Doug Zywina
Chamber hosts State of the District
The Parkland Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual State of the District address, Apr. 16, at the Watson Arts Centre.
The meeting was a chance for local municipalities and sponsors a chance to share what was happening in their respective districts.
Speakers included Greg Crisanti of Tim Hortons, Alexander Lavoie of Rural Manitoba Economic Development and Mike Csversko of Fusion Credit Union, as well as Charlene Gulak on behalf of Dauphin MLA Ron Kostyshyn, Jim Manchur, Reeve of the RM of Gilbert Plains, Lyle Morran, Mayor of
Grandview Municipality, Rm of Dauphin Reeve, Ernie Sirski and Robert Brunel, Mayor of the Municipality of Ste. Rose.
Chamber executive director Stephen Chychota said the event went well.
“It was a very full agenda, but we were able to get through it and make sure everyone had time to get back to work or do the networking thing after,” he said. “But it was very good. Really great presentations by the sponsors that were wanting to partner up on this. And then our four municipalities that were able to share some updates today. It was great to hear from them on the developments that they’re having, where things are headed in their municipalities. It just paints a really good picture for what’s happening in the region, which is what this program is all about.”
Summer games in dire need of volunteers
The 2024 Manitoba Summer Games, powered by Manitoba Hydro, are less than four months away, but they are in dire need of volunteers.
Games co-chair Carla Wolfenden said they really need people to start signing up.
“We are getting to be in the time where we’re getting a little worried. I know we’re a last-minute town, but with an event this size and with the sheer number of volunteers that we need, people have to sign up early,” she said. “All of our committees need to have their volunteers, their work force scheduled by the middle of May and as of right now, we are very, very short for volunteers.”
Wolfenden is not surprised people are waiting until the last minute and is confident they will meet the required number needed come August.
“But we need them all to sign up now. We really need to get people signed up. A lot of people say, ‘yeah, I’m going to volunteer.’ But we actually need them to register online, so that our committees can get them scheduled,” she said.
To register, visit the Sport Manitoba website and click on the Manitoba games link under the programs tab at the top of the page. Then simply scroll down and click on the link and fill in the form to register as a volunteer.
Or Google Manitoba Summer Games and it will take you to the summer games page.
“If people aren’t comfortable with doing it on their own, they can go to our games co-ordinator who works at city hall, as they can sign up there,” Wolfenden said, adding they will also have a booth at the Business Expo this weekend.
Other than a need for volunteers, planning for the games is going well.
We have an amazing crew of committee chairs that are paving the way for all the volunteers out there to put on a really good event. Everything is proceeding. We’re now into the really nitty gritty details of planning,” she said.
“Not so much big picture stuff. But now the small details that are going to make or break an event. But it’s going really, really well from that point of view.”
The resurfacing of the track at the high school is expected to begin soon. Other than that, the rest of the facilities just need some fine tuning.
“Just cleaning things up a little. Adding a few things here and there. Polishing. Making sure the soccer and rugby fields are weed free,” Wolfenden said. “We want to put on a good show and make our town look nice and our facilities are the main focus. So we’re looking forward to how they look come August.”
Some sports have already started their qualifying process, while others will take place in the coming months.
“Teams will start being finalized starting in May, again, depending on the sport. But some may not be in until mid-July,” Wolfenden said. “Hopefully, we have some local athletes representing. I know we have some local coaches and officials, but we really are excited to see some local athletes on those teams.”
The host committee will hold its last meeting with all of the provincial sport organizations represented, Apr. 26 and 27.
“Each committee is giving their, not quite final, but progress report on what’s going on and what still has to be done and what the plans are for each of their areas. So there will be 100 people here to hear some presentations,” Wolfenden said.
The Manitoba Summer Games will take place, Aug. 11 to 17.
Minor football program gets a boost from Blue Bombers
The newly-formed Parkland Minor Football Association is getting underway in Dauphin.
Last year, there was a group of players playing in an unofficial capacity, leading parents to start a formal minor football program.
“We wanted to improve the football here in Dauphin and get the kids started before high school, teaching them the fundamentals and basics of football. So that when they’re in Grade 9 and entering high school, they know the jist of it and can become better and stronger players,” said program co-ordinator Shannon Genaille.
The program is for students in Grades 5 to 8. Although there is a registration deadline of Apr. 17, Genaille said they will accept students beyond that date.
“It’s going to be a short season, because we’re done at the end of May. We play against teams from Saskatchewan right now. So we’ll take kids as long as anybody enters. And then we would adjust the registration fees, this year only,” she said. “Just trying to get more kids interested and involved. Boys and girls.”
Practices will be held, Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Kin Field at the Vermillion Park Sportsplex.
“They’re going to be at the rugby field this year because of the Manitoba Summer Games,” Genaille said.
Read more in this week's Dauphin Herald!
Clippers teams looking to repeat as WHSR champions
The Dauphin Clippers will look to repeat as Westman High School Rugby champions in both the boys and girls divisions, while the girls will also look for their second straight provincial title.
The two teams began working out in February whenever they could get time in the gym. Practices ramped up to twice a week, two weeks ago.
Coach Shawn Sarkonak said both teams are excited to get back on the pitch.
Check out this week's Dauphin Herald for the full story.
AA softball program begins in the Parkland
Girls wishing to play softball this year can do so thanks to the newly-formed Parkland Power AA Softball program.
Program co-ordinator Steven Hopfner said the program will include U11, U13, U15 and U17 age groups.
“Whoever is playing softball in the Parkland can tryout for the AA teams,” he added.
“The communities will range form McCreary, Ste. Rose, Dauphin, Russell, Roblin, Swan River and everywhere in between.”
Get the full story in this week's Dauphin Herald.
Kings and Blizzard are heading to a game seven showdown
The Dauphin Kings and Blizzard Jr. A Hockey Club are going the distance in their best-of-seven quarterfinal series.
Cayden Glover’s goal 10:46 into the fifth overtime period lifted the Dauphin Kings to a 3-2 victory over the Blizzard in game six, Monday in Dauphin.
After taking a two-games-to-none lead, the Kings saw their first-round opponent capitalize on some breaks to score three straight victories.
The Blizzard got back into the series with a 5-3 win in game three, Mar. 26, in The Pas.
Miguel Bouvier’s goal 4:34 into double overtime, Mar. 28, in Dauphin, evened the series at two games apiece.
The Blizzard then took the series lead with a 3-2 win in game five, Mar. 30, in The Pas, setting the stage for what turned into an epic battle between two evenly-matched teams.
Following Monday’s game six victory, Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said was proud of how hard the team worked.
“And (goaltender Cole Sheffield) Sheff, outstanding. Both goaltenders were outstanding,” he said.
Sheffield finished with 71 saves, while his Blizzard counterpart Tomas Anderson made 61 stops.
Hedley said the Blizzard got a few breaks which allowed them to take the series lead after five games.
With the Blizzard leading 4-3 late in game three, the Kings hit a couple of goal posts before the Blizzard sealed the win with an empty-net marker.
“Come back here and they win in double overtime. And then going back up there, it was a real tight game. I really liked the way we pushed back up there. We got outplayed the first period and we didn’t get off to a great start. We got down 2-0, but came back and made it a game. We outplayed them in the last 40,” Hedley said. “Both teams are so evenly matched.”
The pushback continued in game six with the Blizzard twice taking a one-goal lead only for the Kings to come back to tie it, with Alex Senf’s goal with 54 seconds remaining in regulation forcing the issue to go into overtime.
Both teams had quality chances in each of the overtime periods, but Sheffield and Anderson were equal to the task until Glover threw the puck at the net and it eluded Anderson sending what was left of the 1,041 fans in attendance home happy.
“I just can’t say enough about our pushback and our never quitting. Never giving up. This could be a galvanizing moment for us. We were talking in the room about how this could be the start of the journey, not the end,” Hedley said. “We found a way to get it done. We believed. (Sunday) we met and the whole room believed that we could find a way to get this done. Now they’re going back, getting home late. They’ve got to make two trips to our one.”
The key to success in game seven will be to keep things simple, Hedley said.
“Just like what we’ve been doing. We were relieving pressure by rimming pucks. We’ve been hitting, sticking and pinning the whole time. A lot better low in the D zone,” he said. “They had some opportunities, but we had some good opportunities, too. In fact, I thought it was over about three times, with (Jordan) Bax with an empty net, Zalischuk an empty net on rebounds and Glover walks in on a breakaway. Both goaltenders played well. You’ve got to give both teams credit for working hard and never quitting.”
Game seven will go, Wednesday in The Pas at 7 p.m.
Williamson helps Cougars qualify for FISU worlds
A Dauphin curler has earned a spot at the International University Sports Federation world games, in Torino, Italy, Jan. 13 to 23, 2025.
Carter Williamson, helped his University of Regina Cougars team qualify for nationals at the Canada West championships, with six teams competing for one of two spots at nationals.
The event was a round-robin format with each team playing five games, with the top two teams advancing to nationals, which were held in Frederiction, NB, Mar. 12 to 16.
The Cougars, which consists of skip Joshua Bryden, third Adam Bukurak, lead Ryan Grabarczyk and fifth Ayden Whittmire, drew the top-ranked University of Alberta Golden Bears on the first day of the competition, losing 7-6 in 10 ends.
It was Regina’s only loss of the round-robin event, with Williamson stating the team went on a winning streak after their loss to the Golden Bears.
“We ended that weekend with pretty high spirits,” he said.
At nationals, the Cougars finished the round-robin with a 4-3 record, qualifying for playoffs, where they got as measure of revenge against the Golden Bears, beating them 7-5 in the semifinals.
The Golden Bears had finished first after the round-robin, with a 6-1 record.
In the final, the Cougars beat Dalhousie University, 8-5, to claim the national title and earn a berth at worlds, next January.
Winning nationals, Williamson said, means everything to him.
“It’s the reason why we curl, is to be called Team Canada one day. It’s the reason my mom and I drove how many hours looking through the windshield just to go to some curling rink in the middle of nowhere just to watch me get absolutely killed out there,” he said. “It’s why we train. It’s why we’re out on the ice every day. All my teammates love the game. So do I. And we’re racing each other to the rink every day it feels like. It’s pretty special.”
The worlds, Williamson said, are basically the university Olympic games. He is looking forward to the trip and so is his mom Jody Romanow, who he said is already looking at flights to book.
Given how well Canada does on the international stage, Williamson is confident in the team’s chances, but he also recognizes that there will also be some pressure on the team to do well.
“It’s a double edged sword, too. Everyone is going to be looking towards us, like, ‘oh that’s Team Canada.’ I curl with Josh and Adam in men’s and we just go there to have fun. That’s really all we do. We show up and we give it our all, but we do it with a smile on our face,” he said. “It really doesn’t matter who we’re playing, when we’re playing at all. It’s all the same four guys out there on the ice.”
Spud Pub a labour of love for Puchailo and friends
A former Parkland resident has entered the world of publishing.
Chenise Puchailo joined forces with some friends who were writing short stories, which became Debut, the first book published by Spud Pub, an independent publishing company the group started.
“Everybody was writing their first drafts for submission. We had everything kind of hammered out,” she said, adding they were trying to decide how to get the book published.
Puchailo had met a publisher with At Bay Press at a fantasy sci-fi convention in Winnipeg. What followed was a two-hour conversation all about publishing and the ins and outs about it.
“Initially, my questions were about distribution, because we were just going to do the one print run or do it on Amazon,” she said.
Check out the full story in this week's Herald!
Chamber lunch marks membership milestones
The Parkland Chamber of Commerce hosted its appreciation lunch, Mar. 19, at the Watson Arts Centre.
The Chamber handed out its milestone achievement awards, recognizing membership tenures of five to 50 years.
Five years - Business Development Bank of Canada, Dawson Logistics Ltd., Duane McMaster CPA Inc., Gilbert Plains Municipality, Grandview Pharmacy, Habitat for Humanity Dauphin Chapter, Hot Shot Entertainment, Liquid Glamour, Mountain View School Division, SciMar Ltd., and Wiebe Building Solutions Ltd.
10 years - Magnetsigns Dauphin, Momotiuk Enterprises Ltd., Mullen Contracting Corp., Parkland Campus Kids Inc., RM of Lakeshore and Winnipegosis and District Residential Services Inc.
15 years - Boulevard Hotel, Dauphin Bible Camp, Dauphin Magical Horizons Daycare, Dauphin Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, Lorray Manor, (Parkland Living Assisted) McDonalds, Nolan Farms, Seitter’s Construction, SYNC CPA Inc., and Tim-Br-Fab Industries.
20 years - Strilkiwski Contracting Ltd., and St. George’s Place.
25 years - Canadian Tire, Norwex Canada Inc., and Dauphin Lions Club.
30 years - Ready Mix of Dauphin TYM Ltd., and Dauphin’s Countryfest.
35 years - Irwin Law Office, Dauphin Chiropractic Centre and Baker Computers.
40 years - Steiner Plumbing and Heating Inc., Manitoba Public Insurance, Assiniboine Community College - Parkland Campus and Cruise Farms.
50 years - Fusion Credit Union, Dauphin Medical Clinic Inc., and Watson Arts Centre.
The next event hosted by the Parkland Chamber of Commerce will be the State of the District luncheon, Apr. 16.
Sheffield steals game one, Schmidt OT hero in game two
The Dauphin Kings are halfway to the semifinals in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League playoffs.
The Kings rode a 46-save performance from Cole Sheffield to a 2-1 victory over the Blizzard Jr. A Hockey Club in game one, Friday in The Pas.
Joshua Schmidt was the overtime hero, beating Blizzard goaltender Tomas Anderson through the five-hole, 6:21 into the extra period to lift the Kings to a 5-4 win and a two-games-to-none lead in the best-of-seven quarterfinal series.
Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley, who missed game one due to illness, credited Sheffield for stealing the game with his performance.
“The biggest thing is we weathered the storm up there. And Sheff stole the game. Let’s face it, Sheffield stole the game for us,” he said. “They had pressure after pressure. But the good thing about up there is that we kept them to the perimeter. They only had 12 prime scoring shot areas and they usually have more than that on us the last couple times we played them.”
After the Kings took a 2-0 lead after the first period, the Blizzard outshot Dauphin, 39-7 in the final 40 minutes. That was when Sheffield took the spotlight, stopping all but one of those shots.
In game two, the Kings, playing with just five defencemen, were able to relieve a lot of pressure by getting pucks out of the zone and moving it as quickly as they could.
“And taking advantage of mistakes on the rush. Their D-men are always pressuring their five-man unit down low, so if we can get in behind them and get pucks in behind them, then we end up with two-on-ones,” Hedley said. “But the biggest thing is we had to relieve pressure and I thought our guys did a hell of a job tonight.”
Forward Jordan Bax also missed game one due to illness, while defenceman Brett Magarrell is day-to-day with an upper body injury and may return for game three, tonight in The Pas.
Defenceman Charlie Sandven is likely out for the remainder of the playoffs after contracting mono.
Schmidt, forward Rylan Gibbs and defenceman Ty Pratte also missed some practices due to illness.
“We went up there with a few guys at about 80 per cent, 75 per cent, found a way to get it done and it was just a good follow up today, that’s for sure,” Hedley said.
Schmidt and Carter Zalischuk, who opened the scoring in game two, are examples of the team effort needed to be successful in the playoffs, Hedley said.
“That’s what playoffs are for. It’s for the guys in the bottom of the order. The bottom of your order are the guys that are going to get it done, because you’ve got to play everybody,” he said. “You have to deposit energy into the bank and you’re going to use it in game five, six, seven, depends on how long it goes.”
Madden Murray and Rylan Gage were both outstanding, Hedley said and Zalischuk played his best hockey of the season in the last two games.
“Since we put him back in the middle, that 200-foot game, he’s been outstanding. The energy level, the work ethic, that’s what he brings. He brings energy, he finishes checks and he kills penalties like a trooper,” he said.
Game three gets underway tonight in The Pas at 7 p.m., while game four will go Thursday in Dauphin at 7:30 p.m.
Despite having the series lead after two games, Hedley knows the series is far from over.
“Every game is as important as the last one. We do enjoy today and get back to work tomorrow,” he said. “It’s great we won at home, but there’s still a lot of work to do. This team is not going to go anywhere. They’re too good of a team to do that. Their goaltender is too good to do that. So it’s a matter of us coming back with a good solid effort and, hopefully, take the next step.”
Game five, if necessary, will go Saturday in The Pas at 7:30 p.m., while game six, if needed in Monday in Dauphin at 7:30 p.m.