A child luring incident in Davidson earlier this month has placed a focus on increased supervision among community members and extra education for kids towards exhibiting smart and safe behaviour.

On June 5 a young Davidson School student was approached by a stranger in a vehicle while walking along Government Road on her way home from school. The man in the vehicle tried unsuccessfully to lure the girl into his truck.

The girl has described the man as bald with a neck tattoo and the colour of the truck as black. The police were called about the incident and Davidson School staff sent out a letter to parents the next day informing them about what happened.

Craik RCMP constable Kevin Morrissette said this is the only incidence of child luring that has recently been reported to them. He said they currently do not have any suspects and the situation is still under investigation.

Morrissette said the girl in this incident did the right thing by not responding to the stranger, immediately going to a known place to stay safe and notifying her parents and the police about the incident. He reiterated not engaging with strangers, heading straight to a safe place such as a family member’s home or a business and then notifying authorities is what all kids should remember if confronted with this type of situation.

The letter sent out to students’ families by Davidson School states school staff and teachers are increasing supervision and having everyone on the lookout for anything that doesn’t seem quite right. It also notes teachers are having extra discussions with their students about being safe and what the proper things to do are in situations such as this one.

“The beauty of small towns is that everyone knows each other,” said Davidson School principal Jason Low on what the community can do to help. “So we need to continue to notice things or people that are out of the ordinary and report them when necessary. We also need to continue to look out for each other and take care of our kids.”

Low said kids need to remember that if their parents change their afterschool plans they would first inform the school and then let the school staff inform them. It never would be a stranger on the street or in a vehicle telling them of a change. He added kids also need to talk to their parents or teachers if something weird or different occurs.

“I think we have a good system going where teachers know where their kids are going after school,” he said. “If the plan changes, we let kids know and ensure they are clear on the plan. With cellphones, it is easy for parents to check in with the school to see where kids are if necessary. I know that the daycare will call the school within a few (minutes) if one of the kids hasn’t arrived.”

Morrissette said Highway 11 is one of the busiest roadways in the province and there are people of different walks of life continually going up and down it and even though Davidson may be a small and safe community there are lots of transient people going through. He said people who attempt crimes such as child abductions are usually unknown to a community and don’t regularly frequent the area, so the main thing kids need to remember is don’t talk to strangers.

A multi-instrumental Americana music group is taking the stage at Davidson Town Hall this month in a bid to lighten up the lives of all those in need of an enjoyable evening of music.

Link Union is playing a pass-the-hat admission show at Town Hall June 17, which is the second stop in the Christian family group’s 13-stop summer tour of Saskatchewan. The seven-member band is touring on behalf of their new album Influence, which combines original material with Americana covers of such classics as Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock and Johnny Preston’s Running Bear.

Rachel Link, 26, lead singer as well as mandolin, penny whistle and cello player, said everyone who attends the show can expect a “whole lot of fun” courtesy of the family who play over 16 instruments during their set. She said the group’s musical style pulls from many different avenues including Celtic, bluegrass, gospel, folk and classic country and rock to form a fresh style all of their own.

“It’s definitely music that makes you feel like dancing and so if people want to they are welcome to,” said Rachel. “It lends itself to clogging and two-step and square dance or old-time dancing.”

Rachel’s brother Kyle, who plays fiddle and sings, along with his wife Ashley on the bass and fiddle also play during the show. Their brothers Ben, a banjo and guitar player, Aaron, who plays lead guitar, and John, a 14-year-old drummer, join the three on stage along with their mom Becky, who provides lead and harmony vocals.

As part of their “Great Awakening Tour” Link Union is stopping by various venues in the province such as the Lake Park Baptist Church in Birch Hills, the Pineridge Fellowship Chapel in Hudson Bay and the Oungre Memorial Regional Park for a Canada Day concert. Rachel said their sets inside and outside of churches differ, meaning there would be less of a focus on spiritual music in places like Davidson Town Hall.

“We like to give people a great evening of entertainment just so they can get away and relax for the evening and have a good time and be encouraged and lifted up and laugh and enjoy themselves,” she said.

To read more please see the June 9 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Students at Loreburn Central School put their leadership skills on display last Tuesday before a large crowd of family and friends who packed the gymnasium to take part in the school’s first annual Leadership Day.

The celebration allowed the community to view first hand the success the kids have gained over the past two years in “The Leader in Me” process implemented at Loreburn Central School. This process allows students to practise “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” that leads to a culture of leadership in the kids.

“It’s given the kids a lot of empowerment and voice, so they know they can come to any staff member and say ‘I think we need to do this in the school or we need to have this,'” said Jill Long, principal of Loreburn Central School. “We basically turn around and ask them how that will look and we offer the facilitating to that program, but it’s the kids that are the ones who do the work for that.”

Grade 7 student and Leadership Day co-emcee Abby Adams, 12, said Leadership Day allowed the kids to showcase how they are changing their school and their own lives for the better through the “The Leader in Me” process. She said at the school it has brought about a closer relationship between the elementary and high school students giving them a chance to work together to build a better school.

“I am a busy person with dance and music and sports, so I really think that the course has helped me to become a better person with time management and getting everything done,” Abby said. “That’s important before I go on to other things.”

Abby’s classmate Abigail Graham, 13, shared the stage as co-emcee during the morning presentation in the gym that featured a discussion on the seven habits by a number of elementary and high school students as well as different class presentations including a couple fun musical numbers. Following the main presentation the onlookers were able to tour different classrooms at the school to find out how the kids are implementing leadership principles in their daily work.

Abigail said the main thing the process has helped her is being able to get along better with her younger brothers Brennan and Dillan. She said all the kids at school have been working for the past four or five months on preparing for Leadership Day and she’s very happy on how well everything turned out.

“Staff and students both put in an equal amount of work to make it the best it can be,” said Abigail. The day “helps develop leadership skills, so like in the workplace when you’re older you can get along with people and you can help others improve.”

Abby said she was “actually quite surprised” with the amount of work the younger kids put into the show and how well everything came off during the day. She said the hope now is to make Leadership Day an annual event at Loreburn Central School, so the students can continue to show the advantages they are gaining from the process.

“I really feel like this school is growing as a better school with the leadership that is going out and the roles that people are taking,” she said.

Long said the presentation was the accumulation of two years of work with “The Leader in Me” process and she is very happy with all the talking and planning by the kids over the past few months especially that led to Leadership Day.

“They were so nervous talking, but they did an awesome job,” she said. “It really showcased that they can be leaders in tons of different areas.”

Two cyclists who pitched their tents at the Davidson Campgrounds last Wednesday may have experienced some nasty weather, but the welcome they received from the town’s residents was really nice.

Juergen Fegpeitel and Bill Inden, who are travelling separately across the country, braved last week’s ferocious hail and rain downpour while camped a few feet away from each other behind the Davidson Swimming Pool with only a canvas shelter to keep them safe from the storm. Both men said with a laugh that prayer is how they survived.

“It never hurts especially when you think Hell is coming down,” said Fegpeitel, who is biking from his home in Edmonton to the East Coast for the enjoyment of the ride. “The sound alone was deafening. The impacts on the tent were really scary. It didn’t seem to want to stop.”

Fegpeitel said once the hail ended everything turned calm before the rain began its assault. He said the whole event was lit up for them “like a strobe light” by the constant lightning being thrown down from the heavens.

“I’ve seen some pretty good storms in Edmonton, but I’ve never experienced one like this especially trying to sleep in a tent,” he said. “That was quite the experience.”

Inden made his way into Davidson after almost a month on the road biking from his home in Vanderhoof, British Columbia, to Eastern Canada. He is making the long trek to try and raise awareness for a project called Children of Yekooche, which aims to provide help for educational programs for kids of a First Nations community located on the northwest side of Stuart Lake.

The amazing part of the night for both Inden and his fellow camper was not the storm the two men had to endure outdoors in a tent, but the generosity displayed by a number of Davidson residents who made sure they were doing alright after the onslaught. He said first a man came by their tents while the weather was still bad to check on them and then the morning after the storm a lady approached the campsite to make sure they made it safely through the night.

“That to me is community,” said Inden. “Why do I want to see Canada? I want to see Canada because I came here in 1975 from Amsterdam and you want to see what Canada is all about and Canada is about the people in this country. It’s not about the mountains or the highways, (but) the people who live in this country and last night truly and this morning with the lady shows that.”

Despite the appreciated concern, Inden admitted he’ll probably “go into a motel” the next time he’s warned violent weather is brewing. Even though both men took different paths to get to the Davidson Campgrounds last Wednesday night, both were cautioned on their way in to beware of the oncoming prairie storm.

“I was warned about two towns back by this lady at a bar, I had a hamburger there, and she said you better find a place for tonight because it’s supposed to be nasty out,” said Fegpeitel, noting he soon found out nasty in Saskatchewan is a bit different from what he’s used to. “I have no internet or phone with me, so I have to go according to what I can see or hear from people. Most people are really helpful. Out in the country people don’t mind helping others. I really love that.”

Town of Davidson officials have found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place concerning what they should do about an old gas station on King Edward Street.

The owners of the former S. M. Gas and Convenience station near the north entrance to town are behind on their taxes, so Davidson council faced a decision at their monthly meeting May 20 about whether or not to advance with tax enforcement to take the title of the property. This may cost Davidson taxpayers thousands of dollars due to the need of having the ground tested for any contamination from a possibly leaking underground storage tank and then the eventual cost of the cleanup of the site if the concerns of town officials prove true.

“They owe us taxes and we have to get them back,” said Davidson councillor Tyler Alexander about council’s decision to go with tax enforcement. “We can’t let that person get away with not paying their taxes when we’re enforcing it on other people and that (is) the bottom line.”

As discussed at the May council meeting, town officials recently sought advice from the Law Office of Dellene Church on what they should do next as far as putting some pressure on the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment to help them get the owners to get the ground tested and clean the site. The law office advised council the Ministry of Environment would not proceed with any extra pressure on the gas station owners due to results of precision leak tests of the storage tank previously undertaken by the owners determining it was not leaking.

This outcome leaves council with the problem of proceeding to take the title without having proper ground testing of the site first, which comes at a cost of around $10,000.

“It’s kind of a catch-22 situation,” said Davidson administrator Gary Edom. “We take the damn thing and you know you’re going to get caught and sure as heck it’s going to be polluted. There’s going to be something in the ground somewhere and it’s going to cost you thousands of dollars. And to sell it, (well) nobody will buy it. The bank won’t enable anybody to buy a service station property unless it’s been tested and everything is absolutely clear. They just don’t want anybody to take the responsibility.”

To read more please see the June 2 print edition of The Davidson Leader.