Category Archives: featured

Davidson, featured

Local dance troupe headed to Telemiracle

A group of Davidson dancers will perform on live TV during Telemiracle 41 in March. They are seen here at their audition in November. Pictured clockwise from top left are Jessy Ulmer, Teagin Nelson-Schneider, Brooklyn Bahnman, Alexis Gray, Rhett Gust and Farrah Low.
A group of Davidson dancers will perform on live TV during Telemiracle 41 in March. They are seen here at their audition in November. Pictured clockwise from top left are Jessy Ulmer, Teagin Nelson-Schneider, Brooklyn Bahnman, Alexis Gray, Rhett Gust and Farrah Low.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — When an opportunity came knocking, a group of dancers from Davidson was ready to answer.

In this case, the opportunity involves supporting a good cause and having a lot of fun at the same time.

A troupe of six dancers will perform a hip-hop routine on live TV during the Telemiracle 41 telethon in March.

Taking part are Brooklyn Bahnman, Alexis Gray, Rhett Gust, Farrah Low, Teagin Nelson-Schneider and Jessy Ulmer.

They’ll be performing “Knock Knock,” set to the song “Shell Shocked” from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. (The song is credited to Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J and Ty Dolla Sign, featuring Kill the Noise and Madsonik.)

Telemiracle 41 will be broadcast from Saskatoon this year, airing live on CTV stations in Saskatchewan on March 4 and 5.

Proceeds will be used by the Kinsmen Foundation to help people across the province acquire special needs equipment and access medical treatment.

More than $116 million has been raised through the annual telethon since 1977. Last year’s event brought in $5.2 million in donations.

The group developed their routine last year, performing at various recitals and competitions in 2016. They won silver in Lanigan and gold in Warman.

The dancers are in Grade 5 and most of them started studying dance as soon as they were old enough, around age four.

Grade 12 student Tia Shaw, their instructor, said having her group perform in the telethon is a fulfillment of her own longtime dream.

For the full story, please see the Feb. 6 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

Dundurn, featured

Dundurn kids rush to give lacrosse a try

Calleigh Roepe scoops the ball into the netting of her lacrosse stick during a Try Lacrosse camp at Dundurn Elementary School on Jan. 31.
Calleigh Roepe scoops the ball into the netting of her lacrosse stick during a Try Lacrosse camp at Dundurn Elementary School on Jan. 31.

By Tara de Ryk

DUNDURN — Not too long ago, Parker Michalishen used to sleep with his lacrosse stick.

It’s an admission the 18-year-old SWAT Lacrosse junior team player made to a gym full of eager 7- to 12-year-olds at a Try Lacrosse session held in Dundurn on Jan. 31.

Michalishen told them that’s how much he loved the sport.

This is a passion Saskatchewan lacrosse players are bringing to communities near Saskatoon this winter.

Saskatchewan Lacrosse Association conducts these Try Lacrosse camps in co-ordination with Saskatoon Box Lacrosse and Saskatchewan SWAT Lacrosse. The sessions are for children ages 7 to 12 to introduce them to the sport in a fun and positive manner.

Dundurn’s session had 18 kids learning some of the lacrosse basics such as scooping, cradling, catching and throwing.

“I couldn’t skate, Michalishen says of why he started playing lacrosse five years ago. Instead of playing hockey, he decided to try the next closest thing.

“I fell in love with it as soon as I picked up a stick. I really love it and I want the game to grow.”

Saskatoon’s Box Lacrosse League saw a 25 per cent increase in registration last season, with most of the growth occurring in the younger age divisions, says Neil Hruska, the Try Lacrosse co-ordinator for Saskatoon Box Lacrosse and Saskatchewan Lacrosse Association.

He credits the popularity of the Saskatchewan Rush, a professional lacrosse team that plays at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, for the sudden growth in the minor levels of the sport.

“Because of the Rush, because they see how intense of a sport (lacrosse is), kids are being drawn to it,” Hruska says.

For the full story, please see the Feb. 6 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

Elbow, featured

Elbow RCMP: simple steps can lower risk of property crime

Const. Mike Neilson of the Outlook-Elbow RCMP detachment speaks to a small crowd at a public information session at the Elbow Civic Centre on Wednesday.
Const. Mike Neilson of the Outlook-Elbow RCMP detachment speaks to a small crowd at a public information session at the Elbow Civic Centre on Wednesday.

By Joel van der Veen

ELBOW — Preventing burglars from entering your house or business isn’t rocket science.

As Const. Mike Neilson told the public on Wednesday, it’s largely a matter of making it hard enough for potential thieves that they’ll give up and move on.

“They’re lazy, that’s why they’re doing it in the first place,” he said. “They’re looking for easy targets.”

“Stack the deck in your favour. Don’t make it easy for these guys.”

Neilson, a member of the RCMP Outlook-Elbow detachment, hosted a public information session at the Elbow Civic Centre on Wednesday, with about 10 people in attendance.

He and several colleagues provided advice and answered questions on preventing theft and deterring thieves from trying to enter homes, businesses and vehicles.

Neilson said rural crime rates have increased recently, blaming this on the downturn in the oil and gas industry.

Rural residents are often seen as easy targets, he explained, saying, “They’re isolated and no one’s around.”

He advised residents to keep their doors locked, noting that the vast majority of break-and-enters (B&Es) are committed on unlocked homes.

Neilson said residents should make it a habit so they are less likely to forget when they leave for longer periods.

“Even if you’re home, you should just lock your door,” he said. “Just like you’re putting on your seatbelt — you don’t think twice about it.”

Neilson said most would-be burglars are easily deterred and will keep moving to the next car or house until they find one that is unlocked.

For the full story, see the Feb. 6 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

Craik, featured

Murray pleads guilty to fraud

Jeff Murray, former administrator for the Town of Craik, leaves Moose Jaw provincial court on Wednesday morning with his lawyer, Gail Wartman.
Jeff Murray, former administrator for the Town of Craik, leaves Moose Jaw provincial court on Wednesday morning with his lawyer, Gail Wartman.

By Joel van der Veen

CRAIK — Craik’s former town administrator has pleaded guilty to a single count of fraud.

Jeffrey Todd Murray has admitted to defrauding the Town of Craik in the amount of $14,181.30, both by overpaying his own salary and by making unauthorized purchases with the town’s Visa card.

Crown prosecutor Rob Parker told the Leader that Murray faces either a suspended sentence or incarceration, with his sentencing hearing scheduled in March.

Murray previously stood accused of 33 counts of fraud, laid in March and May of last year, totalling more than $41,000.

Those charges have since been withdrawn, and the single charge represents a significantly smaller amount — roughly one-third of the former total.

Even so, Parker noted the significance of the plea entered Wednesday, as a public acknowledgement of guilt.

“Clearly, there was an admission on Mr. Murray’s part that he had defrauded the town,” he said.

Murray, 42, appeared in Moose Jaw provincial court on Wednesday morning, accompanied by his legal counsel and an unidentified grey-haired woman.

He remained seated as his lawyer, Gail Wartman, addressed Justice Margaret Gordon, updating the court on recent developments.

Murray, who served as Craik’s administrator from 2010 to 2014, was previously accused of defrauding the town “by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means” in the amount of $41,079.81.

In March 2016, he was charged on 31 separate counts of fraud, followed by two additional charges in May.

Craik RCMP laid the charges, alleging that Murray had defrauded the town by using its Royal Bank credit card to make personal purchases at restaurants, retail stores and motels, as well as online.

For the full story, please see the Jan. 30 edition of The Davidson Leader, or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

 

Davidson, featured

Local hobbyist wins trophies for hand-built farm toys

Tom Waterhouse displays a model Cockshutt hay loader and a John Deere combine, both built by himself.
Tom Waterhouse displays a model Cockshutt hay loader and a John Deere combine, both built by himself.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Green is the colour when it comes to Tom Waterhouse’s collection, with yellow finishing in a close second.

Shelves filled with tractors, combines and other miniature equipment — most of it bearing the familiar colours of the John Deere company — line the walls of a downstairs room at his home in Davidson.

He has lost count of the total number of items — “I don’t know, period” — but acknowledges that it “takes up a fair bit of space.”

The collection includes vintage toys as well as models made by Waterhouse himself, crafted in his home workshop.

“It’s something to do, eh,” he said. “On top of that, we’ve made friends from here to Winnipeg.”

Waterhouse was among the exhibitors at the Farm Toy and Collectable Show in Saskatoon, held the weekend of Jan. 13 to 15 at the German Cultural Centre.

The show featured 50 tables with thousands of items. Organizers said it draws around 900 visitors annually.

Tom brought home a couple of awards from this year’s show, both for his own handiwork.

A Cockshutt hay loader, decorated in red and yellow, won the “Scratch Built” trophy, awarded to an entry built from raw materials, rather than a kit or pre-assembled parts.

“The only thing bought on there is the two big wheels,” Tom said, looking at the homemade model.

He also won the “Custom Built” trophy for a pull-type combine he built — a John Deere 6601, to be precise.

For the full story, please see the Jan. 30 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

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CALL 306-567-2047 TO SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Winners will be chosen randomly from entries received at our office. Names will be entered once for each subscription year purchased.

Contest closes Jan. 31, 2017, with the winners to be announced Feb. 13, 2017.