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weyburn Vol.114 No. 52 - Weyburn, Saskatchewan Wednesday, December 25, 2024 - 12 Pages
Construction underway
Christmas crafts
Construction for the new theatre began this week. Page 3
Students were busy creating Christmas sweaters. Page 7 $1.25 (Includes GST)
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City of Weyburn had ‘exciting’ 2024: new mayor
Performers sing Christmas tune in a storm
Photo – Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca
Guest performers Alana Springsteen and Mitch Thompson of Seaforth sang a Christmas song together on the stage of the CPKC Holiday Train, during its stop in Weyburn on Wednesday evening.The crowd was small, due to the winter storm that was blowing hard, and the stage show had to be abbreviated due to the high wind chill. Weyburn was the final stop for the U.S. train route.
Fundraiser proceeds delivered to Weyburn couple By Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca A sealed box filled with cheques and cash donations was delivered to Fred and Teresa Sandeski at Fred’s room in the Weyburn Special Care Home on Wednesday afternoon. The box had been filled at a fundraiser event organized by Johnny Knox at the Weyburn Legion on Dec. 13, and Knox brought the unopened box to the couple, noting even just the day before people were still dropping off cheques for him to bring. “You have no idea how much this really means to us,” said Fred, visibly moved as he was given the box, as he sat on his bed in the respite room, joined by his wife Teresa in her motorized wheelchair. “This is incredible.” Fred added that what concerns him is how many other people are in similar situations but have no idea who to turn to for help, or where to call, and said residents need to stand up and make their voices heard. Fred and Teresa were put into a situation where she was going to go in for a surgery, but was the sole care-giver for Fred, who has COPD issues and vision impairment, among other health issues. He had been able to stay for a month at the Special Care Home, but at the end of that month was told he would then have to pay $45 a day for continued care, and the Sandeskis reached out for help as they did not have the money for the care. “The thing that saddens me is, we shouldn’t have to depend on the community to take care of us,” said Teresa. “But I know, they love us. We’ve been here and we continue to be here.”
She noted that as the founder of the Community Low Income Centre in Weyburn, Fred worked hard to advocate for people for 20 years, helping people get housing or to get benefits from Workmen’s Compensation, or to navigate government ministries for assistance. “It just seems so sad. The government has blinders on. What is it going to take? Is it going to take one of their family members?” Teresa asked, noting they had their plight made known by an MLA from Saskatoon, seniors critic Keith Jorgenson of the NDP. Knox told the couple it took him eight days to
put the fundraiser together, but once he got word out through social media that he was organizing this event, he received all kinds of messages and texts as people wanted to help out. The event featured Knox and his band, Assorted Nuts, with a couple of guests, including singer Mandy Szczecinski, plus a silent auction, which raised about $1,400. Presenting the sealed box to the couple, Knox said, “I hope it helps. Let me continue to think of things we can do.” He noted he has been seeing Fred around the community and reading about the work he had been
doing at CLIC for many years. Teresa noted that a woman came by offering to pay for Fred’s respite stay for a month, and the lady was referred to billing at Tatagwa View, and the payment offer was not accepted because they didn’t know how many days he would be needing the respite care. “It’s ridiculous,” said Fred, shaking his head. “This is the fight that we’ve had. I’m so exhausted, and I still haven’t felt that good,” said Teresa, noting she had just had surgery recently. In checking up on her, her doctor told her she needs to take of herself, as well as of her husband.
Couple receives proceeds of fundraiser
By Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca The City of Weyburn had a “pretty exciting” and busy year in 2024, said Mayor Jeff Richards, and city council is ready for a challenging time to come in 2025. He was a councillor for much of the past year, and on Nov. 13, won the election as mayor, defeating eight-year veteran Marcel Roy to take over the city’s top job. Richards admits this was “a personal highlight” for him to win that race, and said, “That was pretty exciting, and I’m very grateful the people of Weyburn sent a pretty strong message. They wanted a change, so I’m excited for the opportunity and the challenge,” said the mayor. This year was an exciting one for Weyburn with lots of roadwork done after a fairly wet spring, including 13 blocks of new pavement on First Avenue, a block on Prairie Avenue, five blocks on Railway Avenue, and over 200 metres of new curbing and new pedestrian ramps. The pedestrian ramps were built at the intersections of 13th Street and First Avenue; Coteau Avenue and 16th; Warren Avenue and 16th, and Warren and McGillivray Drive. In addition, the City did a fair amount of pothole patching once the city’s infrared machine was up and running, plus they did 5,000 metres of crack sealing on Apron 1 at the Weyburn Airport, noted Mayor Richards.
Photo – Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca
Teresa and Fred Sandeski were all smiles as Johnny Knox presented this sealed box of donations, collected at a fundraiser event held on Dec. 13 at the Weyburn Legion Hall. Fred was visibly moved to receive these gifts, and said,“You have no idea how much this means to us.”
Mayor Jeff Richards He noted the council chambers has the motto, “A community for all” written on the walls, and doing work like these pedestrian ramps are important to help ensure accessibility throughout the city. There were also new traffic lights installed at 16th Street and First Avenue, and at Government Road and First Avenue. The past year was exciting also because of the Weyburn Oil Show in June, which brought in a lot of businesses and visitors to the city. Mayor Richards said he loves the buzz around the city when this show is on, with people in the hotels, restaurants and stores, and is a chance to show off Weyburn to the visitors. “It shows off how well we do oil and gas in Canada, and I would argue how well we do oil and gas in southern Saskatchewan. We have the world’s largest carbon sequestration project in our backyard at Whitecap Resources, so it was great to have these people visiting us,” he said. More recently, Weyburn hosted its first-ever U9 Outdoor Classic hockey tournament at the Credit Union Spark Centre, which is a “real jewel in our crown” in Weyburn, said the mayor, who talked to a lot of out-of-town families who wished their community had what we have here. “They’re blown away by how awesome this facility is, plus Mother Nature helped us out. We had kids roasting hot dogs outside, and a few folks said, ‘we had no idea that the Spark Centre was there’,” said Mayor Richards. Weyburn can also be proud of the District Planning Commission, which is a collaboration between the City and RM of Weyburn for land use development and regional planning. Looking ahead to 2025 and the new budget, Mayor Richards noted that all of the councillors he’s talked to are pretty clear on the priority of getting the city’s streets in order and making more improvements. Continued on page 2