2016 Year in Review — June
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 Brad Wall government tabled its first budget since its April re-election in June and Battleford’s MLA Herb Cox considered it a good budget despite provincial funding to some municipal parks were getting cut, including the Battlefords River Valley Provincial Park. Meanwhile there were mixed reviews from the mayors of North Battleford and Battleford. While money is still coming to the communities in the form of municipal revenue sharing, funding for the river valley has been eliminated. The City of North Battleford will receive $3.03 million dollars in revenue sharing, an increase of 60-thousand from last year. The figure is based on one percentage point of provincial sales tax revenue. The revenue sharing is also continuing across the river in the Town of Battleford and Mayor Derek Mahon said it’s a boon for the town and other municipalities.
A recent possible abduction attempt had the Living Sky School Division alerting schools, students and families to be vigilant in outdoor supervision. The Battlefords RCMP kept an eye out for a man who allegedly grabbed the arm of a 10-year-old child at a Battleford elementary school, in an attempt to direct the student to a nearby vehicle on. However, the student screamed and the man let go and drove away. Communications spokesperson for Living Sky Shannon Lessard says while it is unfortunate, it is something school divisions have to deal with.
Meanwhile there were some anxious moments on June 14 when a youth was charged with several offences after an incident that resulted in two Maidstone schools being placed in hold-and-secure mode. The charges included uttering threats, mischief, public mischief, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and common nuisance. Both the Maidstone High School and Ratushniak Elementary School were put into hold-and-secure mode when one of the schools became aware of threats made against the school and students. Following the arrests, the lock down was lifted and classes resumed as usual.