Local Indigenous fashion designer and creator Shauna Ponask stunned a crowd yet again with another one of her designs. This time Ponask’s creation was modelled at this year’s annual Nellie McClung Lilac and Lace Luncheon in Winnipeg at the Fort Garry Hotel. The event took place on June 20 and showcased the Threads in Time fashion show, which Ponask’s creation was a part of.
“I was contacted by Suzanne Barbeau from the Aseneskak casino, who then put me in contact with Giselle MacDonald in Winnipeg,” said Ponask.
“The name of the outfit is Northern Beauty. It consists of a shawl, a wrap skirt, wrap-around moccasins, and caribou tufted earrings. Each piece is made from white deer hide, and plum-coloured Melton wool, completed with white floral beadwork. Each item is completely stitched by hand.”

Accessibility is a huge factor in determining how welcoming a community can be, especially towards those with disabilities. One resident in The Pas has faced some challenges and an encounter that no one should have to go through, but she remains positive that improvements can be made to make The Pas a more inclusive community.
Stella Lathlin experienced a health condition as a young adult that eventually led to her losing a lot of her mobility.
“I had my daughter at the age of 18 and a few months later I started to have symptoms,” said Lathlin. “I had heard of MS, but it was the last thing on my mind. My daughter was six to seven months at the time when I started to go blind and lost hearing in one ear. It was a very traumatic and scary time in my life.

Just last week The Town of The Pas passed the resolution to appoint a new fire chief for The Pas Fire Department as the position was vacant. This allowed the department’s current deputy fire chief to step into that role.
Byron Shangraw is the perfect candidate to lead The Pas Fire Department, for he found his passion in helping people and keeping both his team and the community safe.
“There’s the sense of duty and knowing you can make a difference in someone's worst moment, that you can be one of the ones who help them through a crisis,” said The Pas Fire Department Fire Chief Byron Shangraw. “That's a powerful motivator. Second, there's the camaraderie. Firefighters are a family but not only the firefighters, but their spouses, parents and children are part of the fire family as well, and that bond is forged in the heat of the moment. You trust the person next to you with your life, and that creates a special kind of teamwork.

The Swan Valley Credit Union held their annual Beef-on-a-Bun fundraiser on Friday (July 5), with proceeds to be split between the SVRSS Tigers Football team and the Swan River Curling Club. This year the Swan River Community Centre and the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School Tigers football team each received a donation of $3,350...

The art of dance is strong in The Pas, much like the arts culture in general, and last week Le Pas de Danse studio earned national recognition for one of their competitive performances. Le Pas de Danse dancers are still fairly new to competing, but already, they are proving to be strong contenders in the art of dance.
“Le Pas de Danse was started up in 2019, and we refrained from doing competitions at that time because I knew how much work it is and I didn’t feel we were ready for that level,” said Le Pas de Dance Studio Instructor Patty-Jean St Hilaire. “The students have been asking to compete now for the last couple of years, and we do have an intensive program where our dancers have been dancing five to seven hours a week, which is a pre-competitive level of dance.

The provincial government signed an agreement with three First Nations, Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation, Sapotaweyak Cree Nation and Minezogbe First Nation, known as Pine Creek First Nation. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) extends Louisiana Pacific’s operating licence by five years, which allows all parties to work together to create a sustainable 20-year Forest Management Plan that addresses everyone’s needs.
The agreement ensures that the First Nations’ level of government will be directly involved in Manitoba’s Forestry Management Plans for the first time and will continue into the future. This allows First Nation communities to protect traditional lands and treaty rights. It’s been hailed as a precedent-setting agreement in terms of reconciliation.

The Manitoba government along with Trails Manitoba is investing more than $880,000 to support 33 recreational trails across the province, Environment and Climate Change Minister Tracy Schmidt announced.
“Manitobans love to enjoy the outdoors and our province is home to unique networks of trails that support healthy living and offer great social opportunities,” said Schmidt. “Adding new trails and ensuring our existing trails are well-maintained helps guarantee Manitobans can continue to enjoy the great outdoors for generations to come.”

No charges will be laid in connection with last year’s bus crash near Carberry which killed 17 Dauphin area seniors.

At a news conference in Winnipeg last week, Crown prosecutor Chris Vanderhooft and RCMP Supt. Rob Lasson explained no Criminal Code or Highway Traffic Act charges are forthcoming as the driver of the bus suffered a traumatic brain injury and has been unable to aid police in their investigation.

“As investigators, we hope to provide the ‘why’ of what happened, and that is why we do what we do. In this case, we cannot say why the bus proceeded into the intersection that day when it was unsafe to do so,” Lasson said, adding the driver has no memory of the accident.

Lasson said the collision happened because of a choice by the driver, but there is no proof that decision was made because of any criminal actions.

His cellphone showed no calls or text messages, at the time of the crash, he had no alcohol or drugs in his system and he was properly licensed  to operate the vehicle. which was in good mechanical shape at the time of the collision, Vanderhooft added.

Expert analysis indicated a blind spot on the vehicle may have prevented the driver from seeing the tractor-trailer as he crossed the Trans-Canada Highway while heading south on Highway 5.

“It is apparent from all of the evidence that the driver, due to the blind spots in that vehicle and when he may have looked in that direction, did not see the semi-truck travelling eastbound,” Vanderhooft said.

“He did not hit the brakes, nor did he speed up to avoid the oncoming semi-truck.”

While the Crown considered charging the driver with dangerous driving, there would be no reasonable expectation of a conviction.

“The act of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle is driving in a manner dangerous to the public in all of the circumstances. The focus must be on the risks created by the driver’s manner of driving and not on the consequences of the driving,” Vanderhooft said, adding his office also considered the public interest in determining whether to proceed with charges.

“While the Crown is certainly aware of the consequences of this mass casualty and the tragedy that families have had and continue to deal with, there is no public interest in proceeding.”

The Canadian Parents for French Swan River Chapter organized a Story Time in the Park, en Français, at Swan River Legion Park on Wednesday (June 26). 

The acts have been booked, the booth supplies ordered, the grounds are being prepared and everything’s ready to go for the Shell River Jamboree.

The three-day event, held at the Shell River Métis Centre at Boggy Creek, takes place July 5, 6 and 7 and organizers are looking forward to another great weekend.

Read all about it and check out the entertainment schedule in this week’s Review.