For smaller or mid-size communities, recreation programming can be hard to come by. In a unique partnership the Village of Christopher Lake, the Village of Paddockwoord, the RM of Paddockwood and the District of Lakeland combine under the umbrella of CPL Recreation to give sport, culture opportunities, and recreation experiences to people in the region.

“What we do is apply for funding and then we would put on different types of programming for the four communities,” recreation director Linda Rogozinski said.

Recently CPL Recreation received funding of $8,000 for a Wellness Adventure from the Prince Albert & Area Community Foundation to provide children of all ages to learn about the environment, shorelines and forest education in weekly sessions.

“We are going to do a lot of education for kids between the ages of three years and up and that is going to be all about conservation of our shorelines, our parks, learn about trees, about nature, identifying plants and just that kind of education. And there is a lot of fun to it too, going into the water and exploring the different species that are in the water,” Rogozinski said.

“Education or research will tell you that if we can get some education to our youth about preserving our shorelines and parks and that maybe things will last longer,” she added.

The origin of the CPL Recreation program dates back to a provincial government funding initiative through the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association (SPRA) for recreation for approximately nine communities. According to Rogozinski, the District of Lakeland received the funding and it was funded for one year. The program was such a success that they expanded to the four areas they now cover.

“So the communities got together and said, ‘hey if we all pitch in a little bit we can keep this position going and then the director would apply for grants in order to keep the program going’ and that is how it has all worked. So they eventually ran out of the funding,” she explained.

It’s now funds based on the population of the four communities.

The board of CPL includes representatives from all four regions represented.

For other projects as recreation director Rogozinski is always trying to be creative.

“I applied for a grant through Sask. Lotteries so we have an archery program that is going to start up sometime this summer, I am just waiting to find out about my equipment coming in. That wasn’t very much money but I have an instructor and we were able to get a few bows and so we will go put on an instruction course,”

Another example is traditional dance for First Nations which was put on through one of the area schools. That programming had to be cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will wrap up this fall.

They also hire summer students through initiatives sponsored by the SPRA including Take the Lead and High Five that create opportunities for students in parks and recreation.

“Last summer we did parks programming where myself and another student went around to various parks and provided a day program, just sports and crafts and stuff like that,” Rogozinski said.

“But we also do some adult programming. I will partner with the libraries in Christopher Lake and Paddockwood, we have done some sewing classes,” she said.

According to Rogozinski they are trying to meet their mandate of supplying sports and culture programming to the region. They are also trying to put together after school programming for the rural communities

“Because there is that age group where they don’t really want to go to daycare and yet they are too young to stay at home. So CPL has been working and trying to partner with other organizations in the communities to see if we can’t get something like that going for the kids. Again that is where I would really rely on students that have already taken the Take the Lead and the High Five program to provide some good programming for the kids for those two or three hours that they need the supervision. I am really hoping that this fall we will be able to introduce and use that program,” Rogozinski said.

The RM of Shellbrook has chosen its projects for the province’s Municipal Economic Enhancement Program (MEEP) funding.

After discussing their possible share of the $150 million MEEP 2020 funding in the meeting in June they finalized what they would send to the province at their regular meeting on Wednesday July 8.

“It’s a two year plan and saying that you would still so we would have some ability to shift as long as, I think there is nine qualifying areas that this money would qualify for. So it goes all the way to , like the city was talking about to crushing gravel, to hard inventory for the offices,” Reeve Doug Oleksyn explained.

“So we went over a couple to make sure they fit into the criteria and then formalized and they will go into the province so they will work on it,”

Each project and its schedule is managed by the municipality receiving funding.All MEEP 2020 funding must be used by March 31, 2022.

“And we had dealt with an auditor’s report and so that will be forwarded by the administrator so that we qualify for funding,” he added.

The council discussed what was needed with foreman Bill Aug. Some of the possible work included clay capping on roads, insulation on an older shop and a water station in Shellbrook which uses a reloadable card option as opposed to cash. The old system was causing many issues according to Oleksyn.

“So we went over a couple to make sure they fit into the criteria and then formalized and they will go into the province so they will work on it,” he explained.

“(We also had a) discussion in general on some of the other stuff like the office was in need of new photocopiers so that would qualify for some of the MEEP funding. We will be looking forward and finalizing some of the stuff with the hamlets because the MEEP funding is on a per capita basis so both Crutwell and Holbein will qualify for some,” Oleksyn said.

For example Holbein is looking at a lagoon that is in need of maintenance.

The meeting was also the first since February to have the majority of council present in person along with administrator Duane Storey and Aug coming in for a regular update.

“It’s actually the first meeting that the majority of the council was in and just the administrators with the exception of one that attended by phone and so we had a full compliment there,” Oleksyn said.

In the oral reports by various councillors an area addressed was gravel mapping and bad spots in each division. Aug addressed their concerns as gravel work has begun in the RM.

“We also have gone through the equipment lists starting on the five year plan so the foreman was there that will keep on going towards asset management and stuff like that.

Some of the councillors had requests for particular points in their division. Topics addressed included gravelling and gras cutting.

Oleksyn explained that the RM and town have been meeting to make plans about reopening the shared office for a few days a week in a similar fashion to what the RMs of Buckland and Prince Albert are doing.

“It is just how comfortable the people are inside,” Oleksyn said.

One area of concern is the recent spike in unrelated cases of COVID-19 in Prince Albert and area.

“I think with the COVID-19 again around P.A. so people have been saying you have to be extremely careful. So we are going to try the opening,” Oleksyn said.

Measures include available masks, hand sanitizer and the installation of plexiglass.

“And if you get a jump that you are seeing in and around P.A. And if it gets too high they would go back to where they were with closing.”

Other matters dealt with at the meeting included a land sale that is partially in the RM and an adjoining one. They also continued work with the Shellbrook Recreation Project Steering Committee.

“And we had done it last year we just forwarded a loan and then once they qualified for funding then there is a repayment. Just we had done the same thing so that will allow them to continue on and finish some of the stuff,” Oleksyn said.

The province announced two new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, with both of them coming from in the central region.

The new cases are not in the region of concern for the province, which is the north region that includes Prince Albert.

Of the 815 reported COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan, 43 are considered active, a decrease of five from Thursday’s update. The recovered number is now 757 an increase of seven from the previous update.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 remains at 15 in the province.

There are four people in hospital with illnesses related to COVID-19.

Three individuals are receiving inpatient care in the hospital; two in the north and one in the Saskatoon.

There is one person listed in intensive care in Saskatoon.

The total number of cases is 815, of those 339 of the cases are from the far north, 192 are from the Saskatoon area, 120 are from the north, 80 are from the Regina area,68 are from the south and 16 are from the central region.

There are currently 55 cases who are health care workers; however, the source of the infections is not related to their work environments in all instances.

Of the 815 cases in the province: 168 cases are related to travel, 485 are community contacts, which includes mass gatherings, 115 have no known exposures and 47 are under investigation by local public health.

The age breakdown shows 118 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, 285 cases are in the 20-39 age range, 255 are in the 40-59 age range, 136 are in the 60-79 age range and 21 are in the 80-plus range.

The gender breakdown shows 51 per cent of the cases being females and 49 per cent being males.

As of July 10, 72,560 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province an increase of 803 from Thursday.

As of July 8, when other provincial and national numbers were available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 53,513 people tested per million population. The national rate was 82,422 people tested per million population.

SHA urges residents to be vigilant as COVID-19 cases increase

In light of a recent increase in COVID-19 cases across the province, the Saskatchewan Health Authority is urging Saskatchewan residents to be more vigilant when it comes to following public health measures and personal safety precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

This past week, public service announcements have been issued in the Saskatoon, Lloydminster, Prince Albert and southwest areas of the province.

“We are seeing more positive cases of COVID-19 popping up around the province, reminding us that COVID-19 is everywhere and has no boundaries,” Dr. David Torr, Public Health Incident Command Centre Co-lead for the Saskatchewan Health Authority, said.

“Across Saskatchewan, we need to be more vigilant when it comes to preventing the spread of the virus.”

Safety precautions to prevent COVID-19 include physical distancing to maintain two metres of separation, implementing proper hygiene practices and complying with provincial health orders, including limiting the size of outdoor gatherings. Anyone with symptoms should protect themselves and others, especially the vulnerable, by staying home, self-isolating and getting tested for COVID-19.

The SHA is encouraging all provincial residents to seek testing if you are experiencing symptoms and is reminding everyone that testing is available for anyone who currently works outside the home and is being admitted to acute care for more than 24 hours, including expectant mothers and individuals who are immunocompromised.

If you are experiencing symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath, headaches, aches and pains, sore throat, chills, runny nose or a loss of your sense of taste or smell, contact HealthLine 811, a nurse practitioner or a family physician for advice on whether you should be tested for COVID-19.

The province announced two new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, one in the north and one in Saskatoon.

The two additional cases bring the total to 808.

There have been no additional deaths reported.

Of the 808 reported COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan, 47 are considered active, a decrease of seven from Tuesday’s update. The recovered number has gone up an additional nine to 746 from Tuesday.

There are now three people in hospital with illnesses related to COVID-19, a decrease of one from Tuesday.

Three individuals are receiving inpatient care in the hospital; two in the north and one in Saskatoon, there are still no people in intensive care.

The total number of cases is 808, of those 338 of the cases are from the far north, 191 are from the Saskatoon area, 120 are from the north, 80 are from the Regina area, 66 are from the south and 13 are from the central region.

There are currently 55 cases who are health care workers; however, the source of the infections is not related to their work environments in all instances.

Of the 806 cases in the province: 168 cases are related to travel, 483 are community contacts, which includes mass gatherings, 113 have no known exposures and 434 are under investigation by local public health.

The age breakdown shows 117 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, 284 cases are in the 20-39 age range, 253 are in the 40-59 age range, 133 are in the 60-79 age range and 21 are in the 80-plus range.

The gender breakdown shows 51 per cent of the cases being females and 49 per cent being males.

As of July 8, 70,875 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province an increase of 985 from Tuesday.

As of July 6 when other provincial and national numbers were available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 70,875 people tested per million population. The national rate was 80,347 people tested per million population.

The Federal Government announced on Monday, July 6 that seniors eligible for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension, the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), or Allowances will receive their one-time, tax-free payment this week without needing to apply.

“It is important that we help seniors in Canada through this difficult time. With this one-time tax-free payment, we are continuing to support seniors to ensure they are able to get the essentials they need. As we go through this unprecedented challenge, we are providing a variety of measures that support seniors and ensure they know that we are with them and they are not left behind, ” Deb Schulte, Minister of Seniors said in a release.

This announcement comes because seniors across Canada continue to face health, economic, and social challenges due to COVID-19. Many seniors are facing higher costs for food and services due to physical distancing restrictions, while others are paying more in dispensing fees to get the same medication or paying a premium for deliveries.

Seniors who reside in Canada can expect to receive the payment by direct deposit or cheque this week, whereas seniors who reside outside Canada can expect this one-time payment in July for those on direct deposit, or by cheque with delays given international postal disruptions.

Through several measures, the Government is providing about $900 for low-income single seniors and more than $1,500 for low-income senior couples, in addition to their existing benefits, to help with extra costs during the pandemic.

The large majority of OAS pensioners, nearly 85 per cent, have after-tax income below $50,000. Seniors receiving the GIS live on incomes below $18,600 a year for singles and below $24,576 a year for couples.

Seniors eligible for the OAS pension will receive a payment of $300, and those seniors also eligible for the GIS will receive an additional $200, for a total of $500. Allowance recipients will also receive $500. This $2.5 billion investment in financial support will help Canadian seniors cover increased costs caused by COVID-19.

Approximately 6.7 million seniors who are eligible for the OAS pension and 2.2 million who are eligible for the GIS will benefit from this payment according to the release.