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Brkich and Broten debate success of spring session

The spring session of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly came to a close last Thursday with members from both the government and opposition claiming success on the issues they have brought forward the past two months along with frustration toward views coming from the other side.

Saskatchewan Party MLA Greg Brkich, who represents Arm River, said the government has helped the people of this province this spring by bringing in a balanced budget, introducing private liquor stores and looking into new laws to improve safety in highway construction zones. He said the party, which holds 49 of the 58 seats in the legislature, has not confronted many difficulties this past session putting forward its mandate other than “a few concerns with health and a little bit with highways,” but those issues have been addressed.

“Calls to the office have been very light with concerns,” said Brkich. “We get a lot of compliments on the direction that our government is going in, which is the economy. We still have the strongest economy in Canada and that is what people are most favourable of, having a good strong economy.”

Brkich said the New Democratic Party’s spring concerns about the long-term care conditions for seniors is a falsehood considering “they never did anything for the 16 years they were in (power for long-term care),” while the Sask. Party government has announced 13 new long-term care facilities in an attempt to play “catch up” with the needed infrastructure due to NDP neglect. He cited the new long-term care facility in Watrous along with the other 12 “that are being built and being close to finished” as how the government is addressing the problem of the condition of current long-term care.

The NDP and independent provincial auditor’s demands for greater transparency when it comes to the government’s use of two sets of books to determine the province’s finances come budget time was also dismissed by Brkich. He said using a single set of books to determine the province’s finances is “up to the finance minister,” but for him showing a balance on both the general revenue and the summaries provides a better argument.

“The general revenue is your day-to-day money that is coming in,” he said. “It’s your day-to-day expenses. The summary is more of your long-term, so actually looking at the two gives you a better picture of what’s happening in Saskatchewan rather than just having one set of books.”

Cam Broten, leader of the Saskatchewan NDP and MLA for Saskatoon Massey Place, said his party has voiced the concerns of many Saskatchewan people during his first session as leader of the official opposition including the lack of transparency displayed by the government in respect to the province’s $19 billion debt despite a robust economy and the care for Saskatchewan seniors that is not up to “standards that everyone wants” and expects.

“The report from the provincial auditor that was released (this past month was) very critical and scathing of the Sask. Party government for maintaining two sets of books,” said Broten in a conference call. “The auditor clearly said this has allowed them to hide deficits and it doesn’t give an accurate picture of the total debt, which is now over $19 billion. We wish the government would agree with the independent provincial auditor, but we have seen a dismissive approach by them, where they don’t see any need for change, even though the rest of the country does things differently.”

To read more please see the May 20 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson

Helen’s Run celebrates life of Dundurn grandmother

In an effort to honour the memory of her grandmother and raise funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Logan Williams is once again putting on Helen’s Run in Dundurn this June.

“Helen Williams was my grandmother,” said Logan, 31. “She lived in Dundurn since 1958 and she passed away from breast cancer in 1993. I had been putting a team into the CIBC Run for the Cure called Helen’s Helpers and decided that it would be nicer to bring something closer to home. Myself, my mom and my dad are runners and we thought it would be fun to put on a run of our own. The first year we used it as a fund-raiser for Run for the Cure, but now we donate the money directly to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.”

The Helen’s Run 5Km Fun Run/Walk for Breast Cancer is being held June 1 this year at the Dundurn Military Base with a start time of 10 a.m. Interested participants can register for the non-competitive run at www.helensrun.ca with a registration fee of $25 for adults, $15 for youths under 16 and $40 for families.

“If you are running you don’t need to collect pledges,” said Logan. “You just pay your registration fee, but you can donate money as well. We have had people in the past who have collected pledges from co-workers and we of course wouldn’t say no to that, but it’s not something that we require.”

Logan said their goal this year is to raise $4,000, putting them over the $10,000 mark they had raised since the run’s inception in 2009. She said they have already raised over $2,000 towards their goal. Last year the run had 47 entrants, numerous volunteers helping out and raised $2,263.

She said the choice of a five-kilometre distance was settled on because it is “not as daunting as a 10-kilometre or a half-marathon,” but there is a shorter route for kids or people who may think they can’t make it.

“If you can walk for an hour, you could walk it easily enough,” she said. “We wanted to make it something that could include almost everybody.”

Logan said the day would also feature a coffee get-together at the gym before the run and a chili-on-a-bun lunch afterwards. She said the day would also include a trade show showcasing local businesses going on in the gym throughout the festivities.

“It is a family event. We’ve had babies right from six-weeks-old to people in their 70s come. It is a really nice atmosphere.”

Sports

Body checking in peewee hockey may become a thing of Saskatchewan’s past

The sight of peewee hockey players nailing each other with open-ice hits or rubbing each other out against the boards may be a thing of the past.

Al Hubbs, president of the Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA), said the policy Alberta Hockey decided upon two weeks ago, which would ban checking until bantam as a way to reduce youth injuries and concussions, probably will follow suit in this province. He said this could actually be the wrong way to go as bringing in checking for the atom or novice groups instead would teach adolescents the proper way to hit opposing players earlier on thus reducing the possibility of kids getting hurt.

“Our belief here in Saskatchewan has been that you have to start teaching it and implementing it at a younger age, so that they learn the respect part of it,” said Hubbs. “One of the things that is being bantered about in this go-around on body checking in moving it from peewee to bantam is there is quite a size differential at peewee. Well in 2002 we changed the ages (of peewee). It didn’t really solve any problems and that’s the premise we’re going on. Is this a Band Aid solution or is there other things we should be doing.”

Hubbs said the size differential of bantam players is greater as some of these 13 and 14 year olds could vary between 5’4″ and 110 lb to 6’2″ and 190 lb, so moving the first learning of how to hit and take a hit to the novice and atom levels when there isn’t so much of a difference would be the safest way. He said the SHA has not seen an increase lately with injuries or concussions among peewee players due to body checking, but the data that is collected doesn’t differentiate between if a player got hurt getting checked or by just falling on the ice.

“The medical experts are saying there is a huge increase in concussions and I believe they’re right, but I think they are just recognizing it a lot more than they used to in the past,” he said.

Patrick Neary, a doctor in the faculty of kinesiology and health studies at the University of Regina, said he welcomes a stop to checking among peewee players from both a personal and professional standpoint. He said there should be an emphasis on teaching skating and puck handling skills to 11- and 12-year-old kids rather than focusing on the physical aspect of the game.

“I’m happy to hear that Alberta has gone that route,” said Neary. “Personally, I don’t think it’s going to affect the hockey. It may even make it better hockey. One of the things it will do is it will help to eliminate some of the concussions that we’re seeing at this young age.”

To read more please see the May 20 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson

Art gallery opens in Elbow

Artisans of the Village of Elbow are attempting to transform the community into another Emma Lake, said the curator of the village’s new art gallery.

Linda Kennedy, owner of Gallery 148, said the new space that features works created in the disciplines of sculpture, painting and photography would be a compliment to the two current galleries in the village. She said Gallery 148 is separate from the Water Colour Society group and Carmen Heinrichs’ space, but taken together the three should bring Elbow to the forefront for art tourism in Saskatchewan.

“We are trying to become a hub where people looking for art can make day trips and come and see us,” said Kennedy. “We’re destination art.”

Gallery 148, which staged its grand opening this past weekend, would feature “multi-medium” works by contemporary artists including photography by artist Anna May Shrimpton, landscape and still life acrylic and oil paintings by Carl Schlademan, acrylic paintings by Elbow’s Anne Falconer Paulsen and industrial sculpture by David MacTavish.

Kennedy said she decided to open up the gallery because a space was needed in Elbow to showcase the many works of artists from “Saskatchewan and beyond” that otherwise would be sitting somewhere not being appreciated. She said the gallery that is located on Saskatchewan Street would be open from the May long weekend to the September long weekend when the tourist season in Elbow is at its peak.

“The art community (in Elbow) is pretty strong and I’m very much into the fine arts,” she said. “I’m anxious to represent some of these artists and offer them up for the tourists.”

Obituary

White, Ethel
The family of Ethel Ellen White, known to her friends and family as “Lenny”, sadly announce the passing of their mother on the morning of May 2, 2013 at the Yorkton & District Nursing Home, Yorkton, Saskatchewan with family present.
Lenny was born on May 17, 1924 at Milner Ridge, Manitoba to Joseph and Mary (nee McKee) Nejedly. She was the middle child in a family of three and was predeceased by her parents as well as her older brother, Melvin and younger sister, Lois.
Her father worked as a surveyor for the Government of Canada, a job which took him all over Western Canada. Lenny’s mother worked at many jobs as the children grew up.
After High School, Lenny went to Washington, DC for a short time and worked as a secretary. She returned to Canada, where she met and married Louis Falardeau, and raised a family of three. After Louis’ sudden death, she took up a full time secretarial position with Saskatchewan Government Insurance in Regina until her retirement.
Shortly after her retirement, Lenny met and married Frank White, a farmer from the Davidson area. Once in Davidson, she worked at the Davidson Nursing Home. She and Frank also enjoyed travelling to many places in North America during their time together. She made many friends there who she continued to keep in touch with after leaving Davidson, following Frank’s death.
Lenny then made Saskatoon her home until February of 2012. While in Saskatoon, she enjoyed pursuing her love of music by attending many concerts with her son, Roger and by singing with the Western Development Museum Singers for about three years. She always enjoyed visiting with friends and family in Saskatoon, Regina, Davidson, Calgary, Vancouver and Yorkton.
In February of 2012, Lenny moved to Aspen Bluffs Villa in Yorkton and with changes in her health, came another move to her final residence at the Yorkton and District Nursing Home.
Over the years, Lenny always enjoyed music, learning new crafts, involvement with church choirs and participating in Rebekah Lodge.
Lenny is lovingly remembered by her two daughters, Jacquelina and Paula (Brian) and her son, Roger; by her five grandchildren, Shawn (Janice) Sanford Beck, Jody (Michelle) Beck, Roberta (Dan) McFarlane, Crystal (Jamie) McKenzie and Darren (partner, Tracy) Falardeau; seven great-grandchildren have also been fortunate enough to be part of her life, Christopher, Rowan and Robin Sanford Beck, Noah and Cleo Beck and Aiden and Ethan McFarlane.
Lenny will also be sadly missed and fondly remembered by many other family members and friends who shared time with her on her life journey.
A Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. from St. John’s Anglican Cathedral, 816 Spadina Crescent East, Saskatoon, SK with lunch to follow. A Private Family Cremation Committal will follow in the Davidson Cemetery at 4:00 p.m. on the same day.
Those wishing to make expressions of sympathy may make donations to the charity of their choice.
Friends so wishing may forward their condolences to the family by visiting www.christiesfuneralhome.com. Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Christie’s Funeral Home & Crematorium, Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

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Blackstrap Park ski hill not in development plans

Two bids have been submitted to develop Blackstrap Provincial Park, but the “very public” idea by one developer to reopen the ski hill at Mount Blackstrap and build a year-round resort is not one of them, said an official with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport.

Kevin Engel, manager of business development and leasing with the Ministry, said he couldn’t go into detail on the two bids they did receive in response to their public request for proposals (RFP) that closed in April because they are still in negotiations. However, he said British Columbia developer Torey Spink did not “put in a proposal” to rebuild the park into a year-round resort with a reopened ski hill, despite his public attempt to gain support for his plan on social media.

“At the end of the day, it is the (Government of Saskatchewan’s) final approval that’s required and they have the right to fully consider and approve the projects before we go public with them,” said Engel. “That’s what we found a little bit strange with Torey Spink deciding to go very public with his interest in reopening the ski hill, but I guess he had his own thoughts on how he wanted to approach this. Unfortunately, he chose not to go forward.”

Engel said the two proposals they received both have local ties to Saskatoon and the Ministry is currently meeting with both groups to negotiate development and lease agreements. He said both developments could be accepted.

“In our RFP we indicated that it was fairly broad and we knew that we might get proposals that would complement each other,” he said. “In this case both would complement (each other), so we’re working going forward with both of them.”

Once negotiations have finished, Engel said the development proposals go to cabinet for approval through an Order in Council due to park’s legislation that requires any development over $250,000 to gain this approval before it can proceed. He said it is not known when this final approval would be given as that is tied to how busy the government is and when they can get on their agenda.

“Neither project had anticipated doing any construction this summer though and both projects still have a lot of work to do as far as finalizing plans and engineering designs. Both would anticipate at the earliest starting some work this fall, so (we’re) not in a situation where we’re holding them up.”

The Davidson Leader, Davidson, Saskatchewan