When my kids were little I made the practice fire drills.  Now that they are older I didn’t think I needed to.  I asked them a few basic questions and realized they still need to practice.

Fire drills are a big part of being safe.  They prepare you for what you need to do in case of a fire. But what if there was a fire where you live? Would you know what to do? Talking about fires can be scary because no one likes to think about people getting hurt or their things getting burned. But you can feel less worried if you are prepared.

It’s a good ideas for families to talk about what they would do to escape a fire. Different families will have different strategies. Some kids live in one-story houses and other kids live in tall buildings. You’ll want to talk about escape plans and escape routes, so let’s start there.

Know Your Way Out

An escape plan can help every member of a family get out of a burning house. The idea is to get outside quickly and safely. Smoke from a fire can make it hard to see where things are, so it’s important to learn and remember the different ways out of your home. How many exits are there? How do you get to them from your room? It’s a good idea to have your family draw a map of the escape plan.

It’s possible one way out could be blocked by fire or smoke, so you’ll want to know where other ones are. And if you live in an apartment building, you’ll want to know the best way to the stairwell or other emergency exits.

Safety Steps

If you’re in a room with the door closed when the fire breaks out, you need to take a few extra steps:

• Check to see if there’s heat or smoke coming in the cracks around the door. (You’re checking to see if there’s fire on the other side.)
• If you see smoke coming under the door — don’t open the door!
• If you don’t see smoke — touch the door. If the door is hot or very warm — don’t open the door!
• If you don’t see smoke — and the door is not hot — then use your fingers to lightly touch the doorknob. If the doorknob is hot or very warm — don’t open the door!

If the doorknob feels cool, and you can’t see any smoke around the door, you can open the door very carefully and slowly. When you open the door, if you feel a burst of heat or smoke pours into the room, quickly shut the door and make sure it is really closed. If there’s no smoke or heat when you open the door, go toward your escape route exit.

On Monday September 14, 2015 Alberta RCMP issued an Amber Alert in Saskatchewan for Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette.  Tragically, little Hailey’s remains were found Tuesday evening.  While the Amber Alert did not save Hailey it is important that we all understand our role in the process and do our best to prevent any more children being harmed.

What is an Amber Alert

The Amber Alert program is an urgent bulletin system that is activated in some cases of child abduction.

It uses electronic highway signs, designated local broadcasters and wireless signals to announce the name and a description of the abducted child, plus descriptions of any vehicle suspected of being involved in the crime.

The first Amber Alert system was established in 1996 in Texas after a nine-year-old girl, Amber Hagerman, went missing. She was riding her bicycle near home when she was kidnapped and murdered. The killing remains unsolved.

The umbrella agency that oversees the system has created the acronym America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.

What are the criteria for an alert?

Each jurisdiction that establishes an Amber system is free to do whatever it wants. In Canada the criteria set out by the RCMP’s National Missing Children Services:

1. The child must be under 18 years of age.
2. There must be confirmation that the child has been abducted.
3. Police must have sufficient information to make a search for the child possible, such as descriptions of the child, abductor, accomplices or the suspect’s vehicle.
4. Police must believe the child is in serious [imminent] danger and be convinced a broadcast will help find the child.

How often are Amber Alerts used in Canada?

Between 2003 and 2012, Canada issued 64 Amber Alerts involving 73 abducted children. Of those, 70 were recovered and returned safely and three died.

What Should You Do in Case of an Amber Alert?

The public’s role is critical to the success of the Amber Alert Plan.

If you witness a child abduction, contact your local law enforcement agency or dial 911;

If an Amber Alert has been activated, be on the lookout for the child, suspect, and/or vehicle described in the alert.

If you locate the child, suspect, or vehicle fitting the description, immediately call the telephone number given in the Amber Alert to provide authorities with as much information as possible.

Persons who locate an abductor should NEVER take any action other than to contact law enforcement.

Tuesday October 20, 2015 at 10:30.  Gather at the Markinch Hall to travel to Loon Creek.  There are short and long walks available and they will close with a picnic.

The purpose of this two-day event is to provide Loon Creek Landowners, Neighbours and the Public with opportunities to:

o   Build support for long-term sustainability and protection of Loon Creek

o   Walk and experience the pastures of Loon Creek

o   Talk about and learn about Loon Creek history, flora and fauna, etc.

o   Introduce Nature Conservancy of Canada and their interest in and support for building long-term sustainability and protection of Loon

Guests include:

• Ruth Blaser – Loon Creek Landowner

• Barbara Barnett – Friend of Look Creek

• Trevor Herriot – Writer, Naturalist, Activist

• Mark Wartman – Nature Conservancy of Canada

Please see http://buffalo-rock-facilitation.com/ for more details on The Loon Creek Walk which will be available on my web site in the next while.   RSVP by Oct 12 – 533-4174.

East-Central Saskatchewan (Crop District 5 – Melville, Yorkton, Cupar, Kamsack, Foam Lake, Preeceville and Kelvington areas; Crop District 6A – Lumsden, Craik, Watrous and Clavet areas)

Thanks to relatively warm and dry weather earlier in the week, 22 per cent of the crop in east-central Saskatchewan is in the bin, up from 11 per cent last week. The five-year (2010-2015) average for this time of year is 18 per cent combined.

Like most of the province, the region received heavy rain that lodged many crops and postponed harvest. Warm and dry weather will be needed to dry up those fields that cannot currently support equipment. Most producers are hoping to be back in the field by the weekend if drying weather is received. Little winter cereal seeding has been done to date, although many producers will likely begin seeding soon if time allows. Downgrading of cereals is expected at the elevator as the rain has bleached, stained and sprouted some crops. Harvest operations remain difficult in some areas as straw is still green and there are new flushes of weeds. Yields vary greatly throughout the region, although many crops are yielding higher than first expected.

Rainfall ranged from small amounts to 65 mm in the Kelvington area. At 401 mm, the Meacham area holds the regional record for the greatest amount of rainfall since April 1. Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as 29 per cent surplus, 68 per cent adequate, two per cent short and one per cent very short, while hay land and pasture topsoil moisture conditions are rated as 16 per cent surplus, 80 per cent adequate, three per cent short and one per cent very short.

Farmers are busy with harvest operations and waiting for fields to dry.