By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — It’s been almost 40 years since the “storm of the century” wrought its destruction on Davidson and area.

The cyclone of June 3, 1976 tore through the district over the course of a couple of hours, causing severe damage to homes, farms and businesses, injuring more than a dozen and killing one.

A subsequent report in The Davidson Leader accurately noted that “residents in the area will long remember this most devastating and destructive storm.”

Decades later, the cyclone stands as by far the greatest disaster within living memory. But would the town and its citizens be prepared if another storm struck the district?

Community development co-ordinator Donna Bessey said last week that the provincial government requires the town to have an emergency plan in place — a “living document” that is continuously updated.

“You never know until a disaster hits,” she added. “That’s when you see where the gaps are.”

May 3 to 9 is Emergency Preparedness Week across Canada, an annual event that highlights the need for families — as well as governments at all levels — to be prepared in the event of an emergency or disaster.

The Emergency Planning Act, which took effect in Saskatchewan in 1989 and has been updated numerous times since then, requires that municipalities establish a local emergency measures organization (EMO) and committee, with a co-ordinator who serves as chairperson of the committee.

The committee is then tasked with establishing a municipal emergency plan that allows for the provision of necessary services and sets out the procedure for response in case of an emergency.

Trish Schilling has served as the town’s EMO co-ordinator since November 2010, taking over from Cathy Bonneau.

She oversees that plan, making sure it is ready to go into effect, should the town be struck by a major snowstorm, tornado, flood or other natural disaster.

The plan would also come into effect in the event of a chemical spill on a nearby railroad or highway, or some other form of contamination.

Schilling explained her role as being the “go-between” for emergency services in case of disaster in Davidson and the surrounding area, including the rural municipalities of Arm River and Willner.

In the last five years, the plan has come into effect only twice. In March 2013, and again in February 2014, severe winter weather forced the closure of Highway 11.

In both cases, between 150 and 175 drivers and passengers were diverted off the highway and spent the night in space provided at the town hall, at New Life Pentecostal Assembly, or with billeting households.

Talking to the Leader last year, Schilling said the process was smoother the second time around, as more advance notice was given, allowing additional preparation time.

She completed her basic emergency course and has received additional online training since then. The EMO committee also includes two deputy co-ordinators, Mary Ann Chomyshen and Flo Shaw.

Schilling acknowledged that the job description is somewhat “vague,” but added that part of her role involves public awareness, as well as maintaining the emergency plan.

“When I first started, the actual plan had not been updated in several years,” she said, explaining that it includes contact information as well as regulations and details on obtaining emergency supplies.

Bessey said that Schilling had done an excellent job keeping the plan current, adding that she fills an essential role as “one person with the working knowledge of how things are supposed to unravel and take place.”

“Heaven forbid we have a major disaster and we didn’t have someone like that,” she said. “Everybody would be standing there and saying, ‘What do we do?’”

Following the cyclone of 1976, Mayor Noble (Ted) Old issued a request that all able persons haul any fallen trees to the nuisance grounds, or to the area near the water treatment plant, as it would take the town staff several weeks to complete the work themselves.

Power went out around 11:45 p.m. the night of the storm and was restored at noon the following day in town, with extra crews being brought in to restore service and equipment. Rural residents were without power for longer periods, and many phones remained out of service even a week after the storm.

In accordance with provincial recommendations, the town was declared a disaster area — but not until June 8, five days after the storm struck. This gives some indication of how much emergency response measures have changed in the decades since.

The Leader reported at the end of June 1976 that much of the debris had been cleaned up, but estimated that thousands of man-hours were still required to build new bins, barns and other buildings across the district.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — A weekend of drama was enjoyed at Davidson School as five one-act plays were presented in a high school festival.

Davidson hosted students from Hanley, Rosetown and Unity in the Saskatchewan Drama Association’s Region 6 Drama Festival on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18.

Arlene Low, who served as festival host co-ordinator, said the students did a terrific job of playing host to their competitors over the course of the festival.

“They welcomed the other schools, socialized, made new friends,” she said. “Everybody did their part to make it a successful and welcoming weekend.”

The plays were presented in two sessions, with an attendance of roughly 100 people at each session.

The festival began on Friday evening as Davidson’s senior drama club presented “THS PHNE 2.0: The Next Generation,” followed by Rosetown Central High School’s “Pressure” and Unity Composite High School’s “Desperate Housewives of Shakespeare.”

On Saturday afternoon, two more plays were presented: “One Giant Leap” by Hanley Composite School, and “10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse,” presented by Davidson’s junior drama club.

Serving as adjudicators were Joy Falk, a teacher in the Prairie South School Division with a background in theatre studies and arts education, and Bill Shiers, a former Saskatchewan Drama Association board member and director now based in Jacksonville, Fla.

Shiers was the front of house adjudicator, watching all that transpired onstage, while Falk kept an eye on all the backstage action.

Following their performances, each group was given the opportunity for a workshop with the adjudicators, who offered their praise and criticism, often having the students recreate certain scenes with a few changes.

An awards banquet concluded the festival on Saturday afternoon. While all of the plays were honoured with awards, Rosetown’s “Pressure” was selected the best overall production and will go on to compete in the provincial festival, coming up from May 7 to 9 at the University of Regina’s theatre department.

For the full story, check out the April 27 edition of The Davidson Leader.

By Joel van der Veen

DILKE — Highway 354 near Dilke was the winner of a dubious honour last week.

The weather-beaten road took first place in CAA Saskatchewan’s annual list of the Top Ten Worst Roads in the province, as selected by online voters.

Pictures submitted to CAA’s website show a deteriorating road with multiple patches of bulging, crumbling pavement, some of them marked with small red diamond signs.

The provincial highway runs east of Dilke and then south towards Bethune, ending at its intersection with Highway 11.

Colleen Duesing, who serves as village administrator, confirmed that the road is in “seriously bad” shape, blaming its current condition on the heavy rain from last summer.

Duesing said that two “seriously heavy rain events” — one at the end of June, and the other on August 16 — last year took their toll on the road.

“Both times we received over six inches of rain,” she said. “It was flooded in about three or four areas.”

Detours were put in place until the water could be pumped away, but the ground remained heavily saturated, and when the ground froze during the winter, the water pushed upwards, resulting in cracked surfaces.

“It’s all weather-related,” said Duesing, adding that the highway sees heavy daily use from commuters and is also used by travellers heading to resort areas.

The village also has had to cope with severe watermain breaks this year. Excavators had to dig through nine feet of frozen ground to uncover the damaged mains.

Christine Niemczyk, CAA Saskatchewan’s director of corporate communications and public relations, said the Worst Roads campaign attracted interest and nominations from across the province.

More than 260 roads and highways, including residential streets, were nominated this year.

The criteria for a “worst road” include a state of general disrepair with potholes or cracks, poor signage or congestion, or if the road is too narrow for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists to share safely.

Asked whether the campaign had resulted in roads getting repaired or improved, Niemczyk said CAA doesn’t track that information, but noted that some roads — like Highway 155 near La Loche — have made the top 10 multiple years in a row.

“We’re offering a resource, a tool, a mechanism,” she said, explaining that the campaign helps to put a spotlight on road conditions in the province that are troublesome or even dangerous.

At the campaign’s end, she added, the survey results are made available to the appropriate government bodies.

All of the Top 10 roads from this year’s poll were provincial highways, including roads near Val Marie, Silton, Coronach, Bulyea, Gravelbourg, Springside, Vonda, Fife Lake and La Loche.

The campaign ran between March 25 and April 17 and attracted a total of 4,556 votes. CAA Saskatchewan has held the campaign annually since 2012.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — The white-tailed deer was once so prolific in Saskatchewan that it was declared the official provincial animal, but a string of harsh winters has cut the species’ population in half.

Rob Tether, a wildlife ecologist based in Meadow Lake who works with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment’s fish and wildlife branch, confirmed the reports in an interview with The Davidson Leader last week.

“Three of the last five years, we’ve had severe winters,” said Tether, “and they’ve had a negative impact on our white-tailed deer population.”

He estimated that the population has declined by 50 per cent from long-term levels across most of the province, including the south-central region in which Davidson is situated.

While the past winter saw milder weather, he said, “it’s still going to take several mild winters for our deer population to rebound.”

Tether said the ministry does not take an actual population count, but relies on ground surveys taken in the animals’ known habitat at specific times of the year. This information is then used to determine general population trends for the species.

This is not the first time the ministry has noted a decline in the white-tailed deer population. Severe winter weather in 2006 resulted in a drop in numbers.

Going back further, Tether said that a string of harsh winters with heavy snowfall in the early 1980s also had a negative impact on the population, which took between four to six years to recover to previous levels.

Tether said the ministry has observed a similar trend in the population levels of the mule deer, although the decline has not been so severe.

A decline has also been noted in the populations of specific game bird species, including the sharp-tailed grouse and the grey partridge. Tether attributed that downturn both to the severe winters and changes in the birds’ habitats over the last decade or two.

Concerned about the white-tailed deer’s plight, the ministry has taken efforts to manage the remaining population and prevent what Tether called “over-harvesting.”

Last year, in an effort to combat the decline, the hunting season for the white-tailed deer was reduced.

In zones 22 and 23 — which cover much of the area directly between Regina and Saskatoon, with Highway 11 dividing the two zones — the season ran from Nov. 20 to Dec. 2.

Dates for this year’s hunting season will not be finalized until mid-May, Tether said, but the ministry is recommending a similarly reduced season for 2015 as well.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — The Davidson School class of 2028 is off to a good start, if their numbers are any indication.

This fall will see the school welcome its largest Kindergarten class in at least a decade, principal Jason Low announced at a recent meeting.

Low told the school’s community council during its meeting Tuesday that a total of 29 students are expected to begin Kindergarten this fall.

Over the last decade, the number of students beginning Kindergarten in Davidson School each year has typically run in the high teens or low twenties, reaching a recent low of 12 students in 2009.

The influx of beginners will have a significant impact on the school’s enrolment numbers, especially given that just seven Davidson students will graduate from Grade 12 this spring.

Low said the jump in enrolment will be reflected in higher staffing levels, as the school will see an increase equivalent to one-and-a-half full-time positions.

Such a large group of Kindergarten students will likely necessitate a split class divided between two teachers, Low added.

Those present at the meeting welcomed this as positive news, even though the increased numbers will bring new challenges to the school.

For instance, Low said there has already been some confusion regarding how the new Kindergarten class would be split.

At a recent meeting with parents, he reported, the staff sought some input on how the split would be determined.

“We were trying to be diplomatic,” he said, but the discussion that followed indicated there were some misconceptions as to what factors would play a role.

“The school team is going to split the kids based on what’s best for the students, and that’s the end of it,” Low explained.

Teacher and council member Sandra Baldwin said the reaction wasn’t unusual, explaining, “It’s perfectly normal if parents are feeling that anxiety, especially if they’re new parents.”

Grade 2 teacher Laura Willner said the council would play an important public relations role, helping to ensure parents that the right choices would be made for their children.

“Schools are going to make a responsible decision and look at all the pieces,” she said. “For lack of a better word, we need to sell the idea.”

Looking ahead to the 2016-17 school year, the large Kindergarten class will also have an impact on Davidson’s playschool program.

Once the 29 students begin attending school full-time, Low said, Davidson School will no longer have room to accommodate the playschool program. Organizers have been informed and advised to start seeking other arrangements.

Along with the increased staffing numbers, Davidson School will welcome four interns from the University of Regina this fall.

The University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon has yet to confirm its interns with the school, so the total number could still increase.