By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — With two weeks to go till the Saskatchewan Party chooses its next leader, Ken Cheveldayoff has a good feeling about the outcome.

“I feel the momentum is with my campaign,” he told the Leader in a Jan. 8 phone interview.

Cheveldayoff, one of five candidates running to replace Brad Wall as both party leader and premier, has attracted significant support from his fellow MLAs, including Arm River’s Greg Brkich.

He also pointed to informal online polls taken in recent weeks, a couple of which have placed his campaign in the lead.

“I’m very encouraged by the polls,” he said, adding that he doesn’t want to take anything for granted at this point. “I just want to work like I’m five points behind.”

Cheveldayoff was first elected to the legislature in 2003 and has been re-elected three times since then. He currently represents Saskatoon Willowgrove, and has also served in multiple cabinet positions.

A recent endorsement came from former Conservative MP and RCMP officer Rob Clarke, who was briefly a candidate for the party leadership.

Clarke dropped out of the race in December, less than a month after announcing his candidacy, and endorsed Cheveldayoff’s campaign.

“It was a real boost to my campaign, a real shot in the arm,” said Cheveldayoff, adding that Clarke’s support is helping him reach out to First Nations and northern voters.

Still, he added, he needs to go out and earn those votes.

Continue reading Chevy confident as leadership campaign winds up →

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — After more than three decades in business, Debbie Doell figures she’s paid her fair share of bills.

As the owner of Golden Image Jewelry, she has a wide range of expenses to cover.

Besides the cost of inventory, she pays for utilities, insurance and security services, as well as wages for herself and two casual employees.

As the owner of her building on Davidson’s Washington Avenue, she’s also on the hook for commercial property taxes — roughly $2,500 a year.

Doell learned last week that she’ll soon receive another bill from the Town of Davidson: $100 for a mandatory business license.

A new bylaw, which took effect Jan. 1, requires all businesses in Davidson — whether they’re located in the business district, the industrial park or in somebody’s basement — to purchase a license on an annual basis.

Doell said she’s upset at what she views as a penalty against herself and other business owners.

“You shouldn’t be penalizing the mortar-and-brick businesses,” she said. “They should be finding ways to encourage us and keep us going.”

Business owners in Davidson are reacting with some surprise to Bylaw 778, also known as the “Business Licensing Bylaw.”

Town council approved the draft at its Nov. 21 meeting. A single vote paved the way for the draft to become law, taking effect on Jan. 1, 2018.

Storefront businesses are required to purchase a license at a cost of $100, while home-based businesses — ranging from accountants to travel agents — will be charged $50.

Self-employed contractors will pay $100 a year for licenses, while contractors with employees will be charged $250.

Visiting salespeople will also be required to purchase licenses. Both transient traders and direct sellers — those selling over the phone or door-to-door — will be charged $100.

According to a town pamphlet, the bylaw is intended “to regulate businesses, ensure compliance with land use and building regulations, gather land use information and facilitate planning decisions.”

Continue reading New bylaw surprises business owners →

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Patients will be hitting the hallways of the Davidson Health Centre in some sleek new wheels, thanks to a recent donation.

Members of the Knights of Columbus Council 5384 visited the centre on Dec. 21 to present a total of six wheelchairs, for use by patients at the facility.

Care team manager Cathy Hinther and assistant head nurse Ashley Anderson were on hand to accept the donation with gratitude.

Hinther said the wheelchairs were much needed — in particular, the two child-sized chairs, which the hospital had not previously had.

“We’re just so appreciative of the donation,” she said last week. “It was such a nice Christmas gift for us.”

The delivery also included two medium-sized chairs and two large-sized chairs.

Having the various sizes available makes it much easier for the staff to respond to the needs of individual patients, Hinther said.

The wheelchairs feature a distinctive red-and-black colour scheme that also makes them easy to spot and identify, she added.

The chairs, which will replace some older models, will be kept in the outpatient department and used to transport patients back and forth between various areas of the health centre.

The donation was a co-operative effort between the local K of C council and the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation, who split the cost 50/50. Continue reading Wheelchairs arrive at Davidson health centre →

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — No child should go cold in Davidson and district this winter.

That’s the idea behind the Coats for Kids program, a co-operative effort between the local council of the Knights of Columbus and the Davidson Inter-Church Association (DICA).

The program has been in operation in Canada and the U.S. for close to a decade, but this is the first year it has reached Davidson.

Larry Packet, who is organizing the local effort for Knights of Columbus Council 5384, said about two dozen coats were purchased for distribution in this district.

Across the province, he said, councils are distributing upwards of 2,000 coats to children.

“The Knights of Columbus do not want to see any child cold this winter,” Packet explained.

The Coats for Kids program, which began in 2009, is operated by councils in both the U.S. and Canada.

Last year, 1,780 councils distributed a total of 87,906 coats to children in both countries. Almost 400,000 coats have been distributed in the last eight years.

Packet said the local council had previously tried to reach out to contacts here, but without success.

More recently, they got in contact with DICA, knowing that the association already oversees the Christmas Gift Card Project.

“We figured they would be the best liaison between us and the kids receiving them,” said Packet. “They know who may be in need.”

Continue reading Knights and DICA team up on Coats for Kids →