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Make every day count this summer as it clips along quickly, there are only 56 days until school is back in session. Make the most of those longer daylight hours and support all of the events taking place in our community as well as surrounding areas.

Dual break-ins have plagued the Unity Credit Union Aquatic Centre. In only its second year of operation and barely a month into opening the Unity Credit Union Aquatic Centre has already suffered two break-ins. The first was June 9 and the second June 11. Town of Unity recreation director Cora Fischer reminds residents that it is imperative that anyone seeing or hearing suspicious activity at the pool after 11 p.m. on any day need to call the RCMP at 306-228-6300.

Both incidents resulted in damage to pool equipment and the fence and personal belongings were scattered around the premises. Situations like this also result in many hours of recovery maintenance, cleanup and follow ups to resolve the problems that occur when these break-ins happen. Pool operators have no way of knowing what perpetrators are putting into the pool or if they are tampering with the chemical systems. Pool staff put large amounts of hydrochloric acid into the pool at night to ensure the chemical levels are balanced for the next day. It is dangerous for anyone to be in the pool water when the acid is at this high level.

Property damage due to vandals and break-ins cause financial stress to victims, as they are the people laden with the repair and cleanup. The residents of Unity worked hard to fundraise for this new pool. Eventually the costs of replacement and repair of continued damage are borne by the taxpayers. And, there is always the threat that an incident could cause long-term damage or requiring temporary closure of this popular summer time venue.

Citizens are urged to be the eyes and ears in their community to help prevent or apprehend those responsible for these acts.

There will be no farmers’ market July 8 but make sure you come back July 15.

This weekend head on down to the diamonds to watch the Unity Panthers girls’ softball team compete at U12 provincial championships. The U12, formerly the division known as Squirts, softball team will be hosting the tournament July 8, 9 and 10. The seven-team championship begins Friday at 2 p.m. and will include opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. on the main diamond. There will be two round robin draws Friday immediately following the opening ceremonies. Games will resume Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and following the conclusion of the round robin portion of the event, the top four teams will advance to championship Sunday beginning at 9 a.m.

Unity Panthers U12 team are set to play at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Friday. They continue their round robin play Saturday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The U12 team competed in the Girls’ Prairie League Softball (GPLS) in May and June where their playoffs earned them a third-place finish.

One of the coaches for the U12 team, Dean Wildeman, says, “The girls have had a fantastic season this year, playing in the GPLS U12 B division and all 19 of the girls took part in tournaments in Red Deer, Irma and Unity. We split the girls into groups and were competitive in the league, eventually losing out Sunday morning at championship weekend.

The coaches then chose 11 of the girls to compete at the provincial level and participated in a Saskatoon tournament, playing in the A final. The team has also played some double headers to polish their skills to compete at the provincial level.

The remainder of both softball and baseball teams will stay active until their respective provincial championships, which are all set to take place in July and I will do my best to keep you posted on their results. Coaches and players have worked hard this season to field competitive teams for this event and while we cheer them on for the best results, everyone is proud of them for choosing to compete at this level.

There are only 23 days left until the ball diamonds will play host to Western Canadian U21 junior ladies’ softball championship with the home team, UK royals, looking to defend their title won in surrey BC in 2015.

There are also a number of athletes in preparation for their participation in the upcoming Saskatchewan Summer Games in Estevan. Baseball and Softball teams both carry Unity players on their rosters and there are three Unity boys on the Zone 7 basketball team. Teams yet finalized, such as track, have Unity track hopefuls competing for Zone 7 as well. I will keep you up to date once all of these names are known.

Thank you again to those who choose to host Canada Day events at our museum as it is greatly enjoyed by all who can participate. It’s a full day of fun experiencing all that our museum has to offer along with some great talent and, don’t forget, great food! The museum has been very busy with plenty of grad photo shoots as well as some wind up parties. Our museum is still a venue of envy with its unique set up to resemble a small prairie village in pioneer days. Volunteers and committee members work hard to keep our museum in tip top shape for visitors and activities. Don’t forget to bring your visitors and guests to the Unity museum and show them this terrific venue that is one of the prided places in Unity. Take a step back in time and enjoy all that is on display and so well maintained at our museum. And, it’s the best photo backdrop in town!

Summer fun centre has begun and will run until Aug. 19 for children five to 11 years of age every weekday from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 – 4 p.m. A summer preschool program for children three and four years of age is held at the community centre July 5 to Aug. 12.

Coffee row folks, although in smaller numbers at times due to summer vacations, continue to review events and activities in our community and those that surround us. The action at the ball diamonds in the days and weeks ahead provide plenty for the sports enthusiast to chatter about, as does Rider season that has now kicked off. Everyone is curious whether Chris Jones is the man to right the ship from last year. All of the events in town give everyone plenty to anticipate as well as reminisce about in the days ahead. So you see we keep busy in Unity with activities and wisdom from our friends on coffee row. Until next time …