Sports

Raiders tame Wildcats in junior football

The Davidson Raiders junior football team took it to the Watrous Wildcats at The Ranch last week in a decisive 35-14 victory.

On the first play of the game, the Raiders Addison Ouellette returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and the team didn’t look back. The Raiders, playing their first game of existence on Sept. 26, performed like seasoned veterans in defeating a Watrous team that featured some players who already had two years under their belt in football.

“I knew the guys were going to be a little hesitant, so I wasn’t sure of what to expect,” said co-coach Trevor Ouellette. “For the most part the defence played well and the offence played well. The guys did what they were supposed to do, so it was a pretty good game.”

The Raiders, which enlist grades 7-9 Davidson School players, was up against the odds as they were facing a seasoned team that had players who have been involved in football since Grade 5. They stood up and proved Davidson has a future football age in the works by pounding the Wildcats on defence by never backing down from a hard tackle and hitting the offensive marks through an air and ground offence.

“It was fun,” said Raiders co-coach Jason Low. “It was a really good introduction of junior football to Davidson. The boys were so excited and so revved up. They played really well and it was nice to get some points and give the fans something to cheer about.

“It’s a real promising step for the future of our football program here in Davidson.”

Low said the junior football program at Davidson School is different from the seniors in that it is more focused towards developing the players and keeping them safe instead of just letting them run plays on their own out on the field. He said there are coaches on the field with the players at all times, just to help them “understand the game,” and to correct any mistakes that might occur after a play.

“It just makes it more a teaching and learning experience for them,” he said.

The junior Raiders will play an away game in Watrous this week, but no set schedule is done up for the season. They will play at a jamboree tournament in Hague on Oct. 13 that should get them into three games on that date and their coaches hope another few games on the side, before or after then, can be set up.

Davidson

Schneider happy to be mayor

Clayton Schneider is proud to call Davidson home.

The new mayor of Davidson, who will take over the honour from Mary Jane Morrison after the Oct. 24 municipal election, said he chose to run for the position because he wants to maintain “what Davidson has offered me” through his 35 years of walking down the town’s streets and enjoying all its comforts.

“The community is moving forward right now, so keeping that momentum that has already been in place for the last few years is my goal,” said Schneider, who was elected by acclamation. “I’ve been here my whole entire life and when I first ran for council, the reasons I had were to make sure that services were maintained. It is great to be part of those decisions.”

Schneider, who has been a councillor for Davidson the past two terms, said he feels he can offer some experience to the rest of town council over the next four years through pushing ahead with a proven agenda instead of re-fighting past battles. He said there are “pros and cons” to working with new faces around the council table, which may include three to five new councillors out of six seats depending on the vote outcome, but feels the policies and procedures are already in place to move the town forward.

“When I started we were all new except one person, (councillor) Jeff Alexander,” said Schneider, adding new councillors are good because they bring new ideas which help inform the discussion, but he is not endorsing anyone. “With a new council, they ask lots of questions. When you’re dealing with a new council there are no blinders on, so a lot of good can come out of that.”

To read more please see the Oct. 1 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson

Dundurn hopes to make old fire hall a memory with new bulb campaign

“Proudly serving our community” is the motto of Dundurn’s Emergency Response Team.

While they may serve proudly, they are less impressed with the state of their fire hall. The roof leaks, despite many attempts at fixing the problem and a windstorm a few years ago pulled the building apart, separating the north wall from the west wall.

The damage was repaired as best it could, but when winds are gusting, emergency responders worry that if they have to open a door to take out a truck, the building will blow away, says Terry Benson who has over 37 years with the department.

They say their insurance company has refused to insure the current building.

The fire hall, located adjacent to the CN Rail tracks in downtown Dundurn, was built in the 1960s and began its life as a fertilizer shed for Esso.

“Do we spend a whole bunch of money to re-do an old fertilizer shed?” asks Glenn Cline.

The Dundurn-area rancher and former RM of Dundurn councillor doesn’t think so, which is why he’s heading up a fund-raising drive to raise money to build a new fire hall. Called

The Christmas Memory Tree 2012 campaign, for $20 people may buy a bulb in memory of a loved one. The bulbs will be hung on a large evergreen tree outside Dundurn’s Community Hall. All the bulbs will be lit in mid-November until January in honour of those for whom the bulbs were purchased.

The Dundurn Emergency Response Team will hold a tree lighting night in November with a presentation of all the names of the people honoured on the tree.

Proceeds from the sale of bulbs will go to a reserve fund to be used towards building a new fire hall.

Ideally, the new building will have seven bays and measure about 60 by 120 feet to house the department’s fire trucks and rescue vehicles.

The emergency response team fights fires and responds to medical emergencies.

“What we’re trying to do with Glenn’s program is to raise money, but also to make the community aware of volunteers and the service they are providing,” Benson said.

Cline said he hopes that the Christmas Memory Tree campaign shows the municipalities that emergency responders are committed to seeing a new fire hall and are willing to contribute to the fund-raising effort.

They have approached municipalities for funding and hope that all four will agree to help.

To read more please see the Sept. 24 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

featured

Kenaston and Davidson walk for cancer research

One hundred thirty-five Kenaston School students, teachers and members of the community got their walking shoes on for a good cause Sept. 19. The school, in partnership with the Kenaston Affinity Credit Union, raised over $3,500 for cancer research during the annual Terry Fox Walk.

Cathy Enns, a high school teacher at Kenaston School, said this is the eighth year the school has done the Terry Fox Walk on a school day. The group headed out for the 40-minute stroll at 11 a.m. from Kenaston School and proceeded through a pasture, around the Arena and back past the school before arriving at Affinity for a barbecue lunch.

“We’re excited about it and think it’s necessary,” said Enns. “We had the philosophy that Terry Fox would be happy that we did the walk any day of the month or at any time. It’s a good cause.”

Enns said the school got together with Affinity for the Walk because they were both looking for “a leadership role in the community” and this proved to be a great partnership. She said Affinity supplied the food for the barbecue, selling lunch meals for $5 apiece, while the school helped organize the Walk and get the students aware of a family’s journey with cancer and all the actions they can take to help out.

“Students can help by raising awareness by just participating in this Walk, by helping to raise funds for research, or by being a good community member and friend to some family or somebody who is going through cancer,” she said. “This year another way the older kids can help is through donating blood or blood platelets or by getting their names on the stem cell registry.”

Marie Nadeau, financial supervisor at the Davidson Branch of Affinity Credit Union, said the Davidson community came together to raise about $3,500 as well for the Terry Fox Foundation. Their credit union sponsored the meal, supplying all the burgers and drinks for the lunch at Davidson School.

To read more please see the Sept. 24 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Sports

Davidson brings back football

The Davidson Raiders senior boys football team opened their new home field, called The Ranch, to a big crowd all decked out in Raiders blue and white, and of course Roughriders green. They packed the stands and cheered their hearts out in anticipation of football coming back to the Midway Town.

Unfortunately, it was their opponent’s fans, all dressed in Hanley Sabres red, who had the most reason to cheer as the Sabres trounced the Raiders beating the home club easily 58-0 in the Raiders first home game in over 30 years Sept. 14.

“We knew coming in that Hanley was a strong team with great players,” said Raiders head coach Jason Low. “We knew it was going to be a strong test and again a slow start for us made it difficult. We were struggling to find the intensity and need to work on channeling our aggression.”

Raiders linebacker Jon Taylor caught the initial kickoff to start the game and proceeded to get stuffed by a swarming Hanley defence. The Raiders tried on that first play to move the ball down the field, but the Sabres were too strong and ended up taking over on offence after three Raiders downs that didn’t really go anywhere.

It was all Hanley from that point on.

Sabres quarterback Josh Anderson quickly ran the ball into the Raiders end zone for his first of many scoring plays on the night. Anderson, in his third year as Hanley’s starting QB, led the Sabres offence in every possible way running in for three touchdowns, passing for another three and even kicking the converts. The Raiders simply could find no way to stop him.

“Our defence continues to experiment with competitive formations and we need to find one that will work with the guys,” said Low.

The crowd, which was loud in their support of the Raiders at the beginning of the game, seemed to be at about the same volume as the small Hanley contingent by the end of the first quarter, with the Sabres leading 20-0. By the end of the second quarter and the score way out of hand at 48-0, the crowd on the Davidson side was mostly silent.

The second half opened just where the first half left off, with Anderson running past the Raiders defence on his way to bringing the score up to 54-0. The Sabres basically shut down their offence after that, choosing to practise their defensive formations instead.

To read more please see the Sept. 24 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Obituary

Peters

Edward Peters (83) of Hanley, Saskatchewan, met death with grace in his home on Wednesday, August 29, 2012. Edward was born on a farm west of Hanley to Nickolai and Sarah Peters in 1929. He loved the farm life, engaging in it fully and creatively. In 1954, Edward married the love of his life, Margaret Koop of Pleasant Point, near Dundurn and together they raised four children. Edward cherished his family, his church and his community and was generous and thoughtful of the needs of those around him.  He was a strong and gentle man who loved music and nature, and had an open-minded and boundless curiosity about the world around him. The loss of his eldest son, Douglas, in 2008 who farmed with him, was a terrible blow to Ed and his family and prompted his retirement from farming and their move into the town of Hanley.

Edward is predeceased by his parents Nikolai and Sarah; his brothers Nick and Henry; Henry’s wife Frieda and his son Douglas. He is deeply mourned and sorely missed by his wife Margaret; son William and wife Virginia (nee Sapsford) of Perdue; daughter Marilyn and husband Bob Gregory of Hanley; daughter Margaret of Saskatoon; grandchildren, Malcolm Peters and partner Jennifer Wist of Saskatoon; Tiffany Peters and friend Regan Schlacter of Saskatoon and Humboldt; Ryan and Sally Gregory (and great-grandson Evan) of Ariss, Ontario; Sean and Makiko Gregory (and great-grandson Julian) of Osaka, Japan; and sister Ella and husband Helmute Dueck of High River, Alberta.

The funeral service was held at the Hanley Community Centre on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. followed by the interment at the Hanley Mennonite Church Cemetery.

As Ed believed in the potential of young people, the family has established a student scholarship fund in Ed’s name. Donations can be made to the Ed Peters Memorial Fund (at the Royal Bank). Arrangements are in care of the Outlook Funeral Chapel 867-8255.

The family would like to thank the many friends and relatives who have given their support and comfort in so many ways.

The Davidson Leader, Davidson, Saskatchewan