All posts by Tara de Ryk

Obituary

In Celebration of her Life….

 

It is with sadness that we announce the death of Nettie Dahl of Davidson on October 4, 2012 at the age of 91.

Nettie was born in Russia on May 23, 1921, to John and Anna Dahl. The family came to Canada in 1925 to Main Centre area and later started farming west of Davidson.

Nettie received her education in the Rosemae country school east of Elbow. In July, 1939, Nettie accepted Christ as her personal Savior while she was at a Bible camp and following that decision, she attended Bethany Bible Institute for one year. After a short time of employment in Saskatoon, she returned to the family farm. For most of her years, she lived on the farm and helped her parents and then her brother John with farming duties. She loved flowers and took pride in growing a vegetable garden, mostly known for her tomatoes and strawberries. With her brother John, they later moved into Davidson.

Nettie was known for her love for the Lord and was a living example to all she met. Her heart was dedicated to His word. Acts 20: 35 “It is more blessed to give than to receive”.

Come and journey through some memories

In the garden of Nettie’s years,

Where many seeds were planted

Bearing fruit that is so dear.

 

The precious seeds of Godliness

Were planted in her heart.

They multiplied to bear much fruit

Of which we are a part.

 

 

She planted seeds of generosity

And shared right from her heart,

Giving to the camps and Bible schools

And to the church she was a part.

 

She planted seeds of love and care

I still see in my mind’s eye,

Her special touch with little ones

To make them smile, and not cry.

 

She even care for babies

Who lived far across the sea

By sewing hundreds of layettes

That were sent out by MCC.

 

She planted seeds of family

As a sister and an aunt,

We loved to come to the home farm

Great memories we did plant.

 

Nettie peeled all of the garlic

The pickle jars she did stuff,

She joined the canning and the butchering

Until she’d had enough.

 

Her cabbage rolls, our favourite

With mashed potatoes and gravy too

But nothing like dessert to come

Angel food, ice cream and strawberries too.

 

Her garden is surrounded

By her diligence in prayer,

Her desire to obey the Lord

And His love to share.

 

The garden of Nettie’s life

Has come to finally close,

And yet the seeds have bore the fruit

So, on and on it grows.

 

This legacy that we’ve been left

Was lived out in God’s name

A faithful servant she truly was

Lord help us all to do the same.

 

Nettie was predeceased by her parents, John and Anna Dahl, her brother John and sister Susan (George) Bahnman, sister-in-law Helen Dahl and brother-in-law Wilfred Doell.  She is survived by brothers Jacob, Peter (Annie) and Daniel (Katherine) Dahl, sisters Lena Doell and Anne Dahl and many nieces and nephews.

A service, in celebration of Nettie Dahl’s life, was held Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. at the Catholic Church in Davidson, Sask. The service was led by Ken Muirhead and Dennis Brucks. Interment in the family plot was at Elbow Community Cemetery.

Donations in memory of Nettie Dahl were donated to Dallas Valley Ranch Camp, Box 779, Lumsden, Sask.  S0G 3C0.

We will surely miss her deeply…..

her families and many friends.

Davidson, featured

Lairds leave legacy to library

The Davidson branch of the Palliser Regional Library received a substantial donation this past week after being informed the late Elmer Laird had bequeathed $50,000 to the library for capital expenditures.

September Brooke, Davidson librarian, said the library is very appreciative of the thought given by Laird and his wife Gladys “for all they have contributed to the library in the past and continue to contribute” and in acknowledgment will create a new reading room in their memory.

“We’re actually going to name that room the Elmer and Gladys Reading Room in honour and recognition of their contribution to the library,” said Brooke in reference to the current large-print room. “We recently purchased some furniture and created a little reading corner, so we wanted to name that room specifically after them.”

Elmer and Gladys have long been contributors to the library’s success and survival with Gladys serving as a volunteer with the library for over 30 years starting back in 1964.

The couple were also instrumental in helping the library survive after a fire burned down the Town Hall in 1971, where the library was headquartered at the time, by arranging to borrow 1,500 books from the Saskatchewan Provincial Library and then travelling to Alberta and buying enough used books themselves to keep the Davidson library in existence.

“The only request in his will was that the money be used for capital improvements and also that we develop a special section in memory of his wife on the rights of working women,” said Brooke. “That was something that was very dear to her.”

To read more please see the Oct. 15 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson, Sports

Raiders second football season comes to a close against Panthers at The Ranch

Raiders quarterback Mike Kowalski and running back Jon Taylor ended their high school football season on a high note last Thursday, despite the 68-12 loss to the Hague Pathers at the Ranch.

The two players teamed up for a beautiful reverse fake on the Panthers 15-yard line leading to a open run down the left side of the field that ended with Taylor celebrating in the end zone and bringing the Raiders back into the game with the score at a respectable 22-12 for the away team halfway through the second quarter.

The Raiders (0-5) went on a run in the second, dominating the Panters (2-3) and bringing the big crowd that lined the field on a cold but sunny day to their feet. Unfortunately, the home team couldn’t hold that momentum and watched the Panthers score three quick touchdowns after the reverse to bring the game out of reach for the Raiders at 46-12 at the half.

“The game was pretty good,” said Jason Low, head coach of the Raiders. “Our offence showed some spark and we had a couple of exciting plays. We moved the ball quite a bit and it was nice to get a few touchdowns and give the fans something to cheer about.

“We experimented (on defence) and got everybody into the game, so that led to a few breakdowns and a few big plays (for the Panthers), but overall I was pretty happy with the game.”

It was the last game of high school football for graduating players Kass Ebenal (quarterback) and Kurri Reich (tight end). They both came out strong and made a couple of good plays.

To read more please see the Oct. 15 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson

Locals head to slammer for gym floor fundraiser

Twenty of Davidson’s finest are being sent to the slammer next Wednesday.

In other words, a high school classroom for an afternoon of lessons, but as it always is with people of privilege they can buy their way out, unlike the unfortunate students.

Davidson School is holding a “Jail and Bail” fund-raising event Oct. 24 where 20 members of the community will be locked in classrooms with the students during their afternoon lessons. The “prisoners” will be working the phones at the school in trying to raise as much “bail” as they can between 1 and 3 p.m. for the new hardwood floor for the main gym as part of the school’s Sea of Blue campaign.

“The classes will be continuing on,” said Karielle Willner, a middle years teacher at the school. “We’ll be teaching and they’ll be in our classes interacting with us and just kind of having a fun afternoon. Who knows, maybe they’ll learn a thing or two.”

The school is currently at a little over $9,000 in their effort to raise $40,000 by March to upgrade from a rubberized floor for the main gym to a hardwood one. The Sun West School Division is replacing the floor next summer and gave the school the option to upgrade if they could raise the funds, so students and teachers started the Sea of Blue campaign where 400 floor tiles will be sold off at $10 each, thereby reaching the $40,000 goal.

To read more please see the Oct. 15 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson

Loreburn Arena wins Mars Bars contest for rink upgrades

The rink in the Village of Loreburn sees around 50 people a week walk through its doors during the wintertime for hockey, figure skating, public skating and power skating and, as a result, the 48-year-old arena has received some wear and tear, but thanks to Mars Bars upgrades are in the works.

Vanessa Tastad, Loreburn recreation board president and village councillor, said Mars Bars informed her in June they were picked as one of five arenas from across the country that would be receiving $5,000 from the chocolate bar company and as much as $15,000 more depending on how their Mars Play Your Part Promotion unfolds.

“We’ll be putting in new flooring in both of the dressing rooms plus the hallway out to the ice surface,” said Tastad, adding work will begin once the promotion closes at the end of December and they find out how much they will actually receive. “We’ll also be doing dry walling we had to finish (in the hallway) and some painting and we’ll get some stick racks (for the dressing rooms) and some door closures, so just some finer things.”

Tastad said the amount of money Loreburn Arena will ultimately receive depends on how many people buy a Mars Bar with the red strip on it and then go to the Mars Play Your Part Promotion website and enter the pin off the wrapper. She said every time a pin is entered $5 is “unlocked” from the promotion and depending on how many pins are entered a total of $75,000 could be unlocked at the beginning of the New Year, which will be split equally among the five selected arenas.

“Everybody in the community is helping out,” she said. “The rink will only be selling Mars Bars till December and we’ll try out some deep-fried Mars Bars too. Loreburn School is selling them at their football games and just regular people are buying boxes and asking if they could go out and sell them.”

Tastad sent in the application for Loreburn Arena, which was essentially “an essay about what our project is and what our goal was,” to Mars Bars in March and received notice they had advanced to the second round of the competition in May. She said the company then asked her a few more questions about what exactly they had planned for the arena.

“We got the phone call (in June) that we were picked based on our application and our need for the project,” she said. “We’re just so excited to be picked and we hope everyone helps out by buying Mars Bars and entering their pins online.”

featured

Craik RCMP officer injured in Chamberlain car crash

A member of the Craik RCMP detachment is in a Regina hospital with serious injuries after being involved in a fatal motor vehicle collision south of Chamberlain.

The officer, a 47-year-old male whose name was not released, was sitting in a marked 2010 Chevy Tahoe with its emergency equipment activated at approximately 2:35 p.m. on Sept. 28 when the collision occurred.

While investigating a single-vehicle rollover, the officer parked on the side of the road in the northbound lane of Highway 11 about 1 kilometre south of Chamberlain where the highway splits.

At the same time, the RCMP Divisional Operational Communications Centre (DOCC) began receiving complaints of a vehicle driving erratically and at high speeds southbound through the community of Chamberlain. It is suspected by the RCMP this is the same vehicle that collided with the police SUV.

The driver of the vehicle, a 35-year-old male from Saskatoon, whose name was also not released, was travelling southbound on Hwy 11 when it crossed over into the northbound lane crashing into the marked police vehicle head-on.

“The RCMP member was then taken away in serious condition by STARS air ambulance to Regina, where he still remains in hospital,” said RCMP Cpl. Rob King.

The Saskatoon man was pronounced dead at the scene.

King said it is not yet known if alcohol was a factor in the crash.

“We’ll have to wait for the re-constructionist report to be completed and for toxicology reports from the autopsy to know that,” he said.

In addition to the RCMP re-constructionist who travelled to the collision, emergency personal and members of the Craik, Lumsden and Regina RCMP detachments also descended on the scene to help in the investigation and provide relief of traffic congestion.

“The northbound lane of Hwy 11 was closed for about seven hours (after the crash),” said King.

This is the second serious motor vehicle incident involving the Craik RCMP in September and the third involving a Saskatchewan RCMP member while on-duty since July.

On Sept. 2, a 35-year-old constable with the Craik RCMP was air lifted to hospital in Regina after rolling his police car while responding to a domestic disturbance call. He was travelling west on the 732 grid road in the RM of Sarnia when he lost control of his car around 11 p.m. and entered the ditch.

King said he is still in hospital and is in stable condition.

The RCMP member employee assistance program is providing comfort to family and members of the Craik RCMP detachment and officers from other detachments are being brought in to help officers in Craik deal with the call load.

On July 20, Const. Derek Pineo was killed when his cruiser hit a moose 7 kms west of the town of Wilkie while reporting to a call.