UPDATED: Gov't Officials Deliver Remarks

UPDATE (Oct. 10^th, 4:58 p.m.): Government officials delivered remarks on the approval of the new Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent COVID-19 vaccine during a press conference earlier today.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says that the new vaccines will help protect people from developing long COVID over the winter months.

"I am concerned... From what I'm hearing from the experts, [they] are telling us... that the coming months, the coming weeks will be critical when it comes to COVID-19 infection and all the consequences this can have for people and health-care workers who are already quite tired," Minister Duclos adds.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, urges Canadians to get the new shot in order for them to be sufficiently protected from infection and severe illness when spending more time indoors over the winter months.

"Hospital trends are still elevated, although critical-care trends and death remain at a low level," Dr. Tam adds.

Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada's deputy chief public health officer, says that he's confident there will be enough of both the Moderna vaccine and the newly-authorized Pfizer vaccine to meet the demand for fall boosters.

"If we talk about the Moderna B1 vaccine, there are 10.5 million doses in the country now... If we are talking about the new Pfizer vaccine, we're expecting next week to have delivery of doses. We have a contract for some 12.6 million doses… and between the two I think it's enough in the meantime to cover the expected demand for booster doses," Dr. Njoo adds.

Health Canada officials say that anyone who has not received a booster dose for six months should get this new shot as soon as they can and that people who have not had a shot for three months should also consider getting the shot.

They also say that Canadians who got a booster shot less than three months ago should not get the shot right away, since it will not be as effective as it would have been if they had waited.

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Health Canada has authorized Pfizer's bivalent vaccine, which specifically targets the Omicron variant as well as its BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, for use in individuals aged 12 and up.

They had previously authorized Moderna’s bivalent COVID-19 booster.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Health Canada officials are scheduled to discuss the approval in detail later today.

Updated guidance on COVID-19 vaccine booster doses can be found here.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Oct 7, 2022 - 9:47 am

Christian Laughland, the current mayor of Dauphin, is aiming for a seat on Dauphin City Council as he runs in the municipal election.

Laughland, who's originally from Vancouver, B.C., has lived in Dauphin for over twelve years, currently with his wife and two-year-old son.

"Currently I'm working for the Dauphin Herald. In the past, I've worked for the Dauphin Kings and 730 CKDM, so I understand the significance of small businesses and all of the great groups we have in our community. Of course, some of which I've been involved with for a few years now," he adds.

If elected, Laughland plans on working towards expanding the City to create jobs and better living for all.

"And better living means less crime. Recreation is another key aspect. If our youth have the opportunity to grow in the community, it increases the chances of having them stay here longer and help make Dauphin stronger," he adds.

Christian Laughland acknowledges that crime is an issue and says that working with the RCMP and the provincial and federal governments to reduce crime is really important.

"We'll likely never get rid of crime, but we can work together to significantly reduce it. Earlier this year, the City of Dauphin was chosen... to take part in a community safety and well-being plan. That was delayed, so we won't actually be getting the funding from the provincial government until the fall, after the election. So if I'm re-elected, I really want to help implement that community safety and well-being plan," he adds.

Laughland says that he thinks the community is going to see a lot of growth in the next five to ten years.

"With so much stuff going on in the south end of town with the expansion of the highway, Vermillion Growers is growing... there [are] businesses that are showing interest in the business park, which is near the Vermillion [Park] Sportsplex. I think we're on the cusp of a lot of great things to happen in the community," he adds.

A complete list of candidates running for office in the City and R.M. of Dauphin can be found here.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Oct 7, 2022 - 6:05 am

The Parkland Chamber of Commerce is taking nominations for this year's Chamber Business Awards. There are seven award categories, including two brand new ones, that will be presented at the event in March.

Business Person of the Year
Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Community Appreciation: Individual
Community Appreciation: Group
Outstanding Business
Side Hustle Business (NEW)
Start Up Business (NEW)

Chamber Executive Director Stephen Chychota says the goal of the awards is to recognize those doing great work in the community.

"Let us know who out there is doing some amazing work. We've got a vast area out there across the parkland with some tremendous businesses doing some amazing things, and some individuals out there making a huge difference for the region and we want to know who they are, and we want to put the spotlight on them, support them."

The awards are open to anyone in the area, not just chamber members says Chychota.

"These are open to all businesses, all organizations, any individual across the Parkland. There's no requirement to be a chamber member, it's open to everybody. The only requirements are outlined in each award category and people can follow those really simple rules on there, and once we get those names we'll make sure that they do qualify."

Nominations are open until Friday, October 14th, and the online form can be found here.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Oct 7, 2022 - 6:00 am

UPDATE (Oct. 6^th, 12:29 p.m.): Media Relations Director Phil Legault has released a statement on behalf of Canada Post.

The statement follows:

The Winnipegosis Post Office is experiencing staffing issues this week and is closed until next week. A notice is posted at the post office informing customers they can temporarily pick up their mail at the Dauphin Post Office by providing a valid government-issued photo identification. We remain committed to serving the people of Winnipegosis. We are in the process of training employees to resume regular postal services as soon as possible.

We apologize to our customers for this inconvenience and thank them for their understanding. If customers have questions regarding their postal services, they can contact Canada Post's Customer Service team online at canadapost.ca/support or by telephone at 1-866-607-6301 (TTY: 1-800-267-2797).

Update contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos

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The Winnipegosis Post Office is once again closed, and mail will be temporarily redirected to the Dauphin Post Office. Residents will need to have a valid photo I.D. when picking up their mail at the Dauphin location.

We have reached out to Canada Post for more information and are waiting for their response.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Oct 6, 2022 - 10:51 am

A house on First Avenue in Pine River was fully engulfed in flames Wednesday morning.

Andy Schellenberg, the chief of the Pine River Fire Dept., says that he noticed the fire at 9:46 a.m. and personally notified emergency services, which resulted in volunteer firefighters getting paged to appear on the scene.

A request for mutual aid was sent out and the Pine River, Ethelbert, and Winnipegosis Fire Depts. responded by sending three apparatuses, three apparatuses and one apparatus, respectively.

According to Schellenberg, although the house was a total loss, they were able to prevent the fire from spreading to neighbouring buildings.

He went on to say that nobody was at the home when firefighters arrived.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Oct 6, 2022 - 6:05 am

Steve Sobering is aiming for a seat on Dauphin City Council as he runs in the municipal election.

Sobering is originally from Beausejour and moved to Dauphin with his wife in 2007.

He says that people should vote for him because he's hardworking, has a lot of great ideas and knows how to conceive and execute projects.

"I'm good at bringing people together... and I have the best interests of the community at heart... I think that this community is full of potential and we're at a good point in time to take advantage of that," he adds.

Sobering is running for city council because he loves the City of Dauphin, the community and the people.

"I've always been involved in a multitude of ways and I see it as my way of giving back... I think I have a lot of skills that would benefit having me on council," he adds.

Steve Sobering says that the first thing he would do if he were to be elected would be to establish a goal and work with council to determine how it can be achieved.

"And then take a look at all the plans that are already laid out and deliver on some of the projects and get things moving," he adds.

As for the crime situation in Dauphin, Sobering says that like any other problem, it needs to be tackled in the right way.

"I know crime is a big concern. As a business owner and owner of properties, I've had windows broken... I understand how frustrating it can be... If we can't get the police resources in the short term, we should work [in] different ways... to reduce or lower crime, like add surveillance... funding crime reduction programming... supporting... programs like Citizens on Patrol," he adds.

Sobering went on to say that his main priorities would be to grow Dauphin's tourism sector, grow the City as a hub for commerce and education, and work on making the City environmentally sustainable.

A complete list of candidates running for office in the City and R.M. of Dauphin can be found here.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Oct 6, 2022 - 6:00 am

Hoof N Holler days is back in Ste. Rose this weekend, with a full event for the first time in several years. There was a scaled-back event held last year, and Chair Ashley Vandepoele says the community is happy to have it back in full force.

"We have had wonderful reception when it comes to Hoof N Holler Days. We've had tons of messages, people asking questions, and engaged, so I think people are excited to have it back in full force. Even before COVID hit we had some tough years with some ice storms and snow storms, so we're excited to have a full schedule planned."

Vandepoele says they have added some new events this year for people to look forward to.

"We have never had a partnership before with Manitoba Theatre for Young People, so we have some acting classes that are being offered for free for our youth, both ages five to eight, and nine to twelve on Friday evening, so that is something that is brand new. And if there is anything else that we would highlight as being brand new, it would be that we had a partnership with healthy together now, and we decided to do a pumpkin and sunflower judging contest for people growing the biggest pumpkin and tallest sunflowers."

CKDM's Al Gains will be broadcasting live from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. tomorrow at Sunrise Credit Union, while Jackson Cornelson and the CKDM Cruiser will be in the Parade on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Oct 6, 2022 - 5:50 am

The RCMP's West District Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST) recovered two stolen vehicles and a stolen trailer on Crane River First Nation, as part of an ongoing investigation, on September 28^th.

On October 4^th, officers arrested 29-year-old Devin Mckay of Crane River First Nation and charged him with three counts of possession of property obtained by crime.

He was remanded into custody.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Oct 5, 2022 - 3:31 pm

To mark World Teachers' Day, the Manitoba government announced today that nominations are now being accepted for the 2022/23 Excellence in Education Awards.

Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko says that educators help young Manitobans to learn, grow and reach their full potential every day.

"On World Teachers’ Day, the day we celebrate educators around the world, our government is calling on students, parents, guardians, colleagues and administrators to nominate outstanding educators who they feel are making a special difference in the lives of students and deserve to be recognized,” Minister Ewasko adds.

The province says that they have been formally recognizing the outstanding contributions of Manitoba educators through the Excellence in Education Awards since 2006.

To be nominated, educators must hold a valid, permanent Manitoba teaching certificate and work directly with kindergarten to Grade 12 students in a school setting on a daily basis.

They will be presenting awards in the following categories:

teaching excellence award;
outstanding new teacher award;
outstanding team collaboration award;
outstanding school leader award; and
premier’s award for excellence in education.

According to the provincial government, award recipients will receive a certificate of recognition and a monetary gift of $500, and will be honoured at an award reception held at the Legislative Building during Education Week in April 2023.

The submission deadline for nominations is December 2^nd.

More information and nomination criteria can be found here

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Oct 5, 2022 - 3:08 pm

Matthew Flamand from Camperville was back in Dauphin court yesterday, and plead guilty to Mischief, Property Under $5000. Flamand was sentenced to time served, a one-day court appearance, and 12 months of supervised probation.

Flamand was arrested in May after he was identified as a suspect in the second of two fires in the Camperville area.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Oct 5, 2022 - 10:40 am

The Langruth Harvest Festival took place at the Sports Grounds on Saturday, October 1^st and it was very well attended.

Event Organizer Michelle Teichroeb says there were about three hundred people in attendance.

"The day was a little bit cooler, but kids don't seem to mind the cooler weather. They were on the run from activity to activity and just made the most of their day," she adds.

Teichroeb says that the hay bale climbing structure and bouncy castles were quite busy.

"New this year, we tried a tug-of-war with a firetruck. We had our local firetruck on site and we did a challenge to see how many people it took to pull the firetruck... It was a unique and fun thing to do," she adds.

Michelle Teichroeb went on to say that the canteen was busy all day long.