NDP vows to restore service

Jason Kerr
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NDP vows to restore service

While the STC is gone for now, it could be back in the future. On Wednesday, Saskatchewan NDP leader Trent Wotherspoon said his party would restore service if elected, and Prince Albert Northcote NDP MLA Nicole Rancourt backed up that promise.

“The NDP will bring back a transportation service for the province when we’re back in government, because we realize that this is such an important, essential service, for our province,” said Rancourt, who was also on hand to witness the final STC bus departure.

Rancourt said the service was vital for rural Saskatchewan residents seeking medical treatment and other services, and criticized the government for its spending priorities.

“We know that it’s a service that the government has to subsidize, but that’s because it’s a service that’s provided to individuals, and this exact service … is offered in bigger cities because they know the importance of allowing residents to get to different locations,” she said.

Rancourt also questioned whether the government had fully considered the effect that shutting down the STC would have in other areas, like health and social services.

“They say it’s going to cost less, not providing this, but I don’t think that they’re really looking into the impact that it’s going to have on the increased costs for health and social services and justice and all the different other agencies that now are going to have to step up to help provide some kind of transportation allowance.”

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Last trip a somber one for STC supporters

Jason Kerr
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Last trip a somber one for STC supporters

It’s just after 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, and although the sun is still shining, the mood around the Prince Albert STC terminal is a somber one.

Only moments earlier the last bus out of Prince Albert rumbled through an open gate and departed down 15th Street West towards Hudson Bay.

More than a dozen STC supporters are still lingering around the parking lot, having just come from inside the terminal.

A loud horn blast as the last bus drove by for the last time is one of the few good memories they’ll take home.

“These cuts just hit the most marginalized (and) the poor,” says one supporter, Prince Albert resident Virginia Kutzan. “They’re senseless cuts.”

Since announcing the cuts during the delivery of their provincial budget in March, the Saskatchewan Party has maintained that the STC is an unaffordable service.

According to the government, funding the STC for the next five years would require a subsidy of more than $85 million. The government also maintained that only two of the service’s 27 routes were profitable.

That made the STC an expendable service, as Finance Minister Ken Doherty tried to trim the province’s deficit. Even with the cuts, the Saskatchewan government will still see a projected shortfall of $696 million.

However, STC supporters like Kutzan say the government doesn’t realize just how many problems they’re causing for vulnerable residents, particularly in the north.

“Just how sad it is to end this era of public transportation of service for our people here in Saskatchewan,” she says when asked what was going through her head as the last bus rolled by. “Especially up north, to say nothing about the patients who have to undergo chemotherapy and who rely on the bus (and) the seniors who rely on the bus.”

There are a few tears as supporters start to drift away. In a few hours, the only thing left will be an empty building, with a closure notice taped on the inside windows.

Members of the media were prevented from entering the terminal to speak with passengers before boarding on Wednesday night. The three security guards present said they had not been told why media were not allowed inside, only that the order came down “from Saskatoon.”

Bringing back the bison

Jason Kerr
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Bringing back the bison

Anthony Blair Dreaver Johnston has overseen numerous special initiatives and projects for Mistawasis First Nation, but this one is different.

In September, the Saskatchewan First Nation will officially join the Buffalo Treaty, a historic agreement between First Nations groups in Canada and the United States to conserve and restore the bison population in North America.

It’s a long process, and for Johnston, it has to start with the youth.

“We’re trying to build a solid foundation for the future, and so in this way, the children, the youth of today, have a strong basis to further build our nation,” he said.

As part of that process, Johnston and four members of the Saskatchewan chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society held a Youth for Bison day at Chief Mistawasis School.

The goal was to help re-establish the importance of bison in the public consciousness. Johnston said it’s easy to forget that bison still exist, but if First Nations people can reconnect with them, they might learn something about their past.

“We have lessons from out past,” he said. “By bringing back the bison, it may help us revitalize those values for today.”

For the rest of this story, please see the June 2 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Plastic out and paper in

Jason Kerr
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Plastic out and paper in

Changes are coming to Prince Albert’s yard waste collection policy as the city tries to spend less money and become more environmentally friendly.

Starting on July 1, the city will stop collecting plastic bags for yard waste collection and instead, only accept compostable yard waste paper bags and securely tied bundles of branches.

Mohammad Kraishan, Operations Manager for the City of Prince Albert, said the change will save roughly $50,000 due to the elimination of the expensive debagging process.

“If we continue to collect the yard waste in plastic bags, then we will have to debag it in order to make the final compost product usable,” he explained. “If we were to debag it, that ($50,000) would be the cost.”

Plastic bags carrying yard waste caused problems because they didn’t degrade properly, meaning any compost would still contain a small element of plastic. That plastic makes the compost useless for other purposes, such as landfill cover at the city dump.

“It’s really hard to get rid of all the plastic in the compost,” Kraishan said.

Prince Albert isn’t the first city to stop collecting plastic bags. Regina, Windsor, Hamilton and Toronto are just two of the cities that made the switch, and so far the results have been good.

For the rest of this story, please see the June 1 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Food festival back in action

Jason Kerr
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Food festival back in action

After a successful inauguration in 2016, FEASTival is coming back for another year.

Organizers are putting the final touches on the annual event, which begins its second year of operation on Friday, with a line-up filled with outdoor activities, entertainment and food.

Event co-ordinator Linda Grimard said last year’s event was a big attraction for Prince Albert families, and they’re hoping to build on that success again this year.

“I hope (attendees) enjoy coming out as a families, for them to get together,” she said during an interview on Wednesday. “There’s not a lot of stuff where you can just bring your kids out and let them enjoy themselves, or for anybody to come out and just listen to entertainment or check out some good food.”

This year’s event will feature a variety of restaurants and caterers from Prince Albert and area. Grimard said they aren’t sure how many different booths they’ll have this year since the final few applications are still being processed, but it will likely be on par with last year’s event.

“It’s an altogether different variety (of food) again this year,” she said.

For the rest of this story, please see the June 1 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Seeing in a new light

Jason Kerr
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Seeing in a new light

It doesn’t look like a regular camera, and the pictures it takes aren’t like normal selfies, but public health officials hope it will give students something to think about when they consider getting a tan.

On Tuesday, students and staff from Carlton Comprehensive Public High School lined up to have their photos taken by the special cameras, which revealed just how much damage ultraviolet (UV) rays does to their skin.

The annual event has been held intermittently for more than five years, and it presents health educators with an easier path to helping youth understand the connection between UV rays and skin cancer.

“You try and give people more of a visual idea,” explained Public Health Nurse Carolyn Strom, who helped oversee Tuesday’s event. “Having this UV camera is helpful, because at least people can actually see (the results), rather than just having us tell them. It’s easier to get that point across.”

While students and staff are keen to line up and get their photos taken, the results aren’t always appealing. Photos will often show pale white patches of skin dotted across the face, identifying the areas receiving the most damage.

Although the pictures aren’t always fun to look at, Strom said they are slowly but steadily helping Saskatchewan residents become aware of the dangers.

It’s not a moment to soon either. Saskatchewan has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in Canada, largely due to residents spending more time in the sun and more time on tanning beds.

End of the line

Jason Kerr
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End of the line

It’s a day Ken Youghans thought would never come.

For the last 21 years, Youghans has faithfully shown up to work as a driver for the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC), fully expecting he’d work there for the rest of this life.

Today he and roughly 125 other STC employees will work their last day with the company, and it’s still a tough pill for him to swallow.

“I was fully expecting to retire at STC,” said Youghans, who also serves as the Saskatchewan executive board member for Transit Union Local 1374, which represents all STC employees in the province.

“This is kind of a dream job I got in 1996, when I hired on here, and I thought I would get to retire here. I never saw this coming.”

Throughout his career, Youghans watched as various governments talked about possibly getting rid of the STC. That sentiment always seemed to wither, which made him think it was here to stay.

“It was an essential service,” Youghans said. “It was well needed for the province of Saskatchewan, and yeah, I never thought this was going to happen.”

The end of the STC means the loss of dozens of local jobs as the terminal closes in Prince Albert. The last local bus will make its final run late tonight.

Local STC employees declined opportunities to be interviewed saying they were not allowed to comment, however Ward 4 Coun. Don Cody was eager to pick up the mantle.

“(The closure) is a great impact to the city itself,” Cody said during a media scrum in front of the Prince Albert STC terminal Tuesday morning. “Certainly jobs, that’s one of the key things, and secondly it’s service, service to our people. People need some service if they want to go for medical health (services) in Saskatoon. A lot of them do not have vehicles. A lot of them cannot drive vehicles.”

Cody called the closure a “shame,” especially for the people who lost jobs. He also expressed skepticism that any private company would pick up the slack.

Like Youghans, he also never thought this day would come.

“I really didn’t believe that there was a government that was going to take this on and say ‘that’s it’ after 71 years,” he said. “Seventy-one years in service tells you something. It tells you that obviously it’s pretty important, or it wouldn’t have stayed.”

Cody added that the city already subsidizes the municipal transit system, making it unlikely that they’d dip their toes into a province-wide partnership to replace the STC. He said he felt “a bit helpless” watching the situation unfold, but didn’t think there was much the city could do.

However, he does believe that shutting the organization will have long-lasting negative ramifications for the Saskatchewan Party.

“I’m really surprised that they took this on, and if there’s anything that will do this government in, this is one of the things right here,” he said.

In the past, Saskatchewan Minister of Crown Investments and Prince Albert Carlton MLA Joe Hargrave has defended the closure do to its cost and declining ridership. In an April interview with the Daily Herald, Hargrave said costs were “out of control,” leaving the government with little choice but to shut things down.

“You can’t afford a subsidy of over $17 million every year,” he said. “That $17 million could go to so many other things.”

Not all STC employees will be out of a job when the buses stop running today for the final time. Roughly 80 STC employees will be kept onboard until next fall. The list includes mechanics, who are responsible for getting the buses ready for a potential sale, and financial department personnel.

As for Youghans, he plans to take a month or two off to recuperate from the stress and spend time with his family. Then it’s off to the job market.

He’s already thought about beginning his own transportation company, but the startup costs would run into the millions. In the end, he’ll likely move out of Saskatchewan for work. It’s not what he wanted, but he doesn’t have much choice.

“I’ve got some job opportunities … but it means moving out of the province, and I’m really not looking to move out of the province if I don’t have to.”

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Love of Reading boosts Diefenbaker

Jason Kerr
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Love of Reading boosts Diefenbaker

Students and teachers at John Diefenbaker Public School are getting ready to celebrate their love of books in a big way.

On May 25, the school was selected as one of 30 elementary schools from across the country to receive funding from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation.

In total, Diefenbaker School will receive $65,000 in funding to be paid out over the next three years. The school’s vice-principal, Tammie Horan, called the news a “great gift” that will go a long way to helping students and teachers.

“We don’t get rid of books,” Horan said. “They’re tattered and torn (and) we just keep replacing and fixing them, so this will be an excellent way to get some new materials into our library.”

In addition to the $65,000 in grant money, the school will also receive a 30 per cent discount for the purchase of any new books at a Coles or Indigo Book Store.

The funds will help restock and update the school’s main library, as well as expand classroom libraries and provide more materials the school’s book club and in classroom guided reading programs.

The funding is especially important since Diefenbaker has so many students who speak English as a second language, which adds an additional challenge.

“We need to find books that are high interest, but low vocabulary, so we can foster that love of learning for them,” Horan explained. “We need books that are more mature reads, but are at easier levels so that those kids have things to read.”

For the rest of this story, please see the May 30 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Door opens at four new Riverbank houses

Jason Kerr
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Door opens at four new Riverbank houses

After two years of planning and construction, Riverbank Development Corporation (RDC) has unveiled four newly renovated homes as part of their plan to provide more affordable housing in the city.

On Monday, dignitaries and government representatives gathered in Prince Albert’s West Flat neighbourhood to celebrate the end of the $687,000 project, which saw four homes in the area purchased and renovated for use by low-income families.

All of the new units have a minimum of four bedrooms, and will be rented out by Riverbank at $800 a month.

RDC general manager Brian Howell said they’ve noticed a strong demand for more affordable housing that wasn’t being met, especially for larger families.

“Many of them are paying $1,200 to $1,300 for housing that is quite unsuitable,” he explained. “It’s older, not cared for, (and) often in poor condition.”

The four new homes will be rented out for $800 a month. Howell said a similar home would be rented for roughly $1,200. He added that houses, unlike apartments, will often house the same family for years.

The new units will provide housing for up to 8 adults and more than 20 children.

Howell said they’re always a feeling of relief once a housing project is completed, and this one is no exception.

Riverbank has owned and developed properties across Prince Albert, but chose four units in the West Flat because they were cheaper to purchase.

“There’s really a feeling of satisfaction to have it done and to get through the grand opening in one piece,” he chuckled.

The provincial and federal governments chipped in with $440,000 in support, which marks roughly two-thirds of the project’s funding. Riverbank provided the remaining $247,000.

“The biggest problem is the funding aspect,” Howell said. “The $800 a month does not cover the cost of this house, so if the governments aren’t involved with some funding to reduce capital costs, then it’s just not possible to do.”

All four homes already have families ready to move in by the end of May. Those families were put forward at the suggestion of KidsFirst and Family Futures. They had to be living in housing that was either unsuitable or unaffordable, and also have a good track record of maintaining their home.

Prince Albert Carlton MLA Joe Hargrave was in attendance for Monday’s grand opening on behalf of Saskatchewan Housing Corporation Minister Tina Beaudry-Mellor.

Hargrave said it’s encouraging to see more affordable housing units going up in Prince Albert, especially for large families, and added that the province’s current financial hardship wouldn’t prevent them from supporting similar projects in the future.

“This is really important,” he said. “The vulnerable in our society continue to be a priority for the government, so projects like this, they must continue to go on and our government is committed to that.”

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Welcome to the Lake

Jason Kerr
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Welcome to the Lake

When they started Welcome to the Lake 10 years ago, Nick Trofimuk and Sharon DesRoches had little idea how popular the event would be.

The two co-organizers just wanted to find a way to promote local businesses and help raise money for local non-profits and service clubs.

A decade later, things have expanded further than they ever anticipated.

“When we started this we had no plan,” Trofimuk said. “We just started it to see how it was going to go. We worked year by year and it was always getting a little bit bigger.”

The original plan was to come up with a one-day radio event that gave businesses service clubs from Candle Lake, Paddockwood and Christopher Lake a chance to promote themselves while raising money.

The original idea proved so popular in Candle Lake that Trofimuk and DesRoches had all their slots filled before they even approached the other two communities. Once radio partners CKBI came on board, Welcome to the Lake was born.

The event is one part farmer’s market and one part barbeque, with live music and product demonstrations thrown in for good measure. On Friday, local residents filled the parking lot at the local community credit union to raise funds and enjoy the festivities.

“A lot of people didn’t think it would work on a Friday,” DesRoches chuckled. “One lady’s comment today was, ‘I don’t know how it can be better on a Saturday, because look at today.’”

For the rest of this story, please see the May 20 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

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