From left, Cheryl Dolan, Ayla Sampson, Katherine Cool, Marissa Cammer and Geena Heinrich sing “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” during a recital at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church on May 8.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — Local music students combined piano and vocal performances in a recent recital held at Davidson’s Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The recital, held Friday, May 8, showcased the efforts of the students of voice teacher Cheryl Dolan and piano teacher Pearl Unger, with about 10 performers in total and about 50 audience members in attendance.
The recital ran for just over an hour; the song selections ran the gamut from simple children’s ditties and pop songs to classical pieces and musical theatre.
Throughout the evening, the performances moved back and forth between the stage and the piano. Unger accompanied the voice students on the piano.
Among the show’s opening performances was a quartet consisting of Dolan and students Katherine Cool, Ayla Sampson and soloist Geena Heinrich, singing “Poor Wandering One” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.
The three students later returned to the stage as a trio, singing the title song from Fiddler on the Roof.
They were followed by Cheryl Dolan’s husband Dale, who took the stage, claiming he wanted to join the fun, in what was presented as a spontaneous outburst. He then took on the role of Tevye in “If I Were A Rich Man,” while Unger continued to play along without missing a beat.
The audience also heard solo vocal performances by Sampson, Cool and Heinrich, as well as nine-year-old Marissa Cammer. Cool sang the title song from The Sound of Music, while Sampson performed another track from the same show, My Favorite Things.
The audience heard piano performances by Ayla Sampson, Farrah Low, Max German, Jessy Ulmer, Baylie White and Megan Cammer, the latter of whom performed a duet with her sister Marissa on “The Ants Go Marching One by One.”
White played the title song from Beauty and the Beast, while Sampson played the evening’s only rock song: “Clocks,” by the British band Coldplay.
As the evening wound down, the quartet took the stage, joined by Marissa Cammer, to sing “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from the film Mary Poppins, inviting the audience to join in. The recital closed with a piano performance by Marissa Cammer, playing “Freddie the Frog.”
Gravestones lie in disarray across the Russell family plot at the Davidson cemetery last week.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — Passing through town last week, Dick and Myrlene Currie decided to stop by the Davidson cemetery to pay their respects, but they weren’t impressed with what they found.
Visiting the grave of Dick’s sister, the late Eileen Russell, they found the Russell family plot in disarray, with a large, uneven mound of dirt over one recently-dug grave, and various family headstones scattered about.
“The stones look like vandals have been in the plot,” said Myrlene, who came with her husband to the Leader office to voice their concerns on Tuesday.
The Curries, who live in Carman, Man., said much of the cemetery was in poor shape, as though there had been little or no maintenance carried out.
“These are your pioneers that built up the town, and you have no respect for them,” said Myrlene. “It looks like it, anyway.”
She said they have visited in past years and found the situation has only deteriorated since then, while letters to the town and visits to the town office have met with no response or action.
“It hasn’t changed, it’s gotten worse,” said Dick. “The whole cemetery is not well kept.”
A followup visit to the cemetery on Wednesday revealed that some areas were in dire need of attention, particularly the Russell family plot.
While the grass was healthy and trimmed, some newer graves had been left with a large mound of dirt on top — in at least one case, tall enough to block the view of the headstone — while others showed evidence that the ground underneath had sunken in after the caskets had been laid.
A couple of stones were toppled or out of place, while the circular gravel road through the older section of the cemetery suffered from severe ruts, leaving drivers vulnerable to bottoming out.
Town administrator Gary Edom acknowledged the difficulty of keeping the cemetery maintained, especially with the high levels of moisture seen at springtime over the last few years.
“It can be hard to keep up things depending on the weather,” he said, noting that last year was especially damp, forcing the town to organize a volunteer work bee to clean the site up somewhat.
“This year, we hope to have enough staff and enough equipment to keep up with it,” Edom added, also granting that families have a reasonable expectation that the site be maintained properly.
While the town’s public works department looks after the cemetery site itself, caring for the grave markers is the responsibility of the family of the deceased. However, Edom said that in practice, those tasks often fall to the town.
Many of the older graves show the wear and tear that has accumulated over the years, including the formation of moss, and damage to burial vaults placed at ground level.
Mayor Clayton Schneider said he had not heard of any recent complaints about the Davidson cemetery, though he had recently inquired with the public works department as to whether a work bee was necessary this year.
“As far as I know, I haven’t heard anything about it yet,” he said, adding that he would bring the matter up again. “If there is (anything wrong), I’ll definitely get to the bottom of it.”
Other municipalities in the area have employed different methods to keep their cemeteries in good condition.
For instance, administrator Carman Fowler said the village of Kenaston has committees in place for both the public and Catholic cemetery, with caretakers hired over the summer to maintain the sites.
Similarly, Craik administrator Sarah Wells said the town hires a summer caretaker to look after the cemetery, cutting grass and doing other odd jobs, while other town employees look after the roads.
Dustan Hlady (left) poses with federal New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Tom Mulcair. Hlady has accepted the NDP nomination to run in the new riding of Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan in the next federal election.
By Joel van der Veen
MOOSE JAW — Dustan Hlady says a dream of a better Canada, and the standard set by politicians like Tommy Douglas, inspired him to enter politics.
“I believe this is a really, really important election in Canadian history,” Hlady told The Davidson Leader last week. “I’m just excited for this opportunity to help.”
Hlady is the latest candidate to throw his hat into the ring for this district in Canada’s next federal election.
The 34-year-old was nominated to represent the New Democratic Party (NDP) as its candidate in Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan, the new federal riding that will cover the city of Moose Jaw and most of the area between Saskatoon and Regina.
The Moose Jaw Times-Herald reported that about 50 people attended the public meeting at Moose Jaw’s Timothy Eaton Gardens on Saturday, May 2, at which Hlady accepted the nomination.
He joins the Conservative Party’s Tom Lukiwski and the Liberal Party’s Perry Juttla in the race to represent this area in the House of Commons.
Hlady is an Alberta native who came to Saskatchewan to study at Briercrest College and Seminary in Caronport. He moved to Moose Jaw after graduation and lives there today with Carrie, his wife of almost six years, and their sons Reese and Cohen.
He is one year shy of finishing his bachelor of education at the University of Regina. He has worked as an educational assistant and freelance writer, and is also active in the local music scene as part of Friend Friend, an indie rock group consisting of himself, his wife and a rotating cast of additional musicians.
Hlady said he first developed an interest in politics after learning about Canadian history and, in particular, about the late Tommy Douglas, former premier of Saskatchewan and an early leader of the federal New Democratic Party.
“He was one of the most visionary politicians in Canadian history,” said Hlady. “He saw the Canada that could be.”
Hlady said he has developed a passion for politics, viewing them as a means of social change. He completed a year-long internship at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building in Regina, and also ran unsuccessfully for Moose Jaw city council in 2013.
He said he wanted to get involved with the local NDP association and hoped to support their candidate in the upcoming election, but then was invited to represent the party himself.
Hlady said he’s on board with the platform touted by New Democratic Party leader Tom Mulcair, including proposals for a $15-per-hour minimum wage and a national $15-per-day daycare program.
He also said an NDP government would work to reverse some of the Conservatives’ policies on health care, which he credited with forcing some of the provinces into adopting “two-tiered” health programs.
Hlady met Mulcair recently and said he was impressed at how the party leader displayed genuine interest during their conversations, despite his busy schedule.
“You can tell it, even (in) the way he talks to people,” said Hlady. “He’s the real thing.”
Hlady also said he sees a clear distinction between the Conservatives and the NDP, contrasting their candidates, their policies and their visions for Canada, which he described as “drastically different.”
He said he has already begun preparing for the campaign and is looking forward to knocking on doors, attending events and meeting people throughout the riding.
The federal election is expected to fall on Monday, Oct. 19, in alignment with the fixed date set by the Canada Elections Act.
Candidate Tom Lukiwski said in a recent interview that he has a busy summer planned, as he seeks to visit with constituents in his current riding, and also to begin connecting with voters in the new riding.
Lukiwski, 63, currently serves as the Conservative MP for the riding of Regina-Lumsden-Lake Centre, which will be dissolved when the new riding boundaries come into effect in time for the election campaign.
A native of Esterhazy and a businessman prior to his entry into politics, Lukiwski has held the riding since 2004. In the 2011 federal election, he was returned for a fourth term as MP, receiving 53.2 per cent of the vote.
Liberal candidate Juttla, 32, is a Regina-based businessman with a background in agriculture, commercial real estate and online marketing, according to his online biography.
He is a graduate of the University of Regina, where he earned bachelor of arts degrees in both economics and political science.
He previously ran as a Liberal candidate in the 2003 Saskatchewan provincial election, contesting the riding of Regina Walsh Acres and finishing in third place out of five candidates.
The new riding of Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan will include the City of Moose Jaw and many smaller communities, including Davidson, Watrous, Dundurn, Lanigan, Lumsden, Regina Beach and Craik.
Striking a pose in a ballet set to “Welcome to the Jungle” are, from left, Hannah Gust, Jesselynne Palmer, Avery Ebenal and Mackenzie Beck.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — Friends and families filled the Davidson School gym on Sunday, May 3 for the Davidson Optimist Dance Club’s annual spring recital.
The club’s dancers performed for more than two hours in a wide range of forms and styles, including jazz, lyrical, tap, creative movement, ballet and hip hop.
The show also included a performance of several songs from the musical Annie, including “It’s The Hard Knock Life,” “Tomorrow,” “Little Girls” and “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here.”
Emceeing the show were Kelly Allan and Trish Boyd. The former reported that the club had done very well at competitions in Lanigan and Prince Albert, leaving with numerous awards and medals.
Club treasurer Lynn Shaw reported that 97 dancers had been registered with the club this year, including out-of-town participants who came from Kenaston, Craik, Loreburn and Elbow.
Shaw said the performances from Annie were especially well-received. The club had performed the songs earlier, first at the Central Saskatchewan Music Festival, and later at a dessert theatre night held at the school.
The club had 10 instructors on board this year: Shantell Hoehn, Aundrea Mueller, Sharleen Knorr, Cassandra Florida, Shanna Claire Howlett, Quin Johnson, Brooklyn Read, Katelyn Riecken, Tiara Shaw and Makenna Dieno.
Special recognition was given to Johnson, Read and Riecken, who are Grade 12 students in Davidson and are graduating from the club this year. Read had been with the club for 11 years while the other two had been participating for 13 years.
In addition to the recital on Sunday, the weekend included a showcase on Saturday, May 2, a shorter event featuring solo and duet performances.
For the full story, please check out the May 11 edition of The Davidson Leader.
Blake Allan, at left, runs the ball in an exercise during junior football practice at Davidson School on April 29.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — A community minor football team based in Davidson, also featuring players from Loreburn, Kenaston and Imperial, began its second season last week.
Coach Blair Frederickson said the aim of the team is to provide local players with lots of experience on the field, in the hopes that it will pay off when they hit the field with Davidson School’s junior football team this fall.
“There’s no substitute for game experience,” he said. “The kids are excited to go play against guys from the city.”
The Davidson Huskies play in Saskatoon Minor Football’s six-a-side league, competing at the Saskatoon Minor Football Field at Gordon Howe Park against teams from Saskatoon, Hanley, Hague, Outlook, Clavet and Martensville.
The team consists of 19 players in grades 7 and 8. This is their second year playing in the city league; they will play every Thursday for eight weeks and end their season with a jamboree at the end of June.
Coaching the team along with Frederickson are Garrett Bailey, who teaches at Davidson School, and Kenaston teachers John Jamieson and Evan Pasternak.
The team practises twice a week at Davidson School but is operated as a community team, explained Frederickson, who also teaches in Davidson and plans to retire at the end of the year.
Last year, the team won its first three games before being moved into a different skill bracket, after which they finished the season with a 2-2 record.
“It gave the kids an extra eight weeks of football,” said Frederickson, adding that the added experience was beneficial and helped make a big improvement with the junior team last fall. “They’re able to see more potential here with getting themselves on the field more.”
He also said the added field time would eventually pay off with the senior team, which struggled last year and failed to acheive a single win. Another factor that season was the lack of Grade 12 players, as Davidson’s senior class for 2014-15 consists entirely of girls.
Senior players Andrew Read and Morgan Manz are assisting the coaches with the community team. They, along with Kieran Boehm and Addison Ouellette, made up the group of four local players that attended a skill and ID camp at Outlook High School on May 2, organized by Football Saskatchewan, with coaches and reps from the Saskatoon Hilltops and university teams in attendance.
Football has grown rapidly in Davidson after beginning from a clean slate in 2011. Last year, Davidson School’s junior team attracted 15 players from here and Kenaston, while the senior team attracted about 20 players.
Frederickson said the teams would have their annual training camp in mid-August, although organizers are looking at holding a spring camp in early June.
“I’m trying to turn this town into a football town,” Frederickson said with a smile. “I’m hoping that these young guys . . . will step in and keep the program going here.”
Playing with the Huskies from Davidson this year are Blake Allan, Jacob Heinrich, Clay Murfitt, Derek Schmiedge, Joshua Warkentin, Riley Berry, Gabriel Charette, Nathan Chomyshen, Keegan Shaw and Addison Wightman.
The team also includes Jackson Firby, Brennon Haffner, Cole Sanderson, Trystan Stacowich and Carson George, all from Kenaston; Weston Davidson, Travis Griffin and Carter Lemcke, all from Loreburn; and McGuire Scheidt, the sole player from Imperial.
The June 3, 1976 cyclone that struck Davidson and area left a trail of destruction that included ripping off part of the front wall of the New Owl Cafe (now FUDE 333 restaurant) on Washington Avenue.
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.
