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Taron Topham is a finalist for the LORAN scholarship. It`s a massive scholarship that awards the winners $100,000 to continue their studies at the post-secondary level.
Roughly 150 people in the province applied for the scholarship. 20 of the applicants including Taron were invited to the semifinals last month in Winnipeg. The day included an interview and more to decide who would move one step closer to winning the $100,000.
Out of the 20, Taron and just three others from Manitoba were chosen to advance to the finals. Those take place early next year in Toronto.
The award, in general, is a national one.
“You know, it’s a very prestigious award and It’s an honour that I’ve gotten this far,” said Topham. “I was honestly pretty surprised that I was chosen as a semi-finalist.”
“The only advice I was given going in, was to be myself. I thought that was the least I could do so I just went into it with a good mindset and it’s worked out so far,”
To be considered for the LORAN scholarship, you have to be heavily into volunteering. Some other criteria include being into athletics and being a solid person.
Taron checks off all of those boxes very easily. The 17-year-old, of course, plays hockey in the Parkland with the Midget Rangers after starting the season with the Kings. He’s also involved with student council and 4H.
“The selection committee felt those attributes were pretty attractive,” said Topham.
Taron will be one of just over 80 applicants from around Canada that will be in Toronto for the finals. Of those, up to 34 will receive the $100,000 scholarship towards their post-secondary studies.
The Grandview native knows everyone that will be in Toronto is super deserving of winning the award, but, he also likes his chances. Especially with some of the feedback, he’s already received.
“I’m sure everyone put a ton of hard work and effort in, but when it came down to it, the committee said I was one of the most personable ones there,” said Topham. “It really just made it feel that things are paying off.”
Winning the $100,000 would simply be a dream come true for the 17-year-old.
“It would mean the world to me, and it would give me more satisfaction in all of the work I’ve done,” added Topham. “I love what I’ve been doing and this would just sort of be the cherry on top.”
Not only do you have to be influential in your community through volunteering and sport, but you also have to excel in school. That’s also exactly what Taron does. Right now, he maintains a 95 average in school.
Moving forward, Taron wants to go into sciences and one day he wants to become a radiologist.
If Taron gets selected for one of the LORAN scholarships, it’s expected that he goes to school out of province.
“The University of Regina is looking pretty promising right now,” said Topham. “There are 24 universities that you can redeem your scholarship at. I just want to go into this with an open mindset and we’ll see what happens in the end.”
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Barry Trotz is giving back to more groups around Dauphin this afternoon.
His family is going to three different places around the community at 2 pm, giving out money raised during the Stanley cup day celebrations.
They are visiting the Dauphin Personal Care home, St. Paul's and then PRVSI.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
A study has shown that you should hold off on cutting your crops early in the season to use as feed in the winter for cows.
Greg Penner, associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan, is recommending a switch from soft dough, to hard dough.
When the original recommendation of soft dough was made, it was based on silage requirements.
The hard dough is tougher, making it more nutritious for cows to digest.
Four experiments for the study were done at the U of S, ultimately they fed the results to the cattle which received a positive response.
This study helps save money because winter feed is a huge cost for cattle producers. Penner wants to help the industry by developing or refining technologies to improve profitability.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Basic compulsory motor vehicle premiums are going up by 1.8 percent next year.
MPI was approved for their over-all general rate increase which will go into effect on March 1st.
The general rate increase doesn’t mean that rates for all motorists will experience a rate adjustment.
Adjustments to specific classifications of vehicles will be determined based on MPI’s rate design.
Rates paid by individual policyholders within each class will be determined based on their driving record, the registered vehicle, the purpose the vehicle is being used, and the territory in which the policyholder resides.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The entire school division around Selkirk is closed today after 2 online threats on Sunday.
An initial threat surfaced on Sunday prompting a message from the Lord Selkirk School Division that only one high school in Selkirk would be closed.
But after a second threat was posted online it was decided to close the entire division for the day.
A spokesperson for the division it was decided to close all the school to make sure all students and staff remained safe.
Selkirk RCMP received a report of a social media post where an 18-year-old male, from Selkirk, had made multiple violent threats.
Officers identified and located the suspect who was then arrested for Uttering Threats. He is currently in police custody with charges pending.
The investigation identified two more suspects who were quickly found. An 18-year-old female and 16-year-old male, both are from Selkirk, were arrested for Uttering Threats, and remain in police custody.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The Uptown Vet Clinic on Main St. is expanding.
But don’t worry, they aren’t moving locations.
They will be moving an old building onto the lot for extra space sometime in December. They hope to connect the buildings in March or April.
The expansion will bring in an extra exam room, larger treatment room and surgery room, and a larger kennel area.
Expanding will help the vets do their job better, as well as make it more comfortable for the clients.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Mountain View School Division is releasing their latest community report.
Student mental health, reports on bringing teachers together to help students solve problems mentally and communicate their thinking are some things covered in this year’s report.
“We’re excited to present the 2017-2018 MVSD Community Report. The board of trustees; it’s their communication to the community about progress towards that strategic plan. So what community members will notice is the goals are there, the numeracy, career education, literacy, mental health and safe and caring schools."
Donna Davidson says there will be an online version of the report posted on mvsd.ca and 2000 hard copies will be sent to all schools and municipal offices within the division. The report was sent to the printer last week.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
This afternoon from 1:30 to 4:30 there will be a holiday swim fundraiser for Swimability Dauphin at the Kinsmen Aquatic Centre.
Kelsy Black, program director, says,
“Our fundraiser is to raise money to keep our program running in our community, as well as keeping it affordable for families that participate. At the same time, our goal is to raise awareness for our program in hopes of reaching other families who may benefit from the program, as well as gathering volunteer interest to work with our program.”
Along with the swim, there’ll be a few activities. There will be a bake sale, a rainbow auction, and on deck activities.
Admission is cash only, costing 6 dollars per person or 20 dollars per family. If you attend the swim you are automatically entered to win a holiday book.
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If you had too much to drink and want to avoid those increased drunk driving penalties, you can call the Dauphin RIDE program.
When you give them a call, volunteers like John Shuttleworth, will take you and your car home.
“They phone us, and a couple of us go down there, one to drive their car and one to pick up the driver of our car.”
Every Friday and Saturday until the end of December you and your car can get a safe ride home between 9pm and 3am.
The number to call is 204-638-5707.
If you want to help people get home safe after a night celebrating the holidays, consider giving John a call and volunteering for the Dauphin RIDE program.
“We are always looking for volunteers. Anybody that wants to volunteer, come and talk to me, phone me. They can phone me at home 638-7181. I’ll explain everything to them. They need to have a valid driver’s licence and we check them out and go from there.”
The program is for people with cars. If you don’t have your vehicle with you, it's best to call a friend, a taxi, or arrange for a designated driver.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Tonight is the first lighting of the Christmas tree in Gilbert Plains.
Everything starts at 6:30. There will be carolling and free coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies.
The event should take about 30 to 45 minutes. Afterwards, the splash park is hosting a movie at the elementary school.
Brian Romaniuk, with the Gilbert Plains Lions Club who is putting on the event and activities, says that tonight should be a fairly warm night so you won’t need to dress up too bad.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
