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A resolution was passed at last night's City of Dauphin Council Meeting, not to hold a by-election after the passing of Mayor Allen Dowhan, due to public health concerns.

This was done for public health concerns.

The resolution is subject to approval by the Minister of Municipal Relations.

The council meeting was open to members of the public and was well attended.

Four councilors voted in favor of the resolution, while two voted against it.

Councilor Kathy Bellemare, who was in favor of this order, says that a big concern of hers is keeping people safe.

“We just moved back up to code orange again in the province. Leaders are obviously concerned with what’s happening with Manitoba’s data, and with other provinces close to us.”

Councilor Patti Eilers said that having a by-election would be the democratic thing to do.

“There’s no reason we can’t have a safe by-election. We just had a federal election, and I don’t think this is a concern of our citizens.”

According to the Municipal Act, if there’s no by-election, a current councilor would be appointed by the current members of the council. This would happen once the resolution is approved by the Minister.

In a move he says is effective immediately, Brain Pallister is stepping away as a member of the Manitoba legislative assembly.

This news comes one month after Pallister's decision to resign as Premier of the province.

Mr. Pallister extended his gratitude to Manitobans in a press release issued earlier in the day,

"The greatest honour of my life has been serving as Manitoba's 22nd premier. I am incredibly optimistic about our future as a province, and that is why I say to you: the only thing better than today in Manitoba is tomorrow in Manitoba."

Pallister has served as Fort Whyte's MLA since 2012 and was voted the province's 22nd premier in 2016, serving in that role until September of this year.

Kelvin Goertzen is Manitoba's interim Premier, but the PCs will select a new party leader and Premier on Oct. 30th.

The two choices for the PCs, Heather Stefanson, Manitoba's former cabinet minister and Shelly Glover, one of Stephen Harper's former cabinet ministers.

The next provincial election is set to take place in 2023.

Two women were injured after shots were fired in Duck Bay.

On Saturday, at around 2:40 p.m., Winnipegosis RCMP received a report of a disturbance.

When RCMP were on their way, another report came in that shots had been fired at the location.

When officers arrived on the scene, they immediately arrested a 48-year-old woman without incident.

A rifle was located and seized.

Winnipegosis weapon

The investigation determined that a fight had occurred between the woman in custody and another 48-year-old woman. She was also arrested without incident.

Both women had minor physical injuries.

They’ve been released pending a court appearance on multiple charges.

On Sunday, at around 4:30 a.m., Winnipegosis RCMP attended a house fire on South Bay Street in Duck bay.

The structure was completely burned to the ground.

The residence belonged to the second woman arrested in relation to the shots fired incident on Saturday. She was still in police custody at the time of the fire.

RCMP say that the fire appears to be suspicious at this time.

The investigation is continuing.

New health orders come into effect Tuesday that include reducing gathering sizes when unvaccinated people are present.

CKDM asked Manitoba's chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin how the government feels it can effectively enforce these new rules.

“The big thing is that enforcement is only one part of the puzzle. So certainly enforcement has always been a part of it, enforcement does occur and will continue to occur, but it’s only one part of it. That outreach that’s occurring from many of our partners in all regions is going to continue, our public health messaging is going to continue, and our messaging about the significant climb in cases and hospitalizations.”

Roussin says that it’s understandable if people aren’t happy with the new rules.

“I think there’s a lot of fatigue out there, but it’s just a matter of alternatives. So with these restrictions in place, this is really to do what we can to avoid over-running the health care system, so that it’s there for both the vaccinated and unvaccinated, and COVID care and non-COVID care.”

The new health orders include limiting private indoor gatherings to guests from one other household when an unvaccinated person who’s eligible for the vaccine is present.

Gatherings on outdoor private property will be limited to 10 people when any unvaccinated people who are eligible are present.

Indoor public gatherings are being reduced to 25 people or 25 percent capacity, whichever is lower when any unvaccinated people who are eligible for the vaccine are present.

Outdoor public gatherings are being reduced to 50 people, regardless of immunization status.

The new orders will come into effect on Tuesday, Oct. 5th at 12:01 a.m.

At The City of Dauphin Council Meeting tonight, a decision will be made on whether or not a by-election will be held after the passing of Mayor Allen Dowhan.

While a By-election would normally take place, a recent Temporary Order in Manitoba gives the council the option to not hold a by-election due to public health concerns related due to the pandemic.

If Council decides to move forward and hold a by-election, the earliest date of the election would be December 14th.

According to the Municipal Act, if there’s no by-election, a current councillor would be appointed. The timeframe would depend on the approval of the Minister of Municipal Relations.

730 CKDM will be at tonight’s Council meeting, and will have more information as it comes.

There are some walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinics in Dauphin this week.

Pfizer and Moderna are being offered on Monday from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Ukrainian Orthodox Hall located at 304 Whitmore Avenue east.

The hall is also having walk-ins on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

There’s also an opportunity to get vaccinated at the Dauphin and District Food Bank on Thursday from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The Food Bank is located at 220 Whitmore Avenue west.

For this year’s Fire Prevention Week, the province is focusing on ensuring Manitobans know the distinct sounds smoke and carbon monoxide alarms make. 

The government of Manitoba recommends testing alarms to make sure everyone in the home will know what the sounds mean.

The province is giving some tips to keep people safe:

  • A continuous set of three loud beeps means smoke or fire. Get out, call 9-1-1 and stay out
  • A single chirp every 30 or 60 seconds means the battery is low and needs to be changed 
  • All smoke alarms need to be replaced after 10 years
  • Chirping that continues after the battery has been replaced means the alarm is at the end of its life and the unit needs to be replaced
  • It’s a good idea to make sure smoke and carbon monoxide alarms meet the needs of all your family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities

Knowing what the sound of your alarm means can save you, your home, and your family. 

Dauphin’s Fall Clean-up campaign starts on Monday.

This is an opportunity for people to get rid of things like garden waste, grass, leaves and tree branches.

City crews will start with the Day 4 area, and reverse through the remainder of the four-day cycle.

Director of Public Works, Mike VanAlstyne talked about how to prepare for pickup.

“Materials should be piled parallel and placed neatly in the back lane for pickup. If you don’t have a back lane, materials should be placed on the boulevard near the curb.”

If waste is bagged it must be in a biodegradable bag. No plastic or garbage will be accepted.

With the Countryfest Cinema facing losses due to the pandemic, a group of community members have stepped up, taking matters to the field.

The group decided early in the year to start facilitating a project to help a vital part of Dauphin make it through these trying times.

The group decided the best course of action would be to harvest Soybeans to be sold.

Project Coordinator Michelle Mazurkewich reflected on the process of the harvest,

“We started looking into holding this back in January, just to help provide funds to the Cinema because they had been impacted by COVID-19 and so we started organizing the group who took part in it and it all started with securing the land, so Brad and Lori Michaleski were gracious enough to donate the land. Then from there, we just reached out to a number of input providers who were also able to donate towards the cause.”

Michelle says the beans were combined last week and are ready to be contracted for sale in November.

On average, the field of dreams group harvested 30-40 bushels per acre of soybeans.

fod 2

Mazurkewich noted none of this could have been possible without the following sponsors and individuals:

Brad and Lori Michaleski, Brian and Cindy Michaleski, Eugene Kolida, Pioneer Brand Seeds, Bayer, Cargill, Dauphin CO-OP, Gilbert Plains CO-OP, Love & Persson Group, Johnston and Company, C.L.U. Enterprises, Ryan Mazurkewich and Repromap, Terry And Michael Kolida and Bob Thompson.

On September 22nd, the province announced plans to launch Mental Health, Wellness and Recovery Community Roundtables.

Winnipeg, Selkirk, Brandon, Thompson and the Morden/Winkler areas were all mentioned in the press release.

The Parkland was notably absent from these roundtable sessions scheduled to take place from September 20th to October 5th.

Provincial NDP Leader Wab Kinew says this is a big missed opportunity for the PC government,

"I think this is a bad oversight because the Parkland people in the area know full well, that issues around addictions, around opioids, it's been very damaging, and it seems to have only gotten worse during the pandemic." Kinew carried on, "At the same time, folks in Dauphin, in Swan, in the surrounding communities, I think have started to come up with a lot of good local solutions to dealing with the addictions crisis, and I think the government is making a mistake by not setting up a specific time and place for people in the region to present both the challenges but also the solutions that they're bringing forward."

The department for Manitoba Mental Health, Wellness and Recovery was created in January of this year. 

Its mandate includes mental health and substance-use policy, planning, program supports, broader health promotion and prevention programs.

Zebra mussels were recently found in Lake Manitoba.

The cause of the zebra mussel invasion is people not properly decontaminating their boats or other water equipment.

This could cause several issues for the lake.

A well-known issue with zebra mussels is that they rapidly coat water intake pipes, which is a problem for drinking water treatment plants, and any other industry that’s pulling water out of the lake through a pipe.

Zebra mussels also affect local fish populations, as they coat some of the reefs that fish try to lay their eggs in.

Candace Parks, Aquatic Invasive Species Specialist with the Manitoba Government says it’s hard to tell what this invasion means for the lake, but it could be similar to the situation in Lake Winnipeg.

“From Lake Winnipeg, what we have been seeing is higher aquatic plant growth, beaches are being fouled with zebra mussel shells washing up on shore, I think people expect to see also zebra mussels clogging their water intakes, or their watercraft intakes, there will be more cost, more gas consumption for watercraft users.”

Candace says this invasion was preventable.

“Zebra mussels would have never made it to Lake Manitoba on their own, it would have taken human help to move them to this lake.”

Candace goes over the protocol requirements for using your watercraft in lakes.

“In addition to doing Clean Drain Dry, which is the legal general requirement, you must also decontaminate your watercraft or any gear that you put in the water. The fine is $2,542 for the failure to decontaminate a watercraft or water-related equipment that’s come out of a control zone or invaded water body.”

You can self-decontaminate using hot water, but if you can’t do it yourself you can visit government of Manitoba stations until the end of October.

“We have situated these watercraft inspection stations on highway pinch points. So if someone’s travelling from Lake Winnipeg we aligned our station on highway 6 for example, so people would have to pass by us. Just so people know it’s a legal requirement to stop at these stations.”

More information can be found on the government of Manitoba website