By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Panther Industries is breaking into new territory, thanks to a partnership with Saskatoon-based Alawa Foods.

Staff at the company’s Davidson plant loaded their first railcar of locally-grown lentils for Alawa on Nov. 15.

General manager Clayton Schneider said Panther was looking to expand beyond its current offerings, which include distribution for the oil and gas industries, custom packaging and manufacturing of wooden pallets.

“We were just looking at different ways of diversifying,” he said.

The plant is outfitted with a transloading station that can move goods from truck to rail or vice versa.

Several months ago, Schneider began discussions with Alawa Foods CEO Heidi Dutton Weber about using Panther as a transload station.

Alawa has been in operation for roughly a year and a half. Company officials were interested in doing business with local producers, but needed a location to transfer crops into railcars.

Dutton Weber, a 15-year veteran of the pulses industry, said the company saw room for more competition in the area. Their current focus is on red lentils.

Alawa is currently constructing a 30,000 square-foot pulse processing facility at Vanscoy, with plans to begin operations there by the fall of 2017.

Feedback from producers has been positive since the first railcars went out from Panther, and Dutton Weber said they’re open to talking to others.

“We’re ready to engage other producers in the area,” she said. “Our hope is to give them another choice to help market their grain.”

For the full story, please see the Dec. 5 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Local shoppers will be looking for liquor in a new place come next year.

The province announced Wednesday that Riverbend Co-op was awarded the permit to operate a new private liquor retail outlet in Davidson.

Riverbend plans to integrate the liquor retail into the Home and Agro centre on Railway Street in Davidson, in what they dubbed a “store within a store.”

The existing public store, located on Washington Avenue and in operation since 1960, will close once Riverbend’s outlet is up and running — expected by the summer of 2017.

The Co-op building has recently been updated on the outside with fresh siding and signage. Interior renovations are planned over the next few months.

Space on the store’s retail floor will be designated for liquor. The company plans to build a 500 square-foot walk-in cooler, allowing customers to purchase chilled products.

Riverbend general manager Greg Sarvis said the company was thrilled to receive the opportunity in Davidson, noting Co-op’s long history in the community.

He said Friday the company is finalizing its plan for the space, so a formal timeframe isn’t ready yet.

“We’ve got the end vision in mind of where we want to go,” he said. “Our hope is that this summer, we’re ready to go.”

For the full story, please see the Nov. 28 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — For a few hours on Wednesday, the elementary wing of Davidson School looked more like Santa’s workshop.

Workers were running to and fro, filling brightly coloured shoeboxes with toys, clothes and other items, collected in their classrooms over the past week.

A total of 107 boxes, packed and ready to go, were brought to the mini gym following the packing party on Wednesday afternoon.

In weeks to come, they will be transported to a regional dropoff point, then delivered to Ukraine and presented to dozens of underprivileged children through the Operation Christmas Child (OCC) program, operated by Samaritan’s Purse.

Dave and Colleen Spelliscy, who serve as local contacts for the program, were thrilled with the response from Davidson students.

The Spelliscys, longtime supporters of OCC, travelled to Costa Rica in May with a group that distributed 400 shoeboxes there.

This fall, they visited several classes in Davidson, showing pictures from their trip and talking about the shoebox program.

Further meetings with teachers paved the way for the school to participate in the program. Students were invited to bring in their donations in the days leading up to the packing party.

While the reaction to the idea was varied at first, teachers and students alike grew more excited over time, Dave said.

“It’s just phenomenal,” he said Wednesday, as he filled paper bags with popcorn for the students as a show of appreciation for their efforts.

“They’ve overwhelmed us with their generosity and their love for these kids all over the world,” said Colleen. “I don’t know if there’s a thank you big enough.”

For the full story and more photos, see the Nov. 21 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.