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A Manitoba court has ordered the seizure of a former Gilbert Plains chief administrative officer's wages after the western Manitoba municipality filed a lawsuit accusing her of stealing over a half a million dollars, then faking a cyberattack to cover her tracks.
Former Gilbert Plains CAO Amber Fisher will see wage garnishment of nearly $550,000, and the municipality of Gilbert Plains launched a lawsuit.
The seizure of Fisher's wages comes after a default judgment was made against her when she didn't file any defence in the civil lawsuit.
However, recent court documents show Fisher hadn't made any more payments to the municipality as of Sept. 27.
The municipality said in its lawsuit that Fisher had breached her contract through "criminal, fraudulent, and unlawful conduct," alleging she made 33 transfers, totalling about $515,000, from the municipality's bank account to her own from September 2020 to July 2021.
Gilbert Plains also accused Fisher of falsifying bank statements to hide the transfers, giving councillors illegitimate reports that cleared her of fraud, and making up a story that she had been the victim of a cyberattack.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
The first two stages are complete, and the Provincial Government has announced they have entered Stage three of their search of the Prairie Green landfill.
This five stage plan aims to find the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, with stage 3 marking the beginning of excavation.
Stage one and two focused on planning, assessment, and construction of on-site facilities, and stage three begins to strip away materials above the targeted zone a the land fill.
Stage three will also expand recruitment for later stage manual searches to identify the target depth.
Premier Wab Kinew made a resounding remark as part of this announcement, noting that “This is about doing the right thing and sending a message to all Manitobans that you matter and deserve dignity. When someone goes missing, we go looking.”
He also noted that stage 4 is well on track to begin for late fall.
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- Contributed by Michael Brossart
One of the tastiest events hosted yearly by the Dauphin Rotary Club is their annual Lobsterfest celebration.
After being held in larger venues such as the Selo Hall and Rotary Arena, the event was held this past June at Obsolete Brewing Company.
Co-organizer Kara Vanderheyden says having it in a more intimate setting had its positives.
"I think it was nicer having people in closer quarters in a sense that it really encouraged more community within our attendees with more people getting to know each other and getting to know people that they had not met before. It also allowed us to offer different foods as well."
Organizers collaborated with Dusty's Meat Shop to offer other meat options during this year's Lobsterfest.
Fellow organizer Lindsay Dingwall says the event is more than just great food.
"We have a 50/50, and a raffle with items donated by community members. And then there is entertainment. We had Kates Outlaw perform (this past year) and they were fabulous, and we were grateful to have them."
Preparations for the 2025 edition of Lobsterfest will begin early in the new year.
You can keep an eye on Dauphin Rotary's Social media outlets for details on the date and location for Lobsterfest.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Court proceedings continue to drag along for an Ethelbert man.
54-year-old Marc Dorais was arrested following a June 1st house fire in the community, when someone set a home on fire from the outside while a woman and three children were still inside.
Dorais faces charges that include Arson with Disregard for Human Life, and has been remanded back into custody until his next appearance on November 25th in Winnipeg.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Residents in Neepawa are encouraged to attend an information meeting Thursday night regarding the new Neepawa Health Center.
It will be highlighted by a formal presdentation, updating the current progress made in costruction of the new hospital for the community.
That facility, which when completed will be around four times the size of the current hospital, is slated to begin accepting patients in late 2026 or early 2027.
The information session - which will also inlude a question and answer session - takes place from 5 - 6 pm Thursday night at the Roxy Theatre in Neepawa.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Normand Gagne took home the $100,000 prize in 2023 while Walter Kochalyk took the grand prize in 2022.
2024 only has a few more months left in it and you could be the grand prize winner this year as the Dauphin Kings Tractor Lotto is officially back.
"It's an exciting time of the year, it's a staple in the community of Dauphin and around the Parkland," said Christian Laughland, Director of Business Operations. "It's always nice to get the Tractor Lotto going and it's great to give out a ton of money and prizes when it wraps up."
On top of the team's Grow Project which recently wrapped up for the year, the Tractor Lotto serves as a major fundraiser.
"When you talk about inflation and everything going up in cost, it's more important than ever," added Laughland. "It usually raises in and around $100,000 each year, give or take."
Prize Breakdown:
10 draws - $1,000
2 draws - $2,500
2 draws - $5,000
1 draw - $10,000
1 draw - $100,000
2 draws - 2025 John Deere Z320M Zero Turn Mowers up for grabs. The MSRP on one is $5,500.
There will also be a 50/50 draw with the winner taking home around $30,000, based on past years.
Tickets for this year are now on sale. You can now purchase at Reit Syd Equipment in Dauphin, Fusion Credit Union branches in Dauphin, Gilbert Plains, Ethelbert, Winnipegosis & Rorketon, Home Hardware in Grandview as well as P&H Dutton!
Ticket Prices:
Single Main Draw - $100
Three-Pack Main Draw - $250
Single 50/50 Draw - $20
5-Pack 50/50 Draw - $50
Supplementary Draw - $20
You must order a lotto ticket or a supplementary draw ticket to add a 50/50 ticket to your order. You can witness each draw live on December 15 when the Kings welcome Swan Valley to town at 4:00 p.m. Darnell Duff will also be live on location around the community leading up to the draw date.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
A 14-year-old has been remanded into custody after a man was shot and killed on the O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation.
Around 1 am on October 21st, Officers received reports of gunshots from this community and attended to a residence where they found a 35-year-old male suffering from a gunshot wound.
Despite life-saving measures from residents and officers, the victims succumbed to their wounds before EMS arrived.
A few hours later, a 14-year-old male youth from the community, approached officers on the scene and turned himself in to police in relation to this homicide.
The 14-year-old later was charged with 2nd-degree murder and was taken into custody.
Ste. Rose du Lac RCMP, along with RCMP Major Crime Services and RCMP Forensic Identification Services, continue to investigate.
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- Contributed by Michael Brossart
October 30th is the date set for Prairie Mountain Health's virtual AGM.
PMH staff, community represdentatives, organizational members, and area residents are invited to join and participate in the meeting, either online or by phone.
A review of the 2023-24 operational year will take place, with a focus on services, strategies, priorities, and planning.
PMH CEO Treena Slate says the AGM also provides another opportunity to acknowledge and recognize the tremendous efforts of health care staff, physicians and volunteers who continue to assist individuals and families who need care and support within the region.
The meeting is set to begin at 12 noon on the 30th and should last about an hour.
Details on how you can join the virtual meeting can be found under the News and Events section of prairiemountainhealth.ca.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
On Monday, October 21, the atmosphere in Brandon was filled with joy as the Wheat City set a weather record that had stood for 127 years.
The daily high of 22.8 degrees Celsius was set in 1897. On Monday, the daytime high reached 24.9 degrees Celsius. The temperature in Brandon has since plummeted as Tuesday's high is expected to be eight degrees Celsius while temperatures in the mid-teens are expected for the remainder of the week.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The Dauphin Rotary club will be one of the benefactors of the Tim Horton's Fall Smile Cookie campaign.
Set for November 18th to 24th, 50 per cent of all Smile Cookie Sales at the Dauphin Tim Horton's Restaurant are going to the local Rotary club, with the remaining proceeds going to Tim Horton's camp Foundation.
Dauphin Rotary club President Darren Eddie explains how their club will be involved.
"With our members, we put out to anyone that can come out and volunteer and make the smiles on the cookies. I have done it in the past with the local Community Foundation. It is a great event to come out and see the community members come through. And we invite community businesses to make pre-orders and sponsor a day."
Eddie explains how he would like to see their proceeds used.
"I have proposed to our community group with my involvement with the Community Foundation, that we start a Centennial Fund for Rotary. So money raised would go into perpetuity to sponsor other events going forward."
The cookies will be $1.50 each and Eddie says order forms will come out within the next few weeks.
This past spring, Dauphin was number one in the entire country for Smile Cookie sales.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Fall clean up is nearing completion in the city, as they announced on Monday tha they had completed the Day 2 area of the city and were now moiving into the Day one waste collection area.
The city says they will start in the west end of Day one collection area and continue until that part of the city is complete.
Residents are reminded to put neat piles of yard and garden waste like leaves, branches, shrubs on their back lanes or as near to the boulevard as they can.
You are also reminded that no plastics or non-yard waste will be collected.
The city adds that compost material can be dropped off at the City Waste Disposal Site, located northwest of Dauphin, free of charge, anytime.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
