Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Serving the least fortunate in Mexico

Cornerstone school group going to help orphans over Easter

By Lisa Goudy

A local group of nine students and five adults are going on a mission to help orphans in Mexico.

“It’s really an opportunity for our students to serve down there,” said Bill Green, a teacher at Cornerstone Christian School and one of the organizers of the trip. He has taken kids down to Mexico for the past nine years.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Council notebook

By Lisa Goudy


The City of Moose Jaw has endorsed the Health Active Living Committee’s application for a grant.

Council approved the request from Christine Boyczuk, regional intersectoral co-ordinator, for the city to be the endorsing partner for the committee’s Communities Get Active project application for a community initiatives fun physical activity grant of $17,500.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Online circulation at library almost doubles in 2012

Library board chairman presents 2012 annual report to city council

By Lisa Goudy

Adult circulation was down at the Moose Jaw Public Library in 2012 compared to 2011, but circulation of audio books and use of downloadable e-books have nearly doubled.

According to library statistics provided in a 2012 annual report provided to city council during Monday’s meeting, the library had a total adult circulation of 146,145 in 2012 compared to 159,755 in 2011.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Resident brings mercury contamination concerns to council

Moose Jaw resident Lorne Elkin references the 1980
report, Mercury Control Plan For the Thunder Creek
Area, in his presentation to council Monday night.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


According to a report from 1980 called Mercury Control Plan For the Thunder Creek Area, there is a notable amount of mercury pollution in local rivers.

“The mercury hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s just been moved,” said citizen Lorne Elkin, who lives in Churchill Park. “This is a serious matter that kills people, most importantly if you eat fish that have been infected by it.”

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Council closes file on property near Mosaic Place

Coun. Brian Swanson discusses his motion for city
administration to stop any negotiations regarding the
property at 105 High St. W. and the adjacent property
at 122 First Ave. N.W. at Monday's council meeting.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


The property at 105 High St. W. near Mosaic Place was once again up for discussion at council.

During Monday’s council meeting, Coun. Brian Swanson made a motion for city administration to stop any negotiations regarding the High Street property and the adjacent property at 122 First Ave. N.W.
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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Terri Clark parties like a Northern Girl at Mosaic Place

Saturday’s concert pleases audience members

Terri Clark performs a song in her opening set at her
concert at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw on Saturday.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy

With coloured lights and dancing it felt much like a party at Mosaic Place Saturday night.

“I hear you’ve had a little snow. A little snow will never stop a real Northern Girl,” said Terri Clark near the beginning of her concert to a screaming audience. “I say let’s meet up after the show and go tobogganing at midnight.”

With the audience cheering her on in full force, Clark played a mix of old and new hits in her 90-minute set, including Girls Lie Too, Two More Bottles of Wine, Gentle on My Mind, Better Things To Do and Dirty Girl.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Drawings and paintings featured in new art exhibit

Russell Mang stands next to one of his works of art during
the opening reception of his exhibition, A Sense of Place,
at the Mosaic Gallery in the Conexus Visual Arts Centre
at the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre on Saturday.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy

Moose Jaw-based artist Russell Mang’s new exhibition consists of drawings and paintings.

“They are right on the fence between being drawings or paintings. They really could be either. They’re actually both, but that was very deliberate,” said Mang, originally from Melville. “I wanted to create a body of work that was focused on the drawing part of it as well as the painting.”

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Additional quote

Russell Mang's new exhibition on display at the Mosaic Gallery draws from real locations.

“Most of them started out as on-location drawings. I would go to a location and do the drawing there at that particular location and then take it back into the studio and work on it there,” said Mang.

Moose Jaw Times-Herald: A magical ball Under the Sea

Cinderella reads a story to the little princesses at the
Little Princess Ball at the Heritage Inn on Saturday.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


Little princess from far and wide spent a magical evening with famous princesses.

The fifth annual Little Princess Ball, themed Ariel and Under the Sea, was held at the Heritage Inn on Saturday as a fundraiser for the Moose Jaw Health Foundation. The proceeds from the 2013 event will go toward the purchase of a panda bed for the hospital to help treat new babies.

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Additional comments

A lot of work went into the annual Little Princess Ball with proceeds going to the health foundation.

“We spent about six months of our lives putting this together from costumes to décor to the timeline of planning,” said Dawn Ritter, an organizing committee member for the ball. “It’s amazing, friends and family that help out and just volunteers that just come out of the woodwork and just say, ‘How can I help you guys?’”

She added there was always lots of things for the girls to do.

“The girls are busy all the time. Everything is bang, bang, bang. There’s always something. It’s nonstop,” said Ritter. “There’s dancing. There’s characters singing. There’s glittering and sparkling.”

Kelly Mcelree, executive director of the health foundation, said the event keeps growing each year.

“It’s such a special event for both the moms and the daughters and at the end of the day they know that they’re going to be able to help babies out in our community,” said Mcelree.

Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Model railroad show on the right track

Jacob Radwanski, 12, poses with his Lego model railroad
display at the Moose Jaw Thunder Creek Model Railroad
Show at the Western Development Museum on Saturday.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


After two days of work with 15,000 Lego pieces, 12-year-old Jacob Radwanski built a model railroad display.

“My dream when I’m older is to be an architect,” said Radwanski. “This is a model. So I just decided that this would be a good opportunity to build some stuff.”

His model was one of approximately 23 different train models at the 17th annual Moose Jaw Thunder Creek Model Railroad Show at the Western Development Museum on Saturday and Sunday.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Local Juno kickoff concert features Megan Nash

Nash performs as part of Gonna Get Loud Juno series

Megan Nash performs at the Town 'n' Country Mall as
part of the Juno Awards Gonna Get Loud series
on Saturday.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


Megan Nash had fun performing at the Town ‘n’ Country Mall as a kickoff for upcoming Juno events.

“It had a busking element to it because it’s not a normal venue. You wouldn’t normally expect music here,” said Nash. “I think it was a surprise for some people and some people came out for the show too, which was really nice to see.”

Nash, originally from Mortlach, performed at the mall on Saturday as part of the Juno Awards Gonna Get Loud series. Following Nash’s performance, Tommy John Ehman from Craik also took the stage.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Weather delays motorists along Trans-Canada

Semi trailers line the Trans-Canada Highway
by Thatcher Drive on Friday morning.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


Trailers and truckers lined the Trans-Canada Highway by Thatcher Drive on Friday following weather-related road closures.

“We (had) a lot of people just kind of sitting in here waiting to see if the traffic is going to start moving on the highway,” said Aurora Howe, manager of Tim Hortons on Diefenbaker Drive.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Looking for volunteers to make sandbags

By Lisa Goudy

The city’s emergency measures organization (EMO) is gathering a list of volunteers for making sandbags.

“We’d just like to get a list of volunteers,” said deputy fire chief and EMO co-ordinator Rod Montgomery.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Higgins: New revenue-sharing formula "not totally" what SUMA requested

By Lisa Goudy


Moose Jaw and other Saskatchewan communities will see a revenue-sharing increase in 2013-14.

“The municipal operating grant has been well-received right across the province and it’s very unique to Saskatchewan,” said Mayor Deb Higgins.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Lisa's Corner: World Water Day isn’t the only day to help and conserve

By Lisa Goudy


Today is World Water Day.

The United Nations declared the first World Water Day in 1993. Like many other things, I don’t think one day out of 365 is enough to do something about our water situation.

The day is used to draw attention to water issues and improve the management of water resources. The truth is when you look at the statistics about the water situation on the planet, the situation is dire and it’s not getting better. We need to act.

According to the United Nations website, more than one in six people around the world, totaling 894 million people, don’t have access to improved water sources. What’s more is that 2.5 billion people, including close to one billion children, live without basic sanitation. Every 20 seconds a child dies because of poor sanitation, resulting in 1.5 million deaths per year.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Meeting reiterates measures to prepare for flooding

Deputy fire chief and emergency measures
organization co-ordinator Rod Montgomery
discusses flooding preparations at a public meeting
at the Lillooet Fire Station on Thursday night.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy

When it comes to possible flooding, the city is doing what it can to minimize the damage.

More than 40 residents came out to the city’s emergency measures organization (EMO) flood preparedness public meeting Thursday night at the Lillooet Fire Station. The meeting was for people in target high-risk areas for possible flooding.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: More pro-life letters presented in campaign

Vicki Mayer with Church of Our Lady hands
pro-life letters from church parishioners to
Moose Jaw Wakamow MLA Greg Lawrence at
his constituency office on Thursday.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


Parishioners from the Church of Our Lady have participated in a pro-life letter-writing campaign.

“We feel very strongly that our taxpayer money should not be used to fund abortions,” said Vicki Mayer, a parishioner with Church of Our Lady.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Parking meter upgrades more costly in 2013

A total of 596 of the city's 1,029 parking meters need
to be upgraded to high-tech XLE card-style meters.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


The city’s 1,029 parking meters are in the process of being upgraded to high-tech XLE card-style meters.

“We have a digital meter now. We have some older ones. The older ones that we’re replacing, the old dial ones that you’d turn, they are more expensive to upgrade because we have to change the whole chassis (frames) on them,” said public works manager Duane Grado.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: City priority to get land control for CPR dam

By Lisa Goudy


With a high level of flooding anticipated for the spring, one of the city’s biggest concerns is the CPR dam.

“We could lose that dam at any time,” said city manager Garry McKay.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Food, beverage and truss system critical expenses for Mosaic Place

Budget committee hears capital expense requests

By Lisa Goudy


Mosaic Place general manager Scott Clark said two critical capital expenses are required for 2013.

“The Mosaic Place food and beverage facilities at present are unable to keep up with the level of activity and business at Mosaic Place,” said Clark.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Executive approves mobile concession policy

Executive committee discusses the proposed
mobile concession policy at Monday's meeting.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


Moose Jaw is on track for a policy establishing regulations for the operation of outdoor food carts.

Executive committee approved city administration’s proposed mobile concessions policy during Monday’s meeting.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Capital budget deliberations continue

Budget committee listens to a presentation regarding the
proposed 2013-2017 capital budget during Monday's meeting.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


Since the operating budget was passed, several changes are in effect in the proposed capital budget.

During Monday’s budget committee meeting, Brian Acker, director of financial services, presented an update on the proposed 2013-2017 capital budget.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Working to prevent Dutch Elm disease

By Lisa Goudy


It’s almost that time again for everyone to not prune elm trees.

From April 1 to Aug. 31, the elm tree-pruning ban in the city of Moose Jaw and in Saskatchewan will be in effect. Pruning elm trees in that time frame is illegal.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Building champions and team mentality

Saskatchewan Roughriders' head coach Corey
Chamblin speaks about being a champion
and the Riders' upcoming season during a
luncheon at the Heritage Inn on Friday.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

Riders' head coach Corey Chamblin speaks at Moose Jaw luncheon

By Lisa Goudy

When it comes to being a champion, having the right mindset is essential.

“In order to build any team, in order to build any business, first you have to build up yourself. You have to make sure that you’re always accountable and you’re someone that can be depended on and that you’re a champ yourself,” said Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Corey Chamblin after he spoke at a luncheon at the Heritage Inn on Friday.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Habitat for Humanity holding family information meetings

By Lisa Goudy


Eligible families for a Habitat for Humanity home can learn more information at upcoming meetings.

“It’s also an opportunity for them to hear specifically about the builds and what pertains to them,” said Jennifer Dominguez, co-chairman of the Moose Jaw Habitat for Humanity committee.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Slainte (cheers) to you this St. Patrick's Day

By Lisa Goudy


Beannachtai Na Feile Padraig Oraibh! St. Patrick’s Day blessing upon you!

I’ve always liked St. Patrick’s Day. I’ve always enjoyed wearing green and eating green foods such as green Jell-o or green peppers. I have a green bowtie I usually wear and last year I bought a St. Patrick’s Day shirt. Leprechauns, pot of gold and celebrations with family and friends is tantalizing to say the least.

I’m also part Irish. So to me it makes sense to celebrate and have a little fun with it. Even though I’m of the Mennonite faith (as I’m also part German) and not the Roman Catholic one, celebrating each March 17 is always a good time to be had. The best part is that no matter your ethnicity, religious or non-religious backgrounds, many people take part in St. Patrick’s Day celebrations around the world.

St. Patrick’s Day actually has a long-standing history. The Irish have celebrated it annually on March 17 for more than 1,000 years. The day is a celebration of patron Saint Patrick who lived in the fifth century.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Building a community blueprint for South Hill’s future

A crowd of more than 40 people gathered at Riverview
Collegiate Thursday evening for the first meeting in the
local area planning for the future of South Hill.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


On Thursday night members from the community got together to start creating a plan for the future of South Hill.

More than 40 residents attended the kickoff meeting of the pilot project of local area planning for the next 25 plus years for the South Hill neighbourhood at Riverview Collegiate.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: City prepares for potential flooding

By Lisa Goudy


According to the recent March forecast from the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA), Moose Jaw is likely to see a very high amount of runoff and flooding.

The city will hold a public information meeting on March 21 at 7 p.m. at the Lillooet Fire Station, 750 Lillooet St. W. 

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Banquet to benefit community kids

By Lisa Goudy


The Moose Jaw Elks Lodge is holding its first annual dinner to benefit children in the community.

“We just decided that doing a dinner would be the way to go about it,” said Roy Champion, member of the local Elks. “It’s meant to be kind of a fun evening.”

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Pot o’ fun celebrations for St. Paddy’s Day

Teri Therens, general manager of Bugsy's Irish Pub,
stands next to the poster inside the pub regarding
the three-day St. Patrick's Day celebration.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and specials are abounding with the luck of the Irish.

“In Bugsy’s, it’s a three-day celebration. We’re having drink specials and we’re having special food items,” said Teri Therens, general manager of Bugsy’s Irish Pub.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: $30 million Lotto Max winner may be local

Shauna Weber (left), manager of the downtown Co-Op
lottery kiosk, and Brenda Hanson, owner of the kiosk,
display different types of lottery tickets on Wednesday.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


Someone in Saskatchewan is a lucky winner — and it's looking like it might be someone in Moose Jaw.

“At this point, what we can confirm is that the $30-million jackpot was won by a single ticket,” said Western Canada Lottery Corporation (WCLC) spokesperson Andrea Marantz.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Timeline of the CPR dam

Pictured is the CPR dam on Tuesday.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


The CPR dam replacement has been on the capital budget for eight years.

Mahabub Zaman, acting director of engineering, provided a written timeline history of the CPR dam replacement. 

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Planting trees for an urban forest

By Lisa Goudy


For residents living in a newer subdivision, up to two free trees may be available.

“It’s so we can get trees into these new neighbourhoods,” said Daily Lennox, parks gardener for the city’s parks and recreation department.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Council notebook

By Lisa Goudy


Walter Scott Building developers won’t have deferred cash payments for off-street parking.

Ethan Hunter of Zarkor Group of Companies submitted a request to city council to defer a portion of the off-street parking requirement cash-in-lieu for the development of the Walter Scott Building.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Addressing concerns over proposed group home development

Jordan Varey, program co-ordinator of
Citizens All Association, addresses city
council regarding the proposed large
group home development during
Monday's council meeting.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


Group homes are a community asset, according to Jordan Varey, program co-ordinator of Citizens All Association.

“Our homes blend in with their communities well. Because the homes are owned and operated by a well-organized agency, they benefit from regularly scheduled maintenance checks and are kept in excellent repair,” said Varey to council during Monday’s regular meeting.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Municipal mill rate increases by 4.59 per cent

Council passes 2013 operating budget as amended

Councillors take the final vote on the 2013 operating
budget during Monday's council meeting.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy

Municipal mill rate taxes are going up by 4.59 per cent.

After a lengthy discussion filled with mixed views, the majority of council voted in favour of the amended operating budget during Monday’s regular meeting at city hall. The increased mill rate will generate an additional $918,065 for the city’s operating budget. There is also a 4.82 per cent increase in spending at $1.71 million.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Health minister discusses new hospital

No plans to make hyperbaric unit a provincial service

By Lisa Goudy

So far, the provincial health ministry hasn’t had conversations regarding the future of the hyperbaric chamber, according to health minister Dustin Duncan.

“At this point we don’t have plans to turn this into a provincial service. This is really a Five Hills (Health Region) piece of equipment and it’s theirs to operate and make those decisions,” Duncan told the Times-Herald on Friday.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Pharmacists can prescribe minor ailment prescriptions

Pharmacist Rose Kehrit speaks with Amanda Dowling
about minor ailment prescriptions at the Shoppers
Drug Mart pharmacy on Main Street on Friday.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


Pharmacists in Saskatchewan are now able to prescribe some minor ailment prescriptions.

“Those are things that are actually very common, but not necessarily things that would make a trip to the emergency room,” said Rose Kehrit, pharmacist at Shoppers Drug Mart in Moose Jaw.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Lisa's Corner: Looking for the light in the darkness of winter

By Lisa Goudy


Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow?

It seems our snowfall for the year isn’t finished yet. Environment Canada and the Weather Network predict more snow is going to fall in March. I’m positive I’m not the only one sick of all the snow. This winter has been particularly cruel in terms of snow dumping.

However, despite the urge to constantly complain, complaining won’t do much good. While it might eventually help improve snow removal and sanding processes in the city, it can also get us down in terms of our moods. We have had so much snow this year that it can get us down too. That makes finding the positives in our lives that much more important to at least try to make the rest of the winter bearable.

So my take on it is to do the best we can to cope with it and do something productive instead.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Pro-life letters seek to open dialogue with provincial gov't

Gilles L’Heureux, member of St. Joseph Roman Catholic
Church social justice committee and membership and
marketing co-ordinator for the Saskatchewan Pro-Life
Association, hands Moose Jaw North MLA Warren
Michelson the letters gathered supporting pro-life at
Michelson's constituency office on Thursday. Vanier students
Emma L'Heureux (left) and Chelsea Lattle stand by.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


A total of 444 red letters supporting pro-life were collected in a letter-writing campaign.

“People have come to the conclusion that the whole pro-life issue has been set on the back burner for too long,” said Gilles L’Heureux, a member of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church social justice committee and membership and marketing co-ordinator for the Saskatchewan Pro-Life Association. “We are just saying enough is enough. This has to stop because it’s just not a good thing.”

On Thursday supporters advocating pro-life policy for provincial governments handed the letters to Moose Jaw North MLA Warren Michelson at his constituency office, with the majority of the letters addressed to Premier Brad Wall.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Joie de vivre celebrates French culture

Flag raising ceremony kicks off Rendez-vous de la Francophonie

Mayor Deb Higgins raises the francophone
flag at Ecole Ducharme on Thursday.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


Kids’ voices shouted “Joie de vivre” in excitement on Thursday.

Mayor Deb Higgins raised the francophone flag at Ecole Ducharme on Thursday in front of French immersion students to mark March 8 to 24 as Rendez-vous de la Francophonie for 2013 as declared by the provincial government.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Gathering signatures online to keep hyperbaric unit in Moose Jaw

By Lisa Goudy


Within a timeframe of just over three days, more than 800 people have signed an online form fighting to keep the hyperbaric chamber in Moose Jaw.

“We put money into this. We don’t want to just throw it away,” said Lyle Silzer of the Associated Canadian Travelers (ACT) of Moose Jaw.. “Put it in the new hospital. Don’t tell me there’s no room for it. You haven’t dug the first hole yet. Make room for it ... if it has to be updated let’s update it.”

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For more information visit the website at http://speakupmoosejaw.refreshenupweb.ca.

Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Average spring outlook, but more snow likely

A city dump truck carries some snow
down High Street West on Wednesday.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy


It looks like it will be an average spring, but the cold spells aren’t over yet.

“I think it’s going to be a bit of a roller coaster. We’re also, I think, going to experience some milder air,” said Gina Ressler, meteorologist with the Weather Network.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Sidewalk Days a go for 2013

Organizers still looking for volunteers and sponsors

By Lisa Goudy


Despite rumours on the street, Sidewalk Days isn’t going to be cancelled this year.

“At this point, volunteers are still very much needed as well as sponsorship,” said event chairwoman Theresa Gillis.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Residential property values to rise in 2013

SAMA estimates average of 86 per cent residential increase

By Lisa Goudy


Property values in Moose Jaw are going to increase in 2013.

“We’re on a market value assessment base now. So sales are a very important part of the calculation procedure,” said Todd Treslan, assistant managing director of assessment service at the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA). “We’re using the properties that have sold to estimate a value for all the properties in the jurisdiction of that similar type of property.”

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For more information on the 2013 assessment visit the SAMA website at www.sama.sk.ca.