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Santa and a convoy of Parkland truckers are converging on Ochre River.

Truckers, coming from all directions, even as far as Brandon, are driving to the community to support the family of Travis Vandepoele.

Travis died recently away from home, and volunteers decided to bring Christmas to his family.

“We’re going to do a convoy over to Ochre River, to the hall, where his family is waiting. We’ve got some gifts for the kids," said Dean Myhre who is an organizer. “We’ve got Santa Clause coming to give goodie bags to whatever kids are there. And we’re hoping it distracts them a little bit and gives them something to smile about.”

They also started a GoFundMe page to raise money for a trust fund for the kids.

The group from Dauphin left around 10:30 and headed down Highway 5.

An Ocher River Christmas Caravan 2 

By the year 2038 the number of Manitoban’s with Alzheimer's or another dementia is expected to reach 40,700.

Currently, more than 22,500 Manitobans have Alzheimer's disease or another dementia.

“I think one thing to be conscious or aware of is there are people in our community, and many of them are still living on their own, just to be aware that when they are at the cash register, and they are not able to identify between a quarter and a loonie, to just help them out and offer them a hand.”

Amber Duncan, Parkland Regional Coordinator for Alzheimer Society, says there are resources in Dauphin to help you or a loved one deal with the effects of the disease.

“If you know somebody who might be experiencing dementia, try and encourage them to their doctor or call the Parkland office. Just to get more information. A lot of times people don’t want to talk about dementia or they don’t think it’s a possibility for them to have a diagnosis of dementia. But it’s always good to have clarity so that we can get you the proper resources, the proper help, and maybe medication if that’s needed too.”

Around the province, 10.6 per cent of the over 55 population was living with dementia between 2007 and 2012.

Volunteers from around the Parkland  are coming together to help out an Orchre River family. 

Sunday morning a convoy is taking gifts and encouragement to the Vandepoele family.

They are specifically bringing gifts for the children who lost their dad, Travis, last week.

They are meeting at Gardewine in Dauphin at 10 in the morning and heading to Ochre River at 11.

They're heading to the hall where a group is also coming from the south / south east of the community.

After a snowfall everyone wants their streets to be cleared.

The order the streets are cleared goes, the main streets, entrances to the hospital, fire department, city hall, and police station, arterial streets, downtown business area, school zones and seniors’ housing units, streets and avenues on fringe areas that may be blown in, concrete or paved lanes, sidewalks, and gravel roads.

All the major streets and busier areas of town would be cleaned within the first 24 hours of a major snowfall, all other streets would be cleaned within 72 hours.

If you’re driven to make a difference in people’s lives consider becoming a Health Care Aide.

The certificate program, in Dauphin, lasts 6 months. Over the 24 weeks, students take 2 terms in class and 2 practicums in the field, so there is lots of practice.

Eunice Lunsted says the people who become healthcare aids are caring and companionate people who have empathy for people, who like to help people, and who are team players.

“A health Care Aide is a member of the healthc care team that does a lot of the personal care on clients. So, they are trained in the physical skills to care for somebody. Personal skills like bathing, dressing, feeding, assisting with walking. So that is the main duties of a Health Care Aide.”

Corrie Hackenschmidt encourages anyone thinking about a career where you help people to sing up before the course starts on January 14th.

“We get people in within days. If you’re looking to be in the program in January there’s definitely still a lot of time to get in. we encourage people to come and be part of the class.”

ACC says a certificate as a Comprehensive Health Care Aide can open the door to jobs in hospitals, personal care homes, acute and extended care, and doctor's offices.

To find out more click here

The Dauphin RIDE program has been getting people home safely on Fridays and Saturdays.

Last week in Dauphin, they drove 100 people home.

The Dauphin RIDE program won’t be driving people next weekend on the 28th and 29th, however, they will be driving on New Year’s Eve.

The people that use RIDE are very happy with the program.

They are still accepting volunteers. When not driving, volunteers play games and eat food.

Yesterday arrests were made for a homicide that took place on December 14th by the Pas RCMP and Major Crime Services.

R-C-M-P say the girl, who was from Opaskwayak Cree Nation, was discovered dead early last Friday morning near the railway station in The Pas.

19 year old, Dylan Caribou and a 15-year-old female from Pukatawagan were charged with second-degree murder.

It’s believed the victim knew both of the accused.

The Dauphin Co-op’s food drive this year was another success.

Through the generosity of the community Dauphin Food Bank volunteers picked up the donations to help fill 210 Christmas Hampers.

This year they collected 160 cans of corn, 160 cans of pork and beans, 320 cans of soup, more than 240 boxes of Kraft Dinner, more than 100 boxes of stove top stuffing, and 80 boxes of snack crackers.
Joan Chetyrbok is proud of all the donations that were gathered that can help families around Dauphin this time of year.

“We collected over 180 dollars at our Ladies Night, which was the first time we healed a ladies night at our food store. People were generous, plus they brought in quite a few items that night when they came out. A man came in with 200 dollars to make a donation to the food bank. He had said he just saves his change all year and he likes to donate to the Christmas Hampers every single year. so that was really generous.”

Robin Gambler, the Chairperson of the Dauphin and District Food Bank, was very grateful for the support from the Co-op for the hampers, "We are so grateful that Dauphin Co-op, where we order 90% of our food, did another Food Drive for us, selling different items at the till and it saved us a lot of money.”

A video showing off what they collected was posted on Facebook. To find the link click here.

Dauphin Chamber minutes, old promotional shirts, and cups, and pictures were unboxed this week, and some go as far back as 1912.

Stephen Chychota is looking forward to going through the many boxes that were stored at the back of the city’s shop.

“What was in there was some financial records that were being kept but are no longer really needed. But what were really cool to find were some really old meeting minutes from like 1912 to 1925 there’s a book on minutes in there. There’s some old contents from past street fairs that the Chamber has done in the early 2000s. Just some really old interesting stuff from the Chamber and the City of Dauphin.”

He’s also found some documents that mention the Town of Dauphin.

Chychota says there are still some decade-long gaps missing that he hopes will turn up eventually. He says it’s going to be a fun mystery or treasure hunt to see what they uncover as they go through the boxes.

After he goes through the boxes he’s going to see what the chamber should save and what, if any could go to local museums.

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Flu season is in full swing.

Mahmoud Khodaveisi, medical officer of health with PMH, says the flu numbers in Manitoba continue to increase.

In Manitoba there are 157 confirmed cases of the flu, in PMH’s region, there have been 22.

The death totals are kept private because there is a very low number.

The younger population has been affected more than the older population with the flu this year.

This year, PMH believes the flu shots hit the dominant virus, Influenza A.

Nominations are open for the Manitoba Beef Producers’ s Lifetime Achievement Award.

 Individuals and families are eligible for the award that's handed out every five years.

“The Manitoba Beef Producers Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes local beef producers who have made significant contributions to the beef industry and their commitment to excellence, exemplifying leadership and involvement in their community and province,” said Brian Lemon, MBP general manager. Nominees for MBP’s Lifetime Achievement Award will be considered in the following areas:

• Must be a current or past member of MBP or the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association;
• Beef advocacy activities with a genuine interest in the beef industry;
• Achievements and lasting benefit of their contribution to the beef industry;
• Excellence in being involved in the beef industry as a leader, mentor, volunteer;
• Their use of innovation and strategies for successful business.

It's being presented at the President’s Banquet during the 40th Annual General Meeting in Brandon on February 7th.

Nominations are due no later than 4:30 p.m. Friday, January 18, 2019.

Nomination forms are available from the MBP office by calling 1-800-772-0458 or online at www.mbbeef.ca.