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It has been a month since the first cases of Avian Influenza were found in Manitoba. Since then, there has only been one case in a Manitoba flock according to Wayne Hiltz, the Executive Director of Manitoba Chicken Producers.
Even before the outbreak of the one case, when it started getting noticed in wild bird foul, we increased to what we call our alert biosecurity which has certainly more restrictions on it than our regular biosecurity, and those farms that are within the control access zone of the infected site, those would have significant more biosecurity attached to them as well because they're in what we call the hot zone.
There are a number of provinces getting hit harder than Manitoba however.
There's certainly a wide range, and not all of these are commercial premises, some of these would be small flock included in these numbers. Alberta is I believe around 28, Ontario's at 25, and BC's at eight, but I believe only one is a commercial premise, the rest are all small flocks. The Maritimes I believe just has one, Quebec is around seven, and Saskatchewan has about a dozen as well.
Hiltz said the outbreak is the worst the country has seen since at least 2005 when he started in the industry.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Dauphin Fire Department responded to three separate calls between 2:30 pm and 11:30 pm yesterday.
The first call, which came in around 2:30, was a report of a vehicle fire in the back lane of the 200 block of Main Street North. The department suspects it was caused by a mechanical failure, and the fire was quickly extinguished.
Then around 10:30 pm, the department received a report of a single-vehicle accident on Highway 20 North. The vehicle had hit a deer and the airbags deployed, the driver of the vehicle wasn't hurt.
Finally, around 11:30 the DFD got a report of a structure fire on the 200 block of Main Street North. The cause of the fire was determined to be cooking that was left unattended. Other occupants of the apartment block quickly called the fire department and the damage was limited to the single unit and was minimal. The only person in the unit where the fire was contained was treated by EMS and released at the scene.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The RM of Lakeshore has declared a state of local emergency. In their release, they said the state of emergency was due to the continued rise of Orche River and Dauphin Lake water levels.
They're asking that any residents with questions reach out to the municipality at 204-733-2423.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
A 23-year-old man has been charged under Section 216 of the Highway Traffic Act for driving a vehicle that looked like a police vehicle.
On May 7 at about 7:15 p.m., RCMP Westman Traffic Services spotted a black Ford Crown Victoria on a service road off Highway 10 in the RM of Minto-Odanah.
The vehicle was equipped with police-style equipment including a push-bar, spot light and roof-mounted antenna.
“The vehicle looked exactly like an unmarked police vehicle. The only thing that gave it away is that police no longer use Crown Victoria cars, but the general public may not realize this,” said Sgt. Mark Hume, Unit Commander of Westman Traffic Services.
The 23-year-old was also given a vehicle defect notice that required him to report to MPI Vehicle Standards & Inspections. He is required to remove the push-bar, spot light and roof-mounted antenna.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Kinosota is the place to be this weekend as the Muktuk Annie Festival kicks off Friday night, and will have events running all day Saturday and Sunday. You can sign up to participate in Saturday's events on Friday night or Saturday morning, or you can just participate as a spectator according to Vicki Campbell, the Chairperson for Manitoba House Local.
Everything is free to get into, except the events. We charge five dollars to enter the events on Saturday, and the winner of each event gets 100 percent of the money for that event.
They are asking that people wear masks while inside unless seated at their tables, and they'll be checking proof of vaccination because it is a Manitoba Métis Federation-sponsored event. Check out the Festival on the Community Calendar for more information on what will be taking place.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The severe thunderstorm watch has officially ended, although there is still rain expected through the morning, ending this afternoon. There is an overland flood warning in effect for much of western and southwestern Manitoba, including the Parkland region.
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There's a severe thunderstorm watch in effect for the Dauphin - Roblin - Russell - Winnipegosis area, as well as the Minnedosa - Riding Mountain, and Ste. Rose - McCreary - Alonsa - Gladstone areas.
Showers are forecast to end this afternoon, with 10 to 20 mm expected throughout the day tomorrow.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
UPDATE: According to the Rural Municipality of Mountian Facebook page, the Steeprock River Bridge to the north of the community of Mafeking has been repaired and is reopened.
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There is a new timeline for residents of Mafeking to be able to leave the community according to Chief Administrative Officer of the RM of Mountain, Paige Wozny.
Our Reeve was actually out there this morning and I'm not sure who on the crew he was talking to, but they figured that the Steeprock River bridge that's north of Mafeking is hopefully going to be open either early afternoon today or tomorrow morning.
Wozny said that once the Steeprock River bridge is open, crews will be able to start working on the Bell River bridge to the south of the community. Residents have been stranded in the community due to the two bridges being closed after they were damaged by floodwaters.
We will continue to update the situation as they become available.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Minnedosa is under a local state of emergency. Chief Administrative Officer James Doppler says the town sent a warning out last night telling people the state of emergency was likely coming this morning.
If we can't contain the spill-over from the river, there is a possibility we have to go to mandatory evacuation.
Doppler said there are some residents who have already had to leave their homes. The town is asking that anyone who wants to volunteer to sandbag go to the Town of Minnedosa Public Works Shop.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The students at École MacNeill held an outdoor concert yesterday afternoon as a part of Music Monday, which promotes musical education across Canada. Jennifer Knutson teaches grades four and five, as well as music at École MacNeill and she said this year's concert had a focus on peace.
We often try with our Music Monday concert to do it outside so that the neighborhood can hear. One of the whole ideas behind Music Monday is that if you go outside during the concert you'll likely hear children's voices singing around the noon hour.
Doing the concert outside also allowed École MacNeil to invite the student's families to hear them sing. There was a silver collection at the concert that raised nearly $500 to go toward the Parkland Ukrainian Family Fund.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Mossey River Municipality has declared a state of emergency because of historic flooding. Reeve Ron Kostyshyn says the Fork River Tributary and the Fishing River Tributary have left their banks, causing major overland flooding.
As of today's council meeting and doing some assessment of the road infrastructure and bridges, we've gone through some major flooding issues since Thursday of last week which has prompted the state of emergency resolution we put through.
The municipality is working with the provincial government to assess just how severe the damage is, and they ask that anyone who has experienced a lot of damage contact the municipality office at 204-656-4791.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Residents in the Community of Mafeking aren't able to leave because bridges to the North and South of town have been damaged. Reeve for the RM of Mountain, Robert Hanson says residents might be able to leave in three days when a bridge to the north of the community is expected to reopen.
Hanson said Mafeking's ambulance is stuck outside the community and anyone needing medical care will have to be taken out by medical helicopter. We are expecting to receive more information from the RM tomorrow morning.
Residents of the RM of Mountain that have been displaced because of the flooding are asked to call the RM office at 204-236-4222.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
