Easter is over; does that mean spring is here? Will April showers bring May flowers? Stay tuned, folks, and let鈥檚 see how this month plays out.
The town hall forum hosted by the Unity RCMP on March 26 was well attended and the information presented was informative. Approximately 175 people attended from Unity, Wilkie, Landis, Macklin and Scott to hear presentations on what is being done by police forces across Saskatchewan as well as stats and plans for this detachment area. The floor was opened to questions that ranged from topics to what is the best number to call in case of emergency, the information that should/could be provided in a 9-1-1 call as well as several questions in regards to protection of property. Sargeant Rusk reviewed strategies focused on since 2017 that included:
鈥� Education provided to community/RM residents of crimes in the area and possible solutions to crime prevention, as well as providing communication through weekly media releases and Unity RCMP Facebook page;
鈥� Community involvement recognizing community members will hopefully share more information with police when they are comfortable with them and see them as part of their community;
鈥� Increased presence and patrols in RM and smaller communities in the detachment area;
鈥� Strengthened relationships with neighbouring detachments and like agencies/partners such as Wilkie C.O.P.P., RM Facebook groups, Macklin Crime Watch, Traffic Units, and SGI. RCMP are still hopeful in assisting with the re-start of a Unity COPP program.
Another slide in Sargeant Rusk鈥檚 Powerpoint presentation illustrated the priorities for 2017/2018 for the Unity, Wilkie Macklin detachment, which includes:
鈥� Reducing property crime through Intel reports, awareness through media and RCMP Facebook page, consultation with elected officials, schools, town hall meetings, as well as crime watch groups;
鈥� Enhance road safety through enforcement.
Those in attendance saw and heard of the justice system levels, which start with the police who are in charge of law enforcement, investigating to gather evidence and determine the appropriate charge. The next level is the Crown Prosecutor who ensures the appropriate charges have been laid and prosecutes the case in court. The highest level of this system is the court where a judge or jury interprets the law, assesses the evidence and makes an impartial decision on the facts.
After the first two hours of this forum and question period, the floor was turned over to Constable Alex Giannoulis. Alex is trained on field sobriety testing; he is also a trainer for field sobriety in addition to being a drug recognition expert. Alex demonstrating some of the testing methods using fellow RCMP subjects to show the audience what testing is done while explaining how they can tell if the driver is impaired by drugs or alcohol.聽
Following the closure of the official part of the meeting a number of people in attendance filed towards the members in attendance, posing some of their own questions with regard to the topics that were brought up at this meeting.
UPS staff and students will return to class April 9 after a refreshing Easter break; and they will be very busy following the break putting the finishing touches on their annual Music Festival pieces.聽 Following Easter break, UPS will participate in Red Cross pink shirt day on April 11 as well as participate in the UCHS ACTIVATE day.聽
At St. Peter鈥檚, staff and students will return to class April 9. There will be plenty of music in the halls as Mrs. Keller will be busy putting finishing touches on the band and choir鈥檚 work for the upcoming music festival. The Music Festival is just around the corner! Many grades, the choir and the School Band will be participating. The school portion will take place on Tuesday, April 17 at 9:15 a.m. Just a reminder to guests there are to be no photos or videos taken during performances. The Final Festival Performance will take place on Sunday, April 22 at 2 p.m. at UCHS. Parents are welcome to take pictures and videos at this time. Festival books may be purchased at Our Drug Store and Wildeman Sports. The Grade 2 students first Holy Communion and Confirmation is upcoming May 30.聽 Students and parents will be preparing for this event and were part of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday mass celebrations at St. Peter鈥檚 Church.聽
At UCHS, classes will resume April 9 following the Easter break. PSCC, ACTIVATE team and Leadership class will be focusing on the main frame of their opening week post break, April 11, with their annual 鈥淒ay of Activation鈥� to highlight students submissions and work in the common them of inclusion, kindness and wellness. Some Saskatchewan Roughriders will be part of the events that day making it even more exciting for participants. UCHS drama team will continue to practice their play as they prepare for their upcoming provincial drama competition the first weekend in May. Badminton and track seasons are the only sports left on the high school agenda. Robotics teams earned fourth at the U of S event attended before Easter and now will be just entering their competition season, with several events coming up this month and next. SLC and SADD will soon be winding down their activities for the year. And grads are in the last phase of their high school experience, keeping them very busy topping up their marks, finalizing post secondary plans as well as getting those scholarships applied for. Like it or love it, Grade 12 students and parents know that the remainder of their high school years are now marked in weeks. Once again, the Chamber has partnered with the Unity Composite High School to organize the annual Career Fair for the students in Grades 9 to 12 as part of the Student Led Conference Career Night. This event is scheduled for the evening of Thursday, April 26, at UCHS. Previous Career/Trade Fairs have been very successful in connecting students with local business owners, trades people, and professionals. This not only allows the students to learn more about potential jobs and career paths, but also allows business participants to showcase their own careers, trades, talents, and entrepreneurial spirit. UCHS is the leader in an event like this for their students and it has been well received by both students and career/trade fair exhibitors.
Folks will have noticed a continued full parking lot at the rink, even though winter season is done there.聽 However this venue is still utilized for a number of events including indoor spring training for ball teams as they prepare for the diamonds to be ready for them and ball season to begin.聽
This weekend the rink will play host to the popular Delta Co-op Easter Egg hunt open to kids ages 0-10 with plenty of fun to be had and prizes to be won.
Next weekend, the rink will look like a playground at JDS RV & Power Sport bring their indoor RV and ATV show to the arena for folks to have a look at this new business and what they have to offer.聽 Admission is free and open all three days of April 13, 14 and 15. Upstairs the sounds of sewing machines will be heard as the 鈥淨uilt til you Wilt鈥� group will be in their quilting marathon throughout the weekend creating some masterpieces.
April is the last month to take in the weekly Sunday brunches as part of the museum鈥檚 ongoing fundraising efforts. It is a great way to meet, greet, share a meal and enjoy the fellowship of other residents while supporting this small, hardworking museum committee and volunteers whose efforts keep this fine facility in top notch condition.聽
Unity Soccer Registration will be held on Wednesday, April 11 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Unity Skating Rink Lobby. Tentative start date is Monday, May 7, with practices on Mondays and Wednesdays. Practice times TBA. Registration forms are available at St. Peter鈥檚 School, the Town Office and at registration night. *Please note late registrations are not accepted.*
The Unity Fire Department would like to remind residents with alarm company contracts to ensure the alarm company has their cell phone number so they can be contacted immediately to cancel a false call or confirm a real one, although the UFD are glad that more people have working as alarms as they would rather respond to a false alarm than actual fire. People often overlook the fact that when a landline is no longer used, it is a forgotten factor to pass on cell information to all parties that would require an up-to-date phone number.聽
Coffee row folks are still not particularly thrilled with the longer winter invading their spring plans.聽 Many noted that this time last year there was plenty of water and warm weather unlike this year鈥檚 cold and snow that has still been present. A March packed full of activity leading into a busy April that includes another list of upcoming events always leads to topics about the fun and activity this community has to offer. Robin spotting, gopher tracking and the search for crocuses will now be the mission of these fine folks. So you can see life is full of fun and activity in Unity and our friends at coffee row sharing this traditional part of our community culture. Until next time鈥�
