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The Battlefords' top stories of 2011

Who said it was a slow news year? The Battlefords and area saw their fair share of news events in 2011.
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Mayor Chris Odishaw and Highways Minister Jim Reiter turned the sod for the Highway 4 twinning project in July.

Who said it was a slow news year?

The Battlefords and area saw their fair share of news events in 2011. There were political wins and crushing defeats; there were CUPlex buildings and highways being built, while a new hospital was on the horizon; a major business announced it was moving to Canola Avenue while another across the street was readying to close its doors; and the city received an almighty scare from a major grassfire that threatened homes in nearby neighbourhoods.

All in all, it was a major year for news in the Battlefords. Let us run down the list of highlights - and possibly some lowlights - of the 2011 news year.

In January, city council, in a special meeting, awarded the final tenders to Scott Builders for both the curling rink and field house, and with that vote the city was committed to finishing all four components of the Credit Union CUPlex.

It did not come without a hefty price tag, though, as council voted to raise the Recreational Cultural Capital Facilities levy by $75 to $175 per household to be able to borrow the $24 million they would need for the project. That contributed to a major 8.5 per cent hike in the mill rate.

The moves also didn't come without some staunch opposition from those worried about the price tag for the project. Still, construction was now underway for all components, and citizens could see for themselves the steady construction activity at the site on Carlton Trail.

The long awaited twinning project of Highway 4 in the town of Battleford finally got underway in 2011. Mayor Chris Odishaw was joined by Highways Minister Jim Reiter for the ceremonial sod turning in July.

Construction of the new lanes took place for the rest of the year along that stretch of Highway 4 in Battleford.

Advocates for mental health care in the Battlefords got the news they had long lobbied and waited for, as Premier Brad Wall announced the government would advance $8 million to Prairie North Health Region for detailed design of a new Saskatchewan Hospital, to replace the century old facility.

The premier promised construction of a new Sask. Hospital would commence no later than 2013.

2011 was a year of labour unrest in the Battlefords and the rest of the province as several unions chose 2011 as their year to go on strike.

The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation took one day off to hold a study session, and followed that up with another two-day job action in May. The teachers union held a rally just outside North Battleford Public Library May 25, followed by a march through the city streets.

Fortunately, there were no further disruptions from this point on as the two sides brought in a mediator and returned to the bargaining table. Eventually, both sides struck a new deal.

Also among those walking off the job in 2011 were crop insurance workers. That SGEU job action ended quickly after Premier Brad Wall threatened to call the legislature back into session to pass back-to-work legislation. A deal was struck soon after.

It was not just the unions who were restless - so were the "99 per cent."

The Occupy Wall Street protests spread across the continent, and the Battlefords were no exception as an Occupy North Battleford protest was staged at Territorial Mall Oct. 15. Time Magazine would later choose "The Protestor" as their person of the year.

2011 saw a major sporting event come to the Battlefords in February. The provincial men's Tankard took place at the Civic Centre, attracting top flight curlers from across the province to the city. The event was won by the Pat Simmons rink of Regina.

Unfortunately, 2011 saw the area receive bad news about the departure of another major sporting event. The Saskatchewan First Nations Winter Games, initially awarded to the Battlefords, announced in April it was relocating to Saskatoon instead in 2012, due to concerns about the facilities available in the Battlefords.

It was another eventful Bridgefest in late August 2011 for area music fans, as the event was headlined by Bif Naked, not to mention Rolling Stone cover winners The Sheepdogs.

But the event was marred by some lawlessness that took place involving some of the attendees, despite a heavy police and security presence there. A stabbing occurred just outside the front gates to the event on the final night. A youth who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act was ultimately charged with aggravated assault in that incident. There were also reports of fights at the event.

Lawlessness of a different sort enveloped Poundmaker First Nation in 2011, as several individuals, including Chief Duane Antoine and former chief Ted Antoine, were charged with treaty land entitlement fraud going back several years.

The charges were in respect to alleged misspending of money supposed to be set aside for the purpose of acquiring land for the reserve. The case made its way through the courts in 2011 and is due to proceed to preliminary hearings in April.

Citizens of North Battleford were spared from the weather disaster that hit the city in 2010, when a major hailstorm caused widespread flooding. They were not spared, however, from a different sort of flood in 2011 as the spring runoff caused the North Saskatchewan River to overflow.

Battlefords Bridge access roads barely stayed above the river crest at its height, and river water spilled over into nearby fields and marshes in the river valley. The event did not cause damage to the Battlefords, but the large amount of standing water produced swarms of flood-water mosquitoes, making summer life miserable for residents for a period of time.

A different sort of disaster came close to hitting the city later in the year in the form of a major fire to the west of North Battleford Sept. 29.

Smoke from the grassfire billowed across the city on that fateful day, as high winds kicked up the flames. Fire crews battled the blaze wondering if the situation was going to turn into another Slave Lake disaster. Much of that community burned to the ground after high winds fanned a major forest fire May 15.

Fire crews from the Battlefords and surrounding area succeeded in preventing the fires from spreading to the nearby Killdeer area homes that were being threatened. The whole city could consider itself fortunate that the extent of the damage consisted mainly of a few fields and an abandoned barn being destroyed.

Battlefords residents might be forgiven if they don't want to see yet another piece of campaign literature land in their mailboxes again after 2011. It was the Year of the Elections in the Battlefords.

In May, federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz won again in Battlefords-Lloydminister with 67 per cent of the vote in the federal election, won by Stephen Harper's Conservatives with a majority government.

In September, voters in North Battleford were back at the polls again to elect a new councillor to replace Rhonda Seidel, who had resigned and moved to Swift Current. Brad Pattinson won that vote to reclaim the seat on council he had previously held for 15 years.

Finally, Nov. 7 brought the provincial election, which saw a major changeover as Herb Cox of the Saskatchewan Party unseated veteran NDP MLA Len Taylor. Liberal leader Ryan Bater ran third in that race.

It was during the provincial election campaign that the two biggest business stories of the year took place in the Battlefords.

The first was the announcement that Grit Industries was relocating its manufacturing plant from Lloydminster to North Battleford. They took over the vacant former Peak Manufacturing facility on Canola Avenue in October in a move that would create an estimated 75 positions by the time it is fully operational.

No sooner had city officials left that celebratory grand opening than they learned of some bad news about a facility located just across the street.

The announcement that the Maple Leaf Foods plant in North Battleford would close by 2013, putting approximately 330 employees out of work, came as a staggering blow to a community that until now had seen good economic times.

North Battleford immediately set up a task force to find ways to replace the jobs and look for a new tenant to take over the Maple Leaf Foods plant.

No doubt, the city's efforts to keep the economic good times and growth going would be an ongoing story as the city moves forward in 2012.