The town played host to a pizza dinner with members of Sun Country and the mayors from surrounding towns. It was a full house, and there was a lot to discuss. It was said that Saskatchewan currently has more long term beds per 1,000 people than any other province. Although this is the case at long term care facilities, Sun Country would still like to focus on keeping people in their homes longer. In home care is becoming a priority for the region, as they currently are understaffed. They will be looking to hire staff, but the shortage of housing is also deterring new residents. There are plenty of qualified people out there but due to the oil industry they are looking elsewhere as they can find cheaper property. Sun Country is looking into a program to hire new graduates and allow them to make calls around the area, in hopes that they will end up really liking it and staying. The new CEC program that Saskatchewan has talked about adopting was discussed briefly. The province is pondering the new form of rural health care, after seeing it work for Nova Scotia. Health executives from Nova Scotia are currently talking with health care officials and the Saskatchewan government in an effort to establish CEC (Collaborative Emergency Centres) in rural areas. Sun Country gave examples of how this would work in a community such as Carlyle. Offices would be open until 8 p.m. and include paramedics and nurses. Patients could be assessed by these medical professionals where it would later be decided if they need to go the emergency room, or if the nurse could perform the necessary actions. This system has been known to free up emergency rooms for the bigger issues at night, because patients are receiving better services during the day from their own community. This would also allow for further staff jobs instead of the part-time jobs that most paramedics deal with. The CEC team would communicate with a doctor from the closest hospital over the phone to help assess the patient's needs when the workers are unsure.The Sun Country visitors also announced that they had hired a third psychiatrist in the region. This new health professional will be offering services in the Carlyle area, and is expected to be seeing patients shortly.Sun Country is continuing to work towards bringing the option for blood tests to Carlyle. A clinic offering this kind of testing would mean less travel to Arcola and Estevan.After the meeting with Sun Country, the Carlyle town council continued with their normal meeting. This was the third to last meeting before council switches over. It was announced that the current council would be sending out an invitation to the newcomers to attend the next two meetings. The council is doing so in hopes of making the adjustment period easier for the members. The new solid yellow line down the entrance of Main Street became a discussion after one of the members stated that it was illegal to switch lanes. The only reason this was painted yellow was because of the paint the town had at the time. The town is hoping that this will not become a problem.The new Carlyle sign should be ready by the end of September.The town is still looking for an expression of interest towards building the daycare building. Anyone who is interested should read the next town newsletter. Costs of the rock for West Park were discussed, leading to a name change. It was decided that the park be renamed after the late mayor Ted Brady.Filling the cracks on Main Street has proven too pricey; at almost half the cost of paving the whole street. The town decided that for the time being they will discuss using pothole patch. They will continue to get quotes on the matter. Carlyle Avenue will also not be paved in the fall as expected, as several of United Pavements customers were unready for their work. The company is not willing to come out just for that size of a job. The town is looking into getting a $5,000 back up pump for emergency use. The Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal nominations were discussed. Many names came up in the discussion including Judy Riddell, the former Homespun Committee member as she was also part of spearheading the Dicken's Village Festival. Albert Dunn and Jodi Onufreychuk were also discussed. The town is still thinking about this.The French version of CBC radio interviewed Huguette Lutz about the town's recycling battle. The station decided it was important after hearing about the letter that town council had written to Saskatchewan government officials.The town decided it was crucial that they meet with the swimming pool committee to discuss their plans. The next phase of the pool's revamp will be an expansion. The town is in agreement with them but would just like to be shown the plans and know what is going on. They will be invited to the next meeting. The naming of the pool will be discussed with the sponsor.
