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Issue 10
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY SINCE 1903
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
www.estevanmercury.ca
Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240
Bienfait celebrations draw a crowd Bienfait continues to be a place to be for people looking to celebrate Canada Day. The community had its festivities Monday to mark Canada’s 152nd birthday, and offered up activities throughout the day for the families. The day started with a pancake breakfast that was prepared by the Southern Plains Co-op. The Canada Day parade started at 10 a.m., and a large crowd lined the streets of the town to watch the many brightly decorated floats, classic vehicles, large trucks, horse-and-rider tandems and other entries. The parade started at the Bienfait Weldon School and made its way down Carbon Avenue, where many of the people watched it. But there were also large crowds on other roads in the town. The par ade crossed Highway 18 t wice, and wrapped up at the Bienfait Memorial Arena. “The streets were full for the parade, which was probably one of the longer ones, probably close to 30 minutes,” said Amanda Pukas, who is the chairperson of the Bienfait Rec. Board. Highlights after the parade included a toonie swim at the town’s pool, bouncy castles, the Estevan Bible
The parade in Bienfait attracted large crowds and many participants. Camp’s rock climbing wall, a cake cutting ceremony, a cake walk, a mini firemen’s rodeo, bingo, a dunk tank, tours of the Bienfait Coalfields Historical Museum and the annual softball game between the firemen and the farmers. The Southern Plains Co-op cooked burgers and hot dogs that were served at
the town›s concession. The co-op doesn’t take any profit or benefit from the food that they provide, allowing the full proceeds of the concession to go to the Bienfait Recreation Board. The Saskatchewan Roughriders football game was shown on the big screen at 5 p.m. at the town›s arena.
Mr. Mike›s Steakhouse Casual ser ved food for the event, and fans turned out to watch the Saskatchewan Roughriders trounce the Toronto Argonauts. The only downside came late in the day. The annual fireworks show, which is a popular attraction with people from throughout the
region, was cancelled due to a severe thunderstorm that struck the southeast region. Organizers started the show early in an effort to complete it before the wind and rain hit, but were only able to have it for seven minutes. It was the second straight year that a storm
has affected the fireworks. Last year the show’s length was reduced. “We got a better grant this year than we did last year, actually last year we didn’t get any grant, so we put a little more money towards the fireworks.” Outside of that, the day went very well, she said. The weather was great until the thunderstorm hit, and the heat drew people for the parade. There was a very good turnout for many of the activities, as the breakfast was popular and the concession was busy for nearly two hours after the parade ended. The pool was full for the swim as well. The Rider game was a nice attraction this year, she said, and it’s the first time in years that they have had an event to keep people entertained in the late afternoon and early evening. Pukas said plans for Canada Day start in April, and the organizing committee meets once a month until the last few weeks before July 1, when they start meeting on a weekly basis. They have a representative from each minor sports community in the town because net income from Canada Day goes to the Bienfait Rec. Board. A2 » CANADA
Three projects receive coal transition funding By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
The federal government has announced funding for three projects in the Estevan area through the Canada Coal Transition Initiative (CCTI), which will result in additional people being hired and funding for solar power training. Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Natural Resources, made the announcement Friday in Alberta. A total of five projects in Saskatchewan and four projects in Alberta received support. The City of Estevan will receive $260,000 to develop a transition action plan that includes employment, retraining and municipal planning requirements. Mayor Roy Ludwig said the city would use the money to hire an additional economic development person. It’s a two-year term position, and the $260,000 will cover wages and expenses. “This person will take the pulse of the community and get a good idea of the needs
and what would be a good fit, and then get moving on trying to get manufacturing, greenhouses and warehousetype activity, because we’re so close to the border,” said Ludwig. The city wants to mitigate the pending retirement of Units 4 and 5 at Boundary Dam as much as possible. The new economic development person will answer to city manager Jeff Ward, but will also work with economic development co-ordinator Dwight (Fitz) Bramble. Ludwig defended the need for a second person in economic development, saying the city needs to put a focus on that department. “We’re looking at a larger manufacturing base that would employ more people, we’re looking at perhaps large greenhouse facilities that would employ more people,” said Ludwig. Bramble is continuing to pursue leads, and looking at what he can bring to the community. The city is also looking
for an economic assessment to be completed. Coronach, which will also be affected by the coal phase-out, received funding to complete such an assessment. “We’re looking at, with them paying for Coronach, maybe even the same company, same individuals, to come to Estevan and get hopefully this transition fund to pay for that,” said Ludwig. The city has not heard back from the provincial government as of yet regarding the city’s request for $5 million in funding. Sunrise Community Futures Development Corporation in Estevan and Weyburn will receive $250,000 over two years to hire a regional economic development coordinator for the southeast region to complete an economic assessment. The person, who has been hired and will start in July, will work within the borders of CF Sunrise, with a focus on Estevan during this transition period. “We’re going to work
The federal government is providing funding to communities like Estevan that still have a strong reliance on coal mining. File photo with the communities and the business community specifically to provide support and resources and to do a bit of an assessment to see, really, what do we need to plan for
as we move into this period of transitioning away from coal,” said Verna O’Neill, the general manager for CF Sunrise. This person will be separate from the person the city
hires, but O’Neill said their person will work in concert with the city’s hire. CF Sunrise has hired Christina Birch of Redvers; A2 » FEDS
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