By Kevin Gilby
CRAIK—Craik town council met Jan. 14 and took care of town business including:
• A representative from Loraas Disposal was present to justify rate increases for waste disposal and changes to their recycling program. Users of the recycling program are now allowed to bag their waste in clear, loosely-tied bags. Mayor Rick Rogers said the fees for waste pickup will only increase by 4 per cent, the maximum agreed upon rate, despite Moose Jaw landfill rates increasing by 61 per cent.
• Don Wilkins, from Girvin, offered to install a point of interest near Highway 11 and the Craik Cemetery. He wishes to place a threshing machine, well-pump, or other vintage machine acknowledging the town’s history.
• The town has placed an order for a new clutch for their grader
• Element Water Systems proposed a solution to the community drinking water.
• RCMP sergeant John Ermel’s introduction to the council was rescheduled for the next town meeting in February
Monthly Archives: January 2015
Recycling rates are on the rise
DAVIDSON—The cost of recycling is going up for Davidson ratepayers this year.
In this month’s newsletter that accompanies water bills the Town of Davidson notified residents of increases in recycling fees.
Commercial recycling customers who use the metal Loraas bins are hardest hit by the increase and will see their recycling fees more than triple. For example, the fee charged for a 4 cubic yard bin that is emptied monthly will go from $17.75 to $59.85 per quarter as the town tries to cover the costs of providing the service.
In November Davidson town council approved a resolution to increase commercial recycling rates.
Mayor Clayton Schneider said when the program started council decided to subsidize commercial users for the first year because the commercial tax rate is 30 per cent more than the residential rate.
“Then, for whatever reason, the commercial rate was never adjusted. Now that our contract with Loraas has been renewed, council made the decision to adjust the commercial rates to where it should have been all along.”
This had cost the town about $12,000 per year.
In its letter to ratepayers, the town states, “We realize that this will be a substantial increase, but the Town of Davidson can no longer afford this subsidy. In fact, the bin fees are closer to what the actual costs should have been since the program began.”
The new rates, outlined in the newsletter, are the first increases since the town contracted with Loraas Disposal Services for recycling three years ago.
Rates for the blue rollout carts, used by residences and some commercial enterprises, will have a more modest increase from $16.35 per quarter to $18.65.
Last fall, Loraas notified the town in the fall that it was changing its service rates “due to an adjustment for Consumer Price Index”. Effective Jan. 1 the service rates for recycling carts would be $5.55 per month and the rates charged for the steel bins would go to $4.45 per cubic yard.
To read more, please see the Jan. 19 print edition of The Davidson Leader.
Shymkiw
The passing of Alma Shymkiw (Bileski) age 81, occurred suddenly on Dec. 18, 2014. Left to cherish her memory are her children, Patricia (Floyd and grandchildren Nathan and Meagan) and son David (Roxane and grandchildren Zoë and Kayla), plus three sisters-in-law and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Frank in 2012 and by five brothers. Alma was born on April 19, 1933 to Mary and John Bileski. She was raised on a farm in Makoraff, Manitoba. After completing her high school education in Roblin, she taught at Swan River for a year. At the age of eight she had decided to become a nurse. She was accepted at St. Boniface School of Nursing in Manitoba. After graduating in 1958, she worked at St. Boniface for a year and then moved to Lamont, Alberta where she became a ward supervisor. Alma loved her career as a nurse. On June 15, 1961, she married Frank Shymkiw at Redwater, Alberta, where they settled for a 10-year period and started their family. Alma quit nursing to become a full-time mom. They were eventually transferred to Loreburn, Sask., where Frank continued to work for IPL (now Enbridge). Ten years later, they were once again relocated through Frank’s work to Kerrobert, Sask., where Alma was currently residing. While in Kerrobert, Alma re-entered the work force as a nurses’ aide at the local hospital. She was thrilled to be back working in healthcare. Another passion of hers was gardening and she received many compliments and awards for her yard. Reading was also a favourite pastime. Her four grandchildren held a special place in her heart and she was always there to babysit, sew special items for them, and to share the joy of gardening and books. She will be dearly missed by all.
Giant vessel bound for mine
DAVIDSON—Another big piece of mining equipment made its way past Davidson on Highway 11 last Wednesday, bound for the K+S potash mine near Bethune.
A giant crystallizer, fabricated by JNE Welding of Saskatoon, left the city Jan. 6 for a three-day journey to Bethune.
Crystallization is a process used to obtain industrial grade potassium chloride and involves mixing potash with hot water while agitating it at very high temperatures.
The crystallization unit that passed by Davidson weighed 330 tonnes and was 10.1 metres wide, 56.7 m long and 11.6 m high. SaskPower crews were on hand throughout the trip to either push up power lines or briefly cut them so the load could clear them.
Power was out briefly Wednesday in the Davidson area for about 10 minutes between 2 and 2:30 in the afternoon.
The large vessel spent Wednesday night in Davidson before setting off Thursday morning on the final leg of its journey to the K+S mine site.
This was the second large piece of equipment to pass by Davidson.
In November a gigantic evaporator made a similar journey to the K+S mine.
Craik area eyed as potential site for Potash mine
By Kevin Gilby
CRAIK —Saskatchewan’s next potash mine may be headed near Craik as Saskatoon-based Gensource Potash Corporation narrows its search for a suitable location.
Gensource CEO Mike Ferguson, having led Potash One’s development of what is now the K+S Legacy Site near Bethune, is hoping to return to a familiar area to build a ‘selective solution mine,’ the first of its kind in the province.
“The initial area that we are looking at will probably be in the eight to 10 section range. As we look at the geology, there are several different areas of that size [in the Craik region].” Ferguson said. The company’s next step involves drilling test wells to confirm their forecasts, followed by seismic measurements.
Several potential sites have been identified by Gensource, mostly in a region southwest of Craik. While the company already possesses mineral rights for some locations, work continues to secure additional locations before ultimately deciding on a site. Discussion with the associated RM will follow as they narrow down the possible locations.
The future of the project is divided into two phases, Ferguson said.
‘The first phase is the development. All the work up to the construction decisions.” This phase, expected to last about a year, includes the geological and environmental studies as well as feasibility and financial assessments necessary before the construction phase can begin.
When completed, Ferguson is confident that the “mine will look like no other mine you’ve ever seen. You’ll see two very large Quonsets, and that’s about it.” Of the ten sections mined, less than one-quarter section will be required for refinement leaving the remainder available for farming, grazing, or other applications.
Market factors aside, Ferguson believes the mine could be operational in as little as two-and-a-half years, employing between 60 to 80 people.
To read more, please see the Jan. 12, 2015 edition of The Davidson Leader. To subscribe call 306-567-2047.
Dietz helps Stars in Mac’s AAA championship
HANLEY—The Saskatoon Stars outshone and snuffed out the Calgary Fire to win the Mac’s AAA Midget Hockey Tournament in Calgary Jan. 1.
Opening scoring for the Stars in the tourney final was Hanley’s Kianna Dietz, who scored with 1:20 left in the first period of the championship game that was played at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Stars beat the Fire 4-2, to win the tournament for the first time since 2010.
The Stars were undefeated in the tournament, which started Dec. 26, winning their first four games of round-robin action and beating the St. Albert Slash 5-2 in the New Year’s Eve semi-final.
Kianna’s parents Kelly and Kim Dietz were in Calgary for the tournament, but her family and friends back home in Hanley were able to watch the finals that were televised by Shaw.
The Saskatoon Stars is an AAA team that showcases some of the best midget-aged female hockey players in the Saskatoon area. The team plays in the eight-team Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey.
This is Kianna’s first year in the league. This season, Kianna, 15, could have played as a second year bantam player with the Saskatoon Comets, however, her mom Kim says Kianna wanted to tryout for the Stars this season as an underage player.
Her Comets coach Greg Slobodzian was hired as head coach for the Stars, so Kianna wanted to follow him.
“One reason she wanted to try the next level was to learn more and work on her skills. Her coach works a lot on developing players,” Kim said.
Playing AAA midget hockey is a major commitment for players and their families. The Dietzes are in Saskatoon three times a week for practices and workouts. Their weekends are spent on the road travelling to games as far away as Weyburn, Prince Albert, Melville and Swift Current.
“She loves it and she’s made amazing friends,” Kim says.