Shawn Bailey
City impresses visiting Communities in Bloom judges
Dauphin put on its best face last Thursday as judges from Communities in Bloom (CiB) toured the city evaluating beautification efforts and a variety of other criteria such as environmental action, heritage conservation, tree management, landscape and plant and floral displays.
I just want to say your town looks fabulous you’re doing a really great job. Kudos to you, you’re well on your way to making this sparkle,” said Susan Ellis, national chairperson of the CiB board of directors who was judging the community along with Alex Pearl from Centerville, Ohio.
Dauphin is competing internationally this year against Ingria, Italy; Velika Polana, Slovenia; Glaslough Tidy Towns, Ireland; Lewisburg, West Virginia; and Sussex, New Brunswick.
“In order to be here in this competition you have to have been invited and there are only five other communities in the world in the international smallest category,” Ellis said.
Get the full rundown in this week's Dauphin Herald!
Retinal specialist pilot program lands in Dauphin
Ashcroft Vision Care is partnering with the province to provide advanced eye care options for Parkland residents that does not involve travel to Brandon or Winnipeg.
Health Minister Audrey Gordon was in Dauphin last week to announce a retinal specialist pilot program, which will see retinal specialists from Winnipeg travel to Dauphin once a month to deliver services normally not available in the community.
“Manitobans living in the Parkland region currently have to travel all the way to Winnipeg to access a retinal specialist and this can create an unnecessary financial burden, as well as additional stress for patients and their families,” Gordon said. “To have a specialist provide services right here at Ashcroft Vision Care will help reduce out-of-pocket expenses for these patients and families, strengthen health care in the region and ensure the same level of care closer to home.”
Retinal specialists diagnose retinal diseases and treat a wide variety of eye conditions including age-related macular degeneration, hereditary diseases of the eye, diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment and cancers of the eye. They also treat patients who have experienced severe eye trauma.
According to Dr. Kara Vanderheyden of Ashcroft Vision Services, intravitreal anti-vegf injections are imperative to prevent permanent vision loss, as well as blindness in individuals who develop certain eye diseases such as wet macular degeneration, retinal venous occlusions and proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and can only be performed by retinal ophthalmologists.
Beginning this fall, the program will service 60 to 80 patients each month, which Vanderheyden said will make a real difference in the lives of area residents displaying “increased concern and anxiety” around the need to travel to Winnipeg for treatment. “I’d say there’s around 200 patients from this area that are traveling and there’s new ones all the time.” she said.
“At this point, I am unsure of whether or not we will be over capacity to not accommodate all the patients from this area. Not all patients have to have injections every month, so we should be able to accommodate most patients in this area from having to go to Winnipeg. That is the goal of this project.”
The Manitoba government will cover travel expenses for the specialists and supply costs to support the project. Ashcroft Vision Care will provide space for the retinal specialist to perform procedures in one of their clinic rooms.
“It was becoming very evident, particularly over the past two years, the financial and physical burden patients were experiencing having to travel to Winnipeg as much as once a month,” Vanderheyden said. “Doctors (Randy) Ashcroft, (Jeremy) Mills and myself are more than pleased to provide our clinic for this pilot project and facilitate in bringing this important service closer to home for many Manitobans.”
This pilot project is in alignment with Manitoba’s Clinical and Preventive Services Plan’s goal to provide care closer to home, Gordon said, adding the initiative is expected to run over the next year to evaluate its effectiveness and impact on patient care.
“We’re saying this is a pilot and the pilot will initially benefit a certain number of individuals, so that we can test demand and look at how often we need to bring those specialists in,” Gordon said. “So in the pilot it may be one day, but once the program is fully up and running it may be more.”
City ready for provincially-funded operational review
The province has opened a second intake of the Municipal Service Delivery Improvement Program and the city of Dauphin is ready to take part.
The program, which provides funding for municipalities and planning districts to find ways to improve services and find efficiencies was piloted last year, however, the timing was not right for the Dauphin to take part, city manager Sharla Griffiths said.
At the time of the program launch the city had some key positions open and some personnel who had only been on the job a short time.
“I think this is a far better time for us to take a look at this program. With staff members being present in senior management and throughout our organization, as well as coming out of the pandemic, our operations are a lot more representative of normal operations right now,” Griffiths said. “Last time this came around we had holes or very new staff, in terms of public works. (Director of Public Works and Operations) Mike VanAlstyne was very new. He was only with us for three months at the time and we thought it would be quite unfair to take a big review of that department when he hadn’t even had a chance to really get to know the department.”
By participating in the program municipalities and planning districts can apply for provincial funding to conduct service delivery reviews to identify opportunities for savings.
Delivery programs in the areas of transportation, protection, water and sewer, recreation and culture, waste management, planning and general government administration and other core services can be reviewed.
“Senior management is looking at the options and we’ll be talking about it with council at a planning and priorities committee meeting,” Griffiths said. “It’s a program that the province is funding and a consultant will be hired and paired with us who will look at the processes and the financial structure of different departments, or whatever department we asked them to look at, and we’ll review it for efficiencies and see if there’s a better or easier or more efficient ways we can do things.”
Potential savings from these initiatives will stay with the municipality and can be reallocated to other priorities in the community.
“We’re looking at something that it will be worthwhile, maybe a bigger budget line item, but we’re not sure exactly which one yet,” Griffiths said, adding she feels the City is already very efficient in its operations. “There’s always room for improvement and it’s great to have another set of eyes looking at things, to see if we can do something differently.”
In March 2021, the Manitoba government committed up to $5 million over four years to support the program.
Last year, the first intake resulted in 11 successful projects receiving more than $1.1 million.
The deadline to apply for the second intake is Sept. 5.
A big thank you to all
The Parkland Ukrainian Family Fund held a special get together, July 19, with its many volunteers and sponsored families to celebrate the success of the endeavour and express its appreciation for all of the efforts that were made to ensure that success.
The barbecue, held at Selo Ukraina that evening, honoured the many committee members, drivers, hosts and others who gave generously to ease the families’ transition into the community.
In a recap of the project Ukrainian Folk Arts Centre and Museum president Jim Perchaluk said the initiative raised more than $200,000 in cash along with immeasurable donations of materials and in-kind support, adding 100 per cent of donations were used to support the families which arrived in Dauphin from Ukraine.
Memorial dedication recognizes Dauphin’s role in allied effort
A little more than a year after he first had the idea to develop a memorial honouring Dauphin’s participation in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and the thousands of airmen who trained at two bases in the community, Al Gray is preparing to unveil the fruits of his efforts.
Set for Aug. 27, the Airport Memorial 80 unveiling will take place in two parts, Gray said.
“We’ll be meeting at the cemetery at about 10:30 in the morning and we will be unveiling a commemorative plaque listing the names of the 15 airmen that lie at rest at Riverside Cemetery. They are 15 of the 49 that were killed here while training,” Gray said “As well, at the cemetery we will be dedicating two granite benches, one in the old veterans section where the airmen are buried and one in the new veterans section.”
Later in the day people will gather at the airport for a ceremony which will begin at 1 p.m., last for approximately 30 minutes and will culminate with the unveiling of the monuments.
“We are flanking the Barker Monument with two five-foot-by-three-foot pieces of granite. They will give the history of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, they will give the history of the two air schools. And on the rear of both is going to be a list of the 29 airmen that were killed in service at the south airport at the service flight training school, and the 20 airmen that were killed at the bombing and gunnery school,” Gray said, adding the two schools trained 9,000 of the 131,000 airmen trained as part of the plan.
“That’s what we are doing to commemorate and memorialize Dauphin’s and Paulson’s role in the air training plan.”
Following the dedication, Gray has a special treat planned as three vintage military aircraft will be on hand courtesy of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon.
The Harvard, Tiger Moth and Cornell aircraft will sit on the apron for the public to inspect and will offer rides to those wanting the complete historic experience.
The cost of the flight for the Harvard is $400 while the Tiger Moth and Cornell are each $280, Gray said, adding those flying must also purchase a $30 museum membership which covers the flight insurance.
The fees are simply cost recovery and a tax deductible receipt will be issued, Gray said.
“These flights have to be pre-booked. They want at least four flights per aircraft booked and I’ve currently got four of the 12 flights a booked,” he said, adding he hopes to further include the aircraft in the days events by way of a low level flyover during the morning dedication at the cemetery. “These pilots are seasoned, well-practiced pilots. What they do is they fly these as the dedicated pilots and they fly these aircraft around to all sorts of air shows throughout the summer.”
The flights will begin at 10 a.m., however, the planes will remain on the ground during the airport ceremony.
Anyone interested in booking a flight can email Gray at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
“We’re going to encourage people to bring their lawn chairs because there’s only going to be a finite amount of seating available. If they want to bring their lawn chairs and set them up on the grass that’s fine,” Gray said, adding he is hoping for good weather. “It’s a mist or shine event. If there’s a torrential rainfall we do not have an alternate day. It’s going to be that day or not at all. The monuments are going to be there they may end up going without an official unveiling.
“This is definitely something that we’re really hoping is going to fly.”
Off to camp
Visitors to the local Tim Horton’s last Wednesday had the opportunity to help send some youths from underserved communities to a Tims Camp.
On that day 100 per cent of proceeds from the sale of hot and iced coffee supported the initiative.
As well, the public had and opportunity to support Tim Hortons Foundation Camps by purchasing a Camp Day bracelet for $2 or a pair of red and white camp-themed socks for $5.
The local restaurant also maximized its fund-raising efforts by selling raffle tickets and offering to wash the windshields of vehicles in the drive-through lane.
Camp Day has raised over $225 million in its 30-year history and has helped Tim Hortons Foundation Camps support more than 300,000 youth between the ages of 12 to 16 through a multi-year camp-based program.
Market time
Dauphin Farmer’s Market got a late start to the season this past week, although participation by vendors was minimal, with only two booths set up.
Market co-ordinator Joyce Huska says although she was expecting more vendors for opening day, the weather as of late has market gardens well behind schedule.
Anyone interested in joining the group as a vendor can contact Huska at 204-548-2244.
The market will run every Friday in the parking lot across from the Dauphin Active Living Centre until Sept. 25.
Fabulous finds for furry friends
Parkland Humane Society secured some much-needed funding through a two-day Garage Sale and Barbecue, Friday and Saturday.
The popular annual sale saw people enjoy a hamburger, chips and drink combo while they searched through a huge inventory of goods, hoping to find a special treasure.
Council candidates coming forward
With the registration period for those seeking council seats in the Oct. 26 general municipal election opening last week, Kirk Dawson has been busy.
The Senior Election Official for the City of Dauphin and the Rural Municipality of Dauphin said inquiries from prospective candidates and requests for registration packages have been brisk.
“There is tons of interest. (In the City) We’ve already got five registered and none of those are incumbents,” Dawson said. “We’ve had a few other inquiries beyond that. So for the first week basically, it’s under a week actually, it’s been very active.”
At this point, registered candidates for city council include Joe Houston, Ted Rea, Michael Winter, Carter Luke and Sharon Riehl while the mayorality is being contested by David Bosiak and Kerri Riehl.
In the RM two candidates have registered with incumbent councillor Tom Gibbs entering the race for reeve while incumbent reeve Ron Ryz has registered to contest for a council seat.
“Again there are a couple of other packages out, where we’re waiting for the registrations,” Dawson added.
Prospective candidates will have an opportunity to get a better feel for the job of an elected official when the City and RM hold prospective candidates forums, at the RM of Dauphin Office, July 13, at 7 p.m. for rural candidates and at City Hall, July 14, at 7 p.m. for city candidates.
At each forum municipal staff will lay out what is involved in being a councillor in terms of duties and time commitments while the two governments have partnered to bring in former Association of Manitoba Municipalities executive director Joe Masi as a keynote speaker each night.
“He’s been around politics for a long time and he’s going to be coming out and talking about what makes good councils and what doesn’t,” Dawson said. “It’s for anybody that’s considering running, to give them a little better perspective on what it might look like if they did put their name forward.”
While he waits for other registration packages to be returned Dawson is busy preparing for polling day. Currently he is hiring voting officials and assistant voting officials. About 30 people will be needed to assist with the city election while another 10 are required to help out in the RM process.
“These are the people that work at the polls on election day and the advanced polls.” he said, adding he already has an extensive list of interested applicants.
Anyone interested in getting on that list can contact city hall at 204-622-3200 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
“We’ll probably start phoning next week. We have a list of the people in the past and I’ve got several other people that have mentioned their names, but I can always take more names. It’s sort of a first come, first serve thing,” Dawson said. “We’ll certainly get their names down and as they go down the list we’ll make sure we consider them.”
The nomination period for both head of council and council positions runs Sept. 14 to 20 with Sept. 21 as the withdrawal deadline.
Advance polling runs Oct. 3 to 21, and election day is Oct. 26, with polls open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
A triumphant return for the GP-GV fair and rodeo
With the beautiful weather and the strong support from sponsors and the public, it is evident to Kevin Boese the return of the Gilbert Plains- Grandview Agricultural Society’s Fair and Rodeo was meant to be.
The society president said considering the event has not been held for two years, he could not be more pleased with the result.
“I think it went really, really well. The gates were busy. It was well attended, the stands were full and we had beautiful weather the entire time,” Boese said. “Everything went very smoothly.”
The two years off did present some minor challenges for organizers as some minor details went unaddressed.
“Considering that we haven’t had a fair for two years we had kind of forgotten how to run one, but in the end everything went very smoothly,” he said. “The beer gardens were full, the sun was hot and everybody had a great time.”
Participation in the rodeo was tremendous, Boese added, with more than 200 contestants registered, along with 18 chuckwagons and 13 chariots. That was a nice surprise for Boese, who worried the cost of travel might be too much for some competitors.
“With the high gas prices that we’ve been having I was a bit concerned about people driving and showing up,” he said. “But it didn’t seem too offensive. I noticed that a bunch of guys were carpooling together and they made it work.”
The results of the chuckwagon and chariot races is available on the Manitoba Professional Chuckwagon and Chariot Association website while rodeo results will be available soon on the Heartland Rodeo Association website, Boese said. On the fair side of the equation things went well with the trade show and craft show both proving to be popular stops. Also popular was the Show and Shine Car Show in the arena and the Manitoba Junior Hockey League champion Dauphin Kings booth which saw players displaying the Turnbull Cup and posing for pictures with fans.
Other fair highlights included the light horse events and kids activities centred around the petting zoo.
Boese said plans are to grow the fair side of weekend in the coming years.
“It was a great way to start out but it’ll definitely be better and maybe arranged a little bit better, so it’s very good for next year,” Boese said, adding the time away made organizers a little rusty, but things worked out in the end. “There was just little things that we maybe kind of forgot to do and just made it a little bit more difficult on the volunteers to try and kind of step up and do things on the go that we forgot. But we powered it through and it went very well.”
Like other events which have returned following the pandemic, securing volunteers was somewhat of a concern heading in, but the people involved made it work, Boese said.
“We definitely could have used a few more volunteers, But boy oh boy the ones that showed up, did they ever work hard to get stuff done,” he said adding dedication to, and support for the event is what makes it work “Everything just went very well thanks to all the volunteers and everybody that supported us and all the great sponsorships. We have a huge team of the sponsorships that we rely on throughout the Parkland and we just couldn’t do it without them either.”
That kind of support invigorates organizers, Boese said, and they are already back at work planning for next year.
“I already sent out a group message this morning about writing down ideas to get bigger and different for next year, so it’s fresh in our minds,” he said, adding the success this year shows organizers that people want to see the event continue.
“The stands were packed full both days. We had great attendance, zero complaints about any of that. It was very well attended.”