For the three parties involved, there is hope the signing of a special document Apr. 14 at Dauphin City Hall is a milestone in a long, prosperous and respectful relationship.

Minegoziibe Anishinabe (Pine Creek First Nation), Ka Ka Kwe Ke Je Ong (Ebb and Flow First Nation) and the City of Dauphin entered into a Municipal Development and Services Agreement centered on Anishinaabe Aki, a piece of land located on Main Street South in Dauphin.

The agreement outlines the services the city will provide for a fee to the land and clears the way for the parcel to receive reserve status through the Addition to Reserve process.

“It’s certainly a milestone in this process where we re-establish ourselves as the original people in this territory and partake in some of the economic opportunities that present when we decide to work together in a peaceful way,” said Minegoziibe Anishinabe Chief Derek Nepinak, “We are the safe keepers of the treaty. The Treaty 2 and 4 people that are represented here in the room, we will work to maintain that harmony and that peace that we agreed to many, many, many generations ago. I believe that this agreement is an expression of that commitment. This is the living treaty that we’re talking about now and I believe that there’s prosperity on the horizon for all of us. I think it is going to benefit everybody once this land is converted. The city is going to prosper, we’re going to bring new prosperity to our communities together and the treaty will move forward for the next generations in that way. So today is a milestone. It’s not so much the pen to paper that counts, it’s the spirit that we take from this and it’s the spirit that we work within as we move forward in the development of the site.”

Discussions surrounding the agreement began in December 2019 and Ka Ka Kwe Ke Je Ong Chief Wayne Desjarlais said the process, as well as the Addition to Reserve process, has been a positive one.

“I think it’s been positive throughout for everybody that’s involved, the two First Nations and the City of Dauphin. You know we’ve had issues with many different topics throughout our lives, but with reconciliation, it’s very important that we work with the towns and cities, the urban areas that we’re joined to,” Desjarlais said, adding the two First Nations will be signing papers with the government in Winnipeg in the near future to finalize the Addition to Reserve process.

“Obviously, before we can do Additions to Reserve, we need to make sure that everybody’s on board including the municipality, the City of Dauphin. So this service agreement affirms that everyone’s on board, which is a major hurdle for a lot of processes,” Nepinak added “I’m very happy that everybody’s in line and we can now get this across the finish line.”

Dauphin mayor David Bosiak said it is an honour to be a signatory to the agreement, but he credits past municipal leaders and City staff for forging this important new partnership.

“I personally believe very strongly in relationships and relationship building and I think that this first historic step for us as a City in developing these new relationships with your two communities are truly instrumental in us moving forward for our current generation, but for the future,” he said.

Get the FULL STORY in this week's Dauphin Herald!

According to Farmer 4.0, a new RBC report, the country could be short critical skills – data analysis, robotics and global sales, among them – that will be needed to transform the sector across a projected shortage of 123,000 agricultural workers by 2030.

However, with the correct skills mix, agriculture could add another $11 billion to Canada’s GDP and make the sector more productive than auto manufacturing and aerospace combined.

Read all about it in this week’s Review.

The Manitoba government is investing $3 million in two housing programs that will allow more Manitoba seniors to safely age in their homes and communities as long as they choose.

The new home modification grant program will have an annual budget of $1.5 million, and provide financial assistance to seniors over the age of 65 and/or family members who have seniors over the age of 65 living with them with a household income of $60,000.

More in this week’s Review.

Spring cleaning is a daunting task that no one looks forward to, even though we all are anxious for the arrival of a warmer season.

There’s a new business in Roblin that is offering a variety of power wash services for agricultural, residential, industrial, automotive and commercial cleaning. KP Klean Co., operated by Kris Paul, started up last year and has been growing ever since.

Find out more in this issue.

Northern Manitoba has an abundance of talented artists with a variety of different art forms. Local artist, Shauna Ponask, has some of her work on display as part of an exhibit in Winnipeg. Ponask started out doing a certain art form and then switched to a completely different one, during a very challenging time in her life.
“I was born and raised in The Pas and have Cree and European ancestry,” said Ponask. “My family roots come from Tatasweyak Cree Nation and Churchill.
“In 2020, I shifted my creative expressions from pyrography, which is wood burning, to textiles, when I found comfort in beading and sewing while providing care to my husband as he battled cancer in Winnipeg. I knew a little bit about beading, and wanted a new pair of mukluks at which time my husband encouraged me to make my own.

A royal event is in the works for little princesses in the tri-community. The Pas and Area Animal Shelter is hosting another Princess Ball fundraiser this spring.
“This is our second year hosting the Princess Ball,” said Lynda Geswin. “For the first year of this fundraiser, we were sold out. It was very well received and we heard positive feedback from those who attended. This was modeled after a Princess Ball in Winnipeg and relies heavily on volunteers.
“Based on the feedback and messages we’re receiving, I’m expecting we will be sold out again this year. We haven’t put out our tickets yet and we’re getting a lot of requests. I would encourage people to buy their tickets early, because there’s a limited amount for sale. There will be 140 tickets for sale and there is a child price and a parent price for tickets. A child’s ticket is $40 and a parent’s ticket is $20.”

When children get sick it hits the hearts of everyone who knows and loves that child. Having to undergo treatments and surgery for life threatening diseases is scary and when one beats the odds, it’s a miracle that is worth celebrating.
15-year-old Emily Heape, has experienced such an ordeal that has forever changed her life.
“Emily is almost 16 years old and loves elephants, animals in general, swimming, camping and her family,” said Emily’s mother Anisa Eluik. “She’s a quiet kid now, much more reserved, although she is a teenager now. Emily is quite efficient with technology, which is good, as we get older, we have no clue how new stuff works. She loves to bake and try new recipes as well, so this upcoming fundraiser with the Dream Factory is right up her alley.

Writer’s note: It is with great gratitude that I am gifted with working closely with our seniors to ensure they are all doing okay. When I started working here a few years back, we were approaching Remembrance Day and at that time we had three World War 2 Veterans living in our home. I decided to sit with each individual and ‘interview’ them about their life story. I eventually turned those interviews into a written story. I was so amazed to see what this did for the resident. To have someone be curious about their journey was such a gift for them. I had one Veteran tell me it helped him with healing in what he experienced in the War.
From that point on, it was my mandate to continue being curious with our seniors and to continue writing stories! These stories need to be heard and told as they contain in them powerful medicine.
We have a couple residing here currently named Sam & Mina Kublick. They lived in the Swan River and Minitonas areas. I have written Sam’s story and thought it would be a lovely piece for your newspaper. In the past, there have been some lovely reconnections of friendships due to the stories being shared in the communities where our seniors once lived.
A man of many trades and talents, Sam Kublick led an adventurous life, never allowing fear to get in his way of pursuing new business adventures. An inventor, council man, mayor, entrepreneur, talented construction tradesman, auctioneer, and more, Sam did everything with his whole heart invested.
Sam is one of six children and was born on the family farm in Minitonas, Manitoba on February 8, 1934.
His parents, Helen and Edward Kublick arrived in Manitoba from Poland in 1930 just as the Great Depression swept through. Although money was scarce, they were able to find themselves some farmland on highway 366. The property held a number of small rundown buildings, one of which was used as a granary in the years prior. The farmland itself consisted of a lot of slough and low land which wasn’t drained and not very much open land. Helen and Edward would work very hard, including scrubbing out the big trees, cutting the roots on one side and waiting for a strong wind to blow them over. They would then burn it over the next 3-4 years in order to eliminate the large fallen wood. In 1940 a steel-wheeled tractor and breaking plough was purchased and wisely used to earn an income. Sam recalls his dad charging out at $2.00-3.00 per acre! His father wanted to build a family home and at that time, the municipality allowed households to collect 3000 feet of timber per year. Edward harvested the timber and built the family home out of 4” by 4” timbers, on end, which was very rare, but kept the home warm and secure!
Due to no road maintenance during the winter months and with growing children, the Kublick family chose to move into the Town of Minitonas. Sam learned a lot from his father growing up, however, as he gained work experience and through trial and error, Sam seemed to exceed in his ability to farm, build, or do whatever job was in front of him.
He recalls his first job working on someone else’s farm and bringing home only $4.00 per day!
That winter, National Mills was cutting pulp and so at 16 years of age, Sam learned to fall logs. This would open the door to many more work experiences to come including, but not limited to, painting grain elevators (with no safety harness), and running heavy-duty equipment. In 1951, Sam started working in a garage, thinking he would be a mechanic, however, that only lasted one month due to another opportunity to work in the bush in BC.
Sam endured and experienced a variety of jobs along the way. In 1952 Sam went to work at Pioneer Gold Mines located in the community of Bralorne and a year later he had his shortest work experience ever where he joined 3 other fellas from Creston and worked for Natural Resources in Radium Hot Springs. Sam chuckles as he shares that when the guys got to the job site, they found themselves with no tools, no outhouse, NO NOTHING!! Off to the next job, they would go! Moving on, in 1954 Drayton Valley would welcome Sam! Here he would work on a survey crew, run heavy equipment and work on the oil rigs. Because of the booming oil industry, there were few accommodations in the area.
This resulted in six strangers coming together and sleeping in a local barn where they had no running water or plumbing, so the river nearby was the ‘bathtub’! In 1955, the Hudson Bay Company in Winnipeg hired Sam. It was here that he was connected to an elderly man named Al Kelly who taught him more than he could have ever wished for in the carpentry industry. They were building all the displays for the store, which kept them quite busy.
In the fall, Sam heard that they were hiring on the DEW line and that the wage was far greater than what he was currently making.
So, at $2.87 per hour, Sam thought, why not! Off to the Arctic, he went where he would be involved in building copper line modules that would not be detected on radar. Fascinated and inspired, Sam was intrigued and went on to build his very own gyrocopter while he was residing in the Arctic!
There would be other opportunities for Sam while living in the north such as grader operator, heavy equipment foreman and carpenter foreman. Overall, Sam gained much valuable work experience as well, and he was able to participate in some cultural events, playing his harmonica for the locals and watching as they danced.
There would be other stops along the way, however, in 1957, Sam landed in Fox Creek, Alberta where he would once again run the equipment. This would be a short stopover before going to northern Manitoba in 1958. It turns out that Sam would be recognized as a hard, wise worker and asked to join a team on a coffer dam. Not knowing exactly what a coffer dam was at that time, his colleague would show him the way. Sam soon became the man in charge of this dam, and he claims this to be the most challenging and exciting work he has ever done! But a challenge was always an invitation for Sam, so, he gladly leaned into this opportunity! “We would build these coffer dams and sink them in 96 feet of water! It was unbelievable; you almost have to live it to believe it”, says Sam! The coffer dam was built on 9 feet of ice which was no easy task, but, he was offered a $4000.00 bonus if he could complete the coffer dam before the ice went out! Needless to say, it was a success!
In 1959, Sam went to work for a construction company where he was sent many miles away to a community called Snow Lake. He was sent there to build a service station and found himself, one more time challenged as he had to improvise many things such as the scaffolding which was made of ‘timber’ from the bush!
Life has a funny way of preparing us for the next chapter. Each job that Sam took on gave him the skills and experience he needed for the next job and the next, until finally the development of his very own company - Kublick Construction. Sam joined a partnership with a fella from Winnipeg and together they formed a company called K & S Construction. The business built as many as 17 homes in only one year! The company grew and Sam was able to make a decent living up to the early seventies. During this time, Sam was also farming and acquiring more land. The decision needed to be made, ‘do I want to stay in construction, or do I want to farm?’
Farming pulled on his heartstrings and the decision was made.
Backing up, let us not forget to mention one of the most important dates of Sam’s life – his wedding day! It’s funny how things unfold without us even knowing it! Sam first noticed Mina at a young people’s meeting, but, his pursuit of her did not happen right away. At that time Mina was working as a telephone operator and Sam had his eye on another gal whom he would try to call on the phone. “Every time I would ring this girl’s number, Mina would tell me the line is busy”, says Sam with a chuckle. I guess God had another plan for Sam! Before they really began to get to know each other, Sam had to go up to Cambridge Bay in the Yukon for work. While he was away, he began to write letters to Mina. The mail system was extremely slow at that time, and several months passed. Sam did not receive any letters back and so he thought she must be interested in someone else.
But, much to his delight, upon his return to Swan River in Manitoba, he received a large bag of mail. Mina had written 2 letters every single week, but they failed to reach him in the Arctic. Her quietness and the sound of her voice is what stirred within Sam’s heart and after a short courtship, Sam and Mina would get married on April 3, 1961, and begin their life together! They went on to have three children, Kandase Joy, Lonna Jane, and Glen Samson.
In 1962, Sam built their first family home in Swan River from the ground up where the family would reside for a short few years. In the fall of 1967, they moved out to the farm that adjoined the homestead that Sam grew up on. Initially, they would purchase a quarter of land near the family farm in Minitonas RM for $7000.00, which was a bit more expensive than the going rate because it was wide open land, but the next quarter they purchased was $6400.00. Many, many hours were spent operating and maintaining the farmland, and yet, Sam managed to find time in 1969 to become the acting councillor for the local Rural Municipality. He served on council and many boards, including but not limited to, bringing in the ambulance service. Sam devoted the next 14 years of his life to this position. Life became very busy between travelling around Alberta to auctioneer, farming, building and serving on council. Sam realized it was time to let something go, so he resigned from serving on council and carried on with his passion for farming. This only lasted for a short time; Sam would run for Reeve of Minitonas and win! He served for 9 more years as acting Reeve and enjoyed every minute of it.... except public speaking! Sam was never a fella to not have his hand in many pots which explains why he was always on the lookout for prime land to rent and farm. Sam did things a little differently than most farmers, he would pay upfront rather than wait on the crop to come in. Sam’s reputation in the farming community was held with much respect due to his passion and diligence in how he farmed.
“I was very particular in how I seeded and harvested my crops,” says Sam. Sam went on to say with a chuckle, “Every row was just so!”
It was a very busy time for the Kublick family with Sam busy multi-tasking with different jobs and Mina raising the children and keeping the home. Despite the busyness, however, the family values remained intact with spending quality time together and this generally occurred during the Christmas holidays and in the summer when the kids were younger they would go camping at Madge Lake.
Let’s talk about Texas!! Sam got to know some people while he was auctioneering and there happened to be a gentleman with the last name of Gallagher.
Well, this fella happened to be travelling through Texas and on his way through he happened to come across a property for a really good price in a place called Canyon Lake. Soon after, he purchased a bunch of land, sublet it, and sold it off. One of Sam’s friends who were connected to Gallaher told Sam about this land that was for sale. So, as mentioned earlier, Sam Kublick could not sit still for too long and was not afraid to take a risk. Off he went to Texas to view these properties! A phone call to Mina and it was done! Sam bought 23 acres of land and a five-bedroom home in Texas. “Our first year in that house we only had one weekend to ourselves,” laughs Sam.
People were coming out of the woodwork wanting to come to Texas and tour the Alamo. Sam and Mina lived down there in the winter months and rented it out in the summer months. The Kublick’s were hardworking people who like to give people a hand when they could. The home would eventually sell for a profit, but not before Sam and Mina helped the purchase along by carrying the buyer.
Eventually, the Texas land was sold off and so was the farmland in Manitoba.
While they were living in Texas they had their home built in West Kelowna overlooking Okanagan Lake just above the Kelowna Marina. With the kids now grown and out on their own, Sam and Mina would make out on their next adventure – moving out to West Kelowna! Retirement would be an odd thing for Sam as he was always so busy, but, his retirement did not involve sitting in a recliner chair and enjoying tea and cookies! Oh no, Sam Kublick would soon get busy advertising his carpentry skills and being hired out on an hourly rate to build basements – 4 in total! When that was completed he went to work for the Ericksons. “We almost bought the golf course”, says Sam, but after gathering more information, he chose to not go down that path. Instead, Quails Gate would hire Sam on for the next 7 years doing everything under the sun with maintenance and upkeep! Whatever they wanted, Sam made for them and made it with great pride. Life never got boring for Sam as he always found ways to stay busy. There is a quote that goes, “wholehearted people cultivate creativity and meaningful work!” And this describes Sam very well. He is a man of integrity and honesty. He creates and builds things that bring joy to himself and others.
His work ethic and value system have served him and his family well! “Sam is just one of those guys that you will never forget, he has a way about him that draws people in,” says Carrie O’Neill.
“Mina too, she is a gem! Just a solid, true, caring and compassionate woman!”
A man of his word, Sam shares a few beliefs he lives by, “the most important thing that business people can do is be honest. Be a team player in your marriage, and be kind”!
And so the story goes on, and Sam and Mina would find themselves faced with some health challenges which contributed to their next move to Armstrong, BC.
It was decided that they would move into Heaton Place Retirement Residence which is a short distance from their daughter Lonna’s home. Sight unseen, the couple arrived at Heaton Place on Dec. 18, 2020 and settled into a lovely one-bedroom suite. It took some time, but Sam would eventually set himself up a little shop where he could spend his days puttering, creating, and building with wood, all of which filled his heart up again! “He even created special wooden bowls for me to take to a retreat that changes lives,” says Carrie. It was such a labour of love and we are so very grateful for Sam and his handiwork.
Sam and Mina have been such a beautiful addition to our home here in Armstrong, however, we are now faced with saying farewell. The couple has made a decision to return to West Kelowna to be closer to friends from way back and also to have peace of mind knowing that should their ability to drive be affected, they would be within walking distance of the amenities they need and desire.
We will miss them so much, but as the saying goes everything in life is temporary! We were given the gift of their presence for a short while and now God is leading them to bless another home.
We will send them off with gratitude in our hearts for having the privilege of being of service to them in their first experience living in a Retirement Community!
To conclude, I asked Sam if he had any advice that he would like to leave you all with and here are his words: “Follow your dreams! There is nothing in this world that is too big, or too challenging that you cannot accomplish if you believe in yourself!
Thank you for sharing your story with us Sam! Farewell to you and your beloved Mina.

The Elbert Chartrand Friendship Centre held their Easter Egg Hunt where nearly 150 youth came out to hunt for eggs and for prizes.

Members of the Parkland Pirates youth rugby program had the trip of a lifetime, recently, when they traveled to Ireland where they played three exhibition games against Irish teams.

According to program coach Aaron Miner, the team left Dauphin at midnight, Mar. 23, chartering a bus to Winnipeg. They flew out of Winnipeg at 7 a.m. for Toronto where, what was supposed to be a six-hour layover turned into a nine-hour wait before flying to Dublin.

“We landed in Dublin, hopped on a bus, drove across the country to Galway and had our first practice,” he added.

The boys and girls teams each played three games over the course of nine days. The girls did well, winning two of their three games.

“In the one game they lost, it was still very tight,” Miner said. “Girls rugby in Canada is very strong right now. We’re ranked in the top three in the world, almost at all times. So going over to Ireland, we knew we had a good chance with the girls. But they showed very well. We were just so strong. Good, old fashioned Parkland girls coming through strong, bullying through, pushing their way through rucks and mauls. It was beautiful to see.”

Miner feels the girls opened some eyes with their strong play, noting rugby in Ireland is like hockey in Canada.

“It’s their national sport,” he said, adding the men’s national team is ranked number one in the world. “I think they underestimated us by a long shot on the girls side. So happy for us to see, disappointing for them, for sure.”

The boys team lost all three games, but two were extremely close, Miner said, while the other was a blowout.

“The team had brought the captain of the under-18 national team to play on their side, not knowing what we had brought. And this kid was a phenom. He was like the Connor Bedard of Irish rugby,” Miner said. “He really showed us a thing or two. Rugby in Ireland is different from rugby in Canada, too. We have a bit of a hockey morale when we play rugby. You get tackled here, you take offence to it. You might swing or get upset. Over there, when you get tackled, it’s part of the game. There is no getting upset about a good tackle or things like that. It’s part of the game and they play like gentlemen over there from start to finish and even after the game.”

It reminded Miner of when he started playing with the Dauphin Mavericks. Road trips to Shilo or Winnipeg, ended with a dinner for the opposition team, with speeches.

“It was such a beautiful thing to see, the culture of the game that they were showing us, that we sometimes don’t get to see here because of our geography. The culture was amazing,” he said.

Besides rugby, the teams had the chance to do some sightseeing when they weren’t on the pitch.

They got to visit the Cliffs of Moher, Islands of Aran, as well as kissing the Blarney Stone.

“We took all that in, but there was always a practice or a game after a tour or before a tour. Parents and players alike were all made very aware that we’re going there for rugby and rugby is our primary thing. Anything else we get to do in between is bonus,” Miner said. “Our tour guide, George from Irish Rugby Tours, didn’t leave us a spare moment, which was good. It kept the group of 14 to 17-year-olds very busy. It didn’t leave them a whole lot of time for them to get into anything other than the culture and spirit of Ireland, which was great. It’s what we went for and we got more than we bargained for. It was fantastic.”

Many of the players play for the Dauphin Clippers high school teams and they began practicing for the trip at the end of January. So they will be in midseason form by the time the season gets underway, since most other teams haven’t started practicing yet.

“So we’re looking forward to this season. We feel as if we are very strong and we are going to be top contenders, not only in our league, but in the province,” Miner said. “The hope that all this hard work and dedication that the kids have put into it so far does pay off and we are provincial champions this year. Both on the girls and boys side. We’re feeling quite confident that the things that we’ve done will benefit us.”

Miner wishes to thank all the sponsors for their support in making the trip possible.

“The community of Dauphin stepped up once again. Dauphin is such a giving community that none of this would be possible without the community stepping up,” Miner said.