We’re Your MUFFLER Specialists WE DO IT
RIGHT
Auto Centre
“Committed to You and Your Community Since 1974”
— THE FIRST TIME
39 Smith St. W., Yorkton, Sask. Phone
41 West Broadway Yorkton
782-6050
YORKTON TIRE & AUTO CENTRE
131 PALLISER WAY YORKTON
306-783-4477
PHONE 782-2431
THE NEWS REVIEW 18-1st Avenue North, Yorkton, SK S3N 1J4
Thursday, February 6, 2014 - Volume 16, Number 51
College programs expand, funding announced By DEVIN WILGER N-R Writer One of the challenges with finding people to work on a farm is finding people with the right knowledge to be an asset. The Agriculture Operator Program, a pilot project beginning at the Parkland College in partnership with the federal and provincial governments, aims to teach students about essential farm knowledge. Saskatchewan Agriculture minister Lyle Stewart says that the program will be the first of its kind in the province,
and it has been sorely needed in Saskatchewan. “One of the main problems the industry has faced in recent years is attracting skilled labored, people able to perform the basic functions required on a modern farm,” he says. The college is working with Lakeland College in Alberta to design the course, as they have experience with similar programs on their campus. Fay Myers, President of Parkland College says that their expertise in the field has been key to making the program a suc-
THE AGRICULTURE OPERATOR PROGRAM is a new initiative offered at Parkland College, made possible by a partnership between the provincial and federal governments, Parkland College and Lakeland College. Pictured at left Lyle Stewart, Saskatchewan’s Minister of Agriculture announces the program during a recent visit to Yorkton.
cess. “It is exactly what is needed for Saskatchewan for this type of farm operator’s program.” The first module of the program will begin on March 3 with the seeding module. This will consist of 36 hours of hands-on workshops and nine hours of online delivery. Other modules will be rolled out over the year – spraying beginning in May, and harvest in July – and expansion into livestock is also planned for the future. Stewart says that it was a logical choice to make Parkland College the campus to pilot the project. “It’s hard to find a better fit. It’s here in an agricultural setting, it’s a modern campus that had some capacity. Parkland was interested and we were certainly interested in
working with Parkland.” Stewart says that the eventual goal is to have this program offered through college’s throughout the province, and he says that there is a big demand from the industry to see students put through the program and gaining the necessary skills. In a separate announcement concerning Parkland College – also made this week – was the federal government’s commitment to $950,000 for the Power Engineering Lab. Part of the upcoming Trades and Technology Center, the power engineering lab will be used to train Power Engineers, a career field which has been identified by the resource sector as being in a critical shortage going into the future as current engineers retire.
THE KOLESOV FAMILY, pictured with Annie Woluschuck (seated, right) and Minister of Housing June Draude (standing, right), recently received the keys to their new home, built by Habitat for Humanity. See full story on Page 2.
4 IN STOCK
WINTER NEEDS A HERO. THE ALL-NEW 2014 NISSAN ROGUE WITH INTUITIVE ALL-WHEEL DRIVE
1
HAAS
The all-new 2014 Nissan Rogue lets you conquer the worst of winter with the power and control of its available intuitive All-Wheel Drive. Whether driving through snow, sleet or just tight turns, Rogue makes getting a grip easier than ever. And with the EZ Flex™ Seating System’s sliding 2nd row and 50/50 split folding 3rd-row seat, you have as much control inside as outside.1
306-783-9461 * See dealer for details
Starting from $
25,248*
Haas Does Not Charge Any Documentation Fees! www.haasnissan.com