The first three months had plenty of stories to report on, from meetings to banquets to budget to a new premier. These were some of the biggest stories from the first few months of the year.
January:
Rawlee Jean Shurygalo was the first baby born at St. Joseph’s Hospital in 2018. She arrived at 9:21 a.m. on Jan. 3, weighed six pounds and three ounces, and measured 18 1/2 inches in length. Richard Neufeld was named the new manager of the city’s land development services division. Among his most notable projects during his first year at the helm of the division was to launch the My Estevan public survey as part of the creation of a new community plan.
Debra Hamann, 60, pleaded guilty on Jan. 8 to driving while over .08 causing death and driving while over .08 causing bodily harm, stemming from an accident near Bienfait in June 2017 that killed a taxi driver and injured a passenger in the cab. She was later sentenced to three years in prison.
The Estevan Police Service investigated a rash of vehicle thefts early in the year. In many cases, people left their keys in the vehicle and the engine running. It is believed that the vehicle thefts were connected.
Mayor Roy Ludwig gave his annual mayor’s address at the Jan. 8 council meeting. Ludwig reflected on some of the accomplishments for the city in 2017, and looked ahead to the following year.
A 44-year-old Midale man was killed in an accident on the truck bypass north of the city on Jan. 8. The driver of the semi that struck him was not injured.
SaskPower announced that Shell Cansolv would be the new tenant for the carbon capture test facility at the Shand Power Station. Cansolv further explored existing and new chemistry at the core of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. Insights gained from the research will be used to enhance Cansolv’s technologies and develop future projects.
The Estevan Fire Rescue Service celebrated the grand opening of its new fire hall on Jan. 20, with about 200 people in attendance. The building, located in the former Murray GM vehicle dealership, gave the fire department added space they didn’t have in their previous home at the intersection of Third Street and 11th Avenue. Highlights from the opening included the ceremonial pushing a fire truck into the fire hall, and tours of the building. The extra space has allowed the fire department to move Estevan’s oldest fire truck from the Souris Valley Museum to the current fire hall.
Members of the Estevan Fire Rescue Service were called to a fire at a residence on Albert Street on Jan. 21. The homeowner was treated for smoke inhalation. Firefighters remained at the scene for several hours, and the home sustained significant damage.
Estevan city council passed its 2018 budget on Jan. 22. The budget included a one per cent property tax increase, and an increase to the infrastructure levy that would prove to be contentious a few weeks later. Among the notable capital projects was the resurfacing of King Street from Pine Avenue to Kensington Avenue, continuing an effort to resurface the arterial road.
The Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation announced on Jan. 25 that Estevan’s Payton Sernick had been selected as the Saskatchewan ambassador for the Champions Program, presented by Walmart Canada. The program honours remarkable children who have triumphed despite medical challenges, and allows that child to be the face of the children’s hospital. Payton won a battle with Stage 4 acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma in 2014, and became a strong supporter of the Saskatchewan children’s hospital, which is nearing completion. But after she was selected as this year’s champion child, the cancer returned, and Payton spent much of the year undergoing cancer treatments.
A pedestrian was killed after being struck by a vehicle north of Estevan on Jan. 26. The incident occurred at the intersection of Kensington Avenue and Township Road No. 25, about 1 1/2 kilometres north of the city limits. The pedestrian was a 27-year-old man from Estevan.
Scott Moe was selected to be the new leader of the Saskatchewan Party, and the new premier of Saskatchewan, during the party’s leadership convention on Jan. 27. Moe trailed Alannah Koch, who had been the deputy minister to the premier, for much of the voting process during the convention, but pulled ahead in the final ballots. He replaced Brad Wall, who had been premier since 2007.
February:
Aleah McIsaac was charged with theft more than $5,000, and fraud in excess of $5,000. The charges covered a period from Jan. 1, 2016 to Feb. 1, 2017, and stemmed from her tenure with the Estevan Youth Soccer Association. She pleaded guilty to the charges later in the year.
The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency called for well below average spring runoff in its initial forecast, released on Feb. 8, The agency based its findings on a lack of snow up to that point in the winter, and dry conditions that occurred in the Estevan area in the summer and fall of 2017. While Estevan did receive some snow as the winter progressed, it was still a below average year for runoff.
The Prairie Women on Snowmobiles (PWOS) wrapped up their Mission 2018 tour of southern Saskatchewan by coming to Estevan for the first time on Feb. 9. They visited numerous cities, towns and villages during a six-day tour of the province in early February, and raised $61,683 in donations for the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency and $35,708 for the Canadian Cancer Society. The Estevan Snowmobile Club hosted the PWOS while they were here.
The Estevan RCMP hosted a town hall at Bienfait Weldon School on Feb. 13. People in attendance were generally happen with the service the RCMP is providing. The RCMP discussed its call volumes for the previous year, recapped some of the issues it faces while policing the area, and answered questions from the public.
Members of the Estevan Fire Rescue Service had a particularly busy day on Valentine’s Day, as they were called to an accident, a residential fire and two commercial alarms, all within a nine-hour span.
The Estevan Police Service hosted a summit on impaired driving on Feb. 16. The 25 people in attendance discussed solutions to reduce impaired driving in the community. One woman shared how her sister was hit and killed by an impaired driver, and how the accident has affected her life. Numerous recommendations have already been enacted, including the establishment of a local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.
An Estevan man was found safe and sound on Feb. 18, shortly after a press release was issued, asking for information on his whereabouts. Stephane Charles Joseph Blake, 51, was located by police just after noon on Sunday near Melita, Man. He had last been seen while travelling through the North Portal border crossing the night before, but didn’t make it to his destination in Estevan.
The Woodlawn Regional Park’s board announced in February it had decided against holding Beach Bash, which had been a popular annual event in the summer since 2012. It was replaced by a family fun day at the end of July.
Estevan city council approved its new pest control bylaw on Feb. 26, giving added responsibilities to Rod March as the pest control officer. As the designated pest control officer, March is responsible for anything the size of a coyote or smaller within the city limits. March became authorized to tranquilize animals and remove them from the city.
Souris-Moose Mountain MP Robert Kitchen panned the federal budget, which was handed down Feb. 27. Kitchen said the budget had nothing good for this constituency, or for Saskatchewan in general, and criticized the Liberals for what he called reckless spending due to the budget’s multi-billion dollar deficit.
Ron and Shirley Carson and their family made a $1 million donation to the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan on Feb. 28, as a way of saying thanks to the families of the province. Carson, who spent more than 50 years in the Saskatchewan energy sector, has contributed to numerous causes in southeast Saskatchewan over the years, and spent many years living in the Lampman area.
March:
Ultrasound services were restored at St. Joseph’s Hospital on March 2, after Estevan was without an ultrasound since the spring of 2017. Guardian Radiology signed a two-year contract with the hospital to provide ultrasound services. Three students went through their ultrasound sonography training, and renovations were needed for the area.
Ryan Meili was elected as the new leader of the provincial New Democratic Party, defeating Trent Wotherspoon in a two-candidate race. Meili garnered 5,973 of the 10,837 votes cast, or 55.1 per cent, in the ballot.
Telemiracle 42 drew record-breaking support, as the 20-hour fundraiser, organized by Saskatchewan’s Kinsmen and Kinettes, went off the air with a total of $7,151,256 for the Kinsmen Telemiracle Foundation. Two memorial bequests were worth more than $1 million each. The chairperson for Telemiracle 42 was Estevan’s Susan Colbow, and she marvelled at the support shown for Telemiracle.
St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan announced in March it had been selected as a pilot project site for third year medical students from the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine, known as the longitudinal integrated clerkship. Dr. Edward Tsoi, who has been practising medicine in Estevan for more than 30 years, is the site director. Lindsay Richels, the first aspiring physician to be in Estevan for the program, has been in Estevan since September.
The first snowstorm of the year hit Estevan from March 4-6, and packed quite a punch. It brought approximately 20 centimetres of snow, and also generated high winds and freezing rain. City crews and contractors were forced to work long hours to clear the streets.
Jim Vermeersch was elected to the South East Cornerstone Public School Division’s board as a trustee for Estevan on March 7. Vermeersch, a long-time accountant in Estevan, defeated Kevin Reed in the by-election. Vermeersch replaced Pam Currie, who stepped down in November 2017 due to a move to Esterhazy.
Former Estevan resident Carter Brown came up with another way to assist the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Montreal. Carter, who now resides in Milestone with his family, has osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), also known as brittle bone disease, and has made numerous trips to the hospital for treatment. He was recognized in March for creating a splint kit for children undergoing treatment for OI at the hospital. It allows them to get treatment at home when they suffer a fracture.
The carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at SaskPower’s Boundary Dam Power Station reached a milestone in March, as it surpassed more than two million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) captured.
Estevan city council approved a bylaw at the March 12 city council meeting regarding water rates for 2018. The bylaw did not include a utility rate or a consumption rate increase, but it does include an increase in the infrastructure fee, from $20 to $30 per bimonthly billing cycle. The increase will cover the cost of future water main replacements. Those who have had their water mains replaced since 2004 have expressed concern with the infrastructure fee increase, because many are still paying off the cost of their water main replacements, and they believe they’re being hit twice.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has released details in late March on a breach that affected home care patients in the Estevan area and spanned nearly a decade. The breach involved 880 clients. An investigation was able to identify all of the home care clients that were affected by the privacy breach, and individuals affected were sent notification letters. Several recommendations were introduced by the breach.
Bernie Collins, who was Estevan’s mayor from 1985-1988, a councillor on Estevan city council for several terms, and the member of Parliament for Souris-Moose Mountain from 1993-1997, died March 26 at the age of 82. He was also active in the community in several other capacities.
The Fornwald family was presented with the prestigious Estevan Farm Family of the Year Award on March 27 during the Estevan Farmers’ Appreciation Evening. The family farm started in 1944, and has grown to include a variety of crops. The family is also active in the community. Also during the evening, Chris Lane, the CEO of the Canada Western Agribition, served as the guest speaker, and local 4-H members addressed the crowd.
Three local women were revealed to be among the nominees for the YWCA Regina Women of Distinction Awards: Brady Johnson for Contribution to a Rural Community; Evanne Wilhelm for Education and Mentorship; and Brenda Lyons for Wellness, Recreation and Healthy Living.
The Dec. 26 edition of Southeast Lifestyles will have a recap on the stories from April to June.
