Submitted photo -  Skilled Truckers Canada

The Swan Valley community was at the centre of a major provincial news event last Tuesday (Jan. 13), when a Sapotaweyak Education Authority school bus carrying 14 teenage students rolled over on Hwy. No. 10 on the way to the SVRSS in the morning, about 13 km south of Mafeking. Swan River RCMP received the report at 8:35 a.m. and responded alongside the Birch River Fire Department and Shared Health EMS.
The RCMP believe the rollover occurred when the driver of the school bus – travelling south on the highway – attempted to pass another bus and lost control. The bus went off the highway, rolled and then came to a stop when it was right-side up. Road conditions were believed to be slippery at the time of the incident.
Fifteen people, including the driver, were transported to hospital in Swan River for assessment and treatment of their injuries. Four patients – three youth and one adult – were then transported by air to Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg for further care.
A Manitoba RCMP forensic reconstructionist was deployed to the scene to continue the investigation.
CBC Manitoba reported later in the week that the three students that were airlifted to Winnipeg were released from hospital after a couple of days.
Among the other students taken to Swan Valley Health Centre, one mother reported that her daughter suffered two broken vertebrae during the crash, but is expected to recover within three weeks.
Seatbelts on buses
The accident has reignited a conversation about whether seatbelts should be mandatory on school buses. Last month, Progressive Conservative MLA Wayne Ewasko from Lac du Bonnet tabled a private member’s bill aimed to enhance school bus safety by mandating seatbelts for new builds.
Following the incident in the Swan Valley, when asked about the possibility of seatbelts on school buses, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew spoke to CBC Manitoba, saying “I’m open to the conversation, but we have to be patient in identifying what took place in this instance before we rush to propose the right solution. What was the cause of this accident? What was the nature of the injuries? What would be the safety measure that would come out of it? I’m open to hearing it, but we don’t have that information yet.”

Steven Sukkau
The Winnipeg Sun

For many rural Manitobans, finding a family doctor close to home has become one of the biggest health-care challenges of recent years. Prairie Mountain Health says new internationally trained physicians are now on the way to help strengthen medical care in several small communities across the region.
Prairie Mountain Health is sponsoring seven internationally trained doctors through Manitoba’s Medical Licensure Program for International Medical Graduates, a provincial initiative that helps foreign-trained physicians become licensed to practice family medicine in the province.
Prairie Mountain Health is bringing seven internationally trained doctors to rural communities including Killarney, Minnedosa, Ste. Rose, Russell, Rossburn and Shoal Lake to help ease family doctor shortages and improve access to local health care for rural Manitobans.
The doctors are expected to begin working in rural communities in the fall of 2026 after completing their training in Winnipeg. Communities receiving new physicians include Killarney, Minnedosa, Ste. Rose, Russell, Rossburn and Shoal Lake.
“These doctors have committed to working in rural communities within our region,” said Tamara Kemp-Boulet, PMH’s physician recruitment and retention coordinator, in a release. “It really takes cooperation between the province, the health region and local communities to make rural recruitment successful.”
Among those coming to the region are husband and wife Shamsudeen and Olamide Usman, who will begin practicing family medicine at the Tri-Lake Health Centre in Killarney. They will complete their one-year training program this June before making the move to the community.
Other placements include two doctors in Minnedosa, along with new physicians heading to Ste. Rose, Russell, and a shared role serving both Rossburn and Shoal Lake.

Read more on this story in this week's Russell Banner on page 2.

“Every time I trained, I felt truly alive. It felt like martial arts was speaking to me, telling me - this is what I’m meant to do. I know many people feel the same way—feeling empty inside, getting sucked into work and the stresses of life. Martial arts gave me purpose and wisdom to keep moving forward.”
His name is Denzel Camillio but you may well know him as Ken.
He and his family came here from the Philippines and have called Russell home since 2014. You may well know him from the Filipino Convenience Store which his family owns and operates.
So now, you’ll likely be able to put a face to a name. There’s another really important thing about Ken.
He brought the Russell Fight Club to Russell in 2021 and his passion for the sport is more than obvious. “When I was a young kid, probably about 8 years old, I wanted to learn martial arts,” Ken explained.
“It didn't matter what kind of discipline I wanted to learn; I just wanted to get started.”
Back in his home county that simply wasn’t possible but coming to Canada changed that.
Doing that continuously is both time consuming and quite expensive.
“Most of the time I tried to learn by doing, watching videos and practicing by myself,” Ken said.

Get the whole front page story in this week's Russell Banner.

The Roblin Review is pleased to present a look at some of the babies born to residents and former residents of the community.
Pick up a copy of this week’s paper to check out those beautiful babies.

Dauphin city councillors have received their marching orders for the final year of their terms.

At their regular meeting, Jan. 5, councillors approved appointments to internal committees and community boards.

Internal committees

The Audit and Finance Committee will be comprised of mayor David Bosiak and councillors Ted Rea and Christian Laughland, while the Employee Relations Committee includes Bosiak, Laughland and councillor Kathy Bellemare.

The Environmental Stewardship and Climate Adaptation Committee, as well as the Planning and Priorities Committee will involve the full council.

The Property Standards Task Force Committee will include Rea and councillor Devin Shtykalo.

The Protective Services Committee will be comprised of Bosiak, Bellemare and councillor Randy Daley.

External committees

(Governed by City)

Councillor Steve Sobering and Rea will represent the City on the Active Living and Transportation Committee, while the full council will sit on the Board of Revision.

Bosiak and Laughland will sit on the City of Dauphin Liaison with the RM of Dauphin Committee, while Laughland and Bellemare will serve on the City Beautification Committee. 

The Community Safety and Well-Being Advisory Committee will include Bellemare and Rea, while Sobering and Shtykalo will serve on the Dauphin Business Park Committee and Rea will represent the City on the Dauphin Community Band Committee.

Bellemare will return to the Dauphin and District Allied Arts Council Liaison Committee, while Bosiak and Sobering will sit on the Dauphin Economic Development Committee.

The emergency measures committee will include Bosiak, Rea and Daley, while Rea will represent the City on the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee.

External committees

(Governed by others)

Rea will represent the City on Dauphin At Risk Teens, while Bellemare will sit on the Dauphin and Area Welcoming Communities Committee and the Dauphin and District Allied Arts Council Committee for the Watson Arts Centre.

Sobering will continue to serve on the Dauphin and District Handi-Van Committee, while Bellemare will sit on the Dauphin Public Library Committee.

Rea and Shtykalo will sit on the Dauphin Recreation Services board, while Laughland will join Shtykalo on the Dauphin Regional Airport Authority Board and Daley will remain with the Dauphin Veterinary Services Board.

Bosiak will represent the City on the Inter-Mountain Watershed District Vermillion River Sub-District Committee, while Laughland will sit with the Parkland Chamber of Commerce and Bellemare will sit on the Parkland Regional Library Committee.

Bosiak will represent the City on the Parkland Regional Municipal Working Group, the Riding Mountain Regional Liaison Committee and the Riding Mountain UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve Committee, while Bellemare and Sobering will sit on the Riverside Cemetery Board.

Citizen appointments

Shirley Genik and Mark Kohan were appointed to the Dauphin Community Band for two-year terms expiring December 2027. Lynn Smith was appointed to a one-year term on the Dauphin General Hospital Foundation expiring in December, while Mavis Wood, Regan Lemieux and Todd Pedersen were appointed to two-year terms on the Dauphin Public Library Board expiring in December 2027.

Every year, a local firefighter is recognized for their efforts in serving the community by being presented with the Firefighter of the Year Award. This year’s recipient was Matthew Linnick. Linick is one of the Swan Valley Fire Department (SVFD) instructors and a firefighter who demonstrated active volunteerism in the community and took part in the wildfire deployment to Flin Flon.
Linnick first got involved with the SVFD over three years ago. His interest in joining the local fire department was sparked by his longing to help others in the community.
“I joined the department in the fall of 2022,” said Linnick. “I joined because I wanted to be able to serve my community.”
Over the years, Linnick has done a lot of training to become a firefighter with the SVFD. In this role, he realizes that one must always be willing to learn and train when it comes to emergency response and firefighting techniques.
“You never really complete your training; there are always new skills and techniques to learn,” said Linnick. “When we are not learning new skills, we are training to keep up with our current ones. The most challenging aspects of training can be the physical demands and the amount of information you must absorb in a short amount of time, especially when completing your Level 1 training.
“We have great instructors, officers and senior firefighters on our department to help us overcome any challenges we face. This year, I completed my Firefighter Level 1 training. Additionally, I have taken various courses throughout my time in the department, including Emergency Services Instructor 1, vehicle extrication, and pump operations.”
Linnick stepped up to the call when one of the largest forest fires in Manitoba’s history broke out last summer, up north and in Flin Flon. This has provided Linnick with even more experience when it comes to firefighting and emergency disaster response.
“Late in the spring, I was part of a crew of four members from our department that went to Flin Flon with our pumper truck to assist,” said Linnick. “While there, we worked with Flin Flon and many other departments from around the province. We worked to extinguish hot spots on the fire lines around Flin Flon, and later, when the fire was threatening cabins in and around Bakers Narrows, we worked to protect these structures from the fire.
“It was great to see all the departments from around the province come to assist.”
Linnick enjoys his time with the SVSF for a variety of reasons. The camaraderie and ability to help others are something that he finds personally fulfilling.
“Since joining the department, I have been able to develop and grow my skills as a firefighter,” said Linnick. “This is all thanks to the other firefighters on our department who have taken the time to teach and work with me, and all the new firefighters.
“The thing I enjoy most about being a firefighter is being able to serve my community.”

Whether or not we in a prairie province need to be concerned about a sailor’s warning of an early morning red sky, a painted sky first thing in the morning is a welcome sight as we settle into 2026.

Mackenzie Collette was born in Curacao, Netherland Antilles and now lives in Toronto, Canada. She graduated the University of Manitoba from the Asper School of Business and is a certified PADI diver and avid sportsperson.
In 2014 she was accepted as a Student Member of The Explorers Club and reclassified after graduation to Member. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
For years, Mackenzie - who is a graduate of Major Pratt and is the daughter of Linda Witty and granddaughter of Ron and Darlene Witty has explored North America, alongside her father David Collette. Now the Canadian family along with Johann Sigurdson also a fellow in world famous Explorers Club and The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, are re-writing North American Viking history in a new series which debuted on the Super Channel Quest January 4th.
Quest for the Lost Vikings, a new eight episode documentary travel series about modern day explorers on a mission to discover the truth about their Viking heritage. The series debuted with the first two episodes shown back-to-back on Super Channel Quest on January 4th.

Read more in this week's Russell Banner on page 2.

There are some people who just aren’t phased by anything. And because of their adventurous spirit and attitude, quite often they’re the kind of folks who manage to be good at everything they put their minds too.
Hailee Durocher is one of those people.
Since Hailee’s arrival in this area, she’s taken on the Beef and Barley Buckin’ Charity Rodeo a couple of times. Or if you live anywhere near the south eastern part of the RM of Riding Mountain West, you’ll likely know her as the much-loved grader operator in your part of the world.
Hailee recalls driving through Russell with her dad on his semi delivery trips.
“Growing up in Winnipeg, I’ve always loved seeing small towns which are so filled with history,” Hailee said.
As fate would have it, she met Angusville’s Garrett Rubeniuk who is now her fiancé and ended up here, planning their life adventures together.
Part of that new path started with a small flower farm while she settled into life at her fiancé’s family farm in Angusville.
“So, what began as a small project quickly turned into a big love for flowers and that passion has grown into what is now ‘Stella’s Florals’,” Durocher explained.
At that point, things just started to fall into place.

Get the whole front page story in this week's Russell Banner.

Saturday was Hockey Day in Roblin with the community’s minor hockey teams, with the exception of the U13 Stars who were playing out of town, all seeing action.
The first game, between the U9 Stars (Poyser) and GrandPlains McDonald, got underway at 9 a.m. following a ceremonial puck drop honouring Jean Addis.
Have a look at photos of the celebration in this week’s paper.