RIVERS
BANNER October 28, 2016
Volume 109, Issue 18
ersary v i n Celebrating our 108th An
Gazette-Reporter Serving the Rivers, Rapid City and Oak River areas for 107 years
89¢ + tax
Baseline Dragway plans for 2017 By Bev Wrightson In September Rivers Banner reported a two-day drag racing event would be held on the runways of the former Rivers air base. Weather constituted a postponement so the event was rescheduled. Oct. 15 was an amazing day; we had 53 entries and more than 300 spectators, including pit crew. Our farthest competitor, Brent Kikukawa, came from Sioux Lookout, Ont. and one of his pit crew, Darren Domanski, came from Edmonton! Daryl Forrest from St. Andrews brought his 2011 dragster with an amazing 1,600 horsepower and gave an awesome exhibition performance. We had Pat and staff from J&S Meats of Souris bring their food truck and they did not disappoint! There was a steady stream of hungry spectators; Pat was pleased with the turnout and will return to our events in 2017. Look Music of Brandon provided the music and sound system, which gave a great vibe to the day. Rivers Ag Society loaned us their bleachers, which made viewing a pleasure. We had no complaints from anyone, even with the cold weather and late start; everyone was very enthusiastic and the feedback has been incredible. The only slightly disappointing thing was that our second race day, Sunday, Oct. 16, had to once again be cancelled because of rain. We’ve had offers from people wanting to come and help next year. Many businesses have expressed an interest in advertising, which makes for bigger prize money for the competitors. While this is exciting news, we couldn’t make this happen without our volunteer crew who put in two months of marathon work to pull this off. Without them, this wouldn’t have been possible. Based on the success of our inaugural event, Baseline Dragway has set June 3 and 4 as its first event for 2017. We look forward to seeing you there!
Photos by Henry Hiebert
Clockwise from top left: Accepting his first-place win from Baseline Dragway co-ordinator Henry Lepp was Mike Hawco of MacGregor, who won with his 1979 Chevy Camaro. Accepting his third-place win from Henry Lepp was Henry Reimer of Plumas, who won with his 1978 Volvo station wagon. Brandon Olm from Churchbridge, Sask. was the only junior dragster, he was thanked for coming by Henry Lepp. Accepting his second-place win from Henry Lepp was Trevor Hudey of Winnipeg, who won with his 2000 Arctic Cat —yes, a snowmobile!
Because Remembrance Day is Friday this year, an early deadline is necessary.
Please have all ads and stories for the Nov. 11 edition submitted by Monday, Nov. 7 at 5 p.m.