The Dauphin Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) program is gearing up for its 31st year of getting people home safely during the holiday season.

Started by the late John Shuttleworth and RCMP Sgt. Ron Marlin, the program was the first of its kind in Manitoba and led the way for other communities to develop similar initiatives.

Operating out of the Dauphin Friendship Centre, RIDE gets underway, Dec. 1, and will run each Friday and Saturday night in December, except for Dec. 29 and 30, providing those who have been celebrating with alcohol or cannabis a safe way home.

Even the smallest amount of alcohol or cannabis can impair judgment, especially for someone behind the wheel of a vehicle.

To prevent that, RIDE volunteers will pick you and your vehicle up from a provided location. They will then drive you and your vehicle to your destination, preferably your home residence.

This is the first year the program has operated since Shuttleworth’s death, making it a bittersweet time for organizers.

“Dad founded the program back in 1992, so the program meant so much to him. He was not mobile for the last few years, but every night he would always call me the following morning and ask ‘did you have lots of volunteers?’ ‘Were the volunteers fed?’ Did you have lots of callers coming in?’ He was always so concerned about making sure that his volunteers were taken care of and that we were saving lives,” said his daughter Sho-Sho Shuttleworth-Lafontaine, who is now spearheading the program. “As tough as this year is going to be for me and our immediate family that volunteer . . . this is a year that we really are doing it in remembrance of dad and making sure that we carry on because it was so important to him.”

As in past years, the program is looking for additional volunteers and sponsors.

“A lot of our volunteers have retired from the program, so we are looking for more volunteers and with that, of course, they need a valid driver’s license and the RCMP will set them up for a free abstract and criminal records check,” Shuttleworth-Lafontaine said. “And a vehicle is not required, just a driver’s license.”

Main sponsors of the RIDE program are Manitoba Public Insurance, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, Parkland RCMP and the Dauphin Friendship Centre, but more are welcome, she added.

“Fuel prices have gone up and food prices, everything has gone up. So anyone who’s willing to do a monetary donation, we are more than willing to accept that,” she said. “We have already had several businesses in town step up for cash donations. I know Countryfest has also stepped up as a board to volunteer and has issued a challenge to the Ukrainian Festival board to also step up, And it would be nice to see the community challenge many boards and see if they’d like to come out, not for the whole season even. If they decide to do one weekend or one night we’d be glad to have them. It all helps.”

Anyone wanting to volunteer for the program or provide some sponsorship can leave a message for Shuttleworth-Lafontaine at 204-638-1463.

Those wanting to make use of RIDE services on the nights it is running, can access a safe ride home with your vehicle by calling 204-638-5707.

Above, Colton McLeod, 13, performs his rendition of Steve Earle’s Copperhead Road to open Bruce-a-Palooza, Sunday at the Watson Arts Centre.

The event was a musical tribute and fund-raiser for Bruce Leperre, top, whose support of grassroots music is well known throughout the music industry.

Leperre was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and the funds will go towards covering mounting costs not covered by the health system, as well as allowing him to live in his home for as long as possible.

Winning a world championship is never easy. In rodeo, it takes amazing athletic feats and a little bit of luck.

Orin Larsen has been close to claiming that Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. In 2019, he finished just behind titlist Clayton Biglow. Three years prior to that, he was third in the final world standings.

Find out more in this week’s issue.

When Melissa Taylor found out “Ted the Barber’s” house and detached barber shop were up for sale, she made an offer on the property as soon as she was able to.

Taylor had been living and working in Edmonton – Covid forced her to quit her eyebrow microblading business in Roblin and head out west to find a job – and had been looking for a way to “come home” and start up her shop again.

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

The Manitoba government, joined by community leaders from across the province, laid out its plan Tuesday to work together, strengthen health care, lower costs for families and grow the province’s low-carbon economy in the speech from the throne.

“Today is a new day in our province,” said Premier Wab Kinew.

Find out what the NDP government is planning in this issue.

The Smellie Block in Russell – the home of Gambler First Nation’s admin offices – was the setting of a historic announcement Nov. 10 as Gambler First Nation announced a million-dollar donation to its newly inaugurated John James Tanner Legacy Foundation through the Potash and Agri Development Corporation of Manitoba.

The foundation was created to provide crucial educational, financial, social and psychological support to the children and families of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, men, boys, two-spirited, and LBGTQIA individuals during times of crisis.

Want to know more? Check out this week’s paper.

Nothing says Christmastime like a Santa Claus Parade and The Pas Community Renewal Corporation (TPCRC) is about to bring some Christmas Cheer to the tri-community. This year’s theme for the parade promises to be a fun one that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
“The theme this year is ChristmaZoo,” said TPCRC Community Engagement Coordinator Holly LaJambe. “TPCRC has been collecting and brainstorming themes for all the years we’ve been organizing the Santa Parade into a big secret list and it continues to grow.
“We choose themes that are inclusive, open to interpretation so everyone can be creative with them, and fun for all ages. Every year, we select a few choices from this list that are different from the past few years and then our staff have fun debating these until we settle on one.”

With many people about to start holiday shopping, along with searching for that perfect gift comes find deals or bargains on those top-demand items on peoples’ wish lists. Stores started the whole Black Friday bonanza of deals, by copying our American counterparts, but now retailers have taken it to another level with the Pre-Boxing Day sales strategy, which is get a deal before the big sale hits.
There are good portion of rural Manitobans who do shop local when it comes to buying gifts for the holidays, but for those who are looking to buy gifts that are not carried locally, they tend to rely on shopping online.
Shopping online can provide the convenience of doing so from home and not having to worry about travelling treacherous highway conditions only to stand in long loud lineups at the mall.
The majority of holiday online shoppers tend to scour the Internet looking for advertised deals or sales. With Meta (Facebook) being so ad-driven, a lot of these retail giants are using this platform to advertise specials or sales online. This may seem like a great way to keep informed about sales, but it’s now becoming a great way to become a victim of fraud.

Town of The Pas held a regular council meeting on November 13 in council chambers and due to some technical difficulties, the meeting could not be streamed online.
Destination Marketing Committee followed up and provided council with some Terms of Reference for their organization.
“It gives us a better idea of the Destination Marketing Committee’s structure and how it operates,” said Town of The Pas Mayor Andre Murphy. “It also ensures there is a fair process in terms of intakes, as well it helps them to plan out their budget to grant funds throughout the year. It helps us, as well as those applying for grants, to see the entire picture and what is required.”

The Grand Chief of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Inc. has reiterated MKO’s earlier call for Canada to commence an investigation of the Indian Residential School system as a crime against humanity under the laws of Canada. MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee presented MKO’s renewed call for action during a meeting with federal Justice Minister Arif Virani at the Permanent Mission of Canada in Geneva, Switzerland on November 9, 2023.
MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee and MKO officials were in Geneva last week to participate in the 4th Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Canada before the Working Group of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The UPR of Canada took place at the United Nations in Geneva on November 10, 2023. MKO is an NGO in Consultation with ECOSOC and is accredited to the United Nations duty stations in New York and Geneva.
Grand Chief Settee said, “I reminded Minister Virani that MKO’s first response after the announcement by Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc of the discovery of the 215 children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School was to call on Prime Minister Trudeau and former Justice Minister David Lametti to investigate the Indian Residential School System as a crime against humanity pursuant to Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act.”