March 18, 2021

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Your City; Your Newspaper March 18, 2021

VOLUME NO. 15 - ISSUE 11

Business as USUAL Located at BACK of building

MARTENSVILLE PHARMACY Over 9 Years Making Your Real Estate Dreams Come True!

Monday-Friday 9-6 Saturday 10-3 Closed Sundays & Holidays

17 Centennial Drive North

Locally Owned and Operated Celebrating Fourteen Years of Community

306-931-2868

Re-roofs New Construction Residential Commercial

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306-384-(ROOF)7663 | 306-222-4093 scottlandru61@gmail.com

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We Offer 1 Time, Weekly, Bi-Weekly & Monthly Cleans House/Office cleaning•Deep cleaning•Move In/Out Cleaning & MUCH MORE

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Because We Care

591 Centennial Drive North - Martensville

Mission to Mars ABOVE: The K2 class at Valley Manor School made moons as part of celebrating their trip to Mars. See more School News on page 4 of this week’s issue. (Submitted)

Treatments are offered in your home, her home-based office, or teletherapy. Call 306-612-3344 to book an appointment!

christina.beck@livingskyspeech.ca www.livingskyspeech.ca

Page 2 - MARCH 18, 2021 - martensville messenger

Civic Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic What You Should Know!

City Hall is Open! - However with some guidelines currently in place. Continue to utilize online and contactless options when possible. 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.

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

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

Please continue to follow us, media sources and information from the Province of Saskatchewan for the most current information around updates or new measures for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 Use of Masks are Mandatory in Saskatchewan - Residents are required to wear non-medical masks in indoor public spaces to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. This is a Public Health Order and is subject to enforcement and fines.

Health officials strongly recommend wearing a non-medical mask anywhere outside the home.

Current Status of Public Facilities as of March 15, 2021

Martensville Athletic Pavilion - Open but Drop-in and Pick-up programs are cancelled in accordance with Saskatchewan Re-Open Plan City Hall - Open North Ridge Community Centre - Provincial gathering guidelines Heritage Centre - Provincial gathering guidelines Sports Centre - Open 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 during this time.

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

Business Property Tax and Utility Update

Recreation Program Update - Kinsmen Park Fireworks, Schools Out! and Easter Geocache Lazy Man Triathlon - Thank you to all participants and best of luck in March completing this Triathlon!

Winter Wonderland Presents - Spring Fireworks! Thank you to our Sponsors, the Community Initiatives Fund, Mr. Mikes Casual Steakhouse, Lakeview Insurance, Martensville Veterinary Hospital and Saskatoon Motor Products to help us mark the arrival of spring and the end of Winter Wonderland. Join us in Kinsmen Park for an amazing firework show!

The show will start around 8pm on Saturday, March 27th. All are welcome.

Schools Out! Program April 5-9th - Join us for anther fun week of Schools Out! Program! This will be available from April 6-9th! Schools Out! is an hour-long program each day that will keep children in Martensville and area active and busy during their Easter break. Schools Out! will be based out of the North Ridge Community Centre.

Each day we will break their time into two main components: a STEM project and a physical activity. These projects and activities will include rocket ships, egg canons, Spring boot camp, scavenger hunt, and more!

There are four time slots to choose from; 9:30-10:30am, 11:00am-12:00pm,1:00-2:00pm and 2:303:30pm Contact the MAP for more information or to register.

Easter Geocache is Coming April 5th-9th – Prize Draw on April 12th! - The first Geocaching event of the year will be during the Easter Break, April 5-9! Join us on a hunt throughout Martensville!

The first clue will be posted on Monday April 5th at 9am!

Planning for the Future: Martensville Official Community Plan Review

The Official Community update is complete, and we want to conduct one final check to ensure we have implemented your comments effectively. We are inviting your review up until March 23rd. The entire plan as well as a summary of the major changes can be found on Martensville.ca.

Comments or questions can be provided to planningmanager@martensville.ca.

April Council Meeting Dates

Please Note: The upcoming Council Schedule or location may be subject to change based around any potential new developments or ease of restrictions around the COVID-19 Pandemic. Anyone interested in attending is strongly encouraged to contact the City Clerk prior to planning to attend.

The City has re-implemented the suspension of interest on property taxes and utilies for commercial or industrial properties retroactive from November 2020 until July 31st, 2021.

Regular Meeting April 6th Committee of the Whole April 13th Regular Council April 20th

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

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 5PM. 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.

Lane Usage During Spring Thaw

The City of Martensville encourages residents, for which their lane is a secondary means of access to their property, to limit their usage during the spring thaw period. Heavy or repetitive vehicle usage during spring thaw and wet conditions can cause further rutting and reduce drainage. This limits the ability of crews to conduct maintenance on the lanes in a timely manner and increases the amount of materials and time required to reshape lanes.

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

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SAS Home and Floral Boutique Launches New Website Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

Martensville Author Dianne Young Introduces ‘Dear Me: The Mother Letters’ Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

ABOVE: ‘Dear Me: The Mother Letters’ can be purchased online and in-store.

In 2018, local author Dianne Young published a book titled, ‘Dear Me: The Widow Letters’, which featured letters written by widows to their newly-widowed selves.

Women from across North America contributed to this project, and, after receiving much appreciation from widows and others from this project, Young decided to expand the conversation and reach out to mothers that had lost a child to create ‘Dear Me: The Mother Letters’.

This book includes letters from 18 mothers who have lost a child due to various circumstances and at a variety of ages. “I have friends who have experienced the death of a child, so it seemed a natural next step,” Young said.

Someone does not have to had lost a child to be moved by this book, which contains letters full of not only grief and anguish, but also hope, love and resilience.

“The letters are heartbreaking. I was originally going to publish this book last spring, but with the onslaught of the pandemic and selfisolation, I had to put it aside for a year for the sake of my own mental health.”

To learn more about ‘Dear Me: The Mother Letters’, or to purchase a copy, visit dianneyoung.ca, or find a copy at McNally Robinson in Saskatoon. Following

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this book, Young plans to publish two more books in the ‘Dear Me’ series, with ‘The Widower Letters’, followed by ‘The Father Letters’.

A virtual book launch for ‘Dear Me: The Mother Letters’ will be taking place on Tuesday, April 13th at 7pm via Facebook Live thanks to funding from The Writers Union of Canada through their National Public Readings Program.

More information can be found at facebook.com/ dearmemothers.

Currently, taking a break from more serious writing and editing, Young noted that she is working on a series of children’s ebooks called ‘Victims of Vowel Play’. “They are retellings of folk tales, each one without using a different vowel. For instance, the first one is Snow White Plus the Seven Short Guys: The Un"A"ded Truth. They were a lot of fun to write,” Young explained.

These are expected to be available on Kindle by April.

SAS Home and Floral Boutique opened their doors in Martensville in November of 2011 and since then, they have seen steady growth and increased support from the community, as well as the surrounding region. With a wide variety of products available such as home décor, giftware, fresh florals, plants and more, SAS also does floral design for everyday occasions, weddings, funerals and events.

Like many other business owners, Teresa Helperl and Joelle Ward faced some uncertainty in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. “During the two-month shutdown, it was a very uncertain time not knowing if we would be able to keep our business afloat without having customers come through our door. We were very surprised and grateful to receive an incredible amount of support during ABOVE: Teresa Helperl and Joelle Ward, owners/ that time with many curbside pickups operators of SAS Home and Floral Boutique. and deliveries both on the floral side (Facebook) and the retail side,” Helperl said.

With many weddings and events either cancelled, postponed, or downsized since March of last year, the sisters felt the impact on their business; however, they worked with their customers to either modify plans, or reschedule, and are looking forward to this season’s weddings which will be a combination of those postponed from last year, as well as new ones.

While shut down and relying on online shopping options, Helperl and Ward saw that this was playing a much bigger role in their ability to reach customers. “We started off using our Facebook and Instagram to market our products but realized we needed to begin the process of designing a website that would feature both our floral and store product to customers not only in our community but across Canada. We knew we needed a new look that would represent the actual look and feel of our store for those that couldn’t come in, whether that was for pandemic reasons or because of their location,” Ward explained. Along with the new website, SAS Home and Floral Boutique also has a new logo, which they state represents the simple, modern feel of their store.

As new product comes into the store, it will now be added to the website for local customers to preview prior to visiting the store, or for customers to order online for pickup or shipping across Canada. “Obviously, this really widens our customer base beyond those who live close enough to come and see us in person,” Ward added.

The previous website was a Teleflora run site, which featured Teleflora designs instead of the custom creations at SAS. Now customers ordering can get a sense of the personal boutique style shop and the custom design work, and can confidently choose the style and size that best suits their occasion, as well as add retail product such as chocolates, bath bombs or candles to accommodate their floral order. Brides can also now fill out an online questionnaire to receive a quote for their wedding flowers without having to do an in-person consultation.

This may be the newest excitement at SAS; however, there have been many other highlights over the years for Helperl and Ward. Hosting our Customer Appreciation Nights on our anniversary in November each year is always a highlight where we can celebrate with our customers, thank them for their support and reflect on the past year,” Helperl said.

Additionally, the sisters both look forward to the outdoor container classes that they have held every November-December for the past 7or 8 years.

One of the biggest highlights for SAS Home and Floral Boutique was being awarded the WMBEXA Business of the Year in 2018.

For more information on SAS Home and Floral Boutique, or to view their online store, visit www.sashomeandfloral.ca.

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Safe Schools Plan: Nearly $29 Million Allocated In Third Round Of Contingency Funding For Schools

Last week, the Government of Saskatchewan announced nearly $29 million in approved funding to support schools during the pandemic. This amount will help school divisions and independent schools with sanitation, substitute teacher costs, procure PPE, and assist schools in ensuring proper supports for students are in place for the fall of 2021.

"This third round of funding will ensure school divisions continue to have the resources needed to keep schools safe for students and staff," Education Minister Dustin Duncan said. "Nearly $21 million of this funding allocation will provide the supports necessary for school divisions as they make preparations for the fall."

This funding is in addition to the $37.5 million announced in December and the $51 million announced in September. This funding is from the more than $150 million in the COVID contingency fund for education from provincial, federal and school division savings.

Fifty-three applications have been approved to provide new funding to school divisions, qualified independent schools and historical high schools. The applications are primarily for sanitation and substitute teacher costs, totalling $3.1 million in funds.

In preparation for the fall, school divisions are receiving $20.7 million to be used for: Interventions for Grade 1 students who did not attend Kindergarten in 2020-21; Interventions to support Grade 1 to 3 students who are behind in their reading levels; Support staff to reach out and engage with students and families that did not attend or had low attendance in 202021; Supporting student mental health; and Sanitation and PPE.

In addition, $4.9 million from the nearly $29 million will be allocated to school divisions and independent schools to recognize previous and future purchases made directly for PPE required to maintain the safe operations of schools during the pandemic.

With this latest allocation, the remainder of the COVID contingency fund for education has been distributed to school divisions, independent schools and historical high schools.

VMS Celebrates Red

Valley Manor Elementary School students in K3 all donned the colour red to celebrate ‘Red Day’! Students gathered to learn math while focusing on the colour red throughout the entire day.

(Photo submitted)

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Successful Wellness Event at MHS Wraps Up Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

Martensville High School (MHS) took some time to focus on themselves as part of their #MHSRoyalsWellness event from February 15 to March 1. This event, organized by the MHS SCC was set up to encourage MHS students and their families to take time to focus on their overall well-being, mental wellness, and physical health.

Those participating in the #MHSRoyalsWellness event were encouraged to snap a photo and share it via social media, or to the school directly. This event was planned as a virtual event to connect people remotely, and inspire them to focus on health, wellness and self-care.

Approximately 40 entries were received throughout the two-week period and showed a wide variety of wellness examples such as physical exercise, making nutritious food and taking time out for rest and relaxation.

Several sponsors contributed to this event and provided prizes for a draw for those who participated in the event. Sponsors and prize winners were: - Martensville High School SCC – Grand Prize; Apple Airbuds, won by Hunter Slywka - DyMark Industries – $25 gift cards, each won by Brody Nelson, Carika van den Heever, Jessica Warren and Richelle Hanley - JusFruit (Saskatoon Attridge Location) – $40 gift card won by Taylor Warren - Ayotte Plumbing and Heating – $25 gift card won by Sutter Danychuk - Martensville High Entripyshops Clothing, won by Brooklyn Bradford, Malyssa Sader, Josh Wall, Nic Rolles and Shelley Peters Thomas

“Thank you to everyone that participated and to all of the sponsors. It was a successful event and was great to see everyone taking some time out to focus on their health and wellness,” MHS Vice Principal Neda Wilson said.

ABOVE: MHS Principal Mr. Johnson with Hunter Slywka. (Submitted)

ABOVE: MHS Vice Principal Neda Wilson with Nic Rolles and Malyssa Sader. (Submitted)

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Local Kinettes Hosting Delivery Steak Night Fundraiser Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

The Martensville & District Kinette Club are always looking for new ways to support others, and in the past year due to the COVID pandemic, they have gotten creative in the methods that they use in order to do this.

Most recently, they announced a delivery steak night to raise funds for Chelsea Cameron, who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in late 2020. Since being diagnosed, Cameron has been hospitalized and undergoing chemotherapy.

Unfortunately, this particular type of cancer is not curable. It can go into remission, but will come back. Cameron, who is friends with one of the local Kinettes, is from Regina, but will be staying with her dad and stepmom in Warman while undergoing stem cell treatment to help prevent the cancer from coming back. Some of the required treatments are not covered by Chelsea’s benefit

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plan, therefore causing a financial strain, so the Kinette Club wanted to do something to help ease that burden.

A delivery steak night for Martensville and Warman will be held Monday, March 29th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm and will include an adult steak meal with a baked potato, corn and garlic toast for $35.00 or a kids burger with raw veggies and dip for $15.00.

Pick-up is also available.

ABOVE: Chelsea Cameron was diagnosed with cute Additionally, there will be a 50/50 Myeloid Leukemia in late 2020. draw option when you order a meal, and for every meal ordered, you will be entered to win a BBQ package. The BBQ pack was donated by one of our sponsors, Centennial Meats. As well, with every order, The Caesar Mill will be giving out a coupon for 50% off an appetizer,” Jodi Martens, President of the local Kinette Club said.

“The Kinettes cannot do great things in our community without the support of everyone and we want to thank everyone who has ordered so far, and hope to see more orders coming in,” Martens added.

Orders can be placed via the ‘Martensville and District Kinette Club’ Facebook page, or by emailing martensvillekinettes@gmail.com. The deadline to order is March 24th at 2:00pm. For those wanting to contribute to the fundraiser without purchasing a meal, e-transfers can be sent to the email address above.

SPORTS Maddogs Offering New Speed School Program Jocelyn Ottenbreit, Martensville Messenger

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The Maddogs Football Organization is offering an exciting program starting up at the end of March. Speed School YXE, designed to improve speed and power in athletes, is a training system designed for all sports.

Coaches Karlyn and Kelly Wells have an impressive resume, both of whom were part of the U of S huskies track team, Karlyn being a 5 time National team champion, both bobsleigh athletes and years of experience coaching track and field.

Training with these experienced coaches will help the players to understand how critical speed is as a skill, and when training to improve an athletes speed, agility, quickness and reaction can help make good athletes great!

The Martensville Athletic Pavilion will be offering their facility for this program to teach speed school to bring out the best in players, teach athletes skill set for this critical part in training, and how it can improve greater success in team sports.

“The idea with our program is to help athletes train specifically for speed and power. We help sport coaches that may not have the tools to train athletes to be faster in their chosen sport. Speed can be a huge advantage in sport and it is an important skill to learn and train for athletes. That’s what our program is for, making athletes as fast as possible,” said coach Kelly Wells.

This program is open to Grade 4 and above. It will be run twice a week for one hour for four weeks in total with a tentative start date of March 24th. The cost is $160 for 8 sessions and once numbers are finalized, dates will be arranged.

Registration closes March 20 at 6 pm. Payments can be e-transferred to martensvillemaddogs@gmail.com. For more information, visit the Maddogs football facebook page or https://www.maddogsfootball.ca/

In Memoriam Myron Dyck March 19, 1947 - March 23, 2011

Ke yo an to of O D w

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Provincial Politics with

Murray Mandryk

Regina COVID-19 Cases Demonstrate Provincewide Problem

Many of you in rural Saskatchewan would be quick to agree that the problem is always Regina where the decisions on running the province are made. Most days, you’d likely be correct. But when it comes to COVID-19 in Saskatchewan right now, Regina is the problem.

During one three-day stretch last week, the province saw 130 of 329 new cases in the Queen City— 50 out of 98 in a single day. Regina also accounted for 30 per cent of active cases —420 out of 1,414.

While Saskatchewan Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab has suggested there is no one reason why cases have been rising in Regina compared with everywhere else in the province, government also recently noted 35 cases of the new more infectious variant of COVID-19 have been spotted in Regina.

So, if Regina is the problem, why would the latest COVID-19 restrictions apply equally to Regina that clearly has a bigger problem and is likely in need of further restrictions?

The problem may be that imposing restrictions on just one city may be an even bigger problem.

Premier Scott Moe recently announced a slight easing of his Dec. 19 public health restrictions by increasing household bubbles to 10 people from as many as three different households and by increasing the size of worship services to the lesser of 30 per cent of a church’s capacity or 150 people.

“We are putting our trust and our faith in the people in province,” Moe told reporters at a press conference. “They’re going to have some personal decisions to make in the next number of days and weeks, and we trust that they will make the appropriate ones.”

There are more than a few problems with this approach.

Notwithstanding Saskatchewan’s general approach of cooperation and looking out for one’s neighbour, we live in a world of mass media and social media instantaneous communication.

The news from the United States and elsewhere coming from unreliable Internet sources or news channels of a particular leaning only reinforce whatever message people want to hear.

In other words, it’s really hard for governments to get people to follow their messages and in the pandemic situation we are in where it’s critical to get everyone to buy in, it’s that much harder.

The problem with the latest restrictions is that even more reasonable people might not view them as consistent, logical or enforceable.

If Shahab is telling us that household spread is the biggest problem in fighting COVID-19, does it truly make sense to expand our household bubbles? Is anyone really going to pay attention to the latest recommendation that those 50 years and older keep their bubbles to their immediate households if they now have an opportunity to expand their bubble to the bubbles of their adult children or grandchildren? And if the problem remains indoor spread, does it make sense to keep the 10-person restrictions on outdoor gathers yet allow as many as 150 people at an indoor church service? Despite added recommendations to keep the six-foot social distance and to wear masks, isn’t this just looking for trouble?

Finally, if we are being told we need to keep our distance until we are vaccinated, why not wait with these recent tempting restrictions until we are vaccinated? Well, Moe’s government likely felt it had to do something — especially given that we are winning COVID-19 fight elsewhere; however, with Regina cases pumping up provincial numbers, there was only so much he could do.

Separate restrictions aimed specifically at Regina would be hard to enforce — especially with the rural areas so interconnected to the cities for commerce or social reasons. This would not be like blocking roads into La Loche or restricting visitations on Hutterite colonies.

We likely have reason to blame Regina, but the recent Regina outbreak reminds us we are all in this together.

Ambulance Relocation to Martensville and Warman on Hold Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

In September of 2020, the Government of Saskatchewan announced that there would be a $2.9 million investment made to boost Emergency Medical Services within the province. According to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), this investment would enable those services to increase staffing and add response units.

According to information provided within a news release, EMS within Saskatoon has seen an increase in call volumes, with more than 31,900 calls coming in 2019/20 – an 11 per cent increase since 2014-15.

The additional funding was to go towards providing additional staffed ambulances in Saskatoon and Regina to help improve emergency response times in those two cities, as well as the surrounding areas.

Additionally, $780,000 was set aside to increase staffing at Royal University Hospital Emergency Department to help provide a quicker transition of care between EMS and Emergency Department staff, which was to help turn-around times for rural and urban ambulance services, thus improving response times.

Following this announcement, representatives from SHA and Medavie Health Services West, the SHA’s contracted privately-operated EMS provider for Saskatoon and area, met with representatives from Martensville, Warman and surrounding communities to discuss opportunities to enhance emergency medical services response times to the area, given the additional resources.

It was during this meeting that a pilot project was discussed that would see an ambulance relocated to Warman and Martensville on an alternating week-to-week basis when one was available, to spare from Saskatoon.

The ambulance would be housed within the two communities fire halls.

In an email from Lisa Thomson, the SHA Media Relations Consultant, it was stated that, “Medavie recruited and staffed the additional ambulance units; however, due to the continued pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, the proposed pilot was put on hold as the additional resources continue to be fully tasked to respond to calls and have not been able to relocate to Warman or Martensville.”

Currently, the SHA has a meeting scheduled with Warman Fire Department Chief Russ Austin, as well as the City of Warman Mayor and City Manager in early April. There are plans to schedule a meeting with the City of Martensville; however, no dates have been set for this.

Martensville Fire Chief Kurt Dyck looks forward to the day that a solution is found that will help to improve ambulance response time within the community. “We thought this was the right start by getting this pilot project rolling and seeing firsthand what a difference it could make. Unfortunately, that didn’t come together the way that we had planned, so for now, I look forward to meeting and discussing opportunities for the community,” Dyck said.

Mayor Kent Muench also looks forward to future conversations on the subject. “I am hoping that through these conversations, we can better understand where resources are and what the barriers are for not having those resources applied locally in our communities. In the end, the ultimate goal is to improve response times, not only on average, but consistently. Ideally, I think that it is better if an ambulance is stationed in Martensville and Warman exclusively,” Muench stated.

SaskTel Selects Samsung for 5G Network Deployment

SaskTel and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. recently announced that SaskTel has selected Samsung as the sole vendor to supply SaskTel with its 4G/5G Radio Access Network (RAN) and Core. Samsung will supply all hardware, software and associated expertise to ensure the successful deployment of an end-to-end 5G solution.

“SaskTel’s deployment of a transformational 5G network will foster continued innovation and support the growth of Saskatchewan's technology sector,” said Don Morgan, Minister Responsible for SaskTel. “5G technology will deliver new levels of performance and efficiency that will enhance user experience and set the foundation for smart cities, next generation virtual healthcare, immersive education, smart agriculture technology and next level gaming.”

“We are pleased to select Samsung as the sole vendor for our 5G network deployment and we are confident that Samsung’s state-of-the-art 5G technology will deliver robust network capability and exceptional connectivity inherent in their 5G solutions,” said Doug Burnett, SaskTel President and CEO. “The increased speeds, reliability, and capacity that 5G brings will support remote work, virtual health, and distance education, and enable SaskTel’s customers to realize the full capabilities of the latest 5G-ready devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G.”

“We are excited to collaborate with SaskTel to roll out next generation 5G services within Saskatchewan, further expanding our 5G horizons in Canada with unparalleled 5G network solutions,” said Jeff Jo, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics Canada. “Samsung is looking forward to supporting SaskTel and providing an endto-end 5G solution exhibiting Samsung’s ongoing global commitment to advancing a new era in 5G expansion.”

Since 2010, SaskTel has invested over $3.0 billion in capital throughout Saskatchewan to bolster its networks and the investment in 5G technology will prepare for the future demand and deliver an exceptional user experience. SaskTel is committed to investing $324 million of capital across Saskatchewan in 2020-21 and over $1.6 billion through to 2025. These investments will ensure that SaskTel customers will continue to enjoy some of the best communication and entertainment services in the world.

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

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Martensville Gym Looking For Answers Following COVID Outbreak

Jocelyn Ottenbreit, Martensville Messenger

On February 26, Chris Buhr co-owner of Forged Fitness in Martensville, received a call from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) that their business had four confirmed positive COVID-19 cases between February 9-20. According to SHA, non-household situations that include more than two positive cases is considered an outbreak. Buhr noted that he also received an email that same day requesting all member check-in information; including dates and times, for SHA to be able to assess who was in close contact with the individuals that tested positive.

According to Buhr, shortly after they were informed of the outbreak, four of the individuals identified themselves to him privately of their positive tests. “The SHA then requested a list of about 180 members contact info and started contacting the members telling all of them that they were close contacts and had to isolate for 14 days. I knew immediately that they weren’t properly investigating and were just forcing everyone to isolate.”

For Buhr, things began to get uncomfortable when members began reaching out to him stating that there were reports of slandering the business, and accusations of not following protocols. According to Buhr, an SHA representative said the gym was an active COVID site and anyone that went in the foreseeable future was risking infection. Buhr questioned the medical officer looking for answers as to why all 180 members needed to be in self-isolation and why they weren’t posting the dates of when the members used the gym while infectious.

Up until November 14 of last year, the SHA was providing regular exposure alerts at businesses and other locations that included dates and times of potential COVID-19 exposure; however, in November, they announced that they would

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be scaling back on these alerts, unless self-isolation was immediately required, rather than self-monitoring.

According to an SHA news release, “COVID-19 PSA alerts will remain an important tool for primary health care teams.

However, these will only be issued at the direction of local medical health officers when they have determined a notification of the broader public is required to inform individuals who may have attended a location or business to immediately self-isolate and seek testing.” The release also noted that, “These alerts will be based on the clinical discretion of the local medical health officer and occur when the following three criteria are met: all contacts cannot be notified within 48 hours, there is a resulting increased risk to the public, and the direction is needed for public members in attendance to immediately self-isolate as a result of this increased risk.”

For Buhr, he felt that the SHA had not given clarity as to dates and times and it wasn’t until he received permission from the positive members to publicly post them, that they were able to post a clearer picture to those who were given instruction to selfisolate, and if they were actually even at the gym at the same time as the infected members. “Once we exposed that a lot of people were not a close contact, they changed the narrative to the gym as an environment is a high-risk facility and criticized things like the ventilation even though no representation of the SHA has ever stepped foot in Forged Fitness.”

Buhr said many questions were asked to the medical officer that was in charge of their case with no answers provided, and was left feeling very confused and frustrated. According to Buhr, the SHA then started releasing people from isolation early and said it was due to ‘miscommunication.’ “One member was told she had a new exposure date that was four days earlier than the one they

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originally told her but when I checked my records she wasn’t even attending the gym the day they claimed she was exposed?’

Buhr said what he would have really appreciated is some clear communication and an effort to work on helping give information on who really was at risk. “We are patiently waiting for answers from the medical officer in charge of our case and also the Minister of Health has been emailed with all of this information as well. So far we haven’t heard anything back.” He feels that trust was broken and hopes the SHA will learn from this experience in the future. “We are talking about enforcing ‘laws’ and temporarily locking people in their homes with no human compassion or regard for mental health. When you are going to be doing these things I suggest you be 100% sure it is necessary for each and every person.”

A list of active COVID-19 outbreaks can be found at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/health-care-administrationand-provider-resources/treatment-procedures-and-guidelines/ emerging-public-health-issues/2019-novel-coronavirus/latestupdates/covid-19-active-outbreaks, a page that is updated daily.

Fundraiser Focuses on Filling Free Pantry

Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

Last July, two women from Martensville saw that there was a need in the community for some extra support through the COVID pandemic and decided that they would organize a fundraiser to help fill the Martensville Free Pantry.

Due to the pandemic, the Martensville Free Pantry was no longer able to continue operating out of the Civic Centre; however, thanks to local resident Deseri Adrian, those that are in need of some extra support can still access the free pantry at it’s new location at 10-606 Main Street in the grey condos across from the Sports Centre.

Janice Eliason and Shauntelle Cox are Epicure consultants in the community and through a fundraiser, they were able to donate over $550 to the Martensville Free Pantry, not including additional donations that were made. In December, the women delivered three boxes of Epicure products, with much of that being included in the Martensville Free Pantry Christmas food hampers.

With March being Nutrition Month, the two women decided that they would once again work to help others within the community, so Shauntelle Cox contacted Deseri Adrian regarding this idea and was informed that they were indeed in need of donations.

Those wanting to contribute to this fundraiser can purchase a meal pack consisting of five different meal-time solutions. “Essentially, you get an assortment of seasoning packages that allow you to feed your family a great, healthy, quick easy to prepare meal in 20-minutes or less at an affordable price,” Cox explained.

Packages include five different meal options including Taco, Sweet & Sour Stir Fry, Pulled Chicken, Southern Baked, Mac & Cheese and a Chocolate Pudding mix. Meal packs are $25, with $10 from every purchase going to the Martensville Free Pantry.

“As we were collecting orders last year, we had numerous people who wanted to donate beyond the original fundraiser, so we also accept cash donations, or people can purchase Epicure products to be donated as well. You can also purchase the meal package for yourself with $10 going to support the free pantry, or you can donate the meal package. There are numerous options available and we are just extremely grateful for the support from the community,” Cox added.

The fundraiser will take place until March 29th. More information can be found on the ‘Fill the Martensville Free Pantry’ Facebook page as both Cox and Eliason will be monitoring the page, so messages can be sent with questions and someone will reply as soon as possible. You can also contact news@ martensvillemessenger.ca, or call/text (306) 668-1093 for more information.