Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Michael Oleksyn covers regional civic affairs including RMs, city council, local school divisions and the impacts of COVID-19. He can be reached at 306-764-4276 ext 230 or by email at michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca.
His position was made possible by funding through the Local Journalism Initiative. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada.
Prince Albert firefighter and mental health advocate Jeff Reeder has announced his intention to seek the Saskatchewan Party nomination in Prince Albert Carlton.
Reeder has spent two decades with the Prince Albert Fire Department, and 25 years as a frontline worker in public safety. He is also the co-founder of the River Valley Resilience Retreat, a Saskatchewan-based non-profit.
Reeder said his work as a firefighter is why inspired him to seek the nomination.
“(It’s) seeing the conditions in the city and certain areas and wanting to step up and do my part to make things better,” Reeder said.
“A lot of it is surrounding mental health and addictions and working towards a solution for homelessness and working to provide some more resources to help make things better.”
Reeder’s journey in public service began at the age of 15 as a volunteer firefighter, followed by three years in Emergency Medical Services after completing high school.
The River Valley Resilience Retreat he helped found offers a tranquil space for Public Safety Personnel, Armed Forces members, Veterans, and their families, to recover from Operational Stress Injuries and Post-Traumatic Stress.
Reeder said he believes his experience in helping found the retreat will serve him well as an MLA.
“I think I have a lot of experience in that realm of dealing with the retreat and providing some resources to be able to help people overcome those obstacles and I want to be able to shift that focus and strengthening in the community and help solve some of those issues,” he said.
Previously, Reeder served as the President of the Local 510 chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Union. Nearly half of his career was dedicated to various executive roles within the union, advocating from local communities to higher levels of government.
Reeder confirmed that he is one of the two candidates awaiting approval by the Saskatchewan Party. The nomination meeting is scheduled for Aug. 21.
“I’m working on formulating my campaign platform, so I’ll be making some more announcements here in the next few weeks,” Reeder said.
“The first step was to make it known that I am running and be trying to gather some support from the community members and hear from the community.”
In addition to his union work, Reeder is the Co-Chair and a founding member of the Sask First Responders Mental Health Committee, established in partnership with the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board.
Reeder said in a release that he aims to channel his work ethic and extensive experience into politics, pledging to diligently serve the interests of Prince Albert Carlton’s constituents.
Reeder and his wife Natalie have been married 22 years and have three teenage children.
Meghan Mayer, who withdrew after announcing her intention, was the first candidate to seek the Sask. Party’s Prince Albert Carlton nomination since former MLA Joe Hargrave announced he would not run again. Hargrave was first elected in 2016, then re-elected in 2020, and was acclaimed as the Sask. Party candidate again in November 2023.
However, in May 2024, Hargrave announced he would not seek another term, saying he had discussed the issue with his family and believed he could not commit to another four years.
Longtime nurse Carolyn Brost Strom is the NDP candidate in Prince Albert Carlton after winning a contested nomination in September 2023.
The 2024 Saskatchewan provincial election must be held on or before Oct. 28
Artists were once again on full display in a back alley in Melfort on July 18 as the Eighth Annual Back Alley Tour took returned for another year.
The annual event takes place in the back alley behind Northern Lights Gallery, and the 2024 version showed that the event continues to grow and change.
Event organizer and Northern Lights Gallery owner Sandra Dancey said the goal is to get like-minded artists together to show off their work, and with artists from Prince Albert, Nipawin, Tisdale and Melfort and beyond in attendance, Dancey sees more growth in the future.
“It went really well,” Dancey said. “(We had) more artists than ever, (and a) really good turnout. It was very warm, but people have learned to adapt to that because that’s how it is in July.”
Dancey said there are many talented artists in the region, and this event is a great way to promote them.
“It’s nice to showcase them in the way that we do in the back alley,” she said. “They can do workshops and it’s very casual and relaxed. They enjoy it and it’s fun for everyone.”
The Northeast SPCA supplied food for the day and the nearby Melfort Legion provided meals as well.
The number of new artists is also increasing every year for the event.
“There were more artists than ever,” Dancey said. “That’s the nice thing about it. There are so many talented artists in the neighborhood. While there is always overlap of repeat artists who were here the year before or two years, there’s always new people in the neighborhood and it makes it interesting for everybody.”
PHOTO BY CASSIE JOHNSON An artist shows their wares during the Back Alley Tour in Melfort on July 18.Photo by Cassie Johnson Attendees watch while a potter works during the Back Alley Tour in in Melfort on July 18. Artists from Prince Albert, Melfort, Nipawin, Tisdale, and beyond were all in attendance showcasing their skills for the public.
There is always entertainment and this year there was an entertainment stage. Dancey said they had live music all afternoon and into the evening, which is also really popular.
Prairie North Co-Op sponsored the $500 Back Alley Tour Scholarship to a student from MUCC, which was presented to Aliyah Taylor. Taylor also works at the Melfort and District Museum as a summer student.
Dancey said that all of the artists were outstanding and she could not pick just one who stood out.
“There are so many young upcoming artists,” she said.
The project originally began as part of Main Street Melfort as a revitalization project. The Main Street Melfort program was suspended in 2017 and Main Street Melfort folded as a downtown revitalization organization.
Dancey thanked the supporters of the event.
“I always appreciate the support we get from all of our sponsors to help make this happen because we don’t charge artists to participate. That’s the other thing with this is it’s free to be part of. It’s meant to promote the creativity and artistic nature of so many people in the neighborhood, so we appreciate that we have sponsors to help us out,” she said.
After a brief hiatus to replenish themselves Melfort’s Communities in Bloom (CiB) will return to National judging this week.
The National judges are in Melfort on July 26 and July 27. Peggy George said that they were excited to have the national judges return after last competing nationally in 2022.
“We did we’re not getting a whole lot of new volunteers and some of our volunteers are getting worn out tired,” George said. “We’re all 20 years older than when we started way back in 2004, so we thought (we’d) just take a year off and gather up some speed and energy for this year.”
Melfort is competing in the Class of Champions category against Bay Roberts, Newfoundland and Labrador, Stonewall, Man., and Bruderheim, Alta.
George said participating in the program has extended to a year-round endeavour for the group.
“It just evolved into a very big program,” she explained. “We’re dedicated, but we’re getting a little tired. Anybody wants to join we are more than happy to welcome you with open arms.”
The communities will be rated from 1 to 5 Blooms, based on the scoring obtained. Also, they will aim to obtain Bronze, Silver or Gold levels in their 5-Bloom rating. Communities are judged on heritage, horticulture and environment. Ahead of the visit the local CiB reminds people and businesses to tidy up their yards.
“It’s just common sense but a lot of people don’t realize that what we see when we drive down the street is a perception of the area, the community, the people and so on. We have so many neat and tidy yards and they raise the bar for a lot of their neighbors,” George said.
She said there are still some people who do not notice or do not care, but most people are excited for the competition. They remind people who own vacant lots, people who are renting, and business owners to take the same care.
“We ask those people to be a little more mindful of their properties and to pick up, clean up and do their part show their civic pride,” George said.
The national and international results will be announced in Charlottetown, PEI from Oct. 17-20, during the National Symposium on Parks and Grounds and the National and International Awards
“It’s a great time to mix and mingle with other like-minded community people and we learn more about the program more about what we can be doing the sustainability and of our communities and that that kind of stuff,” George said.
The Judges arrive in Saskatchewan on July 25 and begin their tour on July 26.
“We tour them around show them what we have been doing, what the city has been doing, what the residents have been doing in their area and in the commercial industrial area. And then we will meet with our volunteers and they get a chance to meet the judges in the evening and then it’s a wrap-up on July 27 and then they’re gone, it’s short and sweet,” George said.
She explained that one challenge is showing off the whole community.
“It’s time-consuming for sure and we want to hit all of the high spots and then we leave it up to them we said and we can plan the tour all we want they may have some other ideas, they may want to go down a back alley that is not on our tour,” George sad.
She said that those unexpected stops are why they hope the community has done their due diligence.
“It’s fun, it’s exciting, (and) it’s emotional actually because we just want to do so well. We want to portray how great we really think we are,” she said.
“If everybody does their little part of the world it we all win and we all shine so it’s good for everybody,” George said.
The Prince Albert U15 Astros have advanced to the U15 Canadian Championships but not how they expected after placing second at U15 Provincials after losing 6-2 to the Valley Blue Jays on Sunday at the Kinsmen Diamond at Prime Ministers’ Park.
The Astros led 2-0 after four innings before the Blue Jays came back in the fifth inning with four runs. The Blue Jays added another run in the top of the fifth and sixth innings to seal their win.
Throughout the final game Astros’ manager Neil Finch had a mantra of ‘win every inning’.
“That was our goal is if you can win every inning you usually have success at the end of the game and they ended up winning the fifth inning by quite a bit. And so that made the difference in the game,” Finch said.
During the fifth inning some mishandled balls led to runs for the Blue Jays.
“I don’t even know if I would call them errors or just unfortunate events like we had some things that happened that just if you want to call it ball luck, Laird had way more ball luck than we did that game and they played the better game than us as a result,” Finch said.
Finch said that the work of pitchers Willis Finch and Cohen Ball were both outstanding throughout the game.
“He threw well and then when we had we had Cohen Ball come in to help us in the last couple innings, he actually did really well,” Finch said.
MICHAEL OLEKSYN/DAILY HERALD
Jaxon Geisler of the Prince Albert U15 Astros swings a pitch during the provincial final at Kinsmen Field at Prime Ministers’ Park on Sunday afternoon.
Throughout the game and especially after trying to rally for a victory in the sixth and seventh inning, the players were vocal supporting each other.
”They are a great group of kids that do nothing but great things when they’re out on the ball diamond and they’re willing to learn and they support each other. It’s a fun team to coach,” Finch said.
The team has several weeks to prepare before going to Quebec for the National event.
“We have got three weeks until then we’ll have a couple of players that we will pick up to join us for nationals and then we’ll just try to gel as a team over the next three weeks,” Finch said.
On Sunday morning the first place Astros defeated the fourth-seeded Delisle Diamond Dogs 13-2. In the other semi-final, the Blue Jays defeated the Okanese Thunderstrikers 10-3.
The Astros opened the weekend with a 15-7 win over the Blue Jays on Friday morning.
On Friday evening they defeated the Rosebud Royals 14-5. On Saturday, the Astros defeated the Okanese Thunderstrikers 12-0 in the morning and the Delisle Diamond Dogs 17-1 in their evening contest to conclude round robin play.
The Thunderstrikers claimed the bronze medal with a 15-7 win over Delisle on Sunday afternoon.
Finch was pleased to see way the weekend turned out with 17 girls and six boys’ teams in Prince Albert for Provincials.
“We brought 23 teams into Prince Albert this weekend and at Prime Minister’s Park all four diamonds were busy all weekend on a very hot weekend. It’s a showcase of what we do as a community yet again, and we bring these teams in. We welcomed them and we put on a great show,” Finch said.
The 2024 U15 Boy’s Canadian Fast Pitch Championship is in Saint-Leonard D’aston, Quebec, located near Montreal from August 14 to 18.
After one term on council, Ward 3 representative Tony Head is seeking a second.
Head announced he was seeking re-election during a city council meeting on June 24. Head said the last four years have been a whirlwind of activity, but there is still more to do.
“These last four years have really flown by,” he explained. “These last four years have been a lot of work and a lot of challenges have come up. I feel like there’s a lot of work that has to happen still, and a lot of ongoing work that I would like to continue. Having a say in being a strong voice for Ward 3 has always been my priority.”
Head said he takes his top issues from his voters and their biggest concern is crime and social issues that lead to crime.
Head said being a strong voice means advocating for Prince Albert’s interests at the provincial level. He said the City needs to bring its concerns to the province to try and find solutions.
“Residents have contacted me for a variety of things over the last four years and I’m happy they do,” he explained. “I’m happy to be able to assist them through the challenges they see in their neighborhoods.”
Head consistently voted against The Yard project during his time on council. He made the decision after door-knocking during the last election.
“It was very clear that people were concerned with the cost, the land acquisitions, what it’s going to look like, (and) how we’re going to pay for it,” Head explained.
“They’re very concerned about the cost of that project and diving in debt any more than we have, so I’ve been voting no.”
Head said social issues are also a concern he’s hearing about from voters. He said addressing the problem is always difficult but there has been movement from the province around a big one: a new permanent shelter location in Prince Albert.
“That’s been one positive change,” he said. “A lot of people have been advocating for that in Prince Albert, something a little bit more of a permanent shelter and/or wraparound services. (It’s) not just here’s a shelter, keep people off the streets, but provide services to keep them off the streets and give them a quality of life.”
Head said the issue has been front and centre since it’s both a provincial and municipal election year.
He said the city faces a challenge because too many people are being arrested, then sent back to the streets without any services or help. He said current methods make it difficult to create positive change in society.
“We need to see some changes and the provincial government has heard some of that, I think and has made some commitments at least to address some of our social problems in Prince Albert here,” Head said.
Head was first elected in 2020, beating incumbent Evert Botha and another former councillor, Lee Atkinson.
“It is a very important job and I want to continue to be that strong voice for residents of Ward 3,” he said.
Don Cody is the only current councillor to announce he will not seek re-election in the fall. Brent Zbarashcuk has announced his intent to run in Ward 4. Blake Edwards in Ward 6, Dawn Kilmer in Ward 7 and Head have all confirmed they will run again. The current candidates for Mayor are incumbent Greg Dionne and Bill Powalinsky.
Prince Albert’s next municipal election is scheduled for Nov. 13, 2024.
A walk to raise awareness about the death of Boden Umpherville required a new starting point on Saturday after organizers were told they could no longer start a protest walk at the Prince Albert Royal Canadian Legion Hall.
The walk was part of a project organized by researchers from the University of Saskatchewan and Umpherville’s family. The focus was “over-protection” and “under-protection” by police. The walk began at the Gateway Mall instead.
Legion President Rick Hodgson said there was some miscommunication as to what would conclude the project. He said he was aware this was part of a research project, but did not know there would be a walk or what the topic was.
“From our side, we had rented the hall to the university thing assuming that they were teaching a course down there,” Hodgson said. “We didn’t know that they were going to do a rally out of the building, a march, so I thought, well I better do something.
“They had advertised leaving from the Legion and I just kind of thought (we’d) better not get involved with something like.”
Chase Sinclair is an advocate for the case involving Umpherville and was part of the group who participated in the walk and workshops. The walk was supposed to start at the Prince Albert Legion but the group was forced to change venues after being asked to leave by the Legion.
“We just got removed from a Legion,” Sinclair said. “We got kicked out of our last building that we were at and they said that we have to get out because we (The Legion) are not supporting anybody that talks against the police.”
On Thursday and Friday, members of Umpherville’s family were at the Legion working on a project that investigated experiences of “over-protection” or “under-protection” by police.
The project was led by a team of researchers from the University of Saskatchewan.Julie Kaye an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said researchers have been holding art space workshops in Saskatoon, and wanted to expand around the province. The first workshop on Thursday was for close family and intimate relations and the second day was a wider workshop open to the public. The idea for a walk came from the family, who thought it would be a good way to conclude the Prince Albert event.
“Something that the family wanted is to memorialize the passing of Boden and to memorialize his killing, so what they really wanted was to be able to host a walk,” Kaye said.
Hodgson said that the Legion supported the education and research part of the project but not the walk on Saturday because of the aspect of protest.
“We decided to not let them march out of the Legion and asked them to find a different place, and they did,” Hodgson said.
“Like I said, if it would have been cleared up a little before we would not have had this situation,” he added.
He explained that the Legion was aware of the teaching aspect of the research project.
Hodgson said that the Legion rules do not allow them to be involved in politics and religion.
“I have talked with the provincial president (Carol Pederson) about what happened and she said it was the right thing to do,” Hodgson said. Hodgson said that they also addressed The Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command.
He explained that the entire situation has changed the way the Legion thinks about renting their hall space.
“I guess we will have to put more into our Hall rental applications as what the event you are doing is involved with,” he said.
Hodgson said he had a conversation on Friday evening with one of the representatives from the University of Saskatchewan and explained that the Legion did not want to be used as the starting point for the walk on Saturday.
“It’s not like the Legion was supporting it or was against it. It was just the Legion name,” he said.
“Hopefully it is not going to get blown out of proportion,” Hodgson added.
The Daily Herald contact the University of Saskatchewan for comment. A spokesperson said it was the PA Legion’s decision to make regarding their space, and the university will respect their wishes.
An exercise in healing for family and friends of Boden Umpherville concluded with an awareness and memorial walk on Saturday in Prince Albert.
The walk had symbolism of blue handprints and blue signs and signs remembering Umpherville.
On Thursday and Friday, members of Umpherville’s family were at the Prince Albert Legion working on a project that investigated experiences of “over-protection” or “under-protection” by police.
The project is by a team of researchers from the University of Saskatchewan. Julie Kaye an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan explained that that the researchers have been holding art space workshops.
The first day on Thursday was for close family and intimate relations and the second day was a wider workshop.
“Over the last couple of days we’ve done some painting of some rocks and things to memorialize both Boden as well as other loved ones, creating some of these T-shirts, (and) some paint work,” Kaye said.
The university has similar research events before in Saskatoon, and Kaye said each one looks a little different. For this event, the idea for the walk came from Umpherville’s family.
“The family wanted is to memorialize the passing of Boden and to memorialize his killing,” Kaye explained. “What they really wanted was to be able to host a walk.”
Michael Oleksyn/Daily Herald
Advocate Chase Sinclair speaks at the location where the incident occurred on April 1, 2023 at the conclusion of the Awareness Walk for Boden Umpherville on Saturday. Michael Oleksyn/Daily Herald
Before the Awareness Walk for Boden Umpherville on Saturday blue handprints were placed on participants faces.
The project is part of a wider project on racialized policing in the province. The larger project is under the direction of professor Scott Thompson.
“He has worked on a lot of data collection in terms of using practices around street checks and carding,” Kaye said. “He has a large data set of what he’s collected.”
Kaye then takes the data and leads the community-based work like the work with Umpherville’s family. She said it tries to connect what they see in policing data and what police are saying and documenting. They then connect that to community experiences.
“Part of the question is what relationship community would like to see with police moving forward,” she said.
Kaye and Thompson wrote a report on carding practices. The report focuses specifically on Saskatoon, and includes findings from their workshops.
Kaye explained that this was the second workshop of this type they had done. The researchers also held other workshops with families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Chase Sinclair has been advocating for Umpherville ever since the incident and his death 15 months ago. Sinclair said he is not a bloodline relative but the pair were brothers.
“I grew up with him since I was a kid,” Sinclair said.
Umpherville was arrested on April 1, 2023 and Umpherville was taken off life support about three weeks later.
A news release from the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) said Umpherville was one of three people in a vehicle police pulled over. Although the car had been reported stolen, according to police, one of the people inside was the registered owner.
Prince Albert police used stun guns, collapsible batons and pepper spray during the arrest, according to SIRT. The SIRT report has not been released.
PAPS members stopped the vehicle Umpherville was riding in at 2:23 a.m. on April 1 in the 1100 Block of 13th Street West. Witnesses report Umpherville was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.
Sinclair said the two days before the walk were about healing. On Thursday that was the most specific thing that happened, according to Sinclair. He said that they were able to talk about what happened in a safe space.
“We were just able to release some feelings, so it was healing in a sense, and we definitely need that. We need to continue needing that, which is why we need this closure of something so that we can put some put a staple in it and then just move on with life. But we’re not there yet. Apparently, we’re two years away,” Sinclair said.
He said it was great to be able to get together because that does not happen often.
He said that the second day was for youth and educating them how to interact with law enforcement. He said that people who come from a disadvantaged background are labeled as criminals.
“We are hurt people we didn’t deserve to live in this world that we were just born into it. So we have the tools out here to do what we can with it and this is what it is,” Sinclair said.
He said that actions like that are what Umpherville would have done. Sinclair explained that he has served time but has now taken advantage and begun to work to help the community.
“But instead I went to school and I’m making a difference with this, I’m finishing my social work degree this year and I’m going to keep fighting for our people,” he said.
The symbolism for the walk and the art-based project was blue handprints. Sinclair explained that he had permission to use the handprint symbol from advocates for MMIWG. He added that blue is both a symbol of male colour and a colour that symbolizes police.
“Law is kind of associated with the blue police and also the handprint is already iconic and so there there’s indigenous men that are murdered and missing at the same rate as Indigenous women, except it’s out in the open and nobody’s doing anything about it and that’s why we are here,” Sinclair said.
At the site where the incident happened Sinclair made a speech about the incident. Sinclair then delivered a fern with special symbolism to Deputy Police Chief Farica Prince at the main Prince Albert Police Station. At each stop there was a drum group who played and an opportunity to smudge.
The walk began at the Gateway Mall and then went up Second Avenue and crossed the street ending up at River Street, from there it went down to the place where the incident happened on 13th Street West. At the location the group left a memorial of the painted rocks from the workshop.
Because of the heat of the day the people who returned on the walk were gradually picked up as they made their way back.
The walk was supposed to start at the Prince Albert Legion but the group was forced to change venues after being asked to leave by the Legion.
“We just got removed from a Legion. We got kicked out of our last building that we were at and they said that we have to get out because we’re (The Legion) not supporting anybody that talks against the police,” Sinclair said.
He explained that he is advocating because he wants better futures for youth.
“Kids are coming up in this world behind us and it could be them getting killed. It could be them incarcerated for things that they didn’t do. It could be them not getting the proper supports in the community,” Sinclair said.
He said that it is not just law enforcement but the entire community that needs to understand. He pointed to under representation in healthcare and inequities in the education system.
“We come here to urbanize and everybody has already has a stereotype of the bad Indian or the bad this or the bad that. We need to fix that. We just need to be community outside of
color, outside of culture and just love each other. That’s what this is about is building love, building a community,” Sinclair said.
Sinclair said that people are afraid to speak out and gave the example of friends who were not present for the walk.
“Why isn’t there anybody here? Why doesn’t the community care that people are being jailed every day for things that they didn’t do or things that we could prevent. Where is the restorative justice,” Sinclair said.
He added that it was the community that could fix the issue and it was not just a Prince Albert problem but a problem across Canada.
“When the community is whole, then maybe then another city will follow and then another city and then it expands,” Sinclair said.
Sinclair described Umpherville as a protector and leader who had his life cut short.
“He had potential and he would have been a beacon for this community, he would have been a beacon of hope, a chance to change.”
Kaye expressed the same sentiments about Umpherville.
“One of the things I heard a lot about Boden over the last few days is that he was a protector and so part of the idea is also we’ve got a lot of little ones that will be around and (we’re) creating spaces to protect them moving forward,” Kaye said.
The workshops were funded by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Explore Grant.
The Year is 1957 and the Prime Minister is wrapped up in a murder mystery.
Off the Cuff Improv and Interactive brings this mystery to life at Shananigan’s on July 26 and 27, when they present ‘Murder First Class: An Interactive Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre’.
Adrianna Boucher of Off the Cuff said the Prime Ministerial visit is based on a historical fact.
“It is set in 1957, which, fun fact, Prime Minister Diefenbaker was in Prince Albert. He was like doing a provincial visit and he stopped in PA and did an address outside of City Hall,” Boucher explained. “The play takes place the night before his address at City Hall.”
An actor playing Diefenbaker will be in attendance at the show. The play focuses on an evening where Diefenbaker is invited to a dinner and someone ends up murdered.
“There’s a Private Eye who just happens to be in the audience and she conducts an investigation,” Boucher said. “Along the way the audience is invited to question the suspects as well and consider the evidence and guess who they think the killer is as well.”
The play was written by Boucher and first performed when Off the Cuff was performing at Boreal Bistro. At that time, the show was called Murder at the Marlboro because the Boreal Bistro was inside the Marlboro Inn.
“That’s where John Diefenbaker stayed in PA in 1957 and that’s why we got the idea about doing it around the time Diefenbaker was in town,” Boucher said.
The story was revamped in 2019 when it was performed on the Wheatland Express excursion train. There were additional revamps done as the play is being performed in Rosthern at the Station Arts Centre on July 19 and 20.
“We have two sold out performances here and then,” Boucher said. “We are going to be in PA next weekend doing this show as well.”
Boucher said they wanted the play performed in a restaurant because it allows them to lean into the interactive nature of the production. The performance will be interactive with characters out in the audience.
“The play at Shenanigan’s will be a tiny bit different just because it’s a different venue, but it’s the same actors,” she explained. “We’ve got a great cast for this one. (It’s) the same sort of idea as when we did Awkward Family Christmas and Loving Leofrick.
“There will be a few set scenes and then the rest of the time we’re just interacting as our characters,” Boucher said.
Boucher said the troupe is often questioned if audience members must get involved. She said that the amount of interaction is up to the audience member.
“We’re not going to pick on anybody. We do pick volunteers from the audience for certain things, but only people who are willing, so people can just relax and have a good time. No one has to interact any more than they’re comfortable with,” Boucher said.
The menu for the performance will feature steak, roasted baby potatoes, fresh grilled vegetables and fresh bread.
It’s going to be really lovely and I think Creme Brulee for dessert,” Boucher said.
Trent Gillespie, who plays Mr. Everett, was part of the original cast at Boreal Bistro and has returned to the character.
“Mr. Everett is the owner of the establishment and the hotel across the way. He is throwing this little Soire regular evening and it just so happened that the Prime Minister and his wife happened to be in town because he is going to be making a speech shortly,” Gillespie said.
Mr. Everett is also a suspect in the murder mystery.
“There’s three other ones as well and over the course of the evening, we’re interrogated and we reveal some information that could lead to our guilt or could lead to our innocence,” Gillespie said.
Gillespie explained that getting back into playing Mr. Everett even with the changes in script since the first performance in 2017.
“I think it was just relearning a few of the new little nuances and kind of getting back into that field again, but that being said the character again was pretty easy to slip into,” he explained.
He encourages people to take in the show next weekend.
“I think it’s going to be a good mystery show with very vibrant characters and I think people will have a great meal and a great entertainment night.”
Boucher encourages people not to wait to get tickets for the show. She said that both previous plays at the venue sold out.
“We don’t want people to miss out. It’s also good to buy at least a couple of days in advance because the caterer needs numbers. Shenanigan’s has planned an amazing meal for this,” Boucher said.
Murder First Class is on July 26-27 at Shananigans Coffee and Desert Bar, doors open at 6:15 and the show begins at 6:45. The show is supported by Saskatchewan Seniors Fitness Association – Lakeland District.
Boucher added that they have set up a children’s price and menu with tickets available for $40 plus GST and taxes. General tickets are $75 plus GST and fees, tickets are available at www.otcimprov.ca.
Local pastor, business owner, and former Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce board chair Meghan Mayer released a statement on Friday apologizing for directing a school play where one of the youth actors appeared in blackface.
Mayer was seeking the Saskatchewan Party nomination in Prince Albert Carlton, but withdrew from the race on July 15 citing new challengers in the field as the reason. On Friday, she released a second statement saying she withdrew after recognizing past actions while directing the play were wrong.
The statement was first reported by CTV News. Mayer emailed it to the Daily Herald on Friday afternoon.
“After conversations with the Sask Party, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the PA Carlton race,” reads the statement. “This decision came after recognizing my past actions and weighing the needs and sensibilities of the community. I am confident that stepping aside is the right choice at this time, and I remain committed to serving the community in the future.”
According to the statement, Mayer directed a school play at Regent Academy in 2014 where one of the student actors wore black face.
“The character was one who was revered in the play,” reads the statement. “At the time I was not aware of the offensive and racist nature of blackface. I now recognize that darkening your face, due to its racist history, is always unacceptable.
“I deeply apologize to the actor involved for my ignorance of this issue and endeavour to continue to educate myself.”
In her initial emailed statement on Monday Mayer said she decided to run for Prince Albert Carlton because there were no other candidates in the field. However, with new challengers now in the race, she believed it was in the best interest of the electoral process and the community to step aside.
“This decision came after recognizing my past actions and weighing the needs and sensibilities of the community,” reads the statement. “I am confident that stepping aside is the right choice at this time, and I remain committed to serving the community in the future,”
Patrick Bundrock the executive director of the Saskatchewan Party, said that since Mayer is no longer a candidate they will not be commenting further.
“At this point, we’ve now set a nomination date for Prince Albert Carton, It’s Aug. 21 and the process has officially begun and we’re looking forward to the nomination race,” Bundrock said.
On Monday, Bundrock said there were more names in the competition which are under review.
Mayer is the lead pastor of Embassy Church in Prince Albert. She used to work at Regent Academy, which was a private Christian school operated by Embassy Church and directed the play at the Regent Academy.
The school announced the decision to shut down in November 2023 for the 2024-2025 school year.The school was one of three placed under sanctions by the province in the 2022-2023 school year after allegations of abuse came forward.
The school’s former Principal Duff Friesen is currently before the courts in Saskatoon on allegations of abuse.
Mayer said in a statement that the decision to shut down the school came about because the church felt it was time to close, and had nothing to do with the allegations against Friesen.
When asked about any further investigations into the school, the Ministry of Education released the following statement:
“The school was under the same supervision requirements as all Qualified Independent Schools in the 2023-24 school year. The school ceased operations at the end of the 2023-24 school year.”
Mayer was Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce chair in 2017 and was also a director of the Downtown Business Development Board. Mayer has owned and operated a hair salon with her husband since 2011 and served as lead pastor of Embassy Church for the past seven years.
In her Monday statement, she stated that she remains committed to supporting the community and will continue to be engaged in Prince Albert to help make it be a great place to live, work and raise a family.
Mayer was the first candidate to seek the Sask. Party’s Prince Albert Carlton nomination since former MLA Joe Hargrave announced he would not run again. Hargrave was first elected in 2016, then re-elected in 2020, and was acclaimed as the Sask. Party candidate again in November 2023.
However, in May 2024, Hargrave announced he would not seek another term, saying he had discussed the issue with his family and believed he could not commit to another four years.
Longtime nurse Carolyn Brost Strom is the NDP candidate in Prince Albert Carlton after winning a contested nomination in September 2023.
The 2024 Saskatchewan provincial election must be held on or before Oct. 28.
Jeremy Rigby and his wife Lina were among the parents who watched the 2014 Regent Academy play on YouTube. They lived in Saskatoon, but their son attended the school for roughly seven years.
Jeremy filed a complaint with the Ministry of Education about the performance. He said they were surprised and shocked when they watched it.
“Even in 2014, to be unaware of the fact that doing blackface is inappropriate is a little bit difficult to believe,” Rigby said when asked about Mayer’s apology.
“If that’s her answer then I think it really shows that the quality of education that the people attending those schools are getting is not adequate.”
Rigby is a teacher from Saskatoon. He is concerned the Ministry of Education is not taking complaints about independent schools like Regent Academy seriously.
“It’s clear that that semi-private way of educating people is the way in which they’re trying to push the province,” he said. “I think that pushing these kinds of things under the rug is something that is going to be their best practice in order to further their agenda at this point.”
Mayer is not the first politician to face backlash for their connections to blackface. In 2019, Time Magazine published photos of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dressed in blackface at a 2001 party. Another photo later surfaced of Trudeau wearing blackface at an event in the ’90s.
Trudeau apologized for his decisions, said he regretted his actions, and was re-elected as Prime Minister.
The Vintage Power Machines Museum south of Prince Albert hosted a successful 42nd Annual Threshing Festival on July 13 and 14.
The Museum had great crowds over the two days of the festival. Organizers said the goal is to keep traditions alive.
“We have our two day show once a year and we’re hoping for next spring that we’ll be able to get two summer students to run the site all summer,” Vintage Power Machines president Alan Andal said. “Then we’ll have things going (on) all summer with regular members as well with them (students).”
This was the festival’s third year back to their regular two-day event after holding a mini festival in 2021.Each day starts with a pancake breakfast and Sunday included a devotional with Hubert Smith in the church on site.
The main event on Sunday was the popular vintage tractor pulls, which used the rig from the Melfort Agricultural Society to run the event.
Organizers hope to add to the site in the coming months. They are in the process of completing a new Canteen building on site with seating for 65 and a brand new kitchen.
Michael Oleksyn/Daily Herald The Vintage Tractor Pull Competition was a popular feature on Sunday at the Vintage Power Machines 42nd Annual Threshing Festival.Michael Oleksyn/Daily Herald Threshing demonstrations were one of the highlights at the Vintage Power Machines 42nd Annual Threshing FestivalMichael Oleksyn/Daily Herald Older tractors patrolled the grounds on Saturday at the Vintage Power Machines 42nd Annual Threshing Festival.Michael Oleksyn/Daily Herald There were several antique vehicles and tractors on display on Saturday at the Vintage Power Machines 42nd Annual Threshing Festival.
“We’re hoping to have done by next spring,” Andal said. “Right now, we’re probably $40,000 short. We just received a check from the Cosmos the other day and they donated $5,000 towards our project which brought it down to about the $40,000.”
The project has been ongoing for three years. Andal said having volunteers build the new canteen has helped keep costs down. The building continues to pass every inspection.
“It’s probably a half million dollar building if it was done professionally, and we’re hoping to finish it for about $180,000,” he explained. “The average member that’s building on it is 82 years-old.”
The Festival is always trying new attractions including the additions of axe throwing, which was quite popular on Saturday.There was also a family from Tisdale who brought a small automobile and a tractor.
This was also the first year that the Klassic Kruizers Kar Klub were able to come with classic automobiles.
“We had tried other years but couldn’t get them,” Andal said. “This year they didn’t want a trophy for themselves each in the event. They just said, ‘give us a People’s Choice award. Let everybody just be able to vote. Somebody can come in even if they don’t belong to the
Kruisers.’”
This year they also brought in model car racers.
“The one car—I don’t know if he’s bringing it or not—but it’ll do 50 miles an hour, He may try it on the straightaway where the sled truck is and see what it looks like going down,” Andal said.
“We’re just adding a little and trying to get a little more each year.”
They have also constructed a bakery building two years ago and hope to start baking from that building in the future.
Andal said the organization’s membership is down this year, but that’s a common trend lots of volunteer groups are seeing.
“We are going to try and see if we can pick up more volunteers and help even on a volunteer basis, a lot more and if we can’t get them as Members, then maybe they’ll start as a volunteer and down the road might become members,” Andal explained.
He added that he was not even aware of the site until he moved to Prince Albert 24 years ago.
“We’ve got a perfect site. We could do so much here. We’ve got the old caboose now that we want to try and totally restore, we’d have to tear it totally apart and restore it to look like it again. It shouldn’t have been left this long,” he said.
He explained that the restoration project would cost around $5,000 in material alone for the caboose.
If you want a tour when they are not open, you can contact curator Percy Halliwell to set up a tour.
“I hope more guys will start coming out and if they can’t make it this year, hopefully they’ll come out next year or the year after,” Andal said.
