Fire is no laughing matter, but the folks in Hanley found much to chuckle about Oct. 26 at the Hanley/Rosedale Fire Department’s steak supper and comedy night.
The event featured comedian Dez Reed who gave people a case of the giggles.
It was all for a good cause: to raise money to build a new fire hall in Hanley.
The new building is needed because the fire department has outgrown its current facility, which was built in 1977.
The current fire hall has two bay doors, making it a tight squeeze for the Hanley/Rosedale Fire Department’s three trucks, says Hanley administrator Darice Carlson.
When the vehicles are in the hall, it doesn’t give much room for the volunteer firefighters to move around.
The Town of Hanley has dedicated a parcel of land to build the new fire hall and has allocated $13,500 from its 2013 budget.
The new building will have three main bay doors with a fourth additional bay, giving the fire department much more room to store equipment as well as incorporating a training room in the facility.
The steak and comedy night raised $5,000 towards the new hall, adding to the current $12,800 that’s been raised so far. This total includes donations from Millsap Fuel Distributors, $1,000; Brightwater Blackstrap Wildlife Federation, $2,000; Thall’s Service, $2,500 and the Hanley and District Ag Society, $5,000.
If they continue adding to the fund, Carlson said they hope to build the new fire hall starting in June 2014.
The steak supper was well supported with the community selling 134 tickets for the event that included a silent auction and 50/50 draw.
Carlson gives credit to Darren Grindheim for organizing and overseeing the steak night as well as all the volunteers who helped out.
As well as a new hall, the fire department is also looking for new volunteers. More members are always needed. If anyone wants more information, they may contact Fire Chief Les Kroeger, Darren Grindheim, emergency measures co-ordinator, or the town office.

“What is the right fight?”
This is a question Claude Weil will discuss at Davidson’s Remembrance Day Service next Monday.
Weil, who served three years in an Israeli combat unit in the 1970s, knows about conflict.
He was born in the French colony of Algeria (North Africa) in 1954 and grew up in the village of Mézériat near Lyon in France.
He remembers, as a schoolboy, how the entire school would march with First and Second Word War veterans to the cenotaph in Mézériat for Remembrance Day services.
While driving to Regina a couple years ago, he stopped in Davidson and visited the cenotaph on main street and was appalled by the number of casualties Davidson suffered on the Western Front. He told his childhood friend, Etienne Robin, who is now Mézériat’s mayor. Robin wrote the Town of Davidson a letter to let them know that these sacrifices are remembered. In the letter Robin wrote: “This letter is a modest homage from us to the long lost soldiers of Davidson who fought for the freedom of so many French people they did not even know and would never know. Be assured that the sons your village left in our soil are well loved and their graves well cared for. Their families are dear to our hearts. They did not sacrifice in vain.”
The letter was featured in The Davidson Leader last November and the story interested Gord McRae, president of Davidson’s branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, so he asked Weil to speak at this year’s Nov. 11 service.
“I thought the letter the mayor (from Mézériat, France) sent was intriguing and it encouraged me a lot to try something different,” McRae said of why he invited Weil to speak at Davidson’s Remembrance Day service.
For years McRae has worked organizing Davidson’s Remembrance Day Service. He wants to keep it relevant so as to ensure new generations participate in the act of remembering Canada’s war casualties. Partnerships with DICA and Davidson School have helped to keep the Remembrance Day Service going in light of the fact Davidson’s Legion branch isn’t very active due to declining membership.
“I thought (having Claude Weil speak) would be something different to try and get the public coming back to the service,” McRae said.
He hopes people attend the Remembrance Day service, but worries people may treat the statutory day off like a holiday because it falls on a Monday, giving people a long weekend.
To read more please see the November 4 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

The School Community Council (SCC) is trying to bring in a fitness and art pilot project to Davidson School that would bridge the gap between the school and the greater community.

Marcia McIvor, chair of the SCC, said Davidson School staff decided last year they want to focus on physical activity and reading as part of their two-year plan, which is done in conjunction with the Board of Education. She said the role of the SCC is to support the school staff while incorporating members of the community with the school, so to accomplish the plan they came up with the idea to introduce martial arts, yoga, archery and artwork into the school.

“We’re hoping to bring it in as a pilot project in the elementary to middle years in the school just to see how it goes,” said McIvor, noting the SCC has already or are planning to approach members of the community, who are involved with these activities, to come into the school to teach the students. “If it goes well that it is something that maybe we can continue. That’s where we’re going with that, (to) try and bring in yoga and martial arts and archery to just expose the kids to something different and give them a little bit of variety.”

McIvor said introducing art would be a way of bringing the students who don’t excel in sports into the community. She said the SCC is thinking about buying some frames and going to local businesses and asking them if they could hang the frames with the student’s artwork in them throughout the community.

That way “any business you go into you might be able to see a couple different students’ artwork,” she said. “Artwork could be a poem, it could be a picture (or) it could be a (creation) of leaves. It doesn’t have to be a drawing. It’s any form of art that the student feels they can do.”

Laura Willner, a Grade 2 teacher at Davidson School and secretary of the SCC, said these activities were decided upon through conversations around the SCC table between parents, community members and teachers. She said the consensus is that this pilot project is a good opportunity for the kids to experience non-traditional activities while building connections with the community.

“There is no question that kids are open to try so many new things,” said Willner. “It is really key (that) often in the early years (when) exposed to something the more open you are to trying it and it may well turn out to be something you love for a lifetime. The more experiences for kids the better for them and we’ve got great community resources here to access and hopefully cultivate interest in these different things for the kids.”

To read more please see the October 28 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Members of the Hanley Elks last Tuesday celebrated their second successful harvest.
Five combines made the rounds on a half section of land northeast of Hanley as part of the local service club’s fundraiser.
“Our slogan is: Hanley Elks Farming for Our Community,” said Garry Dubyk, exalted ruler of the Hanley Elks Lodge No. 153.
Proceeds from the sale of the soft white wheat crop, whose yields Dubyk expected to average 55 bushels to the acre, will go towards community projects.
Some of the proceeds from last year’s harvest were donated to the Hanley skating and curling rinks, as well as helping with medical expenses in the community. Other revenues from the first harvest were invested into community farming project.
“A lot of last year’s revenue we put back into it,” said Henry Peters, Elk member and one of the project organizers.
He said the Elks borrowed the idea of farming land to raise money from other communities. He said the idea behind it is instead of having a lot of suppers and other small functions to raise money, they could pool their manpower and resources by farming land.
This year’s harvest is bittersweet for the Hanley Elks. The land belongs to the late Erwin Beaumont, who passed away in the spring.
Dubyk said Beaumont, who was 80 rented his land to the Elks in 2012 when he heard the group was looking for land to use in its fundraiser.
“He was so proud and happy because his dad had been an Elk,” Dubyk said. “Erwin even rode around with us for the harvest.”
To show their appreciation to Beaumont for allowing them to rent the land, the Elks invited him to their events that year, something the long-time bachelor seemed to enjoy.
“It’s sad he got sick,” Dubyk said.
Beaumont got cancer and died before he could watch the Elks farm the land a second time.
Dubyk said the Elks appreciate Beaumont’s family, who are honouring the three-year lease agreement they had with Erwin.
They also appreciate the support from machinery dealers and input suppliers for helping them with the initiative.
Hanley Elks has 48 members ranging in age from their early 20s to 80s.

Hilda Manz has generously left $7,000 to the Town of Davidson as a gift in her memory.

In her Last Will and Testament Manz identified her desire to bequeath $1,000 to the library, $1,000 to the campground, $1,500 to the swimming pool, $1,500 to the Cemetery Trust Fund and $2,000 to the Fire Department as a thank you to the community for being a part of her life.

Clayton Schneider, mayor of Davidson, said town council is “very appreciative” of the bequest and wants Manz and her family to get recognition for their generosity. He said council is now looking for a way to show their appreciation to Manz and other members of the community who have helped the town.

“We (have been) talking about coming up with a memorial, like a memorial wall of some sort,” said Schneider. “That is definitely something we are going to discuss.”

The Davidson Community Bible Church and New Life Pentecostal Assembly have established youth groups this fall in an effort to help kids in the area feel loved, accepted and welcomed while also having some fun at the same time.

Dave Hildebrandt, pastor of the Davidson Community Bible Church, said their bi-weekly Friday night youth group that is aimed towards grades 7 to 12 students is focused on providing “hi-energy” activities for the kids. He said their first three events this fall, including a bowling excursion to Allan, Capture the Flag game at a local farm and movie night, have been well attended and the kids seem like they’re having a lot of fun.

“We’ve had a really positive response,” said Hildebrant. “The only thing I keep hearing from parents is that kids are having a blast and they can’t wait to come back. We’ve had three completely different events and we’ve had a good turnout to all of them.”

Hildebrant said kids from all faiths could attend the events, which are run by a few adult volunteers. He said these nights are important because it brings a variety of kids together to show them they are all loved and accepted equally.

“We just want to provide for them somewhere they can make friends outside of the school where they can get good productive healthy relationships and support for whatever is going on in life,” he said. “We want to be a fun group, (but) we also want to be a support group that everyone who is going through hard times (that) we’re there for them as well.”

Russell Sparks, pastor of the New Life Pentecostal Assembly, said their weekly junior youth group, which is aimed towards grades 5 to 8 students and meets on Tuesday nights, was started so younger kids can remain engaged with their faith when they head into their high school years. He said a junior youth group is something entirely new as most youth groups in Canada start with Grade 8 students.

“We’re just looking to connect with that (grades 5 to 8) age as it’s also a very challenging age,” said Sparks. “You’re trying to figure out the basics of life, trying to figure out if you’re cool (and) if you’re accepted, so (it’s) giving them a place to explore stuff about themselves, stuff about God (and) stuff about relating with other people in a safe environment.”

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