It was not the colour they were hoping for, but both of Dauphin’s high school rugby teams came home from this weekend’s provincials with medals.

With no Winnipeg teams entered in the provincial tournament, the Westman High School Rugby League finalists earned an automatic berth into the championship game, which again pitted the Dauphin Clippers against the league champion Rivers Rams.

The Rams came away with a 34-14 win and the provincial title.

Clippers coach Aaron Miner said the Clippers, which was limited to only 15 players, played their hearts out.

Get the full rundown in this week's Dauphin Herald!

Dauphin native Will Hlady has taken his baseball career to the next level.

After finishing his college career with the Valley City State University Vikings, Hlady signed with the Tucson Saguaros of the Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs, an independent league with teams in California, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Texas.

Hlady was heading to a Vikings practice when he received a phone call inviting him to a tryout in California, which resulted in his signing with the Saguaros. Hlady made his professional debut, June 4, earning the win in a 15-4 victory over the California-based Martinez Sturgeon. Hlady pitched five innings, allowing four hits, four runs of which only one was earned, while walking four and striking out seven. Hlady helped his own cause going two-for-two at the plate, with a walk and four runs-batted-in.

It was the first time in five years Hlady stepped to the plate, which, he said, made things interesting.

“Guys throw a little bit harder than what I’m used to seeing from playing back in high school. So it was a little bit of an adjustment, but it worked out well for me in my favour,” he said.

There is a period of adjustment, Hlady said, because the ball moves quicker and players are bigger and stronger and have more experience.

“Obviously, the guys that are here are here for a reason. They can all play at the next level. So it’s a little more competitive, I feel, and there’s a lot more consistency from players,” he said. “The guys that are coming up hit more frequently. Guys are making plays more frequently. There’s a lot more professionalism to it, as well, with showing up on time, being there before games and taking care of yourself.”

The biggest adjustment for Hlady is learning to hit his spots when he is pitching.

“Because guys will be able to hit the ball over the fence quite easily here. And I’ve seen that from our team firsthand and from other teams we’ve played against so far,” he said.

Hlady feels he has matured on the mound throughout his college career and he is able to control his offspeed pitches and fastball better.

“And just sticking with it and not being too frustrated when things don’t go my way,” he added.

Tucson is the two-time defending champions in the Pecos League and the goal, obviously, is to win a third straight championship.

“Which seems very doable with the way we’re playing right now,” Hlady said of the 8-2 Saguaros.

As for his own goals, Hlady hopes to improve enough to take his skills to the next professional level.

Pecos teams play in cities that do not have major or minor league baseball teams and they are not affiliated with either. The Pecos League has a 22-man roster with no designated hitter used in games. Each team roster has eight experienced players and 13 rookies.

The Pecos League regular season runs through the middle of the summer from June 1 to Aug. 5.

Assiniboine Community College Parkland Campus celebrated its Class of 2022, Friday with a graduation ceremony in Dauphin.

This year’s Class of 2022 consists of 43 graduates.

Business administration: Human Resource Management diploma - Carley Coulter, Claire Gingera, Campbell Orvis, Ashley Poynting and Jessica Zurba.

Comprehensive Health Care Aide certificate - Tyra-Jane Delaurier, Wynona Guiboche, Noeline Muoneme and Madison Stratuliak.

Early Childhood Education diploma - Julia Bluhm, Carlee Farrow, Chloe Genaille, Faith McLaughlin, Britteny Sinclair, Amber Tkachyk and Aminay Yusuf.

Mature Student High School diploma - Carly Blady, Don Geriko Estanislao, Maxwell Genaille, Michelle Gouldsborough, Niki Guiboche, Sebastian Keewatin, Dustin McKay, Skyla McKay, Anna-Maria Ogg, Amanda Pangman, Kylie Paterson, Karen Renshaw and Mathew Walls-Orosz.

Office Skills certificate - Singh Harpreet and Nicole Sutherland.

Youth Employment Skills Certificate of Achievement - Denee Baptiste, Robert Baron, Angel Bull, Johnny Campbell, Shaydon Davis, Brody Denbow, Wynona Guiboche, Kennedy Ironstand, Edina Malcolm, Hope Roulette and Taylor Vier.

Karen Renshaw, a graduate of the Mature Student High School program was valedictorian.

As a mature student, Renshaw and her peers viewed life experience as an incredible asset to supplement the learning that took place in their time at ACC.

In her speech, she thanked everyone who attended the ceremony, noting it is the first time since 2019 that graduates have been able to celebrate with family friends and faculty members.

“This has been a wonderfully amazing year for adult learners, the challenges that came with a decision to improve the quality of our lives. Congratulations to you,” she added.

Renshaw also thanked the teachers, staff and Elders for the high standard of education they provided to students. Noting ACC is part of Treaty 2, she said it is because of the land they were all able to meet together over the last few years to improve themselves as a community.
Renshaw poked fun at herself during her speech.

“Returning to school at the ripe old age of 54 has been a journey. Next year, I can order from the seniors menu at Smitty’s,” she joked. “You know you are older than your teachers when they would ask, ‘hey, Karen, do you remember when?’ I would answer with, ‘man, you are lucky I remembered pants’.”

Renshaw admitted she was shocked to learn she was valedictorian, as well as honoured and amazed.

“After a couple of days, it came to me no one else applied,” she joked.

It took Renshaw a few tries to come up with a speech. Her first attempt, she said, was a reference to mountain climbing.

“Heck, I can’t even climb three flights of stairs. Thank God ACC is all one level,” she joked.

Her second attempt was about how we survived COVID, Zoom classes, masks, a winter storm in April, late night studies and cramming for last minute essays. She finally decided to write her speech the way they had lived the past eight months, by the seat of their prayers.

“Thank you, Lord/Creator, our higher power for guiding us to make a change. Thank you for putting these amazing people on our path for a better future. Thank you mostly for helping us make the grade. Amen,” she said.

On behalf of her fellow graduates, Renshaw thanked family members for their support, encouragement and for joining the graduates on their special day. She also thanked her classmates to teaching her so much.

“Your kindness will always be close to my heart. You folks are top notch. You will shine bright in your careers and lives,” she said. “The knowledge we have acquired will remain with us for the rest of our lives and we are grateful for that.”

Following the ceremony, graduates, family and friends enjoyed a barbecue meal.

There is officially a race to become Dauphin’s new mayor as local businessman and community advocate David Bosiak registered as a candidate yesterday.

For Bosiak, the motivation for letting his name stand was simple, to ensure the progress he has seen in the community over the last number of years continues.

“We were on pause for two years with COVID and I think that the city right now has an opportunity to continue on in a forward direction or be diverted or distracted by what I would call minor issues,” Bosiak said. “And so I just want to assist in moving us forward in a method that has sort of been my process my whole career. Working with other people.”

To illustrate the effectiveness of a collaborative approach, Bosiak points to the restructuring of recreation delivery in the early 1990s and the formation of the Dauphin Joint Recreation Commission which brought together several groups which had never officially worked together in the past.

Baseball advocates wanted new fields, soccer advocates wanted new pitches, proponents of hockey wanted a new arena and swimmers wanted a new pool.

“Our strategy was let’s get people together. We have to hear what their priorities are. Because before that people had priorities, but they were never collectively shared and then prioritized,” he said, adding a community roundtable discussion brought together 50 or 60 groups, each with an opportunity to express their wants and desires.

The process resulted in a list of community priorities which were worked on by everyone.

“We held everyone accountable by saying if this is priority one for us as a community we’ll all work on priority one. And if it gets accomplished then we just won’t go away, we will then work on priority two, three, four,” he said, adding he recently looked at some old notes from that time. “We listed 20 priorities, which is a lot at any given time for sure,” he said, citing a new arena, a new curling rink, a new pool, new sports fields, new soccer pitches and new walking trails and bike paths as being all in the top 10.

“When I looked at that list a couple weeks ago, we achieved everything. Not at once and not immediately, but up to 20 community priorities from 1993, they’ve all been achieved, they exist today. And mostly because nobody ran away after their priority got completed.

“Obviously completing the project is a priority, but it’s how you get it completed.”

It is all about what is good for the community, he continued, recalling a conversation with an older resident during the time when the push was on to develop the Parkland Recreation Complex.

“He said, “I don’t swim, I don’t curl. I’m an old guy, I’m 75, 80 years old. But if this means my kids will come home more often to visit me, I’m in favor of it. It’s good for us as a community’,” Bosiak said. “That just was such a message to me . . . you may not be the primary consumer or user of that service, but if it benefits the general sense of community it’s good.

Read the FULL STORY in this week's Dauphin Herald!

There seems to be an unwritten rule somewhere saying that at least one of the events of the Russell Lions Prairie Classic Walleye Tournament must involve rain.  This year, the rain came during the boat parade but it didn’t seem to dampen spirits of the kids collecting the candy thrown from entrants.  Both the Saturday and Sunday of the derby saw sunny skies and calm conditions for the 105 teams out on Lake of the Prairies.

The community of Inglis and the Inglis Grain Elevators are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.

And to commemorate this historic milestone, the Inglis Area Heritage Committee is hosting a big celebration in conjunction with its usual Canada Day party.

Get all the info in this week's Roblin Review!

Roblin Forest Products (RFP) has promoted one of their managers to be their new General Manager.

Carley Coulter has been working at Roblin Forest Products for some time now while completing her post-secondary studies.

Check this week's Roblin Review for more details!

Stephen Jaddock is preparing to step into the role as the new superintendent/CEO of  Mountain View School  Division.

The current assistant superintendent has been hired  to take over from Dan Ward when he leaves the division  at  the end of the month.

Get more in this week's Roblin Review. 

One can only dream about being recognized on a prestigious level for their work, but for former Valley resident, Dr. Evan Eichler, it’s become a reality he never imagined. Dr. Eichler has been named as one of Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People of 2022. His work and study on the human genome has been groundbreaking and led to his team being selected.
Dr. Eichler’s education has taken him all over the world and resulted in him studying in some of the most outstanding universities in his field.
“I went to the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, Sask, from 1986 to 1990, where I got an Honors B.Sc Degree in Biology,” said Dr. Eichler. “After a post-back year at the Ludwig-Maximillians University (LMU) in Munich, Germany, I was accepted to the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), in Houston, Texas. Here I received my Ph.D. after four years of study in 1995 in the field of Human and Molecular Genetics.”
Dr. Eichler’s field of genome sciences is a fascinating one. He focuses on what's in a person’s genetics as it refers to genetic disease.
“Genome sciences is the study of the complete genetic instructions of a species,” said Dr. Eichler. “In the case of humans, it is essentially human genetics, but starts by having the complete set of instructions and then using it and new technology which is often referred to as genomics technology to understand biology and the basis of genetic disease.”
His extensive study and research began in Germany and has continued on throughout his career. Dr. Eichler’s work has placed him in many different universities across North America.
“In Germany, I interned in Molecular Veterinary Medicine and at Baylor, I worked on human genetics,” said Dr. Eichler. “My specific work at BCM involved understanding the genetic susceptibility to Fragile X Syndrome, which is a form of developmental delay due to an unstable piece of repetitive DNA on the X chromosome.
“After finishing my Ph.D., I moved to the Livermore National Labs in California, where I completed a postdoctoral fellowship from 1995 to 1997. It was here where I began some of my work on the Human Genome Project. I received offers for faculty positions from the University of Toronto, University of Ottawa and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). I accepted a position as an assistant professor in the Department of Human Genetics at CWRU in Cleveland, Ohio, where I started my research lab in 1997.
“I continued my work on the Human Genome Project with a specific focus on characterizing unstable regions of our genome,” said Dr. Eichler. “I was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 2003 and offered a faculty position in the Department of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington, in Seattle, Wash., in 2004. I was promoted to full professor with tenure in 2008 and the National Academy of Sciences in 2013.”
Dr. Eichler received the honour of being appointed to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) for his work on genome science. This is another outstanding achievement and recognition that comes with an incredible source of funding to do research.
“After I arrived at the University of Washington, Seattle, I was nominated by the University for this honour and was appointed in 2005 to the HHMI. HHMI is a virtual position, which does not require a change of universities, but it has the advantage that it pays your salary and gives you a research budget of approximately $750,000 million per year to pursue research.
“The position involves doing everything that a professor does. This includes running a research laboratory in size from 15 to 20 people; teaching classes; mentoring students and working with them to help get their Ph.D.; considerable travel giving lectures and seminars as well as serving on university and national committees."
Dr. Eichler’s research program is dedicated to understanding human genetic disease in relation to the human genome.
“My research program is focused on understanding the mutation of large repeats called segmental duplications,” said Dr. Eichler. “Our hypothesis is simple; we believe these repetitive regions contribute disproportionately to both human genetic disease and human evolution. We’ve shown over the last few years that many forms of autism, developmental delay and epilepsy are caused by mutation of these regions.
“On the flip side, some of the genes that make us uniquely human correspond to these same regions. Since the original Human Genome Project, back in 2001, our laboratory has been focused on finishing these regions, because we believe they are critical to understanding our species and genetic disease. These were however particularly difficult regions to accurately resolve. Most scientists left these and other regions, which is about eight percent of our genetic code, unresolved back in 2004.
“New sequencing technologies made it possible for us to sequence and assemble these for the first time in 2015,” said Dr. Eichler. “For the last 20 years, we have been working to finish all of these regions in the human genome, which we successfully did with a large team last year. The papers were published in April 2022 and we completed every human chromosome from telomere-to-telomere, from one end to the other without gaps. That’s why the project was called the T2T consortium.”
Being recommended for Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022 has been both an extreme honour and mystery for Dr. Eichler. He was nominated along with his team for their work, but to this date, they still aren’t sure just who exactly recommended them for this honour.
“I honestly don’t know who recommended us,” said Dr. Eichler. “There’s a rumour that the Nobel Laureate, Jennifer Doudna, who wrote the description in the TIME 100 nominated us, but I don't know this for sure. It was a team effort and Adam Phillippy, Karen Miga and I led the project. Michael Schatz was one of about 96 other scientists in the project.
“I was honoured and to be honest completely surprised that we received this recognition. It's not the sort of thing that a human geneticist ever expects and it certainly isn't our usual crowd of peers. When I first received the notice, for example, I thought it was a hoax, but my secretary assured me that it was the real deal."
Dr. Eichler still has plans to continue his research and work in both human and non-human genomes. This time, he plans to focus on characterizing the genomes in children with autism.
“This is only the beginning,” said Dr. Eichler. “The next step is to complete more human genomes as well as non-human genomes to help us understand the genetic basis of disease as well as help better define the mutational processes that occur in our genome. I believe the telomere-to-telomere approach will be applied to children with unsolved genetic diseases. I have already received funding to characterize the genomes of more than 100 children with autism, cases we haven’t resolved with more traditional approaches.
"We believe that T2T sequencing of the genomes of these kids will provide us to new insights into how autism occurs and the genetic variants that underlie it. It's a long road but I believe the methods we have developed will be applied more routinely in the clinic 10-20 years from now.”

The Swan Valley Active Living committee, in partnership with Swan River’s Canadian Mental Health Association and their Ride Don’t Hide event, held the Run. Bike. Hike. Festival on Sunday (June 5) with nearly 200 participants registering. Runners had the option of completing in a half marathon, 10km, 5km or 1km kids fun run while bikers chose between 10km, 5km or a 2km kids race.