More Money to Help Hungry Students

The Manitoba government announced today that an additional $1.3 million will be invested to support the Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba in delivering school nourishment programs.

Minister of Mental Health and Community Wellness Sarah Guillemard says that these programs will help many families affected by rising food prices and will enable the Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba to cover a larger percentage of costs for meal and snack programs at funded schools.

"School nourishment programs support healthy eating and food security for Manitoba children during the critical, ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic," Guillemard adds.

According to Guillemard, evidence suggests the programs are crucial in encouraging school attendance, supporting learning and promoting lifelong health and wellness.

Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko says that school nourishment programs provide a social school environment where students can consume nutritious food, ensuring a healthy, nutritious start for the day.

“This additional investment was identified as a priority in the report of the Manitoba Commission on Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education and aligns with the Manitoba K to 12 Education Action Plan’s identified actions to remove barriers to participation and engagement in learning," Ewasko adds.

According to a news release from the provincial government, the new investment brings the total provincial funding for school nutrition programs this year to $2.5 million.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Sep 1, 2022 - 8:11 pm

A man in his mid to late 20s is dead after a vehicle-pedestrian collision seven kilometres west of Dauphin.

Dauphin RCMP responded to the collision on Wednesday night around 10 p.m. on Highway 5 near Road 115W. The man was walking in the eastbound lane of Highway 5 when he was struck by an eastbound vehicle which was being driven by a 66-year-old man from Neepawa.

The driver of the vehicle immediately pulled over and called 911 and waited for RCMP to arrive. The male was pronounced dead on the scene. No other injuries were reported.

RCMP is asking anyone who may have seen an individual walking on Highway 5 prior to the collision to contact the Dauphin RCMP at 622-5050.

You can also call Manitoba Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 or submit a secure tip online at Crime Stoppers or text “TIPMAN” plus your message to CRIMES (274637).

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Sep 1, 2022 - 2:29 pm

The Manitoba government announced earlier this week that it will provide $6.5 million in funding to support students and teachers in the return to in-person learning.

Of that funding, $2 million will go towards initiatives focused on strengthening student learning and supports including:

approximately $1 million for the Manitoba Remote Learning Support Centre (MRLSC) to provide after-school learning supports for students in grades 1 to 8;
$250,000 for the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Survey, which will collect data on the health and well-being, social environments and health behaviours of children and youth for students in grades 6 to 10;
$150,000 to Kids Help Phone, 24/7 counselling and crisis supports; and
$390,000 for online resources and video-streaming services, including enhancements to support French, French immersion, and French/English program educators through Direction des ressources éducatives françaises (DREF).

“As Manitoba students and their teachers head back to school, our government is continuing to make significant investments to support their mental health and academic needs,” Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko says. “This year, schools will offer the full kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum and all the extracurricular activities that bring the school experience to life. Sports, recreation, tournaments, band and choir are just a few examples of what can be expected for the coming year.”

More information can be found on the Province of Manitoba website.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Sep 1, 2022 - 12:20 pm

UPDATE: Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says Canada is lagging behind other countries when it comes to booster dose uptake.

He is urging those who haven’t received a third dose to get one ahead of what may be a "challenging" fall.

"Over the next weeks as our children return to school, or we return to the office, making an appointment for a booster dose should be at the top of our to-do lists," Duclos adds.

780,000 doses of Moderna's new bivalent COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive on Friday, with more than 10 million expected by the end of September.

The original article follows:

Health Canada has authorized the use of Moderna's Omicron-targeting bivalent COVID-19 vaccine in individuals aged 18 years and older.

The "Spikevax Bivalent" booster dose is an updated version Moderna's original mRNA vaccine, and targets both the original strain of COVID-19 as well as the Omicron variant.

The Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus has been widely circulating in Canada since November 2021.

A technical briefing with Public Health Agency of Canada officials will be followed by an announcement from Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos later today.

This is a breaking news story. More to come.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Sep 1, 2022 - 10:20 am

The MMF (Manitoba Métis Federation) Manitoba House Local will be hosting a pancake breakfast at the Kinosota Community Centre on Saturday, September 3^rd from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Vicky Campbell, the chairperson for Manitoba House Local, says that each plate will cost $5.

"We're [also] going to have french toast, sausages, bacon, coffee [and] juice... After breakfast, then we're going to have a general meeting," she adds.

Campbell says that the proceeds raised will go into the Local's account and then they'll share it with the rest of the community.

"It just helps with people who have medical trips and they need some extra support or different fun activities for our youth in the community or suppers for community gatherings," she adds.

Vicky Campbell thinks that after two years of not being able to gather, it's great to have the community get back together again.

"We still try and follow a lot of the restrictions as much as we can, but people are starting to feel more comfortable getting together and visiting and sharing stories, which is exactly what everybody used to do," she adds.

Campbell went on to say that since most of the community has been triple-vaccinated against COVID-19, they will not be checking people's vaccination status.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Sep 1, 2022 - 6:15 am

Lakeshore & Ste. Rose Recreation is looking for volunteers, so that community events can go ahead as planned.

Recreation Director Marie Sorie says that there are many different ways people can volunteer.

"There [are] many upcoming events within the area, so within Ste. Rose, Ochre River and Rorketon, and some of the events require, for example serving staff, so we will have beer gardens where we will require servers. We will have 50/50s that require some sellers... [We also need] silent auction people that can... sell some tickets for us... These are pretty easy," she adds.

According to Sorlie, the bike rodeo that is coming up on September 11^th requires an especially high number of volunteers.

"We will need some people there to help us with the various stations and so that's guiding children in and around the track, making sure they're following the bike rodeo rules, and — you know — having fun..., making sure everyone's got their helmets on and all that kind of good stuff," she adds.

Marie Sorlie went on to say that all of the recreation committees in the area are always looking for volunteers to help make decisions on what activities should be offered.

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer can reach Marie Sorlie by messaging Lakeshore & Ste Rose Recreation on Facebook or by calling or texting 204-648-4797.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Sep 1, 2022 - 6:00 am

The Government of Manitoba will be providing residents with financial help to deal with inflation and rising costs.

Premier Heather Stefanson made the announcement today saying that the province will be spending $87M on, what she calls, a family affordability package.

As part of the package, families with children and a household income of less than $175,000 in 2021 will receive a benefit cheque of $250 for the first child and $200 for each additional child.

Seniors with less than $40,000 in family income who claimed an education property tax credit in 2021 will receive a benefit cheque of $300.

Cheques will be mailed to eligible individuals in late September.

More information can be found on the Province of Manitoba website.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Aug 31, 2022 - 11:20 am

École Macneill is ready to welcome students back for another school on Wednesday, September 7^th.

Principal Monique Lefebvre says that the building is in great shape.

"There [weren't] any capital projects that were on the go this summer, so right now the school is sparkling because our custodian, Mr. Taylor, has spent all summer cleaning and buffing and waxing the floors and cleaning the walls... The place just looks really shiny and sparkly," she adds.

According to Lefebvre, COVID-19 wasn't a major factor in this year's back-to-school preparations, since most of the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted earlier this year.

"We're looking forward to kind of a return-to-normal start to the school year," she adds.

Lefebvre says that the ongoing shortage of French teachers in the province won't be affecting the school this year, but could affect it next year.

"We have a good staff this year at École Macneill and within Mountain View School Division we've managed to fill all our French-speaking positions," she adds.

Monique Lefebvre went on to say that even though they will be teaching the same curriculum, as usual, they will be incorporating more technology into it.

"Especially with the Microsoft Office, our students are really getting on board.... We have... [an] educational assistance [with a passion for] technology... She's really come on board to teach the students a lot of skills that were needed during COVID, but we can see the benefits of continuing to teach those... technology skills, even at the younger grades," she adds.

According to Lefebvre, they're hoping to offer a lot more extra-curricular activities this year, which she says were sorely missed by both students and teachers.

"[We'll be] getting back to running club, flag football, soccer, track and field, volleyball, basketball, badminton... and any other interest that teachers want to share with their students," she adds.

Lefebvre says that the first day of school will be mainly focused on building relationships and reviewing material from last year.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Aug 31, 2022 - 6:00 am

August 31st is International Overdose Awareness Day, and Peer Connections Manitoba is working to bring attention to the issue. Community Peer Support Worker Eleanor Snitka says Peer Connections is participating in The Purple Chair Project.

"I've painted a chair purple and I'm going to take it to Under One Roof. I'm going to put our poster with it talking about the significance of Overdose Awareness Day, and that chair will always be there for people if they need."

The Purple Chair Project was started by a family in Rochester, who lost their son to a drug overdose. The chair is intended to sit empty to symbolize those who can't be present through their struggle with substance use disorder or the outcomes from it, including death.

Snitka talked about the origin of the project,

"So they set a chair aside, and they said there'll always be an empty chair in our house, so if anybody ever needs to come in, or use the chair, but at least, our chair will always be open for someone."

Snitka says that acceptance, inclusion, respect, and no judgment are all part of Peer Connections values.

"Sometimes there's more stuff going on in their life, that caused them or maybe they found out when they used something for the first time it made them feel kind of better, so I want people to know that we have to get rid of that stigma, and accept people for who they are, and be there when they're ready to get help."

Anyone looking for more information can reach out to Peer Connections at (431) 345-0353.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Aug 31, 2022 - 5:45 am

The Manitoba Government has announced that entry to all provincial parks will be free for the long weekend. Vehicle permits won't be required from Friday to Monday, but regular fees will still be in place for campgrounds.

Environment, Climate, and Parks Minister Jeff Wharton made the announcement today.

“This long weekend may mark the start of the transition from summer to fall, but there’s still time to participate in your favourite warm-weather activities and with free provincial park access this weekend, there’s no reason not to.”