Well, one thing can be said for sure this Oct. 19th – harvest is a lot happier for many farmers than it was at this time last year!
I do not want to forget to wish my F-i-L, Mike, a very happy birthday on Oct. 26. As I know he reads this column, our family wants to let him know we appreciate him and we wish him much health and happiness. As well, it’s always good to remind him he can still out walk many of us.
Congratulations to the following residents who were awarded Canada 150 medals and certificates. Although the nominators said there were more than five dozen individuals who could have been chosen, the awards were presented to: 1. Brian Woytiuk as a long time, dedicated and multi-tasking volunteer who has contributed to dozens of events and activities in Unity. 2. Dr. Lyle Williams who has become very involved in not only Unity’s medical clinic as well as the Heartland Health Authority, in addition to maintaining a healthy interest and involvement in the many social aspects of our community. 3. Mary Vetter is no stranger to accolades. Mary has a number of accomplishments and commitments behind her, including the 2002 Citizen of the Year; but she is most notable for her dedication to helping new Canadians by teaching English and assisting them with paperwork, employment, driving lessons and generally the friendship all newcomers desire. 4. Helena Long, whose photo was in last week’s column, has served multiple roles in the community most notable her initiative to bring the Chamber of Commerce into new light in not only our own community, but across the province, offering new initiatives and ideas. 5. Gerald Hauta is well known in Unity as he is like the energizer bunny, committing himself to a number of activities that earned him the 2011 Citizen of the year amongst many accolades. Gerald is so busy being part of this community he doesn’t even realize the role he plays in the success stories of the many groups and organizations he has been part of. 6. Reeve Jim Powell and Mayor Ben Weber were recognized for their capacities as local government leaders, and their leadership and service to their communities. Congratulations to all of these recipients!
At Unity Composite High School, there is no lack of news, things to do and activity to talk about. This weekend both senior and junior boys host their home volleyball tournament. Junior volleyball teams will be preparing for their district playdowns while senior teams have a few weeks left to fine tune their game before they head into conference and district playdowns. Reece Gilbert was the lone UCHS student who advanced to provincial cross country competition after capturing district Gold; we await the results from his provincial quest. Warrior football has been the talk of the school and the community with their undefeated 5-0 record heading into 2A playoffs with Delisle on Oct. 13. That will determine where they are seeded for provincial football playdowns. This game in Delisle was designated pink game and had all players tape up in pink as well as name someone they knew afflicted with cancer whom they were playing for; very awesome gesture by Delisle. UCHS students continue with their popular fall fruit sale fundraising program in their efforts to help earn some funding for their extra curricular activities. Drama students continue to rehearse for their winter productions. SLC, SADD, yearbook, and robotics also continue their plans and goals for this year. The annual, and always popular, fruit sales have begun. Contact your favorite or neighborhood UCHS student to order yours. You can follow all of the action of UCHS on their Facebook page.
At Unity Public School, UPS staff and students have been kept very busy in the first eight weeks of their school year! In addition to students taking on learning in their new grade levels, a number of other events and activities have been taking place at Unity Public. Agrium and Agriculture in the Classroom (Sask) once again partnered in presenting “Seed Survivor.” This trailer arrived at UPS just before Thanksgiving weekend and remained on grounds until their presentation on Oct. 10. This free, curriculum based program encourages elementary students to master the elements needed for plant growth through innovative, interactive activities. The program fits best with the Grade 3 and 4 curriculums but is an excellent opportunity of learning and discovery for those in Grades 1-6.
Unity Public School is also marking Education Week (Oct. 15-21) with a number of activities surrounding their theme “Building Our Future by Learning Together.” The week starts off with Monday, Oct.16 as the school hosts Bus Driver Appreciation Day. On Tuesday, Oct. 17, a pep rally will be held to amp up excitement for Education Week and will also include UPS School Community Council hosting the annual Family Literacy Night with guest speakers Dr. Lyle Williams and Dr. Linda Bloem. Wednesday of Education Week, Oct. 18, the Saskatchewan Science Centre from Regina will be at UPS putting on workshops for the students with Grade 5 and 6 students participating in robot building, while Grades 1, 2 and 3 participate in a workshop that investigates friction, magnetism, motion and structure. Kindergartens, Grades 4 and the 4/5 split, as well as the second Grade 1 class are sitting in on an interactive stage show learning about the interesting facts surrounding the states of matter. Thursday, Oct. 19 will be “buddy activity” in the spirit of learning together with photos being gathered in order to make a “Learning Together” UPS bulletin board. Education Week wraps up at UPS with a fun spirit day encouraging students to dress up as their favorite profession.
As well in October, UPS students are up for the challenge from St. Peter’s School of collecting the most socks for the “Toasty Toes” sock drive hosted once again by the Saskatchewan Chiropractor Association.
UPS Kindergarten students have been taking in some exploration sessions at the Unity dog park.
St. Peter’s school has a thankful October. St. Peter’s School held their annual Thanksgiving mass at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 5th followed by their Shared Soup meal in the church hall. Students in each grade are asked to bring certain ingredients, such as one cup of chopped potatoes or peas, a can of tomato soup, etc. to contribute to the soup. This is a way of living out the fable Stone Soup: A Japanese Parable about Gifting, as well as being a disciple of our Catholic faith. The children come to realize how we can each do one small thing to benefit many as the ingredients are put together to make soup to feed the entire student body and staff. The school is grateful for their wonderful parents who volunteer to assemble and cook the soup, as well as serve and clean up.
St. Peter’s school also asks that each student bring a food item for our local food bank this month to do their part in supporting this much needed and beneficial service in the community. This brings an awareness of the needs of others to our students and again, how one item of food added to the whole makes a big difference in the lives of those in need.
In addition, in a “pay it forward” format, St. Peter’s School is once again participating in the second annual Toasty Toes Sock Drive, which is a campaign that the Chiropractor’s Association of Sask. and The Salvation Army have teamed up together to collect donations of new socks for people in need. To date, a collection of over 100 pairs of socks from our students and staff are in the bins! Organizers give a big thanks to all who have already donated this much-needed article of clothing for the upcoming cold months of winter.
St. Peter’s School is grateful for the support of Catholic Education for the past 60 years. The school has a collection of yearbooks documenting the many years of Catholic Education at St. Peter’s from the 1980s to 2010. If there are any former students or interested persons in the community, the school will have them available for free at the school for the week of Education Week Oct. 16-20.
St. Peter’s staff choir will sing at mass on Oct. 15 to kick off Education Week and their thankfulness for the opportunities we all have to in our education system.
St. Peter’s School also offers volunteers for the community’s Meals on Wheels program, with grade 6 students traveling in pairs to help deliver meals around town with a designated driver. Thank you to Celeste Bridgeman who came in to instruct the Grade 6s on protocol and proper behavior while delivering meals. This is a wonderful opportunity for the students to volunteer and have a connection with seniors in the community.
A time-honoured tradition will once again be hosted at St. Peter’s school. The annual Seniors’ Tea takes place on Thursday, Oct. 19 to honour the seniors in our community. Students provide entertainment at 1:30 p.m. in the gym, followed by serving tea and dainties to the senior guests.
The Grade 6 class at St. Peter’s will be supporting the Operation Christmas Child program with shoeboxes filled with items to be sent to third world countries for Christmas. The Bargain Store in Unity will be collecting the boxes and delivering to N.B. to be shipped out. Any purchases made at the Bargain Store to be put in the shoeboxes will be given a 10 per cent discount, so make sure to tell the clerk at the point of purchase. For more information about this project please check out www.samaritanspurse.ca
Although these events only showcase what is taking place during the month of October from St. Peter’s school students and staff, their theme this year is “Serve,” and everyone at St. Peter’s school is committed to carrying out this mission throughout this entire school year. “Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, as at the love in which we do them” –Mother Theresa. You can catch all the latest updates from St. Peter’s School on their Facebook page.
Rink action is continuous as the Skating club programs have begun, as well as the ice time being kept busy with 12 teams practicing and playing games under the minor hockey banner, which includes the Midget AA Lazers. As well the Unity Miners senior hockey team plays their first game in the SWHL since their one year absence last year. The Miners take on the Meota Combines in an exhibition game tomorrow, Oct. 20, in Unity at 8:30 and take on Kerrobert Tigers in a home and home series next weekend before regular season begins. In addition, recreation hockey for both men and women also occupy ice time in the evenings. You don’t have to miss a minute of the action as you can easily follow the arena scheduling on the Town of Unity website, checking out the schedules on the TVs in the rink lobby or following the Unity Recreation arena Facebook page.
The Unity Curling club is looking forward to the start of their curling season next Tuesday, Oct. 24. They send thanks to the volunteers who helped the ice technicians prepare the curling rink as well as help install this year’s ice for players. There is plenty of room in their spacious viewing area to watch curling any night of the week, as well as enjoying a beverage pre game or post game with your favorite team or player. The UCC is looking forward to the junior curling kick off event being held on Nov. 6. Tuesday and Wednesday leagues will include the doubles board this year! If your team makes a double takeout on opposition rocks, you get the doubles board at your sheet. If you are the last team on the ice with the doubles board, your team gets 4 treats to enjoy after the game. The best way to keep up to date on activity, events and news of the Unity Curling Club is to follow their Facebook page.
Remember, this Sunday you can take in some Halloween themed fun. Try Meowloween at KC Rescue on Sunday, Oct. 22 from 2 to 5 p.m. Bake sale on site, meet the kittens, raffles and activities (some activity may be outside so dress appropriately for the weather).
Next weekend is the fall/fowl supper at Unity United Church and there is still a chance to get tickets by checking in at Our Drug Store or contacting Faye McLean at 306-228-3514. The following weekend, St. Peter’s Catholic Church will hold their annual fall/fowl supper and tickets are available from the rectory office.
The museum is very happy to announce the arrival of their new office building, a 12-foot wide, 60-foot long mod space delivered Sept. 26. A deck will be added with a ramp as well as all of the utility hook ups showing residents that after 10 years of fundraising, there is finally something to show for it. The museum group also announces that although they are still in need of volunteers, they will once again be starting the Sunday pancake brunches on Nov. 5. With these brunches being their biggest fundraisers the committee hopes to once again encourage both volunteers to help each week as well as those who support the brunches to help them out.
The partnership of Unity Credit Union and Delta Co-op presented $787.85 to the Unity food bank representing proceeds from their annual pancake breakfast at the Unity Trade show. There is currently a campaign called “Harvest Round Up for the Food Bank” asking people in the spirit of Thanksgiving to continue to offer help to those in need. Requests in September at the food bank were at an all time high indicating the need is there and for the price of a lotto or 50/50 ticket you could be offering a product or two to the food bank shelves.
Speaking of the Co-op and Credit Union, why not stop in and say hi, and thank you, during Co-operative week Oct. 15-21. These businesses offer not only sponsorships and donations to their community but their staff often offer hands on help to many projects within the community.
Organizers are thankful for the continuous support of the Toasty Toes Sock Drive, a campaign where the Chiropractor’s Association of Saskatchewan and The Salvation Army have teamed up together to collect donations of new socks for people in need. This year, St. Peter’s School and Unity Public School will be having a friendly competition to see who can collect the most socks! The campaign kicked off Sept. 25 and runs until Friday, Nov. 24. Donations of socks or cash may be dropped off at St. Peter’s School, Unity Public School or Dr. Clark’s office during the day. Cash donations will be used to purchase socks as well.
I continue to advocate for residents to love local by supporting their local businesses. I loved the campaign the Battlefords Chamber has going stating, “Shop at a store with a door.” These local businesses support so many groups, events and activities in this community that would be in a far different position without their support. You can use the “ShopportUNITY” app to win gift cards drawn for each month. Don’t take for granted in your home community what our visitors appreciate – a full array of professional services, spas, theatre, shopping, eateries and much more. Why, I just had relatives travelling through on their way back to Camrose who asked for a recommendation for lunch and not only were they very impressed with that experience, they were amazed at all that Unity had to offer (including free parking!).
Coffee row folks continue to marvel and express their gratitude for the multitude of activity that continues in our community as well as the continual signs of growth in our surroundings in new construction or business changes. These folks continue to enjoy each other’s company, as well as enjoy the bantering and bartering at their morning and afternoon gatherings serving up plenty of smiles and laughter. So you see we keep busy in Unity with a hustling and bustling community full of activity, fun and friendship; and so, we appreciate the wisdom from our friends on coffee row. Until next time…
