Verna Thompson

THE saga of federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief and western farmers continues. It reminds me of the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Little Red (Vanclief) went to visit grandma (farmers) who turned out to be a wolf and attacked her (him). The difference, of course, is that Little Red’s basket was full of good […] Read more

Like every community everywhere, the town I call home, Eston, has several characteristics which make it unique. One of the most notable is the fact that we race gophers. For 25 years gopher races have been a feature of our town’s July 1st celebrations. June 30th, a draw is held from entries received to determine […] Read more

Old friends are the best friends and last week we enjoyed some time with friends of long standing who we hadn’t seen in some time. In the early evening, we stood on the grass in front of their house, a soft breeze blowing, the dog scampering and the cat waiting for her ears to be […] Read more

You sometimes have to wonder what goes through people’s heads. The federal agriculture minister comes to Saskatchewan to view rain-soaked fields and to meet with farmers. He views the fields, but then pushes without speaking through a crowd of farmers who have come to talk to him to go into a closed meeting with a […] Read more

The Indian Head and Wolseley News has to be one of the most unique weekly newspapers in Saskatchewan. When I visited the paper a few weeks ago I had no trouble finding it in a strip mall on Indian Head’s Main Street, just as my directions said. When I stepped inside the door, however, I […] Read more

WHEN I was elected president of the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association last fall, I said that during my term of office, which runs until September 2000, that I wanted to visit each one of our 65 member publishers. To date I’ve visited nine. By the end of August, if all goes according to plan, I’ll […] Read more

As I write this, it has been raining and snowing for five days. One day there were patches of sunshine, just to tease us, I’m sure, and then the rain returned. And how it returned! Night and day it has rained, with no let up. Water is lying in the fields and in the potholes. […] Read more

I’ll feel secure living in rural Saskatchewan when there are more nurses and more money for nurses. When quality becomes more important than money. When we have stopped taking away from rural health care and we have been given something in return. When the city gets it, we get it. When all women’s work is […] Read more

A lot of people swear by the internet as a research tool. I seldom use it, for the simple reason that it is unreliable. Take the following case in point: On the internet recently was a message, supposedly from a Toronto law firm, saying Canada Post intended to recoup money lost by people not using […] Read more

GARDENING has been called the purest of human pleasures. It has also been called a fool’s paradise. After the first weekend of the season in the garden, I tend to the latter. This past weekend was so warm and sunny I could hear the garden calling. Leave the housework, it was saying. Lay down your […] Read more