December 16, 2021

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December 16, 2021 VOLUME NO. 15 - ISSUE 48

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Spreading Christmas Cheer For All to Hear

The Martensville & District Kinette Club, along with members of the Martensville Fire Department spent the weekend with Santa as they travelled throughout various locations in Martensville so everyone could have a chance to see Santa while he was in town. See more on Page 7. (Shanine Sealey/MM)

M

ARTENSVILLE

ESSENGER

Please note the Martensville Messenger will NOT be publishing a paper on DECEMBER 23 OR DECEMBER 30, 2021.

Thank you to all who have supported us this past year.

May the true meaning of the holiday season ffiill your heart and home with many blessings.

Page 2 - DECEMBER 16, 2021 - martensville messenger Box 970 37 Centennial Dr. S. Martensville, SK SOK 2TO Phone:(306) 931-2166

Visit www.martensville.ca for more information

Civic Services Under the Lifting of the Public Health Order - What You Should Know!

City Hall is Open - Masks are mandatory in indoor public spaces as of September 17th.

Online and contactless payment options remain available for customer convenience, such as online banking, e-transfers, preauthorized payments or TIPPS. Cheques can also be dropped off after hours in the drop slot at City Hall.

Please do not visit City Hall if you are feeling unwell, experiencing flu-like symptoms or have been in contact with someone who is presumptive or tested positive for COVID-19.

Current Status of Public Facilities as of December 10th Masks are mandatory in all indoor public spaces as of September 17th.

Martensville Athletic Pavilion - Operations completely resuming, including drop-in programs. Contact the MAP or Martensville.ca for information on upcoming programs or questions.

Aquatic Centre - Closed for the season City Hall - Open North Ridge Centre - Re-Opened for Bookings Heritage Centre - Re-Opened for Bookings Sports Centre - Open for the Season Wheatland Regional Library (located in the Civic Centre) - Open 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 After Hour Water and Sewer Emergencies- should still be directed through the Emergency line at City Hall, (306) 931-2166, ext.1.

Questions about Facilities or Programs? City Staff are available to work with the public via phone or email. Questions or inquiries can be directed to City Hall via phone (306931-2166) or inquiry@martensville.ca OR the Martensville Athletic Pavilion (306-6835576) or mapreception@martensville.ca

Winter is Coming and Snow Removal is Too – What You Need to Know The Snow removal program aims to reduce hazards in the community, ensure roadways for emergency vehicles, and provide access to goods and services in the community.

Our crews strive to deliver excellent service, however sometimes weather can be unpredictable, and snow and ice control activities may vary. Every reasonable effort will be made to remove snow and ice and create safe driving and walking conditions promptly.

There are ways you can help to ensure to keep streets clear and safe - Do not shovel, blow, or push snow from private property onto the street – this causes snow ridges on your driveway when our plow cleans our street.

- Do not plow or pile snow on streets or hydrants – this can block access to manholes, water valves, and access to water in case of fire.

- Clear your driveways in advance of the city’s snow clearing operations - this helps our operators clear your street more efficiently as well as more clearly see driveways to avoid ridging.

- Do not park your vehicle in an area where it could obstruct snow removal procedures this hinders our operations and could result in a snow ridge blocking your vehicle in place.

- Do not leave large piles of snow at the corners of driveways – this snow can be caught by a raised snow-gate blade and topple over into your driveway or the street.

-Prevent snow from piling up on the front of your driveway by moving it near your tree/lawn areas behind your walkway.

-Watch for posted areas for Snow Removal- In case of snow and snow removal, crews need to have roads cleared of all vehicles on posted streets. If you are going out of the City over the holidays, please have your vehicles off City streets. Vehicles left on the street per the traffic bylaw are ticketed and towed (to a non-posted area).

-Stay Clear of Sanding Trucks- Crews apply a mixture of salt and sand on our streets and intersections to ensure safer driving conditions. If you are near or behind the sanding truck you are reminded to stay back 15m to allow the truck to disperse materials and to prevent materials from potentially hitting your vehicle.

Information on general program procedures and the City’s Priority Map is available online at Martensville.ca

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Winter Program Update - Twinkle Tour Hayrides, Lantern Walk, Escape Rooms at the MAP Christmas Light Displays! - Nominate your house, a neighbor, or any home that you think has a great display for the holiday season. Find the QR Code on Facebook to simply add the nominee! Nominations close December 18th.

Light up the Night Lantern Walk - The City of Martensville is partnering with SaskOutdoors, Sask Lotteries, and Wildernook Fresh Air Learning to offer you a magical evening lantern walk experience. Lantern building will take place indoors in the Northridge Community Centre. The Lantern Walk will wind through Kinsmen Park and will depart from and return to the Community Centre. This is a Free Event with 5:00 PM, 6:30 PM, and 8:00 PM times.

Twinkle Tour Hayrides: Get into the holiday spirit with our Christmas Twinkle Tour. Bundle up with your friends or family, bring some hot chocolate, sing some carols, and book your spot on our hayride through Martensville. Dates available are Dec. 15th-17th at 6:00 pm.

The cost is $3/person. Proof of vaccination will be required.

Escape Rooms at the MAP - Over the Christmas Break we will have two Escape Rooms for City of Martensville City Hall you and your family to try, The Lost Mummy and Frost. Each group will have 60 minutes Operation: to solve the clues and escape. Cost is $10 perHours group. of Times available are: 9:30am, 11:00am, 1:00pm, 2:30pm, 4:00pm and the last time is at 6:00pm. Available December 20th-23rd, and 28th -30th Monday to Friday

9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

For more information about upcoming Recreation Programs and Events, contact the MAP or (Excluding Statutory Holidays) visit the Martensville Facebook Page.

December & January 2022 Council Meeting Dates

Please Note: Council Meetings may be attended in-person but guests must wear a mask and should practice social distancing within Council Chambers. Those still wishing to attend but would wish to do so virtually should contact the City Clerk or visit the online agenda for the link to attend.

Regular Council Meeting -December 21st Committee of the Whole- January 11th Regular Council Meeting- January 18th The Regular Council Meetings are located at Martensville City Hall Council Chambers in Martensville City Hall at 37 Centennial Dr. S. All meetings commence at 5 PM. Those wishing to address or do a presentation to Council must be placed on the agenda. To be placed on the agenda please contact the City Clerk’s office at City Hall or visit the website for details.

The full Council and Committee of the Whole Schedule can be obtained at martensville.ca.

Call for Application: Appointment to Represent the City of Martensville on the North Corman District Development Appeals Board Public notice is hereby given that the Council of the City of Martensville invites its residents to consider serving on the North Corman District Development Appeals Board to fill a current vacancy to represent the City of Martensville. The North Corman District Development Appeals Board is a joint development appeals board serving the member municipalities including Martensville, Warman, Dalmeny, Osler, Langham, and the RM of Corman Park.

Purpose - The purpose of the North Corman District Development Appeals Board is to adjudicate appeals under the provisions of The Planning and Development Act, 2007 including appeals regarding minor variances, holding provisions, demolition control districts, architectural control districts, misapplication of the Zoning Bylaw in issuing a development permit, refusal to issue a development permit because it would contravene the Zoning Bylaw, and any of the conditions of a Zoning Order issued on a property.

Term - The term will be for three (3) years.

Meeting - The meetings are held, as required, at the R.M. of Corman Park No. 344 Council Chambers at 111 Pinehouse Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Members receive remuneration for each meeting attended and will be provided with training as required.

Application Requirements - Citizens who wish to take an active role on the North Corman District Development Appeals Board must submit an application form, together with a résumé and two letters of reference. Application forms can be obtained at the City of Martensville office between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 9th, 2022.

Application forms are also available under Public Notices at www.martensville.ca.

Proof of Vaccination, Living with Covid-19, Testing Kits Effective October 1, 2021, a provincial requirement for proof of vaccination or negative test was implemented for public access to a list of establishments, businesses, and event venues that bring groups of people together.

More detail can be found at www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19 under Public Health Orders COVID-19 will continue to circulate, particularly among unvaccinated populations. Being fully vaccinated is the best protection against COVID-19 and all residents will continue to be offered first and second doses through pharmacies and Saskatchewan Health Authority clinics.

Watch for vaccination clinics and opportunities for vaccinations are through pharmacies and pop-up clinics.

A list of upcoming clinics throughout the province is available at www.saskhealthauthority.ca

martensville messenger - DECEMBER 16, 2021 - Page 3

Council Discusses Water/Wastewater Ageement With Saskatoon at Committee of the Whole Meeting Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

Martensville City Council held their final Committee of the Whole meeting of the year on Tuesday, December 14th.

The meeting began with a delegation from Councillor Jamie Martens regarding Moose Hide Campaign Day, an event taking place on February 10th, 2022 to bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous people from across Canada together to help end violence against women and children. Martens spoke to Council about the importance of this event and provided information.

Next, administration provided a report to Council regarding the SaskWater transition agreement between Saskatoon, Martensville and SaskWater. The City of Martensville has been working with Saskatoon since 2014 to provide water directly to the community without SaskWater’s involvement. This agreement would also include treatment of our wastewater.

In the report to Council provided by City Manager Scott Blevins, it is stated that, the transition fee, which was endorsed by P4G in 2017, is part of the master agreement between SaskWater and Saskatoon.

“Saskatoon and Martensville will pay SaskWater twothirds of the net margin loss incurred for a ten-year period after the supply of potable water is transition.”

Payment for this will be made in 120 equal installments of $39,084 and will be split equally between Saskatoon and Martensville. This fee may be reduced to account for SaskWater securing new contracts to resell potable water to new customers with existing infrastructure.

Saskatoon has already approved the Master Service Agreement and the Transition Agreement, and the item will be brought back to Council next week for formal approval.

The next item on the agenda was regarding the fee for criminal record checks to be done. In 2006, the City of Martensville adopted a criminal record check fee of $10 with an exception for anyone seeking employment with the RCMP, City of Martensville, or for individuals volunteering with an organization in Martensville. This was rescinded in 2016 as Warman was not charging for criminal record checks and the RCMP wanted to have consistency between the two detachments.

It was recently noted that at our local detachments, RCMP Clerks spend a considerable amount of time conducting criminal record checks. In Saskatoon, a vulnerable sector check is $75 and a criminal record check is $45 with no exceptions. The RCMP Advisory Board Committee is recommending that a fee of $40 be charged for both a vulnerable sector check, as well as a criminal record check, with the same exemptions remaining in place.

This past November, the City of Martensville received a petition from residents within Aspen Parke Estates and Aspen Pointe Estates requesting that the City pave the gravel portion of 10th Avenue North from 3rd Street in front of the homes facing 10th, including the two condominiums to help reduce noise and dust. The petition was missing key requirements such as residential addresses, witness to signatures, as well as providing a representative of the petitioners, and was therefore deemed not sufficient; however, administration is seeking direction from Council regarding this.

Matt Gruza, Director of Infrastructure and Planning asked Council for direction regarding a proposal from Neptune Technology Group (NTG) to upgrade water meters within Martensville. This upgrade would allow meters to be read remotely.

Currently, NTG is working on a water meter replacement program in Yorkton, and if Martensville were to approve this project before the end of the year, NTG could mobilize quickly, saving Martensville approximately $200,000. A final proposed price of $1,542,168 plus tax was provided. Although this is an unbudgeted cost, Gruza noted that there is additional Canada Community Building Funding that could potentially be diverted to offset some of these costs.

The final Council meeting of 2021 will be held on Tuesday, December 21st at 5pm in Council Chambers at City Hall. Meetings can also be attended virtually. See more information about this on page 2 of this weeks issue.

Government Of Saskatchewan Officially Launches The “Take A Break” Campaign

The Government of Saskatchewan is encouraging children and teens to "Take A Break" from social media and screen time in a new public awareness campaign to promote mental and physical well-being.

"I am pleased to see the launch of the 'Take a Break' campaign," Education Minister Dustin Duncan said. "Through this campaign, we want to remind children, teens and adults alike that it's important from time to time to take a step away from their screens and find a healthy lifestyle balance."

According to the Canadian Pediatric Society (2019), 75 per cent of parents are concerned with how much time their children are spending on social media and state that 36 per cent of their 10- to 13-year-olds are on devices for more than three hours per day. Another study in Ontario (Canadian Medical Association Journal) found that there is a seven per cent increase today in adolescents who are on screens more than five hours per day compared to 2013 - 2017.

Additional research shows that excessive screen time can negatively impact mental health, healthy sleep habits, selfesteem and result in lost connections of quality time with friends and family. The "Take a Break" campaign will help educate parents, caregivers, children, teens and the community about the importance of purposeful and healthy use of digital technology, recognizing the signs of too much screen time and choosing healthy alternatives to using digital technology.

Parents, caregivers, children and teens can access the "Take A Break" website to learn more about the warning signs of too much screen time, how this impacts children and teens, tips on alternatives to screen time and how to create a healthy balance.

Additional tips, videos and information will be added over time. Ads will also be appearing on a variety of popular social media channels and in local newspapers to remind the public to take a break to avoid the negative impacts excessive screen time can have on children and teens.

Join the conversation and share how you and your family are taking a break from screen time with our hashtag #TakeABreakSK. By following #TakeABreakSK, you can also see what others are doing as healthy alternatives to screen time.

More information on the "Take a Break" campaign as well as tips for children and teens and information for parents and caregivers can be found at saskatchewan.ca/TakeaBreak.

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Page 4 - DECEMBER 16, 2021 - martensville messenger

SPORTS Local Hockey Team Raises Donations to Support a Family This Christmas Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

ABOVE: The Martensville Marauder U15A Villains travelled to Regina this past weekend for a tournament and came home with the B Final win under their belts.

The Martensville U13 AA Marauders are embracing the true spirit of Christmas this year by creating a partnership with the Martensville and District Kinette Club.

The team will be adopting a family of four and will be involved in every step throughout the process, including canvassing for donations, shopping, wrapping and delivering.

On Saturday, December 11, the team took to the streets of Martensville to canvas for donations and the residents of Martensville did their part to help by donating a total of $1285, plus boxes of food donations that will all go towards helping a local family in need this Christmas.

If you would like to contribute to this amazing cause, donations are being accepted until December 17th by sending an E-transfer to jmartenssask@gmail.com with Martensville as the security answer.

Osczevski Continues Winning Strong Jocelyn Ottenbreit, Martensville Messenger

ABOVE: The U13 AA Marauders proved what teamwork really means by partnering with the local Kinettes to adopt a family this Christmas.

ABOVE: Jackie Osczevski (centre to left) came to defend her National Title in Thunder Bay, Ontario where she placed 2nd as the Strongest Woman in Canada. (Facebook)

Martensville’s Jackie Osczevski has been training for strongman since 2016, and since then has been representing Canada and Saskatchewan in annual international competitions.

When asked what made her choose this profession, she stated, “After job hunting for a coaching position, I was fresh out of university, where I competed in the University of Saskatchewan Ultimate Frisbee women’s team. I grew up with boys, so my competitive nature comes naturally. I wanted to keep being competitive and had briefly heard of the sport Strongman and thought hey, it would be super cool to pull a truck.”

There is vigorous training that comes with being one of the strongest women in Canada and the world. Her week consists of training four times a week for 3 – 4 hours on average doing strength training.

“My training usually consists of a compound lift (squat, overhead press, deadlift) and implement training (log press, axle press, stone lifts, tire flips, sandbag toss, running for distance with a 200 pound sandbag, etc.), paired with accessories that complement the main lifts.”

She has a long line of accomplishments placing in the top 3 in the beginning of her career provincially and nationally. In 2017 she won the title of Canada’s Strongest Woman and continued to defend her title in 2020. She went to Thunder Bay, Ontario this fall to compete in the Official Strongman Games and placed 2nd as the Strongest Woman (SWIC) in Canada. The World Championship which was held in Daytona Beach, Florida was where Osczevski ranked 11th as the Strongest Woman in the World (SWIW).

“I really wanted to place higher at worlds, but my body was undergoing a stressful few months leading up and my back and body were not the quality I normally would like, but the show goes one. I made some amazing connections and got to watch my friend become the strongest woman in the world! At SWIC, I went in with a chip on my shoulder to redeem myself from worlds. Obviously, I went in with the internal pressure on myself to place 1st to take a 3-time winning streak, but my body was still recouping. Either way, the victories aren’t as sweet as the community that I have built and continue to expand as I compete and travel internationally.”

She thanks her community that she has built who come out in full force to support her along the way. To help with costs for the two trips to Thunder Bay and Daytona Beach, Osczevski held a fundraiser in October.

“I am so grateful to have amazing friends and family support me! Not being a sponsored athlete can be difficult at times, but I am so fortunate to have the support of my community. Typically, I don’t do fundraisers, but this year, the community refused to let me go without one. I am very thankful and lucky.”

Osczevski stated that this sport has opened many doors for her to reach people and help them believe in themselves. She recently hosted a lifting competition at her gym and was able to watch new lifters faces light up when they achieved lifting weights they never would have done. “Being able to give back to my community in terms of helping at the rookie level has been my biggest pride and joy. It’s my baby and I fully intend to host some amazing Rookie competitions this coming year.”

Her goal is to help make people feel like they belong to a community as she struggled for a long time trying to find a sport she belonged to.

“My physio told me, ‘It’s not very often a sport finds a person’. I want to be that platform for new lifters to find their strength, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

I want to be the catalyst and elevate new lifters to believe in themselves. If I can inspire people with my story, that’s what motivates me. I’m excited for the future of strong(wo)man!”

RIGHT: Jackie Osczevski lifts a car at the Official Strongman Games.

Photo submitted.

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Prairie Spirit Board Holds Organizational Meeting

The Prairie Spirit Board of Education held its annual organizational meeting on November 29 and elected its Chair and Vice-Chair for the upcoming year. Bernie Howe was re-elected as Chair, while Kate Kading was named Vice-Chair.

As part of the organizational meeting, all Prairie Spirit Trustees were assigned to a variety of roles on Board Committees for the 2021/22 year.

Bernie Howe has served as a Board of Education Trustee since 1991, representing Delisle, Vanscoy, Perdue, Pike Lake and Willow Park Hutterite Colony. Bernie served his first term as Prairie Spirit Board Chair in 2020/21.

Howe thanked his fellow Trustees for his re-election as Board Chair for a second consecutive one-year term. “It is important to recognize how we have moved forward over the past year,” he said. “We all want to provide the best education for our students.”

Kate Kading has served as a Trustee for Subdivision 2 (Duck Lake, Hague and Rosthern) since Board elections in November 2020. “I look forward to working with this strong leadership team to continue to build relationships that benefit our students and their families,” Kading said in accepting the role of Board ViceChair for the 2021/22 term.

Provincial Board involvement - Kimberly Greyeyes, Prairie Spirit Trustee, was re-elected to lead the Indigenous Constituency at the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) annual general meeting in November. In this role, she is also part of the SSBA’s provincial executive and is the first Indigenous woman to be part of this leadership team.

VHS Lends a Helping Hand

Students at Venture Heights Elementary School have been stepping up this winter by pitching in to help with shoveling.

Principal Ron Biberdorf noted that there have been lots of students volunteering to shovel this winter and that they were in fact, “not in trouble!”

Merry Music at MHS

ABOVE: The Commercial Cooking Class at Martensville High School showed off some of their talent with beautiful gingerbread work.

M

ARTENSVILLE

ESSENGER

ABOVE: On December 10th, Ms. O'Hara and Spencer Gerwing provided some Christmas Carol music to kick off the day at Martensville High School.

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Page 6 - DECEMBER 16, 2021 - martensville messenger

'Best Wishes to all this Holiday Season' From the Management and Staff of Crystal Car Wash

Large Turn Out For Annual Play & Skate With Santa Event Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

Merry Christmas from

Ph. 306.651.7277

The City of Martensville hosted their annual Play & Skate with Santa event on Sunday, December 12th at the Sports Centre from 1pm-3pm.

Approximately 170 people attended and Martensville Recreation Program Coordinator Jamie McCulloch stated that the event was a great success.

The event consisted of sleigh rides, skating, pictures with Santa, candy, hot chocolate and more.

Admission was by donation and over $500 was raised with all proceeds going to support KidSport in the community.

“Santa came and paid a visit to all the kids on the ice and after families were able to get a treat bag and photo with him,” McCulloch said.

Mike Drop Productions was in attendance to play festive music and get everyone in the holiday spirit, while Big Al’s Concession provided everyone with hot chocolate and homemade cookies.

www.sashomeandfloral.ca

ABOVE: The City of Martensville held their Play & Skate with Santa event on Sunday, December 12th at the Sports Centre.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry ChristMas

Local Business Hopes to Help Seniors and Hospitalized Children This Holiday Season Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

We’d Like to Shout It From

martensville messenger - DECEMBER 16, 2021 - Page 7

We’d Like to Shout It From the Rooftops: “Merry Christmas, Everyone!”

We’d Like to Shout It From the Rooftops: “M We hope your holiday is merry, bright and magical.

Thanks for being great neighbours and customers!

306-934-6610 Martensville

MERRY

We hope your holiday is merry, brigh the Rooftops: “Merry Christmas, Everyone!”

Thanks for being great Christmas, neighboursEv We’d Like to Shout It From the Rooftops: “Merry

This year, there are many ways to give back to others through the holiday season and Alpyne Apparel in Martensville will be providing another local option for people to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas with their second annual ‘Giving Tree’.

Last year, the local business decided they wanted to create a ‘Secret Santa for Seniors’, where people could visit Alpyne Apparel, located at 800 Centennial Drive North in Martensville, and choose a card with information about an individual from the tree. From there, the person could head out and choose gifts for their individual and return them to Alpyne Apparel who would deliver presents prior to Christmas. The idea was an instant success and cards were flying off the tree quickly and approximately 150 seniors received a gift they otherwise would not have.

ABOVE: A Giving Tree is located at Alpyne

This year, although they were Apparel in Martensville with gifts going to a little later than usual setting up the seniors and children spending the holidays at Giving Tree due to family circumstances, the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. it is officially back in action once again, with some minor changes.

Although there are still seniors’ names available on the tree, there are also tags for children that will be staying at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital over Christmas.

“Three weeks ago our daughter received an unfortunate diagnosis at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital and while her care during our few days there were extraordinary, we are very grateful she can now be cared for from the comfort of our home. We know some of the other kids we met or waved to while walking around the unit aren’t as fortunate.

We thought “Making Kids Spirits Bright” was the very least we could do to help bring more smiles to their faces on Christmas day,” owners Cole and Courtney Flath stated.

Presents are to be returned to Alpyne Apparel by December 20 to ensure they will be delivered in time for Christmas.

We hope your holiday is merry, bright and magical.

We hope your holiday is merry, bright and magical.

306-934-6610 Thanks for being great neighbours and customers!

Martensville Thanks for being great neighbours and customers!

We’d Like to Shout It From the Rooftops We’d Like to Shout It From the Rooftops: “Merry Christmas, Everyone!”

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We hope your holiday is merry, bright and magical.

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Page 8 - DECEMBER 16, 2021 - martensville messenger

ABOVE, LEFT & BELOW: Santa made his way around Martensville this past weekend.

Santa Claus Came to Town Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

The Martensville and District Kinette Club had a busy weekend as they travelled through the community with Santa Claus providing everyone with a chance to get their Christmas wishes in. This was the second year that the organization helped bring Santa to Martensville with all proceeds going towards TeleMiracle. Members of the Martensville Fire Department were also in attendance, along with Sparky.

“Santa’s Martensville & District Kinette elves would like to thank Martensville Building & Home Supply for the materials donated, the Martensville Fire Department for assisting us, and the City of Martensville for donating their advertising. We thank our Gold Sponsors GT Performance and Freeway Delivery Service,

and our Silver Sponsors Martensville Building & Home Supply; Ayotte Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning; Bernice & Ken Symak with Flex Realty, and Country Asphalt Inc. Also, a big thank you to all who came out and supported this fundraiser for Telemiracle 46,” the Kinette Club stated.

The local Kinettes have been busy this season hosting various events to help support TeleMiracle, as well as our own community. On December 8th, the Kinette Club hosted two family friendly live clown/ magic shows with proceeds from this event going towards helping their Christmas Adopt-a-Family program.

To learn more about this incredible organization, follow them on Facebook under ‘Martensville and District Kinette Club’.

Merry Christmas

Terry Jenson, MLA Martensville-Warman

Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas.

From Trevor, Christa and staff

office@terryjenson.ca 306-242-2111

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martensville messenger - DECEMBER 16, 2021 - Page 9

MLA Terry Jenson’s Report from the Legislature Too Much Political Gamesmanship at Legislature

When it comes to most anything in life, we learn more from losing than winning. We learn to be gracious and that how we play the game is usually more important than winning it. We carry these lessons into our adult lives.

This makes it puzzling why those who go into politics - people who presumably grew up experiencing the same life lessons as the rest of us did - often to take the need-to-win-at-all-costs approach that they do. Maybe it’s because politics tends to be an ubercompetitive way for adults to earn a living. You must be pretty committed to a set of beliefs if you want to be involved and the stakes are pretty high when you lose.

Or maybe it is just the defense mechanism one should expect in a business where you are likely to get a lot more public criticism than most, but what seems clear is the desire to win at all costs - to believe that everyone needs to be on your team and that those who may question what you are doing aren’t on your team - become a big problem this fall for a 14-year-old Saskatchewan Party government.

Consider the reaction of Agriculture Minister David Marit and Finance Minister Donna Harpauer to the Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan after APAS suggested whether it was fair to cite Saskatchewan Crop Insurance costs as the big reason the 2021-22 deficit vaulted to $2.7 billion at mid-year.

In fairness, Harpauer has a point she probably should have made better. Added crop insurance debt is a flow-through cost based on summary financial budgeting, but where she was wrong and Merit were wrong was in their response to APAS suggesting it acting out of “ignorance” or “deceit”. APAS was doing its job. For government to suggest this criticism threatens its ability to work with the government in the future is out of bounds.

How problematic this was became obvious last week when Premier Scott Moe decided to cozy up to a group he decided he can’t fight - the Unified Grassroots movement that actually unsuccessfully took this government to court to stop vaccine passports.

After granting its president Nadine Ness an hour-long phone call both she and Moe described as productive, Moe continued to draw fire for giving voice to a group that has posted information on vaccinations his own medical health officers describe as misleading.

Asked about this later, Moe explained that his government listens to all sides on all issues.

Government should treat them with a certain amount of respect, Moe said. The problem is none of that has been the case for this government of late.

Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), which some in this Sask. Party government clearly view as betraying them by being the least bit critical — clearly didn’t get treated with respect and any farm or business group fares much better than most others when it comes to access to this government to express concerns. But why someone like Ness had little trouble getting, the Premier has everything to do with politics being seen as game about winning.

For whatever reason, Moe and the Sask. Party see Ness’s group as one having a broad-base of support - one that they don’t want to anger even if what they are advocating flies in the face of the government’s own direction guided by public health professionals.

This was not about fairness in granting this group a voice to a group deserved of it. In fact, many in the medical community are rightly livid the Premier would give a voice to a group tied to vaccine misinformation; simply it was popularity, but like all too many things in politics, it becomes all about winning, which is often about being seen as popular. It can’t be about this. How you play the game is actually more important than winning it.

Fall Session Wrap-Up

A successful Fall Sitting of the Legislature has concluded; significant progress was made on the goals outlined in the Speech from the Throne. As we plan for the future, we look to make Saskatchewan stronger, safer, healthier, better educated, and more independent.

A stronger Saskatchewan will be built on a strong economy. Already, Saskatchewan is forecast to lead the country in economic growth in 2022, and our labour force has recovered to 99 per cent of its pre-pandemic levels. Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate is the third-lowest in the country, and we are forecasted to see a total of nearly 16,000 new jobs by the end of the fiscal year.

This year saw nearly $10 billion in capital investments supporting major projects throughout Saskatchewan. To ensure our workforce is skilled and ready for employment, we continue to invest in skills training programs like the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission. A new pilot program under the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program was launched to address hard-to-fill positions.

Our government is addressing the need for affordable child care to support working families. A partnership with the federal government will see more than 600 new regulated child care centre spaces allocated in 20 communities across the province. This is the first step toward delivering on our commitment to increasing the number of regulated child care spaces by 6,000 in 2021-2022 and by 28,000 over the next five years.

This session, we took significant actions to address the crime rates in rural communities. We brought forth initiatives to make real changes to address policing and public safety gaps in our rural communities. These include a new Provincial Protective Service unit, strengthening law enforcement’s ability to deal with outstanding warrants, transporting illegal firearms, human trafficking, and the seizure of criminal property. We want criminals to know if they commit a crime, they will be caught.

In a significant moment in Saskatchewan history, members from both parties unanimously adopted a motion to amend the Saskatchewan Act and the Constitution of Canada. Section 24 is a relic from a time when our province was not treated as an equal partner in Confederation. It is unfair that decisions were made in 1880 that provided CP Rail with substantial tax exemptions in Saskatchewan. Removing the section will level the playing field for all businesses while supporting Saskatchewan’s autonomy.

As we move into the New Year, our government’s commitment to build a healthier Saskatchewan means taking action to address the surgical backlog COVID-19 caused. We will also have short-term and longer-term targets to expand intensive care capacity.

Our goal is to achieve a three-month surgical wait time by 2030; our initiative will see an additional 7,000 surgeries in 2022-23 over pre-pandemic levels. There will be an emphasis on surgical procedures with higher numbers of long-waiting patients, including hip and knee replacements, ear/nose/throat, dental and general surgeries.

We will expand permanent ICU beds from 79 to 90 by June 2022. This is the first step to achieving 110 ICU beds in the province, better preparing for surges in ICU demand, and ensuring access to services. The Saskatchewan Health Authority and the Ministry of Health are developing a long-term plan to achieve these targets while ensuring the right mix of critical care services across the province.

The new decade did not start in a way that anyone was expecting. The past twenty months have been stressful for everyone. But, Saskatchewan’s greatest strength is its people, and now, more than ever, it’s important to take the time to listen to one another. Our brightest days are ahead of us, and we can have confidence that the 2020s will be Saskatchewan’s decade.

21123MD1

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.

Page 10 - DECEMBER 16, 2021 - martensville messenger

martensville messenger - DECEMBER 16, 2021 - Page 11

Province Announces Plans To Eliminate Covid Surgical Backlog And Expand ICU

On December 9th, the Government of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) announced aggressive actions to eliminate the COVIDrelated surgical backlog and achieve a three-month wait time by 2030. Short-term and longer term targets have also been set to expand intensive care capacity.

"Delays in surgeries and medical procedures have taken a heavy toll on quality of life for thousands of Saskatchewan patients," Premier Scott Moe said.

"While urgent life-saving surgeries were continuing to be performed through the pandemic, since March 2020 we know there were a large volume of surgeries that were delayed due to COVID related surgical slowdowns."

Restoring Surgical Services and Eliminating Backlog - Aggressive targets were established in early November for returning redeployed Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) health care staff to their home positions.

The service resumption plan factored in restored surgical service levels across the province, as well as, the organ and tissue donor program.

In order to eliminate the backlog that built up during COVID-19, a target has been set to perform an additional 7,000 surgeries in 2022-23 over pre-pandemic levels. Volume targets will grow by an additional 6,000 in 2023-24 and 5,000 in 2024-25.

There will be an emphasis on surgical procedures with higher numbers of long-waiting patients, including hip and knee replacements, ear/nose/throat, dental and general surgeries.

The plan will include new measures to increase capacity in SHA hospitals and in publicly funded private surgical clinics. Some of the actions to address the surgical backlog in SHA facilities include expanding and optimizing operating room hours and making greater use of regional surgical sites. Building on existing contracts with private surgical providers, additional surgeries and more types of surgeries will be performed through thirdparty contracts.

A Request for Information (RFI) will be issued today to test the market for additional third party surgical providers for day procedures, overnight inpatient surgeries, and post-operative care including therapies and home care. These services would be publicly funded.

By expanding third-party community-based service, additional capacity will be available for the SHA to perform more complex procedures.

Expanding ICU Capacity - ICU capacity has been a major concern throughout the pandemic. Plans to expand ICU capacity include both short- and long-term actions.

Permanent ICU beds will be expanded from 79 to 90 by June 2022 as the first step to achieving 110 ICU beds in the province and better prepare for surges in ICU demand and ensure access to services. The SHA and ministry are developing a long-term plan to achieve this target and ensure we have the right mix of critical care services across the province.

To accomplish this target the SHA will recruit additional nurses and other members of the care team to ensure adequate human resources. Saskatchewan Polytechnic increased specialized critical care training seats in 2021-22 to 144 to help address both short- and long-term need.

The SHA is also adding 10 high-acuity beds in Regina to ease pressure on ICUs and assist with patient transition between levels of care; these beds are planned to open in Spring 2022. With COVID-19, we are seeing an increase in the number of patients who require longterm ventilation, therefore the SHA and ministry are working collaboratively to develop a program to care for long-term ventilated patients outside of critical care settings

The aggressive targets and timelines require necessary health professionals to provide the services.

Government is working with partners to advance strategies to increase the number of health care workers in Saskatchewan to meet the needs for health services for our residents.

"The dedication, commitment and compassion of our health professionals these last 20 months is exceptional and our government has the most profound gratitude for their service," Moe said. "We hope these strategies for building our recovery will provide a vision of the future and a welcome break from the pandemic fatigue we are all feeling and allow us to look forward with hope and optimism for our vital health services."

BEAT Prepare to See Checkstops

POLICE

This Holiday Season Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

21124DA1

This past weekend, Dalmeny Police Service, Saskatoon Police Service Combined Traffic (SPS), RCMP Traffic Services and Corman Park Police Service (CPPS) members, along with assistance from MADD Canada, conducted a check stop on the Dalmeny Access.

During this stop, approximately 175 vehicles were checked, with one driver suspended for cannabis consumption.

Linda and Lou Van de Vorst, the family of Jordan, Chanda, Kamryn, and Miguire Van de Vorst, who were tragically killed by a drunk driver in 2016 by an impaired driver, were on scene for the checkstop.

“Special thanks to Linda and Lou Van de Vorst for attending tonight’s checkstop.

Their support and dedication to raise awareness to the impact impaired driving can have on people is inspiring,” Dalmeny Police Service noted via social media.

On December 7th, CPPS teamed up with SPS Officers to conduct a checkstop on Dalmeny Road and Township Road 370-A, west of Saskatoon. CPPS noted that this was one of many checkstops that are planned for this month throughout the lead up to Christmas and New Year’s.

During the checkstop, three drivers; two for cannabis consumption and one for alcohol, saw their vehicles get impounded.

ABOVE & BELOW: Police services from Saskatoon and surrounding areas are coming together this holiday season to hold checkpoints along the roadways to remove impaired drivers and make sure everyone gets home safe.

Page 12 - DECEMBER 16, 2021 - martensville messenger

Kids Clothing Store Comes to Martensville Jocelyn Ottenbreit, Martensville Messenger

ABOVE: A wide range of children’s clothing options are available at Martensville’s newest retail location; Jenni Kidz. (Jocelyn Ottenbreit)

Baby and Kids Clothing, Footwear, Children Accessories

GRAND OPENING

NOW OPEN

Up to 40% off Sale Dec 15 to Dec 30

721 Centennial Dr. South, MartenSville

Order online & pick up at Store

Website: Jenni Kidz apparel Co.

https://jennikidz.ca

306-716-9195

Business & Professional

If you are looking for a clothing store dedicated exclusively to children’s clothing, shoes, and accessories, you will be pleased to hear of the opening of Jenni Kidz Apparel in Martensville at #3 721 Centennial Drive South, beside Centennial Dental.

Owner Diem Nguyen has been residing in Martensville for a year and felt that there was a need for more retail options for children within the community, therefore decided to embark on a journey to bring this service to local residents.

All product within Jenni Kidz Apparel comes from within Canada, from B.C. and Quebec and is available in sizes ranging from newborn to 16 years of age.

“I offer high end clothing for children at the store with the convenience of shopping online,” said Nguyen. Some of the name brands of clothing, footwear, and accessories include Levi’s, Me & Henry, Angel Dear, Converse, Hatley, Petit Lem, and more, with many more brands coming in the future.

Jenni Kidz will be offering up to 40% off on certain items from Dec 15 – 30. Online shopping and pickup instore is offered as well on their website at jennikidz.ca with free shipping on orders over $100.

Flat rate shipping is available for $12.

There will be a Grand Opening Celebration on Wednesday, December 15th at 2pm that is open to the public with City of Martensville officials, Prairie or email Sky Chamber of Commerce, and media in attendance. advertising@martensvillemessenger.ca Ribbon cutting will be at 2:15pm followed by greetings and socializing with refreshments provided.

Jeni Kidz is a go-to destination for everyday staples and on-trend essentials for every season. Their hours of operation are Monday to Friday 10am – 5pm You can follow them on Facebook at jennikidz and Instagram (jenni_kidz) for updates and promotions, as well as exciting announcements.

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Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers Works to Locate Elliptical Thief

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Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers shares information from police detachments throughout the province and recently highlighted a suspected thief from Martensville.

An elliptical machine was stolen from a Martensville business on December 10, 2021 and the male suspect is described as being in his mid-30’s, approximately 6’1”, wearing a black jacket, black toque, red hoodie with a black hood, black boots and white pants.

The suspect was driving an older model GMC four-door truck, light in colour with black front fenders and black door handles. There was also a large 5th wheel hitch in the box of the truck which was making the elliptical box pop out of the truck box.

If you have any information on this, or other crimes, call 1-800-222-8477 to leave an anonymous tip. If your tip leads to an arrest or charge, you may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.