Vol. 104 No. 03
Box 40, 102 3rd Ave West, Biggar, Saskatchewan S0K 0M0
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013
email: tip@sasktel.net
Phone: 306-948-3344
20 pages
$1.25
www.biggarindependent.ca
Boys of Summer meet Nats of Biggar! Initiation Nats treated like stars at Blades Timbit Night, meet Blue Jays
Friday, January 11 had set out to be a very exciting night for some young local hockey players. The Biggar Initiation Nationals, 12 boys aged 4-6, participated in the Saskatoon Blades ‘Timbit Nights’, where minor hockey players can come out for the game, have a short game/skate on the big ice at intermission. “I organized a Timbit Night with the Saskatoon Blades for our team and that in itself was to be excitement enough - but the night proved to be so much more!” said Cristy Gidluck, one of the parents of the Biggar Nats. “For this night, I arranged for the team to take the sports bus in, so the kids were excited for that as well, as they haven’t had that experience yet in hockey! We arrived at the Credit Union Centre, received special treatment by getting to have pizza and pop at the ‘Backstage Lounge’ upstairs. We were then greeted by the Saskatoon Blades contact and the boys were taken, with their equipment in
The Biggar Initiation Nationals had some pretty special visitors in the form of Toronto Blue Jay Anthony Gose, J.P. Arencibia, Drew Hutchison and Colby Rasmus. The boys were mighty thrilled with the visit and hitting the ice during a recent Saskatoon Blades game. (Photo for The Independent by Cristy Gidluck) tow, down to a special dressing room just for them!” The Nats entered there dressing room, and it was fit for an all-star squad. Each player had their name over their stall, just as in the ‘Bigs’, and received gifts including mini sticks, bobble head players, just to name a bit of the swag received. They eagerly dressed for
their big appearance and were met in the dressing room by Mike Scissons, an executive of the Saskatoon Blades, looking very official with all the earphones, suited up - the whole nine yards! Scissons explained to the kids how the game would go and also surprised them by telling them they were going to get to line up and ‘high-five’ the Blades players as they entered the
ice for warmup and they got to sit on the Saskatoon Blades bench and watch them warm up, which wasn’t part of the original package! “The boys eyes were huge . . . as were their smiles!” Gidluck explained. “They got to skate on the ice two different times - once directly after the Blades warmup, and once again
after the first period. Stepping on the ice, they were announced as if they were an NHL team: “. . . and now please welcome to the ice the BIIIGGGARRRR NAATIONALS!” . . . complete with cheers from the crowd and all!” Now, as if this weren’t a completely special and unforgettable evening in itself, the evening had some extra surprises that just topped the night off as one to never forget! The Nats knew there were a few of the Toronto Blue Jays at the Credit Union Centre as part of their Winter Tour. When the boys were in the dressing between their skates, the door opened and the Blue Jays players: J.P. Arencibia, Anthony Gose, Drew Hutchison and Colby Rasmus, were standing on the other side smiling! “They entered our dressing room, which, when I looked around, had most of the boys and parents standing with their jaws dropped!” Gidluck added. “The four players talked with the kids and also signed autographs for them all.” Just to note, the Credit Union Centre was noted to have a lineup around
the entire building . . . almost more than once . . . for others who had come wanting autographs, and our boys got them in up close and personal style and without even asking! “It was a pretty amazing night for these boys, one I am sure they won’t soon forget! “This night made me really look back and smile at what the hockey and sports world really is all about: Doing something you love, and if you are lucky enough to have got some fame from your talents, to pass it on and make others have a good experience in it as well. I really want to express my gratitude to the entire Saskatoon Blades organization who really went out of their way to make sure our young players enjoyed themselves, and also to encourage any of you out there looking for some awesome hockey - of course other than our local Biggar National teams - go cheer on our Saskatoon Blades. They are definitely worth supporting!” Gidluck concluded. As an aside, check out toronto.bluejays.mlb.com, and see click “Winter Tour Day 4”.
Sask Exports continue to set records Numbers released by Statistics Canada show the province’s merchandise exports were up 7.7 per cent for the first 11 months of 2012, compared to the same period in 2011. This landed Saskatchewan in second place among the provinces and sets a new year-to-date record. “Strong export numbers are an indicator of our province’s economic strength,” Minister responsible for Trade Tim McMillan said January 11. “November’s statistics are encouraging and show that our province is on track to have a record year in terms of export gains.” Commodities that saw the most significant increases were electronic and electrical equipment and parts, up 42.5 per cent, forest products, up 39.0 per cent, and metal and nonmetallic products, up 36.1 per cent for the first 11 months of 2012. “Saskatchewan products are showing up in every corner of the world,” McMillan said. “This is a testament to the quality of the goods being produced in this province and the strength of our exporters.”
Wort Hannam impresses . . . John Wort Hannam shares a laugh with fiddler, Scott Duncan at the Majestic Theatre during the fourth performance of the Arts Council’s performance season, January 12. Despite being
under the weather, Wort Hannam put on a fantastic show - plenty of chuckles, rousing songwriting, and inspired playing. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)