Sixteen-year-old Emily Heape has overcome incredible odds and was granted a dream come true through the Dream Factory. Just before Christmas, Heape went on her dream trip to Australia to experience all kinds of adventures with her family.
“We started our journey to Australia on Dec 17, flying to Vancouver after spending the weekend in Winnipeg,” said Heape. “What felt like a billion hours later, we arrived at my aunt and uncle’s house in Noosa, Australia. We extended our stay as a family holiday and in total, we were in Australia for 17 days.
“My thoughts and first impressions of Australia when we first arrived were darn it’s hot here! If I’m not dead by the time we leave, I’ll be a raisin. It was really warm, but beautiful and so different from Canada.” Heape did a lot of sightseeing while in Australia and witnesses some breathtaking views. She also made sure to check out all the animals and sea creatures she could. “While we were in Australia, we did lots of fun things,” said Heape. “We went up this huge 230 metre tower called Q1 at the Gold Coast. From there, we got to see a 360 degree view of the beach, ocean and the city of Bris bane all at once. Then we went to the Australia Zoo, which was my favourite, and we got to see all of the different amazing animals. We visited some markets and mom loved all the different vendors. “We also went to Rainbow Beach, went swimming in the ocean and to the Great Barrier Reef, which was amazing. All of the different fish and creatures you could see, it was incredible. To get out to the reef, we had to take this huge boat that kind of reminded me of a ferry. “While we were at the Great Barrier Reef, we tried snorkelling, but I did n’t like it very much,” said Heape. “There was this glass-bottom boat that my dad and I went on, and you could see everything. It was so cool. Later, while my mom and brother were still snorkeling, my dad and I went in the submersible. That was even better than the glass bottom boat. You could see a lot more in the submersible than in the glass bottom boat. I think that was one of my favourite things we did the whole trip. There was this one fish that they named Wally, since he was al ways around. “Also, we took a glass-bottomed sky rail ride up a mountain at the world's oldest tropical rainforest while in Cairns and visited a 100-year-old town called Kuranda.” Each adventure Heape went on was left a lasting impression and she was really engaged at the zoo, where she saw lots of different animals for the very first time, up close and personal. “My favourite activity in Australia was the submersible,” said Heape. “This was my favourite activity because it was like a whole different world under the water that I had never seen before. It was a whole experience in itself. I enjoyed seeing all of the cool and different sea creatures. “All of the different animals that we got to see were one of my favourite parts of the trip. My aunt and uncle had quite a few different animals in their yard. They have wild turkeys they named Walter and Winne, as well as kookaburras, and wild cockatoos among others. They have lots of different kinds of bugs and spiders. My mom and brother got to see a praying mantis. There was this huge beetle at the B&B that was the size of a palm. “There were lots of different kinds of birds when we went to the zoo,” said Heape. “We went to a bird show and we got to see so many types of birds there. At the zoo, we saw a Komodo dragon, tortoises, and lots of different types of lizards and snakes. We went to a crocodile show, which was pretty cool to see, we saw a cassowary, which sort of looks like a fancy ostrich native to Australia. “We went and saw the koalas, which to be honest were sort of boring, but very cute. One day we went to a koala sanctuary, which I enjoyed much more as we got to pet a koala and see it up close. We got to see some sleep ing dingoes and a binturong, which looks like a bear and a cat combined. We got to see lots of wallabies and lazy kangaroos, as well we got to see some elephants, which made me very happy. We also went and saw a tiger and a giraffe.” This trip to Australia will always be one Heape and her family will cherish forever. Not everything went as smoothly as planned, but the memories made will last a lifetime. “I went swimming in the ocean for the first time when we went to Rainbow Beach,” said Heape. “Unfortunately, one of the medications that I take causes my face to react to the sun and it gets sore and itchy, so swimming in the salt water didn’t make my face feel very good. “I think I’ll remember everything since this trip was my dream trip and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Finally visiting my aunt and uncle and having them show us where they live, with all the different places and things that are unique to Australia is something we’ll always remember.

The state of the Skippy L rests in the hands of who officially owns it, which has now come into question. With the derelict state of the designated heritage site being beyond repair, the Town of The Pas and Heritage Society must first find the owner before the de-designation process can begin.
“Right now, the town is stilling trying to determine ownership of the Skippy L,” said Town of The Pas Assistant CAO Jenn Early. “I’m working with the Heritage Society, but they don’t seem to have any information either. We have no proof that the Town of The Pas owns the Skippy L or anything proving that it was the town that designated it a heritage item.” A relative of Tom Lamb expressed some interest early on, but that has since been abandoned. “In October of 2023, The Heritage Society ad vised that the great-grand son of Tom Lamb, Fraser Fisher, reached out to them and he was inquiring about restoring the boat,” said Early. “The Heritage society put him in touch with me. I received one e mail from him and pro vided him with the status of the boat and the Condition Assessment report the town had done on the Skippy L. I never heard back from him. I have sent him three more e mails since then with no reply. “It is necessary to find relatives of the original owner as the Heritage Society is requesting this be fore they will de-designate the heritage status. With out the de-designation the town cannot legally demolish the boat, as we cannot prove we are the owners of it. “The Skippy L is be yond repair,” said Early. “If the owner would have used the designation status before it got in this state, there would have been funding through the heritage society to fix it up. Unfortunately, we don’t know who the owner is and can’t get this process going”. The current condition of the Skippy L poses some concerns in terms of safety for the community. It has been boarded up to prevent people from entering in. “With the state the Skippy L is in right now, it is a huge liability,” said Early. “I’m still working with the Heritage Society, and they are now looking at what the next step will be in order for the town to de-designate it and demolish it.” If anyone knows who may be associated or has knowledge of who has ownership of the Skippy L, please contact the town office.

The Town of The Pas, like many rural and northern Manitoba communities, is struggling with having adequate numbers of police officers stationed in the community. The cost of policing is rising, as is the cost of everything else, but there are just not enough police officers on hand to deal with the various issues around community safety and crime.
The Town of The Pas has budgeted for the creation of a Community Safety Officer Program. Currently, there is an ad out to hire a Community Safety Manager to spearhead the project.
“The Community Safety Officer (CSO) Program is still in the works, but the hope is to have a Community Safety Manager in place by the end of February 2024, to help role this program out,” said Town of The Pas Assistant CAO Jenn Early. “The plan is that the safety officers will be out and about the community, getting to know people and businesses. They will have a Peace Officer Status. “There will be two CSOs and a manager hired. They will do patrols in vehicles, bikes and walking. The CSOs and Community Safety Man ager will be working closely with the RCMP. We are hoping to have them work shift work and on weekends. The Com munity Safety Manager will be in constant contact with the local RCMP and our CSOs will work closely with the RCMP. If the RCMP need assistance they will contact the CSO’s and the vice versa. “We are working on a LOU with the local detachment to ensure we are on the same page,” said Early. “The CSO program is to help the RCMP so they can deal with more pressing matters; it’s not so the RCMP have less to do. The CSO’s will deal with individuals intoxicated in the downtown area, provide them rides home or to the homeless shelter or the RCMP detachment, if they do not have any other place to go and are a danger to them selves or others. They will also issue parking tickets; assist the RCMP with traffic control for parades; stay with individuals who are at the hospital under the MHA; provide basic community safety such as patrols and presence around town and eventually issue fines for by-law infractions. “Before they deal with enforcing our by-laws, we want them to get the com munity safety side of things started first.” Applicant for the CSO positions will have to meet certain qualifying criteria before they apply and then there is mandatory training to complete before they can act in the capacity they are hired for. “Since the CSOs will have access to cells at the RCMP detachment, they will also have to success fully pass and maintain Criminal Records Check and Vulnerable Sector Checks, enhanced security clearance required by MB Justice and Child Abuse Registry Check,” said Early. “There is a four-week training program through Brandon City Police that the CSO candidates will have to complete. This Level 1 Training is a requirement in accordance with the Manitoba’s Police Services Act (PSA). The Manitoba Safety Officer Induction Training is the minimum training requirement for issuance of a peace officer appointment for safety officers. “The officer course will provide training including, arrests and detention; understanding the system flow of laid charges; Indigenous awareness and community diversity; the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; court testimony; the Criminal Code; criminal investigation; Duty to Act and Duty of Care; elements of a crime; exhibit handling; interviewing; an introduction to law; Manitoba’s Intoxicated Persons Detention Act; legislation around governing peace officers; Manitoba’s Mental Health Act including authorities, forms, etc; Child and Family Services including missing persons matters; note taking and report writing; provincial acts, statutes, and municipal bylaws; radio procedures; restorative justice; search and seizure, along with the authority to search vehicles, persons and dwellings; tactical communications; traffic enforcement training; use of force and officer safety; and Victims’ Services and Social Services Level II Training,” said Early. “They will also have to meet the following requirements that are in accordance with Manitoba’s Police Services Act, such as the minimum physical requirements, vision and hearing requirements.” The cost of policing is beyond any municipality’s control, but the Town of The Pas realizes they need more supports to keep the community safe. The Town of the Pas’ 2024 budget is $308,000 for the CSO program and $3,714,000 for the RCMP policing. There is still more funding needed for this particular project. “We have an agreement already signed be tween the Province, the Town of the Pas and the RCMP,” said Early. “We have a committee of council formed with three members of Council, the CAO, myself, along with the local RCMP Staff Sergeant and Sergeant. We have started advertising for the Community Safety Manager and will be re viewing resumes the second week of February. There is a job description completed for the CSOs, but won’t start advertising until the manager is hired. “There are a few com ponents we are still working on such as the LOU with the local detachment, a vehicle for the CSOs and we’re still looking for funding, as this program is not funding by the Province. We’re working with the communities of Thompson and Ste. Anne, as they are the only two municipalities in Manitoba that currently have the CSO program up and running. We’re in the process of developing policies and procedures for this pro gram, and hoping that once the manager is hired, this person can take this on. “We are hoping to have tow CSOs in place by the end of March be ginning of April, and then hopefully there will be Level 1 Training avail able,” said Early. “We would like to see the pro gram in operation by May. It won’t be fully operational for some time as there will be lots of training and learning curves. We want the community safety aspect side of things figured out before we have them start by-law enforcement.”

Teachers in the Swan Valley School Division participated in training delivered by the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba (TRCM) this past Friday. Teachers from Grades 9 to 12 attended the morning session, while teachers from kindergarten to Grade 8 attended the afternoon.
TRCM’s Treaty Education Lead Connie Wyatt Anderson was the facilitator and is a former resident of the Swan Valley. Her passion for storytelling led to her calling to teach history.
“I grew up in Mafeking and went to high school in Swan River,” said Wyatt Anderson. “It felt like I was related to everyone and my parents still live there. My dad was a real seasoned storyteller, so I think early on I got a love of local stories and history. I attended the University of Winnipeg and when I finished, I ended up teaching in Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN).
“OCN had just built a new school and I was offered a job teaching history. That was just the perfect fit for me.”
Wyatt Anderson taught at OCN for 22 years and then in 2014, left to focus her time on pedagogical writing.
This led her to become part of TRCM developing curriculum and teaching about the treaties and their role in Canada.
“While teaching history back then, I was following the history curriculum and textbook and it was a reflection of its time, and even back then I noticed there were massive gaps in it,” said Wyatt Anderson. “The nice thing about history is that parts of it may be in textbooks, but it’s also in the people, the land, the language and is all around you. The coolest thing about being a history teacher is using the framework from the provincial government and then making it meaningful for the students.
“In 2009, Jamie Wilson became the second treaty commissioner in Manitoba and I knew him personally because he is from OCN. We taught together. When he came in, one of his goals was to begin an education initiative, where students in schools could learn about the treaties. He reached out to me because he knew I had been involved in curriculum development with the Province, so over the years I had been on five different curriculum teams.
I was asked if I was interested in doing it and that is how I got set on this path.
“When I first got started, I’ll admit, I knew just the bare bones of what a treaty was,” said Wyatt Anderson. “I had an understanding as a history teacher, but it was Jamie who really taught me to see it from the perspective of a partnership. It wasn’t just about Indigenous people; it was about factors such as how one’s non-Indigenous great-grandfather accessed land back then and relating that piece to how things unfolded.
“I came in and framed the curriculum. After being a long-time teacher, I knew the project would be successful if it was there to support teachers, not give them extra work. No teacher needs another special project; they have so much already to do. I will refer again to the recipe analogy, but this was like a meal kit, giving teachers the information, they needed to put it together. This was meant to support what they were doing.
“One of the first things I thought in my head, was this cannot be a special project, because those tend to be fleeting and die out,” said Wyatt Anderson. “Our friends in Saskatchewan had done the same thing and they predated Manitoba’s treaty education by a decade. They were excellent supporters to us.
“From there we started off offering workshops on treaty education. I’ve been all around Manitoba and sharing this with teachers.”
Wyatt Anderson encourages educators to use the information they learn about treaty relations and personalize it to suit the area, relevance and audience they are teaching it to.
“I always tell teachers to use the curriculum like a recipe,” said Wyatt Anderson. “There is a reason why allrecipes.com is so popular. The first thing everyone does with a recipe is make it their own, and you can do that in the way you teach history.
Two people can take the same recipe and adjust it for the people they are cooking for, much like teachers can do that with the way they teach history.
“I kind of like the idea of contested history, but when an event happens, not everyone sees it the same way. There are things where two people could witness the same thing and have different takes on it. Everybody tends to think that history is about a regurgitation of facts, it is to some extent, but it’s also about skills too; the ability to weigh evidence and develop critical thinking.
“Nothing in history is random; you have to look at the patterns. Every single thing is connected, except when a tornado hits.
Students are really good if you give them the leeway to find the connections. Dates don’t fall out of the sky and nothing is random.
“Teachers were doing great work already and I knew that,” said Wyatt Anderson. “I think that teachers sometimes aren’t supportive enough and I think by providing something like this, it gives them a little more courage to learn and teach more on something that may be outside their normal scope. This initiative started as a voluntary one and was for an entire decade. A lot of people embraced taking this opportunity to learn about the treaties on their own, while some school divisions totally embraced it. All this stuff predates the calls to action.
“We’re in a different place now, it’s 2024, and when we first started a lot of people were gobsmacked, because they didn’t know any of this. Many said they never took it to school or didn’t understand any of it.
Some people were empowered and felt they could do this and incorporate it into their teaching plans, while others could see themselves in this narrative about treaties as well.”

The unseasonably warm weather for January has created some interesting times for those that enjoy outdoor recreational opportunities, with many activities that rely on the snow and cold being put on pause during what is usually peak winter, following the closest thing to a cold snap that the Swan Valley has seen all season. 

The Dauphin Kings earned a split over the weekend and remain in third place in the MGEU West Division of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

Dalton Andrew scored twice, with both goals coming on the power play to lead the Winkler Flyers to a 3-2 in over the Kings, Friday in Winkler.

The Flyers built a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes and hung on in the third period as the Kings pulled to within one, late in the game.

On Saturday in Winnipeg, the Kings upended the Freeze, 6-1, with Madden Murray, Rylan Gibbs and Sheldon Shyiak each netting a goal and an assist and Gavin Nemis chipping in with a pair of helpers.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley liked the team’s pushback against Winkler.

“We got down a couple of power-play goals, but really had a solid third period and pushed back. We had a real good chance to tie the game with about 10 seconds left and it didn’t happen. But at the same time, I’m happy with the effort, for sure,” he said.

Momentum was tough to come by with the number of penalties called in the game. The two teams combined for 13 power plays.

“At times I thought we were playing in the Federal League. There was a scrum just about every time, two or three guys jumping guys. And for some reason, the officials allowed a lot of it, not giving 10’s (misconducts) or anything,” Hedley said. “It was a playoff type atmosphere. I was really happy with the way the guys responded and pushed back. We were on our heels for a bit at the start. They came at us hard. But the good thing is we hung tough and almost got a point out of that game.”

It took a while to get going against the Freeze.

Hedley said those are tough games when you’re up to face one team in a playoff-type of atmosphere and then face a team that is out of the playoffs.

“It wasn’t our greatest effort, but we found ways to score and we found ways to get it done when we had to,” he said.

This week, the Kings have three games, all on home ice, against teams below them in the standings.

The week gets underway, Tuesday, when the Neepawa Titans come to town, followed by a Friday night date with the Waywayseecappo Wolverines. On Saturday, the Winnipeg Blues visit Credit Union Place.

All three games begin at 7:30 p.m.

Hedley said this is an important stretch for his team.

“There’s time in March there towards the end of the season where there’s a lot of road games. So we’ve got to take advantage of being at home,” he said. “Neepawa is a tough test. They’re playing real well. They’ve beat some good teams lately. They’re fighting for their lives in the playoffs, with Wayway right on their heels. They’ll be coming in hard. We’re going to have to bring our A game and make sure we’re ready to play,” he said.

At 25-13-1-0, the Kings have 51 points and are three back of the Blizzard, with four games in hand.

A local dentists has been chosen to lead Manitoba Dental Association (MDA) for 2024-2025 as it’s 100th president

Last month, Dr. Daron Baxter was elected by the the association’s board of directors as its ninth female president.

“Dr. Baxter is a well-respected general practice dentist who grew up in Winnipeg but chose to build her career in Manitoba’s Parkland region. Her experience in the public access to oral health care in both larger city and smaller community settings will help guide the board to continuing its advocacy for accessibility in dental treatment,” said MDA chief executive, Rafi Mohammed.

Check out the full in depth story in this week's Dauphin Herald!

Work on rehabilitation of the Buckwold Bridge is expected to begin soon after city councillors awarded the contract at a special meeting, Feb. 5.

Five bids were received for the project with the lowest quote of $1,089,908.47 from Armcon Ltd., of Stonewall, eventually chosen.

Dauphin director of Public Works and Operations, Mike VanAlstyne said the quotes received did not come as a shock, like when the bids for Main Street South came in.

“They are slightly higher than our estimate, but within an acceptable range, for sure,” he said.

VanAlstyne said Dauphinites can expect to see work begin by the end of the month as the site is prepared for construction season.

“The contractor will install a netting, a mesh underneath the bridge to prevent any birds from nesting, and there may be some slope work this spring before spring runoff,” he said. “Then we anticipate the contractor to be starting the deck rehab work probably in May at some point.”

The project involves partial depth replacement of the entire deck, placement of new glass fiber reinforced polymer reinforcing, placement of new concrete, compression seal replacement, targeted local repairs to curb and girder ends and installation of rip rap with an eye toward protection of utilities, environmental protection and restoration of the site.

Buckwold Bridge lies on Fourth Avenue Southwest. As part of a major east-west route within the city the contract puts an emphasis on time with performance penalties for missed deadlines.

All works associated with rip rap and bird net installation need to be completed no later than Mar. 31, while the substantial completion date – all rehabilitation works, including girder end repairs and removal of traffic control has been set at June 28. Daily liquidated damages, should either of these deadlines be missed will be charged to the contractor at the rate of $2,500 per calendar day until the work is completed.

The overall completion date for all works including any deficiencies, removal of temporary works and site restoration is July 12, with daily liquidated damages charged at $1,000 per day.

As the rehabilitation of the bridge is straightforward with really no structural repairs required, VanAlstyne expects the contractor will be faced with few, if any challenges.

“(The bridge) is in good shape,” he said. “We have to do a little bit of repairs to the ends of the girders, the underside beams, but just to kind of prevent further spread of chloride intrusion.”

Other bids received as part of the request for proposals included MD Steele Construction at $1,439,674.19, Fort Richmond Construction at $2,484,870, and Minty’s Moving at $2,486,780. A non-compliant bid was also received from Western Construction Services.

The work will be paid for by the City’s Gas Tax Reserve and funding provided by the Province.

While there is still plenty of work to do to finalize Mountain View School Division’s 2024-25 operating budget, a big piece of the puzzle was revealed last week as part of the Province’s education funding announcement.

And while the funding plan contains a lot of information to digest, MVSD secretary-treasurer Lori Slepicka said the division will be working with more provincial resources than it had last year.

“We are receiving an increase of two per cent in our provincial funding, so that’s in a positive direction,” Slepicka said. “There was a huge decrease in our formula funding due to a decrease in student enrolment and now we’re on the formula guarantee, which is their promise to make sure that no division gets less money through the formula than what they would have received in the previous year. And then there’s a bunch of extra funds outside of the formula.”

MVSD will receive a total of $26.4 million in operating support, representing an increase of .9 per cent over last year’s allocation, along with an additional $300,000 targeted to child nutrition programs for a total of $26.7 million in provincial funds for the coming year.

“So a portion of that funding has to very specifically be used for (the child nutrition) program,” Slepicka said adding programs currently run in most, if not all schools in the division and it remains to be see how the new money will be used. “ Most of it is operated through the schools directly and they apply for grant funding on their own. Divisionally we don’t fund breakfast programs currently. We have to see. We haven’t received any details other than the dollar amount and that it has to specifically be used for nutrition programs, but what the parameters of that are . . . no details yet as to how we have to spend it other than on nutrition.”

As part of it’s announcement the Province also lifted the restrictions on local taxation, allowing school boards to go to ratepayers to raise funds.

“We haven’t got anywhere near finalizing numbers or anything like that, so will we be presenting a deficit budget or a balanced budget? I’m not sure yet. The other thing that changed this year is they’ve lifted the restrictions on the local taxation, so that’s an option this year. And we’re not anywhere near having those answers yet.”

Overall, the Province’s support for education increased by 3.4 per cent, an amount higher than the provincial rate of inflation, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Nello Altomare said.

“After years of feeling the pinch, schools and kids deserve a government that’s ready to fund them at the level they deserve,” Altomare said, adding the increase addresses growing enrolment and supports classroom needs. “Funding will be stable and predictable for divisions while we develop a new funding model for the next fiscal year. For kids, this funding will ensure every student gets the support they need including a universal nutrition program to keep kids fed, healthy and ready for learning.”

Slepicka hopes the new funding model makes things more fair and equitable and that MVSD will see a few more dollars once it is implemented.

“For years everybody has been saying the formula doesn’t work, the formula doesn’t work,” she said.

“So hopefully we come up with a formula that is that will work better and there won’t be all of that funding outside of the formula.”

The 2024-25 funding of schools is an overall increase of $104.2 million that includes:
• $51.5 million in operating costs for public schools;
• $3 million toward smaller class sizes;
• $27.5 million for nutrition programming;
• $11.3 million for capital support, which includes principal and interest costs related to building schools; and
• $10.9 million to independent schools as per their funding agreement.

Local fans of live music and the infamous “Highwaymen” – Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson – are in for a real treat later this month.

MCMA award winners Ryan Keown, Mike Sacharko and
JR Charron have teamed up for a tribute to country music’s first and foremost “supergroup” and are playing a Feb. 24 show at the Roblin Theatre.

Read all about it in this week’s Review.