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The Dauphin Co-op is still looking for volunteers to help bring the Citizens on Patrol Program (COPP) to Dauphin.

Safety Manager Richard Ives says that they are in need of at least six more volunteers.

"I handed out approximately thirty-five information packages in the two short days that we were in the food store and I received about six or seven of the applications back, which is... good, but we're always looking for more," he adds.

Ives is inviting anyone interested in becoming a volunteer to stop by the administration office at the Co-op Food Store. They can give him a telephone call as well at 204-648-3698.

"If there's an interest for us to have another table in the food store and just share some information a couple [of] days a week, we can certainly do that as well. That information is here. We can hand it out and certainly recruit folks in all sorts of ways," he adds.

Richard Ives says that once they get enough volunteers, the next steps would be to apply for a group with Citizens on Patrol and then coordinate it with the RCMP.

"Citizens on Patrol will come out in person or do some virtual training for the volunteers just so that they are aware of what the policies and procedures are [and] their responsibilities... Then we can go from there," he adds.

He then went on the say that the main focus of the program is to deter crime by being the eyes and ears on the ground while leaving interception to law enforcement.

As the Habitat for Humanity Dauphin Chapter's most recent build continues on 7th Avenue NE, the organization is having trouble finding the help they need. Chapter Chair Rodney Juba says they're looking for two different kinds of volunteers.

"We're looking for volunteers that we can add to our database who would be able to be called upon to help with jobs on the site. We're looking for volunteers that could spend two or three days in a row, depending on what's going on at the site, and we're also looking for companies or businesses to come to the site for a day and have their staff work on our site on design projects that our contractor has outlined for them."

Individual volunteers will need to read and sign a form, watch a safety video, and take a brief safety quiz before entering the site. Anyone interested can reach out to Habitat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

Dan Mazier, MP for Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, attended the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the signing of Treaty 2 on Skownan First Nation last Wednesday.

Mazier says that he was truly impressed by the new partnership between Skownan First Nation and Mossey River Municipality that was announced at the event.

"[They] entered into [the] agreement... to try to start talking about the common issues that are in their jurisdictions at the local level, which, having 38 municipalities in the riding and 14 first nations... I have to say is very commendable. I really like that type of approach... It was really good to see those communities talking about those issues right away," he adds.

Mazier looks forward to the many discussions coming forward while saying that the role of municipalities and First Nations is much more in tune with what local needs are.

According to Mazier, this partnership is a positive thing for reconciliation.

"It's about learning about each other and what are those issues... In this particular case, it's two neighbours basically trying to reconcile or [trying] to figure out what is their common need... That's really at the heart of... a good path of figuring out how to reconcile things for the community," he adds.

Mazier says that he would like to see more of these partnerships across Canada, especially in the riding he represents.

"I think we've got a huge challenge of getting [the] government's attention, especially in Ottawa... and rural areas are forgotten about... It's part of my job, but it definitely works better when... neighbours are talking amongst themselves and they have a unified voice of what they need in their jurisdictions... I think it's a really good model for all of Canada to look at and it would work anywhere there's municipal and First Nation jurisdictions living right beside each other," he adds.

Mazier also says that they would help bridge the rural-government divide to make rural Canadians feel less left out.

Bev Sarkonak wants the provincial government to step up as crime rates have spiked in Dauphin over the past little while. From cars getting broken into to things getting stolen from yards and everything in between, Sarkonak says crime is a big issue.

That's why Sarkonak has decided to run for city council ahead of the municipal election which takes place on October 26. Bev wants to see change and although she knows the RCMP is doing what they can, more can be done.

"There isn't enough of them for the entire Parkland area," said Sarkonak. "I believe we need more and many people have come to me to share the same concern. Safety is a huge issue in this community and it's something that has to be focused on."

If elected, Sarkonak also wants to see Dauphin grow and become an even better place to live. Born and raised in Dauphin, Sarkonak says Dauphin is a tremendous place to live and she wants to spend the rest of her life here; however, she does believe there needs to be growth as well. 

"We need more industry. We have Vermillion Growers which is great and that's coming along nicely," offered Sarkonak. "There's open space on Industrial Road and I believe it's time that something happened there for the people of Dauphin. If we can get some industry going, it's beneficial for everyone in the community."

Sarkonak says she is ready to listen.

"We have an amazing community and I know there are ways to make it even better," ended Sarkonak.

You can join the race alongside Sarkonak until September 20 by visiting City Hall or if you want to run in the RM, you can visit the RM office. 

Around 4:30 yesterday afternoon, the Dauphin RCMP responded to a house fire in Ethelbert. Once firefighters on the scene extinguished the blaze, they entered the home and found a woman who was pronounced dead on the scene.

A number of agencies are assisting in the investigation to determine the cause of the fire, including Dauphin RCMP,  Major Crime Services, RCMP Forensic Identification Services, and the Office of the Fire Commissioner.

A 22-year-old woman from Waywayseecappo First Nation has died following a two-vehicle collision on Highway 45, about three kilometres east of Angusville, last Sunday at around 10:45 p.m.

According to the RCMP's preliminary investigation, the driver of a westbound vehicle attempted to make a left turn onto Road 151 W. As they were making the turn, their vehicle was struck by an eastbound pickup truck driven by a 54-year-old man from the Mossey River Municipality.

The 24-year-old man from Long Plain First Nation driving the westbound vehicle suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to hospital. The female passenger was pronounced dead on the scene.

The male driver and female passenger of the pickup truck suffered non-life threatening injuries and were both taken to hospital.

Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the collision.

An RCMP forensic collision reconstructionist and the RCMP Criminal Collision Investigation Team are assisting with the ongoing investigation.

The Turtle River Trails and Alternative Recreation Plans, once complete, will offer residents of Ste. Rose du Lac and area many opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.

Phase one of the trails is coming along nicely and there has been lots of support from the public so far. If you would like to support the project, there are a few ways you can do that. The easiest way to get involved is by purchasing a 50/50 ticket which the winner will be drawn for during Hoof n' Holler weekend in Ste. Rose in October.

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Another low-cost way to support the Turtle River Trails and Alternative Recreation Plans is by picking up a t-shirt with their logo on it.

"We're also selling these really cool, swaggy, t-shirts with our logo on it for twenty-five dollars. We have different colours and different sizes as well", said Marie Sorlie, Vice Chair of the Trails Committee.

The logo on the t-shirt was designed by a local resident who won a logo design contest. The Turtle River Trails and Alternative Recreation Plans facebook page has all the contact details for the t-shirts.

There are also sponsorship levels which individuals and businesses can purchase to support the trails. $100 gets you a friend level sponsorship while it's $1000 for bronze, $2500 for silver, $5000 for gold, and $10,000 and up gets you a platinum level sponsorship. They also having naming rights for various aspects of the park such as the planned disc golf course or the kayak dock.

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Sorlie added that things are moving along quickly, and that they are excited about all the other new phases that are coming.

Canada's National Ukrainian Festival is hosting a fundraising BBQ outside their office to celebrate Ukrainian Independence Day from 11-2 tomorrow. President Kayla Gillis says that $2 from every order will be donated to UHelpUkraine, which is a Canadian organization that supports the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.

"We need to make sure that our community and our organization is still supporting, whether it be the cause to help Ukraine or to help bring the families into the Parkland community. It's just something that we feel as a Ukrainian Organization we need to keep going and striving towards helping everybody through all these times."

Gillis says the rest of the money raised will go towards next year's festival. CKDM's Cory Lafontaine will be on location at the BBQ tomorrow.

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For the past 12 years, Jack Bremner has been representing residents in the RM of Dauphin as he's spent the last three terms on the council. During this time, Bremner says many things have been accomplished.

"The biggest thing we have accomplished during my time on council was giving rural water to the RM," said Bremner. "We were able to broker a deal with the RM of Gilbert Plains and Grandview. So we were able to purchase water and offer it to our residents."

Jack is now hoping they can continue to expand the water line to Sifton as they are having water problems. That's one thing on Jack's list if re-elected and another is rural crime. The RM meets with the RCMP about four times per year and although Jack says rural crime on farmer's land isn't a huge issue in Dauphin, he does understand there must be steps taken to limit any crime moving ahead.

Bremner also wants the council to be kinder and gentler just like they used to be when he first started.

"We have a lot of rules and we kind of beat up people with those rules," said Bremner. 

Jack is also very proud of how good the roads are in the RM and he says that will continue to be a major focus. The Municipal Election is set for October 26.

"I have quite a bit of knowledge and I know there are some new faces that are hoping to come on and they need to learn the ropes," said Bremner. "I'm hoping to help the young people and share my knowledge for the betterment of the RM of Dauphin."

Stay tuned in the coming days as we will continue to highlight this year's candidates in Dauphin and the RM of Dauphin. You can still register to run for Mayor or council until September 20. 

There's one more day of work planned along Main St. S as the city continues its work on a water main that started last week. Crews are working at the intersection of Main St. S and Whitmore Ave. today, with the work expected to be done by late afternoon or early evening.

Tomorrow, crews will be moving south down Main to work on the last part of the water main. One lane in each direction's expected to be closed while work is being done.

Residents in the area might see some discolouration in their water while crews work. If you notice that your water's brownish in colour, you should let it settle for a couple of hours before running cold water to clear the lines.

An outbreak of Seneca Valley Virus briefly paused cull sow shipments from two assembly yards in Manitoba to the US. Manitoba Pork General Manager Cam Dahl says while the virus isn't harmful, its symptoms are similar to severe diseases like Foreign Animal Disease.

"When those symptoms were seen by USDA Veterinarians on the border, they rejected those shipments, and we needed to go back and test to ensure that in fact, we didn't have any of those more serious diseases."

Dahl says while it was only a brief pause in shipments, it caused a number of issues.

"It has a pretty significant impact. Most of the animals that were being exported into the US were cull sows, and unfortunately in Western Canada, we don't have enough processing capacity for cull animals, so they really only had one place to go and that was to their US destination."

Dahl says this should serve as a reminder that animals need to be cared for properly, and housed properly, so they aren't getting sick.