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Major Fundraiser For Local KidSport Program Cancelled Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

There have been many changes taking place over the past month with our regular lives being modified into a new “normal”. Many of the annual events that take place in Saskatoon and area have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 situation and closer to home for Martensville residents, one cancellation that is forced to happen will create a sad situation for many local youth.

Each year, the Martensville & Warman KidSport programs see much of their funds come via their annual playhouse fundraiser. With a partnership between local businesses and Martensville High School, raffle tickets are sold with the grand prize winner receiving a beautiful playhouse constructed by our own high school students.

The money that is raised goes towards helping local families with financial support to ensure that children aged 18 and under can participate in organized sports.

Earlier this month, a difficult decision was made to cancel the playhouse fundraiser for this year. “We worked on trying to sort out all of the details, but the major factor for us was the fact that with the school being shut down, the students couldn’t continue working on the playhouse and we don’t have a finished project,” Angie Reddekopp, City of Martensville Program Coordinator, stated.

Richard Reimer of Boyes Group Realty Inc. was set to be the major sponsor for the playhouse fundraiser this year, with the Martensville & District Kinette Club and the Warman & Area Optimist Club jumping on board to help sell tickets. The Martensville A&W location, as well as the Martensville and District Lions Club were once again set to be major contributors for this fundraiser. “We had a really good core group set up this year to help sell tickets, so hopefully those partnerships and relationships continue moving forward and we can plan to start earlier next year and really push to get those funds in our account to help those kids get involved in sports, who otherwise would not be able to,” Reddekopp added.

Reddekopp noted that they have been contacting individuals that have already purchased tickets offering a refund, and has been really grateful that many of the people have asked that the money be kept as a donation. “Any amount of money that we can raise will be helpful. It looks like at most, we will be lucky to make $1000 as opposed to the $12 to $13 thousand that we would normally bring in through this fundraiser. It is a huge hit to the program and if things return to normal come fall, we won’t have the funds that we normally do, so it will be a struggle to help people this year.”

Although there has been a drop in applications this year with organized sports being cancelled this spring, fall is where the KidSport program sees one of their biggest pushes with hockey and cheerleading, among other sports being held.

Despite the playhouse fundrasier being cancelled, those interested can still contribute to the local KidSport program as donations are accepted at any time.

Donations that are over $20 will receive a tax receipt. In the past donations have been made as a memorial, as a donation in lieu of a gift for an individual, by businesses who are Corporate Friends of KidSport and more. Donations can be made via cash or cheque.

“Once things get back to normal, we will have a lot of kids that are excited to get back into a routine of being part of a team and being with their friends and hanging out as a community, so we would love to be able to ensure that we can make that a reality for them.”

Contact Angie Reddekopp for more information at (306) 683-5577 or recprograms@martensville.ca.

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martensville messenger - APRIL 23, 2020 - Page 3

Civic Services During the COVID-19 PandemicWhat you Should Know!

At this time, all City facilities are closed to the public, including reception areas. City Staff are available to work with the public via phone or email. Questions or inquiries can be directed to City Hall via phone (306-931-2166) or inquiry@martensville.ca during this time.

Residents and Customers are requested to carry out transactions electronically such as online banking, preauthorized payments or TIPPS. Cheques may also be dropped off in the drop slot at City Hall.

After Hour Water and Sewer Emergencies - should still be directed through the Emergency line at City Hall, (306) 931-2166, ext.1.

Protective Services - There are no changes in duty or status to Protective Services such as the RCMP, Martensville Fire Department, and Ambulance Service.

Water and Sewer - These services remain unimpacted and unchanged, including water quality testing. Meter reading will continue to take place; however, staff will not be doing reads of meters located inside of homes or occupied buildings. In these cases, estimates will be taken or reads can be provided into City Hall. In respect to water and sewer emergencies, city staff will not be able to enter resident homes at this time and private contractors should be considered. The City of Martensville will no longer be charging interest on water and sewer accounts indefinitely to assist residents impacted by the COVID -19 impacts.

Garbage and Recycling - Services remain in place and on schedule with no anticipated service delays at this time.

Road Maintenance - will continue as required, including snow removal, and is not expected to change at this time.

Lane Usage During Spring Thaw The City of Martensville encourages residents, for which their lane is a secondary means of access to their property, to limit their usage of lanes during the spring thaw.

Heavy or repetitive vehicle usage during spring thaw and wet conditions can cause further rutting and reduce drainage. This limits the ability of crews to conduct maintenance on the lanes in a timely manner and increases the amount of materials and time required to reshape lanes.

For questions or further information please contact Pubic Works at 931-2166.

Council Hosts Meetings Virtually Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

For the third time this month, the City of Martensville held their Council meeting virtually, which they will continue doing until the current COVID-19 situation dissipates.

Members of the public continue to be invited to attend meetings, and can do so by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at 306-931-2166 to obtain call in information.

The April 21st meeting began with an update from Sgt. Little from the local RCMP department for the months of February and March. In total members responded to 87 complaints in February, with 25 calls being Criminal Code Complaints. A total of 4 Criminal Code charges were made, along with 10 Provincial Traffic charges being laid.

For March, members responded to 149 complaints, with 22 Criminal Code Charges and 8 Provincial Traffic Charges being laid.

Sgt. Little stated that it is “business as usual” for the local RCMP members and that none of the members have tested positive for COVID-19 at this time. He also noted that they have been getting numerous calls from local residents regarding COVID-19; however, no one has been charged within the jurisdiction.

Not only has Council been meeting virtually, but City of Martensville administration has been utilizing these tools for meetings with various levels of government and organizations on the impacts of the pandemic. City Manager Scott Blevins noted in his report that, “These meetings have been a tremendous resource of information sharing and ideas.”

Blevins also noted that the department heads have been working on forecasting numbers in the 2020 budget. Currently, the City of Martensville has laid off part-time employees and have numerous employees working from home. “In order to plan for the budget impacts of lost revenue, we have decided not to replace any vacancies, not hire seasonal and summer staff, as well as working out a Letter of Understanding with union to reallocate employees to needed areas,” Blevins said in the City Manager’s report. To date, 14% of staff has been laid off, 17% are working from home and 69% are working on site.

Due to the reduced work force, local residents may notice an impact on some of the services that are typically provided within the local parks and roadways such as; less trimming, less grass cutting, less crack sealing, less street sweeping and others.

At this time, there will not be any changes made to the capital program for 2020; however, Blevins stated that this may require further discussion in the future. “The City will work diligently to maintain fiscal responsibility while still providing appropriate levels of service,” Mayor Muench stated via social media.

When it comes to City facilities and parks, all continue to remain closed to the public at this time. Ted Schaeffer, Director of Recreation and Community Services, noted that fencing has been put around the skatepark to prevent use, as well as the installation of signage and caution tape on playgrounds and fitness equipment within the community.

All ball diamonds and athletic fields are closed to organizations until June 30, 2020, which

Utility and Property Tax Updates

The City has implemented a number of measures to assist property owners and businesses during the pandemic, currently in place:.

• Interest charges on utility bills will be suspended until November 1, 2020.

• Water service will not be discontinued due to non-payment or overdue account status.

• The deadline for property tax payments will be extended from July 31 to October 30, 2020.

• All interest charges on property tax owing will be suspended until November 1, 2020.

• Business license renewal notices will be delayed until normal operations resume – all expired business licenses will remain valid until further notice.

Stay Informed! -The City of Martensville has created a dedicated webpage to provide information, updates and additional resources around the COVID-19 pandemic. This page is accessible through the homepage at Martensville.ca.

Please continue to follow us, media sources and information from the Province of Saskatchewan for the most current information around updates or new measures for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19

Protect your Property and Be Ready for Spring Thaw With prolonged cold temperatures and snow accumulation, and now moving into milder climates, we are expecting a rapid melt. This may lead to seepage of water into basement or water to accumulate on property. We are all responsible to protect our own property and mitigate any potential risks. Provided are some helpful tips and tasks to help prevent water seeping into your basement or accumulating on your property.

1. Extend downspouts at least two metres (six feet) from your basement walls. The further the water is from the foundation, the less chance that it will make its way into your basement. Splash pads can help direct the water to a permeable surface, such as a garden or lawn. Clear debris from your eavestroughs (gutters) to prevent them from overflowing. If your eavestroughs or downspouts overflow even when they are clean, install larger ones.

2. Consider moving snow away from the foundation of your home, to prevent a large degree of melting immediately adjacent to your foundation.

3. Ensure proper grading around your home and property or build up the ground slope around your home. Soil should slope down from your foundation and window wells for at least two to three metres (about six to ten feet) at a drop of at least 10-20 centimetres (about four to eight inches). If water soaks into the ground within the backfill zone, it will accumulate next to your basement walls and floor, where it can leak in or damage the foundation. Check your ground slope annually, because soil, sidewalks, patios, decks and driveways can settle over time. You can find grade elevation information on Martensville.ca.

4. Check the drainage paths on your property. Ensure that storm water flows to the lane or street, not towards your home. It also shouldn’t flow into your neighbour’s yard.

Property should be graded to keep water flowing in the right direction. If water pools on your property, consider pumping it to the street.

5. Fix leaks in basement walls, floors, windows and doors.

6. If you have protective plumbing, such as backflow valves and sump pumps, make sure they are working properly.

7. If you are away from your property for a period (2-3 days) have someone check the property to ensure water is not coming into the basement.

8. Elevate and/or store important equipment and personal items as to avoid damage in case of water seepage.

City crews will ensure streets, catch basins, and drain ways are clear to ensure the spring melt does not back up on city streets and onto properties so we can all enjoy and have a worry-free spring.

For more information or to report an issue, contact Martensville City Hall or visit Martensville.ca

coincides with both Saskatoon and Warman. Pathways and the dog park remain open with reminders in place for those utilizing them to maintain proper physical distancing.

At this time, the Community Info and Volunteer Appreciation Night has been cancelled, with the Amazing Race and Monster Garage Sale currently being postponed.

With more residents being at home, along with an early spring thaw, levels within the lagoon have increased faster than anticipated. The City has been taking necessary steps to work around this issue and collaborating with the Water Security Agency and their consulting engineers.

Continuation on the 3rd Avenue South sanitary sewer replacement project is scheduled to begin the second week of May, and the City will be reaching out to all residents that will be affected this week.

City crews are currently working on back lane repair and maintenance, although some of the lanes are currently soft and saturated, and use of equipment at this point could damage the lanes or buried utilities.

Items from last week’s Committee of the Whole meeting were brought back this week for formal approval including the Remote Work Policy, Sask Lotteries Grant Funding and a discretionary use for a Type II Care Home at 101 Anna Cres. Council requested changes to some of the conditions in place for the care home request on Anna Cres, including roll out bins for garbage and recycling, which are to be stored and screened behind the residence and rolled out on collection days. No large metal bins are permitted.

The next Council meeting will be held May 5, 2020. More information on upcoming meetings, as well as the agenda for each meeting can be found at www.martensville.ca.

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BUSINESS AND FINANCE Market Downfall Already Seeing Recovery Take Place Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

James Dietrich of 4 Corner Financial has been doing what he can to help provide information to individuals and businesses as both the Federal and Provincial governments announce programs that are being put in place to help provide financial assistance through the COVID-19 pandemic.

People all over the world are trying to navigate their way through the current situation, and one of the scariest parts of this is the financial unknowns. “Our goal is to take the information that is out there and help people by summarizing it into something that is a little easier to understand,” Dietrich said.

When things in our own country began to see the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, Dietrich said that the income within their business was hugely affected – down approximately 50%, with little activity taking place. Now, 3 to 4 weeks later, some of that activity is coming back and things appear to be settling into a “new normal”.

Through this pandemic, Dietrich notes that the market definitely saw some impact, which had people quite concerned, but stated that people need to realize that, “the market is always forward looking and has always recovered from any downturn that we have seen. We have seen the market already responding to the downturn and have since seen the best week that we have had since 1974. The loss was close to 40% of the market and more than half of that is back already, so we are intently worried about the stock market when it is in a significant downward trend, but not as worried when it is in an upward trend.”

One of the most important pieces of advice that Dietrich has is to have trust in your financial advisor. “Something I will always tell people is to know what you own, know why you own it, and have that relationship with your advisor. Trust your advisor and check in with them, but allow them to do what you want that advisor to do in both good and bad times. Don’t go changing the rules during a downturn. At this point to make all sorts of changes could potentially be a very significant downturn in your own recovery.”

For those that are self-directed when it comes to their investments, Dietrich said that this is a huge opportunity for them to act a little more aggressively. “We have seen money managers working more diligently in the last two weeks than they probably have over the past ten years because of the strength in the market.” For Dietrich, the main thing that he watches for is how much of the fund is held in cash. “In doing this, it tells me what the expectation is of that fund. If there is cash being held, they feel there is a correction coming.”

Although times are a little uncertain at the moment, Dietrich advises people not to put all of their time and energy into the negative information that is out there. “If it is all bad that we are hearing, it is going to affect our mental health. There are positives to what is happening; you just have to be open to them. The recovery is positive. If you had a strategy from before this started, you are not in a bad place. You will be reasonably protected.”

For more information and to view regular updates on programs provided by the government, visit http://4cornerfinancial.ca/.

Chamber Sees Local Business Community Adapting to a ‘New Normal’

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With many local businesses either having been shut down, or impacted in some way due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing more variation in how services are being provided locally and businesses are working hard to adapt to the current situation.

According to Jaimie Malmgren, Executive Director of the Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce (PSCC), the dust has settled a little since the pandemic first hit the area. “There was a lot of fear and uncertainty in those initial weeks; however, we are starting to see businesses somewhat settle into a new sense of normal. As a Chamber, our goal was to be a resource for businesses to help guide them through it, even though we are kind of in the same boat. We knew there needed to be something out there that businesses could reach out to and express concerns, ask questions or just relate to other businesses and communicate with one another.”

A partnership between the PSCC, City of Warman and City of Martensville saw the COVID-19 Business Task Force get created. Each week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, a conference call takes place at 3pm where businesses can get information regarding Federal and Provincial initiatives for businesses, and also work with one another to help get through the current situation.

“Through this, we are seeing businesses adapting to things and making changes needed to continue to be successful.

Many are taking this time for professional development, working on their social media presence and E-commerce, setting up online stores and more. We are seeing businesses digging their heels in and doing the hard work. Businesses have got to keep present and stay in the forefront of consumers’ minds and if they don’t do that, they will be forgotten about,” Malmgren said.

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major concerns that resonate within the business community. One of the concerns lies within the major expense that comes with their leases. Another concern is the uncertainty of how long this is going to last.

Another topic that comes up frequently has to do with navigating the various programs available to help businesses financially.

“Despite everything that is happening in the world around us, one thing that we have seen is that people are understanding the importance of supporting local. We are hearing it from the business owners themselves and they are so grateful for the support they have received from the residents within the region.”

The PSCC is providing updates regularly to all of their members and invite businesses that may not be members to contact them if they have questions, and to take part in the COVID-19 Response Task Force conference calls. “The Chamber is there for all businesses. Of course having a membership gives you additional perks, but the main thing is the health and strength of our business region.”

The PSCC is seeing their own impact due to the COVID-19 situation, as the future of two of their major events is currently unknown. If businesses are unable to make it through this, membership for the Chamber will be down as well. “We will definitely be impacted, just to what extent, we are unsure of at this point. We want to be here for the business community and we feel the Chamber plays a very important role in the business community and we will do what we can to survive this, no different than any other business.”

For more information about the Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce, the COVID-19 Response Task Force, and regular updates on various funding programs that are in place, visit www. prairieskychamber.ca.

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Page 6 - APRIL 23, 2020 - martensville messenger

Provincial Politics with

Murray Mandryk

We Can Start Thinking About Re-Opening the Economy

We may soon see a Saskatchewan plan to reopen the economy. After what appears to be rather promising numbers suggesting new COVID-19 cases have been reduced to low single-digits, Premier Scott Moe suggested that he would be able to move forward with a plan to “re-open” the economy; however, he did so, ever so gently.

Moe didn’t offer many hints as to what exactly what that might look like. He likely can’t because it depends on a variety of factors; not the least of which would be recommendations from the Saskatchewan Health and the Saskatchewan Health Authority. "We are only one outbreak away from interrupting those numbers,” Moe said.

Instead, Moe said any re-opening would happen in a “methodical” fashion. This suggests that whatever happens might not be all that different than what we’ve seen for the past month.

That isn’t exactly exciting news, but if this novel coronavirus has taught us anything, it should be patience. The good news on the virus fight is that we do seem to winning here and flattening the curve.

On the day Moe made his announcement on April 13, there were only two new COVID-19 cases in the province that day (compared with 14 recoveries). The day after announcing a “methodical” plan to re-open the economy, Moe was rewarded with further good news of only one new case in Saskatchewan and nine recoveries.

At the time, it left this province with 110 “active” cases, suggesting we are flattening the curve; however, whether we continue in that right direction is anyone’s guess.

Manitoba had no new cases the day after Moe talked about “re-opening” the economy. However, in Alberta that day, there were 138 new cases; largely because of an outbreak of 128 new cases in Calgary.

We can be cautiously optimistic, but we can't get too far ahead of ourselves. While Moe has vowed to up testing to 1,500 a day, we don’t have widespread testing or virus tracing (critical, when trying to determine who else may be infected) or a vaccine. Sadly, we don’t know nearly as much about this virus as we need to know.

That said, we also need to get on with our lives at some point, even if that does not necessarily mean “getting back to normal”. “There is no magic switch that we can flip that sends everything back to normal overnight,” Moe said.

We obviously can’t go from night to day or from winter to summer. In life, there are always transitions like dawn and spring, but in that vein, we need to recognize that what drives the economy of a still rural-based economy are critical industries that have, largely, always practiced social distancing by their nature.

Farming and spring seeding are largely that. So are oil, gas and; to a large extent; potash mining.

Much praised; and rightly so; is being heaped these days on nurses, doctors and other health care workers as essential services, but consider for a moment how essential food production is right now.

Consider that our crops and potash mean to tropical island/resort destinations that don’t necessarily grow all of their own food and don’t have the tourism dollars but still need what we produce.

Sure, farming is not necessarily inhibited by current social distancing regulations, anyway. The more important point, however, is really that we do need to think about “methodically” moving forward with "a plan" to re-open the economy.

If we can find a way to allow high-traffic grocery stores to remain open, can we not do the same thing for lower volume retail or even service sector business if we are seeing evidence of reduced transmissions? We can move forward. We need to move forward.

Government Releases Preliminary Revenue Impacts

The Government of Saskatchewan provided a range of preliminary revenue impacts, using three different scenarios related to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The potential revenue decline in 2020-21 ranges from $1.3 billion to $3.3 billion, depending on the duration of pandemic-related economic restrictions.

“We are less than three weeks into the new fiscal year and right now we just don’t know how long restrictions will remain in place in Saskatchewan, in Canada and around the world,” Finance Minister Donna Harpauer said. “That’s why it is still incredibly difficult to forecast with any certainty. We believe however it is important that we release these different scenarios, to let Saskatchewan people know just how much of an impact the pandemic is having on our economy and revenues.”

The potential revenue declines are based on three economic scenarios. Each scenario includes assumptions on a number of economic factors, including the duration of current economic restrictions, how soon resource prices may recover and anticipated consumer behaviour once restrictions are lifted.

Real GDP scenarios for 2020 are all negative and range from a decline of 4.1 per cent under the most optimistic scenario to a decline of 14.9 per cent in the most pessimistic scenario. At this time, the Government is managing spending within the amounts allocated in the budget estimates released on March 18, 2020.

“Our government has committed to provide all financial resources necessary to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and this will likely result in spending increases beyond the amounts allocated in the 2020-21 Estimates,” Harpauer said.

Harpauer pointed to strong management of the province’s finances as providing a solid fiscal foundation from which to manage the pressure from the current pandemic crisis and ultimate recovery.

Saskatchewan was on track for a surplus in 2019-20 and 2020-21 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and oil price collapse. Saskatchewan has maintained the second highest credit rating in the country, continues to have among the lowest net-debts as a percentage of GDP and continues to maintain a solid cash position.

“The 2020-21 deficit is not a structural deficit,” Harpauer said. “It is a pandemic deficit. Saskatchewan will manage through this, because we have the strength, the foundation and the people to do it.”

Rural Communities Hit Just as Hard By COVID-19 Pandemic

Written By: Senator Wallin

Our small towns and rural communities across Canada are experiencing fallout from COVID-19 in unique and devastating ways. It has once again highlighted the rural/urban divide that exists in Canada which is reflected in our national policies and politics. The national media has also been negligent in covering a world that too many of them simply do not understand. Instead, they focus on Trump’s temper tantrums or the Prime Minister’s staged photo ops every morning, when we have people fighting for their lives - not just because of the virus, but because the response to the virus is bringing economic ruin.

We should be able to do two things at once! Flatten the curve and allow low risk sectors to begin to re-open. To risk understatement, governments have not done a great job of getting the right kind of help into the hands of those most in need. Mom and pop businesses on main streets of small towns everywhere don’t qualify for programs designed to help more traditional businesses in the manufacturing sector. If you run a one or two-person operation should you not be eligible for government programs? If they open for a few hours each week, should that disqualify you for aid? The small, local newspapers have -to date-received very little advertising from the federal government. Instead Ottawa is buying ads on TV and in national chains. More than ever these small operations need a hand up. Help needs to be more targeted and relevant for different parts of the economy.

It’s as if government does not understand that small service towns in agricultural communities exist for a reason to ensure that those who supply our food and the energy to run our economy can carry on. The growing season is about to begin. We can’t risk the food supply for another year and our producers still need a store and a school and a doctor and a shovel and fertilizer and machinery.

In the Prairies, farmers were already struggling before COVID as a result of bad weather and China’s ban on exports such as canola. They, just like resource-based companies, have struggled to keep cash in hand because of a punitive carbon tax, including extra costs for grain drying. Ottawa’s response is to offer farmers more access to loans. What nobody needs right now is more debt - with no prospect of income.

And the energy sector, which employs over 34,000 Saskatchewanians, was already in a tough spot with prices dropping and no pipelines to get the product to markets. If farmers and energy sector workers have no income, then who will be buying the goods and services of our small local businesses? It will mean more layoffs and more permanently closed doors.

This isn’t an either/or choice between lives and livelihoods. The health crisis and the economic crisis are two sides of the same coin. You can’t have a healthy economy without healthy people and before we can get back to day-to-day life, we need available testing to determine who is, and isn’t, carrying the virus. But without people buying, creating, and contributing, then we will not have the resources to fund the cost of the fight.

A total lockdown for another 6 months will take a huge human toll, leave more under or unemployed, and will push Canada’s economy into depression.

The Bank of Canada says the virus has created a downturn that is already the sharpest on record. GDP - the combined value of all our economic activity - shrunk by 9% last month alone.

Rural communities require economic activity to survive. And we need consistent, fast and reliable internet access to facilitate kids’ homeschooling or local producers reaching out to local customers and telehealth services which are key in areas with no or sporadic 911 service.

Looking at past pandemics, rural communities are often hit last, but the hit is hard. So we need to make sure we have beds and PPE supplies, just in case. And we need timely access to hospitals and care facilities that are often miles away.

And we need to test as many as we can and continue to practice physical distancing. Doing so will ensure we can safely allow workers, in virus-free areas, or in areas that don’t require a great deal of social interaction, to slowly get back to work and Canada needs to act boldly, now, to regenerate our own supply chain, and not just advocate for ‘Made in Canada,’ but ensure on it. We must not ever again be so reliant on China. Right now, we should be investing in our rural communities. And fighting for them. Putting Humpty Dumpty back together is a going to be hard work. We can only hope it is possible.

Letter to the Editor

The Martensville Messenger welcomes letters to the editor for publication. Letters must be signed and a phone number and/ or email address included so the writer’s identity can be verified. ALL letters are the opinion of the writer and NOT the Martensville Messenger. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, clarity or compliance with the current standards of public taste. Submit your letter to news@martensvillemessenger.ca or mail to Box 333 - Martensville, SK S0K 2T0.

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MHS Boys Curling Team Selected For Sportsmanship Award

The Martensville High School (MHS) Royals Boys Curling team made their school and community proud after being presented with the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association (SHSAA) and SASK MILK Sportsmanship Award.

“Each year the Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association (SHSAA) is sponsored by Sask Milk to award teams that demonstrate sportsmanship during each of the provincial championships. This year, MHS competed in Meadow Lake at the beginning of March at the curling championship, where the other school teams selected MHS for the curling sportsmanship award,” Coach Neda Wilson explained.

“The MHS Royals found the atmosphere of the championship to be inviting and relaxed, so they were able to get to know many teams as they were competing, which also resulted in a bronze medal finish. It was a great weekend for us and we were proud to represent our school and community,” Wilson added.

In a letter sent to the school from SHSAA, Executive Director Lyle McKellar stated that, this award is presented to the team, it also recognizes the efforts of the entire school that contribute to shaping the characteristics that are worthy of being named the award recipient.

The purpose of this award is to represent the ideals of sportsmanship that are displayed during the provincial championship. Due to the COVID-19 situation at the moment, the award presentation will be postponed until school is back in session. For the presentation, a representative from SHSAA and from the Saskatchewan Milk Marketing Board will attend.

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ABOVE: The MHS Royals Boys Curling Team during the opening ceremonies of the provincial championships, which were held in Meadow Lake on March 6th and 7th. The team was selected to win the SHSAA/SASK MILK Sportsmanship Award. From left to right - Meadow Lake Hostess, Brayden Grindheim, Logan Ede, Rylan Gabruck, Taylor Warren, Kleysen Gabruck and Head Coach Dean Grindheim.(Submitted)

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Page 8 - APRIL 23, 2020 - martensville messenger