Madelyn Vollmer (6) of the Davidson/Loreburn RaiTec delivers a jump serve during the team’s home tournament, held Sept. 11 and 12 in Davidson.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — A weekend of spikes, smashes and serves ended in victory for the Davidson/Loreburn RaiTec.
The local senior girls volleyball team hosted five opponents in a weekend tournament at Davidson School on Sept. 11 and 12, defeating Porcupine Plain in the final to claim first place overall.
Also taking part in the tournament were teams from Allan, Biggar, Beechy and Vonda. The teams faced off against each other one by one with the top two schools competing in the final on Saturday.
Coach Karen McConnell said the event was a success and noted that the girls are playing together well, even at this early point in the year. She predicted a “very exciting season” ahead.
“Our Grade 10 girls are fitting in perfectly,” she noted. “The girls are all super hard-working … I’m excited to see how much they grow over the season.”
The RaiTec visited Outlook High School on Wednesday to take on the senior girls there, winning in all five sets. In one set, Loreburn’s Karissa Rendall made 19 consecutive serves.
The team was scheduled to face a couple of recent opponents again over the weekend as the girls visited both Beechy and Porcupine Plain.
In other local volleyball action, Kenaston’s senior girls hosted Outlook’s Lutheran Collegiate Bible Institute on Wednesday. LCBI won three sets while the home team won the remaining two.
CRAIK — Town councillors affirmed their support of the Water Task Force last week, giving the group approval to spend up to $10,000 in its efforts to address Craik’s water infrastructure issues.
Coun. Charla Edwards, a member of the task force, brought the request to council at its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday.
As parts and equipment are purchased and work is completed, the costs are adding up, and Edwards said that having to seek individual approval for every purchase was hampering the group’s efforts.
“All these purchases are ‘have to have’,” she told council. “I know that we have to have accountability . . . We’re asking for your trust.”
Councillors approved a motion allowing the Water Task Force to spend up to $10,000 on water maintenance and infrastructure, with the stipulation that council would be continuously updated on how the funds were being spent.
The task force will need to submit another request to council once it has spent that initial sum, while an overall spending limit of $60,000 has been set for the remainder of 2015.
Edwards provided council with a detailed update on the group’s efforts, which are ultimately aimed at bringing the town’s water treatment equipment into proper operation and thus providing Craik residents with potable water.
The Town of Craik has been under a continuous boil water advisory since Aug. 17, 2010. The task force was formed by a group of local citizens following a mechanical failure that forced the town’s water system offline for several days last July.
Edwards discussed some of the work being done to the water treatment equipment and to the plant building itself.
Having successfully started the natural gas pump at the old plant, she said she was completing an illustrated manual that details its proper use, along with an accountability chart to ensure maintenance is being carried out.
The gas pump must be ready for use in case of an emergency or power failure, said Edwards.
The task force had also asked town staff to prepare a tender for the repair of the plant roof, but a simpler solution was devised by members of the local fire department.
Edwards said she had obtained a quote from Aaron Obrigewitsch to install an energy-efficient furnace at the plant for around $4,200.
Several other items of equipment are slated for repair or replacement, while the task force is also making efforts to clean up and improve the old plant, constructed in 1965.
For the full story, please see the Sept. 14 edition of The Davidson Leader.
CRAIK — Two vehicles were stolen in the Davidson area during an apparent crime spree on Tuesday night that stretched from north of Saskatoon down to Aylesbury.
According to a news release issued by the Craik RCMP detachment, an unknown suspect or suspects embarked on a binge of breaking and entering of vehicles between 11 p.m. on Sept. 8 and 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 9.
Police believe the suspect or suspects rummaged through several vehicles in multiple communities along Highway 11, including Davidson, Craik and Aylesbury.
Two vehicles were reported stolen from the Davidson area, although one of the vehicles was later located within town limits.
Const. Matthew Moline, speaking to the Leader, was tight-lipped about the thefts, saying that the spree remains under active investigation.
Moline declined to disclose any information about the second stolen vehicle, which had yet to be recovered as of Thursday.
However, police have connected the incidents in this area to similar thefts in several communities north of Saskatoon, including Rosthern, Laird and Hepburn, that occurred the same night.
Moline said that items stolen in those communities were later recovered in this area, thus indicating to police that “it’s the same crew.”
The Leader also received reports of suspects rummaging through vehicles in Dundurn last week. Moline said he hadn’t heard about any such incidents but said there could be a connection.
Police issued the usual reminder to local residents to keep homes and garages locked in their absence.
The public is also reminded to keep vehicles locked and to keep valuable property hidden from view, and to report any suspicious activity in the area.
Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the Craik RCMP or Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers.
Pictured is the Raiders’ Dawson George (25), carrying the ball to score one of the five touchdowns he completed on Thursday night.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — If Thursday’s game set the tone for the months to follow, Davidson Raiders football fans can look forward to a highly exciting season.
The senior Raiders enjoyed a 70-66 win in an exhibition game over the Lutheran Collegiate Bible Institute (LCBI) Bisons of Outlook, delighting a hometown crowd at the Kinsmen Field.
After a tight first half that saw the lead shift back and forth several times, the Raiders held the lead for virtually the entire second half, though the Bisons were never far behind.
It was a captivating game, and coach Jason Low said he was proud of the team and pleased to be able to return the support shown by the community with a win at home.
He credited the win to a combined effort by the entire team, along with strong performances on both offence and defence and the support of an expanded coaching staff.
“We won today because we played as a team,” Low said Thursday night. “They’ve been working hard . . . I’m excited and I’m proud of the guys.”
LCBI has proved a strong competitor in past years, routinely defeating the Raiders, and Thursday’s success was a hard-earned reversal of fortune.
Low said the team is working to view each game as a potential victory within their grasp, explaining, “Our approach this season was that we wanted to beat everybody.”
Dawson George of Kenaston scored the Raiders’ opening touchdown and would go on to score four more by the game’s end.
Among the other offensive highlights were a breakaway run by Dylan Payne and back-to-back touchdowns by quarterback Andrew Read. Jacob Schilling also completed two touchdowns.
A major factor in the team’s win was its success in kicking field goals. The Raiders managed to earn conversions on five out of 10 touchdowns, adding a total of 20 points to their score.
Davidson held a slim lead at the midway point with a score of 34-32, and maintained that lead for most of the second half, though the score was briefly tied at 46 points each.
Low noted he was impressed with defensive backs Cole Murfitt and James Morrison, saying they provided good coverage and fine tackling.
He also had praise for Reegan Taylor, saying he played with “a lot of heart, and left it all on the field.”
The coach acknowledged that the team had picked up its share of penalties through the course of the game, chalking some of that up to opening night jitters.
“A lot of that’s normal but, I think, preventable,” he said. “A lot of it will come with experience.”
Low said the expanded coaching staff had proven immensely helpful, allowing individual coaches to focus on particular areas and bringing considerable expertise to the team.
He said it was a major factor in the team’s victory, along with the junior football program, in which many of the younger players have taken part.
“The more kids we get out playing junior ball, the more football sense they have,” he said. “They’re just stepping into sports that much easier.”
The victory over LCBI was only the second win for the senior team since Davidson School revived its football program in the fall of 2011.
Gracie Allan (7) of the Davidson/Loreburn RaiTec dives for the ball during a game in the RAVE tournament held at Loreburn last weekend.
By Joel van der Veen
LOREBURN — Few would have welcomed the prospect of a rainy Labour Day weekend, but it proved a boon for organizers of Loreburn’s annual senior girls volleyball tournament.
The rain may have put farmers behind schedule, but it also brought piles of spectators and volunteers to the Loreburn rink, said Brandy Losie.
“The place was packed all Friday night and all day Saturday,” said the village administrator. “The rain really helped.”
A total of 15 teams competed in the senior RAVE (Really Amazing Volleyball Event) tournament, held Sept. 4 and 5 and organized by the Loreburn Recreation Board and Loreburn Central School (LCS).
The North West Central School Wildcats from Plenty were the winners of the event, coming out on top in the championship pool that also included the Assiniboia Rockets, the Eston Mustangs and the Davidson/Loreburn RaiTec B.
Other competitors included the Hanley Sabers, the Kenaston Kodiaks, the LCBI Bisons, the Frontier Raiders, the Outlook Blues, the Dinsmore Wildcats, the Beechy/Lucky Lake Blazers, the Marengo/Westcliff High Warriors, the Eatonia Spartans and the St. Walburg Saints.
Losie said planning for the event hit a snag as the new gym floor at LCS wasn’t yet ready for use, forcing organizers to hold all the matches in the Loreburn rink.
However, two teams subsequently dropped out of the event, and with players from the Davidson/Loreburn RaiTec splitting into two teams, the tournament went ahead smoothly.
Losie said the weekend went well from an organizational standpoint. The school and recreation board have combined forces to run the tournament, with lots of help from students and others.
The teams were divided into three pools for round robin games on Friday night and Saturday morning. They were then split up again based on their performance, with the winner declared from the championship pool.
The Davidson/Loreburn B team won all eight of its matches in the round robin section, finishing first in the C pool, but ended up fourth in the championship pool with just one win out of six matches.
Kenaston won five matches and lost three in the round robin, coming second in the B pool, and then finished third in the X pool with three wins and three losses.
Hanley had four wins and four losses in the round robin section, coming third in pool C, but then won five out of six matches in the X pool to take first place there.
The Davidson/Loreburn A team won three and lost five in the round robin section, giving them fourth place in the A pool. They then finished in second place in the Y pool with three wins and three losses.
Loreburn’s junior volleyball tournament was scheduled for this past weekend, featuring a total of 16 entries, evenly divided between boys’ and girls’ teams.
Losie said the gym floor was ready to go as of last Tuesday, so both the school and the rink were expected to be busy over the weekend. Details will follow in an upcoming edition of the Leader.
Mark Janke and Chris and Keith Bryenton of Coppertop Towing in Elbow secure tow straps under a pontoon boat they were tasked with recovering from the rocks of the Qu’Appelle dam at Lake Diefenbaker.
By Tara de Ryk
ELBOW — A crane plucked a 3,500-pound pontoon boat off the rocks of the Qu’Appelle dam Aug. 28.
It was all in a day’s work for Mark Janke, owner of Coppertop Towing, and for crane operator Jarred Beattie of Alliance Crane out of Moose Jaw. Both are often tasked with recovering a variety of vehicles, but for both, recovering a wrecked boat out of Lake Diefenbaker was a first.
The boat landed on the rocks after strong winds in early August ripped it from its mooring and sent it sailing down the lake.
“I bet the waves down here were a good eight feet high that day,” Janke said. The wind and waves sent the boat on a collision course with the Qu’Appelle dam. The pontoon boat wound up wrecked on the rocks, one of its pontoons ripped to shreds.
Its resting place was at the midway point of the dam, making a recovery from shore impossible. Towing the wreckage to land by boat was also unfeasible because one pontoon was destroyed and the other was waterlogged.
Janke said the boat owner’s insurance company asked him to come up with a plan to recover the watercraft.
“I decided the safest way to do it was by crane,” Janke said.
He had to get permission from CP Rail to use the right-of-way across the dam for the recovery. Janke said officials from Environment had been out earlier and removed fuel and contaminants from the boat.
Janke hired Alliance Crane and Beattie arrived around 10:15 a.m. Friday morning with the mobile crane. He angled it on the driveway beside the railway tracks and extended a series of booms high into the air, across the dam and over the lake.
Below, Jahnke and helpers Chris and Keith Bryenton worked out a way to secure the boat to the cables.
Balancing and securing the weight of the boat proved tricky due to the outboard motor and the wrecked pontoon, which made it difficult to secure the cable.
After about one hour of adjusting the straps and chains in various combinations, success was achieved and the pontoon boat was raised out of the lake and onto Janke’s flatdeck truck.
Janke was pleased with the job.
“When it’s (the boat) broke up like this…I calculate for the worst and hope I get lucky,” he said. “I brought it out the best I could without putting another mark on it.”
He was helped by the weather. There was hardly any wind and the lake was calm.
Beattie said he does a lot of salvage work, including recovering rolled semis and farm machinery, but “boats are kind of a rare lift.”
Janke said the pontoon boat would be delivered to a wrecker in Saskatoon.
