Valley resident Beggie Palsson has had an extensive career practicing law in northern Manitoba, between The Pas and Swan River. At first, Palsson didn’t set out to become a lawyer, but fate had opened several doors leading him to law school and taking the bar exam.
“I was working in The Pas as a probation and parole officer,” said Palsson. “My territory included Gilliam, Churchill, The Pas, Moose Lake and the surrounding area. Back then, when you worked in that field, the only way to succeed in that department was to have a degree in social work. People who work in the child and welfare, probations or parole fields were trying to get their Master of Social Work.
“I just had an Arts Degree at the time, so I applied to the University of Manitoba to study a sociology course. I applied for that and was going to take the summer off to go to summer school. Before I went, the probation officer from Flin Flon was going to Winnipeg and he stopped to talk to me. He told me he was going to pick up an application for law school and asked if I wanted him to get one for me too. I told him they would never accept me in law school and I was thinking of going into social work to advance in the job I had. He told me he would get me a form, so when he came back, I filled it out and sent it in.
“The day before I was supposed to leave my job and take a sociology course, I got the letter from the law school accepting me into the program,” said Palsson. “Going into law was kind of an accident, but believe it or not, one professor I had in law school who taught an introductory course, said he bet half of us were there by accident. So, lots of people went to law school without originally planning to. It was one of the best decisions I made.
“I loved law school and found everything I studied relevant, and much to my surprise, I did very well in it.”
After passing the bar, Palsson started his legal career by articling for a firm in Winnipeg. From there, he went on to work for Legal Aid and focused on the Child Welfare System. Palsson gained a lot of valuable experience from his time working at Legal Aid.
“After law school, I articled with a private firm in St. James,” said Palsson. “They had the Chapman Building just east of Portage and Ferry Road. They were Chapman, Chapman and Chapman. It was a father, two sons and two other lawyers who made up this law firm. I articled for one of the Chapman boys.
“Then once I got my call to the bar, I went to work in the Legal Aid Office in Winnipeg. They were looking for a child welfare specialist. I never wanted to do much court work and there I was going to court four to five days a week because there were so many cases of child welfare in the system. I was taking on Paul Walsh who had been a very good criminal lawyer and became counsel for the Children’s Aid Society, which in some cases was trying to take children away from their parents. I was up against him four or five days a week. It was a good experience for me.
“I recall one day, one of the judges asked me to come to her chambers when there was a break in court,” said Palsson. “She told me that between her and I, we taught Mr. Walsh a little humility today.”
Palsson recognized early in his law career that family and child welfare law was one of the toughest areas to practice. It was apparent to him that the Child Welfare System was overrun based on poverty and some racial profiling.
“It was a hard line of work to be in because I was watching families being broken apart,” said Palsson. “A lot of it was due to poverty and some racial aspects. Unfortunately, those were mainly the clients of the Children’s Aid Society. Even now, 90 percent of the children apprehended are from low-income and Indigenous families.
“I knew of a lawyer in the legal aid offices in Winnipeg, who was very sensitive. Over time this lawyer left practicing law because of the difficult nature of these case types and the stress.”
After gaining some experience in Winnipeg, Palsson returned to northern Manitoba and The Pas to continue working in Legal Aid.
“Back when I worked probations, there weren’t many supports or lawyers working in northern Manitoba,” said Palsson. “There weren’t very many at all. Thompson had a couple of firms, there was a lawyer in Churchill, and Evans Premachuk was working in The Pas. There were some that I knew of, but overall, there was a great shortage of lawyers in northern Manitoba.
“I ended up going back to The Pas to open a Legal Aid Office for the Province in 1975. I was up there for three years before I came to the Valley. We used to fly in for court and back then I could see the ridiculousness of it. The plane would land and the judge, the Crown Attorney, two other lawyers and a court reporter would get off. The local people were kind of laughing because they knew nothing was going to be solved in terms of justice when judges and lawyers were only there for a certain amount of time.
“One of the guys who came up with me, was just called to the bar,” said Palsson. “I had been practising law for a couple of years before coming back to The Pas to work, which was still not a lot. He was a very outspoken fellow and went on to become one of the top-notch criminal lawyers in Manitoba. His name was Norm Cuddy. He was fantastic and a natural criminal lawyer.
“Norm later went on to Winnipeg with a sole practitioner, where he learned a lot about criminal law. Then he joined one of the top firms and quickly became a partner. He did very well for himself, but then got cancer and passed away at a young age. He was a good guy to work with.”
Once again opportunity presented itself to Palsson and he had the opportunity to leave Legal Aid and get into private practice. This started a new chapter for Palsson and a move to the Valley.
“Once again, my move to Swan River was purely by chance,” said Palsson. “The Crown Attorney, Ed Sloane, from Thompson, who I met once or twice, stopped by my home in The Pas. He asked me if I was sick of Legal Aid yet. At that point, I felt I had done it all in Legal Aid and was repeating it over again, doing the same thing. Sloane told me he felt the same about prosecuting. He found a law practice for sale in Swan River that belonged to Florence Matthews. He had made an appointment to speak with the owner and asked me if I was interested in becoming a partner. It had me intrigued and I told him to check it out and let me know what he thought.
“He came back and told me he felt there was great potential in the firm and that there was a very good practice setup. He felt there was room for two people to work there, so we made her an offer and she accepted. Sloane had been an RCMP officer before he went to law school so he always worked with the criminal side of law, then he became a prosecutor, so he hadn’t done any private law. I had articled with a private law firm and had done quite a bit of law in that area. Sloane went earlier and worked under Florence for a bit, then I came down and we opened up our law firm on May 1, 1978.
“I knew at some point I would go into private practice, but it just came a little sooner and unexpectedly,” said Palsson. “I hardly knew Sloane and just a few weeks ago I thought about why Ed Sloane would have stopped in back then and asked me if I was interested in joining him in practice because he didn’t really know me. Then it hit me. The prosecutor in The Pas was from Clearwater and so was Ed. I’m sure he phoned and asked what I was like, and I know the prosecutor in The Pas would have given him a good report on me. This is likely why he asked me to form a practice with him.
“Working in a private practice is different than working in Legal Aid. You have clients coming in who want certain services that you weren’t doing as part of Legal Aid. Legal Aid is limited because the clients can’t afford legal representation. This can lead to a different type of law being practiced with different expectations. I got to do so much different work.”
Palsson was quick to integrate into the Valley community. He found himself joining some local community groups and volunteered to help make the Swan Valley a better place for everyone. Palsson spent a good portion of his time giving back to the community.
“I joined the Swan River Kinsmen shortly after I moved here,” said Palsson. “Then my banker was a Swan River Rotary Club member and coaxed me to join that group too. I aged out of Swan River Kinsmen when I turned 40 and stayed with the Rotary Club until it disbanded this summer. We have no Rotary Club in Swan River anymore, and that’s unfortunate.
“When I worked in The Pas for Legal Aid, they used to have community committees that were supposed to be advisors to the office to let them know what were things in town that needed to be looked at from the legal perspective. One of the committee members in The Pas was a Captain for the Salvation Army. He got me doing volunteer work for the Salvation Army. One year I collected donations from every business in The Pas by myself. Then when I came to Swan River I thought I was done, but the first call I got was from the Captain from Dauphin. He asked me if I would continue doing that in the Valley, so I wound up looking after the Salvation Army Kettle here on my own for a year or two, until the Swan River Rotary Club took it over. We raised a lot of money for the Salvation Army over the years.
“I was part of forming the Community Foundation of Swan Valley said Palsson. “I can’t say I was the head or idea of it, but I did some legal work incorporating it. That was a fun time and project to work on. I was invited to their Spring Granting Meeting earlier this year, and I believe the Community Foundation of Swan Valley has grown to almost $4 million now, with five percent going out to the community every year. It’s amazing to see how that project started and has grown to what it is today.
“When it came to volunteering in the Valley, I had a lot of help and support from good people.”
Palsson’s partner decided to move on from the Valley and this began to cause a shift in not only the law firm itself, but the type of law Palsson practiced.
“After about six and a half years, Sloane had moved on,” said Palsson. “We had an agreement back when we were in practice that he would take the criminal cases and I would handle the civil and family ones. After he left, I had to oversee them all, but eventually, I stopped going to court. I never enjoyed it and was too busy to be out of the office for a week. We’re still very close friends and he is a great guy.
“My first partner after Sloane left was Roger Gregoire. Roger had been my articling student in The Pas with Legal Aid. After he got his call to the bar, he was lured away by a firm in Flin Flon. He practiced with them until I phoned him a couple of years after Sloane left. I asked him if he wanted to move south and work with me. He moved down within a couple of days and worked here until the Province appointed him as a provincial court judge. He too was an excellent partner and that helped.
“After that, I had a couple of different lawyers work with me,” said Palsson. “I went on to do a lot of mortgages, wills, estates, corporations. After Sloane and I bought the practice and by the time I retired, it had grown to represent and establish over 200 corporations.”
Over the years, Palsson refined his law practice and no longer practiced family law. Family law had undergone too many changes and became so complicated over the years, that Palsson felt it was a field that a lawyer should strictly practice to be good at it and he had so many other clients to represent for different matters, that he wanted to focus on that instead.
“I got out of practicing family law because they had changed all the laws surrounding it and how one got to court,” said Palsson. “I just didn’t have the time to focus on that, and with family law, a lawyer needs to be dedicated to it 100 percent of the time, to be any good at it. Things seem to change so much and it has gotten to be a more stressful type of law to practice.
“I didn’t want to give up the other aspects of law that I was working on at that time, so I let go of family law and would refer people to another firm.”
It’s been over a decade since Palsson retired from practicing the law. He was fortunate to find someone to take over his practice in the Valley. The one aspect of practicing the law that Palsson misses the most and still to this day, is getting the opportunity to see his clients regularly.
“By the time I retired from law, I had been acting legal representation for grandchildren of the clients who first came to see me when I started in Swan River,” said Palsson. “It was grandchildren, not children, who were starting to farm and wanted to buy land. It was so much different. In the beginning, I was forced to do court work and that was never my intention to be in the courtroom that much. Law is made up of barristers and solicitors. Barristers go to court and solicitors do paperwork, and my goal was to be a solicitor.
“I retired from practicing law on April 1, 2014. It was hard for me at first, because I missed a lot of the clients. I had lots of really good clients. I was fortunate to turn over my practice to a very competent and good lawyer, Laurie Oakes. She worked with me for a year and then bought the practice.
“Once I retired, I spent time socializing with my coffee group,” said Palsson. “We go to the Legion every day now to have coffee and visit.
“The people were always nice to work with when it came to opening a business or purchasing land or homes. The clients were the most enjoyable part of my career in law. I met some really great people.”
Palsson and his wife Karen are in the process of saying goodbye to the Swan Valley as they are moving to Winnipeg. They will be greatly missed.

Amara’s Amigos, which consists of family and friends of Amara Campbell continue to fundraise money for CancerCare MB Foundation in memory of Amara, who passed away from osteosarcoma on September 14, 2020, at the age of 15. The money is used by CancerCare Manitoba Foundation (CCMBF) to support youth with cancer, especially rare and hard to treat cancers for children and young adults.
Last year’s garage sale and cookie and lemonade sale brought in $5,400. The silver collection at the Minitonas Stocking Stuffer and Craft sale last December brought in $500. Then earlier this year, the Swan Valley Stampeders Hockey Fights Cancer brought in a whopping $19,050.50. Blair and Lee-Anne Campbell presented a cheque to Patti Smith from CCMBF this past March.
“We are humbled by the ongoing support from our families, close friends and Swan Valley community at large,” said Lee-Anne Campbell. “We have received incredible support since Amara’s cancer diagnosis in 2019.
“Our awareness and fundraising events for CCMBF continue to give us a place to direct our grief and remember Amara before and during her brave 19 months of living with cancer. CCMBF provides critical funding to support cancer research and treatment for all children, with a special focus on children and young people with rare and hard to treat cancers.
“The genetic testing program called PROFYLE (PRecision Oncology For Young peopLE) and all funds that we collect stay in Manitoba, directed to this program, which supported Amara during her cancer treatment,” said Campbell.
“The first fundraiser was led by Amara as the ambassador for the 2019 CCMBF Ride Inside, alongside Blake Wheeler, former Winnipeg Jets hockey captain, and his wife Sam. That was a very special time for Amara. She felt the love of Swan River Valley around her as her team contributed more than $19,000 from the Swan River Valley in her honour. There have been various Ride Inside events every year since, other than 2023. The thank you list is too long at this point but includes our families, close friends, strangers, school staff, arena staff, businesses, non-profit groups, Stampeders group, Star & Times.”
In total, $97,216.21 has been donated to CCMBF in memory of Amara.
The Amara’s Amigos shirts and hoodies were created and sold for cost. There was a huge response from the community and the Campbell family finds it heartwarming to randomly see people wearing them when around town.
“The Amara’s Amigos group and clothing logo were initially created in 2019 by a group of school friends, as a sign of support after her cancer diagnosis,” said Campbell. “The most recent version of the Amara’s Amigo’s logo was a collaboration with the Swan Valley Stampeders Junior A Hockey Team in February.
“We also incorporated a small blue heart with our son’s initials ‘JC’, in memory of our son, Amara’s brother, who also passed away in 2020. He was a gentle, kind support to his sister during her initial year of treatment. Also, his favourite sport was hockey with his hometown buddies.
“It has been heart-warming to see people wearing the purple shirts and hoodies at our events and also randomly in the schools, at the campground, at the arena, on the streets,” said Campbell. “The clothing helps to keep Amara’s memory alive as well as representing support for all kids and families who have suffered from childhood cancer.”
Amara’s Amigos are hosting their annual garage sale this weekend. Another event being planned for November is the CCMBF Ride Inside and then the Stampeders Hockey Fights Cancer Game which will be announced at a later date.
“Annual Amara’s Amigos Garage Sale & Cookie Sale started in 2021, as one step of the fundraising for CCMBF,” said Campbell. “Each year it has been held in September as it is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, also in memory of Amara as she passed away Sept 14, 2020. Family and friends donate their baking skills, time and a variety of gently used items. So far we have not run out of treasures to sell.
“The event provides everyone with a special few days to visit, support each other, remember Amara and fulfill a personal purpose for Blair and me, to support other kids and families living with childhood cancer. Amara’s cousins, grandmas and aunts have taken on the cookie sales as their special project.
“This year’s garage sale and cookie sale is scheduled for Saturday, September 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 215 Parkview Drive Swan River,” said Campbell. “People can also drop off monetary donations to CCMBF that day, and all donations of $15.00 or greater will receive a charitable receipt mailed out from CCMBF.
“We thank every single person who has supported Amara’s Amigos since 2019. We are very thankful and blessed to live in this special community. Please wear a gold ribbon in September in honour of all children and young people who have missed out on precious years of life due to childhood cancer.”

The Swan Valley Fire Department (SVFD) has a recruit who has recently joined their ranks and broke the traditional stereotype associated with it being a male profession. Kristin Linnick is currently the only female firefighter in the SVFD but hasn’t been the first female to join.
“The department has had female firefighters from 2011 until 2022,” said SVFD Fire Chief Darren Fedorchuk. “The last female firefighter in the department relocated in 2022, and is now in the Selkirk Fire Department.”
When she was a child, Linnick was drawn to the world of emergency services and firefighting by watching her father help out with the local fire department.
“My dad had joined the local fire department in the small town that I grew up in when I was about six years old,” said Linnick. “I grew up watching him as a role model and knowing that someday I wanted to become a firefighter just like him.
“Back then, if we were home alone with him when a call came in, we used to respond with him, sometimes still barefoot in our pyjamas. Because when that pager went off, he just had to drop what he was doing and go. A member would stay behind to dispatch at the hall so there were usually several kids in the meeting room waiting while their dads went out to help someone in need.
“I only just joined the Swan River department in the last couple of weeks and haven’t trained at all with their department as of yet,” said Linnick. “I did, however, join the Pine River department about two and a half years ago and have attended training nights with them. I recently completed my class 4A drivers, so I’m able to drive a fire truck.”
Linnick has found the call to serve a very rewarding one and is learning to balance her work and home life, with being an emergency responder.
“You never really know what you are going to encounter when a call comes in, or even when the call might come in,” said Linnick. “So far I find the most challenging to be preparing for what you are about to encounter along with juggling the need to respond with the other family and work-related commitments that I have.
“It’s great to be able to give back to the community. I have three young children and being able to show them how to give back and help others is important to me. I hope as they grow they’ll be able to be proud that their parents are firefighters and can help people in need, just like I had felt looking up to my dad.”
Linnick encourages other women who are interested in joining the local fire department to come out and take a chance on it. They just might find this a very fulfilling and rewarding way to serve the community.
“Everyone has been very welcoming and they’ve all made me feel very included in joining their family,” said Linnick. “I am proud to be able to encourage other young girls that they could be a firefighter one day too, or anything else they dream of being.
“I would tell other women who are interested in joining, that it’s a very rewarding job and that if they put their mind to it, it’s possible for them to do too. I also coach gymnastics in town, so I haven’t a chance to sometimes hear about their dreams for the future. They are all generally surprised to learn that I am a firefighter, so I hope that helps encourage them to believe that they can work towards their dreams even if they don’t look like who you would typically expect to fill a certain job.”
“As with all firefighters, there is a different perspective,” said Fedorchuk. “Every incident is different and at times it requires firefighters with a different view to reach a successful conclusion, but not only in responses, having a different view is important when it comes to other facets in the fire service like training and equipment purchasing.
“The female firefighters we have had in the department in the past, all have excelled as firefighters and were an integral part of the team. Their dedication to providing service to the Valley was not surpassed. Female firefighters are indispensable for the department to flourish and must be able to meet any future demands that may be required of us. SVFD is open to all who are interested and meet the pre-requirements.”
When it comes to women interested in joining the fire department, they go through the same procedures and requirements that any member joining the department would.
“Our process is the same for any firefighter,” said Fedorchuk. “It starts with an application to join which includes submitting a criminal record, Manitoba Child Abuse checks along with a driver abstract. Once the interview process is complete and if an applicant is successful the applicant begins service.
“In the cases where applications are received but staffing does not allow for hiring at that time the applications are kept on file for future reference in the case of an opening within the department.
“Those interested in firefighting and have any questions can stop by the firehall or are welcome to attend our training sessions which are held on the first and third Wednesday of the month from September to July,” said Fedorchuk. “They can also contact me at the office at 204-734-4403 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..”

The Swan Valley Sport Fish Enhancement (SVSFE) ran another successful summer of youth fish camps. Several local youth gained angling knowledge and experience at local lakes surrounding the Valley.
“Our fish camp ran a total of 16 days facilitating somewhere between eight and 11 kids per day,” said SVSFE Fisheries Technician Brock Koutecky. “The first eight days were spent at the Red Deer River, while the final eight days were spent at Wellman Lake. Kids can attend each location one time, therefore most kids were able to come two days with one day at each location.
“Once camp registration was open, we were full within the first 48 hours and had kids on the waiting list. After getting a better grasp of demand, we were able to accommodate the kids on the waiting list by finding other volunteers and increasing daily capacity for a few days at each location. In the end, every registered kid was able to come at least one time, and in total, we facilitated a total of 88 different kids in 2024.”
Youth learned a variety of angling skills that they got to test out during the camp. Some of them experienced reeling in their very first catch Master Angler.
“The educational component focuses on all the aspects of sport fishing,” said Koutecky. “Topics include knot tying, safety, fish behaviour, fish anatomy/biology, fish ecology and seasonal movements, proper fish handling techniques, fishing ethics, and of course angling techniques, presentation and bait selection.
“There were so many individual highlights. Many of these include stories about a specific kid catching their first fish ever, or their first Master Angler ever, or their first bass ever for example. There were sure a lot of excited kids experiencing a first and the excitement that came with those moments.”
SVSFE is already planning for next year’s youth fish camps and determining what changes or improvements can be made.
“We are still in the process of making plans for 2025, but at this time we feel that we were able to accommodate demand and will probably make a few adjustments in future years,” said Koutecky. “I don’t think we will expand the program in terms of time, but will likely increase staff and volunteers which will therefore increase daily capacity.”
A lot of work went into planning and establishing the youth fish camps, from funding to volunteers.
“We would like to thank our program funders, The Manitoba Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Fund, and the Manitoba Government,” said Koutecky. “This program would not be possible without their support.
“Also, a huge thanks to Swan Valley Credit Union (SVCU), the Community Foundation of Swan Valley, and the Paul Olenick Memorial Fund for providing funds to assist with fish camp.
“A big shout out to all the businesses and volunteers who helped in various ways including The Elbert Chartrand FC, Mil’s Grill, Wellman Lake Lodge, 734 Custom Apparel & Promo Inc., Swan Valley Star and Times, Len Thompson Lures, Sticky’s Bait and Tackle, Mitch’s Jumbo Crawlers, Northern Lites Bait, Swan Lake Watershed District, Swan River Title Loans, Manitoba Wildfire Service, Westwood Inn Hotel and Indoor Waterpark, Valley Water, Matt Black, Bruce Taylor, Ursula Taylor, Duane Fleming, Elgin Barnett, Sheldon Branconnier, Jason Vill, Tyler Ashcroft, Norm Bruce, Brian Woloshyn, Todd Yakielashek, Phil Yakielashek, Tammy Webster, and Darren Webster,” said Koutecky.

A valley youth has aspirations of being one of the best Ukrainian dancers in Canada and has been striving to achieve that goal.  Kemi Bulycz is only 16 years old and has been active in the world of Ukrainian dancing at a very early age.
“I started Ukrainian Dancing when I was three years old and joined not only because my mom is the instructor, but because I loved dancing and performing around the house,” said Kemi Bulycz.
“My family has always had a member a part of the Benito Vesselli Dance Club since its first year as a club, which has been over 40 years. My Great Grandmother, Lillian Klemetski, helped organize, fundraise, sew costumes, and was a part of the Vesselli Dance Club from the beginning. She spent many hours pinching perogies and helping with its early success.
“Her daughter, my grandmother danced with Vesselli from the beginning of the club forming and later became the instructor for many years, my mom, danced with Vesselli from three years old growing into Vesselli’s head instructor and choreographer,” said Bulycz. “I have many aunts, uncles and cousins who Ukrainian dance, so I guess you can say it’s tradition and one way our family shares our love for Ukrainian culture. My two younger siblings are also a part of Vesselli and one of our favourite dances to perform is our sibling family dance.
“I love everything about Ukrainian dance but if I had to name what I love and enjoy the most it would be sharing my Ukrainian culture with the community.  I also enjoy learning more about the regions of Ukraine and how unique they each are; learning new dances; watching myself and my group and improve every dance season; and my absolute favourite part is performing on stage whether that be at competitions or Malanka, which is our year-end concert or guest performing within the community. I always feel excited and proud when I’m asked to guest perform at events like folk fest, weddings, family gatherings, etc., because I get to share my culture and what I love to do with everyone. 
“My current Ukrainian dance groups are Benito Vesselli Dance Club and Liliya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble,” said Bulycz.  “I also danced with Hudson Bay Cheremka Ukrainian Dance Club for 13 years but performed my last concert with them this spring.” 
Bulycz had the opportunity to attend the Spirit of Virsky this year in Alberta.  The Spirit of Virsky is an annual summer training program designed for all abilities of Ukrainian dancers around the world. Its goal is to push dancers to the highest levels and prepare them to be the best they can be.
“At a competition I attended this spring, one of the organizers from Ukrainian Dance World, who was helping bring the Spirit of Virsky Seminar to Canada, approached me,” said Bulycz.  “He is known in the Ukrainian dance community as an adjudicator, choreographer, advocate for Ukraine, and more. He was the instructor at the Rusulka Dance Camp I attended last summer and has watched me perform on stage at competitions.
“He brought up the seminar and told me that it would be a great opportunity for me to attend and help me grow in Ukrainian dance.
“The Spirit of Virsky Seminar was in Edmonton, AB, from July 15 to 20 and averaged six to seven hours of dance per day,” said Bulycz.  “We were taught by the best of the best in Ukrainian dance with the instructors being Viktoriya Karpenko, Maks Karpenko, and Tania Okseniuk from Virsky in Ukraine.
“We learned classical ballet, barre, jumps, spins, tricks, dance technique, Virsky Choreography and much more.  The experience was amazing and it felt great to walk into the Shumka Studio.”
Being at the Spirt of Virsky for the first time was an eye-opening experience for Bulycz.  She met and danced with Ukrainian dancers from all over the world.
“Being from a small town we typically practice in a school gym or a community hall,” said Bulycz. It was exciting to be in the Shumka Studio which had multiple practice rooms with mirrors and bars. 
“On my first day, I felt a little nervous being taught by the best Ukrainian dancers in the world and learning alongside some of the best dancers in Canada from Shumka, Cheremosh, and Volya, but I quickly got over my nerves and truly enjoyed the experience. Dancers from all over Canada, New York and Australia were there and it was fun to make new friendships and hear about their dance schools.
“In the evenings we enjoyed watching Virsky performances, had pizza parties and bonded over our love for Ukrainian dance and culture,” said Bulycz.  “I honestly enjoyed the whole seminar and every day I was excited to go back, even with tired legs and sore feet.”
There were components to the Spirit of Virsky seminar that Bulycz really enjoyed.  Despite the long hours of dancing, she enjoyed all aspects of it and knows that she will take home this experience and apply it to her future Ukrainian dancing techniques and performances.
“My absolute favourite part about the seminar was learning Virsky Choreography from famous dances like Pleskach and Hopak,” said Bulycz.  “We were taught a total of five Virsky dances over the week along with two warm-up dances. It was intense but a lot of fun and I learnt a lot. 
“On the last day of the seminar, we performed the seven dances we were taught for friends and family. Performing a 30-minute mini concert without any breaks we received a standing ovation and it felt amazing.
“The seminar helped me tremendously with Ukrainian dance,” said Bulycz.  “With the help of the three instructors, I was able to focus on arm, leg and foot positions, strengthen my ballet technique, and dance at a higher skill level than I am used to.
“This will all benefit and help me, and my future in Ukrainian dance. I will be able to practice what I learned at home and in dance practice, and also help my dance group by sharing everything I was taught.”
Bulycz has more plans for the summer with her Ukrainian dancing and will be performing and attending another Ukrainian dance camp this year.  All of this will be more experience she can use to apply to her Ukrainian dancing and achieve her goals of travelling as a professional Ukrainian dancer all over the world.
“I performed my Poltava Solo as well as a Volyn Trio with Vesselli Dancers Ava and Grace Keller at Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin over the weekend of August 3 to 5,” said Bulycz.  “I will be attending for my second year, the Rusulka Ukrainian Dance Camp in Gimli, MB. 
“I’m excited to start a new dance season in September with Benito Vesselli Dance Club and Liliya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble.   I hope to one day, join a professional Ukrainian Dance Group and travel the world performing.” 

Recently part of the Swan River Personal Care Home (SRPCH) walls got a whole new facelift that reveals a breathtaking view for the residents who live there. Valley artist Melanie Bird has painted a mural for the residents at SRPCH and their visitors to enjoy.
“A family of one of the residents reached out to me to see if I would be interested in doing a mural at the SRPCH,” said Bird. “This family knew me well and knew that I was an artist. They had also seen some of the mural work that my sister had been doing in care homes in Winnipeg and wondered if that was something that I could do as well.
“Once they knew I was interested they got the approval from the SRPCH to proceed.”
The scene painted on the mural had to be something that resonated with the Valley and the residents. It was decided that painting a farm scene would be best suited and draw out the best engagement amongst the residents.
“It was collectively agreed between the family that approached me, the residents, board and staff, that the painting should reflect the scenes of the Valley, as well as be something that the residents would connect to,” said Bird. “Something that would conjure up fond memories for them.
“From there we determined that a farm scene, which included several farm animals, that was set in a valley would be perfect. I did a couple of small mock-ups for them to choose from and with a couple of tweaks and additions, I was ready to get started.”
It didn’t take too long for Bird to finish the mural once she started. She even took extra measures to make sure the mural was well protected and could be enjoyed well into the future.
“It took me about seven days to paint,” said Bird. “Once the paint cured for a few days I did a few layers of a protective coating just to make sure the painting would be something the residents, staff and visitors could enjoy for many years to come.”
The feedback Bird has received about the mural at the SRPCH has been good. The residents enjoyed the process of watching her create it and have been engaged with it ever since.
“So far all the responses have been very positive,” said Bird. “The residents seemed to really enjoy seeing the animals begin to emerge as I was painting, I think that was what they connected with the most. People also commented on how much they liked the vibrant colours of the painting as well.
“It was such a joy to see the residents light up when they would see the painting as it progressed. It was also fun to hear their comments and suggestions along the way. I couldn’t possibly paint all of the things they suggested but it was neat to know that they were connecting with what I was doing and it seemed to be something that they truly enjoyed.
“A few of the residents would sit on their walkers or wheelchairs and watch what I was doing for hours, sometimes even fall asleep as they watched,” said Bird. “One of the favourite things that residents liked to comment on was what colour I was going to paint that tractor. Some thought it should be green and others thought red, in the end, I chose red simply because it stood out better against the green background, but it gave me a good chuckle listening to their opinions on the matter.
“It was also a pleasure to see some familiar faces from the community and connect with people who were once actively involved here in the valley and were now residents at the PCH.”

Team Saskatchewan’s #80 is the Valley’s own Tyler Petelski, who travelled to Fredericton, N.B., to play in the National U18 Women’s Tackle Football Championships from July 20 to 28...

The new CT Scanner at the Swan River Hospital has been an investment well worth the while. It has been reducing both wait and travel times for people in the Valley to receive diagnostic services. The CT Scanner has been operational for just over a month and has completed over 200 scans.
“The new CT scanner in Swan River scanned its first patient on May 15, 2024, as part of training exercises, with the system formally coming online on June 17, 2024,” said a spokesperson for Shared Health. As of July 8, 2024, 283 patients had received CT scans in Swan River.
“In the first three weeks of operations, approximately a dozen scans per work day have been completed on patients who would have otherwise had to leave the Swan Valley area and travel to Dauphin, Brandon, The Pas or Winnipeg for care.”
Thanks to the local contributions, half of the costs of the CT Scanner was funded from the Valley, with the remainder from the provincial government.
“Community groups raised more than $1 million towards the $2-million-plus capital project, which includes equipment, installation and renovation of the space,” said a spokesperson for Shared Health. “Shared Health assumes ongoing operational costs.
An open house for the Swan River CT Scanner is being planned for the near future.

Community members in Benito have teamed up to bring the dream of a splash park into reality. Earlier this year, a dedicated group of individuals formed the Benito Splash Park committee and began planning and fundraising for the project.
“Currently, we would be in phase 1 planning and fundraising,” said Benito Splash Park Committee Member Brad Kushniryk. “We have an outside organization assisting with grant applications to try and keep on top of those as more organizations need funding to complete projects than ever before.”
Just last week the Benito Splash Park Committee announced they finalized the design concepts and layouts for the splash park. The goal was to make this splash park accessible for people of all ages and abilities.
“We tried to keep the park user-friendly for all ages and abilities, so it will have structures aimed at toddlers to adults, should they choose to take part,” said Kushniryk. “There will be the giant bucket dumping water, which is a favourite, as well as a misting tower to keep parents cool on hot days if they choose not to be directly in the water features.
“It will be located on the rec grounds north of the playground. Most people know where the arena is, so just to the north of that building with the ball diamonds. There will be about 2,300 square feet covered by the actual spray area and just over 3,000 square feet for the pad itself.”
The Benito Splash Park Committee has been working hard at fundraising for the project and held a summer raffle at the beginning of June. Now they are still accepting donations towards the splash park and are hoping to reach their goal soon.
“The total cost has been quoted at $370,000,” said Kushniryk. “To date, we would be between 40 to 50 percent of that committed.
“There is still potential to break ground for this year, but without some more funding coming in before the contractors fill their schedule, we will have to aim for a spring start. The Municipality of Swan Valley West office will accept donations on behalf of the Benito Splash Park and can issue charitable receipts. You can also contact Holly at 204-281-2898 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..”