COVID-19: Dealing with the pandemic
If there’s an issue that defines 2020, it’s the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the beginning of the year, the possibility of a pandemic was the further thing away from most people’s minds.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it first picked up on the disease from the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in late December 2019. By Jan. 20, human-to-human transmission was confirmed by the WHO and Chinese authorities.
On Jan. 30, the WHO declared the coronavirus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
The first confirmed cases of the disease in Italy on Jan. 31. By March, Europe was considered the active centre of the disease.
On March 11, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
Public facilities were closed down across east central Saskatchewan. Face-to-face teaching in schools ended. Public events were cancelled. Businesses closed down or found alternate ways to serve their customers.
The first case the East Central Recorder could confirm in the region was in Humboldt. The person in question contacted Mayor Rob Muench, who then confirmed with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
“I have contacted the individual personally and he has advised me he placed himself in self-isolation the moment he suspected that he was experiencing symptoms and sought medical attention,” he said at the time.
By May, the province began a phased-in reopening plan.
Phase I, which started May 4, included previously restricted medical services, and the opening of golf courses, parks and campgrounds.
Phase II, which started May 19, included retail businesses and select personal services that include hairdressers, massage therapists and acupuncturists.
Phase III, which started June 8, saw restaurants and licensed establishments able to open at 50 per cent capacity. Gyms and fitness facilities were able to open for business, as will childcare facilities and places of worship – subject to guidelines that are being developed.
Phase IV saw libraries, museums, galleries, movie theatres and live event theatres reopen in a limited capacity June 29; indoor pools, rinks, sports, performing arts can July 6; and casinos and bingo halls on July 9.
School began a week later than expected, on Sept. 8. Most students and teachers were required to wear masks in places where physical distancing was not possible.
In November, with rising case numbers, masks were made mandatory in public place, first starting in town with more than 5,000 people, then all across the province. By the end of the month, new restrictions saw more limits to indoor gathering and the suspension of team sports.
On Dec. 17, the province further limited private indoor gatherings, limiting them to the immediate family. On Christmas Day retail stores are required to cut their capacity to half. Large retailers were restricted to 25 per cent.
New schools coming
Big news came this year for both Carrot River and Lanigan as the province announced new K to 12 schools.
Both schools will also replace separate elementary and secondary schools.
“The two schools in Carrot River have been spaces of growth for many students and families over the course of the last half a century, they hold a rich history in this community – but we recognize these buildings have nearly reached the end of their life,” said Premier Scott Moe.
“The new Kindergarten to Grade 12 facility will stimulate the growth and the development of the families and the students in this community for future generations, for many years to come.”
Former Lanigan mayor Andrew Cebryk welcomed the investment in the community.
“This announcement will solidify Lanigan as a full-service community with the compliments of education, health, and recreation services as well as our many local businesses, and the welcoming of the surrounding area,” he said.
New heliport for Melfort Hospital
A new heliport has been built at the Melfort Hospital.
The fundraising effort began in earnest in January. By December, the heliport was operation.
Brent Lutz, Melfort’s director of development, planning and community relations, said they are pleased to have the project completed. When they first started discussing the possibility of a heliport in Melfort, it was a rather daunting project, he said, especially the past nine months with COVID-19.
While there are still some final costs coming in for engineering work and consulting fees, the construction alone was going to cost around $600,000. With the collection of over $750,000 in donations to the project, Lutz said they are confident that the total cost of the project will be covered with no unexpected expenditures coming in.
“A sizable amount of money that will be able to be transferred to the North Central Health Care Foundation for other health-related causes.”
Derailment forces Guernsey evacuation
Thirty-two Canadian Pacific cars carrying crude oil derailed east of Guernsey, forcing the hamlet to evacuate.
The derailment took place around 6:15 a.m. on Feb. 6. Saskatchewan RCMP said nobody was injured. The RM of Usborne and emergency services went door-to-door to give the evacuation order.
Those evacuees without an alternate place to go were sent to the community hall in Lanigan.
“We have opened up our community hall and we’re providing food and drinks for anybody from the hamlet of Guernsey that have been evacuated,” said Jennifer Thomas, Lanigan’s administrator. “We’re just been doing what we can to help out.”
Canadian Pacific said they will work closely with the adjacent landowners to clean up and restore the area.
Two months before, in early December 2019, a freight train carrying crude oil derailed west of Guernsey.
Fort à la Corne forest fire
Around 41,900 hectares were consumed by wildlife fire in the Fort à la Corne Provincial Forest west of Nipawin in May.
The fire started May 8, with forestry officials saying they believed it was caused by humans.
Residents of the RM of Torch River were told to prepare to evacuate, but that ended up not being necessary.
There were eight five-person First Nations crews from the eastern part of the province, six helicopters, 12 bulldozers, crew trucks, engines and water tankers working on the fire. Water scooping aircraft and retardant aircraft were available in Prince Albert.
Saskatchewan party sweeps region
All of the local Saskatchewan Party candidates easily won their seats in the provincial election on Oct. 26.
Fred Bradshaw of Carrot River Valley got 75 per cent of the vote, Donna Harpauer of Humboldt-Watrous got 73 per cent, Todd Goudy of Melfort got 78 per cent, Hugh Nerlien of Kelvington-Wadena got 70 per cent and Delbert Kirsch of Batoche got 65 per cent.
It had looked like that the opposition New Democrats had lost seats to the Sask. Party, including the seat of leader Ryan Meili, but after all of the mail-in ballots were counted, it ended up that the NDP kept the same number of seats it entered the election with, 13, while the Sask. Party won 48.
New councils across the region
Councils in the region’s four major centres saw changes after the Nov. 9 civic elections.
In Melfort, Glenn George defeated incumbent Rick Lang by five votes. Joining George at the table were four former councillors from last term; April Phillips, Trent Mitchell, Doug Terry, and Tim Hoenmans, former 2012 term councillor, Brian Enge, and new councillor Tara Muntain.
Humboldt saw Michael Behiel become mayor, defeating Lorne Pratchler and Harley Bentley. Rob Muench decided not to run for mayor again but did run for councillor. The elected council was made up of Rob Muench, Kelly Herperger, Larry Jorgenson, Roger Nordick, Roger Korte and Amanda Klitch.
Rennie Harper of Nipawin defeated two challengers, Brian Starkell and Marlon Zacharias, to retain the mayor’s chair. The rest of council is made up of Jan Boughen, Sheldon Chornawka, Geoff Stewart, Stacey Vik, Bruce Pihowich and Sheila Seiferling.
Nobody ran against Al Jellicoe, Tisdale’s mayor. Only two councillors from the previous council, Mike Hill and Brendan Samida, returned. They were joined by newcomers, Kurt Johnson, Marilyn Baker, Amanda Reynolds and Howard Saelhof.
Water treatment plant officially opens
It has been a project nearly 20 years in the making and many were there to celebrate as the ribbon was cut on the new water treatment plant in Nipawin.
Mayor Rennie Harper spoke to the project at the Evergreen Centre before the party was moved to the new building on Maple Street, even toasting the new community addition with water from her own tap to celebrate the excellent quality water that they have in Nipawin, she said.
The $21.9 million project has been years of planning with work spanning two Nipawin mayors, Harper and former mayor David Trann, as well as lobbying both the provincial and federal governments for much needed funding.
Pineland and Lakeland Co-ops merge
Pineland Co-op in Nipawin and Lake Country Co-op in Prince Albert was officially amalgamated on Sept. 1.
“We had to delay it to Sept. 1 due to the COVID virus, it kind of got put behind,” said Morley Doerksen, who was Pineland’s president. “We’re going to send out information to our members now, they will get it in the mail right away.”
All Pineland Co-op members were required to create a new co-op identification number.
Truck parking solution
A solution is coming to a solution that’s seeing semi-trucks being illegally parked on Highway 3 near the Tisdale Tim Hortons.
“Initially there were a lot of complaints. It seems to be getting better but we still do get complaints about semis parked on the streets,” said Brad Hvidston, Tisdale’s administrator, in Feburary. “[It’s] being a safety issue with vehicles that are trying to enter and exit into the Tim Hortons and Sobeys parking lot.”
Colin Chupa, who owns Chupa Trucking and Excavation, hopes to provide a safe place for drivers to stop after he purchased land from the town across the highway from Robin’s Donuts in December.
With construction hopefully starting in the spring, Chupa said the lot will have space for 15 semis to stop and cross the highway for something to eat or to park to wait out storms or have a break.
Moose on the loose in Tisdale
No residents were injured as an adult moose broke through a window into the dining room area at Newmarket Place in Tisdale.
After breaking through the glass, the moose then proceeded down the hall, where it crashed through another window and left – leaving a blood trail behind.
“I don’t think it caused any significant damage through the building, other than it did go through the two areas – the entrance, and where it exited,” said Doug Dahl, communications officer with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
“While there were residents at the area the moose came in, nobody was injured.”
The incident took place on March 22.
CT Scanner coming to Melfort
A decade-long promise to install a CT scanner at the Melfort Hospital is being fulfilled.
The March 18 budget has allocated $2 million to pay for the piece of diagnostic equipment.
“It was important for our government to provide the funding for the CT scanner in Melfort,” said Donna Harpauer, the province’s finance minister.
Melfort City Council has been lobbying the provincial government for the CT scanner since the promise was made in 2010.
