Monthly Archives: June 2014

Sports

Local athletes medal at provincial track meet

Six local high school track and field athletes excelled at the provincial meet held earlier this month in Moose Jaw as evidenced by the medals now glistening in front of their chests.

Craik School’s Charly Nolting, Hanley School’s Kaycee Schroeder, Jade Peters and Courtney Orsen and Loreburn Central School’s Shane Lafontaine and Maddy Vollmer all won a medal or two or three in their respective sports. In total the six athletes brought home 10 gold, silver or bronze medallions from the provincial track and field championships held June 6 and 7 at Gutheridge Field in Moose Jaw.

“I think it’s great that we get the opportunity to compete against all those different athletes that are at that level,” said Courtney Orsen, 18, who won a bronze in the pole vault event. “In my competition there were four of us who jumped the exact same height and it came down to who missed one jump before that to say who got the medal. It was a very close competition (in) the senior girls category.”

Hanley Saber Kaycee Schroeder, 15, who won a silver medal in both the midget girls 1500-metre and 3000-m run, said competing at provincials along with over 1,500 other high school athletes in front of thousands of onlookers was a great experience for her. She said there were people cheering the athletes on and lots of other kids to talk to no matter what event someone was in.

“At first because I was the youngest in the group it was kind of hard to be there racing against older kids, but once I got going I just had to know what I could do and what my limits were,” said Kaycee, noting this was her first time competing at provincials. “It was great racing against all the older kids.”

Hanley’s Jade Peters took the silver medal in the junior girls high jump event as well as a gold in the triple jump event with a leap of 10.92 metres. Loreburn’s Maddy Vollmer finished close behind her at 10.44 metres to win the bronze medal.

Maddy, 16, said the experience of competing at provincials was “awesome” and also pretty tough as every athlete there trained hard during the year for that privilege. She said to get ready for the four events that she qualified in at provincials, three days a week of training at Loreburn Central School was called for along with getting in “as many jumps” as she could during the time leading up to the competition.

Craik Cougar Charly Nolting helped her South Central team win a bronze medal at provincials in the junior girls 4×100-m relay event. Shane Lafontaine also won a relay medal for his West Central team to go along with two more individual awards he took home.

Shane, 14, won gold in the midget boys 4×100-m relay, silver in 100-m hurdles and silver again in the triple jump event. The first-time provincial track and field athlete said winning the medals was not an easy task because of the tough competition, but he made an effort to put in the needed training all year to get to the meet and is happy how things turned out.

“It was really cool to be able to compete with the entire province,” he said. “You feel really good even making it there and then medaling is like maybe I’m one of the top athletes in Canada.”

Sports

Red Sox practise all-around game as playoffs approach

The Davidson Red Sox peewee girls softball team are moving on to playoff competition this weekend with a goal of putting everything they’ve learned about playing both sides of the game this year into action on the field.

“We’ve come a long way,” said Red Sox coach Jason Shaw, who is being helped on the sidelines this year by Kendal Wightman. “In league we’ve won seven (and) lost seven, so we’re a middle of the pack team. At this age it’s about teaching the girls how to play ball. We’ve given them a chance to play different positions and learn a little bit about how to play the game.”

Shaw said the 15 girls who play for the Red Sox have beat every team in the league except two this year, including the Conquest Coyotes who they hosted last Tuesday. He said they have as good a shot as anybody else at winning the Saskatoon peewee B league playoffs this Saturday and securing a berth in provincials the following weekend.

The 2014 Red Sox includes Brianna Jess, Sarah Allan, Breanna Shaw, Gracie Allan, Hannah Gust, Kaitlyn Glubis, Teryn Bristow, Sydney Smith, Nevada Wightman, Tori Rendall, Elena Nykiforuk, Jocelyn Millham, Chaselyn Dean, Annika Ouellette and Lauren Bueckert. The 14-and-under team have been putting in as many practices as possible starting indoors at the Davidson Communiplex in April before trying to schedule them around the many games they play in Saskatoon and three tournaments they participate in during the short spring season.

The 12-7 loss against Conquest last Tuesday was Davidson’s third game at home this season to go along with a doubleheader they played earlier in the year against a Saskatoon club. The coach said the Coyotes game showed the emphasis each team places on good pitching to get wins.

“It was a good game,” said Shaw, noting the Red Sox will play a playoff tune-up game this Thursday in Loreburn. “We could have scored a couple more runs. We were up 5-2 in the first two innings. They had a strong pitcher come in to pitch the third to the sixth inning and we made a couple errors, but it was a good game. There were a few hits (on) both sides and a few good plays made.”

To read more please see the June 16 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Obituary

obitMorrow,-Florence

Morrow
Florence Mary Morrow (Lehmann) died peacefully Wednesday, May 7, 2014 at St. Ann’s Nursing Home, Saskatoon. She leaves to mourn son Todd (Val) of Stanford, Montana, daughter Gayle (Travis) Frandsen of Bozeman, Montana; grandchildren Aaron, Malorie, Kris Morrow, and Austin, Colin, Jadin Frandsen; great-grandchildren Armari and Krmari; sister Agatha Rupcich of Kenaston; nephew Mark Rupcich, niece Maria (Scott) Rupcich and many more family members.
She was predeceased by her parents Phil and Mary Lehmann and husband Don Morrow.
Florence was born in Estevan, Sask., July 5, 1939. As a daughter of a CNR railroader, the family lived in many locations in Saskatchewan. Parents Phil and Mary, sister Agatha and Florence finally settled in Davidson in 1953.
Florence was a free spirit. As an adult she worked in the restaurant industry – Weighill’s Café and Sekulich Café. After her marriage in 1962 to Don Morrow of Holdfast, Don’s occupation with Power Companies took them to Swift Current and to Montana communities, settling in Stanford, Montana. Florence was a busy homemaker for Don, Todd and Gayle. Her friendly, happy, helpful personality brought joy to many.
Her challenge with health problems brought her back to Davidson where she cared for her mother until her mother’s death in 1995. Then she moved to a smaller residence in Davidson where she made friends, cared for neighbours and volunteered. As her health declined, Florence moved from Davidson to Craik to Saskatoon Care Homes settling in St. Ann’s Nursing Home. During this time she received special care from dedicated caregivers. St. Ann’s staff became her extended family.
Mass of Christian Burial was held in Davidson Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Celebrant Rev. Father Eugene Warnke OMI. Tribute was given by cousin Pat McFarlane.
Arrangements were entrusted to Hanson’s Funeral Home.

featured

Changes could be in store for liquor sales

Changes could be coming to Saskatchewan in how future liquor sales are handled.

Arm River-Watrous MLA Greg Brkich said converting small Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) stores from public to private hands is not the most pressing issue among his constituents, but he would be listening this summer to the people he represents about what they think the government’s role in the business of selling liquor should be. He said the four rural SLGA liquor stores in Langenburg, Ituna, Ponteix and Kerrobert that have recently been marked for closure due to their high operating costs are examples of stores in small towns that could be better served by private vendors.

Brkich said many of his constituents such as in Kenaston, Hanley and Dundurn are already served by private vendors and only a few of the towns in Arm River-Watrous such as Davidson have a SLGA store. He said it needs to be known if people want the government to stay in the business of owning and maintaining these buildings after the next election or whether they should just be involved in the “rules and regulations” side and let the private vendors do the rest.

“A small town (private) franchise, we’re still getting the tax off the liquor and we don’t have the expenses,” said Brkich. “It costs money to operate that store. It costs money for the employees, it costs money for heat, it costs money for maintenance (and) all of (this has) to be factored in when you’re looking at whether a store actually shows profit.”

Cam Broten, leader of the Opposition in the Saskatchewan Legislature, also began by stating the privatization of SLGA stores is not top of mind among the Saskatchewan people, but what they have been hearing about is the things concerning SLGA that irritate the public. He said these issues could be addressed through “common sense modernization” initiatives such as public stores providing better hours and a better selection of product.

“Those steps government could take right away to make the SLGA stores better,” said Broten. “In doing that, what it would guarantee is that the hundreds of millions of dollars that the province receives through SLGA would stay there. That is really important because those hundreds of millions of dollars support health care, support education (and) support roads and that’s a really important aspect that the Sask. Party is not talking about.”

The Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union (SGEU) recently distributed a petition among Davidson businesses entitled “Keep small town Saskatchewan strong: Stop the closure of public liquor stores in rural communities.” The petition states the closure of SLGA stores results in a loss of jobs and quality public service along with the other advantages these stores provide to a community.

To read more please see the June 9 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Sports

Norrish brothers make jump to Tigers

Chase and Brady Norrish are heading east this fall for a new hockey challenge after accomplishing all that they possibly could on the ice this spring.

The Norrish brothers, identical twins from Strongfield who both manned the blue-line for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s (SJHL) champion Yorkton Terriers the past three seasons, have decided to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology. While there the 21-year-old defencemen will suit up for the NCAA Division 1 RIT Tigers.

“It’s fast hockey and there is a lot of great hockey players down there who will probably be playing pro some time in the future,” said Chase, a left-shooting offensive defenceman who won the 2014 SJHL Defenceman of the Year award after putting up 45 points in 56 regular season games. “I know we’ve got to pick up our game that much more.”

Chase, who will be studying Environmental Science, said they learned what RIT could offer them at a post-secondary showcase at the start of the 2013-14 season. He said one of their coaches in Yorkton had also played for the staff at RIT at one time, which made the decision to go to the school that much easier.

“It was (also) a place for me and Brady to go together,” he said. “That was a big part. (It’s) only one place to travel for the family and we took a visit down there and it seems like a very exceptional school. Everything was right and it’s what we’ve been working for, so it was really a no-brainer to take the offer.”

Brady, who shoots right and regularly plays alongside his brother in games, said the three years they spent with Yorkton was “exciting” and they really want to thank everyone with the organization for the great experience, but they’re also ready to move on to the next opportunity. He said they know a little bit about Tigers hockey such as it’s fast and the players are more mature, so they’re spending the summer preparing for the challenge.

“You can get nothing but better down there, so hopefully it’s exciting and (we’ll) get degrees out of it as well,” said Brady, who is going to be studying business.

The brothers are moving on from the Terriers after the SJHL club won everything this past season. Yorkton first captured their second straight SJHL Canalta Cup with a 4-0 series sweep over the Melville Millionaires last April before taking the 2014 Western Canada Cup in Dauphin, Manitoba, May 3 with a 5-4 win over the host Kings. That win propelled them to the 2014 RBC Cup National Junior A Championship tournament May 10 to 18 at Vernon, B.C.

The RBC Cup brings together the top Junior A clubs in the country. To win the championship the Terriers had to overcome two straight losses to the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots and Vernon Vipers at the beginning of the round-robin with later wins over the Carleton Place Canadians and Dauphin Kings for a spot in the semi-finals against the Vipers.

To read more please see the June 9 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson

Link Union brings Americana music to Davidson Town Hall

A multi-instrumental Americana music group is taking the stage at Davidson Town Hall this month in a bid to lighten up the lives of all those in need of an enjoyable evening of music.

Link Union is playing a pass-the-hat admission show at Town Hall June 17, which is the second stop in the Christian family group’s 13-stop summer tour of Saskatchewan. The seven-member band is touring on behalf of their new album Influence, which combines original material with Americana covers of such classics as Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock and Johnny Preston’s Running Bear.

Rachel Link, 26, lead singer as well as mandolin, penny whistle and cello player, said everyone who attends the show can expect a “whole lot of fun” courtesy of the family who play over 16 instruments during their set. She said the group’s musical style pulls from many different avenues including Celtic, bluegrass, gospel, folk and classic country and rock to form a fresh style all of their own.

“It’s definitely music that makes you feel like dancing and so if people want to they are welcome to,” said Rachel. “It lends itself to clogging and two-step and square dance or old-time dancing.”

Rachel’s brother Kyle, who plays fiddle and sings, along with his wife Ashley on the bass and fiddle also play during the show. Their brothers Ben, a banjo and guitar player, Aaron, who plays lead guitar, and John, a 14-year-old drummer, join the three on stage along with their mom Becky, who provides lead and harmony vocals.

As part of their “Great Awakening Tour” Link Union is stopping by various venues in the province such as the Lake Park Baptist Church in Birch Hills, the Pineridge Fellowship Chapel in Hudson Bay and the Oungre Memorial Regional Park for a Canada Day concert. Rachel said their sets inside and outside of churches differ, meaning there would be less of a focus on spiritual music in places like Davidson Town Hall.

“We like to give people a great evening of entertainment just so they can get away and relax for the evening and have a good time and be encouraged and lifted up and laugh and enjoy themselves,” she said.

To read more please see the June 9 print edition of The Davidson Leader.