Rain 鈥� are we happy with it? This may be the first time in history not a soul would complain about rain received on the long weekend. It was long overdue and hoping the tap will continue to provide this summer, without inhibiting summer and farming activity too much.
This weekend, folks, don鈥檛 forget Unity鈥檚 annual Western Days. 2016 committee members Twila Zunti and Brian Woytiuk say the parade will continue under the experienced leadership of Carey Baker and Michael Soloski. It takes place at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The Unity and District Chamber of Commerce continues their tradition of feeding folks downtown before the parade with the barbecue on the first block of 2nd Avenue East.
Of course the fairgrounds are where all the action takes place. For a fair price at the gate, you can mosey on in and watch a full slate of rodeo events, be entertained by the rodeo clown, see the half-time shows and cheer on your favorite local celebrity in the 鈥渃elebrity cow riding鈥� event. The booth will be open all weekend as will the beer gardens. Friday night includes a social in the Agroplex while Saturday will host the traditional rodeo .
Friday night folks can head to the roast beef supper put on by the Western Days committee. The 2016 Citizen of the Year will be announced at this event.
Saturday rodeo action starts at 5:30 p.m. The rodeo this year will feature the trick riding team of Thriller Trick Riders.
Sunday鈥檚 rodeo performance begins at 2 p.m. Sunday will also feature the Gray Valley Petting Zoo and wild pony races. Both Saturday and Sunday will feature celebrity cow riders, who haven鈥檛 disappointed their fans since this event began.
Unity鈥檚 population increased last weekend with an influx of players, coaches, fans and families in town for the Girls鈥� Prairie Softball League event.
Unity Public School is nearly in year-end mode with plenty on the agenda and the weeks of the school year running out. Coming up at UPS is kindergarten orientation day and track and field day June 10. June 13 is the alternate track and field day,
At Unity Composite High School, awards night is June 9 and the Living Sky School Division awards a couple of nights later.
Unity sports are celebrating some success stories yet again. Congratulations to all of the following.
Unity alumni hockey player, Alex Pernitsky, son of Glen and Karen, ended his AJHL hockey career on the May long weekend playing in the RBC Cup. Five teams competed for the championship with Pernitsky playing for the Lloydminster Bobcats, who he has played with throughout his AJHL career. The Bobcats defeated the Trenton Gold Hawks to advance to the gold medal game. The West Kelowna Warriors denied the Bobcats the championship. The Bobcats finished with a record-breaking 44-14-20 for a 90-point season.
Pernitsky, a six-foot, 195-pound defenceman who played for the Battlefords North Stars in the SJHL before heading to the Bobcats, played 50 regular season games with six goals and 22 assists totaling 29 points. He played all 12 playoff games with a 3-6-9 record. Pernitsky鈥檚 plans for the summer now include training for the upcoming season when he will suit up for the Colorado College Tigers in Colorado Springs, a Division 1 team in the NCHC. He heads there Aug. 20, with the hockey season beginning Oct. 2.
Glen and Karen were in attendance throughout the RBC Cup and were thankful for the positive support from a number of Unity fans who attended, along with friends and family, in addition to past coaches sending messages to Alex. TSN televised the final and Alex was named several times during the broadcast as a standout player. Alex played the majority of his minor hockey career in Unity.
Flin Flon Bombers have named veteran Braden Lacoursiere, another Unity Minor Hockey alumnus, captain for next season. The Bombers had a stellar season that ended in heartbreak at the hands of the Melfort Mustangs, who handed Flin Flon their final loss, ending the Bombers鈥� Canalta Cup run from the SJHL. At six foot, one inch, and 210 pounds, the Unity defenceman will be entering his fourth and final season in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. He started out with the North Battleford North Stars before being traded to Flin Flon. In an interview posted in the Flin Flon Times, Bombers鈥� head coach Mike Reagan, was quoted as saying, 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 imagine somebody else being the captain!鈥� Lacoursiere received the team鈥檚 top defensive player award for this past season.
Grade 9 student, Jordan Heitt, daughter of Keith and Terra, won the Razor鈥檚 Edge $500 scholarship through the 222 Fastpitch program. The Razor鈥檚 Edge scholarship was awarded based on attendance, as well as showing improvement and a high work ethic towards fastpitch development throughout the winter, in addition to Jordan holding a physical training record. Jordan suits up this summer for the Unity Bantam Panthers. She has played all of her minor ball in Unity and worked out this past winter with the 222 Fastpitch program.
MaKenna Vany, Morgan Huber, Piper Mackie, Abby Rutley, Makayla Bakken and Aryanna L'Heureux are joining the roster of 12 for Zone 7 softball in the Saskatchewan Summer Games taking place this July in Estevan. Jenn Vany is also one of the coaches, joined by Cliff Lavalee of North Battleford and Dion Harrabek from Biggar.
Rhett Feser, playing out of Lethbridge College was part of the sixth consecutive college baseball championship won by his team, the Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs, a shared team of the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College. He was considered a freshman and was in the starting rotation going 5-1 on the season. His final start was in the national tournament in Kelowna, B.C. May 11-15. He pitched seven innings, gave up no runs and five hits and had nine strikeouts in the Dawgs鈥� 12-1 win. The Dawgs went on to win the finals 5-4 over Okanagan College of Kelowna, their sixth straight national title.
We also extend congratulations to the West Central Smash that included Unity鈥檚 Paris Volk. This U16 volleyball team made up of only seven small-town girls captured the national U16 club volleyball championship in Regina on the long weekend.
Unity basketball players, Ryan Gibson, Tristan Lefebvre and Matthew Snell will participate on the Rivers West team for the Saskatchewan Summer Games.
Baseball tryouts were last weekend for Summer Games so we will let you know the Unity players on this team once it is selected.
The town-wide garage sale will be held June 10 to 12. You can pick up a list of all homes hosting garage sales and make a day of browsing for bargains. The town office and the local paper 鈥� May 30 edition 鈥� have a list of all homes on the list.
The Royal Purple will host their salute to seniors tea and bingo June 8 at the Legion Hall in Unity.
The Lions Club will host the Purina Walk for Dog Guides June 12 with 1 p.m. registration and kickoff to walk at 1:30 p.m., starting at Parkview Place. Contact the Lions Club at 306-228-9745 for more details.
The museum will be holding opening day next weekend 鈥� be sure you take a few minutes to attend. Volunteers and committee members work hard to keep this facility 鈥渢he talk of the town鈥� and they continue to count on and ask for support of their community to keep this prided historic venue in tip-top shape.
Coffee row folks certainly have plenty of 鈥渇ood for fodder鈥� after Unity hosted the 30-team GPLS tournament last weekend and now Western Days is ready to saddle up this weekend. Local ball teams are a continual topic as are the local success stories listed earlier in this article. And 鈥渞owers鈥� never stray too far from the weather topic. Once in a while you hear a tidbit or two about the Riders which will increase from tidbits to tales when Rider season kicks off. So you see we keep busy in Unity with activities and wisdom from our friends on coffee row. Until next time 鈥�
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