Summer is out and school is in for children, teachers and staff across this area.

The kids headed back to class or to class for the first time last Tuesday for the first day of the 2013-2014 school year. Although the first week is always hectic for teachers and staff at the numerous schools to get to know the names that go with the new faces that are suddenly staring up at them, everyone seemed to be excited to get going.

Enrolment numbers at each of the schools remained fairly constant with those from last year and despite a few subtractions and additions to the teacher ranks at each school those who occupied a certain classroom last year are for the most part occupying the same one this September.

Now that the first week is over, it is full steam ahead for the schools to implement any new and previous initiatives that are in place to get the kids learning to the best of their abilities.

Dundurn Elementary School

Jason Hill, principal of Dundurn Elementary School, said there are 151 students enrolled at the pre-Kindergarten to Grade 6 school including 27 kids in the Kindergarten class. He said the school is also welcoming one new intern to their teaching ranks this fall as Julie Belina would be helping out with the Grade 5/6 class.

“One of our new goals this year is to provide tools, skills and opportunities of inquiry to improve student engagement and achievement,” said Hill. “Inquiries is a newer focus within the curriculum and we’re hoping (to focus) on technology and use of technology as tools in relation to inquiry.”

Hill said the school got off to a great start this year with their annual opening day pancake breakfast. He said close to 300 people came out for flapjacks smothered with maple syrup including representatives from most of the families that have children enrolled at the school.

Loreburn Central School

Loreburn Central School principal Jill Long said 100 students are enrolled at the Kindergarten to Grade 12 school this year including four in Kindergarten. She said there are no interns at the school this fall, but they do have a new teacher in Blair Frederickson, who is taking up the career development position at schools in Loreburn, Kenaston and Davidson, and a new custodian in Michelle Lafontaine.

Long said there will be a focus on reading and physical health and wellness during the 2013-2014 school year. She said they are also continuing with their Leader in Me initiative this year where priority is placed on teaching kids the seven habits of highly effective students in the 21^st Century.

“Our first (habit) is be pro-active,” said Long. “The second is begin with the end in mind. The third is to put first things first. The fourth is think ‘win win’ and seek first to understand and be understood. Habit six is synergize and habit seven is sharpening the saw.”

The principal said they would be hosting a Leader in Me day later this year where they invite people from around the area to come to the school and see what the program is all about. She said the students run the whole day including the assembly and the planning of it.

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

Members of town council expressed a desire to develop a long-term infrastructure plan dealing with sewer pipe restoration at their monthly meeting Aug. 20.

As discussed at the meeting, council is considering entering into a long-term contract with Acme Sewer Service out of Regina to install fiberglass liners in problem sewer pipes in town. Acme Sewer Service has done similar work in Saskatoon, Yorkton, North Battleford and many other cities and towns throughout Saskatchewan.

It would cost taxpayers $49,400 to put in a liner along a whole block. This amount covers everything involved in the job including inspecting the pipe with a camera, installing the liner and pre- and post-video of the job.

The first block that would be worked on in town is a section of Hamilton Street. A sewer pipe along Hamilton Street is in need of repair due to breaks in the pipe and tree roots digging into it.

Council stated at the meeting the advantage of going with this type of work is there would be no need to rip up the street when putting in these liners. The liners are shot into the pipe by an air compressor and harden and contour to the shape of the pipe once they are in.

Installing a liner takes around 10 to 12 hours and comes with a two-year warranty. The expected life expectancy of a liner is 50 years.

There is nothing in the budget to begin the work on Hamilton Street this year, but council stated it could be done in the next budget year. Council intends to hold a planning meeting in November to come up with a long-term infrastructure plan to restore the remaining problem sewer pipes in town.

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

As part of a wider infrastructure plan, council has started looking into which trees in town are causing problems with a goal of replacing them with other varieties that wouldn’t wreck Davidson’s sidewalks.

Tyler Alexander, a Town of Davidson councillor, said he hates to see any of their trees in town go down, but the ones that are causing safety issues for town residents or causing damage to town property need to be addressed.

“We’re working on getting a long-term sidewalk plan…we’re having a hard time (getting) people to do sidewalks for us, but we’re looking at a long-term sidewalk plan,” said Alexander. “The two things can definitely co-exist, working on (tree replacement) and repairing the sidewalks.”

Alexander said town foreman Rod German went around town this past spring with a map in hand to pinpoint problem sidewalks. He said one of the major problems for town council in getting sidewalks repaired is the expense involved.

“We didn’t have a whole lot of money for it this year,” he said. “The money we are able to budget as of right now would do us maybe a block a year, so we’ve had a couple things like the roof in the town hall needs fixing and there is some stuff at the rink that needed repair too. Money was a little tight this year, (but) we do have some set aside for sidewalks.”

Bob Gust said the sidewalk outside his home on Grant Street has become a problem because a large poplar planted on town property in front of his home has raised a section of the concrete about four inches. He said some large branches from the tree that hung over his roof were recently removed, but thinks the whole tree should go.

“It’s broke,” Gust said about the sidewalk. People “could trip quite easily. The sidewalk needs improving.”

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

The two Members of Parliament who serve this area have decided to run again in the 2015 federal election, but the constituencies they seek to represent have changed dramatically.

Late last month Regina-Lumsden-Lake Centre MP Tom Lukiwski announced his intention to seek the Conservative candidacy in the new federal Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency, while Blackstrap MP Lynne Yelich said she plans to run in the new riding of Saskatoon-Grasswood.

“I think it’s important for MPs to actually live in the riding that they wish to represent (and) because of the boundary changes I am now a resident of Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan,” said Lukiwski, a long-time resident of Regina Beach. “To me it was a fairly simple decision that if I wanted to continue in public life that would be the riding in which I would need to represent.”

The new Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency combines rural areas of the existing ridings of Blackstrap, Regina-Lumsden-Lake Centre and Palliser and includes the City of Moose Jaw.

Lukiwski said the boundaries for all rural ridings across Saskatchewan are now far larger than previously drawn due to the Saskatchewan federal electoral boundaries commission’s decision to create five urban only ridings including three in Saskatoon and two in Regina. He said it would be a challenge for him to represent such a large area in Parliament, but plans on working hard to introduce himself to all his future constituents and make sure they know he is available when they need him.

“In Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan, it’s a very large riding now,” he said. “It stems all the way from almost the city limits of Saskatoon to the city limits of Regina on a north-south basis and just west of Moose Jaw to just east of Lanigan in a east-west situation, so it is very very large.

“I think the requirement would be to have at least two constituency offices to try and accommodate the needs of the constituents on a timely basis (and) on a regular basis, but it is something that I am prepared for and certainly something that I would be willing to do in terms of travel.”

Yelich said she has decided to seek the Conservative candidacy in the new Saskatoon-Grasswood constituency because it includes her current home in the Stonebridge area of Saskatoon, but noted it is going to be difficult for her to stop serving some of the residents of her current Blackstrap riding including those from her hometown of Kenaston.

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

The Elbow facilities committee is reaching out to ratepayers of the village in an effort to gain their support for an expanded fitness centre on the old curling rink ice surface and a pickleball court set up during the summertime in the hockey arena.

Carol Patterson, chair of the Elbow facilities committee, said if village ratepayers support their proposal they would start right away on building a floor on the curling rink ice surface with the hope of having a renovated gym in place by the spring. She said this is dependent on raising around $70,000 to get the work done, but if they know their proposal is supported they can at least start the main planning.

“Our curling rink has not been working for probably 20 years or more maybe and we have the front part of it as a small gym now,” said Patterson. “We want to expand that into a bigger gym space to put in some lightweight fitness equipment and space for classes (like) yoga and tai chi.”

Patterson said the group would like to upgrade their equipment such as treadmills and elliptical trainers for the expanded gym. She said they would also put in pickleball court lines on the hockey rink surface in the summer to provide a place to play for the growing number of the sport’s enthusiasts.

“We have people in town that are pickleball players,” she said, noting it’s a sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis. “It’s a sport overtaking the country and North America at the senior level.”

Norma Johnson, a member of the facilities committee, said the group would also like to set up a war memorial and Elbow sports hall of fame display at the rink to create a gathering space for the community. She said the kitchen and bathrooms on the hockey rink side and bathrooms in the curling rink have been recently renovated, so this expansion would be one of the last things to do to renew the centre.

“It is quite a good plan and it would work well for the community,” said Johnson. “There is quite a lot of people who use the fitness centre, the gym, so we’d like to get this going as quickly as possible.”

To read more please see the Aug. 26 print edition of The Davidson Leader.