18. June 2009 by Kari Calder.

The Bridge City Boogie in Saskatoon started in 2007 with 831 people taking part. By 2008 there were almost 1700 people in Saskatoon who took part in this event. This year had an overwhelming 4415 participating with another 545 volunteers to make sure the event went off without a hitch. This means just under 5000 people helped make this Saskatoon event possible and successful, almost at the 5000 goal that organizers had hoped for after 5 years…and it is only year 3!

The Saskatoon Bridge City Boogie saw more than 4400 people of all ages and abilities running, walking, wheeling or being wheeled this year. Ages ranged from toddlers to the elderly and entire families participated in this Saskatoon Star Phoenix sponsored event. The rising number of participants means that people in our area are doing what it takes to live a healthy lifestyle while promoting community involvement. This is an event that makes it possible for everyone to participate, not like marathons and running events, so the turnout should increase each year. There were many healthy role models at this Saskatoon event for our youth to look up to, including some people who completed the 2, 5 and 10 kilometre events in their wheelchairs. Other role models are the parents and grandparents who are physically active and who are active with their children and grandchildren.

Not only is this Saskatoon event fun, it is also a non-profit event that raised close to $40,000 this year for 3 Saskatoon Charities; The Saskatoon Crisis Nursery, The Boys and Girls Clubs of Saskatoon, and Can-West Raise a Reader, which funds local literacy groups.

Out of the participants, 70% were female and 30% male so next year hopefully we see more men out there taking part in the Saskatoon Bridge City Boogie! The largest team was the Holy Cross Crusaders with 153 participants. Saskatoon Century 21 Conexus also had a team, but I am sad to say that I was not part of the Century 21 Conexus Bridge City Boogie team this year as I was busy with my Saskatoon open houses and selling houses for sale in Saskatoon…2009 I hope to help add to those numbers!

Saskatoon is a great community minded city and I am proud to be a part of such a great city.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

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18. June 2009 by Kari Calder.

The Saskatoon Health Region was forced to cancel 91 tests this week with a total of 167 patient scans cancelled thus far. As the world’s supply of radioisotopes is continuing to face a shortage, so will our health region. The shutdown of the Chalk River, Ontario reactor is the cause of the shortage. The shutdown is expected to last another 3 months at least and up to an entire year.

The Saskatoon Health Region received only 4 generators of radioactive isotopes this week, which is a small fraction compared to the usual 17.5 generators per week.

This shortage is forcing Canada to seek out deals with other isotope suppliers in South Africa and Australia. Luckily, Canada stepped up to the plate when the Petten reactor in the Netherlands was down and provided a significant amount of additional isotopes. There are isotope producing reactors in Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, Argentina and Australia.

The nuclear reactor in Chalk River was shut down earlier this week after it started leaking radioactive heavy water. This particular reactor produces 80% of the isotopes for Canada’s needs and 40% of the world’s need for isotopes comes from Chalk River.

Isotopes produced here help 20 million people in 80 countries each year, but it is 52 years old and it is showing its age being the oldest reactor in the world.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

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18. June 2009 by Kari Calder.

On May 19th the Saskatchewan provincial and Canadian federal governments announced they were going to pour millions of dollars into affordable housing in Saskatchewan. The announcement came on the same day as the opening of the new affordable housing in Saskatoon project that is located in the King George neighbourhood. This Saskatoon affordable housing complex has 18 2 and 3 bedroom townhouses and 37 apartments. This project, Monarch Yards, cost $11.8 million and it is located on 20th Street and Avenue L. The governments announced that they were putting more than $161 million into more affordable housing in Saskatoon over the next 2 years and these projects are there to help the most vulnerable people, including seniors and people with disabilities.

This is great for residents in Saskatoon as houses for sale in Saskatoon are still out of reach for many.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Posted in Canada Real Estate, Saskatoon News, Saskatchewan Real Estate, Saskatoon Real Estate | No Comments »