2017 Year In Review – January
As we prepare to say goodbye to 2017, battlefordsNOW is taking a look at some of the top news items that made headlines and newsmakers over the past 12 months.
January was a huge month for curling fans in the Battlefords. The Pinty’s Meridan Grand Slam of Curling converged on the Twin Rivers Curling Club in North Battlefords drawing record crowds for the event. An estimated 25,300 seats were sold for the event, which topped the previous tournament high of just 20,000 in Yorkton in 2015. Russ Brown said the organizing committee estimates to roughly $2 million to the city’s coffers.
Later in the month, the entire region was glued to their televisions and radio to follow North Battleford’s Robyn Silvernagle and her team of Cristina Goertzen, Dayna Demers and Kara Thevenot play in the Viterra Scotties Provincial Women’s Championship in Melville. The foursome finished the round robin with a 7-1 record however lost a heartbreaking 10-7 decision to Penny Barker of Moose Jaw in the final.
Calling it “transformational change” the provincial government announced that based on the recommendations of a three-member advisory panel that reviewed the provinces 12 health regions; it would amalgamate under one provincial “super board”. David Fan, CEO of the Prairie North Health Region which encompasses the Battlefords, Meadow Lake and Lloydminster areas said he wasn’t really surprised at the announcement, adding that he did not see major changes coming to health services to the area over the next year.