It is with sadness the family of Rudy Thurlow announces his passing.
Rudy is survived by his wife Val; daughters Marion (Ross), Fran (Tom) and Carol; son Chris (Stephanie); daughter-in-law Leanne (Steve); numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as his family from the Davidson Health Centre where he resided for the past 17 years.
Rudy was predeceased by his father Rodolf, mother Ruth, brother Geofrey, sisters Muriel and Leila and son Rudy Jr.
At Rudy’s request there will be a family service and burial at a later date.
For those so wishing, memorial donations in memory of Rudy may be directed to the Heartland Health Region Activities Department.
Hanson’s Funeral Home of Davidson was in care of arrangements.
Staff. Sgt. Greg Abbot of the Saskatoon RCMP detachment speaks to the crowd at Kenaston Place Dec. 15 as more than 80 local residents gathered to organize a search effort for missing Kenaston woman Sheree Fertuck.
By Joel van der Veen
KENASTON — With no sign of Sheree Fertuck more than a week after she was last seen, her brother said he and his family are still keeping up hope that she’ll be found soon.
“I gotta keep my head above the water,” Darren Sorotski said Tuesday at Kenaston Place, where more than 80 people gathered to discuss an organized search for Fertuck.
The Kenaston woman and mother of three has been missing since Dec. 7, when she was last seen around 1:30 p.m., leaving the family farmyard east of the village.
A semi truck used by Fertuck to haul gravel was found around 8 a.m. the following day at a gravel pit located off of Highway 15.
Searches undertaken by police, family and local residents since then have failed to turn up any trace of the 51-year-old woman.
Dozens of residents took part in the search effort last week, organizing into parties and combing the rural area east of the village.
Kenaston Place was serving as a registration and co-ordination centre for the search, with meals, water and coffee being provided for volunteers.
EMO co-ordinator Gene Whitehead said Tuesday that the volunteers would cover the area gradually, aiming to complete a thorough search.
“We don’t want to tire everybody out,” he told the group gathered at Kenaston Place. “We have a lot of areas we are covering.”
Staff Sgt. Greg Abbott of the Saskatoon RCMP detachment was present at Tuesday’s meeting, addressing the crowd several times.
He said the police are in full support of the community search efforts and offered guidance and suggestions to those involved.
“You’re looking for anything that can help us understand what happened,” said Abbott, “anything that looks suspicious.”
He advised anyone who finds anything suspicious to contact the search co-ordinators without compromising the scene, adding, “The intent is not to disturb anything that may be evidence to what happened.”
Abbott also said that safety is a priority, noting that the recently-fallen snow may mask the uneven terrain, leaving searchers vulnerable to stumbling over wells, pits or cisterns.
“I know you are all anxious to do whatever you can for the family, and for Sheree,” he said.
He told the crowd on Tuesday that he could not provide any information about the investigation into Fertuck’s disappearance, beyond what has already been made public.
Fertuck is the daughter of Juliann and the late Michael Sorotski of Kenaston, and was living and working from the family farm at the time of her disappearance.
After she was reported missing, the Saskatoon RCMP undertook a ground search of the area with assistance from the police dog unit and other RCMP units.
On Dec. 11, police released an update stating that the case was now being treated as suspicious, given that Sheree was “a person of habit and predictable behaviours.”
Local residents said Tuesday that Fertuck was a familiar face in the district and was regularly seen operating her truck on Highway 15.
“We all wish that this was different,” Whitehead said Tuesday night. “We have enough people to do a good job (of the search).”
Darren Sorotski said that the community has reached out in support in multiple ways since Fertuck’s disappearance, including delivery of hot meals to the family home.
He also spoke positively of the RCMP’s efforts.
Whitehead reminded the searchers to take their time, dress appropriately, take care when operating machinery and to be accountable so that organizers can keep track of who is taking part.
Anyone volunteering is required to check in at Kenaston Place at the start and end of each shift. Updates on the search effort are being provided online at kenaston.ca and through social media.
Search co-ordinators also issued a request to anyone who has not yet checked the wells, ditches, outbuildings and treed areas on their property, asking them to do so and then report same to Whitehead.
“As you work around the area, are loading or hauling grain, etc., please keep your eyes open for anything that looks out of place or suspect,” stated the request.
Fertuck is described as around 5’4″ in height and weighing around 250 lbs., with greying brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing grey sweatpants, a grey sweater and white running shoes.
Anyone with information on her disappearance is asked to contact the Saskatoon RCMP detachment at 306-975-5145 or Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Sheree Fertuck is seen here with her children Lanna, Lauren and Lucas in this undated family photo.
By Joel van der Veen
KENASTON — Despite the efforts of friends, family and police, there remained no word late last week on the whereabouts of Kenaston resident Sheree Fertuck.
The 51-year-old mother of three was last seen leaving the family farmyard east of Kenaston near Highway 15 on Dec. 7, around 1:30 p.m.
A semi truck used by Fertuck to haul gravel was located around 8 a.m. the following day at a gravel pit further east off of Highway 15.
Police announced Friday afternoon that, following several days of investigation, they were treating Fertuck’s disappearance as suspicious.
Her mother, Juliann Sorotski, said she had become concerned about her daughter and had found the truck on Tuesday morning, prior to filing a missing persons report with the police. She latertold CBC that the keys and Fertuck’s phone were still inside the truck when she found it.
“I was just hoping that I would find her, or find some kind of clue of where she might have been,” Sorotski told the Leader.
She also contacted friends and family, asking if they’d heard from Fertuck or seen any trace of her since Monday night.
John M. McJannet, a long-time neighbour and friend of the Sorotskis, said a group of seven went back to the gravel pit to see if they could find any evidence there.
“We drove down and had a quick look around,” he said, adding that police arrived later and asked the searchers to leave so the area could be contained. “The RCMP showed up and that was pretty much the end of that.”
Members of the Saskatoon RCMP detachment conducted a ground search of the area on Tuesday evening with assistance from the detachment’s police dog service.
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Also lending a hand with the investigation were members from the RCMP Major Crime Unit South, the Saskatoon RCMP General Investigation Section and the RCMP Historical Case Unit North.
“At this point, investigators cannot say if Sheree’s disappearance is suspicious,” read the release issued Wednesday. “It is certainly out of character for her to be out of contact with her family.”
In a statement issued Friday, police declared that the case was being treated as suspicious, given that their investigation had so far revealed that “Sheree was a person of habit and predictable behaviours.”
Flyers were posted in and around Kenaston. Additional units joined the investigation over the course of the week, and police issued a request to local residents to check their property, outbuildings and surrounding areas for any signs of unusual activity, including shoe or vehicle tracks.
Police specifically requested any information on sightings of Fertuck, her truck or suspicious activity in the area between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.
Anyone who was travelling in the area or near the GPS co-ordinates North 51 degrees 2951.3, West 105 degrees 5505.5, and who may have taken video or photo images during that timeframe, is asked to contact police immediately.
Given the circumstances, Sorotski said she suspects strongly that Fertuck was abducted, adding, “I’m just hoping she can be found by somebody.”
Fertuck is the daughter of Juliann and the late Michael Sorotski. She is the mother of three children: Lucas, 22; Lauren, 19; and Lanna, 17.
She was living and working from the farm at the time of her disappearance. She and her husband Greg have been separated for around five years, her mother said last week.
Fertuck is described as around 5’4” in height and weighing 250 lbs., with greying brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing grey sweatpants, a grey sweater and white running shoes.
Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the Saskatoon RCMP detachment at 306-975-5145 or Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
It is with great sadness that the family announces the passing of Ann Matovich, age 91, on Dec. 2, 2015 at Royal University Hospital.
Ann will be lovingly remembered by her children Genevieve, Diana (Jim) and John, as well as other family members. She was predeceased by her husband Steve in 1997.
A graveside service was held in Kenaston on Dec. 7, 2015. Special thanks to Fr. Rehl from RUH. Memorial donations may be made in Ann’s name to St. Andrew’s Parish (Box 94, Kenaston, SK S0G 1A0) or to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements entrusted to Saskatoon Funeral Home (306-244-5577).
KENASTON — Police are investigating the disappearance of a Saskatoon woman who was last seen in the Kenaston area earlier this week.
Sheree Fertuck, 51, formerly of Kenaston, was last seen leaving her family’s farmyard east of the village near Highway 15 around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, according to a news release issued by Saskatoon RCMP.
Her semi truck, which she uses to haul gravel, was found around 8 a.m. on Tuesday at a gravel pit, further east off the highway.
Fertuck is described as around 5’4″ in height, 250 lbs. with greying brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing grey sweat pants, a grey sweater and white running shoes.
Sheree is the daughter of Juliann and the late Michael Sorotski of the Kenaston district. She resides in Saskatoon. She and her husband, Greg Fertuck, have three children.
Police are continuing their investigation.
Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the Saskatoon RCMP at 306-975-5145 or Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Jan Ludwig herds cattle belonging to Siroski Farms from the corrals to the pasture in this 2012 file photo.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — After more than 75 years, the sun has set on an era for the former PFRA pastures at Willner and Elbow.
The cattle were brought off the fields last month, and now patrons are preparing for the first season under new management — themselves.
Despite a new Liberal government in Ottawa and calls to halt the transfer of the former PFRA grasslands, Ian McCreary said last week there’s little hope that the course will change at this point.
“Our sense is it’s going to be very difficult for them to change anything for our year,” he said. “It’s unlikely that we can avoid the transfer process . . . Governments tend to move not entirely quickly.”
McCreary sits on the board of directors elected last spring to oversee the Willner-Elbow Grazing Corporation, which is leasing the two pastures that had been operated by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration dating back to the early 1940s.
This will allow ranchers to continue using the land that has been available to them for generations, but not without a steep increase in the fees they must pay.
Such is the new reality facing ranchers, three years after the Conservative government announced its plans to end the Community Pasture Program.
This involved divesting the 85 pastures that were operated through the program — 62 of which were in Saskatchewan — on a gradual basis between 2013 and 2018.
The McCraney pasture was part of the first group of 10 to be transferred to the provincial government for the 2014 season.
This year, the Willner-Elbow pastures — with a combined total area of 36,200 acres, enough room for about 2,100 cattle and another 70 bulls — began the transition. The province takes over the pastures in March and will then lease them to the corporation.
McCreary said that existing patrons have paid their deposits and that the pastures are already expected to be about 75 per cent filled with existing cattle for the 2016 season.
The corporation has advertised that it will accept additional cattle, though current patrons will have first dibs on available capacity.
McCreary said the interest received so far indicates that the need for the pasture land is evident. He added that the “cattle cycle” is currently at a peak phase, with the average calf price last year reaching over $1,500.
“There’s a lot more interest in livestock now than there was when the process started,” he said, noting that cattle prices cycle through peaks and valleys.
He also said the corporation is optimistic that the current manager, Ross Sigfusson, will return for the 2016 season.
Lease fees are a new part of the equation for patrons. The province will charge around $135,000 for the season, representing about a third of the corporation’s total annual budget. As a result, McCreary estimated, grazing fees will increase by 30 to 40 per cent over what patrons paid last year.
The corporation also continues to grapple with the presence of leafy spurge, an invasive plant that displaces native vegetation in fields.
McCreary estimated that between 9,000 and 12,000 acres on the two pastures are affected by the spurge, making it a significant concern.
An existing sheep grazing program has helped address the problem on a short-term basis, as sheep will eat the spurge and leave the grass behind, but McCreary said a long-term solution is needed.
With the shift in Ottawa resulting from the Oct. 19 election, several nature groups, including Nature Saskatchewan, have called on the federal government to put an immediate pause on the transfer of former PFRA grasslands.
A news release issued Oct. 29 said a plan is needed to sustain the ecological values of sites like the Govenlock community pasture, protecting species at risk while allowing for ongoing use by cattle ranchers.
Nature Saskatchewan excutive director Jordan Ignatiuk said all signs have indicated the process is unlikely to stop, despite the change in power.
“We don’t expect that there’s going to be a reversal,” he said, noting that his organization is still encouraged by the Liberal government’s apparent commitment to the environment.
While it’s been difficult for Nature Saskatchewan to monitor the situation closely due to the sheer number of pastures, Ignatiuk added, “To some degree we’ve got an idea of what’s happening.”
The McCraney pasture began the transition process two years earlier and has been operated under a patron-directed corporation since then. McCreary said the Willner-Elbow patrons have been able to watch and learn from that transition.
For the full story, please see the Nov. 9 edition of The Davidson Leader.
