Rotary Club of Prince Albert finding ways to thrive in pandemic

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Rotary Club of Prince Albert finding ways to thrive in pandemic

The Rotary Club of Prince Albert has been finding ways to thrive in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Rotary president Keith Fonstad the club has found ways to connect virtually and still follow the Rotary motto of Service above Self.

Fonstad explained that they have been able to maintain membership despite the pandemic while still meeting.

“We are one of the few service clubs in the city that has an average age that is quite younger and we have been able to maintain our membership with new members over the last five or six years to keep our club vibrant and moving forward. We have a really good group of Rotarians here that are a great mix of young professionals, recently retired professionals and longtime members who are just there to provide advice,” Fonstad said.

The Rotary Club meets on Mondays and before the pandemic met at the Travelodge.

“We kept our meetings going and we went right through using Zoom for our meetings during the early part of the pandemic and then in the fall we were able to go to a hybrid meeting where we had a certain number of people who could be in person while we ran a Zoom meeting in conjunction so if there was anybody who couldn’t make it or didn’t feel like coming could attend by Zoom,” Fonstad said.

They also invested in equipment such as a camera and microphones and closer to Christmas they reverted to Zoom meetings again. This has offered challenges and success for the Rotary.

“We have been still running all of our meetings just in a virtual realm now. It has been engaging for most of our members and there are some that aren’t comfortable with the virtual that haven’t participated but for the most part we have and we have even had a few new members join the club. It’s been good that way,” Fonstad said.

He explained that the club has a strong focus on youth through various programs such as the Model UN and youth exchanges. He said that all of these programs have been put on hold.

“There was a virtual Model UN held this year in Winnipeg and the RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) camp in August I think is being planned for virtual as well at this point although they are hoping to be in person. So some of the youth programming definitely took a backseat over the last year,” Fonstad said.
Fonstad said that other aspects such as community and international support have continued. They have also been fundraising for their Centennial Project of Rotary Adventure Park, that fundraising is continuing through events such as Lobsterfest on May 8. They have also donated to other causes.

“We were able to make a donation to the new Dolly Parton Imagination Library in one of the months during the pandemic as they kicked off their local chapter here in Prince Albert,” Fonstad said.

Three cases of COVID-19 reported in North Central Monday

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Three cases of COVID-19 reported in North Central Monday

Saskatchewan health officials reported three new cases of COVID-19 in the North Central, which includes Prince Albert, on Monday.

This was among a total of 243 cases reported in the province. Regina led the province with 160 new cases reported.

North Central 2, which is Prince Albert, has 33 active cases. North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, has 25 active cases and North Central 3 has 17 active cases.

There were no deaths reported on Monday.

The number of deaths related to COVID-19 remains at 465.

There are currently 200 COVID-19 patients in hospital across the province. Of the 157 reported as receiving in patient care, six are in North Central. Of the 43 people reported as being in intensive care, one is in North Central.

The current seven-day average for new cases was 253, or 20.6 cases per 100,000 population. Of the 38,401 reported COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan, 2,626 are considered active. Another 357 recoveries were reported on Monday, bringing the total number of recoveries to 35,310.

Since the start of the pandemic 8,658 cases are from the North area (3,624 North West, 3,634 North Central and 1,400 North East).

There were 3,098 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 18. As of April 19, there have been 731,589 COVID-19 tests performed in Saskatchewan.

There were 7,043 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in Saskatchewan bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 352,169.

There were 679 doses administered in the North Central Zone reported on Monday. Doses were also administered in the adjacent North East, North West, Far North West, Far North Central, Far North East, Central West, Central East, South West, South Central, South East, Saskatoon and Regina.

There were 198 doses administered with zone of residence information pending.

In an effort to continue to protect residents as quickly as possible, the eligible age for booking vaccination appointments online or by telephone was lowered to 48 years starting April 16.

As well, the Ministry of Health has been informed of a reduction in the April 26 Moderna shipment. Saskatchewan’s allocation has been reduced by 47 per cent, from 35,800 doses to 18,800 doses. The Ministry is working with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Indigenous Services Canada to determine the potential impact this reduction could have on booked appointments, and the pharmacy vaccination pilot project, and will have an update in the coming days.

Canada has also purchased an additional eight million Pfizer doses for delivery between May and July.  Allocation to Saskatchewan is to be determined.

According to the province, 50 per cent of residents age 40 plus have received their first dose.

59 variants of concern identified in North Central

There are now 59 confirmed variants of concern (VOC) cases identified by the province in the North Central zone, which includes Prince Albert, as of April 19.

This was among 4,664 variants of concern identified by screening in Saskatchewan to date. Other regions with identified cases included Regina, Saskatoon, Far North East, Central West, Central East, South West, South Central and South East. There are currently 49 cases with area of residency pending.

There are now six variants identified in the adjacent North East zone.

Regina led the province with 2,919 identified VOCs.

These have previously been reported as “presumptive positives” but all screening test s will be considered confirmed VOCs for the purposes of public reporting and contact investigations.

There were no new lineage results reported Monday. Of the 1,703 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 1,703 are B1.1.1.7 (UK) and nine are B1.351 (SA).

The Regina zone accounts for 1,413 (74 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan.

COVID-19 case connected to Ecole St. Anne School

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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COVID-19 case connected to Ecole St. Anne School

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has identified a positive COVID-19 case in an individual at Ecole St. Anne School in Prince Albert.

The case is not school acquired.

In a news release by the Prince Albert Catholic School Division on Saturday the division explained that communication has been shared with the specific classrooms/cohorts, as well as the school communities.

“The Saskatchewan Health Authority is proceeding with their assessment of the situation, and all individuals deemed to be close contacts will be provided instructions.”

As is the case in all cases in the division no further information will be made available citing privacy concerns.

“We want to reassure families of Ecole St. Anne School that the school will continue to operate for in-person classes while maintaining the safety protocols that are in place,” the release added.

The cohort impacted by this case being notified and provided instruction. The students and families will be receiving updates using the Edsby platform.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with this member of our school community, and we hope they are doing well.”
They emphasized that everyone has a shared responsibility to decrease the risk of COVID-19 entering schools.

“Thank you to everyone for continuing to be diligent in performing daily health screening, staying home if ill, calling HealthLine 811 if exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, practicing proper hand hygiene, maintaining physical distancing as much as possible, wearing a mask when appropriate and doing everything we can to keep each other safe,” the release stated.

The division also strongly urge everyone to continue to follow all Public Health Orders and protocols.

Death related to COVID-19 reported in North Central Sunday

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Death related to COVID-19 reported in North Central Sunday

Saskatchewan health officials reported one new death related to COVID-19  in North Central, which includes Prince Albert, on Sunday.

The death was in the 50 to 59 age group and according to reports was that of Carlton Comprehensive teacher Victor Thunderchild who was 55-years-old.

The number of deaths related to COVID-19 has risen to 465.

On Sunday there were 12 cases reported in North Central.

This was among a total of 289  cases reported in the province. Regina led the province with 16 new cases reported.

North Central 2, which is Prince Albert, has 36 active cases. North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, has 29 active cases and North Central 3 has 21 active cases.

There are currently 189 COVID-19 patients in hospital across the province. Of the 144 reported as receiving in patient care, seven are in North Central. Of the 45  people reported as being in intensive care, two are in North Central.

The current seven-day average for new cases was 261, or 21.3 cases per 100,000 population. Of the 38,160 reported COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan, 2,599 are considered active. Another 205 recoveries were reported on Sunday, bringing the total number of recoveries to 34,953.

Since the start of the pandemic8,624 cases are from the North area (3,594 North West, 3,630 North Central and 1,400 North East).

There were 3,623 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 16. As of April 17, there have been 728,491 COVID-19 tests performed in Saskatchewan.

There were 11,063 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in Saskatchewan bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 345,126.  

There were 925  doses administered in the North Central Zone reported on Thursday. Doses were also administered in the adjacent North East, North West, Far North East, Far North West, Central West, Central East, South West, South East, South Central, Regina and Saskatoon.

There were 243 doses administered with zone of residence information pending.

In an effort to continue to protect residents as quickly as possible, the eligible age for booking vaccination appointments online or by telephone was lowered to 48 years starting at 8:00 a.m. Friday, April 16.

As well, the Ministry of Health has been informed of a reduction in the April 26 Moderna shipment. Saskatchewan’s allocation has been reduced by 47 per cent, from 35,800 doses to 18,800 doses.  The Ministry is working with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Indigenous Services Canada to determine the potential impact this reduction could have on booked appointments, and the pharmacy vaccination pilot project, and will have an update in the coming days.

According to the province, 49 per cent of residents age 40 plus have received their first dose.

55 variants of concern identified in North Central

There are now 55 confirmed variants of concern (VOC) cases identified by the province in the North Central zone, which includes Prince Albert, as of April 18.

This was among 4,664 variants of concern identified by screening in Saskatchewan to date. Other regions with identified cases included Regina, Saskatoon, Far North East, Central West, Central East, South West, South Central and South East. There are currently 37 cases with area of residency pending.

There are now six variants identified in the adjacent North East zone.

Regina led the province with 2,857 identified VOCs.

These have previously been reported as “presumptive positives” but all screening test s will be considered confirmed VOCs for the purposes of public reporting and contact investigations.

There were 206 new lineage results reported today. Of the 1,703 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 1,703 are B1.1.1.7 (UK) and nine are B1.351 (SA).

The Regina zone accounts for 1,294  (76 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan.

Two deaths related to COVID-19 reported Saturday

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Two deaths related to COVID-19 reported Saturday

Saskatchewan health officials reported two new deaths related to COVID-19 on Saturday.

The deaths were in the Central East and North West zones and in the 40 to 49 and 80 plus age groups, respectively.

The number of deaths related to COVID-19 has risen to 464.

The province’s update arrived Saturday evening and according to the province the total provincial active cases and provincial recoveries plus regional breakdowns are unavailable for Saturday, April 17 due to a data reporting issue involving multiple case location reassignments.

On Saturday there were 10 cases reported in North Central, which includes Prince Albert.

This was among a total of 249 cases reported in the province. Regina led the province with 73 new cases reported.

As of April 16, North Central 2, which is Prince Albert, has 30 active cases. North Central 1, which includes communities such as Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and Meath Park, has 26 active cases and North Central 3 has 13 active cases.

Three cases that were found out of province were also added to North Central on Saturday.

There are currently 192 COVID-19 patients in hospital across the province. Of the 145 reported as receiving in patient care, seven are in North Central. Of the 47 people reported as being in intensive care, three  are in North Central.

The current seven-day average for new cases is 266, or 21.7 cases per 100,000 population. Due to the reporting issues active cases, recoveries and total cases since the beginning of the pandemic in the North are not available.

There were 3,643 COVID-19 tests processed in Saskatchewan on April 16. As of April 17, there have been 724,868 COVID-19 tests performed in Saskatchewan.

There were 10,490 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in Saskatchewan bringing the total number of vaccines administered in the province to 334,063.

There were 1,133doses administered in the North Central Zone reported on Thursday. Doses were also administered in the adjacent North East, North West, Far North East, Far North West, Central West, Central East, South West, South East, South Central, Regina and Saskatoon.

There were 290 doses administered with zone of residence information pending.

In an effort to continue to protect residents as quickly as possible, the eligible age for booking vaccination appointments online or by telephone was lowered to 48 years starting at 8:00 a.m. Friday, April 16.

As well, the Ministry of Health has been informed of a reduction in the April 26 Moderna shipment. Saskatchewan’s allocation has been reduced by 47 per cent, from 35,800 doses to 18,800 doses.  The Ministry is working with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Indigenous Services Canada to determine the potential impact this reduction could have on booked appointments, and the pharmacy vaccination pilot project, and will have an update in the coming days.

According to the province, 59 per cent of residents age 50 plus have received their first dose.

51 variants of concern identified in North Central

There are now 48 confirmed variants of concern (VOC) cases identified by the province in the North Central zone, which includes Prince Albert, as of April 17.

This was among 4,529 variants of concern identified by screening in Saskatchewan to date. Other regions with identified cases included Regina, Saskatoon, Far North East, Central West, Central East, South West, South Central and South East. There are currently 37 cases with area of residency pending.

There are now five variants identified in the adjacent North East zone.

Regina led the province with 2,792 identified VOCs.

These have previously been reported as “presumptive positives” but all screening test s will be considered confirmed VOCs for the purposes of public reporting and contact investigations.

There were no new lineage results reported today. Of the 1,703 VOCs with lineages identified by whole genome sequencing in Saskatchewan, 1,703 are B1.1.1.7 (UK) and nine are B1.351 (SA).

The Regina zone accounts for 1,294  (76 per cent) of the VOC cases with confirmed lineage reported in Saskatchewan.

Rotary Lobsterfest will contribute to Centennial Project

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Rotary Lobsterfest will contribute to Centennial Project

The Rotary Club of Prince Albert is moving forward with their Centennial Project the Rotary Adventure Park to be located at Little Red. Rotary will also be continuing to fundraise for the project with the upcoming 16th Annual Lobsterfest.

Rotary president Keith Fonstad explained that a vendor has been selected for the construction of the playground portion of the Adventure Park as previewed recently on the club’s Facebook page.

“We are hoping to finalize in the next 30 days the final plans and what that park will look like .so hopefully in the next 30 days we will have that in place. And then we will continue to work with the city on kind of making sure we know exactly where it is going to sit within the park,” Fonstad said.

The new park will be located near Cosmo Lodge and is designed to include challenging play structures for youth of all ages. They are also finalizing other components for the park including a couple of additional picnic shelters, other additional picnic sites, some upgraded washroom facilities, some walking trails, some lighting, park benches and a refresh of the parking lot to be a little bit more suitable. Another phase in the future will be looking at a facelift on the sliding hill located nearby.

According to Fonstad they have been working on the project for almost three years. The project was initially announced in 2020 to celebrate the club’s centennial before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “We had a year’s delay because of COVID so we were ready to kind of go with this and we were ready to move it forward last March…we announced the project at our centennial supper and that was on the February 29 of 2020 and then of course three weeks later the world shut down.

The planning process took a break before really picking up steam in the fall and spring.

“We are looking forward to getting all of the planning done this year and having everything lined up and moving on this project as quickly as we can,” Fonstad said.

The club continues to fundraise for the project through their major fundraisers including the Wine Premier and Lobsterfest, which is approaching on May 8. The funds from the 2019 and 2020 Wine Premier were put towards the project as will the 2021 events.

The Wine Premier was hosted virtually in November and because of the success of the event they hosted a second one around Valentine’s Day. “We determined a way to make the Wine Premier work and we had a very successful Wine Premier. And that was a frozen meal delivered in November where we could have the meal any night that you would like. So we had some people who used it for their New Year’s. It was delivered in November and they used it for their New Year’s Eve,” Fonstad said.

The success of the Wine Premier led to changes in the format for the Lobsterfest.

“Internally it was good for our members and also it was externally good for getting involved in the community and giving the community an opportunity to do something. And so when we were planning now for the Lobsterfest we have taken that experience and brought that to Lobsterfest knowing that I guess with the hope that we would be able to gather in smaller groups at whether it is somebody’s house or whatnot,” he explained.

According to Fonstad they were hoping that vaccinations would be far enough along and warmer weather would allow people to make outdoor plans around Lobsterfest. The meal provided will be fresh Atlantic lobster, steak or game stuffed game hen accompanied by appetizers, sides, desserts and a choice of red or white wine. Also included with the meal are instructions for meal preparation YouTube videos including a message from Fonstad, Randy Whitter on lobster “steaming and cracking” and Doug Reichel discussing wine pairings.

“You can either have a lobster, a steak or there is also if neither of those options are a preference there is a game hen, a stuffed game hen option as well that Randy has put together for anybody who is looking for a different option. So you get those entrees plus you get the appetizers,the sides, the dessert and then either an option of white wine or a red wine to go with your meal,” Fonstad explained.

Fonstad said that the in person event usually has a focus around prizes and after working with donors they have found a way to do an online version the Raffle Lottery. “We worked with our donors and our sponsors to do that again this year but we brought it to an online platform and it has allowed just everybody to participate instead of just those people who are in person. So we are well over $29,000 worth of prizes. There is 100 prizes on our prize list,” Fonstad said.

“That main lottery raffle is a great deal and then we have our running 50/50 that Market Tire was nice enough to help us with a donation to get it started, as of today (Friday) it is up over $8,500,” he added.

There is also one $25 charitable donation receipt and select packages will include a $50 Canadian Tire gift card as ‘door’ prize.

Tickets have been available since April 1 and the cost is $100.

The information for all of these projects are all available at the Rotary website (www.princealbertrotary.org).

“We are hoping it will go over we are at 55 per cent of our meals are sold already and we have got two weeks to go before they close. So if anybody is looking for a meal they should order sooner rather than later,” Fonstad said.

To contribute to the Adventure Park there is also a donation button at the Rotary website and to discuss in kind or other contributions get in touch with Fonstad or other Rotarians.

COVID-19 case connected to St. Mary High School

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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COVID-19 case connected to St. Mary High School

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has identified a positive COVID-19 case in an individual at École St. Mary High School in Prince Albert. The case is not school acquired.

In a news release by the Prince Albert Catholic School Division on Friday afternoon the division explained that communication has been shared with the specific classroom/cohort, as well as the school community.

“The Saskatchewan Health Authority is proceeding with their assessment of the situation, and all individuals deemed to be close contacts will be communicated with.”

As is the case in all cases in the division no further information will be made available citing privacy concerns.

“We want to reassure families of École St. Mary High School that school will continue to operate for in-person classes while maintaining the safety protocols that are in place,” the release added.

The cohort impacted by this cases being notified and provided instruction. The students and families will be receiving updates using the Edsby platform.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with this member of our school community, and we hope they are doing well.”
They emphasized that everyone has a shared responsibility to decrease the risk of COVID-19 entering schools.

“Thank you to everyone for continuing to be diligent in performing daily health screening, staying home if ill, calling HealthLine 811 if exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, practicing proper hand hygiene, maintaining physical distancing as much as possible, wearing a mask when appropriate and doing everything we can to keep each other safe,” the release stated.

The division also strongly urge everyone to continue to follow all Public Health Orders and protocols.

Saskatchewan Rivers board to discuss Pride recognition at future meeting

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Saskatchewan Rivers board to discuss Pride recognition at future meeting

During their regular meeting on Monday there was a notice of motion brought forward by trustee Jaimie Smith-Windsor to discuss a recognition of Pride month in the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division.

The notice of motion read: “Whereas Policy 1 commits the board of education to actively recognize, respect and celebrate diversity in our schools I move that the board of education invite student and staff submissions for the design of the SRPSD logo in recognition and celebration of Pride June 2021 for approval at an upcoming meeting.”

According to director of education Robert Bratvold there was a request to do something similar a few years ago for a similar project.

“So I am guessing this comes out of that. It’s a bit of a proactive piece to do this and a collective way to do it. We haven’t had discussion about it. It is I think a positive proactive approach to anticipation of things we might be looking to within this school year,” Bratvold said.

The motion will now be discussed during the board of education’s next regular meeting on May 10.

During the Saskatchewan Rivers Students For Change (SRSC) virtual report student trustee Emily Zbaraschuk explained that the group has been working on professional development. This included work on presenting more confidently and other topics.

“This time we did group presentations and it was really interesting and informative to hear everyone’s perspectives on things ranging from student leadership to mental health to how we can makes school a less stressful place,” Zbaraschuk said.

Zbaraschuk also outlined some activities in schools including Canwood beginning intramural sports and reopening their lounge and Prince Albert Collegiate Institute (PACI) starting a canteen program.

“There is now a few lunches every week that students can choose from and those steps towards normalcy I know made school seem a little more like school used to before the pandemic,” she said.

There were also spirit weeks at schools related to St. Patrick’s Day and Easter including things like Shamrock Shakes at Kinistino School. As well Birch Hills School recently received a grant for a commercial cooking class that has enabled them to institute a hot lunch program.
”Which I think is super cool that they have used this grant as a way, of course to make delicious food and I guess build a sense of community amongst the students,” Zbaraschuk said.

Fellow trustee Kelly Lam was unable to attend the most recent meeting of the SRSC but did offer an update on things at Carlton Comprehensive High School.

“When it comes to Carlton classes juts started up today obviously with everyone and everything has been good. Something that I have heard from students just talking to them is usually in this last half of the year is the university classes offered at Carlton have been starting up and a lot of people have actually been liking those. Obviously it’s a little bit more of a condensed workload considering you are doing essentially two classes in one block … but really liking it,” Lam said.

Carlton also recently started their GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) club which had been on hiatus due to the pandemic. The Book Club which started earlier this year is also going strong according to Lam.

The board also addressed their recent meeting with representatives of the Prince Albert Area Teacher’s Federation. During discussion it was described as positive conversations. Trustee Bill Yeaman impressed by the honesty and back and forth because everyone works as a team.

The board also appointed trustee Bill Gerow as the new representative on the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) Indigenous Council.

The trustees also discussed the recent provincial education budget’s impact while they were in closed session before the regular meeting.

“I think it’s important for the public to know the board was anticipating and had a chance to be informed about the obvious impacts of the budget provincially and we will do some more work to adapt our own interim budget,” Bratvold said.

Local school facilities in excellent shape according to Sask Rivers report

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Local school facilities in excellent shape according to Sask Rivers report

A report looking at the state of Saskatchewan Rivers School Division facilities shows that while the schools are being kept in excellent shape by the maintenance department because of effective planning.

At their regular meeting on Monday, April 12 the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division received their annual Accountability Report on Facilities in the division. The report is prepared by Superintendent of Facilities Mike Hurd who oversees the buildings in the division and provides an update on a number of subjects.

“Our division is applauded by others in terms of the management and care that we can do in our schools by Mike and his team efficiently. It is not just spending a bunch of money and getting great things done. It is spending some money and getting those things done,” director of education Robert Bratvold said.

He described the work by the department as prudent and effective.

“It’s carefully directed to places where it is going to have need but also effective in that it gets great results.”

Bratvold said the overall budget impact is still a challenge as the division’s buildings are between 14 and 113 years old.

“We do have individual buildings that have more significant needs than others. But the other part of that is things come up all of the time in terms of roofing repairs, there is boiler and HVAC system maintenance and upgrades, so those are ongoing not that they always come up at the same time but they are always ongoing,” he said.

This year’s report shows that Facilities or Plant Operations make up 14.81 percent of the budget in the division. Their $14.5 million budget and includes Preventative Maintenance and Renewal (PMR) funding and capital expenditures.

Hurd is responsible for preparing the detailed report each year.

The Ministry of Education provides funding through the PMR funding each year. The board approves a new PMR three-year plan each year in June.

The facilities budget is broken down into 44 per cent building operating expenses, 20 per cent amortization, 34 per cent salaries and two per cent other. Facilities currently employees 65 full time equivalent caretaking staff, 14 maintenance staff and three supervisors and support staff. Caretakers are assigned based on size of facilities.

According to Hurd, they are averaging about 250 service requests a month, these are reviewed quarterly to make sure targets are met. Service requests are submitted electronically through Asset Planner software by administration and caretakers.

The division also used COVID-19 contingency funding.

“We started the bottle fill stations and that was kind of through the COVID funding. We are replacing our water fountains in our schools with the refrigerated bottle fill stations.”

The stations cost $2,200 per unit according to Hurd, and the project is about two-thirds complete.

PMR projects are based on square footage of facilities. The division received $2,630,000 in 2019-2020.

He explained that boilers are replaced even if they are functional because it is a more prudent way to deal with the issues.

PMR investments included a new daycare at Ecole Arthur Pechey, new high efficiency boilers at Meath Park, numerous window replacements and other projects. The Arthur Pechey daycare was valued at $1.2 million and represented a large portion of PMR funding.

“You might ask why Arthur Pechey got such a big piece of that pie. That includes the daycare centre facility that we built there last year,” Hurd said.

The division wide LED project was a highlight for Hurd.

“We have the advantage of improving the lighting for our student learning as well as savings money at the same time,” Hurd said.

The project saw about $40,000 savings in January and Hurd is confident they will meet the savings goals of the program.

According to Hurd, the projects helped extend the overall life cycle of buildings by 30 years to 2055.

Teachers advocating for phase 1 vaccine eligibility

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Teachers advocating for phase 1 vaccine eligibility

Teachers and their advocates have been making it known that they should be changed to be included in frontline workers eligible for a vaccine.

The province, on the other hand believes that teachers can get their shot when their age group becomes available.

Health Minister Paul Merriman said during a press conference on Tuesday that both teachers and corrections officers are eligible if their age category comes online with the province.

“And again teachers are included in our age sequencing if there is some teachers out there I think this is towards the end of the break if there is an opportunity on the weekend to go to the drive thru and I might encourage any of them to do that,” Merriman said.

STF president Patrick Maze explained that under this idea it could be weeks before teachers are vaccinated.

“I just had a message the other night from a teacher in Saskatchewan who is very concerned because she said that in conversations with her students they all came back after the Easter break, one of them was in Manitoba, one of them was in Alberta, many of them got together with families and she is 24. She is going to have a long ways to go until she can get vaccinated and she is quite frustrated she has got an immunocompromised person in her immediate family and feels that her current situation is putting her family at risk,” Maze said.

Saskatchewan Rivers School Division director of education Robert Bratvold understands the province’s perspective but said the age sequence is seen by some as problematic.

The division’s workforce is mostly under the age of 50. That means their turn to get vaccinated is still a ways away.

Maze added that Educational Assistants can be as young as 18-years-old.

“It is a challenging thing to learn that the province is making some adjustments to their vaccine rollout, to other firemen, police and those sort of folks and I think there is some logic to that and it makes sense but it’s hard to accept that school staffs aren’t included in that group. It’s hard to accept,” Bratvold added.

On Monday the province added targeted vaccinations of first responders including police officers, fire fighters and public health inspectors and said vaccines will be dispatched to central workplace settings. Grocery store workers will be added to the front of the line when pharmacies start receiving vaccines in April.

Maze argues that teachers and all school staff including educational assistants and others are frontline workers and also deserve prioritization.

“We have a hard enough time with the supports in education as it is without expecting just teachers to go in. We are asking the province quickly designates (frontline education staff) as a priority. You also have to figure that it’s a few weeks after you get vaccinated that you are actually considered to be protected from the virus while you build up immunity and here the end of the school year is at the end of June so we are kind of on a ticking time, the clock is ticking. It would have been really nice if government would have planned this more appropriately and effectively and had teachers have the ability to come in and get vaccinated over the Easter break,” Maze said.

Another teacher from Saskatoon who was in contact with Maze described the current situation as the greatest occupational health and safety issue staff has seen in decades.

“All school staff should be vaccinated in order to be able to be at our best and continue operations with our students and if any group amongst that school staff team is missing than the schools won’t be able to operate as effectively,” he added.

“I think until school staffs are vaccinated they are being put in a really difficult position,” Maze said.

Bratvold made a similar argument

“It’s not just about teachers, it’s about educational assistants and support workers and all kinds of things and that’s hard to digest,” he said.

Bratvold understands the rationale because school divisions have the option to move to Level 4, or online learning while people such as EMS and police don’t necessarily have that option.

“I get that, it still doesn’t make it all that easier but I get it. The other thing I guess I understand is within our schools our staff have a little bit more of an opportunity for a controlled environment than you might get in some of the EMS situations like responding to emergencies and those things. So in that controlled environment you have access to Grade 11s with PPE that can be a managed,” Bratvold said.

School divisions in Prince Albert and across the province work with their local health officials to decide how much learning to do in person or online.

“I think it’s important to just continue the message that school divisions are working closely with the local health team and we will continue to do that,” Bratvold said.

Maze applauded divisions that went to remote learning, including Regina Public, Regina Catholic and Prairie Valley for their decision because not having teachers vaccinated right now is dangerous.

“That’s a really responsible decision that they are making,” he said.

Maze explained that he was aware of a variant case connected to Carlton Comprehensive in Prince Albert and that variants are a concern in places like Humboldt, Strasbourg and Saskatoon.

“But at the same point we know that the variant has been at Carlton in Prince Albert. So to think that Prince Albert is safe, it’s not. To think Saskatoon for the longest time thought that they were safe, they are not and the variant we have seen go through Strasbourg and up into Humboldt and into Saskatoon.”

Maze is not happy with the wait and see attitude he says exists in the province.

“It’s really frustrating and Saskatchewan really seems to be a wait and see and until it gets here and then we’ll react and it’s the absolute worst response when you are dealing with a highly contagious variant of a virus that’s already caused a global pandemic,” he said.

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