The Dauphin Clippers girls 7s rugby team are provincial champions.

After winning the Westman High School Rugby 7s championship, the Clippers were crowned the first-ever 7s provincial champions at the first-ever provincial tournament, Friday in Brandon.

The Clippers clinched the league title by going 3-0 in the final of four jamborees, Oct. 3, in Brandon, hosted by the Vincent Massey Vikings.

Dauphin finished with an overall record of 10-1-1 for 21 points, three better than runners-up Crocus Plains Gold, which finished 9-3-0, also earning a spot at provincials.

For the Clippers, it is their second 7s championship in as many years and Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak said it feels pretty good, noting Dauphin trailed Crocus by a single point going into the final jamboree.

“Our varsity squad was able to put it together and go undefeated on the day and take the league title,” he said.

Every player, Sarkonak said, pulled their weight throughout the season after losing quite a bit of depth from last year’s graduating players such as Brooke Miner, Chloe Fletcher, Emma Fox and Allee Hrechka.

“So we leaned heavily on the girls that played provincial this past summer, that brought the extra rugby in to lead the way and we came through in the end,” he added.

At provincials, the Clippers first defeated Steinbach, 49-5, then beat Crocus, 12-10.

Dauphin then faced Crocus again in the final, this time scoring a 28-20 victory and the first-ever provincial title.

“It feels amazing. It’s always nice to be the first ever, but it’s been a long time coming on getting an actual provincial title set up. Thanks to the work from Westman high school president Brian Yon, working with Tahnee Grosskopf in the Winnipeg and southeastern area,” he said. “Steinbach came and we were able to have a good afternoon of rugby and Dauphin was able to come out victorious.”

Once they knew who their opponent would be in the final, the Clippers knew what to expect, having faced Crocus a number of times in the Westman 7s league.

“We knew we had to shutdown a few of their key members. We knew if we shut them down and moved the ball wide and utilized our speed, good things would happen,” Sarkonak said.

Based on the team’s success this fall, Sarkonak likes the team’s chances in the spring 15s season.

“We have quite a few returning players from last year’s spring team that won the league and provincials, plus we had 11 players total take part in provincial rugby between the U18 program and the U16 Sask program. So we’re going to be leaning on them heavily,” he said. “Plus we’ve been able to have some new players with athletic back grounds and we’re looking forward to seeing how they transition from 7s to 15s.”

A former Dauphin student is making her mark at Oklahoma State University’s Ferguson College of Agriculture.

Earlier this month Emma Fox was honoured by the school and received academic scholarships for the 2023-24 academic year.

Fox’s scholarships are part of the more than $1.8 million that students receive from the Ferguson College and its academic departments.

Students from all areas of study are considered for university scholarships, which can be combined with college and departmental opportunities.

“We are proud to support new students as they begin their academic careers in the Ferguson College of Agriculture,” Cynda Clary, Ferguson College of Agriculture associate dean of academic programs said. “We look forward to seeing the contributions they will make within our college and at OSU. We are grateful for our donors and friends who support these scholarships and our students.”

Fox is enrolled in the College of Agriculture’s Animal Science program.

Manitoba’s 43rd general election is in the books and voters in the Dauphin constituency were truly engaged in the process.

A total of 64 per cent of the 15,358 voters registered in the constituency - 9,969 voters - cast ballots in the Oct. 3 election.

When everything was counted, NDP candidate Ron Kostyshyn received 5,097 votes and PC hopeful Gord Wood earning 4,765 on top of 63 declined and 44 rejected ballots. The votes were cast at 46 polling places within the electoral district on election day and 56 outside or advance polls.

Provincially, the NDP will form government with 34 candidates elected, while the PCs will move to the opposition side of the house with 22 MLAs and the Liberal Party of Manitoba failed to achieve official party status with just one candidate elected.

And while he does not know the exact date, Kostyshyn is looking forward to heading into Winnipeg to take part in a fall sitting of the Legislature as the MLA-designate for the Dauphin constituency.

“There’s a process of the present government has to clean out their offices and move forward, so probably the earliest would be the 20th of this month that will probably kick into gear of shuffling over. I don’t know when the swearing in ceremonies are going to happen. That will all be discussed. Obviously, the fall session will be happening. Traditionally it’s November and usually goes for two to three weeks,” Kostyshyn said. “There’s got to be a fall session to do some of the things we promised like the gas tax, the freezing of the hydro rates and let’s start getting things in gear about the health care, talking to the health care workers.”

Addressing health care issues was the number one campaign plank for the NDP and Kostyshyn said the message he was hearing at local doors reflected the concerns of the rest of the province.

“It was a good tight election and I think everybody that Gord or I talk to, I think we heard the concerns from the local constituency,” Kostyshyn said, looking back at the campaign. “Health care was obviously the top concern.”

The first step in healing the system is to talk to the people on the front lines, the ones who live it every day, he added.

“I’m not an expert as a doctor, or medical professional, or a home care worker, but they are. We all strive to support the health industry and there is no better way to do that than to talk to the people in it, face to face,” Kostyshyn said. “We are government and we represent a geographic area along with our premier. In no way are we the solution. The solution is talking to the people that are in the various categories, whether it’s health care, the teachers, agriculture culture producers. We are there to carry the message forward and to work with those suggestions they bring forward because we all need to work together rather than be adversarial of what is being brought forward.”

The other main issues Kostyshyn heard at local doors was the need for economic development and some lingering anger over the closure of the Dauphin Correctional Institute.

The latter, Kostyshyn said, was addressed directly by NDP leader and new Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew early on in the campaign when he promised to begin construction of a Dauphin Centre for Justice in the first year of an NDP government. The facility, he added, will help to address crime in many ways, from incarceration to providing offenders an opportunity and assistance to change their ways.

“With our proposal to build the justice facility, it is kind of an opportunity to end and deal with the offenders and spend time with them to correct the unfortunate circumstances that they’re in,” Kostyshyn said, adding the approach has been used successfully in other jurisdictions. “It resonates so obviously when you spend time thinking about it. There’s a domino effect. Repeat offenders will end up going to Stony Mountain or Headingley and that’s just the university of how to be more professional as a criminal. We need to stop that.”

When is comes to economic development opportunities, it will, again, take a collaborative approach to tackle the issues.

“I would love nothing more than to sit around with a lot of entrepreneurs in the geographic area and discuss what’s it going to take for us to create the appetite of businesses and opportunities to expand into the geographic area. We, as people in this geographic area, the more opportunity of business developing, it just creates that additional dollars coming in and then we can grow,” Kostyshyn said. “It’s a starting point to talk to the Parkland Chamber of Commerce, talk to some entrepreneurs in the area. We want to talk to people, like what do you need, what are you thinking about?”

For Kostyshyn personally, the issues surrounding Crown lands will command a lot focus.

“We’ve made a commitment on the Crown lands issue. I’ll take part in the discussion to carry our mission through as we’ve been committed to revisiting the Crown land unit transfer,” he said. “But not only Crown lands just agriculture issues period. We need to grow the agriculture economy locally for the benefit of all agriculture sectors in our province.”

Kostyshyn is not new to the duties of an MLA, or a member of cabinet , having been elected in the Swan River riding in the 2011 election and serving as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister from 2012 to 2013, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development from 2013 to 2016 and Infrastructure and Transportation Minister from 2014 to 2015.

What role he will play in this administration is yet to be determined.

“It’s really not what I want, it’s up to the premier and his executive to make that decision,” he said, adding the one thing he is sure of is he will work hard for the good of the constituency, including those who voted for his opponent on Oct. 3.

“Give me four years and maybe I can, next election change your voting on the ballot. Because I am determined to work for all citizens in the Dauphin constituency and the province of Manitoba.”

Physical fitness is a lifelong endeavour that most people struggle with when they become adults, however, a local Swan River Constable has been using physical activity as a motivator to not only achieve her own personal goals but to do some good as well.
Briana Blencowe has participated in many events, particularly triathlons, over the years and for the first time, she competed at the World Police and Fire Games this past August hosted in Winnipeg.
“I competed this year in the World Police and Fire Games,” said Briana Blencowe. “This was my first time competing and I did the triathlon.
At this event, it was an Olympic distance triathlon, which is a 1.5 km swim, a 40 km bike ride and a 10 km run.
I started training at the beginning of April, specifically for that race, after I was cleared by the doctor to return to work and full activity.
“It was a different kind of experience for me. I have completed many triathlons since 2014, along with a few in Manitoba this year.
This one was smaller than I am used to as there are normally more triathletes participating in them.
However, the main difference in this small Triathlon was that it hosted many international athletes that are First Responders. There were 60 individual racers and nine teams from all over the world competing at St. Malo Provincial Park.
“This one was a challenge as it was only the second time I’ve raced the Olympic distance,” said Blencowe. “I was going into it with personal goals, rather than thinking of representing Canada on the podium. Just coming off an injury, I had goals I wanted to achieve for each discipline. My top two goals were to have fun and to finish.
My race-specific goals were to finish in under four hours, so the hope was to complete the swim in under 45 minutes; transition one in under five minutes; bike in under 90 minutes; transition two in under five minutes and run under 90 minutes.
“I completed all my goals with an official time of 3 hours and 27 minutes. I completed the swim with a time of 33:56 minutes; transition one was 2:54; the bike with a time of 89:26; transition two was 3:39 and the run with a time of 82:20.
“It was a challenge as you are swimming with all the other racers at the same time, then on the bike course the riding got tough as it was extremely windy,” said Blencowe. “It was a lot of fun and nice too. There were people there cheering us on along the course and through the park, which is where we got to see the different racers during the 2 loop run course. The cheering of ‘Go Canada’ or ‘Go Brazil’ or ‘Go Sweden’ was neat as I was running with people from all over the world. The triathlon community is always very supportive of their athletes and I was so happy to see that same support at this event as well.
Blencowe participated in other triathlons this summer including the Riding Mountain Triathlon which proved to be a course personal best.
“I completed my 15th triathlon and third race of the season, post-injury,” said Blencowe. “I raced the sprint distance at Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP) for the second time since 2019. The wind gusts on the water meant white caps, so for safety reasons, the swim course was cut short from 750 meters to 300 meters.
“Overall, I finished in fifth place in my age group, out of 13 women. My time was 1 hour, 33 minutes and 42 seconds. I was able to cut three minutes off both my bike and run time during this race, which led to me achieving my personal best on this course.”
Recently Blencowe did another event, but this time to create awareness and raise funds. It was held again at RMNP, but was strictly a bike ride.
“I did the MS Bike Tour in RMNP last month,” said Blencowe. “Normally it’s done over two days, but this year it was held in one. It started and finished at Elkhorn Resort and riders had two options. The first was to turn around at the 35 km mark to do a 70 km bike or at at North Gate (54km mark), and come back for a 108 km ride, which was what my husband and I chose.
“Our goal for this was more a relaxed ride and to take breaks at each stop provided. Our ride time alone was about five hours and 14 minutes but came in just over six hours with breaks.
‘The fun part was going down that really big hill at the North end of Riding Mountain, at one point my speed got to 61.9 km an hour,” said Blencowe. “It’s unfortunate that they started the event going down the hill as it made the climb uphill feel that much tougher.”
This is a cause very near and dear to Blencowe’s heart, for she has seen first-hand how MS impacts people who are diagnosed with the disease and their families as well.
“Before I became a police officer, I was a personal support worker,” said Blencowe. “I worked in home care and in nursing home care. Over the years I was the caregiver to people who had been diagnosed with MS and who were at different stages of the disease.
Just seeing their lives change as it progresses, is something no one should have to experience. I’m fortunate that myself and none of my family members have been specifically impacted by it, but I have seen how it does affect people and families. This is one of the reasons why I’ve chosen to participate in this fundraiser over the years.
“I have until the end of the month to continue to raise funds, but I am at $1,345 raised so far,” she continued. “I always try to support my friends and family who are doing their own fundraisers, but it’s nice to see that others support me as well.
“It’s not always easy to ask people for money, because there are always so many organizations in need, but at the same time I’m putting myself out there and doing something that is challenging. It’s nice to have that support and people recognize the effort.”
Blencowe has raised funds for a variety of charities over the years through physical activity. What she has achieved is remarkable and goes to show how one person can make a difference.
“I’ve kept track of my fundraising efforts since 2019 and totalled all the amounts I’ve raised for charities, which is over $7,000,” said Blencowe. “It’s been great to not only challenge myself physically but to help do some good through raising awareness and funds to help others too.”

The Mental Wellness and Suicide Prevention Committee held a chili cookoff at the Veterans Community Hall on Friday (Oct. 6), allowing groups to promote their organizations as well as promote Mental Health Awareness Week. Patrons arrived to sample five different recipes of chili, with the opportunity to select the best tasting chili as well as the group with the best team spirit...

There’s a new business in town geared to provide outdoor equipment and rentals, without one having to travel out of town to look for them.

MDB Outdoors is offering a range of outdoor supplies ranging from lawn, garden, chainsaw, hunting supplies, as well as rental and repair services.

Read the rest of the story in this week’s issue.

The recipient of the firefighter of the year award, who was chosen by his fellow members of the Roblin Fire & Rescue department, is Lance Wohlgemuth.

Lance joined the Roblin Fire & Rescue Department in 2020 and proudly wears #20, which is the number his late father, Darrel Wohlgemuth wore from 2001 to 2019. Lance lives in Roblin with his wife, Nicole.

Check out this week’s feature.

About three in morning of Sept. 27, Roblin RCMP received a report that someone had opened the door to their truck but they were able to scare the person away. The incident happened TWO HOURS PRIOR to the call.

Members patrolled the area, but no one was located.

See what’s kept police busy in this week’s RCMP report.

The tri-community has no shortage of incredibly talented beaders, however gaining access to beading supplies is another thing. A new home-based shop, Beading Culture, has opened up and is selling beads and supplies. The business was based on Beading Culture Owner Ashley Robertson’s own experience in beading and looking for supplies.
“I was around 15 years old when I was introduced into beading from my sister,” said Robertson. “My sister had learned how to bead from our grandmother. Our grandmother had passed away when I was two years old, so my sister was able to pass that knowledge on to me.

The lack of personal care home (PCH) bed resources for northern Manitoba has caught the attention of one northern and she plans to do something about it. The provincial government announced funding for new PCH beds for four of the regional health authorities (RHA), however the Northern Regional Health Authority was not one of them.
“I saw a media release concerning the July 7, 2023, announcement by Scott Johnston, Minister of Seniors and Long-term Care,” said Katy Anderson. “The presentation was made in Niverville, but I think that the media release came from Steinbach. I saw both a video and a press release.
“The issue is not only the number of future PCH beds but, also, future beds in Supportive Living pilot projects, which will help seniors live independently longer with supports, as needed. The announcement touted that all these new beds would be built in care homes similar to those built in recent years in Steinbach, Carmen and Niverville, which are recognized for their design and innovation. Some of the homes in northern Manitoba are far from innovative.”
According to data that Anderson has compiled from the announcement and on RHA websites, she has broken down the population that each RHA services and what has been promised by the provincial government as part of the announcement.