Here we are again, friends - a new year is upon us. As is tradition, it's time that we here at The Outlook take a pause, look behind us, and reflect on the previous twelve months that have passed on by.
The old saying goes, 'Time goes by when you're having fun', and I can 100% agree on that. Whether you're having fun or keeping busy, sometimes there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day. Time jets by quickly, and sometimes far too quickly. You'll blink in January and suddenly it's April. Then, you'll turn and cough in June and suddenly it's September. But time is constant; it doesn't go by any quicker or slower for anyone in the world. It just simply ticks on by, and time is what we make of it.
With that, we wish everyone a happy new year and all the best in 2024. But first, let's take a look at all the highlights of a busy and historic 2023....
JANUARY
- It's routine to see travelers making their way through Outlook, but on January 6, two foreign visitors making a very unique trip in a very unconventional mode of transportation had a lot of eyeballs pointed their way when Robby Knecht and Magali Habouzit stopped in Outlook for the night on their cross-country motorcycle tour. Equipped with a bike that could withstand the Siberian climate, the two spoke of their travels with The Outlook's Derek Ruttle and shared their love of the open road.
- A fire that broke out in an Outlook home on the north end of Thomson Street on January 18 saw people get out safely. The blaze had started in the kitchen, and while it was not deemed to be suspicious, it did result in the house becoming uninhabitable for a time.
- Laurie Anholt, the kitchen manager at the Jim Kook Rec Plex in Outlook, sat down with The Outlook to speak with Derek Ruttle in the latest edition of the Spotlight series on workers with the Town of Outlook. Coming from the health care world, Anholt appreciated the new surroundings and approached her work with a positive attitude.
- Cord Ivanco, the son of Garry and Nadine of Outlook, grew up in the riverside community playing all sorts of sports, but he was excited to be a part of the winning squad as Team Canada's equipment manager when the team went to the FISU World University Games in Lake Placid, ultimately bringing home the gold medal.
- The LCBI Bisons boys basketball team won their first home tournament in four years when they defeated the Coronach Colts on January 28 at a score of 45-39, taking the victory in the 45th annual event, also known as the Rick Johnson Classic.
- A newly-created group of young minds from different schools around the Sun West School Division was looking to help students and teachers stay ahead of the curve on issues facing kids with the creation of the Youth Consultation Team, comprised of students from Grades 8-12. The group, which saw students grouped from communities such as Biggar, Rosetown, Dinsmore and Outlook, gathered information about how the division could make schools better for everyone.
FEBRUARY
- Students at Beechy School created something that captures the history of their own backyard when they researched, compiled, and created a community history book. The impressive tome, which was available for purchase at the school, was crafted by students of teacher Brianne Denning, who explained that the time-consuming project wound up taking up the 2021-2022 school year to complete.
- The Dinsmore Dynamos senior hockey team celebrated 75 years of history before their home game against the Kenaston Blizzards. Special cakes honoring the longtime team were an impressive sight, and trainer Justin Dawe produced thunderous applause when he unveiled the team's provincial championship banner above the ice, highlighting when the Dynamos won the Senior C title in 2022.
- An entertaining 'whodunnit?' mystery was what attendees were in store for at Beechy School when drama students in Grades 9-12 hosted a self-written play on February 2. Entitled 'The Wedding Scandal of '89', the production got the audience to question everybody as one of the main characters was killed at his own wedding.
- For those looking to try their hands at something different in the wintertime, a new Crokicurl ice sheet was installed just behind the Jim Kook Rec Plex in Outlook. A combination of curling and the board game Crokinole, the game was gaining popularity in many Canadian cities since it was created in Winnipeg in 2016.
- The town of Outlook's long, storied history in the sport of hockey was well known, and the community was looking to branch things out further with the addition of an under-22 female hockey team. Hockey Saskatchewan had approved the formation of a female junior league for the upcoming season, and a handful of people met in the curling lounge at the Rec Plex to discuss the possibilities of an Outlook squad.
- Merv McGill, a certified operator for the Town of Outlook, spoke to Derek Ruttle for the special Spotlight series of stories. As one of the most tenured workers on the town staff, McGill said it was important to him that local taxpayers got their money's worth out of him and his fellow workers.
MARCH
- Cst. William Hynes, the newest arrival at the Outlook RCMP detachment, spoke to The Outlook about making the scenery change to rural Saskatchewan from his home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Hynes, who had started at Outlook in December, was getting a feel for the riverside community in what was his first posting.
- A jail n' bail event held at the Outlook & District Heritage Museum ended up raising an impressive total in support of the cost of renovations to the Bounty Theatre building. Held on Valentine's Day, 14 people agreed to be 'locked up' and call friends and family in order to have their bail money raised. In the end, just over $9,000 was raised in support of the legendary venue.
- The governments of Saskatchewan and Canada announced that parent fees for regulated child care in the province would be reduced to $10 a day starting on April 1. Saskatchewan was one of the first provinces to achieve this milestone, and in this case, three years ahead of schedule as outlined in the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.
- Bad Influence, an Outlook rock band, entered a Saskatoon battle of the bands competition, pitting them against a host of other groups and performers from around the province. Taking place at The Roxy music hall, the first round of competition was set for March 9. Throughout the spring, Bad Influence would continue advancing through to each round of competition, with the final night set for April.
- The BridgePoint Center for Eating Disorder Recovery in the village of Milden celebrated 25 years with a special come-and-go event, welcoming people to come and check out what the center had to offer and to learn some local history. Tours of the facility let people know what staff could do to help people with eating disorders, and executive director Carla Chabot said it was fantastic to have such a facility in small town Saskatchewan.
- Giving a special presentation at Dinsmore Composite School on the dangers of the digital age to a group of concerned parents and teachers were officers Jesse Kimball, Fraser Cameron, and William Hynes of the Outlook RCMP. 'Parenting in the Digital Age - The Impact of Technology on Our Kids' was seen as something of an eye-opener for some in the room.
- Many in the west central part of the province had their eyes to the skies on March 23 when the heavens opened up and gave people a breath-taking show in the form of Northern lights. The multiple shimmering colours and shapes made for an eye-grabbing show up above, with many posting photos to social media. One of those photos made the front page of The Outlook, captured by Brandy Wick of the Conquest area.
APRIL
- Following an informational meeting back in February, it was officially announced that an under-22 female junior hockey team was getting the green light for the community of Outlook. The new provincial league would be comprised of teams from Outlook, Lumsden, Kindersley, Regina, and the Southwest (Swift Current/Gull Lake).
- A special invite-only event at the Outlook & District Heritage Museum showed off the recent renovations and decorations that transformed the inside of the building. Attendees enjoyed finger foods and desserts as they toured the museum, taking in all of the retooled displays, photos, memorabilia and iconic pieces that tell the story of Outlook and area.
- The Kenaston Blizzards senior hockey team was feeling pretty good at that time, especially after the squad not only captured the SVHL league title after winning a game series against Kyle, but after they went the distance and were victorious in once again claiming the Provincial 'C' Championship when they defeated the Eston Ramblers.
- An open house event held at the Outlook Civic Centre helped spread the word about current events in the riverside community and shed light on products, services, and projects that were taking place by a number of local businesses, clubs and organizations. In particular, the public was made aware of upcoming road work that would take place over the course of the late spring and entire summer.
- Outlook resident Laurie Tollefson had quite a support system in place at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon when he was inducted into the Saskatchewan Ag Hall of Fame. Surrounded by family and friends, Tollefson, who was being inducted for his decades of dedication to the industry, credited the riverside community for helping to give him a purpose and reason to continue in his work during his career.
- A semi turnover on Highway 15 east of the village of Milden brought out emergency personnel on April 23. The truck and driver were first discovered by passing motorists at 8:00 that evening with the semi spilled over on its side going into the ditch. Luckily, the driver, though shaken, appeared to be okay, and the Conquest Fire Department tended to the scene.
- Outlook rockers Bad Influence learned their fate in a battle of the bands competition at The Roxy in Saskatoon, ultimately taking 2nd Place as a crowd of local supporters loudly cheered. The band was elated to have gone that far and excitedly looked forward to some upcoming gigs.
- The Riverview Golf Course in Outlook was named one of the top 9-hole golf courses around the province by Golf Saskatchewan and Golf Canada, which released a list of the top courses. The Outlook club cracked the top five with 16,159 votes, beating out courses in Delisle, Maple Creek, Wynyard, Indian Head, and Kelvington.
MAY
- The spring melt was showing that it could cause all types of road anomalies, but what started off as a pothole just south of the village of Elbow had turned into a completely washed-out highway along the Line 19 roadway. A detour was pointing traffic east for the time being as the entire highway had broken apart and caved in, making for a heck of a photo grab on our front page that week.
- The Whitecap Dakota First Nation signed a Treaty with the Government of Canada, officially making it the latest Indigenous community to earn self-government status. The Treaty was an opportunity for Whitecap to move out from the Indian Act, implement their right to self-govern, and ensure increased control in decision-making that would affect their community.
- Dr. Heather Wilson of Outlook was already an accomplished research scientist, serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan, but she was also recognized along with five other women who'd blazed their own trails in the agriculture field. Dr. Wilson and others were named 'Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture'.
- A morning ceremony at Outlook's Veterans Memorial Park acknowledged and honored the official coronation of King Charles III. Held just hours after the King was crowned at a ceremony in London, the event in Outlook further signified the riverside community's dedication to The Crown, with words from Mayor Maureen Weiterman and members of Branch #262 of the Royal Canadian Legion.
- A case of unsafe driving sadly resulted in the death of one driver and a hospital stay for the other in a collision incident that took place at the intersection of Highways 219 and 15 near Broderick. A cube van was seen driving erratically on #219 according to police before colliding with a truck. The driver of the van, a 47-year old Saskatoon man, was pronounced dead at the scene.
- The SkyTrail walking bridge in Outlook has sat locked and largely forgotten since October 2013, but new dialogue surrounding the once-beloved tourist attraction began when local resident Con Hammer, a surveyor with years of engineering experience, was given access to the bridge to get an up-close look at the issues facing it. His findings shed new light on possible actions that could be taken to resurrect the bridge trail.
- The 2nd annual Prairie Festival in Outlook brought with it some landmark events, including the grand reopening of the legendary Bounty Theatre, which saw more than 200 people pack the building to witness Dale Dallas and Shirley Hnatyszyn take to the stage and play the first notes of music heard in the venue since July of 2000. As well, Outlook band Bad Influence rocked the same stage the following night, and the quartet of Syhra Ellis, Josh Rude, Bailey Parr-Kennedy and Scot Wallace sat with Derek Ruttle earlier in the day for an interview on their band's journey.
- At an Outlook town council meeting, resident Murray Silljer appeared as a delegation and asked to speak to his concerns about the Pride flag being flown for the upcoming month of June. Citing a number of religious beliefs and readings, Silljer told Council that by flying such a flag, they were cursing and defiling the town and community. The flag would go on to still be flown in June as there was no direction from Council to remove it.
- The latest production from Outlook's Equinox Theatre, 'Real Close to Broadway!' was very firmly a tongue-in-cheek look at how small towns manage to put on the shows that they do in their communities, mirroring real life in some very comedic but also very real ways.
JUNE
- Outlook resident Rod McPherson showed off his extravagant stagecoach wagon that really caught eyes at the Heritage Museum. McPherson had been working on the project for the past three years and had parked the wagon there in time for the museum's 30th anniversary event, marking the day the museum moved to the CPR station grounds on June 5, 1993.
- Cooper Flath, a Grade 10 student at Dinsmore Composite School, was chasing his dreams of attaining great heights in hockey stardom. The young athlete was recently selected in the 5th round, 50th overall in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League draft, being scooped up by the Kindersley Klippers junior team.
- In what had to be one of the most unique and memorable presentations ever given to a school, students at Dinsmore Composite School were witness to the intricate process of tanning a moose hide when three guests Northern Saskatchewan - Tommy Bird, Lawrence & Lena Adams - visited the school to walk students through the multi-day process.
- The town of Outlook was overtaken by a seemingly never-ending stream of motorcycles on June 17 when the Saskatoon Motorcycle Ride for Dad was held, which brought the bike tour through the riverside community. Dozens upon dozens of bikes motored through town, ultimately stopped at the Jim Kook Rec Plex for a bathroom break as well as a BBQ lunch that was provided.
- The drama students at LCBI High School wowed Outlook audiences with a four-performance run of 'Godspell' from June 15-18 at the student chapel. For over 50 years, the story has captivated audiences from around the globe, and through the talents of LCBI performers, audiences in Outlook were exceptionally pleased with what the young cast was able to do with the story.
- It wasn't the kind of distinction that anyone would choose, but as the youngest person in Canada living with ALS, Tre Archibald of Strongfield was walking boldly into his future with optimism and hope. The 26-year old spoke with The Outlook's Shelley Luedtke about his daily life with the condition and how he finds inspiration from the people closest to him.
- Locally reknowned sculptor and artist Susan Robertson of Broderick reached a unique milestone by unveiling a new tourism project as a newly-minted 'Economusee' artist. This meant that Robertson's shop would engage in the small-scale production of goods in a workshop environment, focusing on the preservation and perpetuation of traditional skills and craftsmanship.
- The village of Dinsmore certainly had reason to celebrate as the community came together to ring in the grand opening of their new fire hall facility. A very large turnout was on hand as people took in the interior of the new building, and on behalf of the fire crew, James Thorpe and Megan Keeler said a few words before the ceremonial ribbon was cut by Stewart Sawyer and the crew.
