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Promo time. Check out details of our Patio Party promotion. PAGE A9
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Crushing cars
Celebrating ag. Midale’s Pioneer Echo Days make a successful return. PAGE A3
College for Kids. Summer camps see youth try out different professions.
Thunder Chicken, left, and Roughneck squared off in monster truck drag racing Saturday night at the Estevan Motor Speedway. The massive, powerful trucks appeared at the track for the first time since 2015 and delighted the fans who gathered to watch Friday and Saturday night. They crushed some cars during the drag races, too. For more on the event, please see page A11. Photo by David Willberg
Pool at Churchill Playpark to open again
PAGE A5
By David Willberg
Weekend of golf. Frametech Classic champions and tournament recap. PAGE A11
Oxbow to indulge in music. All you need to know for Bow Valley Jamboree. PAGE A12
It’s been nearly three years since the swimming pool at the Churchill Playpark has been open, and the long wait is over for those who live in the area and others who frequent the park. A new swimming pool has been installed at the site. The Saskatchewan Health Authority was at the pool site Friday to carry out an inspection. It was hoped the pool could open Tuesday, but it wasn’t official as of Mercury press time. Rod March, the manager of parks and facilities for the City of Estevan, said the landscaping works have been completed but some work remains on the soil around the perimeter. The water chemistry has been balancing and a state of the art system is in place for water clarity. Demolition of the old pool started earlier in the spring. It was delayed a few weeks due to the heavy snow in April and a wetter than normal spring. “The utilities on that one were around $40,000 a year in water and sewer fees. That one, all the water went straight out
over the bank down to the ball diamonds, so it was emptied daily when it was being used,” said March. Paradise Pools, who was awarded the tender for the project, has been great to work with, March said, and their sub-contractor has been really good, too. “They’re just as apologetic as we are when it comes to the delays, but we can’t do much about the weather,” said March. The pool replacement was included in last year’s city budget, but delays in liners and other products pushed completion back to this year. The City of Estevan received a $200,000 grant from the Community Revitalization Fund for the pool, and the rest of the cost was covered by federal gas tax revenues. Total cost is expected to be around $400,000. Some work remains for showers and change rooms at the site. If council approves it, a building would be put in place this fall or next spring. The pool is expected to remain open for the rest of the playpark season. “People were calling about it, wanting it put back. Council had some hard decisions to
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The swimming pool at the Churchill Playpark is to open for the first time since 2019 after a refurbishment was completed. seven metres down the east side. When I sent the video to the manufacturer, they were dumbfounded.They had never seen it before. They were very apologetic, very good about it, and said they have a new one on the way and they’re coming up to install it.” A camera is located at the site, but the city expects parents to monitor their own children. “Like any other amenity, we expect people will respect it and follow the rules that are clearly posted right at the entrance.” The structure has a weight limit of 225 pounds for one person, but it can handle lots of people at one time. March said he would touch base with the installers Tuesday, and they don’t want it to be delayed, so he hopes it can
be in place during the first two weeks of August. It appears to be faulty materials that caused the shredding, but the manufacturer will carry out an investigation. “These things can get punctured, but it’s no different than a bike tire of the olden days. You just put a patch on it and move forward.” The pillow bouncer is expected to be accessible for a few weeks once it opens again. It’s timed to come on at 9 a.m. and shut off at 8 p.m., just like the spray park. “It’s home to an automation system that reads the weather at the beginning of the day, so if it’s below 10 degrees Celsius or if it’s forecasted to rain, it will not inflate. Otherwise it will. I think it’s pretty automated, pretty sophisticated for a little bouncy castle of that size.”
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make when it comes to budget deliberations,” said March. “They do their best, and we were so fortunate to get the grant this year to get this going.” Some were upset it didn’t happen earlier this year. March also addressed the recent failure of a pillow bouncer structure for the Royal Heights Veterans Memorial Park. The replacement showed up on Thursday at the Canada-U.S. border. He noted that the pillow bouncer was purchased through a donation, and it’s under warranty, so there won’t be an added cost for the city. “The manufacturer said he’s never seen this before,” said March. “It’s kind of an anomaly, I would imagine. I did my research. Kingston, Ontario, had one from them for 14 years without issue. And Peace River, Alberta, said they had theirs for 10 years without issues.” March was there when it was deflated. Contrary to rumours that there were a lot of children on it when the issue occurred, March said there was actually just one person using it. “The side just started to disintegrate, and it just basically blew apart a full six or
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