The year in review through the pages of the Mercury
It has been another eventful year in Estevan and the Mercury has been watching, recording and reporting the newsworthy events along with featuring organizations and citizens in our community who have made moves that qualify them for additional attention.
There have been some expected and unexpected highlights during the 12 months of 2015 as well as the lowlights, which also receive our attention since we do qualify as this community’s news gathering agency of record.
So, with all that in mind, we set out once again to refresh memories of the year that is about to pass with a summary of the more newsworthy events that made it to our front pages (and beyond) on a weekly basis, along with the Top 10 news stories.
We will do this over the next two weeks, starting with news summaries from January to June and five of the Top 10 news stories selected by our editorial team panel. Next week we will feature the top weekly news stories from July through to December and the final five in our Top 10 news-making events.
January 7
The Lockhard family of Oxbow welcomed the official New Year’s Baby into their home. Kole Lockhart arrived at 1:18 a.m. on Jan. 1, a son for Crystal and Luke and sister Megan.
City Council rolled out a new strategic plan while on the educational front the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) said they were prepared to vote on the recent contract offer coming from the South East Cornerstone Public School Division that was designated as a four per cent wage increase over two years. The SEIU represented about 260 employees in the southeast school division who were engaged in such professions as caretaking and maintenance, education assistants, library technicians and food service, among others.
Lori Carr announced her interest in becoming the Saskatchewan Party candidate in the next provincial election following the announcement from current MLA Doreen Eagles that she was retiring after the season-ending legislative session.
January 14
The Hearthstone committee, the group charged with the duty of raising $8 million for a new Estevan Regional Nursing Home, announced they had reached that targeted amount ahead of schedule and were now anxious to see forward movement on the site selection and construction of the proposed $40 million project.
Ceres Global Ag. Corp. sent its first trainload of grain out of their Northgate commodities hub. The company stated the grain was destined for the southern United States market.
January 21
The City of Estevan stated their building permit values exceeded $34.9 million in 2014, which was well short of the 2013 number of $58.8 million but still well ahead of the 2012 final tally of $26.6 million.
City Council also pondered a seven per cent mill rate increase on local properties.
The civic council wasn’t finished with those two items either since they also announced the economic development and tourism portfolios would be returning to city hall and would come under their wing after spending several years as a component of the Estevan and District Chamber of Commerce. The transition was expected to be gradual, but completed before the start of the next fiscal quarter in March.
January 28
Budget deliberations in the council chambers results in one per cent being cut from the city’s operating budget while adding $5 million in accumulated debt plus an investment of $7.9 million into capital projects and $5 million for a refurbishment of the regional airport runway with the promise that 60 per cent of that cost would be covered by the Provincial Disaster Assistant Program (PDAP) that swung into action in the local area following the devastating floods of 2011.
SEIU announced they had rejected the Cornerstone School Division’s final contract offer.
Feburary 4
Cameron Robock expresses his interest in obtaining the nod from New Democratic Party supporters as their candidate in the Estevan Constituency in the next provincial general election.
On the civic front again, it was stated that water quality and delivery would take precedence when the City of Estevan governors planned future upgrades to serve a growing population and geographic base.
February 11
A local survey indicates rental suites, P3 model (private, public partnership) construction projects and carbon capture issues at Boundary Dam were the three main items that grabbed the most attention from local residents on the public issues file. Eighty-four percent of the local respondents supported the carbon capture project, while 68 per cent favoured a P3 model to build health and education facilities and 61 per cent said there was now enough being done to encourage and satisfy local demand for rental housing units after a few years of lagging interest in that particular sector.
February 18
Concerns were raised about the effectiveness of the Boundary Dam Unit 3 carbon capture project coming from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives who were raising environmental and economic questions concerning the huge $1.5 billion program.
February 25
The Estevan wastewater treatment plant it was reported, was working at peak capacity and beyond on a few occasions. The 1996 vintage plant had been designed to provide a maximum flow of 6,000 cubic metres per day. Reports indicated it had operated past that load level on 26 different days in 2014. On one day the load exceeded 7,000 cubic metres and on another, it actually went beyond 8,000 cubic metres.
March 4
Two empty grain cars on the CP Rail line derail just west of the city. No injuries and no traffic disruptions are noted as the cars are reset and removed to allow for normal train traffic.
March 11
Const. Steve Enns received the Medal of Bravery at Rideau Hall in Ottawa in recognition of his May 2012 rescue of four people plus a couple of dogs from a fire in a two-storey home.
Envision Counselling and Support Centre stated they were at the halfway mark in their cyber-violence project data collection.
March 18
Lyayrd Skynyrd entertained a lively audience at Affinity Place.
Council approved a $5 million load to finance capital projects after much deliberation and questions regarding the city’s current financial position.
The Lievaart family captures the Farm Family of the Year Award at the 50th anniversary of the Farmer Appreciation Day in Estevan. The gala event is staged at Affinity Place to accommodate the more than 500 people who attended.
March 24
A residential fire in Benson is fought by Estevan and RM fire fighters but not before the home is destroyed, fortunately no one was injured in the blaze.
Female hockey teams capture titles that make it to the front pages of this newspaper. The Estevan Power Dodge Peewee A Vipers defeat Saskatoon Comets for a provincial title and the Power Tech Midget AA Panthers are declared league champions after defeating their arch rivals, the Regina Capitals.
April 1
It was announced that the rail lines that run through the centre of Estevan were going to be relocated, so as to run parallel to the proposed truck route (bypass). As it turned out, the announcement was made on April Fools Day and remained, unfortunately as only a wishful thought in the minds of local residents.
On the real news front, it was noted that for the first time since the amalgamation of the three southeast health districts into one giant health region 11 years ago, Sun Country Health Region could claim a full complement of physicians for southeast Saskatchewan with 35 physicians in the fold, ready to provide service for nearly 60,000 people.
April 8
An open house event in Midale outlines the first set of plans regarding the proposed twinning of Highways 39 and 6 (south of Regina).
April 15
A semi-trailer truck unit rolls over on Highway 39 near Roche Percee and fortunately its semi-hazardous liquid cargo UN3295, a volatile hydrocarbon, evaporated quickly and the highway was reopened following a series of safety and air monitoring checks. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) planned a rally followed by strike action against the South East Cornerstone Public School Division after talks hit an impasse. The stumbling block appeared to be the fact that members of another union with members providing similar services, had previously signed an agreement that offered them a four per cent wage hike over two years, so the two per cent offer in each year of a two-year contract remained as the final offer on the table from the public school system.
April 22
Paul Carroll submited his name into the provincial political ring by announcing he would be seeking the Progressive Conservative nomination in the Estevan Constituency, joining Lori Carr of the Sask. Party and Cameron Robock, for the NDP, as local candidates.
The City of Estevan announced their list of delinquent property taxes amounted to about $225,000 which was a vast improvement over a previous non-collected delinquent tax base of over $828,000 the previous year.
April 29
The annual Women of Today gala event celebrates the accomplishments of the 2015 award recipients that included Tania Hlohovsky-Andrist, Halynne Lamontagne, Nicole Davis and Becky Conly.
The strike of the SEIU education support staffers enters its second week.
City council votes in favour of eliminating a prayer prior to the start of their open business sessions.
May 6
A collision on Highway 18 claims the lives of two adults when the vehicle they were in was in a collision with a semi-trailer and truck.
The SEIU strike was now into a third week, but contract talks had resumed with the intention of ending the stalemate.
The date for the awarding of a contract to supply and install a CT scanner at St. Joseph’s Hospital was quickly approaching said hospital and Sun Country officials.
May 13
The 260 unionized employees of the S.E. Cornerstone Public School Division, members of the SEIU, returned to work with the opportunity to vote on the last contract offer of the school division that boosted the original offer by half a percentage point to a 4.5 per cent wage increase over two years.
An upgrade of the city’s wastewater treatment plant began.
May 20
Saskatchewan received a promise from the federal government to pay up to 50 per cent of the cost of twinning Highway 39 between Estevan and the junction of the Bienfait turnoff. MLA Doreen Eagles stated that $7 million had already been committed to the project by the provincial government.
May 27
Southeast College released their plan to tender for an affordable housing project for students attending classes at the college and the Saskatchewan Energy Training Institute. The two educational agencies, it was noted, share the same campus on the city’s east side.
The Mercury featured the duties carried out by the Canadian Border Security Agency at their local stations with a focus on the award-winning work provided by their detector dog.
June 3
Flying Farmers of Saskatchewan gather at the Estevan Regional Airport to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Flying Farmers International. About 25 to 30 planes find a spot to park.
St. Mary’s School celebrated their 50th anniversary.
A large sink hole on Sixth Street provided a challenge for public works crews.
June 10
The Estevan Business Excellence Awards (EBEX) were handed out in a festive fashion at Affinity Place with DART Services Ltd. landing the Business of the Year title. Owner Davin Emmel is also awarded the title of Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Other award winners included Jim Wilson as Business Leader of the Year; Jump.ca for Outstanding Service; Power Dodge for Community Involvement; Regen’s Disposal as the environmental leader; Gilliss Casing Services picked up the Growth and Expansion Award; and Liberty Tax Services gained the Top New Business Award. Barry Bridges was inducted into the Morsky Business Hall of Fame.
June 17
General Electric won the tender to supply the CT scanner for St. Joseph’s Hospital.
Edmonton resident Peter Lehto, 35, was charged with break, enter and theft of goods valued in excess of $150,000.
Estevan’s financial statement indicated an operating surplus of $1.03 million before provincial and federal contributions. The net debt, however, remained just under $32 million, down slightly from 2013.
June 24
A tight budget was announced for the Cornerstone Public School Division with the expected revenue coming in at slightly over $106.7 million.
It was reported that rental costs in the Energy City were finally dropping now that the vacancy rate had climbed to 5.5 per cent compared with the peak employment periods of 2012 and 2013 when the vacancy rate was zero.
A new track located at the Estevan Comprehensive School was completed and was destined to be a feature and focal point for the 2015 Saskatchewan Summer Games that Estevan would be hosting in mid-summer.
The Souris River International Board met in Estevan to discuss items of mutual interest for those affected by the river on the Canadian and American side of the border. The discussions included flood protection, invasive species and water quality among other things.
