The DRCSS varsity boys basketball team got its season off to a solid start claiming the B-side championship at the Sanford Early Cat 16 Team Tournament.

Following an 81-69 first-round loss to a strong St. Maurice club, the Clippers rebounded and did not look back. The DRCSS team took charge in their final three games, defeating Grandview/Gilbert Plains 83-65, downing Stonewall 85-38 and beating the home team Sanford 49-38 in the B-side final.

Varsity girls

The DRCSS varsity girls basketball team brought home third place at its first tournament of the season, the Crocus Plains tournament.

The local team won its first game against Vincent Massey 61-32. With a short bench, they fell to Neelin 38-53 in the semifinal. The team then played Warren for third place and won 52-31. Tazz Genik was named a tournament all-star.

The Christmas Cup is returning to Dauphin after the Westman High School Hockey League’s Clippers took down the Neepawa Tigers 5-4 at Credit Union Place, Thursday.

Dauphin opened the scoring early when Trayden Guiboche scored his first of two straight in the game but Neepawa tallied three unanswered to grab a 3-1 lead in the second period.

In the second Guiboche and Tyron Sweetman scored to get the Clippers back on even terms before they fell behind 4-3 in the third period.

Dauphin then got goal from Liam Chartrand to even things up and Logan Chapman notched the game winner on the power play.

Head Coach Josh Yaschyshyn said the team had some nerves early on but pushed through them and came back.

“The rink was really full for the game, it was fantastic. Once we got hit a couple times and found our legs we were able to get the teddy bear goal out of the way. It was a really good effort for us.”

Dauphin found themselves in trouble when it came to penalties, especially in the second period but Yaschyshyn credits his team’s defence and penalty kill group for getting them through the turbulence.

“We’ve got a real strong penalty kill, we use lots of players on it and they’re not afraid to block shots, get hit or make a play along the wall. I’d like to say we’re a defence first team,” he said. “We haven’t given up a lot of goals this season so far and we take a lot of pride in that.”

Clipper captain Chapman came up big for his team in the third period, scoring the game winner on the man advantage. Yaschyshyn says he’s been a very dependable guy all season.

“He hasn’t had the greatest puck luck this year, but he sets the tone for us each and every night,” Yaschyshyn said. “We gave up two quick goals in the second to fall behind 3-1 and he really settled us down and led the way for us. Same with Trayden Guiboche, they were awesome for us.”

Between the pipes it was Owen Chubka stopping 32 of the 36 shots he faced for the victory.

Dauphin now heads into its Christmas break and will not return to the ice for WHSHL play until Jan. 7, when they host the Birtle Falcons at Credit Union Place.

The Clippers sit first in the league standings with a record of 14-2-0 on the year, two points ahead of the Killarney Raiders.

Yaschyshyn adds it’s nice to have the Christmas Cup back in the city of sunshine.

“There may not be an uglier trophy, but I would not trade it for the world.”

While Assistant Commissioner Rob Hill took over command of Manitoba RCMP in July, the change in leadership was officially recognized in a special ceremony last week.

Officers, employees, and special guests from across the province and nationwide welcomed the new commanding officer in a traditional RCMP Change of Command ceremony at the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg.

The ceremony is an RCMP tradition that marks the symbolic handover of authority from the outgoing Commanding Officer to the new leader of the force in the province. The ceremony involved RCMP Pipes and Drums, a ceremonial troop, and a flag party. There was a parchment signing and the transfer of the Divisional ensign from outgoing Commanding Officer Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy to Hill. RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki oversaw the ceremony.

“While we are sad to see Assistant Commissioner MacLatchy go, she is leaving the province of Manitoba in very good hands,” Lucki said. “Assistant Commissioner Rob Hill brings a breadth of experience to the role. He has Manitoba roots that tie him firmly to the people of this province. He is committed to building relationships, employee wellness and rural crime reduction, and I know he will tackle these issues with the same enthusiasm he brings to everything involving public safety.”

Hill joined the RCMP in 1997 and spent 10 years in Manitoba with postings in Morris, Island Lake and Winnipeg Drug Section. While in Manitoba, he became involved in the Critical Incident Program as a Tactical Medic with the Emergency Response Team.

In 2007, he accepted a position with the National Critical Incident Program in Ottawa, where he developed and oversaw the implementation of the RCMP’s Tactical Casualty Management Program. During his time in Ottawa, he was involved in planning and operational deployments to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and the 2010 G8 and G20 Summits.

In 2013, Hill was promoted to Inspector and moved to the Arctic where he was a Critical Incident Commander and the Administration and Personnel Officer for Nunavut RCMP.

In 2016, he transferred to Alberta and was the officer in charge of Stony Plain/Spruce Grove/Enoch Detachment. He was later promoted to Superintendent as the Assistant District Officer of the Central Alberta District. During this time, he continued duties as a Critical Incident Commander.

In February 2019, he was appointed to the position of Criminal Operations Officer with the Manitoba RCMP.

“I am humbled and excited to take on the role of Commanding Officer,” Hill said. “I commit to continue to learn from the lived experiences of diverse RCMP employees and the diverse communities we serve to make sure we are having the necessary discussions and are moving in the right direction. We are living and policing in challenging times, but I am optimistic about our future. I think the more we work together as people, as communities, the better we will be able to forge a path forward.”

Heather Kindret’s Grade 9 Life/Work class from the Dauphin Regional Comprehensive Secondary School visited Dauphin Regional Health Centre and the personal care home as part of their career exploration.

The class was appreciative of facility staff for the great tour of the facility and the snacks provided.

The career development program is divided into five themes - Personal Management, Career Exploration , Learning and Planning, Job Seeking and Job Maintenance and Career and Community Experiences.

The program provides students with an overview of career development outcomes with emphasis on building positive self-esteem, exploring self-assessment, locating work information, and selecting high school courses.

A petition has popped up on Change.org calling out Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute (MBCI) for creating a strict rule about students not being allowed to have backpacks and jackets in class and that those items must be kept in students’ lockers.
Within the petition that was sent to MBCI Principal Trevor Lane, a student had made comments about the unfairness of not allowing students to have their backpacks or jackets with them in class. Issues of carrying all the books needed was brought up and the inconvenience of having a locker located on the other side of the school from the classroom a student may be in, was another. The petition goes so far to say that if things are not changed, there will be a peaceful protest.
What seems to be forgotten in all of this is the actual reasoning behind it and the fact that this is not a new rule.
“There has been a lot of misunderstanding and inaccuracy surrounding the policy that MBCI has around not allowing backpacks or jackets in class,” said MBCI Principal Trevor Lane. “I will accept responsibility for not incorporating this policy back in to action when school started in September. This would have been brought up back then during the orientation meetings with students. I also should have gone around to each classroom and explained why this had to go back to the way it was before.

The Town of the Pas Council met last Wednesday for their final meeting of the 2022 year. With the recent amount of snowfall that has taken place in the area, council is making it a priority to focus on how to better streamline this service going forward.
“What we’re wanting to do is bring some more visibility to the whole snow removal process and by-laws,” said Town of The Pas Mayor Andre Murphy. “Our administration and public works are going to sit down and see if there’s a better way of doing snow removal. One of the biggest challenges I see is really around communication of it.

I would bet that any child wants to be a superhero at some point in their life. If a child is dealing with a life-threatening illness like cancer, I would bet they would likely love to be pulled from their reality and dream of flying or super strength or super speed.
A group of avid quilters were able to provide a tiny bit of wish fulfillment and cozy comfort when they sewed together 22 quilts with designs of superhero bodies so 22 children would be able to assume their own alter egos when they use the quilt.
“A few years ago, I started a journey that has taken me to places I never imagined it would,” said Jocelyn Marchuk, who organized the quilters.
“I started volunteering as a pattern test for several fantastic quilt designers from across North America. One of these designers is a Manitoba lady by the name of Jennifer Long of Bee Sew Inspired (located in Manitou). Jennifer makes both quilt and doll patterns, as well as more recently designing some fabrics for and working with Riley Blake Designs.
“A couple of years ago, Jennifer put the Be A Superhero quilt up for testing and all I could think was ‘Wow! This would make an awesome quilt to make multiples of and give to children going through cancer treatments in the hospital during the holidays’,” Marchuk continued. “I knew that this could not happen during COVID, but it always was in the back of my mind.
“This year, the pattern kept popping up on more posts and it kept reminding me that I should follow through with my idea.”
At the beginning of October, Marchuk put a challenge out to all of her quilting friends, with the idea of others making the quilt tops and supplying the backing, and Marchuk herself would supply the batting, put it all together and deliver them to the Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg in time for Christmas.
“My goal was to get 20, but I said I would commit to 25,” said Marchuk. “I am happy to say that we received 22.
“I am so thrilled with the variety of colours and the special care these ladies put into all of their quilts. I have quilts from ladies from all across Manitoba, as well as a lovely lady who messaged me and asked if she could join our cause from Reno, Nevada. She mailed me her quilt top and asked me for the number of our local quilt shop so she could purchase her backing from our local store.”
Each quilt has a card attached with a message of joy and strength and tells the family who created their individual quilt.
On Wednesday (Dec. 7), the quilts were gathered to be photographed together at the SVRSS, with one quilt being presented to Cameron Coulthart, a Grade 12 student who has been battling his own cancer diagnosis.
On Friday morning (Dec. 9), Marchuk met with a Child Life team representative at the Health Sciences Centre to deliver the precious cargo.
“Although this project was my idea, it is really the ladies who answered the call and who are my superheros, and I want to thank them all for making my wish come true,” said Marchuk.
“Children is where my heart is. When you’ve seen families struggle with children who have been diagnosed with cancer and have to go through these struggles, this was something that I could do, create a little bit of joy for these families and their children. Hopefully we did that.
“I would like to now challenge everyone to take some time and think of a way that you can use your time and talents to bring joy to those around you during this holiday season,” Marchuk continued, adding that there are 110 beds in the Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg, so it’s never too late to make something special for the children who have to stay there over Christmas or any time of year.

The frigid temperatures didn’t stop the crowds from coming out on Friday night (Dec. 16) to Mistletoe Magic at the Swan Valley Historical Museum. A huge crowd lined up for the opportunity to ride on the horse drawn sleigh and witness the magic of the lights while riding on straw bales. Inside the museum hall, attendees could warm up with some free hotdogs and hot chocolate before a visit with Santa in his sleigh.

Families from around the area have gathered for generations at the Silverton Hall to celebrate the coming of the Christmas season.

This year was no different as grandparents and parents brought their youngsters to meet with Santa and his elves and gathered together around the manger under the Christmas Star.

See more in this week's Russell Banner!

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for Tanya Thompson and her girls.... First, the Major Pratt Lady Trojans swept the MHSAA AA Volleyball provincials - losing only one set throughout the entire tournament.

Looking at the statistics, as Thompson pointed out, this level of success is nothing new for this team.

“I’ve been doing some stats on our team’s year and thought the season we played 136 set of volleyball and of that, we lost 18 sets in the whole year,” Tanya proudly pointed out. After the weekend of AA volleyball provincial competition in The Pas, Tanya and three of her girls headed into Winnipeg for the gala Volleyball Manitoba evening where Tanya was awarded the AA coach of the year for the MHSAA 2022 season.

Some of Tanya’s accomplishments include: -Former Team Manitoba player -AA varsity girls provincial champions - 2021 (coach) -Team Manitoba Assistant coach - 2022; champions at the 2022 Summer Games -AA varsity girls provincial champions - 2022 (coach)

“I was surprised and very proud,” Tanya said. “I know the time I have spent in the gym with these girls - that’s the important thing - so I don’t need that award to feel good about my coaching - but it was definitely nice to be recognized by my peers.”

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