EDITORIALS & COLUMNISTS

Weyburn Women and the World
By Jennifer LaCharite
You may have noticed a theme in This Week's issue - women and girls - in honour of International Women's Day (IWD) on March 8.
I can only imagine that some of the men from women-dominated households feel like every day is women's day. This is what my mom would tell me as a child after Mother's Day would roll around and I would ask her why there was no children's day.
We may have it pretty good in Canada, but worldwide women and girls continue to suffer as second-class citizens, often denied the same basic education their male counterparts enjoy. In fact, women make up two thirds of over one billion illiterate adults who have no access to basic education. This lack of education leads to poverty, health issues and high infant mortality rates.
In some countries, IWD is a national holiday and it is celebrated much like Mother's Day. Women family members and colleagues are given gifts such as flowers to honour their special day.
Here at home, IWD is beginning to see more acknowledgement and there are a few local events being offered this year to mark the occasion.
The Envision Counselling Centre and the Weyburn Labour Council are hosting an art auction "In Praise of Women," on March 18 at Signal Hill Arts Centre. Many artists have contributed works to this auction with all proceeds going to Envision, which assists women in many areas such as overcoming abuse and assertiveness training.
The Tommy Douglas Centre is looking for women of all ages to participate in a dramatic presentation featuring "Great Canadian Women." This event on March 27 will highlight the contribution of Canadian women throughout history.
You may have noticed pink girl-shaped paper featuring gender facts from the IWD website. The Weyburn Girl Guides have been busy cutting out and posting these "fact girls" around town to generate interest in gender issues and promote IWD. This project may have been my "baby" but I hope that the Girl Guides take over this initiative and continue to celebrate women worldwide on IWD.
Just because something has international implication does not mean that small town, grass roots projects are not significant. Without local participation in international events many of us would never get to see these kinds of initiatives in action. After all, that is kind of our motto at Weyburn This Week - local matters most.

A perfect conclusion
By David Willberg

When Sidney Crosby scored midway through overtime to lift Canada to a 3-2 victory over the U.S. in the gold medal game at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, it was a fitting final athletic moment for the games.
Nobody could have scripted a better ending for the Olympics. Canada wins gold in the sport that matters most, in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.
It will go down as one of the biggest moments in Canadian hockey history. It will be the "Where were you when…" moment for fans younger than 40. Nothing can compare with Paul Henderson's goal that beat the Soviets in the 1972 Summit Series, and no hockey event can compare with Summit.
But Crosby's goal is arguably the biggest since Summit. It was scored on the biggest stage for international hockey, the Olympics, which were being held in Canada. And it happened during a game which was likely the most-watched telecast ever in Canada.
Canada had excellent depth and skill, and a good blend between experienced veterans and young stars. But it takes more than that to win gold. The talent has to come together in a very short period of time.
And that's the biggest reason Canada won. There were bumps early on, but Canada was the best when it mattered the most, with four wins in six days.
It was also a thrill to see Carlyle's Brenden Morrow win a much-deserved gold medal. There were skeptics when he was named to the team. But he was fantastic playing on a line with Corey Perry and Regina's Ryan Getzlaf.
As for the Olympics as a whole, they weren't as flawless as an ice dance routine from Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. The first few days were marred by the tragic death of a Georgian luger, a critical malfunction during the opening ceremonies' climax moment, and weather problems that forced the cancellation of alpine events.
Vancouver's dreary, rainy and cool February weather was replaced by sunshine and temperatures that were well above normal. They certainly weren't traditional Winter Olympic conditions.
But talk about tragedy, malfunctions and heat were soon replaced by praise for amazing athletic performances, Canada's record-setting 14 gold medals, and the passion and the hospitality of the Canadian fans.
I'll remember the men's hockey gold medal above all. But I'll also remember the emotion and celebrations - from both athletes and fans - for every Canadian gold medal
I'll remember Alexandre Bilodeau's historic gold medal in men's moguls freestyle skiing, Scott Montgomery auctioning off a pitcher of beer after winning gold in men's skeleton, the gold medal celebrations for women's hockey and men's curling, and Joannie Rochette's figure skating bronze medal days after the death of her mother.
The Olympics truly gave Canadians two weeks of memorable moments.

Part II: Spiritual Olympians for Christ
With the 2010 Winter Olympics over, Canadians can rightly be proud in celebrating their athletes' accomplishments in winning the most gold medals of any country in such competitions and also finishing with a decent number of other medals.
With both our women's and men's hockey teams winning the gold medals, many Canadians doubly feel that these Winter Olympic Games have been very successful. With several major sporting events on television, sports enthusiasts will still have other opportunities to satisfy their appetite for exciting contests.
For many of the athletes competing in the Winter Games, there might be a short break from the intensity of the training for the Games, but soon they will be back to training and competing seriously. As true spiritual Olympians for Christ, we must never tire of getting ourselves into good spiritual shape for Christ, as we continue to be engaged in living the Gospel message in all its fullness. The efforts and sacrifices to which our athletes commit themselves prompt us to a greater resolve and endurance in our perseverance for the sake of Christ.
St. Paul's letter to the Philippians encourages us to foster the mind and heart of Christ in ourselves, by reminding us that Christ emptied Himself of His equality with God so that He might embrace the fullness of our humanity, even choosing to die as a slave on the cross. This was in order to bring salvation to the whole world.
Later St. Paul would speak of wanting to know Christ and to be given a place with Him by sharing fully in His resurrection by reproducing the pattern of His death on the cross. St. Paul clearly appreciated how one can only hope to share fully in Christ's resurrection by our willingness to participate completely in the mystery of the cross. There is generally an element of sacrifice in our Christian commitments of loving one another as Christ has loved us, as we are called to die to our selfishness and sinfulness.
Again, the example of our athletes pushing themselves to their physical limits provides us with some incentive to be ready to exercise a similar discipline and dedication in our spiritual goals. Jesus invites us to become perfect and holy as our heavenly Father is. The wonderful thing we are to remember here is that we are not expected or even required to do this all on our own. Actually, it can only work if we allow God's grace to work within us through His Holy Spirit, because anything else will only frustrate God's desire to work in conjunction with us.
Together with God's grace at work within us, there is no reason why we cannot achieve gold in His kingdom because after all, we have the best coach and trainer ever.
Fr. Gerry Bauche
St. Vincent de Paul Parish

When times are in his hand
by Linda Wegner
While some weeks I struggle to find a topic for these articles, this past week has been full of thought-proving events. There were the two "his-appointments" that resulted from a couple of disappointments as well as the delightful outcome of a misunderstanding between friends.
The latter took place yesterday. A few days earlier a close friend emailed me and a mutual friend to see if we'd be interested in having lunch together. We all agreed and I was asked to suggest a place where we'd like to eat. "Hmm," I told myself, "how nice of them to remember my birthday." When I realized they hadn't, I made a point of not mentioning the fact. A comment during the conversation triggered their memory, however, and I ended up enjoying their generous gift of a delicious meal - served with loads of laughter.
Then a mix-up in a meeting date seemed to be a waste of time until I decided to stop and buy a jug of milk on the way home. A "chance" encounter with a stranger resulted from her overhearing a remark I made to a clerk. Her broken heart responded to the conversation and she ended up weeping as I embraced her and told her I'd be praying for her. I do - daily - although she didn't divulge her name.
The second seeming disappointment occurred over another meeting but this time it wasn't my mistake. Thinking perhaps my colleague was waiting somewhere else I drove to a second location. She wasn't there but a hastily called emergency meeting was in progress-one I needed to attend. If I've learned anything over the years it's that God delights to direct my path.
"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go…" Psalm 32:8
The secret is to trust Him when I don't understand.

Letter to the Editor:
Just a few years ago we had a beautiful fish pond on the former Souris Valley site. It was stocked with Rainbow Trout. It was open to people of all ages to enjoy for fishing, walking, picnicking, etc.
Let's bring this site back to where it was. With approval of the proper authorities this can happen.
There are many families in Weyburn and area who cannot afford to take part in some of the more expensive sports and recreation. Let's give them some consideration.
Maybe approach the Western Canadian Lot Corporation for some funding.
Let's keep this property accessible to everyone.
William Thompson, Weyburn