Our area was hit by a major storm, July 18. With winds gusting up to 130 kilometres per hour, trees were blown over, power lines went down and homes were hit by falling trees.
Two Paynton homes were threatened by fire as trees lay across the power lines leading to the houses. Paynton and Maidstone Fire Departments along with Maidstone RCMP responded to the 911 calls. The lines were smoking and melting but nothing was yet burning, so the fire departments kept watch over the situation until SaskPower arrived. The utility company was so busy with calls that local Dave Florizone was called to help with the situation. Without the power company employee being close by and available, the homes may have caught fire. Luckily for the owners, they will only have to deal with smoke damage and didn't lose their homes to fire.
Paynton residents were busy cleaning up the village the following day, taking trees and debris away from roads and yards. What took only a short time to destroy will take quite some time to clean up and a week later, the village is still cleaning up debris from the plow wind andvacuuming up water in basements. The residents are hoping for the water table to go down soon.
Thecommunity has pulled together as much as possible with most people having to work during a week day. Many people in the RM of Paynton as well as Poundmaker were left without power for a long period. Village residents had power restored the same night, but still ended up with a boil water advisory as the power was out fortoo long.
Summer is officially here, the kids are out of school and tornados are threatening to come by for a visit. Between the crazy weather and travelling, I feel like I've weathered a tornado myself this summer. I've seen Edmonton, Saskatoon, Montmartre for the All Folked Up festival - and it's only mid-July.
But just because I am gone, the work load doesn't stop. The Paynton volunteers and the farmers' market have been baking; the certified kitchen was filled with the tempting smells of pizza once again. The smell was tempting enough to bring staff out of the office to buy supper for that night. The group is raising money for the spaceship flowerbed project and has now completed the excavation of the first bed. Pizzas can be purchased at The Coffee Cup or you can put your order in at The Coffee Cup seven days a week or at the Paynton Farmers' Market between 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays.
The Paynton Farmers' Market is starting a new draw. With each purchase, you have a chance to win a farmers' market basket filled with our vendors' fresh baking and other products. Pick up your entry form at each table with your purchase and enter as many times as you like. The draw will be made at the annual Christmas Craft Sale coming this November.
