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BellMTS says CDMA services are being replaced by the latest 4g LTE network.
New LTE technology is going to provide better safety and expanding coverage is part of the overall plan.
The transition to LTE for all remaining CDMA customers in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic region will be fully completed on April 30.
Bell is expanding wireless service in Manitoba as part of a $1 billion investment plan for the province.
“To change from old to new technology, it’s not something that happens overnight. I’m glad that the government is making a move to improve rural cellular coverage and communications. It’s something that I’m happy that the government is moving towards. It can’t happen fast enough for me, said Dauphin MLA Brad Michaleski. “There is gaps in this technology. I know I’m fairly aware of this across the constituency. And I know the government made a fairly significant investment and agreement with Bell over a five year period to increase and address some of these service gaps in the area.”
Michaleski says he brings this issue up with the responsible government department and they are aware of what’s going on.
Anyone in the CDMA coverage area will still have service. Although there may have been signals picked up in areas that were not formally part of the coverage area. Those customers will lose service.
All affected customers north of Dauphin have been notified and replacement phones have been sent free of charge.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The 2019 Firefighters Appreciation Evening was last night in the Aspen Lodge.
Here are Cam Abrey’s thoughts on the evening.
“It was a great evening and we really want to thank both the city and RM elected officials and administration that have made this a long-running tradition of treating the firefighters to a special recognition evening. This has been going on for a lot longer than I’ve been around and to see it continue on like this, I know the firefighters appreciate the recognition that they get from our elected officials it’s not just that they’re volunteering for the community but they feel the pat on the back too.”
Abrey gave out awards for service years to Daniel McKay who has served 10 years.
Dave Height was recognized for 15 years of service.
Jack Bay was also honoured in his retirement from the Dauphin Fire Department after 36 years of service.
Greg Acevedo, who has achieved 25 years, and Allan Gray, who has achieved 40 years, were not in attendance.
Abrey says in the past, before him, badges were given out to firefighters but disappeared quite a few years ago.
Each firefighter with a level 1 qualification received the badge and took an oath of office.
Following that, every firefighter received a challenge coin, which when shown is a subtle way to say I need help, let’s talk.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
David Angus, President and CAO of Johnston Group, will present at the upcoming Chamber Lunch Series event on Tuesday, April 9th. At the request of the Manitoba Government, Mr. Angus published an economic report on the province in December.
"He'll give some insight into that report, and break it down a little bit... putting it in terms of what does it mean for rural Manitoba, and what does it mean for the Parkland and what we can do out here" said Stephen Chycota, Executive Director for the Dauphin and District Chamber of Commerce.
Chycota recommends attending the presentation as it will provide insight into some hot topics regarding economic development, tourism, and other development strategies. Get your tickets before the end of the day tomorrow(Friday) by going to the chamber's website. You can also call 204-622-3140, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Things will get started at 11:45AM, next Tuesday April 9th at the Aspen Lodge in the Parkland Rec Complex.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston
Assiniboine Community College’s Alumni Association announced the recipients of this year’s Parkland Region Alumni Awards.
This year’s recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award is Jamie Harvey. The award honours alumni of the college in the Parkland Region who have distinguished themselves in both their chosen profession and the community.
The Excellence in Teaching Award honours a faculty member for extraordinary contributions to teaching and the student experience. The award will be shared by two recipients from the same program, Cheryl Sorenson-Voigt and Melanie Hawranik-Sobering. They are both instructors in the Practical Nursing program at Assiniboine’s Parkland campus and have been nominated by their students for the award.
The Alumni Association is recognizing Joan Clarkson for her work serving the college community. Clarkson will be honoured with the newly established Excellence in Education Award. It recognizes a non-teaching staff member who has exhibited devotion to the college community and furthering opportunities of students.
The awards are being presented at the annual Parkland Region Alumni Celebration in Dauphin on April 11.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Farmers are heading into the fields north of Dauphin without cell coverage.
Lorna DeVos says rural residents don’t need the most advanced technology.
“We’re just begging to be able to make a phone call. It’s not a lot to ask.”
BellMTS is ending its CDMA service this month causing many rural residents to worry about their safety.
“We’re now starting a whole new seeding season in our rural area and there is going to be a lot of equipment on the move and a lot of people on the roads. There’s always the potential for things to be happening. And just so everyone knows, everyone north of Sifton won’t be able to communicate with each other.”
She expected the service to stop at the end of April. But yesterday morning she found out she could not make a call or send a text. Even with a good cell connection, she was directed to a voice messaging system with BellMTS saying service was ending.
She continued, “it’s been the feeling of loss about it. I was never one to be on the phone that much. It was just a flip phone. But when I go out and I’m driving, I know that if there was some kind of crisis and I hit a ditch or if I came across someone having a medical emergency that there is no one to call.”
CDMA services in Manitoba are expected to be fully turned off on April 30th. The company has been sending replacement phones, they say will work with the new technology.
DeVos says farmers and those in the small communities rely on cell phones for their businesses. “It’s sort of making us second class citizens.”
We reached out to BellMTS, and they say their CDMA network coverage did not formally extend to Mossey River. A spokesperson says it’s possible signals could be picked up in the area.
The company is also expanding its wireless services as part of their $1 billion investment plan for the province. But they do not have any announcements right now about expanding services in that particular area.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Voices of Angels is a fundraiser that promotes local talent while raising money for mood disorders.
The money raised will go towards mood disorders to improve current programs, create new programs, and allow Snitka to travel the Parkland region to help more people.
Eleanor Snitka says there’s still a lot of stigma around mental illnesses just like cancer or diabetes.
“People just don’t understand it and they don’t all get that it’s a real illness. Those of us that live with mental health issues can’t just snap out of it, we have to deal with it and we have to feel that we are accepted by the rest of society.”
Snitka says since it’s the 10th anniversary they are doing something special and there will be new performers. Kamryn and Levi Winters, a jazz combo from the high school directed by a student, Chris and Cheyenne Flett also known as Country Rose, Johnathon Pacey, Jeannette Richot and Esther Fyk.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The provincial government is going to court to challenge the carbon tax imposed on Manitobans.
Last year the province got legal advice the federal government has the constitutional power to impose a carbon tax, but only on provinces that don’t implement plans of their own.
Pallister explained that they had introduced the Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan as their method of avoiding the federal tax. But that didn't stop the federal government.
“They stated they would impose their higher – and rising – carbon tax on Manitobans. They have now done this, despite granting special treatment and exemptions to other provinces,” said the premier.
Pallister says the carbon tax is unfair to Manitobans and threatens jobs and the economic growth of the province.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Brandon will be the hottest destination this summer but don't worry; you'll get to cool off at the same time.
Brandon Bouncy Castles is set to open a "summer" water park on the Keystone Centre grounds at the corner of Richmond Avenue and 13th street.
James Ruser owns Brandon Bouncy Castles and he will be bringing in the new attraction.
"I've been playing with the idea of opening a new waterslide park for a few years and everything has come together," said Ruser. "Keystone Grounds has been fantastic to work with. I've ordered a bunch of waterslides from California and they're getting manufactured and they'll be on their way up."
There will be eight different waterslides ranging from 10 feet to 50 feet. There will also be bubble soccer and a game called archery combat tag among other things.
One of the slides is called the "Dropkick" and it's a zero-gravity slide. There is also a slide that is 43 feet high that's called the "Purple Monster".
"We have slides that are also designed for young kids and any of the grandparents coming out as well," added Ruser. "I really built it with the family in mind. It's tailored to the whole family coming out for an experience."
"Archery combat tag is like laser tag and paintball but it's with specially designed arrows that have foam tips and bows as well," he added.
The water park is expected to open on June 12 and it will remain open until July 28.
"There is a lot of work to be done but I know the community is going to love it," added Ruser.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Flin Flon RCMP responded to a report of a stabbing around 9 pm on April 1st.
A 16-year-old boy was located with life-threatening injuries.
The officer, acting quickly, administered emergency first aid by applying pressure to the stab wound to help stop the bleeding while EMS was en route.
The youth was transported to hospital, where he remains in stable, but critical, condition.
Shortly after, officers located a 16-year-old male suspect, arrested and charged him.
The boy’s charges are Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Weapon for Dangerous Purpose, and numerous bail violations.
He was remanded into custody for a court appearance, April 4th.
The Flin Flon RCMP are continuing the investigation.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The Fork River Fire Department relies on their cell phones to get notified of emergencies.
But now any cell coverage that was in the area is going away.
BellMTS is cutting their CDMA service and plunging the 23 volunteer firefighters in the dark.
Fire Chief Darren Kippen believes the situation is life-threatening. Saying volunteers could be in the field, and their neighbour’s house a few miles away might be on fire, but they wouldn't know about it.
“None of us have desk jobs. Most of us are farmers or truck drivers, stuff like that. so we’re never by our landlines. So we have always counted on our cell phones to get our calls. We’ve been using the cell phones here for the last 25 years at least.”
They currently use a system that works very well called Paging Unlimited.
“What they do is, 911 they contact the Fork River Fire Department, they intercept the call then they text us, call our cellphone, they also call our house phones then they also email us.”
When Kippen phoned BellMTS customer relations they told him that cellphones were a privilege. They also told him to use a service they already use.
“Right now we have a Fleetnet system, but it’s the old system, and it works, but it doesn’t work. Even the RCMP have problems with it. What we’re going to have to do, the only thing I can think of, is go back to what they call the paging system. We’ll have to put up a tower and then buy pagers. Which to me is stepping back in time.”
Kippen says the paging system will only broadcast around five to seven miles. Some of the guys have land over 20 miles away and could miss something important.
BellMTS says the CDMA network coverage did not formally extend to Mossey River, although it’s possible signals could be picked up in areas around nearby communities that did have coverage. They continue to expand wireless service in Manitoba as part of their $1 billion investment plan for the province but do not have any announcements right now about expanded service in this particular area. They say Sifton, however, is already well covered with LTE.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Manitoba Angel Dresses is an organization that provides bereavement outfits for angel babies.
Jennifer Neiman, Dauphin group leader, says they’ve stocked 95 per cent of rural Manitoba and 100 per cent of Winnipeg funeral homes and hospitals in Manitoba with outfits.
The outfits are made out of donated wedding gowns.
Since they re-organized last year, they’ve turned about 400 gowns into Angel items.
Parents of the angel baby don’t have to pay for the outfits from Manitoba Angel Dresses.
If you would like to make a donation you can go to their website, www.manitobaangeldresses.com or call Neiman at 204 638-7672 if you’d like the donation to stay local. They are looking for money, yarn, ribbon, thread, lace, and flannel.
They are also looking for volunteers who can sew, make bracelets, collectors to hold gowns when they open up to receive gowns, and people to package items for distribution. You can go to their website to become a volunteer.
They aren’t accepting new wedding gowns currently.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
