Ladimer Pavelich
It is official. The last surviving sibling, and baby of the family of Mike and Eva Pavelich, the “cowboy” from the hills left us at the age of 85 on Sunday, November 13, 2016. Predeceased by his wife Mildred Pavelich in 2007, he is survived by six kids, Clayton, Lammie, Cindy, Annette, Virginia, Michael and their families. As per his request, there will be no service.
Hanson’s Funeral Home, Davidson in charge of arrangements.
By Joel van der Veen
LOREBURN — When lightning struck the Loreburn United Church in May 1948, igniting a fire that destroyed the building, its members faced some difficult questions.
“I can only imagine the horror that went through everyone’s mind the night that happened,” said Keith Forrest, speaking to the congregation on Sunday.
“In the Christian faith the question always is ‘why.’ Why this church? Why now? Why would God let that happen?”
Before long, the church’s members — including Forrest’s father John — turned to the idea of rebuilding. In 1949 they built a new sanctuary on the same site, with people of all denominations throwing their support behind the project.
“The question ‘why’ turned out to be a positive,” said Forrest, “so this community could rally, rebuild and start all over again.”
Forrest himself noted the irony as he spoke to the crowd gathered for the church’s final service on Sunday.
While his father had played a large part in the church’s construction almost 70 years ago, he said, “I’m one of the people that has the honour of selling it.”
A service of closure was held at Loreburn United Church on Nov. 6, marking the end of a 98-year history.
Roughly 50 people were in attendance, virtually all of them middle-aged or older.
The crowd easily dwarfed the church’s usual attendance — between 10 and 15 people on a typical Sunday morning, and sometimes dipping into single digits, especially during the winter months.
Leaders said it is increasingly difficult to find volunteers to run programs or even maintain the building, with more work falling on fewer shoulders.
The church board made the decision several months ago to put the Loreburn building up for sale and amalgamate with Elbow United Church. (A call for tenders was issued in August but has so far been unsuccessful.)
The two churches already share a minister, Rev. Ursula Wiig, and recently they have held services on an alternating basis — one week in Elbow, the next week in Loreburn.
For the full story and more photos, please see the Nov. 14 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.
By Joel van der Veen
HANLEY — They met at a dance at the Hanley Opera House, and after two years of courtship, the rest was history.
Family, friends and wellwishers filled the Hanley Centennial Hall last Saturday to celebrate a milestone anniversary for Roy and Lillian Tweet.
The Tweets were the guests of honour at a come-and-go party, marking exactly 70 years since their marriage on Nov. 5, 1946.
The event attracted visitors from as far as the Turks and Caicos Islands, as well as guests from North Carolina and Florida, and many from Canada’s Western provinces.
The happy couple was in good spirits during the party, welcoming their guests with smiles and hugs.
“It’s pretty awesome to have so many family and friends,” said Lillian. “I didn’t think it would be that many.”
For the full story, please see the Nov. 14 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — It’s been a long journey from Kyrgyzstan to Davidson for Dr. Tatiana Novoselova.
The dentist, who emigrated from the former Soviet state to Canada in 1997, is set to join Dr. Abe Chaukla at the Davidson Dental Clinic, practising there part-time.
Dr. Novoselova told the Leader that she has visited the clinic a couple of times, getting to know the staff and seeing what a typical day looks like.
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “I spent time in the office and I know what I am getting into.”
Her homeland of Kyrgyzstan was part of the U.S.S.R. until its breakup in 1991. The dentist was born and raised there, and enjoyed a stable upbringing with both of her parents employed.
But changes were on the horizon in the early 1990s, with economic instability on the rise, and ethnic and cultural tension building.
“I just saw no future for myself there,” she said. “I had my dreams and I didn’t see that I could fulfill them in the country at that time.”
For the full story, please see the Nov. 14 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.
By Joel van der Veen
HANLEY — Three down, one to go.
Following a 60-20 victory over the Winston Wildcats of Watrous, the Hanley Sabers were at the last step of their journey to this year’s provincial finals.
The Nov. 5 game drew a large crowd more than 200 strong to the field at Hanley Composite School, armed with sirens, car horns and other noisemakers.
“It was pretty populated here,” said Sabers coach Mark Anderson. “We’re very thankful for the support we receive from the community.”
The game saw another strong performance from Hanley’s offence, especially the core trio of Colten Olyniuk, Conor Prosofsky and Marshall Prosofsky.
The team’s defensive line also shone on Saturday, including Tyler Halabi and Evan Ashdown, with the latter playing in both directions over the game.
Anderson also lauded D-men Garrett Bursaw and Matthew Fairbairn, who cut their opponents down to size with effective tackling.
The coach observed that the Sabers are typically outranked in terms of size, but make up for it with speed, tenacity and confidence.
“We’re just like a sea of black, showing up at the point of attack,” he quipped.
For the full story and more photos, please see the Nov. 14 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.
By Joel van der Veen
HOLDFAST — A second-place finish at conferences meant the Kenaston Kodiaks were headed to regional playoffs this weekend.
Kenaston was one of six teams competing at 1A senior girls volleyball conferences, held at Schell School in Holdfast on Nov. 5.
The girls went undefeated in pool play, winning two sets over Craik and two sets over the Imperial/Holdfast team.
Moving on to playoffs, the Kodiaks won two sets over Kawacatoose in their semi-final game, then lost two sets to Dinsmore in the final.
Amy Jamieson, who coached the Kodiaks this year with assistance from Kurtis Heath, said they have shown improvement since September.
“They’ve played a lot of good games,” she said. “As a team they’ve grown a lot.”
This is Jamieson’s fourth year coaching the senior girls and their third trip to regionals together.
The Kodiaks have played in half a dozen tournaments this year, including a win in Colonsay in early September and another in Rosthern in late October.
Jamieson said the girls so far haven’t made it beyond regionals, adding that this year, “I think we have a shot.”
She said the team would work to improve communication, fix some inconsistencies in their serving and keep their energy up on the court.
East regional playoffs were scheduled to take place in Rose Valley on Nov. 12.
Teams from Dinsmore, Colonsay, Quill Lake and Englefeld were to compete, in addition to Kenaston and the host team.
For the full story and more photos, please see the Nov. 14 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.