Davidson, featured

AGT commits $225K to Davidson rink

The Davidson Communiplex as seen on Google Street View.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — After more than two decades, Davidson’s rink is beginning a new season with a new name — and a long-term influx of cash.

AGT Food and Ingredients — headed by Davidson native Murad Al-Katib — has reached a sponsorship agreement with the town.

The company will contribute $15,000 annually towards the rink for the next 15 years, for a total of $225,000.

As part of the agreement, AGT has secured naming rights to the Davidson Communiplex, which will now become known as the AGT Centre.

Al-Katib announced the deal Wednesday in Davidson during a customer appreciation dinner held in the Sacred Heart Parish Hall, with roughly 85 people in attendance.

He confirmed the news in a Twitter post that night, which read in part, “Be proud of your hometown. A big part of who you are.”

Al-Katib is the president and CEO of AGT Foods, which distributes lentils, chickpeas and other crops to more than 120 countries internationally.

Speaking to the Leader on Friday, Al-Katib said the company has previously contributed to facilities in other towns, including Rosetown, Wilkie and Eston.

“Davidson’s a very important community for us, not only in terms of business,” he said. “It’s my hometown.”

While arenas and sports facilities often serve as community hubs, small towns often struggle to cover the costs of operating and maintaining their rinks.

Al-Katib said he believes it’s important and valuable to ensure such facilities can remain viable.

“That’s pretty exciting for us,” he said. “We want to be a part of that.”

He also said he’s pleased to see the growth happening in Davidson, as evidenced by larger classes at the school and the continued popularity of minor sports here. Continue reading AGT commits $225K to Davidson rink →

Elbow, featured

Elbow draws together for Culture Days

Strongfield’s Sarah Leikam performs a traditional Ukrainian dance at the Elbow arena during the village’s Culture Days weekend on Sept. 30.

By Joel van der Veen

ELBOW — Since last weekend’s Culture Days events in Elbow, two people have agreed to join the Line 19 choir and three more have signed up to learn pickleball.

Not only that, but local musicians, inspired by the camaraderie of the Friday-night singalong, are planning to host monthly jam sessions.

By that measure, Culture Days was a great success, and one that continues to grow.

“This started as a dream,” said organizer Anne Wilson. “It’s just been wonderful. I can hardly talk about it, it chokes me up.”

Elbow was the site of three days of Culture Days events, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, drawing upwards of 700 people.

The family-friendly weekend is hosted by the Elbow and District Museum and organized by a local committee, with support from various people, organizations and businesses.

Culture Days events are held the same weekend across Saskatchewan and the rest of the country.

“It’s just an opportunity for people all across Canada to get together and celebrate culture,” Wilson said.

Wilson explained that the museum board applied for funding from SaskCulture and Saskatchewan Lotteries the preceding fall to host this year’s events, which are presented free of charge.

As organizer, Wilson said her vision this year was a celebration of Canada on its 150th birthday, with a focus on music.

“Culture isn’t just your roots, it’s a feeling created by like-minded individuals,” explained Wilson. “We’ve got a wonderful community . . . We’re situated in an amazing place with lots to do.”

As such, the events were planned with participation in mind, allowing attendees to play an active role.

Wilson worked with an organizing committee, who in turn enlisted volunteers from throughout the area, including Loreburn, Strongfield, Mistusinne, Central Butte, Hanley and Davidson. Continue reading Elbow draws together for Culture Days →

Davidson, featured, Sports

Second gymkhana buckle for Oliver

Tylar Oliver and her horse Josey receive the high-point buckle in junior B girls gymkhana from Saskatchewan Riding Clubs Association president Kirsten Roy.

By Joel van der Veen

MOOSE JAW — Tylar Oliver has some more hardware to add to the collection after competing in provincial riding club finals last month.

Oliver, a Grade 10 student in Davidson, won the high-point Gymkhana buckle in the junior B girls division at the Saskatchewan Riding Clubs Association (SRCA) provincial finals in Moose Jaw.

She and her horse Josey, a chestnut mare, competed in three events — barrel racing, pole bending and the quadrangle race.

Oliver said she’s been riding as long as she can remember, adding, “My dad started me when we moved here, when I was 2.”

She has been riding Josey for the last three years.

Though the mare was new to some competitive events like barrel racing, Oliver said, “She already had that speed mindset in her.”

This was Oliver’s second gymkhana buckle. In 2014, she was the high-point champion in the junior C girls division. She was also voted the SRCA’s provincial queen that year, taking home a trophy saddle.

Nine riders and horses from the Davidson Riding Club competed in this year’s SRCA provincial finals, held Sept. 22 to 24 in Moose Jaw.

Besides Tylar, two other club members picked up high-point buckles over the weekend.

Valerie Brown, riding Penny, received the high-point buckle for her results in the Pioneer Western Performance events.

Meanwhile, Brenda Clarke and Drifter earned the high-point buckle in the senior ladies Gymkhana division, after placing first in three separate events.

Continue reading Second gymkhana buckle for Oliver →

Elbow, Obituary

Obituary: O’Brien, Patrick

O’Brien, Patrick
March 19, 1930 — Sept. 27, 2017

Pat passed away peacefully in Moose Jaw with his family by his side.

Pat was born at Elbow on the family farm in the Harley District. He lived there his entire life, farming and raising cattle. He loved his animals, family and friends. He enjoyed playing cards with everyone.

Pat was predeceased by his parents, Lanora and Charles O’Brien; one brother Thomas; and one sister Ivy; two brothers-in-law Fred and Les Stevens; and one sister-in-law Florence.

He is survived by his sister Kay (Eric) of Maple Creek and his brother Donald (Sandra) of Elbow. Also, many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews.

A private family interment will take place at a later date.

He will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Donald, Sandra and all family members.

Hawarden, Obituary

Obituary: Pederson, Elaine

Elaine Pederson (Hansen)
1944 — 2017

She was a 60-yard dash runner, figure skater, nurse, curler, gardener, reader and traveller. She was a small-town girl — helpful and involved, always trying to make things better for everyone and finding every opportunity to learn something new. She grew up in Rouleau, Sask., and knew she wanted to be a nurse from the time she was a little girl. She moved to Saskatoon in 1962 to attend the College of Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan where she earned her degree and RN designation, met lifelong friends, and in spite of a girlhood pledge to never marry a farmer, caught the eye of an Agro who was in her English, Chemistry and Biology classes.

After convocation and getting married, Elaine worked as a public health nurse for the Victorian Order of Nurses, driving to her patients’ homes to administer medications, making sure they were safe and well, and being a friendly and professional face at the door, providing a human connection that was at the heart of the kind of nursing she always wanted to do. They moved to the farm northeast of Hawarden in 1969, built a home and were part of the community for over 40 years.

Elaine was stylish, practical and no-nonsense. She had a strong sense of fairness and justice, which she practised in her 18 years as a member and then Chair of the Saskatchewan Social Services Appeal Board, and as a mother — her daughters were always to be kind, treat everyone equally, speak out against wrongs, and step up in defense of others.

Elaine was predeceased by her parents Marvin and Olive Hansen, and will live on through her family: David, her husband of 50 years, cared for her every day with love, tenderness, good humour, and grace. She was deeply loved and will be remembered by her daughters Susan, Sandy, and Jen, her sons-in-law James and Doug, her grandchildren, John and Lucy, and Owyn, Milo and Dawson, and her younger brothers Gordon and Alan, sisters-in-law Fran and Kathy, and their families.

Our family is deeply grateful to those who cared for her after a diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia. From the home care nurses who drove to the farm every day, to the Saskatchewan Abilities Council for providing essential equipment, to Jamie Pfeifer, who moved mountains to keep Mom and Dad together at Parkville Manor and helped navigate the long-term care system, to the Direct Client Funding program, and to Parkridge Centre East 2, who provided close and compassionate care for all of us in her last days. Most of all, we thank Dale Natowcappo, who came twice daily to care for Elaine seven days a week for nearly four years. She has been a strong, sweet, and steady force in our lives and it is because of her that Elaine and David were able to live together at home for as long as they did.

A service to celebrate Elaine’s life was held at Park Funeral Home on Thursday, October 5, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. Donations in her memory can be made to Alzheimer Society Saskatchewan (alzheimer.ca/Saskatchewan), Saskatchewan Abilities Council (abilitiescouncil.sk.ca), and The Lighthouse Supported Living (lighthousesaskatoon.org).

To share memories and condolences, visit www.parkfuneral.ca “Obituaries-Guestbook.” Arrangements are entrusted to Derryl Hildebrandt, Park Funeral Home (306-244-2103).

Elbow, featured

Sun sets on a tragic summer on Lake Diefenbaker

By Joel van der Veen

ELBOW — Peace pervades Lake Diefenbaker on a late September evening.

Few are out on the water, though a sharp eye can spot the odd boat far in the distance.

A lone paddleboarder makes his way across the horizon. From this vantage point, he is just a silhouette on the brilliant light painting that fills the sky — wispy, orange-tinted clouds against a pale blue backdrop.

The lake is calm and serene, almost deceptively so.

A sudden storm can catch boaters by surprise, and sometimes with fatal consequences.

The sun has set on another summer on Lake Diefenbaker — the deadliest one in recent memory.

Between late July and early September, four people drowned on the lake in three separate incidents.

Of those people, two lived in Loreburn and one was a Saskatoon resident. The fourth was an adult male whose place of residence was not made public.

Only one of the deceased — Ken Houben, 61, of Loreburn — was identified publicly.

After years without a drowning on the lake, local officials say this year’s death toll took them and other residents by surprise.

“We’ve never experienced a summer like this,” said Elbow mayor Rob Hundeby, a lifelong resident of the village. “Obviously, the (village) grieves with them . . . It’s a devastating loss.”

Cpl. Doug Gardiner, commanding officer for the Elbow RCMP detachment, acknowledged that the year had been “extremely unusual.”

Gardiner said he has worked in the region for five-and-a-half years. During that time, he said, there had been no drownings reported on the lake until this summer.

The corporal said he could not comment on the individual incidents as they remained under investigation.

Continue reading Sun sets on a tragic summer on Lake Diefenbaker →

The Davidson Leader, Davidson, Saskatchewan