Construction of the Dundurn International Exhibition Centre will not begin this spring and no firm start date has yet to be presented.

Fred Wilson, Reeve of the Rural Municipality of Dundurn, said negotiations between the RM and Brightenview Development International Inc., which is building the massive wholesale outlet, are ongoing. He said they spoke to Brightenview April 8 and the company did not indicate when construction would begin.

“Everything is still progressing,” said Wilson. “It’s a multi-million dollar project and there is a lot of things that have to fall in place.”

Construction on the 155-acre site located a half-mile north of the Highway 211 and Highway 11 intersection on the east side of the highway was slated to begin in the fall of 2013 and last for 18 to 24 months. Once completed, the centre would potentially house 350 Chinese businesses that would sell wholesale products to buyers in North America and employ over 1,000 people.

“Everything is moving along,” said Wilson. “I’m not starting to get buck fever or anything. I think it is still going to happen, but it’s just taking a little longer maybe than what originally the plans were. Whether they’ll get started this summer, I can’t really (say). But I still feel quite confident that the project is still going to happen.”

In addition to the Exhibition Centre, Brightenview also pledged to help the community build a multi-million dollar community centre in Dundurn that would house a skating rink, swimming pool, hall and office space through a donation towards the costs of the project. Wilson said the new community centre is still in the plans.

“We’ve had some preliminary discussions on it, but we haven’t come up with all the financing on it yet,” he said. “It’s still part of the project.”

Wilson noted there are many people saying ‘I won’t believe it till I see it,’ but he is still confident the centre will become a reality. He said they are just not in a position to “put an exact date or timeline” on construction of it as of yet.

Sarah Nykiforuk, 17, has decided to make a difference in the lives of those suffering from mental illness and cancer.

Sarah is running an online donation campaign to raise $1,000 by June for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). She is also pledging to cut her long golden hair shortly after she reaches that goal and donate it to a foundation that makes wigs for financially disadvantaged people suffering from cancer.

“I’ve set up a page on the Canadian Mental Health Association website (www.cmha.ca), so people can go on it and search for ‘Sponsor Sarah Nykiforuk,'” said Sarah, who is a Grade 12 student at Davidson School. “If people want to pay with cash or cheque they can give those to me and I could enter their cash or cheque onto the website and they would get a tax-deductible receipt for any donation they contribute.”

Sarah began her campaign to raise funds for the CMHA on April 2, which is Autism Awareness Day, because of her interest in the brain development disorder and the new options medical personnel are using to help people touched by it. However, she said the decision to go forward with the fund-raising campaign happened near the beginning of the school year when she became more serious about supporting the overall cause of better treatment of mental illness.

“I’ve met a lot of people who have struggled through different mental health issues such as bipolar disorder and depression and I’ve just seen the ways those issues have affected them and their families,” she said. “Those are people that I’ve seen who’ve been getting help. I know there are a lot of people out there who aren’t getting help and if I can have some part in helping them to have access to that I really want to.”

During her campaign, Sarah is also spending time researching different charitable organizations to find one she could donate her shorn hair to when she cuts it in mid-June.

To read more please see the April 14 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

The Davidson Swimming Pool community auction being held this Thursday at the Davidson Rink is shaping up to be one of the biggest fund-raising projects the new pool committee has held to date.

Jessie Foster, a member of the new Davidson Swimming Pool committee, said there will be a full bar, midnight lunch, appetizers, door prizes, a silent auction and the main live auction during the evening. She said the cost to get in to the adult-only event is a $10 charge at the door, which covers the midnight lunch and entry into the door prize contest, but the chance to bid on some of the hundreds of “amazing” donated items is worth the price of admission in itself.

“We’ve got quite a variety,” said Foster, noting more auction items are still coming in. “We’ve got everything from meals to the field and homemade baking to services like Bobcat (Landscaping) or trucking to spa packages, concert tickets, flight packages and Rider tickets. We really have a good variety of items for everybody.”

Foster said the committee has raised close to $500,000 so far solely through fund-raising events and community donations. She said to reach their goal of having $1.3 million by 2015 they are going to begin focusing on applying for grant money to try and find some funding from outside the community to get closer to the final total.

In the meantime, the committee is taking a closer look at the initial plans of the new pool design and would be getting some technical drawings made up. Foster said once everything is ready they’d like to invite the entire community to an open meeting to take a look at what is being proposed along with a breakdown of the costs.

She said after the auction the committee is planning on holding a spring bottle drive. There are a few other community events in the works as well, but for now they’re concentrating their efforts on putting together an enjoyable evening this Thursday at the Rink and hoping for a good turnout from members of the community.

“We are going to have fun surprises during the auction that I think people are going to enjoy,” said Foster. “It’s going to be a fun evening to come out and bid and socialize and have a good time.”

A Dundurn recreational institution is in danger of fading into history if its participant numbers are not increased in the near future.

Shannette Classen, coach of the Dundurn Skating Club, said they need more parents in the community to enrol their kids in the Club’s learn to skate classes this fall if they hope to survive. She said there are many helpful skating programs available for kids in Dundurn and people need to take advantage of them.

“There are so many new people in the area that don’t know we’re here,” said Classen, noting the long-time Club’s membership has dwindled from 37 kids in 2012-2013 to 12 kids in 2013-2014. She said the Club provides a learn to skate tot class as well as Can Skate levels one to nine classes and a pre-power early hockey skills program, but the low enrollment puts offering these lessons in the future in danger.

Classen said they plan on getting the word out about what the Dundurn Skating Club has to offer this spring and summer in an effort to improve next season’s enrolment. The coach, who has been teaching classes at the Club since 2008, said these efforts would include placing advertisements in the Dundurn community newsletter, distributing brochures at the town office and passing out handouts at the elementary school.

She said the Club is also saluting long-time helpers to show their appreciation for all those who have kept the program going strong in Dundurn since it began back in 1967.

“We made a presentation to Vera Falk (March 22) for a lifetime achievement award,” said Classen. She said they also raised almost $2,000 later that day at a steak supper fund-raiser at Big Mur’s Tavern in Dundurn, which would be used to keep future enrolment costs down.

Falk said it would be “sad” to see the club she helped start with four or five other community members over 46 years ago, come to an end. She said the Club has been great for kids in the community looking for a chance to learn how to skate over the years and it has to keep going.

“The kids have got to learn skating when they’re five and six years old, three and four years old, (and) as soon as they can stand on skates,” said Falk, whose three daughters Abby, Jessie and Natalie skated with the Club in previous years. “We had a lot of kids involved (earlier). It was a big club and we had professional skaters, teachers, come from the city. It was a good club.”

To read more please see the April 14 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

The Prairie Patches Quilt Guild is celebrating its 10^th anniversary and to mark the occasion they are inviting everyone to come to Davidson Town Hall this weekend for a colourful and interesting quilt show.

“We have just under 150 items this year that are going to be on display,” said Cathy Palmer, a member of the Prairie Patches Quilt Guild. “We are just really excited about that because this will be the biggest show we’ve had. There will be a variety of things on display from a very large king-sized quilt all the way down to lap and baby quilts as well as many smaller items that are done like little table runners and place mats and thread-painted pictures.

“Our members have really gotten to be quite diverse now in their skills and interests and so I think our community will be quite amazed at what they’ll see this year.”

In addition to the Quilt Guild member’s work, the show will also feature vendor’s booths on Saturday from Quilters Haven of Moose Jaw and 4-40 Quilt Shop out of Saskatoon. The two booths are going to be offering fabrics and patterns for sale among other things and will also be holding various demonstrations throughout the day on different quilting topics.

Palmer said Saskatoon artist Elizabeth Muirhead is also appearing at the Town Hall on Saturday to showcase her “unique” and “absolutely stunning” wool felting projects. She said the show is for everyone who enjoys art and looking at beautiful things, so people don’t have to be quilters to attend.

“Whether you’re a painter, wood-worker or stained-glass hobbyist, there is many similarities in the work we do,” she said. “We are just working with a different medium.”

The Prairie Patches Quilt Guild formed in December 2003 when 14 ladies joined together for fellowship, fun and a desire to quilt. Over the years the Guild has been very active in the town by donating many pieces to be used as prizes for the benefit of various community charities.

“We have kept a photo album as sort of an archives of what we’ve done over the years and that photo album is really kind of interesting to look back at on our work in 2003 and how it’s evolved to 2014,” said Palmer, noting the Guild now has 19 members from Davidson and area who meet twice a month at the Pentecostal Church. “Our skills and our confidence and our expertise have certainly come a long way.”

Palmer said these skills are going to be on display beginning this Friday evening when they hold a “sneak-a-peek” for interested people who cannot make it to the Saturday show. She said those people who do make it to the Town Hall on Saturday will have an added benefit of attending as the Guild is holding an all-day lunch including “to die for” homemade pies at the show.

“We’ve got a group of men that come out and help us in the morning set up our big stands for the displays,” said Palmer. “We couldn’t set up without them because it’s really heavy, but I’ve heard some of them say they also come for the pie.”

The Quilt Show sneak-a-peek runs from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and the main show goes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. A silver collection donation is appreciated.

A new crop of corn growers learned the ABCs of planting corn at a recent corn planter clinic in Regina.
Among the more than 100 farmers at the clinic was Davidson’s Rob Stone, a farmer and sales rep. for DuPont Pioneer, the company that put on the clinic.
A mainstay in crop rotations in Eastern Canada and the American Midwest, corn is becoming an option for farmers around here thanks to the development of hybrids that have earlier maturing dates and can handle the Prairie climate.
Because it’s such a new crop in Saskatchewan, Stone said Pioneer conducts the clinics to teach new growers the basics of planting corn and how to properly use their planting equipment.
“They say the best time for big yields is right before you open the bag of seed,” Stone said. “It all starts with the seed and how you put it in the ground.”
Corn is a row crop and requires specific seed spacing, precise seed depth and farmers need to know how to properly set, use and maintain planting equipment, he said.
“I tried some (corn) last year and I probably did everything wrong,” he admits.
He intends to try again this year and plans on doing a corn trial on his farm.
Corn is a different type of crop to plant than cereal, canola and pulse crops.
Stone said the clinics were an “eye-opener”.
“Our focus is large acres and going fast. Corn, it’s a different focus. You have to take time and make it work.”
Besides DuPont Pioneer reps and agronomists, clinic participants heard from Bill Lemkuhl, an independent crop consultant and farmer from Ohio. He led participants through a planter overview from “hitch pin to closing wheels” making sure a poorly adjusted planter can be identified and understanding the impact of poorly set planters.
Implement reps were also at the clinic, advising farmers on developments in planting equipment.
Stone said farmers are well advised to do their research before buying a corn planter so they buy the right implement for their situation. He said if it’s used, it may be worn out or it could have components not suited to Saskatchewan soil conditions.
Stone said he encourages people to consider corn as a crop, particularly farmers who raise cattle and can grow corn for silage.
To read more please see the April 7 print edition of The Davidson Leader.