CRAIK — After nearly two years of investigation, police have laid more than 30 fraud-related charges against a former administrator for the Town of Craik.
Craik RCMP announced Thursday morning that officers had laid charges in regards to internal fraud related to the town’s financial operations.
The accused was not named by police, but Const. Kevin Morrissette remarked, “I think pretty much anyone local can figure out who it is.”
The administrator was employed by the town between 2010 and 2014.
During the summer of 2014, the town informed police that fraudulent activity was suspected, setting the investigation in motion.
According to police, forensic audits were requested and the RCMP underwent an extensive investigation to obtain and review supporting financial documents from the town.
Current administrator Sarah Wells said the investigation was already underway by the time she began working for the town in November 2014.
She said the town office has co-operated with the investigation, providing all requested materials.
“A lot of it comes out of our computer program,” she explained. “It had to come from us.”
Wells said she could not clarify the amount of funds that were unaccounted for when the investigation began.
The Leader reported in May 2014 that a concerned resident had visited Craik town council after her grandson and his friends reportedly discovered cheques made out to the town floating in a ditch.
Craik RCMP stated at the time that the matter was not yet under investigation, but Mayor Rick Rogers acknowledged a connection between the matter of the cheques and the action being taken against the administrator, who had been placed on leave.
The accused is scheduled to appear in Moose Jaw Provincial Court on June 1. Anyone with relevant information on the case is asked to contact the RCMP or Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers.
Davidson’s Ben Nykiforuk and Coronach’s Brady Resch fight for the ball during the 1A provincial final at Moose Jaw’s Vanier Collegiate on March 19.
By Joel van der Veen
MOOSE JAW — Like all good cliffhangers, the story of the Davidson Raiders’ road to the provincial championship is filled with twists and turns.
The senior boys basketball team from Davidson School weathered its share of surprises — including serious injuries to two key players — on its way to the top.
Ultimately, coaches said, the team as a whole was firing on all cylinders to clinch a 67-61 win over Coronach in the 1A final, giving the boys the provincial title for the first time in school history.
“It was the most pure and perfect team effort that I’ve ever been part of,” said head coach Kim Rettger. “Every kid just busted their arse. . . It was just electric in that gym on Saturday.”
“I knew we could do it,” said assistant coach Ian Kadlec, adding that the only question was “whether or not everything would line up for us.”
The Raiders faced a familiar foe, the LCBI Bisons, in the opening game on March 18 at Central Collegiate in Moose Jaw.
They had defeated the Bisons in all three matches this past season, and the head coach said he had warned the boys not to be too overconfident.
As it turned out, Rettger said, his team was focused on not losing, while the Bisons had their eyes on a win.
In the game that ensued, the Raiders struggled with a high number of turnovers, as well as combating LCBI’s “smothering defense,” in Rettger’s words. Davidson led 38-35 at half-time.
A crisis arose in the fourth quarter when Andrew Read broke his ankle, following an awkward landing on a rebound.
Rettger recalled Read’s response to the injury — telling his coach, “I’m sorry I got hurt” — and said it’s reflective of his spirit of competition and sportsmanship.
Without Read’s efforts on defense and rebounds, the other teammates needed to step up, and they did so admirably, said the coach.
Rettger said Gabe Ebenal had a particularly strong game, contributing 25 points as the team’s high scorer.
“I think he was the guy that put us over the top,” said Rettger, noting that Ebenal had coped with an ankle sprain all year and a broken wrist sustained in January. “He just shot the lights out.”
A one-handed floater shot by Huck Rettger broke a tie near the game’s close to give Davidson a 73-71 victory over LCBI.
Meanwhile, the Coronach Colts had defeated the Beauval Valley View Voyageurs 78-70 in the other semi-final.
With one of his starters out of the picture, Rettger said the team would need a smart rotation and a minimum of fouls in the final game on March 19.
Parker Smith took Read’s place, and the head coach said he did an admirable, amazing job, playing a smart defense.
He also complimented Huck Rettger, the high scorer in the final with 36 points, noting, “He just was pulling shots from all over the court . . . He was something to watch.”
The Raiders were ahead by as much as 24 points during the first half and still held a 37-23 lead at half-time.
However, the team was beset by another crisis in the third period when Parker Smith suffered a concussion, striking his head on the floor.
It was up to the team as a whole to soldier on, and Rettger said they proved they were up to the challenge, adding, “You could never question their effort.”
Kadlec encouraged forward Ben Nykiforuk to track Colton Thurlow — at 6’5″, a considerable presence — resulting in the Coronach centre fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Coronach’s coaches called a time out with around 100 seconds left in the game, giving Rettger one last chance to give his team a pep talk.
“You have to play a minute and 40 seconds of perfect, no-mistakes basketball,” he told them. “You have to trust in yourself and make no mistakes.”
The second half saw Davidson excelling as a team, causing turnovers, scoring baskets and putting every last ounce of effort into that victory.
When the buzzer sounded, giving the Raiders a 67-61 win over the Colts, Rettger said there was no doubt that they had earned it.
The victory marked the first time a Davidson team has won a provincial basketball title, and with a significant local presence in the audience, Rettger said the win became a true community event.
He expressed his appreciation to assistant coaches Dave Nykiforuk, Kattlyn Williams, Luke Edwards and Ian Kadlec, noting in particular the commitment made by the latter two, who regularly travelled from out of town to work with the team.
Kadlec said he was able to share his expertise in working with Team Saskatchewan, working on a new offense and also using video replays to help the Raiders correct their mistakes and develop strategies.
In addition to the bond the boys have shared, Rettger said the hours of practice and preparation taught them about working hard to achieve their goals.
“There’s no guarantee that you will,” he said,” but if you don’t put the effort in, you’ll never have the chance.”
The senior girls basketball team from Kenaston School poses following their bronze medal win at 1A provincials in Moose Jaw on March 19.
By Joel van der Veen
KENASTON — Winning the bronze medal at Hoopla last weekend may not have been the way Kenaston’s senior girls hoped their season would end.
But given the challenging year they’ve had, coach Gene Zdunich said, simply making it to provincials seemed out of reach at some points.
“It was a real struggle this season, we had so many injuries and so many people sick,” Zdunich said Tuesday.
“Just surviving it and getting to Hoopla was kind of the high point,” he said. “I didn’t know how far we were going to go in the playoffs.”
The Kodiaks hosted 1A regionals on March 11 and 12, easily defeating both Eston and Paradise Hill and paving the way for them to compete in provincials in Moose Jaw the following weekend.
They began the weekend with a close, physical game against Fillmore on March 18. Their competitors held a narrow lead for most of the game, with Kenaston tying the score at 44-44 with 35 seconds remaining.
However, Fillmore broke the tie with a string of successful foul shots, earning a 48-44 victory.
“We just couldn’t seem to catch a break,” said Zdunich, adding that in the closing minutes, “A lot of it was not in our hands.”
The Kodiaks thus moved on to the consolation game against Asquith on Saturday, which they easily won with a score of 81-34.
“Asquith’s a pretty young team,” said Zdunich, adding that competing in a faster-paced game came more naturally to his players.
Ann Ulmer was the high scorer for Kenaston in both games, scoring 17 points on Friday night and 38 points in the consolation match.
However, Zdunich said both games saw a true team effort from the Kodiaks, adding, “All of our kids worked so hard.”
He noted that he was also working with a younger team this year, with no Grade 12 players on board. On the plus side, the Kodiaks will be able to build on their past success next year, as no players are graduating.
Kenaston’s senior girls have reached 1A provincial finals 12 times since 1971, including a three-year string from 2013 to 2015.
The Kodiaks won gold in 1972, 1973, 1999 and 2013. In the latter year, they defeated Middle Lake 51-38 in the final.
Grade 4 students from Davidson School perform on their ukuleles during the grand finale of the Central Saskatchewan Music Festival on Wednesday.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — Friends, family and music lovers filled the Sacred Heart Parish Hall on Wednesday for the grand finale concert for this year’s Central Saskatchewan Music Festival (CSMF).
The program featured 31 music and speech arts performances, introduced one by one by emcee Sharon Riecken.
This was the 56th year for the annual festival, which ran from March 21 to 23 and saw an increase to 140 entries this year, compared to 101 the previous year.
“We were just ecstatic,” said festival president Nancy Wilkins in response to the growth in participation.
She also suggested that the festival take a cue from Lethbridge and change its name to reflect the growing contribution of the speech arts performers, which represented more than a third of the entries.
Riecken proved an affable host, offering a quip or a compliment for each performance.
In response to Reece Johnson and Finn Low’s “If I Were in Charge of the World,” she expressed approval, adding, “Just hope it’s not Trump.”
She also said the festival is “an awesome opportunity for our young people to show their unique talents year after year.”
Deputy mayor Tyler Alexander brought greetings on behalf of town council and paid tribute to the volunteers and teachers behind the festival, as well as the hard work of the students.
He recalled taking part in the festival years earlier and added, “I’m so happy to see it still going strong.”
While some of the Grade 2 and Grade 5 speech arts students were missing from Wednesday night’s concert, their comrades went on for a successful performance despite their diminished numbers.
For a complete list of performers and awards plus a selection of photos, please see the March 28 edition of The Davidson Leader.
Lyle Wightman was born January 25, 1935 and passed away suddenly March 22, 2016.
He was the only son and second child of Ken and Mary Wightman.
Lyle attended Campbell school until Grade 8 when he left to help on the family farm.
He married the love of his life Marjorie Dean on May 3, 1963 and together they worked side by side farming and raising livestock. From this union three sons were born: Perry, Rodney and Kendall.
Lyle retired from the farm in 2001 and moved to Davidson where he worked for local farmers, and his last three years at the Oil Shed.
Lyle was predeceased by his parents Ken and Mary, his in-laws Frank and Olive Dean and Art Willner.
He is survived by his loving wife of 52 years Marjorie, son Perry (Meri) and family Serena (Tristan), Ashton, Kim, Taylor, Emily, and Susanna; son Rodney (Stacey) and family, Dakota, Taylor (Dylan) and Hunter; son Kendall (Chantal) and family, Nevada, Addison, Winston, and Jaxzen.
He is also survived by sisters Verna Willner and Nola (John) Manz; brothers- and sisters-in-law Russel (Marlene) Dean, Terry Dean, Archie Dean, Faye (Keith) Leibert, Gloria (Lorne) Wagner and many nieces, nephews and extended family.
The graveside funeral service took place at Craik Community Cemetery, Craik, Sask., on Saturday, March 26, 2016 at 11:00 a.m.
For those so wishing, memorial donations in memory of Lyle may be directed to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Sask., Davidson United Church, or the Craik Cemetery Fund.
A cattle liner lies across the southbound side of Highway 11 following a collision with a car on March 11. (Contributed photo by Larry Packet)
By Joel van der Veen
HANLEY — Most of the three dozen animals on board survived when a semi towing a cattle liner collided with a car on Highway 11 near Hanley.
However, one animal died on impact and two more had to be “destroyed” following the collision, according to local fire chief Les Kroeger.
The crash at the junction of Highway 11 and the access road to Hanley — occuring around 2:30 p.m. on March 11 — left the overturned semi completely blocking the southbound side of the highway.
Kroeger said he and his crew helped provide medical assistance to the drivers of both vehicles. Neither was seriously hurt, but the driver of the car was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Following that, emergency responders turned their attention to the cattle liner. Kroeger estimated that it took workers between 60 and 90 minutes to remove around 35 animals from the vehicle.
“We got them safely out of the truck and loaded onto other trailers,” he said, adding that the cattle were transported to another farm and given proper medical care.
The firefighters also assisted with directing traffic and cleaning up the highway. Kroeger said they were on the scene for upwards of four-and-a-half hours altogether.
Staff Sgt. Greg Abbott of the Saskatoon RCMP detachment confirmed that one driver was treated for injuries and that most of the cattle were safely removed from the semi.
Following the collision, traffic was rerouted through the Town of Hanley. Drivers were cautioned by police to expect delays in the area and asked to slow down while approaching the site.
Davidson resident Larry Packet said he was driving northbound past Hanley shortly after the collision. He reported that he had to wait about 10 minutes to pass through the area and that he was redirected through town.
Southbound vehicles were redirected around the highway for most of the afternoon. Kroeger said traffic flow was not restored until midnight.
Abbott said the incident remains under investigation and noted that charges had not yet been laid.
By Joel van der Veen
