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Volunteers make
an impact
“If there
weren’t any volunteers, there wouldn’t be an organization. Just
about everything we do requires volunteers.” - Richard Marcotte.
Marcotte is the Commanding Officer for the Wylie Mitchell Air Cadets in
Estevan. His statements are not only true about the Air Cadets, but many
other organizations in Estevan and southeast Saskatchewan.
Marcotte and his wife Ruth first got involved with the Air Cadets when
their oldest son joined. 16 years after their youngest son graduated from
the program, Richard is still the Commanding Officer, and Ruth is the
former chairperson of the Civilian’s Committee. The Marcotte’s
experience gives them a first-hand perspective on the issue.
“The volunteers raise the money, keep the building going, they teach,
chaperone, and we have male and female chaperones for everything,”
said Richard. “Any speakers we have, they help set it up.”
“These volunteers amaze me, I’m thrilled to work with them and
I’m honoured to work with them,” added Ruth.
The Marcottes estimate 10-15 people volunteer regularly each year, with
others chipping in when needed. The volunteers help work events such as
the Effective Speaking Debate Competition the Air Cadets hosted recently;
organizing of ice time and coaching for the Zone 6 Curling Bonspiel; and
the annual October and November Turkey Shoot, when volunteers were needed
to distribute and sell shoot cards and obtain the turkey vouchers for
the winners.
Volunteers also work in the kitchen to raise money when the building is
leased out for events. During the Air Cadets bowling tournament, the volunteers
spent the night in the hall, supervising the Cadets so the officers could
get some sleep.
“It’s for the kids benefit, they see what their kids get from
our program,” said Ruth. “We have a lot of volunteers who stay
with the program even after their kids have finished.”
“Volunteers, are all appreciated, and we’re sad to lose them
whenever their kids move on and they move on, but we always welcome new
volunteers,” concluded Ruth.
Michelle Keerak-Cook knows all about the importance of volunteers. As
the Coordinator for Volunteer Services for Estevan Homecare, she sees
the impression volunteers leave on residents at Creighton Lodge, where
they are the main source of social interaction for residents.
“Creighton Lodge is special because it’s not officially a nursing
home,” said Keerak-Cook. “It’s not funded as one, it’s
more independent than a nursing home, so there is no recreation there.
At the homes you’re going to have recreation therapists and different
people like that, but we have nobody, so that’s why volunteers are
so important because they are the only people at Creighton Lodge who provide
recreational activities for our people.”
Among the activities at the Lodge coordinated by volunteers: monthly birthday
parties, rotating church services, bingo on Monday and Fridays, and school
children and choirs who visit and sing for the elderly. The Youth Employment
and Skills program members make semi-weekly visits, helping with bingo,
crafts, cards, manicures, and snow-shovelling and other maintenance tasks.
Keerak-Cook works with approximately 50 volunteers a year.
“These are people who don’t have a lot of touch and one-on-one
time in their lives , so it’s great when we can bring people in and
specifically assign them to do that,” said Keerak-Cook. “It’s
really wonderful how people volunteer their time, and sometimes I don’t
know if they realize it, and how important they are.”
Keerak-Cook believes people are generous with their time because they
want to help those in need and realize they would want attention if they
were in a similar situation.
“People want to give, and they’re very compassionate, and when
I explain to them the situation over there, I think they can really empathize
with the client, that they would want someone to care and come,”
said Keerak-Cook. “We have a lot of caring people who want to give,
and this is just such a great opportunity for that. They really develop
close relationships with the client.”
“It means everything, I believe the residents spiritual and recreational
needs are just as important as their physical needs, and without those
two parts of their life being met, I think we’d see their health
deteriorating,” concluded Keerak-Cook. “This gives them something
to look forward to, a link to the community so they know what’s going
on, something to nourish their spirit and keep them going. Some of these
people could become isolated, and as soon as they become isolated it leads
to depression, and it creates another medical condition. We don’t
want them isolated and depressed.”
The Royal Canadian Legion’s Estevan branch sees the impact of volunteers
every Monday and Wednesday night. The Legion hosts Bingo on those nights,
and requires eight volunteers to make it work. Bingo nights are the main
fund-raiser for the Legion and its charities.
“Volunteers are the backbone of the organization, we couldn’t
operate without them,” said Legion President Ken Clarke. “We
need more volunteers, we have a pretty strong membership, but proportionately
only a small number of them do volunteer work, so we need more input from
more members.”
However, the Legion feels the impact of volunteers from more than just
its Bingo nights. November is particularly important for the club, as
they need volunteers for the business blitzes, which they hope to resume
this year to increase revenues; their poppy tea; and the November 11 Remembrance
Day Ceremonies. The Legion also helps out during the Salvation Army’s
Red Shield Campaign.
Numerous local charities benefit from the money raised by the Legion’s
volunteer work. They support Society for Maintaining and Improving Life
in Estevan (SMILE) Services, the food hamper campaign during Christmas,
and the United Way Marathon in October.
“We’re probably the most generous organization in the city when
it comes to donating money to charities so it makes people feel good to
be part of this,” said Clarke.
Clarke believes the Legion still needs more volunteers to help offset
the aging veterans.
“We need lots of bodies, lots of good legs, and unfortunately the
legs of the veterans aren’t so young anymore.”
“I feel great about it, as they must, or else they wouldn’t
be doing it,” concluded Clarke. “Many people can give money,
but it’s more important to give of your time.”
Local Business
making transition
by David Willberg
Estevan’s former Beaver Lumber store is one of over 100 across Canada
making a transition.
As of January 1, 2001, Beaver Lumber became Home Building Centre, the
result of a November 1999 buyout by Home Hardware. At first Home Hardware
intended on keeping the Beaver Lumber name, but decided last year to substitute
the names of all the Beaver Lumber stores in Canada to Home Building Centres.
Since that time, many changes have been occurring. On January 1, Gary
Schilling, who previously owned just over half of the store, became the
sole owner, meaning increased capital investment. Other changes that have
been completed: Beaver Lumber product numbers to the Home Building Centre
product numbers, aisleway signs from Beaver Lumber to Home Hardware, employee
uniforms and nametags, and computer programs.
However, one thing that has yet to be replaced is the old Beaver Lumber
signage on the exterior of the store. Schilling expects to see those done
in the next couple of weeks, but Home Hardware has pushed it back a couple
of times before. Building exterior and vehicle painting also need to be
altered, and all of that should be complete in the next three months
Some things won’t be changed, including the overall store format.
Home Building Centres are the lumberyards of Home Hardware, meaning products
sold at Beaver Lumber but not Home Hardware, such as lumber, plywood,
insulation, drywall and shingles, can still be purchased.
“There’s been some bumps and valleys, but the conversion process
has been well-planned by Home Hardware, the process has followed a very
smooth map,” said Schilling. “It’s nothing we haven’t
been able to overcome.”
Labour also won’t be affected, as there won’t be employee cutbacks
from the merger. “It will be business as usual,” said Schilling.
“The way we’ll operate now is as two separate identities, Home
Hardware and Home Building Centres. We’re members of the same company,
but we will operate differently.”
“That’s not to say that it won’t change long-term, though,”
continued Schilling. “But all indications are the operations will
run as they are, as two separate locations.”
Outside of increasing the money he invests, Schilling won’t have
any significant switches with the way he runs the business.
Schilling said the reaction from his employees has been “very positive”
towards the merger. “The main reason is because under the previous
banner of Beaver Lumber, we all knew Beaver Lumber was wanting to sell,
and it’s a somewhat awkward and difficult situation to be owned by
a company that wants to sell, it’s not a very good feeling. It’s
come to rest, we’re owned by a company who wants to own us, and it’s
been a positive feeling towards that. It’s caused some excitement,
everybody likes the excitement of a change, and certainly this is a massive
one.”
Schilling had been a part owner of Beaver Lumber since 1992. Beaver had
been at its present location since the mid-1950s.
“This operation will run as it has in the past, we strive on excellence
in customer service at competitive prices and we’re here to serve
the public in Estevan as we have in the past with excitement and competitiveness,”
concluded Schilling. “As far as we’re concerned, it’s the
same people and staff, so this is a positive move for Estevan.”
Construction continues
Estevan’s newest hotel will be completed in over a month.
The Perfect Inns and Suites, located just off Fourth Street, is slated
to open on May 4. The hotel will include 65 rooms and five suites, three
of which will have jacuzzies. There will also be a meeting room, a continental
breakfast area and a lobby with a fireplace.
Originally, the hotel was to be completed in February, but the cold weather
late in 2000 pushed it back.
“The reasons for the delay were the heavy snowfall that we had in
early November and the subsequent high wind-chill and snow,” said
General Manager Ken Sholter.
Sholter added there’s a chance the opening may be pushed back again
because of work that will be required on the parking lot and landscaping
of the hotel. If the weather is good, though, the project should be completed
on time.
Currently they are painting the first floor, drywalling the second and
third floor, and putting up the canopy. Stucco still has to be applied
to the outside and the elevator still has to be installed inside, a project
that will take three weeks.
“The quality of the place will be second-to-none, anybody who comes
in and stays will be impressed with the quality of rooms,” said Sholter.
“It has a good location, too.”
Chamber hosts speaker
By David Willberg
The Estevan Chamber of Commerce hosted broadcaster and business writer
Paul Martin March 19 at the Beefeater Inn’s Fireside Room.
Martin, President of Paul Martin Communications, discussed Action Saskatchewan,
a plan to increase business and revenue in Saskatchewan by 2005. He was
joined by Larry Hiles, the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce’s second
vice-president and Mark McLeod, a Director for the provincial Chamber.
“Originally the plan was to engage in the development of a business
plan for the province to have it ready for 2005” said Martin. “But
it became clear very early the business community was not ready to write
a business plan for the province.”
Thus, the Chamber released Version 1.0 of Action Saskatchewan, which Hiles
called a “state of the nation” document. The Chamber is now
working on Version 2.0, which they hope will answer many of the questions
raised by version 1.0.
“There are a few things that have come out of Version 1.0 with regards
to agriculture value, what we can do with the most prominent industry
that we have,” said Hiles. “If that’s successful, then
Rural Saskatchewan will be more successful.”
After introducing the program, Martin discussed ways to make Saskatchewan
more successful, including retaining Saskatchewan’s youth and increasing
agriculture revenues.
According to Martin, while Saskatchewan has a lot of young people, most
of them leave as young adults, as 50% of defections from Saskatchewan
are between the age of 20-35, and 69% of them go to Alberta. Martin thinks
Saskatchewan needs to keep more young adults to offset Saskatchewan’s
aging population.
Martin also discussed agriculture and how Saskatchewan needs to bring
in more money for its farming exports. According to his stats, Saskatchewan
has the largest agricultural land base, but the poorest values. He would
like to see Saskatchewan increase its land values by seven or eight times
from its current levels of $86/acre.
“We go for high volumes of low value commodities, and as the commodity
production increases, the margin gets higher, and we decrease the values
even further,” said Martin.
Estevan Chamber of Commerce Business Manager Barrie Hodgson said the local
Chamber is looking into bringing Martin back for their July noon luncheon.
While he was disappointed with the five local Chamber people who came
out, Hodgson was very impressed with what he heard.
“I thought his message was scary with relation to the rural economy,
and that’s why we want to bring him back and make sure our members
understand what it is he has said,” said Hodgson.
City Council Notes:
March 19, 2001
Notes from the March 19 meeting of City Council:
*Council will be looking into reestablishing a sign committee after a
proposal from Harold Helm, owner of AMC Billboard Co. Ltd, asking to be
given control of the five billboard corridors on the entrances to Estevan.
*A proposal that Yvette Wright by appointed as E.M.O. Coordinator for
the city effective April 1 was tabled to the next Council meeting.
*Council will await a cost analysis report for repairs to the city excavator,
estimated at $12,600.
*Council tendered a $29,725.78 contract to Weldon Concrete Products, Ltd.
for wet well construction at the Drader Street and Kensington Avenue pumping
stations.
*The sign variance request from Perfect Inns and Suites was tabled to
the soon-to-be-formed signs committee.
*The Police Board budget will be tabled to next week’s City Council
meeting.
*A revamped 2001 budget was released, with a listing of the 2000 estimates
and the 1998 and 1999 actual expenditures. It included some recommended
cuts for 2001 compared to the required amount. Council will review this
new budgetary document in-depth during next week’s Council meeting.
*Council will examine purchasing a downtown property for a parking lot
during the next meeting.
SaskTel wins national
youth award
For the second year in a row, the Conference Board of Canada has recognized
SaskTel as Saskatchewan’s top youth employer.
Canada’s Top Employers of Youth Awards recognize and reward employers
that hire youth into permanent, full-time jobs with training and career
development opportunities. SaskTel will be presented with its award at
the Conference Board’s Partners 2001 Symposium on April 28th in Winnipeg.
“This is a prestigious award from the Conference Board of Canada
and I congratulate SaskTel,” said Crown Investments Corporation Minister
Maynard Sonntag. “SaskTel has long been committed to helping Saskatchewan
youth gain valuable work experience. Its employees contribute to SaskTel’s
youth employment initiatives and play an important role in helping many
young people begin their careers.”
Stepping Out in
Style
Members of the Lampman Public Library Board are busily preparing for their
second annual ladies luncheon, appropriately titled “Stepping Out
in Style.” This function will be held at the Lampman Legion on Saturday,
April 7th.
“We had a super response to our first luncheon,” commented Library
Board President Danita Diekrager, “and our board members are confident
that they will be able to improve on last year’s success. We are
all a little more experienced and very excited about the event.”
At the luncheon, each board member takes on the responsibility of decorating
her table according to a theme and serving 6 ladies a delicious lunch.
Price of admission includes two salads, two desserts, punch, entertainment,
and the opportunity to win some lovely door prizes.
The guest speaker is Gail Bowen, whose seven Joanne Kilbourn mystery novels
have won her widespread acclaim. Four of these novels have recently been
adapted into television movies.
Proceeds from the luncheon will be put towards defraying the expense of
providing free internet access, which costs approximately $1000 annually.
The cost of the luncheon is $25.00. Doors will open promptly at 11:30
AM. Tickets may be acquired by calling the Lampman Library at 487-2202.
Highway 350 closed
Highway 350 from Torquay to the US Border remains closed due to flooding
from Long Creek.
The road was closed Wednesday morning due to snow melting from Long Creek
clearing the shorelines and onto the highway. This is the first time the
road has been closed from flooding since 1997.
“It’s about four or five inches over the bridge, and it’s
gone over in other years as well, and with this year’s high snowfall
it was expected water would go over this year as well,” said Archie
Stewart of the Department of Highways in Carlyle. “The road is closed,
I guess we’ll have to see how long it will be closed, but the slower
thaw is helping us, it’s not like it’s 15 above.”
The road was closed completely Wednesday night except to local traffic.
All other traffic was re-routed to Highways 35 or 47.
It is not yet known when the road will be reopened.
Cougar concern
over
By David Willberg
Estevan’s cougar fears can begin to subside.
The issue that gave Estevan nationwide media attention appears to be over,
as on March 15 Conservation Officer Mick Bakke removed the trap that had
been set up on February 13.
“We’ve removed the trap as a result of no sightings and no complaints,”
said Bakke. “The fact that our spring is making its presence known
and the deer have dispersed back into the hills, we assume the cats have
followed suit.”
Bakke was content with the way people reacted to the situation, but believes
Estevan residents can learn a lot from this experience.
“People now will maybe be less inclined to feed or draw deer to the
outside edges of the city. With what we had happen this year, maybe if
they decide they want to help the deer, they will set up their own feeding
stations outside the city as opposed to their back door.”
“Some people were wanting to feed birds, it’s a very common
hobby, so maybe they will find a way so that the deer can’t get into
the seed, which occurred a few times,” continued Bakke.
Cougar fears aren’t the only thing ending. Ice fishing season ends
this Saturday, although with spring runoffs and warming temperatures that
season was almost over a few weeks ago.
It will be a month before fishing season resumes in an attempt to give
fish a chance to spawn.
“From all accounts, it was a relatively slow season overall, it started
off fairly well in the winter, but then tapered off after Christmas,”
said Bakke. He added that the season was slow across the province and
North Dakota, not just on Raffarty and Boundary Dams.
Estevan will get a new snowgoose season from April 2 - May 5, joining
the fall snowgoose season. Bakke believes they needed to do something
to avoid exploding snowgoose populations from destroying their Arctic
habitat.
“The natural vegetation is disappearing rapidly, and it affects the
snowgoose populations and the other birds in the Arctic,” said Bakke.
“So in an attempt to quell the snowgoose populations, they’re
trying different things, including a spring snowgoose hunt.”
Hunting is all day, with a 20 geese a day limit and a possession limit
of 60. Electronic snowgoose calls are permitted, but not toxic shells.
Hunters need a 2000 Migratory Bird Certificate to participate.
Students visit
Lampman
A group from
Living Faith Bible College in Caroline, Alberta recently toured Southeast
Saskatchewan.
Six students and a staff member visited Oxbow, Carnduff, Carlyle and Lampman
from March 11-14. The stops in Southeast Saskatchewan were part of a bigger
tour that included stops in Minot and Regina. During the evening, they
took time to promote the 39-student school, then shared the Gospel through
drama, singing, testimony and preaching.
“We call it our Practical Ministry Tours because we believe we should
not only be in the classroom learning but we should put it into practice,”
said Pastor Cliff Stalwick of the school. “We learn about preaching
and do some preaching; witnessing and do some witnessing.”
Each student in the college goes on a two-and-a-half week tour in the
spring and spends a couple of weekends in the fall working in a church
in Caroline.
“We’re quite excited about being able to teach and train students,
to give them teaching for Christian living and ministry,” said Stalwick.
“We have 12 seniors, and most of them will be in some form of ministry:
pastoring, missions, evangelism or youth ministry, so we’re excited.”
Teen Aid giving
youth choices
The Estevan Chapter of Teen-Aid is continuing in its efforts to spread
the message of celibacy.
Teen-Aid is a non-profit organization providing a chastity-based resource
taught by certified instructors Anita Gellner and Georgette Rolfes, and
they offer age-appropriate information from Grade Six to Grade Twelve
in schools and church groups in Southeast Saskatchewan. They also do parent
workshops, which assist adults in their role as educators. Topics covered
include setting dating standards, communication and media awareness.
Teen-Aid believes chastity is the healthiest sexual lifestyle, both physically
and emotionally. They offer information, encouragement and support to
teens to help them choose chastity, no matter what they’ve experienced
in the past.
There will be an Easter Bake Sale on April 7 at the Estevan Shopper’s
Mall.
Now Open Box Car
54
The Box Car 54 Lounge on Sixth Street is now open.
Owner Bryon Brisbois has been impressed with the response since his business
opened on March 22.
“It’s been great, it’s been a lot busier than what I expected,”
said Brisbois. “It’s really surprising how many people have
showed up on word of mouth.”
Turnbull’s
hosts boat show
Turnbull’s Motorsports held their first annual boat show at the Wylie
Mitchell Building March 24-25.
The event drew about 500 people. A full line of Turnbull’s summer
water products were for sale, including fishing boats, paddle boats, boat
trailers, and scuba gear. While sales weren’t high, Turnbull’s
Manager Brad Pierson hopes to capitalize on some of the interest generated
during the weekend.
“We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the turnout the past two
days,” said Pierson. “We have plans about making a full deal
next year with all our lines in one show where we can incorporate early
buying of Polaris sleds for the fall and whatever we else we have to offer
at that point.”
Chamber of Commerce
Notes
Notes from the March 14 Chamber of Commerce meeting:
*The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce is now accepting applications for
the provincial ABEX award.
*President John Empey discussed a recent meeting he, City Council and
Emergency Response Service representatives had with CP Rail. (For more,
please see p. )
*There will be new sign boards installed around the entrances to Estevan.
*Jim Reed will be serving as the new Chairman of the Estevan Showcase
Committee.
*The chamber’s Annual General Meeting will be April 7, with a spring
ball the main part. There will be a dinner, and Kan’t Remember will
be performing. Tickets are $30.00.
*Estevan Promotions will be holding the annual street fair on May 26.
*Duane McKay and Doug Line of the Provincial 9-1-1 Service were the guest
speakers. They discussed some of the benefits and difficulties of the
program, and answered questions from those in attendance.
*Next meeting is April 11 with special guest speaker John Bishop of SaskPower.
Road Bans Underway
Road bans in Southeast Saskatchewan are underway.
The road bans came into effect March 9, and will continue until April
20 at the latest. However, the Saskatchewan Department of Highways can
lift them before that.
“They’re to protect the investment to the people who use those
kinds of roads that aren’t structurally designed to carry the heavy
traffic when the frost starts to come out of the ground,” said Archie
Stewart from the Department of Highways office in Carlyle.
Most of the roads affected by the bans are the Thin Membrane Surface dust-free
roads that were built back in the 1960s and ’70s that aren’t
structurally designed for heavy traffic . The RMs will impliment bans
on many of their roads as well. However, most of Highways 39, 18 and 47
won’t be affected by the bans.
Vehicles affected are large trucks. Many of these trucks service the oilfield,
causing a slowdown in their production and forcing the companies to focus
on other things, such as increased training for employees.
“We put the bans on to protect them from failing or breaking up as
much as possible,” said Stewart.
Classic Jewellers
New owners Dave and Lil Wanner re-opened Classic Jewelers Ltd.
in the Estevan Shoppers Mall on March 22.
TeleService Centre
open
The Estevan
Credit Union held the grand opening of their TeleService Call Centre in
its Bienfait Branch on March 23.
The service, which started on October 30, will handle all calls coming
in from Estevan during business hours. According to the Credit Union’s
Member Services Sales Manager Brenda Stark, it took over a year to get
the centre open.
“We’ve been holding a study of various call centres for well
over a year prior to implementation” said Stark.
The Call Centre will handle after hours calls from rural areas and hope
to handle them during business hours from all rural areas within the next
year. Member transactions and requests and consumer lending can be completed
through the centre.
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My Friend &
I
To most people the thought of making a change to oak cupboards never mind
painting them is a sin. We have a client that will try just about anything.
They had oak cupboards that were at least 30 years old with big ornate handles.
The first thing she did was get rid of the old hardware. All you people
out there that are going “Oh my Gosh!!!” they painted oak, you
can relax, we applied a stain to the cupboards.
The original colour was golden oak, so it was easy to apply a coloured stain
to them. The next step was to fill the holes from the old handles, with
wood filler. Follow the package instructions. Then everything was given
a good sanding, making sure to get off any oil and dirt, but we did not
worry about trying to take them back to bare wood. Wipe it all down with
a tack cloth to remove all dust particles.
With a good stain brush and a lint free cloth, we applied a coat of a cherry
stain. The stain will not soak into the wood the way it will on bare wood,
so you have to make sure the stain is completely dry. Give it another sanding
with a 220 to 320 grit sandpaper. You will have to sand in between each
coat and then wipe them down with tack cloths. After the second coat of
stain, we were happy with the rich cherry finish. We sanded and wiped them
again and applied two coats of varathan to them, making sure to sand and
wipe in between each of these coats.
The cupboards went from looking dated to sleek and modern. Brushed steel
hardware was added which assured the contemporary look. The fact that the
walls had just been painted in a yellow/green shade (New Bamboo) really
added to the updated look.
Dee’s Diary...more
or less
It looks like spring has sprung! It is natural that our thoughts are directed
to plants and planting. I came across a table of blooms in mid-March while
grocery shopping. There was such an array of very colorful bedding plants,
and I just had to get a tray of ten plants. What a way to celebrate a
beautiful Spring Day! When I got them home I realized that two months
would pass by before I could put them outdoors! I have a green eye but
not a green thumb.
I can hoe, and I can pick weeds, and I can water, but bedding plants seem
to droop and die if I must care for them indoors for very long. I think
I got carried away! For the time being I have set them in a sunny spot
in the rumpus room, and I will try not to water too much. But I will love
all the color. It was a good bargain even if they don’t get into
the ground on May 24th. I plan to wait until the weather warms to start
to put any seeds or plants outdoors.
There’s always lots to do before getting into the garden or the flower
beds. Houseplants that have grown too large for their containers can be
repotted. Cut back leggy plants to encourage compact growth. Root cuttings
in moist media to increase your supply of plants.
Houseplants can be watered more often when spring comes and new growth
begins.
Containers from the kitchen can be recycled for starting seeds. Aluminum
trays from frozen foods need a few holes to provide drainage. Other useful
containers can be used from margarine, cottage cheese, milk or ice cream
cartons, egg cartons or paper cups. And don’t forget the drainage
holes.
What to use for potting mix? One part rich garden soil, one part compost
or leaf mold, one part sand or perlite. Add one tablespoon dry 5-10-5
fertilizer and 1 tablespoon dotomic lime per gallon of mixture.
It is a good idea to keep information on a clip board. Note the varieties
of plants, and the dates of planting, so you will know when successive
plantings should be done. Keep a record of when plants emerge, also the
dates of watering or the times of rainfall and of hot and cold weather.
This is like a diary and will be interesting to compare and refer to through
the years.
Chemicals? Don’t buy more than you need for one season, minimum size
is a good rule. If you have chemicals you no longer use, dispose of them
according to local regulations. Do not pour them down the drain or onto
the ground. This can pollute water systems, damage soil, injure or kill
plants, people and animals
Do you have youngsters who want to garden? Try to include sunflowers from
seeds. They sprout quickly and these strong dependable seedlings can push
their way through crusted soil. Their growth is fascinating to watch.
My gardening plans for the coming season are vague- maybe unlikely except
for these perky bedding plants that I am now enjoying. I may add some
onion sets into the pots of flowers that I put out in the yard. Lettuce
and radishes can be tucked in as well. And maybe I can find a spot for
a few sunflowers somewhere.
Happy Spring-Happy Gardening!
Until next time....Dee
Our Land Our Heritage
Part 3 - From Alameda to Wood End
Roy Sanderson
At sunset the troop reached Alameda, May 22, 1886. They have done the
thirty miles at a walk. The Alameda we speak of here was located on the
Souris River south of the present location of Alameda. Corporal Donkin
mentions that one corporal and one man had wintered on the Souris at a
settlers dwelling. These two men are to join the group. Alameda is described
as being a few log shanties stacked here and there above the valley on
the Souris River. A store and a post office make up the village. The area
supports groves of oak, poplar, elm and maple trees.
The plan is to march to Souris Crossing, a point on the Boundary Commission
Trail where it crosses the Souris River right at the 49th parallel. Set
up a police post there and then march west to Wood End, where another
post is to be located.
The trek leaves Alameda on the morning of May 23, 1886. On gaining the
high ground on the other side of the valley, the blue hills of the Missouri
Coteau is visible to the south. The land is sparsely settled. After a
five hour march they have reached their destination of Souris Crossing.
Corporal Donkin is the man selected to be in charge of the Souris Crossing
Post. He decides to set up camp on the west side of the crossing. He chooses
a level piece of ground some two hundred yards back from the river with
the banks of the valley in the background. He is delighted with this beautiful
spot in the valley. He mentions the beautiful oak and elm trees. There
is acres of grass for the horses, and the river near by for water. On
May 24, 1886 the main troop under Inspector McGibbon depart Souris Crossing
marching west following the Boundary Commission Trail. They pass the Hill
of the Murdered Scout, St. Peters Springs, Roche Percee and arrive at
Wood End Post directly south of present day Estevan.
Wood End Post was first established in the fall of 1873 as a supply depot
for the Boundary Commission. In May of 1886 it becomes Wood End Post under
the North West Mounted Police. Ten men and sixteen horses make up the
operation from May to November for that year. We understand that for the
most part they lived in tents and possibly sod buildings left by the Boundary
Commission. Inspector J.A. McGibbon makes Alameda his headquarters.
Inspector J.A. McGibbon left his name and date on many places on the Roche
Percee sandstone. One very good display is in the Centennial Park at Roche
Percee. It is quite high up and suggests that he was sitting on his horse
when it was done. Out side of Corporal Donkin we do not know the names
of the other men that were here at that time. Donklin’s name may
be there also but I have not been able to find it.
-By Roy Sanderson of Estevan
Credit: Trooper in the Far North-West by John George Donkin
Bucky Spooner
“Spring Feverishly”
Everywhere I go lately people are acting like they just won the lottery.
I finally had to ask a person on the street the other day why she was
so chipper. She said, “I just love this weather and the end of winter!”
A little further down the street there was another guy practically skipping.
As we approached I greeted him with, “Hi. How are you?” He stopped
me and before I could react, he included me in his group therapy.
“Isn’t the weather beautiful? Spring is in the air!” he
declared.
I hated to disappoint him but I told him that his “spring is in the
air” routine was hogwash. He recoiled like I’d whacked him between
the eyes.
“Whatdaya mean?”
“Do you own a car? Or is it against your ecological beliefs to own
a device known to suck up the ozone layer?”
“As a matter of fact, I do have a car,” he claimed.
“Really? I sort of figured you for a tree hugger.”
“It’s an electric one and I don’t take it out much. Especially
when it’s this nice out.”
“Well, I have one too and it’s a good old- fashioned fossil
fuel burner. I drive it all the time regardless of the weather. But I
don’t feel all warm and fuzzy inside every time I have to wash the
thing because of our spring weather.”
“Oh, I won’t take it out if it’s going to get dirty.”
“You mean you only drive on calm days when there is no chance of
rain? Are you an eccentric millionaire or have you let your medication
lapse?”
“No on both counts. I just love to walk and enjoy the fresh air and
feel the gentle spring breeze on face. I only drive when I have to.”
“Obviously you haven’t walked to the convenience store for anything
in the last couple of days. Tell you what. If you’ll walk north on
Souris to the store at about noon, I’ll meet you there at about 12:30.
If you’re still singing in the hills with Julie Andrews, I’ll
buy you lunch.”
“Ok you’ve got a deal.”
When I got to the store I couldn’t wait to see “Mr. Singing
In The Rain.” But he wasn’t there. About an hour later, he showed
up with the same annoying bounce in his step. It was starting to look
like my lunch challenge was a mistake.
“I told you to follow Souris over here,” I said
“I did, just like you told me,” he said.
“Then I take it, you haven’t changed your mind about spring?”
“Nope. And I should point out that I am partial to sea food.”
“Sorry pal,” I said. “ Estevan doesn’t have a sea
food restaurant that I know of. You might get a tuna salad sandwich somewhere.”
“It doesn’t matter. A deal is a deal, and you owe me lunch.”
We had barely given our order when cops were everywhere with lights flashing
and sirens screaming. I checked the menu again to see if I had somehow
missed the “pastry special.” There was no special and the police
were obviously looking for someone. Moments later “Springman”
was in a white dinner jacket that tied securely in the back.
“What’s up constable?” I asked.
“Friend of yours?”
“Not exactly. Why?”
“We got some complaints from several people driving down Souris this
afternoon. Apparently buddy got splashed and went mildly psychotic. Grabbed
a baseball bat and tried hitting windshields out of the park. He was screaming
something about how much he loved spring. Before we could catch him he
took off and changed into some different clothes.”
“You don’t say. Do you like fish?”
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Schmidt repeats
as champion
Lloyd Schmidt’s
Frank’s on Fourth Super League team are the league champions, again.
Schmidt’s rink edged Robert Keating’s rink 8-6 Tuesday to repeat
as champions. They defeated Chris Mass’ SaskTel team 5-3 last year.
“It feels pretty good, probably even better because we defended our
title from last year, so it’s always nice when you can defend your
title and prove the first time wasn’t a fluke,” said Schmidt.
The match seemed to be in hand, with Schmidt up 6-3 after six ends. But
Keating’s team refused to quit, and took one in the seventh and stole
another in the eighth. A blank end gave Schmidt the hammer in the final
end, and his shot slightly edged Keating’s rock in the 12 foot ring
to prevent another steal and an extra end.
Schmidt knew at the start of the year his team could repeat, but it wasn’t
without challenges. Their second from last year, Brent Gedak, went to
school in Moose Jaw, and their third, Bret Kempel, missed the season with
a knee injury. Gedak returned to play third after Christmas, moving Dusty
Schneider from third to second.
“I just want to thank my guys who played well tonight and all year,”
said Schmidt. “We struggled with three players and subs before Christmas,
but when Brent came back and joined us, we started playing really well,
we’ve only lost one game since Christmas.”
Schmidt’s team collected $600 for the win, while Keating’s team
earned $400 in the loss.
SJHL Playoff Standings
(as of March 25)
Nipawin
vs. Flin Flon
Nipawin leads best of seven 2-1.
March 21: Nipawin 1, Flin Flon 4
March 23: Flin Flon 3, Nipawin 5
March 25: Nipawin 7, Flin Flon 2
Lebret vs. Weyburn
Best of seven tied 1-1.
March 22: Lebret 3, Weyburn 6
March 24: Weyburn 4, Lebret 5
Big Six Finals
The combination
of fatigue and a hot goalie slowed down the Carlyle Cougars in their drive
to three-peat as Big Six Champions.
The Carnduff Red Devils defeated the Cougars 6-3 Sunday night to shrink
the Cougars lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven Big Six Final. The Red Devils
led 3-1 after the first period, but the Cougars came out strong in the
second period, scoring a late goal to make the score 3-2 in a period the
Cougars fired 14 shots on Carnduff goalie Donny Rostad, who was named
Player of the Game. But Carnduff scored twice early in the third to make
it 5-2 and with the two teams trading late goals. Shane Sterling and Kevin
Wolensky each scored two goals in the victory.
The game was the third in three nights for Carlyle, who beat Carnduff
8-4 Saturday night and lost 6-4 in Delisle in the first game of the SAHA
Sr. “C” Championship Friday.
“Fatigue was not as much of a factor for the game Saturday, but last
night was the third game in three nights, so I think the guys were a little
tired,” said Carlyle GM/forward Tim LeQuyer.
Carnduff could not capitalize on any possible Carlyle weariness Saturday
night in the loss. Carlyle scored two powerplay goals, two four-on-four
goals and a shorthanded goal in the victory, while Matt Ludlow made timely
saves, especially early in the first period.
“We feel there’s a lot of work that has to be done yet, but
we think we’re in a pretty good position,” said Carlyle defenceman/GM
Tim LeQuyer.
Carnduff didn’t have to face Ludlow Sunday night, and while Craig
Francis made some good saves, Carnduff Head Coach Allan Hubbard believes
solving Ludlow when he plays is the key to beating Carlyle.
“We have to concentrate on beating Ludlow, he’s playing really
strong for them right now, and in the first game (a 5-3 Cougar win) we
outplayed them, but their goalie stood on his head for them,” said
Hubbard. “Once we crack his case that might put us back into the
series, but if we don’t, our backs are against the wall. They’re
a good team, they’re not a fast team, but they do all the little
things right.”
SJHL Game Schedule
All games begin at 7:30 pm
Nipawin vs. Flin Flon
March 28: Nipawin at Flin Flon
*March 30: Flin Flon at Nipawin
*March 31: Nipawin at Flin Flon
Lebret vs. Weyburn
March 27: Weyburn at Lebret
March 29: Lebret at Weyburn
March 31: Weyburn at Lebret
April 1: Lebret at Weyburn
*If necessary
Snowmobile Club
receives money
The Cornerstone
Regional Economic Development Authority (CREDA) made a significant donation
to the Estevan Snowmobile Club on March 19.
CREDA donated $7,500 to the club, which will help cover the costs of the
club’s new $22,000 groomer.
Moose Mountain
K of C Host Free Throw
Four Estevan youth were among the winners at the Moose Mountain Knights
of Columbus’ Basketball Free Throw competition at the Arcola High
School on March 4.
10 year old Ann Pham, 14 year old Meghan Betnar, 10 year old Grant Henneberg
and 14 year old Paul Mantei won their respective age groups. Competitors
from four districts across Southeast Saskatchewan competed in the contest.
11 year old Erica Morton of Carlyle, 12 year old Jessica Zackrisson of
Tribune and 13 year old Mark Johnston of Kisbey also emerged victorious.
JLS wins Oilmen’s
By David Willberg
JLS Consulting Ltd, skipped by Dusty Schneider, are the 2001 Estevan OTS
Oilmen’s Bonspiel Champions.
Schneider teamed with lead Darrell Duce, second Donald Willock and third
Devon Fornwald to win the Estevan Curling Club’s biggest bonspiel
of the year on Sunday with a 6-5 victory over Ron Perkins’ TSM #3
team. 80 teams with curlers from across the Prairies competed in one of
the largest Oilmen’s Bonspiels in Saskatchewan.
It wasn’t an easy road for JLS, skipped by Dusty Schneider. Their
first game was a difficult one against Brent Gedak’s defending champion
Supreme Oilfield rink, their first of seven victories, including three
on Sunday. They defeated PS Electric 7-5 in the semi-finals in a match
JLS seemed to have in hand, but had to hold on to for the victory.
“We didn’t really think we could do it, it’s a very hard
tournament to win,” said Schneider. “Everyone here is a good
curler, and the rink did a great job.”
It was a tough start in the final for Schneider’s team, as they trailed
TSM 3-1 after the first four ends. However, his team rebounded to take
two points in the fifth and sixth ends to lead 5-3. Perkins rallied with
two of his own in the seventh to tie the game at 5-5, giving Schneider
the hammer for the final end, an opportunity he took advantage of to get
the win.
“We got two in the sixth end, they came back with two in the seventh,
so giving us the hammer in the eighth was the turning point,” said
Schneider.
This is the third Oilmen’s victory in five years for Schneider, who
won it in 1996 and 1998. He has been with Fornwald and Willock the past
four years.
The victory over the Gedak rink gave Schneider’s team the confidence
they needed early on.
“It was a great game and a lot of fun,” said Schneider. “It
was a great way to start a Bonspiel.”
Schneider said while it was good to win the Bonspiel, winning is not the
main focus of the curlers there.
“It’s a nice Bonspiel to meet everyone,” said Schneider.
“You’re here with your friends and co-workers.”
As for the defending champions, after losing in the first round, Gedak’s
team strung together three straight wins in the “B” Pool before
losing 11-6 to Steve Lima’s TSM #2 team in the semi-finals.
“In our first game, we played a really good team with four good curlers,
and we just got out-curled,” said Gedak. “That’s all there
was to it, we lost to another team. The same thing tonight, we got beat
by a better team.”
In other draws, TSM #2 would eventually win the “B” Pool, defeating
Tony Naka’s Elcott Energy 8-0 in four ends. Dan Amundrud’s Apex
team defeated Randy Franke’s KRJ squad 5-4 in the “C1”
final, while Mike Mainil’s Mainil Ltd. beat Trevor Fauth’s Corrpro
team 8-3 in seven ends in the “C2” final.
“The Curling Club put on a great event, the OTS put on a great event,”
concluded Schneider. “It’s a lot of fun.”
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