DAVIDSON—Someone took a crack at breaking into the vault inside the RM office building on Lincoln Street in Davidson.
Craik RCMP report that sometime between the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 13 and Monday, Feb. 16 culprit(s) broke the side door into the office building shared by the rural municipalities of Willner and of Arm River.
RCMP Const. Kam Hay said much effort and time was spent trying to break through the brick wall that is behind the walk-in safe. He said the culprit(s) were likely in the building for a long time, so if anyone noticed suspicious vehicles or activity, to report it to police.
He said substantial damage was done to the building in the attempt to get into a safe that contains neither cash nor valuables.
Craik RCMP report this was the second break and enter into the RM office building in recent weeks. This time, as was in the first case, nothing was taken.
People who have information about this or other crimes should contact Craik RCMP.
Police seek B&E suspects
RCMP are looking for the man and the woman who stole booze and smokes from local convenience stores and gas stations last Wednesday.
Saskatoon and Outlook RCMP report that in the early morning hours of Feb. 18, three break and enters into convenience stores/gas stations took place in Hanley, Kenaston and Outlook. Police believe the two suspects involved are male and female.
The suspects are believed to have fled from the scenes, in a vehicle, with large amounts of alcohol and tobacco products.
Saskatoon and Outlook RCMP continue to investigate and want anyone with information about this crime to contact them at the Saskatoon RCMP detachment by calling 306-975-5154.
Stolen vehicle located in Brandon, Man.
By Kevin Gilby
CRAIK—RCMP received a report of a stolen vehicle at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15.
The vehicle, stolen from a local business, was later recovered that evening by the Brandon Police Service.
The suspect is reported to have stolen a vehicle from Edmonton and was proceeding eastward when the vehicle became disabled near Craik at which point another vehicle was stolen.
After eluding the RCMP during a high-speed chase in Manitoba, the Brandon Police Service were notified of the stolen vehicle. A short time later, the Brandon police located the vehicle, and a lone male occupant, in a Brandon motel parking lot.
The Edmonton man faces charges for possession of property obtained by crime. RCMP report that the man is to be remanded in Edmonton where he faces additional charges.
The thefts remain under investigation.
Craik RCMP cautions people to be extra vigilant about their vehicles and possessions as warmer weather brings an increase in transients and people travelling through the area.
Residents are urged to report any criminal or suspicious activity to the Craik RCMP detachment at (306) 734-5200.
Cyclones bust Balcarres Broncs
DAVIDSON—Davidson Cyclones busted the Balcarres Broncs last Tuesday to advance to the Senior A South Semi-final against the Bethune Bulldogs.
Cyclones goalie Mark Zoerb shutout the Broncs to give his team the 5-0 win in Game 3 of the best of three-game series.
Cody Danberg (Pat Cey and Kyle Bortis) scored in the first minute of the game to put the Cyclones up 1-0.
While on the powerplay four minutes into the second period, Cey, from Zach Sim and Bortis, scored to give Davidson a two-goal advantage. Less than a minute later Carter Smith, from Derek Allan, padded the lead to 3-0. With eight minutes left in the period Bortis (Cey and Danberg) scored the Cyclones’ fourth unanswered goal of the game, ending Broncs’ goalie David Spooner’s night in net. The goalie change failed to turn the game to Balcarres’ favour. Bortis got his second goal of the game while the Cyclones were on the powerplay.
This would be the last goal of the night. The third period remained scoreless and Davidson skated away with the 5-0 win.
The Cyclones outplayed and out-hustled Balcarres throughout the game. The Broncs were noticeably out of gas and Spooner, who turned away 66 shots in Game 1 showed he is mortal.
“I think they wanted to try and win it in Balcarres the night before,” Cyclones coach Jason Shaw said.
This go-for-broke approach to Game 2 in Balcarres Feb. 16 cost the Broncs. Balcarres had a 2-0 lead late in the first period before Carter Smith, from Brett Ward, put Davidson on the scoreboard with 15 seconds remaining.
The score remained 2-1 well into the second period before Balcarres scored again to take a short-lived 3-1 lead. Seconds later, Brett Siroski, from Colton Allan, scored to close the gap. The Broncs came out in the third period with an early goal while on the powerplay for a 4-2 lead.
It looked as though the Broncs were on their way to a win and about to sweep the Cyclones out of provincials. Davidson, who had outshot Balcarres 32-17 by the end of the second period kept firing and wore Spooner down.
Sim scored first and then Cey had the tying goal. With three minutes remaining, Smith potted the go-ahead goal and Jason Schneider had the empty netter with 19 seconds remaining for the 6-4 win.
The Cyclones were in Bethune Sunday for Game 1 of the best of three South Semi-Final series. Game 2 is in Davidson this Thursday.
BSE case discovered in Alberta beef cow
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed late Thursday that a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a beef cow from Alberta.
No part of the animal’s carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems, CFIA reports.
This is Canada’s first confirmed case of BSE since 2011 and was detected through the national BSE surveillance program. BSE is a progressive, fatal neurological disease in cattle.
The agency has launched an investigation and is working with provincial and industry partners. As part of the investigation, the CFIA is seeking to confirm the age of the animal, its history and how it became infected. The investigation will focus in on the feed supplied to the animal during the first year of its life. The agency will also trace out all animals of equivalent risk and have them destroyed and tested for BSE.
Canada remains a “controlled BSE risk” country as recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health and this case should not affect current exports of Canadian cattle or beef.
In 2003 a case of BSE was discovered on a farm and as a result, the countries closed their borders to Canadian beef. The Canadian cattle industry has been rebuilding ever since.
BSE is thought to spread when cattle eat feed containing protein rendered from brains and spines of infected cattle and sheep. The practice was banned in 1997 and in 2007 the CFIA tightened feed rules to help eliminate the disease in Canada within 10 years.
Craik rallies to save health services
By Kevin Gilby
CRAIK—The Craik Saving Our Health Care task force recently announced their plans to hold two noon-hour rallies in the coming weeks to maintain and restore their health services. The first rally is schedule for Feb. 27 near the Craik Health Centre and the second on March 2, in the city of Regina on the first day the legislature is back in session.
The task force, composed of community members appointed by Craik’s Mayor and RM of Craik Reeve, have been meeting almost daily to discuss plans to secure their physician and their health centre against what they consider “the brunt ax of the bureaucrats.”
In preparation for the rallies, the group has been generating slogans for picket signs and planning the logistics to unify the voices of the community and area. The public is invited to join them and march near the Craik Health Centre to both show their support to the centre staff and physician, and to express their demands to be heard by the government and health regions.
The group has scheduled a bus to transport community and area members to Regina departing from the Craik Community Rink at 9:30 a.m. for the March 2 rally. Members of Central Butte have already agreed to join the rally in Regina.
In a Thursday news release, the task force summarized their continued concerns regarding negotiations for doctor coverage and for the support of the Craik Health Centre. The release also highlighted their plans on how to amplify their message in the following weeks.
As part of their effort, they have invited the leaders of all political parties in Saskatchewan to visit the community and health centre and meet with the community leaders.
Task force representative David Ashdown said, “We’ve invited the leaders of all four political parties to come talk to us and, in that way, we are trying to send a message that we are trying to make this an election issue.”
To read more, please see the Feb. 16 print edition of The Davidson Leader. To subscribe, email davidsonleader@sasktel.net