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Dine and Dance preparation well underway Gala benefits Biggar’s new long term care facility Anticipation is building for a fun-filled evening of dining, dancing and fund raising as the plans for the Friends of the Lodge Valentine Dine, Dance and Auction are in motion. The evening of Saturday, February 11 will begin with a delicious meal catered by Cando Catering at the Biggar Community Hall, which will be decorated in a beautiful Valentine theme. Then, the musical talents of Touch of Grey will entertain and provide dance music for all tastes. The silent auction will begin when the doors open and continue throughout the evening with random closing times for selected items. The highlight of the evening will be the exciting live auction of several large
items. Ted Burton will lend his auctioneering talents to keep the action going. Many people have joined the Friends of the Lodge group in planning this event, and their efforts are ensuring a lively, action-packed evening of socializing, shopping and raising funds for the furnishings and equipment for the new long term care facility. Tickets are available at de Moissac Jewellers, Biggar Town Office, and The Independent. Deadline to purchase tickets is this Friday, February 3. If you can’t make this exciting event, buy a ticket anyway - it all goes to ensuring the new long term care project has a bright future!
Whole lot of whatzits going on . . . Biggar Central School student Aarron Beeson, right, crunches some questions, looks for some answers. Students across the
district were hard at exams all of last week. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
RM of Reford contributes to new long term care facility At the first meeting of council held on November 10, 2011, a resolution was made to contribute $50,000 to the Biggar and District Nursing Home Project (the new long term care facility). We are delighted and would like to thank them for offering support to help with the purchase of furnishings and equipment for the new
long term care facility. It is very generous on their part as they are not designated catchment area and did not have an obligation to provide funds for the new facility. The RM of Reford No. 379 acknowledged that some of their ratepayers access health services in Biggar and responded positively to a presentation to the
council from members of the Friends of the Lodge Committee. Previous councils over the years have recognized the need to fund health, education and other services in their areas. Once again, as responsible ratepayers, the present council has recognized the need to do what is necessary to make sure that the
services continue to be provided to the people of the area. The support of rural municipalities, towns and village, allows for the opportunity to go forward, making sure that the area has up-todate facilities locally to meet the current and future care needs of the people.
Federal and Provincial gov’t partner to bring more doctors and nurses to Saskatchewan
Where the wild things go . . . Very little snowfall this year has meant Argo Bush has been the sole domain of deer, moose, coyote and other critters. Blazing your own trail on a pair of skis, you never know what you’ll find. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
The Honourable Leona A g l u k k a q , Fe d e r a l Minister of Health, and the Honourable Don McMorris, Saskatchewan H e a l t h M i n i s t e r, announced funding to help attract, train and retain internationally educated health professionals for the Saskatchewan health workforce. “Our government is focused on working with provinces and territories to improve healthcare,” said Aglukkaq January 20. “Today’s announcement is an example of how we can support the Government of Saskatchewan in their efforts to transform health care here in the province.”
To help the growing number of internationally educated health professionals, Health Canada is funding two projects aimed to meet the need for health care workers in Saskatchewan. “We want to do everything we can to attract health care professionals to Saskatchewan and keep them once they’re here,” McMorris said. “These projects will help internationally educated health professionals overcome barriers that might otherwise prevent them from working in careers appropriate to their skills and training.” Led by the Saskatoon
Health Region, the first project will promote the retention of current and potential future employees by offering the tools and support necessary - such as career planning, skills upgrading and language training - to bridge them into their trained profession. The five-year project is expected to assist more than 200 employees of Saskatchewan’s health regions. The College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan will head the second project which will evaluate a Saskatchewan-based pilot assessment process for
international medical graduates (IMGs) who wish to practise medicine in Saskatchewan. A key change in the process involves removing the barriers that previously existed based on IMGs’ country of training. Once the new assessment has been evaluated, IMGs from an expanded list of countries will be assessed as long as they meet prescreening criteria. The announcement affirms the Government of Canada’s commitment to facilitate the integration of internationally educated health professionals into the Canadian health workforce.