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Last week was National Drowning Prevention Week, and today is World Drowning Prevention Day, so the Lifesaving Society gave some tips on drowning prevention.
Dr. Christopher Love is the Water Smart and Safety Management Coordinator for Lifesaving Society Manitoba, and he said the goal of last week and today is to raise awareness of the problem, and the ways to prevent drowning tragedies from happening.
"Annually every year in Canada we have approximately 450 who die due to drowning, and in Manitoba, it's on average 22 deaths per year. That's just the fatalities, that's not including any injuries that also occur due to drownings across the country."
He said some of the common, standard tips from anyone going around the water are:
- Never go alone
- Wear a life jacket when it's appropriate to do so (ie. when boating)
- Learn how to swim
- When children are swimming, have active adult supervision
- When the children are around seven or under, be within arm's reach at all times
- Be sober when around the water
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Ryleigh Timmins has been safely located. The Manitoba RCMP thanks the public and media for their assistance.
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The Northwest Métis Council will be sending a delegation to Edmonton for the Pope's visit that will take place next Monday and Tuesday.
Vice-President Frances Chartrand is excited to be attending and estimated that as many as 100 elders from many different communities — including San Clara, Shell River, Duck Bay, Manitoba House, and Dauphin — will be joining her to hear the Pope speak and attend mass.
"I always think that if we all work together, we all have a place in this world... If we move forward and then we work with the federal, provincial and Métis governments... with the Pope... [and] with the churches, everything will be okay," Chartrand said.
She also said that it's a good step toward reconciliation.
Furthermore, Father Michel, the pastor of St. Viator's Roman Catholic Parish, thinks that it will be a positive experience focused on healing.
"There's a lot that needs to be done for sure. This is one step and it's a positive step," he said.
The church later confirmed that a parishioner from St. Viator's will be travelling to Edmonton to attend.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
Sandy Lake Western Days returns to Sandy Lake on Friday, August 5th and will go on until Sunday, August 7th.
Charlene Lewandoski, a member of the Western Days Committee, said that there will be a lot of things for visitors to enjoy.
"[We're going to have] lots of good food, fireworks, a parade, bouncy houses, borscht and bread, a car show, a trade show, beer gardens ... a vintage tractor pull, a duck race, a golf cart rodeo and pierogies," Lewandoski said.
She also said that the goal of the festival is to bring people into the community and that all of the events will be free.
"We have [an] annual [ice fishing] derby in the winter, where we raise money, so we're able to put on Western Days to make pretty much everything free that weekend," Lewandoski added.
More information can be found on the Sandy Lake Western Days Facebook page.
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There's a new kindergarten program coming to Whitmore school that will promote inclusivity, and give parents an opportunity to learn alongside their kids.
The new program runs every day, and at two o'clock, parents and younger siblings of the students will be welcomed into the school if they choose, to participate in activities like medicine picking, making ribbon skirts, and gardening. Principal Dawn Dutchak says teachers were the driving force behind the new program.
"Our teachers had looked at some of the things they had perceived as barriers within our school," said Dutchak, "They want to make sure that parents felt comfortable within our building, that they see representation."
There will also be an opportunity for language learning, for both Michif and Anishinabek if there is enough interest among parents. The new program will use resources already in the Mountain View School Division, along with a grant through the provincial government's Teachers Idea Fund.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Combine College comes to Dauphin on July 26th at the Rotary Arena and DMCC Fairgrounds. There are morning and afternoon sessions for John Deere, New Holland, and Case I-H combines, as well as a Harvest Loss Management session presented by Shawn Senko, an Agronomy Specialist for the Canola Council of Canada.
"They'll be going over basically the whole machine, from the header working their way back through the machine. They'll cover feeding issues, settings, and operational tips for varying conditions, diagnostics, maintenance, and everything that an attendee will want to go over as well. So please ask questions when you're there because we want to engage our sales guys and our product specialists for these manufacturers to get as much information out of them as possible right before harvest." - Manitoba Crop Alliance Agronomy Extension Special for Special Crops, Morgan Cott
You can register for the college here, it costs $75 for the day, however, members in good standing with Manitoba Canola Growers, Manitoba Crop Alliance, or Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers get a $25 rebate per group they belong to.
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The Dauphin and District Community Food Bank will be accepting applications for food assistance today from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 220 Whitmore Ave. W.
Board Member Tom Monson said that people must have not received food from the food bank in the last four weeks and must bring their Manitoba health card to be eligible.
"We are providing a service for... the community in Dauphin... to help those that are less fortunate... [and] those that are struggling at the present time... It gives them a bit of food to kind of tide them over until they can receive some... financial support somewhere else," Monson said.
He also said that when people go to the food bank, they receive a hamper of food, which should last 3 to 5 days.
Furthermore, Monson noticed that the demand for food assistance keeps increasing as inflation continues to rise.
"When everybody was receiving the CERB, our numbers were down... Sometimes thirty hampers [were given out] on a Thursday... Now we're running [awfully] close to 180 to 200 hampers a month, so that's a significant increase," he said.
For more information, you can call the Food Bank at 204-638-7853.
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The Parkland Ukrainian Family Fund's already welcomed 12 families to Dauphin, and they're expecting a 13th soon. The fund has continued to grow, with more than $200,000 in cash donations, and so many donations in kind, and Don Tarrant said he can't believe how far the fund has come.
"To come with an idea of bringing one or two families in, to have twelve families tonight and one more arriving is way above what we thought." said Tarrant, "I think the other thing is, the families we brought in, I think they're fitting in really well. They're very happy and very thankful."
To celebrate the families arriving, and thank all the volunteers for their hard work, the fund organized a BBQ earlier this week. The food was donated by Tarrant, Tere Stykalo, and Jason Beyette, with so many volunteers also pitching in at the event.
"We just feel that they're just home now. We hope that they're comfortable, we hope that they prosper, and it's just a huge relief to have them here." said Tarrant, "Every family that was arriving, the group was just holding their breath until they go into Winnipeg, and holding their breath they got to Dauphin, and to see them all here now, in amongst the local people, and becoming the local people, is a huge gratification."
If you have any questions about the fund you can call Larry at (204) 648-5904, or Karen at (204) 648-3567.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The province of Manitoba is expanding vaccine eligibility to children aged six months to four years. This follows Health Canada's announcement last week that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine was approved for kids in the six months to five years age range.
The initial supply of the quarter dose vaccines will be limited to 14,900 in the first delivery, and because of this, the province will prioritize the following groups of children.
- First Nations, Inuit, or Métis children, regardless of where they live.
- Those who have certain medical conditions including:
- Chronic lung disease,
- Airway abnormalities,
- Congenital or chronic heart or circulatory diseases,
- Moderately to severely immunocompromised due to a medical condition or treatment,
- Neurologic disorders (including developmental delay),
- Diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or any chronic disease related to premature birth
The vaccine is a two-dose series with eight weeks between doses. You can find the province's full news release with additional information sources here.
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The grand opening of the Oksana & Quinn Dutchyshen Memorial Splash Park took place Monday night in the campground area of the Gilbert Plains Country Club and it was very well attended.
James Manchur, the deputy reeve of the Gilbert Plains Municipality, the Dutchyshen family — who unveiled the sign — and Brad Michaleski, MLA for Dauphin, were all present at the event.
Board Member Kimberley Perih said that everyone on the board is extremely proud of what they accomplished.
"In the speech from the Deputy Reeve... he had mentioned that... [it was] pretty amazing that four people came together and raised over half-a-million dollars for the community for something like this," Perih said.
She also said that it was a great feeling to hear those words and to see all the kids having such a great time playing together at the splash park.
A video of the grand opening is available on Facebook.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
The Manitoba Youth Job Centre is running a First Job Certificate program to help teach basic job skills to students and youth aged 12 to 29. The program runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 21st at Under One Roof.
Mariah Yakielashek, the Youth Engagement Leader for MYJC says it's an opportunity for participants to learn basic job skills, and prepare to enter the workforce.
"The goal of the First Jobs Certificate Program is to make sure young people are ready for the job market. This certificate program has 4 different courses: Introduction to the Workplace, Customer Service, Money Management, and Professional Skills and Leadership."
Participants will receive a certificate once they complete the program that's recognized by employers, and can be presented alongside a resume.
"This program is free and available to all students and youth ages 12 – 29. The only thing they need to do to participate in the program is to register with the centre, by phone or email."
You can call (431) 345-1336 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information or to register for the program.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
