Region in the News
February 6, 2012
Gainer the. . . groundhog?
Gainer the Gopher joins event organizer Gary Grady on stage during Dundurn's Groundhog Day festivities on Thursday afternoon. There were no groundhogs on hand, but the town invited the Saskatchewan Roughriders mascot to serve as their prairie prognosticator. To no one's surprise, Gainer predicted a short winter.
The event, a project of the Dundurn recreation board, was organized by Grady and Jason Bellina. Students from Dundurn and Hanley were dismissed early on Thursday to attend the festivities, which included live music by the Three Canadians, hot chocolate, a tug-of-war game, and lots of snacks and treats.
Elbow wins $10,000 grant
ELBOW—The citizens of Elbow are another $10,000 closer to the fundraising goal for their community park project after winning Saskatchewan in motion's Community Pledge Challenge at the end of January.
The village of 300 finished first among six finalists in an online vote, after pledging to devote the $10,000 prize to keeping local children and youth more physically active.
Village administrator Yvonne Jess accepted the prize at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention in Regina on Jan. 30.
Elbow was one of 23 communities to register for the challenge, and one of 11 to move on to the second round by outlining how they would spend the prize money.
A panel of judges narrowed the group down to six communities—Craven, Elbow, James Smith Cree Nation, Leader, Swift Current and Unity—and visitors to Saskatchewan in motion's website voted to determine the final winner. Elbow received a total of 25,392 votes.
Adding the prize money to the funds already raised by the town gives the park project a total of $45,804 gathered so far, said organizer Sarah Wilm.
"We're pretty excited," she said, explaining that while the goal is to raise at least $75,000, the park committee would be happy to top that. "The more money we raise, the more (equipment) we can get."
SaskEnergy: provincial retrofit program will continue
DAVIDSON—A SaskEnergy representative said last week the corporation will continue offering grants to homeowners who upgrade or renovate their houses to improve their energy efficiency, despite the demise of a similar federal program late last month.
Mindy Woloschuk, manager of business communications for SaskEnergy, said the Saskatchewan EnerGuide for Houses (SEGH) program is "alive and well," having run since 2005, and is scheduled to continue running until October 2013.
"The provincial (program) has always been consistent," said Woloschuk.
The federal government announced on Jan. 28 that the ecoENERGY home retrofit program will no longer accept applications, after reaching its goal of 250,000 registered homeowners.
Both ecoENERGY and SEGH offered homeowners grants of up to $5,000 towards the cost of upgrading and refurbishing their houses to improve their energy efficiency.
Eligible improvements included upgrades or replacements of heating, cooling and ventilation systems, hot water equipment, insulation, air sealing, windows and doors, as well as toilets with improved water efficiency.
Stephen Harper's Conservative government renewed the ecoENERGY program beginning in June, but announced on Jan. 28 that the target of 250,000 applications had been reached, and thus no more requests would be accepted.
Davidson receives $7,500 towards generator
DAVIDSON—The Town of Davidson has committed to purchasing a standby electric generator for the town hall for use in emergency situations, but Mayor Mary Jane Morrison said last week that more research is needed before a firm decision can be made.
"We really haven't got that far yet," Morrison said Wednesday. "I'm just hoping that we can do the best research that we can to make the best decision."
Town council committed to the purchase back in August, and Coun. Gerald Kenny, a member of the town hall renovation committee, has since sought quotes on a number of different models with before-tax prices ranging between $36,850 and $47,550.
A generator would be used in the event of an extended power outage or other emergency situation, in which case the town would open the hall as a relief centre.
On Wednesday, EMO coordinator Trish Schilling and Davidson Volunteer Fire Department chief Clayton Schilling accepted a $7,500 donation from Enbridge community relations advisor Les Scott. The company donated the funds to the town through its Safe Community Program.
While the money gives the town a definite boost towards the purchase, Morrison said that with the significant cost involved, it is important that council is thoroughly informed and aware before deciding on a particular model of generator.
