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Health officials in Manitoba announced 16 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, most of which are in Winnipeg.
Fourteen of today’s cases are in the Winnipeg health region. One case is in Prairie Mountain Health, and 1 is in the Southern Health region.
Dauphin’s case count is unchanged — all 7 previously announced cases are listed as recovered.
There are 404 active cases in the province, and 945 people have recovered from COVID-19.
There are 12 people in hospital and three people in intensive care; and the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 16.
The Keystone Centre Specimen Collection Site in Brandon will close permanently after Sept. 12. Those seeking testing are advised to visit the Brandon Town Centre site. Click here for a rundown of all testing site locations in the province.
For up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, visit Manitoba.ca/COVID19.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
The Assiniboine Community College Parkland campus will be offering a new program in 2021.
Applications for the new six-month Applied Electrical Installation certificate program are now being accepted.
There’ll be practical and theory components to the electrical certificate program.
Those in the program will learn about residential wiring systems and safety, including safe work procedures, electrical code, and blueprint reading.
Grant Lawford, Chair of Construction Trades at Assiniboine, says students’ safety and wiring skills will be put to practice in their simulation condos.
The first five months of the program will focus on theory and practical learning that’s followed with an industry practicum, for a total of 740 hours.
Completing the program gives graduates entry-level skills in the electrical trade and they’ll meet the Level 1 electrical apprenticeship in-school technical training requirements.
Graduates of this new program will also have the opportunity to build careers and further their apprenticeship training with electrical contractors and construction companies, in maintenance departments or with public utilities.
Tuition, fees, and Students’ Association fees total about $3,450 and the estimated costs for books and supplies is $1,730.
For more information on the Applied Electrical Installation certificate, click here.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
8:42 a.m. Update:
3 people are dead and another one was sent to a hospital with life-threatening injuries following a vehicle/train collision.
At 11:30 yesterday morning, Yellowhead RCMP and CP Police responded to the collision between a van and train on Road 126 West, located one kilometre east of Strathclair.
Investigators have determined that the van, with four occupants, being driven by a 27-year-old male from Dauphin, was travelling northbound on the road when it was struck by a westbound CP train.
The driver of the van was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries while the three occupants of the van, a 45-year-old male from the Sandy Bay First Nation, a 25-year-old male from the Waywayseecappo First Nation and a 19-year-old male from Dauphin, were pronounced deceased on scene.
The investigation continues.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
With some parents anxious about sending their kids back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been a greater interest in switching to homeschooling this year.
The province says parents can switch their kids into homeschooling at any point in the year, free of charge.
If families change their minds, school divisions are required to accept students back into the public school system as long as they live within the division’s boundaries.
Here in Manitoba, there’s been reports of some parents banding together and forming homeschool groups to teach their kids - however groups must be limited to 2 families.
As for evaluations and monitoring of education, children must write provincial tests, and parents are required to submit progress reports in January and June. Home-schooled students are not eligible for a high school diploma unless they have completed Manitoba’s graduation requirements.
For more information about homeschooling options in Manitoba, click here.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
September 9th Update:
Early this morning around 4:15, the frost advisory ended.
With an overnight low of 7 degrees tonight, the forecast isn't calling for a risk of frost right now.
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Environment Canada has issued a frost advisory for many parts of southern Manitoba, including Riding Mountain National Park, Brandon, Portage la Prairie, and Winnipeg.
A ridge of high pressure will give rise to clear skies and light winds which will lead to another night of patchy frost across southern Manitoba.
The weather authority warns some plants may be damaged or even destroyed by frost, and are advising producers to cover up plants, especially those in frost-prone areas.
Warmer, more seasonable temperatures are expected to push into the eastern Prairies by mid-week and persist into the weekend which will bring an end to the sub zero overnight lows for the time being.
As of 3:28 p.m., the frost advisory is in effect for:
- Hamiota Mun. incl. McConnell and Lavinia
- Mun. of Clanwilliam-Erickson
- Mun. of Harrison Park incl. Onanole Sandy Lake and Newdale
- Prairie View Mun. incl. Bird Tail Creek Res.
- R.M. of Minto-Odanah incl. Minnedosa and Moore Park
- R.M. of Oakview incl. Oak River and Rapid City
- R.M. of Rosedale incl. Eden and Kelwood
- R.M. of Yellowhead incl. Shoal Lake and Elphinstone
- R.M.of Ellice-Archie incl. St-Lazare McAuley and Manson
- Riding Mountain Nat. Park
- Rossburn Mun. incl. Waywayseecappo Res.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Public health officials identified 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the province’s total case count to 1,349.
There are 393 active cases in Manitoba, with 13 people in hospital and three in intensive care. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 remains at 16.
None of today’s cases are in Prairie Mountain Health, which has some wondering whether or not health officials will consider moving the region out of the “orange” restricted level anytime soon.
Dr. Brent Roussin, our chief public health officer, says we are certainly seeing a trend in the right direction with case numbers in Prairie Mountain Health.
“We’ll be watching that closely. We’re just at the tail end of the first incubation period (14 days) after we went to restricted ‘orange’ in PMH. We’ll continue to watch those numbers closely, and adjust the pandemic response system as indicated. ”
“We need to see more of this trend, for much longer, before we can begin to think about lifting those restrictions.”
As students, teachers and staff return to school this week, public health officials strongly encourage all Manitobans to return to the fundamentals to help stop the spread of COVID-19. This means staying home if you are sick, washing/sanitizing your hands, covering your cough and physically distancing when you are with people outside your household. If you cannot physically distance, wear a mask.
Unless recommended by Public Health, only individuals experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should go for testing.
For more information about COVID-19 in the province, click here.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
A small group gathered outside of the Dauphin provincial courthouse Tuesday morning, seeking justice for two young girls killed in a car accident in August of 2019.
Gaylene Dutchyshen is the grandmother of Oksana and Quinn, who were age 4 and 6 when they died in a car accident involving an alleged impaired driver.
Gaylene decided to organize the small gathering after she was informed by court officials last month that she would not be able to follow the case from inside the courtroom due to COVID-19 restrictions on how many people are allowed in the building.
“I made a vow when they died that I would be at every court hearing — and I’m going to be. I just want to make sure justice is served,” said Dutchyshen.
The group set up in front of the courthouse around 9:30 a.m. this morning holding signs with pictures of the girls, which read “Justice For Oksana & Quinn”.
Today was another scheduled court date for 25-year-old Jack Winters, who was arrested on Friday, July 17 for several charges relating to the fatal 2019 accident.
Today that case was remanded to October 6.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen held a press conference this morning to welcome students back to class.
Goertzen says there are a number of people that are critical to having a great year and at the top of the list are those working in schools, teachers and administrators.
"They were back already last week, doing really, really important work and some people have seen the physical spacing of the desks and different things within the schools, hand sanitization stations, the directions, the arrows, a lot of different things in the schools. That preparatory work last week is critical for how things go, not just today, but in the days ahead. I really want to thank our teachers, our administrators who came back."
Goertzen wants to give a lot of credit to teachers, who in some ways have to relearn how to teach because all the methods of group teaching, having students close together and working together has to change.
On the topic of COVID in the school, Goertzen expects cases because COVID is in our society and schools are a part of society.
Because of that, he’s preaching transparency.
"I think we need to be transparent with the public more generally about where cases are being found, not because we want to create fear, but the exact opposite. I believe that public health and school officials are going to do a very good job, when they find cases within the schools, reacting to those cases, isolating those cases ensuring they don't spread more broadly, and if we can provide that information, I think it'll provide confidence more than it'll provide fear."
Goertzen says even though this won’t be a normal school year, he still wants it to be an excellent one.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
At 3:40 Friday afternoon, the Dauphin RCMP were told a male youth was in possession of a firearm and may have pointed it at people on Kirby Avenue E in Dauphin.
The suspect wasn’t located by the initial patrol of the area, but by 3:50 that afternoon, the 17-year-old male youth was found at his home and arrested.
Officers then learned that he had robbed a 19-year-old male of his bike, which was later recovered.
The 17-year-old was remanded into custody on a robbery charge as well as numerous breach of undertaking charges.
The matter is still under investigation as the firearms haven’t been recovered yet.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The return to the classroom today has been a big topic of discussion in the Parkland lately.
Our CKDM reporters put their masks on and went out to the streets to find out how you’re feeling about students getting back to school.
Concerns About The Return To The Classroom
There’s certainly been a fair bit of anxiety amongst parents and educators with many kids heading back to the classroom this week.
We spoke with Suzy from Dauphin, who feels strongly against the return to classroom.
“No. I don’t think it’s a good idea. [Learning] should be at home where everybody else is.”
Michelle from Dauphin shares some of those concerns, saying “honestly, as a parent, I’m kind of iffy about it. I’m not sure if I’m even going to send my kids to school right away. At this point, my kid’s health is more important than their education.”
She also predicts there will be some difficulty getting the young ones to follow the new guidelines at school.
“I don’t know how they’re going to get kids to wear masks all day and social distance. They all miss their friends and are going to be happy to see each other.”
Some Community Members Express Confidence In Back-To-School Plan
Another school of thought in the community has shown a bit more confidence that school divisions and government will be able to organize a safe return to the classroom.
Shannon from Dauphin tells CKDM she thinks getting back into the classroom is a good thing.
“I’m a little concerned about it myself, but as long everybody follows the rules and the school divisions follow everything — and biggest thing is make sure it’s about the safety of the kids.”
Like Michelle, Shannon thinks younger children will have an especially difficult time picking up on the new normal.
“I think for the young kids it’s going to be a little more difficult for the masks and trying to keep all those controls in place. One of the biggest things though is going to be their disinfecting and social distancing — but overall, I think everything should work.”
Howard tells our CKDM reporters he has mixed emotions about the return to the classroom, but is confident things could go smoothly if everyone does their part.
“No, I’m not worried. I’m just going to see how the first month goes. I’m sending my daughter to school so we’ll go from there. We’ll just make sure she does her part, and hopefully the school does theirs.”
“We’ll just make sure she does her part, and hopefully the school does theirs.”
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
September 8th Update:
The frost advisory ended this morning at 4:24 am for:
- Gilbert Plains Mun. incl. Ashville
- Grandview Mun. incl. Valley River Res.
- Mossey River Mun. incl. Winnipegosis and Fork River
- Mun. of Ethelbert incl. Garland
- Mun. of Roblin incl. Makaroff Shortdale and Bield
- Mun. of Russell-Binscarth incl. Gambler Res.
- R.M. of Dauphin incl. Sifton and Valley River
- R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Ochre River and Makinak
- R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Rorketon and Toutes Aides
- R.M. of Riding Mountain West incl. Asessippi Prov. Park
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On Sunday at 3:34 p.m., Environment Canada issued a frost warning for the Parkland and most of southern Manitoba.
Frost advisories are issued when temperatures are expected to reach the freezing mark during the growing season, leading to potential damage and destruction to plants and crops.
The weather authority is advising producers to take preventative measures to protect frost-sensitive plants.
The forecast for Dauphin is calling for an overnight low of minus 3, with a windchill of minus 7.
Tomorrow the daily high is 12 degrees. On Tuesday night the forecast calls for an overnight low of 0.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
