A year of change

Jason Kerr
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A year of change

On Sunday evening, in an out of the way part of Cornerstone Methodist Church, a few members of the OSI-CAN Support Initiative are quietly celebrating their one-year anniversary.

The weekly support group is a rarity. It’s one of five in Saskatchewan committed to providing an out of the way place for police officers, soldiers, firefighters, corrections officers and medical personnel to discuss incidents that may have led to PTSD or operational stress injury (OSI).

Few support groups in the country bring people from so many diverse careers together in one room, but for organizers, that’s its greatest strength.

“It doesn’t matter if you were a police officer, a firefighter or an ambulance attendant,” Prince Albert group leader Michelle McKeaveney explains. “Some of those traumatic things are the same for each (attendee), and that’s what the room brings. It brings a sense of normality and comfort.”

The provincial initiative itself is fairly new. It only began operations in January 2016, with the Prince Albert chapter starting a few months later.

The weekly meetings are built on a peer support, rather than a clinical support, perspective. They allow attendees to talk about their experiences, either in person or over the phone, with people who’ve gone through similar difficulties, while receiving access to other services like psychosocial rehabilitation or even just basic housing.

Anonymity is of the utmost importance.

“We have rules and we have provisions to make sure that everybody is protected,” says McKeaveney, who worked as a corrections officer before becoming involved in the initiative. “Each peer group and each peer leader satisfies that at the beginning of the meeting.”

McKeaveney and OSI-CAN provincial coordinator say the feedback has been phenomenal. Even tough the group only has one year under their belt, they’re starting to see changes, and that’s true of similar groups in Saskatoon, Regina and Weyburn as well.

“They have hope now,” says Brown, a military veteran who served in the U.S. Army prior to moving to Canada. “They’re seeing that they have the prospect of returning to a normal live and regaining their balance back, and the same thing is echoed by the families.”

Brown comes from a military family. His father fought in the Second World War, while he and two brothers joined the army near the end of the Vietnam War. He also has one son who is a veteran, and one daughter who is still enlisted after 13 years.

He says mental health was something his family never brought up, even PTSD.

“There were indications that there was something there, that there was a problem,” Brown explains. “PTSD did exist, but because it was something that was never talked about, you just continued on with your life. Even after I entered the military and saw it myself, it was still something that wasn’t spoken about. You just soldiered on.”

Brown says there is a “self-stigma” where a lot of individuals can’t acknowledge that they need help.

Fortunately things are starting to change, especially in Prince Albert. McKeaveney says employers in the city are starting to take the issue of mental and emotional health seriously, and that’s having positive consequences.

However, there are still a few challenges ahead. The Prince Albert OSI-CAN group is financially supported solely by an anonymous donor, but that funding is set to expire in 2018.

They’ll be looking for new ways to keep the program growing, which has provided an important start for those suffering from OSI and PTSD.

They also want to expand from five groups to eight by the end of the year, but on Sunday, it’s a night for celebration.

“It’s truly amazing,” Brown says. “It’s what gets me up in the morning.”

The Prince Albert chapter of OSI-CAN meets every week for two hours at Cornerstone Methodist Church. For more information, call Michelle at 306-922-3113 or 306-981-6083.

Residents can also access the phone-in support group every Thursday at 2 p.m. by calling 1-888-289-4573, access code 6325824.

A PTSD/OSI Awareness Conference will also be held from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 at the Prince Albert Inn. Registration is $75 per person, prior to Sept. 1. Contact Karyn at 306-961-8231 for more information.

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Living life to the fullest at MS Walk

Jason Kerr
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Living life to the fullest at MS Walk

It didn’t matter how much it rained on Sunday morning, Rhea Krakowetz was always going to show up for the Saskatchewan Blue Cross MS Walk.

Krakowetz was one of more than 60 people who came out for to raise funds for the Saskatchewan division of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, and she wasn’t going to let thunderstorms stand in the way of that goal.

“I was a little worried, being down near the river, if there was lighting, but other than that, no,” Krakowetz chuckled. “I was going to be out here in rubber boots if I had to be.”

Sunday’s walk was particularly important for Krakowetz, who suffers from MS herself. She’s one of more than 3,500 people in Saskatchewan living with the disease, and while the future is filled with uncertainty, she remains optimistic.

“I only have one life and I’m still going to live it to the fullest,” she said. “With good support and good family and friends, even if it’s not quite the life I wanted, it’s still amazing.”

An estimated 100,000 Canadians live with multiple sclerosis, which gives Canada one of the highest rates of MS in the world. However, Canada has also become a major research centre.

For the rest of this story, please see the May 9 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Government review of jury recommendations underway

Jason Kerr
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Government review of jury recommendations underway

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Justice says the government wants to implement recommendations made by jury members in the Shauna Wolf Inquest “as soon as possible.”

On Thursday, the ministry officially released all 17 recommendations made by jury members, nine of which were specifically directed at the Ministry of Corrections and Policing.

Government officials got their first look at the list on Thursday, with Ministry of Justice spokesperson Drew Wilby saying the review process would begin in the coming weeks.

“We will, in the not too distant future, figure out how we’re going to respond to (the recommendations), what work can be done from the provincial level here, and what work needs to be done at the local level up at Pine Grove,” Wilby explained. “Those discussions will begin here within the next couple of weeks for sure.”

For the rest of this story, please see the May 5 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Kicking of National KidSport Month

Jason Kerr
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Kicking of National KidSport Month

Spending a day sitting in a raised scissor lift swaying in the wind isn’t how most people envision having a good time, but for KidSport chairperson Dwight Bergstrom it feels right at home.

Bergstrom, who spent plenty of time dangling about the ground while riding ski lifts as an instructor, spent Thursday riding in a different kind of lift. It was all part of a goal to raise $1,000 for KidSport Prince Albert by 5 p.m.

“I may have to spend an indefinite amount of time up there,” he chuckled during an interview shortly before jumping in the lift. “I’ve actually had more people asking how much they’d have to pay to keep my up there permanently.”

Bergstrom has a self-depreciating approach to sitting in a scissor lift all day, but the goal is a serious one.

Last year, Prince Albert KidSport granted $87,162 to help 341 children from low-income families participate in everything from hockey to soccer to gymnastics to swimming.

This year that funding is in jeopardy, as budget cuts from the provincial organization, which would normally provide up to $37,000 annually, means the Prince Albert chapter will struggle to meet last year’s numbers.

For the rest of this story, please see the May 5 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Inquest leaves family with mixed feelings

Jason Kerr
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Inquest leaves family with mixed feelings

A six-person jury has found the cause of Shauna Wolf’s death to be unknown and the means undetermined, while providing 17 recommendations for preventing similar deaths in the future.

Jurors needed less than four hours to come to their conclusions on Wednesday, as the third and final day of the Wolf inquest wrapped up at the Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench.

The decision brought mixed feelings for Wolf’s family, who were pleased with the recommendations, but saddened that jurors did not find a cause or means of death.

“Obviously the family is disappointed, but they did want me to pass on that they are very happy with the recommendations,” explained Ammy Murray, the lawyer who represented Shauna Wolf’s family at the proceedings. “They’re very happy that there is going to be some action taken within the ministry and within the correctional centre to address people withdrawing from opioids.”

While the findings weren’t exactly what they wanted, Murray said the family did get some closure from the inquiry. Family members were particularly thankful to see the time of death altered from 11:37 p.m. to between 9:15 and 10:15 p.m., when Wolf was still at Pine Grove.

“They did get some closure in the respect that there’s recognition now that Shauna was ill and not enough was done for her,” Murray said. “They also get some closure in hearing the recommendations, in knowing that while they may have lost Shauna, in the future, other women may not be lost.”

Of the 17 recommendations, the biggest involves the medical facilities at Pine Grove. The correctional centre has only two medical cells for a population of around 180 inmates, which was one of several reasons Wolf was moved to the segregation unit the night she died.

For the rest of this story, please see the May 4 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

Cause of death difficult to determine

Jason Kerr
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Cause of death difficult to determine

The forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Shauna Wolf said he discovered nothing abnormal, a phrase that has become quite common at the inquiry into Wolf’s death.

Dr. Shaun Ladham was one of four witnesses to testify on Tuesday, as day two of the inquiry resumed at the Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench.

Ladham said performed a complete examination, a process that includes searching for symptoms of natural disease to signs of blunt force trauma.

While there were signs of bruising and scratches on Wolf’s body, Ladham said the instances were minor, and may have simply occurred while medical personal performing life-saving measures.

“It wasn’t extensive, and it wasn’t something I thought would have caused death,” Ladham told jury members in reference to one specific bruise that were likely caused during C.P.R.

He also found no instances of natural disease, other than one sign that Wolf may have suffered from pneumonia in the past. However, he said it is unlikely it interfered with her breathing.

Wolf’s heart and other internal organs all appeared to be unaffected by disease or illness.

The entire procedure left Ladham at a loss to explain how Wolf died. When taking drug use into account, he said withdrawal could be a cause but it was difficult to say for sure.

“It was possible that her death was due to an opiate withdrawal,” he told jury members.

The cause of death became the defining issue of the day, especially after another witness testified that Wolf refused medication during a nurses round at 9 p.m.

For the rest of this story, please see the May 3 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

“She was very polite”

Jason Kerr
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“She was very polite”

Witnesses on the first day of the Shauna Wolf inquiry say there was very little out of the ordinary prior to the discovery of her body on Dec. 27, 2015 at Pine Grove Correctional Centre.

A total of seven witnesses took to the stand on Monday, as the public inquest into Wolf’s death began at the Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench. The list included correction workers and medical personnel, who all said Wolf was friendly and personable in the hours leading up to her death.

“Very polite,” said Lisa Nazar, one of four corrections officers to testify on Monday. “(Saying) please and thank you. She was very polite.”

Nazar and co-worker Heidi Huziek were the two corrections officers on duty in the segregation unit, where Wolf was being held that day.

Huziek also took the stand, and said she spoke to and checked in on Wolf on multiple occasions just before her death, but did not notice anything unusual.

Wolf was sitting upright and looked to be breathing, so Huziek took no further precautions.

“In my experience, I’ve seen inmates sleep in some pretty different positions,” she told the inquest.

Both witnesses were very quiet on the stand, with Nazar testifying that she felt “awful” after Wolf was sent to hospital. Shortly after paramedics left, Nazar began cleaning the empty cell, saying she was “on autopilot” at the time. Both testified to receiving counseling to help deal with the incident.

Prior to her death, Wolf was moved to the segregation unit after spending a night under observation in a medical cell. There was some concern she was suffering heroin withdrawal symptoms, although nurse Patricia Marshall, who attended to Wolf on Dec. 25-26, told jurors those symptoms were minimal.

Jurors also heard from Lori Jacobson, a deputy director of operations at Pine Grove at that time. Jacobson said Wolf had confessed to smuggling drugs into the facility, and was facing a penalty of 10 days in segregation.

However, Jacobson also agreed with previous witnesses, saying Wolf was polite and in good spirits prior to her death.

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

Focus on the future

Jason Kerr
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Focus on the future

For the last two days Prince Albert has been overflowing with firefighters as the Saskatchewan Association of Fire Chiefs (SAFC) kicked off their annual conference on Thursday.

The event provides a venue for the province’s fire chiefs to network, learn new skills and discuss common issues that crop up in their communities.

Prince Albert Fire Chief Jason Everitt said more than 500 of the province’s fire departments are staffed and run by volunteers, and the conference helps provide them with the skills and technical knowledge they need to be successful.

“We’ve got a lot of new fire chiefs in the province, and the common question is ‘what do I do, where do I go?’” Everitt explained. “That’s the focus of this conference, to try and give them those basic tools where they can go back and hit the ground running in their communities.”

The theme of this year’s conference is “The fire service starts today. Are you ready?” It’s specifically designed to target the grassroots level of training and fire department management that those smaller departments need.

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

City eyes next budget hurdle

Jason Kerr
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City eyes next budget hurdle

With the 2017 Prince Albert city budget officially put to rest, city councillors can now turn their attention to an even bigger monster that needs slaying.

Due to provincial cuts, the city faces a $3.5 million shortfall in 2018, and with preliminary budget discussions already underway, Mayor Greg Dionne says city residents need to be prepared for any number of changes.

“Everything is on the table,” he said during an interview on Friday.

Prince Albert was one of the few Saskatchewan communities not to raise taxes in light of the recent provincial budget, but that could change next year.

Dionne said they want to hold the tax increase at 1.5 per cent for 2018, which would be the same increase city councillors agreed on for this year’s budget. However, he added that there is a possibility for more.

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

Down on the farm

Jason Kerr
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Down on the farm

Not every Prince Albert child has the chance to get out to a farm, so this week the Prince Albert Exhibition Association (PAEX) helped bring the farm to them.

Students from more than 20 schools were on hand to learn about everything from growing crops to milking cows to farm safety, as the 2017 Agriculture Education Showcase wrapped up on Thursday.

Nearly 700 local students from Grades 3, 4 and 5 took part in the two-day event, which is designed to help them learn a little bit more about where they get their food.

“So many of them have never been to a farm, have no exposure to any kind of farm,” PAEX Director Tara Kennedy explained. “We want to show them where their food comes from. It’s doesn’t come from a super market, it’s farmers out there working every day to provide them with meals to put on their table.”

For the rest of this story, please see the April 28 online or print edition of the Daily Herald.

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