By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Almost eight years after their arrival here, Dr. Francisco Lang and his family are Canadian citizens at last.

The doctor, his wife Luisabel and their sons Frank and J.J. were officially granted their citizenship at a ceremony at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina on July 13.

Lang said last week he feels “immense joy and happiness” at the milestone, which only came following a long process with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

“I have no words to describe how I feel,” he said, adding that the ceremony was a highlight of his time in Canada so far, and that he and his family feel great pride

to call themselves Canadian citizens.

The Lang family hails from the Cuban province of Pinar del Río. The doctor arrived in Davidson in November 2007 to begin his practice here after working in South Africa for more than 10 years.

Lang said that working in Canada appealed to him for multiple reasons, including the country’s reputation as a leader in medical research and innovation, but also because he desired “a safer environment for my children and my family and myself.”

The family applied for its citizenship in August 2010, nearly five years ago, and Lang said he’s still not sure why the process took so long.

“I don’t have an answer for that question,” he said. “I thought the process was not going to be so lengthy . . . We’ve been waiting for reasons that we still don’t know.”

Lang said he believes that current world affairs have led authorities to conduct more thorough research and investigation before approving applications for citizenship, which may have been a factor behind their long wait.

He, Luisabel and Frank took their citizenship exams in June 2013; J.J. was exempted due to his age. The three of them passed and also had interviews with immigration officers.

They were given extensive questionnaires to fill out, requiring detailed information on their backgrounds and careers.

For years, Lang said, they watched for the notice in the mail, but it was not until early July that the invitation to their citizenship ceremony finally arrived.

He and his family were part of a group of 67 people, representing a total of 30 countries, who took the oath of citizenship on July 13.

Citizenship judge Terrence O’Malley conducted the ceremony. Also present was Ralph Goodale, longtime Liberal MP for the riding of Wascana.

Lang said some of his staff from Davidson, including receptionists Corey Eddie and Joanne Elder, attended the ceremony.

He expressed his appreciation to the community for what he called its “enormous support,” including those who asked for updates on their progress.

This included the town council, which wrote letters to the federal government inquiring about the Langs’ citizenship.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — The next step towards the construction of Davidson’s new pool is on the horizon, town councillors heard at this week’s meeting.

Recreation director Trevor Ouellette, who visited the July 21 meeting as a delegation, received approval from council last week to make arrangements with Regina-based firm Walker Projects to start seeking proposals from contractors.

“They are ready to get started as soon as we sign,” he told council at the meeting, distributing documents outlining the company’s services and fees.

With a total of $1,065,000 raised for the pool in three years, Ouellette said that it’s likely the first phase of construction could begin by the spring of 2016, with the pool being ready for use the following year.

Estimates on the cost of the project have varied, but based on current information, he placed the total cost at somewhere between $1.25 million and $1.3 million.

Ouellette was joined later in the meeting by a delegation from the swimming pool fundraising committee, consisting of Crystal Johnson, Brenna Siroski and Erin Gust.

Like the town councillors, committee members welcomed the news, but they also took the opportunity to voice some concerns.

To read more, please see the July 27th print edition of The Davidson Leader. To subscribe email: davidsonleader@sasktel.net

By Joel van der Veen

SASKATOON — A Davidson native was part of a group of dentists, hygienists and other assistants who spent nine days in Guatemala last month, bringing dental care to patients in some of the country’s most remote regions.

Erik Johnson, 27, the son of Everett and Vonné Johnson of Davidson, is finishing up his four-year program at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Dentistry.

He said he and a fellow graduate, Dacre Hamilton, were invited to join the trip by Dr. Nekky Jamal, who operates Wayside Dental Clinic in Lloydminster and has hired Johnson and Hamilton to begin work there after their graduation.

The group — which included seven dentists, three assistants, two hygienists and about a dozen other helpers — visited Guatemala from March 13 to 22.

Johnson said the group saw hundreds of patients as they travelled to different villages, most of them in remote, mountainous areas, where poverty is widespread and access to dental care is limited.

On top of that, many of the locals have little access to clean drinking water and instead consume soft drinks like Coca-Cola. The high level of sugar in those drinks exacerbates the problem, allowing for cavities and extensive tooth decay to run rampant.

The trip was organized with the non-profit group Kindness in Action, which has sent other groups on similar missions to Peru, Nicaragua and various African countries.

The group set up mobile clinics and offered their services to any patients who showed up. This included pulling teeth, performing fillings, doing general cleaning — “whatever we could do for them,” in Johnson’s words.

Johnson said there was some “culture shock” as many of the locals had never encountered Caucasians before, but they were welcomed and thanked in each place.

“We were these white guys that were rolling into their village,” he recalled, adding that even some of the teenage patients they saw had never visited a dentist before. “They definitely don’t have routine dental care going on. . . They’re basically left alone up there to fend for themselves.”

While the team did not have the equipment to perform complex procedures like root canals, they handled hundreds of patients each day, also presenting each one with a small gift and toothbrush after their check-ups were complete.

To read the complete story, pick up the April 13 edition of The Davidson Leader.