Shawn Bailey
Back to school
Prospective students interested in the mature student high school diploma program through the Centre for Adult Learning at Assiniboine Community College’s Parkland Campus, had an opportunity to gather some information during an open house, Aug. 17.
The event helped guide and inform those looking to earn their high school diploma, upgrade marks, or take additional credits.
The centre offers on-campus instruction, full-time or part-time classes, and flexible class options.
For more information, prospective students can call 204-622-2222 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
City pleased with development plan
To function efficiently, achieve growth and attract new businesses, communities cannot rely on blind luck, a proper roadmap is required.
To that end the City of Dauphin has been working hard on a new Development Plan and held a public hearing as part of the adoption process at its regular council meeting, Aug.14.
The current plan was created in 2010 and adopted in 2012, City manager Sharla Griffiths said, making it important to get the new guide in place soon.
“There’s a requirement, also, in the Planning Act for a periodic review of the development plan,” she said. “And it does state that every five years after it comes into effect, or from the date of the last review, it should be reviewed again. So we are far past when we needed to review it.”
The development plan is meant to promote the optimum economic, social, environmental and physical conditions of an area.
There's more to this story in this week's Dauphin Herald!
Lunch with benefits
Parkland Campus Kids Daycare held a fund-raising barbecue at the Dauphin Co-op Food Store, Aug. 17, in aid of its operations at the Assiniboine Community College Parkland Campus.
The facility is licensed for 28 preschoolers and 12 infants, with ACC students getting preferred access for their child-care needs.
The centre is open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and offers a hot lunch program, as well as two healthy snacks every day.
NDP pledge new jail
A new Community Centre for Justice for Dauphin is on the list of priorities should the Manitoba New Democrats form the next provincial government.
Party leader Wab Kinew was in the city, Aug. 18, sharing his plans to develop the facility, three years after the governing Progressive Conservatives unexpectedly and abruptly closed the Dauphin Correctional Centre.
“If our team forms the next government here in Manitoba in this fall’s election, we will build a new Dauphin Justice Center. We will build a new Dauphin Justice Center to replace the Dauphin jail that the PCs closed,” Kinew said. “We’re going to be building a facility that improves safety in the community and in the region. We’re going to be building a facility that is a concrete step towards addressing the crime that is too often present in our community. But we are also going to be making an economic investment to bring good paying jobs back to Dauphin and back to families who live in the Parkland.”
The plan, Kinew said, is centred on community safety and will act as a vehicle when interventions are necessary to address people who “are on a bad path” and need to be taken off the streets.
“But from there, we need to have a facility where we can address the addictions, we can address the trauma, we can address the issues that are causing them to go down the bad path and then we can show them how to lead a better life,” he said. “Specifically, the importance of working a good job and the benefits of hard work. This is part of what we need to see in responding to the issues around safety in our community.”
The closure of the Dauphin Correctional Centre by the governing PCs not only impacted community safety, Kinew said, but was economically difficult for the community given the loss of 80 jobs.
“And even though they tried to spin it this way and that way, at the end of the day from those 80 people who lost their jobs about 60 of them moved out of Dauphin entirely and the remaining 20, they lost work. They lost those jobs entirely,” he said, adding the Dauphin Centre for Justice will right that wrong. “We would like to bring back the 80 jobs. We would like to work towards that. We’ll work with the municipal leaders, MMF, First Nations. Those new jobs might look different than they did before because we might have some of the correctional type jobs that were there previously. Now we might also have some mental health, addictions training, educational type workers, as well as the maintenance staff. So we want to bring back the 80 jobs that were lost and we’re going to work with the community to make sure that it’s the right fit to hit those goals.”
What the new centre will look like will depend on extensive consultation with stakeholders, but as a starting point, Kinew anticipates an initial investment of $40 million to develop a 60-bed facility with annual operating costs of $5 million to $7 million.
“We’re going to have to spend some time looking at the scale. We want the municipal leaders and Indigenous leaders to be on side with that, so I don’t think we can prejudge that process,” he said. “At the same time the construction phase, I would imagine, is going to take some time, as well. But we will put shovels into the ground within a first term of a Manitoba NDP government.”
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Capital work golden
Unseasonably dry conditions have enabled City of Dauphin Public works crews to progress well into the 2023 capital plan.
“Things are going really well. Our capital projects have all been started,” director of Public Works and Operations Mike Vanalstyne said. “We’ve got the majority of our capital sidewalk work complete, water main renewals have been ongoing and road work started two or three weeks ago.”
One of the higher profile projects has been the replacement of paving stones with poured concrete on Main Street sidewalks.
The plan this year was to complete the sidewalks on the east side of Main Street from 8th Avenue South to 10th Avenue South to progress the multi-year project and things have gone flawlessly, VanAlstyne said.
“We have all the downtown left to do, too. So I’m going to hope in the next four to six years we have it all complete,” he said, adding the weather has been a real boon for the crews. “It’s been great. It has let us get a lot of work done earlier than normal.”
But that does not mean that Public Works crews will be standing around with nothing to do.
“We have got lots of other projects and maintenance work away from the capital stuff that we can get caught up on a little bit,” VanAlstyne said. “There’s always something to do.”
IMWD tour a chance for the district to promote successes
Inter-Mountain Watershed District (IMWD) has been conducting important environmental work throughout the area for many years.
And last week, IMWD staff had the opportunity to share some of its successes with their peers from around the province when the district hosted a two-day tour of the area.
IMWD’s boundaries extend from the Rural Municipality of Mountain in the north to Riding Mountain National Park in the south and from The Municipality of McCreary in the east to the Rural Municipality of Riding Mountain West.
And with the district covering a total of 12,508 square kilometres, an area larger than Prince Edward Island, there was a lot to look at, said IMWD general manager Jeff Thiele.
“We started in Ste. Rose and looked at a lot of the bridges and waterways and shale problems we’re having down there and things we’re working on down there,” Thiele said, during a stop for a presentation at the farm of Ernie and Jan Sirski, northwest of Dauphin.
Get the full story in this week's Dauphin Herald!
Main Street South project bids come in higher than expected
The tender to find a contractor to lead the redevelopment of Main Street South has closed, but higher than expected estimates have resulted in further delays to the project.
“It’s closed, but it’s not awarded officially yet. We’re working out money,” City of Dauphin director of Public Works and Operations Mike VanAlstyne said. “It came in well over budget. I don’t have any indication why right now. We were somewhat surprised by the pricing, for sure.”
Originally estimated to cost $13.5 million, the 1.7-km project covers a section of PTH 5A from Whitmore Ave., south to Triangle Road, and includes surface reconstruction with the creation of a divided highway.
The plans call to improve safety in the commercial area by having all local accesses connect to service roads, and service roads connecting to PTH 5A at upgraded intersections. Those service roads will be constructed along both the east and west sides of highway from their existing points south to Triangle Road.
As well, a new intersection allowing access to Dauphin Market Place Mall will be developed, complete with traffic signals.
Included in the project is a new drainage system design for the south end, which had been estimated to cost $8.15 million which the city will debenture through the province.
“We’re trying to work the financing out on our end here and we’re just waiting to hear back from our provincial partners. We’re waiting on the province right now to see how they can help us out,” VanAlstyne said. “We hope to have something settled in the next few weeks, I hope, and see some dirt moving by the fall.”
Barbecue circuit
Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa MP Dan Mazier took the opportunity to connect with some of his constituents over a hotdog, last week, when he hosted his annual barbecue in the parking lot of Dauphin Market Place Mall, Aug.16.
The MP also hosted a well attended pop-up passport clinic in the Aspen Lodge at the Parkland Recreation Complex later in the day, complete with a photographer on site to take and print official passport photographs.
Seeking fairness
Anyone who stopped by the Liquor Mart in Dauphin, July 19, looking for an adult beverage instead found Manitoba Government Employees Union members who are employed at the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries facility on the picket line.
The local workers joined 1,400 of their peers in a one-day strike to draw attention to the fact the union has been without a contract since last March.
MGEU president Kyle Ross says the union is pushing for a fair and reasonable deal, including a 3.3 per cent wage increase, to provide frontline workers with fair compensation to keep up with inflation.
Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries said in a statement that negotiations were to resume later in the week, and that it remains committed to reaching a fair collective agreement.
This year’s CNUF to feature new and different attractions
If you think after 57 years you know what Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival is all about, get ready to be surprised.
The annual celebration of Ukrainian culture and heritage has plenty of new and different attractions to keep fesitvalgoers interested and entertained.
And that is reflected in ticket sales.
“We are so excited. Actually our ticket sales are going phenomenal, so good, in fact, we had to release more upper camping spots,” CNUF president Kayla Gillis said. “We haven’t done that since our 50th anniversary, so we’re very excited to have a lot of ticket sales in advance and to need some more upper camping.”
One of the changes this year involves moving the showcase performance up in the schedule.
“Our extravaganza show is going to be on Saturday night instead of on Sunday night this year. The dance group can only make it for the Saturday night, they had to travel back to Alberta on the Sunday,” Gillis said adding ticket sales for Saturday are heating up. “So we’re just changing things up a little bit to see if it makes a difference. Our Sunday night show is going to feature something special, as well. So you’ll have to come to check it out and see what it is.”
The extravaganza show features the Edmonton-based dance group Shumka.
Established in 1959, the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers is Canada’s only professional Ukrainian dance company. Shumka presents dance-theatre touring productions, as well as intimate concerts across the country and around the world and has been seen by millions on international television broadcasts. The company has presented command performances for queens, prime ministers, and presidents, and has performed alongside many big name entertainers. Along with Alberta Ballet and Edmonton Opera, Shumka is a resident company of the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.
Fans will be treated to a first-class performance as more than 60 years of history has shaped Shumka’s signature music and dance style. While maintaining deep respect for their heritage, Shumka challenges conventional boundaries to define the experience of Ukrainian dance in the context of modern society. Shumka has completed nine cross-Canada tours, and toured China and Ukraine on two occasions, including with one of its biggest productions, Shumka’s Cinderella which premiered in 2000.
Shumka will share the festival stages throughout the weekend with many other top-notch entertainers including Vohon Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, Trembita, Zirka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, Zabutnyy Dance Company, DJ Gordo, Mashyna, Tyt i Tam, Chaban Ukrainian Dance Group, Druzhba Ensemble, Prairie Fire, Rushnychok Ukrainian Folk Dance Association, Bratstva, Lyra Vocal Group, The Sparkling Tones, Party Time Orchestra and Sche Raz, among others.
Between performances, Gillis said patrons can check out some of the other changes being made this year, including the Farmers’ Market on Saturday afternoon in the cultural village.
Another change includes holding the talent competition on Friday only this year, due to a low number of entries.
“And then on Saturday to replace it, we are offering a dance workshop with our adjudicators, so that’s pretty large for all the young dancers,” Gillis said. “We just needed to do what we had to, to make sure that everybody still had something to do on the Saturday morning.”
Another attraction this year involves the 50th anniversary celebration of Canada’s Riding and Dancing Cossacks and Company.
“They’re having a celebration on the Saturday in the Cultural Village, as well in their Cossack Camp and all alumni are invited to join in,” Gillis said.
Another new attraction this year is the Friday Night Festival Social.
“A next-gen social at our Polka Party stage, trying to get that younger crowd to come up to the hill,” Gillis said.
Of course, there will still be five amazing grandstand variety shows in the spacious amphitheatre, she added, as well as four sponsor stages with ongoing hourly entertainment all weekend, evening zabavas and polka parties, ongoing entertainment in the heritage village, a vendors pavilion, food booths, early morning pancake breakfasts all three days, a return shuttle service from Dauphin and on-site shuttle service, children’s entertainment and activities, fresh clay oven bread, Saturday fireworks, a perogy eating contest and the popular Festival Parade, Saturday at 10 a.m.
It all adds up to an exciting weekend at Selo Ukraina, Aug. 4 to 6.
“Obviously we’re doing a little bit of shuffling. I don’t know if that’s the reasoning for our ticket sales to be significantly higher or if everybody’s out of COVID and ready to party again, I’m not sure. I think probably a little bit of both,” Gillis said. “We have new things and there are also some new things that I didn’t mention. So even if you’ve been before, come because it’s going to be different. We’re still going to honor our Ukrainian culture and heritage, but we’ve added a few new flares. Bring a buddy that’s never been and please come out and support us, so that we can keep going for next year and many, many more years to come.”