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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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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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The 31-year-old man from San Clara accused of striking an RCMP officer with his vehicle has appeared in court again.

Matthew Paul allegedly struck the officer after they conducted a traffic stop involving his vehicle at a campground on Highway 83, in Roblin, on July 16th.

Paul faces multiple charges, including assaulting a peace officer with a weapon.

He will be back in Roblin Court on September 15th.

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The Almost New Store, like so many other businesses around Dauphin, has been experiencing an increase in vandalism. Store Manager Janie Galloway says they hope that getting the word out to the community will help with the issue.

 "It's been really bad, we've had donations dropped off on weekends and it gets looted, vandalized, they, make a mess of it, and we have a disaster to clean up in the morning."

Galloway says people have also been dropping off their garbage behind the store, and the cost to get rid of it is piling up.

 "They are leaving couches, hide-a-beds, they're leaving mattresses, dirty things that we can't use for our program here. So we have to hire people to haul it to the dump, and then we have to pay dump charges on top of it for them to accept the garbage. It's costing us a fortune, it's making a mess, we're paying staff to clean this up, there's glass everywhere, it's really bad."

To help with the issue, the store is asking people to only make drop-offs between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. so they can bring the items in right away.

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Security camera footage from the Almost New Store.

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As of 5 a.m. this morning, Main St. S. from 10th Ave. S.E./S.W. to the frontage road approach sections is closed to traffic for water main work.

The City of Dauphin is advising residents to use alternate routes while that portion of the road is closed.

According to the City, the street should be open by early evening and open overnight with sections barricaded.

They say that people should drive with caution around barricaded sections and that the work will continue over the weekend through next Tuesday, August 23rd.

They also say that water in the area may be discoloured because of this work and that residents should avoid running water.

If residents notice that their water is brownish in colour, they should let it settle for a couple of hours before running cold to clear their lines.

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Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) will be holding COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinics next week.

The vaccine is available to anyone aged six months and up and clinics will offer 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th doses if eligible. 

The clinics will be a combination of walk-in and booked appointments.

Pop-up clinics will be held at the following locations:

Ste. Rose du Lac – Public Health Office – 603 1st Ave. E.
Tuesday, August 23rd from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Neepawa – Yellowhead Centre – 175 Mountain Ave.
Thursday, August 25th from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Appointments can be booked online or by calling 1-844-626-8222.

More information, including eligibility criteria and the complete list of upcoming pop-up clinics in the PMH region, can be found here.

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Manitoba Health has announced the first confirmed case of monkeypox in the province.

They say that due to the risk of identifying the individual, information about their region of residence, gender and age will not be released.

According to public health, officials will provide notification to close contacts, and to specific locations, if the risk to others is considered high and contacts may be unknown.

They also say that an investigation, including contact tracing, is ongoing and that acquisition likely occurred outside of the province.

More information on monkeypox can be found on the provincial government's website.

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Every September Long Weekend, the Dauphin Agricultural Heritage Club hosts its annual threshing day to give people a look at how things were done in the past. This year, the club has to postpone the day from its normal weekend because of the delayed start to the season says Club President Dennis Forbes.

"It boils right back down to the type of spring we had, and crop was late getting in. Typically, crops use a hundred-day growing season to sprout and reach maturity, and that will be a couple of weeks later than in the past."

Forbes says while they don't have a specific date yet, it will likely be mid-September.

"If our weather gets really hot, it could mature faster than normal, but if we have a normal ripening period, it will be approximately mid-September."

We will have an update on when Threshing Day is taking place as soon as a new date is picked.

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Dutch Elm Disease (DED) surveys and emerald ash borer (EAB) monitoring are underway again this season in Dauphin.

Provincial inspectors will be driving, biking or walking around both public and private properties to look for DED-infected trees, elm firewood with bark (which spreads DED and is illegal to store), or EAB-infested trees.

Kyla Maslaniec, an urban forester with the Province of Manitoba's Forestry and Peatlands Branch, says that Manitoba's low tree diversity is the main reason behind the DED program.

"We relied heavily on elm trees and then, subsequently, ash trees... We do have a lot of urban elms in the province and a lot of mature urban elms that provide a lot of our mature tree canopy cover in urban areas, so to maintain that tree canopy we need to control the spread of Dutch Elm Disease," she adds.

She also says that Dauphin has a number of wild elms in the area, which makes managing and slowing the spread of the disease more challenging, and that since Dauphin has a lot of very nice large, mature elm trees that still remain in the community, it's more important to her to try and maintain those trees in the landscape.

In addition to the DED surveys, they are also monitoring for emerald ash borers.

According to Maslaniec, they are incredibly destructive to ash trees and are extremely difficult to control once they've established themselves in a new area.

"We haven't actually found any emerald ash borers outside of Winnipeg so far, but we do monitor for emerald ash borers throughout the province," she adds.

Kyla Maslaniec also wants to warn people not to move firewood because that's how the beetles spread from one area to another.

Inspectors may be working in the evenings and on weekends. They wear high-visibility vests and government-issued identification and may also be wearing masks due to COVID-19.

Anyone interested in learning more about the program can call the Manitoba Tree Line at 204-945-7866 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

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Tom Gibbs has spent the last two terms on council for the R.M. of Dauphin and for the most part, it's been very enjoyable. 

"We have a pretty diverse council and it makes for great conversation and constructive conversation," said Gibbs. 

Now as we look forward to the Municipal Election on October 26, Tom is running again; however, this time he is running for the position of Reeve. In talks with current Reeve, Ron Ryz, Ron mentioned to Tom that he didn't have enough time to commit fully to the position; however, Ryz is running for council.

Tom says he has plenty of time and he is fully committed to the R.M. of Dauphin.

"What I've witnessed during my time on council is that there needs to be continuity between staff, previous councillors and the new councillors," said Gibbs. "I want to help provide that continuity to help build and grow on."

If he is elected, Tom would look forward to working with staff and council to provide the great services to the R.M's residents that they expect.

"Also at the lowest cost possible with the understanding that it's a balancing act, good roads and great services come at a cost," said Gibbs. "I would also look forward to working with the previous council, indigenous groups and neighbouring municipalities to try and bring additional trade and commerce into our region. We are stronger as a group than we are as individuals."

Tom is going up against Ernie Sirski for reeve.

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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Starting tomorrow, August 19th, at 5 a.m., Main St. S. from 9th Ave. S.E./S.W. to 10th Ave. S.E./S.W. will be closed to all traffic for water main work.

The City of Dauphin is asking that you use alternate routes while that portion of the road is closed.

According to the City, it should be open by early evening.

They're also warning residents that water in the area may be discoloured because of this work and that they should avoid running water.

If residents notice that their water is brownish in colour, they should let it settle for a couple of hours before running cold to clear their lines.

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