Operation Christmas Child Is On Going

Operation Christmas Child is a campaign that sends shoe boxes full of gifts to kids around the world who are less fortunate.

Samaritan’s Purse is the organization that created the campaign.

Shoe boxes can be picked up at Grace Bible Church and Aitken's Jewellers. Shoe boxes must be dropped off by October 31^st and can only be dropped off at Grace Bible Church.

When picking up a box a decision has to be made about the items put in the box. You can choose between creating a gift box for a boy or girl and three age categories. The age categories are 2-4, 5-9, 10-14 years old. When filling a box it is asked that a “wow” toy such as a doll, soccer ball with a pump, or a stuffed animal is included. Then add other fun toys, hygiene items, and school supplies.

There is a minimum 10 dollar donation asked to help with shipping, among other fees.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Oct 12, 2018 - 12:23 pm

Manitoba Public Insurance encourages everyone to find a safe way home if you're going out for a night of smoking legal pot.

Spokesperson for MPI, Brian Smiley, says drivers need to be aware of the risks of getting behind the wheel while high.

“Educating drivers that if they do consume cannabis will affect their driving one way or another. There’s many people that have the misconception that pot and cannabis does not affect their driving, but studies have shown it does. It’s a form of impaired driving and drivers need to educate themselves for not only their own safety but for the safety of their passengers and the safety of other motorists.”

It’s recommended to put any cannabis products in your trunk or as far out of reach of the driver as you can to avoid getting in trouble with the law.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Oct 12, 2018 - 11:14 am

With legal cannabis stores opening on Wednesday; employees are going through training to get ready for opening day.

Gary Symons, the director of marketing with Delta 9 Cannabis Inc., talks about what their employees are learning.

“Very rigorous training. We have two levels, so there’s the standard budtender or store clerk gets pretty thorough training on every single product. They get training on safety. They can advise people on, for example, ‘if you’re going to consume, don’t consume and drive within a certain period.’ So we work with Mothers Against Drunk Driving on this program as well. So we get a lot of safety training, a lot of product knowledge.”

Just like liquor stores, you’ll need to show your ID if you look around 19.

“You’d have to present your ID. All of our staff have been trained on a retail cannabis program done by a company out of BC. It's a very advanced program so that people are well acquainted with the law and what they can and can’t say. There will definitely be ID needed by anybody who is buying in a store to make sure they are the age of majority.”

You can hear the full second part of Benjamin Schwab’s interview with Gary Symons at 12:40 this afternoon.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Oct 12, 2018 - 5:03 am

David Gray is running for town council in Swan River. He is running for council because he felt that instead of complaining he should put his money where his mouth is and run for council.

He also feels that Swan River is on a slow, long declining trajectory, and that the biggest challenge he faces is an inconsistent overall plan.

If you want to know more about him you can call him at 204-281-2274, or 204-480-9871. He also has a Facebook page called: David Gray for Town of Swan River Council.

The election is on October 24^th.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Oct 12, 2018 - 4:48 am

Enrolment is up in the Mountain View School Division.

As of September 30th, 3107 students were attending compared with 3058 last year.

Superintendent Donna Davidson shares her thoughts about the increase.

“We’re actually pleased with our enrolment numbers this year. We’re up slightly from the previous year. We’re up approximately 50 students from 2017. It’s nice to be able to see increased enrolment in our schools.”

She says it’s hard to figure out where the increase is coming from.

“When we think of kindergarten in our current year, we have 205 kindergarten students. We had 206 last year, so it wouldn’t reflect that there’s an increase in new young children coming. But we’ve seen increases in other grades from our previous year. So it would indicate that there’s families moving into the community.”

She says it signifies a healthy community and young families moving in and hopefully staying.

As of September 30th, the DRCSS had 666, Mackenzie had 412, Barker had 225, Henderson had 213, Macneill had 173, Smith Jackson had 80, Whitmore had 102, Grandview had 238, Gilbert Plains Collegiate had 65, Gilbert Plains Elementary had 137, Winnipegosis Collegiate had 80, Winnipegosis Elementary had 93, Goose Lake had 149, Roblin Elementary had 331, Ethelbert had 97, and Ochre River had 46.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Oct 11, 2018 - 2:18 pm

MPI is continuing the low-interest winter tire program.

The program provides loans of up to 48 months at prime plus two per cent up to $2,000 per vehicle.

The average length of a winter tire loan is currently about three years.

Over the past 4 years, more than 100 thousand low-interest loans have been processed.

Almost 700 retailers in Manitoba participate in the program.

Customers interested in participating in the program are encouraged to visit Manitoba Public Insurance’s website at mpi.mb.ca for more information on program rules and to select a participating retailer.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Oct 11, 2018 - 11:04 am

Kevin Edmondson is running for mayor of Grandview Municipality.

He’s running because he sees a strong need for leadership and hopes to add some new and fresh ideas.

He has three main issues. The first one is about the hospital, he wants to keep it sustainable and fully functional. He also wants an economic development plan for the municipality to move forward into the future. Finally, he wants to address the roads both rural and in the town, to make sure they’re reliable and safe.

He says they all will take time, but they need to be an ongoing process.

He is currently on council and sits on a number of committees including public works.

Details: Contributed by Isaac Wihak; Published: Oct 11, 2018 - 10:42 am

A handful of provincial government ministers say the province is "as ready as it's going to be" for when marijuana becomes legal next Wednesday.

Provincial Health Minister Cameron Friesen said they warned the federal government that they were rushing things, but nevertheless, we have to get ready.

The province noted that when it comes to pot-screening devices, the federal government took too long to provide clarity, and funding. In August, the Drager DrugTest 5000 was approved as a pot-screening device for police officers. However; the manufacturer only has 500 available, and Manitoba could only secure 21 of them by the end of the 2018-19 fiscal year. Provinicial Justice Minister Cliff Cullen says despite this, Manitoba's police forces are prepared.

In anticipation of legal marijuana; the provincial government has implemented a new impairment policy that states government employees must not smell of alcohol or cannabis while on the job.

Details: Contributed by Josh Sigurdson; Published: Oct 11, 2018 - 7:37 am

Water, dust, development, and providing services were some of the topics covered at the RM of Dauphin election forum.

Water service to rural residents was one of the main topics covered. The development of the rural water service is something the candidates touted as an achievement of the last council. Dennis Forbes says he hopes to see more lines in the next year.

Jack Bremner said that having the services lines increases land values. He also said that water service is key to attracting more residents and businesses to the area.

Forbes also said it was a business decision to work with Gilbert Plains for water service instead of the City of Dauphin, because the system flows downhill and the cost was cheaper than other options; which allowed them to connect more customers.

On the topic of dust control, some candidates said they would consider looking into control measures. They said they would look into the feasibility of bringing the service back. David Johnston said he wants to look into creating a policy of grading roads around when product is put down; while other candidates like Midge Sametz said it was a double-edged sword where they should look to apply it to only certain areas because of the high cost.

Jack Bremner said a new coating on a gravel road South of Dauphin looks promising; but still requires further study to see if they can apply it to other roads.

Working with the City of Dauphin, and devlopment were topics all candidates agreed on. Incumbent candidates spoke about the troubled relationship between the City and the RM. However, all look to improve it. Tom Gibb remarked that with new leadership on both side, including new CAOs, they can start fresh. Bremner followed that up by saying everything is better together; when one strives, the other does too.

The candidates agreed that council needs to be proactive in bringing businesses to the community. Midge Sametz suggested using the economic development officer to recruit business. Jack Bremner and Dennis Forbes talked about how a comprehensive development plan is in the works. The airport was frequently mentioned as a location for more development. Bremner mentioned developing around the bypass. Forbes said he wants to see development in concentrated areas so that the agriculture industry isn't working around the new development.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Oct 11, 2018 - 6:30 am

Stress can build when harvest goes the way it has.

The Manitoba Farm, Rural & Northern Support Services provides farmers, those living in rural areas and those living in northern communities the opportunity to talk with someone who understands what they are going through.

Janet Smith, the manager of the service talks about the kinds of calls they have been receiving recently.

“We’re certainly hearing from folks concerned about bills coming in and not being able to get the grain in the bins and all the spin-offs of financial stress and the impact that it have on your own wellbeing. Lots of anxiety, stress, and relationship problems. People find themselves having difficulty sleeping and just different kinds of ways stress impacts our behaviour and our relationships with others.”

She talks about why farmers can open up to the people on the other end.

“The folks that they are going to be talking to have farming backgrounds. So, they will have an understanding of what some of the issues that they are experiencing. It’s also a free service, it’s confidential, so your name is not going to be shared, and they can speak really freely about anything that’s going on in their lives.”

If you need to talk with someone about the stresses in your life you can call the toll free number at 1-866-367-3276.

Today is World Mental Health Day.