Special meeting of Oyen Town Council
By Diana Walker
fwalker1@telus.net
I listened in on a Special Meeting of Town Council by zoom today, May 6, that dealt with the 2021 town budget and capital budget. A bylaw was given first, second and final reading and passed setting the Municipal mill rate at 14.8744, a little higher than last year which was 14.0624. Two reasons given for the increase were loss of tax revenue from the Keystone camp and the expense of the first payment of the debenture taken out for the First Avenue construction. The Debenture was one of the added operational expenditures resulting in the slight increase along with the introduction to the Police Funding Model and a small increase in requisition costs, but we have also had to limit some areas of revenue, particularly from our recreational amenities due to Covid. We will be receiving tax revenue from Keystone this year which their assessment has helped in mitigating the increase in the municipal mill rate, but as they have moved their camp out we will not be expecting to receive any tax revenues next year.
I reached out to Jason Duchscherer, Principal of Oyen Public School, on May 6. This was his reply: Students in K-6 at Oyen Public will be moving to online learning starting on Friday, May 7. The first day will be an orientation day for students with the teacher to allow for a smooth transition. Your child’s teacher will be in contact with you as to the schedule of the Google Meets. Teachers are busy preparing lessons and paper packages that will come home with your student Thursday. If there are any concerns or questions during the online period, please contact Jason. We want to thank all our parents and families during this challenging time for your support.
Tenelle Brost, teacher at South Central High, answered my email with: Prairie Rose has just updated their website with information related to this recent announcement. If you go to www.prrdweb.com then click on “Parent update: K-12 shifts to learning at home”, you can find the latest updates.
Congratulations to first-time parents Tanner and Nirvana Ross of Oyen on the arrival of daughter Chloe Rae Vera on April 29, 2021, in Medicine Hat hospital weighing 6 pounds 10 ounces measuring 18 1/4 inches. Excited grandparents are Bonnie and Kelly Ross of Buffalo, Crystal Anderson of Cereal and Frank Hauck of Oyen and great-grandparents Imogene and Dwight Hauck of Oyen.
After a month without Meals on Wheels, the Oyen Lodge has again begun preparing meals for those within Oyen who ask for the service. The Order of Eastern Star is volunteering to deliver these meals for the first two weeks of May. The Oyen United Church will fill in for the last two weeks.
Congratulations to Conny Hertz, who retired at the end of April from Rocky Mountain Equipment Oyen, where she has been Branch Administrator for the past eight years. She says she worked with a great staff and will miss the customers. Retirement plans include trucking with her husband and spending time with their children and grandchildren.
Patrick Denis Marleau, Canadian professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League, is the NHL all-time leader in games played, surpassing Gordie Howe’s record of 1,767 games on April 19, 2021, in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Born in Swift Current, Marleau, 41, also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs. Upon receiving this news from Oyen Echo subscriber Pat Siferd I reached out to former Oyenite Philippe Marleau, now of Medicine Hat, to confirm their relationship. He said Patrick is his second cousin — Patrick’s father Denis and Phil’s father Rene are brothers. “Patrick’s dad is Denis Marleau. Denis’s dad is Philippe Marleau, my uncle,” says Phil. “Denis’s, and my grandfather is Philippe Marleau. There are two grave markers in Ponteix, Saskatchewan, with a name similar to mine. The family farm is located by Aneroid, Saskatchewan. My father, Rene, deceased March 2016, followed Patrick quite diligently. I believe Patrick is living in San Jose with his wife and four sons,” he concludes.
Over the past few weeks, I have reformatted 654 obituaries that appeared in the Oyen Echo to pdf files from Quark Xpress files as the company will no longer recognize the paid licence for multiple Oyen Echo computers—2011 – 28; 2012 – 80; 2013 – 72; 2014 – 76; 2015 – 71; 2016 – 85; 2017 – 61; 2018 – 63; 2019 – 65; 2020 – 53. I hope to put these on a thumb drive and give them to the Oyen & District Crossroads Museum to be available for people searching for family history. I will also have them on my computer, and you can request a copy by emailing fwalker1@telus.net or calling my cell at 403-664-6600.
I need help!
NOTE: I have had positive feedback from readers about Oyen Briefs, but I need your help! If you have club or personal news you will allow me to include in this column, please email fwalker1@telus.net.
For inquiries or to send Oyen Echo owner/publisher Kate Winquist news items or advertising, reach out to her at kate@yoursouthwest.com or call her in Kindersley at 1-306-463-2211. Her mailing address Box 727, Kindersley, SK S0L 1S0.