A4 April 13, 2016
Estevan Mercury
Lawrence gets a second term as MLA A former Estevan resident is returning to the Saskatchewan Legislature for a second term as MLA. Greg Lawrence, who resided in southeast Saskatchewan until 2004, was elected as the MLA of Moose Jaw Wakamow during the April 4 provincial election. A Sask. Party MLA, Lawrence received 3,459 votes to finish 674 votes ahead of New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Karen Purdy. The riding was regarded as one to watch on election night, since it had
been held by the NDP until Lawrence’s victory in 2011. Lawrence was trailing Purdy after the first few polling stations had reported, but he rallied to take the lead, and pulled away as the night progressed. “I was very nervous,” he said in an interview with the Mercury. “Nothing was in the bag.” He wasn’t surprised that his election victory was relatively narrow, since he views both provincial Moose Jaw constituencies as “swing ridings.” “It’s the nature of the
city and where people are,” said Lawrence. “As long as the MLA for Moose Jaw North, Warren Michelson, and I do a good job, we’ve got a good shot of keeping the city (for the Sask. Party).” He did notice a difference between being the challenger trying to knock off a sitting MLA, which he was in 2011, and being the incumbent this time around. Name recognition made a big difference, as more people knew who he was this time. “The biggest difference
was the amount of folks we had helping out,” said Lawrence. “We had a ton of volunteers. Otherwise, it was the same. It was getting out there, knocking on doors and listening to what people have to say, and explaining our platform.” Infrastructure was a recurring theme during the campaign. Lawrence noted Moose Jaw is experiencing many of the same challenges as other cities in the province. He reminded voters about the municipal operating grant system introduced
by the Saskatchewan Party government in 2009, and how it has increased revenue sharing from provincial to municipal governments. “I want to see us grow as a province, and continue growing, so our kids don’t have to leave,” said Lawrence. “Right now, all three of my boys are in the province, and even my foster kids are around. It’s really good to see that our kids don’t have to leave to make a good life for themselves.” Lawrence was pleased to see Lori Carr of the Sask. Party was elected as Este-
Greg Lawrence van’s new MLA. He knows Carr casually from when they attended church together in Estevan, and he is looking forward to working with Carr in the Sask. Party caucus.
Community book donation Alcohol-related fines The Estevan Harry Potter Alliance with Libraries Undertaking the Magic Mentorship of Sorcerers (LUMMOS), announced that they are participating in the seventh annual world wide book drive entitled Accio Books! 2016. The alliance will be placing book donation boxes around the city from April 15 to May 15. All books collected will be donated to a charitable organization, yet to be determined. The group is in the process of contacting possible candidates for the donation and that lucky group will be announced once details are finalized. Anyone with books they might be able to part with that still have a little magic in their pages, should look for the donation boxes in schools, at the library and other public places around Estevan. The books should be in good condition. The type of books that can-
not be accepted include textbooks, manuals, cookbooks, romance novels or books with explicit sexual content. The Estevan chapter of the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) was founded last fall at the Estevan Public Library. It is the first chapter of the alliance in Saskatchewan and only the 10th in Canada. This will be the first large campaign that the local HPA will be able to participate in, so they are excited about getting involved and look forward to all the exciting events planned in the future. HPA Estevan is organized through the Estevan Public Library and anyone interested in getting involved is welcome. The HPA turns fans into heroes by changing the world through accessible activism and through the power of story since 2005. Since its founding, HPA has engaged millions of fans through their work for equality, human
rights and literacy. Their vision is a creative and collaborative culture that solves world problems. Some of the projects undertaken have included a partnership with Walk Free, that engaged over 400,000 fans and which resulted in Warner Brothers changing the sourcing of their Harry Potter chocolates to be 100 per cent fair trade. They also raised $123,000 for Partners in Health and sending five cargo planes of life-saving supplies to Haiti. Donations of over 250,000 books across the world through HPA Accio Books! campaign is another accomplishment. A partnership with Public Knowledge that brought over 20,000 fans and online video creators together for Net Neutrality, was another recent achievement. The use of broad cultural messaging to link the Hunger Games with real-life inequality, was yet another one of their recent projects.
ordered by court
and was fined $1,300 by the courts, with a 12-month driving prohibition. The court heard that on the night of Jan. 29, Voth was found speeding up and slowing down her vehicle erratically at the border port at North Portal, having difficulty lining up her vehicle with the window to talk. Border control agents described her behaviour as “odd” at the time, noting that she was reaching for her pocket looking for keys when told to stop her car. She was given a breathalyzer test after exiting her car, and was found to have blood-alcohol readings of 110 mg/L and 100 mg/L. Voth’s lawyer noted that this was her first offence, that she has been steadily employed in the area for over a decade, and that she is an active member in several community groups. Voth had been in the U.S. for surgery and had stopped on her way back to Canada to have a couple of drinks with friends before returning to Canada. An apologetic Voth said to the court that her odd behaviour had been her reaching for her passport, and pulling the keys to her vehicle out of her pocket. She said the keys were in her pocket, because her vehicle is a car that uses a push-button-start system. www.secan.com Wiegers acknowledged that such an incident was clearly out of character, given her high standing in the community, lack of a previous record and contrition for such a matter, saying that was why he chose the mandatory minimum penalty. Jason McGillicky was ordered to pay $910 in fines after pleading guilty to breaching conditions of his probation from pervious charges of assault and See what Saskatchewan growers are saying about impaired driving, which pro® ® hibited him from consuming Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans alcohol or drugs without a prescription, or attending a business that sold alcohol. This past year was of growing The Crown prosecutor Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans since we stated that police were called every started in 2010. The varieties are to a disturbance at the Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, . year and becoming where McGillicky was found I'm looking forward to what SeCan will bring next to be intoxicated. The Crown prosecutor for soybean genetics. stated that McGillicky was Glen Hyndman, Hyndman Seeds, Balcarres, SK carrying a bag of alcohol products and acknowledge that he was bound by conditions. When police escorted him from the premises, McGillicky attempted to pull ® away and tried to kick out the back window of the police 2015 Performance 2016 SaskSeed Guide vehicle. The Crown noted that McGillicky has a record YIELD (% 23-10RY) VARIETY TYPE for alcohol issues. South* North* Wiegers noted that such SeCan McLeod R2 Genuity RR2Y 108 104 a record is a significant probDuPont Pioneer 900Y61 RR1 101 91 lem, and that he was concerned about the community * South: Boissevain, Melita, Hamiota, Redvers, Halbrite, Swift Current and Indian Head Balcarres, SK and the trouble McGillicky * North: Dauphin, Roblin, Outlook (irrigated and dryland), Saskatoon, Floral, Kamsack, Rosthern, Melfort and Scott could get into, emphasizing that the probation from previous charges would continue Genes that fit your farm® is a registered trademark of SeCan. to keep him out of trouble, Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. Commercialized products have been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported and that jail time would be to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this product. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship. more likely a consequence, ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Individual results may vary, and performance may vary from location to location and from year to year. This result may not be an indicator of results you may obtain as local growing, soil and weather if he keeps violating his conconditions may vary. Growers should evaluate data from multiple locations and years whenever possible. ditions. Roundup Ready® technology contains genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, an active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Agricultural herbicides containing glyphosate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate.
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A focus hearing was scheduled for the charges against Karry Biette, at the April 11 regular sitting of the Estevan court. Presiding judge Lane Wiegers requested the hearing to obtain the information relating to the charges against Biette, and determine what sort of information and evidence would be discussed in the preliminary hearing. After a brief discussion between the court and Biette’s lawyer who contacted the court via telephone, the date of May 9 was chosen for the hearing. Biette faces charges of impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous operation causing death, dangerous operation causing bodily harm and criminal negligence causing death, after an Oct. 14 accident when a vehicle heading into Estevan struck a tree resulting in the death of one passenger and the hospitalization of another. Valarie Voth pled guilty to driving impaired, while over the legal limit,
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