MAYFAIR ‑ In one week by the calendar, spring is to arrive. By the looks of the landscape, you'd think it is the North Pole. The last couple of storms had rural folks stranded in their own yards. The rural municipalities grade the main grids, roads that the school buses travel on, and eventually all others. It's a large job and in some cases a Caterpillar is required to go ahead of the grader operator in order to properly open up the hard packed snow banks. School bus cancellations reached record highs. Most people travelling to work also had to overcome many obstacles. Stay warm and healthy, because there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
A new business opened its doors to the public on March 10 in Spiritwood. Owner operator Ferryn Slater (Brian) of Meeting Lake (formerly of Lloydminster) does massage and manual osteopathic therapy. Red light therapy sessions are also available. One can reach her on Facebook. Ferryn is the daughter of Jackie and Norman Van Nortwick of Mayfair.
A house fire Dec. 26 destroyed the home of Eric Holmes east of Mayfair. Thankfully no one was injured. Previous owners 20 years ago were Dianne and Don Trippel, who now reside in Warman.
Lorna Buziak of Whitkow is closely watching her cousins play hockey on television as they are trying to capture their second consecutive national championship together in the NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament. Sisters Sophie and Grace Shirley of Saskatoon play for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was a nail-biting victory won in overtime last year and over the next couple of weeks the winner will be declared.
With the weather being the way it is this winter, there have been fewer ice fishing derbies. It's difficult to make a trail on the ice for vehicles and for snowmobiles it's still a bit of a challenge. The snowmobile trails in and out of Meeting Lake are well groomed by the diligent work of Doug Lamb, who has been operating the groomer for years. A big thank you for all of his dedication. Anyone wanting to learn how to operate this machine and give Doug a break is more than welcome.
A big 90th birthday greeting to Alticane area resident, Paul Bilanski (Ruth). His family had a cake decorated with a picture of the first brand new truck on it that Paul owned. Their three children rode the bus to attend Mayfair Central School.