KAMSACK — At its regular meeting Aug. 25, the Kamsack town council addressed transportation planning issues and welcomed invitations to a public barbecue in celebration of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Mark Hofer, a councillor for the RM of Keys, who is an area representative for the Northeast Area Transportation Planning Committee (NEATPC), asked council for its support with funding and by becoming a member of NEATPC, said Barry Hvidston, town administrator.
The province has formed several such planning committees, Hvidston explained. They look at highways in their area to make recommendations to the province regarding repairs and upgrades.
“Basically, NEATPC is a government-created lobby group that looks at where it can get the best bang for its dollar spent on highways,” Mayor Beth Dix added. Hofer was invited to talk to council at a meeting in October.
For example, NEATPC is proposing to make Highway No. 49 into a primary weight highway, which would allow large trucks to take it rather than having to drive through Duck Mountain Provincial Park and Kamsack in order to drive from Manitoba to Yorkton, Hvidston said.
Currently, there are only two highways that give access to Yorkton from Manitoba, he said. One is Highway No. 10, the other is through Kamsack, which creates a bottleneck that could be alleviated with Highway No. 49 becoming a primary weight highway.
“We have an issue regarding speeding on the highway from the park to Kamsack, and some vehicles tend not to slow down on Queen Elizabeth Boulevard as much as they should,” Dix said.
To help slow vehicles going through Kamsack, council agreed to apply to SGI to obtain funding for three solar-powered digital speed signs to be placed at the north, east and west entrances to the community, Hvidston said. Estimated to cost $20,000 for the three signs, the deadline for application is Sept. 30 for installation next year.
In recognition of Sept. 30 being the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a public barbecue will be held on the front lawn of the town hall on Sept. 29, he said. This will mark the third year that such a barbecue will be held on that date.
“Everyone is invited to attend the barbecue to enjoy hamburgers that will be prepared and served by town staff,” Dix said.
Sept. 30 honours the children who never returned home and survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities, said information on the Government of Canada website. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
Both the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day take place on Sept. 30, the information said. Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters.” The orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.
“On Sept. 30, we encourage all Canadians to wear orange to honour the thousands of survivors of residential schools,” it said.
And then on Oct. 13, members of the Kamsack Volunteer Fire Department will be serving their annual pancake breakfast, as a fundraiser for the Canadian Muscular Dystrophy Foundation, which it has been supporting for 70 years. The breakfast will be served at the Fire Hall.
Hvidston told council he is in the process of making final revisions on the Town’s new website, which is expected to be operational within a couple of weeks.
“I’m happy with the appearance of the new website,” he said. “It is much easier to use and is a lot cleaner than the current site.”
Public works staff have been making traps for the pigeons that are flocking in the community, he said. They will be placed once snow arrives and food for the birds becomes scarce.
It has been suggested that some communities have had success with the use of falcons to combat pigeons and there is research into methods of sterilization of the birds, Dix explained.
Council decided to hire the firm of Meyers-Norris-Penny to do Kamsck’s 2025 audit, Hvidston said. The firm has done the Kamsack audit for the past three years.
