SwiftCurrent

Tom Christiansen was among several incumbent city councillors to be re-elected to office earlier this week. 

The local business owner is delighted to be holding on to his seat for another four years and bringing his plethora of political knowledge and practical mindset back to the table.

"It's a great honour, I'm excited to get back to work and try to keep moving the city forward," he said. "I thank everyone that voted for me and everyone that voted in general, we had a lot of good names out there."

A British Columbia man was apprehended with thousands of unstamped cigarettes near Gull Lake last year and is facing a fine that could take him the rest of his life to pay off.

Michael Weins was arrested on Nov. 16, 2023, after Swift Current Rural RCMP pulled over a speeding semi and subsequently uncovered illegal cargo in the form of over 42,000 cartons of unstamped cigarettes. 

The 47-year-old entered into a joint submission on November 6 at the Swift Current Provincial Courthouse with a guilty plea that resulted in a $2.68 million restitution fine.

Canada Post workers are on strike after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer.

Canadian Union of Postal Workers says approximately 55,000 workers are striking, claiming little progress has been made in the bargaining process.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers issued a 72-hour strike notice earlier in the week, saying it's been asking for fair wages, safer working conditions and other improvements over nearly a year of bargaining.

Municipalities across Saskatchewan held their local government elections on Wednesday. Here is a look at results from across southwest Saskatchewan.

If you have a result for us to include e-mail news@swiftcurrentonline.com or call (306) 773-NEWS.

SWIFT CURRENT

Mayor Al Bridal elected by acclamation. 

City Council Election (top six elected) 

The RCMP is rolling out body-worn cameras for officers, deploying more than 10,000 cameras across the country in the next 12 to 18 months.

Officers will be expected to turn on their cameras when they answer calls or interact with the public. They will wear the cameras on their chests and they will flash red lights to indicate they are recording.

"The muscle memory that we're training officers to build in is essentially seatbelt off, camera on," said Taunya Goguen, the RCMP’s corporate management officer, at a press briefing Thursday. 

After some recent turmoil, Shaunavon is turning the page with a new mayor and six new councillors.

"If you see something that you can help on it," said new Shaunavon Mayor Cal Vance. "You just get out and do it."

Vance beat Drew Grainger by 66 votes to become mayor.

Manitoba recording artist Jerry Sereda joins us to share his new single, Baptized by Your Love. We’ll also have a special appearance from American recording artist Chase Matthew, who will debut his latest single, Darlin’, live from his tour bus as he travels across Canada this week. Plus, we’ll look back at this week in 2017 with a #1 hit from Thomas Rhett.

After a grassroots campaign focused on communicating with constituents, Ron Mathies will serve four more years as Herbert's mayor. 

"It's my third term and that gets pretty hard in today's age to win a third term," Mathies said. "I actually worked pretty hard at it, but we did end up winning and I'm happy. I hope to serve another four years and keep working and trying to improve our town."

The push for more funding continues on the Chinook School Division Board.

Dianne Hahn returns for a third term as a Swift Current trustee on the board. She is continuing her focus on bringing their provincial funding in line with their needs. 

"I really think that we need to advocate for sufficient funding," Hahn said. "There just needs to be fair and equitable funding. The other thing is I just really believe that every school needs to be a safe and welcoming environment for every student."

Maple Creek has their town council in place to servce for the next four years. 

Len Barkman, Betty Abbot, Corrine Collura, Leah Baratta, Tina Cresswell and Shane Wurtz will fill out the council table.

There were seven candidates for the six spots on council.

Barkman had the most votes with 283.

Mayor Michelle McKenzie was elected by acclamation.