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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.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
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.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
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.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
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.
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.
Sorlie added that things are moving along quickly, and that they are excited about all the other new phases that are coming.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston
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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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
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.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
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.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
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.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Dauphin Fire Department did not have much down time last week as they responded to a number of incidents. Please see below the full press release with details from Fire Chief Cam Abrey.
The past week kept the members of DFD busy with responding to a variety of incidents.
On Tuesday (August 16) DFD responded to a tractor, baler and field on fire shortly after 3:00 pm in the south east area of the RM of Dauphin. The fire was confined from spreading across the field but unfortunately the equipment was a complete loss prior to the arrival of the FD. There are no injuries to report.
Just after 2:00 pm on Thursday (August 18) the department was called for a single vehicle rollover northwest of the City. The lone occupant of the vehicle was transported by EMS to Dauphin Regional Health Centre in stable condition.
On Saturday (August 20), DFD received a call for a vehicle rollover just before 1:00 pm south of the City. Upon arrival it was found that the occupant(s) of the vehicle had already left the scene.
At approximately 4:00 am on Sunday (August 21) morning, there was a report of a structure fire on 2nd Avenue NE. Upon arrival there was smoke and flames visible from the windows. Crews searched the home and found no occupants at the time of incident. The fire was contained quickly, limiting the amount of damage, however there are no estimates on damages at this time. The fire is suspicious in nature, anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the RCMP at 204-622-5050.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston
The Inter-Mountain Watershed District (IMWD) unveiled the new Memorial Park at their office and yard site near Ethelbert last Friday.
During the unveiling ceremony, they honoured their first two inductees, Ernie Bayduza and Wes Bernat.
The IMWD established the park to pay tribute to volunteers who have been instrumental in the founding and building of their District to where they are today.
According to a news release from the IMWD, tremendous growth has been accomplished during Bernat and Bayduza’s time with IMWD, and their work constitutes important building blocks for the next generation who will be working and volunteering in conservation.
IMWD Chair Jack Bremner says, “Both Wes and Ernie were very passionate about conservation and the health of our watershed. It is important for us to recognize their contributions in our new Memorial Park”.
Ernie Bayduza was a long-term councillor, reeve and farmer in the R.M. of Dauphin. Bayduza’s conservation ethic led him to become a sub-district member of the Turtle River Watershed Conservation District in 1986 and was integral in the formation of the Intermountain Conservation District in 1997. With the new district, Bayduza became chair of the Wilson River sub-district and served as Chair of Intermountain between 1999 and 2004. Bayduza remained an active member of their main Board of Directors until he stepped down in 2011. He continued on as Chair of the Wilson River sub-district until his passing in 2019.
Wes Bernat grew up and farmed in the R.M. of Dauphin and also had a long-time career with the City of Dauphin. Bernat was first employed by the City as the Engineering Clerk and went on to become Personnel Director, and later was also elected as City Councillor. Bernat was a member of the Intermountain Conservation District since its establishment in 1997 when he was appointed as the City’s representative on the Vermillion River sub-district. Bernat was appointed Chairman of the Vermillion River sub-district in 2013 and remained an active member of their main Board of Directors until his passing in 2016.
More information on the IMWD can be found on their website.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
Ernie Sirski has never represented the RM as reeve or on the council but he's ready and willing to do whatever it takes to do so successfully and that's why he is a candidate to become Reeve for the RM on October 26.
Ernie brings in a wealth of experience, serving on multi-billion dollar companies, producer boards, and he has heavily been involved in the local community and that's why he believes he is a great fit. A big farmer himself, Sirski says the agriculture industry has to continue to be a major focus.
"We want to make sure agriculture continues to have the ability to continue farming," said Sirski. "I believe there are some challenges that need to be addressed, it's the main industry in our rural municipality. I want to assure that farmers can continue to do the things they do well."
Sirski said there are many other things he would focus on including rural crime and he wants to make sure every resident is taken care of in the best possible way.
"I am ready to spend the time and put in the effort to make sure our rural council does the things that benefit everyone in our RM," offered Sirski.
Living just about 10 kilometres from Dauphin, Sirski says living in the RM is great and the roads are second to none compared to other municipalities in the province.
"It truly is a great place to be and I would love the opportunity to represent the RM as Reeve," ended Sirski.
Ernie is up against Tom Gibbs for the position of reeve in the RM. 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.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
