review
weyburn Vol.114 No. 30 - Weyburn, Saskatchewan Wednesday, July 24, 2024 - 10 Pages
Silver Seals Stanley Cup visits Weyburn Swim Meet July 27
Enbridge presents proposal Enbridge’s wind turbines presented to uphappy crowd. Page 3
Florida Panthers scout Reid Jackson brought the Stanley Cup to Weyburn. Page 6
Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40069240 Publication Mail Registration No. 09093
Chasing the little piglets in a scramble
$1.25 (Includes GST)
Photo – Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca
These girls ran as hard as they could to try and catch little piglets at the pig scramble event, one of the most popular attractions at the Creelman Fair on Saturday. The 30-degree heat and humidity helped limit the number of scramble events held, which the piglets were very glad of.
Enbridge encounters anger from RM area residents at open house By Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca An open house hosted by Enbridge turned into a meeting where residents of the RMs of Weyburn and Griffin demanded answers about the proposed wind farm, which will put 46 wind turbines into the RMs just southeast of Weyburn if it goes ahead. The small meeting room at the Ramada Hotel was set up for an open house, and it was crammed with between 80 and 100 people wanting answers on the proposed development. Kim Brady stood on a chair and asked for attention, and suggested that people’s questions should be directed to Enbridge representatives, which the gathered crowd
agreed to. “We got snowed here. Most of us are not happy. You need to do a better job and answer questions,” he demanded. Enbridge representative Keith Taylor, a specialist for renewable products in power business development, took on most of the questions, which ranged from how this deal came about, to what steps the company is taking to address concerns, and what they will be seeking from the RM. The proposal at this point is to situate 46 wind turbines on land in the RMs of Weyburn and Griffin, with the goal to produce some 200 megawatts of power for the province’s power grid. There are contracts signed
with 15 land owners covering some 21,000 acres of land. The central part of the project is located about 16 km southeast of Weyburn, according to Enbridge’s information. These were signed initially with a former company, EDF, who sold the wind farm project to Enbridge on June 21, and Enbridge is currently in negotiations with SaskPower for a power purchase agreement. Meantime, Enbridge will be meeting with the RM of Weyburn council on Wednesday, Aug. 14 to request the setbacks be reduced from 1000 metres to 750, which many residents at the meeting expressed disagreement with, questioning why they would want to do
Residents upset about wind farm proposed for RMs
that. Many of the questions and concerns were over the noise levels, the size of the turbines, the damage and dust on RM roads by construction crews, and who has the liability should anything go wrong. The company stated that the noise level of one turbine is 40 decibels, which Taylor equated to a quiet library. One resident pointed out that he has a nephew who lives within a mile and a half of the wind farm at Assiniboia, and while it is very quiet underneath the turbine, downwind of it between a half-mile and a mile and a half, the noise can be quite loud. Another resident com-
Photo – Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca
Many residents packed into a small meeting at the Ramada Hotel on Wednesday evening to get answers for concerns about a wind farm proposed by Enbridge for the RMs of Weyburn and Griffin. Kim Brady, at right, stood on a chair and brought the crowd to order to pose questions to Enbridge representatives, rather than just have an open house where people looked at information boards.
mented that wind power is the least efficient and least practical form of power generation, and was concerned about how much taxpayers’ money will be tied up in this project. Taylor noted it’s mostly private funds invested by Enbridge and a consortium of six First Nations groups. Pressed on this, he said there is a federal loan guarantee of $100
million being provided, and residents pointed out that funds from federal or provincial government sources are from the taxpayers. As to why a wind farm, Taylor noted that SaskPower is looking for green alternative sources of power, and are looking for more wind and solar projects to help provide this power for the grid. Continued on page 3
Lord Stanley’s Cup pays a visit to Weyburn rink By Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca The “Holy Grail” of professional hockey, the Stanley Cup, made a stop in Weyburn on Sunday afternoon, courtesy of a team scout for the Florida Panthers, Reid Jackson, who played his hockey growing up in Weyburn. Both he and his father Les are staff with the Panthers, as he is a scout, and father Les is a senior advisor to the general manager, and as such, his name is engraved onto the Cup. The Cup on display at Crescent Point Place was the same trophy for the on-ice presentation to the Panthers after they defeated the Edmonton Oilers in a hard-fought final series that went the full seven games. “A lot of hours were spent in this rink,” said Reid, noting he played all of his minor hockey here, including atom and peewee up to bantam, playing for the Crescent Point Wings. Following his minor hockey years, he played in the WHL for the Lethbridge Hurricanes and the Moose Jaw Warriors. He began as a scout for the Calgary Flames, working part-time while
he attended university, spending a total of five years with them before going over to the Florida Panthers. He worked first as a scout of amateur players, then as a professional scout in the last couple of years. Reid noted he came to see the Red Wings on occasion as well other teams as he evaluated players looking for talent. He also looked at other NHL teams and their farm teams as he searched for good talent for the Panthers. His father Les was also at Crescent Point Place, as was his brother Brock and his two nieces, Keira and Kate, who both play minor hockey here in Weyburn. Those wanting to get a photo with the Cup made donations, which will all go to the Weyburn Minor Hockey Association. Following the opportunity for the public to see the Cup, Reid had a few former teammates and coaches join him for a private time together at the rink with the Cup. The Stanley Cup had been at Dauphin, Man., just prior to coming to Weyburn, and after it left here the Cup was taken to Edmonton for its next stop.