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This afternoon from 1:30 to 4:30 there will be a holiday swim fundraiser for Swimability Dauphin at the Kinsmen Aquatic Centre.
Kelsy Black, program director, says,
“Our fundraiser is to raise money to keep our program running in our community, as well as keeping it affordable for families that participate. At the same time, our goal is to raise awareness for our program in hopes of reaching other families who may benefit from the program, as well as gathering volunteer interest to work with our program.”
Along with the swim, there’ll be a few activities. There will be a bake sale, a rainbow auction, and on deck activities.
Admission is cash only, costing 6 dollars per person or 20 dollars per family. If you attend the swim you are automatically entered to win a holiday book.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
If you had too much to drink and want to avoid those increased drunk driving penalties, you can call the Dauphin RIDE program.
When you give them a call, volunteers like John Shuttleworth, will take you and your car home.
“They phone us, and a couple of us go down there, one to drive their car and one to pick up the driver of our car.”
Every Friday and Saturday until the end of December you and your car can get a safe ride home between 9pm and 3am.
The number to call is 204-638-5707.
If you want to help people get home safe after a night celebrating the holidays, consider giving John a call and volunteering for the Dauphin RIDE program.
“We are always looking for volunteers. Anybody that wants to volunteer, come and talk to me, phone me. They can phone me at home 638-7181. I’ll explain everything to them. They need to have a valid driver’s licence and we check them out and go from there.”
The program is for people with cars. If you don’t have your vehicle with you, it's best to call a friend, a taxi, or arrange for a designated driver.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Tonight is the first lighting of the Christmas tree in Gilbert Plains.
Everything starts at 6:30. There will be carolling and free coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies.
The event should take about 30 to 45 minutes. Afterwards, the splash park is hosting a movie at the elementary school.
Brian Romaniuk, with the Gilbert Plains Lions Club who is putting on the event and activities, says that tonight should be a fairly warm night so you won’t need to dress up too bad.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Don’t miss out on activities going on at Fort Dauphin tomorrow.
Theresa Deyholos is inviting everyone to Christmas at The Fort.
“It’s our way of bringing in Christmas in the Parkland. It’s nice to have some family to partake in, in Dauphin.”
Horse rides, an old fashion Christmas concert and a whole lot more are going on from 1 till 4 tomorrow.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Richardson Pioneer Grand Plains made a huge donation to the Grandview Rec. Commission.
Twenty-five thousand dollars was given to help fund the Multi-use building at Wilson Park.
“The impact that this donation from Richardson Pioneer is huge for our community."
Jill Wiebe says the facility will be used to house fundraisers, events like the mud bog, and many of the festivals that the community holds.
"It will touch everybody in our community that uses the building, to the people that use the playground, the ball diamonds, to the batting cage, to the campground. It’s a necessity at the park to have an accessible washroom so from Richardson Pioneer really made that possible.”
The building will include washrooms, showers, and a concession.
It will be complete by this upcoming spring.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The Manitoba Government could be privatizing the Lifeflight air ambulance service.
Brad Michaleski thinks it’s important that they assess the service and make sure it’s there in the most cost-effective way.
Michaleski doesn’t think privatizing Lifeflight will stop people from being able to have access to the service.
He doesn’t think the public will even notice a difference.
He adds that if you’re in a situation where you need the service you’re probably not concerned about who’s flying the plane, you’re just happy there is a plane and the service is available.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Be prepared for tougher impaired driving laws next time you’re thinking about driving after having a couple of beer.
The provincial government has introduced amendments to The Highway Traffic Act that would adopt more severe sanctions for drunk drivers.
Drivers under the influence of alcohol who register a ‘warn’, suggesting a blood alcohol content between .05 and .08 would face a new monetary penalty of at least $200 for a first offence, escalating to at least $400 for a third or subsequent offence.
They would also face a vehicle impoundment of between three days for a first offence and 30 days for a third or subsequent offence. Anyone caught a third or subsequent time would also be required to drive with an ignition interlock for a year.
Adding up all the administrative sanctions and penalties, the minimum cost for a ‘warn’ range driver would be $2,600 for a first offence to around $3,200 for a third or subsequent offence.
For first time drunk drivers that register a ‘fail’ on a test, police would have the discretion to impose a new monetary penalty of at least $500 as well as a mandatory ignition interlock of one year rather than proceeding with a criminal charge.
The minimum cost for a ‘fail’ would be over $3,300. All monetary penalties would be established by regulation.
Last year, 73 people were killed and 442 were seriously injured in traffic collisions in Manitoba. Drunk driving accounted for 32 percent of those killed and six percent of those injured. Already this year, 28 people have lost their lives because of a drunk driver.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Thelma Krull's remains have been found southeast of Winnipeg.
Police officers announced today that the 57-year-old woman was a victim of a homicide.
Her remains were found by a hunter on Oct. 27 in a wooded area in the rural municipality of Taché, southeast of Winnipeg.
DNA testing has confirmed the remains were Krull's.
She had disappeared on July 11, 2015, in the morning when she left to go for a walk.
No arrests have been made and police are again asking for any information that may help with the investigation.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Yesterday was the final day of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention.
Nicole Chychota had a great time at the convention, she says they made some good connections and she’s excited for the year ahead for the RM of Dauphin.
Chychota says a lot of the discussion centred on the road and bridge program. The premier and his cabinet attended a ministerial forum to discuss concerns.
The investigating in Canadian Infrastructure Program is the replacement for the road and bridge program, and it was one of the biggest points talked about.
There are four areas the program will focus on. Those areas are public transit, green infrastructure, culture and recreation, and rural and northern communities.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The Manitoba Government and Babcock Canada Inc. have entered an agreement to provide services for the suppression of wildfires, including the use of water bombers.
The transaction is the result of a competitive request for proposal process initiated earlier this year.
Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler says, “Our government is committed to protecting Manitobans from wildfires and that’s what this agreement delivers. It will ensure faster response times, enhanced safety and a superior aircraft maintenance program. It will make Manitoba’s wildfire suppression system even better.”
There was some concern that if this happened the water bombers would be allowed to leave the province and wouldn’t help Manitoba if needed.
Schuler responded to that concern by saying, “The aircraft will always serve Manitoba’s needs first, and may only be deployed outside the province with the government’s consent and direction.”
Babcock has over 30 years of fixed and rotary wing aerial firefighting experience throughout Europe.
For Manitoba, it will work in partnership with Air Spray, an experienced, safe and effective provider of fire-suppression services with long-term contracts in a number of Canadian provinces and the United States.
Through long-term and existing mutual assistance agreements, neighbouring jurisdictions have access to Manitoba’s water bombers, pending availability and approval from the Manitoba Wildfire Program.
In turn, Manitoba has access to other aircraft for fire-suppression emergencies.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The Life Saving Society, Manitoba branch has released their yearly update for water-related fatalities.
Christopher Love, Water Smart Coordinator for the Life Saving Society Manitoba branch, says one death is too many.
The mission of the Life Saving Society, Manitoba Branch is to prevent water-related deaths and injuries. To do that there has to be constant education and a constant reinforcement of safety messaging.
The Parkland area’s 5 deaths, between 2009 and 2015, are 10th among areas in Manitoba. Winnipeg, Thompson and North Central, and Eastern Manitoba are the top 3 areas.
The long-term average of water-related fatalities per year in Manitoba is still at 22 and hasn’t shown any signs of changing.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
