review
weyburn Vol.115 No. 04 - Weyburn, Saskatchewan Wednesday, January 22, 2025 - 10 Pages
Babies of Rotarian shares 2024 Contest rafting experience
Red Wings set to compete Seven players from the Weyburn Red Wings were chosen to compete at the SJ/MJ showcase. Page 6
See page 10 for details.
Doug Loden shared photos and stories of international rafting. Page 7 $1.25 (Includes GST)
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Holy Family approved for portable class at St. Michael School
A double ringed sundog
Photo – Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca
A sign of the “Extreme cold warning” over the southeast region over the weekend was the sight of sundogs, including this double-ringed one seen on Saturday afternoon just outside of Weyburn. The phenomenon is caused by extreme cold air with ice crystals blown into the air by the wind. With temperatures around -30, the wind chill was around -40 or lower.
Cornerstone board chair accepts SSBA award By Norm Park, Contracted Reporter for SECPSD It’s an award for individual achievement within the ranks of the several city and regional school boards spread across the province. But, for Audrey Trombley, the recipient of the long-standing Award of Distinction, it is one that she would more readily like to share with the entire South East Cornerstone Public School Division’s board of trustees. “I see it as more of an award for the entire board rather than just one person,” Trombley said in an interview following the Saskatchewan School B o a r d A s s o c i a t i o n ’s award presentations held in Regina on December 2, 2024 during their fall conference. Trombley, along with L l oy d m i n s t e r t r u s t e e David Thompson, were the recipients of the individual awards while the Northern Lights School Division board received the group award for innovation and excellence. Trombley was nominated for the award by the South East Cornerstone Public School Division’s board of trustees. She said it “was refreshing to know that after all these years and the 14 years as board chair, the board still supports me.” Asked how she found the strength to continue in the leadership role over a length of time, she said. “I guess maybe I’m not afraid to speak up when I believe things need to be addressed. I also believe that nobody
achieves excellence on their own. It takes a team to make a difference and every board member is an important member representing the voice of their communities. Locally elected boards are key in providing quality education in our diverse province.” Trombley said she has been fortunate to be able to work with outstanding board members and administration through the years while maintaining respectful relationships. Her leadership qualities come from the fact that she had learned some valuable lessons on that topic while taking a trustee development training course at Humber College back in 2003, prior to running for the position as a rural trustee in 2003. She was then elected chair at the first meeting of an amalgamated board of the Weyburn Rural and Radville School Divisions, and then within the SECPSD structure following further provincially mandated educational system mergers. She added, “I also worked as an administrator for 40 years, so I’m comfortable with elected boards and governance models.” Trombley said she has started keeping a log or journal of her board chair activities since she feels that within a few months she will be able to include current board vice-chair Megan Schick in as many activities as allowed and then “I will not let my name stand for the final two years of my term.”
That decision has been made more firmly since Trombley has faced a series of medical challenges for the past two years, starting with an infection that came about following a minor surgical procedure in February of 2022. The super infection spread and eventually led to the amputation of part of her right leg and a further amputation was administered in August of last year. She was pleased to report that after being a wheelchair user since the second session, she was to be the recipient of a prosthetic leg and hopefully would be able to walk with some aid within a few weeks following therapy and training. In the meantime, the SECPSD chair is not going to just sit in a wheelchair, or sit on her laurels either. “We will continue to lobby for education funding. We understand the next provincial budget will include additional funds for classroom complexity and we hope that comes to fruition.” The newly launched p r ov i n c i a l E d u c a t i o n Plan is now a work in progress and there were no surprises for SECPSD since the plan’s outcomes aligned with the regional board’s ongoing plans and programs, she said. “I am hopeful the Minister of Education will consult with the boards when and if there is a situation to be addressed and ensure boards maintain the local autonomy as intended.” As it turns out now,
Trombley is grateful that the current board members are in a supporting mode and she is prepared to lead the educational governance parade forward for the next couple of years.
By Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca The Holy Family school division received approval for a grant of $725,000, for a portable classroom at St. Michael School in Weyburn, the board heard at their January meeting on Wednesday evening. Chad Fingler, superintendent of school operations, noted that their facilities manager, Mike Kaip, has initiated work with a consulting firm, 1080 Consulting, to “get ahead of the game” and start the process rolling for the relocatable classroom. The consultants will post a request for proposals (RFP), as Holy Family is one of about 35 approved relocatable classrooms and they want to get a good selection of contractors to choose the best one for this project. Fingler felt with the size of this grant, larger than what they had received before, would cover the consulting fees and the cost to move the classroom in over the summer. “There might be additional costs, which we won’t know until further down the road,” he added. Trustee Jerome Sidloski asked if the provi n c e wo u l d c o n s i d e r
having the classroom “stick-built” instead of being portable. “Yes, but it should still be built in a fashion that it can be relocated if needed,” said Fingler, adding it will most likely be a prefab relocatable classroom. The tenders for it should be back and awarded by mid to late February, so it can be built and ready by early July or earlier. Board chair Bruno Tuchscherer noted that previously the board had to pay extra to have a portable classroom moved here, but Fingler felt it will likely be covered under this grant this year. He noted the earlier grant was lower, around the $450-500,000 range, and a grant last year was around $600,000, where this one is $725,000. Education director Ken Sampson noted of the 35 classrooms approved this year, 15 of them are for Regina Catholic school board alone, and six or seven are going into Saskatoon. “We are in the starting gate position, hopefully ahead of the crunch, so we’re in a strategic position to do this,” said Fingler.
Audrey Trombley with Lt.-Gov Russ Mirasty and outgoing SSBA president Jaimie Smith-Windsor. Photo - Norm Park, Contracted Reporter for SECPSD