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The pork industry in Manitoba has been dealing with a porcine epidemic diarrhea(PED) outbreak since October, making it the largest, and longest outbreak in the province's history.
Manitoba Pork General Manager Cam Dahl says there have now been 122 cases, and while they have slowed down, and some have transitioned to negative, they are still seeing new cases pop up.
"Producers, the independent producers, the integrated producers, the colonies, are working together with the veterinary community, the processing, the transporters, all parts of the industry." Said Dahl, "We're working together to really look at that question, what has been different about this outbreak, and what do we need to do differently going forward"
This is the first time the province has had a PED outbreak last through the winter.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Swan River and District Community Resource Council (SRDCRC) are looking for volunteers to help transport the elderly to and from medical appointments.
They rely on volunteers to provide both local and long-distance transportation to seniors. Local trips are offered free of charge, while long-distance trips require the senior to cover a portion of the fuel cost, as well as accommodations if applicable.
According to Kyla Scales, community resource administrator at the SRDCRC, they are running out of volunteers.
"We used to have a lot of volunteers... Now they are either ageing or just not able to do it anymore... We're down to [around] six," Scales said.
Kyla Scales also said that, in many cases, seniors need to be taken to appointments that are located way out of town.
"The clientele we have don't just go across town to the local hospital to get their services. Now they need to go out of town for services... If the local hospital handled all the services they used to, there would be less need for an out-of-town drive," her colleague added.
Scales then said that they don't have any reliable bus lines to help transport seniors to out-of-town appointments.
"It comes... three days a week... and is very minimal... For a person to try to organize... what day they can have their appointment with what day the bus might happen to be here, that's pretty hard too," she added.
Those interested in becoming volunteer drivers are being asked to call the SRDCRC at 204-734-5707.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
Last week was National Drowning Prevention Week, and today is World Drowning Prevention Day, so the Lifesaving Society gave some tips on drowning prevention.
Dr. Christopher Love is the Water Smart and Safety Management Coordinator for Lifesaving Society Manitoba, and he said the goal of last week and today is to raise awareness of the problem, and the ways to prevent drowning tragedies from happening.
"Annually every year in Canada we have approximately 450 who die due to drowning, and in Manitoba, it's on average 22 deaths per year. That's just the fatalities, that's not including any injuries that also occur due to drownings across the country."
He said some of the common, standard tips from anyone going around the water are:
- Never go alone
- Wear a life jacket when it's appropriate to do so (ie. when boating)
- Learn how to swim
- When children are swimming, have active adult supervision
- When the children are around seven or under, be within arm's reach at all times
- Be sober when around the water
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Ryleigh Timmins has been safely located. The Manitoba RCMP thanks the public and media for their assistance.
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The Northwest Métis Council will be sending a delegation to Edmonton for the Pope's visit that will take place next Monday and Tuesday.
Vice-President Frances Chartrand is excited to be attending and estimated that as many as 100 elders from many different communities — including San Clara, Shell River, Duck Bay, Manitoba House, and Dauphin — will be joining her to hear the Pope speak and attend mass.
"I always think that if we all work together, we all have a place in this world... If we move forward and then we work with the federal, provincial and Métis governments... with the Pope... [and] with the churches, everything will be okay," Chartrand said.
She also said that it's a good step toward reconciliation.
Furthermore, Father Michel, the pastor of St. Viator's Roman Catholic Parish, thinks that it will be a positive experience focused on healing.
"There's a lot that needs to be done for sure. This is one step and it's a positive step," he said.
The church later confirmed that a parishioner from St. Viator's will be travelling to Edmonton to attend.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
Sandy Lake Western Days returns to Sandy Lake on Friday, August 5th and will go on until Sunday, August 7th.
Charlene Lewandoski, a member of the Western Days Committee, said that there will be a lot of things for visitors to enjoy.
"[We're going to have] lots of good food, fireworks, a parade, bouncy houses, borscht and bread, a car show, a trade show, beer gardens ... a vintage tractor pull, a duck race, a golf cart rodeo and pierogies," Lewandoski said.
She also said that the goal of the festival is to bring people into the community and that all of the events will be free.
"We have [an] annual [ice fishing] derby in the winter, where we raise money, so we're able to put on Western Days to make pretty much everything free that weekend," Lewandoski added.
More information can be found on the Sandy Lake Western Days Facebook page.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
There's a new kindergarten program coming to Whitmore school that will promote inclusivity, and give parents an opportunity to learn alongside their kids.
The new program runs every day, and at two o'clock, parents and younger siblings of the students will be welcomed into the school if they choose, to participate in activities like medicine picking, making ribbon skirts, and gardening. Principal Dawn Dutchak says teachers were the driving force behind the new program.
"Our teachers had looked at some of the things they had perceived as barriers within our school," said Dutchak, "They want to make sure that parents felt comfortable within our building, that they see representation."
There will also be an opportunity for language learning, for both Michif and Anishinabek if there is enough interest among parents. The new program will use resources already in the Mountain View School Division, along with a grant through the provincial government's Teachers Idea Fund.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Combine College comes to Dauphin on July 26th at the Rotary Arena and DMCC Fairgrounds. There are morning and afternoon sessions for John Deere, New Holland, and Case I-H combines, as well as a Harvest Loss Management session presented by Shawn Senko, an Agronomy Specialist for the Canola Council of Canada.
"They'll be going over basically the whole machine, from the header working their way back through the machine. They'll cover feeding issues, settings, and operational tips for varying conditions, diagnostics, maintenance, and everything that an attendee will want to go over as well. So please ask questions when you're there because we want to engage our sales guys and our product specialists for these manufacturers to get as much information out of them as possible right before harvest." - Manitoba Crop Alliance Agronomy Extension Special for Special Crops, Morgan Cott
You can register for the college here, it costs $75 for the day, however, members in good standing with Manitoba Canola Growers, Manitoba Crop Alliance, or Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers get a $25 rebate per group they belong to.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Dauphin and District Community Food Bank will be accepting applications for food assistance today from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 220 Whitmore Ave. W.
Board Member Tom Monson said that people must have not received food from the food bank in the last four weeks and must bring their Manitoba health card to be eligible.
"We are providing a service for... the community in Dauphin... to help those that are less fortunate... [and] those that are struggling at the present time... It gives them a bit of food to kind of tide them over until they can receive some... financial support somewhere else," Monson said.
He also said that when people go to the food bank, they receive a hamper of food, which should last 3 to 5 days.
Furthermore, Monson noticed that the demand for food assistance keeps increasing as inflation continues to rise.
"When everybody was receiving the CERB, our numbers were down... Sometimes thirty hampers [were given out] on a Thursday... Now we're running [awfully] close to 180 to 200 hampers a month, so that's a significant increase," he said.
For more information, you can call the Food Bank at 204-638-7853.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
The Parkland Ukrainian Family Fund's already welcomed 12 families to Dauphin, and they're expecting a 13th soon. The fund has continued to grow, with more than $200,000 in cash donations, and so many donations in kind, and Don Tarrant said he can't believe how far the fund has come.
"To come with an idea of bringing one or two families in, to have twelve families tonight and one more arriving is way above what we thought." said Tarrant, "I think the other thing is, the families we brought in, I think they're fitting in really well. They're very happy and very thankful."
To celebrate the families arriving, and thank all the volunteers for their hard work, the fund organized a BBQ earlier this week. The food was donated by Tarrant, Tere Stykalo, and Jason Beyette, with so many volunteers also pitching in at the event.
"We just feel that they're just home now. We hope that they're comfortable, we hope that they prosper, and it's just a huge relief to have them here." said Tarrant, "Every family that was arriving, the group was just holding their breath until they go into Winnipeg, and holding their breath they got to Dauphin, and to see them all here now, in amongst the local people, and becoming the local people, is a huge gratification."
If you have any questions about the fund you can call Larry at (204) 648-5904, or Karen at (204) 648-3567.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The province of Manitoba is expanding vaccine eligibility to children aged six months to four years. This follows Health Canada's announcement last week that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine was approved for kids in the six months to five years age range.
The initial supply of the quarter dose vaccines will be limited to 14,900 in the first delivery, and because of this, the province will prioritize the following groups of children.
- First Nations, Inuit, or Métis children, regardless of where they live.
- Those who have certain medical conditions including:
- Chronic lung disease,
- Airway abnormalities,
- Congenital or chronic heart or circulatory diseases,
- Moderately to severely immunocompromised due to a medical condition or treatment,
- Neurologic disorders (including developmental delay),
- Diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or any chronic disease related to premature birth
The vaccine is a two-dose series with eight weeks between doses. You can find the province's full news release with additional information sources here.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
