2014 stood in stark contrast to the tumultuous 2013 in terms of news.
While 2013 was a year of centennial celebrations in North Battleford, as well as a year of furor over crime in the city, 2014 was the year of getting down to work and getting things accomplished in and around the Battlefords.
That is exactly what happened as new construction and new initiatives dominated the news in 2014, a year that saw the start of major projects, some major public safety and housing initiatives and other activities.
The year began on a high note, with local residents basking in the afterglow of the last year’s victory by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Grey Cup game.
Members of the Roughriders, including Grey Cup MVP Kory Sheets, brought the trophy to the community Jan. 6, with visits to Battleford Central School and McKitrick School and later to the NationsWEST Field House for a major autograph session with the fans.
Roughriders returned to the community for more fun in March for a Roughriders charity game to benefit minor football.
One of the big news stories early in the year was word that Husky Energy was proceeding with two new thermal-energy projects in Edam and Vawn, each of which will produce 10,000 barrels/day.
Within the city itself, several major expansions got off the ground in 2014. They included a grocery store addition at Walmart; a major expansion of the Home Hardware Building Centre in North Battleford; the opening of a new Battlefords Co-op Gas Bar and Convenience Store on Carlton Trail; and the start of the expansion project at the Gold Eagle Casino, among several others.
In Battleford was the grand opening of the Kramer Ltd. facility, as well as the opening of the Leading Manufacturing Group Ltd. facility on 18th Street later that year. The sod was also turned for new seniors’ apartments.
The construction projects meant big values for building permits in the Battlefords. Permit values topped $55 million in North Battleford and $26 million in Battleford by November.
There were also changes coming to the Battlefords Nature Centre located in the river valley. A partnership was struck between the Battlefords River Valley board and Battlefords Tourism, which allowed the latter organization to move in to the Nature Centre and turn it into a visitor information centre, while at the same time retaining the animal displays that had distinguished the centre in the past.
The announcement marked a transition for visitor information services, which until 2014 had been provided by the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce at their location at the junction of highways 16 and 40 near Western Development Museum.
It was also a particular “big” year for the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Their long-awaited 15.2 metre long “biggest bat in Canada” arrived at the Hall of Fame in August, and was unveiled on the day of their annual Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.
The large bat immediately became a landmark attraction on 22nd Street in Battleford and helped put the community on the map in a positive way in 2014.
While 2014 marked a year of building in the Battlefords, it was also a year of demolition. Local residents watched as the wrecking ball brought down the old Marlborough Hotel on 100th Street this past April.
A major announcement on the new Saskatchewan Hospital came in April 2014 with news that an integrated correctional facility would be included.
The project was confirmed as a P3 — a public-private partnership — something that did not sit well with CUPE and other union members who attended a public forum at the Dekker Centre in the fall voicing opposition to those plans.
Still, the project was proceeding. The final Lean planning session had proceeded early in 2014 and the project was at the request-for-proposals stage by the fall.
Addressing the crime situation was a prime concern throughout 2014. The year started with some reorganization at the top of the local RCMP. Insp. John Sutherland took over leadership of the Battlefords RCMP detachment early in the year, and civic officials sought to give the RCMP some help in terms of additional resources.
The city funded a community safety co-ordinator position to develop public-safety initiatives. Herb Sutton took on that role on an initial six-month contract that was later extended through 2015.
The other major announcement was the city’s initiative to add Community Safety Officers to the ranks of municipal bylaw enforcement.
The program began in July with the hire of two new CSOs, who took on traffic enforcement, foot patrols and other lower-risk functions. The idea was to free up RCMP officers to concentrate on other areas of enforcement.
Officials viewed the program, which began as a six-month trial, as a success. The City announced it would continue the program on a full-time basis, and the province recognized the accomplishments in North Battleford by expanding the model across the province.
The initiatives were evidence that the City was making moves to address the crime situation in the Battlefords, one that was still a problem as the city again topped the Crime Severity Index in July of this year.
The Battlefords Rural RCMP detachment were also busy enhancing their police coverage of the region around the Battlefords, including neighbouring First Nations, with the opening of a new satellite office in Cochin in 2014. The office was part of an enhanced policing initiative signed with Saulteaux and Moosomin First Nations.
Two other initiatives designed to address the issue of homelessness in the Battlefords and surrounding area were launched in the fall of 2014.
One was the grand opening of long-awaited pocket housing project at 1322 - 103rd St. The eight housing units are designed for those at-risk individuals who face addictions or mental-health related challenges, and who seek to turn their lives around. The grand opening took place in October.
Also that month came news that the need for a new permanent homeless shelter in the city would finally be addressed. The announcement was made that the Saskatoon-based Lighthouse would be opening a permanent homeless shelter on 102nd Street in North Battleford, at the location of the Reclaim Outreach Centre.
Renovations to ready the building for use as a homeless shelter got started quickly and a grand opening for January was being planned by year’s end.
By year’s end came news of changes coming for the Battlefords District Food and Resource Centre. They made an offer for the old Knights of Columbus Hall across from the water tower, a deal subject to a rezoning application to be decided at city council in 2015. As well, Executive Director Bill Hall made known his plans to leave that longtime role in mid-2015.
In politics, 2014 unexpectedly turned out to be an election year in North Battleford.
Kelli Hawtin became the city’s newest and youngest councillor, defeating former councillor Ron Crush and Tom Schwab in a byelection held this spring. She filled the seat of Councillor Trent Houk. He resigned in January after four years on council, citing family and work commitments.
In provincial politics, the Saskatchewan Party nominated incumbent MLA Herb Cox to run in the Battlefords, while Larry Doke was again nominated to run again in Cut Knife-Turtleford. The provincial election is not expected to happen until 2016.
It was also a year of events in the Battlefords, with one of the main ones being the new International Street Performer Festival in July.
The first-annual event in the downtown core attracted 3,000 people and featured buskers, jugglers, musical performers and other street acts from around the world.
Those were just some of the news and events that shook the Battlefords and area in 2014.
