Battlefords News-Optimist

Some major stories stood out in education in 2013 in the Northwest region. Many of the biggest education stories of the year concerned the Living Sky School Division, faced with some tough decisions in the face of a budget crunch.

Battlefords RCMP made 15 arrests between 6 a.m. Friday, Jan. 3 and 6 a.m. Monday, Jan. 6, while responding to more than 70 calls for service/occurrences. Also attended were two alarms and there were four false/nuisance 911 calls. Friday 7:15 a.m.

A year of celebration and reflection came to a conclusion New Year's Eve at the North Battleford centennial closing ceremonies.

Regan Yew scored twice to lead the Battlefords North Stars to a 5-3 win over the Humboldt Broncos Saturday night at the Civic Centre. The North Stars swept the home-and-home series against the division-leading Broncos.

Michael Gudmandson got the Battlefords North Stars off to a great start in 2014. Gudmandson made 37 saves to earn his third shutout of the season in a 4-0 win over the Broncos in Humboldt Friday night.

2013 was a big year of happenings in provincial politics. The Saskatchewan Party government could point to a year of accomplishments and steady economic growth, while the opposition NDP chose a new leader and set forth on its own rebuilding efforts.

The year 2013 proved to be an important one as far as building projects were concerned in the Battlefords. Several noteworthy projects were completed and had their grand openings in 2013 while others saw shovels in the ground.

The Battlefords and area made the news in a big way in 2013. Not only were the crime severity numbers a major focus of news media from across the province and across Canada, but so were other happenings during the year.

Connaught School hallways have been given another shower as a result of a malfunctioning sprinkler system. In March of 2012, the North Battleford Fire Department responded to a call at the school, where a broken sprinkler line had caused flooding.

The weather warmed up a bit, and Battlefords RCMP were out and about responding to more than 35 calls for service/occurrences between 6 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 2 and 6 a.m. Friday, Jan. 3.