Category Archives: Craik

Craik, Davidson, Kenaston, Sports

White for the win: Raiders kick off year with win over LCBI

Pictured is the Raiders' Dawson George (25), carrying the ball to score one of the five touchdowns he completed on Thursday night.
Pictured is the Raiders’ Dawson George (25), carrying the ball to score one of the five touchdowns he completed on Thursday night.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — If Thursday’s game set the tone for the months to follow, Davidson Raiders football fans can look forward to a highly exciting season.

The senior Raiders enjoyed a 70-66 win in an exhibition game over the Lutheran Collegiate Bible Institute (LCBI) Bisons of Outlook, delighting a hometown crowd at the Kinsmen Field.

After a tight first half that saw the lead shift back and forth several times, the Raiders held the lead for virtually the entire second half, though the Bisons were never far behind.

It was a captivating game, and coach Jason Low said he was proud of the team and pleased to be able to return the support shown by the community with a win at home.

He credited the win to a combined effort by the entire team, along with strong performances on both offence and defence and the support of an expanded coaching staff.

“We won today because we played as a team,” Low said Thursday night. “They’ve been working hard . . . I’m excited and I’m proud of the guys.”

LCBI has proved a strong competitor in past years, routinely defeating the Raiders, and Thursday’s success was a hard-earned reversal of fortune.

Low said the team is working to view each game as a potential victory within their grasp, explaining, “Our approach this season was that we wanted to beat everybody.”

Dawson George of Kenaston scored the Raiders’ opening touchdown and would go on to score four more by the game’s end.

Among the other offensive highlights were a breakaway run by Dylan Payne and back-to-back touchdowns by quarterback Andrew Read. Jacob Schilling also completed two touchdowns.

A major factor in the team’s win was its success in kicking field goals. The Raiders managed to earn conversions on five out of 10 touchdowns, adding a total of 20 points to their score.

Davidson held a slim lead at the midway point with a score of 34-32, and maintained that lead for most of the second half, though the score was briefly tied at 46 points each.

Low noted he was impressed with defensive backs Cole Murfitt and James Morrison, saying they provided good coverage and fine tackling.

He also had praise for Reegan Taylor, saying he played with “a lot of heart, and left it all on the field.”

The coach acknowledged that the team had picked up its share of penalties through the course of the game, chalking some of that up to opening night jitters.

“A lot of that’s normal but, I think, preventable,” he said. “A lot of it will come with experience.”

Low said the expanded coaching staff had proven immensely helpful, allowing individual coaches to focus on particular areas and bringing considerable expertise to the team.

He said it was a major factor in the team’s victory, along with the junior football program, in which many of the younger players have taken part.

“The more kids we get out playing junior ball, the more football sense they have,” he said. “They’re just stepping into sports that much easier.”

The victory over LCBI was only the second win for the senior team since Davidson School revived its football program in the fall of 2011.

Craik, Davidson, Kenaston, Sports

New season, fresh start for senior Raiders

From left, players Hunter Wall, Nicholas Chomyshen and Reegan Taylor are seen doing the crab walk in an agility exercise led by coach Greg McJannet on Wednesday evening, during the fall training camp for the Davidson Raiders senior football team.
From left, players Hunter Wall, Nicholas Chomyshen and Reegan Taylor are seen doing the crab walk in an agility exercise led by coach Greg McJannet on Wednesday evening, during the fall training camp for the Davidson Raiders senior football team.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Hopes are high for a successful season as the Davidson Raiders senior football team looks toward its first game of the new year.

The team has plenty of new faces among its coaches and players, including several students from Craik School, who are joining students from Davidson and Kenaston for the first time this year.

“We don’t know what Craik’s going to bring to us,” head coach Jason Low said last week, prior to the start of the team’s fall training camp.

“Until we actually get the boys on the field, it’s pretty tough to tell for sure what the season is going to look like.”

The Raiders began their training camp on Tuesday, meeting each evening to warm up, train and familiarize themselves with each other and the game. After school starts on Sept. 1, they will continue meeting in the mornings.

The team’s first game will be a home exhibition match against the LCBI Bisons scheduled for Sept. 10.

In addition to Low, coaches this year include Davidson teacher Garrett Bailey, area CWEX teacher Ryan Johnson, Kenaston teacher John Jamieson and Kenaston principal Greg McJannet, as well as parent Trevor Ouellette.

“We have lots of good experience with the coaches we have on staff now,” said Low, adding that they hope to end up with a roster of about 20 players.

For the full story, please see the Aug. 31 edition of The Davidson Leader.

Craik

Task force aims to bring potable water back to Craik

By Kevin Gilby

CRAIK — “I don’t care how we got here, but this is what we have to go forward with,” says Dermot McCaw, referring to the status of the town’s water treatment system.

Dermot, along with Mark Wagner, Charla Edwards, Kim Bakken, Jason Hay, and Shayne Stubbington, is part of a newly-formed Water Task Force in response to the water outages that achieved widespread attention in July.

After the simple mechanical failure of a float system in the water distribution system forced the system offline for several days, several concerned citizens arose to the occasion to help town foreman JoAnne DuBeau restore water services to Craik.

Those residents, motivated to improve their community, united to form a committee offering planning and steering to the town council to address the water infrastructure and treatment needs going forward.

Members of the committee each cover overlapping areas of expertise, either through past experience working with the water treatment system itself, or related systems and machines used in related fields.

The committee is actively recruiting anyone with experience and knowledge to assist members in their goal of ultimately restoring potable water to the community.

During its first official meeting on Aug. 20, the committee worked to identify critical actions that require immediate attention.

The chief concern noted was seeking a working budget from town council, to be addressed during an emergency town council meeting scheduled for Aug. 24.

The task force is committed to evaluating the needs of the infrastructure and water treatment system and determining the best bang for the buck within the confines of the town’s monetary realities.

Once a financial understanding is obtained, members anticipate that the town will approve work to begin on several key improvements requiring immediate attention.

A critical improvement identified was the construction of a roof over the “old” water distribution plant and the installation of a new furnace. Both operations must be completed before winter.

In addition to repairs for the distribution plant, both it and the water treatment facility require work to be performed on improving ventilation, thus helping to limit corrosion on the equipment contained within.

The town would seek tenders for both projects.

For the full story, please see the Aug. 24 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Craik, featured

Water back on in Craik

By Kevin Gilby

CRAIK — “Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”

While not at sea, Coleridge may as well have written about a small town near a dam site.

Accustomed to having to boil water before consumption, the town of Craik was dealt a further blow last Sunday.

About 12:30 p.m. Sunday, the water system in the community was shut down due to mechanical failure within the distribution plant itself.

A small buoyant float failed to signal the water treatment plant to stop pumping water to the cistern. An unfortunate result of the failure was the flooding of the water distribution plant’s basement, which damaged pump motors and contaminated the water within.

Town foreman Jo-Anne DuBeau, already deprived from sleep dealing with a recent power outage draining the cistern, was called into action again to deal with the dilemma.

Almost immediately, DuBeau and a small army of residents and town councillors began to pump out the surplus water out of the basement to assess the damage.  Municipal Utilities, based out of Regina, was called in assist in the operation.

The two electric pump motors, having been fully submerged in water, were sent to Regina that Sunday for drying and refurbishment. Meanwhile, the natural gas-powered backup motor fared only slightly better.

Local mechanic and previous water plant operator Shayne Stubbington was called in to check for any damage to the engine and prepare it for use, should the electric motors not return in time for operation.

“One hundred and ten thousand gallons of treated water gone to waste,” lamented town Mayor Rick Rogers as he watched a gasoline-powered pump drain the cistern.

While visibly upset about the situation, Rogers maintained a positive attitude about the responsive capabilities of the town, its employees and neighbours.

Amidst the flurry of activity, DuBeau sought out help from friends on social media. She invited anyone with water tanks and trailers to help out and was amazed to later see around five water tanks set up by residents and area farmers to help.

In addition to the water provided by outside assistance, the town brought in several water tanks of its own, two of which were being stored at McRae’s Farm Service.

To read more, please see the July 27th print edition of The Davidson Leader. To subscribe, email: davidsonleader@sasktel.net

Craik, featured

Craik parades its past

Members of the RCMP in their red surge .
Members of the RCMP in their red surge .

By Kevin Gilby

CRAIK — With a little luck, weather and water held out for the Craik and District Lions and the Craik Museum Club as they shared a weekend to make memories for years to come.

Though it began as “merely” a 50th anniversary for the Craik and District Lions Club, the weekend of July 18 and 19 held more events than anyone can recall in recent years.

Museum club member Pauline Dixon said the weekend was “to celebrate the new building in the Craik Museum and to bring back a new version of the old-time town fare.”

The museum club holds an annual hamburger day. Dixon said, “We provide tours and kids events. We usually provide demonstrations. But this year, we expanded. We had a blast from the past.”

Collaborating with the Craik and District Lions Club, the partnership hosted events for all ages and interests and provided entertainment never before seen in the growing community.

With Saturday being the Lions’ 50-year celebration as a service group in Craik, they exceeded all expectations, hosting a street dance with music by Canadian Country Music Award-winning artist Julian Austin.

Past-president of the Craik Lions, Kati Ball, said, “It took five months and 11 members and countless volunteers to pull off a successful 50th anniversary for the club.”

“We were kind of nervous on Friday when there was no power and no water. We thought we may have to cancel the whole event,” Ball said. “But by some miracle we had power and water for the next day, and the rain stopped.”

With over 300 people passing through the gates, Julian Austin performed over 90 minutes of original songs and popular covers of classic rock songs.

To learn more about the Craik Lions’ 50th celebration and to see more pictures please see the July 27th print edition of The Davidson Leader. To subscribe, call 306-567-2047 or email: davidsonleader@sasktel.net

Craik, Davidson

Locals part of the action as northern fires rage

Crews continued their efforts to control and put out fires in northern Saskatchewan last week, as seen in this cellphone photo provided by Flo Shaw.
Crews continued their efforts to control and put out fires in northern Saskatchewan last week, as seen in this cellphone photo provided by Flo Shaw.

By Joel van der Veen

LA RONGE — Like many people in Saskatchewan right now, Flo Shaw is keeping a close eye on the news.

Countless lives have been turned upside down in the past couple of weeks, with more than 100 active wildfires burning and thousands being evacuated from the northern part of the province.

But Shaw’s mind is on two people up north who aren’t able to leave: her son Nathan and his wife Marsha, both officers with the RCMP detachment in La Ronge.

An evacuation order for the town was issued on July 4. Residents seeking shelter down south were advised to take only one bag, necessary medication and no pets.

The Shaws’ four children — Brooklyn, Connor, Colton and Kellan — are out of harm’s way, staying with their grandparents at Etter’s Beach and taking swimming lessons on the lake.

But Const. Nathan Shaw and Corp. Marsha Shaw remain on the line of duty, as efforts continue around them to contain and extinguish the wildfires.

“We can’t talk too much because they have to keep the phone lines open,” Flo said last week from her home in Davidson, adding that she finds the situation “pretty scary.”

Besides the constant news reports, she also gets updates through through text messages and photos sent via cellphone. One picture sent by Marsha showed street lights glowing at 3 p.m.

“The street lights looked like little pin dots, it was so smoky,” she said. “I really don’t know how they’re managing.”

Nathan grew up in Davidson, while his wife, the former Marsha Knoblauch, is from Imperial.

Flo said the two of them will remain in the area unless a total evacuation becomes necessary, adding, “I’m hoping for rain, but it’ll take a lot.”

Other families in the district are also thinking about loved ones further north.

Elizabeth Parks of Craik said Thursday that her daughter, Margaret Floch, is staying in La Ronge where she serves as manager of the Co-op grocery store.

Parks said her daughter was prepared to evacuate when she was asked personally by Mayor Thomas Sierzycki to stay behind to keep the store open so that emergency workers, volunteers and others could continue to purchase necessary items.

Food supplies are being trucked in daily from the cities, and last week 350 people were fed at a supper provided for the volunteers.

Floch’s husband, David, is a mechanic servicing the water bombers being used to fight the fires, but thick smoke can hamper the pilots’ efforts by obscuring visibility.

Their two sons — Keagan, 16, and Kieran, 12 — are staying with close friends in Prince Albert.

The Flochs have left their house, packing their needs in a truck and fifth-wheel, and will be able to leave quickly if the situation escalates.

“They’re in touch all the time,” said Parks, adding that her daughter “calls me every day from the store.”

She said they haven’t suffered from any health issues yet, despite the smoke. Parks also described the evacuation process, explaining that police tracked people as they left town.

For the full story, please see the July 13 edition of The Davidson Leader.