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Reports of what kind of winter we should expect have been all over the place.
That's exactly what kind of winter we will have, both extremes will occur.
Brad Rousseau, a meteorologist with the Weather Network, says our area will be a battle zone, with intrusions of warm Pacific air followed by intrusions of cold Arctic air.
Rousseau expects us to see about normal to a little below normal amounts of snowfall and precipitation this winter.
To figure out this prediction they look at how the ocean and atmosphere interact, they also look at past years that have similar traits to what the weather is like now and they look at how those winters developed.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Final results have come in of the 24 Hour Giving Challenge.
The fundraiser supporting the Dauphin and District Community Foundation raised a total of $42, 567.
For every $5 that was donated, the Winnipeg Foundation added $1 and the Manitoba government also added $1, up to a maximum of $2,000 from each. So, every $5 turned into a $7 donation.
Kit Daley explains where the money raised goes.
“It goes into our Undesignated or Unrestricted fund. Which means the board will interview each applicant and get information on the project that they are applying for a grant for. And then the board will meet to discuss all the projects and who will benefit and what is the lasting legacy of the project and decide what we can support and with how much money.”
The donations are turned into grants that fund infrastructure, art, culture, new initiatives, sports, city beautification among other projects.
Last year the challenge raised $34,730 for Dauphin. Since 1996 the foundation has granted out one million dollars.
To find out more about how the foundation invests their money click here to go to their page.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Another emergency test is taking place this afternoon.
An Alert Ready public awareness test message is scheduled for 1:55.
Similar to the test that took place in May, the test message is being sent through radio, cable and satellite TV broadcasters, web feeds and to compatible wireless devices.
This will be the second test of the Alert Ready system this year. The first one took place back in May during Emergency Preparedness Week.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
It’s day three, and also the last day, of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention.
Jack Bremner is the Parkland district director on the AMM, and he says the lack of cell coverage in rural areas will be a topic covered. He also says conservation is another important topic municipalities are bringing up.
“Our municipality, the one that I sit on the council for, one of our big concerns is the conservation districts being amalgamated with districts like Turtle River. We’re two different types of conservation districts and that’s going to be very difficult to amalgamate. All the municipalities in the Parkland sent a resolution to the minister objecting to it. We just got a letter back that they are going to leave as is, and force us to amalgamate.”
Bremner shares why he’s excited about this year’s convention.
“One of the things I’m really looking forward to is 48 percent of the people that are going to be there are new. They are new to municipal politics, there’s more women now in the municipalities representing. And I'm really looking forward to seeing the new people and be talking to them and seeing what their views are.”
The three day meeting is taking place in Winnipeg.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The Manitoba Government is open to the idea of contracting the water bombers from the fire suppression services.
The government is looking at other alternative ways of providing the water bomber service because they are unsure if the best option is to own and operate their own fleet.
The provincial government is open to the idea because there could be a better way to use the water bombers and they won’t know if there’s a better way unless they allow people to make offers.
Brad Michaleski says the government is doing its job by looking at the possibility of contracting the water bombers from the fire suppression services.
Michaleski adds the most important thing is, whether the service comes from the province or a business, the service provider must meet the provincial requirements and provide the service expected.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Environment Canada is warning that five to ten centimetres of snow will fall in the Parkland.
A special weather statement is in effect for areas all over including Dauphin, Roblin, Russel, Gilbert Plains, Grandview, and the RM of Lakeshore.
A disturbance forecast is tracking across southern Saskatchewan and is expected to bring lots of snow to the southwestern part of Manitoba.
Periods of snow will start falling early this evening with around two to four cm and then around five cm is expected tomorrow.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The City of Dauphin is planning to increase compensation rates for council members.
At their most recent council meeting council gave first reading to a bylaw increasing their pay.
Mayor Dowhan is set to be paid $2,581.00 a month as well as reimbursement of nominal out-of-pocket expenses while doing the duties of mayor.
The Deputy Mayor will be paid a monthly compensation of $1,176.00 and councillors are set to be paid $1,023 a month, plus reimbursement to things paid out of pocket for doing the job.
Also, municipal officials are eligible to receive $28 per hour, to a maximum of $140 for each hour actually spent representing the City at meetings for boards and committees.
If anyone on council is absent for more than six meetings of council, which includes regular and special council meetings and Planning and Priorities Committee meetings in one calendar year, they will be subject to a loss of $140 for each subsequent absence of the three meetings.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
After a 53-25 senate vote in favour of back-to-work legislation, Canada Post employees will return to work today starting at 11 this morning.
What happens next is Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) will negotiate using an independant mediator-arbitrator whom will be chosen with input from both sides. If an agreement is not reached after a certain amount of time, a deal will then be imposed on both sides.
Officials with CUPW say it's unconstitutional to legislate away their ability to be on strike. They say they will challenge the back-to-work legislation in court.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston
The MVSD has a full cast of trustees now.
Floyd Martens has been named the second Ward 1 trustee for the Mountain View School Division.
He has many years of experience being president of the Manitoba School Board Association as well as the president of the Canadian School Board Association.
There were two other people in the running but Martens was ultimately voted in by the rest of the trustees.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
City of Dauphin representatives are attending the 20th Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention.
The three days are some of the best times to speak face to face with provincial ministers.
“The premier and all the ministers will be in attendance, where we get to ask ministers firsthand the questions, and they respond to us. Joe Massey, of the AMM, said that as far as he understood, this is the only entity, in Manitoba, that gets access to all ministers at our conference.”
Sharla Griffiths shares some of the more significant topics she expects will get covered.
“I think there’s going to be some infrastructure funding programs that are going to be covered. As well as a code of conduct and speaking to council member’s actions. “
Dozens of municipalities from across the province have sponsored a resolution calling for Manitoba Municipal Relations to undo changes to its road and bridge program.
Speaking about day one, “It has been great! We had three council members come into the new council members orientation. I attended it as well as our deputy city manager.”
Some of the breakout sessions during the convention are on the Traffic and Transportation Modernization and the Sustainable Watersheds Act: An update on the New Streamlined Process to Provincial Drainage Approvals and the Evolution of Conservation Districts into Watershed Districts.
The RM of Dauphin is putting forward a resolution that asks the province to enhance rural transportation programs for seniors and the mobility disadvantaged, and tie funding to inflation.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Concerned individuals worried about the effects of climate change came together over the weekend to discuss the problem.
They held a meeting in the Watson Art Centre on Sunday.
“I just find it so interesting that so little is said about the solutions to climate change. Climate change is science, it’s fact, it’s coming. It’s coming fast, and it will mean big changes to our lives. It’s already costing the economy, I think they said 5 percent to fix up the floods and the damage from the wildfires, and all that. We just think we should be proactive. Our government should be proactive in turning those costs towards mitigation before the damage happens.”
Kate Storey, an organic farmer around Dauphin, organized the meeting and says the trend is towards a cleaner economy led by urban youth.
“We see a lot of change coming in the consumer goods that we buy. Right now, the short warranties, things wear out. You would think that governments would be starting to improve consumer standards or manufacturing standards so that things would last longer. That would be a really simple way to reduce our use of resources and save on the pollution.”
Storey hopes to organize another meeting to discuss climate change sometime early in the New Year.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
