Hanley’s Parker Mooney (23) heads off Viscount’s Bryce Welter (8) during Thursday’s senior football game.
By Joel van der Veen
HANLEY — A 72-21 win in their home opener gave the Hanley Sabers a solid start to their new season.
Hanley hosted the Viscount Vikings on Thursday in 1A six-man senior football action.
Though the visiting team remained competitive through the first half, the Sabers led throughout and ran away with the game in the fourth quarter, in which they added 30 points to their score.
While he was pleased with the outcome, Sabers coach Mark Anderson also said there was lots of work ahead for the team.
In particular, he said there was room for improvement with the team’s offensive line, saying they displayed skill but needed to work on their timing.
“On offence we have so many new starters,” said Anderson. “They’re just not clicking yet.”
The coach said he was feeling positive, given the team Hanley has this year and the high level of commitment they are showing.
Emily Dixon competes in the pole bending event hosted by the Craik Ag Committee on Sept. 2.
By Joel van der Veen
CRAIK — A good time was guaranteed, and the Craik Ag Committee worked its hardest to deliver on that promise.
“Saddle Up, Shut Up and Hold On Tight” drew hundreds to the Craik fairgrounds on Sept. 2.
The afternoon event included horse pulls and gymkhana, with open and youth categories. A cold plate supper and cowboy social followed the main event.
“We were super happy with how it turned out,” said Kourtney Dixon, president of the revived Craik ag committee. “The people that have come out and supported us is phenomenal . . . We couldn’t ask for better.”
Dixon said roughly 200 paying guests went through the gate, in addition to children 10 and under, who were admitted free of charge.
The Craik ag committee became active again last year after going dormant in the early 1990s.
With permission from town council, they rebuilt the riding arena “from the ground up,” in Dixon’s words.
The arena measures 120 feet by 235 feet. Standing next to it is a building that houses the announcer’s booth and concession stand, along with a fenced-in area serving as the beer gardens.
The project was supported by a grant from Federated Co-op Ltd., as well as various local sponsors, whose names are carved into wooden planks that line the outer walls of the arena. Continue reading Gymkhana, horse pulls draw crowd to Craik→
The Strongfield curling rink was destroyed in a wind storm on July 20.
By Joel van der Veen
STRONGFIELD — If you rebuild it, they will come back.
That’s what organizers in Strongfield are hoping, as they press forward with plans to replace the village curling rink, weeks after it was knocked down in a windstorm on July 20.
The rink, a popular destination for more than 50 years, drew crowds each week for curling and community suppers during the winter months.
Village officials say the insurance payout from the old rink should largely cover the cost of building a simple structure that is roughly the same size, allowing curling to resume for the coming season.
The council and recreation board have both indicated their support for the project, as have the volunteers who keep the rink running each year.
“They’re completely in favour to rebuild,” said Amanda Glubis, one of six members on the village rec board. “They know it’s an important part of our community.”
A public meeting to discuss the rink’s future on Aug. 24 drew about 30 people, many of them from other communities on Line 19.
Mayor Jeff Vollmer said most in attendance were in support of rebuilding, though others questioned the long-term viability of a curling rink in Strongfield.
Some were under the impression that the village would be taking out a loan to pay for the new structure, the mayor said, adding, “A lot of people were thinking that their taxes were going to go up.”
He said the insurance payout should pay for the building itself, while fundraising will pay for finishing touches further down the road.
For the full story, please see the Sept. 4 edition of The Davidson Leader, or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.
Local Air Cadet Sgt. Emily Jones (second from right) spent six weeks at the Cadet Flying Training Centre in Gimli, Man.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — As they turn 16, many kids are aiming to pass their driver’s test and hit the road for the first time.
But Sgt. Jacob Heinrich found himself at the controls of a slightly different vehicle.
Heinrich, a Davidson resident, was at the Cadet Flying Training Centre (CFTC) in Gimli, Man., training on the Schweizer SGS 2-33A glider.
On Aug. 3, the day he turned 16, he went for his first solo flight, after weeks of flying with instructors.
“It kind of hits you and you’re like, ‘I’m up here alone,’” Heinrich recalled. “I’m not sure I know how to explain it . . . It feels quite cool.”
“It’s pretty awesome when you’re up in the air,” said his comrade, Sgt. Emily Jones of Craik. “It’s like nobody else is around.”
The two cadets attended the centre from mid-July to late August to train on the glider.
Both Heinrich and Jones began their Cadet careers with 553 Sherlock Squadron in Davidson, later transferring to 40 Snowbird Squadron in Moose Jaw after 553 was re-organized due to low enrolment.
They began the application process for the flying training centre last fall, which included ground school, a qualifying exam, and interviews with a selection board.
A total of 65 Cadets attended the centre this summer, most of them coming from the Prairie region.
“It was a very action-packed summer,” said Heinrich.
For the full story, please see the Sept. 4 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.
Bonnie Jean Low, at left, and Dave and Colleen Spelliscy travelled to Senegal in July to distribute gift boxes for Operation Christmas Child.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — A month after returning home from the West African country of Senegal, three Davidson folks are still working through the experience in their minds.
Dave and Colleen Spelliscy and Bonnie Jean Low spent two weeks there in July volunteering with Samaritan’s Purse, distributing thousands of gift boxes through the organization’s Operation Christmas Child (OCC) program.
They and their teammates personally handed out close to 3,500 shoeboxes, containing toys, school supplies and toiletries, to children in need.
“It felt like a whirlwind because we were very busy,” said Colleen, adding, “You’re so concentrated on what you’re doing, you don’t have time to be tired.”
“It wasn’t as exhausting as we thought it would be,” said Bonnie Jean.
Each year, boxes are packed by volunteers in Canada and other countries, then distributed across Latin America, the Carribean and West Africa. Last year, Canadians donated more than 664,000 shoeboxes.
This was the second such trip for the Spelliscys, a retired couple who previously went to Costa Rica in May 2016.
After learning that one volunteer had to cancel their plans, Dave and Colleen thought of Bonnie Jean and extended an invitation to her.
Bonnie Jean, a home care worker, had just told friends that she had no summer plans yet when she received their text message. After making arrangements to take time off from work, she was able to join them.
They were part of a team of 24 Canadian volunteers, mostly from Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
For the full story, please see the Aug. 28 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.
A combine caught fire on a section of land northwest of Davidson on Aug. 19.
By Joel van der Veen
BLADWORTH — Two fires on the same section of land made for a busy Saturday for local firefighters and nearby farmers.
The Davidson Volunteer Fire Department was called around noon on Aug. 19 to a stubble fire on a field northwest of Davidson along the Allan Road.
After that fire was extinguished, they returned to the same section six hours later to respond to a combine fire, about a mile west.
“This was actually two completely separate fires,” deputy fire chief Don Willner told the Leader.
In both cases, he said, area farmers responded with their tractors, discers and water trucks, helping to keep the fires from spreading.
“The discers did most of the work,” said Willner. “They knocked it down faster than we did.”
Given the dry, windy conditions, Willner said their help was crucial in preventing the fire from crossing the Allan Road into the adjacent pasture land, “which would have been extremely difficult to contain.”
The first call came in at 12:10 p.m., with Rescue 481, Engine 482 and Tanker 481 responding.
Willner said the smoke was visible from town as the firefighters headed out.
Upon arrival, they found the farmer using a 4WD tractor with a discer around the perimeter to limit the spread.
Neighbours brought two or three additional tractors and discers, while water trucks were also brought to the site, including a truck from the Clear Spring colony.
Willner said firefighters were on the scene for roughly two hours.
The second call came in around 6:30 p.m., reporting a combine fire located about a mile west of the first blaze.
After realizing the machine was on fire, Willner said, the combine operator began driving back towards the direction of the first fire, hoping to limit the damage and spread.
With the combine, a Case IH Model 7120, already believed to be a total loss, the firefighters focused on extinguishing the fire on the ground.
“We concentrated on the fire itself,” said Willner. “We didn’t want it to reach around where it had already burned.”
Again, firefighters were on the scene for around two hours.
The affected barley field had already been harvested, so no crops were lost in either blaze.
Willner said the cause of both fires was undetermined, though it may have been as simple as a blade making a spark after striking a rock.
The Hodgins family, who own the affected land, later expressed their thanks to firefighters and their neighbours in a Facebook post.
