Battlefords News-Optimist

More fans are showing up at the local rinks, as provincials continue and teams either move forward in the bracket or are eliminated. The most exciting part of the local hockey season is heating up.

A lot of the times, when I get off on a tangent in my writing, the topic comes from discussions around a coffee table, with friends or from observations I make when I overhear some conversation in passing.

This letter comes to you from Buckeye, Ariz., where I am presently house sitting for a while in my daughter's vacation home. It's a dirty job but someone has to do it. The weather is beautiful and warm during the day and cool in the evenings.

This week at Maidstone High School is finals week for our senior high students. With all the seniors writing tests and the juniors going skiing at Table Mountain, there has been less action than usual.

Last month ended with the moon at first quarter, so the next full moon is seven days later - Feb. 7. Feb.10 Mars is within 10 degrees - an early morning apparition. Just after midnight Feb.

The third of four CUPlex projects slated to be completed is the curling facility, which has an estimated substantial completion date of June 15, according to Parks and Recreation Director Keith Anderson's latest update to city council this month.

Jean Fauchon, a John Paul II staff member, was asked to write a children's book for an Education Curriculum class at the University of Saskatchewan.

The Chapel Gallery's annual Artist Winter Retreat is scheduled for Friday, Feb.24 through Sunday, Feb. 26 and features a number of new events. This is your opportunity to work in the gallery alongside other artists.

Three teams battled for two spots during the Affinity Credit Union Senior Men's Playdowns on the weekend and one home town team is moving on. The Battleford Curling Club hosted two teams from Unity and a local rink skipped by Rae Morrison.

Still talking and driving, texting and driving? A law prohibiting handheld cellphone use in vehicles has been on the books in Saskatchewan since Nov. 25, 2009. A little over two years later it seems many drivers don't think the law is enforceable.