WestCentral

September 23 to 30, 2024, is Rail Safety Week in Saskatchewan The initiative joins a national effort to raise awareness about the importance of safety around trains. With the province's extensive rail system playing a crucial role in Saskatchewan's export-driven economy, officials are reminding the public to prioritize safety near rail lines.

Swift Current's Great Plains Colege recently received a $100,000 donation to establish a new bursary in honour and memory of long-time southwest resident, Philip Gobeil.

The Philip Gobeil Memorial Bursary is set to provide five $2,000 bursaries to selected students each year for the next decade.

Brad Mahon, president and CEO at Great Plains College in Swift Current, was delighted that the college would be able to help provide students with the means and support to get an education.

Residents of Saskatchewan are filled with pride as a core symbol and the embodiment of the province turns 55 years old today.

Saskatchewan Flag Day not only celebrates the creation of the flag but the mastermind behind it, Anthony Drake, who designed the flag as a part of a competition.

Gail Hapanowicz, owner of the old Hodgeville High School, noted that after she and her husband purchased the old school they learned about the flag and that its creator had once been a teacher there.

MADD Canada is set to honour Saskatchewan police officers for their exceptional efforts in preventing impaired driving and ensuring road safety at special events in Saskatoon and Regina. These officers will be recognized for their dedication to keeping communities safe from impaired drivers, with awards based on the number of charges laid in the past year.

Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal is set to begin hearing the provincial government’s appeal of a ruling concerning its controversial pronoun consent law on Monday.

The appeal will focus on the "Parents' Bill of Rights," a law passed last October, which requires parental consent for students under 16 to use a different gender-related name or pronoun at school. The province lost a legal challenge in February when Court of King's Bench Justice Michael Megaw allowed UR Pride, a Regina-based 2SLGBTQ+ group, to contest the law's constitutionality.

From parades to dance contests, and sports the Kindersley Goose Festival was a barrel of fun, offering activities that had something for everyone in the family!

Check out the photo gallery from the parade and downtown activities.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that at a time when the world faces increasing instability, leaders have a choice: bury their heads in the sand or put their differences aside for the sake of future generations.

"We can recognize that, collectively, we have a responsibility to set our differences aside, to confront the serious global challenges, and to deliver on a pact for the future," Trudeau said at the Summit of the Future in New York on Sunday. 

A 6-year-old girl who had been missing from her community in north-central British Columbia since Thursday has been found safe. 

Resources from across the province were enlisted in the search to find the child who lives in a small community not far from Burns Lake.

The girl, who is on the autism spectrum and non-verbal, was found on Sunday night around 6 p.m.

A video posted to Facebook show a woman appearing to embrace the child, who was covered in several layers of clothing and blankets

With the end of summer and the slow approach of fall, flu season has come into focus for the region. As we enter flu season, the town of Unity is already preparing its vaccine campaign.

They have released the dates for their COVID/flu vaccine clinics, which will occur on October 16 and November 12 at the Community Center.

According to this document, the flu vaccine contains antigens against the following strains:

Three RCMP members from a Metro Vancouver detachment could be fired over alleged "atrocious," "racist" and "horrible" behaviour detailed by a fellow officer, including text chats that bragged about "Tasering unarmed black people," court documents say. 

A schedule from the RCMP shows Constables Philip Dick, Ian Solven and Mersad Mesbah are slated to appear next February for code of conduct hearings over allegations including discrimination, harassment and discrediting the police force.

None of the allegations have been proven.