Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association launches 5th annual Brain Love campaign

A Saskatchewan-made campaign that started small just five years ago might soon be going nationwide.

The Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association (SBIA) and Saskatchewan Royal Purple launched the fifth annual Brain Love campaign Thursday at the Prince Albert Inn.

“I’m really excited,” said SBIA executive director Glenda James.

“Not only have we been working together for five years, we’ve done some remarkable things.”

James recalled how during the 2017 kick-off in Prince Albert, they had invited Hailey Harms, a young person from Shellbrook who had her Olympic figure skating dreams cut short by a series of concussions. After speaking at the event, she headed straight for the back of the room where she spotted an old classmate, Evan. He had attended as a new member of the SBIA, a victim of a car accident that left him with a severe brain injury. SBIA and the pair launched a campaign to educate the public about brain injuries and to spread awareness about prevention.

Something else remarkable happened last year as well, James said.

An anonymous family came forward with a big donation for the Brain Love campaign. That donation helped fund a series of videos starring Hailey and Evan, and to further spread the message of love for one’s brain.

“That’s just the way things come together when you partner with a group like the Saskatchewan Royal Purple who have connections in communities all over Saskatchewan,” James said.

“SBIA is a really tiny organization. Being able to reach out into the community, to make these connections, to do the things we’re able to because of this marvellous partnership has made a tremendous difference to prevent brain injuries.”

That partnership, and the Brain Love project, has grown since its humble beginnings five years ago with one small poster.

“(Brain injury) doesn’t have to be something dramatic, it doesn’t have to be this big story about a 17-car collision. It can happen in your bedroom,” said Sandi Lougheed.

She recounted a story about a boy she knows. He was a budding hockey star, until he fell and hit his head on his bedroom dresser. That concussion was the last in a series of head injuries, and it ended his hockey career.

Traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death and disability among youth.

“We don’t plan for these things to happen. It’s anyone, anytime, anywhere. But we have to continue to support SBIA, because most of us don’t know how to deal with a brain injury. We don’t have the knowledge, we don’t have the government connections and we don’t have the publicity connections.”

Individual Royal Purple lodges and the SBIA offices are all small, but the partnership has been able to grow the conversation surrounding brain injuries and brain injury prevention through a concerted ground effort. Royal Purple members put up posters in doctor’s offices and hockey rinks. Their donations fund support services and safety presentations in schools. Every year, more SBI chapters pop up and get involved in the project.

Slowly, but surely, the movement has grown. Lougheed is pushing Royal Purple members to grow the movement even bigger.

“Start to brag about the good work you’re doing,” she said. “Each one of us in this room, it’s going to be our personal and professional pleasure to kick off this fifth year partnership. It’s going to be an exciting year.”

Once Lougheed and James finished speaking, representatives from Royal Purple chapters from across Saskatchewan lined up to present donations and pledges. So far, they’ve either donated or pledged $22,000, just a few thousand short of the $25,000 initial goal. But Royal Purple is dreaming big, aiming for a total of $100,000 raised by the end of the year.

This year, Saskatchewan won’t be going it alone. The Brain Love project has spread to Manitoba. James is participating in a conference call this week that could see it expand nation-wide. James and Lougheed have been working hard with their Manitoba-based counterparts to help get Brain Love Manitoba off the ground.

“I’m so excited,” James said. “I now have a vision to do this nationally. I hope it’s going to happen everywhere, because we want people to love their brains, we want them to protect their brains. We want this to be part of normal conversation in the same way people accept putting on a seatbelt.”

 

It wasn’t just schools and businesses wearing pink and spreading the message against bullying Wednesday.

The Mont St. Joseph home got involved with Pink Day, going all out with pink t-shirts, positive post-it notes and pink cream soda ice cream floats. While Mont St. Joseph has celebrated Pink Day before, they haven’t ever gone this big.

“It fits with the mission and values of our organization,” explained Mont St. Joseph director of care Lesley Larrea.

“Being a welcoming, Christian community, we welcome everyone and embrace our differences. This is a great way to showcase some of what we do everyday.”

It wasn’t just the staff that embraced Pink Day. Residents showed their spirit as well, some sporting pink hair or nail polish, others in pink shirts, and several wearing pink buttons some residents made while working at Kin Enterprises.

Larrea stressed the importance of standing up to bullies in all stages of life.

“We’ve all been kids, and we’ve all been in workplaces that maybe were not very positive. This is something we need to teach our younger generations,” she said.

“The really nice thing is with 40 young children here as part of our Blooms and Buds Childcare Centre, we are able to show those kids and the residents that there are no boundaries to bullying. We need to stop it at any age.”

The young children also made an appearance during the afternoon celebration. They were all decked out in pink, and proudly posed for a photo in their photo frame.

Wednesday’s celebration wasn’t just about wearing pink in solidarity. Staff members tried to spread as much kindness and positivity as they could throughout the home. Residents and staff wrote positive messages on sticky notes. The notes will be collected and put on display in the next couple of days.

“Hopefully this will be a really positive experience to see the kindness our staff and residents share,” Larrea said.

Pink Day was started in 2007 when a grade nine student in Cambridge, N.S. was bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. Two other students rallied their peers to send a message to the bullies, and the next day the halls were filled with students in pink t-shirts.

The movement has since grown worldwide. Every Feb. 28, the Red Cross celebrates Pink Day and encourages the community to celebrate too, distributing t-shirts, hosting anti-bullying events and raising funds across Canada. The 2018 theme of Pink Day is to stand up and be someone’s hero.

The Rosthern RCMP is asking for the public’s assistance in idenitfying two suspects in an ongoing theft investigation.

On Friday, Feb. 23 at about 2 p.m., the RCMP responded to a complaint of a theft at a business located just off the highway in Hague, Sask.

Two men entered the business. Police say one diverted the attention of staff while the other entered the office and took an undisclosed amount of money.

The men are described as being in their late 50s or 60s with stocky builds. They may be driving a silver-coloured SUV.

The circumstances of the theft and descriptions of the suspects share similarities with a number of thefts reported at businesses in Sskatchwean and ALberta, including one in Outlook in August 2017.

If you have information about this or any other crime, contact your local police service or RCMP detachment, the Rostern RCMP at 306232-6400, or anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477,

Union says some have gone bankrupt or been forced to sell their land as problems that plague the system continue two years after it was implemented

Federal employees are growing increasingly frustrated as they continue to experience difficulties getting paid through the Phoenix Pay System.

A few dozen federal employees from the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) rallied outside the Saskatchewan Penitentiary Wednesday to remind the federal government of their plight. They were joined by Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne and Coun. Terra Lennox-Zepp in their call for a resolution to the years-long Phoenix Pay System debacle.

Chants of “What do we want? People! What do we want to get rid of? Phoenix!” Echoed up and down the picket line. When one rally leader asked when people want to be paid, while most echoed back “now,” a few chimed in with “two years ago.”

“We’re out here to remind the federal government that the situation is not resolved and we are not happy,” said Shannon Blum, president of Local 40023, 4A023 and 4B023 at the noon hour rally.

Blum said that at least 50 per cent of local members, if not more, are still experiencing pay issues.

“Every single one of us wonders every pay period if we’re going to be paid, and if we are, if it’s going to be correct,” she said.

“I think it has a huge effect not only on us, but also on our community. We hold onto every dollar because we don’t know if the paycheque is coming next pay period. We’re not buying houses, we’re not buying cars, our kids aren’t gong to sports events, we’re not taking holidays — I think this impacts every Canadian.”

Dionne echoed Blum’s comments.

“We’re here because these are our citizens. This is who we represent. These are our coaches, our volunteers, and they’re not spending money in our community because they’re worried about their cheques,” he said.

“I’m amazed the government hasn’t sorted it out.”

Blum said individual members have lost a lot as the pay systems have continued. Some, she said, have lost “literally everything.

“I have heard of people selling land, declaring bankruptcy and cashing in their entire stock of RRSPs,” she said.

PSAC also invited Prince Albert’s Conservative MP, Randy Hoback. He was in Ottawa, but said he fully supports the employees dealing with pay issues.

“We’re doing everything we can,” he said.

Hoback indicated his office had helped in a few individual instances where people weren’t getting the pay they were entitled to them.

“They’re frustrated, they’re in tears in a lot of cases and I really feel for them for sure.”

The Phoenix Pay System was developed under Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, but launched by the Trudeau Liberals. It has been mired in problems from day one, with people not being paid, being underpaid and being overpaid. So far, over $460 million has been spend trying to fix the system, which was originally intended as a way to save money.

Hundreds have been hired and studies conducted, but the system still doesn’t work.

In Tuesday’s budget, the federal government promised an additional $431.4 million over six years starting in the 2017-18 budget year to hire additional staff at the pay centre and at satellite offices, as well as within departments themselves to assist employees with payroll issues as they arise. The budget also earmarked $5.5 million over two years to the Canada Revenue Agency to process individual tax reassessments due to the issues that have been encountered.

But there are signs the Liberals are already looking to move forward with a new solution. The budget set aside $16 million over two years, beginning in 2018-19, to “work with experts, unions and tech providers on a new way forward for a new pay system.”

The document also promised to continue taking action reimbursing employed who incurred personal expenses, and to not force anyone to pay back overpayments until after their tax return has been processed, and any excess withholdings or liabilities against them calculated.

Despite the measures promised in Wednesday’s budget, employees are skeptical they’ll see any meaningful solutions.

“I suppose I’m cautiously optimistic,” Blum said. “I don’t think we have a lot of faith at all right now. Time will tell.”

Hoback shared Blum’s lack of optimism.

“At least they’re putting some money and resources into it to fix it, but it’s the details that matter here,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter how much more money you throw at it; if you’re not throwing at it in the right way, it won’t fix it. They haven’t been taking it seriously. They didn’t take it seriously right from day one when they hit the on button, and they haven’t given me a lot of confidence that they’ll do something gin the future that will fix the problem.”

For Blum, that’s one of the main frustrations. PSAC has been advocating for two years, and feels the government didn’t take things seriously soon enough.

“I really wish they had listened to us in the beginning. PSAC was very clear the system wasn’t working, and we weren’t listened to.”

Blum said PSAC wants three things: they want compensation people back on worksites so workers have a human face to talk to, they’d like to see the government stop taking back gross amounts from those who were overpaid, and they’d like to see damages for members who have lost everything.

Mayor calls on province to take action

While Dionne is also fed up with the federal government, he would also like to see more action from the province.

“We have labour laws to protect our employers,” he said.

“I don’t know why the provinces haven’t said enough is enough. Why are they sitting silent? If I was a private company and I broke all the rules they did, the government would be all over us.

“We have to get together and convince the Liberal government to solve this problem today, not in the future.”

The province, in a brief emailed statement, said the issue is a matter of federal jurisdiction and doesn’t fall under provincial labour law. The Ministry of Labour Relations declined further comment.

Arm wrestling can be serious business.

While for many, it’s a fun game to play with friends or a way to decide who gets the last chicken wing, for members of the Saskatchewan Armwrestling Association (SAMA), it’s an intense competition requiring full body strength and control.

SAMA members returned to the Prince Albert Winter Festival for the first arm wrestling tournament at the festival in about 15 years, and they didn’t disappoint. There were constant crowds taking in the competition on the second floor of the Alfred Jenkins Field House all day Saturday, as the athletes battled to see who would come out on top.

Tyrrell Wojcichowsky has been competing for about 17 years. He first got into the sport about 17 years ago after hearing an advertisement on the radio.

“I had arm wrestled all of my friends and thought I did pretty well, so I entered the tournament,” he said.

“I learned real fast that it’s a whole different level of arm wrestling. It’s not like it’s on a corner of a table.”

It’s not just on the corner of a table. Athletes face off on a specially-designed table, with small pads for their elbows and larger ones for the backs of their hands, all affixed to the heavy table by metal pins so they won’t move, even with the strength exerted over top.

The taller pads are off to the side – they act as a landing pad for each match loser. If you want to win, you won’t want to come into contact with those pads.

The tables are also watched closely by a pair of officials. They keep an eye out that all the rules are followed, including keeping elbows on the elbow pads, keeping wrists from flexing at the start, keeping the start in the middle of the table and not starting until the referee says go.

In addition to competing, Wojcichowsky also served as one of the referees during the tournament. He watched matches closely to make sure everyone followed the rules.

“It’s up to the arm wrestlers to ensure it’s fair,” he said. “I’m looking for a legal start — over the centre of the table, no one is bending their wrist prior to go, and no one has an advantage.”

As part of their duties, the referees also monitor the grips. If the competitors can’t sort it out, they’ll manually arrange the hands. If it’s a tight race and the grip slips, they’ll use a strap to secure the competitors’ hands together.

Another, perhaps surprising, element of arm wrestling is the use of the whole body. The table has a handle where athletes can put their free hand, and many hook their leg around the table’s metal frame. They use those to give them leverage against their opponent. But while they’re pulling with their entire body, it comes down to the strength of an arm.

“If you’re just going to use your arm it becomes a game of very small muscles — the rotator cuff and such — and you will be prone to injury,” Wojcichowsky said.

“Arm wrestling is more about developing a lock where your arm is going to stay in one stationary place and you’re going to learn your whole body over. A lot of people say that’s not fair, but I’m only using as much as my arm can hold. The arm is still the most important part.”

The technique worked. Wojcichowsky won the gold for both his right and left arm in the 209-pound plus weight class over the weekend.

He had some tight head-to-head matches against another 17-year competitor, also from Saskatoon: Kayne Hemsing.

When Hemsing got his start, he trained with Fred Roy and Terry Paschuk from the Prince Albert area. Now, Hemsing is hoping to train the next generation, starting with his kids.

Hemsing had two kids competing in the Winter Festival. Jaden, 3, competed in his first ever. He finished first in the youth boys 27 kg category.

“This was his first tournament,” Kayne said. “He was excited to come up here and compete. It was nice that there were lots of kids in the classes.”

Kayne’s seven-year-old, Grayson, also competed. Grayson has been competing for three years. He finished third in his category.

Wojcichowsky was pleased with all the kids who came out to arm wrestle.

“Without kids, there is no future to this sport,” he said. “You need kids involved. They seem to have a lot of fun doing it, and it’s definitely entertaining watching them.”

Kayne’s kids weren’t the only Hemsings to medal over the weekend tournament. Kayne himself earned gold for his right arm and silver for his left. While to onlookers the tournament seemed intense, Hemsing said it was only a mild competition compared to some of what he’s seen.

“It can be more intense,” he said.

“This is a good circuit tournament. Everyone here know that there’s a lot of new guys, so we just want to not rip anybody’s arm off, and just have fun, make it competitive and show everybody the sport.”

The camaraderie of the arm wrestling community was also on full display. It’s a small community, and everybody knows everybody else.

‘We’re always welcoming new people,” Hemsing said. “We love this sport, we want to see it continue to grow.”

The sport has taken Hemsing quite far, literally. He said he’s travelled across the province, the country, and around the world arm wrestling. He’s gone to about 30 countries, including Greece, Italy and England, competing for Canada.

The most important thing, Hemsing said, is lots of table time.

“We do lots of gym training. There are little training tools I work to gain finger strength, wrist strength and forearm strength,” he said.

“But the best training tool is getting on tables and arm wrestling. You grow tendons differently than you do in the gym. Just like any sport, the more you arm wrestle, the better you’re going to get.”

 

 

Brent Mirasty stood out on the first day of the Winter Festival King Trapper competition.

While the more seasoned competitors came out in full buckskin, and even first-time competitor Kato Carriere in a buckskin hat and gloves, Mirasty, a relative newcomer to the competition scene, doesn’t have buckskin yet.

He came out in a pair of track pants, running shoes, a Prince Albert Raiders jacket and a Pittsburgh Penguins ballcap.

But once competitors changed out of their buckskin to get the rest of the competition underway, Mirasty fit right in, finishing near the top of the pack in a handful of events.

“It was awesome,” Mirasy said of the weekend of competition.

“It was a great learning experience. I got a whole bunch of tips from all the pros, and gained a lot of experience for next week in La Ronge.”

Mirasty got into these competitions at the same time as his brother. He got hooked, and has competed in a handful of King Trapper events since.

“I’ve got to work on everything,” Mirasty said.

“These guys are so fast. If you’re down by half a second you’re not in contention. That’s how close the competition is.”

While Mirasty will be working to improve his score in all the events, his first priority for next year is to get some buckskin for these competitions. He doesn’t see himself slowing down soon.

“I’m going to be competing until I’m old, so you’ll probably see me around quite a bit,” he said.”

While Mirasty is relatively new to the King Trapper competition scene, one of his fellow competitors over the weekend is even newer.

Saturday, Kato Carriere competed in the event for the first time ever. His results weren’t the best – he finished in last, but his spirit and positive attitude charmed the audience over the course of the weekend. Carriere comes from a family of competitors. He was happy to continue the tradition.

“The competition was amazing,” he said.

“I came in last place — that’s about where I expected to be. This is my first time competing, and all of these guys have 20,30, sometimes 40 years of experience on me. You know what they say, old dog, new tricks. But they were teaching a new dog old tricks.”

One thing caught Carriere off–guard was the technique needed for some of the events. He learned it isn’t about strength alone.

“Next time I compete I’ll know a little more what to do. I’m a big guy, I’m pretty physically fit, but I got beat in things like log sawing and he sack carry. Things like that, you’ve got to be real technical. The technical side, I’ve yet to master.”

Carriere doesn’t want this to be his last competition. He wants to set an example for other young people who might want to compete.

Seeing young people like Carriere and Mirasty competing is refreshing for some of the seasoned veterans, such as Norman McKenzie, who came in second in the 2018 event.

“It’s nice to see some new competitors coming in and trying out,” he said.

“We’re glad to help, us guys. We’re getting up there now in age.”

McKenzie said the competition is really friendly. Competitors help each other out, and try to encourage the young guys who are just getting into competitions for the first time.

He’s won the Prince Albert event before, but this year, he finished just a few points behind the winner, Richard Charles.

“It feels good,” Charles said following his victory. “I’m a little sore.”

This was Charles’ first time back in the Prince Albert competition in a few years. He had knee surgery about six years ago, and had to take care of that.

“It was tense, it was close, I had fun,” he said.

Charles was also keen to help the youngsters learn what it takes to win King Trapper.

“They said they had good experiences. Now they know what to do when they come back next year. We gave them some tips,” McKenzie said.

“The guys like us, like Norman, we’ve been here before and we teach them little pointers. After we’ve done our event, we give them a little fist pump and say ‘good job.’”

Carriere was appreciative of the support from the seasoned competitors. He’d also like to see more young people participate in future competitions.

“As the youngest competitor, I’d like to see more young people compete,” he said.

“A lot of these old timers were happy to see a young man like me competing. They all started when they were about 18, and a lot of their friends started when they were about 18. We need young people like me to compete. I want some serious competition when all these guys retire and they’ve shown me the tricks of the trade. Then, I’ll pass It along to all of my nieces and nephews, and they’ll learn some good things, too.”