Webpaper 40

Page 1

Vol. 105 No. 40

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2014

Box 40, 122 Main Street, Biggar, Saskatchewan S0K 0M0

email: tip@sasktel.net

20 pages

Phone: 306-948-3344

$1.25

www.biggarindependent.ca

“Hockey Night in Canada” is coming to Biggar! by Debra Austin Hello out there, we’re on the air, it’s ‘Hockey Night’ tonight. And on the air we will be! Representatives of “Hockey Night in Canada” will be in town the weekend of October 24 to film the Nationals Senior Hockey Club in action. Conversations began with representatives of the show back in the summer when they got wind of the effort to revive the hockey team when hiring ads from AGI Envirotank went viral online and in the media all over North America in the spring of this year. After several conversations and interviews with the producers, a date has finally been set. The film crew will be filming the town, its people and the Nat’s first hockey game of the year. I imagine

Getting out of Dodge . . . Canada geese take flight near Perdue last Saturday, a harbinger of the winter to come. Temperatures cooled they will be talking to people in town to see how they feel about the revival of the team and what it means to them and the town. While the film crew is in town, it would be great to see everyone in the National gear, to have welcome signs up around town and to have a packed house for the game! Until next time . . . keep it between the posts!

considerably from the summer-pleasant mid 20s, to barely double digit territory. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)

NWT posts strong financials for first 9 months The Board of Directors of North West Terminal (NWT) announced positive financial results for the company after its first nine months of operations in the 2013-14. For the period beginning November 1, 2013 and ending July 31, 2014, NWT posted revenues from consolidated operations of $110.2 million and an Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and

Fall Supper season begins . . . Rachel Diehl, left, gets her “marching orders” from Stephie Zapski, Sunday during the St. Gabriel’s Church Fall Supper at the Community Hall. The tasty event was well attended, and with many volunteers, it was a delicious way to ring in the fall season. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)

Amortization (EBITDA) of $8,587,712 (unaudited). This resulted in a net profit of $4,621,252, or $1.41 per share. “The Board of Directors is pleased with the company’s performance,” said NWT president, John Leier. “Government legislation has helped get the grain moving over the spring and summer, and made up for some of the abysmal rail service over the winter months. Grain shipping will continue to be a focus of the company as grain carryout in the area is close to double the previous year and farmers are in the process of harvesting another crop.” The financial performance of the company is behind the same period last year when NWT posted revenues from operations of $100.4 million, an EBITDA of $8,840,879, and a net profit of $4,917,241 or $1.50 a share. Management reported that earnings were down slightly from the previous year primarily because of reduced margins due to lower prices in the bioproducts division. NWT is an independent

farmer-shareholder owned company headquartered near Unity. NWT owns and operates an inland grain terminal and a bioproducts production facility

at its Unity location. NWT is also an owner of GNP Grain Source Ltd. in Calgary, and Alliance Grain Terminal Ltd. in Vancouver.

Sask. grows by another 5,000 people to more than 1,125,000 Saskatchewan’s population kept growing in the second quarter of 2014 (April 1 to July 1), increasing by another 5,281 people to 1,125,410. In the past year (July 1, 2013 to July 1, 2014), the province grew by 19,163 people. Both the quarterly and annual growth rates are the second highest among the provinces, behind only Alberta. Premier Brad Wall said Saskatchewan’s continued growth is a clear indication of a strong economy. “The population grows when the economy is creating new jobs and opportunities,” Wall said. “That has been the case for several years now in Saskatchewan – a complete reversal from when Saskatchewan was losing people, jobs and opportunities.” Wall noted that in the last seven years (July 1, 2007 to July 1, 2014), Saskatchewan has grown by more than 123,000 people – a sharp contrast from the seven years prior to that (July 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007) when the province’s population dropped by more than 5,500. “A strong economy and a growing population means a growing tax base that helps us to meet the challenges of growth,” Wall said. “It’s a virtuous circle as opposed to the vicious cycle of decline we used to face.” Saskatchewan remains on track to meeting the target of 1.2 million people set in the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth while Statistics Canada said the province’s population could hit 1.5 million by 2038.


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