressed. Hunter Piche and Mason Benning scored for the Coalers and Dallas Kickley had assists on both goals.

The Midale Mustangs (6-5-0) played a pair of close games on the week, losing 4-3 to Wawota Wednesday but winning 5-4 over Carlyle Saturday. Braden Kmita’s goal at 2:18 won the game for the Mustangs. Garrett Sherlock had a goal and two assists in the game and Brad Tomiski had a goal and three assists.

The schedule is busy for the final hockey week of 2017 with four games on Friday and two on Saturday. Carnduff is at Redvers and Midale is at Oxbow on Friday, while the Carlyle travels to Wawota Saturday and Oxbow is at Midale.

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Shot coming through Estevan Atom Bear Cats forward Julia Durr looks to get a shot through to the Weyburn AtomC net. The final score was unavailable. The Bear Cats’ next game is scheduled for Friday at 6:15 p.m. against Weyburn AtomC. Photo by Corey Atkinson

Power Tech Bear Cats drop close game in Regina A recent trip to Regina left the Estevan Power Tech Bear Cats just a little bit short of victory.

The Bear Cats (8-5-0-1) played the Regina Ravens (14-1-0-2) in South Saskatchewan Female Hockey League

midget AA action their first game of the weekend, losing 2-1. The goalscorer was unavailable at the source but Myah Battersby stopped 39 of 41 Ravens shots.

The score for their Sunday night game in Regina against the Regina

I

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The Bear Cats have one more game before the Christmas break – Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Affinity Place against the Ravens. Their next game after that is Jan. 2, 2018 in Weyburn.

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B6 December 20, 2017

Estevan Mercury

Creighton Lodge report for November Submitted by Judy Pratt

November was a very busy month around Creighton Lodge.

As we got used to the colder weather, got out our sweaters to wear and started writing our Christmas cards, we realized just how quickly another year passed by. You’d think the days would be long and time would pass slowly as one ages, but it’s not like that. The world is moving at a faster pace and we are trying to keep up to it.

We were treated to some rousing music by The Freebies on November 1. It was busy that day,

with communion from both the Lutheran and United churches, our melt ball program in the morning and exercises in the afternoon. So by the time the Freebies arrived we were all tuckered out, but when listening to them, we got our second wind.

We also were thrilled to have Kelly and Del entertain for our birthday party night, the Happy Wanderers a week later and then Bob Olson and family a week after that. We’ve also been having our own sing songs.

Judy is hoping to spark some interest in a few people to start up the Creighton Lodge Song-

CHURCH SERVICES St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Parish CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR MASS SCHEDULE FOR ESTEVAN

birds once again.

We played Bingo every Wednesday with our everfaithful caller, Joan Wock, at the helm. While some are playing Bingo, others are visiting with Christina Wock’s dogs from the dog therapy program. We’re so fortunate to have these two ladies volunteer for us.

We also keep up our exercise classes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Monica Mackenzie, Sharon Dayman and Irene Tarnes keep us moving and lifting weights. We really appreciate the time they spend with us. We have eight people who are participating in the melt ball program.

It’s a new program, which gives us one more way to combat arthritis and other chronic pains.

We are thankful for the ministerial association, which provides us with Sunday church services.

We look forward to worshipping just “down the hall” rather than having

to go out in the winter.

We are also enjoying our Advent Bible study, which is a four-week study provided by St. Paul’s United Church, and mass on the second Friday, provided by St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church.

Some of the special events in November were a clothing sale by Terry Lynn on Nov. 7, a lovely Remembrance Day program by Kay Hemus (and she served her Welsh cakes that we like so much), a games night with Cynthia Goudy, and our Christmas shopping bonanza to end the month.

The bonanza was a mini tradeshow with thanks to the following folks who brought their products over here so we could shop: Raelene Fieber with Tupperware, Michelle Dickey with Scentsy, Anita Brokenshire with Avon, Paulina Hernik of Strings & Things, Judy Pratt with Juice Plus, Sarah Harder

Creighton Lodge remained a busy place in November.

File photo with her crafts, and Linda Jones and Tina Bird with their respective baking.

Some of the ladies from Creighton Lodge have been enjoying card making with Audrey MacMurchy and Susan Mack. This is quite an art and the cards are beautiful. Thanks ladies.

Last but not least, I want to thank our Fabulous Five who consistently help out for our birthday party and KFC night. Our everfaithful Margaret Mack, Marg Heidinger, Jean De-

lorme, Doreen Hagen and Sylvia Prime are always there for us. What would we do without them?

As I write this article, we are well into the Christmas season and are enjoying all the entertainment provided by carollers and the schools. We at Creighton Lodge want to thank, and wish all of our supporters, our volunteers and people in Estevan and surrounding areas, a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2018.

CHRISTMAS CHURCH SERVICES

Christmas Eve - December 24 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Christmas Day - December 25 10:00 a.m.

FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH

Estevan Alliance Church

Christmas Eve Service

New Year’s Eve - December 31 7:00 p.m.

7:00 pm December 24th Nicholson Centre

New Year’s Day - January 1 10:00 a.m.

December 24

Christmas Eve Service 5:00pm

TRINITY LUTHERAN TORQUAY

Come celebrate the birth of Jesus with us through song and story.

Christmas Day Service

The Roman Catholic Community wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

9:00 am December 25th

All are welcome!

Come celebrate the birth of Jesus with us.

Everyone Welcome!

140 King Street Estevan, SK 306-634-2601 estevanalliancechurch.com

For more info contact: Pastor Dan Krauss 306-471-8130

For more information call 306-634-2190 109 - 12th Avenue, Estevan, SK

Church Directories GOSPEL CHAPEL

ST. PAUL’S UNITED CHURCH

Sunday Worship and Sunday School 11:00 am Youth Group Fridays 7pm

ESTEVAN

1202 - 2nd Street Phone: 306-634-3761

THE SALVATION ARMY Estevan Community Church

Reverend Jason Richards

“Holding fast the faithful word”

10:30 a.m. - Sunday Service

Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m. (Summer hours: 10:00 a.m.)

Tuesday: Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m.

ALL WELCOME!

ALL are Welcome!!

www.estevangospelchapel.ca

stpaulsuc@sasktel.net stpaulsestevan.ca

An Associated Gospel Church

306-634-2885 • 1418 3rd St. Estevan

1107 4th Street • 306-634-2074 www.facebook.com/salvationarmyestevan

Faith Lutheran Church

CHURCH OF CHRIST 1302 - 8th St., Estevan Office Phone: 306-634-3116 Email: estevan.cofc@sasktel.net TIM PIPPUS

SUNDAY SERVICES: Bible Study - 10:00 a.m. • Worship - 11:00 a.m.

Evening Worship - Sunday and Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

REAL LIFE

REAL PEOPLE

REAL GOD

Sunday Service at

10:00 am

Followed by coffee time

Bible studies on any subject can be arranged at your convenience. Please call us.

100 King Street, Estevan, Sask • (306) 634-8133 • livinghope-ca.org

Estevan Alliance Church

Trinity Lutheran Church

Sunday Worship 10:30 am Nursery & Children’s Ministries available during the service.

Sunday School for all ages at 9:30 am

Children’s Clubs Wednesdays 7-8 pm

Friday Night Youth 7:30 pm (Gr 7-12)

140 King Street (across from Staples)

306.634.2601

www.estevanalliancechurch.com /estevanalliance

E.L.C.I.C.

Sunday Worship & Sunday School - 10am 738 - 2nd Street, Estevan Church Office: 306-634-5684 trinity.luth@sasktel.net www.etlc.ca

His Glory Bible Church Pastor Brad Mackenzie

Corner 12th Avenue & 2nd Street

Westview School Sundays at 10:00AM

Pastor: Father Sathiadas Antony

“People matter to God and we desire to show that in our fellowship.”

MASSES: Saturday: 7:00 p.m.

Sunday: 10:00 a.m.

Everyone welcome!

Phone: 306-634-2190

Fax: 306-634-6845

Sunday school during service Nicholson Centre Pastor Dan Krauss Phone: 306-471-8130 All Are Welcome Faithlc.com

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church 130 Souris Ave. N. Reverend Randy Kleemola Phone: 306-634-2024 email: st.peters@sasktel.net

www.stpeterslutheranestevan.com

Sunday Worship 9:30 a.m. - Bible Study 10:30 a.m. - Divine Service with Holy Communion and Sunday School A Congregation of LUTHERAN CHURCH - CANADA

PASTORS: JIM KEDGE & WAYLON KLIX

St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church

Sunday Service 10:30 am

forhisgloryestevan@gmail.com

MR. Lock &Key G’s

Energy

B7

306.471.0741 306-461-5196

 Auto. Home. Office  Dead Bolt Locks Installed

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Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Whitecap closes Weyburn unit purchase

Whitecap Resources Inc. announced on Dec. 14 that it has now closed its previously announced acquisition of high quality light oil assets in southeast Saskatchewan which includes current production of approximately 14,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) for cash consideration of $940 million before closing adjustments.

Whitecap purchased the operating interest in the Weyburn Unit from Cenovus Energy Ltd. It is the largest, and first, CO2 miscible flood enhanced oil recovery operation in Saskatchewan. The project draws on carbon dioxide produced from the Dakota Gasification Company’s plant at Beulah, N.D., and SaskPower ’s Boundary Dam 3 Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage Project, near Estevan.

The sale was one of four major asset sales Cenovus undertook as a way to raise funds to support its

buyout of the oilsands operations of its partner, ConocoPhillips. The same day this deal closed, Cenovus announced it was planning on laying off 500 to 700 staff members.

“Cenovus is also planning additional workforce reductions of approximately 15 per cent and expects to achieve further cost efficiencies through continued improvements in areas such as drilling performance, development planning and optimized scheduling of oil sands well start-ups,” Cenovus said in a press release.

Crude oil prices remain well supported in the US$55 to US$60/bbl WTI range relative to Whitecap’s crude oil price assumption of US$54/bbl WTI used when they announced the acquisition on Nov. 13. The attributes of the acquisition include a low production decline rate of 3.7 per cent, high operating netbacks, a long reserve life index and growth opportunities

The Weyburn Unit has received a lot of attention over the years, including a tour of interested parties from the European Union. File photo. that have strong capital efficiencies. The acquisition is accretive on all key operational and financial measures and is an underpinning asset that will provide significant free funds flow annually.

Concurrent with closing of the acquisition, Whitecap’s borrowing base has been increased to $1.7 billion from $1.3 billion.

As part of the $1.7 billion borrowing base increase, Whitecap intends to issue

Southeast traffic unit issues 213 tickets in November Members of the Estevan Combined Traffic Services Unit issued 213 tickets and 371 warnings in November.

Among the tickets were 126 for exceeding the posted speed limit. Seven tickets were for exceeding the speed limit by more than 35 kilometres per hour (km/h).

Unit members also issued 34 tickets for exceeding the speed limit where it is 80 km/h, and four for exceeding 60 km/h when passing a stopped emergency vehicle with its lights activated.

Police handed out 14 tickets for operating a vehicle or a trailer without the proper registration. Six tickets were for a driver failing to wear a seat belt. Five were for disobeying a stop sign, and five more were for distracted driving.

Three tickets were for failing to comply with a licence endorsement or restriction. Two were for having unlawful tint on front side windows, and two more were for failing to stop for a red light.

Single tickets were for

driving without due care and attention, driving without reasonable consideration for others, driving with an obstructed windshield, driving with an unrestrained passenger under 16, and for a driver with a learner’s license not having a qualified

supervisor.

Traffic unit members are asking the public to reduce their speed when facing adverse road conditions.

Ice, snow and rain are good indicators to reduce speed.

Failing to do so can result in fines.

$195 million in senior secured notes which will have an annual coupon rate of 3.9 per cent and mature in nine years. The closing of the senior secured notes is expected to be on Dec. 20, at which time Whitecap will then have $595 million of term debt at very attractive long-term fixed interest rates with terms of five, seven and nine years. These notes, combined with the resulting bank credit facility of $1.1

billion, provide Whitecap with $1.7 billion of total borrowing capacity. Whitecap continues to maintain a strong balance sheet with 2018 estimated net debt to funds flow of 1.6 times and considerable financial flexibility with approximately 50 per cent of their net debt under long-term notes and approximately $500 million of unutilized credit capacity based on estimated 2018 net debt.

Quality Controlled Safety Co-ordinated Oxbow & Carlyle • 306 483 2848 Halbrite • 306 458 2344 Waskada • 204 673 2284 Pipestone • 204 854 2231

Providing Oilfield Services Since 1956

APARTMENTS FOR RENT 1 & 2 BEDROOM APARTMENTS AVAILABLE Check us out on facebook

 Fridge & stove  Dishwasher  Microwave  Central air  Washer / Dryer

A Schlumberger Co.

* References required * No dogs allowed

Hwy. 361, Lampman, SK

HILLSIDE CONDOMINIUMS

Phone (306) 487-2525 Cell (306) 421-0528

306-634-6030 • 306-421-0252 • thirsch@sasktel.net • Fire Extinguisher Services / Sales / Rentals • Gas Detection Sales / Service / Rentals • Breathing Air Refills & Hydro Testing • Scba/Saba Air Equipment Sales / Service New & Reconditioned • Rentals • Fit Testing • Safety Air Trailers And Safety Personal • Calibration Gases & Accessories Sales • New & Reconditioned Equipment • First Aid, Eyewash & Burn Kit Services *Pick up & Delivery available upon request.

• Signage

BREATHING APPARATUS

TROYE CARSON 306-421-3603

tcarsonsafety@sasktel.net

PRESTON MAJERAN 306-421-6609

pmajeransafety@sasktel.net

Hwy 361 West, South Yard, P.O. Box 518, Lampman, SK

|

Main Office: (306) 487-1611

THE ESTEVAN MERCURY DRILLING REPORT DRILLING LICENSES 87334 87315 87556 87511 87702 87651 87336 87320 87332 87278 87440 87479 88024 88073 88083

15 licenses as of Monday, December 18

Crescent Point Energy Hz .................................................................................................... 14-9-1-12 Crescent Point Energy Hz .................................................................................................... 8-23-10-8 Crescent Point Energy Hz ...................................................................................................... 8-16-3-9 Crescent Point Energy Hz .................................................................................................... 4-19-2-16 Tundra Oil & Gas Hz ............................................................................................................ 3-31-1-30 Crescent Point Energy Hz .................................................................................................... 3-26-3-13 Torc Oil & Gas Hz ................................................................................................................ 14-23-5-6 Crescent Point Energy Hz .................................................................................................. 13-33-10-6 Crescent Point Energy Hz .................................................................................................. 14-20-1-13 Ridgeback Resources Hz....................................................................................................... 2-8-10-6 Vermilion Energy Hz............................................................................................................ 15-01-2-3 Ridgeback Resources Hz....................................................................................................... 1-2-10-8 Crescent Point Energy Hz .................................................................................................. 16-10-1-12 Spartan Energy Hz .............................................................................................................. 2-18-5-33 Crescent Point Energy Hz ...................................................................................................... 4-7-1-11

Rig Report 86090 83828 87056 84810 86088 75503 87556 85695 82682 79746 84615 68207 87136 86176

Stampede Drilling ................................ Astra Oil Corp ...........................................................8-17-6-7 Trinidad Drilling ...................................Torc Oil & Gas ...........................................................9-19-4-1 Trinidad Drilling ...................................Torc Oil & Gas ...........................................................8-20-4-1 Stampede Drilling ................................ Astra Oil Corp .........................................................8-12-5-13 Horizon Drilling................................... Spartan Energy ........................................................1-13-3-12 Horizon Drilling..............................Crescent Point Energy.....................................................1-7-1-12 Trinidad Drilling .............................Crescent Point Energy.....................................................8-16-3-9 Horizon Drilling....................................Firenze Energy.......................................................15-12-6-13 Stampede Drilling ..........................Crescent Point Energy...................................................3-26-1-13 Horizon Drilling..............................Crescent Point Energy...................................................3-27-1-12 Trinidad Drilling .............................Crescent Point Energy...................................................2-30-1-12 Horizon Drilling..............................Crescent Point Energy.....................................................2-14-7-9 Precision Drilling ........................... Ridgeback Resources .................................................12-34-8-10 Precision Drilling ........................... Ridgeback Resources ...................................................3-33-8-10

B8 December 20, 2017

Estevan Mercury

It’s Our Famous

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400 King Street 306-634-7211

www.estevanmercury.ca

December 20, 2017 B9

It’s Our Famous

December 26 - 28, 2017

BOXING WEEK BLOWOUT

HURRY IN! AMAZING DEALS! WE DELIVER TO YOUR HOME! 25% + OFF

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BEAUTYREST BOXING WEEK BLOWOUT

MATTRESS SALE

DON’T MISS THIS SALE! 400 King Street

306-634-7211

Classifieds B10

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

e ss

Busin

BINGO

Blackout = 12 Entries

1 Bingo = 1 Entry

Auto MiscellAneous Wrecking over 250 units... cars a n d t r u ck s. L o t s o f t r u ck s. . .

Dodge... GMC... Ford... Imports...

1/2 ton to 3 tons... We ship anywhere... Call or text 306-821-0260.

Lloydminster.

Announcements

FARM STRESS LINE If you are experIencIng symptoms of stress, the farm stress LIne Is avaILabLe 24/7 at

Card of Thanks Thank You The family of Don Ritchie would like to say thank you for all the cards, food, flowers, phone calls and kindness shown to us. A special thank you to Rev. Randy Kleemola for the Memorial Service and St. Peter’s Lutheran Church ladies for the luncheon after the service. Thank you also to Hall Funeral for taking care of Don, especially Yvonne Clark (funeral director) for all of your kindness and help getting the family through this difficult time .We would also like Sunset Haven Nursing Home in Carnduff to know how grateful we are for their love and care towards Don. He loved his home there and our family would like to extend a huge thank you to all of their support .Marie Ritchie, Brian Ritchie, Karen, Semiah, and Kasia Harding, and Brenden Shauf.

1-800-667-4442 ApArtments/Condos for rent In MeMorIaM In Loving Memory of Annie Dzuba May 1, 1911 December 24, 2003 Forever Loved and Dearly Missed Love all the Family

Rent with us to receive great perks! ° 24-hour customer service ° Newly renovated suites ° Maintenance guarantee ° On-line account access ° Resident member only events, contests and more!

Book a showing today!

Saskatoon: 306.700.3551 Bwalk.com

In Loving Memory of Mathias Joseph Gress May 12, 1929 December 19, 2002 Though your smile is gone forever And your hand we cannot touch We have so many memories Of the one we loved so much.

Your memory is our keepsake With which we will never part God has you in his keeping We have you in our hearts.

Sadly missed by Sophia, Cheryl, Allan, Teresa, Michele, Glen and families

Be the first to live in your new suite at Pines Edge II Book a showing today!

306.994.2800 Bwalk.com Welcome Home

In loving memory of Mel Siever September 30, 1952 December 18, 2015 My dearest man I felt you near me yesterday, As I sometimes do on other days.

I know there is no goodbye; There is only love Still and always.- Joy

HealtH ServiceS DISCOUNT SENIORS MEDICAL ALARM Monitored 24 hours, Free Equipment. Just pay for the monitoring. Less Than $1.00 per day.

Call Toll Free For more Information 1-888-865-5130 or www.LifeAssure.com

Mobile/ Manufactured

CANADIAN MANUFACTURED MODULAR HOMES -multi section, single section, lake houses, and duplex family units LARGE INVENTORY TO CHOOSE FROM OR FACTORY ORDER TO YOUR SPECIFICATIONS Used homes in stock!

Selling and Servicing Across Western Canada for Over 40 Years!

1.800.249.3969 Check out our inventory at

Two bedroom apartments for rent in Regina East Co-operative for Retired Couples and/or par t time employment, renovated, screened balcony, free parking & laundry.

Security doors. Reasonable rent.

Close to banks and shopping. Call 306- 789-7970

 Grand prize of $2,500 CASH (to be spent at participating businesses.)

Draw made Dec. 21

Shop local and you could win!

Feed & Seed

Career OppOrtunities

Career OppOrtunities

FINISH COMBINING in AUGUST!!

Grow early varieties. AAC Peace River Yellow Peas. Ear ly One Polish Canola. Go Ear ly HRS Wheat. Juniper Oats. Plus numerous barleys. Followed by Pintail Winter Wheat. Call Mastin Seeds, 403-556-2609; mastinseeds.com.

CLASS 1A & 3A TRUCK DRIVERS REQUIRED to operate semi vacs and straight vacs in SE Sask.

Full or part time positions available.

Wages based on experience.

Resume’s and work references to:

JOURNEYMAN HEAVY DUTY MECHANICS Fort McMurray Gladiator Equipment Ltd. has immediate positions for Journeyman Heavy Duty, off road Certified Mechanics for work in Fort McMurray, AB. Excellent wages and benefits.

NORTH EAST PRAIRIE GRAIN INC. Currently Buying: Feed Barley, Wheat, Soybeans & Faba Beans. OFFERING: Competitive Prices, On Farm Pickup & Prompt Payment! CALL: 1-306-873-3551, WEBSITE: neprairiegrain.com

LAND WANTED

www.medallion-homes.ca Hwy 2 South Prince Albert

Farm Land Wanted: To rent or lease in Estevan, Beinfait or Hirsch area.

(306) 421-0679

Yellowhead Modular Home Sales

LAND FOR SALE

960 sqft 2 bedroom 2 bath $79,900 1216 sqft 3 bedroom 2 bath $89,900 1520 sqft 3 or 4 bedroom 2 bath $109,900 Single wide, Multi Sections, Lake House, Motel Units

Custom Orders Welcome We sell & service homes across Western Canada, On Site Consultation.

Weekend calls Personalized Service

FARMLAND WANTED NO FEES OR COMMISSIONS! PURCHASING: SINGLE TO LARGE BLOCKS OF LAND. PREMIUM PRICES PAID WITH QUICK PAYMENT.

306-496-7538

Great References Available

HWY #16 West of Yorkton (Sheho, SK.)

a total of 590 QUARTER SECTIONS SOLD across saskatchewan

www.yellowheadmodularhomesales.ca

Business services

RENT BACK AVAILABLE Call DOUG 306-955-2266 saskfarms@shaw.ca

Wanted

$1000 HOLIDAY BONUS REGINA MOVE IN TO YOUR NEW OR RENOVATED SUITE ON OR BEFORE JAN. 1ST Rent with us to receive great perks! ° 24-hour customer service ° Newly renovated suites ° Maintenance guarantee ° On-line account access ° Resident member only events, contests and more!

in cash or weekly prize packages to be won

See your Mercury & Lifestyles for details.

Canadian built by MODULINE Elite Price Event on NOW!

SASKATOON $500 HOLIDAY BONUS! MOVE IN TO YOUR NEWLY RENOVATED SUITE ON OR BEFORE JAN. 1ST

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GOT OIL? Free Property Evaluation for Mineral

Feed & Seed HEATED CANOLA WANTED!!

- GREEN CANOLA - SPRING THRASHED - DAMAGED CANOLA FEED OATS WANTED!!

- BARLEY, OATS, WHT - LIGHT OR TOUGH - SPRING THRASHED HEATED FLAX WANTED!!

HEATED PEAS HEATED LENTILS "ON FARM PICKUP" Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252

Buying/Selling FEED GRAINS heated / damaged CANOLA/FLAX Top price paid FOB FARM

Western Commodities 877-695-6461 Visit our website @

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Rights holders.

Royalties paid on suitable drilling locations!

Call with your land co-ordinates

1-403-291-0005 www.briskenergy.com

For Sale - MiSc C O LO R A D O B L U E S P RU C E : $ 0 . 9 9 / e a c h fo r a b ox o f 18 0 ($178.20). Also full range of tree, shrub, and berry seedlings. Free shipping most of Canada. Growth guarantee. 1-866-873-3846 or TreeTime.ca.

Parts & accessories GREAT PRICES on new, used and re-manufactured engines, parts and accessories for diesel pickups. Large inventory, engines can be shipped or installed. Give us a call or check us out at www.thickettenginerebuilding.ca.

Thickett Engine Rebuilding. Ph. 204-532-2187 Russell, MB.

HEART & STROKE FOUNDATION OF SASKATCHEWAN

Finding answers. For life. www.hsf.ca

Competition Environmental Ltd. PO Box 609 Carnduff, SK. S0C 0S0 Email : competition@ sasktel.net Office : 306-482-3558 Fax : 306-482-3574 Charlie : 306-482-7897 Greg : 306-485-7833

www.gladiatorequipment.com

fax: 1-780-986-7051

hr@gladiatorequipment.com

MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION! Indemand career! Employers have work-at-home positions available.

Get online training you need from an employer-trusted program. Visit: CareerStep.ca/MT or 1-855768-3362 to start training for your workat-home career today!

Obituaries DON MACK 1938 - 2017 James Donald “Don” Mack of Medicine Hat, beloved husband of Margaret Hudak, passed away on Tuesday, December 12th, 2017 at the age of 79 years. Don also leaves to cherish his memory two daughters, Heather (Andrew) Peacock and Jacqueline (Pearson) Farnsworth; four grandchildren, Erin, Sydney and Jamie Peacock, and Zach Farnsworth; one brother, Raymond (Francis) Mack; five sisters, Hannah Fichter, Evelyn McClement, Rosalia (Vernon) McClement, Marion Mack and Angeline Choma; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Don was predeceased by his first wife, Josephine “Jo” in 2000; his parents, Vincent and Katherine Mack; and one brother, Ralph Mack. Don was born in Estevan, Saskatchewan on April 18th, 1938. He married Josephine Gedak in 1963 and worked in the oil and gas industry in Saskatchewan until 1974 when he moved to Medicine Hat. Don raised his family in Medicine Hat and made many lifelong friends here. In 2002, he married Margaret Hudak (her family Pam, Sandy and Greg).

Upon retirement, he joined an antique car club where he made a lot of special friends. Don always enjoyed visiting and talking with people and made friends everywhere he went. A special thank you to the caring staff at Margery E. Yuill Cancer Centre, Palliative Care, and Home Care. Vigil Rites (Prayers) will be said at SAAMIS MEMORIAL FUNERAL CHAPEL, #1 Dunmore Road SE, on Tuesday, December 19th, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at HOLY FAMILY PARISH, 1451 Strachan Road SE, on Wednesday, December 20th, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. with Father Albert Sayson, Celebrant. A Private Interment will take place at Saamis Prairie View Cemetery. Memorial gifts in Don’s memory may be made to the Margery E. Yuill Cancer Centre, c/o Medicine Hat & District Health Foundation, 666 – 5th Street SW, Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 4H6. Condolences may be sent through www.saamis.com or to condolences@ saamis.com subject heading Don Mack. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to SAAMIS MEMORIAL FUNERAL CHAPEL AND CREMATORIUM, “The Chapel in the Park”, Medicine Hat, Alberta. Should you wish any additional information, please telephone 1-800-317-2647.

Run a classified ad in the

Reaching 5,200 homes on Wednesday and you can run the same ad in Friday’s

at

1/2 Price!

CALL 306.634.2654

www.estevanmercury.ca

December 20, 2017 B11

Driving infractions among calls handled by police Members of the Estevan Police Service (EPS) handled calls for driving infractions, arrested an

individual on outstanding warrants and handled other calls last week.

Officers received a

call about a suspicious vehicle in west Estevan during the Dec. 11 night shift. The vehicle and the

occupants were believed to have been involved in a theft. Police checked a couple of different vehicles but both are not believed to be involved. The matter is also under investigation.

Members dealt with

Obituaries Donald W. Ritchie 1927 – 2017 Donald passed away on Wednesday, December 6, 2017 at the Sunset Haven, Carnduff, SK at the age of 90 years.

Don was the second oldest of four boys born to Wes and Carrie Ritchie. They were raised in Mt. Pleasant District northeast of Glen Ewen. Don married Marie on August 1, 1959 and they welcomed their first child, Brian, in 1960 and their second child, Karen, in 1979. Don was a teacher in his younger years and later retired in 1989 as manager of ICG Propane in Estevan. Don enjoyed many sports such as ball, hockey, bowling, and snowmobiling. He also loved trapping and fishing.

Don was predeceased by his mother Carrie in 1972, father Wes in 1983, brothers Bob in 1971, Jack in 1987, and Jim in 1997.

Don is survived by his loving wife Marie; son Brian Ritchie, Campbell River, B.C.; daughter Karen Harding (Brenden Shauf), Estevan, SK and her children Semiah and Kasia; best friend and cousin George Ritchie, Glen Ewen, SK; Marie's sister Fran Ruecker, Abbotsford, B.C.; bother Barry (Adeline) Brown, Vernon, B.C., as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

The Memorial Service was held on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Estevan with Rev. Randy Kleemola officiating. The private family interment took place at Estevan City Cemetery immediately following the service. The lunch reception was held in the church auditorium.

If friends so desire, memorial donations may be made to Border Line Housing Company 1975 Inc., Box 250, Carnduff, SK, S0C 0S0.

Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Hall Funeral Services, Estevan.

CAREER

TORC Oil & Gas Ltd. is a publicly-traded, intermediate, light oil company with a proven track record of growing production and creating significant value through an acquisition / exploitation / exploration strategy focused on light oil resource plays. Since inception in December 2010, the TORC Team has been successfully developing its high quality light oil assets in southeast Saskatchewan and the central Alberta Cardium resource play, both being areas where the TORC Team has an established track record. TORC’s experienced management team is leading an exciting strategy of paying a sustainable dividend to shareholders while continuing to provide disciplined per share growth, and our success is attributed to that leadership and our team of skilled and dedicated employees and consultants working together to achieve TORC’s goals.

Wilbraham, Thomas George 1932 – 2017 Thomas George Wilbraham passed away on Thursday, November 23, 2017 at the Estevan Regional Nursing Home, Estevan, SK at the age of 85 years.

Tom was predeceased by his parents, William and Isabella Wilbraham; parents-in-law, Forest and Susanne Widenmaier; first wife Alice; sons, Wayne and Robbie; son-in-law Werner Dietze; step daughter-in-law Wendy Curtis and sister-in-law Jean Wilbraham.

Left to cherish precious memories of Tom are his wife Mildred Curtis; daughter Virginia Dietze; sons, Willie (Michelle) Wilbraham and Wade (Sherry) Wilbraham; step sons, Brian (Lorna) Curtis, Terry (Lois) Curtis, Dale (Carol) Curtis, David (Kathy) Curtis, Greg (Patty) Curtis and Kevin Curtis. Tom will also be greatly missed by his brother John (Edna Clemens) Wilbraham, as well as his grandchildren, great grandchildren and extended family.

A Public Graveside Service was held on Saturday, December 2, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at the Alameda Cemetery, Alameda, SK, with Sandy Dalziel officiating. Immediately following the service, a time of fellowship and refreshments was held at the Royal Canadian Legion in Alameda.

Those so wishing may make donations to the New Estevan Regional Nursing Home, 1201—2nd Street, Estevan, SK, S4A 0M1 in memory of Tom. Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Hall Funeral Services, Estevan.

Due to its continued growth, TORC is currently accepting applications for Battery Operators in southeast Saskatchewan. Reporting to the Production Foreman in the Estevan Area, the main responsibilities will include: • Optimizing and troubleshooting daily well production • Operation and maintenance of oil wells and facilities • Daily input and balancing of data into PVR • Ensuring a safe and cost effective operation Qualifications: • Minimum of 3-5 years of oilfield experience in the oil and gas industry • Minimum of a Grade 12 High School diploma • Knowledge of conventional multi well oil batteries and of single well batteries and tank treating systems • Operational background with inlet separation, fired oil treating equipment, production tanks and saltwater disposal pumps • Must be organized with strong attention to detail while managing multiple priorities • Ability to identify problems and develop solutions • Ability to clearly communicate at all levels • Must be strong team player

CAREER PERMANENT FULL TIME POSITIONS AVAILABLE POSITIONS OPEN IMMEDIATELY

Picker Operator Helpers Submit resume and drivers abstract to:

Remember Your Loved Ones with a Memorial Tribute in The Mercury

If you are a qualified candidate and are interested in this opportunity please send a resume, in confidence, to: Email: jlarter@torcoil.com Fax: (306) 634-7567 Mail: 1129 - 4th Street | Estevan, SK | S4A 0W6 This position will remain open until filled. We thank you for your interest, however, only those applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.

Email: grimessales@sasktel.net Fax: 306-487-2560 Candidates will be subject to Fit and D & A testing.

an issue of bullying at one of the elementary schools during the Dec. 12 day shift. Police spoke to a number of students about the issue.

Police were called to a fight at Cactus Park in

south Estevan during the Dec. 13 night shift. Officers arrived on the scene and spoke to a number of youths who had gathered.

Several of the youths sustained minor injuries as a result of the altercation.

Police are still investigating the matter.

Members also received a report of an accident in central Estevan.

A parked vehicle sustained severe damage and the offending vehicle fled the scene before police arrived. Police are looking into the matter.

Police are also looking into a hit and run collision in the 1300-block of Third Street during the Dec. 13 day shift. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Estevan Police Service at 306-634-4767 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477.

Police were called during the Dec. 15 night shift of a male trying to enter a vehicle that did not belong to him at a local convenience store. The male was located and arrested for failing to comply with a probation order, being intoxicated in a public place and uttering threats.

He was held for court on Dec. 18.

Officers arrested a 51-year-old Estevan man for driving while disqualified during the Dec. 17 day shift. He had two outstanding warrants for his arrest for the same infraction.

He was released for court in February 2018 on three counts of driving while disqualified. His vehicle was seized.

Police arrested a 55-year-old Estevan man on outstanding arrest warrants for a break and enter.

He was lodged in cells and appeared in court on Dec. 18.

Members received a report of failing to remain at the scene of an accident at a parking lot. The matter is still under investigation.

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B12 December 20, 2017

Estevan Mercury

ECS Christmas Carnival came just in time for Christmas

By William Acri wacri@estevanmercry.ca

The Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) Christmas Carnival arrived just in time for the upcoming holiday season.

The carnival, which has taken place at ECS in the past, was on a hiatus for a few years but was brought back on Dec. 16.

The students were the ones who wanted to see it happen again and the teachers and parents made it possible.

“We have done it a couple of times before and it was very successful for our school, and it was a good community event, and we thought we would bring it back this year,” said Tammy Podovinnikoff, who teaches at the school and is also an advisor to the ECS student representative council that helped organize the event.

The carnival has always been intended as a community event to raise money. Some of the money raised from ticket sales or donations goes back into the school to help with various programs or it goes into the Estevan community where needed.

“We have been doing

Buy

The ECS Christmas Carnival brought out kids and parents looking to celebrate the Christmas season. really well, there are lots of people through the door and everyone seems really excited,” said Breanne Shuya, who also teaches at the school and helped organize the event. “So far we have raised $1,000 and everything has been going really in terms of donations.”

“In the past we have raised a few thousand dollars,” added Podovinnikoff.

The event featured an inflatable playhouse and

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various games that the ECS students had set up. One game was similar to bowling but made a lot simpler where the player throws an orange ball at six stacked cans in an effort to knock over all of the cans.

There were also pillow sack races, a fishing game, musical chairs and many other similar games that you might find at a fall fair or carnival. The ECS students played a big role in getting the carnival back

with many pitching their time and effort on days where they would normally be free.

“We had a lot of our own students interested in making the event possible and we owe them a lot for their hard work and support. The carnival was mostly the kids idea and they have done a great job with planning what exhibits or games would be available,” said Podovinnikoff.

Santa Claus was also

at the main entrance to the school where children could tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas and also get a picture with him.

The event is planned for next year and there are hopes that the carnival will continue for years to come.

“This year we wanted to open it up to the community again and start doing a bit more outreach in the school and get people into the building for happy reasons,” said Shuya.

“The money that we raised goes back into the SRC, so that supports our clubs, teams and everything else at our school, and this event gives kids something to do on the weekend, which is something parents always like,” added Podovinnikoff. “We like doing things for the community like fundraisers and raffles that can also raise money and can go towards the school or back into the community.”

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Christmas at Woodlawn Park capped with beautiful firework display

By William Acri wacriestevanmercury.ca

Parents Corey and Bria Stepp with their son Ammon watch the fireworks display at Woodlawn Regional Park.

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Madison and Nathan have been delivering in the Hillcrest area for almost 4 years! Let’s state the obvious they love the money and who doesn’t at their age but it’s not only that!

The neighbourhood is all so friendly!

They have received gifts which is unnecessary but a extra bonus! They are always greeted with a smile and wave from the people as well as from the furry little friends! The only con from delivering papers is cold, windy, rainy, snowy weather but they grin and bear it! Thank you for picking Madison and Nathan for December! Merry Christmas!!!

Every month the Estevan Mercury pays tribute to its dedicated carriers who strive for excellence and deliver your paper each week.

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event at the park.

“We wanted the activities associated with the Woodlawn Christmas celebrations to be merged with a festival of lights so we could have one big event that everyone can have fun at,” said Schulte.

The event was overall very successful and it filled it purpose of celebrating Christmas and bringing the community together.

“Our main purpose was build on what we started and bring people together and we hope to do this every year for a long time,” she added.

The Festival of Lights will continue until Jan. 1, 2018.

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Woodlawn Regional Park has been transformed into a Christmas light show.

Christmas in the Park was held on Sunday afternoon, with warm hot chocolate and hotdogs being served. Children got to do a bit ice skating, there were multiple blazing fire pits keeping people warm and even Santa was inside listening to what kids wanted for Christmas.

“The event … has been absolutely excellent so far.

We have had a wonderful turnout. I think we have had almost 600 people in attendance,” said park manager Joanne Schulte.

A fireworks display began at 6 p.m. Sunday night also marked the opening night for the Festival of Lights, in which local

anything because we just wanted people to come out and enjoy a really great festive experience; additionally it was also nice to have people come out and enjoy Woodlawn park because some people don’t even know what is down here,” said Schulte.

“We have been so excited this year and we were already talking about plans tonight that we can implement next Christmas and going forward we want to have the event remain free,” she added.

Planning the activities was very difficult, with only one past year to use as experience. Schulte wanted to have all in one Christmas

businesses and other organizations have Christmas lights illuminating the campground.

“Christmas in the Park started last year and this is the first year we have done the Festival of Lights,” said Schulte. “The first was also very successful and we are very happy we thought of having this beautiful event for the community.”

There was no entrance fee to come to the event, which helped bring out the massive crowd that night.

The hot chocolate and hotdogs were served to the public and those were also free; the buns ran out before the hotdogs did.

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B14 December 20, 2017

Estevan Mercury

Kinsmen Christmas Kevin Wall is the final Mercury Bingo weekly winner Party was a sellout The Estevan Kinsmen Club’s third annual community Christmas party was the biggest yet.

About 230 people packed the Beefeater Plaza for the event on Dec. 16. Local businesses had the Kinsmen plan and organize their Christmas party by selecting the venue and finding the entertainment.

“There was between 15 and 20 businesses there,” said Kinsmen Club member Dave Elliott.

Comedian Dez Reed supplied the entertainment. Elliott said Reed was on stage for about an hour and kept the audience laughing the entire time.

Elliott provided music after the comedian was finished.

An under-17 volleyball team served as the designated drivers for the evening.

Elliott said the event has grown since the first event in 2015 because he believes the community Christmas party is a needed service. It creates a more meaningful evening, and companies pay a similar cost as taking employees out for supper and drinks.

“They get the comedian and they get the drinks, and if they want, they can run a tab for their company,” said Elliott. “We had

Kevin Wall has won the fifth and final weekly prize package in Estevan Mercury Publications’ Business Bingo promotion.

Wall took home $25 gift cards from Frank’s Menswear, Fired Up Grill, Jenny Joans, Pharmasave, EB’s Dining Emporium, Xs-iv, Southern Plains Co-op, House of Clouds, Mr. Mikes, A&A Jewellery and Original Joe’s.

He also wins $20 in Estevan Shopper’s Mall bucks, a game from the House of Stationery, a $100 gift card from Senchuk Ford Sales and a $100 gift card to Room by Room Furniture.

Estevan Mercury Publications started its Business Bingo promotion on Nov. 1, and the promotion will end on Dec. 21. There have been five weekly draws for prizes worth approximately $500, and the grand prize is $2,500 cash.

Playing the Estevan Mercury Publications’ Business Bingo promotion is easy. Cut your bingo card out of the Mercury, take it shopping with you and earn your stamps.

Once you have five stamps in a row, bring your card to the Mercury office to enter the

seven companies running a tab.”

The companies who attend the party know that the money raised will go to the community. Proceeds from this year’s party will go to a fund for the Kin Hillside Playpark, where the Kin clubs have constructed a new outdoor arena.

Their focus is now on building a new shack that can be used as a dressing room and a warm-up area.

“They know that this money will benefit the community,” said Elliott.

It’s estimated the Christmas supper raised about $7,000.

Feedback for the event has been terrific, Elliott said, and a couple of companies have already confirmed their participating next year.

As for the rink itself, the Kinsmen are waiting for the weather to be cold enough before they flood the surface to create the ice. They will need a few days with daytime high temperatures of -10 C. But the Kinsmen have all the equipment needed to install the ice, and they have a schedule to clean the rink and maintain the surface.

“We’ve outfitted a trailer with a ramp, and we have a snow blower that we have purchased,” said Elliott.

EQUINOX PREMIER MODEL SHOWN

Kevin Wall, left, accepts a prize package from Estevan Mercury Publications sales manager Deanna Tarnes after Wall won the final weekly draw in the Business Bingo promotion. draw. You can play multiple cards and enter as often as you like.

Estevan Mercury Publications believes in supporting local businesses and giving back to the community. For each

SILVERADO 1500 DOUBLE CAB CUSTOM EDITION SHOWN

Bingo card received, Estevan Mercury Publications will donate $5 to the Envision Counselling and Support Centre.

The deadline to enter is Dec. 20 at 5 p.m. The draw date will be on Dec. 21.

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