The Town of the Pas held their council meeting on February 12, in council chambers. Val Berscheid, President of the Opasquia Agricultural Society did a presentation on the organization’s activities and goals for the future of their event. Their mission is to provide agricultural events for the community.
In 2012, the Opasquia Ag Society built the 500-seat grandstand that cost approximately $200,000. The Town of The Pas was the first investor and then others followed. In 2018, opened their RV Park with 20 sites, that included water, electricity and 30-amp service. It’s been fairly busy and there have been long term stays booked as well.
Last year, the Opasquia Ag Society upgraded the track. Before, If it rained, the events would be cancelled, and originally the track was built on the railbed, so rocks come up and people had to pick the rocks off the track every year. Initially, they had just enough money to do a little bit of the track, but Strilkiwski Construction gave them enough to do the whole track. Now it is an all-weather track that allows the events to happen rain or shine.

After losing two of their previous three games, the Dauphin Kings rebounded in a big way.

After killing off a four-minute power-play early, the Kings came back with a solid effort in scoring a 3-2 victory over the league-leading Steinbach Pistons, Friday in Dauphin.

The next night, six different players found the back of the net, including Alex Senf scoring what has become known as a Michigan goal, in a 6-1 win over the Swan Valley Stampeders, in Swan River.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley liked the team’s work ethic against the Pistons.

“We were hard on pucks. We were relentless in the D zone. Our battles in the corners, they got better as the game went on and we started winning stick battles,” he said, adding the Kings limited Steinbach’s opportunities in front of the net. “They’re a team that really goes to the net and funnels and makes short plays. In fact the play they got to tie the game was a small play in front of the net that they go to hard,” he said. “So I thought overall, our game was good. And then we found a way to rebound, get a goal and really shut it down.”

Just seven seconds into the game, defenceman Karson Raymond was assessed a double minor for high sticking, but the Kings were able to kill off Steinbach’s four-minute power play.

“It’s always tough on a team at the start of a game because you’re not into your rhythm and timing. So if you’re going to be down four minutes, I guess that’s one of the better times to be shorthanded,” Hedley said. “But that was a big kill by our penalty kill units. They did a great job all weekend.”

It took the offence a while to get going on Saturday in Swan River.

After skating to a 1-1 tie after the first period, Dauphin’s offence exploded for four goals in the middle frame, including a highlight reel “Michigan” goal by Alex Senf.

With the Stampeders out of playoff contention, Hedley said it is always tough when playing a team that is loose.

“They want to go out and play for next year. So they’re playing loose, their sticks are loose and they’re working hard. In the first period, we started okay, we just didn’t finish real strong in the first and then got better in the second,” he said, adding the team’s work ethic took over in the latter stages of the game. According to Hedley, the players were all jumping up and down when Senf scored his goal.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen it live. But good for Senfy. It’s a tough thing to do and definitely not easy or a lot more people would do it,” he said. “But he had time. There wasn’t a lot of pressure behind the net, so he had some time and kind of surprised everybody.”

The Kings are home to the Stampeders, tonight, before heading out on the road, Friday, to play the Terriers in Portage.

On Saturday, the Kings are back home to host the Niverville Nighthawks, who recently fired their first-ever head coach and general manager Kelvin Cech.

All three games begin at 7:30 p.m.

Hedley is looking for more of the same kind of effort in the three contests.

“We’ve just got to focus on what we do and our good habits and stay consistent and try to keep that work ethic, that compete level and be hard on pucks up. It doesn’t matter regardless of who we’re playing, we’re focusing on what we do and where we’re going. That’s the key to our success, is the consistency and the work ethic,” he said.

The Parkland Rangers are left to play for next year after they were officially eliminated from playoff contention over the weekend.

The Rangers hosted the Winnipeg Bruins in a weekend twinbill at Credit Union Place, losing both games, 4-1, Saturday, and 6-0 on Sunday.

With little left to play for, Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot said the players are now playing for pride, with an eye on the future, as well.

“They’re playing for the unconditional support that they got from their families over the last many years,” he said.

Sunday’s game featured several oddman rushes for the Bruins, which resulted in several goals.

“This particular game there was just far too many oddman attacks. I think they had three or four three-on-0s, one four-on-one and then you add up all the other two-on-ones,” Carefoot said.

Although the playoffs are now out of the question, there is still something to play for in the final three games of the season.

“If they aspire to play higher levels of hockey, there’s always somebody watching. But most importantly, as young men, think about the dedication and the commitment you’ve had for the program and, over and above that, the unconditional support that they got from their families,” Carefoot said. “That’s what it’s about. It’s a very hard league to play in, which is very evident. I’ve always said that I respected the grind for the kids from out of town. And I believe in the program. But in saying that, there needs to be some self-reflection from players that you can’t wait for someone else to do your job. You’ve got to go out and do it yourself.”

The Rangers end the season with three games on the road.

On Wednesday, they are in Brandon to face the league-leading Wheat Kings, who have yet to lose in regulation this season with an overtime loss the only blemish on their 40-0-1-0 record.

On the weekend, Parkland are in Beausejour to play the Eastman Selects, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

The decline in calls for service when comparing the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2023 is to be expected, RCMP Staff-Sgt. Scott Linklater told Dauphin city councillors as he updated them on police activities, last week.

As part of his presentation during council’s regular meeting, Feb. 12, Linklater said total calls for service at the local detachment during the period covering Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, was 1,261 compared to 1,740 during the previous quarter, a drop of 28 per cent.

“This is typical. In summertime most people are out there moving around and as cooler months start settling in people stay in and are a little bit quieter,” he said. “So this is a normal trend that we see.”

In fact, decreases were seen across all statistical categories, Linklater said. From October to December, there were 96 reports of offenses against people compared to 129 the previous quarter, a drop of 26 per cent. Total property offenses in the fourth quarter came in at 254 compared to 260, a decrease of two per cent while enforcement of provincial statutes for the fourth quarter was 179 compared to 227 from July to September, a drop of 22 per cent. Criminal Code charges classified under the “other” heading totalled 139 in the fourth quarter compared to 177 the previous quarter, a decrease of 21 per cent.

Call to assist the public in other types of files amounted 251, down 14 per cent from the 293 in the previous quarter, while prisoners held during the last quarter totalled 102, down from 136 over the summer.

“Out of RCMP West District, which includes Portage to the Saskatchewan border and from the US border all the way up to and including Swan River, we tend to be one of the busiest detachments in that area,” Linklater told councillors. “Our busiest month was November, where we had 46 total files per member and the average for the whole district was 26. So it’s almost twice as much. Our members do a lot of work and carry a big workload, but they get the job done.”

Traffic enforcement in the area has scaled up, Linklater added, and has resulted in the seizure of more guns and drugs than normal as criminals passing through the area are targetted.

From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, police recovered four illegal firearms and seized 432 grams of cocaine, 4-1/2 grams of methamphetamine and 118 grams of Psilocybin (magic mushrooms). Gun seizures included three long guns, two of which were sawed off and one handgun.

“That is all due to the proactive efforts of our members going out there and doing traffic enforcement and actually using the laws available to interdict these things,” Linklater said.

Traffic enforcement in the fourth quarter also saw 340 traffic infractions with 248 tickets issued. Police laid three charges for impaired operation of a vehicle, two charges of refusing to provide a breath sample and six other Criminal Code related traffic offenses. There were 34 collisions during the period, 30 of which were reportable for property damage.

“I think overall we’re doing well,” Linklater said, adding he has recently heard comments that Dauphin is a dangerous city. “I don’t think we are. I don’t think we’re any more dangerous than any other city in Canada. We do have violence like every other community, but most of the violence that we’re dealing with, it’s people that are known to each other. There’s not a lot of just random violence."

Property offenses are a different story, he added, as it seems people are willing to pick up anything that is not nailed down. Phone scams are also on the rise, he said.

“We’ve had several of them over the last few months where I think victims have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s amazing how much people are losing and that’s only what’s been reported. There’s a lot that doesn’t get reported because people are embarrassed,” Linklater said.

When it comes to staffing, the chronic shortages that have plagued the local detachment, along with many detachments across the country, are starting to subside.

In fact, there are four corporals, all active duty, working out the local detachment, one over the normal allotment. And while the detachment is supposed to have 18 constables, there are two soft vacancies with people away on leave and two open positions, which should be filled by early summer.

Finally, with Linklater’s recent promotion, a new sergeant has been identified to replace him and should be in place sometime this coming summer.

“So our staffing situation looks really well. We have a good blend of members who are proactive and out in the community,” Linklater said.

The Manitoba Metis Federation celebrated Louis Riel Day at the Elbert Chartrand Friendship Centre yesterday (Feb. 19). Traditional displays included animal pelts and trapping equipment and those were accompanied by games and crafts for youth. The event also offered a traditional feast.

Dauphin’s retail landscape is about to fill out a little more as Shoppers Drug Mart Ltd. has taken out a City of Dauphin building permit to construct a new store.

The store, planned for the former Village Mall location at 1430 Main Street South, will be approximately 15,000 square feet in size and employ up to 30 people. Construction costs are estimated at $2.45 million.

While not commenting specifically on the Shoppers Drug Mart project, mayor David Bosiak said retail developments are vital for the future of the community.

“Any kind of development that increases assessment is strategically important for our community, because it’s the only way that we can grow. And when I say grow, I mean grow sustainably. I’m not reaching for double digit growth like some of the communities around the southeast corner of the province have experienced and the challenges that come with that,” Bosiak said, adding that by making Dauphin a great place to live, work and raise a family, growth will follow. I believe that our council has a very strategic opinion on how we can grow sustainably, having wonderful community culture, by creating an environment of willingness to work together and to work on projects and the partnerships that we have coming down the road.”

Among those partnerships are the ones the City has with Pine Creek and Ebb and Flow First Nations with which they are currently involved in an addition to reserve process.

“We’re not chasing the big factories, we’re not chasing sort of low paid, under skilled workers. We’re chasing community builders. People who want to come and stay in our community,” Bosiak said, adding he has made a point of interacting with newcomers to the community to get a sense of how things are going. “And most of them seem pretty positive about the community and what they can get here. We’re close enough to Winnipeg and a big airport, but it’s a stable quality of life with, I’d like to believe good leadership, both administration and at city hall, with the right kind of initiatives coming out the other end.”

As a way of facilitating the Shoppers development, and at the same time sending a message out into the world that Dauphin is open for business, a special incentive package was developed by the Economic Development department to secure the development.

The package, valued at up to $50,000 includes:
• A rebate on water and sewer hook-up costs up to $25,000, conditional to the City performing the work. Payment would take place after construction has been completed and all bills are paid. Value: $25,000
• A 50 per cent rebate on dumping fees for the demolition waste from taking up the existing concrete slab brought to the City’s landfill site. Again payment would take place after construction has been completed and all bills are paid. Value: $5,000
• A 25 per cent rebate on the first two years of the net difference in the municipal portion of property taxes between the current assessment and the newly-assessed value of the property after completion. Value: $20,000.

Construction of the new store is expected to begin this spring, as soon as conditions allow.

Incentives such as this, tailor made to a specific project is quite likely the way of the future, Bosiak said.

“We have a couple of different kinds of incentives, but we also understand that one glove doesn’t fit everyone’s hand. So if we want to ensure that we’re responsive and that when we get into discussions or negotiations that the other entity or partner or proponent will understand that we can work with them,” he said. “So that if others want to come here, they know that they will get fair and equitable treatment.”

But, Bosiak added, there is only so much a municipality can provide to anyone and council and city administrators are acutely aware about not making promises that can not be delivered.

“It doesn’t quite happen and then, oops what do we do now?” he said. "So tailor made is probably a great way to describe how we want to move forward.”

The board of directors of Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) is pleased to announce that Treena Slate has accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Slate will assume the role from Brian Schoonbaert, who will retire effective April 5, 2024.

Read all about it in this week’s issue.

For anyone who likes to tour across Manitoba, there are several small diners and drive-ins that provide excellent food and receive rave reviews online. Former San Clara resident Rick Larocque’s La Rocque Dining in Wawanesa has definitely received some praise and attention for their food and has been appearing on lots of tourism social media pages as a place one must visit.

Posts about La Rocque Dining have averaged just under 400 likes and 50 comments. Their Facebook page has 5,900 likes and 6,500 followers.

Read the rest of the story in this week’s Review.

Municipality of Roblin council has approved new rates for fire protection and rescue services.

The rates were adopted at its first regular council meeting of 2024 held Jan. 9.

Find out more in this week’s MOR council briefs.

The second annual Roblin Nursery School Coed Volleyball Tournament Fundraiser happened on Feb. 9 at Goose Lake High.

There were six teams competing this year, up one from last year.

More in this issue.