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The business network will now be known as the Parkland Chamber of Commerce.
Stephen Chychota says the chamber is very excited about the change,
“Over the last few years myself and the board have really been looking at that ‘and district’ part of our responsibilities, and feel like since there is minimal chamber supports in the parkland area and some big gaps in business assistance with all the small businesses in these communities that were central, we are established, and we can be there for these communities. So, really felt like it's more appropriate to shift towards this ‘Parkland Chamber of Commerce’ and get rid of ‘Dauphin and District,’ it just makes things a lot more cleaner and simpler, and I think it’s something everyone in the region can digest.”
Chychota went through how things are going to look going forward,
“It’s a new name, new look to it. We are going to have new colours, a new logo, everything. More or less the same style of work coming out of this office, just going to continue to keep that focus on looking after the businesses in the neighbouring communities around Dauphin and continuing to support the chambers that are closest to us. As things progress, if we can continue to push what the Parkland Chamber of Commerce is and does, that can ultimately change what we do and offer to our business community. Looking forward to bigger and better things.”
The chamber says this decision is the next phase in their continued support for the community in representing more of a regional approach.
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- Contributed by Noah Fuchs
There are several walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinics in the Parkland this week.
Dauphin’s Supersite, located at 304 Whitmore Avenue east is offering Moderna and Pfizer Monday from 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., and on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Walk-ins are also taking place at the Dauphin & District Food Bank from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The food bank is located at 220 Whitmore Avenue west.
On Tuesday, people can get the vaccine in Russel at 447 main Street north from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Walk-ins are taking place in Gilbert Plains on Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. at 100 Cutforth Street north.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
Mountain View School Division has announced that there have been three COVID-19 cases at Roblin Elementary School during the infectious period.
The date of Exposure is October 6th.
Close contacts have been identified and advised to self-isolate.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
Holiday shopping could be more difficult this year due to supply chain issues and labour shortages.
Manitoba’s latest labour market outlook shows that in order to meet the needs of the local economy, the province needs over one thousand new truckers each year for the next five years.
While labour shortages are a big concern, so are supply chain disruptions. This includes shortages of raw material, shipping costs, and the availability of containers.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
The nomination deadline for the upcoming alumni awards is December 17th, 2021.
Nominees can be graduates of any Assiniboine campus but must be residents of the Parkland region.
Director of the ACC Parkland campus, Valerie McInnes, says these awards are a time to reflect and celebrate,
"These awards give the alumni association and the college the opportunity to showcase the hard work and talent of the outstanding alumni in our community. Although awards are given to nominated individuals, it's also a time to reflect and celebrate all of our alumni who contribute to building our communities in the parkland region."
McInnes carried on about the importance of these awards,
"Post-secondary education is a building block for strong and thriving societies, and it's important that celebrate the achievements of our graduates and share their journeys to success."
ACC could not give these awards out the last two years due to the pandemic, but Valarie says that as society gets back to some normalcy, she feels like it's time to celebrate again.
For more information about nominations, click here, or email alumni@assiniboine.net.
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- Contributed by Noah Fuchs
The United States confirmed that Canadian travellers with mixed vaccines will be accepted when its land borders reopen to vaccinated travellers on November 8th.
Non-essential travellers crossing at a land border will be required to show proof of vaccination, and by January the same policy will apply to those deemed essential travellers.
Air travellers will also need to show proof of vaccination on arrival to the U.S., but will still need to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of travel prior to boarding.
The Canada-U.S. border has been closed for non-essential travel since March 2020. Canada opened its border to U.S. travellers in early August.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
Manitoba nurses finally have a deal after more than four years without a collective agreement.
Yesterday, the Manitoba Nurses Union announced its members have ratified a new contract with the province. The ratification vote took place over the course of one week, with voting closing Thursday at noon.
The union says the agreement includes a salary increase and protects nurses against excessively long work hours and standby.
Premier Kelvin Goertzen and Health Minister Audrey Gordon say the province welcomes the news of a finalized collective agreement and thank nurses who have delivered care throughout the pandemic
The Manitoba Nurses Union represents more than 12 thousand nurses across the province.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
A six-day sitting of the Manitoba Legislature has concluded, where three pieces of legislation passed.
The final stages of passing Budget 2021 were completed and this year the legislation implemented a number of tax changes that will take effect in December, including the removal of PST on haircuts.
New legislation to move people with disabilities off of employment income assistance to a new income program passed unanimously.
A private members bill to mark August 1st as Emancipation Day province-wide was also passed.
Premier Kelvin Goertzen says this day is to recognize the heritage of Manitoba’s people of African descent and the important contributions the Black community has made and continues to make to the province.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) has some upcoming virtual and in-person meetings this fall.
The meeting season is taking place from October 19th to November 9th.
Mary Paziuk, District 13 Director says MBP had to make the difficult decision to hold meetings virtually in odd-numbered districts where elections aren’t required.
“It’s just because of the concerns with COVID that there are a lot of restrictions when it comes to in-person meetings.”
Paziuk is encouraging all beef producers to join in on the meetings.
“There are two virtual meetings for producers and their families in the odd numbered districts and each meeting begins at 7 p.m., there are also several in-person meetings throughout the province for those living in even numbered districts where elections are required. Each of those meetings begin at 1 p.m.”
The district in Ste. Rose will have an in-person meeting on November 2nd at 1:00 p.m. at the Community Hall. Those interested can register for the meetings here.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
October 16th is World Food Day, and Mealshare has expanded its program to celebrate.
Audrey McNab who runs Mealshare in Manitoba says the program is now partnering with 45 Mr. Mikes locations, including the one in Dauphin.
“So the one Mr. Mikes that’s in your location goes towards the Dauphin and District Community Food Bank Society. About 70 cents of every dollar goes locally to that charity and a small portion goes to Save the Children for international meals as well.”
Feature items at Mr. Mikes will be Mealshare items, and customers can also ask to make any item a Mealshare item for a dollar.
Audrey stressed the importance of World Food Day.
“One in Five children in Canada are food insecure. In Canada that’s about 1.5 million children. Celebrating World Food Day is very important for food security and helping our youth, not just here but internationally as well.”
World Food Day was first held on October 16th 1981.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
On the list of primarily undergraduate universities, Brandon University ranked 18th out of 19 schools.
BU's Media Director Grant Hamilton says what the magazine is looking at isn't necessarily what the university is most worried about,
"It's a pretty typical ranking for the last few years, and Maclean's collects a lot of data, and there's other rankings out there as well. How you rank really depends on the perspective that you bring to it, so the things that we're looking at, that's important to us, aren't necessarily the things that Maclean's is looking at. What we are sticking with is doing the best we can for our community and our region, that's Brandon, that's Westman, that's all of Manitoba."
Hamilton pointed out that what BU cares about most is the community and not how they stack up against the elite schools in Canada,
"The most important thing is what we can bring to our students here to our alumni here in the region and to the parents and to the faculty and the staff as well. That's what we are focused on, not necessarily on what we look like when we are ranked against the University of Toronto or McGill."
Hamilton noted that it's always interesting to see the magazine's rankings, but they don't drive the university in everyday operations.
BU was ranked 17th in 2020, moving one spot back for this year's rankings.
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- Contributed by Noah Fuchs
