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www.LamontLeader.com
Vol. 21, No. 15, Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Huge donation for the Lamont Curling Club’s new ice plant BY JANA SEMENIUK Lamont Richardson Pioneer representatives Jason Wytrykush and Doug Oscar presented the Lamont Curling Club (LCC) with a $50,000 cheque at its Farmer’s Bonspiel on Jan. 10 to help fundraise the club’s new ice plant. Oscar spoke to the crowd about their organization’s large donation. “The Richardson family each year gives a portion of their proceeds away to charitable organizations, and this (fundraiser) fit the bill very well,” he said. “It's good for the community, for the county, so we're happy to be able to do this.” LCC member Tim Bartz said the donation put the club at $106,000 of their $150,000 goal. Meanwhile, fellow
LCC member Gerald Maschmeyer thanked Richardson Pioneer and
expressed gratitude for the donation. “Thanks boys from Pioneer, that’s
A cheque for $50,000 is presented to the Lamont Curling Club by representatives from Richardson Pioneer on Jan. 10. L-R: Doug Oscar, Gerald Maschmeyer, Bob Starko, Tim Bartz and Jason Wytrykush. Photo: Jana Semeniuk
really awesome,” he said. Prior to the donation presentation, Bartz shared how important he felt the curling club is to the town of Lamont. “The curling club had a catastrophic loss when we lost our (ice) plant last spring. Without the curling club, Lamont would really be in tough shape as far as socializing and getting out and enjoying curling,” he said. “We have to give the Town of Lamont a lot of credit. They gave $600,000 and the curling club decided to try and help the situation and raise $150,000 ourselves to contribute. “To all the sponsors who have dished out money, thank you very much. It’s all appreciated.”
St. Michael’s Malanka celebration brings in the Ukrainian New Year BY JANA SEMENIUK Malanka, a Ukrainian New Year’s event celebrated every year at St. Michael hall since 1985, did not disappoint on Jan. 10 with a colorful evening full of music, dancing and traditional Ukrainian foods. Local Ironwood Catering took charge of the menu featuring items such as headcheese, Kutia (sweetened cooked wheat), Pyrizhky (small cottage cheese filled buns) in creamy dill sauce, Paska (traditional Ukrainian bread), a chicken dish, mashed potatoes, Nachynka (baked cornmeal dish), Kubasa, cheese and a variety of desserts. Entertaining the crowd were young dancers with the Veselka Ukrainian dance troup in addition to the Starlight Band. Featured in the band are Michael Hrycyk on the accordion, his grandson Wyatt, 18, on bass, family friend Larry Bucholz on guitar and vocals in addition to Lisa Gould on violin. The group rocked the little hall with a variety of traditional Ukrainian hits
and classic rock music. Gould also led the Malanka Cast parade with her violin; the cast comprised of 14 volunteers dressed in costumes that tell the folk story of Malanka, daughter of a God, who was rescued from the devil by her brother. The story is told of chasing away evil, bringing good fortune and celebrating new life. Organizer Mae Adamyk said at least 185 people came out for Malanka this year. She said a host and hostess, young Theo and Tessa Nemirsky, greet-
ed attendees as they came through the door and taught them how to say Happy New Year in Ukrainian. “(It’s nice) to have children getting involved,” said Adamyk. “They did a good job.” In an interview with the Lamont Leader, Adamyk said people from different cultures sometimes have more in common than they think. To illustrate her point, Adamyk told the story of a neighbour she had while living many years ago in Toronto, who was Egyptian. Instead of giving each other
Dancers take a bow after their Ukrainian dance performance. Jana Semeniuk photo.
gifts for Christmas one year, Adamyk suggested making each other one of their own culturally traditional Christmas dishes. “I made Kutya with honey and poppyseed, chopped up apple, cherries and pecans. I covered the bowl,” said Adamyk. “She came over and brought her dish and I said ‘Look what I gave you’.” Adamyk said she was horrified to see her neighbour recoil and gasp. “I thought, is there a cockroach or something?” said Adamyk laughing. “She said ‘Look what I gave you’…it was the same thing.” Meanwhile, Adamyk said keeping traditions alive is important and it’s why Malanka means so much. “Food is one of the things that brings people together,” she said. “It’s important because young children are watching and (all of us) have so much to share. The dancing, the food, it’s all cultural. Everybody said (the evening) was remarkable.” More pictures Page 6