September 29, 2022

Reminder Property Taxes are Due!

- Tax Notices were mailed out on April 29th. If anyone has not received their notice, they should contact City Hall. Ensure all contact information is up to date.

- Starting on August 1st, interest penalties on outstanding amounts begin to accrue

Ways to Pay

- Taxes can be paid by cash, cheque, or debit at City Hall.

- Taxes can also be paid online through Banking Bill Payments, or by E-transfers; for payments: payments@martensville.ca.

Please include address &/or roll number in the comment section along with an indication the payment is for taxes.

October Council Meeting Dates

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

Regular Council Meeting October 4th

Committee of the Whole October 11th

Regular Council October 18th

The Regular Council Meetings are located at Martensville City Hall Council Chambers in Martensville City Hall at 37 Centennial Dr. S. All meetings commence at 5 PM.

Those wishing to address or do a presentation to Council must be placed on the agenda. To be placed on the agenda please contact the City Clerk’s office at City Hall or visit the website for details.

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

How Can You Help Prevent a Sewer Line Backup?

• Do not pour grease or cooking oil down the drain. Instead scrape out or pour cooking oil and grease into a container or plastic bag and dispose of it in your kitchen garbage.

• Do not dispose of large absorbent items like paper towels, diapers, baby wipes or feminine products, down the toilet, these are not items that disintegrate like toilet paper will, including “flushable” wipes. These products should be disposed of in your garbage.

• Kitchen garburators increase the amount of organic material in the service lines. Depending on the condition of the service line, organic material can stick to the lines and over time cause blockages. Compost your organic material instead.

To help prevent a sewer backup, be mindful of what goes down the drain. Your pipes are not built to handle most food items and will almost always cause a blockage in the short or long term. When in doubt, properly dispose of these items by throwing them away.

City of Martensville Looks to Trial Lane Closure to Help Control Traffic Issues

Due to numerous complaints regarding high traffic volumes driving at excessive speeds within the alley north of Bendel Crescent and Ginther Place, the City of Martensville is looking at a solution to this issue.

A traffic study took place to observe the patterns within the area, and attempts have been made to control the speeding traffic through enforcement activity. Enforcement will continue to help control traffic; however, at this point, it has proven ineffective when it comes to a long-term solution.

Because of this, the City of Martensville will be implementing a trial lane access closure to address the traffic issues, which they hope will improve safety

Recreation Update- Coming up this Fall; Geocache, Culture Days, Halloween and More!

Culture Days: September 24th - Oct 16th

• October 13th – Cardio Salsa

• October 24th- A Day at the Rink, including Belly Dancing Workshop and performance

• October 26th- Learn to Make Cold Rolls (program full)

Contact the MAP or visit our Facebook Events for more information on Culture Days!

Fall Geocache: October 3rd -10th

• First coordinates go on Martensville Facebook on Oct 3rd at 9AM.

Halloween at the MAP: October 28th, 6PM to 8PM

• Find your best costume for a fun evening for the kids and the whole family at the MAP featuring games, music, treat bags and more.

• Murder Mystery! Interactive game, ‘Murder in Hollywood’!

Sip N Shop: November 24th

• Registration for local vendors is now open.

Contact the MAP, visit Martensville.ca or Facebook for information on registration and what is coming up.

Organics Collection Season is Wrapping Up

Please note that the final Organics Pick up dates is coming in October. The final dates for Green Bins to be picked up is:

October 21st for the Northside

October 28th for the Southside

Subscribers should store Green Bins until the schedule restarts in May 2023.

Your Traffic Bylaw and What You Should Know

The City of Martensville Traffic Bylaw regulates the operation of vehicles in Martensville, this includes parking, signage, weight restrictions and other regulations that apply to vehicles. Vehicles included are passenger vehicles, bikes, skateboards, rollerblades, trailers, recreation vehicles, snow mobiles and other types.

Some of the common points in respect to the traffic bylaw include:

- No person shall park a vehicle in any lane nor in any street so as to obstruct the entrance to any lane or to a driveway or approach leading to private premises.

- No person shall park a vehicle on any street for more than 72 hours.

- No person shall park a vehicle on any street to the left of centre (wrong way).

- No person shall park a trailer on any street unless it is hitched to a towing vehicle. The only exception is for construction trailers. No person shall park a construction trailer on any street unhitched for more than a period of 12 consecutive daytime hours while carrying out work adjacent to where the trailer is located. The trailer cannot remain unhitched over night.

- No person shall park a recreational vehicle on any street from October 1 through April 30 in any year.

- No person shall park a vehicle in such a manner that any portion of the vehicle extends over a sidewalk.

To see the Traffic Bylaw in its entirety please visit the City of Martensville website or contact City Hall for questions.

The trial lane closure will be located on the west side of the lane where it connects to private property. Residences with rear-garage access on both Hiebert Crescent and Bendel Crescent will be unaffected; however, during this trial, residents who live within the multi-family site located on the north end of Hiebert Crescent will not be able to directly access the lane to the east of the multi-family site. Access to the lane will remain from Baycroft Drive, Bendel Crescent and 6th Avenue North.

A combination of moveable concrete barriers and large boulders will be used for the trial lane closure, as well as temporary signage if necessary.

If successful, and the trial proves to be an effective solution, the City of Martensville may consider more permanent options in the future.

During this time, emergency vehicle access, as well as lane maintenance will continue as normal.

For more information, or any questions or concerns on the matter, contact City Hall at (306) 931-2166.

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

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

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advertising@martensvillemessenger.ca

news@martensvillemessenger.ca

Local Schools Participate in Terry Fox Walk SCHOOL DAYS

Schools in Martensville once again participated in the annual Terry Fox Walk again after taking multiple years off due to the Covid pandemic.

At Venture Heights Elementary School they held a Sucker Sale to raise money for their 42nd Annual Terry Fox Walk, where students had a chance to pull a sucker, and depending on the colour of the stick, they paid either $1.00, $.50 or received a free sucker. Through their fundraising efforts, a total of $800 was raised, which will go towards the Terry Fox Foundation.

Valley Manor Elementary School held a “Toonies for Terry” fundraiser with all money going towards the Terry Fox Foundation. Families were also invited to attend a SCC Coffee and Muffin morning before the walk on Wednesday, September 21st.

Martensville High School held their Terry Fox Walk on Thursday, September 22nd, and donations were collected throughout classrooms with the class with the highest donation, per student, won bragging rights and an ice cream sundae party.

At Lake Vista Elementary School, they held their walk on Friday, September 23rd and collected donations for the Terry Fox Foundation through “Toonies for Terry”.

Great Plains College Announces New Hotel And Restaurant Management Program

Great Plains College is pleased to announce the addition of a Hotel and Restaurant Management program to its Warman Campus offerings. The full-time diploma program is set to begin in September 2023 and applications are now open.

Through a combination of classroom learning and hands-on practicums, students will build the core management skills needed for a leadership role, while also gaining knowledge and experience of hotel and restaurant operations from the ground up.

“The City of Warman and City of Martensville are growing at impressive rates, which has generated an economic spin off in all industries in this region, and as a result we have seen growth in the hospitality industry in our communities.” said Jill Jenkins, region manager at Great Plains College. “We are really excited to add this program to our offerings at Warman Campus. This program will prepare students for a successful career in hospitality and will produce skilled workers to help meet labour market demands in this growing industry.”

Courses will include accounting, human resources, marketing, and hotel and restaurant planning and management, along with practical skill development such as cooking and food preparation, and beverage services.

“Along with theory, this program also includes practicums and a bistro, catering and liquor component, where students will have the opportunity to prepare and cater events for the public,” added Jenkins. “We look forward to finding unique ways of partnering with local businesses in Warman and Martensville to offer these opportunities to the students.”

Anyone interested in the Hotel and Restaurant Management diploma is encouraged to apply before April 30, 2023 to be automatically considered for an Entrance Scholarship of $500-$5,000. Grade 11 students who apply before June 30, 2023 will also be eligible for an additional Early Entrance Award of $1,000.

To learn more about the Hotel and Restaurant Management program or to apply, please visit greatplainscollege.ca/hotel-restaurantmanagement.

Schools Closed for National Day For Truth and Reconcilation

Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

On Friday, September 30th, schools in Martensville will be closed in honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day created to remember the children who never returned from residential schools, and the survivors that lived through the residential school system, as well as their families and communities.

On September 30, 2021, the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was held in Canada and was created to coincide with Orange Shirt Day. It is a federal statutory holiday, and throughout the country, various events will be held to further educate the public about the history and legacy of residential schools.

“Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters,” the Government of Canada states on their website.

The orange shirt became a symbol of the culture, freedom and self-esteem that was taken away from children that were forced to attend residential schools following a story shared by Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, who had her brand new shiny orange shirt taken from her upon arriving at a residential school in 1973/74. Following this, Webstad stated that from that point forward, the colour orange reminded her of that moment and how her feelings and freedom were taken from her.

Orange Shirt Day will be held at local schools earlier in the week and families can check their child’s school calendar for information on what day this will be taking place.

Outside of schools, the public is encouraged to wear an orange shirt on Friday, September 30th in honour of those that attended residential schools.

In total, there were 140 federally run residential schools in Canada that operated between 1831 and 1998. The last school closed less than 25 years ago.

ABOVE: Students at Valley Manor School decorated the walkway in front of the school with inspirational messages prior to the Terry Fox Walk.

ABOVE: Students at Martensville High School participated in the Terry Fox Walk on Thursday, September 22nd. (Mike Kaweski)

ABOVE: Valley Manor School held their Terry Fox Walk on Wednesday, September 21st with students, teachers and families participating. (Shanine Sealey/MM)

MHS Girls Bring Home the Gold

The Martensville High School Senior Girls Volleyball team was at it again this past weekend. The team participated in the Maidstone Mega Volley tournament against 24 other teams and came out on top with a gold medal win.

The girls were undefeated in all but one of their nine games throughout the Friday/ Saturday tournament. The only game lost was a playoff game on Saturday against the Edam Royals, but the MHS Girls came back up through the B-side to win the gold medal against the same team they had lost to earlier in the day. The final score in the gold medal match was 5043.

Coaches Debbie McGuire and Leah Durant were proud of the teamwork and effort the girls put in over the weekend.

Royals Ready for Rebels Rematch

Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

The Martensville High School Royals football team travelled to Delisle on Friday, September 23rd to take on the Rebels under the lights. Going into the game, both teams were undefeated so far this season.

The back-and-forth match provided a great show for the crowd; however, the Royals turned the ball over eight times, which Coach Tyler Munday said was tough to overcome. In the end, the Rebels took the W with a final score of 4134.

“The boys fought hard and didn’t give up. We scored another touchdown on the last play of the game,” Munday said.

During the game, middle linebacker Jackson Heisler was in on more than a dozen tackles and Aidan Low saw a total of four TD’s.

The two teams will have a rematch this Thursday, September 29th at 4pm on Wilson Field in Martensville and Munday is hoping that the Royals are able to eliminate the turnovers and come out on top this week.

“We are focusing this week on ball security and upping the energy for the revenge rematch. The boys are excited to have a shot to right the ship this week. We know we can play better, but with that being said, Delisle is well-coached and they will come prepared as well,” Munday stated.

The Royals would love to see a big crowd come out to cheer them on this week as they take on their conference rivals. “It’s going to be a great day, weather wise for football – both for playing and watching.”

The team would like to thank the community for their support thus far, as they held their annual bottle drive recently and were able to raise over $5000.

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BELOW: The Martensville High School Royals Senior Girls Volleyball team brought home a gold medal win this past weekend in the Maidstone Mega Volley Tournament. (Submitted by Paula Johnston)

Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

RIGHT: The Martensville U18AA Marauders are hosting a street hockey tournament and Pancake Breakfast on October 1, 2022 at the Outdoor Rink located by the Martensville Sports Centre.

Martensville Free Pantry Hosting Open House to Help Bring Awareness to Community

Jocelyn Ottenbreit, Martensville Messenger

For the past several years, the Martensville Free Pantry (MFP), located at the Civic Centre, has been a resource for local families in need of food and hygiene items.

With help from volunteers, the community, and other organizations, the MFP has successfully helped many families have food on their table since 2016. Due to the growing demands of this initiative, more support is needed to keep these resources available.

On Wednesday, October 5th, the City of Martensville along with the coordinators of the Free Pantry are hosting an Open House in Room #2 at the Civic Centre and are hoping that the public will attend this informative meeting.

The focus of this Open House is to let the supporters in the community understand how the organization operates, what the volunteers have been doing to help provide food security, and what to expect in the future.

The MFP, along with the City of Martensville, are asking for support from the community to consider joining the Martensville Free Pantry to form a board of directors to help lead and steer this important resource, and volunteers are also welcomed to help collect, distribute food, or help in any way possible.

Executive coordinators - Community Liaison, Taralynn Wagner, Treasurer Linda Ward, and Secretary Jolanda Wingeier as well as a number of dedicated volunteers keep the free pantry going. Items from Martensville Co-op and Buy-Low Foods in Warman are received and put out daily and items from hampers are put out intermittently. Fridges are emptied out every week to make room for Tuesday and Wednesday pickup. Bakery and dairy products are stored on shelves, along with fridges and a deep freeze at the Civic Center that are provided by the City of Martensville.

Hampers are provided by request from residents in Martensville and surrounding areas. The recipients provide household information as well as health cards at pick up.

Hampers can be requested by Tuesday at 5:30pm and are available for pick up Wednesday between 11:30am and 1 pm.

Donations that are in demand frequently are school lunch snacks such as granola bars, canned meats, canned soup, rice, canned vegetables, baby cereal, crackers, etc. Currently they are looking for Thanksgiving food supplies such as potatoes, vegetables, ham, etc. Please note that expired items cannot be accepted.

The Martensville Free Pantry would not be possible without donations and they want to put out a huge thank you to Warman Buy-Low. They pick up from them weekly and have received fresh veggies as well as frozen meat, dairy products and other food products. Martensville Co-op has also been a huge donor. Bakery products and hunger bags are picked up daily from them as well as dairy products every Tuesday.

Other donors worth mentioning are the Kinsmen Club, Smokehaus, Anthony Neinhuis, Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church, Forged Fitness, and a number of individuals.

Besides the Civic Centre, there are various drop off locations available throughout Martensville where items can be donated. Drop off boxes can be found at City Hall, the MAP and at the Co-op Food Store. To request a food hamper, or to schedule a donation, contact martensvillefreepantry@gmail.com, Martensville Free Pantry Facebook Messenger, or text/call 306-280-1255 to arrange for someone to meet you at the Civic Centre.

If you are interested in becoming a board member, volunteer, or just want to hear more about what the Martensville Free Pantry is all about, be sure to come out to the Open House on Wednesday, October 5th.

MFD Will Have All Hands on Deck For Annual Open House

Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

The Martensville Fire Department is looking forward to hosting their first Open House since 2019. Due to the Covid pandemic, they were unable to host the annual event the past two years, and are excited to once again invite the public out to meet the firefighters of Martensville and check out the fire hall.

The open house will take place during Fire Prevention Week on October 12th from 5pm-8pm and will include a supper of hot dogs and hamburgers that will be free for those that attend. There will also be informative displays, a firefighting demonstration, an opportunity to see the firetrucks and apparatus that the local fire department uses on a regular basis.

The theme for Fire Prevention Week this year is ‘Fire Won’t Wait. Plan Your Escape’, and Deputy Fire Chief Dean Brooman explained that the open house will be a good opportunity for the public to speak to firefighters about how to plan a fire escape plan at home and learn about smoke detectors.

This year mark’s 100 years that Fire Prevention Week has been taking place, and Brooman noted that one of the biggest changes over the past 100 years is the material used to construct homes.

“Homes are now built with more flammable products that tend to burn quicker than they once did. That’s why the theme for this year focuses on planning your escape in advance so when the alarms go off, you can get out of the house as quickly as possible without any delays.”

During Fire Prevention Week, the MFD will be sharing information on Facebook, with a goal in mind to help educate the public as much as possible to ensure everyone is prepared in case of an emergency.

The members of the MFD are looking forward to once again inviting the public to come see what the capabilities of the local fire department are, and interacting with local residents.

“This event is always one of our favorites as it gives us a chance to do something different and interact with the community. It also gives us a chance to work together to put this event on, so it is really a good opportunity for us to build as a team as well,” Brooman said.

Responsibilities of Privately Owned Clinics Limit Patient Time

Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

When you go visit your family physician, you leave that appointment and your part of that visit is complete; however, on the other end of things, that family physician is now responsible for the administrative tasks that follow, such as updating the electronic medical records, completing medical forms, coordinating care across other agencies and providers, managing care-plans and more.

Additionally, not only is your family physician seeing patients within the clinic, but many are also working in other areas as well; long-term care facilities, hospitals and other specialized areas of practice.

Despite the fact that having a family doctor is something that Canadians are used to, Dr. Allison Adamus of Martensville Collective Health and Wellness stated that in her opinion, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to do away with that system. “It’s an enormous burden on one human being to think that they are responsible for 2000 other people’s health and well-being. It is a lot to burden, so it is no wonder that more grads aren’t wanting to take that on. The idea of doing away with family doctors would shake-up what a lot of people are used to, but what we have right now isn’t sustainable.”

Privately owned clinics are just like any other business where they are responsible for the expenses that come with the business; however, unlike other businesses, they are not paid by the “customers”, they are paid by the government, with the current system set up as a pay-per-visit and each patient having a 15 to 20 minute window. According to Adamus, who was once able to see approximately 32 patients a day, and now can barely fit in 22, but still receives the same amount of payment per patient, the needs of patients are increasing, which means limiting time to only 15 minutes per visit is unrealistic to provide appropriate health care.

“It takes more than 15 minutes to sort out health issues. This isn’t the 60’s anymore. There was much less that could be done back then, but now, we have medicines for everything, and complicated medicines that require follow-up. To try to solve a problem in 15 minutes is hard and it is not a system that works anymore.”

The payment that comes from each patient isn’t going directly into the physician’s pocket, as that is used to pay staff, purchase supplies, pay bills and everything else that is required on a day-to-day basis within the clinic. For Adamus, a solution to the doctor shortage, not just locally, but province-wide would be to offer physicians in private clinics the option for a salary, which she believes would be more attractive for doctors, and also allow patients to feel better about their visits to the doctor.

Recently, the Government of Saskatchewan introduced a plan to recruit, train, incentivize and retain healthcare workers within the province. The $60 million plan will be taking place over the course of the next few years, with part of this plan to bring full-time permanent Nurse Practitioners into private clinic settings to help decrease waiting times, beginning October 1, 2022. In addition to this, there are also plans to streamline the process for internationally trained physicians to be able to practice medicine within the province. There will also be grants provided up to $50,000 to help recruit for positions in rural areas.

“Three nurse practitioner positions have been approved by the Minister of Health for the MartensvilleWarman constituency. This is one step that is being taken to help clinics shorten wait times for walk-in patients while other initiatives continue to be worked on,” MLA Terry Jenson shared in the July/August Constituent Newsletter.

“As I’ve stated previously, the shortage of physicians in our communities is not unique and that all provinces are experiencing the same pressure. There is no one single solution to this very complex problem, but I know that from having regular communication with both Ministers that SHA and our other partners, including the Saskatchewan College of Physicians & Surgeons, are making progress on bringing more doctors into the province, and ultimately into the cities of Warman and Martensville,” Jenson noted.

For more information on the Government of Saskatchewan’s plan for health care within the province, visit, https://www.saskatchewan.ca/HHR.

Government Announces Minimum Wage Increasing To $13

Employers and workers in Saskatchewan are reminded that the province's minimum wage will be $13 an hour effective October 1, 2022.

In May of this year the province announced the increase, which marked a departure from the indexation formula that had been used to calculate changes. At the same time, it was announced the minimum would

increase to $14 on October 1, 2023, and $15 on October 1, 2024.

The minimum wage has increased 63.5 per cent with a total of 14 increases since 2007, when it was $7.95.

For more information about minimum wage and the payment of wages in Saskatchewan, visit saskatchewan.ca.

Estevan vs. Elbow Becomes the Great SMR Debate

The century-old battle for struggling rural Saskatchewan communities has long been a fight to secure that next great economic opportunity. Often for small towns, such economic opportunities are little more than ensuring the survival of the local hospital or school. For a century now, that’s made for some very tough decisions of how much and where to spend scarce public tax dollars, but once in a blue moon in Saskatchewan, along comes an even bigger economic opportunity.

Where to build Saskatchewan’s small modular reactors (SMRs) is that opportunity … although we don’t seem quite past the first fight over whether we should be building a nuclear energy facility in the first place.

SaskPower announced last week it intends to choose in the next year between the Estevan and Elbow areas as the site of the province’s first small modular reactors; however, the final decision as to whether or not we should build SMRs at all won’t come until 2029.

Until then, expect more heated debate on the pros and cons of wind, solar, geothermal and hydro (including buying more hydropower for Manitoba) as better, cheaper options for the province than the potential $20 billion for SMRs by 2042, but for now the fight is whether to build the facility near Estevan (there are potential sites at the Boundary Dam and Rafferty Dam and Grant Devine Dam) or near Elbow (around Lake Diefenbaker somewhere between Gardiner Dam and the Diefenbaker Dam).

Largely based on historic and economic/political reasons, one might assume the Estevan area would have the inside track.

"The Estevan area has been a very important part of SaskPower's history. Through the Boundary Dam, Shand power station producing stable, reliable baseload power for decades, to the hundreds of employees that call Estevan home," said SaskPower president Rupen Pandya during last week’s press conference. By identifying the Estevan study region, the opportunity to continue this history is exciting.”

Estevan has long been known as Saskatchewan’s Energy City for its oil and coal. And with coal-fired electrical generation supposedly phased out by 2030, this city and area are facing major job losses at a time when the trajectory for jobs in the oilfields are also on the decline.

From that perspective, there is a great political and economic argument that Estevan should be the choice. That said, it can similarly be argued that other rural parts of the province like Elbow in West Central Saskatchewan have struggled as well - often, without the resources advantages the southeast has enjoyed.

Moreover, the potential of Lake Diefenbaker has not been realized since its creation (although recently plans for a major irrigation initiative may better tap into that potential).

"SaskPower has evaluated nuclear power for a long time and throughout all of these studies Lake Diefenbaker has been always been at the top of the list as one of the most technically suitable locations to potentially host a nuclear facility," Pandya added last week.

The SaskPower President further noted proximity to water, issues with the existing power transmission infrastructure and the ability to support a workforce will all be considerations. These might be considerations in Elbow’s favour, given it’s pretty much in the middle of Saskatchewan’s four largest cities.

Being a more centralized location is important consideration because SaskPower has perhaps as many issues with electrical distribution within the province as it does with generating power. Whatever the choice, it needs to be done wisely

Letter to the Editor

"This is a huge project as well as potentially a huge economic boom for communities," noted NDP economy critic Aleana Young.

“As this moves forward, I wanted to make sure that we're picking the best sites for this project … and not picking winners and losers."

Whichever becomes the choice, let’s hope it’s done wisely.

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.

Children’s Tylenol Shortage Solved at The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy

Jocelyn Ottenbreit, Martensville Messenger

In May of 2022, Pharmacists in parts of Canada reported running low on overthe-counter medications for children used to treat fever and cold and flu, due to pandemic measures being lifted and more viruses spreading as Canadians got back to everyday activities.

Previous stock that was available has now run out with no date available as to when this shortage will end, and parents are searching to find Children's Tylenol with not much success.

Thankfully, The Medicine Shoppe in Martensville can help with this shortage as they are a compounding pharmacy and able to provide Children’s Tylenol. All that is required is the name, Date-of-birth and weight of the individual receiving it.

Compounding is “the combining or mixing together of two or more ingredients (of which at least one is a drug or pharmacologically active component) to create a final product in an appropriate form for dosing,” according to Health Canada.

Kayla Plikett, owner of The Medicine Shoppe said, “In other words we can custom make medications that are not commercially available or require a dosage form better suited to the patient. An example would be having a patient who cannot swallow tablets; we can take the tablet and turn it into a liquid. Compounding allows us to meet the individual needs of our patients.”

When asked what other medications that can be compounded, Plikett states that they can compound almost anything except for sterile products such as IV bags or eye drops (we are a level B compounding pharmacy; no sterile preparations). Some examples of things we do currently are topical pain medications, liquid dosage forms of medications only available in tablet form, custom capsules for doses that are not commercially available.

For more information about compounding, or to receive your Children’s Tylenol, contact 306-955-1055.

Familiar Face Gets a Helping Hand Through TeleMiracle

Shanine Sealey, Martensville Messenger

For over 40 years, Ray Kneeland has been raising money for Saskatchewan’s annual TeleMiracle fundraiser, which raises money to help provide special needs equipment and access to medical treatment for residents of the province.

Since he began holding a wide variety of fundraisers throughout the years for TeleMiracle, Kneeland has managed to raise approximately $460,000.

From the very beginning, Kneeland was inspired by the stories that Saskatchewan residents shared about how TeleMiracle helped them, and changed their lives for the better, and now, Kneeland is seeing the importance of TeleMiracle first-hand.

Approximately two years ago, Kneeland had hip surgery and afterwards was in extreme pain, which led to struggles with walking, and even standing. Through TeleMiracle, Kneeland received financial assistance for a walker, and most recently, the foundation assisted Kneeland in getting a scooter to assist him with mobility.

“That’s why TeleMiracle came to mean so much to me. They help the people in this province that really need the help, whether it is big or small,” Kneeland stated in an interview with the Martensville Messenger earlier this year

ABOVE: Ray Kneeland recently received financial assistance for a scooter to help him with mobility issues. (Facebook)