The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division (SRSD) has found their replacement for outgoing superintendent Randy Emmerson. The division announced on Tuesday, June 9 that they had hired Jennifer Hingley to become their newest Superintendent of Schools beginning August 1.
Emmerson is leaving to become the director of education for the Sun West School Division.
Hingley brings a diverse background with a focus in Indigenous education.
“I think the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division is doing some wonderful work in First Nations and Métis education plus for all learners so I am really pleased to be joining that team and hopefully being able to offer some of my experience and knowledge and gifts to that team,” Hingley said.
“I have a strong belief that being responsive to communities and community needs and I just really believe in making connections and relationships to make a difference for students and families.”
She explained that the opportunity arose and she applied because it is another step in her career goals and aspirations.
In their release the division stated that Hingley brings a broad range of experience and diverse abilities to SRPSD and has specialized skills in supporting curriculum, instruction and assessment; ensuring Indigenous student success and leading professional development and partnerships.
Hingley has worked in the field of education for 25 years. After beginning her career in Turnor Lake in Northern Saskatchewan she then moved to the Saskatoon Public Schools beginning as a middle years teacher. She is currently serving as the principal at Brownell Elementary in Saskatoon.
Hingley has also served as a project leader in education in a partnership between Saskatoon Public Schools and the Saskatoon Tribal Council, a consultant for First Nations and Métis Education as well as a coordinator for the same.
Hingley is a 1996 graduate of the SUNTEP (Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program) at the University of Saskatchewan. The program was started by Métis political leaders in the 1980s to fill the void with Indigenous and Métis teachers. The program was created at the Gabriel Dumont Institute.
“The goals of that program are to provide opportunity for Métis individuals but also to really give people the chance to understand their culture and their history in an education context so that when you go out into the schools you going being able to be well-versed in an understanding of culture and history and also to be able to contribute to that school system. So I feel like that SUNTEP program has given me the base for my identity, it has given me the confidence and it has given me the opportunity to flourish as a teacher within our provincial school system,” Higley explained.
“It’s a wonderful program for Métis people. It has made a huge contribution to our educational system and it has made a difference in Métis people’s lives. I am one of those people.”
The division explained that Hingley will contribute a great deal of skill and ability to the senior leadership team and to the division. She explained that getting people such as herself into leadership positions shows the value of the program.
“I had wonderful mentors in the program and as well we have continued to stay connected through SUNTEP with all of our relationships and connections and friendships. So I am always happy to highlight the wonderful experience I had as a SUNTEP student,” Hingley said.
Her son is following in her footsteps in the program and she also has a daughter in high school. Hingley will be moving to Prince Albert ahead of starting her position in August.
Saskatchewan Rivers looks forward to the work Hingley will lead and to the expertise she will provide for the benefit of our students, staff and families.
As is required for these kinds of positions in the province, the finalization of the appointment includes a number of steps including approval of the Education Relations Board designation as Out of Scope as well as confirmation of membership as a qualified member of the League of Educational Administrators Superintendents and Directors and those details will be coordinated in the coming weeks.
The division was surprised by the number of candidates and depth of talent in the applicants.
“We have filled the position we had an outstanding pool of candidates, we really did, I was concerned because of the time of year but we have completed that process and have a new superintendent who will be joining us on August 1,” director of education Robert Bratvold said.
They invite the community to join them in welcoming Hingley to the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division team and to our communities.
Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer explained on Monday how Saskatchewan got to such a place as to where Phase 3 of the province’s reopen plan could begin on that day.
Dr. Saqib Shahab said that the province is in a safe place regarding the effective reproductive number for the virus.
“Overall in Saskatchewan we are well below one at .64 and that for the north at .76 as well as the south at .63. So these were hard won gains and it is important that we retain them and for the north especially their recent cluster has just now emerged from travel restrictions,”
The travel restrictions in the northwest quadrant of the province were lifted that day. He explained that in the first week of April the province was at an effective reproductive number of two and the north was at 3.3.
That means that in the first week of April, each infected resident was infecting two others across Saskatchewan, and while in the north each was infecting an average of 3.3 others. Rates below one mean each infected resident spreads the virus to less than one other person and chains of transmission break.
“So we were effectively in an exponential growth. And then in Saskatchewan the north had a significant cluster towards the end of April and early part of May and it also has now gone below one. The red line is below one,” Shahab said.
As has become a common theme for Shahab, he emphasized that the great work the people of the province have done has got Saskatchewan to that position.
“We have to remember this is recent history in the last eight weeks and so while we make gains to move ahead and should move ahead safely. We have to remember that what we have gone through in the recent past,” Shahab said.
As recently as the middle of March most cases were travel-related, Shahab said.
“Then we had for the vast majority of travel cases and some transmission due to large gatherings,” he said.
Earlier, the province was also doubling cases every two to three days in locations like Regina and Saskatoon.
“In March and April, our case numbers are doubling every two to three days and we were in a very concerning trajectory, this is recent history and then of course on the end of April (beginning of ) May our case doubling has gone down and is now down to 35 days. These are hard won gains done through a lot of sacrifice and different way of leading a life by all of us.”
In March, Saskatchewan put a number of restrictions including school closures and businesses shutting down.
“In some ways this was really hard for the economy, really hard for individuals, in some ways a difficult decision for government for sure,” he said.
With gathering sizes increasing to 15 indoors and 30 outdoors in phase three he explained how gathering size is a key element of modeling.
“Our mathematical modeling has shown that if your gathering number is small and it is local it is like kindling and when it catches fire it burns out because it is small and 20 to 30 seems to be the sweet spot,” Shahab said.
According to Shahab, the move to 30 people outdoors was undertaken very cautiously.
“That starts pushing that envelope for more rapid transmission but that is where we are and repeated models and actual data shows the larger the gathering size, the more rapid the transmission and we saw that in the early part of March.”
In early March there were large transmission events such as the medical conference and the snowmobile rally and other community events.
“We can’t forget that recent history and quickly without a lot of thought go to large gatherings, even if we go to gatherings larger than 15 indoors and 30 outdoors we really need to think through how can we do that in a different way, how can we maybe continue to have indoor cohorts of 15 maybe in separate rooms,” Shahab said.
The former Rivier Academy site remains a possibility for a new French school in Prince Albert.
The Société canadienne-française de Prince Albert (French-Canadian Society of Prince Albert, or SCFPA) put out a press release Thursday morning addressing concerns that they had not heard from the province about the new francophone school. They were worried it had been shelved once again.
During the COVID-19 update on Thursday Minister of Education and Deputy Premier Gord Wyant addressed these concerns. The province and the CEF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding new schools in Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Regina.
“It’s certainly the government’s intention to comply with the provisions of that memorandum of understanding,” Wyant said.
He explained that the concept of the new school and community centre would require some more work and a business plan.
“We want to do that, just this last week we’ve commissioned a third party to put together an independent business plan to see whether or not locating a school in that particular facility makes sense from a financial perspective.”
Wyant said that the province will comply and meet their obligations in the MOU for new French schools.
The community was pleased to hear that the project will be moving to a next step and that commissioning a third party was the exact news they were waiting for.
“That is what we were looking for was some sort of an acknowledgement and confirmation as to what was going on because ultimately what our community really wants to know is, we put a lot of work into the Ecole Valois moving to the Rivier site,” SCFPA spokesperson Estelle Hjertaas said.
The French community has also been working on a complete business plan for the whole community, Hjertaas said.
The Fransaskois community of Prince Albert and its partners, including seniors groups, École Valois Parents Council and staff, Métis community members and francophone school board representatives, have worked an entire year on a business case pertaining to the purchase of the former Rivier Academy as requested by the Minister of Education.
The two bodies, the SCFPA and the CEF (provincial francophone school board) say they have met every single requirement laid out by the Ministry for this community school project to go ahead.
The business case they made provides a financially sustainable, long term vision for the former school, convent and residence , including maintaining Marion Aquatics, Hjertaas said. The vision is to develop a school and community and cultural hub at the site of the former all-girls Catholic school, which was closed by the Prince Albert Catholic School Division in 2016.
After a plan to turn the building into affordable housing fell through, the SCFPA stepped forward and expressed their interest in the location.
Ministry officials toured the site last year.
Hjertaas explained that whether a yes or no was coming was important because they would have started looking at other options.
Another part of the plan includes a provision so that the Sisters of the Rivier convent can continue to live in the new location.
“There is not that many of them now so that is obviously important to them to have that kind of certainty because they want to get rid of the building,” Hjertaas said.
They are not able to maintain it anymore themselves. It is fair for us and fair for them so that we all know where things are at to continue moving forward on this project or if it is not going to happen,” she said.
“I can speak on behalf of the association that we are very happy to hear that they are at least taking that initial step.”
The community understood that an initial announcement would be made during the provincial budget on March 18, however the COVID-19 pandemic changed that budget to a release of estimates and they still had not received word. The new budget date is when the Legislature reconvenes on Monday, June 15.
Since signing an MOU with the CEF in March 2019, which stipulates three new francophone schools to be built by 2023, including one for Prince Albert, the Ministry of Education has yet to move forward on any of them.
The city’s French community has outgrown École Valois and former community centre. It’s inadequate to meet the expectations and needs of parents, students and other French-speaking citizens, including newcomers, with respect to the educational, sporting, economic and cultural potential of the community, a release stated.
The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division sees itself as an agent of reconciliation. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released their 94 calls to action and at their regular meeting on Monday, June 8 the board of education identified ways they can use their voice on matters relevant to the education system.
As part of the December, 2019 board/director seminar the board was asked to identify a TRC call for action. According to director of education Robert Bratvold the board discussed what to make a priority for the next school year.
“They know that in terms of the staff and the operations within the division there is lots going on and they wanted to speak to that as a board, as trustees, so they reviewed and had some conversation and identified the priority calls that they wanted to respond to in the coming year. That’s what that was all about, we had a big long list of the calls to action that we see our school division as being an agent of change around and so the board identified (what) they felt was the most important for the upcoming year,” Bratvold said.
On the subject of child welfare, the recommendations called upon all levels of government to fully implement Jordan’s Principle. Jordan’s Principle makes sure all First Nations children living in Canada can access the products, services and supports they need, when they need them. Funding can help with a wide range of health, social and educational needs.
Jordan’s Principle is named in memory of Jordan River Anderson. He was a young boy from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba.
The commission also called upon federal, territorial and Indigenous governments to develop culturally appropriate parenting program for Indigenous families.
In education, calls included improving education attainment levels and success rates, developing culturally appropriate curriculum, protecting the rights to Indigenous languages, including the teaching of Indigenous languages as credit courses.
Other areas covered in the calls included language and culture, justice, professional development and training for public servants, education for reconciliation and sports and reconciliation.
The next step in this process is to include this into the 2020-2021 Annual Work Plan for the board.
The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division has found a way to pass their 2020-2021 budget without dipping into their accumulated surplus. The board of education passed their budget at their second last regular meeting of the school year on Monday, June 8 and the division views it as positive after using surplus to balance last year.
“One thing is that it is a balanced budget and that is a positive thing we have had several years of reductions and we have been able to sustain our operations and balance the budget so that’s a good thing for us,” director of education Robert Bratvold said.
“Another positive is that we have been able to increase our staff slightly in the mental health supports area and so we know that is a growing need and we will be able to respond to that so that is a good thing around our budget,” he added.
Bratvold explained that the division has been able to hold the line of the budget. This comes after dipping into reserves in the 2019-2020 budget. The division did not have to use their accumulated surplus has developed over the life of the school division.
“So we know that we had to access reserves to balance the budget last year and that is not sustainable and so we have been able to balance our budget without accessing reserves and that’s a positive thing for us.”
According to Bratvold, the budget is challenging to pass.
“There are lots of things that we wanted to do in the budget and we didn’t have funding to do and there were other things that we had to reduce and find some savings so that we could maintain our operations.”
“Even additions is one thing but just to keep up with the regular fixed cost increases. The largest portion of our budget is salary. Salaries continue to rise as the cost of living rises and that’s an appropriate relationship but it has an impact on our budget. (About) 70 per cent of our budget is salaries and when they increase that puts pressure on the rest of our budget for sure.”
The board’s overall revenue sees 83.92 per cent come from grants.
On the day the province released estimates, the division’s funding from the provincial government increased by approximately $2 million. The total grants from the Ministry of Education increased from $89,758,572 in 2019-2020 to $91,902,256 in 2020-2021. The division’s federal grant remained steady at $21,300. Other provincial grants remained the same at $294,180.
Governance spending increased from $470,410 in 2019-2020 to $601,327 with the largest expenditure going to elections (scheduled for October) with a total of $100,000.
Building operating expenses went up from $93,349 in 2019-2020 to $95,433.
Instructional salaries and benefits increased from $52,007,513 in 2019-2020 to $53,383,945 in 2020-2021. Bratvold explained that regular fixed cost increases also affect the budget.
Total revenues increased from $109,195,830 to $109,888,814 over last year. Total expenditures also increased from $109,195,830 in 2019-2020 to $109,888,814 in 2020-2021.
The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division knows what the future holds for some maintenance and upkeep in the division. At their regular meeting on Monday, June 8 the board of education approved their three year Preventative Maintenance and Renewal (PMR) plan and budget.
The three years approved in the plan cover from 2021 to 2022. There were also some amendments to the current year’s plan passed by the board. According to director of education Robert Bratvold, maintenance is the second largest portion of the budget after instruction.
The funding is directly tied to the plan passed Monday.
“That was approved last night by the board and doing some of those projects will be proceeding in the coming years. It will be important stuff we have many facilities and our maintenance team does amazing work from caretakers to maintenance, to the leadership. We have got some old facilities some buildings are over 100 years old and just still in fabulous condition so that preventative maintenance and renewal is important,” Bratvold said.
Amendments to the 2019-20 plan included projects such as replacing gym floors at West Central School, replacement of windows at Osborne School, playground safety audits and removal and reconstruction of the main entry slab in Meath Park School. All of these projects were started in 2019.
Projects approved for 2021-2022 include a replacement of boilers with high efficiency boilers at Big River Public High School and a replacement of aluminum sliders with commercial grade double glaze windows at Prince Albert Collegiate Institute (PACI)
Looking ahead, projects approved in 2022-2023 include window replacement at St. Louis School, a roofing replacement project at Carlton Comprehensive Collegiate and a gym floor replacement at PACI.
The 2023-2024 list includes a replacement of roofs on the two gyms at Carlton and replacements of windows at King George Public School.
The deadline for submitting Preventative Maintenance and Renewal (PMR) plans is June 30.
The projected preventative maintenance budget in 2021-2022 is $634,557, in 2022-2023 the budget is $897,705 and in 2023-2024 the projected budget is $897,795. Each year new projects spring up to keep schools in workable condition.
The province of Saskatchewan is expected to announce plans for the fall school year later this week and addressed the importance of graduation as the province reopens. Premier Scott Moe emphasized that the education system has done well with distance learning
“Recently we have been asked a number of questions on the potential for Grade 12 graduation. I would like to make a few comments to clarify the province’s position on graduation. It has always been our view that graduation ceremonies can or should occur, albeit in very innovative ways. We would ask that these events could include in-person ceremonies respecting all of the public health recommendations and orders that are in place,” Moe said.
The province is expected to announce plans for the next school year later this week.
Moe explained that he has heard of innovative ideas such as parades and small gatherings.
“I would encourage graduates, parents and those interested in organizing their ceremonies directly with their school or there school division to make these events possible. Grade 12 graduation is a very special recognition of the many years of hard work and commitment that you have provided.”
Moe noted that the initiatives are innovative and being done by schools and school divisions.
“If parents are looking to hold a graduation whether it be virtual or in person they should work with their schools and school division on what they can do that would operate within the public health recommendations and the public health orders that we have. We have always indicated that there is an opportunity for graduations to occur and occur safely.” Chief Medical Health Officer Saqib Shahab said that the innovative graduation ideas have reached the level of local public health officials.
“I think we are looking at those models in that some may allow for a safe graduation ceremony as long as the basic principles such as social distancing (are in place).”
Shahab also recommends following outdoor protocols of phase three and keeping gatherings at 30 people.
“Going forward I think we need to think about, especially as far as phase five, what have we learned that allows us to hold larger indoor or outdoor gatherings in a way that we reduce the risk of further transmission,” he said.
Moe emphasized that schools and school divisions can innovate within the Public Health guidelines and parameters.
“I would like to take a moment today to offer my congratulations to each and every one of this year’s graduating class on their monumental achievement,” Moe said.
After just four new cases of COVID-19 were reported over the last five days, Saskatchewan announced four new confirmed positive tests, as well as two deaths, Monday. “First of all I will begin by expressing our condolences to the friends and family and community of the individuals who passed away as a result of COVID-19. Both were residents of the far north and both were seniors in their 60s and 70s. So again this is a reminder that elders remain the most vulnerable and whenever we have large cluster outbreaks even though 80 percent of the cases, 20 percent can require a high level of hospitalization and unfortunately in a few cases we can have a death as an outcome,” Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said. Premier Scott Moe also expressed his condolences to open the news conference Monday. One individual was in their 60s and the second was in their 70s. This brings the total number of deaths in the province to 13. Three of the new cases were from the far north region and one is in the Saskatoon. One more recoveries was reported and the total is now 624. The total number of cases has jumped to 654. The active case number has increased by one to 17. Phase 3 of Re-Open Saskatchewan began Monday. Effective yesterday, restaurants and licensed establishments are able to open at 50 per cent capacity.
Personal care services not opened in Phase 2 were permitted to open, and gyms and other fitness facilities are able to open. “Today is a big day for reopening in the province of Saskatchewan. We are down to just 17 active cases in Saskatchewan and we are moving ahead with phase three of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan. This means that today restaurants are open for business, gyms are open for business, childcare facilities will be able to expand their numbers and remaining personal services will now be open,” Premier Scott Moe said during the provinces press conference on Monday. “As of today virtually every type of business across the province can be open if they choose to do so. Really the only remaining exceptions are casinos, bingo halls and theatres which will be part of phase four,” he added Art galleries, museums and other indoor recreational spaces have also been barred from opening and will be a part of phase 4 Guidelines are now posted to assist the re-opening of places of worship and child care facilities as part of Phase 3. Places of worship can reopen for indoor services for up to 30 people as part of this phase. “We continue to work with the leaders from all faith communities to find ways to safely increase the attendance of religious services and celebrations such as weddings and memorial services. This is a priority for us and I would like to thank each of the leaders of all faiths that have been offering not only their advice but have been offering their experience to public health throughout this journey, it is appreciated and I say thank you,” Moe said. Limits on public and private gatherings have now been increased to a maximum of 15 indoors and 30 outdoors. The government has also announced that outdoor playgrounds and beaches and associated washrooms can re-open on Friday, June 12. Guidelines for these facilities will include measures such as maintaining physical distancing, frequent handwashing and enhanced cleaning and disinfection of rental equipment and washrooms. Effective Monday travel restrictions in Northwest Saskatchewan have been lifted, and the Northern Village of La Loche has moved into phases 1 and 2 of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan. “In the far north we are down to just six active cases. The remaining restrictions on travel in the northwestern part of our province are being lifted effective today. We also now have reopening dates for most of the 12 emergency rooms that were temporarily closed. Eight of the 12 ER s will reopen in June,” Moe said. The Government of Saskatchewan and the Chief Medical Health Officer continue to carefully monitor the transmission of COVID-19 to inform decisions regarding the pace at which restrictions can be lifted or put back in place if required. As well playgrounds and beaches are now scheduled to open on June 12. “Hopefully it’s a great weekend so that families can enjoy some time at the beach or some time at the playground,” Moe said. Moe explained that the province has done great work flattening the curve and thanked the people of the province. “This virus has not disappeared. COVID cases continue to increase in many parts of the world including some other parts of our nation and many areas of the United States. So we need to remain vigilant. In Saskatchewan we have proven that we can control the spread of the virus, we can reopen and we can control the spread in the future. Today virtually all businesses in Saskatchewan can reopen and they can operate. They are doing so as safely as possible, they are doing this so that many of us can get back to work, so that more of us can worship in accordance with our faith and so that more of us can access the medical health services that we require and so that more of us, as families, can enjoy our communities and a great Saskatchewan summer.” With new cases reported Monday, 260 of the cases are from the far north, 173 are from the Saskatoon area, 112 are from the north, 80 are from the Regina area, 17 are from the south and 12 are from the central region. There is still a single person in intensive care in Saskatoon. There are currently 51 cases who are health care workers. However, the source of the infections may not be related to health care in all instances. Of the 654 cases in the province: 144 cases are related to travel, 393 are community contacts, which includes mass gatherings, 79 have no known exposures and 38 are under investigation by local public health, which is a drop of two from Friday. The age breakdown shows 98 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, 232 cases are in the 20-39 age range, 199 are in the 40-59 age range, 107 are in the 60-79 age range and 18 are in the 80-plus range. The gender breakdown shows 52 per cent of the cases being females and 48 per cent being males. As of June 8, 52,229 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province, an increase of 536 from Thursday. As of June 6, when other provincial and national numbers were last available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 39,640 people tested per million population. The national rate was 50,462 people tested per million population. Emergency rooms reopening
The Saskatchewan Health Authority will soon be re-opening eight of the 12 regional emergency rooms temporarily closed as part of the health system readiness plan as hospitals have been converted to alternate level of care sites across the province. “We are working very diligently to ensure the ERs are open as quickly as possible. Those four additional ER s have ongoing staffing issues that are unrelated to COVID and so the Saskatchewan Health Authority is working to make sure those are resolved and those ERs are open as quickly as possible,” Moe said. This helped build capacity for any potential surge in COVID-19 cases and to protect against outbreaks in the medical facilities. Target timelines in each of the eight communities set to re-open ERs in June include Kerrobert on June 12, Leader and Arcola on June 16, Preeceville on June 18, Biggar and Oxbow on June 22, Davidson on June 24 and Herbert on June 25. These dates may be subject to the status of active COVID-19 positive cases and ability to meet all required safety criteria and human resourcing requirements for re-opening. The SHA continues to work on ER resumption planning for the four community hospitals in Broadview, Radville, Lanigan and Wolseley.
Domestic Flights
Posted Travel information related to COVID-19, including all flights returning to Saskatchewan with a confirmed case of COVID-19 are available on the Public Health Agency of Canada website. Two domestic flights have been added: AC 1129 Toronto-Saskatoon on May 29 and WS 3370 Calgary-Saskatoon on May 30. Anyone who was on those flights has been asked to monitor for symptoms.GeneralSmart ListReviews Post template: ?
Primary category: ? If the posts has multiple categories, the one selected here will be used for settings and it appears in the category labels. Sidebar position: ?
Custom sidebar: ?Default Sidebar Subtitle: This text will appear under the title Quote on blocks: Show a quote (only when this article shows up in blocks that support quote and only on blocks that are on one column) Source name: This name will appear at the end of the article in the “source” spot on single posts Source url: Full url to the source Via name: Via (your source) name, this will appear at the end of the article in the “via” spot Via url: Full url for via
*This story has been corrected to better reflect where new cases were identified Monday.GeneralSmart ListReviews Post template: ?
Primary category: ? If the posts has multiple categories, the one selected here will be used for settings and it appears in the category labels. Sidebar position: ?
Custom sidebar: ?Default Sidebar Subtitle: This text will appear under the title Quote on blocks: Show a quote (only when this article shows up in blocks that support quote and only on blocks that are on one column) Source name: This name will appear at the end of the article in the “source” spot on single posts Source url: Full url to the source Via name: Via (your source) name, this will appear at the end of the article in the “via” spot Via url: Full url for via
You haven’t activated your Yoast SEO Premium subscription yet! This means you are missing out on features you paid for, so activate your subscription now(Opens in a new browser tab)!Focus keyphraseHelp on choosing the perfect focus keyphrase(Opens in a new browser tab)Preview as:Mobile resultDesktop resultURL preview:https://paherald.sk.ca › 2020 › 06 › 08 › four-more-cases-and-two-covid-19-deaths-reported-mondaySEO title preview:Four more cases and two COVID-19 deaths reported Monday – Prince Albert Daily HeraldMeta description preview:
Jun 8, 2020 ⋅ The Prince Albert Daily Herald is Prince Albert’s only employee owned and operated, community focused daily Newspaper. No block selected. Four more cases and two COVID-19 deaths reported Monday – Prince Albert Daily Herald1 block selected.
There is still a single person in intensive care in Saskatoon.
The number of deaths reported remains steady at 11.
There are currently 51 cases who are health care workers. However, the source of the infections may not be related to health care in all instances.
Of the 654 cases in the province: 144 cases are related to travel, 393 are community contacts, which includes mass gatherings, 79 have no known exposures and 38 are under investigation by local public health, which is a drop of two from Friday.
The age breakdown shows 98 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, 232 cases are in the 20-39 age range, 199 are in the 40-59 age range, 107 are in the 60-79 age range and 18 are in the 80-plus range.
The gender breakdown shows 52 per cent of the cases being females and 48 per cent being males.
As of June 8, 52,229 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province, an increase of 536 from Thursday.
As of June 6, when other provincial and national numbers were last available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 39,640 people tested per million population. The national rate was 50,462 people tested per million population.
*This story has been corrected to better reflect where new cases were identified Monday.
The RM of Shellbrook has passed their budget for 2020. According to Reeve Doug Oleksyn the budget remains status quo with mill rates across the municipality remaining steady for the next year.
“We are glad to just try to hold it,” Oleksyn said.
The budget was passed at the RM’s regular meeting on Wednesday, June 3.
Unlike some other municipalities in the area, they did not make any changes to their tax discount structure.
“Payment discounts remain then same starting in July and decreasing as you go towards December with payment of taxes,” Oleksyn said.
The RM also passed the regular exemptions that were passed for the year regarding taxation.
On May 19 Government Relations Minister Lori Carr announced specific funding allocations for all communities within the province under the new Municipal Economic Enhancement Program 2020 (MEEP) and the RM is creating a plan for MEEP and expect to pass it at July’s meeting. Have the proposal prepared and have it done sometime in July.
“We are going over areas that would meet the criteria of funding and by the July meeting we will pass the list and then it will be forwarded so that we will be able to access this funding. Some of the categories would have been equipment, stuff like municipal planning like asset management, there is roads and bridges that also qualify, in some of the hamlets there could be funding gains, lagoons ongoing,” he explained.
MEEP 2020 will provide $150 million, or approximately $143 per capita, to local municipalities to support investments in infrastructure, to stimulate economic recovery and encourage local job creation.
All funding related to the program must be used by the local municipality by March 31, 2022.
With the province of Saskatchewan gradually reopening, the RM of Shellbrook is adapting as well. For the previous two months only Reeve Doug Oleksyn and administrator Duane Storey attended the regular meeting in person.
At their meeting on Wednesday, June 3 more people attended with Oleksyn, Storey, the deputy reeve and another councillor in attendance with the rest of council appearing by teleconference.
“It’s just that level of comfort, we are trying to work with our staff and they seem pretty comfortable,” Oleksyn said.
He explained that for his own protection he wears gloves and the office, which is shared between the RM and town of Shellbrook has plenty of hand sanitizer and social distancing works well.
“In saying that, with a small council, I still think we can social distance enough. And then because of town staff in there you also have to address their issues and we have to work with them too. And I think that they are just finally back up to full staff on the town side. Prior to that they were working from home so they are starting to get more comfortable I think with bringing back people,” he explained.
The municipality also uses social distancing when possible with outdoor crews. They are currently working on projects around the RM.
“You have always got day-to-day stuff going on. I think outside they would struggle with social distancing. They are doing as best as they can but there is some jobs that you just can’t do that all of the time. So all of the workers have to trust one another but it has been working pretty well right now.”
Foreman Bill Aug continues to come to meetings to give his update on municipal operations.
“So we do the list, we ask if he has got requests from the oral reports per division and regular maintenance or signage or problems where there is an area to be checked out and we will ask from him what is going on at the shop, what he is seeing personnel-wise and machinery-wise or how jobs are going so that is our feedback there,” he said.
Oleksyn explained that there is currently plexiglass in place and they are currently working on an agreement between the town and RM on opening the office to the public.
“Right now it has been working well I think after talking to the town side on the administration they would have people generally want more access for water bills and stuff like that.”
They also discussed taxation and options for payment.
“There are some pre-payment options for people if they wanted to pay a monthly amount on taxation just something that the larger centres like the cities would be using already,” he said.
“There is no 100 percent guarantee on the electronic transfers. What we are using right now works well and it is the most recommended for electronic transfers. But there have been breaches throughout the province in other systems, towns and municipalities where the system hasn’t worked like it is supposed to on whatever they were using so we are trying to stay as safe as possible on that side too,” he explained.
The RM has been lucky this year in terms of flooding according to Oleksyn. The nearby RM of Buckland had some flooding issues but so far in Shellbrook it has been minor.
“One thing I can think of offhand is a culvert on the main grid road that was repositioned again and it sort of washed and we are watching a couple of other ones. But they seem to maintain and when you get onto the back or secondary roads there is some washout areas too that had to be fixed up. So they would be hauling material in and replacing the culverts. Beavers seem to be a problem this year in some areas,” Oleksyn said.
https://paherald.sk.ca › 2020 › 06 › 08 › four-more-cases-and-two-covid-19-deaths-reported-mondaySEO title preview:Four more cases and two COVID-19 deaths reported Monday – Prince Albert Daily HeraldMeta description preview:
