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There are seven nursing and 13 Health Care Aide vacancies at the Dauphin Personal Care Home.
The number of beds functioning at the care home was reduced from 90 to 80 to keep the level of care to proper standards.
NDP leader Wab Kinew says not having enough nurses and spaces causes problems for residents.
"What we’re hearing from families is that there is a concern about the quality of care and the amount of time that is going to be spent with their relatives when they are in a home.”
Darlene Jackson, President of Manitoba Nurses Union says Dauphin isn’t the only place facing these problems.
“I don’t think this problem is individual to the Dauphin care home. There are other long-term care facilities, especially in the rural areas that have difficulty recruiting and retaining staff. I know of other facilities that have been through bed closures in the not too distant past who ensured that the residents there are getting safe quality patient care until they can hire, recruit, and retain staff."
Jackson calls it a vicious cycle because nurses have to work extra hours and get overworked and then they get very tired and ill. The union has been talking with the government advocating that patient care hours in long-term care facilities increase from 3.6 hours to 4.1 per resident.
Kinew says these shortages are causing problems for the people who are working at the facility and that we are just starting to see some of the impacts in Dauphin.
“The nurses’ union have been raising the concern about the impact on patient care. We’ve also been hearing from frontline nurses themselves that when they’re overworked, when the staffing situation hits a critical point that, that means the patient care can suffer. The nurses don’t feel good about it, the families don’t feel good about it, certainly, government should be acting to ensure that there’s enough nurses and healthcare aids to take care of older members of our community.”
Prairie Mountain health says they are “diligently working on recruitment into these vacant positions.”
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
There has been a precautionary boil water advisory for the City of Dauphin water system including Eclipse Distribution.
Test results have shown the presence of total coliform.
It's not necessary to boil tap water used for other household purposes, like laundry or washing dishes.
Adults and older children that are able to avoid swallowing the water can wash, bathe, or shower.
They recommend young children should be sponge bathed.
If boiling water is not practical, an alternate and safe supply of water should be used for consumptive purposes like bottled water.
All commercial, public and permitted facilities like restaurants, health care facilities, daycares, personal care homes and other private facilities that provide food and water services, must follow water use recommendations from the Boil Water Advisory Fact Sheet #3 – Boil Water Advisory For Commercial/Public Facilities. A copy of this Fact Sheet is available on their their website.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The Dauphin AG Society is holding their general meeting tonight.
Ben Fox, President of the Ag Society, encourages anyone wanting to get involved, to come out.
“It’s a great group of folks it really is a fun time. Anybody, you don’t have to be in agriculture. If something like the fair attracts you to wanna take part, there are lots of jobs to do and lots of things to volunteer for. So, by no means do you have to be involved in agriculture to be a part of our ag society, but we’ll sure work with you and help direct you to whatever way you need to go.”
It’s taking place at the Lion's Den at the Rec Centre beginning at 7.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The search for Skownan's Dwayne Lavallee is still ongoing.
Dwayne’s sister, Chantel Lavallee, gives us an update on what’s happening.
“Where we’re at right now is we’re continuing the surrounding areas of Ebb and Flow. We drained lagoons and dugouts, were combing it out, dragging the lake. Last weekend we were out on our hands and knees just looking for anything."
She says many communities have come to help in the search.
“We had Garden Hill, Cross Lake; we’re grateful to have all the volunteers, the searchers, donations and prayers from various communities. We had Easterville up there, Pine Creek, Camperville area.”
The family has had to put up a cash reward of $10,000 available for anyone who can provide an exact location of their son.
You can find more information about the search by going to the Facebook page "Bring Dwayne Lavallee Home."
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Today the laws for distracted driving have become stricter.
Distracted driving fines have been tripled to 672 dollars.
Other consequences for using an electronic device includes losing five points on your license instead of two and a three-day license suspension for a first offence and seven-day suspension for a second offence.
Lots of new vehicles have large touchscreens, Tara Seel, Media Relations Officer with the RCMP in Manitoba, advises that when using those screens you should be parked somewhere safe.
So far this year 67 people have died in this RCMP jurisdiction, distracted driving is the biggest reason.
Manitoba RCMP deals with around 300 incidents a year of distracted driving.
You can go to Manitoba Public Insurance's website for more information.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston
The Co-op’s fuel up my town contest starts today and goes until the 21st.
The contest was created because Devin Dreger, an 8-year-old from Oak Bank wanted Oak Bank to be involved in the fuel up to win contest last year. Co-op loved the idea and has given every town the opportunity to win the prize.
To enter your town watch for the fuel up my town posts on social media and hashtag fuel up my town and hashtag the name of your town. Each person can vote for their community three times, once on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The twenty-five towns mentioned the most on social media across Western Canada will have the chance to win 25 thousand dollars for their community.
The winning towns will be announced on the launch of Fuel Up to Win on February 28th, 2019, with a kick-off event to award the $25,000 Community Donation at the top winning town
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The Habitat for Humanity Manitoba Chapter held their annual conference.
Anna Orisko, 17, youth chair of Dauphin’s Habitat for Humanity Chapter, represented the Dauphin Chapter and presented at the conference.
“I got asked to speak last year and my job is to do a reflection about the Dauphin Chapter, so I talked about how I got the youth involved in our community. Showing them to be thankful and I explained that we needed to teach our younger generation so we can have an ongoing movement of people helping to change the world.”
At the conference there was a number of presenters and keynote speakers, they also learned about perception and determination.
Volunteers from all over Manitoba travelled to Winnipeg for the Conference.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
RCMP made an arrest after finding a large illicit cannabis grow operation in Winnipegosis.
On October 19th Winnipegosis and Dauphin RCMP executed a Controlled Drug and Substances Act warrant at a home on Bridge Street.
They seized 94 cannabis plants found in various stages of growth.
Ronald Allan Sobotkiewicz was charged with:
Possession of Illicit Cannabis
Possession for the Purpose of Distributing
Possessing Cannabis for the Purpose of Selling
Cultivate, Propogate or Harvest a Cannabis Plant that is from Seed or Plant Material that is Illicit Cannabis
Since cannabis became legal on October 17, 2018, until October 24, 2018, RCMP have charged the following:
Unlawful Transport in or on a Vehicle x 12
Consume Cannabis in a Vehicle x 2
Consumption of Cannabis by a Young Person
Possessing illicit Cannabis x3 (this includes a 16-year-old selling at a school)
Impaired by Drug.
The RCMP want to remind everyone that Cannabis can't be grown at home in Manitoba. It can only be bought from approved distributors as outlined in the federal Cannabis Act and the provincial Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act.
If you want to bring it somewhere via a car, it must be secured outside the passenger compartment, or under the furthest seat away from the driver in a van or SUV.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Today is the last day that Greyhound busses will operate in Western Canada, and parts of Ontario.
Greyhound announced earlier this year that it would end services in those areas as of October 31st; citing a large decline in ridership as one of the main reasons for doing so. Only one route, the Vancouver to Seatlle route, will remain in Western Canada.
Maple Bus Lines has stepped in to offer round-trip routes from Winnipeg to Thompson, which includes stops in Dauphin, Ste. Rose, Neepawa, and The Pas, among other stops.
The last Greyhound bus has already left Dauphin, and if you would like to view the schedules at Maple Bus Lines, click here.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston
The RCMP is offering some safety tips to make sure everyone stays safe when kids are trick-or-treating tonight.
For Motorists:
If you’re driving around tonight make sure you’re watching out for kids running around going house to house.
The police remind motorists that kids might forget simple pedestrian safety rules in all the excitement.
They also recommend going slower in residential areas and proceed with caution when going in or out of a driveway or backing up.
For the kids:
They recommend never trick-or-treat alone, so always walk with an adult or a group of friends.
Wear reflective, bright colour costumes so they can be seen.
And don’t go inside to get a treat, wait outside if the adult has to get something.
For homeowners:
Avoiding open flames in displays is one of the tips the RCMP are giving to homeowners as they celebrate Halloween.
Another tip they give is to keep your home and doorway well-lit and clear sidewalks and pathways for safety.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Canada Post announced earlier this morning that employees in Brandon and Winnipeg have returned to work.
Employees in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, also returned to work today. However, strikes are ongoing in Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, and Weyburn. Workers also went on strike as of 12:01 this morning in Charlottetown and Summerside, P.E.I. There are 5 communities in British Columbia, and 7 in Ontario where strikes are ongoing as well.
Canada Post says they will work to restore service and deal with any backlogs as employees return to work.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston