Monthly Archives: September 2012

Obituary

JOHN WILLIAM GILMOUR
August 7, 1934 – September 2, 2012

The family of Jack Gilmour are saddened to announce his passing at age 78 years after a short battle with lung cancer.  Jack is survived by the love of his life for 52 years, Karen and their three children: Lori of Calgary, Ron (Stella) of Craik and Ray (Coralee) of Edmonton; six grandchildren: George, Vivian, Ashley, Adam, Garrett and Kennedy; as well as a sister Pat (Al) of Indian Head and four Buckingham brothers-in-law: Doug (Rita), Neil, Russ and Bernie; plus numerous nieces and nephews.  Jack was born on the farm to Bill and Betty in the midst of the dirty thirties and his vocation and passion was always farming.  He took over the family farm at the young age of 21 when his own father died prematurely.  Jack expanded the operation through the years and was very proud that his son Ron has carried on as the fourth generation.  Jack was always a good neighbour and was very active in the community as a board member of the Aylesbury Curling Club, Aylesbury Skating Rink, Hallville Snowplough Club, Hallville Telephone Company, Aylesbury Farm Club and the Hustler Machinery Club.  Through the years, Jack was an avid curler and enjoyed many ‘bonspiels’ – collecting a few boxes of trophies along the way and thoroughly enjoying the social aspects of the game.  He was a loyal Craik Warriors hockey fan and in his later years he spent many hours reading and watching television becoming well versed in world politics.  The funeral service was held on Friday, September 7th, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. in the Aylesbury Community Hall, Aylesbury, Sask.  Ann Marie Francis officiated and interment followed at Aylesbury Cemetery.  Flowers are gratefully declined.  Memorial donations in Jack’s name may be made to the Aylesbury Cemetery Fund, Box 148, Aylesbury, Sask. S0G 0B0; Aylesbury Recreation Board, Box 45, Aylesbury, Sask. S0G 0B0 or to a local charity of one’s choice.  Arrangements are entrusted to Moose Jaw Funeral Home, 268 Mulberry Lane.  Todd Sjoberg, Funeral Director. 693-4550 www.moosejawfuneralhome.com

Obituary

Tansley

Dora (Ashby) Tansley (retired North York teacher) passed away at Willows Nursing Home at Aurora, Ontario on Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 104 years of age. Dora is the mother of the late Jack Tansley and his wife Shirley; grandmother of four, great-grandmother of four and great-great-grandmother of two. Dora taught school for many years, first in Bladworth area and later in Toronto.

Dora is survived by Madeleine Rhodes and family.

Interment at Memorial cemetery, Gravenhurst, Ontario.

featured

RCMP policing costs increase by 8 per cent

The cost of rural policing is going up by 8 per cent this year and next bringing the price of keeping the Town of Davidson protected to just under $36,000 in 2012 and over $38,000 in 2013.

The cost of policing the towns of Hanley and Craik, which both have an RCMP detachment, is going up to under $30,000 this year and close to $32,000 in 2013 for Hanley and under $27,000 for 2012 and around $29,000 the next year for Craik.

“We’re happy with the service,” said Gary Edom, Town of Davidson administrator. “We paid much more than that years ago. We paid over $100,000 years ago.”

Edom said the town used to have to contract out a man and a half from the RCMP for 60 hours a week, which is why the costs were so high. He said that when the formula for tabling up policing costs was changed for the 1999 budget year, the town then only had to pay about a third of the original bill.

The price of having the RCMP look after Davidson is now based on a per capita rate. It has increased to $35.05 per person between April 1 and Dec. 31 in 2012 compared to the 2011 rate of $32.45, which ended March 31 of this year. For 2013, the rate will rise to $37.85.

With a population of 1,025 in Davidson, the annual cost to the town comes to $35,259.96 for the final nine months of 2012 from $33,261.25 a year ago. In 2013 that price tag will rise to $38,796.25 with the same population size.

“The rates haven’t changed since 2006,” said Katherine Geldart, director of financial services and risk management for policing at the Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice. She said the size of the increase is a policy decision and was put forward by the provincial government in this past budget.

The Town of Hanley will see its bill go up to $29,023.26 in 2012 with a population size of 522 from $27,378.90 a year ago. In 2013, that figure will jump to $31,935.96. They pay $56.65 per capita this year and $61.18 in 2013, up from the 2011 rate of $52.45. Their rates are higher than Davidson because they have an RCMP detachment in the town.

“We have to wonder what we’re paying for,” said Darice Carlson, administrator for the Town of Hanley, referring to the small detachment in the town. “It’s not really a detachment as there is no manned office. Currently, the majority of calls made to this detachment get redirected to the Saskatoon office for action. If a decision was made to close this detachment, it would certainly be cheaper for the community, but it is certainly not what the citizens would wish for.

“We have and are continuing to work with the officers that live in town to be more proactive with policing in the community, but even though members live here, they haven’t been able to show their presence due to duties in the other areas of the detachment at times.”

To read more please see the Sept. 3 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

featured, Sports

McNabb readies for an uncertain year with no NHL hockey

Brayden McNabb is looking to start the year as a regular on the Buffalo Sabres blueline and is working hard this summer to build up some muscle and improve his foot speed, despite the threat of a NHL owner’s lockout cancelling the upcoming season.

“I’m going to have to earn a spot out of camp, so I’m doing my best to train right now over the summertime and get myself ready for that,” said McNabb, the Davidson native who split the 2011-12 year between the big club and their affiliate in Rochester. “The camp will be (open Sept. 15) and that’s what I’m training for right now. When the time comes, I’m hoping to be ready to go and get a chance to crack the top six.”

The 21-year-old defenceman played 25 games for Buffalo in his first year in the pros last season scoring a goal and assisting on seven others. He suited up for another 45 with the Rochester Americans racking up 30 points including five goals for the AHL club. He was picked up by the Sabres in the third round of the 2009 draft while playing with the Kooteney Ice of the WHL.

McNabb said he is on the ice pretty steady now as he builds on the repetitions to get more game ready, progressing from only lacing up the skates one or two times a week in early July. He trains with Kelly Riou of Next Level Training in Saskatchewan during the off-season, but also spent three weeks this summer in Buffalo working with Doug McKenney, the team’s strength and conditioning coach, at the Sabres’ home rink, the First Niagara Center.

“It’s a bunch of weights and a lot of feet stuff,” he said about his exercise routine. “That is the big thing I need. Earlier in the year I do more weights and more in the gym. Now that it’s August I’m skating almost five days a week, so it’s a combination of in the gym and skating right now. Usually at the start of summer I try to get more weight put on and get some more muscle and get some muscle back. Later in August and into September I try and get my cardio more into shape.”

To read more please see the Sept. 3 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Craik

Dr. Ryan Meili to speak at Craik Legion

An inner-city Saskatoon family doctor is heading to Craik this weekend to discuss his new book which focuses on the social determinants of health and the changes needed to Canada’s public policy with a goal of creating a healthier society.

Dr. Ryan Meili will also address the challenges of recruiting physicians to practise in rural Saskatchewan.

Meili, whose book is entitled A Healthy Society: how a focus on health can revive Canadian democracy, said he will be talking about his experiences working as a doctor in northern Saskatchewan, Mozambique, and Saskatoon as well as the stories of patients included in the book to illustrate the things that “really have an impact” on a person’s health and well-being. The book launch will be held Sept. 9 beginning at 7 p.m. at the Craik Legion Hall.

He said the challenges of income, education, employment, housing, the wider environment and social services or the lack thereof on an individual or community need to be discussed to bring about democratic reform that focuses more on ensuring a better life for all Canadians.

“As countries get wealthy, they also get less equal,” said Meili. “We’re not sharing the wealth in a way that’s allowing everyone to participate. There’s actually quite a lot of research that shows that countries that are more unequal have worse health outcomes.

“The interesting part is you would assume that in a more unequal country you would have more poor people and poor people tend to be sicker ergo worse health outcomes,” he said. “But it’s the wealthy people’s health that suffers as well. No matter what you’re level is, in a more unequal society, your health is worse than someone at the same level that has less of a gap between the rich and the poor.”

Meili said he is “hesitant” to say exactly what he will be discussing about the doctor shortage plaguing rural Saskatchewan and Craik in particular, but he will be speaking about the challenges that exist in recruiting doctors to rural areas in this province and the ideas he thinks could help solve this problem.

“We can often leave rural or the smaller centres out of these discussions, but there is really smart people and really interesting people in all of these communities,” he said about the need for a healthier society. “I’ve been hearing lots about the way the community is getting mobilized around health care with the loss of their doctor. It’s a really great time to open up the books and talk about just what is it that Craik wants for their own health and how the issues in this book will fit into that discussion.”

Davidson, Sports

Davidson School to have junior football

Young football players hoping to suit up in Raiders’ blue and white no longer have to wait for Grade 10 to get involved in the action, as Davidson School is starting up a junior football team this September.

Trevor Ouellette, town recreation director and head coach of the junior team, said the new club would welcome boys and girls from grades 7 to 9 to tryout for the Raiders’ junior football team. He said tryouts would start the second week of school with a focus on introducing the young players to tackle football.

“We’re planning for 13 to 15 kids coming out,” Ouellette said. “If we get 15, we’re laughing. It’s male and female. If the girls feel comfortable getting hit, they are more than welcome to come out.”

Kids who make the team will be charged a fee to help pay for the team’s expenses, with the rest of the money needed to start up the club coming from a community grant from Sask. Lotteries. The school decided to put together a junior team in order to make better use of the new field behind the school and to create a feeder system into the senior team.

Ouellette said it is unfair to suit up a senior team with little to no experience in organized football and put them into action against other clubs that have kids that have been playing the game for the past four years. He added another benefit of junior football is to get the kids more active and challenged both mentally and physically.

“You learn a lot about yourself, about what you can do and what you can’t do,” he said. “You are put into a lot of intense one-on-one battles, especially in six-man football.  I played 12-man football for seven years in the city and the first three or four years you never get to touch the ball, you just run up and down the field. With six-man, you can’t hide. You’re involved. It’s a lot of fun.”

To read more please see the Sept. 3 print edition of The Davidson Leader.