Springside Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) Planning
Dear Residents of Springside,
We are living through an extraordinary time. Words and images criss-cross our social media feeds, television screens and radio-waves; and, guiding almost every conversation we are having is the term, COVID-19.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. This variant of a coronavirus is something we have not experienced since the likes of the Spanish Flu that circled our globe in 1918.
On March 18, 2020, Saskatchewan declared a State of Emergency and imposed measures to protect all Saskatchewan residents. Throughout the weeks that followed, further guidelines have been introduced to keep us all safe. Each one of us is responsible for our own health and safety, as well as the safety of our families and community, by following these guidelines.
Our hearts go out to everyone. We are experiencing a shared reality that will bind us together as a connected generation forever.
However, we are also experiencing our community come together, while we are apart.
- A group of volunteers from the Springside Baptist Church is offering their assistance to all residents of Springside – whether you attend the Baptist Church or not. These volunteers are reaching out to those in isolation and those who feel isolated during this difficult time. If you need help, please feel free to call Pastor Mike Anderson at (306) 621-9622.
- We are seeing window decorations and posters designed to cheer and uplift our spirits.
- We wish to extend our appreciation to those who have been reaching out to your fellow residents to offer help, support, prayers or simply a kind voice on the other end of a telephone line.
- We also wish to extend our appreciation to those in the medical field and those who are providing essential services.
At the Regular Meeting of Springside Town Council, COVID-19 was a topic of discussion, which led to further discussions regarding Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) Planning. Conversations with the Saskatchewan Municipal Advisory revealed that a pandemic falls outside of the EMO planning of individual towns/municipalities. We are all mandated by the Chief Medical Health Officer of Saskatchewan and by legislation through the Federal Government.
While the fact that the pandemic is not a town EMO issue, it does not negate the fact that we are sadly amiss in our EMO planning. All members of council agreed that EMO planning has been pushed to the side during not only this council’s term in office, but for many years prior to this council’s appointment. This is a serious concern for our community which needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
To that end, we are hoping that our community will come together to assist with EMO Planning. We are asking anyone who would be interested in volunteering to participate in EMO Planning to contact the Town Office via email:
OR by calling the Town Office at (306) 792-2022.
Once we have received an expression of interest from the community, we will arrange options to meet safely to begin this planning – more details to follow.
Thank you for your consideration of this important project!
Springside Town Council
2019 Drinking Water Quality & Compliance Report
The 2019 Annual Notice to Consumers (report) on the water quality in our community is now available.
Have you been running water to avoid frozen lines?
Public Works has advised that any Springside residents who have had issues with water lines freezing in the past, can stop running water now. Thank you for your cooperation.
If you have any questions or would like to have the public works staff check your residence, please call either Tex at 306-621-7765 or Trevor at 306-621-7514.
Be a Volunteer Firefighter
Interested in helping the community by being a volunteer firefighter? For information, contact Fire Chief Dave Sutter at springsidefire@gmail.com, or pick up an application form at the Town Office.
Help protect our town's sewer system
Sewage blocks can be caused by grease and fat being put down sinks and toilets by residents.
When you flush or wash oil from your deep fryers or fat from cooking food like bacon, it forms a plaque on the inside of sewer pipes. No matter how much hot water you try to flush after the fat, eventually it cools and forms a coating in the sewer pipes which collects other debris and will eventually cause a block in sewer pipes. This could result in the town’s sewer lines backing up into your house and your neighbours’ houses.
We recommend you wait for the grease or fat to cool and put it in your garbage. Another option is to pour it into an old can or glass jar when it is hot and let it cool and then place the container in the garbage. Taking the extra care will save a lot of cost and frustration down the road.
Did you know it is also harmful to flush the following items down the toilet?
- Personal care wipes/baby wipes
- Diapers
- Cotton swabs
- Hair
- Dental floss
- Tampons
- Sanitary products
- Condoms
- Old medicines
While products may be advertised as "flushable," in reality items such as baby wipes, makeup remover cloths, tampons and disinfectant wipes do not decompose in the sanitary sewer system. Flushing this material causes damage to the sewer system and may cause sewer backups in your home. Flushables should be disposed of in the garbage.
Old medication can be taken to any local pharmacy. Keeping medication out of the lagoon means that it will not be released back into the environment during spring and fall release.
New sewage pumping station
Residents are asked to respect the barricades in the construction area and please do not drive on the personal property of residents in the area to go around the barricades.
As you may be aware, Springside Town Council has signed a contract with Kelsey Pipelines, through Bullee Consulting, to construct a new sewage pumping station and force main in the Town of Springside. The existing lift station is starting to fail, is not reliable and needs to be upgraded. The total cost of the project will be $2,150,000, paid for in a three-way partnership between the town and the federal and provincial governments through the Provincial Territorial Infrastructure Component (PTIC) Grant. Construction is scheduled to begin mid-August, 2019 and to be completed by the end of February, 2020.
The new lift station will be located on the corner of Sharman Street and Collins Avenue, which is adjacent to the existing one. With any new construction we can expect some disruptions, such as extra traffic in the area - particularly with large equipment, traffic detours, road closures and possibly minimal disruptions in water services.
At a special meeting held in council chambers on July 22, 2019, representatives from Kelsey Pipelines explained that they will attempt to keep the disruptions to a minimum. Throughout the process, they will be providing updates to the Town Office and we will pass that information on through our Facebook page and via the Town of Springside website.
Springside Town Council wishes to apologize to any residents affected by these disruptions. However, we are excited for this much-needed upgrade to the Town of Springside’s infrastructure as it ensures that our community will remain viable long into the future.
Please check back to see information and updates throughout the construction process.
See the Yorkton This Week story about this project.
Recreational drone use
Transport Canada introduced measures in 2017 to protect Canadians from reckless drone use.
Canadians expect to feel safe on the ground and in the sky. The number of incidents involving recreational drones has more than tripled since 2014, prompting the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport to introduce a measure to prevent the reckless use of drones that is putting the safety of Canadians at risk.
Minister Garneau announced an immediate measure which will affect the operations of model aircraft and recreational drones of more than 250 g and up to 35 kg. Minister Garneau was joined by representatives of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Toronto Police Force.
The key new rules are that recreational drone operators must mark their drone with their contact information, and may not fly:
- Higher than 90 metres;
- At night;
- Within 75 metres of buildings, vehicles or people; or
- Within 9 kilometres of the centre of any airport, heliport, aerodrome or water aerodrome where aircraft take off and land.
Operators of drones for commercial, academic or research purposes are not affected by this measure. The rules that are already in place are effective and most commercial users operate their drones in a safe manner.
Any recreational operator who fails to comply with the new flying restrictions and conditions could be subject to fines of up to $3,000.
Call 911 or your local law enforcement agency immediately if you witness illegal drone use. Visit www.canada.ca/drone-safety to learn more about these rules.
Links of interest
Announce coming events
Having a big sale, on-site celebrity, or other event? Be sure to announce it so everybody knows and gets excited about it.