A 24-year-old man from Edmonton has died after rolling his vehicle on Highway 3 south of Prince Albert Sunday.
Sunday afternoon, reports came in that the highway was closed. At the time, no futher information was available. Social media users said they saw a gold SUV smashed in the front and back.
The highway was re-opened later in the evening.
On Tuesday, the Prince Albert RCMP sent out a media release stating that at about 4 p.m. Sunday, they responded to a single vehicle rollover on Highway 3. The lone occupant died while en route to the hospital.
An RCMP traffic reconstructionist attended the scene. The coroner’s office has also been consulted. An investigation into the cause of the event is ongoing.
Vigil a chance to reflect on community impact, successes, failures and the path forward
Police officers, community leaders, politicians and concerned members of the community gathered together Wednesday to remember Saskatchewan’s missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).
The October 4 vigil was one of dozens held across Canada. The number of vigils has grown from 11 in 2006 to 216 in 2014.
Members and leadership from the RCMP, Prince Albert Police, City Council, Police Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council, Prince Albert Indian Métis Friendship Centre, Prince Albert Grand Council and Metis Nation Saskatchewan joined with concerned citizens for a sharing circle, speeches and a candle light vigil inside the friendship centre during the noon hour.
A key theme emerged from the event – everyone is affected when an Indigenous woman goes missing or is killed.
“Missing persons touches us all,” said RCMP Insp. Roberta McKale, operations officer of the north district.
“I’ve investigated missing persons. These instigations take a toll on everybody, including the communities, families, investigators and search and rescue. We have people who are constantly in the back of their minds thinking about these investigations, and the Sisters in Spirit vigil is an opportunity to come together and keep that momentum and support going. It’s very important to me that I see this continue.”
McKale wasn’t the only police officer who spoke passionately about the need to keep pushing the cause of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
The Prince Albert Police Service had some members of its leadership team present. While Chief Troy Cooper wasn’t available, Inspectors Jon Bergen and Jason Stonechild, as well as cold case and missing persons investigator Sgt. Ryan Levesque, stood shoulder to shoulder with other attendees.
“When there’s a missing person, there’s never enough we can do until that person is found,” Bergen said.
Prince Albert Police Services Insp. Jonathan Bergen speaks at a vigil for missing and murdered Indigenous Women on October 4, 2017 in Prince Albert. (Peter Lozinski/Daily Herald)
“We don’t close these cases. I can’t imagine what the family experiences, because they can’t shut it off.”
For the Prince Albert Police, the importance of dealing with this issue starts at the top.
“It’s a community issue, and the police are a big part of this community,” Said public liaison officer Sgt. Travis Willie, who was also in attendance.
“This is very important to Chief Cooper and our police service. We need to be involved, and we want to be involved and work with the families and friends.”
Organizers, who included Insp. McKale and local volunteer Sheryl Kimbley, were pleased with the turnout, but hope to increase the number of participants in future years.
“This is something we all really wanted to get behind,” Kimbley said. This is something we want to do in a very big way next year. In Prince Albert, it hits us very close to home. We are still searching for so many of our loved ones.”
While Oct. 4 was recognized nationally as a day to remember those who are missing and murdered, this week also marks the six-month anniversary of the disappearance of Happy Charles.
Cases like that of Charles help illustrate how the whole community is affected when someone goes missing.
“I don’t think there is anybody who isn’t touched when somebody goes missing,” said Prince Albert YWCA CEO Donna Brooks.
“I know our employees at the YWCA work with the women and work with their families. For example, Happy Charles was a client of ours. Every time a client goes missing, or passes away or is murdered, it takes a piece of our staff.”
Once the speeches and reflections were over, the attendees lit candles and placed them on a table in the centre of the room in the shape of a cross.
A woman places a candle as a part of a vigil for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls on October 4, 2017 in Prince Albert. (Peter Lozinski/Daily Herald)
The gesture was an act of remembrance of those missing or murdered and their families. But the event was about a lot more than just acknowledging the impact of MMIWG. It was also about acknowledging shortcomings, celebrating successes and building for the future.
As of Wednesday, the RCMP is handling 35 open cases of missing or murdered women and girls from northern Saskatchewan. That’s an increase over last year. The Prince Albert police have also seen a rise in the number of cases.
“We don’t read out the names of out of respect for the people who are missing,” McKale said. “There is a website that lists them, and it is the saddest thing. Our goal is to have it at zero.”
Still, those who have dealt with the issue of MMIWG since a time before it attracted national media attention are pleased with how far society has come.
Julie Pitzel is the former Aboriginal resource officer with the Prince Albert police. She was on hand as the designated elder at the vigil, offering prayers and comments about how far society has come.
“I’m really glad for the way people in this country, our province and our community of Prince Albert have brought this issue up so it’s highlighted,” she said. “We have more communication to support families,. We have people giving tips to (police). The awareness is there. The way we handle the cases has improved.”
But Pitzel also said there is still lots of work to be done. “What’s missing is having respect. It’s all based on respect for other people. That’s why we have vigils like this.”
Friendship centre executive director Janet Carriere said the only way to tackle the problem is as a community.
“When we talk about family, we usually talk about the biological family, but we forget the family of friends. At the friendship centre, we have people who come to our doors everyday, and they are indeed family. When someone goes missing or is murdered, I think a lot of people have written them off. They’ are people doing the best they can,” she said.
“As a community, we have to come together to support them. If we do that, maybe we’ll be helping with some of the addictions and problems in our community and making it a healthier environment.
If we come together as a community, as a family, we can make it a better place to live every single day.”
Arts Hall of Fame Ceremony a chance to reflect on community’s support and passion for the arts
Saturday night was a night to honour builders, volunteers and organizations dedicated to the arts.
The annual Prince Albert Arts Hall of Fame Induction Gala was held that night, on the stage of the E.A. Rawlinson Centre for the Arts.
But what was intended as a night to celebrate three notable contributors to the local arts scene became something much more. It became a celebration of the Prince Albert community and of the arts family.
This year’s inductees included the Prince Albert Council for the Arts, which built the groundwork for the bustling arts environment we have today; volunteer Teena Polle, who can be seen at just about every show ever held at the Rawlinson; and builder Mitch Holash, who was instrumental in the construction and early operation of the Rawlinson Centre itself.
“There is fantastic energy in the room tonight,” said Cheryl Ring, a local potter who introduced the Council for the Arts. “It’s the coming together of the many parts that form a commanding presence in Prince Albert – the arts community.”
Fittingly, the Council for the Arts has been around for 50 years, and celebrated that milestone with the induction ceremony Saturday. Even the other inductees spoke about how much the council has contributed to Prince Albert.
“One thing I know for sure, art changes lives,” Ring said.
“Whether you are a maker of art or an art tourist collecting gems to satisfy an innate need to surround oneself with beauty, art changes lives. Everyone in this room tonight has contributed to nourishing our local art community For that I thank you and salute you. Thank you Prince Albert Council for the Arts.”
Local artist Cheryl Ring speaks at the 2017 Prince Albert Arts Hall of Fame induction ceremony on September 30, 2017. (Peter Lozinski/Daily Herald)
Holash also spoke about the council’s contributions.
“The Prince Albert Council for the Arts has a long and storied history in this community encouraging and fostering the artistic enterprise and appreciation of … artistic talent in days long before there was an arts board,” he said.
“The council has been a bedrock and foundation for all community building done in the arts. All that’s been done in more recent years owed substantially, considerably to your enterprise the legacy of the arts council is wonderful.”
Prince Albert Council for the Arts co-chairs Lorraine Brokop (left) and Annette Nieman (middle) pose with Arts Board chair Roxanne Dicke during the 2017 Prince Albert Arts Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Peter Lozinski)
Next up was Polle. Polle was a long-time volunteer member of the Prince Albert Arts Board. She helped get the Rawlinson centre built, and once it opened, has faithfully and enthusiastically volunteered for shows of all kinds.
“She’s everywhere,” said Arts Board chair Roxanne Dicke. “it doesn’t mater where you go. There’s Teena. I’ve seen her manage incredible crowds and not even break a sweat. She doesn’t do it because she wants to be recognized, which is exactly why we should be recognizing her. She is a true gift to our city. Volunteers make the world go round. Volunteers like Teena are hard to find.”
It took Polle a while to even consider herself a worthy recipient.
“A friend told me that since this is the first ever awad in the volunteer category, I should call myself the lucky trailblazer,” Polle said.
“Throughout my life I have been blessed with love of music, song and performance. I applaud all those many individuals and businesses for making the Rawlinson centre become the heart of the community, and best of all, opening the door for volunteers to flourish.”
The night was extra special for Polle, who had a friend come all the way from San Antonio for the ceremony. They found each other in eighth grade through the pen pal section of their church Sunday school paper.
“After my nomination was made, she was the first one to email back and say ‘I’ll be there,’” Polle said.
“To me, that was really a true sign of friendship. It was a real highlight to have her present.”
Prince Albert Arts Hall of Fame inductee Teena Polle listens to remarks during the night of her induction on September 30, 2017. (Peter Lozinski/Daily Herald)
While it took Polle a while to acknowledge herself worthy of the hall of fame honour, others, like fellow inductee Holash, had no such trouble.
“You couldn’t have made a more perfect selection for the hall of fame,” he said. “She has volunteered at every level of artistic performance in this community. Teena, you embody the very best of the spirit of the arts and the community of Prince Albert we embrace and cherish here.”
Like Polle, Holash initially had some reservations about his induction into the hall of fame.
“I was very pleased, but a little embarrassed, because I know the project I’m being associated with was something done not by one person, but by a great number of people, a wonderful team of people,” he said.
Holash was the first chair of the arts board when it was formed in 1995. He faced a huge task, and a controversial one.
“We knew our first order of business was creating something that had proven impossible by several early initiatives,” he said.
“We were challenged by then-mayor Don Cody and some of our other divided city council, to embrace and carry forward a very controversial and divisive community priority. We were to create, on a shoestring, and in a politically charged and fiscally challenged environment, a state of the art visual and performing arts centre.”
That project would become the Rawlinson Centre. It was fitting, then, that Holash’s induction came on the stage of the facility he worked so hard to build.
“This is my favourite place,” Holash said.
MItch Holash speaks at his induction into the Prince Albert Arts Hall of Fame on September 30, 2017. (Peter Lozinski/Daily Herald)
“I climbed in my sorrels up 80 feet to the temporary roof of the fly tower in this place before it had any walls. In this building I’ve watched my children and bride perform, and I’ve even challenged myself on stage a couple of times. We have hosted a prime minister and a prince in this building, and we’ve buried a very dear, dear friend from this building. This is the building, unfortunately my mother never got to see, but whose picture is carried in my father’s jacket pocket at every single performance he has ever been at.
“(My wife) and I celebrate this place as a success of very many friends. My family is forever indebted to all of you, and to this community, for what we have built here.”
That thing the community has built is more than just a building. That was evident Saturday night. It is a family that lives for the arts.
“It was a beautiful evening put together by the Prince Albert Arts Board,” said Lorraine Brokop, Prince Albert Council for the Arts co-chair.
“I think the honour is empowering to the arts community and to us as individuals who volunteer on a regular basis. We’ve tried to put the emphasis on community development. It’s not often we get a big group like this together in a celebratory mode. You can feel the energy and the smiles are abundant. We provided tonight that we need to continue this momentum.
Charlotte Cabaniss, Polle’s friend from San Antonio, was blown away by the community spirit she saw Saturday night.
“I came because Teena was going to be honoured, but I’m going away with a love for this city. I now love Prince Albert, because of what people do to make the community a giving one, a performing one, to give joy. I saw the very best of people tonight.”
Holash, in his impassioned speech, may have said it best. He referenced the plaque installed when the Rawlinson Centre was opened.
It reads: “We leave this legacy in faith that our children and friends will treasure here the quality of the human spirit and dance through life.”
“My family thanks you tonight for sharing this honour,” Holash said.
“And especially, for what we’ve accomplished here in Prince Albert, as friends.”
The Prince Albert RCMP have laid charges against a 34-year-old Prince Albert woman in connection with a fatal hit and run from September 8.
Patricia Lee Sewap has been charged with failing to remain at the scene of an accident causing death and public mischief. She was released from custody and is scheduled for court on October 30.
The incident took place on Highway 2 North, about 4 km north of the city, nearby the wildfire operations centre. A 58-year-old man from Montreal Lake was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators described it as a case of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle.
The investigation was completed with assistance from the Prince Albert RCMP General Investigation Section.
A 17-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with impaired driving.
On Oct. 3 at 9:39 p.m., officers were dispatched to a Reported Impaired Driver (RID) call of a grey SUV swerving across the road. Officers located the vehicle on 15 Street East and Sixth Avenue East stopped and waiting to turn left. Officers pulled in front of the vehicle.
The police approached the driver and observed that he was heavily intoxicated. He was arrested and brought back to cells.
The teen refused to provide a breathalyzer sample. The Prince Albert youth has been charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle and refusing to provide a breath sample. He is due in court today.
Lucy Maud Montgomery spent a year in P.A., a year that would prove important to her later in life. A new book explores the life of the teen, and her adventures in Prince Albert.
In 1890 a 15-year-old girl moved to Prince Albert from Cavendish, PEI.
Her mother had died when she was just 21 months old. She had been away from her father since she was 11, when he headed west to fight in the Riel Resistance.
She had lived with her grandparents, and was young, bookish and ambitious.
Her hope was she would finally be part of a family – with her father, his new wife, and their family in their home at what is now Central Avenue and 11th Street East.
The Montgomery home, where Lucy Maud Montgomery spent part of her teen years, was once located on this Prince Albert corner. (Peter Lozinski/Daily Herald)
Things didn’t quite work out that way.
That 15-year-old lgirl left a year later, but in the time in between she went to high school, fell in love with the city and a boy in town, became a published writer in the local newspaper and became a young woman.
That woman was Lucy Maud Montgomery.
“Montgomery came here a very young girl, and she becomes a woman here,” said Melanie Fishbane, author of Maud, a fictionalized account of Montgomery’s teen years.
“This is the place she grows up, this is where she does her first writing, true writing. This is where she is first published. I truly think Prince Albert was the fodder for future writing.”
While fans of Montgomery are well versed in her history in P.A., not everyone is aware of how important it was in her life. Fishbane describes them as her formative years. She describes how she falls in love with the city, which Montgomery described as having a “medieval” flare. Montgomery also described the landscape with rolling hills, open spaces and winding rivers as “a western Eden.”
All of this is described in Montgomery’s journals, letters, poems and essays. She was a meticulous note-taker, writing in journals from the time she was nine. She actually kept all those journals, and they have since been published.
Fishbane read each of these journals, as well as dozens of poems, hundreds of short stories and all of Montgomery’s 21 novels. It was an obsession from an early age.
Fishbane, like Montgomery, kept a detailed journal. She started when she was 12, to deal with the emotions of growing up and going through puberty as a (self-described) overweight girls with “that hair” and “those horrible braces.”
Her love for stories, history and reading started with Little House on the Prairie. Fishbane would watch it with her mother.
“My mother was kind of in love with Michael Landon,” she said.
When she was about 7, Fishbane’s parents bought her the book series. Seeing the name of the author, and discovering it was actually a real person with a real family and a real life, was life-changing.
“I read everything, I possibly could about her,” Fishbane said. “ There’s always more. There are a lot more letters and writing and all this stuff that has been coming out. I read everything. I still do.”
Fishbane’s love of all things Laura Ingalls Wilder extended to the actors who played the roles on TV. She followed the career of Melissa Gilbert, which led her to Anne Frank and Helen Keller.
Eventually, Fishbane discovered Anne of Green Gables. That was around the same time she started journaling. The character of Anne spoke to her.
“She was not wanted, and she charms everyone into falling in love with her,” Fishbane said. “She survives, she is a survivor.”
Fishbane did what she had done with Laura Ingalls Wilder and read everything she possibly could about Montgomery. She started when she was 13, and never stopped. She wrote her first L.M. Montgomery paper in second-year university.
She has since written essays about Montgomery, and about Wilder. But then, she turned to her big project, Maud.
“When I got the opportunity to do this work, which was all of the things I love about writing historical fiction, I also had to keep in mind that L.M. Montgomery is well-loved, and (Anne of Green Gables) is what people think of when they think of her,” Fishbane said.
“How do you take this, and create a character that is authentic and part of history, but also an individual resident for the book I’m writing?”
On top of reading all of Montgomery’s journals in detail, backwards and forwards, Fishbane also visited the places that were important to her life. Her visit to P.A. was particularly enlightening. She even re-wrote a scene when she realized the character would have been walking up a hill, not down it.
“It was that specific,” Fishbane said. “It was great that I was here.”
She also made an effort to talk to family members of the real people who influenced Montgomery’s life. She also, of course, visited the places Montgomery frequented, like the building that is now the On the Avenue art gallery, located on the same corner the Montgomery house stood, or the Royal Hotel, which was once Montgomery’s high school.
In essence, Fishbane had to get inside Montgomery’s head. She even tried to mimic her prose. When Fishbane read excerpts from her book and from Montgomery’s journals, the similarities were striking.
Melanie Fishbane shows off the chart she used to plot her book, Maud. (Peter Lozinski/Daily Herald)
Fishbane, in fact, may be the person who knows teenage Maud the best.
“I like to think that,” she said. “At least in terms of her as a teenager, I feel like I have a really good sense of her.”
The book itself was released back in April, and consists of three parts – P.A. is the second section, bookended by two years in P.E.I. It chronicles Maud’s life from the time she is 14 -17 years old.
So far, it has been well received.
“There have been some really good reviews,” Fishbane said. “I get a lot of lovely reader comments.” The book was also chosen by the Hamilton Public Library as their next top novel, a contest where teens chose their favourite new book.
“Maud won, so that’s really exciting.”
Fishbane hopes that people come away from her book with an appreciation of the importance of Maud’s teen years, and especially those spent in Prince Albert.
“It was a significant year. The year from 15 to 16 is significant. She talks about coming back to Cavendish and people not recognizing her,” Fishbane said.
“She expanded here. I think it’s a significant year in her young life. That’s what I’m hoping, that people will come away with that. I’m glad to be here to be able to talk about it.”
While Maud is one of many books, fictional and non, that explore Montgomery’s life, Fishbane thinks Montgomery’s legacy is only growing.
“She could be Canada’s Jane Austen,” Fishbane said, after an audience member in her talk suggested the equivalency. “I think she’d really like that, because she was a big fan of Austen. Hopefully, unlike Austen, it doesn’t take 200 years for her legacy to be recognized.”
It likely won’t. Anne of Green Gables has never been out of print, and it’s been translated into 36 languages. In fact, none of Montgomery’s books have ever been out of print in Canada. She’s beloved across the country, and around the world.
“She’s big in Japan,” Fishbane said.
Montgomery has become one of Canada’s most widely read authors. And she got her start in Prince Albert.
The long-time paramedic has been a part of Prince Albert for years. But what many may not know is he also serves his country as a member of the army reserves.
Chief Warrant Officer Bellisle has been with the North Saskatchewan Regiment, a light infantry reserve unit based in Prince Albert and Saskatoon, for 24 years. During that time he’s met his wife, made lifelong friendships and served two tours of duty overseas. For Bellisle, it’s all about service.
“I joined the military because I wanted to serve my country,” Bellisle said. “I thought about it on a national level. Since high school, I have served my community as a paramedic, municipally and provincially, and nationally as a soldier.”
Bellisle had multiple opportunities to transfer over to the regular force, but he’s happy to stay in the reserves.
“This is my regiment, this is my family,” he said. “I met my wife here, my son is now in the regiment, and I’ve got a lot of brothers and sisters in the regiment. They’re not my blood brothers, but we’re all family.” The North Saskatchewan Regiment, which trains out of the Prince Albert armoury, was one of dozens of units from across the country that opened their doors to the public for an open house Saturday. The event was meant to show people what other community members can do, in an effort to recruit more to join their cause.
The local unit had their weaponry and a vehicle on display, as well as other gear. They also held demonstrations of their training. Using blanks, they navigated through obstacles as they closed on an enemy combatant.
That’s just one of the ways the group trains twice a week.
A member of the North Saskatchewan Regiment throws a mock grenade at an enemy encampment during a training exercise on September 30, 2017. (Peter Lozinski/Daily Herald)
“All of our soldiers are trained to operate these firearms and operate these support weapons in the conduct of their duties,” said company commander Capt. Kurt Luchia, pointing to the demonstration table where the firearms were lined up. There was a C9 light machine gun, the section support weapon, the C7A2 service rifle as well as one with an M203 grenade launcher attachment. On the far right side of the table was the Carl Gustav, an anti-armour weapon that looks like a bazooka but fires like a rifle. On the floor nearby was other equipment, including gas masks and other personal equipment. The unit was also sampling some of their freeze-dried meals, which surprisingly tasted like the real thing.
“Typically, as a light infantry unit, we do our work on our feet, and we do that in courses and training abroad,” Luchia explained.
It’s a misconception that reservists don’t deploy. Several members of the North Saskatchewan Regiment in Prince Albert have been on missions.
“We just had five soldiers deployed to British Columbia for the forest fires,” Luchia said. “Five soldiers, straight from Prince Albert, getting to help other Canadians.”
One of those soldiers was Cpl. Kevin Tourond. He’s been with the unit for six years, but the wildfire mission was his first deployment.
“It was a new experience for me,” he said. “It was my first domestic deployment. Hopefully not my last.”
Tourond was in B.C. for just over two weeks, clearing hot spots and helping pack up hoses. Other members of the team were pulling sprinklers off the line and monitoring water pumps.
Tourond said it was “surreal” being in the aftermath of a wildfire like that.
“It was very different training that what I’d done before. It was a totally new experience,” he said.
“What I got from it was keep an eye on your fire and be vigilant all the time.”
As the soldiers of the North Saskatchewan Regiment train for anything, they become one big family. That’s a key part of being part of the regiment, Bellisle explained.
“We are taught very early that company and unit or regiment means family. That’s one of the main things we’ve embraced with everyone who has come into the company,” he said.
“We’ve deployed together, we’ve done some very challenging things together on exercises and operations at home and abroad. Having each other together has been what’s able to get everyone through it.”
Bellisle knew the regiment had his back when he went to Bosnia to augment the Princess Patricia ‘s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) second battalion in 1997, and then again with the PPCLI in Afghanistan as a part of the provincial reconstruction team from Sept. 2009 until May 2010.
“It’s like you didn’t leave,” Bellisle said. “We were still receiving information, care packages and emailing back and forth. It’s easier to deploy because I know I have guys back home checking in and making sure my kids are okay.”
One of the other things the regiment does to support its own is shovel driveways of deployed members in the winter, so they don’t have to worry about how the family is going to handle a big dump of snow.
We did it for other people when they deployed. You’re just looking after the guys,” Bellisle said.
The family affair can at times be literal. Along with his son, another member’s child has also gone on to join the army.
“I’m extremely proud that my son’s come through here. Here’s grown up seeing it,” he said.
“Knowing I joined the military when I was their age and now, 25 years later they are coming in behind us, it’s a proud moment.”
Every Monday, a few dozen amateur artists get together on the first floor of the Prince Albert Arts Centre and paint. They come from a variety of backgrounds and use a variety of media, painting a variety of subjects. The only common thread is their love of painting.
The local arts group, Studio 1010, is showing their latest work at the John V. Hicks gallery for the month of October. The show includes a diverse display of acrylic, oil, watercolour, pastel and encaustic pieces, reflecting the variety of the artists themselves. The opening reception is Saturday at 2 p.m.
All works are for sale through Studio 1010 members.
One of the painters in the show, Shirley Markell, takes art lessons in the US when she winters down south. She used the show the exhibit one of her latest works using a technique she learned in the states.
“I am working on a new technique, it’s a pouring and blending method,” Markell said.
“I’m enjoying using the three primary colours, and enjoying something new. It’s not a traditional style of painting.”
The pouring and blending method consists of Markell pouring primary colours and letting them flow into each other. In one piece, she blew through straws to help spread the paint around.
“We let the paints do most of the work. Watercolour continues to work on the page, and oftentimes the paints paint themselves.”
For more on this story, please see the October 4 print or e-edition of the Daily Herald.
Together, they’ve performed for the Queen, for the Kennedys, alongside Chuck Berry and the Supremes and as openers for the Rolling Stones.
Now, this accomplished group of musicians is touring the country and playing classics spanning several genres from Canadian musicians throughout the years.
The show is called Oh, Canada, We Sing for Thee, and it’s hitting the Rawlinson Centre stage Monday.
“We’re doing a 28-city tour right across Canada from Vancouver Island all the way to Glace Bay,” said executive producer and performer Leisa Way.
“It’s a show that celebrates all the best of Canadian music and songwriters. It’s really amazing because the audience knows just about every song in the show, and they sing along from pop and rock and folk and country. It’s a little bit of everything. Everybody’s favourite artists.”
The Canada-themed show came together a few years ago. The prospect of Canada 150 wasn’t even on Way’s mind.
She had assembled this talented group of musicians when it was suggested they should take a look at some Canadian classics.
“I have incredible musicians with me that I handpicked,” Way said. “Not only are they fantastic musicians, they are solo artists and singers on their own, so they can carry the show singing and playing.”
The guitarist has played backup for Vince Gill, the Supremes and Chuck Berry. The arranger and pianist has opened for the Rolling Stones, and was a pianist on the Tommy Hunter Show.
“He was a studio player for many, many years,” Way said. “This is his first time touring the country. He’s almost 70 years old and he’s amazing. He’s having more fun than anybody else on the tour.”
About two years ago a director Way had worked with on previous shows suggested the Canadian concert.
“I wrote it and it debuted near Ottawa, which was kind of cool,” Way said. “It was the audience reaction that was so overwhelming. They all said ‘Canada 150 is coming up, I hope you’re taking this across the country.’”
Audience feedback in hand, Way went to work planning the tour. It took 18 months of planning, contacting venues and getting the word out. Eventually, Way had more interested venues than she could accommodate. But she wanted to make sure she didn’t just hit the big cities.
“I come from a small town, and I know that a lot of smaller communities don’t get to see some of the big shows that come through,” she said.
“I wanted this show to go everywhere, so that people would have a chance to see it. It’s the kind of show that makes everyone proud.”
While the show features the music of some big Canadian names, such as Gordon Lightfood, Paul Anka, Celine Dion, Michael Bublé, the Guess Who and Steppenwolf, it’s not just a collection of music. Way wanted to include stories about each of the artists to tie the show together…
The show is Monday at the Rawlinson Centre, 7:30 p.m. tickets are $25 and available at the box office.
For more on this story, please see the October 4 print or e-edition of the Daily Herald.
SGI is reminding Saskatchewan drivers to put their phone away while they’re driving.
Police are cracking down on distracted driving in October as a part of the traffic safety spotlight. Throughout the province, police will be using a variety of tactics to catch distracted driving, including surveillance from unmarked vehicles and plainclothes officers on the sidewalks. Regina police will have officers watching for distracted drivers from city buses.
Police will be on the lookout for people using handheld cellphones to talk, text, email or browse the web while driving.
But SGI is warning drivers that distracted driving isn’t limited to cellphone use.
“Drivers are still not getting the message,” said superintendent Brian Shalovelo of the Saskatoon Police in a news release. “If you are in control of a vehicle anything that takes your attention away from the road is dangerous. If someone says they were picking up a CD on the floor when they lost control, that is distracted driving. Changing the radio station, smoking a cigarette, reading a map or your mail, these are all examples of how a driver can be distracted. We’ve even seen people watching Netflix while driving.”
Distracted driving was a factor in 8,300 collisions last year. In Saskatchewan, it is illegal for drivers to use, view, hold or manipulate a cellphone while driving. If you’re holding a cellphone and not using it, you can still be charged.
Experienced drivers can use a cellphone if it is mounted to their visor or dash, and they use voice-activated or one-touch functions. Learner and novice drivers are not allowed to us a cellphone of any kind, not even hands-free.
The penalty for distracted driving is a $280 fine and four demerit points. Drivers caught using their cellphone while driving for a second time within one year will have their vehicle seized for seven days.
“The average car or lightweight truck weighs over four thousand pounds,” said Chief Evan Bray, Regina Police Service in a news release.
“That is two tons of comfort and convenience to get you to your destination…or it’s two tons of steel and glass that can take your life, or someone else’s, if you lose control. Is there any text message, photo or music selection in the world that could be more important than a human life?”
SGI also provided a list of tips to drive free of distractions:
Don’t use your cellphone, even at a red light – the law applies whenever you’re in control of a vehicle.
Put the phone away – silence your phone and put it out of reach before getting behind the wheel.
Focus on driving – limit distractions like eating, grooming, or having emotional conversations with passengers.
Have a designated texter – let your passenger reply to messages and operate the radio and GPS.
Pull over first – if you need to make a call or take care of children or pets, don’t do it while driving.
Call out friends and family – if you see them using a cellphone behind the wheel, speak up! It may save their life.
The traffic safety focus for August was impaired driving. Police reported 390 impaired driving offences, including 334 Criminal Code charges. Police also reported 4,243 tickets for speeding or aggressive driving, 360 tickets for inappropriate or no seatbelt/child restraint and 459 tickets for distracted driving, including 342 for cellphone use.
