An eye for detail

Jason Kerr
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An eye for detail

Curtis Matwishyn’s first official foray into photography didn’t go the way he’d planned.

The long-time Prince Albert resident began dabbling in the medium after high school, and he liked it enough to make it one of his electives while enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan. The experience was … surprising.

“I thought that it was going to be a marks-booster course for me,” Matwishyn said while chuckling at the memory. “My first assignment that I handed in was three prints and I got a 53 per cent, a 56 per cent and a 57 per cent, so that kind of brought me down to earth. I realized that I had a lot to learn.”

Despite the rocky start, his skill improved, and what began as a fun diversion turned into a much-loved passion. In the years since then he’s held a number of exhibits, with the most recent starting on Dec. 23 in Prince Albert.

His photography focuses on another passion: the outdoors. As a trained wildland fire fighter, Matwishyn has developed a love and appreciation for the Canadian landscape, and that love shows up in his work.

“It’s taken me to a lot of amazing places,” he explained. “I’ve travelled to New Zealand, Iceland, Australia and India, and photography was a big part of that. I find that it gives me inspiration and motivation to go and see new things.”

For the rest of this story, please see the Dec. 29 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Twice is nice for COTY recipients

Jason Kerr
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Twice is nice for COTY recipients

It’s going to be tough to top 2017 for Ron and Shelley Horn.

The Prince Albert couple began the year by winning the 2016 Chamber of Commerce Legacy Award and ended with a bang on Thursday when they were named co-recipients of the Prince Albert Citizen of the Year award.

The decision came as a shock for the longtime Prince Albert business owners, who first moved to the city in 1979, but it was still a welcome piece of news.

“It just means so much,” Shelley said shortly after wiping away a few tears. “It’s just such an honour. I feel totally blessed.”

“I just said to Shelley, ‘it’s 2017, 17 is our lucky number,’ and this year has been phenomenal with the accolades that have been heaped on our family and ourselves,” Ron added. “It’s just so gratifying and satisfying.”

There have been nearly 60 Prince Albert Citizen of the Year award recipients since businessman P.W. Mahon received the first one in 1958, but 2017 marks an unusual occasion. For only the second time, the award will be shared by co-winners, which supporters like Lyle Karasiuk thought was the only appropriate way to go.

“Their names kept coming up, but you couldn’t nominate one without the other,” said Karasiuk, who was one of roughly a dozen Prince Albert residents to nominate the couple. “They’re so intertwined in the community.”

As a nominator and former citizen of the year himself, Karasiuk said it was important to look for someone who gave back to the community. The Horns, with their extensive involvement in Prince Albert’s sports scene and non-profit events like the Relay for Life, were a perfect fit.

“You look at someone like the Horns who give back to the community, and it’s not just one area,” Karasiuk said. “It’s not just cycling in Prince Albert or the skate park or sports. It’s everything, and it’s not only giving (money), it’s giving time and talents.”

Whether it was taking tickets or sitting on planning committees, the Horns have been most active in Prince Albert sports. The couple played important roles when the city hosted the 1999 Western Canada Summer Games, 2002 Canadian Special Olympics Summer Games and 2014 Saskatchewan Winter Games. They also helped build a number of local events like the Pine Needle Mountain Bike and Music Festival, which started in 2011.

Fellow volunteers like Karasiuk were always impressed with the couple’s work ethic and dedication.

“You ask (for help) and it’s never a no,” he said. “It’s always ‘how can we help? How can we do this?’”

Ron and Shelley didn’t limit their activities to sports either. Ron was a member of the Kinsmen Club of Prince Albert and remains active in the Downtown Business Improvement District. Shelley joined the Kinettes and has spent long hours volunteering for the Canadian Cancer Society.

She says their volunteer support is a reflection of their time spent growing up in small-town Saskatchewan, where helping your neighbour is a way of life.

“That’s just what you do. You get involved,” she said. “Our boys were involved in skiing, so I got involved in skiing. It’s just something that you do.”

Thursday’s award announcement was particularly special for Ron, who joined the Kinsmen on the advice of a friend shortly after moving to Prince Albert. Kinsmen Club members were on hand to unveil the surprise Thursday morning, which brought back more than a few fond memories.

“I can remember working the bingos in the smoke-filled halls and Shelley joined the Kinettes,” Ron remembered. “It’s kind of interesting that today the Kinsmen are a part of this award. It’s starts there, with giving back to the community that you live in, and that’s rewarding.”

The couple joins a long list of past Prince Albert Citizen of the Year winners, including the most recent winner, Sheryl Kimbley. They said it’s very humbling to be included on that list with so many people who have accomplished so much.

“There are so many people, so many families, who have given their time and their money and their efforts to make Prince Albert a better place to be and a place of opportunity for a lot of people,” Ron said. “It’s just really good to be a part of that, and go down in the books as contributing to a better Prince Albert.”

A date has not been officially set for the 2017 Citizen of the Year Gala, however tickets will go on sale in January.

The annual award is handed out by a selection committee that includes members of the Prince Albert Daily Herald and Kinsmen Club from Prince Albert.

Prior to 2017 the only co-winners of the Prince Albert Citizen of the Year award were Bill and Jean Neil, who were recognized in 1976.

Past Prince Albert Citizen of the Year winners

2016 – Sheryl Kimbley

2015- Duane Hayunga

2014 – Jeannette Eddolls

2013 – Lyle Karasiuk

2012 – Harris May

2011 – Dale McFee

2010 – Frank Moore

2009 – Donna Christopherson

2008 – Art Hauser

2007 – Dr. Lalita Malhotra

2006 – Malcolm Jenkins

2005 – Bill Smiley

2004 – Molly Cowie

2003 – Mitch Holash

2002 – Bernice Sayese

2001 – Maurice Casgrain

2000 – Marge Nainaar

1999 – Howard Gange

1998 – Ed Glynn

1997 – James Wilm

1996 – Jack Matheson

1995 – Fern Lloyd

1994 – Myrna Nagy

1993 – Eugene Arcand

1992 – Ajay Krishan

1991 – Larry Zatlyn

1990 – Alma Newman

1989 – Jim Bristowe

1988 – Dr. Orville Hjertaas

1987 – Naomi Tucker

1986 – Jim Scarrow

1985 – Stan Danbrook

1984 – Cec Corrigal

1983 – Val Longworth

1982 – Herschel Davidner

1981 – George Slater

1980 – Eileen Lillico

1979 – Percy Hiltz

1978 – Kris Eggum

1977 – Marjorie Wettergreen

1976 – Bill and Jean Neil

1975 – Alma Jeanneau

1974 – R.J. Casey

1973 – J.J. Cennon

1972 – Archdeacon W.F. Payton

1971 – Leafie McDonald

1970 – Reg Brooman

1969 – Wilf Beaton

1968 – Major Arthur Shadgett

1967 – Orville Erickson

1966 – Maurice Longpre

1965 – Tillie Kawula

1964 – Margo Fournier

1963 – Dave Dalziel

1962 – Rowena McLellan

1961 – Andy Zwack

1960 – Marion Sherman

1959 – Margaret Hasseltine

1958 – P.W. Mahon

The cost of broken windows

Jason Kerr
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The cost of broken windows

Gregg Rustulka’s Sunday morning routine is a little bit different from the average pastor.

When he arrives at the Open Door Community Church of the Nazarene that he’s led for roughly 15 years, the first thing he does is check for broken windows. If he finds one, then it’s on to search number two: looking in every corner of the church for the man responsible.

“It gets to be a little old after a while,” Rustulka says.

Open Door Church sits on 18th Street East, just south of Prince Albert’s downtown core. Given their location, Rustulka explains, theft and break-ins are inevitable. They’ve had everything from laptops to musical instruments stolen out of their church, sometimes with staff members still in the building. But these current break-in trends are a bit different.

Rustulka says the same individual is targeting them, and worries the courts aren’t doing enough to stop it.

“The judge has ordered him to stay away, from what we understand, but he doesn’t,” the long-time pastor says. “He shows up, he’ll sneak in the building or break a window to get in and that’s where he’ll hunker down for a weekend until somebody finds him.”

For the rest of this story, please see the Dec. 22 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Budget delayed, but not stopped

Jason Kerr
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Budget delayed, but not stopped

It took a little longer than expected, but Prince Albert city council has passed their 2018 budget.

Council gave final approval during a meeting on Monday, but not after stiff opposition from councillors Charlene Miller and Terra Lennox-Zepp.

The conflict didn’t sit well with Mayor Greg Dionne, who touted the budget as a win for taxpayers, and criticized those who voted against it.

“We’re approving a $38-million item, and there’s a couple councillors who are missing a $50,000 item or a $51,000 item, and they chose not to support the budget,” Dionne said. “That’s sad…. You can’t just pick one line and vote for it. You vote for it as a package. Did I like it all? No. There was two or three things … that I fought for and I lost 6-3, so I moved on.”

Despite seeing a multi-million dollar funding cut from the provincial government, city administrators expect revenues to be up in 2018, largely due to changes to property assessment values and expected revenues from the city’s new impound lot.

Residents can expect a 1.5 per cent property tax increase, as well as the extension of a number of public works projects, like restoration of the Little Red River Park riverbank.

“We still have lots of construction projects on the way, and what those projects are what the general public likes: repairs,” Dionne said. “We’ve got our asphalt programs fully in place. It’s one of our most popular, so we’re going to be repairing more streets. We’re going to be attacking the potholes. We’re building water reservoirs …. we’re improving the sewer lines, so it isn’t like we shut down with that 1.5 increase.”

It wasn’t all good news, however. In addition to leaving a number of staffing positions unfilled, city employees will take part in a new Voluntary Day Off without Pay Program. It’s estimated that the program will eliminate an estimated $83,000 in expenses.

Miller and Lennox-Zepp both took exceptions to the budget, with the latter calling it unnecessarily frugal.

“This is an austerity budget where it does not have to be,” Lennox-Zepp said. “I would say that in this budget, we are delaying or vacating some important infrastructure work. I find this budget has the city kicking the can into the future for important work that needs to be done.”

Lennox-Zepp took specific aim at the city’s base tax, which she called “the least fair and equitable taxation that a city can implement,” and also decried the cuts to city staffing. She said all three decisions would have long-term negative repercussions.

The 2018 budget proved to be difficult one for city administrators, who were tasked with bringing forward lean budgets with few spending increases. City Manager Jim Toye complimented his staff for finding new ways to generate revenue without relying on the taxpayer, but said they hadn’t reached calm waters just yet.

“We remain under significant financial pressure,” Toye said in a media release. “This was a very difficult budget year and we are not out of the worst of it yet.”

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Cheveldayoff looks to build urban vote

Jason Kerr
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Cheveldayoff looks to build urban vote

There were few surprises as Saskatchewan Party leadership candidate Ken Cheveldayoff arrived in Prince Albert for his third official trip of the campaign.

Cheveldayoff spoke to roughly 20 Rotary Club of Prince Albert members before taking questions during a stop in the city on Monday. The Saskatoon Willowgrove MLA used the time to defend the decision to cut the STC, express opposition to the federal carbon tax and continue to emphasize the importance of being politically competitive in Saskatchewan’s cities.

“When we talk about the three seats around Prince Albert, we have two out of the three in total, and we’ve got to win all three of them next time,” Cheveldayoff said. “We’ve got to have fantastic candidates and fantastic campaigns here.”

The former cabinet minister’s stop was more notable for what wasn’t discussed than what was. Cheveldayoff confirmed previous campaign proposals, like implementing a minimum age of 25 on the purchase of marijuana once the federal government legalizes it. However, he did not comment on access to abortion, an issue that gained traction in November after he told anti-abortion website RightNow that he was in favour of legislation that supports and protects the unborn.

Instead, Cheveldayoff chose to focus on his role as a fiscal conservative during his 20-minute speech, and urged his party to take another look at their most recent budget. Once again, the expanded PST application was his primary target.

“I think it’s important that we take a step back from the last budget and realize where we’ve made some mistakes and could have done a little better, and then fix those and prepare for another 10 years of growth in this province,” he said.

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

Every little bit helps

Jason Kerr
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Every little bit helps

It’s just one of many Christmas traditions in Prince Albert, and food bank executive director Wes Clark never gets tired of seeing it.

On Tuesday, representatives from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) stopped by the Prince Albert Food Bank to bring a little Christmas cheer, along with roughly 400 pounds of wild game meat.

The FSIN makes the donations annually in Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Regina and North Battleford, and for Clark, it’s a welcome sight to see.

“It’s great,” Clark said. “It touches on food security issues, but also food sovereignty…. It’s a by the people, for the people concept, and it’s wonderful.”

Clark said they’re always happy to receive food donations, but sometimes they can’t always use what they get. Programs like the Prince Albert Community Kitchen benefit from special ingredients, but generally the food bank thrives on simple donations like carrots, potatoes and onions. While wild meat is a luxury, it’s also easy to use, making it a welcome addition for food bank users.

“Our backbone is vegetables,” Clark said. “Potatoes, carrots and onions. Why? Because everybody eats them, and this (meat) is the same type of thing. With a community that has a high First Nations representation, looking at what’s a staple in those folks’ diets in critically important.”

Clark doesn’t expect the wild game to last long since it will be in such high demand. In a busy time of year, the entire 400 pounds will be gone in roughly a day. However, he’s not focused on how long it lasts. He’s just happy to see the FSIN help meet their needs.

“That could easily be gone in a day, but that’s not the point though. Whether it’s one can or one pack of hotdogs, it doesn’t matter, we just appreciate all of it.”

Members of the FSIN where unavailable for comment, but in a media release Chief Bobby Cameron said donating the meat was a great way to help the community while exercising their treaty rights.

“These lands have always given to us, and we have an obligation to give to those who cannot do for themselves,” he said.

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Up in arms

Jason Kerr
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Up in arms

After a long hiatus, one of Prince Albert’s more robust Winter Festival traditions will make a return to Prince Albert.

For the first time in two decades, the annual arm wrestling competition is back on the Winter Festival schedule. For festival president Barry Mihilewicz and the organizing committee, it’s an exciting return for a long missed event.

“I couldn’t even tell you,” Mihilewicz chuckled when asked about the last Winter Festival arm wrestling competition. “I can’t remember the last time. You’d almost have to look back into the archives. I think it’s almost been 20 years.”

Mihilewicz said the committee looked to the past to try and spruce up the 2018 event. Traditionally, they partner with the Saskatchewan Arm Wrestling Association (SAWA) to put on the competition, and that will be the case again in 2018.

The organization recently held an event in Shellbrook over the summer, and they jumped at the opportunity to get back into the Winter Festival circuit.

“When I called and suggested that we’d be interested in having them, (the SAWA) was overjoyed and it turned out they had space in their schedule for Jan. 24, so we’re doing to do it and I think it’s going to be kind of a cool thing,” Mihilewicz explained. “There’s going to be some nostalgia.”

Winter Festival traditions have come and gone over the years, and Mihilewicz is confident this return will be successful. He said it’s vital to look forward and find new ways to stay connected with the community, but not to the point where the committee loses track of what has worked in the past.

“Some of the (past) things we’re just not going to do,” Mihilewicz said. “We’re not going to ever have car racing on an oval on the ice like they used to have, for certain obvious reasons, but we’re looking back to some of the things that used to happen at the Winter Festival that people really liked (and) one of them would be the arm wrestling.”

With the 2018 schedule settled, the only thing left to do is hope and pray for good weather. Last year, above average February temperatures saw the cancelation of several major attractions, such as the Canadian Sled Dog Challenge. Other events, like the snow sculpting competition, have been cancelled multiple years in a row.

When it comes to weather, Mihilewicz said they do the best they can with what they have, but he’s hoping this year they get a bit of a break.

“I’d like to see a good foot, foot and a half in January and then none of this melting weather,” he said. “We need some cooperation from the weather man, for sure.”

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

From behind the scenes to the front of the stage

Jason Kerr
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From behind the scenes to the front of the stage

When Paul Lomheim answered the phone a week ago he assumed it was another call about playing a musical gig.

He was wrong.

Instead it was the Prince Albert Winter Festival organizing committee, who wanted him to be their 2018 honourary chair. Lomheim, a long-time Country North Show producer, was more than happy to accept.

“Every day I think about it,” he chuckled, shortly after the official announcement at Northern Lights Casino on Monday. “Last night I woke up at 3:30 in the morning thinking about it, but it’s a very nice feeling. I was honoured that they would acknowledge what I’ve done over the years.”

In total, Lomheim has produced nearly 20 Country North Shows for the Winter Festival and worked with a variety of talented musicians such as Randle Currie, Rod Janzen and Donny Parenteau.

Lomheim met most of his lifelong friends through Country North, and has fond memories of performances in front of a packed Exhibition Centre Crowd.

“I remember after the show … seeing performers at the end of the show crying, because it’s all done with,” he said.

“It’s bitter-sweet, the last show, and I remember one year I thought, when I die, I hope there’s a Country North Show in heaven, and I hope they’ll let me produce it.”

As a behind the scenes guy, Lomheim is used to seeing other people in the spotlight. However, he’s looking forward to a temporary change for next year’s festival. He’s also glad to follow in the footsteps of Wes Stubbs, who was the inaugural honouary chair last year.

Current festival president Barry Mihilewicz said picking Lomheim was an easy choice given his past involvement.

“We were tossing around some different names, and of course, what … we look at is somebody who’s been involved in the community and has been involved in the Winter Festival, and Paul certainly fits the bill on both of those in a very, very big way.”

Being honourary chair means Lomheim will have time to visit all the Winter Festival venues, something he was rarely able to do while producing Country North. Now, he’s eager to take advantage of his new freedom.

“Every year I try attending several events, so I’ll try setting a record,” he chuckled.

Lomheim will be recognized at the second annual Tux and Toques Gala at the Ches Leach Lounge on Jan. 20.

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Staff reduction new reality

Jason Kerr
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Staff reduction new reality

A total of nine City of Prince Albert staff positions will be cut or left vacant as a result of this year’s budget crunch.

City council voted in favour of the decision on Monday, as part of an ongoing effort to trim a $3.5-million shortfall.

Mayor Greg Dionne said it was a difficult decision, but also a necessary one.

“Our biggest expense is staff,” he explained. “When you have to cut, you can’t get around it, so what do you do? You do the best you can, but at the end of the day, if some of those items pick up and we need those staff members, we’ll hire them back.”

Of the nine positions, at least four are already vacant. They include a planning technician, economic development manager and a financial services summer student position. Funding for a term firefighter position in 2018 was also removed, and two firefighter partial vacancies were budgeted as one-time reductions.

Dionne said the plan is to fill all positions in 2019, provided the provincial government follows through on plans to restore funding through the municipal revenue sharing agreement.

“That was their prediction and that’s why we’re putting a lot of faith in the new leader,” he said.

Monday’s decision was not without opposition, especially when it came to the elimination of two planning department positions. The city has 13 total staff in the department, but Dionne said the economic slow down and near completion of major planning projects, like the Cornerstone Development, meant they didn’t need as many employees.

The cuts did not go down well with Ward 2 Coun. Terra Lennox-Zepp, who worried the decision was shortsighted.

“Our city could really improve in terms of proactively planning how we want our city to look,” she said in an interview following Monday’s meeting. “To do that, we need appropriate staffing levels. I did not find it justified to be removing two staffing positions from the planning department, among other staffing positions as well.”

Dionne placed most of the blame for Monday’s staff reduction on the provincial government. He said cities are being forced to pay back debt they didn’t create, and added that he didn’t want to download the cost onto citizens in the form of higher taxes. However, he also placed some blame on local unions, who he said are focused on the wrong things.

“I think the most important thing the union should have been doing was focus on keeping jobs,” Dionne said. “The jobs that we did cut today partly lands on their table because (the city) did make them a fair offer not to cut jobs and it was not acceptable, so then city council had no choice but to take the bull by the horns and move ahead.”

The mayor added that it was the union’s job to fight for its members, but with so many recent job losses in the construction and retail industry, just keeping people employed was proving difficult.

CUPE Local 160 and CUPE Local 882 represent more than 300 city workers in Prince Albert, and have been in negotiations with the city for nearly a year.

On Friday, the two locals sent out a joint letter saying they were looking for a wage increase of 1.6 per cent, which would cover the increase in the cost of living. In the letter, both argued that any wage increase would go back into the community through purchasing products and services from local businesses and through property taxes.

Originally, city council had budgeted to freeze all staff wages for 2018, a move that was in line with many provincial ministries, but eventually passed a motion calling for a 1 per cent increase.

When reached on Monday, CUPE staff representative Tony Head called Dionne’s remarks “concerning,” and council’s decision to cut jobs a “quick fix.”

“The mayor’s fair deal amounted to zero per cent and was offered outside of the bargaining process,” Head explained. “That said, the union doesn’t bargain in the media. The mayor doesn’t know this because the mayor doesn’t’ sit at the bargaining table, but the mayor wants to talk about cost savings, and how about all of the contracting out the city does. Contracting out is always more expensive than doing things in house, and cutting jobs, that is a quick fix, and quite frankly, I think a little narrow-sighted, and only leads to more contracting out.”

Head added that working people were being punished for mistakes made by the provincial government, and urged Dionne to focus on his remarks there, and not on the city’s unionized employees.

Prince Albert firefighters are represented by IAFF 510 and not CUPE.

According to the 2018 Budget Fund document, salaries, wages and benefits account for $40,164,650 in spending. That’s roughly two-thirds of the city’s $62,638,950 estimated total expenses. The General Fund does not include revenues and expenses from the Sanitation Fund, Land Fund, Water and Sewer Utility Fund or Airport Fund.

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Access denied

Jason Kerr
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Access denied

A proposal to allow snowmobiles access to Cosmo Lodge in Little Red River Park was shot down on Monday due to safety concerns.

Prince Albert City Council voted unanimously to deny a request by the P.A. Trail Riders to allow snowmobiles to in the park on a one winter trial basis.

The news came as a relief to roughly a dozen local residents who filed into City Hall to oppose the measure.

Among them was Mike Horn, president of the Prince Albert Ski Club, who said snowmobiles would cause too many headaches in an already hectic area.

“It’s a really busy park with all of those users currently, and with the addition of motorized recreational vehicles in the park, I think it would be a huge step backwards and a huge safety concern,” he said.

Horn said he has nothing against snowmobile riders since most are just out to enjoy the outdoors. He was even an avid snowmobiler himself in his younger years, travelling to rallies across Northern Saskatchewan.

Despite that background, he called Monday’s decision a “no-brainer,” largely due to what he says is a large amount of unsanctioned and illegal motorized vehicle traffic in the park.

“With advertising a route through the park, it just sends the wrong message and it’s a huge step backwards,” he explained.

Horn wasn’t the only one making his voice heard on Monday. Monday’s city council packet included four letters from residents arguing that the proposal be swiftly defeated.

The issue first came before council on Nov. 27, when P.A. Trail Riders representative presented a proposal aimed at increasing use of the Cosmo Lodge.

Trail Riders spokesperson Gerry Dolezsar told council the club was committed to establishing a safe, family friendly snowmobiling environment, and wanted to partner with the city to make sure that happened at Little Red.

Dolezsar was unavailable for comment on Thursday, however in a letter to city council, he said granting access to the lodge would help promote tourism and use of the park.

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

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