Your West Central Voice - July 13, 2020

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PHOTO BY KATE WINQUIST The Leader Swimming Pool opened up on July 1 with COVID-19 rules in effect. Public swimming is limited to 50 people in the pool at a time. The pool was at full capacity when this photo was taken. For more on other area pools, see the story on page 6.

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YOUR WEST CENTRAL VOICE

PAGE 2

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020

THANK YOU, VOLUNTEERS

New “people mover” fire truck in Eston

The Town of Eston would like to say thank you to everyone who donated in various ways towards the new Eston & District Fire Department “people mover” fire truck!

The truck is still waiting to get a few more stickers, but it has already been operating. We could not have done this without the support from our wonderful community.

Thank-you also to these amazing men and women who volunteer and serve our community on the fire department. We appreciate you!

SUBMITTED PHOTO Members back row L-R: Captain Kevin Fox, firefighter Jeff Fox, firefighter Romeo Albor, firefighter Lenard Ward, firefighter Tyler Mills, Fire Chief Richard Baran, Captain Darryl Elaschuck, Deputy Fire Chief Jordan Hutchinson, firefighter John Dahl.

Front row L-R: firefighter Dylan Olson, firefighter Lorna Cummings, firefighter Jamieson Day, firefighter Amber Haug, firefighter Natalie Massey.

Premier Kenney visits Keystone XL project at Oyen T

JOAN JANZEN joanjanzen@yahoo.com

he residents of Oyen, Alberta were visited by a special guest on Friday, July 3rd. That’s the day Premier Jason Kenney made an appearance in order to mark the start of construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The presentation took place at the pipe field ten miles south of Oyen, a community which is filled with activity as heavy machinery moves in and massive progress is underway.

“We are here at long last, kicking off construction of the Alberta spread of the Keystone XL project. We’re finally getting it done,” Kenney said.

The Canadian pipeline route extends from Hardisty, Alberta to Monchy, Saskatchewan, which is primarily a border crossing between Saskatchewan Highway 4 and U.S. Route 191. From there the pipeline’s route will go into Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, eventually carrying Alberta crude oil south of the border. The primary contractor for this project is TC Energy.

The Canadian portion of Keystone XL includes approximately 530 kilometres of pipeline and eight

pump stations. The project is estimated to create 17,000 jobs in Canada, directly and indirectly, employing engineers, surveyors, contractors, hotel workers and fast food workers.

A temporary workforce camp is being constructed in Oyen, in three phases. Once fully completed, it will accommodate 500 personnel and include 133 modular buildings, which will be used for accommodation, kitchen facilities and offices. The camp will generate local employment to help with camp operations such as catering, housekeeping and maintenance. Once the camp is operating, 40 buses will transport construction crews from the site each day.

“As we proceed with this important energy infrastructure project, we anticipate completing 150 - 175 km of pipe in Alberta this year,” said Terry Cunha, Manager of Communications for Keystone XL. The work will be accomplished thanks to the help of more than 600 employees.

PHOTO BY DIANA WALKER Premier Jason Kenney welcomes the start of construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline at Oyen, Alberta.

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YOUR WEST CENTRAL VOICE

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020

PAGE 3

HAPPY RETIREMENT, VERN!

Vern Klassen retires 50 years to the day JOAN JANZEN joanjanzen@yahoo.com

V

ern Klassen at TD Canada Trust, Kindersley branch, spent his last day at work on Monday, July 6, 2020, ending fifty years of dedicated service to that institution. His office was appropriately decorated for the occasion, and a golden toilet was stationed outside the front door of the bank.

“My first day was July 6, 1970, at Rosetown, exactly 50 years ago. My mom took a picture of me when I walked in the branch in 1970, and I’ll get a picture of me walking out of this branch exactly 50 years later, to the day,” Vern said. “I started on a Monday, July 6, and I will be done on Monday, July 6.”

Vern has worked at the Kindersley branch for twenty-five years, but prior to that he worked at numerous locations. From his first six-month post at Rosetown, he moved on to Winnipeg, staying until 1971. From there, he headed to Thompson, Manitoba.

“I had an opportunity to go way up north to Thompson, Manitoba. I spent the best six months at Thompson because it was the summer months,” Vern chuckled. “That was the same month we no longer needed guns in the branch to protect our assets. I think it was more for insurance purposes; however, they pulled them all out, thinking it was no longer a requirement. I even bought shells for the gun and was going to take it to the police shooting range, and then I got a note that we needed to send them all back that day. I never did get a chance to play with it.” Vern laughed.

From Thompson, Vern journeyed to Estevan in the fall of 1973, staying until November of 1975. “I went way north to way south,” Vern explained. “They wanted you to have a range of experience, so it wasn’t uncommon to have them move you every two years.”

“I moved to Regina in November of 1975. That’s where I met my wife; it was an office romance, and we married in 1978. We stayed in Regina for 13 years, at which time I worked at three or four different branches.”

The couple moved to Moose Jaw in 1988, and then on to Yorkton in 1992.

“We developed a real taste for perogies and cabbage rolls there,” Vern said. “Every event you went to, there were cabbage rolls and perogies,” Vern added.

In 1995 the couple moved to Kindersley, where Vern worked for 25 years.

“We bought an acreage, had horses, and our kids were going to school,” Vern said. “I’m originally from Rosetown, so I knew people in the area.”

Vern witnessed many workplace changes throughout his career. He recalls getting people to sign a loan note, recording the loan note on a card in pen and giving the note and card to the manager to initial.

“It was a major change when computers came in the mid-1970s, and we no longer had to manually calculate interest, which took days,” Vern said.

“Back then, we couldn’t have imagined that cell phones and mobile banking would be possible.”

Speaking with Vern, it’s obvious he loved his work. “I loved dealing with all the people I came in contact with, providing financing and being able to help fulfill their dreams,” he explained.

“It became more special in Kindersley because we were actually helping several generations, sometimes three generations. I watched generations go into farming.”

“More than anything, I enjoy the interaction with customers. One customer told me we’re going to miss you; you were like family,” Vern said.

Though Vern is leaving the bank, his work is not yet done. “My wife’s to-do list is coming out. It’s not a list anymore; it’s probably a book,” he said. “I always told my wife I’ll get to it when I retire.”

So if you’re looking for Vern Klassen, you may find him at a campground, or on his acreage taking care of his wife’s to-do list, looking after his horses or doing some work on his tractors. Nevertheless, I’m sure he’ll take the time to stop and chat with friends and past customers.

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Above: Vern Klassen in his office on his last day of work.

Left: This golden toilet was positioned at the entrance of the bank.

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YOUR WEST CENTRAL VOICE

PAGE 4

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020

OPINION CHECK IT OUT

“Where there’s no vision, the people perish” JOAN JANZEN joanjanzen@yahoo.com

A

woman was telling me about the day her grandson headed off to his first day at school. His dad talked to him before the big day, explaining that there were going to be many different types of children at school and he said, “You know, son, you need to be nice to everyone, no matter what they look like, or what colour their skin may be.” The boy nodded in solemn agreement.

A few months later his mom was nearing the time to deliver his new baby sister. This time the little boy had a few words of advice for his dad. He said, “Dad, you know, we have to be nice to my baby sister, no matter what she looks like, and no matter what colour she is.”

As Canadians, we can learn a lesson from that youngster.

No matter what may be happening in our country, we need to appreciate the beautiful nation we live in, and appreciate

our fellow Canadians. Though the fireworks from Canada Day have lost their sparkle, and everything from fairs to festivals have been cancelled during 2020, we need to be grateful for all that we do have.

Paul Richardson wrote a book entitled “One Dominion”, which outlines Canada’s rich heritage and helps us to more fully appreciate our nation.

Paul claims, according to every index, Canada is one of the best nations on the planet.

For one thing, we have a rich heritage, beginning at the convention at Charlottetown, when delegates from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI took into consideration the union of the British North American Colonies. The time was ripe to unite and join together upper and lower Canada.

At that time Leonard Tillie, the premier of New Brunswick read a quote, “He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of

the earth.” He proposed that Canada be called a dominion, and the Fathers of Confederation came into agreement.

Consequently, the Dominion of Canada was born on July 1, 1867. This resulted in Canada’s constitution, the British North American Act. The Dominion of Canada included Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario.

That was the foundation, and many others helped build our nation on that foundation.

One of those individuals, who

Irrigation project long over due

MURRAY MANDRYK Political Columnist

S

askatchewan’s dry land farmers have proven many people wrong.

The first was John Palliser, who made an 1857 to 1859 expedition through here to help the British secure the territory from the Americans.

The report on his expedition concluded what is now Western Canada should be divide in three regions: a northern “cold zone” inhospitable to any agriculture; a middle zone of parkland area suitable for farming, and; a southern zone we have come to know as “Palliser’s Triangle“.

Palliser’s Triangle that now accounts for a good

portion of Southern Saskatchewan farmland was described as “more or less arid” desert and unsuitable for crops but with a “dry climate, sandy soil, and extensive grass cover,” that may be suitable for livestock.

According to Palliser’s more than 160 years ago, only the eastern and northern fringe of the grain belt in Saskatchewan was really fit for farming.

As it turns out, when Palliser travelled through here this area was experiencing one of its dry cycles worse than normal.

In the next 70 years, we’d see massive farm settlers, flowing into this after Canada was created in 1967 and after Saskatchewan joined confederation in 1905.

But the dry cycle would return to Saskatchewan and many farmers would fall victim to the Dirty Thirties Dustbowl in the 1930s _ partly because of poor soil conservation techniques.

Yet our farmers have

proved to be resilient _ especially in the past 50 years in which they’ve developed strategies like direct seeding to avoid cultivation and keeping the stumble high rather than burning to converse moisture.

They have similarly adapted to our short grow seasons and comparatively little rain through hardy crop development suitable for the area.

They have found the right blend of fertilizers and chemicals to enhance growth and even built their own seeding and application equipment to best suit their purposes.

Farms themselves _ at great expense to the communities that once surrounded them _ have become bigger and more economically efficient.

The success of Saskatchewan dry land farmers has made them world leaders in the export of cereal grains, oil seeds and pulse crop, but there is reason to fear we have taken this kind of farming as far as we can.

Paul mentions in his book, was Emily Murphy, Canada’s first female magistrate in the British Empire. She wanted women to be able to own land, and be recognized as individuals. Someone said her rulings weren’t valid, but after going through the court system, Emily came out a winner, and so did Canadian women.

Tommy Douglas was another Canadian who had a heart to serve people. He was known for starting our health care system. As a pastor during the Depression years, he saw people who couldn’t afford health care. Because he cared for people, he knew he had to do something about it. When he became Premier, he started Canada’s healthcare system, enabling all Canadians to have access to healthcare.

In his book, Paul tells stories that we don’t hear today, stories about Canadians who started schools and hospitals.

People such as Oliver Mowat who was instrumental in for-

bidding child labor and instituting workplace safety measures. He ensured the vulnerable would be cared for and protected. Paul tells the story of three Toronto women, led by Elizabeth McMaster, who rented an 11-room house in downtown Toronto, set up six iron cots and opened a hospital for sick children, because they realized fifty percent of children under the age of ten years were dying. That was the birth of the Toronto Sick Kids Hospital, which is still open today. It was birthed out of a heart to care for, and serve people.

The author of “One Dominion” reminds his readers of the words etched on the Peace Tower which say “Where there’s no vision, the people perish”. Those words can encourage us to not only appreciate what we have today, but to look beyond it, and have a vision for a brighter tomorrow, for our homeland - Canada.

You can contact me at joanjanzen@yahoo.com

A surprise message from Senator Wallin

I just wanted to send a note to say both congratulations and thank you!! I spent many years in journalism and still believe it is all about mission and passion.

You are courageous to begin to build a paper in these times but it is needed more than ever.

The state of MSM is troubling so having a local source for community news and news that matters is so important.

Good luck and all the best to you and those who have joined you in this endeavor.

Senator Pamela Wallin Saskatchewan

Dry cycles and even flooding because of violent weather can be expected to accompany a changing climate.

So we have to ask ourselves: What’s the next logical step?

Well, no one can say for sure, but wide-scale irrigation, efficiently managing scarce water resources is important.

This takes us to recent announcement that the Saskatchewan Party government plans to spend $4 billion during the next 10 years for a 500,000-acre irrigation project for the Regina- Moose Jaw area.

The project pumping Lake Diefenbaker will begin this year with $22.5

million for preliminary engineering work, testing soils and some construction.

In the making for half a century since the original canal work was stopped in 1972, many are welcoming the project as long overdue.

There are reasons to be suspicious of why the government is restarting this project now.

One should always be a bit sceptical when large sums of tax dollars start flowing before an election.

But with climate change threats bearing down on us, it can be argued now is also the logical time to look at alter-

natives.

We need to keep in perspective that this is 500,000 acres (again, at a massive $4 billion cost) out of about 33 million seeded acres each year.

We also need to acknowledge a whole host of issues _ concerns about adding saline water to the soil, the impact on other provinces, First Nation involvement and the effect on SaskPower’s hydroelectricity produced at the Gardiner Dam. There are a lot of good reasons why this project has been delayed for the past five decades.

But there are also a lot reasons why it should go ahead.

YOUR WEST CENTRAL VOICE

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020

PAGE 5

Just a gal from Glidden ...

An odd place to trigger memories KATE WINQUIST kate@yoursouthwest.com

I hope that you will get to know me a little better through this page and have a better understanding of why I came back to west-central Saskatchewan just as I hope to get to know all of you and invite you to share your stories.

T

o say last week was a bit of a whirlwind might be an understatement. The first edition of “The Voice” actually came together pretty well considering. Thank you for all of your kind comments through Facebook, notes in the mail, and those who have stopped in and purchased a subscription.

As I type this, we are up over 300 subscribers. I know I had said that it would take 500 for me to make a go of it, but I have the confidence that this region will come through!

As I had mentioned in last week’s musing, I haven’t lived in the area for 33 years. Still, I am amazed that my memory is quite good for a woman that is now into her 50’s and going through “the change”! I had the pleasure of speaking with a couple of my old KCS classmates upon my arrival back to town. I was unaware when I made an appointment to meet with Donna McLay at Royal LePage, that I would be greeted with a cheery, “Hi Katie!” upon my entrance. There was a familiar face behind that smile. “Janet Hyatt,” I exclaimed. Of course, Janet is no longer Hyatt; she married Cory Harris, who graduated with my older sister, Carrie. It was like turning back Father Time.

A few days later, Wendy Nargang came through the door. Wendy and I go way back to the days when we played Little League softball together. Wendy’s father, Wayne, was our coach. I found out that Wendy’s Dad passed away in 2007, but her mother June, is still living in Kindersley. Similarly, my Dad has been gone for ten years this November, while my mother lives in Medicine Hat. I made a quick trip back to Gull Lake last Saturday.

I took the long way around, making stops at Eatonia and Leader, dropping off papers at Bredy’s General Store and Dirk Family Pharmacy. After a good night’s sleep in my own bed, I was on the road again early Sunday afternoon. I traded vehicles with my husband, not wanting to take our car on the grid roads. I was now behind the wheel of our 2003 Pontiac Montana, heading north through Hazlet, somehow ending up at Abbey and only 13 kms from where I would be turning to find the Lancer Ferry sign with a CLOSED on it.

It can’t be closed, I thought to myself. Someone must have forgotten to switch the sign to OPEN. It would be silly to drive all that way to find that it was closed, so I pulled over to check my cell phone. According to the Government of Saskatchewan website, the Lancer Ferry was open. Success! I would go across the ferry, take some pictures at Eston Regional Park, and drop some papers at Eston on my way back to Kindersley.

Sounded like a heck of a plan!

As I made my way to the ferry crossing, a half-ton truck was parked ahead, and I could see the ferry on the other side in the distance. I looked over at the sign.

CLOSED. I got out of the van and asked the gentleman

My Grandpa and Grandma Maclennan’s headstone at the Kindersley cemetery.

My uncle, Neil Maclennan passed away in 2016.

if the sign was, in fact, correct. He assured me that the ferry was closed and would not be open for at least a couple of weeks. The fellow got back in his truck while I stared dumbfoundedly at the swift-flowing South Saskatchewan River. I made a quick video with my cell phone and posted it on my Facebook page, looking for sympathy. No sympathy to be found!

I knew that Lemsford Ferry was open, so I continued west down the Correction Line Road until I found familiar territory again. I had a brief chat with the ferryman who makes the trek from Leader, and he repeated what the last man had told me. Lancer Ferry wouldn’t be open for at least another couple of weeks.

Who knew?

By this time, it was getting too late to backtrack to Eston, so I continued north on highway 21 to Kindersley. I did make one final stop before heading into town.

I have a confession, and to some, it may be odd, but I love cemeteries. I don’t even have to know anyone that is buried there. I can spend hours meandering amongst the gravestones, reading names, imagining what their lives would have been like. I feel a sense of calm - never gloomy or morose.

Both my maternal and paternal grandparents are buried at Kindersley cemetery. It had been quite a few years since I had stopped to say hello and pay my respects. As I wondered about, familiar names appeared before me. Names that I hadn’t thought of in many years. My babysitter, Tina Unrah, from Glidden, who used to sing, “I’m a Little Teapot,” complete with the actions of the pouring spout. Tina passed away on September 1, 2009, four years after her husband Irvin.

Not that far away from the Unrah’s plot was Adam and Elizabeth Hammel. “Bessie” Hammel was our postmistress in Glidden for many years. She passed away in 2013 at the age of 96.

I did find Grandpa and Grandma Drummond’s headstone first. I cleared off some grass clippings and paused for a moment. There were no tears, just thoughts of two uncles and a grandfather I never had the chance to meet. I came across my Grandpa and Grandma Maclennan’s headstone just a few minutes later, again, stopping to pause to say a quick hello.

That’s when I began to wonder where my Uncle Neil was?

Neil Maclennan was my Godfather. He gave the toast to the bride at my wedding. He passed away unexpectedly in January 2016. I never had the chance to tell him that I loved him despite his teasing. I found my uncle at the columbarium. As I did before, I paused, and that’s when the tears came. I wish that Uncle Neil was still around. He would have been my biggest supporter and fan. I’m sure he would have grabbed a stack of newspapers and handed them out to everyone he met on the street when he and Aunt Louise would be out for their evening walk.

As I got back in my van to head into town, I felt good knowing that I had taken the time to brush up on some family history - not just my own family but also the families of so many that call this great area home.

- KW

Tina Unrau used to babysit me in Glidden.

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PAGE 6

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020

Elizabeth School announces year-end awards Band Grade 5 – Brynn Torrens, Claire Kosolofski, Silas Ralph, Josie Boisjoli Grade 6 – Preston Carter, Kaitlyn Herner, Emily Sawchuk Grade 7 – Irish DeGuzman, Aiden Long, Trey Runzer, Emma Torrens, Oliver Perkins Grade 8 – Kenzie Vold, Brinley Perratt, Charley Fleming

Social distancing at the Leader Pool. PHOTO BY KATE WINQUIST

Swimmers are diving into local outdoor pools JOAN JANZEN joanjanzen@yahoo.com

E

veryone is looking forward to diving into the pool this summer, and outdoor swimming pools in the area are doing their best to accommodate everyone, while meeting all the required public health regulations.

The Leader Swimming Pool opened on July 1, offering additional hours in order to accommodate as many people as possible. “We don’t want to turn anyone away,” Recreation Director, Brooke Clary said.

Swimmer 4 to Star lessons are offered to start during the first two weeks and then other lessons are offered after that. There will be room for seven children per lessons with three instructors available. Following the Lifesaving Society’s guidelines caused the biggest change in regards to swimming lessons this

year. Instructors are required to teach from the deck, which means a parent or guardian will need to be in the water with their child from Parent and Tot to Swimmer 4 levels.

“Everyone is excited and we were very busy taking registrations.

There was a big push in the community as we made it all work,” Brooke said.

Public swimming in the Leader pool will be limited to fifty persons.

Life jackets will be provided, but there won’t be any water toys provided.

In the town of Kerrobert, a difficult decision was made at the June 10 council meeting. Since the pool is older and in need of maintenance, the decision was made to not open the pool this year.

“This is a good year to get repairs done,” Recreation Director, Bobbi Hebron said. “But it was a heartbreaking decision. The

Kerrobert pool opened in 1961, and was only closed one year since then. We haven’t been without a pool since.”

Nevertheless, the residents of Kerrobert are offering a lot of community support.

The pool in Eatonia opened the week of July 6th, offering Level 5 lessons, but are hoping to reassess in August, as requirements change. Aqua sizes will be offered, but the pool hours had to be reduced in order for the necessary cleaning to be done at night.

However, the pool will be sure to be a busy place. As Recreation Director, Janina Evans observed, “I noticed most people aren’t going away this summer.”

Meanwhile, in the town of Eston, the pool opened in the beginning of July for public swimming, however swimming lessons will not be offered this year.

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Football Offensive – Adien Torry Defensive – Charley Fleming Most Improved – Carson Young & Jayden Smith Rookie of the Year – Austin Schafer Leadership Award – Mason Kucher​ Basketball Jr. Girls – Brynn Torrens Jr. Boys – Dan Reodique Sr. Girls – Gracee Wagner Sr. Boys – Charley Fleming Volleyball Jr. Girls – Emma Sveinbjornson Sr. Girls (7) – Emma Torrens & Ayla Stevens Sr. Girls (8) – Karmyn Belitski & Morgan Hawes Jr. Boys – Seth Gutenberg Sr. Boys – Nathan Armstrong Golf Tyler Kozicki & Ayla Stevens Curling Dexter Perkins SLC Sr. - Emma Torrens & Kailee Smith Jr. - Kalyse Trayhorne Drama Acting: Brinley Perratt, Kylene Trayhorne & Hunter Mrack Backstage: Destiny Herbert Servery Cody Missere Safety Patrol Gracee Wagner & Emily Jadischke Academic Achievement Grade 5 – (Jamieson) – Liam Baker, Joseph Buenvenida, Gracie Cooke, Zoe Longmire, Addison Nugent, Dan Reodique, Keaton Schmidt, Jack Thiessen, Marley Hopkins Grade 5 – (Elder) – Elliot Baker, Autumn Gilbert, Payton Graham, Aleah Pidot, Silas Ralph, Ashley Foidart, XyrelHilario Grade 5 – (Hopkins) Josie Boisjoli,

Kamdyn Cales, Sierra Dewan, Cohen Dufault, Kingston Greshner, Hunter Mrack,Kabree Rettger, Grace Sylvester Grade 5 - (Calkins) - Brynn Torrens, Kailee Preston, Braelyn McBride, Garret Van Dyke, Ava Feader, Gavin Lopez, Liam Overand Grade 6 – (Doll) – Rebecca Veysey, Emily Sawchuk, Sam Paulino Grade 6 – (Aitken) – Lyla Thiessen, Avery Bertoia, Emma Sveinbjornson Grade 6 – (Dobbin) – Georgia Johnson, Seth Gutenberg Grade 7 – (Johnson) – Deegan German, Ayla Stevens, Ambria Stewart, Katelyn Becker, Aidan Torry, Cole Johnson Grade 7 – (Peterson) – Hailey Arthur, Bennett Seversen, Logan Bond Grade 7 – (Donald) – Adien Chachula, Irish DeGuzman, Mica Tenorio, Emma Torrens, Cassidy Veldhoen, Cam Perlinger Grade 8 – (Hagel) – Jenus Antonio, Kenzie Vold, Rylan Kissick, Karmyn Belitski, Brinley Perratt Grade 8 – (Graham) – Lexi Pierce, Kylene Trayhorne, Ava Watchel, Emilie Van Dyk Grade 8 - (Glencross) - Jayden Moen, Nicole Gangat, Alexus Bellisle, Jasmine Lennea, Meysa Moffat, JenasciaBaldelobar Lions Pride Jamieson – Zoe Longmire Elder – Dominic Grobb Hopkins – Haley Bond Calkins – Brynn Torrens Doll – Drake Chester Aitken – Carmen Gerwing Dobbin – Jhacob Neufeld Johnson – Kyra-Lynn Ewanick Peterson – Xander Pidot Donald – Franz Katipunan Hagel – Aaron Tolentino Graham – Emily Jadischke Glencross – Dorian Herner Citizenship Award Grade 5 – Jack Thiessen, Kamryn Brandle, Brynn Torrens, Kingston Greschner Grade 6 – Moira Padberg, Lyla Thiessen, Claire Petersen Grade 7 – Kailee Smith, Oliver Perkins, Ella-Rae Rublee Grade 8 – Olivia Moreau, Ava Watchel, Jayden Moen Jordan Perkins Award: Kenzie Vold SCC Leadership Pride Award: Alexa Pierce Interact Award: Macy Boisjoli

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YOUR WEST CENTRAL VOICE

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020

PAGE 7

SPORTS

Stallions win thriller in extra-innings KATE WINQUIST kate@yoursouthwest.com

T

PHOTOS BY KATE WINQUIST Tylin Hilbig gets congratulated by his teammates after laying down a bunt that ended up scoring the game-winning RBI. The final score was 4-3 for Kindersley over the Lloydminster Twins.

he boys of summer were finally able to take to the field this week to open the North Saskatchewan River Baseball League (NSRBL).

The Kindersley Stallions are fielding a team for the first time in this league and were ready for their season opener on Tuesday, July 9, when Mother Nature had other plans. The game was rained out after only one inning of play.

Thankfully the sun came out, and the Stallions were able to host the Lloydminster Twins on Thursday evening a Berard Field. It was a perfect night for baseball (minus the mosquitos), and a great crowd was able to witness a thrilling extra-inning affair that ended 4-3 for the home team.

Blake Robertson pitched a solid 7-innings and helped his cause with a couple of big hits and an RBI. Tylin Hilbig was the unlikely hero as he came in and slammed the door shut, pitching a three up, three down inning before laying down a sac bunt which drove in the winning run.

JD Knutson had a great night, going 2/2 with two RBIs and a couple of walks.

Jory Niwa also had a solid night for the Stallions.

Kindersley is in the West Division with the Unity Cardinals, Border City Blue Jays, Lloydminster Twins and Unity Junior Cardinals.

The East Division consists of the Battleford Trappers, Standard Hill Lakers, North Battleford Beavers, Meadow Lake Sox and the Mervin Flyers.

The Stallions next action is on Tuesday, July 14, when they travel to Unity to play the Junior Cardinals.

Next home action is Thursday, July 16.

Muenster’s Hofmann has big league dreams BRUCE PENTON brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca

H

e’s got the ready-made nickname — the Monster from Muenster. Now. Saskatchewan’s Logan Hofmann has the next few years to try to live up to it.

Hofmann is striving to join an exclusive group of baseball players — major leaguers whose home bases are in Western Canada. It’s a short list; current Western Canadians on Major League Baseball team rosters include pitchers James Paxton (Delta, B.C.) of the Yankees and Mike Soroka (Calgary) of the Atlanta Braves.

Hofmann, a native of Muenster, Sask., was chosen by Pittsburgh Pirates in the recent amateur draft, going in the fifth and final round, 138th overall.

Normally, the major league draft is a drawn-out affair lasting 40 rounds, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was shortened this year to five.

Being selected from among such a reduced pool of players is quite a feather in the cap for Hofmann, who was picked in the 35th round of the draft last year by St. Louis but didn’t sign a contract. His desire to improve his draft status by

playing one more year of college baseball paid off in spades.

A fifth-rounder commands a much bigger contract offer than one chosen in the 35th round.

The 20-year-old righthander was almost unhittable in his final season with Northwestern State in Louisiana, striking out 38 batters in 28 innings, giving up zero earned runs. Yes, that would be a 0.00 ERA. His stats in the Cape Cod Summer League last year weren’t as spectacular, but they were still impressive enough for the Pirates’ brass — 27 strikeouts and only five walks in 20 1/3 innings and a spot on the league’s all-star team.

Being selected 138th overall means Hofmann holds the honour of being the highest pick ever for a Saskatchewan product. James Avery of Moose Jaw, who went to the Reds with the 152nd pick in 2005, formerly held that distinction.

“Obviously I had a good start to the year and my goal was to be a top-10 rounder going into this year, and once I heard (the draft) was cut to five rounds I wasn’t too happy about it,” Hofmann told Saskatoon’s CKOM News. “I kind of thought it was a 50-50 chance

I’d get drafted still.”

There’s no timeline for when Hofmann might proceed through the Pirates’ system.

Baseball is slated to resume in late July as a result of the pandemic. But all of Muenster, all of Saskatchewan and fans all across Western Canada are hoping he can approach the levels of success enjoyed by Paxton, who has a 56-32 record and a no-hitter in seven seasons, and Soroka, who posted a 13-4 record in 2019 and emerged as the ace of the Braves staff.

• Bob Molinaro of pilotonline.com (Hampton, Va.): “When baseball and the NBA return, does it make sense to play the national anthem in empty parks and arenas? Just

asking.”

• Molinaro again: “ESPN notes that the highest-paid public employee in 40 states is a football or men’s basketball coach. Clearly then, the priorities of the other 10 states need adjustment.”

• Comedy guy Steve Burgess of Vancouver, on Twitter: “If the #Jays can’t play at Skydome their backup plan is to move to Diseaseville in the state of Coronastan.”

• Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com: “Florida is still telling travellers from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to quarantine for 14 days. This would kind of be like the Houston Astros making a video telling the rest of baseball not to cheat.”

Scott Ostler of the San • Francisco Chronicle: “Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson?

Boring. Give viewers the golf match they really want to see: Obama vs. Trump.”

• RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com: “Reuters reports a British man spent five years building a high-performance vehicle from scratch, despite being blind. So what’s the NY Knicks’ excuse?”

• Washington Redskins linebacker Ryan Anderson, on why he plays the game so hard: ‘If I can remember my grandkids’ names then I didn’t play the game right.”

• Headline at TheOnion. com: “Staples Center employee realizes he left shot-clock buzzer on this whole time.”

• Tacoma broadcaster Mike Curto: “In 1920 Major League Baseball outlawed the spitball.

One hundred years later, MLB is outlawing spit.”

• Public-service tweet from Ottawa Public Health: “We admit, sometimes wearing a mask in public isn’t the most fashionable or comfortable choice. But some people wear Leafs jerseys, so yeah. Just saying.”

• Jay Busbee of Yahoo.com, on the tenuous resumption of sports: “COVID-19 has surged back out to a three-touchdown lead on us. But believe me, I know it’s possible to come back from this kind of a deficit. I am a Falcons fan, after all.”

• Janice Hough again, on fantasy football: “Beginning to think in 2020 the fantasy is that we can play football.”

Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca

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THE BOYS OF SUMMER PHOTOS BY KATE WINQUIST

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THE LIVING WORD

Will There Be peace on Earth? (Part 2) LEORA SCHMIDT thelivingword@mail.com

A

s King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream recorded in Daniel chapter 2 concludes, a giant stone appears and smashes the preceding four empires to dust that dissipates, leaving nothing behind. The image completely disappears. Jesus Christ, the King of peace, represented throughout Scripture as the stone, descends from heaven, fills up the whole earth with His everlasting kingdom, independent of any influences of the former empires. This final kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness, not built on the whims of mankind.

At his first entry to earth, Jesus came as a helpless babe during the time of the Roman empire. At His second coming He descends from heaven as King of kings and Lord of lords. His coming brings to an end the reign of sin that has wrought so much violence, grief and pain throughout thousands of years.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judea, in the first century AD, the fourth kingdom of Rome occupied Israel. The Israelites were longing for freedom from the tyranny of Roman rule. They were expecting a kingly monarch to appear and rescue them immediately, so the majority of them rejected a lowly servant like Jesus, the carpenter.

In His earthly ministry Jesus spoke many times of the kingdom of heaven (32 times in the book of Matthew).

Many other prophets also predicted the events of our day. Time is ticking out for the duration of this world in heaven’s

time clock.

During these uncertain, tumultuous times when the world seems to be collapsing around us, there is comfort, hope and assurance in Jesus’ promises that he gave 2,000 years ago: ”Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me….I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” He also promised that we do not have to face all our problems alone, undefended and vulnerable: “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (John 14:1-3; Matthew 28:20) It’s comforting to place our trust in the overcoming, protecting power of Jesus. He stated: “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Isaiah foretold centuries ago the response of those who await Jesus’ return, “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

(John 16:33; Isaiah 25:9).

The outlook may be dark and foreboding, but the up-look toward heaven is always bright. When Jesus foretold the events we now see occurring, He encouraged, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28).

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Great Plains College reviews operations Small cell sites and coming 5G improve connectivity in small town Saskatchewan within COVID-19 environment BRIAN ZINCHUK Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

REGINA – In the digital 21st century economy, connectivity to both the internet and cellular service is life. And while much of rural Saskatchewan has better coverage than similar rural areas in southwest Manitoba, for instance, there’s still work to be done. As an example, in Hyas, population 70, you might need to go to the second story of your house in order to use your iPhone as a hotspot.

SaskTel has been building out “small cellular sites” over the last two years.

This was noted in the presentation of the Crown corporation’s annual report on July 8. President and CEO Doug Burnett said, “Over the last couple of years we have added 103 towers in small communities as small as with populations as small as 50 people.”

Just a small portion of that list includes Stenen, Torquay, Midale, Minton, Meacham, Loreburn, Birsay, and Neville.

Resort areas have also seen upgrades, Burnett noted. Meota, for instance, is on the list.

“We continue to look for other underserved areas in rural communities so we over the course of the coming year.

We have budgeted to spend close to $80 million focused on improving rural coverage across the province. So, a fairly extensive push to try and address some of those locations that we think are underserved today,” Burnett said.

Minister Responsible for SaskTel Don Morgan said, “The challenge in Saskatchewan is that we’re not a densely populated area like New York or Toronto. So we have difficulty in trying to spread the service across as large as geo-

graphical area as is possible. The small site towers give relatively good coverage in in a small community or along one of the major thoroughfares.”

The impending advent of 5G will also have implications for smaller communities. 5G has much shorter range, but much, much higher bandwidth, even better than LTE or lower end fibre optic cable connections. And that may play into SaskTel’s future plans to get bandwidth out to rural communities.

“It is very much within SaskTel’s plans to use 5G in rural areas to improve coverage as an alternative to putting fibre to every location. Now there does need to be fibre into some location that is close, but rather than them running fibre to each residence. Using a tower with 5G would provide an outstanding experience in terms of coverage, and speed and that is very much the longterm plan,” Burnett said.

This would include the ability to use SaskTel Max. “I would anticipate that it would probably include the full spectrum of services that we offer or can be offered in all of those locations,” Burnett said.

It may be cheaper for SaskTel to put up a 5G tower in town like Norquay, as an example, than do fibre installations throughout the entire community. Burnett commented, “The cost of putting up the towers not cheap but the cost of putting fibre into rural locations is astronomical.”

SaskTel intends to initially roll out 5G in larger centres, and then rural communities. “It has so much additional capacity that it’s a perfect solution for rural communities in an absolute perfect way to improve coverage in those locations,” Burnett said.

CONTRIBUTED

Great Plains College has been engaged in a substantial operational review to manage the annual budget for the upcoming academic year.

Reduced operational funding combined with revenue decreases as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to an environment requiring fiscal restraint.

The current pandemic situation has challenged the college to look at programming and services across all locations to ensure it continues to meet its fiscal responsibilities.

After a thorough review of college operations, a number of programs and services will be impacted at Great Plains College for the 2020-21 academic year to address budget shortfalls: • Biggar Program Centre – due to multiyear declining enrolments in the electrician and adult basic education programs, these offerings have been suspended indefinitely. With reduced

programming at the centre, administrative workloads and some instructional staff positions will be impacted.

• Whitecap Dakota First Nation – due to multi-year declining enrolments and the unavailability of a facility that would ensure health and safety in a pandemic environment, the adult basic education program has been suspended.

Term staff positions at this location will not be renewed as a result.

• SunDogs athletics programming – challenges in offering an athletic season that ensures the health and safety of student athletes, combined with the need for fiscal restraint, has led to the suspension of the SunDogs athletics program for the 2020-21 academic year.

• Swift Current Campus – as a further measure in achieving financial savings, operational downsizing will occur at this location, resulting in staffing workload reductions in some areas.

Overall, across all campuses, the equivalent of roughly 6 full-time positions will be affected for the 2020-21 academic year.

“Our team was faced with some challenging scenarios as we head into the 2020-21 year which resulted in some difficult choices and decisions,” said David Keast, president and CEO of Great Plains College.

“Although some downsizing was necessary to control the operational budget under the current conditions of fiscal restraint, the college moves forward with cautious optimism in meeting the education and training needs of our communities.”

The college continues to work with the Ministry of Advanced Education and Ministry of Health towards the release of detailed fall 2020 program plans and operational formats. Additional information is anticipated to be released prior to the end of July.

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PHOTOS

of

the

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020

WEEK PHOTOS BY KATE WINQUIST