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Long term care homes receive donations
JOAN JANZEN
Your Southwest Media Group
The Kindersley branch of the Superannuated Teachers of Saskatchewan has decided to disband and disperse the funds available in their account. Sharon Price, the group’s vice-chair, said, “We made a motion to disband the chapter and another motion to disperse the funds.” A motion was made to give $1,300.00 to each of the long-term care facilities in the surrounding communities.
THURSDAY, JUNE 30:
Scavenger Hunt • Movie in the Park
FRIDAY, JULY 1:
The Creeland Dancers • Dean Smith Band Fireworks • Time Machine
Wheat Kings Ball Game Ball Park Grand Opening
JULY 2:
Centennial Marketplace
Eatonia Centennial Cabaret presents: The Steve McQueen Band featuring Mitch Larock & The 4:54 Band
This amount was given to Eatonia Oasis Living, Heritage Manor (Heartland Health Region) in Kindersley, the Eston Lodge (via Caring Hands), and Pioneer’s Haven in Kerrobert. Krystal Bazylinski, Manager at Pioneer’s Haven, expressed appreciation for the generous donation to their Resident Upgrade Project. The funds will be used to upgrade their kitchen and dining room facilities.
Joe Kurtz from Kerrobert presented the donation. Joe has been president of the board for the past 24 years and is a regular visitor at the Haven. Joe decided to step down from his position, and the board’s treasurer, who lives in Eston, also decided to step down.
Price said they sent out an email to generate interest
but had no response. “No one was willing to take on those roles.”
Kurtz said, “There are 76 members on the record, but many are elderly or have moved away.” Upon retirement, teachers are invited to join Superannuated Teachers, but Kurtz noted “younger teachers who retire are not joining.”
“In the last few years, the membership has really dropped off. It used to be quite active with a large number; it was a good way to stay in touch. We had meetings four times a year,” Price explained. The retired teachers would meet at lunchtime, and would go on a trip on the last meeting of the year in June. “But lately,
we haven’t had anyone coming out,” Price concluded. While the disbanding of the group is unfortunate, these four long-term care facilities deeply appreciate the donations received. Krystal Bazylinski said, “We have happy hearts that this will help us in our project, and the support is amazing to have.”
Weese Electric Ltd. is seeking two Instrumentation Technicians to service the oil and gas sectors in West Central Saskatchewan. Candidates must possess a valid drivers license, strong work ethic, and be able to work in a fast paced environment. We provide top wages, benefits, and an opportunity to gain experience in many aspects of the instrumentation industry.
Joe Kurtz, representing the disbanded Kindersley branch of Superannuated Teachers of Saskatchewan, presents a donation of $1300 to Pioneer’s Haven Resident Upgrade Project to resident Mervin Norris.
CHECK IT OUT with Joan Janzen
Are we thinking about consequences?
Ayoungsterwas being reprimanded for his behaviour by his dad. “Young man, didn’t you consider the consequences for your actions?” The son responded, “How am I supposed to think about consequences before they happen?”
Likewise, our government is not thinking about the consequences of the policies it implements. MP Leslyn Lewis, who has a masters in environmental studies, said, “I have seen first hand that good intentions don’t always equal effective policy. Punishing and taxing a person doesn’t result in saving the planet.” Neither will the planet be saved by the Liberals’ plan to introduce new taxes of up to $4,000 for people who buy a truck.
Punishing Canadians under the guise of a worthy cause, is becoming increasingly popular. The worthy cause is the government’s push to get to net zero emissions. Canadian Minister of Environment Steven Guilbeault said provincial fuel tax breaks “go against our efforts to fight climate change”.
In a National Post article, Rex Murphy wrote, “Canada has one purpose only, one duty as a country: to save the great globe of our common earth from inexorable climate doom.” PM Trudeau announced his new targets for Canada’s carbon-dioxide emissions at a recent visit to Vancouver, before partaking of a Liberal fundraiser dinner with a price tag of $1,675 a plate.
While Canada’s government is determined to lead the way in the fight against climate change, other countries like India, Saudi Arabia and China are not paying attention. An economist, Bob Murphy
observed that the rationale of taxing carbon to make it more expensive so households and businesses are motivated to use something else, will cause pain for Canadians and scale back our standard of living.
A comparison could be a theatre owner complaining about too much popcorn on the floor. In order to solve the situation, he drastically increases the cost of popcorn, rather than hiring someone to clean the popcorn off the floor. Another comparison could be the government solving the problem of higher vegetable prices, by suggesting people find something to eat rather than vegetables. However the logical solution would be to grow gardens and produce more vegetables locally.
Murphy also noted that reducing emissions in Canada will have no effect world wide, while the rest of the world, particularly developing countries, won’t care about their pledges. As evidence, China continues to unveil coal fired power plants.
“The policies that are being advanced don’t make sense, even if the threat of climate change is as bad as activists say it is,” Murphy said. “The way they are going about it is much more harmful than it needs to be. The irony is, while all the focus is on policies that won’t do much, it’s distracting away from potential solutions that would work.” He said there’s plenty of privately funded research teams looking at things like seeding the ocean so more algae grows, absorbing more C02, while the Fraser Institute in Canada shows the actual numbers to try and contain hysteria on this topic.
Europe went green, but are
now preparing to ration energy. Germany quickly phased out coal and nuclear power, leaving it dependent on unreliable wind energy and imports from Russia. Nevertheless, an opinion piece in the National Post noted that Canada is doing the opposite of what it should be doing amidst what is going on in the world.
Canada also relies a great deal on foreign imports, and is doing exactly what Germany did ... moving away from domestic oil production. Instead of acknowledging this, our government has announced further restrictions,
and our Prime Minister refuses to learn any lessons from these events. Our Energy Minister claims we need to decarbonize our society, including transportation, oil and gas, aluminum, as well as the cement and auto sectors, without any regard to the cost for the consumer.
Green energy is offered as the solution for everything, even the war in Ukraine, which is dubbed as carbon heavy activity. The government’s way of thinking seems to be - Canada needs to be an example, for other countries to follow. But they’re not following.
Winston Churchill said, “When great causes are on the move in the world, we learn that we are spirits and not animals and that something is going on in space and time which, whether we like it or notspells duty.”
Canadians need to contemplate what would happen if our government’s cause and policies resulted in Canada no longer using Canadian oil and becoming completely dependent on oil from other countries. What would happen to our economy? Is Churchill right when he said we have a duty, whether we like it or not?
Devine election changed Saskatchewan
Forty years ago this week, Saskatchewan changed forever by electing Grant Devine’s Progressive Conservatives.
In the past four decades since that night of April 26, 1982, many have argued the Devine legacy wasn’t so grandiose.
After all, Progressive Conservatives no longer exist, swallowed up in the August 1997 creation of the Saskatchewan Party by the merger of Liberals and PC MLAs into one unified party.
And when most think of the Devine government legacy, few positives immediately come to mind.
The Devine/PC run lasted less than a decade, crushed in the October 26, 1991 election that saw its whopping 55-seat win in 1982 reduced to a mere ten seats. By the 1995 election, that would be cut in half to five seats and third-party status in the Saskatchewan legislature, surpassed by the woefully Liberal.
By 1999, the PCs only existed on paper, running the minimum ten decades needed to register as an official party — an agreement with the Sask. Party so as not to split
the right-wing vote in the province and allow the NDP to win.
In its decade in office, the PC government presented ten straight deficit budgets — the last of which in 1991 didn’t even pass.
Devine’s waning days in office were spent warding off a potential caucus revolt over “Fair Share, Saskatchewan” — the policy that would have shipped 1,500 Regina-based civil servants through communities throughout the province.
Those ten straight deficit budgets forced the province to the brink of bankruptcy, adding roughly a billion dollars a year to public debt. The dire financial straits were the auspice for the then-Roy-Romanow-led NDP government to take drastic austerity measures that included the closure/conversion of 52 rural hospitals and the Plains Health Centre just outside Regina.
But much to the PC government’s discredit, it is the largest criminal scandal in Canadian history for which it is best remembered.
On April 10, 1992 — a decade after its historic win and mere months after the PC’s equally historic loss — officials at a Regina CIBC branch would drill into an unclaimed
safety deposit box containing 150 one-thousand dollar bills. This would set off an RCMP investigation that would eventually see 19 PC staff or MLAs charged. The court proceedings would produce 15 convictions. Add two other former PC MLAs charged and convicted of separate offences, and the Devine government was saddled with a legacy of corruption.
It has been easy for many — especially, many New Democrats — to suggest this is all there was to the Devine government. History, however, tells us otherwise:
In nearly 31 of the 38 years prior to the Devine election, Saskatchewan was ruled by a Co-operative Commmonwealth Federation (CCF) or NDP government. Saskatchewan was best known as the first jurisdiction in North America to elect a social democratic government.
In the 40 years since, Saskatchewan has been ruled by conservative governments for almost 25 years. There’s little to suggest this will change any time soon.
Former political columnist and author Dale Eisler chronicles in his new book From
Left to Right: Saskatchewan’s Political and Economic Transformation this province’s
shift from the left to the right.
Notwithstanding its scandal and bad fiscal management, Eisler cites that election night as the pivotal moment when the province changed.
“His government was tainted. There’s no doubt about it. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t transformational,” Eisler said in an interview. “Those two things can exist together ...
“What he did was pretty damn significant.”
Eisler noted how the Devine government was the vanguard for both today’s free-market approach to agriculture and to the end of publicly owned resource Crown corporations in oil, gas, mining resources and potash.
These are the things that have transferred Saskatchewan’s economy.
Devine also made way for a change in which the majority of centre-right voters became loyal to a general philosophy rather than a specific party.
Forty years ago, he changed this province.
MURRAY MANDRYK Political Columnist
Pop89 The Book Box
MADONNA HAMEL
madonnahamel@hotmail.com
My sister and brotherin-law and I left their home for our afternoon hike just as the box arrived in the post. “It’s The Book Box!” my sister squealed. The Book Box has become a ritual for me since I’ve discovered a warehouse book company with a quirky selection of books I send myself or a family member every few months. This particular selection contains the Lissa Evans trilogy, novels about life in pre-and post WWII London during the Blitz. I convinced my sister her book club would love Old Baggage, the first in the series, about an aging suffragette alarmed at the behaviours of young women in the late 1920s. Evans mixes history, humour and imagery with
Asa gentle touch. I devoured the sequels “Crooked Heart” and “V for Victory.” I would not have known about her if not for stumbling upon her books on the site.
The site is the next best thing to a favourite out-of-theway secondhand shop. And while it cannot replace the experience of hours spent perusing the dark shelves of dusty shops, it does put the reader in the position of having to take what she can get. And I like to read that way. It’s as enriching and exciting as walking around a new town without a map: I inevitably come upon a pleasant surprise that I’d otherwise never have encountered if I’d armed myself with a list and an itinerary. (However, if you are in Swift Current, check out the SPCA bookstore!)
In art school, I had a mentor, a painter in his eighties, who encouraged us to wander through libraries and shops and randomly pull books from their shelves – allowing ourselves to be seduced by covers, bindings or haphazard positioning. Random, spontaneous encounters often lead to delightful and even career-altering discoveries, he said. My older sister refers to this sort of book-choosing as bibliomancy. Before grabbing the alluring book, she will pose it a question and then flip open to find
the answer in the first phrase her eyes land on.
Today so many of our choices are made for us. From music to movies to meals to friends - technology has done a great deal of the footwork for us, removing chance, “curating” our lives according to algorithms and check boxes. So, The Book Box is my antidote to a choreographed reality. It’s neither an expensive nor dangerous risk. I’ve received as many as eleven books for 45$. (After 45$ shipping is free.) And it’s the gift that just keeps giving: from the moment you receive the Canada Post white card to the tearing open of the flaps to the oohing and awing as you lift the golden eggs from their cardboard nest to the settling into the couch for a month’s worth of reading.
Home from our walk, we fetch the mail and rip open the box. And here’s what we find: 1) A graphic comic book interpretation of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven,” a gift for my nephew, who is an illustrator, 2) My sister’s book club book, “Old Baggage” (2017) plus the sequel. 3) “Light the Dark” (2018) “Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process.” The book asks authors from Marilynne Robinson to Jeff Tweedy to Billy Collins the question: What inspires you? Collins says he’s inspired
by poetry’s loyalty to intimacy in a day and age when people post “every banality from I’m going out for pizza to Joe is passed out on the couch.” In this book, I know I will find new writers whose novels, poetry and memoirs I will seek out. 4) “Soul of A Citizen” ( 1999, 2010) by Paul Rogat Loeb. Here’s a book I’ve been meaning to read since 1999. The subtitle is “Living with Conviction in Challenging Times.” I’ve been meaning to read it since I noticed that we humans were, as a collective, no longer referred to by media and academia as “souls” or even as “citizens” but were spoken of as “consumers.” (Today, thanks to technocracy, we are referred to as “users.”) I grabbed it when it showed up on the site. 5) “Places and Names” (2019) by Elliot Ackerman. Ackerman once worked in special ops for the US Marines. One day, as a journalist, he found himself in a Syrian refugee camp, sitting across from a man who fought for al-Qaeda in Iraq. A conversation ensued. This is not a book it would occur to me to look for, but I am very glad to have found it. As one reviewer says: “Ackerman’s voice is the voice of someone who knows too much; read him at your own risk, ignore him at your peril.”6) “Indian Givers”, by Jack Weatherford.
Subtitled “How Native Americans Transformed the World”, (1988, 2010). This book, in its second printing, sets the historical record straight as to where Western notions and practices of democracy, medicine, urban planning, etc. came from. 7) “The Lost Diaries of Susanna Moodie” (2017) by Cecily Ross. This is a novel (so it has no lengthy explanatory subtitle) which cleverly takes its cues from a real diary and expands on the inner life of its author. 8) “My Name is Mary Sutter,” (2011) by Robin Oliveira. Mary Sutter is about a young midwife who wants to be a surgeon at the outbreak of the American Civil war. She is constantly rejected until the war, and the horrific loss of life and lack of care - no serious preparation or thought was given to bedding or water or even food for the wounded - pushes her immediately into the world of emergency medicine.
Books are my friends. But they are no replacement for precious time spent with family. And so, I spent the next couple of days hanging out with the people I love. In our conversations, we talked about how some of our favourite books came to us, left behind in a hotel room or laundromat. That’s the idea behind The Book Box: always leave some room for the unexpected delight!
Tough To Talk About, But Here Goes!
HARLAND LESYK
Your Southwest Media Group
you go about your daily life, have you noticed that the retail landscape is changing rapidly? So many of the businesses that I frequent have self-serve checkouts. I go pick up my item for purchase, walk over to the checkout, scan, pay and bag my item in the bag I purchase, then walk to my vehicle and go home. Wow. Real easy, right? Real convenient, right? Why do you suppose this is the way things are going now? The quick and easy answer is “Follow the money.” Less employees mean more money for the big companies because the bottom line just got sweeter.
Not only that, I don’t even have to go into some stores anymore because
now there is curbside service. Order online, arrange a time to pick up items, and then boogie over and get my stuff. Less and less human interaction all the time. Again - follow the money. Remove the human element, and the bottom-line get’s better.
Here’s another one. Shop at Amazon. Let’s cut out the human contact even more. Just place an order, pay and wait for your goodies to show up at the door the next day. You may or may not even see the person that brings your parcel. It’ll likely be sitting on your step by the time you reach the door after the doorbell rings. Slick as all get out, right? Again the human quotient has been removed, and your life just became a little less busy. You can’t get better than that. Do you think all this convenience
is good? I’ve had many conversations about this with friends and family, and one of the common refrains is, “What’s the big deal? There’s nothing we can do, so why sweat it.” Honestly, all this convenience scares the crap out of me. Try as I may, I cannot see how these things make our community stronger or better. Because of the nature of my business, the advertising business, I get to talk every single day to small business owners. Guess what? It’s getting tougher and tougher for these folks to keep their heads above the waterline.
Jobs for trained individuals in tech, trades and health professions are in high demand, and that is all well and good, but the jobs that are being replaced by the convenience factor aren’t coming back anytime soon. Most homes
operate on fairly tight budgets, and when part of the income in these homes gets eliminated because there are fewer entry-level jobs out there, the pressure gets even bigger.
I must never forget that small business is an integral part of everything that makes my life better. They support our sports organizations, our service clubs and our quality of life, and they deserve the opportunity to do some business with me. I like people for the most part, and I want to interact with people. Chew the fat and make small talk. Call me old-fashioned if you like. That’s okay. If you would like to comment on this topic, feel free to do so. I’d like to hear from you.
Send your comments to sales@yoursouthwest.com
Kerrobert Mayor’s Report
Brett Zerr,
Greetings from The Mayor’s office in Kerrobert. Over the past year, like everywhere else, Kerrobert has been able to open things up from the restrictions brought on by the pandemic. We are seeing more gatherings and people generally going out to enjoy restaurants, shopping or events and it has been great to see. This past year, Kerrobert took on a major project of waterline replacement throughout much of the town. This project is necessary to do currently because of the failing infrastructure that we have. The waterline replacement for Phase 1 has been completed, but now we will have our contractor (Gee Bee’s) return this spring to complete the base work for the roads as well as curbing and sidewalks. Once that has been completed, our new pavement can be laid down to complete Phase 1 of this project. This has certainly been a long-awaited need for our community, as our dilapidated streets have been a draw back for not only those that live here but is also a major roadblock for trying to get new people to move to our community. To ensure these streets stay in good condition, Town Council will be changing our traffic by-law to enable us to better regulate weight restrictions and parking of larger vehicles and trailers in our residential areas. I also wanted to focus some attention to our Courthouse. Built in 1920, our Courthouse has had a rich and proud history as a focal point of Kerrobert. In the early 1990’s, the Provincial Government at the time, made the decision to shut down this Courthouse
SOCIAL HOUSING UNITS AVAILABLE FOR RENT
The Macklin Housing Authority has Senior housing units in both single and double bedrooms available for rent immediately. The units include a fridge, stove, washer and dryer. Rent is based on income. Included in the rental charge are heat, water and sewer services. Tenants are responsible for electricity charges and are required to sign up with SaskPower for service.
Luke Alberts
Quinon St. Pierre
Jason Neufeld
Gord Thompson
Chris Kipling
Greg Bahm
Jaden Thiessen
Jace Kissick
Gary Lee
along with many other government owned buildings throughout the province. The Kerrobert Courthouse was not only closed but was slated to be torn down. It is still hard to imagine why anyone would want to tear down such a magnificent building like this, but that was the plan. Thankfully the Town council of the day were able to take over the building and save it from demolition. The Courthouse has housed our Town office ever since and has become our Kerrobert Cultural Center. This building now houses our Town office, our museum, our library and our Art gallery with some additional office space such as a lawyer’s office and the Chamber of commerce office. Over the years, we have had several Ghost hunting outfits come through to investigate the building for some indication of whether it is haunted or not. Currently, this building sits as one of the top 3 most haunted buildings in the province. I have personally never experienced anything; however, we have many people that have worked here or have been here visiting the building over the years and some strongly believe they heard or even felt something while in the building. A former Mayor of Kerrobert had spent the night in the building as part of a fundraising wager but said he would never do it again. This building is currently in the process of getting some new front steps. While the old steps were being removed, there was an unexpected find inside one of the corner stones of the building. To everyone’s surprise, they have found a time capsule! There is nothing on file to indicate this even existed. While we are all curious as to what could be inside, we have decided to wait to open the time capsule at a future event to be named later this year. Perhaps this time capsule may not contain anything at all, but it is nice to imagine what could have been placed inside the corner stone timecapsule 102 years ago. One thing that it has already given us is a sense of excitement throughout our town and that is something special. We will keep everyone posted as to when this time capsule opening will take place.
Jordan Mackinnon
Caitlynn Alberts
Brad Murphy
Quenton Murphy
Chelsea Kissick
If you are looking for peace of mind, not having to worry about repairing your home or appliances, or having to cut grass and shovel snow, this is an excellent living arrangement for you.
For more information and to get an application form, please contact:
Devin Charteris
Jon Shepherd
Macklin Housing Authority
Travis Turnbull
Attn: Marie Dewald, Manager PO Box 585, Macklin, SK S0L 2C0 • Phone: 306-358-4924
Dylan MacKinnon
Dustin Oikor
Wyatt Knorr
James Semilet
Dylan Beaudoin
FAIRMONT CHATEAU LAURIER
Brenden Obrigewitch
Randy Gottfried, Brian Gottfried Matthew Thrun, Garret Walford
FULL TIME OPERATORS & SWAMPERS
to join our team in Macklin/Chauvin Area Class 1A 3A 5A Rod Trucks, Flushbys. Vac trucks, Batch Trucks Experience an asset.
Oilfield Tickets required. Please email resume and abstract to: dshapka@steelview.ca Call/Text 780-753-0711
Mayor Wayne Mock, Kerrobert, Sask wayne.mock@sasktel.net
CONGRATULATIONS to Joel and Kim (Hardcastle) Chouinard, who have won this month’s trip to Ottawa, Ontario. The Chouinards will enjoy a 5 daty authentic Canadian experience while staying at the world class Fairmont Chateau Laurier located in downtown Ottawa, just minutes away from the city’s biggest attractions. Kim grew up in Luseland and continues to annually support our new swimming pool fundraiser, as well as the facility itself. Thank you for the support.
Christopher Brost, Kevin Sloboda
Austin Gleave, Adam Franko
Sittler,
Steven McMillan, Caleb MacDonald, Cory Turk, Dean Ellis, Devon Lovenuk, Jordan Halter,
OTTAWA, ONTARIO
Plowing into a snow drift and Elon
Musk’s
take on full self-driving
In the midst of the worst blizzard we’ve had in a few years in Estevan, my daughter got a call. Her friend’s dad was stuck, in town, less than a mile from our place. Could we help?
Absolutely. I told both kids to pile into the F-150 to come along. They were going to learn how to tow someone out. As Spencer is in driver training, and Katrina’s about to go out on her own, there was no time like the present to learn some real-life skills.
So we all put on our snow pants, heavy winter boots, parkas and gloves. We made sure we had the heaviest tow strap and a couple clevises, just in case. The three ball hitch was on the back, and a second was under the seat. We were ready.
And then we drove two blocks in nearly total whiteout conditions. The snow was already around 10 inches in depth, so far, and winds were gusting 90 kilometres per hour. The city had thankfully run graders down most of the streets, making a quick single pass so the streets could be at least partially passable (something I never saw when I lived in Saskatoon, which doesn’t believe winter exists). But between the Esso and hospital, at the very edge of town, the whiteout hit and I plowed into the snow bank left by the grader and drifting. It went right to the top of the hood of the truck – at least three feet.
This is where the kids got to learn about getting someone unstuck. Unfortunately, it was now us.
The wind was howling, and visibility was dropping to zero at times. We had to get out of there quick, lest someone pile into us from behind. We all took to shovelling. Thankfully, a paramedic my wife works with pulled up with his Jeep Cherokee and offered to give us a pull, or what Quick Dick McDick refers to as a “Saskatchewan Yank.”
Try as he might, the Jeep, combined with my efforts in the Ford, only got us a few feet. Then a lady who I believe was named Marilyn pulled up in a red Ford F-150 and offered to give us a pull. We swapped out the Jeep, she backed up, and gave several mighty tugs. I directed Katrina, in the driver’s seat, while I stood beside the truck. After about six tries, we were freed.
As soon as we disconnected we pulled into the adjacent Esso lot, hoping to still make it to our planned rescue attempt. We just got past the pumps and got high-centred again. This time we shovelled, and shovelled some more. Then I cut open a sandbag and put sand beneath the tires. Rocking wasn’t working, until Katrina gave it her best push, and combined with the rocking, we got loose.
By this time, the guy we were hoping to rescue had already been rescued, and we turned around for home, not stopping lest we get stuck again. It was definitely a learning experience for all, me included.
The same day, Elon Musk spoke to TED. In a recorded segment at the beginning of it he talked about the issues they are having developing full self-driving, as in the vehicle does all the thinking, period.
Chris Anderson, the host, asked, “Five years ago, the last time you came to TED, I asked you about full self driving and you said, ‘Yep, this very year I’m confident that we
will have a car going from LA to New York without any intervention.”
Musk replied, “I don’t want to blow your mind, but I’m not always right.”
Anderson pressed, “Why has full self driving in particular been so hard to predict?”
Musk said, “I mean, the thing that really got me, and I think it’s gonna get a lot of other people, is that there are just so many false dawns with self driving, where you think you think you’ve got the problem, have a handle on the problem, and then, nope. Turns out, you just hit a ceiling. Because what happens, if you were to plot the progress, The progress looks like a log curve. So, it’s like a series of log curves.
Describing a logarithmic curve, he continued, “It goes up sort of, you know, sort of fairly straight right, and then it starts tailing off. And you started as a kind of negotiating diminishing returns. In retrospect, they seem obvious. But in order to solve full self-driving properly, you actually just you have to solve real world AI (artificial intelligence).”
Musk added, “Yeah, because you said, what are the road networks designed to work with, the desire to work with a biological neural net, our brains and with vision, our eyes. And so in order to make it work with computers, you basically need to solve real world AI and vision. Because we need cameras and solid neural nets in order to have to have self driving work, for a system that was designed for AIs and biological neural nets. You know, we, I guess, we put it that way. So, like quite obvious that the only way to solve for self driving is to solve real world AI and sophisticated vision.”
He later said, “These may be infamous last words, but I actually am confident we will solve it this year.”
But he demurred, saying another year could go by, with it not happening.
That got me thinking: If we mortal humans had a tough time navigating in the middle of a blizzard, how on earth will a camera-equipped Tesla, even a Cybertruck, navigate? And LIDAR doesn’t really work very well in snow, as it is literally shooting lasers like radar; lasers that will bounce off the snow.
Now, the argument could be made that neither man nor robot car/truck should have been out in that weather. And you may be correct. But right up until that point we were able to handle it, until we couldn’t. Would an AI vehicle not even try? What happens when they take away the steering wheel on these mechanical monstrosities, and a storm hits?
I’ve argued before that any camera-based self-driving is bound to get bunged up by dead bugs coating the cameras. Similarly, bad snow storms are going to negate a lot of self-driving capability. Would a self-driving Tesla be able to navigate down the one-grader-pass streets we had? Or in 10 inch snow otherwise?
The future may be coming, but it’s a long ways to go. And the richest man in the world is still having problems with it.
Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online. He can be reached at brian.zinchuk@pipelineonline.ca.
The Saskatchewan Traveller
BY TRUDY & DALE BUXTON
We continue south on highway 21, the south part of this highway is certainly not as good as the north part, highway is chopped up a bit.
Our first community we run into is Liebenthal.
Liebenthal is named after a German community of Liebenthal and was predominately settled by German settlers, who mostly came from Kansas.
There is a Sacred Heart Catholic Church and a community hall and the community is considered as the southern gateway to The Great Sandhills.
Liebenthal is governed under the R.M. Of Happyland, which is named after a settler in the area who was so happy to be able to live in a free open space that he called it “happy land” and the name stuck.
Just north of Liebenthal is the historic site of St.John’s Separate School and Miniature Church. St.John’s operated as a church run school until it was closed in 1965.
The Blumenfeld Roman Catholic Church, which is just north and east, is a two story church built in 1915 is still used today for weddings and a yearly pilgrimage.
Next up we make a right hand turn on highway 321and head for Burstall.
Burstall is a town of about 300 people and was named after General Burstall who had lost his life defending our country in WWI.
The first settlers arrived in and around 1910 and the village was incorporated in 1921.
The rail line was laid in 1920 and is
the last station on the CPR line from Leader running southwest into Alberta.
Burstall has a natural gas company that employ’s much needed jobs in the area.
Burstall is very much an agriculture town and once had as many as five grain elevators to handle the wide variety of crops in the area.
Baseball is a very popular sport in Burstall and the town has a team that plays senior baseball in the Sask/Alta league, the team was West Divisional champs in 2017.
When visiting Burstall make sure you stop at the Burstall antique store. This store is very unique as you find a trinket or two, have a great cup of coffee or even some fresh baking. The antiques in the store are really nice and if you have a chat with the owner, she has stories that will keep you entertained for hours. Brian was happy as he was able to get a Harley Davidson trinket to take home.
Visiting this store was a highlight so far on this trip, a great stop.
As we continue on highway 321 we get into Alberta and hang a left on highway 41.
The first community we pass is the Hamlet of Hilda.
Hilda was named after the infant daughter of the first post master in 1910.
Hilda still has a population of around 45 with not many services left in the community, by the pictures it is certainly looking like a ghost town like other small communities on the prairie. Stay tuned for more adventures ...
Classifieds
FOR SALE
ORGANIC POTATOES. Will deliver to Kindersley. Call or text 306-4609562.
EMPLOYMENT
FOREFRONT INSUR-
ANCE is hiring external brokers and processors/ data entry positions. Broker partnership opportunities for the right candidates. Call / email Michael 403-501-8013 / mhollinda@excelrisk.ca
SCRAP METAL CLEANUP
Posting Date April 18, 2022
1. U.S. PRESIDENTS: How many presidents have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?
2. MOVIES: Which Disney character’s catchphrase is “To infinity and beyond!”?
3. GEOGRAPHY: How many permanently inhabited territories does the United States have?
4. MYTHOLOGY: What is the name of the Greek goddess of chance?
5. U.S. STATES: How many states call themselves commonwealths?
6. HISTORY: How many people worldwide were killed by the Black Death pandemic in the 1400s?
7. SCIENCE: What layer of air is closest to Earth in the atmosphere?
8. TELEVISION: Which animated TV comedy includes the fictional school Springfield Elementary?
9. ADVERTISING: A sales clerk named Lily promotes which company in advertisements?
10. LITERATURE: George Smiley is a character in which 1974 novel? © 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.
Trivia Test Answerst 1.
Four. Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter, Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt; 2. Buzz Lightyear, “Toy Story”; 3. Five (American Samoa, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands); 4. Tyche; 5. Four (Kentucky, Massachusetts, -Penn
sylvania and Virginia); 6. Estimates range from 25 million to 200 million; 7. Troposphere; 8. “The Simpsons”; 9. AT&T; 10. “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Kerrobert Marketplace
The
| PHOTO BY JOAN JANZEN
Risk of seed-placed fertilizer on canola emergence
By Warren Ward
Toxicity and salt effect from fertilizer can damage canola seed and seedlings, and reduce the return on investment for seed. One way to increase canola emergence rates is to keep all fertilizer out of the seed row – except for a starter rate of phosphate.
The risk of seed-placed fertilizer comes from the nitrogen component of ammonium phosphate, ammonium sulphate and all nitrogen fertilizers. Ammonia can damage crops through direct toxicity while nitrate will damage seedlings by desiccation through the salt effect. Potassium fertilizers also have a high salt index and should not go in the seed row.
Why is phosphorus the exception?
monoammonium phosphate) will balance those two objectives. This approach shows the interactions of the Right rate at the Right time in the Right place as part of 4R Nutrient Stewardship.
How to reduce the nitrogen risk
Under some circumstances, growers can safely apply a little extra ammonium phosphate or nitrogen fertilizer with canola seed. Factors that reduce the risk from seed-placed nitrogen are:
Seedbed moisture. Water dilutes the concentration of nitrogen molecules around the seed and seedling, and disperses nitrogen molecules throughout the soil. This moisture reduces fertilizer concentrations around the seed.
Phosphorus supply during the first two to six weeks of canola growth is critical to achieve optimal yield. Given that phosphorus availability is reduced under wet, cold conditions, canola benefits from a seed-placed supply of phosphorus fertilizer.
But not too much. Apply just enough to give each seed equal access to starter phosphate prills or droplets but not so much that the ammonium reduces emergence. A seed-placed rate equivalent to 20 lb./ac. of P2O5 (~40 lb./ac. of
Fertilizer source. Polymer coating or urease inhibitors slow the release of ammonia and ammonium from urea.
Seed bed utilization (SBU). High SBU – which can be achieved with wider openers and narrow row spacing – will lower the risk because seed and fertilizer are spread over a larger area.
Soil pH. Lower soil pH reduces the risk from seed-placed nitrogen. That is why safe rates are generally higher in Saskatchewan and Alberta than in Manitoba.
Soil texture. Heavy (clay) soils
lower the risk and light (sandy) soils increase the risk.
Test the safety of seed-placed rates
These factors don’t eliminate the risk entirely, so a large percentage of fertilizer will still have to go outside the seed row to give canola seeds a safe place to emerge and contribute to yield.
To test the effect of seed-placed fertilizer, turn off seed-placed fertilizer runs for a 100-foot strip in some fields. Mark these areas and then go back and do plant counts early in the season to compare treated and untreated strips.
The Nutrient Management section at CanolaEncyclopedia.ca has more on the placement of fertilizer (under each macronutrient heading), and a chapter on the 4R stewardship practices – Right source of fertilizer used at the Right rate, at the Right time and in the Right place. For a more detailed version of this article, look for “Right rates for seed-placed fertilizer” at canolawatch.org/fundamentals. While there, please sign up to receive our timely Canola Watch agronomy emails.
–Warren Ward is an agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada. Email wardw@canolacouncil.org.
EATONIA
Saturday, May 28
• Eatonia Chamber of Commerce Community Garage Sale 9:00 am - 2:00 pm Friday, June 17
• Prairie Oasis Fitness Club presents An Evening With Mitch Larock 5:00 pm Eatonia Community Hall. Beer Gardens and BBQ. Silver collection at the gate. Friday, Saturday & Sunday, July 1-3
• Eatonia Centennial (1920-2020). Visit eatonia2020. com for information and to purchase tickets. Saturday, July 2
• Show & Shine 11:30 am - 4:00 pm Main Street. Prizes & Trophies. $15 entry fee. For more information call 306-460-7767.
LUSELAND
Wednesday, April 27
• Luseland School Open House & Student Show-Offs 3:30 - 6:30 pm. Families of all students in Grades K-12 are encouraged to attend. Come-and-go format.
Thursday, April 28
• Luseland School Open House & Student Show-Offs 5:00 - 8:00 pm. Families of all students in Grades K-12 are encouraged to attend. Come-and-go format.
Wednesday, May 4
• Spring Yard Waste Pick Up. Have your bags out in the street by 8:00 am. Please keep bags under 40 lbs and have your branches tied in bundles for easy pick up and use clear or paper leaf bags.
Saturday, May 7
• Luseland Community Garage Sale 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Maps and BBQ available at the Legion Hall. Luseland Pioneers Club is accepting donations from the community for any “stuff” you want to get rid of.
• Farmers Market at the Luseland Salvador Hall
Monday, May 9
• Luseland Pioneers Club is having Pie-n-Ice Cream from 2:00 - 4:00 pm. Everyone welcome.
Wednesday, May 25
• Spring Yard Waste Pick Up. Have your bags out in the street by 8:00 am. Please keep bags under 40 lbs and have your branches tied in bundles for easy pick up and use clear or paper leaf bags.
KERROBERT
Now until May 27
• Kerrobert Courtroom Gallery Art Show “Common Ground”
Wednesday, April 27
• Parent & Tot & Storyteller Reading 2:30 pm at the Library. For more info call 306-834-5211
• Spring Clean pick up for bagged leaves and branches. Only bags in clearn bags will be picked up. Pick up will be done in the front of . Call the Town Office at 306-834-2361
Friday, April 29
• KCS Spring Clean Up Day
Saturday, April 30
• Fire Department Hockey Draft. Check out the Kerrobert Fire & Rescue page for info.
Sunday, May 1
• Sieben’s School of Dance at the PCC
Monday, May 2
• Hunter Safety Registration. Call Marli for more info
306-834-4440
Wednesday, May 4
• Spring Clean pick up. Call the Town Office at 306834-2361
Saturday, May 7
• Mother’s Day Tea 2:00 - 4:00 pm at the Seniors Hall Saturday, May 14
• Kerrobert Seniors Centre Town Wide Garage Sale & BBQ. Free maps available at 9:00 am at the Seniors Hall. BBQ from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. Contact the Town Office for more info or to register 306-8342361.
Wednesday, May 18
• Kerrobert Seniors Pie & Coffee Social at the Seniors Hall 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Thursday, May 26
• SWG Author Reading. Call the LIbrary for more info
306-834-5211
Friday, May 27
• CiB Flower Planting Day (Tentative)
Saturday, May 28
• Minor Ball Day
Sunday, May 29
• Rec Ball begins. Check out the Kerrobert Slow Pitch League Facebook page for info.
Tuesday, May 31
• Kerrobert & District Agriculture Society 4H Days
Wednesday, June 1
• Kerrobert & District Agriculture Society 4H Days
Friday, June 3
- Kerrobert Outdoor Market. Check Kerrobert Market Facebook page for info
- Pool Opening
Thursday, June 30
- KCS Graduation
July 8-10
- Kerrobert Rodeo
KINDERSLEY
Now until April 30
• Kindersley Composite School SLC Toy Drive to help Kinley Hildebrandt in her quest to collect toys for the children’s hospital! There will be a box in the lobby for students and staff to drop off NEW toy donations. Donations will be given to Kinley to deliver to JPCH in Saskatoon.
Monday, April 25
• Regular Meeting of Kindersley Town Council 7:00 - 8:00 pm. Join us in person in Council Chambers or view the livestream here: https://kindersley.civicweb.net/portal
Wednesday, April 27
• AWANA Boys and Grils Club 7:00 - 8:30 pm at Kindersley Alliance Church (74 West Road). Stories, songs, games and learning about God’s word. For everyone Kindergarten - Grade 6. Contact Kindersley Alliance Church 306-463-6568 or kacoffice7@gmail.com
Friday, April 29
• Cuba Fundraiser at Clearview Community Church (819 Main St) 6:00 pm. Supper & Silent Auction. Free will offering. All proceeds go to Cuba Medical Mission. Call Ruth 306-460-9911or John 306-460-7970
for more info.
Saturday, April 30
• Spring Fling 8:30 am - 1:00 pm at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Hall. Breakfast & lunch served. Homemade desserts, Frozen Perogies / Cabbage Rolls for sale, Bake Table, Raffles, Garage Sale items, Clothing.
• Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament. A fundraising event brought to you by Kinder Kollege Child Care Centre. 8:00 pm - 2:00 am at the Kindersley Legion. Doors open at 7:00 pm. $50 buy-in. One $50 re-buy. Midnight lunch. Must be 19 years or older. Call 306-4635435 (8 am - 5 pm) or 306-604-1492 (5 pm - 10 pm) for more information.
Thursday, May 9
• Kindersley Regional Park AGM at the Kindersley Golf Club in the lower room main floor 7:00 pm. Saturday, May 14
- Bike Rodeo 1:00 - 4:00 pm. The Town of Kindersley has partnered with local RCMP for an afternoon of learning and fun at the West Central Events Centre. Parents must be in attendance for children under 12. Sunday, May 15
- Kindersley Wildlife Federation Lunch & Awards at the Range. Call Dan for more info 306-463-7207. Tuesday, May 17
• Household Hazardous Waste Collection 1:00 - 6:00 pm at the West Central Event Centre parking lot. This program is open to residents of Kindersley and the surrounding area. For more info vist: https://www. productcare.org/products/hhw/saskatchewan/ Thursday, May 19
- Kindersley Playschool Open House & Registration Night 6:30 - 8:00 pm at St. Paul’s United Church basement.
Thursday, May 26
- Kindersley & District Arts Council presents “Joe Trio” at the Norman Ritchie Community Centre 7:30 pm. Friday, May 27
• Great Plains College 2022 Graduation & Recognition Ceremony Kindersley Inn Ballroom. RSVP by May 13. to kindersley.office@greatplainscollege.ca or 306463-6431 for more info.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, June 2, 3, 4
- 29th Annual Kindersley Rodeo September 22, 23. 24 and 25
- Goose Festival Days!
* Kindersley Clay Busters Trap Shooting every Wednesday (6:30 pm) and Sunday (2:00 pm) at the Kindersley Wildlife Federation Range. Your first round is on us, each round after that is $5. Contact Jeff Vass 306-4605373 for more info.
MACKLIN
Thursday, April 28
• Macklin Arts Council presents Trevor Panczak at the Macklin and District Communiplex 7:30 pm. Doors open at 7:00 pm.
Saturday, April 30
• Sieben’s School of Dance Recital July 29, 30 & 31
• World Bunnock Championship is Back! The game of bones is for everyone. Keep watching for more details.
Kerrobert Reddi Mart
