Dauphin residents are being asked to hop out of their cars and onto their bikes next week.

June 5 to 11 is Bike Week and Dauphin Recreation Services and the Dauphin Derailleurs Cycle Club (DDCC) have organized a number of activities to celebrate.

Monday is Bike to Work and School Day, while Tuesday is Bike to a Park or Playground highlighted by a gathering at Fusion Credit Union for coffee and cookies from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The gathering is an opportunity to find out everything that is going on to celebrate Bike Week and join DDCC and mayor David Bosiak for a “slow roll through Vermillion Park,” said spokesperson J.L Guillas.

“The Derailleurs will have some of our fat bikes there if people want to try that,” he said, adding the exact itinerary for the ride has not been set. “It’s depending on who shows up. If it’s families, if it’s kids, we’ll take them over to Vermillion and have a gentle ride. It’s not a time trial.”

Wednesday will feature a bicycle based scavenger hunt, while an open house will be at Northgate Trails on Thursday at 7 p.m., providing an opportunity to tour one of the micro cabins at the site, try out a fat bike, get information about programming, learn about the trails and volunteer opportunities, and chat with a board member.

Guillas encourages everyone to bring a bike and a friend.

“I believe the Kids of Mud will have their race that night, as well. So there’s going to be lots of activity,” Guillas said. “People shouldn’t be shy if the parking lot is full. Come on in.”

Finally, Friday has been designated as Bike to Get Your Favourite Treat day, Guillas said, adding more activities and contests are being added all the time.

For example, he said, the Parkland Chamber of Commerce is asking employers to encourage their staff to ride their bikes and track the kilometers they cover for the week. The business with the most accumulated kilometres will win $50 per employee to a maximum of $500.

All of the activities add up to an opportunity to promote Dauphin as a bicycle-friendly city, Guillas said.

“Dauphin, it’s very accessible by bicycle and if people get in the habit of it, it just becomes more of a culture change for individuals and families and it’s just a positive thing,” he said. “Bike Week itself is to just remind people how much fun it can be to be on a bike, how accessible the city is on a bicycle and then also the great facility we have over at Northgate.”

The city is regularily adding to its active transportation routes making cycling even more of an option, Guillas added.

“There’s another piece that’s coming, that’s going to be constructed this year linking up right to (Assiniboine) college from the Kingsway Trail,” he said. “It’s about the culture of biking and also the infrastructure. Vermillion Park is a great place to take young kids to learn biking in a safe place to get them off the roads. We’ve got lots of great opportunities in town and also the big facility south of town.”

Whether you are an experienced cyclist or just starting to seek two-wheeled adventures, Guillas encourages everyone to take in all that Bike Week has to offer.

“It’s a good workout and it’s good lifestyle choice. It can be fun, you do it with your friends and you see things in town that you don’t see when you’re speeding by in your car,” he said.

“Whether you’re on a $100 used bicycle, a hand-me-down bicycle or a top-end bike, it doesn’t matter, it’s all fun and it’s for everybody.”

City crews conducting a spring cleaning of the community have moved on to Day 2 on the garbage and recycling schedule.

During one pass through the city, crews will collect accumulated garden waste, grass clippings and leaves, as well as shrubs and tree branches less than six inches in diameter at a maximum length of eight feet, last week.

These items will only be collected if they are free of household waste, hazardous waste and recyclable materials and are in a clearly identifiable pile.

The spring clean up campaign will occur in the back lanes, so place the items near your back lane for pick-up.

Those residences that do not have a back lane, place your items on the boulevard near the curb.

Large equipment will be used, so it is important to place the items close to the lane or curb to avoid property damage.

The Manitoba 4-H Council recently held it's first provincial rally in many years! Over 170 4-H members from across the province attended the rally that was held in the Keystone Centre in Brandon on May 13.
4-H members were able to pre-register and choose 2two workshops from a list of 17. These workshops consisted of beef, equestrian, archery, small animals, crafts, science in the kitchen, woodworking, tye dye, cookie decorating, drum making, dog training, roping, and more.

To find out more of the story go to https://wcmbnews.com/opasquia-times

If you grew up in The Pas and learned how to swim here, there’s a good chance that you had Mrs. Cherlyn Cain as your swim instructor. Cain has been a dedicated lifeguard and swim instructor in the community for at least 40 years. She got her start in learning how to swim at a much later age in life, but didn’t let that hold her back.
“The place I grew up as a child, there wasn’t a lot of bodies of water around except for a small creek by our farm,” said Cain. “We could paddle up to our ankles and when the water got deeper, our parents were very adamant about us kids not going near that creek.

To find out more of the story go to https://wcmbnews.com/opasquia-times

The recent drug poisoning in The Pas that cost one young man his life has sparked a movement and campaign to get young people to say no thanks to recreational drug use. Joseph Fourre recently lost his son Harlen, due to drug poisoning and he wants to change the narrative when it comes to drug overdose versus drug poisoning, and eliminate stigma of addictions.
“In light of the recent and tragic death of my son Harlen Fourre, Singing Red Bear, who was a victim as result of the tainted drug poisoning on April 27, we organized a Drug Awareness Walk in his memory in The Pas,” said Joseph Fourre. “I’m pushing through with a ‘No Thanks to Recreational Drug Use’ campaign. I want to give our youth and people who are going into summer, which can be a time for parties, some encouragement to say no thanks when presented with recreational drugs.

In an effort to books tourism in northern Manitoba, the Communities Economic Development Fund (CEDF) has recently launched one their newest development. CEDF has been creating economic development initiatives to strengthen the local economy and promote the north.
“We are a Provincial Crown Corporation and the lead economic development agency for northern Manitoba working for the Province,” said CEDF Manager of Programs and Projects Leann Brown. “Also we are the lead for the delivery of the Look North Action Plan that was approved by the provincial government in 2019. Our mandate is strictly looking at economic development throughout the north and trying to increase economy activity and prosperity.”

Grade 5 to 8 students from across the Valley converged on the SVRSS grounds to take part in the annual Sunburn Classic last Friday (May 19). A variety of running events in addition to high jump, long jump/triple jump, discus throw and shot put kept students moving from station to station.

The Dauphin Clippers rugby teams will host the Westman High School Rugby semifinals, Wednesday, after both teams finished the regular season undefeated.

The Clippers girls will host the Souris Sabres, at 5:30 p.m., while the Clippers boys will host the Vincent Massey Vikings at 6:30 p.m.

The finals will be played on Saturday.

Both Dauphin teams ended the regular season with wins over Souris, with the girls scoring a 45-7 win and the boys triumphing, 52-10.

Megan Thompson led the girls with two tries, with Tanya Devos, Brooke Miner, Emma Fox, Chloe Fletcher and Felicity Sahulka adding singles. Miner had five converts.

Because the Clippers were able to jump out to an early lead, Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak said, they were able to do some load management with some of the team’s veterans, who were banged up a bit in a win over Rivers, May 11.

“With that being the last game of the regular season and us not having our playoff semifinal game until Wednesday, that extra time for them to heal all those bumps and bruises will do well for us,” he said.

The Clippers are a confident group, Sarkonak said, but they will not take any other team lightly.

“Every game starts at 0-0 and it’s a half at a time and we make adjustments accordingly,” he said.

The other semifinal will see Rivers host Crocus Plains on Tuesday.

William Miner paced the boys with three tries, while Joseph Lopez had two. Damon Nepinak, Oliver Dandeneau and Guzman Garcia added singles and Garcia converted six of the tries.

Clippers coach Aaron Miner felt the Clippers played down to their opponent’s level.

“It was definitely not our best outing of the season. I know the score doesn’t reflect that, but in a game that could have been a learning experience turned out to be players missing their assignments, not running onto the ball,” he said.

“Just the little things that we’ve worked on for so long weren’t being executed, because we were able to get away with things against Souris. But we won’t be able to get away with them against teams like Crocus or St. Paul’s.”

Given that the Clippers beat Vincent Massey, 42-5, in the regular season, Miner likes his team’s chances in the semifinals.

“We need to execute those finer details and use this game to build on. Not saying that Massey is going to be a walkover, but they are a weaker team. They are the fourth ranked team and we are the first. So my goal is to use that game to lead into the finals on Saturday,” he said.

Souris will face Crocus Plains in the other semifinal.

Provincials will be held, June 2 and 3 in Winnipeg, hosted by the St. Paul’s Crusaders.

Health professionals from the Swan Valley Primary Care Clinic visited Taylor School on Thursday (May 18) to educate students on healthy lifestyles before heading out for a loop around the Swan River Legion Park and back to the school to enjoy some watermelon...

Bike Week is coming up June 5 to 11. The Dauphin Derailleurs Cycle Club is partnering with Dauphin Recreation Services and Northgate Trails to host several events in the city and at the Northgate Trails throughout the week to promote cycling in our community.

In order to enjoy your bike ride CAA Manitoba has some great information about safe cycling available on its website at caamanitoba.com.

Below is a summary of some of the key points to keep in mind to safely share the road and have a trouble-free trail ride:
• It is the law that individuals under the age of 18 are required to wear a helmet while cycling. (Everyone should wear a helmet – not just kids.)
• Wear bright colours and reflective clothing while cycling on roadways, and if you are cycling at night make sure you have a working headlight and a red taillight. It’s a great idea to have a flashing red taillight on at all times when you cycle on roadways.
• Cyclists share the road with motorists so be sure to use proper hand signals to indicate your direction.
• On trails, if you are coming up behind a pedestrian be sure to use verbal cues indicating which side you are passing them on and attach a bike bell or use a whistle to give a warning ring when approaching.
• On roadways, travel with traffic, near the edge of the curb and do not weave in and out of traffic.
• Obey traffic signals and lights.
• Ride single file when cycling with others.

Cycling is a great activity for the entire family.

The City of Dauphin is adding to its active transport system every year, so get out and ride.