On Sunday, May 17, 2015, Shirley Schroeder, formerly of Chamberlain and most recently from College Park, Regina, passed away at the age of 83 years. Shirley was predeceased by her loving husband John; her parents Frank and Nell Sanders; brothers Kenneth and Vern and her sisters Jean and Marjorie. She leaves to cherish her memory, sons Gary and Glen; daughter Maureen Nielson; grandsons Mitchell and Brody Nielson; sisters-in-law Ruth, Beulah and Cecilia Schroeder; brothers Don (Gladys) and Bill (Marj) Sanders; sister Bev (Bob) Scammell; as well as many nieces and nephews. Following her schooling in Moose Jaw, Shirley taught in various schools across the province. She will be remembered for the “Chamberlain Crossroads” history book, sewing, needlework, gardening, reading and many other hobbies. Funeral Mass was held at Holy Cross R.C. Church, 315 Douglas Avenue East, Regina, Sask., on Saturday, May 23, 2015 at 11 a.m. A reception in the church hall followed the service. A time of fellowship was then held at College Park, 1535 Anson Road, Regina, Sask. Interment at a later date in the Chamberlain Cemetery. Donations in memory of Shirley may be made to the Chamberlain Cemetery Fund, Box 2, Chamberlain, SK, S0G 0R0. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.speersfuneralchapel.com.
Seeding was in progress on this farm located east of Kenaston in the Rural Municipality of McCraney along Highway 15 on Wednesday.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — As he spoke last week, Gerrid Gust was behind the wheel of a four-wheel-drive tractor valued at upwards of half a million dollars.
With the stakes involved in modern farming, Gust and farmers like him depend on experienced workers from other countries to make it through the season.
But changes to Canada’s labour exchange programs have made those workers increasingly hard to come by, forcing some farmers to make do with a short staff.
“I don’t want to put just anybody up the street on it,” he said Wednesday. “They seem to want to force us to use unskilled workers that have never been on a farm before, never seen a tractor before.”
Gust, who farms east of Davidson with his family, said they’ve been bringing in summer workers from Australia for almost 20 years through International Experience Canada (IEC), under the “Working Holiday” category.
Due to the recent drama over Canada’s situation with temporary foreign workers (TFWs), some of the timelines for the IEC programs have changed, leaving the Gusts to cope with a reduced number of workers.
Ordinarily, the program would allow applications beginning Jan. 1, but this year that date was bumped to somewhere in mid-February.
In reality, Gust said, it was closer to March 10 before applications were accepted, and with a six-week processing time, the situation has made it difficult to get paperwork completed in a timely manner.
Gust said his family currently has five labourers here with their paperwork in order, while one additional labourer is in the country but still holidaying since his paperwork is incomplete.
“He can’t get the proper entry visa,” explained Gust. “He can travel around Canada but he can’t work.”
He also mentioned a friend in southern Saskatchewan who needed to bring in a worker for calving, but because of the altered timeline, “they just couldn’t do it.” Gust said the situation is similar for farmers across western Canada.
Gust said the family has contacted both the federal and provincial ministries of agriculture, as well as local MLAs, and while they were “sympathetic and helpful,” little has been accomplished.
He said the problem appears to lie with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC); he hasn’t been able to reach them by phone, and emails have met with no reply.
Gust said he’s tried every organization he could think of, from the Grain Growers of Canada to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, but to no avail, leaving them to deal with the reality of a smaller crew.
“We’re just making do,” he said. “I wouldn’t say we’re working longer hours, we’re just getting less done than we’d optimally like to do.”
For now, Gust said he is continually trying to make his voice heard, to express the urgency of the situation for farmers and to reach out to groups like the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council.
Remi Lariviere, a media relations official for CIC, explained in an email to the Leader that the IEC is a bilateral exchange program, reciprocal in nature, that facilitates work experience opportunities for Canadians in 32 countries around the world.
“Putting more emphasis on jobs for Canadians first and addressing youth unemployment was the guiding principle for the creation of the International Mobility Program in the summer of 2014,” he wrote.
He also explained that the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) allows employers to hire TFWs when Canadian citizens or permanent residents are not available to fill jobs.
For the full story, please pick up a copy of The Davidson Leader’s May 18 edition.
A police dog handler readies his partner for a demonstration.
By Kevin Gilby
CRAIK — Scheduled to coincide with the National Police Week, members of the Craik RCMP Detachment hosted an open house of their barracks in Craik.
Over 200 people passed through the station to learn about victim services, visit with RCMP members from the detachment and district, and witness a police dog training exercise.
Established in 1970, Police Week serves to connect the community with the RCMP as well as increase awareness about the services the RCMP provide.
“It’s an opportunity for us to give back to the communities we police, “ said Sgt. John Ermel. “To build new relationships and foster old ones.”
A barbecue was planned to raise money for Victims Services, a non-profit provincially funded organization that Ermel holds in high regard. The organization exists to help support victims immediately after a crime or tragedy throughout the criminal process.
Until recently, cities of Moose Jaw and Saskatoon, as well as communities served by the Craik detachment were without coverage for Victims Services. Approximately two years ago, the provincial government mandated coverage be provided for all of the province and new regions were created to fulfill that goal.
Attending the barbecue, and representing the newly formed Sask Central Victim Services region based in Martensville, was co-ordinator Sheri Watkins who discussed all of the services provided by the organization. The region, incorporated in 2014, currently only staffs Watkins but she hopes to have a complement of three additional employees as the organization ramps up.
With 14 years exposure to the service’s involvement in helping victims of crime, and three years serving on the board of directors in Regina, Ermel recognizes the importance of the work provided by Victims Services and wanted to help Watkins recruit volunteers and raise necessary funding to help establish the new region.
Among the services provided are victim’s compensation and restitution as well as support for victims and witnesses throughout their involvement with the criminal justice system. It’s a high priority for the organization to aid children/youth and other vulnerable witnesses by preparing them for court appearances, accompanying victims in court, and advocated on victim’s behalf to make the process a less traumatic experience.
While discussing the programs offered, Watkins emphasized the importance of finding dedicated volunteers throughout her region that make it possible. After an RCMP criminal background check, prospects are given an expense paid 40-hour training program before they become active volunteers.
People wishing to volunteer to work with Victims Services are encouraged to obtain an application form at the Craik RCMP detachment office or by phoning Sheri Watkins at 306-361-9111.
Four members of the RCMP Police Dog Training Service were at Craik where the handlers performed training within the community with two police dogs before joining the open house to demonstrate training exercises in front of an impressed crowd.
Ermel said that they “couldn’t do their job fully without them.” The dogs help locate missing people, evidence, and diffuse situations where officers or members of the public are at risk. Dogs are routinely sent in first to flush out or locate aggressive people that may be attempting to hide within dwellings or natural environments.
Craik and District Lions held a homemade pie fundraiser. With approximately 50 pies donated, the Lions were able to raise over $450 towards their 50th anniversary in the community celebration scheduled for July.
In addition to the barbecue, Ermel is also working to increase public presence in other ways. He is organizing a golf tournament with the Davidson firefighters this summer as well as setting up a monetary and recognition award for local students of the three schools served by the detachment who are planning a future career in the Police Sciences or Human Justice fields.
KENASTON — An area native is returning to his old stomping grounds as the new principal at Kenaston School this year.
Greg McJannet, currently a vice-principal at Walter Aseltine School in Rosetown, will take his new position in Kenaston this fall. Sun West School Division announced the appointment on May 7.
McJannet, who grew up on a farm east of Kenaston and participated in sports there in his youth, said he’s looking forward to returning to a K-12 school in a small town.
“I hear really great things about Kenaston School,” he said. “I’m familiar with the great spirit in the community and the school.”
He also said he jumped at the chance to work at an innovative school, pointing to recent developments with the Distance Learning Centre (DLC) and the school’s use of technology, and added he hopes Kenaston will continue in that direction.
McJannet is the middle child of John B. and Fay McJannet, and grew up on the family farm. He graduated from Davidson High School in 1990.
He received his bachelor of education from the University of Saskatchewan in 1996 and also completed his masters in educational leadership with the University of Calgary.
His first teaching job was in Île-à-la-Crosse, in the northwest part of the province, where he taught for three years. He then spent 10 years teaching in Carrot River, with one year as vice-principal and three years as principal at Carrot River Junior Senior High School.
McJannet later served for four years as principal at Outlook High School and also spent one year as superintendent of education with Prairie Valley School Division.
His wife Shannon operates a counselling and consulting business in Outlook and is also a youth counsellor for Sun West School Division. They have two children: Hannah, 14, and Ben, 11.
McJannet has been active as a coach of football, hockey and basketball, among other sports. He has also been involved as a music and drama director, as well as other extracurricular activities.
Having taught for much of his career in a high school environment, McJannet said he looks forward to joining a K-12 school.
The division reported that current Kenaston principal Ryan Johnson is taking on a leadership role as the Career and Work Exploration (CWEX) teacher for Kenaston, Davidson, Loreburn and the DLC students.
The announcement was one of several made recently by Sun West. The division also reported that Aaron Biberdorf, Kurtis Heath, Doug Jasper and Kim Johnson had been appointed as vice-principals for the DLC, joining new principal Jade Ballek.
With the impending retirement of Dr. Tracy Dollansky, superintendent of education, effective July 31, the division has also announced it has created two new assistant superintendent roles with the aim of developing better succession planning.
Taking on these roles for the 2015-16 school year are Kim Hobbs, current principal of Kindersley Composite School, and Vicki Moore, current principal of Elrose Composite School.
From left, Cheryl Dolan, Ayla Sampson, Katherine Cool, Marissa Cammer and Geena Heinrich sing “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” during a recital at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church on May 8.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — Local music students combined piano and vocal performances in a recent recital held at Davidson’s Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The recital, held Friday, May 8, showcased the efforts of the students of voice teacher Cheryl Dolan and piano teacher Pearl Unger, with about 10 performers in total and about 50 audience members in attendance.
The recital ran for just over an hour; the song selections ran the gamut from simple children’s ditties and pop songs to classical pieces and musical theatre.
Throughout the evening, the performances moved back and forth between the stage and the piano. Unger accompanied the voice students on the piano.
Among the show’s opening performances was a quartet consisting of Dolan and students Katherine Cool, Ayla Sampson and soloist Geena Heinrich, singing “Poor Wandering One” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.
The three students later returned to the stage as a trio, singing the title song from Fiddler on the Roof.
They were followed by Cheryl Dolan’s husband Dale, who took the stage, claiming he wanted to join the fun, in what was presented as a spontaneous outburst. He then took on the role of Tevye in “If I Were A Rich Man,” while Unger continued to play along without missing a beat.
The audience also heard solo vocal performances by Sampson, Cool and Heinrich, as well as nine-year-old Marissa Cammer. Cool sang the title song from The Sound of Music, while Sampson performed another track from the same show, My Favorite Things.
The audience heard piano performances by Ayla Sampson, Farrah Low, Max German, Jessy Ulmer, Baylie White and Megan Cammer, the latter of whom performed a duet with her sister Marissa on “The Ants Go Marching One by One.”
White played the title song from Beauty and the Beast, while Sampson played the evening’s only rock song: “Clocks,” by the British band Coldplay.
As the evening wound down, the quartet took the stage, joined by Marissa Cammer, to sing “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from the film Mary Poppins, inviting the audience to join in. The recital closed with a piano performance by Marissa Cammer, playing “Freddie the Frog.”
Gravestones lie in disarray across the Russell family plot at the Davidson cemetery last week.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — Passing through town last week, Dick and Myrlene Currie decided to stop by the Davidson cemetery to pay their respects, but they weren’t impressed with what they found.
Visiting the grave of Dick’s sister, the late Eileen Russell, they found the Russell family plot in disarray, with a large, uneven mound of dirt over one recently-dug grave, and various family headstones scattered about.
“The stones look like vandals have been in the plot,” said Myrlene, who came with her husband to the Leader office to voice their concerns on Tuesday.
The Curries, who live in Carman, Man., said much of the cemetery was in poor shape, as though there had been little or no maintenance carried out.
“These are your pioneers that built up the town, and you have no respect for them,” said Myrlene. “It looks like it, anyway.”
She said they have visited in past years and found the situation has only deteriorated since then, while letters to the town and visits to the town office have met with no response or action.
“It hasn’t changed, it’s gotten worse,” said Dick. “The whole cemetery is not well kept.”
A followup visit to the cemetery on Wednesday revealed that some areas were in dire need of attention, particularly the Russell family plot.
While the grass was healthy and trimmed, some newer graves had been left with a large mound of dirt on top — in at least one case, tall enough to block the view of the headstone — while others showed evidence that the ground underneath had sunken in after the caskets had been laid.
A couple of stones were toppled or out of place, while the circular gravel road through the older section of the cemetery suffered from severe ruts, leaving drivers vulnerable to bottoming out.
Town administrator Gary Edom acknowledged the difficulty of keeping the cemetery maintained, especially with the high levels of moisture seen at springtime over the last few years.
“It can be hard to keep up things depending on the weather,” he said, noting that last year was especially damp, forcing the town to organize a volunteer work bee to clean the site up somewhat.
“This year, we hope to have enough staff and enough equipment to keep up with it,” Edom added, also granting that families have a reasonable expectation that the site be maintained properly.
While the town’s public works department looks after the cemetery site itself, caring for the grave markers is the responsibility of the family of the deceased. However, Edom said that in practice, those tasks often fall to the town.
Many of the older graves show the wear and tear that has accumulated over the years, including the formation of moss, and damage to burial vaults placed at ground level.
Mayor Clayton Schneider said he had not heard of any recent complaints about the Davidson cemetery, though he had recently inquired with the public works department as to whether a work bee was necessary this year.
“As far as I know, I haven’t heard anything about it yet,” he said, adding that he would bring the matter up again. “If there is (anything wrong), I’ll definitely get to the bottom of it.”
Other municipalities in the area have employed different methods to keep their cemeteries in good condition.
For instance, administrator Carman Fowler said the village of Kenaston has committees in place for both the public and Catholic cemetery, with caretakers hired over the summer to maintain the sites.
Similarly, Craik administrator Sarah Wells said the town hires a summer caretaker to look after the cemetery, cutting grass and doing other odd jobs, while other town employees look after the roads.
