review
weyburn Vol.114 No. 38 - Weyburn, Saskatchewan Wednesday, September 18, 2024 - 12 Pages
Weyburn Red Wings Home Opener
Residents try skydiving Weyburn and area residents enjoyed the opportunity to try tandem skydiving. Page 3
Comp Eagles kick off season Weyburn Comp Eagles opened the football season with a win over Yorkton. Page 6
Sunday, September 22 2:00 p.m. Join us for a ‘Skate with the Wings’ following the game!
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Weyburn given update on southern Sask’s airport
Descending back to the ground
Photo – Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca
Kelly Cole of Weyburn came down on her first-ever skydiving jump on Saturday, along with tandem instructor Jamie Coulter, at the Weyburn airport. Skydive South Sask, based out of Moose Jaw, provided tandem skydiving over three days at the airport, with near-perfect weather for most of the weekend.
Bank of Montreal moves up closure date By Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca The Weyburn branch of the Bank of Montreal (BMO) is moving up their closure date to the end of September at the City Centre Mall, a fact which has angered and upset many of their clients. The bank had initially informed their customers the branch would be closed as of March 7,
2025, and that all accounts would be moved to the Estevan branch. An informal information session was held on Thursday at the Weyburn branch, where customers were informed of the new closure date of the end of September. A Weyburn customer, Gary Sidloski, was present and noted there were a lot of very angry people about
this situation. “It was really unprofessional. They had sent me a letter earlier and it was undated – that was the first official notice we had,” said Sidloski. “Because of what was going on at the mall, our accounts would automatically be moved to Estevan, no discussion about it.” He said when he got to the meeting at the branch, “there was a lot
of discontent all the way to absolute anger. They told us things happened really fast. They have a contract with the mall, but somebody from the mall came and told them they were shutting the power off. They (BMO) went to SaskPower and got their own meter put in, and now they’re shutting down at the end of September.” Continued on page 2
Councillor would like to continue work on projects By Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca City councillor Larry Heggs will be putting his name forward to run for city council in the fall municipal election. He first came on to council after winning the byelection held after the passing of Coun. Dick Michel, and he said he’s very much enjoyed his time at the council table. Heggs served for almost two decades with the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce, both as a director and as the manager,
and he feels he had a good handle on many of the issues facing the city. He acknowledged it’s different being on the council side of the table, but he’s learned a lot in the time he’s served so far. He is a member of the Weyburn Airport board and the employee relations committee, both boards that Michel served on, and feels there are roles he can play if he is re-elected to council. “There’s still a lot of work to be done, and I’d be keen to continue with
Lightning bursts over Weyburn
that,” said Heggs. “Infrastructure is a big one, we need a lot of work to be done there. Economic development is a huge passion of mine, trying to build the economy and build up the tax base, both residential and commercial and business.” In regard to economic development, Heggs said, “It isn’t always about starting new businesses, it’s also helping businesses to expand and grow. If each and every business we have hired one and a half positions, that would
be the largest boom this city has ever seen. It’s about that.” Continued on page 2
Larry Heggs
Photo – Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca
Lightning flashed brightly over Tom Laing Park in Weyburn on Thursday evening, part of an active thunderstorm to hit the city and area.This was the second night in a row to see thunder and lightning, with the storm bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
By Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca Weyburn area residents and businesses were urged to consider using the Regina Airport more often for their flight needs, a luncheon hosted by the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce was told on Friday. James Bogusz, the CEO and president of the Regina Airport Authority, was the guest speaker, with a number of airport staff and board members also on hand for the luncheon, hosted at the Weyburn Legion Hall. “This airport is not Regina’s airport, it’s southern Saskatchewan’s airport,” said Bogusz. “Weyburn matters.” He noted that Weyburn area residents do have other options, such as going down to Williston or Minot to catch a flight. “We hope you’ll consider using our airport. We have to make sure we do our part,” said Bogusz. He explained that the airport is a private not-forprofit business which was established in 1999, and was given an 80-year lease to operate, with 55 years left. The Regina Airport is the 16th busiest airport in Canada with 1.2 million travelers going through at peak year, and has an annual revenue of $33 million. Currently, Air Canada has 38 per cent of the seats available on flights out of Regina, while Westjet has over 60 per cent of the seats. Bogusz said when Air Canada is flying, they provide flights to Toronto and Vancouver, with a focus on Montreal, and are a great partner of the airport. He noted he had some top executives from Air Canada visit the facility on Aug. 28, along with the Regina Chamber of Commerce. “Southern Saskatchewan matters to them. They talked about the importance of southern Saskatchewan, and they appreciate what we can do. For example, we keep our fees low,” he said. As an authority, Bogusz said they do what they can to encourage airlines to provide flights, such as by keeping their fees low, but they can’t force any airline to fly out of Regina, as they have to be able to make a profit to provide flights from here. A piece of good news is that Air Canada is providing 24 per cent more seats out of Regina, with more seats on flights to Vancouver and Toronto. In talking about Westjet, Bogusz noted that having more airlines available
at the airport does not necessarily translate to lower fares. “The seats is what we aspire for,” he said, noting a popular offering by Westjet was a summer series of flights from Regina to Kelowna, along with flights to the U.S. with a share agreement with Delta Airlines. The arrangement is for a flight to Grand Rapids, Mich., and from there flights on Delta to about 70 U.S. destinations are available. A piece of good news for Regina is that by the end of October, Regina will be the only area airport with daily service to the U.S., while Saskatoon’s airport will go back to three days a week over the winter. Westjet has increased their seat capacity out of Regina by 32 per cent year over year, noted Bogusz, compared to a 24 per cent increase for Saskatoon. As Calgary is the headquarters for Westjet, that airline is the best service to that airport, where Air Canada has cut service to Calgary from eight Canadian cities, including from Regina. By flying into Calgary, customers can then fly to Japan or European destinations with one-stop flights, as the Boeing 787 planes are based out of Calgary. Bogusz shared that the numbers for August were just released, and the Regina Airport is at 102 per cent of their 2019 numbers, showing they have rebounded well from the decline caused by COVID in 2020-21. While the airport is a not-for-profit company, they do charge a $30 fee on every airline seat, and Bogusz noted, this is what pays for the projects, services and upgrades to the airport. Asked about what fees are charged for each plane that lands, he said they are $1,000 for a 737, and $1,500 for an international flight. All fees charged are publicly posted on the Regina Airport’s website. Updating the audience on projects at the Regina Airport, Bogusz said the big one this year was repaving of a runway, as they redid 7,901 feet at a cost of $26.5 million, which was shared with the federal government. He pointed out that the feds abandoned the Regina airport during COVID, but are now back in providing shared grants to upgrade infrastructure. The airport has also upgraded their website and fees have been lowered, plus updated kiosks have been installed in the terminal for passengers’ use.