The year started in January with the fight by two communities to keep their schools open. Parents and students in Abbey and Morse were dealing with the news that their schools were put under review by the Chinook School Division, and pleaded their case at two special meetings with the Board of Education. In the end, Abbey had their high school grades discontinued, while Morse School closed outright at the end of the school year.
In February, Living Sky Casino and the Sky Centre performing arts centre celebrated their grand opening with some Vegas star-power, which was a performance by crooner Wayne Newton. The facilities were years in the making, all starting with a plebiscite in the 2003 local elections. The Casino opened a year ago on December 29th, while the Sky Centre was completed in February.
The sudden and mysterious death of a young Swift Current man made headlines in March. RCMP were called to the 600 block of Robert Street East on March 28th, where a 25-year-old man was found injured after an apparent altercation. He was sent to hospital, where he died of his injuries. An autopsy was ordered on the body, but the cause of death was never released. Later in the year, Crown Prosecutors determined that no charges would be laid in the incident, after reviewing the case file for several months. March was also a tragic month for two other southwest communities, as three teenaged girls from Gravelbourg and Kincaid were killed in a car crash at the junction of Highways 13 and 19 near Kincaid. Charges were laid against an 18-year-old man in connection with the incident nine months later.
April saw the discovery of a new illness that spread into Saskatchewan and all over the world. An outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, then known as the Swine Flu, started in Mexico, killing hundreds of people in that country. The virus made its way into Canada and other countries, and the threat of a global pandemic began. Even in the early stages, Saskatchewan health officials took the threat seriously, advising health regions to step up infection control measures and surveillance. The virus was responsible for 15 deaths in the province, and spurred a massive vaccination campaign in the fall.
In May, a long-time member of the Cypress Health Region staff announced that he was leaving the southwest. Dr Khami Chokani, who had been the Chief Medical Health Officer for the Health Region since 2002, resigned and moved to Prince Albert to work for the Parkland Health Region. Cypress Health later secured the services of Dr David Torr from the Heartland Health Region in west central Saskatchewan as a Consulting Medical Health Officer. It was a homecoming of sorts for Torr, having worked for the former Swift Current Health District in the 90s.
The first signs of a highly-publicized, image-damaging rat problem in Swift Current turned up in June, with a few of the rodents being spotted in the community. There was great concern among city residents as rats carry a number of diseases, including Hanta virus, rat-bite fever, and hemorrhagic fever, and rodents can contaminate everything they touch. More and more rats were being spotted in areas around the city through the summer months, attracting national media attention and a causing a negative vibe around the community. Two public meetings about the issue took place, and after a major City-led rodent control effort, rat sightings minimized by the fall.
In July, the City of Swift Current held a meeting to discuss the annexation of approximately 10 acres of land in the surrounding RM of Swift Current. The City says they were willing to pay compensation to the RM, and assume the responsibility for the services in the annexed land. The annexation proposal was later rejected by the Municipal Boundary Committee, and the City will now have to wait until 2010 to re-apply.
Rural hospitals in the southwest dealt with physician shortages through the year. Maple Creek Hospital was one in particular. It was approved for four physicians, but only one was on the staff full time. There was some good news for the community in August, as the Cypress Health Region announced that a new doctor would begin working in that community, and two more were recruited to begin working within the next few months. The Health Region also had some leads on a number of physicians for Leader, and were trying to fill two expected vacancies at the Shaunavon Hospital. Those recruitment efforts will continue into the new year. There were other positive health care stories through the year, as many facilities received new equipment, including a digital mammography unit for the Cypress Regional Hospital.
In September, the dream of having scheduled air service in the southwest was realized, when Grande Prairie-based Swanberg Air announced they were serving Swift Current. The airline offered daily round trips to Regina, and departures to Calgary, as well as service to Estevan, Red Deer, and northern Alberta. The first Swanberg Air flight from Regina touched down at Swift Current Regional Airport on November 2nd.
2009 was a Civic Election year, with voting day on October 28th. Swift Current voters were choosing a new Mayor after incumbent Sandy Larson chose not to run again. Jerrod Schafer, Stacey Ellertson, and Don Robinson were in the Mayor's race, with Schafer winning in a landslide after collecting 2726 votes. The six Councillors elected for Swift Current's City Council were incumbents Tim Bugera and Gord Budd, and newcomers George Bowditch, Ryan Plewis, Dan Martens, and Denis Perrault. In Shaunavon, Mayor Sharon Dickie was re-elected, while in Maple Creek, incumbent Anne Weisgerber was defeated by Barry Rudd.
With the threat of an H1N1 pandemic continuing into the fall, a vaccine against the strain was approved, and a major program to administer it took place. In November, H1N1 vaccination clinics opened in Swift Current and all over Saskatchewan. The first string of clinics were open to priority groups such as health care workers, pregnant women, young children, and those with underlying health conditions, and later opened to the entire public. The mass clinics officially wrapped up on December 10th, with around 18,000 southwest residents being immunized.
The year ended in December on a bone-chilling note, with a long stretch of bitterly cold temperatures and extreme wind chill factors in the early part of the month. In fact, weather was a big story all year in the southwest. Below-normal temperatures dominated the summer months, ending with record warmth in September. The cold summer frustrated vacationers, farmers, and just about everyone else, topping Environment Canada's top weather stories of 2009. The weather roller coaster continued with below-normal temperatures in October, another warm-up in November, and then the December deep freeze.
Fri, Apr 26, 10:00 AM
Agriculture, Transport
Featured
