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Economic diversification and development efforts continuing in Estevan By David Willberg
Partying for animals. Shelter’s Whiskers and Wine Gala attracts attention and funds. PAGE A3
Exciting return. Southeast Women of Distinctions Awards’ committee shares latest news. PAGES A6
Spreading kindness one gig at a time. Hillcrest School uncovers the story of new extracurricular group. PAGE A8
Impressive showing. Estevan hockey player shines in significant games with two different teams. PAGE A11
The people who attended the Estevan Chamber of Commerce’s latest Coffee Talk on Feb. 7 received an update on economic development on multiple fronts. Angud Singh, who is the city’s outgoing co-ordinator of economic development, and Gordon More, who is the executive director of the Southeast Techhub, talked about their recent efforts. Singh noted they are working on trying to turn Estevan’s lignite coal into graphite, which he said is part of their efforts to find other uses for coal. It has already been tested. “So far everything is looking good. The next play would be to have a 12-kilowatt laser testing a larger sample of coal, ultimately with the goal of converting it to quality graphite in terms of yield and in terms of just overall composition.” The graphite could be used for lithium-ion batteries and other applications. Patents, licences and company structure would have to be ironed out. The city is also looking at taking the yields from carbon capture and using it for formic acid, Singh said, and it is also promoting Estevan as the destination for the first small modular reactors (SMRs) in the province. More said he and Tania Andrist, the applied research lead officer with the Southeast College, have formed an agreement for Innovation Centre, in which the college would be handling academic work like training
Angud Singh and Gord More, pictured speaking to Estevan city council last year, were the guest speakers at the Estevan Chamber of Commerce’s latest Coffee Talk. File photo and applied research. More would focus on business. “We are now going out into the world and asking people to come here, big corporations as well as … start-ups. I’m focusing on the U.S. market,” said More. He’s turning to the U.S. because of the size of its gross domestic product and the money spent on research and development. The focus is on energy generation, storage, transmission and transportation. The community knows a lot about the generation, but other elements aren’t as familiar. “A lot of the countries in the world are doing micro-grids, so with micro-grids, your farm, your business or your home has its own generation of power, you have your batteries and
then you have a grid that oversees it,” he said. A plan was announced in June 2022 to have Buffalo Potash build a solution mining research and development facility. More said the lab will proceed and he has shown to the government that the lab is needed. He has been working with an organization to add a 140-megawatt data centre, which is a server where computer systems and associated components are stored. “Once they get the land and an agreement with SaskPower is sorted out, they’ll have it up and running within 24 months. It is not new tech,” said More. During the question-and-answer session, city manager Jeff Ward
addressed the recent controversy regarding the cost of the downtown revitalization project. A group called Concerned Citizens Estevan recently posted a video to YouTube, claiming the full cost of the project would be $40 million-$50 million. Ward pointed out the city met with the Downtown Business Association on Feb. 6 to clarify some points on the video. He said the cost would be $33 million to do everything at once, but he stressed the city isn’t doing everything at once. Right now the city is looking at the 1100 and 1200 blocks of Fourth Street, which would cost $8.3 million, with most of it coming from the federal government. The city’s A2 » ECONOMIC
Estevan’s youth centre is seeking support for growth and sustainability By Ana Bykhovskaia The Estevan Public Youth Centre (EPYC), a non-profit organization that was started in 2019 to provide extracurricular activities and engagement opportunities for local youths, is now seeking community support to be able to grow the program offerings and establish a more sustainable operation. The centre is in need of financial support, as well as a bigger and more sustainable volunteer and board base. Previously, they reached out to the United Way Estevan, which they are a community impact partner with, in hopes of receiving some additional support and eventually becoming one of their member agencies. “We’ve now received our charity status, so now, what we’re seeking is that sustainability piece,” said EPYC treasurer and volunteer Michelle Walsh. “We have some brand new, great programming partnerships, so we are looking for not only sustainable donations
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and grant funding but also the volunteer base and some fresh board members to get behind the EPYC youth sector. And it’s not always easy when you’re in the middle of operations and sustaining the not-for-profit to find that. “We’re putting a call out because the community has been supportive in the past with the efforts to begin the centre, and we want to keep that going. We are looking at the strategic longevity of the youth centre itself.” EPYC has been working with a local strategic planner, and now they reached the next stage in their development. Walsh said it also ties into the mental health awareness for youth since COVID-19. “We are looking at giving a more inclusive and accessible place for the youth because our current funding and our current volunteer base can only offer a few programs,” Walsh added. The EPYC currently has one fulltime employee, and they are open several nights a week and some weekends.
The Estevan Public Youth Centre (EPYC) is located at 1104 Sixth Street and provides space and programming for youths in Grades 7-12. Ideally, the board would like EPYC to be available to the youth in the community six to seven days a week. “We want to give the youth in our community a bigger place to thrive, a safe, inclusive, accessible place,” Walsh said. “The ones that are accessing it right now have definitely come a long way. But kids are always growing older.”
The participation went up over the summer months and into the fall, and remained at that level through the winter. Walsh noted they have a number of families asking for more evening programming. But there are many more youths that could benefit from the centre, so the board hopes interest and A2 » WE