The Province of Manitoba is committed to improving the safety of the intersection which claimed the lives of 17 Dauphin area seniors last June.

That was the message shared by Premier Wab Kinew and Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor, who were in Dauphin to meet with families and survivors of the collision at the intersection of PTHs 5 and 1 near Carberry.

“Minister’s (Dauphin MLA and Manitoba Agriculture minister Ron) Kostyshyn, Naylor and myself, along with our political and technical staff had the honour to sit down with the family members of folks that we lost in this province in this terrible, tragic accident,” Kinew said, adding they were joined by accident survivors first responders and community leaders.

“I want to acknowledge all of these people, first and foremost in the generosity of their spirit to come and sit with us today and to relive some very difficult times that they’ve been through. “For the family members and to the survivors, I want to acknowledge that we cannot make things right, or make you whole, but we are going to work our hardest to ensure that something like this does not happen again.”

Armed with the findings of a road safety review undertaken one week following the accident, Kinew and Naylor also announced the next steps for the intersection, including a $12 million investment to provide medium-term solutions to public safety concerns.

“This collision will be remembered as a tragic event that profoundly affected many Manitobans and beyond,” said Naylor. “While we cannot undo the pain these families are experiencing, we are committed to taking steps to improve safety at this intersection for the future.”

The Province is moving forward with a functional design study based on the third-party in-service road safety review, which includes recommendations of the three safest options to improve the intersection.

Those options include median widening, the construction of a roundabout or the construction of a restricted crossing U-turn (RCUT) intersection and the province has committed to choosing the best option for improvements to the intersection, said Naylor. It will engage the public in the near future as part of the functional design process to gather information and feedback around the project.

“The functional design piece would be expected to take about six to nine months. That does include at least three consultation steps with the community, as well as other users of the highway,” she said.

It is expected construction of intersection changes could begin in the latter part of 2025 with completion by the end of 2026.

Ultimately, an interchange or overpass is the safest option for the intersection and will be part of a long-term solution when traffic volumes require such a major expenditure, estimated at more than $100 million, Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure officials said.

In addition to releasing the report and outlining next steps to increase safety, Kinew announced the Manitoba government will provide financial support for community efforts to commemorate those involved in this tragedy.

“As you move forward to memorialize and commemorate the people that we lost and to remember this terrible tragedy, we will be there to support you,” Kinew said, adding the provincial government will leave it to the community to design any tribute. “We will help find the resources and we will deliver the funding to ensure that an appropriate memorial here in Dauphin, as well as a fitting tribute at the site near Carberry will be a part of Manitoba’s future.”

Following the collision on June 15, 2023, Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI) developed a road safety strategy to identify immediate and long-term safety improvements at the Provincial Trunk Highway (PTH) 1 and PTH 5 intersection.

Get the full story in this week's Dauphin Herald!

Four local football players were part of the Manitoba Selects football program which took part in the Winter Showcase, Dec. 27 to 29 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Lars Gudbjartson, Owen Tyschinski, Sully Fox and William Miner put their football skills to the test, hoping to impress American college and university scouts.

Fox said the four players were invited by the Selects head coach Frank Devine to attend tryout camps every Saturday in Winnipeg.

“It was a pretty cool experience going to Minnesota this past weekend,” he said.

Fox said it was pretty cool to make the Selects program.

“It felt great. It was a good experience. I was really glad to be out there in my Grade 11 year, just to get lots of experience playing football and try to come back to help the team here at home,” he said. “I think more people should get into it, because it’s an open tryout. You just have to go there, work hard. If you make it, they want you there.”

Miner said the showcase consisted of individual skills, where players were expected to show the coaches what they could do.

“And you basically tried to show off what you could do. It’s not a team thing, hence the name showcase. You want to show off,” he said.

Fox added they had a couple of practices the first day and attended the facility where the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild practice, where a combine was held for players attended the football camp.

On the third day, he added, players visited the Minnesota Vikings stadium, which was a new experience for the young players.

Fox and Miner hope the experience will help them in their football careers.

Fox noted Joseph Lopez played on the Selects last year and received a couple of offers from different schools.

“So we’re kind of hoping for the same for both of us,” he added.

The 35th year of the Dauphin Hospital Foundation drew to a close in 2023, and it had the organization taking stock of the past and looking ahead to the future.

Looking back at accomplishments and highlights during 2023, the foundation was again touched by the many significant contributions made throughout the year.

“We continued to receive great support from the community and Parkland area,” board chair Greg Thompson said. “Individuals, businesses and organizations found ways to contribute to the Dauphin Hospital Foundation despite 2023 being another difficult economic year. We can’t say thank you enough for all the heartfelt contributions we received last year, and we certainly acknowledge that we are putting those contributions to good use.”

One of the key equipment purchases in 2023 was a specialized operating table for the Dauphin Regional Health Centre’s (DRHC) surgical suite for $59,000.

“We had a $10,000 contribution from the RBC Foundation that was placed within the Delha Cort Educational Fund to upgrade nurses’ skills. There were also significant contributions from the Dauphin Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, the Dauphin Memorial Ride and the Under 18 AAA Parkland Rangers – Hockey Fights Cancer Night,” Thompson said.

“We’ve had a couple of recent donations of shares from individuals in 2023, which were new to us. We plan to promote further opportunities like that and other estate and legacy information in the new year. These are all significant ways to leave lasting legacies through the foundation as we look forward to our next 35 years.”

Anyone interested in making legacy bequests or estate contributions can talk to their lawyer or investment advisor or contact the foundation through the hospital at 204-638-3010 or online at www.dghf.ca.

The foundation has added some background information and an online application form to its website for the Delha Cort Educational Trust Fund. Hospital employees can request access to enhance their education and skill set. DRHC staff should contact their supervisor to see how the fund can fit with their future professional development or career plans.

Foundation Public Relations director Blaine Kraushaar says a one-day workshop was held this past June, and centred around the foundation’s goals, objectives and opportunities for improvement.

“The organizational workshop, facilitated by Maggie Campbell, helped us streamline our vision and mission and put us on a solid path forward,” he said. “We reworked some policies and plan to be more visible in the community. There is an exciting event planned for mid-2024 that we will partner on that will bring a smile to people’s faces. More information on the initiative will be forthcoming in the next few months.”

Linda Turko from McCreary laid seige to the Dauphin Consumers Co-op meat counter as she power shopped through her three minutes as the winner of the Parkland Humane Society’s Co-op Shopping Spree lottery.

When the smoke cleared Turko put through $865.12 worth of meat through the till without a vegetable in sight.

Other draw winners included Amanda Balak, who won a $200 Co-op gift card, and Ina Clouson, who took home a $100 Co-op gift card.

But it wasn’t all over in three minutes as the PHS also took home a prize with Co-op donating a shopping cart full of pet food and supplies for use at the local shelter.

A hallmark of Dauphin’s history is coming down and it couldn’t be in better hands.

Troy Angus of The Den is currently on site at the Lt. Col W.G. (Billy) Barker VC Airport dismantling one of the hangars originally erected as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan’s #10 Air Service Flying Training School, which operated locally from 1941 to 1945.

The Den, based in Pierson, Man., is a supplier of authentic barnwood sourced from rural resources. The business sprang from Angus’ reverence for old structures, their stories and the resources they provide.

“Authentic barnwood that’s my business. We’re just into sourcing, salvaging and reclaiming of antique wood,” Angus said, adding he uses those resources, and his expertise, to supply the do-it-yourself market. “And that’s what will lead us to buildings like this wherever they are. It’s the experience, it’s the adventure.”

When it became obvious the building, a portion of which was collapsed, had to come down, its owner approached Angus after learning about his business through media reports on projects such as the dismantling of The Lake of the Woods Milling Company grain elevator in Elva, Man., which stood for 125 years.

“In his research he came across our website and contacted me and from there, we worked through a deal to make this actually happen,” Angus said. “It was getting into pretty rough shape.”

In fact, when he first saw the building, there was a 9,000-square foot section which had collapsed.

Given that, some might think that bringing in some heavy machinery, demolishing the structure and hauling it to the landfill might be the easiest solution to disposing of them.

In Angus’s opinion, however, such an approach would almost be criminal. In his mind, deconstruction is the only way to go.

“You just can’t get (wood like) this, so that’s why. It’s a limited supply,” Angus said. “We’re trying to save every board.”

Angus has been on site since early December, cleaning up the collapsed section of the building and getting ready to begin the process of bringing the structure down, piece by piece.

“I wanted it to look good from the highway at the very least, because there was just stuff everywhere,” he said.

The clean up has resulted in some piles of quality wood he hopes to vend locally.

“It was sort of a slow start to clean up that collapse site and get ourselves ready. And out of the collapse site is what we’re ready to set up, a small wood market on site. We have wood on the ground that we’re hoping will satisfy the local wood market for do-it-yourself type stuff,” Angus said. “This is where the seed money is coming from to make this thing happen.”

There is some quality wood in the building, Angus added. In fact, he can identify where the wood originated based on milling marks he has found. The wood used in the hangar came from the now closed Youbou sawmill, which was situated on the shores of Lake Cowichan in British Columbia.

“I can say for sure that is where wood came from,” he said.

And milling marks aside, Angus is learning about the history of the building virtually everyday through the stories of locals visiting the site.

“I call the gate the story gate because if I leave that open I’ve got stories coming in,” he said. “Someone will pull in and be like ‘hey did you know in 1941’ and out come some facts.”

But there is not a lot of time to talk as Angus hopes to have the project wrapped up in four-to-six months, meaning things at the site will be quite busy. Especially since there is a learning curve to this sort of project, as every one is different, Angus added.

“The roof is kind of the conundrum here. We have got 14 plans, we’ve just got to get them down into one. There’s so many ways that it can be done,” he said. “There’s 91 sections of the roof left. Once we get into the 15th or so, it should be clockwork. So we’ll just go piece by piece.”

Angus is currently working solo, but will be joined by his partner and one other employee when things kick into full gear, with the possibility that other workers could be added and subtracted as needed.

“We’ve talked with the job banks looking at some people that maybe haven’t worked for years to come out here, give them something to do and some pocket money, and maybe something on their resume. I can be a reference for them, or my partner. This is a short-term project, so maybe we can kind of light a fire and help someone. But we’ll just go day by day on that,” he said. “Anything more, the skilled stuff, special talents, we’ll just bring that in as we need. There’s just a small core of three of us and then the rest are kind of auxiliary. We’re going to try and be as lean as possible, that’s the only way to make this profitable.”

And nothing will go to waste, Angus added, as he has already been offering as firewood pallets of material that is not suitable for anything else.

“And what I’ve asked is just a donation. I don’t care how much it is. If you like my story give me a lot, if you don’t give me a little,” he said, adding those proceeds will be used to dispose of the things which cannot be recycled such as the asphalt and tarpaper from the roof.

In the end just how profitable things become is very much up in the air.

“We don’t know until it’s down and in stacks. I mean you can guess all you want, but there’s a lot of things that can happen and a lot of risk trying to take this apart,” Angus said. “So whatever we get, we get and we’ll know when the dust settles.”

A 21-year-old man from Roblin said it frightened him when he learned that the emergency department at the Roblin District Health Centre will be closed on some days, and have reduced hours on other days, effective immediately.

And that’s why Cole Nickell said he decided to write a letter to Premier Wab Kinew asking why the decision was made.

Check out the rest of the story in this week’s Review.

Many are enamoured with the ranching lifestyle since shows like Yellowstone have made its debut.

But former San Clara resident Erin (Paul) Boily and her husband Jason have turned their dream of running a ranch into a reality.

Read all about it in this week’s Review.

In the expansive realm of education, every role contributes significantly to molding the future of our youth.

Among these roles, there exists a group of unsung heroes who play a pivotal part in the daily lives of students – the school bus drivers.

Read this week’s Mountain View Matters to find out more.

It was a year marked with celebrations and wondering what could have been when it comes to sports in 2023.

Dauphin Kings

The Dauphin Kings finished the 2022-23 season in fourth place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s MGEU West Division, with a 32-21-3-2 record, just nine points out of first place, which was occupied by their Parkland rival, Swan Valley Stampeders.

The two teams met in the quarterfinals, where the Stampeders needed six games to dispatch the Kings and advance to the semifinals.

This season, the Kings started strong, but began to fade as the new year drew close. They enter 2024 in third place with a 16-11-1-0 record.

Parkland Rangers

With a 12-25-7-0 record, the Parkland Rangers missed the playoffs in the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League.

This season, the Rangers are in the midst of the playoff race, sitting in 10th place with a record of 9-11-2-1, but they are only one point out of a playoff spot and sit just seven points out of sixth place.

Check this week's Dauphin Herald for more!

2023 is a year that will be looked back on by many as a difficult one from a global perspective. While good news grabbed its share of the headlines, the year was marred by major armed conflicts, unprecedented weather events and natural disasters, all of which exacted a tremendous toll of lost lives, destroyed property and damaged infrastructure.

In Dauphin, as it was everywhere, we had our share of good and bad news throughout the past year.

Here is a recap of some the people and the events which made local headlines in 2023.

January

Dauphin Regional Health Authority welcomed its first baby of the year early on with Major Donald Franklin Beardy arriving at 5:18 a.m., Jan. 1.

Dauphin and District Community Foundation hit a special milestone when it added a $4.75 million sticker to its thermometer at the corner of Main Street and First Avenue North.

Public Works and Operations director Mike VanAlstyne had to go back to city council for more money after the purchase price of a new, previously ordered garbage truck jumped by more than $74,000. Council approved the increased expenditure.

Manitoba’s Independent Investigation Unit launched a probe following the death of a 29-year-old man after an interaction with RCMP in Ste. Rose du Lac.

A group of Parkland residents were presented Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals. Receiving the honour were Kay Slobodzian, Michelle Mazurkewich, Tony Safronetz, Bev Harvey, Carole Shankaruk, Alex Lytwyn, Al Gray, Rodney Juba, Brian Damsgaard and Jim Perchaluk.

City council slightly changed the makeup of the local RCMP detachment removing an officer assigned to the Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST) and reassigned them to general policing duties.

February

A review of Dauphin Fire Department operations began as part of the province’s Municipal Services Delivery Improvement Plan. The work, done in partnership with a third-party consultant, aimed to find operational improvements which did not raise taxes or reduce front line services.

Read the full year review in this week's Dauphin Herald!