Gang violence injures five bystanders at River Landing

River Landing shows no signs of the violence it was witness to

SASKATOON – Police are still searching for answers as to the cause of the violence that marred last Saturday night in River Landing park.

  Witness reported two groups of individuals enter the park, and a verbal altercation ensued.  A knife was produced, and the threat of violence quickly turned into a general melee.

  The brawl reportedly involved over a dozen individuals, mostly armed with knifes, but at least one rifle was present on the scene.  Some witnesses reported that one of the groups used trained attack dogs – a tactic not uncommon in the United Kingdom, where criminals have resorted to using dogs as their weapon of choice to avoid the stiff penalties associated with knife and gun crime.

  City Police have not confirmed the usage of dogs in the violence, though acknowledge it is a possibility.  They in part blame the escalation of violence on local street personality The Necrofessor, who appeared to be encouraging the fighting.

  Though the park itself was not crowded, nearby roadways were with crowds just exiting the late show at the Galaxy Theatre.  Five bystanders were injured – most either with knife wounds or injuries related to interference with traffic, but one was shot.  Three, including the shooting victim. remain in serious but stable condition.  The others have all been released from hospital.    See Police Still Seek Culprits / A6

Artifacts from ship recovered

SASKATOON -- To the uninitiated, the items look like rusted junk found in a scrapyard or at the bottom of a river.

  The tangled and encrusted objects on display in a Saskatoon boardroom Friday were in fact pulled from the South Saskatchewan River's sandy riverbed, but they may be much more than clutter. They may be a century-old link to this city's greatest marine disaster.

  The SS City of Medicine Hat sank on June 7, 1908, when it struck the newly built Traffic Bridge and capsized. The 40-metre long, flat-bottomed sternwheeler had been destined for Winnipeg after having departed from its namesake city in late May.

  Labelled by the local press of the time as "The Greatest Marine Disaster in the History of Saskatoon," the incident eventually drifted into history. It resurfaced in August 2006 when members of the Saskatoon Fire and Protective Services dive team found a five-foot, 150-pound cast-iron anchor about 300 metres north of the Traffic Bridge.

  The restored anchor, believed to be from the Medicine Hat, is now on display along the riverbank path under the Traffic Bridge.

  The excitement over the find fueled last week's excursion by an archeologist, Meewasin Valley Authority (MVA), and the firefighters' dive team to search for more artifactsSee Artifacts Recovered/A4