CBC Manitoba’s Future 40 under 40 announced their top finalists for 2024, and one local resident is one of them. Karen Gallagher was chosen to be part of this distinguished group of candidates for her volunteerism efforts and dedication to improving The Pas and the surrounding area.
Gallagher’s list of volunteerism work is extensive. She is dedicated and heavily involved with two organizations and takes a very active role in her duties within these organizations.
“I’m directly involved with The Pas Fire Department (TPFD) and The Pas Health Complex Foundation (TPHCF) Board of Directors,” said Gallagher. “Then I’m indirectly involved with The Pas Handi-van, The Pas Travel Club, The Pas Guest List, local LGBTQ+ events, Kinsmen Events and local cleanup initiatives.”

The Pas Helping Hands 4-H Club Members held their annual Achievement Night. Members successfully completed these projects: Adventure into 4-H, Scrapbooking, Geocaching, Explore Your Money, and Science in the Kitchen.
Outside of the project books, local 4-hers also spent time beekeeping with their mentor, Shawn Sexsmith, went on a Medicine Walk at the Opasquia Trails Boardwalk, participated in Culture Days, hosted a Japanese exchange student, tried out the boards at the Tribe Cable Park, hosted a 50 metre meal along with Round the Bend Farm, participated in the 4-H Canada’s National Show Your Green Day, entered a tree (and won!) in the Festival of Trees, held a wreath making workshop with Connie Havard, attended several holiday craft sales, assisted vendors at The Pas Arts Council’s Arts, Crafts, and More sale and entered projects in the KSD Science Fair.

The long-awaited inquest into a man who died in RCMP custody after he was detained for public intoxication in The Pas has finally transpired. In 2019, John George Ettawakapow, known as Dot Dot, was 54 years old when he died in an RCMP holding cell, where he was detained with two other intoxicated individuals.
This triggered an inquest into Ettawakapow’s death through Manitoba’s Fatalities Inquiries Act. This act requires an inquest when a person dies in police custody.
Security video footage from the detachment showed officers carrying Ettawakapow into the cell and leaving him on the floor, where two other men were also lying. Just over an hour later, the video recorded one of the men moving their leg over Ettawakapow’s neck. Ettawakapow was shown as lifting his arm and grabbing toward his neck. Within minutes, Ettawakapow stopped moving.

Dauphin Regional Comprehensive Secondary School honoured the 139 students making up its Class of 2024 at a convocation Saturday.

But before they went their separate ways to begin life after high school, valedictorian Maddison Garton gave her classmates one last test.

After introducing herself to those gathered in the school gymnasium - telling them teacher Andrew Coombs is her best friend, she has a pretty cool stepmom, her favourite colour is blue, and she believes classmate Kendel Marie Gibbs is the funniest person alive - Garton asked graduates to name the top five wealthiest people they know, the last five winners of the Stanley Cup and the last six  decades of world series winners.

“How did you do?,” she asked, following up with a quote from Peanuts creator Charles Schultz.

“The point is that none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. There are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their field. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.”

Garton followed up those questions to her classmates with some easier queries, providing her own answers along the way.

Read more in this week’s Dauphin Herald

People abandoning pets has been an unfortunate common occurrence that puts a lot of strain on animal rescue agencies. Recently the Valley has had some local heroes step up to rescue a small dog last weekend that was abandoned and left in distress.
Swan River MLA Rick Wowchuk first spotted the dog outside of Cowan and posted seeing it all alone in the park. Sherry Markle then brought it to the attention of the Swan Valley Animal Protection League (SVAPL). This sparked a frenzy of concern for the little dog that led to a few rescue attempts to bring her to safety by members of the SVAPL and other volunteers.
“The first night Lisa and I went out, was on Thursday, June 13, at about 8 p.m.,” said Jenn Ferron. “That’s when we first learned about her. The dog was not having anything to do with us and ran into the park and bushes, and we couldn’t find her after a while.
“On the next day, we had more success. It’s a good thing she was hungry because we were able to bribe her with food and she would come close to us. She would come up and eat out of our hands, but she still didn’t want to be caught. We spent a total of five hours that night with the dog all along the side of the highway. The people in Cowan were wonderful as well, for letting us sit on their lawns while we tried to coax her along.
“Then on Saturday when I went out there, I walked up and down the highway because I couldn’t find her,” said Ferron. “Once I started calling the dog’s name, she jumped out of the lilac bushes and let me pet her and continued to eat from my hand, but still very skittish.”
Lisa Scales, Myrna Klein, Lori-Ann Sushelnicki and Ferron all tried to rescue the dog and eventually it was safely caught and brought in. The poor dog was covered with over 50 wood ticks from being left out and running in the long grass. Stephanie and James Wigley went to the vet Saturday morning to get Bravecto to get rid of the ticks.
“The dog was just covered in wood ticks and we noticed some really big ones when we first saw her,” said Ferron. “They fell off, but they were around her eyes and mouth, which was from running in the bush.
“We only learned about this dog on Thursday night, because of Rick Wowchuk letting us know. We don’t know how long the dog was left unattended, but that was the first sighting of her that we had knowledge of.”
The little dog has been named Lila because she would come out of hiding from the lilac bushes along the highway when rescuers were searching for her. Lila is doing well and has been to the vet for care. She is a very smart little dog, is housebroken, loves to play, crate trained for evenings and is a lapdog.
“The dog was seen by the vet and got fixed as well,” said Ferron. “She will need time to get over all she has been through before she can be adopted. She was given medication to help with all the wood ticks she had on her and they’ve all fallen off. At least she can heal from that and it’s not bothering her anymore. The dog is eating well and doing very well.
“My greatest reward for this was when Lisa phoned me at 10:30 p.m. on the evening of the day we rescued Lila and told me she was wagging her tail. To me that was great and that is the reward we get. I’ve gone to see the dog the last couple of days and she is so full of kisses and snuggles. She really is a loving dog, so for her to be that scared and alone, I can only imagine what this dog went through. It takes a lot for a pet to trust someone, especially after they’ve been abandoned by a previous owner. Most of the time they are just waiting for their owner and don’t know what is going on.”
The SVAPL asks that people do the responsible thing when it comes to not being able to care for a pet any longer. Having a pet is a huge responsibility and they become members of the family. Abandoning them in a foreign place is a cruel thing to do and there are better ways to handle it that would not put the pet at risk of dying.
“Unfortunately, with animal rescue, we see that all the time,” said Ferron. “It breaks my heart. I’ve been blessed to foster over 40 dogs in my care and it’s a heartbreaking thing, but I find it rewarding in the end when we find these dogs their forever home.
“If a person has a dog that for some reason they can’t look after or that they find abandoned, we encourage them to call the municipality or us for help. We can post to help rehome the dog, but please do not abandon or leave them. They are scared and could get hurt or worse, killed. Reach out to someone rather than doing this.”
The Valley has many community heroes and Ferron is thankful to all who helped save Lila’s life. It took a group of caring and concerned citizens to make all the difference in this little dog’s life and soon she will go to a home where she will be cared for and loved.
“As Lisa had said on social media, it took a village to rescue this little dog and I couldn’t have done it without people posting on Facebook and keeping us updated,” said Ferron. “From Rick posting, that he found her, to Myrna coming out to help, it really does take a village and I’m thankful to everyone who helped.”

Presenting Swan Valley Regional Secondary’s Class of 2024! Graduates celebrated their final year of high school on Thursday, June 20 with ceremonies, a banquet and dance...

The Roblin District Community Foundation held its annual Grants Evening and AGM Wednesday at the Life & Art Centre awarding almost $54,461 to various local concerns.

During the brief AGM which followed the presentations, board chair Guy Hammond said the foundation had another good year with the community continuing its welcome support through the Donor’s Choice campaign.

Read all about it this week’s paper.

The Town of The Pas held its regularly scheduled council meeting on June 10. The community curfew by-law was discussed in public and then in-camera.
“The Town of The Pas has a curfew and we’re just reviewing that by-law to see if it’s applicable in today’s day and age,” said Town of The Pas Mayor Andre Murphy. “We’re not trying to create issues, but we are trying to support our youth. When someone is walking home from their friend’s place at midnight, that’s one thing, but when there’s a group of youths on the streets at 3 a.m., for no reason, we want to know why they are out there and make sure they are taken home safely. It’s very preliminary and it’s really about safety for both the community and our youth as well.
Joseph Fourre, a former resident of The Pas and chairman of the Singing Red Bear Foundation, which is a not-for-profit group that is aimed at bringing awareness to the dangers of recreational drug use, presented the organization’s mission to the council. The foundation has established the No Thanks, I’m Good campaign to raise awareness of recreational drug use and the increasing risk of fentanyl poisoning.

Indigenous musician Norine Braun is no stranger to The Pas, for she has not only performed for the community before but also has familial ties to the area. Braun was musically inclined at an early age and became self-taught as the years went on.
“My mother said I sang before I talked,” said Braun. “I got my first guitar at age 10 and took only a year of lessons. I was a bit disappointed in my progress, so I just started to learn on my own at my own pace. I had an older brother who played guitar and he gave me some tips but basically, I am self-taught and play by ear.
“I wrote my first song at age 11. I first recorded demos as a songwriter and the early feedback was to record my songs as an artist with my first album released in 1996.

The Pas Helping Hands 4-H Club repainted the Pride Bridge thanks to the Swan Valley’s Communities in Full Colour Initiative.  This was the initiative’s first donation and the club felt it was fitting to pain the bridge as part of Pride Month.