Vol. 104 No. 48
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2013
Box 40, 102 3rd Ave West, Biggar, Saskatchewan S0K 0M0
email: tip@sasktel.net
28 pages
Phone: 306-948-3344
$1.25
www.biggarindependent.ca
Surgical Initiative heads into Ànal stretch As the March 2014 end date for the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative nears, surgical teams are making a final push to provide
Looking for loose change . . . Biggar Atom National, Darian Bartusek looks for the loose puck, Sunday versus the visiting Dodsland Stars. Nats didn’t fare all that well,
sooner, safer, smarter surgical care for patients. The latest provincial wait times numbers show that, as of September 30, 2013,
80 per cent of patients received their surgery within three months and 92 per cent received it within six months.
“Our province’s health care providers have made incredible progress toward our goal of offering surgery within three months,” Health Minister Dustin Duncan announced, November 21. “This initiative is making a real difference in the lives of patients waiting for surgery.” There were 9,524 fewer patients waiting more than three months for surgery on September 30, 2013 than in March 2010 when the Surgical Initiative was launched, a 62 per cent drop from 15,345 patients to 5,821. In the first half of this fiscal year, patients have received 42,807 surgeries, up 3,170 from the same period last year. Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region has had 12 straight months of improved surgical wait times, showing a 39 per cent drop in the number of
people waiting more than three months – down from 5,692 on September 1, 2012 to 3,457 on September 30, 2013. After recently losing some ground on surgical wait times, Saskatoon Health Region made a modest improvement, with the number of people waiting more than three months for surgery down from 2,082 people last month to 2,035 people on September 30. The health region is implementing contingency plans so it can meet increased demand while chipping away at the size of its surgical wait list. Information about the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative is available at sasksurgery.ca. The Web site also features the Specialist Directory, which empowers patients and their primary care providers to compare options for surgical care.
playing well, but falling short by a 7-1 final. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
September wholesale trade four times the national average September wholesale trade four times the national average Wholesale trade in Saskatchewan was $1.9 billion in September 2013 according to Statistics
Canada, a jump of 10.8 per cent over last year, the second highest percentage increase in Canada and four times the national increase of 2.6 per cent. “A vibrant wholesale
industry helps Saskatchewan maintain its economic momentum,” Economy Minister Bill Boyd said, November 20. “The Global Transportation Hub is a tremendous asset
to our wholesale industry as it continues to expand and attract new businesses to our province.” On a month-over-month basis, wholesale trade was up 4.6 per cent, again the
second highest increase in the nation and well ahead of the 0.2 per cent posted for Canada. “Increased confidence among business and consumers is driving
Saskatchewan’s wholesale activity,” Boyd said. “That bodes well for the province, signalling to the world that our economy is continuing on the path of prosperity.”
artist on a Christian Music cruise,” Simon added. The Freedom Singers will share their music and testimony at the Biggar Community Hall this
December 6 in the hope that those who listen will be spiritually enriched and blessed. Tickets are available from Tim Hammond Realty.
Remarkable trio to perform at Community Hall, December 6 The exceptional story of three extraordinary men who fled Romania to eventually share their faith, will be featured at the Biggar Community Hall, December 6, during the annual Associated Gospel Christmas banquet. Simon Ivascu, Steven Ivascu and Wesley Pop, fled Romania when they were only teenagers. In Romania, their native land, at that time, all young men, upon completing High School, were forced to join the army. Being conscientious Christians, they could not join the army because freedom of worship was totally restricted. Refusing to join
would result in several years of imprisonment and persecution. Determined to escape to freedom, they all faced danger and hardships fleeing from Romania to Italy, but Simon and Wesley’s nightmare began in earnest when they crawled into a container, were then locked and sealed, and placed aboard a container vessel. There they spent two weeks in total darkness as they baked in the heat for days before being loaded on to the ship, headed to unknown destination. They ran out of food, water, oxygen and hope. As despair filled that container. It appeared that
the container became their likely tomb; Once again, God provided another of many miracles in this incredible real life story of faith and perseverance in the face of insurmountable odds. This trio has been singing since their days in Italy shortly after fleeing Romania. “We were singing mostly hymns together, back when we were in Italy, but we started to sing Southern Gospel Music in 2000, after we heard the Gaither’s and the Cathedrals on television,” recalled Simon. “It was a sound that we instantly fell in love with. After
singing at local churches and telling our story, it was suggested to actually give our group a name the ‘Freedom Singers’.” This would be the most appropriate name considering the backgrounds of the guys. So in 2001, the Freedom Singers was officially born. “We’ve been blessed beyond our imagination in so many ways. From the opportunity of sharing our music and testimony in churches big and small, to performing at the largest annual Canadian Gospel Convention in Red Deer and doing radio and TV interviews to being a guest
Steven Ivascu, left, Craig Smith, centre, and Simon Ivascu. (Submitted Photo)