The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The J.H. Kerr School Sr. Girls and Boys' Volleyball teams hosted a successful tournament during the weekend of November 12 - 13. It was successful in that everything went off without a hitch, games were well ahead of time all weekend, and the weather cooperated for those who had to travel. However, on the win - loss side of things, it could have been much better for the host teams. The local boys' squad managed to split games against Grand Rapids. They won two against Leaf Rapids and lost two very close ones to the Wabowden Eagles. They met the Eagles once more in the semi-final round, but came up short and finished the tournament in third spot. Wabowden went on to garner first, besting the squad from Leaf in the final. On the girls' side of things, they finished up the round robin in second place, winning four of six sets against competition from Leaf Rapids, Grand Rapids, and Wabowden. They won a hard fought semi-final against Grand Rapids, beating them two sets to one, in order to get into the final. However, it was not to be and they lost out to the team from Wabowden and ended the tourney in second place. The school day previous to the start of the tournament (November 10th) saw students put on their own Remembrance Day Service. This service was very well attended. A good number of community members as well as the entire student population were in the Gordon Doak Gymnasium when the hauntingly familiar chords of The Last Post were played. This year, in addition to decorating a tree in town with the names of local veterans and those of vets who are related to students, a Power Point presentation, which also honoured these heroes, was played during the service. Most would agree that it is certainly heart warming to see the effort that students put into both this service and this day. It is obvious that Remembrance Day is extremely important to not just those who teach them, but to the students themselves. The community Remembrance Day Service was also especially well attended. Before the ceremony got underway, the Legion Colour Party, local Veterans and anyone else wishing to, marched from the Legion on Main Street to the Lawrie Marsh Hall. This year, a local group of Rangers marched in the parade. With their red sweatshirts and Armed Forces issue boots, they were an impressive addition to the gathering. Inside at the service, Elaine Samborski addressed the audience and gave a heart wrenching, yet inspirational talk on her mother Doreen's, and her grandparent's time during the Second World War. Her presentation mirrored one, which she delivered to students at the school during their service last year. As with that presentation, there were few dry eyes in the hall on this day. Following the service, the entire assembly, led by the Colour Party, marched to the cenotaph. Once there, as they were called forward, residents, groups and business representatives laid wreaths in honour of the fallen. After the laying of the wreaths, participants gathered in the Legion to share memories and break bread.
