MEMORABLE STORIES
A look back at June 2018
SIX DIE IN CRASH
Former Humboldt Broncos player Troy Gasper and his young family died in a two-vehicle collision on the first day of the Canada Day long weekend.
Troy, 26, his wife Carissa, 28, and their three children Kael, six, Shea, four, and Maks, two, died when their SUV collided head-on with another SUV on Highway 4 near Elrose.
The collision killed a 71-yearold woman from Swift Current later identified as Carolynne Gould. The crash site just a few kilometres north of Elrose was cleaned up by the RCMP, but a burnt-out swath of the ditch along the northbound lane and the smell of smoke still lingered in the air. RCMP Cpl. Rob King said in a news conference that both vehicles were engulfed in flames after the collision.
Alcohol was not considered a factor.
POT SHOPS PICKED
After the provincial government received roughly 1,350 submissions for cannabis retail stores in Saskatchewan, 17 of the 51 permits were shared between just five different companies.
That means one-third of stores legally selling cannabis in the province would belong to five companies, despite there being 270 times more submissions to run a store. Proponents had one chance at a permit in a lottery in each municipality, according to Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority Minister Gene Makowsky.
“It was a random process, random draw and that’s what came out of the draw,” said Makowsky, who added the process was like a lottery system used to determine draft orders in pro sports.
“It’s not always what the numbers might entail. So again, random draw, transparent process,” Makowsky said.
Although many applicants hoping to open a retail location were one step closer to doing so, they would still have to undergo a “character test”. Applicants already proved they had the financial assets available and the ability to track cannabis products.
BRONCOS GO TO VEGAS
For the first time since the tragic April 6 bus crash in which 16 people died and 13 were injured, the Humboldt Broncos was back together as a team.
Members travelled to Las Vegas for the National Hockey League awards, where head coach Darcy Haugan (who died in the crash) won the Willie O’ree award.
The boys gathered at the Saskatoon airport and did what guys do when there’s a reunion: Handshakes, hugs, jokes, pats on the back. “Las Vegas” was printed on all their tickets. Their bodies were in various stages of repair.
Jacob Wassermann moved around the gathering in a wheelchair. He was a Humboldt Broncos goalie on April 6 when their bus collided with a semi-trailer hauling peat moss. Wassermann is paralyzed from the waist down.
Ten of those survivors gathered. The travelling party included 33 people — players and family members, moms and dads.
“Just to see these guys together again as the Humboldt Broncos, laughing and enjoying themselves, being teammates again … it’s special to see,” said Wassermann’s father, Kirby. “It warms your heart a little bit.
“One thing we are missing is there’s still a couple boys in the hospital, Layne (Matechuk) and Morgan (Gobeil) — we’re hoping all the best for them. We really wish they could be here with all of us, but they’re in our thoughts and prayers every day.”
GROCERY STORE STAND
One of the women at the centre of an incident involving allegedly racist behaviour by a grocery store clerk said the employee should be fired and the store should introduce sensitivity training.
Crystal Stone and her sister, Odera Wapass, were shopping at the supermarket when, she says, a clerk asked if they had enough money to pay for their groceries.
While the clerk told her she asks everyone the same question, Stone said she and Wapass were the only people questioned — and it shocked Wanda Friesen, who was also in the line.
After the interaction, Friesen introduced herself to Stone and Wapass in the parking lot. After clarifying what happened, she went with them to take a stand.
Stone said she planned to make those requests at a meeting with the manager of the Confederation-area Real Canadian Superstore after the incident. Catherine Thomas, a spokeswoman for Superstore’s parent company, Loblaw Companies Limited., said in a statement that the complaint was being taken seriously and the customers had been contacted.