From left, Devon Pylypchuk, fire chief Cam Abrey, 2021 Firefighter of the Year Ryan Murray, Fabien Carriere, Brendan Greening and Chris Davidson were honoured at the City and RM’s appreciation dinner, Apr. 6.

The City and RM of Dauphin hosted the Firefighters Appreciation Evening, last Wednesday at the Aspen Lodge in the Parkland Recreation Complex.

Several firefighters were recognized for their many years of service.

Devon Pylypchuk, Fabien Carriere and Mark Bass received recognition for five years of meritorious service to the Dauphin Fire Department and Ray Lofgren was recognized for 15 years of meritorious service.

Daniel McKay, Brendan Greening and Chris Davidson were presented with their department badges for their accomplishments in training for the NFPA 1001 Fire Fighter certification.

Fire Chief Cameron Abrey was presented with the Governor General’s Fire Services Exemplary Service Medal for 20 years of service to public safety.

Due to the pandemic, the Firefighter of the Year Award for 2021 was not presented last year as the Firefighters Ball was cancelled. So the Jack Carey Memorial Firefighter of the Year Award was presented, Wednesday, to Ryan Murray.

Murray was selected by his peers for going above and beyond the normal call of duty. Murray, not once, but twice put his first aid training skills to work at his regular place of employment, demonstrating his commitment to public safety.

Murray was in disbelief after receiving the award.

“Pretty shocked, actually. I didn’t know I was nominated. So I was quite shocked. I’m really speechless,” he said.

Murray moved to Dauphin about two years ago and has been welcomed with open arms. So receiving the award means a lot to the new firefighter.

“It’s a great group of people. A family. I’m still pretty new to Dauphin, so it’s quite nice being recognized. But I feel like everyone on the fire department is deserving. Everyone does a lot of work for the community. So I feel like everyone should get the award,” he said, adding he has been with the fire department for just over a year.

“I’m new to the town, so I wanted to give back to the town.”

One woman has been charged and further arrests are expected in connection with a Dauphin RCMP raid on a city home recently.

On Mar. 31, Manitoba West District Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team, along with the Emergency Response Team and Dauphin RCMP, executed a search warrant at a residence in Dauphin.

Officers seized two firearms, four machetes, bear spray, approximately 43 grams of crystal methamphetamine, a quantity of cocaine and hydromorphone.

Seven people were arrested at the residence.

A 34-year-old female from Dauphin is facing charges of two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm and two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

She is scheduled to appear in court at a later date.

The other six people were released without charges at this time.

RCMP continue to investigate and expect to make further arrests.

People are finding creative and inspiring ways to help those in Ukraine during these devastating times.

Former Roblinite, Devon Ungurain, has been using her artistic talents through her small business to help raise funds for the cause.

Check the story in this week's Roblin Review!

There’s a new outdoor market starting up in Roblin this season but it’s going to be quite a departure from the Roblin Farmer’s Market. 

With pandemic restrictions lifted, people are looking to get out more and businesses need the support. It’s expected that tourism will be on the rise after people have been isolating, and it’s a good time to bring business into the community. 

That’s what prompted local business owner Kelcey Harasen to start up the Roblin Local Market.

More details in this week's Roblin Review. 

A long-awaited construction project will finally get underway this spring.

And while the new concession/washroom facility at Currey Park likely won’t be ready for the start of baseball season, it should be done by the fall.

There's lots more in this week's Roblin Review!

If you’re getting a little bored with what’s on TV and are looking for a way to fill four to six hours a month, you might want to consider volunteering to be part of the municipal emergency response team.

The Municipality of Roblin is currently seeking committed volunteers who are interested in undertaking one of the positions within the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).

Check this week's Review for further details!

Nineteen local artists and three solo exhibits are a part of The Pas Arts Council’s latest on-line exhibit called Just Breathe. According to the Arts Council’s latest news release, the project was created to provide an opportunity for local artists to display their work and also to encourage new artists.
Featured in the Just Breathe exhibit is the work of Patty Constant, Akasha Fletcher, Mary Fletcher, Anita Genaille, Madison Genaille, Holly LaJambe, Frank Lang, Ava Lawrence, Tony Lawrence, Glen McKay, Joyce McLean, Azrielle Mink, Perry Nikolychuk, Lesa Nordick, Mike O’Toole, Shauna Ponask, Shelly Rudd, Kyle Tirschmann, and Shawn Yaremko.
In addition, three solo exhibits were chosen from the entries: the work of Danielle Kreller, Diana Muswagon, and Karli Shepherd.

The spirit of the Ukrainian people and their cultural traditions are alive and well in Canada thanks to people like Angie Esplen.

She drove her children to dance practices and recitals for years and when they graduated from high school, Angie and other mothers decided to form their own group: the M&Ms, which stands for Menopausal Mommas.

“The M&Ms do traditional Ukrainian dances and are known for character dances,” says Angie. “We practice weekly and compete throughout Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta.

We performed at Dauphin’s National Ukrainian Festival in 2020 and feel honoured to be invited back this year. We also host an annual competition in Russell, and I’ve been chairperson of that for a decade.”

For more, check this week's Russell Banner

Like so many other events over the last two years, the Russell Lions Prairie Classic fell victim to the pandemic and had to be cancelled.

Last year, as Covid numbers dropped and the world was opening up just a little, it looked as if the derby might go ahead.

In order to comply with the ever-changing public health orders, rather than the customary July weekend, the date of 2021 derby was moved to a later date in August.

Just as event co-chairs Kevan McCarthy and Richie Davidson thought everything was figured out, came another blow.

Get the full story in this week's Russell Banner!

Binscarth’s Cody McLeod took his talents to the NHL ice for 15 years.

Just recently, he celebrated his 1,000th professional game. Now, along with a few other hockey folks, Cody will be sharing his skill and hockey insight with kids at the Cody McLeod Hockey School which will run here in Russell from August 8th to 12th in the Russell Multiplex.

McLeod says he thrilled to have the chance to put on a school right here in Russell. 

Check this week's Russell Banner for lots more!