May 5, 2022

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Your City; Your Newspaper May 5, 2022

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VOLUME NO. 16 - ISSUE 18

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Magic Mania

Clinton James, aka ‘Magic Man’ dazzled the crowd during the Martensville Business Expo on Saturday, April 30th.

See more about the Business Expo on page 4.

Now Booking for Summer of 2022!

• In-Floor Radiant Heating and Boiler Installations • Residential - Commercial - Farm Shops Visit www.nrgheating.ca to learn more Call Dan at 306-380-9089

Page 2 - MAY 5, 2022 - 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!

Saskatchewan’s current public health orders have been lifted, effective February 28, 2022.

City Hall and all civic facilities are open and available for business with the public. Civic facilities are a ‘mask-friendly’ environment, meaning the City of Martensville respects all individuals’ freedom to don a mask for their own comfort and safety.

May 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.

Committee of the Whole Meeting- May 10th Regular Council Meeting- May 17th

Martensville Athletic Pavilion - Opened, including drop-in programs. Contact the MAP or Martensville.ca for information or questions about programs.

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.

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

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.

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

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

City ofSchedule Martensville City Hall

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.

Big Changes Coming for Water Meters

The City of Martensville is initiating a program where existing water meters will be replaced with new automated water meters. Neptune Technology Group will be installing the meters by area and will be contacting homeowners to make appointments for the change-out.

This project will begin in late February and be completed city-wide by July. To learn more, please check the information piece with your water bill or visit martensville.ca

Street Sweeping Season

Street Sweeping will be underway in the community with the emphasis on an initial sweep and a focus on the arterial and collector roadways.

Sweeping will commence in residential areas so please watch for signs and posts in your neighbourhood. We ask that vehicles be removed from the streets on your ‘sweep’ day however tickets will not be issued, nor vehicles towed away.

Friendly reminder to please stay back from Street Sweeping equipment as crews work. For more information about street sweeping contact City Hall.

POLICE

Officers Tackle Training Recently, officers with Corman Park Police Service, along with police officers from Dalmeny, Vanscoy and Luseland participated in a POD (Police Officer Down) First Aid training. Through this, officers were taught how to bandage traumatic wounds with an Israeli bandage, tourniquet application and other important skills that could come in handy in a emergency situation.

“These skills are essential for the safety of not only police officers, but also to the people in the Rural Municipality of Corman Park. You never know when a first aid situation arises.

These members are out on the RM roads for hours a day, and could come across these situations at any time,” Corman Park Police Services stated.

M

ARTENSVILLE

ESSENGER

Hours of Operation:

Lane Usage During Spring Thaw Monday to Friday

The City of Martensville encourages residents, for which their lane is a secondary means of 9:00 the AMspring to 5:00 access to their property, to limit their usage during thawPM period. Heavy or repetitive Statutory Holidays) vehicle usage during spring thaw and(Excluding 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 time required to reshape lanes.

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

More tips for Spring Thaw can be found on Martensville.ca under ‘Services for Residents’.

Organics Service Starts Again May 6th

Organics pick-ups resume on May 6th for the North-side of Martensville and May 13th for the South-side. This service is scheduled on Fridays and alternates between north and south until the end of October. Organics is a subscription based program, to subscribe please contact City Hall Reminder! - Don’t miss your Pick-up Organics, Garbage or Recycling must be curbside on your pick-up day by 7AM to ensure it is taken. Pick-up times can be fairly regular but are not set and are subject to variation or changes.

Visit the ‘Waste and Recycling’ section on Martensville.ca for more information.

BEAT Community Mailbox Break-ins Occurring in Martensville and Warman

The communities of both Martensville and Warman have seen an increase in community mailbox break-ins recently. If you notice suspicious activity involving a mailbox, contact the local police to report it, as well as Canada Post Customer Service at 1-866-607-6301.

RIGHT: A Martensville resident shared a post via social media regarding a break in at community mailboxes. (Facebook)

“Advertising doesn’t cost; it pays!”

Is your business reaching its full potential? Contact the Martensville Messenger Newspaper to help you with your advertising needs!

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MARTENSVILLE MESSENGER - MAY 5, 2022 - Page 3

Government Expands Intensive Care Unit Capacity Across Saskatchewan

It’s Garage Sale Season in Martensville Jocelyn Ottenbreit, Martensville Messenger

The Annual Spring Monster Garage Sale is now open for registration in the City of Martensville. Those that register will be included on flyers that will be provided in the community at various locations such as City Hall, the Martensville Athletic Pavilion, Martensville Co-op and TRX with a list of all registered houses. The list will also be available online via the City of Martensville social media. The registration fee is $5 and with that, you also receive garage sale signage and balloons.

The Spring Monster Garage Sale will take place on Friday, May 27th and Saturday, May 28th in both Martensville and Warman.

The registration deadline is May 24th at 12:00pm. Visit www.martensville.ca and click ‘Program Registrations’ at the bottom of the page to register online.

Clarkboro Ferry Opens For the Season

The Clarkboro Ferry, the busiest ferry in Saskatchewan, opened for the season as of April 25th.

This cable ferry is a 12-vessel ferry fleet that crosses the South Saskatchewan River at Clark’s Crossing, carrying Grid Road 784 across the river, and connects Aberdeen in the east, and Warman in the west.

Operated by the Saskatchewan Ministry of

Highways and Infrastructure, the Clarkboro ferry is 66 feet in length, 20 feet in width and weighs 69,400 pounds.

It is free of toll and transports over 70,000 vehicles each year.

Once regularly inspected and repaired as necessary, it operates once the river is free of ice between mid-April to mid-November from 5am to midnight daily.

ABOVE: The Clarkboro Ferry is up and running for the season. (Facebook)

2022 Summer Program Guide Available Watch for the 2022 City of Martensville Summer Program Guide in mailboxes next week! The Guide can also be viewed online through the City of Martensville and the Martensville Messenger.

The Government of Saskatchewan has added six new Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds in three provincial hospital locations to add capacity to Saskatchewan’s acute care system.

"Our government has taken crucial steps forward to begin delivering on our commitment to provide more ICU beds to benefit our sickest patients, such as those requiring surgery and advanced procedures," Health Minister Paul Merriman said. "The $12.5 million investment in this budget is the first of a multi-year strategy to support the addition of ICU beds to the provincial system this year, which will improve patient flow and surgical capacity.

"These additions will also allow existing ICU beds to be used to their full potential and will result in less service disruption and staff redeployment."

Six new beds are now in operation: two at Regina General Hospital; three at St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon; and one at Prince Albert Victoria Hospital.

Plans are underway to add the remaining five beds for a total of 11, which includes four ICU beds for Regina’s Pasqua Hospital and one at Yorkton Hospital. These beds will be operational later in 2022.

A total 108 full time equivalent positions, such as registered nurses and other health care providers will support the new beds.

“We are grateful for the province’s investment in strengthening critical care in our urban, rural and northern regional hospitals,” Saskatchewan Health Authority’s (SHA) Executive Director for Provincial Programs - Tertiary Care Lori Garchinski said. “Our teams are continuing to build on the lessons learned from the pandemic and this ongoing expansion in ICU and high-acuity capacity is foundational in advancing connected care for Saskatchewan residents.”

This year’s ICU bed expansion is the first phase of a multi-year strategy to create 31 additional intensive care unit beds across the province for a total of 110 beds.

In addition to this expansion, a $3 million increase in this year’s budget will fund 10 high-acuity beds at Regina General Hospital to reduce demands on the ICU and improve patient flow.

Saskatchewan currently has 85 adult ICU beds across nine regional and tertiary sites.

M

ARTENSVILLE

ESSENGER

Your City; Your Newspaper Box 333, Martensville, SK S0K 2T0 Phone: 306-668-1093 advertising@martensvillemessenger.ca Deadline for submissions is MONDAY at NOON.

www.martensvillemessenger.ca Published Thursdays • 48 issues/year

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

Editor/Ad Design: Jocelyn Ottenbreit

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Registration opens May 12th.

To Contact Us About Advertising: advertising@martensvillemessenger.ca

Want to Share News?: news@martensvillemessenger.ca

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Page 4 - MAY 5, 2022 - MARTENSVILLE MESSENGER

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Back to the Business Expo

ABOVE & BELOW: Approximately 70 vendors were at the Martensville Business Expo, including large businesses, small businesses, home-based businesses, local organizations, restaurants and more. (City of Martensville)

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take - Cardinol Mermillod

After two years of waiting due to the COVID pandemic, the Martensville Business Expo was back. Over the course of two days, April 29th and 30th, local residents had the chance to reconnect with businesses and organizations from the area.

Approximately 70 booths were available with a wide-range of options including large businesses, homebased businesses, local restaurants and more.

There was also a variety of entertainment options for all ages throughout the two days, a pancake breakfast, a Friday night lounge and a little something for everyone.

The Expo, held in partnership between the Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce and the City of Martensville, took place at the Martensville Athletic Pavilion (MAP), and the energy in the building was palpable as both vendors and attendees were happy to get out and see each other face-toface once again.

ABOVE: The Martensville & District Kinsmen Club hosted a pancake breakfast by donation on Saturday morning. (City of Martensville)

ABOVE, LEFT & BELOW: Local musicians and groups were on hand to provide entertainment during the Martensville Business Expo. (City of Martensville)

HAPPY

Mother's Day

Kelly Block, MP Carlton Trail-Eagle Creek kellyblockmp.ca

MARTENSVILLE MESSENGER - MAY 5, 2022 - Page 5

Cones Looks to Continue Success As They Prepare For Second Season Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

Last year, high school students Carson Heuchert, Alex Garchinski and Wyatt Strueby did something that most kids their age aren’t doing during the summer months; run their own business. The three best friends decided that they wanted to make some extra money and wanted something a little more unique than the typical jobs that most high school students are working throughout the summer, so they decided that they would work for themselves and open an ice cream shop in Martensville – thus began Cones Ice Cream.

As the trio prepares to open for their second season, they can’t help but look back fondly on their inaugural season last year.

“Last year when we started, we really had no idea what to expect, so we ordered much less than we should have. Coming into this year, we have that knowledge and experience in place, so we can build on that and be better prepared,” Strueby explained. Heuchert added that despite some errors along the way, the feedback was very positive and customers were thankfully very forgiving over any minor mishaps that may have occurred.

Their first season saw multiple features in local media and an unbelievable amount of support from the public, which Garchinski noted was appreciated more than they can even express. “We could not be more grateful for the support we received from everyone. It is an incredible feeling to have so many people come out to see us. Honestly, I think one of the greatest parts of this, and one of the reasons we have succeeded is that even though we all share the same big goal, each of us plays a different part within that goal where we can use our different skill sets to our advantage.”

This year, there are plans to have some more options available such as new ice cream flavors and more non-dairy options for their customers, and the Cones team also plans to make an effort to become more involved in the community as well. “Our goal is to be more than just an ice cream stand and find more outlets for us to reach out and be a bigger part of the community,” Garchinski said.

One way that the young business owners plan to do this is by hosting a Community Cleanup in Kinsmen Park this month by providing garbage bags and gloves and invite local residents to come out to help keep the area beautiful.

Plans are in place to open May 13th, and once open, hours of operation will run 3pm-9pm on weekdays and 1pm-9pm on weekends to accommodate school schedules; however, once the school year is done, hours will expand.

This year marks the senior year for all three young men, and as of right now, plans for a third season at Cones are unknown; however, they are just looking forward to the upcoming summer at the moment. For all three, the memories of spending time in Kinsmen Park and enjoying ice cream while growing up remain strong and they want to share that with others.

“We can’t say for sure what ABOVE: Cones Ice Cream owners Carson Heuchert, Alex Garchinski and next year holds, but we know for now Wyatt Strueby are excited for their second year in business. that we are going to have a blast doing “This experience and learning about the time what we love again this summer. Our goal is that we don’t and effort that goes into your own business is something ever want to see Martensville go another summer without I will hold onto forever. It has been such a great an ice cream shack though. Whether it be us, other kids opportunity for us,” Strueby added. that we can show the ropes to or someone else, it would be Additionally, the trio learned about how nice to see Cones continue as a staple of this community,” important community is. “We saw first-hand how Garchinski stated. something as simple as ice cream can bring people Wherever the future takes them, one thing is together.

It connected everyone and we are so proud to for certain; the memories of running their own business be a part of that,” Heuchert said. with their best friends will last a lifetime, along with the Follow Cones Ice Cream on Facebook and first-hand business experience that will continue to shape Instagram to stay connected. them into their futures.

Martensville Community Recreation Project (MCRP) Raises Over 1.7 Million Towards Multi-Purpose Recreation Facility On Saturday, April 29, the Martensville Community Recreation Project (MCRP) presented the City of Martensville with a $1,475,000 cheque at the group’s annual Hockey Draft fundraiser. The money is in addition to the group’s previous donations of $150,000 in 2018 and $75,000 in 2019. The funds are to be put on reserve for the city’s new multipurpose recreation facility.

“The members of the MCRP are very passionate about this project. It’s been amazing watching our community grow and rally behind the new recreation facility over the last number of years,” says Jesse Reis, Chairman of the MCRP. “This cheque is not just a testament to our great group of volunteers, but it’s also representative of the resiliency of our community. Raising over $1.4M in the last two years during the pandemic is an unbelievable accomplishment and we couldn’t be more proud to present this money to the City of Martensville.”

The money raised by the MCRP was a combined effort of multiple fundraisers including an 80’s Cabaret, the annual Party on the Pond weekend in the spring, the annual 3 on 3 Hockey Tournament in the fall, and a Community House Build that entailed resurrecting an 1806 square-foot home on the corner of 4th Street South and MacCormack Road.

“We’re not just building a recreation facility; we’re building a legacy that we’ll be able to see our children and even our grandchildren enjoy for years to come,” comments Reis. “That’s really exciting for us, to be able to contribute to future generations of athletes in our community.”

Martensville’s future multipurpose recreation facility is planned to be the anchor attraction at Trilogy Ranch, a new major 680-acre residential and commercial development located just west of Highway 12 and bordering the City’s current west boundary.

For more information, visit mcrp.ca.

ABOVE & BELOW: The MCRP hosted their annual Hockey Draft fundraiser on Saturday, April 29th where they presented the City of Martensville with a cheque for $1,475,000 to be used towards the city’s new recreation facillty. (Jocelyn Ottenbreit/MM)

Page 6 - MAY 5, 2022 - MARTENSVILLE MESSENGER

MARTENSVILLE MESSENGER - MAY 5, 2022 - Page 7

MLA Terry Jenson’s Report from the Legislature Capital Investments in Saskatchewan Crown Utilities

Sask. Must Find a Way to Keep Our Doctors Perhaps the saddest story in Saskatchewan history is keeping our children at home - especially, the best and brightest of our children. Consider the ones who became doctors: According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), of the 2,112 active practicing doctors in 2020 who graduated from the University of Saskatchewan medical graduates, only 931 or 44 per cent were practicing in Saskatchewan.

We are obviously not alone in this dilemma. All provinces lose doctors to the United States - especially at the surgical or specialist level. In the highly competitive field of medicine, there is further penchant to lose doctors to places with larger urban centres where it may be easier to set up a thriving practice, practice with support of more colleagues or practice a speciality in larger, more advanced hospital centres.

By comparison Manitoba fares only slightly better, retaining slightly more than 50 per cent of the University of Manitoba’s medical school graduates; however, it should be noted that the U of M medical school does have more seats.

The reality is the problem of retaining doctors is more acute on the prairies — largely because of our sparse rural population and large northern area that present specific challenges when it comes to attracting doctors. The CIHI numbers further underscore the problem: In Saskatoon, a majority of 68 per cent of the current practicing physicians are Canadian medical school graduates compared with 32 per cent that are the International Medical Graduates (IMG); however, this is the only place where this is the case. In Regina, 55 per cent of the doctors are IMGs while 45 per cent are Canadian medical school graduates. In the rest of the province, a whopping 76 per cent are IMGs while only 24 per cent are Canadian medical school graduates.

These numbers come courtesy of Simon Fraser University professor and long-time health policy analyst Steven Lewis who wrote that Saskatchewan’s “health system would be sunk.”

Even as it is, Saskatchewan is further struggling to keep what doctors it has. The NDP Opposition further noted last week that the 2,530 full-time doctors currently practice in this province worked out to 215 doctors per 100,000 residents. That’s less than the national average of 242 doctors per 100,000 people. Logic dictates we need more doctors per capita because of our sparse population.

What has prevented the situation from being much worse is Saskatchewan benefits from Canadian government policy assigning newly arrived foreign doctors to areas of the country where they are needed. Often, when those IMGs establish themselves in Canada, they, too, move on to other places.

“Don’t blame Canadian-trained doctors for not settling in rural Saskatchewan,” Lewis wrote in the article.

“No one else does, either.”

The health policy analyst who grew up and spent much of his working life in Saskatchewan noted that doctors — like other professionals everywhere in the world who grow up in smaller communities — will always want to gravitate to places where there is a “population density to support a school, bank, theatre, supermarket and a hospital in every town”.

So we shouldn’t be surprised by now that Saskatchewan isn’t a preferred destination for doctors, Lewis said. “I grew up in Saskatchewan and the topography and emptiness are just features of home,” Lewis wrote. “But skies live elsewhere too.”

That observation drew condemnation from some Saskatchewan Party MLAs debating the issue, but being upset at a frank assessment doesn’t solve the problem.

To the government’s credit it re-emphasized doctor recruitment in the March budget, but Lewis suggested we look deeper than that. He called for an “overhaul and expand primary care” creating clinics “where doctors, nurses, therapists, psychologists and pharmacists work in teams.”

It may not be a perfect solution, but the numbers tell us we may have to try something different.

This past month has reminded us just how unpredictable weather on the prairies can be. At the start of April, a winter snowstorm hit many areas. Around Maple Creek, SaskPower crews and contractors replaced more than 600 power poles while repairing 50 kilometres of power lines.

Two weeks ago, more damage was recorded as another storm rolled in with nearly 25,000 customers in southeast Saskatchewan left without power.

Thank you to everyone who worked during and after the storm to restore services to those in need.

These two storms serve as a reminder about how important reliable utilities are. Our government is committed to investing in Saskatchewan's Crown corporations. With the 2022/23 Budget, we will spend nearly $1.8 billion on capital projects to maintain and enhance utility infrastructure while supporting economic growth.

SaskPower will invest a record $1.1 billion to improve reliability, replace aging electrical infrastructure, and meet customer demand. This will include increasing our ability to generate electricity for our growing province. Work has started on a new natural gas-fired electrical plant just south of Moose Jaw and updates at the EB Campbell Hydroelectric Station will extend its life and increase access to clean, reliable power.

This budget invests more than $272 million into Saskatchewan's natural gas transmission and distribution system to ensure safe, reliable and affordable services to SaskEnergy customers. This year, the Crown gas company will expand the Regina East and West transmission lines, complete connections to supply the Moose Jaw electrical plant with natural gas and expand the distribution system to support new customers.

For SaskTel, the telecommunications company remains focused on connecting people to the world by investing $337 million into the province’s information and communication technology infrastructure. Investments will support quality networks, continued deployment of fibre service to rural customers and modernization of network infrastructure with the rollout of SaskTel’s 5G wireless network.

With our growing province comes a growing need for sustainable water and wastewater systems.

SaskWater will invest nearly $53 million to support significant industrial growth along with continued investment in the water systems.

Support for our water network extends over to the Water Security Agency (WSA) with $72 million in funding. Our economy has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years and many of those new industries require water for their production facilities. Our communities are growing as more people move to Saskatchewan.

This growth presents unique challenges, and this budget will support WSA in its efforts to ensure a safe and secure water supply. Their efforts will increase the sustainability of our economic growth while building a water supply network that is resilient to extreme weather patterns like the 2021 drought. To help manage that water supply, $45 million will rehabilitate infrastructure such as dams and other water control structures. Another $25 will support large and small irrigation projects that contribute to economic, irrigation and food security goals.

In our Growth Plan, we set goals to create 100,000 new jobs, grow private capital investment to $16 billion annually and increase the provincial population to 1.4 million people by 2030. In order to support that growth, our Crown corporations will invest more than $8 billion over the next five years to make capital infrastructure improvements.

Altogether, our provincial Crown corporations offer one of the lowest utility bundles in the country. Our government is committed to ensuring safe, reliable, high-quality services for Saskatchewan residents.

Join the Martensville & District Lions Club for the 8th Annual Pet Valu Walk for Dog Guides When: Sunday, May 29, 2022

1:30PM Registration/2:00PM Walk

Where: Lions Park

(415 6th Avenue South) Visit www.walkfordogguides.com for more information or to make a donation.

The Lions Club is accepting donations of cans and bottles to help support this event.

Contact call (306) 491-8914 or (306) 290-6766 to arrange pickup.

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

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 8 - MAY 5, 2022 - MARTENSVILLE MESSENGER

VMS Principal Garth Harrison Plans to Enjoy Final Two Months Before Retiring Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

Although the difficult decision was made last summer, Valley Manor Elementary School (VMS) Principal Garth Harrison held off announcing his retirement until the end of April so as not to throw too many curveballs to students following the tumultuous years during the COVID pandemic.

Harrison has spent the past 34 years working in education, with the last ten years as Principal at VMS. Through this time, he taught students all the way from Grade 3 to Grade 10, worked as both Principal and Vice Principal and even worked in caretaking and as an Administrative Assistant for half a year.

“I guess I was never afraid to get my hands dirty and just knew this is where I wanted to be and what I wanted to be doing,” Harrison said.

There was a short period where Harrison thought about becoming a radio broadcaster like his older brother, but since the age of approximately ten years old, teaching was at the top of the list when it came to what his future career would be.

“I knew it was the right choice for me. Through the years, there is nothing better than the feeling of kids coming to school with a smile because they are excited ABOVE: Students in Mrs. Lahti’s Social Studies 9 class at Martensville High School were to be there and leaving with a smile because they had a great day. I liked being a part of learning about archaeology with Rice Krispie cake. (Facebook) that.”

Through the years one of Harrison’s favorite things has been keeping in contact with former students and seeing the adults they have become. Some students have went on to have extraordinary careers as athletes, politicians and more.

“I enjoyed seeing them grow up. You aren’t the adult you are going to be when you are in elementary school, but it is exciting to see those adults come back and talk to you about the things you meant to them.”

Harrison’s retirement plans consist of spending lots of time with his family, which includes his 87-year-old mother, his wife who is also a teacher, his three children and five grandchildren, as well as plenty of time at the lake catching fish.

With more time on his hands, Harrison also plans to continue his talent of birch bark biting, which he has Karen Parmar, AACI, P.App, BComm (Dist.) been doing for the past 30 years. Through this time, some Partner & Senior Appraiser - Warman, SK D pieces have been sold around the world, but Harrison plans karen@dynamicappraisals.ca to expand more with that, and also come back to work with 306-220-9082 students and teach them the art. www.dynamicappraisals.ca

The past few years have proven to be challenging OUR EXPERIENCE SHINES!! due to the pandemic; however, Harrison noted that challenges are a common theme for teachers and thanks to the incredible staff, parents and students at VMS, they were able to work together to create an environment of support for one another FREE courtesy cars available during a difficult time.

306.975.2140

“Every year brings its own challenges, but the Message us on FB problem with COVID was the unknown, so we focused on 7:30-5:30 the things that we could control when it seemed so much was Monday - Friday out of our control. We could control how we acted, and how we treated each other. There is a great team in place at Valley • Complete Automotive and Tire Service Centre 109 Centennial Dr. No Manor and they really care for each other. I am so grateful • Journeyman Factory Trained Technicians that I had the opportunity to be a part of it.”

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Having lived in Martensville for the past 26 years, Harrison looks forward to continuing to be a part of the - Automotive Business community and with two months left before retirement, Repair as USUAL he plans to enjoy his remaining time at VMS as much as Located at BACK Specialists possible. of building - Advanced want to continue my life here and will find MARTENSVILLE PHARMACY different “Iways Technology & to add to the community and the positive Monday-Friday 9-6 things going on here.”

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ABOVE: Garth Harrison has been creating works of art through birch bark biting for the past 30 years and plans to continue this passion in his retirement. (Facebook)