The Meridian Source looks back at events in March 2025.
HRHS announces multi-million dollar project
A new multi-million dollar turf-field playing surface was announced in March. The shovel-ready project at Holy Rosary High School is hoped to finish in September, but wasn’t ready until November.
The Raiders erupted in cheers as officials unveiled the project during an assembly on March 4 in front of more than 800 excited students, staff and community members.
Nigel McCarthy, former director of education for the Lloydminster Catholic School Division, called the new field a “game-changer” for local sports.
“With this project, we become the home team,” said McCarthy during a video presentation. “Not just here at Holy Rosary, but for athletes across the entire region.”
The field will host football, soccer, track and rugby competitions and will allow Lloydminster to attract provincial and national tournaments.
“We spoke to Lakeland College and they shared their vision of hosting national soccer championships,” said McCarthy. “A dream that now feels within reach.”
The project received a $1-million grant from the Government of Alberta. Other significant contributions came from Canadian Natural (CN), the City of Lloydminster and several local businesses and organizations.
Garth Rowswell, MLA for Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright, said government funding for such projects is rare.
“This is actually only the second $1-million project I’ve been involved in since being elected,” said Rowswell. “Not everyone gets this. It takes strong community support and an excellent application to make it happen.”
However, Rowswell credited local donors and organizers for securing the funding.
“The people who put this together deserve all the credit,” he said. “Their hard work made this possible.”
Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers highlighted the field’s impact on the entire city and explained why the municipality supported the project.
“This project benefits everyone,” said Aalbers. “When the school board brought this to us, they made it clear the field would be open to the community.”
Elenee ecstatic over JUNO nomination
The life of a local singer/songwriter forever changed after a recent and well-deserved JUNO Award nomination.
Elenee Young, known professionally as Elenee, was nominated for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year for her recent album, titled elenee in March.
This was Young’s first-ever JUNO nomination and she’s still in shock by the news.
What made the nomination even more special was the fact the CARAS (Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) threatened to pull the Contemporary Christian/Gospel Artist category from the awards in early September.
“Our little niche genre felt threatened by this, it was our one shot at the big stage,” said Young, explaining she reconfigured her entire album release strategy to be able to submit to the JUNOs.
“You must submit an album, it can’t be singles, over 50 per cent of that album had to be unreleased material. I had to strategically work back over a year and a half to be able to, at some point, submit for a JUNO.”
Young explained that CARAS’ reasoning behind potentially pulling the category was due to a lack of excitement.
“A whole bunch of artists, including myself, put stuff together to submit to show CARAS this category is still very much alive and thriving.”
Young also explained winning a JUNO would be amazing, but the nomination alone comes with a lot of meaning.
“The nomination means I’m on the roster,” she said, noting she also learned it’s possible to get your foot in the door when the odds are stacked against you.
“I’m the only exclusive female of the nominees. I’m also the only person, as far as I know, who’s Métis and has an Indigenous background. I’m also the only person who is fully independent.”
Throughout her music career, the 31-year-old wife and mother of two has fused Greek and Métis cultural influences into her work to tell her story and the story of others.
“There’s always been pride about being Métis, but at the end of the day, my dad’s side of the family has a ton of generational trauma,” said Young. “My dad passed away in 2020 from alcoholism, and that came from his childhood.
“The trauma just got passed on, and for me, making music and putting it out there, no matter where it sits in the spectrum of genres, I feel like it’s my audible and present tangible healing journey.”
Rotary conference draws large crowd
Lloydminster played host to a Rotary district conference where speakers told their stories as polio survivors.
The District 5370 conference kicked off March 14 with an opening ceremony featuring local dignitaries and included an Indigenous cultural presentation and an Indigenous-curated banquet.
These conferences give Rotarians a chance to see what the work clubs are doing.
“Once a year, the district governor holds a district conference where we bring people together from different clubs and we talk about the work we’re doing. We talk about the various aspects of rotary,” said Brian Edwards, District 5370 governor.
He says their goal is to inspire people and educate them on programs and initiatives.
“We try to educate people on various programs that are going on and we try to inspire people to work,” said Edwards.
March 15 saw a full itinerary for the attending Rotary members. The day kicked off with breakfast before a presentation by Anne Marie Robertson, covering topics such as humanitarian efforts and international law.
Three polio survivors took the stage following a short break to tell their stories. Jackie Hobal, Susan Brazeau and Ramesh Ferris told the packed crowd their stories and why it was important to continue advocating for an end to the disease.
186 Cadets hit mark at provincials
The 186 Air Cadets Lloydminster Squadron marksmanship Team 2 made some noise at a recent provincial competition in Edmonton.
Cpl. Cody Baker, LAC Clark Hughes, Sgt. Ethan Samarin, Flight Sgt. Elijah Belanger and Flight Cpl. Wyatt Moffatt bused to CFB Edmonton for two days of prone and standing competition. Overall, the team finished 11th of the 18 teams.
Moffatt, however, placed third in individual overall standings.
Civilian instructor Gordon Stefanuk explained this year’s competition saw vast improvements over last year, especially for Moffatt.
“He got a bronze medal for individual overall standings. Quite an accomplishment for him. The team did very well and worked well together,” said Stefanuk, noting a few lessons he hoped the cadets learned.
“Focus, the basics of shooting, and it’s great for them to see what the other competitors are doing during competition,” said Stefanuk. “Seeing the other competitors is a big thing.”
Samarin, Belanger and Moffatt have been shooting together for roughly two years. Baker and Hughes, however, are both first-year shooters with bright futures on the range.
Read more: Lloydminster non-profits benefit from city grant
