For years I have been trying to find some way to bring the stories from the Regina Cemetery into the school curriculum. I've spent countless hours emailing principals and teachers around the city, trying to find some way to arrange a fieldtrip to the cemetery – or maybe even bring the stories into the classroom. In my opinion, cemeteries are not only a wealth of knowledge, history, and teaching opportunities but they also give students a sense of local identity.

I wanted to make 2020 the year of cemetery tours, but it is not going to happen – primarily because of the COVID-19 pandemic but also because of some municipal red-tape. But I think it is fair to say the way students are getting educated this year is different than past years, and that a fieldtrip to the cemetery would be a nice change.

So for all those parents out there that are now teachers, or teachers with online classes or smaller class sizes, or anybody who wants to bring local history alive, here are seven stories form the Regina Cemetery you an add to your school curriculum.

Salem, Massachusetts is one of the few places that need no introduction. It is world-famous for the iconic 1692-1693 witch trials and the nineteen executions.

In a perfect world, I would love to go to Salem in October, but so does everybody else. Salem is overflowing with tourists during the month of October, peaking on Halloween. The hotels, restaurants, shops, streets, and parks are overflowing with witches, warlocks, ghouls, and ghosts.

That is, except for this year.

The Holy Ghost Church is located south of Saskatoon.

Actually, that isn't true.

In fact, it is nowhere near Saskatoon.

People, places and things often change names. Sometimes this is because of a war, like Kitchener (Berlin), Ontario or Leader (Prussia), Saskatchewan, but it can also happen during peacetime too.

When this happens, it is usually associated with a societal change. Today, it is usually to embrace multiculturalism and to dissolve racial barriers. At least, this is the reasoning behind the name change of the Edmonton Football Team (Edmonton Eskimos) and the Washington Football Team (Washington Redskins).

(And, sometimes it's because things just didn't age well, like Tisdale's "Land of rape and honey".)

The past few years have seen a boom in drone photography, but their usefulness goes beyond just pretty pictures and Instagram likes. You can use drones to survey fields, inspect the damage on a property, examine the area below bridges and, of course, take awesome selfies. But flying a drone needs to be taken seriously. Not only are drones dangerous, but they are also considered an aircraft – and you need to be certified to operate them.

According to Transport Canada regulations, any drone between 250g (0.5lbs) to 25kg (55lbs) needs to be operated by a certified pilot and be registered with Transport Canada. This means, of course, that drones under 250g do not need to be certified or licenced.  Manufacturers have made drones around this regulation, such as the DJI Mavic Mini which is exactly 249g.

However, Transport Canada guidelines may change so I recommend you consider getting certified anyway. Unlike driving a car that takes weeks of classes and a $100 road exam, getting your drone certificate only costs $10. As well, registering your drone only costs $5.

Article by Jessica Nuttall.

Kraft Hockeyville is an annual competition sponsored by Kraft Heinz and the NHL. The winning community receives a cash prize that goes towards upgrading their local rink, as well as an opportunity to host an NHL pre-season game. To date, no town from Saskatchewan has won this contest - despite the fact that Saskatchewan produces more NHL players per capita than any other province!

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the announcement for the finalists for the 2020 Kraft Hockeyville contest was delayed until August, with the four finalists being: Pense, Saskatchewan; Saint-Félicien, Quebec; Tyne Valley, Prince Edward Island; and Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador.

I love Japan. I love their creativity, their style, their art, their language, their video games, and everything about their modern society. Above all else though, I especially love their food. When I visited Japan in 2014, I tried some of the strangest food I have ever eaten, like miscellaneous deep-fried meat, raw horse, ox tongue and various types of sake, to only mention a few. I even had quite the adventure trying to find milk in Japan, which is almost an unheard-of drink in that country.

Flash-forward to 2020 and the world-wide lockdown and the restriction of travel, crowds and outdoor gatherings, make the memories of walking down the crowded streets of Tokyo seem a world away. I missed travel, food and trying new things so I decided to subscribe to a box from TokyoTreat. TokyoTreat creates themed boxes of various Japanese food and delivers it to your house.

I ordered mine in March, and it left the warehouse on March 30. It shipped on April 13. It was a May-themed box so it should have arrived in May, but this was around the time the mail system got shut down. All mail was delayed and stuck in transit. My package was MIA for months, with no tracking number from TokyoTreat and no update from Canada Post. The support at TokyoTreat were knowledgeable and updated me on the mail condition in Japan, but they weren't very helpful. But to be fair, there wasn't anything they could do. They couldn't send me my money back until the package returned to their warehouse and they couldn't give me an update on my missing package. In their defence I know they were also bombarded by thousands of people asking the same questions.

Northern Saskatchewan is nothing short of an enigma shrouded with mystery and surprise. One of these surprises is the Limestone Crevices, a prehistoric geological formation unlike anything else in Saskatchewan. I had never been there before, so I decided to go see them. However, every time I go to northern Saskatchewan, something bad always happens. Ever since my misadventure in Prince Albert National Park last fall, and my nearly fatal hike in Utah this past winter, I did everything I could to make this trip not only successful and safe, but punctual and non-life-threatening.

And I failed 90 minutes into it.

I have travelled to northern Saskatchewan a few times, and I always take Highway 11. Highway 2 is faster, but I am always meeting somebody in Saskatoon or veering over to the Battlefords. Highway 11 is ingrained into my muscle memory as the only way to go north. So, it is no surprise that I took Highway 11.