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2016 Year in Review — November

Dec 30, 2016 | 11:00 AM

As we prepare to say goodbye to 2016, BattlefordsNow.com is taking a look at some of the top news items that made headlines and newsmakers over the past 12 months.

The Battlefords Minor Hockey Association was part of the First Shift kick-off event at the Don Ross gymnasium. The First Shift program offered children who are brand new to the sport to receive six one-hour on-ice sessions and get equipment fitted from head to toe for $199. Also included was two hours of parent education. Battlefords Minor Hockey Association peewee director and First Shift ambassador Helen Germann said it’s all about giving an opportunity for young children to try the sport.

There was big news for the Battlefords Union Hospital. It was announced that the facility would be getting its new CT scanner, thanks to a combined effort from the province and a successful fundraiser. The hospital foundation raised $600,000, which the province matched to buy the scanner.

One man died after a house fire and explosion south of Maidstone. Emergency units responded to the explosion at a rural residence and found a man dead inside. Another man, believed to be outside the building at the time of the explosion, was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. RCMP said they did not suspect the cause of the explosion was criminal in nature.

The 2017 North Battleford city budget was the big topic at the November council meeting. Mayor Ryan Bater said the upcoming budget would look into long-term goals, and the budget in 2017 might look into capital projects that will happen in 2020. During public deliberations, mayor and council made recommendations to the budget, and to vote on how the city’s money will be spent. Bater said the public is as involved in the budget as they want to be.

With the announcement earlier this year that the 2018 Saskatchewan Winter games were coming to North Battleford in 2018, and the final planning stages were starting in earnest. Individuals involved such as provincial and sporting representatives and the Winter Games Council met at John Paul Two School to begin initial discussions. Kelvin Collier, co-director of sports and venues for the winter games, said the community of North Battleford is what will pull the games together in the end.

If you live in the Town of Battleford, it was a good idea to invest in a good shovel this winter. The town was looking to pass a new bylaw at their next council meeting, requiring citizens in Battleford to clear their own sidewalks of snow, and would be fining those moving snow who did not clear, or cleared snow onto the streets. Mayor Ames Leslie says that they are hoping not to use the fines, but the community’s help is needed until better solutions are found

It was an unusual theft to say the least. RCMP asked for the public’s help after a wishing well was taken from the Battlefords Union Hospital. The large, yellow and very heavy wishing well sat outside the BUH gift shop, until reported missing. Cash and change collected in the well, were set to go towards the BUH foundation. No arrests were made, however in a sign of good will, Scott Campbell Dodge replaced the wishing well after GM Trent Gatzke heard about the incident from an employee.

The mystery was finally solved over who was going to run the private liquor store in Battleford with the announcement Sobeys was the successful bidder. The liquor store in Battleford was one of the 50 total stores becoming private in Saskatchewan. With nine of the 50 private stores to be run by Sobeys, Keri Scobie with Sobeys Western Canada, said Sobeys saw Battleford as a great opportunity for the company.