Grade 4 students from Davidson School perform on their ukuleles during the grand finale of the Central Saskatchewan Music Festival on Wednesday.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — Friends, family and music lovers filled the Sacred Heart Parish Hall on Wednesday for the grand finale concert for this year’s Central Saskatchewan Music Festival (CSMF).
The program featured 31 music and speech arts performances, introduced one by one by emcee Sharon Riecken.
This was the 56th year for the annual festival, which ran from March 21 to 23 and saw an increase to 140 entries this year, compared to 101 the previous year.
“We were just ecstatic,” said festival president Nancy Wilkins in response to the growth in participation.
She also suggested that the festival take a cue from Lethbridge and change its name to reflect the growing contribution of the speech arts performers, which represented more than a third of the entries.
Riecken proved an affable host, offering a quip or a compliment for each performance.
In response to Reece Johnson and Finn Low’s “If I Were in Charge of the World,” she expressed approval, adding, “Just hope it’s not Trump.”
She also said the festival is “an awesome opportunity for our young people to show their unique talents year after year.”
Deputy mayor Tyler Alexander brought greetings on behalf of town council and paid tribute to the volunteers and teachers behind the festival, as well as the hard work of the students.
He recalled taking part in the festival years earlier and added, “I’m so happy to see it still going strong.”
While some of the Grade 2 and Grade 5 speech arts students were missing from Wednesday night’s concert, their comrades went on for a successful performance despite their diminished numbers.
For a complete list of performers and awards plus a selection of photos, please see the March 28 edition of The Davidson Leader.
A cattle liner lies across the southbound side of Highway 11 following a collision with a car on March 11. (Contributed photo by Larry Packet)
By Joel van der Veen
HANLEY — Most of the three dozen animals on board survived when a semi towing a cattle liner collided with a car on Highway 11 near Hanley.
However, one animal died on impact and two more had to be “destroyed” following the collision, according to local fire chief Les Kroeger.
The crash at the junction of Highway 11 and the access road to Hanley — occuring around 2:30 p.m. on March 11 — left the overturned semi completely blocking the southbound side of the highway.
Kroeger said he and his crew helped provide medical assistance to the drivers of both vehicles. Neither was seriously hurt, but the driver of the car was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Following that, emergency responders turned their attention to the cattle liner. Kroeger estimated that it took workers between 60 and 90 minutes to remove around 35 animals from the vehicle.
“We got them safely out of the truck and loaded onto other trailers,” he said, adding that the cattle were transported to another farm and given proper medical care.
The firefighters also assisted with directing traffic and cleaning up the highway. Kroeger said they were on the scene for upwards of four-and-a-half hours altogether.
Staff Sgt. Greg Abbott of the Saskatoon RCMP detachment confirmed that one driver was treated for injuries and that most of the cattle were safely removed from the semi.
Following the collision, traffic was rerouted through the Town of Hanley. Drivers were cautioned by police to expect delays in the area and asked to slow down while approaching the site.
Davidson resident Larry Packet said he was driving northbound past Hanley shortly after the collision. He reported that he had to wait about 10 minutes to pass through the area and that he was redirected through town.
Southbound vehicles were redirected around the highway for most of the afternoon. Kroeger said traffic flow was not restored until midnight.
Abbott said the incident remains under investigation and noted that charges had not yet been laid.
The Davidson Peewee Huskies pose for a team photo following their win over the Gravelbourg Stars in provincial “C” semi-finals on March 13.
DAVIDSON — The Peewee Huskies are headed to provincial “C” finals following a win over the Gravelbourg Stars last weekend.
Davidson hosted the Stars on March 13, following a 7-3 win in Gravelbourg a week earlier.
The Huskies’ Nolan Allan scored the only goal of the first period, assisted by Derek Griffin and Logan Anderson.
The second period opened with back-to-back goals for Davidson within 18 seconds of each other — the first by Jackson Allan and the second by Tyler Bahnman.
Gravelbourg’s Owen Neubeker scored with five minutes left in the period, while Nolan Allan scored for Davidson with 1:18 remaining, assisted by Brodie Ringdal, to bring the score to 4-1.
Nolan Allan scored an unassisted goal midway through the third period, bringing the final tally to 5-1.
Davidson heads into the final provincial series against the Watrous Winterhawks. The first game was scheduled for March 20 in Davidson, followed by the second game on March 24 in Watrous.
Meanwhile, the Peewee Cyclones continued in East Central Minor Hockey League playoffs with a 6-4 win over Watrous 1 on March 16.
Nolan Allan scored four goals for the Cyclones while Brodie Ringdal and Jackson Allan each contributed one goal. The third game in the series was scheduled for Friday night in Watrous.
The Davidson Bantam Huskies pose following their win over Viscount-Colonsay on March 15.
DAVIDSON — The Bantam Huskies finished the season with a 7-3 win over Viscount-Colonsay, taking the B-side championship in East Central Minor Hockey League playoffs.
Davidson hosted the final game in the best-of-three series on March 15, following a 3-2 loss to Vi-Co on March 6 and a 3-2 win on March 8.
Travis Griffin opened the game with an unassisted goal for Davidson, while their opponents were held scoreless through the first period.
Vi-Co’s Hunter Breckner scored to start the second period, followed by a second goal by Griffin, assisted by Deacon Nolting and Riley Berry.
Davidson’s third goal was scored by Derek Schmiedge, assisted by Josh Warkentin and Phoenix Prpick, bringing the score to 3-1 at the end of the second period.
Back-to-back goals by Derek Schmiedge and Hunter Wall — scored within 32 seconds of each other near the start of the third period — bolstered Davidson’s lead.
Hunter Herback then scored for Davidson, assisted by Hunter Wall and Derek Schmiedge, followed by a second goal for Vi-Co’s Hunter Breckner.
Connor Tetzlaff scored for Vi-Co with seven minutes remaining, followed by a goal for Davidson by Riley Berry, assisted by Josh Warkentin and Derek Schmiedge, bringing the final tally to 7-3.
The bantam boys had finished the regular season with 12 wins and nine losses. Derek Schmiedge was the team’s high scorer for the season with 32 goals and 22 assists, followed by Maguire Scheidt and Riley Berry.
Mark Scheidt coached the Davidson team this season, assisted by Greg Lemcke and Rob Warkentin. Leah Herback served as team manager.
Dana Ebenal and Val Keeler head down the ice during the Ladies Bonspiel on March 12.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — Thirteen teams took part in this year’s Ladies Bonspiel, hosted by the Davidson Curling Club on March 11 and 12.
Competition took place over two days with the finals taking place on Saturday night. Prizes were donated by close to 40 local businesses, organizations and residents.
Organizer Marla Dezotell said there was one full team taking part from Saskatoon, along with numerous out-of-town players joining local teams.
“It turned out to be a lot of fun,” she said, adding that the weekend was “enjoyed thoroughly by all.”
Finishing in first prize in the A event was Beth Booker’s rink, consisting of herself, third Tracey Palmer, second Teaka White and lead Terry Firby. Booker’s team defeated the Agnes Viczko rink to claim the title.
Donna Cross’s rink defeated Stacey Belisle’s team to win the final in the B event. In addition to Cross, the winning team included lead Lois Dueck, third Selma Nelson, second Karen Reich and fifth Vonne Johnson.
Andrea Pottie’s team defeated Lindsay Cross’s rink to win in the C event, while Laura Williams triumphed over Liza Dahl to claim the title in the D event.
The house at 1311 Folk St. in Holdfast — the scene of a fatal confrontation between resident Gerald Lord and an officer from the Craik RCMP detachment — is pictured last week.
By Joel van der Veen
REGINA — More than two years later, memories of the night of Sept. 11, 2013 were enough to bring tears of the eyes of a former Craik RCMP officer.
It was the night he responded to a call to Holdfast, where he attempted to arrest 42-year-old Gerald Lord on a charge of criminal harassment.
A visit to Lord’s home quickly escalated into a violent confrontation, resulting in the officer drawing his service pistol, firing multiple shots and ending Lord’s life in the process.
“I feared for my life,” the constable testified, saying that using his firearm was his only resort. “I had to do something else just to stay alive.”
The officer was describing the incident on Monday at the Court of Queen’s Bench in Regina, during an inquest into Gerald Lord’s death.
Identified only as “Const. Eric” due to a publication ban relating to his current work, he provided detailed testimony on the first day of a four-day inquest ordered by the Ministry of Justice.
Coroner Alma Wiebe, who led the inquest, reminded the six-member jury on Monday that their purpose was not to determine guilt or innocence.
Rather, the inquest was intended to establish the facts of the incident. The jury would also have the opportunity to make recommendations in order to prevent similar deaths in the future.
Neil Robertson served as coroner’s counsel, while Bruce Gibson and Chris Bernier served as counsel on behalf of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The inquest heard that Const. Eric joined the RCMP in 2010 and was assigned to Craik in 2012. He was working alone on the evening of Sept. 11, 2013, when he received a call at the detachment from Holdfast resident Harry Fischer around 8:20 p.m.
Fischer reported that his former friend, Gerald Lord, had been repeatedly phoning and sending him text and voicemail messages. In the calls and messages, Lord accused him of stealing a hammer and threatened him with physical violence.
Fischer told the officer that he wanted to press charges, so the officer drove to Fischer’s home in Holdfast. En route, the officer said he did database searches for both Fischer and Lord, finding no warrants or other such flags on their records.
After visiting with Fischer, he said, he believed he had grounds for arrest, noting later that Lord phoned around 10 times during the visit.
The officer said he drove to Lord’s house — with Fischer leading the way in his own vehicle — arriving there around 9:30 p.m.
Parking in the driveway, Const. Eric said he advised the dispatch centre of his whereabouts and then went to the back door, having been told this was the primary entrance.
Hearing loud music blaring from inside, he opened the screen door and knocked on the inside door, to no response. The music stopped after a second knock, and Lord opened the door, standing inside on a dimly-lit landing.
“I asked him how he was, I got no answer,” said the constable. “He was just staring blankly.”
Const. Eric said he immediately noticed that Lord was taller and heavier than himself, estimating that he outweighed the officer by around 100 pounds. Lord also appeared to be intoxicated, he said.
According to his testimony, the officer asked Lord to step out of the house and received no response. He then told him he was under arrest.
Lord tried to close the door, but the officer blocked it with his foot. He began to handcuff Lord, placing one cuff on his right hand.
Suddenly, Lord grabbed the officer’s collar and vest strap, shoving him against the inside back wall. Soon he had both hands against the officer’s neck, applying pressure on his throat.
“I couldn’t move either way, he had control of me,” said the constable, testifying that Lord looked into his eyes and said, “Get out of my house or I’ll kill you.”
The officer said he asked Lord repeatedly to let him go and warned that he would use his Taser on him, but to no avail. Two attempts to use the Taser were unsuccessful.
Const. Eric then said he lost his balance and found himself lying prone against the stairs leading to the main floor. The scuffle quickly resumed with Lord’s hands back on the officer’s throat.
The officer said he grabbed his pistol and shot twice at Lord’s body, after which he felt some pressure released from his throat.
He testified that he tossed his Taser out of reach and then, taking the gun in both hands, he fired again, aiming at Lord’s head.
Lord fell to the staircase, and there was no further response from him, said the officer. The encounter lasted less than five minutes.
Const. Eric said he then contacted the dispatch centre using his radio and reported what had happened.
For the full story, please see the March 14 edition of The Davidson Leader.
