Monthly Archives: July 2014

Davidson

Huge hailstones rain down on Imperial

Property owners in and around Imperial began the long process of cleaning up last week after a vicious July 5 storm that featured fastball-sized hailstones, torrential rain and a monstrous tornado blew through the area.

Helen Abrey, who lives southeast of Imperial with her husband Ted, said they are alive to tell the tale of the storm for three main reasons. She said they have to thank their daughter Amy for preparing them for the upcoming storm by texting them updates from Saskatchewan Tornado Watch in addition to being lucky enough to reside in an old and heavy T. Eaton house and also having a row of poplar trees beside their home.

“We were very fortunate (because) I think if the trees hadn’t taken the brunt of the force of the tornado that went through, the house would have gone,” said Abrey, noting trees on the north side in front of the house were snapped in two either above or at ground level and ones on the east side of the home were also toppled. “That was the fortunate part, but it has created damage and it has created a lot of mess.”

Abrey said the trees that were taken down by the tornado subsequently fell onto the house, which has resulted in their four points of entry into the home being reduced to one along with puncture holes in the roof of the porch, a destroyed balcony railing and damage to all portions of the fascia. She said the tremendous force of the twister even embedded one branch into part of their veranda and blasted other “big timbers” over the house onto the far side of the yard.

“It was quite frightening,” she said. “We’ve lived in the house for 30 years and we’ve never headed to the basement before, so this was the first time that we felt that we maybe should take cover. I love to watch storms, but I guess not this time.”

Norman Lucas, a farmer living northwest of Imperial, said they are going to have to completely re-side the house and roof after “fastball sized” hailstones rained down on his property. He said there are over 100 holes in the roof due to the storm and some of the hailstones even went through the roof and into the wood underneath it.

“When it first started to come down it started as pea-sized hail and then it went up to popcorn size and then it kept going,” said Lucas a couple days after the Saturday afternoon storm. “It went to golf ball and then right to fastball. We have divots in our lawn. I just actually finished mowing up all the trees, but it drove (some ice) into the ground four inches (deep). There are holes all over. It did that in town too. It was one I don’t want to see again.”

To read more please see the July 14 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

 

Davidson

Soggy weather takes toll on Davidson Cemetery

Upkeep at the Davidson Cemetery was non-existent this year until town workers and a private company got onto the grounds last Monday to try and bring it up to reasonable standards of expectation and that is not sitting well with one town leader.

“It was in terrible shape,” said Davidson councillor Gerald Kenny. “It was (in) really bad shape. It was probably the worst cemetery for miles around. Lots of it was underwater, (so) they couldn’t maybe do something with it. They’ve hired somebody to go in there, but no it was in bad shape before Monday.”

The Davidson Cemetery looked abandoned until July 7 with uncut grass towering close to the top of most headstones, numerous weeds growing throughout the grounds and the roads in the cemetery appearing to be almost impassible. In addition, some graves that were not filled in with a slight mound had sunk resulting in a possible tripping hazard for people walking in the cemetery as well as holes appearing over the graves where water could lay.

According to a July 8 Facebook post by the Town of Davidson, town workers have been busy with other things this spring including garbage pickup issues and problems with the lagoon pivot. The Town states the garbage trucks have been fixed and are ready to go to pick up any garbage and the pivot is fixed and it shouldn’t be too long before issues are worked out at the lagoon.

Kenny said town leaders have talked about moving to private maintenance options for the cemetery instead of the current practice of having Davidson employees look after the upkeep, but he is unsure if there is an organization around that would be available to do the work. He said one option could be hiring somebody for the summer to look after cemetery maintenance, which would allow town employees to focus on other pressing issues.

He said the weather drying up and the “pressure” put on the town to do something at the cemetery finally forced them to hire Summit Excavating to haul gravel in and gravel the roads along with fill in the sunken graves. Kenny added the town employees who began work there last Monday cutting grass and trimming around monuments have helped better the condition of the grounds, but more work needs to be done to improve the reputation of the Davidson Cemetery.

“The weeds in the past haven’t been controlled good enough,” he said. “We’ve got to do a better job of that if we’re going to do (maintenance). We just have to. As far as I am concerned as a councillor there is no ifs, ands or buts about it. We just got to do it (and) have a little more respect for our deceased people. Most of them are the ones that probably developed this community at one time whether it was farming or working in town as a business person.”

Gary Edom, administrator for the Town of Davidson, said maintenance work did not begin at the cemetery until last Monday because the ground was too wet. He said they are “not proud” of how the cemetery looked this year, but could not do anything about it with water laying in “a good part” of the cemetery grounds.

To read more please see the July 14 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Sports

Hanley shot put thrower aims for a 2016 Olympic berth

A local athlete is back at work in achieving her goal of becoming an elite Canadian shot put thrower after recently making another successful trip to the Canadian Track and Field Championships.

Taryn Suttie placed second in the senior shot put event at the annual national competition held June 27 to 29 at Moncton Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick. Suttie, who represented the University of Saskatchewan Huskies at the games, won the silver by throwing a Saskatchewan senior record distance of 16.48 metres.

“It was a fun weekend,” said the 23-year-old Hanley-raised athlete who now calls Kamloops, B.C. home. “The girl who got third was very, very close to me. She was on my heels and was beating me actually for part of the competition. I was definitely hoping for a top three finish (going in), so I was happy to steal that second spot.”

Suttie has participated in the Canadian Championships every summer since 2009 and has placed in the top three at the shot put event in five out of the six years. In those six appearances, she has represented the Huskies three times and the province of Saskatchewan as an independent athlete in the other three.

The shot put competitor left the U of S and moved to Kamloops to train at the national throw centre in 2012 to pursue a “strictly throwing” regime, but competed as a Huskie this year because she was enrolled in online courses this past winter that allowed her to also compete in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) indoor shot put season. Now that her university season is over, Suttie is focusing on attending as many meets as possible during the normal April to August outdoor season along with spending the rest of her time in training at Kamloops.

“There are a few different aspects of the training,” she said. “It’s very technical, so we spend a lot of time with a coach. My coach is always at my practices (and) gives me feedback after every throw because you want to get everything perfect technically.

“Speed and strength are (also) very important, so after every throwing session I’m in the gym lifting weights. It’s a power sport, (so) speed and strength combined. It’s lots of really quick powerful movements and lifts. When I train in Kamloops I train twice a day. I do two throwing sessions and two weight session per day five times a week.”

Suttie endures this regime to attain her goal of first competing for Saskatchewan in the Pan Am Games next summer in Toronto. From there she hopes to make it to the World Championships before attaining the ultimate goal of a 2016 Olympic berth.

“I still definitely have to step it up,” said Suttie. “I haven’t qualified yet or anything like that, so I’m within a metre of Olympic standard. I will have to get up to that in the next two years. It really depends on the year and it depends on who else is competing in my events.

“I will keep trying and hopefully it will all fall into place and the hard work will pay off and I’ll make it. We’ll have to see I guess.”

Kenaston

Tornado-toppled monuments restored

It took a July 4 tornado mere seconds to topple monuments that have marked graves in St. Andrew’s Cemetery for nearly a century.
Thursday, it took a crew of two from Remco Memeorials in Regina a day to return most of the grave markers to an upright position.
The company has some experience putting headstones to rights, mostly due to vandalism, said Jay Carnall, production operations manager with Remco Memorials in Regina.
He said this was the first time he had to re-erect monuments due to a tornado and never so many at once.
Carnall and fellow Remco employee Michael Schlosser, an installer, spent most of Thursday restoring the headstones. The process involves propping up the heavy granite stones and then putting straps around them so a hydraulic boom truck can carry the weight of the stone, some weighing 1,000 pounds and then lower it onto its base.
A few of the stones, mostly old weathered marble monuments that had their crucifixes that adorned them snapped off, will have to be replaced. Carnall said the marble is like powder and difficult to repair.
Gerard Zdunich, a member the St. Andrew’s Cemetery committee, said it will be up to families to repair or replace monuments that Remco was unable to fix. One of the affected marble monuments belongs to his great-grandmother.
Zdunich and St. Andrew’s Cemetery committee appreciates Carnall and Schlosser’s work at the cemetery. Remco volunteered its services, free of charge.
“Kenaston has always dealt with Remco and we wanted to help out, give back and do our part,” Carnall said.
Zdunich said others are pitching in as well. Locals are repairing the gates and he said they will try and do something with the spruce trees that were pushed over.
Zdunich had watched the tornado from his farm about two miles north of Kenaston.
He said it came from the west. When it reached Highway 11, the twister turned south, following the highway and then crossed the highway, turned east and headed straight for St. Andrew’s Cemetery. The tornado knocked over spruce trees and toppled 45 granite and marble monuments before it brought down the gates and metal arch marking the cemetery entrance. It then skipped across Highway 15, plowed through a tree row and then was gone.
“All we can say is how lucky it missed the village and that farm,” Zdunich says, pointing to the farmyard of Matt and Lynne Yelich that sits across the road.
He is grateful no one was hurt.
“Some of the stones (the tornado toppled) are 800 pounds, some are even bigger, think of the force. What would it do to you or to me?”

Obituary

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McIvor, Jay
After a well-lived life of 89 years, Jay died peacefully at the Wascana Grace Hospice with his wife of 22 years by his side. Born July 28, 1924 in Davidson, Jay was the seventh and youngest child of James and Annie McIvor. Jay and his first wife Bird farmed in the Girvin area for many years. Jay was very active in ball, hockey and curling- both playing and coaching. During his farming years they mourned the loss of two infant children and an adopted son Michael at the age of 19. A few years after the loss of his wife Bird he retired from farming and moved to Regina where he resided with his second wife Dorothy. Upon her passing he moved to Davidson. Jay spent many hours restoring old farm equipment including his award winning threshing machine. Jay was proud to show his antique farm equipment at threshing bees held on the McIvor land with the help of many friends and family. In 1992 Jay married Jean Hodgins and acquired an extensive family. Jay quickly adjusted to his new family and Grandpa Jay was loved by them all. In 2013 Jay and Jean moved to Regina due to health issues where he resided until his passing. On July 8 a beautiful graveside service was held in the Girvin cemetery with Reverend Diane Eurig officiating. Honorary pallbearers were all friends who shared in Jay’s life. Orla White and Norma McNabb attended the register. Pallbearers were Larry McLaren and Ross Leachman. The grandchildren delivered the eulogy. Family requested donations made in Jay’s memory be made to any local charity. He is survived by wife Jean and her family which includes nine grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren along with many nieces and nephews. Jay was predeceased by his parents Annie and James McIvor; first wife Bird; second wife Dorothy; son Michael McIvor, an infant son and an infant daughter; sisters Belle (Ken) White and May (Albert) Page; brothers Wilbert (Faere) McIvor, Allan (Margaret) McIvor, Stan (Hazel) McIvor and Charles McIvor; also other McIvor family members. Hanson’s Funeral Home of Davidson was in care of arrangements.

featured

Rain spells disaster for area roads and crops

Residents’ homes, farmers’ crops and various town, organizational and rural infrastructure are paying the price of an incredibly high water table this summer.

Gary Edom, administrator for the Town of Davidson, said to try and help people recover these costs they have sent an application in to the Saskatchewan Department of Government Relations to have the town declared a disaster area due to the numerous property owners who have suffered damage to their basements from excessive groundwater seeping in. He said if the town qualifies as a disaster area then residents, businesses and community building owners who have experienced flooding problems can apply for help through the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) to get back some of the costs associated with replacing items that are lost.

According to a Saskatchewan Government news release, the PDAP covers uninsurable and essential property and is designed to help residents, small businesses and community organizations among other groups recover from the effects of natural disasters. Eligible claims can include clean-up costs, the replacement of essential household items, structural repair and restoration and preventative measures taken during a disaster.

“The program is meant to help people,” said Davidson Mayor Clayton Schneider. “A lot of problems in town were due to water seepage and a lot of that is not covered under insurance. It’s a program that will help our town or the residents of our town when they need it. They’re going to be buying sump pumps…and this is just a program where they can get some money back and help with such a disaster.”

An employee with the Town of Davidson confirmed the problem of groundwater seepage is widespread among its residents. This flooding ranges from gallons of water flowing into some property basements to small dribbles coming into others.

The government release states a resident who applies for assistance through PDAP and is accepted would have up to 95 per cent of all eligible expenses, minus taxes, incurred because of a natural disaster covered. Homeowners may be eligible for up to $240,000 in compensation and small businesses and nonprofit organizations may be eligible for up to $500,000.

Edom said the town has been dealing with groundwater seepage at their library building on Washington Street, but wouldn’t use the program to get back any costs associated with fixing it due to the small amount of damage received. He said they are currently using a “little gear pump” to suck out the water and have put in a sump pump in the furnace room to try and get water out of the ground.

To read more please see the July 7 print edition of The Davidson Leader.