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Jocelyn Ottenbreit/MM

City of Martensville crews have been working hard to clear the streets of snow. Information regarding the City’s snow removal plan can be found 2021 by visiting www.martensville.ca/pages/snow_removal.html.

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Reserve Your Advertising Spot Today Contact Jocelyn at (306) 668-1093 Love What’s or advertising@martensvillemessenger.ca Local! Full Business

Coming Together in 2020:

Page 2 - FEBRUARY 3, 2022 - martensville messenger

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

Saskatchewan’s current public health orders will be extended to February 28, 2022. 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.

Rapid Testing Kit Availability As a way to continue to monitor and prevent further spread of COVID-19 within the community and region, rapid testing kits are made available from various businesses or organizations. Test Kits are currently available from the Martensville Library, the Canalta Hotel and the Martensville Fire Department. Distribution is available while supplies last.

Snow Removal this Winter – What You Need to Know

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.

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.

Current Status of Public Facilities as of January 13th

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

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

February 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.

- 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).

Committee of the Whole Meeting- February 8th Regular Council Meeting- February 15th

- 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.

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.

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

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.

Help Keep The Area Around Your ‘Touchread Dial’ Clear This Winter…And Have A ‘Clear’ Water Bill

Higher than normal snow fall this season has made the touchread dial, ‘black box’ or ‘pucks’ in some areas difficult to access for water meter readers. This slows down the reading schedule and leads to homes not being read. You can help us by keeping areas around the black boxes free of snow or obstacles so meter readers can quickly and easily take a read and move to the next property. If this is not possible, you can also submit your own meter read between the 20th and 24th of each month to ensure accurate billing. Information on how to read your meter is on Martensville.ca. You can submit your reading by:

Impaired Driver Arrested After Hitting Ditch On January 28th, Corman Park Police Service received a call regarding an intoxicated male that had hit the ditch. Upon arriving at the scene, officers found the male was showing signs of impairment. Officers requested a breath sample from the driver that resulted in a fail. The driver was arrested and taken for additional breath samples that were three times the legal limit.

ABOVE: Police responded to a call of an impaired driver hitting the ditch on January 28th. (Facebook)

- Contact City Hall by phone or in person, Utility Billing (306) 683-5556 - Email afast@martensville.ca - Utilize the ‘Submit Meter Read’ Button on Martensville.ca

Police Warn of Increase in Catalytic Converter Theft

The Saskatoon Police Service is advising the public following an increase in reports of the theft of catalytic converters. Over the last year, the SPS has seen a substantial increase in the theft of catalytic converters. In 2021 there were over 300 reported thefts, compared to a total of 14 in 2020. Catalytic converters are stolen for the precious metals found inside. Typically, offenders are seen underneath a vehicle for a short period of time while they remove the catalytic converter, often using a reciprocal saw. If citizens see or hear suspicious activity, they are encouraged to report it to police immediately. The SPS wants residents to be aware that the theft of catalytic converters is a growing problem, not only in our community, but across the country. The Saskatoon Police Service is currently increasing its focus on these thefts and is seeking the public’s assistance in reporting these crimes. Tips for preventing and reporting property crime include: reporting suspicious or criminal activity whenever you see it, be a good witness and record as much information about the suspicious or criminal activity as possible, take steps to secure your home, vehicles and personal property with proper lighting, locks and alarms, be a good neighbor and report people and activity that you know to not be normal in your community.

The Counselling Corner Offers Evenings and Weekend Hours to Help Meet Needs of the Community Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

The Counselling Corner has offices available in both Saskatoon and Martensville, and recently announced the addition of more services available to Martensville and area residents. Chantel Bode is the newest addition to the Martensville office and will be providing daytime, evening and weekend appointments. Bode received a Social Work degree (BSW., RSW.) from the University of Regina and continues to expand her counselling education within the mental health and family dynamic fields. “I believe in empowering clients as we work together in developing and implementing solutions for the challenges you may be experiencing. I utilize ABOVE: Chantel Bode multiple counselling strategies applying the best approach that suits the client’s needs,” Bode stated. Strategies include Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. The Counselling Corner provides support to children, adolescents, adults, couples and families in areas such as: depression, anxiety, family issues, self-esteem, self-confidence, life changes, trauma, OCD, self-harm tendencies/behaviours, social skills, child and adolescent issues, anger management, coping skills, co-dependency, communication skills, boundaries, suicidal ideation, relationship issues, and much more. “I am passionate in the work that I do and love supporting people throughout their most challenging times. I understand the difficulty in allowing yourself to be vulnerable while sharing your story and will hold a safe space for you to do so comfortably,” Bode added. There are three counsellors currently available in Martensville through The Counselling Corner, two of which, including Bode, are located at 2-239 Centennial Drive North (The Beach Bean Brewing location) and Wendy Kritzer who has a homebased operation in the community. “Just taking that step to reach out and connect with someone is such a big deal. It takes strength to reach out when we are struggling and working to meet our own needs to help heal and find success so that we can be the best version of ourselves, especially during a difficult time,” Wendy Kritzer of The Counselling Corner said. “We are proud to offer evening and weekend options to help ensure that people aren’t missing school or work and that we can do what we can to help meet the needs of the community. It is so important to find a safe place where people feel comfortable and safe. Everyone is different in how that looks, so we all support one another and do what we can to help ensure that each individual finds a counsellor that works for them,” Kritzer added. For more information about The Counselling Corner, or to find contact information for available counsellors, visit https://thecounsellingcorner.ca/.

martensville messenger - FEBRUARY 3, 2022 - Page 3

Celebrate Valentine’s Day and Support Your Community at the Same Time Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

The Martensville and District Kinette Club has you covered this Valentine’s Day! For their newest fundraiser they are helping celebrate this special day by giving people a chance to buy their special Valentine some delicious cupcakes! This fundraiser is done in partnership with Missy’s Delights, a local student-entrepreneur and baker. Cupcakes will be individually packaged with the option to attach a personalized note for your Valentine. You can purchase one cupcake for $7.50, two for $12 or three for $15. All proceeds will go towards supporting meaningful events and activities that benefit the community. Cupcakes will be available for delivery or pick-up at the KIN Room at the Martensville Hockey Rink on Sunday, February 13th from 2pm-5pm with delivery available to Martensville, Warman and Dalmeny. There is a limited supply, so be sure to get your order in as soon as possible. Deadline to place an order is midnight on February 6th. Orders can be placed by visiting https://forms.gle/nc3hyA3oC6K22NkNA.

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Page 4 - JANUARY 27, 2022 - martensville messenger

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City Continues Work Towards Water/Wastewater Partnership With Saskatoon

Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

Since 2014, work has been getting done behind the scenes to create a partnership between the City of Martensville and the City of Saskatoon that would see Martensville’s water and wastewater systems updated to meet the needs of a population double the current size of the community. Currently, Martensville receives drinking water supplied by the City of Saskatoon through SaskWater, and wastewater is treated via a network of sewer pipes and lift stations. It is then transported to a system of cells at the lagoon where it is treated before travelling underground to the South Saskatchewan River. The partnership between the two cities would see Saskatoon provide these services directly to Martensville.

“Initially, the discussions focused on what options there were for Saskatoon to collect and treat our wastewater as the current lagoon configuration was reaching its capacity. Through further discussion, we were able to identify that there could be some cost savings if this project was combined into purchasing water directly from Saskatoon and sending the wastewater for treatment in Saskatoon,” Matt Gruza, City of Martensville Director of Infrastructure and Planning explained. Since those initial conversations, this project has received a $20.16 million New Build Canada Fund grant, which is funded partially by the federal and provincial governments. Most recently, approvals were made by both Saskatoon and Martensville City Councils to approve a “Master Service Agreement”, which sets a contract between the two municipalities for an initial 20 years, following which is an option to renew for 10-year periods. The City Councils also approved a “Transition Agreement” that would see the two communities commit to paying a transition fee to SaskWater each of $19,542 per month over the next ten years. This total was set to compensate for a two-thirds of net margin loss to SaskWater over ten years. Following these approvals, there is now detailed engineering underway, with plans to have a final route and project design completed by early this year.

Once completed, this project won’t eliminate Martensville’s lagoon; however, it will change the way that it is configured and operated. “Currently the lagoon is what treats and stores Martensville’s wastewater prior to it being discharged to the river. Once the new pipeline to the Saskatoon wastewater treatment plant is complete, the lagoon will function more as a primary collection and pre-treatment point which will remove some of the solids from the wastewater. The wastewater will then be discharged daily to Saskatoon during the off-peak hours,” Gruza said. A current projection plan estimates that Martensville will tie in to Saskatoon sometime in 2023/2024; however, Gruza stated that as discussions and design is ongoing, this may be subject to change. “This project will ensure that all of Martensville’s wastewater is being treated to the latest and highest environmental codes and standards. The other major benefit to Martensville is ensuring that Martensville’s sanitary sewer system has capacity to facilitate the City’s future growth.” More information about this project can be found at www.martensville.ca.

JUST THINK... Had this been your ad, people would have noticed it. Call the Martensville Messenger and ask about our affordable advertising

Ph: 306-668-1093

Welcome to Kindergarten in Martensville! If your child will be 5 years old by December 31, 2022 (born in 2017), it’s time to register for Kindergarten! Lake Vista Public School

1501 Parr Hill Drive 306-683-4300 lakevista@spiritsd.ca

Valley Manor Elementary School

200 - 8th Avenue South 306-931-2233 vms@spiritsd.ca

Venture Heights Elementary School

801 - 6th Street North 306-934-2185 vhs@spiritsd.ca

Our schools offer a warm, welcoming and supportive Kindergarten program.

Our goal is to have healthy enrolments at our elementary schools in Martensville, providing the space for all students to learn and grow. School capacity, home address and other factors will have an impact on Kindergarten placement. Please plan to register by February 28. Open houses will be held at each school later this spring.

To register, contact the school or go to: www.spiritsd.ca/register

Prairie Spirit School Division Responds to Gov’t COVID Protocols Last week, the Government of Saskatchewan announced there would be changes made to the COVID-19 self-isolation and close contact protocols, which were effective Friday, January 28th. Some of these changes impacted operations within Saskatchewan schools. These changes now mean that parents and caregivers are no longer required to notify schools about positive COVID-19 test results for the purpose of close contact notification. Those who test positive are required to self-isolate and will be absent from school and activities for the duration of the self-isolation period. As a result, schools will no longer be providing daily COVID notifications to the school community. Without the requirement for close contacts to self-isolate, notification of being close contact is no longer required. As schools will no longer be notified of cases, schools will not have accurate information to share with families. In the absence of a Public Health Order or direction from the Saskatchewan Health Authority, we do not have the authority to share health information that parents/caregivers share with us confidence. Additionally, close contacts of positive COVID cases will no longer be required to self-isolate, regardless of vaccination status and individuals that receive a positive test result on a PCR or rapid antigen test will be required to self-isolate for five days, regardless of vaccination status. Individuals are required to self-isolate for five days, from the date of the test, or 24 hours after fever has resolved without the aid of fever-reducing medications and all other symptoms have been improving for at least 48 hours, whichever is later. Prior to these changes, unvaccinated residents who had tested positive were required to self-isolate for ten days. According to Prairie Spirit School Division (PSSD), as a result of these changes, any classes that were learning online returned to in-class learning as of February 1st. “We will continue to follow our safety practices in Prairie Spirit schools, including masking, good hand hygiene, reduced visitors to schools, physical distancing when possible and the Division’s current vaccination/testing policy,” Darryl Bazylak, PSSD Director of Education, stated.

Warman Artists Awarded SK Arts Grants An artist and theatre group from Warman received grants from SK Arts at the recent grant deadlines. Ray Keighley received a $12,000 Indigenous Peoples Art and Artists grant to continue producing artwork that explores Truth and Reconciliation and his First Nation sensibility, primarily paintings and carvings. The Sketchy Bandits received a $5,205 Independent Artists grant to “spend five days creating a series of sketch comedy skits intended for theatrical production using devised theatre and traditional writing techniques.” The Indigenous Peoples Art and Artists program aims to increase access to public funding by Indigenous artists in Saskatchewan, either to develop their artistic/ cultural practices or to share their art, skills and teachings. Independent Artists grants support Saskatchewan artists to pursue their creative work and careers by funding creative, professional development or research projects and the performance of artistic works. These grants support the ongoing development of artistic practice in Saskatchewan. At the most recent grant deadlines, SK Arts awarded funding to more than 100 individuals and organizations, totaling almost $840,000. SK Arts funding supports a variety of initiatives, including organizations that provide ongoing programs in the arts, the creative work of professional artists, community art projects and the engagement of professional artists to work in schools with students and teachers. Established in 1948, SK Arts is the oldest public arts funder in North America and second oldest in the world after the Arts Council of Great Britain. We provide grants, programs and services to individuals and groups whose activities have an impact on the arts in Saskatchewan and ensure that opportunities exist for Saskatchewan residents to experience all art forms. For more information, visit www. sk-arts.ca.

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martensville messenger - JANUARY 27, 2022 - Page 5

Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce Announces In-Person Events Martensville Business Expo In March of 2020, the Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce, along with the City of Martensville had to make the tough call to postpone the Martensville Business Expo due to COVID-19 and then in 2021, the event was cancelled all together. This year, local businesses will once again have the opportunity to come together for the Martensville Business Expo, which will be taking place in-person at the Martensville Athletic Pavilion on April 29th and 30th. Businesses that had previously registered for the 2020 Business Expo will automatically be given space at no additional cost. “This event is going to be kind of our first opportunity to get together and we cannot wait. We want people to be together and have a chance to catch up with one another, learn about new businesses in the communities and just enjoy the opportunity to come together again,” PSCC Executive Director Debbie Brown said. The Business Expo will be taking place on the main floor and will consist of approximately 50 different booths, a Taste of Martensville section to highlight local restaurants, various entertainment and more. For businesses interested in participating in the 2022 Martensville Business Expo, contact Debbie Brown at (306) 292-7066 or email admin@prairieskychamber. ca. You can also visit https://www.prairieskychamber.ca/ for information on upcoming events.

ABOVE: The Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce is excited to be hosting the first Martensville Business Expo since 2019.

Prairie Sky Business Excellence Awards What was previously known as the Warman, Martensville & Region Business Excellence Awards, or WMBEXA, has been renamed to be the Prairie Sky Business Excellence Awards (PSBEA). This annual event, hosted by the Prairie Sky ABOVE: The Business Excellence Awards always have large Chamber of Commerce attendance. (PSCC), will once again be taking place on Saturday, May 21st at the North Ridge Community Centre in Martensville. After taking a year off from an in-person event and hosting the awards digitally in 2021, the PSCC is excited to announce that this year’s awards gala will once again be held in-person. Nominations are open until 5pm on February 18th and can be done online by visiting www.praireskychamber.ca. Those that nominate three businesses will have their name entered for a chance to win a gift package at the Prairie Sky Business Excellence Gala. Self-nominations are encouraged and accepted; however, will not be eligible for the VIP draw. Categories for this years awards are: Business of the Year, New Business of the Year, Non-Profit of the Year, Employer of the Year, Business Marketing Award, Community Involvement Award and Customer Service Award. This year marks the 7th year that this event has been taking place and each year, it gains more traction and shines a bigger light on the regions business community. According to Debbie Brown, PSCC Executive Director, the PSBEA is a great opportunity to support our local businesses and she encourages everyone to take a few minutes to go online and nominate a business that they believe deserves to be recognized. “These businesses always deserve that acknowledgement, but especially now after the past couple of years that we have all gone through. It is all about recognizing these great businesses in the community and the amazing effort that they have put in. It is a chance to come together, celebrate together and be stronger together,” Brown said. Throughout the past two years, the PSCC has created unique opportunities for businesses to continue to receive support and network with one another; however, Brown noted that although they made it work, it still doesn’t compare to in-person gatherings. “The Chamber is all about networking events, celebrating, bringing people together, helping others and so much more and we have tried and done a lot of things to help businesses and to keep ourselves strong, but at the end of the day, it’s just not the same. We are so excited to be able to offer this event in-person again and really celebrate the amazing businesses that we have within our region,” Brown noted. For more information about this and other events, visit https://www. prairieskychamber.ca/.

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Sask Government Makes Changes to SelfIsolation and Close Contact Protocols We Need to Better Apply COVID-19 Lessons

One might think that after nearly two years of this pandemic, we’d be a bit better at figuring out where we are at. Perhaps we shouldn’t fault ourselves for that. Maybe we shouldn’t even completely fault the politicians for this, although they often do little to help their own cause by establishing reasonable parameters for measure and appropriately acting upon them, but the problem with knowing where we are in this pandemic is that it has always been changing. Really, it’s not even about trying to figure out where we are at as much as it’s about figuring out where we are going to next. Having wandered through five waves of this pandemic and as many variants, we have clearly all seen how difficult this is. For example, in the initial months of this pandemic, we truly saw what Premier Scott Moe described as a lockdown. At that time, our children were being taught on line because schools were closed, restaurants were limited to takeout, all sporting events were cancelled and you couldn’t even go to the barber and get a haircut. This deemed necessary at a time when we had no vaccines (so there was no controversy over vaccine passports or socalled vaccine mandates”). However, it’s noteworthy that the daily cases were in the single or low-double digits. We didn’t even hit two dozen COVID-19 related deaths in Saskatchewan until six months into the pandemic. By May 2020, the Saskatchewan Party government started to remove its most severe gathering restrictions, although it did institute a public masking order in the fall of 2020 to deal with what would be a second and third wave rise in cases. Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Shahab told us in that time period that we should be worried if cases got into the 200-plus-per-day range. Rather miraculously, we got several different varieties of vaccines, causing a very significant shift in how we viewed this pandemic. By last summer, 70 per cent of the adult population had received a single jab, meeting the government’s goal for full re-opening. Things changes overnight on July 11th. Bars, restaurants and sporting venues were open to full capacity. Masks were off and social distancing was a thing of the past. Or at least, that was the case until numbers began to increase in August, soaring to then-record numbers in September and still-record numbers of hospitalizations and ICU admissions. Vaccine passports were put in place and public mask wearing was re-instituted because things changed again. During year-end interviews, Moe assured us he had learned lessons from that fourth wave about an everchanging pandemic — lessons he vowed to carry forward in his battle with Omicron during the fifth wave. So here we sit during an ever-changing pandemic. By all considerations, there is reason to believe Omicron is a less severe COVID-19 variant than Delta. That said, we are now instead seeing massive numbers of infections likely in the thousands each day in Saskatchewan — so many that the government is only counting the ones recorded through official PCR tests (about 1,000 to 1,500 a day) and telling everyone else with a positive rapid test to just assume they have COVID-19. How we once viewed COVID-19 changed again, but the sheer volume of Omicron means hospitalizations are again trending upward towards the peak they hit in October 2021. As Dr. Shahab has repeatedly said, this leads to a certain percentage of ICU admissions and then a certain percentage of deaths. The Sask. Party government maintains things are still manageable. However, the government did announce last week a contingency plan to deal with over-crowded city hospitals to hospitals in neighbouring towns and smaller cities. All this begs the question of whether we have learned enough about COVID-19 and are keeping up the change. We are about to find out.

Saskatchewan's COVID-19 response must transition to adapt to the challenges of the current Omicron wave, taking into account the increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant, as well as wide adoption of at-home rapid testing and the proven effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations. As of Friday, January 28, residents who receive a positive test result on a PCR or rapid antigen test will be required to self-isolate for five days, regardless of vaccination status. You are required to self-isolate for five days from the date of test or 24 hours after fever has resolved without the aid of fever-reducing medications and all other symptoms have been improving for at least 48 hours, whichever is later. Previously, unvaccinated residents who had tested positive were required to self-isolate for 10 days. Close contacts of positive COVID-19 cases will no longer be required to self-isolate, regardless of vaccination status. If you are a close contact to a confirmed COVID-19 case, you should self-monitor for symptoms and continue to use publicly-available rapid antigen tests for asymptomatic surveillance. Parents and caregivers are no longer required to notify schools about positive test results for the purposes of close contact notification. Those who test positive are required to self-isolate and will be absent from school and activities for the duration of the self-isolation period. If you are currently self-isolating for 10 days because you are an unvaccinated confirmed case or a close contact of a case, you may be able to amend your self-isolation period as of noon, January 28, in accordance with this policy if asymptomatic. If you are symptomatic, you must continue to self-isolate until your symptoms resolve. All residents should be self-monitoring, self-testing and self-managing to help prevent transmission, given the transmissibility of the Omicron variant. Self-Monitoring for COVID-19 - If you are experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms, including cough, sore throat, sneezing without fever, it is recommended that you stay home and care for your symptoms, use rapid antigen testing and self-isolate based on a positive result. Free rapid antigen tests are available at more than 600 locations around the province at this time, with Indigenous Services Canada receiving a supply for First Nations communities. If you are experiencing significant or worsening cold or flu-like symptoms including fever or are considered at-risk due to chronic/underlying health conditions, contact HealthLine 811 who will advise if you should receive a PCR test or if you are a candidate for available treatments. PCR testing remains available to healthcare workers and eligible at-risk groups. Public Health Order Remains in Effect - Under the current public health orders, masking is mandatory in all indoor public spaces including schools; mandatory self-isolation is required for all confirmed cases; and proof of vaccination or negative test requirements are in place for public access to a list of establishments, businesses and event venues. The current public health orders are available at saskatchewan.ca/covid-19. Municipalities, businesses, workplaces and event organizers may also require proof of vaccination or negative testing beyond those places that are described in the public health order.

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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.

SPORTS

Page 8 -FEBRUARY 3, 2022 - martensville messenger

Martensville Team Wins B-Final

The U9A Villains hosted a tournament on January 28th and 29th between Hepburn and Waldheim with a total of 8 teams competing including teams from Martensville, Saskatoon, Shellbrook and Warman. The A-final was a battle between the Martensville Marauder Snipers and the Saskatoon Bobcat Rockets, with Saskatoon taking home the championship. The B-final saw a match between the Martensville Marauder Villains and the Shellbrook Elks with Martensville coming out with the win. Coaches Kiley Dyck, Jon Klassen, Mike Smith and Barrett Misiwich (missing from photo) were proud of the team for all of their hard work. Players include: Aleksej Mihailovic, Bennett Chillog, Bentley Bray, Desmond Smith, Dominic Henderson, Emerson Dyck, Jarell Osam, Landon Romaniuk, Ryker Klassen, Theodore Budge (missing: Boston Boisvert, Mavryk Amendt, Reeve Misiwich)

Prepare for a Party on the Pond

Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger The Martensville Community Recreation Project (MCRP) has raised over $1 million since they first came together to help raise money for a new rink in the community in 2015. Throughout the years, there have been numerous fundraisers and events held that have helped them accomplish this feat. In March of 2020, the first ever Party on the Pond was held in Martensville and although successful, was limited to 250 people due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This event is a premier 3 on 3 pond hockey tournament that takes place over two days. “Despite the fact that it wasn’t as big as it could be, the event was a huge success,” organizer Jesse Reis said. Last year the event was cancelled due to the pandemic; however, this year, the Party on the Pond Committee is looking forward to seeing everyone back out on the ice. “We think this will be a good break from everything that is going on. It is a great fundraiser for our group and we haven’t really been able to have any kind of event like this since early 2020. As much as it is our goal to raise funds, one of the things that we have been missing is the opportunity to get together as a community, so that’s something we are really excited about,” Reis added. A group of local volunteers that have an invested interest in ensuring the addition of another rink in the community are the driving force behind this event. The Party on the Pond Committee works in partnership with the MCRP and all funds raised through this event go towards the addition of a new recreation facility in the community. Party on the Pond will take place March 4-5 at North Ridge Community Centre and on the surrounding ponds. Teams of 4 will each play five games, beginning Friday evening and throughout the day on Saturday. On Friday night Comedian Kelly Taylor will perform and on Saturday night a cabaret featuring the band Seven Mile Sun will be performing. “We encourage people to come on out and enjoy a great event. It is something for us all to rally around and something to bring people together.” Teams can register, or individuals can purchase tickets online at www.saskpartyonthepond.com. More information about Party on the Pond can be found online and on the MCRP social media pages. All COVID-19 guidelines will be followed to ensure the safety of everyone in attendance.

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