The City of Dauphin owns exactly one bridge and will spend money this year to make sure the structure continues to carry traffic over the Vermillion River.

An inspection of the Buckwold Bridge conducted several years ago determined repairs to the decking of the structure are required due to delamination in the concrete and chloride intrusions to the steel reinforcement in the concrete which could cause future issues through rusting.

And recently, city council awarded a contract for engineering services for the bridge rehabilitation to the Winnipeg firm of Dillon Consulting Limited.

The $111,247.80 contract includes $58,573 for the project design and tendering phases and $52,673.80 for the contract administration, inspection, and post-construction services.

City manager Sharla Griffiths said while the initial inspection of the bridge indicated work needed to be done, it did not include the full scope of the repairs.

“They will be coming out to visually inspect it in the coming weeks barring us getting any extra snow,” Griffiths said. “Then they’ll put their visual assessment into the mix with the report that we got three years ago and determine if there needs to be any more testing. Then set the design for it and tender that to actually get the work done.”

The current plan calls for a partial depth deck replacement over the entire span of the bridge at an estimated cost of around $900,000.

And while that seems like a large number, it is a fraction of what it would cost to replace the entire structure, director of Public Works and Operations Mike VanAlstyne told council at a recent meeting.

“I think a bridge of this size it would be $12, $15, $20 million probably. If we had to do the abutments and the pier replacement and removing those piers, I could see it being upwards of $30 million,” VanAlstyne said. “We thought that this would make the best, most economical sense.

“Fortunately from the inspections, our substructure, the piers and the abutments are in okay shape. We want to get on this work now to try to get another 50 years out of this bridge.”

Part of securing that future is developing a much needed maintenance plan.

“We have maintained it just like a paved surface,” he said, adding the consultant will provide rehabilitation options complete with a life cycle costs analysis and maintenance recommendations.

“This is a huge repair and we want to make sure that our bridge is kept in the best condition possible going forward.”

Pine Creek First Nation, in partnership with Ebb and Flow First Nation, hosted a naming ceremony on the lot they own between McDonald’s and the Dollar Store, Mar. 20.

Those in attendance said a prayer by the sacred fire before throwing some tobacco into the flames.

An eight-lane gas bar, to be named Anishinabe Gas Bar, will be built on the site.

A feast was served following the ceremony.

It’s warming up outside - most days. Even the calendar says its spring.

So we know that the long awaited end of winter is just around the corner.

Just as they have every year for years and years, the Russell Happy Helpers 4-H Club held their annual spring St. Patrick’s Day fundraising tea at the Park Manor on the north end of Main Street.

Along with setting up and serving during the afternoon tea, each of the 11 members of the club supplied a dessert for the afternoon as well as sold raffle tickets for gift baskets as prizes.

Get the full story in this week's Russell Banner!

RCMP have investigated a report of sextortion. Person had sent nude photos to someone they thought was real, but it was a scam. Person was told to buy gift cards or the pictures would become public. No money was lost.

Please do not send naked photos of yourself to anyone and if you for some reason decide to do this, do not include your face.

Want to know more? Check out this week’s RCMP report.

Mountain View School Division has budgeted for a small deficit for the 2023-24 school year to leave current programming intact.

The budget was passed March 21 at a special meeting of the board.

“We faced many uncertainties in the preparation and finalization of the 2023-2024 operating budget. This made the process very challenging this year and the board passed a budget with a small deficit,” said board chair Floyd Martens, who noted that additional funding in the 2022-23 school year will offset the deficit that the division is budgeting.

Find out more in this week’s Review.

A Roblin man who uses the Handivan three times a week to receive life-saving dialysis at the Russell Health Centre says the rate he’s being charged for the trips is excessive.

“Last year it cost me nearly $21,000,” said Tom Wilson, who recently met with municipal council to discuss a reduced rate. “They did reduce the rate – from $160 per trip to $125 per trip – but that’s still going to cost me $1,500 a month. And I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to afford that.

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

On February 28th Owen Dawe and Jann Brooks were joined by Arlo and Jo to discuss their identities as two-spirited youth in the north. This was the first podcast that was launched under Young Voices of The North, an initiative funded through Say Yes! to Kids grant.
Since that first podcast episode, the youth involved have dropped three more episodes - Education and Career Opportunities; Newcomers; and Songs We Each Picked. The podcast variety is reflective of the young people that are invovled in the project itself. Currently actively invovled in the project are Dawe, Arlo Fenner, Namirembe Afatswo and Eniola Atoyebi. Joining the youth is Rev. Brooks, who has provided support and guidance but emphasizes that the podcast goal is to be youth led.

Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) is being recognized in the tourism sector by having two nominations for the Manitoba Indigenous Tourism Awards this year. Jade Richards, Assistant General Manager for the Kikiwak Inn was nominated for the Outstanding Staff Person Award and OCN was nominated for the Leading the Way in Business Development Award.
Richards worked her way up to her current position at the Kikiwak Inn. All of her experiences through different positions, combined with her education proved to be a real asset.
“I started working with the Kikiwak Inn in July 2019,” said Richards. “It was actually my first job when I first started working in 2003. I started off as a busser, and then later moved up as a server. Sue Johnston was my supervisor and was a great. I learned a lot from her. I worked on and off as a server for quite a long time until I got an office job. I later went back to school for my Business Administration at UCN, went back to an office job and seen the position at the Kikiwak Inn posted, so I took a chance.

Amongst all the budget meetings, the Town of the Pas Council has also been busy managing day-to-day operations and projects for the community. At almost every meeting, a by-law is discussed and reviewed amongst council to see if there are any changes or revisions that need to be made.
“With regards to by-laws, our council is looking into a lot of them to see if there are questions that come up with regards to how they impact people in the community and if the by-law still makes sense today,” said Town of The Pas Mayor Andre Murphy. “We’ve been looking at some of the by-laws to see why they were put into place and if it’s still relevant to today.”

Ever wonder what the Dauphin Herald online papers look like? Ever thought about switching from your paper copy to an online edition? 

Now is your chance to check it out and see how you like it with the Dauphin Herald's Total Market Coverage for March 2023.

Read below, enjoy!