Diane Rogers

PERDUE, Sask. – Kim Elderkin keeps her promises. That’s why Tommy the guard turkey is still alive. The four-year-old turkey that romps on Elderkin’s quarter of land in west-central Saskatchewan with her dogs and Dexter cattle is a character. Tommy was raised on Elderkin’s property near Carmangay, Alta., as one of a flock of 50 […] Read more

Herb and spice growers need to cultivate professionalism to do well in the market, says a plant broker. Wanda Wolf of Phippen, Sask., helps growers and buyers connect. She told members of the Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association at their Jan. 9 conference that there are ways they can make her job easier. The first […] Read more

Marla Rauser has a victory. The home canner from Lloydminster, Sask., who led a campaign for the return of gem lids has been told they will be back this spring. And two companies will be vying for canners’ dollars this time: Bernardin, the original manufacturer that stopped making them; and a new company headed by […] Read more

Showing students how the real world works is the motivation for a communications class taught in some Saskatchewan rural schools. “We believe strongly in authentic learning,” says Jim McLeod of the province’s education department, who helped set up the program last year. Offered to selected schools, the course teaches teenagers how to be computerized journalists. […] Read more

On a bitterly cold night last week, 200 people met in the Rec Plex in Theodore, Sask., to tell the Yorkdale School Board why it should not close their school. The board was impressed with the community’s presentation, said Conrad Raddysh, a local farmer and one of the organizers of the Jan. 23 event. The […] Read more

Deciding to close a school is the “most uncomfortable thing” a trustee can do, says Lance Bean, vice-president of the Saskatchewan School Trustees Association. The bitterness that can be left in a community has caused some trustees to quit. Meanwhile, others are re-elected because the voters recognize they were doing the job as honourably as […] Read more

WATROUS, Sask. – Good health is rooted in simple things, say rural Saskatchewan women who are examining what they need to stay healthy. The 12 participants who answered questions at a Jan. 11 meeting held in Watrous, near the soothing waters of Lake Manitou, said prairie sunsets, space and friendly smiles are important for everyone. […] Read more

WATROUS, Sask. – It was a question asked by psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, and now a health research group wants to know. What do women want? Here are some answers given by rural Saskatchewan women when asked how to improve the health-care system. Less turf protection by doctors, nurses and therapists. More teamwork and primary health […] Read more

Al Slinkard knows what farmers should have grown last summer – Maple peas. They are selling for $16 a bushel right now, the University of Saskatchewan crop professor told growers at the Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association during Crop Production Week. The peas are prized in Great Britain, where they are fed to racing pigeons. […] Read more

The floor of the northern forest grows a range of products free for the picking. A Manitoba program is taking advantage of the wild berries, mushrooms, moss, driftwood and seneca root to create income for people who live in forest communities. Dave Buck, manager of the non-timber forest products program, said it offers training and […] Read more