Kenaston, Sports

Kenaston jr. girls win district title

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The Kenaston School junior girls basketball team won at districts in Eatonia on Feb. 15. Pictured here are (back row from left) coach Jenna Zdunich Fisher, Shannyn Zdunich, Lexi Stacowich, Eve Matovich, Chloe George, Anne-Marie Collins, coach Nikki Francoeur; (front row) Julia Modien, Ayslee Blenkinsop, Rian Smith.

By Joel van der Veen

KENASTON — It was a solid win for the Kodiaks when it really counted.

Kenaston’s junior girls basketball team claimed the district title on Feb. 15 with a 42-25 win over Davidson in Eatonia.

Jenna Zdunich Fisher, who coached the team with Nikki Francoeur, said it was likely the team’s best-played game of the season.

“We only have eight players and they work really hard,” said Fisher.

The Kenaston team has won the district title three out of the last four years.

The Kodiak defence worked effectively to contain Davidson’s high scorers, also allowing their own players a chance to run up the score.

Grade 9 player Eve Matovich, typically a prolific scorer to begin with, did particularly well in the final, scoring 32 points.

“She’s never had a game like that,” said Fisher, noting that Matovich also plays on the senior team and is a strong contributor there.

Fisher said the defence had to focus on several Davidson players in particular, including Jordan Matheson, who scored 17 points in the final, including four three-point baskets.

“We couldn’t let her look at the basket,” said the coach. “We had to keep the ball out of her hand.”

The last couple of times the Kodiaks played Davidson, they lost by one point, Fisher added.

She said the team has worked hard on its defence this year, spending 75 per cent of its practice time in that area.

Earlier that day, Kenaston played Eatonia in the opening game, winning by a couple of points. Fisher said the younger players stepped up after others ran into foul trouble.

“It was close the whole game,” she said. “We got a couple at the end to jump ahead of them.”

Davidson defeated Loreburn on Jan. 31 in their first playoff game, then played Kenaston in the sectionals final on Feb. 7, winning 36-35.

The Raiders defeated Biggar in their opening game at districts to reach the final.

Davidson, featured

Growing something good

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Annabelle Tennent plants some lettuce seeds in a row while librarian Adrienne van der Veen watches during an activity at the Davidson library on Thursday. Children taking part in the weekly Read and Rhyme program started a miniature garden with lettuce and sweet basil seeds.

(Leader photo by Joel van der Veen)

Bladworth

Fishy business

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Pictured from left, Bret Allan, Keeley Pedersen, Trystan Pedersen, Elise McJannet, Riley Allan and Reggie Heinrich check out some of the contenders during the annual Goldfish Races fundraiser, held at the Bladworth Elks Hall on Feb. 18.

The event is organized annually by the Davidson Kinsmen to support Telemiracle. A fish fry, served by the Elks, was followed by the auctioning of the fish and the races themselves.

The evening also included a hip-hop dance performance by a group from Davidson. They will perform the “Knock Knock” routine on live TV during Telemiracle; the scheduled time is around 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 5.

Organizers reported that $4,280 was raised through the auction, along with a couple hundred more in donations. The dancers will present the cheque for the proceeds during the Telemiracle broadcast.

Craik, featured

Water shut off after hydrant failure in Craik

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Workers install a new hydrant near the intersection of Ferguson Street and Seventh Avenue in Craik on Thursday.

By Joel van der Veen

CRAIK — Craik town staff and residents were dealing with water woes of a different kind last week.

A hydrant failure near the corner of Ferguson Street and Seventh Avenue, across from Craik School, forced town staff to turn off the water supply to residents on Craik’s west side for a combined total of 25 hours.

Mayor David Ashdown said he was pleased with the staff’s response given the complexity of the problem: “It just was not a straightforward dig-down-and-replace (job).”

He said he understood the frustration from some residents over the extended water outage on Saturday and the limited notice given, but noted that it was an urgent situation and the town did its best to communicate with residents.

“You have to deal with an emergency as it happens,” he said. “If we didn’t shut it off then, we were going to have people’s basements flooded.”

Ashdown said proper notice was given of a second planned outage on Thursday, when the hydrant was replaced.

He also said the Craik emergency measures organization (EMO) is working on collecting contact information for local residents so that news can be delivered quickly and reliably when an emergency arises.

Part of the improvement plan, currently under development by the town, includes repairs and enhancements to infrastructure.

Once that is in place, Ashdown said, the effects of such incidents can be limited to within a block or two of the problem, rather than inconveniencing the town at large.

The leaky hydrant was reported to town staff the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 17. Water was dripping out and forming a pool in a nearby drainage ditch.

Flushing the hydrant multiple times did not resolve the issue, and an isolation valve failed after staff tried to use it, increasing the water flow markedly.

The town had posted a notice online that the water would be turned off on the west side at midnight, but the turn of events forced staff to shut it off at 10:30 p.m. on Friday instead.

Contractors arrived on Saturday morning to address the issue, but work was complicated by several factors, including the presence of power, phone and gas lines in the vicinity.

Kati Ball, who lives on a farm outside of town with husband Dan Exelby, said they received a call from Coun. Gary Gilbertson asking for their help in bringing water to town.

“They asked us and we said sure, not a problem,” said Ball. “We were more than happy to help out.”

They filled up a 1,000-gallon tank from the RM source and parked it outside the Midlakes Manor, where it was available for most of Saturday. Water was also made available directly from the town water plant via a garden hose.

Town staff determined that the faulty hydrant needed to be replaced. The hydrant was capped on Saturday and water was restored by 7 p.m. that day, ending an outage of roughly 20 hours.

A planned outage was announced for Thursday and water was turned off, again on the west side only, at 10:30 a.m.

Contractors returned that day to install the new hydrant and the process went smoothly. Water service was restored by 3:30 that afternoon.

Davidson, Obituary

Obituary: Hoehn, Jesse

web-obit-hoehnJesse Hoehn

Jesse Hoehn, age 25, passed away suddenly on a construction site south of Davidson, Feb. 13, 2017.

Jesse was born at Providence Hospital in Moose Jaw, Sask., on Aug. 7, 1991. He began his life in Palmer, Sask., and attended school in Gravelbourg for grades 1 and 2. In 1998 the family moved to Assiniboia where Jesse attended Grade 3. The final move to Davidson was in 2000 where Jesse completed his schooling.

Jesse’s interest in sports came at a young age, including hockey, skateboarding, volleyball and baseball. Jesse also enjoyed dirtbiking, quadding, hunting and fishing.

Snowboarding was his biggest passion. When he wasn’t snowboarding he was watching videos of snowboarding, or planning the next trip with his buddies.

After his schooling, he worked for the Town of Davidson, RM grader operator, Richardson Pioneer and finally with Russell Redi Mix.

Jesse had a talent for fixing and working with equipment and machinery. He could also fix pretty much any electronic or computer issue in minutes.

Jesse enjoyed spending time with family and friends. He was quiet, fun loving, energetic and a dedicated guy.

He was close with his sister Chelsey. On Dec. 19, he became an uncle for the first time to twin boys, Rhett and Jase Robertson. Jesse was afraid to hold the babies at first, just the week before his sudden death he finally felt confident enough to hold Rhett. He was able to feed him his bottle and Chelsey said he had the biggest grin on his face. Unfortunately, there is no picture of this precious moment and they will never get to know their Uncle Jesse.

There are so many stories to share about Jesse. Please share them with each other and don’t let his memory fade.

Jesse is survived by his parents, Mike and Carol Hoehn; sister, Chelsey (Robert) Robertson and children Rhett and Jase; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

A celebration of Jesse’s life was held Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017 at 2 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Davidson, Sask.

Donations to Davidson Swimming Pool and Threads of Life (Association for workplace tragedy family support).

Arrangements in care of Hanson’s Funeral Home of Davidson, Saskatchewan.

Davidson, featured

Family, friends grieve “fun-loving kid”

 

Jesse Hoehn
Jesse Hoehn

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — As a 13-year-old, Jesse Hoehn had a vision for a project in Davidson — a skate park for kids of all ages to enjoy.

An avid skateboarder, Jesse was running out of places to enjoy his hobby in town. Locals weren’t keen having their parking lots or front steps used by skaters, so he figured a park would be the ideal solution.

“I have a lot of friends who are into it,” he said at the time. “There are no places in town to go anymore. We need stuff to do.”

The park never came to be, but the story shows a side of Jesse that held up over the years — a quiet, fun-loving kid who liked being with his friends and was passionate about the things that mattered to him.

This was the side of Jesse that came to mind last week as his parents, Mike and Carol Hoehn, grieved their son’s death.

Jesse, 25, was killed on Feb. 13 in a workplace accident along Highway 42 between Eyebrow and Keeler, where he was working in road construction.

Carol said Wednesday they were still coming to grips with the situation: “It’s like a nightmare.”

“You definitely don’t want to be making funeral arrangements for your children,” said Mike. “And here we are.”

Jesse was born in 1991 in Moose Jaw, when the family was living in Gravelbourg.

Later they moved to Assiniboia, and eventually arrived in Davidson in August of 2000, which became their permanent home.

Jesse graduated from Davidson School in 2009 and had worked for a few different employers, including the Town of Davidson and Pioneer, prior to his latest job.

He owned a house in town, and when he wasn’t working, his focus was usually on snowboarding.

“That was his best place to be,” said Carol. “When he wasn’t snowboarding, he was watching videos of snowboarding.”

For the full story, please see the Feb. 20 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

The Davidson Leader, Davidson, Saskatchewan