Category Archives: Davidson

Davidson, featured

Feds pinch penny out of existance

Sharon Riecken’s days of counting pennies behind the till at Stedmans V&S in Davidson will soon be numbered.

DAVIDSON—It may be a near worthless form of currency, for after all, what does a penny buy these days?

For Sharon Riecken, there’s always the chance a penny might buy her some good fortune.

“Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you’ll have good luck,” Riecken says. “I always pick one up and keep it.”

Riecken’s days of turning pennies into luck are numbered.

In the budget tabled March 29, the federal government announced it is doing away with the penny. The move is expected to save the government $11 million per year. According to the government it costs 1.6 cents to make every 1-cent coin.

This fall, the Royal Canadian Mint will stop distributing pennies to financial institutions. Pennies may still be used in cash transactions to make exact payment or change after the fall of 2012.

Where pennies are not available, then cash transactions should be rounded up or down to the nearest five-cent increment.

Non-cash payments such as cheques and debit and credit cards will still be settled to the nearest cent.

Davidson

Students receive crash course on the consequences of risky behaviour

Members of Davidson’s fire department lift the roof off a smashed car so they can get a crash victim to safety.

DAVIDSON—Grade 10 students from Loreburn, Kenaston and Davidson schools witnessed a potentially life-changing scene last Thursday as part of the PARTY program.

Sun West School Division and Heartland Health Region have joined forces to bring the PARTY (Prevent Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth) program to area schools.

The program aims to teach kids about consequences of risk-taking behaviours and to consider the consequences of their actions.

It does so in dramatic fashion that involves community volunteers and professionals.

The scene was of a smashed car, sitting in the middle of Davidson School’s parking lot. The students stood silently, waiting to see what was about to unfold.

Then the wailing of sirens filled the air as Davidson’s volunteer firefighters arrived on the scene. They were soon joined by Davidson’s two ambulances and then by members of the Craik RCMP detachment.

All three went to work and the students watched, their attention rapt.

The firefighters assessed the scene, determined one of the vehicle’s passengers was dead, and the other needed serious medical attention.

As for the driver, the RCMP handcuffed him and hauled him away.

The scene was one most students had never witnessed, but it is one that members of Davidson’s emergency services encounter all too often.

Please see the April 2, 2012 edition of The Davidson Leader for the complete story.

Davidson

Optimist Dance Club considering Herb Nelson Centre

DAVIDSON—Tired of doing the Davidson shuffle, the local dance club told town council recently it has found a permanent partner: the Herb Nelson Centre.

Members of the Davidson Optimist Dance Club were at council’s March 20 meeting seeking support for their proposal to convert the lower level of the Herb Nelson Centre into two dance studios.

For years, the Davidson Optimist Dance Club has held classes in church halls, school gyms and community buildings around town.

Club president Vonné Johnson said they have 80 dancers taking lessons from five different teachers, three nights a week in three different buildings from September to May.

However, sometimes the club finds itself without a place to dance due to funerals and other unscheduled events leaving the club scrambling to find another place to hold the evening’s class.

“This year has been a nightmare for scheduling,” dance club member Karen Dieno said.

Johnson said with a few renovations, the lower level of the Herb Nelson Centre could be converted into two studios. This would allow the dance club to hold all its lessons in one spot.

As part of the renovations, she suggested moving a room designated for the Legion from the back to the front of the building so one large room could be created.

“We think we can help each other,” Johnson said. “We need space and you have it.”

She added that the dance club would pay rent.

She said the studio rooms, which will be empty except for a dance floor, large mirror and ballet bar, could be used by others outside of dancing hours.

“I think we have to discuss this with the library first,” Mayor Mary Jane Morrison said.

Davidson branch of Palliser Regional Library occupies the main floor of the Herb Nelson Centre.

Noise was the major concern, librarian September Brooke told council.

She spoke to council after the dance club’s presentation.

“There’s going to be music and lots of kids,” she said, expressing concerns that young children would be upstairs in the library, “hanging out” while they waited for their class to begin.

Coun. Mandy Tichit, council’s representative on the library board, agreed, reminding council that people go to the library to have a quiet reading time.

In their pitch to council, the dance club had said they would instruct dancers to wait for classes downstairs.

Another potential concern with the dance club using the lower portion of the building was that the library would lose a room, if the Legion room is re-located, that it uses for special programs such as the summer reading program, story hour, or if a speaker comes in.

Coun. Clayton Schneider suggested the dance studio rooms could be used for the library’s programming.

He volunteered to mediate a meeting between the dance club and library board.

“It’s got to work for everybody,” he said.

Brooke told council that she thought the library board and dance club could work together.

To limit disruptions to library patrons, Brooke asked that the dance club use the building’s back door, which has a separate entrance from the library.

Council agreed to this request.

“We don’t want to make you guys uncomfortable,” Coun. Cliff Cross said.

“A meeting between the library board and dance club will take place soon.

Davidson, Sports

Cyclones win Provincial C and LLHL titles

DAVIDSON—Davidson Cyclones brought home a Senior C Provincial Championship banner after a decisive 6-2 win over the Kyle Elks in Kyle on March 25.

The Davidson Cyclones won the Senior C Provincial Championship with a 6-2 win over the Kyle Elks. They pose for a picture with the provincial championship banner and trophy. (Photo by Gord McRae)

The Cyclones “played as good as we could,” coach Jason Shaw said of his team’s effort in the second and third games of the best of three-game series.

The Cyclones, after losing Game 1 in Kyle by a score of 9-4, had to win the March 23 game at home. They did, winning 4-3 to force the third and final game in Kyle.

 

Friday, March 23 in Davidson

Kyle’s Justin Williams opened scoring in the first period until Davidson’s Derek Allan tied the score at one. In the second period Danny Williams regained the lead for the Elks until Josh Sim scored to tie it 2-2. Brett Siroski put Davidson ahead 3-2 after a scramble in front. The Cyclones’ penalty kill surpassed expectations as Chase Schafer scored a short-handed goal for the 4-2 lead.

In the third period Danny Williams scored on a breakaway to put the Elks within one. Davidson managed to hang on for the 4-3 win and to force Game 3 in Kyle.

The Cyclones hit the road for the Sunday night final.

According to commentary by “feedmill” on the website Long Lake Hockey League Talk, “I think Kyle thought they would wrap it up easily on home ice, and that cost them as the Cyclones knew that anything less than a solid effort on the road would not cut it.”

About six minutes into the first period, Kyle’s Tom Williams scored for the 1-0 lead. It was short lived. A minute later Davidson’s Chris Babiy, while on the powerplay, scored to tie the score. Zach Sim scored to put Davidson up 2-1 to end the first period.

In the second, after back and forth action, Steve DaSilva scored midway through the period to make it 3-1 for the Cyclones. Then, Colton Allan scored and DaSilva banged in his second of the night to end the period 5-1 for Davidson.

In the third, Derek Allan scored to stretch the lead to 2-1.  With about four minutes remaining, Kyle managed to sneak one past Cyclones’ netminder Mark Zoerb, but that was all.

Davidson won 6-2.

This is the Cyclones third straight provincial title.

The 2011-12 Senior C banner will join two Senior D banners won by the Cyclones in 2011 and 2010 as well as a Senior C banner the Cyclones won in 1989.

Cyclones are Long Lake Hockey Champs

The Cyclones, last Tuesday, won the Long Lake Hockey League final with a 2-1 win over the Drake Canucks.

In the first period, Davidson’s Carter Smith scored the first goal of the game. It would be the only goal until the third period when the Cyclones, who were down two men, received a much-needed cushion courtesy of Josh Sim. The score was 2-0 for Davidson. Then late in the third, Drake finally found the net to make it a one-goal game. With seconds remaining, Drake scored to tie the game, or so they thought. The goal was disallowed because it was batted into the net by a player’s hand.

The Cyclones won 2-1 to win giving them a 3-1 lead in the series and the league championship.

The Cyclones’ season may be finished, but some of the team’s players are still playing hockey.

Steve DaSilva, Derek Allan and Josh and Zach Sim will be lending their talents to the Lloydminster Border Kings who are hosting the Allan Cup. The six-team, round robin tournament for the National Senior Hockey Championship runs from April 16 to 21.

A fifth member of the Cyclones, Carter Smith, may also be playing for the Cup. Smith plays with the Rosetown Redwings, who are in the midst of Provincial A finals against Balgonie. If Rosetown wins, then Smith may have a chance to play against his Cyclones’ teammates.

Davidson, featured

Pioneer to buy Davidson’s Viterra grain terminal

DAVIDSON—The Viterra grain-handling terminal in Davidson is one of 19 country elevators that Richardson International will buy as part of a $6.1 billion deal to sell Viterra to Glencore International, a Swiss commodities conglomerate.

Last Tuesday, Richardson International, a Winnipeg-based grain company, announced it will buy in excess of $900 million worth of Viterra assets, including grain handling, crop input and processing facilities, that Glencore plans to divest.

In a news release, Richardson stated that after the successful acquisition of “these assets, current employees at the selected locations will be offered the opportunity to join the Richardson team.”

In cases such as Davidson where there are both Viterra and Richardson grain elevators, the company encourages people to continue working with existing contacts.

Until the deal goes through, Richardson has not determined what’s going to happen in communities where there is a duplication of assets, a company spokesperson said.

Richardson International’s announcement came just after Glencore International and Viterra ended a week’s worth of speculation by announcing that Glencore International would purchase Viterra for $16.25 per share.

Also in the news release, Glencore stated it had agreed to sell Viterra assets to Agrium and Richardson International, which the company expected “to result in the creation of a more robust competitive landscape for Canadian farmers.”

Calgary-based Agrium will acquire the majority of Viterra’s retail agri-products business for $1.8 billion.

Each of the deals requires regulatory approval to proceed.

Perhaps to head-off any concerns in Saskatchewan about the loss of head office jobs in Regina, Glencore stated it will consolidate Viterra’s executive offices in Saskatchewan, making the Regina head office its platform for Glencore’s North American agricultural operations and for expansion into the United States.