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Sports

Red Sox bats go hot and cold at provincial championships

The 2014 season may have come to an end for the Davidson Red Sox peewee girls softball team with a 2-2 split in round-robin action at Provincials late last month in Regina, but their coach believes it could be the start of some good ball in town for future years.

Jason Shaw, who coaches the Red Sox with Kendall Wightman, said the 15 girls who played baseball this year have all improved skill-wise since camp first broke in April. He said finishing the season in a round-robin loss at Provincials isn’t what they hoped for, but the important thing is the players were able to come together and showcase the skills they’ve learned over the course of the year.

“We went into provincials, into that tournament, with the same kind of philosophy (that) all the girls got to play and nobody sat on the bench,” said Shaw. “Some girls during the year played infield and outfield and got a chance to play different positions. In this (tournament) we focused a bit more on one or two positions, but everybody batted and everybody got to play the field. We wanted to win, but as a team. We were going to win as a team.”

The Red Sox began the June 27 to 29 Provincials tournament in Regina with a 6-4 loss to Weyburn in a hard-fought game that could have gone either way considering the amount of stranded runners left on base by Davidson. The Sox quickly put the loss behind them when they came back onto the field later that first day to hit a 12-4 win over Southey.

The second day started the way the first day ended with the Red Sox running 12-3 over Regina, which put them one win away from securing a berth in playoff competition. The girls took the field against Carlyle that afternoon, but their bats went cold and a four-run inning for the opposition resulting in an eventual 7-0 defeat ended any hopes of advancing.

“We were a little bit rusty, but I thought our pitching was really good on the weekend,” said Shaw, noting league playoffs were canceled the weekend before due to rain. “Our defence was pretty good. We made a couple mistakes along the way, but nothing too big. We just didn’t hit like we normally would. Especially in that Carlyle game we needed a couple hits to get us going, (but) their pitching was strong (and) we just didn’t hit like we could have.”

To read more please see the July 7 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Sports

Saskatoon league a “good experience” for Raiders football

The Raiders minor football team wanted their season to end on the field and weren’t about to let Zeus tell them any different.

The Raiders brushed off the torrential rain that poured down from the heavens June 21 resulting in a flooded field at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon and bided their time for seven more days. On June 28 the Raiders marched back onto the gridiron and fought tooth and nail first with a strong Outlaws team and then an Outlook squad shortly after that.

“It was good for us,” said Raiders coach Blair Frederickson, noting they lost 28-21 to the Outlaws before falling 21-14 to Outlook. “We gave up touchdowns in the last two minutes, so they were both competitive and back-and-forth games. The ref on Saturday…said those were the hardest, most intense (and) well-played games I’ve seen this year.”

Frederickson said the eight-game season and 4-4 record the team compiled in the lead-up to the June 28 jamboree was a “good experience” for him and his coaching staff as well as the kids who took the field each game. He said the Saskatoon Minor Football League helps the players gain exposure to a wider range of coaches as well as show Football Saskatchewan personnel the skill and talent that is present in rural parts of the province.

“A couple times Football Saskatchewan guys came by and said ‘man, you guys are doing a nice job out there. These kids are really polite and well mannered. They go hard to the whistle and then they help the other team up and pat them on the back,'” he said. “I think that was a nice compliment for the kids and maybe a nice compliment for the other coaches.”

Coaches Trevor Ouellette and John Jamieson along with student coaches Andrew Read, Addison Ouellette and Jon Taylor joined Frederickson on the sidelines and on the field directing the players in the controlled games this season. He said the kids really benefited from the help of Andrew, Addison and Jon because they were able to reemphasize to the grades seven and eight kids the necessity to play hard to the whistle and always exhibit sportsmanship on the field.

To read more please see the July 7 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

featured

Hanley drama sets stage for success

Despite starting out from the unlikeliest of places a few past Hanley School graduates have found success in the field of drama thanks to a little bit of determination, some luck and a great learning opportunity through the Hanley Drama Club.

Former Drama Club members Addison Pauli and Aren Buchholz of Dundurn and Hanley’s Kyle Burgess have all realized accomplishment in the drama scene after high school. Pauli and Buchholz are currently living and working towards a film and television career in Vancouver, while Burgess has built a life for himself behind the camera at his own production company in Saskatoon.

“I got to work on my first movie a year ago now,” said Burgess, who previously worked as a member of the stage crew with the Hanley Drama Club from 1996 to his graduation in 2001. “It was called Big Muddy. It was filmed in Saskatoon and Assiniboia and I had to work with the grip department at one point, which is responsible for setting up all the stands and lighting and running electric. That made me have to reflect back on my days from high school drama on how lighting worked and what names for things were and (through) having that experience working with soundboards and lighting boards I was able to quickly help out the team.”

Burgess said his role now as owner of Saskatoon’s Coal Media gives him the opportunity to support local productions in both film and television including currently serving as an assistant editor for City TV’s documentary series NightClub Confidential. He said getting involved in the entertainment industry may seem like an impossible dream to a kid growing up in Hanley or Dundurn, but with a little luck anything can happen.

“It’s kind of a fluke almost I even got into it,” he said. “I had gone on to get a degree in marketing never really thinking that I would end up being here and then when I was living in Vancouver I randomly got a job offer from NBC to work in their studios during the Olympics. Using that experience of doing transport logistics, I quickly bridged into doing other management related things in the film industry.”

Pauli said he gained a confidence to try new things through working with the Hanley Drama Club from 2006 to 2011, which was turned into a pursuit for a career in the film industry in Vancouver. He said taking a risk at moving West soon after graduation helped him gain and excel at his current job as a facility production assistant at Sony Pictures Imageworks.

“I may be from a small town in Saskatchewan, but everything I learned from back home has really helped me become the person I am today,” said Pauli, noting he is going to continue learning about and pursuing work in the visual effects industry.

Buchholz, who recently finished filming a guest-starring role on Showcase’s Lost Girl in Toronto before heading back to his base in Vancouver, said the time he spent with the Hanley Drama Club from 2004 to 2009 helped him gain a passion for the arts and for the craft of acting. He said the provincial government eliminating the film tax credit a couple years ago destroyed any chance of actors finding work in Saskatchewan and people looking to pursue it as a career have to move, but having things like the Drama Club at least gives kids an opportunity to learn the basics.

“The developmental part there is high class (and) high quality,” said Buchholz. Hanley Drama Club director “Leanne Griffin is an amazing coach and amazing teacher. She has her (Master’s Degree) in Drama and she was amazing to us. We weren’t cut short on the actual developmental side.”

He said the Hanley Drama Club being an extracurricular activity and not a regular school program makes the experience extra important for the kids who take part because they have to give up their own time to pursue the arts. Buchholz said this helps them realize a passion and desire to go to whatever lengths needed to make drama a part of their everyday life.

“Coming from Saskatchewan it seems like it’s a far off dream, but tons of people can make a living doing it,” he said. “Not everyone is going to be a famous movie star, but you can definitely make a living doing the work of acting. You just have to go for it. I think the drama program in Hanley is integral to that (by) instilling a passion into young folks.”

Griffin said there are a couple kids in the Hanley Drama Club this past year that seem to be leaning towards pursuing a career in the arts and the goal is to make that possible for them in a place where work experience is not very easy to come by. She said when kids like Burgess, Pauli and Buchholz do make it in the field of drama despite these challenges, it makes the work she does with the Drama Club very pleasing.

“That is something that I feel very proud of,” said Griffin. “Hopefully (kids today) see that as a positive influence.”

Davidson

Prairie Spirit approves challenging budget

The Prairie Spirit Board of Education is pleading for additional funding from the provincial government after approving earlier this month what they are calling the most challenging budget the school division has ever faced.

Larry Pavloff, chair of the Prairie Spirit Board of Education, said they approved the 2014-15 “status quo” school division budget because they don’t want to negatively impact any more students or staff despite a decrease in funding. He said the board is proud of student achievement at Prairie Spirit that places kids above the provincial average and they want to keep the good work that is going on continuing, but in order to do that the division needs resources.

“We are using reserve funds to balance our budget, but we want that to be a one year (thing) because it’s not sustainable to use reserve funds for operations,” said Pavloff. “This year to offset our shortfall in the budget we have to take $2.5 million of reserve funds and put that to operational costs, so adjust spending in other operational areas to achieve that balanced budget.”

In a media release issued by the Prairie Spirit School Division, it is stated the division is in a deficit position of $2.9 million with a status quo budget that includes operating expenses of over $111 million for the school division’s 45 schools and over 10,000 students in 28 communities surrounding the City of Saskatoon including Hanley. It further states the provincial government did provide additional funds to Prairie Spirit in the new budget, but this funding increase does not cover annual increases in operational expenses such as salary increments, new agreements and utility costs.

Pavloff said this is the ninth consecutive year of enrolment growth in the school division and they are projecting at least 130 more students next year. He said their focus is on supporting student learning and supporting adult learning such as staff having the opportunity and time to increase their knowledge, but this is in jeopardy if their funding does not allow them to continue with these programs.

“An analysis of the provincial funding allocated to our school division of Prairie Spirit reveals that on per-student funding we are decreased by $45 per student when compared to last year,” said Pavloff. “It is important to note that last year our per-student funding was decreased as well, so the funding model has consistently decreased funding to Prairie Spirit for our operational costs.”

He added there was also a recent spring directive from the Ministry of Education requiring all school divisions to find further efficiencies in their general operating budget in addition to the other spending reductions the division already made. Pavloff said Prairie Spirit’s efficiency reduction was more than $400,000 and they are expecting further provincial funding cuts in the 2015-16 school year forcing them to determine where changes can be made in the future to balance their budget.

To read more please see the June 30 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Sports

Local ballplayers throw strikes for Millers

Two local ballplayers are joining the Moose Jaw Miller Express on the field again this summer with a hope their experience and leadership will help the high-ranking club win a Western Major Baseball League championship.

Craik’s Tanner Spencer and Davidson’s Terry McNabb are taking the mound as starting pitchers on the WMBL Central Division first place team this season. Both players are back playing with the mostly hometown Millers and expressing delight in it after recently returning from their respective college baseball teams.

“Me and Terry both played minor baseball in Moose Jaw and grew up watching some Miller Express games,” said Spencer, 20, a right-handed starting pitcher for the Kansas-based Colby Community College Trojans this past spring. “It’s a good league. I enjoy playing here. It’s some different markets. Sometimes we get a lot of fans out and sometimes there are a few fans, but it’s always good competition. It has been for a while.”

Spencer is enjoying his first full season with the Millers this summer after suiting up sporadically with the team during the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The Alberta Vauxhall Academy of Baseball graduate missed last season due to a torn UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) that required Tommy John surgery and the average one-year of rehabilitation that follows it.

“I don’t think anyone has ever said that rehab is fun, but it is what it is and it’s part of the game,” said Spencer, who has a 7.71 ERA this year in 11.2 innings pitched with the Millers. “It’s just the mental hurdles now at this point that you’ve got to get over and just trust in all your pitches and trust in your arm.”

McNabb is back for his fifth summer with the Millers and is enjoying the same WMBL success he achieved in his last season with the club in 2012. Like two years ago, the hard throwing right-hander is once again leading the team in innings pitched (34), strikeouts (36) and wins (five) through their first 15 games of the Millers’ 46-game May 30 to July 30 regular season.

“It’s more so just being aggressive in the zone and trusting the people to play good defence behind you and get on offence to pick you up if you make a mistake,” said McNabb, 22. “If you give up a run they’re going to make it back pretty quick. Knowing you got that; there is a lot less pressure on you. I feel you don’t have to press too much because everybody else around you is going to try to pick you up.”

To read more please see the June 30 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson, featured

Military heroes honoured with Service Pins

Families and friends of both Canadian Armed Forces veterans and currently serving members gathered at Davidson Town Hall last Monday to participate in a ceremony that honoured these men and women for the sacrifices they have made to ensure we have the freedoms that all Canadians currently enjoy.

The onlookers helped commemorate the service of Alfred Stulberg, Meryl Warren, Gladys Camber, Frank Taylor, Robert Booker, Ron Sarich, Larry Nadeau, Brad Dolan, Darwin Turner, Gilles Turner and Ronald Edwards at the ceremony that saw each of the Davidson and area men and women receive a Lieutenant Governor’s Military Service Pin. The Pin symbolizes the gratitude of the Crown and the people of Saskatchewan for those who have represented our nation and defended our principles of peace, freedom and justice.

“It’s nice,” said Warren after being presented with the Military Service Pin by Royal Canadian Legion Branch #51 president Gord McRae in front of his family and friends at the ceremony. The Pin is intended to be worn on civilian clothing, so that people can recognize those who have served when they are not in uniform.

Meryl Warren joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942 as an aero-engine mechanic. He served in Sea Island, B.C., until the end of the Second World War and was discharged in March 1946.

McRae said the Military Service Pin ceremony is an opportunity for everyone to say “thank you” to these men and women and to also recognize them for the sacrifices they have made to protect our freedoms. Despite only two of the veterans being able to attend in person, McRae said he is still happy with the dedication because many family and friends of the honoured members were able to attend and recognize the men and women who have served this country.

“When I started at the Legion there was actually 28 (First and Second World War) veterans and now we’re down to three,” said McRae. “I thought we were well represented (at the ceremony). They were happy to get these medals that recognize them as serving as protectors for the country.”

To read more please see the June 23 print edition of The Davidson Leader.