Estevan

This weekend, the village of Torquay, Saskatchewan, will mark a remarkable milestone: 100 years of resilience, progress, and neighbourly spirit. From its modest beginnings as a farming settlement, Torquay has grown into a vital hub for agriculture and oil, shaped by generations of hard work and shared vision.

The Federal Court has approved a multi-billion-dollar class-action settlement for people who suffered abuse at federally run 'Indian hospitals' following out-of-court negotiations between Ottawa and Indigenous survivors.

The federal government ran 33 such hospitals between 1936 and 1981. The total compensation amount is expected to be between $3 billion and $5.3 billion.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday that a 49-year-old Canadian has died while in its custody.

A detainee death notice from the agency, commonly known as ICE, said that Johnny Noviello was pronounced dead by the Miami Fire Rescue Department at 1:36 p.m. on June 23.

The agency said he was found unresponsive at 12:54 p.m. at a federal detention centre where he was being held pending deportation proceedings. Medical staff attempted CPR and defibrillation but were unsuccessful, the agency said.

Producers across the region continued in-crop spray applications as the weather allowed and are monitoring fields for insect and disease pressure.

Haying operations have just begun but may be delayed in some areas due to recent rainfall.

Some crop damage occurred as a result of hailstorms that moved through parts of the region. Producers are currently assessing the extent of the damage and monitoring recovery in affected crops.

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck was in Weyburn Wednesday morning, meeting with CUPE Local 5430 Region 4 Vice President Arlene Picard. The two spoke to the media, highlighting concerns over staffing shortages in healthcare, worker burnout, and service disruptions at emergency rooms in the Weyburn area.  

Students heading to post-secondary institutions this fall can now apply for Saskatchewan Student Aid. The online application assesses eligibility for a range of provincial and federal support, including loans, grants, scholarships, bursaries, and loan forgiveness programs.

With the upcoming Canada Day looking to be a hot one, the provincial RCMP is taking the opportunity to remind people of safe boating practices, such as avoiding drinking and driving. They advise boaters that drinking and boating can result in losing your driver’s license, hefty fines, and even time in jail.

Estevan Police Service responded to a range of calls on Wednesday, including reports of erratic driving, suspicious individuals, and an impaired driver.

Officers responded to a report of a motorcycle speeding and driving erratically on King Street. The vehicle was located and the driver was cautioned about his driving behaviour.

Police were also called to a local park to mediate a situation. All parties involved left the scene without incident, and nothing criminal had occurred.

The first long weekend of the summer is coming up for Canada Day, and many anglers may have their sights set on the lake. Senior Conservation Officer Lindsey Leko reminds fishermen of some regulations to be aware of.  

Leko begins with a licensing reminder, as everyone over the age of 16 must have a fishing license to be able to fish, with the exception of free fishing weekends. He says they are running into many people fishing without their license on hand. 

Yesterday, Environment Canada was forecasting a big thunderstorm, but most people in the southeast ended up dry, with no thunderstorm in sight. Usually, that's a case of thunderstorms tending to be tightly packed and missing areas, but in the case of Wednesday's weather, it was completely missing from most of the southeast.

Crawford Luke, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, says at least one area did see a bit of rain.