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Issue 3
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY SINCE 1903
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
www.estevanmercury.ca
Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240
Estevan RCMP officer dies in rollover By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
A serving member of the Estevan RCMP who was killed in an accident last week is being fondly remembered for his personality and his dedication to the job. Peter Donaldson, 55, was one of two people travelling in an eastbound vehicle when it left the road and rolled over on Highway 361 about 1 1/2 kilometres east of Lampman on May 15. Donaldson was pronounced dead at the scene. The 27-year-old male passenger, who is also an RCMP officer in Estevan, was transported to hospital via STARS Air Ambulance for treatment of what were described as serious injuries. They were not on duty at the time, and they were not in an RCMP vehicle. While the RCMP did not identify the officers involved, social media posts and an obituary notice identified the deceased officer as Donaldson, who had been in Estevan for several years, serving with both the local detachment and the Combined Traffic Services of Saskatchewan unit. RCMP collision reconstructionists have been conducting an investigation into the cause of the collision. Preliminary investigation has indicated that alcohol is not a factor. Cpl. Rob King with the Saskatchewan RCMP’s communications divi sion said it could be a few months before they pinpoint the cause of the accident. “An accident reconstructionist was on scene, and traditionally their reports take quite a while and are quite detailed, so it could be quite a while before the report is in our hands.” He did not have an update on the condition of the injured officer. King said he met Donaldson quite a few times, and found him to be a dedicated officer who enjoyed
Now that the Civic Auditorium has been torn down, the focus has shifted to cleaning up the site. Const. Peter Donaldson what he did. As for staffing levels at the local detachment, King said extra members have been brought in to help offset the workload for the remaining officers. “Several members that are normally working in the detachment were given the day off,” said King. “There are lots of things I’m sure they have to deal with, including their own grief and shock, so we brought in extra members to help supplement the numbers there.” Those members will likely remain as long as they’re needed. Estevan Police Service (EPS) Deputy Chief Murray Cowan said he knew both officers very well, as did most of the officers with the EPS. “They’ve been around Estevan for quite some time,” said Cowan. “I can say that I was notified that night, shortly after it happened, so on behalf of the police service, I reached out to the detachment commander here, and we had also spoke to the district commander, just offering our services to them.” The local detachment managed well without the EPS’s resources, but Cowan said the EPS was there if necessary. “Quite a few of our members are taking it quite hard,” said Cowan. “We work very closely with our RCMP partners here in A2 » DONALDSON
THERE’S NO REASON TO WAIT
Civic has been demolished; cleanup work is underway By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
For the first time since 1957, the Civic Auditorium is not part of Estevan’s skyline. Demolition of the venerable arena started in the early afternoon of May 15, and within 48 hours, the arena had been virtually demolished. The focus has now shifted towards cleanup of the site. Rod March, the manager of facilities and parks
for the City of Estevan, said the demolition went as expected. “I’ve been working very closely with the contractor,” March told the Mercury. “We could have had the building down even quicker than this, but we were also working with the winds, so we intentionally kept that (western) half of the building up to allow for a break of the winds so that we could get most of the debris out of there before it starts blowing around.”
The contractor, Silverado Demolitions, told March in the morning of May 17 that they had to take the building down, or it was going to fall down on its own. The demolition was a co-ordinated event with the contractors and the two excavators. “Their comment to me was it’s in really bad shape, in terms of the rot and that in the structures, so they had to be extremely careful and work in tandem to take that
down safely,” said March. “They were kind of surprised how it just collapsed on its own in several places as soon as they touched it.” It meant they had to be very careful around the east and west ends, depending on the wind conditions. The only issue, he said, has been a small amount of debris that escaped through the fence surrounding the Civic, but the contract with Silverado also stipulated that two people had to be A2 » PROJECT
GoFundMe campaign started for Carnduff house fire victims A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to support the family of two people killed in a house fire in Carnduff on Thursday. According to the GoFundMe page, the fire claimed the life of four-year-old Daniyela Wiebe and her stepfather, 24-year-old Ryan Raven. The child’s mother, Destinee Wiebe, was rescued with injuries that weren’t described as serious, and she was in stable condition after the fire. “This young family was just starting out, had no insurance and lost everything” the GoFundMe page stated. “A funeral and the cost to start over are more than this young devastated mom can handle. We ask for any donation you can spare and for as many prayers as you can fit into your day.” As of Monday morning, the campaign had raised $6,383 of its $30,000 goal. The page noted that the family was originally from Winkler, Man. In a press release, the Town of Carnduff and RM of Mount Pleasant No. 2 Fire Department said it was
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dispatched to the house fire in the 100-block of Baglole Crescent in the town. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered a fully involved mobile house on fire. The fire quickly spread to a neighbouring trailer and vehicle. Due to the intense flames, firefighters could not make entry into the first home, and had to use a defensive attack. Firefighters used two supply lines and four attack lines to contain the fire in the second home. Firefighters were able to get the second fire under control, and stop the spread to other homes in the area. After both fires were extinguished, the two bodies were discovered in the first home. Firefighters then secured the scene and turned the investigation over to the RCMP, the Fire Commissioner’s Office, Yorkton Forensic Identification Services and the Office of the Chief Coroner. “The Carnduff Fire Department would like to thank Carnduff RCMP, Carnduff EMS, and all our volunteers for their hard work,” the department said in a news release. The investigation is ongoing.
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