The future of Asessippi Resort and surrounding villages and businesses, if the proposed gravel pit is approved, was revealed in an article in the Calgary Herald this week entitled “Judge certifies class action lawsuit against Lafarge's Exshaw cement plant, alleging health hazards.”
Cited in the statement of claim by 700 residents near the pit was “huge quantities of harmful and destructive fine powder, excessive noise and exposure to carcinogenic dust, resulting in damage to homes, values of residences and quality of life”.
It is not too late to prevent the apocalyptic destruction of this beautiful unique valley and continued pressure on the approval committee to reject this application is the only way to show our stewardship of this God given resource. Please add your voice to those of us demanding moral accountability from TriRoads; a lawsuit after the fact does not reverse the destruction of this ecosystem.
Ron Witzke

Russell Leisure Club was established in 1978 as a drop-in center for seniors. It is also the home for an office for the Senior Services of Banner County where seniors can feel comfortable attending to get use of services directed at senior citizens. Lifeline, assistance for completion of forms for government and so on, is provided by this office. The local Thrift Shop is also housed in the same building and is operational on three part-days a week, providing a place for seniors to work on a volunteer basis, and a place for the local communities to be able to purchase clothing and other goods at very reasonable cost.
The Club assists by providing a place that can be home for activities for seniors in the area to continue living independently and with dignity by allowing activities for recreation like line-dancing and yoga, dances, a place to play pool, and gather to play cards.
Annual memberships allow seniors to make use of the Centre to meet with friends, host meeting and activities and feel like a useful part of the community.
The Leisure Centre rents out the facility to individuals and organizations for various activities. Bingos and dances are also held as fundraisers.

By Skye Anderson
The Brandon Sun

ROSSBURN — The Crown is asking the court to sentence a Russell man who’s made repeated threats against police to two years in custody.
“The level of disrespect and contempt that he shows toward members of the community who are attempting to keep the rest of the community safe is certainly eye-opening,” Crown attorney Ron Toews said during Michael Man’s sentencing hearing in Rossburn provincial court on Wednesday.
Man, 46, was convicted of uttering threats after a trial and later pleaded guilty to three additional counts.
“These are not spurious or impulsive utterances or acts. These are comments that are made after careful contemplation,” Toews said.
The man’s lawyer argued that a time-served sentence, which is the equivalent of about 16 months, would be appropriate and still send a strong message to the community that threats will not be tolerated.
Russell RCMP received several complaints about Man sending threatening messages, including toward police, on Jan. 30, 2025.
One of the messages from Man said, “Typical worthless pig f—s in costumes came here to harass me for taking pictures. Next time that happens, I’ll wait for supper hour and kick in their door and get the whole family.”
On Sept. 8, 2025, a police officer received a chain of emails between Man and a Brandon Correctional Centre employee, in which Man made comments about his treatment while incarcerated in 2023.
One of the messages said, “I’m going to have no choice but to hunt the provincial and federal employees responsible for my stay.”
Toews said the use of the word “hunt” is “chilling in its darkest context,” as it invokes a narrative that often involves stalking, premeditation, planning, contemplation and preparation.
Saskatchewan RCMP contacted Russell RCMP on Nov. 6, 2025, and said they had been notified of threats that had been sent to Pattison Media.
In the email, Man said, “F— the police. Only good cops are dead cops. Nobody seems to want to release the details of the three pig f—s that violently assaulted me at gunpoint in the dark as vigilante justice.”
He continued by writing, “I know the RCMP member personally, and he’s going to find himself thrown through the woodchipper out on his front lawn.”
Toews described this threat as “very specific” and graphic in nature, which he said showed premeditation.
“Man engineers his language to maximize his psychological harm. He uses it to power his targets. He uses it to intimidate and to erode their sense of security within the community,” he said.
Toews said he hasn’t seen the slightest suggestion of remorse from Man, and he has a concerning lack of insight or self-reflection.

Read the full story on pages 1 and 7 in this week's Russell Banner.

The Benito Vesselli Ukrainian Dancers have had a busy season filled with dance practices, competitions and an annual recital. The dance club travelled to Brandon last month for the Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Competition.
“The Brandon Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Competition and Festival was held on April 17 to 19, 2026,” said Benito Vesselli Ukrainian Dance Head Instructor Amanda Bulycz. “Multiple clubs from all over Saskatchewan and Manitoba were in attendance, filling three full days of competition dances. As well, they were celebrating 50 years of the Troyanda Club.”
At the Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Competition, there were a variety of dances performed and the Benito Vesselli Ukrainian Dancers were well represented in each age category and style of dance.
“Traditional Ukrainian Dances representing Poltavski, Hutzul, Transcarpathian, Volyn, Polissia, Bukovynia, Character, Pryvit, Hopak were represented at the competition,” said Bulycz.
“Benito Vesselli took the Beginners, Juniors, Intermediates, Advanced and Senior Dancers to competition ages ranging from five to 18 years. Group dances, along with solos, duets, trios and family dances were also performed by Vesselli Dancers.”
The Benito Vesselli Ukrainian Dancers excelled at this competition.
“The Beginner Poltava dance received a 98 Platinum and the highest mark in the 12 and under age category,” said Bulycz. “The Senior Transcarpathian dance received a 95 Hold and the highest mark in the 13 years and older category.
“The dancers did amazingly at the Brandon Competition. We brought home multiple high marks, but most importantly, the dancers had a lot of fun and enjoyed the whole weekend. Many goals were achieved during the weekend and our dancers performed their very best. It was such a great weekend celebrating Ukrainian dance and culture and seeing all our hard work performed on stage.”
Then the group travelled to another dance competition in Saskatchewan before holding their annual end-of-season concert. There will be one final performance for the season, for the senior dancers, at one of the biggest venues for Ukrainian culture in Canada.
“Following the Brandon Competition, Vesselli attended the Yorkton Kalyna Dance Competition from April 30 to May 3 and held their annual spring concert on May 9, 2026,” said Bulycz. “Our club did another amazing job at the Yorkton Competition, bringing home 21 Gold Medal Marks!
“Our Annual Vesselli Spring Concert hosted a full afternoon of dance and making their first debut on stage was our Tots in Motion Class.
“Our club will be breaking for the summer, minus the senior dancers,” said Bulycz. “Our senior dancers will be preparing for their main stage performance at Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin. They’ll be performing during the Saturday Night Grandstand Show. We also look forward to volunteering at Swan Valley Credit Union’s Beef on a Bun event, with proceeds going to our club.
“Our next dance season begins in September 2026, and we look forward to another fun year ahead, accepting dancers 18 months to 18 years of age.”

Swan River was the scene of a full rainbow just over a week ago (May 11). The colourful spectacle showed its true colours after a light rain earlier in the evening.

Eighteen applicants were successful in receiving grants from the Dauphin and District Community Foundation.
DDCF board chair Kristen Haverluck announced the spring grant recipients at the Parkland Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of the City luncheon, May 12.
Recipients include:
• Almost New Store - $2,200 for a cash register, projector and screen and grid walls;
• Barker School - $5,000 for accessible outdoor musical instruments for the playground;
• Citizens on Patrol - $4,000 for fuel costs and Business Expo registration;
• Dauphin Community Cinema - $5,000 for roof repairs;
• Dauphin and District Allied Arts Council - $10,537 for a portable stage;
• Dauphin and District Snowmobile Club Inc. - $2,000 for a snowmobile for trail maintenance;
• Dauphin Hero Club - $1,568 for a printer and projector;
• Dauphin Minor Baseball Association - $10,000 for upgrade and maintenance of ball diamonds, including $313 designated from the new Jack Hrehirchuk Memorial Minor Baseball Fund;
• Dauphin Neighbourhood Renewal - $15,796 to move and re-assemble the indoor playground; and $5,000 for multiculturalism and anti-racism programs and pavillions in a variety of halls;
• Dauphin Ochre Band Parents Organization - $1,500 for original composition to be performed by the DRCSS and MMS band programs;
• Dauphin’s Countryfest - $10,000 for infrastructure improvements to showers, seating and the west side media booth;
• Grad Powwow Committee, Assiniboine College and Mountain View School Division - $5,000 for the graduation powwow celebrating all ages;
• Northgate Trails Inc. - $22,000 to construct a boardwalk to expand the trail system;
• Parkland Mavericks women’s rugby - $3,080 for the purchase of equipment to maintain the field;
• Parkland Pirates Youth Rugby - $5,507 for the purchase of a sea can for use as storage;
• Tinker Bell Nursery School - $5,000 for activity supplies; and
• Ukrainian Folk Arts Centre and Museum - $5,609 to relocate a pioneer barn.
This spring’s grants total $118,797.

Dauphin is set to play an important role in helping to address a shortage of paramedics in the province.
During his State of the Province address hosted by the Brandon Chamber of Commerce last week, Premier Wab Kinew announced a $115,000 investment for Assiniboine College to create a new rotating rural Primary Care Paramedic Program, with the first cohort starting at Parkland Campus in Dauphin.
The program will increase access for rural and western Manitoba students, helping build a stronger pipeline of paramedics for communities across the region.
The initiative will support more students moving through the emergency medical responder to primary care paramedic pathway, while allowing them to train closer to where they live.
“Paramedics are the first to arrive when your family needs emergency care and their work is valued by our government,” Kinew said.
“We’ve made progress training and hiring more paramedics in Westman, but we know there is more to do. That’s why we are creating a new Primary Care Paramedic Program at Assiniboine College.”
In keeping with a focus on health care, the premier announced the creation of 148 new child care spaces at the Brandon Regional Health Centre, set to open in 2027. The project is part of the largest capital child care project the province has started to date.
“Because child care is essential to growing the health workforce, we are also creating a new child-care centre at the Brandon hospital built to care for your children while you are caring for others,” Kinew said.
“Together, these investments will help us recruit and retain more health care workers in Westman.”
The premier also highlighted several recent and ongoing provincial investments benefiting the region including:
• providing $9.7 million to rebuild and repave 18th Street in Brandon, which was voted CAA Manitoba’s worst road in 2024;
• investing in the Park Community Centre, with construction expected to begin this year;
• opening the Brandon Minor Injury and Illness Clinic, which saw more than 10,000 patient visits in 2025;
• undertaking action to challenge restrictive property controls held by Sobeys, including controls connected to an empty grocery store property in Brandon, to help increase competition and improve affordability;
• advancing nearly $3 billion in energy projects in western Manitoba, including a new 750-megawatt dual-fuel turbine project to support growing energy needs and economic development opportunities; and
• creating a new critical care unit at the Brandon Regional Health Centre as part of a $120-million expansion project, allowing more patients to receive advanced care closer to home, which will include new, modern private intensive care unit rooms.

Rugby season gets underway this weekend with the Parkland Mavericks in Winnipeg to face the Manitoba Wombats, Saturday, at 2:30 p.m.
The Mavericks began working out about two weeks ago with a few new recruits joining the team and more on the way after the high school season ends.
Coach Shawn Sarkonak said the team has been working on getting the rust out.
“And obviously, working on game speed and getting the new guys climatized to the game. So we’ve got to work on tackling and run, catch pass, the core skills that you need. I know the guys are looking forward to getting the season kicked off,” he said.
This year will featured a different format, with teams playing eight games until the end of July.
When that is completed, teams will be reseeded for Premier and Second Divisions.
There are three rural teams with Parkland, the Brandon Barbarians and the Steinbach-based Eastman Warriors.
The Manitoba Wombats, Winnipeg Assassins and Winnipeg Wasps will each have two teams, a first division and second division unit and the Winnipeg Wanderers will field one team.
After July, the Premier Division will have six teams and the Second Division will have four teams.
The Parkland Lady Mavericks have had only two players out for practices due to prior commitments, but coach Kent Miner said eight players have committed to play once the high school season ends in early June. He added more players will also be returning to the team from university.
Miner added a few players from Brandon will also join the team this year.
“We have lots of new interest, but people are busy and having a hard time getting out,” he said.
The Lady Mavericks will open the season, May 30, in Brandon against the Lady Barbarians, at noon.
Once all players are in place, Miner feels the Lady Mavericks will be competitive.
“We should be in the top three, for sure, if we get everybody out,” he said.

Fielding an inexperienced lineup, the Dauphin Clippers White boys rugby team won its first game of the Westman High School Rugby season, beating the Vincent Massey Vikings, 31-10, last Wednesday.
Ivan Vrasko led the way with three tries for Dauphin, while Body Kaminski and Garrett Urichen had singles. Vrasko also had three converts.
Clippers coach Henk DuPlessis noted 90 per cent of the team never played 15s rugby before.
“And I saw a lot of heart out there today. These boys, mostly Grade 9 and 10 boys played against these Grade 11 and 12 boys and the score speaks for itself,” he said.
The Clippers gained the momentum right away, scoring within the first two or three minutes of the game.
“That was one thing we told the guys. We need to get the first points on the board and that’s what happened. And I think that got them going,” DuPlessis said.
The JV team will have a busy week ahead with three games, starting tonight when they host the Crocus Plains Plainsmen in a game rescheduled from Apr. 23. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
Dauphin then hits the road for a game in Souris on Thursday at 4:30 p.m., and then face the Dauphin Green varsity squad, Saturday at 2 p.m.
The team’s conditioning will be put to the test with the busy schedule.
“We told the boys they’re going to need to do it themselves. We only practice twice a week, so I hope the boys put it in to get into shape. But we’ve got a small squad, so we can only hope for the best,” DuPlessis said.
The Clippers girls ended the regular season with a 51-5 win over Souris on Thursday.
Kiersten Vandekerckhove and Paityn Bourgouin had two tries each, with Bella Williams, Alina Genik, Desiree Lariviere, Mila Heschuk and Halie Garlinski adding singles. Vandekerckhove also had three converts.
The Clippers finish the regular season 4-0, scoring 350 points, while only allowing 10 against.
Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak and his staff had this date circled since the schedule was released.
“They’re a well-coached team. They’ve got some really good players. And they gave us a run for our money,” he said.
“I think our girls were surprised in the beginning. You can’t blame the weather, because both teams were playing in it.”
Given the team’s success over the last few years, Sarkonak said it is easy to get complacent at times.
“And the last few games have actually proven that to us. But the girls were able to flip the switch and come together and come out with the win,” he said.
The Clippers will now wait to find out who they play in the semifinals scheduled for May 26 and 27. The season ends this week, with games, Thursday and Friday.
The Clippers Green varsity team beat Souris, 35-17 to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Julien Lopez had three tries, Ben Miner and Josh Yakielashek had one each and Jordan Evans had four converts, while Colten Miner had one.
Coach Aaron Miner was not pleased with the team’s play.
“Souris brings out the worst in us. We knew the game plan going in. We were too anxious, too nervous. We didn’t play our game,” he said.
“Tackles weren’t executed. We knew their routes. We knew where they were coming from and we just couldn’t put it all together. Nerves were just too high.”
While pleased with the win, Miner recognizes that if they play that way against a stronger team, the Clippers wouldn’t stand a chance.
“We can’t continue to play like that and expect to compete against the prep schools,” he said.
Miner hopes the Clippers can get their game a little tighter when they face the JV team.
“I think we’re going to try and use this game as a learning experience for both sides and try to incorporate some of our set plays and have the other teams try to defend against it,” he said.
“We know each other’s plays and we’ll have a good time with it. We hope to have some fun with that game.”

New ownership of a pre-existing community business is celebrating its first anniversary in business. Dylan Funk and Shauna Ponask, owners and operators of the Wanless General Store, are celebrating their first year in business. Funk and Ponask had a vision of continuing the store in the community and growing it into something more.
“We took over the store in Wanless and began operating as the Wanless General Store officially on May 1, 2025,” said Ponask. “This wouldn't have been possible without the financial support and business guidance from previous owners Kelvin and Lori Dionne. Their belief in our potential to continue a local family-run business at this location was integral for this transition to occur.