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Turtle River School Division announced earlier this week that they they’ve postponed their graduation ceremonies until the fall.
Just like Mountain View School Division, Bev Szymesko says it was the right thing to do
"I had a meeting with the principals and it was a very difficult decision for us," said Szymesko, Superintendent of the Turtle River School Division. "We just felt it was the prudent decision, we don't know what anything will look like in June."
The postponement will affect roughly 45-55 students across TRSD that were set to graduate.
Szymesko understands that graduates may be going through a tough time; however, she assures there will be a time to celebrate.
"The school principals, the students, and their parents will plan graduation moving forward," she continued. "We didn't cancel anything, we just pushed things back until the fall."
The date for graduation will be decided by each school.
School principals will be contacting families of grade 12 students and will also be available to answer any questions or concerns.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union (MGEU) says she’s heard the closure of the Dauphin Correctional Centre (DCC) is going to proceed on May 29th.
Michelle Gawronsky has been calling on Justice Minister Cliff Cullen to delay the closure until after the pandemic. She says it's not fair to make correctional officers and their families relocate at this time.
“My initial reaction was disgust. I found out through the members there was a meeting held at the Dauphin jail with the superintendent of the jail telling our members, contrary to what they’d been told, that the closure of the jail will be definitely happening on May 29th.”
Gawronsky says she’s not exactly sure if jail workers are going to be asked to break social distancing guidelines as they look to relocate, buy new homes, and register kids for school.
“We’re not exactly sure what the expectation is for these workers.”
The MGEU president explains she discussed the topic of delaying the closure while on a conference call with Minister of Justice Cliff Cullen on April 1st. Gawronsky says she is waiting to hear back from Minister Cullen.
Going forward, Gawronsky says she's hoping the public will voice their displeasure and contact the premier directly with their concerns.
“To me, it’s a fairly easy answer. Just make an announcement that the closure of the Dauphin jail has been delayed until the pandemic is over.”
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
The RM of Lakeshore is accepting applications for the position of Chief Administrative Officer.
The CAO is the head of the municipality and has responsibilities including council meetings, by-laws and policies, financial management, and human resource management.
The RM of Lakeshore is calling on people with strong communication and leadership skills.
To be eligible you must be a certified Manitoba Municipal Administrator, as well as have previous experience as a CAO with another municipality.
The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is hired.
For more information, you can contact the RM of Lakeshore at (204)-732-2333.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
It’s been getting more and more difficult for the Bakers Narrows Lodge in Flin Flon to do business.
The northern Manitoba fishing lodge has already lost $100,000 in revenue over the past 6 weeks of cancellations, according to office manager Heather Joy Baynton.
She says the loss of their American customers was tough. Not long after that, the lodge started losing customers from Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Now complicating things even further, the Manitoba government has banned all non-essential travel to northern communities above the 53rd parallel, until May 1st.
Our chief provincial public health officer says the travel ban to northern Manitoba has a few exceptions; residents of northern and remote communities may continue to move within the north; delivery of goods and services may continue; and exceptions include those who travel to the north for employment, medical treatment or to facilitate child-custody agreements.
Heather says she’s beginning to worry about what the Flin Flon fishing retreat will do if these restrictions carry on any longer.
“I just hope it doesn’t start affecting our June market. We’re normally sold out for June every year.”
In the meantime, the staff at Bakers Narrows Lodge have been taking a number of precautions; putting plexiglass in the office, and increasing cleaning protocols to make sure all points of contact are regularly disinfected.
Heather explains the lodge has made an effort to accommodate customers who were forced to cancel their reservations. Affected customers have a chance to keep their deposit on file, and use it anytime within the next 12 months.
For the latest information on how COVID-19 is impacting the fishing lodge in Flin Flon, visit the Bakers Narrows Lodge website.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
The Dauphin Friendship Centre knows that some people don't have access to the internet or printing services.
While they know that's the case, they certainly aren't sitting around and instead, they're helping anyone who needs those services.
They've set up two computers that can be used from outside of the building. Both computers are available to anyone and can be used 24/7, free of charge.
You can also use their printer free of charge; however, that's only during business hours.
"We found this to be very effective. We know people need to register for things and stuff like that," said Jeremy Smith. "We also know some people are having trouble staying in touch with their families, so we wanted to change that. If someone wants to use the computers to get in touch with their families, we welcome them to do so."
On the first night that this service was available, the computers were being used at midnight.
Elsewhere around the Dauphin Friendship Centre, it's business as usual with some precautions in place. They have set up plexiglass which will keep clients and staff a safe distance away from each other.
The DFC is also developing programs currently that will be offered online through social media such as Facebook and Skype.
"We're also in contact with service providers in Dauphin to see what kind of services we need to help our clients through this crisis."
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Today, there are no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Manitoba.
The total number of cases in the province remains at 250.
The number of active cases is at 113.
There are currently 132 people recovered, making the number of recoveries greater than the number of active cases for the first time.
Prairie Mountain Health region's case count remains at 12.
For the latest information about COVID-19, and to access the online screening tool you can visit manitoba.ca/covid19.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
Dauphin Regional Comprehensive Secondary School staff are saying that students will not receive class credit unless work assigned from now until the end of June is completed at a satisfactory level.
“Should a student not apply themselves moving forward and not meet expectations, they will not receive the credit. Rather, they will be supported in credit recovery in the 2020-21 school year to try again to complete the learning they chose not to do or were unable to do from now until the end of June.”
Speaking with CKDM, Principal Norman Casavant says the school understands this is a difficult time, and they want to support students to the best of their ability.
Although grades are “locked-in” during the class suspension, DRCSS explains that only means a student’s grade cannot drop below that level.
The school wants to address the misconception that students have “automatically passed” the course.
Learning packages sent home will be graded for a mark.
Questions can be directed to Mr. Casavant This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
The Keystone Agricultural Producers conducted a survey about mobile phone and internet coverage.
Almost two-thirds of the Manitobans who responded expressed dissatisfaction with their connectivity.
This report was released at a time when social distancing protocols are causing the vast majority of Manitobans to be increasingly reliant on both networks.
In a press release, Jill Verwey, KAP vice president and chair of the rural policy committee says farm operations require strong internet and cell coverage to conduct business and ensure that food continues to make its way to market.
“We have heard deep-seated frustration from both farm families and non-farmers about the state of connectivity in rural Manitoba, and providers cannot continue to ask us to pay for a service that is subpar at best.”
Connectivity complaints stated in the survey include being unhappy with the inability to be in touch in emergency situations and with farm employees, a hindered ability to fully participate in business operations, or incurring additional costs to add a booster that works sporadically. There are also broad impacts for education, with respondents noting that they are unable to conduct schoolwork, access course materials, or participate in distance learning like webinars.
Verwey adds, “The best time to fix these gaps was 5 years ago, the second-best time is now.”
In the survey, residents were asked what their level of satisfaction is with internet and mobile service. Less than a hundred people say they are very satisfied, in both categories, while 62.9% of respondents reported being either somewhat or very dissatisfied with their internet service, and 64.6% reported being either somewhat or very dissatisfied with their mobile phone service.
Next, respondents were asked to share how often they experience disruptions with their service. Just over 50% of respondents reported experiencing internet service disruptions at least daily, if not multiple times daily, whereas 66.5% of respondents indicated they experience mobile phone service disruptions at least once a day, if not multiple times daily.
Xplornet and BellMTS are the two most popular internet services combining for 81.5 per cent, while BellMTS and Rogers are the two most popular mobile phone services combining for 76.6 per cent.
1,557 Manitobans representing 113 municipalities took the survey and respondents came from all parts of the province.
A full report will be shared with both the federal and provincial governments, as well as major service providers, later this year.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Greenhouses, garden centres, and farmer’s markets are now being deemed essential services by Manitoba’s Chief Public Health Officer.
Bev Birss Winniski with Birss Greenhouse and Landscaping says the period of time leading up to yesterday’s announcement has been tough.
“Our understanding was that we were a mixed essential service. You’re essential as an agricultural part to grow, but you’re not essential to sell, so it’s been very stressful for us.”
She adds that planting flowers is very therapeutic for those who are stuck at home and that decorating your yard can help people deal with stress.
Going forward, the company will be taking extra measures to ensure the safety of staff and customers, like taking orders by email and phone.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
Dan Ward announced that Mountain View School Division was postponing its graduation and convocation earlier this week.
This will affect roughly 200 students who were set to celebrate this spring after completing 13 years of school.
One of those students affected is Dauphin's, Storm Karlson. She was set to graduate with honours. She will still graduate; however, a ceremony this spring is no longer the case.
For Karlson and her friends, it's unfortunate news, but she understands it's for the best right now while we deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
"We mentally needed graduation, we were going to use it as a send-off so we could close this chapter on our lives and open a new one," said Karlson. "We do understand; however, that we can't force anything because we want everyone to be safe."
Karlson is a part of the DRCSS' Grad Committee and she says there are options available moving forward.
"Parents are working hard to get us something in the fall before we leave," Karlson added. "There are solutions for this, there's just nothing in place right now."
As mentioned above, Karlson will graduate this year with honours. Her academic average is a sparkling 94% with her highest mark being 97%.
As the Dauphinite soon will close the chapter on her days at the DRCSS, she'll be remembering the school as one that was very welcoming with tremendous fellow students and teachers.
"I really enjoyed my time at the DRCSS, all the teachers were wonderful and super supportive," continued Karlson. My experience was fantastic."
Karlson's new chapter in her life will see her move to Regina. She's been accepted to the University of Regina's nursing program. At this point, she's expected to start classes on September 2.
Storm decided she wanted to become a nurse because she wants to help people. When she was 13, her brother was diagnosed with diabetes and she wants to help people just like the nurses helped her family during that time.
"I was very, very excited when I got accepted into the program," concluded Karlson. "I get even more excited when I see how hard these nurses and doctors have been working since this outbreak began."
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
You might say Mayson’s 8th birthday was a memorable one.
The young girl from Makinak was all smiles after being treated to a special birthday concert from a family friend; 15-year-old Avery Stykalo.
“To be able to go to my mom’s friend's home and sing for her little girl was really great. Her face was priceless when she walked out and saw me.”
Avery had her guitar on-hand Wednesday evening. She opened with “Happy Birthday”, followed by “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen.
The grade 10 student at Dauphin Regional Comprehensive Secondary School finds music to be very calming, and hopes her tunes can help make somebody’s day a little bit better, during this challenging time.
But Avery isn’t immune to stress, and says the past few weeks have definitely been an adjustment period. The musically talented 15-year-old from Laurier says she misses being with her friends.
While it is an uncertain time we’re living in, it seems as though one thing we can count on is Avery using music to give us something to smile about.
“I’ve always loved music. I started playing guitar at 10 or 11 years old. My dad plays guitar and would play for me before bed when I was younger. He taught me a few cords, and I picked it up myself and have been playing ever since then.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
