Estevan

A Toronto artist based in Florida says he's anxiously waiting to ensure the safety of his friends in the state and assess the potentially catastrophic damage to his property as Hurricane Milton barrels towards his community just outside Sarasota.

He's just one of many Canadians who own homes in the state. Like him, many have fled because of this hurricane or its predecessor Helene, which unleashed devastation across several southern states just a few weeks ago. 

Access Communications has announced it is sponsoring the Estevan Leisure Centre by purchasing naming rights, with the indoor pool now renamed to the Access Communications Aquatic Centre (ACAC).

“Access is proud to partner with the City of Estevan for the Access Communications Aquatic Centre,” said Carmela Haines, President and CEO of Access in a release. "Our sponsorship reflects our ongoing commitment to enriching the lives of those in the communities we serve. Community is at the heart of our co-operative and we’re thrilled about this partnership.”

The nominations to run for municipal positions have closed, including the city council and the mayor's office.

Additionally seats for the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division's board and the South East Cornerstone Public School Division's board.

The current nominees are as follows:

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has released a report on the latest recommendations and feedback relating to modernizing the seed regulations in Canada.

The process began in 2021 and covers several areas from import to export, seed conditioning, storage, testing and labeling to seed sales.

The National Manager for the Seed Section of the CFIA, Wendy Jahn says a number of the regulations, policies and programs interact with each other and rather than making changes one at a time it makes more sense to take a holistic approach to modernizing the system.

Fire departments around the southeast are letting residents know how to keep a fire from causing damage during Fire Prevention Week. That includes watching for the signs of a fire and making sure equipment such as smoke alarms and fire extinguishers are in the right spot.

Redvers Fire Chief Brad Hutton talks about what they discuss with younger residents to make sure they're staying safe.

Appointments are now open for the free flu and updated COVID-19 immunization clinics, with walk-in locations also being listed.

Everyone six months and older is eligible to get the shots, and people can get both the flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same appointment.

SHA Medical Health Officer Dr. Tania Diener says the vaccines take about ten days to two weeks in order to take effect, which is why they encourage people to get immunized as soon as possible.

"Anytime that you can have four wins right off the bat, it definitely helps. I think the big thing now for us is not being complacent. We're not satisfied with a 4-1 record. We want to be better and I think the players want to be better. They see that we can go into every game and regardless who we're playing, expect to win every game -- that's the mindset that we've instilled now...we don't want to be complacent."

Estevan Fire Rescue held its yearly open house last night, inviting the community to come down to their station and chat about the ways people can stay safe from fire.

With that lining up with Fire Prevention Week, they focused on issues like smoke alarms and what equipment firefighters bring to fight fires.

EFR Fire Chief Rick Davies talked about the open house and what it brought to residents.

Volleyball has been heating up in the southeast and the Estevan Comprehensive School is representing the community well. Over the weekend, the Elecs Intermediate Girls Volleyball Team dominated and took home first place against three teams in Radville.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was not allowed to speak in the House of Commons Tuesday as his public feud with Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly spilled into a second day.

House Speaker Greg Fergus delivered the penalty to Poilievre in the morning, a day after he asked the leader of the opposition to withdraw a remark accusing Joly of pandering to supporters of the terrorist organization Hamas.