Residents in Valley Plain, Sask., maintain the building that now hosts concerts, meetings, parties and quilting bees
VALLEY PLAIN, Sask. — It was a time when cursive writing with anything other than the right hand and speaking in your mother tongue were punishable offences. Robert Govan, now in his 90s, recalled getting the strap at the Valley Plain one-room schoolhouse. “It was a piece of leather and it hurt,” he said of […] Read moreStories by Karen Morrison
Seniors up and about with MOVE
A program in four Alberta hospitals focuses on mobility among the elderly to maintain muscle strength and reduce depression
Increasing mobility can decrease the length of time a senior stays in hospital, says a geriatrics specialist. “Statistics say that one-third of the elderly will decline in hospital in function and half will not regain that function,” Jayna Holroyd-Leduc, a professor in the University of Calgary’s department of medicine, told the 8th Annual Summit of […] Read more
Home-based business suits family life
DOMREMY, Sask. — Crystal LeBlanc has the best of both worlds: generating off-farm in-come without leaving the farm. Business is good for the accounts bookkeeper, who handles data entry for businesses as varied as farms, chiropractors and trucking companies as far flung as Big River, Sask., and Shellbrook, Sask. “I like numbers so I don’t […] Read more
Couple hopes farm passes to next generation
DOMREMY, Sask. — Theron LeBlanc, 5, warily approaches a flock of chickens retreating into a red, aging hip roof barn. The 100 birds are the responsibility of his older brothers, Lorrin, 11, and Griffin, 8. The oldest brother, Avery, 16, minds the six pigs snuffling in a nearby pen. Their parents, Gilles and Crystal, hope […] Read more
Couple creates art from fragile medium
Glass workers like the freedom and creativity of playing with glass, moulding, fusing and blowing it into a variety of designs
SHIELDS, Sask. — Joan and Alan Hiebert became smitten with glass art after viewing glass walls in Mexico depicting a pirate attack. “I came home inspired,” said Joan. “I found every broken window and started learning how to cut glass.” That led to classes with experts to blow, shape and colour glass, a founding membership […] Read more
Kids and equipment don’t mix
Children in the tractor with Grandpa might make a good photo, but safety specialists advise against keeping them near farm equipment when working. Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting says one-to-four-year-olds and 60-to-69-year-olds account for the second highest number of runover deaths in Canada. Dean Anderson, chair of the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, expressed his frustration with […] Read more
Becoming ‘deadened to the risk’ can be worst nightmare
Listen to that nagging voice in-side that says something doesn’t feel right, say two accident survivors. Curtis Weber and Wes Jamison, who both sustained serious injuries doing jobs they had done many times before, detailed their stories at the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association’s annual conference in Saskatoon Oct. 5-8. “If you’ve got a question, ask […] Read more
Food waste among priorities at Youth Ag Summit
Improving education to curb food waste is among topics that young people will present to the United Nations’ food security committee in Rome next month. The Youth Ag Summit, which was held in Australia last month, selected two young people to present a declaration based on their discussions that focused on global food security. Cassandra […] Read more
Dairy success takes hard work, long hours
CARONPORT, Sask. — Farm labour is less of a problem at Caron-crest Farms Dairy, thanks to the many students housed across the Trans-Canada Highway at the Briercrest Bible College. The McLeod family farm straddles the highway, with their pastured Holstein cattle ambling through a tunnel that links fields on either side of the road. The […] Read more
Angus breeders evolve, improve, promote sector
PEEBLES, Sask. — It took a STARS helicopter landing in the yard to bring home the farm safety message to the Johnsons this year. Brielle, the teenaged daughter of Andrew and Laurie Johnson, was driving an all-terrain vehicle when it collided with a silage truck at a treed intersection in the family’s farmyard near Peebles. […] Read more
