Latest news with #CarlaShynkaruk
CTV News
10-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
‘Very sad': Crews work to dismantle increasing number of encampments across Saskatoon
WATCH: Carla Shynkaruk tells us how workers are balancing taking down temporary shelters while assisting those facing homelessness.
CTV News
24-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
‘I couldn't go back to sleep': What's creating an unwelcome buzz in Stonebridge?
Jim Walters has lived in Stonebridge for three years. Then, what he calls the 'incessant buzzing' started. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News) Some residents in Stonebridge are sounding the alarm over an unnerving sound they say is making it hard to sleep at night, and a Facebook fact-finding mission seems to have solved the mystery. The sound is described as a buzzing. 'I would say it sounds like an air raid siren,' Jim Walters told CTV News. Walters has lived in the Stonebridge area for three years. Then, what he calls the 'incessant buzzing' started. 'You have to close the windows. I woke up at 5:00 AM last week, one day, and it was going. I couldn't go back to sleep,' he said. He posted the question and concern to the Stonebridge neighborhood watch Facebook page and it got a lot of traction with many people commenting with similar stories. Some of the posts say the sound is 'annoying.' Another person said they have to use ear plugs. Others are calling it loud. One person even said the 'the vibration is shaking my head and keeping me from sleeping.' There was speculation on the post about the origin of the sound as many people tried to find the source of their common annoyance. 'I did talk to people on Facebook about it and they said it was maybe a pigeon alarm or something,' he added. Then after about a week of comments on the post, many residents hoping to get to the bottom of it; the source emerged. Some suspecting it was coming from a senior's residence on Hunter Road. The company that manages Aspira Hunter Village confirmed to CTV News — it was the source of the buzzing. 'Our HVAC system at Hunter Village Retirement Residence is currently undergoing annual maintenance, which required temporarily removing some of the sound-dampening barriers from the units,' said Nadia Daniell-Colarossi, a company spokesperson. 'The majority of the sound barriers will be re-installed within the next day or two and provide a significant reduction in the noise level. We want to assure the community that this is a temporary situation, and our target for full completion of the maintenance is within the next week.' Daniell-Colarossi said the company values being a part of the Stonebridge community and committed to finish the work quickly. 'We sincerely apologize for any disruption this has caused and appreciate the patience of our residents, team members, and neighbors during this time.' Under the city's noise bylaw, enforcement actions are complaint-driven. People call in complaints, and a compliance officer investigates. 'Every concern is taken seriously and investigated thoroughly. If a bylaw is violated, the enforcement team won't close the investigation until the issue is resolved,' said a spokesperson for the city's community standards office. 'Each enforcement team addresses complaints based on priority or the order in which they're received; sending in multiple reports about the same property won't speed up the enforcement process.' Walters says the Stonebridge Facebook page is very active, as residents often comment about bike thefts or porch pirates in the area. He's encouraged that this post on Facebook netted positive results. 'We didn't have to call the police. We didn't have to call the city. We just dealt with it ourselves and thankfully, the company was willing to listen,' he said. He's hopeful the issue will be resolved so he can open his windows this summer, but says he's prepared to follow up if need be.
CTV News
05-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
In rare move, Prince Albert National Park imposes strict limits over wildfire threat
WATCH: As wildfires rage in Saskatchewan's north, precautionary closures are being put in place in Waskesiu to protect the town and wilderness areas. As wildfires create concern in Saskatchewan's north, those inside the Prince Albert National Park (PANP) are preparing for all scenarios. Precautionary closures not seen in recent memory are being put into place at the park, located just north of Prince Albert, to protect the town and wilderness areas. Like many people in Saskatchewan, Lindsey Gerwing's heart goes out to all those affected by the wildfires. She's a business owner in one of Saskatchewan's most popular resort towns, Waskesiu, and the potential impact of fires on her livelihood weighs on her mind. 'Hopefully everyone else can come up and enjoy the park like they always do. There are just a few limits, but I think if we get a little rain, everyone in Saskatchewan will be happy,' Gerwing told CTV News. Prince Albert National Park Waskesiu business owner Lindsey Gerwing. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News) Park officials took drastic steps last week to close back country trails and some lakes in the park as a pre-emptive measure to avoid the risk of new human-caused fires. 'To my knowledge, in the last 20 years, it has not happened in a preparedness state. It also is the highest fire indices that we've seen in this park in about 20 years,' said Jennifer Duquette, PANP superintendent. The only time this many areas were closed would be when there were active fires burning in the park. Helicopter surveillance is monitoring the park daily, and the village is surrounded by a fuel break — a cleared-out perimeter eliminating flammable ground cover. A few of the trails closer to the townsite and main beach are still open but checking the park website for updates is key if you are planning to visit, according to Duquette. 'Be prepared to leave if you're coming, [but] come for a visit. We are not in an evacuation situation at this moment,' she said. Prince Albert National Park Park Superintendent Jennifer Duquette. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News) With the early wildfire season, the roughly 25 businesses in Waskesiu are there keeping an eye on preliminary visitor numbers very closely. Those visits affect their bottom line in a business model that relies on customers coming in a small window of a few months each year. 'It's on everybody's mind, and we certainly have seen a drastic decrease in the amount of visitors over the last few weeks. That being said, though, it's early in the season,' Waskesiu Chamber of Commerce President Chris Astle said. At the Waskesiu Golf Course, hundreds of golfers are converging for the Lobstick tournament season, which is underway, with the seniors playing this week and the men's event starting next week. 'We're probably getting a phone call every hour or two hours, asking what's going on up here and if we are open, that sort of thing,' said Paul Schatz, PGA Canada professional at the Waskesiu Golf Course. Schatz says Mother Nature tends to give golfers here a lot of weather issues in June – but it usually means rain, so they're hoping for the best right now. Prince Albert National Park PGA Canada professional Chris Schatz, Waskesiu Golf Course. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News) 'It's business as usual here. If fires do come and it impacts us, then we'll figure out what we need to do to get stuff done,' he says. A few kilometres away in the resort village of Elk Ridge, the mayor says they are open and are also watching the fires, some of which are less than 2 hours east of them. 'We're feeling quite fortunate right now, with the winds predominantly from the west. So, it's taking the risk away from us, and that's very comforting. But the weather is, always, unpredictable. And in that case, we are extremely well prepared,' Margaret Smith-Windsor, the mayor of the village of Elk Ridge told CTV News. The village expands to nearly 1,000 people in the summer, and if the fires become an issue, evacuation protocols have been shared by their emergency measures coordinator.
