It鈥檚 mid-September. Have you had something pumpkin spice flavoured yet?
The weather needs to improve and stay continuous for our farmer friends to complete their valuable harvest work. Let鈥檚 continue to hope and pray for that.
Do you know who is running for office in your school district? Your RM? Your town? If your name isn鈥檛 on the ballot list, make sure you exercise the right to vote by doing your research and making an educated choice on who you feel is the best candidate for your 鈥淴.鈥�
At St. Peter鈥檚 School, Mrs. Keller is already seeking choir members from Grades 3 - 6 who will begin practices to perform in school, in church and at community events. Cross-country running has begun and the first meet takes place Sept. 15 at the Unity Golf Course.
At Unity Public School, the SCC welcomed everyone back with a pancake breakfast in the parking lot. Things will soon ramp up at UPS as extracurricular activities begin.听
At UCHS, Welcome Week ran during the week of Sept. 12 to 16 featuring spirit days, a Grade 12 burger sale, a chili cook off, picture day and more. Warrior football fans are anticipating the excitement for their very first 鈥淔riday night lights鈥� game Sept. 16 versus the Meadow Lake Spartans. Volleyball is also in full swing with tournaments, home and away, on tap. Drama practices have begun for this year鈥檚 musical production directed by Mrs. Gilbert.
Now that ball season is officially over its time for hockey season. The arena saw some upgrades over the summer that included new carpet at both entrances, new flooring for the stairs leading to the upper hall, a paint and carpet makeover in the curling rink side, as well as a brand new compressor installed at the hockey arena side. Everything is refreshed and ready to roll for this year鈥檚 season that will kick off with the annual NWT 3 on 3 hockey event followed by the annual fall fair and trade show.
Want to stay in shape this winter? There are a number of opportunities in Unity and forgive me if I don鈥檛 know of them all. Pilates class begins Sept. 19 with registration and class to follow for new clients and regular clients at 8:15 p.m. Private classes are starting Sept. 26 with pregnancy class beginning Sept. 28. You can also try Crossfit Lair, a very popular gym in Unity that is located in the industrial area. 鈥淭he Gym,鈥� now located above Bluez is also another option. Seniors can use the seniors鈥� workout room for free during school hours by contacting Unity Public School. Add in the option of recreational hockey for adults, curling season about to begin and adult dance classes, and it adds up to a whole slate of opportunities for fitness in Unity.
Dance for the Health of It will hold their 19th annual event Saturday, Oct. 15. This event always sells out quickly and only 250 tickets are available, so get yours early! The event runs from 3 to 11 p.m. at the community centre and each year a substantial sum of money is donated to a community charity. Contact Cliff at 306.228.3753 or Peter at 306.228.3847 for tickets.
Did you know that ShopportUNITY in Unity will have even more benefits? Carey Baker, director of Economic Development, has created new ways to encourage people both in town and visitors from out of town to shop in Unity. A ShopportUNITY app is now available free on mobile devices. Baker says, 鈥淚 have been working with the Chamber for the past few years utilizing our new opportUNITY and shopportUNITY brands.鈥�
Baker adds, 鈥淚 had wanted to move into mobile marketing to promote shopping local, as well as try to find a loyalty program that any business could participate in, at minimal cost. The idea of the shopportUNITY app was born.鈥�
Currently there are 11 participating merchants. App users can automatically keep track of the amount of local purchases they make giving an indication of how engaged they are in our community and how they are contributing to the local economy. The top users monthly are eligible to receive a $50 gift card/certificate to a participating business. The annual top app user could receive several $50 gift cards, providing even more incentive for consumers to keep their shopping dollars in the local business sector.
The value for business lies in the opportunity to promote themselves.
听鈥淲e do track the app usage to determine who has made the most number of local purchases,鈥� Baker explains.
鈥淐hoosing to shop local is extremely important to maintaining and growing the prosperity of our community. Supporting local businesses will in turn support the retention and creation of jobs which benefits everyone.鈥�
Choose to shop locally and have fun doing so.
The Lions Club has undertaken a project that will be both a fundraiser for the local club as well as another shopportUNITY project. This will involve a coupon booklet.
The coupon book, which will be on sale in the near future, encourages shoppers to support local businesses and rewards them for doing so.
With approximately $800, consumers can purchase a coupon book that enables them to cash in on those savings at participating businesses in Unity.
Coffee row folks are ready for a fall full of fun and 鈥渇ood for fodder鈥� as fall activities, Rider season blues, Blue Jays season worries and, of course, harvest are always on the topic table. All it takes is a few friendly faces, some topics to mull over, a simple cup of coffee and the camaraderie of this community culture to share, solve and simplify all that is going on in life. So you see we keep busy in Unity with activities and wisdom from our friends on coffee row. Until next time 鈥�
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