From playing high school football in the Battlefords to the big stage of the National Football League, Rueben Mayes made it a long way, but this week he returned to the practice field where it all began.

Thursday the town took time to honour him for making it to the NFL, a feat not too many Canadians have managed. The practice field at the North Battleford Comprehensive High School has been officially renamed Reuben Mayes field.

Mayes and his family where there for the dedication ceremony.

Students in Saskatchewan's Living Sky School Division may soon start learning outside of the traditional classroom.

The division which includes the Battlefords and surrounding communities is looking into the possibility of creating specialized academies.

Jim Shevchuk with Living Sky says there are schools in other provinces and even here in Saskatchewan that have a focus on certain areas.

The controversial chief of the Red Pheasant First Nation sparked a rally outside a North Battleford court room on Wednesday when he pled guilty to breach of probation.

Chief Stewart Baptiste's detractors held brightly coloured signs and demanded his resignation while a few of his supporters looked on.

He was in court to face two charges of breach of probation but his full list of legal cases ranges from criminal mischief for breaking a truck window to drunk driving.

With civic elections only a few months away, Battleford town council is pondering the idea of making potential candidates submit criminal record checks.

Changes in the Municipalities Act made in 2010 allow council to do just that by passing a bylaw.

Having a criminal record would not prevent someone from running in the municipal election. A copy of the record check would simply be attached to the nomination paper.

A state of emergency has been lifted in the RM of Frenchman Butte north of Lloydminster.

Fire crews were finally able to put out a wildfire on the west side of the municipality. At one point last week, over 100 residents had to be evacuated from their homes to a nearby community center.

It took crews from three different fire departments nearly a week to finally extinguish the blaze.

Edited by News Talk Radio staff

About 130 people have been evacuated from their homes in the RM of Frenchman Butte and the Onion Lake First Nation as fire crews try to contain a wildfire which has been burning since Sunday.

The evacuation order is precautionary for people on the Onion Lake First Nation and in the rural municipality north of Lloydminster.

Officials from the RM of Frenchman Butte northeast of Lloydminster are keeping a close eye on a wildfire that caused them to declare a state of emergency on Monday.

Firefighters from Paradise Hill and Onion Lake, as well as Rural Municipality and Saskatchewan environment representatives toured the fire area Monday afternoon, after it was contained.

Officials are keeping the state of emergency order in place for now because they worry that changes in weather and wind conditions could cause the fire to flare up again.

A former Gold Eagle casino dealer who pled guilty to helping card players cheat was back in court Wednesday.

Christopher Stone Spyglass payed another thousand dollars in restitution to Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority.

The court allowed Spyglass to pay over $12 thousand that he owes in installments. He still has over $10 thousand to go.

The case will be back in court in a couple weeks when Spyglass will pay another piece of his restitution.

Reported by News Talk Radio's Kurtis Doering

Police in Humboldt are looking out for a missing man who went missing more than ten days ago and may be trying to hitchike to Edmonton.

42-year-old Vincent Spyglass can't speak but can read and write. He has a history of walking away from where he lives.

Spyglass is five foot five inches and only weighs about 100 pounds.

On Saturday April 14, RCMP say he caught a ride from North Battleford to just outside town on the way to Edmonton. At the time he was wearing a grey leather jacket, blue shirt, black jeans, and black cowboy boots.

You could hear a distinct popping sound as a yard filled with vehicles burned just west of the Battlefords.

Starting sometime around 7:00 p.m. Sunday night a plume of black smoke could be seen for miles. Battleford firefighters were aided by water tanker trucks and their drivers. RCMP and SaskPower were also on the scene.

A long line of vehicles were parked along Highway 16 as drivers and others stopped to see what was going on.

The house and other buildings on the property were upwind from the fire Sunday night and appeared to be safe.