This is part 2 in our series 2017 Year in Review

May 10

What do you get when you have a retired chemist, an elderly playboy and four menopausal women in the same play? You get a whole bunch of hilarity on the stage.

Members of the Kindersley Players proved just that with five performances over two weeks of a play titled “Sex Please, We’re Sixty” written by Michael and Susan Parker and directed by Judy Lavoie. The shows were on April 26, 28 and 29, and May 5 and 6 at the Norman Ritchie Community Centre (NRCC).

May 17

Kindersley is fortunate to have some outstanding youth in our community, wanting to make the community and the world a better place to live.

Jillian McArthur is definitely one of those youth and her passion to make a difference is being recognized.

McArthur is one of four young people that have recently been named the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association’s Junior Citizen of the Year for 2017, for being an outstanding young person.

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May 24

The Town of Kindersley is taking a two-pronged approach to battling mosquitoes in response to a widespread early-season presence by the pesky little insects in 2017.

It did not take long for the mosquito population to boom this spring, so the town has been applying the known mosquito control chemical malathion in green spaces across the community. The town’s parks department began spraying the green spaces on May 17, an official says.

May 31

The Town of Kindersley has adopted a budget with minimal municipal tax increases for most property owners, and with two major projects soaking up most of the budget.

Council members adopted the town’s 2017 budget, mill rate and mill rate factors at a meeting May 24th. A news release states that the town has reduced its mill rate in response to an increased assessment and slowed spending on programs as council focuses on the aquatic centre project.

Elected officials have potentially adopted the single largest budget in the town’s history, but a large portion of budgeted revenues are from grants, donations and transfers from town reserves. Two major capital projects are included in the budget.

Two projects, if finished, will eat up $11.35 million alone. The budget includes $6.35 million for the aquatic centre project and $5 million for the town’s lagoon project.

June 7

The West Central Events Centre was bumping and the beasts were bucking for the Kindersley Indoor Rodeo Thursday through Saturday, as a Canadian Cowboys Association record for contestants was set.

There were an estimated 411 entries for the three-day rodeo, the most in the half-century existence of the CCA. Top finishers in the main events were able to bring home north of $1,000 most of the time, and over $5,000 went to the tandem of Stacy Cornet and Riley Warren who won the tie-down roping with a time of 4.8 seconds.

Colanna Slade’s 13.12-second mark in the ladies barrel racing earned her $3,726.

June 14

The Town of Kindersley has adopted new regulations for mobile food vendors that wish to operate on town-owned land after a request came forward from a single vendor.

Members of council passed two resolutions at a meeting on June 13 in relation to mobile food vendors, one resolution specific to the original vendor that made the request. Council had asked the vendor to respond to questions at one of its meetings.

June 21

• The family responsible for the Addison Sod House has received a Lieutenant Governor’s Heritage Award for its long-term stewardship of a provincial heritage property.

Two granddaughters of James Addison, the man who built the historic sod house from 1909 to 1911, were at Government House in Regina June 14th to accept the award.

Lenore McTaggart, a resident of Lloydminster and granddaughter to Addison, is the current registered owner of the property and she still spends weekends at the home.

• Students who excelled this year in academics and athletics were recognized at the Kindersley Composite School awards last Thursday afternoon.

The afternoon kicked off with the awarding of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award that was presented to graduate Sheldon Cannon for achieving the highest mark in the graduating class of 2016.

June 28

It was a day full of fun at the Iron Horse Klippers Celebrity Golf tournament and SJHL Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday.

It was a beautiful day for a round of golf and 63 players making up 14 teams with local Klippers supporters and celebrities hit the course for an 18-hole scramble tournament.

Following the tournament, players returned to the Co-op arena for a great supper catered by the Kindersley Inn, followed by the Hall of Fame inductions and speeches.

Approximately 275 people were in attendance at the banquet that also included a few live and several silent auction items.

The spotlight was on Hall of Fame inductees: Terry Shea, Devin Edgerton, Chris Winkler, Derek Dorsett, Dave Hunchak, Troy Schwab, Greg Paslawski and the Klippers team from the 2003-04 season that were RBC Cup finalists.

They were all given special rings and presented banners that will now hang in the WCEC.

July 5

• June 29, 2017 was an exciting night that won’t be soon forgotten for the 61 graduates of the KCS Class of 2017.

Members of the class closed the chapter on part of their lives and began another as they received their diplomas on the stage at the Co-op arena.

Master of Ceremonies was teacher Ryan Street, who did a great job in keeping everything going during the evening’s events and with memes shared tidbits of wisdom along the way.

• Members of council have denied a request by a local business owner to rezone his property to allow him to move a house to the property and to get insurance on the building.

Tyler Bobbee, who owns a business on 12th Ave. West, asked for a site-specific zoning of his (C3) highway commercial property. The business owner said he wants to live on the property until his child has finished school, and he is able to sell the property and move to a nearby acreage.

July 12

• The Town of Kindersley and the design builder for the town’s new aquatic centre have held a sod turning ceremony to signify the start of the construction process.

Representatives of several groups were on hand near the site of the old Kindersley Aquatic Centre on July 5 for the sod turning ceremony. A large contingent of officials from the town were in attendance, along with other officials, volunteers and community members.

Mayor Rod Perkins was joined at the sod turning by councillors Gary Becker, Dean Galbraith, Shaun Henry and Randy Ervine. Several members of the town’s administration were also at the event to formally mark the project.

Representatives of Pro-Bilt Structures Ltd., Western Recreation & Development Inc., Big Dippers pool fundraising committee and Kindersley & District Co-operative Ltd. joined the town officials for the occasion. Perkins welcomed people to the event and thanked them for attending.

• The Kindersley Home Hardware Building Centre has closed its doors for good because the limited company that owns the business has opted to file for bankruptcy.

The business closed down suddenly last week and a handwritten note was posted at the business advising people that the store had been closed. The message also provided people with two phone numbers and the name of a person to contact for information regarding the closure.

July 19

The Kindersley Bantam Royals are provincial champions!

The team travelled made the six-and-a-half hour trek to Carnduff to compete in the seven-team Bantam AA Tier 4 provincial championships on the weekend and went undefeated.

July 26

For the second straight weekend, a Kindersley team has claimed a provincial championship.

The Kindersley Bantams won it all last weekend, this time it was the Peewee Royals winning in fine style with a mercy-rule win Sunday afternoon.

The tournament was held in Moosomin with 10 teams taking part in the Tier 4 provincial championships.

Aug. 2

A fire ban has been put in place for the Town of Kindersley. The ban on open fires, fire pits and fireworks is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

The town’s fire ban became effective on July 30 after fire officials worked with town officials to declare the ban. According to a news release, a ban has been declared due to extreme fire hazards resulting from an extended period of hot and dry conditions.

Aug. 9

This is a very well-known story as it has been broadcast by provincial and national media outlets.

It is about a Venezuelan family who have been fighting for the right to stay in Kindersley and not be deported back to their home country. It is also a story about a community that has rallied to support the family that have put their roots down in the town and now call it home.

Wilmer Gonzalez, 43, and his young family absolutely love the community and do not want to be anywhere else. But in just a few weeks they may be deported back to their home, war-torn country of Venezuela, one that is on the brink of civil war – not a safe place to go by any means, and one that Gonzalez does not want to go back to.

Wilmer and his family, wife Vanessa (recently married), and children Oriana, 5, and Javier, 7 have been in Kindersley now for three years. Upon moving here, Wilmer began working at Brothers Restaurant and in Luseland in construction. Most recently, he was working as a maintenance man at the Kindersley hospital and part-time at the Salvation Army and janitorial work.

Aug. 16

Kindersley MLA Bill Boyd announced Tuesday afternoon that he will be retiring from public life and resigning his seat, effective Sept. 1.

“When Premier Wall announced his retirement, he talked about renewal within the Saskatchewan Party,” Boyd said.  “I have been the MLA for Kindersley for a long time, so my retirement and a new MLA can be part of that renewal.

“I want to thank the people of Kindersley constituency for the trust they placed in me over the past 26 years by electing me six times.  It has been a tremendous honour for me to serve as MLA for this great part of our province.”

Aug. 23

• Things could be looking up for the Kindersley Mall after a rough year. The mall’s existing property management trust is selling the property to a private company.

An announcement on Aug. 4 by all parties involved in the transaction stated that a subsidiary of Strathallen Capital Corp., a company that manages and operates four private funds, has entered into an agreement of purchase and sale to acquire a portfolio of properties from a subsidiary of OneREIT.

• Kindersley’s Jamie Flanagan was inducted to the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame Saturday during their annual induction ceremonies held Saturday night in Battleford. Shown above is Jamie, along with his wife Sherri, son Sean and his girlfriend Maddie Martinson, father Jerry and daughter Lacey. Also in attendance at the ceremony was daughter Kayla. At left is a photo of the three generations, Sean, Jamie and Jerry. At right is Jamie playing for the Kindersley Royals in 1979.

Aug. 30

The defence lawyer for a former Kindersley travel agent accused of committing more than 200 counts of fraud has asked for more time to review the complex file.

Leslie Glauser, who used to operated T & T Travel Ltd., was not in provincial court on Aug. 29 when her criminal defence lawyer, Robert Robbenhaar of Medicine Hat, asked for a further five-week adjournment to continue his review of the file related to Glauser’s fraud charge.

Sept. 6

• Former Kindersley MLA and Eston area resident Bill Boyd is now facing charges in relation to altering land and wildlife habitat near the South Saskatchewan River.

According to a media relations official for Executive Council of the Saskatchewan government, Boyd has been charged with three violations under the province’s Environmental Management and Protection Act, 2010 and one violation under the Wildlife Habitat Protection Act.

The charges are in relation to the alteration of shoreline, wildlife habitat and ecological lands near Eston. Boyd is scheduled to make an appearance in provincial court in Kindersley with respect to the charges on October 10.

• A new regional landfill is being developed west of Kindersley and officials involved with the project have gathered for a ceremony to mark the start of construction.

The sod turning ceremony for the regional landfill was held on Aug. 30 at the future site of the facility south of Highway 7 and 10 km west of Kindersley. The project is an initiative spearheaded by 19 urban and rural municipalities in Western Regional Landfill Inc. (WRLI).

Sept. 13

The Friends of Kinsmen Park (FOKP) group is looking to replace the shack at the park’s skating rink. A delegate has shared the group’s plans with local officials.

Tammy Anderson-Jackson, a spokesperson for the group, appeared as a delegate at the council meeting on Sept. 11 and the purpose of her visit was to seek the approval of town officials for the plans to replace the old shack at the outdoor skating rink.

The delegate told council she was there to bring forward the plans and if council gave its seal of approval to the plans, the group would take the next steps in the process to build a new shack at the park. She said the FOKP group has started the procurement process and is accepting quotes for the project.

Mayor Rod Perkins said he believes most council members will have seen the drawings in their council packages and he asked Anderson-Jackson if the plan is to demolish the old shack at the rink. The delegate said the existing shack would be demolished.

Sept. 20

The Klippers opened up their 2017-18 season, their 25th in the league, doing battle against the rival Battlefords North Stars.

Unfortunately, for the green and white, they were unable to scratch out a win on either night, losing 1-0 in overtime Friday and 4-0 in North Battleford Saturday.

Friday’s home-opener was an exciting one, as the two teams battled hard for the win.

“The home opener was a good night, we had a good crowd and I think people saw a pretty entertaining game,” said coach Geoff Grimwood. “The boys played hard and overall it was a pretty positive night.”

Sept. 27

• Elected officials for the Town of Kindersley have approved a new council strategic plan and new governance policy near the end of the first year of their term.

Council members passed resolutions to approve the strategic plan and governance policy at a meeting on Sept. 25. Council adopted the strategic plan first after a brief presentation by Bernie Morton, the town’s chief administrative officer (CAO).

“The council strategic plan is your strategic plan,” Morton told the officials, recognizing that meetings were held with council to discuss elements of the plan and the administration worked to draft the plan to reflect the direction by council.

He said the plans are often meant to set the strategy for three to four years, and they are designed to help guide the administration with respect to the direction set by council. The plan was developed around three pillars indicated by discussions with council, he said. The three pillars are Build Bridges, Smart Spending and Make it Happen.

• The Goose Festival is in the books for another year. The 45th edition of the annual event was met with a great deal of support, especially on the Saturday afternoon.

Main Street was a busy place after the parade on Sept. 23, the busiest day of Kindersley’s annual cultural celebration. The Goose Festival was held over four days from Sept. 21-24 and each day had events and activities to keep people busy and entertained.

The festival, as it does each year, started on Thursday night with three contests in an empty lot beside Supreme Source for Sports on Main Street. A pie eating contest was held before the festival’s long-standing traditions of the popular goose plucking and potato peeling contests.

Several people braved the cool temperatures to attend the contests, but several onlookers left during a brief rain shower. The weather did not dampen the spirit of the contestants that soldiered on for the remaining spectators.

Oct. 4

• Several upgrades have been made to the Norman Ritchie Community Centre (NRCC) since 2016, and the centre’s management board has provided an update to town officials.

Two members of NRC Management Inc., the incorporated name for the management board, appeared as a delegation at a council meeting on Sept. 25 and the representatives gave an update on the work that has taken place at the NRCC since its roof was repaired in 2016.

Patty Brotzell-Close and Lorne Kelsey, the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the centre’s management board, spoke to council members about work that has been completed at the centre, ongoing work and plans for the future.

“We’ve got lots of good news to tell you,” Kelsey said, recognizing that new doors, windows and lighting have been installed as part of a project to upgrade the front entrance, and it helps to “set off” a fresh look for the building.

• The criminal defence lawyer representing Leslie Glauser, a former Kindersley travel agent charged with fraud, has requested another adjournment in the case.

There was another matter of concern for the court regarding the case. Saskatchewan CBC had reported that a two-day trial for Glauser would start in Kindersley on Oct. 3 and the report turned out to be inaccurate, so the Crown responded to the concern before the court.

Robert Robbenhaar of Medicine Hat, who is Glauser’s lawyer, said he would like to request an adjournment while he continues his discussion with the Crown. The adjournment was granted, and Justice Robert Jackson set a return date of Nov. 7 for the matter.

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