Monthly Archives: April 2016

Davidson, featured, Kenaston, Loreburn, Sports

Junior badminton program sees spike in players

Davidson's Jordan Matheson and Avery Ebenal both have their eye on the birdie during a mixed doubles match against Kenaston's Carson George and Brooke Villeneuve on Tuesday.
Davidson’s Jordan Matheson and Avery Ebenal both have their eye on the birdie during a mixed doubles match against Kenaston’s Carson George and Brooke Villeneuve on Tuesday.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — A dramatic rise in the number of Grade 7 players enrolled means Davidson School has two junior badminton teams this year.

Coach Ian Osmond reported that around 20 players in Grade 7 have joined the program this year, along with 17 players in grades 8 and 9.

“We actually had to split the teams up this year,” he said, noting that Karen McConnell has agreed to coach the younger players.

He said the Grade 7 class is an active bunch, which may account for their high level of interest in the sport.

“They love sports, they love taking part in school activities,” said Osmond, “and they’re a big class.”

Davidson’s Grade 8 and 9 players hosted the teams from Kenaston, Loreburn and Outlook in exhibition matches on Tuesday afternoon, allowing them to enjoy some low-stakes play and to scope the competition for this year.

Kenaston coach Evan Pasternak said he has seven junior badminton players registered this year — mostly boys, with just one girl, Brooke Villeneuve, taking part.

He said his players are looking to have fun and improve their skills, adding, “We’re not a serious, hardcore badminton team by any means.”

Grant Abbott is coaching both the junior and senior teams at Loreburn Central School. They started up in mid-March.

Abbott said they have a young junior team this year, with six players in grades 7 and 8.

Among them is Alyssa Glubis, who reached district finals last year but lost to a player from Biggar. Abbott said he’s hopeful she’ll reach finals again this year.

He added that he was pleased to see the high level of involvement among Davidson’s juniors this year, even if it likely means tougher competition for his school.

The season is moving ahead quickly, with intersectionals scheduled for April 21. Loreburn will host Outlook, and Kenaston will host Davidson.

Sectionals will follow on April 26 at Outlook High School, while district competition will wrap up the season on April 30, with competing junior players heading to Rosetown.

For the full story, see the April 11 edition of The Davidson Leader.

featured, Hanley

Play offered vivid imagery of Prairie struggle in the 30s

Nora (Lauren Griffin) convulses in pain at the hands of Nurse Victoria (Megan Fehr) during the opening scene of "Dust."
Nora (Lauren Griffin) convulses in pain at the hands of Nurse Victoria (Megan Fehr) during the opening scene of “Dust.”

By Joel van der Veen

HANLEY — This year saw a distinct change in tone and setting for the drama club at Hanley Composite School.

After presenting the space-themed comedy One Giant Leap in 2015, co-director Leanne Griffin said her students decided they were ready to tell a more serious story.

Dust — a 60-minute play that captures a year in the life of a Prairie farm family, beset by drought and depression in the mid-1930s — certainly fit the bill.

The play also prominently deals with death and mental illness, so much so that the program included a mature content warning.

But Griffin said the students themselves were able to get a handle on the play’s content and themes, and the results on stage spoke for themselves.

“I have a really great group of kids,” Griffin said Thursday night, adding that the rehearsals and planning had gone smoothly.

The Hanley drama club performed the play three times last week, including a drama night on Wednesday and a matinee performance for the school body.

The final performance was held as a dessert theatre on Thursday night with about 80 in attendance. Patrons were served cake and coffee before enjoying the show.

Dust was written by Griffin several years ago. She said this is the third time she has produced the play, noting that she made some modifications, tailoring the material to the students with whom she was working.

“Every time I redo a play, I always do rewrites and additions and subtractions,” she said. “We had a lot of new kids show up this year.”

For the full story, see the April 11 edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson, featured

Local dentist joined trek to Peru to serve rural patients

Dr. Chaukla is pictured serving a patient in rural Peru during his trip to the South American country in March.
Dr. Chaukla is pictured serving a patient in rural Peru during his trip to the South American country in March.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — When a patient hasn’t been to see the dentist in 10 years, the results aren’t going to be pretty.

Dr. Abe Chaukla and a team of dental professionals from Canada spent four days last month working with patients in rural Peru, where dental care is hard to come by.

Tooth decay runs rampant among much of the population, Chaukla reported, and he and the rest of the team performed hundreds of extractions and fillings during their short stay.

Wherever they went, the dentists were welcomed with gratitude, including one group that greeted the team with singing and drumming.

“They were so grateful for the work,” said Chaukla, adding that the patients included many children and seniors.

Chaukla is a Saskatoon-based dentist who sees local patients two days per week at the Davidson Dental Clinic on Washington Avenue.

This was his second trip with Kindness in Action (KIA), an Alberta-based non-profit group that works with professionals to provide dental health services to underprivileged people across the globe.

Chaukla travelled to Nicaragua in March 2014 for his first trip and said at the time that he hoped to make it a regular expedition.

This time, he was part of a team of around 20 dental professionals, mostly from Western Canada, who travelled to the Amazon Basin region between March 12 and 20.

They flew from Peru’s capital city, Lima, to the city of Iquitos, then took a three-hour boat trip down the Amazon River to their lodge. Each day the group travelled by boat to a different village to serve patients.

“It was quite a trek,” recalled Chaukla, adding that the experience was “more rustic” compared to his previous trip.

The weather was hot, and mosquitoes were a constant presence. He and the others slept under mosquito nets to prevent the spread of malaria.

Each day, they provided basic care to patients, using portable equipment. Hygienists were part of the team, performing cleanings.

Chaukla said education was also part of the service provided, teaching patients how to care for their teeth.

He said Peru is very much a developing country, with many residents burdened by poverty. Running water is scarce, which in turn complicates efforts to promote dental health.

Chaukla said the trip was hard work, but a positive experience overall for both the dental team and the patients.

This year, KIA is also organizing trips to Guatemala, Belize, Haiti, Ecuador, Ethiopia, India, Tibet, Cambodia and the Philippines.

Chaukla is now back to his regular practice in the area, dividing his time between Davidson, Outlook and Saskatoon. He works in the Davidson clinic on Wednesdays and Thursdays, also providing emergency care as needed.

He began working in Davidson in November 2013 and estimates that he has between 600 and 650 active patients here, drawing from towns as widespread as Craik, Imperial, Elbow and Hanley.

Chaukla said he’s appreciating the support from his patients in Davidson and area, calling it “the best two days of the week.”

He also said he appreciates working in the facility available here, as well as the presence of a nearby rep for a major dental supply company.

April is Oral Health Month, and Chaukla and other dentists across Canada are working to raise awareness of the importance of good oral hygiene and regular dental checkups.

Craik, Davidson, featured, Loreburn, Sports

Peewees whomp Watrous to capture provincial title

The Davidson Peewee Huskies display their banner upon winning the provincial "C" championship with a 9-3 victory over the Watrous Hawks on March 24.
The Davidson Peewee Huskies display their banner upon winning the provincial “C” championship with a 9-3 victory over the Watrous Hawks on March 24.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — The Peewee Huskies came back at full strength last weekend to clinch the provincial “C” championship with a 9-3 win over the Watrous Hawks.

Though they were at a one-goal deficit heading into the March 24 game, coach Chad Allan said the team travelled to Watrous knowing that the win was within their reach if they worked hard enough.

“It was a good effort by everybody,” he said. “I think the kids did very well.”

The Huskies captured a 3-1 lead in the first period and did not let up for the remainder of the game. At the end of the second period they were up 6-2.

Captain Nolan Allan, who had led the team in scoring throughout the season, contributed two goals and three assists.

The final game also saw a strong performance by what the head coach called the “supporting cast,” with a more balanced distribution of scoring than usual.

Kade McConnell and Brodie Ringdal both scored twice, while Derek Griffin, Jackson Allan and Drayson Tichit had one goal each.

Also contributing with assists were Jackson Allan, Brodie Ringdal, Ethan Schilling, Anika Lakinger, Drayson Tichit, Gavin Arend, Deiondre Boychuk, Logan Anderson and Derek Griffin.

Chad Allan lauded the Huskies’ two goalies, Logan Nelson-Schneider and Brodie Ackland, for their efforts throughout the provincial run.

The first game in the two-game, total-point series resulted in a 4-3 win for Watrous on March 20.

Davidson had defeated Maple Creek, Southey and Gravelbourg in earlier rounds to reach the final round of provincials.

In addition to those named, the team roster included Jaden Wall, Tyler Bahnman, Logan Farrell, McKenna Doell, Heather Gust and Aiden Gray. Ryan McConnell served as assistant coach.

Craik, featured

Officials mum on cause of Craik fire

The Eco-Centre is pictured in this 2012 file photo.
The Eco-Centre is pictured in this 2012 file photo.

By Joel van der Veen

CRAIK — Little is being said about the cause behind the fire that levelled the Craik Eco-Centre late last month.

Town administrator Sarah Wells said Thursday the fire’s cause was “not suspicious,” but declined to provide further details.

“We’re still in contact with the insurance company,” she told the Leader. “We’re not going to say too much until the investigation is done.”

Wells said the building was insured and the policy does not require the town to rebuild the facility in order to collect a payout, but she did not reveal the value for which the Eco-Centre was insured.

Boyd Sanden, chief of the Craik Volunteer Fire Department, said his crew got the call at 9:32 a.m. on March 24.

“The whole building was full of smoke, tons and tons of smoke,” said Sanden on Tuesday. “(You) couldn’t see two inches in front of you.”

Firefighters attempted to enter through windows and spray water on the flames, but that had little effect, said Sanden, adding that the fire “took right off” when it was exposed to more air.

Within minutes, the flames had reached the eaves, while the steel roof served to trap the inferno inside that building.

Sanden said that from that point the firefighters went into a defensive mode, remarking, “We knew that we couldn’t do anything.”

He noted that the fire spread rapidly after it reached the wooden posts and beams, which had been salvaged from demolished grain elevators.

There were no injuries reported, as the Solar Garden Restaurant had not yet opened for business.

The Davidson Volunteer Fire Department attended to provide mutual aid, while Craik RCMP and Davidson EMS also responded.

Sanden said crews were on the scene well into Thursday afternoon, adding that they continued to monitor the site twice daily over Easter weekend.

Both the fire commissioner and insurance inspector visited the site on Monday to look over the building’s remains.

Sanden reported that they remained on the scene for 10 hours, but declined to speculate on potential causes.

Phone calls to fire commissioner Duane McKay and his communications staff seeking details went unreturned last week.

For a detailed look at what the Eco-Centre’s loss means for Craik, please see the April 4 edition of The Davidson Leader.

Craik, Obituary

Obituary: Ehman, Gail

Gail Ehman
Gail Ehman

The family of Gail Maureen Ehman (O’Hara) sadly announces her passing on March 28, 2016.

Gail was born Nov. 10, 1939, to William (Bill) and Josephine (McNulty) O’Hara of Saskatoon. She studied at Sion Academy and the University of Saskatchewan, where she met her sweetheart, Dennis Ehman. They married on July 9, 1960, and settled on the family farm at Craik.

Gail loved life on the farm. She tended large gardens, picked berries and walked on the country road in all seasons. The pantry was always full of Gail’s pickles, jams, jellies and other preserves. She was a master at making buns and saskatoon berry pie, which were served at every special family dinner.

She served her community as a member of Willing Workers, the Catholic Women’s Club, Donors’ Choice and numerous school and social functions. When their son Tom and his family moved to the farm, Gail and Dennis took up residence in Craik. In retirement, Gail enjoyed her “winter” friends and community in Mesa, Arizona. Above all she was devoted to her children, grandchildren and best friend, Dennis, her husband of 56 years.

Gail and Dennis raised four children on the farm who, along with their spouses and children, will miss her dearly: Jim and Sherrie (Megan and Amanda), Tom and Tallie (Evan and Emily), Maureen and Tony, and Amy Jo and John. She is also survived by her sister, Peggy (Charles) Salmon of Port Colborne, Ont. Gail is predeceased by her parents and her eldest child, Michael.

A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Craik at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 5, followed by a social in the community hall. At Gail’s request, her ashes will be spread on the farm at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in support of Alzheimer’s care and research are appreciated.