Estevan

Estevan residents lined the streets Friday afternoon for a colourful kickoff to a busy weekend in the Energy City.

This year’s parade, with the theme "Hats off to Estevan’s Rodeo," featured floats, horseback riders, local businesses, community groups and plenty of cowboy hats, both real and decorative.

The excitement continues with graduation celebrations on Saturday and the Estevan Exhibition running through until Sunday.

Whether you came for the midway, the rodeo or to cheer on your grad, it is a weekend of celebration across the city.

A pair of Southeast Saskatchewan drivers have taken home championship titles following wins during the Tougher Than Dirt Tour over six nights of racing. The tour takes place on five different American tracks and another race here at the Estevan Motor Speedway.

This year's winners are Leevi Runge and Diezel Raynard, both of whom hail from Lampman. The two winning the title make it the first time in the tour's 10-year history that both winners hail from Saskatchewan.

The federal public service shed almost 10,000 people last year, with the Canada Revenue Agency and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada losing the most employees.

The last time the public service contracted was in 2015, when the number of people employed dropped just slightly from 257,138 to 257,034.

The number of public servants employed by the federal government fell from 367,772 to 357,965 over the last year.

Canada's fentanyl czar says the fight against the deadly opioid would get a boost from proposed new tools for law enforcement in the Liberal government's recently tabled border bill.

Kevin Brosseau, the federal point person on fentanyl, welcomes provisions in the Strong Borders Act to increase inspection powers, give police easier access to information, crack down on money laundering and improve control of chemicals used to make the drug.

Some administrative restructuring has hit the Saskatchewan Health Authority, as they recently announced dozens of cuts in senior and leadership positions, with around 26 senior positions being cut. From that, the province says it's freed up $10.4 million, which it will be using towards positions in remote and rural areas.

According to their release, that will include "27 new and 20 enhanced Clinical Manager positions in 45 rural and northern communities, and the introduction of a new model for senior physician leadership."

The parking lot at Affinity Place will be reserved this Saturday, June 14, for attendees of the Estevan Comprehensive School graduation ceremony.

Organizers are asking the public to respect barricades and parking volunteers. Access to the lot will be limited to those with ECS grad tickets, which must be presented upon entry.

Doors to Affinity Place open at 12:30 p.m., with the ceremony scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. The parking lot will reopen to the general public once the ceremony begins.

We've had a lot of people submit amazing stories for the last  about why their dads are the best - and we'll show them ALL off on Sunday on DiscoverEstevan - but we wanted to give shoutouts to our winners of the Super Dad Father's Day Giveaway.

We couldn't have done it without our sponsors:

Impressions Gift Co.

KRJ Custom Fabricating LTD

Dun Rite Glass

The Garden of 4th Street is back in action with flowers, art, and more occupying a space on 4th Street today. Gale Tytlandsvik, president of the Estevan Arts Council, talks about the project that's helped beautify Estevan's main street for over a decade.

"The Garden on Fourth, it's in its 15th year, and that was an original project from the Art and Life Committee. I worked on that with Lynn Shipley and Leslie Padwick, and it's just continued to evolve and get more beautiful every year."

With smokey conditions hanging around, and a busy weekend ahead Saskatchewan residents are reminded of the health risks associated with poor air quality.  

Medical health officer Dr. Hortense Tabien recommended that, if it is smoky, residents should avoid going outside as much as possible and keep all doors and windows closed while indoors.  

If going outside is necessary, Tabien said it’s important to plan ahead.  

Part of Estevan's Downtown along 4th Street will be closed today as work continues for the Downtown Revitalization Project.

Starting today, the 1200 block of 4th Street is closed with no through traffic. Access around the site will also be restricted.

No end time was given for the closure, with drivers advised to avoid the area and follow detour signs for the time being.