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 Eighth Annual Steve Ewing 'Peaches' Poker Run held over the weekend was the biggest success yet for the event. Organizer Jake Brown says "with everything going on this year, we didn't get a chance to get out (and advertise) as much as we normally do, but we had more people in it this year then ever before." And she says, "I'm ecstatic about the way things went." The poker run was created in memory of Steve Ewing, who passed away as a result of a smelter explosion. Brenda Watling, Ewing's mother, says, "I know our son would have been pleased." The poker run raises money for a high school graduation bursary to be alternated between Hapnot Collegiate and Creighton Community School. The bursary, launched this year at Hapnot, is worth $1000, which Watling says "is a way to turn something so horrible into something constructive." The inaugural bursary went to Shaylene Williamson. She will be attending Mount Royal College in Calgary to get her bachelor's degree in nursing. As for the run itself, Watling says "it's a way to ease the pain and remember Steve." The run was put together by friends of Ewings, the Browns, which Watling says "is very special." According to Brown, this year's run was successful because of word of mouth. "We got a lot of people from out of town this year," she says. "There were people from Regina, Young, Saskatchewan, The Pas, Snow Lake, and of course Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach." Ken Fiddler and Al Davis tied for first place with a high hand, scoring 111 points. The guys split the $1,000 and each walked away with $500. And Randy Fredeen walked away with $217 after scoring 61 points in the low hand. Checkpoints were spread out through the area. The run started at Fiddlers outside Cranberry Portage and went to the Cranberry Hotel. From there, participants moved to Big Island, where the Watlings hosted a barbecue. The next stop was the Copperbelt Hotel and from there they made their way to Raven's Roost in Denare Beach for the final stop. The poker run was open to all ages, though those under the legal drinking age had to do their hands outside of the bars. Brown says some people drove cars instead of taking a motorcycle and some families brought their kids along, too. Twenty-seven motorcycles and two older cars participated, and Brown says she can't wait for next year.
