Monthly Archives: August 2013

featured

Elbow mayor resigns, voters head to polls in fall

Voters in Elbow will be heading to the polls in October to elect a new mayor following the resignation of William Nike late last month.

According to the minutes at the July 25 special meeting of Elbow Village council the last act Nike undertook as mayor before resigning was outlining the abusive and aggressive behaviour towards village staff members that took place during the week of July 15 to 19. After handing in his resignation and leaving council chambers shortly afterwards, the first decision Elbow council passed was a policy that aggressive and abusive behaviour would not be tolerated towards village staff and a notice of this policy would be placed in the village office, shop and on the village website.

Colleen Hoppenreys, acting mayor of Elbow, said it is with great regret that council had to accept Nike’s resignation. She said Nike’s time on village council first as a councillor and then as mayor was never connected with individual gain.

“He was there for the village and wanted the best for the village,” said Hoppenreys. “He was always trying to improve things here.”

Hoppenreys could not comment on what policy changes made by council that prompted the threats, but said no other members of council were subject to the abusive behaviour exhibited by some ratepayers.

“I think if you try to make changes, they’re just not happy about some of the changes,” she said. “I think that is what really brought this on. I think it’s more just verbal abuse and changing our policies that is not acceptable here.”

Yvonne Jess, chief administrative officer of Elbow, said the threatening behaviour by ratepayers towards Nike, his wife and village staff members occurred in the office, the village shop and in the evening when the mayor was out in public. She said the RCMP is currently collecting statements from people in the village about the matter and could not comment further on what happened.

To read more please see the Aug. 26 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson

Elbow committee vies for ratepayer’s support for fitness centre renovations

The Elbow facilities committee is reaching out to ratepayers of the village in an effort to gain their support for an expanded fitness centre on the old curling rink ice surface and a pickleball court set up during the summertime in the hockey arena.

Carol Patterson, chair of the Elbow facilities committee, said if village ratepayers support their proposal they would start right away on building a floor on the curling rink ice surface with the hope of having a renovated gym in place by the spring. She said this is dependent on raising around $70,000 to get the work done, but if they know their proposal is supported they can at least start the main planning.

“Our curling rink has not been working for probably 20 years or more maybe and we have the front part of it as a small gym now,” said Patterson. “We want to expand that into a bigger gym space to put in some lightweight fitness equipment and space for classes (like) yoga and tai chi.”

Patterson said the group would like to upgrade their equipment such as treadmills and elliptical trainers for the expanded gym. She said they would also put in pickleball court lines on the hockey rink surface in the summer to provide a place to play for the growing number of the sport’s enthusiasts.

“We have people in town that are pickleball players,” she said, noting it’s a sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis. “It’s a sport overtaking the country and North America at the senior level.”

Norma Johnson, a member of the facilities committee, said the group would also like to set up a war memorial and Elbow sports hall of fame display at the rink to create a gathering space for the community. She said the kitchen and bathrooms on the hockey rink side and bathrooms in the curling rink have been recently renovated, so this expansion would be one of the last things to do to renew the centre.

“It is quite a good plan and it would work well for the community,” said Johnson. “There is quite a lot of people who use the fitness centre, the gym, so we’d like to get this going as quickly as possible.”

To read more please see the Aug. 26 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Kenaston

Riverbend Co-op buys 4 C’s Corner Store

Riverbend Co-op has purchased the 4 C’s Corner Store at Third Street in Kenaston in an effort to strengthen the Co-op branch financially and provide the community with consistent product selection and service.

Dale Firby, general manager of Riverbend Co-op, said the services previously offered by 4 C’s Corner Store such as their lottery, liquor and convenience business is currently in the process of being moved into the Co-op building also located on Third Street. He said they plan on selling the corner store building after everything is completed.

“It was an opportunity to include another service into our operation that the community really needed and the existing owners (of 4 C’s) wanted to get out of that business,” he said, noting the Co-op took possession of 4 C’s on Aug. 1.

Firby said selling the building would then provide somebody else with an opportunity to open up another service or business in the community. He said they are now reviewing the Co-op’s operating hours as they are more dictated towards the food business.

“Basically we want to be a little more convenient for our customers,” said Firby. “There is no guarantee of change, but it depends on customer demand.”

Davidson

Blues Ain’t That Bad

If straight ahead groove oriented rhythm and blues is what you need to get you through some tough times, good times or ordinary times then the new album by The Blue Mules is right up your alley.

Trent Schmiedge, Davidson raised guitarist, singer and songwriter for The Blue Mules, said the three-piece blues and funk band’s debut album, “Blues Ain’t That Bad,” came out a little over two weeks ago. He said the full-length cd was recorded over a period of a year at Earl Pereira’s Fame Machine studio in Saskatoon.

“We just recorded on and off when we had time because with his touring schedule and he’s touring all over and mine, we just kind of pieced it together,” said Schmiedge, noting Pereira is the driving force behind rock band The Steadies. “We had some fun doing it when we had the chance.”

Schmiedge said this is his first album where he has been in charge, but he has played guitar and contributed vocals on a few albums by other bands before. He said all the songs on “Blues Ain’t That Bad” are originals and he wrote the lyrics and music for the tunes.

“Most of them were just written in the studio,” he said. “There are songs that I had written a while back and never had a chance to get into a studio until last year. Some of these songs are 10 years old.”

The Blue Mules have been together for around two years, said Schmiedge, and “play now and then” for fun. He said Saskatoon’s Dale Ehman plays bass and Graham Templeman pounds the drums in the group.

Schmiedge said the band is hitting the road this fall to tour for the album. He said they would be playing clubs across Western Canada in November “after the Riders win the Grey Cup” including stops in Banff, Red Deer and Edmonton.

“That is the strategy,” he said. “Thebluemules.com is (our) website. We have dates on there and music.”

The cd can be picked up at Stedmans in Davidson and is also available on cdbaby.com for purchase and download. Schmiedge said if people are into Eric Clapton, B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan, “Blues Ain’t That Bad” should make them as happy as it makes him.

“I’ve always wanted to put out a record like this,” he said. “I’ve played in rock bands and country bands, (but) my heart has always been in this style of music. We’re a very R&B band. That is the music I like and I wanted to try something different.”

Obituary

Henry Wilhelm Harder
March 23, 1932 – July 23, 2013
With sadness, the family of Henry Harder of Hanley, SK, announces his passing at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon. Henry was born in Glenside, SK, to Jake and Helen (Riediger) Harder, the third of six children. The family moved to Manitoba briefly and then to Hanley where Henry spent most of his childhood on the family farm. He attended school in Hanley, followed by two years at the U of S School of Agriculture. He married Hedie Koop of Dundurn on August 4, 1956. They farmed one mile from Henry’s parents, raised five children and lived there until the fall of 2000 when they moved into Hanley. Henry continued farming with his son through 2013 spring seeding. Henry served on the board of Rosthern Junior College, as chair of the Conference of Mennonites of Saskatchewan and Hanley Mennonite Church. He had a deep faith that saw him through his battle with cancer and Parkinson’s. He was predeceased by his parents, sister Helen Froese, parents-in-law Henry and Maria Koop, sister-in-law Mary Harder, and brothers-in-law Nick Peters, Arnie Froese, Ed Peters, Wayne Crossley. He is survived by wife Hedie; daughter Terry (Kent) Keller, children Suzanne, James (Palouse, WA); son Vern (Hanley, SK); daughter Ev (Pat) Buhr, children Tom, Natalie (Edmonton, AB); daughter Judy (Rod) Enns, children Darren, Kelly, Haley (Medstead, SK); son Chris (Adrienne Ward), children Dion Bouchard, Dane, Masyn, (Hanley, SK); brother Elmer (friend Frieda Coben); sister Herta (Vic) Koop; sister Erna (Alfred) Neufeldt; brother Vern (Barb); sisters-in-law Marg Peters, Ag Peters, Mel Crossley, Marlene (Dave) Froese; numerous nieces and nephews. The family wishes to thank the staff of St. Paul’s Hospital for their gracious care. The funeral service was held at 2:00 p.m. Monday, July 29, 2013 at the Hanley Community Center, Hanley, SK.

featured, Kenaston

Sign theft saddens community

Family and friends of the late Michael Hertz are devastated after a walking trail sign that was put up shortly before his death was stolen earlier this summer.

Susan Anholt, secretary-treasurer of Kenaston and District Chamber of Commerce, said the sunset “Mick’s Way” Bonnington Springs Walking Trail sign was taken from its spot at the east end of the trail sometime between the middle of June and the beginning of July. She said the sign has tremendous value to the community as it celebrates the life of one of their most-loved residents.

“Mick Hertz was just an incredibly popular school teacher and he wanted the walking trail, so just as a member of the village he went to the village council and made a proposal for it, laid out the route and got permission,” said Anholt, noting Hertz was battling prostate cancer at the time. “I had the honour of helping him and lots of days when we were working on this he was so sick from (chemotherapy) and whatever else they were doing to him, but he kept on trucking.

“The final bit he was too ill to complete it, but we got the sign up as quickly as we could and had a picture taken of him and myself when the signs were up. He passed away after that.”

Anholt said a couple ladies walking the trail on July 4 first discovered the sunset sign was missing. She said the sunrise sign at the west end of the park is still there and nothing else appeared to be touched.

“These are big redwood signs and they are beautiful,” she said, adding each sign is worth around $700. “For whatever reason someone thought they needed it more than we did, so that’s sad. I suspect someone with a friend named Mick just thought ‘oh, this is cute.  We’ll just take it to our buddy Mick.’ That’s my guess because what really would you want this for.”

Regan Firby, the daughter of Michael Hertz, said her father decided to propose a walking trail for Kenaston because it would give the community a place to enjoy the beauty of the village. She said they would like the sunset sign returned for the principle of it and not the cost of putting up a replacement.

“It’s a man who put a lot of hard work into this,” said Firby. “When the trail was built my dad was sick, so he was out there helping and it’s kind of heartbreaking that somebody would take it. I hope the person that took it doesn’t understand the significance of it. That would be extra sad.”

Anholt said the village has not reported the theft to the RCMP, but are trying to raise awareness about the sign and gain any information on its whereabouts through other means such as a facebook page. She said if anyone has any information on the missing sign to please contact the Kenaston and District Chamber of Commerce or the Village Office.