Wheatland Library Celebrates Saskatchewan Aboriginal Storytelling Month

Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

February is SaskatchewanAboriginal Storytelling month and to celebrate this, Wheatland Regional Library and The Library Services for Saskatchewan Aboriginal Peoples (LSSAP) partnered with Métis storyteller Cort Dogniez and Indigenous storyteller Annie Brass to share their stories with the people of Saskatchewan.

The goals for Saskatchewan Aboriginal Storytelling (SAS) month are to help support and promote First Nations, Métis & Inuit oral storytelling traditions within the province and to celebrate their history, language and culture. Dogniez will also be doing presentations in Outlook and Rosetown, with Brass stopping in Luseland and Kindersley and Biggar Library will have oral storyteller Daphie from Sweetgrass First

Nations presenting to the community.

“This is the 20th year that Saskatchewan Aboriginal Storytelling month has been going on and each year, Wheatland supports our branches by bringing in storytellers to our communities. This year, Martensville is one of the communities hosting. We have 45 different branch libraries around the region, so we try to make sure everyone has an opportunity to participate in that,” Desirae Munro, Wheatland Regional Library Program Manager, explained.

On Tuesday, February 7th, author Cort Dogniez visited the shared gym at Lake Vista School/Ecole Holy Mary. The event was open for all to attend, and Dogniez shared stories learnt from his kohkom, and stories about Métis history and perspectives to those in attendance.

Mark Your Calendars For Trail Appliances

Winter FunFest on February 20th

Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

This year, the City of Martensville will be providing Family Day celebrations with the Trail Appliances Winter FunFest on February 20th from 1pm5pm at the North Ridge Community Centre.

There will be an assortment of indoor and outdoor activities available including sleigh rides, a fire pit, ice carving, schlocky, skating, hockey, snowshoes, inflatables, hot dogs and hot chocolate, a crafting corner, toddler area and indoor hockey.

“This year we have the addition of the Affinity Credit Union Winter Ski-tacular, which is a 1km crosscountry ski course with obstacles to go over, under and through. It will run from February 20-24,” Jamie McCulloch, City of Martensville Recreation Program Coordinator, stated.

There will also be an ice carving opportunity called Mini Chippers, which is an experience led by Fire & Ice Creations for kids to carve shapes out of ice blocks.

All outdoor activities are free of charge except for the ice carving, and to take part in the other activities, it is $5/person or $15 for the family. Hot dogs and hot chocolate are available for $1.50 and $1.00 each.

Community events such as this one not only take plenty of time to plan, as McCulloch began organizing for Winter FunFest in August of 2022 to ensure sleigh rides and ice carving were booked in plenty of time, but also require volunteers and sponsors to help with the event.

“It is always worth the time and effort once you see people enjoying themselves at the event. As for sponsors, they are extremely important as they allow us to offer events like Winter FunFest as they make it so we can have fun activities for zero to low cost. Without the sponsorships we receive, there would be no Winter FunFest. Thank you to Trail Appliances, who are the title sponsor for this event and to Lakeview Insurance and SaskTel for being our gold sponsors and to Forged Fitness for being the hot chocolate sponsor,” McCulloch said.

McCulloch added that they are always looking for volunteers, for not just Winter Funfest, but other events as well. If anyone is interested, they can contact her at (306) 683-5575, or by email at jmcculloch@martensville.ca.

“Mark your calendars as the Trail Appliances Winter FunFest is going to be a great day full of family fun and adventure. You will not want to miss this. See you on February 20th!”

Dogniez’s first book, “Road to La Prairie Ronde” was published by Gabriel Dumont Institute in 2020 and was nominated for two Saskatchewan Book Awards.

“We are happy to be able to provide this opportunity for the community, and for the storytellers to share their stories around the province. The events are open to the public, with the one in Martensville being a joint-presentation between the two schools and we anticipate that some of our community home school families will also be in attendance,” Munro added. More information about Wheatland Regional Library events can be found by visiting https://www. wheatland.sk.ca/.

Winter Ski-tacular Equipment Rental Booking Begins February 13th

Equipment sign up for the Affinity Credit Union Winter Ski-tacular will begin on February 13th with youth cross country skis and boots as well as adult-youth snowshoes available for rent.

Equipment can be signed out by calling (306) 683-5575 with morning and afternoon time-slots available. Rentals must be returned on the same day. For more information, call (306) 683-5576 ext. 0.

Editor/Office Manager: Shanine Sealey ssealey@martensvillemessenger.ca

Editor/Ad Design: Jocelyn Ottenbreit jottenbreit@martensvillemessenger.ca

Snow Removal this Winter – 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 promptly remove snow and ice and create safe driving and walking conditions. 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 emergencies.

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.