All posts by Tara de Ryk

For those about to rock …

Michele Morrison has created around 20 pieces of rock art, starting with stones and other bits found in nature and creating scenes around them.
Michele Morrison has created around 20 pieces of rock art, starting with stones and other bits found in nature and creating scenes around them.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — To most of us, they’re just pebbles in the park or on the road.

But for Michele Morrison, they might be the inspiration for her next piece of artwork.

Morrison, a wife and mother of two who works as an educational assistant at Davidson School, has been getting lots of attention in the last couple of months for her series of rock art pieces.

She has created roughly 20 pieces, incorporating rocks, bark and other remnants of nature into colourful, painted scenes.

“They’re all unique, one-of-a-kind,” said Morrison, who lives on a farm east of Davidson. “None of them will look the same.”

Morrison had dabbled in art in the past, including bark art and folk art pieces painted on old cream cans and school desks.

Her latest phase began with a small collection of interesting rocks and shells she brought home from Cuba. She was one of the chaperones on a cultural exchange trip with her son James and the rest of the senior basketball team in February 2016.

When she unpacked her collection, she said, “I had no idea what to do with them all.”

A star-shaped rock looked like a sunbather, and so she worked that and other objects into a beach scene, complete with birds and a fisherman sitting on the shore.

“I kind of thought it was fun,” said Morrison. “Then I kind of went out of control.”

She said she began looking for more rocks to work with, keeping an eye out around the yard or on the road for interesting specimens.

“Sometimes it takes me quite a while to find what I’m looking for,” said Morrison.

Later, she began buying aquarium rocks online and having them shipped to her.

This gives her a better selection to work with, although she added, “They’re not liking me at the post office lately.”

Each new piece begins with a theme. Morrison uses canvases or frames for most of her work, but has also created some pieces using old barn wood.

Sometimes, her inspiration comes from pictures she sees online, to which she adds her own twist.

Other pieces are inspired by suggestions from family or friends. She has also done commissioned pieces, like a recent one she did for a family that is big fans of the Saskatoon Rush.

For the first piece, she used hot glue to attach the rocks, but since then she has switched to Weldbond adhesive, finding it more effective.

Morrison has promoted her work online and also had a booth at a recent trade show in her hometown of Dundurn. As of last week, she said she has already sold three pieces.

She is making arrangements to have her work displayed at the Restless Gypsy shop on 33rd Street in Saskatoon.

“I’m running out of room in my kitchen,” she said, adding that her family has gradually warmed up to her new hobby. “They kind of thought I’d lost my marbles to begin with.”

To learn more, check out “Rock Art by Michele” on Facebook at facebook.com/morrmic7.

Atom Huskies win first round of league playoffs

Davidson goalie Daxton Tichit stops a shot by Kash Ringdal.
Davidson goalie Daxton Tichit stops a shot by Kash Ringdal.

By Joel van der Veen

KENASTON — A hard-fought series between two local teams ended in victory for the Davidson Atom Huskies.

The Davidson atom team faced the Kenaston/Loreburn team — nicknamed the “Blizzteeners,” a combination of “Blizzards” and “19ers” — in the opening round of Fertile Valley Hockey League playoffs.

The Huskies hosted the first game in the two-game, total-point series on Feb. 24. The host team racked up a 5-1 lead in the first period and ultimately won 7-2.

Kenaston hosted the second game on Feb. 27, drawing a large crowd to the Kenaston Arena.

The host team was in fine form, leading 3-2 after the first period. Davidson broke away in the game’s final minutes, pulling off a 7-4 win. (The Huskies won the two-game series 14 points to 6.)

For the full story and more photos, please see the March 6 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe. 

Kenaston jr. girls win district title

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The Kenaston School junior girls basketball team won at districts in Eatonia on Feb. 15. Pictured here are (back row from left) coach Jenna Zdunich Fisher, Shannyn Zdunich, Lexi Stacowich, Eve Matovich, Chloe George, Anne-Marie Collins, coach Nikki Francoeur; (front row) Julia Modien, Ayslee Blenkinsop, Rian Smith.

By Joel van der Veen

KENASTON — It was a solid win for the Kodiaks when it really counted.

Kenaston’s junior girls basketball team claimed the district title on Feb. 15 with a 42-25 win over Davidson in Eatonia.

Jenna Zdunich Fisher, who coached the team with Nikki Francoeur, said it was likely the team’s best-played game of the season.

“We only have eight players and they work really hard,” said Fisher.

The Kenaston team has won the district title three out of the last four years.

The Kodiak defence worked effectively to contain Davidson’s high scorers, also allowing their own players a chance to run up the score.

Grade 9 player Eve Matovich, typically a prolific scorer to begin with, did particularly well in the final, scoring 32 points.

“She’s never had a game like that,” said Fisher, noting that Matovich also plays on the senior team and is a strong contributor there.

Fisher said the defence had to focus on several Davidson players in particular, including Jordan Matheson, who scored 17 points in the final, including four three-point baskets.

“We couldn’t let her look at the basket,” said the coach. “We had to keep the ball out of her hand.”

The last couple of times the Kodiaks played Davidson, they lost by one point, Fisher added.

She said the team has worked hard on its defence this year, spending 75 per cent of its practice time in that area.

Earlier that day, Kenaston played Eatonia in the opening game, winning by a couple of points. Fisher said the younger players stepped up after others ran into foul trouble.

“It was close the whole game,” she said. “We got a couple at the end to jump ahead of them.”

Davidson defeated Loreburn on Jan. 31 in their first playoff game, then played Kenaston in the sectionals final on Feb. 7, winning 36-35.

The Raiders defeated Biggar in their opening game at districts to reach the final.

Growing something good

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Annabelle Tennent plants some lettuce seeds in a row while librarian Adrienne van der Veen watches during an activity at the Davidson library on Thursday. Children taking part in the weekly Read and Rhyme program started a miniature garden with lettuce and sweet basil seeds.

(Leader photo by Joel van der Veen)

Fishy business

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Pictured from left, Bret Allan, Keeley Pedersen, Trystan Pedersen, Elise McJannet, Riley Allan and Reggie Heinrich check out some of the contenders during the annual Goldfish Races fundraiser, held at the Bladworth Elks Hall on Feb. 18.

The event is organized annually by the Davidson Kinsmen to support Telemiracle. A fish fry, served by the Elks, was followed by the auctioning of the fish and the races themselves.

The evening also included a hip-hop dance performance by a group from Davidson. They will perform the “Knock Knock” routine on live TV during Telemiracle; the scheduled time is around 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 5.

Organizers reported that $4,280 was raised through the auction, along with a couple hundred more in donations. The dancers will present the cheque for the proceeds during the Telemiracle broadcast.

Water shut off after hydrant failure in Craik

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Workers install a new hydrant near the intersection of Ferguson Street and Seventh Avenue in Craik on Thursday.

By Joel van der Veen

CRAIK — Craik town staff and residents were dealing with water woes of a different kind last week.

A hydrant failure near the corner of Ferguson Street and Seventh Avenue, across from Craik School, forced town staff to turn off the water supply to residents on Craik’s west side for a combined total of 25 hours.

Mayor David Ashdown said he was pleased with the staff’s response given the complexity of the problem: “It just was not a straightforward dig-down-and-replace (job).”

He said he understood the frustration from some residents over the extended water outage on Saturday and the limited notice given, but noted that it was an urgent situation and the town did its best to communicate with residents.

“You have to deal with an emergency as it happens,” he said. “If we didn’t shut it off then, we were going to have people’s basements flooded.”

Ashdown said proper notice was given of a second planned outage on Thursday, when the hydrant was replaced.

He also said the Craik emergency measures organization (EMO) is working on collecting contact information for local residents so that news can be delivered quickly and reliably when an emergency arises.

Part of the improvement plan, currently under development by the town, includes repairs and enhancements to infrastructure.

Once that is in place, Ashdown said, the effects of such incidents can be limited to within a block or two of the problem, rather than inconveniencing the town at large.

The leaky hydrant was reported to town staff the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 17. Water was dripping out and forming a pool in a nearby drainage ditch.

Flushing the hydrant multiple times did not resolve the issue, and an isolation valve failed after staff tried to use it, increasing the water flow markedly.

The town had posted a notice online that the water would be turned off on the west side at midnight, but the turn of events forced staff to shut it off at 10:30 p.m. on Friday instead.

Contractors arrived on Saturday morning to address the issue, but work was complicated by several factors, including the presence of power, phone and gas lines in the vicinity.

Kati Ball, who lives on a farm outside of town with husband Dan Exelby, said they received a call from Coun. Gary Gilbertson asking for their help in bringing water to town.

“They asked us and we said sure, not a problem,” said Ball. “We were more than happy to help out.”

They filled up a 1,000-gallon tank from the RM source and parked it outside the Midlakes Manor, where it was available for most of Saturday. Water was also made available directly from the town water plant via a garden hose.

Town staff determined that the faulty hydrant needed to be replaced. The hydrant was capped on Saturday and water was restored by 7 p.m. that day, ending an outage of roughly 20 hours.

A planned outage was announced for Thursday and water was turned off, again on the west side only, at 10:30 a.m.

Contractors returned that day to install the new hydrant and the process went smoothly. Water service was restored by 3:30 that afternoon.