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The province's first spring flood outlook report has been released.
The report states the only rivers running at above normal flows are the Red; Souris; and Saskatchewan rivers, while the Dauphin river, along with Lake Winnipegosis and Dauphin Lake are at near-normal levels.
If you like numbers, the report shows the current level of Dauphin Lake at 260.34 meters (854.14 feet), and Lake Winnipegosis is at 253.19 meters (830.68 feet).
Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler said the focus is currently on the Red River, where they are expecting a significant inflow of water from the northern United States, but with favourable weather conditions in Manitoba, they would expect water levels similar to last spring.
He added that the Assiniboine River basin and other rivers are expected to remain mostly in bank, with possible over-bank high water covering agricultural land.
The Hydrologic Forecast Centre plans to release a second Spring Thaw Outlook in late March. You can view the current report here.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
In the past week, the RCMP has responded to two snowmobile collisions resulting in a fatality.
Last week on Thursday RCMP responded to a snowmobile collision on the side of Highway 45 near Road 126 W, west of Elphinstone.
After an investigation, it was determined both drivers were travelling next to each other in a field, went over a steep embankment and collided with the ground causing serious injuries.
A 44-year-old male from Strathclair, and a 20-year-old male from the RM of Yellowhead, were both taken to hospital with serious injuries.
On February 24, the 20-year-old male succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
The other incident happened last Saturday night.
The RCMP responded to a snowmobile collision near Rocky Lake East Road, just north of The Pas. A 26-year-old man from The Pas was pronounced dead on the scene, while a 22-year-old female was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The initial investigation determined both were on the snowmobile when it hit a tree. In a press release, the RCMP reminds everyone to take precautions when riding a snowmobile, and remember to;
- Ride sober
- Always wear a helmet and protective clothing
- Know your abilities and ride within your limits
- Be alert and slow down when operating on unfamiliar terrain
- Always ride in groups and ensure people know your route and when you are expected to return
- Be cautious of ice thickness when crossing frozen bodies of water
- Stay on the trails and in areas where snowmobiling is permitted
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Tomorrow (Friday) marks the last day to apply for the Dauphin Community Foundation spring grant intake.
Applications can be made for any organizations that are registered or affiliated with a charity.
Kit Daley, executive director of Dauphin and District Community Foundation says that she is eager to get involved with the projects.
"If there are any projects or organizations that have something in mind that could use some financial assistance we say absolutely, submit it and our board will review it and see if we can financially support it. We are anxious to receive applications because we always get excited to get behind projects that are going to benefit our community.”
This year they have roughly $90,000 available in grant money.
Funds are accepted towards charities, scholarships, organizations and more.
She adds that the beauty of donating to the Community Foundation is that the donation will continue to give forever because they are investing in it and helping it to continue to grow year after year while interest is given back to the community.
For more information or to apply go to dauphincommunityfoundation.ca
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
The Dauphin and District Chamber of Commerce had their second Breakfast Series day today and the presentation was done by Mick Lautt on working with teams.
Lautt explored the dynamics of a high-performance team and broke down what the foundation would look like, the stages of working together, and how to get to collective success.
“So we looked at some pieces about how we build trust in relationships, we looked at how we communicate clearly around how we are moving forward and where we’re going, we looked at having a commitment to a plan and have clarity around what that plan looks like, we moved into looking at a culture of accountability, and then finally, just reiterating that this focus is on collective success and on results that allow everyone to be successful and achieve their goals.”
To create a high-performance team, Lautt says there has to be a foundation about why we’re working together in the first place.
“With that foundation, we look at how we want to operate, so what are some of the values and cultural pieces we want to have, and then the relationships we need to build in order to do that difficult work to get to that level. I think that’s really a part of it, having a strong foundation, working together with individuals, what are the pieces there to have strong relationships, and then focusing on that collective goal in the end.”
One of the most important factors in having a high-performance team is having a good leader.
“I think a good leader understands these dynamics and is actively managing them every day. So part of leadership is setting a foundation, to work for them, and part of leadership is making sure that everybody has clarity on where we’re going and how we’re going to get there, so having clarity around roles, clarity around process and procedure, and then just guiding and role-modelling along the way, but guiding your team through these 5 different stages of human dynamics that allow us to achieve those goals. That’s a big part of leadership.”
Those 5 stages of human dynamics are trust, effective communication, commitment, accountability and desired results.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
If you heard an alarm going off at Credit Union Place Wednesday night, that's because there was an amonia leak.
The Dauphin Fire Department responded to reports of the leak around 9:15. When they arrived, they were met by Dauphin Recreation staff who told them there was a concentration in the compressor room area of 300 parts per million. A concentration of 500 ppm is considered immediately dangerous to life and health.
Fire fighters then entered Credit Union Place to activate the emergency shut off, while others made sure there was no one else still in the facility.
The building was ventilated and once readings returned to normal, things were turned back over to facility staff. In a release, the Dauphin Fire Department commended Dauphin Rec Services for their quick response to the incident and for how they were able to evacuate the public safely.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston
Mountain View School Division is seeking to be considered in the mental health in schools initiative.
The initiative was announced by the Province of Manitoba in December.
MVSD has been hosting mental health first aid training for staff.
Some of the topics in the training include eating disorders, substance-related disorders, and self-harm.
Psychosis, bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia are also discussed.
The superintendent of MVSD Dan Ward says that mental health is something that should be recognized by all schools.
“Students, who are supported in their schools to attain positive mental health, not only perform better academically, but by and large, are happier children and young people. I think that’s an essential role that schools play.”
While Ward says the schools' staff doesn’t replace any medical professional, they have the skills to recognize concerns in students.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
The spring forecast has been released by the Weather Network.
Michael Carter, a meteorologist with the weather network, says heading into spring, we’ve had a winter struggling to commit itself to cold weather.
“As we turn the page into spring we might see that pattern continuing, but with no real persistent warmth. We’re going to see a lot of back and forth especially in the early part of spring leading to overall temperatures probably near normal across the region through the spring season. But with some definite periods of winter-like interruption in there as well.”
Carter is expecting precipitation to be normal and the closer you get to the US border, the more precipitation there’ll be.
“But of course, we are moving into a wetter time of year. Precipitation in just a typical year, increases dramatically through March, April and May. So we certainly would expect to see those numbers coming up a little bit. But it is certainly something we’re watching especially as we get into the planting season, the early part of the agricultural year, we’re going to be watching that very closely.”
Carter says a lot of the country will see typical spring weather.
“The core of the colder area that we’re expecting to see is up near Hudson Bay, the northern parts of Manitoba may be tipping a little bit cold this year compared to a normal typical spring season. The west coast might be a little bit warm, so if you’re looking for some above-normal temperatures, maybe head out to Vancouver or the BC coast this year. That’s where the Pacific influence is going to be the strongest and so the mildest temperatures are going to be found out west.”
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
At the end of March, Mountain View School Division superintendent Dan Ward will be presenting to the Council of Ministers of Education Canada.
MVSD was selected to present at the workshop in Ottawa because of their strategic plan and report.
Ward says the department was interested in how they separated their data for indigenous and non-indigenous students and how they target supports in schools to support the learning needs of all students.
“So we are going to present on that topic at CMEC in Ottawa in late March, in terms of how the division uses the data, how we present the data to schools, and how as school leaders, we use it to essentially guide our planning around supporting students to learn to the best of their ability.”
The workshop will focus on elementary and secondary education, exploring topics such as student completion pathways, data-sharing, approaches to self-identification, usage of indigenous data, and linking quantitative and qualitative data.
Ward says MVSD can learn from other school divisions from across Canada and hear what those divisions do with their data and what initiatives they have to support indigenous learners.
“I’m very much looking forward to hearing what’s working in other parts of Canada. Of course, we have our own context and our own needs, but I think the division will benefit from learning from other divisions and districts, in terms of not only how they use their data, but how they plan to ensure every student is supported.”
Ward says it’s a great honour that the Mountain View School Division is the only rural school division that was nominated to present.
“I believe we provide a unique rural perspective on our programming.”
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Municipal representatives from the Parkland met to discuss what to do next in regards to the closure of the Dauphin Correctional Centre.
In their February 13th meeting, the group discussed what they learned from the town hall meeting and MGEU rally, as well as anecdotal stories from affected employees, inmates, families, business owners, and residents.
At the meeting, Municipality of Ste. Rose mayor, Robert Brunel, was appointed group spokesperson.
His first task is to get a meeting with Premier Brian Pallister so they can ask important questions and gather information about why they’re closing the DCC without committing to building a new facility.
Brunel said that he plans to find out the reasoning for the sudden closure as well as the future for the affected areas.
"It's really a three part meeting. The first part is the jail and what happened to the original plan from previous governments of building a new facility. What's happening with the court house? Is there opportunies for employment for some of the people there and what's the economic development plan that the province is talking about for the area? Let's open the discussion, so we know what's going on and not have these decisions being made behind closed doors."
The group will meet again once the meeting with the premier has been secured.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
A bill that eliminates farmers from paying the carbon tax has been seconded by Brandon-Souris Conservative Member of Parliament Larry Maguire.
Bill C-206 is being proposed to exempt farmers from paying the tax on gasoline, diesel fuel, and propane and natural gas.
The bill was introduced by Philip Lawrence, Conservative MP for Northumberland-Peterborough South, Ontario
A press release from Maguire’s office said that In Manitoba, the carbon tax cost farmers $1.7M on last year’s harvest to dry their corn.
Maguire says that he will continue to push the bill.
“I will encourage the Liberals to support this legislation and get it into law as soon as possible, Farmers cannot wait any longer and want to see action now.”
He adds that the change will help not only farmers but consumers as well.
"We wanted to make sure that it was taken off so it does two things. It helps the farmers get their grain dry and in a position where they can maintain it to the point of having it in the processable state, and it keeps food prices down for consumers."
The Keystone Agriculture Producers estimates that the carbon tax has cost the average Manitoba grain farmer over $1,700 in grain drying alone.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
The Sifton Fire Department now has Dauphin Fire Chief Cam Abrey helping them out on the administrative side of things.
Abrey shares his thoughts on the change.
“Yeah, it’s quite an honour to have been asked by the RM of Dauphin if I would be willing to work alongside of the Sifton Fire Department in assisting with their budgeting and other administrative duties.”
The Sifton deputy fire chiefs will continue to look after the operations of the fire department.
Abrey says the change is happening because the former Sifton fire chief retired and nobody with the Sifton Fire Department was interested in the role.
“They felt there was a lot of fresh people to the department that needed a bit more experience, so we had offered to assist and try to mentor the members of Sifton Fire Department that are willing to step up to the roles of the deputy fire chief and help them along their way.”
Abrey says the Dauphin Fire Department already works closely with Sifton on certain emergency responses.
“Operationally, nothing has changed at all and we look forward to continuing working with Sifton Fire Department and building our relationship even closer than it was before.”
Over the past few years, the Dauphin Fire Department has a system with Sifton where they are immediately dispatched for any structure fires or if extrication is needed. In addition, if Sifton decides they need help with other incidents, they can request Dauphin comes along.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
