By Riley Turetsky
GPCI Student

On Dec. 7, 2021, Grades 11 and 12 students at Gilbert Plains Collegiate Institute (GPCI) were given the opportunity to sit in on former GPCI student, Chris Manchur’s “Agriculture through a Microscope” presentation.

The presentation aimed to give rural high school students a chance to experience science in a way that would otherwise be out of reach for them because of their rural location. Manchur managed to make the presentation relatable by centering it on agriculture, the main economic stimulus in the area.

Manchur is currently attending the University of Manitoba as a master’s student in the Department of Biological Sciences. He first got into agriculture from his experience on his family farm, along with a project he did in a high school course called “Topics in Science.” This is where he learned about GMO’s, and specifically, the golden rice situation.

After graduating in 2015, Manchur went to the U of M to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from 2015 to 2020, where he studied plant biotechnology and crop protection.

Afterwards, he moved to pursue a master’s degree in Agricultural Sciences. His work focuses on researching new biotechnologies, more specifically, replacements for current fungicides with the more environmentally friendly RNAi technology.

Farmers need to know if their crops can withstand the disease, and that’s where Manchur and science comes in. He uses his degree to help farmers control their crop diseases by introducing an innovative technology called RNAi (RNA interference). It seems to be the next generation of fungicides because it can remain environmentally friendly unlike our modern chemicals that carry the risk of being toxic and environmentally hazardous.

Manchur centered his presentation on the problems that farmers and others in the agriculture industry, face. Those things consist of droughts, flooding, costs of fertilizer and seeds, prices of crops, etc.

However, the biggest threat that farmers must endure is diseases. Manchur explained that diseases can lower yields, which impacts farmer’s profits and the amount of food available around the world. Manchur taught us about four diseases in the presentation, as well as speaking about how a single disease can reproduce into numerous variants called strains.

During his presentation, Manchur conducted two experiments with the assistance of the GPCI students. In the first experiment, he presented a method called Gel Electrophoresis, which is a laboratory method used to separate DNA, RNA and protein fragments according to their molecular size. This technique allowed the students to see which strain of a disease they were working with.

In the second experiment, he used a method called Disc Diffusion Assays, which is a method to test the effectiveness of different concentrations of fungicide. In the experiment five petri dishes were contaminated with a certain pathogen and then five separate concentrations of fungicide, ranging from as high as 1,000 ppm to 0.01 ppm, were placed in each petri dish respectively. The idea was to pinpoint the lowest concentration that supplied enough protection from the pathogen, without the concentration of fungicide being too high. This can help farmers lower cost and the environmental impact of their sprays.

Towards the end of his presentation, Manchur spoke to the future high-school graduates in the school about post-secondary education opportunities in agriculture.

He provided the necessary information about the University of Manitoba, the agriculture programs they offer, and scholarships offered for those programs.

Along with quizzing the students about everything they have learned and offering prizes such as sweaters, water bottles and more to those who participated in answering his questions.

The presentation was eye-opening and provided an excellent opportunity to see the real-world applications of science beyond our general high-school courses.

By Charlene Gulak
MVSD Trustee

Education leaders and local government have a closely linked relationship.

The health and viability of a community is often very dependent upon access to a school and vice versa. Changes to school programming have the potential of ripple impacts in the community. Rural population trends often have a direct impact on school enrolment. In the same way, the location and proximity to a school can be a vital asset or even a determining factor when individuals or families consider relocating to a community.

According to Ron Kostyshyn, Reeve for the Mossey River Municipality and Parkland representative for the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, our planning priorities between the education sector and municipal government work in tandem.

Reeve Kostyshyn identified that any opportunities to enhance a municipal tax base are always at the focus of local promotion and decision making. Access to quality education in a small community, is a huge asset which contributes to the fabric of the community life. He stated that access to a school provides valuable amenities which assist in marketing a community’s assets and encouraging relocation. The spin off benefits when someone new moves into a community have a domino impact on housing and all other services within a community.

This symbiotic relationship is much more prominent from a rural lens and holds true for the communities located within Mountain View School Division (MVSD).

Recently, MVSD met with local leaders to reconnect, following the height of the pandemic. The conversation also focused on a review of current ward boundaries and potential changes. Equitable representation is a priority when considering the local population base and its distribution within MVSD’s catchment area.

The division contains a huge geographical area with both larger and more sparsely populated communities. Ensuring local voice is effectively represented, while determining efficiencies and size in board composition, is a balancing act. Further public consultation is necessary to ensure that any change reflects the forecasted needs of a community and local leadership is vital to this gauge.

Shared partnership opportunities between municipal and Indigenous leadership within MVSD’s footprint reflect many mutual priorities and the need to shift and fit changing circumstances as we enter a pandemic recovery phase.

Public health restrictions have prevented community use of schools for nearly two years. For our MVSD communities, we know that this has halted community-based recreation, sports and arts activities and hosting public events – ranging from dance recitals to public Remembrance Day events.

Access to MVSD public school infrastructure is weaved into the vitality of communities. The collective loss of access on gathering has impacted the collective life of our communities. The easing of restrictions and commitment to safe approaches to manage the pandemic and the virus will translate into renewed vigor for communities.

Community leaders in local government appreciate the need for shifting priorities as we build a collective understanding of the pandemic’s impacts on youth. Re-establishing routines around returning to school safely, is a concern shared by leaders. Jimmy Chartrand, councillor with Skownan First Nation, advised that it is important to work with partners in education to participate in conversation and build strategies which support the needs of youth.

He reflected that, “Two years of the pandemic has had a huge impact on youth who have not been in school regularly.”

The hour-long bus ride for a student having to travel to Winnipegosis Collegiate or Rorketon School from the community, particularly during the many cold winter days we have experienced this winter, makes the return to in-person learning a welcome but challenging transition.

I have experienced a similar experience with motivating my own daughters to attend school, due to their preference for remote learning. This wouldn’t even have been considered an option prior to the pandemic.

Remote learning delivery has been a unique rural challenge for Manitoba due to inequities in household internet connectivity access.

These mutual priorities are shared among leadership on both sides of communities and education.

Experiencing these challenges with your family, but also as a local leader, stresses the importance of working with stakeholders in education to help build upon partnerships which support youth and their education. Councillor Chartrand shared that we all have an important role to play in prioritizing education and recognizing that, “it is the key to the future and dreams.”

MVSD will continue to work with communities and foster relationships with all stakeholders, including municipalities and Indigenous leadership.

The dialogue is critical to the strength of rural communities and putting students first in success of their education.

A large yard on the farm provided an ideal place for throwing and kicking a football at various targets.

The practice paid off as in Grade 8 our school played flag football in a league against our rivals from Elphinstone and Rossburn.

Even though we ended up only winning one game, we enjoyed being part of a team effort. Attempting to complete a pass or kicking a convert after a touchdown was always a thrilling experience. In the ensuing high school and university years, a variety of other sports-related activities provided excellent recreational times.

Sports-related activities initially occurred on Saturday nights during the early 1960s by listening to the hockey broadcasts on CBC radio. One had to use their imagination to visualize the plays described by Foster Hewitt and Danny Gallivan. When my parents purchased a black and white television, one could finally watch their favourite players skating for the original six NHL teams.

My parent’s farm was located nine miles from town. Playing any organized sport was not deemed part of the usual farm routine. After I bought a pair of used skates and a hockey stick, the next best option included building my own rink and practicing my hockey skills. Countless hours were spent shooting a puck against a sheet of plywood.

I did get to play in a game in full hockey equipment with a group of high school classmates at the Elphinstone arena.

All of the moves that I learned on the outdoor rink had a very minimal impact in an actual game situation against participants who played regular organized hockey.

Several years later, while attending Brandon University, a group of us regularly got together to play hockey at an outdoor community rink. Those were great times just playing for the fun of it.

Our hockey skills helped us when we entered a broomball tournament for one of the “Spirit Week” activities. We lost in the finals to a team of varsity team hockey players.

In 1972-73, the Brandon University Bobcat hockey team joined the newly-formed Great Plains Athletic Conference. Lakehead University, the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg provided the opposition.

My friends and I attended the games at the old arena. We braved several snowstorms walking from the university to the rink to support our team. A group of us even travelled in a friend’s car to watch the Bobcats play in Winnipeg. We arrived back at Brandon very late that night. Luckily the Husky

Restaurant was still open so we really enjoyed a snack of fries and gravy.

My friends and I utilized the university gym to play floor hockey, badminton or shoot some hoops. We also enjoyed attending the varsity basketball games.

Our loyalty to our university school sports teams was evident at the home games with vociferous cheering in a win or lose situation. Since some of the athletes were in my classes or lived at the university residence we cheered extra hard for them. One of the team members, Bob Fosker, played for the Bobcats basketball team. He lived several doors down from my room at the men’s residence at Darrach Hall. Bob loved to sing and there were times when we met at my friend Frank’s room to play and sing some tunes. Bob and I ended up recording several songs on Frank’s four track reel to reel recorder.

Frank’s keyboard skills also came in handy when he volunteered to play music during stoppages in play during the Bobcats basketball games. Every time he played, the crowd showed its school spirit with loud cheers. During one game the opposition coach was so annoyed with the loud cheering that he came over and unplugged Frank’s keyboard and amp.

As soon as he walked away, Frank plugged in the keyboard and amp and kept on playing and we kept on cheering.

Many years later it’s still fun to participate in activities such as slow pitch baseball, bowling or pickleball. It's also great to see my grandchildren starting their journey involving sports-related activities.

Anyone up for floor hockey in the basement or playing catch with a nerf football in the front yard?

By Ed Stozek
For the Herald

August 6, 1951 marked the first annual water regatta at Ochre Beach.