DAVIDSON—Davidson’s sky looks brighter at night thanks to the efforts of local individuals and organizations.
About 1,500 LED lights have been strung around the limbs and branches of a large elm tree in Bob Crowley Memorial Garden on Railway Avenue, at the end of Washington Avenue.
The project was coordinated by Davidson’s Communities in Bloom committee with Jeannie Allan supervising the pruning of the tree, Panther Industries donated the lights, Communities in Bloom had power installed, which was done by Halvorson Electric.
Davidson’s public works foreman Doug Torrie spent eight hours stringing the lights.
It was a tedious job, but the efforts are appreciated. The lit tree looks beautiful at night.
The lights will be on from dusk until dawn all year round, said Stuart Dougan, Communities in Bloom chairman.
Elm trees are not the only ones being lit this season. The large evergreen tree beside Davidson Town Hall will again serve as the community’s memory tree.
Communities in Bloom, in conjunction with the swimming pool committee, is selling Christmas Memory Bulbs. People may purchase a light bulb on a string of lights to honour a friend or loved one. On Dec. 10 at tree lighting ceremony will be held and the names of all the people for whom a bulb has been purchased will be read.
Dougan said Communities in Bloom has ordered more lights for the occasion and hopes to have them strung soon before the weather turns cold again.

DAVIDSON — The community filled the Parish Hall this Remembrance Day to show their appreciation for the sacrifices made by Canada’s war veterans and service members.
Guest speaker, Major Ron Sarich began with a somber tribute to Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent. Speaking with his back to the crowd, he commented on the “cowardice” of the actions taken against the men before asking for a moment of silence.
Sarich shared his belief that when we remember those who served, we must also remember those who helped at home. He wanted to thank the women who worked in the factories, producing munitions and equipment for the war effort. He wanted to thank the service people who provided the troops with training before their deployments. And finally, he wanted to thank all of the farmers who had to stay back and provide food.
“All of these contributions, ” Sarich said, “were necessary. If they didn’t have equipment or food, our troops couldn’t have done anything. Everyone gave and sacrificed so much to support the men and women overseas. We can’t forget them either.”
Ron selected a couple stories that had been shared with him by veterans that had served in prior war efforts. While the first story was meant mainly to entertain, Ron had picked a much more serious tale for his second.
Sarich spoke of a group of men flying a mission over Germany. In this particular instance, the bomb payload became dislodged and fell from its support harness only to wedge itself in the floorboards of the aircraft.
A nervous crew was then forced to return to their base with a live, unsecured bomb firmly reminding them of the gravity of war. Ron never learned why the bomb didn’t go off. He said it could have been a ‘dud,’ or “perhaps the arming cycle didn’t complete.”
“I chose that story because if it could happen to [them], it could have happened to others who weren’t so lucky to have the arming cycle not complete.” The story, he said, “shows how risky those missions were, even before they got under enemy fire.”
After thanking the students for the “wonderful slideshow,” Sarich concluded by presenting Gord McRae, president of the Davidson branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, with a framed picture he had personally taken over 20 years ago.
The picture of a U.S. Navy Sturgeon class boat, taken in April of 1983, surprised Sarich. He took the photo from the belly camera of the CP-140 Aurora, and was shocked to see the shadow of his plane clearly visible in the boat’s wake from 125 feet above the water. “It wasn’t planned, ” Sarich says, “so it came as rather a pleasant surprise to get that picture back.”
McRae thanked the major for speaking and indicated he will have the photo displayed in the Davidson Museum for everyone to view.
McRae and Sarich both expressed their thanks to the Davidson Inter-Church Association, the Sherlock 553 Cadets, and to everyone that came for making the commemoration possible. McRae also thanked the Davidson Co-Op for providing doughnuts and refreshments before closing the day’s service.

DAVIDSON—People may want to find better ways to secure their trailers now that it appears thieves are hauling them out of town and out of province.
Craik RCMP report that sometime in the early morning hours of Nov. 3, an enclosed trailer was stolen from a residence on Government Road in Davidson.
The trailer was parked in the back alley next to a house. The trailer was fitted with a hitch lock. The suspect(s) cut the hitch lock and drove away with the trailer and its contents.
Police report that similar trailers have been stolen from surrounding areas recently and contents from these trailers have been discovered in central Alberta.
Craik RCMP ask that anyone with information about this crime or other crimes to contact them at 306-734-5200 or to call Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers.