Shellbrook

Canadian Pride and Strong Community Spirit

By Sheri McHanson Budd

The feelings of excitement were tangible in the community of Shellbrook as the Olympic Torch passed through on January 12, 2010.

The torch route was lined with a thousand community and district residents and included a very strong showing of students from Shellbrook, Canwood, Shell Lake and Wild Rose schools. The elementary school students waved their handmade banners demonstrating their Canadian pride and the strong community spirit alive in rural Saskatchewan as they cheered on the torch entourage.

Carson Kalyn, a local high school student, was the definite crowd favourite. He had the honour of starting the torch run in Shellbrook and finishing his leg for the one minute stop in front of the municipal offices, where the gathering crowd sang O Canada, led by our local elementary school students. Kalyn was chosen to be a torch bearer from a field of thousands of entries on the iCoke website. His persistence and determination, which included answering skill-testing questions on the website for more than 50 days straight and the writing of an essay on how he lives an active life, culminated in the moment of a lifetime today.

The day kicked off with a pancake breakfast attended by more than 400 people and organized by the Affinity Credit Union and Minor Sports. Celebrations will continue with free skating and curling, an opportunity to chat with elite curler, Marliese (Miller) Kasner, and a fireworks show.