When a child gets sick or has a traumatic birth, people in the community step up to show support in a variety of ways. Last year, baby Theo Derry was born premature and faced some uncertain odds in the days ahead.
“My great-grandson Theo was such a premature baby that when he was born, he was only 23 weeks and four days,” said Theo’s Great-Grandmother Julie Bell. “If he had been at 22 weeks, they wouldn’t have even likely tried to save him. He just was passed that time and the wonderful staff at St. Boniface Hospital saved his life.”
Theo’s mother Breanna Mault, was fortunate to have her family there to support her and her children during this turn of events.
“My daughter, Jennifer, and I took care of the three other children that Breanna has, while she and Theo’s father stayed in Winnipeg at the Ronald McDonald House,” said Bell. “The Ronald McDonald House was a complete saviour to them at that time. We travelled back and forth to Winnipeg for quite some time.”
Theo’s family began to see progress in his development, which was very promising and gave them all hope for a positive outcome. Theo has progressed immensely but still is working on muscle development.
“One of the things that gave us hope in the beginning, is that Theo took to eating the special formula from the start,” said Bell. “Within the first month, he was able to eliminate properly, which meant that some of his organs had already started developing properly. He is doing really well with most things but isn’t sitting up on his own yet, because now he is starting to develop muscles. Theo is just a little slower at crawling because of muscle development.
“Theo is showing promising signs and he is a responsive baby. He has had one laser surgery to correct his peripheral vision, which they say can improve as he grows.”
As a result of Theo needing to be in close contact with medical professionals and therapy services, Breanna and her children have had to move to Winnipeg to ensure they have consistent access to care. The move has come with some challenges, as it keeps Breanna from having her mother and grandmother close by for support.
“Breanna has another son, before Theo, that was born premature, so she knows a lot about the exercises that need to be done to help him develop those muscles,” said Bell.
“She needs to be here in the city where she has those supports close by and access to the doctors. Breanna and her children have since moved to Winnipeg because Theo still needs some care and services that are much more accessible in the city. Theo is now just over a year old as of Jan. 2, and weighs about 15 lbs.. He’s eating well and has specialists that he has to see regularly to check on his development. His brother and sister just love Theo and being with him.”
Bell is in awe of how the medical field has progressed, especially when it comes to the care and treatment of premature babies. In a short span of time, there has been so much progress in this field and thanks to that innovation, it has helped babies like Theo reach their targeted goals for development.
“It’s just amazing the amount of innovation and improvement they have done in the health and science field over the last few years,” said Bell. “Theo should not have survived with the kinds of odds he was facing, but it’s amazing how far he has come along.
“He’s a very content baby and has the biggest grin you’ve ever seen. Theo likes to be in his swing, and once his neck muscles are a little stronger, they will put him in a special chair to give him support and continue that muscle growth. He spends a lot of time on the floor doing special exercises to build those muscles.”
Bell, her daughter, granddaughter and family are truly moved by the generosity and caring of the people in Valley during their time of need. People showed incredible support through donations which helped the family out during all of Theo’s medical needs.
“There are times where it’s difficult for Breanna to be out there with the three kids, but we are all so grateful to the people of the Swan Valley,” said Bell. “Some money was raised through the GoFundMe page and we had jars up in the community, which also brought in more donations to help out. Two local service clubs, the Lions and the Kinsmen, also donated.
“I can’t say enough about the people in the Valley; they’re just amazing. It not only helped in that first month but helped carry through afterwards. Breanna is still unable to work as she is providing the care that Theo needs. She still has some time left on her maternity leave, but that will be running out soon and she will have to look at other options.”

Recently The Pas Legion has voted in a new president, Roger Nikolychuk. Roger is no stranger when it comes to volunteering as Legion member, for he has strong family ties to The Pas Legion that started with his mother, Angie, who was the former president of The Pas Legion. Serving The Pas Legion has become the Nikolychuk family’s legacy.
“I’ve been a Legion member with The Pas Legion for 29 years, but I wasn’t really active until about 2014, when I became involved with it through the air cadets,” said Angie. “My kids were in air cadets at the time, and the Legion sponsors the air cadets and monitors their activities closely, so we naturally started giving back to The Pas Legion for everything they gave for the cadets.

Physician and nurse shortages, as well as closed ERs, are issues that aren’t going to be solved any time soon, especially for rural and northern Manitoba communities, but there is another option. The online service Q-Doc has had a successful year in providing patients with virtual appointments with physicians and nurse practitioners, to help people who don’t have access to immediate healthcare in their community and to prevent unnecessary visits to the ER. Q-Doc has seen substantial growth over 2023, when it came to service providers and patient usage.
“There have been a lot of highlights in the past year for Q-Doc,” said Q-Doc Co-founder Dr. Norman Silver. “At the end of 2022, we had 62 physicians and as of now we have 113, along with 30 nurse practitioners as part of a pilot project with the provincial government that went really well. So, provider wise, we have gone up about 80 percent in that capacity. We were able to recruit 30 nurse practitioners in a month. The nurse practitioner pilot went really well and allowed patients to be seen through Q-Doc as a result.

The Town of The Pas held a special budget meeting and a regular council meeting on January 8, in council chambers. During the citizens period, a representative from The Pas and Area Animal Shelter presented a financial request to council to help with the operations of the shelter. The organization planned on submitting the same request to the R.M. of Kelsey and Opaskwayak Cree Nation, since they serve those areas as well.
Council put forward a resolution to amend the policy to the Sales and Extensions of Lots From the March 1, 2018, Land Development Incentive. The policy was originally created to allow the approval of first and second extensions, however since then, council has approved third and fourth extensions, which led to a precedent being set.

Having something stolen is more than a disheartening experience, but when it’s something that has sentimental value, the loss that is felt is that much more. On the evening of Boxing Day, 2023 Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival Fur Queen Gloria Ballantyne-Packo had the unfortunate experience of having her family’s vehicle broken into while in Winnipeg, and amongst the valuables stolen was her 2023 Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival Fur Queen parka.
This parka is a one-of-a-kind article of clothing that each of the Fur Queen Court receives. It’s tailored made for each person and has a unique design that reflects the theme for the Trappers’ Festival. Each parka also has the name of the Fur Queen court member embroidered on it.
“The Fur Queen jacket is so special to me because it represents the hard work and dedication that I have put into the fur queen competition and Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival,” said Ballantyne-Packo. “It also reminds me of the experiences I have had with my fellow reigning court. We decided on every detail about the jackets including the colour, embroidery, and fur.

Although January brings the start of a new year, it can also be a difficult time of the year for people in terms of managing mental health. The aftermath of the Christmas holidays and excitement, combined with the winter months can take a toll on people, as they try to keep their mental health in check.
“The winter months in general, and the month of January in particular, can be very difficult for many people in terms of how it affects their mood, energy, and general sense of mental health and well-being,” said Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Swan Valley Branch Peer Support and Public Education Coordinator Rod Seib. “Of course, the shorter daylight hours have a real impact on mood, as light exposure has long been known to have an impact on mental health.

The Pas Fire Department received a total of 184 calls for service in 2023.
“We’ve seen a significant rise in grass fires in 2023, with 34 calls for service as opposed to 17 the year before,” said The Pas Fire Department Fire Chief Cody Langlois. “We will be working with other agencies to reduce this statistic as we approach 2024 grassfire season this year, cautiously, given the lack of snow cover potentially setting us up for a dry year.
“A statistic we highlighted this year was landfill fires, as we had a large surge in them responding to 21 in 2023. These are very challenging fires for our crews, as they can be very dangerous, We appreciate the communities patience while we dealt with these incidents.

The healthcare system in Manitoba is most definitely in a state of crisis. Not only are there delays in ERs and surgeries, but now there are delays in accessing the most basic healthcare needs.
Many Manitobans take for granted that when they are sick, they can go to a clinic or see a doctor and just by simply showing their Manitoba Health Card, the bill is looked after. For newcomers to Manitoba, this is not the case.
There have been long-standing issues with many newcomers to Manitoba waiting on their Manitoba Health Card in order to get coverage. These newcomers have passed the criteria to qualify for a Manitoba Health Card, however the delays in processing cards have been a hurdle.

With the coming of a New Year just around the corner, one can’t help but also be thinking about Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival (NMTF). The NMTF Arts and Craft Show is open for vendors to register online. There are a few different things to be aware of with this year’s NMTF Arts and Craft Show, one in particular is its new location.
“The biggest change for the NMTF Arts and Craft Show is that this year we will be at UCN,” said NMTF Arts Craft Show Director Leah Yelland. “Also, we're doing registration for $15 a table. Another new addition, is that we received upgrades to our website, which allows us accept online payments easier.”      
The rules and regulations for the NMTF Arts and Craft Show are the same as last year.