Davidson

Scorpions volleyball team takes silver medal at provincials

The Imperial Scorpions 15 and under girls volleyball team had a vicious sting this past spring by securing a silver medal in the 2013 Conexus Provincial Volleyball Championships.

The Scorpions took the tier 5 medal by holding a strong Moose Jaw Panthers squad to a tough three-game set in the final matchup May 5 in Saskatoon. The Panthers won the gold medal game 25-20, 21-25, 15-13, but had to hold off a strong push from the Scorpions late in the third game to secure their championship.

“In the third set, one team would get a point and then the other team would get a point,” said Kennedy Lewis, 15, middle for the Scorpions.

She said the Panthers started to pull out to an impressive lead, but somehow the Scorpions scratched their way back and it wasn’t until the final points were made that the Moose Jaw team took the gold.

“It was a really good go, so nobody was disappointed,” said Kennedy. “We had a really good time.”

Katherine Rieger, head coach of the 15U Scorpions, said the club was a “starting team,” but the girls came together by the end of the January to May season to finish near the top of the standings.

“We started the team this year and we started out pretty much dead last, or not quite, in our first tournament,” said Rieger. “We medaled in tier 5, but we had played some amazing games against some of those top tier 2 teams and even bottom tier 1 teams.

“It just happened that we have kids that are 13 years old playing on the team compared to kids that are 15 years old playing on the other teams.”

Rieger said the competition in club volleyball is much “tougher” than what the players see in high school games, but no matter how tough the competition all the girls on the team see time on the court. She said this is done because the purpose of the 15U team is the development of playing skills.

To read more please see the June 10 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson

Davidson enters Kraft Celebration Tour in effort to win $25,000 for pool

If the Town of Davidson can garner enough support on its Kraft Celebration Tour nomination page, the new Davidson Swimming Pool would be a lot closer to realization.

“The support that we’ve got already is great,” said Trevor Ouellette, recreation director for the Town of Davidson. “I emailed out a link to the nomination page and people have gotten back. The enthusiasm of the fundraising committee and the town supporting (them) has spilt over and we need more of it. This doesn’t cost anything. This is just support.”

The fifth annual Kraft Celebration Tour hits the road every summer to 10 communities across the country for a celebration of its spirit, passion for sports and dedication to a healthy and active lifestyle. These 10 are each awarded $25,000 for a community project and a live broadcast of TSN’s SportsCentre from their community during their stop on the tour.

Ouellette said Watrous won $25,000 from the Kraft Celebration Tour in 2009 for renovations to their arena. He said at that time there was only around 85 nominations in total, so for Davidson to win this year they need all the support they can get.

“What they weigh is the community support behind (the project),” he said. “If there is one project that has three people supporting it there is very little chance, but if there is lots of support (and) lots of comments on that particular nomination page that weighs a little bit more for the producers of the show.”

The 10 winning communities are chosen from a shortlist of 20 finalists announced on TSN June 30. Between July 8 and July 20, two finalists would be pitted against each other in series of 10 daily match-ups, with the amount of votes cast each day determining the 10 winners. The Kraft Celebration Tour then rolls out to the 10 winning communities starting Aug. 16 with the $25,000 awards and the TSN SportsCentre broadcast crew.

“Competition is pretty intense, so the more people we can get to like our page and leave comments about what the $25,000 would mean the better,” said Ouellette. “For the town, this is a great thing to do. I’ve been through it once with Watrous and it was a whirlwind event. It goes by just like that, but it’s a big deal.”

Obituary

Bell, Robert2

Robert Edward Bell

Hearts have been saddened with the passing of Robert Bell April 2, 2013 at his home in Kenaston, Sask. at the age of 69.
Bob will be dearly missed and always remembered by his sisters Grace Vetter and Laura Chomyshen and his niece and nephews John (Shelley), Karen, Brian, Calvin and Shelley, Brian, Darren, Bonnie and all their families.
Bob was a very quiet, gentle person who preferred to live a very reclusive lifestyle. He farmed most of his life in the Bladworth area.
The celebration of “Bob’s” Life Funeral Service was held on Sunday, June 2, 2013 at graveside, family plot in the Bladworth Community Cemetery with Rev. Diane Eurig officiating. Soloist Daryl Mathers sang Amazing Grace, also two selections were When I Get Where I’m Going by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton and I Will Remember You by Sarah McLaughlin. Brian Hudson presented a tribute. Interment was at the family plot, Bladworth Cemetery.
Lunch and fellowship for all followed the committal at Mary Ann Chomyshen’s residence in Davidson. For friends so wishing memorials in memory of Bob may be directed to the charity of your choice.
Hanson’s Funeral Home, Davidson was in care of arrangements.

Obituary

SPERLING Frances recent photo

Francesca Sperling (nee Reich)
1922 – 2013
It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our mother, Fran, on June 2, 2013 at the age of 91 years. Fran was the youngest of seven children. She was predeceased by her parents Michael and Katherine Reich; three brothers Nick, Chris & Johnny Reich; two sisters Katherine Lang & Jean Gottselig. She was also predeceased by her husband, Joe. She will be lovingly remembered by her family Bob (Bernice), Gordon, Lloyd (Denise), Jan Cook (Larry), Daniel, & Debra Dutton (Scott). Fran is also survived by 11 grandchildren; 14 great grandchildren; sister Anne Bruch; sisters-in-law Bernie Anderson, Emelia Sperling & Mary Reich; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. The most important and special part of Fran’s life, besides her family, was her love of and her natural ability for music; a gift she nurtured in all her children and grandchildren. Throughout her life, she played accordion in several bands including her family’s Reich Orchestra. In later years, she volunteered her musical talents to many senior homes in Regina. When her accordion became too cumbersome, she mastered the keyboard and continued to play until the last few weeks of her life. Our family would like to express our gratitude to those caregivers at Regina Lutheran Home who lovingly attended to her daily needs. A private family gathering to inter her ashes will be held at a later date. If friends so desire, memorial donations may be made to a charity of choice. Expressions of sympathy may be posted in the online guest book www.leefunerals.com .
Happy trails to you, until we meet again
Happy trails to you, keep smilin’ until then
Who cares about the clouds when we’re together
Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather
Happy trails to you, ‘til we meet again.

featured

Libraries protest funding shortfall

All regional library branches in Saskatchewan are facing staff layoffs, a reduction in operating hours and less available resources for their patrons due to a zero per cent increase to the Regional Grant Pool in the 2013 provincial budget.

The Regional Grant Pool funds the library headquarters, which in turn administers resource-sharing among the branches. These resource-sharing or centralized services provide equal delivery of needs among rural library branches such as adult continuing education and literacy programs, internet and e-reader training, support for student literacy and funding of purchasing books, equipment and materials.

September Brooke, librarian at the Davidson branch of Palliser Regional Library, said the province not offering “even a cost of living increase” to the Regional Grant Pool means there is not enough money coming in to the library to cover their normal expenses. She said most of the libraries with the Palliser Regional Library have now begun a patron letter writing campaign to provincial politicians in an effort to raise awareness about what this funding shortfall would do to their libraries.

“It will mean probably some job losses and the possibility of hours of opening being cut in some branches and services being cut if we don’t get that funding,” said Brooke. “Even in the past the levies (money set by the municipalities’ representative on the library board to be paid by municipalities to each library) and the resource-sharing has never fully covered the opening hours in most of the branches, so we’ve often had a shortfall and we’ve had to go to the town and the RMs and asked them to kick in a little bit extra to maintain the hours that we stay open.”

Brooke said the provincial government giving them a zero per cent increase in this past budget forces library branches to once again look at cutting hours and going back to the towns, villages and RMs to ask for more money.

“We think the provincial government should be supporting that instead of having to go to all the local governments,” she said, noting they have asked Arm River–Watrous MLA Greg Brkich to attend their next meeting so they might voice their concerns to him in person.

Brkich said he would not be able to attend the meeting, as he would be in Vancouver at that time for a State Rural Agricultural Leader’s Conference. He said he has spoken to Brooke and will relay her concerns to Russ Marchuk, Saskatchewan Minister of Education.

“The government is committed to maintaining a balanced budget,” said Brkich. “In the past we have added money to (the Regional Grant Pool) and in the next budget cycle we can add more to it hopefully.”

To read more please see the June 3 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson

War brides reunion allows Duddridges to connect with past

Arguably the most important night in the lives of Lew, 95, and Hilda Duddridge (neé Thomas), 88, occurred while they were waiting for a train in Crewe, England, during a German bombing raid in 1944.

Lew, on a 48-hour pass from the Royal Canadian Air Force where he worked as a pilot in Bomber Command, was heading back to his camp in Yorkshire and Hilda was travelling to Blackpool for a week’s vacation with friends from her job as a telegraphist in Swansea, South Wales.

“They were five girls on holidays and the Germans had dropped a bomb and all the trains were stopped at this central point,” said Lew. “I watched these girls and I was particularly attracted to one of them (who) happened to be Hilda, so when the all-clear sounded and the conductors started blowing their whistles I noticed they were all getting on the same train as I was going on.

“I walked by Hilda and asked her if I could carry her bag. She said ‘yes’ and I’ve been carrying it ever since.”

“Don’t believe that part of it,” said Hilda.

Hilda’s job as a telegraphist made a relationship with a pilot a fairly distressing thing as all reports of missing servicemen went across her desk.

“Whenever there was someone missing in action they sent a telegram to the next of kin notifying them,” she said. “Where we received the telegrams is the job I had.”

Lew’s name never came across her desk, but he was one of the lucky ones. Thirteen young men from Hanley joined the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War and only two, Lew and his brother Len, made it back alive.

Lew and Hilda were married six months after their first meeting at the train station. On April 2, 1945, at St. James Anglican Church in Swansea Hilda became one of the 48,000 women who would later come to Canada as a war bride of a Canadian serviceman.

Sixty-eight years later, these women were celebrated by the Canadian War Brides and Families Association at a war brides reunion held April 12 to 14 at the Fairmont Empress hotel in Victoria, B.C.

“It was a great success,” said Hilda, noting at the reunion the brides and their escorts were treated to banquets, a military band, a church service and meet and greets with the other families. “It was really well attended and it was a lot of fun. It was great to meet all the other brides and find out what had happened to them and where they had landed.”

To read more please see the June 3 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

The Davidson Leader, Davidson, Saskatchewan