There was no shortage of big stories in the Estevan area in 2018. Numerous stories had an impact on the city, not only at the time, but in the long-term as well. These are our choices for stories No. 6-10 for the top stories of the year.
6: June storms pack a punch: Southeast Saskatchewan was struck by two powerful thunderstorms in June.
The first hit on June 1, and dropped 45.2 millimetres of rain, or just under two inches, on Estevan. Wind gusts reached 85 kilometres per hour in the early evening.
The precipitation caused some flooding of roads in the city, and toppled trees and snapped branches.
But the storm hit harder in other parts of southeast Saskatchewan. Lampman had up to 250 millimetres (10 inches) of rain. Bienfait had anywhere from 50 millimetres (two inches) to 175 millimetres (seven inches). And Alameda received about 225 millimetres (nine inches).
The Town of Lampman implemented a state of emergency, and the flooding was reported to be worse than in 2011, when water also threatened the town.
Another powerful storm walloped the Estevan area on June 14, with heavy rain, large hail and powerful winds. A tornado warning was issued for the city, although a twister was not confirmed.
Woodlawn Regional Park sustained considerable damage due to the storm, with the campground at Boundary Dam sustaining the brunt of the damage.
The storm also hit the Boundary Dam Power Station hard, and damaged transmission lines. Estevan was left without power for about seven hours.
The four units at the Boundary Dam Power Station were knocked offline, and while Units 4, 5 and 6 were repaired relatively quickly, Unit 3 at Boundary Dam, which is connected to the carbon capture and storage facility, was offline for more than two months, knocking the CCS facility offline for the same length of time.
The hail caused damage to vehicles and homes in the city, and was so severe that it created a thick, white layer on Highway 39 between Estevan and Bienfait that had to be removed with a snow plow.
7. Coal’s uncertain future: The future of coal mining in the Estevan area has been a big topic of discussion ever since the federal government announced in 2016 that it would phase out conventional coal power in 2030.
The Just Transition for Canadian Coal-Power Workers and Communities to Estevan on June 14 to meet with different groups in the community, and to hold a town hall-style meeting with the employees of the Westmoreland Coal Company’s Estevan mines, and SaskPower’s Boundary Dam and Shand Power Stations that attracted more than 100 people.
Jody Dukart, an international auditor/teller with UMWA, described the task force’s visit as a “reality check.”
The future of the carbon capture and storage (CCS) was not addressed, although task force members did tour the CCS facility at the Boundary Dam Power Station.
The committee had not released its recommendations as of Dec. 20.
Another issue facing the local coal industry is the future of the Westmoreland Coal Company, which operates the mines in the Estevan area. After months of speculation, Westmoreland filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S., but said its Canadian operations were not affected by the filing.
Westmoreland said its operations in Canada and the U.S. are cash flow positive and liquidity from operations, combined with the company’s debtor-in-possession financing, is sufficient to continue operating its mines in the normal course of business.
Further compounding the matter is SaskPower’s decision to retire Units 4 and 5 at the Boundary Dam Power Station, rather than retrofitting them with carbon capture and storage technology. The move is expected to result in layoffs at the local coal mines.
(For more on the future of Units 4 and 5 at Boundary Dam, please see next week’s edition of the Mercury).
8: Physician recruitment: The on-again, off-again issue of a lack of physicians in Estevan was on again in 2018, especially early in the year.
St. Joseph’s Hospital announced on Jan. 22 that a physician would be stationed in the emergency department of the hospital from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, due to the physician shortage Estevan experienced in the first half of the year.
Those unable to secure timely access to a family physician would have an opportunity to see a physician more quickly.
At one point, Estevan was down to seven family physicians and two specialists.
The first physician to arrive, Dr. Boye Adeboye, came in May. Two more physicians, Dr. Ahmed Belal and Dr. Hanan Ya, came in early June, and at that time, the emergency room physician program was halted.
Dr. Mehdi Horri had his medical licence restored in late June, after it was suspended for a year.
While Dr. Anthony Davies, an anesthesiologist, left Estevan at the end of June, the hospital was able to get an anesthesiologist on a locum basis for the rest of the year.
Three more physicians – Dr. Uroos Jabeen, Dr. Jackie Chou and Dr. Neal Cabigon – arrived in October, providing a further boost to the number of physicians in Estevan.
The hospital is continuing with its efforts to attract new physicians.
9: Geothermal moves forward: It’s been nearly a decade since Deep Earth Energy Production (DEEP) first introduced the idea of a geothermal demonstration project for the Estevan area.
The project, which is led by former Estevan resident Kirsten Marcia, took a big leap forward in 2018.
The provincial government announced $175,000 in funding in May, to be delivered over two years through Innovation Saskatchewan’s Saskatchewan Advantage Innovation Fund (SAIF), which will be used to purchase equipment and build the infrastructure needed to demonstrate the feasibility of geothermal power generation in the province.
Saskatchewan’s geothermal energy resource is a 120 C aquifer buried deep underground, which has the potential to generate constant electricity, while generating zero carbon emissions.
The company drilled its conductor pipe and rathole near Torquay on Nov. 8, in anticipation of full-blown drilling the following week. By Nov. 13 the drilling rig was moved in, and the well was spudded on Nov. 14.
That hole is going to be a significant one, aiming to be the deepest in Saskatchewan. It will surpass the two Aquistore wells by 100 metres, to a total vertical depth of approximately 3,500 metres.
The plan is to drill this first well, and then complete it three weeks later to find its true temperature. They will flow the well for seven days, using it to model full production wells. They are also going to test the injectivity of the Mannville formation for the future injection wells.
By the end of March the testing is expected to have been fully reviewed.
Then after spring breakup of 2019, the plan is to proceed with the production and injection wells.
10: Cannabis legalization: Canada became just the second country in the world to legalize cannabis on Oct. 17. The process was a bumpy one, and it was difficult in Estevan as well.
The provincial government announced in early January that Estevan would be allocated two marijuana retail outlets, the same as Moose Jaw and Prince Albert.
A couple of weeks later, the Estevan board of police commissioners announced they would seek just one retail licence for Estevan, to the dismay of many. Some wanted Estevan to pursue both; others didn’t want to see marijuana sold in Estevan.
Estevan city council later went along with the police board’s recommendation, saying that Estevan could always seek another permit for a retailer at a later date.
In June, Prairie Sky Cannabis would be awarded the one permit for Estevan through a lottery. The company eventually changed its name to Jimmy’s Cannabis Shop.
But it didn’t open in Estevan on Oct. 17, because of the supply issues facing many retailers in the country. The Estevan store didn’t open until Dec. 18.
The legalization issues extended beyond retail, as businesses, schools, law enforcement agencies and others grappled with how they would handle the legalization, with such issues as how to handle employees who show up impaired by cannabis. Numerous meetings and workshops were held in the community.
Law enforcement agencies were tasked with how to detect the drug when investigating potential impaired drivers.
Also, the issue came up after it was learned that people from the Estevan area had been turned away from U.S. border crossings after admitting to using cannabis in the past.
For the top five stories of the year, see next week’s edition of the Mercury.
