With the turnover to the year 2000 only two days away, preparations are complete for emergency groups and utilities to greet the new year in Weyburn and surrounding area.

Weyburn's Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) will have a civic co-ordination centre set up at the fire hall, and the South Central Health District will have their command centre set up at the Souris Valley Extended Care Centre.

The city police and RCMP have both indicated they will be fully staffed on New Year's Eve, and will be in touch with the EMO should any problems arise due to Y2K. The major utilities, including SaskPower, SaskEnergy and SaskTel, have all assured residents their systems are Y2K-compliant and fully ready to meet the rollover to the new year.

Both command centres will be monitoring the news services as the new year arrives in the various time zones throughout the day on Friday, Dec. 31, starting with New Zealand as it enters the year 2000 around 6 a.m. Weyburn time. If problems begin to occur, local authorities will prepare accordingly, with the health district's centre corresponding directly with the EMO centre.

The Weyburn Amateur Radio Club will have members on call to man ham radios in the event emergency communications are required at the EMO, and they will also be available to set up at short notice in area communities like Radville and Fillmore.

Meanwhile, area residents have been preparing to meet the year 2000, but city retailers are not noting any sense of panic as New Year's Eve approaches.

There have been extra sales of propane and kerosene heaters at Peavey Mart, but the sales of generators have been particularly high compared to past years, said manager George Hnatiuk.

"This year as soon as they come in they go out. I think we sold more generators this year than in the last five years," he said, noting most of those sales took place in the last two to three months.

At Canadian Tire, manager Ken Fedun said there have been a few sales as people prepare for the coming new year, particularly of emergency heaters and kerosene heaters, but added it's not panic buying by any means. The manager at Home Hardware wouldn't comment on how sales of emergency equipment or heaters is going.