Dashing through the snow on a two-horse open sleigh. That’s right, I said two-horse open sleigh. Albert and Emma Duhaime brought two of their beautiful Belgians into Paynton Dec. 20 for a sleigh ride around the village.
Village council had hosted an evening to present awards to the winning homes who participated in this year’s holiday decoration contest. This was the first of hopefully many more for the contest, which was a delight for the community. Seeing the homes from the open sleigh with heavy frost coating every surface imaginable was a magical ride indeed. Children of all ages enjoyed this rare treat in a balmy -5 C, some of us even going around twice.
Residents got together in the gym afterwards to hear the results of the bright and colourful contest. Score sheets were tallied and all three homes were very close in overall points. Coming in third were John and Helen DeSlegate. In second place was Thelma Pope and first place was earned by Jeff and Chantelle Mudryk. Sponsored by the village council, prizes of $50, $75 and $125 were handed out to the Christmas decorating enthusiasts. Councillors say they hope this year was the beginning of a new tradition in Paynton and hope to see even more residents participate next year.
The frost and fog are not only making for a Narnia-like landscape but also playing with the power lines. This past weekend was a repeated waiting game for the power to be restored in Paynton and area. Going out once Saturday and twice Sunday, residents had to be prepared to not have running water or electricity for a couple of hours at a time. Luckily for residents, SaskPower employee Dave Florizone lives in Paynton and was on the case of the outage right away. He discovered the weight of frost and snow on trees near the lines had caused the problem and worked hard to restore power for the village.
