By Sheri Monk
The health region urges people not to refer to the Leader Hospital as closed. No, we’re supposed to say it’s experiencing a temporary disruption of service. Which is a little like saying New Orleans had saturation challenges posed by Katrina. Or that Michael Jackson is having a prolonged nap.
I like to call a spade a spade. And the fact of the matter is, the Leader Hospital is closing for awhile. Yes, it will be open during the day for lab work, foot work and X-ray work – I understand that. …

By Sheri Monk, photo by Darcy Dietrich
It was a scary morning for Maple Creek’s Betty Braithwaite last Thursday, May 27, 2010. The fire department was called to the 7 a.m. fire at Cypress View Trailer Park.

I have never been to the WalMart at Medicine Hat. Or the one in Kindersley. I’ve been to the one in Swift Current, just once. But as an academic exercise in an effort to find something in under 10 minutes – not made in China.
A few years back, I made the decision not to ever go into a WalMart again. And I fell a couple of times, half from marital pressure. Half because I was weak.

By Sheri Monk
On Friday, May 21, Leader EMS personnel staged a bicycle-car accident at 11:30 a.m. –  fittingly across from a playground.
The production was part of EMS Week, a North American event held annually to raise public awareness of EMS services, encourage safety and to recognize the hard work of EMS professionals.
RCMP attended the street stage, blocking off access to traffic as EMS brought one young actor to the hospital, while another was placed in a body bag.
The somber news spread through town by noon, with many residents unaware the scene was …

By Dorian Geiger
As Maple Creek gets set to host their annual Pro Rodeo on May 27-29, excitement is brewing in the Southwest as summer eases in and area residents prepare for one of the community’s premier events. In the cowboy country surrounding and comprising Maple Creek, it is of little surprise that the underground sport of rodeo-ing is a mainstay sport, hobby and pastime.
Historically speaking, the sport makes sense too – rewinding to the early years of Confederation, the Maple Creek area was of course infamous for housing Fort Walsh, …