The Swan Valley Historical Museum held their Winter Warm-Up event this past weekend (Jan. 24), welcoming the band, The Pugs, featuring Steve (Left), Ken
(Middle), and Claude. The Swan Valley Co-op provided appetizers and along with some craft beer sampling courtesy of Black Wheat Brewing

Members of the Duck Mountain Cottage Owners Association (DMCOA) have been growing increasingly concerned with a seemingly new wildlands conservation policy known as Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCA).
The DMCOA had board members attend a meeting held by the Manitoba Wildlife Federation (MWF) in October, where they were informed that there was a plan to establish nine IPCAs in Manitoba.
Want to know more? Read all about it in this week’s Review.

One Mountain View School Division trustee is upset with and speaking out against a new divisionwide directive that will require students to sing “God Save the King” as part of their daily morning exercises.

Jarri Thompson took to Facebook to spread the word after learning about the requirement secondhand, last week.

“This wasn’t a directive of the board. It was a directive of the chair (trustee Jason Gryba), not on behalf of the board, even though he thinks so,” Thompson said.

“I had given him the opportunity to call a meeting and discuss it as a board, but he seems to think that because it is in the Public Schools Act he doesn’t need to go through the board.”

As part of the 1988 Schools Patriotic Observances Regulation under The Education Administration Act, students are required to sing the opening verse of “God Save the King” at the end of the day or as part of the opening exercises.

The practice was abandon by school divisions in the province following direction from the education minister of the time, approximately 25 years ago. However, the regulation was never officially removed from the legislation. No public school in Manitoba currently includes the song in its opening exercises.

As of Monday, MVSD schools were told to include the song in their opening exercises immediately following the land acknowledgment and announcements.

“I don’t know the procedure behind it except for the one that has been leaked online. Nobody’s shared any procedure with the board itself,” Thompson said, adding the directive is causing concern among the division’s teaching staff.

“It was brought to my attention that teachers don’t know what to tell the students. They’ve been working on reconciliation and the true past of Canada and how the monarchy plays into that. Now they’re going to tell these students to stand to an anthem that is not our own anthem.”

Thompson has received direction from the Manitoba School Boards Association indicating the MVSD board as a whole is required to discuss the issue “as presented by the CEO.”

“Regardless of the fact that it’s still in the act, the board chair was still supposed to talk to the whole board. We were still supposed to sit and discuss this procedure and none of us have done that as far as I know,” she said.

In an email response to a request for information, Gryba stressed that   board approval is not necessary.

“The decision to align with the legislation outlined in The Education Administration Act and Regulations does not require a vote or discussion at the board table. When trustees take their oath of office, they swear to uphold the PSA and other governing Acts and Regulations. Following this legislation is not a matter of debate; it is our duty as trustees to enforce the law. Any concerns with the PSA should be directed to the provincial government, as boards lack the authority to override or disregard provincial legislation.”

Gryba also indicated the new directive offers the opportunity for educating students about their country’s history, including the treaties signed between the Crown and Indigenous people.

Read the full story in this week’s edition of The Dauphin Herald.

With the frosty temperatures going down to a blistering -35 degrees, some snowmobilers took advantage of the cold day. Tucker Thompson pops a wheelie.

A visit to Roblin’s Fall Harvest Festival craft show to sell tickets for a Lions fundraiser may mean we’ll be hearing them roaring here again.
5M13 District Lions (Manitoba) is inviting all community members to attend an upcoming information meeting to gauge interest in the Lions and once again working together to collaborate on projects that will improve the lives of neighbors and the community.
Read all about it in this week’s Review

Not only is January one of the coldest months but it’s also known to be the bluest month of the year. Blue Monday is coming up and many people are facing challenges with mental health, depression, or just a hard time in general.
“Blue Monday is a term applied to the third Monday of January, which is January 20 this year, and has been labelled as the most depressing day of the year,” said Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Swan Valley Branch Peer Support and Public Education Coordinator Rod Seib. “The original idea was conceived by a travel company in the UK in the early 2000s. A psychologist was commissioned to generate a formula that would provide the basis for promoting this day as the most depressing time of the year.

A provincial annual hands-on environmental education competition for high school students is returning to The Pas this year. The Manitoba Envirothon will host one of its five regional events in The Pas as part of the northern district in April 2025.
“The Manitoba Envirothon is an annual hands-on environmental education competition for high schools from across the province, designed to encourage teamwork, problem-solving skills, and public speaking skills while fostering an appreciation for current environmental issues,” said Manitoba Association of Watersheds Community Engagement Coordinator Kathryn Gibb. “The program helps students develop skills necessary to address environmental issues, such as collaboration, critical thinking, and public debate.

The Pas Fire Department is looking to grow its firefighting team by recruiting paid on-call firefighters to join their ranks. The department is not fully staffed and hopes this can help attract some new members.
“According to our by-law, we are allowed to have a maximum of 30 firefighters,” said The Pas Fire Department Fire Chief Byron Shangraw. “We are currently sitting at 20, so in the best-case scenario, we would like to recruit 10.
“The candidates would start by coming out to our weekly training to see if they enjoy it. If they do, we will then host a recruit training weekend where they will learn all the skills needed to become a defensive firefighter and once completed, they will then receive a pager.

Michael Mason Campbell, 27, is wanted by Moose Lake RCMP for Assault x2, along with a number of weapons charges.
Campbell is 5’6” tall, 145lbs and travels frequently between Moose Lake and The Pas. He is considered armed and dangerous, and if seen, do not approach.
Please call Moose Lake RCMP at 204-678-2399 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

Grandparents are also the biggest fans when it comes to watching a student compete in a high school sport. Murray and Sheila Mullin were a couple of the proudest grandparents ever when they went down to Texas to watch their granddaughters, Scarlett and Lily Nichol, compete in the Texas State National Cheer Championships.
Scarlett and Lily are the daughters of Tanya Nichol, Murray and Sheila’s daughter. Scarlett is in Grade 8 and Lily is in Grade 10.
“This was our first time watching our granddaughters in competition,” said Murray Mullin. “During the year they cheer at their high school’s football and basketball games.
“We’ve watched them at regular games, but not at a competition,” said Sheila Mullin. “The Texas State National Cheer Championships were held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. It was a huge event that started at 8 a.m. All through the day, there were competitions and I would say the crowd ranged from 1,500 to 2,000 people at certain points.”
Not only was it a big event for both Scarlett and Lily, but for Murray and Shiela as well as they awaited the final results.
“It was quite good and there was lots of excitement and cheering; it was quite the experience,” said Murray. “When they announce the finalists, they start by announcing the placements in reverse order. For example, if they have 12 teams, they announce the twelfth-place team and so on until they announce the championship team.
“For Scarlett, her team finished in third place in their division. With Lily, they kept announcing the placements until they got down to the final three. I was sitting there with my head in my hands, and when they called out the second place and it wasn’t her team, we knew they were the championship team.
“Just watching the team hugging each other and their excitement over winning the Texas State Championship brought tears to my eyes,” said Murray. “They work so hard at this because they started before the beginning of the school year. In July, there is a camp they attend and throughout their summer holidays, they are practicing. Then every day at school, each student is required to participate in sports. Lily practices every day and then after school, they are there until 5:30 p.m. practising. They are very dedicated and to be on the team, they must maintain an 80 percent average in their school work.
“It was amazing because as a grandparent, it’s an honour to watch grandchildren participate in their chosen sport or activity,” said Sheila. “Then when they excel, and the dedication and determination come to fruition, and the result is being a state champion, it’s beyond thrilling.
“Lily’s team performed flawlessly and hit zero. When a team hits zero means they have no deductions, which is ultimately what these teams strive for in competition.”
The Mullins also go to see their grandchildren perform their best under some adversity and pressure, as they had to bounce back from some obstacles that were in the way.
“Scarlett is one of the flyers that are at the top,” said Murray. “When one of her teammates was dismounting the formation, she put her hand down to stabilize and they received a deduction for that, which was one of the factors that led them to place third.”
“Saturday was the competition day, so on Friday Lily’s team was going through their last preparations for their performance and one teammate fell and was injured. They had to change their performance last minute because they were missing a flyer. They went in Saturday afternoon and practiced for three to four hours, changed their routine and when they performed it, they got a perfect score. That alone was pretty exciting to know they achieved that under those circumstances.”
Scarlett and Lily Nichol have been immersed in the world of cheerleading since they settled in Texas and started school there.
“I always saw my sister doing cheer when I was in sixth grade and she was in eighth grade, and I thought it would be fun,” said Scarlett. “I saw some tumblers on the team and thought it would be cool to learn. In seventh grade, I tried out and made the team.
“The first time I went to a State Championship, it was very nerve-wracking. I was really scared, but my coaches were good at talking to us and making sure we were ok. Once we got out there, it was really fun.
“This time, it was less nerve-wracking and more team bonding, because I’m in eighth grade this year, I had to help the ones in seventh grade prepare for this. I was providing more support for them, but I still was nervous during parts of it.
“It was fun for my grandparents to see us compete in a State Championship,” said Scarlett. “I felt like they thought we did really good.”
Lily has had a remarkable year in cheerleading this year, for she is co-captain of the team and this has been hailed as a rare opportunity for someone of her age.
“This is my third time going to State Championships and placing at them,” said Lily. “I started in my eighth grade year when we moved down here. My Spanish teacher was the coach and I heard her talking about tryouts and asking people if they were interested. I took home a flyer and talked to my mom about it, and things just went from there. I wasn’t in any other sports or clubs at the time. I figured I would try out and see where it took me. I fell in love with the sport and now am a State Champion.