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In Winnipeg, an app called Pulse Point was launched in September.
What Pulse Point does is when the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service believes someone is having a cardiac arrest, the app sends a notification to those within 500 metres of the individual.
Rob Grierson, Medical Director for the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, says the notification will tell those with the app where the individual is so CPR can be done, and it will notify them where the nearest defibrillator is.
The app could allow help to find the individual before the paramedics arrive, and the importance of that time is when someone is having a cardiac arrest, their chance of survival falls by 10 per cent every minute.
So, a response with CPR and defibrillation 2 or 3 minutes before the arrival of paramedics could be the difference between surviving and not.
Grierson says the app was launched in the US and they’re trying to get the app up and running in Canada.
The app is running in 3300 communities in the US, and in Canada along with Winnipeg, it’s running in Kingston, Ontario and the province of BC.
At the time of interviewing Grierson, the 13 notifications had been sent out and there weren’t any responses to the first 9 and they were still reviewing the last four.
Grierson says they plan to launch the app in the Parkland area, but there are some limitations.
The first limitation is that the app uses cell reception to send out the notifications and the second limitation is from the nature of response times will someone be within 500 metres of the incident.
Grierson says that they could look at increasing the distance of the notification because in rural areas 500 metres might not be enough.
Since BC has the app throughout their province, their rural areas could be used as an example to figure out what to do.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
While out at stores for Black Friday sales, the provinces’ Consumer Protection Office is reminding shoppers to mindful of the stores holiday return an exchange policies.
These policies range from store to store, as they are not regulated by law.
When shopping, its important to ask about a store’s refund and exchange policies before making a purchase and keep your receipts, as some stores require proof of purchase to refund or exchange.
If returning an item, it should be done as soon as possible and in good condition.
Be aware that some stores may keep a portion of the refund as a service fee.
In the case of faulty merchandise, it is up to the store whether to repair it, replace it, or give a refund.
If you do get a refund, it could be in cash, credit, gift cards, or credit notes.
Be sure to ask about a product’s warranty or guarantee, especially if the sale of the item is final.
The best way to shop for Boxing Day deals is locally.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
With Christmas wrapping up, the spirit of giving in the Parkland continues.
The Dauphin chapter of Habitat for Humanity is taking over the “Coldest Night of the Year” walk from Parkland Crossing.
The “Coldest Night of the Year” is an event aimed at promoting awareness of homelessness in the community.
The event is scheduled for February 22nd and Rodney Juba with Habitat for Humanity is excited to be holding it for the first time.
“It’s a really exciting event, it’s a community event, it’s a family-friendly event,” said Juba. “We want to get people out there, and we want to get as many walkers out there as possible.”
Habitat for Humanity has a fundraising goal of $20,000 and is expecting over 75 people participating in either the 5 km or the 10 km walk.
With a change of hands in the organization of the event, come some new sponsors of the event. Fusion Credit Union and the Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy have been named as major sponsors of the event.
After the walk is over, there will be a short program with a meal inside of Parkland Crossing, to wrap up the event.
Those wanting to register for the event, volunteer, sponsor a team or individual, or get more information can check out https://cnoy.org/location/dauphin. Those also wanting to donate directly to Habitat for Humanity may do so by contacting anyone on the executive.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
On Christmas Eve, at 4:00 pm, Neepawa RCMP responded to a report of a body that had been found in the RM of Rossdale.
Police are still investigating.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
As families in the Parkland get ready to celebrate Christmas, businesses in the community will be too.
Below is a list of some businesses holiday hours to keep in mind:
Dauphin Liquor Mart will be open Christmas Eve from 9-6 pm, closed Christmas Day, and open Boxing Day from 10- 6 pm.
Dauphin City Hall will be open Christmas Eve between 9- 12 pm, closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Super Thrifty Pharmacy will be open today from 9 to 3 pm, closed Christmas and Boxing Day.
Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy is open today until 5 pm, closed Christmas, and open Thursday from 10-2 pm.
The Dauphin Clinic is running on regular hours today, it will be closed Christmas, and the Walk-In Clinic will be open Boxing Day from 10- 1 pm.
Both Co-op Gas Bars are open today until 6 pm, closed tomorrow, and open Boxing Day from 830 am- 9 pm.
The Dauphin RCMP office will be closed starting at noon today until Friday.
The Parkland Rec Complex’s administration office closes at noon today. The Kinsmen Aquatic Centre is closed until Friday, and the walking track is closed until January 6th.
CKDM’s office will close at noon today and will reopen next Monday the 30th.
Don’t forget to take in the Telus Manitoba Junior Curling Championship at the Parkland Rec Complex and Credit Union Place from January 1st to 5th.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The Government of Manitoba says they are proud of the investments they made into improving mental health and addictions services in the province in 2019.
The investments include $25 million spent in the last three months of the year towards new or enhanced programming.
Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Cam Friesen says that since being re-elected the government has accelerated efforts to help make sure that Manitobans get the help they need.
Some of the initiatives announced this year include enhancing access to school-based mental health and addictions supports by expanding school clinical teams with psychiatric nurses, and implementing the Métis CART pilot project, which will provide support for at-risk families.
Some new announcements made include some increased support for the Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine (RAAM) clinics, and a partnership with Bell Let’s Talk to offer programming online and over the phone for families with mental health issues.
Minister Friesen said that the announced initiatives show the government’s commitment to repairing mental health and addictions programs in the province.
“We know there is more to do,” said Friesen. “We have shown we are up to that challenge and will continue to roll out initiatives in the New Year that help Manitobans, their families, and communities.”
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The second week of the RCMP’s Holiday Checkstop Program was another busy one.
The week of December 9-15th, saw officers check 2500 vehicles during 121 check stops across the province.
15 people were charged with Criminal Code Impaired Driving offences, with 12 people being impaired by alcohol, 2 impaired by drugs, and 1 person refusing to conduct a sobriety test.
The highest blood/alcohol reading of the week was 0.280.
There were 5 alcohol or drug-related tiered administrative roadside suspensions.
184 traffic charges were laid, and 14 written warnings were handed out.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The battle over time change may soon take over Manitoba.
The Opposition NDP is launching a website and performing public consultations on whether the province should stop changing the clocks in the spring and fall, and if so, what time should be permanent.
The NDP say that there are a lot of problems associated with the time change that have been studied, such as negative sleep impacts.
“There’s significant changes in terms of people’s health,” said NDP member Adrien Sala. “It’s important that we do understand where Manitobans are at on this issue.”
The fight over time change is nothing new. As recently as last year, former MLA Cliff Graydon introduced a private member’s bill to adopt standard time. The bill received minimal support and no one in the governing PC caucus has shown an interest in adopting the permanent change.
Other provinces have also gone to battle over time change, including B.C. where the government put forward legislation to adopt daylight time year-round. B.C. Premier John Horgan is hoping to see Washington, Oregon, and California willing to go along with the change.
Alberta has also let residents weigh in on the issue by launching an online survey last month.
In the U.S, Florida and other states have passed bills to adopt permanent daylight time, but the changes require federal approval.
In 2014, MPI released numbers saying that collisions in the province were 20 percent higher on the first Monday of the spring clock change, compared to all other Mondays that year.
The Manitoba Liberal Party has proposed making the time change a referendum question in the next provincial election in 2023.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The number of fraud-related complaints Manitoba Hydro received this year is 5 per cent more than last year, which is a sign more customers are getting bogus e-mails and texts attempting to scam them out of their money.
904 text and e-mail scam complaints have been filed, up from 862 last year.
The 5 per cent increase to last year’s scam numbers is a lot less than the 300 per cent jump 2018 saw compared to 2017 when only 221 complaints were made.
This year, text and e-mail scams made up 87 per cent of all scams, phone and at-the-door sales are the other 13 per cent.
In a press release, Chris McColm, Manitoba Hydro’s Security and Investigations Supervisor, says scammers are finding new ways to trick people.
“Increasingly phone scammers pose as utility providers and insist customers — usually small businesses during busy hours — are delinquent on their bills and risk disconnection if they don’t pay immediately. They typically ask for payment in the form of a prepaid debit card. These scammers also rig caller ID to make it look like the call is from Manitoba Hydro, and have even mimicked our automated phone system so the recordings and prompts are similar to Manitoba Hydro’s.”
Manitoba Hydro will make reminder phone calls to customers who are in arrears, and they’ll request payment to prevent disconnection of service.
However, they don’t make last-minute threats, request specific payment types like prepaid debit cards, accept payments over the phone, or ask customers to wire money.
To protect yourself against the scams, never purchase a prepaid card to avoid service disconnection or shutoff because legitimate utility companies don’t specify how to make a bill payment and offer a variety of ways to pay a bill. If someone threatens immediate disconnection or shutoff of service, hang up the phone, delete the text or e-mail, or shut the door because companies never send a single notification one hour or less before disconnection, and if a customer suspects someone is trying to scam them, they should hang up, delete the e-mail or text, or shut the door, call Manitoba Hydro at 1-888-624-9376 or message Manitoba Hydro on Facebook and Twitter, not the phone number the scammer provides.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The holidays are a time of joy and happiness, but for some people with mental illness, it can be a difficult time of year.
Shadoe Davis is the host of the "Shadoe Davis Mental Wellness Show", and he says that many things can make the holidays a rough time for someone.
Some things he pointed out were the stress of buying someone the perfect gift, trying to make sure everyone gets together, and the traffic of the malls, roadways, and parking lots.
On top of all that, he said that, on his show, one topic was brought up more than anything else- the loss of a loved one through the year.
“Over the year, people may have lost a close relative, a friend, someone they spent the holidays with, someone that was integral in their life, and that seat’s going to be empty at the table this Christmas,” said Davis.
“Many people have a very difficult time coping with that because of what that person meant, not just to them, but the entire family. That would be true of people who don’t have a mental health challenge, but for those that do, it makes it very difficult to deal with.”
Davis says that the best way to help someone deal with the stresses of the season, especially someone with a mental illness challenge, is to just sit with them and calm them, and tell them that everything is going to be okay.
He added that even if you manage to calm someone down in a particular situation, it doesn’t mean that they’ve overcome the thing they are struggling with.
“It can get dark as well, it can definitely get dark,” said Davis. “We may have seen statistics for this time of year, where the suicide rate goes up, that’s not true.”
He went on to say that the suicide rate stays the same for the holiday season, but it does go up in January, once the festivities are over.
“I would say for people who don’t deal with a mental health issue, after the holidays, and during the holidays, but after the holidays especially, reach out to somebody that you think might be going through this,” said Davis. “Because that phone call, that text, that Facebook message could be the difference between tragedy, and ongoing life and hope.”
If you are someone who deals with a mental illness issue, Davis says the best thing you can do is reach out and talk about it with someone you feel comfortable with.
That being said, if you or someone you know, is in crisis, you need to reach out to a doctor, emergency services, or the suicide hotline.
People wanting to listen to Davis’ podcast “The Shadoe Davis Mental Wellness Show” can do so wherever they listen to their favourite podcasts. Davis also has a Facebook group, where people can go for advice and support from others who struggle with a mental illness issue, not doctors or psychiatrists. The group is called “Shadoe’s Mental Wellness Support Group.”
Be sure to tune in to CKDM this afternoon at 12:40, to hear more from Shadoe Davis.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
In the spirit of giving, 69 Canadian firefighters, including some from Manitoba are giving up their holidays to try and help fight the devastating wildfires in Australia.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) said that after a request for assistance, 21 highly skilled firefighters were deployed to Austrailia for a 38-day assignment on December 3rd.
Last Thursday, another 30 were sent on a 38- day assignment, and on December 30th, 18 more firefighters will be deployed to Australia for about a month.
The executive director of the CIFFC says that Canada has asked for help from Australia four times in the past four years, and the agreements are reciprocal in nature, so when Australia asked for help for the first time, it was time to act.
Crews from 8 provinces are helping in a variety of roles including aviation, planning, logistics, and operations, but they won’t be on the front lines.
The crews are from Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Yukon, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and B.C.
Record high temperatures mixed with strong winds, have help fan over 100 fires in New South Wales, Australia alone.
The fires have killed two volunteer firefighters and destroyed dozens of houses since Thursday.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
