By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — John and Susie Slemming’s upcoming move has a touch of déjà vu to it.

The couple returns to Davidson this week, where John will take on the role of pastor at New Life Pentecostal Assembly — the same church he previously served from 1993 to 1999.

John said he and his wife, who have spent the last 17 years in Shellbrook, had been anticipating a major change for close to a year.

He said the move to Davidson has been officially in the works for about three months, confirming what they were already expecting.

“We knew we were supposed to be there,” said John, adding that they are “looking forward to a lot of good things.”

He said they have fond memories of their time in the Midway Town and hope to reconnect with lots of old friends here.

The Slemmings have five children — Paul, Joy, Tavis, Kent and Rylan — ranging in age from 17 to 27, plus two grandchildren.

Rylan, their youngest son, will join them in Davidson to finish his last year of his school.

For the full story, please see the Aug. 29 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — The loss of a full-time relief nursing position at the Davidson Health Centre last month was a blow, but it was more than that.

For the remaining nurses, it was the last straw.

“We’re just in crisis out here,” said registered nurse Lyndsay Cross, speaking to Davidson town council at its regular meeting Tuesday night.

She and colleague Krista Alexander visited as a delegation to voice their concerns. Joining them was Audrey Hamm, who is both the senior registered nurse (RN) and a town councillor.

They told council that they learned the week of July 19 that a vacant, full-time relief position at the Davidson Health Centre — used to accommodate planned absences for other nurses — would not be filled.

“They abolished that position, so it’s completely gone,” said Cross.

This reduces the number of nurses working in Davidson by one, and according to the nurses, it will make a bad situation even worse.

The nurses said staffing levels at the facility are insufficient, to the point that they are concerned for the safety and health of patients and themselves.

“We’re trying to keep our heads above water,” said Cross. “It’s not even safe. . . All of us are burnt out.”

Since July, Davidson’s health centre staff is comprised of five full-time nurses and two part-time (0.71 FTE) nurses.

Cross said the nurses are routinely working overtime, stretching 12-hour shifts to 14 or 15 hours, trying to ensure a more even workload, and not wanting to abandon their colleagues or patients.

“Every shift, we stay overtime, because we’re helping the next guy out,” she said, noting that the nurses collectively logged roughly 300 hours of overtime in May, June and July, for which they were paid double.

Cross said this will only increase since the relief position was cut in July, and that the nurses end up working far more hours than they want.

She said she and her colleagues are mentally and physically exhausted, adding that they don’t expect the situation to improve.

For the full story, please see the Aug. 22 edition of The Davidson Leader, or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Being overrun with local children was “a good problem to have” for organizers of this year’s Vacation Bible School (VBS) in Davidson.

Liza Dahl reported that 72 kids showed up for the first day of VBS last week, up to 78 the second day.

Last year, by comparison, the event drew between 45 and 50 children each day.

“We have quite a bit more this year,” said Dahl. “It’s been fantastic . . . We’re excited to have that many kids.”

VBS was held at New Life Pentecostal Assembly, running every afternoon from Aug. 15 to 19.

The annual summer program, for children ages four through 12, is a joint effort of the Pentecostal church and Davidson Community Bible Church.

VBS is an outreach program aimed at sharing the Christian faith with local children, using crafts, games and Bible stories.

This year’s theme is “Submerged,” with the subtitle “Finding Truth Below the Surface,” using materials from LifeWay Christian Resources.

For the full story, please see the Aug. 22 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe.

Sheri Warkentin, who lives west of Davidson along Skudesnes Road, provided this picture of the tornado that touched down west of her home early in evening of Tuesday, July 19.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — It took less than two minutes to destroy more than a century’s worth of work.

That was Sydney Willner’s observation as she surveyed the damage to her parents’ farmyard northwest of Davidson on Wednesday morning.

The Willners’ yard was flattened by a twister that struck sometime after 8 p.m. on Tuesday, cutting a diagonal path through their yard.

The storm uprooted trees, tossed around granaries and knocked down most of their buildings. Even so, their house was spared, suffering comparatively minor damage, and neither the family nor their animals were injured.

Laura Willner was counting her blessings Wednesday morning as she, her family and their friends continued the task of clearing the damage.

“We’re just very, very grateful for everybody’s help,” she said, adding that the first volunteers showed up within an hour of the tornado passing through.

Gord and Laura Willner and their daughter Sydney were home on Tuesday night when the storm hit.

Gord and Sydney were on the porch watching the hail storm in progress when they spotted a funnel cloud taking shape.

“It made a funnel right over the yard,” said Gord, and at that point the three of them headed for the basement.

Sydney said Wednesday that being hit by a tornado was her greatest fear, but added that she wasn’t aware of any loud noise as it passed over: “I had the adrenalin going.”

Gord said the family was only downstairs for a couple of minutes, after which they emerged to find their yard in ruins.

“Every building in the yard was gone, except the house,” said Laura.

For the full story and more photos, please see the July 25 edition of The Davidson Leader, or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.