Repping the red and white

Peter Lozinski
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Repping the red and white

Donning the maple leaf is nothing more than a dream for most young hockey players.

But for Prince Albert’s Kaitlin Willoughby, that dream has become reality.

Willoughby is one of 2,000 international athletes from 55 countries between the ages of 17 and 28 headed to Almaty, Kazakhstan for the 2017 Universiade Winter Games.

The Universiade is held by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), and is hosted every two years. A total of 171 countries from five continents are members of the FISU.

Willoughby, who plays with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, is representing Canada as a member of the women’s hockey team. The team’s faith in her is high, as she’s been chosen as one of the assistant captains.

“It means a lot to me,” Willoughby said Wednesday from Kazakhstan when reached by Skype. “Ever since I was a kid it’s been a dream to wear a maple leaf and play for the Canadian Women’s team. That’s always been a goal of mine, and a second goal is to bring home a gold medal. That’s what we’re here to do.”

Team Canada coach Rachel Flanagan said Willoughby was chosen as an assistant captain for the leadership she showed at selection camp.

“We were able to get to know Kaitlin a little bit this summer in Calgary. She brings a lot of energy to our room,” Flanagan said.

“She’s very good at what she does on the ice, but off the ice we feel she’s a vocal leader and she’s really good at keeping the group together.”

For more on this story, please see the Jan. 26 print or e-edition of the Prince Albert Daily Herald.

Talking about Let’s Talk Day

Peter Lozinski
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Talking about Let’s Talk Day

Today is Bell Let’s Talk Day.

The annual event encourages everyone to open up and share their struggles with mental illness, from everyday people to prominent celebrities.

When people Text, call, Tweet, Instagram, view a Facebook video or use a certain Snapchat geofilter, Bell contributed 5 cents more to mental health initiatives.

My personal feelings on Let’s Talk Day are mixed.

I have struggled with mental health issues for much of my young life.

I’ve been in counselling or therapy four times.

I take medication daily for anxiety. I went off it at one point in time and it did not go so well for me.

I deal with high-functioning anxiety. While outwardly calm, there are times inside I’m barely holding it together.

And that’s okay.

So, on one hand, I’m a huge fan of Let’s Talk Day. More money for mental health initiatives is never a bad thing.

Also, seeing all of these people come out of the woodwork to talk about how mental illness has touched them will only serve to normalize these issues for so long we have been afraid of talking about.

Of course Let’s Talk Day is important.

But that brings me to the reason I’m lukewarm on Let’s Talk Day.

Without minimizing the positive impacts this day has, it’s important to ensure the progress, discussion and support goes beyond one day.

There’s lots of evidence we don’t do nearly good enough a job the rest of the year.

Take the Victoria Hospital.

When the Elks and Royal Purple Elks moved from supporting the dialysis unit to supporting the mental health wing, the nurses on the mental health unit were overjoyed. No one had thought to help out that part of the hospital before.

Then there’s the hoops anyone with mental health issues has to jump through anywhere in this country to get help. Need someone to talk to any other day of the year? Good luck finding professional help.

Further, there’s the mental health crisis in the north. Northern leaders say they’re doing everything they can, but they don’t have the resources they need to make a lasting difference in their communities.

Political leaders express their dismay, or their condolences, but programs or long-term support rarely follow.

Lastly there’s our treatment of those struggling with addiction.

I’ve written about it before, but it’s worth saying again – addiction, including alcoholism, is a mental health issue.

Treating those with addiction as pariahs of our society won’t do anyone any good.

So celebrate Let’s Talk Day today. It’s a great initiative.

But don’t forget about all the work we need to do the rest of the year.

Spirits high at annual beer-tasting fundraiser

Peter Lozinski
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Spirits high at annual beer-tasting fundraiser

Mann Art Gallery pleased with turnout at sixth annual Wolf Back a Beer event

The beer was flowing and the music was pumping Friday night at the E. A. Rawlinson Centre as the Mann Art Gallery hosted their sixth annual Wolf Back a Beer fundraiser.

This was the first year the fundraiser wasn’t for the wolf sculpture, as it was installed in 2016. But the fundraiser is still a major event for the gallery, a means to raise some money for supplies and other costs to continue supporting the local arts community.

While the total funds raised have yet to be calculated, Mann Art Gallery director/curator Jesse Campbell was pleased with the turnout.

“It was probably our smoothest event to date,” Campbell said, laughing, when reached by phone Monday.

“It was strong all around, from the music, to the food, to the beverages of course. The atmosphere was fun and everyone was having a good time.”

The gallery had 26 beers available for tasting, including offerings from two Saskatchewan-based breweries, Prairie Sun and 9 Mile Legacy, as well as several beers from Calgary-based Big Rock Brewery. An additional selection of international beers, ciders and wines were also being sampled throughout the night.

For more on this story, please see the Jan. 24 print or e-edition of the Daily Herald.

PADBID warns of fraudulent cheques

Peter Lozinski
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PADBID warns of fraudulent cheques

The Prince Albert Downtown Business Improvement District (PADBID) is warning businesses that a lady has been using PADBID cheques in downtown stores.

According to an email sent late Friday, Conexus has confirmed three cheques have been cashed between Dec. 18, 2016 and Jan. 17, 2017.

About 1,000 PADBID cheques have gone missing.

PADBID is unsure whether the cheques went missing before or during their December office relocation.

The organization is advising businesses to be diligent in not accepting third party cheques.

According to PADBID, police are investigating and have issued a warrant for a known individual involved.

The Credit Union is putting into effect special measures on PADBID cheque clearing.

PADBID is asking anyone who has been defrauded to contact city police, as well as PADBID and the Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce.

Police investigating knife-brandishing thief

Peter Lozinski
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Police investigating knife-brandishing thief

The police are investigating a pair of incidents from Thursday morning where a man with a knife approached people demanding money.

As reported in Friday’s Daily Herald, in the first incident at about 10:40 a.m., an unknown man approached an employee from Conexus Credit Union who was outside on a break. The man brandished a knife and demanded money. A witness reported that the man poked the woman in the arm with the knife. She did not cooperate with the suspect, and was able to get to safety without being harmed. The unknown suspect fled without any money.

While police were still in the area investigating the offence, a second similar incident was reported. This time, a man was approached by an unknown man who produced a knife and demanded money.

The victim gave the suspect a small amount of change, and then the suspect fled.

Police were unable to locate the suspect and are continuing to investigate.

The Prince Albert Police were unable to comment as to whether the incidents are related.

Neither victim was injured.

Anyone with any information about these crimes is asked to contact the Prince Albert Police Service at 306-953-4222 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Upcoming library workshop to discuss warning signs and risk factors associated with dementia

Peter Lozinski
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Upcoming library workshop to discuss warning signs and risk factors associated with dementia

Those wanting to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, but who weren’t able to attend last week’s discussion put on by the Senior’s Advocacy Centre, will have another chance Tuesday evening.

Explore Lifelong Learning and the John M. Cuelenaere Public Library are putting on a workshop called Understanding Dementia with Hannah Buckie.

Buckie, a first link coordinator with the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan said the presentation will be very similar to the one given last week.

“We talk about the different kinds of dementia that are most commonly seen, and we talk about the difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s,” she said.

“That’s something people often get confused about. They use the terms (Alzheimer’s and dementia) interchangeably, but in reality the terms mean different things.”

Another big focus on the presentation, and a focus during January, as it’s Alzheimer’s month, is on the ten warning signs.

The free presentation begins on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Diabetes rates on the rise

Peter Lozinski
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Diabetes rates on the rise

Diabetes rates will continue to skyrocket across Saskatchewan, which could prove costly if the government doesn’t step up to help.

That’s the finding of the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA).

In a recent report, the CDA said the number of people living with diabetes in Saskatchewan is expected to hit 100,000 in 2017, up from 97,000 in 2016.

In addition, 176,000 are expected to be living with prediabetes and another 43,000 with undiagnosed diabetes.

In other words, about over 25 per cent of the province (using 2014 population estimates) is estimated to be living with diabetes or prediabetes.

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body cannot produce insulin or cannot properly use the insulin it produces. This leads to high levels of blood sugar, which can result in serious complications.

In prediabetes, a person’s blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

According to the CDA, nearly half of those with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes.

The CDA also says diabetes results in $99.8 million in direct health care costs provincially, including hospitalizations, doctor visits and inpatient medications.

 

For more on this story, please see the Jan. 18 print or e-edition of the Daily Herald.

Curling Across the Nation stops in P.A.

Peter Lozinski
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Curling Across the Nation stops in P.A.

It may have been frigid outside, but at ice level at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club Thursday spirits were high as an initiative united curlers across Canada stopped by for an evening game.

Rob Swan is a man on a mission to curl at every club nationwide.

He is currently traversing Saskatchewan as a part of his endeavour to raise awareness for his favourite sport, while raising funds to replace his aging home curling club in the small village of Harvey Station, NB.

P.A. was the third stop of the day for Swan, who is playing several games per day, every day, at several clubs in Saskatchewan.

He started with an early morning game in Candle Lake, where it was -36 Celsius outside and -5 at ice level. Then, he headed to Christopher Lake before finishing with his stop in P.A.

For more on this story, please see the jan. 14 edition of the Daily Herald.

Police release details of city’s largest cocaine busts

Peter Lozinski
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Police release details of city’s largest cocaine busts

The largest cocaine bust in Prince Albert history took place last August and took more than $1 million of pure cocaine off the street. It took police more than four months to track down the six people responsible. Yesterday, they revealed the details of the drug seizure.

On Aug. 18 police responded to a report from management of an apartment building in the 1400 block of 28 Street East. Management had entered an unoccupied apartment and found what they believed to be evidence of drugs and packaging material.

When police arrived to investigate they found 11.25 kg of cocaine, including eight 1 kg bricks of high-grade cocaine, as well as a quantity of crack cocaine.

They also found several kg of two cutting agents, Procaine and Phenacetin a cocaine press, a vacuum sealer, a scale, a safe and drug packaging material.

Procaine, one of the cutting agents found, is a white, powdery substance used as a local anaesthetic. It mimics the effects of cocaine.

Phenacetin is a painkiller banned in Canada in the early 1970s due to its links to cancer and kidney damage.

The safe had some of the crack cocaine inside.

After several months of investigation, six people were charged with possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking:

  • Trevor McKay, 27, due in court Jan. 20
  • Darci Stene, 25, due in court April 10
  • Shaid Heimbecker, 19, due in court March 29
  • Madison Kaso, 25, due in court Jan. 10
  • Rose Hunter, 22, due in court March 29
  • And Kelsey Bear, who is still at large and wanted by police.

For more on this story please see the Jan. 10 print or e-edition of the Daily Herald.

Province should proceed with caution in health reform

Peter Lozinski
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The Province of Saskatchewan has announced plans to centralize and consolidate the 12 regional health authorities into one provincial body.

Many cheered the decision, saying it would mean less money for administration.

Others criticized it, saying it would result in job losses and poorer care.

Saskatchewan isn’t the first province to go down this road.

Alberta has been experimenting with different levels of consolidation or un-consolidation for several years.

While a short time ago they moved to more centralization, recently, they’ve been looking to undo that trend.

That’s not just an NDP initiative. The former ruling PCs were looking at it too.

The reason was simple. The centralized system wasn’t working because, especially in smaller communities, needs weren’t being met.

There’s no question that health care is very expensive. The government is right to look at ways we can save money on administration so more can be directed to patient care.

However, the jury is still out on whether centralization has that effect.

As the Alberta experiments showed, the needs of smaller communities can become lost when all the power is centralized in the provincial capital.

But that’s not the only concern.

The province-run ambulance system is hugely unpopular in communities of all sizes. The major urban centres don’t like it any more than the smaller cities and little towns. And those smaller municipalities? They hate the system.

The reason is in the Alberta model, ambulances are seen geographically as serving centres, even if their paid, operated, and staffed by individual municipalities.

So if the province needs to reallocate some ambulances due to a patient transfer, a smaller community’s sole full-time ambulance could be down the road elsewhere, leaving no staffed vehicle within a 20-30 minute radius.

That 20-30 minutes can be a matter of life or death. And sometimes, ambulances would take 40 minutes or longer to respond to a scene of an accident, in a community as large as 16,000 residents.

Switching back to Saskatchewan, the province wants to have the new health authority in place by this fall. That seems awhile away, but to overhaul the most complex, and arguably most important, provincial system, is a huge job.

The EMS plan looks like the first priority after that transition.

While this could be the transformational change the Sask Party is hoping for, it could also be the biggest disaster the provincial health care system has ever seen.

We’re not saying it’s going to go one way or another.

We are saying that the province should take its time to make sure this is done right.

Rushing into a new system, even if it is a good system, will cause that system to fail.

Our health care isn’t something to experiment on, and it’s not the place for rushed transitions.

We hope the province takes its time through this transition. It’s decided on centralization. Fine. We just want to make sure the health department takes the time it needs to do this right. And that it looks to what other provinces have done so we don’t make the same mistakes others have.

The precedents are there. It’s cliché, but only time will tell if this plan will work.

Let’s take the time to make sure we don’t make any huge mistakes.

 

Daily Herald

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